Category Archives: Ascension

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign

The Ascension Parish Sheriffs Office has announced its participation in the Louisiana Highway Safety Commissions Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over traffic safety campaign. Additional deputies, whose primary focus will be to locate and arrest impaired drivers, will be on duty, according to a news release. During the Labor Day holiday period, there is a higher likelihood of impaired drivers on the roadway. This increases the potential for alcohol related crashes involving serious injury or death, the release said.

The additional patrols run until Sept. 7, in efforts to detect, stop and arrest alcohol impaired drivers. Deputies will also conduct traffic enforcement activities to promote safe and attentive driving.

Terrariums first became popular in the 1970s. Make your own decorative terrariums with sand, gravel, rocks and moss and design it with any dcor that will fit into the jar. Stop by at any Ascension Parish Library location during September to pick up your terrarium packet. Call the library in Donaldsonville, at (225) 473-8052; Gonzales, (225) 647-3955; Dutchtown,(225) 673-8699; or Galvez at 622-3339 for the details. Crafts will be available on a first come, first served basis.

As part of efforts to fight litter and clean up Ascension Parish, President Clint Cointment announced that Ascension Parish is accepting white goods at the Recycling Center on Churchpoint Road.

White goods are any large machines used in routine housekeeping, such as cooking, food preservation or cleaning, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting. White goods include refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers and water heaters.

Cointment said the parish has been accepting scrap metal and has a separate bin specifically designated for metals.

The Recycling Center is at the Department of Public Works headquarters, 42077 Churchpoint Road in Gonzales. Operating hours are Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Around Ascension for Aug. 26, 2020 | Ascension | theadvocate.com - The Advocate

The East Ascension Spartans did not finish the 2019 football season as planned, after losing to Ruston in the second round of the 5A playoffs. The team goal for this season is to win a state championship.

Coach Darnell Lee begins his fifth season as the head coach and with so many unknowns heading into an abbreviated season, much is left to ponder. Like most teams, we did not have a spring, 7 on 7 workouts or a normal off-season, these are the times we are in," Lee said.

The Spartans were 9-3 last season and lost some key players, talented guys that are now preparing for college football. Wide receivers Jyrin Johnson (Texas Southern) and Steven McBride (Kansas) will certainly be missed on offense, as well as quarterback Cameron Jones.

Returning to lead the Spartan offense at the skill positions are quarterback Kullen Wheat, running back Kendall Washington, H-back Jaquel Mack and wide receivers Navell Chopin, Troy Dunn and Jordan Goodlow. Add in running back Walter Samuel and athlete Kael Babin to an already explosive offense. That group of names will certainly keep a defensive coordinator up all night trying to devise a plan to slow them down.

A definite strength of our team will be on the offensive line to protect our QB and open holes for our skilled guys, said Lee.

The offensive line will be physical and big. Projected starters include DezMond Schuster (65 300), Gavin Soniat (61 295), Marcus Banks (61 295), Nico Williams (64 265) and Jayven Richardson (66 255). Thats an average of 282 pounds across the front.

Ethan Bagwell was the punter last season and has graduated, Evan Kern will handle those duties. Logan Kern returns as the kicker and is solid.

Defense wins championships is a slogan we always hear when it comes to football, if that is the case, then the Spartans are in great shape heading into 2020. Gone from last years defense is Javon Carter (Grambling) and DaJon Jones (Dodge City CC). The defense is loaded with pieces that have the potential to form a very good defense. The defensive line returns Ashton Milton (320), Demarcus Ester (295) and Jerrell Boykins (290). Boykins is listed as a 3-star recruit that has several colleges hoping he commits to them.

We have experience returning on this defense and it starts up front, the defensive line is a strength, the coach said.

The linebackers include Blake Thompson, Rionte Jones, Marcellus Taylor and Brenton Ragusa. A solid group of linebackers that can run and tackle in space. Jones returns as the leading tackler. The secondary has talent but several new faces and names. We have some youth in the secondary, they are talented players, Lee said.

