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Bridget McCleary Arcemont, 80, a resident of Morgan City, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at her home, surrounded by the family she loved so deeply.
Bridget was born on October 8, 1945, in Mansfield, Louisiana, to Abner F. “Mac” McCleary and Mary Benich McCleary. From an early age, she carried a quiet grace, a generous spirit, and a heart that never knew a stranger.
Bridget was a devoted wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She shared 60 loving years of marriage with her husband, Murphy M. Arcemont, Jr., building a life rooted in faith, family, and unwavering support for one another. Her greatest joy was her family, and she poured her love into them in countless ways — always putting others before herself.
She was known by all who met her as exceptionally loving and generous, she had a smile that warmed people’s hearts. Bridget had a rare gift of making people feel welcomed, valued, and cared for. Her kindness extended far beyond her family, touching friends, neighbors, and even strangers with quiet compassion.
Her favorite time of year was Christmas. Bridget delighted in the season, spending countless hours thoughtfully selecting the perfect gift for each person. Every present was wrapped with care, adorned with bows upon bows — each one a reflection of her attention to detail and love for giving. Christmas at Bridget’s home was truly magical.
Bridget was also an incredible baker, and her cakes were legendary. Anyone fortunate enough to taste her Red Velvet or Carrot Cake would agree — they were unforgettable and made with love. She also enjoyed shopping for antiques, finding beauty and history in treasured pieces, much like the way she cherished the people in her life.
She was generous in so many ways — with her time, her talents, her home, and her heart. Bridget lived her life quietly serving others and will be remembered for her warmth, her faith, and her selfless love.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Murphy M. Arcemont, Jr.; her sons, Murphy “Trey” M. Arcemont III and wife Lisa, and Paul Fredrick Arcemont and wife Aimee; her sister, Karen McCleary Adams and husband Bobby; four grandchildren, Paige Navarro and husband Rico, Carter Arcemont and wife Ale, Murphy “Jay” M Arcemont IV, and Lea Arcemont; five great-grandchildren; her in-laws, Barbara McCleary, Mike and Pat Arcemont, and Pat and Kim Stansbury; along with several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Mac and Mary McCleary; her in-laws, Murphy and Audrey Arcemont; her brothers, Pat and Stephen McCleary; and her beloved nephews and niece, Josh Adams, Mike Arcemont, and Jamie Stansbury.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Bridget’s devoted caregivers — Qunnita, Joselyn, Bailey, and Kristen — as well as Deacon Jimmy, for their compassion, care, and support.
Bridget was a faithful member of the Catholic Daughters Association and served on the Sacred Heart Church Parish Council, where her faith and dedication were evident to all.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, with Father Brett Lappyrousse officiating. Visitation was held at the church on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until the time of Mass. Following the service, Bridget was laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery. Refreshments were held at Twin City Funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to the Sacred Heart Church Maintenance Fund.
Bridget’s legacy of love, generosity, faith, and grace will live on in the hearts of all who were blessed to know her.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is running for a third term on a pivotal wager: that a record of delivering federal dollars to Louisiana and pushing bills into law matters more to Republican primary voters than the approval of President Donald Trump.
His willingness to buck Trump might prove too risky for re-election in a state that has overwhelmingly supported the president over the past decade. Trump’s endorsement in the race went to U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who announced her candidacy this month after he publicly urged her to run.
Five other Republicans had already lined up to challenge Cassidy: state Treasurer and former U.S. Rep. John Fleming, state Sen. Blake Miguez, Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta and St. Tammany Council member Kathy Seiden. State Rep. Julie Emerson ended her bid this month.
Each shares what they consider a crucial advantage over Cassidy: no history of breaking with Trump.  
Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump following his impeachment over the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots is a centerpiece of his rivals’ attacks. Miguez branded him a RINO – “Republican In Name Only” – saying “loyalty matters” and “we sure don’t forget.” Fleming posted on X that he has “never violated a promise, opposed President Trump or betrayed the people of Louisiana whom I serve.” 
Cassidy appears undeterred. “This race will not be determined by endorsements,” Cassidy told The Center Square. “This race will be determined by who delivers for Louisiana.”
To that end, he has been criss-crossing the state, appearing at a Right to Life March on Saturday in Baton Rouge, an anti-abortion rally that draws tens of thousands of supporters, and reminding voters of his endorsement from anti-abortion groups.
He has noted at least $14 billion for Louisiana roads, bridges and high-speed internet, and $208 million that aims to improve health care in rural communities. While visiting a St. James Parish aluminum production facility, he pointed to grants and loans “so that they can not just stay in business, but expand.”
Cassidy “has the ability to legitimately take credit for a lot of the funding that’s flowed to the state in recent years due to the infrastructure bill,” Robert Hogan, a Louisiana State University political science professor, told The Center Square. “Given all that, you would think, why in the world would he be in what some people are saying is pretty much a pickle here?”
Were it not for his impeachment vote, Hogan said, his seat might be safer.
The tightrope Cassidy has been trying to walk to re-election is featured in his first television ad, where he stands next to Trump as he signs a bill meant to impose harsher penalties on fentanyl traffickers. Cassidy, who backed the bill, notes that Trump called it one of the more important ones to become law.
Nearly a year ago, Cassidy, a physician who supports government efforts to encourage public vaccinations, voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, as Trump’s health care secretary. 
But after the fatal shooting this month of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti by several ICE agents, Cassidy called for an investigation, saying “the credibility of ICE and DHS is at stake.” Days later, he said “Second Amendment rights don’t disappear when you exercise other rights,” a clear reference to the Trump administration noting that Pretti, a licensed firearm carrier, had a gun at the protest.
Brian Brox, a political science professor at Tulane University, said he wonders if Cassidy is “beginning a strategy of independence.”
“Cassidy came out among the more forceful Republicans in the last few days calling for investigations of the ICE events in Minnesota,” Brox told The Center Square. “He’s walked much farther out on that than any other kind of establishment Republican has.”
In another independent streak, Cassidy told The Center Square that Congress bears some responsibility for expanding the power of presidents, including in the Trump administration. 
“A lot of the executive orders have been reversing Biden executive orders, which begs the question: Why have presidents since George W. (Bush) been resorting to executive orders?” he said. “Because, in part, Congress has not worked well.”
 “If Congress works better, then Congress is stronger and it pushes back,” he said.
Cassidy’s positions could further complicate his bid in Louisiana’s new closed-party primary system. For the first time since 1975, Republicans and Democrats will pick their nominees in separate primaries. Registered Republicans will vote in the GOP primary, while unaffiliated voters can choose which primary to vote in. 
This shift raises Cassidy’s stakes with Republican activists who have been Trump’s biggest supporters, Hogan said. The cross-party support Cassidy has relied on in past statewide races can’t bail him out in a GOP-only contest, Hogan said.
“Who is going to turn out to vote is going to be the party activist, and I think they are going to be strongly favoring Trump,” Hogan said. “He was in a difficult spot before this. He’s in an extremely difficult spot now.”
Cassidy has raised enough for an aggressive primary campaign, with over $11 million in his war chest. He said a recent fundraiser netted $650,000.
“The buzz on the street, the buzz from the fundraising, the buzz from meeting people from all walks of life has been fantastic,” he said. 
But his challengers stand a solid chance of unseating him, Hogan said, even those who have not been endorsed by Trump. 
“Cassidy was in trouble before Letlow,” Hogan said. 

