La. bird dogs and their owners vie for canine supremacy
course with a duck dummy
BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer
A rubber tube plops on a wet field in Ethel.
Haddie, a 5-month-old black Labrador retriever, fights the urge to bolt toward it, her tail wagging in violent anticipation.
“Heel heel Haddie!” calls her owner Casey Parker At the command, her tiny legs churn through the grass to snatch up the toy Parker then blows a whistle — a new concept meant to signal the young pup to return.
On the way back, Haddie veers off course, drops the tube, and pauses to relieve herself. Such a blunder would mean instant disqualification in the world she is destined to experience. But today is only practice, and time is on her side.
Behind her, members of the Amite River Hunting Retriever Club are preparing for the season, which runs from February through the summer, while duck hunting is closed
ä See RETRIEVERS, page 1G
Hear from local civil rights activist
At 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21, the West Feliciana Parish Library will host Ronnie Moore, a civil rights activist, community development consultant and photographer, for a program reflecting on his 70+ years of activism and community leadership.
Moore was a key figure during 1964’s Freedom Summer in West Feliciana Parish, where he worked to register African American voters and helped establish local organizing efforts that reshaped
ä See AROUND, page 3G
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
Two decades ago, the East Feliciana Parish school dis trict shifted to a four-day school week. Seven years later, the district discon tinued it and reverted to a traditional
FELICIANA Council to once again wrestle with zoning map
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
The West Feliciana Parish Council will try again on March 9 to adopt a new zoning map to match a 2023 ordinance that governs land development in the parish. A new zoning map had not been drawn when the land development code was adopted nearly three years ago, and two slates of parish council members have been unable to agree on a map establishing zoning classifications in the parish’s unincorporated areas. As a result, the council is using an older map showing land-use zones. At the council’s Feb. 9 meeting, Councilman Justin Metz introduced an ordinance establishing a new map, saying it is essentially the same as a map he attempted to have approved in 2024. The map “matches the new zoning ordinance,” Metz said. The council did not discuss the measure but set a 5:30 p.m. public hearing on Metz’s proposal. In other action during the half-hour meeting, the council reappointed Grant Ollenburger, Penny Comena and Phillip Curwick to the parish Library Board of Control, and appointed Lindsay Stewart to the seat held by Kelli Daniel.
The council also reappointed Craig Dalferes, Magruder Hazlitt and Dyvar Anderson to the parish hospital board and named Patrick Tanner to the board that governs Gas Utility District 1.
ST. FRANCISVILLE
Board
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
The St. Francisville Board of Aldermen balked at supporting the mayor’s choice for a town attorney during a brief meeting Feb. 10.
Mayor Andy D’Aquilla wanted the board to back his appointment of Charles Griffin as the town’s legal representative, but a motion to that effect was met with silence.
Alderman Tommy Wheeler’s motion died for the lack of a second, with board member Abby Cochran finally explaining that she had philosophical differences with Griffin because of past litigation that the veteran lawyer had brought against the town during previous administrations.
D’Aquilla, who is a lawyer, said Griffin has experience in municipal legal issues and he had called on him for advice at times.
To wrap up the failed nomination, the board voted 4-1 against hiring Griffin, with Wheeler dissenting.
D’Aquilla then nominated Jessie Cannon Black as his next choice to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Ben Klein last year, and the board voted unanimously to support the appointment.
On another matter, the mayor offered a proposed ordinance to raise all traffic fines by $50 each, providing the board with fine schedules for several regional municipalities for comparison. The ordinance would cap fines at $500.
A public hearing on the proposal will be held March 9. In other action, the board:
n Learned that the contractor working to fill the town’s oxidation ponds had encountered more acidic silt in them than expected and is putting in additional lime to raise the pH level. When the desired level is reached, D’Aquilla said, the ponds will be capped with fresh dirt.
n Recognized maintenance employees Donald Stephens and Tyrone “Popeye” Davis for their service of 32 and 33 years, respectively
n Heard the mayor’s report that U.S. Representative Julia Letlow, now a Senate candidate, had secured the release of $2.2 million in federal funds approved during the Biden administration but held up by the Trump administration. The money, together with $1.1 million in state funds, will be used for major improvements to a section of Commerce Street, including burying overhead electrical lines and adding parking in the area.
Leila Pitchford AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Handler Kevin Bearden releases Gracie toward one of four dummy ducks at the Super Retriever Series event in Amite.
STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Kaizen bounds through the
for handler Cody Best at the Super Retriever Series event in Amite on Jan. 30.
WEST
Metz
Continued from page 1G
“It’s just like preparing for a Saturday football game,” said club member Scott Arceneaux. “You train every day, and not every day looks the same.”
Many of the men — some retired, others sneaking away from work have trained together since the 1990s, united by their love of retriever dogs and pursuit of canine perfection.
Harley, a black Lab with a stump tail said to be the result of an alligator bite, is the first to the mat, which overlooks a sweep of rolling green hills. Men called “Bird Techs” stand ready in the distance with shotguns and rubber ducks in hand.
The morning’s test measures memory, eyesight and obedience. Like her handler Chuck McCall, Harley is a professional: seasoned, steady and eager for the signal to prove it.
In a few weeks, the pair will open the season at the Super Retriever Series trials in Amite, the first of many contests around the country seeking the best all-around waterfowl hunting dog. If they perform well enough, they will earn a shot at the Crown Championship in Shreveport the Super Bowl of the dog world in some circles. In 2026, the road to the ultimate bird dog begins and ends in Louisiana.
Harley and McCall
The sport first took shape in the 19th-century English countryside, where sporting gentry sought a way to measure their dogs’ skill on equal terms, according to GunDog Magazine. In the United Kingdom, retrievers traditionally competed in groups to simulate driven grouse shoots, where dogs move in lines to pick up shot game. Across the Atlantic, where duck, pheasant and quail hunting are more popular, dogs perform individually Field trials, sanctioned by organizations like the American Kennel Club, are technical tests of a dog’s ability to retrieve game over extreme distances sometimes pushing four football fields in the straightest possible line. In Ethel, it draws owners from as far as Alaska and Montana each winter to train under JD Babb, a Baton Rouge native and owner of Bu-Yah! Re-
trievers. Others will spend thousands to enroll their dogs under Babb’s care, much like zealous parents sending children to an elite sports academy.
“We get ’em at about 6 months old,” Babb said. If they perform well, the dogs could stay with Babb until they are 9 or 10 years old.
Like many in the retriever world, Babb began as a duck hunter before moving into competition through “hunt tests” — a friendlier alternative to field trials created in the 1980s, where, instead of earning scores, dogs either pass or fail based on how well they mirror real-world hunting conditions.
The Super Retriever Series combines field trials and hunt tests while introducing other hunting scenarios. It grew out of ESPN’s “Great Outdoor Games,” a program that showcased everything from bass fishing and lumberjack contests to hybrid retriever events. When the show was canceled in 2005, SRS spun off as its own circuit. Explaining it is a bit like describing a complex version of golf: Every handler starts with a score of zero the perfect mark few ever achieve.
At the end of January, the season’s first challenge unfolds in the “hunt test” style. Harley steady beside McCall, watches as a bird tech throws the first bird — or “mark” — 184 yards straight ahead, across a pond and a cluster of decoy ducks Bird No. 2 follows at 64 yards, landing in the same line of sight. Bird No. 3, the “poison bird,” drops 50 yards out and near the water’s edge. Finally, bird No. 4 flies 101 yards directly to Harley’s left Each launch is accompanied by the sound of a shotgun blank fired from the bird tech in the field McCall
follows each crack with his replica gun in sync, and Harley tracks both cues. Then McCall lowers his barrel toward the last bird, before giving the single word that sets everything in motion: “Harley.” She explodes toward bird No. 4. If she drifts off course, McCall whistles across the field — a command for the dog to stop, turn and look back for direction, then angles his arm in the direction he wants Harley to take. Every correction adds to the score sheet: 2 points for a whistle, 10 if she skirts water, 20 if she misses the bird. Handlers aren’t above the rules either; intimidation toward the dog or sloppy gun handling bring their own penalties, fake gun or not.
Tyler Davis, president of the Pontchartrain Hunting Retriever Club, which organized the event, boiled the complexities down to a simple principle. “Can you communicate with a dog on a high level?”
‘Microscale horse racing’
Harley is one of over 60 Labradors and golden retrievers competing that day, hauled in stainless-steel trailers by a mix of pro and amateur trainers from across the South. Like many niche hobbies, the scene is tight-knit: Everyone knows everyone, and the talk across lawn chairs is jovial. But tension lies beneath the camaraderie. Like a major golf tournament, dogs are cut after each of SRS’s four rounds, and nerves tighten as the weekend wears on.
Lyle Steinman is prone to trash talk. The pro from Gower, Missouri, is running eight dogs — the maximum SRS allows a workload that sounds daunting even for someone who trains full time.
“Not when you got 14 that
Dog trainer JD Babb waits for Zest to finish shaking off water from its fur to give another command during training at Anderson Farms in Ethel on Jan. 21.
Series Pontchartrain HRC event.
can win,” he said.
Steinman began his career as an 8-year-old traveling around the United States showing cattle. As a teen, he turned to coondog hunting competitions before switching to SRS in 2006, shortly after it was created.
He likens his eye for young talent to that of Jimmy Johnson, the Hall of Fame football coach with two Super Bowl rings and a college football national championship. Steinman’s seven Crown Championships back up the talk.
“What am I looking for dogwise? Gut; my gut,” he said.
“If I don’t think I can win at all, I don’t mess with them.”
Any serious retriever needs the mental acuity of a quarterback reading coverages, he says, to understand concepts like taking the straightest possible line, remember marks and adjust to changing weather conditions.
Steinman’s competition earnings of around $450,000 don’t sound astronomical, but the money is in everything orbiting the sport. He charges owners up to $50,000 to train a dog, who lives opulently in a custom $150,000 trailer outfitted
with a stereo and heating system. Many top trainers manage their dogs like elite athletes, using dry needling and cold lasers to prevent soft-tissue injuries and ACL tears to stretch a prime that typically runs from about 4 to 7 years old. Steinman’s proven tournament dogs can cost between $20,000 and $100,000.
