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Morgan City’s Main Street District is one of 20 communities with a chance to be featured on the new season of a web series starting in fall 2019. The community picked to be featured on the series receives a $500,000 makeover.

After receiving thousands of nominations from small towns across the country, Deluxe Corporation recently announced the 20 communities that are in the running for Season 4 of the Small Business Revolution – Main Street series, a news release said.

The series, which airs on smallbusinessrevolution.org and Hulu and YouTube, features marketing and business expertise for small businesses in one small town. Host Amanda Brinkman, Deluxe’s chief brand and communications officer, along with marketing experts from Deluxe and renovation icon Ty Pennington, help struggling business owners find their path to success.

Following an announcement Dec. 11 for the Top 10, representatives from Deluxe will travel to the towns in early 2019 to determine the final five that will compete in a nationwide vote. The winner will be announced in late February. All announcements regarding Season 4 can be found on SmallBusinessRevolution.org.

On Oct. 4, Deluxe launched Season 3 of Small Business Revolution – Main Street, featuring the community of Alton, Illinois and six businesses selected to receive the $500,000 makeover.

Nominations poured in from all 50 states Oct. 4-26 with nearly 12,000 received in total. Over the next month, Deluxe executives will gather more information from the Top 20 communities before narrowing its list to 10 finalists to visit in the month of January. Eventually, five communities will be selected for a national vote to determine the winner, the release said.

“Last year, we added the Top 20 round to gather even more information about communities nominated,” Brinkman said in a release.

“It is inspiring to watch how people in these towns love their communities and advocate for a chance to be in our final five. Watching communities come together to support their small businesses is what makes the Small Business Revolution so incredible,” she said.

Deluxe, a leading provider of small business marketing and financial services, launched Small Business Revolution – Main Street in 2016, sharing the inspirational stories of Wabash, Indiana, in Season 1 and Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, in Season 2. All eight episodes of Season 3, featuring Alton, Illinois, along with the previous seasons, are available online at SmallBusinessRevolution.org or on Hulu.

Pearlie Mae Johnson Williams, 84, a resident and native of Franklin, LA passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 12:40 p.m. at her residence.
Visitation will be observed on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at St. Stephens Baptist Church, 305 6th Street Franklin, LA from 9:00 a.m. until funeral services at 11:00 a.m., with Pastor Deondre Johnson, Sr., officiating. Burial will follow funeral services in the Franklin Cemetery - Main Street in Franklin.
Memories of Pearlie will forever remain in the hearts of her son, Ivory Williams of St. Francisville, LA; four daughters, Mrs. Clyde (Pamela) Mitchell of St. Joseph, LA, Hannah Williams, Mrs. Hosea (Bonnie) Williams both of Franklin, LA, and Amanda Williams of Katy, TX; sixteen grandchildren, forty-two great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Pearlie was preceded in death by her parents, two grandsons; a great-grandson, and two sisters.
Jones Funeral Home of Morgan City/Franklin/Jeanerette/Houma in charge of arrangements.
Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

About fifty men paused Saturday morning at the Broussard-Harris Recreation Center in reverence to God and seriousness of purpose in hopes of lifting a standard among men in the community.
Reverend Benjamin Grimm, founder of the Christian-based group “Men of Standard”, brought area ministers and laymen together to talk about the tough issues that are facing men in the African American Community as well as society as a whole.
“It’s necessary because we need to empower, energize and impact God’s people and we see a lot of things are lacking in our community and we are more post active than preactive,” Grimm said.
The group gathered Saturday was made up of entirely African Americans, but Grimm said the message affects all men. “We all bleed red,” he said. “If we begin with men it would help advance our community, God made man first. We want to gather as men and have real talks, today is a moment we want to turn into a movement,” he continued.
Topics on Saturday’s agenda included…
“Violence in the Community,” “How do I Know that I am a Man,” “How to Treat my Wife” and What Do I Do if Homosexuality Hits My Home,”
Among the young men attending the conference was Courtney Odom, a 31-year old church musician who is a member of Hines Memorial Church of God In Christ.
“The reason I came is because I was invited and I wanted to support Pastor Grimm. You hear about a lot of women’s conferences but you rarely hear of any for men.”
Odom said he appreciated the openness of the conference and the topics which addressed everything from men his age who are into drugs, misogyny and lack of respect that is so dominant in today’s pop culture.
“There’s a need for mentorship because in this day and age there is a lack of male role models and men are not learning to grow up and be men. A conference like this helps bring men back to their proper place,” Odom said.
Grimm said his desire is to continue holding Men of Standard conferences, because as citizens of the Kingdom of God he feels charged to continue Saturday’s effort.
“If each one would teach one to reach one then we can save some,” he said.

