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In a parish that has taken economic hits for nearly four years, Friday was a day for optimism at Young Memorial — the new South Louisiana Community College Young Memorial Campus on Youngs Road.
After school and local dignitaries cut a ribbon to mark the long-time technical school’s transition to the SLCC system, Associate Vice President Jermaine Ford could do a bit of bragging
He said the Young Memorial Marine and Safety Training Program, which took an enrollment dip recently, has doubled in size recently, according to Maritime and Continuing Education Dean Anthony L. Baham.
“I’ll predict it will be the No. 1 maritime program in the world,” Ford said.
A lot of things are happening at Young Memorial, which officially became part of SLCC July 1. One of the biggest is the addition of transferable academic credits that will make the school a true community college. The school’ technical course offerings remain.
Young Memorial will also have access to resources though the SLCC system. On Friday, some resources came the college’s way, too.
Brenda Ayo of the H&B Young Foundation, named for the family that donated the land on which the campus sits, gave SLCC Chancellor Natalie Harder a symbolic check for $60,000, an endowment for a professorship in technical studies.
Young Memorials training programs put the school in contact with people from all all over, Ayo said.
“You’d be surprised at how many parts of the world this school touches on a daily basis,” Ayo said.
Harder posed with another check, this one for $10,500, presented by Samuel Cannata, who represented the Morgan City Fishing Rodeo.
At the lectern, Harder talked about the connection between the needs of local businesses and operations like the Marine and Safety Training Program.
“It’s exactly that we can figure out what the community needs and find out how we can meet those needs together,” Harder said.
A school for big-rig drivers and an aluminum shop is under consideration for the Franklin area near Metal Shark and Gulf Craft, officials said.
And Harder hinted about an announcement, coming in October, that involves Nicholls State University.
Other comments by speakers Friday:
—Samantha Rushlow said she’s a nontraditional student, a single mother of two who lost her job. Now Rushlow is a member of the Student Government Association at Young Memorial.
“I planned to go in, do it and leave,” she said. “That was the wrong mindset.”
—Vincent St. Blanc III , longtime member of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System board, stressed the importance of technical education. And St. Blanc painted a picture of a two-year college system in which good things are happening.
“We’re always going someplace,” St. Blanc said. “We’re always cutting ribbons.”
—Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi talked about the contributions Young Memorial makes.
“More important is it gives us some stability,” Grizzaffi said.
—Parish President David Hanagriff talked about an economic uptick and the improving fortunes of his own business, the Hanagriff Machine Shop in Centerville.
“Our business is strong right now through diversity, which is what we need in St. Mary Parish,” Hanagriff said.
—State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, talked about the legislative struggles involved in realigning the community college system and in successfully funding the TOPS scholarship program and the Minimum Foundation Program that funds Louisiana public schools. He agreed with Hanagriff about the need for economic divesity.
“Although we are driven by the oil industry,” Jones said, “the world is diversifying, and if we don’t, we’re going to get run over.”
—State Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray, said Young Memorial “opens more doors for those who want to succeed, who want to excel.”

Louisiana’s oldest chartered harvest festival is scheduled to celebrate 83 years of tradition and family fun Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30-Sept. 3, in downtown Morgan City.
Great food, continuous free live music and children’s activities as well as both traditional and new events will highlight this five-day extravaganza, including Blessing of the Fleet, fireworks, street and water parade, arts and crafts, Royal Rumble, Mass in the Park and more.
For more information, www.shrimpandpetroleum.org, 985-385-0703.
The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival will be held in Morgan City, only 90 miles from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Most festivities are held within the Downtown Historic District and are free to the general public.
The 55th Labor Day Art Show & Sale will start Thursday, Aug. 30 and continue through Saturday, Sept. 22 in the downtown Everett Street Gallery. Hours to view the exhibit during the festival are 1-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday through Monday.
Thursday, Aug. 30 is the official ribbon-cutting and will open the festival at 5 p.m. on Second Street under the U.S. 90 bridge.
Also on Thursday, Mitchell Brothers Carnival rides and games will begin at 5 p.m. and continue through Monday at 9 p.m. Bracelets will be offered Thursday, Aug. 30, 5-9 p.m., and Monday, Sept. 3, noon-9 p.m. Bracelets are $25 each.
Indulge your taste buds and satisfy your appetite at the 30th Annual Cajun Culinary Classic, a showcase of local “home style” cooking featuring delicious Cajun and Creole dishes as well as a variety of desserts and other cuisines.
The Cajun Culinary Classic is open 5-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and noon-7:30 p.m. Monday. Local non-profit groups and civic organizations benefit from the proceeds.
The 41st Arts & Crafts Show & Sale will open Friday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. under the U.S. 90 bridge and continue through Monday, Sept. 3 at 9 p.m. The event features over 130 artists and crafters from south Louisiana with unique merchandise and artistic masterpieces for sale.
Children’s Day activities will begin with children’s field and game events Saturday, Sept. 1 at 9 a.m.
