Dillon Gunner was named Patterson High School homecoming king during the school’s pep rally Oct. 21. He is the son of Delinda Gunner and Clint Gant. Homecoming Queen Nyla Alexander was crowned during halftime of the PHS vs. Donaldsonville homecoming game on Oct. 22, which Patterson won 32-26 in overtime. There was no official homecoming dance due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Small businesses long have been the heart and soul of local communities. There is something to be said about being on a first-name basis with a local restaurateur or another small business owner.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for 99.9% of companies in the country, due in large part to the broad definition of small businesses (those with fewer than 500 employees). However, the vast majority of businesses in the United States have a staff that’s smaller than 20 workers, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. These firms employ nearly 60 million workers, says the SBA.
Consumers who want to help their favorite small businesses survive can make a concerted effort to fuel this important cog in their local economic engines.
—Shop local. The concept is simple but effective. Opting to shop in local stores over larger conglomerates and franchises can help small businesses take root. Before making holiday shopping lists, visit local stores and base gift ideas on items they have in stock. Chances are those gifts will be one-of-a-kind.
—Purchase gift cards/certificates. All businesses have slow periods, and post-holiday is often a time when sales stagnate. Gift cards may bring new customers into local businesses who might otherwise not have patronized them, potentially creating new repeat customers.
—Cater holiday meals and gatherings. The holiday season is chock-full of entertainment opportunities. Individuals can rely on nearby restaurants and other food and beverage businesses to cater holiday parties. Some businesses also may be willing to discount or donate food for nonprofit group activities, such as church holiday bazaars, school holiday concerts or fundraising fairs.
—Mention small businesses on social media. The holiday season breeds excitement. Therefore, when shoppers are in local stores, they can snap pictures of products and overflowing shopping bags and post them online while praising local businesses.
—Think about subscription gifts. Enrollment in a health club or a massage therapy service are gifts that keep on giving for the recipient, but also help ensure consistent incoming cash for the business providing the service.
When shopping this holiday season, consumers can look to the small, local businesses in their communities that help make towns and cities unique.
DEAR ABBY: My 23-year-old daughter is dating a transgender woman, “Holly.” My family is accepting, and we love Holly. However, she has been met with varying levels of acceptance from some of our friends.
Recently, one of them, “Gina,” invited our family to an upcoming poolside barbecue at their home. Gina’s mother (who lives with them) told my daughter she should bring her girlfriend. Normally, Holly would not accompany us, as she works odd hours, but she happened to have this day off.
Gina and her mother are accepting, nonjudgmental people. Gina’s husband is not. I don’t like him, but I tolerate him for Gina’s sake. My main concern was Holly’s safety and well-being, but she wanted to come despite knowing what he’s like. When I called Gina to make sure he wouldn’t make trouble, she told me she didn’t think it would be a problem, but she would give him a heads-up. She called me right back afterward, extremely apologetic, saying he reacted very badly, and she didn’t think it was a good idea to bring Holly.
I think she was more than a little naive about her husband’s ability to accept Holly, but I know it’s not her fault and I’m not upset with her. However, I am left with an awkward situation. My daughter wants to stay home with Holly now, which I’m fine with. I told Gina weeks ago that I would attend her party. But now I feel like I am betraying my daughter and Holly, and I’m not looking forward to being around Gina’s husband at all. I honestly am not sure what the right thing to do here is.
Any advice would be welcome.
PROGRESSIVE MOM IN THE SOUTH
DEAR MOM: The right thing to do would be to follow your heart. In this sad situation, that would be conveying your regrets to Gina and, in the future, seeing her apart from her husband, who you can’t stand anyway.
DEAR ABBY: My son recently found out he has a school-age son. I’ll call the boy “Billy.” Billy has stayed overnight with me and gone on several outings. Billy’s mom has another child who is slightly older. During our last visit, Billy’s half-brother asked me if he could come next time. I responded with, “We’ll see.”
When I spoke to my husband about it, he said, “You don’t want to start something.” I agree with him. I have no responsibility toward the other sibling. I enjoy being with Billy, but I’m concerned about the animosity his half-brother might feel toward Billy, because he has to travel with his mother when Billy visits.
BILLY’S GRANDMA
DEAR BILLY’s GRANDMA: I strongly disagree with your husband’s advice. If you see Billy and habitually exclude his half-brother, you WILL “start something,” and the something you start will be hurt feelings and a troubled relationship between those siblings. If you can’t find it in your heart to sometimes include the other boy and treat them both with love and kindness, don’t see either of them.
***
For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order “How to Be Popular.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447.
PATTERSON -- The City Council voted Tuesday to put three proposed charter amendments on the March 26 ballot, at the same election at which an unexpired term on the council will be filled.
The council passed ordinances putting these proposed amendments to the City Charter before voters:
--The first would require the mayor to have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
--The second would allow the police chief to receive a raise during the same electoral term in which the City Council increases the chief's pay. Currently, the charter forbids a change in the chief's pay from taking effect until after the electoral term in which the change is approved. If the amendment passes, a pay cut still couldn't take effect until after the current term ends, but a pay raise could take effect immediately.
--The third would require candidates for police chief to have Peace Officer Standards and Training certification.
An ordinance proposing a charter amendment requires four votes from the five-member council to pass. Councilman Joe Russo was absent Tuesday because of an illness in his family. But council members Tina Johnson, John Rentrop, Travis Darnell and Lee Condolle voted yes on all three amendments.
The council also passed a resolution asking the secretary of state to place the amendments on the March 26 ballot. That's also the date when voters will pick a new council member to fill the unexpired term of Sandra K. Turner, who resigned earlier this year because she moved outside the city limits.
Johnson, who is Turner's daughter, is serving on the council in the interim.
More than a dozen Republican state lawmakers are urging State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley to require parental consent before any COVID-19 vaccinations are administered at Louisiana’s K-12 schools.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized last week the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5-11. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet this week to discuss nationwide recommendations.
Fourteen GOP House members, led by Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, expressed skepticism and concern in a letter to Brumley about potentially ensuing vaccination activities at public schools.
Citing a July 13 academic study, the legislators wrote Monday, “The likelihood of children of this age group with no comorbidities to survive from Covid is 99.9973 percent.”
“The authorization for five-to-eleven-year-olds is under emergency use as an experimental drug and this fact must be communicated to those receiving the shot,” the letter read. “The only FDA ‘approved’ drug for Covid at this time is Comirnaty which is unavailable for distribution in America.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, recently endorsed COVID-19 vaccinations for children, saying during a news conference last week they represent a way forward for schools.
“We know that many of our children can’t yet be vaccinated, though we have our fingers crossed that within the next couple of weeks vaccines will be available for children 5 and older,” Edwards said. "If that happens, then virtually the entire K-12 population will be eligible.”
In their letter, the House representatives said COVID-19 is not “vaccine preventable” and should not be placed on school immunization lists. The statement reflects certain public health findings showing fully vaccinated individuals still can get infected with the delta variant and transmit the virus.
A study published last week in the British medical journal The Lancet found people with two vaccine doses could spread the infection to vaccinated and unvaccinated household members.
The Louisiana legislators' main concern, however, was parental consent.
“Informed consent must be given to those receiving the shot and they must know they have the right to refuse,” they wrote. “Should any school district, medical professional, or government agency arrange a vaccination mobile unit or school-based clinic during school hours, we believe parents should be present should their minor child be immunized.
“At a minimum, verified parental consent for minor children should be obtained in advance if children are given a Covid shot on campus,” the letter concluded.
According to the FDA, the Pfizer vaccine was studied in about 3,100 children age 5 through 11 and no serious side effects were detected. Full vaccination will require two doses at least three weeks apart, a statement said.
Louisiana state employees charged $863 million to Purchase and Travel Card programs over a five-year period that included $147 million in 2020, a year marked by COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
The Louisiana legislative auditor published a review of the expense card programs, saying an audit was necessary “because the obligations resulting from these transactions are direct liabilities of the state.”
The programs are monitored by the Office of State Travel (OST), which is part of the Division of Administration. They allow state workers to use taxpayer-funded credit cards to make purchases on behalf of their government employers, which includes state agencies, boards, commissions and universities.
Auditors found the number of transactions made by state employees and the total dollar amount of the transactions increased from 2016-19 and only fell in 2020 because of COVID-19.
“Card usage increased from calendar years 2016 through 2019, with the number of card transactions increasing 17.4% – from 474,862 to 557,560 – and the amount of these transactions increasing 19.6% – from $161.3 million to $192.9 million,” the report said.
Dozens of state entities were included in the analysis, but Louisiana State University stood out as the single-largest source of spending and use.
Auditors determined more than one-third of the total spent during the five-year period came from LSU and its various institutions, which accounted for $300.8 million, or 34.8% of the $863 million total.
It also was reported LSU is not subject to independent oversight from the Office of State Travel; rather, LSU monitors its own credit card expenses – an arrangement that does not exist for any other state entity.
“In November 2015, DOA (Division of Administration) and LSU entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow LSU to administer its card programs for all LSU institutions, including all audit and compliance functions,” the report said. “The MOU does not require that LSU send the results of its monitoring activities to OST.”
The report further identified several loopholes in OST’s monitoring activities. For example, the office conducted 285 compliance checks during the five-year audit period to ensure program integrity, but the process was limited.
“OST only reviews a random selection of 20 transactions from most of the data analytics reports, instead of focusing its reviews on those transactions that appear to be most risky,” auditors said.
Monitoring activities also were cited for failing to ensure proper spending codes were adequately used, thereby undermining certainty in what many purchases were for. In other instances, cards were used after government cardholders were “separated from employment," auditors said.
The report included that expense card rebates totaled $19.2 million during the audit period, which was enough to fully funded OST's budget.
State Travel Director Garret DeBate concurred in a response letter with all nine recommendations in the Legislative auditor’s report.
“OST is working to improve analytics and reporting functions to enhance monitoring of the Purchase and Travel Card Programs” DeBate said. “We appreciate the feedback provided by LLA to help OST improve these programs in the future.”
8-4A
Vandebilt Catholic............4-0 5-2
South Lafourche..............3-1 3-3
Assumption......................3-1 5-4
A.J. Ellender....................1-3 2-4
South Terrebonne............1-3 1-5
Morgan City.....................0-4 2-6
9-3A
E.D. White......................4-0 7-0
Lutcher............................3-1 6-1
St. James........................3-1 6-2
Patterson........................2-2 6-3
Donaldsonville................0-4 6-4
Berwick...........................0-4 2-6
7-2A
Loreauville..................... 5-0 9-0
Ascension Episcopal......4-1 6-3
Franklin..........................3-2 4-3
Delcambre.....................3-3 4-4
Catholic-New Iberia.......2-3 4-5
West St. Mary................1-4 3-6
Houma Christian........... 0-0 2-2
Jeanerette......................0-5 0-9
8-1A
Central Catholic...........4-0 6-2
Vermilion Catholic........4-0 6-3
Hanson Memorial........2-2 6-3
Highland Baptist..........1-3 4-5
Covenant Christian......1-3 3-4
Centerville....................0-4 2-6
Wednesday's print edition gives an incorrect site for Thursday's Vermilion Catholic-Central Catholic game. The game will be in Morgan City.
June 27, 1955 — August 27, 2021
Cherie Materi-Green was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and grew up in southern Louisiana before moving to Washington State. Cherie is survived by her husband, John Green and her children, Denise Materi-Powell and her husband Russell, David Sons and his wife Stacey, Joshua Materi and his wife Lindsey, and daughter Trisha Materi, and by her grand babies and loves of her life, Justice, Rachell, Brett, Helena, Isabella, Evan, Oliver, Lucy and Josephine, a sister Theresa Grow, her husband Terry, brother Steven Jones and his wife Karen. Preceding her in death, her mother, Adeline Agnes Wiebe Jones of Bayou Vista, Louisiana, father, Riley Jones of Texas, and her husband, Terrance John Materi of Silverdale, Washington.
Cherie’s husband Terry Materi passed away after 22 years of marriage. Cherie and Terry spent most of their lives together in southern Louisiana raising their children. They owned a sports store, Tackle Annex, and held a weekly bass tournament, the “Wednesday Night Hog Fight”, where Terry implemented a catch and release program fostering an environment in which their grandkids would be able to fish one day.
Cherie was the most selfless person. Family meant the world to her, and she spent as much time with her children and grandchildren as possible. Cherie had debilitating rheumatoid arthritis but did not complain, even on her worst days. She was determined to find the positive things in life. She had an infectious personality and made friends everywhere she went. She was always looking for a reason to celebrate, and when she cooked, she would feed the masses. People in Washington loved her Cajun cooking and her sweet southern hospitality. Cherie lost her battle with Covid on August 27th, 2021, after fighting for a month. She will remain in the hearts of all who knew her. A private memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
May 25, 1951 — September 30, 2021
Leonard E. Wiggins Jr. passed away on September 30, 2021 at Kingwood Medical Center in Kingwood, Texas.
Leonard was born on May 25, 1951, in Brownsville, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents. He was also preceded in death by his mother, Silvia Orason Buck and two brothers, Frank M. Buck Jr. and Darryl Ivan Buck.
Leonard is survived by his father, Frank M. Buck Sr. of Bayou Vista; two sisters, Elizabeth Buck Waguespack of Houma and Ethel Buck Cantu of Abbeville; two brothers, Berry M. Wiggins of Gretna and Lonnie J. Wiggins of Baton Rouge; and former wife, Bonnie Wiggins. He is also survived by nine nieces and nephews; five great nieces and nephews; and numerous cousins.
There will be a celebration of life service on Friday, November 5, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Clarion Inn of Morgan City, 520 Roderick St., Morgan City, Louisiana, 70380. Family and friends are invited to attend. Leonard will then be laid to his final resting place in a private service to be held on November 9, 2021 in North Louisiana.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association by any of the following ways; direct mail to Alzheimer’s Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, floor 17, Chicago, IL, 60621, directly online at act.alz.org; or they can be mailed to his sister Elizabeth Waguespack at 248 Madio Drive, Houma, Louisiana, 70364, and one large donation will be mailed directly in memory of Leonard E. Wiggins.
Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874
Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255