Career,college expo brings students together with opportunities
BY WENDYLOUP Contributing writer
The annual Ascension Public Schools’ Career &College Expo provided morethan 4,000 students and parents information about post-high school opportunities Sept. 17 at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center Students from across the parish wereable to speak to representatives of local, state and national companies, as wellasmore than two dozen universities and technical colleges. Erin Humphrey,career coachfor Ascension Public Schools, said, “Being in aschool district surrounded by refineries, the manufacturing, architecture andconstruction pathways are in high demand with various career opportunities.
the secondary with five tackles. Dutchtown will open district play with atrip across AirlineHighway to face Prairieville.
“Health Sciences is also always abig draw,” Humphrey added. “Wemake sure awide variety of careers are represented, ensuring every student walks away with valuable information to assist in planning theirfutures.” The expo offered an opportunity forlocal businesses to discusswithstudents the benefits of career fieldswhile also promoting their companies.
TheGriffins moved to 3-0 for the season. Special teams recovered fumbles on the first two kickoffs for the Griffins.QuarterbackDylan Champagne sharedthe ball withseveral receivers early in this game and severalwere for touchdowns, including one to Northwestern commitment Andrew Fields. Thedefense was led by defensive linemen Jackson Alexander and Joshua Lewis with three tackles for losses. Lewis is aMissouri commitment. Linebacker Mason Miles had five tackles. Defensive back Hyland Rentz led
Ascension Catholic (2-0) scored on its first five possessions, jumping out to a35-0 lead over St. Thomas Aquinas. Chad Elzy scored four touchdowns and added atwo-point conversion. Elzy coming off a50touchdown season as a junior,finished with205 yards on five carries. Quarterback Camille LeBoeuf threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns. LeBoeufconnected for touchdowns with wide receivers Trevin Simon and Johnny Viallon for 50 and 14 yards respectively.The
“Our company is here tonighttoserve the community and introduce students to the health care field,” said Abbie Copeland, marketing coordinator for Bourgeois Physical Therapy and Sports Rehab.
“Wecan show students the field is not just working at big hospitals, but there’smom and popbusinessescaring forpatientsaswell,” Copeland added.
Nearly 150 businesses represented variouscareer fieldssuch as agriculture, arts, business management, hospitality,
Dutchtownand AscensionCatholicfootballstayunbeaten ä See EXPO, page 4G Troy LeBoeuf ASCENSION SPORTS ä See LEBOEUF, page 3G
Darlene Denstorff
STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
AGSTree Services employeeEli Martinez, top right, standsontop of a rowoflogs after cleaning up aresident’sproperty following damagefrom Hurricane FrancineinDonaldsonville on Sept. 17.
See FRANCINE, page 2G
PROVIDED PHOTO BY TIM BABINPHOTOGRAPHY
Principal Barry Whittington escorts Dutchtown HighHomecoming Queen Alise Gros
during ahalftime ceremony.
PHOTO BY WENDYLOUP
University of Arkansas senior admissions counselor Veronica Adams, left, talks to Summer Tripode and her son, Prairieville High School 10th grader Khoen, during the AscensionPublic Schools’ Career &College Expo.
“A lot of people don’t understand when Entergy comes in, firsttheyhave to assess what, what the damage is. Then there have to be work orders put in.After thework orders put in, then they have to give the work orders to the crews,” Sullivan said. “…When you talk about four days,not counting the eleventh, Ithink that Entergy did agood job.”
But he said more crews were mobilized following calls to District 3PublicService Commissioner Davante Lewis; Louisiana Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie; State Sen. Ed Price, D-Gonzales; and U.S. Rep.Troy Carter
“All of them got on the phone and said ‘Iwant to know why was Donaldsonville going to be left out, be poweredupafter the East bank,’ ”Sullivansaid, adding that the number of Entergy crews for Donaldsonvilleincreased followingthe calls.“By the time it was over,and Italked toCongressman Troy Carter,hetold us he would getEntergy on the phone right now and findout whytheyare notgettingthe power back on in Donaldsonville.”
Aspokesperson for Carter confirmed the callbetween himand Sullivan. Lewissaid he talked with Sullivanabout hisconcerns and brought them up to Entergy officials during the hurricane’saftermath.
“I feel my job is as commissioner is to really tell my local officials, like,‘Hey, look, Entergy is makingdecisions based off kind of their assessments. Youare as local officials making decisions based off like where you know vulnerable communities live,” he said. “I really encourage them like, ‘Hey,ifthere’splaces, call me, Iwill work with the utility companies and see if we can escalate our advanced those needs,’ and so that’skind of how our interaction happened around Thursdayand Friday.”
James, Entergy’sspokesperson, denied any political pressure influencedEntergy’sresponse.
“(We) restore power through athought outapproach, as we always have through any storm. The order in which we restore customers is also deliberate,” shewrote. “Westart with essentialservices, move on to large neighborhoods and thento individual homes. Power is first restored to critical community infrastructureand essential services …Next, lines serving large areas of customers, thenneighborhoods arerestored.Thisreturns power to thelargest number of customers in the shortest amount of time.”
Research findslongeroutages fordisadvantaged communities
AccordingtoScott Ganz,anassociate teaching professor at Georgetown University,there aresomedrawbacks tothe typical approach used by energy companies when restoring power after major storms. As the lead researcheronastudy published in 2023, Ganz found morevulnerable communities —like those with higher levels of poverty or lackoftransportation access —often face longer waits forpower restoration following hurricanes. While not speaking about Entergy or the Donaldsonville situation, he said there is “strong evidence” of vulnerable communities facing longer wait times, while taking otherfactors into account.
The study,which analyzed data from eightmajor Atlantic hurricanesbetween January 2017 and October 2020, using the “Social VulnerabilityIndex” created in-part bythe U.S. Centers for Disease Control. That index creates an aggregate score based on socioeconomic and demographicfactors,headded.
On average, the researchersfound aten percentile jump on the vulnerabilityindex resulted in a6%increaseinpower outage time, equivalent to roughly 170 minutes, or nearly 3hours. Ganz added this might be due to the standard procedures manyenergy companies follow,which prioritizes critical infrastructure andgetting power back online to as many people as possible.
“We think theleading explanation is the standard procedures for recovering communitiesfollowing afailureexplicitly does not take into account these kinds of vulnerability characteristics,”hesaid.
“With the exception of whether there is sort of critical infrastructureinaparticular area.”
Although Ganz doesn’tthink thestudy lends itself to specific policy proposals, he saiditmight allow companies and governmentstoadjust some of their standard operating procedures to consider prioritizing certain residents, such as those who can’tevacuate or depend on critical medical equipment.
And at the public service commission, Lewis said he was working with the publicservice commission to investigate and pass rules to see outage data at the Zip code and census tract level.
“This has been something that’s been
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OPEN HOUSE PUBLIC MEETING
Duplessis Road Widening (US 61 –LA73): StateH.013850
GermanyRoad Widening (US 61 –LA44): StateH.013793
ASCENSION PARISH
The Ascension Parish Government, in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD), is conducting an open house public meeting forthe proposed widening improvement projects on Duplessis Road (US 61 –LA73) and GermanyRoad (US 61 –LA44).
The purpose of this meeting is to giveinformation and obtain input from interested parties.Representatives from Ascension Parish, design consultants,and LADOTD will be available to answerquestions and discuss issues related to the two projects.Various stations will be set up to displayinformation foreach respectiveproject.
Attendees maysubmit writtencomments at the meeting
Comments can also be mailed to the Ascension Parish Government at the address shown below. Comments must be postmarkedbyOctober 10,2024, to be included in the transcript of this meeting
The public meeting will be held on:
Thursday, September26, 2024 5:00-7:00PM Sugar Mill PrimarySchool 39319GermanyRoad Prairieville,LA70769
Should yourequirespecial assistance due to adisability to participateinthis public meeting,please contact the Ascension Parish Government by mail at the address below or by telephone at 225-450-1021 at least five working days prior to the meeting
Ascension Parish Government Communications Division 615East WortheyStreet Gonzales,LA70737
adeep passion of mine, and Irepresent the river parishes that represent the only minority majority district on the commission,” he added.
STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
Mercedes Allen,Raphael Spriggs, and Domarus Greysit outside Allen’sporch to escape the heat of the powerless-house and watchan Entergytruck drivebyinDonaldsonville on Sep. 17. Allen said their powerhad been restored sincethe stormlast week but lostpower again earlier that afternoon.
Bulldog defense held the Falcons to109 total yards. LinebackersMace Melanconhad 14 tackles and Gavin Gregoire had 10. Defensivelineman Christopher Athens had seventackles. TheBulldogs had double digit tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Ascension Catholic travels to Dunhamon Thursday.Dunham returns quarterback Elijah Haven, the top ranked playerinhis class Dunham and Ascension Catholic played in close games the lasttwo seasons.
Week 3results
n Dutchtown 62, CollegiatePrep 0
n Ascension Catholic 56,St. Thomas Aquinas 12
n Sam Houston 48, EastAscension 24
n JF Kennedy 31, St Amant29
n Riverside 56, Prairieville 13
n West St. John 34, Donaldsonville 32
n Covenant Christian 57, Ascension Christian 21
Week 4schedule
Thursday
n Ascension Catholic at Dunham
Friday
n St. Amant at Scotlandville
n Dutchtown at Prairieville
n East Ascension at Denham Springs
n Donaldsonville at East Iberville
n Westminister Christian-Lafayetteat Ascension Christian
Parish cross-country
East Ascension boys took home the honors at the Brusly-Sinclair Levee Run. Top runners for the Spartans were Phillip August (fifth), Jaxon LeBlanc (seventh),Dane Thomas (eighth) and Germol Paul (ninth). MiddleSchoolFootballscores forWeek3
n Prairieville 28, Lowery 14
n Central Middle 24, St. Amant 16
n Galvez 34, Bluff 0 n Dutchtown 19, Lake 6 Troy LeBoeuf covers sports for the Ascension Advocate. He can be reached at troyleboeuf@hotmail.com or ascension@theadvocate.com or on Twitter @Troyleboeuf.
Continued from page1G
Defensiveback LukeHusers readytomakeaplay.
Ascension Catholic’sCamille LeBoeuf
Chad Elzy takes off for yardage.
manufacturing and lawenforcement.
The perimeter of the expo featured 40 post-high school educational institutions, including in- and out-of-state universities, community and technicalcolleges.
“LSU is always abig draw, so much so, they had four tables this year,” Humphrey said. “Each year we are excited to seemore and more schools reach outtous. This year we welcomed the University of Alabama and Ole Miss, along withseveral other new participants like Paul Mitchell andThe Tulsa Welding School and Technology Center —Houston.”
University of Arkansas Senior Admissions Counselor Veronica Adamssaidthe expo is the perfectopportunity to promote the various scholarship opportunities for Louisiana students.
“This has been agreat turnout,” Adams said. “The expo gives us achancetopromote that Arkansas offers full and partial scholarships to out-of-state students.
“The scholarshipsgive students the opportunity to experience alifeaway from home,” Adams added.
One of Ascension Parish public schools’ goals is to help studentswho maynot be interested in post-high school education.
“Weoffer many work-ready programs in Ascension Public Schools so that students are prepared to go straight to work after
AROUND
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will be honored for the same day andtimes as originally scheduled. For information, visit spectacularcircus. com.
VolunteerAscensionmasqueradegala
The “Unveiling Hope: AMasquerade Gala for aCause” fundraiser startsat 7p.m. Sept. 26 at The Price LeBlancPACE Center
The event will raise money forVolunteer Ascension. Tables and sponsorshipsare on sale. To register,visit https://tinyurl.com/ yc3229dr.
Gonzales hostsMusic in thePark
Music in the Park is coming back to Gonzales,cityleaders announced.The free concert series in Jambalaya Park kicks off Sept. 29 with Joel Jones and3MC. The Michael Foster Project willperform Oct. 20, and Downbeat Louisiana will play Nov. 17. Hazardouswaste collection set Ascension Parish residents can drop off
PHOTO BY WENDYLOUP
St. Amant High School senior Sancarla
Antoineposes withthe mascots from St. Amant,Dutchtown and East Ascension.
graduation,” Humphrey said. “Hundreds of our high school students are learning trades such as welding, pipe fitting,automotive technology and HVAC.
“They also have many opportunitiesto earn certifications in areaslike HVAC,9-11Dispatch,PTEC and Drones Piloting,” Humphrey continued. “These programs allow students to begin earning aliving immediately after graduation.”
Manyschools offered studentsincentives to attend the expo, such as free dressdays.
“Word is spreading, and the Ascension PublicSchools expoisone of thelargest, if not thelargest, high school career andcollege expo in Louisiana,” Humphrey said.
household hazardouswaste from 9a.m.
to 1p.m. Oct. 5atthe Lamar-Dixon Expo Center
NewFallFestplanned
Gonzales is planning its first Fall Feston Oct. 27 at thePrice LeBlancPACE Center
The event will include music, food, games, pumpkins and artsand crafts.
5K Runfor ACause Sept.28
The 5K and 1-mile Fun Runfor aCause is planned forSept. 28 at Crescent Park. The eventisraising money for the Donaldsvonille Area Arc, anonprofit organization providing support and services to adults with intellectual disabilities. Funds raised go toward improving thegroups’sMary MarcombeHomeand day program.
The fundraiser will take runners through historic Donaldsonville and end witha celebration at Crescent Park with food, drinks and music. Sign up to run or sponsor at https://tinyurl.com/4cu4p9c8.
ContactDarlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 388-0215 or (225) 603-1998; or email, ascension@theadvocate.com or ddenstorff@theadvocate.com. Deadline: 5p.m.Friday
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Campers, counselorsand volunteers at Camp Catahoula 2024
