RSS Feed

PAUL JOHN “JOHN PAUL” THOMPSON

Thu, 06/24/2021 - 8:43am

Paul John “John Paul” Thompson, 52, a resident and native of Jeanerette, La., passed away peacefully on Monday June 21, 2021 at 10:01 a.m. at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center.
Visitation will be observed on Saturday June 26, 2021 at the Morning Pilgrim Baptist Church from 8 a.m. until funeral services at 11 a.m. Burial will follow the services in the Hope Cemetery.
Memories of Paul or “John Paul,” as he was known to many, will forever remain in the hearts of his father, William Londo Sr.; brothers, Albert (Danielle Brown) Thompson, Jr., Lawrence (Annie Mae Keal) Thompson, and Joseph (Celina) Thompson; sisters, Mary Thompson and Denise (Albert Boutte) Londo; step-sister, Marlene Shaw; extended family, Cleveland Gilbert, Rita Marks, Brenda Carrier, Linda Clark, Shirley Richard, Gloria Richard, Mary Ann Richard, Abraham Gilbert, Glenn Gilbert, Carl Richard, Larry Richard, Joyce Andrus, Stacy Conner, and Elizabeth Moten and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Paul was preceded in death by his mother, Minerva Thompson and his siblings, William Londo, Jr., Ernest Peter Thompson, Irma Lee Londo, and Barbara Jean Londo.
Arrangements entrusted to Jones Funeral Home of Morgan City-Franklin-Jeanerette and Houma. Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family

French Quarter Festival returns Sept. 30-Oct. 2

Thu, 06/24/2021 - 8:24am

New Orleans — The non-profit French Quarter Festivals announces the return of French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron.
The one-time-only fall edition of French Quarter Festival takes place Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 across venues and stages in the French Quarter neighborhood, according to the French Quarter Festivals news release. Attendees will experience the world’s largest celebration of Louisiana’s food, music and culture during the free three-day event.
At the city of New Orleans’ request, the organizers have consolidated festival activities into three days.
The event will bring regional cuisine from more than 50 community restaurants, hundreds of Louisiana musicians on 19 stages, and special events that celebrate New Orleans’ diverse, unique culture. The festival will operate from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily.
“Throughout the COVID crisis, we have strengthened our ability to remain flexible,” said Emily Madero, CEO of French Quarter Festivals. “As one of the largest free music and food festivals in the United States, we always want to ensure our impact is in the best interest of the City and our French Quarter neighbors and businesses.
“For fans, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy both French Quarter Fest and a Saints game on the same weekend! We’re bringing together our favorite hometown festival and hometown team — we couldn’t script a better celebration to memorialize the resilience of NOLA and the return to normal life.”
The 2021 French Quarter Festival lineup is stacked with a broad range of Louisiana artists from several genres. Organizers have prioritized the booking of many bands from the 2020 lineup to curate more than 200 acts across 19 stages throughout the historic French Quarter.
Artists making their debut include Rickie Lee Jones, Big Chief Juan Pardo & The Golden Comanches, Fermín Ceballos + Merengue-4FOUR, Sporty’s Brass Band, Chapel Hart Band, and Lilli Lewis.
Returning favorites include Tank and the Bangas, John Boutté, Amanda Shaw, and hundreds more.
Attendees can experience Louisiana legends each night of festival, thanks to the Chevron Evening Concert Series, which returns in 2021 with Waterseed, Irma Thomas, and Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. & the Wild Magnolias.
Fest fans visiting Jackson Square will find the GE Stage with a lineup of New Orleans’ most respected artists and culture-bearers including Preservation Brass, Robin Barnes, and James Andrews.
The riverfront Abita Beer Stage brings three days of music including Tank and the Bangas, Rickie Lee Jones, Flow Tribe, Sweet Crude, Kermit Ruffins, and Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
At the Tropical Isle Hand Grenade Stage, the lineup includes Little Freddie King, John Boutte, Deacon John, and Papa Gros.
At the New Orleans Jazz Museum, brass bands will be featured on the Louisiana Fish Fry Stage. The WWL-TV Esplanade in the Shade Stage brings music from crowd favorites like Tin Men, Sarah Quintana, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Dash Rip Rock, Lynn Drury, and Astral Project.
Street stages on Bourbon and Royal streets will also return with music Oct. 1-2. The complete schedule will be released in August at frenchquarterfest.org.
The organization is committed to a family friendly celebration for 2021. Youth performances will be at Ernie’s Schoolhouse Stage and kids-centric entertainment at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. Organizers also announce the return of the Chevron “STEM” Zone (science, technology, engineering, and math) to the Natchez Wharf at the foot of Toulouse Street at the River. Programming details will be released in July.
Free dance lessons sponsored by the French Market Corporation will return to the Chevron and French Market Traditional Jazz stages.
French Quarter Festival’s culinary lineup offers attendees the opportunity to sample food from places such as Broussard’s Restaurant & Courtyard, Miss Linda the Yakamein Lady, Vaucresson Sausage, We Dats Chicken and Shrimp, Galatorie’s Restaurant, Morrow’s Nola, to name a few.
Prior to the start of the festival, French Quarter Festivals supporters will take a celebratory dinner cruise with the Dukes of Dixieland, led by Grammy winner Kevin Clark, on the roof top viewing deck on Sept. 29. From its decks fans will receive a sneak peek at the festival production as Woldenberg Park is getting its finishing touches for opening day. A generous portion of every ticket goes toward supporting French Quarter Festivals. Tickets including cruise, dinner, music and live narration are available at reserve.neworleanssteamboat.com/FQF/8582.html.
The NOLA.com Fest Family Experience will return this year. Members will experience French Quarter Festival like a true insider with a hospitality lounge, elevated viewing stand, private bars, air-conditioned restrooms, exclusive programming and more. Passes are sold as three-day weekend passes for $299, or daily passes for $129. The passes are now available online at frenchquarterfest.org/fest-family.
Festival organizers are teaming up with the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program to launch a cleaner and healthier festival season in Louisiana. The Geauxing Green initiative will focus on marine debris prevention by using reusable, recyclable, and compostable food and drink products at the festival.
In addition, attendees will be greeted by Green Team staff that will be on hand throughout the festival grounds to guide the public in the use of recycling and composting stations.
The non-profit French Quarter Festivals provides community events that welcome locals and guests.

