RSS Feed

Parents hesitate to allow addict son to move back in

Thu, 09/09/2021 - 9:13am

By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: My 24-year-old son is in rehab for the second time. We paid for the first, but we are not financing this one. He has moved in and out of our home since he was 18. We have tried written agreements, but he doesn’t follow them. We let him move back in after his first stay in rehab, despite the fact that he had stolen from us and had failed to get a job, etc. He not only didn’t get a job, he also didn’t help around the house or do any of the other things he had promised. One month later, he began using again.
He claims to be taking rehab seriously this time, and wants to move back in with us when he gets out. He says he now realizes he can’t stay clean without following the 12 steps, including acknowledging a higher power, and without the support of his family. Over the past year, we spent several thousand dollars helping him solve his problems. Our question is, will we be enabling him by letting him return home, or would it be best to help him transition to a halfway house?
SUPPORTIVE PARENTS

DEAR SUPPORTIVE PARENTS: You are caring parents, and I know this has been painful for you. Do NOT allow your son to move back in without first discussing it with the people at his rehabilitation center whose business it is to work with addicts. From my perspective, it would be better for your son — and for you — to have him pursue his sobriety at a halfway house.

DEAR ABBY: My son is getting married in a few months. I always believed that if my child loved his partner, I would like him or her and be happy for them. Race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., would never have mattered to me.
I found out this week that my future daughter-in-law totally rejects modern medicine. My son is a cystic fibrosis carrier. She refuses to be tested because “no one in her family has ever had CF.” Our family can say the same thing, but both of my sons and I are CF carriers.
She plans home-births with her mother as her midwife and believes vaccinations are harmful. My son supports none of this, but plans to marry her anyway. They want to get pregnant right away and eventually have five children. She’s only 21, and intelligent, but she has been home-schooled, and her father does not allow internet in their home. I feel her position on medicine is due to not being informed. Her religion does not forbid it. I am heartbroken. Is there anything I can do?
HEARTBROKEN IN MICHIGAN

DEAR HEARTBROKEN: Not a lot, I’m sorry to say. You could point out to your son that he should insist he and his fiancée have genetic testing done before starting a family, which could avert a tragic and preventable problem. You could print out material from respected sources — the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation would be among them — but you cannot force the fiancée to accept it. Other than that, all you can do is cross your fingers and pray the young couple will catch a lucky break in a game of genetic roulette.
***
For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

25 new COVID cases, two deaths reported Wednesday for St. Mary

Thu, 09/09/2021 - 7:08am

Another 25 new COVID-19 cases and two COVID-related deaths were reported in St. Mary for the 24 hours ending at midday Wednesday.

The Louisiana Office of Public Health says 8,013 COVID cases have been reported in St. Mary since the pandemic began.

The two deaths raise the number of St. Mary COVID fatalities to 194, including 47 since the first local death connected to the fourth wave of coronavirus on Aug. 1.

Statewide, 3,066 new cases and 136 deaths were reported by the OPH Wednesday.

Hospitalizations continue to decrease. Louisiana hospitals were treating 1,895 COVID-positive patients Wednesday, down by 108 from Tuesday.

St. Mary's vaccination rate is now 34.8%, less than half the national rate of 75% reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fall elections will be postponed because of storm

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 1:35pm

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced that Gov. r John Bel Edwards has agreed with his recommendation to reschedule the fall 2021 elections in light of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Ida.

“I am thankful that the Governor has recognized the importance of our recommendation to move the October 9 election to November 13 and the November 13 election to December 11,” Ardoin saiid in a news release. “This will allow our staff and local partners more time to properly prepare for a statewide election while ensuring the integrity of our election processes and that our voters’ traditional voting habits are as undisturbed as possible.”

Further announcements including an emergency certification and election-related deadlines are forthcoming.

Community blood drive for Jason Percle

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 12:29pm

Download a flyer by clicking on the link below.

