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Austin Michael Granger

Austin Michael Granger, 22, a native of Morgan City and resident of Lafayette, died Monday, April 18, 2022, in Lafayette.
Visitation will be Saturday from 11 a.m. until services at 1 p.m. at Patterson Civic Center.
He is survived by a host of relatives.
Austin was preceded in death by his brother, grandfathers and great-grandparents.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Brandon Jarea Sterling

Brandon Jarea Sterling, 18, a resident of Bayou L’Ourse, died Sunday, April 17, 2022, at Ochsner St. Mary.
Visitation will be Saturday at Siracusaville Recreation Center from 10 a.m. until services at 1 p.m. Burial will follow in Patterson Memorial Park Cemetery.
He is survived by his parents, Darnisha Sterling and James Cox Jr. of Bayou L’Ourse; father, Brandon Spencer of Erath; siblings, Brendon Sterling, Dwayne Mczeal Jr., of Bayou L’Ourse, and Landon August, Braylon Spencer and Thai’Lynn Brooks of New Iberia; grandparents, Denise Sterling of Opelousas, Joseph Jackson of Patterson, and Philtheria Spencer and David Merrill of New Iberia; great-grandmother, Mary Sterling; and a host of other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his grandfather and great-grandparents.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

A variety of discussions top PGC meeting

Patterson Garden Club held its monthly meeting April 21 at the home of host Iris Roy.
President Evelyn Estay led the meeting which included discussions about finished ceramics from the club’s field trip, scholarship application deadline, and the Louisiana Garden Club Federation’s District III meeting in October which Patterson will co-host with Morgan City Garden Club.
Estay also presented a program on the care and restoration of Peace Lilies.
Members in attendance were served pizza and dessert.

Get It Growing: Flowering vines in landscapes

There are many plant materials available for us to use when designing a landscape or garden. We can choose from trees, shrubs, cool- and warm-season annuals, perennials and ground covers.
And let’s not forget about vines — an element of landscapes that too often is overlooked.
For some folks, the mention of vines conjures thoughts of chaos. They are, by definition, a plant whose stem requires support and climbs by tendrils or by twining. Without supports such as trellises or stems of surrounding plants, vines creep along the ground. If not contained, they can grow into other plants.
However, vines can create unique looks by adding a vertical dimension to the landscape. Vines also can be a nice addition to small areas or patios because they don’t take up a lot of space. Growing them in containers helps contain their wild growth habit.
Many types of vines are available, including annual, perennial, evergreen and deciduous. There are those that bear flowers and even some that bear fruit. Whether you want annual or perennial vines, edible or ornamental, climbing or sprawling, there’s something for you.
—Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) is an herbaceous, tender perennial native to Eastern Africa that has been naturalized in other parts of the world. Flowers are typically yellow, white or orange with black centers. This continuous, long-blooming flower produces heavily in full sun and is heat tolerant. It prefers a well-drained soil.
—Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is a rapidly growing, semi-evergreen vine that grows densely in landscapes. It displays beautiful yellow flowers in early spring and grows best in full to partial sun.
—Confederate or star jasmine (Trachelosp-ermum jasminoides) is an evergreen, woody, climbing perennial that is grown as a vine. It has beautiful, dark green foliage with fragrant, white flowers in spring. It has the most flowers in full sun but can tolerate heavy shade. Confederate jasmine has a moderate growth rate as it established. Keep it shaped by pruning after flowering. Be sure to provide support with arbors, fences and trellises.
—Coral honeysuckle, also known as trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), is a native vine that produces clusters of tube-shaped, coral to orange-red flowers that hummingbirds love. These vines are deciduous but retain their leaves in mild winters. They prefer full sun to partial sun for the most flower production, which occurs in late summer to fall and in the spring after a mild winter. Coral honeysuckle does not provide heavy fragrance but does make a sweet nectar for pollinators. This honeysuckle is much less aggressive compared to the nonnative Japanese honeysuckle that is very fragrant, aggressive and invasive.
—Cross vine (Bignonia capreolata) is a native, climbing, woody vine reaching 50 feet long with showy, orange-red, trumpet-shaped flowers that are 2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches across. The blooms hang in clusters of two to five. Persistent, glossy, semi-evergreen leaves change from dark green in summer to reddish-purple in winter.
—Passion vine (Passiflora spp), also known as maypop, is another excellent native plant with some of the unique flowers with some producing fruit. It is a perennial, flowering vine native to the South and can be grown easily. It is drought tolerant and is the host plant for the Gulf fritillary butterfly. It produces beautiful 3-to-5-inch flowers in various shades of purple with a wavy fringe over the petals. Each flower lasts about a day during the summer and early fall. The green fruit is edible but not very tasty.
—Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is another native, easy-care vine. It has inconspicuous flowers with black berries in the fall that can be toxic to pets and small children if eaten. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center mentions the rhyme children learn to help distinguish Virginia creeper from the somewhat similar-looking and highly toxic poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans): “Leaves of three, let it be; leaves of five, let it thrive.” Poison ivy leaflets are normally in groups of three, while those of Virginia creeper are in groups of five. However, the deep green, glossy leaves are gorgeous, providing brilliant fall foliage color.
Here are a few more types of vines that grow well in Louisiana. Cool-season annual vines for fall and spring include sweet pea (Lathyrus odorata) and nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), which needs cool to mild weather but will not tolerate a hard freeze.
Hardy evergreen perennial vines include English ivy (Hedera helix), akebia (Akebia quinata), fig vine (Ficus pumila) and evergreen wisteria (Milletia reticulata).
Hardy deciduous vines include trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), native wisteria (Wisteria fruticosa), muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia), Chinese wisteria (Wisteria chinensis) and coral vine (Antigonon leptopus).

