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Kimalynn Williams

Mon, 06/12/2023 - 10:54am

January 15, 1966 - May 29, 2023

ABBEVILLE – A home-going celebration of life for Kimalynn Tricheryl Williams, 57, was held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Faith Hope Christian Fellowship Church (407 B.K. Stevens Drive) with Pastor B.K. Stevens, officiating.
Interment followed at Faith Hope Christian Fellowship Cemetery in Grosse Isle, LA.
Kimalynn was a resident of Abbeville, LA. She transitioned at 2:55 a.m. on Monday, May 29, 2023, at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center in Lafayette, LA.
She leaves to cherish her memory, three sons: Tyler Williams, Kendrick Williams, and Anthony Roman all of Abbeville, LA; one brother: Blaine Williams (Michelle) of Abbeville LA; one sister: Tresslei Williams of Abbeville, LA; two godchildren: Beyonka Washington of New Orleans, LA, and Bryce Briggs of Atlanta, GA; six grandchildren; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Edward Williams, Jr., and Beverly Bowie; six aunts: Eldora Thomas, Berteen Joiner, Lillie Wright, Justina Smith, Elizabeth Brannon, and Laura Bessard; two uncles: Richard Williams and Columbus Williams; one cousin: Gerilyn Thomas; one niece: Jemori Fauntleroy; maternal grandparents: William Bowie and Lillie Small Bowie; paternal grandparents: Edward Williams, Sr., and Malvin Perry Williams.
Active pallbearers were Braeden Williams, Zaylun Williams, Dasakima Taylor, Kalen Smith, Harold Brailey, and Troy Bessard.
Honorary pallbearers were Blaine Williams, Tyler Williams, Kendrick Williams, Anthony Roman, Derrian Fauntleroy, Ne’Craigen Williams, and Bryce Boggs.
Condolences may be expressed at www.fletcherfuneralhomes.org
Arrangements were entrusted to Fletcher Funeral Home (337-893-2440) 1116 Greene Street, Abbeville, LA 70510.

David Breaux

Delcambre man has a total bond amount of just under $800,000

Thu, 06/08/2023 - 1:17pm

A Delcambre man was booked into the Vermilion Parish jail after his bond total equals just under $800,000 for crimes he allegedly committed against a 13-year-old.
The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested David Breaux of Delcambre. He was charged with 13 crimes resulting in a total bond of $795,000.
Breaux was charged with four counts of first-degree rape. Each first-degree rape charge has a bond of $125,000 and an automatic life imprisonment sentence.
He was also charged with a second-degree rape charge with a $100,000 bond.
Breaux’s four rape charges carry a bond total amount of $600,000.
He was also charged with four counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile. The total bond amount was $100,000.
Two charges of intimidating, impeding, or injuring had a bond total of $20,000.
The other charges were sexual battery ($25,000 bond) and obstruction of justice $50,000 bond).

Sister Heather Sikes

Sr. Heather Sikes (center) professed her final vows in June 2023, with her family at her side.

Erath native professes her final vows to become nun

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 12:53pm

Sikes’ family attends ceremony in Shreveport

Erath native Sister Heather Sikes recently professed her final vows with the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows congregation.
Per the website, it states. that the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows was founded by Blessed Elisabetta Renzi in Italy. Blessed Elisabetta Renzi was born on November 19, 1786, in the village of Saludecio, Italy. She founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows in 1839. On August 14, 1859, after a life of struggle and suffering, but also of great spiritual joy, Blessed Elisabetta died, leaving both to her congregation and to the universal Church an example of holiness of life and of great trust in God.”
Sr. Heather Sikes professed her first vows with this order in June 2018. Five years later in June of 2023, she was able to profess her final vows as a nun. Her whole family traveled to Shreveport to support Sr. Heather on her important day.
The Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows Facebook page stated, “The Church and the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows rejoice with Sister Heather Marie Sikes on this special day in which she professed her final vows.”
She is the daughter of Everette Sikes and Patty Landry Sikes, She has one brother, Wesley. Wesley is married to the former Kelsey Broussard and together they have three children, Alyssa, Rhani, and Colin Sikes. Sr. Heather is the maternal granddaughter of Carol and Gloria Landry Her paternal grandparents are Rita and Eddie Sikes.
She is a 2011 Erath High Graduate.

There were tall daylily plants, along with other plants for sale at the festival.