BATON ROUGE—State officials say they will prioritize maintenance projects, especially on rural roads and bridges, as they seek to reduce an estimated $19 billion backlog in highway projects.
They also are counting on the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction, an entity created by the Legislature last year, to speed up the contracting process.
Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, R-Abbeville, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said the new office represents “a litmus test to make sure that we’re not going to repeat issues that we’ve had in the past where funds were appropriated but projects were not implemented.”
His comments came during a webinar hosted by the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana that included officials from the highway-construction office and the Department of Transportation and Development.
A report from the Boston Consulting Group found that in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2023, only 26% of the highway projects that were ready to go through the bid process received funding to go forward.
The Legislature placed the office in the governor’s Division of Administration, not in the Transportation Department.
According to Archie Chaisson, executive director of the new office, that will give legislators more oversight over the progress of projects in their districts.
Bourriaque said that if House and Senate leadership report that the state has any extra money available this year, “you can absolutely bet your hind end that I will fight for infrastructure money.”
Bourriaque is looking forward to the legislative session in March because there is potential for a new bill to create an infrastructure bank that could help finance projects.
A previous bill to create an infrastructure bank passed the Legislature, but it did not survive because it relied on a constitutional amendment that failed that voters rejected. However, the idea might make a comeback for review this year.
The purpose of the bank would be to finance and match funds for revenue-producing projects, like roads, bridges, ports and transit. The bank would provide loans that could be reissued as they are paid off, giving the Transportation Department a revolving door of funds.
Rep. Bourriaque mentioned the potential for other bills, but the frontrunner is currently the infrastructure bank. Compared to last year, Bourriaque only wants to make smaller adjustments to legislation.
He suggested to “give this a little time to marinate.”
Based on public comments from DOTD road shows across Louisiana and feedback from legislators, Bourriaque noticed that most of the complaints were about smaller rural bridges and roads.
So far, it took the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction less than four months to contract firms and start construction on 11 out of the 62 minor bridges it wants to fix this year.
Its first project, a bridge over Morgan Branch on state Highway 424 in Washington Parish, started on Jan. 21, and construction is scheduled to end in July or August.
To speed up projects, the Legislature gave the office emergency procurement authority to choose contractors rather than going through a bid process.
Although that authority expired in January, Chaisson is confident that the Legislature will grant the office the authority through the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The office is now working under existing contracts.
Chaisson acknowledged DOTD’s involvement in Louisiana’s larger infrastructure projects but noted that the new office’s smaller projects may have a greater impact on local populations.
“That average guy from Thibodaux or Vermilion or Baton Rouge may never drive across the Mississippi River Bridge or New Calcasieu River Bridge,” Chaisson said.
“But as we noted, the little guy in Pecan Island on La. 82 that has to go around the bridge for six months while it’s been out–those are the things that cause the most problems for locals.”
DOTD also is working on communication enhancements. Now, any Louisiana resident can see the progress on any road or bridge under construction on the DOTD website.
The early release is active, and the final project will be up in July.
This feature allows anyone to see what stage a project is in — or if a project is stalled, why that is.
To see roads or bridges in your area that may be under construction, visit this link: https://dotd.la.gov/projects/.

