LAPLACE – The Belle Terre Civic Association will be sponsoring the first political forum of the year for candidates running for parish president and sheriff in the Oct. 22 primary election in St. John The Baptist Parish.

The forum is set for Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at Belle Terre Country Club, 111 Fairway Drive, in LaPlace. A 30-minute networking event will precede the forum at 5:30 p.m. parish presidential candidates will answer questions at 6 p.m. and sheriff candidates will follow at 7 p.m.

Belle Terre Civic Association President Raj Pannu will moderate the two-hour forum, which will include a three-member panel that will ask questions to each candidate. Panelists include James Wagner, Dixie Ramirez and Beverly Harris.

Each candidate will answer a total of five questions with about two minutes per question.

Questions from the floor will not be accepted during the forum, but all residents are invited to attend. Anyone interested in submitting a question may do so by contacting Pannu at 504-417-3282 or via email at rajpannu@aol.com. Pannu stressed that residents should arrive early as seating is limited.