Nederland Art Guild show reflects area’s scenery
Brenda Lu is not for sale; but you can get a look at TAM
Too bad for Brenda, who tried to buy the Brenda Lu. The artist, her own husband, wouldn’t sell it.
Bobby Pastorella’s No. 2 pencil work swept the professional drawing division of the Nederland Art Guild show, up all August at Texas Artists Museum.
Pastorella drew a boat from real life, but he couldn’t pronounce the name. He christened the one in his picture “Brenda,” after his wife, and added the “Lu,” from a friend’s nickname for her. But when she offered to purchase the completed drawing, he told her it wasn’t for sale.
It’s possible Brenda may get another chance, because Pastorella says he’s sketched 38 images since February. Sounds like he’s got more in him, and he likes to capture the area.
“I try to do stuff that’s indigenous to the area. I love animated movement,” he said, adding the beach and swamps are among his favorites.
Jody Domingue earned best of show with a cypress swamp and Wanda Mitchell’s work earned best floral honor.
Doris Webb - Nederland Art Guild President, invites visitors to view the 39 works in the show, which also include western and Native American scenes.
“Our judge for the show was Roy Bares, artist and art instructor for Monsignor Kelly High School in Beaumont. Roy is an amazing artist. His work is very much in demand,” Webb said.
For information on Nederland Art Guild, call 409-728-1875. The museum is at 3501 Cultural Center Drive in Port Arthur.
Check out the Groves library
Local cabinet maker Chad Henderson gets credit for the new circulation desk at the Groves Public Library, and Deborah Harper, director, wants readers to check it out. When school starts, maybe parents can catch up on their reading and see the new look. The library is at 5600 West Washington Ave. in Groves. Find them at: http://www.groveslibrary.org.
This blood’s for you!
My phone machine frequently has messages from LifeShare asking for my blood.
Del Papa Distributing Company will host its annual “This Blood’s For
You” blood drive on Sept. 9, at three locations in the Beaumont area,
and I’ll bet donors will be lined up to give. The company recently
celebrated 100 years of service and has partnered with LifeShare
before to remember those who gave their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
Stop by its Beaumont Distribution Center at 410 Interstate 10 South, Fire Station 1 on College Street in Beaumont or the LifeShare Blood Bank on Laurel Avenue to give blood and support area hospitals.
ddoiron@panews.com.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Mama Mia! Dine with the underbosses at Sertoma
Moe Green salad is on the menu at a Godfather/gangster themed Mama Mia Italian dinner to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and American Cancer Society.
A $25 ticket will help good causes and promote a good time with the Golden Triangle Sertoma Club Inc. The event will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at The Courtyard Café in Groves.
“This is so much fun,” Emily Sonier, president, said.
Debbie Neef has donated a black Coach Bag that someone will go home with. It’s valued at $268. For information, call Linda Hebert at 963-4882.
Fisher on the small screen
Frances Fisher, formerly of Orange, appears in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” a 2011 now-on-DVD selection starring Matthew McConaughey as “ a sleazy defense attorney who has a crisis of conscience when he represents a wealthy client who has a foolproof plan to beat the system.”
I can’t say any more about her role, but I did enjoy the movie, which features several other major stars.
Independent Movie Data Base has this in Fisher’s bio:
“Her father worked in oil refinery construction, so she moved regularly. She was born in England and moved about every year until she was in 7th grade, when the family settled in Orange, Texas.”
Big Thicket: Read All About It
Maxine Johnston, editor of The Big Thicket Reporter,” helped edit Lorraine G. Bonney’s “The Big Thicket Guidebook: Exploring the Backroads and History of Southeast Texas.” Look for it this fall. For more information, contact Maxine@mxjohnston.com
ddoiron@panews.com
Moe Green salad is on the menu at a Godfather/gangster themed Mama Mia Italian dinner to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and American Cancer Society.
A $25 ticket will help good causes and promote a good time with the Golden Triangle Sertoma Club Inc. The event will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at The Courtyard Café in Groves.
“This is so much fun,” Emily Sonier, president, said.
