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Morgan City police radio logs Oct. 5-6

Thu, 10/06/2022 - 3:33pm

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.
Wednesday, Oct. 5
7:44 a.m. Greenwood Overpass; Complaint.
8:03 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Theft.
8:19 a.m. 1400 block of Railroad Avenue; Complaint.
8:51 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Arrest.
10:31 a.m. U.S. 90 Westbound; Assistance.
11:39 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.
12:34 p.m. 3100 block of Wytchwood Drive; Criminal damage to property.
1:09 p.m. 900 block of Seventh Street; Disturbance.
2:20 p.m. Victor II Boulevard; Reckless operation.
2:24 p.m. 8100 block of La. 182; Complaint.
3:22 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Telephone harassment.
3:26 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Medical.
3:47 p.m. 1000 block of La. 70; Crash.
5:03 p.m. 200 block of Greenwood Street; Stand by.
5:13 p.m. 2400 block of Tiger Drive; Disturbance.
5:25 p.m. U.S. 90 Westbound; Arrest.
6:05 p.m. 300 block of Second Street; Intoxicated subject.
6:14 p.m. 600 block of Shannon Street; Criminal damage.
6:34 p.m. 300 block of Patton Street; Suspicious subject.
7:00 p.m. 100 block of Oak Street; Suspicious subject.
7:20 p.m. 400 block of Everett Street; Complaint.
8:21 p.m. 1200 block of David Drive; Alarm.
Thursday, Oct. 6
12:46 a.m. 500 block of Egle Street; Medical.
2:15 a.m. Front Street Wharf; Complaint.
2:38 a.m. 200 block of Franklin Street; Complaint.
5:01 a.m. 700 block of Fourth Street; Patrol request.

Morgan City police, parish deputies report drug arrests

Thu, 10/06/2022 - 3:07pm

Staff Report

(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 parish deputies arrested three people Wednesday and early Thursday on charges of possession with intent to distribute drugs.

Morgan City

Interim Chief Mark E. Griffin Jr. reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 38 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests:

--Tanisha Lashan Wilkerson, 46, Grace Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 3:53 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

--Verelyn Benjamin Cannon, 63, La. 182, was arrested at 3:54 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and transactions involving proceeds from controlled dangerous substance activity, and as a fugitive from the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office.

--Angie B. LaFleur, 42, Lajaunie Court, Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested at 9:42 a.m. Wednesday on charges of hit and run, registration required, no insurance, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, switched license plate, possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, criminal damage to property and driving under suspension.

--Hector Ruiz Santos, 41, Shivers Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 5:48 a.m. Wednesday on charges of no insurance and no driver’s license.

--Donzell Gaskins, 31, Apple Street, Morgan City, was arrested on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

St. Mary

Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff's Office responded to 38 complaints and made these arrests:

--Juvenile female, 15, Patterson, was arrested at 11:36 a.m. Wednesday on a warrant alleging simple battery. The juvenile female was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.

--Felicia Marie White, 47, Franklin, was arrested at 2:04 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant alleging failure to appear on the charges of remaining in places or on land after being forbidden, resisting an officer and resisting an officer by refusing to give identity. Bail has not been set.

--Camron Tyrese Charles, 23, Lafayette, was arrested at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday charges of maximum speed limit, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance.
Bail has not been set.

Patterson

Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported this arrest:

--Barbara B. Smith, 62, Leo Drive, Patterson, was arrested at 10:36 p.m. Wednesday on charges of operating a vehicle while suspended and improper lane usage. Smith was released on a summons.

