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
Residents ask council to ensure wastewater plant not near housing
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W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 28, 2024
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LIVE OAKS FELLED
BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer
In a region that has seen United Nations observers, federal officials and some residents push for more focus on the disproportionate impact of industrial growth on poor, minority communities, Ascension Parish has generally welcomed development with little organized pushback. But a wastewater treatment plant proposed near neighborhoods across the socioeconomic spectrum received a different reaction as residents strongly objected, with officials quickly scrapping the plan. Despite their “While it’s a great v i c t o r y, t h o s e positive direction move, residents told the we just want assurance Parish Council on 20 they wantfrom the government with Aug. ed to ensure that NWI that the location National Water Inthat’s chosen is actually frastructure’s proposed plant wasn’t going to be along Highway 75 in what is built near any residential areas, not specifically considered a just their own. heavy industrial area.” Samantha Leach, who organized a SAMANTHA LEACH, 475-signature pepetition organizer tition against the proposal, said she wanted the council to pass a resolution ensuring the facility will be located within the industrial area of the parish. “While it’s a great positive direction move, we just want assurance from the government with NWI that the location that’s chosen is actually going to be along Highway 75 in what is specifically considered a heavy industrial area,” she said. The company, which finalized its $9.3 million purchase of the Ascension Parish sewer system in April, had proposed to build the new plant off La. 30 near residential areas including River Oak Road and Stoney Point Estates. According to the parish assessor’s online database, many River Oaks properties have a market value of less than $33,000, while Stoney Point parcels sport market values of more than $600,000. Some Stoney Point residents focused on the nearby light industrial zoning. Resident Brittany Prout asked the council why the neighborhood was constructed there in the first place. “If it was light industrial right there and then there was a possibility of a sewer plant going there, how did that neighborhood ever become a neighborhood of that status?” she asked the council. “ … I just don’t understand how that could happen. How you could let houses, like million-dollar
ä See COUNCIL, page 2G
A stump and large chunks of a live oak tree sit Thursday after it was cut down.
STAFF PHOTO BY DARLENE DENSTORFF
Residents want others protected
BY DARLENE DENSTORFF
Community News Editor
After two large live oak trees on the former Piccadilly restaurant site in Gonzales were cut down Thursday, city leaders are considering an ordinance to prevent this from happening again, city engineer Jackie Baumann said Friday. Baumann said the city has received calls from residents concerned about the removal of the trees. She said the city has a landscaping ordinance, but it does not prevent the removal of trees, and no permit is required to remove a tree. Coleen Landry, chair of the Louisiana Live Oak Society, said she is saddened by the loss of the two trees. One was regis-
tered with the society in 1997, with a girth of 16 feet, 10 inches and had a canopy of 100 feet. She estimated that before it was cut down, the ancient tree would have measured over 18 feet and been “well over 100 years old.” It was called the Piccadilly Oak on the registration, she said. The second tree on the site was not registered. Landry said she has been receiving emails from people upset that nothing was done to save the oaks. “I can’t do anything until I know a tree is in danger,” she said. “Usually we go to battle for these big oaks.” The Live Oak Society has 10,200 oak trees on its registry.
Landry has been trying to get a statewide ordinance to save large live oak trees for 20 years. She said the city has a Climate Action Plan to protect the city’s environment and wants to preserve the city’s trees. She said the city planted 2,800 trees in 2020 after it relocated residents of Silver Leaf subdivision, an 11-acre site that flooded several times. She said the city has a preliminary plan under consideration to construct a Chickfil-A on the site. The 1.95-acre site was purchased in 2020 for $250,000 by Vince Diez Properties Inc., according to the Ascension Parish Assessor’s database.
ä See LIVE OAKS, page 2G
ACHS Gordon ‘set’ for senior season Ascension Catholic senior volleyball setter Ava Gordon enters the 2024 season with lofty goals for her team and herself. And the time is now to make it happen. “Our team has lost in the quarterfinals the last two seasons. The goal is Troy to make it to the finals and LeBoeuf let’s see what happens. ASCENSION One goal for myself is to break the school record SPORTS for assists. If I continue to work hard and never give up, I think that I can accomplish that goal,” Gordon said. ACHS volleyball returns a plethora of talent this season including all state hitter Ava Landry, all metro libero Ava
Bright and nine seniors that all have playing experience. Bulldog head coach Janelle Leonard recalls when Gordon transferred to ACHS in her freshman year. “Ava had to sit out a year and play junior varsity only. That year was hard for her,” Leonard said. “I do think it made her appreciate the game. She puts in the work on the court and in the weight room. Ava has an attitude as a setter that most coaches dream of, and her passion for the game is infectious to her teammates.” The passion that Gordon has for volleyball started a young age, and her volleyball influences are plentiful. “I started playing the game around ten years old. Playing club ball for the past eight years has shaped me into the
player that I am today,” Gordon said. “So many of my coaches have influenced me, including Ryan Hamilton. He was my first club ball coach. Coach Chandra Ewen was my former coach at St. Amant before I transferred to ACHS. “Playing for Impact and her belief in me pushes me to not only be the best player, but a leader off and on the court. My coaches, Coach Janelle, Coach Cliff and Coach Catherine, they have taught me so much about this game. Coach Catherine is new to our staff. She played here. She helps us with our skills. We love her. Coach Cliff gets me out of my comfort zone and pushes me to try new things. Coach Janelle has welcomed me into this school and program. She has
ä See LEBOEUF, page 2G
Game Day Sock Hop at 11 a.m. Friday at Lamar-Dixon Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
Tanger offering teacher grants
community to identify their needs and request funding to enhance programs and better serve students as they Tanger Outlets Gonzales has launched its 2024 work to create a more productive and inclusive learnTangerKids Grants Program supporting educational ing environment. resources that help area students succeed. Donaldsonville Farmers Market Saturday Applications are open through Oct. 18, and Ascension Ducks Unlimited banquet tickets on sale Donaldsonville’s Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to Parish educators are encouraged to apply at grants. Tickets are on sale for the Sept. 5 Ducks Unlimited tanger.com. 2 p.m. Saturday in Louisiana Square. ä See AROUND, page 2G The platform invites teachers and leaders within the Interested vendors can call (225) 473-4814. Seniors from the around the parish are invited to Ascension Parish Government’s Game Day Sock Hop starting at 11 a.m. Friday at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 S. St. Landry Ave., Gonzales.
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