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RHETT THOMAS COUVILLIER

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:43am

May 19, 2016 – October 9, 2017
Rhett Thomas Couvillier was called home to the Lord at the tender age of 16 months old on Monday, October 9, 2017, at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge.
Rhett, the youngest of five children, was a loving and happy child who was all boy. He was a content little man no matter what was going on. Like any young child, he loved running around, playing, and getting into everything. He could melt your heart with his smile and make you laugh with his dance moves.
Rhett will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by his parents, Sidney T. Couvillier Jr. and Madelline “Maddie” H. Couvillier; his brothers, Mason and Carter Couvillier; his sister, Jordyn Couvillier; paternal grandmother, Opal Johns and her husband Kevin Johns; paternal grandfather, Sidney T. Couvillier Sr.; paternal step-grandfather, Tommy Killingsworth; maternal grandfather, Tracy Hohmann and his companion Toni Santini; maternal grandmother, Mary Hohmann; his aunts, Amber Couvillier and her fiancé Justin Doucet, Nikki Couvillier, and Krystal Verret; and his uncles, Dale Couvillier and his wife Maegan and Lucas Hohmann.
Those who Rhett is reunited with that have gone before him include his brother, Adan Theodore Couvillier; his paternal great grandparents, Celestine and Cynthia Belanger, and Lester and Gloria Couvillier; maternal great grandparents, Charles Theodore Hoffeld and Grace Paxton Hoffeld, and Pete and Betty Lou Costlow; and step paternal great grandparents, Tommy Gene and Margaret Killingsworth.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at Ibert’s Mortuary in Franklin on Thursday, October 12, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. and again on Friday, October 13, from 11 a.m. until time of service at 2:30 p.m. Following the funeral service, Rhett will be laid to rest with his brother Adan in Teche Gardens Cemetery in Centerville. Rev. Dr. Chris Holloway, Pastor of Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton, will conduct the services. Serving as pallbearers will be his father, Sidney T. Couvillier Jr., and his grandfathers, Tracy Hohmann, Tommy Killingsworth, and Sidney T. Couvillier Sr.
Family and friends may view the obituary and express their condolences online by visiting www.iberts.com.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Ibert’s Mortuary, Inc., 1007 Main Street, Franklin, La. 70538, (337) 828-5426.

Chez Hope Unity Day Luncheon Awards Ceremony

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:42am

Chez Hope recognized persons in the community who have gone above and beyond to assist victims of domestic violence.
The honorees were recognized Thursday at the organization’s Unity Day Luncheon in Franklin.
The Peacemaker Award was presented to 16th Judicial District Attorney Bofill “Bo” Duhe’.
Duhe’ began work with the DA’s office in 1193, and took office as the DA in January, 2015. He has been instrumental in assisting Chez Hope and bringing St. Mary Parish to forefront of the state in the fight to end domestic violence and keep victims safe as well as hold perpetrators accountable. He was an instrumental part of the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task Force and worked to uphold victims’ rights.
The Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Darrell Washington Sr., owner of Washington Trucking and a lawn service, The Grass Doctor. He has volunteered many hours contributing to the renovation of Chez Hope’s emergency shelter including rehabbing apartments and overhauled the entire plumbing system, all at no cost.
The Helping Hands Awards were presented to law enforcement officers and are:
Captain Beau Martin, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Sergeant Dustin Crabtree, St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office
Officer Justin Lagman, Franklin Police Department
Secretary Celest Mayon LeBlanc, Franklin Third Ward Court Marshal’s Office (not pictured)
Officer McCloures Manuel, Franklin Police Department
Sergeant Larry “Teddy” Deslatte III, Chitimacha Police Department
Detective Larry Jones, Patterson Police Department
Officer Jonathan Henry, Berwick Police Department
Captain Betty Augman, Morgan City Police Department
Lieutenant Durell Thomas, Jeanerette Marshal’s Office
Assistant Chief Joseph Garrison, Baldwin Police Department

