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Preserving family history has always been something Jennings resident Flo McNally was passionate about. Because of this, she, along with others, started the Genealogical Society of Jennings to share family stories and help others cultivate their passion for discovering and documenting the past.

WELSH — Calling all young revelers. The town will be holding a Mardi Gras run in which local children can experience and learn about Cajun traditions and, of course, chase a chicken. The event, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8, will begin with registration at 9 a.m. at Sportsman Park, located at 103 West Grove St. in Welsh. All children are welcome to attend and are encouraged to dress in full Mardi Gras attire. At 10 a.m., the run will begin and travel a route through the countryside. According to Organizer Chelsea Duplechin, several stops will be made along the way for children to beg for gumbo ingredients and coins or to chase chickens. This tradition of traveling the countryside collecting gumbo ingredients in exchange for entertainment is well known throughout Louisiana. However, some feel these traditions are falling by the wayside, which is one of the reasons for the children’s Mardi Gras run, according to Duplechin.

Will things be different after we die? There is a natural tendency to think that there will be a radical transformation after death, that we will be unburdened by our bodies and that our souls will fly off to heaven and be united with God. But then shouldn’t we prepare our souls now to be with God? The truth is that God won’t be changing, and probably neither will we. Our souls and the virtues and appetites we cultivate become more or less permanent parts of who we are. If you have cultivated a spirit of love and compassion in your life, and live in the presence of God, you can certainly expect more of this in the hereafter, but if you have cultivated a spirit of anger and hatred, or any of the other vices, these have become a part of your soul. Fortunately, these things can be changed, but only with steadfast hard work and a conscious decision to alter our characters. We can change our destiny, but only if we do the hard work necessary to change our characters. If you aren’t living in the presence of God now, what makes you think you’ll be in his presence in the hereafter? Live now as you would for eternity. – Christopher Simon

Jeff Davis Parish stakeholders have an opportunity to eliminate local inventory taxes for parish business owners without enduring loss of funds thanks to a state buyout plan.