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A 23-year-old Patterson man was booked on battery, burglary and theft charges stemming from 2013 and 2015 Morgan City police warrants, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—William L. Richardson, 23, of Taft Street in Patterson, was arrested at 2:53 p.m. Tuesday on warrants charging him with theft less than $1,000, aggravated burglary and domestic abuse battery.

Richardson was located and arrested at the Morgan City Police Department on warrants. One of the warrants stems from a Nov. 21, 2013, investigation when officers responded to a business in the area of La. 182 in regard to a theft.

Richardson was identified as one of the people involved and allegedly took $200 of cash from the business. The second warrant stems from a July 3, 2015, investigation when officers responded to the area of La. 182 in regard to a woman screaming.

Officers arrived, and learned during the investigation that Richardson had allegedly entered the victim’s home and committed a battery on the victim, causing injury, Blair said. The investigation continued and warrants were prepared for Richardson’s arrest. Richardson was jailed.

Blair reported that officers responded to 41 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Ronald Barrow Jr., 43, of Jones Street in Berwick, was arrested at 11:23 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of driving under suspension and warrants charging him with simple assault and disturbing the peace.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Front Street. The officer knew the driver to be Barrow, Blair said.

Barrow was known to hold active warrants through the Morgan City Police Department. Police initiated a stop and Barrow had a suspended driver’s license.

The warrants stem from a Nov. 10, 2016, investigation conducted by patrol officers when officers responded to a business in the area of La. 182 in regard to a disturbance. Officers arrived, and Barrow was identified as one of the people involved.

During the verbal altercation, Barrow allegedly threatened the victim, Blair said. The investigation continued and warrants were prepared for Barrow’s arrest. Barrow was jailed.

—Gavin Porche, 35, of Sandalwood Drive in Gray, was arrested at 4:08 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging him with home improvement fraud.

Porche was located and arrested at the Terrebonne Parish Detention Center on a Morgan City police warrant. The warrant stems from an investigation after police received a report of home improvement fraud that occurred in the area of Chestnut Drive.

Porche was identified and accused of allegedly taking payment from the victim for work that was never completed, Blair said. The investigation continued and warrants were prepared for Porche’s arrest. Porche was jailed.

—Clint Landry, 39, of Rue De Kajun in Pierre Part, was arrested at 7:49 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of hydrocodone, possession of marijuana, driving under suspension, improper lighting and improper turning.

—Charlene Kilgore, 30, of Rue De Kajun in Pierre Part, was arrested at 7:49 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of hydrocodone.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Seventh Street negotiate an improper turn. The vehicle also had only one operational brake light.

A stop was initiated, and Landry was identified as the driver and Kilgore as an occupant. Landry had a suspended driver’s license. Landry and Kilgore were also in possession of suspected marijuana and hydrocodone, Blair said. Landry and Kilgore were jailed.

—Mikel R. Clark, 61, of Susan Court in Stephensville, was arrested at 1:25 a.m. Wednesday on charges of DWI third offense, improper lane usage and improper lighting.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Railroad Avenue in an erratic manner, swerving from lane to lane. The vehicle also did not have any lights.

A stop was initiated, and Clark, the driver, was in an intoxicated state, Blair said. Clark performed poorly on a field sobriety test and refused to submit to a chemical test, Blair said. Clark was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that deputies responded to 50 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests:

—A juvenile male, 16, of Berwick, was arrested at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of possession of clonazepam.

A school resource officer investigated a report of clonazepam pills being located at Patterson High School on Jan. 9. The school resource officer collected evidence that one juvenile male student brought pills to school and gave them to another juvenile male student, Anslum said.

With the assistance of school administrators, the pills that were given were found on the second student. The juvenile was charged and then released to a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings. This is the second arrest in the case.

— Druvan Robinson, 20, of Berwick, was additionally charged at 8:32 a.m. Tuesday with battery of a correctional officer. Robinson, an inmate at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, struck a correctional deputy, Anslum said. Robinson remains in jail.

—Cord Green, 29, of Ida Street in Texarkana, Arkansas, was arrested at 10:19 p.m. Tuesday on warrants charging him with failure to register as a sex offender and failure to pay annual registration fee as a sex offender. Green was transferred from another agency to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center on the warrants.

The warrants were issued after a detective with the Sex Offender Compliance Section found that Green failed to meet the state requirements as a convicted sex offender. No bail is set.

—Mickayla Diggs, 17, of Grand Villa Court in Houma, was arrested at 2:24 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of disturbing the peace by using offensive language.

A deputy responded to a call for service about a woman in the roadway on U.S. 90 in Bayou Vista. While speaking with the people involved and witnesses, the deputy found that Diggs was yelling and cursing in a parking lot and inside a business off U.S. 90 in Bayou Vista, Anslum said. Diggs was released on a summons to appear in court April 2.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

A “safer” payday loan sounds like an oxymoron. Critics have branded these notoriously high-cost loans as debt traps that cause borrowers to go ever deeper in the hole.
Thanks to a recent regulatory change, it now may be possible for banks to offer small, short-term loans that could be a lot less dangerous for borrowers. Whether banks will actually do so remains to be seen.
The right moves could save low- and moderate-income Americans billions of dollars a year. The wrong moves could create yet another sinkhole for those who are already struggling.
HIGH RISK FOR BORROWERS
— AND LENDERS
Payday loans are advertised as a way for people to meet a short-term cash crunch in a hurry. People borrow relatively small amounts, typically $300 to $400, and pay a fee of $45 to $60 for a loan that’s supposed to last a few days until their next paycheck. Such loans have an effective annual interest rate north of 300 percent.
The problem is that despite the high cost to borrowers, lenders can’t make much profit, if any, on small loans if they have to do expensive underwriting such as credit reviews and income verification. But loans made without regard to someone’s ability to repay can be dangerous, since people wind up extending the loans and paying a fortune in fees. The average payday loan customer paid $520 in fees annually to repeatedly borrow $375, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Nick Bourke , Pew’s director of consumer finance, has studied the small-dollar loan market extensively and recommends two fixes that could make these loans profitable without being predatory:
—Allow borrowers to pay off their balances over several months as installment loans, rather than requiring the balance be repaid all at once, and
—Limit the monthly payment to 5 percent of the borrower’s income.
Bourke estimates even a partial shift toward loans with these changes could save low- and moderate-income consumers $10 billion each year.
So far, though, nobody in Washington seems to be listening.
AN ANSWER, NOT A SOLUTION
On Oct. 5, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a rule that would require lenders to determine borrowers’ ability to repay small-dollar loans — an underwriting requirement that could drive most payday lenders out of business.
On the same day the CFPB announced its rule, the regulator for the nation’s biggest banks, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, cleared the way for banks to once again offer a similar small-dollar loan product. Rather than give banks new rules that could make the loans safer, the OCC simply rescinded its previous guidance that made it hard for banks to offer them at all.
Banks experimented with short-term loans a few years ago, offering what they were careful to call “deposit advance products” to customers who needed fast cash. Despite the different name, deposit advances worked a lot like payday loans. People could borrow a few hundred dollars for a fee and repay the loan with their next paycheck.
The CFPB in 2013 warned that the very nature of payday loans and deposit advances often created debt traps. Borrowers often couldn’t afford to repay the full balance and so borrowed again and again.
The CFPB study found nearly half of payday borrowers had more than 10 transactions each year, while deposit advance users typically had an outstanding balance for nine months out of the year.
“Once they get in, they can’t get out,” said Rebecca Borne, senior policy counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocate.
Regulators started warning banks against deposit advances. The six major banks that offered them — Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Regions Financial, Bank of Oklahoma and Guaranty Bank — phased out the loans in 2014.
Even though banks can now resume small-dollar loans, it’s not clear that they will. The CFPB rule is one potential barrier, although its future is unclear now that the agency’s director has resigned.
Also, critics did such a good job of equating deposit advances with payday loans that banks are hesitant to get back into the market, says David Pommerehn, associate general counsel and vice president of the Consumer Bankers Association, which represents large banks.
“It’s not worth the reputation risk to them,” Pommerehn said.
Ideally, people would save money for emergencies, rather than turn to high-cost short-term loans. But since so many fall short — 44 percent of American adults say they can’t raise $400 in a hurry — regulators and lawmakers should ensure they have a safe and affordable alternative.
—This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet.
Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of “Your Credit Score.” Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com.

St. Mary Parish public school students recently participated in the Students of the Year competition.
The parish winners are:
FIFTH GRADE: Kelsey Brianne August, Raintree Elementary School
EIGHTH GRADE: Kaitlyn Waguespack, Morgan City Junior High School.
12TH GRADE: Bailee Cabrini Hoggatt, Morgan City High School.
The Students of the Year Award Program is designed to recognize outstanding elementary, middle-junior, and high school students.
The school system says this program is an excellent opportunity to recognize students from each parish who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and citizenship.
The Students of the Year Award Program is sponsored by the Louisiana state superintendent through the State Department of Education and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Parish winners will participate in the regional competition to be hosted in St. Mary Parish (fifth grade), Jefferson Parish (eighth grade), and St. Bernard Parish (12th grade) during the month of February.

Other participants include:
FIFTH GRADE: Claire Crochet, Aucoin Elementary School
Bailey Grace Womack, Bayou Vista Elementary School
Miley Ann Hotard, Berwick Elementary School
Mylee Buford, Centerville Elementary School
Nicole Robles, Foster Elementary School
Benjamin Lee Robicheaux Jr., LaGrange Elementary School
Ryly Aucoin, Maitland Elementary School
Riley Jackson, Norman Elementary School
Keaton Chaisson, Patterson Jr. High School
Noah Thomas Lange, Wyandotte Elementary School

EIGHTH GRADE: Aniya Gibson, B. E. Boudreaux Middle School
James Klein, Berwick Junior High School
Chloe Marcelle Simpson, Centerville Junior High School
Jamari Jaydan Francis, Patterson Junior High School

12TH GRADE: Devan Lynn Gallegos, Berwick High School
Rachel LeBlanc, Centerville High School
Alayna Prince, Franklin High School
Colby Lorenzia Pogue, Patterson High School
Raelyn Nicole Dupre, West St. Mary High School