Abbeville’s Slyvia Putnam buys some cookies from vendor Laura Hebert at Saturday’s Daylily Festival.

Visitors take in Saturday’s Daylily Festival and Garden Show. The event took place in Magdalen Square in downtown Abbeville.

Abbeville's Daylily Festival and Garden Show is huge success

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 12:49pm

Mother Nature was good to the 21st Annual Daylily Festival and Garden Show this past Saturday in Abbeville.
When the festival opened its doors, a cool breeze zipped through Magdalen Square at 8:30 in the morning.
Mother Nature unleashed rain on the few festival goers at around 2:30 p.m.
By then, many of the 45 plant and garden vendors had sold most of their plants.
While the festival opened at 8:30 a.m., plant lovers were lined up by 7:30 a.m., hoping to be the first to land a beautiful plant or daylily before anyone else.
“This festival was one of the best ones,” said Charlene Beckett, who oversees Downtown Main Street in Abbeville. “It was not too hot in the morning. The new and old vendors did well.”
Lynn Guillory, Executive Director of Vermilion Chamber, said, “The Daylily Festival brought in hundreds of garden lovers from all areas of Louisiana! Daylily was a day to bring people together and celebrate the love of gardening! All the hard hours put into the planning of the Daylily Festival is worth it when we get to showcase our community to people visiting us for the first time! These visitors also boost revenue for our local restaurants and hotels. So, this was not only another successful year for the Daylily Festival, but this was also a success for our community!”
Although the daylilies were the featured flower for the festival, different types of gardening was highlighted. The Abbeville Garden Club was located in the Gazebo and was available and answered gardening needs.
In addition, the Abbeville Cultural & Historical Alliance Center had educational speakers throughout the morning.
The Daylily Festival was put on by Abbeville Main Street, the City of Abbeville, and the Vermilion Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Abbeville Cultural Center and Historical.
Alliance and the City of Abbeville. Sponsors are the Abbeville Garden Club and Gulf Coast Bank.
It was impossible to put the number of people who attended the festival, but 500 paper fans were handed out to the crowd that morning.

Jeff Crouere

The elder abuse of Joe Biden is a national crisis

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 12:43pm

For the entirety of his 2020 presidential campaign and the 28 months of his presidency, Joe Biden has been a sick man. During the campaign, he was so feeble that his political handlers kept him locked in the basement. His public events were infrequent and his rare media interviews were usually marked with embarrassing gaffes.
His problems have only gotten worse during his presidency. His feebleness was on display on Thursday when he tripped on stage and tumbled face first at the Air Force Academy’s commencement ceremony.
His aides had a challenging time helping him to his feet and Biden first sat back down on stage. He finally rose and pointed to the culprit; a sandbag used to secure the teleprompter. To make matters worse, upon returning to the White House, Biden bumped his head exiting the door of Marine One.
This fall was not the first time Americans have seen their President tumble. On numerous occasions, Biden has stumbled while ascending the stairs of Air Force One. Last year, he famously fell off his bike while riding in the Henlopen State Park in Delaware.
Just a few weeks ago, at the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Biden almost tripped when walking down concrete stairs. He was not holding the railing and a fall could have been catastrophic and seriously injured him.
Sadly, Biden is very frail, and his health is a ticking time bomb. After speeches, he often gets lost and does not know where to go. He could easily tumble off a stage and require hospitalization or surgery.
This nightmare for the American people needs to end immediately. At 80 years old, Joe Biden needs medical care, treatment, and rest. He does not have the physical or mental capabilities to manage the most demanding and powerful position in the world.
Biden is clearly not in good condition, physically or mentally. His speeches are often marked with mistakes, misstatements, or forgetfulness. One perfect example was his struggle to pronounce the word “kleptocracy” during a national White House address in April of 2022. Regularly, Biden also mispronounces names, even for individuals who are prominent Democrats, elected officials, or, much worse, members of his cabinet.
Many medical experts, including former White House Physician and U.S. Congressman Ronny Jackson (R-TX) believe Biden is suffering from a serious “cognitive decline.” According to Jackson, “People like Jill Biden and people that surround him and are supposed to love him and care about him. They should be doing something about this, and they should be stopping this, because it’s a shame.”
Why doesn’t the First Lady end this farce? Obviously, it is because she selfishly enjoys the limelight, the prestige and benefits that are associated with her position.
Instead of his loved ones and political allies doing the right thing, they continue this charade. It is because Joe Biden is not the real President, he is a puppet of powerful interests that control his every move.
The situation is clear to 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. He claims that Biden is “a puppet, a front man, for the managerial industrial complex around him, and frankly, it’s starting to look more and more like a form of elder abuse.” Ramaswamy believes that Biden’s “cognitive defects” are a “convenience” for the “managerial class that’s turned him into a puppet.”
This situation is shocking, frightening and completely unacceptable. Since Biden’s aides and family members will not encourage him to resign, the Vice President and a majority of cabinet members should invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him.
At the very least, congressional Republicans should demand that President Biden immediately submit to a mental competency test. If he fails, and he will, he should then be impeached, convicted, and removed from office.
The list of impeachable offenses that Biden has committed is quite long and there are many that can be used to end this threat to both the institution of the presidency, and, more importantly, to the nation.
As President Donald Trump stated after Biden’s fall, it was “not inspiring” to see him sprawled on the stage. This sent a message of weakness to our enemies. It was also not comforting to the American people or to our military service members.
It is a sick joke to believe that Biden can run for President again in 2024 and theoretically serve in that position until he is 86 years old. He cannot function as President now and his condition will only get worse as he ages.
Therefore, the time for action is now before calamity strikes our nation. Congressional Republicans can no longer remain silent on this vital matter as it only conveys timidity. They must show courage and act, especially when our national security is at risk.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com

Jim Brown

In Louisiana, just tell ‘em I lied

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 12:42pm

Jim Brown

We are used to hearing legislators in Washington call each other liars. Just a few months ago during the President’s State of the Union speech, Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia jabbed a thumbs down in the president’s direction and yelled “liar” after his comments. “Joe Biden is lying to the American People,” Greene tweeted during the speech.
But all the congressional bantering about lying is small potatoes as compared to what takes place in Baton Rouge at the state capital. The Bayou State has been operating in a dysfunctional manner for years, with a long and colorful history of legislative brawls, viciously partisan debate and charges of lying.
I was in the middle of such a legislative altercation in my first few months as a Louisiana state senator back in 1972. A controversial proposal to create a new trade school system was up for final passage in the waning minutes of the legislative session. I sat next to Senator “Big Jim” Jumonville, who was as brash and tenacious in debate on the senate floor as they come. He just never took no for an answer. Jumonville was opposing last minute amendments that would take one of the trade schools out of his district and move it to Baton Rouge.
The legislation would die if not passed at the stroke of midnight, and the official clock high on the back wall of the senate chamber was ticking away. With only seconds left, Jumonville pulled off his boot and heaved it at the clock in an effort to stave off the deadline. He missed. Off came the other boot as Big Jim hollered out to his colleague at the podium, “You are a liar.” He then rose back to throw the remaining boot. I put myself in grave danger by grabbing Jumonville’s arm in an effort to calm him down. He missed the clock a second time, and time ran out. I don’t think Big Jim ever forgave me.
And who can forget the Governor Earl Long story of reneging on a promise to a group of south Louisiana constituents? The blow-by-blow account was given to me by my deceased friend, Camille Gravel, who was on Long’s staff and a witness to the Governor’s comments. Long was reluctant to live up to a campaign commitment, and Gravel inquired as to what he should tell the group. Without batting an eye, Long told Gravel: “Just tell them I lied.”
Dutch Morial was Louisiana’s first black legislator, and went on to serve as a judge and two-term Mayor of New Orleans. With much humor and gusto, Dutch relished telling friends of his first day at the state capitol as a new legislator. Representatives have seatmates, with their two desks sitting side by side. As chance would have it, Dutch sat right next to Representative Jesse McLain, who represented an archconservative district in southeast Louisiana that had been a hotbed of Ku Klux Klan activity.
Now Dutch was from a Creole background and quite light skinned. As Dutch told me years later of that first day — when he took his seat, Jesse leaned over and whispered: “Where’s that lyin’ N…..? (Yes, the N word.) Dutch said he just smiled, looked around the room for a minute, then leaned over to Jesse, got right up in his face, and said: “You’re looking at him.” Then he burst out laughing. A flustered McClain excused himself from the legislature for the rest of the day.
So as tensions continue to mount up in the nation’s capital, tell those congressmen from other states that they are playing softball with their interparty scrabbling. If they want to learn how to experience real hardball politics, they can certainly find a “learning experience” here in Louisiana. We have plenty of political lyin’, cussin’ & discussin’, fumin’ and fightin’ going on in the deepest of the deep southern states. Maybe it’s in the roux or the Tabasco sauce. But it’s always lively here when Louisiana politics is involved. So just come on down.

Peace and Justice
Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

The Abbeville police unit was hit head-on by a suspect driving away from the police.

This is the Buick driven by Cedric Evans.

Abbeville officer injured in collision involving suspect

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 10:21am

An Abbeville police officer was injured over the weekend when the vehicle it was driving was hit head-on by Cedric Evans, who was fleeing the Abbeville Police Department in his vehicle.
According to Police Chief Mike Hardy, the officer injured its right ankle and left foot in the crash. The officer is expected to recover.
The police department was looking into a complaint of a home invasion and domestic voilence.
While the officers were arriving on the scene, the complainant stated that Evans was leaving in a Buick.
Officers demanded that the suspect stop, but he did not and continued circling the block. Upon passing a second time in front of the home, the officers again demanded that he stop.
At this time back up officers were arriving on the scene; the subject sped up and hit an Abbeville Police Department unit head on, sending the suspect and an Abbeville Police officer to the hospital.
Evans was also brought to Abbeville General.
Evans is being charged with two counts of Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Attempted 2nd Degree Kidnapping, Domestic Abuse Battery with Child Endangerment, and Home Invasion.

Pedestrian Killed on US 90 in Acadia Parish Crash

Wed, 06/07/2023 - 9:42am

RAYNE – Shortly after 9:30 P.M., on June 6, 2023, Louisiana State Police Troop I was notified of a fatal crash involving a pedestrian on US Highway 90, a short distance west of the city limits of Rayne in Acadia Parish. The crash claimed the life of 42-year-old Amanda Soileaux of Rayne.
The preliminary investigation by State Police revealed Soileaux was walking west in the eastbound lane of US 90 when she was struck by an eastbound 2016 Toyota Corolla. She was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Acadia Parish Coroner’s Office. Impairment on the part of Soileaux is unknown, but a standard toxicology sample was taken for analysis.
The driver of the Corolla was not suspected of being impaired and submitted a voluntary breath sample which showed no alcohol detected. The driver was properly restrained and suffered no injuries. This crash remains under investigation.
A majority of pedestrian fatalities, nearly 70 percent, occur at night. Troopers urge pedestrians to maintain a heightened level of awareness while walking near the road. Simple precautions such as wearing reflective materials, avoiding distractions, not walking too close to roadways, and walking against the flow of traffic could prevent most pedestrian related crashes.
Troop I has investigated 25 fatal crashes resulting in 28 deaths in 2023.

Gov. Edwards signs numerous bills

Tue, 06/06/2023 - 1:01pm

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards he has signed the following bills from the 2023 Regular Legislative Session into law:
ACT 1-HB294 Provides for certain insurance premium discounts.
ACT 2-HB113 Provides relative to volunteer board members of certain interlocal risk management agencies.
ACT 3-HB123 Provides relative to nursing home requirements and standards for emergency preparedness plans.
ACT 4-HB319 Repeals a provision of licensure by endorsement for nurses.
ACT 5-HB230 Provides for the continuous revision of the Code of Civil Procedure.
ACT 6-HB6 Extends deadline for annual January meetings of certain public postsecondary education boards.
ACT 7-HB7 Provides relative to default judgments.
ACT 8-HB11 Provides for contract limits for projects.
ACT 9-HB20 Provides relative to court costs for the City Court of Lake Charles.
ACT 10-HB27 Provides with respect to reporting of gaming revenue.
ACT 11-HB48 Provides relative to mayor's court costs.
ACT 12-HB110 Provides relative to fortified roof endorsements.
ACT 13-HB112 Provides relative to the Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners.
ACT 14-HB133 Provides relative to the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Council.
ACT 15-HB171 Provides relative to requirements for dealers and marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales and use taxes.
ACT 16-HB194 Provides relative to post-adoption visitation rights of grandparents.
ACT 17-HB200 Provides relative to newborn screening for certain genetic conditions.
ACT 18-HB216 Authorizes certain military members stationed in Louisiana to serve as commissioners.
ACT 19-HB232 Provides relative to licensing and reporting procedures for charitable gaming.
ACT 20-HB248 Provides for the burial of pet remains with human remains.
ACT 21-HB256 Requires extension of the deadline to pay local sales taxes when the deadline for payment of the tax falls on certain holidays.
ACT 22-HB302 Provides relative to cemetery trust funds.
ACT 23-HB314 Provides relative to trained peer support members.
ACT 24-HB337 Eliminates the minimum child support award in the child support guidelines.
ACT 25-HB393 Provides relative to certain building code roofing inspections of a commercial or residential structure.
ACT 26-HB395 Provides relative to filings with the secretary of state's office.

Jim Bradshaw

Ice cream in a block or angel food light?

Tue, 06/06/2023 - 12:50pm

Jim Bradshaw, LSN columnist

With the temperature climbing higher every day, it was welcome news in Crowley in the early summer of 1923 that the town’s first ice cream plant would soon be ready for business. Until then, local vendors there and in most other south Louisiana towns had to make their own, usually in a hand-cranked freezer, which was time consuming and produced uneven results.
There were a few bigger plants in south Louisiana who churned out ice cream that they claimed was not only good, but good for you, but it was still an infant industry.
P. L. Farrell, the proprietor of the new Crowley plant, said two ice cream freezing machines were being installed in a building on Second Street, “between George Lovell’s automobile salesroom and the Service Garage.” He said each machine could freeze 10 gallons in about 12 minutes, “making it possible for the plant to turn out hundreds of gallons” every day.
“Most of the cream will be sold wholesale to drug stores and confectioneries,” the Crowley Signal said.
Several weeks later the Signal reported, “The ice cream factory is now furnishing a good trade with ice cream that is the equal in quality of any … thanks to “machinery representing an investment of thousands of dollars and labor receiving pay that is spent in Crowley.”
Besides ice cream, the factory was churning out butter that was “popular in local stores.”
Farrell was not the first to catch on to the idea that south Louisiana summers made ice cream something really easy to sell, and not only because it was cold and tasty. Ice cream makers said it was an essential food for healthy kids.
The Lafayette Bottling Works described itself as the place “where the manufacturing of Ice Cream and Carbonated Beverages is an art and service is a pleasure.”
In a 1921 ad, the company urged mothers to “give that Boy and Girl of Yours all the Ice Cream they want. Ice Cream is rich in Vitamine [sic], that essential which makes the difference between a strong, healthy child and a sickly one.”
Another 1921 ad, this one in the Iberville South, promoted the “Astounding Food Values of Ice Cream.” It said Drs. Hart and McCullen of the Wisconsin Experiment Station, “through a series of remarkable experiments” found that children needed the butterfat in ice cream to be healthy, wholesome, and strong.
Proprietors of the Candy Kitchen in Opelousas thought people would travel to enjoy ice cream’s great taste and good benefits. They ran big ads in several newspapers, including St. Martinville and Ville Platte, urging buyers to get out of the heat in “the brightest … [and] coolest place” with “eight ceiling fans in motion.”
Under the whirling fans you could enjoy ice cream with strawberries, cherries, pineapple, or pecans for 15 cents; an Eskimo pie or ice cream soda for a dime; or brick ice cream for only a nickel, which would also buy two ice cream cones.
In 1930, the Abbeville Meridional pointed out that ice cream made business sense for Vermilion Parish dairy farmers as well as the people who made it. The newspaper quoted O. E. Reed, chief of the U. S. Agriculture Department’s Bureau of Dairy Industry, who said, “This food, which was once regarded as a luxury … now holds a well-established place in the American diet.”
But everyone knew that regulations were sure to follow once a Bureau in Washington took notice of something. That brought a nostalgic lament in 1930 from a newspaper editor who, after seeing a man turning his own old-fashioned ice cream freezer, was “reminded of the time that each refreshment parlor served its own distinctive ice cream” and “the law governing ice cream had not yet begun to function.”
“With all due to the law which governs butterfat content and weight per given bulk of ice cream,” he said, “we still hanker for a dash of homemade ice cream with the liberal allotment of cream turned in the freezer until it fluffed up like angel food cake.”
The thought of ice cream that light and fluffy also gives me a hankering, especially after I read those ads reminding me that the more of it I eat, the healthier I will be.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

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Kimalynn Williams

Delcambre man has a total bond amount of just under $800,000

Erath native professes her final vows to become nun

Abbeville's Daylily Festival and Garden Show is huge success

The elder abuse of Joe Biden is a national crisis

In Louisiana, just tell ‘em I lied

Abbeville officer injured in collision involving suspect

Pedestrian Killed on US 90 in Acadia Parish Crash

Gov. Edwards signs numerous bills

Ice cream in a block or angel food light?

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