SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA AND WEST FELICIANA
DEMOCRAT THE ST. FRANCISVILLE
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 21, 2024
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Pages of history written in stone at Locust Grove site Leila Pitchford AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Garage sale weekend set The Choctaw Trail garage sales dates are planned for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 6-7. The route stretches from Clinton, Jackson and St. Francisville. Vendor space is available to rent in Jackson, and spaces are available at the Clinton Community Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 7. Call (225) 933-4911 or email ging130@yahoo.com for information. If setting up at your house, contact the organizers for a yard sign. The sale of guns and animals is not permitted.
4-H archery tournament East Feliciana Parish 4-H announces its first Archery 3D Invitational on Sept. 14 at the Bob R. Jones Idlewild Research Station, 13248 Gross Road, Clinton. This event invites all current 4-H members, 4-H alumni, 4-H shooting sports coaches and parents to participate. The invitational will have both individual and team divisions. Team member score will also qualify as an individual competition. Cost is $25 for individual entries and $40 for team entries. Square invoice will be sent once registration is received. Visit tinyurl.com/yj4hy2mv to register. People wishing to sponsor a target can contact Kayla Banta, assistant extension agent, East Feliciana Parish at 4419 Idlewild Road, Clinton, LA 70722 or (225) 683-3101.
BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER
Contributing writer
History is recorded in books and illustrated through art, but history also speaks from the graves and tombs of characters in history’s sagas and legends. Take Eleazer Wheelock Ripley. He was born in New Hampshire in 1782 and was the grandson of the founder of famed Dartmouth College, gained hero status in the War of 1812, rose to the rank of brigadier general, and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, a precursor to the Medal of Honor, were his wartime accomplishments. Where is he now? In an eternal resting spot outside St. Francisville. The dead, contrary to a popular sentiment, do tell tales and Locust Grove, a seemingly silenced cemetery, screams stories of triumph and tragedy. During one of its quarterly openings, interpretive park rangers Daniel Wilcox and Tom Scarborough gave the mic to the interned whose book covers are grave markers and tombstones.
Wilcox started with Ripley’s story Aug. 10, because the New Hampshire war hero is noted, but not a well-known native son. After the war, Ripley moved to Baton Rouge and started a political career. He served in the Louisiana State senate and later went to Washington, D.C., as a U.S. Representative. He is buried in the family plot because of close ties to a founding family member. “Greensleeves was all my joy, Greensleeves was my delight. Greensleeves was my heart of gold, and who but my lady Greensleeves. Well, I will pray to God on high, that thou my constancy mayst see, and that yet once before I die, thou wilt vouchsafe to love me.” Awakened from this fever dream, Jefferson Davis heard the familiar voice of his very young bride struggling to sing her beloved “Greensleeves.” Legend says Davis crawled to his wife’s side, held her close until she breathed her last breath. She was 21.
$50K club
Classes in session
East Feliciana schools raise starting teacher pay
BY CHARLES LUSSIER
Staff writer
The starting salary for public school teachers in the Baton Rouge region these days routinely tops $50,000 a year thanks to a series of locally funded pay raises approved in recent months. Seven of the 12 school districts within the nineparish region — East Baton Rouge and eight surrounding parishes — have approved teacher pay raises over the past four months. They range from $283 more a year in Livingston Parish to a $7,236 raise in East Feliciana Parish. Six of those seven pay raises vaulted starting teachers above the $50k threshold. Pointe Coupee, St. Helena and Livingston parishes are the only districts in the region that pay starting teachers less than that. The districts that have thus far opted against teacher pay raises this year are Baker and Zachary as well as Pointe Coupee, St. Helena and West Feliciana parishes. Some of those districts, though, made notable strides in the recent past. For instance, the City of Baker a year ago increased starting teacher pay by almost $11,000 a year, lifting it briefly to second in the region.
Tractor Supply market set St. Francisville Tractor Supply will hold a Community Market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sept. 21. If you are interested in being a vendor, call Christa Wilcox at (225) 635-2223.
Flag football Registration is open through Sept. 1 for flag football in West Feliciana Parish. Register at www.wfprec.com. Fees are $75. The season runs Sept. 9-20 for preseason practice and Sept. 23-Oct. 31 for games. Practices are from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Games are 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at West Feliciana Sports Park. Coaches and referees are also needed. If interested, contact mpatten@wfparish.org or (225) 784-8447.
Free cancer screening Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is holding breast and colorectal screenings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 24 at the East Feliciana Police Just Office building, 12064 Marston St., Clinton. Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins welcome. Call (225) 425-8034 for an appointment. Through donations, screenings are free is you have not been screened within the past 12 months. Insurance will be billed for mammograms. Colorectal screenings will be a take-home kit.
Feliciana football schedules East Feliciana High School All games start at 7 p.m. Aug. 30: Jamboree Sept. 6: Kentwood Sept. 13: at St. Helena Sept. 20: at Albany
ä See AROUND, page 2G
PHOTO BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER
Interpretive Park rangers explain that Bobbie Lee, a descendant of the Stirling family, is one of the most recent people buried in the historic Locust Grove Cemetery. Direct descendants of the founding families are still eligible to be ä See HISTORY, page 3G buried in the small, private cemetery.
ä See PAY, page 2G
PROVIDED PHOTOS
Courtlyn Rogers, Bailyn Muse, Jeremy Allen, Elias Cormier and Valerie Barker greet Clinton Elementary School teacher Darren Matthews on the first day of school.
East Feliciana Public Schools start 2024-2025 school year
Community news report
East Feliciana Parish public schools welcomed students Aug. 12. “This year, our focus is on taking Homegrown Pride to new heights, and it’s been exciting to watch all of our employees and students start that work ä More photos. this week,” schools SuPAGE 2G perintendent Keisha L. Netterville said. “Our team has worked very hard and very intentionally throughout the summer to prepare for students to arrive. It’s been a joy to watch students’ smiling faces arrive at our improved and refreshed facilities and enjoy a choice of fruit with our improved meals. “We will need everyone’s help to support our children in reaching these new heights.” Nettervilled said families can track students’ academic success by downloading the JCampus Student app. “We also invite all interested families to join our new Parent-Teacher Organization,” he said.
East Feliciana Middle School student Leon Armstead reviews his class schedule on the first day of school.
St. Francisville mayor says Audubon Hills erosion project must wait on state
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
St. Francisville officials are awaiting state approval of a bid to correct erosion problems in Audubon Hills subdivision, Mayor Robert Leake told the Board of Aldermen on Aug. 13. Leake said he had hoped the board could accept the bid, contingent on the state Office of Facility Planning’s approval, but learned town’s acceptance would have to wait until state officials look over the documents. The project will address the erosion behind residential lots on Cypress Street, where street drainage pipes have collapsed and the erosion is eating into the high ground where the homes were built. The state Legislature appropriated money for the project last year. The Legislature also awarded the town $1 million in the last session to use in improving traffic flow and parking on a section of Commerce Street by Parker Park. The town is seeking $2.2 million in federal grants to bury utility lines, add parking spots and reroute drainage in the area, which has undergone a commercial renaissance in recent months. On another matter, the board voted 3-0 with two members absent to lower the speed limit on all streets in Martin subdivision, an area generally
ä See PROJECT, page 2G