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Larry Leo Deslatte Sr. passed away on Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 86 years of age surrounded by family. Larry was a native of Centerville and a lifelong resident of Franklin.
Visiting hours will be observed Saturday, January 30, 2021, at the Church of the Assumption beginning at 10 a.m., with the Holy Rosary being prayed at 11 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. in at the church followed by interment in the Franklin Cemetery Mausoleum. Due to COVID-19, mask and social distancing will be observed.
Serving as pallbearers will be Lonny Deslatte, Teddy Deslatte, Brad Reinhart, Bret Reinhart, Brendan Sturgeon, and Collin Deslatte.
Larry is survived by four children, Dana Deslatte Parker of Diamondhead, MS, Larry L. Deslatte Jr. of New Iberia, Daren Deslatte Reinhart (Danny) of Diamondhead, MS, and Lonny Deslatte (Madeleine) of Lafayette; eight grandchildren, Tava Robicheaux, Tandra Hebert (John), Larry L. “Teddy” Deslatte III (Celeste), Terilyn Harrington (Reed), Brad Reinhart (Amanda), Cady Wolf, Bret Reinhart and fiancée Madison, and Cali Reinhart; twelve great-grandchildren, Rebekah Battaglio (Josh), Blaise Lott, Austin Hebert, Brendan Sturgeon, Collin Deslatte, Briana Roberts, Makaila Hebert, Madelyn Deslatte, Johnae Hebert, Xander and Xavier Harrington, and Channing Wolf; seven great-great-grandchildren, Blake Battaglio, Foster Sturgeon, Noah Battaglio, Austin “A.J.” Hebert, Ivy Williams, Rylee Lott, and Roselyn Hebert; and his brother Wayne Deslatte.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 65½ years Loretta Deslatte; his parents, Roussel “Teddy” Deslatte and Bessie Boudreaux Deslatte; three brothers, Farrell Deslatte, Clyde Deslatte, and Guy “Doc” Deslatte; two sisters, Janice Gober and Ann Borne; and a great granddaughter, Kailin Hebert.,
Larry was born in Centerville on May 20, 1934, the second of seven children. He graduated from Centerville High School in 1952. He met Loretta, the love of his life, at the Center Theater in Franklin when he was sixteen years old. He knew the day he met Loretta that she was the woman he would marry, and they were married on November 21, 1953. He served as a sergeant in the Louisiana National Guard for four years. He worked at May Brothers Sawmill for eight years where he became a lumber inspector, and then he managed Hugh Hogan Building Supply for ten years. He was the owner of Deslatte’s Lumber and Building Materials in Franklin for eighteen years, and then he worked as a painting contractor until he retired. He was a lifelong bowler who began in 1964 at Kegler Lanes in Franklin and continued well into his 80s in Morgan City. He bred, showed, and sold championship rabbits in Franklin around Eastertime for many years. Larry and Loretta were devoted Catholics and adorers at the Perpetual Eucharist Adoration Chapel from its inception on March 25, 1993. He was a longtime Knights of Columbus member and former Grand Knight of KC Council 1420 in Franklin. He served as treasurer of the Franklin Jaycees and was in charge of weekly bingo games and the annual Buck Town fair. Larry and Loretta were also charter members of the Mardi Gras Krewe of Teche in Franklin. Larry was an avid reader and also enjoyed bird watching, gardening and traveling.

LAFAYETTE — Acadiana Center for the Arts and Lafayette Economic Development Authority announce a call for application to ArtSpark, an individual artist funding program. ArtSpark 2021 applications are live now on AcA’s website, https://acadianacenterforthearts.org/community/artspark/.
ArtSpark grants support artists in Acadiana (which includes St. Mary and St. Martin parishis), especially those with otherwise limited opportunities.
Projects must take place between April 1 and Dec. 1, 2021, and grants of $1,000-$5,000 will be awarded to several applicants. The grant funds can be used to expand an artist’s bodies of work as a creative entrepreneur and offer new community engagements.
These awards offer assistance to emerging, mid-career and mature artists for specific, short-term projects, and projects in virtually any creative discipline can qualify.
In 2020, eight artists were awarded grants for projects, including Aileen Bennett, Allison Bohl DeHart, Kai Gayten, Adrian Guidry, Simone McCrocklin, Dirk Guidry, Alex “Poetic Soul” Johnson and Chas Justus.
Interested applicants are encouraged to attend one of two Application Assistance Workshops on Zoom that are set for Jan. 26 at 5 p.m. and Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. During these sessions, AcA staff will review the ArtSpark program guidelines and application process, and lead a question and answer session with attendees.
Full details of what kinds of projects qualify for support, how to apply, and Zoom links to register for the workshop are available on the AcA’s website.
About AcA
The Acadiana Center for the Arts serves to bring elevating arts experiences to the people of Acadiana through many approaches including holding public concerts, presenting art exhibitions, providing grants to artists and cultural organizations, and bringing artists into schools across the region. AcA brings equitable access to the arts through year-round education and outreach activities and aims to build a more sustainable cultural ecosystem for future generations in Acadiana.

DEAR ABBY: My son had a yearlong affair with his wife’s best friend, which started when the two families took vacations together. My husband and I have always been close to our daughter-in-law and our grandchildren, ages 6 and 10, as well as our son. The divorces are final now, and the lovers are married.
Abby, we can’t stand the new wife. We abhor the deceit, the betrayal and the pain she and our son have caused. Now he is demanding that we accept her. We don’t want to abandon our daughter-in-law, and I can’t bear the thought of her and our grandchildren’s inheritance going to the new wife. Also, I am so furious with my son for this selfish, egregious act I don’t even like seeing him. I don’t know what to do. Any advice?
MOTHER OF A CHEATER

DEAR MOTHER: Depending upon the child custody arrangement between your son and his ex-wife, you may not have to spend much time with the happy newlyweds. Because you love your former daughter-in-law, see her as often as you wish and include her in celebrations.
Refrain from acting out in anger. Be polite to your son’s new wife. Say nothing you might later regret. You do not have to love — or even like — the woman.
As to what happens to your estate in the event of your and your husband’s death, this is a discussion you should have with your lawyer. You are under no obligation to reward your son and the new Mrs., especially if you prefer to arrange for your grandchildren and the daughter-in-law you loved to have those assets.

