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(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.)

A Slidell man wanted in a string of Berwick and Morgan City vehicle burglaries last month was arrested in St. Tammany and returned to Berwick for booking, arrests reports say.

Berwick
Police Chief David Leonard reported these arrests:
—Anthony Deshaun Jennings, 20, of Slidell was arrested at 7:50 a.m. Thursday on Berwick warrants alleging six counts of simple burglary of a vehicle and six counts of attempt simple burglary.
On Thursday, Berwick officers traveled to St. Tammany Parish on pick up Jennings for active Berwick Police arrest warrants. Jennings was being held there on those warrants and also for multiple other charges through the St. Tammany Sherriff’s Office. Jennings was transported back to Berwick jail and was booked on the warrants.
The warrants stem from an ongoing investigation that was being conducted by local agencies into a rash of vehicle burglaries that took place in November in the Berwick and Morgan City area. Jennings was developed as a suspect at that time, and warrants were issued for his arrest.
Jennings was transported back to St. Tammany Parish, where he is being held on the charges.
—John Gibson, 32, Head-land Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 1:30 a.m. Friday on charges of posses-sion of marijuana (over 14 grams), possession of drug paraphernalia, improper lane usage and open alcoholic beverage container.
About 1:07 a.m. Friday, officers with the Berwick Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for swerving in the lane on La. 182. The driver was identified as Gibson.
During the initial contact, officers indicated that an odor of marijuana was coming from the interior of the vehicle, and an open container of alcohol was observed as well. A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 40 grams of marijuana, paraphernalia, and the open alcohol container. Gibson was placed under arrest and transported to Berwick jail, where he was booked on the charges.

Morgan City
Police Chief James F. Blair reported that over the last 24-hour period, the Morgan City Police Department responded to 47 calls for service and made these arrests:
—Kerry L. Rollins, 45, Marietta Place, Gray, was arrested at 3:52 a.m. Thurs-day on a charge of possession of heroin, re-sisting an officer by flight and tail lamp-license plate light.
—Ex’zaria M. Stewart, 22, Prince Collins Street, Houma, was arrested at 3:52 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.
—Jackie Jordan, 61, Louise Street, Houma, was arrested at 9 a.m. Thursday on charges of remaining after forbidden and resisting an officer.
—Herbert J. Brown, 39, Egle Street, Morgan City, was arrested at 12:01 p.m. Thursday on a 6th Ward Morgan City Court warrant alleging two counts of failure to appear to pay fines.
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St. Mary
Sheriff Blaise Smith ad-vised that over the last 24-hour reporting period, the Sheriff’s Office responded to 26 complaints made these arrests:
—Bryson Shane Gaspard, 21, Baldwin, was arrested at 10:36 a.m. Thursday on charges of possession of THC wax and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail was set at $3,500.
—Juvenile male, 16, Bald-win, was arrested at 12:27 p.m. Thursday on charges of simple battery and assault on a school teacher. The boy was released into the custody of a guardian pending juvenile court proceedings.

FRANKLIN — The St. Mary Parish government got generally good marks in its 2020 financial audit Wednesday, but with a warning about the financial future of its trash pickup and landfill program.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the council approved the parish’s 2021 combined and five-year capital outlay budgets; reluctantly approved a change order for an Amelia pump station project that is already past its original completion target; and introduced ordinances that would make stop sign changes in Amelia and Bayou Vista.
There was also evidence of tension among council members, when the council grappled with resolutions proposed by Councilman Craig Mathews to remove Dean Adams from the council chairmanship and to censure Councilman Mark Duhon (see related story).
More tension: Councilman James Bennett said he’s asking legal counsel Eric Duplantis about ways to limit the content of Parish Presi-dent David Hanagriff’s regular report to the council. Bennett said Hanagriff sometimes goes beyond a report and into a Hanagriff agenda.
“This is a Parish Council meeting, but it is the parish president’s report,” Hanagriff said in an interview Thursday. “Any attempt to censor it is inappro-priate, and I will fight it.”
Audit
The audit report by Pitts & Matte of Morgan City “expresses an unmodified opinion on the basic financial statements of the St. Mary Parish Council’s primary government.”
In other words, Guy Pitts told the council Wednesday, it’s a clean audit.
But Pitts waved a red flag about the parish’s landfill, sanitation and sewer construction operations, which are supported by a 0.75% sales tax.
Together, spending on those functions was about $1.6 million more than the revenue, Pitts said. Meanwhile, the parish has set aside only $4.4 million to cover the cost of closing the Harold J. “Babe” Landry Landfill near Berwick, when the liability incurred by the end of 2020 totaled $8.36 million.
The landfill is decades away from closing. But Pitts recommended a look at the tipping fees to make sure the parish accumulates enough money to close the landfill when the time comes.
“These are not immediate problems but looming problems …,” Pitts said. “A good analysis needs to be done.”
Also, Pitts said, the operating loss for the parish’s animal shelter was at $325,000 last year. Fees that once covered 60% of the operating costs paid for only 22% in 2020, he said.
The Atchafalaya at Idlewild Golf Course is by far the most effective recreational facility in the parish when it comes to raising operating funds by way of user fees. But the council might consider a fixed dedicated source of funding, Pitts said.
The audit report found a pair of “material weaknesses.”
The administration didn’t record some of the transactions related to $11.5 million in Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act project bonds and $3.9 million in other bonds.
The administration replied that the GOMESA bonds were sent directly to a paying agent, so they weren’t immediately entered in the parish books. In the future, all issuance of debt will be entered in the parish books in a timely way, the ad-ministration said.
The parish government also failed to properly record a $187,000 grant to the Atchafalaya Golf Course Commission, which the administration said was an oversight.
And the parish failed to amend the budget quickly enough when revenue fell 5% or more below the budgeted amount in individual funds, or when expenses exceeded the budget by more than 5% as required by law, the report said. The report recommended closer monitoring of the funds.
Pump station
The council approved the change order for the new pump station in Amelia, designed to improve flood-fighting capability. Contractor Ashley Savarino Unlimited Construction LLC of Metairie sought an additional $134,000 and another 76 days to in-stall sheet piles after a stubborn obstruction blocked the original plans.
The latest change or-der raises the contract price to about $2.5 mil-lion and, according to Robert Karam of consulting engineers T. Baker Smith, could extend the completion until mid-April.
“Another rainy season without the pump?” asked Councilman Duhon, who represents Amelia.
“I understand your frustration,” Karam said.
The change order approved Wednesday was the third for this project.
Stop signs
Councilman Scott Ramsey introduced ordinances that would remove a stop sign on Jupiter Street at Columbus and repealing the ordinance that creates a four-way stop at Saturn and Universe, leaving stop signs only on Saturn.
Duhon introduced ordinances calling for three-way stops at Barrow and Arnold and Barrow and Tommie.
Twenty days must elapse between the introduction of an ordinance and the final vote on passage.
New ordinances
Ordinances passed Wednesday prohibit boards and commissions from meeting on the same day as the Parish Council and require their members to be registered voters living in their districts.
Another ordinance passed Wednesday sets the salary of Council Clerk Lisa Morgan at $28.76 per hour.
Budget
The council voted to adopt the proposed combined budget and the five-year capital outlay budget for 2022.
As adopted Wednesday, the budget calls for general fund revenue of about $13.1 million and spending of $44,000 more than that, leaving a fund balance of $515,000.
The council also authorized the administration to enter an agreement for housing St. Mary Parish’s female jail inmates in the Iberia Parish jail. Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange said the prisoners will be housed at a rate of $16 per prisoner per day.
Female inmates had been housed at the Morgan City jail until Mayor Lee Dragna said the city was losing money on the transaction and asked for a higher rate than the parish was willing to pay.

The St. Mary Parish School Board recognized its Students of the Month at Thursday's meeting. They are, from left: fifth-grader Alondra Hernandez, J.S. Aucoin Elementary; senior Ledaisha Coates, Franklin High; and fifth-grader Jlaysiah Polidore, LaGrange Elementary.

The Review/Bill Decker

Erin and Andy Shirley of Morgan City wish to announce the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Allison Drew Shirley, to Chase Michael Broussard, son of Cindy Verret of Morgan City and George Broussard of Patterson. The wedding will take place at 5 p.m. Jan. 22 at The Atchafalaya at Idlewild near Patterson.