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, J a n u a ry 29, 2025
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Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
Farmers Market planned for Donaldsonville Donaldsonville Farmers Market is set for Saturday morning in Louisiana Square. Call Juanita Pearley at (225) 473-4814 or Janice White at (225) 717-0031 for more information.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY BILL FEIG
Faye Feig measures snowfall Jan.21 in her Prairieville backyard.
SNOWFALL BLANKETS ASCENSION
Pickleball tourney set Bluff Middle School is holding a pickleball tourney Feb. 1-2 at the school’s gym. The event is raising money for the school’s staff lounge account. Women’s doubles, men’s doubles, youth matches and mixed matched are planned. For information, call Stephanie Barnes, (225) 391-2005 or email stephanie.barnes@apsb. org.
Jambalaya cook-off Saturday
After days of forecasters predicting
The St. Amant High baseball Alumni and Friends’ jambalaya cook-off is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at The Venue, 13475 La. 431, suite K, St. Amant.
snow, Ascension Parish residents witnessed the rare occurrence Jan. 21. Snow started to fall in early morning and continued through most of the day.
ä See AROUND, page 3G
Families took advantage of the fluffy stuff, with many seeing snow for the first time. Warming centers were opened in Gonzales and Donaldsonville for residents seeking a help.
Troy LeBoeuf
Roads, schools and businesses closed
ASCENSION SPORTS
ACHS girls basketball have numbers to show up this season The Ascension Catholic High girls basketball team played last season with eight players. When the coaching looks on the bench now, they have 10 players eagerly waiting to get in the game. ACHS (11-8) is ranked 12th overall in division four with a handful of games remaining. The larger roster paired with a high IQ for basketball has the coaching staff excited about what this season can be. Led by sophomore twins, Ja’layah and Ja’Myah Brown, the Bulldogs have tried to use their defense to create offense. The coaching staff instills defensive principles like guarding the ball without fouling, boxing out and cutting the court in half to limit quality shots.
ä See LEBOEUF, page 4G
and when the melt finally began on Thursday, some roads were still impassable. ä See SNOWFALL, page 2G PROVIDED PHOTOS
A snowman sits near the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Donaldsonville office Jan. 21.
Nonprofit aids homeless in Ascension As temps drop, organization steps up to help
BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK
Clean linens and cots await people experiencing homelessness in the emergency shelter at St. Vincent de Paul on Jan. 7 so they can have a warm place to sleep as Baton Rouge metro area experiences freezing temperatures.
2256 Hwy 70
As Baton Rouge got hit with its heaviest snowfall in more than a century, the city’s homeless shelters reported more occupants than they had seen in years. But in Ascension Parish, which doesn’t have homeless shelters, one organization attempted to help keep people warm and fed.
ä See HOMELESS, page 3G