East Feliciana Ministers Conference Sponsors Candidate Forum in Wilson
By Patricia Stallmann
rachal2743@gmail com
225-721-5534
On Tuesday, September 16, at the Second Baptist Church in Wilson, Pastor John Sanders welcomed the members of the East Feliciana Ministers Conference, as well as candidates for office and members of the public.
Everyone on the East Feliciana ballot, noted Dr. Burnett King, president of the conference, whether at the state, parish, or local level, received an invitation to take part in the evening’s forum.
Responding were candidates for United States Representative, 5th Congressional District; Public Service Commissioner, District 2; East Feliciana Parish School Board, District 3, Division 1; and Alderman, Town of Clinton.
In the opening prayer, Pastor Sanders, referencing leaders in American politics, national to local, and acknowledging the need for help, asked that God “give us a mind of cohesiveness and a heart of love… and direct our paths.”
Next, Dr. King introduced Ashley Dunn and Dr. Jonathan Loveall, cochairs of the East Feliciana Ministers Conference Voter Registration Committee, who posed questions to the candidates for the next two hours.
Throughout the welcome, prayer, and introductions, the choir reflected both Pastor Sanders’ prayer and the crowd’s spirit of engagement with hymns that included “God is My Everything…my joy, my hope for tomorrow, my rod.”
U.S. Representative
Running for U. S. Representative, 5th Congressional District, against incumbent Julia Letlow, who did not take part in the forum, were M. V. “Vinny” Mendoza of Ponchatoula and Michael Vallien, Jr., of Baton Rouge.
Question #1:
Due to federal policy called the “Government Pension Offset” (the GPO) and the “Windfall Elimination Provision” (WEP), many individuals in East Feliciana Parish— who have public pensions from jobs that did not withhold Social Security taxes—see significant cuts to Social Security spousal and survivor benefits and significant cuts to Social Security benefits they have earned in other jobs. (In Louisiana, for example, teachers receive public pensions; if they also worked at a job that did pay into Social Security, the government cuts those Social Security earnings.) Our current U.S. representative has co-sponsored legislation to eliminate GPO and WEP, but this legislation has yet to pass.
If elected, would you support legislation to repeal GPO and WEP, and how would you work more successfully than your predecessor in getting this legislation passed?
Mr. Vallien would repeal GPO and WEP. Mr. Mendoza said that he favors “eliminating GPO and WEP outright,” as that “can be more straightforward and beneficial for retirees.”
After the forum, he explained that eliminating the provisions “would allow those impacted to receive the full benefits they earned through Social Security, addressing the inequity that GPO and WEP create.” Because repealing the provisions “can imply a more comprehensive legislative process that might include discussions on how to manage the fiscal
implications of such changes, especially given the challenges facing the Social Security system overall…the best approach would be to eliminate GPO and WEP outright to ensure that retirees receive the benefits they deserve without penalties for their past work.”
Mr. Mendoza, who is retired from the Air Force, where he served as assistant to the Inspector General, would fight government waste as well as efforts “to privatize or eliminate” the Social Security Administration; he would thus insure that “we invest in ourselves” so that seniors “not only live long but have everything they need.” He proposed “food banks that cater to seniors” and lowering inflation with “a project to create three million farms.”
Mr. Vallien, who worked for the Social Security Administration for five years, also cited first-hand knowledge of “fraud and waste” in government and proposed a plan to eliminate it and “allocate the savings to the people.”
He proposed doubling “old and arbitrary caps on what people can earn,” as the current system “won’t allow seniors to earn enough to live.” If elected he would work to serve on both the oversight and appropriations committees of the House.
“The only way I can institute change and get our neighbors their fair shake,” he said, “is to go to Congress.”
The two candidates also discussed “how to ensure accessible constituent services” for the “approximately 10.5 percent of East Feliciana residents under age 65 who are disabled.”
Public Service Commissioner
Nick Laborde of Baton Rouge, candidate for public service commissioner, took part in the forum; Jean-Paul Coussan of Lafayette and Julie Quinn of Baton Rouge did not
Facing tough questions at the East Feliciana candidates’ forum on September 16 were Jermi Adams, from left, candidate for East Feliciana Parish School Board; Vinny Mendoza, for U. S. Representative, 5th Congressional District; Nick Laborde, for Public Service Commissioner; Janice Betrece, for alderman, Town of Clinton; and Michael Vallien, Jr., for U. S. Representative, 5th Congressional District. Of the seven candidates for five Clinton aldermen seats, Mrs. Betrece was the only participant. Although Louis Smith, school board candidate, did take part in the forum, he was not able to stay for photographs. Photograph by Patricia Stallmann
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Question#1: Residents in East Feliciana Parish, particularly in more rural areas, see frequent power outages even during minor storms. How would you work with the energy companies to build a more resilient power grid in rural communities without passing that cost on to consumers?