CAA sets 'Day in the Park' Oct. 5

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:40am

St. Mary Community Action Agency’s Chief Executive Officer/Head Start Administrator Almetra J. Franklin announced that St. Mary Parish Head Start Centers will recognize October as Head Start Awareness Month with a variety of activities.
“The CAA board, policy council, staff and parents are excited to be a part of the Head Start network,” she said. “The program is valuable to the community and certainly makes a difference.”
St. Mary Parish Head Start Centers kicked off Head Start Awareness activities on Oct. 5 when students participated in the Fit, Fun, and Fabulous Day children’s event in Franklin. Some of the local centers have planned special activities for parents.
On Oct. 19 Head Start will hold Fun Day in Caffery Park, Barrow Street in Franklin, celebrating Head Start’s 52 years of existence nationally. All St. Mary Head Start centers and any local Pre-K schools are invited to set-up for their classes and enjoy activities planned such as a 9:30 a.m. Health Walk, a 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. McGruff presentation, local band entertainment, face painting, vendor presentations, fun jumps, center lunch, group competitions and prizes. Schools should register with the Family Service Department by calling 337-828-5703.
Local vendors are requested to come out in Franklin on Oct. 19 and set up information or safe fun items that Head Start students/visiting schools and parents in St. Mary Parish may benefit. Vendors must register with Special Events Coordinator, Delores Stewart by calling 337-828-5703. Head Start is a Child Development Program funded by the federal government administered in this area by the St. Mary Community Action Agency. The Head Start Program in St. Mary and Vermilion Parishes provides children ages 3-5 with a safe, nurturing and secure learning environment at no cost to the parent. We provide the children with activities that help them to grow mentally, socially, emotionally and physically. We also work with families to identify and achieve their goals and aspirations. School Readiness is a top priority for St. Mary/Vermilion CAA Head Start program. Head Start views school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning and life.
Contact Family and Community Partnership Specialist Pearl Barnes-Rack for further information or to confirm that you will join in the activities.

Sacred memories recalled at UMCOR Sager Brown

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:40am

By SHERISE HENRY
The grounds of UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin have been blessed with spirit led people with a mission to educate, house, feed and most of all nurture, the souls that have crossed its path.
Many are a testament to the unselfish acts of administrators, staff and teachers who have grown its legacy. Topping the list of witnesses to such character are Sager Brown students.
Before becoming a supply depot that reaches those in need globally. UMCOR has a history as Sager Brown School, an orphanage and learning center to those who were fortunate enough to receive training there.
This month, UMCOR Sager Brown is celebrating 150 years of service in a Homecoming Reunion for all administrators, staff, teachers, students and volunteers who have crossed its path over the years.
Among those celebrated will be some of the elders in the Baldwin community who have rich stories to tell of their Sager Brown experience.
Ninety-four-year old Susie Mae Lewis is one such person. She recalls the life lessons her training brought her.
“I went to Sager Brown from the third grade to the tenth grade and when I left Sager Brown, I had enough credits to finish high school,” Lewis said. “Those were the good ole days. We used to have Mayday at Sager Brown. We would plant the Maypole and there were ribbons that we used to wrap it. We had children attend Sager Brown from all over the state, teachers too, we all got along fine.”
One of the life lessons Lewis remembers learning at her beloved alma mater is work ethic. Lewis said along with studying, her job was to help out in the school cafeteria.
“I was a cook”, Lewis said. “Sager Brown was my second home, we were a family. I felt safe”
Eliza Collins, 84, of Baldwin also attended Sager Brown School. She said although she only spent one year on campus as a student, the faculty and students of the school were a rich part of her childhood memories.
“I only attended ninth grade at Sager Brown, but I have so many good memories of the people there because as a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, they would come to services for Sunday school and join church and sing in the choir so I knew them well,” Collins said.
Also on the list of local alumni is Ocie Carline Napolean, a current resident of Jeanerette. She said one of her best memories as a young adult came from joining extracurricular activities at Sager Brown.
“It was a very interesting school. We had sports and a glee club which I belonged to, one of my favorite times was when we got an invite from Southern University to perform there and we won second place for a song called ‘Listen to the Lamb,” Napoleon recalled. “Attending Sager Brown gave me a great head start in my education. My parents only had to pay a dollar a month for me to go there. In order to get there I had to walk. I would get up, prepare breakfast for the family and then I went to school.”
All three alumnists agree that faith and values were a big part of their education experience.
“Christianity was a big part of our school life. They taught us how to love one another,” Napoleon said. “If children today were coming up in the times we were coming up, they would learn a lot. Like discipline, we wouldn’t talk back to the teacher or no elderly person. I came from the old school.”
UMCOR Sager Brown’s 150th Homecoming Reunion is set to take place Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All former faculty students and volunteers are invited to attend. The day’s list of activities is as follows:
10-11 a.m. Parade
11 a.m.-Noon Welcome and Occasion
Noon-1 p.m. Campus history tour and dedication of museum
1-2 p.m. Lunch served
2-2:30 p.m. Wrapping of Maypole
2:20-3:30 p.m. Campus history tour/slide show and video
3:30-4:30 p.m. Entertainment
4:30-5:30 p.m. Refreshments and fellowship
9 a.m. Sunday morning worship service at Trinity United Methodist Church

