JANUARY

The first homicide in the Parish occurs Jan. 5 when Clyde Madere Jr. shot and killed Brandon Seagrave after a fight.

The River Parishes inaugurated new leadership. St. John and St. Charles residents voted in new Parish Presidents (Bill Hubbard and V. J. St. Pierre), while St. James retained incumbent Dale Hymel.

Construction of a new animal shelter in St. John Parish gets unanimous approval from the newly inaugurated parish council.

Allan Wayne Schaeffer, a 16-year veteran of the St. John Sheriff’s Office, is indicted on charges of aggravated rape and attempted sexual battery. He would plead not guilty and face trial in 2009.

An 11-year-old boy was arrested for armed robbery after he held up a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver for $35 worth of food. The alleged junior felon took no money and told police his motive was that he was hungry.

FEBRUARY

St. John School Board names school system employee Dr. Courtney Millet as the system’s superintendant. The announcement came after a five-month search that pulled in candidates nationwide.

St. Charles authorities arrested a 24-year-old New Sarpy woman after an investigation revealed she had buried her newborn baby in the backyard of her home. The body of the baby was dug up by a family pet Feb. 1.

After less than a month on the job, Parish President Bill Hubbard received a council-approved pay raise that doubled his yearly salary. The measure was met by heated opposition from residents, who believed the huge raise was unwarranted.

Family, friends and classmates paid tribute to 4-year-old Destiny Champagne following a tragic accident where she was strangled by a balloon ribbon. The young Reserve resident was a student at St. Peter Catholic School.

Parish President Bill Hubbard institutes an aggressive hiring campaign to attract new firefighters. Hubbard said he hoped to double the number of paid firemen so that the parish could completely move to 24-hour fire protection.

MARCH

Serious discussions begin concerning a push to incorporate the town of Garyville in St. John Parish. A committee of 10 leaders in the area, including Garyville attorney Geri Broussard-Baloney, began to organize in early March.

A routine traffic stop along Belle Terre Boulevard in LaPlace netted a 29-year-old LaPlace man in possession of $90,000 worth of cocaine.

St. John School Board elects to do away with the school system’s annual “Honor Roll Roundup” due to a lack of participation among school kids. Reserve Christian defeats Athens 92-48 in the Class C championship game at the Cajundome, winning its fourth straight state championship and its sixth in the last seven seasons.

Occupation Safety Hazard Association officials were forced to temporarily close a portion of a Gramercy sugar refinery after potentially flammable dust was found at the facility. Representatives from Imperial Sugar said a thick layer of the dust covered the facility’s powdered sugar operations.

APRIL

St. John Parish Economic Development officials elect to move the ever-growing Andouille Festival to the grounds of the St. John Community Center after it had outgrown its location at the Percy D. Hebert Building in LaPlace.

Johnny Lee Cheek, convicted killer of St. John Sheriff’s Det. Octavio “Ox” Gonzales is sentenced to life in prison.

The mysterious death of 8-year-old M. L. Lloyd III prompts a Sheriff’s Office investigation that determines the boy’s stepfather, Errol Victor Sr., mother, Tonya Victor, and stepbrother Errol Victor Jr., were responsible for killing the boy.

A revamped St. James Hospital opens in mid-April and St. Charles Hospital shows off new improvements.

The bodies of three area females are found under suspicious circumstances: Tiffany Blythe of LaPlace was found under a burnt out mattress in an abandoned field, the headless body of a St. James woman was found in the Mississippi River and Reserve resident Paula Chenier was found hanging in trees in Reserve.

For the first time in over a decade, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is forced to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway to relieve pressure on the bloated Mississippi River.

Officials from Cargill Inc. break ground on a $160 million sugar refinery to be built in Reserve.

Jessie Braud scores the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift St. Charles to its first state softball championship since 1998. SCC notched a 2-1 victory over Parkview Baptist in the Class 3A championship game in Sulphur.

MAY

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell supports the vote on the incorporation of Garyville after a challenge from St. John Parish officials

Judge Thomas Malik passed away at 74. Malik served 20 years as judge in St. John.

St. Charles Parish tap water named “best tasting in the state.” The sample placed first among five regional samples.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierez makes a stop in St. John Parish to bestow the prestigious “E” Award for excellence in exporting to Dredging Supply Co. of Reserve.

St. James captures the boys Class 2A state track and field championship behind senior Luther Ambrose, who took three individual titles. Ambrose set a state record in Class 2A for the 100 meter dash with a time of 10:53.

JUNE

Department of Veterans Affairs opens a 10,000 square foot clinic in Reserve.

Local and state officials were on hand to open a 4.5-mile extension of LA 3213 from the Veterans Memorial Bridge to LA 3127.

First bids for St. John Animal Shelter come in well over budget. The project is redesigned and rebid.

St. Charles Sheriff Greg Champagne starts his fourth term in office.

