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St. Mary Parish Council members Wednesday denied one zoning request on their own and approved another that the zoning board recommended be denied.
Of the six requests submitted by the parish planning and zoning commission, the rest were approved.
In question was a request from a US 90 Frontage road property owner near Gibby and Moresi roads to rezone a single family residential (SR) property to existing neighborhood (EN2) in order to place a recreational vehicle.
Councilman Craig Mathews said the residents in the area opposed the rezoning.
Parish President David Hanagriff said he attended the planning and zoning meeting and that the request “struck me as odd for the simple reason that the person who wants to rezone the property doesn’t live on the property…and the rezone that was given was that he wanted it there so that his wife could stay in the trailer for when he cuts the grass in case he has a heart attack. I asked him if he had a heart condition and he said no.”
Hanagriff asked the council to “make the best judgment you can.” He added that one person at the meeting did voice opposition.
Mathews said there were others opposed. The council voted to deny the rezoning.
The other item was a request by a Patterson property owner at 101 Hendricks St., Patterson, which is zoned single family residential, but asked for a specific use request to place livestock there, including chickens, potbelly pigs, ducks and miniature goats. The board recommended denial, and the council concurred.
Also Wednesday, LSU AgCenter Extension Agent Jimmy Flanagan and several 4-H members requested that the council adopt a proclamation declaring Oct. 1-7 as National 4-H Week in the parish.
The 4-H members in attendance each gave testimonials on what the organization has meant to them.
In other business:
—The council approved resolutions of respect in memory of Dr. William H. Johnson and Tyra Terrell Yarber.
—Willie Edwards and Clegg Caffery were reappointed to the Atchafalaya Golf Course Commission.
—Didi Battle and Robert Judice Jr. were reappointed to the Hospital Service Dist. 1, Franklin Foundation, board of commissioners.
—A request from Councilman J Ina for $500 from the Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10 3/10ths sales tax fun for the children’s haunted house event at Broussard-Harris Recreation Center in Franklin was approved.

A 59-year-old man, who had been an inmate at the St. Mary Parish jail in Centerville, was pronounced dead at Franklin Foundation Hospital after a deputy found him unresponsive Wednesday in the jail, according to a St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office news release.

Investigators do not suspect any foul play in the death.

On Wednesday evening at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, a correctional deputy observed an unresponsive inmate. Deputies and medical staff members responded immediately and began rendering aid. Acadian Ambulance was called to the location and transported the inmate to Franklin Foundation Hospital, the release stated.

Despite their efforts, Rodney Frederick, 59, of Bayou Vista, was pronounced deceased at Franklin Foundation Hospital. An investigation is ongoing and has been turned over to the St. Mary Parish Coroner’s Office.

Frederick had been incarcerated since March on charges of aggravated crimes against nature and aggravated incest, the release said.

Before they even know whether the candy will be top-notch or king-size, trick or treaters are drawn to houses decked out for Halloween.
“When kids are trick-or-treating, that’s the first thing they see,” said Tanya Graff, style director at Martha Stewart Living magazine. “It’s fun when they see these amazing, decorated houses. It really makes it feel like Halloween. It makes your house look more inviting.”
Halloween offers the first big chance of fall to decorate — “the first big opportunity for people to really go for it,” said Graff.
And you can go for it in different ways, from sophisticated to playful, subtle or over the top. Halloween decorations range from traditional harvest to family-friendly to maximum spookiness, with ghosts, ghouls, skeletons and more.
Any way you do it can make a big impact, and it doesn’t have to cost a chocolate-covered mint.
When you’re creating a spooky scene, be sure to keep your theme consistent.
“You want it to be unified,” said Barbara DeVos, category manager for Halloween decorations at the retailer Party City. “Whatever kind of theme you’re going for, you want all the lighting and all of the props to have the same kind of feeling.”
And have a focal point that draws in passersby — “some kind of wow factor,” DeVos said.
TRADITIONAL HARVEST
For a simple and subtle look, try a wreath on your front door. Take a dried grapevine wreath, add moss, and give it a creepy-crawly twist by adding black plastic bugs and snakes. Or spray-paint the wreath black and add faux black roses, Graff said.
A seasonal harvest look is easy to get with pumpkins. Besides the traditional jack-o’-lanterns, you can add pumpkins to urns for a fall display, or turn carved pumpkins into outdoor vases for fall mums.
The easiest idea, Graff said, is to place pumpkins up your front steps. “You could do different shapes, different colors, or ombre, starting in one color and graduating down to another,” she adds. With pumpkins now available in many different hues, you can create an ombre look with pumpkins ranging from gray to green to white, or peach to brown to orange.
FAMILY FRIENDLY
For a fun and family-oriented look, think about adding color and smiling faces, said DeVos.
“It’s having more color, like purple and orange and black tied in together, and having friendly witches,” she said. “There is no blood or death. It’s all about friendly pumpkins and friendly ghosts and scarecrows.”
You can share a happy Halloween vibe using garlands or gel clings for the windows, DeVos said, or cute yard stakes or trick-or-treating signs.
Add some drama with paper-bag lanterns: Cut Halloween shapes or words like “Boo!” into black paper bags and put electric lights inside, Graff said.
SPOOKY AND SCARY
There are so many decorations to choose from, including skeletons, skulls, reapers, ghosts, witches, bats, crows and other critters, not to mention semblances of blood and gore.
For maximum impact, accessorize with spider webbing, lights and a fog machine, DeVos said. You can hang spider webbing from your roof to the ground and fill it with giant spiders crawling down, she said. Add to the scene by creating a crow-filled graveyard in your front yard with tombstones. “You can stick bones into the dirt so it looks like someone might be coming out,” DeVos said.
Bats, snakes and giant spiders can greet trick-or-treaters from a tree in your front yard.
“You can put them onto the tree and have them hanging down, and have webbing and cloth coming down and drape it all over the tree,” she said.
Skeletons can greet trick-or-treaters from rocking chairs or stools on the front porch; decorate around them with bones, skulls or cauldrons.
—Online:
www.marthastewart.com/
www.partycity.com/