Front Page

HOLLEY LIPSCOMB

One little girl with a life threatening illness is simple and carefree and you would never know that she was sick. Her appearance and mannerism was like any other child you see anywhere. She doesn’t complain or feel sorry for herself. She doesn’t ask for much and when the Make A Wish Foundation asked her what she wanted to do with her one wish, she said go to McDonalds for lunch. That was the only answer that came out of that little girls mouth. How amazing is that? The tears poured down her mothers’ face as she knew her daughter was a very special little girl.

The crème de la crème of this fall’s Zachary High School juniors and seniors gathered for a mentorship training session at ZHS Thursday, June 4. Seventy-four upperclassmen were carefully chosen and showed up during their summer break for the leadership training class.

Amy Johnson, Louisiana's Kick-Off Program Trainer, presented the students with though provoking situations, asked tough questions, and provided tools the students would need to aid incoming freshmen acclimate to high school life at ZHS.

During Thursday’s School Board Meeting, Board Members Michelle Clayton and Karen Lawless presented the Zachary Community School District Spring 2009 Assessment Results from data released at the Louisiana Department of Education in May. Nearly every grade level, from first through eleventh grade, found continued improvement of student’s testing scores on the LEAP, iLEAP, and the GEE (graduate exit examination) tests. Many grade levels scored high enough to be at the top of the state’s performance ladder.

On June 21, 40 Firefighters from Zachary, Baker, Pride, Chaneyville, Slaughter, and Clinton sat together in a classroom dedicated to spend time earning their certifications in Fire Fighter I and II. After spending three months learning Hazardous Materials, they finally were able to start the Fire Fighter I and II course. Together, these men and women spent approximately one year studying three nights a week. On May 30, 16 of these men and women met to perform their practical skill assessments so that they may take their certification tests.

During the Tuesday, May 26, Zachary Town Council Meeting, the councilmen voted unanimously to approve a site plan redesign for the proposed Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites. Developer, John Patel plans to build the new 71-room hotel across from his Best Western Inn on La. Hwy. 19.
Patel adjusted the Holiday Inn’s design to accommodate city ordinances after a 3-2 vote last November to reject three waivers the former design would have needed. After that meeting, Patel considered moving the proposed hotel to Baker.