BNSF Railroad company advised the city of Patterson that crossings at Enterprise Avenue and Tiffany Street will be closed from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Monday for some rail replacement on those two crossings. All traffic will have to migrate to the crossing on Veterans Avenue to enter U.S. 90.
Darryl DiMaggio Sr., 76, a native of Morgan City and resident of Houma, died Monday, April 3, 2017, at Teche Regional Medical Center in Morgan City.
He is survived by a son, Darryl DiMaggio Jr. of Bayou Vista; a daughter, Angela Sweetnam of Patterson; a brother, Paul DiMaggio Jr. of Rio Vista, California; nine grandchildren; and a host of nieces and neph-ews.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Visitation will be Thursday at Twin City Funeral Home from 6-9 p.m. and resumes Friday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m.
He will be laid to rest in the Patterson Protestant Cemetery.
Milton Davis Sr., 92, a native of St. Joseph and resident of Jeanerette, died Monday April 3, 2017, at his residence.
Visitation will be Saturday at Jones Funeral Home Chapel in Franklin from 9 a.m. until services at 2 p.m. Burial will follow in the Irish Bend Benevolent Society Cemetery in St. Joseph.
He is survived by four sons, Melvin Davis and Kerry Davis, both of Franklin, and Robert Gabriel and Rogers Gabriel, both of Morgan City; five daughters, Tammy Thomas, Maxine Randle and Vivian Matthews, all of Franklin, Terry Dwyer of Jeanerette and Sarah Gabriel; one brother, Eugene Davis of Franklin; 30 grandchildren; 59 great-grandchildren; 22 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a wife, three daughters, one son, one granddaughter, two brothers, and one sister.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
HOSPITAL SERVICE
District 2 board of commissioners meeting 5:30 p.m. April 5 at St. Mary Chamber of Commerce, 727 Myrtle St., Morgan City. Public welcome.
YARD SALE
At First United Methodist Church, 109 Gilmore Drive, Berwick, 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 8 and 15.
BOOK SIGNING
Local author Dr. Walter Daniels will discuss and sign his book, “The Man and The Doctor,” at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at Morgan City Public Library. Public invited. For info call 985-380-4646.
HOUSING
Patterson Housing Authority taking applications for all size housing units 8:15-11 a.m. and 1:15-3 p.m. Tuesday April 11. Must bring birth certificates and Social Security cards for all members of household., photo ID for members over 18, and proof of all income. For info call 985-395-3736.
GOOD FRIDAY
Worship Service at 7 a.m. April 14 at Morey Park, Main Street, Patterson, hosted by Good Hope Baptist Church. Public invited.
LOVE & HAPPINESS
A tribute to the memory of Anita Richardson at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at Good Hope Baptist Church, 908 Washington St., Patterson. Speaker Alvin Irvin Sr., Gospel Truth Ministries.
EASTER WORSHIP
At Good Hope Baptist Church, 908 Washington St., Patterson, at 7 a.m. Sunday, April 16. Public invited.
Every step closer that’s taken toward Monday’s convening of the Legislature’s regular session will bring with it more details about complicated policy proposals and a greater sense of political urgency.
Lawmakers have been charged with closing a $440 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Gov. John Bel Edwards is also asking the House and Senate to address $1.2 billion in temporary taxes that are scheduled to expire in 2018.
That means rapid action and intense debate.
For starters, it appears as if the main budget bill may move more quickly throughout the process as compared to last year.
The House leadership and members of the Appropriations Committee say they’re committed to moving the budget bill to the Senate at or around the midpoint of the session to give the upper chamber more time with the document.
During a session that spans just 60 days, that will give the House roughly one month, or four weeks, to act on what the governor calls a $440 million budget hole.
Conservatives, who hold a majority in the House, believe the shortfall can be solved through cuts only, whereas the governor and what is probably the lion’s share of the Senate are open to increasing taxes.
While the larger planks in the governor’s session platform have been released — changes to sales taxes, income taxes and more — there are still a few loose threads that will be revealed in the coming days and weeks.
For example, missing from the governor’s plan debut last week was any mention of giving local governments more flexibility to raise revenue. But that doesn’t mean the issue won’t surface.
The governor will likewise be putting his support behind proposals to increase the gas tax and to modify the movie tax credit program. But Edwards did not include either in his official session plan.
Maness in mix for treasurer
There has been a name missing from the recent lists of potential Republican candidates for treasurer: retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness.
“It’s definitely on my radar but I haven’t made a final decision yet,” Maness said in an interview last week.
