Slidell News & Guides Articles

Rare “Tales Juror” Process Used After Jury Pool Falls Short In Ongoing Proceedings A judge in St. Tammany Parish ordered additional prospective jurors to be summoned Wednesday after the existing jury pool was not large enough to complete selection in an ongoing court proceeding. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said Court Security deputies were assisting with jury selection under an order issued by Judge Ellen Creel at the parish courthouse in Covington. According to the sheriff’s office, the court determined that the available jury pool was insufficient and directed deputies to help procure more prospective jurors. Under Louisiana law, judges in parishes outside Orleans can use what are known as “tales jurors” when a regular petit jury venire is exhausted or is about to be...

Library System Says Robert Boulevard Renovation And Addition Are Paired With A Replacement Branch Planned For Lacombe St. Tammany Parish Library officials are moving forward with long-planned capital projects that would expand and renovate the Slidell Branch on Robert Boulevard while also replacing the much smaller Lacombe branch with a new building nearby. Library planning documents show the Slidell project is expected to include an addition of about 4,000 to 6,000 square feet, along with interior renovations to the existing branch. Library officials have said possible new spaces could include study rooms, a dedicated storytime room and a maker space, though final designs and construction details remain subject to the architectural process. For Lacombe, the library system has identified...

New Administration, City Council And Police Chief Take Oath During Public Ceremony In Olde Towne Randy Fandal was sworn in as mayor of Slidell on Wednesday morning at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium, taking office alongside the city’s newly seated council members and incoming police chief during a public inauguration ceremony that marked the formal start of a new administration at City Hall. The 11 a.m. ceremony in Olde Towne Slidell included the oath of office for Fandal, Council Members-at-Large Leslie D. Denham and Thomas S. Abney, district council members Landon J. Washington, Sean Fadely, Megan S. Haggerty, Nicholas “Nick” DiSanti, Shawn Jones, Thomas “Trey” Brownfield and Tim Rogers, as well as Chief of Police Tommy Williams. After the swearing-in, Fandal was scheduled to deliver...

Sheriff’s Office Says Online Bidding For Delinquent 2024 Property Taxes Is Scheduled For July 29 The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has opened registration for its annual property tax sale, an online auction tied to unpaid 2024 property taxes and related fees across the parish, including properties in Slidell. According to the sheriff’s office, the sale is scheduled for July 29 and will run online from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through the parish’s contracted auction platform. Registration for bidders opened June 25 at 8 a.m. and is set to close July 18 at 4 p.m. The sheriff’s office said about 1,690 properties are included in the first published delinquent list for the 2024 tax year. The list covers properties with taxes and or related fees owed to the parish and to the municipalities of...

St. Tammany Parish voters approved at least two closely watched local tax renewals in Saturday’s June 27 election, including the Sheriff’s Office law enforcement millage and the parish wide mosquito abatement renewal, according to public statements and election-night reporting reviewed by Slidell Times. The St. Tammany Parish Registrar of Voters listed a packed local ballot for parish residents, including Democratic and Republican U.S. Senate runoff races, a Republican Public Service Commission runoff, a Republican Board of Elementary and Secondary Education runoff, and several tax propositions. For voters in the City of Slidell, that ballot also included Proposition No. 1 and Proposition No. 2, both described by local election officials as millage continuations. The Sheriff’s Office...

Vendors Are Being Recruited For Indoor, Porch, And Outdoor Spaces As Organizers Also Plan A Magic: The Gathering Giveaway On Opening Day Admission will be free for shoppers when the Elderbrew Cafe Collectibles Market opens in Slidell on Saturday, July 11, 2026. Organizers are also promoting great prices on food and drinks during the event. Elderbrew Cafe in Slidell is preparing to launch the new weekly collectibles market on Saturday, July 11, with organizers seeking vendors for indoor, shaded porch, and outdoor spaces at the cafe’s location on Gause Boulevard. According to event listings and announcements published by Elderbrew Cafe, the market is scheduled to run every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1030 Gause Blvd. W in Slidell. The business is advertising a founding vendor rate of...

Bret Ibert Takes Over As Interim Sheriff Pending A Special Election St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith resigned Wednesday after pleading guilty in connection with a May 29 attack at Keith Young’s Steakhouse in Madisonville, according to the District Attorney’s Office and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. District Attorney Collin Sims said Smith pleaded guilty to one felony count of second-degree battery and one misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace by public intoxication. The DA’s office said the case stemmed from an incident at the restaurant that left Robert “Bobby” Couvillion with a concussion and dental injuries. Under the plea agreement, Smith received a two-year hard labor sentence that was suspended. He was placed on two years of supervised probation and ordered...

The Slidell Times has released a new obituary feature to help families share memorial notices, service details, and life stories in a clear online format. The Slidell Times new obituary feature gives readers a place to find recent tributes while giving families a way to present meaningful information with care. This release of the Slidell obituaries feature covers local memorial notices, online access, family submissions, funeral service details, legacy storytelling, and digital memorials that will stand the test of time. Families can share service information in one central place. Readers can follow recent memorial notices with less confusion. Funeral homes can point families toward a clearer publishing path. Slidell Times Obituary Feature Slidell Times created the obituary feature to...

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. St. Tammany Parish voters will return to the polls Saturday, June 27, for a ballot that includes party primary races for U.S. Senate, a Republican primary for Public Service Commissioner in District 1, a Republican primary for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in District 1, and several local tax propositions. Slidell voters will also decide two city tax continuations tied to utility and garbage services. For voters in Slidell, the ballot carries additional local weight. According to the St. Tammany Parish Registrar of Voters, city voters will decide Proposition No. 1 and Proposition No. 2, both described as millage continuations. The City of Slidell says those renewals help fund water and sewer services along with residential...

Eden Isle Saw Tree And Home Damage, While Street Flooding And Utility Problems Hit Other Parts Of The City Slidell was hit on multiple fronts as the remnants of Arthur moved across southeast Louisiana, bringing street flooding, wind damage, power outages and continued high water concerns beyond the storm itself. In Eden Isle, crews and residents spent Friday clearing limbs and checking damaged property after strong winds tore through the neighborhood. Elsewhere across Slidell, residents dealt with flooded streets, difficult travel conditions and outages that stretched into the night. Before the worst weather arrived, the City of Slidell warned residents that repeated rounds of storms from Tuesday through Friday could bring heavy rain and flash flooding. The city said most areas could...

Statewide party runoff races and four local tax propositions are scheduled for the Saturday election St. Tammany Parish voters are heading into the Saturday, June 27, 2026 election with a mix of party-primary races and local propositions on the ballot, according to the St. Tammany Parish Registrar of Voters and the Louisiana Secretary of State. Officials list the June 27 election as Louisiana’s 2nd Party Primary and Municipal General Election. In St. Tammany, the ballot includes Democratic and Republican contests for U.S. Senate, a Republican race for Public Service Commissioner District 1, a Republican race for Board of Elementary and Secondary Education District 1, and four local tax propositions. According to the St. Tammany Parish Registrar of Voters, the June 27 ballot will include:...

June 9 Agenda Includes Ordinance To Call A Special Election On Proposed Home Rule Charter Amendments The Slidell City Council’s June 9 agenda includes an ordinance that would propose amendments to the city’s Home Rule Charter and call a special election for voters to decide them. The agenda packet identifies that measure as Item No. 26-06-3647. City records in the same agenda packet show the Charter Review Committee met May 19 and voted to advance seven proposed changes into ordinance form. The minutes say those items were expected to be introduced at the June 9 council meeting and then scheduled for a council vote on June 23 so they could be prepared in time for a December ballot. Among the changes that can be confirmed from the publicly available minutes are a proposal to change the...

Parish shelter says it has more than 200 dogs in a system built for 120, with a Slidell adoption event scheduled June 20 St. Tammany Parish government is asking residents to adopt, foster, volunteer or donate after the parish animal shelter again moved into emergency overcrowding status. The parish’s Department of Animal Services said its shelter system has exceeded 120-dog capacity and is now caring for more than 200 dogs. A parish news release said the shelter had topped 215 dogs when officials issued a public “Mayday” call, describing the canine population as roughly 70% above designed capacity. Animal Services Director Robert Bremer said in the parish statement that adoptions have slowed, rescue transfers have dropped off and animals continue arriving through owner surrenders and...

Officials are making another case for public safety funding after earlier tax defeats left gaps in the parish criminal justice system. St. Tammany Parish officials are again trying to persuade voters to back law enforcement and criminal justice funding in a political climate that has been shaped by years of tax fatigue. The sheriff’s office has been part of a broader parish conversation over how to fund public safety and court-related operations after earlier revenue measures failed. St. Tammany Parish government said in its 2026 budget rollout that state law requires the parish to fund parts of the criminal justice system, including obligations tied to the district attorney, sheriff, judges and other offices, but that there is no dedicated revenue source to fully meet some of those...

City Budget Records And A Recent Council Agenda Suggest Long-Discussed Intersection Work Near Country Club Drive Is Gaining Momentum. A long-discussed roundabout project on Robert Boulevard in Slidell appears to be moving closer to construction, according to city budget records and a recent City Council agenda. The City of Slidell’s 2025 adopted budget identifies a capital project to construct a roundabout at Robert Boulevard and Country Club Drive. In the city’s proposed 2027 budget, the same project is still listed, and a progress table places the Robert Boulevard at Country Club Boulevard roundabout at 20 percent completion. Further evidence of movement came in the Slidell City Council agenda for May 26, 2026. The agenda summary included an amendment that would allocate $2 million to...

New Act Removes A Longstanding State Statute Tied To The St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District A Louisiana law that gave special authority to the St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District is set to be repealed after state lawmakers approved House Bill 286 and Gov. Jeff Landry signed it into law as Act 62. The change takes effect Aug. 1, 2026. The measure repeals Louisiana Revised Statute 33:7728, a state law specific to the St. Tammany district. According to the enrolled bill, the repeal removes provisions tied to the district’s independent authority over spending, its ability to extend services outside its boundaries, certain employee health insurance claim language, and older references involving district boundaries and naming. The repeal follows action by the St. Tammany...

Parish Zoning Records And STARC Announcements Show Plans Advancing On Shamrock Road Near U.S. 190 A new STARC residential community home is moving closer to construction in Slidell, according to St. Tammany Parish zoning records and public posts from the nonprofit. Parish documents show STARC of Louisiana, led by Executive Director Mark Baham, sought to rezone a 1.767-acre parcel at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 190 East and Shamrock Road from HC-2 and NC-4 to A-3 suburban zoning. The zoning case, listed as 2024-3690-ZC, states the property is intended to be used as a residential group home for STARC of Louisiana. The matter appeared before the St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission in March 2024 as a recommendation for approval before later Parish Council action. A separate parish...

A Keep Louisiana Beautiful grant is already producing results in St. Tammany Parish. A state beautification grant is helping St. Tammany Parish crack down on illegal dumping and reduce litter in Slidell. Officials say a surveillance camera funded through Keep Louisiana Beautiful led to a gross littering citation in Lacombe, while a separate grant added four new trash receptacles in Olde Towne Slidell’s entertainment district. St. Tammany Parish officials said the parish’s Department of Environmental Services used a $10,000 surveillance camera grant awarded in June 2025 to buy cameras that were deployed in March 2026. Soon after installation, one of those cameras captured a vehicle allegedly dumping a toilet along a roadside in the Lacombe area. According to St. Tammany Parish, the...

Tommy Williams Wins Slidell Police Chief Race As Council Seats Are Decided Slidell voters selected Tommy Williams as the city’s next police chief in Saturday’s election, giving him 3,500 votes, or 64.7 percent, over Brian Nicaud’s 1,911 votes, or 35.3 percent. The race decided who will take over the elected chief’s office after Randy Fandal left the post following his election as Slidell mayor. Williams will now move into one of the city’s highest-profile public safety roles as Slidell continues to manage policing, traffic and quality-of-life issues across a community of nearly 29,000 residents. Voters also filled seats on the Slidell City Council. In the two at-large council races, Leslie Denham led the field with 2,284 votes, or 27.4 percent, followed by Tom Abney with 2,160 votes, or...

Sue Helen Ford’s project turns downtown landmarks into a self-guided local history walk A Slidell Girl Scout has earned the Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting, for a project that invites residents and visitors to explore the city’s past one stop at a time. Sue Helen Ford created the Slidell History Stroll, a self-guided walking tour through Olde Towne Slidell that uses QR codes placed at historic and notable locations. When scanned with a smartphone, the codes take users to short histories about the sites and the people and events connected to them. City of Slidell materials describe the project as a collaboration involving Ford, the city and the Slidell Museum. The project debuted in August 2025 during White Linen Night, when participants were invited to take part in a...