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The Foundation for Terrebonne General Medical Center has named Catherine Straatmann Robichaux as its new coordinator. Robichaux’s primary roles include fundraising and event planning for the foundation.
Robichaux most recently served as the run director for the Over and Under Tunnel Run benefiting the American Heart Association. foundation.
The foundation supports the hospital’s community endeavors.

The Queen City of the South is under siege. No, not from hurricanes. This time, the siege is from within. New Orleans is known as the city that care forgot. But it’s been hard to let the good times roll in the Big Easy when the dice keep coming up snake eyes.
New Orleans is in a battle to stay afloat as it deals with major street crime, inept public officials, and a dysfunctional criminal justice system where even federal officials can no longer be trusted.
Author James Lee Burke writes about this corruption and dysfunction in his novel Last Car to Elysian Fields.
“One of the most beautiful cities in the Western hemisphere was killed three times, and not just by forces of nature.”
New Orleans is a city that for years has had the highest per capita murder rate in the nation, where multiple killings often happen on a daily basis, a town that is rated as one of the five most dangerous cities in the world.
But even with such a reputation, it was hard to fathom the recent crime wave that attacked the Crescent City.
Recently, in just two weeks, 39 people have been shot, including four children.
Over 22 shootings in just a few weeks; a war zone. Such violence goes beyond the street shootings that seem to happen almost daily in New Orleans.
When a gunman indiscriminately fires into a crowd, it’s an act of terrorism.
Many crimes go unreported out of the sense of frustration that nobody will do anything about it anyway.
Recently, a young relative of mine was walking uptown from the French Quarter. Just across Canal, in one of the busier sections of the city, a man steps out of nowhere and without rhyme or reason, punches him in the face.
In an instant, my relative had become a victim of the “knockout game,” a brutal ritual where street thugs approach an innocent bystander and try, in one blow, to knock him out.
He suffered a concussion and had his jaw wired shut for weeks. This type of street violence seems to happen all the time.
Drug deals gone bad play a major role in a majority of the killings according to the New Orleans Police Department.
The city is a cesspool of illegal drug activity in many neighborhoods, even in broad daylight.
Recently, I watched the Tom Cruise movie “Jack Reacher: Never go Back,” that was made in the Crescent City. A local drug dealer tells Cruise: “More s—t in the streets of New Orleans then they make in Afghanistan.”
City officials are reportedly asking for state and federal help, and for good reason.
After Katrina, the governor sent in 300 hundred National Guard troops to maintain order.
And this time, the current governor needs to send in a lot more.
Recently, the governor of Colorado committed more than 600 Guardsmen to help feed cattle whose welfare had been threatened by blizzards.
If you can bring in that many guardsmen for cattle, the state should be willing to do that amount and more for its people.
Some might argue that the presence of soldiers on the streets will dampen tourism.
Not so in my opinion.
After Katrina, I hosted a daily radio program in New Orleans and was out each evening for walks and to meet friends for dinner.
National Guardsmen were prominent throughout the downtown area, and we all felt much safer because of their presence.
I was in the Louisiana National Guard for 12 years, and I can tell you it would be good training for our Guardsman. So turn loose the National Guard, Governor, to give a good level of comfort to the millions of tourists who help drive the state’s economy.
New Orleans can be either a unique place to live and work, or it can slowly drift into the cosmos due to a justified fear of crime.
There’s a fight to keep the bright, dynamic young leadership in the city and be an integral force in molding the future of New Orleans.
But it all begins with feeling safe, doesn’t it? And right now, the Crescent City has a long, long way to go.
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9 am till 11:00 am, central time, on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

The newly unified Catholic school in Morgan City, now known as Central Catholic, a merger of Central Catholic High and Holy Cross Elementary, received a formal blessing Tuesday from the area diocese’s bishop.

Officials held a blessing and dedication Tuesday for the unified diocesan school of Central Catholic for the 2018-19 school year, which began last week.

Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux served as celebrant.

“Catholic education is very, very important. We much teach faith to our young people,” Fabre said.

Such an education is also about preparing students for life and to be good citizens, he said. Fabre blessed the school, students, faculty, staff and parents during a ceremony following Mass.

“I thank you for your belief that what we are doing together is very, very important, and to the best of our ability ensures Catholic education will be here in Morgan City for years to come,” he said.

Fabre greatly appreciated what everyone involved in the merging of schools has accomplished, he said.

Burt Adams, chairman of Vision 2020 which was responsible for the merger, said the unified school’s overall strategic goals remain unchanged. Those goals are fostering spiritual formation, academic excellence and a healthy learning environment, Adams said.

Adams has been associated with Catholic education for over 40 years and is currently a teacher at Central Catholic.

“We all share the vision of the future that allows for great success in Catholic education in our area for the very long-term,” Adams said.

School leaders announced plans for the merger in November 2017, and the name change was announced in May.

Holy Cross Elementary had comprised Pre-K3 through sixth grade, while Central Catholic High comprised seventh grade through 12th grade. Now, Pre-K3 through fifth grade compose Central Catholic Elementary, sixth through eighth grade Central Catholic Junior High, and ninth through 12 grade Central Catholic High.

At the time officials announced the merger, Central Catholic High Principal Vic Bonnaffee said school leaders saw a need to re-create the unified efforts used to raise money for building projects, and use those combined efforts “in marketing and recruitment as well as in the curriculum and the services being offered and in the formation of students.”

Sheriff Scott Anslum, School Resource Officers from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officials from police departments throughout St. Mary Parish, and Superintendent of Schools Lenny Armato and his staff met on Monday morning to review security measures and available resources that are in place in an effort to ensure the safety of students. Throughout the summer the sheriff’s office, as well as other agencies, have conducted active shooter drills in selected schools throughout the parish to help prepare not only law enforcement officers but also teachers and administrators to respond in emergency situations. “We are doing a lot in our schools in regards to safety,” Armato said. “We want our parents to feel that our kids are safe and we don’t have to worry.”