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BERWICK — The Town Council took time out Tuesday from talk of roofing bids and subdivision rules to honor a student and a teacher from Berwick Junior High School.
The council devoted its monthly Beacon Shines On recognition to eighth-grader Mallory Menard and teacher Lani McElroy.
Mallory is the Berwick Junior High and St. Mary Parish Middle School Student of the Year.
She is the daughter of John and Nichole Menard.
She’s a 4.0 student and product of the school’s Gifted and Talented program.
Principal Kristin Percle praised her for continuing to achieve despite the recent death of her father.
McElroy is an English language arts teachers at Berwick Junior High.
“Her philosophy is that teaching is an opportunity to inspire the next generation of great thinkers,” Percle said.
Also Tuesday:
—Fire Chief Allen Rink gave the council statistics on mutual aid calls to and from Morgan City.
Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna last week told the City Council that he hopes to withdraw that city from the mutual aid agreement among parish fire departments. Dragna said he believes Morgan City provides more assistance than it receives. He wants to negotiate separate agreements with other departments.
Rink said that over the last four years, Berwick has sought firefighting help from Morgan City four times, while Morgan City has called on Berwick firefighters 14 times.
—The council introduced an ordinance designed to clarify the town’s subdivision rules.
The proposed ordinance says that subdivision approvals granted by the planning director as of Feb. 9 will be considered to have been properly administered.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at the March 9 monthly council meeting, followed by a passage vote.
In this context, “subdivision” doesn’t necessarily have the common meaning of a group of homes that are part of a single development. It refers to any division of one piece of property into lots for sale or development.
Subdivision rules and the approval process are supposed to ensure that each new lot has access to a public road, that emergency vehicles can get to them and that they have access to utility connections.
—The council passed a resolution supporting the Board of Adjustment’s decision to grant a zoning variance for the planned expansion of the St. Mary Parish Library Berwick Branch.
Based on the size of the expansion, zoning rules would have required 31 parking spaces. But creating those spaces would intrude on the Texas Street-Fourth Street intersection, Planning and Zoning Director Gary Beadle said.
The board ruled that the expansion would be allowed to have 27 parking spaces.
—The council voted unanimously to accept a bid by B&J Enterprises of Metairie Inc. to put a new roof on the town hall.
The B&J bid of $298,000 and $25,000 for alternate was the lowest of four bids submitted for the project.
The current flat roof has leaked since it was installed, Mayor Duval Arthur said. B&J will replace it with peaked roof.
—The council voted to pay Southern Constructors LLC $136,622.43 and Miller Engineers & Associates $11,731.61 for work on Belleview Front and Gus streets, part of the Concrete Improvement Project.

The Port of Morgan City board heard good news about funding for dredging and heard a call to support the energy industry as state and federal governments ponder incentives for going green.
At Monday’s monthly meeting, the port staff’s Cindy Cutrera reported on a recent meeting of the Louisiana Task Force on Climate Initi-atives. The task force was created by Gov. John Bel Edwards in November to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28% of 2005 levels by 2025.
The task force contains representatives of the energy industry as well as government, economic development entities, academia and environmental groups.
Cutrera, the port staff’s economic development manager, said some of the comments at a meeting last week raised concerns about support for the oil and gas industry, historically a major source of employment for this region. One comment at the meeting said that energy companies will have to embrace alternative sources or go away, Cutrera said.
Joseph Cain, president of the port board, urged members to write letters to key officials in support of the energy industry.
“That noise gets attention,” Cain said. “It’s effective. It really is.”
The Task Force on Climate Initiatives was created to “investigate and make recommendations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions originating in Louisiana to achieve the stated greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals in order to improve the health and welfare of the people of Louisiana and advance Louisiana’s economic and energy profile,” according to the Governor’s Office website.
Its goals are to find ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% by 2025, 40-50% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.
Also Monday, the board heard about the inclusion of $18 million in the Army Corps of Engineers work plan funding this year for the lower Atchafalaya region.
The original federal budget appropriation that could be directed toward dredging of local waterways was about $4 million, barely enough to pay for a quarter of some of the recent projects designed to keep important commercial channels open.
Then, in mid-January, the Corps work plan was finalized with the extra $18 million for this region.
Port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade told The Daily Review last month that he hopes the money will be directed toward dredging between Crewboat Cut and Eugene Island, where high water has deposited sediment that creates navigation problems.
Charles Brittingham, who represents the port’s interests in Washington, called the $18 million “a huge success for the Port of Morgan City.”
He said upcoming budget deliberations may continue to start with a relatively small initial appropriation followed by attempts to get a share of supplemental funding.
“We’ll continue to keep fighting year after year for more money,” Brittingham said.
The board heard that the dredge vessel created by Brice Civil Constructors continues its work south of Eugene Island filtering out the sticky fluff mud that can foul vessel propulsion systems. Keeping this bar channel open is one of the keys to bringing bigger vessels to the port.
The Brice dredge was visited recently by a military celebrity: Maj. Gen. Diana M. Holland, commander of the Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division.
Holland got to see the Brice dredge in operation and went aboard the vessel.
Holland is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran whose medals include the Bronze Star. A U.S. Military Academy graduate, she became the first woman named to be commandant of cadets at West Point in 2015.
In other action:
—Lt. Hayley Gipson reported that the Coast Guard responded to 13 incidents in local waterways: four in which a vessel struck a fixed object, two in which a vessel struck a bridge, five groundings and two vessels that lost propulsion.
Gipson said 2,035 vessel transits were reported in January in the area it serves here, down 16% from January 2020.
—The board heard Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna has reappointed Adam Mayon to the board for another four-year term.
Board member Tim Mathews continues to serve on the board pending appointment of his successor. Mathews’ second four-year term expired in December.
Dragna also served on the board and resigned after his election as mayor in December. His successor has yet to be appointed.

