Want a fun family project for Easter? These salt dough ornaments are the perfect way to get the whole crew involved in group craft activity that everyone will enjoy. Display your work for all to appreciate and enjoy as keepsakes for years to come.

INGREDIENTS: 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup table salt 1 1/2 cups warm water

WHAT YOU NEED: Mixing bowl and spoon Parchment paper Rolling Pin Cookie cutters Toothpick Paint DIRECTIONS: In a large mixing pot, add flour and salt. Stir to combine. Slowly add water while stirring. Once the dough comes together, keep kneading with your hands until it is smooth and pliable. On a large piece of parchment paper, place dough in the middle with another piece of parchment on top. Roll out dough until 1/8” thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment and use cookie cutter to cut out your preferred shape. Peel away excess dough. Take a toothpick and make a hole in the top of each ornament. Transfer parchment paper with dough onto cookie sheet and bake at 300º for an hour. They are done when hard. Let the ornaments cool before decorating with acrylic paint. You can use spray poly to preserve the finished decorations. styling by TAYLOR BENNETT photography by KELLY MOORE CLARK

“Raise My Ebenezer” by Richard Gerald Shrubb

In Dr. Shrubb’s first novel, a vigilante killer embarks on a soul-searching discovery of enlightenment mandated by the criminal justice system he evaded for decades. Mark Antony is torn between the moral hero he envisions and the ruthless executioner he has become. After a life of retributive crime that devolved into killing for sport and large sums, Mark is arrested for defending a stranger in a parking lot, a small-time offense for a long-time assassin. In conversations with the court-mandated therapist, whom Mark admires beyond female physicality, he begins chronicling his life in a diary. The vignette-esque accounts of killing those who needed to be killed quickly spirals into a crisis of conscience - or lack thereof. Lured by the title of arbiter of justice, Mark must decide if abandoning his lifestyle will warrant the self-retribution he desires.

Shrubb likens his antihero to Dante from The Divine Comedy, a renowned 14th-century poem that imagines the afterlife in terms of punishment and reward via guides that accompany Dante through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Dante’s overarching view of the transgressions of man throughout history are reminiscent of Mark’s meta observation of his own flawed past and potential future. Shrubb’s social commentary on historical events, class distinctions, and gendered realities serve as both context and character development. WhileMark’sflawsandmistakesarecountless, his biting wit and desire for intense human connection overshadow his aggrandized attempts at solitude: “Emotional boundaries make good relationships in the same way that good fences make good neighbors.” He may keep moving on, but he will inevitably encounter someone else to rescue. Mark’s strength is also his downfall. This novel is not reliant on plot, though when an incident is detailed, it reverberates. Shrubb combines action, contemplation, and self-reflection into a manifesto that both defends Mark’s actions and confesses his sins: “We can be afraid of living without being afraid of dying.” The book’s page turner quality is complicated by the dense introspection invoked by its telling. After I read this novel in a day, I told Dr. Shrubb that I had to let the text ruminate a bit. It’s been almost a month, and I’m still thinking about it. This book bears reading again.

Dr. Shrubb is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the EdD Program at Louisiana Tech University. Aside from the busy nature of academic life, Dr. Shrubb found escape and release in the construction of his first novel.

“I inspire others to feel confidence in themselves, which is important for me to state in exactly that phraseology, because “con” in “con artist” stands for “confidence.” That’s me - the confidence artist. I’m invisible, comforting, and easily dismissed. I do not inspire fear, worry, or suspicion. Then I kill you. Then I evaporate. So do you.”

REVIEW BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE

BE PROACTIVE IN SETTING YOUR SKIN UP FOR success in these coming months with our savings this month at the Medical Spa. National Vitamin C Day is celebrated annually on April 4th, and rather than celebrating for just one day, all Vitamin C products will be 25% off for the entire month of April!