Morgan City police radio logs for Oct. 4-5

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 12:09pm

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, Oct. 4
6:46 a.m. U.S. 90 West; Warrant.
7:15 a.m. 900 block of Marguerite Street; Vehicle accident.
7:31 a.m. Fourth near Arenz streets; Vehicle accident.
9:39 a.m. 600 block of General Patton Street; Animal complaint.
11:35 a.m. 1000 block of Ditch Avenue; Animal complaint.
12:22 p.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Complaint.
12:36 p.m. 1200 block of Victor II Boulevard; Theft of vehicle.
2:04 p.m. Horse Arena; Animal complaint.
2:12 p.m. 500 block of Barrow Street; Animal complaint.
3:48 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street ; Arrest.
4:12 p.m. 500 block of Barrow Street; Animal complaint.
4:47 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street ; Arrest.
5:14 p.m. 600 block of Louisa Street; Stand by.
5:45 p.m. 400 block of Canton Street, Berwick; Arrest.
6:38 p.m. 400 block of Bush Street; Complaint.
6:51 p.m. 300 block of Grizzaffi Street; Fight.
8:01 p.m. 1000 block of Belanger Street; Criminal damage.
8:24 p.m. 200 block of Brashear Avenue; Criminal damage.
9:42 p.m. Leona/Acorn streets; Suspicious person.
10:07 p.m. Fifth/Greenwood streets; Suspicious person.
10:16 p.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Juvenile problems.
10:18 p.m. Chester Bowles Street; Suspicious person.
11:02 p.m. 200 block of Third Street; Alarm.
Wednesday, Oct. 5
12:07 a.m. Lawrence Park; Suspicious person.
3:31 a.m. 200 block of Brashear Avenue; Complaint.

Theft, aggravated battery charges in local arrest reports

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 11:39am

(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 made another in a string of recent theft arrests Tuesday, and Franklin police picked up a man wanted by the parish on an identity theft charge.

Assumption Parish deputies arrested a Bayou L’Ourse woman accused of aggravated battery in a domestic incident.

Morgan City

Interim Police Chief Mark E. Griffin Jr. reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 30 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests:

--Jacquette Pillette, 54, Iberia Street, Franklin, was arrested at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday on two counts of theft (under $1,000) and as a fugitive from the Denham Springs Police Department.

--April Lynn Aucoin, 42, Cremo Lane, Patterson, was arrested at 5:10 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of failure to appear for arraignment (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

St. Mary

Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 24 complaints and made these arrests:

--Juvenile male, 16, Franklin, was arrested at 11:25 a.m. Tuesday on a charge of disturbing the peace (fighting). The juvenile was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.

--Dwayde Jarrel Hawkins, 32, Franklin, was arrested at 2:04 p.m. Tuesday on two warrants alleging failure to appear on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone), transactions involving proceeds from drug offense, illegal possession of stolen things and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Bail was set at $5,000.

--Juvenile male, 15, Franklin, was arrested at 2:06 p.m. on a charge of disturbing the peace (fighting). The juvenile male was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
Patterson

Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported this arrest:

--Brent E. Hayes, 64, William Street, Patterson, was arrested at 12:04 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace (intoxicated). Hayes is incarcerated at the Patterson PD Jail with bond set at $117.

Franklin

Police Chief Morris Beverly reported that the Franklin Police Department responded to 12 complaints over the last 24-hour reporting period and made this arrest:

--Chad Harris, 41, Collins Street, Baldwin, was arrested at 9:24 a.m. Tuesday on a warrant for St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office alleging identity theft. Harris was additionally arrested on the charge of resisting an officer by false information. Harris was booked, processed and transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.

Assumption

Sheriff Leland Falcon reported this arrest:

--Keelta Lasha Junifer, 31, of 146 Jamie Court, Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested Monday on charges of aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse battery (child endangerment).

The charges resulted from domestic incident early Monday in Bayou L’Ourse.

Deputies were dispatched to a Bayou L’Ourse address and made contact with Junifer, who advised that she and her domestic partner had an altercation that she termed verbal. At some point during the incident, the partner damaged property belonging to Junifer. The partner left the residence and was eventually located by Morgan City police.

Deputies continued their investigation and at the conclusion, filed criminal charges against Junifer. As a result of the investigation, deputies seized a knife believed to have caused injury to the victim.

Deputies also determined that at the time of this incident, two minor children were present.

