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Feliciana Explorer • Tuesday, March 25, 2014 • Vol. 4, No. 12 • Published Weekly • Circulation 17,000 • felicianaexplorer.com • © 2014

EXPLOREREXPLORERFeliciana

Proud to be the Felicianas' only locally owned, managed, and staffed newspaper.

See JACKSON on page 2

For almost 50 years, the Jackson Assembly has sponsored the annual Jackson Assembly Antiques and Art Show. This year’s show will be held on March 28, 29, and 30th, in the picturesque little town of Jackson, Louisiana. The Assembly invites vis-itors to browse through fine antiques and incredibly varied collectibles as-sembled by select dealers from seven states, all fittingly displayed in two historic buildings salvaged with pro-ceeds from past shows.

Preservationists and history buffs will enjoy a self-guided tour of the Historic District and visiting the in-teriors of three historic churches and the original 1816 Courthouse of the Felicianas. The exteriors of many Greek Revival structures can be viewed from the sidewalk.

After enjoying fascinating ex-hibits filling the vintage buildings, visitors can feast on homemade soups and steaming seafood gumbo, sandwiches and delectable desserts prepared by Feliciana’s finest cooks served in the 1835 McKowen Store’s basement.

An art exhibit and sale by region-al artists will be held all three days in the McKowen Store, next door to the Antiques Show.

As a special treat, Centenary State Historic Site, two blocks from the Antiques Festival, visitors may tour the two story columned 1837 West Wing dormitory and a restored pro-fessor’s cottage which hold historic exhibits and period furnishings. Visi-tors will be among the first to view a fascinating new video presentation featuring the history of Centenary College. Tours will be each day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

$10 admission includes the An-tiques Show, Art Show, Tour of Centenary Historic Site, good for all three days.

The Professor’s Cottage Preser-vation at Centenary

According to Carol Anne Blitzer, who was previously associated with the Advocate newspaper, Centenary College has been located in Shreve-

Annual Jackson Assembly This Weekendnot Jackson, the parish seat of East Feliciana.

Almost from its founding, resi-dents of Jackson expressed the de-sire for a high-caliber school in the town. Within a year of moving the parish seat from Jackson, the Legis-lature chartered the College of Loui-siana, a state-supported school, for the little community.

Even before the school had buildings, the newly formed board of trustees found places to hold classes.

“The school opened in January 1826,” Howell said. “Classes were held in the courthouse. We know they rented some buildings in town. They were grabbing any space they could to crank it up.”

As an editorial in St. Francis-ville’s Louisiana Journal in 1825 read, “To erect buildings for all the purposes of the College would require at least two years. Letters ought not to slumber for that peri-od.”

Two dormitories were built for the college in 1832 and 1837. How-ever, by the 1840s, enrollment had dropped considerably following a national bank crisis beginning in 1837, and several yellow fever epidemics. Within 20 years of its opening, the College of Louisiana closed, and the campus was sold to the Methodist Conference.

At the same time, Centenary College, operated by the Methodist-Episcopal Church South at Bran-don Springs, Miss., also was having similar problems with enrollment.

In 1845, the two all-male student bodies were combined to create Centenary College of Louisiana on the Jackson campus.

In 1856, the boards of trustees and visitors of Centenary published a catalog setting forth rules and standards of the college. The intro-duction explained that the college is “under the patronage of the Louisi-ana and Mississippi Conferences (of

port for more than 100 years, the roots of the private, four-year, lib-eral arts college are in the little town of Jackson.

From its founding in 1825 as the College of Louisiana until its move to Shreveport in 1908, the college was an important element of the economy and community of Jack-son. It was because of the college and the town’s high standard of liv-ing that Jackson was once known as the “Athens of the South.”

This year, the 49th annual Jack-son Assembly Antiques Show and Sale will feature the Professor’s Cottage, one of two remaining buildings of Old Centenary, now the Centenary State Historic Site. Those attending the show and sale will

have the opportunity to tour the his-toric cottage and the West Wing, the school’s one remaining dormitory, and enjoy the wooded surroundings of the former campus.

