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Murder at Kirby-Hill House…Dinner, too!

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:37:58 +0000

A historic mansion in the woods, a high-drama murder with steamy characters, a Bogart-type private investigator and a catered meal with spirits coalesce for an evening of fun and entertainment at the Kirby-Hill House this fall.
For its 18th season, the Kirby-Hill House players will perform a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre on Sept. 10, 11, 18 and 19, as well as Oct. 1, 2, 8 and 9. This year’s production, “Murder At Café Noir,” has been performed coast to coast as one of the most popular whodunit, audience participation dinner theaters in the country since its premiere in 1989. Typical of the film noir of the 1930s and ’40s, the thriller is complete with cynicism and sexual motivations.
David Landau wrote the drama featuring 12 characters that revolve around Rick Archer, P.I., who comes to a forgotten island where the owner of Café Noir has washed up on the beach dead as a seashell. Archer then must determine whodunit among a group of likely suspects – a femme fatale, a gunrunner, a voodoo priestess, the club manager, a black marketeer, a French madam or a British attorney.
The audience gets to guess, too, but they also get to eat. Mama Jack’s Restaurant caters a formal
dinner starting with soup and salad followed by chicken Marsala, red potatoes, vegetables Normandy, Tuscan tomatoes, rollsand apple crunch. The evening starts with complimentary wine followed with shrimp and caviar hors d’oeuvres. Wine and punch, coffee, tea and water are available throughout the courses and the drama.
The Kirby-Hill House, built in 1902, is 20 miles north of Beaumont at 210 W. Main Street in Kountze. Timber baron James L. Kirby built the house that features wrap-around porches, 48 columns, four fireplaces, curved walls and oval grand staircase. The house also serves as a bed and breakfast.
Tickets for the dinner theatre, as well as information about staying the night, are available by calling (409) 246-8000 or visit the Website at www.kirby-hillhouse.com and on Facebook.

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City proclamation to promote “Get Your Red On” at LU

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 22:28:31 +0000

Beaumont City Council will issue a proclamation Tuesday (Sept. 7, 2010) urging residents and businesses to participate in “Get Your Red On” to support Lamar University football.
A delegation of Lamar students, alumni and officials – including Coach Ray Woodard and members of the Cardinals football team – will attend the council’s weekly meeting at 1:30 p.m. in City Hall council chambers as council acknowledges the impact the return of football will have on the university and the region.
Business leaders who are also Lamar alumni will join them, along with University Ambassadors and members of the Cheer Squad. LU representatives also include Camille Mouton, vice president for university advancement; Juan Zabala, executive director of alumni affairs, who will accept the proclamation; and Linda LeBlanc, assistant director of alumni affairs. Woodard will speak briefly.
City Council will urge residents and businesses to support Lamar football by participating in “Get Your Red On” during the weekend of each 2010 home football game by wearing Lamar University gear, displaying LU merchandise on homes and vehicles and decorating businesses with LU logos and signs. Home games will be Sept. 11, Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Nov. 13 and Nov. 20.
Football, which will return to the Lamar campus Sept. 11 after a 21-year absence, is in part responsible for an enrollment increase at the university, according to the proclamation, and attracts many new students to Beaumont from outside the region. With increased enrollment comes the creation of new jobs, generating the need for more faculty and staff.
And, said the proclamation, “Literally thousands of Lamar University football fans will spend their time and money locally during home football game weekends . . . (and) the return of college football to the Beaumont area will have a significant economic impact on both Lamar University and the entire region.”

Contacts: Juan Zabala, Executive Director of Alumni Affairs, (409) 880-8921
Linda LeBlanc, Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, (409) 880-8921
Louise Wood, Media Specialist, (409) 880-8415

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Spindletop MHMR opening new facility Oct. 1

