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Early voting machines in the court house in Abbeville.

Early voting for March 29 off to good start in Vermilion Parish

Tue, 03/18/2025 - 10:49am

Vermilion Parish Registrar of Voters Tina Broussard wasn’t sure exactly what kind of start to expect for early voting for the March 29 election, which opened this past Saturday.
There’s only one race on the ballot for the March 29 election, and that’s a special election for a seat on the Abbeville City Council. However, four constitutional being on the ballot opens it up to every voter in Vermilion Parish.
Nearly 700 voters have already taken part in the process. Broussard said as Tuesday morning that 222 voted in-person, with another 470 returning absentee ballots.

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Scott Gastal

Vermilion Parish man who exposed clergy abuse beaten to death in Lake Charles

Tue, 03/18/2025 - 10:47am

LAKE CHARLES — Some have called Vermilion Parish native Scott Gastal a hero after he testified against former Catholic priest Gibert Gauthe, who admitted to sexually abusing more than two dozen children while serving in the Diocese of Lafayette.
Gastal was only 11 years old when he testified
His testimony back in the 1980s helped set in motion the exposure of widespread sex abuse and cover-ups nationwide.

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Lane Broussard found her “Why I Love Abbeville” first place plaque she won 30-plus years ago.

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A copy of the letter that Lane Broussard wrote about Abbeville as a fourth grader at Mt. Carmel Elementary in 1993. The letter was in the time capsule that was opened on Thursday.

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Councilman Brady Broussard read a letter found in the time capsule. The letter was written my Mt. Carmel student Lane Broussard on why she loves Abbeville.

Broussard surprised her fourth grade letter found in time capsule

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 12:31pm

Lane Broussard was surprised to discover that a letter she wrote in fourth grade at Mt. Carmel Elementary in 1993 had been buried in a time capsule in Magdalen Square.
On Thursday, to celebrate Abbeville’s 175th birthday, Mayor Roslyn White and city officials opened the 30-year-old white plastic time capsule buried in the gazebo floor.
Mayor White gradually removed all the items from the time capsule and showed them to the crowd.
One of the items the Mayor removed was a laminated letter written by a fourth-grade student from Mt. Carmel.

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Abbeville Mayor Roslyn White holds up a print of the gazebo that she pulled from the time capsule.

30-year-old time capsule opened: Event marks Abbeville’s 175th birthday

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 12:19pm

Dozens gathered Thursday morning in Magdalen Square to celebrate Abbeville’s 175th birthday.
Originally founded by Père Antoine Désiré Mégret, a special legislative charter signed on March 13, 1850, officially incorporated the city.

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Photo courtesy of Keep Louisiana Beautiful
Keep Louisiana Beautiful's Get Down & Clean Up program has grown to 145 participating libraries in 44 parishes with more than 1,100 litter kits checked out.

Keep Louisiana Beautiful's Get Down & Clean Up Program is available at Abbeville Library

Wed, 03/12/2025 - 10:49am

BATON ROUGE, La. - Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB)’s Get Down & Clean Up program, in collaboration with the State Library of Louisiana and the Louisiana Public Library System, makes litter clean-up supplies readily available at public libraries across the state.
In collaboration with Keep Abbeville Beautiful, the program is available at the Abbeville Branch of the Vermilion Parish Library.
The program has grown to 145 participating libraries in 44 parishes, and over 1,100 litter kits have been checked out by library patrons to care for their local communities.

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