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James Kelly Jr. has served with the Army everywhere from Hawaii to Afghanistan. For his promotion ceremony, Kelly came home to Morgan City.

The ceremony Saturday marked the promotion of Kelly, a 2001 Morgan City High graduate, to lieutenant colonel.

One of Kelly’s mentors, Col. Ryan Kendall of the Army Futures and Concepts Command, administered the oath at the St. Mary Senior Citizens Center. Two proud parents, Rosalie and James Kelly Sr., pinned the insignia on the new lieutenant colonel’s uniform.

“I’m so proud he’s my son,” his mother said.

“Keep on doing what you’re doing,” James Sr. said. “I love you, and that’s all I’ve got to say.”

“We don’t have many of these in Morgan City,” City Councilman Ron Bias said. “But it will certainly go down in history. ...

“You are our shining star, and we love you.”

“It took a lot of work,” said Kelly’s uncle, the Rev. Charlie Kelly, “it took a lot of time, but most of all it took a lot of love.”

Kelly told the audience of about 70 people that at Morgan City High, he shied away from sports.

“I hated PE,” he said.

But he found a pursuit he enjoyed in the school’s JROTC program, and eventually earned an ROTC scholarship at Southern University. He counts his four years in JROTC and ROTC as part of a 25-year military career.

Kelly went on to become an Army aviator qualified to fly three types of helicopters, including the workhorse UH-60 Blackhawk.

Kelly served three tours in Afghanistan. He’s currently assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Along the way, he became a bodybuilder and is the 2022 Men’s Masters Physique champion in the 2022 Mr. America competition.

Kendall, himself an AH-64 Apache pilot, said that during his service in Hawaii 2017-19, Kelly handled some of the most challenging missions in the Pacific zone. One colleague described him as “humble, respectful and honorable.”

“He drove to come back here,” Kendall said. “It says a lot about the community. It says a lot about James. ...

“All of you played a small role or a large role over time in making James what he is.”

For the last few months, St. Mary Parish Councilman J Ina has been putting forward ideas for changes in parish government. Three of those ideas failed narrowly Oct. 26.

Three Ina ordinances, two proposing changes in the district set-up from which members are elected and one to raise council members’ pay, drew seven yes votes each from the 11-member council. But because those ordinances proposed charter amendment elections, they required eight votes for passage.

One of the proposed ordinances would have changed the parish’s system of at-large district representation.

Currently, eight council members are elected by voters in their geographic districts. Three more represent what are called at-large districts — District 9 from west St. Mary to the Calumet Cut, District 10 in most of the area between the cut and the Atchafalaya River, and District 11 in portions of Berwick and all of the parish east of the river.

Members elected from the at-large districts have to live there, but each is elected by voters parishwide. The council chairmanship and vice chairmanship are limited by the charter to at-large members.

The other district ordinance proposed an alternative in which all 11 members would be elected from geographic districts where they live with no at-large members. Ina noted that the 11 single-member districts from which School Board members are elected include four with African American majorities.

Ina, of Franklin, has argued for greater opportunities for minority representation on the council. He noted again at the Oct. 26 meeting that while 32% of the parish’s population is black, only two of the 11 districts have African American majorities.

Each has elected an African American member, Ina and the Rev. Craig Mathews of Jeanerette.

“This would be an opportunity to increase the black vote on the council ...,” Ina said. “This is good for the parish. This is a way to move forward.”

Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista voted for both ordinances, but not without reservation.

“I look forward to the day we get past all this black and white stuff and we treat each other as neighbors,” Ramsey said.

“Unfortunately,” Mathews said, “the real world we live in is black and white.”

Councilman Patrick Hebert had another reason for changing the at-large system. He said a candidate for the at-large district that includes Berwick would have to campaign parishwide. Council members should be elected only by the people they represent, he said.

“I think the people ought to vote on this,” said Councilman Mark Duhon of Amelia on the ordinance that keeps but changes the at-large system.

The vote on both ordinances was 7-2, with members Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink and Rodney Olander absent. Both fell short of the required super majority.

Also Oct. 26, Ina’s proposed charter amendment on council pay failed by a.7-2 affirmative vote. The proposal would have raised council compensation to the average of municipal council pay in the parish.

The current council compensation is $450 per member per month and has been unchanged since the charter took effect in 1984.

Councilman James Bennett of Morgan City objected.

He said any pay raises should go to parish government employees who cut the grass, clean the halls and perform the other functions that keep the parish going.

Mathews noted that the raise wouldn’t take effect until the next council is seated in 2024. And he framed the issue as a question of fairness. More pay makes it more possible for more people to serve on the council, he said.

“This charter was designed to that a select demographic would be elected to serve in these positions,” Mathews said. “We are no longer living in that time.”

Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard came to the public comment lectern to say that the at-large council member in Franklin makes $850 per month, and other council members make $800 per month.

A proposed charter amendment opening council leadership positions to any member is on the Dec. 10 ballot.

The council has also passed an ordinance calling for a charter amendment election on whether to raise the parish president’s salary to the average salary of the parish’s five mayors.

The council hasn’t passed the resolution to put that proposal to voters. It could appear on the ballot as early as March 25.

The council also:

—Passed a tougher noise ordinance. The parish’s ordinance had prohibited loud music or noise only from vehicles. The new ordinance makes loud music from any source that is audible from 50 feet subject to a fine of $50 to $500. The same penalties were in effect in the ordinance that was limited to vehicle music.

—Passed an ordinance removing the current requirement that the Atchafalaya Golf Course Commission submit its annual budget to the Parish Council for approval.

The requirement has been in effect since the commission was created in 2004. No other parish government subdivision is required to get council approval for its budget.

—Tabled a proposed ordinance that adds parks, playgrounds, libraries, daycare centers and detention facilities to the list of entities for which no liquor permits can be granted within 300 feet. The current list also includes only churches and schools.

Members sought legal counsel on whether the ordinance would affect existing businesses and whether it would prevent the rental of civic centers for events at which beer is served.

September 26, 1988 — October 23, 2022

Jeffrey Allen Holmes, age 34, of Stephensville, Louisiana passed away on Sunday, October 23, 2022. Jeffrey was born on September 26, 1988 to Kent and Janet Finley Holmes in Seattle, Washington. Jeffrey enjoyed riding his motorcycle, fishing and being with his family.

He leaves to cherish his loving memories to his son, Garret Holmes; parents, Kent and Janet Finley Holmes; sister, Ashley Holmes and a host of other relatives and friends.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hargravefuneralhome.com for the Holmes family.

Happy 17th birthday Maddox Pellerin, we love you, Reid, Douglas and Wesley … Happy birthday Paula Gautreaux from family and friends.