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BARBARA ANN BRASSEAUX THIBODEAUX

Barbara Ann Brasseaux Thibodeaux, 86, a native of Church Point and resident of Morgan City, died Friday, July 5, 2024.
She is survived by five children, Blane Thibodeaux of Berwick, Michael Thibodeaux of Patterson, Melisa Faulk and Peggy Thibodeaux, both of Morgan City, and Charles Thibodeaux of Loxley, Alabama; 15 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and siblings.
Visitation will be Thursday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Ibert’s Memorial Garden.
Hargrave Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

REGINA ANN McGAUGH

Regina Ann McGaugh, 63, a resident of Patterson, died Saturday, June 29, 2024.
She is survived by two daughters, Brandy Billiot and Ashlee Bergeron; two grandchildren; and two sisters, Alana McGaugh and Susan Gordon.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister.
There will be no public services.

GLENN ALLEN ADAMS

July 2, 1954 — July 1, 2024
Glenn Allen Adams, 69, a lifetime resident of Berwick, passed away peacefully, July 1, 2024, at his home, surrounded by his loving family.
Glenn was born July 2, 1954, in Morgan City, the son of Harold Adams Sr. and Lita “Chunnie” Adams.
Glenn was born and raised in Berwick and was an avid Saints and LSU fan.
He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife, Susan Gaspar Adams, whom celebrated their 50th anniversary June 1st; children, Brad Allen Adams and wife Bridgett, and Kristi Kay Adams; three grandchildren, Alexis Martinez, Joseph Martinez III, and Cruz Martinez; two siblings, Harold Adams Jr. and wife Linda and Starr Rentrop and husband Derik; brothers-in-law, Terry Gaspar and wife Denise, Timmy Gaspar and wife Debbie; mother-in-law, Kay DeHart; numerous nieces and nephews, and wonderful friends and neighbors.
Glenn was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Chunnie Adams; father-in-law, Louis Gaspar Jr.; baby sister, Wendy Adams.
In respecting Glenn’s wishes, he will be cremated and there will not be any services.

JOHN T. JOHNSON

The early morning of June 27, 2024, at peace and at home with his devoted daughter Jennifer by his side, Blount County Native, John T. Johnson went to his eternal home. John Thomas Johnson was born at home on June 7, 1938, in Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee. He is survived by his daughter, and his older brother, Dr. George W. Johnson (Judy). He was preceded in death by his son, John McTeer Johnson, his wife Jodie McTeer Johnson, and his parents Emmett and Grace Johnson. His friends affectionately called him “Johnny”.
Johnny was a high school graduate of Baylor Military in Chattanooga and is listed as one of their Notable Alumni. He then graduated from the University of Tennessee before going into the United States Army and serving in Korea. Johnny loved his country and its flag and has always flown several at his home.
Johnny started his ‘water career’ as a lifeguard at The Alcoa Pool, where he discovered a passion for gathering coins that had fallen out of pockets at the bottom of the pool. He often said he made more at the bottom of the pool than in his weekly pay- check. He furthered that passion by joining the UT swim and dive team. At that time the Vols did not have a high diving board but at a meet at Georgia Tech, Johnny, who had been high diving at his summer job, defeated Tech’s high diver on their own high board. Johnny also played first base, and lettered, on the baseball team in 1959-61. Johnny also was white cross member of Sigma Chi fraternity pledged at UT. The recent National Championship was the last sporting event he enjoyed on television.
Johnny continued his passion for the water by becoming a commercial diver. He moved to Morgan City, LA, the hub of commercial diving in the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas industries. There, in 1964, he partnered with his friend and fellow University of Tennessee alumni, Mike Hughes, to start their own diving company, World Wide Divers, a small regional diving company that eventually evolved into Oceaneering International. Oceaneering is one of the world’s largest subsea engineering companies with world headquarters now in Houston, TX. Among many of the civic and industrial awards Johnny received during his career, one of these was the John E. Galletti, Jr. Memorial Award which was presented by the Association of Diving Contractors in recognition of significant achievement in the field of Commercial Diving. Also, in 2005, Johnny was inducted into the American Diving Contractors’ Commercial Diving Hall Of Fame.
Johnny was a faithful Christian and loved serving his Lord. He was very involved in his church and served as a deacon at Bethel Baptist Church in Townsend. Johnny especially enjoyed playing and singing Christian music. He also directed the Interfaith Youth Choir in Morgan City, LA when it began.
Johnny felt participating in his community was very important. He served as a city councilman in Morgan City, LA. He served on the boards of The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, The Boys and Girls Club of Knoxville, the University of Tennessee School of Music, and was Chairman of United Way for South Louisiana. Johnny was a proud Rotarian and was a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary International Foundation and attended Rotary meetings in numerous countries throughout the world during his extensive travels. The Morgan City Rotary Club honored Johnny in 2009 with their distinguished Rotarian of The Year Award. He also served as the president of the Morgan City Petroleum Club. Johnny loved to sing and was a member of the Tune Weavers in Morgan City.
Johnny was a faithful husband, a loving dad, a very respected businessman and friend to many. He had an infectious smile and a perpetually positive attitude. Johnny loved his Lord, his family, his community, and his country and he will be greatly missed by many.
Services were Tuesday, July 2, at First Baptist Church of Maryville, with visitation 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and funeral service at 7:00 p.m. Burial was Wednesday, July 3, at Sherwood Gardens at 11:00 a.m.
Service in Morgan City, LA will be held July 13 at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium at 10:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to an endowed scholarship named the “Johnny Johnson Scholarship for Commercial Diving” at the diving school at the Young Memorial campus of the South Louisiana Community College in Morgan City, Louisiana. Donations to the scholarship can be made by going to www.givebutter.com/JohnnyJohnson. or The Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee.

