HAMMOND---Mayor Mayson Foster announced today that this Saturday, March 24, will be Hammond’s annual Trash Bash pickup day in preparation for the 2007 Cleanest City Contest next week.

Foster said the Trash Bash will begin at 8 a.m. and continue until noon. Groups will meet at the downtown parking mall areas between Charles and Robert streets.

Interested organizations wanting to participate should call (985) 543-3236. Gloves and bags will be available.



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HAMMOND---Mayor Mayson Foster announced today that the City of Hammond has received a $10,000 grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful Inc. to fund a cigarette litter prevention program.

Targeting the downtown area, the grant award will be used to purchase ash receptacles, provide overtime pay for special law enforcement assignments, fund an advertising and public awareness campaign and provide contract labor.

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HAMMOND---Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster reminds residents that physical addresses must be posted clearly and visibly on all homes, businesses and other buildings and on street side mailboxes when used.

Established by ordinance last April, the city regulation is designed to promote and maintain public safety and welfare by taking steps to assure efficient and prompt emergency response services to Hammond residents, city officials said.


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NEW MLK PAVILLION---Mayor Mayson Foster and city officials, chamber representatives, and contractors involved in the recently completed basketball pavillion project at Martin Luther King Park in Hammond cut the ribbon on the new facility in February. Council members Johnny Blount and Mike Williams even played a game of one-on-one in the new covered area, which will allow basketball enthusiasts to play under a steel canopy, regardless of the weather.

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START OF SOMETHING BIG---The City of Hammond's push to establish a children's museum moves one step closer to reality as Entergy officials present a $600,000 check for the program to City Council President Kathy Montecino. Mayor Mayson Foster credits Montecino as the "driving force" to build the museum, which will be known as the Louisiana Children's Discovery Museum. Montecino, who proposed her vision for a children's museum during her first term on the council, said her museum committee is now studying possible locations for the proposed facility.

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Hammond---The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through its American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) program has awarded the City of Hammond, LA., the amount of $500,000 to assist low-income, first-time homebuyers in purchasing an existing home. These funds are received and pass through the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA).

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Want to know a little more about your representitives on the City Council? Read on for a brief biography on each of them!

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HAMMOND---Tuesday will be Inauguration Day in the City of Hammond as Mayson Foster begins his second term as mayor of Hammond, and the Hammond City Council begins its new term of office.

Inaugural ceremonies are set for Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 10 a.m. at the Columbia Theater for Foster, as well as City Councilmembers-elect Johnny Blount, Jason Hood, Willie Grant Jackson, Kathy Montecino, and Mike Williams.

Special guests participating in the program include Southeastern Louisiana University President Dr. Randy Moffett, 7th Ward Judge Grace Bennett Gasaway, and Andre Coudrain, Hammond's City Attorney and a former member of the Louisiana Board of Regents.

The public is invited to attend the Inaugural ceremonies, Foster said.

For more information, please contact Hammond City Hall at (985) 542-3400.

HAMMOND---Mayor Mayson Foster and the Hammond City Council will dedicate a portrait of former mayor Louis J. Tallo in the vestibule of the Council meeting room at 5 p.m. this Tuesday, Dec. 5.

The public is invited to attend the informal ceremony, which will precede the regular council meeting, scheduled later that evening.

Earlier this year, the council voted to rename their meeting facility, which is located next door to the Hammond City Hall complex, in honor of the deceased former mayor, who served from 1998-2002.

HAMMOND---The current and future members of the Hammond City Council will participate in a workshop on state ethics and city council procedures on Friday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. until noon, inside council chambers in Hammond.

Mayor Mayson Foster announced today that the workshop, designed as a continuing education opportunity, particularly for the new council members, will include presentations by Melissa McConnell with the Louisiana State Ethics Board, and City Attorney Andre Coudrain, who will outline council procedures.


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HAMMOND---Mayor Mayson Foster is encouraging motorists to plan a few extra minutes into their drive-time this week, as the City of Hammond will be experiencing minor traffic delays as work continues on the Canadian National Railroad line inside the city limits this week.

Foster said CN will be closing four major intersections on three individual days to perform routine maintenance and upgrades on the railroad in downtown Hammond this week.

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HAMMOND---The City of Hammond will honor three outgoing City Councilmembers Friday night as the City's Christmas 12th annual celebration in Zemurray Park kicks off with a very special lighting ceremony.

Mayor Mayson Foster announced today that outgoing City Councilmen Tony Licciardi, Nicky Muscarello, and Curtis Wilson will turn on the lights for the annual "Holiday Nights, Christmas Lights" celebration Friday, Dec. 1, in Zemurray Park, which is located at the corner of S. Oak and W. Coleman Ave. in downtown Hammond.

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FOSTER WELCOMES CLERICAL ASSOCIATION---Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster (right) signs a proclamation welcoming the Clerical Association of Louisiana to Hammond. Janet Costa Quarles, Region IX Delegate and Conference Chair for the Clerical Association of Louisiana, joins Mayor Foster in proclaiming Oct. 18-20 as Clerical Association of Louisiana Days in Hammond, celebrating the group's annual conference, which was hosted by the Landmark Hotel in Hammond.

HAMMOND---Mayor Mayson Foster announced today that all City of Hammond offices will be closed Friday, Nov. 10, in observance of the federal Veterans' Day holiday.

Foster said there are a number of local Veterans' Day observances planned, and the Mayor encouraged citizens to pause for a moment this weekend to reflect on the significant opportunities afforded to all Americans by the work of our local military and its veterans.

All city offices will resume regular work schedules on Monday, Nov. 13.

Mayor Mayson Foster announced today that the City of Hammond and Tangipahoa Parish Government will sponsor a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on October 28, 2006. Foster said residents will have the opportunity to eliminate hazardous materials from their homes by bringing them to Zemurray Park, which is located at the corner of W. Coleman and Oak Street in Hammond, for recycling or safe disposal.

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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP---Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster meets with Stirling Properties' James "Jimmy" Maurin during Wednesday's Hammond Chamber Business Expo at the SLU University Center. Maurin announced this week that his company plans to redevelop the former Hammond Square Mall starting next spring, with a number of new "big box" stores, such as Home Depot, Target, and JC Penney's, in negotiations to come to Hammond by Fall 2008. The new shopping development will have a nearly $240 million impact on Hammond, according to initial calculations. The City of Hammond is prepared to partner in the effort through the city's public-private cooperative endeavor plan, which could allow for roadway, utility, and other improvements on the nearly 100 acre site near I-12.

FOSTERING PARTNERSHIPS----Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster presents a check for more than $60,000 to Tangipahoa Parish School Superintendent Louis Joseph as part of the City's partnership with the school system in the new Magnet School concept for Hammond. The donation will be used to purchase technology for the school, which is being piloted this year at Hammond Eastside Primary in grades pre-K through 3.

CONSTITUTION WEEK 2006---The Tangipahoa Parish Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will celebrate Constitution Week beginning today (Sunday, Sept. 17) through Saturday, Sept. 23. Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster, center, signs a proclamation recognizing the DAR for their efforts to help educate Hammond and the surrounding communities on the importance of the Constitution in America. Representing the DAR are Carolyn Henderson, the chapter's Constitution Week chairwoman, and Hazel Seale, Tangipahoa Parish Chapter President.

The City of Hammond would like to invite you to the Non-Profit Quarterly Meeting, to be held on Friday, September 15, 2006, at AMSouth Bank, 201 NW Railroad Avenue, Hammond, Louisiana. Registration will begin at 8:45 a.m. and the program will start at 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.


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HAMMOND---The City of Hammond will commemorate the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in ceremonies this Tuesday, Aug. 29, in Hammond.

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WHEREAS,     on August 29, 2006 we come together in unity and remembrance of all the people, places, and dreams that were lost when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita touched the cities and parishes that surround the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and

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HAMMOND---Wednesday marks the first day of school, and Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster says the city is once again planning additional enforcement during school zones to remind motorists to drive even more safely, now that classes have resumed.


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The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through its American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) program has awarded the City of Hammond, LA the amount of $500,000 to assist low income first-time homebuyers in purchasing a home. These funds are received and pass through the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency (LHFA).

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KATRINA AID FROM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC---Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster receives a check in the amount of $885 from Dr. Margaret Marshall, a Southeastern Louisiana University foreign language department representative, on behalf of the community of Jouars-Pontchartrain, in France. Jouars-Pontchartrain and the City of Hammond have participated as "Twin Cities" for nearly ten years. Following Hurricane Katrina, Hammond's Twin City wanted to do something to help the area, and sponsored a sold-out theatrical performance of "Il e'tait une fois le Mississipi (Once Upon a Time on the Mississippi River)" to raise funds for hurricane relief on the Northshore. Marshall said the city can expect another sum--nearly $10,000--in the immediate future to help with hurricane relief efforts in the area.

PARTNERS FOR A BETTER TOMORROW---Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster (far right) signs a formal agreement with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), as the cities document their newly-designated partnership status. The City of Hammond will provide NOPD a "safe haven" evacuation center in the event of a natural disaster hitting the city. Officials with the NOPD estimate as many as 70 police officers could be stationed at the Michael J. Kenney Recreation Center on W. Coleman Ave. in Hammond in the event of an evacuation of the City of New Orleans--as was the case during Hurricane Katrina. TEAM HAMMOND Recreation Director Joey Keener, far left, looks on as Foster signs the paperwork in the presence of a delegation from NOPD this week.

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