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, J u n e 4, 2025
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Top educators, student, staff honored WEST FELICIANA SCHOOL BOARD
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
The West Feliciana Parish School Board celebrated a successful school year May 20 and started work on a new one with pay increases for part-time workers. The board recognized the winners of Teacher of the Year, Student of the Year, Support Staff of the Year competition, as well as retirees, a championship track squad and competitors in a national consumer education competition. Recognitions of students and
employees included: n Chloe Doiron for winning National Student of the Year for LifeSmarts, a consumer education program sponsored by the National Consumers League. Doiron and her teammates Laurel Fiser, America King, Jules Gresham and Andrew Johnston also placed fifth in the national competition. They are sponsored by Leneeta Ewing and Ashley Doiron. n The state Class 4-A girls cham-
pionship track and field team, coached by Joy Cazabat, Hatem Bachar and Chris Holland. The squad included Tristen Harris, Giselle El Bechir, Diamond Peck, Alajah Cannon, Peyton Pirie, Alayah Stanley and Frances Neal. n Bachar said only five members qualified for the state meet, but they managed to score 51 points and win the championship, bolstered by a first-place finish in the 4x200-meter relay event by Peck,
Stanley, Harris and Cannon. n Students of the Year, Elouise Robinson, Bains Elementary; Luke Monson, West Feliciana Middle School; and Julian Lovell, West Feliciana High School. n Teachers of the Year, Anita Ewing, Bains Elementary; Carlye Williams, West Feliciana Middle School; and Delanear Buffalo, West Feliciana High. n New Teachers of the Year, Kalyn Metcalfe, Brian White and Jacob Church. n Metcalf, Church and Buffalo are finalists in their respective
divisions for state Teacher of the Year honors. “Having three finalists in a small district like our is huge,” Superintendent Hollis Milton said. n School Support Employee of the Year, Maggie Kleinpeter, Lashonda Rogers and Asia Smith. n Retiring employees, who Milton said represent a total of 291 years to the school system, Evangeline Woodall, Carlotta Coates, Cynthia Whitaker, Sally James, Jill Thibodeaux, Nita “Beck” Monistere, Alicia Hamilton and Linda Walden.
Development rules, zoning map hearing set at West Feliciana Council June 9 meeting BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
PHOTOS BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER
Paul Davidson, a founder of the Feliciana Wildflower Festival, is surrounded May 18, by flowers native to Louisiana currently growing wild in Clinton.
Flower power fuels effort to bolster community, pollinators
BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER Contributing writer
Organic farmer and conservationist Paul Davidson feels the plight of endangered ecosystems, communities in economic distress, and disappearing pollinators like bees. As the world debates complicated and costly solutions, Davidson is putting his bets on future blankets of wildflowers covering the Felicianas. Davidson and his fellow organizers in the Feliciana Wildflower Project will celebrate the second annual Feliciana Wildflower Festival Saturday, June 7, and continue their quest to bolster the environment and
draw tourism dollars to the Felicianas. In an effort to “save the (native) bees, save the world,” planting massive plots of wildflowers is the start of getting back to the area’s ancient roots. “A native plant is what God put here,” Davidson said. “All the grasses we use for lawns aren’t native to the United States. They come from somewhere else. So much of the landscape we use comes from some place else.” The original menu is vital to a healthy Louisiana ecosystem. “This is the stuff that your native flowering plants are
The West Feliciana Parish Council will consider major changes to the parish’s land development regulations and a new zoning map at its June 9 meeting. The council introduced an ordinance at its May 12 meeting that sets up a public hearing and possible vote next month. The council adopted a comprehensive code in 2023 to regulate how land is developed, but the plan lacked a new zoning scheme that prevented its full implementation. Parish President Kenny Havard backed a zoning map that was introduced last year, but the council declined to act on it. Councilman Justin Metz followed Havard’s proposal with another map, but it, too, has languished without a council vote.
ä See COUNCIL, page 2G
Inmate allegedly beat his cellmate unconscious, then raped him BY AIDAN MCCAHILL Staff writer
The first Feliciana Wildflower Festival poster is on display as
ä See FLOWER, page 3G organizers finalize plans for the second annual event.
An inmate at Dixon Correctional Institute beat his cellmate unconscious and raped him, leaving the victim on a ventilator for weeks, the East Feliciana Sheriff’s office said. Tedrick Carter Jr., 20, was booked in May into the East Feliciana Parish Jail on charges of first-degree attempted murder and first-degree rape. The attack allegedly occurred about 6:45 p.m. on April 30 at Dixon, a state prison in Jackson. Detectives with the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation May 6, reviewing
ä See INMATE, page 2G
Farmers market coming Saturday The Myrtles is having a summer Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday in June and July.
Leila Pitchford AROUND THE FELICIANAS
East Feliciana COA to host picnic The East Feliciana Council on Aging invites the community to its annual picnic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 13, at the Jackson Senior Center, 3699 La. 10, Jackson. This year’s event will feature a pirate theme with live entertainment, door prizes and lunch. Seniors 60 and older living in East Feliciana must register by calling (225) 683-9862 no later than Friday, June 6.
The Day the War Stopped coming The annual Day the War Stopped, a reenactment by Feliciana Lodge 31, is June 7. The lodge is at 4794 Prosperity St., St. Francisville. Visit felicianalodge31.com/day-thewar-stopped to see the schedule, which includes tours, a play and re-enactments, jambalaya cookoff, vintage dancing and more. Call (225) 635-3688 or (225) 6354224 for information.
Learn how to help in emergencies West Feliciana Parish is holding
ä See AROUND, page 2G
New speed limits set for St. Francisville subdivisions BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
The St. Francisville Board of Aldermen voted May 27 to impose a speed limit of 15 miles per hour in the recognized subdivisions in the town. The ordinance grew out of an earlier request from Dippel Subdivision resident Cheryl Decoteau, who wanted her subdivision’s speed limit set at 15 mph. She said she fears a child playing in the area may be struck by a car. Police Chief Randy Metz told the board the speed limits vary from
15 to 25 in the town’s subdivisions, while Alderman John Wilson said federal data show that a 15-mph limit significantly decreases the mortality rate when vehicles strike pedestrians. The ordinance applies to Audubon Hills, Dippel No. 1, Dippel Section 2, Pecan Groves, Plantation, Martin and Villa Rose subdivisions. In another matter, the board set meetings for the second Tuesday of the month for July through December. The board recently decided to switch from two meetings per month to just one.