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All three public high schools in the Tri-City area received A grades under the state’s school accountability system, which released its rankings Tuesday.

Berwick, Morgan City and Patterson high schools were all rated as A schools in 2016-17, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.
Berwick Junior High received an A. Morgan City and Patterson junior highs received C grades.

Bayou Vista, M.E. Norman and Wyandotte elementary schools received A grades.

Hattie Wattts, Berwick and J.S. Aucoin elementary schools received B grades, and Julia Maitland was graded C.

Statewide, performance scores for the state’s public schools remained steady for the third year in a row, state education officials said Tuesday, with 20 percent earning an A in the state grading system.

A 32-year-old Morgan City man was booked on multiple drug charges after he fled from deputies on a motorcycle in Berwick, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said in a news release.

—Franklin Pearce III, 32, of Duke Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 4:01 p.m. Monday on charges of aggravated flight from an officer, aggravated obstruction of a highway of commerce, resisting an officer by force, proper equipment required on a motor vehicle, improper lane usage, improper display of license plate, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute over 28 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia, transactions involving drug proceeds, possession of marijuana, on a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of possession of Schedule I drugs and a Morgan City police warrant charging him with possession of marijuana.

Narcotics detectives patrolling the Morgan City and Berwick area observed a vehicle with no side view mirrors and no visible license plate. Detectives also observed the vehicle crossing the centerline of the roadway on La. 182 and Frontage Road in Berwick.

Detectives initiated a traffic stop. The driver of the motorcycle failed to pull over, accelerating back onto La. 182 and then onto U.S. 90 where the vehicle traveled at a high rate of speed, the sheriff said. Detectives followed the motorcycle and observed the driver nearly collide with several other vehicles on the roadway.

Detectives stopped the motorcycle on U.S. 90 near Cotten Road. The driver, later identified as Pearce, fled on foot across the lanes of traffic. K-9 Buddy was deployed and apprehended Pearce, who was arrested for the traffic violations. Continuing the investigation, detectives developed information that Pearce was in possession of illegal drugs, Hebert said.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the motorcycle and located methamphetamine and marijuana. The methamphetamine has an estimated street value of $2,800, Hebert said.

Pearce was also in possession of a small amount of cash suspected of being gained from the sale of illicit drugs. Several items of drug paraphernalia were also located during the investigation including a digital scale and plastic bags. Detectives also located the outstanding warrants for his arrest. Pearce was jailed with no bail set.

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

—Jessie Ellis, 28, of Prairie Road North in Franklin, was arrested at 6:28 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana and violation of a controlled dangerous substance law-drug free zone.

—Willie Vallet, 50, of Verdun Lane in Verdunville, was arrested at 6:28 p.m. Monday on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

—Alfred Daniels Jr., 55, of Tiger Lane in Franklin, was arrested at 6:28 p.m. Monday on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Narcotics detectives accompanied by Morgan City Police Department detectives and officers from the Franklin Police Department conducted a search warrant at a home on Verdun Lane.

Detectives found Ellis in possession of a small amount of marijuana. Detectives also found a pipe used for smoking crack cocaine in Vallet’s pocket and another pipe used for smoking crack cocaine near Daniels. Following the investigation, Ellis, Vallet and Daniels were released on summonses to appear in court Feb. 7, 2018.

—Scott Authement, 41, of Main Street in Patterson, was arrested at 7:28 p.m. Sunday on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

A deputy responded to the Amelia Belle Casino in reference to an illegal substance being located at the business.

The deputy spoke with security personnel and collected evidence that Authement dropped a small plastic bag of methamphetamine on the floor, Hebert said. Authement was booked into jail and later released after posting $1,000 bail.

—Dean Beranek, 31, of Burchfield Lane in Berwick, was arrested at 1:59 a.m. Monday on a charge of disturbing the peace fighting and on a Morgan City Court warrant for failure to appear on a charge of reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

A deputy responded to a call for service about a disturbance in Amelia. While en route, the deputy observed a vehicle matching the description of one involved in the disturbance and stopped the pick-up truck just off La. 182 in Amelia.

The deputy identified the driver, Beranek, as one of the people involved in a confrontation, Hebert said. The deputy found evidence that Beranek struck a man in the face.

The deputy also located the active warrant for his arrest and transported him to parish jail. Beranek was released on $1,000 bail.

—Devon Marsh, 25, of Ciro Street in Siracusaville, was arrested at 6:48 a.m. Monday on a charge of aggravated battery and on a warrant for failure to appear on a charge of possession of marijuana.

A deputy investigating a battery that occurred Sunday in Siracusaville located Marsh at his home. The deputy found evidence that Marsh repeatedly struck a woman in the head and face, Hebert said. The victim was treated for injuries at a local hospital. The deputy also located the active warrant for Marsh. He was jailed with no bail set.

—Bryan Roy II, 29, of Cross Road in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 3:10 p.m. Monday on warrants charging him with theft and theft of goods. A corrections deputy transported Roy from the Calcasieu Parish jail to the St. Mary Parish jail. No bail is set.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported the following arrests:

—Heather Welch, 26, of Jones Street in Berwick, was arrested at 10:25 a.m. Monday on a warrant for the charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Welch was located and arrested in the area of Everett Street on an active warrant held by Morgan City Police. The warrant stems from an investigation conducted by patrol officers on Oct. 13, when officers observed a female acting in a suspicious manner in the area of Seventh Street.

Officers stopped and spoke with the woman, identified as Welch. Welch was found to be in possession of suspected methamphetamine to which she allegedly admitted that the illicit drug was destined to be sold. The investigation continued and warrants were prepared for Welch’s arrest. Welch was jailed.

—Wilbert Granger Jr., 65, of Joseph Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 7:36 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana, improper turning, and speeding.

Patrol officers initiated a traffic stop after observing a vehicle being operated in the area of Grizzaffi Street negotiate an improper turn. The vehicle was also observed in the area of La. 182 traveling at speeds of 70 mph in a 45 mph zone.

Granger was identified as the operator of the vehicle. Blair said that according to reports, Granger was found to be in possession of suspected marijuana. Granger was jailed.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.

Margie “Earlene” Delaune, beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend, was called to be with her heavenly father on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, at the age of 87. Earlene was a native of Texas and longtime resident of the Morgan City area. She was a skilled interpreter for the deaf, both as a volunteer and professionally, a lover of flowers and birds (particularly Hummingbirds), and an avid reader. She could finish a book in a day! Most importantly, she was deeply dedicated to her church, First Baptist Church of Morgan City.

Those left to cherish Earlene’s memory are her children, Dunbar “Dunnie” Delaune and his wife, Diane, Doyle Barnes and his fiancé, Lucy Ann Vissovatti, Jaye Lynn Barnes Manuel, and Anna Maria Lanier and her husband, Edward; five brothers, Bob, Jackie, William “Bill”, Larry Seal, and Russell Taylor; 11 grandchildren; and 20.5 great-grandchildren.

She was reunited in heaven with her husband, Dunbar Delaune Sr.; her father, Lonnie “Earl” Seal; her mother, Auton Annie Johnson; a son, David Delaune; a son-in-law, Jessie Dean Manuel; and two brothers, Kenneth and George Seal.

