The Daily Review/Zachary Fitzgerald
The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting Friday for Tractor Supply Co., 773 U.S. 90 East in Bayou Vista. The store opened March 29.
Brennan Daniels has been promoted to chief financial officer at M C Bank.
He has been affiliated with M C Bank since 2016 and has been serving as vice president.
In November 2017, Daniels earned his Certified Public Accountant designation and served the bank as its compliance officer. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana and has completed studies at the American Bankers Association National Compliance School. Additionally, Daniels has completed the ABA’s Intermediate Compliance School.
Daniels is a member of the ABA CECLnetgroup, the ABA Community Bank Funding and Liquidity Group, the ABA Open Compliance Committee and the LBA’s Compliance Peer Group.
He has served M C Bank as internal review analyst, credit analyst, loan processor, compliance officer and accounting specialist.
Daniels and his wife, the former Ashlie Hussey, have one daughter: Graycelyn Daniels and are members of Crossing Place Church.
No bills or resolutions have been introduced for the regular session to address the issue of another constitutional convention, which had otherwise become a perennial topic at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.
And even if a proposal did surface, passage would still be a long shot.
On the political side, however, the issue is still very much alive. Public advocacy groups and business associations are expected to take up outreach campaigns this summer and a well-funded activist organization intends to make the matter a campaign topic.
The Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority and Associated Builders and Contractors, for example, have asked candidates to discuss the issue in questionnaires.
Constitutional Coalition 2020, founded by businessman Lane Grigsby, has even gained commitments from newly elected Reps. Chris Turner, Ryan Bourriaque and Mike Johnson, who all voiced support for a “People’s Constitutional Convention,” as consultant Kyle Ruckert calls it.
“It’s something that I am definitely interested in looking in to,” Turner said.
Political eyes turn
to decided House race
When a special election on the west side of the Mississippi River, in House District 18, yielded a 25 percent turnout — a nearly-unheard of number in this era of extraordinary legislative races — many politicos were left scratching their heads.
Democrat Jeremy LaCombe carried the district with 69 percent of the vote, crushing challenger Tami Fabre and ending the GOP’s hopes of picking up a district that had been a longtime target.
“We worked our butts off knocking on doors,” Rep. LaCombe said.
Republican consultant Chris Comeaux, who managed Fabre’s campaign, said the election carries big implications for other races that will be waged this fall.
“It is a wake-up call,” Comeaux said. “This is what they are going to do in October.”
Comeaux credited LaCombe’s victory with a huge GOTV effort, which the consultant believes could be deployed by the Democrats statewide in the regularly scheduled races this fall — or at least in cherry-picked legislative districts.
Maybe, he added, it revealed the working strategy of Democrats.
“My hope is that they played that card unnecessarily,” Comeaux said.
Democratic consultant Michael Beychok, who managed independent expenditures related to voter turnout, said that a targeted, professional ground game was key. But he wouldn’t divulge much more.
Those close to the process, though, suggest other high-profile consultants were involved, from New Orleans and Chicago, with one having firm connections to the successful campaigns of former President Barack Obama.
“We know on what doors to knock,” Beychok said. “As contact increases so does voter turnout.”
Political History: An
execution on the first day
In 1988, then-Congressman Buddy Roemer swept into the Governor’s Mansion after scoring a massive upset over Edwin Edwards, defeating the wily Cajun politico in the primary.
Pledging to clan up the Capitol and to “scrub the budget,” the new governor took office amid much fanfare and optimism. Columnists heralded a new day in Baton Rouge and the start of the “Roemer Revolution.”
Just minutes after taking the oath of office on March 14, however, Roemer was confronted with a very real manifestation of the powers of the governorship. In the weeks before he had left office, Edwards had scheduled the execution of convicted murderer Wayne Robert Felde for midnight on Inauguration Day.
That meant that Roemer’s first decision as governor was to determine the fate of Felde.
