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Franklin High, Franklin Junior High, Foster Elementary close early Tuesday

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:54am

From St. Mary Parish Superintendent Teresa Bagwell:

Interruption of water service to Franklin Jr. High, Franklin High, and Foster Elementary will necessitate an early closure of those buildings today. Students from Franklin High and Franklin Jr. High will be released at 1:00 p.m. and Foster Elementary students will be released at 1:30 p.m. Buses will transport students as normal.

Deputies investigate shooting at Siracusa Recreation Center

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:23am

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help as it investigates a shots fired report from Monday at the Siracusa Recreation Center.

Deputies responded to the “shots fired” incident at the about 6:40 p.m. Monday. The deputies spoke with two complainants, who stated that they were filming a video when a vehicle pulled up and the occupants began to shoot at them.

There were several vehicles with bullet holes at the scene and shell casings were located. There were no injuries from the incident reported.

“Anyone with information regarding this incident can report that information to us by phone or by sending a tip on our website," Smith said. "We are fortunate that nobody was injured. We don’t want this kind of violent activity in our communities.”

Anyone with information can call 337-828-1960 or send a tip on the St. Mary Parish website at www.stmaryso.com. Those giving information can remain anonymous.

As requests for help grow, Outreach takes part in annual food drive

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:18am

GEOFF STOUTE

gstoute@daily-review.com

St. Mary Outreach is participating in the 2020 FoodNet Food For Families Drive through Catholic Charities of Acadiana on Thursday, and this year, the need is bigger than ever.
St. Mary Outreach Executive Director Brenda Liner said that during a typical month, she helps 400 to 500 people.
But in November alone, the organization assisted 1,300 people, with increased need due to impacts from COVID-19.
Liner said things haven’t slowed in the first week of December, either.
“Today is actually the first day that I am not constantly on the phone,” she said Thursday.
COVID-19 has done more than increase the agency’s clientele — it has canceled its fundraisers, too.
“So it’s been a big impact,” Liner said.
That’s why any help in the food drive is more important than ever for a need that Liner doesn’t see slowing anytime soon.
The event will be held from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday at St. Mary Outreach at 608 First St. in Morgan City. Due to COVID-19, it will be a no-contact drive, where those donating simply can drop off food items.
Items sought are non-perishable food products (including dry food, canned goods, condiments and meats), personal hygiene and household items (including toilet paper, bath soap, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, paper towels, garbage bags, facial tissue, foils, all-purpose cleaner, dish soap, floor cleaner, bleach and laundry soap) and baby items (including diapers, wipes, formula, baby food and cereal).
Liner said monetary donations can be dropped off through St. Mary Outreach’s mail slot on the front door.
Any money received or donated items will remain in the area, while donations received through Catholic Charities of Acadiana for the event will be divided among all participating agencies.
Locally, checks can be written to St. Mary Outreach, and receipts will be provided.
For more information, call 985-385-0525.
Also benefitting St. Mary Outreach and its work to help area residents is the 35th “Christmas by Candlelight” being held Saturday on Bernice Street in Morgan City.
Residents will host the event from 5:30-9 p.m.
A container will be placed at the Cottonwood Street entrance for donations of canned goods or money that will be donated to St. Mary Outreach for distribution in the community.
A popcorn station, for fresh popped popcorn, and train rides will be available. To help St. Mary Outreach, it will cost one nonperishable food item to ride.
Santa Claus will be on hand to visit with children, and parents are encouraged to bring their cameras, the residents’ statement said.
Cornerstone Ministries (under the direction of Herb and Anita Stanley) will provide the popular puppet show. Other musical entertainment will be available as well.
Viewing of the lights is by either walking the block or via vehicle. Vehicle flow is one way, entering at Cottonwood Street and exiting on Redwood Street.
Refreshment tables will be located at designated homes along the street for those wishing to view the decorations on foot.
No parking, bicycles, skateboards or riding toys will be allowed on Bernice Street during Christmas by Candle-light due to safety concerns.