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 22:27:53 +0000

Independence, dignity and respect: those are values that Spindletop MHMR (Mental Health, Mental Retardation) believe should apply to every person, regardless of any mental health issues. It is well known that some people with mental health diagnoses are at risk to become homeless at some point during the illness.
Therefore, Spindletop is starting a brand new venture: The Studios at Spindletop, which will open Oct. 1.
The Studios is a 12-room, co-ed, independent-living facility for STMHMR clients with mental illness who are also at risk for homelessness. It will be located on the Spindletop campus on South 8th St. in Beaumont. Each eligible tenant receives a private apartment, which he or she may decorate to his her own taste. Spindletop supplies basic furnishings, along with a refrigerator and microwave for each room.
“This project was funded through some recovery monies that sprang from Hurricane Ike,” said STMHMR Director of Network Services Sally Walden. “We had a building we thought we could put to good use, and The Studios was born. It is just an incredible facility.”
In addition to the apartments, The Studios features a communal living room, a kitchen and a laundry area. For recreation, there will be a large television and a landscaped courtyard.
That is what The Studios is. More important is what it is not.
“This is not a treatment facility,” said Walden. “It is not a hospital and it’s not a shelter and you can’t be housed there against your will. It is not a halfway house. This is simply a nice place for people who happen to have mental health diagnoses to live until they can secure housing on their own.”
No one will “run” The Studios. A tenant designated as a Resident Leader will handle day-to-day issues.
Tenants may come and go as they please, but the front doors will be locked at 10 p.m. However, if a tenant wanted to stay somewhere else for the night or go away on vacation, that is perfectly fine.
“These tenants are adults, and we will treat them that way,” said Walden.
“Thousands of people currently live in facilities just like this one—they’re called dorms,” said Janna Fulbright, marketing and PR for Spindletop MHMR. “Think about it: rooms, a communal living area, a place to eat and do laundry and one person to make sure things go smoothly. Sounds just like a college dormitory, doesn’t it?”
Each apartment at The Studios will be subsidized, in part, through a Housing and Urban Development voucher. However, tenants will pay a portion of the rent, with the amount based on tenants’ incomes.
The Studios at Spindletop will open its doors at 10 a.m. on Oct. 1, with an open house reception for dignitaries, community leaders, tenants and the media.
Who qualifies to live at The Studios? The facility can not accept any applicant with a prior felony conviction or a sex offense. Potential tenants must submit to verification of their income level and a criminal background check. Each tenant will also have to apply for a HUD voucher.
For more information about Spindletop MHMR and its services, call (409) 839-1000. For 24-hour mental health crisis services, call the Spindletop Crisis Hotline at 800-937-8097.

###

Janna Fulbright, Marketing/PR
Spindletop MHMR
409-839-1046
409-651-9280
info@stmhmr.org

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Be A Man. Get Checked.

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:34:09 +0000

Armed with the knowledge that one in every six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime, the Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” Program is urging men throughout Southeast Texas to become better informed about living a healthier lifestyle in an effort to reduce cancer risks.

Beginning this fall, the “Gift of Life” is partnering with Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas to make available free prostate cancer screenings (by appointment only) to medically underserved eligible Southeast Texas men in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange.

At the screening events, Baptist Hospital phlebotomists will perform free PSA blood tests, participants will consult with medical professionals to discuss good health practices and the “Gift of Life” will provide educational materials for the men and their families.

For the second consecutive year, prostate cancer survivor Morris Carter is serving as honorary chair of the organization’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month activities, which also include television and radio public service announcements, proclamations, client testimonials and a media campaign that encourages all men to become better stewards of their health by practicing good nutrition and discussing annual prostate cancer screenings with their doctors.
“I admire the work the ‘Gift of Life’ does for our region, and I hope my message as a survivor will benefit others,” Carter said. “The key to surviving cancer is early detection, and for those who can’t afford annual screenings, this program is a blessing.”
One in every thirty-six men will die of prostate cancer, but statistics show that the five-year survival rate for men whose cancer is diagnosed early is nearly 100 percent. (American Cancer Society)
The “Gift of Life” screens men who are at least 45 years of age (40 if African American or if there is a family history of prostate cancer), have limited income and do not have medical insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.
The fall screenings will kick off a year-round effort for the “Gift of Life” Prostate Cancer Program and Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas to provide free prostate cancer screenings and professional medical consultation. Eligible clients with abnormal test results will have access to follow-up treatment through a referral link with UTMB-Galveston.
In 2009, the “Gift of Life” made available 643 free prostate cancer screenings for medically underserved men residing in Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange. Four men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer (following screenings) are undergoing treatment with healthcare costs approaching $100,000, which have been underwritten by the “Gift of Life.” Since 2000, the organization has helped extend the lives of more than 50 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and provided access to treatment.