According to The New York Times, Felde’s lawyers argued to the new chief executive that their client should be granted a brief reprieve because of the transition of power. Corrections officials countered that Felde had confessed to killing a Shreveport police officer, and while claiming insanity, said he was likely to commit another homicide.
As the gala for Roemer got underway at the Governor’s Manson, he was not greeting guests on the veranda, instead holed up in a side room, agonizing over the decision. Lawmakers, who went into session the next day, wandered around the party, looking for the new governor.
“I remember people were on the lawn dancing while I was upstairs with lawyers and family members deciding,” Roemer later told LaPolitics founder John Maginnis, adding, “The life-or-death question — I wasn’t prepared. … It’s something governors and kings are unprepared for. I didn’t want to do that the first night.”
In the end, the new governor decided not to intervene and the execution went forward as scheduled.
They said it
“The economists are performing comedy this morning. Next thing you know the actuaries are going to do standup.” —Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, on the work of the Revenue Estimating Conference, on WVLA-TV
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Alford and Rabalais on Twitter via @LaPoliticsNow.
As the Louisiana Legislature begins a new session, the focus is clearly on like alligators, almond milk, marching bands, the Who Dat Nation, driverless cars, wrestling matches, crab traps, meatless burgers, and changing the name of the state song.
By any objective measure, most of these proposals should go by the wayside and the focus should be on educating our kids, particularly at a very young age.
The governor’s proposed budget includes minor funding on new pro-grams for improving reading skills of pre-kindergarteners. And there seems to be only a lukewarm response from legislative leaders to find additional funds.
To no avail, the state superintendent of education pointed out that Louisiana ranks 50th in the U.S. by the National Assessment of Education Progress, which measures key early learning skills.
A significant number of kids in Louisiana need “catch-up help” from the day they enter kindergarten. Louisiana has the highest percentage of poor families anywhere in the country and there is a great disparity in the ability to read and even to communicate, between children different economic levels.
A few months ago, I had as a guest on my radio show Professor Todd Risley, who published a study entitled “Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children.”
He explained that there is a great difference in both the number of words and the prohibitive or affirmative tone of words heard by young kids, depending and whether their parents are on welfare, in the working class or professionals.
Simply put, Professor Risley determined that a child’s verbal development is not so much about IQ or social economic status. It’s more about how a child is talked to and how positive the tone may be.
This is interesting stuff here. Risley’s study found that by age 3, children of welfare parents heard 10 million words, where those with working-class parents heard 20 million words. If the parent was a professional, the child heard 30 million words. In addition, he found that with children 13-18 months old in welfare families, almost 80% of the feedback to the child was negative.
That’s right, 80 percent.
In working-class families the percentage dropped to 50 percent. And when he studied professional families, more than 80 percent of feedback to the child was affirmative.
Here’s what all this means
In a state that is as poor and under-educated as Louisiana, it’s not just important but imperative that a pre-kindergarten program be mandatory in every single school in the state. Waiting to teach a child to read until the first grade is obviously a big mistake.
Kids who do not learn to read in the early grades almost never recover academically and fall further and further behind with each passing grade.
Teaching the middle school years, they literally cannot read their textbooks and often become academically frustrated and disruptive. Hopelessly be-hind, these kids begin dropping out of school in large numbers by the eighth grade.
There are two messages here.
First, Louisiana parents, grandparents, babysitters, uncles and aunts all need to talk and read to children from birth on, using big words, and giving lots of positive reinforcement. This can be done for free.
The second message is that the legislature needs to put many extraneous matters aside, and make its top priority early learning.
You can talk all you want about economic development but the best economic stimulus package is an early foundation for learning. Gov. Buddy Roe-mer said it well in the campaign of 1987. The oil and gas of Louisiana’s future’s in the minds of our 6-year olds.
There is still time to help close the gap of those less educated at an early age. It’s election year and a short legislative session is at hand. The Louisiana legislature needs to put aside extraneous proposals and deal with the single most important thing that can be done to move Louisiana forward. Fund the educational tools for young minds to get a much earlier start in acquiring basic knowledge. What could be more critical?
