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Baldwin police chief airs grievances

Sun, 04/14/2019 - 6:00am

Five reserve officers were approved by the Baldwin Board of Aldermen Thursday to begin relief duty with the Baldwin Police Department.
Following the approval of the reserve officers, Baldwin Police Chief Harry Smith addressed the mayor and board, imploring their help with department budget and staffing woes.
“All I can do is the best I can do,” Smith said. “When you don’t have funds to run a police department, it is hard; and it has taken its toll on me.”
According to Smith, the police department’s current operating budget, $250,000 per year, is already stretched too thin to hire another full-time officer. Even though that is what he says he needs to do.
Baldwin Mayor Abel “Phil” Prejean expressed that the city was not in a position to amend the budget at Thursday night’s meeting, but offered to work with Smith in upcoming days and weeks to figure out how to cover for the department’s two senior officers who will be out on medical leave.
It was further resolved by the board to look into options at the town’s upcoming budget workshop, for possibly expanding the police department’s budget.

Opening pitch

Sun, 04/14/2019 - 6:00am

Larmen Jenkins, a 40-year umpire of the Franklin Baseball Youth Organization, tosses out the ceremonial first pitch to mark the Opening Day of the 2019 season. Franklin Dixie Youth Baseball later unveiled the sign which stated: Welcome to Larmen Jenkins Field” Franklin held its Opening Day ceremonies Thursday at Caffery Park after heavy rains forced the postponement from Saturday.

Lady Bulldogs roll past Haynesville in playoffs

Sun, 04/14/2019 - 6:00am

CENTERVILLE _ The No. 15 seeded Centerville Lady Bulldogs rolled past the No. 18 seeded Haynesville Lady Tors in the 2019 LHSAA Class 1-A Bi-district playoff contest 21-3 in three innings Thursday at the CHS Softball Complex.
Centerville Head Coach Nick Trosclair was pleased with discipline his young team showed in the state class 1-A opening win.
“I thought we were disciplined at the plate as we took advantaged of walks along with timely hitting,” stated Trosclair, who guided the Lady Bulldogs to the State Tournament in Sulphur last year. “My sophomore pitcher Chelsi Hebert pitched a great game and now we can go on to the second round. of the state playoffs.
Hebert was the winning pitcher after working three complete innings, surrendering three runs (one earned) on two hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.
Leading hitters for the Centerville Lady Bulldogs were: Dymond Darden, 2 runs, walk; Chelsi Hebert, 2-3, 4 runs, 2 RBI, walk; Islee Finley, 2 runs, walk; Avery Brasseaux, 3 runs, RBI, 3 walks; Nina Darden, 2 runs, RBI, 2 walks; Makema McDaniel, 2 runs, RBI, walk; Kaeleh Frederick, 2 runs, RBI, 2 walks and Alexis Estay, 2 RBI;
Centerville erupted for 11 runs in the bottom half of the first inning before adding 10 more in the second frame on the way to the 21-3 State Class 1-A playoff opening victory.
No. 15 Centerville will trave1 to face No. 2 Oak Grove on Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the regional round of the 2019 LHSAA Class 1-A Softball Playoffs.

Highland wins over CHS

Sun, 04/14/2019 - 6:00am

NEW IBERIA _ Highland Baptist earned an 11-1 win over the Centerville Bulldogs in District 7-A Thursday at the HBCS Baseball Field.
Nathan Mount took the mound loss for the Bulldogs after pitching four innings, allowing seven runs (3 earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
Dravyn Guilbeau (1-3, RBI) and Andrew Couvillier (1-2) were the leading hitters for Centerville.
Centerville (7-6, 1-5) will play host to ESA next Tuesday at noon.

Body of man recovered after alleged drowning in Belle River

Sat, 04/13/2019 - 8:18pm

The body of a 43-year-old Napoleonville man was recovered Saturday afternoon after St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of a drowning in Belle River, a sheriff's office news release said.

At about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, deputies with the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a drowning off of Levee Road in Belle River.

Upon arrival, deputies learned that a male subject, who was identified as Darrow James Leonard, 43, of Napoleonville, was attempting to pull his boat out of Belle River when the boat drifted back out into the waterway. He attempted to retrieve the boat. However, for unknown reasons, he went underwater and did not resurface, the release said.

At 4:15 p.m. Saturday, deputies with the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol, and Belle River Fire and Rescue, recovered his body, the release said. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also assisted in response to the incident.

Peter Boudreaux named assistant superintendent

Sat, 04/13/2019 - 1:12pm

Peter Boudreaux is the new St. Mary Parish assistant superintendent.

Boudreaux, currently the School Board’s human resources director, succeeds Teresa Bagwell, who became superintendent April 1.

Boudreaux also served as supervisor of secondary education and principal of Maitland Elementary School and Morgan City High School.

“Mr. Boudreaux’s vast experiences as a social studies and special education teacher, in addition to his leadership at the school and district level, will be valuable in fulfilling the many duties of assistant superintendent,” the school system said in a press release. “He is a highly knowledgeable and dedicated educational leader who will be an asset in the continuation of progress for St. Mary Schools. …

“The caliber and breadth of experiences represented among the candidates made the decision difficult as each has dutifully served St. Mary Parish Schools.”

4 former St. Mary priests on Lafayette Diocese list of abuse allegations

Fri, 04/12/2019 - 5:10pm
Download the complete list here

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Catholic diocese where the first widely reported case of clergy sex abuse became public in the 1980s is releasing a list of clergy who face credible accusations of sexual abuse.

Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette released the list Friday. The names of 33 priests and four deacons are on the list.

The priests who served at churches in St. Mary Parish are on the list. They are:

-- Herbert deLaunay, who served at St. Bernadette in Bayou Vista as well as at churches in Kaplan, Ville Platte, Church Point, Lyons Point, Mamou, Plaisance, Carencro and New Iberia and at American Legion Hospital in Crowley.

DeLaunay, born in 1948, was ordained in 1975 and removed from the priesthood in 1999.

--Ronald Lane Fontenot, who served at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Baldwin and at churches in Gueydan, New Iberia, Opelousas and Lafayette. Fontenot was born in 1946 and ordained in 1975. The diocese's list says that he resigned and was removed in 1984. He died in 2014.

--Michael Guidry, who served at St. Joseph in Patterson, Sacred Heart of Jesus in Baldwin, and St. Jules and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in Franklin. He also served at churches in Lafayette Parish, New Iberia, Petit Mamou, Church Point, Estherwood and Krotz Springs. He was born in 1943 and ordained in 1971. He was removed from the priesthood in 2018 and convicted earlier this year

--Stanley Begnaud, who served at St. Stephen in Berwick and at churches Acadia, Iberia, Vermilon, Calcasieu, Lafayette and St. Landry Parishes. He was born in 1921 and ordained in 1958. He retired in 1982 and died in 1985.

There are no indications on the list that any of the allegations resulted from incidents in St. Mary Parish.

Other Louisiana dioceses have reported about 150 priests, deacons and other clerics. There may be some overlap, since the Lake Charles diocese was carved out of the Lafayette diocese in 1980.

The Lafayette Diocese employed the first widely known abuser, Gilbert Gauthe. He pleaded guilty in 1985 to abusing 11 boys and testified that he'd abused dozens while serving at four churches in the diocese.

Info on the river

Fri, 04/12/2019 - 4:45pm

Teche Project kiosk at Patterson's Morey Park.

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Police: Man booked on obscenity, sex offender charges

Fri, 04/12/2019 - 11:46am
Staff Report

A 49-year-old man was charged with obscenity in Patterson and also booked on sex offender charges, Police Chief Garrett Grogan said in a news release.

—Charles L. Merritt, 49, of Williams Street in Patterson, was arrested at 7:11 a.m. Thursday on charges of failure to notify law enforcement of an address change, failure to pay sex offender registration, obscenity and three warrants for another jurisdiction. No bail was set.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that deputies responded to 31 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests relating to east St. Mary Parish:

—Brad Filex Ackman, 39, of Roderick Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 5:52 p.m. Thursday on a charge of simple battery.

—Dana Lynn McGraw, 43, of Columbus Avenue in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 6:02 p.m. Thursday on a charge of simple battery.

Deputies were dispatched to Columbus Avenue in Bayou Vista in reference to a simple battery. Upon arrival, deputies spoke to McGraw and Ackman. Through the investigation, deputies learned that McGraw and Ackman had been in an altercation, Smith said. McGraw and Ackman were jailed with bail set at $2,500 each.

—Caroline Harris, 26, of Onstead Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:32 a.m. Friday on charges of improper lane usage, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A deputy was patrolling the area of U.S. 90 East near La. 318 when he observed a vehicle traveling eastbound in the outside lane drive off the roadway and onto the shoulder, then back onto the roadway. The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Harris.

While speaking with Harris, the deputy smelled a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. Harris admitted to having less than 2 grams of marijuana inside the vehicle, the sheriff said. A search of the vehicle revealed a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Smith said. Harris was issued a summons to appear in court July 29.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported that officers responded to 33 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Christine Ann Hughes, 35, of Hayes Road in Maurice, was arrested at 2:17 p.m. Thursday on warrants charging her with four counts of failure to appear to pay a fine and one count of failure to appear for arraignment. Hughes was located at the police department and arrested on city court warrants. She was jailed.

—Brad Romero, 18, of Laurel Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:04 p.m. Thursday on a charge of disturbing the peace.

Officers were called to an Ohio Street home in reference to a disturbance. Upon officers arriving, they were advised by the complainant that Romero had arrived at the home causing a disturbance. He was jailed.

—Randy Germone Clark, 32, of Eleventh Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:45 p.m. Thursday on warrants charging him with nine counts of contempt of court and one count of failure to appear to pay a fine.

Detectives conducting an investigation came into contact with Clark on Sixth Street. A warrant check revealed city court had warrants for his arrest. He was jailed.

—Harley Nicole Thibodeaux, 20, of La. 317 in Franklin, was arrested at 11 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to appear in court.

—Magan Renee Gaudet, 27, of Parro Lane in Berwick, was arrested at 11 p.m. Thursday on warrants charging her with two counts of contempt of court and three counts of failure to pay a fine.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on Federal Avenue and identified Thibodeaux and Gaudet as passengers in the vehicle. A warrant check revealed city court had warrants for Thibodeaux and Gaudet.

During the investigation, Thibodeaux was found in possession of suspected drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Both Thibodeaux and Gaudet were jailed.

Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. reported the following arrests:

—Michael Cousson, 54, of 6th Street in Berwick, was arrested at 7:55 p.m. Thursday on charges of illegal discharge of a firearm within the city limits and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of certain felonies. No bail was set.

—Chantelle Hebert, 46, of Mallard Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:43 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. No bail was set.

—Riley Hall, 47, of La. 308 in Napoleonville, was arrested at 5:18 p.m. Thursday on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Pre-set bail was $1,500.

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