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Organizations providing free school supplies, sneakers

Organizations providing free school supplies, sneakers

Next week, most students are headed back to school so parents are spending this weekend getting ready.

If your budget is tight, there are a number of organizations available to help.

These organizations are holding events this weekend that are offering everything from free school supplies to free sneakers. There will also be food, entertainment, door prizes, and various community agencies to assist families:

  • The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s office and several elected officials are hosting the Scotlandville School Supply Giveaway on Saturday, Aug. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m at the BREC Hooper Road Park, 6261 Guynell Street.
  • The Sisters of Sophistication Back to School Rally, Saturday, Aug. 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the McKinley Middle Magnet School gymnasium, 1550 Eddie Robinson Drive.  Free School supplies, food, entertainment.
  • The Dr. Martin Luther King Committee of Zachary Back to School Fair on Saturday, Aug. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the Zachary Community Center on Rollins Road.
  • For Louisiana in conjunction with B & C Group’s Kicks 4 Kids on Monday, Aug.

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Officials team up for Scotlandville School Supply Drive

Officials team up for Scotlandville School Supply Drive

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office will team up with Senator Sharon Weston Broome, State Representative Regina Ashford Barrow,  and Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards, to host its third annual Scotlandville School Supply Giveaway  this Saturday, August 6 from 10 a.m. to  1 p.m. at the BREC’s Hooper Road Park, 6261 Guynell Street. School children will receive school supplies.  There will be a number of vendors including:  

DHH/EBRP Medicaid ( LaCHIP)

Louisiana Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Inc.

YWCA ( HIV Prevention/Testing)

City Year Baton Rouge

LSU Ag Center

EBRSO DARE

Clerk of Court Kid ID’s

 

There will also be entertainment, food, and guest speaker Judge Michael Guidry.

 

Back to school safety tips

Back to school safety tips

Wake up and smell the new crayons, backpacks and vinyl binders!   It’s back-to-school time in Louisiana, so let’s give our kids what they need for a great school year! It’s time to teach the ABC’s and 123’s of safety!  Whether your kids are riding the BIG yellow school bus, walking to class, carpooling or biking with their newly filled backpack, there are a few things we can do to make them safer.

School Bus Safety

  • The most dangerous part of the school bus ride is the loading and unloading of students. 
  • When waiting for the bus, stay away from traffic.

LSU conducting safety drill

LSU conducting safety drill

On Tuesday, Aug. 9, LSU will conduct a safety drill consisting of a full-scale exercise for a residence hall fire emergency. The exercise will take place from 8 a.m to noon at Herget Hall.

This exercise will allow for a realistic response by all affected public safety agencies, LSU departments, and governmental and non-governmental agencies including LSU Emergency Operations, LSU Police, LSU Facility Services, LSU Student Life, LSU Residential Life, the Baton Rouge Fire Department, East Baton Rouge Emergency Medical Services, the American Red Cross and others. During the drill all agencies will be activated as they would during a real emergency.

LSU Residential Life staff will stage themselves in two floors of Herget Hall prior to 8 a.m. The LSU Fire and Emergency Training Institute will initiate simulated smoke on those floors, and a fire alarm will then be pulled, notifying participants to evacuate. LSU Police will receive the alarm notification, and all emergency response operations will follow.

During the exercise, the Herget/Miller parking lot will be closed.

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Ruffino's restaurant opens for lunch starting Friday

Ruffino's restaurant opens for lunch starting Friday

Ruffino’s Steak Seafood and Italian Restaurant will being opening its doors for lunch starting this Friday August 5. The decision to open for lunch timed perfectly with the completion of the Highland Road Green Light Expansion project. Owners Ruffin Rodrigue and Executive Chef Peter Sclafani are excited to bring a new perspective to lunch dining in Baton Rouge and, as always, they will be looking to offer a lunch experience as memorable as their evening dining.

In addition to offering their full evening menu at lunch, Ruffino’s will also be serving unique lunch specials.

SU Marching Band selected best among HBCU's

SU Marching Band selected best among HBCU's

The Southern University Marching Band has been selected as the top marching band among the nation’s historically black colleges, according to a national news magazine website.

HBCU Digest listed SU’s "Human Jukebox" as the number one marching band, outranking rivals Florida A&M University’s "Marching 100," Jackson State University’s "Sonic Boom of the South," Grambling State University’s Tiger Marching Band and the Bethune-Cookman University "Marching Wildcats."

"To even be mentioned in the same breath as these great marching bands is something to treasure," said Director of Bands Lawrence Jackson. "To be considered the best is an awesome payoff for the hours of sacrifice invested by our young men and women."

Jackson, a former Jukebox member himself, said the marching has had to be innovative in the past several years to "maintain the legacy of the great band directors and members before me."

"I am honored that someone would consider our band as the best HBCU band in the country," Jackson said.

Capitol High School hosting community event

Capitol High School hosting community event

Capitol High School, 1000 North 23rd Street,  is hosting a "Back to the Future" recruitment day on Saturday, Aug. 6 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The purpose of the event is to recruit faculty and students and get the community involved. It is also to celebrate the school's rich 60-year history. There will be booths showcasing the various clubs and organization and food will be served.

The public is invited to attend.

"We want the community to know we're here to support them, that we are a community school and their children will get a quality education when they come here," said Nequoia Elsey, a master teacher at the school.

This summer the school was taken over by the state and parents were concerned that there wouldn't be a football team. But there will be football and much more. The school is returning back to its original name Capitol High School from Capitol High Academy and bringing back a lot of its traditions including its old  mascot.