THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
M o n d ay, J u ly 7, 2025
H
$2.00X
Search for Texas campers presses on Death toll rises to 79 as officials warn more rain, flooding likely
BY JIM VERTUNO and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press
KERRVILLE, Texas — Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sunday and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, an allgirls summer camp ripped apart
THE
Volunteers search for flood survivors along the banks of the Guadalupe River on Sunday in Hunt, Texas.
pounding Texas, Gov. Greg AbINSIDE bott said there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for ä Louisiana across the state and more could sends first be missing. responders. In Kerr County, home to Camp by flash floods that washed homes Mystic and other youth camps in Page 4A off their foundations and killed at the Texas Hill Country, search- ä How least 79 people in central Texas. ers have found the bodies of 68 weather Rescuers maneuvering through people, including 28 children, conditions led challenging terrain continued Sheriff Larry Leitha said in the to once-intheir desperate search for the afternoon. missing, including 10 girls and a He pledged to keep searching a-generation event. Page counselor from the camp. For the ä See SEARCH, page 4A 4A first time since the storms began
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RODOLFO GONZALEZ
BEAR NECESSITIES
GOP defiant of Landry lashed by veto pen Governor zaps spending projects of lawmakers opposed to insurance bill
BY TYLER BRIDGES
Staff writer
year for suicide attempts, Breaux said. The program is also available to people inside the parish jail. Breaux said he hopes the momentum doesn’t stop in his parish. He is offering training for other agencies that wish to create their own program, adding that officers should be uniquely qualified to be that first point of contact for help with addiction or mental health. After that initial contact is made, the STAR team will work to create an individualized program for a person,
A full 16 of the 17 line-item vetoes issued by Gov. Jeff Landry were of spending projects sought by Republican legislators, including a highway extension in Bossier City, a tennis court in Livingston Parish and a new bridge in Lafreniere Park in Metairie. Landry And in all 16 of those cases, the legislator had voted against the governor on his biggest priority during the justcompleted legislative session. That measure, House Bill 148, gives Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple greater authority to reject “excessive” rate increases — an authority that Temple said he doesn’t want because he believes it would allow an insurance commissioner to act indiscriminately instead of relying on data. Many conservatives agreed with Temple, and a number of them saw Landry kill their projects through the line-item veto — which targets specific projects while allowing others untouched by the governor to move forward. Former lawmakers noted that Landry is hardly the first governor to punish wayward lawmakers by knocking out their projects. What stands out is that Landry targeted members of his own political party in virtually all cases. “You hit Republicans for one reason and for one reason only — that they don’t march to his orders. They’re independent thinkers,” said Robert Adley, a Republican who represented Bossier Parish in the Legislature for 28 years until term limits forced his retirement in 2016. “It’s vindictiveness,” Adley added. “It’s wrong because they are elected to represent their districts. It shouldn’t be done. It’s Huey Long stuff.” Tanner Magee, a Republican who represented Houma for two terms in the House, said he doesn’t fault Landry for the line-item vetoes.
ä See SERVICES, page 5A
ä See VETO, page 5A
STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
A golden orb weaver spider hangs out on a snare of its own as Hunter Hicks, a technician supervisor in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Bear Program, left, and program biologist Tony Vidrine replace a bait bag and a raspberryscented attractant above a bear hair snare in St. Mary Parish.
Low-tech methods used to track former endangered species’ population in Atchafalaya Basin as state determines hunting limits BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer
Tony Vidrine jerks his head to one side, then the other, dodging briars as he maneuvers his ATV through thick underbrush. It’s the hour before the day’s heat becomes oppressive, when the last of the morning dew still clings to knee-high blades of grass. Cruising ahead of him is
21-year-old Hunter Hicks, a recent Northwestern State University graduate. The two are traveling to a hunting camp in St. Mary Parish, hoping the bait they set the week before will prove fruitful. After working for 40 years as a biologist for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Vidrine spends his
ä See BEAR, page 3A
Bear hair is snagged in a barb in a snare Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents use to track the state’s black bear population.
ST. MARTIN PARISH
Sheriff’s Office connecting residents, services BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
The St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office has been hard at work testing out a program that helps connect people who have substance use disorders with the services they need, all at no cost. The Substance Abuse Team for Addiction and Recovery, referred to as the STAR Program, has serviced over 200 people since its launch eight months ago and is funded through the landmark 2021 opioid settlement with pharmaceutical companies, said
WEATHER HIGH 89 LOW 74 PAGE 10C
“I consider this a pilot program for the state and even the nation.” ST. MARTIN PARISH SHERIFF BECKET BREAUX
Sheriff Becket Breaux. “I consider this a pilot program for the state and even the nation. People are wondering what to do with opioid funding,” he said. “We’re talking millions going into state and local agencies, and we found a way to use it where it helps the community.” The program is 24/7 and helps connect St. Martin Parish residents to inpatient and outpatient drug and mental health treatment, housing and job services. The goal is to bring down recidivism and attempted suicides. The parish receives around 400 calls a
Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Nation-World ................2A Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Opinion ........................2B Commentary ................3B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
101ST yEAR, NO. 7