Election Early Voting September 29, 2019 Early voting for the October 12 primary election began Saturday at the Registrar of Voter's office in the courthouse. According to Evangeline Parish Registrar of Voters Lucas Buller, a total of 488 cast early votes on that first day. The early voting continues each day this week Monday through Saturday. There is a full slate of offices up for voters to decide from Louisiana Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Ag. Commissioner, Insurance Commissioner, BESE Board members , as well as parish and local offices: State Senator, State Representative, Sheriff, Assessor and Police Jury offices. Voters will also decide the fate of several constitutional amendments.

The Ville Platte Rotary Club today (Tuesday) heard from Richard Fontenot, local farmer and a representative with the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. Fontenot is a fourth generation farmer in the Vidrine area. He told club members that Agriculture is important to our economy in Evangeline Parish to the tune of some 96 million dollars. Some seventy percent of his crop is being exported to other countries. Through his volunteer work with Farm Bureau, Fontenot is a strong advocate for agriculture. One area that passed the state legislature is "Truth in Labeling" He asked club members "Is Cauliflower rice a rice product? Would you eat plant based shrimp or plant based beef? We want our shoppers and restaurant clients to know if they are buying La. Beef and Louisiana crawfish". The last few years have been tough for Louisiana producers with floods and hurricanes that has impacted the rice crop. He commented that the tariffs against China will hurt producers in the interim but in the end will be better for everyone. Fontenot said the soybean crop has been rated fair to average. Fontenot commended Evangeline Supt. of Schools Darwan Lazard and his staff for supporting giving students the opportunity to become engaged in agricultural professions. Rotarian Barbara Buroker was in charge of the program. Club President Nicole Wenger announced that the Club Fall Social is planned for October 22.

Ville Platte Police Chief Neal Lartigue reports one injured in shooting. On Sunday, September 22, 2019 at approximately 2:45 a.m. Officers with the Ville Platte Police Department responded to a report of shots fired on Anita Street in Ville Platte. Deputies with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office also responded to the incident to assist. Upon arrival Officers and Deputies located a black male with a gunshot wound which required medical treatment. The victim was transported to Mercy Regional Medical Center and later transported to New Orleans for treatment. Chief Lartigue has stated that they do have a person of interest in the incident and at this time the investigation is ongoing. Detectives are requesting anyone with information about the shooting the early morning hours of September 22, 2019, to contact the Ville Platte Police Department at 337-363-1313. Your call will remain anonymous.

Evangeline Parish School Board discusses cross curricula and Parent Empowerment and Community Engagement Day As reported by Mallory Moser Evangeline Parish School Board Meeting September 18, 2019 The Evangeline Parish School Board Wednesday heard from Lisa Jack on how the new curriculum allows for cross-curricula in ELA (English-Language Arts) and Social Studies. This presentation came at the request of Board President, Wayne Dardeau. Ms. Jack explained that with this curriculum, textbooks have been replaced with text sources such as articles, graphs, videos, maps, etc. This curriculum requires a lot of preparation by the teachers, but Ms. Jack says that she loves it- it's applicable to real life for the students and she and the other teachers are able to come together to plan as a team to lessen the amount of work on the individual. Ms. Jack's thoughts on the matter were echoed by Curriculum and Operational Facilitator in Science and Social Studies, Anita West, and Basile High School science teacher, Kenneth Kidder during their requested presentation on why textbooks do not drive the curriculum Ms. West led the presentation by informing the Board on the changes the State of Louisiana has made to the curriculum standards for Science and stated that there is no textbook out there to meet these new standards. Much like what Ms. Jack stated in her presentation, Mr. Kidder and Ms. West spoke about how first and secondary sources, articles, and videos are being used in lessons and any textbook that is in the classroom is used as a supplement. Simply stated, the textbooks are not being used. Mr. Dardeau expressed some concern about how much work this seems to be for the teachers and how the concern is about teacher burnout. Ms. West and Mr. Kidder both stated that Ms. West's role as Facilitator has greatly helped to take the burden off of the teachers. Superintendent Darwan Lazard further stated that with curriculums that are not constantly changing, the focus is on preparing the students to perform at a high level and that they remain committed to supporting the teachers to ensure that they have the help and resources they need to keep everyone performing at their best. Special Education Director, Kelli Lafleur gave a presentation on the creation of a Special Education Advisory Panel. The Evangeline Parish Special Education Advisory Panel (Evangeline SEAP) will consist of eight (8) panel members, four parents of exceptional children, two Evangeline Parish district employees, and two community stakeholders appointed for a one-year term. The panel will meet three times a year. Applications will be accepted until Friday, October 25, 2019. Accepted applicants will be notified of their selection. In the closing statements of the meeting, Superintendent Lazard spoke about the upcoming EPSB Title I Parent Empowerment and Community Engagement Day which will be held at the Ville Platte North Side Civic Center on September 27th, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. There will be games, educational programs, and over $13,000 in cash prizes to give away. He also congratulated Ville Platte High School on their victory against Sacred Heart High School in the Tee Cotton Bowl. The next Evangeline Parish School Boar

