RSS Feed

(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 arrests on heroin and methamphetamine charges Tuesday, while Berwick police say they arrested four people who took part in a phony-check scheme.

Morgan City

Interim Police Chief Mark E. Griffin Jr. reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 47 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests:

—Christopher George, 24, North Ninth Street, Slidell, was arrested at 5:41 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, hit-and-run driving and driving under suspension.

—Sable Leal, 32, Bayou Black, Gibson, was arrested at 10:33 p.m. Tuesday on charges of possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.

—Denise Garrett Givens, 44, Fourth Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 5:11 a.m. Wednesday on charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of MDMA, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of uniform controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone).

—Patrick E. Arabie, 53, Egle Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday on charges of violation of a protective order (fourth offense).

—Heaven Leigh Daigle, 20, Bush Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 3:40 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of simple battery.

—Stephanie Monique Majarrez, 20, Railroad Avenue, was arrested at 4:08 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of failure appear to pay fines (6th Ward Morgan City Court).

Berwick

Police Chief David Leonard Sr. reported these arrests:

—Ashley D. Gross, 39, Fourth Street, Berwick, was arrested at 8:36 a.m. Tuesday on charges of criminal con-spiracy, bank fraud, theft (under $1,000) and attempted theft (under $1,000).

—Jeffry Gross, 39, Fourth Street, Berwick, was arrested at 11:43 a.m. Tuesday on charges of criminal conspiracy, bank fraud, theft (under $1,000) and attempted theft (under $1,000).

—Robert Burke, Sr., 59, Church Street, Patterson, was arrested at 11:43 a.m. Tuesday on charges of criminal conspiracy, bank fraud, theft (under $1,000) and attempted theft (under $1,000).

—Lisa Fontenot, 57, River Road, Berwick, was arrested at 2:01 p.m. Tuesday on charges of criminal conspiracy, bank fraud, theft (under $1,000) and attempted theft (under $1,000).

On Aug. 23, the Berwick Police Department began an investigation into a bank fraud complaint from a local bank. Through investigation, detectives determined that a check-writing scheme was arranged in which Fontenot wrote checks from a closed bank account, and Burke, Jeffry Gross, and Ashley Gross would go to the bank to cash the check.

After the check was cashed, each participant received an undisclosed amount of money. Video evidence and witness statements were obtained that corroborated the scheme.

All suspects were brought in for interviews, and all suspects admitted to their involvement in the matter. Following the interviews, warrants were prepared for their arrest and on Tuesday, all suspects were located and arrested.

Ashley Gross was already incarcerated in the Berwick Jail on unrelated charges; Jeffry Gross and Burke were incarcerated in the Morgan City Jail on unrelated charges; and Fontenot was located at her residence and taken into custody.

All subjects were processed at the Berwick Police Department where they remain in jail with no bond set at this time.

St. Mary

Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 30 complaints and made these arrests:

—Donald Ray Navy Jr., 33, Franklin, was arrested at 5:41 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant alleging failure to appear on the charge of resisting an officer. Bail was set at $2,600.

—Titus Jermaine Guilbeaux, 30, Franklin, was arrested at 2:27 p.m. Tuesday on three warrants alleging failure to appear on charges of criminal neglect of family, resisting an officer, unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, flight from an officer and no seat belt.

Guilbeaux was released on a $4,000 bond.

Patterson

Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported these arrests:

—Latifha R.S. Friels, 20, Fifth Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:36 a.m. Tuesday on charges of speeding 45 mph in a 35 mph zone and no driver’s license. Friels was incarcerated at the Patterson PD Jail with bond set at $536.

—David W. Boyd, 51, Prudent Lane, Houston, was arrested at 1:44 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of theft. Boyd is incarcerated at the Patterson PD Jail with bond set at $476.

—Zachary V. Phathong, 32, Bodeau Loop, Bossier City, was arrested Wednesday on a charge speeding 80 mph in a 55 mph zone and careless operation. Phathong was issued a summons.

Franklin

Police Chief Morris Beverly reported that the Franklin Police Department responded to 11 complaints over the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests:

—Linda Landry, 20, Sterling Road, Franklin, was at 12:23 p.m. Tuesday on a warrant dated Aug. 19 alleging theft. Landry was booked, processed and released to appear in 3rd Ward City Court.

—Jaybrioanna Hunter, 27, Cedar Street, Franklin, was arrested at 5 p.m. Tuesday on a 3rd Ward City Court warrant alleging to appear on a charge of possession of marijuana. Hunter was booked, processed and held on a $478.45 bond.

