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JOSEPH LEE MARTINEZ SR.

Joseph Lee Martinez Sr. 46, a resident and native of Morgan City, La., passed away on Saturday September 28, 2019 at 5:58 a.m. in Morgan City.
Visitation will be observed on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at the Jones Funeral Home, 715 Sixth Street, Morgan City, La., from 2 p.m. until funeral services at 3 p.m.
Memories of Joseph will forever remain in the hearts of his five children, Joseph Lee Martinez, Jr., Briana Marie Delafunte, Alexis Kay Martinez,, Joseph Lee Martinez, III, and Cruz Allen Martinez; his siblings, Sandra Harris of Port Arthur, TX, Renia Martinez, David Martinez, Ricardo Martinez, Elvira Faye Span all of Morgan City, La. and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Joseph Sr. was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, and his maternal and paternal grandparents.
Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

GEORGIA MAE PRATT

Georgia Mae Pratt, 65, a resident of Lawrenceville, GA and native of Morgan City, La., passed away on Tuesday October 22, 2019 at Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, GA.
Visitation will be observed on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at the Jones Funeral Home, 715 Sixth Street, Morgan City, La., from 9 a.m. until funeral services at 11 a.m. Burial will follow funeral services in the Morgan City Cemetery.
Memories of Georgia will forever remain in the hearts of her brother, Willis Joseph Pratt. Sr. of Lawrenceville, GA and a host of other relatives and friends.
Georgia was preceded death by her parents; a brother, and a sister.
Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

'Boo on the Bayou' held in Franklin

“Boo on the Bayou” drew over 1,000 locals to Parc sur la Teche Halloween Night.
Vehicles were parked from Iberia Street to past the St. Mary Parish Courthouse square as trick-or-treaters swarmed to the bayouside for the City of Franklin’s Halloween extravaganza.
All manner of organizations were there, including but not limited to the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, Council on Aging, Franklin Fire and Police Departments, Brittany’s Project, and many, many more from Willow Street to the far end of Teche Drive.
Attendees entered from Willow Street, formed a line along the right side of Teche Drive and were rewarded with tons of traditional and non-traditional tricks and treats.
Scary masks and cartoon characters posed for photos with tikes while parents captured the moment with cellphones.
A huge visual display beneath the pavilion played music with electronic faces lip-syncing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and more.

Life Chain held in Patterson

Seventy-five pro-life advocates conducted Patterson’s seventh annual Life Chain on Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 6. The chain was held along U.S. 90 at Wise Street. Members of various local churches took part in the event in support of pro-life issues including an end to legalized abortion, euthanasia and more. Diocese of Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel gave the invocation and the Rev. Marty Harden of Bethel Pentecostal Fellowship in Patterson provided the closing prayer. The local Life Chain was one of many conducted throughout the United States.

Don’t let try-before-you-buy shopping bust your budget

Services such as Stitch Fix and Amazon’s Prime Wardrobe have put try-before-you-buy shopping on the map. The concept is simple: Shoppers get apparel, accessories or other goods delivered to try, which they can either send back or purchase.
“For many customers who do not enjoy the hustle and bustle of driving to the mall, parking, going through shelves, picking out items and hitting a dressing room, perusing from the comfort of the couch and selecting items to be delivered to the door to try on can be very convenient,” said Casey Taylor, a partner in the retail practice of Bain and Company, a global management consultancy.
But sneaky fees and easy-to-miss return windows can lead shoppers to spend more than they bargained for. Here’s how to take advantage of try-before-you-buy shopping while leaving your budget unscathed.
WATCH OUT FOR NONREFUNDABLE FEES
“Try before you buy” isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds. In some cases, just because you choose to try an item rather than purchase it upfront doesn’t mean it won’t cost anything — even if you send it back.
The personalized styling service Stitch Fix charges a $20 styling fee for each shipment. That fee gets credited toward any item you keep from the box, but will not be refunded if you return everything. Nordstrom’s Trunk Club has a $25 styling fee that works the same way. These fees can be dangerous because they incentivize shoppers to keep products they might not actually want or need.
“We hate to feel like we’re losing something. If we feel like we’ve already spent money to get a service and we can get that money back with a purchase, we’re going to be kind of mentally calculating a price reduction in that item we’re considering,” said Kit Yarrow, consumer psychologist and author of “Decoding the New Consumer Mind: How and Why We Shop and Buy.”
Check retailer policies and FAQs for styling fees, shipping charges or other nonrefundable costs before you commit to a service. Yarrow recommends considering alternatives, such as making a regular online purchase with a retailer that offers free returns or limiting try-before-you-buy orders to once a season or less. That way, you’re more likely to find something you need and less likely to throw money down the drain.
MARK RETURN DEADLINES
Missing the return window can leave you stuck with unwanted items and the bill to match. Take online glasses retailer Warby Parker, for example. Its free home try-on service allows shoppers to get up to five frames delivered. If a customer fails to ship the box back by the end of the trial period, five days after delivery, they’re on the hook for the full price of each frame.
This system can spell trouble for indecisive or forgetful folks.
“Maybe you think about it and you think a little too long and you end up keeping them rather than sending them back in time and so you’ve now purchased them through inertia rather than through desire,” Yarrow said.
OPT OUT OF AUTOMATIC DELIVERIES
Amazon’s Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe and many other try-before-you-buy programs give consumers the option to schedule repeat deliveries. While getting a treat on a regular basis is enticing, subscriptions often have a way of spiraling out of control. Spacing out these orders can spare your budget.
“After your fifth or sixth or seventh box, you might have all the clothes you need for a little while,” Taylor said. “Do you really need a box this month or might you do every other month or one a season?”
All this isn’t to say you should avoid try-before-you-buy shopping entirely. As with all expenses, you can approach it thoughtfully and set limits that you’re comfortable with.
“It can work if you do it the right way, which is to not overdo it, to be really specific about your objective and to not go too far down the lane of obligation,” Yarrow said.
—This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet.