The Ville Platte Rotary Club today (Tuesday) heard from Lorenzo Richard who represents the Krewe de Evangeline Coalition. The non profit community mission statement is to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of underage drinking. Richard said "Alcohol is a drug and is the #1 drug used by young people. More young people drink alcohol than smoke cigarettes or use illegal drugs." He shared statistics from the 2016 Caring Communities Youth Survey using surveys from our parish school students. In every category, Evangeline Parish students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 nearly doubled the state and national average of alcohol usage. Richard also gave information about teen drinking. He said "Teens tend to mix alcohol with energy drinks which is even more dangerous than drinking the alcohol by itself. The coalition is planning to have a "Youth Blast" event Friday Sept. 13 from 8-12 noon at the Mamou Recreation Center for all 7th graders in Evangeline Parish Schools. Some 467 students will be bused in from all schools for this special program featuring guest speakers and music. Club President Nicole Wenger announced that plans are being made to begin a second Rotary Youth group in Ville Platte: this one at Ville Platte High. The RYLLA student group has been in existence for several years and has been heavily involved in community events.

The Evangeline Parish Police Jury Monday approved the purchase of a 1.7 acre tract of land for an animal shelter that will be operated by Every Paw Animal Rescue (E.P.A.R.). Currently the parish has no parish shelter. The proposed shelter will be located near the old Pizza Hut and Dirt Cheap on East Main Street. Secretary Treasurer Donald Bergeron reported that there will be five kennels constructed on the new site. Also, the police jury approved cooperative endeavor agreements with Chataignier and Ville Platte. The jury plans to provide labor and equipment to help "blade out" ruts on Rosa Lane in the Village of Chataignier. Also, the jury voted to provide labor and equipment to help open up a drainage ditch on Progressive road in Ville Platte. In other action, the police jury: Appointed Dr. Dale Reed as the new Right of Way and Compliance Agent for the parish at a pay rate of $18 an hour for up to 20 hours a week; Approved a request from Public Works Director Chester Granger to purchase a railcar to replace a bridge on Pin Oak Lane; Received news from Secretary Treasurer Donald Bergeron that sales tax collections for July collected in August was $276,442 or some $3700 less than for the same period a year ago; Approved the reappointment of three members to the Evangeline Parish 9-1-1 Communications Board for another two year term: Tony Rozas, Pat Derousselle and Ronnie Broussard; Approved the tax rolls as compiled by Assessor Dirk Deville despite appeals by two oil companies over valuation prices. The appeals will be heard by the Louisiana Tax Commission; And voted to adjust the millage rates and roll forward to rates not to exceed the maximum authorized rate approved by voters.