Jackson was established in 1815 as the parish seat of the Felicianas. According to Michael Howell, au-thor of “Journey to War’s End: An Antebellum History of Jackson Louisiana,” the economy of Jackson got off to a quick start. The town had several successful businesses, attorneys, a printing office, taverns and physicians and was on its way to being a major Louisiana city. Then, in 1824, the Louisiana Leg-islature divided the Felicianas into two parishes, East Feliciana and West Feliciana, and made Clinton,

2 Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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JACKSON continued from page 1

the Methodist Church), and although … most of the Faculty are members of the Methodist Church, still no sec-tarian dogmas are taught, nor (are) efforts at proselytism used.”

Among the many rules set forth in the booklet was a requirement that no student “shall keep for his (plea-sure), any riding animal, or dog, or gun or pistol.”

Students were prohibited from bringing into the college or a stu-dent room “any spirituous, vinous or fomented liquors” and prohibited “during the regular session of Col-lege (from attending) any ball, the-atre, horse race or cock-fight.”

In 1856, the cornerstone was laid for the new Main Academic Build-ing, which was set between the East and West Wing buildings. The three-story Center Building contained a library with 3,000 volumes and an auditorium that seated 2,000 people.

The decade before the Civil War was the high point for the college at Jackson. The school had 250 stu-dents and 11 faculty members who offered instruction in languages, math, law and science. Graduation ceremonies each year brought visi-tors from around the area and lasted several days with numerous orations in Latin, Greek and English.

The Civil War marked the be-ginning of the end of Centenary in Jackson. After Louisiana seceded in 1861, the school closed. In large script, written across the faculty minutes are the words, “Students have all gone to war. College sus-pended and God help the right!”

Two battles were fought in Jack-

son including one on the campus in August 1863. Union forces stabled horses in the Main Academic Build-ing, and the school served as a hos-pital for Union and Confederate sol-diers for a time. Some 80 soldiers are buried on the grounds of the school.

In 1865, the school reopened, but times were much different. The cam-pus was in shambles.

The situation continued to dete-riorate. “At that time, Centenary was so poor, it couldn’t pay the profes-sors,” he said.

The college built four cottages, three for professors and one for the president. The school paid the fac-ulty a small amount of money and provided housing.

Finally, with a mere $18 in the treasury, the school accepted an of-fer from the city of Shreveport, with support of local Methodists, to move the school there.

However, between 1906 and 1908, the school made the transition to Shreveport.

The old Jackson campus stood vacant, and, over time, the buildings were sold off. The three main college buildings ended up being owned by three different people. Finally, the East Wing and the once grand Main Academic Building were demol-ished and sold for scrap.

For 30 years, the remaining building, the West Wing, was used for low-income housing. By 1977, it had so deteriorated that it was ready to be torn down when local residents came to the rescue.

In 1979, the state purchased and restored the West Wing and the last remaining cottage, the Professor’s Cottage. Both will be open to the public for the Jackson Assembly An-tiques Show and Sale.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014 3

West Feliciana Relay for Life Celebration to be Held at WF High SchoolWhat is Relay For Life?Relay For Life is the American

Cancer Society’s signature fund-raising event, bringing communities together in hope, celebration and memory. It is a unique event that of-fers everyone in the community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. The overnight event remembers those who have lost the fight against cancer and honors those who have survived.

Who participates?Because Relay For Life is a com-

munity event, everyone is encour-aged to participate. Teams of 10 to 15 people form from businesses, clubs, families, friends, hospitals, churches, schools and service organizations. These people share a common pur-pose — their support of the Ameri-can Cancer Society’s mission. During the event, team members take turns walking on the track and camping out overnight. Each participant is en-couraged to raise at least $100 for the American Cancer Society.

Why Relay For Life?This year, it is estimated that more

than 1,600 people each day will die from cancer. More than 1.6 million new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2013. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and one of every four deaths is from cancer. Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be sup-ported and that one day cancer will be eliminated.

