Boys

Track events

100-meter dash: 1, Dylan Sampson, Dutchtown, 10.48. 2, Kevin Domino, St. Amant, 10.69. 3, JayVeon Haynes Woodlawn 10.79.

200: 1, Dylan Sampson, Dutchtown, 21.16. 2, Chris Hilton, Zachary, 21.33. 3, Imania Coleman, West Feliciana, 21.48.

400: 1, Chris Hilton, Zachary, 49.47. 2, Imania Coleman, West, Feliciana 49.99. 3, Kalvin Skelton, Brusly, 50.18.

800: 1, Joseph Ellis, Catholic High, 1:56.60. 2, Rhen Langley, Zachary, 1:56.97. 3, Lejuane George, Zachary, 1:59.91.

1,600: 1, Rhen Langley, Zachary, 4:19.56. 2, Daniel Sullivan, Catholic High, 4:22.83. 3, Blaison Truell, Catholic High, 4:24.00.

3,200: 1, Rhen Langley, Zachary, 9:37.22. 2, Caleb Ackman, Zachary, 9:39.78. 3, Steven Mayer, Catholic High, 9:46.05.

110 hurdles: 1, Lanard Harris, Woodlawn, 14.57. 2, Cosy Smith, Zachary 14.96. 3, Donnell Matthews, Scotlandville, 14.96.

300 hurdles: 1, Lanard Harris, Woodlawn, 37.83. 2, Donnell Matthews, Scotlandville, 39.84. 3, Ethan Hook, Episcopal, 40.07, Louis Rudge, Catholic High, 40.07

4x100 relay: 1, Zachary 41.24. 2, Dutchtown 42.36. 3, Scotlandville 42.53.

4x200 relay: 1, Zachary 1:26.23. 2, Dutchtown 1:27.91. 3, St. Amant 1:28.81.

4x400 relay: 1, Scotlandville 3:23.09. 2, Catholic High 3:25.88. 3, Zachary 3:26.99

4x800 relay: 1, Catholic High 7:59.98. 2, Zachary 8:20.41. 3, Scotlandville 8:27.33.

Field events

Discus: 1, Jerrell Boykins, East Ascension, 170-02. 2, Oliver Jack, Episcopal, 153-6. 3, Sam Cole, Catholic High, 150-2.

High jump: 1, Chris Hilton, Zachary, 7-0. 2, JaMarius Snowden, Northeast, 6-8. 3, TreShaun Dunn, St. Amant, 6-6.

Javelin: 1, Jackson Rimes, Catholic High, 208-8. 2, Peyton Pontiff, Episcopal, 198-6. 3, Caleb Marcantel, Catholic High, 181-7.

Long jump: 1, W'Juanterous Rodrique, St. Amant, 23- 7.75. 2, Chris Murphy, Port Allen, 23-6.5. 3, Jaden Wiliams, Walker, 22-10.5.

Pole vault: 1, Clayton Simms, Live Oak, 17-2.5. 2, Trey Boucher, Parkview Baptist, 16-2. 3, Todd Collins, Walker, 14-0.

Shot put: 1, Oliver Jack, Episcopal, 56-1. 2, Prince Edwards, Catholic High, 53-0. 3, Jerrell Boykins, East Ascension 52-2.5.

Triple jump: 1, Kevon Hamilton, Scotlandville, 47-6. 2, W'Janterous Rodrique, St. Amant, 44-8.5. 3, Reginald King, Scotlandville, 43-11.

Track events

100 meters: 1, Zoa Adams, Zachary, 11.99. 2, Sade Gray, Scotlandville, 11.99. 3, Jessica Pitcher, Baton Rouge, 12.01.

200: 1, Sade Gray, Scotlandville, 25.08. 2, Ariane Linton, Dutchtown, 25.21. 3, Hannah Jones, SJA, 25.61.

400: 1, Zoa Adams, Zachary, 55.83. 2, Makeriah Harris, Scotlandville, 56.6. 3, Haley Jones, SJA, 57.94.

800: 1, Callie Hardy, Episcopal, 2:21.10. 2, Rachel Fereday, Dutchtown, 2:23.04. 3, Amelia Cochran, SJA, 2:23.85.

1,600: 1, Sophie Martin, SJA, 5:06.50. 2, Maddie Gardiner, SJA, 5:15.80. 3, Callie Hardy, Episcopal, 5:18.40.

3,200: 1, Sophie Martin, SJA, 10:53.43. 2, Maddie Gardiner, SJA, 11:28.22. 3, Emma Claire Hendry, SJA, 11:56.10.

100 hurdles: 1, Makeriah Harris, Scotlandville, 14.2. 2, Ariel Pedigo, Parkview Baptist, 14.66. 3, Orsciana Beard, Zachary, 14.97, Heather Abadie, St. Michael, 14.97.

300 hurdles: 1, Makeriah Harris, Scotlandville, 42.29. 2, Whitney Harris, Scotlandville, 45.96. 3, Daila Young, Episcopal, 47.11

4x100 relay: 1, Zachary 48.72. 2, Scotlandville 48.85. 3, Dutchtown 49.55.

4x200 relay: 1, Zachary 1:40.58. 2, Scotlandville 1:41.61. 3, Baton Rouge High 1:42.76.

4x400: 1, Scotlandville 3:58.25. 2, SJA 3:59.84. 3, Zachary 4:00.86.

4x800: 1, SJA 9:43.27. 2, Episcopal 10:10.60. 3, St. Michael's 10:15.00.

Field events

Discus: 1, Jaydan Jackson, Zachary, 138-5. 2, Jamyah Williams, Madison Prep, 133-9. 3, Laila Guy, Baton Rouge, 122-1.5.

High jump: 1, Ariel Pedigo, Parkview Baptist, 5-10. 2, Riley Wilson, SJA, 5-6. 3, Alana Simms, Episcopal, 5-5.

Javelin: 1, Ariel Pedigo, Parkview Baptist, 142-3.25. 2, Rebecca Bordelon, SJA, 136-0. 3, Anna Ferrand, SJA, 135-8.

Long jump: 1, Ariel Pedigo, Parkview Baptist, 19-5.75. 2, Orsciana Beard, Zachary, 18-3.75. 3, Heather Abadie, St. Michael, 17-10.

Pole vault: 1, Heather Abadie, St. Michael, 13-4.25. 2, Ava Riche, SJA, 11-6. 3, Taylor Walker, SJA, 11-1.

Shot put: 1, Jaydan Jackson Zachary, 44-8. 2, Laila Guy, Baton Rouge, 42-5.75. 3, Jamyah Williams, Madison Prep, 39-8.

Triple jump: 1, Orsciana Beard, Zachary, 39-2. 2, Simone Castelluccio, SJA, 38-1. 3, Francis Oliver, Episcopal, 37-4.

Continue reading here:

Check out the high school track and field leaders for the Baton Rouge area - The Advocate

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Ascension Saint Thomas celebrates Galentines Day Saturday, and women over the age of 40 are invited to receive their mammogram screening.

Ascension Saint Thomas says the event will be held from 7 a.m. to noon at Saint Thomas Midtown. Many women missed their screening last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Galentines themed event serves as an opportunity for women without any known concerns to get back into the routine of getting that important annual check.

