Presorted StandardU.S. Postage

PAIDHattiesburg, ,MS 39402

Permit No. 142

A publication

for all Iberville

residents by

your government

leadersDECEMBER 2016

Design work on a new Iberville Council on Aging (COA) Center in Maringouin will begin in January, and the new center is expected to be completed by the summer of 2018, said Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Jr.

The center will be located next to the existing COA Center at the corner of Wheelock Lane and La. Hwy. 77, on a three-acre tract of land donated to the parish by the Town of Maringouin for the new center. "This will be a new $1 million facility to replace the existing COA Center, which is a modular building," Ourso said.

The walking track at the site will remain, but the modular building will be removed from the site once the new building is operational. "This building is aging, and we want to provide a permanent COA facility for our north Iberville senior citizens," Ourso explained. Construction is tentatively set to begin in the fall of 2017.

New Council on Aging center coming to Maringouin

UPCOMING EVENTSSteel Magnolias theater production - Jan. 13 & 14, Plaq. Civic Center

Martin Luther King Holiday - Monday, Jan. 16

Krewe of Cypress Mardi Gras Ball – Feb. 11, Plaq. Civic Center

Krewe of Okeanos Mardi Gras Ball – Feb. 18, Plaq. Civic Center

Krewe de Roi Mardi Gras Ball – Feb. 25, Plaq. Civic Center

Krewe of Comogo Night Parade – Feb. 26, Plaq. Civic Center

Mardi Gras holiday - Tuesday, Jan. 28

More info: www.visitiberville.com

Manchac Road to remain closed for drainage improvementsA portion of Manchac Road in east Iberville will remain closed for

approximately 12 months as the parish works to improve drainage in the area, and also works with FEMA on funding repair of the road.

The road has was severely damaged in the devastating flood of August 2016, as historic rainfalls resulted in water flooding the road and

approximately 40 area residences. The parish had to cut the road in three places to allow flood waters to recede back into Bayou Manchac.

"The foundation and shoulders of the road were significantly damaged due to the water overtopping the road and the cuts that were necessary to get water to recede out of homes as quickly as possible. The road has been

deemed too dangerous for vehicle use by both an engineering firm and the parish's insurer," explained Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Jr. The parish is awaiting final approval from FEMA on funding the necessary road repairs.

The parish has also received approval from the U.S. Corps of Engineers to begin its project to enlarge the floodgate structure at Alligator Bayou and Bayou Manchac. In addition to upgrading the existing floodgate, the project will include the construction of two larger floodgates that will provide for more rapid drainage of the Spanish Lake Basin.

"In order to protect the motoring public and to begin the new construction of the floodgate project, a portion of Manchac Road will

continue to be closed until all of the repairs are made and the new floodgates are completed," Ourso said. He asked for patience by east Iberville residents as this important work is done.

"I want to assure residents that they will have a safe, quality road, and increased flood protection when these projects are completed," he said.

The portion of Manchac Road that will remain closed.

2 December 2016 |Imagine Iberville|

Warren “T-Notchie” Taylor, Mitchel J. Ourso Sr., Thomas Dominique, Leonard “Buck” Jackson, Edwin M. Reeves Jr., Courtney P. Lewis, Ty J. Arnold, Hunter S. Markins, Terry J. Bradford, Louis “Pete” Kelley, Timothy J. Vallet, Matthew H. Jewell, Bart B. Morgan

Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Jr.and the Iberville Parish Council

May 2017 be, for all of us,a year of health and happiness,a year of wealth and wisdom,

a year of peace and prosperity,a year of glee and glow,and a year of love and laughter.

May 2017 be a year of happiness and prosperity for you and your family!

District Attorney Ricky Ward and Staff

As District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District, I am reminding drivers of the unlawful and deadly consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.We take DUI charges very seriously and you will be prosecuted. The toll of driving while intoxicated or impaired is severe on you and your family. The consequences can be tragic for you and others.

Drinking and driving will cost you! Don’t do it!

HappyNew Year!

|Imagine Iberville| December 2016 3

I B E R V I L L E P A R I S H G O V E R N M E N T

You are cordially invited to the

VETERANSIBERVILLE SALUTE TO

Bayou Paul Road project to begin in January

A road improvement project to stabilize the bank of Bayou Paul Road in east Iberville will be underway in January.

The road will be closed for approximately 10 to 12 days for this project, and motorists will be detoured to Pecan Road during that time.

www.facebook.com/Iberville Parish Council

Like us on facebook:

The Iberville Salute to Veterans again drew a huge crowd to the Iberville Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day, November 11, for an entertaining and moving ceremony and activities. Sponsored by Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Jr. and the Iberville Parish Council, this annual recognition of our veterans, along with the Wall of Veterans at the site, is one of the most attended Veterans Day events in Louisiana! Shown are some scenes from this year's activities.