Quarantine period shortened for La. schools

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:14am

Louisiana public schools are getting a break from the state government when it comes to COVID-19 rules.
The Department of Health on Monday adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recently updated guidance, which allows people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to shorten their quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days, or as few as seven days with a negative test.
In related news, the St. Mary School Board is inviting public comment on proposed changes in the virtual discipline policy just before the regular monthly meeting Thursday.
The change in CDC guidance comes after Gov. John Bel Edwards imposed Phase 2 coronavirus restrictions last month.
At the time, St. Mary Superintendent Dr. Teresa Bagwell said the school system hadn’t seen a significant rise in the number of coronavirus positives.
“We are seeing isolated cases at a few schools, which is an uptick for us,” she said.
“However, the more problematic issue is the requirement that students who are considered a ‘contact to a positive’ must quarantine for 14 days.
"This group would include anyone who is within 6 feet of a positive case for a cumulative of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.”
Now the requirement becomes less burdensome.
“We support the decision of the Louisiana Department of Health to align guidance with the updated recommendations made by the CDC,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley.
“It’s important that our schools are open and functioning properly. The LDOE and our school leaders will continue to work alongside health officials to mitigate the spread of the virus.
“Thanks to the work of our educators, we have been able to avoid widespread closures.
"Our schools have not been found to be ‘super spreaders’” of this virus and we’re thankful for this. We believe continued adherence to our mitigation efforts such as group sizes, face coverings, physical distancing, and hand washing are critically important. We must remain vigilant until this pandemic ends -- especially now during the holiday season. “
The Louisiana Department of Education is working with the Louisiana Department of Health and other medical professionals to update guidance that will be available online at louisianabelieves.com.
In St. Mary, the public hearing on the virtual disciplinary changes is set for 4:45 p.m. Thursday at the Central Office Complex in Centerville.
The regular meeting follows at 5 p.m.
The full board will take up the proposed changes then.
The board is also scheduled to accept its latest audit report.

Cleco offers tips for safe holiday decorating

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:13am

Cleco reminds customers to celebrate safely this holiday season and take the necessary precautions when installing electrical decorations.
According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting electrical safety at home and in the workplace, home fires and electrical accidents typically increase during the winter holiday season.
“We want our customers to be mindful of potential hazards when setting up electrical decorations and to periodically check them throughout the holiday season,” said John Melancon, director of Cleco corporate safety. “Following recommended safety measures can help ensure a safe and happy holiday season.”
Tips to help customers decorate safely this holiday season:
—Inspect electrical cords and other decorations for damage before using and discard cracked or frayed cords, and don’t run cords under rugs or furniture.
—Don’t overload electrical outlets. Never plug more than one high-wattage decoration into an outlet.
—Never staple or nail through electrical wires or extension cords, as this may damage the wiring or insulation and cause electrical shock or fire.
—Use decorations rated for indoors inside and decorations rated for outdoors outside.
—Plug outdoor electrical decorations into outlets protected by ground fault circuit interrupters.
—Keep decorations and equipment at least 10 feet away from power lines and at least three feet away from heat sources especially those with an open flame.
—Don’t leave holiday lights on when you go to bed or leave the house.
For more holiday decorating safety tips, visit www.cleco.com.
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The first day of winter is Dec. 21, and as temperatures drop and winter nears, Cleco offers cold weather tips to help customers conserve energy and stay warm during the winter months.
“The lower the temperature is outside, the harder a heating system has to work to keep your home or business warm,” said Hammad Chaudhry, Cleco’s energy efficiency program manager.
“During the colder winter months, customers should set their thermostats no higher than 68 degrees, if possible, for maximum efficiency.”
Tips to conserve energy and stay warm during the winter months:
—Set your thermostat no higher than 68 F, if possible.
—If using a space heater, make sure the plug isn’t frayed or torn, as it could start a fire, and keep heaters away from anything that can burn, including papers, clothing and rugs.
—Find and seal leaks.
—Install a programmable thermostat. Discounts available at www.clecomarketplace.com.
—Replace air filters.
—Open drapes, shades and curtains during the day to take advantage of solar heat.
—Close drapes, shades and curtains at night to retain heat inside.
—Use energy-efficient holiday lights.

Jim Bradshaw: Louisiana has always been big for trappers

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:11am

JIM BRADSHAW

In days gone by, trappers in south Louisiana welcomed the first cold snap of the year because muskrats put on extra fur during chilly weather, and extra fur meant extra money.
As late as the 1950s ,Louisiana was touted as the greatest fur producing state in the country, with a yield bigger than Alaska (which was not yet a state) and Canada combined. “Each year,” according to a 1941 Abbeville Meridional report, “thousands of licensed trappers go deep into the swamps and woodlands to give Louisiana its $6,000,000 yield.”
Those licensed trappers (and, I’ll wager, a few who worked without a license), lived “a lonely but picturesque life,” according to the account. Their season usually ran from Nov. 20 to Feb. 1, during which they lived in ramshackle huts or houseboats, working their trap lines every day.
“After repairing his shack and making a clearing about it, he turns to the cleaning and repairing of his 200 to 300 traps,” the article said. “He may be ‘on his own’ … or he may be working on a ‘grubstake’ with the storekeeper. In the latter case, all his pelts are turned over to the storekeeper, who sells them to the buyers and ‘settles up’ at the end of the trapping season.”
In 1941, there were about 65 fur dealers who brokered the furs, and the hundreds of buyers working for them looked first for good muskrat pelts. In those days before nutrias began to eat them out of house and home, the muskrat was the top prize in Louisiana’s wetlands.
That hadn’t always been the case.
“Fifteen or twenty years ago there was practically no market for muskrat pelts,” the Meridional reported, “and they were sold for eight or nine cents each. However, through more careful grading and matching, and the stimulation of interest in style centers, the market has improved until now each pelt brings more than one dollar.”
Part of that “stimulation of interest” had to do with giving the varmint a fancier name. “Style center” buyers were less than enamored by an animal with “rat” in its name, but began looking at the furs differently after a Louisiana broker with a flair for marketing began offering them as “Louisiana swamp fox.”
The muskrat remained Louisiana’s top fur producer through the 1940s, but in the 1950s nutria passed them both in numbers trapped and in pelt value. That sustained some trappers for a while, but by 1955 demand and prices for nutria pelts had also dropped to a point where they were hardly worth catching. With no demand for nutria, fewer other furbearers, less access to wetlands, and a growing antipathy to wearing fur, the Louisiana industry became only a shadow of what it once was.
Only 5,542 Louisiana pelts were sold in the 2017-18 season. A bounty on nutria still keeps a few trappers alive, but they don’t catch enough of them to do the trappers or the marshes much good. Nutria numbers continue to multiply willy-nilly and they have become a bigger and bigger pest in places they were never seen before. Making matters worse, coastal erosion is eating away at their habitat as more and more of them are looking for a place to call home.
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, "Cajuns and Other Characters," is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

SANDY J. PERCLE

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:01am

Sandy J. Percle, 63, a native and resident of Morgan City, died Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020.
He is survived by two children, Nick Percle and Courtney Sullivan; a brother, Charles Percle; four sisters, Mona Richard, Sheila Alleman, Karen Cook and Catherine Griffin; and three grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife and parents.
Visitation will be Wednesday from noon until services at 3 p.m. at Hargrave Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
Hargrave Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

JOHN A. LYNCH

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 11:00am

1937 — 2020
John A. Lynch, retired publisher of the Wilmington Star News and a one-time publisher of The Daily Review, died Thursday, December 3, 2020, in Wilmington. He was 83 years old. John served as publisher of the Wilmington newspaper 1988-2001. He spent 20 years as publisher, at separate times, of newspapers in Houma, La., Thibodaux, La. and Morgan City, La.
A native of Goldsboro, NC, he was husband of Gloria “Glo” Lynch, of Wilmington, who grew up in Memphis, Tenn. John and Glo met while each worked for United Press International (UPI) in Richmond, Va. John’s first newspaper job was as a reporter trainee in Goldsboro. He also worked for UPI based in Montgomery, Ala., and was later UPI news and state manager in Virginia.
Survivors, in addition to Glo, include their son, W. Brock Lynch of Wilmington, and two granddaughters, Carter Lynch and Luci Lynch, both of Washington, NC.
He was a son of the late Lawrence and Rachel Lynch of Goldsboro, and brother of the late Sam Lynch and the late George Lynch, of Raleigh, and the late Laura Lynch Spencer, of Rocky Mount, NC.
Due to the coronavirus, service for John will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to North State Game Club Foundation, 68 St. Margaret St., Charleston, SC 29403.

