JOUR3260-083: 9/28/08

Friday, October 3, 2008

Press argues for access to records

DRY PRONG - A panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has heard arguments over access to records in "Jena Six" member Mychal Bell's criminal case.

The Associated Press and more than 20 other media outlets are seeking access these records.
Attorney Mary Ellen Roy said Wednesday she expects a decision from the court within 30 days.

Bell is the only member of the "Jena Six" to plead guilty in the case. The other five defendants are awaiting trial for their alleged involvement in the beating of a fellow Jena High School students, Justin Barker, in December 2006.

National Attention The Jena Six case has garnered national attention, sparking a demonstration in Jena with an estimated 20,000 participants in September 2007.

Wednesday's court hearing in Bry Prong was one in an ongoing battle between media outlets and 28th Judicial District Judge J.P. Mauffray Junior, who was the presiding judge over Bell's cases.

pics from flickr.com

Original

Appeals court hears arguments over records

DRY PRONG - A three-member panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal has heard arguments over access to records in "Jena Six" member Mychal Bell's criminal case.
The Associated RPess and mroe than 20 other media outlets are seeking access to records in Bell's case.
Attorney Mary Ellen Roy said Wednesday she expects a decision from the 3rd Circuit within 30 days.
Bell is the only member of the "Jena Six" to plead guilty in the case. The other five defendants are awaiting trial for their alleged involvement in the beating of a fellow Jena High School students, Justin Barker, in Becember 2006.
The Jena Six case has garnered national attention, sparking a demonstration in Jena with an estimated 20,000 participants in September 2007.
Wednesday's court hearing in Bry Prong was one in an ongoing battle between media outlets and 28th Judicial District Judge J.P. Mauffray Junior, who was the presiding judge over Bell's cases.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Freshman Factor Fires Away

Paintball comes to NSU

NSU students painted the town red - and blue - as they participated in the Student Activities Board's "paintball wars." The Freshman Factor committee hosted the paintball wars Tuesday, March 18 at the football practice field from 6-8 p.m.

Unlike traditional paintball, guns were not used. Instead, each team took small pool soaker balls drenched in paint and threw them at the opposing team. In head-to-head competitions, teams ran through stacked tires and pallet obstacles while trying to safely capture the other team's flag or get all members of the other team out by hitting a person twice.

Ashley Kasperski, freshman psychology major said she got messy and gross but she had so much fun.

"I came to get messy - that's accomplished," Kasperski said.

Alicia Cox, a freshman education major, said her team did not have a good strategy when it played its first game because no one was guarding its flag. They learned from that, which led to later victories.

Although it started to rain, purple paintballers were still at the field mixing colors.

Preparation Before Play

SAB's freshman factor committee is exclusively for freshmen. The committee gives students leadership experience by teaching them how to plan events. The students in the committee then use those skills to plan their own event.The paintball war is this year's committee project. A committee of 20 students has met almost every week since October to plan the event.

Commitee Head Eddie Higginbotham, a sophomore health and exercise science major, acted as a facilitator to the group.

Students were responsible for making proposals for food items and materials needed for the paintball war. The event was essentially planned by the students and was carried out with little outside help.

This year, SAB experienced a budget cut, but the students were able to adjust.

"They rolled with the punches," Higginbotham said. "They were willing and able to make any adjustments necessary. The entire time they kept positive attitudes."

Other activities included:

Target Practice with human targets
Eating Contest
"Rubber Ducky" (students tried to pull the duck with the winning numer from a pool)
"Sandy Candy" (students filled tubes with different colored powdered candy)

Original

Freshman Factor Fires Away

NSU students painted the town red - and blue - as they participated in the Student Activities Board's "paintball wars."The Freshman Factor committee hosted the paintball wars Tuesday, March 18 at the football practice field from 6-8 p.m.

Unlike traditional paintball, guns were not used. Instead, each team took small pool soaker balls drenched in paint and threw them at the opposing team. To win the game, a team had to safely capture the other team's flag or get all members of the other team out by hitting a person twice.

"I came to get messy - that's accomplished," said freshman psychology major Ashley Kasperski.

Kasperski said she "got messy and gross, but it was so much fun."

The running and laughter of the other participants showed that they were also enjoying themselves. were all over the field, enjoying the various activities offered by SAB.

SAB set up five different stations on the sidelines of the paintball field. The target practice station allowed students to throw balls at human targets. Other stations included an eating contest station, a "rubber ducky" station at which students tried to pull the duck with the winning number from a pool and a "sandy candy" station, where students filled tubes with different colors of powdered candy.

The games were head-to-head competitions, and the winning team's members received prizes.

Alicia Cox, a freshman education major, said her team did not have a good strategy when it played its first game because no one was guarding its flag. They learned from that, which led to later victories.

SAB's freshman factor committee is exclusively for freshmen. The committee gives students leadership experience by teaching them how to plan events. The students in the committee then use those skills to plan their own event.The paintball war is this year's committee project. A committee of 20 students has met almost every week since October to plan the event.

Eddie Higginbotham, a sophomore health and exercise science major, is the freshman factor committee head; he acted as a facilitator to the group.Students were responsible for making proposals for food items and materials needed for the paintball war. The event was essentially planned by the students and was carried out with little outside help. This year, SAB experienced a budget cut, but the students were able to adjust.

"They rolled with the punches," Higginbotham said. "They were willing and able to make any adjustments necessary. The entire time they kept positive attitudes."

Stacked tires and pallets were used as obstacles and hiding places in the course.Teams, which consisted of a minimum of five people, were allowed to pre-register or just show up and play. Competition between teams was a best two-out-of-three games, but once every team had played if there was still time left, teams were allowed to play additional games. A person who did not have a team was able to join an already formed team. The games were seven minutes long.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Photoshop Images

Original

Crop

Levels

Resize

Rotate

Photo from Flickr

Jazz Fest Rocks on Stage

Artists defy the weather to perform for the crowds

By: Corey C Poole

Amidst rain, thunder and lightning, the Natchitoches Jazz and R&B Festival began with College night on Friday.Various bands played for a crowd gathered inside of the Armory building on Fairgrounds Road.

Rodney Harrington, an attorney and the Entertainment Chairman for the festival, was there to introduce bands and rock out to the music. Harrington is the lead singer of Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, who performed Saturday on the riverbank. He is also on the board for the festival."What sets our festival apart from others is the wide variety of music that we have and the natural setting of the riverbank," Harrington said. "No other festival can compete."

It was the thirteenth year that the festival has run and all of the staff consisted of volunteers. The purpose of the festival is to bring musicians and good music to the Natchitoches area and spotlight some of its great musicians.College night provides a venue for young musicians to perform in public. Last year's "Natchitoches Star," Rebecca Eskew, was also there to enjoy the music scene.

150 Franklin was one of the many bands that played. Members included:

Stephen Poole (saxophone and flute)
Dave Combs (lead singer, tambourine and harmonica)
Ben Kitterlin (drums)
Robin Rachal (bass)
Lance Thompson (guitar), Shane Erath (guitar)
Ariel Obrien (vocals)

The band also has a Myspace page."150 Franklin has a unique blend of classic rock, blues and just enough loudness that is the perfect formula for a new kind of rock," Jessica Paul, senior psychology major at NSU said.

Jeff Mathews, a professor in the Creative and Performing Arts department, is also a member of Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, said the festival highlights jazz and R&B here in Natchitoches.

"I think college night involves college bands and students that come out on Friday night. This might encourage them to come out on Saturday and learn about music that isn't necessarily on the radio or their iPods"

Eskew was also at Saturday's Natchitoches Star competition where the three finalists sang in front of a panel of judges, which included the band Jypsi from Nashville.

Mandi Ridgdell, a senior theater major, sang "Fever."
Jarrad Baker, also a senior theater major, sang At this Moment.
Hailey Mitchell, the youngest finalist, sang Unchained Melody.

Ridgdell has been performing since she was 11 years old, Baker since he was seven and Mitchell has been singing ever since she could hold a microphone.

