STAFF FILE PHOTO BY
Shredding company employees empty paper into a bin at the Central Branch of the Bank of Zachary on April 26. People can again bring papers to be shredded on site on April 11.
Bank of Zachary to host Shred Day
Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY
The Bank of Zachary is hosting its Community Shred Day event on two weekends. The Main Branch, 4743 Main St., Zachary and the Watson Branch, 32340 La. 16, will hold its events April 11. The Central Branch, 14395 Grand Settlement Blvd., will hold its event April 25.
Suspect in kidnapping of Zachary teen awaiting extradition
BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer
A 38-year-old man is accused of misrepresenting his age online to a 17-year-old Zachary girl and taking her out of state, Zachary Police Chief Darryl Lawrence said Wednesday The suspect, Michael Jay, is in jail in Oklahoma and will face charges of kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, Lawrence said According to Louisiana State Police, the teenager was last seen Monday at her home and was discovered missing the next morning.
“We gather that she thought she was dealing with somebody younger,” Lawrence said “Once she gets to this guy, he transported her to Oklahoma.” Jay “drives 18-wheelers,” Lawrence said. He was arrested in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and is in the Carter County Jail. He is reportedly from Kentucky Lawrence said he didn’t yet have the timeline for Jay’s extradition to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Zachary Early College Academy launches
BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
High schoolers who want to get a head start on college coursework or even earn an associate’s degree can now apply to be part of the inaugural class of the Zachary Early College Academy
The program formally launched March 9, Superintendent Ben Necaise told the school board at its March 10 meeting. Zachary High School students will be able to take online, hybrid and in-person courses through partner colleges and universities while still completing high school graduation require-
ments.
“Participants will be working toward an associate degree or developing an individualized collegiate pathway aligned with their academic and career interests,” according to information posted on the Zachary Community School District website.
The first academy cohort will begin classes in fall 2026.
To be admitted, students must meet several requirements — including having at least a 2.5 grade point average, completing an interview and getting a recommendation from a teacher Students also need to demonstrate responsibility,
independence and time management skills. Additional information is available online at www.zacharyschools. org/early-college-academy or by emailing ZECA@zacharyschools.
org.
The academy builds on a mostly online pilot program that’s been offered for the past year
“We’re excited about expanding that,” Necaise said. “We’ve had a lot of interest. A ton of feedback came in in the last 24 hours from parents.
The community members are excited about that moving forward.”
He is hopeful that adding more class formats will encourage more
students to participate.
“If a student wants to go to brick and mortar all day, that’s great,” he said. “If they want to do a hybrid approach where they’re taking dual enrollment classes and courses virtually but also going into band or choir or athletics, they have that option. They can go hybrid throughout the day or they can do a full virtual option. So it gives them three choices to tailor fit.” Regardless of the course modality they choose, all students will have access to support from the academy’s administrator, counselor and academic assistance partners, the website said.
Easter Bunny makes stop in Zachary
Lee Street Boutique on March 22 hosted an Easter party for the Zachary community
Children hunted eggs, an Easter Bunny took pictures with the children, and hot dogs, chips and soft drinks were served.
BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
Zachary students who run up $20 or more in debt in the cafeteria will be served sandwiches, not hot meals, starting next school year under a policy change approved by the School Board at its March 10 meeting. The board, on a 6-1 vote, signed off
LEILA PITCHFORD
Lee Street Boutique draws a crowd for its Easter party on March 22.
PHOTOS BY SONYA GOSS
Children enjoy a March 22 Easter egg hunt at the Easter party in Zachary.
ä See AROUND, page 4G
Zachary runs to bring light, honor fallen hero
BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER
Birthday candles no longer light for Chris Lawton, but a thankful community ran through Zachary to bring light to the darkness on March 12, in honor of the day the first responder was killed.
The annual Light the Night for Chris Run is a tribute to Lawton, a firefighter and police officer who proudly served the city of Zachary The run started at Zachary Community Park, traveled to the YMCA Americana, and returned to the park.
