Top stories of 2016

By: RAYMOND PARTSCH III
Managing Editor
By: ELIZABETH WEST
Associate Editor
By: CLAUDETTE OLIVIER
Lifestyles Editor

Evangeline Parish generated some memorable stories in 2016.
There was the burning down of the famed Dupre House, the historic flooding that occurred in August, former Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office Civil Deputy Rebecca Deviller pled guilty to malfeasance in office and local Civil Rights icon and Community Action Director Gervis LaFleur passed away.
In fact there was so much news in 2016 that a few notable events weren’t able to crack The Gazette’s Top Stories of 2016. Those that fell just short of making the list were:
Heritage Manor opens up new state-of-the-art facility on West Main Street, Evangeline Parish School Board forced to cut paraprofessional jobs, Pine Prairie Mayor Terry Savant accused of sexual harassment, Ville Platte Boys & Girls Club opens its doors, EPSB votes to keep sub zone students at Pine Prairie and Bayou Chicot, Eric Guillory wins his record-setting fifth-straight Louisiana Tournoi title and trial date is set for Arturo Velazques.
Below are the stories that did make the list, starting with No. 10
No. 10
Threat of Black Panthers
At a July 13 Mamou Council meeting, Mamou Mayor Ricky Fontenot quickly shot down Black Panther National President Joe Lawrence’s desire to have an armed march of 250 people in the small town, due to the department’s hiring practices.
Peter Savoy, city attorney, said that anyone wishing to have a march in the town would have to apply for a permit with Mamou Chief of Police Brent Zackery, who was not at the meeting that night. In the end, no march was held in the town.
No. 9
Basile native named bishop
In late April, Basile native J. Douglas Deshotel took over as the seventh Bishop of Lafayette, succeeding Bishop Michael Jarrell, in a ceremony held at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette. Deshotel was appointed in February by Pope Francis.
Deshotel is a native of Basile and attended Immaculata Minor Seminary High School in Lafayette and later attended Holy Trinity Seminary in Texas, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy, and a Masters of Divinity from the University of Dallas. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas on May 13, 1978 in his hometown church of St. Augustine.
No. 8
Civil Rights icon passes away
In late July, the city of Ville Platte mourned the passing of Gervis LaFleur, the prominent civil rights icon and social advocate. LaFleur had been battling an illness for months before passing away at the age of 82.
The Korean War veteran would find his voice helping his community during the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960’s and 1970’s. LaFleur would spend decades as the Executive Director of the Evangeline Community Action Agency which aided the community with Food for Families and Head Start programs, as well as other initiatives that helped educate children and fight poverty. Everyone from Gov. Edwin Edwards to Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine spoke on LaFleur’s impact on the community.
Carleen Bellard was later voted as the new Executive Director of the Evangeline Community Action Agency in October.
No. 7
Anderson gets
life in prison
In April Samuel Anderson of Ville Platte was found guilty for the murder of K&T Meat Market owner Ann Nguyen. During Anderson’s sentencing in July, which was held on the two year anniversary of the fatal shooting, Nguyen’s daughter Kathy was allowed to address the court stating, “I’m here today with a shattered heart. It is hard to get the image of what you, Samuel Anderson, did to my mother.”
Anderson received life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first degree murder charge; and an additional 50 years of hard labor for the crime of armed robbery.
No. 6
Devillier
pleads guilty
In late September, former Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Civil Deputy Rebecca Devillier pled guilty to theft of U.S. currency having a value of $1,500 or more, as well as malfeasance in office. The charges were the result of a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report in 2015 which stated that Devillier “diverted EPSO funds totaling at $108,976 to herself and possibly to other EPSO employees for personal use from August 17, 2011, to September 30, 2014.”
Devillier received 10 years of hard labor (three suspended) and five years of active supervised probation for the theft charge; as well as five years hard labor (four suspended) and five years of active supervised probation for the malfeasance charge.
No. 5
Return of
Tee Cotton Bowl
Dr. Tim Fontenot provided the City of Ville Platte with an early Christmas present on December 21 as he announced inside Ville Platte City Hall that the annual rivalry football game between Ville Platte High and Sacred Heart School, known as the Tee Cotton Bowl, would be brought back in 2017. The Tee Cotton Bowl, which garnered national interest after being featured on ESPN by NFL Films, occurred for 13 seasons before abruptly ending before the 2013 season. Sacred Heart holds a 7-6 lead in the series, since it was dubbed the Tee Cotton Bowl, but Ville Platte High has won the past six straight.
