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Brittany's Special Friends Camp

Brittany’s Special Friends Camp is being held at Franklin High School this week. A function of the Brittany’s Project organization, the camp allows dozens of special needs individuals to gather and play games, meet fire, police and other local agency representatives and create crafts of their own.

Qualifying dates for Nov. 6 election set

Qualifying for the Nov. 6 election is set for July 18-20 in the St. Mary Parish Clerk of Courts Office, second floor of the St. Mary Parish Courthouse.
Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is open during the noon hour.
On the ballot with associated fees are:
—St. Mary Parish School Board; $115 no party, $230 Democrat and Republican.
—Baldwin Mayor, Board of Aldermen and Chief of Police; $40 no party, $80 Democrat and Republican.
—Berwick Mayor and Council; $40 no party, $80 Democrat and Republican.
—Patterson Mayor, Council and Chief of Police: $75 no party, $150 Democrat and Republican.
—St. Mary Parish Sheriff; $225 no party, $450 Democrat and Republican.
—St. Mary Parish Coroner; $75 no party, $150 Democrat and Republican.
—Constable/Justice of the Peace Ward 2; $75 no party, $150 Democrat and Republican.
—City of Morgan City, Councilman Dist. 4: $75 no party, $150 Democrat and Republican.
If necessary, a runoff election will be held Dec. 8.

WSM Port to get $1.3M for training facility on canal

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.3 million grant to Port of West St. Mary to help build an industrial training facility.
According to grantee estimates, the project is expected to create 120 jobs.
“President Trump, from the start of his campaign, has promised a new dawn for the American worker,” Ross said. “The President and the Department of Commerce are committed to ensuring that American communities have tools available to meet the demand for a skilled workforce.”
“This is a much-needed investment that creates new jobs and prioritizes workforce development in St. Mary Parish,” Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) said. “Public-private partnerships like this benefit our entire community by equipping job seekers with the skills they need to serve local industry. I want to commend the Port of West St. Mary, South Louisiana Community College, and the South Central Planning & Development Commission for leading these efforts.”
The 5,000 square-foot industrial facility will offer state-of-the-art aluminum fabrication training to meet the needs of local marine industry employers. All the necessary equipment will be provided by existing industries in the Parish, while South Louisiana Technical College will provide the required instructors and supervisors, in addition to operating and maintaining the facility. This project was made possible by regional planning efforts led by the South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC). EDA funds SCPDC to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and create jobs.
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation’s regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.

Sheriff: Two arrested after vehicle hits home

Two men were booked on multiple charges after the vehicle they were in struck a home in Verdunville while St. Mary Parish deputies and detectives were conducting a traffic stop, Sheriff Scott Anslum said in a news release.

—Matthew Blanks, 36, of Iberia Street in Franklin, was arrested at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday on charges of resisting an officer, hit and run, possession of Suboxone, open container, a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, and on Berwick Police Department warrants charging him with possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, cocaine, crack cocaine, resisting an officer, resisting an officer with force or violence, improper lane usage and obstruction of justice.

—Warren Hines Jr., 44, of Fournier Street in Franklin, was arrested at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday on charges of resisting an officer with force, battery on a police officer, possession of alcoholic beverage in motor vehicles and on a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of criminal neglect of family.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Patrol Section deputies and Narcotics Section detectives conducted a traffic stop with a vehicle on La. 182 in Verdunville. During the stop, the vehicle struck a home. Blanks and Hines fled from the vehicle and were apprehended after a foot chase, Anslum said.

Deputies observed Blanks throw something while fleeing from the vehicle, later learned to be Suboxone. While detaining Hines, he struck a deputy, Anslum said. During a search of the vehicle, deputies located open alcoholic beverages and learned that they belonged to Hines and Blanks. Hines and Blanks also held active warrants for their arrest.

During the investigation, Matthews was advised to leave the area after making attempts to interfere with the investigation but did not, the sheriff said. Matthews, Hines and Blanks were transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center. Matthews was released on recognizance. No bail was set for Hines or Blanks.

