Ground breaking for new parish prison held March 21, 2023 The ground breaking for the new Evangeline Parish Jail facility was held this (Tuesday) morning at the new proposed site at the Ward One Industrial Park. Sheriff Charles Guillory welcomed the large group of public officials and the general public in attendance. Fr. Tom Voorhies, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church offered an opening prayer. Also speaking was architect Alex Deshotel whose firm is designing the new parish jail facility who announced that the jail will house 200 inmates including men, woman and some juveniles. They expect to go to bid in the next three months for a general contractor. The construction phase is expected to take about 14-16 months. Based on that time line, the new parish jail should have a ribbon cutting in the next 18 months. Other speakers included State Representative Rhonda Butler and Police Jury President Brian Vidrine. The ground breaking included the sheriff, the architect and several members of the police jury. The closing prayer was offered by Rev. Freddie Jack of the St. John Baptist Church.