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The Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, vicar for Catholic charities in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and pastor of St. Bridget Catholic Church in Schriever, and Karen David, Catholic Charities Board chair and interim chief administrative officer, have been chosen as one of the seven Lumen Christi finalists from a group of 40 nominees.

The Lumen Christi Award is Catholic Extension’s highest honor, given to people "who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve," the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux said in a press release.

“These humble heroes of our Church are sources of hope for us and our country,” said Catholic Extension’s president, the Rev. Jack Wall.

Award finalists receive $10,000 to support and enhance their ministry. From among these finalists, the Lumen Christi Award recipient will ultimately be selected and given a $25,000 grant, along with an additional $25,000 grant for the nominating diocese.

Just after a week after Hurricane Ida damaged 75% of the diocese's properties on August 2021, the executive director position at Catholic Charities
Houma-Thibodaux became vacant.

Bishop Shelton Fabre (who since been named archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky) asked Engurait, a member of his senior leadership team, to serve
as interim director.

Engurait asked David, a retired senior executive at Johnson & Johnson, to serve as his right-hand officer. David, a longtime diocesan volunteer at the Catholic Community Center food bank and thrift store, refused compensation when offered the
role.

“This is a gift I can give to our community,” David said.

The 25th annual Marcus Jones/100 Black Men of St. Mary Parish 5K Run will be held at 8 a.m. Sept. 3 in downtown Morgan City.

Participants will start at Morgan City City Hall located at 512 First St. and wind their way through historic down-town before ending at Lawrence Park.

The race is named after Marcus Jones, 77, an avid runner. Funds raised will benefit the 100 Black Men’s scholarship fund. Scholarships are awarded to area students regardless of race, sex or religion.

Entry fee is $35. Race day entries will be at city hall. A link to the online registration form can be found at www.100blackmenofstmary.com.

Participants receive a race bib and finishers receive a commemorative race medal. T-shirts are guaranteed for the first 100 registrants.

Awards will go to the overall male and female finisher as well as the top three males and females in each age group.

In 2020, there were seven hunting-related incidents, according to Mitch Samaha, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Hunter Education Program Manager. Three of those incidents were fatalities.

However, when considering the number of hunting efforts, where licensed hunters go into the woods daily to hunt, most people will be surprised to learn that hunting is one of the safest sports activities that individuals can participate in.

Looking at the numbers, there were 5,691,400 hunting efforts estimated in Louisiana in 2020. Based on those efforts, when calculating what the possibility of injury was that year, it turns out to be a .00000123% chance.

It also turns out that hunting is much safer than football, basketball, golf and even badminton when looking at 2012, according to National Safety Council statistics.

Samaha, who has been teaching hunter education for 20 years, said, “Our goal is always zero incidents, but whenever you talk about hunting incidents, the first thing everybody automatically assumes is it has to be gun related. That is not what we’ve been seeing.

“We talk about this all of the time to our volunteer education instructors,” Samaha continued. “When other statistics jump out like tree stand accidents and other non-firearm related injuries that may cause hospitalization, you have to talk about them because that is our number one deal — to prevent all hunting-related accidents and injuries through hunter education.”

To be fair statistically, Samaha points out there may be some data that does go unaccounted. For example, firearm related incidents are required by law to be reported to police, therefore, never go unnoticed. By contrast, someone falling from a tree stand who sustained an injury and as a result was hospitalized may not report the incident.

Near miss falls are also problematic. Samaha asks the question, how many guys have fallen from tree stands and simply received a bump or a bruise, where only their pride was hurt?

Samaha said, “Deer hunting is a solitary sport and if you fall, there’s nobody there to see it happen. If a hunter is unconscious, or if their cell phone is in their backpack instead of on their person, or worse they are paralyzed, they’re going to sit there a very long time, until somebody realizes they’re not back from hunting.”

Samaha suggests and encourages hunters develop club rules, where members utilize sign out sheets that record location of stands. He says individuals hunting public lands should never leave home without letting someone know in detail where they are hunting that day.

Tree stands should be inspected annually, Samaha said. “Preseason inspection should include checking all straps, welds, weep holes and safety harnesses.

Homemade ladder stands are never a good idea. They may work great for a season or two but they don’t last, especially if left out. In fact, deer stands should be picked up at the end of the season and not left out one season to the next.”

Since Hunter Education was mandated by Louisiana in 1984, gun related incidents have plummeted, where the arrow is pointing nearly straight down from 1981 to 2022 says Samaha. The program can be taken online by anyone, young or old, who doesn’t have a hunter’s safety certificate.

Much emphasis still focuses on firearm safety, touching on things like keeping a firearm always on safe, pointing a loaded gun with the barrel in an up or down direction away from someone, how to cross a fence with a firearm, and wearing blaze orange. Usually, educators are highlighting hunting deer or upland game when these are discussed.

Waterfowl hunters have their own concerns when it comes to firearm safety. For example, generally, duck and goose hunters are always hunting in a confined space, whether a pit blind, A-frame blind, boat, or simply hunkered down along an agricultural field levee.

Jack Cousin is a fulltime guide with Sportsman’s Charters in Gueydan. Cousin guides hundreds of hunters annually of all ages, sex and size.
Cousin said, “During the duck season I’m extra alert and more aware of everybody and what’s going on. You’ve got to have that one guy or leader who is going to call the shot. That way, everybody is on the same page. You need to make sure everyone knows where their shooting lanes are and where they’re supposed to shoot every time.

“I see it all the time where grown men act like little kids,” Cousin continued. “They get all excited and lose focus for a second. We also randomly call safety
checks between flights of birds, while people are telling stories; it’s one of those things that’s never annoying, because it’s so important.”

With the upcoming hunting seasons just weeks away, hunters will be sighting in their firearms and going to the woods and marshes to get tree stands and blinds ready for fall. Now is the time to start thinking about safety as well.

John Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththef lo@cox.net.