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Patterson: The Water We Drink

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PUBLIC NOTICE
St. Mary Parish Wards 5 & 8 Joint Sewer Commission
P. O. Box 181
Berwick, La 70342
MINUTES
April 7, 2025
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Cooper at 6:00 PM.
Mr. Cooper ask-ed if anyone had a public comment. No comments made.
Present: Karen Sehon, Calvin Sanders Sr., Matthew Kidder, Tim Kyle, Michael Stewart, Brandon Monceaux, Marcey Carmouche, Billy Morgan (Morgan’s Construction), Pam, and Larry Fromenthal (Fromenthal Plumbing), Glen Duncan, Murtada Mousa (Providence Engineering), and Chris Cooper.
The board went over the minutes of the previous month’s meeting. Mr. Kidder moved to disburse the reading of the minutes and accept. Mr. Monceaux seconded the motion. All in favor – I.
The board then went over the treasurer’s report. The board said to hold the LnL Tree Service invoice until the job is completed. Mr. Carmouche to contact them to see if they would like partial payment for the work completed, then to let Mrs. Sehon know. Mr. Cooper reported the moving of $99,999.00 from LAMP to operating to cover this month’s ex- penses. Mr. Kyle motioned to ap- prove the treasurer’s report and sign checks if all are in order. Mr. Kidder seconded the motion. All in favor – I.
Mr. Murtada, with Providence Engineering, in reference to the 2024 financial audit concerning the public bid law for Taft St. project. He would like to speak with Mrs. Holcombe on this matter and the write-up. He show-ed an example of how to oversee bids and interpretation.
Mr. Sanders reported on the monthly maintenance. LnL Tree Service has not completed the job as of today. Station 7 has the backflow preventor in- stalled. The water will be put in the station this month. Mr. Stewart asked about the breakdown of the prices of installation of backflow preventors. The oil pump will be installed at Patterson Pond. Station 11 replacement pump is in. It will be installed this month. Station 3 has a pump to be installed. The welder is also putting guards on the belts. At the plant, the new water sampler is in. They are adjusting the parameters and waiting on the stage for final calibration. There are 4 pumps at Power Specialties being worked on. There is one pump at Quality Diesel being worked on. Station 9 is waiting on the contractor to relocate two lines agreed on by Fromenthal Plumbing. Mr. Carmouche and Mr. Fromenthal are looking into the best way to tie it in to relocate the lines. They would like to start this project no later than 4/23/25 on this project. Mr. Carmouche reported the handrails installed. He is working on pricing and information of contact chamber for self-floating aerators. He suggests going with bigger units that run $27,000-$32,000. He has discussed the specs with Mr. Mousa about the specs. He will give all the information to Mr. Mousa for a recommendation. Each pond currently has 2 aerators, looking into purchasing multiple aerators instead of just one. Mr. Mousa asked if the Station 9 rehabilitation be self- funded? Mr. Cooper asked about a low interest loan for this project. The board asked for more information on a low interest loan for the Station 9 project. Mr. Carmouche asked when the Waste Management contract ends? Mrs. Sehon said she does not know. He will contact them again; he thought it ended in February, and it was to be cancelled then.
Old/New business – Mrs. Holcombe, Kolder Slaven & Co., submitted the schedule of findings for the audit for fiscal year ending 9/30/24. It was to be submitted be- fore 3/31/25. It was submitted on 3/18/25. In the audit, findings were found for the project cost exceeding $250,000 for Station 10, Taft St project. The public bid law states that projects are all inclusive of labor, materials, and supplies. The proposal exceeded this amount. Anything close to this amount should follow the public bid law instructions. Mr. Murtada will investigate this for the Station 9 project before proceeding further.
The first quoted trailer was sold prior to the approval of the quote. Another quote for the same amount was issued and the trailer was re- served for us. Awaiting arrival of the trailer for pick up. A generator deposit was issued to M&L for approximate May delivery. The old generator has no value. We will need to advertise for market value. The generator is non-accessible, so they will need to contact Mickey/Calvin to see the generator. We will need to advertise for 15 days prior to the bid opening date. Motion to declare a surplus to start the bid process was made by Mr. Stewart. Mr. Kidder seconded the motion. Mr. Cooper asked Mickey/Calvin to contact LnL Tree Service about partial payment for completed work. Mr. Cooper mentioned the hiring of a new employee before 3-5 years due to the upcoming re- tirement of current employees. If everyone would start getting the word out to look for someone to hire. Regarding the penalties/late fees for customer invoice delays, it will be tabled for now.
Next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 5, 2024.
Having no further business, Mr. Monceaux has motioned to ad- journ the meeting. Mr. Kyle seconded the motion.
———————
Chairperson
———————
Secretary/
Treasurer
Adv. May 9, 2025

