Editorial Roundup: Louisiana
Recent editorials from Louisiana newspapers:
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April 7
The Houma Courier on former New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, who died Saturday:
Nov. 8, 1970, is a historic date in pro football history. That’s when Saints kicker Tom Dempsey set the record at the time for longest made field ever in the NFL.
Sadly, Dempsey died Saturday in New Orleans after battling Alzheimer’s disease and testing positive for the novel coronavirus. He was 73.
But his kick, and what it meant to the city and the fans, will always be a highlight in the team’s history.
It came in dramatic fashion. After falling behind the Detroit Lions with 11 seconds to go in a game at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, the Saints gained enough field position via a kickoff return and pass play for Dempsey to line up for the 63-yarder with 2 seconds to play from the Saints 37-yard line (remember goal posts were setup on the goal line at that time).
Dempsey, who was born with four fingers on his right hand and no toes on his right (kicking) foot, then sent the ball through the uprights, giving the Saints the 19-17 win and setting the NFL record for longest field goal by a whopping seven yards.
Dempsey’s kick became a monumental moment in Saints history. The team started in 1967 and didn’t have its first winning season until two decades later. The Saints didn’t win their first playoff game until 2000.
So for many years, that kick was a source of pride for Saints, even though former Broncos kicker Jason Elam made a 64-yarder in Denver in 2013 and four other players made 63-yard kicks in their careers.
Dempsey, born in Milwaukee, kicked for the Saints, Eagles, Rams, Oilers and Bills until his football career ended in 1979,. He remained a fixture in New Orleans and stayed close with the franchise through the years, although he only kicked for the black and gold for two seasons.
Former Saints kicker Garrett Hartley kicked a 40-yard overtime field goal in the NFC championship game to thrust the team into Super Bowl XLIV. He made three field goals over 40 yards when they got there to help the Saints take the win, Hartley posted a video of himself kicking a 63-yard field goal in honor of Dempsey after receiving word of his death.
“That’s for you, Tom,” Hartley said afterward.
It was a small gesture, but it proved just how important Dempsey was to the players who came after him, to New Orleans and to the Saints Nation.
Even after all of the magical moments the Saints have experienced with Sean Payton and Drew Brees and company, Dempsey’s kick still stands up as one of the greatest feats in the history of pro football in New Orleans.
And Dempsey will forever be an all-time Saints great.
Online: https://www.houmatoday.com/
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April 7
The Advocate on helping children through the coronavirus pandemic:
The novel coronavirus has left our world with a shared sense of the surreal, working and learning remotely, communing from multiple arms’ lengths, some of us sporting homemade masks. Have we read such a novel before?
But within our own home walls, some Louisianans feel the additional pressure of leading our children when we ourselves may not be sure of our path in a real though unfamiliar world. Parents don’t have the luxury of despair, especially when their children look to them for guidance and example.
Anna Long, assistant professor of psychology at LSU, has more than a few good ideas. In an interview this week, she offered these among other helpful suggestions to parents and caregivers:
- Reaffirm children’s sense of safety and security. Give emotional support, physical comfort and meet their basic needs.
- Establish routines. The pandemic is disruptive to children and adults. Build structure and predictability into everyday life. Give children the comfort of seeing their world is regulated.
- Talk with them. Give children details for which they ask. Give them verified facts. if you don’t know something, tell them you don’t know. Don’t overexpose them to news reports that may alarm them.
- Comfort young people with reassurances about what is being done to help others. Don’t expose them to more information than necessary. Get adequate information needed to keep us safe and well. Build resilience.
- Build positive activity into children’s days. Think about creative, fun things they will enjoy each day. Participate in something positive.
- Keep consistent behavioral expectations. Be flexible but make them follow through on behavioral expectations. Too much flexibility can make them feel a loss of control and heighten their stress.
- Teach new skills. Creatively show support toward neighbors. Encourage them to write letters of support to others. Let them have mastery of something.
- Manage your own stress. Take care of yourself. Children will discern your stress and the more stress you feel, the more anxious they become. Demonstrate positive coping; verbalize how you are coping. Teach them about normal stress and how to deal with it.
Your behavior now may help children later. They watch the behavior you model. Older children pay attention to what parents and caregivers do. Reflect on your own childhood, and how adults gave you good example during difficult times.
That in short form, is wisdom fortified by scholarship. We cannot necessarily control the external world, but we can exercise benevolent, lasting guidance within our homes. No matter our outside demands, caring for our children remains job No. 1.
Online: https://www.theadvocate.com/
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April 5
The American Press on watching out for potential scams amid the coronavirus pandemic:
American citizens getting economic stimulus checks need to remember that most of them don’t have to do anything to get them, but they do have to be on the alert for scammers trying to take their money.
The payments will be deposited in citizens’ bank accounts or mailed to them if they don’t use direct deposit on their taxes. The Associated Press said Americans would start receiving their economic impact checks in the next three weeks. The payments are part of the $2.2 trillion congressional rescue package that is aimed at combating the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some, including senior citizens and low-income people who may not have to file tax returns, do need to take action. Social Security recipients, some veterans and people with disabilities will need to file a simplified tax return to receive the payments. It includes a person’s filing status, the number of dependents and direct deposit bank information.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department say the website irs.gov/coronavirus will soon provide information about the checks, including how people can file a simple 2019 tax return.
Any individual earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income and who has a Social Security number will receive a $1,200 payment. That means married couples filing joint returns will receive the full payment — $2,400 — if their adjusted gross income, which is what they report on their taxes, is under $150,000. Parents will also receive $500 for each qualifying child.
The payments steadily decline for those who make more. Individuals earning more than $99,000, or $198,000 for joint filers are not eligible. The thresholds are slightly different for those who file as a head of household.
Persons who haven’t filed their 2018 or 2019 taxes will still get a payment, but the IRS urges them to file as soon as possible in order to receive a payment. They should include their direct-deposit banking information on the return if they want it deposited in their accounts.
The economic impact payments will be available throughout the rest of 2020. News reports indicate an estimated 150 million U.S. households are eligible to receive the full or partial payments.
The FBI, state attorneys general and other agencies are alerting recipients about scammers. They said phone calls; texts or emails asking for financial or personal information are not legitimate. Don’t become one of their victims.
Online: https://www.americanpress.com/