Our MissionThe American Cancer Society is

the nationwide, community-based,

voluntary health organization dedi-cated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffer-ing from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.

SURVIVOR CELEBRATIONOn April 11, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at

West Feliciana High School, the Re-lay For Life of West Feliciana will kick off with a special Survivors Lap, a moving experience honoring those who have defeated cancer. Survivors will join together to walk the opening lap, unified in vitory and hope, while the rest of the event’s participants surround the track to cheer them on. This empowering celebration is just a small piece of the special experience

of Relay For Life.Relay For Life is a unique grass-

roots fundraising event in which in-dividuals and teams of participants in over 6,100 communities nation-wide walk around a track overnight to celebrate the lives of those who have faced cancer, remember loved one lost, and commit to fight back against the disease. The money raised through Relay For Life supports the efforts of the American Cancer Soci-ety to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Relay For Life events are held at an athletic track, park, or fairground, with the goal of keeping at least one team member on the track or path-way at all times. Teams do most of

their fundraising prior to the event, but some teams also hold creative fundraisers at their camp sites at the event. Relay For Life brings together friends, families, businesses, hospi-tals, schools, and faith-based groups to finish the fight against cancer.

If you are a cancer survivor or care-giver and would like to take part in the Relay For Life of West Feliciana, call your American Cancer Society at 225-767-4563 or visit http://www.re-layforlife.org/westfelicianala” www.relayforlife.org/westfelicianala

The American Cancer Society saves lives and creates more birth-days by helping people stay well, by helping people get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.

4 Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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Slaughter Community Charter School Preparing for ExpansionBy James Ronald skains

Enthusiasm is contagious, espe-cially in the three year old Slaugh-ter Community Charter School.

“Our students love to be here, our faculty and staff love to be here and the parents of our students love to be involved with the school,” Dr. Linda Saucier told the Feliciana EXPLORER. ”Slaughter Commu-nity Charter School is a great edu-cational example of what a commu-nity school really can be.”

“There was a real need in the Slaughter community for this Char-ter school,” Dr. Saucier continued. “ After elementary school, students in the Slaughter area would have to go several miles north in the par-ish to finish their education. None of the available schools at the time offered college prep classes. The

Charter school has solved a real educational problem for the parents of middle school age children in the Slaughter area.”

Three years ago, in the fall of 2011, the Slaughter Community Charter School (SCCS) opened for 7th and 8th graders. The 2012/2013 school year brought in the 9th grade class and the 2013/2014 school year brought into existence the 10th grade class. Next school year, the 11th grade will be added at SCCS, and the beginning of the 2015/2016 will feature the first graduating class for the SCCS Knights.

“This was the goal of SCCS from the beginning, to offer grades 7 through 12 to students in the Slaughter community,’’ Dr. Saucier, a former Livingston Parish teacher explained. “The first group of 7th and 8th grade students at SCCS will

also be our first graduating class in the spring of 2016.”

“We have 13 teachers and two other people on staff for our 202 students enrolled at SCCS. Our goal is to have up to 66 students per grade at SCCS. Our goal is to prepare each student for a TOPS scholarship and to score well on the ACT test. We work to make sure each student has a high grade point average, even in our rigorous cur-riculum here at SCCS.”

A group of concerned citi-zens and community leaders be-gan pursuing a charter school for the Slaughter School District in 2008. At the June 2009 meeting of the East Feliciana School Board, the SCCS Charter was approved. SCCS receives from the East Fe-liciana School Board the average amount of money that the School Board spends annually to educate a student in comparable grades to the SCCS students.

SCCS is governed by a six per-

son Board. Currently, Glen LeDoux is President of that Board. The five other members of the SCCS Board are Andre Greenup, Chris-sie O’Quin, Melissa Wyatt, Phillip Bourgeois, and Tim Kinyomi.

“The parents are the real keys to the success of SCCS,’’ Peggy Reno, Academic Dean for SCCS related. “They are the ones who built the school, who maintain the school and assist with every project that our school has in place.”

