January 1, 1959
• Actual construction on the first stage of a new and modern shopping center for Ville Platte will begin within the next few weeks, according to Vories Morein, well known business man, who said he was building a supermarket to be occupied by the National Food Stores of Louisiana.
Plans call for the construction of a building 100 feet front by 120 deep, providing 12,000 feet of floor space. Mr. Morein said. This building will be located 120 feet south of Highway 167 and will provide 48,000 square feet of asphalt parking area for patrons of the shopping center.
• At Frey’s 25 pound Corn Chop was .99, and Community Coffee was .65
January 8, 1959
• The Ville Platte Town Council, at its Tuesday night meeting, adopted the “dog ordinance” which the citizens of this community had earlier approved in an informal vote by a margin of 7 to 1.
The effect of the ordinance will be to prohibit any dog being at large on the streets of Ville Platte. This is true whether the animal has a collar, vaccination tags, or is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Several months ago the city conducted a poll of the populace by mailing out about two thousand postcards requesting on expression from the public on the question of eliminating dogs from the thoroughfares. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of so doing.
January 22, 1959
• New president of the Louisiana Cotton Festival is Dr. J.H. Wiggins, long active in the civic affairs of Ville Platte, who served as chairman of the city’s Centennial celebration last fall. Dr. Wiggins replaced Jules Ashlock as Festival head. Election of the new Cotton Festival president followed a joint meeting of Festival representatives and the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce.
January 16, 1969
• Funeral arrangements are incomplete today for Air Force Major Burton F. Fontenot, 34, of Ville Platte, who was killed in the crash of an Air Force F4C Phantom jet fighter near Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan, Sunday.
Fontenot, a crewman aboard the jet, was the son of Marcellus Fontenot of Ville Platte. An Air Force spokesman said the pilot of the plane, Capt. John P. Wadsworth, 27, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was also killed when the fighter crashed. The airmen were returning to the Yokota Air Base from Tokyo. Fontenot had been on a four day leave in Tokyo with his wife and two children.
• Sam Martin, superintendent of Chicot State Park, announced this week that the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission dumped 325,000 bream and chinquapin fingerlings in Chicot Lake last Friday.
The fish were taken from Beechwood Fish Hatchery in Forest Hill, Martin said, and some 15 to 18,000 blue channel catfish will also be dumped in the lake sometime this week. As of press time Wednesday, however, Martin had not heard from the commission on when they are to dump the catfish.
January 30, 1969
• Lou-ana Oil, 1/2 gal was .98 and Lou-ana Oil gallon was $1.69.
January 4, 1979
• Bertrand Campbell said this week he will be a candidate for police jury in District 5 of Evangeline Parish in the November election.
Campbell, of Turkey Creek, is a former mayor of the Village of Turkey Creek and served in that position for eight years. He was employed as a farmer prior to World War II when he served three-and-a-half years in the U.S. Navy. Campbell served another year-and-a-half in the Navy during the Korean Conflict.
Since that time Campbell has done road construction work and operated a business establishment.
• At Frey wine was $1.69, lettuce was .29, and apples were .15.
January 11, 1979
• Michael Reed, school board member from District 11, of Ville Platte, was unanimously elected president of the Evangeline Parish School Board Thursday night at the board’s first meeting of 1979.
Leslie Gaudet, board member from District 4, who only moments prior to the meeting had been sworn in to his second term on the school board, was unanimously elected vice president of the board.
Reed succeeds long-time board president Harold Monier of Mamou in the office, and Gaudet takes the place of District 5 board member Joe Foreman in the vice presidency. Monier and Foreman both, at the last board meeting of 1978, announced they did not wish to seek re-election to the presidency and vice presidency respectively and asked that the offices be given to someone else on the board.
January 25, 1979
• Qualifying opens Monday for one parish wide elected position and two political offices in the village of Chataignier.
Clerk of Court Walter Lee said this week qualifying opens at 8 a.m. Monday for the office of coroner of Evangeline Parish. Qualifying for the office closes at 5:00 p.m. Feb., 2. Qualifying fee will be $150 for this post.
Qualifying will open and close at the same time for the office of mayor in the village of Chataignier and for one council position in the village. Qualifying fees for both positions will be $25, Lee said.
The first primary in the special election for coroner and the special elections in Chataignier for mayor and one council seat is scheduled April 7. The general election is scheduled May 19.