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Q and A session in Franklin on disabilities

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 2:53pm

A question-and-answer session with Karen Scallon of Special Needs & Parent Support Services of Loui-siana will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday at the St. Landry Parish Library Conference Room, 206 Iberia St. in Franklin.

If you have a disability or live with someone who has a disability, or if you’re a teacher, an advocate or friend of someone with a disability, this session is for you.

Scallon will take questions on Medicaid, waivers, rights, health care, guardianship, wills, estates, services, signing up or whatever else you might need to know.

The event is open to the public. Please RSVP to San-dra at 337-380-8243 or 337-828-2284.

Supporting the blue

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:53pm

The Daily Review/Bill Decker
Football players from Morgan City High, Patterson, Berwick and Central Catholic march to show their support of law enforcement Tuesday. In their jerseys, they walked from Berwick Elementary across the La. 182 bridge to Morgan City.

MARY B. HENDERSON

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:50pm

Mary B. Henderson, 68, a native and resident of Berwick, died Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, at Terrebonne General Hospital in Houma.

Visitation will be Saturday from 10 a.m. until services at 1 p.m. at Pilgrim Grove Baptist Church in Morgan City. Interment will follow in the Berwick Cemetery.

She is survived by her husband, the Rev. Harold Henderson Sr. of Berwick; two sons, Harold Henderson Jr. and Brian Henderson, both of Berwick; one daughter, Tammie Johnson of Berwick; one brother, Clarence Black Jr. of Berwick; three sisters, Ruth Black of Berwick, Deidre Robinson of Harker Heights, Texas and Colleen Roberson of Decatur, Georgia; and eight grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother.

Otis Mortuary Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Wheel House for Aug. 23

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:44pm

12U PARADE
City of Patterson hosting a parade in honor of Patterson 12U Girls All-Stars who are the 2017 Babe Ruth Girls World Series Champions, at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26. Line-up at Place Norman Shopping Center at 10:30 a.m. Parade will travel north on Main Street and disband at Patterson City Hall where a reception will be held. Call Ryan Aucoin, Community Affairs director, at 985-395-5205 for info or to participate.

PILGRIM GROVE
Baptist Church, Greenwood, has cancelled its 134th anniversary celebration that was set for Sunday, Aug. 27, until further notice.

Watching the eclipse at Holy Cross

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:42pm

Holy Cross teachers find ways to connect their students to Monday's solar eclipse.

'Game of Thrones' and the top-down economy

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:37pm

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, JOSH BOAK and PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writers

WASHINGTON — It was dragons vs. zombies in fiery combat during this week’s “Game of Thrones,” a battle that likely provides just a hint of what lies ahead in HBO’s hit series.

Yet the epic scene also raised an economic question: Can the White Walkers’ command-and-control economy defeat their disorganized, squabbling Westerosi opponents?

The Associated Press’ economics team explores this question, as well as the growing rivalry between sisters Sansa and Arya Stark, in the latest episode of our audio series, “The Wealth of Westeros.” We were joined by Carolyne Larrington , a professor of medieval English literature at Oxford.

The icy, humanoid White Walkers have mobilized a fearsome, unthinking army of zombies against the population of Westeros, the Europe-like continent where the show mostly takes place. Their top-down, centralized approach can be intimidating from a military perspective. It can also help an economy accelerate temporarily, as the Soviet Union’s did after World War II.

But this week’s episode provides clues about the shortcomings of this approach. When a White Walker is killed by Jon Snow, all the zombies created by that White Walker also die off.
In other words, in a system with no individual autonomy or decision-making, the White Walker army is useless without its leaders.

By contrast, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and their compatriots bicker incessantly about strategy, but their less-centralized approach allows individuals like Snow to take risks and make their own decisions. Historically, economies that allow entrepreneurs to do the same have provided greater prosperity than those run from the top down.

Some other highlights from this week’s show:

Sisterly rivalry
gets out of hand
One surprise this season has been the growing suspicion and ill-will between Sansa and Arya Stark. Both have suffered terribly after their mother and oldest brother were killed at the infamous “Red Wedding,” and the scars they bear seem to be pushing them further apart.