No. 4
Turkey Creek
murder case
On July 1st deputies with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office found themselves investigating a Fourth of July party that ended with the fatal shooting of Clifton Hallmark, of Shreveport.
Although the shooting took place at a residence in Turkey Creek, Hallmark’s body was located at Chapelle’s Grocery - a local store in the area - after two individuals transported the body to the store.
It was there that Anissa Hallmark and Heather Tate called 9-1-1 and reported that someone had attempted to rob the victim before shooting him.
Nine individuals were arrested in connection with this crime, and at this time Leland Hamm is suspected to be the one that shot Hallmark.
The other individuals that were arrested in connection with this crime are Anissa Hallmark, Heather Tate, David Williams, Christina Williams, Jeremy Jorden, Brian Granger and Richard A. Smith. All individuals were charged with accessory after the fact to second degree murder.
No. 3
Fire destroys
Dupre House
On April 21st, Ville Platte residents stood along Main Street watching in disblief as the iconic Dupre’ House became ingulfed in flames.
This once magnificent home was built 77 years ago by Doctor Robert Emery Dupre and his wife Hazel Ardoin.
Through investigations, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office learned that Patravey Anna Harrison, who was 19 at the time, had caused the fire after she dropped a lit candle that then rolled under a couch and left there in the abandoned home.
A little over four months after the incident Harrison pled guilty to simple arson and was sentenced to eight years at hard labor, six of which were suspended, and five years of active supervised probation upon her release form jail.
No. 2
Historic flooding
hits area
Evangeline Parish found itself under water the weekend of August 13-14 as historic flooding engulfed not only the parish but the entire state of Louisiana, which was declared a state of emergency by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
According to data from the National Weather Service, a large portion of the City of Ville Platte and Mamou had eight to 12 inches of rain in span of less than 24 hours. The section of Ville Platte located on Chataignier Road heading towards Point Blue received as much 20 inches of rain, as did the village of Chataignier.
The flooding caused thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of damage, including uprooting several cement tombs at St. Mathhew Baptist Cemetery as Evangeline Parish was added to a list of declared disaster areas by the federal government. In the days and weeks that followed, FEMA set up a center in the parish handing out supplies and disaster food stamps, First Lady of Louisiana Donna Edwards visited the area to show support. Despite the amount of devastation, there were no fatalities from the flooding in the parish.
No. 1
EPSO
The Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office has faced a multitude of hurdles this year from feuding with 9-1-1 to being cited by the U.S. Department of Justice for performing illegal investigative holds on arrested individuals.
The first issue Sheriff Eddie Soileau was forced to overcome was a feud with 9-1-1 that began in February when 9-1-1 prepared to move their dispatching to their newly built offices at Industrial Park.
Because 9-1-1 moved their offices from their previous location at the sheriff’s office, Soileau began refusing to provide dispatching for municipalities throughout the parish.
Fortunately by the end of the feud the dispatching situation was handled and 9-1-1 agreed to continue providing dispatching services throughout the parish.
Days after the sheriff’s fued with 9-1-1 became public, Soileau released a statement saying that his office would no longer be providing escorting services for funerals. However, the sheriff did change his mind and decided he would continue providing this service but at a cost of $250 to familes per funeral.
From March to August things were quiet at the sheriff’s office.
In mid-August though Caldwell Parish began threatening to send the Evangeline Parish prisoners that they were housing back to Evangeline’s jail due to the fact that the cost to house prisoners in Caldwell Parish was more than the police jury had budgeted for. Over time, the sheriff’s office was able to lower the number of inmates being housed outside of the parish, which in-turn reduced the cost of these prisoners.
Two weeks later, the sheriff’s office declared that they were broke and were nearly unable to make payroll.
This forced a massive layoff to take place at the sheriff’s office, which resulted in a total of 14 employees being laid off and pay being reduced by 10 percent.
With their finances not in order, the sheriff, less than a month after declaring his office was broke, appeared before the Louisiana State Bond Commission to request the approval to borrow $1,000,000.00 to help his department find its way out of the financial crisis they were now facing. Soileau’s request was approved and the following month his department received their loan.
Because the sheriff was limited on funds, in September the sheriff’s attorney requested an opinion from the La. Attorney General’s Office on wether the sheriff is required to perform law enforcment duties if they do not have the finances to do so. The attorney general’s response to this was yes, because in their opinion a sheriff can never stop performing law enforcement duties.
Then, to end the year, on December 19th the U.S. Department of Justice cited the EPSO, as well as the Ville Platte Police Department, for performing illegal investigative holds on individuals.
In response to this situation, Soileau stated that the EPSO will be working to correct this by preparing a new policy and procedure manual for the department.