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Chester Gregory will bring his high-energy tribute to the musical legacy of Jackie Wilson in a concert Jan. 30 at Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.

Gregory will perform at 7 p.m. as part of the Morgan City Live (Morgan City Concert Association) subscription season.

Tickets for the single concert are $25 for adults and $5 for K-12 students.

Subscriptions are also available for the remaining four concerts of the six-show season.

Tickets are available at https://morgancitylive.com/tickets/

The New York Times described Gregory’s performance as a “a show of such physical and vocal dexterity. …”

Gregory’s show pays tribute to Wilson and the artists he influenced.

Gregory is also an award-winning actor.

He made his Broadway debut in “Hairspray” and performed in many more productions including the leading role of Berry Gordy in the hit show “Motown the Musical.”

The remaining concerts in the 2022-23 season are:

--Vinyl Radio, 7 p.m. March 6. Vinyl Radio performs from the Eagles, America, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, The Doobie Brothers and more.
--Hi Tide, 7 p.m. March 30. Hi Tide is an acoustic duo from the Cayman Islands, Shane Allenger and Sean Hennings. Their program is a mix of pop classic covers showered in island influence.
--Hits & Grins, 7 p.m. April 20. The group features Features Grammy-nominated songwriters and a Country Radio Broadcast Hall-of-Famer and performs songs originally penned for country royalty like George Strait, Joe Nichols, Ray Stevens, Alabama and more,

Terrebonne General Health System has named Alison Bergeron, FNP. as the primary provider for the Multispecialty Clinic in Gray.

Bergeron will offer both virtual and Humana Wellness visits. There with other specialists, she can treat a wide variety of health-related problems, such as annual physical exams, care for ongoing problems, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and other medical issues, and short-term illness, such as colds, flu, ear infections or rashes, flu shots, allergy injections, immunizations, lab tests, physical exams for student-athletes, and preventative care.

Bergeron obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Nicholls State University. She then completed her Masters of Science in Nursing and Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program at LSU Health Science Center. Bergeron has been a family nurse practitioner for nine years with a total of 15 years of clinical experience.

The Multispecialty Clinic is located at 115 Eureka Drive, Gray, and has expanded hours of operation to Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Same-day appointments are available. Walk-ins welcome. To schedule an appointment, call (985) 873-4729 or visit tghealthsystem.com.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved permits lastweek for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project, capping off a six year environmental review process.
Construction of the project, which will divert sediment into the Barataria Basin impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, could begin next year, if funding is approved by the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group.

"Today is a monumental day for the state of Louisiana," Gov. John Bel Edwards said.

"The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is a first-of-its-kind environmental infrastructure project that will exist in our own backyard to serve areas experiencing some of the highest rates of land loss in the world.

"The project also represents a major step forward to restoring for injuries suffered by our coastal estuaries as a result of the Deepwater oil spill," he said. "Communities we feared could be removed from the map in 50 years will instead see thousands of acres of wetlands in the future that will provide them with natural and sustainable protection."

The project uses "engineering with nature" principles to reestablish a consistent flow of sediment from the Mississippi River to the Barataria Basin, eventually helping to build and sustain up to 26,000 acres of wetlands to the estuary. The wetlands will create a buffer for storm surge protection for communities in southeast Louisiana, while improving habitats for aquatic species and wildlife.

State officials also pointed to the economic benefits construction will bring to surrounding communities.
Chip Kline, chairman of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, contends the USACE approval on Monday "represents a turning point in the story of Louisiana’s coast."

"The greenlight on this project moves us closer to finally implementing a critical component of the solution to our land loss crisis that science has pointed us to for decades — using the land-building power of the Mississippi River to sustainably build and maintain land," he said. "It unlocks our ability to use every tool in the toolbox, making our approach to coastal restoration and protection efforts stronger, more effective, and more innovative than ever before."

The CPRA plans to use settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for the $2.5 billion project, and have applied to the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group tasked with allocating the settlement funds.

The implementation group, composed of state and federal agencies, is expected to publish a Record of Decision on the funding in early 2023, according to Edwards’ announcement.

If approved, construction for the project and mitigation measures would start next year.

The USACE permit process began in 2016 with an extensive environmental review of potential beneficial and adverse impacts, which included assessments of salinity patterns and land building potential, as well as economic benefits and construction noise.

The review also compared the benefits and drawbacks with other alternatives and to basin conditions in the future without the project. A draft Environmental Impact Statement was published for public comment in March 2021, and a final version was published in September.

"This validates the work of hundreds of the brightest engineers and scientists from across the world who developed a project informed by sound science.

"It also represents immense progress on a project that will drastically change the outlook of coastal Louisiana for the better," said CPRA Executive Director Bren Haase. "Throughout this extensive process, CPRA remained committed to transparency and ensuring the public had access to meaningful information as it became available.

"We will continue working with communities, industries, and stakeholders to minimize or mitigate negative impacts in the short term while we build a cornerstone project that will protect and sustain them in perpetuity."

The wire services reported the sorry news on Dec. 19, 1914. Pope Benedict I had worked for a Christmas truce to at least interrupt fighting during World War I, but unsuccessfully.

“The efforts of the pontiff unfortunately failed, owing to the opposition of a certain power,” according to the report. Germany agreed to the truce but “Russia has declined.”

But then something amazing happened. Ordinary soldiers took things into their own hands.

On Christmas Eve, German and British soldiers quit shooting at each other and began singing carols across the lines.

The idea may have started when some Germans sent a chocolate cake to the British facing them, along with a note proposing a cease-fire and a concert.

Some accounts say the truce began when one soldier simply took it upon himself to declare it.

According to a letter written on Christmas day by British Gen. Walter Congreve, the day dawned amid “sharp frost and fog.”

But as the mist rose, so also began “an extraordinary state of affairs. … A German shouted out that they wanted a day’s truce,” and asked if a British soldier would come out if he did. “Very cautiously,” the general wrote, “one of our men lifted himself above the parapet and saw a German doing the same.”

Other German soldiers began to climb out of their trenches, calling out “Merry Christmas,” and to walk across the no-man’s-land — in some places no more than 30 yards wide — that separated the two sides.

Wary British soldiers thought at first that it was a trick, but when they saw that the Germans were carrying no weapons, they also put down their rifles and walked across to exchange cigarettes, share plum pudding, take photos together, sing carols and even to start an impromptu soccer match.

By mid-morning the festive spirit had spread along the entire 27-mile length of the British line.

British soldier Frank Richards wrote home: “On Christmas morning we stuck up a board with ‘A Merry Christmas’ on it. The enemy had stuck up a similar one. Platoons would sometimes [leave the trenches] for twenty-four hours’ rest … and my platoon had gone out … the night before, but a few of us stayed behind to see what would happen. Two of our men then threw their equipment off and jumped on the parapet with their hands above their heads. Two of the Germans done the same and commenced to walk up the river bank, our two men going to meet them. They met and shook hands and then we all got out of the trench.

“The German Company-Commander asked [the British commander] if he would accept a couple of barrels of beer and assured him that they would not make his men drunk,” Richards continued. “He accepted the offer … and a couple of their men rolled the barrels over and we took them into our trench. The German officer sent one of his men back to the trench, who appeared shortly after carrying a tray with bottles and glasses on it. Officers of both sides clinked glasses and drunk one another’s health.

“The two barrels of beer were drunk, and the German officer was right: if it was possible for a man to have drunk the two barrels himself he would have bursted before he had got drunk. French beer was rotten stuff.”

In some places, the truce lasted into the new year, but in most places the guns were silent only for a day. The general described how one day the enemies had been “shooting away” at each other, the next day playing soccer, then the next day “shooting each other” again.

The Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war; atrocities such as the use of poison gas had not yet been heard of.

Some historians say such a cease-fire could not have happened later, that it was one of the last examples of chivalry between enemies in warfare.

Some others say the whole affair has been overly romanticized over the years.

But Christmas 1914 was unforgettable to men like Richards who were involved. One soldier wrote, “It will be a Christmastime to live in our memory.” Another said “the recollection of it will ever be one of imperishable beauty.”

The soldier who got it closest to right said: “All this talk of hate, all this fury at each other that has raged since the beginning of the war … was quelled … by the magic of Christmas.”

You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.