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Farmer The St.Tammany
S T TA M M A N Y FA R M E R.N E T
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W e d n e s d ay, M ay 7, 2025
151ST YEAR, NO. 30
50¢N
ELECTION 2025
Voters OK school, hospital bond issues BY BOB WARREN AND WILLIE SWETT Staff writers
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Ecstatic Salmen graduates toss their mortarboards as their high school years come to a close on April 29.
BIG THRILL in young lives INSIDE
ä More photos from the Salmen High ceremony. Page 8A ä More Covington graduation photos. Page 8A ä Northshore High Class of 2025 graduation. Page 8A
St. Tammany Parish voters gave a thumbs-up on May 3 to separate bond issues for the school district and Slidell Memorial Hospital that officials say will fuel a multitude of building projects. Voting returns showed the public school district’s $325 million bond proposition passed with 56% of the vote. A $51.5 million bond issue for Slidell Memorial, meanwhile, got 52% of the vote in the east St. Tammany wards where it was on the ballot. The school district’s bond proposal was the lone parishwide issue on the ballot. It sought voter permission to issue $325 million in bonds to cover projects at 23 of the district’s 55 schools and to create a new health care/STEM campus near the technical college in Lacombe, among other items. In its pitch to voters, the school district pledged to divide the bond proceeds this way: n $251 million for school improvements. n $32 million for technology and security purchases and upgrades, including $10.5 million to swap out old Chromebooks. n $30 million for the new science and health care learning center. n $12 million for new school buses and transportation infrastructure. Going into the election, school district officials expressed confidence that the measure would receive the blessing of voters. They noted the importance of maintaining school facilities for the more than
ä See VOTERS, page 3A
Lauren Russell’s face says it all as she walks with her diploma as a 2025 Covington High School graduate during her final school gathering in the University Center in Hammond. PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Marc Chambers of the team Dufrene Dirt Work pitches the ball as Magnolia Park celebrated its 25th anniversary on opening day April 5.
Magnolia Park still shining in its State Seafood Cook-Off headed to St. Tammany in June silver anniversary Harbor Center will The winner will advance to compete in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off and will be an ambassador representing the state’s culinary expertise at a number of other notable events. Patrons at the state cookoff can sample food, beer and wine during the competition. Ticket information will be announced at the end of May. The event is in its 18th year and originated in New
this summer. The action will — quite literally — heat up on June 27 when renowned chefs from across the state head to the Harbor Center near Slidell to face off. The fast-paced BY JESSICA SAGGIO cooking competition, which is Contributing writer scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., The annual Louisiana Sea- mimics the intensity of the food Cook-Off, one of the popular television cooking state’s preeminent culinary shows, as chefs battle to be competitions, is headed to the named the King or Queen of northshore for the first time Louisiana Seafood.
host prestigious culinary contest
SAVE $ 11 5
Orleans. Since its inception, it has been held at a number of cities across the state, including Lafayette and Lake Charles. This year, however, it ventures to St. Tammany Parish at the recommendation of Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, who now lives in Madisonville. “It is a big deal for it to come to this area after having been in so many other parts of the
It’s not the biggest park in the Parish — not by a long shot. In fact, if you blink leaving the village of Folsom via La. 40, you might miss Magnolia Park altogether. But there, on a small 15-acre plot, dreams have been built and some of have been crushed. Championships have been won and lost. Cheers have filled
ä See COOK-OFF, page 2A
ä See PARK, page 2A
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BY MIKE GEGENHEIMER Contributing writer
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