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, D e c e m b e r 3, 2025
152ND YEAR, NO. 8
50¢N
Noto is Slidell CAO after council amends job qualifications bachelor’s degree and a Experience master’s degree, as well as years of progressive supersedes education five managerial experience in government. in this case, Slidell municipal Noto does not have a City Council agrees college degree, but the 40-
BY SARA PAGONES
Contributing writer
Mike Noto, Slidell Mayor Randy Fandal’s choice to serve as his chief administrative officer, became official Nov. 25 after the City Council voted to allow job experience to substitute for higher education requirements for the post. The job originally required a
year veteran of city and Noto parish government was Fandal’s choice to serve as his second in command. The City Council amended the ordinance to allow 20 years of managerial experience with a public entity in lieu of any degree requirement, although the job description also says that a master’s degree is preferred. Council member Cindi King
said she had reservations about removing the education requirement but that she “wholeheartedly agrees” that Noto’s hiring is the right decision. “I want to be as supportive of our new mayor as we can be,” she said. Council member Kenneth Tamborella said that the chief administrative officer serves at the pleasure of the mayor and that Noto is Fandal’s choice. He acknowledged there were concerns about the education requirement — as reflected in four different versions of wording that were considered — but added, “we also respect Mike and
know that he can do the job.” Tamborella also pointed out that the amended ordinance says that a master’s degree is preferred. The council voted 8-1 for the change, with council member at large Bill Borchert voting no. Fandal thanked the council for the decision, noting that he and Noto together have a combined 85 years’ experience in local government. Noto said he began working for the city as a laborer, working his way up to eventually become the city’s public operations director. After working for the city for 30 years, he went to work for St. Tammany Parish as assistant director of public works and then was hired
HOLIDAYS START ON RIGHT FOOT
by former Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer as deputy CAO, a post he held for six years. Noto said he returned to the city at the request of Fandal, who he said was a friend since childhood. In other action, the council voted to allow residential trash collection to begin at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. The city was already allowing garbage trucks to begin at 5 a.m. during the months of May through August because of the heat. Tamborella said the earlier start also gets trucks out of neighborhoods before most school buses begin their routes, and that prompted the request to make the change permanent.
St. Tammany Parish honors artists and arts patrons BY KADEE KRIEGER Contributing writer
St. Tammany artists from every genre and the patrons who support them gathered Nov. 20 to toast the culturally rich environment they help to create in the parish and to honor the year’s standouts chosen by the Parish President and the parish Commission on Cultural Affairs. The commission presented the 19th P r e s i d e n t ’s Arts Awards ceremony at the River Mill PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN Event Center St. Tammany Parish at the Coquille Sports Complex President Mike Cooper near Covington. presides over the 19th H o n o r e e s President’s Arts Awards received rec- ceremony at the River Mill ognition as the year’s best art- Event Center at the Coquille ist in five cat- Sports Complex near egories of arts Covington on Nov. 20. — performing, visual, literary, musical and culinary. The commission also presented awards for the patron of the year, outstanding service, lifetime achievement and a President’s award.
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
And ... they’re off! Competitors in the annual Tammany Turkey Trot begin the 5K race in downtown Covington on Nov. 27. The run of time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, known collectively
ä MORE PHOTOS. PAGE 2A
as “The Holidays,” can be a time of stress
fantastic time outdoors at the Tammany Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27. Entrants could choose between a
for many. But for several hundred smart souls,
5K race (the most popular distance at this event), a
the 2025 Holiday Season began with a 5-kilometer
5-mile race or a 1-mile fun run.
run or walk through the streets of downtown
Slidell’s Adam Merkle won the 5K men’s race
Covington.
in 17 minutes, 3 seconds. Alden Sonnier, of
Cool temperatures and sunny skies made for a
ä See HONORS, page 2A
Mandeville, placed first in the women’s 5K in 19:11.
Thankful for the helping hands that feed hundreds
Sandra Schexnayder and Sugai Barker (celebrating her 100th birthday) partake in a traditional Thanksgiving meal at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Slidell on Nov. 27. The community meal has grown since feeding about 50 people in 1999. This year, some 1,400 hot meals were served (either on site or via delivery) to hungry people throughout Slidell, Pearl River and Lacombe.
COMMENTARY
BY SUZIE HUNT
Contributing writer It’s pretty cool to be part of a longstanding tradition, to work hard to sustain something that has touched people’s lives for decades. I have the privilege of helping feed people on Thanksgiving Day. Not just my family, but hundreds of people I’ve never met. The proverbial table spans across Slidell
and reaches to Lacombe and Pearl River. The tradition is the Community Thanksgiving Dinner in Slidell, and it’s been going on since 1999. That first year, a small band of people, led by the late Tim Dunn, cooked turkey and fixings for 50 people for whom
SAVE $ 72 1
SAVE up $ 96 to 5
SAVE 20 ¢
LB
SAVE $ 11 2
PHOTO BY MATTHEW DOBBINS
ä See THANKFUL, page 2A
When You Buy 4
LB
Ground Fresh In Store Several Times Daily! VALUE PACK
80% Lean Ground Beef
— ONLY —
3
$ 88 LB
PREVIOUSLY FROZEN
Chicken Wings
1
$ 77 LB
— ONLY —
— ONLY —
— ONLY — 14.5 - 15 OZ CAN SELECTED
Always Save Vegetables
Green Beans, Corn or Sweet Peas
49 ¢ Limit 12
24 PACK HALF LITERS
Rouses Drinking Water
visit rouses.com for more weekly ad specials!
10
4/$
Prices good at all New Orleans, Gretna, Kenner, Metairie, Marrero, Slidell, Mandeville and Covington stores December 3rd - December 10th, 2025.