Shelf life is latest Livingston librarybattle
Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
Traveling VietnamWall stopsin Walker
The traveling Vietnam Wall is in Walker this week.
The memorial is an 80% replica of the original Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, standing at 360 feet long and 8feet tall. It bears the name of the 58,307 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the nation’sfreedom during the Vietnam War.
Accompanying the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is the Cost of Freedom Tribute, aseries of smaller panels that honorthe service and sacrifices of those serving in Americans in World WarI,World WarII, the 9/11 attacks, the WarinAfghanistan and Iraq.
The event scheduleincludes:
n Sept. 26: Dedication and Wreath Ceremony,10a.m.
n Sept. 27: Quilt of Valor Ceremony,10a.m.
n Sept. 28: Living History Timeline, 9a.m. to 4p.m.
n Sept. 29: Ride of Honor and nondenominational church service, 9:30 a.m. (ride) 10 a.m. (service)
ä See AROUND, page 3G
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
The battle over books in LivingstonParish libraries has dwindled down to one sore spot: Ashelf.
For morethantwo years, theparish has been embroiled in debate over what some call inappropriate books forchildren. No bookshave beenremovedfromlibraries,but there have been frozen library cards, socialmediacall-outs and book removalattempts. Andthe Livingston Parish Library Board of Control has seen some of its memberspushed out and replaced
The latest development is adebate over thelocation of the new “Parenting Shelf.” The shelf, created bythe board of control, holds books that areacombination of juvenile nonfiction and fiction that cover topics such as sexual education,drug abuse, grief, mental health, racism, puberty and more. Thelibrary staff, not the board, decides what goes on the shelf.
Ameeting Tuesday nightbecame
“Wereceived alot of good feedback fromwhatI was looking at Everybody loves the shelf,” he said. “The mainthing that the parents called me about is that the books are at eye level, which is what we did not want.” Davis said he wasconcerned about the possibility of achild roaming the area and grabbing a book that covers asensitive topic.
Fellow member Dewanna Christian agreed that the shelfneeds extra attention or precaution.
“What is the pointofputting it on the shelf, if no one’spolicing the shelf,” she asked. But moving the shelf isn’tas straightforward as one may think.
Parish Attorney Brad Cascio advised the board in July that relocating books can face the same scrutiny as removing books.
tense when thediscussion turned to the parenting shelf. Board member Larry Davis wanted to move
it outside the children’sareato aneutral location near the front desk.
“I would just warn you to be careful when relocating abook. Like Isaid, it’sgoing to be looked at the motivation forrelocating it, where you’re relocating it, and it’s going to be lookedatjustastightly andjustascloselyasifyou took it off theshelvescompletely,” he
Charles Salzer
SPORTS ROUNDUP
Last week was the third of the regular seasonfor high school football,but, after acouple of unusual twists, Springfield hosted Crescent Cityfor a game that turned out to bethe first foreitherschool It wasn’tsupposedto be that way. Both teamshad abye scheduled among their firsttwo games,and each alsolost a game due to cancellation.For Springfield, that was ascheduled Week 2visit to St. John, which was lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. For the Bulldogs, who went 4-6 last season, it was achance to make sure everyone was healthy.They looked ready from the start as they rolled to a45-12 win. Ethan Lipscomb returned the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown. Although thescore was nullified by apenalty,it was aharbinger of points to come. After Parker Butler connected on a24-yardfield goal, Anthony Williams scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns. Lipscomb eventually found the end zone on a29-yard reception from Luke Husser, and Springfield led 22-6 at halftime. The Bulldogs put the game away with 16 third-quarter points. The defense put up a safety to get things goingbefore Williams found the end zone twice on runs of 27 and1 yards In the fourth quarter,Butler returned afumble 16 yardsfor aTDand Springfield was able
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Louisiana granttests newscience program
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
Agroup of Westside Junior High School sixth graders in white lab coats spend part of their day in alab raising fishand growing crops. It’s onlythe beginning forthese young scientists. The LouisianaState Board of Elementary andSecondary Education announced Sept 19 a$405,000 grant to advance the Walker school’s lab foraquaponics —the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. The initiative is called “Greauxing STEM-Stewards,” and it will introduce the state’sfirst Controlled EnvironmentAgriculture learning environment, which will be agreenhouse on the middle school’s campus.
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PHOTO BY DAVID NORMAND
Pictured are some of the books in the Parenting Shelfsection inside the
Livingston Parish Library’sDenham Springs-Walker branch. The Livingston Parish LibraryBoard of Control voted to create aParenting Shelfduring its July 18 meeting. The self houses juvenile materials and covers topics that can be considered sensitive, challenging or difficultfor children.
PHOTOSBYDAVID NORMAND
NaomiWilliams, left, and Vincent Norsworthy,second from right, puthybrid bluegill fish, that were donated by BESE board member Ronnie Morris, into a100 gallon fish tank in the aquaponics classroom at Westside JuniorHigh in Walker on Sept. 18. Watching are Logan Barbin, Adriana Vocaturo and ZoeyHooper
Mason Giardelli, left, and Cy Gregory, center,measure basilplants in the aquaponics classroom
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BESE member Ronnie Morris speaks about the aquaponics
program, Westside
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STEM stands for science, technology,engineering and math
Theideaistogivestudentseven more hands-on learning experience andtoteach them aboutenvironmentalissues in the Gulf of Mexico.
The aquaponics class that will use the greenhouse is about 20 sixth graders, or‘lab technicians’ as theirteacher Alysha Guidry likes to call them. The students collect data, take care of the fish, raise crops like basil and lettuce, and more. Theclass was implemented three years ago, and Guidry and her students are excited about the addition of the greenhouse.
Adriana Vocaturo, asixth-grade aquaponicsstudent, said her favorite part about the class is “getting to work togethertogrow all the plants and fish.”
Vocaturo’sclassmate Vincent Norsworthyagrees with her.He said it is one of his favorite classes —after band class.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s
Gulf Research Programawarded the grant. The plan is for Westside to establish the curriculum and then expand the Greauxing STEMStewards program statewide. The initiative kicked off with BESE President Ronnie Morris delivering 50 catfish fingerlings to the school. Morris has implemented aquaponics programs in Louisianaschoolsbefore, likeat
Istrouma HighSchool in Baton Rouge.
“Whenever Iwork as asubstitute teacher,what Ihear alot from kids is, ‘Mr.Morris, can you make education relevant?’ So, in my mind that is what this does,” Morris said.
Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.
4LivingstonParishstudentsenrollin fire training
Community news report
Four Livingston Parish students are participating in afirefighter training program allowing them to earn class credit and fire training certification that can help them pursue professional firefighting careers.
The local Louisiana High School Firefighter Training Programis sponsored by LivingstonParish Fire Protection District4,the parish’slargest fire protection district, serving more than 70,000 residents acrossmore than 225 square miles, anews release said.
“This program gives our youth the chance to learn aboutlocal fire, rescue and emergency response organizations in asafe, controlled and educational manner,”said fire district chief of training and safety
Keesler Fly
Enrolled in this year’sprogram are Tamara Fonseca from Walker High School, Kloie Wheat from Doyle High School, and Robby Vavasseur and Brayden Duncan from Denham Springs High School.
Fly leads the program with Chief Frank Dellucky,who has 40 years in fire service and numerous national certifications fromLouisiana FETAand the NationalFire Academy.Dellucky also hasa bachelor’s degree infire administration.
Fly has 18years’ experience in fire service, beginning his career as ahighschoolstudent in theLPFPD4’sjunior firefighterprogram.
Fly said successful completion of the courseprovides students with training in hazardous materials awareness, hazardous materials operations, Firefighter 1and Fire-
fighter2instruction.
He noted that thisisthe fire protection district’sthird year to sponsor theparishwide youth training program.A pilot program waslaunched in the 2022-23 school year with five high school seniors. Since then, the course has been accepted by the Louisiana Workforce Commission as aCarnegie credit course.
Prerequisites for student eligibility for the training program include certification in CPR/AED and basic first aid or certification as an EmergencyMedicalResponder
“At the completion of high school, ourstudentshavemeaningfulskills and certifications that can allow them to enter the workforce immediately after graduating, as well as start them on an excitingand rewarding careerpath,”Fly added.
Community news report
Southeastern Louisiana University opened the 202425 academic year Aug. 16 with its fall convocation that included presentation of the President’s Awards for Excellence, the university’shighest honorfor faculty and staff, anews release said.
The event also included announcement of endowed professorships and scholarships, new faculty and staff, faculty tenure and promotion, emeritus/emerita recipients, and recognition of service awards to faculty and staff who have worked at the university for 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 years.
Receiving the President’s Awards for Excellence were professor of marketing and Benjamin Jones professor of retail marketing Michael Budden, excellence in research; instructor of French and Spanish Jerry Parker xcellence
SoutheasternLouisiana University opened the
itsfall convocation that included presentation
theuniversity’shighest
Williams, Michael
residence, Alison Pelegrin, excellence in creativeactivity; and associate professor of counseling June Williams, excellence in teaching.
During his35years at Southeastern, Budden has authoredover 112refereed journalarticles, presented at numerousinternational and national conferences, published over 115 conference proceedings papers, andwritten twobooks. Budden was an administrator at Southeast for 14
Throughout his career at Southeastern, Parker’s service activities have included numerous assignments and committee memberships. These have ranged from serving as an administrative adviser to serving as chair or project leader on some of the most important committeesofthe university,anews release said. Afaculty member for20 years,Pelegrin’s creative achievements have been many.Highlights include her appointment 2023Lauresupport
of her creative work in the form of an ATLAS Grant from theLouisianaBoard of Regents, and winning a $20,000 Creative Writing Fellowshipfrom the National Endowment for the Arts. Williams prides herself in being alifelong learner; recognizing thatinstruction occurs outside as well as inside the classroom; conveyinggenuineinterest, excitement andpassion for thecontent,progression, and the students’ learning and growth; and treating students as active partners in the learning process.
Art, lectures and musical theater performance highlight SLU Fanfare
Community news report
Asymphony concert, lectures and musicaltheater performances are some of the events scheduled during the upcoming week of the 39th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’sannual fall festival of the arts, humanitiesand social sciences.
A“Then and Now Fanfare” lecture from the History and Political Science Department is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday,Sept. 25, in Pottle Auditorium. Southeastern graduate Sawyer Abbott will present “So Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie: The Sixties Legitimation of Metanarrative in America.” In his master’sthesis, Abbott used postmodern critical theory to explore the profound changes that fundamentally altered the nature of what it meant to be an American in the 1960s, a news release said. He will explain how and why this happened, what he planned to do when he beganhis work, what he scrapped, and what
the thesis ultimately became. On Sept. 26, the Southeastern Wind Symphony will present “The Seer.” Scheduled at 7:30 p.m. in Pottle Auditorium, the free concert will feature Johnnie Bankens as voice soloist. The Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond will present the Jefferson Performing Arts Societyin“Schoolof Rock” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 Ahigh energy,rock musical based on thehit Jack Black movie, the contemporary classic features the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and a book by Julian Fellowes. Tickets are $45 for adults and $25 for students. Advancetickets areavailable online at columbiatheatre. org or at the Columbia Theatre box office at (985) 5492787, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.to4 p.m., and one hourbefore each performance. Fanfare events are free, unless otherwise noted. For more information,contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at (985) 549-2999.
PHOTO BY DAVID NORMAND
classroom at WestsideJunior HighinWalker on Sept. 18. Standingnext to Morrisare someofthe students in the aquaponics
Junior High Principal Brian Gunterand Livingston Parish Superintendent of Schools Jody Purvis.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Livingston Parish students enrolled in the Louisiana Fire and Emergency Training Academy,from left, are, Tamara Fonsecafrom Walker High School, Kloie Wheat from Doyle High School,and Robby Vavasseur and Brayden Duncan from Denham Springs High School
PROVIDEDPHOTO BY RANDYBERGERON
2024-25 academic year Aug. 16 with
of the President’sAwards for Excellence,
honor forfaculty and staff. Award recipients,from left, are June
Budden, JerryParker and Alison Pelegrin.
for Women’s Life Ministries.
Volunteersdonatetopregnant womeninneed
Community news report
On Sept. 4, WednesdayVolunteers for Family and Community met at the home of club Vice President PamVillagran.
Following the business part of themeeting and ameal preparedbyVillagran and co-host Cecilia Miller,club membersheld a baby shower for Women’sLife Ministries, an organization that offerssupport to pregnant women in need of assistance.
The CEO of the ministries, Teresa Ragusa, was WVFC’sguestfor the shower To start theevent,WVFCSecretary Gloria Messengerled the group in acouple of baby-themed games. Then, Messenger, along withWVFC PresidentDonnaBouterie, presented Ragusa with baby gifts and
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to cruise the rest of the way
Next up, the Bulldogs have two more games before beginning their first season of play in District 8-3A. The new challenge will provide adauntingtask.However,with alittle luck, there will be no more unscheduledbumpsalong theway District 5-5A play begins
The addition of Prairieville to District 5-5A means it will take sevenweeks forleague teams to play each other This week’sschedule includesDenham Springshosting EastAscension, and
items, including ababy car seat, on behalf of thegroup.
Ragusagaveashort presentation on the differentwaysWomen’s Life Ministries providessupport to pregnant women in need. Its mission statement reads in part, “Wevalue andprotect theunbornbaby. We respect thepreborn as aperson known to God before they were even conceived. We fight for their righttolife.”
Theministries’ office is at 109 EMulberry St., Amite. Anyone in need of assistance can email womenslifeministries@yahoo. com for information.
Formore information on WednesdayVolunteers for Family andCommunity,email Sue Nelson at suenelson41@yahoo.com or Messengeratggmessenger1@gmail.com
Walker playing at Live Oak. Dutchtown and Prairieville meet in the other district game. The Walker at Live Oak matchup will be the key game in the parish. Along with Dutchtown, Walker was one of the preseason favorites to win the district Walker (2-1) is coming off a42-16 loss at Central. LiveOak (1-2) got amuch-needed 32-7win over Ponchatoula last week. Walker defeated Live Oak 41-16 at Walker last season, the Wildcats third consecutivewin over the Eagles. LiveOak’slast winover the Wildcats was 26-10 in 2020.
CharlesSalzer covers Livingston sports for the Livingston-Tangipahoa Advocate. To reachSalzer,emaillivingston@ theadvocate.com.
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For volunteer or sponsorship opportunities,email parksandrecinfo@walker-la.gov
Urgent need forblood
In the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, TheBlood Center is calling on all eligible donors to help replenish the community’sblood supply.Cancellations and closures have severely impacted reserves.
Why donate? “Our community needs athree- to four-day supply of blood to handleemergencies like Hurricane Francine,” Billy Weales, president &CEO of TheBlood Center,said. “All citizens are highlyencouraged to donate now.”
“As emergency room visits increase, it’sour responsibilitytoensure hospitals are prepared,” Dr.Tim Peterson, medical director for TheBlood Center,said. “Blood donations save lives.”
Visitbit.ly/3Xt0b9M for more information.
Mighty Moms raisingmoney
September is Childhood Hunger Awareness Month, and MightyMoms is doing its part to feed children in need. Want to help makeadifference? Sign up
to sponsor achild foronly $30 by visiting www.mightymomsgo.org/donate.
Mammographycoach visits
Woman’s Hospital brings breast imaging to Livingston Parish with its mobile mammography coach. The coach makes mammogramsmore accessible than ever offering 3D mammogram technology across the state. Physician’sorders are required and appointments are encouraged.
The coach stops at LPG Riverside Maurepas, 18740 La. 22, Maurepas on Friday
To schedule an appointment, call (225) 698-3435 to schedule.
For moreinformation including the full mammography coach schedule, visit Womans.org.
Hungarian Harvest Dance Oct. 5
Visit Springfield Oct. 5for the Hungarian Harvest Dance Celebration at the Springfield fire Station. Admission is $10; children 6-12 are $5 and children 5and under are admitted for free.
For tickets and information, call Marci McKnight at (225) 278-3770 or Mindy Starkey at (985) 974-8045 or visit the Hungarian Settlement Museum
Sendnewsand events forLivingston and Tangipahoaparishes to livingston@ theadvocate.com by 4p.m.Fridayorcall (225) 388-0731.