A Louisiana lawmaker predicted Monday his proposed 22-cent increase of the state’s gasoline tax will attract a “groundswell” of support this year, despite the failure of similar efforts in 2017 and 2019.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has said he will not throw his support behind the tax increase. In a weak economy, he said, he doesn’t think the change can attract support from at least two-thirds of the legislators in each chamber, which is necessary for any tax increase.
Rep. Jack McFarland, a Winnfield Republican who addressed the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday, however, said investing more in Louisiana’s ailing infrastructure would help the state recover from the COVID-19-related recession. The state has a $15 billion road maintenance backlog and a $13 billion wish list for new capacity, and the system’s shortcomings create costs for residents and businesses, including extended travel times and vehicle damage, he said.
“Our roads and bridges are crumbling underneath us,” McFarland said.
McFarland’s legislation has not been filed ahead of the April legislative session. He said it immediately would increase the gas tax by 10 cents, then add 2 cents a year until the increase reaches 22 cents.
Louisiana’s gas tax is among the nation’s lowest and has not been increased in more than 30 years. Louisiana drivers pay 38.4 cents per gallon in taxes, including 20 cents to the state. McFarland’s proposal would more than double the state portion.
Each additional penny in tax would raise about $30 million, McFarland said. The additional revenue also will help state officials draw down $780 million in federal matching dollars that otherwise would go to other states, he said.
McFarland said 60% of the new money would go toward preservation of existing infrastructure, with 40% going to new projects. Specific projects McFarland’s legislation will call for include a new Interstate 10 bridge over the Calcasieu River, a new Mississippi River bridge, and the widening of Interstate 12 and Interstate 20, among others.
McFarland also wants to ban using for roads and bridges capital outlay money meant for deferred maintenance of state buildings.
The last bill to raise the state’s gas tax, which the late Rep. Steve Carter carried in 2019, was bottled up in committee and never got a floor vote. That year was an election year for state lawmakers.
The Louisiana chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group, fought the tax hike the last time around.
“Louisianans were clear that this was a bad idea in 2017 and 2019,” James Lee, the group’s deputy state director, said in a recent social media post. “With 320,000 out of work, it’s still a bad idea that will fail once again.”

October 14, 1938 — February 5, 2021
Mary Marcantel Bellard, 82, a resident of Patterson for the past 56 years, passed from this life into eternity on Friday, February 5, 2021, surrounded in love at her home. Born in Oakdale, LA on October 14, 1938, Mary was the eldest of four children born to Hillary and Mary Marcantel.
Her memory will be forever cherished by her son and daughter-in-law, Brian Bellard Sr. and Pauline Bellard; daughters-in-law, Carmen Bellard and Myla Bellard Bartenope; nine grandchildren, Kurt Bellard Jr., Kimberly Bellard, Christina Lange, Brian Bellard Jr., Jessica St. Martin, Andrea Bellard, Angela Mahaffey, Rodney Bellard Jr. and April Bellard; 16 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; one nephew; and a host of extended family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray Louis Bellard Sr.; four children, Kurt Bellard Sr., Charlene Bellard Wetsel, Rodney Bellard Sr. and Ray Bellard Jr.; her mother, Mary Delphine Fuselier Marcantel; her father and his wife, Hillary and Montrell Marcantel; and her three siblings, Loretia Plemons, Frances Daugherty and Simon Marcantel.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at Ibert’s Mortuary in Patterson on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at which time the Holy Rosary will be prayed followed by dismissal from the funeral home.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Patterson during a 2:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial. Monsignor J. Douglas Courville, JCL will be the Celebrant for the Mass. Interment will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery where she will be laid to rest with her husband and children.
The family extends a heartfelt thank you to the Patterson Healthcare Center, Dr. Natalie Dishman, Dr. Francis Metz III, and Journey Hospice for taking such wonderful care of Mary.
Family and friends may view the obituary online by visiting www.iberts.com and are encouraged to share their condolences, cherished memories, love, and support for the family.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert’s Mortuary, Inc., 1111 Lia Street, Patterson, LA 70392, (985) 395-7873.