Junifer was arrested and booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center with bond set at $175,000.

Around Town for Oct. 5

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 10:27am

Happy birthday Nina Fisher and Jack Lewis from family, friends and Ira.

Bret Allain: The cost of not rebranding Franklin Foundation

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 10:26am

State SEN. BRET ALLAIN

Since the announcement that Franklin Foundation Hospital will soon be known as Bayou Bend Health System, one of the main concerns raised has been the cost associated with the rebranding effort.

Not surprisingly, this is the same criticism that has been raised about the Wellness Center. The time has come to put these questions to rest.

Let’s tackle the new Wellness Center. The entire building project is being funded by federal and state funds with no new local taxes contemplated to operate the Wellness Center.

The federal funds come in the form of a match of our current tax dollars. Most importantly, Hospital Service District No. 1’s 14-mill property tax supports hospital operations; without this support, our critical access hospital could not survive

The federal government, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will match local tax dollars (2 to 1) to provide “greater access and improved healthcare” in an area.

The Board of Directors for HSD 1 has collected and saved these match dollars for eight years to utilize them on increasing services that improve the overall health of the community. A “cap” is in place on the amount of funds each state is allowed for these matches. Control of this cap rests mainly with the governor and the Legislature, and we were successful in getting this project included in the funding framework.

The bottom line on this project comes down to this: $22 million was going to be spent somewhere in Louisiana.

Hospital leadership, the Board, and senior leadership in the Legislature identified these funds and fought for Franklin to be in the conversation for where this money was going to be spent. Coming out on top is a huge win for St. Mary Parish and our surrounding communities. How long has it been since we’ve said St. Mary out-competed other parts of the state?

The Wellness Center will be operated with funds from profitable service lines that will be located in the facility, namely:
— Orthopedic and cardiology clinic
— Outpatient physical therapy
— Cardiopulmonary rehab
— Senior behavioral health
— Wellness testing

These specialties will make the Wellness Center more than just a “gym.”

The services above, by covering the overhead to operate the facility, will allow the fitness center to be scaled and expanded appropriately through memberships so that it doesn’t become a cost burden.

In other words, these services will fund the fitness center, not the other way around.

These new, state-of-the-art spaces have the potential to be anchors for our community. They will provide meeting and conference rooms where outside groups can gather along with in-house education seminars focused on topics such as health and wellness, breast and prostate cancer, disease processes, and many more. If our community chooses to support this endeavor, the sky’s the limit in terms of what this new facility can offer.

Our support will determine how big or small the impact to our community will be.

Remaining competitive in an ever-changing healthcare landscape has become more difficult over the last decade, particularly since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020.

Critical Access Hospitals like ours are closing in record numbers, and many are relying solely on CARES Act funding to stay afloat.

Even more are being sucked into huge health systems, pulling care out of the community. If our hospital is going to remain open and independent, it must remain competitive in this environment.

Rebranding to Bayou Bend Health System allows us to do that.

The new name is representative of the growing and evolving scope of services we provide, and it more fully encompasses all of the communities in our service district.

We want everyone in St. Mary Parish, no matter what bend of the bayou you hail — from Ricohoc to Jeanerette and everywhere in between — to feel comfortable getting the care they need in Franklin.

Some people may be thinking, "What does this have to do with the cost of the rebrand?"

The short answer is everything.

Most costs associated with this rebrand will come from changing signage, a portion of which was already budgeted for the monument sign at the Wellness Center.

The rest of the costs are setup fees required to change digital assets and replace paper goods.

The fact of the matter is that the cost of this rebrand will be covered exponentially if our community continues to support us in our efforts to remain competitive.

The goal of this rebrand is to get people in the door. The facility itself is going to engage the curiosity of a lot of people.

When people visit the center for the first time, the idea is that something that seems minor — a wellness test — can begin a relationship that leads to a patient utilizing the hospital for a wide variety of services.

Engaging people in new ways with a quality product will go a long way towards convincing people to use and trust local healthcare.