Mr. Laborde, whose dad was once mayor of Marksville, where his great grandfather “started the fire department,” says he “grew up solving problems and helping people.” As a commissioner, he would “build a better power grid and make Entergy pay for it;” he would “put the costs back on the monopolies so they don’t put the costs on the people.
“What’s to stop us from making
the companies absorb more of the cost? I’m going to hold Entergy’s feet to the fire,” he said, adding that his two opponents, who neglected to attend the forum, “take Entergy money” for their campaigns. “I don’t.”
Further, he'd like to establish, in all communities, “community lighthouses, churches and centers that rely on solar energy,” places where people can go in the event of a power outage “for air conditioning or to charge their phone.”
When asked about “the role the PSC could play in lowering the costs of telephone calls in jails and prisons…thus giving incarcerated individuals the ability to remain in contact with their families,” he proposed reducing the cost “or making it free.”
He added that he also hoped “to ban power disconnections in Louisiana” so that people “don’t have to choose” between food and light or
Ashley Dunn, left, and Dr. Jonathan Loveall, co-chairs of the East Feliciana Ministers Conference Voter Registration Committee, served as facilitators, posing questions to the candidates. Here Dunn explains the format for the evening. Photograph by Patricia Stallmann
Questioning Mr. Laborde from the audience was West Feliciana’s Kelly Ward, who asked how he would work to ensure that the utilities "keep the rates as low as possible for the people can least afford high rates."
Member of School Board District 3, Division 1 School Board Candidates Jermi Roy Adams of Jackson and Louis Smith, also of Jackson, answered questions; the Rev. George Turner of Ethel, also a candidate, was not present.
Question #1:
East Feliciana Public Schools is currently in the fourth year of implementation of a five-year district-wide strategic plan. Through this strategic plan, despite a limited tax base and state funding and accountability formulas that are unfair to rural schools, East Feliciana Public Schools has significantly improved teacher pay and student performance. As a member of the school board, what do you see as your role in monitoring the success of this plan and how would you advocate for more resources to
continue to implement this strategic plan?
Candidate Jermi Adams, noting that his son is a student at East Feliciana STEAM Academy, which is part of the public school system, described a plan that is working for his family. He confers often, he said, with his child’s teachers, and coordinates his assistance with their instruction. Still, he proposed “more parent involvement,” system wide. As for “unfair…state funding and accountability formulas,” he suggested investigating property taxes for the large companies that use the parish for an “address,” as it has the lowest property tax rates in the state. More funding is needed, he said, as currently new teachers use East Feliciana schools “as a stepping stone in their training,” moving on, after gaining experience, to a parish that pays higher salaries.
Candidate Louis Smith, currently serving on the board, noted that “the tax base needs to change” and that increases are needed not only in teacher pay but also for the support
Kelly Ward, left, confers with Dr. Burnett King, president of the East Feliciana Ministers Conference, following the candidates forum. Mr. Ward questioned Public Service Commissioner Candidate Nick Laborde about ensuring low costs for those who can least afford increases in utilities bills. Photograph by Patricia Stallmann
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staff.
He also recommended, with regard to parental involvement, not waiting for a formal school “visitation day,” but “visiting the schools to see what’s going on.”
When Rev. Sanders asked from the audience that the candidates address “school security,” Smith noted that the board had “passed a crisis management plan.”
Adams expressed his “confidence in the sheriff’s department,” referring to deputies assigned full-time to schools, including the high school, the charter school, and the local private school. The sheriff’s department also coordinates with local police departments.
Asked how they would demonstrate their “ethical obligations of confidentiality, transparency, and engagement while collaborating with other board members, our superintendent, and our community to continue to move our schools forward, both discussed “improved communications” and bringing parents and teachers together while maintaining confidentiality.
Smith noted that the superintendent and the board, in fact, have “started a district PTA.”
At the end of the discussion, State Rep. Roy Daryl Adams made a plea for East Feliciana schools to help him award a $40,000 Tulane University scholarship to a student from East. “I’ve given that scholarship to West Feliciana,” he said, “two years in a row.”
The candidates, one of them his son, promised to propose one or more students from East for the honor.
Alderman, Town of Clinton
Janice Betrece, running for reelection as a Clinton alderman, was the only candidate of seven who took part in the forum. Not present: Johnny Beauchamp, Bart Blackledge, Mary Bunch Dunaway, Clovis Matthews, Ben Morris, and Kim Young.
Question #1:
East Feliciana Parish has many valuable natural and human resources. As the Baton Rouge metropolitan area continues to develop, what role does the Town of Clinton Board of Aldermen play in ensuring that economic development in the town benefits and provides opportunity to the people of our community?