State, local elections Saturday

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:38am

Saturday is election day in Louisiana, with state and local issues up for voter consideration.
Items on the ballot are:
—Louisiana state treasurer
—Member, Louisiana Public Service Commission, Dist. 2
—Three proposed constitutional amendments
—A millage renewal for Water and Sewer District 4
—A millage renewal for Water and Sewer Dist. 5
—City Marshal, City Court of Franklin, special election
—A millage renewal for Gravity Drainage Dist. 6
St. Mary Parish Water and Sewer District 4, which covers a large portion of west St. Mary Parish, will ask voters for renewal of its property.
If approved, the proposition will renew the ad valorem tax for an additional 10 years.
Commission President Thomas Ducote stressed that the ballot proposition is a renewal, not a new tax, and the millage rate is less than in the past.
“The district will use the tax revenues for continued operation and maintenance of its waterworks and sewer systems,” Ducote said. “Revenues are used to pay many of the fixed costs associated with the operation of the waterworks and sewer systems.”
Because these costs are fixed and do not vary, if the tax is not renewed, Ducote said that will likely mean an increase in service fees to customers.
Saturday’s ballot is the last opportunity to renew the tax before it expires.
Louisiana voters have a lighter load this fall, with only three constitutional changes up for consideration compared to some years when a dozen or more amendment proposals appeared on the ballot.
The three amendments to be decided in the Oct. 14 election still might take some study, though, since they deal with property taxes and transportation spending.
AMENDMENT 1
The first amendment on the ballot would specify how tax assessors should deal with construction sites when it comes to calculating property taxes. The proposal would create a property tax break for all property delivered to a construction site for use in building industrial plants, companies and houses.
Tax assessors have traditionally not put new construction on the property tax rolls until the building or other structure was complete. But questions have been raised about whether the taxes could be charged on the large industrial projects that take years to build.
In southwest Louisiana’s Cameron Parish, the assessor is seeking to charge property taxes on the constructional materials used to build a $20 billion liquefied natural gas facility, prompting a lawsuit, the Council for A Better Louisiana said in its review of the amendments.
AMENDMENT 2
The next amendment would expand a property tax break added to the books last year that exempts the surviving spouses of military personnel, police officers or firefighters killed in the line of duty from having to pay local property taxes on their homes.
The proposal would add the surviving spouses of more first responders who die on the job, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, volunteer firefighters and those military personnel and law enforcement officers on the job for less than a year.
AMENDMENT 3
The final amendment would direct how future fuel tax revenue can be spent.
The money from any new tax levied on gasoline, diesel or other motor fuels would have to flow into a protected fund, to be spent on direct costs associated with construction and maintenance of roads, bridges and other transportation projects. The dollars would be prohibited from paying for state employee salaries or benefits in the transportation department.
An effort to raise the gas tax earlier this year failed to win support from lawmakers.