“We have a very active “CAPS” squad. The CAPS acronym stands for Community and Parents Squad. Our CAPS groups volunteer so much time to our school activities. We have parent volunteers who teach Art Classes and Photography. All of our coaches are CAPS mem-bers. We are competing for the first time in football. We also compete in cross country running, baseball, and our girls volley ball team is practic-ing to be able to begin competing in the near future.”

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“A group of 17 of our students attended a District Academic Rally at Southern University recently,” Reno, who has been with SCCS since day one of operations, added. “Of the 17 SCCS students, 10 will go on to statewide academic com-pletion. SCCS students finished first and second place in most of the categories entered.”

“SCCS also has a very active BETA Club. Some of our SCCS members attended the recent state convention where Zack Payne placed first in the state competi-tion.”

“We’ve had no problem at all in recruiting teachers although our pay scale is about 5% less that East Feli-ciana Parish,’’ Dr. Saucier, a former “Distinguished Educator” with the State Department of Education, ex-

plained. “I like to think of SCCS as a teacher’s paradise for teaching.”

“We believe that the appearance of students at SCCS is of utmost importance to us, as we believe that pride in appearance is funda-mental to good character develop-ment and success. We also believe that improved academic achieve-ment results from a shared respon-sibility of the student, the parent, and the school. The purpose of our three party agreement is to make the three main parties involved in a child’s education understand and commit to the goals and principles that the SCCS community has es-tablished for a successful education outcome.”

The complete three written agreement between students, par-ents, and SCCS can be found on

the school websites: www.slaugh-tercharterschool.com and www.thesccs.org In brief, each student agrees to the following principle: “I will follow all my classroom proce-dures and school policies to the best of my ability. I will do my best to come prepared for class and give my teacher 100% of my attention. I will be honest and respectful to my teacher and peers. I will always put forth my best effort in all my class-es.”

The SCCS Teacher part of the agreement reads in short: “As your teacher, I will teach you to the best of my abilities and will be sensitive to your needs. I will give you ample time to complete your assignments. I will be honest with you and give you 100% of my attention.

“SCCS chose “Knight” as their school name,” Dr. Saucier noted.

“We have come up with several catchy mottos for our ‘Knights.” For instance, our Mission & Vi-sion states that “ Every Day, Every Knight will advance, striving for greatness, accepting nothing less.”

The Knight Code reads: “Today I will do more, I will learn more, I will be more than anyone thought I could. Today I will strive for Great-ness and nothing less. At SCCS, we are a community of leaders. We recognize honor and celebrate the leaders within us. We love learning, excel in all we do, achieve goals to-gether and do what is right.”

Writer’s note: SCCS is a huge success story. It appears that the success will only grow as they move into their next phase of building new facilities for the student and teachers at SCCS.

Pictured above: Slaughter Community Charter School District Rally participants cel-ebrating their tremendous showing at the academic event.

6 Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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ClassifiedsDo you want to make a difference in someone’s life? We are look-ing for someone who is loving and attentive but strong and mature to work one on one with a young male who has a developmental dis-ability after school around 2:30 and all day during the summers and holidays. Zachary/Jackson area. Please apply in person at 622 Shadows Lane Suite A Baton Rouge, La 70606 or send your resume to stjohnthebaptisthuman-services@gmail.comFOR RENT Mobile Home Lots. $250 per month. Nice, quiet area in Northeast EBR Parish. Call (225) 778-1672.Zachary Area Help Wanted. Full Time experienced Clerical Posi-tion. heavy typing. 10-key, quick-books invoicing, A/P, A/R, Payroll, and Microsoft Office; Answer Phones & all general office duties. Must be mature, reliable, orga-nized & able to multi-task. Non-smoking environment. Will Drug & background check. Fax resume & salary requirements to 225-658-2243.Help wanted! Short order cook needed. Part Time at Teddy’s Juke Joint. 225-658-8029.Private School in Zachary looking for part-time math teacher. Expe-rience teaching middle school stu-dents helpful.Contact us at (225) 654-4964 for more information.Local sporting goods retailer is hiring outside sales personnel! Work your own hours.. Products include: sporting goods by Easton, Louisville Slugger, and Rawlings; team apparel & goods, specialty items – embroidery, silk screen, and vinyl applications, as well as school and nursing uniforms. High commission rate. Unlimited ter-ritory. Retirees welcome. Contact 225-892-6616 for interview ap-pointment.For Sale! Old School Deluxe- 1951 Chevrolet, Regal Motor, New

