Local environmental crusader named one of Time’s most influential people of 2024 [Video]

VACHERIE, La. — On this Earth Day, we shine a spotlight on environmental crusader Sharon Lavigne.

With petrochemical plants multiplying along the Mississippi River, the retired special education teacher and grandmother of 12 founded Rise St. James.

It’s a faith-based group, dedicated to stemming the growth of new polluting industry in what is referred to as Cancer Ally between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

“At one time we had clean air,” Lavigne told WWL Louisiana. “We had clean soil. You could plant a garden and walk out of your house into your garden and pick your fresh vegetables and we can’t do that anymore.”

There are about a dozen chemical plants within miles of Lavigne’s home on the west bank of St. James Parish.

This area has one of the highest concentrations of …