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Two people were arrested on drug charges in Morgan City after police searched an La. 182 home and also found a small child, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Roderick A. Hunter, 27, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:22 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of Xanax with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a Legend Drug, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a juvenile and a warrant charging him with failure to pay a fine.

—Kearsten Richard, 19, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:22 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of Xanax with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a juvenile.

The Morgan City Police Department Narcotics Division conducted a search warrant at a home on La. 182. Upon entering the home, officers came into contact with individuals identified as Hunter, Richard and a small child.

During the investigation, officers located pills identified as Xanax that was packaged for sale. Also located in the home was suspected marijuana, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and pills identified as sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, Blair said.

A warrant check revealed that Hunter had a warrant for his arrest through city court. Both Hunter and Richard were jailed. The child was released to a guardian.

Blair reported that officers responded to 46 complaints and reported the following arrests:

—Jonathan J. Ruffin, 31, of James Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:30 a.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with two counts of failure to pay fines. Ruffin was arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Ruffin was jailed.

—Jolene Frye, 35, of Marin Street in Patterson, was arrested at 2:21 p.m. Thursday on a warrant charging her with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Frye was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic stop in the area of Seventh Street. A warrant check was done on Frye, and police determined that she had an active warrant for the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office. Frye was jailed.

—Drevin M. Willis, 20, of Prairie Road in Franklin, was arrested at 9:32 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of marijuana and stop sign and yield sign violation.

An officer observed a vehicle at the intersection of Fourth and Everett street fail to yield to oncoming traffic nearly causing a vehicle crash. A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver, Willis, was in possession of suspected marijuana, Blair said. Willis was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that deputies responded to 36 complaints and reported the following arrests:

—Latasha Dousay, 22, of Patton Street in Franklin, was arrested at 3:04 a.m. Thursday on a charge of theft.

A deputy was dispatched to a business in Bayou Vista in reference to a theft. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with business personnel who stated that a female had taken a cell phone out of a basket and had later dropped it in an area inside the business where it was located. The deputy made contact with the subject, identified as Dousay. Dousay was released on a summons to appear in court May 2.

—Brontriaze Weber, 22, of West Admiral Drive in New Iberia, was arrested at 2:57 p.m. Thursday on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of operating a vehicle without a driver’s license and careless operation of a motor vehicle.

A corrections deputy working at St. Mary Parish jail made contact with Weber when he turned himself in on an active warrant for his arrest. Weber was arrested on the warrant and later released on $3,000 bail.

—James Batiste, 40, of Bass Drive in Lafayette, was arrested at 6:48 p.m. Thursday on charges of speeding and driving under suspension.

A deputy was stationary on U.S. 90 in the median in Bayou Vista when he observed a vehicle traveling west at a high rate of speed. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Batiste.

Through the stop, the deputy learned that Batiste’s driver’s license was suspended. Batiste was released on a summons to appear in court May 2.

—Donna Reed, 47, of Saturn Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 9:18 p.m. Thursday on a charge of theft by shoplifting.

A deputy was dispatched to a business in reference to a theft. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with store personnel who stated that Reed had attempted to leave the store with items for which she had not made payment, Smith said.

The deputy made contact with Reed and during the investigation, more items were found in her purse. Reed was released on a summons to appear in court May 2.

Patterson Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported the following arrests:

—Vanessa M. Calais, 47, of Live Oak Street in Patterson, was arrested at 11:10 a.m. Thursday on a charge of theft by shoplifting. Calais was released on her own recognizance.

—Dewey Lagrange, 49, of Gabriel Street in Patterson, was arrested at 9:01 p.m. Thursday on a charge of disturbing the peace by fighting. Bail was set at $357.

—Jacarvis Moore, 26, of Gabriel Street in Patterson, was arrested at 9:01 p.m. Thursday on a charge of disturbing the peace by fighting. Bail was set at $357.

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

—Devin Legendre, 19, of Palm Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:15 p.m. Thursday on a charge of possession of marijuana less than 14 grams. Legendre posted $2,000 bail.

