East Feliciana COA members enjoy fellowship and fun
BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL Contributing writer
A festive gathering of seniors Oct. 29 included costumes and cupcakes, friendly folks and fan-dancing, games and goodies, and much more. The seasonal event was the East Feliciana Parish Council on Aging’s Halloween Party with a trunk-or-treat and lunch.
Approximately 80 members, maybe the largest group ever, attended the festivities held at the Jackson site for COA members from across the parish. It is one of several parishwide social events held by the COA for their members, with a summer event held annually for outreach/recruitment.
Several dances were performed by the line-dance class members and their two teachers, Belinda Bordelon and Clover Stevenson Dances included choreography to the popular Michael Jackson song “Thriller” and a dance during which fans were snapped open with a crack. Line-dance classes are held at both the Clinton and Jackson sites.
A costume contest was held with 11 contestants. They briefly paraded into the crowd and before the judges, District Attorney Sam D’Aquilla and Bridgeway Hospice staff members Mallorie Robertson and Keli Braddy. Winners were third place, Jewel Poole, of Norwood; second place, Mary Thomas, of Ethel; and first place, 94-year-old Louise Reynolds, of Norwood, who proclaimed her age to those within hearing. She was considered a convincing Mrs. Doubtfire.
Games included the traditional one where each table’s members guessed the number of items in a jar — candy corn in this case — and the over-and-under game — a passing of pumpkins.
Nachos and water were the pre-meal snacks. Door prizes were given, and the traditional art department raffle was held with an afghan and a painting as the prizes. It was announced that the quilting class was having a Quilt Sale on Nov 13 at the Clinton site. The quilts were to be half-price and sold on a first-come-first-served basis.
The socializing crew of seniors paused before lunch to go out into the beautiful blustery day for trunk-ortreat Spread out along the driveway behind the building were about 12 stations including business, elected officials, agencies and orga-
nizations. Each handed out candy and other useful small items. They included the
EAST AND WEST FELICIANA COUNCIL ON AGING
Bank
AROUND
Continued from page 1G The schedules for West and East Feliciana Council on Ag-
FOURTH MONDAY: Religious service
TUESDAYS: Nutrition education
WEDNESDAYS: Exercise/yoga
THURSDAYS: Bible study
FRIDAYS: Bingo/movie/excursion
n All people 60 and older in West Feliciana Parish are invited to join.
Distribution for families with children from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, Nov 7, at RKM Primary Care, 11990 Jackson, St., Clinton. Food, music, health screenings, interactive activities will be on hand as well as a fresh produce box for each family
Everything is first-come, first-served while supplies last.
Breast imaging available
Woman’s Hospital mobile mammography coach brings 3D mammogram technology to the area. A physician’s order is required, and appointments are strongly encouraged On Wednesday, Nov 12, the coach will be at United Methodist Church, 4205 Church
n For transportation to the center or questions, call (225) 635-6719.
EAST FELICIANA
n 11102 Bank St., Clinton n 3699 La. 10, Jackson
Wednesday, Nov. 5
SEWING AND QUILTING CLASS: 10 a.m.
St., Zachary Call 225-924-8268 to schedule.
Celebrating West Feliciana school head
The community is invited to join in celebrating Superintendent Hollis Milton for his outstanding leadership, accomplishments and steadfast commitment to the West Feliciana Parish Schools, a news release said.
The event is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov 13, at The Freyhan School, 4727 Fidelity St., St. Francisville. Guests will have light refreshments and an opportunity to recognize Milton.
Sock it to the library
All branches of the Audubon Regional Library will be participating in the “Sock It To Me” sock drive. The library will be accepting new socks through the first week of December Socks will be donated to local organizations to give to those in need
DEVOTIONAL: 11:15 a.m.
LUNCH: 11:30 a.m.
ART CLASS: noon Thursday, Nov. 6
BINGO: 10:30 a.m.
LUNCH: 11:30 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 7
EXERCISE CLASS: 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
LUNCH: 11:30 a.m.
Monday, Nov. 10
EXERCISE CLASS: 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
LUNCH: 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 11
CHOIR CLASS: 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
BINGO: 10:30 a.m.
this holiday season. Boxes set up at each branch for donations.
Food and wine celebration
The St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival in Nov 8-9. Visit www.stfrancisvillefoodandwine.com for information and tickets.
