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July 9, 1942 -November 6, 2017
Mac Arthur Arnaud, 75, a resident of Berwick, passed away Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, at the Carpenter House in Lafayette, surrounded by his loving family.
Mac was born on July 9, 1942, in Arnaudville, the son of Allen Joseph Arnaud and Angela Bergeron Arnaud.
Mac was a lover of the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints; if he had any work that needed to be done on a Saturday or Sunday, he would make sure that it was all taken care of by noon so he could watch his football. Mac’s greatest love was the love for his family. He was a loving husband and great provider, always working hard making sure that his family was always taken care of. He cherished the time he got to spend with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife of 56 years, Rita Marks Arnaud of Berwick; three sons, Keith Arnaud and wife Christine of Houma, and Chad Arnaud and Marty Arnaud, both of Berwick; four grandchildren, Kody Arnaud and wife Erica, Kendall Arnaud and companion Jill Trahan, Scotty Arnaud and companion Natasha Garrison, and Layne Arnaud and companion Malerie Vining; seven great-grandchildren, Dylan, Riley, Shia, Kamryn, Shealeigh, Brooklyn and Laken; three brothers, John Allen Arnaud and wife Melba of Patterson, Joseph “Bib” Arnaud and wife Geraldine of Arnaudville, and Terry Arnaud and wife Pearl of Texas; and one sister, Irma Belle Broussard and husband Donny of Texas. Mac is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Mac was preceded in death by his parents, Allen Joseph Arnaud and Angela Bergeron Arnaud.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, at Twin City Funeral Home with Monsignor J. Douglas Courville officiating. A visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of the service; following the services Mac will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery Mausoleum.

Diane Brown, 81, a native of Selma, Alabama, and resident of Patterson, died Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, at her residence.
Services were held Tuesday at Morning Glory Ministries in Morgan City.
She is survived by a son, Cedric Brown of Patterson; a sister, Nancy Green; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a host of relatives.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, a son, a sister and a brother.
Jones Funeral Home was in charge of arrange

First the bad news.

Secretary of State Tom Schedler said in an interview that he fears turnout could be as low as 10 percent for this month’s runoff elections on Nov. 18.

Now for something with more of a positive spin. The early voting process started last Friday — one day earlier than usual, for the first time ever, and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 11

Legislators changed the law a couple of years ago to permit Schedler’s office to add more days when holidays populate the early voting calendar. (Veterans Day is Friday, and state offices will be closed.)

The forecast for early voting is around 60,000 votes, according to the secretary of state’s office, with maybe 240,000 additional voters showing up on Election Day.

If that is indeed the case, Schedler said it would “truly be historic in terms of turnout for a statewide election.”

Moreover, it would definitely add support for Schedler’s argument that election fatigue may warrant a change to state law to replace major special elections with temporary appointments.

“It costs the same to host the special treasurer’s election as it did the presidential election in 2016, when close to 70 percent of voters participated,” the secretary said.

Governor expects toughest re-election battle in U.S.

Gov. John Bel Edwards is reminding his donors that he is the “only Democratic governor in the Deep South” and that he’ll be “tested with one of the toughest re-elections in the entire country,” according to his fundraising appeals from last week.

It’s an early indication that Republicans will be targeting Edwards heavily in 2019, and that the governor’s campaign staff is expecting nothing less.

Those involved with the Edwards re-election campaign say the fundraising team is on pace to meet this year’s goal, although it’s unclear whether that’ll match the roughly $3 million collected in 2016 by the governor.

GUMBO PAC, the pro-Edwards vehicle from 2015, is still kicking around as well. The super PAC is more organized for the 2019 cycle than the last go around and it recently hosted a well-attended alligator hunt fundraiser.

Waiting on Medicaid contracts
How do you grant $15.4 billion worth of state contract extensions?

If you’re on the Joint Budget Committee, you take your time. After postponing a major contract in late October, the committee once again opted to delay action in case there are any cost savings being overlooked.

The extensions are needed for the five companies that manage health insurance for most of the state’s Medicaid enrollees. The massive contracts include another 23 months of operations.

Many committee members initially wanted more time with the supporting documents, but conservatives dug in for an additional pause this month based on fiscal concerns.

House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, in particular, wanted to see if the Louisiana Department of Health could create additional cost-savings in the contracts before the end of the calendar year.

Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, among others, doubted the department would be able to find any possible reductions.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, in a statement, said the contracts were crafted with an “unprecedented attention to detail and represented the high quality work we should expect of state agencies on behalf of taxpayers.”

