DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT
THE ASCENSION
ADVOCATE 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, M a r c h 26, 2025
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Prairieville building $4M senior and wellness center BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT
Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
Strategies for stress management In Louisiana, residents have faced a lot of tough times, from hurricanes to the pandemic, and these challenges can leave us feeling stressed or worn down. The Louisiana Spirit Stress Management Team teaches ways to help residents cope with situations that bring on feelings like anxiety, fear or stress. On Thursday, tweens who are 9-11 years of age are invited to the Ascension Parish Library in Galvez to learn techniques like deep breathing, guided imagery and mindfulness techniques that can also help with other issues like bullying, peer and school pressure, or feeling down. In a relaxed, supportive setting, trained counselors will guide you through managing your emotions, building resilience, and using positive coping skills to feel better and stay strong, a news release said. The session begins at 6 p.m. Registration and a permission slip are required to attend. Please call (225) 622-3339 to register and get more information. The Louisiana Spirit Crisis Counseling Program is recognized for its delivery of crisis counseling and stress management services that have supported Louisiana residents since Hurricane Katrina.
ä See AROUND, page 4G
Maintained by the Ascension Council on Aging, the 13,000-square-foot building is planned for a site near the intersection of Enterprise A $4 million senior and wellness center is Avenue and Commerce Centre Drive. Darlene Schexnayder, the council’s execumoving forward in Prairieville after the Ascension Parish Council unanimously approved a $2 tive director, said the organization will provide an additional $1.5 million, with the remaining million loan for it. Staff writer
$500,000 coming from the state. “We’re just trying to expand our services into the Prairieville area, become more visible in the Prairieville area, and hopefully the seniors will want to use the services that we provide,”
ä See CENTER, page 4G
GONE FISHIN’
PHOTO BY WENDY LOUP
Hunter Morgan, 14, fishes while his grandmother, Lynette Chenevert, watches during Saturday’s Ascension Varsity Ducks Unlimited’s Family Fishing Day at the Cabela’s pond in Gonzales. ä See story, more photos. PAGE 2G
‘Wrigley Field of Donaldsonville’
Troy LeBoeuf ASCENSION SPORTS
Q&A
Meet Conrad Gayle, new football coach, athletic director at Ascension Christian Ascension Christian has tapped its new head football coach, Conrad Gayle. Gayle takes over for former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey after two seasons. The Lions went 2-8 last season and Gayle knows there is work to do. Gayle took some time to sit down and talk about the new job and how excited he is to take over. Who are your mentors and your path to get to Ascension Christian? Coach Gayle: “I worked under Hal Mumme and Dennis Roland at Southeastern from 2003-07.
ä See LEBOEUF, page 5G
Under city ownership, baseball field revived BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer
It was Feb. 25. Football season had ended. NCAA March Madness was an interminable time ahead. Facing Tennessee, LSU men’s basketball slid to 3-12 in conference play. Even the earliest-ever opening day for Major League Baseball shimmered like a distant mirage. But in Donaldsonville, baseball season came early. In a small ceremony that late February day, the city took ownership of a historic baseball field from Ascension Parish. “It was one of the best fields in the state of Louisiana,” said Reginald “Duck” Brown, who played on the diamond for the Donaldsonville Grays semipro baseball team in the 1970s after the team was integrated. “… There was a lot of American Legion Baseball big tournaments held on our field, and a lot of people came and paid a lot of compliments. It was sort of like the Wrigley Field of Donaldsonville.” The LaLa Regira Field, named
A community treasure Musing on the distinct flavor of baseball stadiums across the country, Washington Post retired sports columnist Thomas Boswell once wrote in these places, “we find that we are still a nation of countless shades and shapes, heartening and hearty.” “Orwell’s fears have made little headway at the ballpark,” Boswell wrote in 1984. “There, we still find it easy to remember where we are and why we came.” And so it is at the LaLa baseball field, where generations of residents have honed their skills. It was here that Gerald AlexanSTAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS der, who went on to pitch for the Texas Rangers, got his start. And Swamp Sox head coach Trae Ourso, center, walks with players Tre Brewer, it’s where Brown pitched for the left, and Carter Womack, right, onto the field near the historic LaLa Regira Donaldsonville Grays. “People can join together and Baseball Field on March 13. get involved in sports, and they team. could put their differences aside in honor of former longtime Like the city of Donaldsonand color and creed and all that Mayor Lawrence “LaLa” Regira stuff,” said Brown, a longtime Sr., has hosted countless games ville, which has been plagued Donaldsonville city employee. throughout its history. by economic problems in recent “On a Sunday afternoon, you can Previously owned by the South decades, the field has seen better go out and have a baseball game.” Louisiana Fairgrounds until its days. The grass is overgrown. Randy Lanoix, 71, a lifelong earlier transfer to the parish, the The grandstand needs repairs. Donaldsonville resident, estimatfield has been home to Ascension With the transfer — and funding Catholic, Donaldsonville High set aside for improvements — ed the city had eight youth teams School, Grays semipro team and what was once a core community ä See FIELD, page 2G the American Legion Baseball artery could soon see a revival.
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Gonzales / Prairieville / Donaldsonville
*This program is for loans ( auto, boat, RV, motorcycle, ATV, tractors and lawnmowers) refinanced from other financial institutions. Will refinance loans 3% less than your existing interest rate. Normal credit and collateral value standards apply. Restrictions, limitations, and interest rate floors may apply. Real estate, unsecured loans, and credit cards are excluded. May require direct deposit/payroll deduction for the special rate. Limited time offer. APR=Annual Percentage Rate. **Completed application for Switch and Ditch, 2% special, HELOC required for entry. Drawing winner to be selected on April 30, 2025. Winner’s funds to be deposited into ACU checking account. Equal Housing Lender. Member NCUA.
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