Jackson buildings house decorated windows. Page 6G
The 1st Year, No. 12
W atchman
SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA, WEST FELICIANA AND ST. HELENA THEADVOCATE.COM
Jones sworn in as judge BY HOWARD ARCENEAUX Special to the Advocate
CLINTON — Twentieth Judicial District Court Judge George “Hal” Ware Jr. officially handed his gavel to Kathryn E. “Betsy” Jones, who was sworn in as the new judge Friday in the recently renovated courthouse. After administering the oath of office to Jones, East Feliciana Clerk of Court David Dart announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce Betsy Jones, judge of the 20th Judicial District.” Jones thanked the audience, saying the yearlong campaign leading up to her Nov. 4 election was a humbling experience, and she vowed to work tirelessly in her new position. She defeated fellow Democrat Sydney Picou Walker by 13 votes, 6,299 to 6,286, and she praised Walker, who was at the ceremony, for the high level of ethics during the campaign. She then thanked her husband, family and close friends for helping during the campaign and made a promise. “I’m going to continue to strive to make the best place to live in the world even better for
all of us,” Jones said. The 20th Judicial District covers East and West Feliciana parishes, and Ware, who has served as Division A judge for 18 years, during brief remarks, advised Jones to “keep your sense of humor and don’t make common sense a stranger.” Ware was generous with his “thank-you’s” and included the many staff members and courthouse employees he worked with over the years. Judge William Carmichael, who presides over Division B, recognized Ware’s nearly 40 years of service as a public defender, district attorney and judge. “No one could be easier to work with,” Carmichael said. “Hal, from all the people in this district and all the people who you treated fairly, thank you.” Ware said he plans on “doing as little as possible” and will work in his machine shop and continue to teach machine shop classes at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. He said he will pursue hobbies such as building radio-controlled airplanes, target shooting and skeet shooting. Jones’ first day will be Jan. 1.
Daughterfather team Stephanie Ferguson and Glen Ferguson, of Ethel, work their ‘squaris wheel.’
FUN
2
Ethel father, daughter make squaris wheel
Advocate staff photo by STACY GILL
BY STACY GILL
sgill@theadvocate.com
T
Photo provided by STEPHANIE FERGUSON Photo provided by MARY ANNE NEWMAN
Kathryn E. ‘Betsy’ Jones is sworn in as the new 20th Judicial District Court Judge on Friday at the Clinton courthouse in East Feliciana Parish. Jones was administered the oath of office by East Feliciana Clerk of Court David Dart as her husband, Donald Caillier, center, watches.
INSIDE East Feliciana............5G West Feliciana...........3G St. Helena .................7G Sports .......................1H
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 25, 2014 H $1.00
This ‘squaris wheel,’ named because the wheel is square and not round like a traditional Ferris wheel, was built by Stephanie Ferguson and her father Glen Ferguson, of Ethel. The duo made two of the gift for the great-nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren in the family. The children, ages 1 to 4, will be surprised with the project Christmas morning.
Group funds bench, windows BY HOWARD ARCENEAUX
windows were replaced with tempered glass that blocks sunlight and glare. The new ST. FRANCISVILLE — Two proj- metal park bench covers a ceects funded by the Parent- ment block that jutted out of Teacher League have made the ground and was in the way Bains Elementary School a of active children. The window project cost little better. A section of cafeteria windows was upgraded roughly $7,000 and the bench and a new park bench for the was $600. “The old windows looked playground was provided to terrible,” Principal Abby Cothe school. Last summer, 12 louver chran said. “They were made Special to The Advocate
of Plexiglas and had discolored. Some lattice work was also replaced and it looks much better now. I’m so grateful to our PTL for funding both of these projects. They paid for all of it, and we didn’t have to use school funds. “There is a big tank under the cement block, and we couldn’t afford to have it reäSee BENCH, page 2G
here is some order in what appears to be chaos in the backyard of the Ferguson residence in Ethel. Power tools, twoby-fours bracketed together in odd shapes and plywood lie about a makeshift work area as daughter and father work side by side constructing a gift for the little ones in their family. Stephanie Ferguson and her father, Glen Ferguson, are making a kid-powered “squaris wheel” — dubbed by its original designer because of its square wheel. The pint-sized version of a Ferris wheel is braced to be as sturdy as possible. Each time the square wheel goes around, each passenger gives the wheel a backward push with his or her feet. The bucket seats pivot and have a safety bar across the front, just like a Ferris wheel, keeping small riders safe. Stephanie Ferguson said she first approached her dad about the idea after seeing a photo of the vintage ride on a social media site. She searched the Internet until she found the plans for building the wheel and secured her dad’s help with the project. “I wasn’t too concerned that we wouldn’t be able to do it, because he is great at fixing and building things,” Stephanie Ferguson said. With help from Dad, the duo studied the plans and diagrams they printed from the Internet, running into problems. The sizes of the hardware they needed äSee FUN, page 2G
St. Helena schools host Special Olympics Kickoff BY STEPHANIE WARREN
lege and Career Academy and St. Helena Arts and Technology Academy were bused to the old St. Helena Parish School middle school facility for a day District, in collaboration with of games for the event and parSpecial Olympics Louisiana, ticipate in project UNIFY. Project UNIFY, a program hosted a Special Olympics Kickoff event on Dec. 12 at the through Special Olympics Louold middle school building in isiana, is a movement to initiGreensburg. Students from St. Helena ColäSee HELENA, page 2G
swarren@theadvocate.com
Oil Changes, Brakes, Alignments, Check Engine Lights, A/C Repairs, Shocks, Struts, Tires