Evangeline Parish School Board meeting May 20, 2020 Evangeline Parish Superintendent of Schools Darwan Lazard addressed the Evangeline Parish School Board Wednesday night in a virtual meeting. Supt. Lazard said he has three priorities he wants to fullfill for the school district: #1- have more devices and chrome books in the hands of school students. He reminded the board when he became superintendent in 2017, he presented a five year plan to have a chrome book for every student. Now in year three of the plan, he said the school district is about 1000 chrome books short of achieving that goal. "We are way ahead of schedule", he said. #2 -Improve internet connectivity for students. Connectivity to the schools is good but the internet service to student homes need a lot of improvement. The superintendent and his staff are looking at options on making improvements in that regard; #3-Training for teachers. Lazard wants to have more laptops and smart boards for teachers. The I.T. department is helping train teachers to be ready to deliver the new content required by state and federal authorities. Lazard announced that the administrative staff at the central office are working on a 50/50 schedule. Half the staff is working in the office two days a week while the other two days from home. Fridays, the offices are closed. The same thing on the school level. Under phase one, the office is open 8-4 Monday through Thursday. Those needing to do business at the central office are asked to call ahead and someone will come out to your vehicle to assist you. Schools are following the same plan. The superintendent remarked that he will not require teachers to return to schools for training. Teachers at all parish schools will be provided training in a virtual manner for their safety and get the support and training through zoom meetings. The superintendent praised all of the schools in the parish for their graduation ceremonies. He called it "a grand success.". He attended graduations at Pine Prairie, Ville Platte and Mamou while Assistant Supt. Mike Lombas was present at graduations at Basile, Ville Platte and Pine Prairie. He said he heard much positive comments from parents and community members for the parades and special events held for the graduating class of 2020. He thanked the mayors and police chiefs from each community for their cooperation. In other action the school board approved the contract renewal for another two years to Child Welfare and Attendance Supervisor Phillip Buller.

The 13th Judicial District Court will resume operations on Monday, May 18, 2020. The judge(s) will allow up to 15 persons in the courtroom at one time and up to 15 people seated in the hallway outside of the courtroom. Prior to entering the courthouse, it will be determined whether or not the person is listed on any docket and/or essential to a proceeding. Any persons who are not essential to a proceeding (i.e., family members, friends, etc.) will not be allowed entry into the courthouse. Prior to entering the courthouse, everyone will be required to: (1) have his/her temperature taken with a contactless thermometer; (2) sanitize his/her hands; and (3) wear a mask. There will be assigned seating on the second floor of the courthouse and in the courtroom, masks must be worn at all times, and doors to the courtroom will remain open to minimize contact with surfaces, such as door handles. The seating on the second floor and surfaces in the courtroom will be sanitized after each group. Access to the DA's Office will be structured in a way that will reduce the amount of in-person contact inside. The public is asked to conduct as much business by phone or email as possible.

Ville Platte's very first fire truck is back home where it belongs. A crew from the Ville Platte Fire Department traveled to Houma to transport the 1927 American LeFrance Pumper Unit back to Ville Platte. According to Fire Department training officer Chris Soileau, the unit was purchased new directly from the factory in 1927. The unit was later replaced with a newer pumper. In the late 60;s, the unit was sold to a collector who restored it. Later, Pete and Susan Pizzolatto of Houma purchased it and used the pumper in parades and special occasions. The Ville Platte Fire Department would like to thank individuals and businesses who made donations for their fund raiser to help pay for the cost of the truck. It is not too late, if you would like to make a tax deductible contribution please call the fire department for more details. By the way, the Ville Platte Fire Department is celebrating its 100th centennial celebration this year.

Corona Virus Update in Evangeline Parish May 5, 2020 Here are the latest statistics for Evangeline Parish as reported by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals dealing with the Corona Virus Pandemic: As of Tuesday, Evangeline Parish has 63 confirmed cases of the virus and one death; In neighboring parishes, St. Landry recorded a total of 198 confirmed cases, and 47 deaths; In Avoyelles Parish there are 73 cases with seven deaths; and in Allen parish, 90 cases total and nine deaths. Statewide, there are now 29,996 confirmed cases, 20,316 presumed recovery and 2042 deaths.

Corona Virus Update in Evangeline Parish May 4, 2020 Here are the latest statistics for Evangeline Parish as reported by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals dealing with the Corona Virus Pandemic: As of Sunday Evangeline Parish has 60 confirmed cases of the virus and one death; In neighboring parishes, St. Landry recorded a total of 191 confirmed cases, and 45 deaths; In Avoyelles Parish there are 74 cases with seven deaths; and in Allen parish, 90 cases total and nine deaths. Statewide, there are now 29,673 confirmed cases, 20,316 presumed recovery and 1991 deaths.

Corona Virus Update in Evangeline Parish May 3, 2020 Here are the latest statistics for Evangeline Parish as reported by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals dealing with the Corona Virus Pandemic: As of Sunday Evangeline Parish has 59 confirmed cases of the virus and one death; In neighboring parishes, St. Landry recorded a total of 186 confirmed cases, and 45 deaths; In Avoyelles Parish there are 74 cases with seven deaths; and in Allen parish, 90 cases total and nine deaths. Statewide, there are now 29,340 confirmed cases, 17,303 presumed recovery and 1969 deaths.