Noting her 33 years of experience as the school board business manager, and her years of service on the town’s finance committee, Betrece said she is “always available to make the Town of Clinton better, ready to
be a voice to acquire additional resources.”
She cited the town’s “antiquated gas lines” and her search for funding “to help us with that.”
Asked about “collaborating across lines of difference and across organizations,” she advised “collaborating more closely, with the Police Jury,” for example, “as we can achieve more collectively than apart.”
Ballot Issues
Dr. Loveall then discussed two issues on the ballot: 1) A one-mil property tax for the Emergency Communication Commission (911) and 2) a constitutional amendment addressing “outer continental shelf funds.”
The one-mil tax, Loveall explained, would mean “$1 on every $1,000 of assessed value, or 1/10 of the true value.” For a house taxed at $125,000, for example, “1/10 would be $12,500. Taking off $7,500 for the homeowners exemption would mean paying the one mil on $5,000.” The
total: $5.
Five dollars, in that example, said Loveall, just one mil, “would allow 911 to continue to operate.”
The continental shelf funds amendment seeks to add—to monies from offshore oil and gas operations that the federal government already distributes to states for coastal restoration—monies from offshore alternative and renewable energy sources as well.
Reminder
On Saturday, October 26, the East Feliciana Ministers Conference will sponsor Souls to the Polls. Persons will meet at 8 a.m. at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, 5956 Highway 19, Ethel, just south of Highway 10, and will travel as a group to the registrar’s office in Clinton to vote. For more information, contact the Voter Registration Committee, East Feliciana Ministers Conference, at jonathanloveall62@gmail.com.
Louis Smith, left, and Jermi Adams, who are running for a seat on the East Feliciana Parish School Board, listen as Dr. Jonathan Loveall and Ashley Dunn, facilitators for the East Feliciana candidates forum, pose another question. Photograph by Patricia Stallmann
EVENTS CALENDAR EVENTS CALENDAR EVENTS CALENDAR EVENTS
EVENTS CALENDAR
October 1, 2024
Please submit calendar notices to: rachal2743@gmail.com.
Wednesday, October 2, and every Wednesday night: Community Music Jam, 6:30 p.m. at the West Feliciana Parish Library, 5114 Burnett Road, St. Francisville. Get together with local musicians to play and practice. Visit https://www.wfplibrary.org/events for more information.
NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 3: Registration for OLLI at LSU, Felicianas Chapter, Fall classes. Register at https:// ce.lsu.edu/olli/. Email rhonda.young4@ gmail.com for more information.
Saturday, October 5: The Second Annual Walk for Life in the Felicianas. Hosts: Landmark Bank and Feliciana Bank. Participants will gather at Landmark Bank on St. Helena Street (Highway 10) in Clinton. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the Walk at 9. All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society. For more information, please email ACS@landmarkbankla.com or call 225683-3371.
Saturday, October 5: County Fair and Rodeo at the Zachary Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Zachary. The market will celebrate its 5th Birthday with door prizes and birthday cake. Enjoy fair games and a 1 p.m.
Cake Walk that will award baked goods prizes. The Dan Klein stick horse rodeo for children ages 3 through 7 will start at 10 a.m. For more information, contact zacharyfarmersmarket@gmail.com.
Saturday, October 5: The Clinton Bicentennial Celebration, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Downtown Clinton, will feature vendors, booths, entertainment, bands, a Boy Scout color guard, and, at the Courthouse, Clinton native and guest speaker Dr. V. Elaine Thompson, historian and author of Clinton, Louisiana: Society, Politics, and Race Relations in a Nineteenth-Century Small Town. Event organizer: The Clinton is Home Foundation. For more information, or to sponsor or volunteer, please email clintonishome@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/clintonishome.
Saturday, October 5: Dan Klein’s Wild West Stick Horse Rodeo for children ages 3 through 7 includes Barrel Racing, Bronco Busting, Goat Tail Pulls, and a Duck Chase. In addition, for Buddy Barrel Pickup, parents will ride the stick horses to pick up their child, who then rides pillion (behind them) to compete in that event. Place: “the little park” that abuts Zachary Town Hall. Time: Sign up is at 9 a.m., and the rodeo “starts promptly at 10.” Competitors may use a stick horse that Mr. Klein provides or may bring their own “if they think he’s faster than ours.” The admission fee for all over age 7 is $5; those 7 and under enter free; and the fee for children who compete is $10. All children who sign up to compete receive “a bag full of
goodies” with their contestant number. All proceeds benefit Zachary Rotary Club. For more information, or to help sponsor this event, please call Mr. Klein at 225-978-5104.
