RSS Feed

BATON ROUGE — A contentious proposal in the Louisiana House of Representatives by a Shreveport lawmaker would prohibit a state institution of higher learning from allowing its name or symbol to be affixed to an alcoholic beverage.
This has ramification for both the microbreweries and the schools. The controversy even caught the attention of Gov. John Bel Edwards, who weighed into the brew-ha-ha Thursday.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Louisiana State University, which have their own official beer associated with their brands, are in the crosshairs of the bill by Democratic Rep. Cedrick Glover, who believes there is no justification for a university officially branding itself with alcohol.
Glover believes the current licensing agreements with breweries is a sudsy slope to hard liquor branding, but his concerns go beyond the alcohol.
“If you do this, why not the official lottery ticket game of the various universities across the state?” he said facetiously. “Let’s have the Mike the Tiger pick-three card.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards doesn’t quite see it that way. He implied to the Manship School News Service Thursday that, while he has not yet spoken to fellow Democrat Glover or the schools, the licensing of beer is simply part of a bigger tendency in the state.
“It is very clear. You go to the grocery store around football season and you are going to find purple and gold cans of beer in Louisiana. So we have people trying to take advantage of a connection to the universities, anyway.”
The Bayou Bengal lager is one of five core beers by Tin Roof Brewery of Baton Rouge, founded by LSU alumni in 2010.
Glover said the ongoing budget cuts experienced by state universities is not a valid excuse to seek out replacement revenues from beer.
The university receives 15 percent of the earnings associated with the beer.
Glover called it unfortunate that the state has to “look for revenue in any and all places.” He said his bill is not targeting microbreweries such as Tin Roof, which he said are popping up in his district and are “wonderful.”
LSU President F. King Alexander was quoted by The Advocate of Baton Rouge that House Bill 610 was “nonsense” and that Glover “likes to throw stones.”
Glover was quick to counter, calling Alexander’s response to the bill “petty.”
Alexander argued there are already major brands packaging products in the school’s iconic purple and gold colors, and they should deserve a cut of those profits.
“If King Alexander deserves a cut, then all the young men and women who have helped expose and elevate the brands across this state deserve a break as well,” Glover said. “But any one of those young people attempt to capitalize…on the prestige they bring to these institutions, then the NCAA and the university itself and the system as a whole will come down on them in ungodly ways.”
One of the brewery’s co-founders, William McGehee, said the LSU-licensed beer was in the works for several years prior to its launch last fall. Former Chancellor Mike Martin approached Tin Roof in 2010 about putting a brew pub on campus, but McGehee thought it would be better to start with an LSU licensed beer.
McGehee said Tin Roof was able to bring an LSU beer to fruition with Alexander, who thought it was “a great idea” and gave the green light.
“I understand [Glover’s] opinion, but we’re a craft brewery,” McGehee said. “We don’t promote mass drinking. That’s not what we’re about. We’re more about enjoying the beer. Our licensing with LSU beer is more about working with the school and the city and the state that we love and letting people of age enjoy a beer that has their school’s logo.”
The LSU-themed “Bayou Bengal” brew is now the third hottest-selling beer in Tin Roof’s cooler.
“The volume projections we think this beer can do … we’ve done a big expansion based on this beer,” McGehee said.
The brewery, which sits a mile from the LSU campus, wants to expand, but that may depend on whether Glover’s bill passes into law.
“I don’t think having an LSU licensed beer is going to make anyone drink more or less,” McGehee said.

Four area teams will be included in the first-round pairings for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Baseball Playoffs with the LHSAA releasing the baseball playoff brackets Sunday for all classes.
The Franklin Hornets, West St. Mary Wolfpack, Centerville Bulldogs and Hanson Memorial Tigers will all make the state playoffs after the LHSAA released the baseball playoff brackets Sunday for all classes.
The No. 26 seed Franklin Hornets will travel to take on No. 7 South Beauregard on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the State Class 3-A brackets.
In Class 2A, the No. 32 seed West St. Mary Wolfpack will travel to battle No. 1 seed Sterlington in first-round action slated for today at 4 p.m.
In Class 1A, both the Centerville Bulldogs and the Hanson Memorial Tigers will begin their quest for Sulphur with home games in the opening round.
Centerville, the No. 14 seed, will play host to No. 19 seed Lincoln Prep on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Centerville Bulldogs Field in the bi-district round of the State Class A playoffs.
Hanson Memorial, No. 6 seed, will play host to District 7-A foe Ascension Episcopal on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Amar Lancon Field.