Water leak damages more than ceiling for neighbors

Thu, 06/24/2021 - 8:17am

By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: I live in an apartment and recently had a serious leak come through my bathroom ceiling. I called maintenance and texted my upstairs neighbor, who asked me when they were coming. I responded that I didn’t know and I wasn’t sure whether they’d have to go up to her apartment or not.
Well, they went to her apartment first. She was VERY upset and messaged me a dozen more times to let me know how stressed she was, that she was crying and afraid she would get evicted from her apartment because she has a dog she failed to put on her lease. She ended by saying “next time” I should let her know in advance. Abby, I DID let her know. But I guess she wants more notice next time she causes an emergency, so she’ll have more time to hide her dog.
So — I’m supposed to let my apartment get more water damage to give her time to hide an animal she should’ve put on her lease years ago and be paying pet rent for? I feel like she was trying to make me feel bad when she’s the one who is wrong for being irresponsible.
Why do I have to cater to her needs first? Should I feel bad?
LEAKY MESS IN THE WEST

DEAR LEAKY MESS: You do not have to accept the guilt trip your neighbor laid on you or “cater” to her.
You handled the situation appropriately and have nothing to apologize for. When the “good neighbor policy” was written, she must have been out to lunch.

DEAR ABBY: I got COVID from a friend who came to our book club even though her husband was ill. When she texted us a few days later about his positive test, I told her I was now sick.
She called and left a message that she felt bad if she had given me COVID, but she has shown no concern since. I have had long-term COVID chest pain for three months, but she’s never sent a card or called to see how I am.
I reached out to her several times and even brought her a birthday gift, but she doesn’t seem to care that I’m not well. It’s awkward because we’re neighbors and in several groups together.
How can I save this friendship?
RECOVERING IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR RECOVERING: How can YOU save this friendship? Lady, YOU are the injured party.
This woman may be a neighbor, but she isn’t acting like a friend. Call her and clear the air about how the situation has made you feel.
When you see her, be civil and keep your distance. If she had been less self-centered, she wouldn’t have exposed you and the other book club members to what her husband had — even if it was “only” a common cold.

DEAR ABBY: What are the three most important things parents should instill in their children in their formative years?
WONDERING IN ARIZONA

DEAR WONDERING: In my opinion, the three most important things would be empathy, that they are loved and curiosity.
***
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in “What Every Teen Should Know.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

Morgan City gets grant for Downtown-Young Memorial walking-bike route

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 2:23pm

Morgan City has received a grant that will that will help create a safe pedestrian and bicycle route between downtown and the South Louisiana Community College Young Memorial Campus, the city government said in a news release Wednesday

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has officially awarded the Safe Routes to Public Places grant, which was applied for in 2018, to the city of Morgan City. South Central Planning and Development Commission, with the help of St. Mary Excel, submitted the grant.

Three years later, the city of Morgan City can point to an entire planned, almost 17-mile bicycle/pedestrian trail. Mayor Lee Dragna, after hearing of the award, announced that the $350,000 awarded will be applied to phase one of the grant: making the route from Everett Street to Fourth Street to Barrow Street safe and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The next grant submitted by the city will focus on the part of the 17-mile trail from the Municipal Auditorium to Youngs Road via Myrtle Street. The final leg of the trail to SLCC is the most expensive, costing over $1 million. Other ways to finance this will also be investigated.

The city will begin work soon on the BIKE MORGAN CITY phase of the trail from Justa Street along the Auburn levee to La. 70. The city will use over $300,000 awarded through the Recreational Trails grants drafted by St. Mary Excel for the city in cooperation with the St. Mary Parish Levee District and the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau, and $90,000 donated by the H & B Young Foundation.

The work being done to complete the BIKE MORGAN CITY pathway will reap benefits for the health and well-being of residents and visitors of the area, the press release said.

Morgan City Council OKs plan for Lake End tiki bar

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 11:40am

GEOFF STOUTE

gstoute@daily-review.com

Lake End Park could soon be getting a tiki bar.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Morgan City Council approved a request from local businessman Jonathan Scully for a letter of support to seek the necessary permits to sell a limited number of alcoholic beverages.
Scully recently opened Lake End Rentals at the park and said he would like to build on that by offering three to four different beers, margaritas and limited food items, such as shrimp tacos. The business would be called The Tipsy Pelican.
Scully said his goal isn’t to “create another club” but to simply give the option of adult beverages to families who can consume them in a responsible manner.
He said he would not be bringing in a tiki bar immediately, and would instead start by selling from a tent.
“Our goal is to make the experience even more enjoyable for the campers, locals and out of towners that visit Lake End Park. … I believe this idea would only attract more people to our parish,” he said.
Scully said he thought the rentals have increased traffic at Lake End Park.
“I really feel like this is just the beginning,” Scully said. “I’m not asking for the city’s money on any of these things. I’m asking to put up my own.”
Mayor Lee Dragna agreed there are a lot of people at the park now.
Scully said he has the support of Mike Liner, a concession vendor on site, and has told Liner he would not sell items that Liner sells. Chief Administrative Officer Charlie Solar said he has discussed the idea with Liner, who had no objections to the items Scully would be selling.
“I believe this would only be another step in the right direction towards bringing in more people to our town and utilizing our beautiful park,” Scully said.
Also Tuesday, the council unanimously approved permission for Deep South Racing Association to hold drag boat racing on Flat Lake at the Joe C. Russo Boat Landing July 24-25.
The event will be called the Marvin Catrett Memorial Drag Boat Races.
Shawn Jetton of Deep South Racing Association, who sent correspondence of his request, said he hoped there would be around 50 boats at the event.
In another item, the council heard from local business owner Thane Aucoin about drainage issues on his property during heavy rains. Aucoin, who owns Highway 90 Storage, said the issue has been going on for a few years and appears to becoming a bigger problem.
“Now when we have a strong rainfall, we experience flooding in our parking lot, and it seems as though the water is not draining properly,” Aucoin said. “I don’t know what’s happening. … I’m willing to work with you guys in any way, pumps or whatever we need to do, but it’s at the point where I really do need help addressing this problem.”
Dragna said there is an issue in the drainage system away from Aucoin’s business, and he intends to get with Solar and Public Works Director Mike Loupe to fix the problem.
While Dragna said there is the option of redirecting the water to a retention area nearby, he said the optimal choice would be to unclog the area preventing proper drainage.
Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the council:
—Learned from Finance Director Deborah Garber that there were favorable variances in the city’s three funds when comparing them to budgeted amounts for the period ending May 31.
She reported a $562,736 variance in the General and Ancillary fund, about a $155,000 variance in the Utility Fund and a $59,199 variance in the Sanitation and Sewer Fund.
—Approved The Daily Review as its official journal.
—Approved the appointment of Wesley Thomas to the city’s land and development board.
Absent from Tuesday’s meeting were councilmen Tim Hymel and the Rev. Ron Bias.