Air conditioning improvements to the 32-year-old Iberville Parish Courthouse are still underway, with the third floor of the courthouse being re-opened by mid-January.

The $2.8 million project has been underway since mid

2016, and will continue through the spring of 2017. It includes changing all of the duct work in the building and all of the VAV boxes. The chillers also need replacement and work on that project will also begin in 2017.

The final phase of the duct work project is expected to begin in February, and will be broken into two parts, said Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Jr. The Iberville Clerk of Court's office will be temporarily re-located while work on its A/C ductwork is done. The temporary location will be determined after the first of the year. "Extra precautions must be taken to protect the multitude of historic legal documents the Clerk of Court houses," Ourso explained.

Once that work is complete by April or May, other offices on the first floor will be temporarily re-located as work is done in those areas. Those offices include the Iberville Sheriff's Office and Iberville Assessor's Office.

Besides being more energy efficient, the new system will provide computer controls that will allow more operational flexibility of the air conditioning system.

Clerk of Court next affected by AC work

4 December 2016 |Imagine Iberville|

Tuesday, January 3, 2017 • 7 p.m.

Plaquemine Mayor Edwin M. “Ed” Reeves, Jr.

You are cordially invited to the Swearing In Ceremony of

Plaquemine City Hall Courtroom, 2nd floor of City Hall23640 Railroad Ave., Plaquemine

Lindon A. “Lin” Rivet, Jr. – District 1 Oscar S. Mellion – District 2Ralph J. Stassi, Jr. – District 3

Michael W. “Mickey” Rivet – District 4Timothy L. “Timmy” Martinez – District 5Jimmie Randle, Jr. – District 6

and the Plaquemine Board of Selectmen:

and Police Chief Kenny Payne & Police Department Officers

P L A Q U E M I N E

S T . G A B R I E L

City employees recently completed their annual Holiday Food Drive, collecting canned goods and food items for the local food bank, Our Brothers Keeper. The food was delivered Christmas week. Shown with some of the food collected are, from left Selectmen Ralph Stassi, Mickey Rivet and Timmy Martinez, and Mayor Mary Sue Gulotta.

Fire responders recognized in calendarThe vital role of the city's first

responders was on display in 2016. Also on display were the dangers they faced in their jobs daily. The 2017 calendar, which was mailed to city residents in December, is a tribute to past and present first responders - our firefighters, city police, and even the city personnel who endanger themselves to maintain or restore electrical power and those who keep our roads and sewer systems operational in severe weather conditions. The City of Plaquemine salutes you, and all you do for our community.

A SALUTE TO OUR FIRST RESPONDERS

Mayor Mary Sue Gulotta ended her 15 months as Plaquemine's mayor on December 31. She was appointed fill the term of her husband, the late Mayor Mark A. “Tony” Gulotta, after his death on September 11, 2015. Gulotta gave a farewell message at the December Board of Selectmen meeting, and it has been posted on the City of Plaquemine facebook page.

She noted that it marked the end of a legacy for the Gulotta family of 44 years of service, including Tony’s father, “Tiger Joe,” his mother, Etta Lee, Gregory "Humphrey," Tony, and Mary Sue. She noted that like Tony, she will always be Plaquemine Proud! To read her full message go to www.facebook.com/City of Plaquemine.

Gulotta service to city ends

|Imagine Iberville| December 2016 5

I B E R V I L L E S C H O O L S Y S T E M

Approximately 800 Iberville students got a dose of real life financial costs, along with information about numerous careers at Career Connections in November at the Carl Grant Civic Center in Plaquemine. High school students from public schools and St. John participated.

Students visited booths, where they received information about the educational requirements, duties and pay of various jobs from representatives of more than 40 careers. The students also participated in an exercise on living within a budget based on their career pay at the “reality store.” The store is designed to show students actual living expenses of an average 29-year-old person, and the link between the income of their career choice and real life living expenses.

The event was coordinated by the Iberville Chamber of Commerce and Iberville Parish School Board.

Iberville Parish had a stand-out fall in sports in 2016, including play-offs for several teams and numerous accolades for players. Here’s a re-cap of those awards:

PLAQUEMINE HIGH FOOTBALL TEAM: • Advanced to state quarter finals,

finished season 5-0 in District, 9-4 overall.

• 4th consecutive year of being undefeated in and winning the District Championship. PHS is now 18-0 in District play.

Players receiving honors included: Todd Harris - 4-Star All-American defensive back, playing in Armour All American game in Orlando, Florida Columbus Willis - 1st Team All-District DL/1st Team All-District OLJatyre Carter - 2nd Team All District DL/1st Team All-District TEMalik White - 1st Team All District LBJavier Batiste - 2nd Team All District DBMarlon Lewis - 1st Team All District RBTrevor Stewart - 2nd Team All District OLColumbus Willis & Marlon Lewis - selected for Red Stick Bowl

Students get career, life info at Career Connections

Parish sports teams, students excel this FallWHITE CASTLE FOOTBALL TEAM:• Advanced to the play-offs and won

its first round game

WHITE CASTLE VOLLEYBALL TEAM:• Advanced to the first round of play-

offs.• Ariel Bell – 1st Team All District

PLAQUEMINE HIGH VOLLEYBALL TEAM:

• Went to the first round of play-offs• Tylar Kelly – All District team• Caroline Zeringue – All District

Team

Scenes from Career Conenctions

East Iberville High School student Julia Johnson is raking in honors. Some are:• #1 ranked junior golfer in Louisiana by

Golf Week magazine• LHSAA State Champion in 2015, and

Runner Up in 2016• Qualified for Junior Professional Golf

Association (PGA) tourney 2015 & 2016

• Finished 3rd in a field of 78 golfers in 2016 North and South Tournament

• Qualified for the USGA four ball national championship• One of three named to USGA La. State Team • 6 time La. Tri-State team member for the Ryder Cup

WCHS volleyball team

Todd Harris

Julia Johnson

Junior golf champion Julia Johnson

6 December 2016 |Imagine Iberville|

M A R I N G O U I N

G R O S S E T E T E

Town honors student achievements at festival

Construction of the new Maringouin Town Hall is proceeding, and it is expected to be completed in late January of 2017. The new 4,274 square feet building will house all of the town's administrative functions. The city is expected to move into the new facility some time in February.

Construction of the town's new Bayou Pavilion, walking trail and water splash park are also underway and expected to be completed some time in the Spring.

The Town of Maringouin hosted its annual Fall Festival on October 23. This event included a star-filled musical lineup, food vendors, craft vendors, and a carnival fair.

The main stage’s act included to sounds of Zydeco legend, JPaul and The Zydeco Nubreeds. The Town of Maringouin hired La Louisianne Consulting to produce this event.

During the festival, the town honored students from Maringouin who were not only excelling in aca-demics, but also excelling in extra curricular activities, such as sports.

They were presented with the “keys to the town” as a way to en-courage them to continue reaching for the stars. Among those recog-nized were Todd Harris, Wayne Toussaint, Makeriah Harris, Denim Washington, and Alden Dupree. All of these students are products of North Iberville, attending school in our parish seat of Plaquemine.

Update on town projects

Madame Mayor Demi Vorise, Councilman Clarence Wiley, Alden Dupree and Makeriah Harris.

Football standout Todd Harris with Councilman Clarence Wiley, and Alden Dupree. They were presented keys to the town for their school-related achievements.

The Grosse Tete Christmas Parade and Festival were bigger and better than ever this year! The Grand Marshall was Richard David, a lifelong resident of Grosse Tete who served as an alderman for 28 years. Other special guests included Evangeline 2016, Miss Victoria Savoy, and PHS Homecoming Queen Alaysha Christophe.

Christmas Parade, Festival growing!The parade concluded at the

Iberville Welcome Center, where the festival was held. There was an increased number of food and merchandise vendors, and festival attendees were entertained by the Plaquemine High School band and dance team, Santa Claus, Tim the Magician, story-telling by the Grosse Tete Baptist Church, and music by the North Iberville Men’s Choir. Other features included fireworks over the bayou, face painting, laser tag, a spacewalk, hamster ball, and a Relay for Life Duck Race.

Special thanks to all of those who worked so diligently to make this year’s festival a success. Sponsors

included Union Pacific Railroad, Guaranty Bank, C&S Well Service, Grosse Tete Well Service, Subway, the Grosse Tete/Rosedale Lions

Club, and Iberville Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso, Jr. and the Iberville Parish Council.

|Imagine Iberville| December 2016 7

W H I T E C A S T L E

R O S E D A L E

Mayor Badeaux retires, Blanchet new mayorThe Village of Rosedale will have its first new mayor in 28 years, as Mayor Lawrence "Football"

Badeaux did not seek re-election this fall. Riley Blanchet was elected as the new mayor and will take office, with the village's board, on Tuesday, January 10.

Two members of the board, Tim Doiron and Dana Alexander, were re-elected, along with the board's new member, Carroll Devillier.

