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ALLEN RAY SIMMONS

Allen Ray Simmons, 59, a resident of Minneapolis, MN and native of Franklin, La. passed away Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 5:40 pm in Franklin, La.
Visitation will be observed on Saturday, July 13, 2019 at Jones Funeral Home, Inc. 1101 Main Street Franklin, La. from 9 a.m. until funeral services beginning at 11 a.m. Reverend Galloway will officiating and Reverend Ricky Simmons serving as the eulogist. Burial will follow funeral services in the Franklin Cemetery - Main Street in Franklin, La.
Memories of Allen Ray will forever remain in the hearts of his one son, Allen Ray Thomas of Franklin, La.; three daughters, Mrs. Evans (Keisha Thomas) Gibson Sr., Kiara Thomas and Kelanda Thomas all of Franklin, La.; four brothers, Jerry Simmons of Jeanerette, La., Michael Simmons of Patterson, La., Ricky Simmons of Franklin, La. and Anthony Joseph Simmons of Capitol Heights, MD; three sisters, Julia Mae Simmons of Capitol Heights, MD; Violet Simmons Stith of Palmer Park, MD and Mrs. Luby (Gail) Chance of District Heights, MD; five grandchildren, four sisters-in-law and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Allen was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, a sister, and both his paternal and maternal grandparents.
Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

PEGGY H. VICE

New Iberia – Funeral Services will be conducted for Peggy H. Vice, 84, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, 2019, at Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church with Father Eugene Tremie officiating. Burial will follow at Our Lady of the Lake Mausoleum in Delcambre.
Visitation will be on Friday, July 12, 2019, from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. and resume on Saturday, July 13, 2019, at 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. A Rosary will be prayed in the funeral home on Friday at 7 p.m. by the Men’s Rosary Group.
A native of Delcambre, former resident of Franklin, and resided in New Iberia since 1994, she passed away on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, at 3:10 p.m. at the McKendree Village Nursing Home in Hermitage, TN.
She worked for the St. Mary Parish School Board where she taught special needs students for 15 years and was a substitute teacher for 10 years. She was a 1953 Graduate and Valedictorian at Delcambre High School. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America and the Ladies Altar Society.
She is survived by her children, Daniel J. Vice and his wife Peggy of New Iberia, Karl J. Vice and his fiancée Geri Joseph of Fort Myers, FL, Roxanne V. LeMaire and her husband Ron of Hermitage, TN, Scott J. Vice and his wife Nicole of Mussey Township, MI and Ralph J. Vice and his wife LeAnne of Ocean Springs, MS; her sister, Juanita H. Nemnich of Hoschton, GA; her grandchildren, Tyler Vice, Brad Vice, Brandon Vice, Jasper Vice, Douglas Jacob Vice, Jay LeMaire, Ronnie LeMaire, Stephen Vice, Kathryn LeBlanc, Rachel Vice, Julia Vice, Vanessa Vice and her great grandchildren, Douglas Jerome Vice and Maelle Vice.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Douglas James Vice; her parents, Eunice J. Hymel and Anite Lemaire Hymel; her brother, Lloyd A. Hymel and her grandchildren, Amanda Vice and Alison Vice.
Serving as pallbearers will be her grandchildren, Tyler Vice, Brad Vice, Brandon Vice, Jasper Vice, Stephen Vice, Jay LeMaire, Ronnie LeMaire and Douglas Jacob Vice.
You can sign the guest book and - or send condolences at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of New Iberia, 1101 Trotter St. (337) 369-6336n is in charge of arrangements.

Brittany’s Special Friends Camp

Brittany’s Special Friends Camp was held recently in Franklin. There were 24 campers at the event held at the Franklin High School gym, and as many volunteers. Guests included the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Department along with their robot friend and K9 dog. The Franklin Fire Department gave campers rides in the FFD fire truck and spoke on fire safety. Captain P’s Honey Bees spoke on the importance of honey bees and the process of being a beekeeper and extracting honey. Dane Thibodeaux with The Teche Project explained what trash does to the environment, and of course, Mitch the Magician was on hand. The sheriff’s office supplied pizzas on the last day on the Oaklawn property, the site of the project’s activity center. There were also water slides and fun jumps.

Ribbon cutting

Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard performed the ribbon cutting for Birds Nest Vape Shop, Tuesday, at 814 Main Street in Franklin with owners/operators Jason and Nicole Hebert.

Sucrose donation to HMS

Krewe of Sucrose officers and past kings of Mardi Gras made a donation of $2,500 Monday to Hanson Memorial High School. Pictured from left are Keith Landen, past king of Sucrose; Chris Sanders, head football coach at HMS; Ryan Stoute, HMS athletic director; Derrick Faucheux, president of Krewe of Sucrose; and Al Kuhlman, vice president of Krewe of Sucrose. The Sucrose Ball has been held at the Hanson gym for the past 50 years.

Fatherhood initiative makes a difference when men step up

Jeff Beverly, housing director with St. Mary/ Vermilion Community Action Agency, and David Teno, coordinator of the Fatherhood Initiative at CAA, spoke to Franklin Rotarians Tuesday about the program.
“Our job is to encourage fathers and father-figures,” Teno said. “Any clean, decent young man of 16 years of age or older, who has children at heart, we invite these young fathers and father-figures to come out and get involved with our Head Start children.”
Teno went on to say that he had noticed at Head Start program events that the majority of parental attendance comprised of moms, and sometimes, nobody at all.
He said that he has observed that the presence of a male figure makes such a difference in the behavior of a Head Start classroom that the program seeks to affirm that presence at as many functions as possible.
“What we do is design programs, fun programs to get dads involved,” Teno said. “One of our most successful programs is our fatherhood fishing tournament.”
He described how after advising the Head Start community of the event’s male-only status, moms and grandmothers professed such a love for fishing and a need to participate, that they became included as well, not only changing the parameters for attendance, but out-fishing their counterparts, too.
“So, we opened it up. It’s a fishing event for parents, for everybody,” Teno said. “Statistics have proven that when a man is involved with a young boy at an early age, juvenile delinquency will decline. It’s a proven fact that when men are involved with young girls, teenage pregnancy declines. So, we solicit any help, any advice that anyone can give us. Our motto is: To be one, you have to see one.”
Beverly reminded Rotarians that in addition to the Fatherhood Initiative, CAA is also active with its housing programs and will gladly speak with anyone who wishes to find out more.
To get involved with the CAA Fatherhood Initiative: fill out an application at the CAA campus in Franklin or Baldwin.

'Bikers on the Bayou' rescheduled

Due to the threat of inclement weather, Bikers on the Bayou that was set for Saturday in St. Mary Parish has been rescheduled for Aug. 24.
The Franklin cleanup Saturday has also been cancelled.

Coast Guard unit moves to port center

Move was a decade in the making

Tuesday marked an important milestone in the U.S. Coast Guard’s more than half-a-century presence in Morgan City.

Officials with the Port of Morgan City and Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit Morgan City held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the unit as a new tenant of the port’s Government Emergency Operations Center.

The Morgan City Coast Guard unit moved its offices to the port center on La. 182 from its prior location on David Drive. Cmdr. Heather Mattern, commanding officer of MSU Morgan City, thanked everyone involved in the move for their efforts. About 77 personnel work for MSU Morgan City.

“We have overcome 10 years worth of bureaucracy and obstacles,” Rear Adm. Paul Thomas said of Tuesday’s ribbon cutting.

Thomas is commander of the 8th Coast Guard District but will be leaving that post in two weeks to serve at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. The 8th district is headquartered in New Orleans and spans 26 states.

“This is just one more milestone in the long and rich history of the Coast Guard here in Morgan City,” Thomas said. “We are here in Morgan City for important reasons, and we are here to stay.”

MSU Morgan City now has the opportunity to maximize space and use innovative technology in a state-of-the-art facility to work with other agencies to protect the community and nation, Port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said.

The Morgan City area has embraced Coast Guard members, and that by itself is reason enough to keep a presence in the community. The Category 5 hurricane-rated Emergency Operations Center with more than 12,000 square feet is what the Coast Guard personnel deserve, Thomas said.

Coast Guard leaders approached Port of Morgan City officials about a decade ago requesting that the port construct an updated building that could meet the government standards, Wade said.

Port officials were able to secure land on which to build the center from the city and private landowners. The multi-year process leading up to Tuesday’s ribbon cutting was “very tedious,” but the port and Coast Guard never gave up, Wade said.

State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, and Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, played a big role in securing the $9 million in state capital outlay funds to build the center that opened in 2016, Thomas and Wade said. Thomas also expressed appreciation to Wade, who has “more sweat equity” put into the facility than anyone else.

The Vessel Traffic Service is in the process of completing the move to the new facility. For the first time, the Coast Guard will have a home in Morgan City that meets all of the federal standards, Thomas said.

The Coast Guard established its marine inspections detachment in Morgan City in 1968. And the Vessel Traffic Service Berwick Bay was made permanent in 1975. During 1987, the Coast Guard formed the Morgan City marine safety office and captain of the port. In 2017, the Coast Guard moved the captain of the port designation to Houma, though a strong Coast Guard presence remains in Morgan City, Thomas said.

Teen charged with armed robbery

A teen has been charged with armed robbery after he allegedly entered the Bayou Vista Truck Stop, produced a knife and demanded money from the cashier.

A 17-year-old male was arrested at 1:07 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of aggravated armed robbery with a weapon, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith said in a news release.

On Tuesday, detectives with the sheriff’s office were dispatched to the Bayou Vista Truck Stop in reference to a robbery. Through the investigation, detectives learned that the male subject entered the place of business, produced a knife, and demanded money from the cashier, Smith said.

A search warrant was subsequently executed at the male subject’s home, and evidence connecting him to the crime was recovered, the sheriff said. He was booked into jail.

UPDATE: 1 a.m. National Hurricane Center update on tropical system

Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Wed Jul 10 2019

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

1. A broad low pressure area located over the far northeastern Gulf of
Mexico is producing widespread but disorganized showers and
thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are conducive for
development of this system, and a tropical depression is expected to
form late today or Thursday while the low moves slowly westward
across the northern Gulf of Mexico. An Air Force Reserve Unit
reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to investigate the disturbance
this afternoon. This system could produce storm surge and tropical
storm or hurricane force winds across portions of the Louisiana,
Mississippi and Upper Texas coasts, and interests there should
closely monitor its progress. In addition, this disturbance has the
potential to produce very heavy rainfall from the Upper Texas Coast
to the Florida Panhandle. For more information, please see products
issued by your local weather forecast office and the NOAA Weather
Prediction Center.
* Formation chance through 48 hours...high...90 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...high...90 percent.

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ST. MARY NOW

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