Zachary Plainsman-Advocate 05-06-2026

Council votes again to keep zoning commissioner

BY OLIVIA MCCLURE

Contributing writer

For the second time this year, a divided Zachary City Council allowed Jason Floyd to stay in his seat on the Planning and Zoning

Commission despite missing many of the panel’s meetings. The council’s decision came April 28 at a public hearing, echoing a vote that took place in January In both scenarios, council member James Graves — who

appointed Floyd to serve as a volunteer commissioner

Disposal day set for household hazardous materials

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards announced the city-parish will hold its Spring 2026 Household Hazardous Materials Collection Day from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 9. East Baton Rouge Parish residents are encouraged to stop by LSU Lot 406, off Skip Bertman Drive, to safely dispose of their household hazardous materials. The free event is open to East Baton Rouge Parish residents only and valid identification is required. Commercial waste will not be accepted. For details, including a full list of accepted materials, visit brla.gov/recycle or contact the City-Parish Department of Environmental Services at (225) 389-4865.

Summer sports camps

Zachary High Basketball Legacy Basketball Camp is 8 a.m. to noon May 26–29 at the Zachary High School Gym. Register at https://form.jotform.com/260996159507167. It is for ages 4-14. The Jacob Fisher Baseball Camp is June 8-11 for ages 5-14. It costs $120. Register at https://tinyurl.com/4ey34wey Part of Groom Road closed

Groom Road will be temporarily closed from May 6 to May 20. As part of the Groom Road MOVEBR project infrastructure upgrades are being made to improve drainage. As a result, Groom Road will be closed from Clermont St. to Plank Road to replace cross-drain pipes that will help alleviate local flooding. Through-traffic will be detoured around this area beginning at the intersection of Groom Road and Clermont Street. Drivers will be rerouted through a series of left turns: south to Paola Street, south to Molino Drive, southeast to E. Myrtle Avenue, then east along E. Myrtle Street to Plank Road. Local traffic will be allowed past Clermont St. to access residences, Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Baker Funeral Hom, and Sonic Drive-in Restaurant on the north side of Groom Road. All other area businesses such as Walmart, CenterWell Senior Primary Care Center Wendy’s Restaurant, Dollar Tree, CircleK, Walgreens and the Advantage Charter Academy can be accessed and egressed directly from/to Plank Road.

Library millage election set Election Day for the Library Millage Continuation is June 27. Early voting starts June 13.

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Lane Foundation hosts inaugural Bourbon, BBQ & Wine event

Community news report

The Lane Foundation’s first Bourbon, BBQ & Wine event delivered an afternoon of food, live entertainment and strong community support April 25 at the Lane Walking Track on the campus of Lane Regional Medical Center

Community members and supporters of the Lane Foundation gathered from noon to 4 p.m. to take part in bourbon tastings, barbecue from local vendors, curated wine selections and live music throughout the day

Performances by The Dizzy! Duo, The Dad Band and the Southland Band kept the energy high as guests sampled offerings and connected

with friends and neighbors.

“The event exceeded expectations in every way,” said Lane Foundation Director Liz Sagely “From the quality of the food and entertainment to our incredible guests, it was a great day for our community and for the Foundation’s mission.” Proceeds from the event will support the Lane Foundation’s efforts to enhance health care services, expand programs and improve patient care throughout the region.

The Lane Foundation is looking ahead with plans to expand Bourbon, BBQ & Wine in 2027. For information about the Lane Foundation and its initiatives, visit LaneRMC.org.

Broncos track and field hosts and wins regional meet

The plan was to watch the Zachary High baseball quarterfinal series with Hahnville that was scheduled to start on April 30, but the rain had other ideas The prior day, the regional track and field meet at Zachary High School successfully beat the rain. Coach Chris Carrier noted that “we had a lot of help from parents, teachers and coaches that helped run off a good meet while under the threat of rain all day We ran the last event, the 4x400M relay and right after the end of the track meet, it started pouring down rain.”

In the relays the boys placed second in the 4x100m (41.80), third in the 4x200m (1:26.70), first in the 4x400m (3:18.85) and third in the 4x800m relay (8:01.12)

Warren Brady ZACHARY SPORTS

The Zachary High girls were the overall winners and the boys finished in second place. Top individual finishers and state qualifiers for the boys were Tylek Lewis (second in 100m in 11.01), Maximo Gennaro (second in the 1600m in 4:29.07), Veron Bolden (second in 300m hurdles in 39.31), Keidrick Bailey (second in the discus with a throw of 17210), Connor Conachen (second in the javelin with a throw of 192-9) and Isaac Johanssen (third in the javelin with a throw of 172-4).

Coach Carrier said, “we had some great performances from everyone that competed in the regional track meet. We qualified a lot of athletes, both boys and girls for the state track meet at LSU on May 9 and there is a possibility we could have a spot on the podium at the end of the LHSAA State Track Meet.”

For the girls, top individual and state qualifying performances started with Serenity Early who won the 100m hurdles (14.28) and was third in the 300m hurdles (44.91). Keari Stewart picked up

a third-place finish in the 100m hurdles (14.97) and a second place in the high jump (5-4). J’Niyah Alexander won the triple jump (37-11) and was second in the long jump (17-11). The relays were also a strength with wins in the 4x100m (47.77) and 4x200m (1:40.44) relays, and second-place finishes in the 4x400m (3:57.75) and 4x800m (9:58.11) relays. Kai Richard dominated the throwing events with a win in the discus (138-1) and

ABOVE: Attendees enjoy the shade of VIP seating at the first Bourbon, BBQ & Wine on April 25 at Lane Regional Medical Center RIGHT: Empire Wingz serves food. PROVIDED PHOTO

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athletes started the process.

“I am really proud of all our kids and coaches, the coach said. “The kids that have put in the work and trusted the coaching are reaping the benefits with a chance of winning another 5A Track State Championship,” Carrier said.

Former Broncos headed to NFL Former ZHS football legends wide receiver Chris Hilton and defensive lineman Kameron Hamilton are going to the NFL to represent Zachary on the ultimate stage Hilton’s catch and run to secure the 2018 State Championship secured his Zachary legacy He followed that success with a leap to LSU. Hilton will be joining the Washington Commanders.

Hamilton was the anchor of one of the greatest defensive lines in Zachary High history, and was a punishing force for the 2021 State Championship

COUNCIL

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to records. He was marked as tardy to two meetings in 2025. At the council’s April 14 meeting, Graves ordered Floyd to appear before the panel to explain himself Floyd, despite initially sending city officials a letter saying he wouldn’t come, showed up.

“I decided to attend today because, I’ll be honest, I was seeking legal ramifications,” Floyd said “But I pushed pause because, at the end of the day what we do matters for the city of Zachary The way we get in these meetings and we conduct ourselves in these meetings, it matters to the people of Zachary.” Floyd, who travels often for his job in information technology, said his work obligations have forced him to miss meetings. He has become busier in the past three years after being promoted from an engineer

After a stellar career at Tulane, Hamilton will make the short trip, in New Orleans, back to the Superdome as a Saint. Former Broncos basketball news Ever the prep sports reporter, even in retirement, Robyn Fambrough reached out this week to make sure I was aware of the great things happening at Loyola New Orleans with former Bronco basketballer Alyssa Odell. Quite the season for junior Odell as she was named first team All Louisiana, third-team NAIA AllAmerican, Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year, first-team AllSSAC and All-SSAC Tournament for the second straight season while averaging 16 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. On April 27, she was named the Loyola New Orleans female Athlete of the Year

Warren Brady covers sports for the Advocate/ Plainsman. To contact Brady, email zachary@ theadvocate.com.

working on a single account to a service manager dealing with 85 clients.

But he disputed the attendance records, saying some of the absences should have been marked as tardies instead. He said he always lets the chairwoman of the commission, Mindy Slaughter, know when he’s going to be late or absent. Floyd said he wants to stay on the commission. But, he acknowledged, “sometimes I have to be late” or skip meetings because of work.

“I have a job that, if I don’t work, I will be fired,” he said “I will. It’s that serious.”

He said some of the comments Graves has made about the situation amount to personal attacks.

“I’m never going to attack a man’s character,” Floyd said. “I’m never going to kick a man when he’s down.” Graves, for his part, maintained that Floyd’s frequent absences are unacceptable.

Recalling previous council discussions, he said Floyd had a chance to turn things around but didn’t

Two of our council mem-

Zachary’s Serenity Early clears a hurdle during an April meet.

bers said we should see how it goes and we should give grace,” he said. “Well, I think we’ve come to that point where we’ve gave grace and seen how it goes. And you haven’t shown us any different.”

Mayor David McDavid, who hasn’t said much about the matter at past meetings, questioned Floyd about his absences. He said it’s important for commission members to be active participants in ongoing discussions about a new master plan for the city

“Why don’t you do us all a favor and just resign and let’s move forward from there?” McDavid said.

Floyd, who has less than a year left in his term, responded: “My goal is to finish strong. I would love to finish my term strong.” Jennifer Landry made the motion to remove Floyd.

“It really is not anything personal with you at all,” she said. “I appreciate your willingness to serve in the past, but 12 of 19 meetings is you’re at this point unable to contribute because

you’re missing so many important discussions.”

Later in the meeting, she said clearer commission bylaws — which only recently were located in the city’s archives and were another substantial point of discussion during the meeting — and attendance policies could have prevented the ordeal.

“The chairperson failed him, in my opinion, because this should’ve been handled. It should not have come back to us. It’s embarrassing that it did,” she said. Graves seconded Landry’s motion. But Ambre DeVirgilio, John LeBlanc and Brandy Westmoreland once again voted no, and the motion failed.

Westmoreland, citing information provided by another commission member, said Floyd’s absences never caused the body to lack a quorum nor would they have changed any outcomes. DeVirgilio noted that other commissioners have absences on their records, too.

“It seems odd to me that

this is only now being raised with Commissioner Floyd,” she said. “There’s an argument over important work in the master plan. And so, immediately, and within the next seven months, someone’s going to quickly just step into this role and know what they’re doing and what is going on or even what a master plan is?”

NoticedisherebygivenpursuanttoArticle7,Section23(C)oftheLouisianaConstitutionandR.S.47:1705(B)thatapublic hearingoftheAssessmentDistrictofEast FelicianaParishwillbeheldatits regularmeeting placeatthe Town Hall located at 3337ChurchStreet, Slaughter, LA on July 21,2026at6:30p.m.toconsider levyingadditionalorincreased millage rateswithout furthervoter approval or adopting theadjustedmillage ratesafter reassessmentandrollingforwardtorates nottoexceedthe prioryear’smaximum. Theestimated amount of taxrevenues to be collected in thenextyearfromthe increasedmillage is $54,630.65,and the amount of increase in taxesattributable tothemillageincreaseis$216.89

Zachary student takes next step toward dream of helping others

Community news report

Michaela Doiron hopes to one day design prosthetics for children or veterans, and the Trine University biomedical engineering major has made two big strides toward that dream.

Trine is in Angola, Indiana.

Doiron served as part of a senior design team that developed a waterproof prosthetic for a Fort Wayne paramedic and she earned acceptance to the orthotics and prosthetics program at the Baylor College of Medicine She starts the program June 15.

Combining design with help

tunity to experience different cultures on Baylor’s campus in Houston.

“It is also only 4.5 hours from my home, which makes it easier to stay connected with my family after being away for the past four years,” she said.

Doiron said she always excelled at math and science but wanted to find a field that allowed her to combine helping others with the design process. A neighbor in her hometown of Zachary who was majoring in biomedical engineering explained that major was the perfect combination of doctor and engineer

She followed the mechanical concentration within the biomedical engineering major at Trine and discovered orthotics and prosthetics.

Doiron said she was attracted to the field because of how it relates to clinical care. Practitioners help individuals regain mobility and independence through custom braces (orthotics) and artificial limbs (prosthetics).

“What stood out most about this field was the ability to directly improve someone’s quality of life by restoring mobility and independence while still using problemsolving skills,” she said.

Competitive program

She said several factors drew her to Baylor for her program.

The Baylor program offers an accelerated program structure, including one year of didactic learning followed by an 18-month dual residency program. This allows students to complete both their degree and residency requirements in a shorter timeframe.

“Upon graduation from the program, I will have completed all of my residency, which puts me one step ahead compared to other O&P programs,” she said She also is looking forward to the oppor-

Doiron said she was “shocked” to find out she was accepted despite earning a 3.895 grade-point average at Trine and getting help through the application process from her professors.

“There were many great applicants that I got to meet over Teams before interviews,” she said. “We were told that we would hear back about two to three days after the interviews. After the fifth day or so of not hearing back, I thought I didn’t get in.”

“After days of assuming I had not been accepted, receiving a phone call from the program director, about a week after interviews, was both unexpected and incredibly rewarding.”

Preparation and support

Doiron said being part of Trine’s softball team helped her develop discipline, time management and resilience, which will help her succeed in graduate school.

The extensive hands-on learning offering in Trine’s biomedical engineering program helped prepare her specifically for the O&P program. In addition, her senior design project gave her a glimpse of what her future could look like from day to day

“That project gave me firsthand experience in patient-centered design and reinforced that this was the field I wanted to pursue,” she said.

She plans to gain clinical experience at both pediatric and veterans’ clinics through her residency and early practice, then continue in clinics where she can make the greatest impact.

“If I were to work with children, I would see myself in them — just a child wanting to play with the other kids,” she said. “Knowing that I would be able to restore their childhood again is something that really draws me to working with children.”

She said she would enjoy working with veterans because she would like to repay them for everything they have done for the country

“My dad is a Navy veteran himself, and although he also wanted me to join the

military, we agreed that this could be a compromise,” she said.

As she prepares to continue her journey in orthotics and prosthetics, she is grateful for the support system that helped her get this far

“My professors, coaches, teammates, family and mentors at Trine all played a major role in preparing me for this next step,” she said. “I am excited for the opportunity to continue combining engineering and patient care while working toward my long-term goal of helping children, veterans and others regain confidence and independence through orthotics and prosthetics.”

. At Lane Regional Medical Center,everythingwedois built around the people youlovemost. From advanced heartcareand minimally invasivesurgerytowelcoming the next generation,wetakegreat prideinproviding exceptional,compassionatecarefor newborns, grandparents and everyone in-between. Thebest care doesn’t justtreat patients–it caresfor families. Our Community. OurFamilies.

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