St. Blanc: State will only succeed with education

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:37am

Rotary Club of Franklin welcomed Vincent St. Blanc III, of the State Board for Vocational Education to speak Tuesday at their weekly luncheon at the Forest Restaurant.
St. Blanc has served on the board of supervisors of Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges since 2005, and was just re-appointed in July for another six-year term.
He notes that in his estimation, which he asserts is evidenced by local news reports, Louisiana has three problems that are holding her back from success: Poverty and health issues are the last two. The first and most egregious is education, or more to the point, the lack thereof.
“There must be something we can do,” St. Blanc said.
According to St. Blanc, there are 406 million people in the state of Louisiana, 2.3 million of which are of “working age.” Of those 2.3 million, 600,000 lack a high school diploma, while 500,000 have a high school diploma.
“Just think about that,” St. Blanc said. “The only way that Louisiana will ever succeed, is through education. And, the numbers that I just gave you…there must be something we can do to educate that 600,000.”
St. Blanc’s contention is that to achieve a more advantageously educated state, Louisiana must look to the incentives and job opportunities provided by a continued education.
St. Blanc says that Louisiana is the leader of the nation in community and technical college certificates earned. While such statistics prove Louisiana’s viability in the job market, St. Blanc wants to localize that in St. Mary Parish. He believes that a local push for more technical and community college access and participation from within the parish will help to revitalize what he says is a shrinking local population.
“What you gotta understand,” St. Blanc said, “is that 84 percent of jobs require more than a high school education. The majority of the workforce of the state of Louisiana is on the back of the community and technical college system. Sixty-eight percent of our graduates stay in their communities.”
Thusly, it follows that the more St. Mary Parish can focus on broadening its commitment to continuing vocational education, the better its chance of incorporating the capacity for community development, he said.
St. Blanc says that the LCTCS has been working within its own ranks, to build what he calls “bridges” from parish to parish, between several of the local community and technical colleges.
For instance, one particular school now offers classes at the location of a school in a neighboring parish, and so on. However, the LCTCS has also been working to build “bridges” between local community and technical colleges and local universities, as well. This diversification through consolidation seems to present opportunities for students, which would not have been available, previously.
Aside from integration of the LCTCS through interparish cooperation, and integration through state universities, St. Blanc continued the trumpet call for vocational education by touting the associates degree as superior to a bachelor’s degree. He supported this claim by declaring that many who earn the former degree attain better paying jobs, and attain them faster than those who attain the prior degree. He says that often, the students in the Associate’s programs at Louisiana community and technical schools do not make it past their first year of those two-year programs, due to being offered irrefusable salaries in their fields of study, before they can even attain their official certifications or degrees.
Though, for all the promise available through the LCTCS, St. Mary Parish has yet to see the same yield of success, as other parishes have seen. This could owe to several factors, such as population density differentials or skewed demographics.
But whatever the reason, St. Blanc announced Tuesday that one thing he and the LCTCS want to do to cajole collegiate success from the parish, is place technical and community satellites on the sites of Metal Shark’s and Gulf Craft’s boat construction yards. This would localize the LCTCS in St. Mary Parish, and provide immediate training facilities for two of the area’s biggest employers.
St. Blanc closed by saying, “Without education, nothing is solved. You cannot solve anything…nothing. Without education, we are just hamsters running in cages. That’s it, until you get an education.”

Radio Logs for October 11

Wed, 10/11/2017 - 9:37am

Staff Report

The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the police department at 985-380-4605.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
8:26 a.m. 1800 block of Maple Street; Theft.
10:32 a.m. 700 block of Bush Street; Animal complaint.
11:07 a.m. 1500 block of Nevada Street; Theft.
11:52 a.m. 1100 block of Fourth Street; Assistance.
12:02 p.m. 900 block of Ditch Avenue; Welfare check.
1 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Complaint.
1:07 p.m. 500 block of Levee Road; Disturbance.
2:21 p.m. 300 block of Aucoin Street; Officer stand by.
2:23 p.m. 1100 block of Fourth Street; Arrest.
2:47 p.m. 3000 block of Roderick Street; Civil matter.
3:11 p.m. 1500 block of Front Street; Complaint.
3:39 p.m. 1200 block of Brashear Avenue; Disturbance.
4:54 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Arrest.
4:59 p.m. 700 block of Franklin Street; Assistance.
6:11 p.m. 2300 block of La. 70; Medical.
7:15 p.m. 1800 block of Maple Street; Harassment.
7:57 p.m. 500 block of Fifth Street; Complaint.
8:10 p.m. 1000 block of Marguerite Street; Animal.
8:15 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Traffic incident.
8:56 p.m. 400 block of Fifth Street; Disturbance.
9:04 p.m. 500 block of Fifth Street; Complaint.
10:34 p.m. 900 block of Everett Street; Medical.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
1:04 a.m. Fifth and Idaho streets; Theft.

Shrimp boats back home

Tue, 10/10/2017 - 12:24pm

The Daily Review/Bill Decker
Shrimp boats are once more tied up alongside the Morgan City wharf, which underwent an extensive renovation. The boats have been back since the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, when the wharf was reopened to the public. Mayor Frank "Boo" Grizzaffi said an official grand opening will be held on a date to be determined in November.

Louisiana Spotlight: Start-up is slow for medical marijuana

Tue, 10/10/2017 - 12:22pm

By MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press

BATON ROUGE — No purses or briefcases allowed. Only transparent trash bags can be used. Randomized routes and delivery times demanded for the product, moved in unmarked vehicles. Constant surveillance expected.

Piecing together a medical marijuana program in a conservative Southern state like Louisiana involves reams of regulations, tightly-controlled growing operations and a slow selection process for the primary players.

Patients eligible for the drug under a law passed more than two years ago remain an estimated eight to 10 months away from having therapeutic marijuana in hand, with growing facilities still to be renovated and dispensing pharmacies still to be chosen.

The facilities will face intense scrutiny — and the whole program faces a legislative review after it gets up and running to determine if it will exist beyond Jan. 1, 2020.

Louisiana lawmakers agreed to a framework for dispensing the drug in 2015, then tweaked the law by Republican Sen. Fred Mills, a pharmacist, a year later. The law will eventually get medicinal-grade marijuana to people with cancer, a severe form of cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy and other diseases. Marijuana can be available in medicinal oils, pills, sprays and topical applications, but cannot be sold in a form that can be smoked.

Only the agricultural centers at LSU and Southern University are allowed to grow the medical-grade pot, overseen by Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain’s department. The law allows only 10 pharmacies to distribute the medication to patients, chosen by the Louisiana
Board of Pharmacy through a competitive bidding process. Doctors must get permission from the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners to recommend the drug for patients.

Both universities have selected vendors to produce the medicinal drug: Las Vegas-based GB Sciences for LSU and Lafayette-based Advanced Biomedics for Southern. Both schools expect to get millions from the growers over the first five years of production and to do research at the cultivation facility. No state tax dollars are involved.

While LSU has completed its contract, Southern is still finalizing the terms of its deal.
GB Sciences has chosen its production site in south Baton Rouge and will start renovating the 30,000-square-foot warehouse as soon as it receives a construction permit from the city-parish, said Ashley Mullens, with the LSU AgCenter.

“We’re hoping to have the product available next summer,” she said.

The Board of Medical Examiners has been processing applications and granting doctors permission to offer medical marijuana to patients. (Doctors won’t issue a prescription, but instead a “physician recommendation form.”) But no dispensing pharmacies have been chosen yet.

The Board of Pharmacy intends to issue one permit in each of the nine state-designated health care regions. The deadline to apply was Sept. 29. The board, which didn’t return calls for information, posted online that it expects to select the nine marijuana pharmacy permit recipients in January.

Mullens said the LSU AgCenter remains in constant contact with the pharmacy board to make sure the timelines coincide so LSU doesn’t end up “having product and no place to put it or them having pharmacies with no product to sell.”

The regulatory process is extensive.

The agriculture department alone issued 23 pages of rules for the medical marijuana growers “to protect the public welfare of the inhabitants of the state.”

Surveillance requirements are extensive, with cameras and a backup generator mandated, along with specifications for where cameras should be placed and synchronized. An inventory tracking system is required. Transportation to dispensaries is to be closely controlled, randomized and unrecognizable by vehicle. The product packaging can’t be attractive to children.

Under LSU’s contract with GB Sciences, the grower must hire the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office for two off-duty deputies during all hours of operation.

For the dispensing pharmacies, the facilities can’t sell any other prescription drugs, under rules established by the Board of Pharmacy. If a marijuana product is being discarded, a strict method is outlined for grinding up and getting rid of it. No public advertising through TV, radio or billboards will be allowed.

Louisiana lawmakers and the regulators they chose clearly realize how touchy the subject is when the state allowed a limited number of patients to use medical marijuana to ease their pain.

Follow Melinda Deslatte on Twitter at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte

Morgan City man arrested in cyber-crime sweep

Tue, 10/10/2017 - 12:19pm

Staff Report

Three men, including one from Morgan City, have been arrested by the state attorney general’s Cyber Crime Unit and accused of charges that include child exploitation.

One of the men, Arthur Tiel, 42, of Houma, is also accused of molestation of a juvenile.

Tiel was also booked into the Terrebonne Parish jail on 150 counts of possession of sexual abuse images or videos of children under the age of 13, three counts of distribution of such images, two counts of producing such images and the molestation counts.

His arrest as a fugitive from Lafourche Parish followed a joint investigation involving the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit, Homeland Security Investigations and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Timothy Billiot, 49, of Morgan City, was arrested on 10 counts of possession of sexual abuse images or videos of children under the age of 13, five counts of possession of sexual abuse image or videos of children and one count of distribution of sexual abuse of images or videos of children.

He was booked into the St. Mary Parish jail following a joint investigation between the LBI Cyber Crime Unit, Homeland Security investigations, the St. Mary Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana Probation and Parole’s Thibodaux Field Office.

Colby Babin, 27, of Gheens, was arrested on one count of sexual abuse images or videos of children under the age of 13. He was booked into the Lafourche Parish Jail following a joint investigation between the LBI Cyber Crime Unit, Homeland Security and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“The victimization of children should infuriate all of us and shake us to the core,” Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a press release. “My office and I will keep doing all we can to bring justice to the despicable who prey upon our state’s most innocent.”
Landry is asking the public to call the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation at 800-256-4506 if they have information or concerns regarding any of these alleged perpetrators. Callers do not have to give their names.