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There are many great places in the world, but there’s really “no place like home.”
Casey Meador received an opportunity last week to return to a place close to his heart. 
The Vermilion Parish School System named Meador the new principal at North Vermilion High School. Meador will follow Denise Lotief, who announced her retirement earlier this month. Meador spent the past two years as principal of Rene Rost Middle School in Kaplan.
“It’s an exciting thing,” Meador said. 
Meador is undoubtedly no stranger to North Vermilion. A 2002 graduate of the school, Meador served as a teacher, coach, disciplinarian and assistant principal at NV during the nine years prior to going to Rene Rost. 
“It was hard to say no on going back,” Meador said. “My wife (Meaghan) is an
assistant (principal) at North Vermilion Middle. We have four kids. Two are going into middle school there; one is at Cecil Picard (Elementary), and the youngest one is in daycare and moving out of daycare within a year. We’re all within that North Vermilion feeder program. 
“To go back for them, and it’s home, is a no-brainer.”
That’s not to say that Meador didn’t appreciate his time at Rene Rost, a time that presented an excellent opportunity to learn.
“That was a significant move,” Meador said of what brought him to Kaplan two years ago. “Having taken over from where I was as an assistant, then having gone and served as principal, I think the details of the job are much more clear. That will allow me to do things more effectively.”
Meador values the connections he made in Kaplan as well.
“Rene Rost is amazing,” Meador said. “There is a lot of pride and tradition. To get into that and be effective can sometimes be difficult when you’re coming in from outside the town. The staff there helped me hit the ground running at all levels. Everyone bought into a vision. For two years, we really had a culture that was a positive for everybody.”
Meador wants to bring that positive culture with him back to North Vermilion.
“That’s really the goal,” Meador said. “In our day of education, with public school, charter school, private school, home school and virtual school, there are multiple choices that parents have to put their kids in the best environment to build their foundation for life. We must build and maintain a successful culture, similar to the one North Vermilion has had for many years, that competes in that world. We want to have people in our community say that they’re not going to consider something else because North Vermilion is where they want to be.”
When he graduated 23 years ago, the principal at his alma mater was not what Meador would have said he wanted to be.
“There would have been no the way,” Meador said. “It’s amazing how some things in life carry you down a path. I started in college as a business major for a year and didn’t enjoy it. Playing basketball at the time was what I knew, and it’s what I loved. That carried me into coaching and carried me down this path.”
Meador now follows in the footsteps of NV leaders that date back to Mike Guilbeaux, the principal during Meador’s time as a student. Meador knew Greg Theriot as a coach. He worked under Tommy Byler, now the superintendent in the parish, and Lotief.
“Having good leaders is important in education,” Meador said. “That is a variety of people there to take ideas from and try to build some energy out of those ideas. I took something good from each one of them.”
Byler said there is a sense of enthusiasm about what Meador brings to the role.
“As a district, we are excited to have some with knowledge of the North Vermilion community and principal experience to take over and lead our largest school in our district,” Byler said. “Casey has been a vital part of North Vermilion for many years, and I am excited to see where he will lead the school.”
Meador will be leading a school that will be different from his time there and the years that followed, specifically in terms of numbers. 
“I graduated with a class of 110,” Meador said. “At that point, the school was still 7th through 12, and we had around 500 students. Now, the school is 9th through 12th, and you’re looking at about 180 per grade level.”
However, Meador said he feels a larger student body is not a negative.
“There will always be those traditional things,” Meador said. “Now, there are more opportunities. You have more sports and opportunities because you have more teachers and students. Hopefully, you have 60 to 70% of the campus involved in some type of activity.
“That can 100% be a great thing for campus morale.”
Meador helped bring pride to the campus at Lacassine High several years ago, leading the school to an appearance in the Top 28 in basketball and a state title in track and field. In the wake of those big moments, someone asked if he would ever consider returning home to North Vermilion.
“I always said it would depend on timing and how things work out,” Meador said. “I said I would love to if the timing worked out. Through Lacassine, through coming back to North Vermilion, through going to Rene Rost, and now coming back home, the way that timing has worked out is pretty incredible.”

