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Merryville over CHS, 32-13; Pine shuts out WSM

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 9:37am

MERRYVILLE _ Desmond Mccain and Keileb Flanigan led No. 14 seed Merryville to a 32-13 over No. 19 seed Centerville here Friday in the State Class A playoffs.
Merryville scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half, breaking open a 16-13 halftime lead to collect the 32-13 victory.
Matthew LeBourgeois rushed 24 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns. LeBourgeois finished his career at Centerville with 1,346 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
Mccain ran 26 times for 184 yards and 2 TDs while Flanigan rushed 18 times for 91 yards and one TD for Merryville, which improved to 6-5 on the season.
Other leading rushers for CHS (5-6) were: Noah Verret, 12 carries, 75 yards; Andrew Cuvillier, 2 carries, 13 yards and Moarty Frederick, 1 carry, 3 yards.
LeBourgeois also turned in an outstanding job on defense with 14 total tackles, including seven solo and seven assists along with one tackle-for-loss.
Also leading the Bulldogs’ defense were: Andrew Cuvillier, 1 solo, 2 assists, 3 total; Xavier Armstrong, 2 solo, 2 total; Noah Verret, 5 solo, 3 assists, 8 total; Morty Frederick, 4 solo, 3 assists, seven total; Amarion Chatman, 2 solo, 5 assists, 7 total; Collyn Pontiff, 4 solo, 2 assists, 6 total; Dravin Martin, 2 solo, 3 assists, 5 total, 1 tackle-for-loss; Peyton Nash, 1 solo, 2 assists, 3 total; Payton Dinger, 1 solo, 1 assist, 2 total; Jaylon Cooks, 1 solo, 1 assist, 2 total and Braden Gaspard, 1 solo, 1 assist, 2 total.
Ben Simpson also recorded one fumble recovery while Morty Frederick had two caused fumbles with one recovery with Amarion Chatman getting one fumble recovery and Matt LeBourgeois pouncing on two fumble recoveries.
Merryville will play No. 3 seed Kentwood in the second round of the Class A playoffs.
Centerville ended its season with a 5-6 overall record.
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FRANKLINTON _ No. 13 seed Pine pinned a 42-0 loss on the West St. Mary Wolfpack here Friday in the first round of the State Class 2A playoffs here Friday.
Pine (7-4) turned back the West St. Mary Wolfpack, which finished their season at 4-7 overall.
Pine will advance to play No. 4 seed Many in the second round of the State Class 2A playoffs.

TEMPERANCE BREEZE “TEMP TEMP” FINISTER

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 9:35am

Temperance Breeze “Temp Temp” Finister, age 2, a resident and native of Franklin, La., passed away on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at Franklin Foundation Hospital in Franklin, La.
Visitation will be observed on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 from 9 a.m. until funeral services at 12 noon at the Jones Funeral Home, 1101 Main St., Franklin, La., with Apostle Kirk E. Young, officiating. Burial will follow funeral services in the Franklin Cemetery, Main Street in Franklin, La.
Memories of Temperance will forever remain in the hearts of her parents, John H. Finister V and Tonya Marie Finister; three brothers, Julian Randle all of Franklin, La., Antonio Clements and Kayden Clements both of Lafayette, La.; two sisters, Jada Finister of Pierre Part, La. and Bailey Finister of Franklin, La.; her paternal grandparents, Mrs. Lee (Sheron R.) Steward of Garden City, La. and John Finister IV of San Jose, Calif., her maternal grandmother, Mary “Cathy” Clements of Lafayette, La.; two uncles, four aunts, and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends,
Temperance was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, a brother, and both her maternal and paternal great-grandparents.
Jones Funeral Home of Morgan City-Franklin-Houma-Jeanerette in charge of arrangements.
Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

Ribbon cutting

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 9:34am

Fountain of Youth celebrated the grand opening of their new location Thursday, at 700 Main St. in Franklin. The store sells vitamin and herbal supplements, and specializes in medical clothing as well.

