Advocate staff photo by BILL FEIGAerial attack A mockingbird dive bombs a squirrel outside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse downtown on Thursday.

Advocate staff photo by Travis Spradling Work zone fatalitiesWisconsin tourist Lucas Sjostrom takes a picture of 576 orange traffic cones set up in front of the state Department of Transportation and Development building Thursday in remembrance of the 576 fatalities, including both motorists and construction workers, that occurred nationwide in traffic work zones in 2010. Fifteen of the cones represent Louisiana deaths, including five from the Baton Rouge area. Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared April 23-27 as Work Zone Awareness Week.

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND Denham Springs' pitcher Madison Vige was a key figure in the Yellow Jackets 2-0 victory over West Monroe in Class 5A regional playoff game Friday in Denham Springs. Vige gave up five hits, walked none and struck out seven.

Photo by Libby Isenhower Megna Mishra, 14, represents Ganesha in a traditional Indian dance during cultural performances that followed the groundbreaking for a new children’s building and educational center at the Hindu Vedic Center.

Advocate Staff Photo by Travis Spradling Earl Kern, program manager with CSRS/Garrard Program Management, stands in front of one of the new buildings, right,on the campus of Baton Rouge Magnet High School Thursday during a tour to show progress on construction and renovation at the historic school. The new building includes space for a radio station and television studio rooms.

Advocate staff photo by ADAM LAU Last rideBobby Siears tows his father Dwight 'Santa' Siears' casket in the family's self-built Harley-drawn-hearse during a funeral at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Convent on Thursday. Dwight Siears loved motorcycles, kids, and cowboy shooting, and died earlier this week after a long bout with mesothelioma. 'He wanted a last ride and we're going to give him one, said Bobby Siears.

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND Dutchtown's Terry Hughes took Outstanding Field Performer at the District 5-5A track meet Thursday at St. Amant High School. Hughes took first places in the discus, shot put and javelin.

Advocate staff photo by ADAM LAUFull steam aheadJan Mitchusson and Marvin Singleton, of Arkansas and Sal Ballaera and Pam Ballaera, of New York, from left, disembark from the American Queen steamboat after it docks along the Mississippi River at Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow on Wednesday. The event marked the first visit of a passenger steamboat to Houmas House since Hurricane Katrina. Measuring 418 feet long and 89 feet 4 inches high, the American Queen was refurbished at a cost of $6 million and is equipped with 222 staterooms that can accommodate 436 passengers.

Advocate staff photo by Bryan Tuck. Louisiana first lady Supriya Jindal speaks to kindergarten students at Milton Elementary School Wednesday. The Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana's Children and AT&T have partnered to present the school's five kindergarten classrooms with education enrichment tools.

Photo by John Oubre/Southern University Media RelationsMembers of Southern University's Symphonic band perform during Wednesday during the band's annual spring concert at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. The cand performed a variety of classical music with a mixture of English folklore, contemporary American compositions and a traditional piece like "America the Beautiful".

Advocate staff photo by RICHARD ALAN HANNON - Cook Gayle Smith presents the West Baton Rouge Museum's 'A Taste of History with James & Dolly Madison' open hearth cooking class as Sheila Govan of Baton Rouge, foreground, and others look on at the Port Allen museum Tuesday. Participants watched and learned how to make dried pea soup, chicken pudding, parsnips, syllabub and Sally Lunn bread, all select recipes prepared for the President and First Lady at their Montpelier, Virginia kitchen.

Advocate staff photo by BILL FEIGFrom left, Dean Jerry Ceppos of the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication presents the school's Courage and Justice Award posthumously Tuesday to television newsman Buddy C. 'Bob' Johnson. Audrey Johnson, widow of the recipient, receives the award as the couple's children, Luc Johnson, Lori Gray and Marcus Johnson look on. The WBRZ reporter and anchorman was in a coma for two years after he was severely beaten while covering a downtown civil rights protest in January 1972 that erupted into violence that left two dead and several injured.

Advocate staff photo by ADAM LAUJimmy Safford, Margie LeBlanc and Claire Safford, from left, peer into the historic Joseph Landry Tomb in Donaldsonville's Ascension Catholic Cemetery on April 11. The three visited after a public meeting discussing the preservation and restoration of the tomb, which was built in 1845 and is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

Advocate staff photo by BILL FEIG Using a method of tying knots at the corners of quilt squares to assemble a quilt are, front from left, Mary Armand, Ella Oster, Milda Porter, Rose Hughes and Deanie Beir, as two other groups work on other quilts.

Advocate staff photo by LIBBY ISENHOWERJoanne and Joseph Kleiman, from left, and Rachelle and Mark Hirsch, recite prayers Sunday in remembrance of the Jews killed during the Holocaust. The Yom HaShoah service at Beth Shalom Synagogue honored lives lost as well as recognized students who won awards in the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge's Holocaust art and essay contest.

Advocate staff photo by LIBBY ISENHOWERHeavy liftingLSU powerlifter Malcom Richard, 21, sets a new national dead lift record in the 220-pound weight class during his third and final dead lift of the day at the USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals Sunday afternoon at Crowne Plaza Executive Center. After setting the record at 767.1 pounds, Richard said he feels great and is ready to rest some before training begins again for next year's season.

Advocate staff photo by Travis Spradling Staff Sgt. Clay Gautreau shows his emotions Saturday as he hugs his daughter, Sydney Gautreau, 12, left, and his wife, Angie Gautreau, after they, along with another daughter, Lindsey Gautreau, 16, right, rushed out to meet him. The unit's approximately 100 members were returning from a year-long tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Advocate staff photo by TRAVIS SPRADLING Members of the Louisiana National Guard's 926th Engineer Company disembark from an Air Tran jet Saturday to be greeted by Gov. Bobby Jindal and others upon arrival at the Louisiana Aircraft facility at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. The Baker-based unit completed a 365-day deployment in Afghanistan.

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND Jack Brown and Doris Quintana, left, enjoy Jonathon 'Boogie' Long as he performs among the audience using a wireless guitar.

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLANDFriends, from left, Blues Mitchell, Erik Herrmann, Erik Herrmann Jr. and Victoria Chapman show their appreciation for a particular song performed Saturday by James Johnson at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival. Mitchell said he can remember seeing Johnson play when Mitchell was a teenager. 'The blues are made to connect you to everyone else,' Mitchell said.

Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNISSweet strawberriesFrom left, Haley Windstine, 9; Haley Addison, 10; and Eileen Garrett, 7; compete in the strawberry-eating contest Saturday during the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula. The annual celebration featured rides, music, festival foods, local cuisine and strawberries prepared and served in many ways. None of the girls won their heat in the competition, but they said they had fun participating.

Advocate staff photo by LIBBY ISENHOWERChristy and Rickey Bond, left, and Glen Ferguson and Tammy Travis, right, admire the sea of motorcycles parked at the 'Blessing of the Bikes' motorcycle rally Saturday afternoon in Denham Springs. Travis said the event was worth attending because each bike represented money brought in for Dreams Come True of Louisiana, which helps grant wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Alabama's Ben Moore steals second base under LSU's JaCoby Jones in Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Saturday, April 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Advocate, Heather McClelland)

Advocate staff photo by LIBBY ISENHOWERDreams Come True participant Kayla Ordes, 8, makes a funny face at Sam McAllister, 6, at the 'Blessing of the Bikes' on Saturday afternoon in Denham Springs. Kayla and Sam's elder brother, Noah, said both fulfilled their dreams of visiting Disney World from proceeds collected at last year's rally.