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LEATRICE C. ABRAM

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:42am

Leatrice C. Abram, 93, a resident and native of Morgan City, La., passed away on Monday August 7, 2017 at 2:10 p.m. at her residence.
Visitation will be observed Friday, August 11, 2017 at the Lee Chapel a.m.E Church 609 Feret Street Morgan City, La. from 9 a.m. until funeral services at 11 a.m., with Reverend Andrew Sims Sr., officiating. Burial will follow funeral services in the Morgan City Cemetery.
Memories of Leatrice will forever remain in the hearts of her three daughters, Edna Mae Clark, Iona Abram Ruffin and Mary Ann Ennis (Walter) all of Morgan City, La.; four grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Leatrice was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and ten siblings.
Jones Funeral Home of Morgan City-Franklin-Houma-Jeanerette in charge of arrangements.
Visit www.jones-funeral-home.com to send condolences to family.

Verdunville community event

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:40am

A “Back to School Bash” was hosted by the Verdunville community Saturday afternoon at the community’s park. School supplies were passed out to school children, and there was a basketball camp, prizes, games and activities and more. The event reached some 120 children.

Baldwin VFD receives fire truck tire allocation

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:39am

Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department received $4,000 to purchase tires for fire trucks.
Several of the fire trucks had aging tires and were recognized during a needs assessment.
“Safety of our firefighters are paramount,” said Fire Chief Lance Mire. “In the past, the Town of Baldwin assisted the fire department with these maintenance items but now with the financial struggles of the town, we have to look to other areas for help. We reached out to the parish council for assistance to purchase tires for three fire trucks, resulting in a potential bill of nearly $8,000. The parish council approved $4,000 which will cover almost two of the trucks. We appreciate the continued support from our elected officials.”
Tires have been purchased and installed on a first-out attack pumper and a heavy rescue unit.
The Baldwin Volunteer Department is an all-volunteer fire department and operates on a small budget while serving residents and businesses of Baldwin, Ashton, Adeline, parts of Charenton, rural West side of Franklin and parts in between as well as offering mutual aid to all area departments.

Police Reports 8-9-17

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:38am

Franklin Police Chief Sabria McGuire reported the following arrests:
Brian Smith, 54, of Morris Street, Franklin, was arrested Tuesday at 8:28 a.m. on the charge of driving under suspension for certain prior offenses and a warrant for the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office charging him with failure to appear on the charge of possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance. Smith was booked, processed, and held with no bond set at the time of press release.
Rennie Danos, 39, of Plantation Drive, Franklin, was arrested Tuesday at 9:41 a.m. on warrants charging her with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of Schedule I narcotics marijuana. Danos was released on a summons.
Chitimacha Police Chief Hal Hutchinson reported that Wednesday, while patrolling the reservation, an officer observed a vehicle perform a traffic violation and conducted a traffic stop. During the stop, the Chitimacha K-9 was deployed and the following were arrested:
Shayna Muffoletto, 18, of Anderson Street, Franklin, was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of synthetic cannabinoids, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and was cited for improper lane usage. She was released on a summons.
Ross Benoit, 18, of Queens Row, Lafayette, was arrested on charges of three counts of possession of drugs, and was released on a summons.

Foundation Hospital updates radiology's mammography unit

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:37am

Franklin Foundation Hospital Radiology Department has updated their mammography unit to a Hologic Digital 2D Mammography Unit, offering a new level of “advanced technology for breast cancer screenings,” according to Director of Radiology Matt Barrilleaux.
Statistics show that in the US, breast cancer will affect an average of one in eight women in her lifetime, and is the second most common cause of cancer related deaths in women, behind only lung cancer.
Mammograms play a central part in the early detection of breast cancer, as they can detect changes in the breast that are too small or subtle to be felt by manual examination.
Mammography is proven to detect most cancers in women without symptoms. In light of this fact, women at and after the age of 40 are encouraged to get a mammogram annually, as it is a woman’s best defense against breast cancer. Eight out of nine diagnosed women have no family history of breast cancer, making early detection the single most important factor in surviving cancer.
Franklin Foundation Hospital Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Guidry cites a recently conducted community health needs assessment as pointing to cancer as a “top target” of import in St. Mary Parish, in terms of risk and prevention. “We strive to meet the needs of our community,” said Guidry, “and upgrading with new technology is a major factor.”
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and FFH will be offering education and information for local area residents. If you would like a FFH representative to speak about breast cancer education and prevention to a local organization, business, civic group or school, call 337-355-1373. FFH staff members are available to support programs, as well as honor local breast cancer survivors.
FFH will also be participating as a vendor of the Healthcare Walking Tour in “Fit, Fun and Fabulous, Serving St. Mary Parish,” Oct. 5, in downtown Franklin. Attendees are encouraged to please stop by the FFH booth to receive free breast cancer awareness materials.

Back-to-School at Broussard-Harris

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 9:37am

Stylist Rodney Jack gives Russell Mandubourg Jr., age nine, a trim Monday at the Back to School Drive at the Broussard-Harris Recreation Center, as Mandubourg Jr. prepares for his fifth-grade school year. Sponsors for the event include: Teche Action Clinic, Hidden Gems Social Services, D & L Daquiri Shop, West Wood Riders, City Councilman Lester Levine, New Approaches Mental Health Services, Advance America, Franklin Foundation Hospital, 100 Black Men of St. Mary Parish and Alpha of Charisma.
The Banner/CASEY COLLIER

Local officials want to look at consolidation

Wed, 08/09/2017 - 8:56am

Officials with local governmental entities say that consolidating certain areas of government is something political leaders should look into to see where combining entities may make sense. St. Mary Parish Councilman Gabriel Beadle discussed officials’ plans Monday to consolidate some of the over 40 taxing districts in the parish. Taxing districts have property tax millage rates associated with them, and districts also issue municipal bonds that require voters’ approval to do capital projects. Beadle’s plans entail eventually combining the four gravity drainage districts east of the Calumet Cut, all seven of the parish’s recreation districts and the Morgan City and ...

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Trump warns NKorea of 'fire and fury' as nuke threat worsens

Tue, 08/08/2017 - 6:32pm

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump threatened North Korea "with fire and fury like the world has never seen" on Tuesday after suggestions the communist country has mastered one of the final hurdles to being able to strike the United States with a nuclear missile.

North Korea fired off its own "serious warning to the United States" about "enveloping" America's Pacific territory of Guam in missile fire to counteract U.S. bombers that are based there and fly over South Korea — and "get on the nerves" of the North.

The competing threats escalated tensions between the foes even further. Although it wasn't clear if Trump and the Koreans were responding directly to each other, the heightened rhetoric added to the potential for a miscalculation that might bring the nuclear-armed nations into conflict.

Trump's stern words to the camera at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, came hours after reports indicating North Korea can now wed nuclear warheads with its missiles, including those that may be able to hit the American mainland. The isolated and impoverished dictatorship has strived for decades to have the ability to strike the U.S. and its Asian allies, and the pace of its breakthroughs is already having far-reaching consequences for stability in the Pacific and beyond.

The nuclear advances were detailed in an official Japanese assessment and a Washington Post story that cited U.S. intelligence officials and a confidential Defense Intelligence Agency report. The U.S. now puts the North Korean arsenal at up to 60 nuclear weapons, more than double most assessments by independent experts, according to the Post's reporting.

"North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States," said a stern-looking Trump, seated with his arms crossed and with his wife beside him. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."

"He has been very threatening beyond a normal state. And as I said they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before."

The remarks appeared scripted, with Trump glancing at a paper in front of him. They evoked President Harry Truman's announcement of the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, in which he warned of "a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth."

But it wasn't clear what Trump, who is prone to hyperbole and bombast in far less grave situations, meant by the threat. White House officials did not elaborate.

The Trump administration considers North Korea to be America's greatest national security threat and tensions have steadily escalated this year.

Pyongyang had threatened the U.S. in response to the U.N. Security Council's adoption this weekend of new, tougher sanctions spearheaded by Washington. The sanctions followed groundbreaking long-range missile tests last month that showed the North could potentially reach the continental United States with its missiles. The newly revealed U.S. intelligence assessment indicates those missiles can carry nuclear warheads.

Denouncing the U.N. sanctions through state media, the North warned: "We will make the U.S. pay by a thousand-fold for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country."

For North Korea, having a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike America would be the ultimate guarantee against invasion by its superpower adversary.

