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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, Au g u s t 13, 2025
151ST YEAR, NO. 44
50¢N
Parish Council urges state to address water quality concerns BY WILLIE SWETT
Staff writer
The St. Tammany Parish Council formally asked the state to address parish residents’ concerns about a private water utility company, following an animated discussion last week about a resolution that will ultimately be more symbolic than anything else. The final version of the resolution, which the council passed 10-3 after an hour of debate, does not point to any specific provider.
Empty nest hits home, but the door is always open Boxes are stacked halfway to the ceiling in multiple rooms of our home. Mounds of clothes sit folded on various chests of drawers, and toiletries of all manner are strewn across bathroom counters. Every suitcase we own lies on the floor, and curious cats occasionally nose their way in, Andrew cozying up between Canulette socks, pajamas and ANDREW’S bed linens. ANGLE No, we’re not planning a rummage sale or a trip around the world. And hell no — we’re not moving. Truth is, back in 2013, when I was dragged (practically kicking and literally screaming) into this house, I vowed the next time I move, it would be in a body bag. And I meant it. That was a different time, though, when we moved back home to Slidell following a sixyear existential crisis in Mandeville. It was a relatively short stay, one set in motion by my former employer, which required me to move in 2007 to the west side of St. Tammany to help run the newspaper’s northshore bureau a few miles north in Covington. Residency requirements were a thing back then, and the job offered a promotion I gladly accepted, considering we still were recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Slidell had taken the brunt of the storm’s rampage in St. Tammany, after all, and we had no idea if anything was secure in the world at that moment. The move did offer stability — until it didn’t. After more than 200 of us were handed a pink slip in June 2012, my family returned home to the sanctity of Slidell. This is the same home that looks like Led Zeppelin and Martha Stewart partied here the past few months. And our youngest is the reason. She was less than a year old when we set out for Mandeville — sparkling eyes, porcelain skin, dark brown hair, and a sense of wonder that made
ä See ANGLE, page 4A
Instead, it asks St. Tammany’s legislative delegation, the Louisiana Department of Health and the Public Service Commission to respond to residents’ concerns about private utilities more generally. But the impetus for the resolution was undoubtedly Magnolia Water, a private utility company that provides water and sewer to at least 62,000 customers in the parish and that has faced recent scrutiny as residents complain of quality issues and dramatic
“They (Public Service commissioners) are ultimately the ones that regulate this. But, we are your voice.”
around the country and rehabilitates them. The company’s CEO, Josiah Cox, was grilled by St. Tammany residents at a town hall in Slidell in January, where he said the DAVID COUGLE, higher water bills are paying for Parish Council member much needed infrastructure improvements that are improving increases in their bills. water quality. Magnolia Water is operated by In June, Magnolia customers Central States Water Resources, took complaints of brown, smelly a Missouri-based, investor-owned water to the Parish Council. company that purchases failing Magnolia isn’t the only utility waste water and water systems that has sparked residents’ ire in
recent years, but council members say they have limited control over utilities. Instead, it’s the Public Service Commission, the Louisiana Department of Health or the state Legislature that have that power, they say. “They are ultimately the ones that regulate this,” Council member David Cougle said at the meeting. “But, we are your voice,” he added. Cougle helped Parish Council
ä See WATER, page 2A
‘It’s good to have them back.’ Gayle Sloan Middle School Principal Amanda Keller
PROVIDED PHOTO BY CURTIS BAHAM
Curtis Baham during his playing days at Covington High School.
Curtis Baham made his mark at Covington, Tulane and in the NFL Editor’s note: There was such a positive response to our “Where Are They Now?” stories last year that we brought the series back. We asked that question about some of the best athletes in local sports and then we went out and found them. This week, we feature former Covington, Tulane and NFL player Curtis Baham.
STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER
Principal Amanda Keller greets teachers and students in the hallway during the first day of school at Gayle Sloan Middle School in Mandeville on Aug. 6.
BY DARREN COOPER
What are the big issues as students return to school?
BY BOB WARREN Staff writer
As St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Frank Jabbia walked into Room 308 at Gayle Sloan Middle School in Mandeville bright and early Aug. 6, a class full of fourth graders was already deep into one of its first lessons of the day. Fourth graders are the newbies on this campus of more than 500 kids in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, and teacher Taylor Morgan was walking them through the various things they could do
in the classroom to take on leadership roles. Jabbia has said promoting leadership will be a big push across the school district this year. “I want you to jump in and be the leaders in the classroom,” Jabbia told the kids. Similar scenes were playing out on campuses across St. Tammany Parish that day as students returned to the classrooms after the summer break. As it has in recent years, the district opted for a staggered start: half the students
Curtis Baham has gone from a wonder on the field to a wonderful life. He was the first Black starting quarterback at Covington High School and led the Lions to the state semifinals in 1979 as a junior, one of two years he helped the team to a district championship. He remembers many of the plays, the players and all the best moments in vivid detail. After a hot recruiting battle, he went to Tulane, where he excelled for a Green Wave team that made history. He made it to the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. Now 62, Baham is a one-man business leader, still connected to the nursery business his father founded in 1967. His Curtis Baham Sports Events (CBSE) prides itself on providing tickets and luxury
ä See SCHOOL, page 4A
ä See BAHAM, page 2A
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