If Maness, who has run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate twice, gets in, it would further subdivide the GOP vote in a developing field that is dominated by Republicans with no marquee Democratic candidate.
Maness would be doing very few favors for Rep. John Schroder, who needs to keep St. Tammany whole and behind him.
Others who could qualify for the race include state Sen. Neil Riser; state Rep. Julie Stokes; Angele Davis, president of the Davis Kelley Group; and New Orleans attorney Derrick Edwards, the lone Democrat in the field who is new to politics.
Sheriff Miguez?
There’s chatter coming out of Iberia Parish about Rep. Blake Miguez, a Republican, considering a run for sheriff.
The first-term lawmaker said in an interview that he was surprised by how quickly word had spread. He also refused to rule it out.
Miguez appeared on the History Channel’s “Top Shot” and has qualified for the 2017 International Practical Shooting Confederation Handgun World Shoot, which will be held in August in Paris. He previously won a gold medal in 2011 when the competition was held in Greece.
Political history:
Roemer revolution
Last month marked the 29th anniversary (March 14, 1988) of the birth of the so-called Roemer Revolution — or, more specifically, the swearing in of Charles Elson “Buddy” Roemer III, Louisiana’s 52nd governor.
What certainly set Roemer apart from his counterparts was his decision in 1991 to switch from Democrat to Republican — making him the only governor in Louisiana history to swap out party labels while in office.
Roemer’s missteps in office, primarily his failure to convince the Legislature and voters to embrace his aggressive fiscal agenda, resulted in a third place finish in the 1991 governor’s race. As such, Roemer’s re-election campaign was forced to the sidelines for the “Race From Hell,” which pitted former klansman David Duke against Edwin Edwards.
Despite the defeat, Roemer went on to become a successful businessman in the private sector. He ran for governor unsuccessfully again in 1995 and flirted with a U.S. Senate bid before launching a presidential run in 2012 that focused on campaign finance reform.
Today, former Gov. Roemer is said to be working on a book about his life growing up on Scopena, his family’s plantation near Bossier City.
They said it
“I’m certainly not making many friends and am potentially losing a lot of donors.”
—Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, on his plan to attack exemptions and incentives, in The Advocate
“If the Legislature thought it could daydream its way through the session, it just got a wake up call.”
—Public Affairs Research Council President Robert Travis Scott, commenting on the governor’s session plan, in the USA Today Network of Louisiana
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.
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Fans have been glued to their TVs over the past month as March Madness reached its crescendo. And the big bucks have been rolling in. With coaches getting bigger salaries and colleges splitting huge TV and admission revenue — there are lots of winners. But one group is being exploited and shortchanged — the players themselves.
There’s certainly no shortage of income. This year in the NCAA tourney, television income is estimated to approach $2 billion with an additional $200 million from ticket sales and sponsorships. A 30 second spot for Monday night’s championship game will cost nearly $2 million. And college football is awash with a fabulously increasing income, as well.
The average compensation for these NCAA tourney coaches is at least twice that of the typical university president. Duke’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski will pocket some $7.5 million this year. In 40 states, the highest paid public employee is the football or basketball coach, which shows a perverted sense of priorities at these institutions of higher learning.
Fans pay through the nose to attend major college athletic events. As an LSU football season ticket holder, I personally pay $1,025 just for the right to buy one seat. The seat ticket itself is $64 per game. So there are big bucks coming into major college programs all over the country.
All this income comes from the hard-working, disciplined players on the fields and courts. Yet these college athletes are paid only the basics — room and board, tuition, books. No extras. So we have college athletic programs raking in millions on the backs of talented athletes, with no sharing of the revenue with those responsible for generating it. Such a system is ill defined at best, and hypocritical at worst. The universities are reaping the value produced by their recruits, while the players are given only enough for subsistence.
When I attended the University of North Carolina on an athletic scholarship, a little more than 50 years ago, I was given a housing and food allowance, as well as “laundry money” that allowed for weekend dates, gas, and a few frills above the basic scholarship. What I received then was equivalent to $300 in pocket money if the same were allowed today. But it’s not. The NCAA tightened the rules, and college athletes get less today than athletes like myself received a half-century ago.
Last year, the NCAA did loosen up a bit by allowing colleges the discretion to pay athletes for a few additional expenses like clothing, laundry, insurance, and a one-time computer expense. But the fact remains that the athletes receive a trifle, while the athletic department rolls in the bucks.
