ST. AMANT, EAST ASCENSION DECA GROUPS ATTEND CAREER DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
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THE ASCENSION
ADVOCATE
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DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT • SORRENTO
THURSDAY MARCH 12, 2015 H
THEADVOCATE.COM
Loar leading in campaign fundraising
Darlene Denstorff
BY DAVID J. MITCHELL
dmitchell@theadvocate.com
AROUND ASCENSION
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Library to present Cajun dance class The Ascension Parish Library is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the first Acadian settler’s arrival on the shores of south Louisiana with a dance lesson. The Cajun French Music Association will present a Cajun dance class at the Ascension Parish Library in Gonzales. Whether you’re a novice or an expert two-stepper, learn a few steps at the 6:30 p.m. March 23 class. For more information, or to register, call (225) 6473955.
GONZALES — Ascension Parish Councilman Chris Loar is the early leader in raising money for this year’s campaign to be the next parish president. By the end of 2014, Loar’s campaign had a hefty $120,369 lead over the campaign coffer of the nearest announced can-
didate for the Oct. 24 election. But the year-end numbers reported to the state Board of Ethics last month were tallied before longtime Gonzales City Councilman Kenny Matassa formally announced his intention to run. The third candidate to declare his candidacy in the race is Gonzales-area surveyor Clint Cointment, who ended the year with $25,354.25 in
cash on hand. The reports are only an early glimpse into the fundrasing expected to replace outgoing Parish President Tommy Martinez, who is not seeking re-election after a fourth nonconsecutive term. The three candidates said this week they planned more fundraisers, some this week. Loar, a two-term council-
man from Prairieville and former Ascension Parish Council chairman, ended 2014 with $145,724.11 in campaign funds, according to his campaign finance report. Matassa had not reported any fundraising by the end of 2014 in his bid to be parish president. His campaign funds totaled $2,265 by the end of 2014.
Still, Loar raised 1.6 times more money and in-kind donations from contributors than Cointment did in 2014. Both made formal announcements in the middle of last year. In 2014, Loar raised $89,050 to Cointment’s $33,618.38. Cointment’s contribution total includes $1,623.38 of in-kind äSee CAMPAIGN, page 3G
FLYING HIGH
March for Babies location
The Ascension March for Babies has been moved because a special election is set for the annual starting spot. This year’s March for Babies, a fundraiser for March of Dimes, will start at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Gonzales fire station, 724 W. Orice Roth Road. Parking is available at the Tee Joe Gonzales Park. The money raised supports programs, such as CenteringPregnancy, that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies, organizers said. To register a team, visit www.marchforbabies.org or call (225) 249-5082.
Ascension GOP Roundtable
Scott McKay, publisher of the online political newspaper The Hayride, will be the featured speaker at the March Ascension GOP Roundtable. McKay The roundtable, sponsored by Ascension Republican Women, will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 19, at Kamal’s Kafe, 13091 Airline Highway, Gonzales. Cost for the buffet lunch is $15 with RSVP and $17 at the door. The event is open to the public, and guests are welcome. Reservations are requestäSee AROUND, page 2G
Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND
Mieklan Bornick, 17, performs with the Dutchtown High School winter guard in the Louisiana-Mississippi Color Guard and Percussion Circuit competition Saturday at Dutchtown High School. St. Amant High School also competed.
On the case: Rotarian offers children place to store books BY CHRISTINE MORGAN
cmarceneaux@theadvocate.com GONZALES — Rotarian Mark LaCour is creating an environment conducive to learning — with bookcases. For the second year, LaCour, the owner of Wright’s Furniture in Gonzales, provided 30 free bookcases to students at Gonzales Primary School to encourage them to read and provide them with a place to store their books, he said. Quivander Davis, whose
daughter, Destinae Anderson, 6, received a bookcase on March 3, said this will be the first bookcase she’s placed in her daughter’s room. She added that her daughter plans to stack it with the multitude of books in her daughter’s room. “It will make her want to read more,� Davis said. “She has some (books) at home, but we will give her more; that way, she’ll have different options to read on different days.� Prior to crafting the cases, LaCour provided books to
youths for five years but said he “often wondered where they’d go.� “People need someplace to store the books, and many people just don’t have that,� he said. After checking with Rotary Clubs across the globe, LaCour couldn’t find any of the 1.2 million Rotarians who had provided bookcases to children. LaCour said he believes the new, freshly painted bookcases can provide a
Advocate staff photo by CHRISTINE MORGAN
Gonzales Primary School students, from left, Destiny Valdez, 5; Emily Mills, 6; Timothy Daigle, 6; Destinae Anderson, 6; and Za’laia Bolding, 6, receive new bookcases from Rotarian Mark äSee BOOKS, page 4G LaCour on March 3.
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