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Discovery in the dome

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 11:43am

Submitted Photo
The Louisiana Art & Science Center Discovery Dome Portable Planetarium recently spent a day at Central Catholic Elementary School. The immersive planetarium experience is a state-of-the-art, full dome, HD theater. The inflatable and room-sized Discovery presented three separate shows to different grade levels. Pre-K3, Pre-K4, and kindergarten students experienced "One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure;" grades 1, 2, and 4 viewed "Magic Tree House Space Mission;" and grades 3 and 5 participated in "Earth’s Wild Ride." Bottom Photo: Trish Vining’s second graders are being led into the dome by LASM employee Hali Krista. Top Photo: Excited Pre-K3 students Bentley Chau and Madison Garrett exit the dome with teacher Heather Walker.

Foley appointed to Keep St. Mary Beautiful board

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 9:28am

As a result of her social media campaign promoting the use of reusable/recyclable bags, Danika Foley was invited to join the Keep St. Mary Beautiful board. The board is the parish’s anti-litter and community improvement organization focused on education, enforcement, awareness and cleanups. Anyone wishing to participate in Foley’s online campaign is asked to use the tag @Danika Foley KWBJ in Facebook posts and pictures that show the use of reusable/recyclable bags when shopping. From left are board members Dawn Kaiser Melancon, Jill Migues, KSMB President Lea Hebert, Dianna Alexander, Didi Battle, Jo Ann Blanchard and Foley.

Thanksgiving dinner cost in La.

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 9:26am

By OLIVIA MCCLURE, LSU AgCenter

BATON ROUGE. — Louisiana cooks can expect to spend an average of $46.87 on Thanksgiving dinner this year.
That is slightly higher than last year’s average cost of $45.11. But it is still below the national average calculated by the American Farm Bureau Federation — $48.91.
Quincy L. Vidrine, a family and consumer sciences agent with the LSU AgCenter, recently conducted a survey of stores in the Alexandria area to assess the cost of items commonly featured on Louisiana Thanksgiving tables. Her shopping list included turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, butter, peas, cranberries, a vegetable tray, pumpkin pie, whipped cream, coffee and milk.
“The meal would feed roughly 10 people, which makes the per-person cost about $4.69 — not a bad deal overall,” Vidrine said.
The survey didn’t account for the cost of regional favorites such as rice dressing, cornbread dressing and pecan pie.
“These additional dishes may up the price a bit, but most Louisianans would not complain,” she said.
Other factors, such as using grocery delivery services, could increase the cost. People also can expect a heftier bill if they purchase complete, pre-cooked meals from stores or restaurants.
“The aforementioned options would bring the cost of your Thanksgiving meal upwards of $85 to $100,” Vidrine said, “but some people are perfectly fine with paying a little extra to be relieved of the stress, hustle and bustle that comes with preparing the big meal for Turkey Day.”

Daytime babysitter makes herself too much at home

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 9:22am

DEAR ABBY: I need advice on how to discuss a sensitive matter with my son and daughter-in-law’s babysitter. She watches my grandson Monday through Friday while they are at work. They live with me, and I work from home, so I am around all day while she’s sitting with the baby. Overall, she’s pretty good, but we have discovered her asleep in my son and daughter-in-law’s bed a couple of times. She also changes into my son’s clothing occasionally, which makes my daughter-in-law very uncomfortable. My daughter-in-law needs to have a discussion about it with her but doesn’t know how ...

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Wade: New river vessel will clear away the 'fluff'

