The local police chief said that this event has generated as much public interest as a hurricane. In a city ravaged by Rita in 2005, that is immense concern.

The concern built from residents’ strong ties to the park. Thousands of Lake Charles citizens hammered and sawed the Millennium Park into reality in 2000. Since that time many more have spent hours climbing the network of towers, flying the plane, sailing the seas, and swinging to the sky on the park’s imaginative “Shiver me Timbers” equipment. Once the January 9 fire that destroyed half the park was ruled arson, emotions swelled to hurricane strength proportions.

As part of our coverage, I spent several hours talking with residents as the visited the park to see the damage first hand. We ran the full responses as a special “On the Street” section and I created a montage of reactions highlighting the most voiced reactions of park visitors.

Christmas is not a date. It is a state of mind.–Mary Ellen Chase

KAREN WINK
AMERICAN PRESS
December 13, 2010

On the sidewalk in front of Southgate Shopping Center, Leroy Williams prepares his stage for his sixth holiday season of performances.

After stretching his cheeks and fingers, Williams starts to pipe out a Christmas soundtrack for the shoppers hurrying between stores.

Shoppers pass by Williams as he plays a medley of popular Christmas songs on his saxophone. Some just walk by, while others stop to drop money in Williams’’ Gratitude Bucket.

Williams first started playing on sidewalks as a way to raise tuition for his culinary and dietary education at Sowela Technical and Community College. He continues now during the holiday season mostly because he loves Christmas and loves creating a festive ambiance for passers-by.

“It’s the weather. It’s fall time. It’s Christmas. As a kid, everyone hears ‘Santa Claus (is Coming to Town),’ ‘Frosty (the Snowman)’ and ‘Rudolph (the Red-nosed Reindeer).’ It just brings back memories to hear those songs. We need something more in this city. We need more sidewalk musicians,” said Williams.

Williams said his love for Christmas comes from his mother. He is sentimental about Christmas music, with “Please Come Home for Christmas” being his favorite holiday tune.

“You can’t mess up ‘Silent Night’ and simple Christmas songs. I’m always trying to improve,” said Williams.

Quick to smile, Williams often breaks up his performances to talk with shoppers. He recounts several instances of encouraging words that motivate him to keep playing.

“Little kind words just make your day,” said Williams.

Williams’ personal finances get an assist by his sidewalk concerts. He works as a cook at a casino, but he lost one of his two jobs. Williams says playing his saxophone helps pay the rent and provide money for Christmas presents.

“I’m going to continue this because I love being on center stage. I get to talk to lots of people. I’m a talkative person,” he said.

…

I grew up in Louisiana, so I have seen gators. Then I lived in Atlanta, where the only gator you see is fashioned into a boot or a shoe.

So here I am back in Louisiana, and south Louisiana to boot. For more than two years here, I was on a gator drought. Occasionally, I’d see the baby gator at some of the festivals I covered for the American Press. However, the gator “au natural” escaped me.

Southwest Louisiana is one giant wetland with fresh and brackish waters right out your front door. There are more than a thousand shades of green occurring naturally here. It is a gator/waterfowl Mecca. Think the reality TV series “Swamp People” — not really, but almost.

Much to my disappointment after making trip after trip to Cameron Parish, the wild gator always evaded my sight and camera until I made my latest trip down to Creole.

With 60 minutes to kill before my next assignment in Cameron Parish, I cruised down a road just off of La. 27 and north of the ship channel. Rolling slowly past a small pool of water on the side of the road, I spied what could have easily been a log except for the texture of reptile skin.
Hastily slipping on my 70-200mm zoom lens on the Mark IV, I turned my car around at the end of the road. Rolling back to the point where I thought I saw what could have been something that looked like it was a gator, I parked my car. Camera in hand, I slipped out of my car leaving my car door open (just in case).

Peering over the hood of my car to the backwater pool, I saw her – all 10 or more feet of her — “au natural.” She was sunning and on her head sat a baby resting his little reptile feet on mama’s eye sockets.

I fired off a couple of shots but the 70-200mm did not get me close enough without being in “eating” range. So far, so good, mama had not moved. Seizing the opportunity, I opted for the 300mm. I changed the lens quickly and quietly while leaning inside my car with both eyes moving from camera to gator then back again.

