A ribbon-cutting marked completion of the town of Berwick's PickleBall Court beneath the U.S. 90 Bridge in Berwick. Pictured are Mayor Duval Arthur, Councilman and Chairman of the Recreation Committee Kevin Hebert, members of the pickleball community and Trinisha Hayes, Chamber representative.
Submitted Photos
A ribbon-cutting Feb. 17 officially opened The Sandbar, 2201 La. 182 East, Bayou Vista. Present for the event were owners Jared and Morgan Jones, family and friends, and St. Mary Chamber representatives.
Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City will end labor and delivery services April 1 while committing to providing more adult medical services for an aging population, the hospital said Wednesday in a press release.
Labor and delivery services will be consolidated at Ochsner St. Anne in nearby Raceland. In addition to Ochsner St. Anne, three other local hospitals provide labor and delivery services.
Over the past several years, deliveries at Ochsner St. Mary have totaled less than 200 each year and less than 16 per month, on average, the hospital said. Among the five area hospitals that provide labor and deliver services, Ochsner St. Mary accounts for fewer than 7% of the total births in the region.
According to the Louisiana Hospital Association’s 2022 ShareCor Utilization Report, Ochsner St. Mary delivered the fewest babies among the 66 reporting hospitals in Louisiana.
Population data estimates from St. Mary Parish project a 6.2% decline in woman of childbearing age, whereas the number of adults turning 65 will grow by 10.9% over the same period. Realigning service priorities paves the way for greater enhancements to adult service offerings, the hospital said.
All 23 Ochsner employees affected will be offered positions currently available at Ochsner St. Mary, positions in the women’s services department at Ochsner St. Anne or other vacancies across Ochsner Health.
“We continuously evaluate the services offered at the hospital along with our annual community health needs assessment,” said Fernis LeBlanc, CEO, Ochsner Bayou Region. “While it was a difficult decision, and one we did not make in haste, it is the best overall direction for our community. We are committed to our patients and employees, and this change gives us the opportunity to bring new services to meet the needs of our community’s aging population.”
Ochsner St. Mary will continue to offer many services for women, such as gynecological surgery, 3D mammography and bone density scans, in keeping care close to home.
The hospital is in the process of notifying current patients and expectant mothers of the change.
Ochsner St. Anne recently completed a renovation to its women’s center which includes new labor and delivery suites.
Absentee ballots have been mailed out for the March 25 election. St. Mary Registrar of Voters Terry Foulcard asks voters to be on the lookout for your ballot in the mail.
If you do not receive your ballot by Friday, please contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 337-828-4100 ext. 362
The deadline to return your ballot is 4:30 p.m. March 24.
The last day to register to vote or make any changes to your registration is March 4. You will only be allowed to do this by going to www.geauxvote.com
The deadline to register to vote or make changes in person or by mail has passed.
All St. Mary voters will be asked to decide whether to amend the parish charter to raise the parish president’s salary from $12,000 per year to the average salary for the mayors of the five St. Mary municipalities.
Also, voters in District 4 in west St. Mary will choose a School Board member to replace Pearl Rack, who resigned before the November election.
Interim member Debra R. Jones, who was appointed to replace Rack temporarily, is being challenged by Mark R. Romero.
On Wednesday, Franklin Foundation Hospital officially changed its name to Bayou Bend Health System.
In July 2022, the St. Mary Parish Council voted to pass a resolution in support of the name change, and five names were presented to a community focus group. Ultimately, “Bayou Bend Health System” was the chosen name.
“We are extremely excited about this change," said Bayou Bend CEO Stephanie Guidry. "While we understand and are proud of everything that this organization has done for this community for the last several decades, we are thrilled to be moving forward. We are excited for ourselves but even more excited about what it means for the people in our service district.”
Covalent Logic, a Louisiana-based marketing and public relations firm, helped develop the new name and logo, which features three cypress trees reaching high into the sky above a winding body of water while a bird flies above the scene. The inspiration for Bayou Bend Health System was described as: “Known for its winding waterway through St. Mary Parish, this primary bayou is considered the heart of Louisiana and of great significance to local industry and culture. Along its many twists and turns, Bayou Teche passes by Franklin’s doorstep, assuring residents of neighboring communities that with Franklin as its polestar, comprehensive healthcare is ‘just around the bend.'"
This rebranding aligns with other future strategic plans, including the construction of the Wellness Center, which is scheduled to open in mid-2023.
“This name change coincides with a key change in our organization’s philosophy—we are no longer just an organization that cares for the sick, but we are an organization that is here for the overall wellness of the communities we serve,” Guidry said.
The name change does not change the organization’s status as a hospital service district or Critical Access Hospital.
PRO-LIFE
Louisiana Right to Life pro-life RV tour stopping at St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 1112 Saturn Road, Bayou Vista, 10-11 a.m. Tuesday, March 7.
The Review/Diane Miller Fears
The Bayou Horseshoe Pitchers Association has presented the Morgan City Review with a plaque of appreciation for its continued support. On hand for the presentation were Tim Gilmore, BHPA publicity director, and Connie Grimball Thomas, Review employee.
When planter, politician and entrepreneur Henri Gueydan began to manufacture his Rice-O-La breakfast cereal in 1923, he also launched an advertising campaign that could have been the inspiration for the flamboyant Hadacol promotions decades later.
The campaign might have been anticipated. The son of town builder Jean Pierre Gueydan unveiled his plans to produce the cereal amid much hoopla in a well-publicized meeting in Crowley.
