RSS Feed

New Cattle Festival President Karen Guilbeau (second from left) speaks to the Abbeville City Council during Tuesday’s regular meeting. Guilbeau is joined (L-R) by Cattle Festival Vice President Victoria Bourque, 2022 Cattle Festival Queen Sydney Bertrand and 2022 Junior Cattle Festival Queen Kamille LeBlanc. Ms. Cattle Festival Queen Morgan Mooney, Deb Cattle Festival Queen Emily Guidry and Baby Cattle Festival Queen Remi Joiner also attended the meeting. The group attended to speak about the future of the festival.

Cattle Festival has new president

Tue, 01/24/2023 - 10:22am

Guilbeau ‘excited’ about helping to lead event into future

There’s always plenty of excitement surrounding the Louisiana Cattle Festival, as it is one of Abbeville’s main annual attractions.
Preparation for the 73rd Annual Cattle Festival, which will take place later this fall, is well underway.
That preparation is being led by a new face. Karen Guilbeau is the new Cattle Festival President. She takes over for Francis Plaisance, who held the role for 26 years.
“I am excited for this opportunity to work together with the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Cattle Festival and our community of Abbeville to honor the hard working Cattle Producers of our State,” Guibeau said. “I look forward to working closely with the city as we move forward with bringing the festival back to the downtown area in October of 2023.”
Guilbeau, along with newly elected Cattle Festival Vice President Victoria Bourque and Festival Secretary Marcella Davis, attended Tuesday’s Abbeville City Council meeting to share their vision for the festival.
“We are very excited to move into this next year,” Bourque said. “We have met with Mayor (Roslyn) White, and she has been very supportive of us.”
There are people backing the idea of brining the Cattle Festival back to downtown Abbeville. The event has been held at the Red Barn on Rodeo Road in recent years. The event did not take place in 2020 or ‘21, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We would love to bring it downtown,” Bourque said. “That is our goal.”
Councilman Francis Touchet Jr. said on Tuesday he is fully supportive of such a move.
“I think this council has been pretty much up front about getting this festival back here downtown,” Touchet said. “Please continue working with Mayor White and the staff that we have. We want the Cattle Festival downtown. We want people back in the downtown area. I’m just so grateful you guys will be bringing it back. We’ll do what we can to help.”
Touchet did make one request if and when the festival does make the move.
“We have to be open to the suggestions of the businesses,” Touchet said of those in the downtown area. “We have to make sure to be understanding of what those requests are.”
Bourque said that they will “absolutely” take that into consideration. She said the festival wants to help Abbeville shine.
“We’re excited to move forward,” Bourque said. “We’re excited to bring community into the festival. We want to have new, innovative ideas, while staying true to the traditions everyone knows and loves about the Cattle Festival.”
That includes strengthening bonds with producers in the cattle industry.
“We have had a very beautiful response from the public,” Bourque said, “especially cattle producers. We want to get the cattle industry more involved. That’s all the way from education on the youth front, to having trade shows for our cattle producers.
“We really want to be on the forefront of whatever our industry needs and represent them well.”
Guilbeau, has been involved with the festival for many years.
“I was involved on the other side of the Cattle Festival,” she said. “I was Ms. Cattle Festival Queen. Two of my daughters were Cattle Festival Queens. My sister was an original Dairy Festival Queen, back before it was the Cattle Festival.”
Members of the current Cattle Festival royalty also attended Tuesday’s meeting. Guilbeau said the group plays a pivotal role for the festival.
“They’re our walking billboards, 365 days a year,” she said. “They are advertising for us at other fairs and festivals. They are not only promoting our festival, but our city of Abbeville.”

American Legion member Gerald Gaspard (left) and the Post 29 honored Francis Plaisance (right) for all his hard work he did for the city of Abbeville and the Cattle Festival.