Baldwin continues to address infrastructure

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 9:33am

Baldwin received word at their town meeting Thursday that their water treatment and sewage woes of late, are being addressed, with progress in sight.
Martha Cazaubon from the South Central Planning Development Commission provided an update on Baldwin’s pending $236,000 Delta Regional Authority award to be employed in the betterment of the water plant, and two state community water enrichment fund grants of $30,000 each, both of which will be used for improvements to the water plant.
Cazaubon discussed a USDA grant application, with the assistance of SCP, for preliminary engineering work on the sewerage system. The request for funding to the USDA is $30,000.
A resolution was passed to authorize Mayor Donna Lanceslin to submit the request for the grant of the $30,000 available to defray the cost necessary to assess and improve the town’s beleaguered sewerage system.
Cazaubon closed by elaborating on the status of a pending amendment to an older Louisiana Government Assistance Program grant for $20,000 which will also be used for repair to the sewerage system.
State Representative Sam Jones addressed the board to report the availability of $300,000 of grant funds required to repair and maintain the town’s water treatment system.
“Baton Rouge can sometimes be a crazy place,” said Jones, “and if there is 10 cents hanging somewhere that somebody sees is not being used, it could end up in Shreveport, or whoever knows where.
“I’ve always believed, even when I was a mayor, that when you get a grant, you lock that thing in as fast as you can.”
Jones recommended to the board swift management of their grants received. This, he said could be achieved by assigning the grant funds to contracts.
“Tying the money down makes it almost impossible to have the money taken away later,” said Jones.
The board authorized the town to enter into a contract with Miller Engineers and Associates, in connection with improvements to the Baldwin water system.
Reid Miller, Miller Engineers & Associates was on hand to explain what that contract entailed.
“We’ll come into the plant, do an overall system analysis, find out what the issues are, and we’ll work within the budget that you have to get your plant back in operation,” Miller said. “We’ll put together plans and specifications to address any other problems you may have there, and we’ll put that project out for bid. We’ll go through and meet with the mayor and (board) as needed, and we’ll make recommendations on which contractors to use. From there, they’ll go to work and take care of you.”
Miller Engineers is also working on a levee at Bayou Choupique, complete with thru roads and routes around the levee.
Lastly, a resolution of respect was passed for Reverend Robert “Brother Bobby” Hodnett, who passed away on Oct. 16, and was the first guest chaplin of the Baldwin Board of Aldermen.

Veterans Day

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 9:33am

The United States observed Veterans Day last Saturday, paying tribute to those who served in America's armed forces. The Franklin Fire Department raised the flat on the department's ladder truck as they always do for such occasions.

Main Street grant apps available from city

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 7:32am

Franklin Main Street is soliciting Louisiana Main Street Restoration Grant applications from downtown commercial building owners and/or business owners in Franklin.
The Louisiana Main Street program is able to offer two types of competitive grants: a $10,000 grant for major projects and a $2,500 grant for minor projects. The grants require a dollar-for-dollar monetary match for a total of $20,000 and $5,000, respectively. Grant funds—$10,000 or $2,500—are disbursed once the work is completed.
Grants are available for either interior or exterior rehabilitation. This year the time frame to complete projects is limited. All work must be completed by May 31, 2018, to be eligible for reimbursement.
Applications received from Franklin Main Street building owners and/or business owners will compete statewide for funding with other Louisiana Main Street communities.
To be eligible for Louisiana Main Street Restoration Grant funds, a building must be located within the downtown Main Street district, be used for commercial purposes and be at least 50 years old. Additionally, the proposed work must be approved by the Franklin Historic District Commission (HDC) and the Louisiana Main Street office, while also conforming to the guidelines set forth by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Applicants must have a Certificate of Appropriateness from the HDC before the start of the work.
The deadline to submit the completed Main Street Restoration Grant application to the Main Street Program Manager is 9 a.m. Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
The Main Street Restoration Grant application, details and deadlines are available from the Community Development Department (ashields@franklin-la.com or 337-828-6345).

Baldwin Volunteer FD partners with Red Cross

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 7:32am

Baldwin’s Volunteer Fire Department to partner with American Red Cross to distribute smoke alarms and educate the citizens about fire escape plans in the Town of Baldwin.
Baldwin Volunteer Firefighters and the American Red Cross Volunteers will be going door to door, in a predetermined target area, to install smoke alarms. Also, part of this mission is to provide fire escape education too.
On Saturday, Nov. 11 from 9:45 a.m. until noon, volunteers from both organizations will be out and about on foot distributing the smoke alarms and proving fire escape training.
“Since launching the Home Fire Campaign, a national effort to reduce deaths and injuries caused by home fires in the U.S. by 25 percent by 2020, 285 lives have been saved, including 11 here in Louisiana,” Joshua Joachim, Chief Executive for the Louisiana Red Cross, said. “As we celebrate the installation of our one-millionth smoke alarm nationwide this past week, we look forward to continuing to work alongside our partners like the Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department to provide this free, life-saving service to our communities.”
“This year we have experienced an increase in the amount fires we have responded to and also have had two fire fatalities in our service area,” Lance Mire, Fire Chief for the Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department, said. “The American Red Cross is one of the organizations we call to help families after the effects of fire but this time they will be helping with a proactive approach”.
Volunteers from both organizations will be out in the town Nov. 11 from 9:45 a.m. until noon installing smoke alarms and educating the public about fire escape plans.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

