PCS NITROGEN DONATES $20K TO ST. AMANT FIRE DEPARTMENT ä Page 4G
THE ASCENSION
ADVOCATE
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THURSDAY DECEMBER 31, 2015 H DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT • SORRENTO THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Schedules change during holiday Ascension Parish government offices close Thursday and Friday for the New Year’s holiday. Offices will reopen Monday, during regular business hours.
Gonzales garbage schedule
A reminder for city of Gonzales residents on garbage pickup dates for the holidays: THURSDAY: normal schedule. FRIDAY: no pickup. SATURDAY: will pick up as replacement for Friday.
Year in review
Politics, killings and drones lead memorable 2015 stories Parish president elected
BY ELLYN COUVILLION and DAVID MITCHELL
Shortly after taking office ecouvillion@theadvocate.com in January 2012 for his fourth dmitchell@theadvocate.com term, Ascension Parish President Tommy Martinez said he In Ascension Parish, politics, would not seek another term, lives lost to violence, a scandal setting the stage in 2015 for a involving an elected official free-for-all for the parish’s top and another tale of a drone mis- executive post. But heading adventure grabbed readers’ at- into 2015, only two candidates, surveyor Clint Cointment and tention in 2015. Here are some of the stories two-term Parish Councilman that were the most talked about Chris Loar, had announced they in 2015. were running, even as Martinez
beat back rumors that he would jump into the race. Parish administrator and five-term Gonzales City Councilman Kenny Matassa stayed in the wings until February when he set up a three-horse race through much of the winter, spring and summer. As Matassa fought to catch up on fundraising, Cointment, running as an outsider, took aim at the management and operations of parish govern-
ment, a line of attack that hit both his opponents. While Matassa fought back by emphasizing his experience, Loar spoke about his vision for better parish management and progressive changes, but he didn’t fully respond to Cointment’s attacks until late in the season for the Oct. 24 primary. Come election day, Loar, who was the strongest in early fund-
NIGHT LIGHT
Library closures
All branches of Ascension Parish Library will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the New Year’s holiday. Regular hours will resume Saturday.
Special to The Advocate
SCORE will offer free small business consulting and mentoring from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Gonzales Branch of Ascension Parish Library. Call (225) 381-7130 to schedule an appointment.
Mother Goose series
Art show submissions
The next River Community Church Creativity Group art and photography exhibit seeks submissions from local artists and photographers of all ages. The free exhibit will be displayed Jan. 17 through Feb. 14 at the church, 36367 Old Perkins Road, in Prairieville with take-in from Jan. 10-13. Submissions should be framed or on gallery-wrapped canvas, with a wire on the back for hanging. Email Jeanie Liehe at marvinbuys2@gmail.com or call the church office at (225) 744-4367 for information.
Volunteer drivers needed
The American Cancer Society for Road to Recovery is in need of volunteers in the Greater Baton Rouge area. Volunteers will drive patients in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes to and from their cancer treatments. Drivers must be at least 18 years old, have a valid driver’s license and carry insurance on their äSee AROUND, page 2G
Park renamed to honor Roger Clouatre BY VON DE LEIGH HATCHER
Get help from SCORE
The Dutchtown Branch of Ascension Parish Library will host the four-week series “Mother Goose Asks ‘Why?’” starting Wednesday and continuing for the next three consecutive Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. The program, designed for preschoolers ages 3 to 5, will help children develop science skills through handson activities and stories. Registration is required; call (225) 673-8699. Space is limited.
Photo provided
äSee TOP STORIES, page 2G Kenny Matassa
Advocate staff photos by TRAVIS SPRADLING
Caleb Duplessis, left, and first cousin Jason Pugh work on a wing as they construct a WWII Navy-type airplane for their annual New Year’s Eve family bonfire in Gonzales.
Fiery tradition rages on for Gonzales families BY VON DE LEIGH HATCHER Special to The Advocate
The holiday season is a time of tradition, celebration and remembrance for the extended Laiche and Duplessis families, and this year is no exception. Since 2001, the family has gathered for an annual Thanksgiving weekend camping trip to plot plans for their nowThis year, legendary New Year’s Eve the cousins bonfire. When this family builds a decided to bonfire, it is no small matbuild a Navy ter. In the past, they have Douglas SBD built a traditional tepeeDauntless styled bonfire, a replica Aircraft A-24 of the south end zone of the Tiger Stadium, and an to honor 80-ton Link-Belt hauler veterans crane. Typically, the bonand to fire represents an aspect of commemorate the year, whether personal the life of a or cultural, that the family beloved father, wants to commemorate. The first one was to honuncle and or cousin Luke Villar, who Navy veteran was killed in a St. Amant Aynaud Jean- shooting. Baptiste “AJ” “We always have to keep “Ben” Villar in perspective what we Jr., who died are going to burn and what it can mean. We thought Nov. 6. about paying homage to Paris and building an Eiffel Tower, but we didn’t want to burn that,” Jason Pugh said. This year, the cousins decided to build a Navy Douglas SBD Dauntless Aircraft A-24 to honor veterans and to commemorate the life of a beloved father, uncle and Navy vetäSee TRADITION, page 2G
Cody Duplessis, left, and cousin Tyler Laiche work to prepare the area for the installation of the prop blade, as they use branches and trunks cut from sycamore and willow trees.
Summertime memories of chlorine-died green hair, Frito pies, baseball games, tennis lessons and late-night dances echoed in the halls of the St. Amant Recreational Center as hunClouatre dreds gathered on Dec. 22 to rename St. Amant Park as the Roger J. Clouatre Memorial Park. While the Parish Council approved the renaming earlier this year, friends and family gathered last week to officially rename the park in memory of one of the men who pushed to make the once-private park a public property. The ceremony highlighted the love and laughter of a lifetime as friends and family remembered days at the St. Amant Park with Roger James Clouatre. Brothers Robert Clouatre and Randy Clouatre Sr. welcomed guests and recognized present elected officials. The Rev. Tom Ranzino, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge and pastor of St. Jean Vianney Church in Baton Rouge, gave the opening invocation. Roger Clouatre’s grandchildren led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Parish President Tommy Martinez credited Clouatre with making the park available to parish residents and commented on the large number of Clouatres in attendance. “It’s kind of tough being the only non-Clouatre on the agenda,” Martinez said. “Without the help of Roger Clouatre, we would not be here today.” The park was first formed in 1968 as St. Amant Properties Inc. and led by a board of 20 members, presided by Perry Sheets. The park, previously cow pasture, bordered the land of the Clouatre family. In 1995, SPI sold the park to Ascension Parish at the urging of Roger Clouatre, who saw it renovated before his death in 2001. Clouatre was a U.S. Army and Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War and avid volunteer who led Ascension Parish in initiatives such as the Ascension Parish Trash Bash, Chem Friends, Physics Fun Fest, Library Technology Center, Parish Science Fair, Boy Scout food drives, Volunteer Ascension School Tools Drive, Junior Achievement and Teacher and Student Shadow Days. äSee CLOUATRE, page 3G