Category Archives: Ascension

Things just got more memorable recently when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association released its All-State track and field team. There were four of Ascension Parish's top track stars on the list.

The 2017 season saw some marvelous performances by the parishs top track and field stars and their teams.

From multiple individual standouts taking home state titles, to the Ascension Catholic girls team claiming their third straight state championship, it was surely a year to remember.

Things just got more memorable recently when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association released its All-State track and field team. There were four of Ascension Parishs top track stars on the list.

Headlining the boys All-State team was Dutchtowns Parker McBride. McBride made the All-State team for the 800 event.

He had the fastest time in the state this season for the 800 with a time of one minute and 52.68 seconds.

McBride won district, regional and state titles in the 800 this season. He was also a member of the Baton Rouge areas All-Metro team.

McBride is a Southeastern Louisiana signee.

Just last month, he made the trip to Greensboro, N.C., to compete in the New Balance Nationals Outdoor event.

The Griffins finished as runners-up in District 5-5A this season, and they finished fifth at the regional meet.

The only other Ascension Parish boys track star to make the All-State team was Donaldsonvilles Davon Wright. Wright made the team in the shot put event.

Wright helped lead theTigers to a seventh-place finish at the District 6-3A meet and a 14th-place finish at the state meet.

He had the fifth-best performance in the shot put this season with a measurement of 53 feet and 6.5 inches.

After winning the state title in the event last year, Wright won a district championship in the shot put this season and finished as runner-up at both the regional and state meets.

He also made the All-Metro team. Wright is a recent Tulane football commit.

The Lady Griffins finished third at the District 5-5A meet, and they landed in seventh at the state meet.

Spearheading their efforts were Leah Scott and Tara Stuntz.

Scott made the All-State team for the second straight season in the long jump event and the triple jump.

She had the best long jump in the state this year with a measurement of 19 feet and six inches. Her triple jump was tied for fourth-best at 37 feet and 11 inches.

Scott won district and regional titles in both events. At the state meet, she won the triple jump championship for the second straight season and finished as runner-up in the long jump.

Stuntz made the All-State team for the 3,200 event. She had the third-fastest time in the 3,200 this year at 11 minutes and 23.81 seconds.

Stuntz was runner-up in the event at the district, regional and state meets.

Both Scott and Stuntz made the All-Metro team as well.

Stuntz is a 2017 Southeastern signee, along with two other parish runners in Ascension Catholics 1A 800, 1,600 and 3,200 state champion Sophie Daigle and the Bulldogs Logan Thibodeaux.

Read the original post:

Four Ascension track stars make All-State team - Weekly Citizen

GONZALES Parts of the winding, oak-lined stretch of La. 73 in Ascension Parish between Airline Highway and Interstate 10 have a quality much like that of Highland Road in Baton Rouge.

With older homes on large lots and cemeteries and churches, the area northwest of Gonzales also has drawn significant new residential development and was among the fastest growing parts in one of Louisiana's fastest growing parishes in the first decade of the 2000s, census tract data show.

Amid that growth, which has continued in the current decade, commercial development has sprung up around the residential pockets of La. 73. It's been a persistent battle before the parish Planning and Zoning Commission as developers see dollar signs in those rooftops with above-average household income, census data show.

One recent example occurred in May, when the Zoning Commission and later the full Parish Council rejected a request to rezone residential land at La. 73 and Post Office Road to commercial.

Largely surrounded by commercial properties, the family homestead was owned by heirs looking to sell, but commissioners and residents feared rezoning would spur further commercial growth and more traffic on La. 73.

Crawfish Aquatics, the private Baton Rouge-based swimming club and youth swimming education company, was among the latest to try to win a spot along the highway and this time succeeded.

Dr. Steve Ripple, a pediatric dentist who co-founded the company in 1999, told a parish panel last week that his school serves young families and aims to spread the knowledge of swimming. Ripple said about a third of his workers in Baton Rouge are from Ascension as are about 100 of the 600 students at his school on Siegen Lane.