“The dogs in that trailer, is that the best money can buy?” Steinman said. “You bet your happy ass it is.”
“This is microscale for horse racing,” said Davis, the Pontchartrain club president and a former construction worker turned professional dog trainer. “If you’re good, you’ll always be employed, because the rich stay rich.”
As with horses, prized pedigrees come with a cost.
Semen from top hunting dogs can sell for thousands of dollars, even after years in the freezer Over time, better training and tougher competition have culled the weaker performers, leaving a sport where “good” is no longer good enough.
“I don’t care if you’re playing basketball or football or anything,” Steinman said. “You can’t be good anymore; you have to be great.”
The retriever tribe
Most in the world agree that the Super Retriever Trials are growing, at least in the amateur realm. And while it attracts familiar Southern archetypes, the game isn’t reserved for oldguard gentlemen or handlers with Steinman’s level of dedication. “Doctors, lawyers, pipefitters electricians nurses,” Arceneaux said. “All walks of life sharing the same common love.”
Yet access to land is necessary, and the time and costs needed to train (around three times a week to stay competitive), travel and compete all pose some barriers.
“You either work for yourself, or you have a lenient job, or you’re wealthy,” said Blayne Kiff a 28-yearold amateur and among the youngest in the group. He works nights as an electrician and is choosing to forgo sleep for the weekend in order to participate.
Women are just as prominent. Georgia-based amateur Leah Spivey and former firefighter Hilda Wood are among the best Wood came to the sport after a career training search-and-rescue dogs she has deployed with to Iraq, Haiti and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Wood, Spivey and Steinman all reached Sunday’s final cut with at least one dog. McCall and Harley went further, securing a spot at the Crown in Shreveport with a runner-up finish, just one point shy of Rody Best and his dog, Pope. For the rest of the teams, the season is long, and the path to Shreveport is still wide open.
“I don’t think people understand how hard this is. Even though these dogs have a natural desire, it takes a ton of training,” said David Lowrance, another competitor He loves all dogs, having owned dachshunds and Siberian huskies in the past. For him though, none of them come close to the retriever
“They’ll come out here and work themselves to death for you, then come home and be your best friend,” he said.
“I don’t know why the good Lord ever created another breed.”
Zest holds a dead duck in its mouth after capturing it during training at Anderson Farms in Ethel on Jan. 21. Wager sprints beck to handler Lyle Steinman with a duck dummy
Retriever Kona leaps through the brush with a duck dummy for handler Cody Best at the Super Retriever
FILE PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JOHNSON
Retriever Sully carries a duck dummy to handler Taylor Sullivan at the Super Retriever Series event in Amite on Jan. 30.
Super retrievers
La. bird dogs and their owners vie for canine supremacy
BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer
A rubber tube plops on a wet field in Ethel. Haddie, a 5-month-old black Labrador retriever, fights the urge to bolt toward it, her tail wagging in violent anticipation.
“Heel heel Haddie!” calls her owner Casey Parker At the command, her tiny legs churn through the grass to snatch up the toy Parker then blows a whistle — a new concept meant to signal the young pup to return.
On the way back, Haddie veers off course, drops the tube, and pauses to relieve herself. Such a blunder would mean instant disqualification in the world she is destined to experience. But today is only practice, and time is on her side.
Behind her, members of the Amite River Hunting Retriever Club are preparing for the season, which runs from February through the summer, while duck hunting is closed
ä See RETRIEVERS, page 1G
WEST FELICIANA
Council to once again wrestle with zoning map
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
The West Feliciana Parish Council will try again on March 9 to adopt a new zoning map to match a 2023 ordinance that governs land development in the parish. A new zoning map had not been drawn when the land development code was adopted nearly three years ago, and two slates of parish council members have been unable to agree on a map establishing zoning classifications in the parish’s unincorporated areas. As a result, the council is using an older map showing land-use zones. At the council’s Feb. 9 meeting, Councilman Justin Metz introduced an ordinance establishing a new map, saying it is essentially the same as a map he attempted to have approved in 2024. The map “matches the new zoning ordinance,” Metz said. The council did not discuss the measure but set a 5:30 p.m. public hearing on Metz’s proposal. In other action during the half-hour meeting, the council reappointed Grant Ollenburger, Penny Comena and Phillip Curwick to the parish Library Board of Control, and appointed Lindsay Stewart to the seat held by Kelli Daniel.
The council also reappointed Craig Dalferes, Magruder Hazlitt and Dyvar Anderson to the parish hospital board and named Patrick Tanner to the board that governs Gas Utility District 1.
Board passes on mayor’s pick for
BY JAMES MINTON Contributing writer
The St. Francisville Board of Aldermen balked at supporting the mayor’s choice for a town attorney during a brief meeting Feb. 10.
Mayor Andy D’Aquilla wanted the board to back his appointment of Charles Griffin as the town’s legal representative, but a motion to that effect was met with silence.