Vitamin C is one of our favorite ingredients at the Medical Spa. Why celebrate Vitamin C? Vitamin C is known for boosting immunity and combating a cold, but it’s also a powerful antioxidant for our skin. Vitamin C protects our skin from natural and artificial light, pollution, free radicals and provides anti-aging properties such as improvement in the appearance of wrinkles, laxity, and discoloration. Not all serums are created equal though. The most effective Vitamin C serums contain L-ascorbic acid, the purest form of Vitamin c, and a concentration between 10 and 20 percent. The Medical Spa has a wide variety of Vitamin C products to choose from this month.

C E Ferulic by Skinceuticals – A daytime serum containing 15% L-ascorbic acid, Vitamin E and ferulic acid. Ferulic acid is a plantbased antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals and enhances the benefits of Vitamin C and E.

Phloretin CF by Skinceuticals – A daily Vitamin C serum containing phloretin CF to improve the appearance of discoloration, fine lines, and uneven skin tone.

Silymarin by Skinceuticals – An oil-free Vitamin C serum formulated specifically for oily and blemish-prone skin types. This serum delivers environmental protection, reduces oiliness, refines skin texture, and visibly improves clarity and fine lines.

Obagi-C Rx System – A complete skincare regimen containing 10% ascorbic acid, along with 4% hydroquinone to reduce hyperpigmentation. The system includes cleansing gel, clarifying serum, night cream and SPF.

Professional-C Serum – A concentrated Vitamin C serum packed with antioxidants to decrease the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles leaving the skin feeling silky soft. Available in 10%, 15% or 20%.

Professional-C Peptide Complex – A facial serum that includes Vitamin B, Vitamin E and plant growth factors; all working together to improve the appearance of firmness, skin tone, fine lines, and wrinkles in as little as one week.

Professional-C Microdermabrasion Polish + Mask – A multitasking 2-in-1 mask that exfoliates and provides a powerful infusion of 30% Vitamin C. Use 2-3 times weekly to reveal smoother and brighter skin!

Kybella is a medicine used to improve the appearance of moderate to severe fat below the chin (submental fat), also called the “double chin.” Kybella injections require minimal downtime, making them an easy alternative to surgical options. The active ingredient in Kybella is deoxycholic acid. Deoxycholic acid naturally occurs in the body, aiding in the breakdown and absorption of dietary fat. Kybella injections act the same way, destroying fat cells under the chin. Once destroyed, these cells can no longer store or accumulate fat. During treatment, you will receive multiple small injections, depending on anatomy and fat deposits. After treatment, you may expect swelling, numbness, redness, and areas of hardness in the treatment area. Each Kybella treatment is given 1 month apart. The number of treatment sessions will vary based on the amount of fat under the chin and your treatment goals. We recommend a consultation to discuss treatment and aesthetic goals.

Be sure to come by The Medical Spa this month to take advantage of our specials, events, and to find out more about the medical-grade skin care products, and treatments offered here. We are in the James R. Wolff Building (also known as the P&S Building) in downtown Monroe. Our address is 312 Grammont Street, Suite 406, across from St. Francis Medical Center. Also, be certain to follow us on St. Francis Medical Center Facebook page and Instagram so you can be up to date on the new and exciting things happening here at The Medical Spa.

by Guy Miller, Vice Chair Emeritus, Chennault Aviation and Military Museum

The ship sailed on April 2nd. Although the ship and its cargo were in view of anyone on the shore, the ship was on a secret mission; a mission that would change the tone of the war. By April 18th the ship was close enough to its planned location to initiate its mission before an increasing chance of discovery by the enemy could cause all to be lost. Beginning at 8:20 am, sixteen B-25 bombers left the deck of the USS Hornet and Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led his raiders to Tokyo and other Japanese mainland cities.

Planes as large and as heavy as B-25 bombers had never before taken off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. U.S. Army Air Force pilots had no experience with carrier take offs. A lot of planning, modification work and training had been done to bring the aviators, the bombers and the Navy ship to this precise point in time and space for a heretofore unimaginable military mission.