Morgan City police radio logs for July 8

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.
Monday, July 8
5:50 a.m. 300 block of Grizzaffi Street; Animal complaint.
5:59 a.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Removal of subject.
7:59 a.m. 500 block of Duke Street; Animal complaint.
8:16 a.m. 100 block of St. Clair Street; Complaint.
9:27 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Theft.
9:30 a.m. 300 block of Grizzaffi Street; Animal complaint.
9:45 a.m. Colonial Plaza; Traffic incident.
10:04 a.m. 200 block of Patton Street; Civil matter.
10:18 a.m. 200 block of Patton Street; Animal complaint.
11:15 a.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Vehicle accident.
12:56 p.m. 1000 block of Greenwood Street; Assistance.
12:58 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street ; Complaint.
1:45 p.m. 100 block of Aucoin Street; Assistance.
2:26 p.m. 7500 block of La. 182; Suspicious person/vehicle.
3:17 p.m. U.S. 90 West; Arrest.
3:33 p.m. Federal Avenue/Franklin Street; Traffic incident.
3:36 p.m. 200 block of Levee Road; Medical.
3:53 p.m. 300 block of Federal Avenue; Complaint.
4:29 p.m. 1400 block of North Third Street; Disturbance.
4:34 p.m. 2600 block of Maple Street; Animal complaint.
4:53 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.
5:41 p.m. 800 block of Brashear Avenue; Theft.
7:21 p.m. U.S. 90; Suspicious person/vehicle.
10:06 p.m. 500 block of Bowman Street; Vehicle accident.

Saturday event will honor Johnny Johnson, co-founder of Oceaneering

A celebration of life for John T. “Johnny” Johnson, a former Morgan City Council member, entrepreneur and pioneer in the local diving industry, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Municipal Auditorium.
Johnson died June 27 in his native Tennessee. He was 86.
He came to Morgan City to become a commercial diver. In 1964, he partnered with fellow University of Tennessee alumnus Mike Hughes to start their own diving company, World Wide Divers.
World Wide merged with Can Dive and Cal Dive in 1969 to become Oceaneering International.
“Johnson and Oceaneering would search for innovative, safer solutions to allow the oil and gas industry to push into deeper water depths,” the Oceaneering website said.
Johnson worked for his company as a diver and as senior vice president.
A notable acquisition by Oceaneering was Divcon in 1971. Johnson described the acquisition of Divcon, which was five times as large as Oceaneeering, as a “classic case of the minnow swallowing the whale.”
When remotely operated vehicles began to emerge, in the 1970s, Johnson wrote in a memo that would become famous saying, “This is an important development that we need to keep an eye on.”
The company said Oceaneering would become one of the largest owners and operators of remotely operated vehicles in the world.
Oceaneering’s diving and ROV expertise was employed in several high-profile recovery projects, including the wrecks of the Titanic, the Lusitania and the Liberty Bell 7 space capsule.
Johnson received the John E. Galletti Jr. Memorial Award which was presented by the Association of Diving Contractors in recognition of significant achievement in the field of commercial diving.
In 2005, the year after he retired from Oceaneering, Johnson was inducted into the American Diving Contractors’ Commercial Diving Hall Of Fame.
In addition to his service as a city councilman in Morgan City, Johnson was named Morgan City Rotarian of the Year in 2009 and was also named a Paul Harris Fellow.
He also served as the president of the Morgan City Petroleum Club, was a member of the Tune Weavers in Morgan City, and was chairman of United Way for South Louisiana.
He served on the boards of The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, The Boys and Girls Club of Knoxville, and the University of Tennessee School of Music.