Call the “Gift of Life” to register for a free prostate cancer screening or for more information: (409) 833-3663 or toll-free at (877) 720 GIFT (4438).
Special thanks to the “Gift of Life” Prostate Cancer Medical Advisory Board: Chair, John Henderson IV, MD, and Members, Gerardo Chica, MD; Danny Chow, MD; J. Denton Harris, IV, MD; George Hoffman, MD; Joseph Kong, MD, FACR, FASTRO; J. Coffy Pieternelle, MD; and Steven Socher, MD.
Screening Events are sponsored by: Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, Charline Dauphin, Linda & Joe Penland / Quality Mat Company, Inc., TOTAL Port Arthur Refinery, Valero Port Arthur Refinery, BASF & TOTAL Miracle Match for Life, Motiva Enterprises LLC, Joy & Will Crenshaw, Capital One, YMBL, Entergy Texas, Flint Hills Resources, Mrs. William C. (Sallye) Keith, Denise & J. Mark Smith, Conn’s, H-E-B, Mick & Chad Dubea, David M. Caldwell, DDS, The Wilton and Effie Mae Hebert Foundation, Air Comfort, Inc., Gina & Colby Crenshaw, Linda & Joe Domino, Germer Gertz, LLP, Gay & Bill Scott, Betty & Hal Clarke, MD, Cancer Center of Southeast Texas and Abbott Laboratories.

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A Homecoming: A Tribute to Professor Emeritus Jerry Newman at the Dishman

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:33:33 +0000

Professor Newman (1934 – 2008) taught at Lamar University for more than four decades. Upon his retirement in 1999 at age 65, The Texas State University System Board of Regents honored him as distinguished professor emeritus, stating that he “left an enduring legacy of artistic excellence in the brushes and palettes of students who themselves have garnered widespread attention and respect.” The artists selected for this exhibition will present their work honoring Professor Newman at an alumni show that opens Oct. 8.

Light refreshments will be served at the opening reception. The exhibition will run through Nov. 10. Admission is free. The Dishman Art Museum is located at 1030 East Lavaca, Beaumont, Texas.

Call (409) 880-8959 for more information or visit lamar.edu/dishman.

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Prostate Cancer Awareness Proclamation

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:33:00 +0000

WHEREAS, in the year 2010, the month of September has been declared National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month; and

WHEREAS, in Port Arthur, the Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” Program provides both educational outreach programs about prostate cancer and the benefits of early detection and conducts screening events at which men receive PSA blood tests.

WHEREAS, in Beaumont on Saturday, September 11, from 9:00am – 11:00am, at Baptist Beaumont Hospital, the Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” Program will provide free PSA screenings for those who are eligible and medically underserved; and

WHEREAS, in the year 2010, approximately 217,730 men in the United States will learn that they have prostate cancer, including 13,740 in Texas; and

WHEREAS, approximately 32,050 American men will lose their lives to this disease in 2010, and prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in men, and nearly one third of prostate cancer occurs in men under the age of 65 during their prime work years; and

WHERAS, African American families are disproportionately affected due to African American men having the highest prostate cancer incidence in the world and being twice as likely to die of the disease than men of other racial or ethnic groups in the United States; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Becky Ames, Mayor of the City of Beaumont, do hereby proclaim September 2010 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Beaumont, and Saturday, September 18, 2010, as Julie Rogers “Gift of Life” Prostate Cancer Awareness Day in Beaumont, and I also urge all men in our community to become aware of their own risks of prostate cancer, talk to their health care providers about prostate cancer, and, whenever appropriate, get screened for the disease.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the Office of Mayor to be affixed this 31st day of August, 2010.

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Better Business Bureau Senior Expo in October

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:32:21 +0000

The 11th Southeast Texas SENIOR CELEBRATION and Consumer Expo is set for Thursday, October 14th, from 8:30am to 2:30pm at the Beaumont Civic Center. It’s an exciting day for adults of all ages. Admission is FREE! Parking is FREE!

On the HealthSpring Main Stage, enjoy Jerome the Magician, the Lamar University 17-piece Jazz Band, a style show with Dillard’s Department Store, celebrity models, BINGO with BIG prizes, special presentations, and more!

The Consumer Expo will feature over 100 booth exhibitors, health screenings, live music from Rick Danna, refreshments, ACES Classic Cars, clowns, door prizes, lots of valuable information, and fun! The Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Texas Benefits Counseling Program will be on hand to help with Medicare Part D Open Enrollment.

For more information and to secure a booth(s) space, call 409/835-5951 x117 or debbiebridgeman@bbbsetexas.org. It’s the 11th Southeast Texas SENIOR CELEBRATION & Consumer Expo, which is a project of the Consumer Education Foundation of the Better Business Bureau, and sponsored in part by the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission’s Ozone Action Days and Southeast Texas Transit.