On March 12, 2018, 41-year-old Lawton, a reserve police officer for the Zachary Police Department and a full-time deputy fire chief, was killed while attempting to serve a narcotics-related felony warrant in Baker Lawton’s brother Brad Lawton joined other family members in expressing how the local and national support has helped the family heal.
“The great thing about the Police Department is their brotherhood that’s across the country, and they band together,” Brad Lawton said. The family and Zachary officials have traveled to the annual Police Week in Washington. D.C.
“That’s where the families of the fallen go, and they’re surrounded by nothing but love, Brad Lawton said “They have different programs for the siblings, children and the wives to constantly support and reach out to curb depression and anxiety.”
Lawton was a “double hero” who maintained leadership roles in both fire and police services including deputy fire chief, arson investigator, and Zachary police reserve. He volunteered more than 2,000 hours of his own time as a reserve officer over a 10-year span
MEAL
Continued from page 1G
have had that type of stuff happen to them, and it has created trauma, having your lunch plate dumped out.”
The policy goes on to say that schools must give children a sandwich or “a substantial and nutritious snack” in lieu of a withheld meal. With the addition of the changes approved by the board, it also gives schools the option of providing an alternative meal a sandwich plus veggies and milk.
London wanted to amend the policy further to explicitly say the district would serve alternative meals to students with debt, eliminating the possibility of them not getting to eat at all. But her colleagues were comfortable with the version that was presented to them.
“Either way, they’re going to get the alternative meal,” said board member Kenneth Mackie.
Some pointed out that making London’s requested change could force schools to provide alternative meals even at times when staff may feel some leniency is appropriate to avoid children being left out of experiences like the special lunch served
before Thanksgiving break.
“Everybody’s eating the regular Thanksgiving meal, and this kid, they’ve reached the threshold,” board member Elecia Lathon said, describing a hypothetical situation. “Then, now, it’s, ‘OK, we have to give you the alternative sandwich.’ And I’m sitting at the table with a sandwich, and everybody else has got turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce — the whole nine.”
London stuck to her position, though, and said she couldn’t support the policy as written. She was the lone “no” vote against the update.
“Even though we don’t have a practice of withholding meals, our policy allows for the practice of withholding meals,” she said “Words written in stone matter, and I think that our words should reflect that we are not OK with a child not being served in the situation where an executive director for food and nutrition or a cafeteria server decides that they can and will lawfully withhold a meal from a child.”
On Friday, Coats clarified that students who receive free/reduced meal benefits would not be affected by alternate meals. “No student will ever be denied a meal, no matter the circumstance. Neighboring districts, Cen-
tral Community Schools, and West Feliciana Parish Schools have the same policy in place,” she said in a release.
She said parents are encouraged throughout the school year to apply to see if they are eligible for free or reduced meal benefits.
For paying students, when a meal account balance exceeds $20, the student will receive an alternate meal until the balance is paid, she said.
“This is not intended to punish students,” she said “It is a necessary step to keep our Child Nutrition Program financially stable while still ensuring every child receives something to eat.”
Many parents have questioned why the district cannot pay off meal debt or offer free meals to all students, Coats said.
“Even if the district paid the current $35,000 in unpaid meal charges, it would not resolve the larger financial reality,” Coats said. “To provide universal free meals for all students, our program would need approximately $1 million every year
She explained that several factors are involved with the cost of student meals: n Federal reimbursement rates do not cover
n Child
PHOTOS BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER
City fire and police officials and members of the community gather March 12 for the annual Light the Night for Chris Run, a tribute to Chris Lawton who was killed in the line of duty
Members of the Lawton Family, from left Brad Lawton, Brandi Lawton and Drevan Lawton gather for the annual Light the Night for Chris Run in Zachary Community Park.
basketball team. I have known her grandfather Vincent Perry, a Zachary Hall of Famer, and former coach at Northwestern and ZHS and played quarterback at ZHS, since I moved to Zachary in the mid-1980s and he coached me.
