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St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office detectives are asking for the public's help to identify four suspects believed to have stolen six mini scooters from Walmart in Bayou Vista during December, Sheriff Scott Anslum said in a news release.

On the evening of Dec. 18, 2017, and in the early morning hours of Dec. 19, 2017, deputies responded to two reports of theft made by Walmart security personnel in Bayou Vista.

The detective assigned to the case says a total of six Segway mini scooters were stolen from the store. Four suspects are seen on video surveillance entering the business and then working together to load a shopping cart with the merchandise before walking out of the store without paying for the items.

During one of the incidents, store employees attempted to stop the suspects. Detectives are asking for your assistance in identifying them. If you have information on who they are or where the stolen items are, contact the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office at 985-384-1622, 337-828-1960, or by email at crimewatch@stmaryso.com. You can remain anonymous.

Mardi Gras officially began with Twelfth Night, Jan. 6, festivities. Carnival balls begin Saturday.
The first ball in the Tri-City area will be held by the men’s Krewe of Adonis. Six more balls will follow leading up to Fat Tuesday, Feb. 13.
The Krewe of Amani will celebrate 20 years of revelry.
Six area Mardi Gras parades will be held in succession starting Feb. 9 and ending on Mardi Gras Day.
Ball patrons are re-minded that tableaus begin promptly and everyone should be seated prior to the krewe’s stated start time.
Krewe of Adonis
The Krewe of Adonis kicks off Carnival with its 43rd ball at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Morgan City Municipal Auditori-um. Floor seating is invitation only and balcony viewing is free.
Making a farewell ap-pearance will be King and Queen Adonis XLII Jake Breaux and Mrs. Jerry Gaddis Jr.
Adonis will hold the area’s only nighttime parade at 7 p.m. Feb. 9. The procession will start at the intersection of Brashear and Federal avenues in Morgan City, proceed down Federal Avenue to Onstead Street, Sixth Street, Marguerite Street, Ninth Street, Brashear Avenue and Victor II Boulevard where it will end at the Myrtle Street intersec-tion.
Krewe of Nike
The Krewe of Nike will present its tableau at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at the auditorium. All viewing is invitation only.
Bidding adieu will be King and Queen Nike XLVI Dylan Cornes and Gweneth Dohmann. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joey Dohmann. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Steven Cornes.
Members of the krewe will parade behind the Krewe of Galatea parade that begins at 2 p.m. Feb. 11 in Morgan City.
Krewe of Galatea
The women’s mystic Krewe of Galatea will hold its 49th ball at 8 p.m. Jan. 27 at the auditorium. Viewing is by invitation only.
Queen and King of Galatea XLVIII Mrs. A.J. Dohmann and Brett Bagwell will be making a farewell ap-pearance.
Galatea will present its annual parade at 2 p.m. Feb. 11 in Morgan City. The procession will organize on Second Street under the U.S. 90 Grizzaffi Bridge and proceed to Onstead Street, Sixth Street, Marguerite Street, Ninth Street, Clothilde Street, Victor II Boulevard and ending at the auditorium on Myrtle Street.
Krewe of Dionysus
The Krewe of Dionysus will host its 39th coronation at 8 p.m. on Feb. 3 at the Berwick Civic Complex. The public may view the coronation free from the balcony.
A farewell appearance will be made by King and Queen Dionysus XXXVIII Mark Spradling and Kathie Spradling.
Dionysus will hold its alternating parade in Berwick this year at 2 p.m. Feb. 10.
The procession will line up on Gilmore Drive and turn on John Street, Robichaux Street, Mount Street, Gilmore Drive, right on La. 182, Tournament Boulevard, Fairview Drive then to Pattie Drive, where it will disband at Berwick Junior High School.
Dionysus will have a After Parade Dance at the Berwick Civic Com-plex. Tickets are $20 a couple and are available from krewe board mem-bers.
Krewe of Hannibal
The Krewe of Hannibal will hold its 38th tableau at 8 p.m. Feb. 3 at the auditorium. This is an invitation-only event for all viewing.
Bidding adieu will be royalty XXXVII King Hannibal Marcell Walk-er and Queen Cleopatra Chasity Bell.
Krewe members will participate in the Diony-sus, Krewe of Amani and Siracusa/Greenwood Community parades.
Krewe of Amani
The Krewe of Amani celebrates 20 years with its coronation at 8 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Patterson Area Civic Center. Bal-cony viewing is available for $3.
Making a farewell ap-pearance will be King and Queen Amani XX Dale Piggott and Neva Francis-Jennings.
Amani will hold its Lundi Gras parade at 2 p.m. Feb. 12 in Patter-son. The procession will line up at Patterson High School and proceed down La. 182 (Main Street) and end at the Place Norman Shopping Center.
Krewe of Hephaestus
The oldest-chartered area krewe, the Krewe of Hephaestus, will hold its 58th carnival court at 8 p.m. Feb. 10 at the auditorium. Balcony viewing is free.
Taking to the stage for a final appearance will be King and Queen Hephaestus LVII David Patterson and Grace Pecoraro.
Krewe members will parade at 2 p.m. Fat Tuesday in Morgan City. The procession will organize on Sixth and Sycamore streets and proceed down Sixth Street to Marguerite Street, Ninth Street, Clothilde Street, and Victor II Boulevard, ending at the auditorium on Myrtle Street.
Hephaestus will hold an After Parade Dance at the auditorium. Tick-ets are $30 and are available from krewe members. Music will be by “The Groove.”
Siracusa/Greenwood
The Siracu-sa/Greenwood Community Mardi Gras Parade will also be held at 2 p.m. Fat Tuesday in Siracusa Subdivision near Morgan City.
Participants will line up on Siracusa Road at 1 p.m. and proceed to James Street and Grace Street before ending at the Siracusaville Recreation Center.
Anyone wishing to participate or for infor-mation may call Leroy Trim or Mary Jones at 985-385-4224.
Parade Summaries
—Krewe of Adonis: Friday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m., Morgan City.
—Krewe of Dionysus: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m., Berwick.
—Krewe of Galatea: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m., Morgan City.
—Krewe of Amani: Monday, Feb. 12, 2 p.m., Patterson.
—Krewe of Hephaes-tus: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2 p.m., Morgan City.
—Siracusa/ Greenwood Parade: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2 p.m., Siracusa Subdivi-sion.

