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Thomas “Tommy” Keith Longman, 86, passed away peacefully at his home on the morning of February 4, 2026. Tommy was born on March 31, 1939, the only child of the late Kenneth and Estelle Longman of Baldwin.
A longtime resident of Morgan City, Tommy married his wife, the former Beryl Landry, on April 21, 1960. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather and cherished spending time with his family, especially attending grandchildren’s activities.
Tommy dedicated over 30 years to local law enforcement and also served as a volunteer firefighter with the MCVFD for many years. In 1970, he began his career with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office as a Dispatcher and also served as a Patrolman, Detective, and Undercover Narcotics Agent. Tommy’s last position with the Sheriff’s Office was as Inspector overseeing the Morgan City Office until his retirement.
He also worked as an Investigator with the District Attorney’s Office of the 16th Judicial District. In his later years, he served as a Community Liaison for the DA’s Office as well.
Tommy earned numerous certifications throughout his career including DEA and FBI trainings on narcotics, intelligence, and surveillance. He also was an instructor for many law enforcement classes throughout his career, and several sets of his notes refer to the importance of ethics and always performing your duties the right way.
A Master Mason for over 40 years, Tommy was a member of Doric Lodge #87 F.&A.M. in Morgan City.
Tommy loved and was active in local politics, running many successful campaigns through the years. He was most proud of helping elect his son, Jarrod, to both the Morgan City Council and as St. Mary Parish’s Assessor.
Tommy is survived by his wife of nearly 66 years, Beryl Longman, and his children, Jarrod Longman (Allison), Cullen Longman (Patricia), and Kyle Longman. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Nicholas Longman (Shana), Brittany Longman, Tyler Longman, Emily Longman Landtroop (Evan), and Sara Longman. Lastly, he was recently blessed with a great grandchild, Jackson Landtroop, and proud to say that he was a great grandpa.
The Longman Family would like to express their sincere gratitude to Tommy’s care team: Dr. Francis Metz and his team at the Medicine Clinic, Ochsner St. Mary, especially the nurses and staff of the 6th Floor, Nursing Care Home Health of Morgan City, and ACG Hospice and his primary nurse Brittany Nolan.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Twin City Funeral Home in Morgan City. Per his wishes, Tommy will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Mausoleum in a private family gathering at a later date.

FRANKLIN -- A series of proposed changes to the St. Mary Parish Charter appears likely to go to the voters June 27, although some Parish Council members had sought a different and less expensive election date.
The council on Wednesday passed a resolution calling for the election. The council passed an ordinance calling the election last month, but the resolution was required to seek state approval to put the measure on the ballot.
Members had hoped to find a way to move the election to a date other than June 27. Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick said Wednesday that picking the right date could be the difference between paying $80,000 for the election and $14,000.
The Secretary of State’s Office lists possible election dates of June 27, Nov. 3 and Dec. 12.
But state law and the ordinance itself require the measure to go before voters on the next available election date.
A year of work by an 11-member Charter Review Commission resulted in six major changes in the current parish governing document:
•The council would be reduced to eight members from 11 by eliminating the three at-large districts. The current charter limits the two council leadership positions to members elected from the at-large districts. All three at-large members are elected by voters parishwide.
•Compensation for the parish president and council members would be changed “to reflect current duties, with cost-of-living adjustments every four years.”
•Council members and the parish president would be limited to 1-1/2 consecutive terms.
•The chief administrative officer post would be eliminated, leaving the parish president as chief executive and administrative officer.
This provision and the potential pay raise move the parish closer to having a fulltime parish president, which advocates say is needed to make the parish competitive in endeavors such as economic development.
•Procedures for vacancies, meetings and publication of ordinances would be updated.
•Outdated, redundant or obsolete sections, including outdated ballot and district provisions, would be removed.
The council created a framework in which the revisions recommended by the commission would go before voters without being altered by the council.
The elimination of the three at-large districts seems likely to cause controversy. Councilwoman Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink of Centerville expressed concern after the Jan. 28 meeting about the all-or-nothing nature of the proposition for voters who might like some proposals but not others. And in a social media post, Councilman Rodney Olander of Franklin also pointed to the potential for a six-figure salary for the parish president.
Also Wednesday:
•The council voted 10-0 to condemn the Plantation Inn property in Bayou Vista.
The hotel, damaged by fire nearly a decade ago, is “in a dilapidated and dangerous condition which endangers the public welfare. …”
The ordinance gives the owners 60 days to demolish buildings on the property and remove the debris.
Owners Anything You Want LLC and D Palm Hotel LLC, which acquired the property in 2024, asked for more time to make repairs.
The council had already rescinded one condemnation to provide that time. Hebert, a contractor, said Wednesday that the owners hadn’t sought permits for the needed work.
•The council passed an ordinance that limits comments by council members to the same five minutes that members of the public get when they come to the lectern during meetings.
•Councilman Dean Adams of Morgan City introduced an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of stray cats and dogs on residential property in unincorporated areas of the parish. The ordinance makes an exception for people who own the property on which they feed strays.
The ordinance is based on laws passed by the Berwick and Morgan City councils, Adams said.
The ordinance cites “a fruitful breeding ground for infectious disease, including rabies and distemper, and may otherwise bite or attack humans and domestic animals.”
Twenty days must elapse between the introduction of an ordinance and a passage vote. Adams’ ordinance could come up for a final vote as soon as March 11.

