Parish Council focuses on Olympic medalist and aspiring boxers

The St. Mary Parish Council devoted much of its Wednesday meeting to athletics, then ran a few laps around the question of absentee commission members.

Parish President Sam Jones congratulated Morgan City’s Vernon Norwood, who won two Olympic medals in Paris. Norwood, who went on from Morgan City High to win NCAA track championships at LSU, was a member of the mixed 4x400-meter relay team that won the silver medal and the men’s 4x400 team that captured the gold.

Norwood had already won two medals, bronze in the mixed 4x400 and gold in the men’s 4x400, at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“When he gets home, I hope we invite him here,” Jones said to a round of applause from the council members.

Also Wednesday, Efrem Randle made a pitch for support for EBP Community Boxing, which he hopes will introduce the sport to boys and girls 8-18 from across the parish.

Randle hopes the program will enable youngsters to compete at the regional and national levels.

And he wants the sweet science to teach science, too, by incorporating STEM concepts into preparation for the ring.

“We know if we provide an alternative to the violence in our neighborhoods, we need tools for that,” Randle said.

“I want to commend you and the organization for taking on this challenge,” said Councilman the Rev. Craig Mathews of Jeanerette. “Anything positive that is going to help divert the path of our young people from destruction, self-destruction, and from all forms of deviant behavior is something we should embrace.”

Mathews said he was especially glad that Randle wasn’t asking the council for money.

Randle is relying on donated space and seeking funding.

The council passed a resolution of support for the program.

The question of attendance by commissioners at regular meetings involved two members of the advisory committee for Kemper Williams Park near Patterson: Herbert Bell and Wendell C. Bogan.

The agenda item said that both had been notified by letter that any board of commissioners member who missed three or more meetings in a calendar year is liable to termination under a parish ordinance.

Asked if they want to continue to serve on the committee, neither replied, according to the agenda.

The move to eject Bell and Bogan from the board touched off a round of questions from Mathews and Councilman J Ina. They wanted to know whether the ordinance is being applied fairly and whether the parish keeps track of attendance at board meetings.
In the end, Bell was allowed to remain on the committee. Ina said he called Bogan at the meeting and that Bogan said he no long wants to serve.

Also Wednesday:

--Jones also congratulated Elizabeth Francis, who was born in St. Mary and is now living in Texas.

Media accounts say Francis, 115 years old, is believed to the oldest living United States resident. Her birthday was in late July.

--The board passed a resolution of respect for Jody Gerard Vaccarella of Amelia, who died July 2.

Vaccarella, a longtime Little League coach, was praised for his “boundless generosity, unwavering dedication and enormous heart.”

--The council reappointed Patsy W. Powell to the St. Mary Parish Tourist Commission and LaGenia Darnell Bradford to Recreation District No. 4, which serves the Patterson area.