All area municipal, parish and state offices will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Harold J. “Babe” Landry Landfill in Berwick will close at noon Monday. However, Pelican Waste and Debris, and Republic Services will collect its routes as usual.
The day, which remembers the works of the late American civil rights leader, is a federal holiday.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana lawmaker leading a study of the TOPS free college tuition program Thursday recommended a rewrite of how awards are doled out to students, calling the 20-year-old program’s current structure “antiquated.”
Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, a Jennings Republican, wants to lessen the amount of tuition covered for students who reach the basic award for a four-year college, to give them a flat $4,000 payment for the year — well below the $5,600 average annual tuition rate in Louisiana.
He’s proposing to increase payments to higher-performing students.
Morrish offered the idea to a legislative task force reviewing TOPS amid cost concerns. Morrish is chairman of the task force, which will determine at another meeting whether to recommend the proposal to state lawmakers.
The suggestion would require a change in state law, and it wouldn’t impact students currently receiving TOPS awards. It’s estimated to save about $20 million a year.
TOPS, which began covering tuition costs in 1998, is credited with improving high school performance and college graduation rates in a poor state that has labored to boost education attainment. But costs have shot up to $290 million this school year, as more students reached the eligibility standards and as tuition on college campuses rose.
Morrish said the current structure “is an antiquated program that is in the 20th Century, not the 21st Century.” He said it doesn’t account for Louisiana’s enactment of admission standards on four-year campuses or the creation of a community and technical college system.
He said his idea wasn’t aimed at lowering TOPS’ costs, but at challenging students to improve their performance, by offering them larger tuition payments and stipends if they achieve higher grade-point averages and ACT college entrance exam scores in high school.
TOPS currently has tiers that offer stipends for higher-performing students, but tuition at a four-year school is covered for anyone who reaches a 2.5 GPA and 20 ACT score.
Morrish’s proposal would change that so the lowest award for a four-year school would pay only $4,000. Higher GPAs and ACT scores would be needed to cover the remaining cost of tuition.
“I know the $4,000 seems low. It’s still the most lucrative (college tuition) program in the United States of America at $4,000,” he said.
Sen. Wesley Bishop, a New Orleans Democrat, worried the amount would create financial hardships for students. Other lawmakers on the task force want to tweak the scores required to reach each level of the proposal.
Other proposals to change eligibility requirements and the payment terms also are being offered. Morrish said the task force will determine which ones to include in its list of suggestions to the full Legislature over additional meetings before a Feb. 15 report deadline.
Over the years, lawmakers have blocked efforts to make significant changes to TOPS. On Monday, Gov. John Bel Edwards said he wasn’t interested in revising the much-beloved program, declaring: “I don’t favor changing TOPS; I favor funding TOPS.”
Morrish said he met with Edwards to lay out his ideas and received a “good response.”
Louisiana faces a $1 billion budget gap in the upcoming financial year that begins July 1. TOPS could be at risk if deep cuts have to be made. If the program isn’t fully funded, students receiving tuition payments receive a pro rata cut. That’s happened once before, during the last school year, when lawmakers covered only 70 percent of tuition costs for eligible students.
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