Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations were held on both East Bank and West Bank of St. John Parish.

The life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King was honored Monday with a 9 a.m. march, starting at Belle Point Boulevard and ending at the new St. John the Baptist Parish Government Complex in LaPlace, where a rally followed.

On the West Bank, the West St. John Civic Association held its annual march that began at noon at the Roland Borne Sr. Memorial Library and ended at West. St. John Elementary, where a memorial program took place.

Leaders representing St. John were present at both, along with many members of the community.

• A long-time public servant to the St. John the Baptist Parish Library system recently announced his retirement after dedicating over 50 years to our system.

Norris “Butch” Millet Sr. will step down effective Jan. 31.

Norris was an instrumental pioneer in the development and expansion of the library system in St. John Parish over the last five decades.

His legacy will be forever remembered as the LaPlace Central Branch was renamed after Norris in 2017.

We are grateful for his contributions to St. John Parish and wish him well in his retirement.

• A certification workshop for the FastTrac program will be held Jan. 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the River Parishes Community College – Reserve Campus, located at 181 Regala Park Road in Reserve.

The FastTrac New Venture Program classes begin March 14.

This program is sponsored through SBDC LA and St. John the Baptist Parish Economic Development Department.

Those wanting more information should contact FastTrac Program Manager Wayne Aucoin at 985-479-1247 or waucoin@lsbdc.org.

Michael P. Wright is St. John the Baptist Parish Council District 5 representative. Contact him at District5@sjbparish.com or m.wright@sjbparish.com.