The Crowley Signal reported that Dr. E. M. Ellis, “a prominent Crowley surgeon,” said the Rice-O-La manufacturing process using brown unpolished rice “retains the maximum nutriment” including “vitamins and other sturdy ingredients.” Cleora Heibing, Louisiana supervisor of home economists, pronounced it tasty and nutritious. Dr. Robert Osborne, a New Orleans dietitian, said the cereal was good not only for grown-ups, but was a great food for infants. Every one of the 100-plus people in the crowd got to try a bowl of Rice-O-La and milk and, the Signal said, loved its “slight nut flavor.”
Nearly 200 investors had put up a total of $100,000 by the time ground was broken for a factory on Avenue J in Crowley. Gueydan said the plant would house machinery especially made to process the rice.
A Signal editorial at the time said, “The outlook for Rice-O-La is one that promises much for it and for its home, the Rice City of America. There is evidence that its importance to the city will increase as the demand for the product grows … with consequent additions to labor employment and money received and paid out.”
Gueydan promised that the plant would be up and running in three months, and the builders met the deadline.
At first, Rice-O-La was sold just in the region, then statewide, then Henri began to promote it nationwide. Testimonials in newspapers and national publications such as the Saturday Evening Post extolled Rice-O-La’s virtues.
“Last night we had Rice-O-La served for our ‘starter’ at dinner,” one letter read. “We used it just as you would have for breakfast. It was great.”
Said another one: “This morning for breakfast we had pancakes, using one-half flour and one-half Rice-O-La. Never ate better cakes than the ones this made.”
A letter on White House stationery from his secretary only said that President Calvin Coolidge received the box of cereal that was sent to him, not that he actually ate it. But that was enough to be included among the testimonials, using the headline, “President Eats Rice-O-La.”
A note below the letter said, “Mr. Coolidge’s Massachusetts taste is sure to respond to Rice-O-La’s appeal.” Silent Cal never said whether he liked it, disliked it, or even tried it.
In December, 1,112 cases, each containing 24 boxes, were shipped to just one New Orleans wholesale grocer. Wholesalers in Arkansas and Texas were interested.
Things were looking up
By early February 1924, Rice-O-La was “featured on the dining cars of the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific, Gulf Coast Lines, Louisiana and Nashville, and Illinois Central,” on Morgan Line steamships that plied the Gulf, and “in the Charity Hospital and Touro Infirmary, the State Normal College [now Northwestern in Natchitoches] and Louisiana Polytechnic [Louisiana Tech in Ruston].”
College cafeterias even then were probably known for the quantity of their food, not the quality, but the dining cars were different. This was a time when railroad dining cars were beginning to reach the quality of fine restaurants as they competed for travelers.
That endorsement prompted the Abbeville Meridional to speculate that “in the near future … we may expect that … fully half of the rice produced in the southern states will be used in the manufacture of Rice-O-La.”
But, as with Hadacol, the promotions eventually outran the ability to produce the product, with the same result.
Abrom Kaplan, another big rice planter and town builder, bought “the plant and equipment, the good will, the patent rights, and other paraphernalia” for $7,000 when Rice-O-La’s remains went up for bankruptcy sale in May of 1925. Kaplan banker A. M. Smith bought the office furniture and “sundry supplies” for $1,100.
The office furniture may have been the better buy. A new investor tried to launch a comeback for the company in 1926, but documents filed in Baton Rouge show that it fizzled out pretty quickly.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.
(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.)
Morgan City police and St. Mary sheriff’s deputies reported arrests on cyberstalking and financial instrument abuse charges.
Morgan City
Chief Chad M. Adams reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 41 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made this arrest:
--Christopher Joseph Adams Jr., 42, Leona Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:32 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of cyberstalking.
St. Mary
Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 26 complaints and made these arrests:
--Robert Antonio Guevara, 25, Stafford, Texas, was arrested at 6:44 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of monetary instrument abuse. Bail has not been set at this time.
--Tanner Aaron Aucoin, 27, Franklin, was arrested at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday on three warrants alleging failure to appear on charges of illegal possession of stolen things, domestic abuse battery and possession of synthetic cannabinoids. Bail has not been set at this time.
Patterson
Chief Garrett Grogan reported this arrest:
--Ben Louviere, 44, Church Street, Patterson, was arrested at 2:12 p.m. Tuesday on charges of driver’s license suspended or revoked, expired license plate and expired motor vehicle inspection sticker. Louviere was released on a $791 bond.
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.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
7:46 a.m. 1100 block of Eighth Street; Alarm.
8:15 a.m. 700 block of Belanger Street; Medical.
9:04 a.m. Area of Egle Street and Federal Avenue; Lost and found property.
10:26 a.m. 800 block of North Everett Street; Animal complaint.
11:11 a.m. 100 block of Mallard Street; Medical.
12:03 p.m. 600 block of Arenz Street; Vehicle accident.
12:22 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Medical.
1:03 p.m. 800 block of Roderick Street; Animal complaint.
1:52 p.m. 700 block of Everett Street; Vehicle accident.
3:14 p.m. 200 block of Robin Street; Disturbance.
4:26 p.m. Area of La. 182 ; Complaint.
5:53 p.m. 200 block of Utah Street; Burglary.
6:10 p.m. 1400 block of Railroad Avenue; Removal of subject.
6:11 p.m. Railroad Avenue; Assistance.
6:17 p.m. 7300 block of La. 182; Alarm.
6:23 p.m. 1600 block of Chestnut Drive; Medical.
6:23 p.m. 3100 block of Karen Drive; Complaint.
7:05 p.m. 1700 block of Filmore Street; Medical.
7:42 p.m. 200 block of Robin Street; Stand by.
9:43 p.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Suspicious vehicle.
9:51 p.m. 600 block of General Patton Street; Medical.
Wednesday, March 1
1:32 a.m. 200 block of Leona Street; Arrest.
4:35 a.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Alarm.
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