VP Rotary Club welcomes recent guests

October 14, Meeting
During the October 14, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club, Rotarian Peter Strawitz invited Bill Rodair, director of the St. Landry Parish Economic Association, to address the group. Rodair stated the association works to unite the parish and is preparing a plan of economic priorities for the parish. He said he sees great things coming through the challenges faced in St. Landry Parish and noted Evangeline Parish faces the same challenges. He sat down with the board to take a hard look at St. Landry Parish and its strengths and weaknesses in order to come up with ideas for economic improvement. A plan of strengths and priorities was put into place and shared with various groups and community leaders to begin making the vision a reality. The main project he shared with the club is the proposed St. Landry Parish Expo Center, which will be located on donated property off of I-49 and Harry Guilbeau Road. The equestrian/event center will have the potential to bring in 100,000 people a year and is expected to be constructed by late 2018/ early 2019. Two percent of revenues raised through hotel/rv parks in the 730 acre land area will be placed into a trust fund overseen by the economic association to be used for the building of the new center. Rodair stated Evangeline Parish will also feel the ripple effects of the venture. He then advised the Ville Platte and Evangeline Parish community and business leaders to do the same thing in order to bring economic growth to the area.
October 21, Meeting
During the October 21, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club, members heard from State Representative Bernard LeBas and Judge John Saunders, who discussed the constitutional amendments that will be on the November 4, election ballot. They were the guests of Rotarian Greg Vidrine.
LeBas briefly addressed all 14 amendments, noting pros and cons for each one. He advised citizens to familiarize themselves with the proposed amendments and sample ballot prior to voting.
LeBas then asked Judge John Saunders of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to discuss voting in favor of Amendment 5. A yes vote for Amendment #5 would eliminate the mandatory age of 70 for judges. Saunders said it was time to get rid of the mandatory retirement age for judges and noted the amendment has been introduced in both houses of the legislature and easily passed through to be placed on the election ballot. Judge Saunders has been serving on the court of appeals for the past 21 years and also served several terms in the state legislature.
In other news, Evangeline Parish Superintendent of Schools Toni Hamlin reported that the school and student performance scores were released and showed a great improvement in scores. She announced that eight out of the 12 Evangeline Parish public schools scored an A or B, while the school district score improved to a, overall grade of B.
Rotary Club President David Mayeux announced that the Mamou Rotary Club will be folding at the first of the year and those Mamou members will be transferred to the Ville Platte club. He said that the Ville Platte Rotary Club Board approved the purchase and installation of new rotary signs at various areas throughout Ville Platte. He stated that the Sacred Heart Interact Club will be preparing donation baskets to help fight polio and the baskets will placed at several Rotary business locations throughout Ville Platte.