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November 22, 1965 ~ July 24, 2020

“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” 2 Corinthians 5:8

ABBEVILLE — A Christian Burial for Robert Cleoper (Bobby) Scott, 54, will be at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 8, 2020, at Vincent Funeral Home – Abbeville with Rev. Arthur Johnson officiating. Interment will follow in St. Paul Cemetery, 515 Jacqulyn St., Abbeville. Honorary pallbearers will be Rennie Scott, Keith Scott, Herman Ricky Scott, Wilbert Conaway, Mann Ball, and Wayne Hooper.  
Robert Cleoper (Bobby) Scott was born in Kilmarnock, Virginia to the union of Elizabeth T. and Herman L. Scott of Remo, Virginia. Bobby answered the Lord’s call home to his eternal resting place on Friday, July 24, 2020. Bobby was a resident of Abbeville for over 20 plus years. Bobby loved making people laugh and helping others. He was a gentle giant that loved to laugh and always had a smile on his face. He never met a stranger and was selfless and humble in lending a hand to anyone in need.   
He is survived by his loving wife, Grace Scott of Abbeville; three children, Shelly Charles Doucette, Charlander Briggs and Sharell Charles, all of Abbeville; thirteen grandchildren; three brothers, Keith Scott (Kerrie) of Richmond, VA, Herman Rickey Scott (Sandra) of Whitestone, VA, and Beverly Rennie Scott of Remo, VA; one sister. Dinah Lee “Dee” (Wayne) Hooper of Remo, VA; aunts, Mary Irene Scott Dawson (Walter) of Kilmarnock, VA, Estelle Scott of Kilmarnock, VA, Joanna Taylor of Callao, VA, Connie Scott of Baltimore, MD, and Pauline Scott Landry of Lafayette, LA; three uncles,  Robert Lee (Connie) Scott of Baltimore, MD, Loren E. Scott of Abbeville, LA, and William A. (Joanna) Taylor of Callao, VA; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
He is preceded in death by his paternal grandfathers, Doctor Loren Scott and Clarence Taylor; maternal grandparents, Grace Taylor and Mary Lizzy Scott; one grandchild; and numerous uncles, aunts, and cousins.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., Abbeville on Saturday, August 8, 2020, from 9:00 AM until time of services.  
 The family would like to extend a special thanks to the staff at Abbeville General Hospital and first responders.
“In order to help keep the community safe we will honor the July 13, 2020 Louisiana Mandates. All families and their guests are required to wear a face covering while at the funeral home. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.”
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.

The Vermilion Parish School Board will decide if they want to interview or not interview the three candidates who applied for the open superintendent position.
The meeting, tonight, begins at 6 o’clock in the Charles Campbell Annex Building at Central Office.
One of the first things on the agenda is to decide to interview the three candidates or not interview. If they vote not to interview the candidates, they can move forward and vote on naming a new superintendent if it is on the agenda.
The application process was closed last week, and only three applied for the job. All three also work in the Vermilion Parish School System.
School Board Kibbie Pillette said there had been a rumor floating around that the school board had already made up its mind about interviewing or not interviewing.
“No decision has been made,” said Pillette. “That will be the first thing on the agenda. We will decide at the meeting.”
In the past, Vermilion Parish school boards had always interviewed the candidates.
The Abbeville Meridional submitted the question, “Would you like to interview the candidates for the superintendent position?” to all eight school board members.
Three school board members responded by saying yes.
“Yes, all candidates should be interviewed in public so that anyone that is interested can reach out to school board members with their questions and concerns about each candidate,” said School Board member Chris Gautreaux. “Washington politics have made it’s way to Vermilion Parish. I don’t want to control anyone. I just want what is right to be done for the parish kids and the employees of this parish.”
School Board member Jason Roy said, “It is our duty to do due diligence in regards to such an important decision. This appointment will set the morale of our entire system; a morale that in my opinion is at an embarrassing low level in relation to our system’s high ranking. Now more than ever, we need a ‘real leader’, someone who can help mend the tethered fabric of our system. We need to conduct full blown interviews as we have real questions that must be answered.”
School Board member Kristy Hebert said, “Of course I want to interview the candidates.”

