SERVING THE PARISHES OF EAST FELICIANA AND WEST FELICIANA
The
W atchman
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
Leila Pitchford AROUND THE FELICIANAS
Library to talk food and storm prep Audubon Regional Library has two events Thursday. The Jackson branch is inviting residents to bring their favorite recipe and a folder to collect new finds. Just bring the recipes, not a dish, to the Community Stories and Bayou Favorites Recipe Swap. Meet at 3:30 p.m. At 11 a.m., the Clinton branch, Layne Langley, of the LSU AgCenter, will talk about hurricane preparedness. Learn how to plan, keep supplies on hand, how to prepare you family, pets, home and garden ready for severe weather. Trivia bingo and a food demo will be among the activities.
Soccer registration open Deadline for 2026 fall soccer is Sept. 15. The program is for ages 3-12, and the fee is $75. Register online at www.wfprec. com.
Pop and Shop coming Downtown St. Francisville will host an evening of shopping, music, cocktails and fun starting at 4 p.m. Aug. 22. Shops will be open all day.
Nominate West Feliciana High’s best athletes
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W e d n e s d ay, Au g u s t 12, 2026
$1.00N
Candidates line up for Nov. 3 elections in East, West Feliciana Voters in East and West Feliciana parishes will not see district judicial races on their Nov. 3 ballots, as two candidates were unopposed after qualifying closed Friday.
WEST FELICIANA BY JAMES MINTON
Contributing writer
EAST FELICIANA
Board, which has four members ineligible to run because a termlimit law kicks in this year, had two other incumbent members reelected without opposition: Scotty Owens in District 2 and Helen Whitfield in District 3. In District 6, Nicholas D’Aquilla was H H H unopposed to take the seat now held by Kelly O’Brien. He is a nephew of Sam D’Aquilla and St. Francisville Mayor Andy D’Aquilla. In other School Board races: n Steve Comfort and Taylor Sullivan are seeking the District 1
Twentieth Judicial District Judge Elizabeth “Betsy” Jones was reelected without opposition to her Division A seat on the court, while Sam D’Aquilla, the current district attorney, will step up to take the Division B seat. Jones is finishing her second term on the bench. D’Aquilla will succeed Sydney Picou Walker, who was prohibited from seeking another term because she had turned 70. He is finishing his fourth six-year term as district attorney. Attention will be focused on the district attorney’s race, with Cy D’Aquila Jr., a distant relative of Sam D’Aquilla, facing Kenneth Fabre for the top prosecutor’s job. The West Feliciana School ä See WEST FELICIANA, page 4G
BY JAMES MINTON
Contributing writer
Five of the 12 seats on the East Feliciana Parish School Board were filled after qualifying for the Nov. 3 election ended Friday. Incumbents Patricia King, H H H District 2, Division 2; Jermi Roy Adams, District 3, Division 1; and Lillian Drake, District 3, Division 3, won reelection without opposition, while Perry Jones Jr. and Jermiser Kelly also won seats without an opponent. Jones will represent District 6, Division 2, where incumbent
ELECTION
GET TO CLASS
Tickets for the 2026 Angola Rodeo, the 60th anniversary, are on sale. Rodeo gates will open at 8 a.m. each Sunday, with rodeo events beginning at 2 p.m. in the arena. General admission tickets are $25 for most seating sections. Tickets are expected to sell out and should only be purchased through the official Angola Prison Rodeo website or by phone. Visitors will have the option to purchase handcrafted items created by incarcerated individuals at the facility. Hobbycraft items for sale include jewelry, leather goods, furniture, woodwork, paintings and more. Cash and major credit cards will be accepted for hobbycraft purchases.
