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DEEP WATERS
Ministries, 1120 Lia St., Patterson, celebrates Overseer Muriel Brown and Co-pastor Sharon Brown’s 16th Pastoral Anniversary at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 29. Guest minister the Rev. Norman Stovall, Mt. Era Baptist Church, Morgan City. Public invited.

MC JUNIOR HIGH
Morgan City Junior High School orientation Aug. 1-2. Lockers assigned, $15 school fees to be paid, and student ID photos taken. Bring or wear a uniform shirt. Parents and students encouraged to attend to meet teachers and learn about plans for the year. School sweatshirts, T-shirts and yearbooks on sale. Registration for MCJHS of children not already in the Morgan City elementary school system should be done before school starts. Dates and times: Aug. 1, seventh-graders, 9 a.m. and eighth-graders, 1 p.m. Aug. 2, sixth-graders, 9 a.m. to noon.

By midsummer, many adults are thinking of ways to provide something for children to do until school begins. Why not start a gardening project? You can introduce your youngsters to the joys of gardening and at the same time exercise their bodies and brains.
To be successful during the summer months, select seeds or plants that will thrive in our hot, humid climate. A good selection of flowers, vegetables and herbs can be grown now. Whatever you decide to grow, start with a well-prepared planting bed or, if you’re gardening in containers, use a good potting soil and the properly sized container.
To prepare a garden bed, remove any weeds or grass from the area. Next, dig the soil to a depth of 8 inches. For small children, this can be a physically difficult task, and your assistance will be required.
Try to find tools that are designed for kids to use. Then, sprinkle a complete granular fertilizer following label directions, spread a 2-inch layer of organic matter over the area and dig it all in. Most often, compost, aged manure, peat moss, leaves or grass clippings are used as a source of organic matter. Thoroughly incorporate everything into the soil of the bed by turning it in with a shovel.
Children might ask why you need to add fertilizer and organic matter to the soil. A simple answer is that the fertilizer provides nutrients needed by the plants. You can compare fertilizer to vitamins. Just as getting enough vitamins is important to our growth and health, fertilizers provide nutrients that make the plants healthier and productive. Mention that although we call fertilizers “plant food,” plants make their own food through a remarkable process called photosynthesis. In this process, plants absorb the energy of the sun and use it to create the food they need to live and grow.
The organic matter also adds nutrients, but more importantly, it improves the soil so the plant roots will grow better. The organic matter helps create air spaces and aids in drainage of excess water from the soil. The air spaces allow oxygen to be present in levels needed to maintain a healthy root system. A loose soil also helps the roots grow through it more easily.
Most kids are familiar with recycling aluminum, paper and glass. Introduce them to recycling organic yard waste through composting. Compost is a valuable soil amendment that you can easily make yourself with grass clippings, leaves and vegetable and fruit peelings from the kitchen. The LSU AgCenter has excellent free information on establishing a compost pile. Contact your local AgCenter office.
For container gardens, choose commercial potting soils that are lightweight and drain well. Make sure the containers you use have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain away when you water. Choose larger containers because they will need watering less often and you can grow a wider variety of plants in them. Use your favorite water-soluble fertilizer or a slow-release formulation. Follow label directions and repeat as indicated.
You can start your plants from seeds or purchase transplants from local nurseries. (Try both ways.) Flowers that will grow well in the summer include: salvia, marigold, zinnia, periwinkle, portulaca, verbena, sunflower, gomphrena, wishbone flower, balsam, melampodium, pentas and cosmos.
Vegetables you can be successful include eggplant, hot peppers, okra, sweet potatoes, banana pepper, Gypsy pepper, peanuts, yard-long beans, hyacinth bean and luffa. The last three need something to climb on. Make a teepee out of bamboo stakes for the vines to climb on, and the kids will love to sit inside.
A few herbs would also be fun to plant. Choose plants such as basil, oregano or spearmint.
You might also consider planting a butterfly garden. Do some Internet research on this topic. Children are enthralled by the different stages (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly) in the life cycle of these fascinating insects. In caterpillar stage they are voracious leaf eaters, and plants that they like to eat are planted in the butterfly garden for them to feed on.
The adult female butterfly will only lay her eggs on those plants that will properly nourish her offspring (so you don’t have to worry about butterfly caterpillars eating your other plants). Different species of butterflies lay eggs on different plants.
Here are a few examples: monarch — butterfly weed; Gulf fritillary — passion vine; long-tailed skipper — beans; sulfur — cassias. The adult butterflies feed on nectar from many commonly grown garden flowers. Some of the best are pentas, lantana, butterfly weed, coneflower, buddleia and verbena.
During the heat of summer, proper hydration is very important. Encourage kids to drink cold water before, during and after activity outside. Be sure to use sunscreen and wear hats that shade the face, ears and neck. The use of mosquito repellents is recommended, especially if you’re outside during the early morning or late afternoon and early evening when mosquitoes are most active.
I talk to so many gardeners who say that an adult introduced them to gardening when they were children. Gardening is one of the best ways to put children in touch with nature. Planting a few vegetables will help kids realize that food doesn’t just appear on grocery shelves. Take some time, and open a child’s eyes to the wonders of gardening.

Fortunate circumstances allowed a Patterson area man to catch a suspect allegedly breaking into his truck and hold the suspect at gunpoint until authorities arrived.

A juvenile male, 14, of Patterson, was arrested at 4:05 a.m. Sunday in connection with the incident on charges of vehicle burglary, possession of a stolen firearm, illegal carrying of a weapon, ungovernable juvenile, curfew violation, resisting an officer by false information, resisting by force and unlawful possession of tobacco by a person under 18, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum said in a news release.

Harris DeHart, who lives on Daphine Street outside of the Patterson city limits, said he was getting ready to leave on a trip early Sunday. His wife was awake around 3 a.m. watching TV and saw green lights start blinking on the monitor for the family’s security camera system, which the family had just gotten about a month earlier. DeHart and his wife decided to get the camera system after learning of recent burglaries occurring in the area.

His wife saw movement on the screen and noticed people breaking into DeHart's truck. She woke up DeHart and called 911.

“I grabbed my gun, and I went and checked on my oldest son to make sure it wasn’t him outside. He was in his room sleeping,” DeHart said.

After checking on his son, DeHart went to the front door. His wife disarmed the alarm system, and DeHart ran out the front door from behind the suspect and caught him in the truck, he said.

“I put my gun on him and made him get to the ground,” DeHart said. “I asked him if he had any weapons or anything. He said no, which that was a lie.”

Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Detective Whytley Jones confirmed that the suspect was in possession of a .22-caliber revolver at the time of his arrest.

When DeHart first approached the suspect and told him to get on the ground, “he kind of took off running towards me,” DeHart said.

“I have a laser on my pistol. And when I put my laser on him, then he went down to the ground. I don’t know if he couldn’t see my pistol at first, but it didn’t take him long to get on the ground when he’d seen that laser,” DeHart said.

DeHart continued to hold the suspect at gunpoint until a sheriff’s deputy arrived. When the suspect saw the sheriff’s vehicle arrive, he started reaching into his pocket and tried to take a gun out of his pocket and throw it, DeHart said.

The gun the suspect had was allegedly stolen from one of DeHart’s neighbors, DeHart said.

“I kind of just held him down, held his arms and everything. And the cop ran over and gave me a hand,” he said.

DeHart said another suspect allegedly got away.

“We didn’t even realize that there was a second person at first, not until after when the guy told me that there was another guy with him,” DeHart said.

Jones said the incident is still under investigation but didn’t have any information on a second suspect.

DeHart believes he left his truck unlocked because he had been in and out of the vehicle getting ready to leave at 4 a.m. Sunday.

