Chuck Cook / TheTimes-PicayuneRonald Richard sits on his lawn tractor at his home northeast of Covington Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. He was cutting grass Saturday when a stray .45 caliber bullet hit him in the chest, hitting and breaking his cell phone but leaving him largely unhurt.

But Saturday he decided to hook it to bib of the garment, just over his heart. It was a decision made without a second thought, but it was one that might have saved Richard's life a short while later.

Except for fire protection districts, most taxing bodies in St. Tammany Parish have heeded a call from local legislators, officials and the general public to maintain lower property tax rates.

A Bush man was found guilty on Wednesday of having helped Dominic Robinson escape and cover up evidence after the killing of Samantha Jaume, the Mandeville-area homemaker murdered in front of her children on Independence Day, 2001.

A Native American boy will be allowed to continue wearing his hair in a braid at school, after the superintendent of schools in St. Tammany Parish reversed an earlier decision that the child would have to cut his hair or wear his braid in a bun.

Even after spending seven years in prison, it didn't take Michael Nelson long to get back to his old habits, Slidell police said.

In a split vote, the Orleans Parish School Board on Tuesday rejected a collective bargaining agreement as one of its final acts before five new members take office in January.

St. Tammany Parish's new $1.9 million animal shelter, on the drawing board since 2002, finally opened this week with little fanfare north of Lacombe.

Recognized for innovation in education, St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Gayle Sloan has been named the 2009 state Superintendent of the Year.

For the second time this year and with the same defendant seated at a table nearby, Madisonville Mayor Peter Gitz took the witness stand on Tuesday, hoping that the man he and prosecutors believe beat and robbed him at his restaurant in 2006 gets placed behind bars.

CHUCK COOK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEJonathan Herrin of Slidell drops off a stray dog at the the new St. Tammany Parish animal shelter. The $1.9 million shelter opened Monday along Louisiana 36 north of Lacombe

St. Tammany Parish's new $1.9 million animal shelter, on the drawing board since 2002, finally opened this week with little fanfare north of Lacombe.

A Slidell man shot and killed his neighbor's pit bulls after they attacked him and his dog Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

St. Tammany Parish public schools Superintendent Gayle Sloan has been named the 2009 state Superintendent of the Year.

After a mistrial in April, a man is back on trial in Covington for allegedly beating and robbing Madisonville Mayor Peter Gitz at the mayor's restaurant in 2006.

The Covington City Council has approved an $18.1 million spending plan for 2009 that includes $1.1 million for street resurfacing and $175,000 to begin turning all of City Hall into a police station.

The Covington City Council has approved an $18.1 million spending plan for 2009 that includes $1.1 million for street resurfacing and $175,000 to begin renovating all of City Hall into a police station.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans announced Monday that its judges will take part in a hearing on the case of James Ford Seale, a reputed Ku Klux Klan member whose conviction for his role in the 1964 abduction and death of two black Mississippi teenagers was overturned by three members of the court in September..

Scott Threlkeld / The Times-PicayuneMandeville Police Chief Tom Buell, left, who has led the department since 1974, and Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price.

The opening strains of Tom Buell's farewell to Mandeville on Thursday night were met with accolades befitting a police chief who had served for three decades, shepherding his department from a handful of officers into a modern force equipped with laptops and sophisticated radios.

The St. Tammany Parish School Board has decided to honor its past by naming the new elementary school in Madisonville after the district's first recorded superintendent.

In a unanimous vote, the St. Tammany Parish School Board honored its past by naming the new elementary school in Madisonville after the district's first recorded superintendent.

A special session of the St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission scheduled for Tuesday night to discuss a rezoning proposal for the southwestern region of the parish has been postponed.

Planning consultants will unveil their proposed new zoning map for Covington on Wednesday night during a 6 p.m. meeting at the Greater Covington Center.

The westbound lanes of the Interstate 10 twin spans will close Sunday night and early Monday for inspection of the bridge.

Residents who live in and around Slidell will see a moderate increase this year in their annual fee for fire protection after the St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1 board decided Thursday night against rolling back the millage rate the full amount as most other parish taxing bodies have done.

Scott Threlkeld / The Times-PicayuneMandeville Police Chief Tom Buell, left, is pictured here in July with Mayor Eddie Price. He has announced his resignation.

Mandeville Police Chief Tom Buell announced his retirement on Thursday after 30 years in the post, making him the first official to take the fall for a series of scandals that is now the focus of state and federal criminal investigations.

Dozens of miniature red, green, purple and blue shovels dug into the damp ground off Westchester Boulevard on Thursday to kick off the construction of the new Our Lady of Lourdes School in Slidell.

Traffic on the Causeway Bridge is flowing smoothly, but watch out for road closures in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

Oklahoma Department of CorrectionsCynthia C. Lynch

Cynthia Lynch boarded a bus in Tulsa on Friday and braced herself to venture out of Oklahoma for the first time in her life.

Described by family members as weak-willed, the 43-year-old divorcee was reaching out, scrambling for some kind of acceptance even if it meant traveling 700 miles to meet with a small group of dedicated Ku Klux Klansmen in a remote corner of St. Tammany Parish while promising to spread their message of racial purity.

See the application Cynthia Lynch filled out for the Sons of Dixie.

In the wake of a weekend slaying tied to a Ku Klux Klan initiation ritual, Washington Parish authorities said they are surprised to learn the group was based in their area.

Though Slidell voters agreed last week to amend the city's charter to allow the City Council to appoint an interim member to a vacant seat, the language in the amendment may prohibit the council from filling the vacancy that currently exists.