Justin Walker, Jalen McBride, Antwon Foster and Rashaad Barnes are the projected starters. Due to the season beginning later, we will all miss out on a great week 1 and 2 matchup, the Spartans were set to play Zachary and Haughton respectively. One thing about the Spartans, they dont shy away from competition. Non-district games against Warren Easton and St. Charles will prepare the Spartans for arguably the toughest district in 5A. District 5-5A includes Catholic, McKinley and Woodlawn plus rivals Dutchtown and St. Amant.

The Spartans have all the makings for a championship run, following the lead of their head coach will be vital in achieving the ultimate goal in 2020, a state championship.

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East Ascension Spartans looking for more in 2020; championship is team goal - The Advocate

Marie BrownhillGame Industry News is running the best blog posts from people writing about the game industry. Articles here may originally appear on Marie's blog, Fan Collective Unimatrix 47.

Star Trek has been about family, found and otherwise, almost as much as it is about going where no one has gone before, from the found family in the TOS Triumvirate to Janeways fierce protectiveness for her crew. In Moist Vessel, Lower Decks focuses its lens on the rocky relationship between Ensign Mariner and her mother. Unfortunately, while theres great content in the episode, the shows episodic nature means that most of that growth will get lost in space.

The episode opens with a traditional mission brief in which Captain Freeman explains that the Cerritos and the Merced will be towing a defunct generation ship back to a Starbase for analysis. Starfleet hopes that its scientists will be able to analyze the mysterious terraforming technology and adapt it for use in the Federations own colonization efforts. Ensign Mariner, bored with the brief, proceeds to irritate her mother enough that Freeman conspires with Ransom to find a way to force Mariner to request a transfer. She initially plots to accomplish this goal by assigning Mariner to the worst jobs on the ship, including holodeck waste removal, but Mariner finds way to inject joy into each of these tasks. Freeman escalates her plan by promoting Mariner to full Lieutenant and expecting her to take her place in Starfleet middle management. Predictably, Mariner hates every minute of her promotion.

Ensign Tendi fares a bit better in that she accepts an invitation to watch an Ascension Ceremony. Lieutenant OConnor has ostensibly been seeking to become one with the universe in the most literal sense, and Tendi, in her enthusiasm, ruins the ceremony. OConnor wants nothing to do with her, which drives Tendi to provide help. Frustrated, OConnor demands that she leave him alone, but Tendi only redoubles her efforts.

On board the Merced, Captain Durango directs his ship closer to the generation ship because he needs to demonstrate that he heads up the mission, not Captain Freeman. The change in position results in a piece of the hull breaking off from the generation ship and releasing the terraforming goo into space. The tractor beam pulls the goo onto the Merced, where it begins converting the ship into living matter. Some goo finds its way onto the Cerritos, leaving the crew to find a way to stop the terraforming process. Freeman and Mariner work together to make it to the ships environmental controls, and Mariner suggests gassing the goo and then irradiating it in order to neutralize it. Freeman, proud that her daughter read the mission brief, orders the computer to do so.

Tendi and OConnor try to escape Engineering as the goo transforms the section into a water habitat. Tendi apologizes to OConnor, again, for ruining his ascension, explaining that she only wanted him to like her. OConnor confesses that he has been faking his efforts for years and shamelessly used her to cover for his own failure. Tendi concludes that they are now best friends about to die together, but OConnor pushes her out of the way of a falling rock, sacrificing himself in the process. When the gas neutralizes the goo, the rock disappears, but OConnor ascends due to his selflessness after sharing a kiss with Tendi. He reveals that the universe is balanced on the back of a smiling koala.

Though their actions saved the Cerritos, Mariner and Freeman determine that the Merced is too far gone to be saved. Mariner beams the Merceds crew aboard the generation ship, depositing them into the stasis chamber. Upon arrival at Starbase, an Admiral awards both Freeman and Mariner with a medal, and Mariner mocks the Admirals pronunciation of sensors, offending the admiral and forcing Freeman to demote her daughter back to Ensign.