Hospital district board calls for election; qualifying next week for Morgan City Council, School Board elections

As election time nears, ballots will soon start to fill out.
In St. Mary, qualifying for Morgan City mayor and council races and an open School Board seat will be July 17-19. The primary election will coincide with the presidential and congressional elections Nov. 5. The runoffs, should any be needed, will be Dec. 7.
Hospital Service District No. 2, which owns the hospital operated under lease by Ochsner Health, has also called for a Dec. 7 vote on a 9-mill tax “to assist with the renovation, repair, maintenance and preservation of our facility,” according to a statement prepared for its June meeting.
The district’s board approved the call for the tax election at its July 3 meeting. The call must be approved by the St. Mary Parish Council and the State Bond Commission.
The major uses of the money raised by the tax include:
—Resealing the building’s envelope to keep out moisture
—Replacement of the windows with ones insulated and storm-resistant
—Replacing the HVAC system of heating and air conditioning
—Renovation of patient rooms and waiting areas
—Providing scholarships for local youth to receive medical and health care career education and training to serve the community in the future.
“The citizens of the Hospital Service District 2 own the Ochsner St. Mary Facility,” said Dr. William Cefalu, the hospital district board chairman, in a press release. “Thus, we must responsibly work to ensure that our facility will be able to serve the healthcare needs of our community now and in the future.”
The board wants to be proactive in providing the best environment for health care providers and patients, the press release said.
Until 20 years ago, the hospital service district was supported by a property tax, the press release said. Louisiana has 31 hospital service districts that are comparable to St. Mary No. 2, and 87% receive tax support from their communities for their hospitals.
“Our community is one of only 4 communities in Louisiana which do not provide that support,” the press release said.
A mill is 1/10th cent of tax applied to every dollar of a property’s assessed valuation. Residential real estate is assessed on 10% of its market value as determine by the parish assessor. The first $7,500 of a home’s assessed valuation is exempt from parish property taxes.
So the 9 mills would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $22.50 a year, and the owner of a $200,000 home $112.50 a year.
The district press release said the average homeowner will pay about $45 a year.
For the Nov. 5 election — a Tuesday election — qualifying will be 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each day in the three-day qualifying period, according to Clerk of Court Greg Aucoin.
In Morgan City, the mayor’s post, currently held by Lee Dragna, will be up for election, along with the five City Council posts now held by Lou Tamporello, Steve Domangue, the Rev. Ron Bias, Bonnie Leonard and Tim Hymel.
Leonard was appointed to fill the seat left vacant earlier this year when James Stephens resigned from the council.
A vacant seat on the School Board will be filled Nov. 5. Joseph Foulcard, who held the District 1 seat on the School Board, died in December. Guienzy Brent of Franklin was appointed to the seat on an interim basis.
Voters will pick a board member to fill the District 1 seat for the remainder of the term, which will end in January 2027.
Candidates can qualify at the Clerk of Court’s Office on the second floor of the St. Mary Parish Courthouse.
St. Mary voters will have only one U.S. House district to think about this November. The latest redistricting, ordered by the courts to create a second Black-majority district, placed all of St. Mary in the 3rd District represented by Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette.
Before the creation of the Black-majority district, extreme eastern portions of St. Mary had been in the 6th District represented by Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge.
But the new map turns Graves’ district into one with a Black majority by stretching it from Baton Rouge to the Shreveport area. Graves has announced that he won’t seek re-election.
The new alignment puts Assumption Parish into the 2nd District, represented by Troy Carter, D-New Orleans.
Nov. 5 is also presidential election day, and may put Democratic incumbent Joe Biden against Republican Donald Trump.
Or it may not. Trump has yet to be sentenced after his conviction on 34 felony counts in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial. And Biden is struggling with the fallout from his listless, stumbling debate performance June 27.
St. Mary went for Trump over Biden 64%-35% in 2020.
St. Mary voters are also likely to see property tax renewal proposals this fall for the three School Board maintenance districts. Calls for tax elections are on the agenda for Thursday’s School Board meeting.

