RSS Feed

Crowley Mayor Tim Monceaux announced last week that Trick-or-Treating would not occur in the Acadia Parish city as a precaution amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Closer to home, the Vermilion Parish Police Jury decided during its meeting Wednesday night that Trick-or-Treating would not be canceled in rural areas of the parish. Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31. Trick-or-Treating will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Police Jury President Dane Hebert did ask everyone who is planning to take part in the annual tradition to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local health officials.
Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza said the issue will be discussed during Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting. Erath Mayor Taylor Mencacci said the Erath council will do the same at its next meeting. Delcambre Mayor Pam Blakely said the town’s council will also discuss the issue at its meeting.
The Vermilion Parish Library previously canceled its annual Scare on the Square in Abbeville and Boo on the Boulevard in Kaplan.
“The library canceled Boo on the Boulevard as well as the annual costume contest a couple of months ago,” Kaplan Mayor Mike Kloesel said. “However, I’m encouraging an old-fashioned Halloween of trick-or-treating in neighborhoods throughout Kaplan, should people choose to give out candy or take the children trick-or-treating, without city hall interference.”
There is no annual community event that takes place in the Village of Maurice. Mayor Wayne Theriot said Trick-or-Treating could proceed. Like other officials, Theriot is encouraging people to follow health guidelines.
“We ask people to practice safe distancing,” Theriot said. “We encourage people to wear masks when they are handing out candy. Use hand sanitizer periodically.
“Practice all the things they say to do to be safe.”

It was Monday, Jan. 8, 1996, and the headline in the Banner-Tribune, as well as virtually all media in Louisiana and beyond, was “Foster new Louisiana governor.”
Nowhere more jubilantly than here in St. Mary Parish: Our own native son had risen to the highest office in the state.
Murphy J. “Mike” Foster was a well-known businessman and unlikely politician. But he charged into a seat in the state Senate and announced his candidacy for governor.
He died Sunday at his home, Oaklawn Manor.
Foster was an Eagle Scout, a member of Troop 1 in the 1940s. Fellow Eagle Scout Dr. Thomas Kramer described him as “an excellent Boy Scout who lived up to the oath and the laws of scouting in every way. He was an asset to the scouting movement.”
Foster was born on July 11, 1930, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Centerville where he attended public school as a child.
“A crowd of about 5,000 braved today’s cold temperatures to see the new governor sworn into office,” the Banner reported.
When not in Baton Rouge, Foster was usually at his home, Oaklawn Manor, or often as not, in the duck blind, as he was an avid hunter.
Foster attended public high school in Franklin, graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1952 with a bachelor of science in chemistry, and Southern University Law Center with a juris doctorate in 2004, the year he left the governorship. He became an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America in 1946 and is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Zeta Zeta chapter) and The Friars. He joined the Air Force and served in the Korean War. His paternal grandfather, Murphy J. Foster Sr., was governor of Louisiana from 1892 to 1900 and thereafterserved as U.S. senator from 1900 to 1913. By the time Mike Foster entered politics, he had already become a wealthy sugar planter and owner of a construction firm.
He was a sugar cane farmer,founder of Bayou Sale construction firm, president of Sterling Sugars, Inc.and president of St. Mary Parish Farm Bureau.
A life in politics never appealed to Mike Foster; however, in 1986, after “becoming frustrated with the non-responsiveness of state government, he ran for a seat in the State Senate. After fulfilling two very active terms in the Senate, then Senator Foster decided that he could get more accomplished as governor.
On January 8, 1996, after mounting a successful campaign as a Republican candidate, M.J. "Mike" Foster Jr., was inaugurated as Louisiana’s 49th governor since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. After a very successful first term, Governor Foster ran for a second term and won in a landslide in the first primary. This was the first time in many years that anyone has won the governorship outright without a runoff election. He was inaugurated in January 2000 and that term expired in 2004.
When he was not running the state, Governor Foster enjoyed spending his free time at his home, Oaklawn Manor, in Franklin. While family, fishing and hunting occupied the bulk of his free time; his thirst for knowledge and education led him to take motorcycle and helicopter-flying lessons.
Foster entered politics at the age of 57. He was the state’s first two-term Republican governor. In 1987, then-Democrat Foster unseated liberal Democratic state Senator Anthony Guarisco Jr. of Morgan City,by a large margin. Foster is said to have run for the state Senate because Guarisco would not return his telephone calls. Guarisco was a vocal supporter of the defunct Equal Rights Amendment. Foster served two terms in the state Senate and then ran for governor. Foster worked to re-organize the state's community college system by creating the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and expanded the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), a brainchild of the New Orleans oilman Patrick F. Taylor, so that students were eligible based on merit, rather than income. In the 2002 legislative session, Foster credited freshman Representative Tom Capella of Jefferson Parish with saving TOPS from the budget axe.Foster instituted mandatory standardized testing for grade advancement in a move described by his administration as an effort to make public schools more accountable. He made increasing teacher salaries a major priority, at one point promising to stop cashing his paychecks until teachers' salaries reached the Southern average.
