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K9 Vickie helps Sheriff's Office make arrests

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 11:17am
Staff Report

K9 Vickie helped the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office make two drug arrests early Thursday, Sheriff Blaise Smith said.
—Jacob Zirlott, 36, Cayce Street, Franklin, was arrested at 2:51 a.m. Thursday by the K-9 and Narcotics Sections on charges of driving left of center, driving under suspension, resisting an officer, possession of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and transactions involving drug proceeds.
—Roni M. Landry, 31, Paul Lane, Franklin, was arrested 2:51 a.m. Thursday by the K-9 and Narcotics Sections on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A deputy patrolling the area of U.S. 90 near Patterson conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Zirlott, who was driving with a suspended license, and a passenger, identified as Landry.
Through the investigation, a K9 deputy arrived on the scene and deployed K9 Vickie to conduct an open-air sniff. K9 Vickie showed an odor response on the vehicle. Methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, two extended magazines for a semi-automatic pistol, a BB gun pistol and $6,694 in cash were found.
Zirlott and Landry were transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. No bail has been set at this time for either.
Smith also reported these arrests:
—Bryson Matthew Skinner Sr., 26, Grace Street, Siracusaville, was arrested at 11:38 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of resisting an officer by flight. Skinner is being held for another agency.
—Donnell Darby, 43, Isabella Street, Franklin was arrested at 7:41 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of possession of marijuana. Darby was released on his own recognizance.
Morgan City Police Chief James F. Blair reported these arrests:
—Terry Donald Sandlin, Third Street, Berwick, was arrested at 7:13 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of speeding and on a warrant for three counts of failure to appear.
An officer conducted a traffic stop in the area of La. 182 and Federal Avenue. The driver was identified as Sandlin. A warrant check revealed City Court of Morgan City held active warrants for his arrest.
He was placed under arrest and transported to the Morgan City Police Department for booking and incarceration.
—Magan Renee Gaudet, 28, Parro Lane, Berwick, was arrested at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant for six counts of failure to appear.
Officers responding to a complaint on Allison Street came into contact with Gaudet. A warrant check revealed the City Court of Morgan City held active warrants for her arrest.
She was placed under arrest and transported to the Morgan City Police Department for booking and incarceration.

Morgan City police radio logs for June 16-18

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 11:15am

The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.
Tuesday, June 16
5:33 a.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Disturbance.
5:35 a.m. 300 block of Third Street; Medical.
5:49 a.m. 1100 block of Hickory Street; Complaint.
8:21 a.m. 600 block of Seventh Street; Medical.
9:53 a.m. 100 block of Railroad Avenue; Assistance.
11:36 a.m. Federal Avenue and Terrebonne Street; Utilities.
11:46 a.m. 7400 block of La. 182; Disturbance.
12:10 p.m. Victor II Boulevard and Marguerite Street; Accident.
1:42 p.m. 500 block of Orange Street; Medical.
2:38 p.m. 100 block of Glenwood Street; Civil issue.
3:13 p.m. 500 block of Third Street; Medical.
3:21 p.m. 7100 block of Park Street; Complaint.
3:30 p.m. 1000 block of David Drive; Complaint.
3:34 p.m. 600 block of Railroad Avenue; Medical.
3:57 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Unauthorized use of vehicle.
4:23 p.m. U.S. 90 East; Accident.
5:45 p.m. 900 block of Seventh Street; Alarm.
5:52 p.m. 200 block of Halsey Street; Loud music.
5:53 p.m. 3300 block of Lake Palourde Road; Assist.
6:34 p.m. 1400 block of North Third Street; Disturbance.
7:17 p.m. Old Bridge; Assist.
7:44 p.m. 300 block of Fifth Street; Disturbance.
7:45 p.m. 200 block of Third Street; Juvenile problems.
8:21 p.m. 7400 block of La. 182; Assist.
10:28 p.m. U.S. 90 before Brashear Avenue exit Westbound; Accident.
11:50 p.m. 300 block of Egle Street; Theft.
Wednesday, June 17
4:56 a.m. 500 block of Bowman Street; Complaint.
5:22 a.m. 1200 block of Brashear Avenue; Alarm.
6:53 a.m. Sixth and Arenz streets; Arrest.
8:32 a.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Stalled vehicle.
8:50 a.m. 7300 block of La. 182; 911 hang up.
9:18 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.
10:33 a.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Medical.
10:53 a.m. Sixth and Spruce streets; Suspicious subject.
11:02 a.m. 300 block of Egle Street; Arrest.
11:34 a.m. 600 block of Greenwood Street; 911 hang up.
1:02 p.m. 3000 block of Allison Street; Arrest.
2:22 p.m. 500 block of Bush Street; 911 hang up.
3:04 p.m. 3000 block of Allison Street; Juvenile problem.
3:51 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Complaint.
4:08 p.m. 1600 block of Filmore Street; Medical.
4:17 p.m. 600 block of Greenwood Street; 911 hang up.
5:59 p.m. 1100 block of Brashear Avenue; 911 hang up.
6:02 p.m. 500 block of First Street; Harassment.
6:16 p.m. Morgan City Police Department; Theft.
7:50 p.m. 100 block of South Railroad Avenue; Complaint.
8:54 p.m. 100 block of Mount Street; Disturbance.
9:19 p.m. 600 block of Egle Street; Assistance.
Thursday, June 18
1:13 a.m. 500 block of Barrow Street; Drug activity.
3:11 a.m. 1100 block of Brashear Avenue; 911 hang up.

