RSS Feed

Entrepreneur, devoted wife, and loving mother Joyce Gaudet Bella passed away peacefully in the afternoon of August 9, 2019, surrounded by her loved ones.
Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Leon Gaudet and Anne Simoneaux Gaudet of New Orleans, Louisiana, her brother, Leonce Gaudet of Metairie, Louisiana, and sister, Audrey Gaudet Hart of Metairie, Louisiana, along with her beloved husband, Ciro Paul Bella of Berwick, Louisiana.
Joyce graduated from the Academy of the Holy Angels and Moler Beauty College in New Orleans, Louisiana. She owned Ciro’s Hairstyling Salon and the Kit-N-Kaboodle Boutique in Morgan City, Louisiana.
Joyce is survived by her two children, Kevin L. Bella of Houma, Louisiana and Lauren Bella Moore (Gary) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; three grandchildren, Jacob P. Bella, Carolanne Bella Moore, and Garrett D. Moore; great-grandson, Jackson Bella. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Grace Gaudet of Metairie, Louisiana,brother-in-law, Vincent “V.J.” Bella of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Joyce’s outgoing personality and friendly nature complimented her natural beauty and made her a very special person to everyone who knew her throughout her lifetime.
Relatives and friends are invited to the Memorial Service at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 W. 21st Avenue, Covington LA 70433 on Saturday, August 17, 2019, at 4 p.m. with visitation from 2 p.m. until service time. Please Share a Memory on the Tribute Wall at www.ejfieldingfh.com.

Staff Report
A Morgan City man arrested by narcotics detectives on a methamphetamine charge at a local motel that is within a posted drug-free zone, Police Chief James F. Blair said in a news release.
—Dakota Aubrey Daigle, 26, of Second Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:52 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance laws (drug free zone).
Detectives with the Morgan City Narcotics Division investigating illegal narcotic activity at a local motel came into contact with Daigle.
During the investigation, Daigle was found to be in possession of suspected methamphetamine that was destined for sales in the Morgan City area, Blair said. Daigle was within a posted drug-free zone. He was jailed.
Blair also reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 42 calls of service and the following arrests were made:
—Louis Joseph Dumesnil Jr., 51, of Oakwood Drive in Franklin, was arrested at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday on warrants for charges of six counts failure to appear and fugitive.
Dumesnil was turned over to the Morgan City Police Department by a fugitive bonding recovery agency on active warrants held by City Court of Morgan City and 16th District Court. He was jailed.
—Derick Domingue, 32, of Shell Beach Road in Pierre Part, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant for a charge of failure to appear. Domingue was located by Assumption Sheriff’s Office.
Domingue was transported to the Morgan City Police Department. He was booked and incarcerated at the Morgan City Police Department.
Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon reported the following arrest:
—Patricia Lynn Savoie, 48, of Fourth Street in Morgan City, was arrested Monday on warrants for charges of 13 counts of contempt of court and three counts of failure to appear.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputies were patrolling the Bayou L’Ourse area near Aristle Road and observed a truck commit a traffic violation. Deputies executed a stop of the vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Savoie, Smith said.
A criminal warrants check revealed an active warrant. She was jailed in the Assumption Parish Detention Center then transferred to the Morgan City Police Department where she was arrested at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. She was jailed.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that the Sheriff’s Office responded to 29 complaints and the following arrests were made:
—Jody Ray Cubbedge, Sr., 61, of Second Street in Berwick, was arrested at 11:18 a.m. Tuesday on charges of failure to signal turn, no insurance, driving under suspension, possession of Schedule II drugs, possession of Schedule IV drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A deputy was patrolling the area of Middle Road in Bayou Vista when he observed a vehicle making a turn without using a turn signal.
The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, identified as Cubbedge.
The deputy learned that Cubbedge was driving under suspension and had no insurance on the vehicle. During the investigation, drugs were located inside the vehicle, Smith said. Cubbedge was jailed with no bail set.
—April Lynn Aucoin, 39, of Cremo Lane in Patterson, was arrested at 8:14 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of resisting arrest or officer and a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of possession of clonazepam.
A deputy responded to a business on Marguerite Street in Morgan City in reference to Aucoin, who held an active warrant for her arrest. The deputy made contact with Aucoin and while being arrested, she resisted, Smith said. She was jailed with no bail set.
—Ella Douglas Kliebert, 42, of Rue De Cypress Street in Thibodaux, was arrested at 12:53 a.m. Wednesday on charges of first offense driving while intoxicated, open container, reckless operation (no accident), and possession of a legend drug without a prescription. A deputy assisting another deputy with a traffic stop on U.S. 90 in Morgan City made contact with Kliebert.
While the deputy was speaking with Kliebert, he could smell a strong odor of alcohol emitting from her person, Smith said.
Kliebert was transported to the Morgan City Police Department for chemical testing on the Intoxilyzer 9000. Kliebert’s blood alcohol content tested at 0.180g%.
While she was being arrested, drugs were located on her person, Smith said. She was jailed and released on her own recognizance.
Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. reported the following arrests:
—A male juvenile, 11, of Berwick, was arrested at 7 p.m. Tuesday on charges of disturbing the peace by fighting.
—A male juvenile, 10, of Berwick, was arrested at 7 p.m. Tuesday on charges of disturbing the peace by fighting.
The Berwick Police Department responded to a complaint of several juveniles fighting. Officers learned that two juveniles were involved in a physical altercation.
Both juveniles were placed under arrest and transported to the Berwick Police Department where they were booked on the charge of disturbing the peace by fighting.
Both juveniles were released to a parent.
Patterson Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported there were no arrests.

John Schroder, Louisiana state treasurer, visited Morgan City on Wednesday to attend a St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce luncheon and campaigned on a pledge to “bring some common sense” to Louisiana government spending.
Schroder, a Republican from Baton Rouge, is on the Oct. 12 Louisiana primary ballot. He is being challenged by Democrat Derrick Edwards of Harvey and Teresa Kenney of New Orleans, who qualified with no party preference.
Schroder told those in attendance Wednesday that it is “unbelievable to me how much common sense we don’t use” and how the “biggest problem is that government money is spent like government money, and not yours."
“The state is poor, if you haven’t checked,” Schroder said, and “government’s problem is we spend everything we have. We don’t plan for tomorrow. We don’t plan for the future.”
This problem with funding flows into the state’s recent cyber security threat.
State Sen. Brett Allain, R-Franklin, was in attendance at the luncheon and asked Schroder to discuss the governor’s declaration of a state of emergency due to the recent cyber-attacks.
Schroder said it is a “real, real threat.” He was most bothered by the “lack of communication between the executive branch and the treasurer.” Schroder said he found out about the declaration on the radio.
“The bad guys are out there,” Schroder continued, “but it takes money to upgrade systems to be more secure.”
Schroder said the treasury has been working with J.P. Morgan Chase, the main banker for the state, as well as talking to national security officials in D.C., but he said they are still trying to negotiate prices with companies that up security.
Schroder said this is a real threat that needs to be addressed and quickly.
“No one wants to wake up one day and find out [the attackers] stole $200 million out the Department of Treasury. The people of Louisiana won’t like that too much.”
Schroder is an Army veteran and a former narcotics agent, and has been in business since he was 29. He has been the Louisiana state treasurer since elected in November of 2017. One of his main focuses since he took office was to return the taxpayer’s money through the Unclaimed Property Program.
Every year, millions of dollars are turned over to the State Treasurer’s Office by businesses that are unable to contact property owners. These funds may be in the form of cash, stocks, bonds, securities, insurance benefits, etc.
According to Schroder, the state has around $900 million in unclaimed property.
“Unclaimed property belongs to the individual,” Schroder said.
Schroder and his team worked on new ways to get this unclaimed property back to its rightful owners. One of the main ways was utilizing a website, www.latreasury.com. Individuals are encouraged to go to the sight and search for unclaimed property that may belong to them. Schroder said his new program “returned $52 million, up from $25 million-$26 million from before.”