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GIRL SCOUT DRIVE
A Girl Scout membership drive is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, at Bayou Vista Community Center. Information on Girl Scouting, games, crafts, food and door prizes. For info call Lena Clements, 985-519-3692.

CONVOCATION
Churches United for Christ Holy Convocation at Morning Glory Ministries, 1323 Railroad Ave., Morgan City, with classes at 7 p.m. Aug. 23-24 and 10 a.m. Aug. 25. Worship service at 7 p.m. Aug. 25.

M C Bank recently doubled the pleasure with the opportunity to acknowledge a 55-year bank anniversary and an 80th birthday on the same day.   Pictured from left are M C Bank Executive Vice President Jeremy Callais; President and CEO Larry Callais; Earnest Dalcour, who celebrated his bank anniversary on his birthday; Vice President Jason Pye; and Executive Vice President Barton Blanco. M C Bank’s Board of Directors, officers and employees thanked Dalcour for his 55 years of dedication to the financial institution.

When the Intracoastal Waterway was nothing more than a series of lines on a map, the idea was to send it through Vermilion Bay.
But some folks in Vermilion Parish, and elsewhere in south Louisiana, thought that route would cause more problems than it would solve — and convinced the Army Engineers that there was a better way.
Henry Gueydan, son of the founder of the Vermilion Parish town, was one of the early visionaries who saw the possibilities of linking lakes, bayous and rivers along the Gulf Coast into a single inland waterway. In a letter in the Abbeville Meridional in January 1900, he called it “a project that … would prove of incalculable benefit to Louisiana; and more especially to the Southern portion of the state.”
A stretch from the Mermentau River to Schooner Bayou in lower Vermilion was finished in the early 1900s, and that’s when some concerned citizens started pushing the Army Engineers to look into the idea of dredging a channel connecting the Vermilion River with the inland canal.
W. H. Bixby, chief of engineers, reported to Congress on Feb. 1, 1913, that 95 percent of the commercial vessels using the Vermilion used the protected waters of the Mermentau River and the new inland waterway to get to the mouth of Schooner Bayou, but then had to cross Vermilion Bay.
“The danger of the open waters and the shallowness of the water in West Vermilion Bay have rendered unprofitable previous attempts to run boats from New Orleans to Abbeville,” Bixby wrote, “and it appears that local commerce is greatly ... hampered by the unsatisfactory navigation conditions.”
He said a yet to be built stretch of the inland waterway between Franklin and Mermentau that would also cross Vermilion Bay “appears to be one of the most important portions of the entire intercostal waterway,” but that there were problems with the planned route “on account of the exposure, shallow water, and unfavorable experiences in maintaining a channel in Vermilion Bay.”
He recommended an alternate route through the marsh north of the bay that would provide a safer link to Franklin and also a better connection to the Vermilion River and Abbeville.
Major Edward Schulz, the district engineer who actually made the study, attached a letter agreeing with the change, quoting a statement from D. L. McPherson of Abbeville, a man “who is interested in this improvement.”
McPherson said that “the inadequate depth of … Vermilion Bay from the mouth of the Vermilion River to Schooner Bay deters the larger boats in the trade west of the Vermilion from extending their operations to the Vermilion River.
During the fall and winter months none but very shallow draft boats can cross the western arm of Vermilion Bay.”
He said boats from Grand Chenier, Cameron, Lake Arthur, Lake Charles, and Pecan Island had been forced to quit trading with Abbeville “on account of insufficient water depth in Vermilion Bay.” Further, he said, “the water depth is so inadequate across Vermilion Bay that the Post Office Department directs [that] mail from Pecan Island [should be] carried [to Abbeville by way of] Lake Arthur . . . [which is] a longer haul, rather than risk having the mails tied up by low water in Vermilion Bay.”
Bixby agreed. “The cut-off is very much needed,” he said. “The uncertainty of crossing from the mouth of the Vermilion to the mouth of Schooner Bayou keeps many boats from coming to or leaving Abbeville during the winter season, the heaviest shipping season of the year. … Local commerce is greatly reduced and ... merchants hesitate to ship fragile or perishable freight. It is understood that boats have been grounded for several days and nights.”
One of the valuable winter commodities shipped from Abbeville each year, he said, was some $30,000 worth of pelts that came in from Pecan Island and the surrounding area.
He suggested a channel running about three and a half miles from the mouth of the Vermilion to Schooner Bayou that would have roughly the same dimensions as the Intracoastal Canal section already constructed from Vermilion Bay to the Mermentau River — 40 feet wide and 5 feet deep. Schultz estimated the cost of the project at about $70,000 and said it could be maintained for about $1,800 a year.
