RSS Feed

PDO rep, Chez Hope staff address city council

16th Judicial District Defender Cecelia “Beanie” Bonin spoke at the Franklin City Council meeting as a guest on Tuesday evening to discuss the condition of the district’s Public Defender’s Office.
She requested that the Franklin community come together to support the office legislatively. The Public Defender’s Office, which spans across St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia Parishes, houses 18 attorneys, most of whom are part-time and getting paid $14,000 per year.
Bonin’s role as a lawyer is to represent “the people who don’t meet the economic ability to afford private attorneys. Bonin admits that her attorneys and their assistants are “not doing the best job because the people that are working hard (are) working for much less than what a regular attorney would work for.” With adequate funding, Bonin says, her staff could work to the best of their abilities.
Also Tuesday, Director Cherisse Picard and Tammy Rogers of Chez Hope announced their organization’s 14th annual trivia night, which will be hosted at 5 p.m. on April 1 at the Patterson Civic Center. The St. Mary Parish community donated door prizes and items to put for a live auction. Tickets are $120 for a team of six.
Picard said the organization was asked to extend Chez Hope’s services to Iberia and St. Martin Parishes. She opened the first office in Iberia Parish last Monday.
St. Martin Parish Sheriff Ronny Theriot also donated office space for Chez Hope. Picard hopes to open a domestic violence shelter in the place of SNAP, a New Iberia shelter that closed down, within the next year.

Councilmen, mayor at odds on proposed raises

Three ordinances introduced Tuesday would raise the pay of city council members, the mayor pro-tempore and the mayor if passed next month.
The ordinance proposes raising the four single-member councilmen’s monthly pay from $500 to $800, and the at-large elected mayor pro-tempore to $850. The council receives $150 in expense funds authorized by a separate ordinance currently in effect.
The mayor’s salary would increase from $48,000 to $60,000.
Councilman Eugene Foulcard introduced the ordinance for single-member districts but at $650 per month.
Mayor Raymond Harris said, “I really don’t like this gesture. A little over a year ago we cut our employees across the board, 5 percent. I took a 5 percent cut with them…we’ve never restored the cuts we made, and neither are we in a position to restore it. I think this sends the wrong message. Before anyone gets a raise up here, we need to restore their 5 percent.”
Harris added that even then, returning employees to their former pay level isn’t a raise, it’s a restoration of their salaries.
Foulcard said the increase “is not for me, it’s not for me, it’s not for anyone up here. There’s no guarantee I’ll run…any of us sitting up here. It will take effect for (the next council and mayor term).”
The city charter mandates that a council can only raise their own pay and the mayor’s for the next term, and not within one year of the end of the current term.
Current councilmembers are not prohibited to run for their seats again in the next election.
“I can’t see how we could in good conscience go for that,” Harris repeated. “Before we cut them, I laid off a dozen people because we couldn’t afford them anymore.”
Councilman Joe Garrison repeated that the raise would not apply to this council term. “Let democracy rule and vote us out if you think it’s for our own personal gain. It’s not. We’re trying to do all we can to see that our employees get what they deserve.”
“How can you give raises in a down economy?” Harris asked. “If the economy dips are you going to make pay cuts up here too?…You’re giving a raise to a position that’s part time and neglecting the people that are full-time.”
All three ordinances were introduced for possible action at the April meeting.

Several races on Bayou Teche set this summer

Arnaudville – The 2017 Tour du Teche series of paddle races starts here Saturday, April 1, with a fun 8-mile sprint down a beautiful stretch of Bayou Teche. Competition is for trophies and certificates. Entry is $20 per paddler.
Proceeds from the race benefit the Arnaudville Chamber of Commerce and the Leonville Volunteer Fire Department.
Top of the Teche is run in two waves, with the Voyageur Race division (recreational paddlers) starting at 9 a.m., Pro Race division starting at 11 a.m. A detailed schedule can be found at www.tourduteche.com. Top of the Teche starts from the public boat ramp just below the La. 31 bridge in Leonville. The finish is at Myran’s just past the La. 31 bridge in Arnaudville.
Shuttle rides will be available before the race.
The Tour du Teche series includes two new races this year: a sprint around buoys on the Lower Atchafalaya River – the historic name for that section of the Teche – and a 24-mile marathon from Bossier City to the first of five dams on the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway stretch of the Red River.
The whole TDT schedule looks like this:
—Top of the Teche – Leonville to Arnaudville, 7.7 miles, April 1;
—Chitimacha – New Iberia to Charenton, 20 miles, May 20;
—Petit Tour du Teche – Parc des Ponts de Pont Breaux, 250 yards to 1 mile
(For kids 5 to 17), Aug. 5;
—Lower Atchafalaya River Sprint – Patterson, 8 miles (twice around the buoys), Sept. 9;
—Race to the Dam – Bossier City to Lock & Dam No. 5, 24 miles, Sept. 30;
—Tour de la Riviere Rouge – Shreveport to Port Barre, 275 miles, Sept. 30 et seq;
—410 de Louisiane – Shreveport to Berwick, 410 miles, Sept. 30 et seq;
—Tour du Teche 135 – Port Barre to Berwick, 135 miles, Oct. 6-8;
—Crawfish – Port Barre to Breaux Bridge, 30 miles, Oct. 6;
—Acadian – Port Barre to St. Martinville, 49 miles, Oct. 6;
—Hot Sauce – St. Martinville to New Iberia, 24 miles, Oct. 7;
—Sugar – St. Martinville to Franklin, 59 miles, Oct. 7;
—Black Bear – New Iberia to Franklin, 35 miles, Oct. 7;
—Oil & Gas – Franklin to Berwick, 27 miles, Oct. 8.
For more information or to register online, go to www.tourduteche.com.

(Updated) Burglary suspect caught

Police located William Joseph Roberson Friday in Morgan City. Roberson was wanted on warrants charging him with simple burglary, criminal damage to a coin-operated device and illegal carrying of weapons.

Re-trial begins in murder case

Witnesses began testifying Tuesday in the re-trial for Justin Edward Patterson accused in the 2013 shooting death of Mikki Jay Dauntain in Morgan City. Patterson’s first murder trial ended with District Judge Lewis Pitman declaring a mistrial Dec. 9, 2016, because jurors remained deadlocked after more than seven hours of deliberations. Patterson, 28, is on trial for second-degree murder in the May 20, 2013, shooting death of Dauntain, 23. He is also being tried for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Jessicah Charisse Johnson, Patterson’s sister, has yet to go to trial on a second-degree murder in the case. Prosecutor Anthony ...

PLEASE LOG IN FOR PREMIUM CONTENT. Our website requires visitors to log in to view the best local news from St. Mary Now. Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe today!

Pennison, Perry place second in LHSAA State Powerlifting Meet

On March 18, the Berwick Powerlifting Team competed in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Powerlifting Meet at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Blake Pennison (123-pound weight class) and Chaz Perry (198-pound weight class) were runners-up in their respective classes in Division 3. Pennison successfully completed the following lifts: squat — 250, bench — 165 and deadlift — 315, for a total of 730 pounds. Perry successfully completed the following lifts: squat — 460, bench — 315 and deadlift — 500, for a total of 1275.

Lady Eagles drop close games in round-robin play

The Central Catholic Lady Eagles dropped two close games in round-robin play this weekend at Cecilia.
In the first game against Crowley, the Lady Eagles lost 4-5.
Sara Thomas took the loss on the mound bringing her record to 5-1. After six innings, she had given up three earned runs, 11 hits, three base-on-balls and struck out one.
At bat, Central Catholic’s Hallie Autin was 2-for-3 with two hits, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Haley Fontenot was also 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a stolen base. Other offensive contributors were Kelly Russo and Kaleigh Navarro, 1-for-3, and Brooke Lipari has two runs.
In the second game against the host team, the Lady Eagles battled dropping another close one 3-4.
Taking the loss was Haley Fontenot moving her record to 8-4. In her six innings pitched, she surrendering four runs, four hits, four base-on-balls and had five strike outs. Alanni Landry pitched one inning allowing one hit.
Once again, Autin was hot at the plate going 2-for-3 with two hits and an RBI. Also contributing at the plate were Lipari, 1-for-3 with a run and a hit; Taylor Picou, 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI; Emma Aucoin, 1-for-2 with a hit; and Landry added a run.
The Lady Eagles are on the road Tuesday for a 4 p.m. game against Vermilion Catholic.

Central Catholic, Berwick face off in tennis action

Central Catholic faced Berwick in tennis action March 14 at Kemper Williams Park near Patterson. In boys play, Central Catholic’s Connor Hebert defeated Brennan Benedietto, 8-2 and Josh Sanford, 8-3. Berwick’s George Hoff defeated Ethan Kahl, 8-0, and William Hymel of Berwick defeated Ethan Kahl, 8-0. In doubles, Berwick’s team of Stephan Theriot and Cade Thibodeaux defeated Luke Brinkley and Gavin Wisdom, 8-2, and Brinkley and Wisdom defeated Thibodeaux and Abram Gilder, 9-8. In girls play, Maddie Osburn of Berwick defeated Ashley Daigle, 9-7 and Central Catholic’s Daigle defeated Olivia Orlando, 8-3. In doubles, Berwick’s Mary Reggie and Natalie Bourgeois defeated Kerrilyn Luc and ...

PLEASE LOG IN FOR PREMIUM CONTENT. Our website requires visitors to log in to view the best local news from St. Mary Now. Not yet a subscriber? Subscribe today!

Run for Miles Event set April 29 at Berwick High

The Miles Liner Foundation will present its fifth annual Run For Miles Event featuring and a mile fun run and a 5K run/walk on April 29 at Berwick High School.
This year’s event is also in memory of Tommy Bourgeois who was a St. Mary Parish educator and coach.
The foundation’s main purpose is to keep the name of Miles Liner alive in the local community where he was a Berwick High School graduate, as well as, and the LSU community.
“By sharing the type of life that Miles lived, we hope to inspire the upcoming youth to grow into a young adult with similar values,” says the Foundation’s online site at www.mileslinerfoundation.com.
Registration for the 5K is $20 (an additional $5 for a 2X-3X T-shirt), and $15 for the fun run until the April 15 early registration deadline. After that date, all fees increase by $5 and no T-shirt/bag is guaranteed.
Because funds raised are for charity, there will be no refunds or make-up dates due to inclement weather.
Trophies will be awarded to the first through third place overall male and female. Medals will be presented to first through third place in each age group. All fun run entries receive a medal.
Those who register early may pick up their bag and T-shirt on April 28 between 5 and 6 p.m. at Berwick High School.
The one mile fun run will begin at 8 a.m. April 29 followed by the 5K at 8:30 p.m.

Pages

ST. MARY NOW

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