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DEAR ABBY: I’ve been married for 49 years. Of course, we’ve had our ups and downs. My husband, “Sid,” said he was joking at the store the other day. When I talk, I gesture with my hands. A woman was coming down the aisle while I was talking, and Sid warned her, “Watch out! She’s mean! She’s violent!”
At another store, he told the cashier, “Watch out! She’s dangerous! She’ll steal something! She’s a shoplifter.” When we got back in the car he said, “Man, why did you buy more cookies? You’ve eaten that whole pack already!”
When I bring this up to him, he says, “You’re just like your mother,” and I cry all the way home. In the car the next day, I told him how this hurts my feelings. His answer was, “You’ve always been too sensitive. You need to just get over it.” I don’t know how to respond to all this “poking” at me.
NO FUN IN FLORIDA

DEAR NO FUN: Your husband has a cruel streak and seems to get his kicks by embarrassing you in public. Dry those tears, and the next time it happens, smile and CALMLY tell the cashier your husband is off his meds and delusional, and to pay no attention to him. I don’t know why your husband is being passive-aggressive and neither will you unless you talk with a marriage and family therapist about it. Please don’t wait.

DEAR ABBY: Recently, I had a major surgery and a cancer scare. I don’t have cancer, but since then I can’t stop thinking about death — not just my own, but also the fear that my husband, dogs and cats will die. When that happens, I will be all alone. I am also struggling with my belief in God.
I have never ever been this unhappy. I cry every day. My body hurts, and I’m frightened all the time. I’m 57 and I know the end of my life is near. I don’t know how you can help me, but I’m a mess. I don’t want to die, and if I lose my family I will never recover. Please help me. How do people live and not worry about death?
SCARED
IN THE SOUTH

DEAR SCARED: I think anyone who has faced their own mortality as you have can appreciate what a precious gift life is. None of us has a contract with God, which is why it is so important to value every good day we are given.
If you haven’t discussed your emotional state with your doctors, you MUST! And when you do, ask for referrals to a licensed mental health professional who can help you rid yourself of these destructive thoughts. You deserve to live a happy, normal life in the time you have on Earth, whether it is short or long. To achieve that, you need to regain your balance.

TO MY READERS: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown. During this 24-hour period, observant Jewish people fast, engage in reflection and prayer and formally repent for any sin that might have been committed during the previous Hebrew year. To all of you who observe — may your fast be a meaningful one. — LOVE, ABBY
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Bears and blackbirds and big-mouth bass are Louisiana citizens of a sort, and that is why the state can make you get licenses to fish and hunt, and can tell you what you can and cannot catch.
That’s also why the birds and the beasts may have better protection than we do.
Presumably wild game has always held that “citizenship,”  but it was made official in 1908 when the state Legislature was looking for a legal basis to create a Board of Commissioners for the Protection of Birds, Game and Fish, and to give it the right to regulate hunting and fishing.
That board and a Louisiana Oyster Commission were consolidated into the Conservation Commission of Louisiana in 1912.
That commission regulated wildlife affairs until 1944, when the present Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission was created.
Each of these agencies was authorized to regulate hunting and fishing because, as noted in an early Conservation Commission compilation of “Laws for the Conservation of Birds, Game and Fur-Bearing Animals and Fresh-Water Fish,” the state holds “ownership and title to all fish, birds, and wild quadrupeds found in the State of Louisiana, or in the waters under the jurisdiction of the state.”
That pretty red cardinal that visits your bird feeder every day may think it’s wild and free, but the law says its owned by the state and you’d better not mess with it.
The part about fur-bearing animals became important about this time of year in the days when trapping was still an big part of the south Louisiana economy.
The early law required that on Oct. 1 “each and every person engaged in hunting, catching, or trapping wild fur animals” had to fork over $2 for a license. The fee for nonresidents was $15.
The license allowed trapping of mink, otters, muskrats, raccoons, beavers, skunks, foxes, and possums during a season that ran from Nov. 1 to Feb. 15.
Most of the animals could be trapped only during that season, but (in the days before nutria were introduced) the muskrat held first-place honors as a wetland nuisance.
The law allowed it to be hunted “at any time when found within five miles of any levee” or at any place and time “whenever in the opinion of the Conservation Commission muskrats are causing or might cause damage to cultivated or pastured lands.”
Even the ducks and geese that live someplace else most of the year fall under state ownership when they migrate to or through the state.
I’m not sure who owns them when they are in Canada.
 Whoever owned them when we first began to make game laws, the state was a lot more liberal about shooting them then than we are today.
The 1914 daily bag limit allowed for 25 ducks or poule d’eau and 15 “of any other game birds,” which included geese, brant, grosb,ecs, mud hens, woodcock, sandpipers, pheasants, partridges, grouse, prairie chickens, quail, doves, and red-wing blackbirds.
The two exceptions were turkeys and snipe.
The turkey limit was one per day, but you could shoot up to 50 snipe. The limit this year is six ducks and only eight snipe.
As far as I can find, the Legislature has never passed judgment on ownership of the insects that flitter and crawl around the state, but it seems to me that the same rationale would apply to them as to our other wild critters.
If the state does hold title to them, I would strongly recommend that it sell off its stock of mosquitoes, fire ants and a few other of their annoying cousins.
Maybe we could pass a law requiring anyone who wants to buy our crawfish to take an equal number of stinging bugs.
I’d be more than willing to sign a petition to get things rolling, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

