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The following are the radio dispatch logs from the Morgan City Police Department. To report unlawful or suspicious activity, call the Police Department at 985-380-4605.
Thursday, Aug. 1
8:10 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Assistance.
8:16 a.m. Brashear Avenue/Second Street; Animal complaint.
8:27 a.m. U.S. 90/Bayou Ramos; Traffic incident.
9:22 a.m. 3000 block of Keith Street; Animal complaint.
10:03 a.m. 200 block of Everett Street; Disturbance.
10:07 a.m. 1800 block of Filmore Street; Stand by.
11:11 a.m. 1300 block of James Street; Assistance.
11:30 a.m. 3000 block of Roderick Street; Welfare concern.
12:23 p.m. Ditch Avenue/La. 182 Area; Welfare concern.
12:53 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Medical.
1:10 p.m. 300 block of Mallard Street; Medical.
1:40 p.m. U.S. 90 Onramp/Cannatas; Stalled vehicle.
1:45 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Civil matter.
2:26 p.m. 8100 block of La. 182; Theft.
2:50 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Complaint.
4:05 p.m. U.S. 90 East; Assistance.
5:10 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Alarm.
5:39 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Animal complaint.
6:25 p.m. 900 block of Willard Street; Complaint.
7:24 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Arrest.
8:04 p.m. 300 block of Railroad Avenue; Complaint.
8:51 p.m. 700 block of Fourth Street; Medical.
9:28 p.m. Seventh/Duke streets; Suspicious person/vehicle.
9:39 p.m. 1000 block of Eighth Street; Medical.
11:45 p.m. 300 block of Laurel Street; Complaint.
Friday, Aug. 2
12:03 a.m. Railroad Avenue/Headland Street; Suspicious person/vehicle.
12:24 a.m. Duke/Eighth streets; Suspicious person/vehicle.
1:40 a.m. 500 block of First Street; Removal of subject.
2:04 a.m. Freret/Front streets; Complaint.
4:34 a.m. 700 block of Belanger Street; Medical.
5:11 a.m. David Drive/Clothilde Street; Suspicious person/vehicle.
5:24 a.m. Victor II Boulevard/Myrtle Street; Stalled vehicle.
5:38 a.m. 400 block of Myrtle Street; Animal complaint.
7:56 a.m. 3000 block of Keith Street; Complaint.
7:59 a.m. 600 block of Sixth Street; Medical.
9:19 a.m. 500 block of Federal Avenue; Medical.
9:25 a.m. 600 block of Second Street; Suspicious vehicle.
10:52 a.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Domestic disturbance.
11:10 a.m. 1000 block of Eighth Street; Theft.
11:15 a.m. 600 block of Egle Street; Welfare check.
11:48 a.m. 700 block of Terrebonne Street; Suspicious vehicle.
12:07 p.m. U.S. 90 East; Reckless driver.
2:11 p.m. 400 block of Eighth Street; Complaint.
3:03 p.m. 500 block of Willow Street; Medical.
3:47 p.m. 700 block of Federal Avenue; Medical.
5:28 p.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Animal complaint.
6:06 p.m. 900 block of Hickory Street; Animal complaint.
7:17 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Complaint.
7:23 p.m. Cottonwood Street/Victor II Boulevard; Complaint.
8:39 p.m. 6000 block of Railroad Avenue; Suspicious vehicle.
9:16 p.m. U.S. 90; Reckless driver.
9:25 p.m. 300 block of Laurel Street; Complaint.
10:02 p.m. Poplar Street; Suspicious vehicle/person.
10:45 p.m. 400 block of Belanger Street; Medical.
11:49 p.m. 500 block of First Street; Disturbance.
11:54 p.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Medical.
Saturday, Aug. 3
12:28 a.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Complaint.
12:35 a.m. 1800 block of Maple Street; Loud music.
12:40 a.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Fire.
1:23 a.m. 800 block of Front Street; Alarm.
2:06 a.m. Tupelo Street; Suspicious person/vehicle.
2:43 a.m. Seventh/Florence streets; Suspicious person/vehicle.
7:32 a.m. U.S. 90 East; Traffic incident.
9:30 a.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Suspicious subject.
10:02 a.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Medical.
10:58 a.m. 300 block of Laurel Street; Complaint.
12:04 p.m. 7400 block of La. 182; Complaint.
12:20 p.m. Bush Street; Patrol.
12:26 p.m. 100 block of Apple Street; Complaint.
12:40 p.m. 200 block of Wren Street; Removal of subject.
1:35 p.m. 700 block of Florence Street; Theft.
2:11 p.m. 900 block of First Street; Complaint.
3:02 p.m. 100 block of Glenwood Street; Alarm.
3:18 p.m. 3200 block of Lake Palourde; Medical.
4:29 p.m. 600 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard; Complaint.
6:14 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Arrest.
7:14 p.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Complaint.
8:04 p.m. 800 block of Fourth Street; Complaint.
8:18 p.m. 200 block of Brashear Avenue; Theft.
8:47 p.m. La. 70; Reckless operation.
9:09 p.m. Eleventh Street/La. 182; Suspicious subject.
9:18 p.m. 7700 block of La. 182; Arrest.
9:42 p.m. 5000 block of Railroad Avenue; Open door.
11:15 p.m. 2500 block of Elm Street; Complaint.
Sunday, Aug. 4
12:21 a.m. 900 block of Short Street; Patrol.
12:32 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Medical.
3:50 a.m. Franklin Street/Federal Avenue; Suspicious subject.
3:54 a.m. Onstead/Sixth streets; Open door.
4:38 a.m. 700 block of Belanger Street; Complaint.
7:37 a.m. 400 block of Railroad Avenue; Medical.
10:01 a.m. 100 block of Chennault Street; Animal complaint.
10:29 a.m. 300 block of Egle Street; Disturbance.
12:29 p.m. 900 block of Hickory Street; Animal complaint.
1:11 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Alarm.
2:01 p.m. 700 block of Justa Street; Medical.
2:52 p.m. U.S. 90 East; Reckless driver.
3:06 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Traffic.
3:21 p.m. 1000 block of Victor II Boulevard; Vehicle accident.
3:34 p.m. 700 block of Belanger Street; Medical.
5:48 p.m. 100 block of Chennault Street; Loud music.
6:35 p.m. 300 block of Egle Street; Disturbance.
7:08 p.m. David Drive/Victor II Boulevard; Complaint.
7:38 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Juvenile complaint.
7:41 p.m. 300 block of Bush Street; Complaint.
8:36 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Removal of subject.
Monday, Aug. 5
12:15 a.m. Chestnut/Vine drives; Suspicious subject.
3:33 a.m. 6300 block of La. 182; Complaint.