Leila Pitchford
AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Hear from local civil rights activist
At 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb 21, the West Feliciana Parish Library will host Ronnie Moore, a civil rights activist, community development consultant and photographer, for a program reflecting on his 70+ years of activism and community leadership.
Moore was a key figure during 1964’s Freedom Summer in West Feliciana Parish, where he worked to register African American voters and helped establish local organizing efforts that reshaped
ä See AROUND, page 3G
BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer
Two decades ago, the East Feliciana Parish school dis trict shifted to a four-day school week. Seven years later, the district discon tinued it and reverted to a traditional five-day school week.
Alderman Tommy Wheeler’s motion died for the lack of a second, with board member Abby Cochran finally explaining that she had philosophical differences with Griffin because of past litigation that the veteran lawyer had brought against the town during previous administrations.
D’Aquilla, who is a lawyer, said Griffin has experience in municipal legal issues and he had called on him for advice at times.
To wrap up the failed nomination, the board voted 4-1 against hiring Griffin, with Wheeler dissenting.
D’Aquilla then nominated Jessie Cannon Black as his next choice to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Ben Klein last year, and the board voted unanimously to support the appointment.
On another matter, the mayor offered a proposed ordinance to raise all traffic fines by $50 each, providing the board with fine schedules for several regional municipalities for comparison. The ordinance would cap fines at $500. A public hearing on the proposal will be held March 9. In other action, the board:
n Learned that the contractor working to fill the town’s oxidation ponds had encountered more acidic silt in them than expected and is putting in additional lime to raise the pH level. When the desired level is reached, D’Aquilla said, the ponds will be capped with fresh dirt.
n Recognized maintenance employees Donald Stephens and Tyrone “Popeye” Davis for their service of 32 and 33 years, respectively
n Heard the mayor’s report that U.S. Representative Julia Letlow, now a Senate candidate, had secured the release of $2.2 million in federal funds approved during the Biden administration but held up by
Handler Kevin Bearden releases Gracie toward one of four dummy ducks at the Super Retriever Series event in Amite.
STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Kaizen bounds through the course with a duck dummy for handler Cody Best at the Super Retriever Series event in Amite on Jan. 30.
Metz
RETRIEVERS
Continued from page 1G
“It’s just like preparing for a Saturday football game,” said club member Scott Arceneaux. “You train every day, and not every day looks the same.”
Many of the men — some retired, others sneaking away from work have trained together since the 1990s, united by their love of retriever dogs and pursuit of canine perfection.
Harley, a black Lab with a stump tail said to be the result of an alligator bite, is the first to the mat, which overlooks a sweep of rolling green hills. Men called “Bird Techs” stand ready in the distance with shotguns and rubber ducks in hand. The morning’s test measures memory, eyesight and obedience. Like her handler Chuck McCall, Harley is a professional: seasoned, steady and eager for the signal to prove it. In a few weeks, the pair will open the season at the Super Retriever Series trials in Amite, the first of many contests around the country seeking the best all-around waterfowl hunting dog. If they perform well enough, they will earn a shot at the Crown Championship in Shreveport the Super Bowl of the dog world in some circles. In 2026, the road to the ultimate bird dog begins and ends in Louisiana.
Harley and McCall
The sport first took shape in the 19th-century English countryside, where sporting gentry sought a way to measure their dogs’ skill on equal terms, according to GunDog Magazine. In the United Kingdom, retrievers traditionally competed in groups to simulate driven grouse shoots, where dogs move in lines to pick up shot game. Across the Atlantic, where duck, pheasant and quail hunting are more popular, dogs perform individually Field trials, sanctioned by organizations like the American Kennel Club, are technical tests of a dog’s ability to retrieve game over extreme distances sometimes pushing four football fields in the straightest possible line. In Ethel, it draws owners from as far as Alaska and Montana each winter to train under JD Babb, a Baton Rouge native and owner of Bu-Yah! Re-
trievers. Others will spend thousands to enroll their dogs under Babb’s care, much like zealous parents sending children to an elite sports academy.
“We get ’em at about 6 months old,” Babb said. If they perform well, the dogs could stay with Babb until they are 9 or 10 years old. Like many in the retriever world, Babb began as a duck hunter before moving into competition through “hunt tests” — a friendlier alternative to field trials created in the 1980s, where, instead of earning scores, dogs either pass or fail based on how well they mirror real-world hunting conditions.
The Super Retriever Series combines field trials and hunt tests while introducing other hunting scenarios. It grew out of ESPN’s “Great Outdoor Games,” a program that showcased everything from bass fishing and lumberjack contests to hybrid retriever events. When the show was canceled in 2005, SRS spun off as its own circuit. Explaining it is a bit like describing a complex version of golf: Every handler starts with a score of zero the perfect mark few ever achieve.
