Each Wednesday, L’Observateur recognizes individuals and businesses in the River Parishes that have gone “above and beyond” in their efforts to make this a better place to live, work and play.

We believe an integral part of a community’s wellbeing is an attitude and arena where people who do good things who work to improve life for others … who try to make a difference are recognized and saluted. Because this is a salute to members of the community of the entire River Parishes, we solicit your recommendations for groups or individuals to be considered for inclusion.

This week we salute:

• Hahnville High School-based Otto Candies baseball team, which is continuing to succeed in summer baseball. The team is playing in the Mid-South Regional Tournament in New Orleans this week.

• The River Parishes-area youngsters who participated in the Missoula Children’s Theatre camp last week. The program culminated on Saturday with a performance of “The Frog Prince” at St. John Theatre in Reserve.

• David Hargrave Jr. of LaPlace, who recently won first place in the Southwest Region Youth Conference National Spelling Bee in Houston. Hargrave participated in regional competitions in St. John Parish and Opelousas before reaching the national competition.

• St. James High School graduate Kody Melancon, who recently earned a Master of Arts in education policy and social analysis from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York. The Teachers College is the largest and oldest school of education in the nation.