Quick take
- North Louisiana Interfaith opened a Community Lighthouse at Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport with a ribbon cutting Sun., Nov. 8, KTBS and KTAL reported.
- The church now has solar panels, backup batteries and a backup water supply from a well, so it can offer basic help during power outages, disasters and other emergencies.
- It joins Lighthouse sites at Morning Star Baptist Church and the Highland Center. The group’s goal is 20 sites across Caddo Parish, KTBS reported.
- The group also plans a six-month civic academy in 2027 on data centers and their local effects. Caddo Parish Administrator Erica Bryant pledged $5,000 toward it, and Public Service Commission member-elect John Atkins pledged $5,000 of his own.
Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport is now a Community Lighthouse, a place neighbors can turn to when the power goes out. North Louisiana Interfaith opened the site with a ribbon cutting Sunday, Nov. 8, KTBS and KTAL reported.
The church now has solar panels, backup batteries and a backup water supply from a well, so it can keep offering basic help during outages, natural disasters and other emergencies. North Louisiana Interfaith says the site is open and running, KTBS reported.
“For many people power outages are an actual disaster, for our senior citizens or for our special needs,” North Louisiana Interfaith member Saundra Roberson told KTBS.
It is the group’s third Lighthouse in Shreveport, after Morning Star Baptist Church and the Highland Center. The goal is 20 sites across Caddo Parish, KTBS reported. Neither outlet gave the church’s street address, so we do not print one.
Data centers and a civic academy
Speakers at the ceremony talked about how the region’s growing demand for power, including Amazon’s data center development, could affect local resources, KTBS reported. The group plans a six-month civic academy in 2027 where residents can study data centers and their possible effects and learn how to take part in decisions about them. Pastor Antwan Butler said it will be open to everyone.
Caddo Parish Administrator Erica Bryant pledged $5,000 toward the academy, and Louisiana Public Service Commission member-elect John Atkins announced a personal pledge of $5,000, KTBS reported.