Blanchet is a native of Ville Platte, lived in the Livonia area for more than 22 years, and moved to Rosedale nine years ago. He owns RJ's Transportation, which is based in Port Allen and employs 130 people.

"I have never been in politics, and I definitely am not a politician," he said. "I just really enjoy helping people and want to help our village." He said his first priority will be to complete projects that have been started. He also wants to work toward doing more for the elderly of the village, building a new fire station, improving the park with a pavilion and restrooms, and addressing cemetery capacity and drainage matters.

"I look forward to working with the Council and the people of Rosedale to get things done," he said. "I will try to bring a business philosophy to our

village. I am surrounded by a good Council and employees, and that is very important in being successful."

Blanchet's hobbies include cooking for groups and horse breeding. He has more than 50 horses. He and his wife, Michelle, have four children.

Carroll Devillier is also excited about working to help Rosedale. "I love Rosedale and have been here over 30 years. I want to help, and have been going to village meetings for the last 14 months so that I would know what was happening with village government if I was elected. I feel like I can go in and hit the ground running," he said.

Devillier is retired from the U.S. Postal Service and serves as director of the North Iberville Community Center. He and his wife, Eileen, have two grown children, Christina and Carroll, Jr.

A look back at fall celebrations from 2016

Incoming Mayor Riley Blanchet

These pictures are a recap of what took place in White Castle in the past months. They include Boo on Bowie, the Elderly Thanksgiving Luncheon, the Christmas brunch and, the Christmas Parade honoring the local school, Dorseyville Elementary, for

receiving a school score of "A" in state ratings.

"White Castle has had its share of ups and downs this year, but we've pereservered to continue community service," said Mayor Gerald "Jermarr" Williams. "This is the beginning of what's to come in White Castle."

VILLAGE OF ROSEDALESWEARING IN OF:Mayor Riley Blanchet

&Council Members Dana Alexander, Carroll Devillier and Ken Jareau

TUESDAY, JANUARY 105 P.M.

ROSEDALE VILLAGE HALL

PUBLIC IS INVITED TO ATTEND

8 December 2016 |Imagine Iberville|

I B E R V I L L E S H E R I F F ’ S O F F I C E

Discovery TV show again featuring Iberville cold cases, starts Jan. 3

The second season of the Killing Fields TV show, featuring cases being investigated by the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Department, begins on Tuesday, January 3, at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel.

The Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office received national attention from the first series, which featured a cold case investigation in a 6-part series that aired in early 2016. The show went inside the active investigation of the June 1997 killing of LSU graduate student Eugenie Boisfontaine, who was last seen near the LSU lakes. Two months later, her body was found in a watery ditch in east Iberville with evidence of blunt force trauma to her head. The new series will include updates on that case, as well as other local murder cases being investigated by the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Department.

Making Christmas bright for local familiesSheriff Brett Stassi and numerous local contributors have combined forces to make Christmas a lot

brighter for 63 families and more than 250 nursing home residents through the Sheriff's annual Christmas Gift Drive.

The Sheriff's Toy Drive provided Christmas gifts for 168 children in 63 families, including giving more than 20 bikes for some children. In addition several families who flooded this August received cheese and sausage baskets and Louisiana food mixes.

The gift give away was held on December 18, with Santa Claus making a visit to be with the children. Sheriff's Office employees also delivered more than 250 colorful Christmas blankets to nursing home residents on December 19, also serenading them with Christmas songs and providing holiday cheer.

Contributors to the Christmas Gift Drive included: CB&I, Shintech, the Dow Chemical Co., Plaquemine Bank, Comeaux Brothers Construction, Acacia Lodge, Tullier Services, Popingo's Convenience Stores, Mark O. Suarez, Viallon Drugs, D'Albor's Furniture, Iberville Chamber of Commerce, Star Telephone Co., Canova & Delahaye, Randall Mayeux, Senator Rick Ward, III, We Are The Difference, Edward Gay Planting, St. Louis Planting, Hanks Buick GMC, Bayou Road Lumber, Regrets None, Grosse Tete-Rosedale Lions Club, Peacock Communications, Knights of Columbus Council 970, Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Baxley, Texas Brine, Daniel Durand Agency, Goudeau's Health Mart Pharmacy, Steve Woodson, Plant Security, Krewe of Comogo, Danny's Cajun Catering, Barry Marionneaux, Westside Delta Waterfowl, Michael & Mary Johnson, and employees of the Iberville Sheriff's Office. The give away was again organized by Sheriff's Office employee Loretta Blanchard.

Sheriff Brett Stassi and employees of the Iberville Sheriff's Department sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home after distrtibuting Christmas blankets to residents.

Scenes from the Christmas toy distribution by Sheriff Stassi and friends.