A ranch is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in Mexico, the Western United States and Western Canada, though there are ranches in other areas. People who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, cattlemen, or stockgrowers. Ranching is also a method used to raise less common livestock such as elk, American bison or even ostrich, emu, and alpaca.
Dry Creek is a rural unincorporated community in the east-central portion of Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies 20 miles (32 km) southeast of DeRidder on the corner of Louisiana highways 113 and 394. Dry Creek is 104 feet (32 m) above sea level.
Beauregard Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,654. The parish seat is DeRidder. The parish was formed on January 1, 1913.
Hill won her third House term in the general election held on November 21, 2015, by defeating the Republican candidate, Llewellyn Euiell "Biscuit" Smith (born March 1975)[2] of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. Hill polled 5,840 votes (55.2 percent) to Smith's 4,737 (44.8 percent).[3]
During general election all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
DeRidder is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. A small portion of the city extends into Vernon Parish. As of the 2010 census DeRidder had a population of 10,578. It is the smaller principal city of the Fort Polk South-DeRidder CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Fort Polk South and DeRidder micropolitan areas, which had a combined population of 87,988 at the 2010 census.
McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. McNeese is part of the University of Louisiana System and is classified as a Master's University. The selective admissions university consists of six colleges and the Doré School of Graduate Studies. McNeese is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and all programs of study are accredited by their respective national boards.
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu Parish, it is a major industrial, cultural, and educational center in the southwest region of the state.
Home economics, domestic science or home science is a field of study that deals with the relationship between individuals, families, communities, and the environment in which they live. Home economics courses are offered internationally and across multiple educational levels. Home economics courses have been important throughout history because it gave women the opportunity to pursue higher education and vocational training in a world where only men were able to learn in such environments. In modern times, home economics teaches people of all genders important life skills, such as cooking, sewing, and finances. With the stigma the term “home economics” has earned over the years, the course is now often referred to by different terms, such as “family and consumer science.”
Hill and her husband, Herman Ray Hill (born October 1937), her predecessor in the legislature, have one son, Craig Ray Hill[4] (born July 1968),[5] an attorney in Allen Parish.
Herman Ray Hill, also known as Coach Hill, is a rancher and a retired educator and coach from Dry Creek in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, who is a Democratic former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 32 in Allen, Beauregard, and Calcasieu parishes in the southwestern portion of his state.
A lawyer or attorney is a person who practices law, as an advocate, attorney, attorney at law, barrister, barrister-at-law, bar-at-law, canonist, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, counsellor, solicitor, legal executive, or public servant preparing, interpreting and applying law, but not as a paralegal or charter executive secretary. Working as a lawyer involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who hire lawyers to perform legal services.
Political career
In 2007, Hill was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in District 32 to succeed her husband who after his first contested election in 1991 had run unopposed from 1995 until his term expired in 2008. She led in the primary with 6,254 votes (46.4 percent), followed by RepublicanJames David Cain, also of Dry Creek, who received 5,528 votes (41 percent). Two other candidates, Democrat Benjamin Jack (born May 1951) of Oakdale and No Party hopeful Richard O. "Dickey" Crider (born May 1954) of DeRidder, held the remaining but critical 1,712 votes.[6] Hill then defeated Cain in the general election, 6,070 votes (51.3 percent) to 5,759 (48.7 percent).[7] A year earlier, Cain had been defeated in a special election for Louisiana insurance commissioner by James Donelon. Cain is a former member of both houses of the legislature. He was defeated in all three of his last political campaigns since 2006.
James David Cain Sr. is a retired farmer and rancher from the Dry Creek community in eastern Beauregard Parish who is a former Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate.
Oakdale is a city in Allen Parish in south Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2010 census.
An insurance commissioner is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office of an insurance commissioner differ in each state. The office of an insurance commissioner is established either by the state constitution or by statute. While most insurance commissioners are appointed, in some jurisdictions they are elected. The office of the insurance commissioner may be part of a larger regulatory agency, or an autonomous department.
A Baptist, Hill was from 1972 to 2007 the clerk of the Cherry Grove Baptist Church in Dry Creek.[4] Hill said that she is guided by three principles in her legislative work: Christian values, continuity, and compassion.
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament in Christianity, and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest religion with about 2.4 billion followers.
