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June 17, 1934 — March 12, 2022
Eugenie “Adelaide” Wise, 87, a resident of Morgan City, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at her home, surrounded by her loving family.
Adelaide was born on June 17, 1934 in Morgan City, the daughter of Leonard Charles Wise and Catherine Pennington Wise. Adelaide was a proud resident of downtown Morgan City.
Adelaide was a graduate of The Academy of the Sacred Heart of Morgan City and St. Mary’s Dominican College of New Orleans. She began her teaching career at Maitland Elementary in Morgan City; she was one of the first to teach at Norman Elementary when it opened. Upon moving to New Orleans, she taught for 17 years at Jackson School in downtown New Orleans. Upon moving back to Morgan City, she completed her years as an educator at Stephensville Elementary. Adelaide was a gifted teacher who had a tremendous impact on the young students in her class, especially second graders.
Adelaide was a board member of St. Mary Landmark Society; a volunteer for Blessed Seelos Foundation in New Orleans and a community volunteer for helping to beautify downtown Morgan City. She was also a member of the St. Mary Republican Women. She cherished the memory of a trip to Washington DC, where the group had tea in the White House with Laura Bush.
She loved her social life and was an avid fan of LSU and Joe Burrow. Mardi Gras was also one of her favorite times of the year. She was the Queen of Cervus in 1956 and an officer in the Cervus-Hephaestus Queens Club. She was also a member of the Krewe of Galatea.
Adelaide was a woman of deep faith, attending daily mass for many years and was a member of Come Lord Jesus prayer group and cherished being a member of Sacred Heart Church.
She loved visiting with family and friends, telling stories of the past and her travels. She also listened and was interested in anything a visitor had to say. Adelaide was an antique collector her whole life. She enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful objects and flowers. We will miss her stories, her vitality and her humor. She was the definition of a Southern Lady.
She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by one sister, Mary Catherine Gray and husband Leroy of Berwick; one brother, Dr. C. Leonard Wise and wife Charlotte of Morgan City; 11 nieces and nephews, Michael Gray, Lenny Gray and wife Marsha, Patrick Gray and wife Julie, Lee Gray, Danny Gray and wife Karen, David Gray, Tim Gray and wife Mary Grace, Mary Louise Mayon and husband Shane, Mary Catherine Thomas and husband Lyle, Michael Wise and wife Jennifer, Erin Wiggins and husband Bryan.
The family would like to recognize Adelaide’s special friends Alice Pecoraro and Sarah Stelter. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Bill Cefalu, caregivers at Home Instead, Heart of Hospice and Ochsner of St. Mary.
Adelaide was preceded in death by her parents and one sister, Lucille Ann Wise; great-nephew, Patrick Gray; niece, Becky Reeves Gray.
Those honored to serve as pallbearers are Michael Gray, Lenny Gray, Patrick Gray, Lee Gray, Danny Gray, David Gray, Tim Gray and Michael Wise. Honorary pallbearer will be her brother-in-law Leroy Gray.
Visitation will take place Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at Sacred Heart Church of Morgan City, starting at 8:30 a.m. until Mass at 10:30 a.m. with Monsignor Courville celebrating Mass. Following Mass, Adelaide will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be given to Sacred Heart Church or the charity of your choice.

December 22, 1934 — March 15, 2022
Julius Marvin Vining, 87, a resident of Morgan City, passed away peacefully Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at his home.
Julius was born December 22, 1934, in Berwick, the son of Mitch Vining and Clara Clark.
Julius proudly served as staff sergeant in the Army National Guard. He managed the municipal auditorium for decades. After retiring, he held a board position for the auditorium and Lake End Park Campground. Julius performed gospel music at many churches.
He will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his two sons, Marvin Vining and wife Diane of Berwick, Ronnie Vining and wife Angela of Berwick; one daughter, Judy Davis and husband Bo of Lafayette; eight grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren and one on the way; girlfriend, Letitia Blanchard; sister-in-law, Ruby Vining.
Julius was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers, Lawrence Vining, Clarence Vining and wife Gail, Norman Vining, and MC Vining; half-brother, Raul Vining; three sisters, Millie Davis, Vera Morgan, and Catherine Barris.
Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Saturday, March 19, 2022 at Twin City Funeral Home. Visitation will be held Saturday, March 19, 2022 at Twin City Funeral Home from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services. After services, Julius will be laid to rest in the Morgan City Cemetery.

Submitted Photo
The Atchafalaya Chapter inducted brothers Barry and Timmy Aucoin into the Sons of the American Revolution at the February meeting. Shown from left are Past Vice President Dr. Carroll Falcon, Thibodaux; Past President David Solar, Berwick; Secretary Hayes Baily, Schriever; Registrar T.J. Blanchard, Pierre Part; Second Vice President Timmy Aucoin, Plaquemine; President Randall Domingue, Schriever; Treasurer Barry Aucoin, Plattenville; Director at Large Dr. Andre Blanchard, Youngsville; and Sergeant at Arms Roland Pintado, Pierre Part.

The Louisiana Press Association’s new lobbying team is facing a regular session that will take aim at a vital component of the newspaper business — advertising revenue.
There are also growing concerns about other bills that could alter the in-person nature of public meetings and limit how reporters access certain public records from law enforcement agencies.
“This will be a much busier session than what I’m used to seeing,” said Jerry Raehal, who took over as LPA’s executive director in late 2020. Prior to that, he was the CEO of the Colorado Press Association.
“There are three pillars that we try to focus on and they’re all on the table in this session, including open meetings, public records and public notices.”
Raehal said the newspaper lobby will have new allies this year in the form of a lobbying team from Pelican State Partners led by attorney and lobbyist Christian Rhodes.
Attorney Scott Sternberg, known for his media and First Amendment work, is still the general counsel to the press association and the point person for lawmakers on many of the issues brewing.
At the top of the LPA’s watchlist is SB 322 by Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, which would allow local government bodies to use so-called “pointer ads” to replace traditional public notice advertisements for minutes, property sales and other proceedings.
The pointer ad, or small box ad, would simply provide a web or email address, or other mechanism, that points readers to a place where they can access or request the same information.
“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is using QR codes in this same exact way,” said Mills.
“Seems like the feds have this right and we need to catch up on it.”
Mills described his proposal as a “good compromise” and a “cost-saving” vehicle for the public bodies outlined in the bill, including “police juries, city and parish councils, municipal corporations, and school boards.”
Raehal countered that public bodies typically use less than 0.3 percent of their overall budgets to underwrite public notice ads. For some newspapers, on the other hand, that revenue is everything.
But advertising revenue isn’t the only reason the LPA is putting up a fight — the association has met with roughly 60 legislators so far to discuss other potential impacts, like due process.
Then there’s www.LouisianaPublicNotice.com, a digital clearinghouse for public notice ads powered by the LPA.
If newspapers lose the ability to publish entire public notices, that resource could become less populated.
Sternberg said he’s also asking lawmakers to consider the ramifications of the internet’s manipulatability.
“You know, this state is not particularly connected online,” Sternberg said.
“And part of the utility of a paper is it’s printed and dated, whereas a website is infinitely manipulatable.”
On another front, LPA is trying to avoid what Sternberg refers to as “the Zooms-day Scenario.”
In the wake of COVID-19, temporary laws were passed and allowances were granted for elected and appointed officials to meet digitally, often using Zoom.
As Louisiana returns to a sense of normalcy, officials like Treasurer John Schroder and House and Governmental Affairs Chairman John Stefanski, R-Crowley, are looking into ways to keep the good stuff from that experiment.
Stefanski has HB 325 to allow the State Bond Commission to continue meeting electronically, but only once per quarter. “We’re at the end of this pilot program with the Bond Commission meeting via Zoom and it worked flawlessly,” said Stefanski, who intends to keep meeting with the LPA as session kicks off.
“In fact, we’ve never seen more participation from the public. That’s why the treasurer asked me to file this.”
Sternberg said bills involving electronic public meetings are the “next big wave,” similar to the task lawmakers faced several years ago in regard to text messages and public records.
There are other bills introduced this session that would create additional carve-outs for the Board of Medical Examiners and the Gaming Control Board.
“I’m worried about the slippery slope,” said Sternberg.
“But there’s also the fact that being in the room and feeling the emotions is a real thing. Anyone who has been to a contentious public meeting knows that. People who have experienced parole hearings know that. Imagine capturing that feeling on Zoom. You can’t. You know what you can do on Zoom? You can press mute when you don’t want to engage.”
Any close observer of Louisiana politics probably wishes they had a mute button they could have pushed over the last few years.
But nothing like that exists for citizens and voters, so it’s only fair that our elected and appointed officials have to listen and watch and engage just like the rest of us.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.