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Small Ways You Can Change Your Routine for a Better You

By
Statepoint
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Sometimes the smallest changes to your daily habits can have the biggest impact on your wellness. With that in mind, here are a few easy ways you can change your routine for a better you.

Sit Less

Does your job require you to sit still most of the day? Even if you work out regularly, an otherwise sedentary lifestyle can be bad for your health. Be sure to get up throughout the day in order to stretch and walk around. It only takes a minute to reap the benefits, so don’t skip these breaks. Consider installing an app on your phone to remind you at periodic intervals when it’s time to move, and if possible, alter your workstation to make it easier to assist in this effort. Standing desks, treadmill desks and even biking desks can keep you active throughout the day.

Rethink Brushing

Good oral health includes taking great care of your gums — and research shows that harmful bacteria and plaque that lurk below the gum line can have a big impact.

“A healthy mouth needs healthy gums, and even diligent brushing may not remove all harmful plaque,” said Sarah Thiel, RDH. “Toothpaste that goes below the gum line to destroy plaque bacteria in the mouth is a great addition to your brushing routine. Because if you’re not taking care of your gums, you’re not taking care of you.”

Consider switching to a toothpaste specifically developed to improve gum health, like Crest Gum Detoxify, which uses Activated Foam Technology to seek out harmful bacteria in hard to reach places in order to neutralize it, even below the gum line. More information can be found at Crest.com.

Spice it Up

If you rely on fat and sugar for the bulk of flavor in your cooking, consider improving your seasoning routines for more nutritional meals. Reduce your reliance on these ingredients without getting bored by adding healthier boosts of flavor to dishes. Chop fresh herbs onto your pasta or salad, add spices to your stew, include garlic, ginger and even hot peppers in your stir-fry.

Drink More Water

What are you drinking during the day? If the answer is juice and soda, consider replacing at least some of that with water. Water doesn’t have to be flavorless. Infuse your water bottle or pitcher with your favorite fruits, vegetables and herbs. From cucumber and strawberry slices to watermelon and mint, you can have fun while hydrating, without resorting to high calorie beverages that offer little or no nutritional value.

Focusing on sweeping lifestyle changes can leave anyone feeling overwhelmed. For lasting and meaningful impacts on your health and wellness, find small tweaks that you can make to your daily routine.

(Statepoint)

Family-Friendly Ideas for Getting Out and About This Spring

By
Statepoint
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Spring is the best time of year to get outdoors and spend some quality time with the family. Here are three ideas to shake off winter’s cabin fever and the most of the season.

Take a Hike

Visit a state or national park and hit the hiking trails. Most parks have a variety of trails of varying difficulty and length. From Glacier National Park in the west to Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area in the east, check out options that offer nature and wildlife areas, hiking trails, parks and family fun. If hiking, do your research and select a route that’s right for your group, pack some snacks and sandwiches before hitting the trail. Just be sure to stay hydrated, wear good footwear, and apply sunscreen and bug spray. As the weather warms, you’ll want to take these important precautions.

To reward your efforts, plan a fun ice cream excursion for the way home.

Community Events

Whether you stay local or travel afar, many local communities offer music, food and fun-filled spring events and outdoor festivals. How about an epic road trip to Brookhaven, GA? The city hosts their annual Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival each spring attracting over 15,000 people from across the country. The festival makes for a great girlfriends’ getaway, guys’ trip or family adventure. And, pets are welcome too!

“This music and art extravaganza is our marquee event of the year, and we hope to kick off the Atlanta-area festival season in style,” says Brookhaven Mayor, John Ernst.

The totally free event takes place at Blackburn Park on March 24-25 and features something for all age groups, including great food, an arts and crafts festival, a classic car show, a 5k road race, a dog show, a Kidz Zone, and big-name musical acts, like country music stars Craig Morgan and Keith Anderson, as well the LA-based indie rock band, Transviolet, and the rock act, Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones.

For more information about the 2018 Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, visit brookcherryfest.org,

Enjoy Your Own Backyard

Kick off the backyard season by firing up the grill and playing lawn games, like horseshoes, croquet, and bean bag toss. Create a warm-weather playlist to set the party mood and ask friends and neighbors over and turn it into a potluck.

After a long winter, welcome spring with fun outdoor activities at home and out in the community that the whole family can enjoy.