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 7:28am

Raymond “Mac” Wade, Executive Director of the Morgan City Harbor & Terminal District, brought good news to the St. Mary Parish Council regarding the Atchafalaya River channel.
Wade touted the acquisition of a dredging boat that has exceeded expectations and he is confident the channel’s “fluff” problem.
“Fluff” is a fine sediment that accumulates in the channel somewhat upstream of the outflow into the bay that inhibits vessel traffic vital to the port and local businesses. Many efforts to control it have been made over the years but the problem continues to worsen, virtually shutting down commerce.
“This dredge is about five years in the making,” Wade said. “This is going to take care of the fluff issue, guaranteed, no ifs, ands or buts about it.”
Wade said the company that builds the vessel is owned by Eskimo natives in Alaska. He showed the council and audience a video of the dredge at work, which pumps 35,000 gallons of material through two devices on each side of the boat. “This is the largest pump in all of the American fleet,” he said. “There’s two other pumps just like it, in the Great Lakes, Ellis Island has two, this company bought three. When I say it’s overkill on it, this thing, when we did our tests in 2016 we had a hopper dredge come in that could move 30,000 gallons.”
That project resulted in success to some extent in a span of 57 days. Other equipment is very expensive, up to $90,000 vs. $30,000 a day, about 70% savings.
Referencing the video, Wade said the vessel sucks up water at the “drag heads” that is then pumped out, manned 10-12 crewmembers.
“This is a specially build dredge that is built for one place, the Atchafalaya River,” Wade said. “Can’t go in the Mississippi. Can’t go in the Calcasieu.”
There are three dredges “on the payroll” Wade said that will work the river at various points, with a maximum depth of 27-foot.
“We’re there,” he said. “This dredge is going to do the job…we’ve finally got a solution.”
In other business:
—Anthony Scully Jr. was reappointed to the Recreation Dist. 1 (Amelia) board.
—$1,200 was allocated from the Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10 3/10ths sales tax fund for St. Mary Community Action’s Veterans Day luncheon.
—A resolution of respect was approved in memory of Karen Hayes Ordogne.
—A change order and substantial completion resolution was approved for the concrete apron at the Jesse Fontenot Boat Launch.

A Friend This Holiday...

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 7:26am

Guatemalan exchange student spends two months in Franklin

The smells that fill the Champagne home is usually good enough to draw a few visitors.
But now Chastity Champagne’s crawfish pies and etoufee are getting praise from as far away as Guatemala. That’s because she, her husband Kody and their son Kain have agreed to become a host family in a Foreign Exchange program.
Esteban de la Pena Gonzalez says he has no complaints about Louisiana cooking and the people he’s met so far: “The food is good and the people are nice,” he said.
Esteban is spending two months with the Champagne family in Franklin as he learns English, the area and the culture. Kain, the Champagne’s son, couldn’t be happier. He has a cool new friend to show the ropes at Catholic High.
“I have two annoying sisters so this is like having a brother,” Kain said, laughing.
Showing his friend the ropes has been fun for him. He’s introduced Esteban to the entire football team at Catholic High, as well as warned him not to eat the macaroni at school. “I tried it but I wasn’t sure about the taste,” Esteban said.
“I tried to warn you,” Kain said with a chuckle.
Esteban’s parents and the Champagnes met through a program called “Bonding”, which is made available through Catholic High and an extension of the Catholic Church.
Pablo de la Pena Alarcon, Esteban’s father, said it took them about eight months to prepare for their son to leave home.
“I was happy but I also miss him,” said his mom, Zenaida Gonzalez de de la Pena. “But I know he’s having an awesome experience.”
“They’re so closely matched, they did a good job with that,” Chastity said.
There are some differences in the two teen’s routines. Esteban has a very orderly day. His routine continues at home even after school. “There are tasks for him to complete, while Kain has more freedom in his schedule after school,” Chastity said. “We had to work on him getting to class on time. At the school in Guatemala they stay in the same room all day and they don’t have to transition.
“Where he is from you’re either poor or rich, they have servants. Here if you want something you get up and go get it.”
“Esteban’s humble spirit and willingness to adapt and learn to a new culture makes him a welcomed addition,” mother and son agreed.
“It’s fun. It’s something new. We play basketball, we play PlayStation. We went fishing, it’s great,” Kain said
‘He’ll always have a Louisiana home,” Chastity said. “Parents like the program because it’s a lesson in culture and it prepares them. If one day he decides he wants to go to LSU or any Louisiana college. He’ll have us here to help him.”
Those who may be interested in becoming a host family can start studying the bonding program. There may likely be a need for an audit and you have to have patience to go through the experience.