What Bayou Bend Health System aims to be is a place to get your basic healthcare needs met with a focus on early detection and prevention.

Why travel when good, quality care is just around the corner?

If Bayou Bend can satisfy general medicine needs, in addition to basic specialties such as orthopedics, basic cardiology, physical therapy, and general surgery, our facility will have done its job.

State Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, is also a member of the St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 board.

Jim Bradshaw: The other story about Mowata's name

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 10:23am

JIM BRADSHAW

A few weeks ago, I reported the oft-told story that the Mowata community in Acadia Parish got its name because nobody could find a board long enough to print the original name of Morewater.

I have long suspected that the story was suspect, but had never heard anything to contradict it. Erich and Kathryn Loewer have heard another version, and it seems a lot more likely.

They say the area was known as Mowata long before the railroad even thought about crossing the Acadia prairie and that it was named for a band of Mowata Indians that had been forced out of Alabama, maybe at the same time as the Coushatta, probably later.

The Coushatta (known as Koasati in their native language) came here after the Treaty of 1763 ended the war between France and England that, among other things, had been the excuse for the Acadian exile.

Under that treaty, the French, who first settled in 1699 in the Mobile area, gave England all of its territory east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans.

As a result, French families such as Fontenot, LaGrange, Brignac, Bonin, and others decided to move across the Mississippi into French Louisiana. The Coushattas had been friendly with the French, and they were also pressured to move from the territory now held by England.

In 1797, the influential Coushatta chief Stilapihkachatta (Red Shoes), led 400 followers across the river, and another 450 Coushattas joined them in the spring of 1804.

Over the next several decades, the Coushattas moved their villages from place to place near the Red, Sabine, and Trinity rivers, until, finally, in the 1880s, they used homestead laws to establish a community at Bayou Blue in Allen Parish, three miles north of Elton.

It’s not perfectly clear how or when the Mowata band became associated with them, apparently briefly and in small numbers. The Mowata are not mentioned by Fred B. Kniffen, who did voluminous research on the historic Indian tribes of Louisiana.

They were apparently a small band allied with the Choctaws who hid in the woods in Alabama to avoid removal with other tribes to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in the 1800s.

They may have come here after the Civil War. According to one history, they “remained in the forest until the mid-1880s, when northern timber companies moved into the area to exploit Alabama’s abundant pine forests. Discovering that Indian families lived there, lumber company officials enlisted the aid of L. W. McRae, a state senator … [who] knew the people were Choctaws, but he wanted to bring industry to the region and use them as a source of cheap labor. To facilitate the acquisition of land, he suggested calling them ‘Cajuns,’ believing that the Choctaws looked like the descendants of French-speaking Louisiana Acadians. Given this new ‘Cajun’ identity, the Indian population was included in the U.S. Census, made to pay taxes.”

There doesn’t seem to have been any connection between the Mowatas and the real Cajuns, but, according to the Loewers, a small band called Mowata seems to have been established in the area of the old Jones plantation (the area around the present Mowata community) by the time Erich Loewer’s family emigrated to the area in the early 1900s.

“My family (Loewer and Bieber) migrated from Germany in 1905. Some of us still own land that was originally part of the Jones Farm,” he writes.

“Several years ago, we were visiting with some elderly neighbors, Rae and Bruce Faulk. She told us how her grandfather on occasion had to ride his horse through the area inhabited by the Mowata Indian Tribe. He was fearful and tried to look straight ahead, not too much to the left or the right. Rae was a Reed, and if I recall right, her grandfather was also a Reed.”

Kathryn Loewer writes, “I can add a bit more detail from the conversation with Mrs. Rae. The Mowata Indians were eventually relocated to the Coushatta Reservation but they did not exactly get along with them — some drama over an Indian princess. …. I do believe the train did stop there for water, but the area was known as Mowata before the railroad came.”

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

Senator: Small hospitals must get patients to get funding

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 10:13am

A new method for federal health care funding will force small, rural attract more patients if they want to keep pace, state Sen. Bret Allain told the St. Mary Parish Council on Sept. 28.

“If you don’t have the volume, if [patients] go elsewhere, so will the money,” Allain, R-Franklin, told the council.

The senator spoke during the public comment portion of the regular council meeting. He began with a defense against what he said were accusations that he was opposing an appointment to the St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 board.

Allain, who sits on that board, denied that he was opposing the appointment.

And then he talked about the challenges facing small, rural hospitals, including Franklin Foundation Hospital, which is being renamed the Bayou Bend Health System, and Morgan City’s Ochsner St. Mary.

He’s not alone in sounding the warning. A Chartis Center for Rural Health analysis says hospitals will begin to fail after federal COVID funding expires next year. The analysis says 453 rural hospitals, a quarter of the total, are vulnerable.

Rural hospitals serve populations that tend to be older, sicker and poorer and have less access to other health care services than people in metro areas, the analysis said.

Since 2010, according to the Poynter Institute, 138 rural hospitals have closed.

The federal funding landscape also will play a role in small hospital survival, according to Allain.

He called the 2014 expansion of Medicaid, part of the Obamacare legislation, a “game changer” because it allowed Medicaid recipients to seek care at a wider range of facilities.

Now federal health care funding is being changed so that it no longer bases payments to hospitals on the number of low-income patients they have served historically. Instead, Allain said, the funding will follow the patients.

So small hospitals will have to compete for patients in order to secure their federal funding, he said.

That’s one motivation behind the recent rebranding at Franklin Foundation Hospital.

The Franklin hospital is also the site for a new $19 million, 60,000- square-foot Wellness Center.

The focus there will be on exercise and therapy to prevent more serious conditions, saving money that would otherwise be spent on more expensive care.

The project is being financed with state and federal grants. Allain has said in the past that experts will be watching the Wellness Center to see if spending more Medicaid funds on preventive care will be an effective use of the money.

Get It Growing: Fall flowers for hummingbirds

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 8:55am

By HEATHER KIRK-BALLARD, LSU AgCenter Horticulturist

Take a look around and you’ll see that many flowering perennials are beginning their fall bloom. One of the greatest admirers of these plants is the hummingbird, along with other pollinators.
This is good news for the hummingbirds as they prepare for their fall migration to warmer climates in Central America. You may see a few stopping to refuel on their migration this month and into early October. If the food is plentiful, some hummingbirds overwinter in southeastern coastal states such as ours.
Many flowers produce a sugary fluid called nectar to encourage pollination by insects and other animals. This is what bees use to make honey. It consists of a water solution of sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucrose along with other nutrients. Some plants are better producers than others.
Hummingbirds need more than nectar to survive, however. They also need protein that they get from eating small insects such as fruit flies, gnats and mosquitos, and luckily these insects also live on the plants that grow in our landscapes.
If you want to enjoy more hummingbirds and supply delicious food for them, you can do so by incorporating more flowering plants that produce nectar into your landscape. Many of those plant species are perennials that come back year after year, meaning they become a semipermanent fixture in your garden and landscape and will lure the hummingbirds back each year.
Hummingbirds are especially attracted to tubular-shaped flowers with vibrant colors. The color red is especially enticing. Many perennial bedding plants and flowering shrubs and trees offer excellent nectar sources for hummingbirds.
Some excellent flowering plants for hummingbirds are sages such as anise, pineapple and scarlet sages in addition to flowering maple (Abutilon sp.) and firebush (Hamelia patens). These in particular have ample nectar.
Some other recommended plants are agastache (Agastache sp.), catmint (Nepeta sp.), cry-baby tree (Erythrina crista-galli), bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), firecracker plant (Cuphea ‘Vermillionaire’), firecracker vine (Manettia cordifolid), gingers (Hedychium sp.), red hot poker (Kniphofia), red canna lily (Canna coccinea), salvias (any species) and shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeeana).
Natives are always an excellent option. Some natives to incorporate are bee balm (Monarda bradburiana), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), coral bean (Erythrina herbacea), coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), copper iris (Iris fulva), cross vine (Bignonia carpreolata), cupheas, firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis), penstemon (Penstemon sps), trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) and Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus “Drummondii”).
Hummingbirds that decide to overwinter in your landscape will need protection in the wintertime, so be sure to offer evergreen shrubs and trees such as arborvitae, camellias, hollies, inkberry, junipers, magnolias, red bay, sweet olives and viburnum where they can nest during colder temperatures. Many folks recommend taking down hummingbird feeders during the fall to encourage hummingbirds to carry on with their migration.
Plants can be added to any landscape to provide ecosystem services to wildlife. When the hummingbirds have moved on, several other important pollinators — including bats — will continue to benefit from your landscape. Help support our wildlife friends with plants that add aesthetic beauty to your landscape and provide habitat and food for them.
An excellent resource on the subject of feeding birds is the book “Attracting Birds to Southern Gardens” by Thomas Pope, Charles Fryling Jr. and the late Neil Odenwald. In addition, the Baton Rouge Audubon society (braudubon.org) and Audubon society (audubon.org) offer a wealth of useful information.