—Jeremy Ledet, 46, of Keith Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2 a.m. Friday on charges of DWI second offense and speeding 62 mph in a 45 mph zone. Ledet posted $5,500 bail.

Assumption Parish Sheriff Leland Falcon reported the following arrest relating to the area:

—Rebecca S. Concienne, 38, of LaJaunie Court in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Assumption Parish sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to LaJaunie Court in connection with a wanted juvenile from another jurisdiction.

Upon arrival, deputies spoke to Concienne, and she denied having any knowledge of the whereabouts of the juvenile, Falcon said. Deputies requested and were granted consent to search for the juvenile. The juvenile was located under a bed, Falcon said.

During the search for the juvenile, deputies noted a strong smell of suspected marijuana. Narcotics agents requested consent to search, which Concienne refused, Falcon said. Agents secured a search warrant and conducted a search in which substantial quantities of marijuana, methamphetamine and assorted paraphernalia was recovered, Falcon said.

Concienne was booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center where she remains pending a bail hearing.

In the early 1970s, when I was a young reporter, I began to compile a card file of the named places of south Louisiana. It was a handy reference when I had to write about one of the places on quick notice — a fire or tornado, visit by a politician, or some other unfortunate incident usually being the cause. As I traveled here and there, I began to include notations such as “old steamboat stop” or “big lumber mill” or whatever, along with notes about people I might contact when I needed information.
In the half century since then, I have had occasion to travel to, or at least through, practically every community between the Sabine and Atchafalaya rivers and south of what I call the “boudin belt,” an imaginary line that is the boundary between north and south Louisiana. Every place I’ve visited has meant a new index card in the file, or a new notation on an old one.
The file grew like Topsy during the late 1990s, when I began a series of monthly supplements for the Lafayette Advertiser on the history of Acadiana. During that time, photographer P. C. Piazza and I followed every road we could find in south Louisiana, in search of places named on old maps that by then usually held only the remains of an old store, or sometimes not even that.
Our general plan in those travels was to find a house that looked like it might be occupied by someone of a particular age, knock on the door, and ask if anybody there might remember where Such and Such was.
It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Invariably we were invited in and given fresh coffee and home-baked cookies to occupy ourselves while our new friend searched for an old scrapbook or a box of old photos, or some other remembrance.
One farmer loaded us on his tractor and hauled us into the middle of a field to show us bricks that were the remains of an old post office. He said he’d been plowing around the bricks for 40 years. Why didn’t he just plow them up? “Well, then they’d be gone,” he said.
There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
With the help of these guides, we found lots of old places — and picked up some tips that helped find others. For example, if you’re looking for an old homesite on the prairie, it might be useful to look for a row of chinaball trees.
These were planted near the house because they grew quickly and provided both a windbreak and a source of firewood on the treeless prairie. If you want to know where the front porch was, look for a big cedar tree. These were planted near the porches for shade, but also because they supposedly helped to keep mosquitoes away.
The file got another boost when I began writing a daily column about our history and culture that evolved into a community conversation, a sort of an oral history. Readers asked or answered questions, expanded on my comments and researches, never failed to correct my errors, sometimes argued back-and-forth over which remembrance was the correct one, and provided valuable fodder for the Named Places File.
The file is still growing. As I read old newspapers or letters or journals for one project or another, I still find names of old places, or, more often, old names that current places once went by.
I’ve thought about compiling the notes into a book, but the file has grown so bulky that, first, it would be a huge job to properly edit and annotate it, and, second, it would be bigger than most publishers would want to tackle. The A's alone take up 50 typewritten pages and the whole thing — from Abbeville to Yont-Lee (old Jefferson Davis railroad stop between Lacassine and Mermentau) — takes up 700 pages. (There are no “Z” names that I know about.)
I do have some favorites. West Ogle, an early name for the Vermilion Parish community that became Cossinade, makes me think of someone ogling the passing parade. As far as I know, there was never an East Ogle, or even just plain Ogle. Lifenite was a railroad stop between Jeanerette and New Iberia that I am told was named for a fertilizer plant. I always think that someone should build a dance hall there and change the name to Nitelife.
Stump (Vermilion Parish) makes me wonder if there was ever a Tree. Tucky Hammock in the St. Mary Parish wetlands sounds like a nice place to loll away a summer day. (There’s also a Wetfoot Hammock, but that doesn’t sound nearly as inviting.)
And then there is Point No Point, a sliver of land reaching into East Cote Blanche Bay in St. Mary. I can’t decide whether it got its name because it is so small that it really isn’t a point at all, or whether it is big enough to qualify as an actual point, but still so small there was no point in giving it a name.
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.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, St. Mary Parish Councilman James Bennett said he maintains his innocence on all charges pending against him after he was arrested Wednesday.

