The Advocate 02-24-2025 by The Advocate

Inmate dies ahead of scheduled execution

Christopher Sepulvado was convicted of 1992 murder

BY JOHN SIMERMAN and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writers

of New Isle, roughly 40 miles farther inland “The first of next year, I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

Tamplet’s relocation from Isle de Jean Charles in lower Terrebonne Parish was part of a ﬁrst-of-its-kind government effort to help dozens of families move to higher ground from Louisiana’s disappearing coastline Many of those families are members of the state-recognized Jean Charles Choctaw Nation

The state hoped it would serve as a model for future relocation efforts, expected to become increasingly necessary as storms intensify and sea levels rise. But residents are ﬁnding that their

By 2026, when most New Isle residents will begin paying their own homeowners’ insurance, the state Office of Community Development estimates that the average policy there will be $4,078. Wallace ‘Johnny’ Tamplet’s is estimated to be around $4,500.

new homes come with costs they’re not sure they can afford, raising serious questions over the program’s long-term viability State officials who have overseen the voluntary program say they are sympa-

thetic, but there are limits to what they can do. They point out that the homes were provided free of charge and homeowners’ insurance is fully covered for ﬁve years. They are hoping to hand the project over to a sepa-

within three years, including fees and interest, he could lose his house. He owes around $4,000 in back taxes.

“If I can’t sell my truck, and I can’t bring my taxes up to date, at least for this year the possibility is that next year, someone could take my house by paying the taxes,” said Tamplet. “Then where am I going to be?”

Tamplet, who is not a tribe member, is among 37 households who have moved to New Isle since the program began in 2016. Built with a $48 million federal grant, it was part of a landmark pilot program to help a

ä See RELOCATION, page 6A

Christopher Sepulvado, the 81-yearold death row prisoner who was scheduled to be executed on March 17 as Louisiana is set to resume executions after 15 years, is dead.

Sepulvado died overnight at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, according to both his attorneys and state ofﬁcials. He’d remained on death row for more than 30 years.

His attorneys said doctors had recommended Sepulvado for hospice care days before DeSoto Parish District Attorney Charles Adams secured a judge’s signature this month on an execution warrant.

Sepulvado was the oldest of the 57 people on death row in Louisiana He was convicted in the 1992 murder of his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Allen Mercer

ä See INMATE, page 4A

Terrebonne

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Hurt workers stable after hospital hostage-taking

YORK Pa Workers at a Pennsylvania hospital who were injured during a shooting that left the gunman and a police ofﬁcer dead were reported “medically stable” Sunday as the hospital remained closed to visitors, according to the hospital.

Investigators were still piecing together what happened a day after a man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties headed straight to the intensive care unit at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an ofﬁcer dead.

A doctor, a nurse, a custodian and two other police officers were shot and wounded in the attack at the central Pennsylvania hospital on Saturday, authorities said. A fourth hospital staffer was injured in a fall UPMC officials said injured staff members were “progressing in their recovery” but visitors would not be allowed for the time being as the hospital beefed up medical campus security.

“We know that families and visitors are vital to helping patients heal, and we are working toward making visitation possible again,” the hospital said in a statement. Authorities have said little about the shooter’s motive.

York County District Attorney Tim Barker said while the investigation is in its early stages, it appears the shooter had previous contact with the hospital’s ICU earlier in the week for “a medical purpose involving another individual” and he intentionally targeted the workers there.

Hegseth defends Trump’s military firings

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists President Donald Trump ’s abrupt firing of the nation’s senior military officer amid a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon wasn’t unusual, brushing aside outcry that the new administration is openly seeking to inject politics into the military He also suggested more firings could come.

“Nothing about this is unprecedented,” Hegseth told “Fox News Sunday” about Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr being removed Friday night as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The president deserves to pick his key national security advisory team.”

Hegseth said “there are lots of presidents who made changes” citing former commanders in chief, including Franklin D Roosevelt, George H.W Bush and Barack Obama. Obama, Hegseth said, “fired or dismissed hundreds” of military ofﬁcials.

Months into his first term, Obama removed Army Gen. David McKiernan from being commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. However Trump, while running for his second term, vowed to eradicate “woke” ideologies from the military and to swiftly dismiss many top leaders.

Japan’s emperor marks birthday with message

TOKYO Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, marking his 65th birthday Sunday, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace as the world this year observes the 80th anniversary of the war’s end.

“As the memory of the war fades today it is important that the tragic experiences and history are passed on to the generations who do not know the war,” Naruhito told a news conference in a prerecorded comments released Sunday

Those who went through the ordeals during and after the war grew have grown older and it is difﬁcult for younger generations to hear their firsthand stories, Naruhito said.

Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako, their daughter Princess Aiko and some of his younger brother’s family, waved from the palace balcony at the cheering wellwishers. Later Sunday, he was to celebrate his birthday at a palace banquet.

The war was fought in the name of his grandfather thenEmperor Hirohito

Conservative opposition wins German election

Far-right party comes in 2nd with strongest post-WWII result

BY GEIR MOULSON Associated Press

BERLIN Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz won a lackluster victory in a national election Sunday, while Alternative for Germany nearly doubled its support, the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II, projections showed.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat for his center-left Social Democrats after what he called “a bitter election result.” Projections for ARD and ZDF public television showed his party ﬁnishing in third place with its worst postwar result in a national parliamentary election Merz vowed to move quickly to put together a coalition government. But that’s likely to be a complicated task

The election took place seven months earlier than originally planned after Scholz’s unpopular coalition collapsed in November, three years into a term that was increasingly marred by infighting. There was widespread discontent and not much enthusiasm for any of the candidates.

The campaign was dominated by worries about the yearslong stagnation of Europe’s biggest economy and pressure to curb migration — something that caused friction after Merz pushed hard in recent weeks for a tougher

approach. It took place against a background of growing uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and Europe’s alliance with the United States.

Germany is the most populous country in the 27-nation European Union and a leading member of NATO. It has been Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons supplier, after the U.S. It will be central to shaping the continent’s response to the challenges of the coming years, including the Trump administration’s confrontational foreign and trade policy

The projections, based on exit polls and partial counting, put support for Merz’s Union bloc around 28.5% and the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany or AfD, about 20.5% — roughly double its

result from 2021.

They put support for Scholz’s Social Democrats at just over 16%, far lower than in the last election and below their previous all-time low of 20.5% from 2017.

The environmentalist Greens, their remaining partners in the outgoing government, were on a little over 12%.

Out of three smaller parties, one — the hard-left Left Party strengthened its position, winning up to 9% of the vote after a remarkable comeback. Two other parties, the pro-business Free Democrats — who were the third party in the collapsed government — and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, hovered around the threshold of the 5% support needed to win seats.

Israel sends tanks into West Bank

Officials: Fleeing Palestinians can’t

return

BY MAJDI MOHAMMED and TIA GOLDENBERG

Associated Press

JENIN, West Bank Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the ﬁrst time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have ﬂed cannot return.

Associated Press journalists saw several tanks move along unpaved tracks into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.

Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the current ceaseﬁre in Gaza took hold

— and has expanded it to nearby areas.

Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” in all refugee camps in the West Bank.

“We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said.

Earlier, Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps, from which he said about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving them “emptied of residents.”

That ﬁgure was conﬁrmed by the United Nations.

The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who ﬂed during wars with Israel decades ago. It was not clear how long

Palestinians would be prevented from returning. Katz said Israeli troops would stay “for the coming year.” Netanyahu said they would stay “as long as needed.”

Tanks were last deployed in the West Bank in 2002, when Israel fought a deadly Palestinian uprising.

The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank,” and urged the international community in a statement to intervene in what it termed Israel’s illegal “aggression.”

Zelenskyy says progress made on making rare minerals deal with U.S.

BY JUSTIN SPIKE and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine A contentious Trump administration proposal to give the U.S. $500 billion worth of proﬁts from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv has been taken off the table, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, indicating a more equitable deal is in the works.

Zelenskyy had earlier declined a U.S. draft agreement on exploitation of his country’s valuable minerals such as lithium used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries because it did

not contain security guarantees and came with the $500 billion price tag.

“The question of $500 billion is no longer there,” Zelenskyy told a news conference at a forum of government ofﬁcials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader said considering aid as a debt to be repaid would be a “Pandora’s box” that would set a precedent requiring Kyiv to reimburse all its backers

“We do not recognize the debt,” Zelenskyy said. “It will not be in the ﬁnal format of the agreement.”

No further details were given on the state of negotiations. Ukraine has

insisted on security guarantees that it needs to deter any potential Russian aggression in the future.

Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he expects a deal this week allowing the U.S. to play a greater role in exploiting Ukraine’s mineral resources.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration’s minerals plan was to create a U.S.-Ukraine partnership, calling it a “win-win.”

“We make money if the Ukrainian people make money,” Bessent told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” program.

Trump firing 1.6K USAID workers

Other employees being put on leave

BY ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating at least 1,600 U.S.based jobs.

The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps yet toward what President Donald Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decadeold aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.

The move comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with its plan to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government’s plan.

“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” according to the notices sent to USAID workers that were viewed by The Associated Press.

At the same time, the agency said in the notices to staffers that it was beginning a reduction in force that would eliminate 2,000 U.S.-based jobs. A version of the notice posted later on USAID’s website put the number of positions to be eliminated lower, at 1,600.

The administration gave no explanation for the discrepancy USAID and the State Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The cuts mean many of the Washington-based staffers who are being placed on leave would soon have their positions eliminated.

The Trump appointee running USAID, deputy administrator Pete Marocco, has indicated he plans to keep about 600 mostly U.S.-based staffers on the job in the meantime, in part to arrange travel for USAID staffers and families abroad.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARKUS SCHREIBER

Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party gestures Sunday while addressing supporters at the party headquarters in Berlin after the German national election.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAJDI MOHAMMED Israeli tanks move Sunday into the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

Pope in critical condition with early kidney failure

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Francis re-

mained in critical condition Sunday and blood tests showed early kidney failure but he remains alert, responsive and attended Mass, the Vatican said, as the 88-yearold pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection.

In a late update, the Vatican said Francis hadn’t had any more respiratory crises since Saturday night but was still receiving high ﬂows of supplemental oxygen. Some blood tests showed “initial, mild, kidney failure,” but doctors said it was under control.

“The complexity of the clinical picture, and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback, dictate that the prognosis remains guarded,” Francis’ doctors concluded.

Prayers for Francis, meanwhile, poured in from around the world, from his native Argentina to the seat of Sunni Islam in Cairo to schoolchildren in Rome.

In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan admitted what church leaders in Rome weren’t saying publicly: that the Catholic faithful were

united “at the bedside of a dying father.”

“As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very very fragile health, and probably close to death,” Dolan said in his homily from the pulpit of St Patrick’s Cathedral, though he later told reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would “bounce back.”

Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and preexisting lung disease His condition has revived speculation about what

might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and whether he might resign.

Francis was supposed to celebrate Mass on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Basilica and ordain deacons as part of the Vatican’s yearlong Holy Year commemoration.

The organizer of the Holy Year, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated the Mass in his place and offered a special prayer for Francis from the altar before delivering the homily the pope had

prepared.

“Even though he is in a hospital bed, we feel Pope Francis close to us. We feel him present among us,” Fisichella told the hundreds of white-robed deacons.

A pre-written message that had been prepared for Francis to read Sunday, but he did not deliver, said he was “confidently continuing my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy!” The message

asked for prayers for him — as he always asks — and noted the upcoming anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity.”

Meanwhile in Francis’ native Argentina, Catholics prayed for the pope at the Buenos Aires cathedral and the city’s iconic obelisk was lit up “Francis, the city prays for you.”

In Cairo, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning who forged a close bond with Francis, wished him well.

“I pray to Allah to grant my dear brother, Pope Francis, a swift recovery and to bless him with good health and well-being so that he may continue his journey in serving humanity,” Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb wrote in a Facebook post.

The American Jewish Committee also offered prayers. “We stand together with our Catholic brothers and sisters during this challenging time,” the group wrote on X.

And school children from around Rome deluged the Gemelli hospital with getwell cards, while Italian bishops led rosary prayers and celebrated special Masses across Italy

Doctors have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious

infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. To date there has been no reference to any onset of sepsis in the medical updates provided by the Vatican, including on Sunday On Saturday, Francis developed a low platelet count, which remained low but stable Sunday Platelets are celllike fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections. Francis also developed anemia and, during blood transfusions Saturday, was given hematin, a treatment designed to increase the level of hemoglobin in his blood, which in turn helps the blood carry more oxygen. Doctors reported Sunday that the therapy had been beneﬁcial. Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.

Key federal agencies tell workers to ignore Musk email

DOGE demanding government employees justify jobs

BY STEVE PEOPLES, ERIC TUCKER and AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press

WASHINGTON Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk’s latest demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their job. The pushback from appointees of President Donald Trump marked a new level of chaos and confusion within the beleaguered federal workforce, just a month after Trump returned to the White House and quickly began fulfilling campaign promises to shrink the government. Administration officials scrambled throughout the weekend to interpret Musk’s unusual mandate, which apparently has Trump’s backing despite some lawmakers arguing it is illegal. Unions want the administration to rescind the request and are threatening to sue. Some officials are resisting. Others are encouraging their workers to comply At some agencies, there was conﬂicting guidance.

One message on Sunday morning from the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., instructed its roughly 80,000 employees to comply. That was shortly after the acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, had instructed some not to. And by Sunday evening, agency leadership issued new instructions that employees should “pause activities” on the request until noon Monday.

“I’ll be candid with you. Having put in over 70 hours of work last week advancing Administration’s priorities, I was personally insulted to receive the below email,” Keveney said in an email viewed by The Associated Press. Keveney laid out security concerns and pointed out some of the work done by the agency’s employees may be protected by attorney-client privilege: “I have received no assurances that there are appropriate protections in place to safeguard responses to this email.”

Musk’s team sent an email to federal employees on Saturday giving them roughly 48 hours to report ﬁve speciﬁc things they had accomplished last week. In a separate message on X, Musk said any employee who failed to respond by the deadline — set in the email as 11:59 p.m EST Monday — would lose their job.

Democrats and even some Republicans were critical of Musk’s ultimatum, which came just hours after Trump

encouraged him on social media to “get more aggressive” in reducing the size of the government through his Department of Government Efﬁciency or DOGE.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, was among the members of Trump’s party who had concerns.

“If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s like, please put a dose of compassion in this,” Curtis, whose state has 33,000 federal employees, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “These are real people. These are real lives These are mortgages. It’s a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well.”

On ABC’s “This Week,” Rep. Mike Lawler R-N.Y. questioned the legal basis the Trump administration would have for dismissing tens of thousands of workers for refusing to heed Musk’s latest demand. The email did not include the threat about workers losing their jobs.

For Sen Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., there was no doubt: “The actions he’s taking are illegal,” he said on “Face the Nation.”

Trump mocked the affected workers in a meme Sunday on his social media network. The post featured a cartoon character writing a list of accomplishments from the previous week led by, “Cried about Trump,” “Cried about Elon,” “Made it into the ofﬁce for once,” and “Read some emails.”

Newly conﬁrmed FBI Director Kash Patel, an outspo-

ken Trump ally, instructed bureau employees to ignore Musk’s request, at least for now

“The FBI, through the Ofﬁce of the Director is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” Patel wrote in an email conﬁrmed by the AP “When and if further information is required, we

will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”

Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia sent his staff a message Sunday that may cause more confusion. Martin noted that he responded to Musk’s order “Let me clarify: We will comply with this OPM request whether by replying or deciding not to reply,” Martin wrote in the email obtained by the AP, referring to the Ofﬁce of Personnel Management.

“Please make a good faith effort to reply and list your activities (or not, as you prefer), and I will, as I mentioned, have your back regarding any confusion,” Martin continued. “We can do this.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDREW MEDICHINI

A nun prays for Pope Francis on Sunday in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where the pope has been hospitalized since Feb 14.

Francis

In a statement, his attorneys described a steep decline in Sepulvado’s health and cognition, from COPD to gangrene in a leg that sent him to a New Orleans hospital for an operation last week to amputate it. They say that, instead of receiving hospice care, Sepulvado was returned to Angola to face execution, likely by nitrogen gas in a first for Louisiana.

Shawn Nolan, an attorney for Sepulvado, said in a statement that his death was a “sad comment” on the death penalty in Louisiana.

“The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric,” he said.

Gov Jeff Landry described Sepulvado’s spending more than 30 years on

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performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest,” it read.

Powell, who said she had yet to receive a performance evaluation, was shown the door

“I just got a new place, just to get hit out of the blue with this,” she said. “This has caused so much anxiety.”

Powell is one of thousands of workers in the U.S who have lost their jobs in recent weeks as part of a sweeping effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to dramatically reduce the size and cost of government.

Trump earlier this month ordered agencies to “initiate large-scale reductions in force” with the goal of “eliminating waste, bloat and insularity” in the federal government. He deputized billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to oversee cost-cutting efforts through the newly created Department of Government Efﬁciency

Trump also ordered agencies to lay off nearly all their probationary workers, who generally have less than one year on the job and have yet to gain civil service protection There are around 220,000 workers in the federal government with less than one year of experience, according to data from the Ofﬁce of Personnel Management. A database maintained by The New York Times said that as of Friday at least 19,340 probationary workers had lost their jobs, though many agencies haven’t reported their total cuts.

It’s not clear how many Louisiana-based federal employee have been fired. But employees at several federal agencies who live or work in the state have said they lost their job in recent days. That includes workers

death row — and never being executed as a miscarriage of justice. “Mr Sepulvado killed his son 33 years ago in 1992. He was able to live to a ripe old age because of the failure of the justice system,” Landry said in a statement “He can no longer escape his judgment day.”

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections released a statement Sunday morning conﬁrming the death. They said he died of “natural causes” due to his preexisting conditions They declined to comment when asked about the amputation.

Derek Ellis, deputy corrections secretary, declined to conﬁrm whether the state planned to use nitrogen gas to put Sepulvado to death. Ellis also declined to answer that question about the execution of another inmate, Jessie Hoffman, of St. Tammany Parish, scheduled for March 18.

A letter that Hoffman received from the state with

at the National Finance Center; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans; the Southwest Louisiana Wildlife Refuge; the Kisatchie National Forest; and the New Orleans federal immigration court.

Around 10% of the more than 19,300 federal employees in Louisiana who are not serving in the military or the postal service had served for less than a year as of May 2024, the most recent data available.

Trump and other ofﬁcials have said the goal of cutting the federal workforce is to reduce excessive government spending and to ensure that the federal bureaucracy enacts the policies of the new administration.

Still, the ﬁrings have bewildered federal employees like Powell. If their mission is to reduce government waste, she said, it doesn’t make sense to get rid of auditors like her tasked with detecting fraud.

“If you’re looking to right the ship in the federal government, why would you get rid of the auditors?” she said.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, DNew Orleans, said the ﬁrings threaten the “cogs of the wheels that run the government” and that in the past, protecting jobs for federal employees in Louisiana at the NFC had been a bipartisan effort that he undertook with U.S Rep Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson.

“No one is opposed to rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, but I don’t think this

his death warrant said his method of execution will be nitrogen gas.

Brutal beating Sepulvado’s case stretches back more than 30 years, shortly after he married Mercer’s mother Court documents say Sepulvado beat the 6-year-old boy with the handle of a screwdriver and that the little boy’s body was immersed in scalding water Medical examinations showed that 58% of the boy’s body was covered in second-degree burns while his scalp separated from his skull due to hemorrhaging and bleeding. Sepulvado admitted at trial that he beat his stepson with a screwdriver, but said the boy accidentally fell into the tub Mercer’s mother, Yvonne Mercer Sepulvado, was also convicted of manslaughter in the case.

Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement Sunday that Christopher Sepulvado should have been executed long before his

unilateral approach of just shutting down whole departments that do in fact, provide critical functions for our nation is a wise way to do it,” he said.

Scalise’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did any of Louisiana’s other federal lawmakers.

The National Finance Center, headquartered at The Beach at UNO, locally employs around 800 people, and processes around $3 billion in payroll every two weeks.

The USDA, which oversees the agency, didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding the cuts at the NFC.

Clyde McShan II, a former director at the NFC, said the agency always ran “lean” and questioned whether the agency could withstand getting cut.

“I don’t know how many people they can lose and still get that job done,” he said. Cuts have taken place at a wide range of federal agencies and departments.

Mackenzie Kleinpeter, a wildlife biologist and oil and gas specialist at the Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge, was laid off last week. She said her position came at no expense to taxpayers and was funded by ﬁnes and fees paid by oil and gas companies.

“There was no thought put into it,” said Kleinpeter, who said three of her colleagues were also terminated. “They just cut everyone they could because probationary employees can be ﬁred for any reason.”

WWL Louisiana said that

death by natural causes.

“Justice should have been delivered long ago for the heinous act of brutally beating then scalding to death a defenseless six year old boy,” she said. “The State failed to deliver it in his lifetime but Christopher Sepulvado now faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter.”

Christopher Sepulvado turned around his life in prison, his attorneys wrote in a 2023 clemency petition. They said he had a spiritual awakening at Angola, showed deep remorse for his actions and that he spent much of his time leading other inmates in prayer and seeking out educational opportunities. Other inmates shared stories of how Christopher Sepulvado had given them comfort and hope.

Christopher Sepulvado’s attorneys also said he grew up in extreme poverty, started drinking alcohol as a child to cope and developed mental health problems. They argued that he

around 10% to 20% of the workforce at the USDA’s Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans were ﬁred as part of the layoffs.

One worker, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he was ﬁred from his job Monday at the Kisatchie National Forest. He declined to be name out of fear of retaliation. His supervisor penned a letter to the head of the U.S. Forest Service pleading for him to be rehired, adding that without him, the forest wouldn’t be able to maintain its status as one of the top lumber producers in the country

The worker also said he wasn’t sure if he would be eligible for unemployment benefits, given that his letter said he was fired for performance. A spokesperson for the Louisiana Workforce Commission didn’t respond to a request for comment on the potential for job benefits.

The USDA fired about

had evidence of untreated head injuries that was not presented to the jury in his case.

Using nitrogen gas

Christopher Sepulvado’s death leaves one man with an execution date after Landry’s recent announcement that the state was ready after 15 years to resume killing and developed a protocol for using nitrogen gas. State lawmakers approved nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method last year along with electrocution, which the state previously outlawed. The state had initially scheduled Christopher Sepulvado’s death back-to-back with Hoffman’s.

The state has denied a public records request from The Times-Picayune | The Advocate to release the new nitrogen gas protocol, which is expected to be similar to one for Alabama the only state to use nitrogen gas in executions so far The March 18 execution

2,000 probationary, “nonfirefighting” employees from the Forest Service across the U.S., according to statement from the department.

“We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy,” the statement read.