Supporters of the present system will argue that there’s the opportunity for these athletes to move on to the pros and make big financial returns. But we all know that very few make it to that level. Further, many of them may not even end up with the basic skills necessary to succeed in other occupations, since only a minority of student-athletes in major sports even graduate.
The system in place now exploits our college athletes, and this exploitation is administered by their adult mentors. What a deal. Your hard work and self-discipline for the entertainment of others in exchange for a pittance that barely covers your basic expenses. A little monthly expense money is not going to corrupt the system. A few hundred dollars a month for athletes on a full athletic scholarship seems reasonable.
March Madness, as always, is a financial bonanza. But not for the kids that make it happen. They deserve a better shake and a little larger piece of this huge financial pie.
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.
Top employee named at hospital.
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The most popular element in landscape design is color, but texture is another important building block. Texture in gardening can be seen as well as felt, and is used primarily to provide contrast.
Color lacks dimension without texture, which can soften spaces, provide visual interest, fashion backdrops and set moods.
“It takes a different kind of eye to appreciate texture in the garden,” said Susan Barton, a University of Delaware horticulturist. “We’re all programmed to recognize color, but once you start looking for texture, you can appreciate it.”
Landscape design is comprised of five basic principles: scale, balance, repetition, dominance and unity, said Rebecca Finneran, a horticulturist with the Michigan State University Extension program.
“The tools we use to achieve these are use of line, form, color and texture,” Finneran said. “Leaves, flowers, stems and bark can add ‘texture’ to the visual. Certain times of year or day will accentuate this. Even a pot or paving materials can add textural differences.”
Plant texture varies from coarse to fine.
Coarse-textured favorites include cannas, elephant ear, coleus, hydrangea and horse chestnut. All are dramatic and bold.
“They draw the eye because of their differences or contrast in shape or appearance,” Finneran said. “They dominate groupings.”
Most plants are said to be medium in texture, and generally are used to link fine and coarse arrangements in large settings. Examples include impatiens, daisies, camellias and viburnum.
Fine-textured plants generally have smaller foliage. Ferns, grasses, vines, shrubs and Japanese maples fit into this category.
The subtle use of texture also can create a sense of scale and distance. Placing coarse-textured plants closest to the observer with medium plants in the middle and fine-textured assortments in the rear makes the setting appear more distant. Reversing that, with coarse-textured plants in the background and fine-textured varieties up front, tends to make gardens look smaller.
Hardscaping — using winding pathways and streams, eye-catching fountains and furniture — also produces a sense of visual texture, along with four-season interest. The same goes for foliage shape, bark surfaces and the patterns made by branches.
Even kitchen gardens can be accented by emphasizing visual texture. Dill, fennel, thyme, asparagus and lavender are fine-textured plants that are attractive in edible settings. Tomatoes, basil and peppers serve for medium texture, while lettuce, chard, corn and okra provide the coarse.
“Beets are a great example of adding colorful foliage to an edible garden,” Finneran said. “Pair this plant with a ferny-looking foliage of carrots and you’ve got a lovely design that you will eat later on.
“Purple kohlrabi is another great example — not to mention Swiss chard,” she said. “All of these add bold coarse texture with fun color that is sure to please.”
Seek out plants based on their physical characteristics. Color is good, but visual texture is more enduring.
“Whether using plants in a container, or annuals and perennials or woody plants in the landscape, making intentional choices relative to texture will ensure an eye-pleasing outcome,” Finneran said.
—Online:
For more about textures in landscaping design, see this Cornell University Fact Sheet: www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene43bf.html
A 39-year-old Patterson woman was booked into Morgan City jail Tuesday on warrants charging her with stealing $25,000 worth of items from a business and possession of several different drugs, Police Chief James Blair said in a news release.
—Mary A. Landry, 39, of Main Street in Patterson, arrested at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on warrants charging her with theft between $5,000 and $25,000, possession of Phentermine, possession of Clonazepam, possession of Alprazolam, possession of Suboxone and violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance law-drug free zone.
After receiving information on Landry’s whereabouts, she was located and arrested in West Baton Rouge Parish. The warrants stem from two separate investigations.
One warrant stems from a March investigation in regard to a theft of about $25,000 worth of merchandise from a local business.
The other warrant stems from a May 2016 incident where patrol officers responded to the area of Maple Street in regard to narcotic activity. Landry was developed as a suspect and found to be in possession of several different prescription medications she did not hold valid prescriptions for.
The medication was sent off to the crime lab and identified as Phentermine, Clonazepam, Suboxone and alprazolam and warrants were prepared for her arrest. The area where the incident took place is within a drug free zone.