"They make the drive because they see the value added to their children's lives," Ripple said.

The two-building, five-unit complex will be built on 3 acres next to the entrance of Longwood subdivision and empty traffic onto three-lane La. 73, plans show. In addition to the swim school, the complex would have a small restaurant, the Amazing Athletes Pre-School, a pediatric dental clinic and a future medical tenant.

Unlike the brothers and sisters who grew up on La. 73 and were looking to sell their family home, Ripple got his plan approved despite facing considerable opposition.

Ripple was shot down once before. Five months ago, the joint Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of a specialized rezoning for the project and the council went along with the commission's recommendation.

But Ripple came back this month with a special agreement with the parish that allows Crawfish Aquatics to achieve its goals in a scaled down way. It requires no zoning change because part of the property already had a mixed-use zoning.

Amid shouts of "sold out" and "we know where the money goes," Zoning Commissioner Wade Schexnaydre made the case to recommend the contract agreement. The commission narrowly adopted it 3-2 on Wednesday with the tie-breaking vote cast by Commission Chairman Matt Pryor.

Commissioner Julio Dumas also voted to approve the agreement while commissioners Tony Christy and Ken Firmin voted against it. Commissioners Morrie Bishop and Aaron Chaisson were absent.

The final vote, which does not require council approval because it doesn't involve a rezoning, came after the commissioners heard more than an hour of testimony largely from residents of Longwood subdivision, as well as from a former planning commissioner and the parish councilman for the area.

Residents aired worries that the private swim school and its related commercial enterprises would further boost traffic on La. 73, where housing developments continue to be built and the Ascension Parish school system plans a new primary school.

Longwood resident Denise Drago asked those in the commission audience to raise their hands if any had driven in the "horrible" traffic on La. 73. Virtually all the hands in the room went up.

"Commissioners, do you see all those raised hands? Traffic congestion on (La.) 73 hasn't been addressed nor ... are developers offering any solutions," she said.

Actually, Ripple will have to pay nearly $30,000 in traffic impact fees, which are designed to address a development's share of traffic impact.

While some critics regularly question the strength of parish rules for traffic studies, the study for the original, larger Crawfish Aquatics project found it would have minimal traffic impact on La. 73. No road improvements were required.

The smaller project also eliminated rerouting Bayou Goudine, as the original plan had proposed.

But the dispute Wednesday reprised an ongoing debate in Ascension about the extent of the commission's power to say no when a project meets parish development requirements, as Ripple's project did.

Councilman Daniel "Doc" Satterlee urged the commission to exercise that power and vote no over La. 73's chronic traffic, but Pryor, the tie-breaking vote Wednesday, has taken the view that the commission can't exercise that power easily and not without sufficient evidence.

In a later interview, Pryor said the commission needs to look at the master plan and examine areas like La. 73 where growth is creating pressure on existing zoning.

Commissioners already called Wednesday for a review of the residential zoning around the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, miles from La. 73, in light of a new road being built to the complex.

"I think that there needs to be a serious look at the whole land-use master plan to identify those areas where we want to direct growth and those areas where we dont want to direct growth and commit the resources and the development to allow for that growth to occur," Pryor said.

Follow David J. Mitchell on Twitter, @NewsieDave.

Continued here:

Crawfish Aquatics gets narrow nod for swim school in Ascension, but future of La. 73 corridor up in air - The Advocate

BATON ROUGE, La. (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) - Ascension Public Schools has received a national honor for its 2016 bond election communication campaign and is the only Louisiana recipient of this honor.

The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) bestowed Ascension Public Schools with its highest honor, the Gold Medallion Award, at its national conference this year on July 12. Ascensions "Growing at the Pace of Excellence" campaign garnered it the distinction of being one of 11 school districts across the country to grab the NSPRAs highest honor this year.