Team USA has won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 4x400 relay.

The Americans, including Morgan City High grad Vermon Norwood, won with an Olympic record time of 2:54.43.

The silver medal goes to Botswana, whch finished in 2:54.53. Great Britain finished in 2:55.83 to take the bronze.

Saturday's victory marked the fourth Olympic medal for Norwood. He was a member of the USA 4x400 mixed relay team that won the silver medal last week. He was on the Tokyo games 4x400 men's team that won gold and the 4x400 mixed relay team that won bronze, both in 2021.

The favored USA team finished third in its qualifying heat Friday, when 16-year-old phenom Quincy Wilson ran a subpar 47-second split in the opening leg. Norwood ran a 43.54 split for the second leg to keep the Americans in contention.

For Saturday's final, Rai Benjamin replaced Wilson and ran the anchor leg following Christopher Bailey, Norwood and Bryce Deadmon.

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

Morgan City's Vernon Norwood and his men's 4x400 meter relay teammates finished third in Friday's preliminary heat and qualified for Saturday's Olympic final in Paris..

The USA team of Norwood, Quincy Wilson, Bryce Deadmon and Christopher Bailey finished in 2:59.15.

The team from Botswana was first in 2:57.56. Great Britain was second with a 2:58.88.

The finals will be at 2 p.m. Saturday. Team USA is the defending Olympic 4x400 champion.

Norwood was a member of the USA 4x400 team that won the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021. He was also a member of the mixed 4x400 relay team that won a silver medal last week.

