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There is nothing frightful expected when it comes to the weather this evening, leaving a delightful time for those planning to attend Abbeville’s Annual Christmas Stroll.
The event will take place in Historic Downtown Abbeville from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“This is the 19th year that we do the Christmas Stroll,” Abbeville Main Street Manager Charlene Beckett said. “It’s an event for people to come downtown, stroll and look at our beautiful Christmas lights.
“And it’s a chance to go into our stores and visit with people.”
Participating in this year’s Stroll will be Abbey Players, Abbeville Rotary Club, Abbeville United Methodist Church, Bank of Abbeville, Brasseux’s Hardware, City of Abbeville, the Caldwell House, Dupuy’s Oyster Shop, the Depot at Magdalen Place, First Baptist Church of Abbeville, Gulf Coast Bank, Phil’s Boys & Girls Wear, Piazza Office Supply, Radio Shack, Sam Guarino Blacksmith Shop and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
People attending tonight’s Stroll can pick up a Stroll card in Magdalen Square or from any of the participating merchants to be eligible for the Gift Basket Giveaway. Cards must be stamped by each of the merchants and once completed returned to Magdalen Square for the drawing that will be held at 8:15 p.m.
There will be a live Nativity Scene and petting zoo at First Baptist Church. The Grinch will be at the Caldwell House. Santa Claus will be making appearances at Abbeville City Hall and Gulf Coast Bank. Members of the Rotary Club will be handing out pop corn, while Abbeville General will help keep people warm by serving hot chocolate.
A staple of the Christmas Stroll is the introduction of the city’s official Christmas Ornament. This year’s ornament, designed by local artist Jeannie Comeaux, features the Rice Mill. It is available for $16 and can be purchased at the Depot or Abbeville City Hall. This year’s ornament is the 16th in a series that dates back to 2003 and has featured landmarks from around the city.
“I think it’s absolutely beautiful,” Beckett said of the ornament.
Vermilion Parish honor bands performing in Magdalen Square.
Also in the Square will be miniature Christmas Village. Councilman Brady Broussard Jr. brought the idea to Beckett last year.
“This works so well during the Christmas season in Foley, Alabama,” Broussard said. “I hoped it could enhance our existing Christmas decorations in the downtown area. I photographed and measured the Christmas village in Foley, hoping we might be able to start small and add to it over time.”
Wayne Touchet built five of the houses and Chris Graciana of the Abbeville Fire Department built the fire station. Broussard and Touchet each sponsored one of the houses, which are also sponsored by Keep Abbeville Beautiful and the Abbeville Garden Club and the Sam Guarino Blacksmith Shop board.
“Of course, beautification and projects such as this work better in a public-private partnership and that’s what this village represents,” Broussard said. “For a $400 donation, a miniature Christmas building can be constructed. The finished village you see now in Magdalen Square was painted beautifully with help from the Arts Council and volunteers. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful city as ours in Christmas season with our white lights on the historic buildings and in the towering oaks in Magdalen Square. This Christmas village will be a treat for children, throughout the Christmas season, in Magdalen Square.
“The six village pieces you see this year, is a start to what will hopefully grow over time.