Landry was developed as a suspect and detectives found evidence linking her to the alleged theft and warrants were prepared for her arrest. Landry was transported from West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center to Morgan City jail.
Blair reported the following arrests:
—Tommy D. Morgan, 27, of Belanger Street in Morgan City, arrested at 3:28 p.m. Tuesday on charges of disturbing the peace, aggravated assault and criminal damage to property.
—Jamie M. Williams, 31, of Main Street in Patterson, arrested at 3:29 p.m. Tuesday on charges of disturbing the peace and aggravated assault.
Patrol officers responded to a home on Belanger Street in regard to a man chasing a woman with a firearm. Officers arrived in the area, and Morgan was developed as a suspect, located and detained without incident minutes after arriving.
Officers learned that Morgan and Williams were involved in an altercation. Both suspects allegedly armed themselves during the altercation at which time police were notified. Morgan also allegedly caused damage to Wil-liams’ vehicle.
The alleged firearm was deemed to be an air pellet rifle. Both Morgan and Williams were jailed.
—Mark Hash, 42, of Tammy Drive in Morgan City, arrested at 3:52 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging him with telephone harassment.
Hash was located and arrested at a home on Tammy Drive on a warrant. The warrant stems from a March investigation during which officers learned that Hash allegedly continuously contacted the victim numerous times consecutively via telephone. Hash was jailed.
—Sabrina Scully, 22, of Allison Street in Morgan City, arrested at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant charging her with contempt of court. Scully was located and arrested at the police department on a city court warrant. Scully was jailed.
—Jefferson Barrilleaux, 42, of Aucoin Street in Morgan City, arrested at 11:57 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of disturbing the peace intoxicated.
Patrol officers responded to the area of Aucoin Street in regard to a person unresponsive in the complainant’s yard. Officers located Barrilleaux, who was in an intoxicated state. Barrilleaux 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:
—Tyler M. Ledet, 20, of Dawes Street in Houma, was arrested at 3:37 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses and illegal carrying of weapons-possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance.
—Trenton J. Dupree, 20, of Ethan Street in Houma, was arrested at 3:37 p.m. Tuesday on charges of distribution of marijuana and transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses.
While patrolling U.S. 90, a deputy observed a vehicle speeding 66 mph in a 45 mph construction zone in Berwick. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and observed the vehicle drive into the median. The deputy also observed that the vehicle did not have an inspection sticker displayed.
The deputy spoke with three occupants in the vehicle including the driver, Ledet, and passenger, Dupree. The deputy received consent to search the pick-up truck and found a digital scale with pieces of marijuana on it. The narcotics section K-9 Unit and narcotics detectives arrived on scene to assist.
K-9 Buddy indicated the presence of the odor of illegal drugs inside a backpack and a safe in the truck. Inside those containers, detectives found bags of high grade marijuana, cigars, plastic baggies and $9,000 in cash.
Detectives also found a rifle in the bed of the truck and $652 in cash on Ledet. Through investigation, narcotics detectives collected evidence that Ledet and Dupree sold marijuana and that the money was derived from those transactions.
The deputy issued Ledet a citation for speeding, driving in the median, and no motor vehicle inspection. Ledet and Dupree were jailed with no bail set.
—Delone Miller, 55, of North Bayou Black Drive in Gibson, was arrested at 1:11 p.m. Tuesday on charges of speeding in a construction zone and driving with a suspended license. A deputy patrolling U.S. 90 in Berwick observed a vehicle traveling 59 mph in a posted 45 mph construction zone. The deputy spoke with the driver, Miller, and found that he was he was operating the car with a suspended driver’s license. Miller was released on a summons to appear in court July 10.
—Julia M. Bailey, 56, of Two Brothers Street in Amelia, was arrested at 8:02 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of simple battery.
Deputies responded to a report of a battery on Two Brothers Street and spoke with several subjects on scene. Deputies gathered evidence indicating that Bailey was attempting to incite a fight with a female victim when she struck the victim in the face and grabbed her by the hair. Bailey was booked into parish jail and released on $2,500 bail.
Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported the following arrest:
—Shawn Welsh, 46, of Gabriel Street in Patterson, was arrested at 4:38 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of simple criminal damage to property. Welsh was jailed on $289 bail.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported the following arrest:
—Kristy Dupuy, 17, of Second Street in Berwick, was arrested at 1:01 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of disturbing the peace by fighting. Dupuy posted $176 bail.
Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874
Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255