Superintendent leads final school board meeting, as group considers replacement. Page 3H
The
W atchman
SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA, WEST FELICIANA AND ST. HELENA
THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2015 H $1.00
THEADVOCATE.COM
1st Year, No. 21
First responders get pipeline safety lessons BY STEPHANIE WARREN swarren@theadvocate.com
St. Helena Parish first responders learned about pipeline safety during a Feb. 25 meeting with representatives of Colonial and Plantation Pipeline companies at the Police Jury building in Greensburg. St. Helena Parish Homeland Security Operations Manager Rita Allen said it is important that first responders understand where pipelines are loAdvocate staff photo by STEPHANIE WARREN cated, potential hazards and First responders in St. Helena Parish learn about pipeline how to identify and respond to safety and what to do in the event of an emergency during a potential leak. a meeting Feb. 25 at the Police Jury building in Greensburg. Farm and ranch equipment is
used on most of the land in St. Helena Parish, and is a common source of pipeline damage and can cause loss of life and property, said Colonial and Plantation Pipelines lobbyist Steven Hart. Hart said excavation activities that fall outside the scope of normal farming activities and deep excavation activity, including plowing, tilling, drain tiling, ditch cleaning, terracing or installation of a fence, can endanger underground pipelines. Farmers and ranchers in St. Helena can protect their family and property by verifying the location of pipelines before ex-
Audubon Pilgrimage features Retreat
cavating and by knowing how to identify, respond to and prevent a leak or rupture, Hart said. The lobbyist said underground pipelines are everywhere. More than 2 million miles of pipelines crisscross the United Colonial Pipeline, which runs throughout St. Helena Parish and transports more barrels of refined petroleum products more miles than any other pipeline in the world, he said. Hart said it is important for emergency responders to work together and know what to do in an emergency situation. “These pipeline companies rely on your local government
Photo provided by AMANDA MCKINNEY
Plantation’s first time on annual event
and safety officials to notify them if you observe potential right-of-way restriction violations or potential damage to their facilities, which could endanger public safety,” said Hart. Plantation Pipe Line Company delivers approximately 600,000 barrels per day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and biodiesel through its 3,100-mile pipeline network, which originates in Baton Rouge and ends in the Washington, D.C., area, said Plantation Operations Manager Paul Wallace. “Excavators and homeowners äSee SAFETY, page 2G
Police jury tables variance request BY JAMES MINTON
Special to The Advocate
Advocate staff report
Appearing at the 44th annual Audubon Pilgrimage on March 20-22 for the first time is Retreat Plantation, which was built about 1823 and first owned by Sarah Bingman and her husband, Stephen Cobb.
After Cobb’s death, Bingman married Army Capt. Clarence Mulford, who was involved in the arrest of Aaron Burr on charges of treason against the United States while stationed at nearby Fort Adams, according to Anne Butler, St. Francisville native, author and local historian. When Mulford retired to his
new wife’s plantation, he called it a soldier’s retreat, Butler writes. Upon Bingman’s death in 1859, the retreat was purchased by Elizabeth Leatherbury Randolph Percy, beginning six generations of Percy occupancy, according to Butler. Born in 1811, Elizabeth Leatherbury first married Judge Peter
Randolph in 1828, and after his death, she and Thomas Butler Percy were married in Natchez in 1833 and settled on his family’s plantation, Beech Woods (sometimes referred to as Beechwood) in the Weyanoke area of West Feliciana Parish. äSee RETREAT, page 2G
CLINTON —The East Feliciana Parish Police Jury on Monday tabled a request for a subdivision variance for a lot in the Port Hudson area that may have been approved through earlier action by parish officials. The Planning and Zoning Commission last week denied dwelling side and front setback variances sought by the owners of two lots that parish officials say are needed for people living in a trailer on one of the lots to obtain electrical service. The trailer has been in place for two years, according to the discussion, but part of it extends onto property owned by another person, who apparently does not object to its encroachment. Commission Chairman Richard Howell, who did not vote to deny the variances, said they already have been approved because commission member Russ Hicks and Parish Manager J.R. Rouchon äSee REQUEST, page 3G
INSIDE East Feliciana.......... 7G West Feliciana......... 4G St. Helena ............... 6G More news .............. 3H Sports ..................... 1H
Proposal submitted for clearing old school site BY HOWARD ARCENEAUX Special to The Advocate
ST. FRANCISVILLE — West Feliciana Parish Director of Public Works Jim Ferguson presented a contract proposal Feb. 26 to the parish school board from a Baton Rouge-based engineering consulting firm to oversee the remediation and clearing of the old St. Francisville High School site on Feliciana Street. The contract for professional consulting services, valued at between $40,200 and $60,200
depending on the scope of the work, was submitted by Terracon Consultants, Inc. and was recommended by Ferguson, who is serving as an unpaid consultant to assist the School Board. If the panel approves the contract at its March 17 meeting, the company will start accepting bids from contractors to provide the remediation and demolition work. The proposed contract includes environmental site assessments, supervision of asbestos and lead abate-
ment, and deconstruction and clearing of the existing 53-yearold buildings, which total about 40,000 square feet. “They’ll assess the site, conduct all environment studies, put together a plan, administer it, provide air monitoring — everything turnkey that is needed from start to finish,” Ferguson told the board. “They’ll stay with us until they’re done and we have certificates that the site is clear.” Ferguson estimated the completed project will cost roughly
$250,000, which will cover demolition of buildings and clearing of debris. Once finished and certified as having no environmental issues, the property can be sold, likely for residential real estate development. “The School Board is in control of the timeline,” Ferguson said. On another agenda item, Board President Kevin Beauchamp later said he and Vice President Milton Coates are working out the details on a new contract for Superinten-
dent Hollis Milton, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the vacant East Baton Rouge Parish superintendent’s position. Beauchamp said he hopes to have a new contract finalized for board approval at its March 17 meeting. Milton also said the process to fill vacant principal positions at Bains Lower Elementary and West Feliciana Middle schools has begun and he hopes to have principals at both schools by May 4.
Oil Changes, Brakes, Alignments, Check Engine Lights, A/C Repairs, Shocks, Struts, Tires