April 2020

Poppy day will be observed May 30; 1,200 flowers ordered

JEFF DAVIS PARISH NEWS

Red, White and Blue Greek Yogurt Bark

Article Image Alt Text

Prep time: 5 minutes

Servings: 12

3 cups plain non-fat Greek yogurt

1/3 cup honey, plus additional for drizzling (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced into rounds

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup raspberries, halved

In medium mixing bowl combine Greek yogurt, 1/3 cup honey and vanilla.

SUPER SNACKING

Snacks are a way of life for people of all ages, but especially children, who consume about 25% of their daily calories from snacks, according to research published in the “Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.” Providing nutritionally balanced snacks for your children at home can make for a happy and healthy day. Planning snacks that are as delicious as they are healthy is a winning solution, and snacks are a simple way to add more nutrition to your child’s diet.

EPA guts rule credited with cleaning up coal-plant toxic air

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday gutted an Obama-era rule that compelled the country’s coal plants to cut back emissions of mercury and other human health hazards, a move designed to limit future regulation of air pollutants from coal- and oilfired power plants.

Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler said the rollback was reversing what he depicted as regulatory overreach by the Obama administration. “We have put in place an honest accounting method that balances” the cost to utilities with public safety, he said.

Need for seed: Gardeners flock to stores, overwhelm websites

NITRO, W.Va. (AP) — The sweet peppers were picked over, the tomatoes were taken and the flowers were fixing to be next. The empty spots on the store’s display were starting to outnumber the full ones.

Gardeners are feeling the need for seed, grabbing packets off shelves at an accelerated rate. Those still looking for certain varieties of vegetables, or who can’t go to to stores because of social distancing and retail closures, are overwhelming websites, creating a huge backlog of orders.

Board meeting to be streamed online

The Jeff Davis Parish School Board will livestream its meeting next week to continue observing social distancing measures.

A 5 p.m. agenda meeting will be held Tuesday. Interested viewers can follow along by visiting the district’s website at www.jeffersondavis.org. According to a meeting agenda, video and audio will be recorded throughout the meeting and will be archived.

Pandemic provokes spike in demand for food pantries in US

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — Brooklyn Dotson needed food. Her first unemployment check had yet to arrive after she was let go by the warehouse where she used to work.

So the 25-year-old Nashville woman scrounged up some gas money and drove 30 miles (48 kilometers) to the GraceWorks Ministries food pantry in Franklin. There, at the pantry’s new drive-thru, workers wearing masks and gloves loaded her van with about $350 worth of groceries.

Pro-Trump protesters push back on stay-at-home orders

(AP) - While many Americans are filled with fear, Melissa Ackison says the coronavirus pandemic has filled her with anger. The stay-at home orders are government overreach, the conservative Ohio state Senate candidate says, and the labeling of some workers as “essential” arbitrary.

“It enrages something inside of you,” said Ackison, who was among those who protested Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s orders at the statehouse in Columbus with her 10-year-old son. She has “no fear whatsoever” of contracting the virus, she said Thursday, dismissing it as hype.

Edwards taking cautious approach to re-opening state

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Amid hopeful signs in Louisiana’s struggle against the new coronavirus, Gov. John Bel Edwards is looking at when, and how, efforts to stop the spread can be altered to ease devastating effects on the state’s economy.

Edwards made clear at a Wednesday news conference in Baton Rouge that the decisions won’t be easy.

“We’ve done a Herculean job of really turning around what was the fastest growth rate in the world in order to flatten the curve,” Edwards said. “We know it wouldn’t take long in order to see cases spike again.”

Facebook to warn users who ‘liked’ coronavirus hoaxes

(AP) - Facebook will soon let you know if you shared or interacted with dangerous coronavirus misinformation on the site, the latest in a string of aggressive efforts the social media giant is taking to contain an outbreak of viral falsehoods.