This time I moved to the other end of the car, daring to be closer to mama. My exposure needed to be bracketed (varied) to allow for the glare on the water and the dark shades of a gator’s skin. Quickly, I fired off three shots, changed the exposure and fired three more.

On the seventh shot, mama started to move. For a brief second I debated my next camera angle, then the shear size of mama kicked in the fear factor. A picture is worth a 1,000 words but it is not worth an arm or a leg. Logic won. I got back in the car and fled with my all my extremities intact.

Safely inside the car, I checked my photos for exposure and focus. Yes! I had my gator “au natural” photo. With only 15 minutes until my next assignment, I downloaded the files onto my laptop just to be certain the shot was good.

Some things are missed in the viewfinder while shooting on the fly. Photos often look very different on a 15-inch screen than they appear on a small camera screen. Looking at my shots of mama sunning on the log with baby, I noticed another baby gator, then another, and another.

In all mama had nine babies — NINE babies.

** This notebook ran in the American Press on December 12, 2010

Much of my time this summer has been spent shooting and learning video editing. Combining video with my stories and photo essays offers a compelling way to tell a story. With the iPad and other tablet computers, I am super ‘geeked’ about the advances in journalism and the art of story-telling.

Right now, I’m working on my website and I plan to post some of my favorite photos from the year. Below are my favorite videos of the summer. You can see all on them on my Vimeo page.

Home Grown, Part I from Karen Wink on Vimeo.

Local attorney, Erik Fain discusses his reasons for planting a garden using sustainable methods. Read more on the American press website: http://www.americanpress.com/lc/blogs/wpnewssum/?p=9654

At the “harp” of the matter from Karen Wink on Vimeo.

In its 11th year, the McNeese Harp Camp draws people of all ages and all ability levels for a week long camp of harp fun. Campers are immersed in the history, maintenance, and music of the harp. Look for the full feature in Sunday’s American Press on August 1, 2010.

The Beat goes on from Karen Wink on Vimeo.

Damon Thibodeaux and Chad Richard love banging on drums. So much so they started The Lake Area Drum Circle in October 2009. The recreational drumming group meets twice monthly at the Gazebo at Millennium Park. Please sure to pick up Sunday’s American Press to read the feature (July 11th)

cheers

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” -Anatole France

Most of the stories I have written so far have been about the arts. Recently I was given the opportunity write a news feature. The story was a tough one but I have a great editor that helped me through the uncharted waters. It was very invigorating to cover all aspects of a news story: photo, video, and the written words. The bottom-line, I loved every minute of the process even the gut-wrenching parts. This is why I came back to journalism.

The color photos are from the spay/neuter facility. The black & white from the euthanasia room at the local shelter. The story is at the end of the post. It ran on the front page (my first story ever on A-1).

Here is a link to the first draft of the video. I have decided on some changes to make after self-critiquing and some advice from a friend. Those changes will be posted later. Also, I welcome all advice since my goal is to do the best job possible.

Nonprofit, parish try to reduce euthanasia (4/11)

On a Monday morning in March, a puppy was dropped off at the Animal Angels Spay-Neuter Alliance Project facility.
The anonymous woman who brought in the small mixed-breed could not care for it. Although the facility is not a shelter, the woman was referred there because she did not want the animal to be “put down.”

This puppy is one of the lucky ones. He will find a new home and not become one of the 92,000 animals that are euthanized every year in Louisiana.

Sad numbers
The Calcasieu Parish Animal Services and Adoption Center euthanized 6,534 dogs and cats in 2009. Rita Cavenaugh, director of CPAS, said about 80 percent of the animals euthanized are healthy and their fates are sealed only because the shelter has no room to house additional animals.

Animals taken in at the CPAS come as a result of complaints from the public and from owners who surrender them. Total intakes for 2009 were 11,728. Of those, 768 were returned to owners.

Through concerted efforts of the CPAS and its work with area nonprofit pet adoption agencies, the CPAS was able to place 1,101 pets in new homes.

The Humane Society of the United States puts the national number of pets euthanized annually at 4 million cats and dogs.

Pet overpopulation is the prime factor leading to that number, according to Tiger O’Quain, the executive director of Animal Angels S.N.A.P. Many of the animals euthanized are the offspring of family pets.

“The only real answer to overpopulation is spay/neuter. They reproduce too quickly, and we already have too many now without homes,” O’Quain said. “In just Louisiana, there are 130,000 homeless animals; 92,000 are put down every year. Every little bit helps reduce these numbers.”

At the SNAP
Founded in 1999, Animal Angels’ main focus has always been to address the overpopulation of pets through spaying and neutering. In February of this year, the group opened its low-cost spay and neuter facility in Lake Charles with the help of the Humane Alliance, donations and grants. The largest grant, $150,000, came from the PetSmart Charities, with additional support from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, United Animal Nations and the Humane Society of the United States.

The nonprofit SNAP facility is set up exclusively to offer spay/neuter services.

Veterinarian Lori W. Chang and other SNAP staff attended training at the Humane Alliance facility in Asheville, N.C., in 2009. This training taught them the best practices in running a spay/neuter facility to help provide quality care and keep costs down for the pet owners.

SNAP follows the principles of the Humane Alliance, which believes animal population is best controlled through surgery instead of euthanasia.

The staff runs like a well-practiced team. Animals are dropped off at 7:30 a.m., weighed, and separated. Assistants Kizzi Fontenot and Traci Thibodeaux prep and sedate the animals for surgery. Chang does one surgery after the other in a room equipped with two operating tables. According to Chang, the focus on just spay/neuter surgery makes the staff more efficient.

This efficiency keeps costs down for pet owners. Cost is a major factor that prevents many pet owners from having their animal altered.

“There are people that call us with 10 cats in their back yard. They can’t afford to get all the cats fixed. Our goal is to never say no to that person,” O’Quain said.

Advantages of altering
Theresa Kaske and Mandy Jinks, a mother and daughter from Gillis, dropped off two cats and a dog at the Animal Angels SNAP facility. They shared the story of how their cats were found as kittens in a bumper of a car at the DeQuincy Police Station.

Kaske added that many dogs are just dropped off on her rural road and left to fend for themselves. The pair do what they can to help find homes for those animals. Kaske sees the opening of the SNAP facility as their only means to afford the surgery for their pets.

Pet owner Quinn Brown, a single person, said, “I wanted my dog protected, but my vet was too expensive (for the surgery). After calling through the phone book I was referred here, and now I am getting my dog fixed.”

Chang stressed that the benefits of altering your pet extend beyond slowing pet overpopulation. An altered pet is less likely to contract some types of cancer and diseases. Altered pets are also less likely to roam.

The CPAS also offers assistance to pet owners wishing to spay or neuter their pets. Anyone on public assistance can apply for a voucher to take to a participating veterinarian.

Cavenaugh stressed that the CPAS’s goal is to become a no-kill shelter, but the overpopulation of animals has to be controlled for that goal to be realized. The altering of family pets is a major method by which that goal can be achieved and is stressed by Cavenaugh, O’Quain and Chang.

“I believe if the general public actually saw the numbers we have to euthanize here, there would be a public outcry and more support for spay/neuter,” Cavenaugh said.

Dr. Michael Woodward, president of the Calcasieu Veterinary Medical Association, advocates more owner responsibility and education for pet owners.

“Just having low-cost spay/neuter clinics won’t address the issue of overpopulation. You can put as many clinics you want to, but people will still drop off animals. We’ve got to work together to educate people to solve this issue,” Woodward said.
•
Animal Angels Spay Neuter Alliance Project facility at 622 E. College St., can be reached at 477-7290. The Calcasieu Parish Animal Services and Adoption Center is at 5500 Swift Plant Road and can be reached at 721-3730.

* Here’s the tear-sheet as it ran April 11th

There is no such thing as taking too much time, because your soul is in that picture.- Ruth Bernhard

My job has a long list of perks. Covering the arts sits close to the top of that list.

