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The Annual Christmas parade in Abbeville will kick off on Saturday, December 8 at 6 p.m. Pictures with Santa will follow at the Magdalen Square Gazebo.
“This year, there are a few new developments we are excited about this year” Francis Plaisance says “We will have carolists performing during the parade as well as in the square with a few other exciting new things.”
Super 1 Foods will have chocolates and cookies at the square for the public to enjoy. There will also be a marching band this year.
Anyone who is interested in entering the parade, there is no entry fee. Lineup will be at Comeaux Park. Please call Francis Plaisance at 652-0646 to enter for the parade.
The route is as follows: Beginning at Jim’s Tire to Vermilion Street, Left on Vermilion to Washington Street, Left onto Washington, then ending at the track at Jim’s Tire.
The event is sponsored by the city of Abbeville and presented by the Louisiana Cattle Festival Association.
“The weather threat is expected to be over by the time the parade begins and we look forward to seeing you.”

Vermilion Parish Sheriff Mike Couvillon and the FBI are urging residents to be mindful of an automated FBI phone scam that is circulating in our area where residents are advised that they owe taxes, their homes are under surveillance and that arrest warrants have been issued for their arrest.

THIS IS A SCAM

Sheriff Couvillon says the public should be aware that the FBI does not call private citizens threatening arrest or requesting money and furthermore citizens should never give out unsolicited request for personal information to callers that you do not know.
Individuals receiving such calls can file a complaint through the FBI”s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.IC3.gov
Finally, Sheriff Couvillon says that a person can avoid becoming the victim of a scam by following a few simple steps.
1) Always be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls.
2) Never give money or personal information to someone with whom you don’t have ties and did not initiate contact.
3) Trust your instincts: if an unknown caller makes you feel uncomfortable or says things that don’t sound right, hang up.

There is nothing frightful expected when it comes to the weather this evening, leaving a delightful time for those planning to attend Abbeville’s Annual Christmas Stroll.
The event will take place in Historic Downtown Abbeville from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“This is the 19th year that we do the Christmas Stroll,” Abbeville Main Street Manager Charlene Beckett said. “It’s an event for people to come downtown, stroll and look at our beautiful Christmas lights.
“And it’s a chance to go into our stores and visit with people.”
Participating in this year’s Stroll will be Abbey Players, Abbeville Rotary Club, Abbeville United Methodist Church, Bank of Abbeville, Brasseux’s Hardware, City of Abbeville, the Caldwell House, Dupuy’s Oyster Shop, the Depot at Magdalen Place, First Baptist Church of Abbeville, Gulf Coast Bank, Phil’s Boys & Girls Wear, Piazza Office Supply, Radio Shack, Sam Guarino Blacksmith Shop and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
People attending tonight’s Stroll can pick up a Stroll card in Magdalen Square or from any of the participating merchants to be eligible for the Gift Basket Giveaway. Cards must be stamped by each of the merchants and once completed returned to Magdalen Square for the drawing that will be held at 8:15 p.m.
There will be a live Nativity Scene and petting zoo at First Baptist Church. The Grinch will be at the Caldwell House. Santa Claus will be making appearances at Abbeville City Hall and Gulf Coast Bank. Members of the Rotary Club will be handing out pop corn, while Abbeville General will help keep people warm by serving hot chocolate.
A staple of the Christmas Stroll is the introduction of the city’s official Christmas Ornament. This year’s ornament, designed by local artist Jeannie Comeaux, features the Rice Mill. It is available for $16 and can be purchased at the Depot or Abbeville City Hall. This year’s ornament is the 16th in a series that dates back to 2003 and has featured landmarks from around the city.
“I think it’s absolutely beautiful,” Beckett said of the ornament.
Vermilion Parish honor bands performing in Magdalen Square.
Also in the Square will be miniature Christmas Village. Councilman Brady Broussard Jr. brought the idea to Beckett last year.
“This works so well during the Christmas season in Foley, Alabama,” Broussard said. “I hoped it could enhance our existing Christmas decorations in the downtown area. I photographed and measured the Christmas village in Foley, hoping we might be able to start small and add to it over time.”
Wayne Touchet built five of the houses and Chris Graciana of the Abbeville Fire Department built the fire station. Broussard and Touchet each sponsored one of the houses, which are also sponsored by Keep Abbeville Beautiful and the Abbeville Garden Club and the Sam Guarino Blacksmith Shop board.
“Of course, beautification and projects such as this work better in a public-private partnership and that’s what this village represents,” Broussard said. “For a $400 donation, a miniature Christmas building can be constructed. The finished village you see now in Magdalen Square was painted beautifully with help from the Arts Council and volunteers. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful city as ours in Christmas season with our white lights on the historic buildings and in the towering oaks in Magdalen Square. This Christmas village will be a treat for children, throughout the Christmas season, in Magdalen Square.
“The six village pieces you see this year, is a start to what will hopefully grow over time.

