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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, March 15
6:28 a.m. 7200 block of La. 182; Alarm.
7:37 a.m. Brashear Avenue; Vehicle crash.
7:38 a.m. Belanger Street; Animal com-plaint.
10:38 a.m. 600 block of Egle Street; Disturbance.
11:05 a.m. 7300 block of La. 182; Complaint.
11:18 a.m. Second and Greenwood streets; Complaint.
12:03 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Traffic stop/arrest.
12:08 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Animal complaint.
12:28 p.m. 900 block of First Street; Death.
1:03 p.m. Brashear Avenue; Vehicle crash.
1:04 p.m. 3100 block of Vine Drive; Theft.
2:17 p.m. 900 block of Duke Street; Residential burglary.
2:53 p.m. 800 block of Ninth Street; Complaint.
3:16 p.m. 300 block of Egle Street; Theft.
3:41 p.m. 500 block of Bush Street; Animal complaint.
5:33 p.m. Central Gar-age; Patrol request.
6:53 p.m. 300 block of Pecos Street; Patrol required.
7:51 p.m. Veterans Boulevard; Patrol required.
9:30 p.m. 3000 block of Keith Street; Harassment.
9:49 p.m. Solar Apartments by police department; Disturbance.
10:52 p.m. 900 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard; Complaint.
11:02 p.m. 7400 block of La. 182; Medical.
Wednesday, March 16
12:37 a.m. 1000 block of Missouri Street; Complaint.
1:45 a.m. 600 block of Kentucky Street; Patrol required.
3:58 a.m. Market By Southern Grace; Building check.
4:08 a.m. Joes Boots Shopping Center; Building check.
5:05 a.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Complaint.
5:16 a.m. 1100 block of Marguerite Street; Complaint.
6:33 a.m. 200 block of Brashear Avenue; Disturbance.
7:18 a.m. 100 block of Eleventh Street; Disturbance.
7:30 a.m. Marguerite Street; Complaint.
8:51 a.m. Marguerite Street; Theft.
8:53 a.m. 1000 block of Federal Avenue; Animal complaint.
9:14 a.m. 100 block of Terrebonne Street; Complaint.
9:23 a.m. 100 block of Montana Street; Animal complaint.
9:53 a.m. 7400 block of La. 182; Complaint.
10:05 a.m. Patton Street; Animal complaint.
10:07 a.m. Marguerite Street; Fight.
10:51 a.m. Myrtle Street; Criminal damage.
11:06 a.m. Myrtle Street; Complaint.
12:20 p.m. Marguerite Street; Complaint.
1:07 p.m. 200 block of Glenwood Street; Animal complaint.
2:23 p.m. U.S. 90 Westbound/Berwick; Arrest.
2:35 p.m. 700 block of Belanger Street; Suspicious person.
2:42 p.m. 600 block of Greenwood Street; 911 hang up.
2:56 p.m. Lawrence Park; Assistance.
3:04 p.m. 900 block of First Street; Theft.
3:24 p.m. 1000 block of Levee Road; Animal complaint.
3:40 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Inmate transport.
3:44 p.m. Area of Louisa Street and Federal Avenue; Complaint/arrest.
5:07 p.m. Federal Avenue and Greenwood area; Complaint/arrest.
5:30 p.m. Area of Lawrence Park; Complaint.
5:51 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.
6:34 p.m. 100 block of Wren Street; Disturbance.
6:57 p.m. Area of Louisa Street; Noise complaint.
7:25 p.m. 700 block of Willow Street; Com-plaint.
7:31 p.m. 1200 block of David Drive; Alarm.
7:54 p.m. Area of Park Road; Noise complaint.
8:21 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.
8:34 p.m. Area of La. 70; Complaint.
8:59 p.m. Ochsner St. Mary; Complaint.
9:27 p.m. 1300 block of Sixth Street; Complaint.
9:34 p.m. 900 block of Fourth Street; Com-plaint.
11:20 p.m. Area of Third Street; Accident/arrest.
11:41 p.m. 600 block of Fourth Street; Medical.
Thursday, March 17
12:31 a.m. 200 block of Leona Street; Domestic disturbance.
1:18 a.m. 700 block of General Patton Street; Medical.
1:33 a.m. 200 block of Leona Street; Domestic disturbance.

Once more, Morgan City is a staging area and a place to stay for people helping Houma- and Dulac-area people recover from Hurricane Ida. But this group of 46 relief workers, who have been living at Lake End Park cabins since Monday, is different.

The group is composed entirely of women. And they are, in a phrase from a gentler time, of a certain age.

They range from 45 to 81. More than half are in their mid-60s or older. They come from 17 states.

And they didn't arrive with tea cups and coffee cake. These women shore up damaged roofs, move pieces of felled trees, work with plywood and drywall, remove debris, and demolish damaged sheds. In a less gentle time, it would have been called a man's job.

"I'm pretty sure it rocks their world when we arrive," said Leeann Moore of west Texas while dinner was being cooked Wednesday evening at Lake End. "I'm pretty sure we shock some people when we come up with our chainsaws and circular saws."

They are members of the Sister-Corps, an offshoot of Sisters on the Fly, which bills itself as the nation's largest outdoors group for women with 20,000 members.

Moore is the Sister-Corps president, and Sherry R. Gibbons is vice president. Gibbons is from Houston and "yeah, I've seen hurricanes," she said

One of those hurricanes was Harvey in 2017. The storm caused extensive damage at Port Aransas, Texas, a favorite fishing spot for Sisters on the Fly members.

"We felt compelled to just get in our trucks and go," Moore said.

Their work to help storm victims "was life-changing," Moore said. "The phrase is used a lot, but it really was."

Nearly five years later, Hurricane Ida is the Sister-Corps' 27th project. This marks the second trip to Louisiana after 2020's hurricane relief work in Iowa and Lake Charles. Next month, the Sister-Corps will be in Kentucky to help victims of a string of deadly mid-winter tornadoes.

They don't just hop in trucks and take off anymore. Each Sister-Corps relief squad travels with a medical team and meal team. Two-thirds of the relief teams are women on their first mission.

"Once they go," Moore said, "they're coming back."

"Members provide boots on the ground for short-term relief to communities in need and ongoing special efforts such as blood drives, clean-up, card campaigns, and donations to women’s shelters," said a Sisters-Corps press release.

The release said leads come many sources. In Houma's case, several leads came from Lanor Curole, tribal administrator of the United Houma Nation.

“We are amazed at how much devastation there still is after this much time, how much more needs to be done, and how all of these people are living in the devastation," said members of Valerie Shows' team in the press release. "Their resilience is amazing.”

The day begins with a breakfast meeting at 7 a.m. Team members work until 4:30 p.m., and gather at dinner to talk about their experiences that day.

Wednesday's dinner was called a "SELA-bration," for southeast Louisiana. Jen Ehrhardt got in the spirit by wearing a tutu over her jeans and a hard hit decorated with glitter.

"It's the goofiest part of what we do," Ehrhardt said. "We normally say it's hard work."

Ehrhardt, who lives in Pensacola, Florida, got involved after Hurricane Sally struck the Panhandle and Sister-Corps members went to Marianna.

Wednesday's dinner was attended by Morgan City Councilmen Lou Tamporello, Steve Domangue and Tim Hymel and Park Manager Kevin Chauvin.

“Sister-Corps is an amazing group of ladies who are providing a tremendous service to people in need," Tamporello said for the press release. "Their
organization, skills and energy are something to witness.”

For Moore, working with Sister-Corps offers a sense of empowerment for women and for people who have reached or passed middle age.

And people who suffer after disasters receive help.

“We like to serve the people who don’t have the insurance,” Moore said. “They don’t have the personal strength to endure. They don’t have the voice.”

You can learn more at sister-corps.com.

"Sister-Corps members volunteer and provide their own transportation to the location, lodging, and meals, so all donations go directly towards serving
homeowners in the community they are deployed to," the press release said.

PATTERSON – As the economy shows signs that the COVID labor shortage is easing, private and public employers came to the Patterson Area Civic Center on Wednesday for the St. Mary Career and Resource Expo.

Traffic at the job fair was reported to be light just before lunchtime. As browsers walked among the 22 tables lining the civic center’s gym, the Louisiana Workforce Development Commission released January unemployment figures: a 5.4% jobless rate in St. Mary, up a full point from December, but better than the 7.8% rate from January 2021.

Statewide, the unemployment rate for January was 4.3%, a shade higher than the 4.0% national rate.

Stan Ceaser represented food service company Waffle House and exchanged information with Tiara Knighten, who is living in the Tri-City area after arriving from New Orleans.

Waffle House is looking for “hourly help and, if the candidate is right, management,” Ceaser said.

“With COVID, that brought a whole new ballgame that we’re adapting to on the fly. That’s the thing right now, keeping everyone motivated.”

Some of the people at Wednesday’s Patterson event were traditional job-seekers. Some weren’t.

Jeri Mestayer, chatting with Sunshine Griffin at the table for Angel’s Notary and Public Tag of Morgan City, was one of the latter. Mestayer has a job with the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections’ probation and parole division, helping people find work as they work their way out of the judicial system.

Mestayer’s biggest challenge isn’t overcoming any bias against workers who have been in legal trouble. It’s St. Mary’s location, distant from the opportunities in metro areas.

“You can always find an employer willing to hire a convicted felon,” Mestayer said. “But it’s hard to find transportation.”

Her wish for her clients is for a local bus station.

Across the gym, David Spencer, the public information officer for the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, was also looking for potential applicants.

The sheriff is looking for patrol, corrections and dispatch deputies, Spencer said. But as with most law enforcement agencies, recruitment is a challenge, he said.

“It’s a tough job,” Spencer said. “Sometimes it’s a thankless job. It’s not for everybody.”

But “there are good people in St. Mary Parish who would fit right into those jobs. That’s who we’re looking for.”

Some of the tables were devoted to education and training. Among them was one staffed by South Louisiana Community College and announcing its new Trio program.

Educational Outreach Specialist Joshua Perrodin said the program operates in St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia parishes. It offers information on getting a college education and financial aid and career counseling. And, although the Educational Opportunity Centers are based on the Evangeline, Franklin, Teche and Young Memorial campuses, students interested in attending college anywhere can use the service.

Louisiana voting and civil rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisiana secretary of state, challenging the state House and Senate maps approved by the Legislature last month.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed the lawsuit Monday on behalf of Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, the Louisiana NAACP and several individual voters over alleged violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Section 2 prohibits discrimination in voting practices or procedures based on race, color or membership in a language minority group.

The plaintiffs cited 2020 census figures that showed Louisiana’s total Black voting age population increased by 7.22% over the past decade, while the white population decreased by 6.3%. Plaintiffs argued lawmakers did not sufficiently account for the shift when crafting new state House and Senate districts during the February special session.

When accounting for other minority groups, the voting age population of minorities in Louisiana comprises 42% of the population, while white voters represent about 58% of the voting age population. Legislative maps approved in February fail to reflect that reality, according to the lawsuit.

“The new maps maintain the discriminatory status quo,” the lawsuit reads. “Under the 2022 State Legislative Maps, white voters, who only comprise only 58% of the voting-age population, will control election outcomes in over 70% of the seats in the State Senate and State House of Representatives.”

The plaintiffs argued the Black population is sufficient enough to create six to nine additional House districts and three additional Senate districts that favor minority candidates.

“The Louisiana Legislature had the opportunity to ensure our district maps were constitutional, but instead they continued on the path that has led to decades of diluting Black voting power,” ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Alanah Odoms said. “Louisianans deserve better from our elected officials, but those representatives aren’t letting us have a choice, so once again, we’re fighting back in the courts to protect the rights for all. It is well past time for Louisiana to turn the page and allow all citizens to participate fully in our democracy.”

Legislative Republicans have argued spreading Black voters across more districts could water down the black voting age population to the point they would be unable to elect a candidate of their choice in any district.

The lawsuit was filed the same day Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed the Legislature on the first day of the 2022 regular session. In the governor’s final state of the state address, he discussed his disappointment with the Legislature’s failure to expand opportunities for minorities to elect a representative of their choice and voiced support for an independent redistricting commission for the future.

Edwards vetoed the congressional district map approved by the Legislature in February, but withheld his signature from the state House and Senate maps, effectively allowing them to become law without his support.

“You know, the Legislature undertook five separate redistricting efforts. A total of 163 districts. And across those five bills and 163 districts there’s not one net new majority Black district anywhere,” Edwards said.

ACLU Legal Defense Fund attorney Victoria Wenger contended the result is an attempt by the Legislature “to silence black Louisianans for another decade.”

“The numbers, geography, and people of Louisiana were clear throughout this entire redistricting process: additional majority-Black districts must be drawn for Louisiana’s legislative maps to comply with the Voting Rights Act,” she said. “Black voters cannot be forced to endure another decade of underrepresentation, which is why it’s so important that a court fix these discriminatory maps before another decade of harm is cemented.”

The lawsuit asked the court to declare the state legislative maps unconstitutional, prevent their use in elections, and to adopt new redistricting plans “that do not abridge or dilute the ability of black voters to elect candidates of choice.”

The plaintiffs argued that to comply with Section 2, the plans must include 14 minority majority state Senate districts and 35 to 39 House districts with a majority of Black voters.