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
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W e d n e s d ay, s e p t e m b e r 25, 2024
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Mayor: Entergy deprioritized Donaldsonville after Francine BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer
Ascension Parish was hit hard by Hurricane Francine last Wednesday. Trees toppled and power lines fell, and Entergy reported more than 28,000 parish customers were without power the day after the storm. The number of outages fell quickly as crews crossed the region, with Entergy estimating that 90% of the parish would have its power back by Saturday night. But Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy Sullivan said the company initially told him the city wasn’t included in that estimation. “[The Entergy representative] said, ‘Well, that does not include the city of Donaldsonville … Donaldsonville will be on the 16th,’” five days after Francine hit, Sullivan said at a recent city council meeting. “And I told her that was unacceptable. Why should we be behind and last?” Phoebe James, an Entergy spokesperson, denied Sullivan’s claim, stating via email that Donaldsonville
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Yellow Brick Gala tickets available
was included in the power restoration estimate. “As we’ve noted, estimated restoration times are when we anticipate power being restored to at least 90% of customers in a given area,” she wrote. “Those times can shift based off what our crews encounter in the field while working to restore power. The geography of southeast Louisiana poses unique challenges for utilities restoring power, but our crews utilized specialized equipment like backyard track machines … to safely and efficiently carry out repairs.”
Mayor says help increased following calls Donaldsonville, the parish seat but separated from the rest of Ascension by the Mississippi River, faced a 100% power outage during Hurricane Ida in 2021. According to U.S. Census figures, the majority Black city has a poverty rate of 47%, compared to the parishwide rate of 10%. At Monday’s meeting, Sullivan emphasized that the response to the hurricane was much better than in previous years.
STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
AGS Tree Services employee Eli Martinez, top right, stands on top of a row of logs after cleaning up a resident’s property following damage from ä See FRANCINE, page 2G Hurricane Francine in Donaldsonville on Sept. 17.
Griffins glide into homecoming week PHOTO BY WENDY LOUP
University of Arkansas senior admissions counselor Veronica Adams, left, talks to Summer Tripode and her son, Prairieville High School 10th grader Khoen, during the Ascension Public Schools’ Career & College Expo.
Tickets are on sale for the River Road African American Museum’s Yellow Brick Gala celebrating the museum’s 30th anniversary of growth while collecting, archiving, preserving and narrating the culture and life of Black residents of the rural parishes of Louisiana. The event will be Oct. 12 at the Price LeBlanc Pace Center in Gonzales. For information, visit www. riverroadaam.org/blank-16.
Career, college expo brings students together with opportunities BY WENDY LOUP
Contributing writer
Bonfire tradition honored A Live After 5 Concert will honor George “Scrap” Hymel at 6 p.m. Oct. 5 at Crescent Park in Donaldsonville. Folklife ambassador Brian Davis, of Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation, will host the ceremony recognizing the Hymel family bonfire tradition. The Hymel family bonfire tradition began in 1969, when the late Richard Roussel Jr. brought together family and friends for food and camaraderie at the Gramercy home of his daughter Denise “Denny” Hymel and her husband, Scrap Hymel. The tradition is carried on today by the couple’s children and their families. Each Christmas Eve, around 300 Hymel family members and friends gather to eat, visit and wait for night to fall so the bonfires along the levee can be lit and the fireworks displays begun.
The circus is coming to town The Carden International Circus is making up for its missed show due to Hurricane Francine on Oct. 19-20 at the LamarDixon Expo Center. Previously purchased tickets
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PROVIDED PHOTO BY TIM BABIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Principal Barry Whittington escorts Dutchtown High Homecoming Queen Alise Gros Friday during a halftime ceremony.
Dutchtown High senior Alise Gros was all smiles when her name was called Friday as Dutchtown High homecoming queen. Gros was crowned during halftime ceremonies at Griffin Field. The school held themed activities throughout the week, including a parade and pep rally Thursday. ä See more homecoming photos online. theadvocate.com/
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Dutchtown and Ascension Catholic football stay unbeaten the secondary with five tackles. Two blowout victories were recorded Dutchtown will open district play last week for Ascension Parish teams with a trip across Airline Highway to as Dutchtown shut out Collegiate Prep face Prairieville. 62-0 and Ascension Catholic blew past Ascension Catholic (2-0) scored on St. Thomas Aquinas 56-12. its first five possessions, jumping out The Griffins moved to 3-0 for the seaTroy to a 35-0 lead over St. Thomas Aquinas. son. Special teams recovered fumbles LeBoeuf Chad Elzy scored four touchdowns and on the first two kickoffs for the GrifASCENSION added a two-point conversion. Elzy, fins. Quarterback Dylan Champagne SPORTS coming off a 50 touchdown season as a shared the ball with several receivers junior, finished with 205 yards on five early in this game and several were carries. Quarterback Camille LeBoeuf for touchdowns, including one to threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Northwestern commitment Andrew Fields. LeBoeuf connected for touchdowns with The defense was led by defensive linemen wide receivers Trevin Simon and Johnny Jackson Alexander and Joshua Lewis with Viallon for 50 and 14 yards respectively. The three tackles for losses. Lewis is a Missouri commitment. Linebacker Mason Miles had ä See LEBOEUF, page 3G five tackles. Defensive back Hyland Rentz led
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The annual Ascension Public Schools’ Career & College Expo provided more than 4,000 students and parents information about post-high school opportunities Sept. 17 at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. Students from across the parish were able to speak to representatives of local, state and national companies, as well as more than two dozen universities and technical colleges. Erin Humphrey, career coach for Ascension Public Schools, said, “Being in a school district surrounded by refineries, the manufacturing, architecture and construction pathways are in high demand with various career opportunities. “Health Sciences is also always a big draw,” Humphrey added. “We make sure a wide variety of careers are represented, ensuring every student walks away with valuable information to assist in planning their futures.” The expo offered an opportunity for local businesses to discuss with students the benefits of career fields while also promoting their companies. “Our company is here tonight to serve the community and introduce students to the health care field,” said Abbie Copeland, marketing coordinator for Bourgeois Physical Therapy and Sports Rehab. “We can show students the field is not just working at big hospitals, but there’s mom and pop businesses caring for patients as well,” Copeland added. Nearly 150 businesses represented various career fields such as agriculture, arts, business management, hospitality,
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