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Kaplan has a reason to celebrate this Christmas.
Mayor Mike Kloesel announced that the city council has approved a new lease for Soja Food, LLC in the city-owned old Garan facility. The city and the company agreed on a 10-year lease, with an option to purchase after three years.
The Garan building, located at 302 Klaby Meaux Road, has been vacant for years, previously used by Walmart for storage.
Before that, the Garan plant in Kaplan produced clothing for major retailers such as Walmart and J.C. Penny, primarily focusing on children’s apparel through cut-and-sew operations.
Mayor Kloesel negotiated the donation of the building to the City of Kaplan a little over 2 years ago convincing Garan, Inc., to donate the building and 18 acres of land to the city.
Soja Food plans to invest $10 million in equipment and renovations over the next 10 to 12 months for various types of soybean production. These products will be sold in markets across the USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia. According to the lease-purchase agreement, Soja Foods, LLC is expected to create approximately 25-30 jobs in phase one and another 20-25 jobs in phase two of its operations.
“I am happy they selected Kaplan,” said Mayor Kloesel. “If they had to build a facility this big, it would cost them $6-8 million. I am excited for this opportunity to create jobs in our town. They loved our
location because there is room enough on the 18 acres for future expansion.”
Before the lease was approved, City Council member Mike Renfrow inquired about potential odors from soybean oil production. “I don’t want a pogie plant-type smell sitting in Kaplan,” said Renfrow, expressing concerns about possible odors. Although no one could say for sure, Kloesel did not expect any unpleasant smells similar to those from sugar cane production or the pogie plant.
Renfrow also asked about the type of water that would be discharged. After hearing the mayor’s responses, Renfrow commended Kloesel for securing the lease, stating, “This is a good thing for Kaplan.”
Kaplan will earn revenue from the lease agreement as well as the utilities used by the plant during operations. Additionally, there is a no solar panel clause in the contract to protect the city’s utility interests. The mayor reiterated that the renovation and setup process will take between 9-12 months.

July 16, 1947 ~ December 21, 2025

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services officiated by Deacon William "Bill" Vincent will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 27, 2025 at Vincent Funeral Home honoring the life of Michael Griffin, 78, who passed away on December 21, 2025 at his residence. He will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery. Honored to serve as pallbearers will be, Reid Broussard, Cole Griffin, Dr. James Griffin, Bryce Griffin,Ty Griffin, and Jake Griffin.
A visitation will take place at Vincent Funeral Home 209 S. Saint Charles St., Abbeville, LA on Friday, December 26, 2025 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 5:30 p.m. The visitation will resume on Saturday, December 27, 2025 from 8 a.m. until time of the service.
Mike was preceded in death by his beloved wife and soulmate, Linda Broussard Griffin, whom he missed every day since her passing in 2016. He was a proud member of the Local 406 Union as a heavy equipment operator for nearly 60 years and still holds an active book. He was well known for his morning visits at Champagne’s where he knew everyone by name, as they knew his as well. Mike’s greatest joy in life was his children and grandchildren. He cherished every moment spent with them, from daily talks and phone calls to hosting every holiday dinner.
Michael is survived by his daughter, Shantell Griffin Rizzuto and her husband Marcus; his son, Michael Todd Griffin; his grandchildren, Bryce Griffin, Ani’ Griffin,Ty Griffin, McKenzie Griffin, and Jake Griffin; great grandchildren, Grayson, Eliah, Naomi, and Maze. Michael is also survived by his siblings, Jimmy Griffin, Russell Griffin and his wife Carol, Larry Griffin and his wife Peggy, and Cherie G. Thomas and her husband Raymond.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of forty nine and a half years, Linda Broussard Griffin; parents; James R. Griffin and Maude Broussard Griffin; brother, Ronnie Griffin; and sister, Patty G. Broussard.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville (337) 893-4661.

April 27, 1947 - December 18, 2025

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, December 22, 2025, at 2 p.m., in St. Peter the Apostle’s Catholic Church for Ms. Nancye Duhon, 78, who passed away on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at Gueydan Memorial Guest Home Nursing Home.
Visitation will be held on Monday, December 22, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Matthews Funeral Home in Gueydan, LA.
A rosary will be recited on Monday, December 22, 2025, at 11 a.m., at Matthews Funeral Home in Gueydan, LA.
Reverend Stephen Irudaysamy will be officiating her services.
Graveside Services will take place in the Gueydan cemetery following her mass.
Nancye Joan Tucker was born on April 27, 1947, in Henderson, TX, to the late Jack Tucker originally from Oklahoma and the late Josephine Cimino Tucker originally from Baltimore, MD. Due to the nature of her father’s work in the oilfield, Nancye moved many times throughout Texas in her youth, and the family ultimately settled in Baton Rouge, LA. Nancye graduated from Lee High School in Baton Rouge in 1965.
She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education, followed by 30+ hours, from Louisiana State University. She later earned a Specialist Certification in Gifted and Talented education.
Nancye married Whitney J. Duhon, Jr. from Abbeville, LA, in 1968, after being set up on a blind date by their friends at LSU. In 1969, while still in Baton Rouge, they welcomed a son, Whitney (Trey) Duhon III. After finishing at LSU, they moved to Gueydan, where Whitney (with the help of his father) bought a local hardware store and fuel distributorship, Commercial True Value Hardware, which he owned and operated for 54 years, until selling the business last year.
Nancye was a respected and talented educator who spent her early years teaching first grade at Jesse Owens Elementary School in Gueydan, LA.
After 7 years, she stepped away from education to open Trendsetters Boutique with her sister Judy Schoolcraft, which they owned and operated for 14 years in Gueydan, LA.
Her true calling was to be an educator, so she returned to the classroom after getting certified in Gifted and Talented, and spent the remainder of her career teaching the Gifted program at Rene Rost Middle School in Kaplan, LA. While there she did everything possible to enrich the lives of her students, and to expose them to the world. This involved many field trips around Louisiana and to Houston, TX, to explore the various attractions and museums, with each trip meticulously planned. She took great pride in seeing her students grow in their creative and intellectual pursuits. Her efforts were recognized by her colleagues and her students when she was selected Teacher of the Year.
Nancye was a beautiful woman, a great cook, a voracious reader, and she loved to travel. She traveled to Indonesia, Chine, Greece, Turkey, and various European countries, notably Belgium and Holland.
She pursued her civic interests in Les Dames de Gueydan and the Gueydan Art Lovers Association (GALA), whose efforts helped to restore the old Bank of Gueydan into a museum showcasing the unique aspects, history, and people of the area.
She was happy and always had a pleasant disposition. She cultivated life-long friendships and had a genuine interest in the well-being of others. Some of her most cherished memories include her and Whitney’s time spent tailgating the home football games at Tiger Stadium with their friends, which they did for over 40 years.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Jack Junius Tucker and Josephine Cimino Tucker; her sisters, Judy Schoolcraft (Mike) and Jacki Sue Hungerford (Maxi); her nephew, Louis Boyd (Jacki’s son)
Nancye is survived by her husband of 57 years, Whitney J. Duhon, Jr.; her only son, Whitney (Trey) Duhon III and his wife Carla Lahaye Duhon; her three grandchildren, Logan Lahaye Clothier of Lafayette, LA, Whitney (Tucker) Duhon IV of Laurel MD, and Mason Dane Duhon of Santa Rosa, FL. She is also survived by her nephew Stephen Gregory Schoolcraft of Mahomet, IL and his wife Kristina, and their daughters, Raquelle and Michaela; her brother-in-law Bernard Duhon and his wife Jeanelle Simon Duhon of Abbeville, LA.
Pallbearers chosen to carry Ms. Nancye to her final place of rest will be Logan Clothier, Whitney (Tucker) Duhon IV, Mason Dane Duhon, Scott Hollier, Jody Simon and Kenneth Martin. Honorary Pallbearer will be Stephen G. Schoolcraft.
The family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the administration and staff of the Gueydan Memorial Guest Home for the exceptional care provided to Nancye in the recent three and a half years; as well as her caregiver, Ms. Kathy Martin, for being a wonderful companion and personal sitter for all these years. The family also thanks Lamm Homecare and Hospice for keeping Nancye comfortable in her final days.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made to the Gueydan Museum, www.gueydanmuseum.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Matthews Funeral Home GUEYDAN, 514 Second Street Gueydan, LA 70542

This story was first reported by The Current and republished with permission.