We want to empower our women to take an active role in their breast care to come every year to show up bring their friends, bring their family members. The best thing you can do is encourage those around you to get their screening mammograms.

Organizers say the Galentines theme is an opportunity to promote friendship along with breast health.

You can schedule your Galentines mammogram appointment by calling 615-284-5000 or by clicking here.

See the original post:

Ascension Saint Thomas to hold Galentines themed mammogram screening event Saturday - WKRN News 2

The Ascension Parish school system says it is partnering with Our Lady of the Lake's branch in the parish to set up convenient time slots for its employees to get vaccinated.

According to a school spokesperson, OLOL Ascension will help employees set up a vaccination time slot between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to help limit the impact on school employees' workdays. Those interested can get on the waitlist here.

The school system said the quickest way to sign up for the vaccine is still to register with any of the other vaccinations sites across the state, which can be found on the Louisiana department of Health website.

The school system said 1,800 of its employees responded to a survey about the vaccine, with more than half saying they're interested in getting the shot.

Under the state's newest vaccine guidelines, educators will be added to the priority list for receiving the COVID vaccine starting Monday.

Read the rest here:

Ascension schools partnering with OLOL to get COVID vaccines to teachers - WBRZ

Former Ascension Health CEO Donald Brennanwho helped form what became the country's largest Catholic health systemhas passed away at age 83.

In addition to leading St. Louis-based Ascension until 2001, Brennan held the top posts at Providence in Washington, Group Health and co-chaired a Washington state health commission. He passed away peacefully at his home in Bothell, Wash. on Feb. 12.

Brennan was initially hired as a consultant to help plan the merger between the two Catholic systems that formed Ascension. After spending a year on the project, he was named CEO of the new health system, said his son, Steve Brennan, who serves as Nashville, Tenn.-based Change Healthcare's senior manager of state health policy.

Ascension's current president and CEO, Joe Impicciche, said in a statement that Ascension owes a debt of gratitude to Brennan for his "visionary leadership and commitment to our mission."

"As our first CEO, Don was a key leader in the collaborative process to establish the mission and values that continue to guide Ascension today," Impicciche said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Don and his family."

When Brennan retired as Ascension's CEO in 2001, the health system had $6 billion in annual revenue and 71 owned or affiliated hospitals. It has since grown even bigger. Ascension was a 150-hospital system with north of $25 billion in annual revenue as of June 30, 2020.

Brennan started his career in the finance department at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Boulder, Colo., where we worked from 1976 to 1980. He then became the first non-religious CEO for what was then known as the Sisters of Providence Health System.

He left Providence in 1993 when he was appointed by Washington state's then-Gov. Mike Lowry to co-chair the Washington Health Services Commission. Established by the 1993 Health Services Act, the group worked to formulate a comprehensive healthcare reform strategy.

"When we talk about really putting your money where your mouth is, he believed in healthcare reform enough to step away from his job to make it a reality," Steve Brennan said.

After Washington lawmakers repealed much of the Health Services Act, Brennan stepped down from the commission and became CEO of the St. Louis-based Daughters of Charity National Health System in 1995. During his tenure, the health system merged with the Sisters of St. Joseph Health System of Ann Arbor, Mich. to become Ascension.

Initially, Daughters of Charity had hired Brennan as a consultant to held plan its merger with the Sisters of St. Joseph, Steve Brennan said. After spending almost a year designing the merger to create Ascension, he became Ascension's first CEO.

After retiring from Ascension in 2001, Brennan served on the board of Swedish Health Services from 2003 to 2010.

Steve Brennan said he's spoken recently with a number of his dad's former colleagues, who describe his leadership style as very collaborative.

"He was a very humble person and was very careful to give credit elsewhere and to really reach out to experts and people in his organization to be leaders, whether informal or formal," he said.

Brennan, who also served on the board of the Catholic Health Association, grew up in Denver as the youngest of five children. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado.

Throughout Brennan's life, his son said he remained dedicated to his family, which included his wife of nearly 60 years, Kathy, four sons and 11 grandchildren. He loved scuba diving, golfing and running.

"He was just very much a champion of life balance and really educated all of us on how important that is," Steve Brennan said.

Here is the original post:

Former Ascension CEO, the first to lead the health system, passes away - Modern Healthcare

Toward the end of Black Art: In the Absence of Light, Theaster Gates provocatively says, Until we own the light, Im not happy. Until we are in our own houses of exhibition, discovery, and research, until weve figured out how to be masters of the world, then Id rather work in darkness. I want to believe him (though Gates seems slightly too practiced at drawing high-wattage illumination to his varied projects), but whether I do or not, the trouble is that this declaration goes against the grain of the documentary. Black Art is exactly an argument for and a testament to how Black peoples aesthetic production has moved toward the mainstream of US culture, and how key actors in the Black community have intentionally and consciously sought this. And it demonstrates precisely what the community gives up in striving toward this goal.

The film begins with a discussion of a pivotal exhibition, Two Centuries of Black American Art, curated by David Driskell and initially shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1976. (Thereafter it toured to Atlanta and Dallas and ended at the Brooklyn Museum.) The development, obstacles, and lasting resonance of this show gives the documentary its structure. While interviewing Driskell, Tom Brokaw offers a vapid preamble: the Black artist in America has had to put up with being taken seriously as an artist and as an individual. Driskell looks like his face has been pressed into a forced march toward patient enlightenment of his audience. Valerie Cassel Oliver, a curator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, explains the profound ignorance of what Black artists had already been contributing to the culture: Up until that point, you really do not have an exhibition which is authored by a Black curator which talks about the history and contemporary manifestations of Black art production in the visual arts.

And then the film proceeds in a conventional lockstep, introducing one talking head after another to make the case as Driskells exhibition did that in order for African Americans to scale the walls ringing the center of culture, several things are needed: art stars, collectors, curators, exhibitions, institutions, and a verifiable history. (It doesnt do much with criticism at all, and mentions no critics, though the recently deceased Maurice Berger sort of wears that hat.)

The film uses Richard Mayhews discussion of his work (included in Two Centuries), Kerry James Marshalls meaningful recollection of visiting the show, and Sanford Biggerss remembrance of its catalog to demonstrate the powerful and abiding traditions of perspective and ambition that span generations. As Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell summarizes: Driskell demonstrated that absolutely there was a lineage and that history was filled not only with painting and sculpture, but also the decorative arts and architecture, drawings.

Black Art also does an admirable job of showing that not only do pivotal exhibitions recognize and verify a lineage, but they also inspire subsequent generations. The conversation around Thelma Goldens 1993 show Black Male, mounted at the Whitney Museum of American Art, is compelling. Having seen that show myself, I relished the analysis of it, and could have done with more.

In a similar fashion, the film shows how the venerable Studio Museum in Harlem supported and propelled Marshall and Biggers, along with others like Kehinde Wiley and Jordan Casteel, while also recounting with refreshing honesty how it rejected Faith Ringgolds work. This is one of the very quiet undercurrents of the film, something Ive found in my own experience among Black folks in the art scene: We construct our own hierarchies and exclusivity, while also generating a certain kind of calloused resiliency. As Ringgold says, I stay out until I get in.

