ABITA SPRINGS • BARKER’S CORNER • BUSH • COVINGTON • FOLSOM • LACOMBE MADISONVILLE • MANDEVILLE • PEARL RIVER • SLIDELL
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, O c t o b e r 1, 2025
50¢N
FALL FEST in FOLSOM
Slidell’s deal to buy North Shore Square dead
It was a gorgeous day in the Wholesome
Folsom neighborhood for the village’s first
BY BOB WARREN
fall festival, and folks made the most of it.
Staff writer
There was a patch of pumpkins, especially
A week after the city pulled the plug on efforts to buy the nearly empty North Shore Square Mall, Slidell officials voted down the special sales taxes they enacted to raise money to pay for a potential mall purchase. Acting as officers of the Northshore Square Economic Development District, the Slidell City Council on Sept. 23 eliminated an additional 1% sales tax at stores and a 2% tax at hotels within the district, which roughly covers the mall site and stores along Northshore Boulevard. The district had adopted the taxes several weeks ago, with the revenue to be used to back bonds that would be sold to cover the purchase of the mall. The council had authorized Mayor Bill Borchert in August to enter into a letter of intent to negotiate with the mall’s owners, Morguard, for the purchase and, more recently, narrowly approved a measure for the city to issue $27.6 million in bonds. Borchert in August had said he and Morguard representatives were looking at a purchase price of around of $12.4 million for the 621,000-square-foot building, which sits on more than 50 acres at a high-profile site on Northshore Boulevard at Interstate 12. But two weeks ago, Borchert announced that the city was backing away from buying the mall, or at least from purchasing the entire mall, because Morguard had already entered into a purchase agreement with another company for two of the larger former anchor sites at the mall. The company working to finalize that purchase has not been publicly named. The city said it would instead let private investors take the lead and support them where it could. The city’s possible purchase of the mall and the enacting of the sales taxes became a
for the little ones, and pots of chili for the hungry ones — batches stirred up by competitive cooks out for bragging rights. There were antique tractors, each with its own provenance, and a mechanical bull for riders looking to create a new bit of their own history. The Sept. 27 fest near Town Hall also featured a homestead conference giving lessons on gardening, canning, keeping backyard chickens, baking sourdough and more; special activities for kids of all ages; a new Wholesome Folsom mural unveiled at the nearby Giddy Up; and a salute to some artists who help make Folsom such a special place for those calling it home.
PHOTOS BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Vivian Abbott looks for the perfect pumpkin at the Folsom Fall Festival on Sept. 27.
Colton Waskom helps daughter Paisley hang on to the pony under the control of Courtney Haik. ä More
photos. PAGE 4A
ä See MALL, page 2A
Ella Pittman gets to know a Maymees Farm chicken.
Skenes, Anderson and Swift sweeten Miracle League raffle BY DARREN COOPER Contributing writer
A signed Paul Skenes jersey? Nice. A signed baseball jersey by Madisonville’s own Kade Anderson? Now we’re talking. In addition to both of those items, Miracle League Northshore has a signed Taylor Swift guitar as a prize for its raffle drawing October 25 about 12:30 p.m., following the morning’s Miracle League games. “We think we have almost every
Time to eat, treat and be sorta’ scary in St. Tammany BY JESSICA SAGGIO Contributing writer
genre covered, baseball and music,” laughed Madisonville councilman Tim Bounds, an Anderson family friend and supporter of Miracle League Northshore. “We will have some places set up where people can buy tickets. We are excited about the opportunity.” All tickets cost $20 with the chance to win the guitar — note, the guitar is signed, but not played — and a separate raffle for one of the baseball jerseys. Contestants
PROVIDED PHOTOS
It’s that time of year again. The time to eat, drink and be scary. Spooky season is upon us and with a calendar bursting with activities, there is absolutely no reason to be a Hallo-weenie this year. So get your best costume in order and get going because it’s about to get really busy here on the northshore. There’s something for everyone this Halloween in St. Tammany. Whether you’re looking to take the littles to something tame or sign up for a real scare, the opportunities are there. So grab those calendars and take note, here’s a rundown of the top events in our Halloween 13:
ä See RAFFLE, page 2A
ä See SCARY, page 2A
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