DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT
THE ASCENSION
AD DVOCA VOCATE T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
AROUND ASCENSION
Master Gardener course planned
Sweet Spot Cocktail Trail The Ascension Parish Tourism Commission’s Sweet Spot Cocktail Trail is underway. To take part, order the “Sweet Spot Cocktail” at participating businesses through July 31, and receive a stamp in your cocktail trail passport. Purchase any 10 of the cocktails, get a stamp on your passport and turn in your passport to receive a gift and to be entered into the grand prize giveaway valued at over $600. All completed passports must be turned in by July 31 to be entered into the grand prize drawing. You must be 21 years of age to participate. Visit visitlasweetspot.com/cocktailtrail for information.
Blood Drive set Ascension Parish’s department of public works is holding a blood drive from 7 a.m. to noon July 31. For information, call (225) 765-8843.
Back to school fests Ascension 4 Youth Fest’s Back-2-School Bashes are planned for Gonzales and Donaldsonville. The Gonzales fest is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gonzales Civic Center, 219 S. Irma Blvd. The celebration will continue 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Wag Center, 1201 Maginnis St., Donaldsonville. The events will include food, music, hair cuts, schools uniforms, physicals, immunizations and giveaways of school supplies.
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W e d n e s d ay, J u ly 24, 2024
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EVERYBODY IN THE POOL
Darlene Denstorff
A Louisiana Master Gardener training course will be held in Ascension Parish this fall. The Louisiana Master Gardener Program is a volunteer development program offered by the LSU AgCenter. Master Gardener volunteers are trained and provide proven, research-based educational programs and outreach. Classes are scheduled Tuesday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales beginning Aug. 6 through October. For more information or to receive and application contact LSU AgCenter Horticulture Agent Mariah Simoneaux at (225) 621-5799 or MJSimoneaux@agcenter.LSU.edu.
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PHOTO BY APRIL BUFFINGTON
Torrence Thomas, swim instructor, explains a swimming stroke to Rodney Sparrow, 15, who is hearing impaired, during swim lessons provided by Tankproof organization at Jambalaya Park in Gonzales on July 10.
Free swimming lessons in Gonzales thanks to former Dutchtown High grads BY CAMILLE MILLIGAN
Contributing writer
These days, Torrence and Thurman Thomas are known nationwide for their soulfully funky and increasingly successful music duo THEBROSFRESH, but here, the Ascension Parish natives continue to make their
mark by offering free swimming lessons and food resources through their nonprofit organization, Tankproof. The Thomas twins started Tankproof after recognizing a need for better aquatics education in their community, especially for children and minorities. “The recreation of swimming
gets passed down through generations,” Torrence Thomas said. “Studies show if mom learns how to swim then kid learns how to swim. Eventually what happens is that the community becomes more water safe and water aware and water confident.” In the early days of Tankproof, the Thomas twins sold their
band merch just to cover the cost of swimming lessons. Now, the organization has grown into a national nonprofit hosting free swimming lessons in Louisiana, Texas, New York, California and Washington. The lessons in Louisiana took
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Touch A Truck event focuses community on school supplies BY WENDY LOUP
trucks in-person. “It’s fun for the children to open up possibilities and see the different law enforcement vehicles,” Volunteer Ascension hosted its 26th annual Starr added. “The children can see they are all school supply collection this weekend while also trusted people.” giving children the opportunity to climb on top of fire trucks and explore the inside of a SWAT van. Supplies collected, distributed The Touch A Truck event was Saturday at the On Friday, enough supplies were collected to Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales. Local law fill a trailer at the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s enforcement agencies, the Ascension Parish Li- Office’s District 2 substation on Airline Highbrary and local businesses provided information way, according to Volunteer Ascension Execuabout their services, as well as collected school tive Director Sherry Denig. supply donations. The supplies collected on both Friday and Volunteer Ascension partnered with Ochsner Saturday will be sorted and distributed equally Health and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office among the kindergarten through eighth grade for the event. Ascension Parish schools, Denig said. “The Touch a Truck event is important because Volunteer Ascension has collected more than having school supplies is so important and people $740,000 in school supplies since 1997. don’t realize how expensive supplies are,” said Tia Starr, director of operations over clinics for Supporting the need Ochsner Health. Fifth grade ELA teacher Haley Babin, of Another benefit to the event is for children to ä See SUPPLIES, page 6G have the opportunity to look at law enforcement
Contributing writer
A first for Sorrento
Teen establishes Little Free Library to improve access to books BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer
A Sorrento teenager recently unveiled the town’s first “Little Free Library,” hoping to help improve the community’s access to free books. The library, which is a small, outdoor book exchange located by the Sorrento Community Center on Main Street, is open 24/7 and is part of a wider movement led by a Minnesota nonprofit. Alongside the help of community members, Olivia Kidder, 15, was the driving force behind the project and unveiled it July 15. “I think it’s going to be, like, very helpful for the community,” Kidder said Tuesday about the grand opening. “Everyone that was there
loved it.” Kidder, who won the title of Miss Teen Boucherie Queen at Sorrento’s festival last year, said the idea began when she saw a little free library on a California trip last summer. These book exchange boxes, organized by the Little Free Library nonprofit, aim to combat low literacy rates through free access to books. A few already exist in Ascension Parish, but Kidder wanted to help improve literacy rates by establishing the first in Sorrento. “I started researching literacy rates in Louisiana, and I realized how low they were,” she said. “And so, I was wondering how we could fix this.”
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PHOTO BY WENDY LOUP
Hunter Babin, of Thibodaux, holds 2-year-old son Waylon, during Saturday’s Touch A Truck school supply collection at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. Volunteer Ascension partnered with local law enforcement agencies to collect school supplies.
Miss Teen Boucherie Olivia Kidder, 15, was the driving force behind a new Little Free Library erected in Sorrento. PROVIDED PHOTO