ERATH — Wendy and Paul Poché have been named the grand marshals for the 2025 89th Annual 4th of July Celebration. They will preside over the grand parade, which will take place on the streets of Erath at 5 p.m. on July 4th.
.Paul Poche´ of Erath is the son of Leona and Lynn Poché and one of eight siblings.
As a teenager, Paul began volunteering with the Harry Burke Carnival Shows, assisting in setting up booths, tents, and amusement rides.
His love for festivals continued into his college years at USL, where he helped set up the fireworks display.
After earning his degree from USL, Paul began a career in education, teaching industrial arts at various schools in Vermilion Parish, including South Louisiana Community College and Delcambre High School.
After 35 years of service, he retired in 2021.
Today, he manages Vermilion Farms for Rodney Savoy. Throughout his career, Paul’s commitment to public service remained steadfast—he served as a volunteer firefighter with the Erath Fire Department for 10 years and has been the Constable for Ward One for the past 25 years.
Wendy Dore´ Poché is a lifelong resident of Erath. The daughter of Lucille and M.C. Dore´, she is one of six siblings.
After graduating from Erath High School, Wendy began a 45-year career in retail, retiring earlier this year. In retirement, she proudly served as the wedding planner for her daughter Jada’s wedding to Hunter Bertrand.
The Poche´s’ connection to the 4th of July Celebration runs deep. Paul’s mother, Leona LeBlanc Poche´, was honored as Grand Marshal in 2007.
Wendy’s father, Marice “MC” Dore was named Grand Marshal in 2017.
Over the years, Paul has contributed by organizing booths and stages. He set up the fireworks display and built the floats for the Children’s Red Wagon Float Parade. Wendy began her involvement by assisting her mother-in-law, Ms. Leona, with the Tea Party honoring the annual grand marshals.
Each year, Wendy opens her home for the interview portion of the 4th of July Queens Competition. Together, Paul and Wendy are responsible for hosting the Grand Marshal’s Reception.
For over 30 years, the Pochés have actively supported the 4th of July Celebration.
Following in their parents’ footsteps, they exemplify the spirit of volunteerism and community service—values they have passed on to their two children, Brennan and Jada Poché Bertrand. The Erath 4th of July Celebration is proud to name them the 2025 Grand Marshals.
The Erath 4th of July Celebration takes place in the heart of Erath from June 30 through July 4.
The festivities center around the intersection of North Broadway and East and West Edward Streets. The event includes live music, vendor booths, and carnival rides. Unlike many other street fairs, all activities occur directly on the pavement, without surrounding fences or gates, meaning there are no entrance fees.

4th of July Celebration Grand Marshals

1975 - Billy Cannon
1976 - Henry Bernard, Sr.
1977 - Not Available
1978 - Dr. Edward LeBlanc
1979 - Not Available
1980 - J.P. Landry
1981 - Richard Dubois
1982 - Eddie Shiner
1983 - D.L. Menard
1984 - Flo Sonnier
1985 - Leon and Nell Reed
1986 - Bill Comeaux
1987 - Clevie Thibodeaux
1988 - Romona Babineaux
1989 - Les Travailleuses, Catholic Daughters, & Jr. Catholic Daughters 1990 J. Numa Broussard
1991 - 10 Area Veterans who served in Desert Storm; Howard “Duke” Reaux, Kenneth Faulk, Andrew Dozier, William H. Stout, Larry Dozier, Clayton Richard, Timmy Fletcher, Roger Trahan, Ronald Menard, & John “Dob” Toups
1992 - Rudy Lange
1993 - Dot Mergist
1994 - Ethel and Travis Kendrick
1995 - Warren A. Perrin
1996 - Sister Sonnier
1997 - Belva LeBlanc
1998 - Lee Bernard
1999 - Ada Schexnaider
2000 - Lester Champagne
2001 - Inez LeBlanc Vincent
2002 - Kelly Ruth Broussard
2003 - Roland Girouard
2004 - Gertrude Lawes Landry
2005 - Fireworks Crew
2006 - Ed and Rickey Domingues
2007 - Leona Poché
2008 - Elwood and Claudette Lacour
2009 - Weldon Granger
2010 - Henry and Doris Songe
2011 - Mark Mencacci
2012 - George Dupuis
2013 - Stacy Bodin
2014 - Elwood Paul LeBlanc
2015 - Robert B. Vincent
2016 - General Curney J. Dronet
2017 - M.C. Dore
2018 - Fr. Gayle Nunez and Monsignor Charles Dubois 2019 Terry Lancon
2020 - (Covid) No festival
2021 - Natalie and Dennis Mouton
2022 - Irene Champagne
2023 - Ronnie Lahasky
2024 - Jackie and Doug Vincent
2025 - Wendy and Paul Poche

* The following are believed to have been Grand Marshal, but we are unsure what year: Nodily Faul, Dr. Bernard Lahasky

