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Joseph Larson Vincent

August 13, 1941
~ January 4, 2020

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Joseph Larson Vincent, 78, who died Saturday, January 4, 2020 at Abbeville General Hospital. He will be laid to rest at LeBlanc Community Cemetery with Deacon William “Billy” Vincent officiating the services.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Saturday, January 11, 2020 from 9:00 AM until time of services.
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.

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Brad Prudhomme has been named interim superintendent of the Vermilion Parish School System.

Prudhomme named interim Superintendent of Vermilion Parish schools

During last night’s special meeting, the Vermilion Parish School Board voted Brad Prudhomme as the interim Superintendent of schools in the parish after Jerome Puyau stepped down once reaching a settlement with the school board in December 2019. Puyau will still be a consultant for the school board until September of this year.
Prudhomme is also the school district’s Supervisor of Child Welfare and Attendance and will now be Superintendent from now until September, unless he decides to apply again in September and is chosen to be the permanent Superintendent.
Paul Hebert was another choice for the position but did not have enough board votes. Though it may not have sat well with the other board members who voted for Hebert (Chris Gautreaux, Jason Roy and Kristy Hebert), President Kibbie Pillette stated that this is just for roughly seven months until the position is open for a permanent and until then, Prudhomme will be interim.
Charlotte Detraz, who called to vote for Prudhomme, was backed by Dr. David Dupuis, Laura LeBeouf, Dale Stelly and Pillette, who assured everyone he would never vote to tie.
In a 5-3 vote, Prudhomme looks forward to the responsibility and said his goal will be to focus on the positive things on bringing the school unity together. “Working for this school board for over 30 years, I am excited to begin with the most important thing on the list, bringing everyone together,” he said. “Hope will be the main focus as well as rebuilding our infrastructure of schools, finances and technology.”
Prudhomme said he looks forward to helping everyone unite so that the school system could thrive.

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This painter is trying to remove the black paint on the marble statue. He did not have much luck Monday morning.

St. Therese statue spray painted; Cash reward being offered

The Abbeville Police Department is searching for the person or persons who spray painted the St. Therese Statue on the grounds of St. Therese Catholic Church in Abbeville.
The statue was placed at the church in 1950.
The vandalism occurred over the weekend.
The graffiti painted on the statue is a five-star pentagram with the word “Satan” spray painted underneath. Someone also painted a sword on the St. Therese statue. A financial reward is being offered to anyone who knows who did this to the St. Therese statue.
Anyone who has information, can contact the Abbeville Police Department at 893-2511.

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Interviews begin Monday for Abbeville High's new head football coach

Seven have applied

The interview process is underway for the new head football coach for Abbeville High School.
The interviews began Monday and will conclude on Tuesday.
Seven people are applying for the position.
Abbeville Principal Dr. Janet Guerrino and assistant principal Phillip Freeman, along with other Abbeville High teaching staff, began interviews for the head football coaching job on Monday.
The committee is expected to interview four on Monday and three Tuesday.
A new head coach is expected to be named later this month.
The names of the candidates range from two from Vermilion Parish, one from Church Point and at least two who are coaching in Lafayette Parish.
The new head coach will be replacing Kevin Kern, who had been the head coach for three years. At the end of this season, Dr. Guerrino told Kern that she wanted the football program to go in a different direction.
Kern has since been transferred to J.H. Williams Middle School.

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Kevin Fouquier posted a 21-4 record at VC his two years he was the head coach. On Monday he resigned from the job.

Fouquier resigns as VC head football coach

Vermilion Catholic is now in need of a new head football coach.
On Monday, VC head coach Kevin Fouquier resigned as the head football coach.
Fouquier decided to go back into the private work force.
Fouquier had been the head coach for two years. He has a two year record of 21-4, including a district title this year. His teams have reached at least the second round of the Division IV playoffs each year.The search will begin soon for a new head coach.

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This home located behind Park Restaurant in Abbeville is the most expensive house for sale in Vermilion Parish. The house is listed for $699,900.

House Real Estate Market Strong in Vermilion Parish

25 percent more homes sold in 2019

The real estate business in Vermilion Parish was strong in 2019, based on the data from the Realtors association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Services (MLS).
James Noel Jr. of Sunrise Realty in Abbeville provided the Meridional with numbers of last year’s real estate market in Vermilion Parish.
The sale of single family detached dwellings (not counting mobile homes) were up 25 percent from a year ago. According to MLS, 360 homes sold in Vermilion Parish in 2019. Last year there were 275 homes.
There is no surprise where most sales took place in 2019.
The Maurice area had the most increase in home sales in 2019, while the Abbeville area had the second-highest amount of sales.
There were 141 homes sold in the Maurice area last year, or twice as many as the year before, according to MLS. Most of those homes were in or around the Village of Maurice. Gabriel Gardens and Vincent Trace Subdivisions, which are located in the Village, each had 29 new homes sold. Picard Farms, also in the Village, had 22 new homes sold.
Noel said he is not surprised by where people want to live.
“Lafayette people are moving south,” said Noel. “When it flooded in Lafayette (2016), people were looking to escape the flooding. They saw the Maurice and Abbeville areas had the high ground, plus, Vermilion Parish has great public schools. Those two things make for a great place to live.”
Noel expects the Maurice building explosion to continue as the Village expands its infrastructure but it is yet to be determined how the school system will accommodate the increase of students.
The Abbeville area, which extends near the communities of Meaux, Esther, Perry and north east along La. Hwy 338 as well as the city itself, had 137 homes sold.
There were 34 homes sold in Kaplan, 29 in Erath, and five in Gueydan in 2019.
When the parish flooded twice because of storm surges from hurricanes 10 years ago, everyone migrated to anywhere north, said Noel. But when the rains of 2016 came and flooded homes throughout South Louisiana, people are now more selective with where they want to live, Noel added.
“Now, the home buyer is searching for a place that has good drainage,” said Noel. “It is not about just living in the northern part of the parish.”
The average price of homes sold in the parish was $170,000, which is $17,000 more than a year ago.
The highest price home sold in 2019 was for $750,000 on Woodlawn Road, near the Woodlawn Bridge.
The average marketing time in Vermilion Parish for 2019 was 110 days, compared to 120 days in 2018.
Today, there are 149 homes for sale and an additional 29 currently pending in Vermilion Parish.
The Abbeville area has the most homes for sale with 68, and the Maurice area has 37. Kaplan and Erath each have 17 homes for sale.
If you are looking to buy a home in Vermilion, 56 homes are selling with a price tag between $100,000 and $200,000.
There are 27 homes for sale under $100,000 and 46 houses with an asking price between $200,000 to $300,000.
Vermilion Parish has 13 homes for sale in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and 11 that cost more than $400,000.
There are no $1 million homes for sale as of Friday. The most expensive home for sale is $699,900, and it’s located at 204 North Henry Street (behind Park Restaurant, near the Vermilion River) in Abbeville.
“2019 was a good year for real estate in Vermilion Parish,” said Noel. “We expect the trend will continue in 2020.”

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Vermilion Parish School Board will name interim superintendent on Monday

The Vermilion Parish School Board is having a special meeting Monday to name the new interim superintendent.
The meeting gets underway at 6 p.m.
An interim superintendent will run the day to day operations of the school system until a new permanent superintendent is named.
The board has to name an interim superintendent because former superintendent Jerome Puyau stepped down as the superintendent last month. Puyau is still on the school system’s payroll for the next nine months as a consultant to the new superintendent.
Assistant Superintendent Paul Hebert has been acting as the interim superintendent off and on throughout 2019.
When asked if Hebert will be named as the interim superintendent, new board president Kibbie Pillette said, “That is up to the board.”