Jim Bradshaw: Standing up for booze on the bayou

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 11:09am
JIM BRADSHAW

When Prohibition became the law of the land, it was not very popular in south Louisiana. I’m told that some of the best illegal whiskey made anywhere during those supposedly dry days came from communities along Bayou Teche, and that smuggling in factory-made stuff was a substantial enterprise along parts of the Louisiana coast and in the Atchafalaya Basin.
The ban on booze went into effect on Jan. 17, 1920, when the Volstead Act spelled out how the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would be implemented. The Louisiana legislature had ratified the amendment by only a narrow margin in November. Legislators from north and central “dry” parishes scraped together just enough votes to overcome vigorous objections from New Orleans and the “wet” parishes of south Louisiana.
But then French Louisiana found an unexpected ally in Mrs. Chauncey Olcott, a woman in Paris who mounted a serious, though short-lived, legal fight, claiming that Louisiana should have been exempt from the law altogether because of our French heritage.
She argued that the Louisiana Purchase treaty between France and the United States in 1803 gave France the perpetual right to send liquor to the Louisiana Territory, and that the treaty superseded the prohibition amendment She maintained that the treaty was international law, while the Constitution was limited only to the United States.
The New York Times reported the story on Aug. 6, 1922, and said that U.S. constitutional lawyers were “unimpressed” with her argument.
It could have been a big problem if she was right. Said the Times: “Officials ... pointed out that if France possessed any such treaty right, superior to the American Constitution, the great belt of States west of the Mississippi ... would again become wet.” That would include not only Louisiana, but Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
“The Washington viewpoint,” the Times said, “is that no treaty can rise superior to the Constitution. It has been repeatedly held by the Supreme Court that treaties, like law, to be valid must be constitutional and that any treaty contravening the Constitution must fall of its own weight.”
Scholars said the key fault in Mrs. Olcott’s argument was that the treaty granted rights to France in “the Louisiana Territory.” They said parts of the treaty that protected French trade while Louisiana was only a territory may have had some validity, but that the 1803 treaty became generally moot once Louisiana became a state.
It does not appear that the case ever actually went to court, so Prohibition continued to be observed in Louisiana, but not as religiously by the people of south Louisiana as in some other places.
Lots of them took full advantage of the fact that it was never illegal to drink during Prohibition. The law never actually banned consumption of alcohol — just making it, selling it, and shipping it. If you could get it, you could drink it.
That kept a good many folks busy making their own replacements for the good French Bordeaux Mrs. Olcott wanted to sell us, or running out into the Gulf to meet boats hauling crates of fine scotch or good bourbon distilled someplace else.
A ditty of the day sums up the attitude in much of south Louisiana:
Momma makes brandy from cherries;
Poppa makes whisky and gin;
Sister sells wine from the grapes on our vine ─
My gosh, how the money rolls in!
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.

Births announced

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 8:44am

Born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Batiste (nee: Ronlaisha Barrow) of Patterson, a girl, Tesonica Gwendolyn Christine Batiste, on June 1 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. She weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 18 inches.
——
Born to Harley Marie Cain and Jalyn Dashun Bell of Morgan City, a girl, Kensley Victoria Bell, on June 2 at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. She weighed 8 pounds, .6 ounces and measured 20 inches.
——
Born to Nubia Paola Paz and Jose Angel Guifarro of Morgan City, a girl, Ashley Paola Guifarro Paz, on June 3 at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. She weighed 8 pounds, 13.38 ounces and measured 20 inches.
——
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Hung Tien Pham (nee: Tram Huyen Tran) of Morgan City, a boy, Khoi Dinh Pham, on June 4 at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. He weighed 6 pounds, 5.59 ounces and measured 18.5 inches.
——
Born to Lindsey Morris of Morgan City, a girl, Ava Belle Morris, on June 7 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. She weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 19.75 inches.
——
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Gerardo Jazhiel Bravo Martinez (nee: Cristina Gomez Diaz) of Morgan City, a boy, Jazhiel Bravo Martinez, on June 9 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 20 inches.
——
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Michael Percle (nee: Courtney Mayon) of Morgan City, a girl, Abigail Kate Percle, on June 9 at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. She weighed 7 pounds, 4.12 ounces and measured 18.82 inches.
——
Born to Brittany Noel Gobert and Russell Bernard Ellis of Berwick, a boy, Garrison Wayne Ellis, on June 9 at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. He weighed 7 pounds, 9.7 ounces and measured 19.5 inches.