Attorney Nicholas LaRocca is representing Bennett.

"The charges are without any merit and should the District Attorney accept these charges and prosecute Mr. Bennett he is prepared to vigorously defend such charges and is confident that the truth will emerge, and he will be exonerated," the statement said.

The St. Mary Parish Council doesn’t appear to have any action it can take in regard to Bennett's spot on the council given that he hasn't been convicted of a felony.

Bennett, 50, of Morgan City, was arrested by Berwick police Wednesday on a warrant charging him with stalking a woman, which is a felony. Morgan City police also arrested him on two counts of criminal mischief, which are misdemeanor crimes, in a related incident. In July 2018, Berwick police arrested Bennett and charged him with remaining after being forbidden in another incident related to his two arrests Wednesday. Bennett pleaded guilty in September 2018 to the remaining after being forbidden charge in Berwick mayor's court and paid $301 bail.

The St. Mary Parish government home rule charter listed on the parish government’s website says a council member shall forfeit the office if a member is convicted of a state or federal felony.

However, the charter doesn’t say a member can be removed from office after an arrest. Parish Council Attorney Eric Duplantis said he had no comment on the matter. Parish Council Chairman Gabriel Beadle said he’s not aware of any disciplinary action the council could take against Bennett at this point.

The Berwick police warrant that Bennett was arrested on Wednesday stems from an investigation that began Feb. 1 in which a complaint was received concerning Bennett allegedly stalking a woman who lives in the Berwick area. Upon officers investigating the complaint, police learned that Bennett was in fact responsible for the behavior associated with stalking, Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. said in a news release.

Further investigation revealed that Bennett used resources to gain knowledge of who was visiting with the victim and later confront the victim, Leonard said.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair said Bennett was also booked Wednesday in Morgan City on two counts of criminal mischief in connection with the case. The charges stem from evidence Morgan City police gathered indicating that false complaints had been called into the Morgan City Police Department, Blair said.

Berwick police confirmed that Bennett’s July 2018 arrest on a charge of remaining after being forbidden was related to the Wednesday arrest.

Bennett pleaded guilty Sept. 10, 2018, in Berwick mayor’s court to the remaining after being forbidden charge in connection with his July 31 arrest, said Gina DeHart, clerk for mayor’s court. Bennett paid $301 bail in connection with that case.

Criminal mischief and remaining after being forbidden are both misdemeanors.

St. Mary Parish AARP Chapter 4435 held its monthly meeting on Feb. 4 at the St. Mary Senior Citizens Center, home of St. Mary AARP, in Morgan City. Prior to the meeting, members and guests were entertained with dance music at 4 p.m. followed by bingo.
The meeting and meal sponsors were Twin City Funeral Home and Patterson State Bank. Attendees were served a meal of home-made chili, crackers and king cake. The meal was prepared by Pat Fryer and Mary Lee Gaudet.
Ryan Yager, Twin City Funeral Home manager, addressed the membership and introduced Twin City Funeral Home staff members. He gave his condolences to AARP for the recent loss of Larry Bergeron, a long-time member of St. Mary AARP and a staff member at Twin City Funeral Home.
St. Mary AARP President Faye Smith recognized the students from Berwick High School, and their faculty sponsor. These students come to each of the monthly meetings and help to serve the meals and beverages to the attendees, as well as assisting with any other tasks for the meeting.
Birthday and anniversary celebrants for February were recognized at the meeting. The birthday cake was donated by M C Bank.
The next St. Mary AARP meeting and meal will be held on March 11.