Two teens were arrested Monday in Morgan City after police found marijuana during a traffic stop, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Braxton Fontenot, 17, of Parlange Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:24 a.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.

—Tavis Johnson, 19, of Allison Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:24 a.m. Monday on charges of improper lane use, vehicles without required equipment, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana first offense.

An officer patrolling the area of Justa Street saw a vehicle with a caved windshield. The officer conducted a traffic stop on La. 182 and spoke with the driver. When the officer spoke with the driver, he could smell an odor of marijuana, Blair said.

During the investigation, the officer located suspected marijuana on Johnson who admitted that he does smoke marijuana, Blair said. Officers then spoke with the passenger, Fontenot, and located suspected marijuana on him. The marijuana located on Fontenot was packaged in individual bags, Blair said.

During the search of the vehicle, officers also located suspected drug paraphernalia. Both Johnson and Fontenot were jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 34 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Gordon Helman , 49, of Chester Bowles Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:21 a.m. Monday on charges of hit-and-run and criminal damage to property less than $1,000.

Helman was arrested after an investigation into a Friday vehicle crash. The accident on Second Street in Morgan City caused damage to a utility trailer and a utility pole. When officers arrived on scene, they were told that the driver had fled the scene. Officers searched the area but could not locate the driver.

On Monday, Helman spoke with detectives and admitted that he was driving the vehicle and fled the scene, Blair said. Helman was jailed.

—Juan Manuel Zuniga, 42, of Tatum, Texas, was arrested at 10 p.m. Monday on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated first offense and driving on divided highways.

An officer saw a vehicle which was traveling on La. 182 cross the center line several times. The officer stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, identified as Zuniga.

The officer could smell alcohol while speaking with Zuniga, who did poorly on a field sobriety test, Blair said. Zuniga registered 0.08 grams-percent blood alcohol content on a chemical test. Zuniga was jailed.

—Sylvia Carrera, 28, of Opelousas, was arrested at 2:21 a.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of Adderall, possession of marijuana first offense and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers at a motel could smell the odor of marijuana coming from a room. The officers spoke with the occupants of the room and were given consent to search.

During the search, police located suspected marijuana in the room along with suspected paraphernalia, Blair said. While speaking with Carrera, officers located seven pills of suspected Adderall for which Carrera did not have a prescription, Blair said. Carrera was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 54 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Victoria Cavalier, 19, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:57 p.m. Monday on a charge of theft.

A deputy was dispatched to a business in Bayou Vista in reference to a theft. Upon arrival at the business, the deputy made contact with store personnel and Cavalier.

Cavalier admitted that she had taken several items the day before while in the business, Anslum said. Cavalier was jailed with bail set at $1,500.

—Danyelle Morgan, 33, of River Road in Berwick, was arrested at 1:28 a.m. Tuesday on charges of suspended driver’s license, license plate light and security required.

Deputies patrolling the area of Berwick observed a vehicle with no operational license plate light. The deputies conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Morgan.

Through the stop, the deputies learned that Morgan’s license was suspended and she didn’t have insurance on the vehicle, Anslum said. Morgan was released on a summons to appear in court Jan. 30, 2019.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:

—Joshua Moore, 21, of Camille Drive in Patterson, was arrested at 6:15 p.m. Monday on a warrant charging him with simple battery. He was jailed on $250 bail.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported no arrests.