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BBB: Scams target college-bound kids

Wed, 03/10/2021 - 10:51am

Better Business Bureau

Scammers – with access to kids’ names and school information – are tricking parents into paying for bogus ACT prep materials.
You get an unsolicited call from a person claiming to be from the College Board, the company responsible for ACT tests, or another educational organization. The caller claims to be confirming your address, so they can send test prep materials, such as books, CDs, or videos, that your child requested at school.
It seems so believable! Several victims reported to BBB Scam Tracker that the caller even had their child’s name, phone number, and/or school information.
Of course, there’s a catch. The caller needs you to pay a deposit, sometimes several hundred dollars, for the materials. They claim it will be refunded when the materials are returned. How to Avoid Test Prep Scams
Always be wary of unsolicited callers. If someone calls out of the blue, always research their organization before you share personal information or agree to receive services or products. Look up the business they claim to represent at BBB.org. Search the name along with the words “scam” or “complaint” to find out if other consumers have had negative experiences. Check BBB Scam Tracker to see if anyone else has filed a report about the company.
Double check with your child. If scammers say they are calling because of a service your child requested, tell them you need to check with your child and hang up.
Understand the College Board’s practices. The College Board will never ask you for bank or credit card information over the phone or via email.
Use your credit card when possible. Credit cards may refund your money if they spot a fraudulent charge or if you report one in a timely manner. You may not be offered the same protection if you pay with your debit card or other payment options.
Never agree to pay a stranger with a money wire, prepaid cards, or digital wallet, such as Cash App or Venmo.

Jeremy Alford: Wildlife and Fisheries hunts for additional funding

Wed, 03/10/2021 - 10:30am

JEREMY ALFORD

Declining oil prices and a stagnant fee structure have prompted officials at the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to ask lawmakers for a $20 million emergency injection for the next fiscal year and an enhanced licensing structure that could generate as much as $30 million annually to salvage subsequent years.
Department officials are painting a bleak portrait of life without these bailouts — massive layoffs, a loss of federal funding due to a lack of matching funds, a smaller enforcement footprint, fewer biologists and weaker research that could in turn lead to shrinking limits on fish or even shorter seasons.
Over the last few decades the Legislature took steps to diversify the state’s fiscal picture to lessen its dependence on oil.
But somehow the department was left out of that transition. For the past 21 years the department’s sole source of cash has been the Conservation
Fund, into which oil royalties from state lands flow — and the flow is slower than ever on those royalties, from $73 million in 2014 to maybe $12 million this year.
“We've reached a point where the department simply won't be able to do what it’s doing unless we inject some dollars into that fund,” Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne told lawmakers during the most recent Joint Budget meeting.
“We hope that there’s some relief in sight. I’m not sure if there will be or not. This could start a responsibility of the state to inject dollars into a department that perviously ran solely on its Conservation Fund dollars.”
While the proposed fee increases will produce a hearty debate, the department’s predicament will also force the Legislature to make a fundamental policy decision.
Should general fund dollars be used to prop up the department? Lawmakers haven’t had to do that in 21 years, and there may be no turning back if the House and Senate start now.
As Dardenne has pointed out, “this is not something that happened overnight.”
The department has unsuccessfully sought fee increases over the past 10 years while also reducing staff positions by 13 percent and decreasing the field time for enforcement efforts by a combined 100,000 hours.
The Edwards Administration has proposed using what's referred to as the "funds bill" to deposit about $17 million into the Conservation Fund using excess revenue from the current fiscal year to take care of the department’s needs in the 2021-2022 fiscal year. But lawmakers still have to sign off on that proposal, which is just shy of the $20 million the department initially requested.
Lawmakers are also being asked to address the needs that will persist in subsequent years. There’s no author attached yet, but department officials are putting together a legislative package that would increase many recreational and commercial licenses in hopes of bringing home $30 million in new revenue each year.
Another fee bill, much smaller in scope, failed to pass the House in 2018.
At the time, many lawmakers expressed concerns about hiking the licenses of Louisiana sportsmen and a compromise could not be forged.
This go around, for the most part, lawmakers seem to understand there’s a real need for revenue at the department.
Still, there’s no overarching agreement yet on solutions.
Some lawmakers would rather increase out-of-state licenses only, a few want to see what becomes of future oil prices and others believe every stone has not yet been turned over in this debate.
“We need to look at the management structure,” said House Natural Resources Chairman Jean-Paul Coussan of Lafayette, echoing the sentiments of some committee members who want to hear more about the administrative-employee ratio during the regular session.
Secretary Jack Montoucet took over the department in 2017, inheriting an unsustainable financial structure that the Legislature had approved 17 years prior.
During an interview last week, he said department officials have brainstormed on funding ideas and are attempting to explore each and every one.
“We're looking at everything,” said Montoucet. “But the big point a lot of people miss the boat on is that it has been 20 years since the license fees have been addressed.”
Historically, the department has catered to a group of stakeholders who have shown a willingness to impose fees on themselves.
Commercial and recreational fishermen represented by task forces and associations have long come to the Capitol asking for fees to be imposed to underwrite the needs of their industries.
This latest across-the-board approach, however, is an outlier and there are no guarantees that department stakeholders or lawmakers will warm to the idea.
This could be a true fish-or-cut bait moment for the Legislature, which must now decide if the department should continue to be self-sustainable or transformed into an agency that’s kept afloat by whatever lawmakers can find in their tackle boxes.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.