For me, the problem is that the films production team (director Sam Pollard, executive producer Henry Louis Gates Jr., and consulting producer Thelma Golden) is so enamored with the notion of getting to the mainstream that they truncate a story that should be longer, oversimplifying a complex and contradictory history. Whats more, they completely leave out pivotal figures like Lowery Stokes Sims, the first Black curator hired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (and who also once ran the Studio Museum). How do you ignore her? How do you celebrate Marshall and his triumphant obsidian figuration and leave aside Toyin Ojih Odutola, who makes that Black figure sparkle and waft off the page, or Chris Ofili, who makes the Black figure legendary?

For that matter, how do the producers justify truncating the notion of Black art by ignoring its diasporic valences which contain Caribbean, British, and Canadian artists who have settled in the US? Why feature Casteel, who does not deal with the dilemma of representation as a way to parse identity as much as Lorna Simpson or Njideka Akunyili Crosby do? Why leave aside Jack Whitten and only give us a glimpse of Mark Bradford, when the conversation could have taken up history painting? What about abstraction among unique talents such as Howardena Pindell and Senga Nengudi? Why leave aside Kimberly Drew and the significant contribution her digital archive has made to propagating Black art? How do you leave out the powerful saga of African American performance, disregarding powerhouses such as Lorraine OGrady? My guess is that the filmmakers wanted to limit what might have been the bewildering complexity of Black aesthetic production engendered by Driskells show, or that they wanted to shine a light on a talented tenth of their choosing.

The film also hardly discusses the very relevant socioeconomic fault lines that fissure the Black arts scene, though one moment surfaces the cognitive dissonance that might come with success. Hank Willis Thomas says, When someone buys your work, its never really about the money for an artist; its about the vote of confidence. I know that for many artists who are on the financial cliffs edge, its very much about both.

In this mode of celebrating those who have made it into the mainstream of US popular culture, the film ends with a kind of coronation: the opening of the exhibition showcasing the work of Amy Sherald, which includes her acclaimed portrait of Michelle Obama. This film could have been more than a testament to their (and a few others) triumphs. It could have been more generous. Sometimes when we become masters of a world, we find others to consign to the darkness where we ourselves used to be.

Black Art: In the Absence of Light is available to stream on HBO MAX.

As arts communities around the world experience a time of challenge and change, accessible, independent reporting on these developments is more important than ever.

Please consider supporting our journalism, and help keep our independent reporting free and accessible to all.

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A Premature Celebration of the Ascension of Black Artists - Hyperallergic

ST. AMANTIn the past nine years, six people have died because a car or truck drove off the road and into a bayou in and around this eastern Ascension Parish community, local officials say.

In the same period, five others were pulled to safety following other accidents when their vehicle went into the water in St. Amant.

Fire Chief James LeBlanc said all of those crashes have happened along two, poorly lit and curvy stretches of state highways in far southeastern Ascension: Stringer Bridge Road, or La. 935, and Weber City Road, or La. 429.

Ascension Parish government officials are revisiting a recurring question in a parish where many older and narrower state highway and local roads run along the bayous and canals crisscrossing the east bank.

Parish officials have again tentatively begun investigating the idea of putting up guardrails or other kinds of protective devices along dangerous stretches in St. Amant and perhaps elsewhere to prevent the kind of accident that claimed the lives of a mother and her son in the early morning hours of Jan. 27. They died after a daring rescue by a deputy.

"It seems to be, you know, something that happens a lot more, you know, than we care," Councilman Chase Melancon, who represents the St. Amant area, recently told other parish officials. "And I am glad we're at least having the conversation."

In the middle of the night, in a misty rain and fog, a deputy dove in a canal to punch out the window of a truck sinking in the water and pull

These talks are in the early stages as parish officials said they are still trying to figure out what their options are, what problem areas are out there and what the long-term cost and legal liability of various fixes might be.

Guardrails, for instance, costs $25 per foot plus $2,500 end treatments for each section of rail, state highway officials said, in addition to any traffic control or construction mobilization costs.

The parish would have to petition state highway officials to install measures that come in addition to what is already along state highways in Ascension, parish officials said. Among the considerations Parish President Clint Cointment has said he wants to examine are long-term maintenance costs and legal liability for parish government.

But the imperative to act is fresh since a pickup truck went off Webre City Road on Jan. 27 into New River Canal, almost directly across the road from St. Amant Middle and St. Amant High's football stadium, known as The Pit.

The truck sank and, despite the heroics of local sheriff's deputies, firefighters and others to pull people free and apply life-saving measures, injurieseventually claimed the lives of the driver, Alayna Duncan, 24, and her 4-year-old, Jayson Moulder.

GONZALES Sheriff's Deputy Daniel Haydel was just finishing his 12-hour patrol shift on the roads of Ascension Parish, was parked in his driv

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Trooper Taylor Scrantz, Troop A spokesman, said, but he has said previously that alcohol appeared to be a factor.

Another of Duncan's children and an adult passenger survived, State Police have said.

Not long after the crash, crosses went up to mark the spot where they hit the water, within sight of the football stadium. Duncan, a St. Amant native who worked as a restaurant manager in Gonzales, graduated from St. Amant High more than six years ago and was on the school's flag team, according to her obituary.

A little to the north, crosses and signs along Stringer Bridge Road still mark the places of two crashes into Black Bayou that claimed the lives of three around a decade ago, including two children.

In March 2008, the body of Jody P. Bourgeois, 19, of St. Amant, was found in his submerged car after he apparently went off in a curvy section of Stringer Bridge.

On another February night in 2012, a woman driving with four children in her car drove off Stringer Bridge into the bayou.

A bystander helped two of the children escape, but he and arriving firefighters were unable to free the woman's two daughters, ages 9 and 7.

The driver told troopers at the time that the children were fighting and she took the curve too fast and lost control.

A blood test later determined she had ingested a handful of prescription medications. Ascension prosecutors never ended up charging her, though, because they lacked enough blood evidence to prove she was impaired by those drugs, prosecutors said then.

GONZALES Prosecutors have been unable to determine whether a mix of prescription drugs intoxicated a St. Amant woman and impaired her abilit

The second crash prompted public and local political backlash and petition with a few thousand signatures that called for guardrails along the winding state highway, which has steep side slopes down to the bayou.

After state highway officials studied the options, their analysis of data between 2007 and 2009 found an elevated number of crashes that went off the road, a state Department of Transportation and Development report says.

But narrow Stringer Bridge doesn't have enough space for guardrails, the report found, and installing them could lead to other kinds of dangerous accidents.

"Guard-rail so close to the road could possibly cause a vehicle to bounce off and collide with another vehicle," the report says. "Guard-rail could possibly breakaway and trap a vehicle in the Bayou or cause the vehicle to vault over" the rail.

Former Parish Councilman Randy Clouatre, who was part of the discussions on Stringer Bridge then, also recalled similar worries about the risks that new guardrails could pose along the highway.

The final fix wasn't barriers of any kind, but signs warning about Stringer Bridge's curves, including signs with flashing lights, a centerline rumble strip, reflective tape on signs and restriping the road edge.

