Assessor’s Office wins awards for helping residents
Community news report
The Ascension Parish Assessor’s Office was recognized by the Louisiana Bar Association’s Pro Bono and Children’s Law chapter at an awards recent ceremony at the Louisiana Supreme Court Building in New Orleans
The Pro Bono and Children’s Law chapter identifies attorneys or organizations that offer legal services and support to children and underserved residents, a news release said. The Assessor’s Office received the “Friend of Pro Bono Award” for its Succession Program.
In 2022 Assessor M.J. “Mert” Smiley launched his initiative to procure successions for families living on inherited property who had not legitimately transferred ownership, precluding them from a homestead exemption by law
In socioeconomically impacted areas, it is not uncommon for suc-
cessions to go undone for generations, adding to the complexity of the process, the release said.
The assessor assigned the task to his public relations manager, Nell Vaughn, who reached out to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Director Laura Tuggle for help. The collaboration resulted in a blitz of community outreach through meetings, mobile intake, in-office and electronic referrals and mail-outs, all yielding positive feedback from the community and civic leaders.
The initiative’s success and growth now includes pro bono attorneys and assessors’ offices throughout the region prompting SLLS’s director to nominate the Ascension Parish Assessor’s Office for the award.
For information about the succession program please contact Nell Ervin at (225) 257-1063 or visit an Ascension Parish Assessor’s office.
Area high school graduates head to Army service
Community news report
Lt. Col. Nicholas M James, Army Baton Rouge Recruiting Battalion commander, released a list of area high school graduates who are heading in to the U.S. Army Among them are: Ascension Parish
n Ezra Bourgeois, Dutchtown High School
n Jarrad Brown, St. Amant High School
n Madison Chavarria, Dutchtown High School
AROUND
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It kicks off at noon. Activities include a dog fashion show at 12:45 p.m. and drag story times at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Drag shows will be at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and a dance party at 3:30 p.m.
Basketball camp open for ages 4-16
Camp Andrews Basketball Fundamentals Training Camp will be held be held weekly through the end of July at the Gonzales Middle School Gym, 1502 W. Orice Roth St. Spots are limited for boys and girls ages 4-16
Registration is $40 for a single session/per day and $100 for three days/per week. Ages 4-9 meet at 4 p.m and ages 10-16 meet at 5:10 p.m. An Open Gym is available every Monday for $15 an athlete. Ages 8-12 are at 4 p.m. and ages 13-16 are at 5:30 p.m. RSVP to Dwayne Andrews at (225) 518-7940. Make payments by cash, check or CashApp (CAMPANDREWS1).
Cocktail Trail open
The Louisiana Sweet Spot Cocktail Trail is open through July 31 at participating bars and restaurants.
Order a Sweet Spot Cocktail, receive a stamp on your trail passport, collect eight stamps and turn in your passport in for a chance to win prizes. Passports are available at the Ascension Tourism office in Sorrento, at participating busi-
n Chad Christy Jr., Dutchtown High School
n Brian Cullen, East Ascension High School
n Julyen Dinnel, St. Amant High School
n Joshua Dunaway, Prairieville High School
n Madison Ficklin, St. Amant High School
n Caleb Murphy, East Ascension High School
n Brennan Pierce, Ascension Christian High School n Clavius Drake, Prairieville High School
nesses or visit visitlasweetspot. com/cocktailtrail.
Donaldsonville Independence Day celebration set
Celebrate Independence Day in Donaldsonville with the annual July 3 event presented by the city’s Downtown Development District in Crescent Park.
The event, set from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., includes music by Big Frank Lil Frank, fireworks and vendor booths.
Vendors can call (225) 473-4814 to register a booth.
Boogie Down the Bayou July 13
Louisiana VFW District 8 is sponsoring Boogie Down the Bayou July 13 at the Gonzales VFW hall on Churchpoint Road.
The event, set from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will include music by Mike Broussard & Night Train followed by The Mojoes Dance Band and Guests. In addition, the party includes food, a cash bar, live auction, 50/50 raffle, and dancing. Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door
YouthFest planned
Mark your calendar for the Ascension 4 YouthFest Back-2School event July 26 at the LamarDixon Expo Center’s Rev Center
The event, set from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include free school supplies, games, arts and crafts, and other activities.
Contact Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 388-0215 or (225) 603-1998; or email, ascension@theadvocate.com or ddenstorff@theadvocate.com. Deadline: 5 p.m. Friday
NATURE
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to host goat yoga every six to seven weeks.
During the classes, instructor Kristie Craig tells people to make peace with the idea that one of them will be pooped or peed on in the course of the 30-minute class (it happens every time).