"We consider it an honor and a blessing when our work and efforts to serve children receive national recognition. This particular award appropriately affirms the hard work and effort of all those involved in effective communication so that our public would properly understand and agree with our priority for capital improvement projects that includes building new schools," said Ascension Public Schools Superintendent David Alexander.

Alexander also sent out a special congratulations to Jackie Tisdell, who leads all public communication efforts, and Assistant Superintendent Denise Graves, who was serving as Superintendent during this successful campaign.

Once again, hats off to our #AscensionStrong community, who pursue excellence in serving students!"

On April 9 in 2016, 80 percent of Ascension Parish residents voted in favor to extend a 15.08 millage to generate $120 million in bonds to fund four new schools and facility improvements district-wide.

This was the culmination of a comprehensive communications plan executed by the district's public information office in consultation with Taylor Media Services. The campaign utilized many different learning and outreach resources to be able to successfully campaign to the community.

"This campaign was successful because we were all in, from the superintendent, board members and directors to principals, teachers and support staff. Our community trusts that we are good stewards of their financial investments, and they showed that support at the polls," said Assistant Superintendent A. Denise Graves.

The school district has worked with Taylor Media Services since 2003 including the successful passage of multiple elections. This was the first election marketing campaign under Public Information Officer Jackie Tisdell, who joined the district in 2015.

"As a parent and Ascension Parish resident, I have always voted to support our schools. This was the first time I worked on an election campaign and am grateful for the support of Taylor Media Services, as well as the hard work by Director of Planning and Construction Chad Lynch and our entire staff," said Tisdell. "Although tremendously humbled by this recognition, we know our work is far from over. We will focus our communication efforts on the construction progress of new schools and renovations."

Information about Ascension's 2016 bond election marketing campaign can be found at http://www.apsb.org/2016bond.

The Gold Medallion is NSPRA's top program award, recognizing superior educational public relations programs.

For more information about NSPRA, visit http://www.nspra.org.

Read more:

Ascension Public Schools snags national honor for communications - http://www.brproud.com

Stephen S. Gaines / Staff Intern

It would appear that the summer of 2017 has been a booming time for Ascension Parish. For the second time since 2016, Ascension has ranked second in the SmartAssets most income investments in Louisiana.

SmartAsset is a company based in New York, that estimates area around the country that have the most incoming investments in business, real estate, government, and the local economies. With people starting their businesses here, Ascensions business growth has grown to 6.0%. Ascension shows the second highest percent of growth next to Calcasieu Parishs 6.1%. West Baton Rouge was ranked first in most income investments in Louisiana, yet has 3.8% in business growth.

In Gross Domestic product or GDP growth in millions, Ascension Parish has a decrease of -$23 million dollars. West Baton Rouge has a decrease of -$6 million dollars in their GDP, with Lafayette having a decrease of -$90 million dollars the lowest of any parish. This generally means that the local and state economies are beginning to slow down. Last year our GDP growth was $53 million dollars, while other parishes were between 5 and 200. Lafayette had the highest at $204 million dollars. Market value grosses maybe decreasing, but these numbers could begin to rise again.

In new building permits, Ascension parish ranked second with 19.8 (per 1,000 homes). West Baton Rouge ranks first at 26.6 (per 1,000 homes). Lafayette is the lowest on the chart at 12.3 (per 1,000 homes). These numbers represent the growth of subdivisions and housing within the parishes. Subdivisions like Bayou View Estates on Boudreaux Road and Lake Summerset on Duplessis Road are just two of many fast growing subdivisions in Ascension. Developing subdivisions, like New River Oaks and Dutchtown Meadows may raise Ascensions ranking.

When it comes to Federal Funding per capita, Ascension Parish has around $20 dollars per capita. This score however, is the 4th lowest, with De Soto parish being the lowest at $0 per capita. West Baton Rouge ranks first again at $3,924 per capita. This federal funding is in the form of contracts awarded to businesses in each parish, which is divided by the population.