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Dylan Joseph Touchet and Natalie Blair Choplin

Natalie Blair Choplin & Dylan Joseph Touchet announce their engagement

Couple plan to exchange vows at St. Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church in Abbeville

Mr. and Mrs. Chad Choplin and Mr. and Mrs. Kim Touchet are pleased to announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter and son, Miss Natalie Blair Choplin of Lafayette, LA to Dylan Joseph Touchet of Maurice, LA.
Natalie is the granddaughter of Mr. Pierre Choplin and the late Mrs. Barbara Leger Choplin of Duson, Louisiana, Ms. Nan Hadaway of Lafayette, Louisiana and the late Mr. Leslie Charles Broussard of Lafayette, Louisiana.
She is a 2012 graduate of Comeaux High School and a 2016 graduate of Louisiana State University where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences Degree. She is also a 2019 graduate of Mississippi College with a Master of Science in Biology, Medical Sciences. She is currently employed at Lafayette Bone and Joint Clinic in Lafayette, LA.
Dylan is the son of Kim and Jodie Touchet of Maurice, LA and the grandson of Mrs. Eurice Guidry Touchet and the late Mr. Eldes Joseph Touchet of Abbeville, LA, Mrs. Sonja Mayard Gaspard and the late Mr. Carroll Joseph Gaspard of Abbeville, LA.
The groom graduated from North Vermilion High School in 2011. He attended Louisiana State University and University of Louisiana at Lafayette and earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Master of Business with a concentration in Healthcare Administration. He is currently employed at Precision Rehabilitation in Abbeville, LA.
The couple plan to exchange their vows during a ceremony on Saturday, February 1 at St. Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church in Abbeville, LA.

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Mary Helen Baudoin

A memorial service will be conducted for Helen Baudoin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday February 15, 2020, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Delcambre with a rosary at 9:30 am. A gathering will begin at 9:00 am. Following the Mass, a reception will be held at the Vanderbilt Hall across from the church.
At the age of 95, following a brief illness, Mary Helen Faulk Baudoin known to all as Helen, Aunt Helen, or Maw-maw slipped peacefully into eternal rest with the Lord on Monday, December 23, 2019. In the days before her passing she was surrounded by her beloved family at The Carpenter House Hospice in Lafayette. Helen born to Alene and Calphe Faulk in Kaplan in 1924 was the youngest and last surviving of thirteen children.
As a young woman, Helen moved to New Iberia where she worked as a telephone operator and met her future husband, Wilmer J. Baudoin, Sr. Married in 1958, the couple settled permanently in Delcambre where they set up a home and raised two children, Will and Jamie.
Helen lived in Delcambre for nearly 60 years. Well situated on Highway 14 her home served as a gathering place for family and friends. Hot coffee, a warm smile and friendly conversation were always a staple. A devoted servant of Christ, she worshipped dutifully at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, attending mass nearly every day of the week. In addition to daily attendance at mass, Helen volunteered for the 5:00am holy hour time slot when Our Lady of the Lake started an adoration chapel.
Helen was a devoted and loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, niece, cousin, and sibling. She was very proud of and carried an immense love for her family. Nothing brought Helen more joy than spending time with her gathered family. She spent countless hours cooking and preparing for her company.
Helen was known for her sharp, witty, yet kind sense of humor. She touched everyone she met with her joyous spirit. Her wry smile, knowing wink, laugh, and the sound she made when she hugged you with boundless love, will always be remembered and dearly missed.
Helen was the beloved wife of the late Wilmer J. Baudoin, Sr., devoted mother of Jaime Baudoin, Wilmer J. Baudoin, Jr. and his wife Cindi, all of Delcambre, loving "Maw Helen" to her grandchildren: Lindsay Sonnier, her husband Ryan, Kyle Baudoin, his wife Sarah, Britlyn Delahoussaye and Luke Baudoin; and her great-grandson, Franiu Baudoin.
Helen’s family requests that those who wish to celebrate her life do so by donating, in her name, to St. Joseph’s Hospice-The Carpenter House or The American Cancer Society.
To view the obituary and to share memories of Mrs. Baudoin, please visit her memorial page at www.evangelinefuneralhome.com.

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Vermilion Today

Abbeville Meridional

318 N. Main St.
Abbeville, LA 70510
Phone: 337-893-4223
Fax: 337-898-9022

The Kaplan Herald

219 North Cushing Avenue
Kaplan, LA 70548