Anslum reported that deputies responded to 31 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrest in east St. Mary Parish:

—Kevin Clark, 36, of Third Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:46 p.m. Tuesday on charges of resisting an officer with flight, resisting an officer with false information and a warrant charging him with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of MDMA, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of controlled dangerous substance law-drug-free zone.

Narcotics section detectives, with assistance from the Morgan City Police Department, located Clark near Brownell Homes in Morgan City. Clark attempted to provide false information and fled from officers, Anslum said. Clark was apprehended after a short foot chase.

The warrant stemmed from an investigation where detectives found evidence that Clark was in possession of crack cocaine, MDMA and drug paraphernalia in a drug-free zone. Clark was jailed with no bail set.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported that officers responded to 24 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Kristen M. Romero, 32, of Jennifer Street in New Iberia, was arrested at 12:58 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with failure to appear to pay a probation fee. Romero was located and arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Romero was jailed.

—Orestes Lopez, 26, of La. 182 in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:22 p.m. Tuesday on charges of no driver’s license and improper lighting.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182 with the high beams activated while approaching other vehicles. A stop was initiated when Lopez was identified as the driver. Lopez didn’t have a valid driver’s license. Lopez was jailed.

Patterson Police Chief Janis Merritt reported the following arrest:

—Charlotte Tonya Bracamontes, 30, of Main Street in Patterson, was arrested at 12:49 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of Schedule II drugs, possession of Schedule IV drugs and possession of Legend drugs without a prescription. No bail was set yet.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Do you really know what your kid’s doing online?

CHICAGO — Ayrial Miller is clearly annoyed. Her mother is sitting with her on the couch in their Chicago apartment, scrolling through the teen’s contacts on social media.
“Who’s this?” asks Jennea Bivens, aka Mom.
It’s a friend of a friend, Ayrial said. They haven’t talked in a while.
“Delete it,” her mom said.
The 13-year-old’s eyes narrow to a surly squint. “I hate this! I hate this! I hate this!” she shouts.
Yes, Bivens is one of “those moms,” she said. She makes no apology.
Nor should she, said a retired cybercrimes detective who spoke to her and other parents in early June at Nathan Hale Elementary School, a K-8 public school in Chicago.
“There is no such thing as privacy for children,” Rich Wistocki told them.
Other tech experts might disagree. But even they worry about the secret digital lives many teens are leading, and the dreadful array of consequences — including harassment and occasional suicides — that can result.
Today’s kids are meeting strangers, some of them adults, on a variety of apps. Teens are storing risqué photos in disguised vault apps, and then trading those photos like baseball cards.
Some even have spare “burner” phones to avoid parental monitoring, or share passwords with friends who can post on their accounts when privileges are taken away.
David Coffey, a dad and tech expert from Cadillac, Michigan, said he was floored when his two teens told him about some of the sneaky things their peers are doing, even in their small rural town.
“I gotta hand it to their creativity, but it’s only enabled through technology,” said Coffey, chief digital officer at IDShield, a company that helps customers fend off identity theft.
It’s difficult to say how many kids are pushing digital boundaries this way. But academics, experts like Wistocki and Coffey, and many teens themselves say it’s surprisingly common for kids to live online lives that are all but invisible to most parents.
Exposed to tablets and smartphones at an increasingly early age, kids are correspondingly savvier about using them and easily share tips with friends. Parents, by contrast, are both overwhelmed and often naive about what kids can do with sophisticated devices.
Wistocki often holds up a mobile phone and tells wide-eyed parents that giving a kid this “ominous device” is like handing over the keys to a new Mercedes and saying, “Sweetheart you can go to Vegas. You can drive to Texas, Florida, New York, wherever you want to go.”
Such journeys can lead to ugly incidents, sometimes involving surprisingly young participants.
In January, two 12-year-olds were arrested in Panama City Beach, Florida, for cyberstalking that police said led to the suicide of a classmate named Gabriella Green, who’d been repeatedly bullied.
Last year in Naperville, a 16-year-old killed himself after police discovered that he’d recorded himself having sex with a classmate and then shared the recording with his hockey teammates. While searching his phone, they also found photos of other partially nude girls in a secret photo vault app disguised as a calculator.
And yet, Wistocki said, too often parents remain in denial with what he calls “NMK — not my kid.”
Bivens, Ayrial’s mom uses an app called MMGuardian, one of several available, to manage and monitor her 13-year-old daughter’s phone use. She turns off certain apps, sometimes as punishment, and monitors texts.
“It’s a full-time job,” Bivens concedes. “People laugh at me because I monitor her stuff. But I don’t have the same problems as other people do.”
A 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that only about half of parents said they had ever checked their children’s phone calls and text messages or even friended their kids on social media.
Tech experts agree that monitoring makes sense for younger kids. But Pam Wisniewski, a computer-science professor at the University of Central Florida, suggests a gradual loosening of the strings as teens prove they can be trusted.
“I’m almost to the point where I feel like the world would be better off without social media,” said Wisniewski, who studies human computer interaction and adolescent online safety. “But I’m also a pragmatist.”
Wistocki tells parents to offer their children the “Golden Ticket” — no punishment when they come to them about mistakes they’ve made online or help they need with a social media problem.
Ayrial’s mom is all for that. Recently, Ayrial started a live video stream on Twitter and encountered a stranger who asked her to show her bare feet. It was a “creepy” request, the teen said, that caused her to end the connection quickly.
She had sidestepped a block on social media by using a tablet. But she did tell Mom what happened soon after.
Ayrial still isn’t happy that her mom is going through her contacts with her. The soon-to-be eighth-grader appreciates that “she cares about me,” but hopes Mom will eventually “back up” a bit.
“When I’m in high school, that might get embarrassing sometimes, you know?” she said. “You need to learn your own — how do I put this? — discipline. You need to learn from your own mistakes.”
If Mom doesn’t give her that space, she said, she’s always coming up with new tricks to get online secretly, just as her friends do.
And no, she won’t share how.
—Online:
Wistocki’s TEDx Talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2buaziaNnE
University of Michigan Living Online Lab: http://yardi.people.si.umich.edu/lol/
Google Family Link: https://families.google.com/familylink/
Apple’s Family Page: www.apple.com/families/

