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Farmer FIDDLES & FIREWORKS 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, J u ly 2, 2025
151ST YEAR, NO. 38
50¢N
FILE PHOTO BY APRIL BUFFINGTON
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser speaks with a participant at the August 2023 Louisiana Travel Summit in Baton Rouge.
Slidell gathers for Heritage Festival
Fontainebleau State Park hotel idea resurfaces Nungesser says hotel-conference center would prop up all state parks
BY BOB WARREN Staff writer
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is again floating the idea of a hotel-conference center for the busy Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville, a proposal that some St. Tammany Parish residents shouted down during a boisterous town hall meeting in 2020. Nungesser, whose office oversees Louisiana state parks, said a hotel-conference center would be built and operated under a public-private partnership and would not only drive tourism but also generate money to help the state pay for maintenance work at its network of public parks. “We’ve got millions (of dollars) in backlogged work,” he said. “We can’t raise (entrance) fees high enough to cover it.” Nungesser has been working to gain support for the proposal. He recently discussed it during a presentation to the Northshore Business Council. “Billy’s looking for partners,” said Ross Lagarde, a St. Tammany lawyer and member of the Business Council. “The (Northshore) Business Council is always in favor of anything that increases tax revenues in St. Tammany Parish.” Nungesser said the proposal is in the early stages, without a specific site or even design in mind. But he knows it will draw intense scrutiny and, likely, some vocal opposition.
PHOTOS BY MATT DOBBINS
By the rocket’s red glare, so to speak, families gathered for the Slidell Heritage Festival on June 28. ä More celebration photos. PAGE 2A It was a day for families to gather and perhaps even share a four-way dance, as Brian and Amanda Rick and their daughters are doing.
It was a day of fiddling, fireworks, fun and philanthropy for families, friends and neighbors gathered on June 28 for another traditional Slidell Heritage Festival to celebrate Independence Day. From pony rides and a putting green for the kids to music from Cajun fiddler Amanda Shaw and the Chee Wees after the night’s fireworks, it was another festival to remember. It was also another festival – a joint venture of the Rotary Club of Slidell and Rotary Club of Slidell Northshore, joined by the city of Slidell, NOLA. com and The St. Tammany Farmer – to raise money for charitable causes. This year’s festival proceeds go to the Boy Scouts Cypress District, East St. Tammany Rainbow Child Care Center, Free NOLA and Hospice House.
ä See CENTER, page 8A
Louisiana Seafood Cook-off takes northshore by storm
BY SUZIE HUNT
Contributing writer The second-line sounds of The Brasshearts greeted ticket holders to the 18th annual Louisiana Seafood Cook-off last weekend, their spirited brass band music helping move the crowd into the competition hall at The Harbor Center. The June 27 event in Slidell was the state cook-off’s debut in St. Tammany
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Terry Billiot, of Cypress Bayou Hotel and Casino, prepares alligator at the ä See SEAFOOD, page 2A Harbor Center in Slidell on June 27.
Editor’s note: There was such a positive response to our “Where Are They Now?” stories last year that we brought the series back to the pages of the St. Tammany Farmer this summer. We asked that question about some of the best athletes in local sports and then we went out and found them. This summer, we’ll reacquaint readers with some of these familiar faces. We’ll take a deep dive into stories that began in youth leagues, continued at local high schools and then colleges near and far. Many of these homegrown talents played professionally, too, reaching the pinnacle of athletic achievement. This week, we feature St. Paul’s grad Ryan Schimpf.
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BY KIM CHATELAIN Contributing writer
At a very young age, Ryan Schimpf and a neighborhood friend would use a stick and a wadded-up ball of tape to play an improvised version of baseball in front of the family’s home. It was back then that Craig Schimpf noticed something about the way his son took a whack at the makeshift ball. Despite having had little instruction, Ryan’s batting stroke was smooth and flawless.
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Covington’s Ryan Schimpf transitions off baseball circuit
Ryan Schimpf “He had a swing that just looked so natural,” Craig Schimpf said. At age 8, Ryan’s hitting
ä See SCHIMPF, page 8A
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