ZACHARY NEWCOMERS CLUB ENJOYS GAME OF BUNCO
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ADVOCATE&
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2015 H
P R O U D LY O W N E D I N L O U I S I A N A THEADVOCATE.COM
Community members sought for school panels
BY STACY GILL
sgill@theadvocate.com The Zachary Community School Board approved at its Feb. 3 meeting committee assignments that were formed at a January board retreat. All that remains is to fill open positions, two on each of the seven committees, with members of the community, board members said. The seven committees — parental and community; academics, extracurricular and accountability; technology; operations; finance; policy and governance; and human
Stacy Gill AROUND ZACHARY
SGILL@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Baseball signup underway Registration for the 2015 Spring Youth Baseball League at Zachary Youth Park, 1650 E. Mount Pleasant Road, is underway but ends Feb. 20. Leagues include T-ball for children ages 4 to 5; 6-yearold coaches pitch; and 7- to 8-year-old, 9- to 10-year-old, 11- to 12-year-old and 13- to 15-year-old baseball. Fees are $55 for T-ball and $70 for baseball. Tentative dates for tryouts are the week of March 2; team drafts, week of March 9; practices, week of March 16; and the league begins April 6. Registration forms are available at the park from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or parents can register youth online at www.eteamz.com/ zacharyyouthbaseball or by selecting the link on the cityofzachary.org homepage under Recent News. “The city of Zachary has äSee AROUND, page 4G
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resources — will develop the district’s five-year plan to be submitted to the board for approval in August. The Zachary school district uses the strategic planning process to set priorities, focus resources, strengthen operations, ensure staff members and others in the community are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes and results, and assess and adjust the district’s direction in response to changes, Superintendent Scott Devillier said. Board members signed up to serve as either committee
“The committees are posted on the district’s website, and we’re inviting people to submit applications to serve as strategic planning committee representatives.” SCOTT DEVILLIER, superintendent
chairmen or members. School district staff and administrative employees will serve as advisory members on each committee, with members of the community filling the other vacancies. The committees will make recommendations to the full board, study issues more thoroughly than time allows at board meetings and provide
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avenues for additional community or staff input as needed, district officials said. “The committees are posted on the district’s website, and we’re inviting people to submit applications to serve as strategic planning committee representatives,” Devillier said. “Once members have been selected, we’ll post committee meeting dates and times as we
schedule them, and members will be required to attend.” Committee meetings will be held at least once a month from March to July. The deadline to submit an application is 5 p.m. Friday. Applications can be found by visiting www.zachary schools.org and selecting the second link under Latest News at the bottom of the homepage. The board tabled a vote to consider a one-time $250,000 payment to complete the implementation of the district’s safety and security plan. Following a weeklong training seminar over the summer by Blue Line Security Consult-
ing Group, of Windsor, Connecticut, which involved Zachary government, fire, police, sheriff’s deputies and school administration, a snapshot of Zachary schools, including levels of safety and security at each, was compiled into a 13page security audit. “The multiple intent was designed to heighten responder awareness levels and the need for preplanning while at the same time providing specific plans, development guidance and assistance based on sound and proven criteria,” said äSee SCHOOL, page 6G
‘Bugsy Malone’ brings dinner theater to school BY STACY GILL
sgill@theadvocate.com
Paula Swilley has always wanted to produce dinner theater as a drama teacher at Northwestern Middle School in Zachary. “When I was little, my mother took me to a real dinner theater in Baton Rouge. It wasn’t held in the back of some convention hall with bad lighting, but it had music, real actors who could dance and sing with real theater lighting and good food. It was real dinner theater,” Swilley said. “I’ve always wanted to re-create that, always wanted to produce my own dinner theater.” Now, Swilley is getting her chance with a cast of advanced drama eighth-graders who are rehearsing for “Bugsy Malone Junior.”
Advocate staff photos by STACY GILL
Bugsy Malone, played by Marshall Lawton, is ‘manhandled’ by McKenzie Daigle, Grayson Pickett and Alissa Burris, from left, Feb. 4. The eighth-graders are rehearsing for ‘Bugsy Malone Junior,’ a story about Prohibition in the 1920s. ‘Bugsy’ premieres Feb. 27 and will feature a dinner theater.
“Enter baby-faced Bugsy Malone, “It’s a pint-size classic with played by Marshall Lawton. He’s a tongue-in-cheek dialogue and a killer with the latribute to the 1920s dies and a definite gangster era loose- ‘Bugsy Malone Junior’ asset to Fat Sam,” ly based on events Swilley said. “Unfrom the ’20s,” WHEN: 7 p.m. show Feb. 27-28, fortunately, Bugsy Swilley said. with dinner seating at 6 p.m.; 1 has caught the eye The “Bugsy” pro- p.m. show Feb. 28, with dinner of Sam’s girlfriend, duction revolves seating at noon Tallulah, played around characters WHERE: Northwestern Middle by Lauren Brown, such as Fat Sam, School, 5200 E. Central Ave., but Bugsy has played by ChanZachary his sights set on dler Ducote, who TICKETS: $10 show, $25 dinner showgirl Blousey runs one of the and show Brown, played by most popular clubs Anastasia Gueltig.” in town and is in The middle school cast includes a danger of being closed down by his “business rival” Dandy Dan, played by Caynan Byrd, Swilley explained. äSee BUGSY, page 5G
Anastasia Gueltig, left, and some of the cast members watch as drama teacher Paula Swilley congratulates Marshall Lawton following a rehearsal. Marshall plays the title role of Bugsy, and Anastasia plays Blousey Brown in the production.
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