More than 2,500 adults attended last year!

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LSC-O nears completion of final renovations after Hurricane Ike

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:29:17 +0000

Almost two years have passed since the residents of Orange, TX and students of Lamar State College-Orange watched as Hurricane Ike put their homes and campus underwater. The damage was so significant that most people, including those at LSC-O, have spent the last two years renovating and cleaning up the mess that was left behind. But almost two years to the day later, LSC-O is finally in the last stages of completing the campus renovations that were necessary after Ike.
While the indoor renovations have been done for months, the storm damaged many of the oak trees on campus, as well as hundreds of other trees and shrubs. Much of the campus landscaping suffered significant damage due to salt water infiltration from the flooding and trees suffered root damage from being blown over by Ike’s winds.
According to Dr. Michael Shahan, LSC-O president, the chance to redo the landscaping on campus has allowed them to address the damage and to also make modifications that will improve the long-term appearance of the campus.
The decision to begin the makeover was made after settlement of the insurance for the damages. LSC-O has worked with the firm, Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects and Site Planners from Alexandria, La., to develop a campus landscape master plan. This plan coordinates the LSC-O campus landscaping with the landscape master plans for the City of Orange and the Stark Foundation. These three entities are the primary stakeholders in “downtown” Orange and Shahan says the properties are contiguous and complement one another.
Dana Rogers, Vice-President for Finance and Operations at LSC-O, said that through these efforts, when complete, the projects should produce a civic and education complex in downtown Orange that will be both functional and ascetically appealing. The campus used a competitive bid process and selected a vendor, Landscape Art, Inc., to do the landscaping renovation.
“Our landscaping opportunity dovetailed with the desire of the city and the foundation to create a downtown master plan,” said Shahan. “We opted to use the same architect as they had (Jeffrey Carbo) in an effort to coordinate our campus landscaping with improvements being made by our downtown neighbors.”
Rogers says that the development of the campus master plan was completed and accepted by LSC-O in March and that funding for the project has been done primarily through insurance proceeds and some supplemental grant funding. Work began on June 28 and is expected to be completed by early September. The extensive project includes planting more than 200 trees of various sizes and species and more than 2,300 shrubs. Initial landscaping for the campus was installed in June 2001 and the last landscaping makeover was just after Hurricane Rita in 2006 when several new trees were planted.
“Jeffrey Carbo was interested in promoting the use of native tree plantings on campus that would better tolerate inclement weather patterns experienced (in the Orange area) in recent years,” said Rogers. “Included in the master plan is the addition of autumn fern to be planted around three older live oaks located on the northeast corner of campus. The plantings will discourage any intense activities within the root zone, decreasing the compaction of the soils around the roots, thus increasing the longevity of the oaks.”
In addition, she says the plants will encourage the accumulation of natural leaf litter from the trees, creating a natural mulch layer within the root zone that will provide nutrients and prevent water evaporation and weed growth. Furthermore, there will be plantings of daylilies, Louisiana irises and decorative grasses on campus.
Though the summer is not generally the best time to achieve success with landscaping, administration proceeded in the hope of completing most of the work prior to the fall semester beginning. Their consultants indicated that the LSC-O sprinkler system would compensate for the summer heat and allow them to proceed with the makeover. They also agreed to replace any of the plants that failed because of the extreme heat and weather.
“Hurricane Ike took a significant toll on campus landscaping,” said Shahan. “Although we are not finished, I am very pleased by the way things look at this point.”

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LU going Green in Student Government Association

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:24:40 +0000

Thaddeaus Green hopes to make improvements to student organizations, increase student involvement and pump up the Lamar University spirit on campus this year as Student Government Association president.
Green, senior communication major from Orange, has already made significant improvements for Lamar University and its students during his short time in office.
“My campaign for SGA elections last spring started as ‘LU going Green’ because of my last name, but it really has gone beyond that,” Green said. “It is going to really help us ‘go green’ with everyone filling out forms, student organization registration packets and more online.”
Green has implemented Orgsync.com, a paperless form of communication, for campus organizations to reduce the amount of paper waste. Student organizations began using Orgsync.com this semester.
Additionally, Green wants all students to show their LU spirit for Lamar University’s first football season in 20 years.
“I’m so excited about football being on campus because it is going to pump up Lamar, and that’s what we need,” Green said. “I feel like it’s going to be great for recruiting new students, especially local students, and it will be great for the community. I will definitely be out there at every game with my red on showing off my school spirit.”
Green and the other members of SGA are working on starting new football traditions and teaching students the Lamar fight song and chants. To promote this vision, a new student organization called L-Raisers has been formed to increase spirit at all Lamar University events.
“I really would love to see as many students as possible at all Lamar events,” Green said. “I have been personally inviting students to go to everything. Increased involvement is definitely going to help our campus.”
Involvement and hard work are familiar to Green. In his first two years in SGA, he served as freshman and sophomore senator for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. In January, he became secretary/treasurer.
This year, Green serves as SGA president along with Jamaal Goodwin, vice president, and Dylan Moses Bennett, secretary/treasurer, both senior communication majors from Orange. Green’s agenda this year revolves around bringing structure back to SGA. He would like students to leave meetings with helpful information about campus and other organizations. SGA needs to provide students with better information on how to join student organizations, Green said. He also wants SGA to provide information about events and news on campus.
In addition to SGA, Green is a member and past president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and a member of Greek Council. He has served as treasurer for the National Pan-Hellenic Council, peer advisor for New Student Orientations and mentor for Freshman Year Experience.
“I had a lot of people who helped me get involved with SGA and my other organizations,” Green said. “In return, I want to help incoming and continuing students and encourage them to become involved on campus. I want SGA and this campus to flourish after I’m gone.”
SGA meetings are held every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the University Reception Center on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library. All students are welcome to attend.
For more information about SGA, call (409) 880-8891 or visit the Setzer Student Center, room 211. For information about student organizations, contact the Office of Student Organization Services at (409) 880-8739 or visit the Setzer Student Center, room 212.

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BRA-vo! Applause for the Cause

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:16:01 +0000

More than fifty breast cancer survivors provided their support and artistic flare during the “Gift of Life’s” BRA-vo! Applause for the Cause recent Kickoff highlighting breast cancer awareness.
BRA-vo! Applause for the Cause is a unique endeavor that uses bras as an expressive palate to convey breast cancer survivors’ stories and further emotional healing while sharing the importance of early detection. At the kickoff, BRA-vo! Co-Chairs, Vicki Bauer, and breast cancer survivors, Phyllis Loeb and Jane McBride, presented “Bra Starter Kits,” generously donated by Dillard’s.

Opportunity for survivors to tell their personal stories while raising breast cancer awareness and letting the community know about the ‘Gift of Life’s’ mission,” said McBride, an author and newspaper columnist. “Following the gallery showings, we hope to have the bra creations displayed at select Pink Shopping Card venues throughout the region.”
After being designed and embellished, these one-of-a-kind works of art will be displayed at local art museums during Putting on the Pink, the “Gift of Life’s” month-long celebration of survivorship and hope in October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. BRA-vo! participants are also asked to share their own inspiring stories of courage in brief essays, which will accompany their unique bra creations.
“This is such an exciting project to create awareness,” Bauer said. “We hope to engage survivors and allow them to relay their stories through creativity. While I was constructing my bra, called ‘Back in the Saddle,’ I thought of a close friend who is currently battling cancer. I know my time working on this bra is nothing compared to what she is going through with treatment.”
Bras unveiled during the kickoff were BBS Collection’s “BRAzilliantly Bedazzled!,” Bauer’s “Back in the Saddle,” Ania Bender’s “Who Let the Dogs Out?,” Peggy Bordelon’s “Steel Magnolias,” Roger Iker’s “Hooters” (an owl-themed creation), Leigh Gibson’s “King Tuts,” Susan Mosier’s “The Blessed Nest,” and Jana Nichol’s “Get Carried Away.”
The BRA-vo! exhibit will debut at a Gallery Show & Reception at Lamar University’s Dishman Art Gallery on Friday, October 1, followed by a showing from Tuesday, October 19 – Friday, October 29, at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas.
Additional Putting on the Pink activities include free mammograms for medically underserved women; extensive educational outreach; the Pink Shopping Card Project (Discount Shopping Days: Thursday, October 21 through Monday, November 1); and on Monday, October 18, “An Evening with Marie,” featuring dinner and dancing at the Beaumont Civic Center, the Breast Cancer Survivors’ “Walk of Courage” and an exciting performance by renowned entertainment icon, Marie Osmond, at the Julie Rogers Theatre. (Tickets and sponsorships are currently available.)
For more information about BRA-vo! Applause for the Cause, Putting on the Pink or to find out if you qualify for a free mammogram, please call the “Gift of Life” at (409) 833-3663 or visit giftoflifebmt.org.

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