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6 days ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
In 2007, the Geismar Honeywell chemical plant drew up a plan to replace corroding gaskets. But that plan did not assign a specific completion date; instead, a recent federal report said, the company replaced gaskets by attrition. Fourteen years later — with the replacement plan not yet completed — a gasket catastrophically failed, spraying caustic hydrogen fluoride on Jason Derousselle, a worker from Prairieville, the report said. He died at a hospital later that day.
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1 week ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
Chasity Lowe’s dog started barking sometime early Friday morning on South Riveroaks Drive. Next door, neighbor Elizabeth Haynes also found her pet acting unusual. “That’s when my dog would not go outside,” she said. In short order, they discovered the bear. As the two told it, the animal lumbered down the ditch behind their houses.
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1 week ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
A black bear is in a tree near Broadmoor United Methodist Church, with Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries handling the situation. Church Communications Director Amber McCann Burkes said children at the preschool summer camp were never in danger and are spending the day indoors. “Wildlife and Fisheries have been great, and they're going to let him hang out there and watch him until everyone is off campus later this afternoon,” she said. “They don’t want to hurt him.
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1 week ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment recently addressed the government's decades-long difficulty of keeping pace with infrastructure needs, saying the $11 million transportation department is "the most underfunded department with the greatest need.""We're not approving any more new taxes,” he added.
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1 week ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
Community and environmental advocates have released the first in a series of reports about Ascension Parish, arguing local leaders should prioritize nonindustrial economic development over current proposals. Those include large ammonia production complexes that CF Industries, Clean Hydrogen Works and Air Products intend to build.
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2 weeks ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
A federal lawsuit alleges the East Baton Rouge Coroner's Office had an unwritten policy of skipping autopsies in cases believed to be drug overdoses, leading to a botched death investigation in November 2018. The lawsuit says the coroner's office ruled the death of 23-year-old Dylan McClendon an accidental overdose by "multidrug toxicity: without an autopsy or full toxicology report.
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2 weeks ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
Three Donaldsonville residents are suing the city, alleging a fire department service fee violates state law. The fee is roughly $7 per month for each household to help cover fire department expenses, and it's a significant source of revenue for the city. The five-member city council unanimously passed an ordinance approving it in June 2021. Fire Protection District 2 covers the entire west bank of Ascension Parish, though the ordinance applies only to the Donaldsonville city limits.
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2 weeks ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
The Ascension Parish schools assistant superintendent is retiring after serving the district for more than 44 years, the school system announced Monday. A. Denise Graves, who started her career in 1981 at St. Amant High School, is retiring on June 30, 2025, according to a news release. During her tenure, she has held roles ranging from teacher to interim superintendent.
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2 weeks ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
The Nottoway plantation home in Iberville Parish, formerly the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the U.S. South, burned to the ground Thursday. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and officials previously said it started in the south wing before spreading to the main house, which had been turned into a resort, museum and event venue. In a statement last week, Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle said the mansion was a total loss.
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3 weeks ago | 
theadvocate.com | Christopher Cartwright
A sugar refinery in St. James Parish that produces more than 1.2 million tons of granulated sugars and molasses annually is seeking to renew its air permit with the state's Department of Environmental Quality. Louisiana Sugar Refining LLC in Gramercy handles roughly two-thirds of the sugar cane crop grown in Louisiana. It receives raw sugar from eight mills that process sugar from 800 farmers in the state. The company is a parish mainstay, having operated since the late 1800s.