RONALD BRASHEAR

Ronald Brashear, 61, a native and resident of Morgan City, died Thursday, June 21, 2018, at his residence.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Morgan City. Inurnment will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
He is survived by a daughter, Ronala Brashear of Grand Prairie, Texas; his father, William Brashear and his wife Dell of Morgan City; two brothers, Alan Pellerin of Centerville and Alton Brashear of Morgan City; five sisters, Lillian Boats of Altamonte, Florida, Suzette Brashear of Lafayette, and Gwendolyn Brown, Ora Garner and Mary Collins, all of Morgan City; three grandchildren; and a host of other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his mother.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

CATHERINE CONELY

Catherine Conely, 87, a resident of Patterson, died Tuesday, June 26, 2018.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, which are incomplete at this time.

CHARLES STONE

Charles Stone, 47, a native of Houma and resident of Berwick, died Sunday, June 24, 2018, at his residence.
He is survived by his parents, John and Sharon Wilson Stone; three brothers, John Stone of DeBerry, Texas, and Boyd Stone and Michael Stone, both of Morgan City; his grandmother, Vernie Stone; and a host of other family members.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents and paternal grandfather.
Visitation will be from 3 p.m. until services at 6 p.m. Thursday at Twin City Funeral Home.

Wife endures verbal abuse along with loveless marriage

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to “Oscar” for more than 30 years. He has been inattentive for more than 25 of those years. Over the last 15 years, I have found erectile dysfunction medications in his vehicles. Oscar claims he knows nothing about them. He lies constantly, even when the evidence is right in front of him. When I ask him if he is seeing other women, he claims to be impotent and tells me I am crazy. I had an affair at 55 to try to raise my self-esteem. I once was very beautiful and even now, at age ...

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