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Deborah Boudreaux Duhon, 72, a native and resident of Morgan City, died Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Duhon Sr. of Morgan City; two sons, Robert Duhon of Centerville and Richard Duhon of Slidell; four grandchildren; and two brothers, Milton Bou-dreaux of Morgan City and Barry Boudreaux of Mississippi.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
A memorial visitation will be Wednesday from 9:15 a.m. until Mass at 10 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery Mausole-um.
Twin City Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

(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.)

Morgan City and St. Mary authorities reported seven more arrests late this week on drug charges, including possession of methamphetamine and prescription pills, and two more arrests alleging failure to appear on drug charges.

Morgan City
Morgan City Police Chief James F. Blair reported that the Morgan City Police Department responded to 48 calls for service over the last 24-hour reporting period and made these arrests beginning Thursday:
—Mekhi Branton, 18, Greenwood Street, was arrested at 8:38 p.m. Thursday on a charge of possession of marijuana.
—James Ernest Moore, 57, Grace Street, Houma, was arrested at 10:54 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of methamphetamine, posses-sion of Gabapentin and possession of drug paraphernalia.
—-Johnathan Matthew Priestly, 28, Fourth Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 7:06 p.m. Thursday on a charge of disturbing the peace (intoxicated).
—Kaveshia Oramae John-son, 24, Gen. MacArthur Street, Morgan City, was arrested on a warrant alleging child desertion, no registration and no insurance.
—Julian Alamager, 33, Hamilton Avenue, El Paso, Texas, was arrested at 2:29 a.m. Friday on a charge of driving while intoxicated (first offense), no driver’s license and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

St. Mary
Sheriff Blaise Smith ad-vised that over the last 48-hour reporting period beginning Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 62 complaints and made these arrests:
—Hector Ruiz-Santos, 40, Patterson, was arrested at 4:33 p.m. Wednesday by the Narcotics Section on charges of possession of marijuana and possession of a legend drug without a prescription (Gabapentin). Santos was released on a summons to appear by May 10.
—Calvin Joseph, 32, Franklin, was arrested at 8:07 p.m. Wednesday by the Narcotics Section on a charge of possession of marijuana. Joseph was released on a summons to appear May 10.
--Joseph James Thibodaux, 24, Franklin, was arrested at 3:25 p.m. Thursday by the Narcotics Section on charge of resisting an officer, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail has not been set.
--Christopher Jonathan Viscardi, 40, Berwick, was arrested at 1:25 p.m. Friday on charges of reckless operation (no accident), aggravated flight from an officer, aggravated obstruction of highway, no driver's license on person, possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I drug, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance and transactions involved proceeds from a drug offense.
Bail has not been set.
--Michael Jerome Williams Jr., 24, Berwick, was arrested at 4:08 p.m. Thursday on charges of maximum speed limit, no child restraint, possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I drug, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm in the presence of a controlled dangerous substance, illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a person under 17 and failure to register as a sex offender.
Bail has not been set.
—Paul Milton Ibert, 60, Franklin, was arrested at 10:52 a.m. Wednesday on charges of disturbing the peace (fighting) and criminal damage to property.
Ibert was released on a summons to appear May 10.
—Amy Brooke Picard, 23, Franklin, was arrested at 10:52 a.m. Thursday on a charges of disturbing the peace (fighting). Picard was released on a summons to appear May 10.
—Melvin Jackson, 50, Jeanerette, was arrested at 4:18 p.m. Wednesday on a warrant alleging failure to appear on the charge of speeding. Bail has not been set.
—Alysha Maxine Carlton, 32, Morgan City, was arrested at 5:20 p.m. Wednesday on four warrants alleging failure to appear on the charges of theft of less than $1,000, two counts of possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of Subutex, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of hydrocodone.
Bail has not been set.
—Landon Aaron Rodriguez, 41, Morgan City, was arrested at 8:24 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of theft and on a warrant alleging failure to appear on the charges of possession of suboxone with intent to distribute and possession or sale of a legend drug without prescription. Bail has not been set.
—Stephen Michael Fournier, 32, Morgan City, was arrested at 12:07 a.m. Thursday on charges of emanation of excessive sound or noise, driving while intoxicated (second offense) and no insurance. Bail was set at $5,750.
--Demetrius Devate Owens, 29, Morgan City, was arrested at 12:49 a.m. Thursday on a charge of aggravated battery of a correctional officer. Owens continues to be incarcerated at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.
--Juvenile male, 16, Jeanerette, was arrested at 1:52 p.m. Thursday on charges of disturbing the peace by language and resisting arrest or officer. The juvenile male was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.
--Ulyess John Boudreaux, 41, Rayne, was arrested at 3:23 p.m. Thursday on charges of duty of offender to notify law enforcement of change of address and failure to pay annual registration fee. Bail has not been set.

--Jonathan Ray Beadle, 31, Bayou Vista, was arrested at 7:37 p.m. Thursday on a charge of driving under suspension. Beadle was released on a summons to appear May 10.

--Darnell Jermaine Ayro Sr., 38, Jeanerette, was arrested at 12:01 p.m. Thursday on charges of driving under suspension and general speed law, and on a warrant for failure to appear. Bail has not been set.

