SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA AND WEST FELICIANA
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W e d n e s d ay, J u ly 29, 2026
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Juror leaves mid meeting after tense moments Leila Pitchford AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Pop and Shop coming Downtown St. Francisville will host an evening of shopping, music, cocktails and fun starting at 4 p.m. Aug. 22. Shops will be open all day.
Water bash planned The Jackson Marshal’s Office is holding an End of Summer Water Bash for Jackson. The event is from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Aug. 1 at East Feliciana High School, 3501 La. 10. Water games, food, drinks, taco truck and the Audubon Regional Library Jackson Branch will be on hand.
Prayers for schools offered The Apostolic Tabernacle of the Felicianas is hosting a Drive-thru Prayer for East and West Feliciana schools from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 1. All students, teachers and school personnel are welcome. The church will give out prayer cloths for book sacks to students.
Nominate West Feliciana High’s best athletes The West Feliciana Royal Blue Club is seeking nominations for the West Feliciana High School Athletics’ Hall of Fame. Male and female student-athlete nominees must be a graduate of West Feliciana High School (Class of 1980 or later), have graduated at least 5 years before the nomination date, and be nominated by Sept. 1. Saints stakeholder nominees must have graduated at least 5 years before the nomination date and be nominated by Sept. 1. Complete nomination forms at pdfs-of-qr-codes. s3.amazonaws.com/Ayz0HU. pdf. Contact West Feliciana Athletics Director Shelley Genre at genres@wfpsb.org with questions.
Party like an animal The West Feliciana Animal Humane Society is inviting party animals to a fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 8 at The Mallory. Attendees are invited to dress as a favorite animal or wear animal print. Food, cash bar, live sales and contests will be available. Contest categories include Best Dressed — Costume, Best Dressed — Animal Print, Best Groove — A DanceOff and Best Dressed Shelter Pup. Tickets can be purchased at the shelter or the door or at visit www.facebook.com/WestFelicianaAnimalHumaneSociety to find Venmo and PayPal links. Adults are $50 and children 12 and under are $25.
EAST FELICIANA PARISH POLICE JURY
BY JAMES MINTON
Contributing writer
An East Feliciana Parish police juror stormed out of the jury’s July 20 meeting after claiming that another juror called her a racist during a discussion about a moratorium on new subdivisions. “I will not be called a racist. Do you understand that?” Juror Kristin Chasteen, who is White, exclaimed as she stood to gather her belongings and leave the meeting room.
Her exchange with Police Juror Jason McCray, who is Black, came during a heated discussion about her proposal to impose up to a sixmonth moratorium on new subdivision approvals while the parish’s subdivision ordinance is amended to require more detailed drainage studies. Police Jury President Louis Kent’s attempt to call a vote on
Angola Rodeo tickets on sale Tickets for the 2026 Angola Rodeo, the 60th anniversary, are on sale. Rodeo gates will open at 8 a.m. each Sunday, with rodeo events beginning at 2 p.m. in
ä See AROUND, page 2G
ä See POLICE JURY, page 2G
MAGIC
IN THE
LIBRARY
BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL Contributing writer
More than 100 children and adults were entertained July 8 at the Mitch the Magician Variety Show presentation at the West Feliciana Parish Library in St. Francisville. Presented by Mitch Richard, a Lafayette-based magician and comedian, the program is promoted as a “laugh-out-loud entertainment experience.” Offering more than magic, he used humor to in- Following his example, children hold their hands up to learn the simple but fun way to make teract with both the children and the adults in the big bubbles during a summer program at the West Feliciana Library. audience. Sitting on the floor in the large meeting room, the children interacted with Richard and volunteered to help when invited forward. The adults, parents and other family members, were also expected to participate from their seats and did. They were singled out and questioned by Richard, with lots of corny jokes thrown in. Richard’s show began with balloon art as he made a dinosaur, joining in the library’s dino theme. His magic act included sleight-of-hand tricks, rope tricks and pulling a “stinky bunny” from a hat — a skunk. Another simple but fascinating-to-the-kids activity, he shared how to make and hold big bubbles with your hands using a family recipe for the bubble solution. At one point, the volume of the laughing and shrieking of the children, and some adults, got really high when a handcrafted squirrel named Cheesy behaved badly. Folding a brown bandanna/handkerchief into the shape of a squirrel, Richard then attempted to control the little PHOTOS BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL cloth animal’s antics. Clever Lyndon Daigrepont listens for instructions after she is called forward to help Mitch the Magician at the program hand movements by Richard held recently at the West Feliciana Parish Library had the feisty squirrel leaping into the crowd of children and scattering them. When he retrieved it, it jumped again.
Qualifying set Aug. 4-5 for November ballot BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
Women in the Arts show Small Works is an exhibition of paintings by Associated Women in the Arts at Art House Gallery, 11931 Ferdinand St., St. Francisville. It runs through Aug. 23.
Chasteen’s motion was interrupted several times by comments from jurors, but eventually a voice vote was taken that left onlookers confused as to whether it passed or failed. But Chasteen began criticizing jury Vice President Chrissie O’Quin for voting “no, not for six months.” “I can’t believe you don’t want to
move the parish forward,” Chasteen said to O’Quin, who replied that Chasteen had brought the moratorium to the police jury as an added item to the agenda without consulting other jurors. The discussion shifted to McCray, who apparently told Chasteen before the meeting he would not support a moratorium. McCray said at one point he represented all the people of the parish.
PHOTO BY JAMES MINTON
Jeffrey K. Smith, of Holly & Smith Architects, speaks to the audience attending a July 21 West Feliciana School Board meeting where Brian Davis, left, executive director of the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation, presented the group’s 2026 Stewardship Award for efforts to save and restore the 1907 Julius Freyhan School building in St. Francisville. With the two is architect Ryan Faulk, center. The architectural firm is sharing the award with the school system and the private Julius Freyhan Foundation, which worked to secure state funds for the project.
$50 million budget adopted BY JAMES MINTON
WEST FELICIANA SCHOOL BOARD
the school system’s central office. While the business session includThe West Feliciana Parish School Board met July 21 ed adopting more than $50 million for the first time in the Julius Frey- in budgets to fund the new school han school building, which is being renovated in two phases for use as ä See SCHOOL BOARD, page 2G Contributing writer
Candidates for a variety of offices in the Felicianas will qualify Aug. 4-5 to run in the Nov. 3 election. In the two-parish 20th Judicial District, elections for two judgeships and district attorney will be on the ballot. District Judge Betsy Jones, of Clinton, holds the Division A seat on the court, while Judge Sydney Picou Walker, of St. Francisville, has the Division B spot. Picou Walker, 70, quietly supported a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed Louisiana judges to seek reelection after they reach 70 years of age, but voters turned down the amendment in May. Soon after the amendment failed, 20th Judicial District Judge Sam D’Aquilla announced his candidacy for judge, and St. Francisville lawyer Cy D’Aquila Jr. later announced he is running for district
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attorney. D’Aquilla has been the district attorney since January 2003. This year also marks a watershed for parish school boards, as a law passed in 2012 and supported by a statewide vote kicks in to prohibit board members from serving more than three consecutive terms. The law will hit the West Feliciana Parish School Board particularly hard, as a majority of the current board — four members — are not eligible to seek reelection. Members Milton Coats, Sara Wilson-Rogers, Kelly O’Bryant and
ä See BALLOT, page 2G