ST. AMANT Tandy Ragas, 44, of St. Amant, frantically told a 911 operator Tuesday night about a car carrying children that drove off La. 935

LeBlanc, the St. Amant fire chief, said Stringer Bridge Road hasn't had a crash into Black Bayou since DOTD installed those protective measures in 2012 and 2014.

Jennifer Patton, 47, lives across New River from Weber City Road and was awakened by the Jan. 27 crash when her dogs started barking at the first responders who arrived later.

Patton said the Jan. 27 crash isn't the first time some went into the water by her house she recalled another where the driver survived a few years ago but she had doubts about what kind of barriers could be installed along Weber City.

The sloping bank dropping down to New River is used for parking for high school football games and other events at The Pit, she said.

"So it's loaded with people for everything they have, graduations, you name it," Patton said. "They don't have enough parking over there, so a lot of people park up and down these canals."

LeBlanc said that if the parish is going to examine the problem, other sites in the Sorrento area also deserve scrutiny, as well as the role of driver error in any of the crashes.

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Too many deaths and too many accidents: How Ascension is rethinking its roadside protections - The Advocate

BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD)- Ascension Parish President, Clint Cointment, declared a State of Emergency ahead of the freezing temperatures.

All parish offices and buildings will be closed on Monday, Feb 15.

Here is the official statement:

Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment today declared a State of Emergency inanticipation of subfreezing temperatures which are expected to impact the parish, coupled withforecasted precipitation which may include freezing rain, sleet, or snow.President Cointment also ordered all Parish offices and buildings closed to all non-essentialparish employees on Monday February 15.

I take this action to ensure the health, safety, and welfare our employees and citizens, saidPresident Cointment in his order. He urged people to stay home if possible, and to avoiddriving or being on the streets as much as possible. Please monitor the DOTD, State Police,and Ascension Sheriffs websites and Facebook pages for road and bridge closures, headded.

According to the National Weather Service, low temperatures in Ascension Parish areexpected to be in the upper teens Monday night.

Officials with Parish Utilities of Ascension and ACUD #1 are urging their water customers, andeveryone, to prepare for the expected freezing temperatures in the coming days. Customersare urged to protect exposed pipes and are asked to help to conserve water by not runningfaucets beyond a slow drip during freezing times. People also are encouraged to check on theirneighbors, particularly the elderly and shut-in.

Remember the Five Ps, said President Cointment. Protect People, Pets, Pipes, and Plants.

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Ascension Parish declares a State of Emergency, closes offices ahead of the freezing weather - BRProud.com

Friday, February 19th 2021 - 10:19 UTC The aim is for Ascension to become the first entire island to be vaccinated against COVID-19 (Pic: Ascension Island Government)

A remote UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic could become the first whole island vaccinated against coronavirus, after the Royal Air Force flew 4,000 miles to deliver doses from RAF Brize Norton.

Just under 2,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were transported to Ascension Island, a sovereign base used as a bridging point in the South Atlantic.

An RAF A400M made the trip, with the journey taking around 12 hours. The flight was delayed by 24 hours, after the military aircraft had to undergo maintenance.

Upon leaving refrigeration at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the vaccine could spend no longer than 72 hours out of refrigeration or it would have expired and become unusable.

The vaccines were stored at a controlled temperature for the duration of the trip, at which point they were put straight into refrigeration in Georgetown before being delivered to inhabitants of the island.

Doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were delivered to the island, with enough vaccines for two doses dropped on the one flight.

Wing Commander Lee Roberts said: There's a lot of work going on down in the Ascension Islands, and, for us, it's quite an important hub for us moving around the world.

Ascension is located near the equator and strategically positioned approximately 4,000 miles from both the UK and the Falkland Islands.

The island's role is to deter military aggression against the UK's South Atlantic Overseas Territories in order to maintain UK sovereignty. It has a population of nearly 800, and includes staff, military personnel and contractors.

Base commander on the island, Wing Commander Colin Melvin, said he was really delighted to see the vaccine delivered.

Having everyone vaccinated on island, will give us reassurance here on island, that were keeping everyone safe on island and moving forward allows us to continue our operations here on Ascension.

He added that the vaccines would give personnel on the island more options for coping with the pandemic. Ascension's COVID protection strategy and the protocols that we have applied with the support of the government and other employing organizations have been very thorough.

We have been doing managed quarantine now since the start of the pandemic and we continue to do so now, and the vaccine arriving on island will hopefully, in the future, give us some additional options, they may be able to see some light at the end of the tunnel. (Forces Net)

Link:

Ascension Island vaccinated with AstraZeneca, first BOT to complete inoculation - MercoPress

Wg Cdr Roberts said the purpose of bringing the vaccine to Ascension Island, which sitsmidway between central South America and central Africa,was a case of staying ahead of the game.

The island is Covid-free and lets try and keep it that way, he said.

However, after crew on the ground were unable to sort the problem with one of the engines, cargo had to be unpacked and moved into storage, while passengers disembarked, setting the operation back by a whole 24 hours.

The timing of the vaccine is crucial.Once it has been removed from refrigeration it can only be in transit for a maximum of three days; any longer and it will be spoiled.

Packing the flight to carry the vaccine to Ascension Island was meticulous. The cargo hangar at Brize Norton,typically used for shipping out perishables, medicines and blood stocks to different theatres around the world, was rerolled during the pandemic in order to support the movement of vaccines.

Flying Officer George Cox, who helped prepare the aircraft, said: We are always agile and mobile in our responses, repurposing all of the equipment we have for defence and that does extend through to the cargo hangar.

The next morning, with 48 hours left on the clock, military personnel and contractors who work on the islandboarded the same aircraft, the precious vaccines strapped down in a crate on pallets covering the floor, and waited to see if there would be a successful take off.There was.

Despite cutting it fine, Operation Broadshare was back under control, until the plane touched down to refuel in Cape Verde, a group of islands off the West coast of Africa and on the Governments red list, which requires any travellers to quarantine in designated hotels upon arrival in the UK.

After seven hours flying, passengers stayed on board in order to avoid stepping foot on the island and being made to quarantine.However, after a successful refuel there was a problem with the engine once again and rumours started circulating that all on board would be made to vacate the plane and stay overnight in Cape Verde.

Ascension Island was another four and a half hoursflight away and time was ticking. Fortunately, the problem was eventually solved and the vaccines, enough for two doses for each of the 900-person population, arrived in Ascension Island late on Tuesday evening, as seen below.

Original post:

Exclusive: RAF's daring race against time to vaccinate Ascension Island in world-first mission - Telegraph.co.uk

AUSTIN (KXAN) St. Davids South Austin Medical Center lost water pressure Wednesday, resulting in having to transfer at least 30 patients to other area hospitals and others being discharged to go home.

Chief Executive Officer David Huffstutler wrote in a statement to KXAN the water also feeds the facilitys boiler, so it was also losing heat. Right now, the hospital has nearly 300 patients.

In an update Thursday, Huffstutler said in a statement despite the heating system being boiler-, and therefore water-driven, we were able to get a water truck in to alleviate the issues on the heating system.

