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CCHS sending four competitors to Friday's state meet

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 10:36am

GEOFF STOUTE

Central Catholic High School will send competitors in six events to the Allstate Sugar Bowl/Louisiana High School Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field State Meet Friday.
The Eagles’ contingent is headlined by the Lady Eagles’ Sydney Williams and Tyler O’con, who will be competing in two events.
Williams will compete in the shot and discus. Williams, who was state runner-up in the shot put a year ago, is seeded No. 6 in the event this year with a throw of 35
feet, 3 inches.
Lafayette Christian Academy’s Bre Porter has the top seed with a throw of 40 feet, 7 inches.
I n t h e d i s c u s , Williams is tied for second with Catholic High of Pointe Coupee’s Maggie Lambert as both enter state competition with a throw of 99 feet, 8 inches.
Highland Baptist’s Marin Barras has the top seed entering state with a throw of 104 feet, 4 inches.
O’con will compete in the javelin and the 110-meter hurdles.
O’con is seeded fourth in the javelin with a toss of 164 feet, 8 inches.
Tripp Marcus of Cedar Creek is the top seed with a throw of 179 feet, 8 inches.
In the 110-meter hurdles, O’con is seeded eighth with a time of 16.41.
E a s t I b e r v i l l e ’s Anthony Davis has the top seed with a time of 15.46.
Meanwhile, DeDe Gant is seeded ninth in the 400-meter run with a time of 53.97.
Arcadia’s Keyshawn Young has the top seed with a time of 49.63.
The Eagles’ Cade Minton also will be participating in the 800-meter run where he is seeded eighth with a time of 2:09.58.
Thomas Daigle of Ascension Catholic is the top seed with a time of 2:01.46.

Berwick to host Eunice this weekend best-of-3 series

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 10:20am

The Berwick High School Panthers will look to qualify for the Allstate Sugar Bowl/Louisiana High School Athletic Association Baseball State Tournament when it hosts Eunice this weekend in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. Berwick (25-8) enters the series ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, while Eunice (29-8) is ranked No. 5. The teams will meet Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at noon. An if-necessary game is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. The Panthers’ road to the quarterfinal series includes three straight run-rule victories. The Panthers run-ruled No. 29 Peabody 12-0 in five innings in bi-district round action before routing No. 13 Jennings ...

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Radio logs for May 4

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 10:01am

The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.

Thursday, May 3

8:10 a.m. 1600 block of Federal Avenue; Disturbance.

8:15 a.m. 100 block of 11th Street; Animal complaint.

9:13 a.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Complaint.

9:29 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.

9:47 a.m. 600 block of Louisa Street; Complaint.

10:19 a.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Disturbance.

10:54 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Arrest.

11:32 a.m. 900 block of Spruce Street; Found property.

11:35 a.m. First Street and Brashear Avenue; Animal complaint.

6:35 p.m. 700 block of Brashear Avenue; Building check.

7:08 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Building check.

7:27 p.m. 900 block of Ninth Street; Building check.

8:14 p.m. 700 block of Terrebonne Street; Complaint.

8:42 p.m. 1000 block of Levee Road; Complaint.

8:44 p.m. 300 block of Garber Street; Assistance.

9:07 p.m. Village Lane; Alarm.

10:14 p.m. 300 block of Bush Street; Fight.

10:33 p.m. 2000 block of Keith Street; Noise complaint.

10:40 p.m. Apple Street; Complaint

Friday, May 4

12:28 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Assistance.

5:30 a.m. 100 block of Oak Street; Animal complaint.

EDGAR A. “GARRO” LANDRY

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:36am

October 28, 1928 – May 2, 2018
Edgar A. Landry, 89, died peacefully in the evening hours of Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at the Franklin Health Care Center surrounded by his family. Garro, as he was affectionately known by many, was born in Franklin, one of ten children born to the late A. E. “Gee” Landry and the late Cecilia Pesson Landry. He honorably served his country in the United States Army during the Korean War. Following his military service, on February 20, 1955 he married the love of his life, Joyce Cole, and began raising their family. They moved to Baldwin shortly after marrying, and have resided there ever since. In his early years, he worked for his uncle’s plumbing business, W. C. Bourque Plumbing, for 25 years before going to work for himself in the plumbing business, working for another 37 years until retiring in 2007. Garro was also a former volunteer fireman as well as a former captain for the Baldwin Fire Department, and was a former longtime member of the American Legion and Lion’s Club. He loved the outdoors and going to Camp Masco, enjoyed fishing, and was an avid duck hunter. Following his hunting days, he also enjoyed raising ducks. Another favorite pastime was watching Saints and LSU football. But what truly brought joy to his life was spending time with his family and friends, especially his grandchildren, who were the sparkle in his eye.
Those he leaves to cherish his memory include his wife of 63 years, Joyce Cole Landry; five children, Kathy L. Neal of Carencro, Mark Landry and his wife Robin of Franklin, Glenn Landry and his wife Robin of Breaux Bridge, Craig Landry of Atlanta, and Scott Landry and his wife Kara of Franklin; four grandchildren, Mandy Neal Waguespack and her husband Simon of Mire, Joshua Landry and his wife Hallie of Youngsville, and Landon and Bryson Landry, both of Franklin; four great grandchildren, Cooper, Cullin, and Harlee Waguespack, and Lawson Landry; four siblings, Alfred “Mouse” Landry, Marie L. Brown, Janet L. Willis, and Tommy Landry; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, family members, and friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one son, Randy J. Landry; and five siblings, Elise L. Louviere, Robert Landry, Preston Landry, Lester Landry, and an infant sister.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Baldwin on Monday, May 7, 2018, beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the Holy Rosary being prayed at 10 a.m. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11 a.m. with Father Cedric Sonnier celebrating the Mass. Inurnment with Military Honors will follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery Mausoleum.
The family would like to express their deepest gratitude to Dr. Roland Degeyter and staff, the staff of Franklin Health Care Center, and the staff of Heart of Hospice for the compassionate care given to Mr. Garro.
Family and friends may view the obituary and express their condolences online by visiting www.iberts.com.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert’s Mortuary, Inc., 1007 Main Street, Franklin, LA 70538, (337) 828-5426.

Police Reports 5-4-18

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:34am

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported the following arrests:
Javantre Jackson, 23, of 2135 Becnel St., Franklin, was arrested Thursday at 7:25 a.m. on charges of theft, criminal damage to property, criminal trespassing and simple assault.
In the early morning hours, deputies investigated 3 calls for service regarding a trespasser in the Becnel Street area and identified the suspect as Jackson. Deputies found evidence that Jackson entered onto private property, broke several windows at a residence, and stole a camera. Investigators also collected evidence that Jackson sent threatening text messages to a female victim. Deputies located Jackson hiding behind a residence on Eisenhower Street. Jackson was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. No bail is set.
Jonathan Borne, 35, of 106 Southeast Blvd., Bayou Vista, was arrested Thursday at 12:33 p.m. on charges of possession of Schedule IV clozapine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of Legend Drug benztropine mesylate.
While investigating a report of a disturbance on Deslinger Road in Baldwin, a deputy came into contact with Borne. While speaking with him, the deputy received consent to search and located over a dozen pills and drug paraphernalia. Borne was unable to provide a prescription for the drugs. He was transported to the ST. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. No bail is set.
Charles Duval Jr., 31, of 506 Barrow St., Morgan City, was additionally charged Thursday at 12:31 p.m. on a warrant for the charge of criminal neglect of family and on a warrant for failure to appear on charges of operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license and operating vehicle with an expired license plate.
During booking at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, a corrections deputy located the active warrants for Duval’s arrest. No bail is set.
Nicole Atkinson, 32, of 126 Bucks Lane, Ricohoc, was arrested Thursday at 6:20 p.m. on a City Court of Morgan City warrant for failure to appear on the charge of simple battery.
While investigating an unrelated complaint in Ricohoc, a deputy made contact with Atkinson and located the active warrant for her arrest. Atkinson was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. Bail is set at $1,202.
Logan Bland, 21, of 4563 Mill Creek Road, Houma, was arrested Thursday at 7:29 p.m. on the charge of reckless operation of a vehicle with a crash.
A deputy responded to multiple calls of reckless driver on US 90 and located a vehicle crash in Franklin. The deputy identified one of the drivers as Bland. During the investigation, the deputy found evidence that Bland was driving at a high rate of speed when he struck another vehicle and ran off the roadway. Bland was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. Bland was released after posting a $500 bond.
Xavian Watson, 25, of 107 Foxglove Drive, Patterson, was arrested Thursday at 7:23 p.m. on the charge of reckless operation of a vehicle.
Narcotics detectives traveling on US 90 in the Calumet area observed a vehicle moving 98 miles per hour in a posted 55 miles per hour zone. Detectives conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as Watson. Following the traffic stop investigation, Watson was released on a summons.
Franklin Third Ward Marshal Carla B. Weidenboerner reported the following arrest:
Ashley Demarco, 22, of 1301 Railroad Ave., Franklin, was arrested at her residence by Franklin deputy marshal’s on a Franklin Third Ward City Court warrant for a failure to appear for a review hearing on original charges of hit and run and driving without a license.
Demarco was transported to the Franklin Police Department for booking, and held on a $413 cash bond.
Franklin Police Chief Sabria McGuire reported the following arrests:
Mandie Haire, 36, of Tenth Street, Franklin, was arrested Thusday at 8:23 p.m. on a warrant for 16th Judicial District Court for failure to appear on charges of possession of amphetamine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia—first offense. Haire was booked, processed, and held on a $7,500 bond.