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About Tuscaloosa Marine Shale March 27 - A community forum on the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale exploration in the Felicianas and this region will be held Thursday, March 27 at West Feliciana High School. Topics for the public to learn about include: selling; leasing; royalties; mineral rights; drilling; fracking; environmental impact. Time: 6-8 p.m. in the WFHS Auditorium.

Halcón buys Feliciana Stake in Tuscaloosa Shale from EncanaFRom Ted GRiGGs oF The advocaTe:

Halcón Resources has acquired 95 percent of Encana Corp.’s Tus-caloosa Marine Shale leases in East and West Feliciana parishes and Wilkinson County, Miss., in a deal worth $400 million.

Baton Rouge landman Dan Col-lins said the Halcón-Encana agree-ment — filed March 6 at the West Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court’s Office — is a positive development for the Tuscaloosa shale.

Halcón Chairman and Chief Ex-ecutive Officer Floyd Wilson took a look at the Tuscaloosa in the mid-2000s while CEO of Petrohawk Energy Corp., Collins said. But he chose then to explore the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas.

Petrohawk’s success in that for-mation allowed Wilson to sell the company in 2011 to BHP Billiton, Australia’s largest energy company, for $12 billion.

“If anybody can find oil and make it work, it’s Mr. Wilson,” Col-lins said.

Kirk Barrell, author of the Tusca-loosa Trend blog and head of Ame-lia Resources LLC, said Halcón’s management and technical teams have a good record of success.

From Encana’s standpoint, shed-ding some acreage is probably a smart strategic move, Barrell said. The company probably couldn’t drill all 300,000-plus acres it has under lease before those agree-ments expire.

Canadian energy giant Encana

kept all of its interests in only three wells: two in Wilkinson County and one in East Feliciana Parish, ac-cording to the filing.

The company retained a 5 per-cent interest in the rest of its leases.

Halcón subsidiary HK TMS LLC mortgaged the leases to Encana for an amount up to $400 million, re-cords at the Clerk of Court’s Office show.

The amount of acreage involved is unclear in the deal with Halcón. The filing included close to 5,000 leases.

UpstreamOnline.com has report-ed that the deal will include at least 100,000 acres at $1,000 to $1,250. At that price, the deal would be worth $100 million to $125 million. SeekingAlpha.com put the acreage at 235,000 acres.

The Tuscaloosa formation, which stretches across the middle of Louisiana and into Mississippi, holds an estimated 9 billion barrels of oil.

Officials with Halcón declined to comment Friday. Encana spokes-man Doug Hock said the company will not be commenting.

The deal is the latest move in Halcón’s aggressive expansion of its Tuscaloosa Marine Shale activ-ity. In 2013, the Houston-based company boosted its acreage in the oil-rich formation from 75,000 to 300,000-plus.

Halcón CEO Wilson has said the company will spend about $95 million to drill 10 to 12 wells in the Tuscaloosa in 2014 but to look for “a huge impact” in 2015.

Halcón’s original foray into the Tusacaloosa Marine Shale involved leases in the western part of Loui-siana, Collins said. Those wells didn’t generate great results, and Halcón has since acquired acreage east of the Mississippi River.

According to UpstreamOnline, Halcón is expected to form a joint venture with private equity firm Apollo Global Management taking a 25 percent interest, or more, in the acreage in exchange for the capital needed to develop the leases.

Community Meeting About TMS set for March 27