Franklin readying for 'Christmas Under the Lampposts' Dec. 2

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 7:31am

Franklin will ring in the Christmas season the evening of Saturday, Dec. 2, in the downtown business district.
Before the Christmas parade, residents can join the members of the City of Franklin’s Main Street Program’s Design Committee and the St. Mary Chapter of the Louisiana Landmarks Society for the Tour of Homes and Churches Saturday.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the tour. Homes can be viewed from 12-5 p.m. and churches will be open from 11 a.m.to 3 p.m. The Lamp Post will have refreshments. Purchase tickets online at Eventbrite or in person at Chic & Shabby, Grevemberg House or The French Door. For more information, contact Diane Chauvin, 337-346-1299.
The theme for Christmas under the Lampposts is “Christmas on the Bayou.” Entry and vendor forms are available now. The deadline for entry and vendor forms will be Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m.
Floats, boats and golf carts can be entered into this year’s parade, which begins at 6 p.m. There is no entry fee. Line-up for the parade will begin at 5 p.m. on Jackson Street.
Church groups, school clubs and athletic teams, scouts, youth groups, veterans and community service organizations that choose not to enter a float, boat or golf cart are invited to participate in the Christmas parade as walkers.
Nonprofit organizations are asked to become vendors. Vendors must provide their own self-contained set-up in the Blevins building.
After the parade, remember to check out the lights along Main Street and Teche Drive.
Here’s a hint about this year’s Lamplighter: The Lamplighter provides assistance to those in need.
The Christmas parade and lamp-lighting ceremony is also Saturday. Line-up for the parade will begin at 5 p.m. on Jackson Street, and the parade will begin at 6 p.m. on the corner of Jackson and Main Streets. The parade will end at the St. Mary Parish Courthouse Square where the Lamplighter will be revealed.
Mayor Raymond Harris has issued a dare to local businesses to enter the Christmas parade.
“At this time, I’d like to challenge local businesses to participate in the Christmas parade as walkers or by decorating a golf cart,” Harris said. “I hope the members of the business community will take me up on the challenge and join us in the parade. I can assure them that they will have a great time.”
For more information and for registration forms contact the Community Development Department 337-828-6345 or ashields@franklin-la.com.

'Chambers of Health' initiative seeks to get residents healthy

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 7:30am

Dr. Gary Wiltz, CEO of Teche Action Clinic in Franklin, told the St. Mary Parish Council that the state has been ranked 48th to 50th in health care, according to the United Healthcare Foundation for the last 25 years.
“That’s been a very depressing fact to live,” Wiltz said. “Every time that we write grants, we have to give state statistics. And it has pained me for 25 years to lead off Louisiana ranks 48th, 49th, 50th. I have been a part of healthcare reform panel going back to Edwin Edwards, every governor has come into the state and tried to do health care reform…we’ve had great programs and great initiatives and a lot of money has been spent, but it has not improved our ranking.”
Wiltz said that may be because such change has to start at the local level rather than federal and state.
“We came up with this concept of the Chambers of Health,” he said. “We’re going to do it on a parish-by-parish basis. The solution can’t be crafted out of D.C. or Baton Rouge. It has to begin with the local communities.”
The Chambers of Health initiative is working to synchronize local culture around the goal of intervention through primary health education. This is to be done with cooperation from local and parish governments, schools, businesses, organizations and communities.
Of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, St. Mary ranks 34th in its region in smoking, obesity, physical activity, hypertension, diabetes and more. Adult smoking nationally rings in at 18 percent, while Louisiana is at 22 percent.
“All of you remember the tobacco settlement when the attorney general sued the tobacco companies,” Wiltz said. “We created a trust fund in Louisiana, it was $200 million.”
A trust was set up to hold the funds, and qualifies anyone in Louisiana who’s smoked before Sept. 1, 1988, to get free coverage to help them quit, free medication, counseling and doctor visits. Teche Action is in the process of developing services in St. Mary. If that fund is not used, it reverts back to the tobacco companies involved in the original suit.
“We’ve got to get this word out,” Wiltz insisted. He commended the parish council for smoking policies at the courthouse adopted in past years. “We’re not out to criminalize anyone. Most people who smoke want to quit.”
Wiltz said he’s hoping to work with the parish in the Chambers of Health initiative.
“I’m proud to live in St. Mary Parish,” he said. “All of us had a choice. We could have lived anywhere in Louisiana, in the country, in the world, but we chose to live in St. Mary Parish…we don’t want to be 34th. We don’t want to be 50th, but for sure we don’t want to be 34th.”
Wiltz said local governments can be proactive in aiding the initiatives with policies in place regarding smoking. Businesses will also be offered similar guidance at no charge, he said.
“I know we have a lot of talented people, Louisiana is rich in so many ways,” he said. “Unfortunately we have allowed some of the lifestyle that we have to get the best of us. That’s something about the culture that hasn’t changed, and we’re committed to it.”
It all begins with a grassroots movement in the communities, Wiltz indicated. “We hope to put this all over the parish so that every person that’s been with tobacco has an opportunity, if they want to take it, that they can take advantage of and we can have a healthy community and healthy workers.”