"It wasn't very stressful, but rather laid back," Baker said. "There was a fee to enter and the first competition was held at The Landing, which consisted of about 10 people."

"Jazz Festival is a great way to get the community together and bring all types of music to Natchitoches," said Chloe De Rowen, junior biology major.

"The crowds here are ready to party," said Mauva Belle, who performed with her band, Hot Water. They performed on Saturday and incited dancing.

At 6 p.m. a band called Adelaide played on one of the side stages. Another band, Soul Crew, performed at 3 p.m. The band took a vacation for a few months before the festival, so they said playing at the festival "was a great welcome back show." Members comprised:

Coby Michalek (bass)
Tre Moreland (saxophone)
Justin Anding (guitar)
Chris Hampton (drums)

Michalek rolled up his sleeve to reveal a "Rock and Roll" tattoo, which he said illustrates the band's motivation. Perhaps this simple phrase could sum up the entire festival and all of its participants.

Original:
Media Credit: Corey Poole
Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs perform at the Jazz and R&B Festival on Saturday.Amidst rain, thunder and lightning, the Natchitoches Jazz and R&B Festival began with College night on Friday. Various bands played for a crowd gathered inside of the Armory building on Fairgrounds Road.Rodney Harrington, an attorney and the Entertainment Chairman for the festival, was there to introduce bands and rock out to the music. Harrington is the lead singer of Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, who performed Saturday on the riverbank. He is also on the board for the festival."What sets our festival apart from others is the wide variety of music that we have and the natural setting of the riverbank," Harrington said. "No other festival can compete."It was the thirteenth year that the festival has run and all of the staff consisted of volunteers. The purpose of the festival is to bring musicians and good music to the Natchitoches area and spotlight some of its great musicians.College night provides a venue for young musicians to perform in public. Last year's "Natchitoches Star," Rebecca Eskew, was also there to enjoy the music scene. 150 Franklin was one of the many bands that played. Members included Stephen Poole (saxophone and flute), Dave Combs (lead singer, tambourine and harmonica), Ben Kitterlin (drums), Robin Rachal (bass), Lance Thompson (guitar), Shane Erath (guitar) and Ariel Obrien (vocals). The band also has a Myspace page."150 Franklin has a unique blend of classic rock, blues and just enough loudness that is the perfect formula for a new kind of rock," Jessica Paul, senior psychology major at NSU said.Jeff Mathews, a professor in the Creative and Performing Arts department, is also a member of Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, said the festival highlights jazz and R&B here in Natchitoches."I think college night involves college bands and students that come out on Friday night. This might encourage them to come out on Saturday and learn about music that isn't necessarily on the radio or their iPods," said Mathews.Eskew was also at Saturday's Natchitoches Star competition where the three finalists sang in front of a panel of judges, which included the band Jypsi from Nashville.Mandi Ridgdell, a senior theater major, sang "Fever." Jarrad Baker, also a senior theater major, sang At this Moment. Hailey Mitchell, the youngest finalist, sang Unchained Melody. Ridgdell has been performing since she was 11 years old, Baker since he was seven and Mitchell has been singing ever since she could hold a microphone.

"It wasn't very stressful, but rather laid back," Baker said. "There was a fee to enter and the first competition was held at The Landing, which consisted of about 10 people.""Jazz Festival is a great way to get the community together and bring all types of music to Natchitoches," said Chloe De Rowen, junior biology major."The crowds here are ready to party," said Mauva Belle, who performed with her band, Hot Water. They performed on Saturday and incited dancing.At 6 p.m. a band called Adelaide played on one of the side stages. Another band, Soul Crew, performed at 3 p.m. The band took a vacation for a few months before the festival, so they said playing at the festival "was a great welcome back show." Members comprised Coby Michalek (bass), Tre Moreland (saxophone), Justin Anding (guitar) and Chris Hampton (drums).Michalek rolled up his sleeve to reveal a "Rock and Roll" tattoo, which he said illustrates the band's motivation. Perhaps this simple phrase could sum up the entire festival and all of its participants.