New school sales tax takes effect July 1

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 11:37am

Staff Report

The new sales tax approved by St. Mary voters in March for public school teacher and staff pay will be collected beginning July 1, according to the parish Sales and Use Tax Department.
The 0.45% tax was approved by St. Mary voters by a 62-38% margin in a low turnout March 20.
The tax is expected to raise just less than $4 million a year. The added revenue is dedicated to pay increases for certified personnel, mostly teachers, as well as other staff members.
The School Board has said it plans a $3,000 annual raise for certified staff members and $1,500 for other district employees.
The Sales and Use Tax Department had this message for businesses that collect sales taxes:
“This additional 0.45% tax is to be levied and collected upon the sale, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption and storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property and the sale of services in the Parish of St. Mary.
“This additional 0.45% tax takes effect on transactions beginning July 1, 2021. New returns will be available with the new rates for your July remittance. Please don’t report transactions prior to July 1, 2021, on the new returns.
“The return can be accessed on our page at the Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators, www.lataonline.com and www.parishe-file.revenue.louisiana.gov.”
The effort to enact the sales tax, which began in December 2019, proved to be controversial.
The measure drew no public opposition from individual School Board members as they moved to have the new tax submitted to parish voters.
The parish’s public schools rank in the top third of school systems in the state’s accountability system, they argued, while average teacher pay is below the state average.
As the drive to enact the tax began, Lafourche Parish’s board planned to go to voters with a similar levy, later withdrawn, for the same purpose. St. Mary proponents said the local pay raise was needed to make the parish competitive in attracting and keeping good staff members.
But the tax proposal drew some high-powered opposition, led by state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, and Parish President David Hanagriff.
Allain and Hanagriff both said they had no problem in principle with increasing teacher pay.
But Allain objected to the original 0.5% proposal, which would have dedicated a portion of the proceeds to a school technology fund.
Hanagriff’s opposition was based on the potential impact on St. Mary’s sluggish economy and on what he said was the School Board’s unwillingness to compromise.
The School Board reduced the proposal to 0.45% and eliminated the technology fund dedication before putting the proposition on the March 20 ballot.

Thrown for a loss: COVID cost LSU sports programs millions

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 11:35am

ADRIAN DUBOSE, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — LSU’s football and other sports programs lost $81 million in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school cannot use federal aid funds to reduce that deficit.
The athletics department has offset some of the losses through salary reductions and job cuts. It has received $23 million in relief money from the Southeastern Conference, and it has tapped reserve funds from profitable years to try to close the rest of the gap.
It also is counting on its private fundraising arm, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, to keep bringing in major donations. The foundation just hired a new leader, Matt Borman, who had led athletic fundraising at the University of Georgia.
The lost revenue came after parts or all of the seasons for many sports, including men’s basketball and baseball, were canceled in spring 2020 and attendance at football games was limited to 25% of Tiger Stadium’s 102,000-seat capacity.
That came after a banner year for a sports program that usually brings in among the highest revenue and profit totals in the country.
The national championship football team led by quarterback Joe Burrow took in $95 million in revenue in 2019-20 and earned a profit of $53.7 million.
But all that changed in March 2020 when LSU had to send students home, switch to online learning and curtail its athletics programs.
The academic side of the university suffered from losses in housing and food payments and greater expenses to combat COVID-19 when many students returned in the fall.
LSU officials say that total revenue losses for its main campus in Baton Rouge amounted to $126.4 million and the total for all campuses in the LSU system—including campuses in Shreveport, Eunice and other cities—reached $151.9 million.
COVID-related expenses hit $19.8 million for the main campus and $41.8 million for all of the campuses.
LSU and its students are receiving $147.4 million of federal aid from the various stimulus packages. The school can use $82.9 million to make up for lost revenues. The other $64.5 million is going directly to students for assistance.
LSU President Tom Galligan said that federal relief funds cannot be used for athletic losses.
“I don’t think the money can be used for lost revenues or any athletic losses, but even if it could, we have met with the academic units, the administrative units, the auxiliary units and Residence Life,” he said. “Those are going to be covered first and if we cover all of those, we wouldn’t have any money left from federal aid.”
The Southeastern Conference recently decided to provide each of its 14 schools with $23 million to help offset COVID-impacted finances.
In the University of Louisiana System, the projected shortfall in athletics for the current fiscal year is about $22.5 million.
Dr. Jim Henderson, president of the system, said the biggest expense for most of the schools is scholarships for student athletes. He said the programs will develop plans to recover the losses within their operations over the next two to three years.

