RSS Feed

The U.S. Coast Guard has exercised a contract option to award Bollinger Shipyard four additional Sentinel-class fast response cutters, Bollinger said Tuesday in a press release.
This announcement brings the total number of FRCs awarded to Bollinger up to 64 vessels since the program’s inception. To date, the U.S. Coast Guard has commissioned 43 FRCs into operational service.
“We’re incredibly proud of the work we do at Bollinger, and we’re especially proud of our long history supporting the U.S. Coast Guard that stretches nearly four decades,” said Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon. “Our unique experience building for the Coast Guard is unparalleled and has shown time and time again that we can successfully deliver the highest quality vessels on a reliable, aggressive production schedule and cost, even in the most challenging circumstances, including the global pandemic and record hurricane season experienced over the past year. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Coast Guard.”
All four FRCs will be built at Bollinger’s Lockport facility and are scheduled for delivery to the Coast Guard between fall 2024 and summer 2025.
The FRC program has had a total economic impact of $1.7 billion since inception in material spending and directly supports more than 650 jobs in southeast Louisiana, Bollinger said.
The program has indirectly created 1,690 new jobs from operations and capital investment and has an annual economic impact on GDP of $202 million, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Maritime Administration on the economic importance of the U.S. Shipbuilding and Repair Industry. Bollinger sources over 271,000 different items for the FRC consisting of 282 million components and parts from 965 suppliers in 37 states.
In addition to the construction of the FRC, Bollinger builds the T-ATS for the U.S. Navy and regional class research vessels for the National Science Foundation through Oregon State University. Bollinger is participating in industry studies for four government programs, including the U.S. Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter program, the U.S. Navy’s Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance program, the U.S. Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vehicle (LUSV) program and the U.S. Navy’s Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program.
The FRC is an operational “game changer,” according to senior Coast Guard officials. FRCs are consistently being deployed in support of the full range of missions within the United States Coast Guard and other branches of the armed services.

Submitted Photo
Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Nsikan St Martin has launched her own business, Phoenix Medical Healthcare Center Inc., at 215 Everett St. in Morgan City. St. Martin will continue her practice there, but the corporation will also offer expanded services with the addition of family nurse and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner Tangela Robertson, who will offer internal medicine and behavioral services. The phone number is 985-354-6081. Shown are Patterson Mayor Rodney Grogan; St. Martin; Richard Omobogie, St. Martin's husband; and St. Mary Parish Assessor Jarrod Longman.

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

Local authorities reported warrant and traffic arrests Tuesday, along with two aggravated batter arrests.

St. Mary
Sheriff Blaise Smith advised that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 34 complaints and made these arrests:
—Bryson Matthew Skinner Sr., 27, Franklin, was arrested at 9:53 a.m. Monday on a warrant alleging failure to appear on the charges of failure to give required signal, failure to honor written promise to appear, and operating a vehicle without a driver’s license. Skinner was released on a summons to appear Nov. 2.

Assumption
Sheriff Leland Falcon reported these arrests:
—Iesha V. Dorsey, 30, Jefferson Street, Napoleonville, was arrested Sunday on charges of aggravated flight from an officer, resisting an officer, four counts of violation of stop sign requirements, driving on roadway laned for traffic, and speeding, and on a warrant for failure to appear.
A uniformed patrol deputy, on assignment to the I.C.E. detail, observed a vehicle being driven by Dorsey on Sunday near Napoleonville, and was aware that Dorsey was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear.
The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver continued in a manner consistent with the intent to elude officers.
The suspect eventually stopped the vehicle and fled into a residence with the deputy in pursuit. The suspect ran through the residence and was eventually captured.
Dorsey was arrested and booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center with bond set at $80,100.
—Naja Jones, 26, Daggs Street, Paincourtville, was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated second-degree battery with a weapon and resisting an officer.
The charges arose from a July 18 incident in Paincourtville.
Deputies were dispatched to a residence in reference to a disturbance involving weapons. Deputies made contact with the victim, who had sustained a hand injury.
The victim advised that she had an argument over the phone with the suspect, now identified as Jones. A short time later, Jones, a relative of the victim, came to the home at which time Jones entered armed with a baseball bat, a knife and then a gun.
During the struggle, the victim received minor lacerations. The suspect left prior to deputies arriving.
Investigating deputies applied for and were granted arrest warrants charging the suspect.
On Monday, Jones was arrested and booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center pending a bond hearing.