Through this, they were able to make a closed-loop system in the hospital to keep warm, according to Huffstutler. At this time, the hospital is no longer experiencing heating issues, St. Davids said.

The water trucks will be able to recharge the facilitys water pressure to allow the use of toilets and other non-potable water needs. Huffstutler said they have plenty of bottled water for the moment.

While water and heat issues at St. Davids South seemed to be resolved, the City of Austins water issues are affecting water pressure at St. Davids Medical Center and Heart Hospital of Austin now, Huffstutler said. Water trucks are being deployed to these facilities in addition to St. Davids South.

Additionally, St. Davids said four of its hospitals (St. Davids Medical Center, St. Davids South Austin Medical Center, St. Davids North Austin Medical Center and Heart Hospital of Austin) are included in the City of Austin boil water notice.

We are working with our supply chain to provide water for our patients, staff and hospital operations. We began supplementing our onsite water inventory last week, and supplies are continuing to arrive, a statement from Huffstutler said.

All hospitals in the St. Davids system have been able to keep power throughout the winter storms, and have not had to use emergency power generation. Medical staff have been sheltering at the hospitals so they could avoid travel on dangerous, iced-over roads.

They have been rotating working and sleeping, which made it possible for us to maintain staffing and coverage, Huffstutler said in the statement. Our employees have been nothing shot of phenomenal.

On Wednesday, an incident command team was working at the hospital to find a solution with the City of Austin to the lack of water pressure. They were also working with the city to find transportation for patients who are medically able to be taken home.

Other patients most in need were taken to other hospitals, Huffstutler said. But he explained this issue is affecting other hospitals in the Austin area, and no one hospital currently has the capacity to accept transport of a large number of patients.

Other emergency tasks and efforts include:

St. Davids South said through its national partner, HCA Healthcare, it was able to secure food, linens, medication and supplies for patients.

I am personally directing every resource available within our healthcare system to find solutions to best care for and serve our patients during this challenging time. Huffstutler said in the statement.

Additionally, St. Davids HealthCare is working with regional suppliers to provide water for patients, staff and hospital operations after Austin Water issued a citywide boil water notice. Drinking water was delivered to facilities last week, and more supplies are on the way this week. They are working to get water trucks on site at the hospitals as quickly as possible.

Some Ascension Seton facilities are also experiencing water issues Wednesday evening.

While extreme weather conditions have caused intermittent water issues at several Ascension Seton sites of care, facility teams are working quickly to resolve the issues, a spokesperson with the hospital system said in an email Wednesday evening.

All Ascension Seton hospitals have emergency response plans in place to facilitate patient care, including backup generators at each care site, the hospital system said.

Every year, the hospitals prepare for a variety of emergency situations, which include regular testing of backup power sources and updating response plans.

Ascension Seton leadership continues to review operations for our network of hospitals and evaluate staffing and resources based on the rapidly evolving weather conditions and community needs, the spokesperson said.

As a result of these issues, Ascension Seton is rescheduling elective surgeries at all sites of care to preserve inpatient hospital bed capacity. Staff is planning to notify all patients impacted by this and will continue to evaluate operations daily.

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Update: St. David's South resolves water, heat issues for now as 2 other St. David's facilities lose water pressure - KXAN.com

GONZALES- A family in Ascension Parish is grateful to be alive after an ice-encased tree uprooted and came crashing down on their house while they were inside.

Amanda Good recalled the terrifying moments it unfolded.

"At about 9 a.m., we were all in the house, and it sounded like someone was dragging a table across the floor," Good said. "Sounded like an earthquake and then we figured out that the tree fell on the house."

Another family member who was in a bed in a different room said the bed she was in hit the wall after the tree fell. When Good and the rest of her family saw what caused it, they were shocked no one was hurt. Her kids were frightened by the incident.

"They were scared," Good said. "I don't think they realized what happened at first, and when we started freaking out, they started freaking out."

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said the big concern tonight is the accumulated ice that could fall and cause additional power outages. As a result, the parish has a plan in place to open warming shelters. However, as of 6 p.m., no one from the parish called saying those were needed.

"Now, we really have to worry about icy conditions on roads and trees, and now we have several reports of branches on power lines," Webre said.

A curfew is scheduled for 9 pm to keep people off of the roadways. Essential workers and plant workers are exempt from it.

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Ascension Parish family grateful to be alive after ice-covered tree destroys house - WBRZ

Celebrating one year ofASCENSION, Wakaan label headLiquid Stranger presents a powerhouse remix pack for Psychonaut, showcasing some of bass musics finest in one fell swoop.

Featuring eight brand new remixes from 12th Planet, AstroLizard, Blanke, Hydraulix, Krischvn, LICK, Luzcid, and Mersiv, the compilation takes us down the Psychonaut rabbit hole. Each remix taps the original, while offering new and exciting perspectives.

Liquid Stranger shares of the release:

We are all Psychonauts in our own way. We all at some point have recently braved the unknown, and explored new realities. As a celebration of ASCENSION being a year old, I wanted to celebrate with a bass-centric remix pack showcasing diversity!

Theres no need to play favorites, as each producer has a riveting, bass heavy take on the production.

Listen here!

Photo via Rukes.com

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Liquid Stranger Celebrates Anniversary of 'ASCENSION' with "Psychonaut" Remix Pack [LISTEN] - Your EDM

Liquid Strangermakes his glorious return to the release radar with a slew of new reworks. Celebrating the one-year anniversary since the release of his renownedASCENSION EP, the renowned Swedish dubstep powerhouse is back with a blistering 9-track remix EP of Psychonaut. This time around, hes enlisted remix duties from the likes of12th Planet,AstroLizard,Blanke,Hydraulix,Krischvn,LICK,LUZCID, andMersiv.

The 8-track EP immediately kicks off with the original track, featuring a bevy of bleeps and bloops, warbly basslines, and infectiously high-octane energy. The propelling rhythm eventually slows down, leaving the listener in a heady daze while audibly instilling a palpably raw sonic intensity. Near the end, a voice can be heard announcing the concept of a psychonaut, which further enhances the overall atmospherically cosmic ambiance of the tune.

Stream/Download

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Liquid Stranger Celebrates "Ascension" EP Anniversary with Remixes from 12th Planet, Blanke, LUZCID, and more. - CULTR

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Ascension Genesys vaccination clinic closed Tuesday due to weather - WNEM Saginaw

Staff Report| Donaldsonville Chief

The Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office responded Dec. 15 to Tiger Honda in Gonzales about a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro that had been stolen from the used car lot.

The Property Crimes Unit began investigating and learneda former sales employee was suspected ofbeing involved in the theft. As the investigation continued, it was learned that 40-year-old Derek Austin and his relative, 59-year-old Edward McGary stole the vehicle.

McGary was arrested Feb. 8 by Hammond Police Department and was taken to the Ascension Parish Jail and charged with theft of a motor vehicle valued between $5,000 and $25,000.

Austin turned himself into the Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office Feb. 9. He was booked with theft of a motor vehicle and theft. He was released on a $25,000 bond Feb. 11.

McGary is being held in the Ascension Parish Jail due to a probation violation.

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Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office arrests two in theft from used car lot - Donaldsonville Chief

Amid statewide power outages, many hospitals throughout Texas have lost water and heatforcing providers to conserve resources even as they see an influx of patients experiencing hypothermia and trying to escape the cold.

'No one is coming to help you': How hospitals can prepare for natural disasters amid Covid-19

According to the Washington Post, severe storms have put more than 100 million people across the United States under some version of a winter weather advisory, with at least 10 statesincluding Texasreporting widespread power outages.

As of Wednesday morning, at least three million Texas residents were without power amid a large-scale failure of the state's power grid, and several cities in the state have reported water supply disruptions, as well. According to state officials, it could be several more days before power is restored.

In response to these issues, people displaced from their homes by a lack of power and heat are seeking shelter at hospitalseven as hospitals grapple with influxes of patients from the country's coronavirus epidemic and a wave of other, weather-related conditions such as hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. In Harris County alone, for instance, there have been more than 300 carbon monoxide poisoning cases as residents turn to "dangerous heat sources" amid the power outages and low temperatures, Forbes reports.

It is a "very serious public health emergency," George Kovacik, a spokesperson for Memorial Hermann, said. "We have seen both adults and children in our [EDs] as people without power do anything they can to keep their families warm."

According to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council, hospitals in the region are facing three key challenges: accessing water for HVAC systems, sourcing oxygen, and getting supplies transported. In response, hospitals hard-hit by power outages and water-supply issues are trying to move their most vulnerable patients to other locations and taking steps to conserve resources, the Post reports.

For example, St. David's South Austin Medical Centerwhich on Wednesday ran out of water and lost heat, forcing the hospital to ask staff to use trash bags to clean toiletsis trying to find transportation to move vulnerable patients to other facilities, bring water trucks to the facility, and secure portable toilets. In addition, the hospitalwhich has canceled "all non-emergent procedures," according to the Austin American-Statesmanis discharging some patients early.

"I am personally directing every resource available within our health care system to find solutions to best care for and serve our patients during this challenging time," said David Huffstutler, CEO of St. David's.

Two other hospitals, Ascension Seton Southwest Hospital and Dell Children's Medical Center, are similarly reporting lost water pressure. According to the Post, Ascension on Wednesday said it would reschedule all of its scheduled procedures to conserve staff and keep beds open.

"While extreme weather conditions have caused intermittent water issues at several Ascension Seton sites of care, facility teams are working to quickly resolve the issues," Ascension Seton said in a statement. "All Ascension Seton hospitals have emergency response plans in place to provide uninterrupted patient care, including access to backup generators for each care site."

Meanwhile, Dell Children's, which has also lost power, in a memo said it was "doing [its] best to keep everyone safe and warm," although the facility acknowledged that toilets at the hospital no longer have "flushing capabilities."

In Arlington, Texaswhich had just one water plant running before the storms hitTexas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital and Medical City of Arlington have reported low water pressure following the region's water boil order, the Post reports. To help, a fire tanker has already transported water to at least one area hospital so providers can continue to care for patients.

According to the Post, an additional five hospitals in the San Antonio region have faced weather-related challenges, from low water pressure to power outages that forced at least one facility to use a backup generator.

And in Houston, according to the Post, several Houston Methodist hospitals have reported burst pipes, with at least two of the health system's facilities are running without any water. According to Roberta Schwartz, EVP at Houston Methodist, the hospital system remains operational, conserving its resources by using water bottles for patients, limiting showers, and asking staff to wash their hands with sanitizer rather than soap and water.

"Quite honestly, I think we probably could have handled everything up until the water," Schwartz said. "The water has thrown a completely new loop onto everything."

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) is trying to conserve water for the area's hospitals by asking residents not to run water to prevent their pipes from freezing, "dipp[ing] into a water supply bookmarked for irrigating parks," and ordering grocery stores to give any available water they have to hospitals. In addition, the Houston Fire Department has sent water to the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.

"We're all working together, just like we've done before," Turner said on Wednesday, "pulling resources from wherever they exist and then sharing those resources" (Bella/Shepard, The Washington Post, 2/18; Hoyt, The Dallas Morning News, 2/16; Plohetski, Austin American-Statesman, 2/17; Guzman-Tracy, News 4 San Antonio, 2/17; Childers/Edsitty, ABC 13, 2/18; McEvoy, Forbes, 2/16; Hernndez et al., Washington Post, 2/17).

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No power, no water, no heat: How Texas hospitals are coping with the extreme winter storm - The Daily Briefing

Water outages have been reported across the Austin area.

AUSTIN, Texas Three area hospitals have issued statements after reports of water outages inside their facilities.

St. David's

Staff at St. David's South Austin found notices saying the medical center had run out of water, a nurse told KVUE on Wednesday.

A nurse reported that they were at St. David's when the water was cut off. The nurse found a notice that said the water went out. The notice then listed some instructions for using the restroom, such as to not put toilet paper in the toilet when urinating, and to use trash bags to remove feces from the toilet and to then place it in a biohazard bag.

A spokesperson for St. David's issued the following statement Wednesday evening:

"Along with a number of other hospitals in the Austin area, St. Davids South Austin Medical Center lost water pressure today from the City of Austin. Water feeds the facility's boiler, so as a result, it is also losing heat. The hospital currently has just under 300 patients.

An incident command team is doing the following:

Through our national partner, HCA Healthcare, we are able to secure and source food, linens, medication and supplies needed to care for and serve our patients.

Because this is a state-wide emergency situation that is also impacting other hospitals within the Austin area, no one hospital currently has the capacity to accept transport of a large number of patients. The health, comfort and safety of our patients and staff are always our top priority. I am personally directing every resource available within our healthcare system to find solutions to best care for and serve our patients during this challenging time.

A few hours later, Austin Water announced that the city would be entering a boil water notice city-wide. Austin Water said Feb. 18 it is working with the City's Emergency Operations Center to address the needs of critical customers, including hospitalsand power plants.

On Thursday, St. David's said it is working with its supply chain to provide water for patients, staff and hospital operations. It began supplementing onsite water inventory last week and supplies are continuing to arrive.

St. David's South Austin Medical Center was able to get a water truck to alleviate the issues on the heating system, creating a closed-loop system in the hospital to keep its boiler warm. The hospital is no longer experiencing heating issues.

Out of caution, on Wednesday St. David's transported approximately 30 patients who were either vulnerable or could easily be cared for at another facility. It is working with the City of Austin to resolve the water outage, but has been unsuccessful in resolving the water system issue affecting service and water pressure.

The hospital said in a statement on Thursday:

"Due to the ongoing water system issue affecting service and water pressure to much of the city, we have now lost water pressure at St. Davids Medical Center and continue to experience low-water pressure at Heart Hospital of Austin. We dont have any heat issues at those facilities, and so far, have been successful in maintaining regular operations. We are deploying water tank trucks onsite at three hospitals St. Davids South Austin Medical Center, St. Davids Medical Center and Heart Hospital of Austin to connect and pressurize their systems due to water outages and/or low-pressure. While the duration of this issue remains unknown at this time, all St. Davids HealthCare facilities are prepared to handle the situation and have a sufficient supply of water to help ensure that we can continue to provide our patients with exceptional care.

