SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA AND WEST FELICIANA
The
W atchman
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 11, 2025
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East Feliciana tightens subdivision development regulations BY JAMES MINTON
Contributing writer
After months of delay, the East Feliciana Parish Police Jury has imposed tighter regulations on residential subdivision development. At a meeting Monday, jurors did not vote on lifting a moratorium on new residential subdivisions, but jury President Louis Kent said the vote effectively cancelled the moratorium. The subdivision ordinance amendments came from the Planning and Zoning Commission with a proposal to require a minimum of two acres for most subdivision lots, but the jury voted 5-3 to change the requirement to a “two-acre density” in a subdivision. Jurors Kyle Fleniken, Jason McCray, Richard Oliveaux, Keith Mills and Chrissie O’Quin supported the two-acre density requirement, while Kristen Chasteen, Dexter Armstead and Michael Cheatham dissented and Kent did not vote. Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Josh O’Quin said that the density model would allow a 10-acre tract to be divided into no more than 5 lots, with the smallest being the minimum size required by state health regulations for sewage disposal. A strict two-acre minimum would require the smallest lot in the subdivision to be at least two acres in size. Some jurors, including Armstead, favored lowering the minimum to one-acre. Josh O’Quin said the amendments now establish three types of subdivisions: n Simple subdivisions, with five or fewer lots and a minimum of 100 feet of road frontage for each lot. n Larger subdivisions that would require road construction and other improvements. n Family partitions, which are considered variances. To be eligible for dividing land among family members, the tract must have been owned for three years before it can be considered. During a public hearing, George Turner, of Ethel, who frequently speaks on housing issues, criticized the proposal, saying it had “nothing for the workforce people.” The amendments also allow the development of five or fewer lots accessible by a private servitude, but six or more would require a formal subdivision proposal with paved roads.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY STEPHANIE YAN-CHAU
James Gregory shows the cone-like molars on a mandible of a mastodon he and Mason Kirkland discovered in an obscure creek in West Feliciana Parish. The molars belonged to a female mastodon estimated to have been 35 years old.
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
he tree roots caught James Gregory’s eye the moment he waded into the No Name Creek, which isn’t really the creek’s name. And the roots weren’t really tree roots. They were weird, shaped like mini stalagmites in their sideways projection from the creek bank. Gregory alerted fellow fossil hunter, Mason Kirkland, who immediately knew they were about to unearth treasure on the periphery of West Feliciana Parish. Make that treasure in the context of paleontology, which is Kirkland’s area of expertise. He’s LSU’s vertebrate paleontology collection manager, but ownership of fossils from this hunt would be shared by him and Gregory, whose day job is director of LSU’s Brookshire Military Museum in Memorial Tower.
Leila Pitchford
ä See FOSSILS, page 2G
PROVIDED PHOTO BY JAMES GREGORY
Mason Kirkland shows the mastodon tusk he and James Gregory discovered in an unmapped creek in West Feliciana Parish. Kirkland preserved the tusk by tying zip ties around it to keep it from crumbling.
AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Where would you take a micro retirement?
CELEBRATING THE WILD SIDE
Six Louisiana parishes top national ACT scores in 2024 BY MARGARET DELANEY
Three Louisiana communities made a list of micro retirement spots. Careerminds, careerminds. com/report/survey-microretirement, an outplacement and career development firm, surveyed workers and found St. Francisville was No. 129.
Staff writer
ä See AROUND, page 2G PHOTO BY FRANCES Y. SPENCER
Festivalgoers learn, shop, and enjoy entertainment Saturday during the second annual Feliciana Wildflower Festival. ä See story, more photos. PAGE 3G
In 2024, some 42,608 students in Louisiana took the ACT test, a pre-college standardized exam graded on a scale of 1 to 36. The national average ACT score in 2024 was 19.4. In Louisiana, the average score was 17.7*, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Education. The ACT test consists of four multiple-choice sections (math, science, reading and English) and one optional writing section. While many students take the ACT, it is not required for all college applications.
ä See SCORES, page 3G