—Carissa Broussard, 38, Wilfred Street, Franklin, was arrested at 12:23 a.m. Wednesday on a warrant dated Aug. 29 alleging theft. Broussard was booked, processed and held on a $1,500 bond.

Louisiana continues to shift away from coal-fired power generation to renewable sources that can be intermittent during peak use times.

Cleco Power and D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments LLC announced a plan in August to build a 240-megawatt solar plant on the site of a former coal-fired plant Cleco retired last year, enough to power about 45,000 homes.

Cleco expects the $250 million Dolet Hills Solar Project to begin providing power in 2025 through the existing grid connection, which previously supplied 650 megawatts from the former Mansfield lignite plant.

“This solar project is another step forward in Cleco’s journey to becoming Louisiana’s leading clean energy company,” Bill Fontenot, CEO of Cleco Corporate Holdings, said in the news release.

“This project continues our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint while affordably and reliably serving our customers.”

The change is expected to boost Cleco’s reliance on renewable sources, which comprised only 2% of the company’s power in 2021, compared to 55% generated from natural gas.

The August announcement follows an agreement between Shaw and Southwestern Electric Power Co. to buy power from Shaw’s 72.5 megawatt solar farm in Caddo Parish that is scheduled to come online in late 2024, The Associated Press reports.

In total, Shaw’s Louisiana portfolio will increase to a total of nearly 700 megawatts in construction and contracted “clean power” with the two projects.

The solar project in DeSoto Parish is part of what Fontenot calls “a renewed focus on sustainability and the establishment of Environmental, Social and Governance goals to help preserve our natural environment.”

“To protect the environment, we plan to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by incorporating renewable energy resources into our generating fleet, as we replace coal-fired generation units retired after serving their useful life,” he wrote on the company’s website. “Our target is to sustainably reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 60 percent by 2030 with aspirations of net-zero emissions by 2050.”

The retirement of the Cleco coal plant in Mansfield now leaves only two coal plants in the state: the Entergy-owned Plant Nelson in Westlake and the Big Cajun 2 plant in New Roads that’s co-owned by Entergy and Cleco.

Entergy, meanwhile, is also investing heavily in solar and other renewable energies with 21 projects in service or development for Louisiana as of July 2022.

“Over the next three years, we plan to more than triple our existing renewable resources,” according to the company’s website. “To meet customer demand for clean energy capacity, we see the potential for up to 17 gigawatts of renewable energy generation in our portfolio by 2031.”

Entergy’s plans include 90 megawatts of solar projects expected to come online in 2022, 475 megawatts of solar projects pending in the regulatory approval process expected for 2024, and 2,100 megawatts of solar and wind projects for 2025 or 2026 currently awaiting requests for proposals.

It’s not very often that the ground is frozen solid on Belle Isle, the salt dome just a stone’s throw from the Gulf of Mexico. But it happened in 1962 — in the summertime, on purpose.

Cargill was trying to dig a shaft 16 feet wide into the dome, hoping to mine as much as 400,000 tons of salt each year. But the shaft had to pass through a 200-foot layer of “porous soil so saturated with subsurface water that ordinary excavation is ineffective,” according to a story in the Franklin newspaper. The soaked soil “threatened … constant flooding and cave-ins”

Cargill hired a bevy of engineers to come up with a solution, and they decided the easiest and cheapest thing to do was to turn the mess into ice.

“Freezing was accomplished by calcium chlorine brine at minus 33 degrees Fahrenheit [flowing through] an intricate network of steel tubing and casing set in 30 holes centered about the mine shaft and drilled 250 feet deep through the overburden,” according to the report.

“A two-stage 80-ton ammonia refrigeration system was installed at the job site to produce the sub-zero brine. The brine is circulated into the ground through a total of 7,500 feet of 2-inch steel tubing set inside another 7,500 feet of 6-inch steel casing. When the brine reaches the bottom of each freeze hole, it is returned to the surface through the casing for recirculation.” Permanent concrete lining kept the shaft from caving in once the ice thawed.

It was pioneering stuff, but not very glamorous, according to Frank Harrison, who superintended the frigid drilling operation.

“Because of the site’s remoteness, all construction equipment and supplies had to be barged in from Morgan City … through a maze of bayous, lakes and rivers where Jean Lafitte and other early-day buccaneers hid out between raids. …

"Mosquitoes and water moccasins abound, and the area, with 60 to 80 inches a year, has one of the country’s heaviest rainfalls,” according to the news story.

Harrison and his crew were not the first to brave these tribulations. The noted engineer Anthony Lucas tried to reach the Belle Isle salt in the 1890s, but the saturated layer was too much for him. He gave up because the shaft kept flooding.

The New Orleans Picayune described him back then as “an expert mining engineer, who for years has been identified with the salt mine discoveries of Louisiana.”

