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South Louisiana Community College’s Tammie Moore recently represented Acadiana, Louisiana and the Gulf Region at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's workshop entitled “Navigating the Energy Transition in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Moore, who is SLCC's Morgan City and Franklin campus director and a member of the St. Mary Parish School Board, joined 25 representatives from the five Gulf states in discussing scenarios for a collaborative and collective approach to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“People from academia were specifically chosen to see how the changing energy landscape will impact different areas of society and how the leaders in those areas will respond. The scenarios we worked through are on the horizon as energy needs diversify,” Moore said.

Participants from government, industry, academia and Gulf communities considered strategies to overcome potential challenges and enable opportunities for their areas to thrive in the coming decades. Moore says they looked at the energy landscape in two segments: from now until 2036 and then from 2036 to 2050.

“How will the future of energy impact the people of our area? Who are we going to train, how will we train them, what jobs will they have available? That’s what we were there to explore. For the Morgan City campus specifically, many of our programs feed into the maritime industry and we need to understand what prospects we will have,” Moore said.

The workshop emphasized the importance of workforce development, government, and industry investment in achieving decarbonization goals, and the potential impact on communities, industry, and labor resources across the region. Through her role with SLCC, Moore is dedicated to training employees of the future and staying ahead of industry trends. She says this is an opportunity to be on the forefront of what is coming to the Gulf Region.

“The oil and gas industry will continue to be a major player for us here in Louisiana, but energy needs are diversifying; at SLCC we stay ahead of the curve," More said. "With conferences like this we can see what the future holds and begin to train our workforce.”

Moore plans to put her knowledge and experience to good use exploring how to train workers and prepare the Acadiana community for the future.

“What’s important for education and specifically community colleges to remember is that this begins with us; we train the future workforce for our community. Right now, we are getting projections based on industry trends and other factors, we need to take that data and be prepared to train for what will be needed.”

Moore will represent SLCC and the Gulf Region once again this February. She’s been invited to the Gulf Research Program’s Division Committee meeting at Rice University in Houston to speak about her experience participating in the “Navigating the Energy Transition in the Gulf of Mexico” workshop.

Born to Shekita M. Hayes and Morris Hatcher Sr. of Berwick, a boy, Malachi Da’Mar Hatcher, on Dec. 9 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 17.5 inches.
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Born to Mr. and Mrs. Mario Lopez (nee: Jamie Bouy) of Morgan City, a girl, Ellie Rose Lopez, on Dec. 10 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. She weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 21 inches.
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Born to Mr. and Mrs. Luis Ixcot (Keyla Perez) of Morgan City, a girl, Elizabeth Idelina Ixcot Perez, on Dec. 12 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. She weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 19 inches.
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Born to Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bartholomew (nee: Alechia Santana) of Morgan City, a boy, Nazir Gabriel Knoxx Bartholomew, on Dec. 13 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 19 inches.
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Born to Bryanshekia Harris of Patterson, a girl, Ny’Ala A’lani Arielle Harris, on Dec. 15 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. She weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 18¾ inches.
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Born to Bryanna Norwood and Logan Hebert of Morgan City, a girl, Aubrie Lynn Hebert, on Dec. 20 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. She weighed 9 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 18 inches.
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Born to Brittany Bullock of Berwick and Moses Charlot of Morgan City, a boy, Salem Malik Charlot, on Dec. 21 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20 inches.
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Born to Diamond Valsin of Morgan City, a boy, Draco Valsin, on Dec. 22 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 20 inches.
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Born to Samantha Ledom and Daniel Smith of Patterson, a boy, Onyx Ivan Smith, on Dec. 23 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20.5 inches.
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Born to Kimberly Mayon and Jarell Gasn of Morgan City, a boy, Karmello Miguel Gasn, on Dec. 26 at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City. He weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 19.69 inches.

A 10 a.m. Friday ceremony is planned to dedicate a Stephensville park to the memory of developer Larry Doiron Sr.

Doiron died in May 2021 at age 92 after a lifetime as a businessman, Morgan City Council member, a police juror and, for 27 years, a member of the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District board, where he worked to find solutions for backwater flooding in the area. Thursday would have been Doiron's 94th birthday.