Political History:
A bankrupt affair
Saturday, Nov. 11, marks the 33rd anniversary of the closing of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, which had the distinction of being the only world’s fair to declare bankruptcy during its run.

According to The Times-Picayune’s coverage from that time, fair organizers initially projected that they would draw 11 million visitors. Only 7 million showed, however, and $100 million was lost.

Here’s more from the 1984 coverage: “The fair’s most visible attraction was a $10 million gondola ride that crossed the Mississippi River 200 feet in the air. Builders envisioned that the gondola would carry on after the fair, conveying commuters from the West Bank to the Warehouse District. The attraction got off to a rough start when Archbishop Philip Hannan blessed the gondola on opening day, boarded a
car headed for Algiers and got stuck dangling over the river. …”

Peter Spurney, the man hired to run the fair, offered this summary to The Times-Pic: “I always wanted to know if I could do something like this from start to finish,” he said. “I guess the answer is no.”

For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.

A 26-year-old inmate in the Morgan City jail has been accused of striking officers and attempting to take two officers’ Tasers during an incident at the jail, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—David A. Turner, 26, of Monarch Street in Houma, was arrested at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday on charges of resisting an officer, battery on a correctional officer, battery on a police officer and disarming a police officer.

Patrol and correction officers responded to the Morgan City jail in regard to a combative inmate. Officers arrived, and Turner was identified as the inmate involved, Blair said.

During the encounter, Turner allegedly struck patrol and correction officers and attempted to disarm two officers of their Tasers, Blair said. Turner was eventually subdued and placed into a holding cell. Turner was booked on the additional charges.

Blair reported responding to 38 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Dezzie J. Booty, 38, of Maple Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle and improper turning.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Duke Street negotiate an improper turn. A stop was initiated, and Booty was identified as the driver. Booty was in possession of suspected marijuana and an open alcoholic beverage in the vehicle, Blair said. Booty was jailed.

—Kimberly M. Jones, 27, of James Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 3:12 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of alprazolam, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, improper lane usage and texting while driving.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of La. 182, and the driver was observed texting while driving. The vehicle was also observed swerving, nearly leaving the roadway, Blair said.

A stop was initiated, and Jones was identified as the driver. Jones was in possession of suspected alprazolam, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Blair said. Jones was jailed.

—Tiffany R. Guidry, 30, of La. 182 in Franklin, was arrested at 4 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with contempt of court. Guidry was located and arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Guidry was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert reported responding to 41 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests relating to east St. Mary Parish:

—Kloey Cuvillier, 17, of Front Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 5:46 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of theft of goods. A deputy investigating a complaint of shoplifting at a store in Bayou Vista found evidence that Cuvillier concealed items in a bag and attempted to leave the store without paying for the goods. Cuvillier was released on a summons to appear in court Feb. 7, 2018.

—Rebecca Billington, 36, of Jordin Lane in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 3:38 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with general speed law violation, improper lane usage and possession of MDMA.

On Nov. 2, narcotics detectives and the K-9 unit were patrolling Berwick when they observed a vehicle traveling 40 mph in a 30 mph zone on the La.182 bridge.

Detectives conducted a traffic stop and identified the driver as Billington. Detectives received consent to search the vehicle and located an MDMA pill in Billington’s purse, Hebert said.

Narcotics detectives later obtained a warrant for her arrest and took her into custody at the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office in Morgan City. Billington was booked into parish jail and then released on $1,500 bail. A passenger in the vehicle was also arrested at the time of the traffic stop.

—Passion Fontenot, 36, of Audubon Road in Abbeville, was arrested at 4:11 a.m. Oct. 31 on a warrant for failure to appear on the charges of driving under suspension and speeding.

A corrections deputy transported Fontenot from the Avoyelles Parish jail to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center for booking. Fontenot was transferred to the Morgan City Police Department jail for housing.

—Earl Perro, 35, of Cleveland Street in Patterson, was arrested at 11:50 a.m. Nov. 1 on three warrants charging him with theft of goods, aggravated assault, criminal damage to property and issuing worthless checks as well as a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of possession of cocaine.

The theft of goods warrant was issued following a March investigation into a report of shoplifting at a store in Bayou Vista. The deputy found evidence that Perro left the store without paying for several items, Hebert said.

The warrant for aggravated assault and criminal damage to property was obtained as the result of a November 2016 investigation. The deputy collected evidence that Perro threw a shovel at a female victim, breaking the window of a business property on La. 182 in Bayou Vista, Hebert said.

During booking at the parish jail, a corrections deputy located the outstanding warrants for Perro. No bail is set.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.