“I learnt most not from those who taught me, but from those who talked with me.”
St. Augustine
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all of his columns at www.jimbrownusa.com.
The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.
Tuesday, April 16
6:31 a.m. 1200 block of Railroad Avenue; Medical.
8:25 a.m. La. 182 East; Reckless driver.
8:49 a.m. 2300 block of La. 70; Alarm.
9:21 a.m. 2400 block of Cypress Street; Medical.
9:47 a.m. 1200 block of Clements Street; Assistance.
9:51 a.m. 300 block of Union Street; Complaint.
10:24 a.m. 1100 block of Seventh Street; Medical.
10:37 a.m. 1200 block of Railroad Avenue; Medical.
11:25 a.m. 300 block of Wren Street; Disturbance.
11:52 a.m. 800 block of Brashear Avenue; Complaint.
1:05 p.m. 600 block of Brashear Avenue; Complaint.
1:07 p.m. 600 block of Bowman Street; Complaint.
1:16 p.m. 7400 block of La. 182; Complaint.
1:37 p.m. 1000 block of Shaw Drive; Juvenile problem.
2:33 p.m. 800 block of Marguerite Street; Crash.
2:37 p.m. 2100 block of Cedar Street; Stalled vehicle.
2:48 p.m. 1200 block of Youngs Road; 911 hang up.
2:58 p.m. 1800 block of McDermott Drive; Complaint.
3:43 p.m. 1000 block of Fourth Street; Complaint.
6:47 p.m. Orange and Garber streets; Patrol request.
7:13 p.m. 7300 block of La. 182 East; Complaint.
7:38 p.m. Front Street; Welfare concern.
7:59 p.m. Laurel Street; Traffic incident.
8:21 p.m. 200 block of Everett Street; Medical emergency.
9:16 p.m. U.S. 90 East; Complaint.
Wednesday, April 17
2:45 a.m. 400 block of Kidd Street; Assistance.
5:03 a.m. 7200 block of La. 182 East; Disturbance.
A 31-year-old Bayou Vista man has been charged with sex crimes involving a juvenile, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith said in a news release.
—Roger Barahona, 31, of Clements Lane in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 4:04 p.m. Tuesday on warrants charging him with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Deputies located Barahona in the 1200 block of Clements Lane in Bayou Vista on the warrants. Barahona was jailed with no bail set.
Smith reported that deputies responded to 36 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:
—Kayla Michelle Francise, 21, of Keith Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:10 a.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with failure to appear on charges of disturbing the peace by fighting and possession of marijuana (14 grams or less).
A deputy observed Francise arguing with a man in the parking lot of the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office in Morgan City. A background check on Francise revealed she had the active warrant. She was jailed with bail set at $2,500.
—Homer “Rickey” Romero, 66, of Hunting Road in Ricohoc, was arrested at 2:52 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of disturbing the peace by language.
—Louis Lee Torres, 61, of Hunting Road in Ricohoc, was arrested at 2:52 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of disturbing the peace by language.
A deputy was dispatched to the 300 block of Hunting Road in Ricohoc in reference to a disturbance. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with the complainant. After further investigation, it was learned that Romero and Torres had been in a verbal altercation using vulgar language, the sheriff said. Both were issued a summons to appear in court July 29.
—Joseph Singleton Jr., 19, was arrested at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of possession of marijuana (14 grams or less), possession of drug paraphernalia first offense and improper turn and/or failure to give required signal.
Singleton was located in the 900 block of Jason Street in Patterson on the warrant. He was jailed with bail set at $500.
—Palmer Cox IV, 54, of Oregon Street in Berwick, was arrested at 8:18 p.m. Tuesday on warrants charging him with two counts of failure to appear for drug court status and one count of failure to appear for traffic arraignment.
Cox was located at parish jail on the warrants and booked. Bail was set at $350.
—A female juvenile, 15, was arrested at 9 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of runaway juvenile.
A deputy went to a home for a follow-up investigation in reference to a runaway juvenile. Upon further investigation, the juvenile was located and arrested on the above-mentioned charges. She was released to a guardian pending juvenile court action.
Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported that officers responding to 40 calls in the parish and reported the following arrests:
—Guadalupe Maldonado, 64, of Grove Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:16 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with stop sign violation.
—Tammy Fitch, 58, of Kidd Street in Patterson, was arrested at 7:16 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with failure to appear to pay a probation fee for disturbing the peace.
An officer in the area of 5th Street saw a woman he knew to have warrants through the Morgan City Police Department. The officer verified the warrant and the owner of the vehicle and stopped the vehicle.
The officer identified Fitch and Maldonado as the people in the vehicle. Both had warrants for their arrest and were jailed.
—Walter Banegas-Portillo, 22, of Village Lane in Amelia, was arrested at 7:59 p.m. Tuesday for failure to appear for trial on charges of DWI second offense, possession of open alcohol in a motor vehicle, improper lane use, driving under suspension and failure to pay a fine on charges of DWI, open container, no driver’s license, contempt of court, driving under suspension and no insurance. Portillo was arrested on city court warrants and jailed.
—Slade Landry, 20, of Boo Street in Pierre Part, was arrested at 11:37 p.m. Tuesday on Thibodaux police warrants.
An officer on La. 182 saw a vehicle with no tail lights. Police stopped the vehicle and identified Landry as the driver. Landry had warrants for arrest for the Thibodaux Police Department. Landry was jailed.
Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. reported the following arrest:
—Alec Robinson, 22, of Venus Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 4:08 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging him with criminal mischief. Robinson posted $301 cash bail.
Patterson Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported no arrests.
Franklin’s Ty Coleman won the 2019 District 7-2A triple jump held recently at Catholic High of New Iberia.
Red Belts, Blue Belts and Green Belts promotional exercises were held recently by the LaGrange Karate Club members. They are: Jack Colley, Ajaya Harris, Jessica Capak, Issabella Hebert, Jayvyn Banks and Brynne Colley. The LaGrange Karate Club will host its annual Exhibition on April 23 at 6 p.m. at the LaGrange Elementary School Gym.
JEANERETTE _ Jardyn McCoy tossed a one-hit shutout victory, leading the Franklin Hornets to a 10-0 District 7-2A victory over the Jeanerette Tigers here Tuesday at the JHS Field.
Franklin (11-12, 4-6) will travel to play Catholic High of New Iberia today in a double-header beginning at 4 p.m.
McCoy went the distance, yielding no runs on one hit with 14 strikeouts and three walks.
Noah Collins was the losing pitcher for Jeanerette after working six complete frames, surrendering five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Zack Poole worked one inning in relief, allowing five runs on two hits with one walk.
Top hitters for Franklin included: Cameron Bertrand, 3-4, 2 runs, walk, 3 stolen bases; A.J. Miller, 3-4, 2 runs, walk, 3 stolen bases; Cade Cowart, 2-4, 3 runs, stolen base; A’Shylon Miller, 1-4, run; and Barkim Thomas, RBI, run, sacrifice.
NEW IBERIA _ Franklin’s Malik King posted first place finishes in both the 100 and 200 meters while Braydon Ward won the high jump and the 200 meters in the District 7-2A Track and Field Meet held Monday at Catholic High School.
King won both the 100 and 200 meters while Kentrell Louis was second in the 200 meters and fourth in the 100 meters.
Stanley Butler crossed the finish line with a personal record in the 800 meter in the time of 2:13.77.
Braydon Ward soared to a personal record of 6-04 to land in first place in the high jump while also running a leg on Franklin’s winning 4x200-meter relay unit. Franklin’s 4x100 meter relay team also placed second in their event.
In the girls meet, Franklin’s Lady Hornets Ty Coleman won the triple jump with a personal record of 31-06.
Other top finishers for the Lady Hornets were: Makhia Fernandez, second, 200 meters; fourth, 100 meters; 4x100 meter relay unit, second and 4x200 meter relay team, third.
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