THE ZACHA Y
ADVOCATE& T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY
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W e d n e s d ay, M ay 20, 2026
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LABOR OF LOVE 137 volunteers clean up Zachary in Love the Boot day
School uniforms sought
Community news report
ZEPTO is collecting new and gently used Zachary Community School uniforms through June 5. Donation bins are available during business hours at all five elementary schools, as well as Northwestern Middle School, Zachary High and the Zachary Community School Board office. The distribution will be 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., June 20, at Copper Mill Elementary School Donate uniforms in good condition with no holes, tears or stains.
Food distribution coming Feed the Children, in partnership with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank and the Popeyes Foundation, will host a drive-thru distribution event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, at Zachary Youth Park, 1650 Mount Pleasant– Zachary Road. This event will provide free boxes of shelf-stable food, hygiene essentials and personal care items to 400 families on a first-come, first-served basis. Families should be prepared to receive up to 70 pounds of products.
Bible school set at Zachary Methodist Zachary United Methodist Church, 4205 Church St., will hold its vacation Bible school from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 15-18. Dinner is provided, and there is no cost to attend. Pre-registration preferred at https://tinyurl.com/3xwx9zrv.
12TH YEAR, NO. 32
Volunteers pick up trash in Zachary on May 7.
PROVIDED PHOTOS
On May 7, 137 volunteers came together for the Keep Louisiana Beautiful Love the Boot 2026 campaign, hosted by the city of Zachary and the Zachary Chamber of Commerce. Teams from Georgia-Pacific Paper Mill, Lane Regional Med- ä Love the ical Center, the Boot photos. Zachary Ro- PAGES 2G & 3G tary Club, the city of Zachary and Riverbend Entergy Louisiana spread out across the city to pick up litter and debris, collecting about 75 bags in total. Along the route, volunteers were treated to water by Hometown Pharmacy of Zachary, special drinks by CC’s Coffee House, and many local businesses came out to thank and encourage them as they worked up and down Main Street, La. 19 and Old Scenic Highway. After the cleanup, everyone gathered at the Zachary Fire Station for a lunch featuring crawfish donated by the Louisiana Seafood Industry Association, jambalaya prepared by Mike Alleman, and fried fish cooked by the city of Zachary. Mayor David McDavid joined volunteers at lunch and visited teams onsite throughout the day, personally thanking them for their efforts in keeping Zachary beautiful. The Zachary Police Department helped keep volunteers safe during the cleanup, and to the Zachary Fire Department hostied the volunteer lunch.
Employees of Georgia Pacific and members of the Zachary Chamber of Commerce work the Love the Boot 2026 campaign.
Summer sports camps announced The Coach Brew Mega Camp is June 19 for students entering grades 1-9. Visit https://zacharyathletics.org/
ä See AROUND, page 2G
Coach arrested, accused of sexual abuse against student BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer
A former teacher and assistant basketball coach within the Zachary Community School District was arrested Thursday afternoon for allegedly having sexual relations with a student at a school, police say. An arrest warrant was issued for Timothy Ta’Juan Johnson, 29, by the Zachary Police Department after an investigation. Johnson turned himself in to Zachary Police on Thursday and was arrested for carnal knowledge of a juvenile, molestation of a juvenile, prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and student and improper telephone communications involving harassing language. Johnson will be booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. The alleged incidents occurred in Zachary and Baton Rouge. Johnson has been placed on administrative leave.
Closing out the 2025-2026 seasons for ZHS sports
Zachary student leads team to design prosthetic ‘shower shoe’
a throw of 165 feet, 10.5 A rainy weekend on inches; Keidrick Bailey May 8-9 saw the end of finished fifth in the discus the 2025-26 Zachary High with a throw of 147 feet, sports season as the boys 9.25 inches; Veron Bolden and girls track team was fifth in the 300-meter competed in the State Warren hurdles with a time of Championship at LSU and Brady 40.56. the ZHS baseball team ZACHARY Carrier was pleased competed in the semifinal SPORTS with the boys perforround of the Non Select Division I playoffs at Live mance in the 4x400 relay Oak. at the end of the night as On a soggy track the boys finhe watched them set a new ZHS record. ished 11th overall and the girls Top performers for the girls finished in second place and were Serenity Early (first place were the state runner-up. Coach Chris Carrier said he is proud of in the 100-meter hurdles in 14:07 and third in the 300-meter the girls finishing state runnerhurdles in 44.07), Keari Stewart up against a good Alexandria (second place in the 100-meter team. hurdles in 14.39 and fifth in the Top five performances for high jump with a leap of 5 feet, the boys were recorded for the 4x400-meter relay team of Tyler 1.75 inches), Kai Richard (first in the shot put with a throw of Jackson, Caleb Spurlock, Anthony Jackson and Veron Bolden 44 feet, 7 inches and third in the discus with a throw of 115 feet, who finished third with a time of 3:18.55; Connor Conachen finä See BRADY, page 3G ished fourth in the javelin with
Community news report A Zachary student was part of the team that created a solution for a paramedic working with two amputations. While the amputations haven’t stopped Ben Masten from working as a paramedic, he still faces challenges every day. In Angola, Indiana, a team of Trine University biomedical engineering majors worked this spring to help him overcome one of them. The senior design team of Michaela Doiron, of Zachary; Kara Harris, of Louisville, Tennessee; Madix Johnson, of New Palestine, Indiana; and Emily Wahl, of Defiance, Ohio; worked with Masten to develop a custom prosthetic that will allow him, and possibly other double amputees, to navigate easier in the shower.
Amputations due to diabetes Masten, a paramedic for the Northeast Fire District in Allen
County, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 13. As is common with those who have the disease, he has had issues with healing in his feet, according to a news release. Eight years ago, he cut his right foot while walking on the beach in Florida. That cut became infected and resulted in the amputation of the foot six weeks later. In 2024, he tripped over a guide wire and broke a bone in his left foot. The bone rotated out of place and created a wound that got infected. Eventually, he had to have his left leg amputated below the knee. Doctors thought he would not be able to continue in his role as a paramedic. Though he has been able to continue his work, Masten still faces everyday challenges. For instance, taking a shower was difficult for Masten due to his limited mobility
ä See DESIGN, page 4G