What to know before claiming Social Security benefits

Wed, 03/10/2021 - 9:05am

Hardworking adults spend years striving to achieve their professional goals. Along the way, planning for retirement is a way to ensure all that hard work pays off when the time comes to call it a career.
In the United States, men and women nearing retirement age may be thinking about when they should begin collecting their Social Security retirement benefits. Social Security is a social insurance program instituted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935. The program consists of retirement, disability and survivor benefits, and workers in the United States contribute to Social Security each week.
The decision about when to claim Social Security retirement benefits is one all those who have contributed to the program must eventually make. In recognition of the difficulty of that decision, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers the following tips to people wondering when they should begin collecting their Social Security benefits.
—Confirm your full retirement age. Full retirement age refers to the age at which people can begin collecting their full benefits. Depending on the year you were born, you can begin collecting your full benefit at age 66 or 67.
Claiming your benefit before you reach full retirement age will lead to a permanent decrease in your monthly benefits. Conversely, claiming after you reach full retirement age will lead to a permanent increase in your monthly benefits. Since the stakes are so considerable, it’s vital for adults to confirm their full retirement age before they claim their benefits.
—Delay claiming if you can. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that you can expect to get an additional 5 to 8% in monthly benefits for every year you wait to claim your Social Security benefits after age 62, maxing out at age 70. If you can afford to do so, wait to claim your full benefit until age 70, as doing so can translate to a benefit that’s 32% higher than it would have been had you claimed your benefit at age 62.
—Budget for retirement. Short- and long-term budgeting for retirement can help you assess how much money you will need to cover your expenses when you stop working. This step can help you understand how much a reduced or increased Social Security benefit will affect your bottom line in retirement.
—Continue working. Remaining in the workforce full-time or even part-time can have a considerable impact on the size of your Social Security benefit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that continuing to work for one or two additional years can replace low- or no-income earnings from your earnings record, thereby increasing your benefit.
—Consider the long-term needs of your spouse. Surviving spouses receive the higher of the two spouses’ benefits. So it makes sense for the higher earning spouse to wait to collect his or her benefit until he or she reaches full retirement age.
The decision about when to collect your Social Security benefit is complex. Discussing your options with your spouse and financial advisor can help you make the most informed decision.

Getting married? Forms available at StMaryNow.com

Wed, 03/10/2021 - 9:01am

Getting married?
The Daily Review has engagement and wedding forms available online at www.StMaryNow.com. Look for the ‘submissions’ tab at the top of the page.
Download The Daily Review engagement and wedding forms. Once filled in (and saved), the forms along with a high resolution engagement or wedding photo may be submitted to lifestyles@daily-review.com.
It is preferred to receive engagement announcements four weeks prior to the wedding. Wedding forms and a photo should be submitted no later than 60 days following the wedding.
For information call 985-384-8370 between 8 a.m. and noon.

