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On Sept. 17, Sager Brown will mark its 150th anniversary in Baldwin.
Founded in 1867, Sager Brown was originally established as an orphanage and school for African-American children and youth orphaned by the Civil War. Since that time, this sacred ground has transformed many times over while consistently providing outreach ministry in Baldwin and the surrounding communities. Sager Brown’s sesquicentennial “The Homecoming” will be celebrated on Oct. 21 at the Sager Brown Campus in Baldwin. All former students, staff, and volunteers are invited to join us as we mark 150 years of Sager Brown’s service to humanity.
The keynote speaker for the celebration is Dr. Wanda L. Nelson. Dr. Nelson is a native of the St. Joseph Community on the outskirts of Franklin. Her formative education began at Sager Brown Home and Godman School in Baldwin, where she remained through eighth grade. She graduated Park Avenue High School in Franklin, then pursued higher education earning the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Grambling College; Master of Arts, Ball State University; Educational Specialist, Louisiana State University; and Doctor of Education, Northern Illinois University. Her 43 years professional career began at Bicester American Elementary School in England and concluded at the University of Texas at Austin, where she rose to the position of Associate Vice President.
Dr. Nelson has served on numerous boards, including the American Cancer Society, Region; Communities in Schools; Austin Achievement Zone; and Migrant Student Advisory Board. She is the recipient of numerous awards including: Heman Marion Sweatt Legacy Award; National Women of Achievement Education Award; UT Black Faculty and Staff Lifetime Achievement Award; National Forum for Black Public Administrators Human Services Award; Austin Black Chamber of Commerce Education Advocate Award, and the 2017 William C. Powers Lifetime Service UT Tower Award. Other honors included selection for Leadership Austin and Leadership Texas, and Who’s Who Among Black Americans.
Her participation in community service organizations include Jack & Jill of America, The Links, Inc., and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. in which she served as a national officer. Currently she is mentoring girls living in a foster care home as well as four refugee children from Rwanda. Additionally, she is an associate musician and deaconess at Mt. Olive B.C. in Austin, Texas. She is married to Elridge Nelson, of Charenton, and they are the parents of two sons and three grandsons.

The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District moved forward with its dredging project during its monthly meeting Monday.
Tim Connell of the U.S Corps of Engineers reported that the port had one bidder for the special dredge project, but the bidder was out of awardable range. Connell said negotiations will be entered to bring down the price.
Connell also said that bidders still have until July 19 to respond to the contract representative. In addition, an industry day, in which several dredging industry representatives will be able to look at the dredging project and possibly bid, has been set for July 25 in New Orleans for the dredge project.
Michael Lowe, consultant from GIS Engineering, presented the final draft for the coastal permit that will be presented for approval to the Corps of Engineers. The draft received positive comments and the port shouldn’t have any issues as long as they stay in the parameters of the permit.
Michael Knobloch, consultant from Knobloch Professional Services, reported that the grant application for the 2017 fiscal year Port Security Grant has been submitted. The port is requesting a total of $932,000 for various projects over the course of two years such as maintenance, cyber security, equipment, upgrades, and fences. The port shall know if it has been awarded by mid-September.
Cindy Cutrera, manager of economic development, reported that the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority opened the $20 million initial solicitation for its RESTORE Act Parish Matching Opportunities Program and is accepting projects through Aug. 31.
Cutrera said that the main factors looked at for the RESTORE act was marsh creation and the amount of land that can be created. The port has almost unlimited supply of sediment with the dredging in the Atchafalaya River and Bay areas.
Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said that the port will speak with the parish so that the dredge projects could be utilized and get some funding that way.
Gerald Bourgeois, attorney for the port, presented a resolution for the purchase of a deck barge as well as the option to lease the deck barge for the dredging project. Bourgeois said the quoted price for the purchase of a used deck barge that the port had looked at was $1.6 million with an extra $800,000 in equipment on the barge that will be included in the purchase. The quoted rental price for the same barge was $400,000 with a 10 percent return.
“It is already set up the way we want it to be set up,” said Lee Dragna, chairman of the committee for the dredge project. Dragna said the port should buy the barge because it is an investment to show towards industry day and that the barge was a really good deal. After discussion, the board unanimously agreed to the purchase of the deck barge.
At the close of the meeting, Dragna mentioned that another special meeting of the committee will be called for the dredge project so that the next steps can be focused on preparation for the outcome of industry day.

BATON ROUGE— Louisiana’s two Republican U.S. senators aren’t saying much about where they stand on Senate GOP leaders’ proposed rewrite of the federal health care law, even though what they decide can have sweeping implications on their state’s health system.

The proposal, which Republicans continue to tweak behind the scenes, would heavily scale back federal spending on a Medicaid program that provides health coverage to 35 percent of Louisiana’s population. About $13 billion is being spent on Louisiana’s Medicaid program this budget year, with nearly three-quarters of that money coming from the federal government.

Perhaps that’s why Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy have decided they don’t want to get out front on a bill that isn’t yet set for a vote and that is being renegotiated in private as Republican Senate leaders try to rally support for passage.

An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says Medicaid cuts in the legislation would shrink projected federal spending on the program 35 percent by 2036. That would shift a heavy cost to states if they want to continue many of their Medicaid services.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said the changes would devastate Louisiana’s health care system.

