Welcome to the Best of New Orleans! Bouquets & Brickbats 03 19 02

BOUQUETS & BRICKBATS

03 19 02

The Best and the Worst of the Week

Madalyn Schenk
has received the National Council of Jewish Women's highest honor, the Hannah G. Solomon Award for 2002. The council recognized Schenk's participation and leadership in such organizations as the NOCCA Institute, the Board of Advocates for Science and Math Education, Planned Parenthood of Louisiana, Jefferson 25, the United Way, and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.

Cherice Harrison Nelson ,
a teacher at Oretha Castle Haley School, has been named Humanities Teacher of the Year at the elementary level by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Nelson, a gifted resource teacher, is honored for her creative curriculum that includes lessons about Mardi Gras Indians and the history of jazz. Her projects have received grants from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and the Community Access Corp.

Lafayette Parish sheriff's deputies
were disciplined after a parish inmate unlocked his leg shackles in court last week using a key he had somehow obtained. The courthouse was cleared after inmate Ollie Sam escaped deputies, climbed above the ceiling and evaded capture for hours. Sheriff Mike Neustrom would not give details of the disciplinary action taken against his employees.

Municipal Court Judge John Shea
violated Louisiana judiciary ethics laws by making contributions to political campaigns "over a long period of time and with respect to many different candidates," according to the state Judiciary Commission. That panel has asked the state Supreme Court to censure Shea, who allegedly gave more than $13,700 to several campaigns between 1994 and 2000.