Debbie Neef has donated a black Coach Bag that someone will go home with. It’s valued at $268. For information, call Linda Hebert at 963-4882.
Fisher on the small screen
Frances Fisher, formerly of Orange, appears in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” a 2011 now-on-DVD selection starring Matthew McConaughey as “ a sleazy defense attorney who has a crisis of conscience when he represents a wealthy client who has a foolproof plan to beat the system.”
I can’t say any more about her role, but I did enjoy the movie, which features several other major stars.
Independent Movie Data Base has this in Fisher’s bio:
“Her father worked in oil refinery construction, so she moved regularly. She was born in England and moved about every year until she was in 7th grade, when the family settled in Orange, Texas.”
Big Thicket: Read All About It
Maxine Johnston, editor of The Big Thicket Reporter,” helped edit Lorraine G. Bonney’s “The Big Thicket Guidebook: Exploring the Backroads and History of Southeast Texas.” Look for it this fall. For more information, contact Maxine@mxjohnston.com
ddoiron@panews.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Red Hussars on parade?
I’m hearing reports that the Red Hussars are noted in an exhibit on Texas high school football at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin.
Matthew Odam’s story in the Austin American Statesman reads “Visitors also will learn the history behind the Port Arthur Red Hussars, the nation's first all-female drum and bugle corps, and find out more about the legendary Gussie Nell Davis, who brought her personal flair to the Greenville High School Flaming Flashes before starting the Kilgore Rangerettes.”
Banker buddies
David Parsley and Terry Rozelle are two retired bankers who have gone back to working - a part time job - for Texas First Bank. It’s a new bank to Southeast Texas with a branch in Winnie, one in Fannett and a newly-opened branch in Port Arthur/Mid County.
"The bank has impressed both of us and we are pleased to be able to associate with such a quality organization" Parsley said.
He retired after 42 years in banking in Jefferson County. He and his wife Sue, who retired from Motiva, enjoy traveling and say they get to the Cayman Islands and Europe at least once a year. Terry and his wife Gwen have both been retired about a year. They say they spend more time with their families and also enjoy traveling.
Parsley and Rozelle are senior business consultants for Texas First Bank and work with the bank on business development. Also they work with the local officers on specific projects and help in packaging loans and deposit relationships.
Tune in to Fernando
Fernando Ramirez, Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and man about town, is promoting a new radio program, K-PASA Southeast Texas, in Spanish it sounds like Que Pasa. It’s “what’s happening,” get it? The mainly-Spanish format will discuss activity around Port Arthur, he said. Listen Sundays at noon on 1340 AM on the dial.
ddoiron@panews.com
I’m hearing reports that the Red Hussars are noted in an exhibit on Texas high school football at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin.
Matthew Odam’s story in the Austin American Statesman reads “Visitors also will learn the history behind the Port Arthur Red Hussars, the nation's first all-female drum and bugle corps, and find out more about the legendary Gussie Nell Davis, who brought her personal flair to the Greenville High School Flaming Flashes before starting the Kilgore Rangerettes.”
Banker buddies
David Parsley and Terry Rozelle are two retired bankers who have gone back to working - a part time job - for Texas First Bank. It’s a new bank to Southeast Texas with a branch in Winnie, one in Fannett and a newly-opened branch in Port Arthur/Mid County.
"The bank has impressed both of us and we are pleased to be able to associate with such a quality organization" Parsley said.
He retired after 42 years in banking in Jefferson County. He and his wife Sue, who retired from Motiva, enjoy traveling and say they get to the Cayman Islands and Europe at least once a year. Terry and his wife Gwen have both been retired about a year. They say they spend more time with their families and also enjoy traveling.
Parsley and Rozelle are senior business consultants for Texas First Bank and work with the bank on business development. Also they work with the local officers on specific projects and help in packaging loans and deposit relationships.