JULY

St. John Parish began the month with a bang as it continued the tradition of fireworks on the Mississippi River. The festivities were held a day early, on July 3, in 2008.

The issue of whether or not to incorporate Garyville continued to heat up as more local industries filed petitions to be excluded from the tax base. Later in the month, judge Anne Lennan Simon ruled that industries would be excluded from the proposed township.

Tom Daley shocked some as he resigned from his post as Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge, which he held for 12 years, to enter the St. John District Attorney race.

L’Observateur’s website got a makeover in July as it saw traffic nearly double from it’s humble beginnings.

Former St. John the Baptist Parish Schools Superintendent Michael Coburn sparked some quiet speculation when he abruptly resigned from the parish school system after 27 years of service.

Voters in St. John were in a negative mood at the polls as they rejected both the proposed incorporation of Garyville and a bond package that would have provided funding for a wide range of capital improvements.

AUGUST

Chef Ed Rhinehart entered the record books when he and his staff created a 108-foot-long roast beef po’ boy.

Residents across the River Parishes took a stand in August as they hosted and attended several local “Night Out Against Crime” block parties.

Local residents were shocked and saddened when a tragic boat wreck killed five young men from the area.

Solid Waste Disposal, better known as SWeeDee, finally found a new home on Power Boulevard in Reserve.

A tattoo policy enacted by East St. John High principal ignited a range of emotions concerning and the eventual enactment of a district-wide regulation regarding body art.

Schools across the region got upgrades in August as the East St. John Ninth Grade Center, Lutcher High’s new “Dog Pound” and the Comet Commons at St. Charles Catholic all open during the month.

SEPTEMBER

September stormed in with a pair of hurricanes. First, Hurricane Gustav pounded the region with high winds and rains, resulting in damage, flooding and lengthy power outages throughout the region. Then, just as things started to return to normal, Hurricane Ike threatened the region, resulting in some localized flooding. Fortunately, that storm missed the region for the most part, and instead headed for the coast of Texas, where it devastated the Galveston area.

A LaPlace woman died while in police custody after she was taken in following a domestic disturbance call. It was later determined that the woman, who had a history of mental illness, suffered from blood clots in her lungs, and the sheriff’s office was not held liable in her death.

A St. Charles police officer was fired after he was arrested two times in three days following altercations with his wife.

Residents of St. John Parish had to deal with large piles of trash lining the streets when hurricane debris removal was slower than expected.

OCTOBER

October began with another local tragedy as a fire in Reserve left two children dead.

Chelsea Troxler of St. Charles was crowned Queen Sugar LXVII at the annual Sugar Cane Festival Pageant in New Iberia.

Voters went to the polls in October, where they chose Tom Daley as the new St. John District Attorney.

The annual St. John Andouille Festival enjoyed one of its most successful years ever as it moved to expanded fair grounds on Highway 51.

After weeks of assessments, CSRS consulting firm and the St. John the Baptist school system came up with a master plan for upgrading the quality of its facilities.

L’Observateur honored 12 local teachers with its annual “Teacher Appreciation” awards.

St. John residents closed the month with another tragedy when Jasmine Green, a student at Fifth Ward Elementary was killed in a tragic bus accident.

NOVEMBER

St. John voters gave an overwhelming seal of approval to two bond issues, paving the way for some major improvements to the parish’s public schools.

Despite reports that residents of St. John would finally be enjoying better quality tap water, by year’s end many kinks were still left to be worked out.

The St. John Council unanimously approved a 2009 budget that doubled the money allotted for public works.

The St. Charles Sheriff’s office identified a man implicated in two murders in the St. Rose area. The man turned himself in to authorities shortly thereafter. Lutcher captured its fourth straight state boys swimming title, notching the Division III crown at the Sulphur Parks and Recreation Aquatic Center. Lutcher topped Parkview Baptist, which finished in second place, 428-282. St. Charles’ Kaila Klibert (100 backstroke), Lutcher’s Kolby Louque (50 freestyle) and Lutcher’s Hunter Louque (100 freestyle) all captured individual state swimming championships.

DECEMBER

A judge set a trial date for the locally-infamous Victor family case.

Ray Leach, one of the regions top contractors, was arrested for defrauding clients.

A blizzard of sorts dusted with region with the locally rarely-seen white stuff, leading to some minor troubles but mostly just fun for area residents.

St. John drivers got a little holiday relief when Carrollwood Drive was reopened after about seven weeks of construction.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal made a visit the Bull’s Corner in LaPlace, where he met some of the local and posed for photos after giving a short speech.

– Lutcher won the Class 3A state football championship, its third title win of the decade, after defeating Notre Dame 17-0 at the State Farm Prep Classic in the Superdome. The Bulldogs defense set a new record for yardage allowed in the 3A championship game.

– Destrehan completed its second consecutive undefeated football season and won

its second straight Class 5A state championship with a 14-3 victory over West Monroe.