Confederate or star jasmine is a vine with profuse white blooms.

LSU AgCenter/Heather Kirk-Ballard

Sweet pea is a cool-season annual that blooms in spring.

Coral honeysuckle is a native vine that blooms gorgeous coral, orange and pink flowers.

In-laws offer sweet deal for home ... with a catch

DEAR ABBY: I am a newlywed. My husband and I are looking for a house to settle down in, but we’re struggling to find one we like that we can afford. My in-laws, who are moving, offered to sell us their house for a very generous price. The house is in a great neighborhood, but it’s old and outdated and has HVAC and plumbing problems.
I think the house would be the perfect place for my husband and me to raise a family if we had some renovations made. However, we have talked to my in-laws about this, and they are very attached to this house and very against having any renovations made to it. My husband is happy to buy it and not have the renovations made, but I’m not so sure.
What should I do?
HOUSE HUNTER IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR HOUSE HUNTER: You and your husband should talk with your in-laws together. While I understand their sentimental attachment to the house, they are being unrealistic and controlling. If they were to sell it to strangers, you can bet the first thing that would happen would be renovations.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roof problems cost a fortune to keep fixing over time if they are not dealt with. Don’t they want their grandchildren raised in a nice, safe home in a great neighborhood? If the answer is yes, they need to loosen the reins. If not, then you should keep looking.

DEAR ABBY: I’m a veteran with a nonservice-connected back injury. I need artificial discs between several vertebrae. The hospitals and clinics ignored my condition for the past 25 years. I will have an MRI soon. My fiancée is a nurse and does not have the money for the operation I need. A wealthy female friend has offered to fund it. Should I ask my fiancée for permission since this friend is a woman?
GETTING A CHANCE IN OKLAHOMA

DEAR GETTING: You should definitely clear it with your fiancée. If she loves you, she will agree that you are fortunate to have such a generous friend. However, if she’s insecure, you will then have to decide which is more important — your health or your relationship. I know which one I’d choose.

