Parish Jail Escapee July 23, 2023 Evangeline Parish Sheriff Charles Guillory reports to KVPI News that a prisoner has escaped from the Evangeline Parish Jail. The inmate has been identified as Willie Javonne Price. He is a black male, approximately 5 feet,one inch tall, brown eyes, black hair with multiple tattoos. He is known to carry weapons. If you see, please notify the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Department at 337-363-2161 or 9-1-1.

Evangeline Parish School Board Meeting – July 12th The Evangeline Parish School Board met on Wednesday night. After approving the minutes to the previous meeting and the Policy Committee meeting, the Board moved to address each policy items from the Policy, Athletic & Curriculum Committee meeting individually. The Board approved leaving the policy regarding Personnel Transfers in place as is except that they added the deadline of June 30th, when possible. The Policy regarding Student Use of Personal Electronic Devices was also unchanged. There was significant discussion about the School Dress Code. A motion was made to add the school colors to the uniform polo shirt options and to allow t-shirts. Speakers presented information about the Parish income levels to request that spirit color shirts not be approved as a dress code option. Further, the dress code policy calls for a notice of 60 days prior to making any changes, so the argument was made that it is too late to make any changes for this school year. The Board voted to leave the Dress Code Policy in place as is. The Sales Tax Comparison chart was presented to the Board. Year-to-date collections total $9,600,694 – 121.53% of the budget for the fiscal year. The Employment Calendar for the2023-2024 school year was presented to the board reflecting the 4 day school week and all personnel classifications noted. The proposed MFP Budget for the current year was voted down by the Department of Education, so the budget will revert to the previous year of $40,494,154. The Department of Education did approve a one-time payment. The Department of Education will be issuing guidelines soon. The Board approved a motion to follow the DOE guidelines. Modified Block Scheduling was discussed for the 4 day school week. The ultimate outcome of this discussion was that it is too late to change the scheduling for the current year. This method of teaching requires additional training and personnel, so the schedules will remain as is for this school year. The Board approved low bid quotes from Trident Industrial for maintenance work to be done. The Board approved the proposed requisitions and invoices. The 2023 – 2024 Student Handbook and Reference Guide was presented to the Board. The Superintendent made the following personnel announcements: At Basile, Johnny Deshotel was appointed Principal and Tony Bertrand the Assistant Principal. Mr. Lazard thanked Mel Bordelon for her service at James Stevens Montessori. He announced the new Principal – Fran Prince Lemelle. Nicole Johnson was announced at the new Assistant Principal . Ms. Julie Guillory was announced to fill the vacancy at Mamou High School. The new Assistant Principal at Pine Prairie High school is Kelly Dunnigan.

Ville Platte City Council Meeting July 12, 2023 The Ville Platte City Council met Tuesday at city Hall for their meeting of the month. An ordinance was introduced to update city utility rates. The plan is to adjust the rates monthly rather than yearly. A public hearing is scheduled for August 8 at 5;00pm at City Hall. In his comments, Ville Platte Mayor Ryan LeDay Williams announced the city has officially purchased the old Teche Electrical building on Railroad across from the Swamp Pop Museum. The city is advertising for bids to renovate the building. Mayor Williams also announced that the city is applying for funds to tear down dangerous and blighted buildings throughout the city. State Representative Rhonda Butler announced that the Ville Platte Fire Department was approved to receive $500,000 for their fire station project. City engineer Ronnie Landreneau gave update repots on the two park projects, work on the baseball field and the sewer lift stations. Fire Chief Chris Soileau reported that during the month of June the department responded to 24 incidents included three structure fires, two mobile, two grass fires, trash fire, four medical assistance, two alarms and two service calls. Police Chief Al Perry Thomas reported that for the month of June the police department responded to 670 calls, issued four tickets, made 46 arrests including 8 felony arrests and worked 21 traffic accidents. The chief got permission in his request to begin having "ride alongs" to encourage young people to pursue this profession. In other action, the city council: --Approved a liquor permit for the Louisiana Cotton Festival Oct. 10-15; --Congratulated all the Dixie Youth teams and players for all their success; --approved closing Constitution Drive located on the side of the Ville Platte Civic Center for the Louisiana Cotton Festival Oct 10-15.

Rotary Club Meeting – 7-11-23 The speaker at the Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, presented by Rotarian Bill Brunet was Louisiana State Representative Rhonda Butler. She has been out of session a month, but they are probably going to have go back for a veto override vote. Representative Butler talked about the success of this legislative session. She indicated that she and Senator Cloud were successful getting approval on about 95% of the projects they were working on. The focus was for infrastructure projects including roads, water and sewer. She worked on school projects and the courthouse renovation. $55 million dollars in funding was awarded to Evangeline Parish. There were two STEM programs for $3 million each awarded. Mamou got one of the programs. School funding is being directed to Junior High School programs to encourage these students to remain in school. Significant crime is coming from these ages, and the goal is to keep these students engaged in school. If the programs are successful, more funds will be available. An Economic Development Council is being developed for Evangeline Parish. This will create opportunities for funding and grants, and it will put the Parish on a State website. Internet is a key goal for the area. There is funding available. The market is now open for all competitors, not just a single provider. She will want to see maps for coverage and plans. The preference order for internet is hospitals, schools, businesses and then residences. Representative Butler is forming a Business Alliance Group again in order to get feedback from local leaders on projects proposed for the area. She will require business plans and models and a firm commitment as to what will be done for Evangeline Parish before backing anything. She also spoke about funding for the new Fire Station, and the Police Jury is getting a new building. These are all in the new Economic Development Plan. Other Rotary News • The program on July 18th will be presented by Brent Coreil.

Sheriff Charles R. Guillory, of the Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Office releases the following: On July 6,2023 the Evangeline Parish Sheriff Departments Narcotics Unit, conducted a traffic stop on Tate Cove and East Jefferson. Agents made contact with occupants and smelled the odor of Marijuana. Agents then conducted a search of the vehicle and located a huge amount of illegal narcotics. Tommy Laron Ardoin age 35 114 East Lasalle Street Ville Platte, LA. 70586 He was charged with Possession with intent to distribute Crack Cocaine over 33 grams Possession with intent to distribute Cocaine over 148 grams Possession with intent to distribute Methamphetamine over 840 grams Possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy pills over 2,235 pills Possession with intent to distribute Promethazine over 5 ounces Money derived from drug proceeds over $1400.00 All subjects are innocent until proven guilty.