Construction workers have cleared the ground and are putting in drainage pipes as work proceeds on a $35.4 million new main library, just north of the existing library on Goodwood Boulevard at Independence Park. The new library, which will be twice as large, is schedued to open in fall 2013.

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER McCLELLANDLSU gymnastics coach D-D Breaux embraces Randi Lau after she scored a 9.725 on the uneven bars against Auburn earlier this season.

FRESH GREENS - Freetown Farmers Market organizer David Klier puts out kale at his booth Wednesday at the corner of Johnston and Vermilion streets in Lafayette. The market, featuring locally grown produce and homemade products, is open Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, contact Klier at (225) 324-6762 or at helpinghandsfarm@gmail.com.

PRODUCE PRODUCTION - Errol Chauvin works in his backyard garden on Doral Drive Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, weeding the remnants of a row of turnips on a sunny and mild January day. The retired plumber and pipefitter said he's finishing up his fall garden, and preparing to plant his spring garden, which he said uses no fertilizers and no pesticides. 'Working in the garden also gets me out of the house,' he smiled.

LSU's head women's basketball coach Nikki Caldwell gives instructions to her players in the 2nd half of LSU Lady Tigers' 84-40 win over Alabama Sunday in the LSU Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

University's Matthew Berg tries to maintain control of the ball while Parkview's Austin James tries to take it away during the Division III, District 7 match up at University High Stadium on Wednesday night.

Kyle Durrie holds a small sign, freshly printed, inside her type-truck. Behind Durrie are her sleeping quarters in the 1982 Chevy van she's driving across the United States.

Gov. Bobby Jindal spells out his 2012 public school proposals on Monday, saying he wants to toughen oversight of public school teachers, change the way they are paid and expand options for low-income students who attend troubled public schools.

Zachary Mayor David Amrhein reaches for a handful of play snow as pre-kindergarten student Carson Miller heaps it into drifts during class Tuesday at the Zachary Early Learning Center. With the mayor, from left, are teacher Aimee Crawford, Assistant Principal Angela Cassard and Zachary Councilman Francis Nezianya.

Advocate staff photo by TRAVIS SPRADLING.Survivor TreeMark Bays, urban forestry coordinator with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, discusses the preservation of the Survivor Tree, an American Elm, more than 80 years old, that withstood the 1995 terrorist bomb blast that killed 168 people and destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. He spoke Tuesday at LSU's Energy, Coast and Environment Building. Residents, survivors, family members and rescue workers decided the tree should be part of the memorial to the victims and Bays helped to save the tree as one of the symbolic components of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. In conjunction with Friday's Louisiana Arbor Day, Bays was invited to speak at LSU though the efforts of the LSU AgCenter, the LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources and Baton Rouge Green. Seedlings from the tree are grown each year and made available to the public. Cuttings have been taken and propagated to ensure that, if desired, a genetic match for the tree will be available when it dies. The Daily Oklahoman graphic in the background shows working design aspects of the flagstone promenade and watering, drainage and aeration systems around the tree.

Dr. William Cefalu, head of Pennington's Botanical Research Center, stands in the lab with researcher associates Xian Zhang, left, and Yongmei Yu. They study the ingredients in plant-based, diet supplements.

LSU guard Anthony Hickey (1) shoots a three-pointer against Auburn guard Varez Ward (1) during 1st half action in the PMAC in Baton Rouge Tuesday.

Advocate staff photo by ARTHUR D. LAUCKThe Burden Horticulture Society's Penny Miller stands on the walkway over the Black Swamp on Trees and Trails behind the Burden Center conference building. Families are invited to the center Saturday to plant trees and take part in other Arbor Day events.

Kenny Dyson, right, waves while Vicky Bachler, behind left, Courtney Horne, right, and others with Occupy Baton Rouge hold signs up as they march down Government Street to the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Monument at the River Center Plaza on Monday.

Galen Iverstine said his two Great Pyrenees livestock guard dogs were stolen stolen from his farm in St. Helena Parish, part of a rash of burglaries that have sixth ward residents on edige.

Police cadets carry a banner during a Monday morning march in Baker to begin a day of activities celebrating the legacy of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.. The cadets are members of an Explorer post sponsored by Baker police. Neighbors United for a Better Baker sponsored the march.

Lecola Cole, left, and Diamond Campbell enjoy a day off from school at the neighborhood park on Terrace Avenue. Schools were closed in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Christian Johnson, a welder/painter for Bunkie-based Capital Signs & Awnings, wears a jacket and hood to keep warm Friday morning while applying metal-based paint to a sign on Government Street. Despite an overnight low below the freezing mark, temperatures had warmed by Friday morning and Johnson was able to paint, he said.

Port Allen's Nick Parker shoots two over Christian Life's Stephen Couvillion during the match up at Port Allen High on Friday night.

Carlton Hudson holds a model of a B-24 Liberator bomber, the airplane on which he served as a pilot-navigator on 28 missions over Europe during World War II

Advocate staff photo by Libby IsenhowerJonathan Silk takes off with an American flag at the start of the inaugural Louisiana Marathon on Sunday morning in front of the State Capitol. To his left are Laure Simms and Jon McBride. Baton Rouge welcomed runners from 46 states and 11 countries. Story, Page 1C. Results, Page 6C.

Advocate staff photo by ARTHUR D. LAUCKEnd of the seasonGerard Overhultz, top, and Walter Cole, employees of the Office of State Buildings, work Monday afternoon to remove the last of the Christmas displays at the State Capitol.

Union Pacific celebrates its 150th anniversary this year