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Jason Watson from Patterson State Bank stopped by Patterson High School recently to drop off a donation. PHS Principal Lane Larive accepted the donation from the Adopt-a-School sponsor, and thanked PSB for its continued support.

People in south Louisiana don’t often pay attention to news from a relatively obscure research facility in Maryland, but the announcement that the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is winding down its whooping crane breeding program has a special connection to us.
In 1967, biologists at the center began to carefully nurture a dozen eggs gathered from the nests of a species on the verge of extinction. There were only 42 whooping cranes left in the world, none of them in Louisiana.
Fifty years later, thanks in good part to the Patuxent program, there are more than 160 whoopers in captivity and another 400-plus living in the wild.
About a quarter of the birds in the wild are in Louisiana, in a flock begun with chicks hatched in Maryland.
John French, the center’s director, told reporters, “We feel as if our job is done,” but the decision to close down the program was forced on him when the federal government in its wisdom cut its funding.
About 30 Maryland chicks will find homes in the south Louisiana wetlands, where it appears that an imaginative (some people said crazy) idea to rebuild a flock looks like it wasn’t so silly after all.
A long time ago, when there was a good-sized Louisiana flock, the 6-foot-tall, distinctively marked birds were apparently something to see as they stretched their wings to seven feet or more and sailed on the breeze.
Claude Eagleston was reared in the south Louisiana wetlands and was in his 80s in 1998, when writer Gay Gomez asked him about the birds.
“It was beautiful to see them up there in the sky,” he recalled, “always seven or eight in a bunch, circling and crossing each other like people square dancing. You could hear them for a long way.” ("A Wetland Biography: Seasons on Louisiana’s Chenier Plain," University of Texas Press, 1998)
But hunters, hurricanes, and habitat loss doomed the Louisiana flock.
By 1938 only 11 whooping cranes lived in the Louisiana marshes.
Thirteen of them were counted the next year. Only six survived 1940, when a hurricane and flood destroyed much habitat and killed some birds outright.
Two years later there were only five, then four in 1943, three in 1944, two in 1945 and 1946, and, finally, a bird nicknamed Lone Crane became the last Louisiana whooper in 1947.
The experts knew Lone Crane would never find love, or even friendship, in the Vermilion Parish marshes, and decided to do something about that.
They captured the big bird and took it to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, where a migratory flock came to visit every year.
That was the last time the distinctive whooping call was heard in the Louisiana marsh for more than 60 years.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced in August 2010 that it would “attempt to establish a non-migratory flock of whooping cranes … in the wetlands, marshes and prairies of southwest Louisiana.” The goal was to build a self-sustaining flock of 25 breeding pairs over 10 years.
Skeptics scoffed at the idea, but in early 2011 the first 10 birds from the Patuxent center were released into state-owned wetlands south of Gueydan near White Lake.
Just three of the first group were still being tracked when 16 more chicks were brought to Louisiana that December.
Two of the first 10 cranes had been killed by predators, one was euthanized when it got sick, two were killed by “hunters,” and two had just disappeared.
But the biologists were undeterred, and more young birds have been sent successfully to Louisiana since those first groups.
There was a lot of excitement in the spring of 2014, when the biologists spotted a nest holding the first whooping crane eggs seen in the wild in Louisiana in 75 years.
Those two eggs never hatched, but they were a harbinger of good things to come. In 2016, two chicks were hatched and one survived. One out of three chicks survived in 2017.
Five of five survived in 2018. The outlook gets better as more birds reach breeding age and the flock gets bigger.
The 75 cranes in the Patuxent breeding flock will be sent to the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin and the Calgary, Canada, Zoo.
Folks in those places say the program will go on, and that presumably means birds will continue to be sent to Louisiana.
That’s good, but bittersweet news. Mike Pharr, president of the American Bird Conservancy, summed up the feeling at Patuxent:
“This is about budget cuts from above, and it’s very sad to see.” It’s more than sad for Patuxent staffers who have spent their entire careers working with whoopers that can live 25 or 30 years.
It was “an emotional blow” to many of them to cage up and send away birds that are practically pets, French said.
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.

An Amelia man was caught Thursday with about $10,000 worth of cocaine and $7,500 of marijuana after detectives searched a home, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum said in a news release.

—Derek Gaskins, 38, of Friendship Alley in Amelia, was arrested at 4:26 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, transactions involving drug offense, manufacturing of crack cocaine and violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance law, drug-free zone (church).

On Thursday, detectives with the St. Mary Parish narcotics Section executed a search warrant at a home on Friendship Alley in Amelia resulting in the arrest of Gaskins and the seizure of cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and cash, Anslum said.

The detectives located a backpack containing eleven bags of high-grade marijuana with a weight of 497 grams, seven bags of crack cocaine totaling 98 grams, baggies, a and a digital scale, the sheriff said.

The street value of the cocaine is about $10,000, and the street value of the marijuana is about $7,500. Additionally, $241 dollars in cash was seized pending forfeiture, Anslum said.

Gaskins was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. No bail was set as Gaskins was ordered to appear in court.

Anslum reported that deputies responded to 30 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Alvin Morris, 55, of North Lamar Street in Austin, Texas, was arrested at 9:51 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal trespass.

Deputies were dispatched to a building in Bayou Vista in reference for a building check. During the check, the deputies located Morris who was sleeping at the location. The deputies found drugs and drug paraphernalia on Morris, the sheriff said. Morris was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. Bail was set at $4,500.

—Cordaro Kimber Sr., 28, of Hacienda Drive in Franklin, was arrested at 3:43 a.m. Friday on charges of operating a vehicle while under suspension, turning movements and required signals, proper equipment required on vehicle-inspection tag, possession of marijuana and on two warrants for failure to appear on the charges of speeding and no seatbelt.

A deputy patrolling Amelia observed a vehicle fail to use its turn signal while turning. The deputy conducted a traffic stop. During the stop, the deputy smelled an odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle and located marijuana in the vehicle, Anslum said.

The deputy also learned of active warrants for Kimber’s arrest. Kimber was jailed with no bail set.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported that officers responded to 40 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Galan W. Ford, 26, of Ditch Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:15 a.m. Thursday on warrants charging him with five counts of failure to pay fines and two counts of probation violation.

Ford was transported from the St. Mary Parish jail to the Morgan City Police Department on city court warrants.

—Patrick LeBlanc, 29, of First Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 2:34 p.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with three counts of failure to appear for arraignment.

LeBlanc was transported from the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center to the Morgan City Police Department on a city court warrant.

—Jeremiah J. Wiltz, 31, of Fourth Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:59 p.m. Thursday on charges of no driver’s license and speeding.

An officer in the area of La. 182 and Ditch Avenue observed a vehicle traveling at a speed higher than the posted speed limit. A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver, Wiltz, did not have a valid driver’s license, Blair said. Wiltz was jailed.

—Megan Gros, 23, of La. 70 in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:11 p.m. Thursday on a warrant charging her with three counts of failure to appear in court.

Gros was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic stop in the area of Sixth and Arenz streets. A warrant check was done on Gros, who had a city court warrant for her arrest, Blair said. Gros was jailed.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported no arrests.

The flood of education-related tax advice that seems to crest during back-to-school season often centers on students or their parents. But teachers can score a few tax breaks, too — if they do their homework. Three tax pros share their own lesson plans for cutting teachers’ tax bills.
1. Educator Expense Deduction
WHAT IT IS: A $250 deduction to help recoup out-of-pocket costs for outfitting a classroom, getting training or buying teaching materials.
HOW IT WORKS: K-12 teachers can take this deduction regardless of whether they itemize on their taxes or take the standard deduction. They’re not the only ones eligible for this tax break, though. School counselors, principals or aides may also be able to take the educator expenses deduction if they worked at least 900 hours in a qualifying school during the school year, said Tracie Miller-Nobles, a certified public accountant and member of the American Institute of CPAs’ National CPA Financial Literacy Commission.
If your spouse is also a teacher and you’re filing jointly, you might qualify for a bigger deduction. “Sometimes individuals don’t realize that if they’re married and both spouses are eligible educators, they actually get $500 for that deduction,” she said.
2. Charitable Contribution deductions
WHAT IT IS: A tax deduction for donations to charitable organizations, including nonprofit schools.
HOW IT WORKS: If the educator expense deduction doesn’t cover everything a teacher has spent out of pocket for items that end up belonging to the school, teachers might be able to deduct the rest as a charitable contribution, said Lauri Pitcher, a CPA and president and CEO of accounting firm Lucia & Co. in San Bernardino, California.
Taking this deduction will require good record-keeping; it may also require working with the principal or other school administrators to get receipts that will substantiate the donations, she said. Also: You have to itemize on your tax return to deduct charitable contributions. So if you plan on taking the standard deduction — which has nearly doubled under the new tax rules — this tactic might not be for you.
3. Lifetime Learning Credit
WHAT IT IS: A tax credit — which is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax bill — equal to 20 percent of the first $10,000 spent on tuition and fees. The maximum credit is $2,000 per return.
HOW IT WORKS: The Lifetime Learning credit is available to graduate students, which means it can be a great tax break for teachers who are pursuing a master’s degree, said Melinda Nelson, a CPA and partner at accounting firm Henry + Horne in Tempe, Arizona. Teachers who are simply taking classes to improve job skills can also qualify — pursuing a degree isn’t required.
You may qualify for this tax credit if your modified adjusted gross income is $66,000 or less ($132,000 or less if you file jointly). If your MAGI is between $56,000 and $66,000 ($112,000 to $132,000 if you file jointly), you can get a reduced credit. You can’t get the credit if your MAGI is over $66,000 ($132,000 if filing jointly).
4. Free File and VITA programs
WHAT THEY ARE: For do-it-yourself taxpayers, Free File is an IRS program that provides free brand-name tax software to people whose adjusted gross income is below a certain threshold. For people who want human help, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is a federal grant program that helps local organizations offer free in-person tax-prep services to low- and moderate-income people.
HOW THEY WORK: You probably qualify for Free File if your adjusted gross income is under the limit (currently $66,000). Note that even if the software for your federal tax return is free, there might be a fee for your state tax return. Visit the IRS’s Free File website to check your eligibility and find the right software package. For VITA, the income limit generally is $54,000; the IRS website also has a VITA directory that can help you find a program in your area.
—This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet.
—RELATED LINKS:
NerdWallet: Will Your Tax Bill Go Up or Down Under the New Tax Rules? https://nerd.me/new-tax-bill-impact
IRS: Free File — www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free
IRS: VITA directory — https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/