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, F e b r u a ry 5, 2025
1an
Slidell’s Rosemary Clement Queen of so many hearts
BY SARA PAGONES Contributing writer
perts sounded optimistic about the area’s cherished oaks. “I don’t foresee the oak trees having too much of a problem,” Dickson said. His assessment is consistent with those of other tree experts in New Orleans who said the lack of ice accumulation on the city’s ancient trees bodes well for them. Dickson said the Jan. 21-22 snowfall was dry and powdery, which is less harmful to trees. Conversely, wet snow is heavier than what fell here. It can settle on to tree branches, causing them to break off.
When Rosemary Clement takes her royal ride through Slidell on Feb. 16 as the very first queen of the Krewe of Antheia, the experience won’t exactly be old hat, but more like old crown. After all, Clement, who taught several generations of Slidell children dance and gymnastics, has been a queen a whopping eight times. Her role with Antheia won’t even be her first time to be a krewe’s inaugural queen. She achieved that distinction in 1971, when she reigned over the then brandnew Krewe of Perseus as Queen Andromeda I. Now, at 92, she will reign over Antheia, a 200-member all female PROVIDED PHOTO krewe that will BY MARK SMITH be stepping off Rosemary Clement this Carnival has been chosen as season for its third parade. the Krewe of Antheia’s Sitting in her first queen. living room, surrounded by newspaper and magazine clippings documenting her royal bona fides, Clement is still excited about the prospect of donning queen regalia again for another parade. “I love seeing the people,” she said. “A lot of the time they know me. I think I taught almost every little girl in Slidell for a time.” But for Clement, a lifelong dancer, the ball is a big part of the thrill of Carnival, too. “I never stopped dancing the whole night,” she said of the recent Krewe of Antheia ball.
ä See NATURE, page 3A
ä See QUEEN, page 2A
PHOTO BY ERIC MCVICKER
The mighty live oaks of St. Tammany Parish, like these on the Mandeville lakefront, have withstood hurricanes, droughts, and both triple-degree and single-digit temperatures. But chances are likely they’ve not seen 7-plus inches of snow like the parish encountered on Jan. 21. Area arborists and agriculture scientists say the live oaks, and most other plants, should be just fine following a record-setting winter storm.
FORCE OF NATURE Record snow should not damage northshore live oaks
BY KIM CHATELAIN
Contributing writer
The snow-covered oak trees along Mandeville’s lakefront during the recent winter storm provided a postcard-like scene, albeit one extremely rare for an area more accustomed to floods than blizzards. But after marveling at the winter wonderland along Lake Pontchartrain, some residents began to wonder if the extraordinary weather phenomenon might harm the ancient southern oaks that give Lakeshore Drive its cherished ambience. Concern also surfaced over
The Jan. 21-22 snow was dry and powdery, which is less harmful to trees than heavy, wet snow, said Rad Dickson, a city planner and licensed arborist. the fate of recent beautification efforts, including a $400,000 landscaping project to install planting beds along a stretch of Florida Avenue. That ambitious project was spearheaded by the Mandeville Parks and Parkways Commission and the city’s planning department to make the one-mile commercial stretch on the eastern side of the city easier on the eye. Mandeville City Council Chairman Scott Discon, former chairman of the parks
and parkways commission, said he hasn’t heard of any problems with the city’s greenery because of the snowfall. Rad Dickson, a city planner and licensed arborist, said it may be a little too early to tell what impact the snow ad extended period of frigid weather will have on greenery. “Only time will tell,” Dickson said, noting that it can take weeks to determine damage to certain types of plants. But Dickson and other ex-
Northshore businesses Trio of candidates vying for open counting on Super Bowl ELECTION 2025
Covington City Council seat
BY KADEE KRIEGER
lot when the election is held Board of Aldermen when no Two parishwide tax March one signed up to challenge 29. They seek to replace John her. Mingo was appointed as proposals highlight Botsford, who was elected to an interim member of the an at-large seat on the council three-person board in DecemMarch 29 ballot last year. Stanga was appoint- ber, following the death of Jill
BY ANDREW CANULETTE Staff writer
Three candidates entered the race to fill the open District B seat on the Covington City Council during qualifying held Jan. 29-31. Blake Bushnell, a Republican, and two Independents, Hermon Joseph and Blaine Stanga, will be on the bal-
ed as the interim District B representative last September when Botsford ran unopposed for the citywide post. Mingo In Folsom, DeAnna Richardson Mingo won a seat on the village’s
Mathies. Four propositions, two of them parishwide votes, will be on the March 29 ballot, as well. The two parishwide referendums include: n St. Tammany Parish government seeks to rededicate a portion of an existing 2% sales tax that currently funds
ä See BALLOT, page 3A
St. Tammany hotels already are feeling the impact of the throngs of visitors arriving in the New Orleans metro area for Super Bowl LIX, filling space to near capacity and driving up room rates. “It’s booming, and is going to be massive. We are so excited and can’t wait to see how it the game benefits not just the hotels, but tourism throughout St. Tammany,” said Northshore Lodge Association President Athena Tzuanos. She said the ripple effect is evident from room rates surging to $600 per night to requests for groups of 500 or more. Tzuanos manages the Holiday Inn Express in Slidell and serves as regional
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Contributing writer
manager for properties in Covington, Madisonville and New Orleans. She said staff members are prepared to bring the Super Bowl spirit for guests, and the Slidell location will even offer Super Bowl party-style snacks for those watching the game from the hotel. Northshore hoteliers are coordinating efforts to maximize the benefit for the parish as a whole, said Katie Domingue, who is both a St. Tammany hotel general manger and a St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission board member. “St. Tammany Parish hotels are staying in communication with each other to accommodate anyone that is looking for rooms at this time so we can make sure our parish hotels get as much out
ä See SUPER BOWL, page 2A
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