Raymond had just finished an interview with sports writing legend Robin Fambrough and had also done an interview with Jackson Reyes, of The Advocate, so I was pleased to provide a different angle on a special player
Coach McClure indicated right off the bat that “Ava is more of a floor leader than a vocal leader.”
That became no more apparent in the playoff, as Raymond picked herself off the floor against Natchitoches Central in the quarterfinals and scored the winning shot in the finals.
Raymond was a starter, as a freshman, for McClure and in her four-year career rewrote the individual (over 2,000 points scored) and team (two state titles) standards for ZHS girls basketball.
As a freshman, Raymond was on the same team as her sister “it helped me to have her by my side,” she said.
She was a second team All-State performer last year and is potentially the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2025-26 season.
On winning the first state championship last year, Raymond said “it was such a great moment and it was especially important because it took so long for the program to win another title.”
Raymond also remembered specifically cutting down the nets as an experience that touched her
The 5-10 McNeese signee has averaged over 18 points per game, eight rebounds and two assists per game during her senior year She also has a 3.5 grade-point average.
Raymond was the only Louisiana senior on the McDonald’s AllAmerican list and is set to play in the LHSCA All-Star game. On this season she indicated that the championship from last year really stayed with her and she “wanted to experience that feeling of winning a championship again.”
She comes from a family of former successful Zachary athletes that extends beyond her grandfather to her mother, Tyran, who
played softball at LSU and her aunts. Tyra Perry played at LSU and is the head softball coach at the University of Illinois. Mom (Tyran) and Perry played at ZHS while aunt Brittney Williams played at Northeast and is the head softball coach at Southern. Her uncle also played basketball. That is just on mom’s side of the family When asked if she liked playing softball like her mom and aunts, Raymond indicated that “I prefer playing inside sports.” Basketball is her game and she mentioned that her dad or grandfather “put a basketball in her hands when she was 4 or 5.” She also played tennis at ZHS earlier in her career Raymond indicated that her mom “loves this time of year and really gets into basketball and watches film.”
On dad’s side she has two greataunts (Deborah Sanford Hawkins and Denise Sanford) that were basketball stars at ZHS and are also in the Hall of Fame — three generations of Zachary With two state championships and the won-
derful career she has put together I am pretty sure the Hall of Fame will be calling her once she is eligible. On being the only senior, Ray-
mond indicated that “I have the little ones following me, so I have to watch what I do so they have a great example.” She also enjoyed it because she “can be a positive
influence.” There were only three returning contributors from last year on this team. Raymond indicated that though this is a young team, “they have much more energy than last year’s team and are much more positive.” Coach McClure noted that “last year we had two ‘bigs’ and we don’t this year which made us have to play a whole different type of game.”
“Though they are young, they compete every night and are battle tested,” McClure noted of this year’s team.
On making the tough shots in tough situations Raymond relayed that “I’ve been doing that since I was a freshman and stepping up has been an expectation since I have been here.” When asked to describe her game Raymond indicated that “I take pride in my short-range jump shot, but I do like to rebound and go up strong.” Raymond reflected on opponents she enjoyed playing against and mentioned Bailey Timmons from John Curtis, who she teamed up within in AAU basketball. The Broncos and Patriots battled earlier this year Timmons and the Patriots won the Division I Select championship and Timmons is headed to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to play basketball. She also indicated that she enjoyed playing with Tiarra McPipe last year with the Broncos though there were some tough times. McClure interjected that “they had to learn to play together, which they did when they realized they needed each other, accepted each other and won a championship.”
On playing for coach McClure, Raymond relayed that “she has really helped me and I like playing for her Early in the season she talked to me about being a leader and she has let me be the type of leader (court leader) where I excel.”