MAURICE — It may not be the most exciting part, but proper infrastructure is a key aspect of any community’s growth.
For the Village of Maurice, growth, especially residentially, has been astronomical in the last few years.
Making sure infrastructure can sustain Maurice’s growth well into the future, officials broke ground Thursday morning on a wastewater treatment facility. That new facility, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020, will be located on Beau Road.
“We’re the fifth fastest growing community in all of Louisiana,” Maurice Mayor Wayne Theriot said Thursday morning. “That growth necessitates us to improve our infrastructure for water and sewer.
“Hopefully this will be able to service us for many years to come.”
Helping to make this possible is $8.2 million through the USDA Water & Waste Disposal Loan Program.
Dr. Carrie Castille, Louisiana State Director for Rural Development for the USDA, said the USDA appreciates the role it has played in helping Maurice properly expand.
“We have a long-standing history working with the Village of Maurice,” Dr. Castille said before the groundbreaking. “We had a project in 2008 and project in ‘10. We are funded this one in ‘17. The whole goal is to be able to provide that valuable and critical infrastructure for our rural communities.
“We’re so glad that the Village of Maurice has the confidence to come back to us. We want to see our small, rural communities grow and prosper. I think this is a testament to the work we do and the communities we serve.”
The village’s current wastewater facility came online in ‘11.
“That facility had room for expansion,” Theriot said, “but nobody could have ever imagined what we would go through the growth that we have right now.”
Officials began to take note in early ‘15. Todd Vincent of Sellers & Associates, who serves as the village’s engineer, said the pace of lots approved for new homes led to a more in-depth look at the wastewater capacity.
“Subdivisions with approximately 110 lots had been approved,” Vincent said. “There was some concern that the sewer and water treatment capacity was being approached. Capacity analysis results showed approximately 100 additional lots could be accommodated by the existing system over and above the lots that had been approved.
“Since that time, approximately 201 lots are in various stages of construction and an additional 120 lots are in the planning stage.”
Earlier this year, the Maurice Board of Aldermen voted to place a moratorium on new residential building permits. That moratorium will end once the Beau Road facility goes online.
Permits obtained before the moratorium being implemented were not affected. To accommodate that continuing development, an interim package sewer treatment plant will be built on Beau Road to provide treatment capacity for approximately 62 lots in the first phase of Picard Farms, the new development located off U.S. Hwy. 167. That package plant is expected to be online in March or April of ‘19.
Along with the new facility opening in ‘20, sewer system improvements will be part of the entire project. That includes rerouting of the pump station on the Cecil Picard Elementary School property and a significant renovation and rerouting of the Etienne Street pump station.
“This will reduce the loading to the (current) north side plant,” Vincent explained, “and provide start uploading for the new south plant (on Beau Road).”
The total sewer project budget is $9.2 million. Maurice is paying a little more than $1 million, with financing from the USDA for $8.2 million. The loan will be repaid using a combination of user fees and sales tax revenue. Helping to cover interim financing are Gulf Coast Bank and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority (LPFA).
“We want to thank the USDA for providing financing for this,” Theriot said, “as well as Gulf Coast Bank and the LPFA for providing interim financing, allowing us to do all of this.
“We want to show our appreciation to all of them.”
Once completed, this project will be something that residents and officials decades from now will appreciate, Theriot said.
“This is monumental for us,” Theriot said. “This should be able to handle the village’s growth for the next 25 years.”

ERATH — A Mass of Christian Burial for Lydie “Dee” Butler, 95, will be at 3:00PM Friday December 7, 2018 in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church with Father Andre Metrejean officiating. Interment will follow in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery.
Visitation will be in David Funeral Home of Erath Friday December 7, 2018 from 9:00AM until service time with recitation of the rosary at 11:00AM.
Dee, a native and life resident of Erath, passed away Wednesday, December 5, 2018. She was employed as an admit clerk at Abbeville General Hospital before owning Humpty Dumpty Day Care Center for over 30 years. She held a special place in her heart for children, especially her grandchildren. She was a member of The Catholic Daughters and taught Catechism at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
She is survived by her daughters, Margo Butler LeBlanc and husband Patrick, Jessica Butler; grandchildren, Brett LeBlanc, Richard Greig and wife Stefanie, Ashley Meaux and husband Bruce, Patrice Lopez, Elizabeth Whittle, and Lauren Greig, and 13 great grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband Richard George Butler, her daughter Theresa Butler Grieg, her parents Ulger and Theresa Domingues Broussard, and 8 siblings.
Serving as Pallbearers will be: Pat LeBlanc, Richard Greig, Bruce Meaux, Brett LeBlanc, Logan Meaux, and Noah Greig.
Serving as her Honorary Pallbearers will be: Ronald Clark, Vernon Broussard, and Leonard Broussard.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of Erath is in charge of arrangements, 209 E. Putnam St, Erath, LA 70533, (337) 937-0405.

March 24, 1943 ~ December 3, 2018

ABBEVILLE — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on Thursday, December 6, 2018 at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church honoring the life of Curney James LeBlanc, 75, who died Monday, December 3, 2018 at his residence. He will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Fr. François Sainte-Marie officiating the services. Pallbearers will be Corey LeBlanc, Guy Thompson, Paul John Broussard, Kaleb Trahan, Logan Thompson and Jason Black. Honorary pallbearers will be Caden LeBlanc and Kevin Broussard.
Curney was a loving husband, father and grandfather and will be greatly missed by all those who knew him. He enjoyed gardening and tending to his lawn.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Beverly Broussard LeBlanc; one son, Corey Jonathan LeBlanc and his wife Ladessa of Abbeville; two daughters, Donna L. Trahan of Abbeville, and Tina L. Thompson and her husband Guy of Leroy; seven grandchildren, Kaylie Trahan Harrington, Kaleb Trahan, Natalie Thompson, Alaina Thompson, Logan Thompson, Kallen LeBlanc and Caden LeBlanc; two brothers, Allen LeBlanc of Lafayette, and Russell LeBlanc of Erath; and three sisters, Laura Mae Comeaux of Lafayette, Jane LeBlanc of Port Neches, TX, and Anna Rose Suire of Abbeville.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Alcide LeBlanc and the former Agnes Geoffroy; and one sister, Nell LeBlanc.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 from 3:30 PM until 9:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 7:00 PM; Thursday, December 6, 2018 from 8:00 AM until 12:45 PM when the procession will depart for the church.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.