The Advocate 08-14-2025

EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH METRO COUNCIL

Fallen officer honored

East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards speaks in honor

District 4 Metro Council member

and

Wednesday’s Metro Council meeting. Eisworth, a 23-year veteran of the police force, died Sunday after being struck by a truck in June. Services are scheduled for Saturday at Istrouma Baptist Church. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m., with the funeral service starting at noon. Following the ceremony, Eisworth will be laid to rest at Greenoaks Memorial Park.

Council puts restrictions on vape shops

BY AIDAN MCCAHILL Staff writer

As part of an effort to curb the rising use of e-cigarettes among teens, the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council passed an ordinance Wednesday that will impose new distance requirements and signage on vape and tobacco retailers.

“This vaping is real, and it’s running rampant in our schools. And the children can just walk across the street and get a vape.”

CAROLyN COLEMAN, East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member

Shops that primarily sell tobacco, vapes and similar products are no longer allowed to open within 500 feet of schools, religious institutions, public libraries, child day care facilities, public parks or another vape shop. Those same stores also will be required to clearly display that anyone younger than 18 is prohibited from entering the premises. In Louisiana, selling vape products requires obtaining state-issued permits and licenses, with oversight from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. However, up until Wednesday, Baton Rouge did not have any local regulations addressing the sale of vape products.

Authored by council members Rowdy Gaudet, Denise Amoroso, Carolyn Coleman and Twahna Harris the law defines a smoke or vape shop as any store with a stock of 20% or more of vape and tobacco-related products.

“That way we separate it from a gas station that happens to carry a few products,” said Gaudet, who spearheaded the ordinance.

He said the new rules came from a two-year study by the city Planning Commission, which looked at how other similar-sized cities across the U.S. handled vape-shop regulations.

A grandfather clause in the ordinance allows existing businesses operating

ä See COUNCIL, page 7A

‘They could be pretty much anywhere’

Inside the search to find two brothers who went missing in a custody battle

BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer

Chase Desormeaux feared the worst after he stopped hearing from his two sons. Cohen, 7 and Colton 5, missed the first day of school, Christmas and their birthdays. After they did not show up for a routine custody drop-off, alerts went out last December across Louisiana asking people to be on the lookout for the boys The U.S. Marshals Service joined the search, while the Calcasieu Parish

Sheriff’s Office also tried to track them down

As Desormeaux continued searching for his sons, their faces flashed on national news screens Investigators had not been able to determine their specific location, saying the boys could be as near as still in Louisiana or Texas, or as far away as California, Michigan, Illinois or Pennsylvania.

“They could be pretty much anywhere,” said a host of “On Patrol: Live” on the Reelz network, which featured their case in March and told viewers they were with their mom. “But it also means that she’ll probably be interacting with people, so if you know her, you see her, you recognize her, please help.”

The case of the missing Desormeaux boys wound up taking nine months, spanning two states, including multiple law en-

forcement agencies and highlighting an often overlooked concern in the world of missing and exploited children: What happens when they are with a parent when they go missing? Experts say such missing persons cases generally receive far less attention than those that involve strangers who abduct children.

It was 2:30 a.m. on March 31 when a phone call woke up their dad from his sleep. There was news about the boys.

The Desormeaux boys went missing amid a messy custody battle.

After their parents, Chase and Sharlene Desormeaux, separated in February 2022, a Lake Charles judge granted them shared custody Chase Desormeaux was named

ä See SEARCH, page 7A

Vote set on power for Meta facility

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

A controversial plan to power Meta’s largest artificial intelligence data center anywhere in the world, to be built in rural northeast Louisiana, will head for a vote by state regulators next week, far ahead of initially planned.

The fast-tracked approval by the Public Service Commission is drawing concern from advocates who say average ratepayers and other industrial companies are being put at risk of covering electricity costs for the giant facility, equivalent to the size of around 70 football fields. Entergy and supporters of the plan say enough safeguards are in place and that there is no reason to further delay a project that could be transformational for the impoverished region.

Entergy, which is proposing to build three gas-fired plants to power the data center, requested that the commission take up the issue two months before the regulators were initially expected to vote. The vote at the Aug. 20 meeting will also occur before a judge who oversaw a recent hearing into the proposal will be able to release her recommendations.

“Whether it sets a precedent or not, and it most certainly will, the costs will show up on people’s bills across the state.”

LOGAN BURKE, executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy

“I really want folks across the state to understand that this decision is not just about one of the world’s largest data centers in north Louisiana,” said Logan Burke, the executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy consumer advocacy group. “Whether it sets a precedent or not, and it most certainly will, the costs will show up on people’s bills across the state.”

A coalition of the largest oil, gas and petrochemical companies operating in Louisiana have similarly argued that the request poses huge risks for them. Around 30 companies are part of the coalition, including Exxon, Shell and Dow, under the banner of the Louisiana Energy Users Group. The coalition declined to comment. But the proposal has widespread political

ä See META, page 4A

Florida approves first bear hunt in a decade

ORLANDO Fla. Florida’s wildlife commissioners set aside pleas and arguments from black bear advocates Wednesday and approved a December hunt of the state’s shy but increasingly troublesome species.

The board’s 5-0 vote — with two commissioners absent followed more than two hours of rancorous public comment with hunters and wildlife defenders trading barbs and disagreeing about how much science the state used to craft rules for Florida’s first bear hunt in a decade, with more to follow annually

“Hunting is the tool most commonly used to manage bear populations,” said George Warthen, the state’s conservation chief, at the meeting in Havana, Florida.

Opponents countered by pointing out the state Fish & Wildlife agency had not yet finished an update of an “abundance” survey of its largest land mammal, previously listed as a threatened species because its known numbers dwindled to less than 500 in the 1970s.

They also argued the commission was considering “cruel rules” to allow the use of bowand-arrows and tracking dogs.

State experts estimate about 4,000 Florida black bears now roam the peninsula.

Hunters also got the OK to kill bears over a bait or feed station a tactic forbidden in the last hunt, in 2015.

Armed robbers take $700,000 in truck heist

PHILADELPHIA Police are investigating whether the armed robbery of a Brinks truck on Tuesday outside a Philadelphia-area store is related to four other attacks on armored vehicles in and around the city this summer

Two armed males got away with between $700,000 and $800,000 in the midday Tuesday heist at an H Mart in Elkins Park, according to Cheltenham Township police.

The robbers fled with the cash and later abandoned their vehicle nearby, police said. No shots were fired, and no one was injured. Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that three people from Philadelphia who were arrested in early August are charged in connection with the $2 million armed robbery of a Brinks armored vehicle outside a Home Depot on June 21.

A Loomis armored transport vehicle was held up outside an Aldi in a different neighborhood

five days later Then on July 2, a Brinks truck was held up outside a Dollar General at a shopping center And on July 15, police had a report of two suspects robbing one of the armored vehicles in northeast Philadelphia.

‘Frankenstein bunnies’ found in Colorado

DENVER A group of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, hornlike growths may seem straight out of a low-budget horror film, but scientists say there’s no reason to be spooked the furry creatures merely have a relatively common virus

The cottontails recently spotted in Fort Collins are infected with the mostly harmless Shope papillomavirus, which causes wart-like growths that protrude from their faces like metastasizing horns.

Viral photos have inspired unflattering nicknames, including “Frankenstein bunnies,” “demon rabbits” and “zombie rabbits.” But their affliction is nothing new

The virus likely influenced the centuries-old jackalope myth in North America, which told of a rabbit with antlers or horns, among other animal variations. The disease in rabbits also contributed to scientists’ knowledge about the connection between viruses and cancer, such as the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer

CORRECTION

An article Wednesday about the Downtown Development District meeting incorrectly stated the percentage of Baton Rouge jobs that are downtown. Sixteen percent of all city jobs are downtown, not 60%.

Nations threaten Iran sanctions

BY STEFANIE DAZIO and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press

BERLIN The top diplomats of Britain, France and Germany threatened to reimpose sanctions on Iran as an end-of-the-month deadline nears for the country to resume negotiations with the West over its nuclear program and cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog

The three countries, known as the E3, wrote in a letter to the United Nations dated Friday that they were willing to trigger a process known as the “snapback” mechanism, which allows one of the Western parties to reimpose U.N. sanctions, if Tehran doesn’t comply with its requirements.

French Foreign Minister JeanNöel Barrot posted the letter Wednesday to X. He co-signed it along with top diplomats from Germany and the United Kingdom “E3 have always committed to

use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon,” the letter said. “We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism.”

The Iranian government didn’t immediately respond to the development, but parliament member Manouchehr Mottaki — who was Iran’s top diplomat for five years in the 2000s warned of a swift reaction to any move to trigger the snapback mechanism.

He said the Iranian parliament has a “finger on the trigger” for quitting the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, or NPT, the international treaty aimed at halting the spread of nuclear weapons. “We only need 24 hours to approve quitting the nuclear deal,” if the E3 raises the issue at the U.N. Security Council, Mottaki said.

The letter from the E3 comes following a period of apparent diplomatic deadlock after a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, where Israeli and American jets struck some key nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic.

The countries met with Iranian officials last month in Turkey at Iran’s consulate building in Istanbul on the possibility of reimposing international sanctions, lifted in 2015 in exchange for Tehran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said at the time that he hoped that the meeting would see the E3 nations reassess their “previous unconstructive attitude.”

Talks with Washington for a new nuclear deal haven’t resumed, and Iran has since suspended ties with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, following the attacks. The IAEA’s first visit to Iran since the

Judge concludes hearing on ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

BY DAVID FISCHER Associated Press

MIAMI The fate of a makeshift immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” hung in the balance on Wednesday as a federal judge considered whether building on sensitive wetlands violated environmental laws.

Last week, U.S District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered a 14-day halt on additional construction at the site while witnesses testified at a hearing, part of a lawsuit seeking to halt operations and further construction. The temporary order doesn’t include any restrictions on law enforcement or immigration enforcement activity The judge concluded a multiday hearing on Wednesday without making an immediate decision on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.

Environmental groups and a Native American tribe have sued over the facility, saying it was hastily set up without the environmental impact considerations needed for all federal projects, even though it deals with immigration, a federal matter

“It just flies in the face of what NEPA requires,” said Paul Schwiep, an attorney for the environmental groups, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act.

Florida and the Trump administration argue that the state is building and oper-

ating the detention center so those rules about an environmental review don’t apply Adam Gustafson, an attorney for the federal government, said during the hearing’s closing arguments Wednesday that the federal government only plays an advisory role at the facility

The judge last week said the center was, at a minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government.

The first phase of “Alligator Alcatraz” opened in July atop a lightly used, singlerunway training airport. Less than 1,000 detainees were being held there as of last week, and it’s designed to eventually hold up to 3,000 people.

Inside the compound’s large white tents, rows of bunk beds are surrounded by chain-link cages People held there say worms turn up in the food, toilets don’t flush and flood floors with fecal waste, while mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere. At times the air conditioners abruptly shut off in the sweltering heat. Detainees are said to go days without showering or getting prescription medicine, and can only speak to lawyers and loved ones by phone.

Gov Ron DeSantis has said the location in the Everglades was meant as a deterrent against escape, much like the island prison in California that Republicans named it after The detention center has an estimated annual cost of $450 million, according to a public database.

Texas couple found guilty of concealing, harboring bakery workers in U.S. illegally

BY VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press

Two South Texas bakery owners are guilty of concealing and harboring employees in the U.S. illegally, a jury found Wednesday afternoon following a trial that only lasted three days.

Leonardo Baez and Nora Avila-Guel, a Mexican couple who have legal permanent residence in the U.S., were charged after being arrested at their bakery along with eight employees in February.

It’s a rare case in which business owners are charged with criminal offenses rather than just a fine.

Six of the employees had visitor visas, and two were in the country illegally None had permission to work in the U.S. Employees lived in a room with six beds and shared two bathrooms in the same

building as the bakery, according to the federal affidavit.

Baex and Avila-Guel were tried this week in Brownsville, a border city about a 20-minute drive southeast of their Los Fresnos bakery The jury heard from five government witnesses, including an agent who was present during the raid. The defense presented no witnesses.

Videos of the interviews with the two employees in the country without visas or work authorization were played. Both employees said they were not held against their will and were compensated for their work, according to local reporting.

Baez’s attorney, Sergio Luis Villarreal, called the verdict “heartbreaking.”

“We were arguing the lack of concealment, the lack of covertness in all this,” Villarreal said. “I mean, there was no exploitation, no abuse.”

war didn’t entail any visits to nuclear facilities Monday, and cooperation wasn’t officially restored. One of the three countries opting to trigger the snapback mechanism would renew sanctions on Iran, but Tehran renewing cooperation with the Vienna-based IAEA and addressing concerns about its highlyenriched uranium stockpile would delay it, according to a diplomat who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity following July’s meeting in Istanbul. German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Josef Hinterseher on Wednesday said that the letter “once again underlines that the legal preconditions for snapback have long existed.”

U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA had assessed Iran last had an organized nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Appeals court lets administration end foreign aid

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON A divided panel of appeals court judges ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration can suspend or terminate billions of dollars of congressionally appropriated funding for foreign aid.

Two of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that grant recipients challenging the freeze did not meet the requirements for a preliminary injunction restoring the flow of money In January on the first day of his second term in the White House, Republican President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the State Department and the U.S Agency for International Development to freeze spending on foreign aid.

Judge Florence Pan, who dissented, said the Supreme Court has held “in no uncertain terms” that the president does not have the authority to disobey laws for policy reasons. The money at issue includes nearly $4 billion for USAID to spend on global health programs and more than $6 billion for HIV and AIDS programs. Trump has portrayed the foreign aid as wasteful spending.

After groups of grant recipients sued to challenge that order, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the administration to release the full amount of foreign assistance that Congress had appropriated for the 2024 budget year The appeal court’s majority partially vacated Ali’s order Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson and Gregory Katsas concluded that the plaintiffs did not have a valid legal basis for the court to hear their claims. The ruling was not on the merits of whether the government unconstitutionally infringed on Congress’ spending powers.

Plan forhomelesspeopleinD.C.unclear

BY MEG KINNARD Associated Press

President Donald Trump says homelesspeopleinthe nation’s capital willbemoved far from the city as part of his federal takeover of policing in the DistrictofColumbia and crackdown on crime.

With his exact plansunclear, there is concern among advocates and others who say there arebetter ways to addressthe issueof homelessness than clearing encampments, as the Republican administration haspledged to do Howmanyare there?

It is difficult to obtain accurate counts of homeless populations.

On one day at the end of each January,municipal agencies across theUnited Statesperform what is calleda“point-in-time” countaimedatcapturing thetotal number of people in emergency shelters, transitional housing or without anyhousing.

The 2025countinthe district put the total at 5,138 adults and

children,a9%decreasecompared with theyear before, accordingto Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser Wherewilltheybetaken?

It’snot entirely clear Trumpwrote on his social media

sitebefore Monday’snews conference announcing the takeover that “The homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay,but FARfrom the Capital.”

Asked during amedia briefing

at theWhiteHouse on Tuesday where homeless people would be relocated, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said local police and federal agencies would “enforce the laws that arealreadyonthe books,” which, she said, “have been completelyignored.”

Citing acity regulation that she said gives local police “the authority to takeaction when it comes to homeless encampments,” Leavitt said homeless people “will be given the option to leave theirencampment, to be taken to ahomelessshelter,tobeofferedaddiction or mental health services.”Those whorefuse “will be susceptible to fines or tojail time.”

What arecityofficialsdoing?

Kevin Donahue, thecityadministrator,said outreach workers were visitinghomeless encampments and that the city has abuilding available that could house as manyas200 people, if needed.

Donahue made the comments during aconversation with community advocates andBowser.The

conversation was broadcast on X.

What arepeopleinD.C.saying?

Washington residents emphasized reductions in crime in recent years and concerns over the removal of homeless encampments in interviews Tuesday criticizing the federal takeover of the city’s police department.

Sheiena Taylor,36, said she is morefearful as aresult of the presence of federalforces in the city where she was born and raised.

“Being homeless isn’tacrime,” shesaid, emphasizing theneed forsolutions to the root causes of homelessness or crimerather than policing.

In several spots across the city, AP journalists talkedtohomeless people whowere being told either by federal law enforcement officials or advocacy groups to pack up tents and belongings from parks and other public spaces before more formal removal measures. Some expressed fear and anxiety about what might be coming.

Trumpnames KennedyCenterhonorees,sayshe’ll

Presidenttakes over role from committee

BY ANNIE MA and HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press

lin andStephen Sondheim.

Trump saidWednesday that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing thehonorees and conferred with such handpicked Kennedy Center officials as Ric Grenell and Sergio Gor.Hesaid he “turned down plenty” of names, saying those individuals were “too woke” or too liberal. He described theartists he announced Wednesday as “great people” and quipped upon unveiling an image of the73-year-old Strait: “Good looking guy.Ihope he still looks that way.”

NOTICE OF PUBLICHEARING

In compliance with LA 39:1307, theCityofBaker School Boardwillholda public hearingprior to the considerationofadoptionofthe2025-2026General FundandSpecialRevenueFundsBudgets. Thepublichearingwillbeheldinconjunctionwiththeregularscheduled boardmeeting on Tuesday, September 2,2025at6:00p.m.intheBoardRoomoftheCityof BakerSchoolBoard Office 14750Plank Road,Baker, Louisiana70714

WASHINGTON As thenew chairman of the Kennedy Center,PresidentDonald Trump added ahighly personal stamp to this year’s announcement of the recipients of the annual honors, whom he named as country music star George Strait, “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor, the rock band Kiss and actorsinger Michael Crawford. Instead of the Kennedy Center revealing the names through a news release as usual, Trump announced the honorees himself during a We dnesday news conference at the site, where he was flanked by American flags and photo stands for each of the entertainers that were initially covered by red drapes. Unlike in his first term, when he didn’t even attend the honors ceremony,heannounced that he would be hosting it later this year and that he had been deeply involved withthe selection process. He also suggested he mightchoose himself for afuture award. The spectacle markeda new era for the John F. Kennedy Center for the PerformingArts,which Trump has taken over by installing himself as chair and replacing the board of trustees with loyalists. He has even hinted he’d like to see the venue renamed the Trump/ Kennedy Center Trump has made revamping the Kennedy Center— and what he callsits “woke” agenda —the center of an ongoing push to overhaul such cultural institutions as the National Endowment of the Humanities and the Smithsonian museums. The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 and have been given to a broadrange of artists. Until Trump’sfirst term, presidentsofbothmajorpolitical parties traditionally attended the annual ceremony, even when they disagreed politically with agiven re-

Paul Stanley, were named KennedyCenter honorees Wednesday.

cipient.

Prominent liberals suchas Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty were honored during the administration of Republican George W. Bush, and aleading conservative, Charlton Heston,was feted during theadministration of Democrat Bill Clinton. At least some of this year’s winnershave ahistory of backing Trump. Stallone is aprominent supporter who has called Trump “the secondGeorgeWashington” and was named by the president,alongwithJon Voight and MelGibson,as aHollywood special ambassador.FoundingKiss memberAce Frehley endorsed Trump in 2020, calling him “thestrongest leaderwe’ve got.” Meanwhile,fellowKiss musician Paul Stanleyhas often criticizedthe Republican president, notably his resistance to accepting his electionlossto Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

The KennedyCenter informshonorees in advance, andall four original Kiss performers, who also includeGeneSimmons and Peter Criss, issued statements through aband publicist

“The prestige of theKennedy Center Honors cannot be overstated and Iaccept this on behalfofthe long legacy of Kiss and allofthe

band members who helped create our iconic band,” Stanley said. Kiss and the other nominees havehad substantial, even iconic, careers. Stallone’s portrayals of the underdog boxer RockyBalboa and Vietnam veteran John J. Ramboare fixtures in popularculture.Strait’sdozensof chart-topping hits, including “Check YesorNo” and “I CrossMyHeart,” have led to hisnickname theKingof Country Music. Few bands have sold more records or more famously covered their faces in makeup than Kiss, membersofthe Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Crawford is acelebrated stageactor who won aTony for his starring role in “The Phantomof the Opera,” andGaynorisa leading star from the 1970s disco era whose“IWill Survive” is afeminist anthem. Breaking with tradition, none of the honorees was from the fields of dance, jazz or classical music.

This year’sKennedy CenterHonorsceremony will takeplace on Dec. 7and will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Historically,a bipartisan advisory committee selects the recipients, who over theyears have ranged from George Balanchine and Tom Hanks to Aretha Frank-

Besidesnaming himself chairman andremakingthe board, Trump has indicated he’d take over decisions regarding programming at thecenter and vowed to end events featuring performers in drag. In choosing himself as the hostofDecember’s gathering, he takes on arole once filledbyCaroline Kennedy,daughter of the late

ThebudgetwillbeavailableforpublicinspectionbeginningThursday,August14,2025throughTuesday, September2,2025atthe City of BakerSchoolBoard Office

In compliance with theAmericans with Disabilities Act, individualsneeding specialaccommodations during this meetingshouldnotifyCatrina Blackmore,AdministrativeAssistant,atleast threeworkingdayspriortothemeetingat(225)774-5795.

Trumpwarns Putinahead of Alaska summit

Presidentthreatens ‘severeconsequences’ if warisn’t stopped

BY GEIR MOULSON and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

BERLIN President Donald Trump

warned Wednesday that there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stopthe war against Ukraine afterthe two leaders meet for asummit later this week in Alaska.

Trump made the comment in response to aquestion from areporter after announcing this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients in Washington. He did notsay what the consequences might be.

The remark came soon after Trump consulted with European leaders, who said the presidentassured them he would make apriority of trying to achieve aceasefire in Ukraine when he speaks with

Putin on Friday in Anchorage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joinedseveral of Kyiv’s main allies in thevirtualmeeting with theU.S. leader, and Zelenskyy toldthe group that Putin “isbluffing” ahead of the planned summit about Russia’sability to occupy all of Ukraineand shake off sanctions.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merzsaid afterwardthat“important decisions” couldbemadein Alaska, but he stressed that “fundamental European and Ukrainian securityinterestsmustbeprotected.”

Merz convened Wednesday’s meeting in an attempt to make sure European and Ukrainian leaders are heard ahead of the summit.

He stressed thataceasefire must comeatthe beginning of negotiations.Hetoldreportersthat Trump “also wants to makethis one of his priorities”inthe meeting with Putin.

At aseparate appearance in France, French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump “was very clear” that the U.S. wants to achieveaceasefire at the summit.

PresidentDonald

at the KennedyCenter on Wednesday.

Following Friday’ssummit,Macron added, Trump will “seek a future trilateral meeting” —one involving Trump, Putinand Zelenskyy.Hesaid he hoped that it could be held in Europe “in aneutral country that is acceptable to all parties.”

