Lifestyle

Nominations are open for Louisiana Wildlife Federation’s 57th Conservation Achievement Awards, which recognizes those persons and organizations in Louisiana that made outstanding contributions during 2022 to the natural resource welfare and environmental quality of their community, parish and the state.

“Louisiana’s wildlife and natural resources are a gift that we must work to conserve so future generations can enjoy the outdoors as we do today,” said Rebecca Triche, executive director for Louisiana Wildlife Federation. “Recognizing individuals, organizations and businesses for their conservation efforts in Louisiana encourages and promotes wise natural resource management and use.”

Howdy DeSoto Parish!!! Here we are again and it’s time to write about our wild group here at MNC!!!! As usual, we’ve been very busy getting in new residents and some we’ve had to let go home because they successfully completed their therapy and were READY to go home. We miss them when they go home, but we are glad they are so much better and can return to normal life.

We had the Krewe of Demeter come by Tuesday...on Fat Tuesday.... and crown our King and Queen. This year we had Mr. Billy Emfinger and Miss Debbie Pugh as our new King and Queen here at MNC and they were very surprised and honored to accept the title!! Congratulations to you both and THANK YOU Krewe of Demeter for your loyal love and support to our residents!!!! One can NEVER have enough beads!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had LOTS of King Cake to eat after the crowning ceremony and of course these folks love to eat!!! A good time was had by all.

The Mansfield Garden Club’s February meeting was held Wednesday, February 15. The meeting was called to order by President Stacy Rivers, the club collect, garden club pledge, and Pledge of Allegiance were led by Patsy Shadoin. The minutes were read by Jeanie Watson.

Hostesses Patsy Shadoin, Jeanie Watson, and Patti Young provided the refreshments with a Valentine’s Day theme for members.

The club discussed the progress of acquiring vinyl signs to advertise the annual plant sale. Also discussed was the possibility of adding items other than plants for the sale because of the effect of the devastating freeze.

The DeSoto 4-H Jr Livestock Club held their first meeting of the new year at the 4-H office this evening. Our members learned about the importance of keeping their livestock projects healthy by administering vaccines and antibiotics when needed. Mr. Josh discussed the different methods of injections and how to read a medicine bottle label. Then, they got a chance to put their knowledge to the test by giving injections of dyed water to their pet oranges and bananas. This allowed them to see the difference in giving intramuscular vs subcutaneous injections. We are excited for our Jr. Livestock Club and can’t wait to see what else is in store for this group! (submitted)

Dear Editor, My name is Vernese Green. I am a 36-year resident of Mansfield. For the past 26 years I have worked as an RN and a Clinical Manager for FMC DeSoto Dialysis at 1410 McArthur Drive in Mansfield. I have recently retired but remain on the staff at the clinic working PRN. We recently had a citywide water outage due to freezing weather, which critically affected our clinic, and it includes 70 patients. For many who may not understand Dialysis to simply put it, each patient must receive a Dialysis treatment three times a week to live and remain in health. With the number of patients we dialyze, we operated six days a week treating two groups of patients daily.

On December 23, 2022, treatments were interrupted during our second shift of dialyzing patients because the clinic lost water, as did a large area of the city. NO WATER, is a critical situation for Dialysis, for every Dialysis machine must have water to operated to filter the patient’s blood of toxins.

The Mansfield Rotary Club discussed a recent article titled “Life During War” by Wen Huang in their monthly “Rotary” magazine about the humanitarian efforts of Rotary International in war torn Ukraine. Rotary is working hand-inhand with Lions Club International and other service clubs to get supplies and support to the refugees coming into Poland from the Ukraine cities of Kyiv, Kerson, and Kharkiv .

Two million consist of mostly women and children as most of the men, old and young, are staying to protect their homes and fight the invading Russian troops. If anyone is interested in reading Wen’s article go to www.rotary.org to read part I of the article. It sure made the group proud of the financial help we’ve already sent and to be Rotarians!

The next meeting is on 2/15/23 at the Mansfield Female College Museum for lunch.

Join us this weekend at BackAlley Community Theatre in Grand Cane as we present our opening production of Anybody Out There? This farce comedy deals with the transformation of shy little Oliver, who lacks any courage, into a fearless hero—after being given dire news. How will The Friendly Dime and Dollar Bank fare with a troublesome boss and thief, along with a questionable landlady and fiancee. The action spins on, finding its way to a happy and hilarious conclusion.

Our Books and Biscuits Book Club will combine our January and February books for our upcoming February meeting. Our January book is “The Replacement Wife” by Darcy Kane and our discussion will be led by Tedine Soulle. This domestic suspense novel asks, how many wives and girlfriends should disappear before your family notices? The race is onto get to the truth before another disappearance because there’s a killer in the family...or is there?

Our February book is “Ordinary Grace” by William Krueger and our discussion will be led by Debbie Thompson. Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after a fateful summer, “Ordinary Grace” is a moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him.

The Rotary Club of Mansfield met for some good ole “Dagwood Style” homemade sandwiches and to discuss possible Club fundraisers for 2023. It was generally agreed that the Clay Pigeon Shoots of the last two years would not be viable this year and since the status of raffles and lotteries is not clear they should be off limits, too. However all agreed that everyone likes the plate lunch fundraisers. From the venerable Chicken Spaghetti that the Episcopal Church has been doing forever to the Catholic Church’s Lenten Fish Fry to the Lions Club’s Red Beans and Rice all are popular and good ways to raise money. The Club decided that since it was going to be an election year to try to come up with a Meet-N-Greet for local candidates combined with lunch plates for sale at one of the Parish’s larger venues. Several of the members were given missions to discover just how to make this happen and more updates will be passed on to all of you.

Margaret Leszcynski and Pam Sykes with pictures of butterflies that feed on specific trees in our area.

The Mansfield Garden Club held their first meeting of 2023 on January 18. The meeting was called to order by President Stacy Rivers. She introduced the speakers for the day, Chad Berly and Chrissy Ebarb from the Desoto Water Conservation District. Chad shared information about plants that provide food for pollinators, native flowering shrubs and plants, as well as invasive species to avoid. He shared the date for the annual trees sale and available seedlings to purchase. The sale will be on February 21, 2023 at the DWCD office. He also discussed a program through the Natural Resources Conservation Services that helps land owners create pollinator habitats.