At the end of January, the season’s first challenge unfolds in the “hunt test” style. Harley steady beside McCall, watches as a bird tech throws the first bird — or “mark” — 184 yards straight ahead, across a pond and a cluster of decoy ducks Bird No. 2 follows at 64 yards, landing in the same line of sight. Bird No. 3, the “poison bird,” drops 50 yards out and near the water’s edge. Finally, bird No. 4 flies 101 yards directly to Harley’s left Each launch is accompanied by the sound of a shotgun blank fired from the bird tech in the field McCall
follows each crack with his replica gun in sync, and Harley tracks both cues. Then McCall lowers his barrel toward the last bird, before giving the single word that sets everything in motion: “Harley.” She explodes toward bird No. 4. If she drifts off course, McCall whistles across the field — a command for the dog to stop, turn and look back for direction, then angles his arm in the direction he wants Harley to take. Every correction adds to the score sheet: 2 points for a whistle, 10 if she skirts water, 20 if she misses the bird. Handlers aren’t above the rules either; intimidation toward the dog or sloppy gun handling bring their own penalties, fake gun or not.
Tyler Davis, president of the Pontchartrain Hunting Retriever Club, which organized the event, boiled the complexities down to a simple principle. “Can you communicate with a dog on a high level?”
‘Microscale horse racing’
Harley is one of over 60 Labradors and golden retrievers competing that day, hauled in stainless-steel trailers by a mix of pro and amateur trainers from across the South. Like many niche hobbies, the scene is tight-knit: Everyone knows everyone, and the talk across lawn chairs is jovial. But tension lies beneath the camaraderie. Like a major golf tournament, dogs are cut after each of SRS’s four rounds, and nerves tighten as the weekend wears on.
Lyle Steinman is prone to trash talk. The pro from Gower, Missouri, is running eight dogs — the maximum SRS allows a workload that sounds daunting even for someone who trains full time.
“Not when you got 14 that
Dog trainer JD Babb waits for Zest to finish shaking off water from its fur to give another command during training at Anderson Farms in Ethel on Jan. 21.
with a stereo and heating system. Many top trainers manage their dogs like elite athletes, using dry needling and cold lasers to prevent soft-tissue injuries and ACL tears to stretch a prime that typically runs from about 4 to 7 years old. Steinman’s proven tournament dogs can cost between $20,000 and $100,000.
“The dogs in that trailer, is that the best money can buy?” Steinman said. “You bet your happy ass it is.”
Yet access to land is necessary, and the time and costs needed to train (around three times a week to stay competitive), travel and compete all pose some barriers.
can win,” he said.
Steinman began his career as an 8-year-old traveling around the United States showing cattle. As a teen, he turned to coondog hunting competitions before switching to SRS in 2006, shortly after it was created.
He likens his eye for young talent to that of Jimmy Johnson, the Hall of Fame football coach with two Super Bowl rings and a college football national championship. Steinman’s seven Crown Championships back up the talk.
“What am I looking for dogwise? Gut; my gut,” he said.
“If I don’t think I can win at all, I don’t mess with them.”
Any serious retriever needs the mental acuity of a quarterback reading coverages, he says, to understand concepts like taking the straightest possible line, remember marks and adjust to changing weather conditions.
Steinman’s competition earnings of around $450,000 don’t sound astronomical, but the money is in everything orbiting the sport. He charges owners up to $50,000 to train a dog, who lives opulently in a custom $150,000 trailer outfitted
“This is microscale for horse racing,” said Davis, the Pontchartrain club president and a former construction worker turned professional dog trainer. “If you’re good, you’ll always be employed, because the rich stay rich.”
As with horses, prized pedigrees come with a cost.
Semen from top hunting dogs can sell for thousands of dollars, even after years in the freezer Over time, better training and tougher competition have culled the weaker performers, leaving a sport where “good” is no longer good enough.
“I don’t care if you’re playing basketball or football or anything,” Steinman said.
“You can’t be good anymore; you have to be great.”
The retriever tribe
Most in the world agree that the Super Retriever Trials are growing, at least in the amateur realm. And while it attracts familiar Southern archetypes, the game isn’t reserved for oldguard gentlemen or handlers with Steinman’s level of dedication.
“Doctors, lawyers, pipefitters electricians nurses,” Arceneaux said. “All walks of life sharing the same common love.”
“You either work for yourself, or you have a lenient job, or you’re wealthy,” said Blayne Kiff, a 28-yearold amateur and among the youngest in the group. He works nights as an electrician and is choosing to forgo sleep for the weekend in order to participate.
Women are just as prominent. Georgia-based amateur Leah Spivey and former firefighter Hilda Wood are among the best Wood came to the sport after a career training search-and-rescue dogs she has deployed with to Iraq, Haiti and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Wood, Spivey and Steinman all reached Sunday’s final cut with at least one dog. McCall and Harley went further, securing a spot at the Crown in Shreveport with a runner-up finish, just one point shy of Rody Best and his dog, Pope. For the rest of the teams, the season is long, and the path to Shreveport is still wide open.
“I don’t think people understand how hard this is. Even though these dogs have a natural desire, it takes a ton of training,” said David Lowrance, another competitor He loves all dogs, having owned dachshunds and Siberian huskies in the past. For him though, none of them come close to the retriever “They’ll come out here and work themselves to death for you, then come home and be your best friend,” he said. “I don’t know why the good Lord ever created another breed.”
