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March 25, 1932 ~ July 22, 2021

KAPLAN — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church honoring the life of Joseph Billy Hebert, Sr., 89, who died Thursday, July 22, 2021 at Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital. He will be laid to rest at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cemetery.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Elaine M. Hebert; his son, Bill Hebert and his wife, Gerette of Prairie Grove, AR; his two daughters, Rachel Landry and her husband, Ronald of Kaplan and Lauri Breaux of Kaplan; his eight grandchildren, Rozlyn Cothran and her husband, Brad, Lance Hebert, Blake Hebert, Jordan Landry, Bridget Landry, Alaina Landry, Serenity Morgan and Nora Breaux; his two great grandchildren, Alice Cothran and Marion Cothran; and his brother, Godfrey Hebert of Houston, TX.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Aurille and Ophelia Hebert; his sister, Nona Fay Broussard; and his brother, Jesse Hebert.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan, 300 N. Eleazar Ave., on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 from 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, July 28, 2021 from 8:00 AM until the procession departs for the church at 12:45 PM.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the Hebert family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

Dreams precede everything; all actions and all creations. Truly, everything does start with a dream. Dreaming is not an idle activity. It’s not an escape from reality. Dreams are the foundation of all creativity.
The type of dreaming I’m talking about doesn’t just occur while you are sleeping. The thoughts occupy your mind constantly, while you are awake as well as resting. These types of dreams stick in your mind. They become a mental obsession. When your mind is focused on a specific detailed dream, it will lead you toward a path that will transform your dream to reality.
Dreaming is healthy, allowing you to explore different scenarios and options. Without dreams, you can’t venture beyond your perceived limits. For maximum effectiveness, a dream should be as detailed as possible. It shouldn’t be conceived in general terms such as, “if I were rich,” or “if I only had this,” or if I only had that.”
Without dreams, people would still be living in caves. Every element of society is the result of dreaming. Our country is the product of a dream. Dreams precede reality. There are no limits to what you can dream about. Health, relationships, success, finances, career, and lifestyle are all valid topics.
Your dreams shouldn’t be a passing thought or whim. They should embody specifics you have a burning desire for. They should be something you are willing to work for and expend whatever effort is required. Dreams can and do come true, but not by themselves. You have to make them happen.
There are those who have a lotto mentality for their dreams. They are only willing to invest a dollar in the hopes of winning millions. Sure, there will be a winner, but the chance is one in millions that it will be you. When people have this lotto mentality, they are constantly disappointed. As a result they wind up jaded and give up on their dreams. They become resigned to their lot in life and disconnected from the infinite potential that resides within.
People who have given up will try to discourage others by using their own disappointments as evidence that dreams are a waste of time. Typically, being labeled a dreamer has a negative connotation. The implication is that a dreamer is not grounded in reality and is wasting their time chasing rainbows.
The dreamer will often be ridiculed and chided. Without a solid understanding of the value of dreaming, the dreamer runs the risk of abandoning their dreams in the face of peer pressure. Should this happen, it would be a real waste. Without dreams, one is in jeopardy of squandering their future.
Dreams have no constraints. Dreams are the seeds from which you can create a robust life. Guard your dreams. Don’t allow others to influence you to relinquish your dreams. You don’t have to share your dreams nor do you need the approval or acceptance of others.
Turning your dreams into reality requires action, determination, and perseverance. If not for dreamers our country never would have been founded. We would have no telephones, no electricity, no cars, no TV or radio, and no medical breakthroughs. In short, if people throughout history had not pursued their dreams we would still be in the dark ages.
Go ahead and dream. Picture your life any way you would like it to be. Don’t put any limitations on your vision. Keep your dream in the front of your mind and review it daily. Take action and turn your dreams into reality.

August 15, 1931 ~ July 22, 2021

KAPLAN — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, July 26, 2021 at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church honoring the life of Louella Dronet Greene Habetz, 89, who died Thursday, July 22, 2021 at Gueydan Memorial Guest Home. She will be laid to rest at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cemetery with Reverend Palthasar Arrockia Doss officiating the services. Serving as pallbearers will be Jacob Faulk, Brooks Faulk, Buddy Greene, Jacob Greene, Tyler Stubbs and Kirk Hoffpauir. Honorary pallbearers will be Jackson Green, Drake Washington and Vince Greene.
Louella “T – Lou” enjoyed working in her garden, tending to her flowers, watching the hummingbirds, going to garage sales and spending time with her grandchildren.
She is survived by her two sons, John Greene of Kaplan and Allen Greene and his wife, Denise of Crowley; her three daughters, Rita Faulk and her husband, David of Cow Island, Elizabeth Stelly of Kaplan and Emily Stubbs and her husband, Eddie of Broussard; her 13 grandchildren; 32 great grandchildren; and 12 great-great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Preston Greene; her second husband, Vincent Habetz; her sister, Frances Guidry; one great granddaughter, Nora Jo Faulk; and her parents, Loveless Dronet and the former Olphida Lachaussee.
The family would like to thank Hospice of Acadiana, Gueydan Memorial Guest Home and Mary Lou Harrington for all their care and compassion. In lieu of flowers the family is asking for donations to Hospice of Acadiana in honor of “T – Lou”.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan, 300 N. Eleazar Ave., on Sunday, July 25, 2021 from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 6:00 PM; Monday, July 26, 2021 from 8:00 AM until the procession departs for the church at 10:45 AM.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the Habetz family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

COVID-19 cases in Vermilion Parish have risen by 163 patients over an eight-day period.
On Tuesday of last week, there had been 5,914 cases of coronavirus in Vermilion Parish. As of Thursday, there are now 6,107 cases, an increase of 193 cases.
In the last week, one more person from Vermilion Parish has died of COVID-19, bringing the total to 127 deaths.
Vermilion Parish also has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state at only 30 percent.
Medical experts say if more people don’t get the vaccine soon, Acadiana is going to have a very dangerous fall and winter.
“Our vaccination rates are low. We’re one of the lowest states in the country, so when you compare us to other states, Texas is well ahead of where we are in vaccinations. Certainly, the northeast, the west coast, and most states around the country are better vaccinated than Louisiana,” Regional Medical Director Dr. Tina Stefanski said.
She says while Louisiana is ranked 49th in terms of vaccinations, Acadiana’s vaccinations rates are even lower than most of the states.
Only 30 percent of Acadiana is vaccinated.
“I think a lot of people don’t recognize that we don’t even have a third of the population in Acadiana vaccinated. So two-thirds of our population are unvaccinated here in Acadiana,” Stefanski said.
She says she believes that’s because of false information going around.
“There’s a lot of false misinformation that is misleading people, and that is going to lead to a continued increase in cases, hospitalizations, and poor outcomes for people,” she said.
“I don’t want to see that happen, especially when we have access to these safe, effective vaccines,” she added.
Vermilion Parish is not the only parish seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Louisiana rose to 844 patients as of Wednesday afternoon, the highest levels since mid-February, according to a noon update from the Louisiana Department of Health.
Louisiana also reported an additional 3,264 confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday — the largest batch of new infections since January 15, when the state was in the thick of a deadly, winter surge.
Another 9 people in Louisiana died from COVID-19 overnight, the state reported, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus to 9,819 since the pandemic began.
The age group showing an increase in COVID-19 cases statewide is between 18- to 29 and 30 to 39 years old.
Louisiana is at the start of its fourth surge in cases, fueled by the highly-contagious delta variant, and made worse by the state’s lagging vaccination rates. Nearly two-thirds of the state’s population remains unvaccinated against COVID-19, and hospital officials statewide said most of their patients hospitalized with the coronavirus haven’t gotten the jab.
Louisiana has logged 10,059 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the last seven days, a number that’s 6.5 times larger than what was reported four weeks ago, according to an analysis of state data by The Times-Picayune and The Advocate.
And, since February, there have been 2,175 breakthrough cases, accounting for about 0.1% of all vaccinated people in the state, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. Of the 1,479 people who have died since that time, 28 were vaccinated, or about 2%.
The data is clear: Most people who get severely sick and die have yet to be inoculated.
“Everyone we’re seeing has been unvaccinated,” said Dr. Kara Ward, a doctor who specializes in pulmonary critical care and emergency medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. “Over the last two weeks, numbers have skyrocketed and gotten out of control. This population is different than it has been previously. They’re younger, healthier and the commonality is no one is vaccinated.”