Lastly, there is the Incoming Investment Index. This is an assessment of each chart place in an overall number. Ascension Parish ranks second with 47.77 in incoming investments. West Baton Rouge ranks first with an income investment of 54.10. Cameron parish ranks last with an income investment of 34.92. These ratings show that Ascension is still as strong as it has been in the previous two years. Ascension was ranked the strongest parish for incoming investments in Louisiana in 2015, and the second strongest in Louisiana in 2016.

Now in 2017, Ascension is still ranked the second strongest parish in the Louisiana and the 155th strongest county in the United States.

"SmartAsset does research like this to get people to think and talk about their personal finances, community finances and what matters to them in the future," Managing Editor AJ Smith of SmartAsset said.

Ascension Parish is one of the strongest places to be for investors, and surely Ascension will achieve new highs in the future.

See original here:

Parish income investments rank second in La. - Post South

Greg Fischer Editor-in-chief @AscensionEditor

Local Ascension professionals and pro dancers entertained a large crowd at the Lamar Dixon 4-H building on Saturday, July 8 with a parish version of the popular TV show Dancing with the Stars.

The fundraiser, coined Dancing for a Cause (DFC), was a huge success according to Arc of East Ascension's Public Relations and Marketing Director Sharon Morris and also Sheriff Jeff Wiley in his opening remarks. The night was full of cheers and laughter.

"What [people] can expect tonight is hard work and dedication from some business employees in the community who have dedicated their time and raised money for the Arc," Arc of East Ascension President Allison Hudson said. "They will be dancing. They have had six weeks of practice with professional dancers, and they have enjoyed raising money. We are thankful for all of the funds that they raised, obviously for the Arc, that will go towards our individuals."

Louis LeFebrve III of Main Street Dental Care stole the show. He had an enormous group cheering on he and his partner, Alyssa Babin. Besides winning the competition, he outsold the runner up more than twice. His business raised $14,990 for the Arc of EA. In second place was Jackie Baumann with $7440, and in third place was Jackie Tisdell with $6650.

Coincidentally, the judges picks coincided with the top three fundraisers. Tisdell was also the fan favorite.

"I would like to thank the community and all sponsors for their generosity and support," Morris said. "Special Thanks to Alsie Dunbar for getting some of the gifts donated for the Star Dancers."

Food and drink was abundant. This year's DFC event ran from 6-10 p.m.

See the original post here:

Arc of East Ascension holds landmark DFC fundraiser - Weekly Citizen

Court cases filed in Ascension Parish between June 26-30.

Rockett Williams v. United Parcel Services Inc., Southern Tire Mart LLC and Bridgestone Bandag LLC, damages.

Neighbors Federal Credit Union v. Heath Hoyt Atkins and Crystal Atkins, executory judgment.

Nancy Vidrine v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co and Alison Templet, damages.

Pelican Point Operations LLC v. Joshua Hebert, injunction.

Aaron A. Payton v. State of Louisiana Department Public Safety Control, judicial review.

Everbank v. John David Miller, Julie T. Miller aka Julie Templet Miller aka Julie M. Miller and Julie M. Templet, executory process.

Yolanda Martin v. Shondrica Dejoie, Progressive Paloverde Insurance Com. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., damages.

Leroy Hebert Jr. v. Imperial Fire and Casualty Company, Benita Esquivel, Hector Esquivel Rodriguez and Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., damages.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Michael Green and Progressive Security Insurance Co., damages.

Ally Financial Inc. v. Monica V. Jackson and Raymond C. Jackson, contract.

Autovest LLC v. Shandra Marie Bennett, open account.

Citibank Na v. Vera F. Boudreaux, open account.

Donna K. Poirrier and Mark Poirrier Jr. v. Jorge F. Mejia, Luis O. Orellana, Progressive Security Insurance Co. and Safeco Insruance Co. of Oregon, damages.

Cavalry SPV I LLC v. Gregory K. Dawson, open account.

The Quikrete Companies LLC v. SMI Companies Global Inc, open account.