“From the time they (the suspects) got in there and the time I got out my house (was) probably within a minute, maybe a minute and a half. It was really quick,” he said.

“I thank God that he didn’t actually have the pistol in his hand,” DeHart said. “It wouldn’t have been the same outcome for sure.”

A sheriff’s news release stated that a deputy patrolling the area of Patterson responded to Daphine Street for a vehicle burglary in progress. The deputy made contact with the victim and the juvenile suspect outside of the home. The deputy learned that the victim caught the juvenile male inside of his vehicle, the release said.

Through the investigation, the deputy found evidence that the juvenile was in possession of a stolen firearm and tobacco. While placing the juvenile in handcuffs, the juvenile pulled away forcefully and made attempts to provide a false name and date of birth, the sheriff's release stated. The juvenile was released to his guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.

Two men were arrested Friday on battery charges in Morgan City after police responded to a disturbance, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Drake Geisler, 24, of Velma Court in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:19 p.m. Friday on charges of second-degree battery and criminal damage to property.

—Erick Songe, 23, of Third Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:19 p.m. Friday on a charge of simple battery.

Patrol officers responded to a business in the area of La. 182 in regard to a disturbance. Officers arrived when Geisler and Songe were identified. Songe and Geisler allegedly struck the victims causing injury to one of them, Blair said.

Geisler was further identified in damaging property that belonged to one of the victims, Blair said. Geisler and Songe were jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 104 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Aaron Folse, 42, of Franklin Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:18 p.m. Sunday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of amphetamine salts and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Franklin Street in regard to a disturbance. Officers arrived when Folse was identified as one of the parties involved. Folse was in possession of suspected marijuana, amphetamine salts and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Folse was jailed.

—Brodie Boudreaux, 24, of McDermott Drive in Morgan City, was arrested at 6 a.m. Friday on warrants charging him with two counts of failure to appear to pay a fine and probation violation. Boudreaux was located and arrested at the police department on city court warrants. Boudreaux was jailed.

—Jerry L. Percle Jr., 50, of Tower Tank Road in Stephensville, was arrested at 6 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear for trial. Percle was located and arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Percle was jailed.

—Krystal N. Tolento, 30, of Second Street in Berwick, was arrested at 8 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging her with failure to appear to pay a fine. Tolento was located and arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Tolento was jailed.

—Jaye Bliss, 29, of Watkins Street in Berwick, was arrested at 10:53 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine. Bliss was located and arrested in the area of La. 182 on a city court warrant. Bliss was jailed.

—Wilber Richard, 34, of Murial Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 12:45 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to appear to pay a fine and driving under suspension.

Patrol officers observed Richard operating a vehicle in the area of Federal Avenue, and the officer had knowledge that his driver’s license was under suspension, Blair said. A stop was initiated, and Richard had an active city court warrant for his arrest. Richard was jailed.

—Shane Granger, 30, of Chetta Lane in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:14 p.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with five counts of failure to appear for arraignment. Granger was located and arrested at the parish jail on a city court warrant. Granger was jailed.

—Heath A. Loupe Jr., 21, of Rose Street in Berwick, was arrested at 5:12 p.m. Friday on charges of possession of synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Patrol officers responded to the area of La. 182 in regard to an unconscious person behind the wheel of a vehicle. Officers arrived when Loupe was identified. Loupe was in possession of suspected synthetic marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Loupe was jailed.

—Cassie Rankin, 29, of Faith Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:14 a.m. Saturday on charges of entry or remaining in places after being forbidden and battery on a police officer.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Nebraska Street in regard to a person returning to property after being told not to return. Officers arrived when Rankin was identified. Rankin was arrested and transported to jail. Once at the jail, Rankin allegedly committed a battery on the officer.

—Coral Clark Jr., 68, of Walnut Drive in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:40 p.m. Saturday on charges of DWI first offense and careless operation.

Patrol officers responded to the area of Victor II Boulevard in regard to a crash. Officers arrived when Clark was identified as the driver of one of the vehicles involved. Police found evidence that Clark operated the vehicle in a careless manner, Blair said.

Clark was in an intoxicated state and performed poorly on a field sobriety test, Blair said. Clark registered 0.110 grams-percent blood alcohol content on a chemical test. Clark was jailed.

—Heather D. Banda, 41, of Fifth Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:40 a.m. Sunday on a warrant charging her with five counts of failure to appear to pay a fine and a warrant charging her with four counts of failure to appear to pay a fine. Banda was located and arrested at the police department on city court warrants. Banda was jailed.

—Jarvis N. Mack, 32, of Wise Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on warrants charging him with resisting an officer by giving false information, resisting an officer and a Patterson police warrant charging him with failure to pay a registration fee.

Patrol officers observed Mack operating a vehicle in the area of Brashear Avenue, and the officer had knowledge that Mack held several active arrest warrants through the Morgan City and Patterson police departments. A stop was initiated when Mack was found not to have a driver’s license, Blair said.

The Morgan City police warrants stem from a Dec. 29 investigation when officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of David Drive in an erratic manner in which Mack was an occupant. A stop was initiated when Mack allegedly provided officers with a false name. When officers attempted to identify Mack, he fled on foot, Blair said.

He was eventually identified as Mack. The investigation continued when warrants were prepared for his arrest. Mack was jailed.

—Vilma Garcia-Hernandez, 27, of Nicklaus Street in Berwick, was arrested at 4:44 p.m. Sunday on charges of careless operation and no driver’s license.

Patrol officers responded to Garden Street in regard to a crash. Officers arrived when Garcia-Hernandez was identified as the driver of the vehicle involved. Garcia-Hernandez was found to be operating her vehicle in a careless manner, which resulted in the crash, Blair said. She also didn’t have a valid driver’s license. Garcia-Hernandez was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies reported 121 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Juanita Landry, 52, of Hendricks Street in Patterson, was arrested at 8:28 p.m. Friday on a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of operating a vehicle with a suspended license, operating a vehicle with an expired license plate and expired motor vehicle inspection.

A deputy responded to an unrelated call for service and made contact with Landry on Hendricks Street. The deputy learned of an active warrant for Landry’s arrest. Landry was booked into parish jail and released on $500 bail.

—Isidoro Delacruz, 43, of Aucoin Street in Amelia, was arrested at 4:03 a.m. Saturday on charges of possession of marijuana, unlawful production/manufacturing/distribution of fraudulent documents and possession of a controlled dangerous substance by fraud.

Deputies patrolling Amelia responded to a welfare concern at a business. Through the investigation, deputies executed a search warrant at the home occupied by Delacruz. During the search, deputies located marijuana, several fraudulent identification cards and also found evidence that Delacruz used fraudulent documents to obtain medication, Anslum said. Delacruz was jailed with no bail set.

—Heather Banda, 41, of South Rhett Avenue in North Charleston, South Carolina, was arrested at 2:01 a.m. Sunday on three warrants for failure to appear on a charge of criminal neglect of family.

A deputy patrolling Amelia made contact with Banda on Lake Palourde Road. Upon making contact with Banda, the deputy learned of active warrants for her arrest. Banda was jailed with bail set at $15,479.24.

—Brad Ackman, 39, of Roderick Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:11 p.m. Thursday on charges of driving under suspension and improper lane usage.

A deputy patrolling the area of Berwick observed a vehicle cross the center line while traveling on La. 182. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, Ackman. The deputy found evidence that Ackman was operating the vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, Anslum said. Ackman was released on a summons to appear in court Oct. 5.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:

—Savannha Hebert, 24, of Kilkenny Street in New Iberia, was arrested at 1:05 p.m. Friday on a warrant charging her with violation of a protective order. Hebert posted $2,500 bail.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported no arrests.