In Friday's men's 4x400, Wilson, the 16-year-old from Maryland who became the youngest-ever male US Olympian, had a rough first leg, posting a 47.27 split.

Norwood, 32, got the team back on track in the second leg with a split of 43.54..

MIXED 4x400 RELAY

A blazing final 10 meters by Femke Bol lifted the Netherlands to the gold medal over Team USA in Saturday's 4x400 meters mixed relay at the Paris Olympics.

The USA Team, including Morgan City High grad Vernon Norwood, won the silver medal after setting a world record in Friday's first round.

Bol entered the anchor leg of Saturday's race in fourth place but caught USA anchor Kaylyn Brown just before the tape.

The Netherlands team finished with a time of 3:07.43.

Norwood and teammates Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Brown finished with a 3:07.74.

Norwood was a member of the 4x400 mixed relay team that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo games in 2021.

FRDAY STORY

Morgan City High grad Vernon Norwood was part of the U.S. 4x400 mixed relay team that set a world record Friday in a preliminary heat at the Olympic Games in Parish.

The team broke its own world record, set last year in Budapest, with a Friday first-place time of 3:07.41.

Norwood ran the opening leg, followed by Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown.

In 2009, when the world economy seemed to be going down in the last inning, along came a curveball: cryptocurrency.
It’s computer code as currency, beholden to no government or institution, backed by nothing more than what someone is willing to pay for it. Cryptocurrency has been on a wild roller coaster since the first Bitcoin was used to purchase a candy bar. Bitcoin has been as high as $73,000 since then.
Big investors do most of the cryptocurrency trading, but not all. A Morning Consult survey in July 2023 found that 13% of the members of Generation Z, those 44-59 this year, and 26% of Millennials, those 30-43 this year, had owned Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency customers tend to be white (62%), live in affluent ZIP Codes and – no surprise here – like to gamble.
That’s why cryto-traders can be vulnerable to scams. The Kryptocasinos.com website estimates that $2 billion was lost to “hacks, scams and exploits” in 2023.
Although the technology is becoming more secure and stable, and many users are more aware of the tricks used to steal assets, there are still ways for thieves to extract your crypto if you aren’t careful.  
Experts at Kryptocasinos.com, using information from the Department of Financial Protection and Inovation, have compiled a list of the most common scams that are being used in 2024 and how you can spot and avoid them. The data was collected from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation "Crypto Scam Tracker," which has up-to-date scams as they are reported, including descriptions of the scams and the names of the fraudulent sites. 
Fraudulent
platforms 
Of all the scams reported by the department, 87% included an element of using a fraudulent site or trading platform. These scams involve a fraudulent website or application that convinces victims to deposit funds to the platform under the guise of providing access to a unique investment opportunity or being a trusted site.
The fraudulent platforms appear legitimate, even going as far as replicating price movements and producing artificial gains. These platforms are often advertised online and can look identical at first glance.  
 To avoid these scams, investors should only invest money in trusted exchanges or move crypto to reliable wallets. By sticking to these, you can ensure your money will be safe and protected. If there is uncertainty as to whether the website is legitimate, double-check the URL to ensure it’s the official website, there are plenty of sites online that can check URLs for you and alert you if they are fraudulent, also if a website’s URL starts with HTTP instead of HTTPS this could also indicate the site is not secure.  
 If it is an app, double-check the developer and app information. This can be done on your device’s app store, reliable apps will have developer names and further information, including the number of downloads, which can be another good indicator of the legitimacy of a platform. You can also follow links from a platform’s official site. If a stranger is pushing you to sign up and deposit funds into an unknown platform it should be a red flag, and you should continue with extreme caution.  