ä See AROUND, page 4G
East Feliciana will allow subdivisions development Contributing writer
Women in the Arts show
Angola Rodeo tickets on sale
ä See EAST FELICIANA, page 4G
BY JAMES MINTON
The West Feliciana Royal Blue Club is seeking nominations for the West Feliciana High School Athletics Hall of Fame. Male and female studentathlete nominees must be a graduate of West Feliciana High School (Class of 1980 or later), have graduated at least five years before the nomination date, and be nominated by Sept. 1. Saints stakeholder nominees must have graduated at least five years before the nomination date and be nominated by Sept. 1. Complete nomination forms at pdfs-of-qr-codes. s3.amazonaws.com/Ayz0HU. pdf. Contact West Feliciana Athletics Director Shelley Genre at genres@wfpsb.org with questions. Small Works is an exhibition of paintings by Associated Women in the Arts at Art House Gallery, 11931 Ferdinand St., St. Francisville. It runs through Aug. 23.
Richard Terrell was term-limited and ineligible to run. Kelly won in District 6, Division 3, for the seat held by Michael Bradford, who also is term-limited. Campaigning for the November balloting are: n Nancy Demetria Matthews, Rufus Nesbitt and Peidera SimsMatthews in District 1. n Alonzo Jones and Lindsay Wilson in District 2, Division 1. n Incumbent J.D. Dantzler Jr. and challenger Louis Neyland Smith in District 3, Division 2. n Incumbent Melissa Davis and Brittany Morgan in District 4. n Incumbent Clayton “Cisco” Elkins and Ashley Ferguson, District 5. n Incumbent Joyce A. Kent and DayShawn Harris, District 6,
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY WEST FELICIANA SCHOOL DISTRICT
Smiles, backpacks and excitement filled the air as Jahzara Dunn, Jude Daniel, Jayceion Dunn, Bailey Links, Aiden Evans, Jaycee Jones, McKinley Weathers and Brooks Links walked through the doors of Bains Elementary.
West Feliciana welcomes students back to campus Community news report Excitement filled classrooms and hallways across West Feliciana Parish as students returned for the first day of the 2026-27 school year on Aug. 7. From eager pre-K students taking their first steps into elementary school to seniors celebrating their final first day with the annual Senior Sunrise, campuses were alive with smiles, warm welcomes and fresh beginnings. Teachers and staff greeted students, creating an atmosphere that reflected a strong sense of community in West Feliciana Parish Schools. As another school year gets underway, students, educators and families alike are looking forward to a Laurel Pratt is welcomed on her first day of school by West Feliciana Parish year of learning, growth and Schools Superintendent Hollis Milton as she arrives at Bains Elementary. ä More first-day-of-school photos. PAGE 2G lasting memories.
The East Feliciana Parish Police Jury voted 5-3 on Aug. 3 to rescind a controversial moratorium on new subdivisions after hearing complaints that the moratorium was affecting more than developers who want to build major residential areas. The moratorium, adopted on a 4-3 vote July 20, was preventing landowners from dividing property to pass on to their children and owners of large tracts from selling parts of their property for uses other than as future homesites. Juror Kristin Chasteen pushed for the moratorium last month, saying she wanted the jury to hold off on new subdivisions until the jury amends its land development ordinance to incorporate drainage study requirements suggested by an engineer who studied problems in a new subdivision on La. 964. The earlier meeting devolved into an angry confrontation in which Chasteen accused Juror Jason McCray of implying she was racially biased in pushing for the moratorium. With Chasteen voting from near the meeting room door, the moratorium passed, 4-3, with jury President Louis Kent providing the tiebreaking vote. Jury Vice President Chrissie O’Quin moved to rescind the moratorium, saying it meant the parish “can’t have any divisions of land, period.” McCray also said the moratorium was not done correctly, because it was added to the July 20 agenda without a unanimous vote, a requirement of the state Open Meetings Law. Building Official Jeff Williams said the jury’s subdivision ordinance does not differentiate between major and minor subdivisions, and the moratorium, as adopted, “includes everything.” Chasteen, saying her intention was not to prohibit “dividing my land in half,” made a substitute motion to make the moratorium apply to subdivisions of six or more lots, but the motion failed, 3-5. In addition to Chasteen, Dexter Armstead and Michael Cheatham voted for it, while O’Quin, McCray, Keith Mills, Kyle Fleniken and Richard Oliveaux dissented. Kent did not vote. The vote was reversed on the motion to rescind the moratorium.
ä See DEVELOPMENT, page 4G