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To honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the United States, the Atchafalaya Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution held a Memorial Day ceremony at St. Joseph The Worker Church cemetery in Pierre Part.

The ceremony was held next to the final resting place of Pfc. Alvin Rivere, who was killed in action in Long An Province, Vietnam, while serving with the US Army’s 9th Infantry Division, 5th Battalion, 60th Infantry, Company A.

Rivere served as an infantry indirect fire crewman. To honor all veterans who died while serving, a wreath was laid at his grave. Many of Rivere’s family members, clergy and other members of the community attended the ceremony.

The commander of the Domingue-Landry American Legion Post in Pierre Part played taps at the conclusion of the ceremony.

(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.)

A citizen’s complaint Wednesday led to six drug-related arrests by Berwick police.

Berwick

Police Chief David S. Leonard reported these arrests:

--Maison Rivere, 28, La. 402, Napoleonville, was arrested at 1:59 p.m. Wednesday on charges of stop sign violation, driving under suspension and possession of drug paraphernalia.

--Vivian Oropesa, 37, Fourth Street, Berwick, was arrested at 1:59 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

--Courtney Smith, 33, Levee Road, Morgan City, was arrested at 3:27 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

--Patricia Thomas, 50, Fourth Street, Berwick, was arrested at 3:27 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

--Deborah Francois, 38, Fourth Street, Berwick, was arrested at 3:27 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone).

--Lucius Romero, 47, Third Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 3:27 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and violation of controlled dangerous substance law (drug-free zone), and on a warrant alleging parole violation.

On Wednesday morning, the Berwick Police Department received a call from a concerned citizen who reported illegal drug activity occurring at a residence in the 2900 block of Fourth Street. Officers immediately began to monitor and investigate this complaint.

Through investigation, officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle after it was observed to disregard a stop sign on Sixth Street. Officers made contact with the driver, who was identified as Rivere, and the passenger, who was identified as Oropesa. During the course of the stop, it was learned that Rivere’s license was suspended.

Rivere consented to a search of the vehicle, at which time items of drug paraphernalia belonging to Rivere were located. Also in the vehicle, officers located items of drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine inside a bag belonging to Oropesa.

Officers also identified the residence where the drug activity was occurring at as belonging to Oropesa. Rivere was placed under arrest and released on a summons for the traffic offenses and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Oropesa was also arrested, and she was transported to the Berwick Police Department for booking.

At that point, a search warrant was obtained for Oropesa’s residence. Berwick officers, with the assistance of the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office, executed the search warrant at the residence.

During this time, officers made contact with Smith, Thomas, Francois and Romero. Romero, who was wanted for a parole violation through the Louisiana Department of Probation and Parole, was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and marijuana.

Throughout the course of the search, officers located more methamphetamine and several items of drug paraphernalia that belonged to Francois. The residence in which the incident occurred is within 2,000 feet of several churches and schools, which are all posted as drug-free zones.

Smith and Thomas were arrested and released on summons.

Romero and Francois were transported to the Berwick Police Department for booking.

The Berwick Police Department thanked the citizen for the call on this matter and wants to remind the public that if you see something, say something. Anyone who wants to report a crime can do so by calling the Berwick Police Department, and they can remain anonymous.

Morgan City

Interim Police Chief Mark Griffin Jr. reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 34 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made this arrest:

--Kathy Pierce, 55, Park Road, Morgan City, was arrested at 11:24 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of allowing dog to roam.

St. Mary

Sheriff Blaise Smith reported that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff's Office responded to 23 complaints and made these arrests:

--Dustin John Palmer, 42, Franklin, was arrested at 10:24 a.m. Wednesday on two warrants alleging failure to appear on the charges of possession of methamphetamine. Bail has not been set.

--Ashley Tremaine Francois, 35, Morgan City, was arrested at 10:40 a.m. Wednesday on two warrants alleging failure to appear on the charges of possession of methamphetamine and altering a prescription of a CDS. Bail has not been set.

--Tyrone David Jackson, 38, Jeanerette, was arrested at 9:47 p.m. Wednesday on charges of domestic abuse (child endangerment law) and domestic abuse battery. Jackson was released on a $3,500 bond.

A traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony welcomes a new business or other enterprise, not the opening of a river that has flowed to the Gulf since before people were here to see it.

But the Port of Morgan City, Brice Civil Constructors and officials from other agencies snipped a ribbon Tuesday to mark the opening of the Atchafalaya River. More specifically, the event marked the opening of the Port of Morgan City's channel after seven years of fighting sediment and mud.

The event was designed to call attention to the fact that the port's channel is back at something close to its authorized dimensions of 20 feet deep and 400 feet wide. Port officials are hoping shipping companies will notice, too, and return import-export trade and the commercial spinoffs to the place they once held in the local economy.

"We're sending the feelers out," port Executive Director Raymond "Mac" Wade said. "We're advertising. This is a big day for us."

Keeping the entire channel open between Morgan City and the Gulf has been a challenge since about 2015, thanks to a series of floods that deposited sediment all along the waterway. But the spotlight Tuesday was on the last 18 miles from Eugene Island south, where the specially built Brice Civil Constructors dredge Arulaq has been at work for more than two years.

Once described as a "science experiment," the Arulaq was specially designed to deal with sticky fluff mud that can foul vessel propulsion systems. When the idea was conceived, in the middle of the last decade, the funding was in place for only one dredging per year in that area, and the mud can accumulate up to 3 feet per month.

"Everchanging river conditions warranted continuous fluff management 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," according to the program for Tuesday's ribbon-cutting.

In the middle 2010s, the Port of Morgan City went through one six-month period in which the port handled 22 import-export vessels, Wade said. The fluff mud put a stop to that level of trade.

Even the large vessels that could make it through the channel would have to limit their cargo to lessen their draft, operating less efficiently.

So they went to other ports, including New Orleans, instead.

The port approached the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which funds dredging in federally authorized waterways, for help with finding a way to keep the Bar Channel, the lower portion of the channel, open. The Corps insisted on an industry day to seek solutions from private companies.

At the industry day, the big companies didn't want to touch the problem, Wade said.

"Then," he said, "I heard someone behind me say, 'We can build it.'"

That was Jon McVay, president of Brice Civil Constructors, based in Alaska.

Brice proposed a dredge that works by agitating the mud and separating it from the water column through a series of pipes. The name Arulaq comes from a native American word meaning agitation.

The Corps of Engineers went along with the plan and offered a contract capped at $21.8 million. Halimar Shipyard in Morgan City handled the vessel conversion needed to put the dredge in action.

And in December 2019, the Arulaq was ready to go to work between Eugene Island and the Gulf.

Only "ready" turned out to be premature. For monthly port board meeting after meeting in 2020, McVay arrived to report mechanical problem after problem. Those problems were made worse by the debris, such as old shrimp nets, on the bottom of the channel.

"The whole year was tough," McVay said.

But at each meeting, McVay pledged to stay with the work. The down time diminished gradually until, by January 2022, the channel was open to 20 feet deep and 250 feet wide and the Arulaq was operating reliably.

At Tuesday's ceremony, the Arulaq ran back and forth along the Port of Morgan City dock, showing what it can do, handling 65,000 gallons of water a minute -- not full speed, just for show.

Lee Dragna, a port board member before he became Morgan City's mayor in 2021, joked that he witnessed "a lot of headache and heartache and fighting over" plans to develop a fluff mud solution.

Like port board President Joseph Cain, whose eight years on the board have been dominated by the fight to keep the channel open, Dragna said he was originally a doubter.

But now the Arulaq works, and the cooperation that made it possible drew praise Tuesday from speakers including Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur, Col. Stephen Murphy of the Corps, and Renee Lapayrolerie, a commissioner with the state Office of Multimodal Commerce.

McVay praised the efforts of the port, the Corps and Halimar.

"We couldn't have done it on our own," McVay said.

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, June 7
8:06 a.m. 800 block of South Everett Street; Patrol request.
8:59 a.m. 6000 block of La. 182; Complaint.
10:27 a.m. 100 block of Glenwood Street; Notification.
11:39 a.m. 6000 block of La. 182; Complaint.
11:56 a.m. 500 block of Brashear Avenue; Complaint.
12:36 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Reckless.
2:16 p.m. 8100 block of La. 182; Complaint.
2:27 p.m. 1900 block of Federal Avenue; Complaint.
2:41 p.m. 600 block of Shannon Street; Complaint.
3:54 p.m. 600 block of Fourth Street; Medical.
3:54 p.m. 1200 block of North Prescott Street; Alarm.
3:57 p.m. 7300 block of La. 182; Hang up call.
4:42 p.m. 500 block of Bowman Street; Assistance/arrest.
4:51 p.m. 200 block of Mallard Street; Complaint.
5:26 p.m. La. 182 in Berwick; Assistance.
6:27 p.m. 2100 block of Federal Avenue; Complaint.
6:54 p.m. 200 block of Wren Street; Complaint.
7:13 p.m. 500 block of General McArthur Street; Complaint.
8:10 p.m. Youngs Road; Complaint.
8:29 p.m. 700 block of Duke Street; Disturbance.
8:48 p.m. Allison Street/Martin Luther King Boulevard; Disturbance.
10:54 p.m. Roderick/Allison streets; Traffic incident.
Wednesday, June 8
4:11 a.m. U.S. 90 Westbound; Stalled vehicle.