Franklin celebrates National Day of Prayer

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:33am

The National Day of Prayer was recognized at Franklin City Hall on Thursday. Above, Pastor Robert Purvey of the Living Word Memorial Baptist Church, Franklin, delivers a prayer for the nation as Mayor Raymond Harris Jr. looks on.

St. Mary Community Action Agency to host Grandparents Rock event

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:31am

St. Mary Community Action Agency/Head Start’s Grandparents Rock event will be held Wednesday, May 9 beginning at 10 a.m. The event will take place at the Franklin Recreation Center, 505 Haifleigh Street, Franklin Head Start grandparents and grandparents parish-wide are invited to come and rock out with St. Mary CAA. This event is sponsored by the agency’s Giving Grandparents a Head Start Program and the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund.
Speakers will be Virginia Collins, former DCFS district supervisor and owner of Premier Community Services, LLC and Dr. Angel Mariah, N.D. Dr. Mariah earned a Doctor of Naturopathy degree from Clayton College of Natural Health in 1997 where she studied herbs and herbal formulas, and detoxification programs. She recently moved to Lafayette, where she is establishing a practice.
Topics include improving optimal health through self-care and productive ways to better improve relationships with grandkids including everyday life, behavior, and discipline.
Brunch will be served and there will be time to intermingle with other grandparents, ask questions, share information and fellowship with one another.
Grandparents can call the central office or their grandchild’s Head Start center to confirm attendance. Call Ella P. Hamilton or Mary Brown at (337)828-5703 at the central office in Franklin.

Local lady and local business giving back to community

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:28am

By Casey Collier
Tammy Carlton made a connection. She thought about the universality of necessary grocery store visits and the deficit she considered in the availability of books in the Franklin community, and she made a connection.
She is the grocery manager at Franklin Supermarket on Main Street, and it occurred to her that she had an opportunity to provide free books to the supermarket shopping community.
The books are all donated, and the Franklin Supermarket Book Project has been going on for about a month so far.
One may take as many and leave as many books as they like.
There is variety on those several shelves, ranging from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Dr. Suess, and once a book has been finished, it can be kept or returned.
Carlton said of the reasoning behind the project, “A lot of people on this end of town don’t have rides, and they’re not going to let their children walk as far as the library. But, when you go grocery shopping, you take your children with you. So, this way the kids now have access to books.”
The book shelves are located at the back of the store, near the bottled water. Carlton said while the adults are shopping, the kids can go and pick out their books.
The shelves are labeled and donations are welcome. The books are free of charge and the selection is designed to rotate and change.
Carlton isn’t sure how many books have gone through the project since its inception, but she guestimates the number to be around 600 or 700.
“To me, knowledge is power,” she said. “I push education. I have grandchildren and I’ve got one that will devour a book.
“We had algebra, calculus, trigonometry books, accounting books, and those went, and I said, ‘Yes! It’s working!’
“You have to have education to get anywhere in this world, and that’s what I want these kids to understand.
“We have history books and books about other countries. Get an education, get yourself a job, and go see these places!”
The St. Mary Parish West End Branch donated six boxes of books on Monday, and several more boxes Wednesday.
Carlton said that instead of movie star heroes, she now has books on the shelf at the supermarket about real-life heroes.
She invites all who care to read a new book, or wish to unload some of their old books, to make their way to Franklin Supermarket.
“I talked to my bosses and I said, ‘Can we try this? It’ll be a way of giving back to the community, and it’s free,’ and they agreed it was a good idea,” said Carlton.
“I like to read, and the community really needs access to books.
“I want our community to be really great. It was that way when I was growing up, and I want it to be that way again.”

