Taking their turn: New Generation event focuses on civic projects dreamed up by young people

Morgan City High School students said last year that the city should have a dog park. They had real plans.
Thursday night, even as that park is being put together by city and parish governments, another group of Morgan City High students – Jennifer Tran, Ian Gray, Logan Wolf, Davis Tran and Thomas Pham – offered suggestions for amenities at the dog park. They’d like to see trees, including crape myrtles and maples, along with some lilies and violets.
The school’s woodworking students may get pressed into service to build benches. The students think there should be special events, such as a contest to name the cutest and ugliest dogs. And there will be rules: leash rules, pooper-scooper rules and rules against aggressive dogs.
The students themselves sound as though they’re ready to stay after officials like bulldogs.
“If we keep after it, be persistent like they say, it will happen,” Davis Tran said.
“We may have to come back next year,” Ian Gray said.
They were one of five groups representing St. Mary high schools Thursday at the annual New Generation forum hosted by the Morgan City Rotary Club. The event challenges young people to come up with practical ideas that local governments can turn into realities.
“These students tonight become what I call stakeholders in their community,” said the Rotary’s R. Scott Melancon.
They’re not kidding around:
--Caleb Pogue of Centerville High, a team of one and still two years short of driving age, suggested a better traffic flow and more active enforcement of traffic rules on Sennett and Missouri streets near the school.
Parish President David Hanagriff later said that using one-way traffic is under consideration.
“Hopefully, we can get that accomplished and help that traffic flow,” Hanagriff said.
--Central Catholic High’s Jesse Fontenot, Beau Bordelon, Ethan Whittington, Hallie Autin and Rebecca David suggested a bigger recycling bin than the one currently under the bridge in Morgan City.
A bigger bin would be tidier, the students said, and the effort could be used as a fundraiser, they said.
Operations Manager Jay Gunter of Progressive Waste Solutions said the new bin has already been ordered.
“I’m a sucker for the young people,” Gunter said.
--Franklin High’s team of Michelle Gomez, Shylon Francis and Madison Dugas suggested ways to increase awareness about domestic violence. Among their suggestions: an awareness day and a $1 dress-down day at school to raise money for accommodations giving that would give male victims of domestic abuse a safe place to go.
“Wow,” said state Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray. “You’re not scared to take on a big, troubled problem, are you?
“You are right, though. It’s wonderful that you’ve taken the initiative to study this out and that you want to spread awareness, because domestic abuse does not start when someone’s already an adult. The patterns are formed, the expectations are formed when we’re still children.”
--Arly Salinas, Katherine Theriot, Kristina Theriot, Jeremy Orgeron, Kalaye Falgout, Isabella Lodrigue and Joshua Fabre of Berwick High suggested what they called “intergenerational mixers” in which young people spend time with senior citizens.
The students could help the older folks with new technology, the students said, while the seniors could help the students with problems the older folks have already conquered.
Berwick Mayor Louis Ratcliff, who retired from his job recently, liked the students’ idea, and suggested that the town hall or Berwick’s civic center might be available for the mixers.
Berwick Town Council member Jacki Ackel praised all the groups for their practicality.
“To all the schools, I thought your plan was well thought out …,” Ackel said. “It’s doable. You didn’t present something that is so far out there that it’s not attainable. You took your time to think about our community, the needs of our community, and how to make St. Mary Parish a better place.”