Zachary Post Feb 03

Zachary Post • Tuesday, February 3, 2015 • Vol. 10, No. 5 • Published Weekly • Circulation 16,000 • zacharypost.com © 2015

PRESORT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDZACHARY, LAPERMIT NO. 6

CAR-RT PRESORTPOSTAL CUSTOMERS

ECWSS Postal Patron Local

See ZHS BASKETBALL on page 2

BANK of ZACHARY.com

BANK of ZACHARYBANK of ZACHARY

(225) 654-2701 • bankofzachary.com

Main Office: Main Street | Zachary

Plaza Office: Church Street | Zachary

central Office: 13444 Hooper Road | Central

Member FDIC

The Post is the place for Zachary news.

Proud to be Zachary’s only locally owned, managed and staffed newspaper.

See LANGLEY on page 8

Zachary High Basketball Making Improvements in District Play

Senior Point Guard Sam Bienemy scores against district rival Central High School. The Broncos defeated Central 51-46. ZHS is currently 12-8 on the season. Photo by Sharron Ventura.

By James Ronald skains

“You don’t ever know how long it will take to build a basketball pro-gram into an elite team that can com-pete each year for championships, but I do know the fundamentals of what the process is to build a good team,” Coach Kenny Almond, the new Head Basketball Coach at Zach-ary High School, told the Zachary Post.

“You can have a very good bas-ketball team from your school, but run into a juggernaut of a team from some other school in the playoffs that can recruit talent from a larger area than your team can recruit. This is what happens so often to teams in all sports from schools in smaller areas with less overall population. Wheth-er or not recruiting outside your own school district is fair remains to be seen, but too many times recruiting of high school basketball players is a factor in who wins State Champion-

All Great Relationships Start With a Handshake Says Bruce Langley

Bruce Langley

By James Ronald skains

“I’m a farmer at heart,” Bruce Lang-ley, a New York Life Agent in Zach-ary, told the Zachary Post. “I raise cattle and goats on my place out in the Pride-Cheneyville area.”

“I grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of Scotlandville. We had hogs, cows, and goats and raised a big vegeta-ble garden. We also had Tennessee Walk-ing Horses. I’ll never forget my prize buckskin walker, Stacey. Stacey died at the age of 35. I don’t have any horses on my place out in Cheneyville, but the horses may be on the radar in the future.”

“I stopped playing football at Scot-landville High School after my sopho-more year to go to work,” Langley ex-plained. “It was very expensive trying to keep up with the incidental costs of going to school, such as your senior ring, the proms and all the extra things that cost money for high school students.”

“I got a job at the very bottom rung on the employment ladder with Winn Dixie. Later I went to work for Piggly

Wiggly stores and within one year I had worked up to Assistant Manager. Three years later I was awarded my own store to manage. That was not a bad career path for me, especially for a guy in his mid-20’s without a college education; however, the rest of the story was what made me change careers. My weekly schedule was from 60 to 80 hours every week.”

“I got married in 1992 during my Piggly Wiggly days,” Langley acknowl-edged. “I didn’t get to see my wife near-ly as much as I wanted to, on a daily or weekly basis. I started looking around for another job opportunity but just could not find the right fit for me.”

“I had taken out an insurance policy and wanted to get into financial planning for my family, but it never seemed to be the right time. We had very few ben-efits with the Piggly Wiggly Company, so that was one very big challenge that

was hard to handle. I finally called my insurance agent, John Wimple who also loved horses. I explained my situation and thoughts about a career change with John. He asked me to come in and visit with him.”

“That visit with John Wimple lasted for three hours but it changed my life,” Langley, an active member of the Zach-ary Chamber, recalled. “He related to me how significant you are as an insurance agent. I had always wanted to make a difference in life so that caught my atten-tion.”

“I began to interview with insurance companies for a job as an agent. My choices of jobs came down to North-western Mutual and New York Life. I chose New York Life which has proven out to be a great career choice for me. I got my education during my three years of study and training with New York Life

The second grade class at Rollins Place elementary visited Bogue Chitto State Park near Franklinton this past week to participate in a reforestation program initiated by the LSU Coastal Roots Program. The four classes of students planted over 200 seedling trees including the Water Oak, Tupelo Gum, Swamp Red Maple, Loblolly Pine, Nuttall Oak, and Longleaf Pine. The elementary school students are taking part in this project by establishing wetland plant nurseries at their school. Students are growing native plant seedlings that they plant in a coastal and erosion prone habitat restoration project in south Louisiana. There are 40 schools across 18 parishes currently participating in the LSU Coastal Roots Program. The Rollins Place Elementary 2nd Graders are the youngest participants in the state program.

RPE Students: Saving the Coast One Tree at a Time

2 Zachary POST Tuesday, February 3, 2015

ZHS BASKETBALL continued from page 1

P.O. Box 1637Zachary, LA 70791

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

Email stories and photos to [email protected]

Published Tuesdays52 weeks a year

Deadline for news and advertising: Wednesday 5 P.M.

Call for advertising rates.

Publisher & EditorDaniel Duggan

Graphic DesignerTina Adams

Account ExecutivesGeorgiana Walls

Ashley EvansJamar Franklin

Contributing WritersJames Ronald SkainsJen Bayhi-Gennaro

Glitter EditorCalla Duggan

Fried Food EditorChandler Duggan

Bike Trick EditorCecelia Duggan

Deleting Files EditorColton Duggan

DRY’S

Join the Zachary Community School District for a Black History Month Celebration featuring music, theater, poetry and dance performed by students and community mem-bers. They will conduct their annual raffle of award-winning literary se-lections for children and adults alike.

The event will take place on Thursday, February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Zachary High School Visual and Performing Arts Center.

Zachary Community School to Celebrate

Black History Month ships.”Coach Almond knows a thing or

two about state championships, hav-ing won three of them at Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge where he coached for 19 years. Coach Al-mond spent the next 10 years lead-ing the East Ascension High School Team to a couple of trips to the final playoffs. Coach Almond’s all-time head coaching basketball victories are 876 with 388 loses for a 69% winning percentage. Coach Almond is ranked seventh nationally of ac-tive coaches for his winning record.

The 67-year-old Almond is a 1967 graduate of Istrouma High school in Baton Rouge. “I played football at Istrouma and didn’t play basketball in college,” Coach Almond related. “Football dominated Istrouma High School. If you were a member of the team, you were really somebody on campus.”

Almond obtained a degree in physical education and later a degree in school administration. His first coaching job was at Baker Junior High School. Later he moved over to Central as an assistant, before becoming head basketball Coach at Lee High School. After establish-ing a winning tradition at Lee High which included a state runner-up finish, Coach Almond moved over to Woodlawn High School in South-east Baton Rouge. At Woodlawn, his

Kenny Almondwinning percentage was truly awe-some in his 19 years there. He also had a runner-up finish during his ten-ure at Woodlawn.

“Coaching at Lee High and Wood-lawn was an experience in diversity,” Coach Almond recalled. “Because of the close proximity to LSU we had 18 different nationalities represented at Lee High School. The diversity at Woodlawn was significant, but not to the degree of Lee High School.”

“Here at Zachary, most of our kids are born and raised in the school district and go through both the low-er grades together as well as Junior High School. This helps in team building when everyone has known each and played together before they

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 Zachary POST 3

Some jewelry displayed patented (US Pat. No. 7,007,507) • © Pandora • PANDORA.NET

Experience at:

CHERISH EVERY MOMENT

GARY BLANCHARD JEWELERS5317 Main Street, Zachary 225.654.0622

Sterling silver charms from $25

CHURCH ST.

MUSICTREE

WINNDIXIE

LEE

ST.

HW

Y 19

reach the varsity level in sports. I think this is one of the reasons that Zachary is rated the number one school system in the state.”

“Our sports facilities for both football and basketball are the best in the state,” Coach Almond acknowl-edged. “We have a lot to work with here at Zachary High School. The facility here gives the kids an added boost to excel. When your kids are smiling and happy, especially the players, you know you are on the right track.”

“We are a rather small team this year height-wise, but we have a good mix of seniors, juniors and sopho-mores to build for the future. I think most of our kids have bought into my way of doing things both on and off the basketball court.”

Coach Almond was quoted earlier

as saying this about his 2014-2015 Bronco basketball team: “We’ve got some young kids that have got a lot of promise,” Almond said. “I think we’ve got a chance to be better, no question about that. Last year’s sea-son didn’t go well for whatever rea-son. We want to see if we can change that. These young guys, the freshmen and sophomores, they’re pretty good players. So that means the future is good, I hope. The seniors are a good little group too. I think we’ve got a good mix.”

In Coach Almond’s basketball quarters is a framed quote that reads: “The test of this century is whether we mistake the growth of wealth and power for the growth of strength and character. We have weakened disci-pline and made freedom of the indi-vidual dominant.”

In pointing out these words, Coach Almond noted; “Most people

ZHS Sophmore Shyron White scores against Live Oak earlier this month. Photo by Sharron Ventura.

don’t know that these words were spoken by Coach Vince Lombardi back during the 1960’s. I think these are very prolific words that are apro-pos in today’s society.”

