MORE THAN 150 SUPPORTERS OF ST. GEORGE PACKED LOUISIANA LAGNIAPPE RESTAURANT SUNDAY NIGHT. The group raised nearly $20,000 to promote the incorporation of the proposed City of St. George and heard St. George leaders talk about future plans. Lionel Rainey III thanked those who contributed and then, with tongue-in-check, thanked Mayor-President Kip Holden and Councilman John Delgado for selling the most tickets. Both are vocal opponents of incorporation. Rainey made some news by saying the group is aiming to getting the required 18,000 signatures in time to be on the November 2014 election ballot. St. George chairman Norman Browning said the legislature told St. George supporters they had to form a city in order to get their own school system. They forced our hand. Now were forcing their hand, he said. We can have a great City of St. George. It doesnt have to hurt Baton Rouge. Only Baton Rouge can do that. You can have more than one great city in a parish! He said, This is our opportunity to make a statement. Its up to the people. The State Capitol cant stop it. The Mayor cant stop it. The Council cant stop it. Were not doing it for us as individuals but for the 107,000 people who will make up the City of St. George. Were tired of a school system thats failing our children, tired of the out migration from our parish, and tired of our tax dollars being thrown away. State Sen. Bodi White, who represents much of the St. George area and authored the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System bill, said, I think back to Zachary and what was done there. Citizens met in the back of Amhrein Hardware and came up with a plan to save their schools. They could either start a private school in Zachary or try to create a new school system. Blacks and whites together went to the State Capitol and made it happen. In Central, people did the the same thing. White said, If youve never been called a racist for trying to fix your community, you will be! This is a grassroots movement. There are a lot of decisions to be made. White predicted that the more the St. George movement is attacked, the more opinion within St. George will galvanized in favor of incorporation. Attendees mixed and mingled for three hours at the Perkins Road restaurant. They also participated in a silent auction, which added to the evenings profits. Browning said the funds will be put to good use in support of the incorporation movement. Story and photos by Woody Jenkins for the St. George Leader and Capital City News. For more, read the February issue of the Capital City News.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 07:41:39 +0000
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