Category Archives: Ascension

Calling artists for Red Hot Night art exhibit

River Region Art Association invites all adult artists in the River Parishes area to participate in its Red Hot Night art exhibit. Submission should have the colors of the hot summer, red, orange and yellow or anything else representing hot. Art should be able to be hung or sit on a table or pedestal. Art should be delivered from noon to 4 p.m. July 30-31 at the Depot Gallery, 320 East Ascension St., Suite C, Gonzales.

The association's Red Hot Night party will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 7. A Best of Show rosette will be presented to the art selected by the attendees during the evening. Admission is free and the evening will also include refreshments and silly games, a door prize raffle and live musical entertainment. This adults only party is a great time to see the art by local artists, so come and bring your friends and neighbors.

For more information, call (225) 644-8496 and leave a message and gallery volunteers will call you back. The Depot Gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The LSU AgCenter and Ascension Parish Master Gardener Association will host a Louisiana Master Gardener training class, beginning Aug. 18. Designed to recruit and train volunteers, the Louisiana Master Gardener Program is open to anyone with a willingness to learn and a desire to help others. For more information or to receive a copy of the application, contact the Ascension Parish LSU AgCenter Office at (225) 621-5799 or email Horticulture Agent Mariah Simoneaux at mjsimoneaux@agcenter.lsu.edu. The application deadline is July 30.

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Author Nathan J. Rabalais is set to visit the Ascension Parish Library in Gonzales at 2 p.m. July 24 to discuss his recent book, "Folklore Figures of French and Creole Louisiana." In this book, Rabalais examines the impact of Louisianas diverse cultural and ethnic groups on folklore characters and motifs during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Born in Eunice, Rabalais is the Joseph P. Montiel Assistant Professor of Francophone Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He earned a Ph.D. in French studies at Tulane University and a Doctorat en lettres et langues from the Universit de Poitiers. Rabalais also directed "Finding Cajun," a documentary film on cultural identity in Louisiana.

A book signing will follow the discussion. Registration is required. To register or for more information, call (225) 647-3955.

Take off Pounds Sensibly meets starting with weigh-in at 9:15 a.m. and meeting at 10 a.m. every Thursday at the fellowship hall at Carpenter's Chapel Church, 41181 La. 933, in Prairieville. Dues are $5 a month. For information, call Miriam Sanchez at (225) 202-8521.

The Recycling Center is at the Department of Public Works headquarters, 42077 Churchpoint Road in Gonzales. Operating hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

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Around Ascension for July 21, 2021 | Ascension | theadvocate.com - The Advocate

Twin brothers and Geismar natives Thurman and Torrence Thomas returned home last week to check in on their Tank Proof swim session at the Gonzales Municipal Pool.

The brothers got the idea several years ago to team with local business and agencies provide free swim lessons for children.

The Dutchtown High grads established their successful musical career before deciding to give back to the community that supported them. The two knew that drowning was one of the leading causes of death in children under 5. They thought it was sad that so many children did not know how to swim and might never have the opportunity to learn, so they formed a nonprofit organization, Tank Proof, to teach children how to swim.

The success of Tank Proof was immediate, spreading across the nation and being featured on national news reports.

Registration for last week's Gonzales program filled up quickly.

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The Ascension Parish Department of Recreation is looking at the event to gauge whether something like this could be added to the parishs recreation mix.

We want to expand the number and types of recreational programs in the parish, said Parish President Clint Cointment. A public/private partnership like this one would go one step further, involving more people and spreading the word farther and faster.

Cointment attended the Friday session to cheer on the participants.

To learn more about Tank Proof, visit their website: https://www.tankproof.org/ or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tankproofswim.

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Ascension Recreation, area businesses support Tank Proof Swimming program - The Advocate

During the week of July 12 July 16, 2021, the following defendants pled guilty to various charges and were sentenced in the 23rd Judicial District Court, parishes of Ascension, Assumption, and St. James.

Ascension Parish:

The above cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Phil Maples, and presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Cody Martin.

The above cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Leila Braswell and Maeghen Kling. Presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Jason Verdigets.

Assumption Parish:

The above case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lana Chaney, and presiding over these matters was the Honorable Judge Tess Stromberg.

St. James Parish:

The above case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Adam Koenig, and presiding over this matter was the Honorable Judge Steven Tureau.

Submitted by Public Information Officer Tyler Cavalier for 23rd Judicial District Attorney Ricky L. Babin.

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Ascension, Assumption and St. James guilty pleas 7/12 to 7/16 - L'Observateur - L'Observateur

GONZALES A former Ascension Parish sheriff's detective fired earlier this year after he was accused ofstalking and committing battery against his ex-girlfriend has entered a pretrial diversion program and, if completed, could see his charges dropped and possibly expunged, his defense attorney said.

Timothy G. May, 44, of Prairieville, entered the District Attorney's Probation Program on July 8. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His attorney, Hallye Braud, said prosecutors agreed to the step after May's ex-girlfriend asked Judge Jason Verdigets on April 12 to have the protective order against May removed and then later told the judge that she didn't want to prosecutors to pursue charges against him.

GONZALES The Ascension Parish sheriff fired one of his detectives after the officer's arrest over a domestic dispute with a former girlfriend.

The ex-girlfriend has told Verdigets that she and May were trying to reconcile.

In April, Verdigets told the ex-girlfriend that he was likely to grant her request but wouldn't lift the order unless prosecutors had no objections.

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The judge dismissed the protective order as a condition of May's bail on April 19, a week after ex-girlfriend had requested it.

Prosecutors had been scheduled on July 12 to present their preliminary evidence of the charges against May but Braud told the judge that May had entered the diversion program four days earlier.

Braud said later that she and her client believed it was in his best interests to pursue the program as a step to move forward.

Twenty-third Judicial District Attorney Ricky Babin offers the pretrial diversion program as an alternative to prosecution. The program can require participants to take education classes, submit to drug testing, meet with a probation officer and other steps, the DA's Office website says.

The DA's office declined to comment.

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Former Ascension sheriff's detective accused in domestic incident heads to pretrial diversion - The Advocate

A judge decided Thursday that a former Baton Rouge Police Department narcotics officer who has been arrested four times this year will remain jailed without bail, despite receiving what his lawyer called a favorable psychological evaluation.

Jason Acree's attorney asked state District Judge Christopher Dassau to reconsider his June 1 ruling that Acree is an "imminent threat" to the community and himself, and therefore must be held without bail following his fourth arrest in late May.

A former Baton Rouge police officer arrested for the fourth time this year will remain jailed for the foreseeable future after a judge revoked

"The doctor's report is pretty clear that he's not a danger to anyone else," John McLindon, who represents Acree, told the judge during a hearing Thursday.

McLindon argued that the stress from Acree's three prior arrests by BRPD in a corruption probe focused on the department's narcotics division contributed to his May 27 arrest in Ascension Parish on drug and gun charges stemming from an alleged drag racing incident.

East Baton Rouge Parish First Assistant District Attorney Tracey Barbera deferred to Dassau's discretion on whether Acree, 34, should be granted bail, but she reminded the judge that Acree's latest arrest occurred while he was out on $30,000 bond that Dassau had set in April.

Barbera said she was not asking the judge to treat Acree differently than any other defendant because of his former law enforcement status.

Dassau said in his estimation nothing has changed since June 1 when he ordered Acree held without bail.

"He's going to continue to be held without bond," the judge said.

McLindon said after court that he was very disappointed with the judge's latest ruling.

"I'm very surprised based on what the doctor wrote," he said.

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Dassau had recommended last month that Acree undergo counseling and drug treatment while locked up.