It is an ambition decades in the making. North Korea began producing fissile material for bombs in the early 1990s and conducted its first nuclear test explosion in 2006. Four subsequent nuclear tests, the latest a year ago, have accelerated progress on miniaturizing a device — something North Korea already claimed it could do. Over that span, multiple U.S. presidents have tried and failed to coax or pressure Pyongyang into abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

The secrecy of the North's nuclear program and the underground nature of its test explosions make it very difficult to properly assess its claims. But the new assessments from Japan and the U.S. suggest that doubts over the North's abilities are receding.

In an annual report, Japan's Defense Ministry on Tuesday concluded that "it is possible that North Korea has achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons and has developed nuclear warheads." Japan, a key U.S. ally, is a potential, front-line target of North Korean aggression.

The Post story, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, went further. It said the Defense Intelligence Agency analysis, completed last month, assessed North Korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, including by intercontinental missiles.

Officials at the agency wouldn't comment Tuesday. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence also wouldn't discuss the report.

It's unclear how North Korea's new capabilities will immediately affect how the U.S. approaches the country's regular missile launches and occasional nuclear tests. The U.S. military has never attempted to shoot a North Korean missile out of the sky, deeming all previous tests to pose no threat to the United States. The U.S. could weigh military action if the threat perception changes.

The calculation of North Korea's nuclear arsenal at 60 bombs exceeds other assessments, which range from around one dozen to about 30 weapons. The assessments are typically an estimate of the amount of plutonium and enriched uranium North Korea has in its inventory rather than how much of that material has been weaponized. It's unclear how many, if any, miniaturized warheads North Korea has built.

Last month's tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles highlighted the growing threat. While those missiles landed at sea near Japan, both were fired at highly lofted angles. Analysts said the weapons could reach Alaska, Los Angeles or Chicago if fired at a normal, flattened trajectory.

Not all technical hurdles have been overcome with the missiles, however. North Korea is still believed to lack expertise to allow a missile to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere without burning up. Another work-in-progress: the ability to strike targets with accuracy.

Woman charged with prostitution during investigation

Tue, 08/08/2017 - 3:30pm

Staff Report

A 30-year-old Morgan City woman was charged with prostitution after allegedly agreeing to perform sexual acts in exchange for money at a hotel in Morgan City, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.

—Heather R. Ganaway, 30, of Jupiter Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 6:30 p.m. Monday on a charge of prostitution.

Detectives conducted an investigation into alleged prostitution in the area via an internet site. Police located an individual, later identified as Ganaway, who allegedly agreed to perform a sexual act in exchange for money, Blair said.

Ganaway arrived at a hotel and was jailed.

Blair reported responding to 40 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Cody P. Pearce, 29, of Rose Street in Berwick, was arrested at 5:52 p.m. Monday on charges of reckless operation of a vehicle, no driver’s license and DWI.

Officers responded a single vehicle crash on La. 70. Police located the driver of the vehicle, Pearce, who stated that he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the swampy area off of the highway, Blair said.

Pearce appeared to be under the influence of some type of narcotic, Blair said. Pearce was transported to a hospital where he consented to have blood drawn. Pearce also did not have a driver’s license, Blair said. Pearce was jailed.

—Herman L. Sonnier Jr., 49, of David Road in Morgan City, was arrested at 6:21 p.m. Monday on a charge of theft less than $1,000.00 and on a St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office warrant charging him with two counts of theft.

Officers responded to a business in regard to a shoplifter. Officers arrived and spoke with management, who stated that Sonnier had concealed items and tried leaving the store without paying for them, Blair said.

Sonnier allegedly admitted to taking the items, Blair said. Sonnier was jailed.

—Tommy L. Harding, 28, of Friendship Lane in Morgan City, was arrested at 5:42 p.m. Monday on warrants charging him with probation violation and with two counts of failure to pay fines.

Harding was transported from the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center in Centerville to the Morgan City Police Department on city court warrants.

—Whitney Billiot, 40, of Leona Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 8:01 p.m. Monday on charges of resisting an officer, battery on an officer, possession of methamphetamine and on a warrant charging him with two counts of simple battery.

Officers responded to a home on Leona Street in regard to a Billiot having active warrants for his arrest. Officers arrived at the home and located Billiot. While trying to place Billiot under arrest, he began to resist and struck one of officers, Blair said.

Billiot was eventually subdued and placed under arrest. Officers also located suspected methamphetamine in Billiot’s possession, Blair said. The location of the home is within 2,000 feet of an elementary school, which is a drug free zone. Billiot was jailed.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert reported responding to 40 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Saul Garcilazo, 17, of Todd Lane in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 6:04 p.m. Monday on a warrant charging him with criminal mischief and criminal trespass.