Council on Aging update to parish council

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 7:24am

St. Mary Council on Aging Executive Director Beverly Domengeaux reported to the St. Mary Parish Council on the status of the agency Wednesday.
In a recent audit, which she presented to the council, she said, “I’m proud to say that in 16 years we’ve never had a finding on our audits, and this one’s clean too,” Domengeaux said.
The organization was chartered 47 years ago, by appointment of the governor, to oversee the activities of seniors for St. Mary Parish. “That’s us, that’s what we are,” she said. “We’re seniors. We’re the foundation but we’re still here. We live here, we shop here, we care.”
For instance, that very day, 258 “well seniors” gathered for lunch at the center. “But we have over 400 that we service, that cannot come to things like that. They can’t come to the monthly luncheons. They don’t leave their homes. Sev-enty-two percent of them live by them-selves.”
Domengeaux gave a presentation of the food items clients get in what the called a “show-and-tell.”
She showed the council and audience that the packages are “things that a senior can open, it’s nourishing for them. They love things like a cup of Ramen noodles, they can just pour a little hot water in and it’s a good meal.
“They like anything that that they can open and they can manage. Some of them have mi-crowaves or toaster ov-ens.”
Domengeaux indicated a plastic storage container. “This box will feed them for three days,” she said of the contents. “It runs about $9 at any dollar store. So as we’re going through this season and we’re hearing about Toys for Tots, Food for Families, just remember: Nine dollars will take care of grandma…they can make a meal on peanut butter crackers. And I’m going to shock you: They love juice, they won’t drink milk. They like water. And the thing is, I know the future’s coming, but the past is part of St. Mary Parish, and we deserve to say thank you to some of these people that can’t come to the luncheons and activi-ties.”
An emotional Domengeaux asked the council, “How would you feel if a 92-year-old lady living in a house that she shouldn’t be living in, but it’s her home? Our pledge is to let them age the way they want to age, where they want to age.”
She said when she de-livered a meal to that 92-year-old, the client said, “Miss Beverly, thank you very much, but the gentleman next door he needs it more than I do. I took him a meal too, and now he’s on too. And they’re the cutest things because now they eat lunch together, and they’re socializing.”
Domengeaux said, “We’re a hand to hold, an ear to listen, and a heart that cares.”
Chairman Gabriel Beadle commended COA’s work, and the fact that she had never had a negative audit finding.
“It’s more important in what you do,” Beadle said. “With 72% of those 400 people are living by themselves and can’t get out. I remember two years ago, you had a massive waiting list…is there any problem with that now?”
Domengeaux said there is no waiting list now. “Thanks to ya’ll for upping my (funding). But unfortunately we’ve lost a lot of clients to either nursing homes or to heaven. We’ve been able to replace them (from the list) and we have family members who are coming forward and helping us take care of their family members. It’s gotten to be a chore to explain to younger people what it is to age. Yeah, we’re cantankerous, we’re stubborn, we have our own minds and we want to do it our way, the way we’ve always done it. So it’s harder to edu-cate.”
She also quoted assis-tance from grants, the H.B. Young Foundation, United Way, and all the municipalities in the parish.
“This is the first year I didn’t have to send out letters and ask for it, the checks came in before I sent them out!” she laughed.
Then she pleaded with the audience members that, if they have an elderly neighbor, to check on them, especially in cold weather.
“Seventeen years ago my husband told me to take this job before he died,” she said. “And sometimes I sit out by pool and I say, ‘Why did you give me this job?’ Then I say, thank God. Because I don’t have a big family, but right now, I’ve got 10,692 kin-folks, and they all know me, and I do appreciate it.”