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PUBLIC NOTICE
Accepting sealed bids for one (1) surplus 1997 Dodge Pickup, mileage 58,542
To be sold to highest bidder as-is, where-is.
Contact Jacob or Kenney at 985-384-8990.
Bids can be mailed to: Pickup Truck Bid, P O Box 322, Berwick, LA 70342
Adv. April 30, May 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 21 and 23, 2025

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PUBLIC NOTICE
Accepting sealed bids for Qty- 1 surplus generator 150 kw.
Needs rebuilt engine and various electrical issues.
To be sold to highest bidder as is where is.
Contact Mickey @ 985-992-7254 or Calvin @ 985-992-6890.
Bids can be mailed to:
Generator Bid
P O Box 181
Berwick, LA 70342
Adv. April 16, 18, 23, 25, 30, May 2, 7 and 9, 2025

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PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC NO- TICE — NOTICE TO BIDDERS The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will be selecting eligible hunters to harvest alligators on certain Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), U.S. Army Corps of En- gineers (USACE) properties, Wetland Conservation Areas (WCAs), and State Wildlife Refuges located in various parishes based on a bid system. Successful bidders will be awarded the bid for a total of three years (2025, 2026, and 2027), provided their performance is satisfactory to LDWF. Bid application notifications and forms can be printed from LDWF’s website at https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/alligator-hunting, be requested by phone at 337-735-8720, or obtained via email by contacting LAalligatorprogram@wlf.la.gov. Completed bid application forms can be mailed or hand delivered to and must be received by 11:00 AM on May 20, 2025 in Room 1007 of the LDWF Office at 200 Dulles Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506. However, bidders are hereby notified that LDWF is not responsible for any delays caused by the bidder’s chosen method of bid delivery. Failure of the bid to reach Room 1007 by the designated time and date shall result in rejection of the bid. Bid opening will be on May 20, 2025 at 11:30 AM at the LDWF Lafayette Office, 1st Floor Conference Room #1002, 200 Dulles Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506. The public is permitted to attend. Selected bidders will be notified by phone.
Adv. May 2, 9 and 16, 2025