“There’s not a lot of redeeming qualities about the bill. I would hope they throw it out and start over,” the Democratic governor said.

Extra money given to states that expanded their Medicaid programs to cover the working poor would be phased out, which Edwards said would force Louisiana to end the health coverage it provides to more than 430,000 people — most of whom were previously uninsured.

In addition, a new per-capita payment calculator would cap spending on the Medicaid program that existed before the Affordable Care Act. That program covers 1.2 million low-income people in Louisiana: pregnant women, children, elderly residents and people with disabilities.

Cassidy and Kennedy both have criticized the quality of health care provided through Medicaid and said the program needs changes to give states more flexibility to govern services and to rein in taxpayer-financed spending.

While he hasn’t staked out a position on the Senate health bill, Louisiana’s senior senator at least hasn’t ducked the public. Cassidy took hits about health care at recent meetings.

At a town hall held in a north Baton Rouge church, several people spoke against repealing the law and said Republican proposals are an effort to give large tax breaks to the wealthy at the expense of poor people’s coverage. Audience members shouted over Cassidy’s answers. Some chanted: “Vote no! Vote no!”

Cassidy told the audience: “I am doing my best to make sure that we continue coverage, care for those with preexisting conditions, eliminate mandates and lower premiums.”

However, he never explained if he thinks the Senate draft legislation dovetails with those priorities. Instead, he said: “We have not yet seen what the legislation will be upon which we will vote.”

A doctor who worked for years in Louisiana’s charity hospital system, Cassidy is seen as more open to bucking GOP congressional leadership on the health law rewrite because of his detailed knowledge of the subject, his background taking care of poor patients — and his criticism of similar legislation passed by the U.S. House.

Edwards, Louisiana advocacy groups and beneficiaries of the federal health law have focused squarely on Cassidy in their efforts to maintain the law, with perhaps more modest adjustments.

“I’m hopeful that Sen. Cassidy especially will be very influential in (rejecting the Senate legislation) or failing that, making tremendous fixes in the bill,” Edwards said on a recent conference call with Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat who also opposes the Senate bill.

Kennedy, who campaigned that he’d “rather drink weed killer” than support the current health law, is seen as a more solid vote for any Republican plan to upend the law and redesign the health care framework.

The new senator, in office since January, hasn’t held an in-person town hall meeting. Instead, he’s done three of what his office describes as “radio town halls,” where he takes callers’ unscreened questions live on a radio show.

Melinda Deslatte has covered Louisiana politics for The Associated Press since 2000. Follow her at http://twitter.com/melindadeslatte

A review of offshore oil and gas drilling regulations imposed during the Obama administration is to be completed by the end of year, according to Scott Angelle, who was named director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in the Department of the Interior in May.

The rules developed following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, were implemented in April 2016.

Prior to his director’s job, Angelle was District 2 Public Service Commissioner. The Breaux Bridge native also served as secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources and as lieutenant governor.

Angelle’s new job is to make sure oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf are conducted safely and in an environmentally-responsible manner to secure reliable and efficient energy production.

Angelle is to visit locations on the Gulf Coast this week that include New Orleans, Houma, Morgan City, Lafayette and Houston.

Angelle contrasted the regulatory reaction to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America that killed thousands to the aftermath of the BP oil rig failure that killed 11.

“Looking at that example with one stroke of a pen attempting to shut down offshore drilling for six months seemed to be, from my perspective, an over reaction to the issue,” Angelle said in telephone interview Friday.

Inspections and reporting could have been increased after the Deepwater Horizon incident, he said.

“The easiest thing to is to just say we are closing the door and we are not going to let anything happen,” he said of the offshore shutdown.

The shutdown had a huge economic impact, he said.

“We certainly need to have appropriate rules and regulations. Just because we call it a well control rule doesn’t mean that it is the only way to control wells. It is just like calling something the Affordable Care Act doesn’t make it affordable health care,” he said.

“In my mind the well control rule aimed high and missed wide and needs to be reviewed,” he said.

Economics were left out the equation in developing the rules that are now being reviewed, Angelle said, and he is optimistic that if change is needed there won’t be any foot-dragging.

“I don’t think this administration has a high level of appreciation for bureaucracy,” he said. “We’ve already begun to start trying to map out a way to review it in a transparent way and at the same time not let it slip away.”

Angelle stresses the Gulf of Mexico is a world-class oil and gas field, but also in competition for drilling dollars across the globe.

“We need to think as managers of the Gulf that the government does not have the ability to drill wells and to bring resources to market. It takes companies who are willing to make those investments.”

The regulatory environment has been not been predictable in the past, he said.

“We are going to certainly reach out introduce reliability and reasonableness to the marketplace. I think you will see the investment return to the Gulf...,” he said.

“This administration recognizes that the Outer Continental Shelf areas of America are a big deal and currently about 97 percent of the production ... comes from the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

“I think that bodes well for our economy,” he said.

Angelle said the Trump administration aims to open up offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic areas.

“We have a duty to demonstrate that we can do this in a safe way that is environmentally sustainable and unlock those resources,” he said.

President Trump is making it clear he wants the U.S. to be the dominant force in world energy production, he said.

Angelle also made the point that in 2016, revenue from deep water oil and gas production generated $2.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury.