ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL GIVES EIGHTH-GRADERS A TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME ä Page 5G
THE ASCENSION
ADVOCATE
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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2015 H DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT • SORRENTO THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Volunteers to take the polar plunge Lawmen, Special Olympians and area volunteers will plunge Saturday into the chilly waters of the lake at Cabela’s in Gonzales for the annual Freezin’ for a Reason Polar Plunge for Special Olympics. Jumpers, many clad in costumes, collect donations for the chance to plunge into the lake to support Special Olympics Louisiana. Residents are invited to stop by, donate and purchase food during the event, which starts at 9 a.m. To donate or sign up a team, visit firstgiving.com/ la-so/polar-plunge--gonzales.
Cooking up a contest
Calling all jambalaya and cracklin cooks! The Jambalaya Festival Association is hosting jambalaya and cracklin cooking contests March 14-15 at the 2015 Louisiana Sportsman’s Show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales. Heats 1 and 2 begin at 7 a.m. on March 14, concluding with finals at 7 a.m. on March 15. Winners will receive plaques for first, second and third place and the overall winner will receive a cash prize. For details or to obtain an entry form, email jamfest association@gmail.com or visit the JFA Facebook Page.
Fling into spring
It’s not too late to get a ticket to Saturday’s third annual Spring Fling hosted by the St. Amant High School Band Boosters. Hai Karate will perform at the fundraiser, which is from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Gonzales Civic Center. Tickets are $25 and available at Alison’s World of Music, Tyra’s Automotive or from any band parent.
Bingo for Babies
The ninth annual Bingo for Babies is planned for March 12 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Gonzales. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and games begin at 6 p.m. Ten games of bingo and a jambalaya dinner, provided by the Jambalaya Festival Association, are included in the $15 ticket price. Drinks and dessert will be available for a small donation. “Rocking Babies” is the theme for the annual T-shirt contest. Register your team by calling Genevieve Pearson at äSee AROUND, page 3G
Ascension looks to refinance debt BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
dmitchell@theadvocate.com As millions of homeowners have done during years of record low interest rates, Ascension Parish government is making early moves to refinance nearly $68 million in long-standing debt from past capital improvements. The loans have paid for a 300bed, $11 million expansion of Ascension Parish Prison finished in 2009 and a variety of drainage projects, including
the 2013 expansion of the Marvin J. Braud Pumping Station and the new $15.8 million Henderson Bayou floodgate completed in the fall near Galvez. Parish financial advisers have told the Parish Council and the East Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District Board of Commissioners in recent meetings that the refinancing efforts, combined, could save the parish as little as a few million dollars to possibly more than $11 million. Actual savings depend on
what interest rates are when the parish does refinance and what method parish officials decide to employ, the advisers have said. Jim Ryan, a financial consultant to parish government, told the Parish Council last week it made sense to lock in as low of an interest rate as possible while the opportunity is still available. He said current projections are that rates will start rising between June and September and will stay that way for a long
time. “You are going to be in a rising interest rate environment long term. I think there’s no way around that,” Ryan said. The Federal Reserve, which has moved to keep interest rates at record lows in past years to stimulate the post-recession economy, has offered mixed signals more recently about when the central bank felt the economy and inflation rates were strong enough to allow interest rates to rise again. Federal Reserve Chairwoman
Janet Yellen urged Congress on Tuesday to have patience and suggested interest rates would not rise sooner than June, the Associated Press reported. As part of the refinancing efforts, which the council and drainage commission preliminarily backed in a vote Jan. 22, Feb. 2 and Feb. 19, parish officials are mulling whether to pay off one set of bonds and shorten the term for another. Those two options combined, äSee DEBT, page 3G
Showing off their WILD side
Students present at state livestock fair BY DARLENE DENSTORFF
ddenstorff@theadvocate.com GONZALES
Makenna Babin, 11, pulled the rope attached to her 900-pound Hereford heifer, but the cow would not move. “She not cooperating today,” she said. “Well, it does happen pretty often.” Iggy, Babin’s entry in the LSU Agricultural Center’s 80th annual State Livestock Show, can be stubborn, Babin said as she tugged on the rope again, moving the heifer a few inches. Makenna, a member of the Lake Elementary School 4-H Club, and Iggy were competing for the first time in the state show. äSee LIVESTOCK, page 3G
Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND
Sadie Melancon, who attends St. Amant Middle School, competes Feb. 19 with Ascension Parish in the market hog parish group event at the LSU AgCenter’s State Livestock Show at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.
Ascension Idol-Voice contest announces top 20 finalists cal celebrity judges. Based on the judges’ scores, the top five The top 20 finalists for the As- will perform a second song cension Fund’s Ascension Idol- and then the first-, second- and Voice contest have been named. third-place winners will be anThe 20 middle and high school nounced, said Jennifer deFranstudents will compete for the ces, Ascension Fund executive singing title March 27 during director. Judges will include Charlotte the nonprofit agency’s fifth annual fundraiser. Finalists were Guedry, Darryl Hambrick, selected after a round of pre- Jenny Heroman, Julie Jones and Mike Waguespack. liminary auditions. The first-place winner will The event raises money for teacher and school grant pro- receive a trip to Disney World. grams in Ascension Parish Second-place wins a large screen HDTV. Third-place gets schools. Each contestant will perform an iPad Mini. During the event, spectators one song for the panel of loAdvocate staff report
will be able to cast votes for $1 in the Fan Favorite contest. Tickets to the show are $10 for general admission or $5 for student admission and can be purchased in advance by calling deFrances at (225) 290-3322 or emailing info@ascensionidol. com. Finalists include: n Austin Brunner, East Ascension High School Advocate file photo by ANGELA MAJOR n Lauren Delhaye, St. Amant Faith Carmouche, a student at East Ascension High School, High n Courtney Fassbender, St. performs ‘Yours Forever’ by Dara McClean during the 2014 Ascension Idol-Voice competition at the Gonzales Civic Center. Amant High She was selected by the judges to be the overall winner of the äSee TOP 20, page 2G competition. This year’s contest is set for March 27.
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