Support Personnel in the Evangeline Parish Public School District will be honored on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 5:00pm at the Ville Platte High School auditorium, according to Supervisor Sherral Tezeno. Mike Anderson, custodian at Ville Platte High School was chosen by the judges to be the District Support Person of the Year. Here are the rest of this year's nominees: Suzanne Andrus, Paraeducator at Basile High School; Paula Bergeaux, Paraeducator at W.W. Stewart Elementary; Le Ann Guillory, Paraeducator at Pine Prairie High School; Mary Soileau, Paraeducator at Bayou Chicot Elementary; Cindy Deculus, Paraeducator at Mamou High; Vashanski Thomas, Warehouse Manager at the Media Center; Ms. Jerry Bradley, Bus Driver at First Student at Bayou Chicot Elementary; Kimberly Soileau, Secretary at Mamou Elementary; Benita Wilson, Paraeducator at Vidrine Elementary; Lisa Miller, Administrative Professional at Media Center; Judy Guillory, Administrative Professional at the Central Office; Cinema Edwards, Secretary at James Stephens Montessori; Tanya Celestine, Paraeducator at Chataignier Elementary; Emerald Janice, Paraeducator at Ville Platte Elementary; Mark McCauley , Technology in the Central Office; and Joshua Ricks , Paraeducator at Evangeline Central School. Following the recognition program at Ville Platte High, all of the nominees will be taken to the Crawfish Barn via limousine service to enjoy dinner with the staff members of the school board, family and friends.

Six riders qualified Sunday to compete in this year's running of the Tournoi next month. Facing temperatures near the 100 degree mark, the riders and their horses qualified at the Ward One Industrial Park to participate in the Tournoi scheduled for Sunday Oct. 13. The riders who qualified are: Shane Trahan (who is the father of another rider Austin), Cody Guillory (son of the late Tournoi rider Cody Guillory), Keith Saucier, Shane Lee, Todd Manuel and Nick Fontenot. The six will join with the top ten riders from last year's event. The top ten riders were: Champion Eric Guillory, Alex Haller, Bryant Fontenot,, Ryan Haller, John Ross Guillory, Marcus Guillory, Kent Saucier, Chuck Manuel, Austin Trahan and Paul Fontenot. Also attending the qualifying Sunday were the Tournoi Queens: 2019 Miss Louisiana Tournoi Queen Courtlyn Paige Bieber, a senior at Louisiana College, whose parents are Courtney and Rachel Bieber; 2019 Miss Teen Tournoi Queen-Charley Marie Bieber, a junior at Mamou High School whose parents are Charles and Michelle Bieber; and 2019 Little Tournoi Queen: Arris Fontenot, a student at Sacred Heart Elementary whose parents are Dirk and Rose Fontenot. KVPI FM 92.5 will be there covering the Tournoi live on October 13 as we have every years since we first signed on in 1953. Special thanks to Tournoi Association member Steve Buffy Guillory for the information.

The Rotary Club of Ville Platte today (Tuesday) heard from two of its newest members during their meeting at the Family Life Center: Brian Ardoin and Garland Forman. Brian Ardoin is a native of Pine Prairie. He served in the Louisiana State Police for 11 and a half years. He later taught criminal justice courses at LSU-Eunice. He owns a driving school "Top Cop Driving Academy". He is married and has four sons. He is a deacon at the Ninth Baptist Church. Garland Forman is a native of the Bayou Chicot area. He graduated from Louisiana College in Pineville. He worked for the Eunice News, Gazette and for the past 31 years worked in Bunkie for the Bunkie Record newspaper in various capacities including as general manager. He is currently publisher and general manager of the Ville Platte Gazette. He is past president of the Louisiana Press Association. Garland is married with four children and two grand children. In other rotary club news, Club President Nicole Wenger reminded club members: The annual Rotary Club social is set for Oct. 22 at Nob Hill lodge; On Oct. 29, the Rotary District Governor will make his annual visit to the club.