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A 34-year-old woman was caught with multiple drugs, including psilocybin mushrooms, after Morgan City police responded to a report of an intoxicated person outside a motel, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Molly F. Compagno, 34, of Fern Street in New Orleans, was arrested at 10:40 a.m. Thursday on charges of disturbing the peace intoxicated, resisting an officer, possession of marijuana, possession of psilocybin mushrooms, possession of alprazolam and two counts of possession of a legend drug.

Officers responded to a local motel on La. 182 in Morgan City in regard to an individual intoxicated outside one of the rooms. Officers arrived and located the individual identified as Compagno, who appeared intoxicated, Blair said.

When officers tried placing Compagno under arrest, she began to resist but was later subdued. Officers also located in Compagno’s possession suspected marijuana, suspected psilocybin mushroom, pills identified as alprazolam, cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride, tizanidine hydrochloride and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Compagno was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 41 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Zackery D. Johnson, 33, of Moffett Court in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested at 12:53 p.m. Thursday on charges of resisting an officer and possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

—Kayla L. Comeaux, 30, of Moffett Court in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested at 12:53 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of Suboxone, possession of drug paraphernalia and introduction of contraband in a penal institute.

Officers responded to the area of Seventh Street near Brashear Avenue in regard to two individuals sitting inside a vehicle possibly doing illegal narcotics. Officers arrived, located the vehicle, and identified Johnson and Comeaux inside the vehicle, Blair said.

Both individuals appeared to be under some type of illegal narcotic, Blair said. Officers located suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in Johnson’s possession. Comeaux was in possession of suspected Suboxone and drug paraphernalia. Both Johnson and Comeaux were transported to the police department. Once at the police department, an officer located suspected Suboxone inside Comeaux’s underwear, Blair said. Johnson and Comeaux were jailed.

—Craig M. Free, 32, of River Road in Berwick, was arrested at 5:56 p.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with theft $1,000 to $5,000.

Free was located on Egle Street and arrested on a warrant that stems from a September incident that alleges Free allegedly went to a home and took several items from inside the home, Blair said. Free was jailed.

—Manuel M. Rodriguez, 45, of Federal Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:05 p.m. Thursday on charges of no tail lamps and no driver’s license.

An officer on La. 182 observed a vehicle with improper lighting. A traffic stop was conducted and the driver, Rodriguez did not have a valid driver’s license, Blair said. Rodriguez was jailed.

—Tiffany L. Randolph, 29, of Big Bear Lane in Franklin, was arrested at 1:14 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging her with two counts of failure to appear for trial.

Randolph was transported from St. Mary Parish to the Morgan City Police Department on a city court arrest warrant. Randolph was jailed.

—Donte J. Harris, 22, of Mount Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:30 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to pay fines and on charges of resisting an officer, resisting an officer by giving false information and criminal trespass.

Officers responded to the area of Oak Street and Railroad Avenue in regard to an individual shining a flashlight into yards. Officers arrived and located the individual, who began to flee from officers, Blair said.

The individual was apprehended a short time later and identified as Harris. But he’d originally given officers a false name, Blair said. A computer check revealed that Harris had an arrest warrant for city court. Harris was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 44 complaints and reported the following arrest:

—Alyssa Ashmore, 28, of Third Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 1:42 p.m. Thursday on a charge of driving under suspension.

A deputy patrolling the area of Morgan City was dispatched to the U.S. 90 off ramp at Martin Luther King Boulevard in reference to a reckless driver complaint. The deputy made contact with the driver of the reported vehicle, Ashmore, who admitted to being sleepy while driving, Anslum said.

Through the stop, the deputy was made aware Ashmore’s license was suspended. Ashmore was arrested and released on a summons to appear Jan. 4.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:

—Crystal Thompson, 40, of Egle Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:04 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, careless operation of a motor vehicle with a crash and driving under suspension. Thompson posted $5,000 bail.

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

—Alvin Joseph Fitch, 31, of Honey Lane in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested Wednesday on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a fugitive warrant for the Franklin Police Department.

Deputies went to Fitch’s home on Wednesday to execute a warrant for Franklin Police Department as well as a seizure on a pick-up truck.

While there, agents observed conditions which required further investigation.

A search warrant was obtained for Fitch’s home and during the search, a firearm was recovered. Agents had prior knowledge that Fitch had been previously convicted of a statutory enumerated felony, Falcon said. Fitch was jailed pending a bail hearing.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported no arrests.