The family requests that a time of visitation be observed Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, from 9 a.m. until time of funeral services at 11 a.m. at Earlene’s beloved church, First Baptist Church of Morgan City.
Earlene will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery after completion of services.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Scott Ertl, the owner of Bouncy Bands LLC based in Winston-Salem, is all about movement for children and adults.
“I think movement is one of the best ways to help people stay healthy,” Ertl said. “If we can teach kids early on in school that when they have anxiety, hyperactivity and frustration, movement is a way to help them get back on track so that they can be in the zone to learn and to live,” Ertl said.
In 2013, he created Bouncy Bands, a product designed to promote learning through kinesthetic movement.
The bands attach to students’ chairs and desks allowing children to stretch their legs and bounce their feet “to release that extra energy, anxiety and frustration while they can work quietly in class,” he said.
Ertl, the chief executive of Bouncy Bands LLC, also started a program in 2009 called “Read and Ride” at Ward Elementary to promote literacy and get children more excited about reading, as well as to try to prevent childhood obesity.
Through “Read and Ride,” children ride on exercise bikes while they read magazines and books. The program is currently offered at Clemmons Elementary School in Clemmons.
“I call it the ‘movement movement,’” Ertl said of his ideas.
Brooke Flynt, a fourth-grade teacher at Ward Elementary in Winston-Salem, has Bouncy Bands for the majority of her students, typically 27 to 32 in her classroom.
“They love them,” she said. “It keeps them quiet.”
She said she has been using Bouncy Bands for years, adding that she and her son both have ADHD.
“That’s why I like them, because I can see it helped him,” she said of her son.
She said that her students tend to focus on everything better when they use the Bouncy Bands while simply reading a book or coloring.
Researchers at Clem-son University recently did a study called “Wiggle While You Work: The Effect of Bouncy Bands Use on Classroom Outcomes” to assess whether Bouncy Bands promote student learning and improve classroom behavior.
“I think about the Bouncy Bands as an acceptable way to fidget,” said June Pilcher, Alumni Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University.
She said that children often fidget in ways that are distracting.
“So the question became: Can the Bouncy Bands help alleviate that?” said Pilcher, the study’s lead researcher.
Other members of the research team were Jennifer Bisson and Sarah Sanborn, lecturers in the psychology department, and multiple undergraduate students at Clemson University.
Participants in the study were 25 elementary students in third and fourth grades who were enrolled in a daily afterschool tutoring and educational enhancement program.
The researchers are still looking at the data, but Pilcher said that findings so far suggest that the children who were higher in passive off-task behaviors at the beginning of the study showed fewer off-task behaviors while using the bands.
“In other words, when they had access to the Bouncy Bands, they seemed to be able to focus more directly and engage more directly with the tasks that they were working on,” Pilcher said.
The researchers plan to do future studies looking at Bouncy Bands.
“Obviously, at this point, we are very interested in looking at Bouncy Bands in certain clinical populations, like autism,” Pilcher said.
But she said that they first want to make sure they know what’s happening in standard classrooms.
In May, the researchers completed another study in which students in a standard second-grade classroom in Clemson, South Carolina, used the bands.
Bouncy Bands LLC has come a long way since Ertl created his company in 2014. Back then, Ertl was working full time as a school counselor at Ward Elementary School in Winston-Salem and running his company part time out of his house. At the same time, he was starting to get calls for appearances on national television shows such as Today Show on NBC.
“It got to the point that I couldn’t do both jobs,” he said.
He tried being a school counselor part time then decided to focus full time on his company.
“For right now, I feel like my calling is to be able to help kids around the world be able to have a way to get some movement in class,” Ertl said.
He said that Bouncy Bands LLC had sales of $1.6 million in 2016 and is expected to have $2.5 million in sales this year.
Three years ago, Ertl had a few employees and worked out of his home basement. His initial product was made from white PVC pipe and a rubber rope.
Today, he operates out of a 2,500-square-foot warehouse in Winston-Salem. He now has six full-time employees and up to 12 people working during the summer. His product has also undergone a new look and is now made from industrial strength specially molded rubber and pipe supports. The bands are manufactured by a company in Ohio, and the pipes supports are made by a manufacturer in Asheville, N.C. The product comes in different lengths for different styles of chairs and desks.
Ertl received a patent on his Bouncy Bands products from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May 2016.
Bouncy Bands are sold at www.bouncybands.com, on Amazon.com, through Kaplan Early Learning Co., based in Lewisville, and to more than 80 other retailers throughout the world, including in the United States, Iceland, Argentina, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
“The biggest growth is being able to help teachers get funded,” Ertl said.
He said that 5,000 teachers have received funding for Bouncy Bands through DonorsChoose.org and another 1,000 have gotten funded through GoFundMe.com and AdoptAClassroom.org.
In addition to the Today Show, Bouncy Bands and Read and Ride have been featured on The Queen Latifah Show and The Dr. Oz Show. Bouncy Bands were also mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article in June 2016.
Bouncy Bands won the Teacher’s Choice Award from Learning Magazine this year and was named the 2016 Product of the Year at the EDexpo.
Ertl said that he is currently working on other Bouncy Bands products, but his ultimate goal is to return to being a school counselor.
“My idea is to be able to help as many kids as I can and be able to let another company buy me out,” he said of his business.