This week, Arya attacks Sansa for a letter she wrote — against her will — years earlier, urging her older brother, Robb, to pledge his loyalty to the spoiled, evil King Joffrey.

Larrington, who wrote a book titled “Brothers and Sisters in Medieval European Literature,” as well as “Winter Is Coming: the Medieval World of Game of Thrones,” said the conflict is unusual for its time, because it doesn’t involves a romantic rivalry.

“When sisters fall out in traditional stories like this, it’s usually over a man,” she said. “They both want the same man,” but that’s not true in this case.

“It’s not like they both want Littlefinger, I mean God forbid,” Larrington added. “They’re not going to predestined paths like most medieval women would have done, which is getting married at quite a young age. They are actually fighting for power, fighting for self-determination, and it has cost both of them quite a lot.”

Winter is coming
— but is climate change?
The show’s catchphrase, “Winter Is Coming,” refers to both the harsh, extended winters that can last for years in Westeros as well as the White Walker invasion. It’s long been seen as a metaphor for climate change.

Just like climate change, the threat is two-fold: The people of Westeros have to figure out how to defeat the White Walkers, and also how to convince many of their compatriots that the threat is real.

In “Game of Thrones,” the White Walkers haven’t appeared for thousands of years, so it’s not surprising that many characters on the show regard them as myths.
But even with all our advances in science and communications, it’s still difficult to achieve consensus in the United States — and globally — on whether global warming constitutes a serious threat.

Dragon vs. dragon
The White Walkers now have their own zombie dragon, after killing one of Daenerys’s dragons and capturing its corpse. This raises an interesting question of military strategy that has been studied by economists who specialize in game theory: Now that both sides have weapons of mass destruction, will they hold back from using them, as modern nuclear powers have done? Or will it increase the incentives for one side to strike first?

This is “Game of Thrones” we’re talking about, so the safe answer is the latter one.

PSB to AARP

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:33pm

Submitted Photo
William “Bill” Darce Jr., president of St. Mary AARP Chapter 4435, accepts a donation from Dennis Taylor, Patterson State Bank senior vice president and business development officer. The continued support by the bank helps to deliver the St. Mary Parish AARP newsletter to members throughout the parish.

Ribbon-cutting for Heroes Nutrition

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:26pm

The Daily Review/Zachary Fitzgerald
The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting Thursday for Heroes Nutrition, 827 Ninth St. in Morgan City. Owner Nathan Dake opened the business several weeks ago.

Louisiana Politics: Some lawmakers consider reform in La. departments

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 1:12pm

By JEREMY ALFORD, LaPolitics.com

When lawmakers debate taxes and spending during the next session another budget issue should be added to the mix.

And that would be departmental reforms, according to Senate Natural Resources Chairman Norby Chabert, R-Houma.

While the House Appropriations Committee has been shining a bright light on the Louisiana Health Department and its operations and budget, Chabert, an interim Finance member, said he’s taking a closer look at Louisiana Economic Development and the Department of Transportation and Development.

“We’re in desperate need of restructuring,” said Chabert, who’s reviewing a number of ideas, including some of his previous attempts at reform.

At DOTD Chabert is investigating how districts and sub-districts operate and whether there’s enough regional fairness in place. Flood-related authority is an issue as well.

“Why is DOTD still in charge of that?” he asked.

As for LED, there was some banter — when Chabert legislatively created DOTD’s Office of Multimodal Commerce — about renaming LED the “Commerce Department” and making it “focus on business” rather than recruitment and incentives.

The drive does have some passion attached. Chabert went a tear on social media recently when it was announced that Louisiana was not in the running to land a Toyota-Mazda production facility — and that Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas were all on the short list for the $1.6 billion deal.

“Damn shame we aren’t even in competition for this plant,” Chabert tweeted.

Another federal
judgeship to ponder
More names are beginning to surface for the Alexandria-based federal judgeship in Louisiana.