Most Vessels is a Mariner-focused episode almost to the exclusion of all of the other characters. Rutherford barely appears, and Boimlers only contribution is to dump hot coffee all over Commander Ransom at the absolute worst time to do so. The Tendi B-story exists mostly to take up air time and provide laughs, and the less said about the koala, the better. Her interaction with OConnor just reminds us that Tendi is deeply driven to seek approval, which we already knew. If anything, the kiss she shares with OConnor pre-ascension could pose a wrinkle to any romantic relationship she might pursue with Rutherford, but that is unlikely, considering that OConnor is no longer corporeal.

The real heard of the episode is the fractious relationship between Mariner and her mother, which could be new ground for Star Trek. No other franchise installment wrestles with what it might be like for an adult child to work with a parent in a direct chain of command. That kind of situation can only go well or badly; there is no middle ground. Unsurprisingly, Lower Decks runs with the latter. The episode does a great job of showing just how difficult working with ones mother might be while still being sensitive to the real love between the characters. Mariner is the star of the show, so it would be very easy to write Freeman as simply being a domineering mother. Writer Ann Kim does not do that; she allows Freeman to be awesomely capable in her own right. Even when she nags, Freemans nagging is all advice intended to protect Mariner. However, Mariner demonstrates that shes capable enough not to need that advice. Mariners point, that she can handle the challenges posed by the life she chose for herself, is valid. When Freeman tells her daughter that she should act like the capable adult she actually is, her point is just as valid.

Significantly, Freeman never pretends that middle management is fun, nor does she pretend that certain responsibilities are anything but tedious. No one enjoys audits or sitting through arguments about upgrading conference room furniture, but part of being an adult is recognizing their necessity and doing them anyway. Certainly, Freeman chooses the worst of these tasks to give Mariner, but Freeman will also attend Ransoms birthday party. She presumably sat through the The United Federation of Characters one man show, and we know she participated in the worlds worst poker game. She never really asks Mariner to do a task that she is unwilling to do herself, subtly reinforcing the point that enduring mandatory fun is part of being not only an adult but also an aspect of being on the command staff.

Mariners real problem is that she wants to be taken seriously but only when its convenient for her. We saw that in Temporal Edict, and her conduct in Moist Vessel reinforces the point. Freeman tries to teach her daughter that it doesnt work that way. She cannot straddle the line between being the ship rebel and a capable officer. Freemans efforts ultimately prove futile because this lesson is one Mariner must learn on her own, but Freeman would not be a mother if she didnt try. Mariner wouldnt be herself if she didnt ignore her mothers advice. The show appears to side with Mariner as the final visual is a contented Mariner settling onto her lower deck Ensigns bunk, resetting all of that progress. Ensign Mariner ends the show at odds with her mother, resuming the status quo. Mores the pity.

Three and a half cups of Earl Grey Tea

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Moist Vessel: Ascension the Hard Way - GameIndustry.com

Amy Wilson serves as Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations for Ascension, a system with over 150 hospitals in 20 states. In this role, Wilson oversees Ascension's nursing enterprise and care delivery models. She recently connected with Steven Berkow, Advisory Board's VP of Provider Research, to discuss how her system mobilized nearly 10,000 nurses to deliver Covid-19 care in different care settingsand other lessons learned for transforming care delivery.

What nurse leaders can do today to prepare their frontline for Covid-19

Question: Thanks for speaking with me today, Amy. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, system executives have increasingly shared with me how Covid-19 has been driving or accelerating systemness. How has Ascension, which is such a large system, leveraged its size to address the pandemic?

Amy Wilson: As you know, we started coming together as One Ascension about six years ago. Before we were a holding company. But we've now been working together for years to standardize processes and protocols at the enterprise level whenever it makes good sense, while still making room for local flavor. This journey, combined with our adoption of Agile learning, put us in a far better position to respond quickly to Covid-19.

Question: Let's narrow our focus to nursing. You oversee more than 60,000 nurses. How did you leverage Ascension's expansive nursing resources and capabilities to respond to Covid-19?