He’d already done work developing Avery Island and, about 1900, after the Belle Isle attempt, was hired by the brothers, Beverly and Frank Myles of New Orleans, “to superintend the sinking of the shaft and the erecting of the works necessary for the mining operation” at Weeks Island.

He didn’t stay there very long.

At least that was the claim in the lawsuit filed by the Myles Salt Co., charging that within a few days of getting to Weeks Island, Lucas “abandoned the contract, quit the service of the company, and left the island.”

Their suit was in response to one filed a week earlier by Lucas, claiming that the company owed him $5,000 in back pay.

Neither suit is very specific about the reasons for his departure. Rain, mosquitoes, and water moccasins weren’t so much the problem at Weeks Island.

And it is a bit less porous than Belle Isle, so it wasn’t for lack of a good two-stage 80-ton ammonia refrigeration system.

I suspect it was more likely tied to a trip he’d just made to Beaumont.

Lucas had developed a theory that salt and oil are likely to be found together, and had tested the idea in 1901 at the Anse le Butte dome near Breaux Bridge.

He found both oil and salt, but couldn’t get the backing to do anything with what he’d found.

He found backing for another try on his trip to Texas, and went back to Beaumont shortly after leaving Weeks Island.

That’s when he drilled the famous Spindletop oil well that touched off a frenzy in Texas and south Louisiana, launched the modern oil industry and made him rich.

It’s not clear whether the Myles brothers ever paid Lucas, but after Spindletop it didn’t matter.

They hired another engineer to open the Weeks Island mine, and made good money themselves.

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

The South has no reason for fall foliage envy. The traditional colors of autumn can be found in ornamental peppers — which can be planted into any sunny landscape to add spice and fall flair.
The typical fall colors are inspired by the seasonal changing of leaves as temperatures cool and days become shorter. The South never seems to get the dramatic color changes that more northern climates enjoy. But look closely when you see ornamental pepper plants, and you will find the traditional colors of orange, yellow, red and purple.
Ornamental peppers (Capsicum annuum) are grown for their colorful, and sometimes edible, peppers. They can be grown both outdoors as a cool-season annual in Louisiana and in containers that can brought indoors to overwinter.
Peppers produce small white flowers in late spring through summer when flowers give rise to brightly colored fruits of many shapes and sizes. Some varieties of ornamental peppers can be found in variegated forms while others produce multiple fruit colors on the same plant.
The growth habit of most peppers is mounded and upright, and they come in a range of fruit and foliage colors. They are especially striking when planted en masse and serve as an excellent border plant. Plants can be used in containers and work well as a filler.
For the most color and fruit production, plant in full to partial sun. Plants typically grow to an average height of 14 to 18 inches with a width of 12 to 14 inches. Space plants 8 to 10 inches apart in the landscape in most any type of soil with a slightly acidic pH of 5.5 to 6.0 for the best plants.
Ornamental peppers can be planted in late spring with plants lasting until the first killing frost. Peppers tolerate the summer heat well. However, garden centers offer transplants in spring and again in late summer through early fall for planting.
When planting in the spring, fertilize after planting and then again at a half rate in early to midsummer. When planting in mid- or late summer, fertilize just once at planting. Once established, peppers are drought tolerant. However, irrigation may be necessary during extended dry weather.
You can find many varieties of ornamental peppers, including Chilly Chili (an All-America Selection in 2002), Medusa and Red Missile. Chilly Chili has non-pungent fruit and reaches about a foot tall with a spread of 8 to 10 inches. Fruit color of Chilly Chili ornamental peppers changes from yellow to orange and matures at red. It is a personal favorite for its petite, colorful fruit.
The Explosive series includes Ember, Ignite and Blast. Ember has dark purple foliage on a 12- to 14-inch-tall plant with purplish-red fruit. Ignite only reaches 6 to 8 inches tall with fruit that changes from ivory white to greenish-yellow to orange-red and grows well in containers and hanging baskets because of its small size. Blast reaches 8 to 10 inches tall and has yellow-green fruit that changes to scarlet red. The fruits of these three are edible with medium-hot flavor.
Calico has beautiful foliage with leaves that are speckled in shades of green, creamy white and purple. The fruits are glossy black oblong peppers that mature to red. This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it is also valued for its edible qualities.
Another great purple variety is Purple Flash with dark purple foliage that is almost black. Fruit is small, round, glossy black, extremely hot and not recommended for eating.
Some of the other favorite recommendations from the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station are Black Hawk Hybrid, Hot Pops Purple and Midnight Fire and edible ornamental peppers Mad Hatter and Candy Cane Red.