JPMorgan Chase Bank National Associa v. Gina F. Sachse aka Gina Fryery, executory process.

Kodi Haynes v. Progressive Security Insurance Co. and Jason Decoteau, damages.

Bonnie Bourgeois v. Milwaukee Casualty Insurance Co., Three Ames Inc, Pest Control Cottons and Jacob R. Blocker, damages.

Midfirst Bank v. David Artieta, executory process.

Wells Fargo Bank NA v. Jason A. Worthington aka Jason Worthington, executory process.

Jackie Toval v. Anpac Louisiana Insurance Co. and Dina Hendrix, damages.

Dlj Mortgage Capital Inc v. Jerret P. Featherston and Tara Ringe Featherston, executory process.

American Express Bank FSB v. Andrew E. Bayard, open account.

Discover Bank v. Jeannine K. Massey, open account.

John Davis Jr. v. Nicole Tharp and USAA, damages.

State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. Bubbie Gunter and Allstate Insurance Co., damages.

Velenessia Smith v. Lowes Home Centers LLC dba 2645 Lowes, damages.

Geico Casualty Insurance Co. and Raymond Tamplain v. Humberto Salgado, damages.

Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Noel Menard and Mandy Menard, executory judgment.

Stephanie Pinell v. Ciara V. Nixon and Allstate Vehicle & Property Insurance Co., damages.

FAMILY SUITS

Chad Michael Cressionnie v. Crystal Baham Cressionnnie, divorce.

Gonzales Angel M. Rojas v. Sanchez Maria G. Vazquez, divorce.

Douglas V. Palmer Jr. v. Lainey Leboeuf Palmer, divorce.

Wesley Joseph Mueller v. Lauren Troxclair Mueller, divorce.

Joyce Allen, state Department of Children and Family Services v. Leonard Brown, paternity.

Deandre Williams, state Department of Children and Family Services v. Jerome Roberts Jr., paternity.

Latoya Sanders, state Department of Children and Family Services v. Leroy LeBlanc, paternity.

Lacarla Nicholas, state Department of Children and Family Services v. Michael Bovie, paternity.

Jace Christopher Engels v. Crystal Dawn Turner, divorce.

Leann Dixon, state Department of Children and Family Services, and Cohen Minor Harrison v. Chas Harrison, paternity.

Kelly Pardue, state Department of Children and Family Services, and Stephanie Alexander v. Alexander Cole Jr., paternity.

Povial Ward, state Department of Children and Family Services and Taylor Ward v. Odell Phillips Jr., paternity.

Wennifer Southall, state Department of Children and Family Services and Tramaiya Southall v. Trales Lewis, paternity.

Blaire Taber, state Department of Children and Family Services v. Bonaventure Devin, paternity.

Buffy Ancale Evans v. Martin Thomas Evans, divorce.

Nina C. Drago v. Brandon Drago, divorce.

Asusena Medrano v. Cesar Augusto Medrano, divorce.

Brittnie Gautreau Wascom v. Cody Wascom, divorce.

Tyler Anthony Michel v. Kailyn Roper Michel, divorce.

J. Carwin Terrell v. Evelyn J. Terrell, divorce.

Jodie Edwards McGregory v. Barry Lynn McGregory, divorce.

Waldrop Susan Robinson v. Allen Ray Waldrop, divorce.

Succession of Shelton H. Babin Jr.

Succession of Pearl L. Daigle

Succession of Martin Alfred Goynes

Go here to see the original:

Ascension Parish Civil Court Cases for June 26-30, 2017 - The Advocate

Holiday market

Its Christmas in July when the Jolly Jingles Market sets up this weekend at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Centers Trademart Building. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Admission to the semiannual gift and general merchandise market is $5 per person. Parking is free and strollers are welcome. Goody bags will be distributed to the first 500 shoppers.

St. Mark Catholic Church of Gonzales invites parishioners ages 55 and older to a senior citizen get-together after the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday in the Father DeMaria Activity Center. Seniors will enjoy a meal, followed by bingo and fellowship.

Registration is required. Call Evelyn Rousseau at (225) 647-5731 to leave a name and phone number.

Ascension Parish Library's summer reading program offers a variety of events for youths of all ages.

BROWN BEAR: Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the childrens classic with fun and games, 10:30 a.m. Monday, Donaldsonville. For all ages.

BUILD A BIRDHOUSE: Construct and decorate a birdhouse out of fun foam, 2 p.m. Monday, Gonzales. For all ages.

SPACE EXPLORATION: Learn about planetary movement and make a model of the solar system, 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Donaldsonville. For all ages.

HARRY POTTER INTERACTIVE MOVIE NIGHT: The movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone comes to life with an assortment of fun props, with costumes encouraged: 6:30 p.m. July 20, Gonzales. For children, teens and adults.

FRIDA KAHLOS BIRTHDAY: Celebrate the Mexican artist by playing lotera and making floral headbands, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dutchtown. For teens entering grades six through 12.

HARRY POTTER YULE BALL: Celebrate the end of summer with a Harry Potter themed Yule Ball, with wizardly and formal attire welcome, 4 p.m. July 20, Donaldsonville. For teens entering grades six through 12.

Ascension Parish Librarys Kanji Klub meets at 6 p.m. Monday at the Gonzales Branch. Members will watch the French anim Time Jam: Valerian & Laureline and craft nebula jars.

Kanji Klub is open to ages 18 and older. Cosplay is welcome. Call (225) 647-3955 for details.

Learn about musculoskeletal disorders and how to prevent them at PB&J Protect Your Bones and Joints at 11 a.m. Wednesday in St. Elizabeth Hospitals Sister Linda conference room.

The free class for teens, led by certified orthopedic nurse Charla B. Johnson, is aimed at preventing injury and promoting bone and joint health. A light lunch will be served.

Registration is required; call (225) 621-2906.

The Class of 1977 of East Ascension High School will gather for its 40th class reunion at 6 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Clarion Conference Center in Gonzales.

All East Ascension High graduating classes are invited to the celebration, which includes food, a cash bar, dancing and music by Kenny Fife.

Cost is $50 per person in advance or $55 at the door. Registration forms will be emailed upon request. Email trudybates@yahoo.com or l.rhett.bourgeois@gmail.com for details.

Contact Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 388-0215 or (225) 603-1996; or email, ascension@theadvocate.com or ddenstorff@theadvocate.com. Deadline: noon Monday.

Read the original post:

Around Ascension for July 13, 2017 - The Advocate

Stephen S. Gaines / Staff Intern

It would appear that the summer of 2017 has been a booming time for Ascension Parish. For the second time since 2016, Ascension has ranked second in the SmartAssets most income investments in Louisiana.

SmartAsset is a company based in New York, that estimates area around the country that have the most incoming investments in business, real estate, government, and the local economies. With people starting their businesses here, Ascensions business growth has grown to 6.0%. Ascension shows the second highest percent of growth next to Calcasieu Parishs 6.1%. West Baton Rouge was ranked first in most income investments in Louisiana, yet has 3.8% in business growth.

In Gross Domestic product or GDP growth in millions, Ascension Parish has a decrease of -$23 million dollars. West Baton Rouge has a decrease of -$6 million dollars in their GDP, with Lafayette having a decrease of -$90 million dollars the lowest of any parish. This generally means that the local and state economies are beginning to slow down. Last year our GDP growth was $53 million dollars, while other parishes were between 5 and 200. Lafayette had the highest at $204 million dollars. Market value grosses maybe decreasing, but these numbers could begin to rise again.