Participants should know that goat yoga is more like playing with goats while stretching. There are no headstands or super difficult moves. Instead, there are opportunities to pet and/or hold goats and take photos with them after class. They also have a pot belly pig, cow and some chickens roaming around the property that may or may not join in on the fun.
At M&M Farm in Prairieville, Rachel McGuerty owner of Blue Lotus Yoga, partners with the Prairieville farm to teach goat yoga as well. McGuerty started offering goat yoga last year and hosts classes once a month. McGuerty said she had to modify her classes substantially to accommodate the goats.
“You have to stay a little more aware of your surroundings in the goat yoga because the goats frolic and jump and get the zoomies,” she said. “It isn’t a yoga where you can just lay there with your eyes closed because a goat might jump on you.”
Goats are friendly, but they’re still animals. McGuerty has had a goat pee on her mat, and multiple goats have tried to drink out of her water cup or eat her hair But it’s fun, she said, and nature is a vitamin in it of itself. She finds that the goats draw in a lot of beginners, and she tries to make the practice accessible for them. The classes are great options for celebrations, dates or just trying something new, she said.
Plus, after yoga is over, people have the option to bottle-feed the baby goats.
Fluffy cow therapy
Bre Boyette, a photographer who lives in Walker owns Highland cows and offers fluffy cow therapy and/or photo sessions.
She’s always wanted miniature fluffy Highland cows as pets, and after her house was built three years ago, there was enough land to make the purchase.
She bought the cows under the condition from her husband, Cameron, that she figure out how to pay them off Highland cows can cost anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
The ones Bre bought were $5,000 each.
So she bought one three years ago and started hosting photo sessions. Every year since, she’s gotten another cow The cows, she said, pay themselves off within the month. In 2022, she started a TikTok to document life with the cows. Her account exploded.
Her page now has over 730,000 followers and over 33 million likes. Her followers fell in love with the three cows, who each have distinct personalities, and started messaging to ask if they could meet the cows. Thus, fluffy cow therapy was born: it’s an experience where people can brush, pet, cuddle, take photos with and feed the cows. She tells people stories, answers questions, and people can also just watch the cows interact.
She wouldn’t consider her residence a farm, even though those who visit typically do. There are a lot of animals on the property, but the only farm animals are the three cows: Dumplin, Waffles and Nugget.
“It feels like we’re out in the country, but we’re like 15 minutes from town,” she said.
Off camera, she takes care of the uglier side of having animals:
trimming nails, vaccinations and cleaning up poop in the pasture. There’s more to having animals than what people see on TikTok.
“You show their cute personalities, but they are animals. They are livestock, and they do have attitudes sometimes,” she said. “There are times you go out there, and they don’t want to be messed with. They’ll let you know real quick.”
But most days, this isn’t a problem. Boyette has a strong bond with her cows, and she never makes them do anything they don’t want to do.
“They get excited anytime they see me come out there with the big wagon,” she said. “They know they’re about to get pampered and spoiled and fed.”
n Old Rusty Gate Farm, 12802 Florida Blvd., Livingston. Check their Facebook page for event information.
n M&M Farm, 16042 Highway 929 in Prairieville has goat yoga once a month but not on a set schedule. Check their Facebook page for more information.
n Cuddly Cow Therapy is $100/ hour for up to four people or $150 for a group of five to six. For more information check out https://book.usesession.com/ s/_8GMc8JmLv
Email Serena Puang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com. Follow her on Instagram @dear.yall.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY BRE BOYETTE
Highland cows are featured in Bre Boyette’s fluffy cow therapy.
PROVIDED PHOTO Rachel McGuerty poses with a goat on M&M Farm.
Players in the end zone during Stephen Sullivan’s recent summer football camp.
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He said he is is grateful for Brown, his director and best friend, also his teammate at Donaldsonville High.
important to continue, the smile on the kids faces means everything,” Sullivan said. Sullivan is entering his seventh season in the NFL and is coming off an injury He is a free agent looking for an opportunity to continue his NFL career Sullivan thanked volunteers helping with his camp, saying he “will always have a special place in his heart for the Donaldsonville community.”
Troy LeBoeuf covers sports for the Ascension Advocate. He can be reached at troyleboeuf@hotmail.com or ascension@theadvocate.com or on Twitter @Troyleboeuf.
THE ASCENSION ADVOCATE 40444 Cannon Road Gonzales LA 70737 (225) 388-0215
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PROVIDED PHOTO
Mayor Leroy J Sullivan Sr center welcomes Donaldsonville royalty from left, Brielle Taylor Poche’, Miss Teen Donaldsonville Juneteenth; Jaylen Carter Miss Donaldsonville Juneteenth; Kyleigh Green, Little Miss Donaldsonville Juneteenth; and Kennedy Johnson, runner-up, Little Miss Donaldsonville Juneteenth.