(Statepoint)

Angelina College Employees Earn National Honors

By
Nancy Reynolds
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LUFKIN, TEXAS, Feb. 26, 2018 – Angelina College is proud to announce its recipients of the annual National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Awards. This year’s honorees include Beckie Compton, Music instructor, Robbie Roach, Art instructor, Debra Jenke, Government instructor and Janice Huffman, Grants director.

Beckie Compton has been a music instructor at Angelina College since 1998. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in musc from Stephen F. Austin State University. “Giving students the opportunity to be successful is a tremendous privilege,” she said. “There is much more at stake than just what we endeavor to accomplish inside the classroom. Outside of our walls is a world that needs the best part of each of us. Find that and share it!”

Art instructor Robbbie Roach began her career at AC in 1993. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and Master of Fine Arts degrees from SFASU. Roach said, “While striving to help my students become passionate learners and creators, my own life has been enriched, a gift for which I thank them openly and often.”

Debra Jenke has been a Government instructor at AC since 2000. She earned her associate’s degree at Angelina College and her Bachelor of Arts for Teaching degree and and Master of Arts degree from Sam Houston State University. “Every day in the

classroom is a great day. Most days I learn as much from my students as they do from me. The door to the classroom closes, and we create a wonderful world where government and politics can be studied, then discussed as if among friends,” said Jenke.

Janice Huffman began her career at Angelina College in 2002 as the Workforce and Technical Skills Lab Assistant, a position which was later renamed Workforce Development Specialist. In 2006 Huffman was promoted to Workforce Development Coordinator. She was recently promoted to Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs.

NISOD’s Excellence Awards recognize men and women each year who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues. In 1989, in connection with a University of Texas at Austin national study of teaching excellence, NISOD hosted its first ceremony honoring NISOD Excellence Award recipients. The response to that ceremony was so positive that NISOD began what has become the largest and most inspiring gathering that recognizes the contributions and achievements of community and technical college faculty, administrators, and staff.

Angelina College President Dr. Michael Simon said, “It is extremely gratifying to see Angelina College faculty and staff’s efforts recognized at the national level. I’m proud of how our instructors always do their best to help students reach their full potential and how our staff strives to operate in a professional and effective manner.”

Excellence Award recipients will be celebrated during NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, May 26-29, in Austin, Texas. During the Excellence Awards Dinner and Celebration, held in conjunction with NISOD’s annual conference, each Excellence Award recipient receives a specially cast, pewter medallion hung on a burnt-orange ribbon. The names, titles, and colleges of all

Excellence Award recipients are included in a special booklet that features congratulatory ads from many of the recipients’ colleges. In addition, presentations at the conference involving Excellence Award recipients are indicated in the Conference Program with a special icon.

“Recognizing those individuals who have contributed to student success and their colleges’ mission is something we look forward to doing each year,” said Dr. Edward J. Leach, NISOD’s Executive Director. “The extraordinary work of these men and women includes not only what they do for their students and colleagues, but what they do for the communities in which they live and work. We’re honored to be able to play a part in celebrating their achievements.”

For community and technical colleges that want to make the most of their professional development dollars, NISOD provides budget-friendly, high-quality, and faculty-focused programs and resources. For 40 years, NISOD’s customer-focused approach has helped align our wide array of benefits with the needs of our members. For more information about NISOD, visit www.nisod.org.

Lady Roadrunners Rally Twice to Sweep Lamar State-Port Arthur

By
Gary Stallard
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Angelina College’s Brette Kohring (16) gets the home-plate treatment following her solo homer in the opener of Monday’s doubleheader against Lamar State College-Port Arthur. The Lady Roadrunners rallied twice to sweep the Seahawks 5-1 and 12-8 in games played at Hudson High School. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

By GARY STALLARD

AC Athletics

HUDSON – Down a run in the first game. Down four runs in the second.

Angelina College second baseman Brette Kohring attempts to turn a double play during Monday’s game against Lamar State College-Port Arthur. The Lady Roadrunners rallied twice to sweep the Seahawks 5-1 and 12-8 in games played at Hudson High School. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

The Angelina College Lady Roadrunners, playing in their first official games in three weeks, weren’t about to let a couple of deficits put a damper on their “home” opener against Lamar State College-Port Arthur on Monday evening. AC put together a five-run sixth inning in the opener to win 5-1, then duplicated the feat with a five-run fifth inning to win the nightcap 12-8.

AC played on Hudson High School’s new turf field since the Angelina College facility has been under a steady deluge for the past week.

In the opening game, starting pitchers Kiriany Hornberger for AC and Ashley May of Lamar-PA locked into a pitchers’ duel over the first five innings. The Seahawks scored a run in the first on a double steal, then held that 1-0 lead until the sixth inning.

AC’s Brette Kohring got things started with a solo homer to left field to tie the game. Jessica Husband singled, Emilee Cernosek walked and Hornberger singled to load the bases. After Nikki Whitehead drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk, Riley Garrett lifted a deep ball to the right-field corner that ended up as a three-run error. Hornberger shut down the Seahawks in order in the seventh to preserve the win.

Lamar-PA again jumped out to a lead in the nightcap, scoring four runs in three innings, with Briana White adding a solo homer.

Again, the Lady ‘Runners rallied. In the bottom of the fourth, Garrett drew a leadoff walk, Rachel Agnello reached on an error and Nikki Gonzales filled the bags with a long single to left. Reygan White’s walk brought home AC’s first run, and Kohring followed with a two-run double. Jessica Husband’s RBI groundout tied the game at 4-4, and after Cernosek’s infield single, Hornberger drove a single through the left side for a 5-4 AC lead.

The Lady ‘Runners tacked on four more in the fifth: Gonzales singled, White doubled and Husband reached on a two-run error. Another single from Cernosek preceded Hornberger’s RBI double, and Whitehead added run-scoring single for a 9-5 AC lead.

AC would tack on three more runs later, with Kohring adding her second homer of the night, for the 12-8 win.

Angelina College pitcher Shelby Mixon delivers to the plate during Monday’s game against Lamar State College-Port Arthur. The Lady Roadrunners rallied twice to sweep the Seahawks 5-1 and 12-8 in games played at Hudson High School. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

The Lady Roadrunners are scheduled to take part in the Regional Crossover Tournament in Longview starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. AC’s next scheduled home stand is on Wednesday, March 7 against San Jacinto College.

Drug Free All-Stars will Kick Off Project Sticker Shock

By
Ezra McMullen
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The Angelina County Drug Free All-Stars alongside The Coalition’s board and staff will be kicking off Project Sticker Shock on Monday, March 5 with a press conference at Brookshire Brothers (301 S. Chestnut St.) in Lufkin beginning at 10:00am. The guest speakers will be Judge Wes Suiter; County Judge, Amy Tang; Lufkin High School Drug Free All-Star and Adam Lowther; Former All-Star and Public Relations Associate for Brookshire Brothers.

Project Sticker is a Drug Free All-Star community awareness campaign that hopes to make adults aware of the dangers of underage drinking and the consequences of providing to minors. The stores participating are Brookshire Brothers Food & Pharmacy & Tobacco Barns, Polk’s convenience stores. La Michoacana Meat Market, Big’s convenience stores, Hernandez Grocery and Coleman’s convenience store in Zavalla. The Drug Free All-Stars hold this event annually before the Spring Break holiday. Holidays are the most deathly days for alcohol related accidents within minors.

If you have any questions, please contact Maria Morales at mcaldera@angelinacoalition.org or at (936) 634-9308

UP FOR GRABS Teacher Tussle 2018 Wraps up Saturday at Shands Gymnasium

By
Gary Stallard
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The Teacher Tussle 2018 championship will be up for grabs at half time of the Angelina College Roadrunner basketball game on Saturday at Shands Gymnasium. Teams from Burley/Slack and Brandon/Dunbar will cap the area schools’ tournament with a championship game. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

By GARY STALLARD

AC Athletics

Somebody’s walking out of Shands Gymnasium on Saturday with a trophy.

No, the Lady Roadrunner and Roadrunner basketball teams aren’t finished with their seasons just yet.

But the Great Teacher Tussle of 2018 will play its championship game at half time of the Roadrunner men’s game, and if the preceding contests have been any indication, there’ll be plenty of action on the floor.

Since early January, faculty and staff from various Lufkin Independent School District schools have met at AC for basketball battles for supremacy. On Saturday, the last two teams standing will face off for bragging rights – and a trophy to stand proudly in the schools’ hallways.

The final round will feature members of Burley/Slack against the Brandon/Dunbar squad. Game officials will be LISD superintendent Dr. LaTonya Goffney and board member Hall Henderson.

AC men’s head coach Kyle Manary said the events began as more of an exhibition last season but evolved into real competition simply because the schools had so much fun participating.

“This is a way to show our community how much we appreciate all the hard work these teachers do day in and day out,” Manary said. “It’s a way for all of their students and coworkers to see them outside of the classrooms and cheer them on and support them.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience, and I believe it help brings our next generation of learners closer to their role models and heroes. It’s always about shaping the next generation.”

On Saturday, the team from Burley/Slack will square off against the Brandon/Dunbar squad. Officials will be LISD superintendent LaTonya Goffney and Board of Trustees member Hall Henderson.

The Teacher Tussle title game will take place at half time of the men’s battle with Coastal Bend Community College scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. The Lady Roadrunners face CBCC’s Lady Cougars at 2 p.m. Those games mark the end of the regular season for both AC basketball teams, with the Region XIV conference tournament tipping off Tuesday in Jacksonville.

There will be no admission charge for Saturday’s games for any Lufkin ISD students, parents, faculty and staff.

Krista Donovan of the Brandon/Dunbar team gets her team out on a break during a recent Teacher Tussle 2018 game at Shands Gymnasium. Teams from Burley/Slack and Brandon/Dunbar will cap the area schools’ tournament that began back in January with Saturday’s championship game. (Gary Stallard/AC Press photo)

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

FM 1194 TO BE CLOSED TO THROUGH TRAFFIC DURING FINAL ASPHALT APPLICATION

By
Rhonda Oaks
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LUFKIN – Work is planned later this week, weather permitting, to apply the final surface of asphalt on a project that will require a road closure to through traffic.
Only local business and residential traffic will be allowed to travel FM 1194 in Angelina County from SL 287 West to FM 3150 late this week as the asphalt is applied. The surface is expected to be completed within one day and the road reopened to through traffic.

“We are aiming for Thursday or Friday, whichever the weather allows,” said Rhonda Oaks, Lufkin District public information officer. “The new shoulders are complete and this final surface will take us down to the finishing work.”

The roadway was widened from 22-feet to 26-feet with the addition of shoulders on both sides of the roadway. Work is planned to rehabilitate the driveways in the area, striping and cleanup of the project following the final asphalt application.

Motorists are urged to obey all traffic control devices, reduce speed and plan for alternate routes during the closure. Traffic fines double when workers are present. For more information on this and other Lufkin District projects, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or (936) 633-4395. For more information on projects and closures statewide, visit drivetexas.org.

TxDOT USES INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE TO WARN SPRING BREAKERS ABOUT DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF DRINKING AND DRIVING

By
Rhonda Oaks
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WHEN:

9 a.m. –  2 p.m. Monday, March 5th

WHERE: 

Stephen F. Austin University (circle drive in front of Kennedy Auditorium)

1918 Alumni Dr.

Nacogdoches, TX 75965

MEDIA: 

The “Plan While You Can” interactive dodgeball experience will be on site to demonstrate how drinking can impair a driver’s reflexes. A TxDOT spokesperson will be available for interviews from 10 – 11 am.

AUSTIN — As Spring Break arrives in Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation continues the “Plan While You Can” impaired driving campaign in an effort to reduce crashes and save lives among young drivers. The campaign urges drivers to plan ahead for a sober ride home while utilizing the “Plan While You Can” interactive dodgeball game to show the effects of alcohol on a driver’s reaction time.

During Spring Break 2017* in Texas, there were 410 crashes involving young adults** driving under the influence of alcohol. Those crashes led to 20 fatalities and 48 serious injuries.

For more information, contact Rhonda.Oaks@txdot.gov or call (936) 633-4395.

New Technology at CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Reduces the Risk of Stroke

By
Ezra McMullen
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Pictured from left to right: Satish Velagapudi, M.D., Ravinder Bachireddy, M.D., Rohit Kedia, M.D., M. Musa Khan, M.D., and Ilyas Khan, M.D.
Pictured from left to right: Ilyas Khan, M.D., Satish Velagapudi, M.D., Royce Hopson, and Rohit Kedia, M.D.

LUFKIN, TEXAS (February 23, 2018)… CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Lufkin, in conjunction with the physicians of the Heart Institute of East Texas, continues to lead the way in bringing trail blazing new technology to deep East Texas. The WATCHMAN device offers patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation an alternative to long-term warfarin medication and reduces the risk of stroke.

Lufkin native Royce Hopson, 69, said she has a family history of stroke, and she suffers from a common kind of irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation. AFib is a condition where the upper heart chambers quiver and shake and do not contract as they should, making it easier for blood cells to stick together and form clots in an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage (LAA). The LAA is believed to be the source of the majority of stroke-causing blood clots.

Hopson said she began experiencing hot flashes, weakness and nausea in August of last year. After seeing a family physician, she was told she was on the verge of having a stroke.