Schools reopen with only minor bumps; mail delivery gets the OK

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 11:23am

Staff Report

Staff Report
Life began to look more like normal in east St. Mary on Tuesday, when students returned to school and gasoline became more available.
But Tri-City area residents didn’t have to go far to find people still struggling with power outages and home damage.
St. Mary public schools reopened Tuesday for the first time since Hurricane Ida, with slight disruptions resulting from a water line break in Berwick and sporadic phone service, Superintendent Dr. Theresa Bagwell said.
“Fortunately, there are no impediments to keeping students in school and staff have been able to use alternatives to maintain any services that have been disrupted in any way,” Bagwell said in an email.
A water main break on Berwick’s Watson Street on Monday prompted a boil water advisory, a routine step when water pressure drops. Repairs were underway Tuesday.
Slight disruptions resulted from a need to provide water for cooking and drinking at schools in Berwick affected by the boil advisory, Bagwell said.
Cell and landline phone service has been subject to interruptions since last week.
“Although the school system will host a two-day enrollment event for students impacted by the hurricane, some parents have visited area schools this morning seeking to enroll. School administrators and office staff have been able to provide them with the information needed to enter school,” Bagwell wrote, “and we anticipate further assisting these families tomorrow and Thursday at the Materiel and Operations Center in Morgan City from 12:00-3:00 p.m.”
Central Catholic students also returned to class Tuesday.
In Assumption, where about 40% of utility customers were without power Tuesday, the School Board announced plans to resume classes Friday.
The news drew some angry responses on the Assumption Parish Facebook page, where the news from the School Board was posted.
“Idk how assumption parish expects kids to return to school when they r still without power,” said one poster. “That’s not even right n fair. N then on a Friday.”
“It’s not like we haven’t had a major hurricane a week ago and people are still without power,” another said. “So we just gonna send our kids to school with dirty clothes? Remember this when it’s time to vote again.”
In St. Mary, gasoline is an easier purchase than it was last week, but there were lines at some stations Tuesday.
Five refineries in Louisiana remained shut Tuesday, accounting for about 1.0 million barrels a day of refinery capacity, or approximately 6% of the total U.S. operable refining capacity, the Department of Energy said.
All three refineries in the Baton Rouge area and one near New Orleans (1.3 million barrels a day of refinery capacity) have initiated the restart process, although the refiners will not produce at full rates for several days, the department said.
Refinery operations cannot restart until feedstock supply, power and other essential third-party utilities are restored, the department said.
Fuel stocks in the area are being drawn down from storage while refineries and offshore production are restored.
The department reported that 465,000 customers, or about a quarter of the customers in the state, remained without power as of Tuesday morning.
By 8 p.m., the poweroutage.us website was reporting 392,000 blacked-out customers.
No outages were reported in St. Mary and only 79 in St. Martin.
But in Assumption, more than 4,300 of about 10,000 customers were without electricity.
Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes remain almost completely without consumer power.
Closer to home, people with ZIP codes starting with 703 moved a step closer to normal mail delivery.
Effective Tuesday, almost all post offices beginning with ZIP codes 700, 701, 703, and 704 resumed retail services and delivery, where it is safe to do so, the United States Postal Service said in a press release.
The Postal Service will continue to monitor conditions and is working to restore service as soon as it is safe to do so, the service said in a press release.
“We apologize for any inconvenience customers may experience and appreciate their patience. Updates will be provided as soon as they are available. Customers can check here for further information: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/.”

State withdraws licenses of seven nursing homes

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 11:22am

State Report

The Louisiana Department of Health has withdrawn the licenses and Medicaid certifications from seven nursing facilities that sent more than 800 seniors to a flooded Tangipahoa warehouse during and after Hurricane Ida.
Stephen Russo, director of legal, audit and regulatory affairs for the Health Depart-ment, made the announcement Tuesday at a multiagency press conference held by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
At issue is the treatment of the 800 nursing home residents moved from nursing homes owned by real estate investor Bob Dean to what has become known as the Calhoun Street warehouse in Independence.
At least four people died there by the time residents were moved out Thursday.
Media accounts and witnesses, including people who staffed the evacuation facility, described a failed generator and air conditioning system, inadequate food and clothing, overfilled portable toilets and residents forced to lie on mattresses in a structure with water standing on the floor.
“The lack of care for these residents was inhumane and against the rules, regulations and applicable statutes,” Russo said. Russo said the department heard about conditions at the evacuation warehouse the morning of Aug. 30, the day after Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon.
Department personnel were denied access when they tried to inspect the warehouse, Russo said.
Dean also provided the department with false information by text message, Russo said.
The Advocate quoted Dean as blaming the Department of Health, saying its decision to move residents from the facility means he no longer knows where his residents are and that he doesn’t know whether they have their medications.
The nursing homes that lost their licenses and Medicaid certification are South Lafourche Nursing and Rehab; Maison DeVille in Terrebonne; West Jefferson Health Care, Park Place Healthcare Nursing Home and Nursing Home of Harvey in Jefferson; and Orleans Health Care Center and Maison Orleans Health Care Center in Orleans.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced his own investigation into the treatment of the residents and took a few swipes at the governor as he did so.
Landry said in a news release that he was concerned that the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Unified Command Group, composed of top state officials who coordinate disaster response, weren’t informed about “the potential patient abuse or neglect until the deaths were announced public.”
He also said he was concerned that the police chief of Independence and the sheriff of Tangipahoa Parish, Edwards’ brothers, said they do not intend to investigate these deaths.
Russo said Department of Health personnel arrived at the warehouse Monday and found cause for concern, but were told by a nursing home employee that Dean wanted them off the property.
Department personnel came back Tuesday and began moving the residents to licensed beds Wednesday.
Recovery
Edwards said recovery progress is being made, with the number of power outages reduced by more than half from 1.1 million customers. But residents of some southeast Louisiana communities may not have power again until the end of September.
At least 95% of customers in St. John, St. Charles, Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. James parishes are blacked out, he said.
“I can tell you we have a lot of work to do before we get people right-side up again …,” Edwards said. “This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Maj. Gen. Keith Waddell, Louisiana National Guard adjutant general, pointed to statistics that say 5,000 Guard troops have distributed 2.1 million gallons of water in bulk and 3 million liters of bottled water; distributed 43,000 MREs, and cleared 147 miles of road.

Around Town for Sept. 8

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 11:20am

Happy birthday Alice Adams from family and friends … Belated happy 96th birthday Elliot Stephens, love, family and friends.

CAROLYN CALLOWAY PARKER

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 11:17am

Carolyn Calloway Parker, 65, a native of Terrebonne Parish and resident of Gibson, died Monday, Aug. 30, 2021.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at Jones Funeral Home in Franklin. Masks and social distancing required. Entombment will follow in St. Luke Church Cemetery in Waterproof.
She is survived by her husband, Adolph Parker of Gibson; children, Nathaniel Parker of Houma, Rosalyn Parker of Thibodaux, Twanda Clay of Gibson, Tee Parker of Jeanerette, Adolph Parker Jr. of Houston, Loriann Boyd of Franklin, and Derrick Parker of New Iberia; six sisters, Judy Darby of Patterson, Rose Lawrence, Janice Calloway, Beulah Lyons, Pamela Streams, all of Houma, and Tiana Calloway of Converse, Texas; three brothers, Joseph Calloway, Willie Calloway and Michael Calloway, all of Houma; 21 grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by a son, daughter, brother and both maternal and paternal grandparents.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

SALLIE MAE SMITH STANLEY

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 11:15am

Sallie Mae Smith Stanley, a native of Evergreen and resident of Morgan City, died Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, at Ochsner St. Mary.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at Christ Gospel Church in Patterson. Masks and social distancing required. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
She is survived by her children, Toni Friels, Clemous Mingo, Jarenda Friels and Gale Brown, all of Morgan City, Keith Walker of Opelousas, Latasha Jones and Ashley Francois, both of Berwick, Tammy Smith of Houma and Vanessa Mingo of Houston; siblings, Ava Green of Tennessee, Charles Smith, Hazel Acclis and Dorothy Smith, all of Beaumont, Texas, James Smith and Cathleen Smith, both of Dallas, Alice Friels and Margaret Smith, both of Evergreen, Lydia Smith of Marksville, Eileen Bienvenu of Gibson, Veronica Francis of Opelousas and Jina Mingo of Morgan City; 17 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, three grandchildren, parents, brothers and a sister.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CATHERINE FRANCES RUSSO

Wed, 09/08/2021 - 11:12am

Catherine Frances Russo, 97, a native and resident of Berwick, died Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, at her residence.
She is survived by a host of relatives.
She was preceded in death by her parents and eight siblings.
Visitation will be Thursday from 9 a.m. until services at 10 a.m. at Twin City Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
Twin City Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.