VP Rotary Club welcomes recent guests

August 11, Meeting
Rotarian Vic Slaven invited Senator Eric LaFleur to attend the August 11, meeting of the The Ville Platte Rotary Club and give the members an update on the recent legislative session. LaFleur stated that very little was done during the session and that once again, one-time funds were utilized to balance the budget. He added that by using these funds, the legislators will still have to come up with a plan to overcome a one billion deficit. He said that all of the gubernatorial candidates, whoever is elected, will call a special meeting to resolve the state’s budget problems. In order to help balance the budget, LaFleur stated that certain taxes were raised and an inventory tax for large companies and industries was put into place. He then discussed the Medicaid issue, saying that Governor Jindal would not allow federal Medicaid dollars to expand Medicaid coverage for the working poor in the state of Louisiana. LaFleur noted that over 30 states have expanded Medicaid coverage and said that doing so would provide medical benefits for lower wage employees and be beneficial to the state.
August 18, Meeting
Dr. Natalie Harder, Director of the South Louisiana Community College System, was the guest speaker for the August 18, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. SLCC has an eight-parish system with a campus in each parish. The C.B. Coreil Campus in Ville Platte, led by administrator Carlene Jones, in Ville Platte is the Evangeline Parish location. She shared that even though funding to SLCC has been reduced by 55 percent since 2009, “We are committed to keeping the campuses in each parish open and vibrant.” She noted that SLCC cannot offer every course at each location, so, for example students from Evangeline Parish attend other campuses to pursue the courses they are interested in. Harder stated that student enrollment at C.B Coreil Campus has increased by 34 percent this fall due to recruitment and spreading the word about the campus to the community. She said that many students don’t realize that they can receive the first two years of a four-year degree at the campus, with many of the general studies courses offered being transferable to four-year universities. Harder noted that for this fall semester, most enrolled students are taking on 15-17 credit hours as full-time students. In closing, Harder encouraged Rotarians to help spread the word about the campus to help it continue to thrive. She said that a survey will be done for Evangeline and St. Landry parishes to help assess the needs of the business communities. This will allow the school to offer programs most in need throughout the area.
August 25, Meeting
Rotarian Peggy Tate invited Jude Vidrine, owner of Evangeline Feed and Seed, to address the August 25, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. Vidrine said he worked on farms since he was a child and was ready to look for something else in order to spend more time with his children while they were growing up. His father told him that the Evangeline Feed and Seed Store was up for sale and after much thought and discussion with his wife, he purchased the business in 2007. Vidrine expanded the old location as much as he could, but a few years after he took over, the business was moved to its larger current location. Vidrine said he is always looking for ways to expand the business and this location has the needed room to continue growing. He added that since the co-op closed, he has received a lot of extra business and now sells the fertilizer and chemicals that were available there. He said they grow their own vegetables and trees to sell. Vidrine enjoys running his business and stated that one could buy just about anything they would need for their farm, garden, deer hunting and pet supplies.