In new building permits, Ascension parish ranked second with 19.8 (per 1,000 homes). West Baton Rouge ranks first at 26.6 (per 1,000 homes). Lafayette is the lowest on the chart at 12.3 (per 1,000 homes). These numbers represent the growth of subdivisions and housing within the parishes. Subdivisions like Bayou View Estates on Boudreaux Road and Lake Summerset on Duplessis Road are just two of many fast growing subdivisions in Ascension. Developing subdivisions, like New River Oaks and Dutchtown Meadows may raise Ascensions ranking.

When it comes to Federal Funding per capita, Ascension Parish has around $20 dollars per capita. This score however, is the 4th lowest, with De Soto parish being the lowest at $0 per capita. West Baton Rouge ranks first again at $3,924 per capita. This federal funding is in the form of contracts awarded to businesses in each parish, which is divided by the population.

Lastly, there is the Incoming Investment Index. This is an assessment of each chart place in an overall number. Ascension Parish ranks second with 47.77 in incoming investments. West Baton Rouge ranks first with an income investment of 54.10. Cameron parish ranks last with an income investment of 34.92. These ratings show that Ascension is still as strong as it has been in the previous two years. Ascension was ranked the strongest parish for incoming investments in Louisiana in 2015, and the second strongest in Louisiana in 2016.

Now in 2017, Ascension is still ranked the second strongest parish in the Louisiana and the 155th strongest county in the United States.

"SmartAsset does research like this to get people to think and talk about their personal finances, community finances and what matters to them in the future," Managing Editor AJ Smith of SmartAsset said.

Ascension Parish is one of the strongest places to be for investors, and surely Ascension will achieve new highs in the future.

Read the original:

Parish income investments rank second in La. - Donaldsonville Chief

Noah Fontenot strikes out 15 as Gauthier & Amedee win twice over weekend

The Gauthier & Amedee Wombats traveled to Westwego for their first-round game against Refuel, an Archbishop Shaw-based team from Marrero. Wombats starting pitcher Noah Fontenot actually was supposed to get a chance to pitch at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium where Delgado Community College plays. Its where he is scheduled to pitch for the next two years with the Dolphins.

Bad weather played a role in Fontenots opportunity to play at his future home field and moved Saturdays American Legion southeast regional to Segnette Field. Fontenot didnt let the move shake him at all and proceeded to pitch his best game to date in his young career.

Fontenots one-hitter, 5-1 victory moved his record to a perfect 5-0 for the Wombats, which is not terribly surprising as he finished his senior year at East Ascension compiling an 8-3 record on the mound for the Spartans in 2017.

My time at East Ascension playing for the Spartans will be a memory Ill never forget, Fontenot said. The people were great and treated me well; it was a lot of fun. Both of my parents went there and my dad, Andy, played baseball for the Spartans as well, so its sort of like keeping a family tradition alive.

Fontenot not only allowed just one hit but he struck out a career-high 15 batters going the distance, pitching a complete game in Gautier & Amedees victory over Refuel. Striking out for the opposing batters was not a unique item as the Delgado signee struck out everyone on the team at least one time and struck out the side in three different innings.

Fontenot retired the first two batters, then put two runners on base with a hit batter and a walk before ending the inning with a strikeout. But that was the end of the jitters. I got more and more confident with every inning, Fontenot said. I nailed the location on my fastball and I was able to throw my off-speed stuff for strikes.

Gauthier & Amadee started things off as they took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Dutchtowns Cameron Crawford stroked a bases-loaded single and drove in Larson Fontenot and EAs Preston Thrash. Another run was added by the Wombats on Brayden Caskeys groundout.

A single to left field by Devin Lansing in the third inning was Refuels (5-3) lone hit with one out and was left stranded at second base. Fontenot then retired 10 batters in a row after that single and a walk to pitcher Rene Brupbacher while fanning the side in the sixth.

For Gauthier & Amedee, Crawford went 2-4 on the game with 2 RBIs and a stolen base. Caskey was 1-3 with an RBI, while Larson Fontenot went 1-2, scored a run and had one stolen base. Preston Thrash went 1-2, scored 2 runs, had 2 walks and a pair of stolen bases.

