THE ZACHA Y
ADVOCATE& T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, M ay 6, 2026
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12TH YEAR, NO. 30
Council votes again to keep zoning commissioner BY OLIVIA MCCLURE
Commission despite missing many of the panel’s meetings. The council’s decision came For the second time this year, a April 28 at a public hearing, echodivided Zachary City Council al- ing a vote that took place in Janulowed Jason Floyd to stay in his ary. In both scenarios, council seat on the Planning and Zoning member James Graves — who
Contributing writer
appointed Floyd to serve as a volunteer commissioner in 2023 and has repeatedly raised concerns about his absenteeism in the past few months — along with council member Jennifer Landry argued that Floyd should be removed
from office. But their other three colleagues disagreed with the move to fire Floyd. Attendance records provided to the council ahead of the recent meeting indicate Floyd was absent from 12 of the commission’s last 19
gatherings, which include regular monthly meetings and workshops on special topics. He missed five meetings in a row from October 2025 to January 2026, according
ä See COUNCIL, page 2G
Leila Pitchford AROUND ZACHARY
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.
ä See AROUND, page 4G
PROVIDED PHOTOS
The Southland band performs at the first Bourbon, BBQ & Wine on April 25 at Lane Regional Medical Center. ä More photos. PAGE 2G
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.
Local venders serve food at the first Bourbon, BBQ & Wine.
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.” The Zachary High girls were the overall winners and the boys finished in second place. Top individual finishers and
Warren Brady ZACHARY SPORTS
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).
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) 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 the shot put (43-10). The teams have put in a tremendous amount of work that began back in December when over 150
ä See BRADY, page 2G