St. Mary jobless rate up, jobs down in March

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:15am

An increase in the St. Mary Parish unemployment rate and decrease in jobs during March is likely due to continued sluggish business in the oilfield and shipbuilding industries, a parish economic official said. St. Mary’s unemployment rate rose to 6.6 percent in March from the 6.3 percent rate in February, according to Louisiana Workforce Commission statistics. The parish workforce, the sum of employed residents and those looking for work, increased slightly to 19,740 people during March from 19,704 people in February. However, the number of employed residents saw a slight drop during that time period. In March, 18,432 St. Mary ...

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Get It Growing: Mulch makes gardening easier

Fri, 05/04/2018 - 9:03am

By DAN GILL LSU, AgCenter Horticulturist

Mulching is an easy-to-do, labor-saving gardening technique all gardeners should take advantage of. A mulch is a material, usually organic but sometimes inorganic, that we use to cover the soil surface around plants. Mulching beds is an important part of sustainable landscaping.
Organic mulches, such as leaves, chopped leaves, pine straw, ground pine bark, dry grass clippings and newspaper, are all derived from once-living materials. They are popular for their ease of use and attractive appearance (except for newspaper) and because as they decompose they add beneficial organic matter to the soil. These are the most popular mulches.
Inorganic mulches are derived from nonliving sources and include such materials as plastic sheeting, landscape fabric or weed barriers, stone chips or gravel. Rubber mulch made from recycled tires and synthetic pine straw are inorganic mulches that have the look of organic mulches but last longer.
Some of these mulches, like black plastic, are not very attractive and are only suitable in more utilitarian situations such as a vegetable garden. In more decorative areas, unattractive inorganic mulches, such as landscape fabric, may be covered with a layer of organic mulch for appearance’s sake.
The first and foremost reason to use mulches is to control weeds. Whoever said, “A job well done doesn’t have of be done again,” never weeded a garden. Every time weeds are removed, new weed seeds germinate, creating the problem all over again. Mulches work to stop this by blocking sunlight from reaching the soil surface. Most weed seeds need light to germinate because this tells them they are close enough to the soil surface to sprout and grow. When covered over with mulch, they think they’re still deep in the soil and will not germinate.
To create this barrier to weed growth, organic mulches have to be applied thick enough to do the job. Too often, gardeners spread mulch as thin as possible just to cover the soil. This will be ineffective in preventing weeds. Apply organic mulches at least 2 inches thick for best weed control.
Organic mulches are not as effective in controlling persistent perennial weeds such as nutsedge, oxalis, Bermuda grass, torpedo grass and others that grow from below-ground bulbs or rhizomes or run into beds from surrounding areas. But they can help. Woven weed barriers or landscape fabric often do a better, though not perfect, job controlling these difficult weeds.
Another important function of mulches is conserving moisture in the soil. By slowing down evaporation from the soil surface, mulches keep beds from drying out as fast. This is especially important in hot, dry weather. Your plants receive a more even supply of moisture, and you save money on your water bill. Shallow-rooted plants with limited root systems, such as bedding plants and vegetables in sunny areas, are particularly benefited.
Organic mulches also insulate the soil and moderate soil temperatures — keeping the soil warmer in winter and cooler in summer — which helps the roots. They can even reduce freeze injury to whatever part of the plant they cover in winter.
Black plastic used in the vegetable garden during winter and early spring helps warm the soil by absorbing the heat of the sun. This keeps winter vegetables growing vigorously and allows for earlier planting of spring vegetables. As the weather warms up in April, black plastic mulch should be covered with an organic mulch to shade it and prevent excessive heat buildup. Black plastic should not be used to mulch permanent plantings, such as under shrubs or around trees.
Have you ever worked hard to turn the soil in a bed until it is nice and loose only to watch rain and watering beat it down again until it’s just as hard and compacted as it was before? You will find that if you mulch as soon as you finish bed preparation and planting, the mulch will substantially prevent soil compaction. A looser soil is easier for roots to grow through and absorbs water faster.
There is no one best mulch. Which one you choose depends on a variety of factors, including the gardening situation, your preference based on appearance, what’s available, cost and durability. I like to recycle yard wastes such as leaves and dry grass clippings and use them as is or allow them to partially compost and then use them. It’s cheap (free), effective and attractive. If you are lucky enough to have access to free pine straw, it makes ideal mulch. You can also purchase bales of pine straw rather economically or chopped pine straw by the bag.
If you currently are not using mulches in you gardening efforts, I strongly recommend you give them a try. You’ll be amazed at how much work they save you weeding and how nice they can make a garden look. If you are mulching, remember that their primary function is not just decorative, and apply mulches thick enough and throughout your landscape beds and gardens.