Amedee: Series of sessions, and still a looming deficit

Mon, 11/13/2017 - 7:29am

State Rep. Beryl Amedee, Dist. 51, gave a legislative update to the St. Mary Parish Council Wednesday evening.
Amedee, of Houma, said many sessions this year ended when a “high-ranking official” in the state released (a statement) to the media that said, ‘We just witnessed an epic failure in leadership. The House leadership clearly chose to put party politics ahead of the people’s business, over the needs of the people of Louisiana.’”
Her response to that unnamed official was, “When the revenue estimating conference has been wrong 15 times in the last nine years, when you have mid-year shortfalls year-after-year, when you know that a billion dollar fiscal cliff is coming in just 12 months, if you’re responsible and it’s unrealistic to craft a budget that uses 100 percent of the forecast, that’s not party politics, that’s common sense.”
Amedee said “majority agreement took a little longer than the session would allow” and a special session began 30 minutes later.
The House passed a budget that spent only 97.5 percent of projected revenue, leaving a $200 million cushion to address a shortfall, she said. “The Senate spent a month revising the house version of the budget,” Amedee said. “Meanwhile the REC came back with updates that reduced our $200 million to $100 million. So we were already going downhill. We reached a stalemate.”
That stalemate boiled down to a disagreement on whether the word “appropriation” means “spending or not,” Amedee said. “The House leadership believes that if it’s appropriated it’s as good as spent. The Senate leadership believes that if departments are instructed to hold back some of their spending, that should be money saved.”
In the next special session, an agreement was forged, using 100 percent of forecast, but requiring Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne to reserve $60 million by asking some departments to withhold monies. “So we have not arrived at a deficit again,” she said. “This is good.”
The budget stands at $28.2 billion in operating expenditures, and $32.7 billion altogether when the judiciary branch, legislature and other areas. Amedee said $9.4 billion is general fund. “This is where we have to go looking when we have a deficit,” she said. “Of the $9.4 billion, $3.6 billion goes to K-12 education…there are 720,000 public school students statewide. We spent an average of $12,000 per year, per student. That’s from all sources, federal, state and local money. We spend about mid-range of all states.”
The state department of health gets $2.4 billion from the general fund; $1 billion to higher education, and the remainder “goes through a lot of smaller designated budgets.”
Amedee said in additional to “the usual color and variety in Louisiana politics” the legislature also debated the gas tax increase, hair-braiding, monuments, sunscreen and the name of a state high school.
The high school issue brought in more comments to her office than any other, she said.
Bills were passed allowing terminally ill patients with access to experimental drugs; addressing Medicaid fraud; and requiring driver’s education how to interact properly with police in routine traffic stops. Bills killed included those that would have raised taxes on small business, raised the prices of goods and services and made the state less competitive.
Amedee said the passage of fiscal reform was “very disappointing. Three bills passed, and one was vetoed. The only one left requires that 50 percent of statutorily dedicated funds are required to be reviewed every two years. We have 387, to the tune of $4 billion. We also passed an individual income tax credit for improvements to residences of individuals with certain disabilities…so if you suddenly become wheelchair-bound and if you have to hire a carpenter to widen your doors so you can get around, save those receipts you may qualify for an income tax reduction.”
TOPS is fully funded this year, but is not sustainable, she said. The program has blossomed from $30 million at its start to $375 million today. A task force has been charged with finding a solution to that.
A bill requiring residential contractors must provide homeowners with their names, contractor license number, classification, proof of liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance.
In state capital outlay requests is $3.8 billion total; but the most that can be spent is $385 million this year, Amedee said. Reformation of capital outlay is in the works, she added.
St. Mary has several applications for funding with the state.
The legislature faces a $1.6 billion deficit in the next session set for March. This session is a non-fiscal one, and financial matters cannot be addressed.