The next sale of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of America is set for March 11, one of dozens scheduled over the next 15 years as part of President Donald Trump’s push to increase domestic oil and gas production.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by Trump in July, mandates 30 auctions in offshore waters in the Gulf and six in Alaska’s Cooks Inlet before the end of 2040.
The March sale will open more than 80 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf, as did the first auction in the series, livestreamed from New Orleans in December.
In that sale, 30 companies submitted 219 bids totaling $372 million, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The next sale supports an executive order signed by Trump in January 2025 that directs federal agencies to accelerate offshore energy development.
The money raised in the first sale in December, when the price of oil in the U.S. was near a multi-year low of $58 per barrel, was less than the $442 million in sales seen at the previous auction in 2023.
Caitlin Shaw, director of Gulf of America research at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, said in a research note that most oil and gas companies targeted their bids on specific blocks in areas known to have potential production.
With a lag time of six to 10 years before a lease is typically turned into production, the exploration acreage secured in the first sale will not impact the nation’s oil output until the early to mid-2030s, according to Woods Mackenzie.
“Seeing these companies using this opportunity to refill those exploration hoppers is really, really exciting because that means in the 2030s we could see some meaningful production come back based on the success of that exploration activity,” said Shaw.
Gulf oil production is expected to peak in 2026-2027 at approximately 2.6 million barrels of energy equivalent per day.
BP topped all bidders in the December sale, with over $60 million offered on 51 blocks.
Chevron was second with submissions totaling $52 million for 24 blocks, and Woodside Energy was the third-largest bidder at $38 million.
Most of the bidding focused on acreage in the Keathley Canyon off the Louisiana coast and in the Mississippi Canyon, both with long histories of deepwater oil and gas production.
Revenues from offshore energy activities provide funding for the U.S. Treasury, Gulf Coast states, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund.
In fiscal year 2024, offshore development generated $6.5 billion in royalties, $372.5 million in bonuses and $122.8 million in rental payments.
The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2008 specifies that revenue from auctions like the upcoming one is shared among four Gulf-producing states: Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. The distribution of the funds is determined by a formula based on the state’s distance to the offshore lease sites, with Louisiana receiving the largest share, Texas second, followed by Mississippi and Alabama.
By law, these states must use the revenue to mitigate the impacts of offshore energy production, including coastal restoration and protection, hurricane protection, onshore infrastructure such as sewer and water systems directly affected by coastal wetland loss, mitigation of environmental damages and resilience planning.

Senior will get
ICS diploma
For the first time in decades, a senior will graduate from Morgan City’s Immanuel Christian school.
Darianna Duet is completing her senior year at the small Christian school, which she has attended since she was 4.

Lacoste receives
scholarship
Landyn Lacoste of Bayou Vista, a Berwick High student, is the first recipient of a scholarship from St. Mary Hospital Service District No. 2 with proceeds from a tax passed in part for that purpose.
The recipient plans to study at Fletcher Technical Community College to become a radiology technician.

MCHS student
plays first flute
Duc Bui, a Morgan City High student, earned the first chair flute distinction in the All-State Concert Band. He performed Jan. 20 in the Louisiana Music Educators Association All-State Concert Band.
He made news last year by scoring a perfect 36 in his ACT.

Local students earn NW St. honors
Nine St. Mary students earned academic honors for Northwestern State’s fall 2025 semester.
Earning President’s List distinction with 4.0 grade point averages were Erin Adams of Berwick; Paulina Trejo and Kaitlyn Waguespack of Morgan City; and A’laiya Favors of Patterson.
Lacey Guagliardo, Trent Hillen and Alex Shoemake of Morgan City are on the Dean’s List with GPAs of 3.5-3.99.
Noah Castenada and Alyssa Domangue of Morgan City made the Honors List with GPAs of 3.0-3.49.

Morgan City student
Receives McNeese degree
A St. Mary student was among the 541 who received degrees Dec. 19 at McNeese State’s commencement.
Brittany Guillot of Morgan City received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.