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PUBLIC NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Sixteenth
Judicial District Court
——
PARISH OF
ST. MARY
——
STATE OF
LOUISIANA
Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, As Trustee For Morgan Stanley
ABS Capital I Inc. Trust 2004-HE3, Mortgage Pass-Through
Certificates,
Series 2004-HE3
Vs. No. 137967 Div “F”
Luella Williams Miller (A/K/A Luella W. Miller, Luella Miller)
TAKE NOTICE, that by virtue of Order of Seizure and Sale issued out of the Honorable 16th Judicial District Court, in and for the Parish of St. Mary, and to me directed, in the above numbered and entitled suit, I have seized the following mentioned and described property, to wit:
That certain lot or parcel of land together with all buildings and im- provements thereon situated and all rights, ways, privileges and servitudes thereunto belonging or in anywise appertaining, lying and being situated in Section 46, T16S, R11E, Town of Patterson, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, and being more particularly known, designated and described as Lots Four (4), Five (5), and Six (6), of Block E all of Cane Country Estates Subdivision as shown on a plan of land showing Cane Country Estates Subdivision, prepared by Glenn E. Miller, L.S. of Miller Engineers and Associates, Inc. dated May 17, 1984 bearing Drawing No. 5918 and recorded in Book 27-G, under Entry No. 206,458 of the Conveyance Records of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, to which reference is made for clarification. Ac- cording to said plan of land, Lot Four (4) of Block “E” Lot Five (5) of Block “E” and Lot Six (6) of Block “E” of Cane Country Estates Subdivision each front Sixty (60’) feet on the North side of Leo Drive, Lot Four (4) of Block “E” being bounded on the West by Lot Five (5) of Block “E”, on the East by Lot Three (3) of Block “E”, on the South by Leo Drive and on the North by property now or previously owned by Mary Lipari Faulk, Lot Five (5) of Block “E” is bounded on the west by Lot Six (6) of Block “E”, on the East by Lot Four (4) of Block “E”, on the South by Leo Drive and on the North by property now or previously owned by Mary Lipari Faulk, Lot Six (6) of Block “E” is bounded on the West by Lot Seven (7) of Block “E”, on the East by Lot Five (5) of Block “E”, on the South by Leo Drive, and on the North by property now or previously owned by Mary Lipari Faulk.
LESS AND EXCEPT:
Lot Four (4) and Lot Five (5) of Block E both of Cane Country Estates Subdivision
Which has the address of 512 Leo Drive, Patterson, 70392
to satisfy the sum of TWENTY THREE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE AND 02/100 ($23,331.02) DOLLARS, WITH IN- TEREST THEREON AT A RATE OF 9.75% PER ANNUM FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2023 TOGETHER WITH ACCRUED LATE CHARGES IN THE AMOUNT OF $48.30 IN AC- CORDANCE WITH THE NOTE AND MORTGAGE, TOGETHER WITH LATE CHARGES ON ADDITIONAL DELINQUENT INSTALLMENTS AND ANY ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS WHICH PETITIONER HAS ADVANCED OR HEREAFTER ADVANCES, AS PERMITTED BY THE NOTE AND MORTGAGE, FOR TAXES, AS- SESSMENTS, REPAIRS TO AND MAINTENANCE AND PRESERVATION OF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY, TOGETHER WITH ATTORNEY’S FEES IN THE AMOUNT OF REASONABLE ATTORNEY’S FEES and all costs of this proceedings, as well as all sheriff’s costs and commission
All successful bidders must have cash, cashier’s check or a verifiable letter of credit in favor of said bidder from a solvent bank, savings and loan association or other such financial institution authorized to do business in the state of Louisiana and full payment must be made on the date of sale. Letter must state that money is available on the date of sale.
I shall expose the same at public sale, for Cash, according to law WITH appraisement to the last and highest bidder, at the principal front door of the 1st floor lobby area of the Court House in the Parish of St. Mary, Town of Franklin, Louisiana, on Wednesday, the 11th day of June A.D., 2025, be- tween the legal hours commencing at 10 O’Clock A.M.
Sheriff’s Office Parish of St. Mary, La.
Thursday, the 24th day of April A.D., 2025
GARY L.
DRISKELL,
SHERIFF
By: Heidi Rineholt
Deputy Sheriff
Adv. May 9 and June 4, 2025

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PUBLIC NOTICE
CITY OF BERWICK, LOUISIANA
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
Public Meeting Date: May 13, 2025
Call to Order: 6:00 P.M.
Place: Council Meeting Room, 3225 Third Street, Berwick, LA 70342
Prayer
Pledge of Alle-giance
Roll Call: Lud Henry, Raymond Price, James Richard, Kevin Hebert & Colleen Askew
Minutes from last meeting: April 8, 2025
Treasurer’s Re- port
Guests:
The Beacon Shines on:
Berwick Ele-mentary School Student of the year: Ms. Mya La- salle
Police Report:
Fire Report
Public Works Report
Consulting En- gineers Report
Committee Re- ports
PUBLIC HEAR-ING
1. None
ORDINANCES – INTRODUCE/ADOPT
1. None
RESOLUTIONS/PROCLAMA-TIONS
1. Proclamation No. 02-25 – Pro-claim May as Older American Month
NEW BUSI-NESS:
1. None
Adjournment
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Jamie Keith, Town Clerk, at (985) 384-8858, P.O. Box 486, Berwick, LA 70342 describing the assistance that is necessary.
Adv. May 9, 2025

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CHICKEN SALAD
SANDWICH SALE
11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, Patterson United Methodist Church, 1204 Main St., Patterson. Sandwich $3, pint $8. Pickup at the church. Delivery available on orders of 10 or more sandwiches or four or more pints.