On inauguration day, the members of Boy Scout Troop I of Franklin participated in the ceremonies. Franklin resident David Rose, Scoutmaster, said, “This is a history lesson. “They are excited about the trip.”
Foster was instrumental in the completion of the four-lane stretch of U.S. 90 between Lafayette and New Orleans.
He was also instrumental in the building of the new Franklin Foundation Hospital.
In his inaugural address, Foster denounced“hogs at the trough” who exploited political connections to secure state contracts and jobs, and he pledged to conduct state business in a forthright manner without favoring political insiders. Foster stacked his administration with such results-oriented managers as Commissioner of Administration Mark Drennen, Chief of Staff Stephen Perry, and Health and Hospitals Secretary Bobby Jindal(who would later become a congressman and then governor), and under Foster’s leadership the team effectively restored a sense of integrity to the operations of state government while putting the state’s finances on more stable footing. Meanwhile, Foster made improvements in public education a priority of his administration. In six of his eight years in office, teachers received salary increases, which raised their total annual pay by about $10,000. The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) was established, using state funds to provide scholarships to Louisiana residents who attended public universities in the state. The system for channeling state money to local school boards for classroom needs was fully financed, and his administration increased salaries, construction, and maintenance at state universities.
As governor, he balanced his conservative, “he’s-not-a-politician” persona with moderate policies during his first term. Foster won support from the left because he raised salaries for K-12 teachers and university professors — and refurbished crumbling buildings at LSU and other universities — and from the right by winning legislative approval to make it harder for injured people to sue businesses.
Upon finishing his second term, Foster reflected, “The most important thing is we changed the whole culture of doing things, not based on politics. We don’t have to worry about how somebody’s brother-in-law was getting a good deal.”
But in the weeks ahead, columns that he was writing for weekly newspapers throughout the state for Louisiana State Newspapers — in which he offered common-sense solutions for knotty political issues — began to connect with voters hungry for change. Following the advice of his political consultant Roy Fletcher, Foster staked out the most conservative positions of any candidate on social issues, pitching himself as a gun toting and anti-abortion Christian.
In an interview with “64 Parishes” he said, “They had a real hissy when I went to law school. All I did was go one or two hours a week. I figured I could afford that kind of time. It was helpful. I’ve always enjoyed the law. In fact,when I got out of being governor I continued going to school and got my law degree. I never will forget when I was first elected, I went to both chancellors. I said, ‘Can I take a couple of courses?’ ‘No, we can’t do that.’” The second time I went to LSU to the chancellor, they said no. And the Chairman of Southern said, ‘We’re supposed to have a part-time program and…[if] you [are] going to take the LSAT and pass it, we’ll start a part-time program.’ And we did! And they still have a part time program, which is one of the things I’ve gotten a lot of thanks for from students that have been there.
“Then they had a little hissy when I went and learned to fly the helicopter. But I’ve been a pilot all my life. I was flying around with one pilot. One had had open heart surgery. The other had kidney stones. I thought, if he keels over, I’m dead. So I went out and about an hour or two a week learned to fly the helicopter and my answer was look, look at it this way, if one my pilots keels over I’ll save the state two million dollars for a new helicopter, I’ll save another election. Those are the kind of issues that were sort of odd ball, but I got used to them.”
And that, was Mike Foster.

While he may not have had the flashy stats of some of his Vermilion Catholic teammates, Josh Sagrera’s efforts Friday night in the Eagles’ 40-21 non-district win over Abbeville was almost a perfect capsule of how the Eagles played as a team.
Sagrera rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown, caught three passes for 15 yards and had a sack on defense as the Eagles turned a team effort in beating the Wildcats.
“The first half was a little slow for me, but I was able to find the holes the line opened for me in the second half,” Sagrera said. “The touchdown was good. The line opened up a big hole for me, and I could get past the linebacker and into the endzone.”
And the sack on defense was just at good for him - even if it did cause just a little bit of discomfort.
“I was able to get that sack early in the game, and it knocked the wind out of me, but I was able to get it an get back into the game and make a couple more tackles.”
For Sagrera and the rest of the Eagles, just getting to Friday’s game and playing football was a great relief after going through spring and summer of questions on whether they would play at all.
“After everything that happened and not knowing if we were even going to play this year, to come out here and play and get this W was more than I could ask for,” Sagrera said. “To be out here, playing with my brothers is all I could hope for.”
As for the game, the Eagles matched the slow start from Sagrera and needed about a quarter and a half before getting things going against a Wildcat team that was determined to make them pay for every yard and every score.
For VC (1-0), quarterback Drew Lege threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Bazar also threw a touchdown pass and Saul Dartez caught seven passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles pulled away from Abbeville High with three second-quarter touchdowns, including two about 20 seconds apart after a gutsy onside kick recovery after taking a 14-7 lead led to a quick score and a 20-7 advantage with just over four minutes left before halftime.
“We saw something we liked on the first one, and we hoped it would be there on the second one,” said VC head coach Broc Prejean. “Coach Cory (Brody) had a great game-plan for our kickoffs, and it grabbed a little momentum for us. It was big.”
Prejean’s first win as a head coach was sweet and a long-time in coming.
“It was a great team win,” the first-year coach said. “The players and coach showed up to tonight. We knew that Abbeville was going to be a tough opponent. They showed it in their scrimmage, and we knew that they had athletes all over the field. They are a tough team to face. We hit a few plays tonight, and that was the difference.”
Sentiments echoed by first-year Abbeville coach Roderick Moy.
“We moved the ball, we just couldn’t finish drives, and that was the difference in the game,” Moy said. “We always say four of five football plays can be the difference in the game. Those four or five plays go our way, and it could be a 40-40 ball game. We were prepared for a shoot out, but we didn’t do our part.”
But what Abbeville (0-1) did, they did well.
Blake Saddler had 115 yards and two scores rushing the ball and Jaidyn O’Brien threw for 97 yards and a touchdown but also had two interceptions.
Still, it was a good effort, even if it came up short.
“I’m proud of them,” Moy said. “They didn’t quit on me. We came out and answered the ball. VC was just the better team tonight.”
Travin Moore Jr. led VC in rushing with nine carries for 42 yards and a TD. Ashton Belaire had six carries for 30, while Thomas Bellaire had four carries for 20 yards.
Reginald Henderson had four carries for 66 yards for AHS.
Abbeville’s top receivers were Jacorlin Davis (3-43) and Garrick Scott (3-35- TD).

KAPLAN - When the Kaplan Pirates have trouble running the football, that is not a good sign.
On Friday at the Ed Douglas Memorial Stadium, the Pirates tried to run their Wing-T offense against the largest defensive line they will face this year.
The Pirates rushed for only 87 yards en route to a 12-0 loss to the Church Point Bears. The last time the Pirates were shut out in the regular season was in the 2014 season. Church Point beat the Pirates 30-0.
However, the last game Kaplan did not score a point was two years ago against Eunice (19-0) in the Class 3A playoffs.
“We made some mistakes,” said KHS head coach Stephen Lotief. “We played like it was the first game of the year. Now, as coaches, we are going to try to fix our mistakes this week during practice.”
In the first half, the Pirates did not get too close to the end zone. They got to within 37 yards but not any closer.
On the other hand, the Bears (1-0) scored their first points on a 69-yard pass play. Quarterback Andy Briceno connected with Khale Babideaux, who outran the Kaplan defense.
The Pirates were in the game at halftime, down 6-0. However, Church Point dominated offensive possessions. The Bears ran 22 plays to Kaplan’s 14.
Church Point took a 12-0 lead at the start of the second half thanks to a Kaplan fumble.
Church Point’s Ethan Castille picked up the rolling ball and ran it back 52 yards for a touchdown.
Ahead 12-0 after three periods, the Bears had a chance to put the game away at the start of the fourth frame.
The Bears were driving and were 15 yards from scoring what would have been their third touchdown, but they fumbled, and Kaplan recovered.
Kaplan’s safety Mason Frick was injured on the fumble and went to the sideline. Frick is also Kaplan’s starting quarterback.
Kaplan’s back up quarterback Raine Mire hit a wide-open Rhen Renfrow for a 50-yard pass on the first place from scrimmage. That was the Pirates’ longest play of the game.
The Pirates could smell the end zone because they got within 20 yards from it. However, Kaplan’s offense went backwards instead of forward. Church Point’s Jamarion Citizen had a sack that resulted in a 15-yard loss.
Kaplan’s top ball carriers were Caden Campisi (14 carries - 41 yards), Drake LeJeune (13-15) and Hayes Abshire (6-9).
Mason Frick completed two passes on eight attempts for 25 yards.
Campisi had an 18-yard reception and Eliot Bourque had one catch for 7 yards.
The Pirates (0-1) will be on the road on Friday to battle VC (1-0).