Brother is alarmed by teen sister’s dangerous choices

Wed, 03/10/2021 - 9:00am

By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: A few weeks ago, my 14-year-old sister snuck out and had sex with a boy she met on Snapchat. I know this because my distraught mother decided to tell me.
My sister lied to my parents repeatedly about it, but later, when they went through her phone, they found explicit images that a girl her age should never have. Furthermore, after they confiscated her phone, she acquired a new one from a friend and continues to message boys through Snapchat. She continues to lie to my parents when they ask her if she’s communicating with anyone.
She has been hanging around a toxic group of girls at school, and she’s very impressionable. She isn’t a bad person, but all this lying has left me confused and upset.
What can I do to help her?
HER WORRIED BROTHER IN GEORGIA

DEAR BROTHER: The age of consent in Georgia is 16. Do your parents know the identity and age of the person your sister met on Snapchat? The inappropriate pictures your parents discovered on her phone could be considered child pornography, and there are laws against it.
It’s very important that your sister understand how dangerous what she has been doing is. Because the peer group she has chosen to follow is undesirable, it would be better if your sister was removed from that influence and home-schooled or transferred to a different school. Please suggest this to your parents.

DEAR ABBY: My best friend, “Betsy,” died suddenly a week ago. She was only 58, and I am devastated. She was the most upbeat, positive person I have ever known.
A year ago, a new neighbor, “Claudia,” moved across the street. I befriended her and introduced Claudia to Betsy a couple of months ago. They met twice and texted each other a few times. I was pleased, thinking we could have a girls’ night out once in a while.
After Betsy died, I heard Claudia has been telling people her “best friend” had died. The day before, she told me she barely knew Betsy. Claudia also said that at least now she didn’t have to share me!
I am appalled that this woman is trying to co-opt my grieving for my dearest friend and make it her own. How do I deal with this?
SORROWFUL IN WASHINGTON

DEAR SORROWFUL: I am sorry for the loss of your best friend. People who knew you and Betsy know how close you were. Claudia may have said what she did in order to gain sympathy or attention.
Your grief is your own. No one can steal it from you. Claudia may be insecure or jealous of the closeness you shared with Betsy. Now that you know what kind of person Claudia is, act accordingly.

DEAR ABBY: Do you feel the words “cool” and “perfect” are way overused and should be retired indefinitely?
CURIOUS IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR CURIOUS: No, but if you do, I’m perfectly cool with it.
How about overused words like “huge,” “awesome” and “epic”? And is everything and everyone truly “AMAZING”? See what you have started? Somebody hand me a thesaurus.
***
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.

Berwick council sets meeting for comment on new subdivision

Tue, 03/09/2021 - 10:22pm

BILL DECKER

bdecker@daily-review.com

BERWICK -- The Town Council has called a special meeting for March 24 to hear public comments before deciding whether to give final approval for a new subdivision.

The meeting, at which the council could approve plans for Atchafalaya River Estates, will be at 6 p.m. March 24 at Town Hall.

On Tuesday, the Town Council set that meeting, introduced ordinances setting property rates and the drainage fee for 2021, and recognized Berwick High's Student and Teacher of the Year.

Plans for Atchafalaya River Estates call for 41 homes in a development on Fairview Drive near Techeview and Willow Crest subdivisions.

Secretary of State's Office records list Dr. Natchez Morice, an obstetrician-gynecologist who practices in Thibodaux and Morgan City, as the manager and agent for Atchafalaya River Estates LLC, formed in 2016.

The company applied to subdivide the property on Fairview in 2017, said Planning and Zoning Director Gary Beadle. But the project has been delayed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting and a dispute with an adjoining landowner over excavation on the property.

At Tuesday's meeting, Beadle relayed the planning and zoning board's recommendation that the council should approve engineering plans and offer final approval for the subdivision plans. That issue was accidently omitted from the agenda for Tuesday's meeting, so Mayor Duval Arthur announced the March 24 public hearing.

