DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND
ADVOCATE THE LIVINGSTON -TANGIPAHOA
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, N ov e m b e r 5, 2025
1GN
Darlene Denstorff
Charles Salzer
Events planned at the library
Doyle High heads to volleyball playoffs
SPORTS ROUNDUP
AROUND LIVINGSTON
The Denham Springs-Walker Branch of the Livingston Parish Library has a packed scheduled throughout November. For more information, call (225) 686-4140 or visit www.mylpl. info. Check out these events: n Wednesday, Nov. 5, 11 a.m., Beginning Spanish (ages 18+): Ready to learn Spanish? Join this beginner Spanish class for adults. No experience needed. Build conversation skills, learn essential vocabulary, and explore Spanish culture in a supportive, pressure-free setting. Registration is required. n Thursday, Nov. 6, 6 p.m., Marble Madness (ages 8-12: Love puzzles, games and fidgets? Make all in one at Marble Madness, where you can make a fun, portable marble puzzle toy. Registration is required. n Saturday, Nov. 8, 9 a.m., Safe and In Charge: Sitter Superstars (ages 10-14): This course offered at no charge by the Louisiana Firefighters Foundation teaches valuable lessons in babysitting. Participants will learn basic child care, life safety, business skills, and essential first aid techniques, including CPR and choking response. Registration is required. Visit louisianafirefighters.com/community/safesitter to register for this stellar event. n Monday, Nov. 10, 5:30 p.m., Spanish II (ages 18+): This Spanish II course builds on foundational language skills to help returning adult learners gain greater fluency and confidence in Spanish communication. Students will expand their vocabulary, master more complex grammatical structures, and develop stronger conversational abilities through practical, real-world scenarios. Registration is required. n Wednesday, Nov. 12, 11 a.m., Beginning Spanish (ages 18+): Ready to learn Spanish? Join this beginner Spanish class for adults. Registration is required. n Wednesday, Nov. 12, 1 p.m., Seaux Easy (ages 18+) Whether you’re an experienced needleworker or just want to learn to sew, you’ll enjoy the fun projects made once a month during this sewing club. Please register if this is your first time joining us. All participants provide
As a young adult, Baton Rouge resident Stan Masinter first heard the “call of the pipes.” And he quickly answered. Thirty-five years later, he continues to play the bagpipes, introducing people to Celtic music throughout the area as an active member of Baton Rouge Caledonian Pipes and Drums, the city’s oldest pipe band. “I knew I wanted to make those sounds,” he said of his first introduction to what would become his passion. Masinter’s bagpipes appeared to be the appropriate welcome to the Livingston Parish Festival on Oct. 25 at the parish library in Livingston, which for its 10th anniversary, had a Renaissance theme. He spent what turned
When Doyle High started its varsity volleyball program four years ago, there might have been a question about whether it could live up to the standard of excellence that had already been established by the school’s other athletic programs. Two weeks ago, as Doyle put the finishing touch on its second consecutive district title with a win over St. Helena, the answer was clear. Doyle has again shown it has the athletes to compete at state levels of competition. Turning athletes into volleyball players might have sounded like a multi-year task, but Doyle made the playoffs in its first year, and hasn’t missed them yet. Credit goes to head coach Ashlie Byrnes and assistant Angela Edwards. Doyle’s first four-year class of seniors — Faith Bridges, Mandy Cade, Rorie Calais, Bonnie Henderson, Allie Lebourgeois, Harley Lovell and Kenzie Smith also deserve recognition. “It’s been a great journey,” Lovell said after her team’s late-season win over district rival St. Thomas Aquinas. “I started here in eighth grade and then just kept going. We’ve all grown together as a team, even coach Ashlie, and I’m really glad we’ve made it this far.” Being a close-knit group has made team chemistry a natural thing. “We’ve grown up together inside and outside of volleyball,” Lebourgeois said. “That’s helped develop our team and our friendship. It’s really affected us on the court and how we play.” This year, Doyle’s play on the court was good enough to produce wins over every other team in Livingston Parish, a program first. Notable in that achievement were wins over Live Oak, Denham Springs and Walker, the parish’s three Division I teams, and they have helped set the table for the playoffs, which begin this week. Doyle will have an experienced group of seniors to rely on.
ä See BOOK, page 3G
ä See SALZER, page 2G
PHOTOS BY RICHARD MEEK
Caribbean author Baptise Paul gave an entertaining presentation, discussing his upbringing in poverty on an island during the Livingston Parish Library’s Book Festival.
in the
BOOK
Livingston book-lovers come together for annual Library Book Festival
Baton Rouge’s Stan Masinter spreads a Celtic vibe with his bagpipes during the Livingston Parish Library Book Festival in Livingston on Oct. 25.
BY RICHARD MEEK Contributing writer
ä See AROUND, page 2G
renames part of La. 3002 Livingston library board settles DOTD for officer who died in line of duty lawsuit over open meetings law Community news report
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
The Livingston Parish Library Board has opted to settle a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Liz Murrill alleging the board violated the state’s open meetings law when it ousted its library director in July. The board and Parish President Randy Delatte voted unanimously Tuesday to accept a settlement that requires all library board members to complete training on the open meetings law. The agreement also nullified the removal of the director, but because it was later ratified, the removal is still in place. There is no financial burden to the library board from the settlement, said District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, who represented the li-
brary board. “I think it’s a good settlement for the board. It dismisses all the board members from the lawsuit and ends the litigation completely with minimal burden on the board,” Perrilloux said. “It doesn’t hurt any public body to get the training.” The AG’s Office filed the lawsuit in September alleging the board, which includes Delatte as an ex officio member, violated mandatory agenda requirements, misled the public and suppressed participation in public comment at its July 15 meeting. During the meeting, Delatte and a majority of board members voted not to renew the contract of library director Michelle Parrish. The vote followed a two-hour executive session for Parrish’s annual evaluation, which the public
initially was told would not result in any action. The meeting’s agenda also did not originally have an item to renew, or not renew, Parrish’s contract. Several parish residents filed a formal complaint to the AG’s Office after that meeting. “We have worked cooperatively with the board’s representatives and hope that we have arrived at a solution that satisfies all concerns,” Murrill wrote in a statement. Perrilloux said he has not previously handled a case specifically like this one before. “I think it’s highly unusual for the attorney general to file a suit like this,” he said. Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.
Family, former co-workers and friends gathered last week to watch as DOTD erected two signs on La. 3002, known as South Range Avenue, to U.S. Highway 190 in the memory of the late Denham Springs Police Cpl. Shawn Kelly, who was shot in the line of duty May 11, 2023. Kelly died from his injuries on June 2, 2023. In early June, Gov. Jeff Landry signed a proclamation dedicating the Corporal Shawn Kelly Memorial Boulevard. Police initially responded to calls about an argument between a man and a woman in the parking lot outside Petco, law enforcement officials have said. Once officers arrived, the suspect, identified by authorities as 30-year-old Justin Roberts of Denham Springs, began
PHOTO BY DAVID NORMAND
Seven-year-old Liam Kelly, Cpl. Shawn Kelly’s son, holds a miniature sign that family ä See OFFICER, page 2G members received.