By Renee Simpson
Liz Folse, of Luling, and her family adopted Jasper in January 2010.
Since then, the black, white and gold shepherd / Catahoula mix dog has become a special part of the Folse family.
The Folses decided to bring another furry friend into their lives as a companion for their yellow lab Beau, who had lost his doggie best friend, Cayman, a year earlier.
After searching for an adult dog from an out-of-parish rescue, Liz decided to visit the animal shelter in Luling. She had seen an interesting-looking dog on petfinder.com with one blue and one brown eye, a common trait of Catahoulas.
While Liz’s young son looked around at the other dogs, Jasper was busy stealing Liz’s heart.
“He jumped up to meet me, met my eyes and didn’t make a sound,” she said. “I instantly connected with him. My heart was set on Jasper.”
Shelter workers assured Liz Jasper was a sweet boy, and he’s proven himself to be just that.
Liz says Jasper’s instincts make him a great guard dog, and sometimes passersby are wary of his bark. However, once he realizes guests are welcome, he becomes an affectionate cuddlebug.
Jasper leaves no open hand untouched as he searches for pets around the house. And he takes refuge in the Folse’s pantry when he needs some alone time.
Liz says her family simply loves their “Jaspy.”
“We couldn’t imagine life without him,” she said.
Submit your own ‘Happy Tale’ by e-mailing photos and a story about your pet adopted from the St. Charles Animal Shelter to publicinfo@stcharlesgov.net. We feature Happy Tales on the parish website and Government Access Channel 6,
Parish PIO wins 7 awards
A feature story about the parish’s push to map drainage infrastructure took top honors in the 2010 Awards of Excellence competition sponsored by the National Association of County Information Officers.
The story won one of seven awards received by the St. Charles Parish Office of Public Information in the annual competition, which is open to counties, parishes and government agencies from across the country.
Public Information Officer Renee Allemand Simpson, of Luling, received a superior rating for her story, ‘In-house Study Reveals Destrehan Drainage,’ and a meritorious rating for a December 2009 press release written during a flooding rain event.
Simpson also received an excellent rating for designing and writing the 2009 parish ‘Special Report,’ a magazine-style mailer that presented parish government accomplishments over a one-year period. She also received a meritorious rating for creating a print ad urging St. Charles Parish residents to shop within the parish during the holiday season.
In addition, Public Information Videographer Melanie T. Worrall, of Luling, received a meritorious rating for producing a video segment promoting the Vietnam Memorial ‘Wall That Heals’ display at Destrehan’s Harry Hurst Middle School in spring 2009.
NACIO also honored a pair of new citizen participation projects spearheaded by parish staff members. The St. Charles Parish Info Tour, a twice-yearly behind-the-scenes infrastructure and parish government tour, received a meritorious rating for its first installation in August 2009. Also, the 2009 St. Charles Parish Trash Bash litter cleanup and recycling education event received a rating of excellence.
Entries were judged based on the population of the county or parish, the budget allotted for the project and how well the project met its goals.
The National Association of County Information Officers was formed in 1966. Originally, NACIO’s goal was to bring together communications professionals who wanted to share information with other counties across the United States.
Today, NACIO is also dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the functions of county government, improving the professional capabilities of its members and much more. As an affiliate of the National Association of Counties (NACo), NACIO supports the programs and policies of NACo. Their website is www.nacio.org.
Renee Allemand Simpson serves as public information officer for St. Charles Parish. She can be reached at (985) 783-5183 or rsimpson@stcharlesgov.net.
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