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East Feliciana School Board members help out in cafeterias. Page 6G
THURSDAY MARCH 12, 2015
SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA, WEST FELICIANA AND ST. HELENA
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THEADVOCATE.COM
1st Year, No. 22
Suspects in camp burglaries arrested BY STEPHANIE WARREN swarren@theadvocate.com
Two men and two women have been arrested in a string of St. Helena Parish camp burglaries, Sheriff Nat Williams said. Williams said more than 10 camps
were hit in St. Helena Parish along La. 10 in the past two months. The arrests were made Feb. 20 after an investigation, the sheriff said. Danny Adkins, 26, of 30848 Mason Drive, Independence, was arrested on two counts domestic abuse battery, simple burglary, simple burglary of
an inhabited dwelling and 10 counts of simple burglary. His bail was set at $100,000. He was still in jail on Monday. Jamie Tidwell Smith, 36, of 12641 Tangi Avenue, Roseland, was arrested on accessory to simple burglary. Her bail was set at $15,000.
John Bryson Moreau, 40, of 6508 Comite Drive, Baker, was arrested on possession of a stolen firearm. His bail was set at $7,500. Stacey Pittman, 29, 420 Wallie Road, Kentwood, was arrested on one count of principal to simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling. She was released
on her own recognizance. Smith and Moreau were released from jail after posting bail. All of the camps were entered by force, Chief Detective Joe Chaney said.
West Feliciana Parish
East Feliciana Parish School Board
Council eyes buying property
Outgoing leader urges more combining
BY HOWARD ARCENEAUX Special to The Advocate
ST. FRANCISVILLE — The West Feliciana Parish Council is considering purchasing a 13,000-square-foot building and land to house the parish’s social services and purchasing riverfront land for a riverboat dock. The Feliciana Supermarket grocery store has been offered for sale to the parish. The owners plan to move the store to a new facility being constructed on U.S. 61 next to the Best Western. Parish President Kevin Couhig said the purchase price for the building and land is $595,000, and he estimates renovations to the building will cost an additional $300,000. “We need to spend that money to make it more functional,” Couhig told the council. Once renovations are completed, the new building will be home to three social service organizations: the Council on Aging, the Food Pantry and the Clothes Closet. Couhig said there is sufficient room in the facility to house all three, and the parking lot, which has at least 60 spaces, will be sufficient to handle the load. Couhig praised the store’s owners for offering it to the
äSee BURGLARIES, page 2G
BY JAMES MINTON Photos provided by CAROLYN THORNTON
‘Shotgun Houses’ by Keith Morris is an acrylic on raised wood panel that will be displayed at the Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show.
Jackson Assembly show celebrates 50th anniversary Advocate staff report JACKSON — The Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show and Sale will celebrate its 50th anniversary March 27-29 at the Charter Street Studios in Jackson. The event raises funds for Jackson Assembly’s historic preservation projects. Charter Street Studio artists Linda Broderick, Alice Kent, Donna Bateman Kilbourne, Roger Persons and Carolyn Ory Thornton will anchor the show. In addition, guest artists will also have their work on display. Feliciana potter Craig Roth will have many hand-thrown, glazed and fired pieces for sale as will jewelry artist Catherine Rouchon, of Clinton, and Cleo Scott with wood carvings, duck decoys and bird carvings. Sandra and Wayne Maltese
will return with their handcrafted pine straw baskets and painted gourds. Other artists on display will include Keith Morris, Della Storm and nationally recognized watercolorists Judi Betts and Roberta Loflin. Displaying oils on canvas will be Stephany Causey, Ronnie Collins and Jenny Mills. Folk art will be presented by Judith Braggs, Peggy Carbo and Dotti Radcliff. Antique dealers from across the South will also take part in the show. Doors open at 10 a.m. the first two day and will remain open until 5 p.m. On the last day of the event, the art show will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the art galleries and numerous Jackson-area historical properties is $10 and tickets are good for all three days.
‘At the Beach’ by Donna Kilbourne is an oil on canvas set for display.
äSee COUNCIL, page 2G
INSIDE East Feliciana..........5G West Feliciana.........3G St. Helena ...............6G Sports .....................1H
‘Sunset at Cushing, Maine’ by Carolyn O. Thornton is an oil on canvas that will be displayed at the Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show.
‘Daily Journey’ by Judi Betts is a watercolor painting to be displayed at the Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show.
Special to The Advocate CLINTON — In his next-to-last meeting with the East Feliciana Parish School Board, departing Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. last week again urged board members to strongly consider further school consolidations to avoid future financial problems. Lewis, elected in January to lead Orleans Parish schools, last year proposed closing the parish’s middle school in favor of having three elementary schools with kindergarten through sixth grade and a high school with seventh through 12th grades. The board, however, voted against the proposed change in February. The middle school, in Clinton, now has students in grades six, seven and eight, although Slaughter Elementary School also has a sixth grade. “We’re at a point now that a tough decision must be made,” Lewis told the board March 3, acknowledging that closing a school is a “tough conversation.” Tommy LeJeune, the board’s financial adviser, said the board faces the possibility of an $810,000 deficit during the fiscal year that begins July 1 because of declining sales tax revenues and an increase in the amount of money the district must allocate to its affiliated charter school in Slaughter. Paul Kent, a Finance Committee member, said the deficit could be larger, depending on sales tax performance in the next year. LeJeune and Lewis said the school system is operating with a breakeven budget in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. “If we don’t do something differently, we’re saying we will be in deficit spending,” äSee COMBINING, page 2G
Oil Changes, Brakes, Alignments, Check Engine Lights, A/C Repairs, Shocks, Struts, Tires