Niece keeps secret life hidden from her mother

Wed, 10/05/2022 - 8:53am

By Jeanne Phillips, ©United Features Syndicate

DEAR ABBY: My niece, “Amanda,” is 19 and fairly close with my daughter “Hayley,” who is 18. Since graduating from high school and through her first year away at college, Amanda has been going out of town to meet men she meets online. Amanda shares her location with Hayley through Snapchat “in case something happens.” My niece is doing this without letting anyone (other than Hayley) know and often uses my daughter as a cover to her parents.
These aren’t just dinner dates, but usually weekends away from home. Hayley always tells me when Amanda is away. We are both concerned about her behavior, as human trafficking is very real. I have tried talking to Amanda about it, but she insists she’s safe and knows what she is doing. My question is, should I tell my sister (her mom) or not? They don’t really get along, and this will surely make things worse.
AFRAID FOR HER IN IDAHO

DEAR AFRAID: Amanda is playing with fire. If your daughter were walking on a ledge 20 stories above the sidewalk, thinking “she knows what she’s doing,” wouldn’t you want to be notified? Her father should be tipped off as well if he’s in the picture. Someone needs to get through to that girl, who seems determined to put herself in harm’s way.

DEAR ABBY: I am a 60-year-old female. Over the past 10 years, people have increasingly been calling me “Sir” in public. I hate it. I go to the salon to get my hair and brows done and wear feminine attire and shoes. I usually carry a purse, but not always. I have an athletic build, and I do wear T-shirts often (I taught physical education for 30 years). My response is, “My name is ‘Susan.’”
Do you have any other suggestions? It’s making me crazy. This has been going on too long. Today when it happened, I had been ready to make a purchase, but instead walked out of a furniture store because I was so offended. Their loss.
ALL WOMAN IN THE SOUTH

DEAR ALL WOMAN: You are handling these comments as adeptly as possible. The person who addresses you as the wrong gender should be rightly embarrassed when you respond that your name is Susan. Leaving a store rather than making an expensive purchase was also the right thing to do. You should not have to change your appearance if you don’t wish to. You know who you are. Try handling the comments with humor and see if that works better.

DEAR ABBY: My aging father lives hundreds of miles away from me. I try to call him every day, but it feels like my calls are not welcome. I am the only person he has contact with other than his caregivers. Should I keep trying or give up?
DISCOURAGED DAUGHTER IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR DAUGHTER: Do not give up. Is this normal behavior on your father’s part? If it isn’t, he should be examined by his doctor to ensure he hasn’t had a stroke or gone into a cognitive decline. It’s very important you know his health status as well as whether there have been other changes in his life that would account for his behavior. Pay him a visit, if that’s possible. I cannot stress this too strongly.
***
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in “What Every Teen Should Know.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.