Another motivational plaque that Coach Almond has for the players to look at daily, which he calls Simple Math, reads like this:

Desire + Sacrifice + Discipline = Preparation

Preparation + Success = Confi-dence

Mental Toughness + Pride = Per-severance

If we are prepared and confident and persevere we will have the edge!

Almond was honored as Louisi-ana’s Mr. Basketball last month by the Louisiana Association of Basket-ball Coaches. This is a recognition given to someone who has made a

significant, long-term contribution to basketball in Louisiana.

Coach Almond was one of 21 ap-plicants for the Zachary job. “Coach Almond is the type of winner that we wanted to bring in to our school and community. We are excited about what he has to offer our basketball program. He is a proven program builder,” said Zachary Athletic Di-rector Jesse Cassard when the con-tract was reached with Coach Al-mond last June.

“At this point in my career, I am very excited about the chance to coach at Zachary High School. This is a great opportunity to join a school system and athletic program that is working to get to the top and stay there,” Coach Almond said. “I want to win at Zachary and I want to win this season.”

4 Zachary POST Tuesday, February 3, 2015

www.LakeAfterHours.com

ZACHARY LOCATION18989 Old Scenic Hwy • (225) 654-8850Mon-Fri 9AM-9PM • Sat-Sun 9AM-6PM

When you’re sick, you don’t need a hassle. With convenient locations and hours, our experienced medical staff is in place to help you get better faster.

Convenient, quality care.

WHAT A RELIEF!

(855) 506-2773 • 7245 Hwy 61 N • St. FrancisvilleOPEN 8:00am-6:30pm M-F & 8:00am-4:30pm Saturday.

Parts & Service Hours 7:30am-5:pm M-F 24 hour towing service (225) 245-0769 • www.cecilgravesautoplex.com

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 Zachary POST 5

NEW BUSINESSES

* Minimum monthly payments required. Interest will be charged at regular APR if balance is not paid in full during promotional, or if payment is late. Exclusions: iComfort, Tempurepedic, prior sales and closeouts,TV’s, bedding, appliances or in combination with any other offer.

FURNITURE & APPLIANCES, LLCSince 1957

HOURS: Mon-Fri 9:00-6:00 • Sat 9:00-5:00 3425 Hwy 1 S., Port Allen225-749-0076

372 Hospital Rd., New Roads 225-638-4526www.bellelosonline.com

"A family business of 57 years, we pride ourselves in service and integrity."

False River Road

FALSE RIVER

Hosp

ital R

oad

H

•Wal-Mart

Hwy. 1 Hwy 10

2nd Location...

48 15% DISCOUNT & 12 MONTHS NO INTEREST

Sale $599

Med Lift Recliner

1 YEAR NO INTEREST*January ClearanCe

Recliner Sale $299

Recliner Sale $349

Sofa Sale

Twin Bronze or White Headboard................$395 Drawer Chest......... $119Solid Wood Bar Stools...$89Queen Iron Bed.........$249Twin Sleigh Bed.........$199

CLEARANCE

SaleQUALITY MERCHANDISE FOR LESS WITH DEPENDABLE SERVICE

orig. $499 $399

Mattress ClearanceFloor Models

Mismatched Sets

Sleeper SAle! TWIN SLEEPER

$499

FULL SLEEPER $599

QUEEN SLEEPER $649

orig. $1599

TEXAS RUSTIC

Dresser, Mirror & Queen Bed SALE $1299Queen Bed SALE $699

Bonded Leather Reclining Sectional

orig. $2499

SALE $1799 7 PC OAK DINETTE SALE $999

orig. $1299

Your Choice

FINAL wEEKEND

4470 Main St. Suite A Zachary, La 70791

225-658-8565Gift Certificates Available!

The

On January 27, Beltone Hearing Solutions celebrated their new Zachary location with an official ribbon cutting ceremony with the Zachary Chamber of Commerce. Located at 1121 Church Street, Suite C , next to Pampered & Polished, Beltone is owned by Patricia and Clarence Freeman. “We are excited to bring our services locally to Zach-ary and the surrounding area,” said Patricia Freeman. Beltone’s main office is located in Baton Rouge with offices in Denham Springs and now Zachary. Tammy O’Callaghan is the Hearing Instrument Specialist Dispenser at the new Zachary location. Hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:30am-4:30pm. For more information, call 225-286-4466 or visit: www.beltonehearingsolutions.com.