The most surprising may be Jimmy Faircloth, who served as executive counsel for former Gov. Bobby Jindal. But he’s definitely not alone in the running.

Bradley Drell, who is the son of Judge Dee Drell, is in the mix as well. Judge Drell is moving to senior status in the fall, which will in turn create the vacancy everyone is waiting on in Alexandria.

Other possibilities, according to locals, include state Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport; Greg Upton, a partner at Gold Weems law firm; and Judge Greg Beard of the 9th Judicial District.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy will be taking the lead on the nomination process in Washington.

An outsider battle in HD 77
The outsider candidate in House District 77 — in terms of party affiliation alone — is being dragged into a developing campaign issue by an opponent who built his own political brand as an outsider contender in statewide elections.

It started with this email from retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness that was sent to supporters:

“Well, the race is on and its gotten weird already. Our notoriously big government, tax increasing, and budget raising Parish President has backed my opponent who is a Democrat recently turned No Party, to run against me. You can rest assured we have made the establishment insiders uncomfortable and this turning away from fellow Republicans by an elected Republican Official is undeniable proof!”

Pat Brister is the St. Tammany Parish president and she has been a fundraising host and public encourager for Lisa Condrey Ward of Covington, the only non-Republican candidate — non-party to be more specific — in the special state House election.

Asked about the email, Ward said, “I guess I’m doing something right.”

Ward said she was a non-party voter from age 18 and into her 40s before moving to St. Tammany Parish, at which time she switched to Democrat. More recently she moved back again into the unaffiliated category.

Local politicos, though, are less intrigued by Ward’s choice of party than they are Brister’s decision to wade into a race that has three Republicans, including fellow elected officials.

Covington City Councilman Mark Wright is a contestant and expects to file a “very healthy” campaign finance report soon. Wright doesn’t enjoy the same kind of statewide recognition as Maness, obviously, but he does have deep roots in the district and what is said to be a solid bloc of support in the Covington region.

Also running is Casey Revere, a justice of the peace.

They said it
“I’m gonna look like I’m 90 by the time I get out.”
—Gov. John Bel Edwards, during the 90th birthday celebration of former Gov. Edwin Edwards last week

“I did not eat that cake once I found out that Chef Vitter made it.”
—Gov. John Bel Edwards, referencing the culinary skills of Chef Drue Vitter, not his 2015 opponent former U.S. Sen. David Vitter

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

Hidalgo bids farewell

Wed, 08/23/2017 - 11:26am

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a farewell address by Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Queen Jeanne Marie Hidalgo. She will crown her successor Saturday at 7:30 p.m. during the 82nd Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Coronation and Ball in the Paul Schreier Theatre at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.)
My reign was filled with travels throughout our state while promoting our Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival — from the Rice Festival in Crowley, the Sugar Festival in New Iberia, the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge to the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival and The Orange Festival at Fort Jackson.
The memories I have are highlighted with contest wins for prettiest decorated shrimp boots at the Delcambre Shrimp Festival queen’s day events and the feather contest at the Gueydan Duck Festival, both highly coveted prizes! My festival travels are documented on the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Facebook page: www.facebook.com/shrimpandpetroleumfestival.
The Mystick Krewe of Louisianians Ball and the week I spent in Washington, D.C., without doubt was the grandest celebration of Louisiana tradition and culture I’ve attended. While there, visiting queens had special audiences at Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Museum of American History, the Veterans’ Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We held discussions with our senators and congressional delegates concerning economic issues facing our local region and our state.
I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to my community, my hometown of Morgan City, for giving me something so beautiful to represent this past year as queen. Representing the shrimp and the oil field industries has been fantastic.
As I traveled to so many different places and met so many different people, I was astounded by the number of times people eagerly wanted to share what they knew about our festival, raved about how much fun they had while here, or told of their excitement to visit our festival once again, or even for the first time. These were truly humbling experiences for me.
I owe thanks to the people who make our festival a wonderful experience for us and for those who visit. I truly had the best festival and the best community to represent this year. I’ll forever treasure my reigning year as 81st Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Queen — Jeanne Marie Hidalgo.