Wilson: In the beginning, we were most concerned about staffing during a system-wide surge. We worried about all our markets being hit hard at roughly the same time. So, we leaned on the reach of our system to speed up learning and evolution of a team-based Covid-19 staffing model. For example, we already had some team-based model pilots running in our Jacksonville market. We also incorporated insights about tiered staffing models shared by nurse executives in the first Covid-19 hot spot, Seattle.

Question: So what did this model look like in practice?

Wilson: We ultimately took that tier-based approach and went a step further to develop two different RN roles within the team: Deputized RNs and Functional RNs. The deputized role is for RNs who already have needed specialized skills and can be quickly cross-trained for a more acute Covid-19 unit. For example, PACU nurses are strong candidates to serve as Deputized RNs in the ICU.

In contrast, Functional RNs don't have all the clinical competencies required to independently deliver care in the more acute setting but do have much needed universal nursing skillsfor example, med-surg nurses redeployed to that ICU. By delineating these two roles in the early days of the epidemic, we built confidence among our nurses that they wouldn't be asked to deliver care above their competency level.

It was so successful we quickly incorporated respiratory therapists and CNAs into the model as well. Within a week and a half, we had cross-trained almost 10,000 nurses, respiratory therapists, and CNAsall across the countryto flex in a surge.

Question: Let me slow down a bit here, because 10,000 employees trained in less than two weeks is quite an achievement. With such a limited amount of time, where did you focus your training efforts?

Wilson: We were most concerned about ICU staffing at first, so we focused on ventilator skills, proning, and other critical care skills. We also trained staff on team-based behaviors key to a high-performing ICU and weaved in self-care, such as trauma recovery, to prepare them mentally and spiritually for the journey ahead.

But very quickly we realized that med-surg was also going to see a surge. So we adopted a similar program for the med-surg area, identifying OR circulators, Ascension Medical Group nurses, and nurse practitioners who typically work in the outpatient setting for Deputized or Functional roles and training up as many as feasible.

Question: So it sounds like you created something of a conga line to leverage your workforce here, pulling in your PACU providers to help in the ICU, and then tapping some of your outpatient nurses to pitch-in on med-surg units. But given social distancing requirements, what training modality did you use?

Wilson: We shifted all classroom-based trainings to virtual. We used the Google Classrooms platform to create an interactive virtual experience. And then we would conduct very small simulation check-offswith just 10 people or fewer present.

And the nurses loved it! In fact, one of our lessons-learned going forward is that we should be doing more virtual trainings. Nurses love the flexibility. They don't have to drive into work to participate; they can do it from anywhere.

Question: Once they're trained, how do you deploy these staff? Do they flex within just their hospital, their region, or broader?

Wilson: Originally, we were thinking about it at a regional levela radius that people could drive to. Then Detroit, a big area for us, got hit significantly. Even with heightened RN flexibility and surge staffing plans in place, we didn't have enough nurses to cover the volumes. At the same time, we had facilities in northern Michigan that were not hit.

So that's when we stood up the Ascension travel program. We voluntarily mobilized nurses who lived two, three, four hours from Detroit, paid them a travel rate, and hoteled them nearby. That went so well we started doing it across state lines. We've been able to do some of that through the Nurse Licensure Compact, but I also have to thank our advocacy teams in Michigan and Illinois, which were two non-compact license states where we needed the most help initially. The advocacy teams worked with the governors to create reciprocity on an expedited basis.

We're continuing the Ascension travel program across state lines today. In fact, soon after Texas was hit hard, I got a call that Austin needed additional nurses. Michigan nurses were so thankful for how Texas, Kansas, and several other ministries came to help them when Michigan was surging that many welcomed the chance to help their sister hospitals in Texas.

To date, we've had over 400 nurses, respiratory therapists, and nursing assistants travel from low-volume areas to high-volume areasand we haven't had to hire any nurses. These are all Ascension staff members meeting patient demand where it's at.

Question: And with some non-surging areas struggling to get non-Covid patients to come back in for care, I'm guessing some of them probably need the hours?

Wilson: Correct. And there are other benefits. Going back to your question about systemness, it propels the idea of One Ascension. We get to share learnings across the organization at the grassroots level, very differently than we do through our affinity group process.

In fact, this has gone so well that we're standing up a permanent travel program within Ascension. We will have clinicians who will be dedicated to the travel program in the future. But we're still going to allow our full-time associates who don't travel to have some type of sabbatical or exchange program where they can exchange jobs with another associate.

Question: The training program, the internal travel agencyyou have led a ton of needed change in a very small amount of time. It makes me reflect on how many systems still don't have a system-level chief nurse executive. Do you think that hampers their ability to replicate some of the things you've done?

Wilson: Absolutely. The system-level nurse executive brings a critical perspective to the C-suite in several ways. Most obviously, more than 60% of a health system's workforce is nursing or nursing support. So just from a workforce planning perspective, there's ample work for a system-level CNO.

But perhaps more important, health care is now very much a team sport. We need our physicians and nurses working in lockstep to deliver high value care, but right or wrong, physicians and nurses have different motivations and start points for addressing challenges. If you're not set up to bake in the nursing perspective from the outset and how best to secure nurse buy-in, your organization is going to struggle to advance most strategic initiatives. Again, over 60% of your workforce is nursing or nursing support.

Question: I want to switch gears for a few minutes to talk about another challenge facing system executives: convincing patients that it's safe to come back to the system and get care. How have you been tackling this?

Wilson: It's important to remember all the channels and people you already have in place to help here. That's where we turned first. More specifically, we've been repurposing our patient surveys and focus groups to better understand what patients need to feel safe. We're now taking that data and working with our Marketing and Communication team along with a mix of clinical leaders to develop care and communication protocols to meet these needs. And we're tapping our national Patient Family Advisory Council to pressure test these plans and provide feedback.

Convincing all our patients it's safe to come back is going to require a multi-prong effort. But what we're finding is most important is those one-on-one conversations and phone calls with patients.

Question: For a system of Ascension's size, standardizing one-to-one conversations is a tall order. How do you ensure your frontline providers are on message?

Wilson: We do it by cascading information. Once protocols are developed, they go out to all executives in the organization. After that, it's communicated to the specific people whose work is impacted, all the way to the front line. We also provide standard flyers and messaging across the system, so no matter which facility you walk into across the country, you're going to hear and see the same message on social distancing. You're going to hear and see the same message about universal masking.

Question: I want to give you free reign over our last few moments. Is there anything else you want to share with your health system peers?

Wilson: I want to address staff burnout. Many have focused on the trauma and emotional exhaustion experienced by clinicians caught up in extreme surges. This is exceedingly well deserved. But I want to encourage my peers to remember that Covid-19 has impacted everyone. We have nurses who are feeling guilty because they happen to live in a market that didn't surge. Others are struggling to adjust to working virtually. And others are struggling with Covid-19 challenges outside of work.

I also want to remind my peers that safeguarding time for self-care and well-being has not been a strength of health care professionals. We're really good at telling others how to take care of themselves, and we're really bad at caring for ourselves. But ultimately, we will not have the capacity to provide care for others if we're not caring for ourselves, particularly amid a historic pandemic.

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Q&A: How Ascension mobilized nearly 10000 nurses for Covid-19in less than 2 weeks - The Daily Briefing

GONZALESAfter an Ascension Parish Council member left an expletive-laden voice mail with a parish employee Thursday night, the council chairwoman says she will seek a public censure of him.

In the voicemail, Councilman Joel Robert voices his displeasure with the council secretary because his letter about a controversial neighborhood development that had been before the council Monday night was not read in his absence.

"No. 1, you need to f****** return my f****** phone calls. No. 2, I gave you a f****** letter to read and it did not get read," the message says. "I'm not happy about that."

Robert, a first-term councilman who represents the Pelican Point area and part of Donaldsonville, opposed the Antebellum project proposed off La. 73 in Prairieville. The council failed to overturn the Planning Commission's denial of the project, without Robert's vote.

Robert said he has already apologized to Cinnamon McKey and her husband by text and letter on Friday and said the comments were out of character for him.

"It was anger that was misplaced. Cinnamon is a phenomenal employee of this parish," Robert said.

Robert's short, tart voice message Thursday night also prompted a subsequent exchange between the councilman and the secretary's husband, in which Robert claims he was verbally threatened, the councilman and others said.

The parish sheriff said Friday he doesn't view the comments from the secretary's husband as a threat after hearing a recording that Robert has.

Councilwoman Teri Casso, the council chair, was incensed Thursday night after she got wind of the voicemail and soon afterward drafted the motion of censure. The motion doesn't affect Robert's legal status as a council member, but, if adopted, wouldconstitute a public rebuke for his behavior.

"I am just so disappointed that member of our team would be spoken to like Cinnamon was spoken to. It was just wholly inappropriate," Casso said.

The proposed motion accuses Robert of violating "the very rules which the Ascension Parish Council has mandated its employees to follow" and publicly censures him for "said action in treating parish employees in a unprofessional and discourteous manner."

Cinnamon McKey has been council secretary for more than eight years. She declined to comment Friday, but verified the message was Robert's and that it had come from his cell number.

WBRZ-TV first published the audio recording and Casso's censure plans on Friday afternoon. The Advocate has independently obtained a copy but made an editorial decision not to publish it online.

Casso added that the parish administration has also ended Robert's access to the council secretary's office inside the government complex in Gonzales. Access is controlled through electronic passes.

It's not clear when the council will consider Casso's motion. Casso's husband went to the hospital Friday with breathing difficulties due to COVID-19. He is improving, but the councilwoman said she believes she may have the virus also and have to quarantine for 14 days. She is awaiting results of her own test.

In any case, Casso doesn't believe she would be able to attend a meeting Thursday in Donaldsonville where the motion could be first considered. The full council meets later this month in Gonzales.

Robert's immediate and extended family are prominent figures in local Republican politics and the parish business community, and some family companies have had contracts with parish government for years.

Robert said he believes his letter should have been read out loud in the meeting in addition to being placed into the record so his constituents would know where he stood on the neighborhood project. Robert, who was on vacation at the time of the meeting, said similar letters have been read out loud in the past.

But he said he was wrong to take his frustration out on McKey and said he believes Casso improperly prevented the letter from being read.

"It was a mistake. I shouldn't have done it," he added.

Casso said she had the letter entered into the record but not read out loud because the council also wasn't reading emails from members the public unable to attend the meeting due the viral outbreak.

Robert added that he believed he was threatened in the conversation with McKey's husband but that he understood why and doesn't plan to pursue the issue any further.

Sheriff Bobby Webre said he has talked with Robert about the conversation and heard a recording of it but didn't believe the words constituted a threat.

Webre said McKey's husband could be heard saying that "'if you talk to my wife like that again, there could be trouble,' or something of that nature."

Webre said those comments were "absolutely not" a threat but rather some advice.

"OK, dont talk like that again," the sheriff said.

Robert said he won't let something like this happen again.

Im confident I can do so," he said.

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After F-bombs to parish employee, Ascension councilman apologizes but is expected to face censure - The Advocate

Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transport is hosting a blood drive next week to help the Community Blood Center get badly needed blood supplies.

Ascension EMS Outreach Coordinator Matt Thompson tells us more..

"We wanted to help the Community Blood Center and the communities we serve once we learned that many of our local blood drives were canceled over the last few months due to the pandemic. So we wanted to host a blood drive and help them out, so we're doing so on Tuesday, August 4th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at our Spirit 2 helicopter hanger on the campus of Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff...."

Thompson says they're making an extra effort so donation can be done safely with personal protective equipment. He says one donation can save up to three lives. He says the donation also helps the Spirit aircraft and ambulances...

"We like to have as many tools as possible in our ambulances and aircraft available for patients losing large amounts of blood. That could be due to a trauma situation or a gastrointestinal situation, anywhere where you are losing large amounts of blood. Everyone of our ambulances and aircraft carry two units of "O"-negative blood..."

Thompson says to schedule an appointment, contact Community Blood Center or Spirit. You can also register online at communityblood.org. Walk-in donations are welcome based on availability.

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Ascension To Host Blood Drive Next Week At HYMC - WXPR

An Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office deputy died Saturday morning after a weeks-long battle with with the coronavirus.

Kyle Melancon served for more than seven years as a correctional officer and transportation officer at APSO.

"We send our condolences to his wife Rebecca, his children, his coworkers and all of those that loved him," said Sheriff Bobby Webre. "Please remember his family in your prayers."

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Melancon's career in law enforcement is part of a family legacy; his grandfather was the Chief of Police of Sorrento and his father was a retired dispatcher with APSO. His brother currently serves in the office's accreditation unit.

"We are in some very challenging times in our profession," Webre said. "The health and safety of our work-family and our community is paramount. I continue to ask all of our deputies to please take all necessary precautions and use all available resources to protect themselves at work and when out in the community."

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Ascension Parish Sheriff's deputy dies after weeks-long battle with coronavirus - The Advocate

The Ascension looks back at the time WWE revealed plans to rebrand them as Egyptians.

Big Kon and Vik, now going by The Awakening, recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard and discussed the character change they underwent in between their respective runs on NXT and WWE roster.

The Ascension ruled NXTs Tag Team division and had a clear fan-favorite gimmick, and they are still the longest reigning NXT Tag Team Champions to this day. For whatever reason, WWE went through a period where they would adjust NXT gimmicks before they would call up talent to the then-main roster, and most of the time it was met with immediate criticism. The Ascension was no different, as they ended up coming to RAW and cut promos about how they were better than other teams of the past. Big Kon and Vik explained how they first found out about the gimmick change, which included a confusing complaint from Dusty Rhodes and the pitch from WWE.

Big Kon: Ill just give you the quick story and Vik can attest to all of this. The day that wefirst off, prior to getting the call, Dream had been working with us and it was really awesome. He had a lot to do with anything that was done, Hunter as well, and I just remember one day Dream was vaguely complaining and being upset about some stuff that we really didnt understand. He said, You guys are going to be Egyptians! We didnt understand what he was talking about.

Vik: [Impersonating Dusty Rhodes] You boys are going to be Egyptians! You see all this stuff going on in People magazine with Egypt? You got to go be Egyptians, goddammit!

Big Kon: Were thinking that we dont understand, weve been around Dream for years at this point, Im sure he just wants to get rid of us. Thats just what we were thinking, but needless to say we had our big sitdown, our big meeting on a call, and Dream was legitimately sitting to the left of me. Weve got Stamford, Connecticut on a big TV and were sitting in this room, its all dark and quiet and they want to congratulate us on the big promotion, stuff like that. It was really cool and then they say creative has an idea for you two and were like OK cool. They go out and then bring in the pieces of paper that they faxed over, and they [placed it] face-down. They basically said if you flip it over, this is what creative is looking for. We flip it over and then bamthats what you saw when they basically debuted it on Monday Night RAW.

Now, the biggest thing Ive ever said in any other interview Ive done is the one thing you never do in this business is you never, ever insult the fans intelligence. The second you do that, theyre going to be pissed off and I think that was where there was no connection because they knew what they were getting but then when they saw [the final version] they were like I dont get it. I also think sometimesand this is just me, Im very grateful for everythingsometimes its just creative.

Related:The Ascension Call Their Run On The Fashion Files A Career Highlight

Vik went on to note that they didnt even really understand the reason for the change but felt that there was a definite disconnect somewhere. He pointed out that The Ascension definitely had a fan base but it seemed like there wasnt enough focus on how much people actually liked them and thats what caused the changes, and ultimately, the confusion.

Vik: I dont really know how it was from the office or somebody, but it was like they didnt understand. Even at first, I dont think we understood. I remember the first time we went to New York for a live event and it was after one of the TakeOvers we had done. It seemed like they didnt think that the fans would know who we were, more or less. I remember when we walked up at MSG and theres all of those fans out there. They were all going crazy as we walked up, we looked at each other like holy shit, this is nuts! It seemed like there was just a point where they didnt realize how much our fans were already connected through and through. It seemed like they felt like they had to change everybody at that time when they were coming up. Everything would get lost in the shuffle because the fans would be like what? We dont get this, why are you changing what we already know? You know what I mean? It wasnt a natural evolution for a lot of people.

