AMY SZPARA

PHOTO: St. John Clerk of Court Eliana DeFrancesch admires the start of a courthouse mural in her office. The mural, being painted by a parish inmate as part of St. John’s inmate labor program, will be completed soon. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) EDGARD – The St. John the Baptist Parish courthouse in Edgard is in the process of getting a makeover. Walls are being torn down, storage areas are being built and the inside of the building is having color added to it. The painting and remodeling is coming at no cost to the parish, since the inmates at the Sherman R. Walker Correctional Center in LaPlace are doing the jobs through an inmate labor program. Clerk of Court Eliana DeFrancesch said she had been “mulling over” several ideas for updating the building for a while. After going through the proper procedures, contacting Warden Steven Guidry and Sheriff Wayne L. Jones to work out arrangements, DeFrancesch began by having the clerk of court office painted. One idea she had for the building was to add murals that commemorated the history of the parish. One inmate with a talent for mural painting has begun painting a picture of the courthouse in earlier days on the clerk of court office wall. DeFrancesch hopes the inmates will be available to paint more murals after the completion of that one. The parish is using inmates who are accused of misdemeanors and who are supervised by deputies at all times for the projects, and the inmates work only after they have finished other duties in the parish. According to Jones, the work to the courthouse comes only when there is time to do it. Inmates have other jobs to do in the parish, such as cutting grass and building and doing other work to parish buildings. “When Mrs. DeFrancesch took office she asked for help,” said Jones. “It’s a request I’ve honored. We’re glad we’re able to assist. We’re glad to help save the parish some money, and we have some inmates who thoroughly enjoy that kind of painting, mural painting.” Some of the other ideas DeFrancesch has for the courthouse include a painting of the American flag in the corridor and paintings of St. John plantation houses throughout the building. “There’s a lot that can be done with a little bit of creativity and imagination,” said DeFrancesch, who found an old picture of the courthouse before it was rebuilt in a box when she moved into the clerk’s office. She went through old boxes, eliminating copies of records and cleaning out what was no longer needed. In the process she found old photos and a picture of the United States state seals, which she has had framed. She also has a 1908 map that is being restored and will be framed. She is planning to have all colonial records stored on microfiche and will receive a microfiche reader through a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. In finding someone to paint her courthouse mural, DeFrancesch spoke with an inmate who had experience in that. “The young man said he did murals,” she said. “I wrote a letter to the warden, went through the channels. When I found the old picture of the courthouse, he drew from that.” The old photo is of the courthouse, built in 1847 for a cost of $7,100. Since then many changes have occurred. It was demolished in 1972 for nearly the cost of what it took to build it, then a new building was built. “Sheriff Jones and Warden Guidry have really helped out,” said DeFrancesch. “They’ve been wonderful.” DeFrancesch hopes people in the parish will visit to see the mural after it is completed.