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ART WORKSHOP
By Kathy Miller Stone presented by Artists Guild Unlimited Everett Street Gallery, Everett Street, Morgan City, 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 9; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 10, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, March 11. Cost: $35, AGU members, $100, non-members. Stone will present “Composition and Design for All Mediums” which includes acrylic, colored pencil, mixed medium, oil, pastel, pencil, photography and watercolor. She will critique both older paintings and newer creations, and participants can paint their own designs to be tweaked or discussed. Participants may paint, draw or observe. Registration deadline is March 7, call Karen, 985-518-5434.

APPRECIATION
Service for musician Travis Short at Little Zion Baptist Church, 2746 Sixth St., Berwick, 5 p.m. Saturday, March 17. Public invited.

PASSPORT FAIR
At Patterson Post Office, 600 Catherine St., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24. Anyone wishing to get a passport must bring birth certificate and photo ID. Fees: passport ages 16 and older, $110; ages 15 and under, $80; passport photo, $15; application fee, $25. For info call 985-395-3382.

A 35-year-old Amelia man was captured after allegedly spitting a substance in a Morgan City police officer’s face and trying to run into traffic to flee from officers whom had conducted a traffic stop, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Calvin Singleton, 35, of Friendship Alley in Amelia, was arrested at 4:58 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of oxycodone, obstruction of justice, battery on a police officer and resisting an officer.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of U.S. 90 failing to signal a lane change. A stop was initiated, and Singleton was identified as an occupant of the vehicle.

Officers observed an empty pill bottle labeled as oxycodone fall from Singleton’s area, Blair said. Singleton was allegedly observed attempting to ingest a white substance.

Singleton pulled away from officers and attempted to run into traffic on U.S. 90 but was prevented from doing so, Blair said. A struggle ensued and captured the attention of several motorists passing in the area who stopped to assist officers in subduing Singleton, Blair said.

During the struggle, Singleton spit some of a substance in the face of the officer, Blair said. Singleton eventually spit more of the substance onto the ground and tried to destroy the substance. Singleton was subdued and placed in a Morgan City police unit.

During a search of the police vehicle, police found suspected methamphetamine where Singleton was sitting that was cleared prior to him being placed in the unit, Blair said. Singleton was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 32 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Dequante Wesley, 24, of Roderick Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:08 a.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with theft less than $1,000.

Wesley was located and arrested in the area of La. 182 on a warrant. The warrant stems from a Feb. 8 investigation when Wesley allegedly took merchandise from a local business in the area of La. 182 without paying for it, Blair said.

Wesley had left the scene prior to officers’ arrival, therefore a warrant was prepared for his arrest, Blair said. Wesley was jailed.

—Zachary Mahfouz, 24, of Second Street in Berwick, was arrested at 8:32 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia

Patrol officers came in contact with a person acting in a suspicious manner in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Mahfouz was identified.

Mahfouz was in possession of suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Mahfouz was jailed.

—Cody P. Pearce, 29, of Rose Street in Berwick, was arrested at 10:45 a.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with two counts of failure to appear to pay a fine.

Pearce was located and arrested at the police department on a warrant. Pearce was jailed.

—Juan R. Torres Jr., 28, of Stacy Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:45 a.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with four counts of failure to appear to pay a fine.

Torres was located and arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Torres was jailed.

—Caitlin Martin, 17, of Sixth Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:12 p.m. Thursday on charges of two counts of theft less than $1,000.

Patrol officers responded to a business in the area of La. 182 in regard to a theft. Officers arrived, and Martin was identified along with two other juveniles. Police learned that the trio allegedly took items from two businesses in that area totaling $97.86, Blair said.

Martin, along with the other two juveniles, were arrested and transported to the Morgan City jail. Martin was incarcerated, and the two juveniles were released to guardians.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 40 complaints and reported the following arrests:

—Denise Chaisson, 55, of Clarke Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 8:27 a.m. Thursday on a charge of domestic abuse battery.

A deputy investigating a report of a battery in Bayou Vista found evidence that Chaisson struck a woman during an argument between the two, Anslum said.

Chaisson was booked into parish jail and then released on $2,500 bail.

—Melvin Thibodeaux, 48, of James Street in Siracusaville, was arrested at 12:07 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with failure to comply with the terms and conditions of probation.

A deputy responding to a complaint in Siracusaville came into contact with Thibodeaux and located the active warrant for his arrest. Thibodeaux was transported to parish jail. No bail is set.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:

—Marilyn Hatch, 38, of Federal Avenue in Morgan City, was arrested at 11:58 p.m. Thursday on charges of possession of hydrocodone, possession of gabapentin and expired license plate. She was awaiting bail to be set.

Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.

Last month, Louisiana experienced the coldest winter temperatures we have seen in many years. Temperatures ranged from around 20 in the southernmost parts of the state to teens in the central portions and single digits in north Louisiana. While reliably hardy plants in our landscapes came through this weather without significant damage, tender tropical plants around the state were extensively affected.
Tropical plants, such as palms and gingers, are present in north Louisiana landscapes but are more commonly used in the southern part of the state. In south Louisiana, the damage done to any landscapes extensively planted with tropical has been devastating. At this point, it’s time to assess the effects of the freezes and deal with the damage that has occurred. I’ve gotten lots of questions on this topic in the past few weeks.
Tender plants in containers outside are especially vulnerable to the cold. Ideally, they should be moved indoors or into a garage where they will not be exposed to freezing temperatures. If you took a chance and left container tropicals outside and they have sustained cold damage, learn from this. Make a point of bringing outside container tropicals indoors in the future if you want to prevent damage.
For tropical plants growing in the ground, don’t be overly distressed if those you carefully covered and protected still show freeze damage despite your efforts. Damage always occurs to tender plants that are covered when temperatures reach the low 20s or teens, but they often survive and recover. When temperatures reach the single digits and stay below freezing for extended periods, even protected plants may be killed.
To maximize protection from covers, make sure the cover extends all the way to the ground and is sealed. Multiple layers of cover provide more protection than a single layer. Also, providing heat under the cover is needed when temperatures will reach the low 20s or teens. This is often done by generously wrapping and draping a plant with small, incandescent outdoor Christmas lights under the cover. Continue to cover and protect even the damaged tropicals in your landscapes should we have additional freezes.
The question I get most often from gardeners after major freezes is usually, “Is my plant still alive, and will it recover?” This is a question hard to answer for individual plants. There are way too many variables. But it doesn’t hurt to be optimistic.
The second concern is, “What should I do to help my plants recover?” Unfortunately, the damage is done. Nothing you do now will take that away. If the plants survived, they will recover if you simply leave them alone. If they didn’t make it, nothing you do will bring them back. Do not fertilize now, water excessively or do anything like that.
Generally, about all you want to do is to prune off dead, cold-damaged tissue. This is done mostly to neaten things up. Pruning or not pruning is not a major factor in helping cold-damaged tropical plants survive or recover.
The rule of thumb in pruning back freeze-damaged tropicals is: if you can determine what is alive and what is dead on the plant, feel free to prune off the dead tissue. If you are not sure, you may leave them alone until spring. At that time, when the living parts of the plants begin to sprout and grow, it will be easy to see what is dead and you can prune then.
It is not hard to see what is dead on tender herbaceous plants — such as cannas, ferns, elephant ears, birds-of-paradise, begonias, crinum, agapanthus, amaryllis, impatiens, philodendrons, pentas and gingers — so we generally prune them within a few weeks after a freeze event.
But the woody stems of woody tropical shrubs, trees and vines — such as hibiscus, bougainvillea, tibouchina, angel trumpet, croton, ixora, schefflera, copper plant and rubber tree — do not obviously show cold damage, even though the foliage may be totally dead. A dead woody stem can look much like a living woody stem, although splitting and peeling of the bark are a good sign the stems are dead. So we tend to just leave woody tropicals alone and wait for spring. At that time, we can see where they sprout out and prune accordingly.
However, if you can clearly determine what branches are dead on a woody plant, you can prune them back. Try scratching the bark with your thumbnail. If the tissue underneath is green, it’s still alive. If the tissue is tan or brown, the branch is dead. Start at the top and work your way down to see how far back the plant was killed.
Don’t get discouraged at this point. Although you may see a depressing amount of damage to landscape tropicals, many are still alive and will appreciate continued protection as needed through the rest of winter.
Prune brown, dead fronds from palm trees in spring. Give any palms that lose all of their fronds until July to send up new growth before making the decision to remove them.
Cold-damaged plants that produce bulbs, rhizomes or other fleshy below-ground organs should be fine, including agapanthus, amaryllis, crinum, canna and ginger. Cut badly damaged foliage back down to the ground and apply mulch over the below-ground parts.
After the freezes last month, you may decide to reduce the percentage of tropicals that make up your landscape by planting hardy, evergreen plants. If you decide to do this, you have plenty to choose from. The overwhelming majority of trees, shrubs and ground covers available at area nurseries are fully hardy in Louisiana.