Pig butchering 
A pig butchering scam is a long-term scam and investment fraud, in which the victim is gradually tricked into contributing more and more to a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. It’s called a “pig butchering” scheme because the perpetrators will “fatten up” a victim to gain their trust before “butchering” them.  
 They are mainly executed through social media platforms, attempting to get the victim to transfer funds into a fraudulent platform. The fraudulent platform usually poses as genuine and offers artificial profits to keep the victim using the platform and perhaps make more deposits. The victim, however, is never allowed to take their money out of the website and could be required to send further money through several justifications (such as service charges or taxes) before any money is taken out; this just adds to the already possibly large financial losses. This scam appeared in 58% of reports to the department 
This is another scam that can be avoided by remaining cautious online; criminals may also contact victims by WhatsApp and text. The best way to stay safe is to ignore and block messages from strangers completely. Some scams now even try to impersonate family and friends, so it’s even more important to double-check that you know who you are talking to. Scammers will never want to meet and may not want to talk over the phone if they are pretending to be someone else, as this would reveal their real identity or they are not who they say they are, and so if they are being overly avoidant, this is a clear red flag.  
Imposter scams  
 An imposter scam occurs when a scammer poses as a reputable company, government representative, or well-known individual to obtain access to a user’s systems and personal data in order to profit financially. The scammer may also utilize other scam techniques and try to get victims to deposit money into fraudulent platforms. 
 Many scammers will use social media to find their victims, starting conversations on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and some will attempt to move conversations to WhatsApp.
This scam has been mentioned in 27% of all reports to the department. An example of this was a scam in which people were impersonating BlackRock, a legitimate investment firm, on Facebook and WhatsApp, to solicit victims to trade crypto options, promising high daily returns. However, the links were then fraudulent, meaning any money deposited would have been stolen. 
 If you are contacted by strangers on social media, it’s important to remain cautious; any message attempting to convince you to invest in crypto should be considered a red flag. If someone asks to move the conversation to WhatsApp, this can also be a big indicator that someone may be trying to scam you, so it’s best to block and report the account. Companies such as BlackRock mentioned above will never reach out and personally ask you to invest; these can also be checked by ensuring links to these websites are legitimate and not fraudulent.  
Romance scams
Romance scams are another very popular type of scam that utilize the popularity of social media and dating platforms to adopt a fake online profile to gain a victim’s affection and trust and then use the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and/or steal from the victim. The departmentI= crypto scam tracker reported a case that happened to a California resident who reported they met “Mark” on the dating app Bumble.
Mark asked the victim to shift the conversation to WhatsApp. They continued to communicate, and at some point, Mark told the victim he could teach them cryptocurrency trading. Mark convinced the victim to deposit money into a fraudulent platform where the money eventually would be stolen resulting in the loss of over $50,000. Much like imposter scams, any strangers who are attempting to entice you to invest money should be approached with caution. Online accounts often use stolen photos and videos to give the illusion they are real people, and it’s often hard to spot these accounts.
Images can be back searched on Google to see if they have been taken from somewhere else; for example, the report about ‘Mark’ stated that after research, it was found the scammer was using photos of a popular fitness personality.  
 

