Improvements have been made around Chataignier

CHATAIGNIER -- Rhonda Miller fell in love with Chataignier the first time she visited the tiny village with her husband, and she also saw its potential.
“I remember when we first moved here about 10 years ago and my husband would drive me around and point out what that old building used to be or that this overgrown lot was where somebody’s house was,” said Miller, who took over as Village Clerk in March for Wilbur Rozas. “I remember thinking how charming the village was and how much more it could be.”
The village, with less than 400 residents, located in southeast Evangeline Parish, has worked hard in recent months to increase its charm with upgrades at the village hall, as well as the parish library next door.
Mayor Jackie Thomas and the village council have used funds to create a walk-up window inside the village hall for residents to use to pay sewer bills, traffic violations and rental fees for the community center. In addition to the window, which was completed in March, the village has also relocated and repainted a metal after-hours drop-off box (which is located in the hall’s parking lot), laid fresh asphalt in the parking lot with new white parking stripes, and have installed three new windows in the library.
Even though those improvements may appear on the surface to be minor, those projects have helped inspire more pride within the community.
“With these improvements what I have been seeing is that the community is taking more pride in our village,” Miller said. “They say they love having the center open. Sometimes they just come in and look around.”
After a resident walks through the doors at the hall, which is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, they will have a chance to either have themselves a cup of hot coffee or a glass of cold ice tea. They can also take home with them several different pamphlets on everything from medical care, head start and area campgrounds.
Miller has also put up a small bulletin board where residents can place homemade flyers for everything from dog training to bulls for sale, or simply leave a business card offering other services.
“I like to think as myself as the Chamber of Commerce for Chataignier,” Miller said. “Whatever we can do to help promote our village we do.”
The village isn’t done with its improvement projects as it also plans to obtain funding to be able to renovate the community park within the next year or so and start attracting new residents and businesses to build in the quiet village.