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THE TIMES, DECEMBER 10, 2020, PAGE
fNews
Exploring the
Maurepas Swamp
NatUre Trail
(Part One in a Series)
By BEN TAYLOR
For Friends of the Manchac Greenway
This is a first in a series of articles for Ponchatoula Times read-
; ‘ ers describing popular waypoints on the Manchac Greenway (old US
51 a.k.a. the “Low Road”) - between Ponchatoula and Laplace, LA.
It is from the Friends of the Manchac Greenway, a non-profit citizens
group advocating the enjoyment of this public asset for recreation and
; education about the importance of local waterways and wetlands and
the preservation of the Isthmus of Manchac between the lakes. So
far Tangipahoa Parish has invested $71,000.00 and St. John Parish
: $ 150,000.00 for studies on this project.
The Maurepas Swamp Nature Trail is the only part
All others must use a
. boat to access this huge
tract from a limited num-
‘ ber of access points. (Note:
, there is also the Swamp
Walk Boardwalk located
gin the Joyce WMA at the
L' northern end of the Green-
‘ way; more about this in a
future article.)
The Maurepas Swamp
has gradually ex-
§5~panded to help preserve
athe majority of wetlands
zsurrounding Lake Mau-
Vrepas and was inspired,
:5 in part, by Ponchatoula’s
gown Julia Sims with her
gigbeautiful photos of swamp
Edife published in her popu-
Qar book Manchac Swamp.
13}: The Swamp Trail is
35a half-mile stroll on an
1::iabandoned oil-well access
fload that ends in a lovely
fihalf-acre meadow that
“was once a drill pad in the
middle of the swamp, a few
9";hundred yards away from
ithe Lake Pontchartrain
fihore. Along the way you
Ewill be on intimate terms
Frwith the picturesque and
f flood-prone swamp and all
5 the plants and creatures
within it. Bring a camera
5 for the lovely views and a
; of the huge 112,000-acre Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries
f Department Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management
giArea (WMA) where one can simply hop off I-10/I-55 to
5}“;the Manchac Greenway, drive up, park and stroll into
“the surrounding swamp.
MANCHAC
R E E NWAY
pair of boots just in case
the path is wet.
Just a half mile to the
south of the nature trail
is the fabulous restau-
rant district down pretty
Peavine Rd. in the lake-
side community of Freni-
er. It offers lakeside dining
for those who are hungry
after all that exploring in
the swamp. ‘
The Maurepas Swamp
WMA, along with the Joyce
and Manchac WMAs, help
fulfill the dream of pre-
serving the natural re-
sources surrounding beau-
tiful Lake Maurepas in its
wilderness splendor and
together are the remark-
able and valuable natural
core of the Southeast Loui-
siana Region. '
PONCHATOU LA
LOUISIANA:
A COMMUNITY
HISTORY
A new book by James M. Perrin
A comprehensive history of the
community from earliest
settlement to today
Hard bound, 318 pages,
175 photographs, indexed.
$30
MAKESA GREAT GIFT!
Available in Ponchatoula at: The
Turquoise Coyote,
Roussel’s Antiques, Heavenly
Gifts, C. J.’s Antiques, the Country
Market; and at e-bay. com.
The book also be ordered directly
from the author;
James M. Perrin,
14187 Randall Ave.,
Hammond, LA 70403
for $35 including shipping.
Times Internet Edition www.ponchatoulatimes.com
.____..i
Decking the halls
It's official! December is here, and the trees at
North Oaks hospital are decorated. This year, the
garden club was only allowed a few members to
trim the main lobby and emergency room trees.
Gardenette chairman Anna Poland, vice presi-
dent Sandra Haro and president Vicky Fannaly
did the honors. Gardenettes are members of Dis-
trict VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation Inc.,
National Garden Clubs Inc. and Deep South Gar-
den Clubs Inc.
TPSS announces
virtual days
By BRIANNA ELLIOT
Times Reporter
The Tangipahoa Parish School System announced
virtual days for students to begin and end their win-
ter break. All TPSS schools will have a virtual day on
Friday, December 18. Students will be on winter break
from December 18 through January 3. Monday, Janu-
ary 4, will be a virtual day for all students as well.
TPSS also wants to remind students and parents that
students need to bring their devices home on Thursday,
December 17, to be prepared for the two days of virtual
learning.
Better Business
Bureau scam alert
BBB Press Release
A COVID-19 vaccine is on the way. So are the scams
Government officials have already been cracking
down on phony COVID testing kits and treatments.
Now, they are ramping up efforts to prevent the sale of
fake vaccines.
U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement
(ICE) is working with the
drug companies develop-
ing the vaccines to stop
the sale and distribution
of phony versions. Also,
the Federal Trade Com-
mission issued warning
letters to several compa-
nies claiming they had a
product to cure or prevent
the virus.