Among the events is Bubbles & BBQ, a live fire cooking event celebrating the Gulf South’s best barbecue, local libations and community spirit, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov 8, at The Mallory and North Commerce in downtown St. Francisville. Tickets are $90 in advance and available through Bon Temp Tix and The Mallory website.
Chamber Uncorked returning The West Feliciana Chamber of Commerce announced Chamber Uncorked! will be March 8 at The Mallory in St. Francisville.
DEMOCRAT
LUNCH: 11:30 a.m.
Transportation Transportation is provided to East Feliciana Parish residents of any age for appointments in East Feliciana, West Feliciana and East Baton Rouge parishes Monday through Friday. Call (225) 6839862 to schedule a transportation appointment.
Save the date
The 21st annual Feliciana Family and Friends Mardi Gras Parade is planned for Jan. 31 in downtown Clinton. Register historic graveyards
The Louisiana Register of Historic Cemeteries is asking readers to help it locate and register local cemeteries. Approximately 84 cemeteries in East Feliciana and 18 in West Feliciana are not registered. The group is in the process of locating the more than 900 cemeteries across the state, most being family burial sites plantation cemeteries and small church graveyards.
If you know of such a graveyard, visit historic-cemeteries.lthp.org to learn more about the registry
Email Leila Pitchford at lpitchford@ theadvocate.com.
Audubon Regional Library, the East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office, Feliciana
and others. Chilly wind gusts added the feeling of fall. Lunch was hamburgers with fixings, corn, apple crisp, a cupcake and milk.
The East Feliciana Council on Aging staff at the 2025 Halloween Party are Patricia Luttrull, Kieanna Wilson,Corettia Maryland, LeeAnn Cannon, Cynthia McManus, Dolly Zimmer, Ida Hunt, Katie McCallister, Dorothy Dunn, Pearl Causey and Lisa Gibbs. Staff not shown are Sallie Green, Phillip Coleman, J,D Dantzler Clyde West and Brenda Norflin.
The COA volunteer line-dance teachers, who are the president and vice president of the COA board, are Clover Stephenson, left, and Belinda Bordelon.
Lillian Hales is the winner of the painting from the art department raffle at the COA Halloween party
Teams play the over-and-under game with pumpkins at the COA Halloween party
PHOTOS BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL
Winners of the East Feliciana COA costume contest show their prizes. They are, from left, Louise Reynolds, first place; her sister Jewel Poole, third; and Mary Thomas, second
Newlyweds meet Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica
BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer
Two Clinton newlyweds who traveled to Jamaica for their honeymoon were trapped on the island’s north shore Oct. 28 as Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 storm.
High school sweethearts Stone Town, 21, and Lexi Perkins, 20, were married at a barn in Clinton on Saturday Oct. 18.
Less than a week later, after days spent meeting locals and enjoying Jamaica’s beaches, the couple were calling family from their room at their resort and trying to get a flight off the island
“They told us the airports are in distress, there’s no way for the planes to land or to fly out,” Town said, speaking over a shaky phone connection just before noon Oct. 28.
At the same time, Hurricane Melissa was making landfall on Jamaica’s southern coast
The couple rode out the storm in Jamaica and arrived in New Orleans about midnight, Nov 3, and home to Clinton about 2 a.m. Amber Williams, Town’s mother, said, “They helped clean up. At the resort, the islanders were really great and helped them out a lot. They said that where they were at didn’t get the brunt of it.”
She added, “They’re just relieved. They said they’re not going anywhere for a long time.”
Hurricane Melissa carried wind speeds reaching 185 mph, according to news reports. In addition to being the strongest storm to ever strike Jamaica, it is one of the strongest storms in the history of the Atlantic Basin. After roaring over Jamaica, the storm was expected to reach Cuba by Wednesday morning.
At least 63 people have died as a result of the storm, according to reports.
Town and Perkins’ vacation was only meant to last through Sunday, Oct. 26. But as storm fears gathered throughout the week, their original flights home were canceled.
“We tried booking flights for Friday (Oct. 24) and they were all taken. There was no way for us to get a flight,” Town said. “We’ve been trying to arrange some private flights to get out of here, but it’s not looking good.” The couple’s resort was on the northern shore of the island and they have been told by Jamaicans that the mountains usually work to break up winds. Still, Stone and Perkins were anxious to get home and see their 1-year-old daughter Emerson. Perkins said she began to cry when she realized the storm was going to keep them on the island.
“Our daughter is not even 11/2 years old yet,” Perkins said “So I was hesitant about leaving her already And then for them to tell us that we weren’t going to be able to leave for at least another week, I was like ‘OK, I don’t wanna do this, I’m ready to go home.’
The two were moved from their ground-floor room to one on the third floor, to hopefully avoid flooding. While Town described the building as “up on a cliff,” he said the water’s edge was probably only 100 yards from where they are staying. Contacted just before 5 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 28, Town said that the storm’s eye had passed over their resort and that winds and flooding had both increased since
the start of the day He said floodwaters had reached into some of the rooms.
Food and water were provided by the resort, and internet and television access remained mostly connected during the first of the storm. Town said employees have kept them up to date and been very supportive. The resort hadn’t lost power yet and has backup generators, Town said early in the storm. The resort had other American families who trapped, Town said, as well as a few British tourists who tell him they had no experience with severe storms and were very scared.
Town said that earlier in the week most of the locals were not very concerned, telling the newlyweds not to worry about evacuating. But Monday night things changed, Perkins said, with locals telling her that on a scale of one to 10, their worries were at a 10.
“I asked, ‘Are you worried about you here, the resort, or the island in general?’ They were like ‘the island in general, our families,’ ” Perkins said.
The pair were stressed and anxious, but say they were grateful for their friends, families and church at home, who are supplying them with prayers.
“If anything, keep sending prayers,” Town said. “Keep sending love and support.”
“Especially for the people of the island,” Perkins added. “Obviously, we pray that we’re safe and everything will be fine with the storm, but the island will have devastating effects for them.”
Haley Miller contributed to this report.
Email Quinn Coffman at quinn. coffman@theadvocate.com.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AMBER WILLIAMS Stone Town and Lexi Perkins.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY STONE TOWN The couple’s view from their resort as the storm approaches.
EAST FELICIANA HOMECOMING
TEAMS
Continued from page 1G
Ran Moore: 4 catches, 71 yards
West Feliciana
West Feliciana never let its opponent score Friday
The Saints breezed past the McKinley Panthers 49-0. Considering the Saints have won three contests by more than 31 points this season, Friday’s blowout was nothing new
West Feliciana has been performing well recently as they’ve won three of their last four matchups. That’s provided a nice bump to its 5-4 record this season. The wins came in part because of its offensive performance across that stretch, as the team averaged 38.8 points over those games. As for McKinley, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down
to 2-7. We’ve got plenty of interdistrict action coming up.
West Feliciana will square off against rival Tara at 7 p.m. Thursday McKinley is set to challenge its familiar foe St. Michael at 7 p.m. Friday
Slaughter Charter Slaughter Community Charter School defeated Broadmoor 35-0. Slaughter’s record is 7-2 overall, 3-2 district
Leading rusher (include yards, touchdowns and carries): Ty Ford, 9 carries/132 yards, 2 touchdowns
Quarterback stats (include yards, touchdown and completions, attempts, touchdowns and interceptions): Ty Ford 4/8, 128 yards, two touchdowns
Overall assessment of game, who/what stood out, highlights: Defense played really well, only allowing 37 total yards The offense moved the ball consistently
on the ground, rushing for 350 yards.
Thomas Carter Jr.: 80yard and 45-yard touchdown catches
Ty Ford took over as the best athlete on the field. He contributed on offense, defense and special teams
Who is your next opponent and what changes/improvements are needed for the game?
The Dunham School. It will be a challenging game for us. They are explosive on offense and physical on defense. We need to establish our run game early and get the ball to our playmakers. On defense we will need to fly to the ball and tackle well.
Silliman
Parklane, of McComb, Mississippi, beat Silliman 42-12. Silliman is 4-5 and 2-3 on the season.
