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January 3, 1951 — July 30, 2025

Conrad Avery Simon, 74, of Forked Island, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2025, with the love of his life, Yvonne B. Simon, by his side. Connie and Yvonne shared 54 years of marriage and 59 years of love, having met at the young age of 15. Together, they built a life centered around family, faith, and service.
Born in Kaplan, Louisiana, Conrad was the son of the late Eugene and Billie Simon. He is survived by his three loving children: Brady Simon (Joanna), Cynthia Spadoni (Craig), and Mandy Indest (Stephen). His legacy lives on through his seven cherished grandchildren: Connor, William, and Elijah Simon; Sophia and Elise Spadoni; and Austin and Jackson Indest.
He is also survived by his siblings: Bethany “Decie” Simon Arnau, Gene Simon, Russell Simon (Becky), Joey Simon, and Jill Simon Hebert. In addition, he leaves behind his brothers-in-law: Richard Broussard (Kathleen), Alan Broussard (Brenda), and Hal Broussard (Cyndi), as well as a host of beloved nieces and nephews.
Connie was preceded in death by his in-laws, Charles and Rose Broussard, and Eva Mae Simon and Joey Hebert.
After graduating from Kaplan High School, where he was both an athlete and a talented artist, Connie worked in the oilfield before discovering his true passion as a rice and crawfish farmer. He found deep satisfaction in working the land and took great pride in his role as a steward of his family’s farming legacy.
Connie served his community with unwavering dedication. He coached little league and minor league baseball, helped build the Forked Island baseball fields, and volunteered with the Forked Island Fire Department, where he served as Vice President of the Board. He was also a Certified CPR Instructor, a First Responder, and a proud Board Member of the Vermilion Rice Growers Association.
Beyond his service, Connie loved the outdoors—especially hunting, fishing, and playing golf. But more than anything, he found joy in traveling each summer across the country with his family, creating treasured memories along the way.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at St. Anne Catholic Church in Cow Island, Louisiana, celebrated by Father Keith Landry. Visitation will be held on Monday, August 4, from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and will resume Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. until the time of service. A rosary will be prayed at 7:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025.
Following the funeral, a reception will be held at 211 Eleazar Avenue in Kaplan. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Connie’s life.
Connie’s grandsons—Connor Simon, William Simon, Elijah Simon, Austin Indest, and Jackson Indest, and his godchild Kerry Simon—will serve as pallbearers. Erin Broussard and Kelli Simon Davis will serve as readers. Sophia Spadoni and Elise Spadoni will bring the gifts to the altar. Eulogies will be delivered by William Simon and Ernest Girouard.
With heartfelt gratitude, the family acknowledges the Radiology and Emergency Departments of Abbeville General Hospital, as well as the nurses, therapists, and staff of Kaplan Home Care, for their unwavering care and support over the past two years. The Simon family also extends their deepest thanks to Heart of Hospice and to the doctors, nurses, and staff of 10 West at Ochsner Lafayette General for their compassionate care during Connie’s final weeks.
He will be remembered for his quiet strength, steadfast dedication, and the deep love he gave to his family, friends, and community. He will be deeply missed and forever cherished.

A Vermilion Parish jury found Carlton Eugene Hills guilty on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 of the Second Degree Murder of Dalvin Mullins, and Obstruction of Justice.
The crimes occurred on July 8, 2024 in the city of Abbeville, and the defendant faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for the Second Degree Murder and up to an additional 40 years for the Obstruction of Justice.
The 57-year-old defendant shot Mullins four times with a 9mm pistol in front of multiple witnesses, including a young child, then ran over the victim’s body with his vehicle. Hills then rolled the victim’s body in a blanket, put the body in his car and drove away from the scene, and threw the body off a bridge into a coulee south of Abbeville. The victim’s body was recovered by detectives from Youngs South Coulee underneath the South Guegnon Road bridge. The bloody murder weapon was located by Abbeville Police Department detectives executing a search warrant at Hills’ Abbeville residence.
Felony assistant DA Calvin Woodruff prosecuted the case through the trial. Second Degree Murder is a felony with a mandatory sentence of life at hard labor, without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Obstruction of Justice carries a potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
Hills had been arrested in 1983 and convicted of Armed Robbery and Aggravated Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. His parole for those charges ended in 2008.
District Judge Thomas Frederick ordered a Pre-Sentence Investigation and set a potential sentencing date of Oct. 30, 2025, dependent upon his receipt of the pre-sentence investigation from Department of Probation and Parole by that date.
“This is another piece in our commitment to our great Acadiana community to punish violent offenders and send them to prison so they cannot kill others,” said District Attorney Don Landry.
“Hopefully, this conviction will continue to send the message to people who may want to commit these violent crimes: we have great law enforcement agencies in the 15th Judicial District and we have great prosecutors who will put these violent criminals away in prison, so just don’t commit these crimes – we want to deter people from committing these murders,” said Landry.

Dr. Joseph Savoie is stepping down as president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette following a transformational 17-year tenure.
Savoie, a two-time UL Lafayette graduate and its sixth president, has been named president emeritus by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. His last day as president is Thursday.
Dr. Jaimie Hebert, the University’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs for the past seven years, will serve as interim president during the search for a permanent successor.
The UL System Board of Supervisors approved Savoie’s new role as president emeritus and Hebert’s service as interim president during a special meeting on Wednesday. As president emeritus, Savoie will work to strengthen external collaborations with alumni, supporters, community partners and other stakeholders.