The fear of layoffs spurred turmoil at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi this week, according to a worker with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory stationed there who had not lost their job but declined to be named for fear of retaliation.

The worker said staff scrambled on Thursday to back up data and share contact information after their leadership in Washington, D.C., tearfully informed them on a video call that probationary employees there were likely to be terminated.

date remains for Hoffman under a warrant signed by Judge Alan Zaunbrecher, of the 22nd Judicial District Court, at the request of District Attorney Collin Sims. Hoffman was sentenced to death for the 1996 execution-style killing of Mary “Molly” Elliott. Hoffman was accused of raping Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive, in a remote area of St. Tammany Parish before killing her Hoffman’s case, however, may be held up by a federal judge’s recent decision to reopen a long-running lawsuit that challenged the state’s execution methods. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick of Louisiana’s Middle District agreed Friday to reopen the case after two executions had been scheduled. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections has said members of the media and significant family members of Hoffman will be allowed to witness the execution.

That message was later rescinded, the worker said, though they were told that a massive downsizing would still happen at some point.

“All I know is we’ve got an impending conﬂict with China and Russia that will be a naval ﬁght, and while we’re busting our asses to maintain naval superiority, they’re threatening to downsize the whole lab,” the worker said.

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Powell said she wasn’t going away without a ﬁght. On Friday, she ﬁled a lawsuit in New Orleans challenging her termination.

“I didn’t think coming back home and getting back into the federal service would end up like this,” she said.

Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate. com.

If yousuffer from:

We areDr. ScottLeBlanc andDr. Dana LeBlanc, ahusband andwifeteam, that ownLeBlanc SpineCenter. We have helped thousandsofpatientsget outof pain with Spinal Decompression therapy treatments,and we love what we do.Disc issuesare common,and patients suffering areusually givenlimited optionsoftreatment.Werun thesebig newspaperadvertisementstolet people in thecommunity know thereisanother option of treatment forpain- withoutmedication,injections, or surgery!

NON-SURGICAL SPINAL DECOMPRESSION is abreakthrough, non-invasive treatment that hasbeenproventoreverse disc herniationsand relievenerve pain in the neck andlow back.Duringthe procedure,aspinaldisc is isolatedand aseries of distraction andrelaxation phases occur at averyspecificangle,targeting the source of pain.A vacuum canbecreated inside thedisc andthe negative pressure delivers nutrients, oxygen,and fluidfrom surroundingtissues, to assist with repair of thedamaged disc Thetreatment is not painfulatall,and most patients read or even take anap whileontreatment!

PROOF THIS TREATMENTWORKS

There’splentyofresearchtobackupthe claims of Spinal Decompression Therapy andits effectiveness.Hereare just afew of thepublished scientificstudies

•“Patients reported amean88.9% improvementinbackpainand better function No patientrequiredany invasive therapies(e.g. epidural injections, surgery).” -AmericanAcademy of Pain Management

•“We thus submit that decompression therapyshouldbeconsidered first, before thepatient undergoesasurgicalprocedure whichpermanently alters theanatomyand function of theaffectedlumbar spinesegment.” -Journal Of Neuroscience Research

•“86%ofthe 219patientswho completed thetherapy reported immediateresolution of symptoms.” -Orthopedic TechnologyReview

Ifirst came to LeBlancSpine Center with numbness in my arms andlegs. I wasalsoexperiencinglower back pain andneckpain.Ihad beensufferingwith this forover10years.Ihad previously triedone epidural injectioninmylower back andphysicaltherapy,anIwas stillsufferingwiththese symptoms Sincebeginning Spinal Decompression treatments,Ihavehad consistent improvement in my back condition, and Iamnow 70%improved! Iamlifting withoutpain,sleepingbetter, andI now have theability to walk withouttiring! Iwould highly recommendDr. LeBlanc andLeBlancSpine Center!

L. J. Dupuy (College Baseball Coach) Hometown -Addis, LA

•“Vertebralaxial (spinal) decompression wassuccessfulin71% of the778 cases”JournalofNeurologicalResearch

•“Good to excellentreliefin86% of patients with Herniateddiscs” - TheAmericanJournal of Pain Management

•“Decompression Therapyreporteda 76.5%withcompleteremission and19.6% with partialremission of pain anddisability” -Rio Grande Hospital,Department of Neurosurgery

At LeBlancSpine Center

we utilizeadvanced, FDA-clearedtechnology that is proventoeffectively alleviatepain. It’s importanttonotethatnot everypatient is acandidate forSpinalDecompression,which is whyweprioritizea thorough individual assessment foreach person whowalks throughour doors. Ourhighsuccess rate in pain relief stems from ourcommitmenttoonlytakingon patients whom we confidently believewe canhelp.

Forthe next 7days, we areofferinga special“DecompressionEvaluation” offer, at no cost to you!

What does this offer include? Everything we normally do in ournew patientevaluations:

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Youwillsit with thedoctorone on oneto go over your x-rays,and you’ll gettosee everything firsthand.

At LeBlancSpine Center,weare honest with ourpatientsand we give personalized attention andanalysistoeachcase. We trulyenjoy meetingwithpatientsto answer theirquestionsand to help find outifSpinalDecompression treatments couldbethe answer to theirpain.

Ihad beensufferingwithlower back pain sciaticpain,and numbness in my feet.I began Spinal Decompression treatments at LeBlancSpine Center andIamnow 80%improved! Ican nowstand andsit for longer periodswithout anypain,and Iam able to walk longerdistances.I am feeling so much better Thestaff here treats me excellent. Oneof thebestthingsabout my care at LeBlanc SpineCenteristhatI am showncareand concern. Iwould recommendLeBlancSpine Center andthe treatment- everyone here is so nice andithas been so helpful!

TessaGuerin BusDriver Hometown -Maurepas, LA

Thereisnochargeatall andyou don’t need to buyanything. Youhavenothing to lose by taking us up on this specialoffer andyou will getanswers to what is causing your pain.Ifyou have seenour adsinthe past andhavethought aboutcalling,don’t hesitate.You don’thavetogoonlivingin pain,missing outonactivitiesand other part of lifethatyou enjoy. Call us today!

Iwas sufferingwithlower back pain foryears anditwas gettingworse andworse.Itwas so painfulthatIcould notfunction. Icould not getout thebed withoutfalling to thefloor Ihad triedorthopedic doctors, medication scans, physical therapy- alltonoavail. IcametoLeBlancSpine Center,and I startedSpinalDecompression treatments in August andI nowfeel100%improved! I am nowsleepingbetter, drivingwithout pain, walkingfurther –all of theseactivitiesIcan nowdo, andIhaveenergythatIonlyhad when Iwas young. Iamtreated wonderfullybythe staffat LeBlancSpine Center.Theyare so polite andcaring. Dr.Scott andDr. Dana are unbelievably helpful. Thetreatment is not painful, andIenjoy themusicwhile Iamthere too! If askedtorecommend LeBlancSpine Center Iwould saythatIamconvinced that you will improve abig amount,ifnot 100% Decompressiontherapy is theway to go!

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METRO NEWS

MILITARY APPEAL

Fox News’ Faulkner visits ROTC members

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

Fox News anchor Harris

Faulkner stopped by the bluffs of Southern University on Sunday to engage with undergraduates in its and LSU’s ROTC programs Her visit aligned with the university’s Day of Honor, with her receiving the prestigious Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and Lifetime Achievement.

“Being in the media, when we talk to members of the military, we’re told we can have you for only 60 seconds,” she told the cadets. “But I think what the public misses is that they are human beings going to ﬁght in our honor and protection. And it’s important for people to know the men and women that serve, and how you guys are different.”

In a room filled with 20-somethings dressed in fatigues, Faulkner asked cadets and midshipmen about their budding military careers, including how they remain committed in an era where their generation, the first to grow up immersed in smartphones and social media, often finds the structured life of service less appealing.

“It’s just balance and discipline,” said Aaliyah Ware, a midshipman who is also a member of the National Guard Ware recounted to the group her experience assisting with hurricane evacuations in Roseland. “I felt like I was helping out my community like this is what I signed up to do,” she said. When asked about their motivation for joining, many cadets shared they were inspired by successful family members who had joined the military Others said the military provided a clear path when they were uncertain about their future.

“I grew up in a family that wasn’t really interested in the mili-

Harris Faulkner’s visit aligned with Southern University’s Day of Honor, with her receiving the prestigious Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and Lifetime Achievement.

tary and a lot of people think it’s just serving in wars,” said Cadet Terrance Banks, another member of the panel. “It’s really about how you can develop yourself, become a better leader, serve others and come back to be a better family member”

“Yes, it’s hard, but it translates to everything you do,” he added.

“It’s important in college because it helps with time management and helps you build leadership,” said Caleb Hayes, a midshipman in the LSU ROTC program who plans to become a naval ﬁghter pilot. Through a crosstown agreement, students from both schools train with each other on their respective campuses.

A multi-Emmy Award-winning journalist, the conservative talk show host has written extensively about her military upbringing and is known for special coverage of the armed forces on her shows. Her father, the late Lt. Col. Bobby Harris, began his military journey as an ROTC cadet at a historically Black college before serving three tours in Vietnam as an Army combat pilot.

Sunday’s discussion occurred

1 dead in crash on I-10 bridge

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

A Toyota Corolla on Interstate 10 ran into the back of an 18-wheel Freightliner on Sunday morning, killing the driver as the two vehicles, stuck together, continued to travel.

It is believed the crash occurred at 9:48 a.m. near the top of the Mississippi River bridge just before the Washington Street exit, Baton Rouge police said. The Freightliner was traveling eastbound in the middle lane.

After impact, the two vehicles continued to travel east on I-10, when a witness was able to ﬂag down the truck driver of the Freightliner and advise him of the other vehicle. According to the witness, the Toyota had been driving erratically on La. 1 before getting on the bridge The driver of the Toyota was wearing his seat belt, but died on scene, Baton Rouge police said The incident remains under investigation.

amid decades of declining military recruitment numbers. Only about 23% of Americans ages 17 to 24 qualify for military service without requiring waivers. Faulkner said she had discussed Southern’s and other historically Black colleges’ and universities’ roles in helping the military meet its recruitment challenges with John K. Pierre, the university’s chancellor

“In my dad’s day, (ROTC) was how you were going to go on and have a career,” said Faulkner “In meeting recruitment challenges, HBCUs still have that fabulous ROTC program.”

While Black members make up 16% to 17% of the active-duty military force, they represent only 9% of ofﬁcers. Since its inception in 1947, Southern University’s ROTC program has helped redress part of the balance, producing over 2,000 ofﬁcers from its small undergraduate population, including multiple generals and Medal of Honor recipients.

On Monday, Faulkner is scheduled to broadcast her Fox News show “The Faulkner Focus” live from campus at 10 a.m.

Rain soaks area, cancels Mid City Gras parade

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

A weak area of low pressure off the Gulf contributed moisture to the region that resulted in Sunday’s rains with more rainfall expected Monday morning. But the rain should clear up later Monday with a high forecast of 65, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s going to take its time going across the Gulf, which is why it’s a soaking, prolonged rain,” Tyler Stanﬁeld, a meteorologist for the weather service, said Sunday “You might hear a couple rumbles of thunder here and there, but mostly it’s strictly

rain.” No significant flash flooding was anticipated. The storm, which began Saturday night, delivered over an inch of rainfall by Sunday, leading to the cancellation of the Krewe of Mid City Gras parade. However, some festivities, including a meet-andgreet with Sparky the parade’s squirrel mascot, were relocated to Radio Bar, according to a Facebook post by the parade’s organizers. Temperatures are forecast to climb into the 70s in the coming days. However, a weak cold front later this week may cause temperatures to drop into the 40s early Thursday and Friday

Feelings on coastal restoration surveyed

n Ca lc as ieu- Sa bi ne marsh creation project

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Land in coastal Louisiana is disappearing at some of the highest rates in the world, and the state is investing billions of dollars into projects to address it.

But how do the communities living with this crisis feel about these efforts? What do people know about the projects’ impacts, especially years after they break ground? Researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette wanted to find out.

Professors Liz Skilton and Anna Osland had already studied how the decline in community engagement after restoration work begins has limited understanding of the longterm impact on coastal communities. Their two new articles published in different coastal journals in December and January, sought to address this gap.

“I think it ended up producing some really unique results that captured the experience of Louisiana’s coastal restoration projects,” Skilton said. “So we’re involved with them, we know about them, but maybe we don’t think about them in our everyday.”

Community knowledge and engagement is likely to become more important as the state faces severe funding shortages for coastal restoration in the years ahead.

While people live near some of these projects, much of the work requires a boat to access, Osland noted. Many residents hadn’t seen the completed restoration project in their backyard, even if they were engaged in its planning.

After traveling to projects across the state and conducting interviews with volunteer community members, the research team found that people in different areas of Louisiana hold varying views on land loss solutions, but there is “significant demand for action” in all coastal regions. They also found that people’s personal history — such as enduring devastating storms — shaped their views on restoration projects.

While these studies looked at the perspectives of Louisianans who may lack scientific expertise, the professors said that the research has policy implications. Skilton and Osland are both researchers at the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at UL, and they collaborated with the coalition Restore the Mississippi River Delta to conduct this work.

“Our state does a fantastic job of getting engagement at the planning stage, at the preconstruction stage, but I think that the study really highlights that there are opportunities to continue to get that engagement from community members much farther down the line,” Osland said.

‘Grinning ear to ear’

Skilton, Osland and their research team of students trekked across Louisiana to eight key locations with impacts ﬁve years or older in three coastal regions. They chose an array of sites ranging in impact, controversy and restoration method. Some of the projects included:

n Pontchartrain Basin Biloxi Marsh Project

n Mardi Gras Pass Mississippi River diversion

n Wax Lake Outlet in the Atchafalaya Basin

Before and after every site tour with a coastal expert, the researchers interviewed the recruited community members using a data collection process called a “history harvest,” a method often used for public history work.

Emma Willis, who was a public history graduate student enrolled in the course, visited a few of the sites, including two intended to protect New Orleans as well as the central region’s Wax Lake Outlet, which is seeing land growth in the Atchafalaya Basin. She recalled a big difference between the interviews that took place in these two regions.

“Coastal erosion is happening so rapidly, people had memories in places that aren’t there,” Willis said. “But the most moving part was being able to take people to places where we’re growing land. People were grinning ear to ear at that.”

Different regions

Overall, the studies found that there were distinct regional attitudes on coastal projects. Willis was among the four graduate students engaged in coding to identify themes from the hundreds of conversations. One of the ﬁrst things she noticed was how large a role people’s experiences with storms affected their impressions of coastal projects. Participants from the eastern and western parts of the state spoke extensively about how hurricanes affected their communities. Different experiences also led to different opinions on restoration, the studies found. On the eastern side of the state, participants focused on the levee system and held mixed views on diversions.

One community member criticized the salinity impacts of Mardi Gras Pass on fishing communities in Plaquemines Parish. Another said that “levees provide a certain level of security but what happens is everything is ﬁne until it is catastrophic.”

On the western side of the state, community members urged stronger coastal restoration measures in their region and “expressed wariness” over dredging ship channels for marsh creation. And along the central coast, community members seemed more optimistic, in large part due to the natural and man-made diversions that have resulted in the region’s land growth.

Someone at the Atchafalaya Basin site exclaimed, “It’s building land, like amazing!”

Still, all of the participants who were interviewed called for increased action to solve the coastal crisis, the studies say “While they may have differing opinions on the type of projects desired in their region, they see the need for coastal restoration projects throughout the state,” the researchers wrote.

Email Josie Abugov at josie.abugov@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Emmy-winning journalist Harris Faulkner talks with cadets from Southern University and LSU ROTC at the Valdry Center on Sunday in Baton Rouge.

Blanchard, Myrtle

a.m

curiosity. Billy is survived by his beloved wife, Carol Richardson George; hissister, Virginia George; and stepdaughters Rachel Paige Roberts, Reagan Connell Roberts, and Ramsey Elizabeth Roberts. He will also be missedbyhis numerous friends, sistersin-law, and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, William Walker George Jr. and Virginia Swan George Billy's memorywill live on in the hearts of those who knew him.

Entered into eternal rest on February18, 2025 at the age of 72. Survived by her sons, EmanuelT.Ginn, Sr. &Terrence G. Ginn, Ph. D; grandson, EmanuelT.Ginn, Jr.; great-granddaughter, Devyn Ann Ginn. Preceded in death her godparents, Douglas and LueBertha Sterling and grandmother, Harriet Jones. Visitation Monday, February 24, 2025, Saint Joseph Cathedral Catholic Church, 401 Main Street, Baton Rouge, LA 8:30 am until religious service at 11:00 am. Entombment ResthavenGarden of Memory, Baton Rouge, LA Father Thomas F. Clark, SJ officiating. Funeral Service EntrustedtoHall Davis and Son. www.halldavisandson.c om

Shelia McWilliams (Clifton) Zachary;

Bell (Isolde), Cleburne, TX; Rose Causey Baton Rouge; Andrea Jones, Zachary; sis‐ter, Mary Louise Robert‐son, Baker, LA; sister in love, Barbara Bell, Milwau‐kee, WI; 15 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; host of nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends Arrangements entrusted to Miller & Daughter Mortuary.

George III, William William Walker"Billy" George III passed away on January 19, 2025,inBaton Rouge, Louisiana.Born on February 10, 1946, in Shinnston, West Virginia, Billy lived afull and meaningful life marked by dedication to family, career, and personal passions.

Billy graduated from McComb High School in McComb, Mississippi,before graduatingfrom the University of Mississippi His education laid the foundation for asuccessful career as along time manager at Royal Nissan of Baton Rouge, where he was known for his leadership and commitment to excellence.

Billy cherished time spent with familyand found great joy in golf and reading. Whether on the course or immersed in a good book,heembraced life with enthusiasm and curiosity.

Billy is survived by his beloved wife, Carol Richardson George; his sister, VirginiaGeorge; and

Hayes, Rosa Lee Rosa LeeHayes passed January 04,2025 at theage of 82. She was born in Rougon, La to the union of the late Ferdinand and Bernice McGull. Rosa was aproud graduate of Batchelor High School of 1966 She furtherher education at Southern University in Baton Rouge,earning her Bachelor's Degree in 1979 and Master Degree in 1983. Rosa dedicated over 36 years in education. She was amember of Little Rock Baptist Church in Morganza,La. Pastor Willie Richard Rosa leaving to cherish her memoryher 3children Sandra (Willie)Briley Sherion (Charles)Smith and Steve (Tequila)Hayes5 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren 2nephews Tracy (Sarah)McGulland Stacy McGull 1godchild Cornell Dukes. Rosa was precededin death by herparents Ferdinand and Bernice McGull Her sisterIrma Jean brother in law Wallace Coler and hergrandson Allen Smith.

grandchildren 2nephews Tracy (Sarah)McGull and Stacy McGull 1godchild Cornell Dukes. Rosa was preceded in death by her parentsFerdinand and Bernice McGull

Her sister Irma Jean brother in law Wallace Coler and her grandson Allen Smith.

Landry, Brian Joseph

Brian JosephLandry, age 68, of White Castle, Louisiana, passed away in Baton Rouge on Friday, February 21, 2025, surrounded by his loving family and friends.

Brian was born June 19, 1956, in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his younger years, Brian worked alongside his family at Deep SouthCrane &Rigging, ajob that took him across the country. His natural gift for sales—and his abilitytostrike up a conversation with anyone—left alasting impression on those he met along the way. His work led him to live in Mobile, Alabama, and later in Houston, Texas, before returning to Louisiana to be closer to his family.

Dressed in his signature whiteshirt, jeans, boots, and asmile, Brian lived life on his own terms. He was the life of the partyand had amagnetic personality, always ready witha joke, astory, or ahomecooked meal. He had a deep appreciation for good food, good music, and great company—and he was always on thelookout for alittle mischief. Whether it was awelltimed remark or pushing the boundaries just for the fun of it,heembraced life at full speed and never took it too seriously. Many would say he never met a stranger, and he always remembered birthdays and other special days for those around him.

Brian is survived by his mother Jacqueline B. Breaux; his father Camile J. Landry (Sandra); siblings Louis J. Relle, Jr. (Michele), Mitchell P. Landry(Louise), Regina M. Landry, and Mark E. Landry; and stepsisters Lisa Falcon (Brian) and Hope Blanchard (Jason). Also remaining to cherish Brian's memory are his son Jeremy K. Landry (Katherine), grandchildren Mazie, Mack, and Emme, and ahost of nieces, nephews, greatnieces, and greatnephews. Special friends who were always there for Brian includeYvonne "Brown" Stevens and Kirk Dupuy.

Preceding Brian in death are his stepfather, Philip J. Breaux, and maternal and paternal grandparents, Hazel and Roger Barlow and Milda and Edmund Landry.

Honorary pallbearers are Kirk Dupuy, Jeremy Landry, Louis Relle, Jr., Mitchell Landry, Mark Landry, and John Versen. Visitation will be held Monday, February 24, 2025, from 9:00-11:00AMatOurso Funeral Home, 31885 Hwy 1, WhiteCastle. Afuneral mass will be said at 11:30AM at Our Lady of PromptSuccorCatholic Church, WhiteCastle, with Fr. Joey Pilola officiating. Interment will be in the church cemetery.

in-law, and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, William Walker George Jr. and Virginia Swan George.

Billy's memory will live on in the hearts of those who knew him.

nephews. Special friends who were always there for Brian includeYvonne "Brown" Stevens and Kirk Dupuy.

Preceding Brian in death are his stepfather, Philip J. Breaux, and maternal and paternal grandparents, Hazel and Roger Barlow and Milda and Edmund Landry.

Jamie Gerard Lorio, Sr., 72, beloved husband of Reneé Smith Lorio, passed away Thursday evening, February 20, 2025, in his home surrounded by his loving wife, children and grandchildren. Anative of Baton Rouge, LA, Jamie was ason of the late Bernard J. Lorio, Sr. and Cecile Marguerite Keller Lorio. Jamiegraduated from Louisiana State University and remained an avid LSU fan his entire life. With unwavering enthusiasm, Jamie cheered for his beloved Tigers no matter what theseason held

quiet observer, well known for his dry wit andhumor. Whether geocaching, riding his Harley or manning his smoker at home, he brought an air of seriousness and purpose to everything he set his mind to. Above all Jamie was a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather. He was always available with soundadvice and loving support to help motivate and encourage his children. His five grandchildren brought him great joy and humor and they were blessed in return with the wisdom he shared.

Surviving is his wife of 50 years, Reneé; his son, Jamie G. Lorio, Jr. (Michelle); his daughter, Jennifer Lorio Brown(Brian); five grandchildren Madelyn, Mason and Chase Lorio, Jack andMarguerite Brown.; his sisters, Janice Powers, Patricia Hanegan,Sister Genie Lorio; brother, Bernard Joseph Lorio, Jr., andnumerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews. His memory will live on through all those who loved him and were touched by his kindness and sincerity.