Louisiana Public Radio and the Arts Council produce a series called Crossroads that airs in SW Louisiana on KRVS. The series visits other cities but the broadcast version is held at Lake Charles’ Central School Theatre almost monthly when it is “in season.”

This concert series has been on my to-do list since I first learned about it. Finding the time to cover this event has been an issue for almost every event. On January 20th that all changed and I was able to cover Chris Thomas King’s Crossroads concert.

King is the son of a famous blues musician, Tabby Thomas, but he is not walking in anyone’s shadow. He is a great blues man in his own right with multiple Grammies, 3 gold and platinum awards, and movie performances. His website is christhomasking.com if you would like the complete lowdown. It was a great performance and a photo ran on A-1 the next day.

My black and white favorites are below. I shot this event with my personal Olympus E-3. Love Love Love my camera. Cheers!

<-kew->

Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long. – Walker Evans

The period between Christmas and Mardi Gras in South Louisiana is a slow news period. Add rain to the mix and it becomes an even slower news day. This means that I hunt for “wild art.” Yesterday that translated to a barge floating into the void of fog and rain on the Calcasieu River. The photo ran in color. I prefer it toned in a black and white version.

A technically perfect photograph can be the world’s most boring picture. - Andreas Feininger

The end of 2009 marks my first full year in Lake Charles.

My employment with the American Press began in June of 2008. My first six months were swamped by Ike and Gustav. Hurricane coverage buffed the newbie shine off my forehead.

January 2009 creeped in and life in Lake Charles without storms became a daily reality. Looking back over the year, southwest Louisiana has revealed itself to be a well kept secret in Louisiana.

Growing up in the far northern reaches of the state, Baton Rouge and New Orleans were always discussed as the center of Louisiana. Prior to 2009, no proof was ever offered to the contrary. Today I know different. Southwest Louisiana’s culture is an interesting mix of Cajun, cowboy, and much more. The food here is some of the best in the state. Seriously, I have eaten some of the best poboys, hamburgers, and gumbo.

The slideshow contains some of my favorite images for 2009. This is a mix of sports, news and feature shots. Hope you enjoy it.

Here are a few of my favorite tears sheets from 2009.

The American Press lost an incredible sport writer last week. The living world lost a sweet happy soul who was always quick to smile.  Even though I did not have the opportunity to work with Brian Guilbeau for long, his positive spirit helped make my first months at the American Press more bright. For this I am eternally grateful.  May you rest in peace, Brian.

This photo was taken when Brian and I  patrolled around Lake Charles to cover the damage from Hurrican Ike. I would have been lost without him.

Here’s the obit we ran this past Saturday in the American Press:

Brian Guilbeau, an award winning sportswriter, columnist and page editor for the American Press, died Friday. He was 38.

He had battled cystic fibrosis, undergoing a pair of lung-transplant surgeries.

Guilbeau was the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s 2005 Columnist of the Year. He covered high school and McNeese sports for the American Press over the years, with assignments ranging from LSU’s national championship game to a high school basketball matchup played behind closed doors because a fight marred the teams’ previous meeting.

He won awards from The Associated Press, Louisiana Press Association and LSWA for game coverage, columns and headline writing.

Guilbeau also served as editor of the Health & Fitness page and was a page designer on the nighttime news desk.

His wife, Cassondra, and daughter, Lilly, are among those who survive him.

I am at war with the obvious -William Eggleston

Post summer is settling in over south Louisiana. Its still warm and thanks to El Nino we have rain and more rain. October is normally dry but i’ve stomped through the mud all month. Not to mention, the Friday that the heavens opened up and blessed us all. After all, what’s a little rain in 80 degree weather. Below you will find a few of my favorite photos.  Not too much other to report,  other than the weather. Lake Charles has many events to fill my assignment calender which is always better than being bored.

i shot this during the opening prayer. I imaged this guy was praying for no rain, much like myself.

Fall is definately candied apple time.

I love folks that are quick to laugh and smile. This photo makes me smile.

Now, I do have one simple multimedia from the 15th annual Chousatta Pow Wow in Kinder, LA. Click on the photo to view the slideshow. The song is called the Flag Song…I love all the chants and wish I would had more time to gather info, songs and photos.

click here for slideshow