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Patterson Garden Club attends District 3 meeting

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 9:03am

Patterson Garden Club members attended the Louisiana Garden Club Federation District 3 meeting Oct. 24 hosted by the New Iberia Garden Club at the Event Center in New Iberia. Theme of the event was “A Taste of Iberia Parish.”
Patterson Garden Club Members attending were President Ginger Griffin, Iris Roy, Linda Thomas, Evelyn Estay, Sharon Larson and Donna Bates-Ruffin.
During the meeting, three Patterson Garden Club members were recognized with Life Memberships to the Louisiana Garden Club Federation. The are Estay, Thomas and Roy.

Did you know?

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 9:00am

Estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs indicate that there were around 19 million veterans in the United States in 2021.
Veterans Day, observed each year on Nov. 11, honors all those who served honorably in the U.S. military during both wartime and peacetime. Data from the VA indicates that, as of 2016, Gulf War veterans account for the largest share of all U.S. veterans. Roughly 7.8 million veterans served during the Gulf War.
Vietnam veterans also make up a sizable percentage of U.S. military veterans, as VA estimates indicate there were approximately 5.9 million veterans who fought in the Vietnam War in 2021.
Though veterans need not have served in wartime in order to be recognized and honored on Veterans Day, the vast majority of U.S. veterans served during wartime. According to the VA, 78% of veterans in 2021 had served during wartime.

Young adult weighs difficult decision

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 8:58am

By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: I’m 24 and not where I want to be in life. I have goals and dreams I would like to accomplish. However, my family is super family-oriented. I work for my dad in a family business. He always talks business with me.
I do not want to go into the family business. I have my reasons, one being his side of the family works there and we don’t get along. They’ve never accepted my mom so, therefore, they don’t accept me. The other reason is I’m not interested in the business.
My problem is, this is the best I’ve ever gotten along with my dad. I’m worried he will want nothing to do with me if I quit. On the other hand, my mom has always been supportive. I worry that if I moved away, we wouldn’t be so close.
I just feel like if I go after my goals and dreams, it will ruin my relationship with my family.
What do you think?
EYE ON THE FUTURE

DEAR EYE ON: You are no longer a child. You are an adult who is overdue for a serious talk with your father about those goals and dreams of yours, as well as the treatment you have received from his side of the family.
Write your thoughts down before approaching the subject with him. If your father loves you, as I am sure he does, he will want you to be happy as well as successful.
If you can’t find the courage to approach this on your own, consider enlisting the help of a licensed mental health professional to help you create some emotional separation.
Wanting independence is not a rejection of your father, nor would gaining it guarantee you would no longer be as close to your mom.

DEAR ABBY: I have hard feelings for my oldest son. A few years back, I was diagnosed with cancer and needed radiation treatments. The hospital is in my son’s hometown, so I asked him if I could sit in their living room between my two treatments a day for six days. He said he would talk to his wife about it.
I tried to call him the day before my treatments started, but he wouldn’t answer his phone. I had to sit in my car in the cold of winter for six hours between treatments.
I can’t seem to get past this. I don’t bring it up to him, but I resent him and his wife for letting me down in my time of need.
How can I get over this and let the resentment go?
SAD IN THE MIDWEST

DEAR SAD: Are you and your son and daughter-in-law communicating now? Have they ever explained why they acted the way they did? Did you and your daughter-in-law have some kind of falling out before your diagnosis?
That you were left sitting in a car between cancer treatments on cold winter days seems unconscionable.
That you also “can’t get over it” seems rational to me. This may be something you should discuss with your religious adviser, if you have one.
Should you need medical assistance in the future, I hope you have found other resources, because if you reach out in your son’s direction, all you should expect is more silence.
***
Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: “Abby’s Favorite Recipes” and “More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $16 to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