On Sunday nights second round game at 6:30 p.m., the Wombats faced De La Salle-based Best Chevrolet at Kirsch-Rooney. Dutchtowns Jack Merrifield took the mound as the scheduled starter for G&A. The win moved the Ascension Parish based team one game away from reaching the American Legion state tournament as it hammered Best Chevrolet with an 11-1 mercy-rule victory in five innings.

G&As starter Jack Merrifield of Dutchtown took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth inning and was replaced by Jacob Spell after allowing a lead-off single to Corey Cook to right field. Merrifield (2-1) walked two and struck out four before being lifted.

G&A registered 11 hits and scored in every inning but the second. The Wombats scored two runs in the first inning, then tacked on another run in the third and blew things wide open, scoring seven more in the fourth inning.

Merrifield picked up the win and fellow Griffin Crawford led the way on offense with three hits, including a double and triple and two RBIs. Ivan Prejean was 1 for 1 picking up four RBIs and Merrifield piled on a pair of hits including a double and 2 RBIs to aid his pitching effort.

By press time, G&A (20-4-1) will have faced the defending state champion Pedal Valves on Monday night. A win will have sent the Wombats into Wednesdays championship game and lock in a berth in next weeks state tournament.

The effects from Tropical Storm Cindy are long gone and the water levels finally have returned to normal. The temperatures are heating up to summertime levels and so is the fishing.

Our waterways in the Amite/Blind River Basin have gone a few years without a major hurricane, which usually decimates the fish population for two or three years. They have made quite a comeback since the last one.

The summertime patterns are coming into play as far as the bass are concerned. The shad populations are very strong and that is a good thing as they are loaded with protein and the bass love to eat them. The shad form giant schools, which tend to make the bass school up and find places to ambush those schools in feeding frenzies.

Points (where two waterways meet) are one of those good locations for bass to lay in wait for an easy meal. Top water baits are a good choice for early morning activity, but dont store the rod after the sun comes up. The fish will feed throughout the day and if you catch them busting a school of shad on the surface, that top water bait will catch them any time of the day.

A crank bait is another good choice because they emulate shad and can get a school of bass stirred up enough to get in the feeding mode as well. This is a bait that can be fished really fast and cover a lot of water you to fish plenty of places a little quicker than other baits.

The plastic worm about rounds out my top three selections for summertime fishing for bass and probably is my favorite. This bait is versatile in the ways one can use them to entice a bass into biting. Texas rigged is probably the favorite style to fish, but the drop shot and the Carolina rig work well also.

The time is right and the fishing is hot, but so is the weather. The temperatures are in the dangerous zone as far as hydration is concerned. Bring plenty of water and hydrating drinks along for the trip. Its quite easy to get caught up in the fishing and forget about drinking water. Start when itsstill not too hot because its not easy to catch up if heat-related issues take place. Be safe on the water.

See the rest here:

Ascension Athletics for July 13, 2017 - The Advocate

Dr. Louis Lefebvre III's jive/freestyle took the top prize at Saturday's Dancing for a Cause.

Lefebvre, who danced with partner Alyssa Babin, raised $14,990 for the Arc of East Ascension, the agency that holds the annual fundraiser.

Lefebvre, owner of Main Street Dental Care, shined in a gold jacket for his upbeat presentation at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.

Gonzales' chief engineer Jackie Baumann won second place and raised $7,440 with her samba/freestyle number.

Jackie Tisdell, public information officer for Ascension Parish schools, won third place, raised $6,650 and took the Fan's Choice award for her high energy jazz/funk number.

The event exceeded its $100,000 goal, raising $118,000, said event coordinator Sharon Morris.

Also dancing were Cheryl Mercedes, Terri Kaaihue, Craig Stevens, Tasheba York-LeBlanc, Malcolm Carter and Trevor Gautreaux.

More here:

Dancers light up stage to raise money for Arc of East Ascension - The Advocate