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By Devon Sanders, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved creating a new website to make state spending more transparent despite concerns by the Edwards administration over the more than $700,000 cost.
The new website, called the Louisiana Checkbook, would be modeled on Ohio’s top-rated site, ohiocheckbook.com, and designed by OpenGov, a California-based company that created the Ohio site.
House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, had proposed the website in recent talks with Gov. John Bel
Edwards over closing a projected $1 billion gap, and Republican lawmakers have gotten behind the idea in hopes that greater transparency would help the state save money over time.
Jay Dardenne, the governor’s commissioner of administration, said he was “100 percent committed to transparency.” But he questioned why the state could not just improve its current spending website, LaTrac, and if a third-party vendor was necessary.
Dardenne also defended LaTrac, saying that the website had “already gotten the attaboy” and was nationally admired.
A non-profit group, United States Public Interest Group, ranked ohiocheckbook.com as the best state transparency in 2016 and LaTrac as the seventh best.
Barras also commended LaTrac at the committee meeting on Tuesday but said a new site could meet today’s technology standards. “I give kudos to the effort on LaTrac,” Barras said. “But with advanced technology, we are able to do more.”
Barras also said that with the new website, spending data would be more searchable, visually appealing and interactive and would incorporate more information than LaTrac.
Barras even pulled up the Ohio website to show committee members, exclaiming “truly incredible” as he scrolled through it.
Barras also spoke about the importance of using outside experts to create the site.
Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, asked about including local spending data on the new website, and Barras said he could see it becoming a reality in the future.
Dardenne, who is in charge of running LaTrac and would have the responsibility of maintaining the Louisiana Checkbook, questioned if a third-party vendor was worth the cost. One state analysis estimated that the new website could cost the state technology office from $716,000 to $785,000 over three years and that other agencies would face their own costs to link to it.
He also argued that the main problem with Louisiana’s transparency was not with LaTrac, but with LaGov, the current computer operating system that if used correctly would allow every department to give accurate information on spending.
Although the Louisiana Legislature had allocated $90 million under the Jindal administration to create LaTrac and get all departments on LaGov, only six of the 26 departments use the operating system.
“If every department was under LaGov,“ Dardenne said, “we would have the information we are all looking for.”
Dardenne blamed the Jindal administration for failing to make it a priority to get the other agencies on LaGov.
Dardenne acknowledged that LaTrac’s usability could be improved, but he did not feel that a whole new website was the best solution. “LaTrac needs a facelift,” He said. “The question is: Should we stick to what we have or create a whole new website?”

This is a written yearly report by Shannon Neveaux, who is the president of Friends of Palmetto State Park.

Palmetto Island State Park, located south of Abbeville off of La. 82, continues to be one of the most visited parks in the state, and the Friends of Palmetto Island State Park would like to thank the residents of Vermilion Parish and the surrounding areas for visiting the Park and our events.
The Friends group and Palmetto Island State Park would not be the success that it is today without everyone’s support!
“As volunteers, we spend the majority of our time conducting programs for patrons and fundraising.
“We have logged in over 4,972 hours in support of the Park. Two very dedicated volunteers continued the task of mowing all the grass in the park.”
In 2017, Friends of the Park group were able to contribute in-kind donations directly to Palmetto Island State Park that valued over $10,670.
In-kind donations included: staff uniform t-shirts, camp host and volunteer t-shirts, updated and printed the Abbeville Red Iris brochure
• added 20 Abbeville Red Iris to the existing exhibit
• provided the material necessary for OSP staff to install water lines to all four pavilions
• 6 new BBQ pits for the cabins
• 10 new bicycle racks to be placed throughout the park
• 2 new oscillating fans for pavilion #2
• a new washing machine for staff to clean cabin linens,
• a new pump for the splash pad, matts for the playground
• lag screws and bolts to repair the foot bridge to the primitive campsites
• parts to repair lawn mowers
• a new pipe fence to replace the broken wooden fence at park entrance
Since the group’s founding in 2011, Friends have volunteered over 37,443 hours; hosted 54 programs; spent over $169,132 on promotion and special events and provided over $125,378 worth of ‘in-kind’ donations directly to the Park.
One of the goals of the Friends Group is to hold events that attract patrons to the Park and to fill the campground.
Some of the events hosted in 2017 include the 4th Annual Cracklin’ Cooking Demonstration & Tasting, with more than 1,000 attendees and 15 locals demonstrating their personal techniques on cooking. Also, the 7th Annual Halloween Celebration which had over 2,000 people 'trick-or-treating' in the campground.
Friends organized three onsite fundraisers: our annual plate lunch sale, the 7th Annual Stir the Pot Seafood and Wild Game Cook-off and Festival and a 'Painting at the Park' class.
Throughout the year, the group works closely with
• the Louisiana Dutch Oven Society's Latanier Cookers.
• Friends partnered with this group in November by providing the main meal for their 5th Annual 'Cochon de Liat' Dutch Oven Gathering.
• Friends recruited cooks to prepare six pigs in Cajun microwaves for over 450 visitors. In 2017, Latanier Cookers attracted over 1,368 guests to the monthly Dutch Oven gatherings held at the Park.
• Many gatherings contributed to a ‘sold out’ campground. During the 11 'Dutch Oven Gatherings', 238 cooks volunteered over 1,932 hours conducting these programs and prepared over 308 pots of food in Dutch ovens for patrons to sample. Latanier Cooker’s also traveled to Lake d’Arbonne State Park in May and participated in the LA Dutch Oven Society’ State Gathering with over 35 cooks, guests and volunteers.
To keep people informed about the Park and events taking place, Friends regularly post on our website and on Facebook to our 2,542 plus followers and our monthly newsletter, "Palmetto Pals," is sent to over 959 subscribers. “We continue to maintain the book sharing program in the campground for campers.”
The Friends of Palmetto Island State Park, Inc. is a 501c3 organization dedicated to the support of Palmetto Island State Park and its staff, through volunteerism, sponsorships and fundraising events, and activities. More information on the group can be found at www.FriendsofPalmetto.org or follow the group on Facebook. For more information about Palmetto Island State Park, visit LaStateParks.com or follow the park on Facebook.

ERATH — On a given day at Erath Middle School, you may see Zachary Broussard picking up trash off the ground during his lunch break.
Broussard, an eighth grader, is not taking part in some sort of punishment. Rather, he is simply trying to make his school a better place.
It is one of the many attributes that has gone into Broussard being named the Vermilion Parish Middle School Student of the Year.
“This is a big honor for me,” Broussard said. “I thought I did well in the interview, so I thought I had a chance, but I didn’t think that I would win.
“I was surprised.”
Broussard’s résumé is such that the win should not be all that shocking. He maintains a 4.0 GPA and is currently the Student Council President. Broussard is involved in 4-H and the Jr. Beta Club. He plays on the baseball, football and basketball teams. Broussard adds a musical touch, too, playing the both the guitar and trombone. He has been selected to the district and parish honor band since sixth grade.
Away from school, Broussard enjoys hunting, fishing and playing golf. Broussard is also an altar server at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Erath.
Erath Middle Principal Wendy Stoute is not the least bit surprised that Broussard won.
“We are so extremely proud of him ,” Stoute said. “He truly embodies the essence of our Erath Middle School students.
“He is amazing and I definitely look forward to seeing him accomplish great things in his life.”
If something put Broussard over the top to help him accomplish the great thing of winning Student of the Year, it is putting pen to paper, so to speak.
“It is probably my writing ability,” Broussard said. “I feel I am a very good writer. I don’t express my thought’s very well when speaking, but I feel like I can when writing.”
English is a subject Broussard enjoys. However, his favorite is social studies.
“It’s just so interesting to learn about history,” Broussard said. “I don’t really know why, but it has always interested me. I just want to learn more.”
While Broussard has no plans to slow down his enjoyment of learning about the past, his future will not include becoming a historian.
“I want be a doctor,” Broussard said. “My dad went through a cardiovascular arrhythmia a few years ago. Ever since then, I have seen doctors helping people.”
His motivation for a career path should come as no surprise, as Broussard’s parents, Shane and Christine, are the inspiration for all that he does.
“They’re everything to me,” Broussard said without hesitation. “My dad is my best friend and my mom is everything to me. I couldn’t do anything without them.
“I tell them every day that I love them.”
Broussard offered a special thanks to a couple of other people who helped him along the way.
“I would like to thank Mrs. Wendy for all that she has done for me,” Broussard said. “I could not have won this award without her support. I would also like to thank Mrs. Teilla Shiner for helping me to become a better speaker. I used to stutter. There’s no way I could have won if I still stuttered. She helped me tremendously.”
Such support from his parents and educators certainly will be important for Broussard as he will embark on his high school career later this year.
“I am looking forward to high school,” Broussard said. “I am especially looking forward to sports.”
Broussard is also looking for what’s beyond high school.
“I am trying to get some of my freshmen and sophomore classes done over the summer,” Broussard said. “If I do that, I can start my college prep early.”
Broussard will probably find some time to make sure there is no trash on the ground when he gets to Erath High.
“I will go out to the playground and I see him picking up trash,” Stoute said. “I tell him that he does not have to do that.”
Broussard said he knows that it is not something he has to do, but it is something he wants to do.
“I like helping people,” Broussard said.