“He told me to go to the heart doctor. He was begging me, telling me, ‘I’m trying to save your life.’ So I went, and I’m glad I did.”

After taking blood thinners for the past several months, Hopson and her cardiac electrophysiologist Rohit Kedia, M.D. decided it was time for further action. Dr. Kedia said she was the perfect candidate for the FDA-approved implant. The minimally invasive procedure was performed in the CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Cath Lab on Tuesday, February 20 by Dr. Kedia along with Satish Velagapudi, M.D. and Ilyas Khan, M.D., all board certified cardiologists with the Heart Institute of East Texas. Dr. Kedia said, “it was a great team effort.”

“This procedure is a landmark example of the outstanding medical care we are capable of providing right here in Lufkin,” said Dr. Kedia, Cardiac Electrophysiologist at the Heart Institute of East Texas. “The WATCHMAN implant will help Ms. Hopson and many similar patients in the future have a safer and better quality of life.”

The WATCHMAN implant, inserted by a catheter through a small incision in the groin, closes off the left atrial appendage where 90% of stroke-causing clots come from, reducing the risk of a potential stroke. Over time, patients may be able to stop taking warfarin medication.

The average person with atrial fibrillation is five times more likely to suffer a stroke than someone with a regular heartbeat. Most of these patients are well managed on required blood thinners, such as warfarin and other anticoagulants. However, when those anticoagulants are contraindicated, such as in patients who have a prior history bleeding or who are at a high risk of falling, then the WATCHMAN may be a suitable alternative.

“This is a testament to the technical capabilities and expertise of the physicians and staff of the CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Cath Lab to perform these complex and state-of-the-art procedures here in town,” said M. Musa Khan, M.D., CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Chief of Staff and Cath Lab Director.

Hopson said she felt honored to be the area’s first recipient of this unique technology and excited that the procedure went so well. She was released from CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial the very next day. CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial and the physicians at the Heart Institute of East Texas expect many more patients in the future will benefit from the WATCHMAN implant.

“The Heart Institute of East Texas is excited to announce another major milestone for the East Texas area. The cardiologists of the Heart Institute of East Texas brought the WATCHMAN device and procedure to our area,” said Ravinder Bachireddy, M.D., Chief of Cardiology at CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial and President of the Heart Institute of East Texas. “This is the state-of-the-art, as well as, life-altering procedure especially for atrial fibrillation patients in our community who need it. Patients and their families will no longer have to travel to Houston or other big cities for this treatment. This new innovation will solidify Lufkin as a Regional Medical Center for cardiovascular care.”

In December 2017, Dr. Kedia also implanted the area’s first Micra Transcatheter Pacing System, a new, innovative leadless, pill-sized pacemaker for high risk cardiac patients, in the CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Cath Lab.

2018 Angelina Arts Alliance Scholarship Award In Honor of Jane D. Ainsworth

By
Ezra McMullen
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Scholarship Applications Accepted Friday, March 30, 201

Lufkin TX: Calling all high school seniors! Do you excel in the Performing Arts and plan to pursue advanced studies and a career in that field? The Angelina Arts Alliance wants to hear from YOU!

The Arts Alliance is accepting applications for the Jane D. Ainsworth Scholarship now through March 30, 2018. The annual scholarship was named in honor of Jane D. Ainsworth, who is a founding member of the Angelina Arts Alliance and instrumental in bringing the professional performing arts to Lufkin. The Arts Alliance will award two $500 scholarships.

Angelina College will match the Arts Alliance scholarship for high school students planning to attend Angelina College to pursue an Associate of Arts in Music, Theater, or an Associate of Applied Science in Sound Recording Technology. Returning AC students in these degree programs may also apply.

Applicants must be an Angelina County senior in high school and excel in the performing arts such as drama, music, or dance. Applicants must have the desire and potential to pursue a career in the performing arts and be pursuing enrollment in a two- or four-year college, university, or performing arts academy. Scholarship winners will be presented to the community during the performance of The 5 Browns on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.

Applications are reviewed by a credentialed screening committee selected by the Arts Alliance Board of Directors. Applications may be picked up at the Temple Theater box office Monday – Friday 11 am – 5 pm, and can be faxed or e-mailed. For applications or more information about the scholarship please call Ginger Trotter at 936.633.3220.

The Angelina Arts Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich, entertain and educate by presenting a diverse array of performing arts which represents the entire community and serves both children and family audiences.

 

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