Dr. Rick Gallot, president and CEO of the University of Louisiana System, called Savoie “a once-in-a-generation leader who has served his alma mater faithfully and well during a period of extraordinary change and challenge.”
“As president and in the various roles he’s held throughout his career, Dr. Savoie has always put the needs of students first. I have no doubt he will continue to do so in his new role as president emeritus. UL Lafayette and the state of Louisiana owe him a great deal of thanks for his lifetime commitment to higher education,” Gallot said.
In a letter Wednesday to the campus community, Savoie called serving as UL Lafayette’s president since 2008 “the honor of my life, the culmination of a long and happy relationship with a special place that we all share.” He expressed appreciation to the University’s faculty, staff, students, alumni, supporters and community partners as he reflected on the past 17 years. “I am so proud of what we have achieved together,” Savoie wrote.
He continued: “I reached the decision to transition to this new position after months of careful consideration. Higher education has changed immensely in the past two decades. The expectations on colleges and universities are as great as they have ever been and meeting those responsibilities to our community today – and to generations that follow – requires new ideas and fresh approaches. I owe it to this institution that has given me so much, personally and professionally, to make way for the future.”
Significant advancements in academic excellence, campus infrastructure, research capabilities and community engagement marked Savoie’s presidency.
UL Lafayette earned the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification, placing it among the top 5% of the nation’s research institutions. It surpassed $250 million in externally funded research for the first time, launched the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in its history, implemented a master plan for campus growth, introduced new undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and opened its Health Sciences Campus.
Savoie also oversaw major enhancements to campus, including the expansion and renovation of academic buildings, research centers, student housing, athletic facilities, and the construction of Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium and the Student Union.
Before he was president, Savoie was Louisiana’s commissioner of higher education for 12 years. In that role, he served in the cabinets of three Louisiana governors and championed student accessibility and affordability.
He previously served his alma mater as its first vice president for University Advancement, executive director of the Alumni Association, program director for the Union Program Council, student government adviser and adjunct assistant professor.
Savoie earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UL Lafayette. He also holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in New York.
Like Savoie, Dr. Jaimie Hebert has deep ties to the campus community. An Abbeville, La., native, Hebert holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees – all in statistics – from the University. He has been provost and vice president for Academic Affairs since 2018. Before returning to his alma mater, Hebert held leadership roles at several institutions, including serving as president of Georgia Southern University and as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Sam Houston State University.
As UL Lafayette’s provost, Hebert oversaw the development and implementation of the University’s strategic plan, guided academic program growth and accreditation, and championed student success and faculty achievement. “Empowering the continued success of his alma mater and its students, and faculty and staff members is at the heart of all that he does,” Savoie said of Hebert in his letter to campus. “With all of you working alongside him, the momentum of achievement that we have built together will continue. I am sure of it.”

Hebert lauded Savoie for his “transformational and selfless service.”

“For 17 years, he led with vision, humor, determination and a deep affection for this place and the people and state it serves. We are all beneficiaries of Dr. Savoie’s leadership, and all that we do moving forward builds on the strong foundation he helped create,” Hebert said.

ERATH — Erath City Council meeting turned a little heated when a volunteer fireman stormed out yelling and pointing his finger at the city council and mayor, and at the same time allegedly threatened an 80-year-old audience member. 
Last Monday, Stanley Norris went to the Erath Police Station and filed charges against James Howard, a part-time worker for Erath. He is also a part-time paid city fireman.
Norris filed simple assault charges against Howard for what Howard allegedly told him at a recent Erath City Council meeting.
When the city council voted to change the way the fire chief is selected for the volunteer fire department, Howard, a volunteer firefighter, became upset and began yelling, pointing his finger at the council and Mayor Taylor Mencacci.
Howard then told the council and mayor to “Find someone else to run your fire department,” and he stormed out of City Hall. Erath Police Chief Anna LaPointe got up and escorted him out of the meeting.
While being escorted, Howard allegedly told Stanley to take his  stick, which he was using to support himself walking, and “shove it up your A--.”
“I did not tell him anything,” said Stanley. “He got upset at Mayor Taylor Mencacci.  The mayor should have fired him right on the spot.  He is still working for the city.”
Nearly two weeks after asking the council and mayor to find someone else to run the fire department, Howard is still employed by the city.
The Meridional reached out to Mayor Mencacci to see if he wanted to comment about Norris filing charges against Howard.  The Mayor did not respond.
In Louisiana, simple assault is defined as an assault committed without a dangerous weapon. The penalty for simple assault is a fine of not more than $200, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. 
Chief LaPointe said she floated the charges to the district attorney’s office. 
A few days after the Erath City Council meeting, the Erath Volunteer Fire Department held its normal department meeting and voted Norris, who has been an honorary fireman for 62 years, out of the fire department.
“I did not say anything and I get voted out, but the guy who cursed at the mayor, is still a fireman, “ said Norris. “That is not right.”