Four-year-old Felder Sartin, affectionately known to his fan club as “Super Felder,” is not just fighting for truth, justice and the American way. He’s also fighting for his life.

In late August, Felder was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is currently undergoing outpatient treatments at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. ALL is a cancer of the white blood cells and is most common in children.
Meanwhile, his parents Jessica and Gareth Sartin and his brother Easton, 2, of Bogue Chitto, have a church family that wouldn’t just let Super Felder fight by himself. Jessica’s Bible study group, which calls themselves “Secret Sisters,” came together to help raise money and prayer support for the Sartins in their time of need.
“When something goes wrong we just contact our Secret Sister group, it’s just the kind of fellowship that we have,” said Jessica’s cousin Becca Guynes. “We rallied around her, and we’ll be here to follow it the whole way through. Nobody asked any questions when we heard about it, we just got together and started doing what we could do to help.”
And Jessica says in her time of need, her “sisters” are the life preserver that keeps her afloat.

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New York Giants linebacker Danny Clark recently saw a basketball player use his wristband to — get this — wipe sweat.

“I said, ‘That’s what those are for?’ ” Clark said. “I had forgotten that.”

Clark wears wristbands, too. But he does not wear them to wipe sweat, and he does not wear them on his wrists. Like a growing number of fashion-conscious NFL and college football players — and countless kids who emulate them — Clark wears his wristbands well above his elbows.

“I’ve got all sorts of biceps and triceps busting out of there,” Clark said. “It’s a good look.”

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When it comes to Tupelo’s opponents, South Panola’s not on Will Hodges’ radar. Forget the Tigers, this enthusiastic 5-year-old believes the Golden Wave can compete with anybody … even the Colts, Steelers and Rebels.

“How much of this he gets, I’m not sure,” said Will’s father, Frank, a Tupelo orthodontist, then laughed. “I took him to a game last year and he was focused more on the blue team.”

The blue team being Tupelo.

This season’s Golden Wave – off to a 3-0 start and hosting Madison Central tonight – is equally enthusiastic about Will’s support. So much so, the team’s players are supporting and praying for the youngster in his on-going battle against non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Believe in orange
To show their support, the Tupelo players are wearing orange wristbands inscribed “Play For God’s Will” to school and in practices.

And while the team cannot wear the wristbands in games – it’s against the rules to wear jewelry/loose items – Will remains a part of game day when the Wave plays at home thanks to a sign in his honor affixed to the fence surrounding the field at the stadium.

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HOUMA –Trucks filled with melting ice, pallets of rotting watermelons and storerooms stacked with untouched candy and furniture won’t be part of this storm-relief equation, according to a Houma business owner who helped form a new storm-recovery group. The waste witnessed after hurricanes Katrina and Rita inspired Mike Duplantis, owner of Mike’s Steak House and Bogwalk Seafood in Houma, and family and friends to start their own hurricane-relief efforts.The new group, the Windstrong Foundation, aims to deliver “immediate help” tailored to the differing – and changing – needs of local residents affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike, he said.

“I’ve got a focus and a goal here and it’s to take care of my people,” Duplantis said.

That means direct, instant help without applications, regulations or other lengthy processes, he said.

“Our goal is to hit every person affected,” he said.

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