Plaisance served as the Cattle Festival president for 26 years

Tue, 01/24/2023 - 10:19am

After dedicating 26 years of being president of the Louisiana Cattle Festival, Francis Plaisance is no longer the president of the Cattle Festival.
Last month the Cattle Festival Board elected Karen Guilbeau as the new president. She was introduced at Tuesday night’s Abebville City Council Meeting.
Plaisance, meanwhile, posted something on his Facebook Page about serving as president for 26 years.
“I am very thankful for having had the opportunity, along with many volunteers and sponsors, to lead the Louisiana Cattle Festival for 26 years,” said Plaisance. “During that time we became an award winning festival, winning numerous awards, including Festival of the Year in our class seven consecutive years.
He chaired the Grand Parade for 26 years, other than two years for COVID. The parade became one of the largest festival parades in the state.
During that time, along with numerous special guests including both a Governor and Lt. Governor. The parade also had the first African American King and the first female Grand Marshal.
He had a big hand in bringing the Red Barn back to life.
This week the American Legion Vermilion Post 29 honored Plaisance
Gerald Gaspard of Post 29 gave him a certiciate that read: “In recognition and sincere appreciation of outstanding service and assistance which contributed to the advancement of The American Legion programs and activities dedicated to God and Country.”
Commander Charles Dill Jr. also commended Plaisance for many years of public service, personal ministry, devotion to the community, assistance to those in need, and for addressing and resolving the concerns of the Legionnaires of Post 29

Jim Bradshaw

Distressed dachshund knew what to do

Tue, 01/24/2023 - 9:38am

Jim Bradshaw, LSN columnist

In February 1953 a dachshund named Hugo barked out a testimony to at least one benefit of the good old days when telephone calls were placed through local operators who knew everyone in town and, some said, a lot of their business that had nothing to do with making a call.
Young squirts, say people under 50, would probably have never heard of a telephone operator without reruns of the Andy Griffith Show, in which Sheriff Andy Taylor or Deputy Barney Fife picks up the long-necked phone to ask, “Gert, get me Floyd at the barber shop.” In fact, those youngsters, and surely their children, would probably not recognize the distinctive clickety-whirr sound made by the rotary-dialed telephones that eventually ended the days of switchboards and their operators.
Those rotary phones first came into service in the 1930s, and let people make local calls directly, bypassing Gert and her cohorts. The dial service was introduced first in the bigger cities, but it cost too much at first to bring it to small communities such as Abbeville and its south Louisiana neighbors. Most of them kept their switchboard service for local calls into the 1960s, and operators handled long-distance even later.
Southern Bell entered a float in the Dairy Festival Parade in 1960, “pointing to the attributes of Direct Distance Dialing” which the Meridional said would begin in Abbeville that November. Other cities came on line for direct dial long distance about the same time. A Southern Bell ad in December 1960 said the service was available in Abbeville, Crowley, Eunice, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Iberia and Opelousas. Smaller towns got the service later. Meridional articles note, for example, that Erath got DDD in 1972. Gueydan didn’t get it until 1974.
But that was all far in the future when Hugo the Dachshund made the Meridional’s front page on Feb. 5, 1953. According to the story, the unidentified telephone operator knew exactly what to do when she answered a call and heard nothing but barking.
She knew that the telephone number belonged to Gladu Hebert’s service station, and she knew that his 2-year-old dog Hugo sometimes went to work with him.
“Hugo was barking into the telephone receiver in the service station office. That could mean but one thing — Hugo was in trouble,” Meridional writer Joe Choate reported. “The operator, knowing both Hugo and his master, buzzed the Hebert residence and told the dog’s owner of the incident.”
That’s when Gladu realized he’d accidentally locked Hugo in the station.
According to the newspaper story, “Hebert said that beyond a doubt the dachshund saw himself in a pickle and figured using the telephone was the only way out. Hugo had leaped on the desk, knocked the receiver off the hook and began to bark to make known his desire for freedom.”
Hugo was still on the desk barking into the phone when Gladu got there to rescue him.
The newspapers also carry reminders that the operators were, in effect, the first “911” responders for more serious emergencies, finding doctors in medical emergencies, summoning first responders, acting quickly when there was trouble. Their knowledge of the people and communities they served was invaluable.
We can find evidence of that in notices, published fairly frequently, like the “Card of Thanks” in the Meridional in August 1969. In this one, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Desormeaux thanked the Erath, Delcambre, and Abbeville fire departments, “all volunteer firemen, friends, and neighbors who assisted in salvaging our [service] station which was destroyed by fire.”
They also publicly thanked the telephone operator who had turned out the firemen and gave them directions.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

Bryan Golden

Integrity

Tue, 01/24/2023 - 9:26am

Bryan Golden

Integrity: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty
-Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything. - Alexander Hamilton

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you do not have integrity, nothing else matters.

