St. Francisville News

The state Department of Transportation and Development resumed ferry service on the Mississippi River between St.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. Bell Jr. of Monroe are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Margot Marion Bell, to Richard Paul Eason Jr., son of Mr.

State highway officials took the 35-car ferry operating between St. Francisville and New Roads out of service Thursday after debris in the Mississippi River damaged the vessel's propeller.

Blood drive planned

A blood drive will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church in St. Francisville for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Contact George Newton at (225) 634-2868 for more information.

Meet the author

St. Francisville author Cari P. Adams will be at the West Feliciana Parish Library at 7 p.m. today to sign her book, “The Unicorn.”

Treasures on sale

St. Francisville’s downtown merchants and St. Francisville youth groups are holding a “Clean Out Your Closet and Store Room” sale day on Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. at several business locations in the Historic District.

For set-up information, call Laurie Walsh with St. Francisville Main Street at (225) 635-3873.

Mountain bike racing

The West Feliciana Parish Parks and Recreation Department on Saturday will hold the inaugural Beast Master, a mountain bike race, at the West Feliciana Sports Park’s “Beast Trail.”

Race registration starts at 7 a.m., with the beginner event starting at 9 a.m. Remaining racers start at 10:15 a.m. and thereafter.

The entry fee is $10. Visit http://www.tunicatrails.org for more information.

Farmers in six parishes running along the Mississippi River and the east border of the state could qualify for financial assistance for flood damages from earlier in the year.

Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, and East and West Feliciana parishes have been named natural disaster areas because of their proximity to Mississippi counties that were declared primary disaster areas, according to a news release from the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

Farmers in both primary and contiguous parishes who suffered losses from flooding that occurred April 25 through June 25 may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency.

Farmers in eligible parishes have eight months from the disaster declaration date to apply for the loans.

For additional information, visit http://disaster.fsa.usda.govor contact a Farm Service Agency office.

Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain is still waiting on a decision on a disaster declaration request for parishes affected by drought and excessive rainfall this year, according to the release.

Severe droughts during the early summer reduced yields of cotton, rice, soybeans and sweet potatoes, and excessive rainfall later in September slowed the harvesting process, according to the department.

The stately Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, La., is said to be haunted by several ghosts ranging from a former servant to the family cat.

Want to see a ghost? Not scared of the dark? We've got a list of 5 of the most haunted destinations in the world for you to visit .

Many consider Louisiana to be one of the most haunted states in America. Considering the territory hails back 300-plus years, farther back with Native American history, it's easy to understand why.

"For those who live out their lives there, Angola is the world. Eighteen thousand acres of land elbow out into the brown current of the Mississippi.

In my series of Halloween articles I have been writing about topics that usually frighten people.

West Feliciana Parish deputies issued misdemeanor summonses to seven people, including a Louisiana State Penitentiary assistant warden, during an undercover operation earlier this month to investigate suspects attempting to hire a prostitute.

Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said investigators placed an online advertisement purporting to be from a prostitute offering services in the St. Francisville area.

An undercover agent posed as the prostitute, and the men were arrested when they arrived at a St. Francisville motel on Oct. 8 and offered her money in exchange for sex, he said.

Angola Assistant Warden L. Bruce Dodd, 58, of Clinton, was issued a misdemeanor summons for soliciting for prostitution, Daniel said. Dodd, who is also a lawyer, declined to comment on the incident.

Jeff Travis, operations chief for adult state correctional services, said Angola Warden Burl Cain took disciplinary action against Dodd and he is no longer allowed to drive a “take-home” state vehicle.

In addition to Dodd, Daniel said, those issued misdemeanor summonses for soliciting for prostitution are:

Jack Damian Kelly, 33, 349 Barnevelder Drive, Lexington, S.C.

Mark Oscar Allello, 40, 33411 Nancy Drive, Walker.

John Glenn Richardson, 47, 4529 Little Farms Drive, Zachary.

Patrick Raymond Cox, 61, 14128 Pinehurst St., Baton Rouge.

Daniel Richard Buie, 40, 4566 Homochitto Road, Union Church, Miss.

Fred Dewitt Ladner, 44, 1504 Ross Ave., Baton Rouge.

Ladner also was booked at the Parish Jail with driving while intoxicated, the sheriff said

The Louisiana Department of Transportation announced Monday that the New Roads-St. Francisville Ferry will be shut down from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting today until Thursday.

Lt. Gen. John Bergman leaves the Marine Corps a year later than he expected. His retirement package was approved last year, and he was set to be replaced as commander of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North by Maj.

Jeff Castelaz's bike ride was supposed to be a celebration. He came up with the idea one spring day.

The West Feliciana Parish Police Jury, in a split vote Tuesday, tabled a proposed contract to study traffic patterns on a section of U.S. 61.

A lifelong resident of St. Francisville, Eutsie Martin Landry died Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at West Feliciana Parish Hospital. She was 53.

Graveside service at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church Cemetery, St. Francisville, on Monday, Oct. 5, conducted by Deacon Ronnie Legrange.

She is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Debbie Lemoine Martin, St. Francisville; two nephews, Justin Timothy Martin, Arcata, Calif., and Joseph Kell Martin, Baton Rouge; and close friend, Robert "Bobby" Bryan, St. Francisville.

Preceded in death by her husband, Stanley "Perry" Landry Jr.; and parents, Theodore Howard Martin Jr. and Helen Begneaud Martin.

Early voting begins Saturday for a special Oct. 17 property tax renewal election called by West Feliciana Parish Sheriff J. Austin Daniel.

Daniel is seeking renewal of the parish Law Enforcement District’s property tax of 5.77 mills from 2011 through 2015. The current tax expires next year.

“I want to stress that this is a renewal, not a new tax,” Daniel said.

Early ballots may be cast at the Registrar of Voters office, 5932 Commerce St., in St. Francisville from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday, Oct. 10.

Voting at all parish precincts on Oct. 17 will be from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The tax provides revenue for operations of the Sheriff’s Office, which also levies an 8.43-mill tax authorized by state law.

A divided West Feliciana Parish School Board approved the demotion of its middle-school principal in a brief special meeting Tuesday.

Darryl Powell resigned as principal of West Feliciana Middle School, and the board approved Superintendent Jesse L. Perkins’ recommendation to appoint Powell as a teacher at the Family Services Center and West Feliciana High School.

Lula London, who said she is the parent of a middle-school student, questioned the board about the reason for the action, but Perkins and board members declined to answer.

“They can’t discuss a personnel matter,” Assistant District Attorney Mike Hughes told London, who said she does not “have a problem” with Powell but “the children in the community have been talking about what’s going on with the principal.”

Hughes advised London to speak to Powell, who apparently does not have a telephone listing in his name.

Powell, named the middle-school principal in June 2006 after serving as principal of Tunica Elementary School, had been on leave since August.

The board voted on Powell’s resignation and appointment, along with several other personnel items, in one motion, which Kevin Beauchamp, Kelly O’Brien and Amanda McKinney supported.

Board President Sara Wilson-Wright and member Milton Coats voted against the resolution, with Coats specifying he was opposed only to Powell’s appointment as a teacher.

Coats said after the meeting he was not opposing Powell, but was “not comfortable with the process.”

Board member Jesse White arrived after the vote, and David Cornette was absent.

In other action, the board raised the price of breakfast for visitors from $1.65 to $2 and the price of lunch from $3 to $4.

School employees’ breakfasts will go from $1.50 to $1.75 and lunches from $2.25 to $2.75.

Perkins said the price increases are necessary because of higher preparation costs.

The West Feliciana Parish School Board established Tuesday a budget of $7,500 to advertise for a new superintendent of schools.

It probably says something about our culture that "Take a hike" ranks among our ruder forms of dismissal, as if a hike is something we'd wish only on our enemies.