A native of Patterson, he worked in a hardware store as a teenager. He went on to learn plumbing and, in 1947, founded Doiron's Plumbing, which became Doiron Construction and Development.

According to information submitted for his obituary, Doiron's company built the first water line from Leeville to Grand Isle and, at the urging of project engineers, he expanded into the New Orleans area.

That launched a quarter century of work in subdivision development in south Louisiana. Among his projects are Bayou Estates in Stephensville, Lakeside in Morgan City and Oak Harbor on La. 70.

Doiron donated the property on which Stephensville Elementary stands.

FRANKLIN — A St. Mary Parish Council member on Wednesday made a plea for stricter security — even any security — at Parish Courthouse entrances.

Security turns out to be more complicated than just setting up metal detectors at the doors. The next step will be discussion among the courthouse agencies that would be affected.

Also at Wednesday’s regular meeting, the council once again put off action on ordinances that would remove stop signs at two Bayou Vista intersections. And the council approved a financing agreement that will pay for equipment to be used for improving parish roads, including small roads in rural areas.

Councilman the Rev. Craig Mathews of Jeanerette raised the concern about security, saying he knows of no other courthouses where people are allowed entry without some kind of security.

The courtroom area on the courthouse’s sixth floor is protected by a magnetometer as well as sheriff’s deputies, but there is no security at entrances or other portions of the interior.

Mathews expressed disbelief that St. Mary Parish isn’t providing more security for the sake of employees as well as the public.

“It’s even more unfortunate that we are this point in this building ... after so many attacks have been launched against the American people,” Mathews said.

People are “relying on us for their safety and security. ... We can say we’re concerned and express all the valid emotions we like. But actions speak louder than words.”

Parish President David Hanagriff responded by acknowledging Mathews’ concern. But the lack of security results not from indifference, Hanagriff said, but from the different authorities outside the council’s control that are housed in the courthouse, each with different ideas about security.

Those include the St Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, the 16th Judicial District Court, the District Attorney’s Office and the Clerk of Court’s Office.

“It’s not just about finances,” Hanagriff said. “It’s about logistics. ... Nothing’s happened because we couldn’t figure out what to do.”

Hanagriff suggested getting input from representatives of the courthouse agencies and developing a plan. Councilman Dean Adams of Morgan City took it a step farther, saying all the agencies should get together to talk about their concerns.

On Dec. 12, an inmate at the courthouse for a legal proceeding died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after struggling with a deputy, Louisiana State Police said.

Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange said plans are underway to modify the inmate waiting area in response to the incident.

Stop signs

A final vote on two ordinances involving Bayou Vista stop signs was put off for the second time when their sponsor, Councilman Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista, was absent for health reasons.

One ordinance would remove two stop signs from Jupiter Street at what is now a three-way stop at Columbus Street. The second ordinance would remove stop signs from Universe Road at what is now a four-way stop at Saturn Road.

The stop signs on Saturn and Columbus would remain.

Ramsey said the signs to be removed interrupt traffic and even encourage noncompliance by drivers.

Opponents have argued that the stop signs protect elderly people and children who live nearby.

Former Councilman Glen Hidalgo submitted a written objection for the public hearing scheduled for Wednesday. He encouraged council members to think how they’ll feel if an accident happens at one of those intersections.

Adams agreed.

“Take that stop sign down and there’s an accident, someone backing out of their driveway — I don’t want any part of that,” Adams said.

Roads

The council authorized Hanagriff to enter a lease- purchase agreement with Government Capital Corp. to buy an Asphalt Zipper and an asphalt distribution truck.

The Zipper can scrape up a 6-foot patch of old asphalt on the front end, crush it and lay the material back on the road. There the material can be covered with asphalt from the distribution truck.

The champion for this purchase was Councilman Rodney Olander, who has been urging parish officials to get the equipment for two years.

“Having these two pieces of equipment, we’ll be able to go in on the smaller parish roads,” Olander said.

The equipment is expected to cost about $437,000.