On October 22, 2011, Hill won re-election to her District 61 seat. She defeated an Independent opponent, John Arthur Williams, 9,257 (78.3 percent) to 2,563 (21.7 percent).[8] In her second term, Hill serves on these legislative committees: (1) Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development, (2) Health and Welfare, and (3) Transportation, Highways and Public Works.[4]
Hill's legislative ratings have ranged from 34 to 78 percent from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. In 2011 and 2012, she was rated 63 and 20 percent, respectively, by the National Federation of Independent Business. She is ranked 100 percent by the Louisiana Association of Educators. In 2013 and 2014, the conservativeLouisiana Family Forum scored Hill 78 and 89 percent, respectively. She is rated 100 percent by Louisiana Right to Life[9] and co-sponsored the 2014 requirement that abortion providers have hospital admitting privileges near their clinics; the measure passed the House, 88-5.[10]
In 2014, Hill voted to extend the time for implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. She voted against the prohibition of the transportation of dogs in the bed of a pick-up truck on interstate highways; the prohibition passed the House, 53-34. She voted against the repeal anti-sodomy laws; the repeal attempt failed in the House, 27-67, in the House. In 2013, Hill did not vote on the bill to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana; two years earlier, she had co-sponsored drug testing for welfare recipients. She supported an increased in judicial pay and voted to repeal the mandatory retirement age for state court judges, but the measure failed, 63-33. She did not vote on the proposal for lifetime concealed carry gun permits but voted to allow the carrying of weapons into restaurants. She opposed making information about concealed carry permit holders a matter of public record.[10]
Hill opposed allowing state income tax deductions to taxpayers who contribute to scholarship funds. She voted against tax incentives to attract a National Basketball Association team to Louisiana. In 2012, Hill voted to prohibit the use of telephones while driving. She opposed the reduction of the number of hours that polling locations remain open. Louisiana has traditionally had 14-hour polling days. In 2011, she voted for a permanent tax on cigarettes and for the congressional redistricting bill in which the state lost another seat in the United States House of Representatives.[10]
Hill fell just short of winning reelection outright in the primary election held on October 24, 2015. She led a three-candidate field with 5,226 votes (49.4 percent). Llewellyn Smith received 3,957 votes (37.4 percent). A second Democrat, Zollie "Ty" Pearce, polled the remaining but critical 1,395 votes (13.2 percent).[11]
James Allison Hayes is a Republican politician from the state of Louisiana.
Allen Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in Oberlin in Allen Parish in southwestern Louisiana, United States.
Beauregard Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in DeRidder in Beauregard Parish in southwestern Louisiana, United States.
John R. Smith is a politician from Leesville, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 30, which encompasses Vernon, Beauregard, and Calcasieu parishes in western Louisiana.
Brett Frank Geymann is a businessman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, who is a Republican former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 35 in Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes.
Dorothy Garrett Smith was the first woman to have served as president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which establishes and monitors education policy. Smith was the president from December 1989 until her sudden death eight months later during the administration of Governor Buddy Roemer. She represented nine parishes in northwestern Louisiana: Beauregard, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Red River, Sabine, Vernon, and her own Webster.
Albert B. Franklin, known as A. B. Franklin, is a businessman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 34 in Calcasieu Parish in the far southwestern portion of his state.
Karen Gaudet St. Germain is a Democrat from Plaquemine, Louisiana, United States, who is a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 60 in Iberville and Assumption parishes in the southern portion of her state. She has held the seat since 2004 and was term-limited in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 2015.
Edward Clark James, II, also known as Ted James, is an attorney from his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 101 in East Baton Rouge Parish. He was first elected in 2011.
Barbara Ann McCray Norton is an African-American politician who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 3 in Caddo Parish in northwestern Louisiana. She has held her seat since 2008.
Regina Ashford Barrow is an African-American Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 15 in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. She assumed this position on January 11, 2016. In the primary election held on October 24, 2015, she defeated outgoing District 63 State Representative Dalton W. Honoré, another Democrat, for the right to succeed the term-limited state Senator Sharon Weston Broome.
Patricia Haynes Smith, often known as Pat Smith, is an African-American Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 67 in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
Roy Allen Burrell is a Democratic former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 2 in Caddo and Bossier parishes in northwestern Louisiana. A business consultant, Burrell served three terms in office and was ineligible to run again in the 2015 state elections.
Ebony Tanjel Woodruff is a lawyer and politician from Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a Democratic former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 87. Without opposition, she won a special election on October 4, 2013, to finish the term of fellow Democrat Girod Jackson III. He resigned due to charges of tax evasion; he was convicted. She lost the Democratic primary for that seat in October 2015.
Randal Leroy Gaines is a lawyer from LaPlace in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, who is a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 57. He has since 2012 represented St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes.
Clifford Allen Bradley Jr., known as Allen Bradley, is an attorney and businessman in his native DeRidder in western Louisiana, who from 1984 to 1992 represented District 31 as a Democrat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Mary Beth Sherman Mizell, is a businesswoman from Franklinton, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 12, which encompasses the parishes of St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington, part of the Florida Parishes of southeastern Louisiana. On January 11, 2016, she succeeded the term-limited Democrat Ben Nevers, who instead joined the new administration of Governor John Bel Edwards.
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