But the council did take one action related to subdivisions. It passed an ordinance establishing a single subdivision approval process.

The purpose of subdivision rules is to make sure lots created when a larger tract is divided have road access, can be connected to utilities and are consistent with public safety. The ordinance passed the five-member council on a 4-0 vote. Councilman Kevin Hebert was absent.

Also Tuesday:

--The council gave Beach Shines On recognition to Berwick High Student of the Year Abby Williams and Teacher of the Year Jennifer Walker.

Abby Williams, daughter of Kenny and Lisa Williams, is the senior class president who also participates in track and swimming. She plans to pursue her education at LSU and has been named the parish Student of the Year at the high school level.

Walker is a Berwick High graduate who went on to Nicholls State and earned her master's degree in 2017.

--The council introduced ordinances establishing town property tax rates for 2021. The rates would remain unchanged at 12.88 and 6.38 mills.

--The council introduced an ordinance setting the drainage fee at $25 per acre, unchanged from 2020. Officials said the fee raises $74,000-$80,000 each year for drainage work.

The property tax and drainage fee ordinances are due for public hearings and final passage votes at the April 13 council meeting.

--Police Chief David Leonard thanked Fire Chief Allen Rink for firefighters' help with traffic control when the recent hard freeze created a hazard on the Atchafalaya River bridges.

--The council heard that the Patterson Veterans of Foreign Wars post plans a March 20 can shake fundraiser on La. 182.

--The council voted to pay two bills related to the Concrete Improvement Project for Belleview Front Street and Gus Street. Southern Constructors LLC will receive $34,009.70, and Miller Engineers & Associates Inc. will receive $1,989.22.

Human remains found near Franklin identified

Tue, 03/09/2021 - 7:26pm

Staff Report

Human remains found near Franklin in January have been identified as those of a Lafayette woman.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith said the deceased has been identified as Casey Marie Collins, 39.
Smith said hunters discovered the remains in a wooded area 10 miles north of Franklin on Jan. 8, notifying the sheriff’s office just before noon.
Deputies and detectives retrieved the remains, and detectives, using the CODIS system, identified them.
The case is being investigated as a homicide, Smith said, and the public is asked to call the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office with any information that may assist in the case.

On anniversary of first COVID case, vaccine eligibility expanded

Tue, 03/09/2021 - 2:11pm

Gov. John Bel Edwards marked Tuesday's anniversary of the first positive COVID-19 test in Louisiana by announcing expanded eligibility for vaccinations.

People as young as 16 are now eligible for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and as young as 18 for the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, provided they have one of 23 co-morbid health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

"The availability of the vaccine is such that it's the right thing to do and the right time to do it," Edwards said at the press conference in Baton Rouge.

The good news was tempered by troubling signs in the state's COVID-19 statistics.

The steady decline in new COVID-19 cases and coronavirus hospitalizations since the mid-January peak of the third wave appears to have found its floor. The Louisiana Office of Public Health reported 631 confirmed and probable new COVID cases Tuesday.
Hospitalizations, which had fallen from more than 2,000 in January to fewer than 600 this month, have stayed close to Tuesday's figure of 543 for the last week, indicating the decline has leveled off.

"We've stopped improving," Edwards said, "and every time that has happened, there has been another surge."

Also, Louisiana has confirmed 20 cases of the more virulent UK variant of the coronavirus with another 74 cases probably caused by that form. Some estimates say that a quarter of new cases are now linked to the UK variant, said State Health Office Joe Kanter.

Easier transmissibility means more COVID cases, and more cases mean more deaths and hospitalizations.

"We are literally in a race against this virus, and that's one of the reasons we've expanded eligibility at this time," Edwards said.

That eligibility, which had been limited to people 55 and older, is now for those 16 an older with asthma, cancer, cerebral-vascular disease, chronic kidney or liver disease, Down syndrome, certain heart conditions sickle cell disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, obesity, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and certain immune system disorders. Smokers and pregnant women are also eligible.

