SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA AND WEST FELICIANA
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Leila Pitchford AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Have a say in the old Clinton school building A public meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, August 20, at Restoration Church, 11406 Spring St., Clinton. The Friends of the Historic Clinton High School will hold a public meeting to discuss the future use of the old Clinton High School on Bank Street in Clinton. Community leaders and local stakeholders are exploring the future possibilities with the goal of preserving its legacy while considering new uses that could benefit the public. As discussions continue, attention is being given to its historical significance and how the space might be used in a way that serves the community today and in the years ahead. More information will be shared as discussions progress. For information, call or text Catherine Landry at 225-2353785
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W e d n e s d ay, Au g u s t 19, 2026
Work to begin on erosion problems ST. FRANCISVILLE
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
Contractors will soon be working to correct erosion problems at more than 30 locations around St. Francisville. The Board of Aldermen approved a $2,496,697 contract with Arbour Construction LLC for the project at the board’s Aug. 11 meeting. Mayor Andy D’Aquilla said after the meeting that he is excited to see the project get started because of the amount of pre-construction work that had to be done to seek bids. The town received a $3.2 mil-
lion state appropriation for erosion control and already has spent about $700,000 on some projects. D’Aquilla said the work is not meant to correct erosion solely occurring on private property, but may extend to private property. Each site is related to erosion around a town-owned gas line, water main, sewage lift station or other utility. “It’s where erosion was caused by the town,” he said. To get the project ready for bids, each site had to be surveyed and engineers had to come up with an
erosion control solution that met state approval, he said. The town also had to obtain rights-of-way from property owners in some cases. With $2.5 million available to spend, the town’s engineer was able to add the town’s Old Market Hall to the project list, D’Aquilla said. Although some work to stabilize the hill on which the building is perched had been done earlier, the contractor will now add a support structure to a retaining wall on the site. On another matter, the board voted to abandon an unused portion of the Prince Street right-of-way that was shown on a town plat from the
A West Feliciana Alumni Picnic will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Aug. 29, at West Feliciana Sports Park. Alumni, retired and current employees, families and community members are invited to stop by the refreshment tent.
Animal shelter needs help
BY JAMES MINTON
The West Feliciana Animal Human Shelter seeks volunteers 18 and older to help in the cat house during Tuesday (high priority), Wednesday, and Thursday (high priority) morning shifts from 9 a.m. to noon or 12:30 p.m. The group is trying to train enough volunteers to add flexibility to the schedule and for emergencies. Duties include feeding and watering cats, washing bowls, sweeping, mopping, cleaning litter boxes and giving love. After the cat slots are filled, the group will look for volunteers for the dogs. Interested people can call the shelter at 225-635-5801 and leave a contact number.
Contributing writer
Sewing volunteers sought Charlee’s Angels is preparing for Christmas projects and is seeking people to help sew baskets made from a dish drying mat for nursing homes in the Zachary/Slaughter/ Baker areas. Visit https://tinyurl. com/3rvvzut8 to see details and leave a message to volunteer.
Soccer registration open Deadline for 2026 fall soccer is Sept. 15. The program is for ages 3-12, and the fee is $75. Register online at www.wfprec. com.
Pop and Shop coming
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 studentathlete nominees must be a graduate of West Feliciana High School (Class of 1980 or later), have graduated at least five years before the nomination date, and be nominated by Sept. 1. Saints stakeholder nominees must have graduated at least five 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. Email Leila Pitchford at lpitchford@theadvocate.com.
1890s but never developed. Jacob Salm asked for the revocation. The board tabled a request from Jeremy Felton to divide a lot on Hartson Street into two smaller lots. D’Aquilla said the proposal is allowed under the town’s ordinances, but nearby property owner Belton Didier said a drainage pipe runs through one of the proposed lots. John Luke Charlet, who wants to buy the property where the pipe is located, said he would return with an engineering plan to reroute the drainage. The board also set Halloween Trick or Treating from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.
West Feliciana OKs zoning for RV park on U.S. 61
West Feliciana alumni event
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.
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PROVIDED PHOTO FROM EAST FELICIANA PARISH SCHOOLS
Welcome signs
Shontaye Leonard, Pre-K teacher at Clinton Elementary School, welcomes students back in the cafeteria on the first day of school. ä Story and photos. PAGE 2G
The West Feliciana Parish Council approved a rezoning request Aug. 10 for a proposed recreational vehicle park on U.S. 61 at Wakefield. The zoning change met with both opposition and support from area residents, and the Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended denying the request. With council member John Thompson absent, the request was supported by members Jerry Tanner, Dwight Pate and Tab Ballard. Justin Metz cast the lone dissenting vote. Emile Marchive III told the council he planned to develop a multimillion-dollar luxury RV park on 99 acres of his 985-acre property, including a 50-60 acre fishing lake, in three phases, starting with 16 concrete parking pads for RVs. He said the development will not turn into a “trailer park” or “man camp” for workers building the Hut 8 data center south of St. Francisville. The parish’s zoning ordinance specifies that RV parks are limited to 14-night stays to any one visitor, several people noted, although some questioned who would enforce the restriction at Marchive’s park. Opponents listed possible trespassing on their property, possible noise from the campers, and potential traffic problems as reasons for the council to deny the request. Mark Anderman said the size of the project concerned him. “This is a huge thing; it impacts the whole area,” he said. But others said it will contribute to the parish’s tourism industry and visitors will contribute to the economy.
ä See ZONING, page 3G
EAST FELICIANA SPORTS
East Feliciana High football returns 15 after successful 2025 season BY RICHARD MEEK Contributing writer
East Feliciana High returns 15 starters from a team that a year ago finished 10-4 overall and 5-1 in District 8-2A play, one game behind 6-0 Dunham. The Tigers opened the playoffs with a 44-6 beatdown of got past Ferriday 12-8 in the second round before falling to Mangham 49-16 to end their season. “We are a well-oiled machine,” East Feliciana coach Darius Mat-
thews said as the season nears. The Tigers offense is in the talented hands of junior quarterback Marcus Cannon Jr., who a year ago threw for 2,200 yards. Junior Ryan Moore Jr. is expected to anchor the Tigers in all three phases. This past season Moore rushed for 650 yards and had 985 receiving yards. He also intercepted eight passes, three pick-sixes for touchdowns, and had another three
PHOTO BY DAVID THOMAS JR.
East Feliciana quarterback Marcus Cannon is back to lead the 2026 ä See FOOTBALL, page 3G team.