Jeremy Callais promoted at East Tennessee bank

Jeremy Callais, formerly of M C Bank in Morgan City, has been promoted to president and CEO of Peoples Bank of East Tennessee, Chairman Chris White announced.
“This leadership change will ensure that the bank continues to serve the area as the premier locally-owned community bank,” White said in a press release. “It will also provide long-term continuity of the commitment the bank has had to its customers, employees, and shareholders in each of these communities.
“Jeremy Callais brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of community banking to this role. His tenure here at Peoples Bank over the past three years has been marked by exemplary service and a strong dedication to fostering customer relationships and driving the bank’s vision forward."
Under Callais’ leadership, Peoples Bank will continue to prioritize exceptional customer service and maintain an atmosphere of family within the bank’s entire staff, the press release said.
“I have a strong desire to lead the bank into its next chapter and beyond,” Callais said. “With our incredible management team, along with all of the bank’s wonderful employees, we will continue to provide our customers with the best “local community bank” experience and unparalleled community involvement”.
White, who has served as CEO and Chairman, will continue as chairman and will be working closely with Callais and the management team on a daily basis.
Callais and his wife Casie reside in Maryville and have three daughters, Sinclair, Charlotte and Evangeline.
Peoples Bank of East Tennessee is a full-service community bank with approximately $383 million in total assets and is headquartered in Madisonville, Tennessee.
Established in 1997, the bank’s primary purpose is to deliver high-quality banking services that meet the needs of our community, its businesses, and its citizens.
Callais had also served as president of M C Bank.
Since moving to the Peoples Bank of East Tennessee, Callais had been named in January to chair the American Banking Association’s Community Bankers Council.
He previously served on the Council’s Administrative Committee.

Cassidy calls for flood insurance changes

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., delivered a speech Monday on the Senate floor demanding Congress take action to make the National Flood Insurance Program affordable as Louisianans wade through another hurricane season.
Cassidy highlighted the uncertainty NFIP’s new risk assessment system, Risk Rating 2.0, has caused homeowners who do not know if they can afford rising premiums. Risk Rating 2.0 assesses risk and premiums based on individual properties rather than risk over a large area.
While many will see no or even a positive impact, others are seeing catastrophically high premiums.
“NFIP is a safety net for homeowners after a storm. It protects them from being financially wiped out by a hurricane,” Cassidy said.
“However, this year is different from past years for two reasons. First, the National Weather Service predicts that 2024 will see above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
"Second, there is much more uncertainty about whether NFIP will remain affordable."

Sugar cane field day scheduled for July 17

The LSU AgCenter will hold its sugar cane field day July 17, at the Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel.
The day will begin with a field tour covering multiple topics from AgCenter specialists, such as:
— Sugar cane variety updates from specialists Collins Kimbeng and Michael Pontif, of the Sugar Research Station.
— Biostimulants and soil fertility from Brenda Tubaña and Bruno Nicchio, of the AgCenter School of Plant, Environment and Soil Sciences.
— Weed management from Matt Foster, of the Sugar Research Station.
— Pathology from Andre Gama, of the AgCenter Department of Plant Pathology.
After the field tour, an indoor program will be held, which will include the impact of the 2023 drought and 2024 hurricane season from Jay Grymes, interim state climatologist with the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service.
There also will be updates on the LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture from Matt Lee, LSU vice president for agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture; Mike Salassi, director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station; and Tara Smith, director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service.
The day will wrap up with a sugar industry update from Jim Simon, of the American Sugar Cane League, and a Louisiana agriculture update from Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Lunch will be provided.
The Sugar Research Station is located at 5755 LSU Ag Road in St. Gabriel. For more information, call 225-642-0224 or email Al Orgeron at aorgeron@agcenter.lsu.edu.

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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