Saturday, October 5: The Pink Fascinator Tea, a Breast Cancer Awareness Soiree. Sponsor: The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Metropolitan Baton Rouge Chapter, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Guest speaker: Oncologist Dr. Constance Blunt. “Our mission is to advocate on behalf of Black women and girls to promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education, and economic empowerment…to address the health disparities and inequalities among African Americans in the Metropolitan Baton Rouge area by educating the community on the importance of screenings, early diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer.” Place: Milton J. Womack Ballroom, 6201 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge. Time: noon to 2 p.m. Light hors d’oevres. Tickets: $30 at eventbrite.
EVERY SATURDAY IN OCTOBER—
October 5, 12, 19, and 26: The Corn Maze at Burden will open from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Night Maze will take place only on the 26th, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Enjoy the maze, sunflower fields, the petting farm, a hayride, picking satsumas, climbing a hay mountain, exploring the corn crib, playing gargantuan team games, and picking a pumpkin to take home. Presale tickets only; go to https:// bit.ly/CornMaze24. Location: The LSU
AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden, 4560 Essen Lane, just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge.
EVERY SUNDAY IN OCTOBER— October 6, 13, 20, and 27: Angola Prison Rodeo and craft show also features inmate bands, pony rides, and carnival games. To order tickets, which are $20, call 225-6352030 or 225-655-2607, Monday through Friday, or visit the Angola Prison Website.
Tuesday, October 8: Clothes Closet in Clinton. Every second and fourth Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Blessed by Grace and the East Feliciana Drug and Alcohol Awareness Council invite the community to visit the Clothes Closet at the Council’s office, 12080 Marston Street. Please use the side entrance. This is an opportunity for those in need to find essential items. For more information, please call 225-663-0696.
Wednesday, October 9: Hundred Acre Wine Dinner Pairings at the St. Francisville Inn, 5720 Commerce Street, St. Francisville. Call the inn, 225-6356502, and ask for Larry to book your spot. Only 30 spots available. $450 a person.
Wednesday, October 9, and Every Second Wednesday: “Homeschool Hangout” at Audubon Regional Library’s Clinton Branch. Time: 11 a.m. Address: 11023 Bank Street. Come in and sign up today to network with library staff and other homeschoolers. Learn about upcoming events and resources the library offers. Make new friends, enjoy activities, and discover how the library can support your educational journey! Call 225-683-8753.
Thursday, October 10, at noon through Saturday, October 12, at 1 p.m.: Restored, Refreshed, Renewed Ladies Retreat is a transformative Christian retreat designed specifically for women who have experienced abuse, loss, and trauma. Our mission is to provide a safe and welcoming space for these women to come together and find healing and restoration in their lives. Place: “The Hill at Saint Francisville, 15379 Highway 10. Contact eventbrite to register.
Friday, October 11: Sugar Shaker International Party Band, Downtown Live Concert Series, 4608 Virginia Street in Downtown Zachary. A top 10 party band in the U.S., Sugar Shaker is sure to bring a good time to downtown Zachary! Gather at the Gazebo for live music, dancing in the streets, local food trucks, art vendors, a cotton candy station, and more fun for all! The concert is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., so clock out of work and into Downtown Live at the Gazebo in Zachary.
Saturday, October 12: Help Create Happy Tales for Happy Tails! Is there room in your home and your heart for one more? Stop by Happy Tails dog adoption day at Tractor Supply, 7327 Highway 61 in St. Francisville. Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. But no need to wait! Call or email Michelle Hamilton, Happy Tail Rescue, for details about the dogs now looking for homes: 225-245-4123 or thehappytailrescue@ outlook.com.
Saturday, October 12: Enjoy a Morning Birding Walk with a Baton Rouge Audubon Society guide at Audubon State Historic Site, the park where John Audubon himself once birded. Preregistration is required. For times and information, please contact the park at 225-635-3739. Location: 11788 Highway 965, St. Francisville.
Saturdays, October 12 and October 26: Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders will exhibit its model train collection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3406 College Street in Jackson, behind the Republic of West Florida Museum. No admission fee. For further information, or to book space at no charge for a birthday party, please email maczilla1@bellsouth.net or call 713-858-9251.
October 15, third Tuesdays: The East Feliciana Drug and Alcohol Awareness Council’s monthly meeting takes place at the EFDAA Council office, 12080 Marston Street in Clinton. Time: 5 p.m. This meeting is open to the public. Please use the side entrance. For more information, please call 225-663-0696 or email secretaryefdaac@outlook.com.
BUSINESS DIRECTORY | CLASSIFIEDS
Experience Labor Workers Needed in the Felicianas call 225-955-7584
HIRING. Cashier and Kitchen help needed. 5am2pm. Apply in person at TMC Concessions, 4347 High Street, Zachary (Next to Chris’s Specialty Meats) or call (225) 2865744. MISCELLANEOUS/ ITEMS FOR SALE Cross Creek Cowboy Church. Sundays breakfast 9:30, service 10:30. 21160 Plank Road, Zachary. Come as you are. Crosscreekcowboychurch.com