It takes a while for the Corps of Engineers to move from idea to actual project, and even longer for members of Congress to let loose the money to do the dredging, but Bixby’s and Schultz’s and McPherson’s arguments were eventually heard, and the Intracoastal does in fact run north of the open water of Vermilion Bay, connecting with the Vermilion River at Intracoastal City, a community that probably wouldn’t exist if the debate had gone the other way
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.
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I recently came across some poison ivy as I was working in an out-of-the-way area of my landscape. Poison ivy is very abundant in urban, suburban and rural landscapes. I keep a sharp eye out for this plant as I’m quite allergic, and I promptly and ruthlessly deal with any as soon as I see it.
RECOGNIZING POISON IVY
Poison ivy is a tall, climbing vine that is leafless in winter. As it climbs tree trunks, wood fences or other flat structures, the stem produces many small roots that cling to the surface. This is a good identifiable characteristic of the vine in case you can’t easily see the leaves. These plants are quite common along fences and at the base of trees, and seedlings are often found in garden beds.
Poison ivy has a characteristic compound leaf consisting of three leaflets (Hence the saying, “Leaves of three, let it be.”) The leaves are 2- to 4-inches long and dull or glossy green with pointed tips. The middle leaflet is generally larger than the two laterals. The margins of the leaflets are variable, appearing irregularly toothed, lobed or smooth. The leaves are arranged alternately on the stems. Young foliage is often shiny or oily-looking with a reddish tint.
Mature poison ivy vines growing up trees flower and produce a white fruit which is readily eaten by birds. The birds spread the seeds through their droppings, creating the wide occurrence of this plant. New seedlings of poison ivy are easily overlooked. They may have a reddish tint to their foliage and will appear upright. As they get older, they will begin to vine and grow up nearby shrubs or trees. It is easy to come into contact with young poison ivy seedlings when weeding flower beds, so you need to be observant.
Another common vine in our area, Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), is a non-poisonous vine that is often mistaken for poison ivy. It has five leaflets radiating from one point of attachment on mature leaves, which distinguishes it from poison ivy which has three. The leaflets also have a different marginal appearance.
CONTROLLING POISON IVY
In controlling poison ivy, one of the most important things to do is to periodically check your landscape carefully for seedlings or vines. Look for the three-leaflet leaves in out-of-the-way areas, under shrubs, along back fences and by trees.
Three methods can be effective in eradicating poison ivy in landscapes.
The first is hand pulling or digging them out when the soil is moist; getting out as much of the roots as possible. Use long gauntlet rubber gloves available at local hardware stores or dishwashing gloves when handling the vines. Place the plants into a plastic bag, seal it (in consideration for trash collectors) and throw it away. Be sure to wash your gloves with soap and water after handling poison ivy.
The second is to carefully spray the foliage with a systemic herbicide. This is only possible when the spray will not get on the foliage of desirable plants. If needed, nearby desirable plants can be covered with plastic sheets or bags to protect them while you do the spraying. Be sure to wet the foliage of the poison ivy vine thoroughly. Systemic herbicides are absorbed by the foliage and enter the plant’s circulatory system, which sends the material into the vine’s roots, killing them as well. Glyphosate (Roundup, Eraser, Hi-Yield Killzall and other brands) or triclopyr (Brush-B-Gon, Brush Killer and other brands) are commonly recommended for poison ivy control. Herbicides that contain combination of dicamba (banvel) and 2,4-D also work well. Once the vine dies, it may be removed. The dead leaves still contain the rash-causing oils and should be handled cautiously with gloves.
The third method is for larger, established vines growing up in trees or intertwined in shrubs. Spraying the vine foliage is not practical in these situations because of the potential to injure desirable trees and surrounding landscape plants. Poison ivy control in sensitive areas can best be achieved by the cut vine method.
Cut off the vine a few inches from the ground with loppers and immediately treat the surface of the freshly cut stump with undiluted triclopyr (Brush B Gon, Brush Killer, Greenlight Cut Vine and Stump Killer and other brands). The vine in the tree or shrubs will die because it has no root system. The treated stump will die because the herbicide gets absorbed by the freshly cut surface and translocates to the roots. Applying the herbicide to the fresh cut is necessary because it prevents the stump from resprouting. This method is quite effective and may be used any time of the year.
Getting poison ivy off your property will probably take repeated herbicide applications. Older vines in neighboring yards may continue to drop seeds in your landscape. Watch out for this unwelcome plant and be prompt and aggressive in your efforts to control it.