 Zydeco Crawfish is now open Wednesday through Saturday from 5pm to 9pm. They are located at 5400 Hwy 14, south of McNeese St. They offer boiled crawfish to go, live crawfish and catering. Find them on Facebook to receive updates or call 337-479-2295. Individuals are needed as volunteers to assist with providing free tax preparation for the upcoming tax season. United Way of Southwest Louisiana is looking for individuals to join their volunteer team as an Internal Revenue Service-certified volunteer tax preparer. The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program provides free tax preparation services for low-income individuals and families. No experience is necessary to become a volunteer tax preparer. Volunteers will need to complete an online IRS course to obtain certification in basic tax preparation. There are a number of sites that will be providing tax preparation services. For more information and to sign up, call 337/433-1088, Ext. 11. Hart Eye Center will hold free no-cost cataract screenings on Saturday, January 10, and Saturday, January 24, from 8am until noon. While it is true that the majority of people who suffer from cataracts are age 65 and over, early-stage cataracts can begin occurring in one's 40s or 50s. Cataracts are occasionally found in young people, even babies. More than half of all Americans develop a cataract by the time they reach 80. Individuals attending the screenings must call 439-4014 to make an appointment. For more information on free eye screenings or to check for future dates and schedule changes visit www.harteyecenter.com 2013 Home Show will be held on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 9am to 5pm, and on Sunday, Jan. 13, from 10am to 4pm. Admission is $5 per person. Children 12 and under get in free when accompanied by an adult. The Home Show (sponsored by the Home Builders Association of SWLA) will feature more than 140 vendor booths displaying products, services and exclusive offers. The event will showcase the latest samples in flooring, appliances, countertops, plumbing fixtures and more. Booths will be staffed by experts who will be ready to help visitors realize the pieces needed to put together the home of their dreams. The next Newcomer's Club meeting will take place at the Pioneer Club (atop the Chase Bank building, downtown Lake Charles) on January 14 with Patricia Prudhomme of Banners. She will provide an overview of this year's Banner series. RSVP to newcomersla@gmail.com or 496-7490 by noon on Friday, January 11 - Lunch is $15. Please bring the name of someone you think would enjoy Newcomers (we have invites to mail). Women & Children's Hospital will host a free bariatric seminar Wednesday, January 16, at 6pm in the First Floor Classroom of the hospital, located at 4200 Nelson Rd. Board-certified general surgeon, Keith Chung, M.D. will discuss the three surgical weight loss procedures offered at WCH, a designated Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence and will help you find out if weight loss surgery is right for you. Call 475-4760 to reserve your place. Feel free to bring a support person with you. Women & Children's Hospital will host their next free Healthy Woman event on Thursday, January 17, from 5:30 to 7pm at the Lake Charles Country Club located at 3350 Country Club Drive. The topic for this month's event is Start the New Year Off Right and will feature a sampling of the latest dance and exercise classes sweeping the nation including; Zumba, belly dancing and other Latin moves. Exercise attire is encouraged. Anyone interested in attending this event or in joining Healthy Woman should register at www.women-childrens.com/healthywoman or call Lisa Guerrero at 337-475-4064. Door prizes and refreshments will be provided following the program. The Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau is honored to host the Lieutenant Governor's Tourism Summit in Lake Charles January 22-24, 2013 at L'Auberge Casino Resort. Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne has declared 2013 the Year of Music, so the conference theme will be "Louisiana Strong - Tourism Jam Session." The Louisiana Travel Promotion Association has planned one of the largest educational opportunities for tourism professionals across the state at the Summit. Attendees will hear from the Lieutenant Governor and other legislators on the state of the industry; Roger Dow, the President and CEO of the US Travel Association; and the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Breakout sessions will be held for sales, marketing, leadership and communications. To attend the entire conference, the Early Bird Rate is $325 until December 31. Or, consider coming for a single day for $195. To find out more about the conference, go to www.ltpa.org. The Institute for Industry-Education Collaboration at McNeese State University offers the following classes: Construction Site Safety Technician (CSST) on Tue and Thur, Jan. 22 - May 16 from 6 - 9:30 pm; Private Investigator Basic Training on Fri, Sat, Sun, Feb. 1-3 & 8-10; from 6pm-10pm, and Sat & Sun from 8am-5pm; OSHA 10-HR Standards for General Industry on Wed and Thur, Feb 6 (8am-4:30pm) and Feb 7 (8am-11:30am); Fundamentals of Project Management on Fri, Feb 8 from 8am-3pm; and Introduction to Cyber Security on Tue, Feb 19 from 8am-5pm. For more information, go to www.mcneese.edu/iiec or call 562-4139. Yellowbook 360 is hosting a free online marketing seminar on January 24 from 3pm to 6pm. Topics will include your local online visibility, website design, search engine optimization, social media, local listings and maps, mobile search, and more. This seminar will be held at SpringHill Suites in Lake Charles located at 1551 West Prien Lake Road. To register, email gayla.richard@hibu.com or call 337-232-4831. The City of Lake Charles will open the traveling exhibition "50 Greatest Photographs of National Geographic." The opening reception will take place Friday, January 25, from 5:30-8pm at the Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center at 1001 Ryan Street. All ages are welcome at no charge and refreshments will be served. The Louisiana Crossroads series continues as The City of Lake Charles presents Joel Savoy's Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round & Special Guests on Wednesday, January 30 at 7pm at Central School Theater (809 Kirby Street). Advance tickets for the Lake Charles shows are $10 and can be purchased at the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana on the second floor of Central School or on line at www.louisianacrossroads.org. Tickets at the door will be $12. For more information, please call (337) 491-9159 or visit the department of cultural affairs at www.cityoflakecharles.com. On January 31, Family & Youth is holding its "Civic Engagement Training Institute." Civic Engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. This Institute will challenge civic minded participants to identify and understand issues that affect the quality of life in SWLA, craft statements to challenge current situations, and develop solutions to issues of concern. The Institute will be from 9am to 3pm. Register through Roxanne Camara at 337-436-9533 or roxanne@fyca.org. The Arts Council of SWLA has announced that the application for the Lake Charles Partnership Grant is available for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. This competitive grant program is funded annually by the City of Lake Charles and administered by the Arts Council, and it expands the accessibility of the arts by providing arts organizations and community groups the opportunity to develop arts programming within Lake Charles. Applicants may apply for up to $3,000 for project assistance for events occurring between April 2013 and March 2014. Eligible applicants may also apply for up to $2,000 for organizational support which provides funding for operating expenses of arts organizations, such as salaries and supplies. Applications may be downloaded at www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org or picked up at the Arts Council office, located at 809 Kirby Street, Suite 202 in Lake Charles. Applications must be received, not post-marked, by Friday, February 1, 2013 at 5 p.m. in the Arts Council office; applications may not be submitted to the City of Lake Charles. The Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, will perform at L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles on February 15th in the Event Center. Gladys Knight is an eight-time Grammy winner and has performed as a solo and group artist over the past 50 years. Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com. Floor tickets will be $60, and stadium tickets will be $50. Must be 21 to attend. American pop rock band, Matchbox Twenty, will hit the stage of L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles on Friday, March 22. Matchbox Twenty recently released its fourth album, "NORTH," which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. Tickets will go on sale on Feb. 8, and can be purchased for $55 via www.ticketmaster.com. Must be 21. For more information on upcoming concerts log on to www.mylauberge.com or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/laubergedulac. |
At the 109th Chamber SWLA Banquet, Lt. Col. Greg Gadson 
For more information about the expansions at Sasol North America, go to this link:
The Board of West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) elected Robert (Bob) Davidson of Sulphur as its new Chairman, and re-appointed its current vice-chairman, Frank LaBarbera, Jr. of Carlyss, to serve until 2015. Davidson has served on the Board of Commissioners since January 2000 and LaBarbera has served since January 2004. Current members also serving on the Board of Commissioners of WCCH include immediate past Chairman Rapheal Fontenot of Vinton, Bobby LeTard of Westlake, and Joe Devall of Hackberry. 