Funding for agricultural research — which helps protect the livelihoods of countless American farmers, ensure national security and promote economic development — is critical, U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Boozman said during a July 12 visit to the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel.
 Cassidy, of Louisiana, and Boozman, of Arkansas, toured the station, where they saw the fields and facilities where scientists develop new, higher-yielding sugarcane varieties as well as strategies to help farmers manage pests and improve other aspects of production.
 With farm bill discussions currently underway in Congress, the senators highlighted the importance of supporting agricultural research efforts like those they saw during their visit to the station.
 The farm bill is an omnibus law that authorizes and funds numerous programs affecting agriculture, food and rural communities. It must be renewed every five years.
 “One of the things that we’ve got to do in the next farm bill is have more investment in research going forward, more investment in facilities,” Boozman said. “That really is the answer, I think, to the problems we’ll be facing in the future with the growing population throughout the world, with needing to be more efficient. These are the kinds of research facilities that will give us the advice and provide the information that we need.”
 Boozman, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, found value in seeing the activities of a research station firsthand.
Cassidy too stressed the need for more research dollars.
“I’m a big believer that research helps drive an economy,” he said. “Not only does it drive an economy — it actually attracts younger people here to study.”
That’s especially important as rural communities across America cope with population loss and economic difficulties, the senators said. Agriculture is a key component of rural economies, but staying in business is increasingly a challenge for many farmers.
 “Right now, it’s very, very difficult in the farm economy,” Boozman said. “When you look at the cost of putting a crop in the ground and getting it grown, and then you take the yield and how much it produces, the prices you’re going to get — it’s not a pretty story. The average return on investment for farming right now, if you can get it, is 2%. It’s very low.”
 He also noted that the average age of American farmers is 59, making it crucial to get young people interested in joining the agricultural workforce.
Cassidy pointed out that there is reason for optimism.
“There is, I think, an increasing interest among younger people who don’t want to grow up wearing ties and sports coats — they actually want to be outside with nature producing that food and fiber we all rely on,” he said.
A federal infrastructure bill, which recently passed with bipartisan support, along with previous farm bills have allotted funding to improve broadband internet access in rural areas.
“That can actually help improve farm management,” Cassidy said, because of the sophisticated, high-tech nature of modern agriculture.  
Brayden Blanchard, an AgCenter quantitative geneticist, then led the group on a walking tour of the station grounds.
 The senators heard about how the research station — whose roots date back to 1885 — has allowed the industry to succeed in Louisiana. Sugar cane contributes more than $1 billion to the state’s economy annually.
 “We’ve increased our annual yield,” said AgCenter sugarcane specialist Kenneth Gravois. “We doubled it from 1940 to 1970. We doubled the yields again from 1970 to today.
"We’ve lengthened the crop cycle, the number of annual crops we get from a single planting. And we’ve reduced our pesticide applications. If that’s not sustainable ag production, I don’t know what is. And that’s research.”
 Louisiana growers face unique hurdles. Sugar cane is a tropical plant, but Louisiana has a subtropical climate. Farmers in other parts of the world employ vastly different growing techniques and schedules.
 “Louisiana is the unicorn of sugarcane production around the world,” said station resident coordinator Al Orgeron. “We have the shortest sugarcane growing season in the world. We have winter freezes no one else has to compete with. It puts our crop at an extreme disadvantage.”
 Yet Louisiana farmers have thrived, he said, thanks to AgCenter research advances such as new varieties and improved planting methods.
“We are very proud of this particular station, where over the years our scientists have developed about 100 different varieties of sugarcane,” said Matt Lee, LSU vice president for agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture.
 About 70% of the roughly 532,000 acres of sugarcane grown in Louisiana is AgCenter varieties, Lee said. Acreage has expanded northward in recent years.
 “Annually, that is putting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars into rural producers’ pockets,” he said. “A really core part of economic development strategy for this state is to continue to do this world-class science so we can develop more varieties, more hardy varieties. We’re now growing in parts of the state … that these plants were never intended to grow in. That’s brilliant science.”
 Lee talked about several other accomplishments, including:
— The AgCenter being ranked among the National Science Foundation’s top agriculture research universities.
— Record enrollment in the College of Agriculture. The number of students has been growing for seven years in a row. More than 460 freshmen are expected to enter the college this fall, marking its largest freshman class yet.
— The recent creation of an invasive species research center. This AgCenter initiative addresses invasive insects, weeds, wildlife and other species, which Lee described as “one of the biggest threats to agricultural production” in the U.S. and around the world.
— Progress on developing a lethal bait for feral hogs. LSU AgCenter and Department of Chemistry researchers received a patent for their sodium nitrite-based bait last year and are completing additional trials as they await approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lee said he has been working with federal partners in hopes of expediting the EPA’s review, which could take up to a decade. “Wild hogs in Louisiana alone are causing about $90 million a year in damage to agricultural crops,” Lee told the senators, noting that feral swine are a problem nationwide. “None of us can afford to wait 10 years for approval of this toxicant. If we wait 10 years, it’s $1 billion in agricultural losses just to Louisiana alone.”
 Lee also spoke about the need for funding to renovate and expand research facilities, saying the AgCenter and many other land-grant institutions are coping with aging infrastructure. Nevertheless, he emphasized, “we are continuing to do world-class science.”
 Farmers and other interested members of the public can see a showcase of the Sugar Research Station’s work at its annual field day Wednesday, July 17.