Acree had already been arrested three times by BRPD colleagues in recent months when he was booked into Ascension Parish jail May 27 after state troopers pulled him over for drag racing on Interstate 10 and found illegal painkillers and three guns one an assault-style rifle inside the car, arrest documents say. His bail in Ascension is $45,000.

Former Baton Rouge police officer Jason Acree, who has already been arrested three times by his BRPD colleagues in recent months amid an ongoi

Acree told troopers he was heading to New Orleans to work a private security job, according to his arrest report. He was booked on counts of possession of Schedule II drugs, illegal carrying of weapons with drugs, speeding and reckless driving.

Acree resigned from BRPD in May after his second arrest by the department, which came after internal investigators found evidence he stole marijuana from the narcotics evidence room. He had worked as a narcotics detective for several years.

His third arrest involved allegations he lied on a search warrant application, something investigators concluded during an audit.

The mounting accusations against Acree come amid a probe into the entire BRPD narcotics unit, which came under scrutiny for several reasons, including his alleged criminal behavior.

A BRPD detective, Cpl. Jacob Cowart, was fired Wednesday amid widening fallout from the probe. He was a relatively new member of the narcotics unit. He was found to have violated department policies.

Acree was one of two narcotics detectives who resigned earlier this year facing criminal charges; the other was Jeremiah Ardoin. BRPD also transferred four narcotics supervisors to street patrol.

After he was arrested twice in recent months and accused of stealing drugs from the evidence room, a narcotics detective resigned Monday from

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Former BRPD narcotics officer with 4 arrests this year again denied bail by judge - The Advocate

After a sprawling criminal investigation that started with a complaint about his behavior in Florida, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and FBI special agent tasked with investigating crimes against children now faces sex crime charges of his own involving juvenile and adult victims in both Louisiana and Texas.

David Harris, 51, was arrested last month in Ascension Parish, where he lives. During a bond hearing July 1, the court declared him a "threat to the public at large" and ordered him held without bail. The decision came after an investigator testified that Harris had threatened two of his victims with violence in an apparent attempt to keep them quiet.

The allegations date back several years, overlapping with the successful law enforcement and military careers Harris pursued for decades, starting with his 1992 graduation from West Point. His most recent assignment for the FBI involved investigating crimes against children, including child pornography.

His own alleged crimes span three Southern states and involve a handful of victims, both children and adults, according to court records and law enforcement officials.

Harris was arrested in Ascension Parish on counts of indecent behavior with children under 13 and crimes against nature. He has an outstanding warrant in Orleans Parish for sexual battery and attempted third-degree rape and a warrant in East Baton Rouge for aggravated crimes against nature, indecent behavior with juveniles, obscenity and witness intimidation.

In Smith County, Texas, he faces charges of indecency with a child. Harris remains under investigation in Florida, but no warrant has been issued there.

Details about the allegations remain scarce because the Louisiana warrants were filed under seal, and Texas officials have not released theirs.

A New Orleans-based FBI agent arrested last week on numerous sexual misconduct charges involving children is now being held without bond in As

In the meantime, a transcript from the bond hearing reveals the scope of the ongoing investigation and new details about the case.

Sgt. Jay Donaldson, a Louisiana state trooper assigned to the case, testified that Harris had "threatened a juvenile victim and also planned to harm another victim if any problems arose for him."

Donaldson also testified that the two victims in Ascension Parish case are minors.

Ascension Parish Judge Katherine Tess Stromberg concluded Harris posed a danger to the public if released from jail. She deemed him a flight risk after hearing testimony about his close connections to relatives in Alaska, including his father and siblings.

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Harris also had an intimate relationship with a woman in Alaska whom he recently contacted, which "gives us reason to believe that may be an issue upon his release that he goes to Alaska," Donaldson said.

Harris lived with his wife and daughter in Prairieville but sometimes traveled for work and to visit family, officials said. He was assigned to the FBI New Orleans Field Office.

Attorneys for Harris emphasized that he knew about the allegations for months before his arrest and made no moves to evade law enforcement.

He learned about the investigation not long after the complaint was received in February, when he was completing an 18-month assignment to the FBI Internet Crimes Against Children unit based in Baltimore, his attorney said. At that point, he was placed on indefinite suspension from the assignment and sent back to Baton Rouge, his local FBI office.

Months later, he was arrested in Ascension Parish. He had no disciplinary record with the FBI and no known criminal history at the time, investigators testified.

Harris served as an infantry officer in the Army Reserve based in Louisiana, according to a military spokesman. His record includes numerous awards and commendations.

"He has served this country honorably for his entire life," his attorney Craig Mordock said during the hearing. "These allegations are completely out of character."

But prosecutors noted the seriousness and scope of the alleged offenses.

"While he does not have a previous record as far as convictions, he does have a history of doing this all over the United States," said Assistant District Attorney Leila Braswell.

Those cases and the one in Texas likely will proceed after the charges in Ascension are resolved.

It was not immediately clear whether Harris had been placed on leave from either the FBI or the Army Reserve. FBI officials have declined to answer questions about his employment status, saying only that the agency is "fully cooperating in this matter."

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'Threat to the public:' Sex crimes case against FBI agent spans three parishes, three states - The Advocate

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Giannis Antetokounmpo's ascension from a mysterious non-lottery pick in 2013 to a Finals MVP is complete, thanks to the Milwaukee Bucks' 105-98 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 on Tuesday.

In a closeout game that featured Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, no one shined anywhere near as bright as Giannis, whose50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks put him in exceptionally rare company.

The list of ways you can contextualize what Giannis did during this postseason, this Finals and this Game 6 could probably go on a while longer.

The arc of his entire career bears mentioning too. In eight years, he went from an obscure, skinny project who just wanted to be an NBA player to the most physically imposing force the league has had since Shaquille O'Neal.

On Tuesday, he was, in a word, dominant. And he didn't need a bunch of step-back jumpers or a so-called "bag" to do it. This was, in a lot of ways, a throwback game.For decadesfrom Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to Shaqbigs dominated the NBA.

While the advent of the three-point revolution curbed their impact, Giannis just scored a win for the big man with one of the most overwhelming postseason runs we've ever seen. And capping it off with a 50-point performance seals this run's place in history.

Regardless of who was in front of him, Giannis was relentless. He went around Deandre Ayton and over or through Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder. He was unstoppable around the rim, but he also hit four shots around the free-throw line. Perhaps most impressively, he went 17-of-19 from the charity stripe (tied for the fourth-most makes in a single Finals game), after entering Game 6 with a 55.6 free-throw percentage for the playoffs.

With a chance to win the Bucks' first title in 50 years, Giannis was as locked in as he's ever been. And winning a title this way, inthisera, makes it feel even more special.

LeBron James ushered in the player-empowerment era when he took his talents to South Beach in 2010. Since then, he's maneuvered around the league and manufactured title runs for three different organizations. When it looked like it wouldn't happen in Cleveland, he went to Miami. When the Heat started to age out of contention, he returned to Cleveland and brought Kevin Love with him. After that soured, he went to the Los Angeles Lakers and lured Anthony Davis there a year later.

Kevin Durant's move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors was similarly critiqued around sports websites and social media platforms.

Kawhi Leonard won what now feels like a hired-gun championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

For Giannis to win multiple MVPs with the smaller-market team that drafted him and not even entertain free agency before winning a title is unusual. But he's just not a usual superstar. Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer explained last offseason:

"Any figure around the Bucks, or who has spent time around Antetokounmpo, has always spoken of the superstar's unwavering loyalty. This is a person who once refused to attend theNBAdraft unless his brother could come along with him. By all accounts, he enjoys the decibel levels of Milwaukee's market. He does not yearn for the lights ofNew Yorkor Los Angeles.

"It's also said that Antetokounmpo values being not just the face but the bedrock of the franchise. That is not to characterize him as brimming with ego, rather pride in carrying himself like an organizational pillar. He relishes the responsibility of leading Milwaukee to a championship, like the stars he grew up watching before a wave of player empowerment swept the league."

He more or less confirmed that description on Tuesday.

"I couldnt leave," Giannis said of the supermax extension he signed prior to this season. "...I wanted to get the job done.

Over the course of his eight-year career, the 26-year-old Antetokounmpo deployed a focus born of adversity toward that job.

Giannis has checked a lot of boxes between "trying to figure out where we were going to get our next meal from" and one of the most historically dominant postseasons in NBA history.

On Tuesday, he got the job done in truly stunning fashion.

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Giannis' Game 6 the Ultimate Exclamation Point on an All-Time Great Finals - Bleacher Report

MORE than 600 people attended Ascension Fest a five-hour festival at The Church of the Ascension at Woolston, Warrington.

There were fairground rides, a makers market, games and entertainment from Community Objectives, Tanya from the Singing Kettle, young artists and Radio Warrington.All the acts, businesses and organisations that took part were local and the vicar, Rev Rebecca said: After such a challenging year for so many businesses it was good to be able to provide an opportunity to support our local business and creative community.

It was in January last year that the Church of the Ascension was awarded funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to repair the building and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church with 18 months worth of community events.Then in March 2020 the whole world locked down and the plans were thrown into chaos.Determined to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church and its place in the local community, the team at The Ascension led by heritage engagement officer, Nickie Blondon and pioneer team vicar, Rev Roberts, set about revising the plans to develop a series of online events and covid secure in-person events for the times when restrictions were eased.Events have included a giant Lego model of the church made by Steve Guinness (who last year made the Golden Gates in Lego, and won Brickmasters in 2017), party bags, large scale photos on display outdoors, work with Fox Wood School, a community Christmas tree and light festival, and were rounded off with Ascension Fest.Rev Rebecca said: Despite all of the challenges of the project because of Covid, it has been a real success. Bringing people together is always a very special thing, but after the last year it was particularly special to see so many members of the local community out celebrating together in a safe way.As the 50th anniversary celebrations draw to a close The Ascension hopes it can build on these events in the years to come and use the resources it has gained to further benefit the local community of Woolston, she added.Pictured below: More scenes from Ascension Fest

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600 celebrate 50 years of the Church of the Ascension, Woolston - Gary Skentelbery

A fierce battle this week over approving new neighborhoods in Ascension Parish illustrated the political vise tightening around parish leaders over increasingly common floods and traffic jams.

On one side, many residents are furiously pressuring them to crack down on new construction, which they say is worsening both problems.

"We, the people of Ascension Parish, are fed up," Sonny Edwards, a resident leading one of the efforts to recall parish council members over the issue, told the Planning Commission in a tense public meeting this week. "This is what the people of Ascension elected the (Parish) Council to do and to look out for the people of this parish. It's not being done.

But on the other side, they face criticism and even legal threats from developers some whom are from longtime Ascension Parish families who say the parish is arbitrarily denying their projects for political reasons.

Matt Pryor, the longtime parish Planning Commission chairman, has said often that the commission must simply interpret the law and rely on the engineering analysis provided by the developer and reviewed by parish engineers.

"We're appointed by the (Parish) Council to follow the law on what they say the public health, safety and welfare is. That's their job to do that," he said. "They pass the law. If we don't follow the law, then we're as illegal as anything less. We're bound to follow the law."

The tension came to a head Wednesday when the Planning Commission approved plans to build several new neighborhoods just hours before a nine-month moratorium on approving such neighborhoods, implemented because of recent flooding, went into effect.

Most controversial was the approval of Delaune Estates, a proposed 237-home development off of La. 73 that has raised major concerns about traffic. The commission also approved a deal with the already approved Windemere Crossing neighborhood, revising it to have only one exit in exchange for widening Cannon Road at the developers expense. And the commission also authorized home construction in two other, previously approved neighborhoods.

All told, the approvals will bring 340 new lots to the Ascension housing market and allow construction on 181 already-approved lots.

The votes came even as residents implored, chastised and mocked commission members for more than three hours. Campaigns are underway to recall as many as six members of the Parish Council, who appoint the planning commission members.

Lisa LeBouef, 63, a Dutchtown native who lives where she grew up, said neither she nor other residents have the money to hire an engineering firm to challenge the developers' analyses.

"I mean, how many people have to suffer and why is this being pushed through at the last minute?" she said. "It just seems ... it seems wrong to me. It seems disingenuous. It seems wrong to me."

The Delaune Estates vote was the most controversial. The Planning Commission previously rejected the project, citing concerns about the number of cars it would add to already-congested intersections along La. 73. The Parish Council failed to overturn the decision on appeal in July 2020.

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The developers filed a $7 million lawsuit because of that rejection, but Wednesdays approval means the suit will be dismissed.

When the first proposal was rejected, traffic studies had to estimate the benefits of a wider Interstate 10 and added impact of a new school and hospital in the area, because those projects had not been completed yet. The Delaune family recently commissioned a new study that looked at the actual traffic impacts of those changes now that they are finished.

The Delauene's attorney, Jeffrey Schoen, contended it found that the new neighborhood would meet the parishs traffic rules. That meant the Delaunes had met their obligations and neighborhood should be approved, he argued.

But some residents questioned the validity of the new study because it was conducted in November, when Louisiana still had some COVID-related restrictions in place. Critics say that drastically reduced traffic, particularly among local schools.

The parish engineer who reviews subdivision plans told the commission that it had required the Delaune Estates study to adjust all its traffic estimates upward by 10% to account for the pandemic. But that wasnt enough for some residents.

Resident Denise Drago passed out a memo from the state Department of Transportation and Development saying it would not accept traffic studies conducted during the pandemic.

"The state of Louisiana DOTD is not accepting traffic study analysis because of the COVID pandemic, she said. Why would Ascension Parish accept them?"

Some commission members wanted to delay a vote on the project until a traffic study could be conducted post-COVID -- a step the parish's own engineer said was not unreasonable. But that would mean the project would have to wait until the nine-month moratorium was over.

The development was approved on a 3-2 vote. Commissioners Matt Pryor, Ken Firmin and Julio Dumas voted to approve; Aaron Chaisson and Todd Varnado were opposed.

The vote was the same on a deal with the new Windermere Crossing neighborhood. Originally approved with two exits, one on Cannon Road and one on Roddy Road, there will now only be an exit on Cannon Road. But, in exchange, the developer will spend more than $750,000 to widen Cannon Road to 20-feet, which the developer expects should alleviate traffic.

The projects engineer promised the road widening would be completed before homes are built.

Past proposals to widen Cannon Road have faced opposition from residents whose homes are already close to the street. Some aired similar concerns Wednesday.

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Fight over new neighborhoods in Ascension shows depths of residents' anger over floods, traffic - The Advocate

Former standout NBA point guard Damon Stoudamire joined Thursdays episode of The Iso podcast with Dan Dickau to discuss why he made the jump from college basketball coaching to the NBA, how his coaching career began, who he looked up growing up in Portland and more. Stoudamire recently joined the staff of newly hired Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka, a fellow Portland native, as an assistant coach after five seasons as the head coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

Listen and and subscribe to the podcast below:

(Full archive of The Iso)

The Iso with Dan Dickau is a podcast presented bySBLive Sportsand the Bleav Podcast Network, which publishes weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Dickau, a former Gonzaga All-American, NBA vet-turned basketball analyst interviews experts all corners of the sports world from coaches, front office executives to athletes about untold stories, memories and experiences.

Host:Dan DickauGuest:Damon StoudamireProducer:Andy Buhler

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Damon Stoudamire on his ascension from Portland-born NBA standout to Boston Celtics assistant coach: The Iso with Dan Dickau - High School Sports...