People with integrity can be trusted and relied on. They will not try to take advantage of or defraud someone. Their word is their bond and their handshake is better than a contract. Integrity is an invaluable trait that enables one to stand out from the crowd.
Conversely, people with a lack of integrity risk succumbing to temptation with no frame of reference to guide them. They are susceptible to becoming embroiled in schemes that will inevitably lead to less than desirable results.
“Everyone has their price,” is a too frequently heard adage. People with integrity don’t have a price. They can not be bought off. Those who will compromise their principles for the right price don’t have any principles to compromise.
People lacking of integrity take bribes, steal, cheat, lie, and take advantage of others. They will sell themselves to the highest bidder. They have a poor self-image and little respect for themselves or others.
Integrity is priceless. Although it can be sold for pennies, no amount of money can buy it back. Once a person gives up their integrity, it’s virtually impossible to regain it. Someone who has compromised their integrity will never be fully trusted again and their motives will always be suspect.
Living with integrity is less anxiety provoking than living without it. You’ll never be embarrassed, or worse, by any of your actions. You don’t have to always look over your shoulder wondering if you will be caught or if someone will tell on you.
Maintaining your integrity isn’t necessarily the path of least resistance. You will encounter those who question the wisdom of your integrity and will argue that it’s no big deal for you to overlook it just this one time. There will be peer pressure to conform to the aberrant behavior of others.
You may be ostracized, called impractical, unrealistic, or a host of uncomplimentary names. You may be threatened with alienation and shunned. It’s important to realize that anyone who asks you to act in a manner contradictory to your integrity is self-serving and has no qualms about sacrificing you to accomplish their own objectives.
Don’t put a price tag on your integrity. It’s not for sale. Your integrity serves as a compass to keep you pointed in the right direction. When faced with choices, pick the one that is consistent with your integrity. If taking action violates your sense of what is right, don’t do it.
Don’t justify behavior you know is wrong. When someone sells out, they will excuse their actions with statements such as, “I only did it once,” “Everyone else does it,” “No one will notice,” “It wasn’t for that much,” “No one will care,” or “It doesn’t matter.”
Once you destroy your integrity, the reasoning doesn’t matter. No one cares why you have no integrity. You must hold your ground and resist any and all pressure to tarnish your integrity. It’s one of your most precious commodities.

Native American artifacts from the Morgan Mound Collection are currently on display at the Vermilion Tourist and Cultural Center on Magdalen Square, Abbeville.

Archaeologists to speak at Vermilion Historical Society

Tue, 01/24/2023 - 8:48am

The Vermilion Historical Society will present a program on local Native American culture to be given by Dr. Chip McGimsey, Louisiana’s state archaeologist and director of the Louisiana Division of Archaeology; along with Ms. Karla Oesch, MS APA, who is the collections manager of that division of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism.
Dr. McGimsey will discuss the history of the “Chenier Plain”, the “Morgan Mounds” excavation, and what has been learned about the people who inhabited the area some 1,000 to 1,200 years ago. Ms. Oesch will exhibit artifacts, including decorated pottery shards, bone tools and projectiles, and other interesting items that were recovered in the 1980s excavations of the “Morgan Mounds” by archaeologists from Harvard University. These mounds were located on Pecan Island, Vermilion Parish Louisiana.
These artifacts, known as the “Morgan Mound Collection” are owned by the Vermilion Historical Society and represent one of the largest collections of its kind in the state. The Louisiana Division of Archaeology provides safe keeping for the bulk of the collection at their facility in Baton Rouge.
Dr. McGimsey and Ms. Oesch will both be available to answer questions about the “Morgan Mounds” and Native American history and culture in general. The public is invited to attend the meeting which will be held in the Vermilion Parish Library-Abbeville this coming Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 6 p.m.

Gage Michael Cessac

Tue, 01/24/2023 - 8:43am

May 7, 2004 ~ January 21, 2023

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Gage Michael Cessac, age 18, who passed Saturday, January 21, 2023 at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. He will be laid to rest at St. Mary Magdalen Cemetery with Deacon Keith Duhon officiating the services. Pallbearers will be Chris Meaux, Zane Melancon, Jacorlin Levy, Dennis Bourgeois, Nathan Touchet and Ivan Broussard. Honorary pallbearers Jordyn Levy, Gabriel Cessac, JohnPaul Cessac, Logan Cessac James Wilson and Weston Frederick.
Gage loved to play football, fishing, his X- Box and he loved his godchild, Jordyn more than anyone in the world. He loved spending time with family and friends and will be missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his mother, Eve Touchet Cessac; one sister, Alyssa M. Cessac; maternal grandmother, Diana Touchet; his godchild, Jordyn Levy; godparents, Logan Cessac, Roxann Cessac, Chris and Faye; cousins, Gabriel, Nathan, Zoe and JohnPaul Cessac; and a host of other extended family members.
He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas Cessac; sister, Faith Angelle Cessac; maternal grandfather, Larry Touchet; paternal grandparents, Jeffery Paul and Anna Meaux Cessac; paternal great grandparents, Thomas and Leona Meaux; and great uncle, Lester Meaux.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 6:00 PM; and on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 10 a.m. until time of service.
The family would like to thank all of the staff and nurses of Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge for the loving care they provided Gage in his time of need.
In lieu of flowers the family would request donations can be made in Gage Michael Cessac’s memory to Bella Bowman Foundation, PO Box 82610, Baton Rouge, LA 70884-2610, Phone: 225-291-9499, ( HYPERLINK "mailto:info@bellabowman.org" info@bellabowman.org) or Dreams Come True of Louisiana, PO Box 1252, Youngsville, LA 70592.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

Loraine LeBouef honored during Cattlemen’s Convention

Mon, 01/23/2023 - 3:44pm

The Louisiana Cattlemen’s Convention was held January 6-8 at the historic Hotel Bentley in Alexandria, Louisiana. Loraine LeBouef, long time Cattlemen and Cattlewomen’s Association member, was recognized as Member of the Year. Pictured with Loraine and her husband, Calvin, are Lillie Thibodeaux, 2023 Vermilion Parish Cattlemen’s Queen, Calvin LeBouef, Loraine LeBouef, Eddie Thibodeaux, and Madison Thibodeaux.

Amelia Detraz works her pig, Champ, during the livestock show.

Emotional Day for Detraz

Mon, 01/23/2023 - 1:42pm

4-H livestock show turns out to be special for Kaplan High senior

Saturday was an emotional day for Amelia Detraz, a senior at Kaplan High School.
Amelia participated in the 2023 Vermilion Parish 4-H Livestock Show and Sale, held in the Cecil McCrory Exhibit Building in Abbeville.
The money generated from the sale of the livestock show goes back to the student to help pay their expenses for raising the animal.
Amelia’s first auction of the day was a 199-pound hog named Champ. A hog typically auctions for $8 to $9 a pound. However, Champ went for an incredible $43 a pound.
A group of men teamed up to purchase Amelia’s pig. As she worked her pig in the arena, she also listened to the bidding taking place.
“I was honestly so shocked,” said Amelia. “It was an emotional experience for me, knowing many people love and want to support me.”
She said the group who purchased her pig were friends with her father Mike Detraz. Eight years ago, Mike was killed when the crop duster he was flying crashed into a field in Vermilion Parish. Amelia was around eight years old when he died.
“They were very close with my father and wanted to help support me financially in honor of him,” she said.
After graduation, Amelia plans to attend McNeese State in Lake Charles and major in Natural Resources and Conservation Management.
Amelia’s day ended with the auctioning of a particular pig.
In December 2020, Vermilion Parish lost 10-year-old Kaylee Abigail McLain due to an accident.
Two years ago, Kaylee had planned to show her pig, Pearl, at Vermilion Parish 4-H Livestock Show and Annual Sale. It was going to be her first showing. Abigail was also her mentor.
Almost two months after her death, the McLain family decided to show and auction off Kaylee’s pig.
Amelia, who was friends with Kaylee, stepped up and cared for and showed Pearl.
Pearl and another donated pig raised $100,000 in pledges. The money went towards the Kaylee Abigail McLain Memorial Fund, a scholarship fund benefiting Catholic education.
Pearl had a piglet named “Fini.” Amelia raised and showed Fini in this year’s livestock show in Abbeville.
The money raised by the auction of Fini was donated to the Kaylee Abigail McLain Memorial Scholarship. Fini was auctioned off for $45 a pound and then presented back to the auction.
“Being that the McLain family helped me so much throughout my life, especially after father’s passing, I felt it was my calling and responsibility to help them in return.”
Paityn Martin, a Kaplan High senior who is friends with the McLain family, donated the proceeds of the auction of her pig to the Kaylee McLain Scholarship.
A total of $17,518 was raised for the Kaylee McLain Scholarship Fund.
Attending the auction on Saturday was Kaylee’s father, Allen McLain Jr.
“There are no words to describe it,” said McLain. “I can not give enough thanks to the community and everyone who have helped our family.”