Bills vetoed, signed by governor

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 11:30am

Gov. John Bel Edwards has vetoed Senate Bill 156, authored by Sen. Beth Mizell during the 2021 Regular Legislative Session. The bill, known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, sought to prevent transgender girls and women from participating on athletic teams or in sporting events designated for girls or women at elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools. Edwards issued the following statement:
“As I have said repeatedly when asked about this bill, discrimination is not a Louisiana value, and this bill was a solution in search of a problem that simply does not exist in Louisiana. Even the author of the bill acknowledged throughout the legislative session that there wasn’t a single case where this was an issue.+
Edwards announced that he has signed the following bills into law from the 2021 Legislative Session.
ACT 413—HB 42 Provides relative to financial aid.
ACT 414—HB 81 Provides relative to prescription.
ACT 415—HB 85 Creates a literacy program for certain public school students.
ACT 416—HB 108 Provides with respect to in forma pauperis proceedings.
ACT 417—HB 119 Provides relative to the Advisory Council on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
ACT 418—HB 129 Provides relative to peace officers.
ACT 419—HB 170 Provides relative to reporting of students identified as having dyslexia.
ACT 420—HB 211 Provides relative to public school choice.
ACT 421—HB 218 Authorizes the installation and use of newborn safety devices at certain infant relinquishment sites designated in the Safe Haven Law.
ACT 422—HB 374 Provides relative to residential lessee screening.
ACT 423—HB 388 Provides relative to the preparation and verification process of absentee and early voting ballots prior to election day.
ACT 424—HB 391 Authorizes the recommendation of medical marijuana in raw or crude form and limits the dispensing of such product.
ACT 425—HB 423 Establishes requirements concerning reports of abortions performed or induced.
ACT 426—HB 435 Provides relative to video draw poker devices.
ACT 427—HB 541 Provides relative to the central computer monitoring system of electronic gaming devices located at certain gaming facilities.
ACT 428—SB 4 Eliminates certain aggregate campaign contribution limitations.
ACT 429—SB 27 Provides relative to military and veteran friendly postsecondary education policies.
ACT 430—SB 34 Provides for responsibilities of law enforcement officers while interacting with the public.
ACT 431—SB 94 Provides relative to insurance cost-sharing practices.
ACT 432—SB 105 Provides for an African-American military service members monument in the Louisiana Veterans Memorial Park.
ACT 433—SB 127 Provides relative to specialized behavioral health rehabilitation services in the Louisiana medical assistance program.
ACT 434—SB 130 Provides for payment of health insurance provider claim payment claims.
ACT 435—SB 142 Provides for the disposition of funds generated by sports wagering.
ACT 436—SB 204 Provides for live racing dates and minimum number of races per day to be assigned by the Louisiana State Racing Commission.
ACT 437—SB 209 Provides relative to horse racing including historical horse racing.
ACT 438—SB 222 Provides relative to early literacy.
ACT 439—SB 230 Provides relative to power-based violence on college and university campuses.
ACT 440—SB 247 Provides relative to the regulation of sports wagering.

GILDAY ADAM GAUDET

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 11:28am

April 3, 1943 — June 21, 2021
Gilday Adam Gaudet, 78, a resident of Bayou L’Ourse, passed away peacefully, Monday, June 21, 2021 at The Oaks of Houma.
Gilday was born April 3, 1943, in Stephensville, the son of Gilday James Gaudet and Ella Mae Dupre Gaudet.
Gilday enjoyed wood working; he and his wife, Joy, built their house themselves years ago. He enjoyed being outdoors, whether it was fishing, crabbing, or crawfishing, he just enjoyed being in the boat, out on the water. Gilday also enjoyed gardening; he and his grandchildren would pick vegetables out in the yard together.
He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife of 58 years, which was celebrated on the 18th, Joy Barras Gaudet of Bayou L’Ourse; two daughters, Paula Gaudet Aucoin and husband Jody of Bayou L’Ourse, Laura Marie Gaudet also of Bayou L’Ourse; one sister, Eva Mae Ohmer of Chauvin; two grandchildren, René Aucoin Falgout and husband Rory, Kristi Aucoin LeBlanc and husband Jordan; four great-grandchildren, Aubrey Falgout, Charlotte Falgout, Luke LeBlanc, and Natalie LeBlanc; numerous nieces and nephews.
Gilday was preceded in death by his parents, Gilday and Ella Mae Gaudet; two brothers, Lenwood Gaudet and Julius Gaudet.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Foundation.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, June 24, 2021 at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Amelia, with Father Charles Perkins officiating. Visitation will be held Thursday, June 24, 2021 at St. Andrew Catholic Church from 9:00 a.m. until the time of Mass. After Mass, Gilday will be laid to rest in the St. Andrew Catholic Church Cemetery.

Around Town for June 23

Wed, 06/23/2021 - 11:26am

Happy 40th birthday Jessica Dubois from family and friends.