On January 27, Spencer Media Solutions celebrated their business with a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Zachary Chamber of Commerce. Owned by Scott and Frances Spencer, Spencer Media Solutions will be expanding their brand with a new monthly community magazine called Vivre Bien-Living Well Zachary in the Spring. It will be a community-focused magazine focusing on Zachary faces and places. Spencer Media Solutions also has plans to launch a website called onlinebayou.com. For more information, call 225-570-8931 or visit the website www.spencermedia.biz.

6 Zachary POST Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Wreckers always on call, request us from a wreck - we work with all Insurance CompaniesWe can haul storage buildingsWe can haul your equipment too!Discount rates for fleet companies

By Jen Bayhi-GennaRo

The City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. Councilman Brandon Noel sat in for Mayor Amrhein as Mayor Pro Tempore.

Pelican State Credit Union on Main Street would like to create a drive-through for banking cus-tomers, but that driveway would have to be poured over a drain-age servitude. The owner of the building was granted a waiver conditioned upon the execution of a hold harmless and indemnifi-cation letter, in the event pouring concrete over the drainage causes problems that need to be repaired.

Kate McArthur was in atten-dance on behalf of a Girl Scout Troop, to request a waiver for the Peddlers Permit fee so they can sell cookies door-to-door. “We’d

have to sell a lot of cookies to cover $250,” she laughed. Noel said they specifically discussed Girl Scouts as being a group that can have an exception to the waiver at the time it was enacted.

The Zachary Historic Vil-lage Board is seeking about nine members to join the group, which just became an official 501c(3) organization. “We need this to be a working board, not just some-thing for a resume,” said Direc-tor Jean Byers. Ideally included in the nine spots will be someone with knowledge to help assess and repair the buildings. “We have steps that may fall over, locks that won’t lock, electrical…” Byers said. More positions are available for those with a love for history, or Zachary, or both.

Montegudo Boulevard was granted a certificate of substantial

completion, as was the new gas regulator station. The final change order for the new high-pressure gas pipeline was approved in the amount of $90,598.21.

Councilman Tommy Womack reported there was “some move-ment” regarding the MacHost Road dirt debacle. “Movement on dirt?” asked Noel. Womack said no, movement as far as mediation goes. There is a court date coming up, and Womack said he’s anxious to see what the next 30 days bring.

The Council accepted the en-gagement letter from the auditing firm Baxley & Associates to do the accounting for the city for the next four years.

The Council entered into an executive session to discuss the Zachary Housing Partners LLC vs. City of Zachary litigation, and the meeting was then adjourned.

Council Approves Waivers, Seeks Public Input on Historic Village

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 Zachary POST 7

SAFETY CLASSES

ELECTRONIC REPAIR

MEAT MARKET

SPORTING GOODS

ClassifiedsWanted. Kelly Educational Staffing substitute teachers. Weekly pay. Group Medical and 401K Retirement Plan. High School Diploma or higher. 225.295.3708We are a brand new, Zen spa (opening soon) seeking MANICURIST, MASSAGE THERAPIST & ESTETICIANS. We offer negotiated rental space and flexible hours. For inquiries, call (954) 326-0430FOR SALE. Mobile Home. 14x76. 3BR/2Bath with lot. Zachary School District. $36,000. Call (225) 439-6012.$500 Reward. 2 Lost Schnausers. Male-Salt & Pepper. Female-Black. Hwy 412 East, Slaughter. Call (225) 405-6450.Drivers: Drive The Best. Drive Maverick. Dedicat-ed Flatbed Run Now Open – Home Daily!!! Must live within 35-50 mile radius of Hammond, LA & be willing to commute daily. $.39-$.40/mile start-ing pay. Average $55k plus per year. Home daily & Weekends. Excellent Benefits & Top of the line equipment. Class A CDL, 21 yrs old & 6 months of OTR/Driving Experience Req. (LOGO HERE) 1-800-289-1100 or visit www.drivemaverick.comHouse for Rent in Zachary. 1,562 Sq. Ft., 3BR/2 Bath. $1,350 per month. $1,200 Deposit. Refer-

Classifiedsences required. One Year Lease. Call (225) 719-2789.Cook wanted. Monday - Friday 6:00-2:00. Must enjoy cooking for groups in a camp program. Group sizes and ages varies. Call 225-938-1498Cross Creek Cowboy Church. 21160 Plank Rd, Zachary in blue Legendz building. Sundays 10:30. Come as you are, bring your lawn chair. 225-721-0333. Facebook.com/CrossCreekCow-boyChurch.Drivers, CDL-A: Home EVERY Weekend!ALL Loaded/Empty Miles Paid! Dedicated Southeast! Or Walk Away Lease, No Money Down. 1-855-747-6426Prime multi acre residential homesite in the heart of Zachary. Country living in the City! Ready to build your dream home. Brokered by Monte Real Estate 225-658-1515. Listed at $69,000 with 100% lot financing available through Brandy Westmoreland at Guaranty Bank.