Zest holds a dead duck in its mouth after capturing it during training at Anderson Farms in Ethel on Jan. 21. Wager sprints beck to handler Lyle Steinman with a duck dummy
Retriever Kona leaps through the brush with a duck dummy for handler Cody Best at the Super Retriever Series Pontchartrain HRC event.
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Retriever Sully carries a duck dummy to handler Taylor Sullivan at the Super Retriever Series event in Amite on Jan. 30.
Assisi residents celebrate February birthdays
Call 225-654-3775 for information.
Walk in the Park set for March 7
civic participation in our community His work here is part of a much larger legacy of courage, persistence, and leadership throughout the South.
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the West Feliciana Parish Library, making it possible for the community to attend at no cost. Register at https:// westfeliciana-la.whofi.com/calendar/ event/402400 or by calling 225-635-3364. Annual reenactment coming
The Siege of Port Hudson Battle Reenactment is March 28-29 at the state historic site, 236 U.S. 61, Jackson.
It starts at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday Gates open at 9 a.m
Concessions and sutlers/vendors will be on-site Living history and weapons demonstrations will be throughout the day Reenactor camps will be on tour
Admission is $6 adults, $4 seniors 62 and above, $3 active-duty military and free for children under 6.
Walk in the Park will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., March 7 at Parker Park, St. Francisville. Live music will be by Ben Bell and the Stardust Boys from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Gazebo.
Need a bed? Help the band
The West Feliciana High School Band is hosting its third annual Mattress & Adjustable Bed Sale from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8 at the high school gym.
Apply for Leadership North Leadership North is an annual leadership development program for the north Baton Rouge region.
The Zachary Chamber of Commerce hosts the program. Participation in the program is open to people living or working in Baton Rouge, Zachary, Central, Baker, Pointe Coupee and East and West Feliciana parishes who have the full support of the organization or business they represent.
The program is designed to engage emerging leaders in the region and pre-
The schedules for West and East Feliciana Council on Aging facilities are as follows:
WEST FELICIANA
n 12292 Jackson Road, St. Francisville, (225) 635-6719
n Start time for all activities is 10 a.m. FIRST AND THIRD MONDAY: Line dance FOURTH MONDAY: Religious service
pare them to meet the future needs of their communities. Through the exchange of viewpoints and experiences, participants are exposed to the challenges, opportunities and vital issues affecting the northern Baton Rouge region.
The application is at forms.office.com/ r/7feLGC5qtF Deadline is Feb. 27.
Bird art displays coming
The Art of Birds will be from noon Feb. 28 at 5689 Commerce St., St. Francisville.
Bird-themed art will be displayed in three galleries at the 3V Tourist Court. Refreshments and shopping will also be available.
Update pesticide certifications
A private pesticide applicator recertification training session will be at the Zachary Branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library 10 a.m. to noon March 12, 1900
Church St., Zachary Attendees needs to bring a current pesticide card and two checks — one made to the LSU AgCenter for $15 and one made to LDAF for $25.
To reserve a spot, call Donna Gentry at (225) 683-3101 or dsgentry@agcenter.lsu. edu.
Tunica Music Festival scheduled
The Tunica Music Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 28 in Parker Park, in the amphitheater across the street on Chris and Cherie Fry’s property, and in Bayou Sara Brewing in St. Francisville. The event is free to attendees. Food vendors will be available. It will feature 30 bands on three stages. Bring an instrument and join some jam sessions. Chairs, blankets and coolers are allowed.
St. Francisville Farmers Market
Every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., deals on a wide variety of fresh produce and other locally sourced goods will be available at the St. Francisville Farmers Market, 9961 Wilcox St. Visit facebook. com/stfrancisvillefarmersmarket for information.
Save the date
The West Feliciana Chamber of Commerce announced Chamber Uncorked! will be March 8 at The Mallory in St. Francisville.
Email Leila Pitchford at lpitchford@ theadvocate.com.
PROVIDED PHOTO
From left, Vivian Canoy, Patricia Fourrier, Peggy Pittman, Lee Cavalier and Wilbert Riley join to celebrate February birthdays at Assisi Heights and participate in a safety activity as well as bingo and refreshments.
West Feliciana girls win 12 of last 14 basketball games
BY RICHARD MEEK
Contributing writer
Here’s a look at sports around the Felicianas Girls basketball
Ariannah Smith scored 25 points as West Feliciana closed out the regular season with a 48-42 win over Istrouma on Feb. 13.
Sanaya Barry added 13 points and Jaterriona Johnson 10 for the Saints, who ended the regular season 21-6 and with a 6-2 record finished fourth in District 6-4A.
A stifling defense paced West Feliciana to its 12th win in its final 14 games. Trailing 17-13 after the opening eight minutes the Saints rallied in the second quarter to take
DEMCO marks milestone serving 120,000 electric meters
Community news report
DEMCO announced a service milestone of 120,000 electric meters, powering over half a million people across its seven-parish service area: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, St. Helena, Tangipahoa and West Feliciana.
According to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, DEMCO is one of the largest electric distribution cooperatives in Louisiana and is among the largest nationwide by meters served.
“From our early beginnings in 1938 with 450 electric meters, this achievement marks nine decades of steady growth, resilience, and commitment to the members who own this cooperative,” said Randy Pierce, DEMCO’s chief executive officer and general manager “We’re proud of where we started and we are focused on continuing to serve our members with the care and commitment they expect from their cooperative.” To support continued growth across its service area, DEMCO has expanded and upgraded its system infrastructure, adopted new technologies, and strengthened its operations. Today, the electric distribution system comprises 9,243 miles of power lines, 35 substations, three switching stations, two mobile substations and 10 metering points.
“Serving 120,000 meters represents more than scale it reflects years of careful planning and a commitment to protect and strengthen the cooperative,” said Steve Irving, DEMCO board member “This milestone reflects and reinforces our collective responsibility to those who will rely on it in the years ahead.”
SCHOOL
Continued from page 1G
Keeping teachers happy
a 28-26 halftime lead. West Feliciana held Istrouma to 16 second-half points and the opening quarter was the only period in which the Indians scored in double figures.
Barry leads the Saints in scoring, averaging 14 points per game and recording four steals. Smith is averaging 13 points and Johnson 12.7 points for West Feliciana. Johnson is also averaging a team-high 7.7 rebounds.
East Feliciana
Kariah Dunn leads the Tigers and District 8-2A in scoring at a 13.2-point-pergame clip.
East Feliciana finished the regular season 17-10 and 5-0 in District 8-2A. Episco-
pal entered the final week 3-0 in district play
Slaughter Community Charter
The Knights ended the season on a high note, defeating Baker 34-26 Feb. 11. The win snapped a streak of five consecutive losses.
Slaughter finished 10-10 overall, 2-3 in league play
Boys
East Feliciana
The Tigers finished out a difficult season with a 41-39 victory over Mentorship Academy on Feb. 10 for its third consecutive win. East Feliciana, 8-21, 1-4 in dis-
trict play was scheduled to close out the regular season Feb. 16 hosting Catholic of Pointe Coupee.
West Feliciana
Travis Lathers is averaging 23 points a game and Tonio Sullivan 11.5 points for the Saints, who close out the season with a pair of home games. West Feliciana will host McKinley on Feb. 18 and Tara on Feb. 20
The Saints enter the season-ending mini homestand 21-11, 2-3 District 6-4A.
Seniors attending a program at the Council on Aging Center do chair exercises, including leg extensions,
Langley, top right, also demonstrating the movements.
Ag Center agent shares benefits of exercise with COA seniors
BY MELINDA RAWLS HOWELL Contributing writer
The health benefits of physical activity for seniors, including those with chronic health conditions and disabilities, were presented recently by Layne Langley area nutrition and community health agent for the LSU Ag Center Her presentation was made to members of the East Feliciana Council on Aging at the Jackson site, and the event included practicing movements that were easily done from a seated position. The exercises used were
specifically chosen for adults 65 and older Langley gave seniors a handout with some of the immediate and long-term benefits listed. Immediate health benefits noted were improved sleep, reduced feelings of anxiety and reduced blood pressure. The long-term benefits were listed as helping to prevent chronic disease — good for things like brain health, heart health, bone strength, cancer prevention and more. Information about some of the physical activity recommendations for adults with chronic health conditions and disabilities was covered. Some of the exer-
cises were practiced, following the instruction from videos like leg extensions and ankle pumps Starting out doing the exercises for short periods of time and them increasing the time slowly was emphasized. An activity that seniors enjoyed was one using the lightweight pool noodles (or pipe insulation wrap) to exercise. Participants moved their arms by drumming different rhythms as instructed. Seniors were also reminded to add or alter simple motions as part of their daily activities like picking up their feet and legs a bit higher and to avoid shuffling.
WEST FELICIANA PARISH BOOKINGS
counts exploitation of the infirmed
The following people were booked into the West Feliciana Parish Detention Center between Feb. 2-8: FEB. 2
LUEVANO, SHELLEY: 45; 07050 Reed Road; St. Francisville; two counts exploitation of the infirmed
BAUDOIN, CHRISTOPHER: 51; 08730 Leisure D; Denham Springs; two
Four-day school weeks have clearly increased in popularity nationwide since the COVID pandemic. For instance, in Texas, the number of schools using such a week increased from 30 pre-pandemic to more than 500 today
In Louisiana, all but three of the 15 districts with four-day weeks have adopted them since 2020. Many of them did so to attract and retain teachers during a time of historic teacher shortages.
In a December 2023 poll, Education Week found that two-thirds of the educators responding would be more willing to accept a job offer from a district that operated under a four-day work week.
That attractiveness for teachers and other school employees is a key reason behind East Feliciana’s reversion to a four-day week.
“This Monday makes a difference. It makes a difference for us to get things in order that need to be in order,” said Schokeata Matthews.
Matthews, a veteran fifth-grade teacher, spoke at the Feb. 3 parish school board meeting where the shift to four days a week was approved. She said she’s worked both the traditional and the shortened week.
In response to shortages, almost every school district in the state has boosted pay over the past few years For instance, in 2024, East Feliciana approved a $7,000 teacher pay raise, making it more competitive in the Baton Rouge region. But school leaders decided they needed to do more Megan Phillips, principal of Jackson Elementary School, used to oppose a four-day week but now supports the idea. She recalls that she and other school staff in 2013 sup-
Layne Langley, area nutrition and community health agent for the LSU Ag Center recently spoke to COA seniors about the benefits of physical activity
POURCIAU, BENNETT: 38; 03005 Dumaine St., New Orleans; stalking,
ported going back to a five-day week.
“The reason I’m in favor this time (of a 4-day week) is the very last time I had 100% certified teachers was the last year before the change,” Phillips said “I did not fully understand how powerful it was for teacher recruitment.”
“Student-centered”
The research over the past few decades on the impact of a four-day week has been mixed In a review of 11 studies published in June, the University of Oregon found that overall there was no evidence of large positive effects.” The schools that fared best, though, did not cut back on overall time in class.
“Maintaining instructional hours is important for minimizing negative impacts on student achievement,” according to the analysis.
East Feliciana Parish’s newly approved 2026-27 school calendar has students return from summer break a day later than they would otherwise — Tuesday, Aug. 11 and students end their year a week later Thursday May 28.
Students will be in class for 1,480 fewer instructional minutes — about 24 hours — than they would have under a five-daya-week calendar. Yet they will still receive 1,600 more minutes of class time almost 27 hours — than the state minimum.
“Everything we are going to share with you tonight is student-centered, with students in mind,” said East Feliciana Parish Supt Keisha Netterville when she presented the four-day-a-week schedule at the Feb. 3 meeting.
The new bell schedule calls for students to start class at 7:15 a.m. — 15 minutes earlier than now — and finish up the day at 3:45 p.m. — 45 minutes later than now Netterville said the current school day is too short to “make sure that students have those foundational standards that they need to be suc-
cessful.”
communicating of false information planned arson, criminal trespassing, simple criminal damage to property
WILLIAMS JR., KEVINN: 27; 02148 La. 95, Eunice; battery on a correctional officer
“We’re cramming things in. We’re trying to cram in Tier 1 (curricula),” Netterville said. “We’re trying to cram in interventions. And we run out of time.”
Echoing Netterville, East Feliciana High
School Principal Candace Bailey said the change should help teachers avoid falling behind. She said it’s common for a one-day lesson to stretch across two days.
“We’re always fighting against the calendar, the pacing guide,” Bailey said.
Saving money?
Saving money is also a common reason school districts shift to a four-day week The savings come largely from reduced student transportation and energy consumption.
Cost savings was a primary driver in 2006 when East Feliciana first made that shift. In 2013, when it went back to a fiveday week, the district estimated it would cost an additional $150,000 a year. District leaders estimate that the latest change would bring “minor operational cost savings in transportation and facilities.”
A major reason for the limited savings is that Mondays in East Feliciana will remain an active day, even though kids won’t be in class.
Six Mondays three each semester will be full-day staff development days. Netterville expressed hope that these days will be more productive than traditional staff development, which typically occurs at the beginning or end of semesters or during half-days when teachers teach the first half of the day
Also on Mondays, the district will use its federal after-school funding to provide free “high-quality enrichment programming,” complete with breakfast and lunch. East Feliciana students will also participate in truancy discipline and credit recovery programs that day each week.
FEB. 8
WISNER, ELIZABETH: 33; 07322 Proxie Drive, Baton Rouge; improper lane usage, use of wireless telecommunications device prohibited, expired/ no registration, security required, two counts possession Schedule II narcotics; possession of drug paraphernalia, probation violation
Creative calendar
The Red River and St. Helena parish school districts have developed custom calendars for their respective districts. In 2020, Red River adopted a calendar where its school year ended a month later than its peers. That means a shorter summer but also longer fall and spring breaks. The shorter six-week summer break is meant to curb summer learning loss, especially among children living in poverty Such calendars are sometimes called “full year” calendars. Red River however, leaders prefer to call it a “balanced” calendar
St. Helena Parish dropped the four-day school week about a decade ago Longtime Supt. Kelli Joseph said she was unhappy with the resulting long school days that began at 7:30 a.m. and ran until 4:30 p.m.
“That was way too long for kids to be in school like that, especially for little kids,” Joseph said.
Instead, Joseph has slowly developed a St. Helena calendar that looks like none of its neighbors. In 2021, Joseph dropped spring break in favor of multiple Fridays off, giving employees a series of long weekends. In 2023, she added a complementary series of Mondays off from August through October November and December, however, remain five days a week.
The school day is from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., about 30 minutes longer than your average school, but not as long as it was previously Joseph said she continues to tinker with the calendar to give teachers more days off, but not going too far
“We’re meeting the state requirements, I’m ensuring that our kids have quality instruction, and I’m ensuring that teachers get what they’ve requested,” Joseph explained. Email Charles Lussier at clussier@ theadvocate.com.
