With summer in full swing, Washington Parish has begun planning fun activities for all members of the community. At the recent Parish Council meeting, Sonnet Ireland, the director of the Washington Parish libraries, as well as Kelsey Knight, the manager of the Washington Parish animal shelter, had exciting news about upcoming events.
Ireland announced the start of this year's free summer reading program to be June 8th through June 14th. The theme for this summer's program is "Oceans of Possibilities," and each library in the parish will be visited by storytellers, dancers, and even a zoo throughout this event. Another event to take place in Washington Parish, is the animal shelter's very own Canine Carnival. This carnival will take place June 11th at the Franklinton Fairgrounds Rodeo Arena. Currently, there are 30 vendors signed up to participate in this event and around 20 contestants listed to compete in the "Best Trained" show.
Also in attendance at the recent meeting was Washington Parish School Board Superintendent Frances Varnado, who gave her quarterly report.
During this report, it was announced that the eight new principals in the parish would receive training this summer to help prepare them for their positions and hopefully increase the ratings of the schools. Also, for students preparing to take the ACT this summer, Varnado says that the parish will be holding an ACT boot camp throughout the month of June for all students who wish to participate. Another announcement during Varnado's report was that the Washington Parish School Board is looking to sell any unused lots owned by them, and that they are currently getting appraisals on the vacant lots.
During the president's report at Monday's meeting, parish president Richard N. Thomas Jr. explained that the Washington Parish Government offices will be closed Monday, May 30th for Memorial Day. The president also announced that Washington Parish, along with the state of Louisiana, will be observing Juneteenth on Friday, June 17th, before the holiday.
After the President's report, the council moved onto the financial report, where it was said that they are still working to receive the Financial Recovery Aid from FEMA from Hurricane Ida, but the money will hopefully be in by the end of the month.
Even though the parish has already received a small amount of aid from FEMA, it is still important that the town receives the full sum to better help the people impacted by the hurricane.
Also announced during the financial report is that the auditors who recently conducted their report for Washington Parish will be attending the last Parish Council meeting in June to explain the findings from their report to the council and to the public.