Gov. Jeff Landry’s budget left more meat on the capital outlay bone this year, giving legislators more room to include their own brick-and-mortar priorities. 
Lawmakers, however, are being asked not to get greedy and to think carefully about their requests. 
“My goal in all of this has always been to try to right the ship a little bit on some of these HB 2 projects and really try to stick to those core government functions,” House Ways and Means Chair Julie Emerson said, referring to foundational infrastructure like roads, bridges, water and sewer systems. 
Last year, the administration left only about $6 million in bonding capacity for the Legislature, Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Chair Franklin Foil said.
Legislators ended up pushing the total about 10% above capacity, so many of those projects didn’t get funded as the governor’s office chose to go with their own priorities, he said. 
This year, there’s about $25.3 million in cash line of credit capacity remaining in HB 2, plus another $13.2 million in surplus dollars, according to the Division of Administration.
While it’s typically fine to go a bit over capacity in the capital outlay bill, as there always are delays that keep certain projects from going forward immediately, Emerson and Foil want to stay closer to that threshold this year. 
It’s also worth noting that last year, lawmakers tapped the Revenue Stabilization Fund to pay for some projects, and a similar move is under discussion now.
But if they do it again, infrastructure might have to compete with another potential annual stipend for educators that could cost nearly $200 million. 
As a reminder, capital outlay projects are designated Priority 1, Priority 2 or Priority 5. P1 projects will have money available next fiscal year, P2 is next in line, while P5 projects have official commitments but not actual funding. 
The nomenclature dates back to when the process was based on a five-year timeline, Emerson said.
For a while (this predates Emerson’s time in the Legislature), P3 and P4 gave lawmakers a place to park a project that wasn’t really going anywhere, but they could honestly tell people the project technically was in the bill.
P3 and P4 are no longer used at all, and last year, the bill was so far over capacity that there was nothing in P2 either. This year, Emerson and Foil expect to utilize the P2 slot again. 
As Emerson explains, it’s unfair to let members and local officials think they have those P1 dollars secured, only to have those projects drop down to P5 or go away entirely because there isn’t enough capacity. 
“You shouldn’t have a bunch of P2, but you can have some in there where if you do go through your P1 and still have some capacity left, there are a few items there that you can move to,” she said.
“It gives the Legislature and individual legislators a little bit more control.”
Foil tells members to think carefully about their priorities when they make funding requests. 
“You can’t just tell me ‘everything in my district’s important,’” he said. “You have to really give me your No. 1 and No. 2 priorities, so I can look at that project and see if we can make that work.”
Capital outlay for non-state projects legally is capped at 25% of the total.
For the locals, the competition for funding might be even more fierce than usual, assuming folks are able to raise the necessary matching funds. 
Not only are voters reluctant to approve new taxes, tax renewals that once were routine are now a dodgy proposition. 
“I’m finding some of these local entities are in pretty bad shape financially,” Foil said.
“So they’re looking to the state to do all of their local infrastructure projects, because they’re not able to raise the money at the local level.”
Foil is advising members, especially with local projects, that if the cost is under $1 million and it can be completed quickly, to try to find one-time cash opportunities in other bills to get the work done.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on X @ LaPoliticsNow.

DEAR ABBY: My cousin (more like a sister) has made some extremely rash and concerning choices over the last year. After she had her second baby, she left her husband and started seeing a series of borderline-abusive men. She’s now in the process of signing full custody of the children over to her ex-husband and impulsively buying a house out of state.
What I’m finding challenging is, she will accept nothing less than “full support” from her family and friends. She has cut off her sister, to the point of not attending her wedding, because she expressed that maybe it was time for her to talk to a professional about her mental health. She hasn’t spoken to her mother in months either.
I don’t want to cut her off, because I think she genuinely needs help and is experiencing something very challenging. But she’s trying to manipulate her ex-husband into giving her more alimony money, while she runs around with a man who verbally abuses her in public.
I think she’s a danger to herself, but if I say as much, she’ll cut me off too. Should I stay in her life so I can help when she inevitably needs it? Or should I take a harsher stance?
CONCERNED COUSIN
IN OREGON

DEAR COUSIN: Tell your cousin (who is more like a sister) you love her dearly, but she’s making some serious mistakes, and you are afraid for her future. It’s the truth.
Let her know that watching her estrange herself from her family has been painful for you, and if things don’t turn out as she hopes, you will be there for her.
Then back away until the dust settles.

DEAR ABBY: For the last 20 years, we have owned a comfortable home a few blocks from the ocean. With both a main and a back house, we can sleep as many as 11 or 12 people. We have always welcomed our children, grandchildren and their friends unconditionally. They, in turn, have been judicious about accepting our offer. Since we are now up in years, the work is becoming difficult for us.
Five years ago, one of our grandchildren married into a difficult family. While we are fond of our new grandson-in-law, he insists on bringing his parents, sibling and their family dog to our home. They are loud and ungracious. There is a difference of opinion among us as to whether we can or should refuse to continue welcoming them. Your thoughts?
TIRED IN THE EAST

DEAR TIRED: For a guest to bring other people (and their pet!) without first clearing it with the host is extremely rude. If the host shows reluctance, for the guest to insist is even worse. I’m sorry you didn’t nip it in the bud in the beginning. Explain to your grandchild that you are not getting any younger and hosting the entire family has taken a toll on you, which is why you WILL be restricting the invitation to only your family members in the future.

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For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.