What became of these 225 newsmakers?

We flipped through four years’ worth of 225 magazine back issues and wondered what became of some of those memorable personalities and stories.

The Lewises: a family at home

Venessa Lewis, the mother who raised her newborn, Layden, for eight months while her National Guard husband Brent was stationed in Iraq, says their life reunited now has settled into a routine. Brent works during the day at the National Guard office in Baton Rouge, while Venessa grows her graphic design business from home. Layden is 18 months old and a walking machine. The Lewises recently sold their property in Watson and are moving into a new house in Denham Springs this fall, a larger one they hope to fill with a sibling for Layden next year.

FEMA trailer park’s closed, folks

Last summer, after three years of controversy, frequent protests by evacuees and reports of rampant drug-dealing, prostitution and theft, the federal government finally shut down the FEMA trailer park euphemistically dubbed Renaissance Village it built on a 70-acre leased lot west of Baker.

In February 2006, 225 magazine was the first to expose crime and drug-dealing at the park, which ultimately led to a sheriff’s department raid that landed people in jail.

At its busiest, the trailer park was home to nearly 600 families that evacuated New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. When FEMA finally closed the park in June 2008, only 36 trailers remained occupied, and most of those still in the park at the time qualified for apartment vouchers and free rent.—JEFF ROEDEL AND CHUCK HUSTMYRE

Brawls to the wall

Mixed martial arts fights in the style of ultimate fighting exploded in Baton Rouge in 2006, and the sport shows no signs of fading.

The Capital City’s premier and original mixed martial arts training center, Gladiator’s Academy on Florida Boulevard, has partnered with Spectrum Fitness on Monterrey Boulevard and opened two new Gladiator’s Academies in Lafayette and Slidell. The Academy’s jujitsu instructor, Tim Credeur, is undefeated in UFC competition, and its MMA instructor, Kyle Bradley, is fighting in his third UFC event in May.

Locally, Gladiator’s Academy has sponsored several significant MMA events in the past two years, including fights at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and the Superdome.

Did they handle the pressure?

In August 2006, 225’s cover featured three promising LSU quarterbacks: JaMarcus Russell, Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux.

Photographed after practice, the three were shown grasping for a football, symbolic of their competition for the coveted starting job.

Who would succeed the scrappy Matt Mauck, a relentless competitor who exceeded expectations the year before by leading LSU to an 11-1 record in 2003 and its first national championship since 1958?

Of our three cover QBs, it was the towering Russell with his cannon arm who won the starting job that year, leading the Tigers to an 11-2 record and smashing Notre Dame in the Nokia Sugar Bowl.

A year later, Flynn beat out Perrilloux for the job and went on to lead the Tigers to a 12-2 record and the BCS National Championship. Perrilloux was crucial, though, stepping in for an injured Flynn in the SEC Championship game to upset favored Tennessee, 21-14.

Mauck, Russell, Flynn and Perrilloux rightfully share much of the credit for LSU’s remarkable success during the past several seasons. They have gone on to varying levels of success, although there have been some ups and downs along the way.—JEFF ROEDEL AND TOM GUARISCO

Mauck: As promised, dental school

After stints with the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans, Mauck rolled out of the pocket and into the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, where he is currently studying. The 30-year-old former Tiger lives just outside of Denver.

Russell: Time to live up to the big bucks

After holding out the first few weeks of his rookie season in a contract dispute—he eventually signed for six years and a guaranteed $31.5 million—Russell improved his stats and playing time last year as starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, though he lost seven fumbles to the opposition, and the team finished a dismal 5-11. In February, Raiders coach Tom Cable told USA Today that the former LSU standout and No. 1 draft pick still had to step up as the face of the franchise and to “grow more, come out of those post-college years and be more settled.”

Flynn: Working in Brett Favre’s former shadow

The cool-headed hero of LSU’s 2007 National Championship team, Flynn saw limited action last season as the backup quarterback for the Brett Favre-less Green Bay Packers. Flynn is under a four-year rookie contract with the team through 2011.

Perrilloux: ?Throwing TDs, ?staying in school

After his spring 2008 dismissal from the LSU football team, oft-troubled quarterback Perrilloux cleaned up his act at Jacksonville State in Alabama, throwing 19 touchdowns while leading the Gamecocks to an 8-3 record and a second-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference. In January, Perrilloux announced he would forgo the NFL draft and return for his senior season in Jacksonville.

Aaron Joslyn: Bitten, but not shy

It’s been more than two years since Aaron Joslyn survived being mauled by a pit bull near his family’s Baton Rouge home. Now 15 years old, Joslyn has regained much of his running and jumping ability through rigorous physical therapy but still suffers migraines and takes a series of medicines for ankle pain. The scar tissue is an inch thick in some places, which causes problems as he hits teenage growth spurts. Though not playing on a high school team, Joslyn shoots hoops in the neighborhood, and not long ago faced his fears by staring down his friend’s pit bull, reaching out a hand and petting it.

Walter Monsour: Targeting blight

Walter Monsour’s new gig as the first president and CEO of the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority puts him on familiar bureaucratic turf—he just finished a tenure as Mayor Kip Holden’s administrative officer. But now he’s working in a more narrow area: attacking blight. The new agency began its work to renovate blighted or vacant properties and revitalize downtrodden neighborhoods. First on the agenda appears to be revitalizing Old South Baton Rouge between LSU and downtown.

Mark Smith: Pleaded guilty, awaits sentence

In April 2007, 225’s investigative cover story “Lights! Camera! Inaction?” helped trigger the FBI investigation into the state’s tax credit program for the film industry. After pleading guilty to two bribery-related charges in September 2007, former Louisiana Film Commissioner Mark Smith has seen his sentencing delayed several times while he cooperates with authorities and aids the ongoing investigation. His sentencing was most recently scheduled for March 25, after 225 went to press with this issue. Malcolm Petal, whose New Orleans-based film company LIFT is now defunct, was Smith’s co-conspirator. Last December Petal pleaded guilty to bribing both Smith and William Bradley, the Hammond attorney who served as an intermediary for the illicit funds, to the tune of $135,000. Petal is scheduled for sentencing April 9.

Click here to return to the cover story, “Where are they now?”