Jagneaux Hosts Night Event
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
St. Landry Parish Clerk Of Court Charles Jagneaux hosted a community business after hours event on Wednesday night as his guests toured the extensive second floor archives area which has expanded since its opening last year.
The event also provided an opportunity for St. Landry Now.com to conduct brief interviews with several elected parish and municipal officials.
Here’s what they had to say:
Port Barre police chief Deon Boudreaux
Boudreaux provided details concerning the marijuana drug bust made by his officers earlier this week. The seven pounds of marijuana seized by his department occurred, Boudreaux said, when the alleged suspect was stopped for speeding as his vehicle approached the bridge that enters the town.
The town, Boudreaux said, is continuing to contemplate upgrades for the animal shelter, which Boudreaux said is under the direction of Leslie Guidry.
Boudreaux said the dogs at the Port Barre shelter are continuing to find new homes as the animals are being transported out of state where adoptions are assured.
Parish president Jessie Bellard
Bellard said he is going ahead with plans to provide dumpsters for large material in order to provide a more convenient way of disposal.
“For instance it takes almost an hour for people in Eunice to drive to the landfill. This way Eunice and other parts of the parish like Krotz Springs, Leonville and Arnaudville will have a chance to have quicker dumping access,” said Bellard.
Bellard said litter abatement crews provided by the Solid Waste Commission will oversee management of the roving dumpsters that will be provided by parish government.
The SWC personnel, said Bellard, will monitor the items to ensure that no hazard material is placed in the dumpsters.
Parish workers, according to Bellard, began painting the dumpsters and applying parish government emblems on Wednesday.
Preston Castille
Castille, the CEO of Helix Academy in Opelousas, said the school for students in grades one through five is still enrolling new students.
Designed to provide careers in medicine and AI, Helix, Castille said that by Oct. 1, Helix had 517 students. The school, which is adding grade 6 in 2026-27, has 500 awaiting applicants,
Castille has been reporting to the St. Landry Parish School Board in quarterly updates.
Charles Jagneaux
Jagneaux said he has mailed letters to all St. Landry Parish mayors, advising them to help the Registrar of Voters and Clerk of Court determine the number of persons who might not be eligible to vote in the 2026 November elections.
“The Clerk’s Office feels that the mayors will know some of the names that are on the list and assist with identifying these persons who have been inactive voters. Our concern is that it is going to affect the lists that we compile for jury duty if we don’t have the right addresses,” Jagneaux said.
Jagneaux said Lafayette Parish has announced that the parish has more than 20,000 persons whose addresses may have been changed or who have not voted recently.
St. Landry, said Jagneaux, could have as many as 10,000 who have the same issue.
Graig LeBlanc
LeBlanc, the Opelousas Police Chief, said that the department is being helped by computer software upgrades that are enabling better communication between the dispatchers and patrol officers.
“It’s the same system that we have been using. The only difference is the system is enhanced with new software,” LeBlanc added.
Larry Caillier, Jr.
Caillier, the archivist for the Clerk of Court, said he has been busy filling the second floor archival rooms with photographs with accompanying histories.
Recently Caillier said the archives received back issues of the Opelousas Clarion, the Opelousas Herald and the Opelousas Daily World that will be soon available for viewing once the issues are cataloged.
Viewings for the exhibits are normally made by appointment, said Caillier.