The training for the raid and much of the aircraft modification took place 30-40 miles east of where I sit as I write this article. In 1942 there was no densely populated Emerald Coast or Redneck Riviera along the Gulf shore of the Florida Panhandle. The USAAF Eglin Field, near the small town of Fort Walton, FL had several remote auxiliary landing fields and bombing and gunnery ranges hidden away in what had previously been the vast Choctawhatcee National Forest. Eglin Field was also on the Gulf of Mexico which allowed over water flight training and was close to the Pensacola Naval Air Station where carrier landing expertise was taught. The USAAF 17th Bombardment Group had the most experience with flying the B-25. The crews of this Group were offered the opportunity to volunteer for an “extremely hazardous” but unspecified mission. In March 1942, 24 planes and 140 men from the Group were sent to Eglin Field to begin three weeks of intensive mission training with Doolittle and his Navy advisor. For secrecy reasons none of the crews or support personnel knew what their mission would be. Even the crew members eventually chosen for the raid would not find out until after the Hornet set sail. The B-25s had been modified to make them lighter and to extend their flying range. The planes were lightened by removing equipment such as the heavy radios and the Norden bomb sights. The bombers’ fuel capacity was almost doubled by methods such as having their belly turrets replaced with an additional gas tank. To compensate for the loss of the weapons, a mock “tail gun” was crafted out of painted broomsticks, which, it was hoped, would deter Japanese fighters from attacking from the rear. B-25 pilots were used to a take off run of over 3000 feet. An aircraft carrier with its after flight deck full of bombers had about 400 feet of available take off space. White lines simulating a carrier flight deck were drawn on two Eglin auxiliary field runways. The pilots practiced getting fully loaded bombers into the air within the limitations of a carrier deck. At the start of training the average take off distance for the raider pilots was 800 feet. With practice, additional aircraft modification and manipulation of engine settings, a take off roll of 287 feet had been achieved by the time the training was competed Short distance take off training was not the only focus for the Army aviators. Additional mission parameter training was conducted in cross-country flying, night flying, low-altitude bombing, and navigation and flying over water without visual landmarks or radio guidance.

Some of the aircraft and men who trained at Eglin were used as a reserve force. On 1 April 1942, 16 B-25s, 80 crewmen, and 201 Army maintenance personnel were loaded onto the USS Hornet at Naval Air Station Alameda in California. The Hornet and her escorts ships set sail on April 2nd. Only Doolittle and the senior fleet officers knew where the ships were headed and why.

On the morning of April 18th, the Doolittle Raiders took off from the Hornet and brought the war to the Japanese homeland. Beginning about noon local time ten military and industrial targets in Tokyo, two in Yokohama, and one each in Yokosuka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka were bombed by the American fliers. Fifteen of the bombers flew on to China after the mission where they ran out of fuel and the crews bailed out or crash landed their plane. One B-25, already low on fuel, diverted to the Soviet Union where the crew was interned by that then-neutral country. The crew was eventually “allowed” to escape into Allied-occupied Iran in May 1943.

Thirteen aircrews made it to friendly Chinese territory with the loss of only one man who died when bailing out. Two aircrews were captured by Japanese forces in China. Of these two crews, two men drowned when crash landing in the water. The remaining eight men were sent to Tokyo where three were executed and one died in captivity. The remaining four men were repatriated by American troops in August 1945.

Although it did little damage militarily, the raid showed the Japanese people that they were now vulnerable to attack from American forces. More importantly, the raid gave American morale a much needed boost after the the devastating effects of Pearl Harbor and the initial Japanese conquests in the Pacific.

BAYOU PAGES

BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE

It was just always in me to do it. I don’t know if I ever even asked myself that question. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve been working on this book for decades. In college, I majored in literature and very much liked Dante, not just The Divine Comedy, but all of his writings. I knew if I ever wrote a book, I would base it on Dante. My wife and I are devout Christians, and all of his books are based in Christianity. I started probably in my mid-20s, working on the book off and on. I was blessed with a career that just took off. I got a master’s and a PhD, then another master’s. I was first a teacher, then a dean, then a vice president and finally president. How much I could work on the book depended on my career trajectory. As president, I had no time to devote to writing. I didn’t write a word all those years.