Morgan City brought he fight early, but E.D. White Catholic finished it during Tuesday’s District 8-III opener in
Thibodaux.
After the Lady Tigers stormed out the gates with an impressive win in the first set, the Lady Cardinals rallied back in the next three games to take a 19-25, 25-14, 25- 13, 25-17 win.
Tuesday’s district opener was a showdown between two of the top teams in the Division III state power ratings this week. The Lady Cardinals (15-6 overall, 1-0 in district) are ranked No. 2 in the latest Division III ratings, and Morgan City (20-6 overall, 0-1 in district) is listed at No. 5.
The Lady Tigers showed why they are ranked high in the early stages of Tuesday’s match. They dominated
play at the net, getting huge blocks and kills from Sh’Diamond Holly to break a 16-all tie with a late run to get the win in game 1.
E.D. White coach Sarah Johnson said she knew Morgan City would come out ready to play.
“We came in and we knew they were going to be a tough team,” Johnson said. “They showed it. They came out strong just like I thought. We had to answer back.”
The Lady Cardinals did that and more as they dominated the match’s next three games.
E.D. White picked up the tempo offensively, using strong performances by Lila Bordis (19 kills, two aces), Joci Gravois (11 kills, three blocks), Rebecka Bollinger (three blocks, 20 digs), Maddie Gros (14 digs), Mary
Grace Chaisson (36 assists) and Emmi Lasseigne (two digs).
“We had a lot of errors in the first game,” Johnson said. “I told them we had to limit our errors. We were able to turn it around and change the momentum of the game.”
After suffering two nondistrict losses to Archbishop Chapelle and Central Catholic last week, Bordis said the
Lady Cardinals were prepared for Tuesday’s match.
“We came back as a team better than ever,” Bordis said. “We talked about what we had to do. We knew we would get down on ourselves, but once we get back, we’re fine. When we get back in rhythm, we’re good.”
Morgan City coach Christy Theriot said the Lady Tigers just couldn’t keep up the intensity throughout the match.
“Their offense came on, and our passing didn’t allow us to run our offense,” Theriot said. “We stood behind the eight ball the whole time after the first (game). They are very scrappy. They picked up everything. They didn’t give up. They didn’t quit. They came back from everything. We just made too many mistakes. We just have to come back stronger, because it’s not going to get any easier.”
E.D. White and Morgan City now are bracing for their next games in district play. The Lady Cardinals will host rival Vandebilt Catholic Thursday. Vandebilt Catholic is ranked No. 4 in the latest Division III power ratings. Morgan City will travel to Berwick Thursday.

CENTERVILLE — The St. Mary Parish School Board signed on to a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Thursday. The lawsuit alleges that their marketing practices contributed to an epidemic of opioid abuse.
The board made the decision after a closed-door session with attorneys Mike Stag and Joe Burke, who are part of a group of legal firms representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The Morgan City, Berwick and Patterson councils had already joined the lawsuit.
The rate of opioid overdose deaths tripled in Louisiana between 2011 and 2016, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The rate of deaths per 100,000 residents is lower in Louisiana than in the rest of the nation, but the number of opioid prescriptions here outnumbers the population, according to the institute.
The lawsuit seeks to recover the costs that local governments have incurred from the added demand on police, medical and justice services.
The legal representation will cost the school board nothing if the lawsuit is unsuccessful. If the litigation succeeds, the attorneys will get 25 percent of any judgment up to $10 million, 20 percent of the next $10 million and 15 percent of anything over $20 million.
Also Thursday, the board heard from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and United Health Care representatives as members try to decide how to contain growing health care costs for school board employees, especially the cost of prescription drugs.
Attention has centered on a possible Medicare Advantage plan for the more than 400 Medicare-eligible retirees covered by the school board.
Under the conventional Medicare system, the federal government pays providers for services to recipients. Insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans are paid by the government to cover recipients.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which carries the current school board employee and retiree insurance, had submitted a renewal proposal calling for a 9.7 percent premium increase at a time when the board is struggling with declining enrollment and depressed tax revenue.
Blue Cross and UHC presented options that could lower or even eliminate the increase, but the board wants to consider the proposals. Members will come back for a special meeting to pick an insurer at 5 p.m. Oct. 18 at the school board offices in Centerville.
Superintendent Leonard Armato told the school board that the decline in enrollment is continuing.
He said the current enrollment submitted to the state for funding under the Minimum Foundation Program is 8,222, down from 8,314 in 2017-18.
The total enrollment, which also includes pre-K, is 8,578, down from 8,700 last year.
“We’re still seeing people leaving the parish due to the economy,” Armato said.

Marguerite Pattie Awagain, 89, a native of Berwick and resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, died Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018, at her residence.
She is survived by six children, Dale Martin, Wayne Martin, Patti Kidd, Jack Martin, Clair Meranta and Melissa Orgeron; and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, father, mother and two sisters.
Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Monday, with services at 10 a.m. Tuesday, all at Miller Funeral Home in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Marguerite Pattie Awagain, 89, a native of Berwick and resident of Woodbridge, Virginia, died Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018, at her residence.
She is survived by six children, Dale Martin, Wayne Martin, Patti Kidd, Jack Martin, Clair Meranta and Melissa Orgeron; and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, father, mother and two sisters.
Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Monday, with services at 10 a.m. Tuesday, all at Miller Funeral Home in Woodbridge, Virginia.