Online word game scam warning issued

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald is telling residents to be aware of scammers targeting personal information through the use of popular phone-based word games, such as Words with Friends.
The game’s app is downloaded for players to take turns building words in a crossword-style fashion, similar to Scrabble.
Authorities say scammers use the app’s communication function to ask users questions to gain personal information that’s used to exploit the individual. They say scammers also try to seek a personal or romantic connection and urge the user to send gift cards, money, and valuable property.
Scammers also will send harmful links and ask users to switch to other platforms that make it easier for the scammer to access the user’s personal information.
Authorities say players should only communicate with people known to them.

Concern for grandma’s health keeps grandson from visiting

DEAR ABBY: I work and have a family and live five hours from where I grew up. My mom isn’t in the best health and neither is her husband. While I try to visit as often as I can, she always wants me to visit more often, which I understand. The problem is, she keeps asking us to leave our 5-year-old son with her for long weekends or to spend a week with her and her husband. They are good people, but both have physical limitations. Would I let my son stay with them if one of them was still in ...

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Berwick inducts Stackhouse, Johnson into athletic hall of fame

Berwick High School inducted two African American basketball players into its athletic hall of fame earlier this month that, according to their plaques were “the first accomplished black athletes to attend Berwick High School after integration.”
Ernest Stackhouse and Kenneth Johnson, who are cousins, were inducted into the hall of fame Oct. 4 at the school’s homecoming football contest against Cohen College Prep.
Stackhouse and Johnson both began their high school careers at Sumpter Williams, but when integration of schools began , Stackhouse went to Berwick High School, while Johnson attended Morgan City High School for his sophomore year. Johnson moved to Berwick High for his last two years of high school.
Both said it was special to be inducted with each other.
“We grew up basically like brothers next door to each other,” Johnson said. “You didn’t see one without seeing the other, and going to Berwick and being teammates and playing basketball together and going through that, that was really fantastic. It was a good experience.”
Both also said they didn’t have problems attending Berwick High following integration. Stackhouse noted the transition for the duo was a smooth one with the help of others.
“Me and Kenny both had a very good upbringing and a good experience at Berwick High,” Stackhouse said. “All in all, it was a good run. I had lots of college opportunities.”
Johnson said: “We didn’t have any problems at Berwick at all. We were just treated like everyone else.”
At Berwick, Stackhouse and Johnson helped lead Berwick to consecutive Top 20 state tournament appearances in the 1969-1970 season and the 1970-71 seasons.
Stackhouse, a forward, earned District 5-AA Most Valuable Player honors as well as all-state recognition in the 1970-71 season. He was named Berwick High School’s Best Defensive Player in 1971.
Johnson, a center, earned all-district honors during the 1969-1970 season, while he was the team’s Most Valuable Player, its best rebounder and had the team’s best free-throw percentage during the 1970-71 season.
Both graduated from Berwick High School in 1971.
After high school, Johnson attended Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Oklahoma, on a full basketball scholarship There, he earned first-team all-conference honors both years, and he had per-game averages of 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Following his time at Seminole Junior College, Johnson attended East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, on a full scholarship where he also received first-team all-conference honors for two years. He had per-game averages of 18.2 points and 13.5 rebounds.
Stackhouse attended Trinidad State College in Trinidad, Colorado, after high school where he earned all-conference honors before moving on to then-LSUNO (now the University of New Orleans) from 1973-1975. At LSUNO, Stackhouse and his teammates advanced to the Division II Final Four where they placed third. He was named to the all-tournament team at the event.
Stackhouse and Johnson now are retired after careers in the oil and gas industry.
Stackhouse lives in Patterson with his wife Glenda, while Johnson and his wife Faye live in New Iberia.

CCHS and Patterson win district volleyball games Monday

Central Catholic rolled past Centerville 3-0 (25-0, 25-1, 25-11) in District 2-V play Monday at Central Catholic to finish league play undefeated. Katie Hoffpauir and Yani Johnson led Central Catholic. Hoffpauir had 13 assists and 17 aces, while Yani Johnson had 14 kills and one block. Other top Central Catholic contributors were Lexi Landry, two kills, nine aces and three digs and Lucy Hamer, nine aces. The Lady Eagles (27-10 overall, 5-0 in district) will return to action Tuesday when they travel to face Ascension Episcopal. Patterson sweeps West St. Mary The Patterson Lumberjills swept West St. Mary 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-15) in ...

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Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
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Morgan City Review
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