Children of all ages can participate in sack races, three-legged races and more. The Children’s Day Mini Street Parade will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. Decorated bicycles, wagons, strollers and four wheelers are welcome to participate. Registration begins at 10 a.m. in front of City Hall.
The Children’s Day King and Queen will officially open the Children’s Village with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. The Children’s Village is a play land featuring games, prizes, face-painting and more. The Children’s Village will be open Saturday and Sunday, 1-5:30 p.m.
Downtown comes alive with continuous free live music performed at the Heritage Music Stage. The festival will feature bright, upcoming artists from the area, as well as hometown legends.
The music line for 2018 includes:
—Friday, Aug. 31, 6-8:30 p.m. Kyle Daigle; 9-11 p.m. Keith Frank & Soileau Zydeco Band.
—Saturday, Sept. 1, noon-12:15 p.m. Bernadette Stevens; 12:15-12:30 p.m. Anchored by Praise Dance School; 12:30-1 p.m. Bishop Davis and Com; 1:45 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Lee Chapel AME and Union Bethal AME; 4-6 p.m. Cliff Hillebran & the Anytime Band; 6:30-8:30 p.m. Horace Trahan & The Ossun Express; 9-11 p.m. Souled Out.
—Sunday, Sept. 2, noon-12:30 p.m. New Zorah Choir; 12:45-1:15 p.m. Men of Zion; 1:30-2:15 p.m. Gospel Inspirations; 2:30-3:30 p.m. The Earmuffs; 4-6 p.m. Chase Tyler Band; 6:30-8:30 p.m. Snapper and the Fishsticks; 9-11 p.m. Wayne Toups.
—Monday, Sept. 3, noon-1 p.m. KQKI Country Music Showdown Winner Brittney Billiot; 1:30-3 p.m. Low Down; 3:30-5 p.m. Driftwood; 5:30-7:30 p.m. South 70.
On Saturday, 1:15-1:45 p.m., the Royalty & Visiting Queens will be introduced on the Heritage Music Stage and 2:15-4 p.m., Gulf South Wresting will host the Royal Shrimp Rumble.
There will be many special events throughout the weekend. Cypress Corvette Club Open Car Show will take place Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., at M.D. Shannon Elementary, 409 Brashear Avenue. A 5K Fun Run/Walk will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, with start up near City Hall.
Traditional activities will take place on Sunday starting with Mass in the Park. The community will give thanks for its blessings at the Mass at 8:30 a.m., celebrated under the oaks in Lawrence Park and is open to the public.
Morgan City Rotary Club will be selling pancakes at the corner of Everett and Second streets after Mass in the Park and during the Blessing of the Fleet and Water Parade.
The Historic Blessing of the Fleet will begin at 10 a.m. on the Atchafalaya River from the Berwick docks and is followed by the water parade featuring decorated shrimp boats, pleasure craft, offshore supply boats and some of the biggest “muscle” boats of the offshore industry including supply boats, crew boats and tugboats. A Certificate of Blessing and a prayer card of St. Brendan the Navigator, patron Saint of Seafarers, will be presented to each participant.
The Street Parade will begin at the corner of Second and Onstead streets at 3 p.m. featuring past and present royalty along with this year’s maids and their pages and visiting queens from various festivals throughout the state. Fireworks on the River will begin at 9 p.m. Sunday. Grab a spot in Lawrence Park, on top of the seawall or on the La. 182 bridge and enjoy the fireworks spectacular.
Tune your radio to KQKI 95.3 to listen to the synchronized music.
The festival began in 1936 when the placid port of Morgan City and Berwick received the first boatload of jumbo shrimp, fresh from the deepest Gulf waters. The festival became the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in 1967, when the oil industry was firmly implanted into the local economy.
The festival has grown to become one of the state’s premier festivals. The festival was voted Festival of the Year in Division III for the past 10 years by the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals, a top 100 American Bus Association event and a top 20 Southeast Tourism Society event. In July of 1991 Time magazine described the festival as “... the best, the most unusual, the most down-home, the most moving and the most fun that the country has to offer.”
Festival organizers invite you to bring your family to Morgan City for Labor Day weekend to enjoy 83 years of tradition and family fun. For more information, contact the festival office at 985-385-0703, or visit the festival’s web site at www.shrimpandpetroleum.org.

Sean Finister, 30, a native of Franklin and resident of Patterson, died Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018, in Berwick.
Services will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Miracle Revival Church in Bayou Vista. Burial will follow in Franklin Cemetery.
He is survived by his wife, Tonisha Knight-Finister; his children, A’mya Finister, A’nya Finister and A’yden Finister, all of Bronx, New York; his parents, John Finister IV of San Jose, California, Lucille Council of Aberdeen, Maryland, and Dr. Sheron Steward of Garden City; two brothers, John Finister V of Garden City and Christopher Wallace of Abbeville; sisters, Leilani Finister of Los Angeles, Felicia Finister of Lafayette, Brooklyn Richard of Baldwin, and Tyesha Council and Natassia Cain, both of Aberdeen, Maryland; his grandfather, John Finister III of San Jose, California; and a host of other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandmother and a sister.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.