Who are the applicants?

The applicants are Brad Prudhomme, Tommy Byler and Paul Hebert.
Prudhomme is the interim superintendent today for the parish and has been working in the parish school system for 37 years.
He has taught at Erath Middle, J.H. Williams Middle School and Henry High.
In 2004, he was the assistant principal at J.H. Williams Middle School.
From 2007 to 2020, he was the supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance for the school district.
This past January, he was named as the interim superintendent.
Byler is the principal at North Vermilion High School where he has been since 2015.
In 2018, he was named the Louisiana High School Principal of the Year.
Prior to 2015, he was the assistant principal at NVHS for a year. He has 28 years in education, 22 of that as a teacher. He spent 16 of those 22 years at Erath High School.
Hebert is the assistant superintendent in the parish. He has held that position since 2013.
He has 18 years in administration and 10 years as a teacher.
He was the principal at Kaplan Elementary and Eaton Park Elementary before being named as the assistant superintendent under former superintendent Jerome Puyau.
All three are expected to be at tonight’s school board meeting.

It looks like the start of high school football has been pushed back by at least a month.
The LHSAA has pushed back the start of its football season until Oct. 8. LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine sent out a memo to member schools on Wednesday that includes updated calendars for all its fall sports.
Kaplan head coach Stephen Lotief said, "At least we have a clue. We can make a plan to be ready for that date even though I guess it is subject to change."
The dates listed for football are open-ended and do not include dates for championship games. Also of note in the memo is a Sept. 8 start date for the regular volleyball season to begin. An Aug. 31 start to the regular season remains for cross country and swimming.
“I am excited,” said AHS head coach Roderick Moy, “We now have a realistic date to start.”
LHSAA fall sports seasons were scheduled to begin the week of Aug. 24 with jamborees for both volleyball and football. The regular season all sports, including swimming and cross country, was scheduled to begin on Aug. 31.
The decision is the latest change during a tumultuous year that saw the COVID-19 pandemic force the LHSAA to suspend all spring sports in mid-March before canceling them in May. Last week, Alabama and Louisiana were the only states in the National Federation of High Schools' southern region that had not announced some delay in their fall sports programs.
Throughout the summer, the LHSAA has pledged its commitment to conducting a safe return for fall sports seasons while adhering to state and CDC guidelines.
Erath football coach Eric LeBlanc read the email sent by Bonnie. He was not surprised by the LHSAA pushing back the start date.
"At least now we have a date," said LeBlanc. "We will practice three days a week and take it slow. Oct. 8 is two months away, which is a long time."
North Vermilion head football coach Brett Blakey said he received the news with, "Cautious Optimism."
Blakey said, "It all depends on what the governor does at the end of August, but we will be prepared to play on Oct. 8"
VC head football coach Broc Prejean said the coaches now have a "concrete" date as to when the season will begin.
"I am excited and relieved to get some more concrete dates as we all knew Sept. 4 was unrealistic," said "Prejean. "It'll be fun and challenging to manipulate practice plans, workouts, preparation, and a few curveball activities to keep the kids motivated and engaged. We are following that Coach O mentality of let us know when and where and we will be ready."
(The Advocate newspaper contributed to this story)

MAURICE — The lobby for the Village of Maurice City Hall will reopen on Thursday Aug. 6.
“Our operations will be limited due to COVID-19 impact,” Maurice Mayor Wayne Theriot said, “so we ask everybody’s understanding and cooperation.”
Maurice City Hall closed on July 27 due to possible COVID-19 exposure.
“We ask for your prayers for our employees and families who are/were affected by this virus,” Theriot said.
Theriot reminds those who need to visit city hall, or anywhere in public, to follow guidelines from Gov. John Bel Edwards’ current Phase II order.
“Please wear a mask and practice social distancing when out in public,” Theriot said.