Merz, whodescribed Wednesday’sconversation as “constructiveand good,”said theEuropeans madeclear that “Ukraine must sit at the tableassoonasthere are

follow-up meetings.”

European allies have pushed forUkraine’sinvolvementinany peacetalks, fearful that discussions that exclude Kyiv could otherwise favor Moscow

TheUkrainianpresident, who traveled to Berlin to join the meeting alongside Merz, has repeatedly castdoubt on whether Putin would negotiate in good faith. He said Wednesday that he hopedan immediate ceasefire will be “the central topic” in Alaska, butalso arguedthat Putin“definitelydoes not want peace.”

Zelenskyy said Putin “is trying to apply pressure on all sectors of theUkrainian front” in an attempt to show that Russiais“capable of occupying all of Ukraine.” Putin is also bluffing that sanctions “do not matter to him andare ineffective,” he added. “Inreality,sanctions are very helpful andare hitting Russia’swar economy hard.”

Trumphas said he wantstosee whether Putin is serious about ending thewar,now in its fourth year, describing Friday’ssummit as “a

feel-out meeting” where he can assess theRussian leader’sintentions. YetTrump has disappointed alliesinEurope by saying Ukraine will have to give up someRussianheld territory.Hehas also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender Trump on Monday ducked repeated chances to say that he would push for Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin, and the president wasdismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of an effort to seek peace. Trumpsaid that followingFriday’ssummit, ameeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could be arranged, or that it could also be ameeting with “Putin and Zelenskyy and me.”

The Europeans and Ukraine are warythat Putin, whohas waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia’senergy might to try to intimidate the European Union, might secure favorableconcessions andset theoutlines of apeace deal without them.

backing, includingfrom Gov. Jeff Landry.Entergy,the state’slargest utility,has argued throughout the monthslong process that the new plants are in the publicinterest It also notes that commission rulesallow theregulatorsto consider the request before the judge’srecommendation or at any other time during aproceeding.

“At this time, the parties have issued in excess of 1,000discovery requests, extensive testimony has been filed, and there was amultiday hearing on the company’s application,”Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardigli said. “The remaining procedural steps do not present an opportunityfor additional questioningorevidence, and all parties have hada fulland complete opportunity to present their case to the commission.”

The commission meeting will be held in the city of Plaquemine, part of the panel’s practice of regularly traveling outside Baton Rouge.

In July,anadministrativejudge oversaw ahearinginto whether theutility’s planserved thepublic interest —part of usual commission procedures. But the hearing is only meant to be informational, with thecommission not required to wait onthe judge or even to abidebythe recommendations.

After the three-day hearing, the variousgroupswould typically file briefs and the judge wouldeventually issue alegal opinion. Burke described the process as being “stomped in its tracks.”

CommissionerDavanteLewis has previously raised concerns over thefast-tracked timeline, but said this week thathewouldn’t describe the moved-up voteasimproper since the issues have been thoroughly debated.The process has also resulted in some agreementsbeingreached

Beforethe July hearing, anumberofgroupsthat wereintervening in the case came to an agreement with theutility.These groups includethe Southern Renewable EnergyAssociation, the Sierra Club,Walmart andthe staff of the commission who help advisethe

regulators. Those agreements includedadditionalcommitments on renewable energy, though these are not legally binding.

The advocacy groups and thecoalition of industrial companies— representing the smallest and the largest Entergy customers —are the only ones still actively opposing the case.

Metaannounced itsplans last December to build a$10 billion AI data center on asiteinRichland Parish.Entergy wants to build the three newgas plants as well as other transmission infrastructure, at acost of over $5 billion, to power thecenter

The facilityneeds unprecedented amountsofpower —at least 2,600 megawatts, morethan double thepeak demand that New Orleansrequired during thecity’s hottestsummer

The tech company also has plans to scale up thedata center to around double thatenergy capacity,and expand the site to rivalthe size of Manhattan, according to aJuly social media post by Meta CEOMark Zuckerberg.

In publicly filed documents, En-

tergy says the tech giant will cover thecosts of the three power plants for 15 years. But the oiland gascompanies and the advocacy groups are concerned with Meta’s15-year contract withEntergy,a deal that is hidden from public view,citing proprietary information. They’ve noted that the gas plants can last between 30 and45years, far longer than Meta’scommitment to pay

Other new costs linked to the datacenter —including fuel for theplantsand a$550milliontransmission line —will not be covered by Meta, andare therefore shared by all of Entergy Louisiana’scustomers.

Entergy says that if Meta decidestoleaveafter the15-year term,older plants in the utility’s system can be phased out in favor of the newer,more efficient ones.

It is widely expected that the regulators will approve Entergy’s request. Twocommissioners have already voiced their support.

“I’m for it 1,000%,” saidCommissioner Foster Campbell, who represents utility customers in

the area where the data centeris being built. “It’sapart of the state thatdoesn’tget alot of attention. These are good-paying jobs. I’m all forit.”

Other state officials, including Landry,have similarly welcomed the data center as aboon for growth. It is expected to bring at least 300 permanent jobs and 5,000 at-peak construction jobs, thought it is unclear if these roles will be filled by locals. Lewis said he has not made up his mind on howhewill vote,as he’s still reviewing andmeeting with involved parties.

“I stillthink therewas alack of transparency,” he said,noting questions around job creation and the projected energy usage of the facility

“Wehave never been asked to approve autility building something so big forsolely one customer.We didn’ttake the steps that other states took where they created rules around how they will evaluate data centers, what requirements would that application have to have if autility brought adata center online or onto the grid.”

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street rises higher after worldwide rally

NEW YORK U.S. stocks ticked higher on Wednesday after a rally spurred by hopes for lower U.S interest rates wrapped around the world.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 463 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to its own record set the day before.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market as expectations reached a virtual consensus that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in September Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment, though they risk worsening inflation.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies that could benefit most from lower interest rates helped lead the way PulteGroup climbed 5.4%, and Lennar rose 5.2% as part of a broad rally for homebuilders and others in the housing industry Lower rates could make mortgages cheaper to get, which could spur more buying. Brinker International rose 1.6% after becoming the latest to report stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected Gildan to purchase HanesBrands for $2.2B

Gildan Activewear is buying the struggling HanesBrands for $2.2 billion in a deal that gives the basic apparel maker access to household name brands like Hanes and Maidenform. The companies put the transaction’s value at about $4.4 billion when HanesBrands’ debt is included.

Gildan, in addition to its namesake brand, also makes American Apparel and Peds. HanesBrands’ sales have fallen for three consecutive years and it hasn’t turned an annual profit since 2021.

The North Carolina company sold its Champion brand last year to Authentic Brands Group for more than $1 billion HanesBrands shareholders will receive 0.102 common shares of Gildan and 80 cents in cash for each share of HanesBrands common stock They will own about 19.9% of Gildan stock once the deal closes.

Bessent sees chip deals as model

Treasury Secretary Scott

Bessent said the recent deal to allow Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to resume lower-end artificial intelligence chip sales to China, on the condition they give the U.S. government a 15% cut of the related revenue, could serve as a model for others.

“I think we could see it in other industries over time,” Bessent said Wednesday in a television interview on Bloomberg Surveillance. “Right now, this is unique, but now that we have the model and the beta test, why not expand it?”

Bessent credited President Donald Trump with the “very unique solution” of allowing Nvidia to expand in China and become a bellwether for Chinese technology, with the U.S. taxpayer getting “a share of” the reward. The revenue the Treasury receives from the arrangement will go to pay down debt, he said.

“If we could make a substantial debt” repayment, that would then allow for discussions about a program of sending money to taxpayers, he also said. On Tuesday, Bessent said that he’d be meeting again with his Chinese counterparts “within the next two or three months,” speaking on Fox Business He dismissed the possibility of China emulating other U.S. trading partners in winning tariff relief in return for boosting investments in the U.S.

Amazon expands grocery delivery

bers, with plans to reach over 2,300 cities and towns by year-end.

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK Amazon is now rolling out a service where its Prime members can order their blueberries and milk at the same time as basic items like batteries and T-shirts and get them within hours.

The online juggernaut said Wednesday that customers in more than 1,000 cities and towns including Raleigh, North Carolina; Milwaukee; and Columbus, Ohio, now have access to fresh groceries with its free same-day delivery service on orders over $25 for Prime mem-

Amazon called the move “one of the most significant grocery expansions” for the online retailer as it introduces thousands of perishable items into its existing logistics network. The expansion is expected to put pressure on grocery delivery services offered by such rivals as Walmart, Kroger and Target, which all saw their shares take a hit in trading Wednesday Amazon’s shares rose 1%.

through Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market. Prime members pay $14.99 monthly or $139 annually

Amazon launched its Prime membership in 2005 and it has become the gold standard for subscription services with a slew of perks including unlimited streaming with Prime Video and discounts at Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh.

Walmart, which launched its membership program called Walmart+ in 2020, has been racing to add more benefits. It costs $12.95 per month or $98 per year Depending on members’ location and availability, Walmart members can schedule same-day delivery for their groceries, including perishables.

customers can order milk alongside electronics; oranges, apples, and potatoes with a mystery novel; and frozen pizza at the same time as tools for their next home improvement project and check out with one cart and have everything delivered to their doorstep within hours.

Amazon noted that many of its customers were first-time Amazon grocery shoppers who now return to shop twice as often with the same-day delivery service compared to those who didn’t purchase food. It also noted that based on early sales, strawberries now regularly knock AirPods out of the top five best sellers of all products sold, while bananas, Honeycrisp apples, limes and avocados round out the top 10 best-selling perishable grocery items. Same-day service being offered to Prime members

Amazon said that if an order doesn’t meet the minimum, members can still choose same-day delivery for a $2.99 fee. For customers without a Prime membership, the service is available with a $12.99 fee, regardless of order In the past, Prime subscribers’ grocery orders were fulfilled

Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, noted that

GE Appliances investing $3B in additional U.S. production

Work in China, Mexico to move to domestic plants

BY BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press

LOUISVILLE,Ky.—

GE Appliances plans to shift production of refrigerators, gas ranges and water heaters out of China and Mexico as part of a more than $3 billion investment to expand its U.S. operations in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina.

The investment — the second-largest in the Louisville-based company’s history — is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs while ramping up domestic production and modernizing plants in the next five years.

“Our long-term strategy is about manufacturing close to our customers,” said CEO Kevin Nolan. “With lean manufacturing, upskilling our workforce and automation, the math works for manufacturing in the United States.”

The majority of GE Appliances’ production is already in the U.S. and the shift means only that the company will transfer more work to its domestic plants.

GE Appliances will relocate production of gas ranges from Mexico to a plant in Georgia, while six refrigerator models now made in China will be manufactured at its Alabama plant, the company said.

In June, the company said it would move production of clothes washers from China to its sprawling manufacturing complex in Louisville The reshoring announcements come as President Donald Trump tries to lure factories back to the United States by imposing import taxes — tariffs — on foreign goods.

GE Appliances said Wednesday that the first phase of its new investment will begin at plants in five Southern states — Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.

“We are defining the future of manufacturing at GE Appliances by investing in our plants, people and communities,” Nolan said “No other appliance company over the last decade has invested more in U.S. manufacturing than we have, and our $3 billion, five-year plan shows that our commitment to U.S manufacturing will continue into the future.”

The multiyear plan includes ramping up production of gas ranges that have been made in Mexico but will shift to the company’s plant in LaFayette, Georgia, the company said Production of six refrigerators

now made in China will move to its plant in Decatur, Alabama.

The GE Appliances plant in Camden, South Carolina, will add production of electric and hybrid heat pump water heaters, doubling the factory’s output and employment once the project is complete, the company said. The plant now produces gas water heaters. Production of the company’s electric and hybrid water heaters — now made in China will shift to South Carolina. In Selmer, Tennessee, its plant will produce two new models of air conditioners.

The latest investment includes the June announcement that GE Appliances will

pump $490 million into its Kentucky complex to produce a combo washer/dryer and a lineup of front load washers that are now made in China.

In all, production of more than 15 models of front load washers will shift to the company’s Louisville complex — known as Appliance Park, it said.

Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear said Wednesday that the investment shows his state’s ability to support world-class companies with a skilled workforce and the resources needed to thrive.

“GE Appliances has established Kentucky as America’s destination for advanced manufacturing and job creation, and today’s news shows this iconic company’s unwavering belief in the commonwealth and the role we play in their success,” Beshear said.

GE Appliances handles product design and engineering work at its Louisville headquarters but doesn’t make all of its products in the U.S. It contracts with other manufacturers including in China, for some of its production where it doesn’t have capacity or needs access to a global supply chain. The company said its core business strategy is to base production in the United States, and investments announced in June and on Wednesday are another step toward achieving that goal.

GE Appliances is a subsidiary of the Chinabased Haier company

Nike Georges named president of Georges Enterprises

CEO John Georges says move marks rise of ‘next generation’

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Georges Enterprises, the Louisiana-based parent company of food distributor Imperial Trading Co. and other diverse businesses in media gaming and real estate, has named Nike Georges as its new president, marking the rise of a new generation into the leadership of the family-owned company run by CEO John Georges. Nike Georges, 28, will be respon-

Nike Georges

sible for driving the Elmwood company’s growth strategies and leading business development initiatives. In addition to Imperial Trading, which supplies food and other products to more than 5,000 convenience stores across 21 states, Georges Enterprises serves as the parent company of AMA Distributors and Georges Media Group, which owns The Times-Picayune, The Advocate, The Acadiana Advocate, The Shreveport-Bossier Advocate and Gambit.

“There comes a point when it’s time for the next generation,” said John Georges, who will continue in his current role with the company “Nike has been with the company for six years. He’s ready.” John Georges was 30 when he became president of Imperial Trading, which was founded by his grandfather Gus Pelias in 1916. In the four decades since, the company has grown into a diversified enterprise with more than $3 billion in annual sales and 2,500 employees.

In an interview Wednesday, he said he wanted to begin the process of passing the torch.

“It’s an important benchmark for the company,” he said.

Nike Georges joined the com-

pany in 2019 after graduating from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and leadership. In the years since, he worked in management at Imperial Trading under its president, Wayne Baquet, and played a key role in the design and implementation of an automated storage, retrieval and picking system at Imperial’s Bossier City Distribution Center “It’s an honor,” said Nike Georges, who plans to focus initially on enhancing Imperial’s competitive position. “We are looking to make good investments in the state to help us be competitive on a national level, because we are competing with big national distributors.”

the domiciliary parent, and he cared for the boys while Sharlene Desormeaux worked as a travel nurse in Los Angeles.

But there were warning signs that the custody order was not being followed.

One example was in April 2022, when Sharlene Desormeaux took the boys to Los Angeles without communicating with Chase Desormeaux, court records say She left their Lake Charles home with the boys and would not communicate with him about bringing their sons to school and day care, according to an affidavit filed by Chase Desormeaux.

“This case presents some very strange happenings in the past few months, many pleadings/arguments related to those strange happenings, and more procedural interplay than a normal custody case typically involves,” a hearing officer wrote in an August 2022 court filing. “At present, the minor children are in California. They should not be.”

The next year, in a letter to the court Sharlene Desormeaux said she was a victim of abuse at the hands of Chase Desormeaux. She described shoving, stalking, psychological abuse and emotional abuse in a petition asking for a protective order.

“I am in extreme fear for mine and my children’s safety,” she wrote. “He is unpredictable.”

Sharlene Desormeaux did not agree to be interviewed for this story after several attempts to reach her Chase Desormeaux denied the allegations against him, and the court did not grant her a temporary restraining order

By the end of 2023, their di-

COUNCIL

Continued from page 1A

vorce was finalized and their custody arrangement was evenly split between them, with the kids switching between their homes every week.

The warning signs continued:

Sharlene Desormeaux often did not show up with the boys when it was time for them to switch homes, and they would sometimes miss school and day care when their dad was set to pick them up to begin his week of custody, court records say In June 2024, Sharlene Desormeaux received permission to bring the boys to Texas for a family event. She missed her custody drop-off afterward. But this time, they did not return after a few days as usual. Both she and his sons were missing.

Chase Desormeaux immediately asked in court to be granted full custody, but District Judge Mitchell Redd of the 14th Judicial District Court denied his initial requests.

By November, five months after the boys had gone missing, Redd granted him full, permanent custody of their sons.

Redd also issued an arrest warrant for Sharlene Desormeaux, saying she was in contempt for missing multiple court dates and cutting off communication with her ex-husband.

The judge’s Nov 18, 2024, order instructed any officer who found the children to take custody of them and to return them to Chase Desormeaux Attempts to find the boys ramped up.

Nicholas Roselli, a senior inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, said deputies with his New Orleans office looked for Sharlene Desormeaux in the Houston area because she had family connections there.

“Even though we’re trying to

“When you’re in hiding, you don’t go outside and play at the playground because you’re worried that people might spot you. So you’re living a life of isolation. Think about all the things that are normal for children — to see a doctor, to play outside. None of that happens when you are living a life on the run, and those are the things that people don’t think about.”

ANGELINE HARTMANN spokesperson for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

find these kids, we don’t know her reaction,” Roselli said.

In the meantime, their plight hit national airwaves on the Reelz network in segments on March 1 and March 7.

Sharlene Desormeaux agreed by phone to turn herself in to the police on March 28, but investigators said she didn’t show up. Three days later, she showed up at Houston Methodist Hospital in the middle of the night with her sons.

“She went there to soften the blow,” Roselli said. “Maybe she didn’t want to take her kids to the jail. That was her way of turning herself in.”

Chase Desormeaux soon got the call: The boys were OK and at the hospital

He jumped into his truck and made the three-hour trek to Houston. As he waited for hospital staff to verify his identity, he heard Colton’s voice for the first time in nine months.

“My son just hollered, ‘Dad!’ and he ran up to me and jumped in my arms,” Desormeaux said. “And then my other son heard him and ran to me as well. It was a very emotional moment.”

Chase Desormeaux remembers noticing how much their facial features had changed in just a few months and how overgrown their hair was.

“They were in hiding,” Chase Desormeaux said. “She wasn’t

bringing them to get haircuts and things like that.”

With the boys back in Lake Charles with their dad, Sharlene Desormeaux was sentenced in late April to serve 90 days in the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center She was also ordered to pay a $500 fine and held in contempt of court for violating the custody agreement and missing court dates. She was released from jail July

6.

Her attorney, Wilford Carter

Sr., said she ensured the boys received good care while they were away

Carter said S harlen e Desormeaux, who has had multiple attorneys through the custody battle, was not properly notified of court dates last fall. Carter did not represent her until the most recent hearing in April.

“I’ve done everything possible to make sure she got a day in court,” Carter said. “She never got her day in court.”

When children go missing at the hands of an unknown perpetrator, the news typically spreads far and wide. It’s often much quieter when children go missing with a family member, especially their own mother

“One of the biggest challenges is that there is a misconception that because a child is with their parent, that the child is safe,” said Angeline Hartmann, spokes-

person for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

“There are a lot of assumptions that happen. We ask people not to make assumptions. Once children are declared missing, no matter what the circumstances, they need your help.”

Law enforcement, media outlets and other organizations can be slower to publicize family abduction cases, Hartmann said, but it’s still critical to act quickly

“There can be high emotion involved when we’re talking about family abductions,” Hartmann said. “And that emotion, that intensity can be dangerous. It can lead to things that people normally wouldn’t do.”

Chase Desormeaux said the boys have been opening up since returning to Lake Charles. They are also attending counseling sessions to help process everything.

While away, Chase Desormeaux said the boys believed their home had been destroyed by a hurricane — something that might have seemed like a real possibility to them after Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles in 2020.

They also shared that they would hide in a closet any time someone knocked on the door of their aunt’s Houston home where they were staying.

“When you’re in hiding, you don’t go outside and play at the playground because you’re worried that people might spot you,” Hartmann said. “So you’re living a life of isolation. Think about all the things that are normal for children — to see a doctor, to play outside None of that happens when you are living a life on the run, and those are the things that people don’t think about.”

Email Megan Wyatt at mwyatt@ theadvocate.com.

Gaudet said the law came as a result of his Gardere constituents complaining about a vape store that opened across the street from Hartley/Vey park a popular afterschool gathering place for chil-

in newly prohibited areas to remain open. However, it is unclear whether owners of current vape shops would be permitted to sell their businesses to another vape or tobacco-related retailer The motion still passed, but the authors agreed to make future amendments to clarify the language.

dren and families. As the number of teens vaping has jumped in recent years, public health studies have found vape stores are disproportionately located next to colleges and in neighborhoods where socially disadvantaged youth live A 2023 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-

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vention found that 25% of high schoolers in Louisiana reported regularly using vapes, tied for the third-highest rate in the nation.

“This vaping is real, and it’s running rampant in our schools,” Coleman said. “And the children can just walk across the street and get a vape.”

Gaudet said he is also exploring regulating advertisements for vape products near schools and similar areas. The city-parish’s Department of Development will enforce the new rule.

Email Aidan McCahill ataidan. mccahill@theadvocate.com.

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killed by fallen tree in heavy Tenn. rains

BY JONATHAN MATTISE and SARAH BRUMFIELD Associated Press

CHATTANOOGA,Tenn. — A mother father and child were killed when a tree fell on their car during heavy rain and flooding in Tennessee, where submerged roads also led to dramatic rescues of people trapped in their cars, authorities said Wednesday

The three were killed when saturated ground caused a large tree to fall in the Chattanooga suburb of East Ridge just after midnight, Hamilton County Of-

fice of Emergency Management spokesperson Amy Maxwell said.

Additionally, a body was found when authorities were searching for a man who was swept away when he ran past

firefighters and a barricade that blocked a flooded road Tuesday, according to the Chattanooga Fire Department. The local police and medical examiner will determine the cause of death

The flooding prompted

BY SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press

CHICAGO Five Chicago police officers from a tactical unit who fired their guns nearly 100 times during a 2024 traffic stop that killed a 26-year-old man won’t face criminal charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday “The decision is not reached lightly nor does it diminish the tragedy that occurred,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said at a news conference. “But to the question of whether the officers committed a crime under the Illinois Criminal Code, the answer is straightforward: They did not.” The shooting that killed

rescues of people stuck in homes and swamped vehicles. Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp declared a local state of emergency Tuesday night. Residents were urged to exercise extreme caution At a news conference Wednesday, officials said they didn’t expect so much rain and flooding to hit so quickly

have to go in to get her

Dexter Reed, a Black man, raised questions about the use of force and the role of tactical officers who were involved. The officers were dressed in plainclothes and drove unmarked cars as they surrounded Reed’s SUV on March 21, 2024. Reed fired first, which Burke said was part of the “clear and overwhelming evidence” that led her to decide against pursuing charges. One officer was injured. Burke said Reed fired 11 rounds in two bursts with a gun he obtained illegally The officers shot back 96 times, even after Reed left the vehicle, fell to the ground and lay motionless One officer alone fired 50 shots. Reed was hit 13 times,

At one point, there were 60 vehicles on the flooded interstate, said Chris Adams, director of emergency management for Hamilton County Some first responders were carrying people on their backs who couldn’t move well through the water, and dropped them off on the raised divider in the middle of the highway, Adams added.

including on his legs and chest, according to the Cook County medical examiner

The shooting and Reed’s death happened within roughly one minute.

Initially police said officers had pulled Reed over for not wearing a seat belt. Later city attorneys said it was due to illegally tinted windows.

Reed’s family alleged that the officers didn’t properly identify themselves as police during the West Side traffic stop; lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Reed; escalated the situation by immediately drawing guns, blocking his vehicle and shouting profanity-laced commands; and failed to provide timely medical care.

“We all know to ‘turn around, not drown,’ but when you look at it and it’s 2 inches deep, and then next thing you know it’s 4 feet deep, that’s something you’ve never seen before,”

Adams said. There were so many calls for help that 911 calls were “holding in every minute of every hour for about three hours straight,” with a more than 940 calls between 6 p.m. and midnight, said Barbara Loveless, director of operations for Hamilton County 911. Troy Plemons, a communications systems technician for EPB, Chattanooga’s electricity and telecommunications utility, said he was stuck in traffic on an interstate in his bucket truck for two to three hours on Tuesday evening when the area started to flood quickly Then Plemons said he saw the water pick up an SUV, and when he and two Lawson Electric workers encouraged a woman inside to get out, she threw up her hands like she didn’t know if she could. Plemons moved to the bed of a truck next to him to try to get closer to the woman, but the water was getting up to her chest and he said he realized someone was going to

“I didn’t think there was any time,” he said. “I tried my best.”

Plemons said the water was reaching neck level for the woman in the SUV when he used a boring bit offered by the Lawson Electric workers to break the window and helped the woman get out.

“It was a rush for sure. I felt like I was pretty calm until I broke the window,” Plemons said. “I was doing everything I could to get her out because the water was rising pretty quick.” He helped the woman to the road and she sat down in his vehicle to warm up for a while. There were several rescues of people whose cars were overwhelmed by water in the area until the water receded about two to three hours later and traffic began to move again, Plemons said.

“I felt like I was there at the right time,” he said. “I’m thankful I was there to help that lady.”

Man who livestreamed killings pleads guilty

BY ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press

— A Tennessee man avoid-

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

ed a trial and possible death sentence by pleading guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting three people and wounding three others in a daylong series of shootings that was livestreamed on social media in 2022.

Ezekiel Kelly, 22, pleaded guilty to firstdegree murder and two dozen other charges in a Memphis courtroom. Shelby County Judge James Jones Jr sentenced Kelly to three life sentences without parole, plus 221 years, in a deal with prosecutors.

Kelly had pleaded not guilty in the shooting rampage in Memphis that led to a citywide shelter-in-place order He took the stand during Wednesday’s hearing, telling the judge he agreed to plead guilty and that he accepted the prison sentences.

Kelly cried as the relative of a victim gave a statement in court. Kelly then said there was nothing he could say to give shooting victims and their families closure.

He added that he was in the “darkest place of my life” at the time of the shoot-

ings and he wanted to help others avoid the same bad decisions he made.

Kelly’s trial had been set to begin Feb. 9

His lawyers had said that evidence in the case included 400 witnesses and more than 300 videos. Prosecutors had said they planned to seek the death penalty if Kelly were convicted of first-degree murder

Along with the killings of Dewayne Tunstall, Richard Clark and Allison Parker, Kelly also had been charged with offenses including attempted murder, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, theft and commission of an act of terrorism. At least three witnesses saw Kelly shoot Tunstall at a Memphis home at about 1 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2022, according to a police affidavit. Clark and Parker were shot later that day authorities said.

Police said three other people were wounded in the shootings, which took place in different parts of Memphis, including at a gas station, along an interstate and at an auto parts store.

Kelly livestreamed himself on social media platforms firing a gun and wounding a man and talking about shooting people.

Funding cuts hit Pennington Biomedical

Research leader highlights critical work

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

Amid federal funding cuts to Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Executive Director John Kirwan made a pitch for the organization’s research into diabetes and childhood obesity Wednesday

at a Rotary Club of Baton Rouge luncheon.

“These challenges make your support, Rotary folks, essential.

You’re trusted voices in the community, and that trust matters when we share what science truly says,” he said “And I believe trust in science starts in communities

like ours, in institutions like Pennington.”

Kirwan spoke to more than a hundred people at the weekly luncheon, highlighting programs at the research center, including a center studying metabolic disease and a U.S. De-

partment of Defense partnership to help optimize performance and health for service members.

But he also acknowledged the uncertainty facing the center with national grant revocations, which have had an impact.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat the challenges we’re facing. Science is under pressure today and we face new challenges,” he said.

“Federal funding is less predict-

Chain reaction

Man set home on fire with children inside, authorities say

a news release. “The victim also advised that Jarvis had been at the home two days earlier and removed the Ring doorbell camera. Text messages and a voice recording provided to investigators show Jarvis threatening the victim, including statements that he was going to kill them,” the Fire Department said. The State Police Fugitive Task Force, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrest of Jarvis. In addition to the above counts, Jarvis was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count each of arson, home invasion, criminal trespass and

able than ever; public confusion about health advice is growing; misinformation spreads faster than facts.”

Part of the LSU System, Pennington Biomedical sits on its own campus in Baton Rouge, where it engages in health research and partners with other institutions around the world.

Liquor license renewal disputed

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

The Denham Springs City Council and the community are divided over whether a business attempting to renew its liquor license is legally categorized as a restaurant or a church. On Tuesday, the council reaffirmed its previous denial of a restaurant alcohol permit renewal for Mustard Seed Creamery, citing concerns that the site is used to host church services. The majority of the City Council declined the renewal of a liquor license for the business in July, citing a city ordinance banning alcohol sales within 300 feet of a church. Mustard Seed Creamery, located on North Range Avenue, serves ice cream and tapas. It has previously sold beer and wine. The business has hosted a number of events, namely services every Sunday for the Mustard Seed Church. At a packed City Council meeting, owners Tim and Tasha Levert debated with the majority of the council

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Funeralarrangementsfor Sgt. Eisworth announced

BatonRouge police

officerdiedSunday

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

Funeral services will be held Saturday for Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, adecorated Baton Rouge police officer whodied Sunday after being struck by atruckinJune.

Eisworth will be honored at Istrouma Baptist Church at 10500 SamRushing Road,according to

the Baton Rouge Police Department and the church.

Visitation for the fallenofficer will begin at 9a.m., followed by a funeral service starting at noon at Istrouma Baptist Church

Following the ceremony,Eisworthwill be laid to rest at Greenoaks Memorial Park

“Please join us as we say goodbye to alovingson, husband, father,friend and hero,” readthe caption of afuneral announcement posted by BRPD.

Eisworth served on the force for

23 years, joining the motorcycle division in 2008. He received multiple awards for heroism in the lineofduty,including the Medal of Valor —the highest honorbestowed by thedepartment— for pulling amotorist from aburning vehicle while off-duty.

On June 16, Eisworthwas critically injured in acrash that happenedaround 11 a.m. on Joor Road,near Prescott Road.Hewas on his way to awork-related escort assignment when adriver later identified by police as Gad

Black, 41,struck Eisworth’smotorcycle with his pickup truck. Police said Black had followed the officer for ashort distance before thecrash. Last month, surgeons at Our Lady of theLake Regional Medical Center amputated both of Eisworth’slegs above the knee, and his family expressed hope after hisvitals improved, posting on social media to thank the hospital doctors and staff for the care they were giving him. But late Sunday morning, afterseven weeks in

NOPD officeraccused of hiring sexworkers

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

ANew Orleans PoliceDepartment officer was arrested, accused of hiring sex workerswhile on the clock in the French Quarter,Louisiana State Police said Wednesday.

Terrance “TJ” Johnson, 56, aveteran officer in the 8th District, was booked into Orleans Justice Center on Wednesday on counts of prostitution, malfeasance in office and injuring public records. NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said thePublicIntegrity Bureau is “fasttracking” an internal investigation.

“This is so disappointing,” Kirkpatrick said at amedia briefing Wednesday afternoon. “It’snot only disappointing. It’sdisgusting. He jeopardized and compromised the safety of his fellow officers We’ll take some immediate actions to have aremoval from this agency as quickly as possible.”

An af

fidavit supporting an arrest warrant for Johnson says State Police identified him during their

investigation of Danette Colbert, who is accused of drugging, robbing and ultimately killing Kansas City sports reporter AdanManzano, in town to cover the Super Bowl in February Detectives found Johnson listed as acontact on Colbert’s phone under “TJ Popo,” according to the affidavit.

Alongside Colbert’stextsdirectinga“full-scale, organized theft ring,”detectives found texts to Johnson. Police said in some, he tipped her off to potential “undercover feds” and solicited her for prostitution. Johnson allegedly paid women for sex multiple times,including while on the clock and in uniform, the document states. One incident occurred in July,whenpolice saida uniformedJohnson left hismarked unit on North Peters Street near Crescent Park, got into awoman’s vehicle and paidher $200 for sex.

Thatwoman told police Johnson was agood trick’ who often paid women in exchangefor sexual rela-

Pilotprogram to clean up 4Louisiana cities

DOTD aims to partner with businesses

Staff report

Anew initiative is recruiting help from businessesinfour cities to remove trash and beautify Louisiana’s highways through asponsorship program.

The Louisiana Departmentof Transportation and Development has partnered withAdopt AHighway Maintenance Corp. for apilot programinBaton Rouge, NewOrleans, Lafayette and Shreveport.

“Litter removal is acostly,ongoing issueinLouisiana,” DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet said. “This

partnership helps ease the financial burden on taxpayers while creating acleaner,more welcoming environmentfor residentsand visitors alike.”

DOTD said the program will serve as asustainable way to offset costs for litter removal.The agency reported thatitspent $13.6 million on cleanup efforts in 2024.

The state agency saidbusinesses in each city will sponsor1-milehighway segments, then AHMC will provide services to remove litter for a minimum of six times each year Sponsorship levelswilldetermine how often services take place. Information about how businesses can participateinthe programwill be announced at alater date.

Continued from page1B

refusing to placehis hands behind his back and eventually resisting an officer’sfurther attemptstoarrest him, Dubroc was shocked with a Taser by police. Dubroc admitted to police that the litter around the mausoleum was his. The incident ledtopolice booking Dubroc on acount each of breaking and entering, resisting an officer with force, gross littering and desecrating graves. While police do not describe the litter found, his charge of gross littering is only issuedin cases of large and bulky items, such as furniture or car parts being illegally dumped.

The charge of desecrating graves is one Dubroc is familiar with.

Early on the morningofSept. 13 2024, Baton Rouge police officers

noticed ashopping cart inside Magnolia Cemetery.The cart was found next to amausoleum, with the door forced open. When they investigated, officersfounditems inside the tomb, showing someone had been staying there: clothes, food, alcohol, trash andothers.

The resting place stank of urine, according to the affidavit for Dubroc’sarrest. Outside the mausoleum, officers found abroken tombstone cross. Later that day,the sameofficers noticedaman,identified as Dubroc leaving the cemetery carrying one of theitems seeninside themausoleum.

Whenstopped for questioning, Dubroc said he workedfor the graveyard. Butwhen asked about thevandalizedmausoleum,Dubrocadmittedtoliving inside.

Dubrocwas then booked on a counteachoflarcenyand desecration of graves.

tions, and that it was widely known in the French Quarter community,” the warrant states.

In October,Johnson allegedly told his colleagues he was on Bourbon Street and “available if needed” when he was headed to NewOrleans East for sex, the warrant states.

A28-year NOPD veteran, Johnson accrued alengthy disciplinary history,according to Public Integrity Bureau records. It includes a November 2005 violation forneglectofduty after he was“AWOL” during HurricaneKatrina.

He was suspended for aday in 2015 for breakingthe department’s use-of-force policy. He wasagain disciplined with aone-daysuspension in 2018 for neglect of duty

In July 2019, Johnsonran ared light in his FordF-150 and struck abike commuter on theway to his Royal Street job.

Johnson refused to identify himself to the cyclistand left the scene at St. Louisand North Rampart streets. The cyclist went to the

LICENSE

Continuedfrom page1B

and the cityattorneyabout their appeal to the permit denial.

TimLevert said the building is owned andoccupiedbya restaurant and thathebelieves the law is on hisside He is also the pastor of Mustard Seed Church. He described the churchasa body of people who meet at the restaurant, and occasionally othervenues.He saidmeeting at Mustard Seed doesn’t change that “the restaurant is still arestaurant.”

“Weare willing to saythe church will no longer meet in that building and on Sunday mornings for worship,” he said. “Wefeellike what’shappening in the restaurant is an important part of the downtown vibrancy.”

The majority of theCityCounciland the cityattorney said they were wary of reversing their decision to prohibit an alcohol license.

Council member Jeff Wesley saidheisopposed to someone saying “it’snot achurchwhenit is achurch.”

“I appreciate what the church does.You should be proud of the church and not trying to hide it so youcan geta liquorlicense,”

CUTS

Continuedfrom page 1B

Recently,the organization debuted the Greaux Healthy initiative, which is designed to improve the health of kids across thestate. Kirwan said nearly40% of adults in Louisiana livewith obesity,and added that much of theworkinvolves education and outreach.

“Our work isn’tjustacademic; it’spersonal,” he said. “And it’s urgent, and it’smaking areal difference.”

Travis Sharpe,a guest at the event and recent LSU graduate, asked about the center’sposition on recentpharmaceutical breakthroughs like Ozempic, which help treat diabetes and obesity

Kirwancalled it “the biggest wave in termsofmetabolic health that we have ever seen.”

“Pennington is one of the main sitesfor clinical trials in allof thesedrugs,” he added. “We have tested pretty much every diabetes and obesity medication that’sonthe market andthe ones to come.”

Fundingchallengesremain

After focusing on theorganization’s array of research and outreach work, Kirwan turned to

the hospital, Eisworth died with his lovedonesaround him, Police ChiefThomasMorse said. After Eisworth’sdeath, Black, who is being held in the parish jail withoutbail, hadhis charges upgraded to first-degree murder. DistrictAttorneyHillarMoore hasindicated he mayseekthe deathpenalty for Black.

Staff writer Quinn Coffman contributed to this report. Email Aidan McCahill at aidan. mccahill@theadvocate.com.

BLOTTER

Continued from page1B

8th District station to file areport.

Investigators pulled security footagetoidentify Johnson,who was not charged criminally.Instead he receivedletters of reprimand for lapses in professionalism and adherencetothe law,records show Johnsonfaces twocounts of prostitution,three counts of malfeasanceinoffice andtwo counts of injuring public records. Orleans Parish Criminal District Court JudgeFranzZibilichpreset Johnson’sbail at $1,500 percount on Wednesday.Johnson turned himself in at the8th District station and did notappear in Magistrate Court. If convicted of malfeasance, Johnson faces up to 10 years in prison. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office will prosecute thecase.

“This is amatter that remains underinvestigation,” Murrill said in a statement.“There aremanygood police officers protecting the public andenforcing the law.Wewill hold those who breach the public trust accountable.”

he said Wesley said thecouncil has theright to regulate the sale of alcohol for arestaurant.

Council memberJim Gilbert made amotion to grant thelicense back on the condition the church moved, with council member Robert Poole supporting themotion. However,they were theonlytwo of five members in support, and the permit denial stayed in place. Poole and Gilbert had both previously voted to approve the alcohol permit renewal.

“I think that whatthis restaurant is doing in this community, Ithink theclass of people it is bringing in, Ithink the things thatare happening there is what the city needed for along time,” Gilbert said.

The creamery shared asocial media postfollowing the meeting expressing disappointment withthe resultbut saidthe issue isn’t finished.

“We’re hurting, but Godis good,and people aren’tour enemy,even when they treat us like we’re theirs,”the Leverts wrote. “The story is notover. But we’re going social media silent about this for afew days.”

EmailClaire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com

the Trump administration’scuts to federal grants.

Earlier this year,the National Institutes of Health cutroughly $4.1 million in federal funds to Pennington, although grants for theDiabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study were restored in early July.The NIH alsopushed to cut“indirect costs,” which coverequipment maintenance, support staffand administrative expenses, amove detailed in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025plan.

In hispresentation, Kirwan includedquotes by Gov.Jeff Landry,Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr praising Pennington Biomedical. He also thanked the state government, which he said has steppeduptohelpfundthe institution over the past few years.

On aclosing note, Kirwan encouraged club members to volunteer forstudies, attend communityevents andeducate those they knowabout the center’swork.

“Despite these challenges, I remainoptimistic,” he said. “Because here’sthe thing: Nothing is impossible.”

EmailChristopher Cartwright at christopher.cartwright@ theadvocate.com.

violation of protective orders. The case remains underinvestigation.

Woman killed in early morning shooting

A55-year-old woman was killed in an early morning shootingWednesday on Florida Boulevard, police say Baton Rouge police officers responding to acall about 5:45 a.m. at 11271 Florida Blvd. found Mirtalarellana Ramirez unresponsive from gunshot wounds. She was transported to ahospital, where she later died from the injuries. Baton Rouge homicide detectives are investigating theshooting and do not know of amotive or any suspects. Anyone having information relative to this incident is urged to contact the Violent Crimes Unit at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867. Ex-PortAllen mayor arrested, sheriff says Aformer mayor of Port Allen wasarrested Tuesday,accused of buying alcohol fora juvenile before engaging in indecent behaviorwith them, according to West Baton Rouge Parish SheriffJeff Bergeron.

DerekLewis, 64, who served as mayor of Port Allen between 2005 and 2011, was arrested Tuesday on one count each of indecentbehaviorwith juveniles and contributing to the delinquency of ajuvenile.

Sheriff’s deputiesreceiveda complaint Monday about sexual misconductinvolvingLewis and aminor at the minor’splace of employment. PolicesaidLewis providedalcohol to the minor and engaged in indecent behavior, but furtherdetails were not included in aSheriff’s Office release.

Lewis remains in custodywith no bail set. Detectivesanticipate additionalcharges and possibly further arrests. Lewis infamously stepped down as mayor in 2011 following racketeering and bribery chargesbrought against him after an FBI sting.

Thecharges, to which Lewis pleaded guilty,involved accepting nearly $19,000 from afake garbage bin cleaning company in order to grant acity contract to the company.Intruth, the entire schemewas setupbythe FBI in anationwide operation titled “OperationBlighted Officials.”

LOTTERY

TUESDAY,AUG. 12, 2025

PICK 3:

Bonin, Shirley

OurLadyofMercy Catholic Church 445 Marquette Ave. BatonRouge,LAat 10am.

Frederick, Presley

BakerFuneralHome, 6401 Groom Road,Baker,LAat11am.

Kidwell, Larry

CharletFuneral Home inZachary at 6pm

Manzullo,Tara

St.GeorgeCatholicChurch,7808 St George Drive, at 11 a.m.

Milano, Paul

St.AnthonyofPadua Catholic Church,37311LA-22, Darrow, LA at 11am

Zeringue,Lloyd

St.John theEvangelistCatholic Church in Plaquemineat1 p.m.

Obituaries

Beamon, Bobbie

Rita Smith

Bobbie Rita Smith Beamonentered into the presence of theLord Thursday, August 7, 2025, at the age of 88. She was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana, on March 31, 1937. Bobbie graduated from St. John High School in 1955 and attended beauty school. In 1973, she and her family moved to Maringouinand opened Papa Joe's Hut Restaurant. She later worked at Godchaux's Department Store as afur consultant and at the Bank of Maringouin as ateller After retiring, Bobbie worked at Curves in New Roads, Louisiana.Her lifelong dream was fulfilled when she and her husband opened Belmont Plants and Nursery.Bobbie was known forher green thumb, delicious cooking, artistic talentand home decorating skills. She was preceded in death by her parents Robert Smith and Rita Mae Guidry Smith; siblings, Tommy, Steve and Judy Smith; great-granddaughter, Adeline Christine Matherne; and inlaws, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Beamon and Bonnie Steinkamp. She is survived by the love of her life and husband of 42 years, Matt Beamon; daughter, Bridget Stricklin (Anderson); son Lambert Jones Louviere, Jr (Amy); daughter, DeEtte Leonard (Mark); grandchildren, Jonathan Tillman (Gillian), GabrielleTillman (fiance, Jude Matherne), Lambert "Jay" Louviere, III, Mary Quin Louviere (fiance, Mike Cerjance), Ethan Leonard and Sydney Leonard; great-grandchildren, Kendall, Darby & Silas Tillman, Evangelyn Pinion and Genevieve Matherne; sister, Valerie Wilson; and sister-in-law, Joanne Smith. Visitation will be held Friday, August 15, 2025, at New Life Worship Center on Hospital Road in New Roads, Louisiana,from 9:00 am until the service begins at 11:00 am. The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude for the prayers, love and support offered during this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Janell Lacombe Cancer Fund (P.O. Box 312, Fordoche, LA, 70732) in memory of her dear siblings, Tommy, Steve and Judy Smith, and her dear friend, Paula Rockfort Pizzolato.

Collette, SamNick

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of Sam Nick Collette on August 10, 2025 aged 82. Sam was born on November 13, 1942 in Woodside, La where he grew up on afarm and learned the value of hard work and responsibility that would shape the rest of his life. Adevoted family man, he and his late wife, Mabel Collette, raised their granddaughters Jessica and Jerrica giving them ahome filled with love and guidance. Sam was aman of unwavering principles- Fairness, honesty, and adeep commitment to treating people right. As the proud owner of Collette's Mobil in Baton Rouge, he was known for his integrity and his respect towards his employ-

eesand customersalike. Those that knewhim knew that he demandedhard workbut also fairness. He is survived by his loving granddaughters Jessica Watson and JerricaKitto (Ben), his brother, Mitchell Collette,his stepchildren BillyJordan and Debbie Watson, his great grandchildren: Carter Moreau, Carson Janes,Collette Kitto and SamuelKitto as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his loving wife of 42 years, MabelCollette, his motherFrances F. Collette, father Nick Collette, his brothersAnthony "Tony" Collette,Frank Collette and sister FrancesC Ponthieux.Visitation will be held Friday August 15th from 4-8pm at Greenoaks funeral home in Baton Rouge,Laand Saturday August 16th at 11amatSt. George CatholicChurchin Baton Rouge. Funeral mass willstartatnoon with burial to follow. Receptionwillbeheld after the burial at the Kyle Residence at 818 WoodleighDr.

GREENWELL SPRINGSAnna Colomb, aresident of Greenwell Springs, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday,August 6, 2025 at the age of 79. She was the devoted wifeofCalvin Colomband the treasured mother. Amemorial celebration willbeofficiated byPastor JayColeman on August16, 2025 at Journey Church, 17407Greenwell Springs Rd., Greenwell Springs,LAfrom 9-11AM, witha viewingfrom8-9 AM. Final home-going services and interment will followthereafter at St CharlesBorromeoCatholic Church, 174 ChurchSt., Grand Coteau, LA with viewing from 12:30-1:30 PM followed by mass at 1:30 PM conducted by Father Jude Thierry. Funeralarrangements being handled by Greenoaks Funeral Home, Baton Rouge, LA.

Crifasi Jr.,Samuel Joseph

With heavyheartsand much love, the familyof Samuel Joseph Crifasi, Jr, announces his passing from this worldand into the open arms of his, Lord and Savior, JesusChriston August 7, 2025.Sam "Buddy"CrifasiJr. was born on August 24, 1950 to Sam and MaryLou Crifasi. He was the second born of eleven children. From the beginning, Buddy stoodout to us as someone truly special He was kind in hiswords, adventurous in hisspirit, and caring in hisactions. Whether it was in the church or out in public, Buddy lived his faith with a sincerity thattouched everyone he met. Sammet his wife,Debbie,inchurch wherethey both served. Their meeting quickly turned into alove that has endureda lifetime.Sam was along-time member and deacon at Westminster PresbyterianChurch in Baton Rouge.Hewas the owner of timberconsulting firm, Forest Eco Systems, and was widely respected forhis knowledge of the timber industry. Sambuilt the curriculum and instructed the first Forestry Technician program in the state of Louisiana.Anavid outdoorsman by trade, his work took him from the mountains of southeast Oklahoma to the coastal plains of Virginia. Samwas alwaysserving othersand helping people in their time of need. In hisolder years, Samenjoyedspoiling his grandsons,Samuel and William, teaching themaboutthe forest and enjoying the great outdoors. SamCrifasiissurvived by his wifeof50 years, Debbie, daughter April, and sonAaron (Christine)and grandsons Samuel and William.7 siblings and their spouses: Linda (Tibor), Jim (Margaret), John (Nancy), Jeff

(Terri), Philip (Robin), Joey and Jan(Jamie); nieces and nephews, Julian, Yvette (Scott), Monica, Adrian,Nathan, Josh (Hillary),Jonathan (Heather), Christina (Ben), Kylie,Thomas (Charlsey), Nina, Trent (Colette),Cody, Dillon, Luke, Joanna and Adam, greatnieces and nephews Gracie Cassey, Rubyand Samuel Keys, Kailyn, Parker, Axel,Giovanni and Luca. In-Laws Jesse and TerrellBennett; cousin Eloise Parrott, niecesand nephews inlaw, Glenn, Bernard, Karan, Sharlet, Mindy, Dylan, Jess, Jacob, Rachel, Nicole, Drew, Ashley, Andrea, Renadale and Charidee.PallbearerswillbeJason Lee; MattJennings; Joey, Jonathan, Thomas, Josh, Trent and Adam Crifasi. Honorary pallbearers are Samueland William Crifasi.Visitation at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Friday, August 15 from 5pmto7pm and from10am to 11am on Saturday, August 16. Memorial Service willfollow at 11am. In lieu of flowers,the family request that contributions be madetoyourfavorite charity.

Mary BoothCupit,age 78, enteredintoHeavenon Sunday, August 10, 2025 She wasa resident of Wat‐son,Louisiana.Marygrad‐uated from Live OakHigh School in 1965 then at‐tendedSoutheastern Louisiana University for2 years.She went on to spend 26 yearsworking for the LouisianaDepartment ofEducation.Marywas a long-time member of Amite BaptistChurch and was baptizedthere at only 12years old. Onething about Mary wasthatshe was aSteel Magnolia.She was thebestsinglemother toher daughter Ashley and gaveher thebestlifeshe could askfor.Maryloved sitting on herporch with her familyand friends, rid‐ing around in hercar visit‐ing andseeingwhatwas going on in Watson,read‐ing theAdvocateand Den‐ham SpringsNewspapers, talking to herloved ones onthe phone, andmostim‐portantly,spendingtime withthose sheloved.Mary issurvivedbyher daugh‐ter,AshleyAndrews and husband Billy; grandson, AustinAndrews;grand‐puppy,Paco; as well as nu‐merousniecesand nephews.Maryispreceded indeath by herparents, Floyd andMarguerite Booth; specialaunt and uncle,Vennieand Effie Impson;sister, Gayle Mitchelland brotherinlaw Kenneth Mitchell;and friends,EarlWayne Roy, Kerry Oneal, Peggy Chan‐dler, RoyAllen, andJoslyne Marks.Relatives and friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend avisitation fromthe chapel of Brandon G.ThompsonFuneral Home, 7738 FloridaBlvd., DenhamSprings,LA70726 onSunday, August 17, 2025 from11:30 a.m. until the FuneralService at 1:30 p.m. The servicewillbeoffici‐atedbyPastorJohnnyMor‐gan.Interment will follow atAmite BaptistChurch Cemetery. Thefamily would like to extend aspe‐cialthank youtoThe Crossingemployees,Clar‐ity HospiceEmployees,and specificallyWendi,Jamie Joyce,and Carlafor their caretoMaryduringthis time. Herfriends andfam‐ily,PatriciaAllen, Paula Meadors,Barbara Childres, Frances Cambre,Dawn Guidry, Jo KayTimmons MickieMarchiafava,Wayne Wascom, Roxanne Street and Claudette Andrews havebeen avillage in these last days anditwill never be forgotten. Condo‐lencesand otherinforma‐tionmay be found at www thompsoncares.com

Tara Marie Manzulloof Baton Rouge,Louisiana passed away on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at theage of 61. She wasborn on November 14, 1963, to Thomas Anthony Manzullo and Marie Montz Manzullo in BatonRouge.Tara was a member of St. George Catholic Church. She is survivedbyher parents, Thomas and Marie Manzullo; brother, Michael Manzulloand Fran MessinaManzullo;niece, Isabella Hope Manzullo; nephew, Dominick Michael Manzullo; and numerous cousins Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend a Mass of ChristianBurialat St.GeorgeCatholicChurch, 7808 St.GeorgeDrive in BatonRouge,onThursday, August 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. Avisitationwillbe held at thechurch beginning at 10:00 a.m. Interment willfollow at St. GeorgeCemetery Mausoleum.

The family wouldliketo give aspecial thanksto Mary BirdPerkinsand The Butterfly Wing of Baton Rouge General- Mid City. Family and friends may sign theonline guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamily at www.resthav enbatonrouge.com.

ACelebrationofLifefor LindaSue Digby Reneau, 83, willbe11:00 A.M. Saturday, August 16, 2025, at Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1515 S. Service Road West, Ruston, LA.Dr. Reggie Bridgeswillofficiatethe service. Interment willfollow in Pisgah Cemetery in Bernice, LA under thedirection of Kilpatrick Funeral HomesofRuston, LA Avisitationwillbegin at 10:00 A.M. until service time at Temple Baptist Church Sanctuary in Ruston, LA Lindawas born on November 7, 1941, in Bernice, LA and passedaway on August 11, 2025, in BatonRouge,LA. She wasa memberofTemple Baptist Church; FirstLady of Louisiana Tech for 26 years and adevoted housewife mother, and grandmother. Linda lovedher bridge groupfor over thirty years of cards and fellowship. Lindaalso lookedforward to every"MondayNight Hamburger Night" with dear friendsatSquire CreekCountry Club She is preceded in death by her parents, John ClintonDigby and Lois Grafton Digby; siblings, Ouida Digby, Bettye Dubee, Fred Digby,John Digby, and their

infantdaughter. Linda is survived by herhusbandof64years, DanielDugan Reneau, Jr.of Baton Rouge,LAformerly of Ruston,LA; son, John Reneau of Las Vegas, NV; daughter, Dana Reneau Bernhardand husband Jim of Baton Rouge,LA; grandchildren, Michael Daniel Bernhardand wife Rachel; BenjaminJosephBernhard andwife Jenna; Patrick WayneBernhardand wife Amelie; Kathryn Bernhard Gerry andhusbandJohn; Tres Bernhard; great grandchildren, EllaLynne Bernhard, IV Bernhard, VioletBernhard, Blake Bernhard, Jack Gerry, Sloane Gerry, Remi Gerry, and AinsleyBernhard; sister, CatherineDigby Laskowski; and numerousnieces nephews, and ahostof otherfamilyand friends. Memorials may be made to LouisianaTech University Foundation for Biomedical Engineering ProgramorA.E.Phillips LaboratorySchool. Online condolences may be sent to thefamily at www.kilpatrickfuneralh omes.com.

VaughnScott,Netric Latimore

Netric Latimore VaughnScott enteredeternalrest on July 30th 2025 at 4:45 am at theage of 63. Leavingher earthly body, movingintoher spiritual body. Netric leaves to cherish hermemory herson,Justin ChristopherVaughn and daughterJasmineRechel Vaughn;grandsons, Zaiden E. Lewis, Jackson ChristopherUgolini Vaughn andZaccur Zoen Issac;sisters, Terrie L. Cryer (Greg), Curtisa S. Baker (Mark), Curtressa Seymore; brothers, Reginald Pickett(Tina), Donald Pick-

ett(Nicole)and Curtis Seymore, Jr.; alovingfather figure,David Wanen Searcy; acousin she reared into adulthood, Shameika Johnson Wade anda host of nieces, nephews, godchildren, cousinsand friends. Visitation:Friday, August 15 at Hall Davisand Son, 9348 Scenic Hwy. from 5pm-6pm. Visitation will resume on Saturday, August 16 at NewHome Ministries, 3000 Tecumseh St from 10am-11am with the Funeral Service to immediately follow.Final resting place will take place at RoselawnMemorialPark. ServicesEntrusted to Hall Davis andSon Funeral Service www.halldavisandson.com

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We add our voice to the chorus of those in Baton Rouge mourning the deathand celebrating the life of Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, the Baton Rouge Police officer who died almost two months after being struck by apickup truck while riding his police motorcycle in what prosecutors have alleged was an intentional attack because he wore abadge.

At times during the ensuing months following the June 16 attack, he seemed tobeimproving, but on Sunday,hesuccumbed while surrounded by loved ones.

A23-year veteran of the department and a motorcycle officer since 2008, Eisworth will be remembered as ahero who, during his career, was awarded anumber of commendations and awards including the Medal of Valor, thehighesthonor the departmentbestows, for having rescued aperson from aburning vehicle while off-duty

Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas Morse described Eisworth as a“wonderful guy” who loved his family and LSU sports. He leaves behindhis wife and adaughter

The attack on Eisworth should serve as the latest tragic reminder that,for many in law enforcement, apotentially fatal threat can come at any momentand from any direction.

It also comes at atime when there have been other acts of violence against police. In recent days, aDeKalb County Police officer was shot and killed while responding toa shooting at the federalCenters for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. And last month, aNew York City police officer was among those killed duringaManhattan shooting.

Louisiana has seen its share of anti-police violence. In March, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Grant Candies was killed when he was deploying aspike strip during ahigh-speed chase in Slidell.

And we hardly need to be reminded of the traumatic summer of 2016, when an armed gunman, apparently angered by thedeathof Alton Sterling in police custody,ambushed law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, killing three and wounding three more. Afourthdied years later due to injuries sustained in the ambush. This month also marks 20 years since the death of Det. Terry Lee Melancon Jr., another BRPD officer who was shot while on asearch warrant.

We acknowledge that not all policing is perfect. There are problems, of course, some of them serious. But there are also officers like Eisworth and Candies, bothofwhom died while fulfilling their duty to protect and serve their communities. That’sworthy of our respect and gratitude. And no amount of grievance can justify violence against the officers who patrol ourstreets.

The words of this editorial will do little to assuage the pain that Eisworth’sfamily is experiencing. Nevertheless, we hope and pray that they will find some comfort in knowing that all of Louisiana mourns with them.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

OPINION

Apolice processionleavesOur Ladyofthe LakeHospital escorting officer Caleb Eisworthafter he wastaken off life supportonAug.10.

What asurprise! Gov.Jeff Landry and other prominent conservatives are attacking the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System again. The article on July 22 regarding the dismissal of alibrary employee after “he refused to use someone’s preferred pronouns” included some information that raises questions as to whether that is the single reason he wasdismissed.

Luke Ash told WBRZ that he knew his choice violated the library’sinclusivity policy,yet he chose to violate it. Why would anyone choose to take ajob where they knew they disagreed with the employer’spolicy? And, would Landry keep an employee who purposely chose to violate the policies of his office?

Monday,asIfollowed the procession escorting Sgt.Caleb Eisworth through thehalls of OurLady of the LakeHospital, Iwitnessed something truly moving. Hundreds of hospital employees —doctors, nurses, clerical staff, maintenance workers, cafeteria personnel and others —lined the corridors to pay their respects. Many were in tears, manywere praying, all showing reverence for aman most of them had probably never known personally, but whose life they had respected during his time in their care. These were people of all ages, races, political affiliations and faiths who came together in aspontaneous display of respect and compassion.

This outpouring of genuine love and emotion from health care workers whobarely knew him speaks volumes about the caliber of people we have serving in our healthcare system here in greater Baton Rouge. This momentreminded me of the fundamental goodness that exists in our community,particularly among those who dedicate their lives to caring for others.

Special thanks to all health care employees in our community,and particularly on this occasion, to the staffand employees of OurLady of the Lake Hospital.

HILLAR MOORE district attorney,East Baton RougeParish

According to the article, Ash stated that he saw “several” things at the library indicating that it was not “a place that was hospitable for aChristian.” IamaChristian. Ihave used the services provided by the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System for numerous years. Ihave visited the main library,many of the branches and used the bookmobile. Never have Ifelt that the main library,the branches or the bookmobile were inhospitable to me as aChristian.

Ihave visited and used libraries in many other cities. In my opinion, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System is one of the best and something to point to with pride.As evidenced by previous overwhelming voter approval on library issues, it seems that Iamnot alone in this opinion.

BEVERLYE.TIPTON Baton Rouge

My wife and I, over our 55 years together,have lived in five different places and have always subscribed to adaily newspaper.Today’sAdvocate is, without adoubt, the best local paper we’ve ever read. People in theBaton Rouge area who don’tsubscribe missout on so much Andthe community suffers when residentsaren’tknowledgeable about local issues —such as taxes, roads, schools, businesses (new and old), events, crime, and more. Communities thrive when people pull together to solve problems, and good newspapers are

often the catalyst. The Advocateoffers an outstanding blend of national, state andlocal news. The staff writers are excellent; they present not just facts, but the context needed to understand each story.The food section is agem —especially its coverage of new restaurants. The editorial pages offer diverse andcompeting viewpoints, giving open-minded readers an opportunity to see both sides of theissues. Perhaps thepaper’smost valuable asset is its balanced editorial commentaryand willingness to call out politi-

cal misconduct. The editorials in “Our Views” are consistently accurate, honest and thoughtful —I especially value them during elections. Our local television stations are also impressive, but The Advocate’sdepth of coverage stands out. The printed press still offers unmatched opportunities to understand complex issues and to hold our government leaders and agencies accountable.

We are fortunate to have such anewspaper

KURT KIESLING Gonzales

COMMENTARY

KATRINA YEARS

REFLECTIONS

CHARLES E. HAMILTON JR on culture

ArtbyChandra McCormick and KeithCalhoun

Knockeddown, notout

On Sunday evening, Aug. 28, 2005, I was looking out of theupper window of the Hyatt Regency NewOrleans, looking down as crowdswere scurrying to enter the Superdome. Ihad just checked into the hotel withmyfamily, including my daughterand my new grandson, Jordan,who was 6days old Iwas thinking aboutthe approach of Hurricane Katrina, predictedtoarrive the next day.Would Ibeabletogo home?

Earlier in the day,Ileft theZulu Club on Broad Street, makingsure everything was boarded upand sandbags were in place. Iwas elected Zulu president in June 2004. Ihad family responsibilities.Now Ihad clubresponsibilities.

That night, as aprecautionary measure, Hyatt personnel instructed hotel guests to grab blanketsand pillows and move to theballrooms downstairs. They would protect usfrom flying window glass. Ibrought abassinetfor Jordon As thestorm arrived,myfamily,other guests and Iheardloud thunderand harsh winds beating againstthe walls. The atrium started to leak. Iworried aboutmy family andthe club. It was arough night,but we felt relieved and blessed to be alive. We were ready to go home.

Then we heard thewater was rising We decided to makeamove, to leave and take our chances goingelsewhere. Through rising waters, we drove across Loyola Avenue to theCrescent City Connection. We drove west across the bridge to Patterson, in St. Mary Parish, to my mother-in-law’shome. We left the bassinet at the hotel. The next day,wedrove to Houston. My family was safe, including the baby.Iwatched what washappening in New Orleans.

The club building on Broad Street had taken more than 4feet of water on thebottom floor.Thatwas aproblem. I wondered whether we could return to normal.

Nearly all of our Zulu members were in different locations. We would keep in touch by phoneand theinternet. After abouta month, Icalled a

PROVIDED PHOTOSByCHARLES HAMILTON LEFT,Jordan Barnes, Charles Hamilton’sgrandson, was6daysold when Hamilton and his family sought refugeinthe Hyatt Regency just before Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29,2005. Twenty years later,Jordon is 20 and astudent at LSU in Baton Rouge.

membership meetinginPlaquemine, just outside of Baton Rouge. About 60 membersarrived from throughout the South. We discussed our future and debated next steps, ultimately deciding that we had to return and rebuild.

And we planned to parade on Mardi GrasDay 2006. We faced opposition, including among members who thought that wasn’tagood idea.

Icalled another meeting, this time at Southern Eagle on AirlineDriveinMetairie. More than 200 members voted to parade.

That parade was scaled back. Our annual ball had 1,200 participants at the Hilton Riverside, not the20,000 we normally host at the Morial Convention Center

We did not have aking in 2006. Larry Hammond, who had been elected in May2005 to be the2006 Zulu king, asked to reign in 2007, and we obliged.

Theparade was modest, but theattention was huge. We had worldwide media attention from as far away as Russia and Japan. We paraded along an alternative route, so we didn’ttake the floats to our North Broad Street home. We did walk toour club from the Superdome. It was asight to behold and instrumental in our city’sreturn. Onewriter wrote that it was the year that “Zulu

Saved Mardi Gras.”

Oneaspect of that day that Iremember clearly.When my float reached Gallier Hall for thetraditional toast with the mayor,Isaid, “Katrina knocked us down, but did not knock us out.”

It was aheartfelt, passionate statement. Zulu was not knockeddown. Neither was New Orleans. We lost 12 memberstoHurricane Katrina. At St.John Institutional Missionary BaptistChurch on Jackson Avenue, achurch on our parade route, we prayed and thanked God forour members’ lives —and for moving us forward.

My grandson Jordon was born days before thebig storm. It was the right thingfor Zulu to rebuild. It wasthe right thingfor New Orleans to rebuild. Zulu has grown since 2005 from 200 memberstoamore diverse group of 800 members. Katrina baby Jordon, believed to be theyoungest person at the Hilton the night Katrina roared, is asophomore at LSU in Baton Rouge. He’ll be 20 years old afew days before the 20th anniversary of Katrina. Jordon can look at Zulu and New Orleans can know that we and others madedecisions to continue to build our culture for his generation and others to come.

documenting the culture of Louisiana and its people for about 40 years.

Throughout August and September,weare featuring reflections on the 20th anniversary of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, two storms that changed Louisiana forever

Shough finding footing afterearly struggles

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

IRVINE,Calif.— Before the New Orleans Saints decampedfor Southern California, Tyler Shough missed an opportunity to make abig play duringascrimmage at the team’sMetairie facility

The rookie quarterback rolled to hisleft and saw receiver Rashid Shaheed flash open to his rightinthe endzone. Shough squared his shoulders to throw and tried to squeeze the ball through awindow that wasnever really there. Linebacker Nephi Sewell read what was happening and drifted back toward the middle of the field, easily intercepting the throw and killing a red-zone opportunity Flash forward to amorerecent practice on UC-Irvine’scampus.There wasShough, rolling to his left and seeingareceiver flash open in theend zone.Thistime, he threw the ball high toward theback of the end zone —what he described as a“top-shelf” throw.Ifitwas off the mark, it would have sailed harmlessly out of bounds. Instead, receiver Kevin Austin high-pointeditfor a touchdown.

“The best lesson I’ve learnedis, you’re goingtohave to accept failure sometimesand ä Jaguars at Saints NOON SUNDAy,WAFB

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

LSUworks on ‘passing the mic’ at Tiger Stadium

When Dan Borne applied to become the public address announcer at Tiger Stadium in 1986, his voice was the only one heard. Thejob was his, virtually by default

SPORTS

Good andshaky areashardtoignorehalfway throughLSU camp

LSUpassed the halfway mark of preseason camponTuesday,holding its11th practice ahead of theseason opener at Clemson on Aug. 30.

Here are five observationsthrough the first halfofpreseason practices for LSU

Perkinsmakingplays

After tearing hisACL during the fourthgame of theseason ayear ago, redshirt junior linebacker Harold Perkins has wreaked havoc during camp. Perkins’ speed,agility andquickness have all returned to pre-injury levels.Healsoappearsmorecomfortable returning to thestar position,ahybrid safety/linebacker role that gives him thefreedom tomake plays all over the field. Between Perkins andjuniorWhit

Weeks, LSUheadsinto theseason with oneofthe best linebacking corps in thecountry O-linequestions

Replacing fourthree-year starters along the offensive linealways was going to be achallenge for LSU. With Will Campbell, EmeryJones, Garrett Dellingerand Miles Frazier all in the NFLnow, theTigersadded two transfers and brought back onestarter,relying on their younger pieces to fill the remaining holes

That strategy has provided mixed results. The unit has held its own in pass protection at times —the first team dominated the defensive line in one-on-one drills Saturday —but also consistently struggledtorun the ball, especially in short-yardage situations.

Coach Brian Kellyinsiststhe starters aren’tset, but LSU has leaned on thesamefivelinemen since the beginning of camp. Virginia Tech center Braelin

ä See LSU, page 3C

That wasn’tthe case after Borne announced his retirement in July. LSU has received about 40 formal applications to fill Borne’s role, asearch that has reached the red zone with the Tigers’ Sept. 6home opener against Louisiana Tech drawing closer It is ahuge responsibility and void to fill. The seatin Tiger Stadium’sPA booth has had precious few occupants. Since 1955,only threepeoplehaveheldthe job:late WAFB weathermanSid Crocker from 1955-85, Borne and BillFranques.The PA announcer and publicist for LSUbaseball, Franques filled in for Borne during the 2024 season when the latter took aleave of absencefor medical reasons,aswell as forasprinkling of other games over the years. LSU isseeking areplacement for Borne as the PA announcerfor men’sbasketball as well. Dave Haskin, the LSU associateathletic director for marketing and broadcast

Zak Yassine didn’tresemble aSouthern football player during practice Tuesday Whenthe redshirtseniordefensive tackle lifted his helmet, he brieflylooked like a player-coach instead. He stuck out his arm and placed it on the chestofa teammate as he demonstrated proper technique during adrill with his fellow linemen. These moments aren’tuncommon andare more necessary nowthanlast season. Seniordefensive end CkelbyGivens, who led the FCS with 271/2 tackles for loss last season,isthe only consistent starter back on the defensive line.OfSouthern’s 10 defensive tackles and seven defensive ends, nine are upperclassmen. Among the veterans, four are junior-college transfers who’ve been learning Southern’ssystem and culture along with the freshmen. Thisisadifferent scenariofromlast year,when the defensive front in the

Twins owners opt to halt sale, keeping club in family

Liberty eager to bounce back

Flames movitated in Conference USA after disappointing 2024 season

BY TERESA M.WALKER AP sportswriter

The Liberty Flames find themselves in a familiar position favored to win the Conference USA title with added motivation of bouncing back from a disappointing 2024.

Coach Jamey Chadwell and his Flames were favored a year ago only to miss the title game. They also finished on a two-game skid capped by a loss in the Bahamas Bowl.

“Maybe a bad taste in the mouth about how we finished thinking that we could’ve had a better season than we had last year and I think the guys returning knew that and they knew why we didn’t and they’re focused on making sure we don’t beat ourselves moving forward,” Chadwell said.

Liberty had a game canceled by Hurricane Helene in September, then stumbled to a 5-3 mark in league play and 8-4 overall. It was a big drop from 2023 when Liberty went undefeated in winning the CUSA championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl in Chadwell’s first season.

Now Chadwell is managing the transfer portal that saw quarterback Kaidon Salter go to Colorado Ethan Vasko is among 13 portal additions, and the quarterback threw for 2,110 yards and 14 touchdowns last season at Coastal Carolina. Vasko also ran for 447 yards and five more scores. Chadwell said the challenge now in Conference USA is knowing which teams got “plucked” through the portal and who’s actually back.

He sees his fellow coaches now having to build teams each season rather than programs.

“We lost a bunch of guys just like everybody else, but I do think we have a good nucleus,” Chadwell said.

“I think we have a chance to have a really, really good year if we can stay together and stay connected.”

Liberty also will be relying on Vaughn Blue and JuJu Gray to keep an offense clicking after ranking fourth nationally last season averaging 250.7 yards rushing

per game. Western Kentucky also is a heavy favorite after the Hilltoppers lost in the title game last December

Defending C-USA champ Jacksonville State will try to defend its league title with a first-year head coach.

Louisiana Tech is expected to bounce back after a 5-8 season as well.

Transfer portal help

Western Kentucky went back to the portal for a quarterback with Maverick McIvor transferring from Abilene Christian.

McIvor threw for 3,847 yards and 30 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

McIvor should be comfortable with offensive coordinator Rick Bowie, brought along for the same job

Other portal additions include running back George Hart III and a pair of wide receivers in K.D. Hutchinson and Noah Meyers. Newcomer coach Jacksonville State has Charles Kelly in his first season as a first-

time head coach replacing Rich Rodriguez, who went to West Virginia.

Kelly was hired away from Auburn where he had been co-defensive coordinator to return to where he started his coaching career at Jacksonville State in 1994.

The Gamecocks hope to ease Kelly’s transition with the addition of running back Cam Cook, who transferred from TCU after scoring nine TDs in 2024.

Tony Franklin’s back

The offensive coordinator is back at Louisiana Tech where he was coordinator between 2010 and 2012. He’s also had a stint in the same role at Middle Tennessee for six seasons before retiring in January 2021.

Louisiana Tech already has quarterback Evan Bullock returning after throwing for 2,104 yards with 14 TDs and only three interceptions

The last time Franklin was the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator, Louisiana Tech led FBS scoring 51.5 points and piling up 577.9

yards per game.

Waiting for bowl options

Delaware and Missouri State are in the second year transitioning from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. That means they’re not eligible for bowl games. But if the record is worthy, they each could become eligible if not enough FBS teams are available to fill the slots.

Notable matchups

The season starts Aug. 23 when Sam Houston visits Western Kentucky C-USA has packed its schedule with some heavyweight games starting with Kennesaw State visiting Wake Forest on Aug. 29 and Missouri State at Southern California on Aug. 30. Sept. 6 is a big day for C-USA with FIU at Penn State, Kennesaw State at Indiana, Delaware going to Colorado, Middle Tennessee playing at Wisconsin and Louisiana Tech visiting LSU. UTEP goes to Texas on Sept 13, and Western Kentucky visits LSU on Nov 22 before the season finale at Jacksonville State.

Venus Williams, 45, set for U.S. Open singles

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

NEW YORK Venus Williams will make her return to Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open after a twoyear absence, receiving a wildcard invitation on Wednesday to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows at age 45. The American will be the oldest entrant in singles at the tournament since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation Williams already had been given a wild-card entry by the U.S Tennis Association for next week’s mixed doubles competition. Singles matches begin in New York on Aug. 24. She is the owner of seven major singles championships including at the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001 along with another 14 in women’s doubles, all won with her younger sister, Serena, plus two in mixed doubles. Serena retired with 23 Slam singles trophies after playing at the 2022 U.S Open The older Williams last participated in a Grand Slam tournament at the 2023 U.S. Open, losing in the first round. She hasn’t won a singles match there since 2019. When Williams came back to the tour last month at the DC Open for her first match anywhere in 16 months, a reporter asked whether that would be a one-time thing or if there were plans for other tournaments “I’m just here for now and who knows?” she replied then. “Maybe there’s more. But at the moment, I’m focused just on this. I haven’t played in a year There is no doubt I can play tennis but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player I’m a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.”

Last year, Williams had surgery to remove uterine fibroids and missed most of the season. In Washington this July she competed for the first time since March 2024 at the Miami Open and became the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 at Wimbledon in 2004; Williams

The Minnesota Twins are no longer for sale, executive chair Joe Pohlad announced on Wednesday After exploring a variety of options since publicizing the sale 10 months ago, the Pohlad family will remain the principal owner of the club and add new investors instead. Carl Pohlad, a banking magnate and the late grandfather of Joe Pohlad, bought the Twins in 1984 for $44 million.

Pohlad said the family was in the process of adding two “significant” limited partnership groups to bring in fresh ideas, bolster critical partnerships and shape the long-term vision of the franchise that relocated to Minnesota in 1961 after originating as the Washington Senators. Details about the new investors were being kept private until the transactions are approved.

Browns QB Sanders likely to miss game with an injury Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders suffers an oblique injury during drills ahead of practice Wednesday and is considered unlikely to play in the Browns’ preseason game against the Eagles.

Sanders did not play the remainder of the practice session after he was hurt and was ruled out of Thursday’s practice.

Sanders and the Browns were in Philadelphia for a pair of joint practices ahead of Saturday’s preseason game.

The Browns said Sanders is dayto-day

Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards with two first-half touchdown passes to Kaden Davis in his NFL preseason debut in a win over Carolina on Friday night.

Running back Cook agrees to four-year deal with Bills

Running back James Cook secured a big payday and a four-year deal to stay with the Buffalo Bills, ending his contract standoff. Cook’s deal will pay him $48 million over the four years, two people with knowledge of the agreement confirmed to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity

The contract includes $30 million in guaranteed money one of the people said. Cook was selected by Buffalo in the second round of the 2022 draft out of Georgia.

The new deal comes a day after Cook ended his weeklong standoff by returning to practice. He skipped four straight sessions and although he took part in warmups, he declined to play in Buffalo’s preseason-opener against the New York Giants on Saturday

NBA approves sale of Celtics for $6.1 billion

The NBA on Wednesday unanimously approved the sale of the Boston Celtics to a group led by private equity mogul Bill Chisholm, a deal that values the franchise at more than $6.1 billion the largest ever for an American pro-sports team.

also won a doubles match at the DC Open.

In the process, Williams drew a ton of attention for her tennis, yes, but also for letting the world know she’s engaged to an Italian actor and for her half-joking comments about needing to get back on court to get covered by health insurance.

“I love Venus We’re friends. I didn’t really know this was something she was still wanting to do. But I also didn’t know it was something she didn’t want to do,” said Mark Ein, the chairman of the hard-court tournament in Washington. “I was surprised. And it was a wonderful surprise.” Williams also entered the Cincinnati Open via a wild card last week, exiting in the first round of singles.

In New York, she will play in the Aug. 19-20 mixed doubles tournament with Reilly Opelka, a 27-year-old American who used to be ranked in the top 20.

Other women getting singles wild cards for the U.S. Open are Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn, plus France’s Caroline Garcia — who’ll be playing in her last Grand Slam tournament before retirement — and Australia’s Talia Gibson. Men’s wild cards went to Americans Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic and Darwin Blanch, and France’s Valentin Royer and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.

The league said the transaction is expected to close shortly When it does, Chisholm will take ownership of at least 51% of the team, with full control coming by 2028 at a price that could bring the total value to $7.3 billion. The previous record for a U.S sports franchise was the $6.05 billion paid for the NFL’s Washington Commanders in 2023. The record price for an NBA team was the $4 billion mortgage firm owner Mat Ishbia paid for the Phoenix Suns in 2023.

Rangers put slugger García on 10-day IL

The wild card-chasing Texas Rangers put slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list Wednesday because of a sprained left ankle, and activated outfielder Evan Carter after he missed 10 games because of back spasms. Texas made the moves with both outfielders before their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness but could be available to pinch-hit. García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

NCAA aims to curb faking of injuries

BY ERIC OLSON AP collegefootball writer

Officials will crack downoncollegefootball players who feign injuries, the number of overtime timeouts will be reduced, and referees willuse different verbiage when announcingthe results of video reviews.

Those are among thechanges for the 2025 season, the National Football Foundation announced Wednesday in its annual summary of rules changes.

Combatting the practiceofplayers fakinginjuries to stop the game clock was an offseason priority for the NCAA Football Rules Committee.

Beginning this season, if aplayer on the field presents as injured after the ball is spotted for the next play,that player’steam will be charged atimeout. If the team does not have timeouts remaining, a5-yard delay-of-game penalty will be assessed.

The player also must remain out of the game for at least one down, even if that team is granted atimeout, and may not return until receiving the approval of amedical professional.

Feigning injuries, sometimes at thecoach’sinstruction, hasconcerned the rules committee in recent years. It’satactic defenses use to slow down tempo offenses or as away for an offense to avoid adelay-of-gamepenalty or get an extra timeout.

In overtime, each team will con-

LSU

Continued from page1C

Moore has been arock at center Redshirt sophomore DJ Chester and Northwesterntransfer Josh Thompson have earned themajority of reps at guard, but LSU also has rotated in redshirt sophomore Paul Mubenga and redshirtfreshman Coen Echols at their spots.

At tackle,redshirtsophomore Tyree Adams and redshirt freshman Weston Davis routinely have held starting positions.

Adams started at left tackle in the Texas Bowl and has maintainedthe role throughoutcamp Davis has had promising moments thanks to his athleticism and size, but he’salso struggled in pass protection and has committed multiple false-start penalties. Defensivedepth

An aggressive offseason in thetransfer portal combined with acore of young players returning and key playerssuchas Perkins coming back mean that LSU heads into the season with its deepestdefenseunder coach Brian Kelly

That reality has been evident this preseason. Defensive coordinator Blake Bakerhas continued to rotate defenders in and out of the first unit during scrimmages. The Tigers have gone at least four deep at defensive tackle and edge rusher,have relied on multiple linebackers,and haven’tbeen afraid to rotate safeties and cornerbacks in and out depending on the situation.

Young players not expected to play amajor role heading into camp have emerged. FreshmanCJ Jimcoily hassteppedup as aphysical option at the star position.Redshirt freshman Tylen Singleton has made plays at linebacker.Redshirt freshman edge rusher KolajCobbins has shown potential as apass rusher

RABALAIS

Continued from page1C

operations, is overseeing the search. He said he’snever experienced the volume of interest in a job like this before.

“I’ve done these searches before, but not to this magnitude,” Haskin said. “It’skind of like replacing along-standing head coach.It’s avery important piece of LSU’s game day,not just for football but for men’sbasketball.

“The thing that got me wasall the people who grew up with Dan being the voice of LSU football and basketball. What he meant to LSU It’sanhonor,and carrying that tradition on to thenext person is atall task. Those are big shoes to fill. But Iknow he’shonored to have the ‘passingofthe mic,’ as he told me.” Borne, who was the longtime

tinue to beallowedone timeoutin boththe first and secondextra periods. Afterthe firsttwo overtime periods, each team will be allowed onlyone timeout for the remainderofthe game. Previously,a

team wasallowed one timeout in each overtime period regardless of how manywere required todecide awinner Aftervideo reviews, if the ruling on the fieldisnot overturned, ref-

practice onApril 12 at TigerStadium.

Starters fromyears past haven’tbeen guaranteed the sameroles on this year’steam. Sixth-year senior defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory hasrotated in andout ofthe first-team defense, as has sophomoreAhmad Breaux. Andfifth-year senior safety Jardin Gilbert hasworked fewer snaps with the first team because of the emergenceofNC State transfer Tamarcus Cooley and Houston transfer AJ Haulcy Gooden is aproblem

No defensive lineman has made more plays in the backfield than Bernard Gooden, atransfer from SouthFlorida.

At6-foot-1and268pounds,Gooden uses his smallersize to his advantage. He’squick offthe snap, agile and often too slippery for blockers to stay in frontof. No defensive linemanhasbeenmoreeffectiveagainst therun than himsofar

Last year,Goodenhad 35 quarterback pressures and 16 tackles, accordingto ProFootball Focus. The fifth-year senior began his

president ofthe Louisiana Chemical Association, has inspired awide variety of applicants. One is Bill Sanders, principal at Lee &Associates, a local commercial real estate firm. Sanders’experience at sports announcing admittedly is limited It entails calling eighth-grade basketball games for his nephew at St.Aloysius School.But there was something aboutthe LSU PA job that spoke to Sanders, as it no doubt did for thousands of other LSU fans, an inner and perhaps unspoken ambition. Difference was, Sanders took his shot and actually clicked on thebutton to submit his auditiontape while most folks dismissed the notion out of hand.

“You really do feel funny recording yourself on yourphone at the kitchen island and converting it to an MP3 file,which Ihad to ask ChatGPT how to do,” Sanders said with achuckle. “It’sthe definition of gettinguncomfortable. But, I

career at Wake Forestbefore he spent two years at SouthFlorida.

RBsafter Durham

LSU has an established No. 1 running back in Caden Durham. Butafter the sophomore, the Tigers’ options have dwindled. Junior Kaleb Jackson and freshman Harlem Berry were expected to play big roles in the backfield this season, but Jackson hasn’ttaken anoticeable step forward after struggling last year,and Berry has had trouble with the physicality of LSU defenders at practices.He’s had issues withbreaking tackles and fumbled Saturday Freshman JT Lindsey was suspended lastweek after he was arrested on accessory toseconddegreemurdercharges. He could have helpedtake some load off of Durham, but LSUwillturnto sophomore Ju’Juan Johnsonto fill that roleinstead. Johnson began preseason camp working with the quarterbacks but has since shifted back to running back after playing theposition last year

Someother changes:

n On kick returns, if any player on the receiving team holdsout his armstomake a“T” signal during the kick, the team gives up its right to make areturn and the play will be whistled dead.

n Any defensive player within 1yard of the line of scrimmage (stationary or not) maynot make quick and abrupt or exaggerated actions thatsimulate actionatthe snap in an obviousattempt to make the offense commit apenalty.The offense will be held to the same standard as anypre-snap movement thatsimulatesactionatthe snap is afoulonthe offensefor a false start.

n The defense maynot have more than11players on the field when theballissnapped. The infraction is treated as alive-ball foul and is a5-yard penalty.Ifthis occurs after the two-minute timeout in either half,the offensewill have the option to reset the game clock back to the timedisplayed at the snap. The gameclock will then restart on the next snap.

n Aplayer attempting to recover alooseballisaddedtothe list of defenseless players.

n All forms of gun violence are notpermitted andsimulating the firing of aweapon is an automatic unsportsmanlike foul. This year,if aplayer simulates the act of brandishing aweapon, it is considered an unsportsmanlike act.

erees will announce that the call is “upheld.”Previously thereferee would say the call is “confirmed” if videoshowed the call wascorrect or “stands” if there was no clear andobvious evidence to overturn the ruling. If the call is changed after the review,the referee will describe the reason.

SOUTHERN

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Southwestern Athletic Conference title game —Givens, redshirt junior Jelani Davis (now at Kent State), and seniors Darrius Harry and Willie Miles —were all returners from 2023. Last season, the group helped the Jaguars finish third in the SWAC in sacks (35). The team recognizesthe newness that permeates throughout thedefensive line, but it has confidence in the pieces assembled as the team gets closer to the season opener against North Carolina Central at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23 in Atlanta

“We’ve grown alot,” Yassine said. “We’re ayounger group. We have some younger talentthat I think will really help us in the trenches.”

Coach Terrence Graves and his staff knowwhatthey’ll get from Givens. When it came to supporting him, they were intentional withthe traits they targeted in the transfer portal and recruiting trail.

“Wewanted more size,” Graves said. “Weput an emphasis on going out and getting biggerguys, notnecessarily taller guys. Ithink sometimes that can be overrated. Youwant playmakers. In aperfect world, you want 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, but now to get that on our level, alot of times that’sa developmental guy or a guy thattransferred that you just happen to get. But when youcan get those guys 6-1 and ahalf, 6-2, 6-3, now you got the guyswho playatthis leveland play well.”

The 6-foot-1, 285-pound Yassine is an example of how that philosophy has worked for Southern after he transferred from Lamar following the 2022 season.Hewas effective in 10 gameslast year with 23 tackles,

“I’vedone these searches before, but not to this magnitude. It’skind of like replacing along-standing head coach.It’saveryimportant pieceofLSU’sgame day, not just for footballbut for men’sbasketball.”

DAVEHASKIN,LSU associate athletic director for marketing

thought, whynot takeashot? The main reason Iwanted to do it was to tell my kids you have to be willingtotry thingsthatare hard and not be afraid to fail.” Applicants were asked to submit an audition tape reading from a script andsenditinelectronically Finalists are being brought into TigerStadiumthisweek for inpersonauditions. MikeSmith, the longtime voice of LSUgymnastics meets, is oneof the finalists.HeheadstoTigerStadium’sPAbooth Thursdayfor his in-person audition,put in the unusual position of having his voice

boomout notover100,000 voices but 100,000 empty seats.

“Frommyperspective,it’san honortobeconsideredand very gratifying,” said Smith, the founder andCEO of MDSA Strategic Communications, aSt. Francisville-based public relations firm. Smith got his start as the PA announcer forLSU softball, and he also calledsoccer,swimming anddivingmeets—and even LSU baseball. It was during asoftball game at oldTigerParkwhere then LSU gymnasticscoach D-D Breaux strode into the press boxto look Smith up in person.

51/2 tackles for loss and twofumble recoveries.

Anew playerwho could followthatexample is Garden City (Kansas) Community College transfer HabibBello.The 6-3, 315-pound junior defensive tackle had 13 tackles and asack in seven games last year and has shown signs of being aplug-andplay player at Southern.

“A big, strong guy,hecan move people,” Yassine said of Bello “He’samountain of aman. We call him grizzly bear.” Bello andjuniorRiverside Community College transfer Darren Scott are both from the West Coast. Graves said theirprogress is linked to their adjustment to the humidity in Baton Rouge.

“The JUCO guys Habib Bello andDarrenScott,those guys are now entering theirown and pretty muchbeing acclimated to the heat coming from California to South Louisiana,” Graves said. “Those guys have startedtoget acclimated and you can see it. Those guys are flying around.”

Younger defensive tackles whoalsohave impressed are redshirt freshman LSU transfer De’Myrion Johnson,true freshman Sean Wallace and redshirt sophomore Jayden Rogers, who was an offensive lineman last season.

“The young freshman from ZacharyHigh, Sean Hamilton, Isay the guy is gonna be agood one,” Gravessaid. “It’sgonna be hard not to play him all year.” Southern knowsthatwithGivens, the preseason SWAC Defensive Player of the Year,onits side, pressuring the backfield is bound to happen. With the influx of hungry new and returning players, the Jaguars have faith they can dominate upfront.

“We’re gonna get it done,” Yassine said. “I think every year we have the same questions come about, andIthink everyyear we kind of silence those questions.”

“She asked me if Iknew anything about gymnastics,” Smith said. “I said, ‘No, ma’am,Idon’t.’ She said, ‘You’re perfect for the job.’ Isaid, ‘How’sthat?’ She said, ‘I’ll teach you everything you need to know.’ ” Thirty-one yearslater,Smith is still at it. He also hasbeen the PA voiceofthe SEC gymnastics championship meets since2018. “I’ve learneda lotabout the fans andemotions andinnerworkings of the sport,”Smith said. “I know howtoget folks firedup, but the primary focusistoinform. It’ll give me the opportunity to bring thattoTigerStadium, if I’mso fortunate.” Haskin said LSUisplanning to honorBorne at ahome football game this season,though which onehas yettobedetermined. The newTigerStadium PA voicewill no doubt make the introductions. It will be thenthatthe mic truly will be passed.

NFL

Scuffleensuesduring Falcons-Titans practice

BY CHARLES ODUM AP sportswriter

FLOWERYBRANCH, Ga. Atlanta Fal-

cons quarterback Michael Penix was surprised to findhimself in the middle of ascufflethatinterrupted his team’ssecondjoint practice with the TennesseeTitans on Wednesday After connecting with Ray-Ray McCloud on along touchdown pass,Penix said he was“celebrating”with comments he said were delivered in response to “words” from Tennessee players

“I like to compete at ahigh level and when Icompete Idon’t really do too much talking,”Penix said “So somebody said something to me and OK,Ithrow atouchdown.

‘Now what y’all talking about?’ And then Iguess not everybody take that the right way.And Ithink that’sall it was.”

Penix was thrown to theground by one or more Tennesseeplayers. Penix ended up at the bottomofa pile of players.

He said it was the first time he’s been involved in an altercation like that on the field.

The scufflecame only hours after Falcons coach RaheemMorris commended players for competing in the first joint practice Tuesday “without all the foolish things” like fights on the field.

Tennessee players were critical of their inability to match the in-

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

keep going,” Shough said.

Plays like these illustrate the growth that has been evident lately.Shough learned from the bad interception and aweek later applied the knowledge to earn apositiveoutcome.

Shough’sstart to trainingcamp was fairly bumpy.Heplayed half atick slow,hestruggled with pressure, he sometimeslooked unwilling to show off his arm with aggressive throws andinstead opted for check-downs. Butas things have progressed, the No. 40 overall pick appears to be finding his footing and is making astrong push to claim the team’sstarting quarterback job. It has helped that the Saints have been playing what Shough described as “realistic football” in recent practices. While New Orleans is still doing somescripted periods, it hasshifted more heavily into “call-it” mode, in which the offensive and defensive playcallers call plays live depending on the situation.

Shough has appreciated that hisplay-caller,headcoachKellen Moore,isaformer professional quarterback who understands the benefitofhaving practice follow a game-like flow “Whenever we’re going in the actual football scenarios,I think that’swhen Iperform thebest,” Shough said. “We’re out there, and I’m just operating and feeling it and getting out there on the move and all those things. That’s where Ifeel most comfortable.” Moore repeatedly has said that one of the traits he likes about Shough is his maturity and the

tensity of the Falcons’playersin Wednesday’sfirst joint practice. The visitors weredeterminedto show more fire in the second joint practice.

“The team hada little scuffle going on, but after the scufflewe were still able to play football and keepthathighintensity,” Titans outside linebacker Arden Key,a former LSUstar,said.

The joint practices were staged at theFalcons’ practicefacility before the teams play apreseason game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday night.

Falcons quarterback coach D.J. Williams wasn’thappy to seePenix, the second-year quarterback enteringhis first full season as the starter, at the bottom of the pile.

“Obviously,you don’twant that,” Williams said. Williamssaid it was revealing to see how Penix’steammates rose to hisdefense.

“I take the positive outofit,”

Williams said. “Like you saw the guys takeupfor him. AndIthink that speaks to his leadership and whoheisinthatlockerroom.

Obviously he has the relationship and the trust of the guys because everybody ran to hisdefense. So Ithink that’sa good thing for the Falcons.”

Following the practice, Penix was stillstrugglingtoprocess the altercation

“I don’tknow.I was somebody

SAINTS WR MEANS OUT FOR SEASON

Bub Means gothurtinSunday’s preseason losstothe Los Angeles Chargers, and nowhis seasonis over.

The NewOrleans Saints placed thesecond-year wide receiver on injured reserve Wednesday.Coach Kellen Moore said Tuesdaythat Means had suffered an ankle injury and wouldmiss some time By beingput on injured reserve in the preseason, Means is no longer eligible to returnin2025.

The placement on the list marks a disappointment forMeans, whohad hoped to takea meaningful step forward in his secondseason.

TheSaintsdraftedMeans in the fifthround of the2024draft out of Pittsburgh. He had nine catches for 118 yards and atouchdown in seven games as arookie.

His rookie campaign also ended after he suffered an ankleinjurylast year at SoFiStadiumagainst the LosAngeles Chargers. Matthew Paras

way he’sdemonstrated an ability to respond to adversity.Incollege, thatmeant navigating several serious injuries. Through training camp, it has meant bouncing back after amistake onthe practice

field or in apreseason game. That was evident in the preseason opener,when Shough threw an interception thatwas returned for atouchdown “It’snot what we want; it’salow moment forany quarterback,”

Rattlershines whileHaener’s work decreases

else,” Penix said.

Asked about being at the bottom of thepile, he said,“Idon’t know where Iwas at in it. It was alot of people in it.Iknow Iwas down there somewhere. Iwasn’tthe only one, though.”

Penixsaidhewas appreciative “to see the team had my back and they were there to makesure they protect me. Alot of guys asked me if Iwas good.”

Morris said Penix will sit out the second straight preseason game. Backup Kirk Cousins also may be held out after the two split mostof thesnaps in team drills in thejoint practices.

Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward, whoplayedtwo series against the Buccaneers, said he wasencouragedbythe response to the team’sdisappointing Tuesday practice.

“Today’spractice, we werealot better,” Ward said.

Ward acknowledged his Wednesday practice wasn’tperfect. He was pickedoff by Falcons safety DeeAlford after he was forcedto scramble andthentried to throw theball out of bounds.

“Just not putting enough on it,” Ward said.

Ward, theNo. 1overall pick in this year’sNFL draft,said he already feels “I’d be fully prepared” to open the regular season this week.

Moore said. “But the way he responded was excellent.”

Theresponse wasa five-play, 82-yard touchdowndrive. Shough went 4for 4for 80 yards on that drive,with the final throw a54yard thunderbolttoMason Tipton fora score.

Thatisthe sort of stuff Moore is looking for out of his young quarterback, anditiswhy Moore hasbeen optimisticabout Shough even while he wasgoing through his growingpainsearlierincamp

“This is Tyler’s first NFL training camp; you cannot rush to judgment,” Moore said. “You’vegot to go through this whole process. He’s goingtoget better each and every day; there are alot of things that are first-time trial and error, andthenyou getbetter thesecond time. Youdon’tsee alot of the samemistakes.”

Shough said incrementalimprovement was his goal going into training camp.While he entered it withsome expectations —heis thehighest-drafted quarterback theSaintshavehad sinceArchie Manning —hewasn’tnecessarily placing those expectations on himself.

He is going to try to play perfect football, and he’sgoing to critique himselfharshly when he makes mistakes. But he’sallowed himselfsome grace, because those mistakes ultimately generate the growthhe’slooking for “I mean, I’m not going to be Tom Brady or Drew Brees in training camp right now,” Shough said. “I want to aspire to continue to grow, and Ithink thecoaches have done agood job of just facilitating alot of these practices.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com

Luke Johnson

IRVINE, Calif. With ajoint practice against the Los Angeles Rams on the schedule forThursday,the New Orleans Saints held ashort and light practice Wednesday afternoon at UC-Irvine, working forabout an hour in shells before calling it a day New Orleans ran only 32 plays during full-team drills, focusing mostly on situational work, and ran its first period of seven-onseven since late July.Asthey’ve done several times in recent practices, the Saints rotated Tyler Shough and SpencerRattler with the first teamthroughout, giving Shough the first opportunity while giving Rattler an extended look with the first team late. After asomewhat off day in Tuesday’spractice, Rattler rebounded with amostly sharp effort in Wednesday’ssession. Andwhile Kellen Moore said earlier this week that Jake Haener is still a part of thestarting quarterback discussion,the coach has not backed up his words with the distribution of practice snaps. Here’show the numbers shook out for the quarterbacks:

n Spencer Rattler: 11 of 16 (111-166overall) n Tyler Shough: 3of6 (97-154) n Jake Haener: 0of1 (73-109) New Orleans ran only three full-team periods, and only one of them featured an extended drive —the quarterbacks ran amax of only four plays on the other Rattler’s first twodrives featured some excellent, confident throws. He hit Brandin Cooks on a deep crosser forabig gain on his first series, and then threw an in-rhythmdart to Chris Olave for atouchdown on ared-zone sequence. His only incompletion on those first twodrives wasa throw to Kevin Austin that likely would’ve resulted in adefensive pass interference had there been referees at practice.

The Saints closed practice by giving Rattler the first-team offense on the 40-yard line needing atouchdown in alate-game situation.Onthat drive, Rattler converted athird and short with athrow to Olave and afourth and 5to Juwan Johnson at the line to gain just before the linebacker arrived. Rattler also gained a

Spencer

free 5yards by getting BryanBresee to jumpwith ahard count. He positioned the Saints to have ashot at ascore —itwasn’t clear how manypoints the offense was trailing by in the situation, but it wasclear it needed morethan a field goal. But after afalse start by Rashid Shaheed set the offense back, Rattler’slast gasp heave to the end zone as the clock was draining was intercepted by Julian Blackmon to end the practice.

While Shough wasthe first one on the field Wednesday,his reps were extremely limited. He led only two drives, one of which ended when his throw missed low and behind Shaheed on a third-downplay —after which, he found Shaheed on the sideline and appeared to talk through the play

His only other drive came in the redzone, which he ended on anifty play-action shovel pass touchdown to Jack Stoll.Shough alsoconverted athird and 3on that red-zone sequence with a quarterback draw —another data point in along line of them suggesting the quarterback run game maybeinMoore’stoolbox.

Haener,meanwhile, is clearly the odd man out of the mix. He took only four scrimmagesnaps in Wednesday’spractice, all with the third team,and his lone pass attempt wasathrowaway as he evaded pressure.

NewOrleans has held four practices in California so far, and Haener has thrownjust 17 passes during full-team periods in those sessions —one less than Rattler had in Wednesday’s practice.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Cowboysowner Jones revealscancerdiagnosis

First-year Cowboys coach

BYDAN GREENSPAN Associated Press

OXNARD,Calif. Dallas Cowboys

owner Jerry Jones credited an experimental trial drug for successfully treating advanced melanomaashedisclosed his cancer diagnosis publicly for the first time. Jones revealed his illness in adocumentary series, “America’sTeam: The Gambler andHis Cowboys,” which will debut on Netflix next week. The 82-year-old Jones thentold TheDallas Morning News how he was initially diagnosed in June 2010 and underwent two surgeries on his lung andtwo on his lymph nodes over the next 10 years after skincancer cells metastasized to other parts of his body

Brian Schottenheimer described Jones’ fightwithcancerasan “amazing story” and praised him forgoing public.

“I’m glad that Jerry shared it, just because Ithink it gives people hope,” Schottenheimer said. “Itgives people the strength to say ‘Hey,you can beat this.’ ” Schottenheimer,51, used his last newsconference of the Cowboys’ nearly monthlong stay in Southern California to talk about his own cancer diagnosis. He underwent surgery in 2003 for thyroid cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,Minnesota. Then-Washington Commanders owner DanSnyder helped arrange Schottenheimer’streatment twoyearsafter firing his father,Marty Schottenheimer,as coach.BrianSchottenheimerwas Washington’squarterbacks coach during the 2001 season, the same year Snyder himself wastreated forthyroid cancer

“Well, you don’tlike to think about your mortality,but Iwas so fortunate to have some great people that sent me in the right direction,” Jones said after practiceonWednesday. “I got to be part of atrial that waspropitious. It really worked. It’scalledPD-1 (therapy), and it really,really,really worked.”

“It doesn’tdiscriminate against anybody,” Schottenheimer said. “And mine wascertainly less serious, but Iwas 28 when Iwas diagnosed withthyroidcancer Nothing like Stage 4, nothing like what Jerry and other people have to go through. But you hear that word ‘cancer,’ and it scares the hell out of you.”

Schauffele is in danger of missing finale of PGA

Golfer out of top 30 of FedEx Cup for first time since rookie year

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Xander

Schauffele knows where he will be the last weekend in September, having already clinched a spot on the U.S. team for the Ryder Cup

The immediate concern is where he goes next week

Not since he was a PGA Tour

rookie in 2017 has Schauffele, who won two majors a year ago, been outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup going into the all-important BMW Championship. He tied for 20th, advanced to East Lake and won the Tour Championship

Every year since then, he already has locked up his spot in the Tour Championship by now

This has been a different kind of year, and now Schauffele is at No 43 and in danger of missing the FedEx Cup finale for the first time.

“This is my worst position I’ve ever been in, injury aside,” said Schauffele, who was hurt by missing two months at the start of the year with a rib injury “Even my rookie year I was in a better position. It sort of has that rookie-year vibe to me a little bit. Just sort of need to work my way through the playoffs.

“You definitely play a little bit freer when you know you’re in (East Lake),” he said. “I’m try to get that freedom because I have absolutely nothing to lose.”

The BMW Championship always has a lot at stake. The top 30 not only have a chance at the Fe-

dEx Cup title, they are assured of being in three of the four majors, and have made enough money to be virtually certain of the PGA Championship

This year, the stakes are a little higher

The BMW Championship starts Thursday at Caves Valley, the final tournament before the top six players in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings qualify for the team that goes to Bethpage Black on Sept. 26-28 Schauffele’s two majors last year helped him clinch one of those spots.

Justin Thomas is at No. 7, and the six players behind him likely would have to win or finish second to earn one of those automatic spots. After next week’s Tour Championship, U.S captain Keegan Bradley fills out the team with six wild-card picks.

Thomas is likely there one way or another, so the stress is minimal. Three others have never played in a Ryder Cup, which could work against them. And then there’s Bradley, who is considering picking himself as the first playing captain in more than 60 years.

“I still have a lot to prove as well as everyone around me on the list,” said Bradley, who checks in at No. 10 in the Ryder Cup standings and No 12 in the world ranking.

The proving ground is Caves Valley, hosting the BMW Championship for the second time since 2021. Patrick Cantlay won a thriller that year with a stunning rally of clutching putting — the gallery

was chanting “Patty Ice!” at him after each big putt he made that carried him to a playoff victory over Bryson DeChambeau.

Cantlay hasn’t won this year He is No. 19 in the FedEx Cup, safe for the Tour Championship, but at No. 15 in the Ryder Cup standings. The course has gone through an overhaul, longer at 7,601 yards, and two par 5s have been converted to par 4s. The fifth hole is now 367 yards and slightly downhill, but the green has wild ridges that make it unlikely for players to take the risk of driver off the tee.

“They definitely made it significantly harder, so should be a good challenge for us this week,”

Scheffler said. Scheffler is the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup and he already has clinched $10 million for leading after the regular season and $5 million for being assured the top seed going to East Lake.

Rory McIlroy is at No. 2, even without playing the first postseason event last week. This is his first appearance since the British Open. He is among those with little stress at Caves Valley For the Americans who aspire to play in the Ryder Cup, consider the BMW Championship the first of two weeks to audition for the team. But for those wanting to chase the $10 million FedEx Cup prize, the BMW Championship is their last chance.

“Definitely been trying pretty hard to get something going,” Schauffele said “This year has been a work in progress to get back into some good form. Still a work in progress. You know, 50 guys, a small field, and I’ve played well them before. So why not do it again?”

QBs Wilson, Fields reunite as starters for Giants, Jets

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

EAST RUTHERFORD N.J A year ago, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were the top two quarterbacks at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp vying for the starting role. This week, they were back on the same field together in the same market, but with different teams with Wilson installed as the starter for the New York Giants and Fields filling the same spot for the Jets.

“It’s kind of crazy how it worked out,” Fields said.

Two joint practices — one at each team’s facility — before the Giants and Jets face off in the preseason on Saturday night gave Wilson and Fields the chance to catch up however briefly before again going their separate ways. Rivals no more, they were able to connect and wish each other the best — in separate conferences, with their collective history behind them.

“He’s a great friend, great teammate,” Wilson said. “I loved playing with him and I know he’s going to have a great year.”

Their time together had its ups and downs. Wilson was given the starting job out of camp, then a calf injury sidelined him for the first six weeks, opening the door for Fields to play, winning four of

the six games he started. Wilson got healthy and took over, starting every game the rest of the way, while Fields tweaked a hamstring and was relegated to backup duty through a wildcard playoff defeat. During the process of coming to peace with that, Fields learned some things from his older counterpart along the way

“Just how he goes about his everyday business, you can really see how he operates and stuff like that,” Fields said after practice Tuesday at the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, New Jersey “Really just trying to take bits of pieces of what he does and implement it into my game, my routine and everything like that.”

Fields agreed to join the Jets on March 10 after they announced they were releasing Aaron Rodgers, who later signed with Pittsburgh. Wilson did the same with the Giants a little over two weeks later That coincidence came up initially, but they haven’t talked about it much since.

That doesn’t mean they don’t talk. Their relationship dates to Fields’ time in college from 201820, by which time Wilson already had established himself in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with Seattle.

“He’s been awesome: an awesome mentor, an awesome per-

Scheffler to use different caddie at BMW tourney

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Scottie Schef-

fler is going with a PGA Tour caddie for the BMW Championship as his regular looper, Ted Scott, deals with a family emergency at home in Louisiana.

A Lafayette native, Scott had to leave immediately after the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and Scheffler used longtime friend Brad Payne from the College Golf Fellowship. This week he has turned to Michael Cromie. He usually works for Chris Kirk, who missed qualifying for the BMW Championship by one shot.

“He works really hard and does a good job. We’re both learning a new golf course this week, so it’s been fun,” Scheffler said.

The family matter involving Scott was kept private, though Scheffler said he has spoken to him a couple of times and the family was in good spirits.

“I think Ted’s where he needs to be right now, and I think caddying is probably the last thing on his mind, as it should be,” Scheffler said.

Scheffler finished one shot out of a playoff last week at the TPC

Southwind. He remains the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup at the BMW Championship and already is assured of a $5 million bonus for staying at the top going into the FedEx Cup finale next week at East Lake.

Scheffler said Cromie was learning a lot of the minutiae that often goes unnoticed by spectators, such as when he likes to snack and how often to drink, and how he likes to get the yardage and other conditions communicated to him.

There’s also the matter of getting yardages from tee-to-green.

“Brad did a great job stepping in, but Brad is a friend, he’s not a professional caddie,” Scheffler said. “I think when you have a professional on the bag, it’s a bit different. It’s not that I don’t trust Brad to do the numbers. It was just something that I think both of us probably thought it was a good idea to be double-checking each other

“Going into this week, it will be kind of more of a normal routine for me in terms of preparation over the shot and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s nice for me to be able to walk up to the ball, see the shot that I can imagine hitting, and then when the numbers come, we start trying to really dial it in.”

Bears QB will get first preseason playing time in Johnson’s offense

BY GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Associated Press

LAKE FOREST Ill. Chicago Bears

coach Ben Johnson sees the second preseason game as the ideal time to get quarterback Caleb Williams some on-field reps.

Williams will see game action in Johnson’s offense for the first time when the Bears host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. Backups Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum and Austin Reed took the snaps in last Sunday’s 24-24 tie against Miami in the preseason opener

son,” Fields said. “It was great learning from him last year and great being in the same room as him last year.”

Their dynamic has evolved over the years, including sharing a locker room together in Pittsburgh. Wilson called that chance “a tremendous honor in the quarterback club.”

“I really admire his work ethic, admire his friendship and who we (were) as teammates and we’ll forever be connected,” Wilson said. “He’s tremendously talented, and I’ll always have his back and all that and vice versa.”

Fields feels the same, believing he could reach out to Wilson for advice and receive it with no hesitation, even though they’re no longer with the same organization.

They’re still in the same area after signing with the New York teams that call northern New Jersey home for games and practices. Still, the two haven’t gotten the chance to hang out for an extended period of time or break bread over dinner to talk about glory days. They probably won’t now, with the season on the verge of getting underway, but they’re glad they found favorable landing spots. “We were just happy for each other,” Fields said. “Both happy that we were able to find a new home.”

“Our starters are going to play, everyone is going to play,” Johnson said Wednesday “Last week and really all through camp I’ve been pretty consistent with the thought of reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get (Williams) up to speed.” Johnson said he got Williams 80 to 100 practice plays within the offense that he wouldn’t have had if he had played in Sunday’s game.

Of course, Williams wasn’t facing a live defense trying to sack him.

“This week it’s a different schedule, a different length of time in terms of between games, and all that,” Johnson said. “So our plan right now is the guys that sat out last week they will be playing this week.”

Williams’ play in training camp practices has been inconsistent but Johnson has seen improvement from the second-year QB.

“That was by design, and so if we struggle at all in the huddle to get the play out, then the delays are going to pop up. That’s a little bit part of the learning process and us growing, but by design we have made this very challenging and hard and we know what we need to do as a staff to elevate some of that pressure. I think Week 1 we’re going to be in a good spot.”

What’s less clear is who will start at left tackle.

Starter Braxton Jones is being challenged by rookie Ozzy Trapilo. However, at Wednesday’s practice, second-year undrafted free agent Theo Benedet alternated with Jones at left tackle with the starters, while Trapilo was the backup right tackle.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson remains on the non-football injury list, but Ben Johnson sounded more optimistic Wednesday that the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback will be ready for the season opener “He’s right on track, he’s right where he need to be,” Johnson said. “It’s really like I said, those type of injuries you really don’t know Short term, long term, every guy is a little bit different, but I think we’re going in the right direction.”

“I’m pleased with how he is able to spit these plays out right now,” Johnson said. “He’s made significant progress in that regard and once we get going here in a game week, we’re going to condense the verbiage even more. But we have challenged him. It’s been a lot.

LIVING

Inthe golden haze of the 1960s and ’70s, myDad Oscar andIcrafted memories along the waterways of New Orleans that would lasta lifetime.

BY BETH DOOLEY

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

“Americans just do not know how to cook green beans,” said afarmers market vendor as she handed me asack of deep green, plumpbeans she picked earlier that morning.

“When they’re underdone and too crisp, they just don’t have much taste. Give them a fewminutes moretimewhen you boil them.They’re tender but still firm.The little beans within the green bean [the seed] will cook, too.”

Having grownuponlimp, soggy,overcooked beans, I wasreluctant to try this technique. Igot the water boiling, dropped the beans, watched the pot and when they turned abright green, drained them and refreshed under cold running water.They werepliable but no longer snapped back. After Idrizzled the beans with alittle good olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt, they wereso finger-licking good I nearly polished off the entire lot. The baby bean inside the green bean added agentle creaminess. Cooked this way, the beans were milder and less harsh —more of themselves. Iturnedwhatwas left of those beansinto abowl,added a fewcooked newpotatoes from last night’s dinner and alittle prosciutto forbody,tossed the whole thing in aboldvinaigrette andtoppeditoff withthinly sliced radishestoadd apeppery snap.IfIhad cherry tomatoes, corn or cucumbers at the ready, they’d make fine additions, too. Given summer’sheat, this allveggie combo makes asatisfying alternative to achilled main dish pasta salad, plus it can be made ahead. Serve with ahunk of toothy rustic bread and save what’sleft for a fine lunch. Follow this light, healthy dinner with ascoop of ice cream fordessert …noguilt!

BigGreen Bean Salad

Kevin Belton

Our ritual began before dawn. Dad would gently shake me awake. Iwould rub sleep out of my eyes, grab my pre-packed tacklebox and follow himto the car

We frequented the marshybayous where cypress knees poked through still waters. Dad taughtme to read the water —how ripples might betray a lurking bass, or how to spot the telltale bubbles of feeding catfish.

ä See MEMORIES, page 2D

Florentine Fish

¼cup halfand half

Serves 4.

1tablespoon olive oil

1tablespoon butter

1cup red bellpepper, chopped 2garlic cloves, minced 9ounces fresh baby spinach 2ounces cream cheese

3tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated 45-ounce, thick pieces of skinless white firm fish fillet(such as grouper flounder or bass) Kosher salt Fresh black pepper

1. In alarge skillet over medium heat,add ½tablespoonofolive oiland ½tablespoonof butter, red bell pepper andgarlic andcook for about 4minutes

2. Add spinach, season with apinch of salt and pepper mix until thespinach wilts down.

3. Addcream cheese, half and half and Parmesan cheese. Mix well until cream cheese is melted andresembles creamed spinach.

4. Heat aseparate skilletonmedium-high heat, add remaining oil and butter

Serves 4. Recipe is from Beth Dooley.Inspired by the classic French bean salads, you can make the salad in advance to allow the flavorstomarry.

1pound newpotatoes (see tip) 2cloves garlic, smashed 1tablespoon chopped capers 2teaspoons Dijon mustard ¼cup white wine vinegar

1 3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2pounds green beans, trimmed 2slices prosciutto, cut into thick pieces, optional 1tablespoon chopped thyme, plus more forgarnish 2tablespoonschoppedparsley, plus more forgarnish 2tablespoonschoppedbasil, plus more forgarnish ¼cup slicedradishes

5. Season fish on both sides withsalt and pepper and place in thehot pan.

6. Cook 6minutes on first side and flip fish over and cook other side an additional 5minutes, until cooked through and browned.

7. Divide the spinach mixture on thebottom of each plate and top with apiece of fish.

1. Bring alarge pot of wellsalted water to aboil. Add the potatoes and cook at abrisk simmeruntil easily pierced, about 25 minutes. Drain.

2. In asmallbowl, whisk together the garlic, capers, mustard and vinegar.Add the oil and whisk until emulsified.

3. When the potatoes are just cool enough to handle, slice into ¼-inch chunks and transfer to a largebowl. Add half of thevinaigrette while the potatoes are still warm

4. In alarge potofrapidlyboiling water,cook the beans until they turn brightgreen, 4to5minutes. Transfer to acolander and drain; rinse under cold water.Cut into ½-inch pieces andtransferto thebowl withthe potatoes.

5. Add the prosciutto and toss with enough of the dressing to coat the beans. Add the herbs and top with the radishes. Garnish with anyleftover

and moreherbs.

CheeseburgerRice Paper Spirals

Serves 4. Recipe is from Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

1pound

2eggs, beaten with alittle

2tablespoons

1tablespoon

garlic powder

Squirtortwo of ketchup

BURGER

Continued from page1D

burrito-style into atight cylinder,curled into aspiral and baked to agolden crisp under asprinkle of sesame seed.

Atangy,mayo-based special saucecrafted with yellowmustard and sweet pickle relish is served on the side for dipping, along with shoestring fries. Recipes for the culinary creation dubbed the “Big Mac Spiral” have been making the rounds on social media for awhile, and I’m guessing it’sbecausethe

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Brown and crumble ground beef in alarge nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat. Drain any grease. Season to tastewithsalt, pepperand alittle garlicpowder.

3. Whiskeggs with alittle waterinawide and shallowbowl (it should be large enough to hold arice paper round comfortably).One at atime, carefully dip 3rice papers intothe beaten egg for afew seconds until they soften (begentle!), thenlay them in arow with theedges overlapping on alightly oiled cutting board.

4. Spoon ¼ofthe ground beef evenly across the top of thesheets, followed by shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced pickles and onions.

spirals actually are afairly goodfacsimile of the real deal.The rice paper bakes up crispy,the ingredients are fairly economical and for those on gluten-free diets, there’snoworries aboutcross-contamination with flour Rice paper roundsaren’t as delicate as they might appear,but youdohave to be carefulwhen rehydrating them. Also, they need only afew secondsinthe egg wash;linger toolong and they’ll get too soft and be tricky to work with It helps to get all the ingredients organized at awork station before you prepare to roll. Lightly

5. Roll up like acigar into atight cylinder, then gently curve it around itself into a spiral.

6. Place spirals on aparchment paper-covered baking sheet. Brush with alittlebit of the egg washand sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.

7. Bake spirals in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown.

8. While spirals arebaking, make saucebystirring all the ingredients together in asmall bowl. Tasteand add moreseasoning if needed. Set aside.

9. Whenspirals are done baking, remove from the oven and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

oiling the cutting board so nothing sticks will also makerolling easier,along with allowing yourself a few tries to get thehang of it. Practice makes perfect! Don’tfret over small tears, as theycan be repaired by overlapping the rounds. If the rip is toobig to work with, simply replace the torn sheet with afresh round —a package comes with more thanthe 12 sheets you need to make this recipe. Iserved therolls with a copycat McDonald’sspecial sauce but you could use thousand island dressing. Or,simply dip the spirals in Heinz ketchup. Fries go best as aside.

PHOTO By MONICA BELTON

Strawberry CheesecakeParfaits

Serves 3

2cups graham cracker crumbs

¼cup butter,melted

1tablespoon sugar 16 ounces cream cheese,softened

14-ouncecan sweetened condensed milk

1teaspoon vanilla

1pound fresh strawberries, chopped Whipped cream and extra strawberries for topping

1. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, meltedbut-

MEMORIES

Continued from page1D

“Patience,”Dad would say,his voice barely above a whisper,“is what separates a fisherman from someone who just holds apole.” Our expeditions often took us to Lake Pontchartrain, where the brackish waters yielded speckled trout and croaker.Ilearned to bait hooks with live shrimp. When we returned home, our coolerheavy withthe day’scatch, my mom Sarah would smile becauseweall knew dinner would be spectacular

Those catches weretransformed into feaststhat celebrated the bounty of Louisianawaters.

Dad’sspecial courtbouillon —arich tomato-based stew swimming with fresh fish, onions, bell peppers and celery —would simmer all afternoon, filling our home with aromas that announcedsuccess.

Iwould watch, mesmerized, as my Dad added just the right amount of filé powder,atechnique passed down from his Dad.

Summer vacations meant trips to Waveland Beach

ter,and sugar in amedium mixingbowl. Set aside.

2. In alarge mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electricmixeruntil smooth. Addsweetened condensed milk andvanilla,and mix until combined.

3. Addasmall layerofthe cheesecake mixture to the bottom of theglass.

4. Adda layerofgraham cracker crumbs (using half of thecrumb mixture, divid-

alongMississippi’sGulf Coast. There, the fishing changed from freshwater patience to theexcitement of castinginto thesurf

Dadtaughtmehow to read the tides and spot the sandbars where red fish and flounder gathered

We’d spend hours with ourlines in the water, talkingabout everything andnothing,the rhythmic sound of waves providing the soundtrack to their conversations

These coastal tripsoften included detours to Canton,Mississippi, wheremy great-grandmother’shouse stood as an oasis of Southern comfort.

Her kitchen,perpetually warm and fragrant, welcomed uswith open arms andcast-iron skillets.

She’d transform their catches into crispy fish fillets dredgedincornmeal, accompanied byhushpuppies that Iswore were the best! Her table groaned under the weightofSouthern delicacies —collard greens simmered with ham hocks, sweet corn puddingand tomatoes still warm from her garden. Fordessert, there was alwayspeach cobbler or

What do Idowith leftoversauce packets?

Dear Miss Manners: Ioften have lunch at fast-food restaurants. Iwill get five or six packetsofhot sauce from the self-serve area, and when I’m finished with lunch, Ijust return the unopened packetstowhere Igot them. Sometimes I get bad looks from people for doing this. What is the etiquette for this? Should Ijust trash any unopened sauce packets?

circumstances in thewarehousebefore they made it to theself-servearea.

watered?

ButMissManners hasa question foryou: Given that theportionsofeverything are identical from meal to meal, would it notbesimplerto decide,onceand for all, howmanypackets youneed?

ed amongthe 3glasses). Add alayer of choppedstrawberries(dividing thestrawberriesevenly amongthe glasses). Reserve6-9 pieces of strawberry for garnish.

5. Add athick layer of cheesecake mixture (divided evenly among the cups). Adda final layerofthe graham cracker mixture.

6. Topwith whippedcream andadditionalfresh strawberry pieces.

blackberry pie, thefruits harvested from her backyard. “Eat up,” she’dinsist, “growing boys need their strengthfor fishing. Through Dad’spatient instruction, Ilearned perseverance, attention todetail and respect for nature’s rhythms. In Grandma’s kitchen, Iabsorbed the importance of family traditions and the love expressed through carefully prepared food. Today,when Icast aline into water or prepare Dad’s courtbouillon recipe for my own family andfriends, those sun-dappled days return —the weight of my Dad’shand on my shoulder thetaste of Grandma’s cornbread, and the knowledge that some inheritances can’tbemeasured, only treasured.

Kevin Belton is resident chef of WWL-TV and has taught classes in Louisiana cooking for 30 years. The most recent of his four cookbooks, “KevinBelton’sCookin’ Louisiana: Flavors from the Parishes of the Pelican State,” was published in 2021. EmailChef at chefkevinbelton@gmail. com.

Gentlereader: Either solution is acceptable to etiquette, but this is not one you are going to win, no matter what you do. Half of the restaurant will lecture you about the waste of throwing away the unused packets —never mind thatthe packets are tiny The other half will lecture you about itsbeing unsanitary to return them— never mind thatthey are sealed, and thatthey were likely stored in far less sanitary

Dear Miss Manners: I wasatthe dentist, having acleaning, when the dentist and the hygienist began adetailed conversation about their plans forthe weekend.

One said something funny and Ichuckled —as much as one can with tools in one’smouth —atwhich point apause in their conversation led me to believe Ihad committed afaux pas by eavesdropping. In the future, should I pretend to be part of the furniture?

Gentle reader: Or morelike aplant being pruned or

Miss Manners suspects that the dentist and hygienist, just like all those people yelling into their phones in public and then glaring at passersby,indeed thought you were eavesdropping. Youwere not. In fact, you may have done them afavor by reminding them that someone else waspresent. Otherwise, they may have gone on to say something terrible, thinking their patient wasunder anesthesia. If this happens to you again, pretend you were coughing and that you need arinse.

Send questions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Teenagedaughtercausing strain

Dear Harriette: My 13-yearold daughter has recently started refusing to attend family gatherings like birthday parties or Sunday dinners at my parents’ house. She says they’re “boring, fake and awaste of time.” Iunderstand that she’sa teenager and trying to find her own identity,but it’sreally starting to hurt my parents’ feelings. They miss her and have mentioned that they feel like she doesn’t care about spending time with them anymore. I’ve tried explaining to my daughter how importantfamily is and how these events aren’tjust

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2025. There are 139 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed theSocial Security Act into law,ensuring income for elderly Americans and creating afederal unemployment insurance program

Also on this date:

In 1936, in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, in the last public execution in the United States.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World WarII.

about fun; they’re about staying connected to those whomatter to us. She just shuts downorrolls her eyes. Idon’t wanttoforce her to come and make things even more awkward, but I also don’twant to let her completely disconnect from the family.How do Inavigate this without pushing her further away or upsetting my parents even more? Is this just aphase, or should Ibeconcerned about something deeper going on? —Awkward Teen Dear Awkward Teen: First, makesure that nothing has happened between your daughter and your parents to cause her not to wantto spend timewith them.Shy of an egregious incident between them, my recommendation is that you let your daughter know that you need her to show up and be respectful at these family events; they are not optional. If she refuses, take away aprivilege that she values, like visiting with friends or using social media.

TODAYINHISTORY

In 1947, Pakistan gained independence from British rule.

In 1994, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the terrorist knownas“Carlos the Jackal,” was captured by French agents in Sudan.

In 1997, an unrepentant Timothy McVeigh wasformally sentenced to death forthe OklahomaCity bombing. (McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001.)

In 2016, Usain Bolt became the first athlete to winthe 100-meter dash in three consecutive Olympics, taking gold at the Summer Games in Rio.

In 2021, a7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, turning thousands of structures into rubble; the quake leftmore than 2,200 people dead and injured

Yes, teens can go through tremendous emotional turmoil, but that should not give them apass to be disrespectful to others, especially their grandparents. Do not tolerate it. Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com.

morethan 12,000 others. Today’sbirthdays: Broadway lyricist LeeAdams (“Bye Bye Birdie”) is 101.College Football Hall of Famer andNFL quarterback JohnBrodie is 90. Singer Dash Crofts is 85. Country singerConnie Smith is 84. Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 80. Film directorWim Wenders is 80 Singer-musicianLarry Graham is 79. Actor Susan Saint James is 79. Author Danielle Steel is 78.“Far Side”cartoonist Gary Larsonis75. ActorCarlLumbly is 74. Olympic gold medal swimmer Debbie Meyeris73. ActorJackee Harry is 69. NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace is 69. ActorMarcia Gay Hardenis66. Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic”Johnsonis66.

LEo(July 23-Aug. 22) You have thewherewithal to be successful, but first, you must determine what that means to you. It's time to make yourself happy and to let others fend for themselves.

VIRGo(Aug.23-sept. 22) Volunteer, do your part and see what happens. The peopleyou meet will lead to new possibilities. Engageindiscussions, offer suggestions and showcase your skills.

LIBRA(sept. 23-oct. 23) Push hard when energy is arequirement to get things done on time and your way. Take control, do your thing andstop waitingfor someone else to step in and do things foryou.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Engage in events or pastimes that will helphone your assets. Travel, reunions and personal growthwill helpyou discover what's missing in your life and how to turn things around thatare holding you back.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Achange will spark your imagination and interests. Homeimprovements that youcan do yourself will be themost rewarding. Invest wisely in yourself, and you can thrive.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Show compassion and understanding, and you'll gain insight into what others want and need to supportyourdemands. Life is about clarity, honesty and free will, not conquest and orders.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be careful making promises.Don't offer anything youcan'tdeliver. Achange at home can

save youmoney. Alucrative opportunity is within reach. Extend your thoughts and putyour plans in motion

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March20) Spend less time analyzing and pontificating and more time doing. What youaccomplish will have an impact on thepeople you encounter and thereputation you are building.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Paymore attentiontotaking care of your responsibilities and less to adding to your to-do list. Organization and disciplineare necessary to maintain your reputation. Aclean slate will helpyou avoid criticism.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Emotions will surface regarding domesticand personal affairs. Don't waste time on matters over whichyou have no control Follow your heartand do whatmakes you happy.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) An open mind will keep you aware of thepossibilities. Converse with peopleinthe know, andyou'll discover somethingthatwill make life choices easier. Be observant and thorough.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Look at every anglebefore you make amove. Walk away from excessive suggestionsand avoid taking on responsibilities that don'tbelongtoyou

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILYCIrCUS

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

In the “Get Smart” television show, the agents fromControl usually battled against the bad guys from Kaos.Tobe successful, bridge players must know howtocontrolthe trump suit; otherwise, the play might become chaotic.

In this example deal, Southisinfour spades. The defenders start with two rounds of hearts. How should South continue?

North’ssequence showed agame-invitational hand with exactly threespades. Although South had only 12 high-card points, hissecondaryclub fit madehis hand worth game.

Declarer has 10 winners: five spades, two diamonds and three clubs. And if trumps are breaking 3-2, it will be easy totakethosetricks.SoSouthshouldwonderabout a4-1 spadesplit

To see why thisisimportant, suppose declarer trumps the second round of hearts and starts to draw trumps. When he sees the 4-1break, he will have to stop (or run out of trumps) and shift to clubs But if East ducks the first round, takes the second (seeing West’s high-low to show adoubleton), andgivesWest aclub ruff, the defenders will eventually get a diamond trick for down one.

Since South is doomed to lose one diamond whatever happens, he should be happy to concedeitattrick two,discarding adiamond from hishandinstead of ruffing. Then if athird heart is played, declarer can ruff in thedummy,keeping his five trumps intact. He can draw trumps, knock outthe club ace and claim

wuzzles

Watch out for the loser-on-loser play. ©2025 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word, phrase, name,place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previousanswers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words

thought

steps of agood man are ordered by the Lord:and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that Sabine Pass Lique‐faction,LLC,SabinePass Liquefaction StageV LLC, andSabineCross‐ing, LLChaveappliedfor a401 WaterQuality Certi‐fication clear, grade, ex‐cavate,and place fill to expand theexisting Sabine Pass LNGfacility offLA-82 west of Johnson BayouinCameron Parish.The expansionin‐cludes theadditionof three(3) naturalgas liq‐uefaction trains,one (1) boil offgas re-liquefac‐tion unit,and supporting infrastructure,including apermanent laydown yard offUS-90 in Lake CharlesinCalcasieu Parish.Additionally,a 48inch diameter natural gaspipelineapproxi‐mately 55.6miles in length extendingfrom LibertyCounty, Texas, to theSabinePassLNG fa‐cility, alongwithsup‐portinginfrastructure, will be constructed. Sabine Pass Liquefac‐tion,LLC,SabinePass Liquefaction StageV LLC, andSabineCross‐ing, LLCisapplyingto theLouisiana Depart‐ment of Environmental Quality, Office of Environ‐mental Services for a WaterQuality Certifica‐tion in accordance with statutoryauthority con‐tained in theLAC 33:IX.1507.A-Eand provi‐sionsofSection 401 of theClean WaterAct Commentsconcerning this applicationcan be filedwiththe WaterPer‐mits Division within ten days of this notice by ref‐erencing WQC250728-03, AI 248060 to thefollowing address: LouisianaDepartmentof EnvironmentalQuality WaterPermits Division P.O. Box4313 BatonRouge,LA 70821-4313 Attn:Water Quality Certifications Comments maybesub‐mitted by emailto DEQWaterQualityCertifica‐tions@la.gov Acopyofthe application is availablefor inspec‐tion andreviewatthe LDEQ Public Records Center

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that Utilities, Inc. of Louisiana(“UIL”) has filedwiththe Louisiana Public ServiceCommis‐sion (“LPSC”) an Applica‐tion forConsolidation of Rate Base,PhasedUni‐form Rate Structure, Ad‐justment in Retail Rates, Depreciation StudyIm‐plementation,Modifica‐tion andExtension of FormulaRatePlan, Ap‐proval of Termsand Con‐ditions, Approval of In‐dustrial Biochemical Oxygen Demand Class, UpdatedSystemDevel‐opment Charges, andIn‐terimRateRelief(the “Application”). In theAp‐plication, UILmakes pro‐posals that couldresult in changesinrates ap‐plicable to thefollowing parishes:Ascension,As‐sumption,Bienville,Cal‐casieu,EastBaton Rouge, Evangeline,Jack‐son, Livingston,Madison Morehouse, Richland, St Landry,St. Tammany Tangipahoa,Vermillion, Washington,WestBaton Rouge, West Feliciana, andWinn. UIL’sapplica‐tion maybeviewedat 602 NorthFifth Street, 12thFloor,Baton Rouge, Louisiana70802 or on the LPSC’s website (www lpsc.louisiana.gov) Questionsand com‐mentsshouldbedirected to theLPSCat(800) 2562397. 153960 Aug. 14, 1t $155.57

IbervilleStreet,St. Gabriel, LA 70776 at 6:00 pm During thepublichear‐ing, allinterestedparties will be giventhe rightto appear andbeheard on thefollowing matter: 1. Applicationfor rezon‐ingfromR1A –(LowDen‐sity Residential) to C2 –Commercial Name of Applicant: ChristianBaynham(on behalf of East West Land Co.LC) Name of Property Owner: East West Land Co.LC Parcel #: 8401364000 TractC CurrentZoning: R1(A) –LowDensity Residential Allinterestedpersons maysubmittheir views in person,inwriting,or by signed proxyprior to thepublichearing or at thepublichearing Allmaterials concerning this hearingmay be seen at theSt. GabrielCity Hall,located at 5035 Iberville Street,St. Gabriel, LA 70776, be‐tween thehours of 8:30 a.m. and4:30p.m Mon‐daythrough Thursday Phone(225) 642-9600. Accommodations will be made forpersons with disabilities andnon-Eng‐lish speaking individuals provided that aseven (7) daynoticeisreceivedby theCity. 153540-aug14-1t $22.77

THEREON; ANDTHAT SAID LISTINGSWILLBE EXPOSEDINMYOFFICE IN ROOM 126 OF THE GOVERNMENTAL BUILD‐INGAT222 ST.LOUIS STREET,BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANAFOR PUBLIC INSPECTION ANDCOR‐RECTIONFOR APERIOD OF 15 CALENDAR DAYS BEGINNING AT 8:30 A.M. THURSDAY,AUGUST21, 2025, ANDENDINGON FRIDAY,SEPTEMBER 5, 2025, AT 4:30 P.M. ANY TAXPAYER DESIRING TO EXAMINEANASSESS‐MENT IS REQUESTEDTO CALL DURINGSAID15 DAYPERIOD.

BRIANWILSON, ASSESSOR EAST BATONROUGE PARISH 150029-AUG1-15-14 $194

PUBLIC NOTICE

PBVINDEPENDENT IN‐SPECTORThe East Baton RougeParishHousing Authority(EBRPHA)is acceptingproposals for aqualified vendor to per‐form residentialproperty inspectionsinaccor‐dancewithFederal hous‐ingquality standardsfor itsProject BasedVoucher (PBV)program.Official biddocuments canbe downloaded at www ebrpha.org beginningAu‐gust 11, 2025. Questions relatedtothe RFPshould be submittedto dmejia@ ebrpha.org by 4:30 PM CT,Friday, August 29 2025. Sealed proposals must be submittedto 4731 NorthBlvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, by 4:30 PM CT,Friday, September 5, 2025, in accordance with theRFP.Nopropos‐alswillbereceivedafter thespecified date and time.THE RIGHTISRE‐SERVED TO REJECT ANY ANDALL BIDS ANDTO WAIVEINFORMALITIES 151831 Aug. 6- Aug. 25 21t $244.34 PUBLIC NOTICE

ThePlanningCommis‐sion of theCityofBaton Rougeand theParishof East BatonRouge will hold apublicmeetingon Monday,August18, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.,inRoom 348, City Hall locatedat222 St.Louis Street,3rd floor BatonRouge,Louisiana ThePlanningCommis‐sion will consider thefol‐lowing rezoning requests andamendmentstothe “Comprehensive Land UsePlan” as indicated: PUBLIC HEARINGS –CITY &PARISH CURRENTZONINGCASES: PA-5-2520414 Samuels Road To amendthe Com‐prehensive Land Use Plan from Agricul‐tural/RuraltoCommer‐cial,located on thenorth side of Mount PleasantZacharyRoad, east of SamuelsRoad, on apor‐tion of property nowor formerly knownasTract B-1-A-1-A-2-Aofthe WilliamT.Woodside Property.Sections6 and 66, T5S, R1W, GLD, EBRP LA (Council District 1Noel) LOCATEDINSECTIONS 6 &66, T5S-R1W, GREENS‐BURG LAND DISTRICT, EAST BATONROUGE PARISH,LOUISIANA COMMENCINGFROMTHE SOUTHWESTCORNEROF TRACTB-1-A-1-A-2-A AT THENORTH MARGIN OF MT.PLEASANTZACHARY ROAD.SAIDPOINT BEING THEPOINT OF BEGIN‐NING.THENCEPROCEED NORTH04DEGREES 22 MINUTES13SECONDS EAST FORA DISTANCE OF 42.79 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE is hereby given that theCityofSt. Gabrielwillholda Public HearingonThursday, Au‐gust 21, 2025. TheCity Councilpublichearing will be held at St.Gabriel City Hall Complex –CouncilChambers– 5035 IbervilleStreet,St. Gabriel, LA 70776 at 6:00 pm During thepublichear‐ing, allinterestedparties will be giventhe rightto appear andbeheard on thefollowing matter: 1. Ordinancetoamend City of St.Gabriel Code of Ordinances Section2-2: MunicipalVehicles Allinterestedpersons maysubmittheir views in person,inwriting,or by signed proxyprior to thepublichearing or at thepublichearing Allmaterials concerning this hearingmay be seen at theSt. GabrielCity Hall,located at 5035 Iberville Street,St. Gabriel, LA 70776, be‐tween thehours of 8:30 a.m. and4:30p.m., Mon‐daythrough Thursday Phone(225) 642-9600. Accommodationswillbe made for persons with di bili i d Fo st news sand en nt, do the Ad pp

SPECIAL ELECTION

Pursuant to the provisions of aresolution adopted on February12, 2025 by the Metropolitan Council of the ParishofEast Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge (the “Metropolitan Council”), acting as the governing authority of the Downtown Development Districtofthe City of Baton Rouge, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN thata special election will be held in the Downtown Development Districtofthe City of Baton Rouge, on Saturday,OCTOBER 11, 2025, and thatatthe said election there will be submittedtoall registered votersofthe Downtown Development District of the CityofBaton Rouge, qualified and entitledtovoteatthe said election underthe Constitution and lawsofthe StateofLouisiana and the Constitution of the United States of America, the following proposition, to-wit:

PROPOSITION

Shall the Metropolitan Council of the ParishofEast Baton Rouge and City of Baton Rouge, acting as governing authorityofthe DowntownDevelopment District of the City of Baton Rouge, be authorizedtorenew the levy and collection of aten (10) mills ad valorem taxonall property subject to taxationwithin the boundaries of the DowntownDevelopment District of the City of Baton Rouge (the “Tax”) (anestimated $741,390 is reasonably expected at this timetobecollected from the levy of the Taxfor an entireyear), foraperiod of five (5) years,beginning with the tax collection for the year 2027, and annually thereaftertoand including the year 2031, and shallthe proceeds of said Tax(after paying the reasonableand necessary expenses of collecting and administering the Tax, if any),beused entirelyand exclusively for the planning,development management,operation and improvement of the facilities, public improvementsand services of the Downtown Development Districtofthe City of Baton Rouge?

WARD/PRECINCT LOCATION

01/001 FireStation#12, 555 Government Street, Baton Rouge

01/003 (PARTOF) SouthBlvdFlaim,802 Mayflower Street,Baton Rouge

01/004 (PARTOF) New St.John MissionaryBaptistChurch, 1455 South Street,Baton Rouge

01/005A (PARTOF) Alaska Street Recreation Center,3014 Alaska Street,Baton Rouge

01/005B (PARTOF) Alaska Street Recreation Center,3014 Alaska Street,Baton Rouge

01/006 (PARTOF) Greater New Bethel BaptistChurch, 110 South 19th Street,Baton Rouge

ARegular Meeting of the BoardofCommissioners for the Atchafalaya BasinLevee District was held in the office of the Board in PortAllen, Louisiana at 4:00 pm, Wednesday,July 9, 2025. President Tommy Thibodeaux called the meeting to order.Aquorum was present with the following members werepresent:

COMMISSIONER PARISH

KennethGordon West Baton Rouge

Mark Guillory St.Landry

Spencer Harvey Ascension ClaytonHurdle Iberville

Jacques LaCour Pointe Coupee

Earl MatherneAssumption Sean McGeeIberia

Jody Meche St. Martin

Zito

Present:

Human Resource Specialist

Crissi CanezaroAdministrative Program Specialist B

Tiffany Weber Administrative Program Specialist B MollieOlinde Administrative Coordinator *** *

President Tommy Thibodeaux asked for public comments. Hearing none, he proceeded with the agenda as presented.

NOTICE

Sealed bids will be received by the BoardofCommissioners for the Atchafalaya BasinLevee District up to 2:00 p.m.,Wednesday,July 9, 2025, for the leasing forcampsiteofthe following described property to-wit, bid related materials may be obtained and electronic bids may be submitted online at www.centralbidding.com:

Lot, 100 feet wide by approximately 400 feet in depth, from the centerline of Hwy.977 to the water’sedge of the oldborrow pit, located in Section22, Township 13 South, Range 12 East,Parish of St.Martin, Louisiana. Amap and plat of the site areavailable at the Atchafalaya BasinLevee District office at 525 Court Street, Port Allen, Louisiana or call 225-387-2249.

Saidbids will be publicly opened at the office of saidBoardinPort Allen, Louisiana on July 9, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

The saidproperty will be leased as one tract forcash, to be paid annually, for aperiod of three (3) years, for the purpose of campsite.

Prospective bidders aretosatisfy themselves as to the validity of the land title prior to submitting their bids, inasmuch as the land will be leased without warranty of title except as against the Board’sown acts.

The successful bidder is required to submit proof of liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 on the leased land with the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District being named on the policy as additionallyinsured. Copies of the lease form to be executed areavailable at the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District office.

The land will be leased subject to any oil, gas and mineral lease, that may exist now or be entered into in the future, the bonus, rentals and royalties from which shall be reserved to the Board. Allmineral rights shall be reserved to the Boardinperpetuity in accordance with the Constitution.

The Boardwill notconsider any bids submitted for less than $1,000.00, per campsite, per year

The first annual payment must be submitted with bid.

The Boardreserves the right to reject any and all bids.

It is mandatory that allbidsare submitted on forms provided by the Atchafalaya BasinLevee District otherwise bid

be marked in bold print “Campsite Bid.” Tommy Thibodeaux KristyJewell President Secretary Asingle bid was duly opened and read. Commissioner Andrew Zita moved, seconded by Commissioner Kenneth Gordon and unanimouslycarried to accept the bid from Randy Leonard at arate of $1,000

01/013 (PARTOF)

01/017 (PARTOF) Department of Public Works TrafficEngineering Building,329

CommissionerSean

of

of

andunanimously carried to

insertingthe FinanceCommittee

thattheybe

in the official journal. The board unanimously agreed to rebid the official journaland only accept bids with aper squareinchprice. ** **

Ameeting of the Executive Committeeofthe BoardofCommissioners for the Atchafalaya BasinLevee District was held on Tuesday,June 24, 2025 at 4:00 pm at the BoardOffice in Port Allen, Louisiana.President Tommy Thibodeaux appointedCommissionerEarl Mathernetoserve as amember of the committeefor today’smeeting. Vice ChairmanJody Mechecalledthe meeting to order. The following members were present: Jody Meche, Vice Chairman Clayton Hurdle, Member Kenneith Gordon, Member Earl Matherne, Member DanielHebert,Ex-OfficioChairman Tommy Thibodeaux, Ex-OfficioChairman

Absent: Nickie Rockforte,Chairman Spencer Harvey,Member

Also Present: Crissi Canezaro, Administrative ProgramSpecialist Tiffany Weber,Administrative ProgramSpecialist RichardSparks, Superintendent William Tyson, Executive Director

1) Discuss andapprove apay adjustment for Mr.Richard Sparks. –Mr. Jody Mecheaddressed the boardonthe vital roll Mr.Sparks plays for the Levee Boardand expressed his feelings of it being in the best interest of the district to try to retain Mr.Sparks as long as possible. He said with his knowledge andyears of experience a$10.00 per hour (18.1%) increase would be adequate. CommissionerJody Mechemoved, secondedbyCommissioner Kenneth Gordon and unanimously carried to approve the pay adjustment.

Rollcallvote: Yeas: Commissioners Meche, Hurdle, Gordon, Hebert, Thibodeaux andMatherne Nays: None Absent andnot voting: Commissioners Rockforte andHarvey There being no furtherbusiness to come beforethe committee, upon motion by CommissionerKenneth Gordon andunanimously carried the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Jody Meche, Vice Chairman/s/Clayton Hurdle,Member /s/Kenneth Gordon, Member /s/Earl Matherne, Member /s/DanielHebert,Ex-OfficioChairman/s/Tommy Thibodeaux, Ex-OfficioChairman

CommissionerJacques Lacour moved, secondedbyCommissioner Andrew Zito andunanimously carried to approve the Executive Committee minutesofJune 24, 2025 as presented.

Mr.Will Tyson advised the boardthatthe Corps of Engineers received noticethatall funds thathad not been expended by June 30, 2025 for the LowerMississippi River Reevaluation Study,besentback to the U. S. Treasury.Until funds areadded to the newUSACE budget, no work can be done.

Mr.Tyson presenteda Right of Entry request for annualmaintenancebythe USACE on the Atchafalaya River Levee in Pointe Coupeeand St. Landry Parish including articulatedconcrete mattress repair andstonework. CommissionerEarl Mathernemoved, secondedbyCommissioner Kenneth Gordon andunanimously carried to approve the motion.

Mr.Tyson presentedaRight of Entry for annualmaintenance by the USACW on the Mississippi River in Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge Iberville andAscension Parish including articulatedconcrete mattress repair andstonework. CommissionerJody Mechemoved, seconded by CommissionerSean McGee andunanimously carried to approve the motion.

Mr.NicholasRockforte hadnolegal report at this time

CommissionerSpencer Harvey moved, secondedbyCommissioner Earl Matherneand unanimously carried to approve permanentstatus for Mollie Olinde

There being no furtherbusiness to come beforethe board, upon motion by CommissionerJody Meche, andunanimously carried to adjournthe meeting.

side‐walk or multi-usepath CASE 27-25 1750 Gulf SouthParkway To rezone from RuraltoLight Com‐mercialThree (LC3)on property locatedonthe west side of Gulf South Parkway, southofInno‐vation Park Drive, on property noworformerly knownasLot Y-2-B-1-A-1A-1-A-2ofBaton Rouge Area Foundation Prop‐erty.Section 77, T8S, R1E, GLD, EBRP,LA(Council District 3- Gaudet) CASE 28-25 6263 Comite Drive To rezone from HeavyCommercial(C2) to Single Family Residen‐tial (A1) property located on thenorth side of Comite Drive, east of PlankRoad, on property noworformerlyknown as aportion of Tract4-D1-7-A-5ofH.B.Weiland Tract. Section33, T5S, R1E, GLD, EBRP,LA(Coun‐cilDistrict2-Kenney)

RunDates: 8/8/2025 8/12/2025 8/14/2025 152672-aug8-12-14-3t $199.26

PUBLIC NOTICE VISITBATON ROUGE BOARDMINUTES July 29, 2025 Ascheduled boardmeet‐ingofVisit BatonRouge washeldonTuesday July 29, 2025, at theVisit BatonRouge office lo‐catedat359 ThirdStreet at 12:00 noon Presentwere: StephenHightower Gary Patureau Claude Reynaud KimGinn MartyEngquist StephenHightower Janice Delerno Presentbut notpartici‐pating in formal actions: Lauralyn Maranto, Staff Fatima Gautier, Staff Meetingwas called to orderand opened the meetingfor public com‐ment VisitBaton Rougestaff presentedthe Stateof Louisiana’sone-hour video“Prevention of Sex‐ualHarassment” to those in attendance in orderto satisfythe annual mandatorytraininginac‐cordance with La.R.S 42:341-345. Therebeing no further business, themeeting adjourned. 153978-aug14-1t $14.91

y St.LouisStreet,3rd floor BatonRouge,Louisiana ThePlanningCommis‐sion will consider thefol‐lowing rezoning requests andamendmentstothe “Comprehensive Land UsePlan” as indicated: PUBLIC HEARINGS –CITY &PARISH CURRENTZONINGCASES: PA-5-2520414 Samuels Road To amendthe Com‐prehensive Land Use Plan from Agricul‐tural/RuraltoCommer‐cial,located on thenorth side of Mount PleasantZacharyRoad, east of SamuelsRoad, on apor‐tion of property nowor formerly knownasTract B-1-A-1-A-2-Aofthe WilliamT.Woodside Property.Sections6 and 66, T5S, R1W, GLD, EBRP LA (Council District 1Noel) LOCATEDINSECTIONS 6 &66, T5S-R1W, GREENS‐BURG LAND DISTRICT, EAST BATONROUGE PARISH,LOUISIANA COMMENCINGFROMTHE SOUTHWESTCORNEROF TRACTB-1-A-1-A-2-A AT THENORTH MARGIN OF MT.PLEASANTZACHARY ROAD.SAIDPOINT BEING THEPOINT OF BEGIN‐NING.THENCEPROCEED NORTH04DEGREES 22 MINUTES13SECONDS EAST FORA DISTANCE OF 42.79 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED NORTH04DE‐GREES 29 MINUTES01 SECONDSEASTFOR A DISTANCE OF 248.17 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED SOUTH 89 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 32 SECONDSEASTFOR A DISTANCE OF 150.00 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED SOUTH 04 DEGREES 28 MINUTES 01 SECONDSWESTFOR A DISTANCE OF 290.96 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED NORTH 89 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 32 SECONDSWESTFOR A DISTANCE OF 150.00 FEET BACK TO THEPOINT OF BEGINNING. SAID PROPERTY BEING1.0 ACRESMOREORLESS.

CASE 29-25 20414 SamuelsRoad To rezone from RuraltoCommer‐cial WarehouseOne (CW1)onpropertylo‐catedonthe northside of Mount PleasantZacharyRoad, east of SamuelsRoad, on apor‐tion of property nowor formerly knownasTract B-1-A-1-A-2-Aofthe WilliamT.Woodside Property.Sections6 and 66, T5S, R1W, GLD, EBRP LA (Council District 1Noel) LOCATEDINSECTIONS 6 &66, T5S-R1W, GREENS‐BURG LAND DISTRICT EAST BATONROUGE PARISH,LOUISIANA COMMENCINGFROMTHE SOUTHWESTCORNEROF TRACTB-1-A-1-A-2-A AT THENORTH MARGIN OF MT.PLEASANTZACHARY ROAD.SAIDPOINT BEING THEPOINT OF BEGIN‐NING.THENCEPROCEED NORTH04DEGREES 22 MINUTES13SECONDS EAST FORA DISTANCE OF 42.79 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED NORTH04DE‐GREES 29 MINUTES01 SECONDSEASTFOR A DISTANCE OF 248.17 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED SOUTH 89 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 32 SECONDSEASTFOR A DISTANCE OF 150.00 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED SOUTH 04 DEGREES 28 MINUTES 01 SECONDSWESTFOR A DISTANCE OF 290.96 FEET TO APOINT ANDCORNER; THENCE PROCEED NORTH 89 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 32 SECONDSWESTFOR A DISTANCE OF 150.00 FEET BACK TO THEPOINT OF BEGINNING. SAID PROPERTY BEING1.0 ACRESMOREORLESS. TA-1-25Chapter 9, Use Regulations Unified De‐velopmentCodeamend‐ment to revise Section 9.5.2.D, Fences andWalls amending theheightand location criteria of fences andwalls allow‐ingfor placementcloser to astreet whenother similarfencesorwalls arelocated in thesame subdivision, or when abutting awider side‐walk or multi-usepath CASE 27-25 1750 Gulf SouthParkway To rezone from RuraltoLight Com‐mercialThree (LC3)on property locatedonthe west side of Gulf South Parkway, southofInno‐vation Park Drive, on property noworformerly knownasLot Y-2-B-1-A-1A-1-A-2ofBaton Rouge Area Foundation Prop‐erty.Section 77, T8S, R1E, GLD, EBRP,LA(Council District 3- Gaudet) CASE 28-25 6263 Comite Drive To rezone from HeavyCommercial(C2) to Single Family Residen‐tial (A1) property located on thenorth side of Comite Drive, east of PlankRoad, on aportion of property noworfor‐merlyknown as Tract4D-1-7-A-5ofH.B.Weiland Tract. Section33, T5S, R1E, GLD, EBRP,LA(Coun‐cilDistrict2-Kenney) BEINGA 4.87 ACRE TRACT OF LAND IN EAST BATON ROUGEPARISHBEING OWNEDBYDOUBLED CONSTRUCTION, LLC RECORDED UNDERFILE #P-1238761 (50061-EOP) IN THEOFFICIALPUBLIC RECORDSOFEASTBATON ROUGEPARISH, LOUISIANA, THESAID HEREIN DESCRIBED TRACTBEING MORE PAR‐TICULARLYDESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNINGAT A5/8"IRONROD ON THE SOUTHPROPERTYLINE OF THESUBJECT PROP‐ERTY ANDTHE SOUTH‐EAST CORNER ANDPOINT OF BEGINNINGOFHEREIN DESCRIBEDTRACT OF LAND THENCE N03°22'18"W A DISTANCE OF 520.70' TO A FOUND1/2"IRONPIPE; THENCE N01°43'50"WA DISTANCE OF 126.81' TO A FOUND1/2"IRONPIPE; THENCE N88°53'42"EA DISTANCE OF 343.79' TO A FOUND1/2"IRONPIPE; THENCE S00°20'51"EA DISTANCE OF 637.33' TO A FOUND5/8"IRONROD; THENCE S87°06'02"WA DISTANCE OF 313.54' TO A FOUND5/8"IRONROD (WHICH IS THEPOINT OF

BEGINNING) RunDates: 8/8/2025 8/12/2025 8/14/2025 152702 Aug. 8, 12, 14, 3t $239.70

Public Notices Nat ResCoastal

PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE theLa. Dept. of Energy andNatural Re‐sources, Office of CoastalManagement (OCM)has received the followingapplication(s) fora CoastalUse Permit (CUP)inaccordancewith theState andLocal CoastalResources Man‐agementAct of 1978, as amended, (La. R.S. 49:214.21-214.41),and the rulesand regulationsof theCoastal Resources Program.Applications forthe proposedwork maybeinspected at 617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, BatonRouge,LAor on theOCM webpageat: http://dnr.louisiana.gov/ index.cfm?md=pagebui lder&tmp=home& pid=591.Copiesmay be obtained upon payment of cost of copying. Writ‐tencomments, including suggestionsfor modifi‐cationsorobjectionsto theproposedworkand statingthe reasons thereof, arebeing so‐licited from thepublic. Comments must be re‐ceived within 25 days of thedateofpublication of this notice.Comments should be uploaded to ourelectronicrecord,

StateorFederal public hearingbeheldtocon‐siderthisapplication. Re‐quests forpublichear‐ings shallstate,withpar‐ticularity,the reasonsfor holdinga public hearing andmustcontain the name andcontact infor‐mation of therequester Beloware thereferenced application(s): *********OCM;P.O.Box 44487, BatonRouge LA 70804-4487; Phone: (225) 342-0566; Email: lorna. putnamduhon2@la.gov; OCMRe‐viewer:Lorna PutnamDuhon; CUPNUMBER: P20230756 (Revised) Name:St. Tammany Parish Government c/o CoastalEngineeringSo‐lutionsPOBOX 80735 BATONROUGE,LA70898 Attn:MikeSchulze Loca‐tion:Saint Tammany Parish,LA; Lat30-1325.94N,Long89-4948.42W;North Shore Beach; Carr Drive, Slidell, LA.Description:Pro‐poseddredgingofap‐prox.12,457 cy from Carr DriveCanal to restore original navigation depths. Dredgedmaterial will be hydraulically dredgedand pipedto a containmentarea. REVI‐SION 1: Proposed dredgedmaterialdis‐posallocationisbeing moved. No change in dredge location or cy.of material dredged. *********OCM; P. O. Box 44487, BatonRouge,LA 70804-4487; Phone: (225) 342-7942; Email: emily eley@la.gov; OCMRe‐viewer:Emily Eley; CUP NUMBER:P20250483 Name:Cameron Land Ventures,Llc c/oLloyd Engineering, Inc. 6565 W LOOP

SUIT TERMSOFSALE: CASH TO THEHIGHEST BIDDER WITH BENEFITOFAP‐PRAISEMENT,AND AC‐CORDINGTOLAW JEFF BERGERON,SHERIFF PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE BY:ANGIE DELAUNE, DEPUTY SHERIFF ADVERTISEINTHE ADVO‐CATE ON:8/14/25 & 9/11/25 $30.37

y Eight (578),saidsubdivi‐sion,saidlot

WBR Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

7/31/2025, 8/7/2025, & 8/14/2025 148546-JUL31-AUG7-143T $60.81

PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE, IN THEABOVE ENTITLED CAUSE, IWILL PROCEED TO SELL BY PUBLIC AUCTION, IN FRONTOFTHE COURT‐HOUSEDOOR, ON THE 17THDAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2025 AT TENO’CLOCK (10:00)A.M THEFOL‐LOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY: ONE(1) CERTAINLOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND,to‐gether with allthe build‐ings andimprovements thereon, situated in the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Stateof Louisiana, in that subdi‐vision knownasOAK SHADOW,and beingdes‐ignatedonthe official mapofsuchsubdivision recorded at MapBook2 Entry258 of therecords of theClerk andRecorder forthe Parish of West BatonRouge,State of Louisiana, as LOTFORTY‐SEVEN(47),saidlot 47 having thosemeasure‐mentsand dimensions as shownonsaidsubdi‐vision mapand being subjecttosuchservi‐tudesofrecordand as shownonsaidsubdivi‐sion map; subjecttore‐strictions,servitudes, rights-of-wayand out‐standing mineralrights of record affectingthe property MUNICIPAL ADDRESSIS: 2130 ORYDRIVE,BRUSLY, LA 70719 SEIZED IN THEABOVE

SHERIFF’SSALE SUIT NO.50158 PRIMARYRESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE,INC.vs ERNEST STRAUGHTER AND KIMBERLEEPIERCE, A/K/AKIMBERLEE PIERCE STRAUGHTER 18THJUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTPARISHOFWEST BATONROUGE STATEOF LOUISIANA SUIT NO.50158 BY VIRTUE OF AWRITOF SEIZUREAND SALE TO ME,DIRECTEDBYTHE HONORABLETHE EIGH‐TEENTH JUDICIAL DIS‐