The Daily Advertiser from Lafayette, Louisiana • Page A3

NOW OPEN Corner of Ambassador Caffery Dulles LOCAL WE ARE ACADIANA. SINCE 1865. ADVERTISER THEDAILY 3A theadvertiser.com The Daily Advertiser strives for accuracy and fairness. Readers who believe the paper has erred may request a correction by calling 289-6300 CORRECTIONS 1. Coldest low temperature On Jan.

11, 1982, the mercury dipped to 9.9 degrees Fahrenheit at Lafayette Regional Airport, or about 34 degrees below the average low. The Christmas Eve freeze of 1989 ropped the temperature to 10 degrees. 2. Coldest month The average low temperature for January 1948 as 35.6 degrees. 3.

Wettest winter month About 3.7 inches of rain falls on Lafayette during he average March. During March 1995, 26.1 inches fell. 4. Wettest winter day Ten inches of rain fell Jan. 19-20, 1993, pushing the Vermilion River over 16 feet at the Surrey Street gauge and pushing water into the second story of some riverside homes.

5. Driest winter month No rain at all was recorded in December 1950 in Lafayette. Source: climatespy.com BILL TOP FIVE WINTER SUPERLATIVES SINCE 1945 John and Carmen Hebert Martin enjoyed a reunion of their large extended family when they celebrated their 50th anniversary in the 1960s. Among the people identified in the caption: Lee Martin Lee Martin James Martin, Stella Martin, Vivian Begnaud, Wesley Begnaud, John Martin armen Hebert Martin, Jackie Martin, Debbie Martin, Tommy Martin, John Martin Dean L. Martin, Noelie and ick Provost, Rachel Martin, Carla Martin, Eddie Martin, onnie Martin, Mickey Martin, Karen Begnaud, Brian Beg- aud and Carmen Martin.

ACADIANA HISTORY: REMEMBER WHEN One many generations PHOTO COURTESY OF CLERK OF COURT LOUIS J. PERRET The status of the building remains in question, but a $35,000 planning grant has been received to study the viability of transforming the former St. ospital into a French and cultural immersion campus and creative industries incubator. The former 32-bed hospital has been closed for years and the local tax that funded it has long been abolished. But the board, which oversees the property, as refused to release the building.

It has argued the building can only be used for a health care related facility. he St. Landry Parish ouncil voted to do away with hat board about three years ago. But the hospital service district also includes a portion of t. Martin Parish, with two of its five members appointed by he St.

Martin Parish Council. When the St. Landry Parish ouncil voted to abolish the board to make way for the re- purposing of the building, the hospital board appealed to the t. Martin Council. The board promisedit would have a new ealth care related tenant in the building within six month.

Three years have now passed without a tenant and St. andry Parish President Bill Fontenot believes this grant ay finally get the ball rolling again. grant is to develop a business plan. That was one of the thing the St. Martin Parish resident and council wished to see prior to making a Fontenot said.

think this will get the rocess started. very enc ouraged and happy about Fontenot said. As a measure of the bipartisan support for the project, Aimee Smallwood pointed out oth Fontenot and St. Martin Parish President Guy Cormier ave agreed to provide matching funds for the grant issued the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation by the National Endowment for the Arts. mallwood, the executive director, said the rant will pay for the first phase of a comprehensive master plan.

Work on that plan is expected to begin next onth. is poised to et the pace as a place where arts, culture and the community work together to capital- i ze on the city's historic Smallwood said. from the National Endow- ent for the Arts endorses the desire of a growing creative ommunity that has attracted interest from throughout the tate and The immersion campus idea has been endorsed by political leaders, from Lt. Gov. ay Dardenne to area senators and representatives.

It has a lso been endorsed by the French Consulate in New Orleans. Tulane University in New rleans, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and the niversity of Louisiana at Lafayette have all agreed to make use of the campus should it become a reality. Arnaudville resident Mavis ruge, the award-winning director of the Jacques Arnaud French Studies Collective, said the former hospital build- i ng would be an ideal home for he proposed immersion camp us, the first in the United States dedicated to French. Arnaudville remains a community where Cajun and reole French are alive. It is possible for visitors to eat in ocal restaurants, shop in local stores or go to the post office a nd never speak a word of English.

The original plan would have made the quare-foot former hospital a live-in campus where visitors ould spend a day, a week or longer developing or improving their language skills. But Smallwood said the lan is even larger. project also will pro- ide a home for cultural entre- preneurialism in the Smallwood said. French campus gets boost $35K to help plan to convert hospital into immersion ampus By William Johnson DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO grant has been awarded to convert the former St. Hospital in Arnaudville into a French immersion campus for regional and national visitors.

PROPOSED FRENCH IMMERSION CAMPUS Former St. Luke Hospital 25,000 square feet, 32-bed hospital 2 00 block of Guidroz Arnaudville The busiest travel time of the year is around Thanksgiving, but fortunately there are plenty of options for those ith plans out of the area. According to Airlines of America, 24.6 million Americans will fly within the 12-day period around the November holiday. Normally, the Transportation Security Administration screens 1.8 million flyers across 450 U.S. airports every ay.

good and bad news for travelers this holiday season: For drivers, gas prices ave fallen to their lowest lev- ls in five years. AAA projects hat 46.3 million motorists 1.5 million from Michigan will be on the roads next weekend, increases from last year. ut airline prices are climbing. rom the Lafayette Regional Airport, direct flights are For holiday ravelers, myriad options a vailable By Katie de la Rosa LESLIE WESTBROOK, THE ADVERTISER Motorists travel east on US Hwy. 90 Sundayin Broussard.

Sonic Christmas Parade The annual Sonic Christmas arade will be Dec. 7. The par ade will begin 1p.m. in down- own Lafayette at the Jefferson Street underpass and will conclude in the Oil Center. All veterans from every branch of the military are urged to march (or ride) in the parade.

Transportation will be provided, and there is no charge to participate. Veterans are asked to arrive at noon and to wear heir uniforms colors. eterans are to report to Jefferson Street near the underpass at noon and they will be directed to their position in the parade. This will be an excellent opportunity for Lafayette and Acadiana residents to show their appreciation for the men and women who have served in he armed forces. Veterans Coalition meeting The Veterans Coalition will meet at 7 p.m.

today at the South Regional Library Branch Location in Lafayette. The topic for the evening will be an update on Ebola. Meet- ings last 60-90 minutes. These meetings are not limited to only veterans, but are for all oncerned for the health care veterans. WW II Tribute Tour American Legion Post 69 Commander Daniel Bentley would like to thank WWII veterans Robert Lowe and Paul Hilliard for their donations and the community for their support of the recent tour to the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans.

WWII veter- a ns and their chaperones en- oyed an all-expenses paid trip the museum, and a reception following their return at Post 69. If you are a WWII veteran, or know someone who is, and would like to register for an upcoming tour, contact Post 69 at 337-233-3296, Adjutant John Lloyd King VETERANS NEWS.