Charity Street runs through a key part of the city of Abbeville.
However, the roadway does not belong to the city, as it is state-owned. 
That will change when the city eventually takes over Charity as part of the state’s Road Transfer Program. It’s the program that brought the streets in the downtown area under the city’s umbrella in 2023.
“We are taking Charity from the state,” Mayor Roslyn White said during last Tuesday’s Abbeville City Council meeting, “and it will become a local road.”
Part of that process is looking at enhancing safety measures on Charity Street. Grant funding will help with that planning. The city council took a step on Tuesday to accept grant funding for planning and demonstrations. The council voted 4-1 to adopt a resolution authorizing White to execute and submit all necessary documents relative to the 2024 Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program.
“Part of the advanced planning before we take the road,” White said, “is looking at safety. How can we enhance some of the pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular safety along Charity? Especially knowing that we have over 80 children who go to J.H. Williams (Middle School), who bicycle and walk to school, and don’t really have a safe way to get there.”
White said being selected for the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant allows the city to plan appropriately. The grant is for $160,000, federal highway dollars, through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“This will allow us to do some demonstration and design,” White said, “similar to what we did with downtown. We can test some concepts and figure out if there are some changes we want to make ahead of the road work that will be done on Charity Street when the state comes in to overlay the road.”
“The goal is to have a really good plan in place so that we know what we want, based on public input and feedback.”
No specific plans or timetables have been announced. 
Councilman Francis Plaisance, who rejoined the city council after winning a special election in March after previously serving from ‘06 to ‘22, represented the lone vote against the move on Tuesday. He said he is not opposed to enhancing safety but feels that the cost of taking over and then maintaining Charity Street well into the future may be too costly. 
“That concerns me about our kids and grandkids,” Plaisance said of who would be inheriting the costs.
The city council approved the Road Transfer Program, which includes Charity Street, in November 2023. 
“We don’t accept it until they (state) come in and fix the road,” White said. “At some point in the future, we will accept the road once they fix it. What we are doing is setting a standard in which we want the local road to be so that when they come in to fix it, on their dollar, they build it to the standard we require, which is a standard that holds personal safety above everything else.”

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) has confirmed Louisiana’s first human case of West Nile virus (WNV) of the 2025 mosquito season and urges all Louisianans to protect themselves from mosquito bites. This case was confirmed in an individual from Livingston Parish who was hospitalized due to complications from the infection. To protect patient confidentiality, no further information about the patient will be released.
About 1 in 150 people who are infected with WNV develop a severe illness that can affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, which may even cause paralysis or death.
West Nile virus has been actively spreading throughout Louisiana since its first detection in the state in 2002. To date in 2025, WNV activity has been confirmed in 14 parishes. In 2024, there were 57 confirmed human cases of WNV in Louisiana, including three deaths.

West Nile virus

West Nile virus is spread to people by mosquitoes and can cause mild to severe illnesses. While most people infected with West Nile virus develop no symptoms, about 20% of infected people develop West Nile fever. West Nile fever is a flu-like illness with symptoms that can include fever, headaches, body aches, nausea, and rashes.
A small percentage of infected people develop West Nile neuroinvasive disease, a severe illness that affects the central nervous system and can result in hospitalization or even death. Symptoms can include high fever, stiff neck, disorientation, muscle weakness, numbness, coma, and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks and carry the risk of death or permanent damage.
It is important to protect yourself from mosquito bites to prevent illness. People 55 years of age and older and people with certain medical conditions are at a greater risk for severe disease if they are infected.

Tips to protect yourself against mosquitoes

Wear EPA-registered mosquito repellent outdoors and always follow label instructions.
Apply repellent on exposed skin only. Do not apply under clothing or on broken skin.
Carry a travel-size repellent if you will be outdoors for an extended period.
Apply sunscreen first, insect repellent second, if you are also wearing sunscreen.
Make sure windows are tight-fitting and screens are free of holes to keep mosquitoes out.

Tips to protect your home from mosquitoes

Eliminate standing water around your home, which is where mosquitoes breed.
Turn over wheelbarrows, plastic wading pools, buckets, trash cans, children’s toys, and anything that can collect standing water.
Quickly discard or store any containers around your home to avoid accumulating water. Drill holes in standing containers to drain water quickly.
Clean roof gutters routinely. Clogged gutters can produce millions of mosquitoes annually.
Take steps to prevent water gardens and ornamental pools from stagnating (and becoming major mosquito producers), such as adding fish or aeration.
Clean bird baths weekly, as changing the water keeps it from stagnating and becoming a breeding area for mosquitoes.
Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, especially if they go unused. Be aware that mosquitoes also breed in water accumulated on pool covers.
Install or repair window screens.