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Farmer The St.Tammany
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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 14, 2025
151ST YEAR, NO. 31
50¢N
Graduates make moves
Covington Fire Chief Gary Blocker Jr., who rose through ranks over long career, dies BY BOB WARREN AND ANDREW CANULETTE Staff writers
Covington Fire Chief Gary Stephen Blocker Jr., who joined the department as a teen and rose through the ranks over a nearly three-decade career, died May 6. He was 46. A cause of death was not disclosed. Blocker, a Metairie native and longtime Covington resident, joined the Fire Department in the mid-1990s as a volunteer in the department’s junior division, he told a reporter in 2018. He rose through the ranks before Blocker then Covington Mayor Mike Cooper named him as the chief in August 2018.
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Veteran Chris Bindewald and Songs of Survivors founding executive director David St. Romain, right, give each other a fist bump for coming up with a good lyric as St. Romain works with vets at the American Legion Post 16 in Covington on April 26.
When words aren’t enough
ä See BLOCKER, page 2A
Farmer wins Newspaper of Year honors for 6th straight year
Vets let their music speak volumes
BY MARGARET ALBERT
For the sixth consecutive year, the St. Tammany Farmer has been named Newspaper of the Year among the state’s weekly publications by the Louisiana Press Association. Results of the organization’s Better Newspaper Contest were announced during the LPA’s annual convention held May 1 at the City Club in Baton Rouge. The contest honored Louisiana’s top journalists and work they produced during the 2024 calendar year. The Farmer won 27 awards overall, including 12 first-place awards of the 25 categories in the contest. The newspaper competes in Division III of the contest, reserved for weekly newspapers with large circulation. Among the first-place awards was one for General Excellence, the most-coveted award. Members of the South Dakota Press Association, who judged this year’s LPA entries, said of The Farmer that “Creative layout pulls in the reader. Great use of photos throughout and an overall clean and organized feel (that lets) the news stories and photos stand out.” St. Tammany Farmer Editor Andrew Canulette said the results are “testament to the hard work this team puts in every day to bring meaningful, truthful, local news to the people of St. Tammany Parish. “We celebrated our 150th anniversary last year, and we’re the oldest business in the parish. This is a fantastic honor, but truthfully, I think our best work has yet to come.” Individual award winners in this year’s contest include: n St. Tammany Farmer sports
Contributing writer
When words aren’t enough, music speaks. This is the motto of Songs of Survivors, a program helping veterans process war trauma through the power of songwriting and music. Personal stories become a basis for poetry that become song lyrics. David St. Romain, founder and executive director of Songs of Survivors, has spent over 30 years in the music industry and released over 65 recordings. He combines his love of serving in the military and his love of music through the philanthropic work of writing songs with veterans. Working alongside him is administrative director Susan Mustafa, a New York Times bestselling author. On a recent Saturday morning in Covington, seven military veterans gathered with St. Romain and Mustafa in a meeting room of American Legion Post 16. Morning began with introductions, and each participating serviceman shared personal, biographical, and military information. They ranged in age from their 40s to their 80s. They are from different walks of life and have varying levels of education. One by one, their individual stories unfolded, and each was as individual as its storyteller. Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Charlton J. Maginley, a retired colonel with the U.S. Air Force, appeared as a surprise guest and listened intently. At one point, he was so moved by a story, he reached into his pocket, produceda card, handed it to the speaker, saying, “Please, please contact me if I can help you.” The program was conducted in partnership with Maginley’s organization and the Veterans Administration. After the lunch break, the songwriting process began with some unified thoughts and a message the servicemen agreed on earlier that morning: “You can’t forget what you already know.” St. Romain has a gift for music; he also
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Cadence Cyrene walks off stage with the diploma she was just handed at Mandeville High School’s 2025 graduation ceremony May 6 at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.
INSIDE ä Mandeville High graduates. Page 8A ä Pope John Paul II celebrates graduating class. Page 8A ä Slidell High sees off Class of 2025. Page 8A ä Graduates bid farewell to Fontainebleau. Page 9A ä Lakeshore holds commencement ceremony. Page 9A ä Pearl River seniors mark end of high school. Page 9A
ä See FARMER, page 2A
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ä See VETS, page 2A
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