Written By Leslie Turk
The Current

The Louisiana Office of the Attorney General is investigating the Lafayette Parish School System, according to sources with knowledge of the inquiry.
Word of the new investigation, described as a public corruption probe, comes after the Lafayette Police Department confirmed to The Current that it has closed its investigation into forged quotes for Lafayette schools’ construction projects. The Current’s reporting has uncovered more than two dozen quotes from contractors who said they did not vie for the projects noted on school district documents bearing their letterhead.
That forgery investigation, launched by LPD on June 18, led to the August arrest of Robert Gautreaux, LPSS’s former director of construction, facilities and maintenance, on state felony charges of filing false public records and injuring public records. Gautreaux has not yet been charged and continues to work for the school district under a non-disclosure agreement.
On Dec. 3, LPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Robin Green told The Current that the department had forwarded the Gautreaux case to the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office that same day — even though District Attorney Don Landry’s office had not yet requested the investigative file, months after the arrest.
Sources say the AG’s office is investigating whether anyone higher up than Gautreaux was involved in the alleged forgeries or had knowledge that quotes were being manipulated in order to direct school work to favored contractors. Investigators are also looking into whether any school officials benefited financially from relationships with vendors, according to those sources.
Consistent with standard practice, the AG’s office would neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation into the local school system.
LPSS Superintendent Francis Touchet, then-Construction Director Robert Gautreaux and the wife of a metal building contractor doing business with the school system signed up for a cruise that set sail in late March of this year.
The Current reported in July that Superintendent Francis Touchet, Gautreaux and their wives, along with the wife of LPSS contractor Butch Bergeron, joined a Facebook group for passengers of a five-day, four-night Carnival Lines cruise that set sail in March from Galveston to Cozumel, Mexico. Both Touchet and Gautreaux declined to confirm whether they went on the cruise or who paid for it.
Bergeron, a metal building contractor who has been awarded no-bid construction work worth approximately $3 million at Lafayette schools for at least 55 projects since Touchet was named permanent school superintendent in late 2023, has acknowledged social relationships with school officials. He also sponsored a customer appreciation event at Lafayette Parish School Board member Jeremy Hidalgo’s Broussard bar last year. The Louisiana Board of Ethics says such sponsorships violate the state’s ethics code.
The Current’s inquiry into school construction conflicts was prompted by findings in LPSS’s annual audit. The school district is now in the process of replacing its longtime independent auditors, having recently issued a request for proposals from interested firms.
Auditors at Kolder, Slaven & Co. flagged multiple construction projects that should have been combined and put out for bid, including several awarded to Bergeron. Follow-up reporting on construction projects by The Current revealed the use of an unlicensed contractor for a drainage repair project at an elementary school in 2024, prompting an investigation by the state’s licensing board for contractors.
The licensing board was first to identify that competing quotes for that project had not actually been submitted by the two local companies whose letterhead they were on.
Don Landry said Monday that the Gautreaux case had not been assigned to an assistant district attorney for prosecution. It’s unclear whether the AG will take over that case.
In early October, Landry confirmed to The Current that he met with Superintendent Touchet on June 25, while the LPD criminal probe was underway. “I believe we discussed truancy and we discussed the bids issue,” the district attorney said in an email.
“Because there is a pending investigation on the issue of the bids, I cannot comment on that issue,” he said at the time. He did not respond to followup questions about the appropriateness of discussing an active investigation with the superintendent.
“As required by the Legislative Auditor, the matter was referred to the District Attorney,” Touchet told The Current in a text message Friday morning. “There was a brief conversation that included this issue and a discussion of truancy. The matter is now solely in the hands of the legal system.”
Last week, the Lafayette Parish School Board gave Touchet a glowing evaluation, awarding him a score of 3.8 out of 4, and will soon meet with him to discuss possible contract amendments. His current contract — carrying a salary of $235,000 plus an annual stipend of $20,000 — runs through May of 2028.
The board had similarly praised Gautreaux’s work after The Current reported on the hiring of the unlicensed contractor, Bosco Oilfield Services. At that time, School Board President Britt Latiolais encouraged Gautreaux to continue hiring Bosco, even as the licensing board investigation was underway.
As a condition of his continued employment, Robert Gautreaux signed what sources have described as a confidentiality agreement. The school district denied The Current’s request for a copy of the agreement. Photo by Robin May
Gautreaux, who was placed on administrative leave the day Lafayette police took over the forgery investigation, was allowed to return to the system July 1, albeit transferred with a pay cut to his old job teaching agricultural science. As a condition of his return and continued employment, Gautreaux was required by Touchet to sign an agreement that sources described as a form of confidentiality or non-disclosure.
Multiple sources told The Current the superintendent was aware by July 1 that Gautreaux may be charged, and knew the construction director was a target when he put him on leave and handed the probe over to LPD.
In fact, records obtained by The Current show that just days after LPD took over the case in mid-June, school officials asked their attorneys to research whether it was mandatory to fire an employee convicted of a felony.
The school system declined The Current’s request for a copy of Gautreaux’s transfer agreement, saying if such a record exists, it would be in his personnel file and exempt from production.
“Any next steps will be determined by the District Attorney, the Attorney General, and the Legislative Auditor,” Touchet wrote in his text response. “The school system is not involved in the legal process and will not be commenting further.”