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Acts of Kindness: In full waiter gear, bow ties and all, friends deliver dinner - The Advocate

She even helped water some of the Easter plants that were withering."Great grandma and grandpa would have been very proud of her sweet kindness to others."Neighbor careShirley Bourque’s Baton Rouge neighbor Dr. Vince Cataldo baked and brought her a cake for Easter dinner.“He is working very hard, long hours taking care of extremely ill patients, yet he used his short time off to show his care and concern for us,” she said. “We pray God will bless and keep him safe during these stressful and very long difficult days.”Jane Honeycutt, of Baton Rouge, says neighbor Lisa Smith brought her a large bouquet of purple, gold and white tulips, and friend Claudia Fowler made a cloth mask and brought it to her.Grocery runsWith her husband recovering from surgery, Jean Bengston went to the store for dog food, but all she could find was 42-pound bags.“I knew I could not lift the bag because of a bad shoulder,” she said. “I was doing my best to push, shove, drag the bag onto the lower shelf of the cart. I was having no luck. Finally, a good Samaritan came to my rescue. She managed to get the bag onto the cart. I will be forever grateful that she ignored the 6-foot rule and helped this 70-year-old woman.”Carol L. LaMotte, 76, thanks Baton Rouge neighbors Jerry and Janice Kaplan for picking up groceries for her after she had declined several of their offers to do so. "AND, they put my newspaper in my yard every day," she said.House cleaningKappa Kappa Gamma at LSU donated the remaining pantry and freezer food in its sorority house to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank on April 15. The donation included five boxes of canned food, four cases of coffee and tea and a large box of frozen vegetables and meat. House board President Susan Lambert and chapter President Grace Gardere coordinated the donation.Sew caringVolunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge mental health technician Rose White brought her sewing machine to work to make face masks for each of VOA's clients. Many of the clients said that they feel so much safer having the face masks.“We are so grateful for Rose recognizing a need and taking action to help our clients feel safer and reduce anxiety,” said Gwen Hasling, regional director for Acadiana programs. “I told her she was my VOA. She was so humble and expressed it was ‘no big deal,’ and she was glad to help our clients feel safer.”If you want to be part of our coverage, send those Acts of Kindness to theadvocate.com/actsofkindnessnominations. https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/article_10f4fce4-802a-11ea-a4ef-e795aa4234ad.html

Most Louisiana horticulture license exams now computer based - WBRZ

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says most Louisiana horticulture license exams are now given by computer, streamlining the process.  He says it used to take a week or more to get scores for tests taken at department satellite offices, because forms were sent to Baton Rouge for grading.  Strain says applicants must still be tested at department offices, but the results are available immediately.  A news release Friday said six of the seven professional horticulture exams are now on computer, and the landscape architecture exam is in final development and testing. Those on computer are landscape horticulturist, landscape irrigation contractor, arborist, utility arborist, retail florist and wholesale florist.  Department spokeswoman Laura Pursnell-Lindsay says tests aren't required for nursery certificates and permits for dealers in cut flowers and nursery stock. https://www.wbrz.com/news/most-louisiana-horticulture-license-exams-now-computer-based/

Freeze warning issued during blooming season, gardeners concerned - WBRZ

BATON ROUGE – It’s hard to tell with Monday’s low temperatures, but a little more than two weeks from now it will be spring. This is the time of year where many trees are getting ready to bloom. But a freeze warning has many people worried.“People are concerned about their citrus tree this year because the last two years, in January, we've had terrible freezes that affected the harvest,” said Scott Ricca, the owner of Clegg's Nursery.The cold is not coming at a good time. If flowers are destroyed now, no fruit will grow. Ricca says the good news is that freezing weather won't last as long as previous years.“It will cause some of the fruit to drop. It will maybe mess up some of the flowers so they can't set fruit. But that doesn't mean that the tree will not have fruit,” said Ricca.Ricca says not all of the flowers on citrus trees are expected to survive even in warmer weather. So if some die Monday night, the tree should still be okay. http://www.wbrz.com/news/freeze-warning-issued-during-blooming-season-gardeners-concerned/

Effort to eliminate florist licenses in Louisiana becomes a thorny issue - Fox News

BATON ROUGE, La. – In Louisiana, florists must know the proper storage temperature for plants, wiring methods for various flowers and how to construct a cascade bouquet. They pay $100 a year.The Pelican state is the only state in the country that requires a license to sell flowers, a distinction that has become a point of contention among florists who say it legitimizes their trade and state lawmakers who feel Louisiana is too overwhelmed with a dizzying number of professional license requirements.State lawmakers wanted to cut back on the number of licenses by eliminating the floral one. That has drawn the ire of florists who take pride in regulating their profession – by weeding out people who know little about floral arrangements. Orchids sit on display at Red Onion in Baton Rouge. Several florists throughout the state say they want to keep a licensing and testing requirement in place. Louisiana is the only state in the country that requires florists to be licensed. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/effort-to-eliminate-florist-licenses-in-louisiana-becomes-a-thorny-issue

A look at the unique designs and interesting facets of Baton Rouge houses of worship

