The
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Flamingos flocking for Slaughter school’s baseball team. See Page 7G
SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA, WEST FELICIANA AND ST. HELENA THEADVOCATE.COM
1st Year, No. 23
THURSDAY MARCH 19, 2015 H $1.00
Construction begins at St. Helena Parish Jail facility BY STEPHANIE WARREN
swarren@theadvocate.com
Renovations have begun at the St. Helena Parish Jail in Greensburg. As part of the renovations, improvements will be made to the booking area, and fingerprinting and processing will
East Feliciana Parish
Police Jury to revamp road plan
be moved to a room formerly housing communications. The communications unit will be moved to the old chief deputy’s office, which will be enlarged to accommodate more than one dispatcher in case 911 is ever moved to the parish, Police Chief Chester Pritchett said. The 911 center in Amite
manages the parish’s 911 calls, Pritchett said. Improvements also will be made to the visitation area. Sheriff Nat Williams said additional security measures will be added, including the installation of new security cameras and a fenced garage area. A secured entryway or sally port
will be added for the safety of the prisoners and the public. The new enclosures will feature remote-control operation so inmates can be loaded and unloaded behind the gated area. “I pushed for years for new or improved jail facilities to address those safety concerns,” Williams said.
The sheriff said the cost of the renovations will come close to $230,000. The project is funded through two 2014 Louisiana Legislature capital outlay appropriations of $190,000 and $50,000. The project is being overseen by the Louisiana Division of Facility Planning and Control, Williams
said. Architect John Campo developed the design based on Williams’ needs, and bids went out on construction. Hunt Ragusa General Contractors, of Independence, was awarded the contract. äSee JAIL, page 2G
istory on display H
BY JAMES MINTON
Special to The Advocate CLINTON — The East Feliciana Parish Police Jury’s plan to seek bids for a $2 million election year road improvement program fell apart Tuesday over the issue of whether some gravel roads should be in the project. Jurors were poised to vote on advertising for construction bids until Juror Dwight Hill objected to paving some gravel roads. Hill said jurors had agreed several years ago to overlay all of the parish’s paved roads before paving gravel roads. “Is it my fault I have one gravel road in my district?” asked Juror Larry Beauchamp, who had included Andrews Road as one of two proposed projects in his district, which includes the town of Clinton. “He can’t overlay the roads in the town of Clinton,” jury President Dennis Aucoin said. “We split it up by dollar amount in each district to make it fair to each juror,” Juror Chris Hall said, referring to a committee meeting attended by all jurors where the road list was developed. Juror Louis Kent said the jury is supposed to operate on the “unit system” in which projects are selected through a parishwide priority system. “We’re back on the ward system … to pacify certain jurors,”
Built in the 1830s, Rosedown State Historic Site was part of a 10-year restoration project that salvaged Rosedown Plantation. It is also a National Historic Landmark. The focus of the Audubon State Historic Site for more than half a century, Oakley Plantation is a West Indies-style three-story structure. Artist-naturalist John James Audubon worked there as a tutor and drawing instructor in 1821.
äSee ROAD PLAN, page 2G
INSIDE East Feliciana............6G West Feliciana...........3G St. Helena .................8G Schools............2H,6H Sports .......................1H
Photos provided by AMANDA MCKINNEY
Initially purchased in 1820 by Bartholomew Barrow from his brother William Bartholomew III, of Highland, for $20,000, the acquisition would become the gardens of Afton Villa, which are part of the 44th annual Audubon Pilgrimage on March 20-22.
Grace Episcopal Church was established in 1827. The present building was completed in time for Easter Day 1860. Severely damaged in the Civil War by gunboats, the church was not consecrated until 1891.
West Feliciana event celebrates period of artist Audubon Advocate staff report
The 44th annual Audubon Pilgrimage — set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday — celebrates spring in St. Francisville. For more than four decades, the West Feliciana Historical Society has thrown
open the doors of historic structures to commemorate artist and naturalist John James Audubon, who stayed in the area painting a number of his famous bird studies.
The annual celebration includes tours of private homes and the state historic sites, as well as other daytime and nighttime activities. äSee AUDUBON, page 2G
Oil Changes, Brakes, Alignments, Check Engine Lights, A/C Repairs, Shocks, Struts, Tires