Tomatoes, other vegetables featured in virtual field day

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 8:43am
By JOHNNY MORGAN, LSU AgCenter

PAULINA. — The annual tomato field day had to be canceled this year, but the research continued.
Since 2009, the event has been hosted by the LSU AgCenter in St. James Parish at Raymond “T-Black” Millet’s farm in Paulina, said AgCenter agent André Brock.
“Each year, this field day typically draws nearly 200 people to what has become an annual community event that attracts tomato enthusiasts from neighboring parishes as well,” he said.
Over the years, it has become a community event, attracting tomato enthusiasts from neighboring
During a normal year, the field day would feature a field tour, presentations, awards and a free jambalaya dinner, said AgCenter agent Mariah Simoneaux.
“Since that was not possible this year, we conducted the research, and we’re presenting it without the usual audience,” Brock said.
The growing season this year has been either a bit bumpy or smooth depending on the crop and the insect and disease pressures.
“Helping people grow better tomatoes is the goal,” Brock said. “But the field day also offers the value of fellowship and a little friendly competition.”
“Though the field day had to be canceled as an in-person event, we did grow the vegetables and learned some things about the cultivated varieties we tried,” he said.
The virtual field day featured six tomato cultivars: Celebrity, Better Boy, Red Defender, Red Pride, Red Morning and Mountain Fresh Plus.
“All of these varieties were chosen as half-pound to 1-pound range red, round, disease-resistant tomatoes,” Brock said.
Disease concerns included verticillium wilt, tomato spotted wilt virus and a few other common ones. All tomatoes grown were hybrids, and all were determinate, except Better Boy.
“The Celebrity tomato was like a control group; everybody who grows tomatoes is probably familiar,” he said. “It’s a half-pound tomato adapted to a variety of growing conditions.”
People often want a tomato that tastes like tomatoes did when they were kids.
“Well, this one was an All-America Selection winner in 1984,” Brock said. “So if you’re my age, this is exactly what dads had in gardens when we were young. It’s still delicious, and performance and production have held up over the years.”
Red Defender was about the same as Celebrity; maybe slightly wider with shorter fruit, he said.
“Better Boy jumped out ahead early on as a larger plant (indeterminate growth pattern), though they evened out over time,” he said. “The fruit was similar to Celebrity, but perhaps a bit larger.”
Red Pride was similar, with consistently well-shaped fruit in the half-pound range, he said.
Red Morning was about the same, but the fruit was more consistently larger. Mountain Fresh Plus followed suit with perhaps slightly more pinkish fruit.
“Usually, taste sets the tomato varieties apart, but we did not have a taste test without the crowd,” Brock said. “The Millets and I found them all to be really good-tasting tomatoes. They all had a good acid bite and plenty of tomato flavor.”
This year’s bell pepper cultivars were Turnpike, Vanguard, Revolution, Declaration and Snackabelle.
“We had grown Snackabelle last year and wanted to see it again,” Brock said.
It’s a smaller plant with really small fruit 3 to 4 inches across but with a lot of volume. It readily turns red, while other varieties experience greater yield loss if left to ripen in the field.
“We think it would be useful for stuffing peppers as appetizers,” he said.
The other peppers were also all great producers with resistance including phytophthora blight, tomato mosaic virus and bacterial leaf spot.
They all made sturdy plants with large, blocky, thick-walled peppers.
“It’s hard to differentiate any of them,” Brock said. “But if you’ve been growing older varieties, your jaw will drop when you see these. Fruit quality, production and disease resistance were all outstanding.”
Brock and Simoneaux grew five cucumber varieties, which included Dasher 2, Bristol, Citadel, SV4719CS F1 and Silver Slicer.
Simoneaux said they all made lots of cucumbers on disease-resistant vines.
“Silver Slicer was easily identified by its white skin, which remained more tender,” she said. “It did not climb as high as the others. It kept wanting to spread.”
Like last year’s white variety Martini, Silver Slicer seems to last longer into the growing season than others and was still in great production in early June, she said.
More information about gardening, landscaping, or anything else horticultural in the River Parishes is available from St. John and St. James parishes agent André Brock at abrock@agcenter.lsu.edu or Mariah Simoneaux in Ascension and Assum-ption parishes at mjsimoneaux@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Adult stepson’s presence creates tension in home

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 8:41am
By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: My wife and I have been married five months. Her 40-year-old son lives in our basement. He has a job, but I have no idea if he pays rent. If he doesn’t, it really doesn’t bother me.
What does bother me is that at his age, he should be out on his own by now. He’s trying to pay off school loans, which I understand. However, he is the one who incurred these bills. All he had to do was finish his dissertation and he would have had his doctorate. Instead, he quit school and doesn’t plan on going back.
My wife doesn’t think she’s an enabler, but I disagree. It’s getting very hard for me to put up with this situation.
UPSET IN COLORADO

DEAR UPSET: Much depends upon the reason your wife’s son quit school instead of getting that doctorate. I wish you had mentioned whether he has been living in his mother’s house since childhood, or if this is something relatively recent. He may have emotional or mental health issues that need addressing.
Because this is creating friction in your marriage, it may be something you and your wife should talk through with the help of a licensed marriage and family therapist.

DEAR ABBY: I am 30 years old and single. I met this guy while I was working downtown three or four months ago. He is almost twice my age. At first I didn’t think of him as more than just a customer, but he’s very attractive for his age.
One day last month he told me he had lost his phone during my shift, so I asked him to give me his number so I could call him in case somebody found his phone, which I did. Later that night he called me asking, “Who is this?” so I told him who I was. We have been talking ever since and I have been spending every weekend at his house.
I’m starting to think I can see a future with this guy because I feel butterflies in my stomach. I like how things are between us. I care about him and maybe want more one day.
What should I do?
LIKING AN OLDER MAN

DEAR LIKING: What you should do is continue exploring a relationship and find out if he feels the same way you do. But the two of you should take things slowly and discuss the age difference before making any commitments.
Although his age isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, it is significant.

DEAR ABBY: Am I hoping for too much with my husband of 40-plus years?
In the evening, we (or I) watch TV, and he’s very agreeable to “watch” anything — mostly because he hardly watches at all. He’s playing games on his iPad and glancing at the TV.
He’ll ask questions occasionally about the characters or the plotlines, but it’s obvious he’s not following. For some reason, I find it disappointing that he’s not really watching, even if it’s something he’s shown an interest in or selected.
Should I just be grateful he’s in the same room with me and alive?
FEELING SOLO IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR FEELING SOLO: Focusing on gratitude that you are together doing things you both enjoy is healthy. If you don’t care for the program he isn’t watching, feel free to change the channel to something you prefer.
However, the two of you should make a point of doing something together in which you are both fully engaged because if you do, it will bring you even closer to each other.
***
For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order “How to Have a Lovely Wedding.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

John Flores: Scaled-down Oilfield Fishing Rodeo is a success

Thu, 06/18/2020 - 1:14pm
JOHN FLORES

When Johnny Acosta pulled up to the weigh-in at the 8th Annual Morgan City Open Fishing Rodeo this past Saturday, he pulled the one fish he planned to weigh out of an ice chest.
To the oohs and aahs of those gathered outside of the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium watching, Acosta handed off to the weigh master a big river run blue catfish. The fish weighed 12.30 pounds, more than enough to win the Catfish Division of the rodeo and take home a check for $480.
It was Acosta’s first time fishing the event. And, from the smile on his face when he hoisted up his big cat, it probably won’t be his last.
Putting weight on the scale for a shot at a pretty darn good purse is only one part of the annual competition. The other part is what it means to young people in the form of educational scholarships.
Shiela Hue, who was on hand helping and representing South Louisiana Community College – Young Memorial Campus said, “The Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo is a non-profit organization and the money goes towards scholarships. After the entrants have been awarded, whatever is left over is divided between Nicholl’s State University and the Young Memorial Campus. Students have to apply for it and are asked for it to be related to marine or anything they’d be doing perhaps offshore or related to the oilfield. So, it’s for those kinds of classes and it’s the same thing with Nicholls State.”
Other first-time entrants were Thad Buford and his son Drew Allain who entered the most popular and crowded redfish category. Bufford, from New Iberia, mentioned how some time ago, how he and his son wanted to fish redfish. At the time, fuel was expensive, and they needed something small that was easy on gas. They came across a 1966 Boston Whaler that had gone through a hurricane. Father and son put together a deal and with hard work got the boat into shape.
The father and son duo weighed in three redfish totaling 25.65 pounds and took home a third-place check of $500. Also, not bad for fishing the rodeo for the first time.
Dane Daigle weighed in 25.88 pounds of redfish beating out Buford and Allain by just under a quarter pound. Bradley Matte put 27.22 pounds of redfish on the scale to take first place and a $1,000 check.
Dylan Vaughn won “Big Fish” in the redfish division with a 13.46 pound red.
Due to the COVID-19 virus, Saturday’s rodeo was conducted on a reduced scale from previous years.
Chris Bourgeois, one of the event organizers, said, “Because of the virus we aren’t doing a lot of things we’ve done in years past. Once we received the mayor’s OK to hold the tournament, we decided to do everything outside and not solicit any donations or things like that. We wanted the entrants to just fish and have a good time. Usually, we go inside the auditorium and boil crawfish and cook, but this year we just wanted to keep the event going.”
Daigle, owner of DHD Offshore in Morgan City, sponsored four separate teams in the tournament as a way to contribute to the local community.
Daigle said, “This is a great deal for Morgan City, Louisiana. We don’t have many things to look forward to — the oilfield being down — it really hurts a lot. It’s been down that way for the past couple of years. We get up, it gets down, but with an event like this we all get together and figure out a way to have fun. We put up a little money to help a cause and it’s just a great deal that we really enjoy.”
Daigle and Hebert decided to fish well east of the Atchafalaya River saying the high, dirty water locally impacted the fishing below Morgan City. They targeted redfish in shallow ponds and site fished using Slug-Go artificial baits.
Three trash fish were weighed in. One alligator gar and two black drums weighed 12.88, 18.70 and 19.40 pounds, with Dale Crochet winning the trash fish category with his black drum that was just ¾ pounds above the second-place finisher.
In the bass division, Casey St. Romain took home first place honors with a whopping 23.15 pound five-fish stringer along with a $525 check. Dwight Barbier took second place with 14.45 pounds and Bill McCarty was third with 13.25 pounds.
Kirk Peterson put a 5 pound bass on the scale that won “Big Bass” in the tournament.
Though the number of entries were down for this year’s event, organizers of the Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo remained positive and excited about the turnout. No doubt, next year’s tournament will be more upscale with less restrictions and, hopefully, a waning COVID pandemic.

Deacons of Defense and Justice: In Bogalusa, violence was met with violence

Thu, 06/18/2020 - 1:09pm
ALYSSA BERRY AND MATTHEW CLARK, LSU Manship School News Service

Editor's Note: This story is the second in a series about the civil rights-era Deacons for Defense and Justice.

BOGALUSA — Fiery red dust filled the air as Henry Austan, a 21-year-old insurance bill collector for an African-American agency, sped down a Washington Parish dirt road during the early spring of 1965.
After he finished his rounds and the sun began to set, he headed east outside Franklinton, the parish seat, enroute to Bogalusa. Glancing at the rear-view mirror, Austan realized a group of white men was tailing him.
His car had been shot at before, leaving holes in the driver’s door.
“A couple of times they almost caught me, and I stopped thinking of it as a joke,” Austan said. “These people seriously wanted to kill me.”
Tired of being harassed by Klansmen, Austan set a trap the next night.
Following his usual route, he crossed a wooden bridge, turned down a dirt road and pulled into a pasture behind a line of trees. There, he positioned himself out of sight under the bridge.
After turning off his headlights, he took out a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun, shells loaded with glass and cardboard, and waited for his pursuers to reach him. When their lights approached, Austan opened fire, surprising the driver. The vehicle swerved, missed the bridge and ran into the water, clearing an escape path for Austan.
The next day, Austan went to see Charles Sims, the local head of the Deacons for Defense and Justice, an armed black self-defense group in Louisiana. “I told him, ‘I can’t collect insurance no more. They’re out to kill me,’” Austan, now 76, recalled in a recent interview. “‘I’m going to join the Deacons.’”
Austan became one of the youngest members of the group. In the months ahead, he would do something no other Deacon ever did – shoot a white man in self-defense and survive.

