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A 35-year-old Morgan City man was sentenced Friday to 50 months in prison and two years of supervised released for possessing a semi-automatic rifle after being convicted of a felony, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph said in a news release.

Travis Trumaine Singleton was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays. Singleton previously pleaded guilty to the federal charge April 16.

Morgan City police executed a search warrant Jan. 19 at his mother’s home and found an Eagle Arms, Model Eagle 15, multi-caliber, semi-automatic rifle and 29 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, Joseph said. He later admitted that he was in possession of the rifle, and that he also took a photo of the firearm Jan. 17, which further documented his possession of the weapon, the release stated.

Singleton is a felon with a previous drug felony in state court. Under federal law, convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

The ATF, Chitimacha Tribal Police and Morgan City Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers P. Namie prosecuted the case.

Project Safe Neighborhoods the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through the program, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, the program focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime, the release said.

Barry was a strange little storm. I’ve never seen anything like it in the 50 years I’ve been watching and reporting on hurricanes.
Over those years I have always been fascinated by their power and often by their whimsy. They go where they want to go and do what they want to do, no what the experts and their computers say.
I’ve seen them loop around in circles, bounce inland and offshore and back again, suddenly get stronger, suddenly get weaker, do all sorts of unexpected things.
But I’ve never seen one like Barry. He got everything backwards.
To begin with, hurricanes are supposed to begin in a swirl of wind sweeping off the coast of Africa, or in a hot pocket in the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico. They are supposed to move from south to north.
But Barry’s beginnings weren’t in the western Sahara, or off the Yucatan Peninsula. Barry first got on the weather map as a cluster of thunderstorms in Kansas City, for gosh sakes. Hurricanes aren’t supposed to start there.
That’s why the guys who watch the tropics were looking the other way while the stormy little system moved east to St. Louis over the Fourth of July weekend, and didn’t pay that much attention when it began to curve toward the south.
The storm that would become Barry was near Nashville on July 6 when some of the computer models began to come up with the crazy suggestion that it might turn tropical. The idea began to look not so crazy as the thunderstorms held together and curved south toward Atlanta. By then those screwball computers were tracing a curved path through the South toward Tallahassee, and then into the Gulf Mexico.
That was unprecedented in modern hurricane history, and was scary. The Gulf of Mexico was as hot as it’s ever been, filled with abundant heat energy to feed even a halfway organized storm from the North.
But even if the storm watchers had become believers, but they still weren’t sure what to believe in. They began to predict a hurricane in the Gulf, and even formed a pretty good idea of where it was likely to go. But they were still guessing about how well organized the storm would become and what kind of weather it would bring.
There were dire predictions that levees in New Orleans would not be able to stand the combination of an already-high Mississippi River and a hurricane surge from the Gulf. Those became shriller when the computer models began to send Barry to the river’s mouth and then almost due north.
Then came predictions that Baton Rouge would linger in the wet east side of a slow-moving storm and see flooding worse than 2016.
But Barry had some problems. It seems that a storm from Kansas City has to grow up quickly or not at all. Barry didn’t pass over a long stretch of Atlantic, picking up strength and getting itself organized. It punched its way overland, and was neither strong nor well organized by the time it reached the Gulf.
It did meander slowly toward the west when it finally hit hot water, giving itself time to build into a Tropical Storm, but then it ran into a wedge of dry air that tempered it some. That wedge also kept it from coming ashore just where it was supposed to. Barry passed the river’s mouth; there was no surge in New Orleans. It continued west; the rain and river levels were far below predictions in Baton Rouge.
Barry finally grew just enough to be called a hurricane for all of three hours, just as it came ashore at Intracoastal City, well to the west of where it was supposed to go. But it quickly lost its windy punch. Rain was the issue as it moved through southwest Louisiana and began to head back to the north. Once it moved inland it dissipated pretty quickly into a disorganized cluster of thunderstorms reminiscent of its beginnings.
But there was still enough of it to track over the next several days. And where was it heading?
Kansas City.
Barry was trying to make even more history by making a full circle and going home again. It didn’t get there, but surely did try.
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, “Cajuns and Other Characters,” is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

Submitted Photo
Morgan City Rotary Club members heard recently from Patrice Williams with the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce and Bikers on the Bayou at a recent luncheon. From left are Jakob Dworaczyk, Morgan City Rotary Club president, Williams and Rotarian Carrie Stansbury.

The luxury vehicle of your dreams might now be something you can afford, thanks to a record high number of lease returns hitting the used-car market. This trend has widened the price difference between a new vehicle and a 3-year-old used one, according to Edmunds transaction data.
Consider this scenario: You’re prepared to spend $30,000 on your next car. You’ve been looking into a 2019 Honda CR-V, which is an Edmunds top-ranked small SUV. For that price you can get the EX-L version that comes loaded with such options as leather, navigation, automatic climate control, and a rearview camera.
But if you looked to the used market, you could potentially get a 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC, an Edmunds top-ranked luxury SUV. We found a midsize certified pre-owned GLC with just over 15,000 miles for about the same price as the new CR-V. It, too, had plenty of features including a panoramic sunroof, blind-spot assist and heated seats.
Mercedes luxury at a Honda price point — it’s a tempting proposition. But is it the smarter choice? Edmunds looks at the pros and cons of buying a new non-luxury car versus a used luxury vehicle.
PROS: NEW NON-LUXURY VEHICLE
Perfect condition: Since you are its first owner, the new vehicle will only have a few miles on it.
Longer warranty: New vehicles come with at least a three-year limited warranty and at least a five-year warranty for the powertrain.
Better selection: You can go to any franchise dealership and find the new vehicle you want. Used vehicles are sold everywhere, but they will have a greater degree of variation because of their mileage, options and condition level.
Better incentives: The new vehicle may have incentives that can drop the price or offer a lower interest rate.
Less maintenance: A new car should only need oil changes and tire rotations for a few years. If something breaks down, it will be covered under the new-car warranty.
CONS: NEW NON-LUXURY VEHICLE
Steeper depreciation: A new car will see its highest depreciation in its first few years. The first year alone brings a drop of about 30% on average among all brands, according to Edmunds data.
Not as flashy: The new car will get you where you need to go, but it won’t be a luxury vehicle. This low-key presence is only an issue if one of the things you want in a car is the ability to wow your friends and family.
PROS: USED LUXURY VEHICLE
A more premium experience: The interior is often fitted with premium materials, such as walnut wood trim, soft-touch plastics and aluminum inserts. Just about everything will make it seem like you paid more than you really did. Also — while this is subjective — a luxury vehicle’s overall design and style are usually more expressive.
Superior performance: In general, a late-model used luxury vehicle will accelerate, steer and brake better than a new vehicle at the same price point. These qualities can enhance your overall enjoyment of driving.
More stable depreciation: The first owner of the car has already taken the big depreciation hit. The depreciation curve should have leveled off by this point, so the value of the vehicle won’t continue to plummet.
Loaner access: Assu-ming you are going to have your car serviced at one of the luxury brand’s dealerships, you may have access to a free loaner car.
CONS: USED LUXURY VEHICLE
Shorter warranty: If you bought a 3-year-old luxury vehicle, you would only have about a year left on the new-car warranty. The certified warranty on a certified pre-owned vehicle typically adds another year to the original warranty. An extended warranty can give you more coverage but at an added cost.
More expensive maintenance and repairs: Since the used luxury vehicle has more miles and often more complexity, it will usually need more maintenance items addressed than the new car. Additionally, parts and labor rates are more expensive for luxury vehicles.
Less efficient: Since luxury vehicles tend to come with larger or more powerful engines, they are often less fuel-efficient than non-luxury vehicles. Furthermore, many luxury-car engines require premium fuel, which also adds to the cost of ownership. In our particular example, you’d spend about $700 more a year on fuel for the Mercedes than the Honda, according to Fueleconomy.gov.
EDMUNDS SAYS: While you can buy a used luxury vehicle for the same price as, or less than, a new car, there are a number of other ownership costs to consider. But cars are also emotional purchases, so for some a decision like this won’t always be based on dollars and cents. With your eyes wide open, buy the car that makes you the happiest even if it wouldn’t be the right choice for someone else.