DORA GIROIR GUILLOT

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 10:58am

May 29, 1933 — December 4, 2020
Dora Guillot of Dallas, TX, and formerly of Morgan City and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died after a short illness on December 4, 2020. She was 87.
She was born in Bayou L’Ourse, Louisiana on May 29, 1933, the daughter of Clarence Giroir and Rosa Pennison Giroir and sister of Anita Noxon of Dallas, TX, Betsey Grizzaffi of Morgan City, LA, Claire Phillips of Covington, LA, and Judy Falgoust of Vacherie, LA. She is predeceased by siblings Mark, Richard and Mary Ann Giroir. She was a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy in the year of 1953.
Remembered as a devoted mother, she is survived by her five children, James Guillot, Diana Gordon, Perry Guillot, Gail Safley and Thomas Guillot; grandchildren, Michelle Gordon, Patrick Gordon, Blake Safley and Michael Safley; and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her former husband, Sanford Guillot of New Orleans and beloved grandchildren, John Gordon and Nicole Safley.
Ms. Guillot, known always to her family as a resilient and hardworking mother, and as a dedicated employee of many years at both the Lakewood Hospital in Morgan City and the Medical City Hospital in Dallas, TX. She held a 67-year membership with the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, which she was very proud of.
Blessed throughout her long life with the close bond she shared with her siblings, all knew she was happiest spending hours cooking or playing cards with her sisters and close friends.
Ms. Guillot was a longtime parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Dallas. A celebration of her life and memorial mass will be scheduled in Louisiana Spring 2021 at a date to be determined by her family.

GARY ANTHONY WILLIAMS SR.

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 10:56am

January 27, 1945 — November 29, 2020
Gary Anthony Williams Sr., of Iowa, born on January 27, 1945 in Morgan City, son of the late Stanley J. Williams and Eula Mae Boudreaux, passed away in a local hospital on Sunday, November 29, 2020, at the age of 75.
Gary attended Morgan City High. He served in the Louisiana National Guard from 1965 to 1971 and was in the U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine. He was a member of Iowa First Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon. Gary served the Iowa community as a reserve officer for the police department. He obtained his 1500-ton Captain’s License and spent over 47 years in the oilfield and marine industry.
In his spare time, Gary enjoyed hunting, fishing, spending time with his Labrador retriever, Sheba and tending to his chickens, primarily, Little Blue.
He is preceded in death by his parents; and siblings, Stanley J. Williams Jr., Lonnie D. Williams and Carolee Territo.
Gary is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Sharon Williams; sons, Gary Anthony Williams Jr. (Darlene); Robert Midgett; daughter, Anjanette Bellard (Brandon); siblings, Timothy J. Williams (Roxanne); Barbara Brown; Debra Bonvillian; grandchildren, Gary Anthony “Trey” Williams III; Sydney Ann Williams; Drake Kyle Williams; Noah Bryce Bellard; Devaney Noel Bellard; Zachary Glade Bellard; great-granddaughter, Raegan Elise Zaunbracher and a great-granddaughter on the way, Callie Mae Williams.
A gathering of friends and family will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2020 from noon until 2 p.m. in Johnson & Brown Funeral Home of Iowa. Memorial services will begin at 2 p.m. with Pastor Brandon Olivier officiating. Cremation has been entrusted to Johnson & Brown Funeral Home of Iowa.
In accordance with state regulations, attendees for visitation and services are respectfully asked to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines.
Words of comfort may be shared at: www.johnsonandbrownfuneralhome.com