East Feliciana coach looks to future with young talent. Page 1H
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SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA, WEST FELICIANA AND ST. HELENA THEADVOCATE.COM
1st Year, No. 25
THURSDAY APRIL 2, 2015 H $1.00
Milton makes unfreezing salaries priority BY HOWARD ARCENEAUX
West Feliciana
at the special meeting that unfreezing the salaries was his highest priority for the 2015-16 school year budget. ST. FRANCISVILLE — During a special strategic planning ses- the high school on March 26, The board will vote on the sion with West Feliciana Par- Superintendent Hollis Milton recommendation at its April ish School Board members, recommended the district un- 28 meeting. “Our employees are the district supervisors, adminis- freeze employee salaries. trators and representatives of Milton told the participants difference-makers for our
Special to The Advocate
students, parents and community,” Hollis told the board. “They work very hard and this would show that we appreciate them. We are as strong as our ability to recruit and retain the best employees.” Milton said the total cost of lifting the salary freeze is
Program mutually rehabs animals, offenders
INSIDE East Feliciana..........3G West Feliciana.........5G St. Helena ...............6G Sports .....................1H Schools........ 2H, 3H
äSee SALARIES, page 2G
School board holds legislative forum BY STEPHANIE WARREN swarren@theadvocate.com
sgill@theadvocate.com
äSee REHABS, page 3G
sors, Al Lemoine, is retiring this summer and the central office leadership team will be restructured to absorb Lemoine’s duties. That will save approximately $100,000. In addition, Milton said the
St. Helena
BY STACY GILL
In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, more than 50,000 animals — considered a conservative estimate — in New Orleans were abandoned as their owners fled to safety, according to officials at Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson. Residents’ inEast tentions were Feliciana to return within days to retrieve their pets, but the animals were left trapped in homes, chained to fences, swimming in storm waters and without food or water. Understaffed and overwhelmed but motivated by compassion, rescuers found help in the form of a few dedicated volunteers from the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, according to Cpl. John C. Smith, of DCI. Smith said DCI assisted by temporarily housing some of the abandoned animals in a makeshift animal clinic set up inside an empty barn on prison grounds. “Suddenly, we had inmates being trained to care for about 300 cats, dogs, chickens, ducks and even a few geese,” said Smith, who spoke March 19 along with Brandon Jensen, also of DCI, to the Rotary Club
$238,512, with $187,975 for salaries plus $50,537 for additional retirement and Medicare contributions. On average, employees will receive a $400 increase in salary. He said the school district is able to fund the plan because one of the parish’s supervi-
Advocate staff photos by PATRICK DENNIS
Confederate gun crews fire their cannons as Union troops advance during a reenactment battle of the siege of Port Hudson on Sunday at the the Port Hudson Historic Site.
CIVIL WAR and PORT HUDSON In the 152nd anniversary year of the siege of Port Hudson, visitors saw a re-enactment church service, duels, an artillery demonstration, a gunboat demonstration as well as a re-enactment of the battle with artillery, infantry and cavalry. Julie Seneff and Clint Pourciau, both from Baton Rouge, spend a quiet moment together before the reenactment battle.
Logan Bernard, 6, of Thibodaux, watches troops leave the field after a re-enactment battle Sunday at the Port Hudson Historic Site. Logan’s father, Ben Bernard, participated in the re-enactment. Union troops advance and fire during a re-enactment battle of the siege of Port Hudson on Sunday.
Members of the St. Helena Parish School Board got a chance to speak to lawmakers that will represent District 72 in the legislative session during the school district’s first legislative forum March 27 at St. Helena College and Career Academy. Superintendent Kelly Joseph told lawmakers that much has been accomplished toward improving educational services, promoting the district vision and supporting initiatives that enhance the quality of education for the students while maintaining transparency. Joseph said, the school system earned national recognition in 2012 for becoming accredited through AdvancEd. “This nationally recognized honor is an indication of best practices implemented in the district. It also shows that St. Helena has a commitment to continuous improvement,” Joseph said. Most recently, St. Helena Arts and Technology Academy was selected as a George Rodrigue Foundation for the Arts and the President’s Council for Arts and Humanities Turnaround School, Joseph said. Despite the numerous reforms with accountability, testing and standards, St. Helena continues to improve the academic performance of its students, Joseph said. Lawmakers were shown how the district has continued to keep expenses comparable to revenue by careful budgeting in recent years. “It has been hard to reach this point, but me and my team have listened to the community and come to understand its values and concerns,” Joseph said. Above all, St. Helena Parish has embraced the transformative power of a great board to improve public education, said Louisiana School Boards Association President Scott Richard. “Local control of education through elected school boards is a deeply held American political tradition,” Richard said. “School boards may be small and local, but they represent perhaps the most important daily civic commitment a citizen must make to their communities, their chil-
Advocate staff photo
St. Helena Parish School District held its first legislative forum March 27 at St. Helena College and Career Academy. Board members and guests got the opportunity to speak to state Rep. Jon Bel Edwards, Sen. Bodi White and other guests. dren and their future.” The superintendent said students at St. Helena College and Career Academy are now exposed to Advanced Placement courses such as human geography, biology, chemistry and American history. If students earn a 3 or more on the end-of-year AP exam, they will receive college credit, she said. In 2012, residents approved a 25.8-mill proposition that supported an increase in employee pay and funded new facilities and renovations. In 2013, the St. Helena Parish school system regained control over the middle school from the state Recovery School District. The following year, it converted its elementary and high schools into academies that refocused the curricula. State Rep. John Bel Edwards, who is running for governor, said people everywhere are passionate about their children and schools and passionate about their tax dollars. “I have an idea of what it’s like to have to sit at a board and vote ‘yes’ äSee FORUM, page 2G