By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Newly elected government leadership across the River Parishes will take the oath of office and conduct their first meetings during ceremonies in St. John the Baptist, St. James and St. Charles parishes that begin Sunday.

The St. Charles Council and Parish President will be sworn into office Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at the parish courthouse in Hahnville. The ceremony will follow a 10 a.m. Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Hahnville just blocks from the courthouse.

In St. John, the parish president and new council will take the oath of office Monday at 11 a.m. at the parish courthouse in Edgard. A 10 a.m. Mass at St. John the Baptist Church, next door to the courthouse, will precede the inauguration. The council’s first meeting will immediately follow the ceremony.

The inauguration for the St. James Council and Parish President will also be Monday starting at 11 a.m. at First Community Antioch Baptist Church in Lutcher. A reception and inaugural meeting will follow at the church.

This year’s inaugural festivities in all three parishes coincide with the playing of the BCS National Championship game a few miles down the road in New Orleans, where LSU will take on the University of Alabama Monday night. The date and time of the game made for some creative scheduling for some events.

In St. John Parish, the inaugural gala, which is normally held the same evening as the inauguration, has been moved to Friday, Jan. 13, to accommodate the game. The gala will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the St. John Community Center in LaPlace. The event is open to the public. Dress is cocktail attire.

In St. Charles Parish the council will hold an organizational meeting to elect a chairman and vice-chairman Monday at 4:30 p.m. at the council chambers. That meeting would normally be held at 6 p.m., but it was moved up to accommodate the game. The council’s first meeting will be Tuesday at 6 p.m.

St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom will be sworn in for her first full four-year term after taking office in a special election in May 2010 following the resignation of former Parish President Bill Hubbard.

Robottom on Monday, will also announce new members of her administration, including various new department heads. Robottom did not make any moves in-house when she took over from Hubbard in 2010.

The St. John Council’s nine-member board will feature five new faces – Art Smith, Lennix “Tweet” Madere, Marvin Perrilloux, Larry Snyder and Michael P. Wright – three returning members – Jaclyn Hotard, Cheryl Millet and Lucien Gauff – and one former councilman in Ranney Wilson, who is returning to office after eight years.

Hotard moves from the 4th District to Division B council-at-large, where she will take over for Steve Lee, who did not seek re-election. Millet resumes her position as District 7 representative and Gauff continues as Division A councilman-at-large.

Wilson, who previously served as the council’s 4th District representative, will represent the 2nd District after beating Councilman Danny Millet in the election.

Smith replaces Haston Lewis, who did not seek re-election in the first district. Madere is replacing Charles Julien, who did not seek re-election in the 3rd District. Perrilloux is replacing Hotard in the 4th District. Wright replaces Darnel Usry, who did not seek re-election in the 5th District. Snyder takes over for Ronnie Smith, who did not seek re-election in the 6th District and ran unsuccessfully for parish president.

In St. James Parish, Timmy Roussel takes the reins from Parish President Dale Hymel, who is leaving office after more than 20 years in public service. Hymel is moving on to a job with the Port of South Louisiana.

The council will feature new faces in District 1, where Alvin “Shark” St. Pierre will take over for Elwyn Bocz who did not seek re-election, and also District 3, where Terry McCreary beat incumbent Wilson Malbrough. Councilman Jason Amato in District 2, Ralph Patin in District 4, Charles Ketchens in District 5, Kendrick Brass in District 6 and James Brazan in District 7 were elected to new terms.

In St. Charles Parish, Parish President V.J. St. Pierre will be sworn into a second term Sunday.

Returning incumbents on the council include Shelley Tastet in District 2, Wendy Benedetto in District 3, Paul Hogan in District 4, Larry Cochran in District 5 and Carolyn Schexnaydre as Division A council-at-large.

New members include Traci Ackerman-Fletcher, who takes over for Marcus Lambert in the 6th District after he declined to seek re-election, and Terrell Wilson, who takes over in District 1 after Billy Raymond did not seek re-election and made an unsuccessful bid for parish president. In the Division B council-at-large seat, former council member Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux takes over for Terry Authement, who made an unsuccessful bid for parish assessor. Faucheux held the Division B seat from 2000 to 2008.