A 2023 audit shows a number of money woes plague the St Mary Parish Council, and some have been doing so for years.
Auditor Tim Matte, of the accounting firm Pitts & Matte CPAs in Morgan City, said the Parish Council has some work to do in order to get more breathing room in their current budget, in the wake of a 2023 audit his firm recently completed, on
In a follow-up interview after his audit presentation Sept. 24 during the Parish Council meeting, Matte said that in 2023, while the council had a small surplus, it did not have enough money to operate properly, paying bills on time, for instance. “This needs to be watched,” he said, during the meeting.
One issue was a $1.2 million deficit in the operations of Fairview Treatment Center and Claire House, the parish substance abuse inpatient facility for alcohol abuse, drug rehab, and other treatments in Bayou Vista, and the long-term residential program for women and their dependent children in Bayou Vista, located next to Fairview.
He told the council that in 2022, the parish closed the facilities because they didn’t collect enough revenue to cover costs. They have since contracted with Odyssey House of New Orleans to operate both facilities.
Another big issue was just over $600,000 in receivables owed the parish from its water and sewer districts, which were tardy on their payments. He explained that in the unincorporated areas of the parish, the parish relies on its water and sewer districts to bill consumers and collect for their share of water and garbage.
Another issue arises from the federal grants the parish receives, which have dwindled from $4.956 million in 2021 to $1.688 million in 2023. He pointed to the money that came from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Still another issue is the amount of money the parish receives from royalty road funds, its share of oil and gas production on parish property.
In 2022, that amount was $3.370 million, but in 2023, $1.894 million. He said that drilling was obviously down in 2023. But in 2021, the total revenue had been $2.142 million.
By phone Monday, Matte said the parish royalty share of road funds has been $5 million in the past, and in some years more.
Also, he said, there are a number of operational programs in the parish that are not paying their way, pointing to the parish animal shelter as one example. It collected $98,913 in 2023, but spent $498,000. As a result, the council transferred $329,000 to help cover the difference.
During the council meeting, Parish Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick asked, “How did we get to this point?”
Matte explained that in years prior, fees covered 60% of the operational costs at the shelter, but in 2023, that share was only 30%.
“It’s pretty simple. You either raise fees or lower costs,” Matte said to Hebert.
Another operation, the Atchafalaya Golf Course, also had a loss in 2023. However, For a number of years now, he said, the parish has transferred $250,000 to cover costs at the facility.
St. Mary Parish taxpayers paid $4.5 million in 2007 to build the Atchafalaya at Idlewild course.
He said another deficit was at the parish jail, which operated at a deficit in 2023 of $176,000. After adjustments, the jail was $151,000 in the red.
Matte said the parish needs to take a look at raising its solid waste fees once more, as they’re still not covering operational costs, nor are they leaving room for equipment failures and new purchases.
He said the 2023 audit was completed late due to COVID and a change in parish administration from President David Hanagriff to President Sam Jones.

Berwick hosted the Hanson Tigers for their second home game of the year. Last year, Berwick lost to Hanson and the result was the same this year.
Hanson won 26-13 Friday.
Berwick started the game with a 7-0 lead. The offense progressed its way up the field, and then quarterback Vincent Dohman found Carter Dupuis over the middle for a 40-yard touchdown.
Hanson then responded quickly after a 6-yard receiving touchdown by Trey Rochel. Hanson would miss the point after, making it a 7-6 ball game with Berwick in the lead.
It looked like Berwick was going to extend its lead as time was winding down in the first quarter. Maddox Sampey had a 30-yard run to get within scoring range. Berwick was able to make it all the way inside the 10, but after a fourth down fumble Hanson got the ball right back.
After the fumble the Tigers went on to score 19 unanswered points, with quarterback Spencer Fuhrer running for two touchdowns and throwing for one. The receiver on his touchdown pass was Riley Rineholt.
Berwick would shut Hanson out in the second half and added a score of its own. Sampey would run it in from 18 yards out.
On the scoring drive, the Panthers had key catches from Layf Bella and Miguel Melendez.
Next week the Panthers play the Thrive Academy Bulldogs at home.