New Centers for Disease Control guidance loosens some restrictions on those who are at least 14 days past the completion of their vaccination. The guidance says fully vaccinated people can::

--Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
--Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
--Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic

For now, fully vaccinated people should continue to:

--Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
--Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
--Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
--Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
--Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
--Follow guidance issued by individual employers
--Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendation.

The number of vaccinations administered to Louisiana people now exceeds the 434,926 confirmed and probable COVID cases recorded in the state. The number of deaths confirmed to be or probably COVID-related is now at 9,769. Each death was commemorated Tuesday with a small white flag on the state Capitol grounds.

COVID-19 spread rapidly in Louisiana despite unprecedented control measures: a stay at home order and school closures last spring, early limits on elective hospital procedures unrelated to COVID, the closure of bars and other businesses deemed nonessential, limits on the number of customers allowed in other businesses, a statewide mask mandate, distance learning for students and work from home via computer for many employees, and limits on public gatherings, even church services.

Saddest of all, many of those who succumbed to COVID died without friends or family members at their side because visiting was prohibited as a safety measure.

"This has obviously been a year of great loss and heartbreak," Edwards said, "but we've come a long way since that first case a year ago."

On Tuesday, the Office of Public Health reported one new confirmed case in St. Mary, two in Assumption and a downward adjustment of eight in the St. Martin case count.

St. Mary and St. Martin each hand one new fatality listed as probably COVID-related.

St. Mary has now had 3,378 confirmed cases and 832 probable. The death toll is 109 with 14 probable.

St. Martin's case count is 4,460 confirmed with 419 probable, and 102 confirmed deaths with 11 probable.

Assumption has had 1,542 confirmed cases with 566 probable, and 29 confirmed deaths with five probable.

Local vaccination effort moves ahead; 6,000 doses administered in St. Mary

Tue, 03/09/2021 - 12:50pm

GEOFF STOUTE

gstoute@daily-review.com

Advertising encouraging people to get COVID-19 vaccine shots doesn’t mean people need more coaxing. It means the system has caught up with the vaccine distribution, the state Department of Health Region 3 medical director said Monday.
Dr. Chip Riggins said he thinks a better grasp of the vaccination system and implementation of community feedback has contributed to the rise in marketing.
“I definitely appreciate the hospitals’ renewed efforts and energy to get the word out there, but I think that’s just because the system’s catching up with itself more than we’re having to market it more aggressively right now,” he said.
However, Riggins said that he wouldn’t be shocked if vaccine eligibility is expanded soon.
St. Mary Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director David Naquin thinks that should happen.
He said Monday afternoon that he thinks the vaccine should be opened to all groups, with priority given to those who are at the greatest risk. He said that while there isn’t a lot of it, there are vaccines waiting to be distributed.
“There’s vaccine on the shelf waiting for an arm, and the people are just waiting” to be eligible, Naquin said.
A report by The Acadiana Advocate later Monday indicates a more wide-reaching availability of the vaccine could be announced Tuesday.
The newspaper cited a letter sent from the Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association to Louisiana pharmacies that would open Pfizer distribution to those ages 16 and above and ages 18 and older for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Among the conditions meeting the need are moderate to severe asthma, hypertension or high blood pressure, overweight or type 1 diabetes mellitus.
The newspaper reported those who work in a jail, shelter, group home or other “congregate living facility” would be eligible, too.
As of noon Monday, the Louisiana Office of Public Health reported that 784,241 vaccine series have begun and 448,730 have been completed. That’s an increase of 102,849 doses since the data was last updated Thursday. The data are updated on Mondays and Thursdays.
St. Mary has initiated 6,876 series and has completed 3,856, according to the Office of Public Health.
Meanwhile, Assumption Parish has begun 3,253 vaccines series and has completed 1,857 series, and St. Martin Parish has had 5,957 series initiated and 2,971 series completed.
Statewide, 515 COVID-19 new cases and 10 new deaths were reported Monday. Locally, there were 18 new cases. Of those, 10 were in St. Mary Parish, while four each were in St. Martin and Assumption parishes.
“It’s still there,” Naquin said of COVID-19 in St. Mary Parish. “People are still getting it, but not near at the rate they were getting it prior to the vaccines becoming more and more available. So I have to give it to the vaccines. I don’t know if there’s any one other thing that’s caused it, but certainly that was the big thing that’s helped curb it just a little bit.”
Riggins said vaccination efforts have been in “catch-up mode” due to recent freezing weather that set back inoculation efforts.
“All of our providers are trying to promote it and get the vaccine out, because we know that our state does better in terms of our statewide allocation if we use as much vaccine in the week we receive it as possible,” he said. “So yeah, they’re trying to just make it easy for the public to see those opportunities and jump on them.”
Riggins said the recent Johnson & Johnson shipment has provided a boost, too.
“The big shipment of Johnson & Johnson last week did change the game,” he said. “Unfortunately it’s going to be a couple of weeks before we get another shipment of Johnson & Johnson, so I think that’s going to tighten back up. I think the governor and our state leadership also watched this dynamic very closely in terms of how much carryover we have week to week and how many appointments we have available at any point in time when they decide to open up the groups, and they’re trying to gauge that.
“They’re trying to maintain an equity lens to who we’re opening up to with each different expansion of the tier of who’s eligible for the vaccine,” Riggins added.
At Franklin Foundation, patients continue to show interest, said Kevin Romero, marketing/business development and co-director of physician services.
He said they are conducting vaccinations three days a week with either two cycles of first doses and a round of second doses or two rounds of second doses and a round of first doses.
Romero said this coming week the hospital will not be doing any first doses due to the availability at other area locations. They only will be giving second doses before resuming first doses the following week.
He said it’s to allow the staff to have “just kind of a slight breather.”
As of Monday afternoon, the hospital had distributed both doses of the Pfizer vaccine to 1,253 patients, while 1,885 have received the first dose.
At Ochsner St. Mary, 7,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed, according to an Ochsner spokesperson, who said that the Ochsner Health System is receiving more vaccines on a regular basis now that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been given approval.
While Naquin thought there were multiple reasons for more vaccine available, including those hesitant to receive it, he also said the availability is a credit to rural parishes like St. Mary Parish for being ahead of other areas of the state in getting vaccine to those who are interested.