In some communities, the steeple of a church might be the tallest structure around. While office buildings and Tiger Stadium may stand higher in Baton Rouge, our places of worship are no less arresting for their graceful towers, unique interior designs and fascinating religious items.In 2016, 225 ran a photography series on how locals worship. We focused then on the faces in prayer inside diverse spiritual centers, fromSt. Joseph’s Cathedral to the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge. Putting together that series reminded us of the architectural beauty of those places as well.Turn the page as we highlight the first two in a new series of visual profiles on places of worship in Baton Rouge.TAM BAOBuddhist temple and meditation centerThe main facility is the Meditation Hall, where practitioners and visitors alike come to meditate and pray. All photos of Tam Bao by Taylor Moran. On left: The decor inside the hall is simple, with a Buddha statue at the back of the room sitting in a meditation posture. Offerings to the Buddha, such as oranges and flowers, surround the statue.On right: The windows of th... https://www.225batonrouge.com/our-city/look-unique-designs-interesting-facets-baton-rouges-houses-worship

Master florist to the stars opens store beneath Jim Bowie Live Oak in Opelousas - The Advocate

They also stock items created by local and regional artists and artisans like handmade stationery and soaps. Already planned for the next few months are workshops and pop-up shops featuring Louisiana artists teaching about stationery, succulents, sushi and glass creation. The workshops and pop-ups will be held in the shop's courtyard beneath the historic Jim Bowie oak. The event schedule should soon be up on their website mossneworleans.com, Mashburn said."Before we opened, people were asking what we were going to do with the oak. They were worried we'd do something with the oak, but I love it. We've only been here a short time, but I feel like it's a neighbor and an old friend," Mashburn said. https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/business/article_054285ce-49ac-11ea-bcd6-43494a29a1c0.html

HER | Local decorator helps get homes ready for holidays - Texarkana Gazette

When I go down there I also go deep-sea fishing for Red Snapper, so it's an annual vacation for me."When she isn't decorating for others, she and her husband Jerry reside on the Louisiana side of Caddo Lake where they enjoy entertaining. They are also very active at Trees Baptist Church. They have four children: Tony Campbell of Queen City, Dee Dee Wells and Misty Lutton of Atlanta, and Damon Donnell of Athens, Texas.Marie says she has never gotten too busy to take on more clients."I never turn anyone down," she said. "I just hire more people to do the work. We will do what it takes to make people happy." n... https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/her/story/2019/dec/03/her-local-decorator-helps-get-homes-ready-holidays/806564/

A funeral director for the community - Dallas Voice

Lewis said they ate dinner, watched a movie but he left, and they didn’t see each other for another four years.LaFleur was diagnosed with cancer and then he left for Louisiana to take care of his mother. When he returned to Dallas, they met up again on MySpace and have been together ever since.A few years ago, Lewis, who’s a member of the Turtle Creek Chorale, was talking to another member, who is also a funeral director, about how hard it was working for a funeral home owned by a large corporation.“I still want my own place,” he said.“I know a place in Ferris for sale,” the other member told him.A year passed before he decided to at least check out Ferris. The funeral home was still for sale, so on a Sunday morning, he drove to Ferris just to take a look even though he knew the place wouldn’t be open.As he was driving through town, though, he noticed signs for an open house. He decided to stop in and maybe get a feel for the town from the real estate agent.She asked what he was looking for in a house, and he said he was actually interested in Green Funeral Home that was for sale but stopped by the open house to get some information about Ferris from someone local. The agent told him her father owned the funeral home, and she called her dad and arranged for Lewis to meet him.Six months later, Lewis and LaFleur were in the funeral business.Their goal, LaFleur said, is to outgrow the current building within five years. “That means we have four years left,” Lewis said.While Ferris is growing quickly — 150 homes are already under construction on the west side of I-45, and T. Boone Pickens’ widow owns a ranch on the east side of the highway that she plans to develop — the couple knows they can’t rely on business just from the Ferris area.So, Lewis said, anyone was welcome to come to Ferris and use their facility, and they can handle a funeral anywhere. Not that Ferris is that far from the Metroplex — from downtown Dallas, it’s about the same distance as Plano. It’s just over the Ellis County line, four miles south of the Belt Line Road exit.Green Funeral Home can handle embalming, whether the family is using his facility or not. He can deliver the casket to any church for a funeral service, and if the family chooses cremation, Lewis said he can do that, too.Lewis said they’ve driven as far as Houston to pick up a body, so they can certainly perform a funeral anywhere in the Dallas area.While the current Green Funeral Home building is a few blocks from the town square and can hold about 120 for a service, Lewis said they also hold services in area churches all the time.The Rev. Neil Thomas, senior pastor at Cathedral of Hope, said he was glad to have the services of a gay funeral director available in the area. https://dallasvoice.com/a-funeral-director-for-the-community/

Most Louisiana horticulture license exams now computer based - WBRZ

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says most Louisiana horticulture license exams are now given by computer, streamlining the process.  He says it used to take a week or more to get scores for tests taken at department satellite offices, because forms were sent to Baton Rouge for grading.  Strain says applicants must still be tested at department offices, but the results are available immediately.  A news release Friday said six of the seven professional horticulture exams are now on computer, and the landscape architecture exam is in final development and testing. Those on computer are landscape horticulturist, landscape irrigation contractor, arborist, utility arborist, retail florist and wholesale florist.  Department spokeswoman Laura Pursnell-Lindsay says tests aren't required for nursery certificates and permits for dealers in cut flowers and nursery stock. https://www.wbrz.com/news/most-louisiana-horticulture-license-exams-now-computer-based/