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Technology is making life easier for coaches in Vermilion Parish.
Abbeville, Vermilion Catholic, and Erath each have their own Turk Tank robot that’s currently being used to paint the numbers, lines, and even designs on the football fields at the three schools.
The robots use GPS to precisely paint surfaces for football, soccer, baseball, softball, and track. What used to take a six-to-eight-man crew four hours to complete is now done by the robot that’s controlled by a tablet with one person monitoring it. That’s what sold VC head coach Broc Prejean on the idea.
“We have a crew that shows up every Thursday to work on the field,” Prejean said. “Our dads are phenomenal. But now, rather than spending four hours painting lines, they’re doing other things to dress up the field. They can pay more attention to the grass, get signage up, and things of that nature.
“To come out here as a one-man operation and get the practice field ready for the week makes it super attractive. When people see it work for the first time or see the lines at games, it’s hard to believe that a piece of technology made something that consistent, especially on inconsistent ground.”
Abbeville Head Football Coach Jonathan Zenon got his over the summer out of necessity. Breaux Bridge, the place he coached before coming to Abbeville, has an artificial playing surface. He never had to paint a field before.
“Breaux Bridge has a turf field,” Zenon said. “When we got here and noticed it was a grass surface, none of us have ever painted a day in our lives. We did some research and found Turf Tank. It’s actually cheaper for us this way than to pay someone to paint the field.”
Erath head coach Eric LeBlanc just got his Turf Tank a couple of weeks ago. So far, they’ve used it to paint the field before their week 10 game against Abbeville and on their practice field. He’s excited about the precision and versatility of the device.
“It makes the straightest lines we’ve ever seen,” LeBlanc exclaimed. “Between football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, track, and band, we have five locations with nine different field layouts. We simply select the field we want to paint with the ability to customize anything we want. Last week, we had it paint the senior football numbers in the end zone.”
With the precision of the Turf Tank and the amount of time and manpower it saves, it must cost a fortune, right?
According to Prejean, a few years ago the answer was yes. When he initially inquired about a Turf Tank, it was priced upwards of $40,000. Since then, the price has come down and the company moved to a subscription service rather than one upfront cost. The price, depending on the model, is around $5,500.
“When I first inquired about it a couple of years ago, it was priced more for a school district,” Prejean said. “Now, it’s a subscription model where you pay a yearly price. There are three different categories. Each one comes with a certain number of services and a certain amount of paint. Price wise, it’s fairly comparable to what we spend on paint.”
For LeBlanc, the value is in the time it saves.
“The number of hours we were spending after practices and on weekends setting up fields, our programs are all coming out ahead there,” LeBlanc said. “Our coaches and directors can use their time for other duties. On top of that, we no longer have to buy thousands of dollars of aerosol paint cans every year.”
Prejean has gotten close to his Turf Tank over the last 10 weeks. So close, in fact, he’s given the robot a name.
“We refer to ours as Joe Junior. Mr. Joe Broussard has been the lead on getting our field prepped all these years, so it’s our way of honoring him.”
According to Zenon, Abbeville’s robot name is “Prime Time Cat.”
Erath hasn’t quite settled on one name just yet.
“We’re stuck between a couple of names right now,” LeBlanc said. “We’re leaning towards Paintin’ Manning.”
NFL quarterback Payton Manning actually played on Bobcat Field in 1991. He was a sophomore quarterback for Newman High School, and they played Erath in the playoffs.

Over the past few years, the Vermilion Parish public school system has been beefing up security across all its schools. They’ve implemented several safety measures, including having police officers (school safety officers) on campus, installing Ring Bell cameras at the front entrance, and metal detectors.
This month, the public school district is introducing additional safety measures at a few of its schools.
You will notice several of the schools have erected fencing and access/exit gates. Kaplan High School and Abbeville High School are installing sizeable black iron gates around their campuses.
These gates will run alongside and behind the campuses.
Assistant Superintendent Marc Turner explained the purpose of the gates and other safety features the school system is doing.
“The fences create controlled access and single point of entry,” Turner said. “They help protect students and faculty from external threats, such as unauthorized access by strangers or potential intruders. They also create a physical barrier that can deter unwanted visitors.”
There will be only one entrance for all schools. No visitor will able to access the school through side or rear entrances during school hours. All campuses have a single point of entry at the front of the school.
The plan is for all public schools in Vermilion Parish to have gates surrounding their campuses. Open campuses will be eliminated.
Turner explained that the gates have locking mechanisms that allow individuals to exit freely but prevent an unauthorized individual from entering from the outside.
The safety grant the school board received is paying for the fences and gates.
All campuses are adding a new safety feature called a “foyer.” This foyer is a small room located just inside the school’s front door. It restricts access to the campus and allows entry only to the main office.
For example,if a mother at AHS wants to check out her child, she will stand outside and use the Ring Doorbell to notify the front office someone is at the door. A staff member will respond and ask how they can assist. The mother will then explain that she is there to pick up Johnny and show her driver’s license to verify her identity as his mother. Instead of being allowed to enter the school, the mother will wait outside until Johnny arrives.
Turner explained that when a parent wants to meet with a teacher, they are allowed into the school but must wait in the foyer for an escort. The metal doors in the foyer remain locked and can only be unlocked by front office staff and administrator as needed. Turner also mentioned that, several foyers have already been constructed inside of our campuses and are awaiting the Fire Marshal approval.
“The school board has dedicated funds to create foyers at all of our schools that don’t already have them,” Turner explained. “The foyers are designed as secure vestibules that control access in our schools. Visitors will enter the foyer, check in, and pass through a secondary access point if needed. This process will reinforce control over who enters our schools.”
Another investment to secure the public school system the school board purchased is an app called Raptor Alert Management System.
Turner explained how the system works.
He said that the Raptor Alert Management System will streamline and accelerate emergency response by allowing users to initiate alerts directly to 911, share critical information, and account for all students and staff.
The system is easily accessible on employees’ mobile devices and school computers. Additionally, Raptor includes a visitor management feature that enhances school security by scanning visitors’ driver’s licenses, checking the information against a sex offender database and district ban lists, and alerting school administrators and local police if a match is identified.