Schexnayder went from driving a race car to steering the House

Tue, 03/09/2021 - 12:44pm

KATHLEEN PEPPO, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE--Speaker Clay Schexnayder went from winning races in cars to winning races against career politicians, and the leading Republican legislator in the House was the last person who predicted that sharp curve in his road.

“When I first got elected in 2012, I was the first mechanic and first race car driver to be elected to the House of Representatives,” said Schexnayder, R-Gonzales. “The speaker position didn’t come overnight. It took eight years to get here. It wasn’t something that we set out to do.”

In stark contrast to the many lawyers in the Legislature, Schexnayder trained as a mechanic and has owned and operated Car Craft and Rubber Company Automotive in Sorrento in Ascension Parish since 1998.

The 51-year-old representative graduated from French Settlement High School in 1989 and moved on to study automotive training and computerization at the Allen Institute in Atlanta, where he was certified in Automotive Service Excellence.

Schexnayder got into car racing in 1997, and his last race was in 2013, a year after he was elected to the House.

“I still have the racing bug,” he said in an interview. “Anytime I can go and sit down and watch a race or go to a race I’m there. I’m not a very good race fan because I like to participate, but yeah, I still love it.”

He reminisced on those days, even describing the first accident he was involved in during a race in Pike County, Mississippi.

“I was racing in a big race with a lot of people from all over the country that came to race,” he said. It was only the third or fourth race he had started in a type of car designed for dirt oval tracks. He participated in the Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas competition circuit, and in this race, “I was actually doing really well,” he said.

“We were running fifth and moving up with only a few laps to go, and we got into the front stretch, and I was passing a car, and the car that I was passing came up on me and his front tire went in front of my back tire. When it did, my back tire went on top of his, and it sent me airborne,” Schexnayder said. “I landed about 10 rows into the grandstands.”

Luckily, the fans were able to scatter in time.

“It was all good. No one got hurt,” he said. But it delayed the rest of the racing for the night until they got the fence fixed.

“It was a ride, let’s put it that way,” he said of his racing career.

He surprised even himself with his shift into politics, which started when a friend asked for his help.

Schexnayder described himself as “that guy in school that hated to talk in front of the class.”

“I was really quiet. I made straight A’s in conduct because I was so quiet,” he said. “I didn’t even read out loud in school. That’s just who I was. I couldn’t see me being a legislator.”

“I had my own shop, and I was just minding my business when one of my friends who was a sheriff came to me one day.”

“He said, ‘Look there’s a new house district. We have someone we want to get elected to that spot, but we need your help.’ So I said, ‘Great, I’m all in. Whatever you need, I’ll do.’ And he said, ‘Well, it’s you,’ and laughed, and I said, ‘Me?’” Schexnayder said.

In a race against four competitors who had already been elected to local offices, Schexnayder made it into a runoff against one of them as the underdog and won with roughly 70 percent of the vote. When he was reelected for his second term, he carried about 70 percent of the vote again.

Schexnayder described his most recent race in which he was elected Speaker of the House lst year as “an ugly battle.”

“But that’s just part of it,” Schexnayder said. “You just have to deal with it and move on.”

Schexnayder gained traction by winning votes from across the aisle as the Republican with bipartisan support. His more conservative opponent, Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany, on the other hand, aimed to win with the majority of Republican votes.

“It was me and one other guy, Representative Mack, and the rest is history,” Schexnayder said of his last opponent left standing after the other potential speaker candidates were whittled down.

“We just started meeting with people and talking to people, and the day came when it was time to vote, and the vote went our way,” he said

Schexnayder won in a 60 to 45 vote, and he went from being number 69 on the racetrack to number one in the House.

Schexnayder said that he realized during his time in office that “usually the best elected officials are the ones that you’d never think would be in that spot. The ones who come in more humble end up being the ones who really make sure to understand.”

As the speaker, Schexnayder said, “Probably my biggest surprise is that it’s a full-time job even though it’s actually classified as a part-time job.”

He also still runs his auto-service business, and he builds homes.

Asked how he manages all this, he said: “It’s tough. It’s tough. Usually, I’ll try to go through and look at the house jobs that we have going on early in the mornings. I make my trips. My days start at 5 o'clock in the mornings most of the time, sometimes earlier, and then we’ll make our rounds and make sure everything is in place that the crews need and then I’m done for the rest of the day.”

He and his wife, Phoebe, have four children and six grandchildren.

So he hardly has the time anymore to enjoy his longtime passion for car racing.

“I haven’t done racing in a while.” he said. “I still have my race car. Racing was a huge part of my life, and I loved it.”

His first year as speaker also was a whirlwind.

“COVID hit and then three hurricanes,” he said. “We had to deal with some events that were just unprecedented. It was something new.”

Even with the obstacles thrown his way, Schexnayder said that the House legislators “put our boots on and went to work and got it done.”

“I think, overall, we did a great job as far as the House goes,” he said. “I think we came in, and we had an agenda that we set to go in and pass tort reform, something that hadn’t been done in,well, ever, at the capitol. The new group that we had there as far as legislators did a great job coming together as a team during a very, very tough time.”

He also is expecting an easier session when the Legislature reconvenes in April. With all the federal coronavirus aid, he said, it should not be hard for lawmakers to craft a new budget, and Louisiana residents will start spending more as they receive their next stimulus checks.

He said the distancing restrictions during the pandemic have been “tough on a lot of people.”

“Not being able to go to your local restaurant and have a plate of crawfish, not being able to go out and have a cocktail, not being able to sit in the stadium and watch LSU football, those are the things that we miss, right? That’s what South Louisiana is all about.”

But, he said, “I also think it helped save a lot of people. Hunkering down, seeing what would happen, and going from there really helped.” He also said that the political tension over the restrictions has simmered down.

“Here’s the thing with that, I would much rather err on the side of caution than not,” he said. “If you look at some of the people these past couple of months or so, you’ve probably known more people personally who’ve had COVID than you have the whole pandemic.”