Selling fake vaccines
and other treatments is
likely only one of many
ways scammers will try to
cash in on the vaccine re-
lease.
Watch out for phish-
ing messages attempting
to trick you into sharing
your passwords and per-
sonal information. Con
artists have already im-
personated the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and the
World Health Organiza-
tion (WHO) in phishing
emails that claim to have
news about the disease.
The Better Business Bu-
reau of South-Central
Louisiana has also seen
an increase in scams us-
ing robocalls to imperson-
ate government officials.
How to spot a coronaVi-
rus vaccine con:
- Research carefully:
Scammers are very cre-
ative, so be skeptical of
anything that seems too
good or crazy — to be
true.
Check with your doc-
tor: If you want a vaccine
early, reach out to your
healthcare provider.
Ignore calls for imme-
diate action. Don’t fall for
it.
- Think the link may
be real? Double check
the URL. make sure the
URL ends in .gov (for the
United States) or .ca (for
Canada).
Happy
Anniversary
December 11 Hezzie &
Sandie Holden, Don & Ni-
cole Iverstine
December 13 Scott
& Becky Durman, Joe &
ToniJo Fischer
December 14 Tom &
Theresa Foley
December 15 John &
Irene Arretteig, Peanut
& Cindy Colkmire, Cecil
& Cindy Garaudy, Glen
& Tammie Yoes, Chris &
Brooks O’Connor,
December 16 Mike &
Wendy Muscarello
Happy
Birthday
December 10 — Caroline
Vaughn, David A. Harper,
Eric Drury, Gladys Char-
bonnet, Jimmy Schliegel-
meyer, Joee Miller, Kyle
Smith, Lloyd Dominguez,
Russell Wright, Summer
Luke,
December 1 1 — An-
thony Myers, Brittany
Landiache, Dylan Ga-
raudy, Ed Veatch, Ginger
McKean, Glynn Fendla-
son, Katelyn Shasteen,
Kimberly Roberts, Larry
Saltzman, Melvin DeGruy
Jr., Nell Coatmeyer, Ryan
Parnell, Likens Robertson
December 12 — Aliska
Drake, Brittany Lan-
daiche, Carla VanVranck-
en, Chandler Fayard, Hol-
ly Whitlow Sims, Jason
Ragan, Lynn Pack, Pea-
nut Colkmire, Roger Ben-
oit, Susan Quinn, Wendy
Montalbano, Babette La-
nius, Alma Limberg As-
sunto Maintz,
December 13 — Amy
Montemayar, Anthony C.
Rock III, Cookie Venable,
Jessie Lusk, Justin R.
Howes, Matt Gayle, Peggy
Staton, Raymond Ernst,
David Habisreitinger
December 14 Alvin
Ragan, Amanda Sistrunk,
Cheryl Recotta, Dani-
elle Wagner, Darlene
Kinchen, Darlene Shelton,
Darryl J. Lessard, Desiree
Luke, Dustin Byers, Joe
Arretteig, Kerri Stewart,
Lisa Branch, Lisa Salta-
formaggio, Madelynn
Henry, Michelle Aymond,
Samuel Greenfield, Syd-
ney Gaskins, Terri Stew-
art, Tifi'any Bass, Tiffany
Hanna, Kevonya Sligh
December 15 — Alecia
Meyers, Autumn Myers,
Cecil Garaudy, Cecilia
Fletcher, Chelsea Herrick,
David LeBoeuf, Delaine
Warch, Derrin Ernest,
Frank B. LeSaicherre,
Henry Duvic, Jo Bou-
dreaux, Karen Reno, Kelsi
Darouse, Lawrence Ernst
Sr., Morrie Felder, Nolan
Williams, Penny Kinchen,
Royce Feltenberger, Sid-
ney Garaudy,
December 16 — “Pat the
Rat,” A.J. Bodker, Becky
Ourso, Carol Dominguez,
Chris Waits, Donald Hen-
drix, Ed Sticker, Elizabeth
Lanier, Horace Ory, Ida
Walker, Jonathan Brun-
ing, Judy Laurent, Kath-
leen Muntz, Kayla Otis, .
Marcia Ballard, Nat Ga-
rofalo, Paige Allen, Renee
Meyers,
SUBSCRIBE TODAY at a special
HOLIDAY RATE
of ONLY $20 per year CALL
(985) 386- 2877
‘-K‘\’l‘l‘lll\\lilltlIIIJI‘~ll.ll «um
E-Mail: editor@ponchatoula.com or timesofindependence@gmaiI.com
7W Vow
Your vote and support has meant a great deal
during this campaign. For the next six years I
will continue to work hard to make the Seventh
Ward Marshal’s Office one of the best in the state.
If I can ever be of any service to you, please feel
free to contact me.
vIIIIIIII“‘liiiiiiiiilliiii