 The Vermilion Catholic Lady Eagles tipped off the 2024-25 season Monday with a 75-51 loss to the Teurlings Catholic Lady Rebels at Kim Guidry Gym.
VC hung with the Class 4A Rebels for one half.  They had the lead 37-32 with 2:32 to play in the first half, but Teurlings closed on a 10-0 run to lead 42-37 at the break.  The Lady Rebels used their size and depth to outscore VC 33-19 in the second half.
 “We knew it was going to be tough,” said long-time VC head coach Kim Guidry.  “I was pleased with the first half and disappointed in the second half.  Once we got tired, we were our own worst enemy.  It’s the season’s first game, but we have things to work on.”
 The Lady Eagles return all five starters and the top ten players from last year’s squad, which finished 12-12 and lost in the first round of the Division IV Select playoffs.
While the Lady Eagles are loaded with experience, they have only one senior in Jenna-Beth Hagle.  Guidry expects Hagle to be the spark plug for her team again but stops short of saying she has a veteran team.
“I have high hopes,” Guidry said.  “Even though they’re mostly juniors, they’re still learning.  Hopefully, by the time the district rolls around, we play all four quarters like we played the first half tonight.  As far as experience, they still get nervous. They were jittery before tonight’s game, like a bunch of seventh graders.
When Jenna-Beth picked up her fourth foul early in the second half, that hurt us.  She spent most of the second half on the bench.  As a leader, she has to know how to play with three fouls.  That was not a smart foul.”
Sophomore Brynn Broussard will join Hagle at guard. Junior Ali Broussard, who is athletic and able to play inside and out at small forward, will also join Hagle.  
Junior Zoei Thibodeaux returns at power forward while sophomore Keiya Green will again be the center.  Sophomore Anna Boudreaux and Bree Thomassee are expected to provide depth in the post.
Ali Broussard led VC with 15 points against Teurlings.  Brynn Broussard was right behind with 13.  Green tossed in eight, while Hagle and Thibodeaux each had six.  Boudreaux added two points, while Thomassee had one.
The Lady Eagles were back in action Tuesday as they hosted Catholic High.  They’ll be home again on Thursday when they host the Delcambre Lady Panthers.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30.

The hunt is on for lead pipes in the local municipalities.
Just last week, Abbeville, Kaplan, and Erath reached out to all residents and businesses using city water, asking them to take a look at the pipes linking their properties to the city’s water supply.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) requires that every water service provider in the State have a valid record of the type of service lines providing water to every customer. This is an effort by LDH to eradicate any lead pipes that might still be in service. 
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, enforcement of the federal lead ban began in Louisiana in September 1988, so if your home was built after that, you should not have lead pipes. 
If your home was built before 1988, the EPA provides guidance on how to determine the material of the pipe in your home. 
In Abbeville’s letter, it states, “We have been working to identify service line material throughout the water system, and it has been determined that either a portion of or the entire water pipe (called the service line) that connects your structure at the water meter address to the water main line is made from unknown material but may be lead.”
The letter asks customers to fill out a form regarding the pipes that connect the water meter to their house.
They want to know the pipe going from the water meter to the town’s water system is:
•Galvanized
•Cooper
• Plastic
• Other
• Lead

Also, the water line going to the house from the water meter is:
•Galvanized
•Cooper
• Plastic
• Other
• Lead

Abbeville is asking to mail back the letter or hand deliver it to city hall. They can send it back to Kathy Faulk: P. O. Box 1170, Abbeville, La. 70511: 
Kaplan Mayor Mike Kloesel posted on Facebook that if a Kaplan resident lives in a 60-plus-year-old home, it may have a lead pipe. 
“Most homes in our town are connected from the home to the service line by plastic (PVC), PE tubing, copper, galvanized, and, in rare cases, possibly lead,” said Kloesel.
“If your home is more than 60 years old, you will want to make sure that any lead pipes connecting your water service have been replaced,” the Kaplan Mayor added.
Kloesel said you can scan the QR code within the letter to help you identify the type of service line you have. If you require additional help, don’t hesitate to call Kaplan city hall at 337-643-8811