Council approves property purchase

On Monday, the St, Charles Parish council unanimously passed an ordinance to approve and authorize the execution of an act of sale for the purchase of a 35,000-square-foot lot adjacent to the offices of the Department of Planning and Zoning.

According to St. Charles Parish Chief Administrative Officer, Tim Vial, the property could help enable the parish's Planning Department of Economic Development and Tourism expand its' offices.

"There is a house on the property that could be used as office space," Vial said at Monday's parish council meeting.

The property, located at 15012 River Rd., Hahnville, is currently owned by the estate of Icar J. Lousteau and Elsie L. Lousteau, and will sell for approximately $195,000.

At the time of press, the ordinance was still pending final approval from Parish President Albert Laque. 

West bank levee work continues
The council passed an ordinance to approve and authorize the execution of a contract with B&K Construction Co., Inc. focusing on the removal of debris from the work site of the West Bank Hurricane Protection Levee project.    

This cleanup will be part two of the Magnolia Ridge Clearing and Grubbing project associated with the levee construction. 

The $120,495 contract will enable the levee construction for phase one of the parish project to continue. 

St. Charles Parish and the Lafourche Basin Levee District are providing the original funding for the west bank levee reconstruction.

Local athletes recognized for performance
The council recognized four local members of the 2006 National Special Olympic Games for their outstanding achievement in a variety of events at the first ever national games in Ames, Iowa.

Steve Ackerman, 32, was acknowledged for his performance in both the aquatic freestyle and aquatic butterfly.  In both events, Ackerman placed second and took home the silver medal.

Ron Davis, 20, and Darrin Mouton, 31, were both acknowledged for their performance and teamwork on the Team LA Softball team.  The team returned home with the gold medal.

Douglas "DJ" Gilder, 14, was acknowledged for his performance in track and field.  He came in first for the long jump, and brought home the bronze in the 200 meter run.

Coaches, Mollie Picou, Brian Picou and Tracie Fletcher were also honored for their remarkable work with the team.

All of the athletes and coaches were presented with a plaque of recognition signed by the parish council members.   

Local picked in NFL draft
Dawan Landry, 23, of Ama, was recognized for his recent draft into the NFL with a plaque of recognition from the parish's council members.

The Baltimore Ravens decided on Landry in the fifth round of this year's draft.

Landry is an alumnus of Hahnville High School, and graduated from Georgia Tech in December 2005 with a major in management. 

He was accompanied by his parents, Frank and Rhonda Landry.