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BEADS: To Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, which has been verified as a Class II trauma center. The designation, which requires recurring re-evaluation, is based on the American College of Surgeons verifying the presence at Rapides Regional of all resources listed for this performance classification in Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient. That list of resources is extensive, and it touches every part of the medical center -- staffing, equipment, programs, procedures, services, protocol, training and backup. Level II trauma centers collaborate with their Level I counterparts, which have surgical expertise in additional disciplines and ongoing research programs.

BEADS: To the Rev. Chad Partain, chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Alexandria and pastor of St. Paul's Church in Mansura, for writing "The Heart of Louisiana: An Illustrated History of Rapides Parish." And Beads to the Historical Association of Central Louisiana for urging him to do so. The illustrated book, a narrative history, may be purchased at Kent Plantation House in Alexandria, the Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria/Pineville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Charrier and Charrier Law Offices, also in Alexandria. Proceeds go to the Historical Association. For more information, call the association at (318) 448-3952.

BOOS: To the conditions that have caused the nine-parish Baton Rouge metropolitan area to have the highest rate of AIDS among all metro areas in the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the new statistics, for 2010, on Wednesday. Baton Rouge had the second-highest AIDS rate the previous two years. Baton Rouge has a rate of 33.7, which means 33 out of every 100,000 people have tested positive for AIDS.

BEADS: To Nazarene Baptist Church in Alexandria, for sponsoring informational meetings about underage drinking and other challenges faced by young people and their families. The church held a "Project Success" session last week at which participants learned about the causes and dangers of alcohol abuse. Learn more about the program by calling (318) 443-7327.

BEADS: To the 27th Louisiana Nursery Festival, held over the weekend in Forest Hill. The annual festival in the "Nursery Capital of Louisiana" is a special event for the village and the region. It showcases an important part of Louisiana's horticulture industry and is a late-winter tradition for Central Louisiana families and business owners. Good growers that they are, the people of Forest Hill are already planning for 2013.

HOLYOKE – Fans wearing green hats and shirts, shamrock beads and green-tinted sunglasses turned the city into a sea of green, Sunday, for the 61st St. Patrick's Parade.

Unusually warm temperatures had marchers peeling off their Irish knit sweaters and delighting in the 70-degree day that made the 2012 version one of the biggest success in the long history of the parade.

“I don't know what I did to make it happen. We have had nice days in the past, but nothing like this,” said Russell McNiff Jr., this year's parade president.

Saying he feels blessed, McNiff talked about past parades where the Department of Public Works removed shoulder-high snowbanks from the route and people wrapped in blankets and shivered through the event.

He thanked the about 200 volunteers on the parade committee who have been working since last April to prepare for the event.

Barry Farrell Jr., this year's parade marshal, has officially marched in two other parades and unofficially as a band monitor in dozens.

“It was fantastic. I've marched in the parade for many, many years and I've never seen so many people,” he said.

He said he was impressed with the State Police Marching unit, which won the citizenship award this year for all the work troopers do for the city.

No crowd estimates were available, but organizers and police agreed the good weather brought out one of biggest crowds in recent history. People lined the route from the start at K-Mart plaza on Route 5 to the end on Main Street.

Larry Stock, of Connecticut, who has been selling horns, shamrock hats and green feather boas at the parade for 40 years, said parade-goers quickly bought up his souvenirs Sunday as he walked down Appleton Street.

“It is always big and it always depends on the weather,” Stock said of the parade.

Chicopee residents Pauline Belanger and Brenda Lauren sported bright green wigs in honor of the parade.

This was Lauren's first time watching the parade up close. The duo found seats right in front of the Kmart Plaza where the parade began.

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Perhaps because Mardi Gras has recently put people in the novelty necklace spirit, St. Patrick's Day often involves green plastic beads, as seen at the St. Patrick's Day parade in San Francisco, California.

Traditionally, St. Patrick's Day honors the Patron Saint of Ireland, and the spread of Christianity to the island. But the holiday is more broadly celebrated in America, where after a few Guinnesses, anyone can be Irish. For a holiday that recognizes the unique culture of Ireland, there certainly are a lot of American tropes thrown into the revelry. In case you can't remember your last few St. Patrick's Days, here's what to expect.

Milwaukee police are looking for a missing Milwaukee man who was last seen Saturday night on Water Street.

Family members reported to police that Thomas Hecht, 28, was missing Sunday night.

Hecht's father said his son had joined St. Patrick's Day revelers for the Shamrock Shindig Pub Crawl. Friends said they last saw him outside Rosie's Tavern around 10 p.m. Saturday. He told them he was heading home.

Hecht was wearing a green T-shirt with a St. Patrick's Day inscription on the front and green party beads around his neck.

"He hasn't been answering his cellphone. I had a spare set of keys to his condo. He has not been home, and he parked his car in front of my condo building Saturday afternoon, and his car has not been moved since," Bob Hecht said.

Hecht is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee and Whitnall High School. He works for Johnson Controls, and his dad said Tom has never disappeared for any amount of time.

He lives about a mile upriver from Rosie's, but Bob Hecht said he doubts Tom walked home Saturday night.

"To walk home, Tom would have had to have crossed one of two bridges over the Milwaukee River," Bob Hecht said. "Our hopes are that he's going to be found, and he's going to be OK."

The Water Street Association said it's helping in the search for Hecht via social media.

"We're extremely hopeful for his safety and will continue to assist the MPD until he is found," the association said in a written statement.

Hecht's father said friends plan to canvas the area Monday night.