Zachary Post • Tuesday, April 22, 2014 • Vol. 9, No. 16 • Published Weekly • Circulation 16,000 • zacharypost.com © 2014

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The Post is the place for Zachary news.

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Know Your CouncilmanDuring this Election Year, The Zachary Post will be interviewing each of our sitting City Councilmen so that the community can get a better sense of the people they elected to represent them. These interviews are non-partisan and do not foreshadow whether they will run for reelection. In addition, The Zachary Post offers each candidate in this year’s elections an opportunity to introduce him or herself to the voting public at no cost. The submission of a statement is entirely voluntary and each candidate may submit one time. As such, the printing of these statements does not represent an endorsement of the candidates by the Zachary Post.

See RACE on page 12 See WIL MILLS on page 4

Zachary Schools Planning Race to the Finish on May 3

May 3rd, 2014, marks the inau-gural running of Zachary Race To The Finish 5k and 1 miler, present-ed by ZEPTO.

Zachary’s Elementary Parent T e a c h e r O r g a n i z a -tion (more c o m m o n l y known as ZEPTO) is a non-profit v o l u n t e e r driven, or-gan iza t ion that supports all five of Zachary’s elementary schools.

After completing the hugely successful Fall Fest Fundraiser last November, ZEPTO wanted to try something totally different and de-cided to create a Spring Fundraiser that enables the entire commu-

nity to come together. The name “Race To The Finish” was cre-ated to reflect a community wide celebration of another successful year within ALL of the schools,

ending with a “SPRINT FIN-ISH” at Zachary High School.

“Running is an activity the entire family can be involved in”, says Race Director Li-

anne Crawford. “We created two very different races to attract kids, adults and more specifically fam-ily participation. So far we have had a tremendous response within our community and we thank our

Zachary Poetry Event to Honor the Late Poet Wil MillsBy James Ronald skains

Every generation seems to create a few people who could be characterized by the description: “They walked to their own drum-beat and excelled in doing it.” This would certainly de-scribe Wilmer “Wil” Mills, especially if a few more de-finitive words were added, such as wood craftsman, artist, songwriter, entertain-er, farmer, teacher, and poet.

“The idea for a Tribute to Wil Mills came from a book review that David Middle-ton wrote for the Advocate about Wil’s last book titled: “Selected Poems,” Nancy Lockett, with the Zachary

branch of the East Baton Rouge Par-ish Library System, told the Zach-

ary Post. “I was not aware of how well known Wil was around the country nor how highly es-teemed he was held by his fellow liter-ary professionals.”

Lockett contin-ued, “After doing a little research, I realized that Wil Mills was not very well known in his home town of Zachary. Most of Wil’s growing up years was not in the Zachary Plains

Wilmer Mills

Odyssey from Nigeria Opens Doors of Opportunity for Francis Nezianya

Francis Nezianya

By James Ronald skains

In 1979, Zachary City Councilman Francis Nezianya was an 18-year-old college student in Greece when his fa-ther died in his native Nigeria. At his father’s funeral, a cousin suggested that he look at Louisiana in the United States for good, but economical, col-leges to attend.

“I took his suggestion and re-searched colleges in Louisiana,’’ Nezianya related. “I applied at three schools, LSU, Grambling, and South-ern University. Southern University was the first school to notify me that I had been accepted, so that was where I decided to go.”

“When I arrived at Southern in

1980, I didn’t know anyone. How-ever, on the first day, I met some-one who had known my cousin who had previously attended Southern. Through this friend, I met a couple that lived in Baker and had an extra room for me. Shortly thereafter, I met someone who knew the manager at the Church’s Chicken in Baker, where I was able to get a job.”

“At the very bottom rung of em-ployment was where I started with Church’s,” Nezianya recalled. “My first day at work, I was sent into the freezer to cut up frozen chickens. I still haven’t forgotten how to cut up chickens; first you cut them in half, then cut the drumsticks off, next the wings and finally the breast.”

Nezianya first began serving as a Zachary City Council Member in 2006 representing Council District One. He is registered as an Indepen-dent politically, but won re-election in October 2010 without opposition.

The first things you notice about Nezianya are his infectious smile, his high energy level, his courte-ous manners and his exuberance for life. During his 14-year tenure in the Church’s Fried Chicken organization, Nezianya continued to rapidly ascend the employment ladder moving from his first job in the freezer, to a cook, then a cashier, a shift supervisor, as-sistant manager, manager and finally

See NEZIANYA on page 6

2 Zachary POST Tuesday, April 22, 2014

P.O. Box 1637Zachary, LA 70791

Phone (225) 654-0122Fax (225) 208-1165

Email stories and photos to info@zacharypost.com

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Publisher & EditorDaniel Duggan

Graphic DesignerTina Adams

Account ExecutivesGeorgiana Walls

Ashley Evans

Contributing WriterJames Ronald SkainsJen Bayhi-Gennaro

New Year HistorianCalla Duggan

Minecraft HackmasterChandler Duggan

The Ginger AvengerCecelia Duggan

Stunt Man in TrainingColton Duggan

In Our SchoolsEach year students at Zachary High School have future ambition projects they work hard at all year, this year several students ap-proached us here at The Zachary Post about writing some journalistic stories to be published. Of course we want to help! Beginning this week and continuing for a few more, we will be showcasing some of Zachary’s finest “Cub Reporters.”

Major Changes Loom for Zachary Schools Standardized TestingBy aBigail ashley, 10th gRade - Zhs

The 2013/2014 school year is coming to a close, and end-of-year testing has just begun, but what will Zachary Community Schools have in-store for the teachers, parents and students of the Zachary Community for next year around this time?

The Common Core Standards have been adopted by the state of Louisiana as well as 43 other states, the District of Columbia, four ter-ritories, and the Department of De-fense Education Activity (DoDEA). Louisiana has adopted these stan-dards to help its students engage in independent thinking skills, but with these new standards there will also be some other changes. Louisiana has been using the Leap test since the spring of 1999 and the iLeap since

the spring of 2006, but all of this will be changing in the 2014/2015 school year for the Zachary Community School System. While the school system has been changing its curric-ulum and instructional program for the past two years to align to the new Common Core State Standards, the Louisiana Department of Education will require Zachary Community Schools to administer the new Com-mon Core based PARCC test in the spring of 2015. PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Read-iness of College and Careers. The PARCC test is a computer-based test that will be administered in grades three through eight. So far PARCC has 16 states committed plus the District of Columbia.

This has been an adjustment for not only the students, but the teach-ers and everyone else involved in the educational department. Not only is the test itself being changed, but the testing and teaching material will now start leaning toward the Com-mon Core Standards. The goal for the Zachary Community School System is to prepare every third through eighth grade student for the computerized version of the PARCC test. Everyone in the Zachary Com-munity School System is planning for these new changes so that things will run smoothly for not only their schools, but everyone else they af-fect. (Please notice that all of these factors could change with regards to the Louisiana Legislature.)

Zachary High School Receives Prestigious Global Awareness Award Zachary High School has received

national recognition for excellence in global education from EF High School Exchange Year, the leader in high school exchange.

The EF High School Exchange Year Global Education Excellence Award is presented annually to high schools that demonstrate an extraordinary commit-ment to international understanding and global awareness. Zachary High School was one of a select group of high schools recognized across the United States for the 2013-14 school

year. This year, Zachary High School

welcomed Jenny Roberts into their school. “My experience at Zachary High School has been amazing,” said EF student Jenny Roberts. “I love the school spirit that everyone has at school and in the community. One of my best memories from this year will be the prom. I will never forget my time in Zachary, and I know I will always be welcome here.”

Local exchange coordinator Stacy Howell added, “I thank Zachary High

School for welcoming this year’s stu-dent. The community and visiting students shared an unforgettable expe-rience thanks to the generosity of Zach-ary High School administration, teach-ers, students and families.”

To learn more about getting involved with high school exchange in this com-munity, contact EF High School Ex-change Year local coordinator Stacy Howell at (225) 620-7218. You may also call the EF High School Exchange Year main office at 1-800-447-4273 or visit www.efexchangeyear.org

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Zachary POST 3

Zachary School Board Discusses Testing, Announces Students of the YearIn Our SchoolsBy Jen Bayhi-gennaRo

The Zachary Community School Board met on April 15 at 7 p.m. for their bi-monthly meeting. Superinten-dent Scott Devillier began on a celebra-tory note: Phase II State Testing is fi-nally over. “We had great participation. Eighth grade had zero absences during test time, and that is a great accom-plishment and dedication, especially in a time where we had a flu going around,” he says.

The primary item on the agenda was the recognition of the Students of the Year from all community schools. The winners’ family members, princi-pals and some teachers were present to witness the awards ceremony and say a few words of recognition. The winners are as follows:

Zachary Early Learning Center: Delilah Williams. “Delilah’s teachers all say she is a sweet and caring child. She’s constantly teaching other stu-dents,” says Principal Cynthia Myers. “One day, she’s gonna rule the world!”

Northwestern Elementary School: Madelyn Chatelain. “Madelyn is a ray of sunshine,” says Principal Martha Davis.

Rollins Place Elementary: Emma Todd. “Emma is very sweet and ridicu-lously smart. She always has a smile,” says Principal Jennifer Marangos.

Zachary Elementary School: Ta-fari Beard Jr. “Tafari is academically competitive and has a kind heart,” says Principal Dewey Davis.

Copper Mill Elementary School: Wyatt Barbe. “It speaks volumes when a Student of the Year is a repeat Stu-

dent of the Year,” says Principal Kei-sha Thomas, noting that Wyatt stands up for other kids at school and is a fine young man.

Northwestern Middle School: Mar-tell Fontenot. “He is a gentleman, but he is ‘the man’ on campus,” says Prin-cipal Debby Brian. “He is the captain

of the football team, he volunteers in the community, and he had a major role in our drama production,” she says.

Zachary High School: Jacqueline Odom. “She is genuine and well-liked by her classmates and teachers,” says Principal Wes Watts. Jacqueline plans to attend LSU next year and study po-

litical science. Zachary Career and Technical

School: Anthony Tulagan. “Anthony is very smart, kind and friendly and is a leader on campus,” says Administra-tor Kim Germany. Anthony is pursu-ing graduation early and plans to study electrical engineering at LSU.

Pictured above are Zachary Community School District Students of the Year with Superintendent Scott Devillier. Bottom row:Zachary Early Learning Center - Delilah Williams, Northwestern Elementary School - Madelyn Chatelain, Rollins Place Elementary - Emma Todd, Copper Mill Elementary School - Wyatt Barbe , and Zachary Elementary School - Tafari Beard Jr.; top row: Northwestern Middle School - Martell Fontenot, Zachary Career and Technical School - Anthony Tulagan, and Zachary High School - Jacqueline Odom.

4 Zachary POST Tuesday, April 22, 2014

WIL MILLS continued from page 1

Betsy and Wilmer Mills, mother and father of Wil Mills the world renownedpoet, stand in front of one many antiques in their home in Plains.

area, although that was where his roots were deeply planted. After his diagnosis with a rare form of liver cancer, Wil Mills returned to his par-ents’ home north of Zachary to spend the last weeks of his life before dying and being buried in the two hundred year old family cemetery.”

Wil Mills certainly had the pedi-gree or the genes to be a wordsmith of the first order. Both his mother and father were writers and artists in their own right. His maternal grandmother was Virginia Lobdell Jennings, noted historian of The Plains area. Jennings is best known for her history book of The Plains Port Hudson area titled simply, “The Plains and the People.”

“The Plains and The People” was very much about the first genera-tion of Mills to come to the hills and plains country of Louisiana on the east bank of the grand Mississippi River. He was a 7th generation Mills to live on the original Spanish Land Grant given to his ancestors in the late 1790’s. Throughout his lifetime of poetry, Mills drew on many of his experiences of his agrarian roots in The Plains. Although dying at an early age, Mills did live to see the 8th generation of Mills become a teen-ager; his son Benjamin.

Mills’ first book of poetry, Light for the Orphans, was published in 2002 when Wil was 32. By that time, his poetry had already been pub-lished in numerous poetry magazines nationally and internationally. Light of Orphans lays out for the reader Mills’ difficult adjustment to living in the 1980 era of America, after living in the back country of the Amazon Basin from age 3 until 11.

“Wil had a very happy childhood growing up in rather primitive con-ditions as a child of agricultural mis-sionaries in the Amazon Basin,’’ his mother Betsy Mills explained. “Wil had a mule that he rode almost every day as a kid in Brazil. We lived on an 8,000 acre colonization project of the

Presbyterian Church, and I believe that Wil and his mule explored every acre on that ranch.”

“Wil saw the beauty in nature and the richness in a simple life at an ear-ly age. He was like an orphan that he wrote about in his early poems. He didn’t fit in with the 1980 culture in America, and culturally he was a true orphan, torn between the rich simple life style that he had enjoyed so much as a kid in Brazil and the culture he inherited back in the USA.”

“As modern technology came to the forefront in the form of cell phones and computers, Wil was very uncomfortable with both,’’ Betsy Mills related. “In fact, he hated cell phones and refused to have one dur-ing his lifetime. He had to modify his dislike for computers because to survive as a teacher and poet, he had to learn to use a computer which he did with a high degree of efficiency.”

Wilmer Hastings Mills was a graduate of McCallie Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mills also held two degree from the University of the South in Se-wanee. Mills was respected by his peers as one of the foremost poets of his generation. His poetry works were included in the Penguin An-thology of Contemporary Younger Poets and the Swallow Press Anthol-ogy of New American Poets. Former US Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur praised Mills’ earlier poems for their “emotional density.”

Mills’ work was published nu-merous times in prestigious literary journals nationally and internation-ally. He was the Kenan Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Writer-In-Residence at Covenant College in Chattanooga. Mills was also an artist with numerous art shows in Tennessee, worked as a carpenter, furniture builder, sawyer, wove white oak baskets from trees he felled, renovated two log cabins, grew gardens and baked bread to sell at Farmer’s Markets in a homemade wood-fired bread oven.

This is how Mills described him-self: “People have told me that I seem to be in the 18th century. Part of my problem (or perhaps something that defines me positively) is that I’m not really at home in my own time. But I’m not crazy enough to think that I should be somewhere else. I really do want to live in “now.” The prob-lem is that in the past one hundred years the sense of “now” that we live in today has been sped up and accel-erated.

We’ve changed so much, too fast. I don’t think anyone knows what “now” is anymore. Everyone is just hurdling forward into some dream of progress, of the future. This re-lates to an understanding of narra-tive, something I think about a lot. A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.”

Mills’ widow after 15 years of marriage wrote this about him: “He was a magical Southern gentle-man of a poet who devoted himself

to making a handmade life that was beautiful and full of meaning. It can rightfully be said that his life gave shape to his art, and his art gave shape to his life.”

On the agenda for The Tribute of Wil Mills Poetry scheduled for Sun-day afternoon, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. are several well-known published poets who will read selected poems written by Mills. Joining Mills’ friend Professor David Middleton in reading selected verses by Mills are Professor Jack Bedell, Dr. John Doucet, Jackie Watts Jackson and Dr. Julie Kane, Louisiana Poet Laureate from 2011 through 2013.

Writer’s Note: The Greek word for poet is “maker.” A maker in the broadest sense of the word is a “builder.” Perhaps, many years ago, the well-known poet Longfellow, may have written a great tribute to Wilmer Hastings Mills: “To build, to build, is the noblest art of them all.”

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Zachary POST 5See VILLAGE on page 5

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The Zachary/Baker Relay for Life successfully concluded last Fri-day night with what has been months of hard work by volunteers and area businesses with $51,000 raised and counting. Relay for Life was held at the BREC Park on Old Scenic Hwy. on Friday, April 11 from 5 p.m. un-til midnight. Over 20 booths from various businesses were set up with food, drinks and games for all ages to enjoy. Donations were taken for tickets to enjoy these games and food throughout the evening. The evening began with a balloon re-lease by children of the five Zach-ary elementary schools. Opening Ceremonies started off with a salute to the American Flag, in which The Zachary Fire Dept. ladder truck ex-tended its ladder to fly the flag as the duo, Jamarcus Smith and Alana Scott, sang the National Anthem. Guest Speaker and Cancer Survivor, Hallie Overfield also addressed the crowd. Renee Beadle, Relay for Life Chair, then spoke of what Re-lay is truly about and why we Relay. “This night is focused on the rea-son our community joins together to take up the fight against cancer. One day we will win this battle, and with the help of everyone who is willing to dedicate their time and ef-fort to participate in Relay for Life, I know that the community of Zach-ary will help to make a difference,” said Beadle.

On Friday night during Relay, cancer survivors and their caregiv-ers were honored at a Survivor’s Dinner, sponsored by the Jamba-laya Shoppe, Francois Café, and

Sammy’s Grill. Earlier this month, the Survivor’s Breakfast was held on April 5 at Plains Presbyterian Church, with breakfast catered by Cabba’s Grill. The guest speaker for the breakfast was cancer survivor Hallie Overfield and soloist Nina Watcher accompanied on piano by Kathy Overfield. The welcoming prayer was given by Bob Wojohn and the closing prayer by Ken Sin-quefield.

The Survivor Lap was a glow lap sponsored by the new Baton Rouge General Radiation Oncology Cen-ter located at Lane Regional Medi-cal Center here in Zachary. “This is such a blessing to have this state of the art facility right here in our own community, with the ability to treat cancer patients right here in Zach-ary,” said Beadle.

Around 9 p.m., the lights went out and the slideshow of all of our local family and friends that have been touched by cancer was shown. Javonte McDaniel and Jake Thomas sang a duet of “I’ll Be There” by Michael Jackson, while the wishing lanterns were released.

Several fundraisers have been held leading up to Relay with pro-ceeds benefiting American Cancer Society. A Tennis Tournament was held March 29-30 at the Americana YMCA. “There were over 50 partic-ipants and over 50 sponsors for this tournament. We served lunch both days as part of the registration fee, as well as breakfast on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and we had a great turn out of players, family and spectators. This was a very success-

ful fundraiser for Relay,” said Bea-dle.

“The efforts of this communi-ty are amazing and I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible: BR General Radiation Oncology Center at LRMC, Lane Regional Medical Center, Thornton, Musso, and Bellemin, Hematology/Oncology Clinic, Bank of Zacha-ry, Cardiovascular Institute of the

Relay for Life Breaks Fundraising Records

South, Neighbors Federal Credit Union, Georgia Pacific, Entergy, Advanced Smartlipo, Zachary Or-thopedic Care Center, Russell Pool Company, Sam Johnson’s State Farm Insurance Agency, Sports 4 Life, Banners and Signs by Design, Chubby’s Pizza and Grill, Morris Family Dentistry, and Mayor David and Robyn Amrhein as well com-mittee members and volunteers.”

6 Zachary POST Tuesday, April 22, 2014

NEZIANYA continued from page 1

a trainee for a franchise ownership.“Becoming a Church’s Franchise

owner was my business dream at the time,” Nezianya, who obtained an ac-counting degree from Southern, ac-knowledged. “I had attended numer-ous managerial training schools with Church’s, including special training in Atlanta for a franchise owner.”

“In the early 1990s, the corpo-rate Church’s Company was going through buyouts, mergers, and reor-ganizations. When it finally became apparent that I was not going to be able to get a franchise store, I began to look at other options. I decided that Subway offered me the best opportu-nity for success.”

“Although I had saved a lot of money while working at Church’s I did not have enough money to open a Subway store,” Francis recalled from those early days of his business ca-reer. “Finally in 1994, I was able to get a loan from the old City National Bank in Baton Rouge to enable me to open my first Subway Restaurant by the railroad tracks in downtown Zachary.”

Since his humble beginnings in the Subway franchise business in downtown Zachary (which is still his flagship store) Francis has become a pillar in the Zachary business and civic community. In 2005, Francis was elected President of the Zach-ary Chamber. In 2006, Francis was elected president of the Zachary Ro-tary Club.

“I really enjoy being a Rotarian and serving the community that has been so good to me,’’ Francis pointed out. “It has been an honor for me to

be involved in civic affairs in Zach-ary and to help support the schools. Three of my children have graduated from Zachary High School, Erica, Joel and Joshua.”

Francis’s love for the Rotary Club is apparent from not only his involve-ment in the Zachary Club, but also from his work in the state Rotary hierarchy. He is currently serving as assistant District Governor for Ro-tary District 6200. Rotary District 6200 stretches from Abbeville to Lake Charles to DeRidder to Houma to Denham Springs through Baton Rouge and to Zachary, encompassing a total of 48 local Rotary clubs.

“The next few years for me in Ro-tary will be very wonderful,” Nezian-ya says. “I will become District 6200 Governor in 2016 and will also be at-tending the International Rotary Club Convention in Australia this year. In addition, I intend to attend both the International and National Rotary Club convention during the next few years.”

Francis now owns and operates 14 Subway Stores in the Zachary/Felici-ana/Metro Baton Rouge area and one TCBY franchise, which is part of the Zachary store. Current employment in his operation stands at 109.

“I enjoy providing jobs for peo-ple,” Nezianya says. “I’ve basically worked all the jobs in the Subway operation, as well as in the Church’s Chicken stores. This enables me to easily relate to what my employees are handling at a day-to-day opera-tion. The opportunity is there for oth-er people to do the same thing I did, start at the bottom and go to the top.’’

“Subway is a great company to work with. They give us a tremen-dous amount of support and are al-

ways up to date on the latest trends in foods. There are a lot more choices in restaurants today than there were here in Zachary when we opened in 1994. It’s a challenge to stay com-petitive in the restaurant business. I attend the annual Subway Franchise Convention and other regional meet-ings to help stay on top of what is go-ing on within the Subway operation.

“Serving on the Zachary City Council has been very rewarding for me,” Nezianya says. “Since be-ing elected to office, we have been able to push forward with updating the sewage system and beginning the by-pass to help reduce the traffic congestion on Main Street. Also we have plans to improve Rollins Road where our Elementary and Middle Schools are located.”

“We have seen a lot of eco-nomic development within the last few years, including the Americana YMCA project, which I was fortu-nate enough to be a part of. I will be a candidate for re-election this fall and hope I have the opportunity to con-tinue serving the people of District One as their Councilman.”

Nezianya is very much involved

in his local church, St. Patrick’s Epis-copal Church in Zachary. He serves as Treasurer of his church and also on the Executive Board of the Episcopal Diocese.

“My family in Nigeria was active members in the Anglican Church, which is very similar to the Episcopa-lian faith,” Nezianya explained. “My faith and desire to help other people has been a focus in my life since child-hood.”

Nezianya is married to Lettimarie Nezianya, an educator. They have a blended family of six children, Erica 29, Joel 26, Joshua 23, and Imman-uel who just turned 5. The other two members of the family are Rochelle, who is in her early 20’s and Benjamin, 19, a student at BRCC.

Writer’s Note: From halfway around the world, to an entry-level job at a fast food restaurant while work-ing on a college degree, followed by becoming a multiple franchise restau-rant owner, and becoming both a civic and political leader in his adopted hometown, Francis Nezianya is walk-ing proof that America is still a great land of opportunity!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Zachary POST 7

ZEPTO Presents

5K and 1 Mile Fun RunWhen: Saturday, May 3rd, 1 mile @9:00 a.m. / 5K @9:30 a.m.

Where: Zachary High School, Bronco Stadium

Register at Eventbrite.com

Activities for the kids following the Fun Run Overall and age group awards to be presented immediately following the 5k race

Contact Race Director Lianne Crawford at (225) 819-6703 or bugcrawford@hotmail.com for more info.

Proudly sponsored by:

The Freeman Family, Lane Regional Medical Center, Georgia-Pacific, Superior Ford, DM Petroleum, Varsity Sports, Raising Canes, Banners & Signs by Design, Subway, US Express Track Club, Kentwood

Springs, Zachary UPS Store, Road ID, Ricky McDavid with Myles Law Firm, Zachary Post, Michelle Bruton Photography, Geaux Jump Inflatables, Complete Collision Center, YMCA, and Zachary Community Schools

In Our Community

Fish Fry Friday! On Friday, April 11, Mayor David Amhrein and his staff prepared deli-cious fish fry dinners. Sponsored by Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, all proceeds from the dinner sales benefit the Lane Regional Medical Center Foundation and its various projects. Zachary Newcomers Club met on Thursday, April 3 in the Zachary library meeting

room at 10:30 a.m.. A presentation was given by Renaissance Medical Spa. They passed out gift bags to all the Zachary Newcomer members. Zachary Newcomers Club is open to anyone 5 years or newer to the Zachary area. No membership fee, just call to receive the monthly newsletter by e-mail or regular mail. Activities include a monthly presentation, Lunch Bunch, Book Club, Coffee Call, Moms & Tots, Bridge & Tennis. For more details contact Sylvia Wahoske by phone 225-337-1151 or e-mail sjwaho-ske@cox.net. Pictured from left to right is Lisa Bergeron, aesthetician with Renais-sance Medical Spa, Zachary Newcomer Club members Marcia Dial, June Nye, Nancy Volmer, Janine Ellsworth, Beverly Clyde, Linda Roberts and Cindy Soulier, manager of Renaissance Medical Spa.

2014 Drive 4 Your Community to Benefit Lane FoundationSuperior Ford and Lane Region-

al Medical Center have partnered to bring the Drive 4 UR Commu-nity program to Zachary in an ef-fort to raise up to $6,000 for the LaneRMC Foundation.

For every person who takes the wheel for a free, no-hassle test-drive, $20 will be donated by Ford Motor Company to the LaneRMC Foundation! (Limited to one li-censed driver per household, up to

300 drivers.)Drive 4 UR Com-

munity will be held on Friday, May 2, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., rain or shine, in the front parking lot of Lane Regional Medi-cal Center, 6300 Main Street, in Zachary.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer such

a creative fundraising program to LaneRMC Founda-tion, and I’ve never been more proud to be a Ford dealer”, says Patrick Camp-bell, owner of Superi-or Ford. “Participants will have the chance to take a fun, casual drive in their dream car while at the same

time bring much needed support to the LaneRMC Foundation. It’s a win-win for everyone!”

Participants must be 18 or older and have a valid driver’s license. All test-drives will last approxi-mately 5-7 minutes. Dealership staff will be on hand to assist with all vehicles and provide additional information about each of the 12-15 vehicles available for test-drive.

Devine Outreach Food Pantry EstablishedA food bank has been established in the Chaneyville area and surround-

ing communities, located at 24497 Cook Road, Slaughter, Louisiana. Ap-plications for families that may qualify will be taken on Tuesday, April 22 starting at 6 p.m. in the old Greater Philadelphia Baptist church building. Applicants are to bring picture ID, proof of household income, and proof of residence. For more information contact Huey Lee at (225) 654-3048 or (225) 247-0318.

8 Zachary POST Tuesday, April 22, 2014

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Australian Rotary Members Visit Zachary Rotary, Discuss AgribusinessBy James Ronald skains

The Aussie Rotarian Team was a special guest of the Zachary Rotary Club on Thursday, April 10. This visit with the Zachary Rotarians capped a busy week for the four-person Agriculture and Aquaculture Vocation Training Team.

Cameron Wood, a 29-year ranch-er and farmer in eastern Austra-lia, told the Zachary Rotary Club, “We’ve had a great time in Louisi-ana, especially enjoying meals with Louisiana food. We will be carrying several pounds of Louisiana food calories back to Australia with us!”

The Wood Ranch runs 8,500 me-rino sheep and 600 head of cattle. Wood elaborated on the sheep and wool production; “It takes 100 kilos of wool to make a fine, high quality men’s woolen suit. To be success-ful in raising sheep and producing high quality wool, it takes a lot of work as well as a keen knowledge of wool and sheep classing. For ex-ample, we have to be very careful with the sheep to make sure that the wool doesn’t grow over their eyes and prevent them from finding wa-ter.”

The six days the Aussie Ro-tarians spent in the Baton Rouge area was all about agriculture, aquaculture,and forestry. The team leader and coordinator of the Baton Rouge area visit was Connie Fabre, Executive Director of the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance. On Saturday and Sunday, the 5th and 6th of April, the Aussie Team spent “down time” with Host Families in the area. Gwen Fuselier of the Zach-

ary Rotary Club was one of the Host Families for the Aussie Team.

On Monday, the Aussie Team visited LSU, where they got an overview of the Louisiana 4-H pro-gram. The Louisiana 4-H program is one of the more comprehensive 4-H programs in the USA. Also, on Monday, the Team met with the Ba-ton Rouge Chamber of Commerce representatives, and concluded the day with dinner at the home of Connie and Mike Fabre.

Lindsay Wilkin, the designated Team Leader of the Aussie Rotar-ian group from District 9650 was unable to attend the Zachary Rotary meeting due to illness in his fam-

Pictured above: Tamara Campbell, a member of the visiting Austrailian Rotary ClubTeam addressing the Zachary Rotary Club on April 10.

ily, which required him to return to Australia early during the trip. Four of the five Aussie Team members, including Wilkin are agriculture, sheep, and cattle focused while the fifth member, Tamara Campbell, is a Forester.

“I am impressed with what I’ve seen and heard about the timber industry in this area,” Campbell confided to the Post. “Right here in the Zachary area you have two huge paper mills. We don’t have a lot of big paper mills in my area of Australia.”

“I work for Forestry Corpora-tion of New South Wales,” Camp-bell continued, “which would prob-

ably compare to a state forest here in the States. I’m looking forward to visiting the logging operation here in Louisiana on our tour this afternoon. Back home on the New South Wales Forests, my job cen-ters around firefighting, forest road maintenance, environmental issues and a mixture of other land man-agement services.”

Campbell is very active in pro-fessional trade organizations, which include serving as secretary of the Women and Firefighting Australia as well as a board member of the New South Wales Branch of the In-stitute of Foresters. She noted that 2009 was an especially tough sea-son for firefighters in Australia, as they fought numerous large bush-fires across Australia.

Prior to visiting the Zachary Ro-tary Club on the 10th, the Aussie Team had visited the Rotary Club of Gonzales and the Downtown Ro-tary Club of Baton Rouge. Other points of interest in the Aussie Team 9650’s tour included the Syn-genta Crop Protection manufactur-ing plant, a visit with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and For-estry, dinner at the home of legend-ary tomato farmer and lawyer Ted Jones, and the LSU Animal Science Center.

The Aussie Rotary Team distrib-uted a brochure during the Zach-ary Rotary Club meeting, which elaborated on the purpose of this visit; “The Rotary International District 9650 Vocational Training

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Zachary POST 9

Heritage Ranch Hosts 1st Annual Cook-Off for the KidsOn Saturday, April 5, Heritage

Ranch hosted its 1st annual Cook-Off for the Kids, a family oriented fundraising event, at the Heritage Ranch property in Zachary with over 250 guests in attendance. The event included a BBQ Cook-Off competition where guests enjoyed delicious tastings of ribs, brisket, pork and wild card entries from the competing Cook-Off teams. Festivities included a live con-cert by the Chris Leblanc Band, beer provided by the Abita Brew-ing Company, delicious sides by Burgersmith and City Pork, raffle packages, trail rides and many ex-citing events for the kids.

Every aspect of the event was a huge success. The Kids Zone was particularly popular, with attend-ing kids participating in games and activities such as 3-legged races, an Easter egg hunt, a Pie eating contest, carnival games, a bouncer and much more.

When asked to comment on the Cook-Off, Vicki Ellis, Execu-tive Director said “We are thrilled about the turnout we had for this first year of the event. The Ranch was abuzz with people, music, kids, and excitement about the de-licious BBQ. The Cook-Off teams cooked amazing dishes, including whole hog, whole lamb, ribs, and much more. We look forward to hosting this event annually at the Ranch and seeing it grow in future years.”

The event would not have been possible without the support of our corporate sponsors: Latter &

Blum, Burgersmith, Bank of Zach-ary, Demco, Subway of Zachary, Group Contractors, Cook, Moore & Associates, Environmental Spe-cialties and NOLA Lending, our Prize sponsor Landry Real Estate and trophy sponsor Dolese. We would also like to give special

thanks to our outstanding com-mittee and of course our guests, who made our success possible.

Heritage Ranch is the future site of a Christian children’s home in Zachary. The 52 acre residen-tial facility will initially serve six boys and a houseparent couple.

Heritage Ranch will provide hous-ing, educational support, and cri-sis counseling that will empower youth to regain personal stability and allow the family to work to-ward reunification.

Pictured above: The Cooking Kilowatts cooking team sponsored by Entergy.

10 Zachary POST Tuesday, April 22, 2014

AUSSIE ROTARY continued from page 8

Bourg, Justin Bradley

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Loving husband, father, son, brother and friend, Justin died Sunday, April 13, 2014 in an automobile accident. He was 25 years old, a resident of Slaughter, and an operator with Novelaire Technology.

Visitation will be at Charlet Funeral Home in Zachary on Wednesday, April 16 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.. Visitation will continue on Thursday at Charlet Fu-neral Home from 9 a.m. until service time at 11 a.m. conducted by Pastor Kevin Hancock.

Burial will be in Azalea Rest Cemetery, Zachary.He is survived by his wife of four years, Ashley Bourg, Son, Bradley Wayne

Bourg, Father, Pat and wife Jackie Bourg, mother in law, Linda Powers and fa-ther in law, John Saucier,

Sisters, Nikki Bourg Plauche and husband, John, Andrea Bourg Lalonde, Brothers, Bronson Bourg and Michael Posey and wife, Tracey, grandfather, Ken Henderson and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Faye Bourg, grandparents, Audrey Henderson, Canie Smith, Houston Bryan and Charles Bourg.

Pallbearers will be Robert Bryan, John Plauche, Michael Posey, David Bueche, R.J. Womack, and Brian Bueche. Honorary pallbearers will be Austin Leake, USMC, currently stationed in Jacksonville, NC., and Brent Bourge.

He was an avid hunter.Memorial donations may be made for Bradley’s future education.

Births • Engagements • Weddings • Awards Obituaries • Anniversaries • Reunions

Milestonesteam is a group of passionate, en-thusiastic and professional agricul-tural practitioners from the diverse region of the mid-north coast and northern slopes and plains of New South Wales. As we undertake this exchange of people and ideas across the waters, I am grateful that we are able to finally get people meeting people, gaining an understanding of how the various vocations are un-der taken in our home Districts. We have a strong focus on ecologically sustainable agriculture and we look forward to learning and sharing our skills and experience with the peo-ple of Louisiana.”

As the Aussie Rotarian Team moved toward their last stop on their Louisiana tour, a visit to Den-nis Aucoin’s logging job site north of Zachary, Tamara Campbell, a professional forester on the team, was asked to compare the forest in-dustry in Australia and Louisiana.

“We have a lot less pine timber in Australia than you do here in Loui-siana. Our harvesting focus is more on trees for hardwood decorative lumber. The predominant species of trees in our forests are Eucalyptus. I understand that Eucalyptus trees in Louisiana grow much faster here in the warmer temperatures and fer-tile soil than in Australia.”

According to Australian Forest data, Australia has approximately 147 million hectares of native for-est, which represents some 19% of

land use. There are 457 forest com-munities distributed across Austra-lia. These have been grouped into the following seven native forest types which are characterized by dominant species and the structure of the forest: Rainforest, Melaleuca forest, Eucalypt forest, Casuarina forest, Callitris forests, Acacia for-ests, and Mangrove forest.

On the logging job site of Den-nis Aucoin some 15 miles north of Zachary, Campbell was asked to compare the Aucoin operation to a similar logging operation in Aus-tralia. “This harvesting operation in Louisiana is much more massive and faster than in Australia. We use a lot of cut-to-length logging equip-ment which not only cuts down the tree but cuts it into length on site which decreases the use of these large skidders.”

The Louisiana Rotary Clubs of District 6200 are planning a simi-lar Rotarian Team visit to Austra-lia in the near future. Also, mem-bers from more than 1,100 Rotary Clubs across the globe will head to Sydney, Australia for the 2014 Ro-tary Club International Convention scheduled for June 1-4.

Writers Note: From the discus-sions with the Aussie Rotarian Voca-tion Travel Team, it was obvious that as here in the United States, agricul-ture and forestry are the backbones of the national economy. Without an adequate continuous supply of food products and lumber and pulp for housing and paper mills, the econ-omy becomes unsteady.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Zachary POST 11

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Zachary Police to Join DEA for National Prescription Drug Take-back DayFrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday,

April 26, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana will join the Zachary Po-lice Department and Drug Enforce-ment Administration (DEA) officials for the eighth National Prescription Drug Take-back Day. State and lo-cal law enforcement partners will staff collection events across the nation to help the public safely rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, un-used or unwanted prescription drugs.

In Zachary, the public can bring un-used prescription medication to police department headquarters, 4510 Main Street, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 26. Popular country music station WYNK-FM will host a radio remote event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the same location to provide enter-

tainment and giveaways to those who come by to drop off their medications.

Americans participating in DEA’s seven previous Take-back Days have turned in more than 3.4 million pounds—more than 1,700 tons—of expired or unwanted prescription drugs, most recently at more than 4,114 sites operated by the DEA and its law enforcement partners last Octo-ber. Blue Cross has participated since 2011, providing promotional support and volunteers at a major Baton Rouge drop-off site. Last April, Blue Cross and QVL Pharmacy volunteers there took in more than 85 pounds of un-wanted or expired prescription drugs.

National Prescription Drug Take-back Day provides a venue for the public to dispose of unwanted and

unused prescription drugs safely and in an environmentally friendly way. It also addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as is the number of accidental poison-ings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from their home medicine cabinets. In ad-dition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

wonderful sponsors for helping us build this race and hopefully more like this to come in the fu-ture.”

Both events, the 5k and 1 mile fun run, start AND finish at Zachary High School Bronco Stadium. This event attracts be-ginner, middle of the pack and elite runners hoping to draw also from Baton Rouge and surround-ing areas.

The 5k race course is a “fast” route that takes runners through the streets of beautiful East Meadow and Myrtle Hill ending with a 1 lap (400 meter) finish on the track. The mile fun run is to be held completely within the grounds of Zachary High School away from the main roads and safe for the children.

There will be special post race activities including inflatables, and a special visit from Zachary Fire Department. Come prepared kids to get WET! Food vendors for spectators and numerous cus-tom made awards for race par-ticipants. Special trophies were designed for fastest ZEPTO, NMS & ZHS kids. Every child registered at a ZEPTO school receives an ice cream party, free dress Monday May 5 and for the first 100 kids registered they will receive running spirit sticks.

ALL registration (individual and team) is on-line at WWW.EVENTBRITE.COM

For further information, please contact Lianne Craw-ford directly at 225 819-6703

RACE continued from page 2

West Feliciana Hospital Announces Innovative Therapy CertificationJ. Patrick Brumfield, PT, owner and

operator of St. Francis Rehabilitation Services, an outpatient department of West Feliciana Parish Hospital, received specialized training on a physical ther-apy treatment called Trigger Point Dry Needling in March 2014.

Trigger Point Dry Needling (TDN), also known as Functional Dry Needling or Intramuscular Manual Therapy, is a relatively new procedure intended to re-duce pain and restore function by treat-ing trigger points in chronically tight muscles. Trigger points are hypersensi-tive spots found within a taut band of skeletal muscle or in the muscle’s fas-cia, commonly referred to by patients as knots. Trigger points are typically associated with chronic pain, referred tenderness, limited range of motion and are painful upon compression.

The primary goal of TDN is to de-sensitize or release trigger points, re-store normal muscle function, and to

induce healing in the target tissue. This is achieved by introducing sterile needles, ranging in length from 30 to 100 mil-limeters, into varying depths of muscle with a goal of obtaining a local muscle twitch response. The response releases the shortened muscle, essentially reset-ting it to a normal state.

There is little or no discomfort as the needle passes through healthy muscle tissue. However, if the muscle is sensi-tive, under tension, or has active trigger points, the needle will elicit a twitch re-sponse that is often described as a mus-cle cramp sensation. Typically, positive results are apparent within two to four treatment sessions but can vary depend-ing on the cause and duration of the symptoms, overall health of the patient.

The monofilament needle used is very fine and most people don’t even feel it as it passes through the skin. Cer-tification is attained through an intensive three-day, 24-hour course, including

hands-on instruction and clinical prac-tice. The provider must have extensive education and knowledge of the ner-vous, muscular and vascular systems as well as general orthopedics to apply for training.

TDN differs from acupuncture in that the latter is based on Eastern medi-cal diagnosis, requiring training in tra-ditional Chinese medicine. Ultimately, TDN works as an additional option to traditional physical therapy treatment centered on reducing pain, improving joint mobility, and restoring function.

For more information on dry nee-dling or any other services offered by St. Francis Rehabilitation at the West Feliciana Parish Hospital Outpatient Physical Therapy Department, please call the Physical Therapy Clinic at 225-635-2448 or visit the website at www.stfrancisvillept.com. A referral from your treating physician is required to be evaluated for TDN services.