Central City, Louisiana

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Central City is Louisiana's newest city. Located in East Baton Rouge Parish and officially named the City of Central, the small community of 27,000 residents is the 12th largest city in Louisiana.

Despite opposition from the Parish government and even some of the community's own residents, the supporters of Central incorporation won in a April 2005 vote. The city immediately established its own newspaper, Central City News and later The Sunday Leader. In a January 24th, 2006 city council meeting, the The Sunday Leader was approved as the official newspaper of Central.

The elementary principal at Central Private School, Shelton 'Mac' Watts, became the temporary mayor. Formal elections were held on April 1st, 2006, in which voters chose incubent Watts with 86% of the 18,000 votes.

The city's primary public schools are Central Middle, on the corner of Hooper Road and Sullivan Road, and Central High on Wax Road, near the local Wal-Mart. Private Schools in the area include Central Private School on Centerra Court, off of Gurney Road, and Starkey Academy on Joor Road. Some area churches are Zoar Baptist Church on Hooper Road, Greenwell Springs Church, Blackwater United Methodist and Saint Alphonsus. Central is hoping to create its own school system, as have other incorporated cities in the area such as Baker, Louisiana and Zachary, Louisiana. An amendment has now been passed to allow Central's own school system separate from East Baton Rouge Parish. On January 9, 2007, Gov. Kathleen Blanco appointed the interim members of the new Central Community School Board. They are Morris L. Anderson, Sharon Watts Browning, Willard M. Easley, Ruby W. Foil, James W. “Jim” Gardner, Wilfred M. “Marty” Guilbeau Jr. and Russell M. Starns. The new school system will begin operation on July 1, 2007.