Call in or send us your Classified Ad

Only $10 Up to 20 wordsPhone 225-654-0122 or email

[email protected]

AUTO GLASS REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT(May Qualify for No Deductible)

VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION (All Parishes)Hwy 19

658-7906(local) · 921-2185(cell)

FELICIANA WINDSHIELDZachary’s Auto Glass Place

BUSINESS DIRECTORY | CLASSIFIEDS

ARTS, DANCE & MUSIC

AUTO SALVAGE

AUTO SALES

ANTIQUES

ACCOUNTING/TAXES CONSTRUCTION

CUSTOM DRAPES

BAIL BONDING

225-936-8649

Fabrics, Slip Covers, Custom Drapery, Roman

Shades,Shutters & Upholstery

Credit cards accepted

“We come to you, FREE estimates”

DOG CARE

INSURANCE

INSURANCE

REAL ESTATE

HOME & LAWN

HEALTH/FITNESS

“God is first in all we do”

DRY CLEANERS

HAIR & MAKEUP

FORMAL WEAR

GUN RANGE

All Breeds Dog BoardingObedience & Retriever Training

www.y-farms.com • 225-445-5012

8 Zachary POST Tuesday, February 3, 2015

LANGLEY continued from page 1

Providers as trusted as the name that stands behind them.

PEDIATRICS

Amanda L. Talbot, MD, FAAP Lynette F. David, FNP

Pediatrics of Zachary 18989 Old Scenic Hwy, Zachary

(225) 654-6140

Now Accepting New Patients

FAMILY MEDICINE

Vicki Z. Munson-Whetstone, MD

Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group – Zachary Clinic

4242 Hwy 19, Suite C, Zachary (225) 286-8100

Now Accepting New Patients

OLOLPhysicianGroup.com

TOURSEscorted from Baton Rouge

ZACHARY TRAVEL CENTER

Looking for a birthday gift…Try a Gift Certificate!

(225) 654-9210 OR (800) 366-0627www.zacharytravel.com

Holy Land … Mar. 16-26, 2015 Approx. $3,985

Bellingrath Spring Day Trip Mar. 31, 2015

$99San Antonio & Texas Wild Flowers

April 6 – 10, 2015 (5 days) $659

Washington, D.C./ Cherry Blossoms/Williamsburg, VA

April 6 – 12, 2015 (7 days) $1,199

College. Along the way, I got my Series 6 Investment License so that I could handle investments and the full range of financial planning programs that New York Life has available.”

“One observation that I made early in my career as an insurance agent was that the divorce rate was rather high in the industry,” Langley, a member of the local Kiwanis Club acknowledged. “It seemed that there was a trend in the industry that many guys would wind up marrying their secretaries with whom they spent a lot of time with in the of-fice.”

“I decided to take another more cal-culated approach and hired my wife, Melissa as my secretary and assistant. That has proven to be another great ca-reer move for me. We have three chil-

dren, Zana, Lauryn and Bruce, Jr, the youngest at age 10 who is attending Copper Mill Elementary School. Our oldest girl is at Zachary High and Lau-ryn is at Northwestern Middle School.”

“My twenty-one and a half year career with New York Life has carried me to places that I thought was impos-sible for me to ever visit,” Langley, who serves on the Zachary YMCA Board of Directors, noted. “Our conventions and training sessions are held on a regular basis around the United States.”

“As licensed insurance agents and investment professionals, we are re-quired to receive a certain amount of continuing education. There are always new products coming onto the market in both insurance and investment. The president and board of directors, along with the vice-presidents and regional managers, are very much involved in the day to day operations of New York

Life so we get to know most of them on a personal basis in our training session and conventions.”

New York Life was established in 1845 before the Civil War. This is the 160th consecutive year the company has paid a dividend to eligible policyholders. In 2014, New York life paid out more than $20,000,000 each day in payments to beneficiaries. Between 2009 and 2013, New York Life paid beneficiaries more than $15 billion in life insurance benefits.

“Insurance investments are becom-ing more and more popular as interest rates remain very low and the stock mar-ket is so volatile,” Langley said in con-clusion. “Investments in IRA’s, SEP’s and Annuities are very safe financial ve-hicles into which to put your money. But the main joy of being a New York Life agent is that you get to help your clients in very positive ways over many years.”