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PowWow

Wed, 10/24/2018 - 9:38am

Story and Photos by ROGER EMILE STOUFF
What is a “powwow?”
It’s a not-so-old gathering of Native American nations based upon occasional meetings among members, sometimes in peace, sometimes to compete against each other in faux-war games.
But by the mid-1800s, when the system of reservations began, the powwow transformed into an occasion to meet with other Natives, to dance, sing and most of all, preserve cultures.
Never mind the movies, where cowboys insinuated that a powwow meant there was war at hand. In fact, the word itself is Narragansett, but dances mostly originated on the Great Plains in the late 19th century.
Indian Affairs, a United States office, dictated when Native Americans could hold dances for fear of a threat to Christianity. But they did it anyway, and the practice grew.
The Chitimacha Tribal PowWow was held Saturday at Cypress Bayou Casino.
Dancers, drummers and visitors from multiple indigenous nations were on hand for the fifth such event in as many years.
In this way, Native American culture not only survives, but thrives.
Because 71 dancers competed in Saturdays event, from all over the country. For a small venue like this, that could well be considered remarkable.
There were Qyapew, Chitimacha, Shoshone, Alabama-Coushatta, Pawnee, Cheyenne, Coushatta, Crow Tribe/Crow Creek Sioux, Navajo, Potawatomi, Sac n Fox, Cherokee (Oklahoma), Comanche, Dakotah Sioux, Otoe-Missouria, Wintu, Kiowa, Caddo and Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
“Hosting a powwow is both exciting and exhausting,” Chitimacha Cultural Department Director Kimberly S. Walden said. “The powwow committee begins planning next year’s powwow literally during this year’s event. It takes year around planning, preparation, decision making, relationship building and fundraising. Powwow is a time for the Chitimacha people to reconnect with friends from other tribes and to celebrate being Native American by showcasing our culture. It is humbling to have so many tribes choose to be with us, many from far away. It is rewarding when we receive compliments on our organization of the event and our hospitality. We also enjoy entertaining and educating the public.”
Walden said, “We sincerely appreciate all of our sponsor’s support. Powwows are not money making events. The committee also would like to thank our volunteers. We could not put on this event without them.”
Louisiana Public Broadcasting was on hand to present clips from the 2011 documentary “Native Waters: A Chitimacha Recollection” as well as document this year’s event. “Native Waters” will be broadcast again, in conjunction with the PBS series “Native America” on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.; Nov. 7 at 12:30 p.m. and Nov. 13 at 10:30 p.m.
There will also be a story of the Tunica Tribe, “A Promise from the Sun” on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 7 at noon and Nov. 13 at 10 p.m.
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City sets events in Oct.-Nov.

Wed, 10/24/2018 - 9:37am

The Men of Standard Real Talk Men’s Conference will be held Nov. 17 at Broussard-Harris Recreation Center.
It will be sponsored by Mt. Zion Faith Ministry in conjunction with the City of Franklin. The conference is for men who are young and young at heart.
A continental breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m., and lunch will be provided. The sessions will begin at 9 a.m.
For more information, please call 337-828-6305 or 337-339-2676.
The City of Franklin will host a Red Ribbon Week Prayer Rally Sunday, October 28, 2018, on the front lawn of City Hall (300 Iberia Street) at 1 p.m. The public is invited to attend. For more information, please call 337-828-6350.
The city will also host a Red Ribbon Week Prayer Rally Sunday, Oct. 28on the front lawn of City Hall (300 Iberia Street) at 1 p.m. The public is invited to attend. For more information, please call 337-828-6350.

Radio logs for Oct. 24

Wed, 10/24/2018 - 9:18am

The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.

Tuesday, Oct. 23

7 a.m. 400 block of Brashear Avenue; Hit and run.

7:28 a.m. 6300 block of La. 182 East; Medical emergency.

7:33 a.m. 300 block of Grizzaffi Street; Suspicious person.

8:40 a.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Medical emergency.

9:37 a.m. 5000 block of Railroad Avenue; Loud music.

10:26 a.m. 100 block of Wren Street; Medical emergency.

10:28 a.m. La. 182 East; Traffic incident.

10:53 a.m. 4000 block of Railroad Avenue; Vehicle accident.

11:04 a.m. 6000 block of La. 182 East; Vehicle accident.

1:14 p.m. 200 block of Onstead Street; Complaint.

1:43 p.m. 600 block of Terrebonne Street; Fight.

2:11 p.m. 1000 block of Brashear Avenue; Complaint.

3:10 p.m. 800 block of Marshall Street; Medical emergency.

4:25 p.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Animal complaint.

4:41 p.m. 900 block of Seventh Street; Theft.

6:08 p.m. 300 block of Laurel Street; Animal.

6:17 p.m. 1800 block of Dale Street; Alarm.

7:20 p.m. 2400 block of Apple Street; Lost and found.

7:49 p.m. Florence and Ninth streets; Accident.

8:10 p.m. 800 block of Second Street; Complaint.

9:11 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Traffic incident.

9:25 p.m. 400 block of Levee Road; Frequent patrols.

9:55 p.m. 1700 block of West Garner Street; Animal.

10:01 p.m. 900 block of Palm Street; Alarm.

11:30 p.m. 900 block of Marguerite Street; Alarm.

City mulls possible switch to new health insurer

Wed, 10/24/2018 - 8:55am

The Morgan City Council will soon be tasked with the decision of whether city government should switch to a new health insurer for coverage of city employees in an effort to save the city money. During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, officials discussed the possibility of changing health insurers going from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to UnitedHealthcare. Regardless of which provider the city chooses, there should be no difference to employees in terms of benefits, including doctors, wellness checks and medicines available, Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said. “We were set to make an insurance recommendation. However, the Blue ...

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(Updated) Part of La. 182 west closed for 5 hours to clean diesel spill

Tue, 10/23/2018 - 3:55pm

La. 182 west from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Cottonwood Street in Morgan City was closed about five hours Tuesday for while crews cleaned a diesel spill that occurred Tuesday, according to Morgan City police.

Police got a call at 10:28 a.m. Tuesday reporting the spill. The substance is believed to have been diesel, Capt. Teddy Liner said. Though there wasn’t a large amount of diesel on the highway, the spill stretched from Myrtle to Cottonwood streets, Liner said.

Police don’t know what who or what may have spilled the diesel onto La. 182.

The Morgan City Fire Department assisted with closing the west lanes of the highway while workers with the state Department of Transportation and Development cleaned the spill. The section of La. 182 was reopened to traffic at 3:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Stephensville to test hydrants Saturday, Sunday

Tue, 10/23/2018 - 11:01am

The Stephensville Volunteer Fire Department will be testing hydrants Oct. 27-28. Stephensville customers are advised to avoid using water during those days.

Police: Woman booked for meth, heroin, Xanax possession

Tue, 10/23/2018 - 10:41am

Staff Report

A 29-year-old woman was booked on Morgan City police warrants stemming from an April incident where methamphetamine, heroin and Xanax pills were found in a home, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Korianne M. Parker, 29, of Carol Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at11:56 p.m. Monday on warrants charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of heroin, possession of Xanax and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Parker was the driver of a vehicle involved in a traffic stop on La. 182. A warrant check revealed that Parker had active warrants for her arrest. The warrants stem from an April incident during which Parker was allegedly one of the occupants of home where suspected methamphetamine, heroin, Xanax pills and drug paraphernalia were located, Blair said. Parker was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 47 calls and reported the following arrest:

—Troy Rosson, 38, of Glenwood Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:38 p.m. Monday on a Mississippi Office of Probation and Parole warrant and on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Rosson was located on Glenwood Street and arrested on a warrant for Mississippi Office of Probation and Parole. Officers also located suspected methamphetamine that was packaged for sale along with drug paraphernalia in Rosson’s possession, Blair said. Rosson was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 33 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Glenn Crawford Jr., 59, of Degravelle Road in Amelia, was arrested at 11:18 a.m. Monday on a warrant charging him with sexual battery.

A detective went to a residence on Degravelle Road and made contact with Crawford in reference to an active warrant for Crawford’s arrest. Crawford was jailed with no bail set.

—Michael Lovell, 51, of Stacy Street in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested at 8:42 p.m. Monday on charges of open container, operating a vehicle under suspension, general speed law, failure to signal turn and on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of operating a vehicle while license is suspended.

While patrolling Bayou Vista, a deputy observed a vehicle traveling over the posted speed limit on Saturn Road. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Lovell.

During the stop, the deputy observed an open container and learned of an active warrant for Lovell’s arrest. Lovell was jailed with no bail set.

—Korianne Parker, 29, of Carol Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 12:33 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

A deputy patrolling the area of Patterson was dispatched to a local business in reference to a theft complaint. While in route to the business, the deputy observed the vehicle involved in the theft and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle in the Morgan City area. The deputy made contact with the driver and a passenger, identified as Parker. Through the stop, the deputy found drug paraphernalia belonging to Parker. Parker was arrested and released on a summons to appear on January 4, 2019.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported no arrests.

From the editor: Catching up on elections

Tue, 10/23/2018 - 10:39am

By BILL DECKER

bdecker@daily-review.com

One of the challenges in print journalism at election time is finding the right time to put election coverage in the paper.
Many people wait until it’s nearly time to vote to take a look at the issues. Others get interested in races and debates months ahead of time.
And then there are the frequent requests to publish sample ballots. That’s not really practical anymore in a time of shrinking space and increasingly complex ballots.
Enter the internet, when even weeks-old stories can hang around for the moment when readers are ready. We’ve collected links to many of our stories and videos on one page at StMaryNow.com. Here’s a Tiny URL to help you find it.
https://tinyurl.com/ydhl7h5b
Early voting for the Nov. 6 primary started Tuesday morning and will run through Oct. 30, excluding Sunday. In St. Mary, you can vote at the courthouse in Franklin or the registrar’s branch office, 301 Third St. in Morgan City.
The stakes are high both nationally, where control of Congress is up for grabs, and locally, where we’ll elect a sheriff, school board members and municipal officials in Berwick, Morgan City and Patterson.

A dream costs $2 now
Lottery players once talked about a dollar and a dream. Now Powerball and Mega Millions lotto tickets cost $2. Inflation strikes even at our fantasies.
But at least there’s a big payoff, or more exactly, two big payoffs. The Mega Millions multistate lotto jackpot is at a record $1.6 billion. The Powerball jackpot is $620 million.
To help with your daydreaming, I looked up the jackpots on the USA Mega website, which estimates how much you actually get to take home if you win.
In Louisiana, the Mega Millions $1.6 billion jackpot is worth $642,479,000 in a lump sum payment after the feds and the state get their cut.
If you want your payments spread over 30 years, you start with $17.1 million in year one. The yearly payment grows to $70.4 million for year 30. The total after-tax payout would be more than $1.1 billion.
The Powerball jackpot is a lump sum payment of $251,553,000 in Louisiana, or 30 annuity payments ranging from $6.6 million to $27.3 million per year over 30 years. The total would be $440.2 million. Again, that’s according to USA Mega.
Good luck.

When Louisiana won the lottery
On Nov. 11, the world will remember the armistice that ended World War I 100 years ago. It’s a good time to remember how much events that happen thousands of miles away can affect our lives.
Another anniversary makes the point in a way that hits closer to home here in south Louisiana.
Forty-five years ago this month, Egyptian tanks and more than 100,000 soldiers rolled east toward the Suez Canal and, beyond that, toward Israel. This was the fourth and, in many ways, most frightening of the four Arab-Israeli wars that followed the Jewish state’s creation in 1948.
The Israelis were caught off guard by the Egyptians and by the Syrians who swept down through the Golan Heights. Still, Israel recovered quickly and had the Arab forces on the run by late October, when the Nixon-Kissinger shuttle diplomacy resulted in a ceasefire.
But the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries retaliated for Western support by imposing an oil embargo.
The price of oil, which was at $20 a barrel (adjusted for inflation) in summer 1973, shot up to $55 by January 1974.
If St. Mary people know anything, they know what happens with the price of oil fluctuates.
Six years later, after the Iranian revolution, the price jumped again, this time to $123.
This was Louisiana state government’s version of winning the lottery. Then-Gov. Edwin Edwards successfully changed the basis for oil severance taxes from a flat rate to a percentage of the price. Revenues, and spending, soared.
Five years ago, I dug up an old New York Times story that described Lafayette as one of the nation’s largest concentrations of millionaires. The story talked about young women wearing jewelry worth thousands of dollars to high school, and about private jet flights to Houston just for lunch.
The results in St. Mary were mixed, to look at population statistics. The parish’s population had grown from 35,000 in 1950 to 61,000 in 1970. But the population growth actually slowed in the 1970s.
The growth slowed and turned to shrinkage in the 1980s, when the price of oil dipped to $30.
There must be a hundred explanations for why.
Some say the Saudis were scared of our move toward energy conservation and wanted oil to be cheap so we'd keep being wasteful.
Patrick Taylor of Taylor Energy Co. and TOPS fame once said the Saudis crashed the price in order to steal market share from competing nations. Still others say the low oil prices were President Ronald Reagan’s secret plan to rob the old Soviet Union of its main source of foreign currency.
Whatever happened, bumper stickers that once said “Let them freeze in the dark” were replaced by “Will the last one out of Louisiana turn out the lights?”
We were on a roller coaster from which we’ve never managed to climb down.
Bill Decker is managing editor of The Daily Review.