A deputy investigating a July 27 complaint of trespassing at a home on Hotard Lane learned that several residents in the area had seen a man walking through properties and looking in the windows of vehicles.

Through investigation, the deputy identified the person as Garcilazo and obtained a warrant for his arrest, Hebert said. Garcilazo turned himself in at the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office in Morgan City. Garcilazo was jailed with bail set at $1,500.

—Christopher Lovelady, 51, of Lawson Street in Crowley, was arrested at 4:37 a.m. Tuesday on charges of speeding in a construction zone and operating a vehicle with a suspended driver’s license.

A deputy patrolling U.S. 90 observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed in the construction zone in the Patterson and Bayou Vista area.

The deputy conducted a traffic stop and spoke with the driver who was identified as Lovelady. The deputy found that Lovelady was driving the truck with a suspended license. Lovelady was jailed with bail set at $1,250.

—Krislyn Vining, 22, of Two Sisters Court in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 4:06 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and transactions involving drug proceeds.

Narcotics detectives patrolling U.S. 90 observed a vehicle drive onto the shoulder of the roadway and conducted a traffic stop in Patterson.

Detectives spoke with the occupants in the vehicle including Vining who was a passenger. Detectives received consent to search the vehicle and located a backpack containing two bags of marijuana, Hebert said. Detectives also collected evidence that Vining sold the illegal drug, the sheriff said.

Vining was transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center. During booking, over $400 in cash was found on Vining, Hebert said. No bail is set.

—Kendyl Russell, 27, of Pattie Lane in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 3:19 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana and THC oil and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Narcotics detectives investigating suspected narcotics activity at the home on Pattie Lane spoke with Russell and received consent to search the location. Detectives found marijuana, containers of THC oil, electronic vaporizers, and other items of drug paraphernalia, Hebert said. Following the investigation, Russell was released on a summons to appear in court Oct. 23.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.

Gov. asks business for budget ideas

Tue, 08/08/2017 - 12:16pm

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards is starting an outreach effort to solicit ideas for patching a more than $1 billion hole in next year’s state operating budget, meeting Tuesday with business leaders from around Louisiana to build support for a budget-balancing fix.

The closed-door gathering at the Louisiana Capitol is intended to be the first of several conversations with people who run businesses, as Edwards tries to drum up grassroots backing for proposals to address the shortfall without devastating health and education programs.

“He wants the business community to stay involved as the process moves forward,” Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said Monday.

Combined with those talks, Edwards next week also will begin regional meetings with state lawmakers to discuss ways to offset the “fiscal cliff” that hits on July 1, 2018, when temporary taxes expire.

Tax ideas previously offered by the Democratic governor have failed to win support in the majority-Republican Legislature, nearly all the measures bottled up in the House, where most tax bills must start.

Any tax plans will require a special session to consider ahead of the shortfall, but Edwards said he won’t call one unless he can reach a consensus with House GOP leaders who were the primary roadblock to his previous proposals.

The shortfall will be caused mainly by the loss of a 1 percent temporary sales tax hike enacted in 2016.

That sales tax — and other temporary tax increases — were given mid-2018 expiration dates, with lawmakers and the governor saying they intended to tackle long-term tax reform to stabilize Louisiana’s finances.

But that tax overhaul never happened this year.

Ideas offered by a nonpartisan task force created by lawmakers to reform Louisiana’s tax structure, most of which were embraced by Edwards, were bottled up and killed in the House, with GOP leaders there opposed to the bills. A separate idea pushed by the governor to enact a new tax on business also was a nonstarter.

House Republican leaders sought to lessen spending in this year’s budget to shrink the size of the financial gap next year, but that proposal also didn’t win final passage in the Legislature amid opposition from Edwards and Senate leaders.

Stephen Waguespack, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, said he welcomed the governor’s outreach to the business community, which comes after Edwards earlier this year described large corporations as not paying “their fair share” of taxes as he

sought to shift more of the state tax burden to businesses.

“Hopefully, these meetings will be where some of that harmful rhetoric is taken back and the collaborative trends begin to move our state in a different direction,” Waguespack said in his weekly opinion column.

Waguespack won’t be at Tuesday’s meeting, which Carbo said wasn’t aimed at statewide business associations but at those people running companies.
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