ABITA SPRINGS • BARKER’S CORNER • BUSH • COVINGTON • FOLSOM • LACOMBE MADISONVILLE • MANDEVILLE • PEARL RIVER • SLIDELL
Farmer The St.Tammany
Scan here to sign up for our weekly newsletter, The North Shore Report
S T TA M M A N Y FA R M E R.N E T
|
W e d n e s d ay, S e p t e m b e r 10, 2025
50¢N
151ST YEAR, NO. 48
St. Tammany school system ends fiscal year with big surplus Half of savings will go to school employees, half to rainy-day fund
BY ANDREW CANULETTE
erations, the St. Tammany Parish School System mustered a $16.3 million surplus during the fiscal At a time when some parish year ending June 30, 2025, the disagencies are searching high and trict’s chief financial officer said low for money to fund general op- last week.
Staff writer
CFO Terri Prevost announced the windfall during a Sept. 4 committee meeting of the St. Tammany Parish School Board in Covington. She said of that total, some $8 million came from savings on the
district health insurance policy, which had lower premiums than in previous fiscal years. Another $1.7 million was saved on worker compensation claims, Prevost said, and sales tax collections were more than $5 million higher than she accounted for in the budget. As part of the collective
bargaining agreement the district and its employee union reached in 2022, half of the surplus (some $8.15 million) will be divided equally among school system employees. The other half will go into the school’s general fund,
ä See SURPLUS, page 2A
LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Prep football season kicks off across St. Tammany
ä More opening game photos.
BY ANDREW CANULETTE Staff writer
PAGE 4A
The 2025 prep football season began Sept. 5 at stadiums across St. Tammany Parish, and the customary fanfare and excitement that go with opening week were on full display. Students jammed the bleachers, costumed (or at least color-coordinated) to show their spirit. Parents, grandparents and siblings watched anxiously from the sidelines. The school
ä Game coverage. SECTION B
bands had extra pep in their step and the cheerleaders were at their loudest, though it didn’t take much to whip the fans into a frenzy. The St. Tammany Farmer is the only place to get stories, photos, stats, quotes and more
PHOTO BY MATT DOBBINS
Hannan’s Hunter Lay, left, and Paul Hoyt celebrate after the last play of the game as the Hawks beat ä See FOOTBALL, page 4A Northlake Christian, 14-13, on Sept. 5.
FROM SHADOWS TO SPOTLIGHT
ELECTION 2025 SLIDELL MAYOR
Candidates’ Old friends team up on race forum planned for first responder families on Sept. 11 for Oct. 11 election Staff report Slidell Mayor Bill Borchert and Police Chief Randy Fandal are expected to meet and answer questions Sept. 11 at American Legion Post 185, located at 1680 St. Ann Place. The forum with mayoral candidates will be hosted by the Hermadel/Carolyn Park/Bayou Cache Residents’ Association. Group representative Cindy Alberts said each candidate will make a brief opening statement; then answer moderated questions Alberts collected in advance; engage next in a rapid fire Q & A with yes-no answers; take two questions each from the audience; and finish with a 2-minute statement. Doors will open about 6:20 p.m. and the
ä See FORUM, page 2A
St. Tammany Parish hosts hundreds of popular events each year and you can guarantee, whether crawfish cook-off or Carnival parade, there’s always a team of dedicated people behind the scenes making the party possible. With that in mind, The St. Tammany Farmer has asked organizers of some of our favorite events who that special someone is for their particular event. Who are the people we don’t know who really make things go? Who are the heroes who shun the spotlight in favor of quietly get the job done? We’re going to feature one of these invaluable people each week. It’s a way of previewing an upcoming event, but also a way to say “Thank you” to the community at large — the people who “do right” because it’s the “right thing to do.” We’re calling it “From Shadows to Spotlight” and we hope you enjoy getting to know these folks as much as we’ll enjoy introducing them to you.
Contributing writer
Once there were two childhood friends who grew up to have hearts for serving their community, and years later, it was what brought Jeff Mayo and Stephen Michell back together. On Saturday, Sept. 13, the fourth annual Never Forget 5K Run/Walk will begin at the St. Tammany Trailhead. Creating and bringing it to life has been a labor of love for these two men. Michell, Michell, president of the Never Forget Foundation and also Covington’s acting fire chief, organized the first “Never Forget 5K Run/Walk” in St. Tammany in 2022, patterning it after the national “Tunnel to Towers” effort that supported the 9/11 families of fallen first responders. Upon learning of the new memorial and fundraising event here at home, Mayo, a retired St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s — Andrew Canulette, editor, St. Tammany deputy, contacted his old friend. Farmer
SAVE 20 ¢
SAVE 70 ¢
BY MARGARET ALBERT
PHOTO BY BOBBY GILBOY
Retired St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputy Jeff Mayo shuns the spotlight and thrives helping others behind the scenes. Most recently, Mayo has busied himself helping his old friend Stephen Michell and the Never Forget nonprofit the Covington firefighter organized to benefit the families of local first defenders who have died or ä See RACE, page 2A been seriously injured in the line of duty.
SAVE $ 12 1
SAVE $ 50 3
LB
— ONLY —
USDA GRADE A SANDERSON FARMS
Whole Chicken
Limit 2
99
¢
LB
— ONLY —
14.5 - 15 OZ CAN SELECTED
Always Save Vegetables Limit 12
49
¢
— ONLY —
GALLON
Rouses Vegetable Oil
7
$ 49
Louisiana Local 4 LB BAG GRANULATED
2
$ 87
Rouses 100% Louisiana Sugar
visit rouses.com for more weekly ad specials!
— ONLY —
Prices good at all New Orleans, Gretna, Kenner, Metairie, Marrero, Slidell, Mandeville and Covington stores September 10th - September 17th, 2025.