"All hospitals have maintained power throughout the weather event, and we have not had to go on emergency power generation because we were exempted from any mandated power blackouts.

"One of our biggest challenges has been the inability to discharge patients due to mobility and transportation issues, as well as power and water outages at their homes, and limited access to shelters in the area. Fortunately, so far, we have been able to manage through that, and things should get better over the next couple of days.

"We have sheltered hundreds of employees in our hospitals so they did not have to travel to and from the facilities while the roadways were unsafe and could remain onsite to continue to care for patients. They have been rotating working and sleeping, which made it possible for us to maintain staffing and coverage. Our employees have been nothing short of phenomenal. They are tired, but spirits are good, and it is their resiliency and tenacity that has helped us weather this storm and remain focused on keeping the needs of our patients first."

Baylor Scott & White

Meanwhile Baylor Scott & White Emergency Medical Center - Cedar Parkis temporarily closed due to a winter weather-related water leak. The medical center is working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and safely reopen.

Patient care is continuing at other Baylor Scott & White medical centers with some rescheduling of non-urgent surgeries.

Ascension Seton

Ascension Seton responded Wednesday, saying it also was experiencing water problems:

"Our highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of the patients and communities we are privileged to serve. While extreme weather conditions have caused intermittent water issues at several Ascension Seton sites of care, facility teams are working quickly to resolve the issues. All Ascension Seton hospitals have emergency response plans in place to provide uninterrupted patient care, including access to backup generators for each care site. Throughout the year, our hospitals prepare for a variety of emergency situations, which includes testing of backup power sources and reviewing and updating emergency response plans on a regular basis.

Ascension Seton leadership continues to review operations for our network of hospitals and evaluate staffing and resources based on the rapidly evolving weather conditions and community needs. Effective today, Ascension Seton is rescheduling elective surgeries at all sites of care to preserve inpatient hospital bed capacity and redirect clinical personnel. We will notify all patients impacted by this change, and continue to evaluate operations on a daily basis."

Water issues have been reported across the City of Austin as a winter storm moves through Texas, particularly at apartment complexes. City officials have said they are working to ensure that hospitals and other critical infrastructure do not lose power.

Boil water notices have also been issued in surrounding cities in Central Texas.

Read more:

Austin-area hospitals respond after reports of water outages, employees using bags for restroom purposes - WFAA.com

Tony Plohetski,Luz Moreno-Lozano|Austin American-Statesman

Energy expert: Why Texas' power grid couldn't withstand winter storm

What's causing Texas' power outages amid extreme winter weather? An energy researcher at the University of Texas explains.

Alyssa Vidales and Brandon Mulder, Austin American-Statesman

Austin hospitals have suffered losses to critical operations including water and heat that prompted more than two dozenpatients to be transferred to neighboring facilities and others to remain in what some described as near-dire conditions.

A compounding issue of low water pressure impacted in some facilities the ability for boilers to generate heat, as temperatures in hallways and patient rooms plummeted.

The issues appeared most acute at St. David's South Austin Medical Center. But other facilities had related issues.

"Out of caution, yesterday we transported approximately 30 patients who were either vulnerable or could easily be cared for at another facility," David Huffstutler, CEO of St. David's HealthCare, said in an email Thursday. "We continue to work with the City of Austin in an effort to resolve the water outage, but they have been unsuccessful in resolving the water system issue affecting service and water pressure to our hospital."

On Wednesday, St. David's South Austin Medical Center reporteda loss of water pressureand heat and said they were taking several steps to get water to the hospital. It said several other area hospitals were also facing the same issue.

Ongoing issues with the city's water system have caused a loss of water pressure at St. David's Medical Center downtown. And water pressure is still an issue at Heart Hospital of Austin, officials said in an email Thursday.

Huffstutler said that they have deployedwater tank trucks onsite at three hospitals St. Davids South Austin Medical Center, St. Davids Medical Center and Heart Hospital of Austin to connect and pressurize their systems due to water outages andlow pressure.

"While the duration of this issue remains unknown at this time, all St. Davids HealthCare facilities are prepared to handle the situation and have a sufficient supply of water to help ensure that we can continue to provide our patients with exceptional care," he said.

St. David's has been able to maintain food, water and other supplies across the system even as the Austin area has been blanketed with snow and ice for nearly a week. All hospitals have also maintained power throughout the weather event, and have not had to go on emergency power generation,Huffstutler said.

As of Thursday, officials said while four hospital campuses St. Davids Medical Center, St. Davids South Austin Medical Center, St. Davids North Austin Medical Center and Heart Hospital of Austin are located within the area of the City of Austin boil water notice, they havebeen able to and will continue to provide water for patients, staff and hospital operations.

Huffstutler said the hospital has plenty of water resources in terms of bottled water for use with patients and potable needs.

The water issue is also impacting "a number of other hospitals in the area," he said in a written statement Wednesday.

"Because this is a state-wide emergency situation that is also impacting other hospitals within the Austin area, no one hospital currently has the capacity to accept transport of a large number of patients," the statement said.

Officials with Baylor Scott & White said many area hospitals have been experiencing water outages, but teams have continued to use safe alternate water sources until service is restored.Backup power sources have also been engaged at several facilities.

Baylor Scott & White Emergency Medical Center-Cedar Park is temporarily closed due to a winter weather-related water leak, but officials said crews are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and safely reopen.

"At all other Baylor Scott & White medical centersin the Austin area,although we are rescheduling some non-urgent surgeries, patient care is continuing at this time thanks to ourhighly dedicated staff members who are monitoring and responding to challenges as they arise," a spokesperson with the medical group said.

They have and will continue to collaborate with other hospitals on transfer needs.

Ascension Seton Southwest Hospital, in Southwest Austin, said Wednesday they arealso facing intermittent issues with water pressure. The hospital is rescheduling electivesurgeriesto preserve bed capacityand personnel, according to a statement from Ascension Seton.

The water in Austin: Citywide water boil notice issued

"While extreme weather conditions have caused intermittent water issues at several Ascension Seton sites of care, facility teams are working quickly to resolve the issues," thestatement said. "All Ascension Seton hospitals have emergency response plans in place to provide uninterrupted patient care, including access to backup generators for each care site."

Huffstutler said hospital officials are working with the city of Austin to address the issue, but they're already taking additional steps, including finding transportation to send home those people who can be discharged, giving out bottles of water to employees and others so that they can wash their hands, and canceling non-emergency procedures.

Listen to the Statesman's news podcast: The best local news, 8 minutes a day

More: Your guide: Austin American-Statesman's coverage of Texas' winter storm, power crisis

Hospital staff are also trying to secure portable toilet facilities and are asking employees currently on shift to stay at the hospital.

"I am personally directing every resource available within our healthcare system to find solutions to best care for and serve our patients during this challenging time," Huffstutler said.

St. David's currently has about 300 patients.

American-Statesman staff writer Laura Morales contributed to this report.

More: How to help, and what to do if you need it, during Texas' historic freeze

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Update: St. David's, other hospitals struggle with loss of water pressure, heat - Austin American-Statesman

Ascension Parish voters will be asked April 24 to decide whether the way to settle parish government's decades-long struggle to improve sewage treatment is to let someone else handle it.

