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Fans of the Louisiana Cattle Festival can once again mark their calendars for the first weekend in October.
Cattle Festival President Francis Plaisance announced that the festival will return in 2021, during the first weekend in October. This comes after organizers decided to cancel last year’s festival because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Gov. John Bel Edwards moved Louisiana into Phase III, which allows for fairs and festivals to operate at 50% capacity. Plaisance said the Cattle Festival Board discussed and jumped at the opportunity to set a date.
“It’s going to be Oct. 1 and Oct. 2,” Plaisance said happily. “We want to get it out there so people can make plans.”
As for plans for how the festival will go, Plaisance said that remains in the works. For now, it’s simply a matter of making the festival happen in some way, shape or form.
“The events are to be determined,” Plaisance said. “We just feel like we want to allow the public to enjoy the festival.”
Plaisance said members of the Cattle Festival board would meet to iron out further details of this year’s festival.
“We are going to meet soon,” Plaisance said. “We are going to see how many events we are going to put in.
“We do want to bring it back.”
Bringing the festival back in any given year, even on the heels of a successful festival, presents plenty of work and some challenges.
“Not having it last year does make things tough,” Plaisance said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
Last September, the community helped ease some of the burden of the festival not happening last year by supporting a fundraiser effort to “Save the Cattle Festival.”
“That helped us tremendously to be able to get to this point,” Plaisance said.
At this point last year, no one knew the incredible effect the pandemic would have, an effect that led to the cancelation of the festival. It would have been the 72nd Annual Louisiana Cattle Festival. Plaisance said he is satisfied to leave 72nd festival in the history books for having not been held.
“I think we will just keep things in order,” Plaisance said, “and this year will be the 73rd Annual Louisiana Cattle Festival.”
Whatever the label, the festival has a date, and that answers a question many have asked of Plaisance.
“People kept asking me,” Plaisance said of whether the festival would go on. “Everyone I have talked to is super excited that the festival is going to take place.
“That’s a good thing.”

The best passer in Vermilion Parish has found a place to continue his talent.
Drew Lege has thrown for 9,110 yards in four years at VC, which is more yards than anyone else in the parish.
On Monday, he signed a letter of intent to play for Ave Maria University, which is located in Naples, Florida (on the Gulf of Mexico side across from Miami).
The signing was held in the VC gymnasium surrounded by football players, family and friends.
Ave Maria University is a private Catholic institution that was founded in 2003. It has an undergraduate enrollment of 1,129,
Lege was glad he found a place to continue his education. Early in the 2020 football season, Yale offered to give him a scholarship and he accepted. However, things changed because of COVID-19. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA said seniors in all sports could return for an extra year. Yale and other universities found themselves having to keep their scholarships for seniors who returned for the fifth year.
Yale took back its scholarship offer.
Lege had two more scholarship offers. One was from Ave Maria and the other was from Louisiana College in Pineville, La.
The Lege family visited Ave Maria during the hard freeze last month and liked what they saw.
“The weather was beautiful during the freeze,” said Lege. “It was perfect timing.”
When Lege arrives, Ave Maria will have five quarterbacks on the roster. There will be two seniors, two redshirt freshmen and Lege.
Ave’s starting QB, Will Tale, a two-year starter at QB, will take advantage of the NCAA allowing seniors to return for another year. He will return one more year. He has thrown for an average of 1,100 yards a season.
One person who was all smiles with Lege signing was the VC quarterback coach, Bobby McDonald. McDonald coached Lege for the last three years. McDonald played quarterback for Nicholls State in 1987-88.
“Drew has developed into a smart young man,” said McDonald. “He picks the game up and is very coachable. He is a great kid.”
For four years, Lege never played behind a large offensive line. McDonald taught him the way to be successful at quarterback with limited protection is to get rid of the football quickly.
“In our scheme, we want him to get rid of the ball quick. He also has a great ability to read defenses, and see it, understand it and deliver it made him very successful,” McDonald added.
Lege and McDonald did have conversations about what was the best college for him to attend. Other universities wanted him to walk-on in hopes he could win a scholarship in a year or two.
“Wherever Drew needs to be happy, that is where he needs to go,” said McDonald. “Wherever he goes, it does not matter. It will be good for him. He will develop friendships and get a good education.
“Drew will then be set for life.”

ERATH — It does not take a big storm to flood the Erath Housing Authority, so the federal government is trying to avoid constantly remodeling the homes each time it floods.
Since 2005, the housing authority residents have flooded at least six times because of heavy rain from a tropical storms or a hurricane.
To get the residents out of harm’s way of flooding, the federal government has awarded the town $2.2 million of grant money to lift 13 homes. Each home is divided up into two apartments.
The $2.2 million covers 98 percent of the cost of elevating the homes at least nine feet in the air. HUD would be responsible for the rest of the cost.
The entire structure, including lifting the homes’ cement slab, will be elevated at least five feet in the air.
At Monday’s monthly aldermen meeting, Erath Mayor Taylor Mennacci recommended that the aldermen not accept the $2.2 million grant just yet.
He explained that he was waiting on HUD to approve the use of $40,000 that the Erath Housing Authority would contribute to the elevating of the 13 homes. He wanted to make sure HUD will let the housing authority use the $40,000 to lift the houses. If HUD denies the housing authority the use of the $40,000, Mencacci fears the town of Erath will have to dish out the $40,000.
“We have to make sure the money is in line,” said Mennacci.
Alderwoman Jackie Vincent questioned if the town does not accept the $2.2 million, will FEMA take back the money?
Todd Vincent, the town engineer with Sellers and Associates, explained to Vincent that the money will still be available.
Mencacci also had a question of who will maintain the new elevated homes? Who will repair the wooden ramps for the elevated homes? the Mayor asked.
“Will HUD have the capitol five or 10 years down the line to replace the ramps?” the Mayor questioned. “We need those questions answered.”
Jackie Vincent responded by telling the Mayor the housing authority has been taking care of the homes there now without the town’s help.
“The housing authority has been taking care of the buildings all of this time,” Vincent said.
She said 44 individuals live in the housing authority, and they have struggled each time there is heavy rain. Many are elderly and disabled, she added.
Jackie Vincent did not give up in her fight to help those living in the housing authority. She requested the town engineer apply for another grant to elevate Lahasky Road.
In the meantime, Mencacci said the perfect solution would be to move the entire housing authority buildings to a higher location.
“Every time we have any storm, any rain event, we have to evacuate everyone out of these housing projects. Ultimately the bigger goal would be to rebuild these homes in another location, but that’s hard these days,” Mencacci said.

HEADING NORTH - Delcambre’s Damian Guy (middle) recently signed a letter of intent to play football for Elmhurst College located near Chicago, Illinois. Elmhurst is a small four-year college. Sitting with Roy in the photo are (standing, left to right), Delcambre Principal Chantel Helm, head football coch Artie Liuzza, athletic director Keith Morgan and defensive coordinator TJ Saunier. Seated (left to right), Jonathan Hayes, Damian Guy and Damian’s father, James Guy.