Connor Raborn

2 weeks ago | hammondstar.com | Connor Raborn

The signature fruit of Ponchatoula can be seen at every turn in the city this week as it prepares for the annual Strawberry Festival, taking place Friday through Sunday. Just as music stages and fair rides began to rise at the festival grounds at Memorial Park on Tuesday afternoon, strawberry decorations adorned nearby residences, such as that of Ronald III and Rhonda Pembo. The Pembos have lived next door to the festival for seven years.

4 weeks ago | hammondstar.com | Connor Raborn

A fire alarm which led to a brief evacuation of the post office in downtown Hammond Monday morning was triggered by residual smoke from a repair job. Hammond Fire Department arrived on scene and the situation was quickly mitigated – within a minute – as responders determined the alarm was triggered by smoke resulting from a work crew sweating a pipe, or soldering it, said Assistant Fire Chief Anthony Maurer.

4 weeks ago | hammondstar.com | Connor Raborn

March came in and went out like a lion for southeastern Louisiana this year, marking a few weekends with violent storms and contradicting the folk aphorism that counts on lamblike mild weather to end the month. National Weather Service in southeast Louisiana confirmed that an EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 75 mph and a path width of about 25 yards touched down in the Holden area Monday morning before heading southeast.

1 month ago | hammondstar.com | Connor Raborn

It was important to Mia Terrebonne to ensure that, as 2025 Amite Oyster Festival queen, no one could outshine her at oyster shucking. That’s how she found herself on a boat in Port Sulphur, collecting fresh shellfish to practice. She has worked on her technique throughout her reign, already proving herself a champion at the Cameron, Louisiana, Fur & Wildlife Festival where a shucking contest was held this year. Terrebonne won “hands down,” according to Amite Oyster Festival Chairman Dawson Primes.

2 months ago | hammondstar.com | Connor Raborn

A local parent and a school board member expressed displeasure with a recent social media post from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry during last week’s Tangipahoa Parish School Board meeting. Landry took to social media last Tuesday, Feb. 18, to post screencaps of emails concerning ecological issues that his office received from students. “My teacher says climate change is bad, sorry to bother you,” reads one of the emails from a Tangipahoa Parish student.