By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – The St. John Parish Council on Tuesday night approved $25,000 for the St. John Theatre, to help with a major renovation project for the local facility that was purchased by the parish in 1980.

The St. John Theatre, Inc. and the Friends of St. John Theatre have dedicated $25,000 to the project in their own fundraising efforts, and asked the Parish Council to match that amount for the $50,000 needed for the renovation.

St. John Parish has owned the theater for all these years, and the theater group in St. John has maintained it.

When the building was originally purchased, no work on the floors was done as the theater was converted to a live venue, and now there is a vital need for refinishing of the floors, as well as other major renovation work.

All the seats in the theater will be removed, so the floors can be refinished, and sealed with three layers of polyurethane, and the carpet runners will also be replaced.

The interior walls of the auditorium are covered by theatrical drapery which was hung in 1980, and are badly affected by dry rot, and actually falling off the walls in some places. That drapes will be replaced with 22-ounce velour, which theater officials hope will last for 25 years.

&#8220Even though St. John Parish has owned the theater, our parish group has brought a wonderful, worthwhile cause to the residents of this area for many years,” St. John Chief Administrative Officer Natalie Robottom said. &#8220So it was certainly a good thing for us to help renovate this project, especially since they have raised $25,000 on their own.”

&#8220St. John Theater has brought wonderful entertainment here for years, and people in the area have benefited greatly from having it here,” she added.

The project has also gotten financial help from the River Region Arts & Humanities Council, as well as Marathon Petroleum Company..