In addition to his parents, Jamie was preceded in death by asister, Anne Leach.

Aservicecelebrating Jamie's life will be held at alater date in Baton Rouge.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the CSRA Parkinson's Support groupat www.parkinsoncsra.org or to the Parkinson's Foundation at www.parkinson.org www.shellhouseriversf uneralhome.com

Maelise Elizabeth Millet age 86, passed away on February 21st 2025. She was born in St. Amant, LA, and was a longtime resi‐dent of Gramercy, LA. For 36 years, Maelise worked as a dedicated bus driver for the St. James Parish School Board. She loved every child she picked up and treated them as if they were her own,

Adedicated finance professional, Jamie worked in CorporateTrust Banking for over 35 years. He took great pride in his career; his expertise and work ethic were admired by both colleagues and clients alike. Afternearly 35 years in CorporateTrust and a lifetime in Baton Rouge, Jamie retired and moved with his wife to Aiken, SC to be closer to his son and grandchildren. Outside of work Jamie had agreat passionfor life and adventure. He was a quiet observer, well known for his dry wit and humor. Whether geocaching, riding his Harley or manning his smoker at home, he seriouseryto. was husgrandfaavailadvice help encourage randchildren brought him great joy and humor and they were blessed in return with the wisdom he shared

Surviving is his 50 years, Reneé; Jamie G. Lorio, (Michelle); his Jennifer Lorio Brown an); five grand Madelyn, Mason Chase Lorio, Jack guerite Brown.; his Janice Powers, Hanegan, Sister Genie Lorio; brother, Bernard Joseph Lorio, Jr., and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews His memory will live on through all those who loved him and were touched by his kindness and sincerity. In addition to his parents, Jamie was preceded in

Millet, Maelise Elizabeth

Lorio, Jamie Gerard

Libraries haven’t changed, except now they must fight misinformation

Greg Ardoin’s letter on Jan. 29 begs for a fact-based response. He claims that “several years ago,” the role of the public library began to change. This couldn’t be further from the truth. For decades, libraries have been vibrant community hubs that not only serve as repositories for books and other materials but also provide a diverse range of educational programming to community members. Further, libraries serve as important intermediaries in partnership with other community organizations; for example, being sites to serve free meals to children when schools aren’t in session This is true not only of our library system but of libraries all across the country He also made the dubious claim that “recently” one of the libraries in Lafayette installed EV charging stations with library funds One, the EV chargers were installed at the same time as the West Regional Library was constructed, all the way back in 2019. Two, the charging stations were donated by Tesla, and not paid for with library funds.

Perhaps if Dr Ardoin, who is on the board of trustees at John Paul the Great Academy a school founded by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts, spent less time spreading false information about our award-winning public library system, it would return to being a noncontroversial place. Unfortunately, there is a small contingent in this parish, including Ardoin, who seem hellbent on keeping this controversy alive and demonizing hard-working librarians and community members who simply want to ensure the library is a welcoming place for everyone.

I’m conﬁdent Ardoin, as a medical professional, understands the importance of accuracy and objectivity If he has further questions about the amazing roles of libraries in our community, perhaps he should consult the nearest library branch for authoritative information instead of writing an unsubstantiated piece.

MELANIE BREVIS Lafayette

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’s city of residence.The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

YOUR VIEWS

Sailors

We are weaker if we don’t embrace all who are willing to defend U.S.

At my law ﬁrm, we only hire the best and the brightest. The students who were at the top of their class, good writers and easy to work with. We treat them as valuable members of the team, because they are. And because if we don’t, they’ll leave to our detriment.

Twenty-ﬁve years ago, I served as an ofﬁcer aboard the destroyer with the greatest percentage of women crewmembers in the U.S. Navy. I served with sailors who were Black, Brown, Jewish, Muslim, gay, trans and foreign nationals — people who were risking their lives serving in our military even though they were not yet citizens On Sept. 11, 2001, my warship and crew were in the Persian Gulf on one of the darkest days in our nation’s history And for 55 days thereafter we sat off the coast of Pakistan and

put ordnance downrange into Afghanistan. Lethal. Every single one of us. In 250 years, this nation has never had enough White Anglo-Saxon Protestant straight men to win a war Forced to rely on that small portion of our population, we’d quickly learn what it’s like to live with the boot of a foreign nation on our neck. Combat ineffective. If we want to remain the greatest nation in the history of history, it will take continuing to welcome every capable volunteer, handing them a riﬂe and putting them on the wall. And for those willing to serve, it is the very least we can do to make sure they feel included as valuable members of the team. As Americans.

RAYMOND WAID

New Orleans

RFK Jr. will usher in a new era in health care

The conﬁrmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services marks a pivotal moment for our nation’s health care system. His leadership, alongside the grassroots energy behind the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, offers a historic opportunity to address the root causes of chronic disease and restore trust in our public health institutions.

For decades, our health care system has been burdened by preventable chronic diseases conditions fueled by poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyles and environmental toxins.

Chronic diseases now account for nearly 90% of health care costs, yet the system remains reactive, prioritizing expensive treatments over prevention.

The outsized inﬂuence of the food and pharmaceutical industries in federal agencies is directly responsible for the proliferation of ultra-processed foods and an overreliance on medications. This has created a cycle in which unhealthy products drive disease and costly treatments sustain it, a “sickcare” model that prioritizes proﬁts over prevention. For far too long, Big Pharma has deployed anti-competitive practices that

I am not Catholic. Nevertheless, I take exception with views concerning Pope Francis expressed by Rich Lowry in his column published Jan. 31. The column strikes me as an attempt to diminish the pope and his role as a voice of moral authority and cast him as just another partisan player in U.S. politics. It also casts a shadow over the church as just another “failed” institution to be disregarded. Saul of Tarsus was dispatched to Damascus with his high priest’s OK to arrest Christians and bring them to Jerusalem for punishment Saul was known to be ﬁlled with a zeal to

drive up drug prices — leaving Americans paying more and feeling worse.

Kennedy’s commitment to transparency and reform will break this cycle by promoting independent oversight and evidencebased policies. The path ahead is not merely about reforming institutions but empowering individuals with the tools they need to live healthier lives.

Louisiana knows firsthand the devastating impact of chronic disease, but we are also uniquely positioned to help fix the problem. We should all thank Sens. Cassidy and Kennedy for their historic vote to advance Kennedy’s confirmation.

As we prepare for the state legislative session, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Louisiana Senate Health & Welfare committee to do our part at the state level to advance the Make America Healthy Again mandate. This moment is bigger than politics; it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore trust in our institutions and build a healthier future for our children and grandchildren.

PATRICK MCMATH state senator for District 11 Covington

stop the early Christian movement by imprisoning its followers to stop them from spreading their beliefs. While on the road a blinding light from heaven hit Saul. The light came with a divine voice saying “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul was blinded for three days. After regaining his sight, Saul underwent a conversion and began preaching as a servant of Christ. Saul became known as Paul.

Perhaps Pope Francis has been “blinded by the light.” It appears to me that Rich Lowry has not.

PRESTON HOLTON New Orleans

Demonization of brave USAID workers disgraceful

Most of my 29 years in the U.S. Army were spent as a foreign area ofﬁcer

During my time as an Army FAO, I was privileged to serve in U.S. embassies in Jordan (twice), Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. In each of these dangerous locations, I proudly served alongside members of USAID who played an absolutely critical role in advancing our national interests.

The “soft” touch of USAID was the perfect companion to harder, more blunt, forms of military and intelligence assistance we provided to our friends and allies. By helping to mitigate poverty, improving health conditions and generally making the lives of very poor people livable, USAID reduced the potential for instability, strife and chaos. War is the handmaiden of poverty, disease and pestilence.

Significantly the brave Americans of USAID I served next to were exposed to the same types of dangers as myself and other members of the embassy staff. We often had bodyguards, traveled in armored cars, and, if we were lucky enough to be in a place where we could have our family with us, watched our children board bullet- and bomb-proof school buses together A few years before I arrived in Jordan, Laurence Foley, the supervisory executive officer of USAID/ Jordan, was assassinated by two alQaida hitmen as he exited his house. Despite these dangers and modest pay, the members of USAID, many of whom were former military, always did their best and served our country with dignity Now, these honorable Americans are being described by hatchet man Elon Musk as “evil,” a “nest of vipers” and a “criminal organization” while being unceremoniously shown the door How we allocate and administer foreign aid is a legitimate question, but I find the denigration of these Americans appalling and disgusting.

COL. AARON MERRILL, retired New Orleans

Dear Lord, help us all. As a longstanding ﬁnancial contributor meager though my contributions may be, and a 10-year volunteer in the community kitchen at Second Harvest food bank, all I can say is, what now?

Those of us who serve are stymied as to why such foolishness would ever have been considered. What gain did the archdiocese foresee by ﬁring the amazing staff at such a worthwhile organization? Did they think that donations would continue to ﬂow as donors ponder whether or not their contributions are being used to feed the hungry or being used for other far, far less noble causes?

Shame on all who had any part in this ﬁasco. Reinstate the board members, take your licking and ﬁnd other methods to solve your problems. Shame, shame, shame.

DARLENE GUICHARD LaPlace Firings at Second Harvest alienate donors, volunteers

aboard the USS Mahan stand on the ship’s bow, waiting to tie the ship to the wharf, while machine guns are mounted nearby — a standard security posture. The guided-missile destroyer arrived in New Orleans in 2014.

MARDI GRAS LOGISTICS

Getting to and from parades is an art form around here. It’s anticipated and planned out year after year like a beloved family tradition.The real pros take great pride in knowing how to manage the chaos without a dreaded parking ticket or worse getting TOWED!

So, what’s going on in this cartoon? you tell me Be witty, funny, crazy, absurd or snarky — just try to keep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries.

The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on Lundi Gras, March 3, in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receive a signed print of the cartoon along with a cool winner’s T-shirt!

Some honorable mentions will also be listed.

To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com.

DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, home address and phone number

Cell numbers are best.

The deadline for all entries is midnight, Feb 27.

Good luck, folks! —Walt

President Donald Trump’s current assault on the basic structure of democracy represents a far more serious threat than the occupation of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Four years ago, an angry mob, egged on by an aggrieved president who refused to admit defeat, tried to block the counting of electoral votes. That mob failed because stalwart defenders of the Constitution, led by Vice President Mike Pence, defied Trump and upheld the law That was one day one moment, when the constitutional order was in jeopardy But when that threat was extinguished and Trump’s defeat was confirmed, the crisis ended. The present period is very different: Trump is not a defeated candidate but a victorious one, and he’s bent on retribution and revenge. His minions aren’t just breaking into one government building; in effect, they are storming dozens of buildings at once. And they aren’t just waving flags and shouting slogans. They’re firing employees, freezing operations and even shuttering some agencies completely

The peril that was averted four years ago has now arrived. Every day, the dangers to democracy are deepening. “We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis right now,” Erwin Chemerinsky, the law school dean at the University of California, Berkeley told The New York Times. “There have been so many unconstitutional and illegal actions in the ﬁrst 18 days of the Trump presidency We never have seen anything like this.”

“A number of the new administration’s executive orders and other executive actions are in clear violation of laws enacted by Congress,” added Kate Shaw a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “The administration’s early moves also seem designed to demonstrate maximum contempt for core constitutional values — the separation of powers, the freedom of speech, equal justice under law.”

That separation of powers is at the heart of the American system, but the guardrails that might restrain Trump’s rampage have been severely weakened. His primary point man, Elon Musk, has never been elected or approved by the Senate. Both Trump and Musk own powerful social media platforms that enable them to speak, unfiltered and unhinged, directly to their supporters. And by using executive orders instead of legislation, they have kneecapped the Congress, ostensibly a coequal branch of government. That leaves the federal courts as the last line of defense, and on one day alone this week, five different judges issued restraining orders against five different administration initiatives. All represent a blatant attempt to evade and even eradicate the normal processes of democratic government.

“It has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals,” wrote District Judge John C. Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee in Seattle, when he blocked Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain.”

Trump’s palpable contempt for the law could lead to a major confrontation if he decides to defy any of those court orders, which he is fully capable of doing. Throughout his entire career Trump has denounced judges and prosecutors who try to hold him accountable for his actions, and he’s at it again.

President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies to save money

It costs almost 4 cents to make one and as the president seeks to reduce federal spending, the penny is a good, if largely symbolic target The nickel is even more expensive. It costs nearly 14 cents to make. One doesn’t have to have studied Economics 101 to understand this is a complete waste of money and part of the inefﬁciency and overspending Trump is trying to expunge from government

The U.S. Mint began full-time production of the penny in 1792. Then, the coins were the size of today’s half-dollar and called “large cents.” The penny also became embedded in popular culture and its value endured until modern times. Older people will remember penny candy and slogans like “a penny for your thoughts” and “penny wise and pound foolish.” Songs about the penny inspired “Pennies from Heaven” and a road made famous by The Beatles, “Penny Lane.”

As for “a penny for your thoughts,” back then, thoughts and a penny were worth more than they are today

Just look at the misspending being revealed by DOGE and you’ll be shocked at the waste. Though he never actually said it, Benjamin Franklin is often credited with “coining” the phrase “a penny saved is a penny earned.” He did, however, write in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac” (1737): “A penny saved is two pence clear.” The 1768 version of the Almanac revised the saying: “A penny saved is a penny got.” Other coinage attracted slogans of their own, including “nickel and dime you to death,” “not a dime’s worth of difference” and two bits (a quarter). There are dozens of slang words for money Like the penny many of these words (and coins) were created decades, even centuries ago, and have now outlived their usefulness. How many of us get frustrated fumbling for coins while we are paying for groceries or other retail shops while we hold up the line and frustrate those behind us? Even that experience is increasingly becoming old school. The best solution would be to stop

minting all coins. We are quickly transitioning to a cashless society Why not go all the way? If an item costs under 50 cents (including tax) round it off to the dollar below The same for anything costing more than 50 cents. Round it off to the higher dollar A store near me has a machine that turns coins into a paper receipt that I can then use to apply to merchandise I wish to purchase. It’s fun to watch and hear the device swallow the coins and see the screen light up like a slot machine in Las Vegas as it counts the money As entertainment it provides a few seconds of diversion. It could serve as a transition to cashless purchasing Increasing numbers of us are using debit and crypto-currency cards to buy things. Collectors can gobble up the various existing coins and save for future generations. The savings that would come from abolishing coinage would be signiﬁcant, along with avoiding the inconvenience of counting out change. It just makes sense (or cents).

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com.

About one negative ruling, he fulminated: “No judge should, frankly, be allowed to make that kind of a decision. It’s a disgrace.” Musk called for the impeachment of a jurist who ruled against the administration, and Vice President JD Vance said, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”

But they are allowed to curb executives who misuse that power That’s the whole point of the constitutional principle that not even a president is above the law “It is exceptionally myopic, hypocritical and dangerous,” Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck said of the calls by Trump officials to defy court orders. “In our system, the way you object to a legal ruling you find objectionable is to appeal.” National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru noted on CNN that Republicans have a “long history” of favoring powerful executives. “What is different now,” he warned, “is the level of aggressiveness from Trump, and the level of recklessness. They are spoiling for this fight. They are pushing the limits, in order to see how far they can go.”

On Jan. 6, Trump challenged those boundaries and was thwarted by his own vice president. Today his power is far greater, and so is the threat he poses. For now, only dedicated federal judges stand in his way

Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@gmail.com.

Cal Thomas

Steve Roberts

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Maelise Elizabeth Millet, age 86, passed away on February 21st, 2025. She was born in St Amant, LA, and was a longtime resi‐dent of Gramercy, LA For 36 years, Maelise worked as a dedicated bus driver for the St James Parish School Board She loved every child she picked up and treated them as if they were her own always greeting them with kind‐ness and watching over them as they grew. She had a wonderful relation‐ship with her coworkers building lifelong friend‐ships along the way. Above all, Maelise cherished her family She found her greatest joy in spending time with them especially during their Sunday lunches, surrounded by laughter and love She was the beloved wife of the late Larry P Millet and a de‐voted mother to Randy Mil‐let (Angela) Sandra Alle‐man (Randy), Jamie Melan‐con (Wyade), Debbie Faucheux (Joey), Peggy Oubre (Maurice "Boo"), and Shelly Poche (Murray) She was a proud grand‐mother to 13 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchil‐dren all of whom she adored Maelise is pre‐ceded in death by her hus‐band, Larry, her son, Arnold P. Millet, her par‐ents, Elie and Lize Lambert, her sisters, Nettie Gautreau and Gertie Dixon She is survived by her sis‐ter, Nita Gaudin, along with many nieces, nephews, and loving relatives Family and friends are warmly in‐vited to gather on Wednes‐day, February 26th, at Sa‐cred Heart Catholic Church, 616 E Main St., Gramercy, LA, to honor and celebrate a life well lived Visitation will be held at the church from 8:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial immedi‐ately following at 12:00 p.m Interment will follow at St Joseph Cemetery in Paulina, LA, where ﬁnal re‐spects will be paid Maelise lived a full life ﬁlled with love, laughter, and a deep devotion to those around her Her kind‐ness and warmth will be deeply missed, but her legacy of love will live on in the hearts of all who knew her Arrangements are being made by Rose Lynn Funeral Home To view or sign the online guest book please visit www roselyn nfuneralhome.com

continued from

Maelise Elizabeth Millet, age 86, passed away on February 21st, 2025. She was born in St Amant, LA, and was a longtime resi‐dent of Gramercy LA For 36 years, Maelise worked as a dedicated bus driver for the St James Parish School Board She loved every child she picked up and treated them as if they were her own, always greeting them with kind‐ness and watching over them as they grew. She had a wonderful relation‐ship with her coworkers, building lifelong friend‐ships along the way. Above all, Maelise cherished her family She found her greatest joy in spending time with them, especially during their Sunday lunches, surrounded by laughter and love She was the beloved wife of the late Larry P Millet and a de‐voted mother to Randy Mil‐let (Angela), Sandra Alle‐man (Randy), Jamie Melan‐con (Wyade), Debbie Faucheux (Joey), Peggy Oubre (Maurice "Boo"), and Shelly Poche (Murray) She was a proud grand‐mother to 13 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchil‐dren, all of whom she adored Maelise is pre‐ceded in death by her hus‐band Larry her son, Arnold P Millet, her par‐ents Elie and Lize Lambert her sisters, Nettie Gautreau and Gertie Dixon. She is survived by her sis‐ter, Nita Gaudin, along with many nieces, nephews and loving relatives. Family and friends are warmly in‐vited to gather on Wednes‐day, February 26th, at Sa‐cred Heart Catholic Church 616 E Main St. Gramercy, LA, to honor and celebrate a life well lived.

Visitation will be held at the church from 8:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial immedi‐ately following at 12:00 p.m. Interment will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in Paulina, LA, where ﬁnal re‐spects will be paid. Maelise lived a full life, ﬁlled with love, laughter and a deep devotion to those around her Her kind‐ness and warmth will be deeply missed, but her legacy of love will live on in the hearts of all who knew her. Arrangements are being made by Rose Lynn Funeral Home. To view or sign the online guest book, please visit www roselyn nfuneralhome.com

Williams, Roy Roy Williams departed this life on Tuesday Febru‐ary 18, 2025, at Ochsner Medical Center in New Or‐leans, LA He was 73, a na‐tive and resident of Thibo‐daux, LA. Visitation on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at Williams & Southall Fu‐neral Home, Thibodaux, LA from 9:00am to religious services at 11:00am Inter‐ment in St. Peter Baptist Church Cemetery Arrange‐ments by Williams & Southall Funeral Home, 1204 Cleveland St, Thibo‐daux LA 70301. (985) 4472513. To sign the guest book or offer condolences, visit our website at www williamsandsouthallfune ralhome com.

Roy Williams departed this life on Tuesday, Febru‐ary 18, 2025, at Ochsner Medical Center in New Or‐leans, LA. He was 73, a na‐tive and resident of Thibo‐daux LA Visitation on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at Williams & Southall Fu‐neral Home, Thibodaux, LA from 9:00am to religious services at 11:00am Inter‐ment in St Peter Baptist Church Cemetery Arrange‐ments by Williams & Southall Funeral Home 1204 Cleveland St, Thibo‐daux LA 70301. (985) 4472513. To sign the guest book or offer condolences visit our website at www williamsandsouthallfune ralhome.com

Williams, Roy

Millet, Maelise Elizabeth

Second-half surge propels LSU past Kentucky

Williams, Johnson lift Tigers to overcome 16-point deficit at halftime

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSU women’s basketball team faced its largest halftime deﬁcit of the season on Sunday in a road game against Kentucky

Then Mikaylah Williams spearheaded a second-half surge that propelled the No. 7 Tigers to a come-from-behind 65-58 win. Down the stretch of the fourth quarter,

Williams hit two important shots to put LSU ahead 62-58 with 50 seconds left in the game

The ﬁrst one was a strong, driving ﬁnish over a 6-foot-7 defender, and the second was an open 3-pointer, a shot she calmly drained from the left wing against a late close out.

Williams scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half, helping the Tigers (27-2, 12-2 SEC) avoid what could’ve easily become their third loss of the season.

“You saw today,” coach Kim Mulkey said, “how much we rely on (Williams) and how good she is.” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks and point guard Georgia Amoore have a history with LSU. In 2023, they led Virginia Tech to a Final Four clash against the Tigers, who

Biggest questions facing the Saints at NFL combine include Carr

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

If Kellen Moore needs to take a breath, it’ll have to wait.

In February alone, the New Orleans Saints’ newest coach won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, took a new job and moved to New Orleans, returned to Philadelphia for a parade, and ﬁlled out the majority of his staff — including recent hires offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley

Next up: The NFL Scouting Combine.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest questions facing the Saints entering the event

Will a trade market emerge for Carr?

If the Saints want to move on from Derek Carr this offseason the most palatable option would be to trade the quarterback since that would provide the largest salary cap relief ($11 million).

But for that to happen, Carr would have to waive his no-trade clause and the Saints would have to determine whether there’d be an actual market available. The combine is a perfect place to put out feelers The frame-

BY KOKI RILEY

work for trades can begin there, such as when the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts started talks over an eventual Carson Wentz deal in 2022. At last year’s combine, other teams reportedly left the event with the impression that the Saints would be open to dealing Marshon Lattimore. A trade ultimately didn’t happen that offseason, but New Orleans then shipped the cornerback in November to the Commanders.

ANALYSIS

How will Saints’ new staff impact scouting?