On her graduation and moving to McNeese Raymond indicated that “I don’t know where they are going to play me, maybe the three, but I know from the people we have coming in that that we should have a good team.” She indicated that several of the girls that were with the coaches at Southeastern transferred to McNeese when the coaches moved, showing they really love to play for them. Raymond plans to major in radiology Advocate reporter Jackson Reyes contributed to this column
STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON
Zachary guard Ava Raymond attempts the layup against Parkway forward Dakota Howard in the first period of the LHSAA Division I nonselect championship March 8, 2025, at the University Center in Hammond
PHOTO BY WARREN BRADY
Zachary’s Ava Raymond cuts down the net after a Broncos win.
Shred Day events will take place from 9 a.m. until noon. The annual event allows residents and small business owners in the surrounding communities the ability to securely dispose of confidential documents free of charge. Plastic, three-ring binders, hardback books, CDs, DVDs, and video or cassette tapes will not be accepted in the normal shred truck. An added service will be the opportunity to dispose of digital items. A separate collection truck will be on site to collect digital items including laptops, keyboards, copiers, printers, cell phones, desktops, etc.
Library closings at Easter
All locations of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library will close Thursday, April 2, for staff training and Friday April 3 and Sunday, April 5 in observance of Good Friday and Easter
Senior care session
A free informational meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m., March 26, at the Zachary Branch Library, 1900 Church St., Zachary
“Often when families realize they may need senior care services, the need is urgent,” said Lisa Gardner, of CommCare Corporation, a nonprofit specializing in senior care. “Understanding options, how they differ and navigating various payor sources can be overwhelming.”
CommCare Corporation is hosting an informational session entitled, Navigating Senior Care. This session will answer questions such as:
n How does palliative care differ from hospice?
n How is inpatient rehabilitation different from skilled nursing and rehabilitation?
n What is the difference between home health and home care?
n How does long term care differ from long term acute care?
n How are assisted living, memory care and nursing home care different?
n What are the criteria to access these options and what payor sources are available?
The session is free and open to the public. Coffee and refreshments will be served. Reservations may be made at https://events.getlocalhop.com/ navigation-senior-care-services/ event/oyCNdUTWbE/. After the session, representatives of 10 senior care service providers will
be available.
Community awareness event A Community Awareness & Resource Event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 28, at 2725 College Ave., Baker
Hosted by Diamonds & Pearls, this free, family-friendly event is designed to bring together residents, service providers and organizations for a day of connection, education and encouragement. Attendees will have access to community vendors, food on site, health information booths and resources and support services.
The event will feature educational sessions focused on topics that impact everyday life, including mental health awareness, burial and final planning, basic banking skills and laughter and comedy for wellness.
Know a ZHS Hall of Famer?
Zachary High Athletics is seeking help looking for information on former athletes.
On Facebook, the school said, “We’re working to spotlight members of the Zachary High School Hall of Fame, and we want to make sure their stories are preserved.”
Among the help needed is photos or information about Hall of Fame athletes. If you have them,
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Compete in the lip sync show
Registration and tickets are on sale for Zachary High’s fourth annual Lip Sync Battle on April 16. This event is open to anyone in the Zachary community on stage or in the audience. To enter an act, visit https://tinyurl.com/ rc23fhbh. To purchase tickets, visit https://events.ticketleap.com/ tickets/zhs-choir-department/4thannual-lip-sync-battle.
Play golf to support Zachary athletics
The Zachary Athletic Foundation Golf Tournament 2026 is April 6 at Copper Mill Golf Club to support Zachary Athletic Foundation and student athletes. Entry is $500 per four-person team, which includes mulligan package, food, soft drinks and beer on course. Prizes include first, second and third places; closest to the pin; and longest drive.
Registration and lunch are at noon. Tee time is at 1 p.m. Visit tinyurl.com/3z9ey8ba to preregister and for information. Email Leila Pitchford at lpitchford@theadvocate.com.
BY LEILA PITCHFORD Staff writer
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