On Saturday, Jan. 31 hundreds gathered to experience positive hip-hop with a twist at Lowery Intermediate gymnasium at 6 p.m.
"The Hip Hop Doc" and rapper and middle school teacher David Augustine, known as "Dee 1" teamed with several students from Lowery back in December to shoot a video about preventable and treatable diseases and breaking bad habits that students may pick up.
"It is our hope to inspire the young students at Lowery to strive for success in all that they do. Young people in the United States are dying from preventable and treatable diseases. They are also the first generation of young people to have a decreased life expectancy as a result of unhealthy lifestyles and poor decision-making, and we are trying to change this," says Whitfield.
Dr. Rani Whitfield, know as, "The Hip Hop Doc" is a medical doctor in Baton Rouge, but spends most of his time educating the community about good health.
The two came to Donaldsonville during the drug awareness "Blue Ribbon Week" in October. Whitfield felt Lowery Intermediate School would be a great backdrop for two music videos using the songs "Walk the Walk" and "Whatever" from their CD featuring positive hip hop with the school children.
Several weeks later, Whitfield and Augustine came back to allow the students of Lowery to be the first to view the videos that they help create. The duo also gave out academic awards and several video awards to students who showed the best achievement in school and also in the preparation of the videos.
Students enjoyed music from DJ Eagle Eye of Max 94.1 of Baton Rouge and also watched the duo perform a few of their songs.
"We're excited about impacting the community of Donaldsonville with our hip-hop healthy message," says Augustine. "These music videos are just the beginning, we will be back!"
 

The term "Creole" is frequently found in Louisiana, but the definition of the term has taken on different meanings over the years.
Mary Gehman, author of "Women and New Orleans," "The Free People of Color of New Orleans" and "Louisiana's Great River Road: The Mississippi from Angola North to Venice South," shared her extensive research on Creole culture and history with library patrons at the Ascension Parish Library in Gonzales Wednesday night.
Hurricane Katrina flooded Gehman's New Orleans house and office in 2005. Though she left Louisiana's largest historic district, in New Orleans, she moved some 55 miles up the Mississippi River to the state's second largest historic district, in Donaldsonville, when she relocated in June 2006 to a house in the Ascension Parish city's historic district.
In her library presentation, Gehman focused on her research on Creoles, which has led her throughout Louisiana, the nation and the world.
The first Creoles lived in colonial French Louisiana, prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Gehman said. They developed their own cuisine based on a mixture of influences from other cultures, they put an emphasis on education and were predominantly Catholic, she said.
The word Creole is an adaptation of the Spanish word criollo. Historically the term was used in early generations to differentiate colonists who had been born in Louisiana from new immigrants.
 

The 47th Cotillion Ball of Four Seasons at Palazzo Bernardo was an evening of glamorous glitz, elegance, and true beauty as 21 young women were presented.
The debutantes hailed from Assumption, Brusly, Donaldsonville, Dutchtown, and McKinley High Schools.
The narration, by Ms. Wanda August provided the guest with a sample of each debutante's achievements as the atmosphere embraced the theme, "A Whole New World."
The presentation of each young lady was a moment of sheer beauty as each debutante entered the ballroom with her father who brought her to her junior escort. The grand ball was the epitome of royalty as last year's queen, Talasha Aubuert, crowned the queen, Ms. Chantell Landry. Landry took her royal walk across the ballroom to greet her "subjects."
Her court was made complete with Chelsea Davis as first maid, Satearia Thomas as second maid, LaShanthen Russ as third maid, and Kimberly Gipoon as fourth maid.
The presentation ended with the royal waltz and promenade where each young ladies' mother and father joined them and their escorts.
A special tribute to the debutants was provided by five, six, seven, and eight Crystal's School of Dance under the direction of Crystal Davis Gomez, a former debutante of Four Seasons. The "Tiny Toes" dancers were also children of former debutantes.
The distinguished band, 2DAT, under the direction of Kent Guerin of Baton Rouge, provided music.
 

Red-beet eggs reprise a warmer time in the dregs of winter.

Last July, Vermont legislators passed a bill allowing local brewers to produce and sell beer with more than 8 percent alcohol by volume, an act the Long Trail Brewing Company is celebrating.

Getting ready for a winter storm involves more than buying bread and milk. Protecting your family from discomfort is important, but protecting your family from danger is a priority. One real danger is carbon monoxide poisoning.