Email Richard Meek at livingston@theadvocate. com
EF STEAM Pajama Day
Clinton Elementary Pajama Day participants include Tiana Scott, Kennedi Burton, Akeem Thompson and Eyarah Keller
2025 Clinton Elementary Storybook Character: Joshyra Spears, Rylee Thomas, Maleek Williams, Amelia Watkins and Khari Davis
Clinton Elementary Pajama Day participants include Denhym Brown, Chloe Jarrell and Brileigh Richard
Miss and Mr East Feliciana Middle School 2025: Aubree Link and Kendrick Jackson
Miss and Mr Clinton Elementary School 2025: Madisyn Profit and Carter Robinson
PROVIDED PHOTOS
Mr and Miss East Feliciana High School 2025 KiDarius Miller and Mar’Kayla Armstead
trinkets were given out in abundance. The houses
school football Some other businesses and homes in Jackson do participate Families from the extended community were invited to come. Attendees from Jackson, other areas in the Felicianas, from East Baton Rouge Parish and across the Mississippi state line could be found in the crowd. Lots of candy, balloons, popcorn and other small treats/
DATA
Continued from page 1G
that the people that sat on our board, first of all, were the stakeholders,” Parish President Kenny Havard said. “And secondly, that it was people that were accountable to the people.”
The IDB was formed during a recent Parish Council meeting. Havard said the timing of the formation of the body was in response to Hut 8 finalizing paperwork on the center The last time the parish formed an IDB was in 1967. Havard said the company is working with Louisiana Economic Development on the state’s tax structure for the project. LED officials could not confirm their sta-
tus on an agreement with Hut 8. If the data center were to experience any disruptions in the future, the property would go back to the tax rolls, he said. The PILOT agreement would protect the parish from financial pitfalls, as payments are not derived from taxes.
“A meteor could hit us, but we got the best deal for the parish,” Havard said Pursuing revenue via PILOT allows the parish to start benefiting from the data center up front, Havard said, rather than having to wait until construction finishes to collect property taxes. As of now, the parish is set to start receiving payments in 2027 but he is negotiating with Hut 8 to try and receive payment earlier. Ad valorem taxes, or tax-
es levied based on an item’s value, are a local issue and should be handled by locals, he said.
It is not the first time West Feliciana has received a major boost from project revenue. In 2018, the Louisiana Tax Commission decided to direct $6.6 million in tax revenue from Entergy’s River Bend nuclear plant in St. Francisville to West Feliciana, which the parish used for road repairs, the school system, the Sheriff’s Office and the fire department. At the time, the parish could spend the money only in accordance with property tax guidelines.
The revenue from the nuclear plant is depreciating, Pinson said, which has contributed to the parish straying away from making the infrastructural improve-
ments that data center revenue will pay, in order to avoid building debt.
“We’re just a small parish; we live within our means,” he said.
Pinson represents the Parish Council on the IDB, because he has a grasp of the budget and spending priorities from his time as chairman of the finance committee. Parish employees cannot serve on the IDB, he said.
Spillman said his office’s cut of the revenue will fund a new jail. The current jail, built in 1948, can hold only 38 male offenders. Female offenders and those with disciplinary and medical problems must be sent to another facility
“The building is a maintenance nightmare,” he said.
An updated jail is the main
priority for the Sheriff’s Office, along with salary adjustments for staff to better retain and attract employees.
Milton said he is planning “significant” pay raises for school faculty and staff. Specifics on the amount increases cannot be shared yet, he said, but he projects the raises will bring the salaries to the top five among school system salaries in the state. Annual salaries for West Feliciana teachers currently start at $54,272, the thirdhighest pay in metro Baton Rouge.
Milton said he is recommending to the board that the schools use the revenue to expand student programs, particularly in career and technical education, academic support, athletics and the arts. The revenue will
also go toward paying off the construction bond that paid for various projects, including a new elementary school, gym and Career and Technical Education center
That would reduce the current 6.2 mill property tax levied to pay off the bond.
The River Bend nuclear plant revenue was a “game changer” for the school system at the time because it allowed them to pay staff competitive salaries and establish a universal pre-K program, Milton said. The data center could bring a similar impact, he said. “We want those businesses to thrive, and we want to thrive along with it,” Milton said.
Email Ianne Salvosa at ianne.salvosa@ theadvocate.com.
Stopping for a quick picture here are mom Lola Webber with Tre, on the left and, KK.
PHOTSO BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL The starting point for many at Spooktacular was at the corner of Charter and College streets. Rep. Roy Daryl Adams is on the right dressed in orange. His wife, Tonya, on the steps of his office giving out treats, also sports orange. Tthe matching outfits say Adams Asylum Inmate on them.