MAURICE — It may not be the most exciting part, but proper infrastructure is a key aspect of any community’s growth.
For the Village of Maurice, growth, especially residentially, has been astronomical in the last few years.
Making sure infrastructure can sustain Maurice’s growth well into the future, officials broke ground Thursday morning on a wastewater treatment facility. That new facility, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020, will be located on Beau Road.
“We’re the fifth fastest growing community in all of Louisiana,” Maurice Mayor Wayne Theriot said Thursday morning. “That growth necessitates us to improve our infrastructure for water and sewer.
“Hopefully this will be able to service us for many years to come.”
Helping to make this possible is $8.2 million through the USDA Water & Waste Disposal Loan Program.
Dr. Carrie Castille, Louisiana State Director for Rural Development for the USDA, said the USDA appreciates the role it has played in helping Maurice properly expand.
“We have a long-standing history working with the Village of Maurice,” Dr. Castille said before the groundbreaking. “We had a project in 2008 and project in ‘10. We are funded this one in ‘17. The whole goal is to be able to provide that valuable and critical infrastructure for our rural communities.
“We’re so glad that the Village of Maurice has the confidence to come back to us. We want to see our small, rural communities grow and prosper. I think this is a testament to the work we do and the communities we serve.”
The village’s current wastewater facility came online in ‘11.
“That facility had room for expansion,” Theriot said, “but nobody could have ever imagined what we would go through the growth that we have right now.”
Officials began to take note in early ‘15. Todd Vincent of Sellers & Associates, who serves as the village’s engineer, said the pace of lots approved for new homes led to a more in-depth look at the wastewater capacity.
“Subdivisions with approximately 110 lots had been approved,” Vincent said. “There was some concern that the sewer and water treatment capacity was being approached. Capacity analysis results showed approximately 100 additional lots could be accommodated by the existing system over and above the lots that had been approved.
“Since that time, approximately 201 lots are in various stages of construction and an additional 120 lots are in the planning stage.”
Earlier this year, the Maurice Board of Aldermen voted to place a moratorium on new residential building permits. That moratorium will end once the Beau Road facility goes online.
Permits obtained before the moratorium being implemented were not affected. To accommodate that continuing development, an interim package sewer treatment plant will be built on Beau Road to provide treatment capacity for approximately 62 lots in the first phase of Picard Farms, the new development located off U.S. Hwy. 167. That package plant is expected to be online in March or April of ‘19.
Along with the new facility opening in ‘20, sewer system improvements will be part of the entire project. That includes rerouting of the pump station on the Cecil Picard Elementary School property and a significant renovation and rerouting of the Etienne Street pump station.
“This will reduce the loading to the (current) north side plant,” Vincent explained, “and provide start uploading for the new south plant (on Beau Road).”
The total sewer project budget is $9.2 million. Maurice is paying a little more than $1 million, with financing from the USDA for $8.2 million. The loan will be repaid using a combination of user fees and sales tax revenue. Helping to cover interim financing are Gulf Coast Bank and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority (LPFA).
“We want to thank the USDA for providing financing for this,” Theriot said, “as well as Gulf Coast Bank and the LPFA for providing interim financing, allowing us to do all of this.
“We want to show our appreciation to all of them.”
Once completed, this project will be something that residents and officials decades from now will appreciate, Theriot said.
“This is monumental for us,” Theriot said. “This should be able to handle the village’s growth for the next 25 years.”