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Darlene T. Denstorff ddenstorff@theadvocate.com
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COMMUNITY NEWSREPORTER Leila Pitchford livingston@theadvocate.com (225) 388-0731
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PROVIDED PHOTO
Gloria Messengerand Teresa Ragusa at ababyshowerheld
Campers, counselorsand volunteers at Camp Catahoula 2024
wrote to the board. Some don’tlike the ideaof the shelf at all.
Elise Leblanc, aDenham Springs retired English teacher,thinks the shelf defeatsits ownpurpose. She said now all the books some people are worried aboutare in one central location.
“I think it’sridiculous based on the Parish Attorney’sinformation and risky business,” Leblanc said. “It’s ridiculous to have all this commotion and stir up this trouble.”
Is theshelf censorship?
Currently, thereisonly one book under review on the parenting shelf: “Fire Safety” by Emma Bassier Public records show apatron wanted the booktobe placed back in the general children’ssection.
Cascio, the attorney,has previously said that books that are not clearly for children can easily be moved outsidethe children’sarea —but books that are meant for children should be placed in that section.
In July,Tulane University Law Clinic wrote to the board: “The potential policy of relocating challenged works pending review violates the Constitution because it removes protected works from the shelves Federal courts have held that stigmatizingcontroversial books by relocatingor removing them from circulation is aFirst Amendment violation.”
The rest of the board— and the public —was split on the idea of moving the shelf or giving it extra attention.
During public comment, board member Abby Crosby told the roomitbreaks her heart to “know that some of these childrenmight stumble across something andtheymight thinkthat it’sOK.” Watson residentMandy Pickering said she wasn’t originally in supportofthe
Pictured aresomeofthe books in the Parenting Shelf section insidethe Livingston Parish Library’sDenham Springs-Walker branch. The Livingston Parish LibraryBoard of Control voted to createaParenting Shelf during its July 18 meeting.The self houses juvenile materials andcovers topics that can be considered sensitive, challenging or difficult for children
shelf but believes the Watson branch has done awonderful jobwithit. Sheeven said during public comment that her friend in Ascension Parish wishestheir libraries had something similar. Pickering is againstmovingthe shelf outofthe children’ssection, however, due to the possibility of it being unconstitutional. She and severalother attendeessaid children 13 and under must be accompanied by anadult in the library,soparents should be able to steertheir kids away from the shelfif they wanted to Jordan Gonzalez,aDenham Springs resident, said it’simportant to learnand have conversations about the topicsonthe shelf, rather than shy away from them. He pointed out that there’s an age restriction on checking out books, sochildren will only be looking atbooks briefly
“Ifmy daughterisold
enoughtorecognize avagina on this page —‘Daddy what is thisvagina?’ —then she’sold enough to learn what that is,”Gonzalez said. Publiccommenters,including District 7council
member Ricky Goff asked if they could just raise the height of the shelfifitbeing eye-level is the issue.
Board member Shalisha Labat said theparentingshelfisinthe taller stacksofthe juvenile section.
The controversy over books Livingston kicked off when formerlibrary board member Erin Sandefur, who is now aparish council member, shared she wanted to ban or restrict books about gender identity and an LGBTQ guide for teens. For some in Livingston, the fact that there is so much controversy over a single shelf shows how people trying to ban books won’t take no for an answer “There wasacommu-
nity post saying it was a great idea, now it’snot good enough, nowitneeds to be moved,” saidAmanda Jones, aLivingston Parish school librarianwhoseopposition to attempts to removebooks got her national attention. Jones said the parental shelf is nota problem “as long as the books aren’tall acatch-all for LGBTQ+ themes.”
Nationally in 2023, books about the experiences of LGBTQ+ people and people of color made up 47% of titles targeted for censorship, according to the American Library Association.
The debate has not been settled. The boardmajority voted to table the parenting shelf discussion until Nov 19 —extending theshelf life of Livingston’sbook control conversation.
Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com.
PHOTOSBYDAVID NORMAND
ALivingston Parish Librarysignexplains rules for children under 13 in the library.
An assortment of books found on the Parenting Shelfinside the Livingston Parish Library’sDenham Springs-Walker branch