Through the years, parish leaders have floated various plans to build a regional system financed with government loans and grants or with a private partner. But the cost, a fledging customer base, and the potential necessity for high user fees, new taxes or both have led those ideas to founder time and again.

A new group of parish officials who fought as councilmen and president-elect in late 2019 to block a proposed sewer partnership with Bernhard Capital Partners Management have wrangled with the investment group and among themselves for the past 13 months.

They concluded it's better to exit the sewer business and sell off the parish assets. Under the deal voters will consider, Ascension would sell its package plants, force mains, trunk lines, land and other assets to a local sewer company owned by Bernhard Capital Partners for $9.26 million.

The company, National Water Infrastructure, would ink a 20-year, non-exclusive franchise agreement with the parish and pay an annual franchise fee that will escalate as new customers are added but start at $500,000, parish officials said.

In exchange, the company, which is the successor to and partly owned by longtime local sewer provider Ascension Wastewater Treatment, will spend $200 million on a new regional treatment plant. The new plant would consolidate now-scattered neighborhood sewage treatment systems and reroute the treated wastewater to the Mississippi River.

Parish officials said they will save $3 million per year in general tax revenue spent to subsidize the cost of the small, disconnected parish systems.

In pitching other council members to put the plan on the ballot earlier this week, Council Chairwoman Teri Casso recounted the parish's history with sewer negotiations and how they have led to this point.

"The rest of the story begins tonight, and it will make a difference for our children, and for their children and for our businesses. It will make a tremendous difference for our parish government. It will take off our plate a very expensive effort to accomplish what we have not been able to since 1990," the three-term councilwoman from Dutchtown said.

The initial joining of the parish and National Water systems would total 19,000 customers in unincorporated eastern Ascension. The plan doesn't affect Gonzales or Sorrento municipal customers or people with individual, private systems.

The regional system would fulfill a long-sought goal of parish leaders and state environmental regulators by pulling treated sewage effluent out of overburdened local waterways and ditches and sending it to the Mississippi.

Parish officials said they plan in-person open houses and perhaps virtual ones in the coming weeks to explain the deal. Thursday's vote suggests the entire council and Parish President Clint Cointment are behind the deal.

The state Public Service Commission would also have to approve the deal and any potential rate increases.

"It's fair, it's equitable and governed by the Public Service Commission," said Tom Pertuit, CEO of National Water, "who has a history of putting the ratepayer first, and they will be extremely cognizant of all issues related to the ratepayer, I know that."

Pertuit said ratepayers would see "extremely minimal" rate increases for at least the first two years but acknowledged some increases were likely with the significant capital outlay expected.

NWI residential customers currently pay $45 per month; parish customers pay $42.50 per month. Pertuit added that no one with a private, individual treatment system would be required to hook into National Water's network.

The united parish stance is a turnabout. Eight months ago, amid negotiations with Bernhard, Cointment had pitched a plan to have the parish go it alone and leverage Ascension's existing assets into a regional system.

After the vote Thursday, Cointment, who had months ago warmed to a sale, voiced his support for the deal and halting future use of general parish revenues on a sewer system that had already cost $42 million in subsidies over the past 10 years.

Though the parish system may be poised for customer growth it has accumulated the rights to a swath of new customers recently Ascension is only projected to have2,700 by the end of 2021 and faces significant upfront costs to meet environmental requirements.

"My administration fully supports this sale of the parishs sewer system because along with all of the financial benefits, this is our best chance to improve the environment and remove 3 million gallons of sewer effluent per day from our polluted waterways and ditches," Cointment said in a statement.

In addition to future annual savings, the sale will also allow the parish to redirect $13.5 million now set aside for sewer costs, the Cointment administration says.

NWI also has agreed to pay for $1 million in needed repairs to the parish-run sewage treatment plant at Oak Grove Primary School that serves the school and customers along a parish trunk line under La. 42 in Prairieville.

Councilman Corey Orgeron, who is the utilities chairman but was not part of private negotiations that have dominated the last months of the deal's refinement, was an early proponent of an agreement that would have eventually sold off the parish assets.

That earlier deal was closer to a lease with an option to buy for Bernhard and offered at least a $15 million payment to the parish for its assets nearly $6 million more than what the parish would now receive.

A subsequent appraisal found the replacement cost of the parish's sewer assets totaled nearly $28 million, but physical depreciation, obsolescence and other hits reduced value by nearly two-thirds. The final price of $9.26 million is an average of two valuation methods, the appraisals say.

Orgeron said this agreement remains the right path for the parish and the public: "This is the best deal we've gotten in decades, and it's the best deal we're going to get anytime in the near future."

Under the agreement, NWI has committed to finish a first regional plant within five years. NWI would build another 4 million gallons in treatment capacity, which also would discharge in the Mississippi, after an additional 15,000 customers are added to its system. The parish government would bear no cost for the plant, though ratepayers would have to finance it.

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Sale of Ascension sewer systems heads to voters; here's what included in final deal - The Advocate

Over the past month (and if Im really honest, the past few months) I have grown distant in my walk with God. Between work, seminary, and family I have let the busyness of life envelope me and have focused on the many tasks I must get done. In the few moments that time has allowed Ive let myself relax, but never intentionally committed any time to God. This isnt to say that I havent prayed or talked with God, because I have (and I have continued to pray every night with my kids). Ive even prayed most mornings that God would fill me and use me that day. But I havent always completely meant it; I havent delved into the Scriptures beyond what was needed for school; I havent sat in silence to listen to the Holy Spirit speak; I havent allowed myself to fully feel the presence of God.

So I decided to do something about that. This week I began working through Richard Fosters book Celebration of Discipline. My plan is to read a chapter of that book each week, then focus on that particular discipline that week. Along with that my goal is also to focus on a single chapter of the Bible each week, reading it every day (something suggested by Rev. Scott Chrostek in the recent Wednesday Night series Resolutions).

On Monday I began that process. The focused discipline of this week is meditation, a perfect start to encountering the presence of God. As I prepared to begin, sitting in my office and flipping my Bible to Romans 12, my daughter walked in. She took notice of my posture and said, Daddy, are you praying? I kindly said, Yes, and she smiled at me, turned, and skipped away. I read through that chapter twice, highlighting what stood out to me.

The moment I set the Bible down to begin in meditation my daughter walked in again. I smiled and asked her what she needed. Her answer instantly melted my heart: I wanted to pray with you, Daddy. So she sat there, next to me, as I held her and we prayed together for several minutes. When I said Amen she got up and skipped back out.

Heres what I realized in this wonderfully beautiful moment. For the last few months God has been inviting me into his presence--because he never stops inviting us. I have just been reluctant to say yes. And when on this day I came, ready and fully willing to accept Gods invitation, the Holy Spirit came to me, entering my room through my young daughter's small frame. And there he sat with me as we prayed together, my daughter in my arms, and I in his arms. This, to me, was a beautiful image of the relationship God invites us to. In this time of loneliness, God has always invited us in and will always be with us.

Originally posted here:

Christian community went on after Jesus' ascension - Leawood - Church of the Resurrection