CORE and
the Deacons
Before Austan began his journey as a Deacon, the second unit of the self-defense group was formed during a meeting in Bogalusa on the evening of February 21, 1965. There, Ernest “Chilly Willy” Thomas, the vice president of the Deacons’ first chapter in Jonesboro, outlined the goals of this new organization that focused on protecting black communities from marauding Klansmen and defending Civil Rights workers, white or black, specifically members of the Congress for Racial Equality, or CORE.
There was a major difference between CORE and the Deacons: The Deacons were armed and prepared to meet violence with violence if provoked, while CORE followed the non-violent approach of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas was one of the founders of the Deacons, who patrolled Jonesboro at night and during Civil Rights marches and community events. FBI files from that time obtained by the LSU Manship School Cold Case Project show that the Deacons communicated by radio and walkie-talkies as they sought to instill the same fear in Klansmen that they had long felt.
At that first meeting in Bogalusa, sources told the FBI, “The general tenor of Thomas’ talk was that Negroes should arm themselves, not only for defensive purposes, but that they should have roving patrols so that if a Negro was being arrested by a police officer, other Negroes could come to the aid of the arrested person. Thomas said that if the Ku Klux Klan and white people generally wanted violence, they ‘intended to combat violence with violence.’”
Austan quit his insurance job and volunteered with the Deacons full-time. His role was defined day by day, with demonstrations occurring almost daily in Bogalusa. President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed Congress for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to end segregation. However, in Southern rural areas like Bogalusa, those empowered to enforce the law simply would not. It was left to the Deacons to challenge segregation in the workplace and around town.
Other Deacons, like Fletcher Anderson, who worked at the box factory within the Crown Zellerbach paper mill, continued with their day jobs to challenge segregation laws within the workplace.
The paper mill was the largest employer in Bogalusa and was infected with racism, with scores of Klansmen working there. Before he died this April, Anderson recalled the challenges he and other black employees faced daily when every aspect of the workplace was segregated, including the bathrooms, water fountains and pay lines. Black employees were barred from holding managerial positions at the mill.

Murder of
a black deputy

In early June 1965, racial tensions boiled over when Washington Parish’s first black deputies were attacked while on duty in the small town of Varnado six miles north of Bogalusa. The Klan was outraged that the white sheriff, Dorman Crowe, appointed two black officers.
Klansmen opened fire from the bed of a black pickup truck while passing the deputies in their patrol car. Deputy Sheriff Oneal Moore, who was driving, was shot in the head and killed instantly. The patrol car veered off the road and crashed into a tree. His partner, Creed Rogers, was hit by a rifle shot to his left shoulder and blinded in the right eye when his head smashed into the windshield.
An hour later, the driver of the pickup, Klansman Ernest Rayford McElveen of Bogalusa, was apprehended by police in Mississippi. Sheriff Crowe charged him with the murder, but due a lack of evidence, McElveen was never convicted. The FBI closed its investigation into the other Klansmen in 2016 after identifying two dozen persons of interest through the years.
Austan said he and Moore were good friends. On Fridays, his insurance sales route took him by Moore’s house. They had visited during his lunch breaks and watched television together.
John McKeithen was in his first term as governor. He came out of the Caldwell Parish hills as a segregationist candidate, but as governor, he turned moderate. The murder in Bogalusa—and the potential for it to erupt into a racial powder keg—was the biggest problem he faced. Two days before the deputies were shot, he had secretly met with Klansmen in an attempt to get them off the streets, telling reporters that he met with “certain white people” to try to prevent the kind of violence that had now happened.

'Spread eagle'
in Bogalusa

On July 8, the black community took to the Bogalusa streets to protest Moore’s murder. During the march, an onlooker threw a rock, striking Hattie May Hill, a 16-year-old black girl, in the back of the head. A mob of white men then blocked Hill’s path to an ambulance.
Henry Austan was nearby, riding shotgun in black activist A.Z. Young’s 1964 Cadillac to protect him and help provide an escape if needed. Observing a nurse struggling to help Hill about 50 feet ahead, Austan said, he told Deacon Milton Johnson, the driver of Young’s car, to move forward so that Hill and the nurse could get into the car. Johnson then got out of the two-door car to help the nurse get Hill into the back seat. The mob swarmed Johnson, trapping him against the side of the vehicle, Austan recalled.
Austan quickly exited the vehicle and fired a warning shot into the air with his girlfriend’s pistol to try to help Johnson escape.
“I thought, you know, [police] hear gunfire, now it seems really dumb, but back then I thought if they hear gunfire, they’d pay some attention,” Austan said. “Well, they turned their back, because they assumed, as usual, the white people had the guns. They were wrong that time.”
The warning shot did not deter the mob, and by then, according to newspaper accounts, a white man identified as 26-year-old Alton Crowe of Pearl River began pounding Johnson in his face with his fists. Austan fired a second time, this time with the bullet landing in the chest of Crowe, the married father of five children, who, Austan thought, was trying to enter the vehicle.
Police raced over and quickly barked orders Austan had heard before: “Spread eagle!” Austan and Johnson complied as Austan placed the gun on the top of the car. Crowe, though seriously injured, would recover from his wound.
Both Austan and Johnson were charged with aggravated battery. They were transferred to jails in Covington and then New Orleans because authorities feared that the Klan would try to break into the Bogalusa jail and hang them.

