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DEAR ABBY: A friend of mine lost her husband a couple of years ago. I didn’t think she was looking for love or companionship, but all of a sudden she has met a younger man, and I’m concerned. I have observed several red flags, but I’m not sure if I should say something.
She owns a home in a big city and another smaller, very nice one with a view of the lake in a resort town three hours away. This man has posted on his main Facebook page a picture of “his” new cabin. (I don’t have any details regarding who else was there.) I looked at his Facebook pictures and saw one of his daughter, who looks to be around 13, along with several pictures of a woman I assume to be his beautiful significant other posing with him and his daughter.
On my friend’s birthday, he showed up at her door with a huge bouquet, balloons and all. She called a mutual friend about the flowers and was all giddy. This scenario makes me suspect he’s a predator who may start asking her for money. What, if anything, should I do?
FRIEND SEEING SIGNS

DEAR FRIEND: If it were me, I’d ask my friend how SHE enjoyed the family party at her lake house — and whether she has seen what this new man in her life has posted about it on his FB.
Then, I would tell her how seeing his claim that the place is “his” made you do a double-take. After that, I would simply listen.

DEAR ABBY: My mother-in-law, “Gladys,” was never a particularly good mother as her kids were growing up. We don’t get along very well. She interjects herself into every aspect of my family’s life, especially when some sort of crisis happens. Most recently, it concerned the death of my wife’s father’s second wife. Gladys actually parked her truck in front of ours to prevent us from going over there to give him emotional support.
When she acts like this, my wife refuses to stand up to her. This woman has more than once come between me and my family. How should I confront her and my wife about this? I feel like Gladys had her chance, but now it is my place to call the shots.
Please tell me if I am being unreasonable.
HUSBAND AND DAD IN GEORGIA

DEAR HUSBAND: I don’t think you are being unreasonable. I do think you need to have a serious, private conversation with your wife. You both need to learn how to set firm boundaries for her mother.
If you need help doing that, consult a marriage counselor. A marriage in which one spouse feels sidelined is headed for trouble.

DEAR READERS: At sundown, the first night of Passover begins. This major Jewish holiday celebrates the most momentous event in Jewish history — the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.
Happy Passover to my readers who observe this important holiday.
LOVE, ABBY
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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.

The Rev. Patrick “P.J.” Madden has been named the new administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, the diocese announced.
Madden will serve as the diocese’s leader until Pope Francis appoints a bishop to succeed Shelton Fabre, who became archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, last month.
Madden, 76, is a native of Ballinasloe, Ireland, and was ordained in May 2004. He served as associate pastor at Our Lady of the Rosary (Larose) and St. Bernadette (Houma), and pastor at St. Genevieve (Thibodaux) and St. Hilary (Mathews).
A priest for 18 years, Madden essentially has the same authority as a diocesan bishop, except for matters which would have long-term consequences, the diocese said in a press release.
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux College met Friday to elect the new diocesan administrator. The Rev. Charlie Perkins said of Madden’s election, who Canon Law defines as the chairman of the College of Consultors because he is senior in years of ordination: “Fr. P.J. is a much loved, veteran priest of our diocese who has great respect from his brother priests. The College of Consultors is confident that he will successfully fulfill the responsibilities as Diocesan Admin-istrator as he serves the people.
“We also feel that Fr. P.J. is an excellent choice because he will move us forward until our next bishop is formally installed. We pray that the Holy Spirit continues to guide him in this new position. We also acknowledge the wonderful leadership of Archbishop Fabre during his time here, and we wish him the best as the new shepherd of Louisville.”
Fabre was installed as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on March 30.
When Fabre received news of Madden’s election, he said, “My sincere congratulations and best wishes to my brother priest Fr. P.J. after his selection today as Diocesan Administrator. I rejoiced when I learned of this news from Houma-Thibodaux!
“I have the utmost confidence that Fr. P.J. will serve the needs of Houma-Thibodaux well in the near future until the diocese learns of the Holy See’s choice of my successor.”
“Please allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux College of Consultors who today elected me as Diocesan Administrator,” Madden said in the press release.
“I am both humbled and excited by this opportunity, and I pledge to serve the needs of this wonderful diocese to the very best of my ability. With heartfelt sincerity, I promise to love and serve the faithful of this diocese in the pastoral spirit as did our beloved now Archbishop Shelton Fabre.
“As a priest of this diocese, I remain aware of the great suffering many still endure because of the devastation of Hurricane Ida. As Archbishop Fabre said often: ‘In God we place our hope and our trust, and we are confident that God will never leave us to endure anything alone.’”
For more information regarding the process of electing a new Diocesan Administrator, as well when and how the diocese will receive a new bishop, visit the diocesan website at: https://htdiocese.org/diocesan-administrator.

May 1, 1960 — March 30, 2022
Shelley Hendrix Martin, age 61, of Patterson, Louisiana passed away at her residence on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Shelley was born May 1, 1960.
A visitation for Shelley will be held Wednesday, April 6, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Word of Life Family Church, 108 Ryan St., Patterson, LA, followed by a memorial service at 6:00 PM.
Shelley enjoyed traveling, diving, sewing, arts and crafts, leading worship and teaching kids crafts and life lessons. She loved animals and was certified to take care of baby squirrels. She was known for her exotic pets including her beloved kinkajou Sol. Shelley knew what it meant to love hard and give freely. She truly tried to live like Jesus by ministering unconditional love to anyone who crossed her path. She knew heartache and pain and was so passionate about helping others find healing just as she did. Her office was almost complete where she had planned to start seeing clients with PTSD (especially military) and other emotional traumas. Shelley was also planning to use her office for kids camps and classes. She had spent the past several years working on her education and certification in this field. She was a Chaplain and Certified Emotional Healing Coach. She affectionately named her business “A Time to Heal” inspired by Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. This was truly Shelley’s heart, always serving others. She was a special jewel and her loss will be felt by so many. Her loved ones can undoubtedly say that she left a legacy of love, joy, strength, and inspiration. We have no doubt heaven is overjoyed to welcome home a treasured daughter of the King.
Shelley is preceded in death by her father Ervin Eugene “Gene” Hendrix, her grandparents; Mary Viola Hendrix, William Ervin Hendrix, Clarence Bernard “CB” Stephens and Jimetta Smith Stephens. She is survived by her husband, David Allen Martin; her parents Harriet and Charles Kern; siblings, Cindy Hendrix Allday and husband Laymon “Cal” Allday, Steve Hendrix and wife Beth Hendrix; Godchildren Gabrielle (Gabby) Barney, Jacob Barney, (Samantha, Jacob and Landen Lasater), Davis Rankin and numerous others; nieces and nephews; Jeremy Frederick and wife Jaime Frederick, Aaron Allday, Robert and wife Adrienne, Lance Hendrix and wife Lacey Hendrix, Erica Hendrix and Partner John Shay, Casey Derouen, (Jadon, Jenna and Jericho Frederick), (Layla, Lennon and Leif Hendrix), (Liam and Eamon Shay), Kristina Brown and husband Dillon, (Staci, Austin, Nick and Blake Loomis), (Colten, David and Amelia Schaff), (Caidyn, Daimien and Kallie Brown) as well as a host of other relatives and friends. It is impossible to list everyone here since Shelley was known as a mother to many and all who knew her will truly miss her.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hargravefuneralhome.com for the Martin family.

It’s pretty well known that during World War II SLI president Joel Fletcher and academic vice president Joseph Riehl persuaded the Navy to locate V-12 and V-5 officer training programs at the Lafayette school.
Part of the reason we remember those programs is because Alvin Dark and other All-Americans who transferred to the little school gave the future UL Lafayette a phenomenal football team that won the first Oil Bowl in 1943.
It’s less well known that the Jesuit’s St. Charles College in Grand Coteau attempted a similar program during the first World War.
Father M. A. Grace announced in September 1918 that more than 100 young men could be trained in a Student Army Corps that year, and that “those who show the proper qualifications will be transferred either to the regular army or to an officers training school.”
Father Grace said St. Charles was one of 300 schools across the country being considered and that the training would be “personally supervised by a United States army officer.”
The Opelousas Star-Express said only “the most up-to-date colleges” had the training program, and “St. Charles, in following the example of the big universities, is but keeping with the tradition of remaining in the front ranks of the progressive colleges of the South.”
The newspaper said the program was another example of the “patriotism and love of country” shown by the school that “already has furnished three chaplains and … has now in the service, as officers and enlisted men, quite a large number of its best members of the alumni association.”
It was also a boon to the school, since the government paid tuition and room and board for the students, provided them with uniforms and equipment, and paid each student the equivalent of an army private’s salary — $30 a month (about $560 today).
The chances for advancement were also pretty good. Entry into the war meant the U.S. needed “hundreds of thousands of officers,” the Star-Progress pointed out, and supplying that demand was “one of the most serious problems that the War Department has had to face.”
The newspaper noted another incentive: “Those college students and high school graduates who will not take advantage of this generous offer of the War Department will of course be drafted into the national army as privates.”
Requirements for a commission were “very stringent” and education was “an absolute requisite,” the newspaper said. “The schools the War Department has selected [are] of an advanced standard.”
The curriculum for students in the army corps was to be “strictly military” and was “carefully mapped out by the War Department.” Students received 42 hours of “essential and allied subjects,” while also performing military drill for 11 hours per week.
Father Grace called upon “the old boys to flock back to St. Charles to make the one hundred required for the S.A.T.C. unit,” but it appears that not enough of them showed up.
When the 1919 term began, St. Charles College was pronounced “a genuine military school,” by the newspaper, but that was because of a new ROTC program. All students were to get basic military training, but not on the scale of a Student Army Training Corps.
There would be no $30 a month, no paid tuition, and no great athletes attracted to the campus — though it was announced that year that St. Charles would become the first college in the South to have its own golf course.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.