1926-2017
CROWLEY, LA. – Thelma Theresa Hebert Moody passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 22, 2017, surrounded by her family. She was born on March 1, 1926, in Rayne, Louisiana, to Nettie Laura Plattsmier and Valery Leonard Hebert, the youngest of their five children. In her early years, she was known as “Te,” a good athlete who could run like the wind and a musician, favoring saxophone and piano. She was a 1942 graduate of St. Joseph High School in Rayne, and she completed the Southwestern Louisiana Institute Secretarial Science program two years later. She worked with the Bank of Commerce in Rayne until her marriage to Braxton Isham Moody III, also of Rayne, though originally from Iota, on June 14, 1947. Always upbeat, with a beautiful smile, she was a model of unselfish motherhood for her children and grandchildren. To her beloved husband, she was so very special and he loved her so very much. They were enjoying their 70th year of marriage together and recently gathered with their nine children for a joint 91st birthday celebration.
First a devoted wife, she went on to mother five generations of her family. She was affectionately called “Mama Te.” She was known for her Sunday dinners, Christmas Day with hand-stitched and appliquéd Christmas stockings that she made for each new baby, her love of Cypremort Point and Destin beach sunsets, and Sunday afternoon rides to Rayne and Iota. Guests were always welcomed to her Sunday dinner table with her church parish pastors often blessing her meals. Over the years, she enjoyed playing her favorite “Somewhere My Love” on her piano, teaching her children and grandchildren how to play; painting at Longview Art Studio, her artwork now family treasures; playing bridge with friends; and her Tuesday morning gathering with her Rosary group. She spent years driving her family carpool and celebrating birthdays with the honoree’s favorite dinner and cake. She never forgot a birthday, sending a card with the inserted greeting “better early than late.” She gave of herself to all without end.
Left to honor and cherish her memory is her beloved husband B. I. Moody III and their nine children: Rosalind Robertson (Sam), Braxton I Moody IV, Valerie Hensgens (Dennis), Beverly Lagroue (Harold), Katherine Hundley (Doug), Kevin Moody (Tracy), Charlotte Leonards (Buck), Stephen Moody (Dawn) and Elizabeth Gielen (Bryant). She dearly loved her 49 grandchildren, 55 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She has gifted them with a legacy of great faith, enduring love for her family and husband B.I., and a treasury of shared memories. She is also survived by her brother-in-law Douglas A. Moody Sr. and his wife Claire of Lafayette, her niece Carol Leger LaCroix of Rayne, and nephews Clyde J. Leger Jr. also of Rayne and Lenny Hebert of Stillwater Oklahoma, as well as the mothers of her grandchildren, Victoria Harris Moody and Jeanne Franques of Lafayette. She always lovingly remembered her grandson William Moody Hensgens of Crowley, who predeceased her in 2009.
Visitation for family friends will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at Geesey Ferguson Funeral Home in Crowley. Her Tuesday morning Rosary Group will gather at 12 noon to lead recitation of their weekly Rosary. The Funeral Mass will be held at St. Michael the Archangel Church at 2:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. For those who have asked, memorial contributions can be made to charities of one’s choice, or to St. Michael Catholic School, Notre Dame of Acadia Parish, or Rayne Catholic School.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home of Crowley.

Early voting for the April 29 election has ended.
A total of 2,145 voters cast early ballots during the period last week.
In Franklin, 162 early votes were recorded.
The election locally will decide who takes the St. Mary Parish Council Dist. 10 seat formerly held by Steve Bierhorst. The candidates are Gabriel Beadle and Reginald Weary.
The St. Mary Branch NAACP and Franklin-Jeanerette Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta will host a candidate forum Tuesday at the Teche Theatre on Main Street in Franklin at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend.