THE ZACHA Y
ADVOCATE&
THURSDAY
P R O U D LY O W N E D I N L O U I S I A N A
1st Year, No. 10
Stacy Gill AROUND ZACHARY
SGILL@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Don’t let hustle and bustle distract you It’s a busy time, and everyone I know is running to and fro, planning, shopping, making lists and checking them twice. In the hustle and bustle of holiday merriment, let us not forget the real reason for the season. Meanwhile, this week around Zachary ...
DECEMBER 11, 2014 H
THEADVOCATE.COM
Working to end pet overpopulation FAWS aims to boost spaying, neutering
BY STACY GILL
sgill@theadvocate.com Gail Dellafiora loves animals — large, small, sickly and healthy. No matter their condition, animals tug at her heart strings. The problem, according to Dellafiora, is that there are too many of them. “Nobody is having the conversation about spaying and neutering, and frankly, I believe pet overpopulation is at the root of animal abuse and neglect,” Dellafiora said. In 2008, she co-founded Feliciana Animal Welfare Society with Suzanne Hobgood. Since
Dellafiora, who moved to then, a core group of volunteers assists in the operation Zachary about four months known as FAWS in East Felici- ago, says pet overpopulation in East Feliciana has reached ana Parish. There is no FAWS facility. a critical stage. The FAWS The program is a large net- volunteers have all taken in dozens of aniwork of foster “We need foster homes, mals and are families and v o l u n t e e r s and we need a 200 percent at their limit. who take in increase in public awareness D e l l a f i o r a alone has animals. as soon as possible.” three dogs “What happens is litters GAIL DELLAFIORA, co-founder of of her own, of puppies or Feliciana Animal Welfare Society about eight additional kittens get dogs and pupdumped on a road, or left to die — some pies and about a dozen cats/kitintentionally killed — because tens. Her property in Zachary the owner cannot afford to is spacious, but even she has feed or take care of litter after her limits, she said. “We need two things that litter. If the mother is never spayed, this just continues,” Dellafiora said. äSee PET, page 6G
Advocate staff photo by STACY GILL
Gail Dellafiora plays with Ricky and Champ, two 9-week-old mixed-breed puppies, at her home in Zachary.
Vessel wins full term on board
Lane Auxiliary jewelry sale
The Lane Regional Medical Center Auxiliary is set to host its popular masquerade jewelry and accessories sale from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 11-12 in the staff development classroom on the first floor of the hospital, 6300 Main St. Quality jewelry and accessories for men, women and children including rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, jewelry sets, wallets, watches and more will be sold. Everything is $5; cash, check and credit cards accepted. All proceeds benefit Auxiliary projects and educational scholarships. For information, call the hospital gift shop at (225) 658-4309.
BY JAMES MINTON
Special to The Advocate
Quite an achievement
Christmas in the Village
Christmas in the Village is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday in Zachary’s Historic Village and includes an evening of musical performances by local school choirs, dance troupes and special guests. Food trucks, photos with Santa, tours of historical homes, movie on the lawn, arts and crafts vendors for holiday shopping and a children’s area of activities and fun games sponsored by BREC will be featured. Musical line-up Friday: n 6 p.m.: Opening song n 6:05 p.m.: Mayor David Amrhein lights the town Christmas tree n 6:10 p.m.: Northwestern Elementary and Lola Hill perform (Bells) n 6:25 p.m.: Christine KeräSee GILL, page 6G
INSIDE Crossword ............... 1H Sports ..................... 2H
Advocate staff photos by STACY GILL
Rollins Place student-authors view for the first time Friday the book they wrote and illustrated, titled ‘The Important Thing About Louisiana,’ published by Studentreasures, of Kansas. The first- and second-graders began the book project in early fall and can add published author to their list of achievements.
Student-authors celebrated during assembly at Rollins Place Elementary BY STACY GILL
sgill@theadvocate.com ZACHARY — In the course of a school day, students may strive to achieve good grades, look forward to what’s on the lunch menu and anticipate the fun and games recess brings. For Rollins Place Elementary School students, a school day includes publishing and illustrating books. The first- and second-graders were lauded at an assembly Friday for publishing the 12-millionth book for Studentreasures, a Kansas-based scholastic publishing company. Participating classrooms wrote their own book and chose their own topics from the hundreds offered by Studentreasures. Students in each class collaborated on the book, with each contributing a page of text and a page of illustra-
tion. Book titles include “The Best Parts of Louisiana,” written by students in Bonnie Rader’s class, and “The Best Parts of Me.” Distinctly local in flavor, Aimee Stablier’s homeroom, which is taught writing by teacher Brandie McNabb, collaborated on “The Important Thing About Louisiana” making it the 12 millionth title published by Studentreasures. The class was asked to design a banner marking the achievement, with first-grader Amari Wells, 7, featured on the banner. “I was both surprised and excited to learn that our school had the 12 millionth book published. While I was pleased that the company wanted to come celebrate our students’
Rollins Place Elementary School student-author and illustrator Madison Albert reads aloud her story about cypress trees in her class book, ‘The Important Thing About Louisiana,’ at a school assembly Friday as Studentreasures representative äSee AUTHORS, page 5G Chad Zimmerman looks on.
ZACHARY — Heidi M. Vessel won a full term on the Zachary Community School Board in Saturday’s runoff election after serving almost three months as an appointed member. Vessel, a lawyer and the mother of two children attending Zachary schools, edged Elicia “Lisa” Lathon for the board’s District 6 seat, 418 to 396, according to unofficial election returns. District 6 is an area in a north-central part of Zachary, north of Main Street and Main’s Church Street extension. The area had been represented by Jannie Rogers, but Vessel was appointed as her replacement in September when Rogers moved out of the district. Vessel said she ran a grassroots campaign without any organized committee supporting her. “I knocked on more than 400 doors,” she said, adding that her 4- and 5-year-old daughters often accompanied her. Although only 22 votes separated her from Vessel, Lathon said after the election that she had not given a thought to asking for a recount of Saturday’s vote but would “trust the democratic process.” “It was a good experience. I learned a lot and met a lot of people,” said Lathon, a veteran educator who is a supervisor of student teaching at LSU. Only six of the nine members who began their four-year terms in January 2011 remain on the board, and three of them will not return to their seats äSee BOARD, page 4G
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