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September 20, 1948 ~ August 28, 2023

KAPLAN — Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, September 1, 2023 at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan honoring the life of Donald Joseph Gaspard, 74, who died Monday, August 28, 2023 at his residence. Reverend Keith Landry will officiate the services.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Belva “Jane” Gaspard of Kaplan; one son, Casey Gaspard and his husband, Randy of Wesley Chapel, FL; two daughter, Andrea Swire and her husband, Keith of Grand Chenier and Connie Gaspard of Kaplan; one brother, Ricky Gaspard of Abbeville; three sisters, Judy LeMaire of Forked Island, Rose LeBeouf and her husband, Edwin of Kaplan and Lora Gaspard of Kaplan; one grandson, Austin Swire of Grand Chenier; one great grandson, Lucas Swire of Breaux Bridge; and three aunts, Millie Frith of Kaplan, Peggy Gaspard of Cow Island and Coudray Monceaux of Kaplan.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ravis Gaspard and the former Eula Mae Touchet.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan, 300 N. Eleazar Ave., on Thursday, August 31, 2023 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 7 p.m.; Friday, September 1, 2023 from 9 a.m. until the services at 1 p.m.
The family would like to thank Traditions Hospice and Roeshia Lafleur with Angel Healing Hands Home Care for their care and compassion.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276. Condolences may be sent to the Gaspard family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

The building of Vermilion Charter Academy is now on its way to taking place.
In May 2020, the volunteer board from the Maurice area first met to discuss bringing a charter school to the northern part of the parish to help with overcrowding in the public schools.
On Tuesday, more than three years later, their vision became a reality.
At the Vermilion Charter Academy’s monthly meeting at Maurice City Hall, the Vermilion Charter Foundation Board of Trustees signed a lease agreement with Red Apple at Vermilion, LLC. The charter foundation will be the tenant, and Red Apple Vermilion, LLC will be the landlord of a new charter school.
For the past three years, Vermilion Charter Foundation and Charter Schools USA have worked diligently to accomplish our goal of providing an educational choice for parents in a state-of-the art school that is centered on science, arts and innovation,” said Bridget Campbell Winters, the president of the Vermilion Charter Foundation Board of Trustees. “It’s awesome to see this plan come to fruition with the signing of our lease to build this school. I’m so proud of the work we’re doing.
“Go Bulldogs!”
The charter school, which will be built in the north Vermilion Parish area, is at the intersection of La. Hwy. 343 and Hwy. 92, which is located west of the town of Maurice.
Red Apple, a company out of Florida, purchased the land and will build the school. By Oct. 1, work is expected to begin on the new two-story school that will cost $21 million.
Depending on the weather an material, it is expected to take eight months to build the school. The kindergarten through 8th-grade school is expected to open in August of 2024.
John Cook, the board attorney, explained to the trustees about the terms of the lease.
The lease states that Vermilion Charter Academy will lease the school for 20 years from Red Apple. The lease increases 10 percent every five years. The lease agreement is $2.2 million for the first five years, then rises to $2.4 million for another five years. The lease will be $2.9 million a year for the final five years.
Once the 20 years is up, the Vermilion Parish Charter will no longer be required to pay Red Apple. However, Red Apple will still own the school and property.
Before the lease agreement was signed by board president Bridget Campbell Winters, the trustees had questions for Cook.
Trustee Ethan Broussard asked Cook if something breaks at the school, it is Vermilion Charter’s responsibility to repair the problem. Cook said yes, and said the lease the board is about to sign is called a “Triple Net Lease.”
This type of lease makes the tenant responsible for most of the property expenses.
Trustee Javon Dehart asked the board members if the board was happy with the lease. All agreed they were.
When the school opens, the enrollment will be 860 students for the first year. If need be, the school can handle up to 1,023 students in the future.
The charter school will be able to accept students from Acadiana, not just Vermilion Parish.
Vermilion Charter Academy created a new website.
The website address is vermilioncharter.org.
The website is where parents can apply to attend the charter school. The process will begin on Oct. 30 until Dec. 2 of 2023.
The mascot of the new school will be a bulldog.

Remember the football days of running and practicing despite the heat? Kiss those days goodbye. It is now illegal.
Athletic programs in Louisiana must use a West Bulb Globe Temperature Thermometer to determine the length of practices and the number of breaks.
It is part of the Korey Stringer Institute that Louisiana lawmakers adopted in 2022.
Vermilion Parish Athletic Director Marc Turner held a parish-wide meeting in May to go over heat-related safety protocols for athletics and band students.
The meeting is normally attended by cross country and football middle and high school coaches. This time, Turner included band directors from middle school and high schools.
“The training everyone took in May, makes everyone safe today,” said Turner.
Most teams in the parish begin football practice at 3 p.m., which is the hottest part of the day, and end around 5:30 p.m. It is not uncommon for the temperature outside to read 100 degrees.
Before practice begins, coaches or trainers use the bulb globe thermometer to take a reading of the temperature. This particular thermometer factors in the temperature, humidity, clouds, location of the sun in the sky and the wind. Then it gives a temperature reading. If the temperature is 92 degrees or above at 3 p.m., then safety protocols go into place.
For the last two weeks, it has been way above 92 degrees.
Vermilion Parish public schools have trainers at each school who handle cross-country and football practices. They are also keeping an eye on heat-related issues.
Not everyone is practicing outside because of the heat. North Vermilion Middle football team has practiced in the gym.
Erath Middle School teams practice in the shade.
Erath High head coach Eric LeBlanc said his team practices in full gear on Monday and Tuesday, then helmets and shorts on Wednesday.
Once the temperature is taken, practice begins.
The Bobcats practice for 20 minutes and then take a water break for five minutes.
EHS also has two large misting fans near the water. Also, ice baths are set up near the water if someone needs to cool down.
“We are trying to be as safe as possible,” said LeBlanc. “We give them as many breaks as possible. Our coaches are also trying to keep an eye on the players, but it is hard with 89 kids.”
Parish teams will participate in jamborees on Thursday and Friday, which begin at 6 p.m.
LeBlanc said he expects referees to allow for water breaks throughout the jamborees.
Abbeville High football coach Roderick Moy said he has his team practicing in the heat but they also take waterbreaks every 10 minutes.
“It (heat) is going to get worse before it gets better,” said Moy. “They are going to play in the heat, so we have to get used of it.”

CHURCH POINT — Lynkon Romero completed 14 of 17 pass attempts for 227 yards and three touchdowns and the Erath High Bobcats rallied in the second half to beat Eunice 29-20 in the Acadia-Vermilion Jamboree at Church Point High.
“It’s a good start,” Erath head coach Eric LeBlanc said. “Winning’s a great feeling.
“We’ve got great kids, and we’re going to learn from this win. We’ll get back (to work) and look forward to getting to 1-0 next week.”
The Bobcats opened the game with a 61-yard scoring strike from Romero to Bo Lancon, but fell behind 13-7 on a pair of touchdowns from Bryan Allen — a four-yard run and a 10-yard pass reception.
Romero then led a three-play drive, all passes, to push Erath ahead again on a 33-yard TD pass to Blake Dautreuil, plus a 2-point conversion run by Brayden Landry. That PAT followed a penalty that moved the ball closer to the goal.
Eunice answered with a 70-yard touchdown run on a counter play to Allen to lead 20-15 at halftime.
Erath made a couple of defensive adjustments at halftime based on having seen Eunice in the playoffs last year, and didn’t allow a point after intermission.
“There were some things we saw them do in the playoffs last year that we were prepared for, that they hadn’t shown us yet (in the jamboree), and they started throwing them out there (in the second half), so we went back to some things we knew we could adjust to easily in the defense,” LeBlanc said.
“The kids did a great job in the second half coming out there and pitching a shutout, and