Early voting opens in Louisiana

Tue, 10/23/2018 - 10:37am

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Early voting for the Nov. 6 election starts Tuesday across Louisiana, with voters choosing among contenders for six U.S. House seats and determining who will fill a secretary of state’s seat vacated because of a sexual harassment scandal.
Six constitutional amendments are up for consideration, including one to decide whether Louisiana requires unanimous verdicts for all felony convictions. Voters will also establish whether sports enthusiasts in a parish can participate in online fantasy sports contests for cash prizes and will fill a lengthy list of local elected positions and judgeships.
The weeklong early voting period runs through Oct. 30, except Sunday. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent support in a race, runoffs are scheduled Dec 8.
St. Mary voters may cast ballots at either the parish courthouse in Franklin or at the Registrar of Voters Office branch at 301 Third St. in Morgan City.

Secretary of state
Top of the ballot, nine contenders are vying to fill the remaining year of the term of former Secretary of State Tom Schedler, the Republican who resigned in May after one of his employees sued him for sexual harassment.
The case since has been settled out of court.
Louisiana’s secretary of state oversees elections, state archives and business registrations.
Schedler’s top aide, Republican Kyle Ardoin of Baton Rouge, is working in the interim job until voters elect someone. Though he initially said he wouldn’t run for the permanent position, Ardoin signed up for the race in the final minutes of the candidate registration period.
Other Republicans seeking the position include Turkey Creek Mayor Heather Cloud, former state Sen. A.G. Crowe of Pearl River, state Rep. Rick Edmonds of Baton Rouge, and state Rep. Julie Stokes of Kenner.
The major Democrat in the race is Renee Fontenot Free, a former first assistant to two prior secretaries of state who most recently worked for the attorney general.
Three other candidates in the race have done little or no fundraising.
Congressional seats
All six of Louisiana’s incumbent congressmen have drawn opponents: Republicans Steve Scalise in the 1st District, Clay Higgins in the 3rd District, Mike Johnson in the 4th District, Ralph Abraham in the 5th District, and Garret Graves in the 6th District and Democrat Cedric Richmond in the 2nd District.
Higgins drew the most challengers, with six contenders trying to oust him from the district representing southwest and south central Louisiana. He’s the only Louisiana congressman to face an intra-party fight.
The election is the first for Scalise, the third-highest ranking GOP House member, since he survived life-threatening injuries from a shooting at a 2017 congressional baseball practice.

Amendments
Voters will consider six changes to the Louisiana Constitution.
The most high-profile proposal is Amendment 2, which would end Louisiana’s Jim Crow-era law that allows split juries to convict people of serious felony crimes.
Other amendments would ban felons from running for office in Louisiana until five years after serving their sentences, prohibit using gasoline tax dollars to help finance state police operations and let local government agencies share public equipment and staff with each other.
The nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana has a full list online .
In addition, voters will decide on a parish-by-parish basis whether to allow residents to play for cash prizes in fantasy sports games through online sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

Where to vote
Early voting runs daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Sunday, at parish registrar of voters’ offices and other locations.
The secretary of state’s office has a complete list of early voting sites online or through its GeauxVote mobile app.

JUDY MAYON

Tue, 10/23/2018 - 10:35am

Judy Mayon, 78, a native and resident of Morgan City, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, at Teche Regional Medical Center in Morgan City.
She is survived by her husband, Dannie Mayon of Morgan City; two children, Melissa Jett of Bayou Vista and Shane Mayon of Bayou Vista; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by a son, her parents and two siblings.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. until services at 2 p.m. at Hargrave Funeral Home in Morgan City. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
Hargrave Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.