Area business, economic development support agencies and others from the Bayou Region are scheduled to participate in the second annual Entrepreneurship Day at the Legislature, sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development (LED).  The annual gathering of Louisiana's entrepreneurs will take place on Tuesday, April 18 on the steps of the state capitol. The event will begin at 10 a.m.with LED Secretary Michael J. Olivier and Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) President Dan Juneau will address the group. Governor Blanco has also been invited.

Seven Fletcher Technical Community College drafting students received notice of award winning submissions in the American Design and Drafting Association (ADDA) national contest. Of the thirteen submissions from the college, three participants received first place, two received second place, and two received third place awards. The competition drew over 160 submissions from high school and college students. The students are invited to attend the award ceremonies at the ADDA National Conference in Nashville, TN this May. The award winners are: First Place: Albert Lirette, Jr, in structural; Michael Seely, in civil; Danny Trosclair, in electronics; Second Place: Kyle Guillory, in technical illustration; Dyron Johnson, in structural; Third Place: Seth Aucoin, in structural; and Tony Cangelosi, in electronics.

By: Bobby Fletcher, Jr. Ph. D.

 As our landscapes languish in the Louisiana heat, a wonderful group of plants called gingers thrive and delight us with bold foliage and attractive flowers. Native to tropical or semitropical regions, gingers flourish in the heat, rain and humidity. Despite their tropical origins, many gingers are hardy throughout the state and make excellent, permanent additions to the landscape. Gingers produce a thick, fleshy stem that grows at or just below the soil surface called a rhizome. With a good, thick mulch of leaves or pine straw, the rhizomes are easily protected during the winter. And if the top is killed by hard freezes, the rhizome will re-sprout in the spring.

The plants we call gingers actually include many genera with many different sizes, growth habits and flower shapes. Low-growing gingers, like Kaempferia pulchra, smaller species of Curcuma or Globba, make great groundcovers or clumps at the front of shady borders. Medium-size gingers 3- to 6-feet tall include species of Curcuma, Hedychium and Costus, and the shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) grows 10- to 12-feet tall. These larger gingers are excellent choices for accent, screens or at the back of a border.

Thibodaux - Student athletes at Nicholls State University are distinguishing themselves in the classroom, according to information released today by the National Collegiate Athletic Association on the academic progress rates of nearly 6,272 Division I teams. 

Not only were Nicholls’ athletics teams among the majority of Division I organizations that received no sanctions associated with progress rates – Nicholls was the only Southland Conference institution to receive no penalties.

“We are delighted that our teams continue to improve academically,” said Rob Bernardi, athletics director. “Our escalating APR scores are a clear indication of our progress.”