DEAR ABBY: My college-age daughter who still lives with me is addicted to caffeine. I am considering slowly replacing the regular coffee with decaf without telling her. I don’t want to tell her, as this may get in her head, and she may react by having withdrawal symptoms. I don’t think she would be angry, because she knows I am always looking out for her.
What do you think?
MOM WITH A PLAN

DEAR MOM: Quit being a helicopter barista. Have enough respect for your college-age daughter to tell her the amount of coffee she consumes is a concern for you.
Then ask if she would like your help to cut back. With-drawal symptoms from caffeine are real, and your daughter might wonder what’s wrong when she experiences symptoms of withdrawal if you keep her in the dark.
***
To order “How to Write Letters for All Occasions,” send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby — Letter Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.

Deputy credited with saving a life

A St. Mary Parish sheriff's deputy is being praised for quick action that saved a life.

Sgt. Justin Lagman drove a back-up battery for a patient's heart pump to Franklin Foundation Hospital on Tuesday and arrived just before the pump's primary battery ran out of power, the St. Mary Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the patient arrived at Franklin Foundation Tuesday with only an hour remaining on the heart pump battery. The back-up battery was with the patient's family in Thibodaux.

The patient contacted a family member and asked to have the battery driven to Franklin. Lagman met the relative on the road and took the back-up battery "as he could quickly and safely transport the battery to the hospital for the patient," the Sheriff's Office said.

Langman arrived at Franklin Foundation "just in time," the Sheriff's Office said.

Thibodaux is about 52 miles from Franklin.

Parish Council creates waiting period before failed ordinances can be considered

FRANKLIN — Proposed ordinances that fail to win approval from the St. Mary Parish Council will have to wait 60 days before being considered again.

The council unanimously passed an ordinance establishing the 60-day waiting period at Wednesday’s meeting.

Also Wednesday, the council heard that grants have been approved for walking trails in Amelia and Bayou Vista. Members also passed a resolution of respect for a long-time parish employee who is also a family member of a council member and a former council member.

The ordinance passed Wednesday was introduced by Gwendolyn Hidalgo. It gives the council president, currently Kristi Prejeant Rink, the power to decide whether an ordinance proposed for introduction differs enough from a previously failed ordinance to avoid the 60-day wait. The council can override that decision.

Hidalgo’s original idea was to require a 120-day waiting period before a failed ordinance could come up again. But she said after the meeting that a 120-day wait isn’t workable, so she settled on the 60 days.

“She made a good ordinance and a great ordinance,” Parish President David Hanagriff said before the passage vote.

The council apparently agreed. The ordinance passed 10-0. Councilman Rodney Olander was absent.

Councilman Scott Ramsey had made a series of proposals changing stops signs in Bayou Vista and then changing the process for altering traffic signals. He said after the April 13 meeting that he felt Hidalgo’s ordinance was a result.

But after Wednesday’s meeting, Hidalgo said she wasn’t targeting Ramsey’s ordinances.

“There were these other ordinances that kept coming up,” Hidalgo said. “This was something the old council should have done.”

At the April 13 meeting, the council passed an ordinance by Ramsey that requires a traffic engineer’s review of proposed traffic signal changes.

Also Wednesday, the office of Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser notified the parish that the parish’s two federal grant requests for walking trails have been approved.

Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange said $150,000 has been awarded for a trail in Amelia and $100,000 for Bayou Vista’s trail.

The grants come through the Recreational Trails Program.

The resolution of respect honored the memory of Roland “Sonny” Hidalgo Jr.

Hidalgo, an Air Force veteran, retired as building supervisor for the parish after 20 years of service. He was the father of former Councilman Glen Hidalgo and the father-in-law of Gwendolyn Hidalgo.

Sonny Hidalgo died April 14. He was 86.

Chamber's Business of the Month

The Review/Bill Decker
Francis Arceneaux, who worked at Cannata's for 50 years, holds the plaque presented to the supermarket at Wednesday's St. Mary Chamber Business Luncheon at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City. Cannata's, with a 63-year history in Morgan City, was named the Chamber's Business of the Month. Shown from left are Chamber President Beth Chiasson, Arceneaux, Store Director Steve Domangue and Chamber Chairman Ed "Tiger" Verdin.

Administrative Assistant of the Month

Bernadette Fase, center, holds the plaque she received after being named the St. Mary Chamber's Administrative Assistant of the Month at Wednesday's Chamber luncheon. Fase has worked at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City for 3½ years. Shown from left are Chamber President Beth Chiasson, Fase and Chamber Chairman Ed "Tiger" Verdin.

The Review/Bill Decker

Local agencies arrest three on domestic abuse-related charges

(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.)

Local authorities made three arrests on domestic abuse-related charges Wednesday and a fourth of a woman accused of attacking an employee at a Berwick business.

Berwick

Police Chief David Leonard Sr. reported these arrests:

—Alaina Beiza, 27, Front Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 11:54 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of simple battery.

About 10:48 a.m. Wednesday, the Berwick Police Department received a call to remove a subject from a business on River Road. The subject left without incident.

Moments later, the Berwick Police Department received another call that a female identified as Beiza had went back to the business and committed a battery on one of the employees.

Beiza was located and placed under arrest. Beiza was transported to the Berwick Police Department where she was booked on the charge of Simple Battery. Beiza later posted a cash bond of $326.

--Kevin Adams, 33, Blum Boulevard, Berwick, was arrested 5:01 p.m. Wednesday on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and on warrants alleging two counts of domestic abuse battery.

About 5 p.m. Wednesday, officers with the Berwick Police Department located Adams on the walking trail. He was named in active warrants through the Berwick Police Department.

Officers made contact with Adams and advised him of the warrants. Adams was placed under arrest without incident.

Adams admitted to having marijuana and items of drug paraphernalia on his person. Adams was transported to the Berwick Police Department, where he was booked. Adams remains incarcerated pending a bond hearing.

St. Mary

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

—Tyler James Archon, 27, New Iberia, was arrested at 8:51 a.m. Wednesday on charges of speeding and driving under suspension, and on a Vermillion Parish warrant. Archon is being held for another agency.

—Barbara Jackson, 56, Franklin, was arrested at 1:29 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant alleging driving under suspension and proper equipment required on vehicles. Jackson was released on a summons to appear on July 19.

—Jenny Robin, 36, Franklin, was arrested at 7:58 p.m. Wednesday by the Narcotics Section on a warrant alleging possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamines, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a person under 17.

Bail was set at $6,000.

Franklin

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

—Ash Miller, 41, Pine Street, Franklin, was arrested at 1:17 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant dated March 22 and alleging theft, criminal damage to property and criminal trespassing. Miller was booked, processed and transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.

—Juanita Solete, 58, Lynn Drive, Franklin, was arrested at 7:04 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of domestic abuse battery. Solete was booked, processed and released on a $2,500 bond.

—Stephen Londo, 43, Lynn Drive, Franklin, was arrested at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of battery on a dating partner. Londo was booked, processed and released on a $2,500 bond.

Assumption

Sheriff Leland Falcon reported these arrests:

—Harold J. Folse, III, 48, Noe Court, Pierre Part, was arrested Tuesday on charges of possession of Valium, possession of methamphetamine, disregarding stop sign and possession of drug paraphernalia.

—Glynda Lee Rogers, 42, Noe Court, Pierre Part, was arrested Tuesday on charges of possession of Valium, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug para-phernalia. The arrests followed a traffic stop Tuesday near Plattenville.

A uniformed patrol deputy observed a vehicle parked near a local business and as the deputy approached, the vehicle accelerated toward the La. 70 Spur. The deputy initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, identified as Folse.

The deputy conducted an interview and as a result, concluded that more investigation was warranted. The deputy summoned a K-9 to the location. The K-9 con-ducted an open-air sniff and alerted positive for the presence of illegal substances.

The vehicle was searched and as a result of that process, quantities of methamphetamine, Valium and assorted paraphernalia were seized.

Folse and Rogers were ar-rested and booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center and remain incarcerated with bonds set for $60,000.

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