One other prominent gimmick change that almost took place was Neville (aka PAC) was asked to portray a character that was allegedly inspired by Mighty Mouse. Neville denied that it was as literal as the rumor suggested, but was still pitched to him as playing a superhero-like character for his main roster call-up. He ultimately played a toned-down version, but Big Kon and Vik recalled seeing him try on the costume and his dejected reaction to it.

Vik: The time that we were there, were not the only ones that were victims. Nevilles always the first one in my mind.

Big Kon: They wanted to make him a superhero with a cape and all that stuff.

Vik: He had this awful mask. I remember when he walked in, he was just like, just the look on his face. We asked hey, whats wrong? and he didnt even want to show anybody.

Big Kon: Neville loves wrestling, loves it, so when you see somebody get defeated like that, its tough.

Vik:Theyre so far behind and it took them a long time to catch up.

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The Ascension Recall The Pitch And Reaction To Their Egyptian Gimmick, Nevilles Mighty Mouse Costume - Wrestlezone

Beaumont Healths Royal Oak and Troy hospitals ranked second and third in the Detroit area in U.S. News & World Reports annual rankings, released Tuesday, July 28.

Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, was ranked second.

Beaumonts Troy hospital tied with its Grosse Pointe hospital for third place.

Another Oakland County hospital, Ascension Providence in Southfield, ranked fifth.

Here are the top hospitals in the Detroit area, according to the magazine:

The magazine also ranked the top hospital in each state and in several medical specialties.

Beaumont's Royal Oak location kept its second-place ranking in the statewide list,. Beaumont's Troy and Grosse Pointe locations remained tied for third place in the statewide scoring.

HOW HOSPITALS WERE RANKED

The magazine looked at survival rates, patient experiences and other measures of performance, factoring in socioeconomic differences to avoid penalizing hospitals that care for poorer or sicker people.

The magazine cautioned that the rankings should be just a starting point for people preparing for a medical procedure.

Hospitals are evaluated across a wide range of conditions and procedures. Within that range, hospitals can and do perform differently. In pulmonology & lung surgery, for example, a hospital might rank below another one but do better at treating patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the magazines website says.

Patients still have to do their own research and talk with their doctors. We also understand that families have to consider such factors as the stress and expense of travel and lodging in another city and their insurer's willingness to pay for care if a hospital is out of network.

To learn more about the rankings, go to https://health.usnews.com/health-care/best-hospitals/articles/faq-how-and-why-we-rank-and-rate-hospitals..

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Beaumont hospitals, Ascension Providence rank among top in Detroit area - The Oakland Press

Ascension library reopens

The Ascension Parish Library System reopens July 29.

The library closed earlier this month after several employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

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For more information, call library director Jennifer Patterson during operating hours at (225) 647-3955; visit http://www.myAPL.org, or follow the library on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@myAPLibrary).

Ascension public school officials have announced an amendment to a policy for serving meals to students under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs for the 20202021 school year.

All students will be served lunch and breakfast at no charge at the following sites:

For additional information, contact the Ascension Public Schools Child Nutrition Program, Leuna Johnson, child nutrition supervisor, (225) 391-7335.

As part of efforts to fight litter and clean up Ascension Parish, President Clint Cointment announced that Ascension Parish is accepting white goods at the Recycling Center on Churchpoint Road.

We have contracted with a company to haul away scrap metal from our recycling center, Cointment said. And they pay us for the metal they take.

White goods are any large machines used in routine housekeeping, such as cooking, food preservation or cleaning, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting. White goods include refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers and water heaters.

Cointment said the parish has been accepting scrap metal and has a separate bin specifically designated for metals.

The Recycling Center is at the DPW headquarters, 42077 Churchpoint Road in Gonzales. Operating hours are Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Around Ascension for July 29, 2020 | Ascension | theadvocate.com - The Advocate