This was a topic last year when the Saints changed offensive schemes upon hiring Klint Kubiak, but it becomes even more relevant this time around upon hiring Moore and Staley

Staley’s arrival is arguably even more interesting because the coordinator might cause the Saints to finally change their long-standing

ä See SAINTS, page 5B

Hernandez steps up, offense slows down

ä Nicholls at LSU 6 P.M. MONDAy SECN+

erased a 12-point second-half deficit in that game to advance to the national championship for the first time in program history Brooks and Amoore are now at a different school, and they’ve already led the No. 14 Wildcats to their first 20-win season since 2019-2020. They entered their Sunday game against LSU with hopes of finishing the regular season as one of the top four teams in the Southeastern Conference, the ones that receive a double bye in the

Pels rally to earn victory over Spurs

New Orleans comes up big against San Antonio

BY ROD WALKER Sports columnist

The San Antonio Spurs didn’t have their big man Sunday night and won’t have him for the rest of the season. The New Orleans Pelicans had theirs. Well, actually, they had four of them. And that was more than enough to overpower the Spurs on a night the Pelicans did it big.

First, there was the big lineup Pelicans coach Willie Green used for the second straight game. Then, there was the big second half. And there were the big minutes from the smallest guy on the court.

The Pelicans, who trailed by 17 points in the ﬁrst half, roared back and delivered a fourth-quarter knockout punch for a convincing 114-96 victory at the Smoothie King Center

Zion Williamson led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds but had plenty of help.

Kelly Olynyk, acquired two weeks ago in the Brandon Ingram trade, recorded a double-double in his ﬁrst home game as a Pelican. Olynyk ﬁnished with 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.

Rookie Karlo Matkovic came off the bench to score a season-high 19 points to go with his six rebounds.

Rookie Yves Missi recorded a seasonhigh 15 rebounds.

“Both of those guys are bright sports,” Green said about his two rookie big men. “That’s what we want to see our young guys step on the ﬂoor and build some momentum.”

Jose Alvarado came off the bench and ﬁnished with 12 points, a career-high nine rebounds and eight assists.

“It was a total group effort,” Green said. “Those guys stepped on the ﬂoor collectively and they brought it.” The Pelicans outscored the Spurs in the paint 58-34 and outrebounded them 69-46.

“Our defense was really solid tonight,” Green said. “Our emphasis all season has been ﬁnishing possessions. We had almost

ä See PELICANS, page 2B

See OFFENSE, page 5B

was a deﬁnite positive because we know he’s a good hitter, and he kind of reversed spots with a few guys from last weekend to this weekend in terms of the quality of the at bats.” Hernandez has started four of LSU’s seven games, sharing the load with freshman Cade Arrambide who has made three starts. But after his big weekend at the plate and solid defensive play, perhaps even more playing time is in store for the veteran. Examining the pitching staff LSU surrendered six more runs and had nine fewer strikeouts this weekend than in

AP PHOTO By STEPHEN SPILLMAN

LSU guard Mikaylah Williams scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half against Kentucky on Sunday.

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD Pelicans center Karlo Matkovic dunks the ball during the second half of a game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at the Smoothie King Center

Campbell wins ﬁrst PGA Tour title

The Associated Press

VALLARTA,Mexico — Brian Campbell cashed in on a huge break Sunday when his tee shot in a playoff bounced out of the trees and back into play, leading to a birdie on the second extra hole to win the Mexico Open over Aldrich Potgieter Campbell, who closed with a 1-under 70 at Vidanta Vallarta, won for the first time since he turned pro a decade ago and the timing could not have been better The victory sends him to the Masters, The Players Championship and the PGA Championship, along with ﬁve of the $20 million signature events left on the PGA Tour schedule.

“To be in this position is just so unreal,” the 31-year-old Campbell said after calmly holing a birdie putt just inside 4 feet on the 18th green for the win. “I can’t believe it, really.”

Good golf wasn’t enough. Campbell needed the break of a lifetime. Campbell and Potgieter, who shot 71, each made birdie on the 18th in regulation and began the playoff with a par Returning to the par-5 closing hole for the third time — a big advantage for the 20-year-old South African with his power — Campbell hit low, hard fade toward the out-of-bounds stakes. But it crashed into the trees and popped back out into the rough. He still was 94 yards behind Potgieter, but at least he had a shot. He hit fairway metal to 68 yards short, and hit a lob wedge that checked up just short of the hole.

“You’ve got to get those breaks sometimes,” Campbell said “Unfortunately I hit a really bad tee shot there, caught the tree, was able to keep it in play and get ourselves in a good position to get a wedge and keep the pressure on.

“I was just so happy that I was able to kind of stay in it to the end.”

Potgieter twice hit the 18th

fairway in the playoff and had a 6-iron for his second shot, and both times he made par The ﬁrst time was a hard draw over the green. On the second playoff hole, he was posing over a shot on a perfect line until it came up a foot short and into a bunker

He blasted out some 6 feet by and missed the birdie putt to the left, setting up Campbell for a moment that once seemed so far away

He was winless in 186 starts on the Korn Ferry and PGA Tour combined, earning $1,487,830. His payoff Sunday was $1,260,000.

Potgieter started the ﬁnal round with a one-shot lead, fell behind with two bogeys to end the front nine, caught up to Campbell with

a superb up-and-down on the par5 14th. They each made one bogey coming in and ﬁnished at 20-under 264.

Potgieter, who led the ﬁeld in driving distance, failed to capitalize on the par-5 closing hole after hitting the fairway each time.

“Hopefully, my time will come soon,” said Potgieter, who won the 2022 British Amateur at age 17 and last year became the youngest to win on the Korn Ferry Tour

“Pressure is a big thing,” he said. “You can’t beat it. You just have to learn and adjust to it the next time.”

Isaiah Salinda ﬁnished with a bogey-free 65 to ﬁnish alone in third. Aaron Rai, at No. 29 in the world

the highest-ranked player in the field briefly shared the lead with an approach to 20 inches for eagle on the par-5 sixth. He was 1 over the rest of the way for a 67 and tied for fourth with Ben Griffin (67). Campbell said it was grit that helped him win, and that goes back further than Sunday He played his college golf at Illinois and was the low amateur in the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay He earned a PGA Tour card in 2017 and missed the cut 13 times in 20 starts. One of those was the Zurich Classic, where he received a penalty for slow play in a peculiar ruling because it also involved his partner, Miguel Angel Carballo

Yin wins the LPGA Thailand tournament

The Associated Press

PATTAYA, Thailand Angel Yin won for the second time on the LPGA Tour making birdie on the 18th hole Sunday for a 7-under 65 that was just enough to hold off hardcharging Akie Iwai of Japan in the Honda LPGA Thailand.

Yin started the final round on the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club with a ﬁve-shot lead. She played bogey-free. She had four birdies on the last six holes And it was barely enough to capture the title.

“I wasn’t that comfortable because Akie shot 10 under the ﬁrst day and this course is very gettable. So I just had to keep my head down,” Yin said.

Akie, who along with twin sister Chisato Akie are LPGA rookies this year, was dynamic to the very end when she made eagle on the par-5 closing hole to momentarily tie for the lead. Yin got her birdie to ﬁnish at 28-under 260. There have been only six lower 72-hole scores in LPGA history,

PELICANS

Continued from page 1B

70 rebounds and that allows us to get out in transition and run our sets and execute offensively.”

It was the Pelicans’ second straight game with the starting lineup of CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, Williamson, Olynyk and Yves Missi. That lineup, featuring the 7-foot Olynyk and the 6-foot-11 Missi, was too much for the Spurs. Especially since the Spurs were playing their third game without second-year phenom Victor Wembanyama, who has been shut down for the season after being diagnosed last week with a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder

Angel yin of the U.S., holds the trophy during the award ceremony after winning the LPGA Honda Thailand tournament on Sunday in Pattaya, southern Thailand.

with Sei Young Kim holding the record of 257, set at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in 2018. Despite starting the ﬁnal round with a ﬁve-stroke advantage, Yin faced relentless pressure from Iwai, who was playing on a spon-

“When you have a big lineup and I’m able to get downhill and dropping a pass off or throwing a lob, they can ﬁnish,” said Williamson. “So now whoever is guarding me has to make a decision.”

The Pelicans outscored the Wemby-less Spurs 74-43 in the second half to erase a 53-40 halftime deﬁcit.

Murphy (15), McCollum (12), Jordan Hawkins (10) also scored in doubles ﬁgures for the Pels, who will host the Spurs (24-31) again Tuesday night.

“Not a great first half, but we kept our poise,” Green said. We missed some easy baskets, but then it started to turn for us.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com

sor exemption. She charged up the leaderboard and momentarily shared the lead at 24 under after a birdie on the 12th hole. However, Yin, who last won at the 2023 Buick LPGA Shanghai, responded with three consecutive

birdies to regain control.

The 26-year-old is the fourth American to capture the LPGA Thailand title, joining Lilia Vu (2023), Jessica Korda (2018) and Lexi Thompson (2016). Despite ﬁnishing second, Iwai made history of her own, ﬁring a tournament-low round of 61. She carded 10 birdies and a closing eagle against a lone bogey to settle at 261.

World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand was in third with a 66, ﬁnishing at 267. Defending champion Patty Tavatanakit and fellow Thai Moriya Jutanugarn shared fourth place at 269.

The event is the first stop of the LPGA’s Asia swing The tour moves to Singapore and China over the next two weeks.

This story has been corrected to show that Angel Yin did not set the LPGA scoring record. Sei Young Kim holds the record of 257, set at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in 2018. This story also corrects the spelling of Jeeno Thitikul’s last name.

Pelicans forward Zion Williamson scores against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half of their game Sunday at the Smoothie King Center

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

LSU earns silver medal at SEC meet in Georgia

The LSU swimming and diving team closed the SEC championships in impressive fashion Saturday with a silver medal on the boards, two new A cuts, four school records, and a diver of the meet honor inside the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia.

After six complete days, the LSU women and men finished in seventh place with 609 and 579 points, respectively 15 Tigers scored points for LSU leading to the final tally Carson Paul finished with a silver medal on the platform. Paul earned a score of 468.15, which ranks second in program history In the pool, LSU swimmers accomplished two new A cuts in the 100-free and the women’s 400-yard free relay

Sainz takes over as F1 drivers’ union director

MONACO Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has become a director at Formula One’s Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which acts as a union for the grid’s stars.

The 30-year-old Williams driver will take the position vacated by Sebastian Vettel.

“I am passionate about my sport and think we drivers have a responsibility to do all we can to work with the stakeholders to forward the sport in many aspects,” Sainz said in a post on the GPDA’s Instagram account.

Last year, the GPDA challenged Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s leadership of the FIA by urging the Emirati to treat them like adults after Max Verstappen was ordered to perform community service for swearing in a press conference.

Shiffrin gets historic 100th World Cup race win

SESTRIERE, Italy Mikaela Shiffrin is 100% the best in skiing’s World Cup history book.

Shiffrin’s record-extending 100th career World Cup race win Sunday fulfilled a quest put on hold by a serious crash in November Back to racing in her favored slalom event, Shiffrin kept and added to her first-run lead to finish 0.61 seconds ahead of Zrinka Ljutic. Shiffrin’s U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan was third, 0.64 back.

The 29-year-old Shiffrin also tied an all-time World Cup record for men and women, as her 155th career top-3 ﬁnish on the podium matched Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.

“A lot of things had to go right in my direction for this to happen,” a tearful Shiffrin said minutes after the race.

Ovechkin nets 3, now 13 goals shy of NHL record

WASHINGTON Alex Ovechkin ﬁred a perfect wrist shot past Calvin Pickard for his first goal of the game, scored from his ofﬁce on the power play for his second and sailed a shot into an empty net from his own zone to complete the hat trick.

Scoring three goals in the Washington Capitals’ 7-3 rout of the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday put Ovechkin 13 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894. Even after missing 16 games earlier this season because of a broken leg, the 39-year-old is on pace to pass Gretzky this spring.

If there are more games like the one against the Oilers, it’s a matter of when, not if, Ovechkin reaches 895 and beyond.

Kruyswijk claims first European Tour title

NAIROBI, Kenya Jacques Kruyswijk held on to win the Kenya Open on Sunday and lift his first European Tour title. The South African shot a 4-under 67 at Nairobi’s Muthaiga golf course to finish 18 under for the tournament and two strokes clear of second-place John Parry (68). The 32-year-old Kruyswijk completed the weekend bogey free and carded four birdies in the final round.

Having started the day one shot ahead, Kruyswijk was overtaken by Parry within five holes, but back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 saw him regain the lead.

“I’m happy that I can keep the trophy on African soil and obviously bring it back to South

rica,” Kruyswijk said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FERNANDO LLANO

Brian Campbell, of the United States, holds the championship trophy after the final round of the Mexico Open tournament on Sunday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KITTINUN RODSUPAN

Istrouma’s Eryn Brown drives around St. Michael’s Harley Duncan on Jan. 28 at St. Michael. Brown is averaging 36.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy

SCHEINUK

Istrouma girls looking for another milestone

Indians pursuing second playoff win in program history

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

Four days after claiming the school’s ﬁrst girls basketball playoff victory in 25 years, the objective for 20thseeded Istrouma is simple repeat that feat.

“Winning that game Thursday was important for us,” Istrouma’s Eryn Brown said. “I am not sure anybody thought we could do it. But we did.

“It’s the same thing tomorrow be conﬁdent, do the things we’re supposed to do and keep proving people wrong.”

The Indians (24-11) travel to Thibodaux to take on fourth-seeded E.D. White in a Division II select regional playoff game set for 6:30 p.m. Monday

A surprisingly easy 7432 victory over The Willow School, a No. 13 seed, in a bidistrict game played in New Orleans last week boosted the conﬁdence for Brown and her teammates.

Just like last year Brown is the catalyst for Istrouma. The 5-foot-8 junior averages 36.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. Brown and Istrouma coach Yulinda Marshall are quick to point out how the team has grown too.

“We still have a young team,” Marshall said. “She (Brown) has become even more of a leader on and off the court. She will correct her teammates if a mistake is made, and she takes time to work with them at practice.

“Of course, we know E.D. White is a good team. We’re

GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS

Select

All games are regional round. Nonselect Division I No. 9 Slidell (24-6) at No. 8 Denham Springs (22-9), 6 p.m., Jacket Gym No. 14 Hahnville (20-8) at No. 3 Zachary (22-4), 6:30 p.m.

(12-9) at No. 7 Albany (22-11), 6 p.m. Division III No. 13 Richwood (12-17) at No. 4 Doyle (22-6) at Doyle Elementary 6 p.m. No. 14 Many (20-13) at No. 3 French Settlement (23-9), 5:30 p.m. Division IV No. 14 Mongomery (13-14) at No 3 White Castle (23-9), 6 p.m. No. 10 East Iberville (23-11) at No. 7 Oberlin (20-13), 6 p.m.

used to being underdogs at this point. I believe the game with Willow helped prepare us for this.”

Khystin Franklin and Charah Brown are the lone seniors on Marshall’s squad. Sophomore Kay’Lee Shepherd has six double-doubles this season, offering another option for the Indians. Added work on ball-handling and knowledge of the game were points of emphasis for Eryn Brown in the offseason. She sees improvement there and with her team.

“I had to be able to handle the ball better because two or three defenders are usually on me, trying to take the ball away,” she said.

“Improving on that and understanding when I should or should not force things to

Division I No. 14 Mt. Carmel (17-11) at No. 3 Woodlawn-BR (23-6), 6 p.m. No. 18 Liberty (14-13) at No. 2 Karr (26-4), 6:30 p.m. Division II No. 16 Sophie B. Wright (16-9) at No. 1 University (20-3), 6 p.m. No. 12 Glen Oaks (18-15) at No. 5 Madison Prep (17-12), 6:30 p.m. No. 20 Istrouma (24-11) at No. 4 E.D White (24-4), 6:30 p.m. No. 19 Loranger (13-15) at No. 3 Parkview Baptist (19-6), 6 p.m. Division III No. 9 Episcopal (13-10) at No. 8 Calvary Baptist (15-7), 5:30 p.m. No. 13 GEO Next Generation (21-11) at No. 4 Dunham (16-9), 6 p.m. Division IV No. 17 Sacred Heart-VP (12-9) at No. 1 Southern Lab (18-5), 7 p.m. at F.G Clark Center No. 11 Ascension Catholic (15-11) at No. 6 Central Catholic (26-7), 6 p.m. Class B No. 11 Holden (15-10) at No. 6 Pitkin (21-16), 6 p.m.

Class C No. 9 Pleasant Hill (14-18) at No. 8 Family Christian (22-7). 6:30 p.m.

happen was important.

“I feel like we’ve come a long way as a team. We want to keep this season going.”

Keeping it local

Two Monday regional games are all-local matchups. In Division II select, No. 12 Glen Oaks (18-15) plays at fifth-seeded Madison Prep (17-12) at 6:30 p.m. The teams are District 6-3A rivals.

Also, 13th-seeded GEO Next Generation (21-11) travels to The Dunham School (16-9) in Division III select action. It is the playoff opener for fourth-seeded Dunham.

A total of 12 teams that received bidistrict-round byes make their playoff debuts, including 2024 champions Parkview Baptist and Southern Lab.

USA vs. the World is better all-star format for

BY KEN SUGIURA

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

ATLANTA Our thanks go out today to the NHL for making it beyond clear to NBA and MLB poohbahs that they need to adopt a USA. vs. the World format for their slumberfest All-Star Games, and the sooner, the better The NHL’s 4 Nations FaceOff, which was that league’s attempt to goose its own uninteresting All-Star Game and generated historic ratings, was all the template the NBA and MLB should need. In a smart pivot after various formats failed to capture fan interest, the NHL staged a four-team tourney featuring its top players representing the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden. When the U.S. and Canada met in the championship game on Thursday night in Boston, ESPN drew 9.3 million viewers Yes, the Alabama spring game probably does better ratings than that. And many factors outside the NHL’s control helped create extra interest.

But let’s put the event in context. Thursday’s game drew the highest audience of any hockey game in ESPN’s records. And it demolished the U.S. viewership totals of any recent NHL All-Star Games. According to the Sports Business Journal, the largest American viewership going back to the 2015 AllStar Game was 2.3 million. It

Bell wins Atlanta thriller, only leads in overtime

BY CHARLES ODUM AP sportswriter

HAMPTON,Ga.— Christopher

Bell celebrated a droughtending victory for himself and Joe Gibbs Racing after a dramatic comeback in Atlanta.

Bell edged Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson in overtime Sunday in another close NASCAR Cup Series ﬁnish at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Bell led only the final lap in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and had a slight edge on the outside when the caution light came on in overtime following a wreck by Josh Berry

“That last lap of the race we were at our best,” Bell said.

It was the first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing since Bell’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 23, 2024.

“I am glad that we don’t have to hear about that,” Bell said. “‘Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t won since June.’ That’s all I’ve heard. So I’m very happy to end that narrative.”

The 30-year-old Oklahoma driver has 10 career Cup victories, and he acknowledged Atlanta wasn’t the spot his team had circled to end the drought.

Bell’s strength in his career has not been superspeedway style racing, but he pulled off the comeback after qualifying only 32nd and struggling most of the day to look like a serious contender Even Bell’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, wasn’t expecting the late comeback.

“I think I fell off the edge of my seat a couple of times, especially there what was it, maybe 10, 15 to go when we were up in the top three or four and then fell back outside the top 10,” Stevens said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Christopher Bell celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday in Hampton, Ga. Bell came from behind after qualifying 32nd.

“I thought we were toast. But Bell just kept his head down and really dug deep all day.”

Austin Cindric led in his Team Penske Ford before he and William Byron, the Daytona 500 winner last week, wrecked with three laps remaining, setting up the overtime Hocevar faced criticism from Ryan Blaney and other drivers after the race for his aggressive style on the track.

“Yeah, I mean there’s some stuff I got to learn and clean up a little bit, but I feel like we put ourselves in the perfect opportunity to try and win a race,” Hocevar said after falling short in a bid for his ﬁrst victory “I’ve never had that opportunity really before, especially on a superspeedway.”

Kyle Busch ﬁnished seventh, ending his hopes of snapping a winless streak on the Cup Series.

Busch won the Atlanta Truck Series race Saturday but is still looking for his first Cup win since 2023 after having his NASCARrecord 19-year streak with at least one win end last year Larson failed to finish the last four and five of the last six Atlanta races and was involved in accidents in each of the six.

Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates claimed the spotlight in NASCAR’s ﬁrst two weeks. Chase Elliott won The Clash on Feb. 2 before Byron avoided late wrecks to win the Daytona 500. Larson’s string of bad luck ended Sunday after he qualiﬁed only 17th. Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, surged late to win the second stage. “Came up a little bit short, but proud of the effort today by everybody on our HendrickCars. com Chevy,” Larson said. “Yeah, finally finished at Atlanta and finally got to run up front.”

Wrecks for Elliott, Suarez Elliott was in the top 10 when his Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet hit the wall late in the second stage and then hit Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing’s Ford, ending Keselowski’s race. Elliott ﬁnished 18th. Daniel Suarez, who edged Blaney and Kyle Busch in a thrilling three-wide ﬁnish in Atlanta’s 2024 February race, saw his hopes for a repeat win end when he was involved in a sevencar crash early in the third stage. Cole Custer, Ty Gibbs, Cody Ware, Noah Gragson and JJ Yaley also were involved.

Blaney was in contention before his late one-car spin caused a caution, but he rallied to ﬁnish fourth.

COMMENTARY

was 1.4 million in 2024 In other words, while it’s clearly not apples to apples, Thursday’s title game had four times the audience of the most-watched NHL All-Star Game of the previous nine. Outside of weeds, rabbits and slang my kids use that I don’t understand, four-fold growth in anything gets your attention. But to achieve that spike for this game, in an era when appetites for All-Star Games in all sports are dropping and causing owners to “crash out” – I think I used it right is almost unthinkable For good measure, it’s worth pointing out that the 9.3 million ESPN audience for the U.S.-Canada final hasn’t been exceeded by an MLB All-Star Game since 2015 (according to Baseball Almanac) and by an NBA AllStar Game since 2003 (per Sports Media Watch). MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would give his chief lackey’s right arm for 9.3 million viewers

Deducing that fans would be far more interested in a format in which the league’s stars represented their home nations rather than their conferences or some nonsense

entity like Shaq’s OGs was not rocket science, or even introductory astronomy one of the classes I took in col-

lege to satisfy the natural science requirement

All the evidence anyone needs can be found in this event called the Olympics. How many milliseconds of swimming do we watch between Olympiads, even by accident? And yet we become a nation of butterflyworshipping zealots every four years, pledging violence against anyone who dares to utter a single spoiling word about Katie Ledecky’s 400-meter freestyle before we can go home and watch it on tape delay Athletes competing for their countries is a story that’s just hard to resist. If you saw the U.S.-Japan championship game in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, you surely remember the game-deciding at-bat between then-Angels teammates Shohei Ohtani (pitching for Japan) and Mike Trout (at the plate for the U.S.). USA vs the World in the NBA or MLB wouldn’t be the Olympics, WBC or even the 4 Nations Face-Off. Those are multi-game events where drama can escalate. But any compelling moment that a USA-World game produced would still be better than virtually anything that a normal All-Star Game could generate because there’s nothing on the line in the latter That’s what fans want to watch a game that means something.

Florida capitalized on LSU’s four-guard lineup

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Two Florida 3-pointers ricocheted off the rim and both were retrieved by the offense. The second offensive rebound was retrieved by 7-foot-1, 255-pound Micah Handlogten, who was unimpeded by LSU’s 6-foot-9 forward Daimion Collins and 6-5 guard Dji Bailey

While sandwiched by two LSU defenders, the backup center located his 6-9 open teammate Thomas Haugh who caught the pass and dunked it with two hands, giving Florida a 63-56 lead with 6:23 left in the game.

The Tigers’ inability to overcome No. 2 Florida’s size and physicality is ultimately why they lost 79-65 Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Double-digit losses are not what LSU (14-13, 3-11 SEC) wants late in the regular season as it aims to make the National Invitation Tournament. Florida (24-3, 11-3) didn’t live up to its high standards on offense. It scored under 80 points for the sixth time, shooting 44% from the ﬁeld and 32% from the 3-point line against LSU. The Gators’ threeplayer backcourt averages about 45 points combined per game. LSU limited the trio to 27 points.

The Gators found another way to win. They relied on their frontcourt to get second-chance opportunities and scored on first looks near the hoop. Florida’s two starting big men combined for 35

LSU’s Cam Carter tries to control the ball as Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen defends in the first half of their game Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Carter had his worst shooting game of the season with just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field.

points on 15-of 23-shooting and 23 rebounds, 12 of them on offense.

Florida’s dominance was assisted by LSU starting and primarily playing a four-guard lineup for the third straight game. With four players under 6-5 playing together, it left them vulnerable in the paint.

WOMEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP

The reason LSU coach Matt McMahon played the four-guard look is because it has proven to be the best option for the team, which had won its two previous games.

During LSU’s seven-game losing streak, the two-forward lineup had severe scoring droughts because

No. 13 N.C. State stuns

No. 1 Notre Dame in 2OT

The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — Zoe Brooks scored a career-high 33 points to help No. 13 N.C. State beat top-ranked Notre Dame 104-95 in double overtime Sunday, ending the Fighting Irish’s 19-game winning streak while keeping alive their hopes to share the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

Brooks had 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (22-5 14-2 ACC), while Aziaha James added 20 points. That included a highlight-reel transition layup in which James took the ball around her back to change hands and avoid a strip by Olivia Miles a sequence that had the packed Reynolds Coliseum erupting in a roar By the end, the Wolfpack had hung on in a game featuring 21 lead changes while denying the Irish (24-3, 15-1) the chance to clinch the ACC regular-season title outright.

Hannah Hidalgo had 26 points for Notre Dame, while Sonia Citron added 23, including a tough 3-pointer over James with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to extend the game.

NO 3 UCLA 67, IOWA 65: In Iowa City, Iowa, Elina Aarnisalo made two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining to give No. 3 UCLA a comeback win over Iowa.

Lauren Betts had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Bruins (26-1, 14-1 Big Ten), who trailed by 12 points twice in the third quarter before rallying.

Iowa tied it at 65 when Lucy Olsen made three free throws with 6 seconds left. Aarnisalo was fouled when she was tripped by Olsen after she had fallen to the court trying to defend. Iowa had a ﬁnal shot to tie or win, but Addison O’Grady’s 3-pointer fell short.

Kiki Rice added 12 points for UCLA.

NO 4 SOUTHERN CAL 76, NO. 25 ILLINOIS

66: In Los Angeles, JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen scored 22 points each and No. 4 Southern California defeated 25th-ranked Illinois to retain sole possession of ﬁrst place in the Big Ten.

The Trojans (25-2, 15-1) needed their eighth win over a ranked team to avoid falling into a tie with No. 3 UCLA, which edged Iowa on the road to stay in second at 14-1. USC got 12 points and 13 rebounds from Rayah Marshall as the Trojans ﬁnished 14-1 at Galen Center after their home ﬁnale. Illinois (21-7, 11-6) was led by Genesis Bryant with 22 points. Kendall Bostic had 18 points and 16 rebounds.

NO 6 SOUTH CAROLINA 82 VANDERBILT

54: In Nashville Tenn., MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 24 points as sixth-ranked South Carolina beat Vanderbilt women for the Game-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN MCKEOWN

N.C. State’s Aziaha James, left, and Zoe Brooks celebrate behind Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld in the final moments of double-overtime on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.

cocks’ second straight win.

South Carolina (25-3, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) improved to 23-21 all-time, winning its 17th straight in this series dating back to Vanderbilt’s last win Jan. 27, 2011, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Joyce Edwards added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Gamecocks. Te-Hina Paopao had 13. Vanderbilt (19-9, 6-8) lost its second straight since Mikayla Blakes set the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record with 55 points at Auburn. Blakes scored 19 on Sunday, and Khamil Pierre had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Paopao scored the first seven points as the Gamecocks never trailed She and Fulwiley each had nine helping South Carolina lead 24-11 after the ﬁrst quarter Vanderbilt outscored South Carolina 14-11 to trim the Gamecocks’ halftime lead to 35-25.

South Carolina outscored Vandy 21-12 and led 56-37 after the third.

NO 8 OHIO STATE 98 PURDUE 46: In Columbus, Ohio, Chance Gray led all scorers with 21 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 20 and the No. 8 Ohio State women cruised to a win over Purdue.

Cotie McMahon added 16 points while Ajae Petty had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds for Ohio State (23-4, 12-4 Big Ten).

Rashunda Jones had 11 points for Purdue (9-18, 2-14), the only Boilermakers player to score in double figures Reagan Bass added eight points.

NO 9 NORTH CAROLINA 79, LOUISVILLE

75: In Louisville, Ky Trayanna Crisp scored 19 points, including a

of a drop-off in shooting and decision-making. It also didn’t improve LSU’s rebounding that much.

Having a fourth guard like Vyctorius Miller or Mike Williams instead of the non-shooting forward Corey Chest forces opponents to pay more attention to a shooting threat.

The chance of a fourth good shooter being open pulls defenders farther from the hoop and creates easy angles for drives and cuts This strategy becomes even more worthwhile when the inﬂux of speed with the guards is disruptive on defense, forcing ill-advised decisions.

That is exactly how LSU went on a 22-2 run in the ﬁnal seven minutes of the ﬁrst half to take a 37-31 halftime lead.

The Tigers could not sustain that. Florida adjusted its game plan and emphasized imposing its will in the paint in the second half.

Efficient interior scoring helped Florida’s defense get organized and take away LSU’s fast offense.

The turning point came when Florida forced back-to-back liveball turnovers. This resulted in Alijah Martin turning a layup into a three-point play and making a 3-pointer Those six points gave Florida a 10-point lead that it never allowed to get back to single digits for the remaining 4 minutes, 18 seconds.

LSU’s seven turnovers were the second-lowest this season. However, Florida capitalized on every small mistakes, getting 12 points

off of LSU’s six second-half turnovers. That coupled with 11 second-chance points in the second half was too much for the Tigers to overcome.

The only major adjustment McMahon had left was to return to the two-forward look to mitigate Florida’s physical advantage. He chose not to play freshman Robert Miller — who had careerhighs with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Florida — together with either Corey Chest (who played 10 minutes) or Daimion Collins (who played 15 minutes) for a signiﬁcant amount of time.

This was what McMahon said when asked why he didn’t.

“It wasn’t a very effective lineup for us tonight, even though the minutes weren’t many,” McMahon said. “So there’s certainly trade-offs. It’s a very fair question. Offensively for us, our better opportunity from a ball security, assist-to-turnover and a three-point shooting standpoint and spacing, (was) the four-guard attack. But we got to ﬁgure out ways to rebound the ball better, protect our paint better if that’s the case.”

Striking the appropriate balance in lineups while your leading scorer Cam Carter had his worst shooting game of the season — seven points on 3 of 13 from the ﬁeld — was too difﬁcult a problem for LSU to solve.

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com

MEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP

Indiana upsets No. 13 Purdue

The Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON,Ind.— Malik Reneau and Trey Galloway each scored 15 points, and Indiana allowed just 21 in the second half to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit and beat No. 13 Purdue 73-58 on Sunday Reneau also had six rebounds and was 7 of 7 from the field as he joined the 1,000-point club. Galloway added nine assists as the Hoosiers (16-11, 7-9 Big Ten) won for the second time eight games and earned a split in the season series with their biggest rival. Fletcher Loyer scored 20 points to lead the Boilermakers (19-9, 11-6), who have lost four straight It was quite a reversal for Indiana. The Boilermakers appeared to take control by closing the first half on a 21-4 run to make it 37-25. But the Hoosiers opened the second half on a 14-2 spurt, tying the score at 39, and then scored 14 straight to take a 53-40 lead with 11:56 to go. NO.10 ST JOHN’S 89,UCONN 75: In New York, Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor scored 18 points apiece as No. 10 St. John’s routed UConn to complete its first regular-season sweep of the Huskies in 25 years. Leading scorer RJ Luis Jr added 14 points for the Red Storm (24-4, 15-2 Big East) after sitting out Wednesday’s win at DePaul with a groin injury First-place St. John’s needs one more victory or a Creighton loss to clinch a share of its first regular-season conference championship since 1992. NO 22 MEMPHIS 84, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 65: In Memphis, Dain Dainja had 22 points and 11 rebounds, PJ Haggerty also scored 22 and No. 22 Memphis sprinted past Florida Atlantic. Colby Rogers added 15 points for first-place Memphis (22-5, 12-2 American Athletic Conference), which has won nine of 10.

go-ahead jumper with 35 seconds left, freshman Lanie Grant added a career-high 19 and No 9 North Carolina earned a comeback victory over Louisville.

The Tar Heels (25-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) were down by 12 with 2:25 left in the ﬁrst quarter and trailed for more than 36 minutes. However, they went 8 for 10 in the fourth quarter and shot 68% (17 of 25) after halftime to extend their winning streak to seven.

The Tar Heels played without wing Alyssa Ustby, who missed her second game after suffering a knee injury against N.C. State last week.

WEST VIRGINIA

NO 10 TCU 71, NO. 17

50: In Forth Worth, Texas, Hailey Van Lith scored 26 points, Sedona Prince had 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks, and No. 10 TCU rolled to a victory over 17th-ranked West Virginia.

The 21st consecutive home victory for the Horned Frogs (26-3, 142) dating back to last season also set a school record for overall and Big 12 Conference victories along with home wins (18).

TCU pulled even with Baylor atop the Big 12 standings with two games remaining, including a regular-season ﬁnale between the Texas rivals in Waco next Sunday NO 11DUKE80,SYRACUSE49: InDurham, N.C., Toby Fournier scored 22 points, Oluchi Okananwa added 13 points, and No. 11 Duke routed Syracuse.

Both Fournier and Okananwa came off the bench for the Blue Devils, who got 39 points from their reserves. Among the starters, Delaney Thomas scored 12 points, Reigan Richardson 11 and Ashlon Jackson 10.

Continued from page 1B

against LSU. The Tigers erased that deficit by moving the ball on offense, pressuring Wildcat ballhandlers in the backcourt and adjusting how it defended Amoore away from the action In the third quarter, they hit more field goals than they did in the first and second quarters combined, riding a reenergized offense to their first lead of the game, which grew to a sevenpoint advantage before the start of the fourth. Johnson scored 9 of her 13 points in the third and finished her day with 13 rebounds. Williams added 8 of her 24 in the quarter, to pair with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Morrow finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-20 shooting, and Shayeann Day-Wilson — back in the starting lineup after she entered LSU’s Thursday win over Georgia off the bench scored 8 points and assisted 3 buckets on offense while defending Amoore for most of Kentucky’s possessions at the other end. Amoore shot only 6 of 22 from the field and 3 of 15 from 3-point range. She tallied 12 points and 4 assists in the first half, then added only 4 points and 2 assists in the second. Clara Strack, the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, finished with only 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting. “That’s the only thing we

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. LSU

changed,” Mulkey said, “from an X’s and O’s point of view I just said, ‘Pick them up full court,’ and we were able to cut into the lead early in the third quarter, and then that just gave us a little momentum to keep going.” In the first half, LSU shot only 32% from the field and committed 10 turnovers. Johnson took only one field goal, and Morrow converted only three of the 11 she attempted. Kentucky (21-5, 10-4) pulled 11 rebounds off the offensive glass and drained four 3-pointers in the second quarter to build a 38-26 lead by halftime. LSU then outscored the Wildcats 23-6 in the third quarter

In the fourth, the Wildcats retook the lead, but LSU moved back in front, and Williams sealed the win with the pair of crucial buckets she hit down the stretch.

“That’s what great players do,” Mulkey said. “You got to move fast in this game and forget the last miss. People need to start talking about her in the same breath that they talk about (Johnson) and Morrow because those are our three that really have done this all year.”

LSU clinched a double bye in the SEC Tournament because it picked up a win on Sunday, the 750th victory of Mulkey’s career It also tied its program record for regular-season wins in the SEC era (since 1982).

Next, the Tigers will face No. 18 Alabama on the road at 8 p.m. on Thursday

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

All good things come to an end

ESPN-MLB divorce a shocker to longtime fans

BY PAUL SULLIVAN Chicago Tribune (TNS)

MESA,Ariz. — The breakup of ESPN and Major League Baseball was a shocker to those of us who looked at the partnership as a match made in heaven, or at least the baseball equivalent in Dyersville, Iowa. Since they presented their vows back in 1990, ESPN helped spread the gospel of baseball through the Steroids Era, the start of bat flipping and other showboating and with so many YankeesRed Sox games that you knew every step of the famous scene in which Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez threw down elderly Yankees coach Don Zimmer

The introduction of the K-Zone in 2001 changed the way we watch baseball. It showed which ball and strike calls were incorrect, ensuring umpire Angel Hernandez would be a trending topic on Twitter, which was not yet invented But, alas, the sides grew apart in recent years and “mutually agreed” to end their national TV deal after the 2025 season a conscious uncoupling that was a bit rockier than the end of the Theo Epstein-Joe Maddon bromance in 2019.

Now comes the ESPN Baseball Farewell Tour, which could rival the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary show in hype and hubris. They could even bring back some of the ESPN favorites of the past, such as Keith Olbermann and Jon Miller, along with some of the more polarizing cast members like Curt Schilling and Chris Berman

The ending, like most broken marriages, has gotten ugly In a highlight package, you could pair it with Berman yelling, “Back, back, back gone.”

ESPN wasn’t happy paying about $550 million per year over the next three years and exercised its optout clause before the March 1 deadline. It was kind of like a ma-

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty reacts during a game against Penn State on Dec. 31 in Glendale, Ariz.

SAINTS

“Furthermore, we have not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage.”

ROB MANFRED, MLB commissioner

jor league team saying goodbye to an overpaid slugger with a couple years left on his contract, though at least the slugger still gets his guaranteed money MLB is left holding the bag.

In a memo to owners that The Athletic obtained, commissioner Rob Manfred wrote that MLB did not think it was “beneﬁcial to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform,” taking a parting shot at the network that helped sell baseball for decades until cord-cutting became a thing in the Streaming Era.

We can expect MLB to hook up with one of the younger, prettier streamers like Apple TV+ that talks a good game but hasn’t been able to replicate the ESPN experience.

Comparing Apple to ESPN is like comparing the Colorado Rockies to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They might play the same game, but they’re not in the same ballpark. ESPN is the king, for all its faults. Apple is beloved only by a generation of fans born after the Red Sox broke their curse.

Like a spurned lover, Manfred wrote that in the last bargaining round, ESPN “declined to purchase the inventory we subsequently sold to Apple and Roku,” adding that “Sunday Night Baseball” ratings were up 6% in 2024 and the wild-card round on ESPN was “the most watched ever.” He also pointed to the fact ESPN was available in 53.6 million homes in December, down from a peak of more than 100 million in 2011. It’s not me, it’s you!

Continued from page 1B

philosophy of searching for bigbodied, freakish athletes along the defensive line. Will Staley be open to smaller, speedier pass rushers in a way that former coach Dennis Allen was not? And if so, how does that alter, if at all, how the Saints conduct their combine interviews?

How truly deep is this defensive class?

The Saints have pressing needs everywhere including along the defensive line. But there’s good news on that front — pardon the pun. By all accounts, this is a loaded class for defensive linemen. And the Saints will get a chance to further dive in when they meet with the prospects and watch them work out

The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said in a conference call last week that this defensive tackle class is as deep as he could remember, adding later there was also “no shortage” of edge rushers. Names to watch include Michigan’s Mason Graham, Georgia’s Jalon Walker and Marshall’s Mike Green.

Will the quarterbacks build buzz?

Last year’s quarterback class was a special group and that might dampen the excitement for this year’s crop.

Draft analysts have spoken highly of Cam Ward and Shadeur Sanders the consensus top two signal-callers for this draft — but have also said they’d likely rate behind the 2024 class that included Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Bo Nix and Michael Penix. Jeremiah said he’d have Ward graded between Nix and Penix and Sanders behind Penix.

“Furthermore, we have not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage,” he wrote. We can only assume he’s referring to the network’s footballcentric coverage of the NFL and college football on “SportsCenter” in September and October during baseball’s pennant races and postseason. ESPN is only giving the viewers what they want, and what they want is more cowhide.

Back in 1989, when ESPN signed a four-year, $500 million deal to bring baseball to the cable sports giant starting in 1990, the relationship was beautiful to behold.

That was also the dawn of “Baseball Tonight,” the show that ran nightly during the entire season and made the term “web gem” part of the baseball vernacular — inadvertently leading to ﬁelders trying to make spectacular plays to watch themselves on the nightly highlight packages.

And we ate it up, even watching reruns at 2 in the morning. Olbermann, a baseball encyclopedia with a sense of humor, was the perfect host. Tim Kurkjian, a Hall of Fame baseball writer, gave quirky stats and told stories of the olden days It was the perfect mix of highlights, history, humor and stats.

But the network discontinued “Baseball Tonight” in 2017, the ﬁrst sign of the eventual souring of the marriage. ESPN and MLB signed a new deal in 2021, renewing their vows but reducing the number of games.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, whether it’s ESPN televising baseball or the Yankees ditching their longstanding policy on facial hair

It was a strong marriage for many years, and maybe this ﬁnal season will bring out the best in both.

Thanks for the memories, ESPN.

OFFENSE

Continued from page 1B

its opening series. But those numbers only tell part of the story

The Tigers only allowed runs in just three innings against Omaha. Their starters — sophomore lefthander Kade Anderson, UC San Diego transfer and right-hander Anthony Eyanson and redshirt sophomore Chase Shores combined to give up just two earned runs in 161/3 innings.

“I would say we’re all pretty different, but I think us three being so close with one another just really helps us,” Eyanson said.

Bregman hits 2-run homer in spring debut with Boston

The Associated Press FORT MYERS, Fla. — Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer as part of a three-hit day in his spring training debut with the Boston Red Sox, launching a drive over the left-field wall in the second inning Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bregman also had a single in the ﬁrst inning and a double off the fence in the fourth. The twotime All-Star signed a $120 million, three-year deal with Boston this month after spending the ﬁrst nine years of his career with the Houston Astros.

The 30-year-old former LSU standout hit 260 with 26 homers last season and won his ﬁrst Gold Glove at third base. His defensive position is in question with the Red Sox, but he was at the hot corner against the Blue Jays.

Texas Rangers

Prospect Rosario likely out for season with elbow injury: In Surprise, Ariz., Texas Rangers prospect Alejandro Rosario has an elbow injury that will likely cause the righthanded pitcher to miss the upcoming season.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told MLB. com on Sunday that Rosario likely needs Tommy John surgery

“He’s going to require surgery,” Young said. “As with all these things, we want to check the boxes and make sure we get multiple opinions. We don’t want to sit on this and not announce it when we know he’s going to be out, but we’re still ﬁguring out the next steps.”

The 23-year-old is ranked the No. 50 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com He played college ball at Miami and was selected in the ﬁfth round of

SPRING TRAINING NOTEBOOK

the 2023 amateur draft.

New York Mets

Infielder Madrigal dislocates non-throwing shoulder in game vs. Nationals: In West Palm Beach, Fla., New York Mets inﬁelder Nick Madrigal dislocated his non-throwing shoulder Sunday in a spring training game against the Washington Nationals.

Madrigal is fighting for a roster spot with the Mets, and it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss after the injury to his left shoulder The 27-year-old was playing shortstop and charged a grounder up the middle, firing to first base before falling to the grass.

He’ll undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury, according to MLB.com

Madrigal was the No 4 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft and has played five seasons in the big leagues with the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs. He signed a one-year deal with the Mets in January after being nontendered by the Cubs.

Miami Marlins

Alcántara hits 99 mph in return to mound after missing 2024 season: In Port St. Lucie, Fla., Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara threw one scoreless inning against the New York Mets in a spring training game Sunday as he continues his comeback from elbow surgery that caused him to miss last season. The 29-year-old looked like his old self against the Mets, blowing a 99 mph fastball past Jose Siri for the ﬁnal out of the ﬁrst inning Alcántara threw 17 pitches and gave up one hit.

The combine is an opportunity for Ward, Sanders and the others available to build their case. But this draft has interesting ripple effects for the Saints. If the Tennessee Titans, for instance, pass on taking a quarterback at the No. 1 spot, would they perhaps want to pursue a Carr trade? The New York Giants are also rumored to be interested in trading for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford instead of drafting a quarterback at No. 3. Would the Giants be interested in Carr if they miss out on Stafford?

The Saints, of course, will also be linked to quarterbacks if they move on from Carr But they could be very well out of the Ward-Sanders range as they hold the ninth pick. Even in a down year it would be surprising to see either of those quarterbacks drop that far

Are running backs back?

In Sean Payton’s ﬁrst draft, the Saints used the second overall pick on USC running back Reggie Bush.

In Kellen Moore’s first draft, the Saints will use the ninth overall pick on Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty?

Alright, that would still be super surprising given the Saints have greater needs across the roster and that running backs are rarely picked in the top 10 these days. But the NFL scouting combine may very well highlight how a running back resurgence could be in store.

The NFL saw it this last season when free-agent signings of Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry made a huge impact for the Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens. And this year’s draft includes a potential superstar in Jeanty and two other possible first rounders in North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton and TreVeyon Henderson.

The bullpen had its first rocky outing in the seventh inning of Game 1 of the doubleheader, surrendering five runs after hitting two batters and allowing a walk and two hits, including a three-run home run.

But in the other 92/3 innings, the bullpen had just one unearned run and one hit while striking out 13.

A leadoff conundrum

LSU had a different leadoff hitter in each game of this weekend’s series.

Auburn transfer Chris Stanfield led off Friday’s game, as he had in the first four games, before Utah Valley transfer Daniel Dickinson held the role in Game 1 of the doubleheader and junior college transfer Tanner Reaves hit first in Game 2.

The results between the three were a mixed bag. Stanﬁeld went 0-for-4 before getting relegated to the bench for Game 1 of the doubleheader Dickinson had a double and walked twice while Reaves didn’t have a hit but also walked twice and scored both times.

LSU never settled in on a leadoff hitter last year until the postseason when senior Michael Braswell reclaimed the spot after having it on opening day That could be the case again this year unless Johnson anoints Dickinson.

The second baseman has been one of LSU’s better hitters to start this year making him a worthy candidate even beyond his strong cameo on Saturday The question for Johnson is whether he believes LSU is better off having Dickinson provide protection behind junior Jared Jones or have him lead off. Why the pop ups For 11 innings this weekend, LSU’s offense had trouble ﬁnding hits, let alone scoring runs.

From the sixth inning of Friday’s game to the eighth inning of Game 1 Saturday, the Tigers went score-

ON DECK

WHO: Nicholls State (5-2) at LSU (6-1)

WHEN: 6 p.m. Monday

WHERE: Alex Box Stadium

ONLINE: SEC Network+

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans); KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 3 by D1Baseball; Nicholls is not ranked PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU — TBA; Omaha — TBA

PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate. com/lsu ON X (FORMERLY TWITTER): @KokiRiley WHAT TO WATCH FOR: LSU will likely turn to junior right-hander Gavin Guidry or left-handed junior college transfer Conner Ware to start.Ware tossed three shutout innings last week vs. Southern, while Guidry hasn’t pitched yet. Nicholls heads into the matchup having swept Little Rock at home over the weekend. Koki Riley

less, had only three hits and struck out 10 times. They were hitless through the ﬁrst 72/3 innings of the ﬁrst game Saturday “I thought (the offense) had pretty good mojo coming into the season, to be honest with you. Like (our pitchers) that aren’t giving up anything, like, we were taking pretty quality of bats off of them (during the preseason),” Johnson said “And we lost that for a good,

whatever you want to call it like 10 or 11 inning stretch of (this) series.”

There was one sequence during the ﬁrst game of the doubleheader where LSU ﬂew out or popped out in seven consecutive at bats. Johnson attributed those particular struggles to an undisciplined approach.

“We got out of getting in position to hit, getting in position to see the ball,” Johnson said, “and seeing the right part of the ball, attacking the right part of the ball. You know, expanding the zone too much.”

Defense continues to shine

LSU’s pitching staff has allowed its defense to ﬂy under the radar to begin this season. But through seven games, the Tigers have committed just one error from a non-pitcher Their lone blemish came on a catcher’s interference call charged to Hernandez on opening day

The 88 strikeouts from the pitching staff through seven games has gone a long way toward minimizing potential mistakes in the field. But Omaha put the ball in play more often than Purdue Fort Wayne did, and the Tigers still made the routine play

“I played with (Milam) and (Braswell) every game last year So obviously we have great chemistry on the infield, and Danny’s a terrific guy over there in second base,” Jones said. “So we just are always communicating, always talking, and there’s just a lot of confidence on the infield.”

Email Koki Riley at Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU’s Luis Hernandez gets a standup double to score Jake Brown from second base in the fourth inning of a game against Omaha on Friday at Alex Box Stadium.

AP PHOTO By RICK SCUTERI

‘The Little Red Hen’ by Elizabeth Orton Jones and illustrated in gouache by by J.P Miller is copyrighted 1954 by Random House. This original illustration is featured in the LSU Museum of Art’s exhibit, ‘Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 years of Golden Books.’

PROVIDED PHOTOS By LSU MUSEUM OF ART

LIVING

Colors are bold, the world is happy and all adults become kids in LSU’s ‘Golden Book’ exhibit

‘Tootle’ by Gertrude Crampton, illustrated by Tibor Gergely is featured in ‘Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 years of Golden Books,’ opening Feb 27 at the LSU Museum of Art.The painting is an original gouache illustration, copyright 1945 Random House.

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

When the weekend ends and Monday rolls around, sometimes the last thing anyone wants to do is cook dinner — or lunch, for that matter. In Baton Rouge, there are several restaurants that close shop on Monday to recover from the weekend shifts, but there is also a plethora of those ready to greet guests that day Below are 40 res-

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Michelle Schulte remembers how every Little Golden Book included a complete list of the series’ titles on its back cover Sometimes the list appeared inside the cover, but it didn’t matter to her as long as it was there.

“I always turned to the list and checked off all the Little Golden Books I had read,” said Schulte, the LSU Museum of Art’s curator

That was in her childhood, when each title represented a piece of magic bound in gold foil. Now this same magic ﬁlls the gallery as Schulte decides what to hang where during the installation of the museum’s latest exhibit, “Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books.”

Generational impact

The show opens on Thursday and features 60 original illustrations from the little cardboard-covered children’s books with which millions of Americans grew up reading.

This isn’t an exaggeration — generations of Americans not only grew up with these books but passed them down to their children and grandchildren. With this in mind, Schulte tried to design a show that would appeal to both children and adults.

taurants in Baton Rouge that are open on Mondays;

by Ole

and illustrated by Richard

and watercolor and copyrighted 1963 by

‘GOLDEN LEGACY: ORIGINAL ART FROM 80 YEARS OF GOLDEN BOOKS’

Through May 25 at the LSU Museum of Art in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St. l Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Tuesday through Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. l Admission is $5 for ages 13 and older and free for ages 12 and younger, university students with ID and veterans and their families with military ID l Call (225) 578-3000 or visit lsumoa.org

Hickory Salmon is on Beausoleil’s coastal cuisine menu.

What is the ‘Shoutlet’ device?

The “Shoutlet” is a new revolutionary suppression device/ pillow that allows the person to scream, yell or even cry into the pillow without disturbing others.

It is not uncommon for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease to shout, yell or vocalize during various stages of the condition. Pain, hunger restlessness, anxiety, loneliness, depression or even external factors could be some of the underlying causes that trigger such behavioral challenges. Often, the yelling may just come from an unmet need to communicate something to others. Further, yelling can be a self-soothing and/or coping mechanism for the affected individual.

In helping the person with Alzheimer’s disease to remain calm and to halt the shouting, albeit sometimes temporarily, it is helpful to establish a structured, daily routine, provide meaningful activities, create a calming environment, and above all, offer reassurance to the individual.

Agitation and aggression can be triggers to yelling and screaming, and taking a step back and demonstrating calmness can assist in calming and reassuring the affected individual. It is helpful to stop and slow down and truly listen to the individual, even if it does not make sense. Try not to correct or admonish as this will only “fuel the ﬁre” and perhaps accelerate the yelling and screaming. Redirecting and validating the feelings of the individual can calm him down, giving time for the caregiver to understand the reasons behind the yelling behaviors. Fostering respectful dialogue and entering the affected individual’s reality during yelling episodes promotes a muchneeded connection between the caregiver and the affected individual and gives that individual the dignity he deserves. Using these practices may be effective in diverting or pausing the screaming behaviors. Another alternative, and something tangible to try is the new device/pillow, called the “Shoutlet,” which provides a safe, convenient and effective way to convert negative emotions and promote inner balance. According to the company’s website, the beneﬁts of using the “Shoutlet” include: a reduction of acute stress levels, improvement of sleep quality, promotion of relaxation, comfort and support, assistance in gaining mental and emotional clarity, and improved heart and lung strength. Screaming into a pillow has always been a way to express and release strong emotions like anger or frustration without disturbing others. The “Shoutlet” is lightweight and handy and it is not as large as a regular bed pillow, for instance. It

‘I Am A Bunny’

Risom

Scarry in gouache

Random House is featured in the exhibit.

Is there a link between prediabetes, pancreatic cancer?

Dear Doctors: I just learned I have prediabetes. I also learned that a lot of people with pancreatic cancer have trouble with blood sugar control. A connection between prediabetes and pancreatic cancer is really scary, and I would like to know more.

Dear Reader: While cancer of the pancreas is the 10th most common cancer, it is the third most common cause of cancer deaths. This is because noticeable symptoms of this cancer often appear only once the disease is quite advanced, when it has spread to other areas of the body Diabetes, by contrast, has become so common and widespread that it is considered to be a national epidemic It is estimated that at least 40 million people over the age of 18 are living with

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2025. There are 310 days left in the year

Today in history

On Feb. 24, 1868, the U.S House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson by a vote of 126-47 following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate by a single vote.

On this date:

In 1803, in its landmark Marbury v. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established judicial review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes.

EXHIBIT

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Adults will become kids again as they walk through these imaginary landscapes from their childhoods. That’s the effect it’s had on Schulte, as well as the museum staff.

Childhood connections

Schulte walks through the gallery, stopping by authorillustrator Elizabeth Orton Jones’ illustrations for “Little Red Riding Hood.” These conjure special memories.

“We lived in Germany when I was a child, and I remember noticing how Little Red Riding Hood wore the same kind of German wear that I wore over there,” Schulte said. “I remember telling my mom, ‘Look, she’s wearing the same thing I’m wearing.’ There’s just something very European about the illustrations in that book, and I related to it as a child.”

She also shares her love of another favorite, “The Poky Little Puppy,” the 12th of the original Little Golden Books published in 1942.

“I think ‘The Poky Little Puppy’ is everyone’s favorite,” Schulte said. “It still ranks as the most popular Little Golden Book today, and it’s amazing just how strong its staying power is. The illustrations are still the same, and the story is still the same, and everyone still loves it.”

Celebrating 80 years

The exhibit was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Texas, and as mentioned in its title, celebrates Little Golden Books’ 80th anniversary

Technically the series is 83 now. The show began traveling in 2022, exactly 80 years from the books’ ﬁrst publishing date of 1942.

Joining “The Poky Little Puppy” in the original round of 12 titles were “Three Little Kittens,” “Bedtime Stories,” “Mother Goose,” “Prayers for Children,” “The Little Red Hen,” “Nursery Songs,” “The Alphabet from A to Z,” “The Golden Book of Fairy Tales,” “Baby’s Book of Objects,” “The Animals of Farmer Jones” and “This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes.”

The launch year also marked the United States’ first full year of involvement in World War II. While war raged in Europe, Little Golden Books were wielding

Dr. Elizabeth Ko Dr Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

diabetes in the United States. That’s close to 15% of adults. Another 100 million people in the U.S. share your diagnosis of prediabetes. Also known as impaired glucose tolerance, it is a condition in which chronically elevated blood sugar levels are approaching the diabetes benchmark. All of this makes the possible correlation between poor blood glucose and pancreatic cancer that you are

TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees died. In 1988, in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $200,000 award that the Rev Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt. In 1991, the United States began ground operations in the Gulf War by entering Iraqi-held Kuwait. In 2008, Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro presi-

magic at home.

Affordable high quality

The books also represent a significant milestone in publishing history, marking the ﬁrst time high-quality illustrated books were made available to millions of youngsters and their parents at affordable prices.

The idea to produce colorful, durable and affordable children’s books was developed by Georges Duplaix, who headed the Artists and Writers Guild, Inc., a division of Western Publishing. Books for kids were selling for $2 and $3 at the time, which would translate to about $38 and $58 today

Duplaix teamed up with some fellow artists and writers on the project while Western Publishing and Simon & Schuster produced the books in a joint publishing venture.

Each Golden Book consisted of 42 pages with 28 printed in two colors and 14 in four colors. They were bound with staples with spines wrapped in the books’ signature gold foil They sold for 25 cents each Moms could afford them

“I remember my mother reading a Little Golden Book to me as a child, because that’s what they could afford,” Schulte said.

“She didn’t have very many books, and the books she did have were generally Little Golden Books or books that she shared amongst her siblings. Then I started picking out my own. Now my son loves Little Golden Books.”

She grabs a book from a table filled with Golden Book titles provided by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature to complement the exhibit.

“This is my son’s favorite,” she said, ﬂipping through the pages of ‘The Monster at the End of This,’ starring ‘Sesame Street’s’ garbage can character Grover As Golden Books went on, they stuck with stories and illustrations either based on classics or things that came out of their own publishing company.”

Eventually, Golden Books started to partner with corporations like Disney Hanna Barbera and the Sesame Warehouse. This move, Schulte said, gave the company staying power with the rise of television.

The one about Taylor Swift

How relevant are the Little Golden Books today? The answer can be found downstairs in the LSU Museum Store.

asking about quite concerning. The pancreas is a spongy, glandular organ about 6 to 8 inches long. Shaped like a sideways comma, it sits deep within the abdomen, surrounded by the liver, stomach, small intestine and spleen. The two main jobs of the pancreas are to aid in digestion and help with blood sugar regulation. It does the latter by producing insulin, the hormone essential to moving glucose from the blood into the cells. It is here that a possible link between diabetes and pancreatic cancer comes into play When blood sugar levels rise, the beta cells of the pancreas send out insulin. If blood sugar is chronically high, as in diabetes, the pancreas is forced into overdrive.

The data show that up to 80% of people who are diagnosed with

DEVICE

dent, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel. In 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions. Today’s birthdays: Actor Dominic Chianese is 94. Nike cofounder Phil Knight is 87. Actor Barry Bostwick is 80. Actor Edward James Olmos is 78. Musician George Thorogood is 75. Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 69. Actor Billy Zane is 59. Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr is 48. Tennis Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt is 44. Actor Daniel Kaluuya is 36.

“Our best-selling Golden Book is the one about Taylor Swift,” museum manager LeAnn Russo said.

The book, simply titled “Taylor Swift,” features an illustration of the megastar making heart hands on the cover The shop is selling it alongside classic Little Golden Book titles and such newer editions as “Elvis Presley.”

The shop also offers Golden Book-themed memorabilia, including T-shirts and totes, and has designated a comfy rug-covered corner as a reading station for kids.

Artists escaped war

While the illustrations upstairs are nothing less than wonder-filled worlds, the lives of some of their artists were quite the opposite.

“It was wartime, and a lot of these artists had to escape Europe,” Schulte said.

“They came to the United States, and while they were artists in their own right in their countries, they had to evacuate for their own reasons because of the war.”

The danger they faced doesn’t appear in their illustrations. They found success through the Little Golden Book series with some artists even moving on to work for Disney Gustaf Tenggren was among the Golden Bookturned-Disney set. He isn’t a household name, but his depiction of the Seven Dwarves in Disney’s 1937 animated classic “Snow White” will live forever in film history and moviegoers’ hearts.

Meanwhile, his paintings of “The Poky Little Puppy” are still touching children’s hearts.

Poky Puppy is here

The exhibition features an illustration from “The Poky Little Puppy” showing the pup with his friends thinking about digging an escape tunnel beneath a picket fence. They hesitate beneath a sign announcing, “No desserts ever unless puppies never dig holes under this fence again!”

This prompts the question: Can puppies read? And if they can, would the threat of withholding desserts really discourage them from digging that hole?

In their world, a Little Golden Book world, the color is bold, every story is happy and all adults become kids again.

Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate. com.

pancreatic cancer have either recently developed Type 2 diabetes or have prediabetes. There is also evidence that long-term diabetes is a risk factor for this type of cancer Whether or not this indicates a direct connection between the two diseases is not yet clear

One idea that is being explored is that a new diagnosis of diabetes, also known as new-onset diabetes, may be a symptom of pancreatic cancer Another potential explanation is that the presence of the cancer itself may have an adverse effect on mechanisms involved in blood glucose control.

Even without a direct connection to pancreatic cancer, the chronically high blood sugar you have been diagnosed with should be addressed. Data collected by the American Diabetes Associa-

Continued from page 1C

is made of canvas and vegan suede, has a hypoallergenic foam core, and is

RESTAURANTS

Continued from page 1C

n Beausoleil Coastal Cuisine,7731JeffersonHighway

n Bin 77, 10111 Perkins Rowe

n BLDG 5, 2805 Kalurah St.

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n Cecelia Creole Bistro, 421 N. Third St.

n Chai-Thai Loa, 8733 Jefferson Highway

n Chow Yum, 2363 Hollydale Ave.

n Cocha, 445 N. Sixth St.

n Counter Culture, 7711 Perkins Road

n DiGiulio Brothers Italian Cafe, 2903 Perkins Road

n Eliza Restaurant, 7970 Jefferson Highway

n Elsie’s Plate and Pie,

tion show that 70% of people living with prediabetes eventually go on to develop Type 2 diabetes. Chronic prediabetes is also associated with early forms of kidney disease, damage to the retina, neuropathy and an increased risk of certain types of vascular disease. The good news is that with proper diet, regular exercise and reaching a healthful weight, prediabetes can be reversed. Please be sure to follow the treatment plan that your doctor has provided.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

machine washable. The pillow sells for $30.

For more information about the “Shoutlet” pillow, visit www.theshoutlet.com.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

3145 Government St.

n French Market Bistro, 16645 Highland Road

n Jed’s Local, 672 Jefferson Highway

n Jubans Restaurant and Bar 3739 Perkins Road

n LouisianaLagniappeRestaurant, 9990 Perkins Road

n Mansurs on the Boulevard, 5720 Corporate Blvd.

n Mason’s Grill, 13556 Jefferson Highway

n Okki Tokki, 549 Main St.

n Olive or Twist, 7248 Perkins Road

n Our Mom’s Restaurant and Bar, 250 W. Lee Drive

n Overpass Merchant, 2904 Perkins Road

n Parrain’s Seafood Restaurant, 3225 Perkins Road

n Pedro’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, 7655 Andrea Drive

n Phil’s Oyster Bar 4335 Perkins Road

n Rouj Creole, 7601 Bluebonnet Blvd.

n Roux 61 Seafood and Grill, 8322 Bluebonnet Blvd

n Sammy’s Grill, 8635 Highland Road

n SoLou, 2112 Perkins Road

n Spoke and Hub 5412 Government St.

n Sushi Yama, 7731 Perkins Road

n Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine Bar 7000 Bluebonnet Blvd.

n The Cove Hawaiian Grill, 9618 Jefferson Highway

n The Smiling Dog, 4215 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd.

n Umami Japanese Bistro, 3930 Burbank Drive

n Willie’s Restaurant, 11260 Coursey Blvd.

n Zippy’s, 3155 Perkins Road.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Keep your life simple and moderate by using reason and sticking to a budget you can handle. Put more muscle behind what you want to achieve, embrace challenges that offer stability and take care of your needs.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) An open discussion will help ward off misunderstandings. Speak from the heart, offer alternatives and be willing to compromise. Be the force behind positive decisions and outcomes.

tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Put your time and energy into getting ahead at home and at work. Refuse to let anger slow you down or hold you back. Choose progress over discord, and you'll surpass your expectations.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Set boundaries and limit your spending, intake and promises. A reasonable pace and wellthought-out plans will help you bypass temptation. Put your effort where it will do you some good. Learn something new.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Put your energy into something worthwhile. Upgrade your skills, qualifications and anything that will help you get ahead. However, say no to conflict or spontaneous spending.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Pay attention, and you'll be privy to information that can help you advance. Short-term offers should be looked at with skepticism. Put your energy where it brings the highest returns.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Time is on your side. Plan and execute your actions with precision. Set the stage for a better future, and network with those who can introduce you to the right people.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Set aside time for the people and pastimes you enjoy. Refuse to let anger cost you. Do what works best for you and allow others the same privilege. Learn from experience.

SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set your sights on what you want to achieve, and get started. Incorporate positive change into your life, establish what you want and proceed to get things done.

SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec 21) Keep track of your spending, investments and livelihood. Someone will interfere if you aren't astute and constantly tracking what's changing around you.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) A change to your surroundings will be uplifting. Make your space more affordable, efficient and comfortable. Discipline, hard work and finishing what you start will pay off handsomely.

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Updating your mindset, appearance or skills will help you stay ahead of any competition. If you snooze, you'll lose; don't lose sight of your goal. Choose self-improvement over criticizing others.

FAMILY CIrCUS

McMeel Syndication

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

toDAy'S CLuE: Z EQuALS F

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

LAGoon

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, wrote, “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”

In bridge, we think left and right when considering our opponents. We think low and high when deciding which card to lead from a given holding (or whether to play low or high when following suit). This week, let’s look at the single most important rule for defenders: When you lead from length, if you lead a low card, you guarantee an honor in that suit; without an honor, lead an unnecessarily high card. (There is one clear exception to that rule, which we will look at later this week.)

Today’s deal provides a good example. What should West lead against three notrump?

The auction is simple and quantitative. West should lead the spade eight, the high card denying an honor in the suit Then how should East defend?

Can the eight be fourth-highest from length and strength? Apply the Rule of Eleven. Eight from 11 is three, but East can see four spades higher than the eight on the board and in his hand. So, the eight must be top of nothing. And since South hasthespadekingandjack,itispointless to plug away at that suit. Instead, East should win the first trick with his spade aceandshifttotheclubqueen.Here,that works well, netting the first five tricks for the defenders. Always read partner’s lead, deciding what he has led from; in particular, is he weak or strong in that suit? © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD = GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

InStRuCtIonS: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are

toDAy’S

thought “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen Thursday,January 9, 2025 5:30 PM

The Following Minutes AreSummarized For Brevity,For Precise Meeting Information Please Refer To Meeting Audio Or Video.

1.CALL MEETING TO ORDER &REQUEST ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES BE SILENCED ARegular Meeting of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council was heldonThursday,January 9, 2025 and called to order at 05:30 PM. Council Chairman Carey Denstel asked that all electronic devices beplaced on silent.

2.OPENING PRAYER Councilman Atley Walker Jr.led everyone in an opening prayer

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Denstel recognized Vice Chairman Alan Crowe who led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

4.LOG ATTENDANCE The following members wererecorded as being present: Messrs. Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph. Also present were, Mr.Jason Manola, Parish President, Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne, ExecutiveAssistant, Mr.Chance Stephens, Director of Finance, Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne, Director of Public Works, Ms. Kristen Canezaro, Special Legal Counsel, and Mrs. Michelle Tullier Council Clerk.

5. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

A. Election of Council Chairman for 2025.

Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin nominated Council Member Carey Denstel to serve as Chairman for 2025, seconded by Council Member Kirk Allain, therewerenoother nominations,therefore Council Member Carey Denstel was elected as 2025 Council Chairman by acclamation.

B. Election of Council Vice Chairman for 2025. Council Member Brady Hotardnominated Council Member Alan Crowe to serve as Vice Chairman for 2025, seconded by Council Member Atley Walker,therewerenoother nominations,therefore Council Member Alan Crowe was elected as 2025 Council Vice Chairman by acclamation.

6. MINUTES APPROVAL

A. Approval of Minutes from the Regular Meeting of December 12, 2024. Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded byCouncil Member Katherine Andretoapprovethe Minutes from December 12, 2025 Regular Meeting.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9 (KirkAllain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes,the motion Passed.

7. CONSIDER ANY AMENDMENTSTOTHE AGENDA Therewerenoitems to consider at this time.

8.PARISH PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Parish President Jason Manola was recognized and covered the following items: Update on previously approved development Calumet Acres; HueyMaranto retirement, Devin Tunstall will now be the Building Maintenance Contact; Recent State Retirement Meeting; Therewerenoquestions at this time for the Parish President.

9.PUBLIC COMMENTS Therewerenocomments to consider at this time.

10. COMMUNICATIONS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERSAND/OR ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIALS

A. Approve AnnualSales TaxPercentageAdjustments for 2025.

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne was recognized and reviewedthe current sales tax percentage adjustments per the 2020 Census data and the Parish Permit data. The reported estimated adjusted percentages as of December 31, 2024 are, Parish47.09%, Port Allen 18.59%, Brusly9.27%, and Addis 25.05%. Mr.Bourgoyne went on to explain how these numbers were figured and, in closing, he noted that all of the municipalities have agreed with the numbers being presented.

Amotion was made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded byCouncil Member Daryl “Turf” Babin to approve the Annual Sales Tax Percentage Adjustments for 2025 as presented.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes,the motion Passed.

B. Consider the following item as scrap/surplus: Old FireTruck VIN: JALB4B1HXJ7005727

Amotion was made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded byCouncil Member Gary Joseph to approve the following item as scrap/surplus: Old FireTruck VIN: JALB4B1HXJ7005727.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes,the motion Passed.

Mr.Adrian Genre, Director of Utilities was recognized and gave a brief update on the North End Water Line improvement project. Councilman Walker was recognized and gave abrief update on the Behavioral Health Services Initiative.

11. ANNUALDEPARTMENTOF REVENUE& TAXATION DELINQUENT SALES TAXREPORT Mrs. Melanie David, Director of Revenue, was recognized and presented the Annual Department of Revenue Delinquent Sales Tax Report as presented to the Council and required by the Home Rule Charter,Mrs. David offered to answer any questions, but therewere none.

12. PUBLIC HEARING ON PREVIOUSLYINTRODUCED ORDINANCES

A. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 106 (Site Planning) Article V(Yard/Setback, Open Space And CommonAreaRequirements), Sections 106124, 125, and 126 Updating Fencing Requirements for Certain Zones. The Chairman openedapublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item.

Mr.Brandon Bourgoynewas recognized and explained this ordinance came from the zoning reviewboardand gave afew brief highlights of the changes that it would make to the current code. Mr. Bourgoyne also noted that this was recommended for approval bythe Planning and Zoning Commission, noting the commission had an older version of the draft ordinance which did not include the industrial sections of the proposed ordinance, the motion was madebythe commission to include the industrial changes as written and introduced.

Mr.Michael Vince was recognized and explained he was in support ofthis proposed ordinance. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed. Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded byCouncil Member Brady HotardtoapproveAnOrdinance To Amend And ReenactThe WestBaton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 106 (Site Planning) Article V(Yard/Setback, Open Space And Common Area Requirements), Sections 106-124, 125, and 126 Updating

Fencing Requirements for Certain Zones, as written and presented at the meeting. The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, CareyDenstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, GaryJoseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 1of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

B. An Ordinance To Amend And Re-enact Chapter 62 Personnel, Rules And Regulations, Article VIII Leave, Sec. 6299 Family and Medical Leave, Of The Compiled Ordinances Of The Parish Of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana For Revisions/ Additions To The Employee Handbook.

The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item.

Mr.Stephens was recognized and explained the reasons for this proposed ordinance. No public comments for or against said ordinance werepresented. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed.

Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Atley Walker to approveAnOrdinance To Amend AndRe-enact Chapter 62 Personnel, Rules And Regulations, Article VIII Leave, Sec. 62-99 Family and Medical Leave, Of The Compiled Ordinances Of The Parish Of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana For Revisions/Additions To The Employee Handbook.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon,Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 2of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

C. An Ordinance To Comply With The Resolution Passed On February 8, 2024, By The West Baton Rouge Parish Counsel, ACopy Of Which WasRecorded February 9, 2024 Under Instrument Number 2024- 00000336 In The Conveyance Records Of West Baton Rough Parish, As Provided.

TheChairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item.

Mr.Mark Duhe, representing ExxonMobil was recognized and explained the reasons for requesting the proposed ordinance. No public comments for or against said ordinance werepresented. Nowritten protests opposing the ordinance werereceived.The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed. Thereweremultiple questions for clarity from the Council. Mr Brandon Bourgoyne answered afew questions for clarification.

Council Chairman Carey Denstel asked that since the original error was in adedication on alegal plat, that therebearevised legal plat to correct the error.Upon this request he noted that this ordinance would be considered for approval but would be effective upon signatureofthat requested plat which will be processed per the code of WBR Parish.

Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin to approve An Ordinance To Comply With The Resolution Passed On February 8, 2024, By The West BatonRouge Parish Counsel, ACopy Of Which WasRecorded February 9, 2024 Under Instrument Number 2024-00000336 In The Conveyance Records Of West Baton Rough Parish, As Provided to be effective upon signatureofthe required revised legal plat.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon,Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 3of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

13.CONSIDER STATUS REPORT, CHANGE ORDER AND/OR OTHER MATTERS AS REQUIRED ON CURRENT PROJECTS

A. Accept/Reject Change Order No.1 and Certificate of Substantial Completion for the 2024 Asphalt Road Rehabilitation Program and Rivault&Williams/Lee Parking Lots.

Mr.Kevin Gravois was recognized and explained this was achange order for adecrease in contract price by -$106,255.11, and also requested approval of the substantial completion of this project. Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to approve Change Order No.1 and Certificate of Substantial Completion for the 2024 Asphalt Road Rehabilitation Program and Rivault &Williams/Lee Parking Lotsinthe amount of -$106,255.11.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9 (KirkAllain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0 (None) ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0 (None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

14. RESOLUTIONS

A. AResolution To Authorize The Parish President to sign

Intergovernmental Service Agreement Between The Town of Grosse Tete And The Parish Of West Baton Rouge, For Permitting And Inspection Services.

Councilman Brady Hotardpointed out therewas atypo in the draft which included the Town of Brusly and City of Port Allen. Mrs. Tullier explained the only municipality who should be on this resolution at this time is the Town of Grosse Tete, in the title as well as the body of the resolution.

Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Atley Walker to approve with amendment/s stated AResolution To Authorize The Parish President to sign

Intergovernmental Service Agreement Between The Town of Grosse Tete And The Parish Of West Baton Rouge, For Permitting And Inspection Services. The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9 (KirkAllain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, CareyDenstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0 (None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0 (None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 1of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

B.Resolution Of Annual Certification Of Compliance With The State Of Louisiana Off-System Bridge Replacement Program Amotion was made by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoapprove the Resolution Of Annual Certification Of Compliance With The State Of Louisiana Off-System Bridge Replacement Program. Thevote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon,Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0 (None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0 (None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 2of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

C. AResolution Providing For Canvassing The ReturnsAnd Declaring The Results Of The Special Election Held In The Parish Of West Baton Rouge, State Of Louisiana, On Saturday December 7, 2024 And To Promulgate

(“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 101 (“General Provisions”), Section 1011(“Definitions”); And Chapter 104 (“Zoning Ordinance”), Appendix A(“Zoning Districts”). Public Hearing Date: January 23, 2025

5. CONSIDER SUBDIVISION PLATS, CONDEMNATIONS, WAIVERS AND MATTERS RELATED THERETO Therewerenoitems to consider at this time.

6. APPOINTMENTS A. Capital Area Groundwater Commission BoardAppointment Vice Chairman Alan Crowe made amotion to table this item due to afew applicants interested in applying for this seat needing to send in information for review Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin to table the Capital Area Groundwater Commission

Andre,

Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:0 (None) ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

B. Appoint WBR Parish Representative on local ITEP Committee Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded by

C. Consider Appointment of Alternate

Amotion was made by

Member Daryl “Turf” Babin, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoappoint Mrs. Rory Denicola as the Alternate Member to the WBR Boardof Adjustments. Mrs. Denicola was in attendance and spoke briefly thanking the Council for their vote.

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:0 (None) ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

7. CORRESPONDENCE REPORT Correspondence Report from Council Clerk, Mrs. Michelle Tullier included the following items: •Next Planning &Zoning Meeting Tuesday,January 21, 2025 at 5:30pm; •Next Council Meeting Thursday,January 23, 2025 at 5:30pm.

8. ADJOURN Therebeing no further business, amotion to adjournwas made by Council Member Kirk Allain and was adopted by acclamation at 06:20 PM.

ALL MEETING INFORMATION INCLUDING MINUTES AND VIDEOS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE WBRPARISH.ORG UNDER THE AGENDA AND MINUTES TAB.

ORDINANCE 1OF2025 As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At The Regular

c. Greenbelt requirements.A minimum ten-foot greenbelt shall be required along the front property line. No parking or structureofany kind will be permitted in this greenbelt, except for the permitted driveway access. Aminimum five-foot side yardgreenbelt is required from the front property line to the required building setback line. Utility servitudes located within the property line may be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement. Servitudes located on public rights-of-way shall not be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement.

d. Hours of operation and noise.Ifnight activities areconducted bythe on-site use, such activities shall not interferewith the peace of any adjacent residential district, zone or on-site residential use.

e. Storage of waste materials.Nowaste materials that arethe product of any researchortesting activity may be stored onsite.

f. Outside storage of goods.Outside storage of goods shall be permitted in the rear of the property beginning at the rear half of the building depth. This storage area shall be screened with a minimum eight-foot chain link fence using slats,permanently maintained, unless adjacent to aresidential district or zone then a woodorvinyl 8-foot fence is required. The height of the stored goods shall not exceed the height of the roof eaves or 15 feet, whichever is less.

(c.) C-1.3, Regional-Scaled Commercial District:

(3) Special criteria.

a. Access:C-1.3 districts shall be located on lots with street frontage on major arterial or collector streets only and shall not requiretravel through existing or proposed residentialdistricts or zonestoaccessthe C-1.3 district.

b. Special requirements adjacent to residential districts:

b. Buffer requirements.Aminimum eight-foot wooden or vinyl fence with amaximum one-quarter-inch gap between slats, permanently maintained, shall be required in the 20-foot required setback adjacent to all residential districts or zones. All outdoor lighting must be directed towardthe commercial property,beshielded from and shall not adversely impact any adjacent use or traffic. c. ii. Greenbelt requirements.Aminimum ten-foot greenbelt shall be required along the front property line. No parking or structureofany kind will be permitted in this greenbelt, except for the permitted driveway access. Aminimum five-foot side yardgreenbelt is required from the front property line to the required building setback line. Utility servitudes located within the property line may be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement. Servitudes located on public rights-of-way shall not be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement.

d. Hours of operationand noise.Ifnight activities areconducted bythe on-site use, such activities shall not interferewith the peace of any adjacent residential district, zone or on-site residential use.

e. iv Storage of waste materials.No waste materials that arethe product of any research or testing activity may be stored onsite.

f. v. Outside storageofgoods.Outside storage of goods shall be permitted in the rear of the property beginning at the rear half of the building depth. This storage area shall be screened with a minimum eight-foot chain link fence using slats,permanently maintained, unlessadjacent to aresidential district or zone then a wood or vinyl eight-foot fence is required. The height of the storedgoods

Outside

storage of goods shall be permitted in the rearofthe property beginning at the rear half of the building depth. This storage area shall be screened with aminimum eight-foot chainlink fence using slats, permanently maintained, unless adjacent to aresidential zone then awood or vinyl eight-foot fence is required. The height of the stored goods shall not exceed the height of the roof eaves or 15 feet, whichever is less.

Sec. 106-127. -I-2 site development regulations.

(b) Special criteria i. Access.I-2 districts shall be located on lots with street frontage on major arterial or collector streets only and shall not requiretravel through existing or proposed residential districts or zones to access theI-1 district.

(2) Special requirements adjacent to residential districts ii. Buffer requirements.Aminimum eight-foot tall chainlink fence with a minimum 70 percent opaque windscreen, permanently maintained, shall be required in the 200-foot required setback adjacent to all residential districts or zones. All outdoor lighting must be directed towardthe I-2 property,beshielded from and shall not adversely impact any adjacent use or traffic. iii. Greenbelt and open space requirements. 1. Aminimum ten-foot greenbelt shall be required along all street frontage. No parking or structureofany kind will be permitted in this greenbelt, except for the permitted driveway access. Aminimum five-foot side yardgreenbelt is required from the front property line to the required building setback line. Utility servitudes located within the property line may be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement. Servitudes located on public rights-of-way shall not be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement.

2. Open space, as defined in this article, is required from the front property line to the beginning of any moderate industrial uses. The depth of the combined required greenbelt and open space, which is based on total property area, is as follows:

iv Hours of operation and noise.Ifnight activities areconducted by theonsite use, such activities shall not interfere with the peace of any adjacent residential district or zone. ***

Sec. 106-128. -I-3 site development regulations. ***

(b) Special district criteria.

a. Access.I-3 districts shall be located on lots with street frontage on major arterial or collector streets only and shall not requiretravel through existing or proposed residential districts or zones to access theI-3 district.

(2) Special requirements adjacent to residential districts

b. Buffer requirements.Aminimum eight-foot tall chainlink fence with a minimum 70 percent opaque windscreen, permanently maintained, shall be required in the 500-foot required setback adjacent to all residential districts or zones. All outdoor lighting must be directed towardthe I-3 property,beshielded from and shall not adversely impact any adjacent use or traffic.

c. Greenbelt and open space requirements

1. Aminimum ten-foot greenbelt shall be required along all street frontage. No parking or structureofany kind will be permitted in this greenbelt, except for the permitted driveway access. Aminimum five-foot side yardgreenbelt is required from the front property line to the required building setback line. Utility servitudes located within the property line may be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement. Servitudes located on public rights-of-way shall not be counted towardthis greenbelt requirement.

2. Open space, as defined in this article, is required from the front property line to the beginning of any heavy industrial use. The depth of the combined required greenbelt and open space, which is based on total property area, is as follows: *** d. Hours of operation and noise.Ifnight activities areconducted by the onsite use, such activities shall not interfere withthe peace of any adjacent residential district orzone.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council that

this ordinance shall become effective pursuant to Section 2-12 (C) of the Home Rule Charter THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council, that all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith arehereby repealed in their entirety.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications of this ordinance arehereby declared severable.

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE AFTER PUBLIC HEARING, WAS CONSIDERED, AND UPON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALAN CROWE, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER BRADY HOTARD, AND AVOTE BEING TAKEN, THE FOLLOWING RESULTWAS HAD: YEAS: 9(MRS. ANDRE, MESSRS. ALLAIN, BABIN, WALKER, DENSTEL,CROWE, HOTARD, GORDON, JOSEPH)

NAYS: 0(NONE) ABSENT:0 (NONE)

ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 9th day of January,2025.

ATTEST:

ORDINANCE 2OF2025

As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At the Regular Meeting of December 12, 2024 And Adopted on January 9, 2025

An Ordinance To Amend And Re-enact Chapter 62 Personnel, Rules And Regulations, Article VIII Leave,

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE HAS BEEN INTRODUCED AND CONSIDERED, AND UPON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER KIRK ALLAIN, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ATLEY WALKER, AND AVOTE BEING TAKEN, THE FOLLOWING RESULTWAS HAD:

YEAS: 9(MRS. ANDRE, MESSRS. ALLAIN, WALKER, BABIN, DENSTEL, CROWE, HOTARD, GORDON, JOSEPH) NAYS: 0(NONE) ABSENT:0 (NONE) ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 9th Day of January, 2025.

ATTEST: ORDINANCE 3OF2025 As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At the Regular Meeting of December 12, 2024 And Adopted on January 9, 2025

An Ordinance To Comply With The Resolution Passed On February 8, 2024, By The West Baton Rouge Parish Counsel, ACopy Of Which Was Recorded February 9, 2024 Under Instrument Number 2024-00000336 In The Conveyance Records Of West Baton Rough Parish, As Provided ANORDINANCETOPROVIDEFORTHEREVOCATION,ABANDONMENT CANCELLATION, SETTING ASIDE, AND/OR VOIDING OF THE DEDICATION LANGUAGE CONTAINED IN “FINAL PLATSHOWING RESUBDIVISION OF TRACT D-1 INTO TRACTS D-1-A, D-1-B, D-1-C, & D-1-D, BEING APORTION OF POPLAR GROVE PLANTATION LOCATED IN SECTION 59, T-7-S, R-12-E, SOUTHEAST LAND DISTRICT,WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH, LOUISIANA FOR OURSO PROPERTIES, LLC” DATED JANUARY6,2023, BY DAVID L. PATTERSON, P.L.S. AND RECORDED ON FEBRUARY10, 2023, UNDER MAP BOOK 10, PAGE 177, OF THE RECORDS OF THE CLERK OF COURTFOR THE PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA AND IN “FINAL PLATSHOWING RESUBDIVISION OF TRACTS D-1-A, D-1-B, D-1-C &D-1-D INTO TRACTS D-1-A-1 &D-1-B-1 BEING A PORTION OF POPLAR GROVE PLANTATION LOCATED IN SECTION 59, T-7-S, R-12-E, SOUTHEAST LAND DISTRICT,WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH, LOUISIANA FOR OURSO PROPERTIES, LLC” AND DATED MARCH 15, 2023, BY DAVID L. PATTERSON, P.L.S. AND RECORDED ON APRIL 26, 2023, UNDER MAP BOOK 10, PAGE 193 OF THE RECORDS OF THE CLERK OF COURTFOR THE PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA. WHEREAS,the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is empowered with the

and WHEREAS, EXXONMOBIL

other basis of dedication) to the WestBaton Rouge Parish and/or for public benefitor use as aresult the other roads and servitudes being identified on this plat and subsequently recorded in the public records of West Baton Rouge Parish such other roads and servitudes (unless previously dedicated) shall remain private and subject to removal or modification by the owner in the owner’ssole discretion and arespecifically and formally negated and excepted from any dedication whatsoever

WHERAS,the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) and the March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C), each, contain the following “Dedication” language, which morespecifically reads as follows: “DEDICATION: The streets and right-of-way shown hereon, if not previously dedicated, arehereby dedicated to the perpetual useofthe public for proper purposes. Allareas shown as servitudes aregranted to the public for use of utilities, drainage, sewage removal or other proper purposefor the general use of the public. No trees, shrubs or other plants may be planted, nor shall any building, fence, structureorimprovements be constructed or installed within or over any servitude or right -of- way so astoprevent or unreasonably interferewith any purpose for which the servitude or right-of-way is granted.” (the “Dedication”);

WHEREAS,for clarification purposes, ExxonMobil and the Parish of West Baton Rouge (the Parish”) affirmatively agree that the “Existing 60’ Private Access &Utility Servitude” identified on the January 2015 Subdivision Map (Exhibit D) as “CornMaize Lane”, which is later changed to and since referred to as “Black Smith Road”, is one and the same roadway and that it was properly dedicated to the Parish on January 16, 2015 in the January 2015 Subdivision Map (Exhibit D), and has been maintained by the Parish since approximately 2015, and further does not form apart of the ExxonMobil Property; WHEREAS,for further clarification, ExxonMobil and the Parish of West Baton Rouge (the Parish”) affirmatively agree that River West ParkRoad and a 15’UtilityServitude as described in the General Notes of the August 2020 Final Plat (“River Park West Road”and the Utility Servitude”) were tobededicated to the Parish as specifically shown on the August2020 Final Plat, and also does not form apart of the ExxonMobil Property; WHEREAS,the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) was signed and accepted by the West Baton Rouge ParishPlanning &Zoning Commission and the Parish PresidentofWestBaton Rouge Parish on February10, 2023; WHEREAS the March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C) was signed and accepted by the West Baton Rouge Parish Planning &Zoning Commission and the Parish President of West Baton Rouge Parish on April 25,2023; WHEREAS,through error and/or inadvertence the “Dedication” language found on the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) and the March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C) was included despite not conforming to the intent of the Prior Owner,ExxonMobil, or the Parish; WHEREAS,ExxonMobil and the Parishagree that the grant of servitude infavor of the Parish found in the “NOTE” language on the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) and the March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C) is and does remain in effect; WHEREAS,except for the Black Smith Road, River WestParkRoad, the Utility Servitude, and/or any and utilities, drainage, or sewage servitudes or rights of way previously dedicated to or owned by the Parish, it was not the intent of Prior Owner,and to the extend necessary ExxonMobil, to dedicate orcause to be dedicated anyofthe other portions of the ExxonMobil Property to the Parish for use by the public or for any purposewhatsoever, including, without limitation, the pipelines, private access roads, servitudes, and/or any and all other rights of way,shown in RED on the plat attached hereto for informative purposes only as Exhibit E (the Servitudes”); and WHEREAS,except for the Black Smith Road, River WestPark Road, the Utility Servitude, and/or any and utilities, drainage, or sewage servitudes or rights of way previously dedicated to or owned by the Parish, it was not the intent of the Parish to receiveand/or accept the dedication of any portion of the ExxonMobil Property for use by the public or for any purposes whatsoever,including, without limitation the Servitudes

WHEREAS,pursuant to LSA-R.S. 48:701, and any and all other applicable statutes and ordinances pertaining thereto, the Parish Council of the West Baton Rouge Parish is desirous,and to the extent necessary and tofurther remove any doubt by and between ExxonMobil and the Parish, of revoking, abandoning, canceling, setting aside, and/or voiding, any and all dedications of the Servitudes made to it on the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) and March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C), lessand except Black Smith Road, River West ParkRoad, the Utility Servitude, and any other utility,drainage or sewage servitude dedicated to the Parish in any document other than the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) or the March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C); WHEREAS,itisinthe best interest of the Parish of WestBaton Rouge and the public that the dedication of the aforementioned Servitudes be revoked abandoned, cancelled, set aside, and voided;

NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, acting as the governing authority thereof, that they do hereby revoke, and to the extent necessary,does hereby abandon, cancel, set aside, and/or void the dedications of the Servitudes asfound on the January 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit B) or the March 2023 Resub Map (Exhibit C), which arehereby revoked, abandoned, cancelled, set aside, and voided all in accordance with LSA-R.S. 48:701 and any and all other applicable statutes and ordinances pertaining thereto. Further said Clerk and Recorder of the Parish of West Baton Rouge is authorized to make amarginal notation on said maps and such map book entries of this Ordinance and abandonment and revocation ashedeems fitand proper

NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that the Parish of West Baton Rouge does not warrant title to the Servitudes herein revoked, abandoned, cancelled, set aside, and voided.

NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Parish Council that the Parish President be and is hereby authorized and empowered to sign any plans or documents which may be necessary to carry into effect the foregoing;

NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDINANED,bythe Parish Council ofthe Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that this ordinance shall become effective upon signatureofthe Parish President on an updated plat whichincludes all of the corrected revocations, and dedications of servitudes and streets, as mentioned in this ordinance, which shall be attached hereto and designated as Exhibit “F”.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana that any provisions or items of this Ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby declared severable.

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE AFTER HAVING BEEN SUBMITTED TOAPUBLIC HEARING WASCONSIDERED,AND UPON MOTION BYCOUNCIL MEMBER KIRK ALLAIN, WHICHWAS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DARYL “TURF” BABIN.THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED TO AVOTE ANDRESULTED IN THEFOLLOWING: YEAS: 9(MRS. ANDRE, MESSRS.ALLAIN,BABIN, WALKER, DENSTEL, CROWE, HOTARD, GORDON, JOSEPH) NAYS: 0(NONE) ABSENT:0 (NONE) ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 9th Day of January,2025.

Tete and the Parish of West Baton Rouge, by Parish President Jason P. Manola on behalf of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council for the purpose of the Parish issuing permits and performing building inspections on all new construction/renovations occurring within the corporate limits of said municipality for the period of January 1, 2025 –December 31, 2029.

The Foregoing Resolution WasConsidered,And After Public Discussion, AMotion To Approve WasMade By Council Member Kirk Allain, Which WasSeconded By Council Member Atley Walker.

The Resolution Having Been Submitted To AVote, The Vote Thereon Was As Follows:

YEAS: 9(Mrs. Andre, Messrs. Allain, Babin, Walker, Denstel, Crowe, Hotard, Gordon, Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

AND the resolution was declared adopted on this 9th Day of January, 2025

CERTIFICATE

I, Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council dohereby certify that the above and foregoing is true and correct copy of aresolution adopted by said body at its Regular Meeting of January 9, 2025 at which meeting amajority of the members werepresent and voting.

RESOLUTION 2OF2025

RESOLUTION OF ANNUAL CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATEOFLOUISIANA OFF-SYSTEM BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM

WHEREAS,the code of Federal Regulations as enacted by the United States Congress mandates that all structures defined as bridges located on all public roadswill be inspected, rated for safety load capacity and posted inaccordance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards and that an inventory of these bridges is maintained by each State; and

WHEREAS,the responsibility to inspect, rate and load post those bridges under the authority of West Baton Rouge Parish in accordance with those Standards is delegated by the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development to West Baton Rouge Parish.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the governing authority of West Baton Rouge Parish (herein referredtoasthe Parish) that the Parish in Regular Meeting assembled does hereby certify to the Louisiana Department of Transportation &Development (herein referred to as the DOTD) that for the period January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025: 1. The Parish shall perform all interim inspections on all Parish owned or maintained bridges in accordance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards; 2. All bridges owned or maintained by the Parish will be structurally analyzed and rated by the Parish as to the safe load capacity in accordance with AASHTO Manual for Maintenance Inspection of Bridges. The load posting information that has been determined by the Louisiana DOTD for bridges wherethe maximum legal load under Louisiana State Law determined above has been critically reviewed by the Parish. Load posting information has been updated by the Parish to reflect all structural changes, any obsolete structural ratings or any missing structural ratings; 3. All Parish owned or maintained bridges which requireload posting or closing areload posted or closed in accordance with the table in the DOTD Engineering Directives and StandardsManual Directive No.1.l. 1.8. AllDOTD supplied load posting information concerning abridge will be critically reviewed by the Parish Engineer prior to load posting; 4. All bridges owned or maintained by the Parish areshown on the attached list in the format specified by the DOTD. Corrections to data supplied to the Parish by the LA. DOTD arenoted. 5. All bridges owned and maintained by the Parish areaccessible to DOTD for all routine bridge inspections. The Parish will clear vegetation as required upon DOTD requests. These stipulations areprerequisite to participation by the Parish in the OffSystem Bridge Replacement Program.

The Above Resolution Has Been Considered,Upon Motion By Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin, Which WasSeconded By Council Member Katherine Andre, And AVote Being Taken, The Following Result Was Had:

The Resolution Having Been Submitted To AVote, The Vote Thereon Was As Follows: YEAS: 9(Mrs. Andre, Messrs. Babin, Allain, Walker Denstel, Crowe, Hotard, Gordon, Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes the resolutionwas adopted on this 9th Day of January,2025

CERTIFICATE

I, Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council do hereby certify that the above and foregoingisatrue and correct copy of aresolution adopted by said body at its Regular Meeting of January 9, 2025 at which meeting amajority of the members werepresent and voting.

RESOLUTION 3OF2025

ARESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR CANVASSING THE RETURNS AND DECLARING THE RESULTS OF THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD IN THE PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE, STATEOFLOUISIANA, ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024 AND TO PROMULGATETHE RESULTS THEREOF

BE IT RESOLVED by the Parish Council, acting as the governing authority (the Governing Authority”), of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the “Parish)that:

SECTION 1 Canvass.This Governing Authority does now proceed in open and public session to examine the official tabulations of votes cast at the special election held by the Parish on SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024 and said Governing Authority does further proceed to examine and canvass the returns and declarethe results ofthe special election.

SECTION 2 Procès Verbal.A Procès Verbal of the canvass of the returns of said election shall be made and acertified copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who shall recordthe same in his office; another certified copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio RecorderofMortgages in and for the Parish who shall recordthe same in the Mortgage Records of the Parish; and another copy thereof shall be retained in the archives of this Governing Authority

SECTION 3 Promulgation of Election Results.The results ofsaid election shall be promulgated by publication in the manner provided by law

PROCÈS VERBAL AND PROCLAMATION OF THE CANVASS OF THE VOTES CAST AT THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD IN THE PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE, STATEOFLOUISIANA, ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024.

BE IT KNOWN AND REMEMBERED that on January 9, 2025 at Fivethirty O’clock (5:30) p.m., at its regular meeting place, West Baton Rouge Governmental Building, 880 NAlexander Avenue, Port Allen, Louisiana, the West Baton Rouge Parish Council, acting as the governing authority (the Governing Authority”), of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana (the Parish”) and being the authority ordering the

SECTION 4 Election Cost.The estimated cost of the election as determined by the Louisiana Secretary of State was $6,000.

The Foregoing Resolution WasConsidered, And, After Public Discussion, A Motion To Approve WasMade By Council Member Kirk Allain, Which Was Seconded By Council Member _Gary Joseph.

This resolution having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows: YEAS: 9(Mrs. Andre, Messrs. Allain, Babin, Walker,Denstel, Crowe, Hotard, Gordon, Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None) And the resolution was declared adopted on this the 9th day of January, 2025.

IBERVILLE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES PUBLIC HEARING, TUESDAY,JANUARY20, 2025 PROPOSED ORDINANCES

The Parish Council of Iberville Parish, State of Louisiana, held aPublic Hearing in the Council Meeting Room, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, on the 20th day of January,2025 at 6:00 P.M. pursuant to a Notice of Public Hearing published on the 23rdday of December,2024 in The Advocate and posted on the Iberville Parish website.

The Council Chairman, Matthew H. Jewell, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. followed by the roll call with the following Council Members in attendance: Chasity B. Easley; District 2; Thomas E. Dominique, Sr District 3; Freddie Frazier,Sr.,District 4; Steve C. Smith, District 5; Raheem T. Pierce, District 6; Nadia Jenkins, District 7; Hunter S. Markins, District 8; Chasity Martinez, District 10; Charles Dardenne, District 11; Matthew H. Jewell, District 12; Bart B. Morgan, District 13.

Absent: Allen, Bradford.

Chief Administrative Officer-Dwayne Boudreaux, Chief Operating OfficerRandall Dunn, and Legal Counsel- Scott Stassi werealso in attendance. Chief Administrative Officer-Dwayne Boudreaux, read the following ordinance in entirety

ORDINANCE 1 ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 16-4.A OF THE IBERVILLE PARISH CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PROHIBIT THE INSTALLATION OFCULVERTS OR OTHERSTRUCTURESKNOWN TO OBSTRUCT DRAINAGE IN BAYOU MANCHAC, WITH EXCEPTIONS FOR BRIDGESORSIMILAR STRUCTURES, FOR ACCESS BETWEEN IBERVILLE PARISH AND EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH

The floor was opened to comments and questions. Therewas no opposition to this ordinance from the public.

Therebeing no further business to be conducted, the hearing was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

/s/ MACY W. OURSO /s/ STEVE C. SMITH COUNCIL CLERK COUNCIL CHAIRMAN IBERVILLE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING, TUESDAY, JANUARY20, 2025

The Parish Council of Iberville Parish, State of Louisiana, met in Regular Session, in the Council Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, Courthouse Building, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, on the 20th day of January 2025.

The Council Chairman, Matthew H. Jewell, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. followed by the roll call with the following Council Members in attendance: Shalanda L. Allen, District 1; Chasity B. Easley; District 2; Thomas E. Dominique, Sr District 3; Freddie Frazier,Sr.,District 4; Steve C. Smith, District 5; Raheem T. Pierce, District 6; Nadia Jenkins, District 7; Hunter S. Markins, District 8; Terry J. Bradford, District 9; Chasity Martinez, District 10; Charles Dardenne, District 11; Matthew H. Jewell, District 12; Bart B. Morgan, District 13. Absent: None.

Chief Administrative Officer-Dwayne Boudreaux, Chief Operating OfficerRandall Dunn, and Legal Counsel- Scott Stassi werealso in attendance. Aquorum was present and due notice had been posted and published in TheAdvocate newspaper on the 16th day of January,2025. The Pledge of Allegiance followed.

Council Chairman Jewell called for anyone wanting to make public comments to register with the Clerk. No one registered to speak.

ELECTION OF COUNCIL CHAIRMAN

Legal Counsel, Scott Stassi opened the floor for nominations for Chairman of the Iberville Parish Council.

Upon amotion by Councilman Dominique, and seconded by Councilman Dardenne, it was moved to nominate Councilman Steve Smith for Council Chairman.

Upon asubstitute motion by Councilman Bradford, and seconded by Councilwoman Allen, it was moved to nominate Councilman Matthew Jewell for Council Chairman. The motion having been duly submitted to avote was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Markins, Bradford, Jewell, Morgan.

NAYS: Dominique, Frazier,Smith, Pierce, Jenkins, Martinez, Dardenne.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:None.

Motion Failed.

Upon amotion by Councilman Dominique, and seconded by Councilman Dardenne, it was moved to nominate Councilman Steve Smith for Council Chairman. The motion having been duly submitted to avote was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call:

YEAS: Dominique, Frazier,Smith, Pierce, Jenkins, Martinez, Dardenne.

NAYS: Allen, Easley,Markins, Bradford. Morgan.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:None.

Councilman Steve Smith is declared Council Chairman. Chairman Smith thanked the Council for this honor and their support. He thanks Councilman Matt Jewell for his years of service as Chairman and congratulated vice chairman Raheem Pierce.

ELECTION OF COUNCIL VICE CHAIRMAN

Legal Counsel, Scott Stassi opened the floor for nominations for Vice Chairman of the Iberville Parish Council.

Upon amotion by Councilwoman Martinez, and seconded by Councilman Frazier,itwas moved to nominate Councilman Raheem Pierce for Council Vice Chairman.

The nominations wereclosed by acclimation.

Councilman Raheem Pierce is declared Council Vice Chairman. ADDENDUM

A) None.

PRESENTATIONS AND APPEARANCES

A) Proclamation for Catholic Schools Week 2025

•President Daigle read the Proclamation for Catholic Schools Week and it was presented to the Principal of St. John School Cherie Schlatre. She thanked the Council for recognizing Catholic Schools Week and apicturewas taken.

B) Resolution of Condolence for Guy Thomas •President Daigle read the Resolution of Condolence to the family of Guy Thomas. His wife thanked the Council for recognizing her husband and the contributions he made to his community and apicturewas taken.

C) Presentation by Randy Gomez with Woodlake Addiction Recovery Center

•Randy Gomez came beforethe Council to talk about reopening the facility hereinIberville Parish. He presented he Council with an information packet on what Woodlake is all about and what they offer.Councilwoman Chasity Martinez expressed her support for the need of afacility in Iberville Parish. She stated that people within the community have also expressed aneed. She wants to build arelationship between Woodlake and The Iberville Parish Substance Abuse Center so that the community can be better served.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Upon amotion by Councilwoman Jenkins, and seconded by Councilman Dominique, it was moved to wave the reading of the minutes of December 19, 2024 and approve as written. The motion having been duly submitted to avote was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell, Morgan.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:None.

The motion was declared adopted by the Chairman.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Daigle reported on the following:

•Hestarted offbyrecognizing employees and their years of service to the Parish, Ramona Sanchez, 32 years; RandallDunn, 27 years; John Overton, 27 years; Troy Collins, 25 years; Joanna Jungjohann, 15 years; Jason Landry,10years; Judith Pugh, 10 years; Sandra Pugh, 10 years; Cheryl Green, 5years; Bazz Green III, 5years; Gentil Nicholas, Jr,5years.

•Clint Moorecame beforethe Council to give apresentation on the upcoming winter storm. Stating on Monday night until Friday night therewill be freezing temperatures, which will not give time for the snow to melt.

•They hosted the monthlyMayors meeting in White Castle and David Hall have the mayors and update on the Sales Tax collection. It was also the first Mayor meeting for the new Mayors, Dana Alexander and JB Barker

•The Bayou Pigeon Boat landing ground breaking will be on January 29th at 11 am. The Manchac Road project is expected to take 12-15 months to complete. The HWY 1and Lacroix projected to take 18 months to complete.

•OnFebruary 5, the Parish will host the first African American History Program. On April 5, the Swamp Life Expo will take place at the Grosse Tete welcome center.April 12 will be ‘Keep Iberville Beautiful’ Clean up Day

FINANCIAL REPORT

Finance Director,Randall Dunn stated that the Council has received their budget to actual financial statements. He presented the Council with a copy of the Amicus Brief in response to the East Grand Lake project. He then read the following announcement;Notice is hereby given that at its meeting to be held on Tuesday,February 18, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at its regular meeting place, the Council Meeting Room, 2nd floor,Courthouse Building, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, the Iberville Parish Council plans to consider adopting aresolution ordering and calling an election to be held in the Parish of Iberville, State of Louisiana, to authorize the renewal of an ad valorem tax therein.

OLD BUSINESS

ORDINANCE IPC# 001-25

ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 16-4.a OF THE IBERVILLE

PARISH CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PROHIBIT THE INSTALLATION OF CULVERTS OR OTHER STRUCTURES KNOWN TO OBSTRUCT DRAINAGE IN BAYOU MANCHAC, WITH EXCEPTIONS FOR BRIDGES OR SIMILAR STRUCTURES, FOR ACCESS BETWEEN IBERVILLE

PARISH AND EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH

WHEREAS,Bayou Manchac is avital drainage channel for Iberville Parish, and its obstruction poses significant flood risks to communities such as St. Gabriel and the Sunshine area; WHEREAS,culverts and similar installations areknown to restrict water flow in Bayou Manchac, increasing flood risks, whereas properly designed bridges and similar structures can mitigate these risks; WHEREAS,Section 16-4(a) of the IbervilleParish Code of Ordinances

governs obstruction of waterways, drains, drainage canals and ditches requiring amendments to address specificconcerns related to Bayou Manchac; NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE PARISH COUNCIL OF IBERVILLE PARISH, LOUISIANA,that Section 16-4(a) of the Iberville Parish Code of Ordinances is hereby amended as follows: Amendment to Section 16-4.a Section 16-4(a) of the IbervilleParish Code of Ordinances shall be amended to include the following language: “In particular to Bayou Manchac, the installation of culverts, pipes, or any other structures known to obstruct normal water flow is prohibited. Exceptions arepermitted for bridges or similar structures, such as retrofitted rail cars, provided such structures aredesigned to maintain or enhance water flow and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. This prohibition applies to access across Bayou Manchac from Iberville Parish into and/or out of East Baton Rouge Parish.”

Enforcement and Compliance All installations impacting Bayou Manchac must be reviewed and approved by the Iberville Parish Department of PublicWorks to ensure compliance with this provision. Violations of this section shall be subject to penalties as outlined in Section 16-4.c of the Iberville Parish Code of Ordinances.

Severability

If any provision of this Ordinance is held invalid by acourt of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall not be affected and shall remain in full force and effect.

The foregoing ordinance which was previouslyintroduced at the meeting of the IbervilleParish Council on December 17, 2024 and acopy thereof having been published in the official journal on December 23, 2024, the public hearing on this ordinance held on the 20th day of January 2025, at 6:00 p.m.,inthe Council Meeting Room, 58050 Meriam Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana, was brought up for final passage with amotion by Councilman Jewell, and seconded by Councilman Bradford, having been duly submitted to avote, the ordinance was duly adopted by the following yea and nay vote on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell,Morgan.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:None. The ordinance was declared adopted by the Chairman on the 20th day of January,2025.

NEW BUSINESS

A) Ordinance to amend IPC Ordinance #013-24 restrict the discharge of firearms in unincorporated areas of IbervilleParish

B) Ordinance to Amend the 2025 General Fund Budget and authorize the Purchase of the White Castle Boat Landing Property from the Ella Leblanc Co. LLC

Upon amotion by Councilwoman Easley,seconded by Councilman

Frazier,itwas moved that apublic hearing be held on Tuesday,February 18, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. on the introduced ordinances. The motion having been duly submitted to avote, was duly adopted by the following yea and nay votes on roll call:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier,Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell,Morgan.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:None.

The ordinance was declared adopted by the Chairman on the 20th day of January,2025

RESOLUTION COMMITTEE REPORT

The Resolution Committee met on Tuesday,January 20, 2025 at 6:15 p.m.,followed by the roll call with the following Resolution Committee Members only in attendance: Smith, Dardenne, Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Martinez, Frazier,Morgan, Dominique.

Absent: None.

The following resolution was read aloud by Mr.Boudreaux:

A) Resolution to urge and request that State Representative Chad Brown file abill in the 2025 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislaturetoprovide for the jurisdictional and election boundaries for the various Justice of the Peace and Constable districts in Iberville parish to be first effective for the 2026 regular elections for Justice of the Peace and Constable; and to otherwise provide with respect thereto

B) Resolution of the IbervilleParish Council approving Shintech Louisiana, LLC for participation in the Industrial TaxExemption Program in IbervilleParish, Louisiana

C) Resolution ordering and calling aspecial election to be held in the Parish of Iberville, State of Louisiana, to authorize the renewal of aspecial tax therein, making application to the State Bond Commission, and providing for other matters in connection therewith.

•This resolution was passed on by the committee.

D) Resolution to authorize parish president to submitanapplication under the community water enrichment fund (CWEF)

E) Resolution authorizing the president to submit an application for the state of Louisiana Division of Administration Community

DevelopmentLocal Government Assistance Program

F) Resolution establishing two temporary registrar of voter branch offices for conducting early voting in North Iberville and East Iberville

G) Resolution ordering and calling aspecial election to fill the vacancy of the Constable, Ward 4, of the Parish of Iberville, State of Louisiana,

Councilwoman

YEAS: Smith, Dardenne, Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Martinez, Frazier, Morgan, Dominique. NAYS: None. ABSTAIN: None. ABSENT:None. The

SESSION OF THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE TO PROVIDE FOR THE JURISDICTIONAL AND ELECTION BOUNDARIES FOR THE VARIOUS JUSTICE OF THE PEACE AND CONSTABLE DISTRICTS IN IBERVILLE PARISH TO BE FIRST EFFECTIVE FOR THE 2026 REGULAR ELECTIONS FOR JUSTICE OF THE PEACE AND CONSTABLE; AND TO OTHERWISE PROVIDE WITH RESPECT THERETO

WHEREAS,Louisiana law provides that the territorial jurisdiction and election boundaries for the various Justice of the Peace Courts in Louisiana areestablished by an Act of the Legislature;and WHEREAS,the jurisdictional and election boundaries of the various Justice of the Peace Courts in Iberville Parish have remained, essentially unchanged for decades; and WHEREAS,inorder to better serve the people of Iberville Parish thereis aneed to adjust the jurisdictional and election

in Iberville Parish; and WHEREAS,the existing elected Justices of the Peace and Constables are supportive of the proposed new districts whichare furtherdefined in the attached report entitled “Plan A– Iberville JOPs and Constables and the attached map displaying the proposed new districts; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Iberville Parish Council that State Representative Chad Brownisurged and requested to have drafted, file, and take all actions necessary to see to the enactment of abill in the 2025 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature to adopt the proposed new jurisdictional and election boundaries for the various Justice of the Peace Courts in Iberville Parish, as defined and represented in the attachments hereto. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Iberville Parish Council that Secretary of the Iberville Parish Council provide acertified copy of this Resolution, with attachments to State Representative Chad Brown.

The foregoing resolution having been submitted to avote by roll call was adopted in regular session this 20th day of January,2025 by the following vote:

YEAS: Allen, Easley,Dominique, Frazier, Pierce, Jenkins, Markins, Bradford, Martinez, Dardenne, Jewell, Morgan. NAYS: None. ABSTAIN: None.

ABSENT:None.

The resolution wasdeclared adopted by the Chairman on January 20, 2025.

RESOLUTION IPC# 2025-002

RESOLUTION OF THE IBERVILLE PARISHCOUNCIL APPROVING SHINTECH LOUISIANA, LLC FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE INDUSTRIAL TAXEXEMPTION PROGRAM IN IBERVILLE PARISH, LOUISIANA

WHEREAS,Article 7, section 21(F) of the Louisiana Constitution, pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative ProcedureAct, R.S. 49:950 et seq., and R.S. 36:104 provides for the BoardofCommerceand Industry (“BCI”) with the approval of the Governor,toapprove contracts for the exemption of ad valorem taxes of anew manufacturing establishment or an addition to an existing manufacturingestablishment, on such terms and conditions as the boardwith the approval of the Governor,deems in the best interest of the state; and WHEREAS,SHINTECH LOUISIANA, LLC has applied for an Industrial TaxExemption (“ITE”) TaxExemption Application #20220043 ITE$50,191,511.00 and has approval of the BCI for acontract granting that exemption; and WHEREAS,ITEP contracts should be premised upon job and payroll creation or retention at new or expanded manufacturingplants or establishments, and that the percentage of exemption be 80% for a term of five years, renewable for an additional term of five years from ad valorem taxes in accordance with guidance received from the Secretary of Economic Developmentand concurred in by the appropriate parish and/ or municipal council, school board, and sheriff; and THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,upon consideration of the foregoing and the public discussion held this day, that the IBERVILLE PARISH COUNCIL approves the terms of the Industrial TaxExemption contract (the Cooperative Endeavor