Foulcard: Water quality issues are under control

Mon, 11/25/2019 - 7:23am

Franklin Mayor Eu-gene Foulcard appealed to Franklin citizens Tuesday not to panic over recent notices sent out concerning elevated bacteria levels in the city’s water supply.
The notices, which were sent from the mayor’s office, reportedly originated from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the United States Environmental Protec-tion Agency.
Regarding the notices’ assertion that Franklin’s water station at Cayce and Main Streets is in violation of safe drinking standards, Foulcard said, “My administration and this council are on top of this. Corrective action has taken place, and continues to take place until this matter is fully resolved.
“Flushing has been minimized at the Cayce and Main Street location and we’ve undertaken monitoring of water samples at the site, and it (the maximum contaminant level for haloacetic acids) has been lower.”
Franklin Water Plant Manager Bernard Dan-iels expanded, in detail, on Foulcard’s allaying address.
Daniels explained that the EDA and LDH tests of the city’s drinking water take place on a quarterly basis, and that while it was true that the city had indeed been in violation of MCL standards in October of 2018, it had been over a year since the city was in violation, it had only been for that one month, and the violation has since been righted.
“The letter is very scary, don’t get me wrong,” Daniels said, “The Department of Health makes the letter very scary, but there are no proven facts concerning how long you have to drink it, (MCL water) at that concentration for it to be a cancer-causing agent.
“We had no input on the wording of the letter. The letter is straight from the Department of Health. Every word that was in there came directly from them. We (the mayor’s office) can’t add or take away anything.”
Foulcard concluded his address by emphasizing, “Our water system is safe.
“If any of the residents have any questions, feel free to contact Mr. Daniels, and we will explain it.”
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, a report was heard from Jeremy Meaux, a certified public accountant with Darnall Sikes & Frederick, the city’s independent auditors.
Meaux provided the mayor and council with copies of the financial report for 2019, and said the auditors awarded a “clean opinion” to Franklin, concerning that fiscal year.
The report showed the city had $20,903,626 in Total Assets, $1,507,017 in Deferred Outflows of Resources, $10,786,185 in Total Liabilities, $499,801 in Deferred Inflows of Resources, and was at a Total Net Position of $11,124,657 for fiscal year 2019, up $643,124 from last year’s net position of $10,481,533.
Meaux reported only one occurrence of non-compliance with the Louisiana Local Government Budget Act, which was occasioned through the condition of revenues of the capital outlay fund having failed to meet the city’s budgeted amount by more than five percent.
Another report deliv-ered to the mayor and council Tuesday came from Director of Finance Ed Hay.
In that report, Hay recommended two ordi-nances be introduced at a future meeting, once drawn up.
Hay said that as part of a condition for a loan the city has with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, certain financial requirements are expected of the city.
“They require,” he said, “that we do a re-view of our rates and establish that we have covered the cost of the operation, and that we’ve provided three times the debt requirement (of the amount of the operating cost).”
Hay said the results of his review brought about two conclusions, that he recommended be introduced as ordinances, to keep the city in compliance with DEQ loan agreement requirements.
The first point to be addressed was the city’s “piggybacking” on the parish’s contract with Pelican Waste, regarding garbage collection.
Hay said the city re-ceives $563,000 annually from fees paid by its citizenry to have their garbage collected and disposed of.
But, Hay added that the cost of the disposal is $630,000, leaving a deficit of $67,000. He proposed a $2 increase in disposal fees, per household, per month.
The second of Hay’s findings to be addressed, was another shortfall.
He said citizens would need to pay $.50 more per month to make up a shortfall in utilities ne-cessities, namely, a street light fee deficit.
These two ordinances, once adopted, Hay said would keep the city in DEQ loan agreement compliance.
In other news, an or-dinance was adopted to grant all establishments selling beverages of low and high alcoholic con-tent at retail and whole-sale, permission to renew their City of Franklin liquor license for the year of 2020.
Among resolutions ap-proved, were: in support of the Office of Cultural Development Local Government Assistance Program grant application, in support of the Community Development’s Community Water en-richment Fund grant application, designating the day and time of regular council meetings for 2020, authorizing the mayor to perform his duties in dealing with the award from the Delta Regional Authority for 2019, and the authorization of a filing for a grant from the Louisiana De-partment of Transporta-tion and Development.
Announcements in-cluded:
—The Christmas Un-der the Lampposts Golf Cart Parade and lighting of Christmas on the Bayou ceremony will take place Dec. 7
—The city’s and Franklin Merchant Association’s Mingle and Jingle celebration will take place on Dec. 12
—A Lessons and Car-ols concert will take place Dec. 15 at Church of the Assumption
—The Teche Theatre of the Performing Arts will hold their Christmas Gala at the theatre on Dec 21.
—Lighthouse Missionary Baptist Church will host Christmas Carols on the Bayou Dec. 24.
—Franklin’s Bicentennial Celebration New Year’s Eve Kick-Off will take place Dec. 31 in courthouse square, downtown.
The meeting was ad-journed at a length of one hour, and all were wished by the mayor and council a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Pharr Chapel United Methodist holds Community Thanksgiving Dinner

Sat, 11/23/2019 - 12:17pm

Some 40 volunteers help serve meals at the Pharr Chapel United Methodist Church’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner Saturday, Nov. 23, at the church hall at 517 Federal Avenue in Morgan City. The free event is expected to serve approximately 450 community members by the end of serve at 1 p.m. Connor Foret, 2, son of Raymond and Kendra Foret of Bayou Vista sits in front of the fun jump for children, bottom photo.

Patterson's Butler earns 1st-team All-District 2-IV honors

Fri, 11/22/2019 - 8:43pm

Patterson High School had one first-team All-District 2-IV volleyball selection this postseason. Senior middle hitter Briyanna Butler made the top squad. The Lumberjills had one second-team selection, senior middle hitter Gabrielle Marcel, and three honorable mention picks, senior Emma Marin, sophomores Alyssa Perkins and Nyla Alexander and junior Brianna Simon. Lafayette Christian Academy and Notre Dame won the individual honors. Lafayette Christian’s Bryan Barrett was named Coach of the Year, and Lafayette Christian senior outside hitter Kierra Washington earned Most Valuable Player honors. Notre Dame junior Morgan Alleman was named outstanding libero. Below is the complete all-district team: Coach of the Year: