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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.
Monday, Jan. 13
7:01 a.m. Franklin Street; Wire down.
9:47 a.m. 7300 block of La. 182; Warrant.
10:03 a.m. 7700 block of La. 182; Disturbance.
10:33 a.m. Arkansas and Third streets; Warrant.
10:40 a.m. Sand pit off Levee Road area; Suspicious vehicle.
12:23 p.m. Railroad Avenue to Second Street; Reckless operation.
1:51 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Loud music.
2:34 p.m. 200 block of Leona Street; Warrant/Possession of stolen property.
2:38 p.m. 1100 block of Seventh Street; Civil matter.
2:48 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Complaint.
5:02 p.m. 1000 block of La 70; Complaint.
6:11 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Barrel in road.
7:24 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Accident.
8:23 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Arrest.
8:26 p.m. 800 block of Fig Street; Juvenile problem.
10:19 p.m. 1600 block of Federal Avenue; Fire alarm.
10:26 p.m. 1700 block of Dale Street; Removal of subject.
10:37 p.m. Trailer Park on Levee Road; Loud music.
11:34 p.m. 200 block of Wren Street; Removal of subject.
11:59 p.m. 200 block of Wren Street; Removal of subject.
Tuesday, Jan. 14
4:04 a.m. 400 block of Halsey Street; Animal.
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FRANKLIN -- Gwendolyn Hidalgo, surrounded by family members, takes the St. Mary Parish Council oath of office Monday at the Courthouse. Justice of the Peace Melanie Butcher administers the oath. Hidalgo is one of seven new council members elected for the 2020-24 term and, along with Kristy Prejeant Rink, made history when they became the first women elected to the council under the parish home rule charter. Also sworn in Monday were Parish President David Hanagriff and council members Craig Mathews of Jeanerette, J Ina of Franklin, Rodney Olander of Franklin, Scott Ramsey of Morgan City, Leslie "Les" Rulf of Patterson, James Bennett of Morgan City, Mark Duhon of Amelia and Dean Adams of Morgan City. Adams was elected council chairman, and Rink is the vice chairman. Patrick Hebert, who was re-elected last fall, was not present for the ceremony. Also returning to parish offices are Sheriff Blaise Smith, Assessor Jarrod Longman, Clerk of Court Cliff Dressel and Coroner Eric Melancon.
The Daily Review/Bill Decker
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A Patterson man and a Pierre Part woman fled from an officer during a traffic stop, leading officers on a chase with a crash and ending with the arrest of both, Morgan City Police Chief James F. Blair said in a news release.
—Zoe Rives, 20, of Shell Beach Road in Pierre Part, was arrested at 12:02 p.m. Sunday on charges of aggravated flight from an officer, aggravated obstruction of a highway, no driver’s license, turn signal violation, possession of stolen things $5,000 to 25,000 (motor vehicle), possession of drug paraphernalia and accessories after the fact.
—Claude Moses Charlot, 26, of Leonard Street in Patterson, was arrested at 12:02 p.m. Sunday on charges of aggravated flight from an officer, aggravated obstruction of a highway, no driver’s license, possession of stolen things $5,000 to 25,000 (motor vehicle), possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal trespassing and on warrants for the charges of simple burglary and two counts of failure to appear.
An officer on patrol observed a vehicle violation in the area of Sixth Street and Onstead Street. The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the vehicle failed to stop for the officer.
The vehicle fled to La. 70 headed north toward Fig Street.
As the vehicle approached the curve on La. 70 in the area of Lake End Park, the vehicle lost control, briefly leaving the roadway before re-entering the roadway.
The vehicle then traveled about another quarter mile before coming to a sudden stop on La. 70. The driver, Rives, and passenger, Charlot then switched seats.
Charlot turned the vehicle around re-entering the city of Morgan City.
The vehicle left the roadway again in the area of Federal Avenue and General McArthur Street resulting in a crash into two parked vehicles.
Charlot fled from officers on foot. Pursuing officers were able to locate Charlot hiding behind a residence and he was taken into custody.
Rives was taken into custody by officers on the scene of the crash.
Officers learned the vehicle Rives and Charlot were driving was reported stolen by the Berwick Police Department. Rives had knowledge Charlot was wanted for outstanding warrants and that was the reason she fled from officers.
A warrant check revealed the City Court of Morgan City and 16th District Court held an active warrant for Charlot for failure to appear in court. The Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office also held an active warrant for Simple Burglary for Charlot. A computer check revealed both Rives and Charlot did not have a valid driver’s license and officers found suspected drug paraphernalia in the vehicle belonging to Rives and Charlot.
Both were jailed.
Ronnie “Square Biz” Turner, 44, a resident and native of Morgan City, Louisiana, passed peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, at 10:27 p.m. at his residence.
Visitation will be observed Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Jones Funeral Home, 715 Sixth St., Morgan City, from 10 a.m. until funeral services at Noon. Brother Michael Ledet will officiate the services.
Survivors includes his father, Ronnie Turner of Cottonport, his sisters, Shakiewa Wallace of Houston, and Bella Grace Turner and Gabrielle Rubin Turner, and his brother, Cash Henry Rubin Turner, all of Cottonport, his son, Ratlin Turner of Franklin; two nieces,; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Ronnie was preceded in death by his mother.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A Funeral Mass for Julian Sons Jr. of Hessmer will was set for Monday morniing, January 13, 2020, at the St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church of Belledeau. Burial will be was at the St. Alphonsus Catholic Mausoleum.
Julian “Sonny” Sons, Jr., age 87, passed away on Thursday, January 9, 2020, at his home in Hessmer.
Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Dolores Vinning Sons of Hessmer; sons, Jeffery Sons (Francine) and Justin Sons (Donna); daughters, Frances Lydia Sons Rentrop (Kurt) and Juliana Sons Snyder; sisters, Diane Sons, Irma Lee Lombas, and Paulette Wilson; brothers, Jimmy Sons and Barry Sons. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Rev. Caleb Sons, Martin Sons, Dustin Sons, Cody Thompson, Jason Thompson (Aliesha), Telizia Rentrop, and Harley Snyder; and one great-grandchild, Lillian Ray Sons.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Julian J, Sr. and Lydia Granier Sons; brothers, Horace Sons, Merval Sons, Lloyd Sons, and Ballard Sons; sisters, Shirley Mae Rock and Zelda Fromenthal; and son-in-law, Phil Snyder.
Visitation was held Sunday, Jan. 12th, 2020, at the Escude Funeral Home of Mansura and resumed Monday morning at 8 a.m.
Family and friends were nvited to sign and view the online guestbook at www.escudefuneralhome.com.
Escude Funeral Home of Mansura, 6608 Porterie St. Mansura, LA 71350 (318-964-2324) has been entrusted with the funeral arrangements.
PATTERSON — The City Council could learn as early as next month what it will take to cure some of the flooding that afflicted the city in 2019.
Data collection on the way storm water flows in Patterson is complete and has been entered into a computer model, reported Melanie Caillouet, P.E., at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The model is also complete and is identifying areas where drainage is a problem.
“We are evaluating projects that would provide better drainage in those areas,” wrote Caillouet, who works with consulting engineers Providence Engineering.
In a phone interview, Caillouet said Providence could have some potential solutions ready for the city government in time for the Feb. 2 council meeting.
Strangely enough, a stretch of dry weather at the end of the year slowed the process, she said. The analysis was based on the way water is flowing, and there was no water to flow.
But a lack of rain was a very different problem from the difficulties faced by east St. Mary residents in 2019.
Flooding in the North kept the Mississippi River above flood stage for nearly two-thirds of the year, leading officials to open the Bonnet Carre’ Spillway twice in the same year for the first time since its construction in the 1920s.
The added volume in the Atchafalaya led to back-flooding, the sinking of a barge to relieve flooding in the Bayou Chene area and a freshwater influx that reduced the shrimp catch
Farther west, in Morgan City, Berwick, Bayou Vista and Patterson, the problems were worsened by lunch-time downpours in April and June, flooding streets and pushing water into homes.
That put local officials to work on reducing storm flooding that has, by all accounts, grown worse in recent years.
Patterson deployed eight staff gauges around the city to collect information on water depths and water flow.
That data, fed into the computer model, is the basis for identifying the problem areas and developing solutions.
How much those solutions will cost depends on what the model finds.
Any remedy that includes boring under U.S. 90 is likely to be expensive, Caillouet said.
“Some of the things might just be redigging ditches,” she said.
Berwick has also been working on flood problems after the June flash flood put water in 39 homes in Country Club Estates Subdivision.
The town government came up with the plan that included improving a ditch, which was quickly completed. The next steps involve more expensive measures, such as installing better storm drains.
The town government is awaiting the results of its application for grant funding for the more expensive work.
St. Mary Parish was spared the worst of a much-anticipated storm system that killed at least 12 people as it spawned tornadoes in the South and dumped winter weather in the upper Midwest on Friday and Saturday.
But the parish still felt the effects.
Cleco reported that 62 St. Mary customers were among the more than 12,000 homes and businesses that lost power in Louisiana on Saturday.
By 5 p.m. Saturday, only about 242 Cleco customers in Grant and Rapides parishes were without power. The National Weather Service in Lake Charles reported wind gusts of up to 48 mph, or 11 mph above the sustained-winds threshold for a tropical storm, on Saturday in the Alexandria area.
Also in St. Mary, Vitalant said the holidays and the severe weather alert in the Morgan City area caused the cancellation of blood drives and the adjustment of hours for the donation center.
Vitalant appealed for donors after it said it was down 21,000 donations. Vitalant reported that it had less than half the four-day supply of type O blood it tries to maintain.
The Morgan City donation center will be open until 4 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday and Wed-nesday.
You can schedule an appointment at vitalant.org or call 877-258-4825. Walk-ins are welcome.
The National Weather Service gauge at Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport near Patterson recorded south and southeast winds of 18-25 mph from about midnight Friday until about 7 a.m. Saturday, with gusts of up to 36 mph.
More 30 mph gusts were recorded Saturday afternoon.
Only trace amounts of rain were recorded.
Temperatures dropped briefly but sharply, too. The mercury fell from 73 degrees at 7 a.m. Saturday to 45 degrees by dawn Sunday.
Elsewhere in Louisiana, media reported at least three deaths, including a couple killed when their Bossier Parish mobile home was demolished by 135 mph winds.
Another man was killed when a tree fell on a home in nearby Caddo Parish. Interstate 20, which cuts across north Louisiana, was closed at one point.
In south Louisiana, Facebook photos showed wind damage to homes and other structures in Vermilion and Lafayette.
Gov. John Bel Edwards scheduled a trip to examine storm damage Saturday in Bossier. But the Governor’s Office reported later that the trip was canceled because the weather conditions remained unsettled.
Three people were killed by an apparent tornado in Pickens County, Alabama, and at least three people died in Texas, including a Lubbock police officer and firefighter who were struck as they worked at a crash scene. Wind flipped a car into a creek near Dallas, resulted in another fatality.
Damage to homes was reported in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky.
Warm temperatures in St. Mary are expected in the early part of this week, and a chance of storms will continue into Tuesday.
The most significant threats are lightning and fog, the National Weather Service said.
Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874
Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255