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Sister Germaine Lauzon, O. Carm., a Sister of Mount Carmel, died February 16, 2021 at Chateau de Notre Dame, New Orleans, LA. 
She was 85 years old, and in the 67th year of her religious profession.
Sister Germaine, born Marie Germaine Huguette Lauzon, was born on Nov. 20, 1935 in Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada to Gilbert Lauzon and Leopoldine Giroux, both of Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada.
She entered the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, Canada in 1952. She transferred to the Congregation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1979.  Sister celebrated her 60th Jubilee in 2014. Sister Germaine graduated from Sacred Heart Convent in Hawkesbury, Ontario Canada. She went on to St. Joseph, St. Mary Dominican College where she received a B.S. in Education. 
At Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, TX she received her master’s degree in religious studies.  She did post graduate work in theology at Tulane University, New Orleans, LA and in Library Science at University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, LA. Sister taught in Haverhill, MA and in Kaplan, Church Point, Lafayette, Abbeville, and Thibodaux, LA. 
She served as principal at Maltrait Memorial School in Kaplan, LA and Assistant Principal at Cathedral-Carmel Elementary School in Lafayette, LA. At Cathedral-Carmel Sister served as Religion Department Chair, French Department Chair and Curriculum Department Chair.  For the Diocese of Lafayette she wrote Diocesan Guidelines and Policy for Sacramental Programs, Worship and Liturgy, was a diocesan consultant for Sadlier Company and chaired the Diocesan Evaluation of Cathedral-Carmel.  At Mount Carmel Elementary in Abbeville, LA Sister served as Religion Department Chair and served on the Curriculum Committee. In 2003 she became Assistant Archivist for the congregation. 
Sister Germaine was preceded in death by her parents, her step-mother, Gloria Gauthier Lauzon, her adoptive parents (aunt and uncle) Germaine Giroux and Charles Emile Fauteux and her sister, Madeleine Ladouceur. 
She is survived by two brothers, Maurice Fauteux from Quebec, Canada and Alphonse Fauteux from Ontario, Canada, and several nieces and nephews. 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 27, 2021 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 6666 Spanish Fort Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70124. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM. Interment will be in St. Louis #3 Cemetery.
Arrangements entrusted to Jacob Schoen and Son Funeral Home.
To sign the family guestbook, please visit www.schoenfh.com.

BATON ROUGE — President Joseph R. Biden has approved Governor John Bel Edwards’ request for a federal emergency declaration for all 64 Louisiana parishes impacted by the severe and historic winter weather. Specifically, FEMA will provide emergency protective measures (Category B) for mass care and sheltering and direct federal assistance from federal agencies.
“I’m thankful to the Biden administration for a swift response to my request as our state continues to deal with the bitterly cold temperatures as well as power and water outages that are causing extreme challenges for so many of our citizens and have already claimed three lives," said Gov. Edwards. “While the second storm has passed through our state, unfortunately, some areas are still facing freeze warnings and we will not begin to truly thaw out until the latter part of the weekend. That is why this assistance from our federal partners is critical. It will help provide much needed relief. This has been a very tough week. In addition to dealing with the historic weather, we are still battling the pandemic. Although our resilience is being tested once again, we are going to get through this. I want to encourage everyone to continue to heed the warnings of your local officials, be very careful in supplementing heat to your homes, be vigilant when you get on the roadways and pay close attention to the weather forecasts where you live.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Edwards sent a letter requesting direct federal assistance, specifically commodities and supplies in response to the extended power outage and also Emergency Protective measures under the FEMA Public Assistance program.
Severe weather started in Louisiana on February 11, 2021, with a second round of storms beginning on February 17, 2021. More than 200,000 people were without power on the morning of February 16, 2021 and as of noon on Thursday, February 18, 124,738 Louisiana households were still without power. In addition, there are 98 water outages impacting 245,676 people. In addition, more than 956,000 Louisianans live in areas with boil water advisories.

John Andrus has served the Vermilion Parish 4-H Program for 29 years as a dedicated volunteer.
John serves on the Parish 4-H Advisory Committee and on the Livestock Committee. He is a Master Cattleman Graduate; Master Horseman Graduate; and Master Farmer Graduate. In the early 90’s, John was instrumental in working with Dr. John Sullivan and staff at LSU in implementing the first commercial heifer program and later implemented the F-1 Braford classes into the LSU livestock program.
John has helped organize and conduct numerous hoof trimming, grooming and showmanship clinics for 4-H members. John is the first person members see when they enter the livestock show ring. He has served as Ringman for Parish, District and festival shows for 19 years, as well as Ringman for sale of market animals at Parish livestock shows. He is a dependable and trusted Ringman and is fondly greeted as “Mr. John” by the exhibitors as they enter the ring. His kind and compassionate nature puts nervous exhibitors at ease and he goes "above and beyond" when it comes to helping young people with their animals. He is a 22-year board member and 3 term President of the Vermilion Parish Cattlemen’s Association. He was instrumental in organizing multiple state Jr. Livestock Shows for Jr. Braford and Jr. Brahman Associations.
John considers being a cattleman to be one of his greatest accomplishments. Through the 4-H program, he has been able to secure show animals for numerous 4-H exhibitors from 5 parishes. He was a critical leader when it came to evacuating livestock for Hurricanes Rita and Ike. Because of his efforts, he was appointed to the National Resiliency Board for Hurricane Preparedness on the parish level.
John is a steady and stabilizing force in the Vermilion Parish 4-H Program. His dedication, support and physical help with the livestock project has not waivered, even after his sons graduated from high school. He continues to pour into young people with his knowledge of the beef project and his consistent willingness to help at parish livestock events. 

By David Jacobs | The Center Square

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana teachers, school support staff, day care workers, pregnant women and residents age 55-64 with certain health conditions will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination starting Monday, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday.
Qualifying health conditions are listed on the Louisiana Department of Health’s website and include cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Down syndrome, several heart conditions, obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking and Type 2 diabetes. Residents in the new age range will be required to fill out a form attesting they have at least one of the conditions before getting vaccinated.
Vaccination is available by appointment only. State officials announce on Mondays the locations and contact information for providers getting some of the state’s vaccine supply each week.
Currently eligible groups include residents age 65 and older; dialysis providers and patients; health care and dental clinic workers; home care providers and recipients; sign language interpreters and clients who are deaf and blind; lab, mortuary and pharmacy staff; allied health school students, residents and staff; some election workers and emergency response personnel; and the state’s Unified Command Group, which includes the governor.
Almost 1.65 million Louisiana residents now are eligible, according to the governor’s office.
The eligibility expansion reflects an expected increase in the number of vaccine doses the federal government said it will supply, Edwards said. Vaccine shipments this week were delayed because of the extreme winter weather affecting much of the country, officials said.
“This signifies the value of our essential employees and will enable even more Louisiana centers and schools to be fully open to serve students, families and communities,” State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said. “Although not perfect, Louisiana has managed to maintain an early child care system and a K-12 educational program throughout this pandemic.”
About 67% of Louisiana students are attending in-person classes, the governor’s office said. Decisions about whether classes should meet in person, online or a mix of the two largely are left to local system leaders.
Almost 813,000 Louisiana residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and almost 542,000 have gotten both an initial dose and the follow-up shot needed to receive the full benefit, according to the state health department.
State health officials reported 832 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and 15 new deaths, bringing the number of fatalities to at least 8,753 and 9,406 when probable cases are included. There are 823 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, officials reported, which is the state’s lowest hospitalization count since before Thanksgiving.
Forty-six of Louisiana’s 64 parishes are rated at the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“That’s an improvement, but it’s not great,” said Dr. Joseph Kanter with the Louisiana Department of Health. “There is still a lot of risk out there.”