COVINGTON • FOLSOM • LACOMBE • MADISONVILLE • MANDEVILLE • SLIDELL
ST. TAMMANY
N O L A.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 1, 2025
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St. Tammany Parish’s Top 10 stories of 2024 The end of each year means another opportunity for The St. Tammany Farmer to look back at the top stories of the year. We’ve compiled a list of 10 stories we think generated the most interest in 2024. And as Andrew in most previous Canulette years, the storyANDREW’S lines were similar. ANGLE There was political intrigue, with a hotly contested campaign for District Attorney taking the spotlight early in the year and a high-profile recall effort against St. Tammany’s newly elected coroner falling flat in the fall. There was drama again over
parish finances and passionate debate over certain content at local libraries. As to be expected in a growing community such as St. Tammany, construction projects were plentiful. The first portion of a new state highway opened in the center of the parish — a roadway that is expected to bring tremendous potential for new business, and more people, on the northshore. Local government tried to stay ahead of the surge, with plenty capital projects announced, including plans to build a long-discussed bypass road near Mandeville and a proposal to invest millions in school renovations, security, transportation, and a new STEM learning facility in Lacombe.
The St. Tammany Farmer covered these stories, and much more, in 2024, and we invite you to take a look back at the year with us. After all, understanding the news of the day remains the most effective way to impact the stories of tomorrow.
1. Parish Council upends parish library board
FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD
People line up to enter a meeting A federal judge ruled in Octoof the St. Tammany Parish Library ber that three members of the St. Board in Mandeville in March. Tammany Parish Library Board of Control, who sued to get their jobs back after the Parish Council removed them earlier in the year, were not entitled to be immediately reinstated to their positions. Former library board members
William McHugh, Rebecca Taylor, and Anthony Parr sued parish government and St. Tammany Parish Council member David Cougle after they were removed
in May. The trio claimed that they were retaliated against, in violation of their First Amendment rights, for expressing their views on certain library books and for refusing to limit access to them in the parish’s public libraries. Many of the books in question had sexual themes or contained LGBTQ+ themes and characters. Controversy has swirled around the parish’s public library system since June 2022, when some branches put up public displays for “Pride Month.” Since then, some northshore residents have argued that the libraries have made sexually explicit material available to children. Others have complained about some books
ä See TOP 10, page 2A
Voices of
Christmas
Music director Kenya Lawrence Jackson again leads the nonprofit Northlake Performing Arts Society in an annual Christmas concert on the Covington High School stage.
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Kim Gerberg in front of the Brown Gym in Pelican Park, where this mother of four and fulltime employee in the private sector volunteers so much time coaching other people’s kids.
Mandeville recreation coach brings a mom’s eye to the job BY DARREN COOPER Contributing writer
PHOTOS BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Musician and singer Will Gunnels performs with the Northlake Performing Arts Society on Dec. 20 during the group’s ‘Voices of Christmas’ concert. ä More concert photos. PAGE 3A The 29-year-old Northlake Performing Arts Society again brought the sweet sounds of Christmas in two recent holiday concerts under the direction of Kenya Lawrence Jackson, the choirmaster who helped keep the nonprofit community group alive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The choir now has 64 members, a mix of amateur and professional singers and musicians from all walks of life, and most of them residents of St. Tammany Parish. The twin concerts on Dec. 20 and Dec. 22 offered audiences the choice of a matinee or evening performance on stage at Covington High School. For more information, see npassingers.org.
Every community has good Samaritans. They are the people who serve quietly, without fanfare. They get things done outside the spotlight. They are the foot soldiers in the armies of compassion, empathy, grace. The St. Tammany Farmer sought out six of these people. This is the final of the series. We think these people, their stories, are reminders of the good things people do for one another. We’re calling them “Unsung Heroes.” But now is time to sing their praises. Wins? Championships? They’re nice, but Kim Gerberg doesn’t need them. What this Mandeville resident and Terrytown native needs to see is a young volleyball team do the basics of a bump, set and spike, and for a basketball player find an
ä See COACH, page 3A
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