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.
Thursday, Feb. 24
6:01 a.m. 100 block of Poncio Street; Com-plaint.
6:19 a.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Alarm.
9:12 a.m. 500 block of Roderick Street; Theft.
9:41 a.m. 1000 block of Birch Street; Complaint.
9:46 a.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Complaint.
9:58 a.m. 7300 block of La. 182; Complaint.
10:18 a.m. 400 block of Bowman Street; Harassment.
10:26 a.m. 900 block of Willard Street; Welfare concern.
11:47 a.m. 200 block of Mallard Street; Com-plaint.
12:12 p.m. 6400 block of La. 182; Complaint.
1:08 p.m. 7100 block of Park Road; Suspicious person.
1:09 p.m. 200 block of Freret Street; Traffic incident.
1:58 p.m. Park Road; Reckless driver.
2:09 p.m. La. 182 at Old Bridge; Traffic inci-dent.
2:41 p.m. Brashear Avenue; Suspicious person.
2:41 p.m. 700 block of Myrtle Street; Found property.
2:54 p.m. 900 block of Marguerite Street; Removal of subject.
3:40 p.m. U.S. 90 Westbound; Assistance.
4:43 p.m. 100 block of Wren Street; Removal of subject.
4:44 p.m. 1600 block of Front Street; Complaint.
5:20 p.m. Front and Everett streets; Medical.
5:48 p.m. 6400 block of U.S. 90; Disturbance.
5:54 p.m. Justa Street/Lake Palourde Road; Complaint.
6 p.m. 300 block of Egle Street; Medical.
7:01 p.m. La. 70; Subject in road.
7:11 p.m. 2300 block of Clements Street; Complaint.
7:25 p.m. 7000 block of South Railroad Avenue; 911 hang up.
7:36 p.m. 500 block of Terrebonne Street; Suspicious person.
7:56 p.m. 300 block of Second Street; Kick’em out closed down.
8:57 p.m. Old M C Bank; Alarm.
9:32 p.m. 1100 block of Brownell Homes; Animal complaint.
10:09 p.m. Florence Street; Suspicious per-son.
10:38 p.m. Green-wood/Freret streets; Suspicious person.
11:30 p.m. Morgan City Junior High; Suspicious person.
Friday, Feb. 25
Midnight Brownell Homes; Reckless operation.
2:26 a.m. 600 block of Kentucky Street; Welfare check.
4:49 a.m. 7000 block of South Railroad Avenue; 911 hang up.

Both nature and gardening are full of surprises. Have you ever seen a flowering shrub that has two completely different flower colors on the same plant? Or have you noticed that a portion of your plants’ variegated leaves are now solid green or a different shape all together? Strange changes in plants can be rationally explained if we dig a little deeper.
Some of these surprises stem from the way plants were bred and produced. Plant breeding has been practiced since the dawn of human civilization, starting with agriculture more than 10,000 years ago. Agriculture is the science and practice of farming, including the cultivation of crops and animals for food. Agriculture is thought to have been established with the domestication of cereal grains such as wheat when humans recognized superior plant qualities and began saving seeds.
Plant breeding has come a long way since the start of agriculture. Humans branched out beyond food crops to ornamental plants that enhance and create unique landscapes.
Ornamental plant breeders cultivate plants that have desirable characteristics such as larger flowers, extended bloom times, repeat blooms, unique flower colors, variegated foliage and increased flower production. Disease and pest resistance, in addition to drought tolerance, are additional traits selected for by breeders.
There are several techniques plant breeders use to enhance plants. Hybridization is the practice of bringing together desirable traits from two different plant varieties through cross-pollination to produce a new plant with distinct characteristics. One great example of this is in flowering ornamental plants, including bedding plants and flowering shrubs and trees.
Plants also can have genetic changes or mutations that produce a unique characteristic that we find striking. These mutations are often referred to as “sports,” and breeders will take cuttings of them to develop new cultivars that will retain those unique characteristics. Variegated plants are often selected this way.
The variation in color is often just the absence of the green pigment (chlorophyll) in some of the plant cells. This can be the result of a cell mutation, or it can be a genetically inherited trait that is passed down to offspring. A genetic trait is stable, while random mutations are unstable.
The variegation mutations are an anomaly of nature. Plant breeders see these mutations as something beautiful and then clone the plants to produce more plants with those specific traits. This also can happen in reverse when you observe a plant that once displayed foliage of several colors but has reverted to full green, single-colored foliage. These are both naturally occurring mishaps of nature.
Variegation also can be the result of viral infections. Yes, when the plant becomes infected with certain viruses, it can cause symptoms that result in two-toned coloring (foliar mosaic) that gives it a distinctive pattern, or the veins of the plant will turn yellow or lose green coloring between the veins. The leaf may become curled, causing a malformation, or the plant could be stunted in growth (dwarf). These characteristics can be attractive to breeders, even though they were caused by a virus.
Some growers have tapped into this tool of utilizing viruses to manipulate the physical appearance of plants. One example is tulip-breaking virus, which was used in the early 17th century by Danish growers to force beautiful flower variegation. The variegated tulip flowers increased the commercial value of the crop tremendously, and this was certainly an economic benefit.
Reversion of variegation also can be seen in variegated flowers. An example of this is the floribunda rose Hocus Pocus that is a sport of the dark red hybrid tea rose known as Black Beauty. Hocus Pocus can be genetically unstable and sometimes produces dark red roses alongside the striped blossoms, reverting back to the characteristic traits of its parent plant.
Once a plant reverts to its original characteristics, it will no longer be able to produce variegation. Those reverted portions of the plant can be removed by pruning to keep the plant uniform, if you wish. Alternatively, embrace those natural surprises — they are beautiful in their own unique way.