Preston Castille, Holly Boffy and Ronnie Morris

Holly Boffy new BESE Board president

Mon, 01/23/2023 - 1:38pm

Abbeville’s own Holly Boffy was elected president of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday morning.
The vote was 6-5, which is unusually close for the board's top job.
Boffy will hold the job for 2023 and she succeeds Jim Garvey, of Metairie.
“I am humbled by and grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity,” said Boffy. “My goal is to unite our Board and our state in serving our students through incredible education opportunities. Our schools are the only place some of our students find hope. We owe them our best.”
She is one of three BESE members who is serving their final year because of term limits.
In addition, Gov. John Bel Edwards' three appointees are expected to be replaced next year after a new governor is elected.
That means six of BESE's 11 members could be new to the board in 2024.
Boffy is principal of W. D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center.
She is a former state teacher of the year.
Preston Castille, who lives in Baton Rouge, was elected vice-president and Ronnie Morris, another Baton Rouge resident, was elected secretary-treasurer.
Castille was nominated to be president but he declined.
Aside from Boffy those voting for her were Castille, Belinda Davis, of Baton Rouge; Morris; Thomas Roque, of Alexandria and Doris Voitier, of Metairie.
Voting "no" were Ashley Ellis, of Monroe; Garvey; Sandy Holloway, Thibodaux; Michael Melerine, Shreveport and Kira Orange Jones, New Orleans.

Debra Toups

Mon, 01/23/2023 - 12:04pm

ABBEVILLE – Funeral Services for Ms. Debra Toups, 64, was held at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, January 20, 2023 at David Funeral Chapel of Erath with Fr. Clinton Sensat officiating. Interment followed at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery.
Visitation was held at David Funeral Home of Erath on Friday, January 20, 2023 beginning at 12:30 p.m. until the time of the services.
A native of Ocilla, GA and a resident of Delcambre, Ms. Debra died at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at the Calcutta House. Ms. Debra enjoyed spending time with her friends, family, and especially her grandchildren.
She is survived by three sons, Johnny Shade Abshire of Erath, Spence Bourque and his wife Samantha of Loreauville, and Sham Paul Bourque and his wife Lauren of Meaux; a daughter, Kristian Landry and her husband Steve of Erath; a brother, Randy Toups and his wife Becky; and eight grandchildren, Breyton LeBlanc, Kai Landry, Kaitlyn Gunter, Karli Bourque, Bronx Landry, Emmie Roze Landry, Bowen Landry, and Lily Bourque.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Neotis and Doris Hilton Toups, and her uncle Eudice “Sham” Toups.
Serving as pallbearers were members of her family: Steve Landry, Johnny Shade Abshire, Spence Bourque, Sham Paul Bourque, Breyton Leblanc, Kai Landry. Honorary pallbearers: Randy Toups, Bronx Landry, and Bowen Landry.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to her sister-in-law, Becky Toups, for the love and care she showed to Ms. Debra throughout her life, especially the last few months. They would also like to extend a special thanks to her nieces, Chyna Gaspard and Nikki Robicheaux, for providing a final resting place, joining her brother Christopher Mark Toups.
You may sign the guest register book and express condolences online at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of Erath at 209 E. Putnam St. (337)937-0405 will be handling the arrangement.

RSS Feed

Cattle Festival has new president

Plaisance served as the Cattle Festival president for 26 years

Distressed dachshund knew what to do

Integrity

Archaeologists to speak at Vermilion Historical Society

Gage Michael Cessac

Loraine LeBouef honored during Cattlemen’s Convention

Emotional Day for Detraz

Holly Boffy new BESE Board president

Debra Toups

Pages

Vermilion Today

Abbeville Meridional

The Kaplan Herald

Site Links