THE ZACHA Y
ADVOCATE& T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 7, 2026
$1.00N
12TH YEAR, NO. 13
Looking at Zachary’s political scene in 2025 Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY
Support Zachary High baseball The Zachary High Baseball Auction is Jan. 24 at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Activity Center. The silent auction, cocktails and a buffet start at 5 p.m., followed by the live auction at 7:30 p.m. Entrance is a $30 donation for a ticket. Only 300 tickets are available. Contact coach Jacob Fisher or a team member to purchase tickets.
Urgent care moves FastLane, an urgent care clinic, has moved to 2335 Church St. within Lane Family Practice. Clinic hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. No appointment is necessary.
BY OLIVIA MCCLURE Contributing writer
If 2025 was any indication of how 2026 — an election year in Zachary — might go, observers of the city’s political scene would be well advised to strap in and buckle up for an eventful ride. Elected leaders spent the past year arguing over everything from zoning and land use rules to tax issues to the way they interact with one another at public meetings. Officials grappled with rising costs, accusations of impropriety and a lawsuit. And the city and the school district both saw proposals
fail at the polls. Here’s a closer look at some highlights from 2025.
Drama at the council If there was a common thread that ran through meetings of the City Council in 2025, it was the 3-2 vote. Many decisions were made with the support of only a slim majority. Members of the panel frequently struggled to get along, frustrating themselves and Mayor David McDavid, who moderates the meetings. Typically, but not always, the council divided itself into camps made up of Brandy Westmore-
land, John LeBlanc and Ambre DeVirgilio on one side and James Graves and Jennifer Landry on the other. The feuding factions took turns accusing each other — and occasionally the administration — of being bad at communication and transparency. The year kicked off with leftover controversy from 2024 as council members toyed with the idea of a moratorium on residential development — a step they ultimately did not take. A related debate over Zachary’s growing pains and infrastructure woes led to the council — on a split vote — enlarging the minimum lot size requirements in
the residential estate and residential rural zonings. At a meeting where the matter was discussed in February, council members aired their disagreements even as a fourth grader sat with them at the dais as part of a “councilman for a day” program. The spectacle set the tone for the rest of the year. Fast-forward to July, when the council was presented with a request from the administration to roll forward the property tax rate from 5.07 to 5.48 mills. LeBlanc claimed City Attorney John
ä See POLITICAL, page 4G
A look at Zachary through the images of 2025 — Part 2
The legacy of MLK In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and Justice Sunday, head to the Baker Branch Library at 3 p.m. Jan. 10 for a viewing of his “I Have a Dream” speech, followed by dialogue with Charles Vincent, Baker City Council member and president of the Mwalimu Institute. School supplies will be provided by Vincent to the first eight students in attendance. Email Leila Pitchford at lpitchford@theadvocate.com.
Warren Brady ZACHARY SPORTS
Ringing in the new year with Zachary sports Happy new year to all our readers and let’s hope for a fantastic 2026 with multiple championships and stories of great achievement. Speaking of achievement, congratulations to senior linebacker Dylan Shelmire for being named to the Louisiana Sports Writers Association first team 5A All-State. Shelmire will be heading to Southeastern Louisiana University to play for the Lions. Junior wide receiver Ethan Kimmie was named honorable mention.
Kicking in 2026 The ZHS boys and girls soccer teams have had a busy December and are raring to go in January. The Zachary boys are 8-2-2 at the time of writing and are 11th in the Division I power rankings. They are riding a four-game winning streak entering 2026 and will be home against Dutchtown Jan, 9, Catholic Jan. 13 and Central January 17. The ZHS girls soccer team has started strong with an 8-3-2 record and are ranked 22nd in the Division I power rankings. The girls have won four of their last five with a tie in their last game against Dutchtown
ä See BRADY, page 4G
STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JOHNSON
A young water skier carries an American Flag for the start of Louisiana Night Jam at Bennett’s Water Ski and Wakeboard School on June 7 in Zachary. BY LEILA PITCHFORD Staff writer
Last week we looked at the eyecatching photos from the first part of 2025. This week we follow with the second half of the year. Remember to send photos of your 2026 events to The Plainsman at zachary@ theadvocate. com or to The Watchman and The Democrat to extra@ theadvocate.com. ä More photos from 2025. PAGES 2G & 3G
Crew members hold open the mouth of the Delta Breeze hot air balloon as a large fan helps to inflate the balloon at the third annual Zachary Really Hot Air Balloon Festival on Aug. 9 in Zachary.