Dante’s The Divine Comedy focuses on the three big levels of sin. One is the categories of selfishness, and the next is minor sins, followed by violence and treachery. If you think about the flow of the book, I had to do that. My character begins in medias res, when he rescues the woman in the parking lot. In the very next chapter, he goes back to his childhood, a good kid who is self-occupied and pompous. I had to invent these stories about him getting his heart broken and show why he doesn’t value sexual monogamy anymore. I had to transition from sexual deviation to violence, so some of the early murders in the book are very sexual in nature. I wanted him to be an antihero, but I wanted him to be likable. Early readers claimed he sounded like Dexter - he kills people but he only kills bad guys. I wanted to show a nice guy could be deadly.

Similar to thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock, this is a type of literature where the protagonist violates basic values of society in a search for self-identity, inner peace, and personal freedom. In this genre, rule-following, sweet-natured people transform into acts of aggression (transgression). Tension is courageous and conflict begins within a complicated yet sympathetic protagonist. Themes of Transgressive Fiction are often sexual in taboo ways and usually involve gender conflict and dysfunctional family relationships. Protagonists shock readers in pursuit of a better life for themselves and for their surroundings. Imbedded psycho-social commentary is insightful, ironic, and deadpan. Transgressive writing is humorous in wise-cracking, paraprosdokian, self-deprecating ways along the lines of Joan Rivers, Chelsea Handler, Michelle Wolf, Whitney Cummins, or Alexandra Wentworth. Transgressive Fiction describes things in careful detail yet manages to surprise readers. The storyline delivers suspense and shock without abracadabra or tricks because readers receive details the whole time and still miscalculate the curveball, left feeling like they should have seen it coming, but didn’t.

If I write another book, I won’t base it on anything. It’s too hard to do because you’re always basing it on the original author’s pattern. In Dante, all these episodes, or cantos, are separate from each other. In an effort to tie the episodes in my book together, I needed a timeline. My editor suggested choosing a timeline in history or mirroring my own. Like me, Mark Antony was born in 1958, a child of the 60s and a young person in the 70s. So, the only parts of me that are in there are my attempts to establish that timeline. I really am a veteran. I was married and divorced. After graduation, I joined the military and never really went back home again. In higher education, I took jobs that took me all over the country like the character, who doesn’t really have roots. Those parts of the novel are autobiographical, but very loosely. None of the female characters are real; they’re all in the aggregate. Here’s the part that is real - Phideaux the dog. He’s my Catahoula Cur, and he really does everything that I put in the book. He has these gorgeous, wonky eyes. He’s a rescue dog, and he’s crippled. I adopted him from Four Paws. He really does like to chase lizards in my firewood which aggravates me and rubs up against my rocking chair. I often sit and scratch his ears. Phideaux is the only character that is specific - his name, identity, the shenanigans he pulls - all of it.

When I tried traditional publishing, the feedback was very positive, but nobody knew my name. I heard, “We really like your book, but no one knows you and no one will buy it. Good luck.” One publisher recommended hybrid publishing, a merge between traditional publishing and self-publishing. The larger publishers use different names for their hybrid companies, but authors get all the same services, as long as I take on part of the financial risk.

If the book does well, I’ll turn the parts originally cut out into the sequel. I want that one to be called Make a List, Check It Twice. It would be based on the woman Beatrice at the end who finds the diary. The sequel would be the same sort of vigilante novel, but from her point of view along with her friends. It would be called Make a List, Check It Twice because that’s what they do, to be very careful about who they plan to kill.

Copies of Raise My Ebenezer are on sale at Number 9 Books in Ruston and online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Target, as well as my website: RichardGeraldShrubb.com Similar authors are Chuck Palahniuk, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Frank McAuliffe. Similar movies and television shows are Mr. Right, Mr. Inbetween, Breaking Bad, and Dexter.

BY ROBERT WRIGHT

MUSEE DU LOUVRE. EIFFEL TOWER. CHAMPS-ELYSEES. Palace of Versailles. These are all highlights of Paris, France. In 2023, a dozen local girls will get a chance to experience Paris in person… and that will change everything for them. As a component of the Model 10/18, traveling offers young girls an opportunity to broaden their global perspective, giving them a worldview and a vocabulary of which to engage with and compete in a global marketplace. It’s not enough that they are good readers and see through the eyes of an author. They must be able to see it for themselves in order to be successful in the world in which they live. I’ve been a school teacher for more than seven years. A large part of my approach is through field trips. Teaching social studies requires the student to investigate museums and explore places of historic and geographical interest. They can’t fully understand history without a personal connection to it. There’s no better way to physically connect to it without going to see it. I’ve taken students to Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Memphis, Austin, Bentonville, Dallas, and Little Rock. “Big Yellow” (as students refer to school busses) has traveled many miles in pursuit of true social studies education though travel and exploration. As a youth, I had parents who invested in me by enrolling me in the Boy Scouts program. Through Scouting, I had an opportunity to see the country from sea to shining sea. From the age of 10-18, I traveled to Atlanta, Los Angeles, Sioux Falls, Detroit, New York City, Washington DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Mt. Rushmore, The Alamo, Tuskegee, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Boston, Nashville, and San Antonio. These trips shaped my future as a teacher and program director. They also instilled patriotism and a love for the country like no other experience could. It changed everything for me, for there were many youth in my neighborhood who did not have the same experiences as me and the other Scouts. When I graduated high school, I enlisted in the US Marines. During my time in the Marine Corps, I embarked on the USS Tarawa and USS Duluth and traveled with the US Navy into the Pacific and Indian Oceans. I enjoyed liberty ports in Darwin Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Mahe Island Seychelles, Doha Qatar, Manama Bahrain, and Honolulu Hawaii. These trips around the world at sea would broaden my worldview and when I later became a teacher, the substance of them would fill my curriculum and my pedagogy. I launched a youth group for local girls in the summer of 2020, Model 10/18. I wanted to ensure that those few honor roll girls I began with were well read, well dressed, well spoken, and well traveled. It’s something to witness the eyes of our youth light up with excitement in seeing a new place. New surroundings. New cultures. New stores. A new way of living. If anything, it causes them to reflect and analyze their present lives, presenting an opportunity to shape their future.During the summer of 2021, I took six local girls to New York City. The girls of Model 10/18 had an opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, and Times Square. This was a major investment in their lives as many had never traveled to the nation’s largest city and experienced those canyons of steel. In New York, we stayed at the Iroquois Hotel. It’s located on W. 44th Street and is only a few block from Times’ Square. We traveled around by Uber but there were many instances where a Taxi was faster and more available. In the wax museum, the girls enjoyed the full scale likeness of every celebrity from Michael Jackson to Brad Pitt to Prince Harry and Megan Markle. It was a fun interactive spectacle for them. At night they toured Times Square and the Rockefeller Center on a Pedicab, engulfed in the large lit screens of the night. It was an experience that I hope shapes their future, one that I hope adds to their dreams at night. However, this would only be an appetizer for things to come. In the next few years, it is my plan to take them to Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, and Johannesburg. The biggest deterrent to traveling is not time, but money. I try to fly Monroe at every opportunity that I can. Four of the six girls that traveled to New York flew out of Monroe. It’s taxing on the budget to fly in and out of the Monroe Regional Airport. However, when one factors in the extra travel costs and overnight parking assessed with getting on a plane in Dallas or Jackson, it works out to be the same amount. So on our next trips, we will attempt to continue the trend with flying Monroe. The costs to not travel, however, outweigh the costs to travel. It takes a village to raise a child. It was a village that helped me through my years of Boy Scouts. My father may have been the Scoutmaster, but there were dozens of local businessmen, elected officials, and concerned citizens who played an intricate role in financial support to see to it that the boys of Top Gun Troop 65 were able to travel thousands of miles around the country each year. It was an essential part of our growth as individuals and those community members are a reason for my worldview. They helped make it possible.

Now that I’m grown, I am doing my part to help youth have similar experiences. I’m often hesitant to ask for further assistance from the public, but I realize I can’t do this alone. Regardless if the help comes or not, I’m committed to the 34 girls and all the future girls who are in Model 10/18. It is my goal to ensure that they get to see the world and let it shape their lives as much as their lives will shape it. It is my responsibility as a recipient of community support to do my part in making sure that they are well read, well dressed, well spoken, and well-traveled, for travel changes everything.