Different now
Sitting in his red brick home in Avondale outside New Orleans, Austan said recently that he was not sure back then what had happened to Crowe, the man he shot.
“I was thinking, ‘They’re going to electrocute my ass for shooting this white man,’” Austan said.
Sitting in a jail cell alone, Austan watched as the 5 o’clock news came on the television.
“I remember Alton Crowe saying how much he loved colored people as he was being interviewed in the hospital,” Austan said.
During a telephone interview last fall, Crowe, no relation to the sheriff, said he has no hard feelings toward Austan. He said he believed he was doing what was right at the time and figured Austan felt the same way.
“We are in a different day and time now than we were back then, and I don’t think the same way I thought back then, so things are a lot different now,” Crowe said.
He then politely ended the call.
Austan was never prosecuted, presumably because prosecutors viewed him as defending himself. Without having a weapon for self-defense, Deacon Henry Austan and the others in that car could easily have been killed by the mob. The incident exemplified why the Deacons were needed and why they were armed.

Standoff
The day Austan shot Crowe was a turning point for Bogalusa, a town that attracted national attention for its violence.
“Once they realized that we were serious about shooting, it became basically a standoff between us and them,” he said.
“It was not like the old days where you could just drive in the neighborhood and everybody start hiding from you and you drag whoever you want out,” he said. “It was not like anymore, and they realized that.”
He added: “When there’s some opposition, it’s not any fun anymore.”
Austan credits the success of the Bogalusa Deacons to its leader, Charles Sims. He said Sims was the only man in town who would take on the job.
United Press Inter-national described Sims as a goateed 42-year-old whose police record included 21 entries back to 1956. UPI reported that in Bogalusa carrying a blackjack club “is roughly equivalent to wearing a wristwatch.”
Once when Sims and other Deacons were guarding CORE against a possible Klan attack, Sims approached Police Chief Claxton Knight, whose sympathetic view of the Klan is well documented in the FBI documents.
“You better stop ‘em, ‘cause if you don’t, we are going to kill them all,” Sims told the chief. There was no more trouble, and according to the FBI documents, Sims later said, “That night, a brand-new Negro was born.”
Top officials of the FBI and the Justice Department traveled down from Washington to witness some of the violence in Bogalusa. The Justice Department also filed lawsuits seeking to protect blacks testing the new civil rights laws and to halt Klan intimidation, and federal judges supported the effort.
In late 1965, Robert “Bob” Hicks, a founder of the Bogalusa Deacons chapter and its original vice president, turned to the court system for help in the workplace, opening job opportunities and promotions that had been unobtainable for African-Americans.
The Deacons’ efforts helped lead to an enforcement of new civil rights laws that ultimately resulted in blacks registering to vote in record numbers, gaining power in the political arena and serving routinely in law enforcement in rural Louisiana.
“We were effective. Not heroic, effective,” Austan said, thinking back on his time with the Deacons. “That’s what we were. We came into existence when the situation demanded it. We went out of existence when we were no longer needed.”
Bogalusa Deacons included Charles Sims, President; Royan Burris, Vice-President; Joseph White, secretary; Andrew Smith, Luke Varnado , Milton Johnson, Elmer Barner, aka Duppie, Sam Barnes, Bill Crawford, Mizell Butler O.J. Nelson (aka Candy), Lemuel Brown, Otha Peters, Theodore Newman, Charles Weary, Joshua Mundy (Varnado), Harold Ray Mingo (Varnado), Henry Austan, Fletcher Anderson, Robert “Bob” Hicks, Alcie Taylor, Joe Satin, and Reese Perkins.
Foster Willie contributed reporting for this story.

Panel rejects bill ending qualified immunity for police

Thu, 06/18/2020 - 12:46pm
CATHERINE HUNT, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE--A House committee rejected a bill Wednesday that would have prohibited police officers from receiving immunity in civil cases involving abuse allegations.

The bill by Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, aimed to address pushes for police reform after the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Members of the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee killed the bill in a 9-7 vote, mostly among party lines. All Democrats on the panel voted in favor of the bill, while most Republicans opposed it. Reps. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, and Richard Nelson, R- Mandeville, voted alongside Democratic members.

Qualified immunity protects government officials from civil lawsuits that claim the official violated a plaintiff’s rights. Suits are only permitted if an official violated “clearly established” rights.

Qualified immunity has been debated at the federal level as Democrats and some Republicans in Congress have called for its end in the wake of Floyd’s death. Congress has debated repealing the doctrine, and the Supreme Court announced Monday that it had declined to hear

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond,a Democrat who represents New Orleans and parts of Baton Rouge, wrote a letter to the state House committee urging members to support the bill.

“Many of you here have been upset that contact tracing or wearing a mask could violate your constitutional rights,” he said. “Isn’t the taking of a life a much more egregious violation?”

Supporters of the bill said qualified immunity protects “bad actors” in law enforcement and makes it harder for people injured by police to go to trial and get compensation.

Jim Craig, an attorney and the director of the Louisiana office of the MacArthur Justice Center, said Jordan’s bill would have held officers accountable “while still protecting those officers who are faced with difficult judgment calls about the use of force.”

Representatives of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association opposed the bill, saying it was concerned that the language could invite lawsuits against officers who used force under reasonable circumstances.

“We’re here to make sure law enforcement continue to believe they can do their job, and when they don’t use excessive force...that they’re not going to lose everything and go through extended court processes,” said St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.

Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, also opposed the bill, saying it could have “vilified” officers and disincentivized them from doing their jobs out of fear of being sued. Her nephew, a police officer, was killed on duty.

“Nobody is trying to demonize all police officers,” said Rep. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport. “What this is about is the officers who don’t do a good job. There’s a dark side of this that we can’t escape.”

Lawmakers recently heard another piece of legislation that addressed police brutality. Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, proposed a bill that would have created a study on policing. Several Republicans opposed the bill, and removed wording that mentioned Floyd and police brutality before passing it.

Legislators see more bills targeting auto insurance rates

Thu, 06/18/2020 - 12:43pm
CATHERINE HUNT, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE—House and Senate committees passed more legislation Wednesday aimed at lowering car insurance rates in Louisiana by limiting damage lawsuits.
Louisiana has the second highest auto insurance rates in the country after Michigan, and lawmakers have focused on lowering these rates during the regular and special legislative sessions.
A major bill by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, addressed several components of Louisiana’s tort laws that Republicans say lead to high rates. His bill was vetoed by Gov. John Bel Edwards Friday.
The Republicans could still try to override the veto, but they also are trying to pass possible replacement bills before the special session ends July 1.
The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee passed several bills that mirrored Talbot’s in changing areas of current tort law they say will reduce premiums.
Talbot’s bill would have decreased the monetary amount an injury has to be worth to be decided by a jury rather than a judge; prohibited plaintiffs from suing insurance companies directly; increased the time parties have to file lawsuits to encourage settling out of court; and prohibited using evidence of a plaintiff receiving payment from sources besides the defendant.
His bill also would have allowed juries and judges to hear whether someone was wearing a seatbelt at the time of an accident.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said these changes could result in premium reductions of at least 10%. However, companies could be excused from reducing rates if they can prove that doing so would lead to insolvency.
Democrats say that none of the bills guarantee rate reductions and that they make it harder for injured people to get the payments they deserve.
Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, sponsored three resolutions that address three portions of Talbot’s bill. His resolutions would repeal the current seat belt rule, prohibit suing insurance companies directly and remove the monetary requirement needed for juries to hear a case.
The main difference, however, is that Seabaugh filed resolutions instead of bills. Resolutions are veto-proof and would have to be renewed by the Legislature every year, unless a bill that does the same thing is signed into law by Edwards. The resolutions, if successful, would take effect immediately rather than start on a certain date in the future like Talbot’s bill.
Rep. Robby Carter, D-Amite, said having the law take effect immediately was like “changing the rules in the middle of the game.”
Some lawmakers opposed this strategy, and Rep. Gregory Miller, R-Norco, told Seabaugh that trying to suspend parts of the law by resolution is like “bringing a suicide vest” to the committee hearing.
All three of Seabaugh’s resolutions passed, and Sen. Fred Mills, R-Minden, followed his lead and filed three identical resolutions on the Senate side. His resolutions also passed.
A bill by Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, also would repeal the current seatbelt rule in language nearly identical to the other bills. The bill passed 10-4.
Senate Judiciary A passed a bill by Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, that takes a similar approach to Talbot’s bill, but with some changes. His original bill did not contain as specific wording, but the committee amended it to be nearly the same as Talbot’s bill when it left the Senate. The Senate approved Talbot’s bill with enough votes to override a veto.
After passing Schexnayder’s bill, the committee deferred a bill by Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette, that was nearly identical to Talbot’s. Lawmakers said their goal was to pass one piece of legislation from the Senate to avoid having slightly different bills competing.
It is unclear if lawmakers will attempt to override Edwards’ veto of Talbot’s bill, or hope one of the other bills or resolutions passed today will have more success in the next two weeks.

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