(Editor’s note: The charges listed here and the narratives that go with them are provided by the police agencies that made the arrests. Guilt or innocence has not been determined in court.)

Law enforcement agencies across the region reported eight arrests on drug-related charges in the last week, including three alleging possession of methamphetamine.

Morgan City

Chief Chad M. Adams reported these arrests:

--Brandi Snyder, 39, Wilson Street, Berwick, was arrested at 11:58 p.m. Saturday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction of justice and improper lighting, and as a fugitive from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office.

--Jeriel White. 18, Railroad Avenue, Morgan City, was arrested 8:25 a.m. Feb. 4 on charges of possession of marijuana and disturbing the peace (fighting).

--Lamarcus Francois, 31, Egle Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:56 p.m. Feb. 4 on charges of possession of tapentadol, possession of drug paraphernalia, introduction of contraband into a jail, headlights required and improper turning.

--Erica Darby, 39, Cherbourg Street, New Orleans, was arrested at 9:26 p.m. Feb. 4 on charges of possession of methamphetamine, introduction of contraband into a jail, possession of drug paraphernalia, no insurance, taillights required, expired motor vehicle inspection, driving under suspension and failure to appear for arraignment (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

--Jonathan Charles, 45, Everett Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:04 p.m. Friday on a charge of failure to appear for arraignment (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

--Matthew Miller, 32, Marshall Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 9:17 p.m. Saturday on a charge of failure to appear to pay fines (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

--Jeramine Paul, 35, Railroad Avenue, Morgan City, was arrested at 6:43 p.m. Sunday on a charge of remaining where forbidden.

--Shawn Mccauley, 48, Susan Drive, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:07 p.m. Sunday as a fugitive from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office.

--Brelin Andorf, 27, Natalie Lane, Patterson, was arrested at 9:58 p.m. Sunday on a charge of driving under suspension.

--Darrell Johnson Jr., 59, Avenue G, Marrero, was arrested at 2:43 a.m. Friday on a charge of disturbing the peace (intoxicated).

--Daniel McNeal, 47, Egle Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:29 a.m. Feb. 4 on charges of remaining where forbidden and three counts of contempt of court (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

--Aketa Francis, 33, Egle Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:34 p.m. Feb. 4 on four counts of failure to appear to pay fine (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

--Damarius Philip, 53, Audubon Avenue, Thibodaux, was arrested at 3:35 p.m. Feb. 4 on charges of failure to appear to pay fine and two counts of failure to appear for arraignment (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

St. Mary

Sheriff Gary Driskell reported these arrests:

--Alanna Nichole Scott, 46, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:32 a.m. Monday on a Franklin Police Department warrant alleging theft, and on a Hancock County warrant alleging possession of methamphetamine. Scott is being held for another agency.

--Cherri Ann Lambert, 50, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:02 a.m. Friday on a Morgan City Police Department warrant. Lambert is being held for another agency.

--Coty James Robicheaux, 35, Franklin, was arrested at 2:21 p.m. Thursday on a warrant alleging failure to appear for operating a vehicle with obstructed windshield or window area and operating a vehicle while license is suspended, revoked, or canceled. Robicheaux was released on a $2,500 bond.

--Tobbie Ray Lacoste, 43, Morgan City, was arrested at 12:33 p.m. Feb. 4 on two warrants alleging second-degree battery, criminal trespass, and telephone calls (harassment). Bail was set at $105,000.

--Jack Lee Dobbs, 59, Patterson, was arrested at 1:41 p.m. Feb. 4 on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and on a warrant alleging criminal trespass. Dobbs was released on a $35,000 bond.

Patterson

Chief Garrett Grogan reported these arrests:

--Charles B. Cobb, 50, Doucet Road, Lafayette, was arrested at 3:18 a.m. Friday on charges of open container, speeding 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, improper lane usage and resisting an officer by flight. Cobb was incarcerated at the Patterson PD
Jail with bond set at $1,290.

--Michael E. Bray, 66, Fern Street, Patterson, was arrested at 5:49 p.m. Saturday on charges of entry on or remaining in places after being forbidden and three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Bray was incarcerated at the Patterson PD Jail with no bond set.

--Brian M. Racicot, 60, Shady Grove Drive, Patterson, was arrested at 11:11 p.m. Sunday on a charge of disturbing the peace (intoxicated).

Berwick

Chief JP Henry reported these arrests:

--Blaze Ezell, Berwick, was arrested at 1:46 p.m. Feb. 4 on warrants alleging two counts of theft of utilities and two counts of criminal mischief. Ezell was also booked on a charge of resisting an officer.

--Juvenile, 16, was arrested Feb. 4 on a warrant alleging theft.

--Jamie Driskill, Berwick, was arrested at 5:47 p.m. Thursday on a charge of two taillights required and a St. Mary warrant alleging failure to appear.

Assumption

Sheriff Leland Falcon reported these arrests:

--Andy Inthavong, 19, Whitney Drive, Jeanerette, was arrested Saturday on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, illegal carrying of weapons in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance and speeding 50 mph in a 25 mph zone.

-- Khaleb D. Fusilier, 19, Deare Street, New Iberia, was arrested Saturday on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, illegal carrying of weapons in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

--Jorick J. Latula Jr., 19, Conway Street, New Iberia, was arrested Saturday on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, illegal carrying of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The charges arise from a traffic stop on La. 70 in Pierre Part.

A uniformed patrol deputy observed a westbound vehicle on La. 70 commit a traffic violation and conducted a stop of that vehicle. The deputy made contact with the driver, now identified as Inthavong.

Due to activity prior to the stop, the deputy conducted a pat-down protective sweep of Inthavong and removed a large-caliber handgun from Inthavong’s person. The deputy then ordered two passengers, Fusilier and Latula, out of the vehicle. The deputy noted a pungent odor of suspected marijuana from the vehicle.

After interviewing all occupants of the suspect vehicle, the deputy believed additional investigation was warranted and requested a K-9 to the incident location.

The K-9 conducted an open-air sniff of the suspect vehicle and alerted positive for the presence of illegal substances. A subsequent search of the suspect vehicle resulted in the seizure of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, multiple firearms and assorted ammunition.

All three were booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center. Bond was set at $250,000 each for Inthavong and Fusilier and at $400,000 for Latula.

Franklin

Chief Cedric Handy reported these arrests:

--Jermaine Crowley, 45, Joseph Street, Franklin, was arrested at 11:13 p.m. Friday on warrants for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office alleging felony theft. Crowley was booked, processed and held with no bond set at the time of press release.

--Travis Boatman, 45, Simcoe Street, Lafayette, was arrested at 6:43 p.m. Saturday on charges of driver must be licensed, obstruction of justice, violation of registration provisions, evidence of motor vehicle liability security contained in vehicle, proper equipment required on vehicles and possession of marijuana. Boatman was booked, processed and held on a $6,000 bond.