COVINGTON • FOLSOM • LACOMBE • MADISONVILLE • MANDEVILLE • SLIDELL
ST. TAMMANY
N O L A.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, J u n e 10, 2026
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Sheriff Randy Smith charged with felony battery Longtime lawman faces two charges of disturbing the peace, as well BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer
In a stunning turn of events for St. Tammany Parish’s most powerful law enforcement official, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith was arrested and booked into the Tangipahoa Parish jail on June 4 on counts of felony battery and disturbing the PROVIDED BY THE LOUISIANA BUREAU OF peace, accused of physically attacking a voINVESTIGATIONS cal online critic at a steakhouse near MadiSt. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith sonville on May 29. booking photo Smith, who has run the St. Tammany
Teachers get rare meeting to air issues at Lyon Elementary
Sheriff’s Office for almost a decade, was released a short time later on a $10,000 bond. He faces one count of second-degree battery, a felony, and two counts of disturbing the peace, which is a misdemeanor. Smith said in a prepared statement that he plans to continue in his role as sheriff. Smith is accused of attacking St. Tammany Parish resident Bobby Couvillion in the bar at Keith Young’s Steakhouse. The incident has been the talk of the parish since that day, with some residents calling for Smith to resign.
As he was being booked in Amite, the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office issued a news release on Smith’s arrest. In it, Smith said he was sorry for the “stress and burden” he caused his family, parish residents and Sheriff’s Office employees. He said that as sheriff, he has had to ignore “hundreds of personal attacks directed at me by an individual who hides behind a computer screen,” a likely reference to Couvillion. Couvillion is a harsh critic of Smith,
ä See SMITH, page 2A
Covington Police Chief Mike Ferrell retiring
People to see …
Staff asked for insight on school leadership
Deputy Chief Kevin Collins his likely successor
BY JIM DERRY
BY ANDREW CANULETTE
One week after two former administrators of Lyon Elementary School in Covington were arrested on charges of allegedly failing to report abuse, St. Tammany Parish Schools Superintendent Frank Jabbia held a rare meeting with members of the faculty and staff there. He said he did so in hopes of reassuring employees that the school’s future leaders will reflect the desire of teachers and others to improve disciplinary standards that many say have been almost nonexistent for quite some time. Former Principal Lauryn Faciane and Assistant Principal Tonya Barth were reassigned from Lyon soon after they were released on bond the same day they were arrested on May 27. And Jabbia said, “We have to move forward.” At the April 16 school board meeting, in a rare moment where grievances were aired in public, eight teachers and parents each told stories of how morale has rapidly deteriorated due to behavior issues that have long been swept under the rug and left unaddressed. Kelli Ellis, who has been a teacher at the school for three years and has worked in the system for six, was one of those who was unafraid
When Michael Ferrell was named Covington’s police chief in the summer of 2021, his key goals were to bring order to the young department’s officers, burnish the agency’s then-tarnished reputation, and, of course, to Ferrell fight crime in the parish seat, population 12,000. Following 34 years in local law enforcement, Ferrell will retire effective June 30 with the confidence he’s met each of those goals. His boss, Covington Mayor Mark Johnson, emphatically agreed. “He took a department of young officers, 70-80% had less than five years’ experience, and coached them up into stand-up law enforcement professionals. Following his mantra of “If you can’t be professional, leave the profession,” he trained them up not only in the use of traditional police skills but also in the use of discretion, empathy and accountability.” Ferrell, 56, grew up in Lafitte on New Orleans’ West Bank. He longed to enter the U.S. Marine Corps as a teenager, but opted instead for local police work when
Contributing writer
Staff writer
PROVIDED PHOTO
Jet and Kelly Cox Vicari walk the halls of a Covington nursing and rehab facility on their way to the next patient or client on their visitation list. ä See story. PAGE 6A
ä See LYON, page 4A
ä See CHIEF, page 3A
Former Northlake Christian star Kyren Whittington brought passion to the court Editor’s note: “Where are they now?” The St. Tammany Farmer asked that question about some of the best athletes in local sports history and then we went out and found them. Throughout this summer, we’ll reacquaint readers with some of these familiar faces. We’ll take a deep dive into the success stories that began in parish youth leagues, continued at local high schools and then colleges near and far. Many of these homegrown talents played professional sports, too, reaching the pinnacle of athletic achievement. This week, we feature Folsom native and basketball sensation Kyren Whittington.
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who walks into the school’s Folsom native Wood Gymnasium. A four-sport athlete for the now working toward Wolverines, there’s a banner in the gym listing off her basketdoctorate ball accomplishments — the in physical therapy sport she focused on starting
BY MIKE PERVEL Contributing writer
Folsom native Kyren Whittington’s mark on Northlake Christian is visible to anyone
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Tulane guard Kyren Whittington drives to the basket past LSU guard Last-Tear Poa on Nov. 20, 2024 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.
her junior season. Four-time All-State. Fourtime All-Metro. Four-time AllParish. Five-time All-District. Three-time District MVP.
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK
ä See PASSION, page 2A
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