Local residents took advantage of the pleasant weather this weekend to let their Irish side shine during St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

Our area was graced with sunny skies all last week and let a variety of our community’s great stories shine through.

Lets take a look back at the highlights from last week:

-Students in Concordia Parish elementary schools graduated from the D.A.R.E program, which is intended to give children the skills to avoid making bad decisions. We’re glad to see law enforcement agencies continuing these programs in our area schools and to see the students involved in them.

-Carleigh Sproulls knows her ABCs and then some, as she won her school’s spelling bee as well as the district-wide one. Her success will send her to Jackson this week to compete in the statewide spelling bee. We’ll be rooting for Sproulls to spell her way to victory.

-Tourists continue flocking to the area for Spring Pilgrimage, and the early numbers indicate a 10-percent increase over last year’s first week. We hope those numbers continue to rise and that many more visitors come see all the great things our area offers.

-Charlie Blaney finally got his chance to be St. Patrick this year after having been a member of the Krewe of Killarney for 23 years. Blaney led the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday and performed the traditional snake-banishing ritual with ease.

With all the snakes banished into the Mississippi River, let’s get ready for another great week here in the Miss-Lou.