St. Martin
Sheriff Becket Breaux reported these arrests:
—Christopher Barber, 26, Patin Street, Breaux Bridge, was arrested Monday by the Breaux Bridge Police Department on charges of aggravated domestic abuse battery and simple criminal damage to property.
—Joshua Bourda, 36, Main Street, St. Martinville, was arrested Monday on charges of criminal conspiracy and manufacture, distribution or possession with intent to distribute Schedule II drugs.
—Deara Gortman, 21, Nicholas Street, Breaux Bridge, was arrested Monday on a warrant alleging failure to appear.
—Vershanski Green, 30, Fruge Street, Ville Platte, was arrested Monday by the Breaux Bridge Police Department on a charge of theft ($1-$999).
—Amber Tujague, 43, Dara Beth, Youngsville, was arrested Monday on a warrant alleging failure to appear.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated — and so have the politics attached to the government response in Louisiana.
Each new surge, like the one we’re in right now, refreshes partisan arguments and sends combatants back to their drawing boards.
The coming weeks in Louisiana politics will seem both familiar, with lawmakers refighting legal battles, and novel, with hospitalization and infection numbers expected to reach unprecedented levels.
Once again, a legislative petition to in some form or fashion revoke the state’s coronavirus restrictions is in play.
Members of the House of Representatives managed to trigger this nuclear option at the tail end of the October 2020 special session, but a district judge later ruled a one-chamber petition did not have the ability to terminate the governor’s emergency order.
The judge, however, was “dead wrong” and conservative lawmakers have resurrected the petition approach, according to GOP Rep. Alan Seabaugh, a Shreveport attorney who sits as a member of the state Supreme Court Committee on Board Admissions and is one of the graders of the constitutional law section of the Louisiana Bar Exam.
“House members are thinking about how best to approach this again and there are preliminary discussions ongoing,” said Seabaugh.
“We want to do it more strategically than last time. But it’s something that’s being discussed. The last couple of days my phone has not stopped ringing. People are worried about losing their jobs if they don’t get vaccines. They’re worried about sending their children to school with masks on. The state is on the verge of exploding.”
Using a law that was meant to help policymakers navigate continuity of government issues, a simple majority of lawmakers in either the House or the Senate can sign onto a petition to end a governor’s “state of public health or emergency.”
The law states the governor “shall” take the appropriate steps to make this happen, but Gov. John Bel Edwards did no such thing last year and instead sued the Legislature.
Just before Thanksgiving, 19th Judicial District Court Judge William Morvant took Edwards side and ruled the law was unconstitutional because it didn’t require both chambers to sign the petition.
Lawmakers in favor of another petition say the current situation is different, and that vaccine requirements were not a part of the public conversation last year.
Taking yet another approach to anxiety in his district, Sen. Patrick McMath, a Covington Republican, asked for a legal opinion from Attorney General Jeff Landry to address concerns about masking mandates for young students.
McMath wanted to know whether the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has “the authority to make rules related to the mask mandate placed on our children.”
Landry’s office responded by saying only BESE and the Legislature have standing to oversee safety mandates at K-12 schools.
If BESE does indeed have the proper authority, McMath said he hoped “they will put an end to this overreach.”
BESE is expected to discuss the topic next week, and the stakes are mounting with each passing moment. Members, after all, are being asked to adopt a mask policy for schools that contradicts the governor’s latest emergency order.
Then there’s Rep. Danny McCormick, who’s taking his message directly to the people. During a Facebook Live appearance last week, McCormick, a Republican from Oil City, asked viewers to practice a “peaceful, non-compliant” approach to the mask mandate. McCormick also recommended that his constituents watch an hour and a half feature entitled “Noncompliant.”
These are all political variants of debates, messaging and ideas that surfaced in the wake of the coronavirus’ big reveal last year. Put another way, state lawmakers have been there and done that.
Then again, lawmakers have little choice but to respond to this latest surge and the government’s reaction.
They hear from constituents on a daily basis about masks, personal freedoms, business operations, school safety and more.
The governor, meanwhile, is hearing the same concerned voices. Edwards is trying to find that fine line between making smart and safe decisions and delivering a gut punch to regional economies.
Edwards isn’t alone, as local leaders are making tough decisions as well.
Fairs and festivals, for example, are already being canceled as football season approaches. This is not how anyone wanted summer 2021 to end.
From a political perspective, the next few weeks in Louisiana are going to be messy.
The silver lining may be that the state’s elected class is unwilling to just sit and watch. There are plenty of arguments and proposals and schools of thought out there — and how they’re communicated to the public will be almost as important as the goals they aim to achieve.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow