invites families from across the community to attend the Back
2 School Block Party from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., July 18, at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, 22911 Reames Road, Zachary
The free community event will provide an opportunity for students and families to celebrate the start of a new school year while enjoying an afternoon of family-friendly fun, community fellowship, refreshments and entertainment School supplies will be distributed while supplies last.
MAX 94.1 will be on-site with a live remote broadcast, bringing music, giveaways and entertainment throughout the event For information, contact Aleshia Taylor at (225) 276-6720 or Michelle Veal at (225) 2416690.
Retired teachers to meet
The Louisiana Retired Teacher Association invites all retired teachers and school staff to attend a free meeting as it creates a functioning retired teachers’ group in the area.
A meeting will be at 2 p.m. July 28, at West Feliciana High School Auditorium, 8604 U.S 61, St. Francisville.
The Louisiana Retired Teachers Association is a nonprofit organization that is devoted to protecting and enhancing benefits for individuals receiving retirement benefits from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana For more information follow LRTA on Facebook or visit lrta.net.
Miss Zachary Pageant set
A Miss Zachary Pageant will be held Aug. 8 at the St. John the Baptist Church gym Divisions range from babies to adults. For information, email contact@lacotillionaux.org
Miss Zachary queens will reign as hostess at the Zachary Really Hot Air Balloon Festival and represent and promote the festival.
Learn about menopause
Menopausium: Strong through the Shift will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 18 at Americana YMCA, 4200 Liberty Way, Zachary. It will feature education, local wellness vendors, giveaways and more. Fee is $20 or free for YMCA members. Visit https://tinyurl. com/jknwm22u to register Market set for Baker
Baker’s Fresh Market will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Aug. 22, Oct 24 and Nov 21 at the city of Baker School Board Office, 14750 Plank Road.
State representative to speak Rep. Roy Daryl Adams will speak at the Baker Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn at 11:30 a.m., July 23, at Ruffins Showroom. 14502 Plank Road, Baker Adams will speak about the 2026 legislative session.
Summer Santa at the market
The Zachary Farmers and Artisans Market will host Summer Santa from 9 a.m. to 1 p m July 11. Free pictures with Santa are available. Live music and treats available as well as vendors.
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Zachary school employees get pay raises
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
Capitalizing quickly on a strong show of confidence from voters, Zachary school leaders have approved an across-the-board pay raise for district employees, the first of likely several raises over the next few years.
The Zachary School Board voted unanimously for the raises three days after voters on June 27 endorsed the district’s Zachary Forward initiative. The annual raises, which go into effect immediately, are $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for support workers.
“This shows our employees that we’re actually serious about this,” Yolanda Williams, human resources director for the suburban Baton Rouge school district, told the board. “We’re not just holding off on it. We wanted to make sure that salary was there.”
The raises won’t appear in the paychecks of classroom teachers until the Aug. 15 payroll. Teachers return from summer break on Aug. 3 and classes start Aug. 6.
WHITE & BLUE
ALL IN ON RED,
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1776
MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL Contributing writer
The 250th anniversary of Independence Day celebrations started early on June 29 at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Zachary Branch as dancers performed colonial period dances in period attire. Members of the Lagniappe Historic Dance and Pastime Society demonstrated dance moves from English country dances and other
mistress Roxanne Lagniappe Historic Dance and Pastime Society celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with dance party at library
A year ago, Zachary approved an identical set of pay raises in advance of the 2025-26 school year That raise and the latest raise increase annual salaries by $4,000 for teachers and $2,000 for support workers.
And there’s more to come.
The Zachary Forward plan freezes in place 24 mills in property taxes that were set to expire over the next 7 years. Instead of paying for school construction, the tax will finance raises for teachers and staff. Over time, the taxes are estimated to generate at least $8.4 million annually for increased pay
The vote by the Zachary school board was taken at a specially called meeting Tuesday For starting teachers, salaries are increasing from $52,022 to $54,022 a year The district’s goal is, over time, to increase starting teacher salaries to more than $60,000 a year In the Baton Rouge region, only Iberville Parish pays more than $60,000 in annual salary to starting teachers. Other districts are getting close. For instance West Feliciana Parish recently approved a $7,000 stipend for the next two years for all its school employees, bringing its starting teacher salary to just shy of $60,000 a year
Lifting Zachary teacher salaries above $60,000 annually looked doubtful just a few months ago.
In November, voters defeated the initial version of the Zachary Forward proposal Voter discontent that day was amplified by opposition across East Baton Rouge Parish to the Thrive initiative, which sought to redirect some library, Council on Aging and mosquito abatement property taxes.
Zachary leaders tweaked their initiative, focusing the money solely on employee compensation, and tried again. Zachary voters this time gave their strong assent, voting for the initiative by a 62% to 38% margin. Between November and June, turnout increased from 25% to 33%. That equates to almost 1,600 additional voters.
“We just connected with every group, everybody we could think of, to give them the information,” said Superintendent Ben Necaise. The 24 mills are not yet available for employee pay That won’t start happening until January when local property owners pay their annual tax bills. The school district is financing the initial months of the pay raise with existing funds.
Zachary is likely to increase pay again soon, in the form of one-time stipends.
