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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, M ay 20, 2026
50¢N
152ND YEAR, NO. 32
Williams elected Slidell police chief Denham, Abney win at large council seats
BY WILLIE SWETT
Staff writer
Tommy Williams was chosen the next police chief of Slidell after he won a majority of the vote on May 16 in a local election that also featured races for several Slidell City Council seats. Williams won a decisive victory, with 65% voters choosing him over Brian Nicaud, according to complete, but unofficial, results from the Secretary of ä More election State’s office. Voter was estimated coverage. PAGE 2A turnout at 29% for the chief’s race, with 5,411 people casting a ballot for either candidate. The race pitted two experienced law enforcement officers against each other, with both touting their decades of police work and promising to keep Slidell a safe community. Both are Republicans and retired from the Slidell Police Department. Williams is a Slidell native whose father was a career Slidell Police Department officer. He spent 14 years in the City of Roswell (Georgia) Police Department before returning home in 2007, where he served in the Slidell Police Department until retiring PHOTO BY MATTHEW DOBBINS in 2015. Tommy Williams, right, beams after he was chosen Slidell’s next police chief on May 16. Williams and supporters gathered at the Sadie Williams will fill a vacancy that opened afJane on election night to await returns, which showed him earning 65 percent of the vote. He’ll take office July 1. With Williams are family ter former Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal won a special election last October to members, his wife Susan Williams, and Slidell Mayor Randy Fandal. serve as Slidell mayor. Fandal was up again Council at-large for mayor on the May 16 ballot, but he ran chief since Fandal left for City Hall. 27% of the vote, and Tom Abney, a RepubThe May 16 ballot also shook up the Slidell unopposed. lican, who won 26%. A total of 8,337 votes Daniel Seuzeneau, CAO of the Slidell City Council, with two at-large seats and five The winners of the at-large races were ä See SLIDELL, page 2A Police Department, has served as interim district seats up for grabs. Leslie Denham, a Democrat, who received
Tchefuncte River breakwater work begins near Madisonville
Saluting those who served on Memorial Day BY JESSICA SAGGIO
Contributing writer
Tucked away in a hidden pocket near Slidell, a gathering of military heroes resides in their final resting place. Some arrived there young and tragically, others peacefully finished their lifelong race against time. But they all have something in common. They are military veterans, vets such as Michael James Guillory, Clarence Thompson and Paul Mahoney Lagasse Jr., who all lived different lives but served their country in earnest. Guillory was a U.S. Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan; Thompson, a sailor in World War I and II; and Lagasse, a Coast Guardsman who served on ships based out of Connecticut. Their experiences were all different, but at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, they all have one more thing in common: They are remembered. Every Memorial Day, the bright green lawn hidden at the end of a long and winding tree-lined street off an Interstate 12 service road becomes a sight to behold. Rows upon rows of headstones don tiny American flags, a gesture that starts small but transforms the burial grounds into a sea of red, white and blue. The act of honoring the fallen veterans is significant, and as each flag is placed, the service member’s name is spoken aloud. Former cemetery director and now communications director Daniele Palen said she often quotes an old saying when it comes to the
Officials hope to stymie erosion and flooding in area
BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer
Main Street snakes down from the center of Madisonville in St. Tammany Parish to the boat launch at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River. It’s popular with boaters, and the street is home to restaurants, a library branch and a maritime museum. The problem, according to Madisonville Mayor Jean Pelloat, is that when a strong wind blows from the southeast, it floods. On May 14, contractors started work on a new rock wall in Lake Pontchartrain near the mouth of the Tchefuncte River that Pelloat hopes will help prevent the waters from rising onto Main Street. “This is very exciting,” Pelloat said at a groundbreaking ceremony at the boat launch for the new breakwater. He remembers as a kid how the land used to jut out past where the boat launch currently is. It’s since eroded. “This will really help with surge and protect the roadway, launch,” Pelloat said. The breakwater is “engineered to reduce wave energy and stabilize the shoreline and also designed carefully to maintain the natural flow of water of the river,” said St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper. “This is a major step forward in coastal resilience and shoreline protection,” Cooper said. The breakwater is one of 16 coastal projects that Cooper’s administration is paying for using bonds backed by GOMESA funds. Completed
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD
Jimmy Corkern Jr. exults after finding the king cake baby, making him the Lord of Fools during the 2025 St. John Fools of Misrule parade through downtown Covington. St. Tammany Farmer photographer Scott Threlkeld recently won Best Feature Photo honors in the Louisiana Press Association Better Newspaper Contest for this work.
St. Tammany Farmer shines in LPA Better Newspaper Contest
First-place honorees included Kay Gervais, Gary Hebert Award St. Tammany Farmer staffers and for Best Layout and Design; Jofreelancers won a total of 17 awards seph Halm, Best Web Project; Kain the Louisiana Press Association’s dee Krieger, Best Feature Story; Better Newspaper Contest, results Andrew Canulette, Sam Hanna of which were announced at the Award for Best Regular Column; LPA’s annual convention held May ä See CONTEST, page 3A 8 in Baton Rouge.
Staff reports
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