State Representative Jean Doerge presents commendation to Webster Parish educator, Madge Brice, for providing visible education of the Louisiana House of Representatives to her 8th grade Louisiana History Classes at Glenbrook for 25 years.

A New Technical College

Jean’s persistence and determination to bring to this parish a new technical college will soon be a reality.  Obtaining funding to purchase 28 acres of property on the service road for the future construction of a new Northwest Technical College was a major accomplishment. Jean followed up with securing $13.7 million in HB2  while Senator Robert Adley’s ACT391 will provide over $14 million for the future construction of this new facility.

Jean has been in the forefront of efforts to raise teacher pay and benefits during her time as a State Representative while Louisiana teacher pay has slowly moved toward the Southern average.

Jean has courageously worked to defend school funding from those who seek to divert funding away from education. She has truly been a champion in preserving the right for each child in Louisiana to have a quality education.

Rep. Sydney Durand and Rep. Doerge present J.V. Bella, former Fire Marshall for the State of Louisiana a commendation for his years of service.

A new fire training center

Her most significant contributions to our parish and our state came when she successfully authored legislation establishing a special district for the creation of a fire and emergency training service district.  This district known as the Pine Country Educational Training Center based at Camp Minden is only the second fire and emergency training facility in the entire State. 

Firefighters from across the state appreciate the efforts put forth by State Representative Jean Doerge and awarded her the “Roy A. Robichaux Sr. Award” for her work for fire training and fire protection.

Rep. Jean Doerge visits with the staff of Springhill Medical Center. Jean's legislative assistance provided much needed funding for the rural hospital.

A saved rural hospital

Affordable health care wasn’t the only issue facing the rural hospital in north Webster Parish.  Struggling with increasing health care demands, the Springhill Medical Center sought the assistance of their legislator.  By securing designation as a rural hospital and placing Springhill Medical Center in the Rural Hospital Coalition, Jean’s  legislative action enabled them to receive much more needed funding from the Rural Preservation Act. This additional source of revenue has allowed this hospital to modernize their facilities and provide state-of-the-art healthcare to their residents.

Improvements to water districts

Something as simple as clean drinking water and in some cases access to water for some of our parish residents has been a challenge.  Many residents of the Dubberly community will agree that ‘no request is too small and no job too big’ for this legislator.  Jean took an innovative approach to handling a water problem in the small town of Dubberly when it was learned that their wells were drying up.  A collaborative effort between businesses, citizens and government proved most successful.  Improvements to water systems across the parish can be attributed to Jean’s willingness to work with community leaders.

State Representative Jean Doerge, Webster Parish Tourism Director, Lynn Dorsey and Secretary of State Jay Dardenne tour the historic Shadows Estate outside of Dubberly.

Improvements to our Quality of Life

Realizing the potential for more tourist dollars, Jean set out to assist those communities wishing to cash in.

Beginning with a major restoration project to restore one of our parish’s oldest historic plantations, the Shadows Estate will open in 2008 as the Shadows Folklife Center & Museum. During her time in the legislature, Jean has managed to bring home economic development dollars to improve major recreational tourist attractions around the parish.

From funding for the construction of the Springhill Community Activity Center to the Spring Theatre, Jean has provided more opportunities for locals and visitors to enjoy the best our parish has to offer.