It’s an outgrowth of Gov Jeff Landry’s plan to cut nearly $170
STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Children roll along while wearing red, white and blue during the parade. ä More photos. PAGE 4G
Following Mayor David McDavid on an antique fire truck, a resident drives a golf cart decorated for the Fourth of July during a parade through the Americana Development on Saturday in Zachary.
PHOTO BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL
With just a little encouragement, young Daisy Rothschild of St. Francisville, joins in the fun and danced in celebration of the 250th anniversary celebration at the Zachary branch library.
PARTY
Continued from page 1G
Struppeck offered instruction when needed, noted the names of the dances adding interesting details and the time period/range when they were popular She then smiled and told the experienced dancers and the brave newcomers “let’s mess it up to music” as the dancing commenced. She acknowledged that
there were more women attending the event that evening and so some took the role of “gents” for the dance party True then and now, she said, “ladies love to dance.” Historians also tell us that George Washington liked to dance and was quite proficient at it.
Struppeck also commented about how the clothing and fashions changed throughout the years. Dress styles did not have the longevity that some of the traditional dances had. Colonial
dress was featured at the Zachary library’s early July 4th gathering although other members were dressed in regency period attire. For more information about the group, contact the Pride-Chaneyville Branch of the East Baton Rouge Library System where the group meets weekly in the evening for dance lessons/ practice. The society performs at a variety of educational and historic events as well as gathering for occasional socializing.
Jayson Moffett, of Central, with Debbie Samuel, left, and Roxanne Struppeck, of Clinton, both dressed in historic colonial attire for the dancing celebration at the Zachary Branch Library.
The large circle was one of many formations and steps in the varied dances performed during a program at the Zachary branch library.
The men of Lagniappe Historic Dance and Pastime Society doing their part at the celebration
PHOTOS BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL
Library staff member David Heidke, right, joins in from the audience to dance with members of the Lagniappe Historic Dance and Pastime Society in the early celebration for the 4th of July
Lining up the competition for Zachary Broncos football team
The Zachary High Broncos finished the 2025 season with a trip to the semifinals of the Division I nonselect playoffs. Gone from that team are the specialists (punter and kicker), four offensive starters and six defensive starters.
The Broncos will likely lean heavily on returning running backs Jeremey Patten and Tylek Lewis, and wide receiver Ethan Kimmie. Yes, they will be young in places. They have been young before and there are several young Broncos that have been working for their chance to shine.
The 2026 season is likely to be exciting with tough road games and tough teams coming to Bronco Stadium.
The Broncos 2026 schedule is, as with most years, challenging. Don’t look for cupcakes or walk over games in this schedule. It all begins Aug. 20 with a scrimmage on the road against Denham Springs. The last time these two teams met
was in the same place, Denham Springs, last fall as the 13th seed Broncos upset the fifth seed Jackets in the Regional Round of the playoffs, 44-21.
The Broncos will host Alexandria Senior High for the jamboree on Aug. 27 where the ninth grade, junior varsity and varsity squads will compete. Alexandria is a powerhouse program that last year advanced to the Division I select playoffs before losing to the Broncos District 4-5A rival Catholic Bears, 44-6, in the quarterfinals. For the first time in a long time, the Broncos will open the regular season Sept 4 on the road against the Plaquemine Green Devils. The 4A Green Devils ad-
vanced to the semifinals of the Division II nonselect playoffs in 2025 and are always a talented team.
The Broncos will stay on the road the following week to take on the veer machine of the Acadiana Wrecking Rams on Sept. 11. The Rams were down in 2025, by Acadiana standards, with an 8-4 record under first year coach Doug Dotson. Dotson’s father Bill, was head coach at Acadiana for 25 years. Expect the Rams to be better in 2026.
The Broncos open the home regular season Sept. 18 against Madison Prep.
The Chargers made it to the quarterfinal round in last year’s playoffs. A traditional powerhouse from the New Orleans area, Warren Easton, rolls into Bronco Stadium on Sept. 25. The Eagles have been to the Superdome as recently as 2018 and 2019.
The Broncos will face District 5-5A opponent St. Amant in The Pit prior to starting district play on Oct. 2. This is a stadium
that coach David Brewerton has talked about for years and the Broncos will be playing the Gators for the first time since 1998.
The District 4-5A schedule has been rearranged with the Broncos traveling to traditional powerhouse
Central to start district play Oct. 9 and hosting Catholic on Oct. 16. The Broncos lost to Central during the regular season last year and defeated them in the quarterfinals in a classic 31-27 in the quarterfinals.
The Catholic Bears fell to
eventual state champion Edna Karr in the semifinals in 2025. The Woodlawn Panthers will travel to Zachary for a district game Oct. 23. Before closing the District 4-5A schedule with Liberty on Nov 6, coach Brewerton scheduled 5A powerhouse Destrehan Oct. 30 in what could be an instant classic. Destrehan won their last state championship in 2022 and has racked up 142 wins in the last 10 years. As you can see, there are several new and challenging opponents spread throughout the schedule and some teams we know all too well and that’s just the regular season. Are you ready for some football? Warren Brady covers sports for the Advocate/ Plainsman. To contact Brady, email zachary@ theadvocate.com.
EDITOR
Darlene T. Denstorff zachary@theadvocate.com (225) 388-0215