DEAR ABBY: After living with my husband’s gradual hearing loss for several years and his refusal to get hearing aids, I finally asked him to get them as a birthday gift to me. He agreed, and I expected that he would wear them once he got them. When he does, it greatly improves his hearing. Instances of my having to repeat myself diminish noticeably. But he seldom wears them when he’s at home with me.
I mentioned to him several times how important it was to me, then gave up. I managed to deal with it until the pandemic forced us to stay home so much of the time. I brought it up again recently, referencing the stay-at-home order and how much I would appreciate his wearing them, but he still wears them only occasionally.
I feel disrespected because he isn’t willing to do this small thing to make both our lives easier during this period of confinement. How do you suggest I explain this to him so he “hears” me?
STILL FRUSTRATED IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR STILL FRUSTRATED: This may not be a matter of your husband “tuning you out.” Have you asked him WHY he doesn’t wear the hearing aids? Could it be they are uncomfortable and need adjusting? Is inserting the batteries difficult because they are so tiny? Is he bothered by the amplified background noise?
Once you know why he is resistant, you can consult the doctor who prescribed the devices.
***
To order “How to Write Letters for All Occasions,” send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby — Letter Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

The process of selecting and getting a National Estuarine Research Reserve System site in operation takes, on average, four to six years.
That was one of the many pieces of information locals learned in presentations from a representative from the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during Friday’s virtual St. Mary Excel meeting.
Currently, Louisiana is in the nomination/selection process of a site for the Louisiana National Estuarine Research Reserve, or LaNERR, in accordance with NOAA guidelines. A site will be chosen from among six zones along the Louisiana coast. The Atchafalaya Estuarine Zone, which includes the local area, is one of those zones.
St. Mary Excel is promoting the parish as a site for such a reserve. The group says the reserve would mean educational opportunities for young people as well as potential tourism dollars for the parish.
The Morgan City, Berwick and St. Mary Parish councils and the St. Mary Parish School Board have adopted resolutions in favor of a reserve in the parish.
At St. Mary Excel’s meeting, Kristen Ransom of NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management and Morgan Crutcher of the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities discussed the federal and state roles in this process.
In the current phase of the LaNERR development, the Atchafalaya Estuarine Zone is competing with the Calcasieu, Terrebonne, Pontchartrain, Barataria and Mississippi River Estuarine zones for the coveted site.
Sites will be rated in accordance with how compatible they are with criteria in NOAA’s guidelines that are adapted at the state level to reflect Louisiana’s characteristics, Crutcher said.
In lobbying for the site, St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff cited multiple reasons why the LaNERR should be here. He touted the parish’s central location in the state with the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge west of the parish, the Atchafalaya Basin north of St. Mary and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. He also said the parish is centralized with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Nicholls State University and LSU nearby, there are two land-building areas in St. Mary and the area’s history of fishing, hunting and oil and gas.
“We know how important the environment is, and we know how important it is to make sure that environment is safe for our children going forward,” Hanagriff said. “So I think St. Mary Parish would be an excellent choice for this particular facility here.”
Crutcher stressed that wherever the reserve is placed, it will not impact activities, such as hunting or fishing, which already had been ongoing in those areas.
To narrow the potential sites to one to three possibilities, a site development committee made up of 80 members, including state and federal agencies, tribes, universities and others, will look at the list and compare how they meet the NOAA guidelines for a NERR.
Once those sites have been pared, public meetings will be held later this year where the one to three potential sites that emerged from the initial judging will be presented. At these town hall meetings, the public can make their cases for particular sites, Crutcher said.
“Those town halls are really going to be key, because that feedback will go directly into the proposal for each site that will then be considered for selection,” Crutcher said.
Once the reserve site is selected at the state level, the choice is submitted to NOAA for approval or denial.
“The not accepting it doesn’t happen very often,” Ransom said.
Wherever the reserve will be, it will join 29 that are protected across the United State and Puerto Rico.
There are more than 1.3 million acres of estuary habitat in the country that are protected.
“We cover the range of different types of habitats and ecosystems in the country as well,” Ransom said.
The largest in the country is more than 372,000 acres in Alaska, while the smallest is about 500 acres in Ohio. Many are less than 20,000 acres, Crutcher said. She said Louisiana’s could be big or it could be small.
“It just depends on how these sites measure up to the criteria that NOAA provides in its guidance for selecting the site,” she said.
The land will be a combination of state and federal property, with the federal share not exceeding 49%, Crutcher said.
The federal government would provide 70% of the LaNERR’s funding, with the state picking up the rest.
Among the benefits of estuaries Ransom listed are they are important in healthy ecosystems, provide protection from hurricanes and benefit an area’s economy
“These are crucial resources for us to make sure stick around,” she said of estuaries.
By joining the national system of estuarine reserves, Crutcher said it allows the state to share its story with the nation.
As has been stressed previously in St. Mary Excel presentations to local government bodies in securing support for the Atchafalaya Estuarine Zone, community support is important for any of the six zones to be chosen.
“I think one of the things that makes or breaks a designation process is community support,” Ransom said.