Tune in to Fernando
Fernando Ramirez, Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and man about town, is promoting a new radio program, K-PASA Southeast Texas, in Spanish it sounds like Que Pasa. It’s “what’s happening,” get it? The mainly-Spanish format will discuss activity around Port Arthur, he said. Listen Sundays at noon on 1340 AM on the dial.
ddoiron@panews.com
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Forget bed head; get beach hair
Growing up so close to the beach, some of us may not have realized that many Americans strive for a certain “beachy” look. I once tried a cream that left me with the seaside sensation of surfboard wax and sand stuck in my hair.
Beach Wave Control Mist by Pravana is another story. Mist it in and let it dry for soft curls. It doesn’t feel sticky or even look wet. Jojoba oil, rosemary extract, keratin, wheat and silk amino acids are in this formula, so I’m setting up at this beach.
Or try a hat
If you can’t get beach hair, try a Wallaroo hat. Company creators returned to Boulder, Co. sporting the Aussie secret for sun protection, cool, crushable fabric hats. Now they’re creating their own plus updating classic styles for men and women and donating funds to support skin cancer research. With that thought, my husband is looking good on mowing duty in a Havana hat, which Wallaroo doesn’t promise will “improve your swing” on the course, but asserts it should boost a golfer’s confidence. It looks as sporty as the Berumuda, which is suggested for Sunday brunch or a walk in the park. You can still get a beach look from several Wallaroo offerings.
Mucus Management
Mucus management is big business, say creators of Boogie Wipes, a soft solution for children with runny noses. No want wants a chapped nose on top of that. Now Little Busy Bodies Inc. offers adult relief with moist Saline Soothers, packets of super-soft towelettes in Cool Menthol and fragrance-free forms. Someone asked how much I could possibly write about a wipe. How’s this: “Aaaaahhhhh.” As a nasal bidet/netti pot supporter, I think this option is amazing for travel. Look for them at Walgreens and Walmart.
A is for Argan
Fatty acids are a good thing and Aura Cacia has put them to skin care use through five new oils from around the world, certified through the USDA’s National Organic Program. Pump bottles dispense wee dabs of fragrant oils that are healing to my senses. Argan oil sounds like something from “Lord of the Rings” to me, but it’s squeezed from nuts of a native desert tree in Morocco. It’s good on skin, hair and scalp, as is Baobab from African trees and emerald-green Tamanu from South Pacific fruit trees. The new line has a natural, earthy aroma that is so natural and different from the highly-processed artificial scents found all around us. Bottles suggest pumping some into the palm and adding a few drops of this brand’s essential oils, which I also enjoy.
Mature and sun-damaged skin eats up rose hip oil from Chile.
There’s one more: Macadamia nut oil from Kenya creates a “long-lasting superior shield of emollients” and Rosehip oil from Chile has pure retinol (Vitamin A) known for replenishing and restoring skin. This one smells especially yummy.
High Maintenance
Lay on the keratin, it’s already in your nails, naturally. Dermelect’s High Maintenance Instant Nail Thickener is a clear coat of a form of keratin with protein peptide ProSina designed to thicken nails up to 50 percent in a single coat. Makers call it hands down the most innovative top coat you’ll ever need, because it also has UV absorber to protect polish from yellowing while preventing both light and dark colors from quickly fading. It’s shiny stuff that’s doing what it claims for me.
ddoiron@panews.com
Growing up so close to the beach, some of us may not have realized that many Americans strive for a certain “beachy” look. I once tried a cream that left me with the seaside sensation of surfboard wax and sand stuck in my hair.
Beach Wave Control Mist by Pravana is another story. Mist it in and let it dry for soft curls. It doesn’t feel sticky or even look wet. Jojoba oil, rosemary extract, keratin, wheat and silk amino acids are in this formula, so I’m setting up at this beach.
Or try a hat
If you can’t get beach hair, try a Wallaroo hat. Company creators returned to Boulder, Co. sporting the Aussie secret for sun protection, cool, crushable fabric hats. Now they’re creating their own plus updating classic styles for men and women and donating funds to support skin cancer research. With that thought, my husband is looking good on mowing duty in a Havana hat, which Wallaroo doesn’t promise will “improve your swing” on the course, but asserts it should boost a golfer’s confidence. It looks as sporty as the Berumuda, which is suggested for Sunday brunch or a walk in the park. You can still get a beach look from several Wallaroo offerings.
Mucus Management
Mucus management is big business, say creators of Boogie Wipes, a soft solution for children with runny noses. No want wants a chapped nose on top of that. Now Little Busy Bodies Inc. offers adult relief with moist Saline Soothers, packets of super-soft towelettes in Cool Menthol and fragrance-free forms. Someone asked how much I could possibly write about a wipe. How’s this: “Aaaaahhhhh.” As a nasal bidet/netti pot supporter, I think this option is amazing for travel. Look for them at Walgreens and Walmart.
A is for Argan
Fatty acids are a good thing and Aura Cacia has put them to skin care use through five new oils from around the world, certified through the USDA’s National Organic Program. Pump bottles dispense wee dabs of fragrant oils that are healing to my senses. Argan oil sounds like something from “Lord of the Rings” to me, but it’s squeezed from nuts of a native desert tree in Morocco. It’s good on skin, hair and scalp, as is Baobab from African trees and emerald-green Tamanu from South Pacific fruit trees. The new line has a natural, earthy aroma that is so natural and different from the highly-processed artificial scents found all around us. Bottles suggest pumping some into the palm and adding a few drops of this brand’s essential oils, which I also enjoy.
Mature and sun-damaged skin eats up rose hip oil from Chile.
There’s one more: Macadamia nut oil from Kenya creates a “long-lasting superior shield of emollients” and Rosehip oil from Chile has pure retinol (Vitamin A) known for replenishing and restoring skin. This one smells especially yummy.
High Maintenance
Lay on the keratin, it’s already in your nails, naturally. Dermelect’s High Maintenance Instant Nail Thickener is a clear coat of a form of keratin with protein peptide ProSina designed to thicken nails up to 50 percent in a single coat. Makers call it hands down the most innovative top coat you’ll ever need, because it also has UV absorber to protect polish from yellowing while preventing both light and dark colors from quickly fading. It’s shiny stuff that’s doing what it claims for me.
ddoiron@panews.com
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Columnists cross paths in Houston
My friend and I were buzzing through the Montrose area of Houston when I thought I saw a familiar face in the black car next to me. I recognized him as The Examiner’s Out and About columnist, Albert Nolen. I’m 99.9 percent sure it was him. I’ve never actually met him, though I have been very close to him at some event dance floors.
My friend insisted I roll down the window and call out to him, though I insisted he wouldn’t know me. She said one columnist ought to acknowledge another when both crossed paths so far from home.
The deal is she had put on the child locks to keep her spouse from toying with her windows and we couldn’t open them as the light changed, so what Mr. Nolen saw was two grown women wildly gesturing from a locked-down car. He was friendly anyway, and gestured back.
Full of energy
Jinni Akins grew up in Nederland and says her 2-year-old son loves the Nederland Heritage Festival as much as she did and does. She’ll be in the big middle of it next season, as the new executive vice president of the Nederland Chamber of Commerce. She says she has been welcomed with open arms and says her favorite thing about the city right now is all the support she is getting.
She promised to get around to visit all the chamber members.
Sylvia Root, chamber president, said Akins is “full of energy.”
“I think everybody’s going to feed off that. She’s not shy,” Root said.
Signs of faith in Nederland
First Assembly of God’s marquis says its church is “prayer conditioned.” Down the road, the sign at Nederland Apostolic Church reports it is “Souled Out,” with “kneeling room only.”
ddoiron@panews.com
My friend and I were buzzing through the Montrose area of Houston when I thought I saw a familiar face in the black car next to me. I recognized him as The Examiner’s Out and About columnist, Albert Nolen. I’m 99.9 percent sure it was him. I’ve never actually met him, though I have been very close to him at some event dance floors.
My friend insisted I roll down the window and call out to him, though I insisted he wouldn’t know me. She said one columnist ought to acknowledge another when both crossed paths so far from home.
The deal is she had put on the child locks to keep her spouse from toying with her windows and we couldn’t open them as the light changed, so what Mr. Nolen saw was two grown women wildly gesturing from a locked-down car. He was friendly anyway, and gestured back.
Full of energy
Jinni Akins grew up in Nederland and says her 2-year-old son loves the Nederland Heritage Festival as much as she did and does. She’ll be in the big middle of it next season, as the new executive vice president of the Nederland Chamber of Commerce. She says she has been welcomed with open arms and says her favorite thing about the city right now is all the support she is getting.
She promised to get around to visit all the chamber members.
Sylvia Root, chamber president, said Akins is “full of energy.”
“I think everybody’s going to feed off that. She’s not shy,” Root said.
Signs of faith in Nederland
First Assembly of God’s marquis says its church is “prayer conditioned.” Down the road, the sign at Nederland Apostolic Church reports it is “Souled Out,” with “kneeling room only.”
ddoiron@panews.com
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A smokin’ no no about messin’ with Texas
The Don’t Mess with Texas campaign has been kickin’ 25 years and now there’s another message for visitors and residents:
“Texas is Not Your Ashtray” is the word going statewide.
“A smoldering cigarette butt tossed out a car window onto dry grass can spark a blaze that quickly spreads for miles, scorching farm and ranch lands, destroying homes, threatening lives and exhausting limited state resources to battle. With Texas suffering the worst drought in nearly half a century and cigarette butts accounting for 43 percent of the state's roadside trash,” the "Don't Mess with Texas" program reports.
A good read mentions area
My husband picked up a Rebecca Wells book for me at a garage sale, knowing how much I enjoyed “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.” This book, “The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder,” has been out a while. I didn’t realize one of the little girls in it, “Sukey,” claims to have lived in Beaumont, Texas, before arriving in La Luna, Louisiana. I can’t be sure about this claim, because Sukey is prone to fibbing. I read aloud a passage for my sister and mother about how Sukey meets her future best friends in a movie theater bathroom, by charging girls to see the “treasures” in her purse, including a diamond she says belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. I pictured the whole thing taking place in the Jefferson Theater’s majestic ladies room. I read this book real slow like, because I didn’t want it to end.
Art of the mow
I caught an artist mowing the Texas Artists Museum lawn. John Manuel of Port Arthur said that’s what board members there do: They serve. He promoted Art Smart, the TAM youth day camp, and also handed out cards for his exhibit of paintings, up through July 23 at the Ice House Museum in Silsbee. After I featured Manuel in the News for his late-in-life start to the arts and his using ordinary house paint and materials he’s gleaned from the side of the road, readers called up to donate supplies to his craft. He said he stayed out of trouble as long as they lasted.
ddoiron@panews.com
The Don’t Mess with Texas campaign has been kickin’ 25 years and now there’s another message for visitors and residents:
“Texas is Not Your Ashtray” is the word going statewide.
“A smoldering cigarette butt tossed out a car window onto dry grass can spark a blaze that quickly spreads for miles, scorching farm and ranch lands, destroying homes, threatening lives and exhausting limited state resources to battle. With Texas suffering the worst drought in nearly half a century and cigarette butts accounting for 43 percent of the state's roadside trash,” the "Don't Mess with Texas" program reports.
A good read mentions area
My husband picked up a Rebecca Wells book for me at a garage sale, knowing how much I enjoyed “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.” This book, “The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder,” has been out a while. I didn’t realize one of the little girls in it, “Sukey,” claims to have lived in Beaumont, Texas, before arriving in La Luna, Louisiana. I can’t be sure about this claim, because Sukey is prone to fibbing. I read aloud a passage for my sister and mother about how Sukey meets her future best friends in a movie theater bathroom, by charging girls to see the “treasures” in her purse, including a diamond she says belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. I pictured the whole thing taking place in the Jefferson Theater’s majestic ladies room. I read this book real slow like, because I didn’t want it to end.
Art of the mow
I caught an artist mowing the Texas Artists Museum lawn. John Manuel of Port Arthur said that’s what board members there do: They serve. He promoted Art Smart, the TAM youth day camp, and also handed out cards for his exhibit of paintings, up through July 23 at the Ice House Museum in Silsbee. After I featured Manuel in the News for his late-in-life start to the arts and his using ordinary house paint and materials he’s gleaned from the side of the road, readers called up to donate supplies to his craft. He said he stayed out of trouble as long as they lasted.
ddoiron@panews.com
Monday, July 4, 2011
Doing the Most Good
Here’s a warning to a few of the do-gooders of Mid-County. I passed your name to Ed and Terrie Cheshire, the new couple heading the Salvation Army of Port Arthur. I had the chance to show them the sea wall, which offers a different view than their most recent home in Big Spring. Terrie says she prays for the city on her morning walks and will be asking others to lift Port Arthur up, in their prayers. Don’t be surprised if she or Ed call on you to exchange ideas on how to support our population.
“Winds Over Bolivar”
I was shopping at Act II Consignment in Beaumont when Brenda Cannon Henley’s husband came in to promote her book “Winds Over Bolivar,” about our own Hurricane Ike. I’ll bet several of us say we could write a book about it, but “Go Brenda,” you did. She’s an award-winning journalist and here’s what’s listed about her book on Amazon:
“In September 2008, Hurricane Ike wrecked havoc on the Texas Coast leaving the Bolivar Peninsula nearly decimated. Ike killed more than 100 people and caused $24.9 billion in damages, earning the awful title of the third costliest storm to ever hit America's shores. Virtually erased from the map, Bolivar was bent...but not broken. Brenda Cannon Henley artfully weaves her own tragic story of life-changing loss with the untold stories of the people of Bolivar. ‘Winds over Bolivar’ is a resounding tale of devastation, triumph, and the prevailing winds of the indomitable human spirit. “
Boomtown honor
KCENT-TV.com reports that a Port Arthur native is up for an award that also lists rapper Kanye West as a nominee. Nahala Johnson, aka Mister Boomtown, has been nominated for the third straight year by BET as music director of the year. The 1990 Lincoln High graduate and 1995 University of Houston graduate has directed videos for rapper Gucci Mane, and has also worked with Port Arthur natives Bun B and Pimp C.
Ddoiron@panews.com
Here’s a warning to a few of the do-gooders of Mid-County. I passed your name to Ed and Terrie Cheshire, the new couple heading the Salvation Army of Port Arthur. I had the chance to show them the sea wall, which offers a different view than their most recent home in Big Spring. Terrie says she prays for the city on her morning walks and will be asking others to lift Port Arthur up, in their prayers. Don’t be surprised if she or Ed call on you to exchange ideas on how to support our population.
“Winds Over Bolivar”
I was shopping at Act II Consignment in Beaumont when Brenda Cannon Henley’s husband came in to promote her book “Winds Over Bolivar,” about our own Hurricane Ike. I’ll bet several of us say we could write a book about it, but “Go Brenda,” you did. She’s an award-winning journalist and here’s what’s listed about her book on Amazon:
“In September 2008, Hurricane Ike wrecked havoc on the Texas Coast leaving the Bolivar Peninsula nearly decimated. Ike killed more than 100 people and caused $24.9 billion in damages, earning the awful title of the third costliest storm to ever hit America's shores. Virtually erased from the map, Bolivar was bent...but not broken. Brenda Cannon Henley artfully weaves her own tragic story of life-changing loss with the untold stories of the people of Bolivar. ‘Winds over Bolivar’ is a resounding tale of devastation, triumph, and the prevailing winds of the indomitable human spirit. “
Boomtown honor
KCENT-TV.com reports that a Port Arthur native is up for an award that also lists rapper Kanye West as a nominee. Nahala Johnson, aka Mister Boomtown, has been nominated for the third straight year by BET as music director of the year. The 1990 Lincoln High graduate and 1995 University of Houston graduate has directed videos for rapper Gucci Mane, and has also worked with Port Arthur natives Bun B and Pimp C.
Ddoiron@panews.com
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