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Baby Bear Head Start in Morgan City was evacuated twice Wednesday morning after reports of smoke.
At about 9:05 a.m., the Morgan City Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the building at Baby Bear, 710 Greenwood St.
All staff members and children were evacuated safely as the Fire Department inspected the building.
Staff members were able to move children back into the building at 9:26 a.m. as the Fire Department deemed the building safe to reenter and located the issue outside of the building.
“They said they heard a pop and then saw smoke in the building,” Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said. “They have an issue with the electrical pole behind the building and we think that is what may have caused it. We don’t see anything in the building and it seems to be OK.”
Morgan City Fire Department responded with four trucks, including the ladder truck, and Morgan City Police Department had an officer on site.
About 10:35 a.m., a second call was received to respond to Baby Bear, this time for an oven fire.
All children and staff members were evacuated safely from the building as the Fire Department went into the building and extinguished the fire.
“It looks like one of the elements in the stove shorted out,” Cockerham said. “It is probably what the problem was earlier, it just finally went completely out. We cut the power to the stove, but the city will come and check out the electrical.”
Morgan City police joined firefighters at the scene.

The Daily Review/Jaclyn Breaux
Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur and Berwick Town Council recognized two individuals for the monthly Beacon Shines Award at Tuesday night’s Berwick Town Council meeting, Luke Orlando and Kady Hewitt.

Officers received a complaint of a man acting strangely and having conversations that did not make sense, leading to a warrants check on active warrants, Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. said in a news release.
—Thomas Thompson, 46, of First Street in Berwick, was arrested at 11:41 p.m. Tuesday on warrants for the 16th Judicial District Court for charges of failure to appear for trial, two counts failure to appear drug court status and failure to appear for an imposition hearing.
Officers were dispatched to the area of First Street in reference to Thompson acting strangely. Officers made contact with Thompson and a warrant check was conducted. Active warrants for his arrest were discovered for the 16th Judicial District Court. He was jailed with no bond set.
Leonard also reported the following arrest:
—Taylor Davis, 21, of Natalie Lane in Patterson, was arrested at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant for a charge of failure to appear for arraignment for the 16th Judicial District Court. Davis was currently incarcerated on unrelated charges at Berwick Police Department when the warrant was discovered. He was jailed and later released on a $526 bond.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith advised that the Sheriff’s Office responded to 25 complaints and the following arrest was made:
—Shamus Michael Dardeau, 44, of Clark Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 7:40 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of neglect of family. A deputy went to a residence on Delmar to locate Dardeau who held an active warrant for his arrest. The deputy made contact with Dardeau and advised him of the warrant. He was jailed with bail set at $33,485.78.
Morgan City Police Chief James F. Blair reported the Morgan City Police Department responded to 28 calls for service and the following arrests were made:
—Efrain Serrano, 51, of Spruce Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:05 a.m. Tuesday on warrants for the City Court of Morgan City for the charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was jailed.
—John Thibodeaux, 33, of Camille Drive in Patterson, was arrested at 11:47 a.m. Tuesday on a warrant for a charge of theft under $1,000. Thibodeaux was stopped by officers who knew of a warrant for his arrest. The warrant stems from an investigation into a theft of property that Thib-odeaux allegedly borrowed and would not return. He was jailed.
—Juan Tapia, 32, of Rayne Court in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:33 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant for the City Court of Morgan City for failure to appear to pay a probation fee on the charge of hit and run. Tapia was arrested after a traffic stop on La. 182 and officers learned of an outstanding arrest warrant from the City Court of Morgan City. He was jailed.
—Kim Jones, 50, of Bayou Black Road in Gibson, was arrested at 8:41 p.m. Tuesday on charges of driving under suspension and speeding. Jones was stopped after an officer confirmed by radar that she was speeding 48 mph in a 30 mph zone. Jones was found to be driving under suspension as well. She was jailed.
Patterson Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported no arrests.

There was a time in my life when I thought a colorful winter garden did not exist. I was so wrong. It took me years to figure this out. I only had to look around me. There’s still color out there.
It doesn’t take a person with a “green thumb.” Those people don’t exist. Every great gardener has killed countless plants. That’s how they cultivated the art of gardening. It can be a costly hobby, but the return is priceless. And those who do it best do it with love and little effort.
Are you looking for a winter plant list or a helpful source of inspiration? The first place to learn which plants are best to use in any time of year is local retail nurseries. They’re going to be stocking what is in season. They are growing, buying and selling the plant materials that work best for every season, year-round.
Next, visit public gardens. They will often feature seasonal interest throughout the year. Better yet, visit your local horticulture research stations. That’s what they do best, particularly the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge and the Hammond Research Station in Hammond.
They’re doing all the work for us. That is, they are conducting the research and trialing plants then reporting which do best. That’s where Louisiana Super Plant selections are made. All of the stations across the state are in on the research, too.
Great landscaping companies and architects also use the best, newest plant varieties. And they are on top of which plants perform best for each season. I get a great deal of inspiration just waiting in line at a drive-thru restaurant. Some of the best landscape architects and firms create and maintain those beds. At the end of the day, pay attention to what you see around you, and you will learn so much. Take a picture and go to the nursery. Someone there can identify the plant that caught your eye and help you locate one.
The most functional and attractive landscapes have a place for every type of plant. These include permanent fixtures such as trees, shrubs and turfgrass as well as the not-so-permanent annuals and perennials.
Camellias are in their prime in winter. With thousands of cultivars to pick from, you can find colors and forms that add a charming look to any garden. The evergreen hollies are showing off their gorgeous red berries now. And some roses and azaleas even continue to bloom.
When the turf has gone brown, the annuals and perennials are typically selected to change things up in the landscape and provide color and visual interest.
We use annuals for seasonal color. Why? Because annuals complete their life cycle in one year, which makes them the plants we want to change out. And thank goodness we can.
Some things are timeless and other things just get boring. We change our fashion seasonally. Trends come and go. So it is with plants. Our landscape is an expression of ourselves.
So what’s the trend this winter? What is fashionable, functional and reasonable? Here is a list of great performers for winter. The varieties in parentheses are Louisiana Super plants.
Alyssum, baby’s breath, dianthus (Amazon and Jolt series), ornamental kale (Redbor), pansies, petunias (Supertunia Vista Bubblegum), poppies, snapdragons, stock and violas (Sorbet series) are just a few cool-season annuals to add to your landscape beds.
Some perennials will come back year after year from their roots but typically die back in the winter. Others, however, dazzle in winter. Armeria or thrift plant, columbine (Swan series), crocus, cyclamen, daffodils, delphinium (Diamonds Blue), foxglove (Camelot series), heliotrope, hellebore, leucojum or spring snowflake, Lenten rose, paperwhites, primroses and reticulated iris are some traditional plants that do well in the South. With a mild winter, some plants such as ligularia, sedums (Lemon sedum) and salvias will continue to perform where protected.
Some evergreen perennials for Louisiana are ajuga, bergenia, blue fescue, creeping raspberry or creeping jenny, evergreen miscanthus, foam flower, hardy ice plant, sedges and many ornamental grasses.
A great garden has a focal appeal year round. Planning your landscape to have color in every season can be easy when you know which plants to use. It will keep your landscape exciting and new.
There is no green thumb. Just make sure plants get minimal, but regular, TLC, and they will continue to perform for you. The best gardens thrive because we get out and enjoy their beauty often. Winter does not have to be drab. It can be a slate of beautiful colors. Just go for it.