For information about Model 10/18 or to offer support, email rwright2012@ gmail.com.

BY DARIAN ATKINS

APARTNERSHIP IS AN ARRANGEMENT WHERE parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.

Such is Louisiana Delta Community College’s journey with West Monroe business Etheridge Pipeline & Conduit (EPC). Both parties have a mutual interest in advancing the economies of Northeast Louisiana and equipping its citizens with skills to go to work locally.

EPC is co-owned by brothers Caleb and Josh Etheridge. Born and raised in Grayson, Louisiana, they have an affinity for this area. “One of the things we’re passionate about is hiring local,” says Caleb. “We want to help build our local economy, so we approached Louisiana Delta Community College about developing a trenchless utility training program.” EPC has had difficulty finding locals with the required skills, so they figured they’d build them out of citizens who were hungry for a new career.

EPC employees work in crews. “LDCC would train students to work every crew function within 6-8 weeks,” explains John Garrison, director of advanced manufacturing training at LDCC. LDCC is the only training provider that teaches all crew functions to a single class, and new classes would begin once the previous students have completed the course.

EPC & LDCC are looking forward to providing more opportunities for the trenchless utility training program and three new upcoming training programs focused on rural broadband expansion to our students. Wendi Tostenson, LDCC’s vice-chancellor of education and student services, doesn’t want the cost of the course to be a deterrent to potential students and is appreciative of funding partners. “NOVA and EPC provided scholarships for our students,” says Tostenson. Several other local industry partners contributed to the program’s success. Says Caleb, “We brought in industry experts from each of the related fields: Drill Rite taught mud mixing, USIC taught line locating, and operators such as CenterPoint and Atmos Energy hosted damage prevention days as well. Ditch Witch of Louisiana came through for us as well, helping teach the students all the aspects of drill tooling and maintenance of the machinery.” These companies each provided specialized training at no additional cost to the program.

With the assistance of the MJ Foster Promise dollars, adults twentyone years of age and older may qualify for a new pool of scholarship funds. “This funding is like TOPS for adults,” shares Dr. Randy Esters, chancellor at LDCC. “These dollars will help remove further financial barriers citizens may be experiencing and aid them in developing a skill that leads to a high-wage, high-demand career.”

EPC is extremely hands-on with students. “Being involved in instruction with these students gives us a chance to see who’s showing up, who’s willing to learn, who made it there on time, and if you couldn’t come if you communicated that to someone. These things are important to any employer,” explains Josh. Student KenDarrius VanBuren (KD) was the very first to be offered employment by EPC. “There are a few things that stood out about KD,” shares Caleb. “First of all, he never missed a day. He was there every day, ready to work. That stands out.” Josh noted KD’s grasp of the skill work. “He’s good,” says Josh. VanBuren was quick to volunteer to try out what was being taught. After receiving his offer of employment, VanBuren had a difficult time hiding the satisfaction of training well done. He said, “This is an unbelievable feeling. Words can’t explain. I’m on to a better career!” When asked who was going to be the first to hear his good news, he said his mom. “She wants the best for her son, and now I can do that. Now I’ve got the opportunity.” EPC & LDCC has changed the trajectory of a life, perhaps some generations of lives. As the Etheridge brothers talked with VanBuren and went over the benefits that would soon be available to him, he beamed with joy and the pride of accomplishment.

VanBuren would serve as an example to others. The pathway to success costs dedication and commitment and a willingness to hang in there when nothing makes sense.

Looking forward, LDCC plans to create a nationally recognized Utilities Infrastructure Training Center, including a gas technician and utilities lineman training programs. Says Tostenson, “We want to be the training source that delivers skilled workers to companies in this industry. We want to do this by building the training programs with strong partnerships and collaboration with industry experts.”

“The requirements for admission to the program are to be over the age of 18, have a positive attitude, and be willing to learn,” says instructor John Garrison. “Now, there may be additional requirements by a hiring company, but these are LDCC’s requirements to enter the program.”

For more information regarding this program, workforce programs in general, or becoming a Louisiana Delta Community College partner, call 318345-9384.