John Flores: When fish are biting, he doesn't mind a crowd

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:22am

JOHN FLORES

When the word gets out that fish are biting in a particular location, it’s not long before the place is inundated with anglers.
I’m one of those guys who likes to see people catch fish. What’s more, I’m an open book when it comes to hot spots where I’ve personally been catching or heard about someone catching.
I’m not sure entirely why I like to see people catch fish or don’t mind crowds. Maybe it was growing up fishing steelhead and salmon in Michigan’s northern lower peninsula where, literally, anglers would be shoulder to shoulder along the Au Sable River.
Whenever a guy would get a fish on, those around him, out of etiquette, would quickly reel in their lines allowing him to fight and land the fish. It was great to watch someone in the fight of their life. In that moment the fisherman didn’t have a care in the world.
Since late summer there’s been a strong red fish bite in East Cote Blanche Bay, where both bank fishermen and boat anglers have equally had success fishing at or out of Burns Point Boat Launch and RV Park.
There are a couple of dynamics that have come together this year creating the fishy-conditions. First, the natural flow of the Atchafalaya River runs westerly when it reaches the Gulf. In the spring, fresh water influences the salinity across a few bays west of the river, where the better saltwater action often doesn’t occur until late summer and early fall in this region.
Much of the summer the Atchafalaya River has been in the 2-foot range, meaning there has been very little freshwater influence this year.
The second thing that has impacted these western bays in St. Mary Parish this year is drought. East Cote Blanche, West Cote Blanche, and Vermillion Bays typically see lots of rainfall throughout the summer, which impacts the salinity in these regions.
These two factors, along with some beautiful weather conditions, have caused the stars to line up, where St. Mary Parish anglers have landed some pretty special bull reds this fall – including yours truly.
I don’t attribute the redfish I caught to any special skill or bait. There’s nothing really cunning to tossing a dead shrimp on the bottom and waiting for a fish to bite it. Seriously, it’s been that easy.
On my most recent trip to Burns Point, the fishing peer had attracted a nice crowd of anglers all seemingly having a good time. Two anglers were fishing off the rock embankment that protects the park from erosion and one of them had a big red fish on that he was fighting.
I watched the tussle for several minutes. Trey Northern, the angler with the fish on, and his friend, Glen Daniels, had already landed one big bull red. This was their second hooked fish of the morning.
Northern repeatedly pumped his rod and reel, not giving the big red a chance to get away. Standing close by, his buddy Glen attentively watched for the fish to surface. When the fish did surface, it came up close to the rocks. Daniels grabbed the fish with a long gaff pole and looked like someone who’d done this a time or two before. And, what a fish it turned out to be.
Other bank fishermen at Burns Point have been catching a few flounder and occasionally speckled trout and white trout.
This week’s weather conditions with colder temperatures and a blowing northwest wind will stir up the bays around Burns Point. In a few days, once the front passes, warmer weather is forecast where the conditions will once again return to normal, and anglers can pick up where they left off.
Fall is a great time of year to fish and there’s been a pretty good bite going on down La. 317 lately. You might just want to check it out
John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflo@cox.net.

Queen of the court

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:20am

Northwestern State Photo
Zoe Johnson of Morgan City, at center in the white dress, will be presented as queen of the Northwestern State's homecoming court during the university's volleyball game Saturday in Natchitoches. Johnson is the daughter of Sonya Johnson and Michael Johnson. She is a senior business administration major. Johnson is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority, where she has served as president, recruitment director and vice president of harm reduction. Johnson is president of Purple Jacket Honor Society, treasurer of the Order of Omega and president of Demon Volunteers in Progress. She is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and Students for Animal Protection and was a freshman orientation leader for three years. She worked in the university’s First Year Experience office.

Around Town for Nov. 3

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:19am

Happy 18th birthday Maddox Pellerin, who celebrated Thursday, we love you, Reid, Douglas and Wesley.

Wheel House for Nov. 3

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:18am

VETERANS
Invited to attend Berwick Junior High School Veterans Day event at 9 a.m. Nov. 10. Breakfast follows.

CHRISTMAS
Patterson United Methodist Church, 1204 Main St., Christmas Bazaar and plate lunch spaghetti dinner fundraiser is Saturday, Nov. 18. Bazaar is 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and lunch is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Christmas Bazaar includes decorations, homemade preserves, jams, jellies, caponata and baked goods. Lunch, $9, includes spaghetti and meatballs, coleslaw and bread.

PASTOR HONORED
At 3 p.m.. Sunday, Nov. 19 at a Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church event for the Rev. Richelle Lewis Castine, a Farewell Celebration Program. Pastor Castine has been transferred from the Central North Louisiana Conference. Everyone invited..

Ribbon-cutting for Family Wellness Clinic

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:07am

A recent ribbon-cutting marked the opening of the Family Wellness Clinic, 1234 David Drive, Suite 103, Morgan City. Owned by Nicole Perry, FNP-C, Family Wellness Clinic offers primary care services including routine check-ups, preventive care, diagnosis of common illnesses and chronic diseases, chronic disease management, minor illness and injury care, pediatric care, mental health referrals when necessary, immunizations, and well-woman and well-man exams.

AI studied as tool for sugar cane production

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:06am

JOHNNY MORGAN, LSU AgCenter

BATON ROUGE — Technological advances in artificial intelligence are making way for improved data collection for agricultural producers.
LSU AgCenter sugar cane breeder Collins Kimbeng has received a $288,690 award over three years from The John Deere Co. to study remote sensing and artificial intelligence for supporting sugar cane breeding and forecasting sugar yield.
“This project seeks to bring together expertise in artificial intelligence, precision agriculture and sugarcane breeding and also the benevolence of John Deere to solve two recalcitrant issues in the sugar industry,” he said.
The two goals of the study are to obtain accurate measurements of traits in the early stages of a sugar cane breeding program and the ability to forecast the best time to harvest a field to maximize sugar yield.
Kimbeng said the introduction of drones into sugar cane breeding will help his team work smarter rather than harder.
“Without this technology, we would have a number of people in the fields pulling samples to determine variety yield components,” he said.
Each year, the AgCenter Sugar Research Station examines more than 100,000 seedlings, of which only one or two will make it to the field as a sugarcane variety.
Kimbeng said a major problem is that the selection process is subjective.
“We put a lot of people in the field, and they all think they know what they are looking for,” he said. “But they could all have a personal bias.”
Cutting and weighing thousands of samples is time consuming. Kimbeng and his colleagues can now decrease the time and labor required with the use of technology.
“With this new remote sensing and artificial intelligence technology, we can take the weight of 100 samples,” he said. “We then input the information into the computer program and the drone can take the measurements we need with the help of onboard cameras.”
Drones will be used to acquire hyperspectral images from trials in the breeding program, including thousands of potential new varieties as well as fields planted with existing varieties.
“Data will be collected over several time series, and ground-truthing data will also be collected to accompany the drone data,” Kimbeng said.
“Statistical models will be developed to select the best predictive model containing the most appropriate wavelength to predict trait performance.”
If successful, this effort will lead to a more efficient selection process in the breeding program and a better way to predict sugar yield performance in the industry before harvest, he said.
Kimbeng will be joined in the project by AgCenter statistician Thanos Gentimis and precision agriculture expert Tri Setiyono.

Third Annual Big 'D' Doubles horseshoes

Fri, 11/03/2023 - 6:02am

Kemper Williams Park
Patterson
Oct. 20
Atchafalaya Swampers
First place, Burnie Williams, Louisiana and Maxine Griffth, Tennessee, 5-0, 56.33; second place, Clyde Landry, Louisiana and Ron Lagrand, Missouri, 4-1, 51.00; and third place, third, Tim Gilmore, Louisiana and Jim Ellison, Alabama, 3-2, 53.33.
Bayou Teche River Monsters
First, Danny Navarre, Louisiana and Dee Scritchfield, Texas, 4-1, 39.00; second, Jimmy Percle, Louisiana and Donna Thomason, Texas, 3-2, 35.00; and third, Pat Pertuit, Louisiana and Andy Hyman, Texas, 3-2, 37.67.
Cajun Coast Shrimpers
First, Billy Ray Hyman, Texas and Randy Giroir, Louisiana, 3½-1½, 30.00; second, Karl Vaughn and Larry Pertuit, both of Louisiana, 3½-1½, 28.33; and third, Mark Neubauer, Missouri and Merle Glidwell, West Virginia, 3½-1½, 32.33.
Spillway Mudbugs
First, Jim Guzdial and Warren Raymond, both of Louisiana, 4½-1/2, 20.67; second, Jack Mings, Colorado and Tiffany Thomas, Louisiana, 3-2, 19.00; and third, Matthew Strickland and Tyler Bourdier, both of Louisiana, 2½-2½, 19.33.
Voodoo Alligator Creoles
First, Jim Primeaux, Louisiana and Dawn Kunze, Texas, 4-1, 18.67; second, Mary Guzdial and Donnie Haydel, both of Louisiana, 4-1, 9.33; and third, Rob Kinze, Arkansas and Kevin Kinslow, Louisiana, 2½-2½, 10.67.