The Advocate 10-30-2025

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

The Louisiana Legislature concluded businessand left the Capitol on Wednesday,and when it next returns, lawmakers could be stepping into a bitter partisan fightover Loui-

siana’scongressional map. Alleyes are nowonthe U.S Supreme Court’sruling in Louisiana v. Callais, apotentially watershed voting-rights and redistrictingcase, which could come as earlyasthis year or as late as next summer Duringaspecial session that ended Wednesday,the GOP-controlledLegislature approved aplan to delay Louisiana’snew closed party pri-

maryelections forU.S. House and Senate by one month from April to May Republican leaderssaidthey want the extra month to seeif aSupreme Court decision in theCallais case comes down

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana’sstategovernment will pay to ensure most federal food stamp recipients continue to receive money for groceries if theshutdown in Washington, D.C., continues, Gov Jeff Landry announced Wednesday But 53,000able-bodied adults are unlikely to be covered under the state’s plan, whichprioritizes the elderly,people withdisabilitiesand households with children

“Our priorities arevery specific.

We are going to protectthe most vulnerable population in Louisiana, which is our kids, our elderly and the disabled,” Landry said. “We’re going to lead the nation in the way we take care of people.”

Landry encouraged those thestate doesn’tcover to look for work at

Finalists revealed in LSU president search

BY CHRISTOPHERCARTWRIGHT Staff writer

One is aformer president of the University of Arizona. Another is an executive vice president at the UniversityofAlabama.The third is aLouisiana native who became president of McNeese State University last year

These three men are now finalists to be the 29th president of LSU, after theschool’s Presidential Search Committee winnowed downafieldoffive Wednesday during aday of interviews.

Dr.Robert Robbins, former University of Arizona president; James Dalton, executive vicepresident and provost at the University of Alabama, and current McNeese StatePresident Wade Rousse will be interviewed by thefull LSU Board of Supervisors during its Tuesdaymeeting, whenthe next president will be chosen. Before then, each candidate will spend a dayattown halls acrosscampus, engaging with students, faculty and staff.

The 20-person committee unanimously voted forDalton, while Robbins and Rousse each received 14 votes. Interim LSUPresident Mike Lee received nine votes, and Dr.Giovanni Piedimonte, former vicepresident of research at Tulane University,received no votes.

The newpresident will inherit asprawling land-grant university system witharound 41,700 students, 1,400 faculty and aroughly $1.1 billion endowment.

They also will be thrust into asea of important decisions. The next president will join during the hiring of anew football coach, following Brian Kelly’sfiring after the Tigers’ 49-25loss to Texas A&M last Saturday.They also will have to navigate thesuspension of federal funding, whichhas impacted PenningtonBiomedicalResearch Center.There are also plans fora new proposed 15,000-seat arena. The committee asked several

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has sent a44-year-old Louisiana Lockupdetainee, who a judge has said has a“substantial claim” to being an American citi-

zen, to Laos, where he is in custody, according to theLouisiana American Civil Liberties Union. Becauseofthatclaim, Judge Shelly Dick of theMiddle District Court of Louisiana issued atemporary order on Oct. 23 blocking thegovernment fromsending Chanthila Souvannarath out of the country.But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,which oversees ICE, says it sent Souvannarath to Laos before the ordercame down. Souvannarath, who was born in arefugee campinThailand, received lawfulpermanentresidenceinthe UnitedStates as a

baby,Dickwrote in her court decision.

Souvannarath said that, because his father became anaturalized citizen, and because he entered hisfather’ssolecustody at 13,he met the requirements for derivative citizenship andhas been aU.S citizen since childhood, according to theorder

The order says the government is “immediately prohibited from removing” Souvannarath from the United States or from the jurisdiction of theMiddleDistrict,which covers the Baton Rouge region.

“This is what happens when you disappear people to notorious,

DETAINEE, page 5A

Sheriff says N.C. man killed 4 of his children

SMITHFIELD N.C. The North Carolina man accused of killing four of his children after human remains were found inside the trunk of a vehicle at their home appears to have spread the slayings over several months, a sheriff said Wednesday

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was charged Tuesday with four counts of murder The sheriff’s office said investigators believe Dickens killed three of his biological children, ages 6, 9 and 10, as well as his 18-yearold stepchild.

Dickens had contacted Johnston County 911 late Monday and said he had killed his children. He told deputies that arrived at his home on the outskirts of Zebulon about 25 miles east of Raleigh — that four of his children were deceased and had been placed inside the vehicle parked in his garage, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff Steve Bizzell said Dickens killed his 6-year-old child in May, the 9-year-old in August, the 10-year-old in late August or early September, and the 18-year-old in September

Some neighbors said Tuesday that they didn’t remember seeing the family, especially after Dickens’ wife, Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, died in April 2024. Authorities had determined she died from complications from a miscarriage, and doctors ruled her death as natural, Bizzell said.

Asked how the children’s deaths were concealed for so long, sheriff’s Capt. Don Pate said the family members “were just very secluded” and that Dickens’ extended family was not welcome to visit.

Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million

BISMARCK,N.D A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities were liable for defamation and other claims brought by a pipeline company in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago

The award is roughly half the $667 million that a jury previously had awarded to the company, Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.

State District Judge James Gion granted and denied Greenpeace requests to rule in its favor on various claims before recalculating the damages.

Energy Transfer said it intends to appeal the verdict “as we firmly believe that the original jury findings and damages awards for conspiracy and defamation are lawful and just.”

The lawsuit stems from protests nearly a decade ago against the Dakota Access oil pipeline and its crossing of the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The case would go next to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

In March, a nine-person jury found Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. liable for defamation and other claims brought by Energy Transfer

The jury found Greenpeace USA liable on all counts, including conspiracy, trespass, nuisance and tortious interference with business relations. The other two entities were found liable for some of the total claims.

Microsoft deploys a fix to Azure cloud service

NEW YORK Microsoft has deployed a fix to address an outage of their Azure cloud portal that left users unable to access Office 365, Minecraft and other services.

The tech company wrote on its Azure status page that a configuration change to its Azure infrastructure caused the outage, and that its fix is being rolled out.

Microsoft acknowledged issues with its Azure Front Door, a global content and application delivery network, service on its status page and social media accounts.

On Downdetector, a website that tracks online outages, users reported issues throughout the day with Office 365, Minecraft, Xbox Live, Copilot, Costco Starbucks, and many other services.

Israel’s military says ceasefire is back on

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israel’s military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it carried out heavy airstrikes overnight across the Palestinian territory that killed 104 people, including 66 women and children, according to local health officials.

The strikes marked the most serious challenge to the tenuous truce to date.

The bombardment pointed to Israel’s readiness to strike hard at what it says are Hamas violations of the ceasefire deal. Meanwhile the militant group denies it is responsible and blames Israel for violations.

After it announced the restoration of the ceasefire, the Israeli military said it carried out another airstrike in northern Gaza, targeting what it called a site where weapons were being stored for an imminent attack

The latest violence puts new strains on American pressure to keep the ceasefire on track. U.S. President Donald Trump defended Israel’s strikes but also insisted the escalation won’t wreck the truce.

Israel said its overnight strikes were in retaliation for the shooting and killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Hamas violated provisions in the deal concerning the handover of remains of hostages.

Hamas denied any involvement in the deadly shooting and, in turn, accused Israel of “a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal.” It also said it would delay handing over the body of another hostage to Israel because of the strikes.

The strikes across Gaza in the early hours Wednesday pounded buildings and tent camps housing displaced families

Ambulances and small trucks carrying bodies crowded hospital entrances. In Deir al-Balah, bodies were wheeled in on stretchers or carried on mattresses.

One man walked into a hospital carrying the body of a young child.

“They burned children while they were asleep,” Haneen Mteir, whose sister and nephews were killed in a strike, shouted at the morgue in at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday that it struck dozens of Hamas targets, including individuals, observation posts, weapons depots, mortar firing positions and tunnels.

It said it hit a number of senior Hamas fighters, including 21 commanders of various levels. It said they included militants involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamasled attack on Israel that started the war, including Nukhba company commander Hatem Maher Mousa Qudra, who led the attack on the Ein Hashlosha Kibbutz, the statement said.

An Israeli military official said Wednesday that the soldier in Rafah, identified as Master Sgt Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, was killed by “enemy fire” that targeted his vehicle on Tuesday Hamas insisted it was not involved in the Rafah gunfire.

Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by handing over body parts this week that Israel said were partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of some of the remains Monday, sharing a 14-minute, edited video from a military drone Hamas replied in kind on Wednesday, saying the Israeli strikes reveal “a clear Israeli intention to undermine the ceasefire agreement and impose new realities by force.”

Jurors convict Ill. deputy of killing Black woman

BY JOHN O’CONNOR Associated Press

PEORIA, Ill. — A jury on Wednesday convicted an Illinois sheriff’s deputy of second-degree murder, a lesser charge, in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to report a suspected prowler

Sean Grayson could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison or even probation.

The jury did not convict him of first-degree murder a crime that carries a sentence of 45 years to life.

Massey’s supporters were angered by the result. “I’m fueled by rage right now,” said Massey’s cousin, Sontae Massey “You get an officer that says he’s going to shoot you in the face, and then he shoots you in the face, and you only get second-degree? The justice system did exactly what it’s designed to do today It’s not meant for us.”

Massey’s killing prompted a change in Illinois law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, called for the Illinois measure to become law nationally, along with stalled federal police misconduct and civil rights legislation. “There’s a difference in this country when you have my skin color and Grayson’s skin color,” Wilburn said. “We need serious justice, not a miscarriage of justice.”

Grayson, who is White, and another deputy arrived at Massey’s home in Springfield early on July 6, 2024, after she reported hearing someone banging on the outside of her house. He shot the 36-year-old woman after confronting her inside about how she was handling a pot of hot water on the stove.

Grayson and his attorneys argued

that he fired his gun in fear that Massey would scald him with the hot water, contending at one point that Massey provoked the encounter by threatening to throw the pot at him.

“Anybody who watched the video and thinks that it was partly Sonya’s fault is inhumane,” Massey’s mother Donna Massey, said after the verdict. “And for them not to give him life, and Sonya got life — and death I can’t wait until he goes to hell.”

Grayson, 31, who was fired upon his indictment, was charged with first-degree murder, but the jury was given the option of considering second-degree murder, which can apply when a defendant faces a “serious provocation” or believes their action is justified even if that belief is unreasonable. He will be sentenced on Jan. 29.

Body camera video recorded by another Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy at the scene, Dawson Farley, was a key part of the prosecution’s case. It showed Massey who struggled with mental health issues, telling the officers, “Don’t hurt me,” and repeating, “Please God.” When the deputies entered the house, Grayson saw the pot on the stove and ordered Farley to move it. Massey jumped up to retrieve the pot, and she and Grayson joked about how he said he was backing off from the “hot, steaming water.” Massey then replied, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Grayson immediately warned her that he would shoot her in the face. He and Farley drew their pistols and yelled at Massey to put the pot down. Grayson, who testified in his own defense, told investigators he thought her “rebuke” meant she intended to kill him and, in the following commotion, fired three shots, striking Massey just below the eye.

Pope condemns antisemitism, vows to fight it

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Leo XIV acknowledged Wednesday that there had been misunderstandings and conflicts with Jews over Israel’s war in Gaza. But he strongly confirmed the Catholic Church’s condemnation of antisemitism and commitment to fighting it as part of Christians’ Gospel-mandated friendship with the Jewish people.

At a time of rising antisemitism stemming from Israel’s war, Leo adopted as his own the Vatican’s official position abhorring antisemitism as he marked the 60th anniversary of a landmark Vatican document that revolutionized the Catholic Church’s relations with Jews.

Leo dedicated his Wednesday general audience to the anniversary of the “Nostra Aetate” declaration, speaking to a crowd that included several Jewish leaders and representatives of other religions who had come to Rome this week to participate in anniversary celebrations.

In the text, “Nostra Aetate,” Latin for “In Our Time,” the Catholic Church deplored antisemitism in every form and repudiated the “deicide” charge that blamed Jews as a people for Christ’s death.

The idea of Jewish collective guilt for the crucifixion had fueled antisemitism for centuries. The Vatican crafted the document repudiating it as the church reckoned with the role traditional Christian teaching had played in the Holocaust.

Leo quoted the document as saying the Catholic Church decries “hatred, persecutions, displays of antisemitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone” and noted that all his predecessors since then had clearly condemned antisemitism.

“And so I, too, confirm that the church does not tolerate antisemitism and

fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself,” he said.

“We cannot deny that there have been misunderstandings, difficulties and conflicts in this period, but these have never prevented the dialogue from continuing,” he added. “Even today, we must not allow political circumstances and the injustices of some to divert us from friendship, especially since we have achieved so much so far.”

This year’s anniversary comes amid a surge in antisemitism linked to Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. In the United States alone, the Anti-Defamation League says the number of antisemitic incidents reached a record high last year, with 58% of the 9,354 incidents related to Israel, notably chants, speeches and signs at rallies protesting Israeli policies.

The war has similarly strained the Vatican’s relations with the Jewish community Pope Francis repeatedly angered Jewish and Israeli leaders with comments they perceived as drawing a moral equivalence between the Hamas attacks and Israel’s military actions. Francis did meet with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas and called repeatedly for them to be returned. But he called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide and said Israel’s military response was disproportionate. Leo didn’t minimize the strain when he met with Jewish leaders and faith leaders who attended his installation as pope in May In greeting the Jewish leaders present, he recalled Christians’ special relationship with Jews.

“Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours,” Leo said in May

Dozens dead in trail of destruction

Hurricane Melissa plows across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica

BY ARIEL FERNÁNDEZ, ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ, JOHN MYERS JR. and EVENS SANON Associated Press

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba

Hurricane Melissa left at least dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, toppled utility poles and waterlogged furniture dominated the landscape Wednesday.

A landslide blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz in Jamaica’s St. Elizabeth parish, where the streets were reduced to mud pits. Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Wind ripped off part of the roof at a high school that serves as a public shelter

“I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” resident Jennifer Small said.

The extent of the damage from the Category 5 hurricane was unclear Wednesday as widespread power outages and dangerous conditions persisted.

“It is too early for us to say definitively,” said Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s educa-

tion minister Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica with top winds of 185 mph, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, before weakening and moving on to Cuba, but even countries outside the direct path of the massive storm felt its devastating effects.

At least 23 people have died across Haiti and 13 are missing, Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said in a statement, revising the death toll downward. Twenty of those reported dead and 10 of the missing are from the south-

ern coastal town of PetitGoâve, where flooding collapsed dozens of homes. The number of dead and missing in Haiti often fluctuate in the early days after major natural disasters. In Cuba, officials reported collapsed houses, blocked mountain roads and roofs blown off buildings Wednesday, with the heaviest destruction concentrated in the southwest and northwest. Authorities said about 735,000 people remained in shelters.

“That was hell. All night long, it was terrible,” said

Reinaldo Charon in Santiago de Cuba. The 52-year-old was one of the few people venturing out Wednesday, covered by a plastic sheet in the intermittent rain.

In Jamaica, more than 25,000 people were packed into shelters Wednesday and more streamed in throughout the day after the storm ripped roofs off their homes and left them temporarily homeless. Dixon said 77% of the island was without power. The outages complicated assessing the damage because of “a total communication blackout” in areas,

Richard Thompson, acting director general of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, told the Nationwide News Network radio station.

“Recovery will take time, but the government is fully mobilized,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a statement. “Relief supplies are being prepared, and we are doing everything possible to restore normalcy quickly.”

Officials in Black River, Jamaica, a coastal town of approximately 5,000 people in the southwestern part of the island, pleaded for aid at a news conference Wednesday “Catastrophic is a mild term based on what we are observing,” Mayor Richard Solomon said.

Solomon said the local rescue infrastructure had been demolished by the storm.

The hospital, police units and emergency services were inundated by floods and unable to conduct emergency operations. The storm also destroyed the facility where relief supplies were being stored.

The United States is sending rescue and response teams to assist in recovery efforts in the Caribbean, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X. He said government officials were coordinating with leadership in Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the

Bahamas. St. Elizabeth Police Superintendent Coleridge Minto told Nationwide News Network on Wednesday that authorities have found at least four bodies in southwest Jamaica. One death was reported in the west when a tree fell on a baby, state minister Abka Fitz-Henley told Nationwide News Network. Before landfall, Melissa had already been blamed for three deaths in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.

People in the eastern Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba began clearing debris around the collapsed walls of their homes Wednesday after Melissa made landfall in the region hours earlier “Life is what matters,” Alexis Ramos a 54-year-old fisherman, said as he surveyed his destroyed home and shielded himself from the intermittent rain with a yellow raincoat. “Repairing this costs money, a lot of money.” Local media showed images of the Juan Bruno Zayas Clinical Hospital with severe damage: glass scattered across the floor, waiting rooms in ruins and masonry walls crumpled on the ground. “It has been a very complex early morning,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X. “As soon as conditions allow, we will begin the recovery We are ready.”

BY BEN FINLEY and LISA MASCARO Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary

Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the U.S. military carried out another strike on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing all four people aboard, as the Trump administration pursues its divisive campaign against drug cartels in the waters off South America.

Hegseth, who’s been traveling in Japan and Malaysia, said in a social media post that intelligence determined the craft was “transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.”

He said the strike was conducted in international waters and no U.S. forces were harmed A video posted by Hegseth shows a boat exploding into flames

and smoke. It was the 14th strike since the campaign began in early September, while the death toll has grown to at least 61.

The Trump administration also has been building up an unusually large force of warships in the region. Their presence has fueled speculation that the moves are aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. has accused of narcoterrorism.

President Donald Trump has justified the attacks on the boats as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. He has asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The Trump administration has shown no evidence to support its claims about the boats that have been attacked, their connection to drug cartels, or even the identity of the people killed in the strikes. Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that the Trump administration has briefed Republicans — but not Democrats — on the boat strikes.

By Amanda McElfresh |amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

This article is brought to youbyBaton RougeCenterfor Visualand Performing Arts

Anewschool year has broughta newhome and arenewedsense of inspiration forBatonRougeCenterfor Visual and Performing Arts (BRCVPA).The magnet elementary school officially movedintoits brand-newbuilding at 2040 South Acadian ThruwayinAugust,ushering in a vibrant erathatwill allowmoreEast BatonRougeParish students to receivean arts-integrated education.

Brightcolors, spacious hallwaysand naturallightthroughout the building create an upliftingenvironmentwherestudentartwork and inspirational quotes adorn the walls andclassroom doors. On arecentmorning, one classroom featured adisplayofclaymodels –frompizza slices to cups of noodles to spiders –showing howeach child bringstheir ownimagination to campus. Down the hall, other students practicedonmusical instruments as teachersinstructed them on the importance of rhythm and beat.Outside, tables filled with studentdecoratedplastic pumpkins added acheerful and seasonal touch.

“Everybody keeps walking around saying, ‘I can’tbelieve this is our school,’” said SydneyHebert,BRCVPA’smagnet sitecoordinator. “Theteamthatbuilt it took so much of our feedback and really designed it around our programming. It is exactly whatweneeded.Weneeded an auditorium and arts classrooms and enough space to have four sections of every grade level. We wanted gathering spaces forstudents andthe community. The team did agreat job. Everybodyis very grateful.” Hebert said the newfacilitywas made possible through atax plan, while a ReImagine Grantenabled BRCVPAtohiremorefacultymembers and grow its capacitytomorethan 650 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grades

As afreepublic magnet school thatispart of the East BatonRougeParish School System, BRCVPAfollowsthe same coreacademic curriculum as other elementary schools,meaning students have traditional classesinEnglish, math, science andsocial studies.Theyalsoreceiveatleast one hour of dedicatedarts instruction each day. That instruction spans visual art,dance, drama,vocal music and instrumentalmusic –all taughtbyexperiencedfacultymembers, manyofwhom areworking artiststhemselves

BRCVPAals ff electi sf cond th ugh fifth ades.O is

together often to come up with natural ways to integrate each other’s content,” Hebertsaid. Thatspirit of integrationextends into the school’s hallmark feature: gradelevel theaterproductions Kindergarten, first,secondand thirdgrade BRCVPAstudents create and participateina mini-productionbased on abook selected by their teachers Students aredivided into crews. Kindergartenersand first gradersserveas performers–actors, dancers, musicians or singers. Beginning in second grade students mayalsobeapart of the tech crew thatruns the sound, lighting, curtains and other aspects of production. Fourth graderscreate an original productionthatiscompletely studentwritten. Students mayalsoserve as performers or takeonmoreadvanced behind-the-scenes roles such as setdesign, makeup and costumes.The process is similar forfifth grade, although BRCVPAlicensesa showfor development and production. This semester’s show, Spongebob Junior,will takeplace in December “Webelieve thereisanaccesspointfor everybody into the arts and there are lifelong skills to be gained from an artseducation,” Hebertsaid. “I still remember observing afifth grade boys dance classwhen Ifirstcame herein2015.Theyhad to choreograph adance based on apersonal narrative. Theywerenot afraid to getupinfront of each other becausethe expectationisthateverybody is doing this.That’sstill the expectationand it decreases the fear.The environment that we have createdisone thatissupportiveand makes participating in the arts feel likeanatural part of the school day.

Hebertsaidthe productions alsoserve as hands-on ways forstudentstolearn about math, reading, writing, public speaking and history

“Webelieve thatarts enhances our academics becauseitmakes connections and gives kids another opportunitytoaccesscontent,” Hebert said. “Wepride ourselves on being academically rigorous and having high expectations.We want our students to master the academic standards.Wedohavefun, but we also have aresponsibilitytoteach kids their corecontent,and we takethatseriously.” A 100p tl -b ed BRCVPAi

•NationallyCertifiedMagnetSchool •BRParentsMagazineFamilyFavorite 2022,2023,2024 •LDOETopGainsHonoree2024 •ArborDayFoundationCertified TreeCampus

LSUboard will pick next coach, Landry says

Governor criticizes AD ScottWoodward’s previous contracts

BY ALYSE PFEIL and MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writers

Gov.Jeff Landry said Wednesday that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward will notselect ahead footballcoach to replace Brian Kelly

“No. Ican tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” he said in response to aquestion at anews conference. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before Ilet him do it.”

When asked who would hire the coach, Landry replied, “The

BENEFITS

louisianaworks.net and to lean on food banks. He called on Louisianans with the means to helpstock food banks to step up to fill the gap.

“We’re goingtostart totalk about filling ourfoodbanks,because, again, what we’re doing today is not sustainable,” hesaid Bruce Greenstein, secretary of the LouisianaDepartment of Health, said officials would finalize their policies in the comingdays. Landry said guidance forbeneficiaries would be issued within24 hours.

The SupplementalNutritionAssistance Program provides monthly money to help low-income people cover the cost of groceries. Almost800,000 Louisiana residents are on SNAP,orabout 17% of the state’spopulation.

Funding for SNAP is set to expire as part of the federal government shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it is out of money for the program. But two dozen states, who say the government has thefunds to continue paying for SNAP and is illegally withholding them, have sued PresidentDonald Trump’sadministration.

Meanwhile, Congresshas not been able to pass abill authorizing

ELECTION

Continued from page1A

before Christmas, and if necessary,use that guidance to draw a new congressional map aheadof the spring primary Democrats said the election date change is afirst step toward eliminating one or two of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts, which elected two Democrats. At every turn of thesix-day special session, they protested the delay of primary dates, presaging what is likely to be acontentious battleover anew congressional map —but only if the courtrules in time.

On the final day of the session, akey Republican lawmakersaid that, if an opinion doesn’t come before January,discussions could take place about tossingLouisiana’sclosed primaryand returning to the familiar jungle primary Rep. BeauBeaullieu, chairman of the committee that handles redistricting and voting matters, said it’spossible someone wouldpropose repealing the spring closed primary in favor of returning to an open primary,which would be held in fall.

“If we don’thear back from the SupremeCourt, Ithink more people are going to be asking that question,” Beaullieu, R-New Iberia,said in an interview,referring to whetherlawmakerswillbegin discussing areturn to afallopen

Board of Supervisors is gonna come up with acommittee, and they’regonna go find us acoach.”

The governor appointsmembers of the board.

Woodward and LSU spokesperson Zach Greenwell did not immediately return arequest for comment

Landrycriticized the contracts that Woodward reached with the last two football coaches that he hired, JimboFisher at Texas A&M and Kelly.Afew yearsafterWoodward left Texas A&M for LSU, Fisher signed alucrative extension in 2021 as LSU searched for itsnext coach, aprocessthat landedonKelly Fisher was paid abuyout of nearly $77 million, thehighest in college football history,whenhe was fired in 2023. Kelly’snearly $54million buyoutwould be the

second-largest in the sport’shistory.LSU also paid former coach Ed Orgerona$17.1 million buyout when it firedhim during the 2021 season “Weare not going down afailed path,” Landry said. “The guy that’s here nowthat wrotethat contract cost Texas A&M $77 million. Right now, we’vegot a$53 million liability. We arenot doing that again.”

Negotiations with Kelly are still underway,but sources said his buyout will be paid by privatedonors.

Kelly is owed nearly$54 million, which would be paid out in monthly installments through 2031. That could be reduced through negotiationsoroffset if he takes another job in coaching, administration or media.

Landry said LSU’s next coach

funding formost of the federal government

With no authorizationtospend money,national parks have closed many grant programs have shuttered and many federal employees have been furloughed or are workingwithout pay Around 1,100people whowork on theSNAPprogram in Louisiana are set to be furloughed next month, according to officials. The federal government pays half their salariesand the state pays the other half, Landry said.

primary.

But he also said if the Supreme Court doesn’trule until summer Louisiana may have to stick with its current congressional map.

Legal observers acrossthe political spectrum believe the Callais decision couldhavemajor consequences forthe Voting RightsAct.

That civil rights era law aims to prohibit racial discrimination in voting and in redistricting, and fordecades it’s been thebasis for legal challenges that claim that redistricting plans unfairly dilute the votingpower of minorities.

AVoting Rights Act lawsuit led theLegislature in 2024 to draw the current voting map, in which two of Louisiana’ssix congressional districts are majority-Black. Those districts are represented by CongressmenTroy Carter,D-New Orleans,and Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge.

Louisiana’s population is roughly one-third African American Agroup of Whitevoters sued over thenew map, however,arguingtheir rights were being infringed under the U.S. Constitution,whichprohibits racial discrimination in voting.

The Supreme Court is now weighing whether the creation of thesecondmajority-Black district underthe VotingRightsAct is unconstitutional.

“When it comestodoingthings that give fairand equitable maps to African Americans,wedelay and we kick the can down the road,” Legislative Black Caucus

The governor said the statewill usethe moneyitsaves throughthe furlough to help fund the food assistance program. Askeleton crew will make sure that program functions.

Though the program will be administered only by the state, SNAP beneficiarieswill be able to use thesame cards they used through SNAPtopay for groceries, Greenstein said.

Nationally,Republican and Democratic politicianscontinueto point fingers at oneanotherover

“Weare not changing anyof our rules, not changing any of our maps,not changing anyofour procedures. We are extending dates and providing the process to changethose dates as we wait for the Supreme Courtofthe United States.”

REP.BEAUBEAULLIEU,R-NewIberia

Chair EdmondJordan,D-Baton Rouge, said Wednesday during debateonthe House floor.“When it’s somethingthat has thepotential to dilutethe African American vote here,wewanttorush andanticipate.”

Rep. Ed LarvadainIII, D-Alexandria,saidheexpects theLegislature to convene for aspecial session this wintertoquickly draw new mapswith little public input once the Supreme Court rules.

“The Legislaturewill intentionally createunfair maps,” he predicted.“Therewill be no African American representationinCongress.”

“This is not right, andthisnot fair to the African American population,” he added.

Larvadain said that, in the midst of the 2026 midterm election cycle, Louisianadelaying the springprimaryisalso away to “help President Trump obtain more seats in Congress.”

ButBeaullieu, aco-author of the legislation, disputed those accusa-

would be “compensatedproperly,” but he suggested putting “metrics” on the contract, indicating he would like to see adeal with less guaranteed money andmore incentives.

“I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country,” Landry said. Landry went on to blast acollege athleticssysteminwhichhe said influentialsports agents engineer excessivelylarge deals for coaches.

“This is ridiculous. Lawyers would be disbarredfor theway these agents act,” he said. “It’s really time forthe NCAAtoput on some guardrails on college sports.”

“Ifbig billionaires want to spend all that kind of money,no problem,” he said. “But if Igotta go find $53million… it’snot gonna be apleasant conversation.”

the impacts of theshutdown in Washington Republicans blame Democrats for refusing to vote fora “clean” continuing resolution that would keep thegovernment fundedatits current levels. Landryhas repeatedly referred to the “Schumer Shutdown,” blaming Senate Minority Leader ChuckSchumer, D-N.Y

“Any mistakethatwemake is ChuckSchumer’sfault,” he said during thenews conference.

Democrats fault Republicans for refusing to negotiate with them on restoring health care subsidies thatare set to expiresoon,potentially leaving manyAmericans with drastically higher insurance premiums.

But the Louisiana Legislature passedabipartisan resolutionurging the Louisiana Department of Health to reallocate funds so that SNAP recipients would continue to getmoney forfood.

The Senate gave final passage to House Concurrent Resolution 3on Wednesday.Itwas sponsored by House Speaker Phillip Devillier, R-Eunice, andSenatePresident Cameron Henry,R-Metairie.

In hisremarks about theresolution on the Senate floor,Henry listed state lawmakers from both parties with tens of thousands of SNAPrecipients in their districts.

“Trying to put Ds and Rs on this ain’tgonna work,” he said. “We’ll

tions.

“Election dates are not partisan. Election dates do not see color,” he said. “This deals with election dates and nothing else.”

He added that no one knowshow the Supreme Court will rule or what an opinion will say

“Weare not changing any of ourrules, notchanging anyof our maps, not changing anyof our procedures. We are extending dates and providing the process to change those dates as we wait for the Supreme Court of the United States,”hesaid.

To administer the election undera new congressional map, the Secretary of State’sOfficewould need areplacement mapbyJan 13, Beaullieu said.

Primary electionsinLouisiana areheldunder an open system commonly referred to as a“jungleprimary.” All candidates run against each otheronthe same ballotregardless of party,and voters castaballot for any candidate of their choosing.

Butlast year,Louisiana lawmakers, with Gov. Jeff Landry’sbacking, decided to switchtoclosed party primaries for ahandful of races,including U.S. House and Senate.

Louisiana Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education races also useclosed primaries now In aclosedsystem,Republican andDemocratic candidates competeonly against each other in

Landry confirmed Wednesday that he wasinvolvedindiscussions aboutthe coaching change.

“Myroleisabout the fiscal effect of firing acoach under aterriblecontract,” Landry said. “All Icareabout is what the taxpayers aregoing to be on the hook for.”

Landry confirmed he hosted a meeting at the Governor’sMansion on Sunday,the night Kelly wasfired, but said the meeting wasnot about whether Kelly would be pushed out.

“No, Ihosted ameeting at the Governor’sMansion to talk about the legalities, to talk about the cost, to talk aboutwho pays forit, to talk about ‘what’sthe effect of it,’”hesaid. “It was ameeting to discuss thelegalitiesofthe contract.”

Staff writer Wilson Alexander contributed to this story.

continue to feed people until D.C. gets organized, straight, sane whatever you want to call it.”

Fundsfor thefoodstampswill flow through the Health Department, Henry said. If necessary, the Legislature can backfill the agency’sbudget, possibly using money from the state’srainy day fund, he said.

No other Health Department programswould be depleted by the government’sdecisiontoassist SNAP beneficiaries, Henry said.

HCR3 passed theHouse unanimously,and it passed the Senate 32-1. State Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, cast the lone vote against it. Morris said he thought the decision set a“bad precedent.”

“Itforces us to do something for the federal gov that it should be doing itself,” Morris said.

The Legislature did notneedto pass the resolution to authorize the funding,according to Henry,who said Landry’s Oct. 24 declaration of emergency gave the governor thepower to reallocate funds as needed.

But both Henry and DeVillier called Landry last week to ask that the state government intervene as SNAP funds dried up, the governor said.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

theprimary,and theparty’swinneradvancestothe November generalelection. Voters must also cast aballot in line with their party registration. Under the jungle primary,elections were held in fall. But the new closed primary elections are scheduled for spring —leaving less time to wait for aSupreme Court decision andpotentially redraw congressional maps. Beaullieusaidthatifthe Legislature starts to consider reverting to afalljungle primary,itmay only be needed forthe U.S. House maps, since those districts are at issue in Louisiana v. Callais.

“We’re going to have sometough decisions to make, and I’m not sure what the decisions aregoing to be,” he said.

Askedabout potentially returning to ajungle primary for U.S. House and Senate races, Senate President Cameron Henry,R-Metairie, said some senators are open to the idea while others are not.

“The problem is, is to do that you’d have to comeback into session,” Henry said. “And Idon’t know whether members are going to come backinsession again just to change moreelection dates again.”

He said that would “maybe”be more likely if the session were to coincide withdrawing maps,“but that’stoo fardown the road forus to even consider.”

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Chipmaker Nvidia is first $5 trillion company

Nvidia has become the first $5 trillion company, just three months after the Silicon Valley chipmaker was first to break through the $4 trillion barrier

Hitting the new benchmark puts more emphasis on the upheaval being unleashed by an artificial intelligence craze that’s widely viewed as the biggest tectonic shift in technology since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone 18 years ago. Apple rode the iPhone’s success to become the first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion $2 trillion and eventually, $3 trillion Nvidia’s value is greater than the GDP of India, Japan and the United Kingdom, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Nvidia carved out an early lead in tailoring its chipsets known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, from use in powering video games to helping to train powerful AI systems, like the technology behind ChatGPT and image generators. Demand skyrocketed as more people began using AI chatbots. Tech companies scrambled for more chips to build and run them.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has downplayed concerns of a bubble bursting, saying that the generative AI chatbots that were merely “interesting” when they first took hold a few years ago are now becoming so useful that they will be profitable Alphabet posts $100B in revenue

SAN FRANCISCO Google’s corporate parent on Wednesday announced its first-ever quarter with more than $100 billion in revenue, a milestone that illustrates the unwavering power of its internet empire amid legal and competitive threats.

The news of Alphabet Inc ’s accelerating growth in revenue and profit comes on the heels of a court ruling in the U.S Justice Department’s landmark monopoly case against Google’s dominant search engine that was widely seen as a mild rebuke that wouldn’t hobble the company Alphabet performed like a powerhouse during the JulySeptember period, delivering a profit of nearly $35 billion, or $2.87 per share, a 33% increase from the same time last year Revenue rose 16% from last year to $102.3 billion. Both figures easily exceeded the analysts’ projections that steer the stock market. Google has been implanting more artificial intelligence features into both its search engine and Chrome, as well as its other products, as part of its effort to protect its turf while also expanding into new technological frontiers.

Boeing pushes 777X jet deliveries to 2027

Boeing reported mixed thirdquarter results on Wednesday, as higher aircraft deliveries and a growing backlog of orders were offset by continued certification delays for its 777X jets. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the first delivery of Boeing’s next generation of long-haul, widebody jets is now expected in 2027 instead of 2026, resulting in a $4.9 billion charge in the quarter through September But Ortberg emphasized in a call with analysts that the delays stemmed from the certification process, and not from any newly discovered technical issues. Ortberg said Boeing was making progress on stabilizing its production. The aerospace giant delivered 160 planes in the third quarter, the most quarterly deliveries since 2018 The same time last year, Boeing said it delivered 116 planes. Boeing also reported that its backlog of orders had grown to $636 billion in the third quarter. The growing backlog includes 5,900 commercial planes, with big 777X orders from Qatar Airways, which is waiting on 124 jets, and Dubai-based Emirates, which has ordered 205 of them.

Wall Street waffles around records

Market snaps amid Fed announcement

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. stocks bounced around their records on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve made moves to boost the job market but also warned that more help isn’t guaranteed.

The S&P 500 finished virtually flat and edged down by less than 0.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 73 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% All

three indexes were coming off an all-time high.

Stocks had been on track for modest gains in the afternoon after the Fed cut its main interest rate for the second time this year in hopes of helping the slowing job market

But the market snapped lower after Chair Jerome Powell later warned that it “is not a foregone conclusion” that the Fed will cut again in December at its next meeting.

“That needs to be taken off the board,” Powell said.

In the meantime, the deluge continued of big U.S companies reporting how much profit they made during the summer, and the frenzy in

artificial-intelligence technology is driving growth. The pressure is on companies to deliver gains because that’s one way they can quiet criticism that their stock prices have shot too high Teradyne soared 20.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the company, which makes automated test equipment and advanced robotics systems, reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected CEO Greg Smith credited strength related to artificial-intelligence applications and said “AI-related test demand remains robust.”

Even Caterpillar, the company known for its construction and min-

ing equipment, is feeling a boost because of AI. It rallied 11.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The strongest growth came from Caterpillar’s business that provides equipment for big data centers that are powering AI On the losing end of Wall Street was Fiserv, which plunged 44% for its worst day since its stock began trading in 1986. The payments and financial technology company reported weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, slashed its profit forecast for the year and revamped its board of directors and leadership team.

FED CUTS KEY RATE

Chair Jerome Powell says future reductions not locked in

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring, even as inflation stays elevated.

But Fed Chair Jerome Powell also cautioned that further rate cuts weren’t guaranteed, citing the government shutdown’s interruption of economic reports and sharp divisions among 19 Fed officials who participate in the central bank’s interest-rate deliberations.

Speaking to reporters after the Fed announced its rate decision, Powell said there were “strongly differing views about how to proceed in December” at its next meeting and a further reduction in the benchmark rate is not “a foregone conclusion — far from it.”

Wednesday’s quarter-point cut brings the Fed’s key rate down to about 3.9%, from about 4.1%. The central bank had cranked its rate to roughly 5.3% in 2023 and 2024 to combat the biggest inflation spike in four decades before implementing three cuts last year

Lower rates could, over time, reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and

credit cards, as well as for business loans.

The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without the economic signposts it typically relies on from the government, including monthly reports on jobs, inflation and consumer spending, which have been suspended because of the government shutdown.

Financial markets largely expected another rate reduction in December, and stock prices dropped after Powell’s comments, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closing slightly lower “Powell poured cold water on the idea that the Fed was on autopilot for a December cut,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S rates strategy at TD Securities. “Instead they’ll have to wait for economic data to confirm that a rate cut is actually needed.”

Powell was asked about the impact of the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1 and has interrupted the distribution of economic data. Powell said the Fed does have access to some data that give it “a picture of what’s going on.” He added that, “If there were a significant or material change in the

economy, one way or another, I think we’d pick that up through this.”

But the Fed chair did acknowledge that the limited data could cause officials to proceed more cautiously heading into its next meeting in mid-December

On Wednesday the Fed also said it would stop reducing the size of its massive securities holdings, which it accumulated during the pandemic and after the 2008-09 Great Recession.

The change, to take effect Dec. 1, could over time slightly reduce longer-term interest rates on things like mortgages but won’t have much impact on consumer borrowing costs.

Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted against the move because he preferred no change to the Fed’s rate. Schmid has previously expressed concern that inflation remains too high.

Fed governor Stephen Miran dissented for the second straight meeting in favor of a halfpoint cut. Miran was appointed by President Donald Trump just before the central bank’s last meeting in September Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for not reducing borrowing costs more quickly

Leading AI company to ban kids from long

Concern

about the technology on the rise

BY QUEENIE WONG

Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Character.AI, a platform for creating and chatting with artificial intelligence chatbots, plans to start blocking minors from having “open-ended” conversations with its virtual characters. The major change comes as the Menlo Park, Calif. company and other AI leaders face more scrutiny from parents, child safety groups and politicians about whether chatbots are harming the mental health of teens. Character.AI said in a blog post

Wednesday that it is working on a new experience that will allow teens under 18 to create videos, stories and streams with characters. However, as the company makes this transition, it will limit chats for minors to two hours per day, and that will “ramp down” before Nov 25.

“We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly but we do think that it’s the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology,” the company said in a statement.

The decision shows how technology companies are responding to mental health concerns as more parents sue the platforms follow-

ing the deaths of their children.

chats with bots

Last year several parents sued Character.AI over allegations that the chatbots caused their children to harm themselves and others.

The lawsuits accused the company of releasing the platform before making sure it was safe to use. Character.AI said it takes teen safety seriously and outlined steps it took to moderate inappropriate content. The company’s rules prohibit the promotion, glorification and encouragement of suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. Following the deaths of their teens, parents have urged lawmakers to do more to protect young people as chatbots grow in popularity While teens are using chatbots for schoolwork, enter-

tainment and more, some are also conversing with virtual characters for companionship or advice. Character.AI has more than 20 million monthly active users and more than 10 million characters on its platforms. Some of the characters are fictional, while others are based on real people.

Megan Garcia, a Florida mom who sued Character.AI last year, alleges the company failed to notify her or offer help to her son who expressed suicidal thoughts to chatbots on the app. Her son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide after chatting with a chatbot named after Daenerys Targaryen, a character from the fantasy television and book series “Game of Thrones.”

Effort to fund food benefits fails in Senate

BY KEVIN FREKING and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Republican leaders in Congress said it’s all or nothing on Wednesday as they rejected a Democratic push to carve out funding to continue food aid for more than 40 million Americans who stand to lose it as part of the government shutdown.

Democrats have repeatedly voted against reopening the government as they demand that Republicans negotiate with them to extend expiring health care subsidies. But they pushed for expedited approval of legislation to continue funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in the meantime.

“It’s simple it’s moral, it’s urgent,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he called for passage of SNAP funding Wednesday Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., angrily objected to the Democratic request, calling it “a cynical attempt to provide political cover” for Democrats to continue the shutdown, now in its 29th day

“We’re not going to let them pick winners and losers,” Thune said. “It’s time to fund everybody.” If Democrats want to prevent damage from the shutdown, “they can end the shutdown,” Thune said.

and failures on the Republican funding bill Wednesday, Day 29 of the government shutdown, at the

The increasingly pointed statements from lawmakers on Capitol Hill reflected growing frustration and pressure that is building as the SNAP deadline looms and federal workers and military service members face missed paychecks this week.

Vulnerable families could see federal money dry up soon for some other programs, as well — from certain Head Start preschool programs to aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supple-

mental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.

The Department of Agriculture has posted on its website that the SNAP benefits will end Friday “Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the statement read.

Almost two dozen states have filed a lawsuit arguing that President Donald Trump’s administration has the money to continue the benefits and is legally required to do so. Schumer said that SNAP benefits have never stopped during previ-

ous government shutdowns and that Trump is “picking politics over the lives of hungry kids.”

Republican leaders, in turn, blamed Democrats.

The solution, they said, was for Democrats in the Senate to allow for passage of their short-term funding patch that has so far failed 13 times in that chamber

“Things are getting really tough on the American people,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, said at the start of his daily news conference that has become

a staple of the shutdown. The House has been out of session since mid-September, and Johnson is resolute that he will not bring the House back until the Senate has passed a bill to fund the government, which the House did on Sept. 19.

Senate Democrats have shown no signs publicly that they are backing away from their insistence that a government funding bill also include help for millions of Americans who purchase health insurance coverage on the exchanges established through the Affordable Care Act.

The standoff shows few signs of easing. Thune told reporters there’s been a “higher level of conversation” with Democrats this week and that talks continued between senators in both parties over possible health care compromises.

But the underlying dynamics of the impasse remained the same Thune and other Republicans are continuing to press rank-and-file Democrats to vote to reopen the government before the Senate takes up talks to extend the health coverage benefits.

That’s the strategy that’s been in place for nearly a month.

On Tuesday, air traffic controllers missed their paychecks and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed concerns that flight delays could multiply as in-

creasingly stressed-out controllers call out sick. Also on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance told reporters after meeting behind closed doors with Senate Republicans that he believes U.S. military members will be paid at the end of the week, though he did not specify how In a news conference, House Democrats called on Trump to return from his trip in Asia to address the issue.

“If the president wanted to help feed hungry American children, he would,” said Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee that handles the food aid program. “I’m calling on the president to get back from Asia and do the right thing — and the moral thing.”

As Republicans objected to the legislation to continue SNAP benefits, Democrats said they’d also support a similar bill from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who has separate legislation to immediately fund the program. But Thune said Republicans won’t allow a piecemeal process. He called on Democrats to support their bill to extend all government funding and reopen the government.

“If Democrats really want to fund SNAP and WIC, we have a bill for them,” he said.

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO The leader of Canada’s most populous province on Wednesday said the U.S. ambassador to Canada should apologize to Ontario’s representative in Washington after the ambassador reportedly shouted profanely at him about the province’s antitariff ad.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Ambassador Pete Hoekstra owes David Paterson an apology for an “absolutely unacceptable” tirade that Ford said is “unbecoming for an ambassador.”

An official familiar with the matter confirmed that Hoekstra shouted at Paterson during a reception hosted by the Canadian American Business Council in Ottawa on Monday night The

official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter

“Pete, you’ve got to call Dave up and apologize. It’s simple,” Ford told journalists, adding: “I get it. You’re ticked off. But call the guy up, because you’re a good guy.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy declined comment.

Virginia takes step toward redistricting

By The Associated Press

Democratic lawmakers in Virginia pressed ahead Wednesday with plans that could allow mid-decade redistricting as part of a growing national battle for partisan advantage in next year’s congressional elections Virginia’s House endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that, if ultimately approved by voters, would allow lawmakers to temporarily bypass a bipartisan redistricting commission and redraw congressional districts in response to similar efforts in other states.

President Donald Trump hopes that redistricting now can help Republicans in next year’s midterm elections hold on to the House, where Democrats need to gain just three seats to win control and impede Trump’s agenda. Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina already have revised districts

at Trump’s urging. So far, California is the only Democratic-led state to counter with a new congressional map, which is going before voters in a special election that concludes Tuesday. Democrats hold a 6-5 edge over Republicans in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation. A new map could allow them to expand that advantage. But it requires a multistep process because a voter-approved constitutional amendment places redistricting in the hands of a bipartisan commission. After the 2020 census, that commission deadlocked, so a court imposed districts that remain in use. The Virginia House on Wednesday voted for a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to draw new congressional districts in response to mid-decade redistricting done in other states. To be placed on the statewide ballot, the proposal still

needs Senate approval, then would have to be approved by both chambers again in another legislative session.

“We’re here to defend against the power grab” by Trump, Democratic state Del. Marcus Simon said.

But Republican state Del. Chris Obenshain said the amendment was a “power grab” by Democrats and “a frightening attempt to resurrect a Frankenstein’s monster of gerrymandering.” A lawsuit brought by Republicans contends the special session on redistricting violates the state constitution.

Though national Democrats are pressing Illinois to redraw its U.S. House districts, Democrats in the state General Assembly say they won’t take up the topic while in session this week.

Democrats hold 14 of the state’s 17 U.S. House districts, which already were drawn to favor Democrats after the 2020 census.

Ontario’s television ad criticizes President Donald Trump’s tariffs by citing a speech by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The ad infuriated Trump, who said he plans to raise tariffs on imports of Canadian goods by an extra 10%.

Trump said the ad misrepresented the position of Reagan, a two-term president and a beloved figure in the Republican Party But

Reagan was wary of tariffs and used much of the 1987 address featured in Ontario’s ad to spell out the case against tariffs.

“The intention wasn’t to go poke the president in the eye,” Ford said. “My intention was to get a conversation going.”

Ford said Hoekstra should understand why Canadians are upset.

“You have someone attack-

ing your province, attacking your country, constantly saying its the 51st state, trying to take our auto jobs down to the U.S., taking our manufacturing our life science jobs, trying to take our steel jobs,” he said. “What do they expect me to do?” Ford pulled the ad Monday after it was shown during the first two games of the baseball World Series over the weekend.

What shutdown? Trump isn’t canceling anything

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump isn’t curtailing travel. He’s not avoiding golf or making do with a skeleton staff in the West Wing. Even hamburgers served at the White House aren’t from McDonalds, this time.

In shutdowns past including during Trump’s first term — presidents normally scaled back their schedules. With staffers deemed “nonessential” sent home, the White House often sought to appear sympathetic to Americans affected by disruptions to health care, veterans benefits and other key services.

The current one has left around 750,000 federal employees furloughed and others working without pay Nonetheless, it’s been mostly business as usual for Trump over the past 29 days.

“It’s like that country song: ‘Sometimes falling feels like flying for a little while,’” said Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to President Bill Clinton who presided over two shutdowns between 1995 and 1996. “They seem to be like, ‘So far, so good, man.’” Ballroom, golf and trips

Trump is on a six-day swing through Asia, after a recent, whirlwind Middle East visit. He hosted a White House fundraiser for major donors to his $300 million ballroom that has seen construction crews tear down the East Wing, and held another fundraiser at his Florida estate.

Members of the Cabinet have similarly hit the road. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Israel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went to Oregon and Defense Secre-

BY MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

DENVER Colorado officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Alabama was illegally motivated by President Donald Trump’s desire to punish Colorado for its mail-in voting system.

tary Pete Hegseth toured TOPGUN, the U.S. Navy’s elite fighter weapons school in Nevada.

Only 32% of staff in the Executive Office of the President were set to be furloughed during the current shutdown, according a White House budget office contingency report. That’s down from 61% during the last shutdown in 2018-19, in Trump’s first term.

About half of the Executive Mansion’s team that includes housekeepers, ushers, valets and butlers are currently working. Last time, more than 70% were furloughed.

It’s often been hard to tell a shutdown is happening with so many staffers remaining at their desks.

“I don’t even know if they’re supposed to be working, but they wouldn’t miss a day,” Trump said during an event last week.

It’s a departure from Trump’s first term, when he cut out golf and canceled a planned trip to Florida

The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.

Trump chose Huntsville, Alabama, to house Space Command during the closing days of his first term. But in 2023, then-President Joe Biden announced the command would be permanently locat-

for Christmas during the 2018 shutdown, which stretched into the new year He made a surprise visit to visit troops in Iraq then, but nixed plans to go to the Swiss Alps for the World Economic Forum.

When hosting Clemson University football players celebrating their NCAA football championship, Trump brought in burgers and fries from McDonald’s and Domino’s pizza because of White House staff furloughs.

This time, the president had Republican senators over for a lunch that featured burgers, too. But staff made them.

‘A smarter approach’

Some say barreling ahead like there’s no shutdown has some political advantages for Trump, allowing him to look presidential while avoiding congressional bickering.

“It’s a much smarter approach,” said Marc Short, chief of staff

ed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which had been serving as its temporary headquarters.

Trump in September said Colorado’s mail-in voting system “played a big factor” in moving the headquarters to Alabama.

“The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system,” Trump said. He

to former Vice President Mike Pence.

In Trump’s first-term shutdown, he rejected a congressional compromise to force the government to close an attempt to win funding to wall off the U.S.-Mexico border Then, he named Pence as lead negotiator to end the shutdown while involving his son-inlaw Jared Kushner creating the visual of them having to go to Capitol Hill.

“The first go-around, he was pretty clear with cameras rolling: He said he wanted the shutdown. He claimed ownership,” Short said. This time? “The White House has been clear about not owning it.”

Trump could probably find a way to end the current shutdown if he wanted to prioritize it, said Leon Panetta, who worked to end past government closures as Clinton’s chief of staff. But Trump’s “attention is focused on everything but sitting down and getting both parties together to resolve this issue,” Panetta said.

‘Continuing to work night and day’

During the 16-day government shutdown of 2013, President Barack Obama scrapped a fourcountry Asia trip and skipped the Congressional Hispanic Caucus gala. His schedule featured events meant to show the shutdown’s effects, including visiting a Maryland construction firm that benefited from the kind of federal loans jeopardized with the government shuttered.

In 2019, as that shutdown dragged on, Trump’s White House officials acknowledged feeling pressure to end it. This time, the administration’s approach has been to blame the Democrats, while signaling that it’s prepared to wait — even warning of coming

travel delays during the Thanksgiving holidays.

“President Trump is continuing to work night and day on behalf of American people,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson. “The entire administration, including the president, will continue highlighting the workers and families who are suffering because of the Democrats’ decision to shut down the government.”

Bill Daley, a White House chief of staff to Obama prior to the 2013 shutdown, said Trump isn’t acting like he’s feeling political heat to reopen the government, even before next Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey — both home to sizable federal workforces.

“My guess is, he thinks it helps him,” Daley said, “until — and I don’t know if it will the bottom falls out.”

Democrats are demanding an extension of expiring tax credits that have helped millions of people afford health insurance, while Republicans say they won’t negotiate until the government is reopened.

Trump has said the shutdown must end, but also used it to cut federal positions and target programs Democrats favor, while redirecting funds to his own priorities like covering military paychecks. The president has even said of closed museums, “We should probably just open them.” Americans, meanwhile, are divided on who’s to blame.

Roughly 6 in 10 say Trump and congressional Republicans have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

said earlier plans to relocate the headquarters to Huntsville were “wrongfully obstructed” by the Biden administration.

“President Trump has unlawfully retaliated against Colorado to punish the state for its exercise of sovereign authority to regulate elections,” Colorado officials wrote in Wednesday’s lawsuit “The Su-

preme Court has long recognized that the Constitution prohibits the use of retaliation, punishment, or other coercive action in response to the exercise of constitutional right or power.” Alabama officials have said about 1,400 Space Command jobs would transition to Redstone Arsenal over the next five years.

Livingston Library Board settles suit

Attorney general had sued over open meetings law

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

The Livingston Parish Library Board has opted to settle a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Liz Murrill alleging the board violated the state’s open meetings law when it ousted its library director in July

The board and Parish President Randy Delatte voted unanimously Tuesday to accept a settlement that requires all board members to complete training on the open meetings law The agreement also nullified the removal of the director, but because it was later ratified, the removal is still in place.

There is no financial burden to the Library Board from the settlement, said District Attorney Scott Perrilloux, who represented the Library Board.

“I think it’s a good settlement for the board. It dismisses all the board members from the lawsuit and ends the litigation completely with minimal burden on

Murrill

the board,” Perrilloux said. “It doesn’t hurt any public body to get the training.”

The Attorney General’s Office filed the lawsuit in September alleging the board, which includes Delatte as an ex officio member, violated mandatory agenda requirements, mis-

led the public and suppressed participation in public comment at its July 15 meeting.

During the meeting, Delatte and a majority of board members voted not to renew the contract of Library Director Michelle Parrish. The vote followed a two-hour executive session for Parrish’s annual evaluation, which the

SCOUTING NEW HEIGHTS

Scouting America Troop 205 Life Scout Micah DeMaris lowers himself during Over the Edge for Scouting Rappelling Day at the Rivermark Centre in Baton Rouge on Wednesday

Ringleader in COVID-19 fraud scheme sentenced

Man gets 18 years in federal prison

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Indictments handed up in BR corruption case

Probe of agencies’ contracts ongoing, Murrill says

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER and DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writers

bank accounts in their

Raby submitted dozens of applications to the

for

retention tax credits to aid those fake businesses. In all, he sought more than $21.5 million through dozens of applications. He and his cohorts collected more than $2.6 million as part of the scam, which spanned from August 2022 to April 2023. As the mastermind who orchestrated the

The former head of the Baton Rouge area’s groundwater protection district and a parish parks agency official were indicted Wednesday on corruption charges involving contracts. Gary Beard, 69, who until last month was director of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District, and Assistant Baton Rouge Parks Superintendent Oscar Reed Richard, 62, were both charged with contract conspiracy in restraint of trade, monopolizing trade and malfeasance in office. Also charged was Samuel Jason Hewitt, 53, who was indicted on six counts, two each of the same charges as Beard and

Richard. Hewitt is listed online as managing partner of infrastructure for the Arizona-based firm Sustainability Partners.

The indictment says Hewitt entered into contracts with representatives from both the groundwater district and BREC, the East Baton Rouge parks agency, to restrict competition and establish a trade monopoly

In an interview Wednesday, Beard said he was not aware of the indictment until contacted by a reporter Richard couldn’t be reached for comment, and BREC didn’t immediately respond to questions about the indictment.

A lawyer for Hewitt, former U.S. Attorney Walt Green, said he was still gathering information on the charges and declined to comment. The indictment contains no specifics about the allegations or say which contracts Hewitt entered into with BREC and the groundwater commission.

State Attorney General Liz

Murrill, whose agency is prosecuting the case, declined to comment Wednesday, saying the investigation is ongoing. Sustainability Partners — which couldn’t be reached for comment — provides water, sewer and other infrastructure through monthly service-based contracts designed to save customers upfront costs.

Murrill and State Treasurer John Fleming have taken issue with its contracts with the groundwater commission and 19 other local governments. They argue the deals were more costly than necessary and violated state law by creating long-term debt that should have been reviewed by the state Bond Commission and by generating infrastructure spending that should be publicly bid but often wasn’t.

Sustainability Partners had a turf and lighting contract with BREC for eight parks,

ä See CASE, page 2B

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Two Baton Rouge men were each sentenced to 30 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to charges tied to the fatal shooting of a local teen six years ago. Thaddeus Abduel Harrison and Kendrick Dwayne Bryant Jr were both set to stand trial for seconddegree murder this week in the killing of 17-year-old Mikeith Johnson. Johnson,

La.State Police investigate hit-and-rundeath of tourist

Wisconsin womandiedon

I-10 twin span

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

Louisiana StatePolice have expandedtheir investigation into the death of ayoung Wisconsin woman last week on the Interstate 10 twin span, withauthoritiesand relatives stumped at how she ended there after attending an NBA YoungBoy concert tha night.

CriminalInvestigation

Division detectives are working to determin how Edashia Caraway,2 wound up on thebridge near Slidell, far from her downtownhotel, after the concert.Troop Lremainsthe lead investigator for the crash itself, Trooper Marc Gremillionsaid.

from her hoteltowhereshe met her end.”

Caraway was staying at theHilton New OrleansConvention Center,her uncle Tawny Gray said —about 25milesfromwhereshe was found dead on the bridge after being hit by aMazdaCX-5, andpossiblyanothervehiclebefore that, according to the State Police’spreliminary investigation.

“She didn’thave avehicle. She didn’trentavehicle,” Gray said.

“She was Ubering.”

“It is asignificant mystery,” said James Hartman, spokesperson for St. Tammany Coroner Christopher Tape. Tape last week determined Caraway’sdeath from blunt force injuries was ahomicide. “It is virtually impossible to think shewalked

CASE

Continued from page 1B

according to an April memo from Murrill outlining her concerns.

A30-year,$50 million Sustainability Partners contractwiththe groundwatercommission involved hundreds of pumping meters. It was asource of controversy for several years among the commission members, state lawmakers and the two largest users of the aquifer,Baton Rouge WaterCo. andExxonMobil.Beard andseveral commissioners pushed for the deal to more accurately measure the usage of the underground water supply to form the basis of fees users had to pay the district.

Baton Rouge Water and ExxonMobil argued new fees to pay for the meters weretoo costly.They also claimed the meters were redundant because the companies had their own meters

Last year alocal tax judge found

KILLING

Continued from page1B

according to 19th Judicial District Court records. Harrison and Bryant were 19 and 18, respectively,atthe time of the shooting. According to police reports, Johnson was shotat least nine times in the arms, back chest and torso in the 3100 block of Addison Street,nearthe corner of Bradley Street. He was found lying face down in agrassy knoll with money near his right hand. Johnson’srelatives said the spirited teen, known as “Keddy,”

FRAUD

Continued from page1B

scheme, Raby kept about $1.5 million for himself. Instead of using thefundstoretain employees on his payroll, he diverted the money and useditto buymultipleluxuryvehiclesand to pay the mortgage on his house, according to records.

Raby,42, received his punishment for the multimillion-dollar ploy insideafederal courtroom Wednesday,where aBaton Rouge judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

“Your mindset, Mr.Raby,isthat it’sOKtotake $2 million and intend to take $20 million,” U.S. District JudgeJohn deGravelles said as he handed down the sentence. “That’s OK to you because it’sthe government and you’re not ‘intending to harm anyone.’ But when you take $2 millionfrom the government, you’re taking it from everyone. You’re harming people.” Raby pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to chargesofconspiracytolaunder money and obstructionofdue administrationofthe IRS. Theemployee retention credits were tax reimbursements issued through the CoronavirusAid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. They were designed

one. And her mother talked to her afew timesonFaceTime.

That was typical forthe closeknit family,Gray said. An only child, Caraway was born in Chicago and attended SouthShore CommunityAcademy,anartsschool. Caraway worked from home as an auditor, loved music, food, herfamily and raising her 6-year-old son.

WeatheronHalloween should be atreat in BR

Staff report

Gray believes Caraway returned her hotel room after the concertended at the Smoothie King Center at p.m. Oct. 20. He said her concert wristbandwas in ehotel room. But what happened between then d2:19a.m.,when Caraway’smother received acar crashalert on her phone, remains unknown.

Also amystery is whom, if anyone, shemay have beenwith. She had traveled solo from Appleton, Wisconsin, to New Orleans.

“She waskind of aloner —it’s weird shewould join someoneif that was the case,” Gray said. “She would have told us if shewas going down (to New Orleans) with some-

thefees associated with the meter contract amounted to an illegal tax on Baton Rouge Water and any other user that could use its own meters.

The taxcourt relied on athennewlaw to declare the fees illegal. Monthsbefore the ruling, amid lobbying from BatonRouge Water andExxonMobil, the Legislature passed alaw relieving thetwo companies ofthe requirementtoinstall the groundwater district’smeters.

For decades, thedistrictregulatedlarge users of the Southern Hills aquifer,the primary drinking water source for muchofthe Baton Rougearea. Oneofthe majorissues hasbeen protecting it against underground saltwater intrusion.

Amid questions about its spending on the meter contractand its legal bills, the Legislature earlier this year putthe independent districtand itsoversight of theaquifer under the state Department of Conservation and Energy Beard resigned from the commission as executivedirectorlast

haddreams of beingamusician.

Thevictim’smothertoldinvestigators he left home to meet someone andwalked toward the corner of Bradley Street. She and one of Johnson’ssiblings was on the way to accompany theteen, but heard gunshots beforethey made it to him. Witnesses sawJohnson standingin theroadwithtwo people who opened fire, shooting him multiple times, according to police reports. The menthenfled northtoward Winbourne Avenue. Investigators used surveillance to identifyHarrison and Bryant as theshooters. Footage showed thetwo men walking together

to encouragebusinessestokeep paying their employees during the pandemic.

Federal prosecutors said Raby recruited at least seven people to help carry out his plan in exchange for asmall portion ofthe aid money He used their names and Social Security numbers along withhis own personal informationtoregister 21 different businesses. DeGravelles noted that manyofthe businesses had similarnames. Raby submitted 36 different applications for ERC tax creditstothe IRS and opened dozens ofbusinessaccounts at area banks.The accounts were in his name and the names of his counterparts, but Raby maintained control of the transactions. The IRS issued 33 checkstotaling about $4.4 million to thedefendants,but Raby and companyreceivedonly18ofthe checks, totaling about$2.6million, according to federal court documents. Once he received thepayouts, Raby shuffled the money to other accounts and eventuallydiverted thefunds to his own personal accounts. In addition to paying themortgage onhis house, Raby made large payments on anumber of luxuryvehicles, including a2023 Mercedes-Benz S-500 sedan. DeGravelles noted Kenyall Williams, a39-year-old BatonRouge woman who Raby recruited, pleaded guilty to conspiracytodefraud

“(She and her son) have the same funny,extremely,extremely smart personality,” Gray said. “He’s 6 years old, but you forget you’re talking to a6-year-old. But thatwas her sense of humor.”

Caraway’s body was returned to the family over the weekend. They have created aGoFundMe for funeral expenses.

“Now that Ihaveher back with us, trying to figure out what is going on is apriority,” Gray said.

He implored anyone withinformation to contact Louisiana State Police Troop Lat(985) 893-6250 or the St.Tammany Parish coroner at (985) 781-1150.Tipsters may contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans anonymously at (504) 822-1111.

“She should have camehome,” Gray said. “She went down for a concert,and should have been able to go home.”

monthafter DustinDavidson, the department secretary,informed him that the agency would not “be extending an offer of employment” to him

Davidson told himthe move “should not be read as areflection on your public service” but also saidthe departmentasked theLouisiana legislative auditor to review the district’s finances.

In aseparate letter to the auditor, Davidson requested an investigative andforensic audit of thedistrictto“safeguard public funds” and“maintain public confidence.”

“Some matters of concern have come to ourattention that we feel would benefit from atimely,independent review,”Davidson wrote “An objective examination by your team will help validatecontrols and identify any deficiencies requiring corrective action.”

Theletter didnot detailthose concerns.

Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespackdeclined to comment Wednesday.

with plates fromanarea seafood restaurantwhenJohnsonapproached them from behind. Moments after he greeted thetwo older teens,one of thembegan shooting andthe other then pulled agun of his own and unloaded. Harrisoninitially denied being involved in the shooting, according to reports, but later tolddetectives he shotJohnsoninselfdefense. He refused to identify his accomplice.

Investigators determinedHarrison’sstorydidn’tmesh with the surveillance footage and evidence from thecrimescene. When they questioned Bryant,hedeclined to give astatement.

theUnited States in July 2024. He sentenced thewoman to three years of probation on May 14 and ordered her to repay the U.S. Treasury $550,000 in restitution.

Raby apologized to the judge,his family and the communityatlarge during Wednesday’shearing.

“I was never trying to harm anyone,”hesaid. “I was just trying to make abetterlife for my kids. But Iwent about it the wrong way,and Iapologize.”

Rabyhad ahistory of financial schemes.Hewas charged in 2009 with identity fraud, bank fraud, credit card fraud and forgery among other financial crimes from thesame incident.Hehas similar charges from a2019 incident He served 10 yearsbehind bars for one of his previous convictions and was released less than twoyears before he began the COVID-19 schemetobilk the feds out of millions.

DeGravelles described Raby’s apology as “insincere” and said he was disturbed by theman’s“horrible” criminal record. He ordered Raby to repaythe government the $2.6million he stole as part of his restitution and placed him on threeyearsofcourtsupervision after he’sreleased from prison. “It would seem to me you’re obviously avery bright guy,” the judge said. “But not bright enough to learn from your past mistakes.”

BatonRouge trick-or-treaters couldn’task for much better weather for Halloweenthis year, with the National Weather Service calling for clear skies and cool temperatures. Aweathersystem this past weekendthatbrought rain was followed by an evenstronger one Tuesday night that swept in astrong cold front, weather service meteorologist Christopher Bannan said.

“It really did set up dry, clear weather that’scool at night and comfortable during the day,” Bannan said. Friday is expected to be clear throughoutthe day and night, with ahigh near69and alow around 47. The nice, fall weather will “stick

around all week,” Bannan said. Trick-or-treating hours in Baton Rouge on Friday are from 6to 8p.m.

Local officials shared safety tips forHalloween:

n Trick-or-treat in groups, staying in familiar,well-lit areas. Children should always be accompanied by atrusted adult.

n Stay on sidewalks; walk, don’t run; and use crosswalks when available. Avoid cutting across yards or streets in the dark.

n Wear bright or reflective costumes andcarry flashlights or glow sticks to alert drivers.

n Inspect all candy and snacks before eating. Discard anything thatisunwrapped or looks suspicious, andbemindfulofpotential allergens.

NFLplayer’sidentity

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

Aman andwoman from Jefferson Parish are accused of committing identity theft in order to secure $250,000 in loans in the name of Tennessee Titans quarterback and No. 1draft pickCam Ward, according to authorities.

JeffersonParish Sheriff’s Office detectivesarrested Albert Weber,42, of Harvey,and Cyntrelle Lash, 39, of Metairie, on May16oncharges includingidentity theft, bank fraud and forgery,saidCapt. Jason Rivarde, spokesperson forthe department.

money, according to theSheriff’s Office.

The phony Cam Ward offered to useproperty belonging to his father and uncle as collateral for a loan untilhis “purported $30million contract” was finalized, authorities said.

“Webelieve WeberposedasCam Ward’sdad to obtain the loans, and she assisted in the fraud,” Rivarde said.

Neither Webernor Lash could be reached for comment Wednesday.They have not been formally charged.

The Sheriff’sOffice opened its investigation in May after the representative of an unidentified business contacted thedepartment, reporting that they’d been tricked into lending money to afraudster, according to authorities.

The complainant tolddeputies that apersonwho identifiedhimself as Cam Ward reached out through athird-party brokerin April, claiming to be in need of

SUIT

Continuedfrom page1B

public initially wastoldwould not result in anyaction. The meeting’s agenda also did notoriginally have an item to renew, or not renew Parrish’scontract.

Several parish residents filed a formal complaint to the Attorney General’s Officeafter that meeting.

“Wehave worked cooperatively with the board’srepresentatives andhopethat we have arrived at asolution thatsatisfiesall concerns,” Murrill wrote in astatement.

Perrilloux said he has not previously handled acase specifically like this one before.

Anotarypublic hired by the complainant’scompany mettwicewiththe suspect to sign paperwork leading to a$250,000 loan, authorities said. According to anews story first reportedby The Guardian, detectives reached out to Ward’sfather earlier this year and told him that twoliens had been placed on his Texas home. Weber denied any involvement to The Guardian. The investigationisstill open andadditionalchargesare possible, according to Rivarde. “Wesuspect him of impersonatingmultiplepeople,” Rivarde said. It appearsfederal authoritiesare also involved basedonFBI records that show the agency seized a2018 Bentley Bentaygabelonging to Weber in July Weber wasreleased from the JeffersonParish Correctional Center in Gretna on May 18 on an $80,000 bond. Lash was freed aday later on a$60,000 bond.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate.com.

“I think it’shighly unusual for the attorney general to file asuit like this,” he said.

Email Claire Grunewaldat claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY,OCT.28, 2025

PICK 3: 8-1-6

PICK 4: 3-7-6-8

PICK 5: 8-0-4-6-6

MEGA MILLIONS: 2-19-33-53-61

MEGA BALL: 14

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets

Badeaux, Brenda St.Alphonsus Catholic Church in Greenwell Springsat11a.m

Cage,Percy Hall'sCelebration Center,9348

Scenic Highway,atnoon

Caillais,Vera

Baker FuneralHome, 6401 Groom Road, Baker, LAat 12pm Davis, Eldon WalesCemetery, Chipola, LA at 2:00pm

Dupuy,Bernadette

St.Thomas More at 10:30 a.m.

Matherne,J.Marion

OurLadyofMercy Catholic Church, 445 MarquetteAvenue,at10a.m

Rouillier, Nelson Sacred HeartCatholic Church,616 E. Main Street in Gramercy,at11a.m

Wells III, Bennett Miller& Daughter Mortuary,5905 Highway 19 in Zachary, at 11:45a.m

Obituaries

Bourgeois, Ronald Joseph 'Ronnie'

Ronald "Ronnie" Joseph Bourgeoiswent to his eternal rest with the Lord on October 26, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Louise Bourgeois and Howard Joseph Bourgeois, his brother, Michael Joseph Bourgeois and sisters-in-lawSharon Compton and Vicki Batarseh. He is survived by his beloved wife Candy Dianne Bourgeois, son Brent Joseph Bourgeois and wife Tracy, son Lance Joseph Bourgeois and wife Ellen, and grandchildren, Cole Joseph Bourgeois and wife Brandy, Taylor Joseph Bourgeois, Mason Joseph Bourgeois and fiancée Sara Rester, and Anna Katherine Bourgeois. He is also survived by his sister Linda Bourgeois Goetting and husband Robin, his sisterin-law Becky André Bourgeois, brothers-in-law Monther Batarseh and Bobby Compton, and multiple nephews and nieces. Ronnie was born on December 17, 1943 in Port Allen, Louisiana. He graduated from CatholicHigh School in 1961 and then went on to receive aBachelor of Science in Accounting from LSU. He married thelove of hislife, Candy Dianne Hamilton, in 1967 While completing his college education, he began working for Anco Industries, where he invested the majority of his work career, eventuallybecoming Executive Vice President of the company. He was also the Co-Founder and President of Basic Industries,Co-Founder of Distribution International, and later in his career, the Founder and CEO of Louisiana CSI, where he worked alongside his partners Sonny Andersonand Scott McClean, and CoFounder of CSI Coatings. He was also proud to serve as aMemberofthe Board of Directors of Famco Enterprises. Everyone who knew Ronnie was aware that he exhibited the utmost integrity in everything he did. For those lookingfor amentor, he proudly served in that role, launching them into greater effectiveness in whatever direction they pursued. He was atrustworthyand dedicated employee and afaithful and loving friend. His generosity,warmness, and welcoming spirit was experienced by so many people as he opened his home and served many meals to beloved friends and acquaintances. Ronniehad a special love for his fellow graduates from Catholic High Class of '61, and he kept contact with that group until the very end. We want to thank all of them for the many kind and supportive messages to him in his last days with us. Ronnie was involvedin several churches throughout his life in BatonRouge including The Chapel on the Campus, Community Bible Church, and later The Chapel in the Oaks. He faithfully served in church and particularly loved his days working with the kindergarten class along with his wife Candy. However, without adoubt, Ronnie's greatest pride and joy on this earth as well as the focus of his love, devotion, energy, time, investment and attention, was his family, especiallyhis beloved wife, sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. To his own acknowledgment, he would not be the person he is without Jesus and owes everything h h i h l

he has to Him. The love and devotionhehad forhis Lord and Savior Jesus Christtransformed his life, allowinghim to live the life that he lived

Relatives andfriends are invited to attend visitation at 10:30amwith celebration of life service following at 11:30 am on Saturday November1,2025at Rabenhorst Funeral Home at 825 Government St In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gideons International. Ronnie came to trust Christ as His personal Saviorasa result of readinga Gideon's Bible in ahotel room back in the early 1970s. Due to this, the trajectory of his family changed forever, as Ronnie, along with Candy, builta legacy of faith in the Lord that has livedonin the familiesoftheirsons and grandchildren.

KimMichelle Butler,of NewOrleans,La. passed awayonOctober 20,2025. She was 63 yearsold

Kimenjoyed acareerin retail and had apassion for writing plays andpuzzling -activitiesthat brought her much joy throughout her life.

She AttendedDelgado College in New Orleans.

Kimwas precededin deathbyher father, WilliamButler,Sr.,and her brother WilliamButler, Jr

She is survivedbyher loving mother, Betty Washington; her siblings, Phyllis Douglas (Rodney, Sr.), GeraldButler, (Benji), Andera Washington, and Shirlena Thomas; as well as ahost of nieces, nephews, aunts, and other relatives who willcherishher memory.

Clegg,Marshall

MarshallClegg, 82, of Zachary,Louisiana,passed awaypeacefully on October 20, 2025,atClarityHospice of Baton Rouge, surrounded by the love of his family.

Marshall was born on January 7, 1943,inHattiesburg, Mississippi,toSam L. and Effie H. Clegg. He was one of three childrenand is survivedbyhis sister, SandraClegg Travis. He was precededindeath by his sister, Terry Clegg Fagane.

Marshall married the love of his life, Brenda Kirkland Clegg, and together they built afamilyrooted in love, faith, and service to others. He was a devotedfather to Denee Clegg Anderson (Brad), Bryon Clegg, LacyTolle Faith McElwee (Wesley), CaitlinMartin(Luke), and Dreher Tolle.Hewas also a proud grandfather"Peepaw" to QuinnClegg, Colesie Bourgoyne (Ed), Kayleigh Davidson, Lawson Clegg, Emmett Nettles, and Ava Hopkins—and agreatgrandfather to Magnolia Bourgoyne. He was preceded in death by his beloveddaughter, Rainey JonClegg. Marshall is best known throughout the community for his life's work at Clegg'sNursery,founded by his parents in 1955.Heisalso well known by many local landscapers forCNI WholesaleNursery.Hehad agift forseeingpotential in outdoor spaces andsharing that vision with others—often sketching plans on the spot and giving advicefreely. For Marshall, it was not just about plants; it was aboutpeople,relationships,and educating others to create beautiful surroundings.Hebelieved in doingthings right.Quality and customerservice wereatthe heartofeverything he did. Outsideofwork,Marshall enjoyed fishing.He was amember of Central Church in Zachary, where his faith was hisguiding light. He was the kind of person who never hesitat-

ed to lend ahand,share a laugh, or brighten someone's daywithhis quick wit.

Aboveall else, Marshall valued his faith, his family, and his friends. He had a servant's heart.Whether it was helping with aproject, supporting and encouraging his lovedones, or simplygivinggoodadvice,he showed up with generosity, kindness, and ahumble spirit.

ACelebrationofLife will be held Saturday, November1,2025, at Bethany Church -South,located at 11107 Honore Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. The service willbegin promptly at 11:00 a.m. The family will receive guestsfrom 10:0011:00 a.m.,and again following theservice until 1:00 p.m. Allare welcome to attend In lieu of flowers,donations may be madetoCaring to Love Ministries (ctlm.org)orthe Tim Tebow Foundation (timtebowfoundation.org)

Thefamily wouldliketo extend their deepest thankstothe compassionateteam at ClarityHospice of BatonRouge fortheir loving care in Marshall's final days "He livedwithjoy served with love,and left beauty wherever he went."

Arrangementsare being handled by Rabenhorst Funeral Home East.Condolences and memories may be shared at www.rabenhorsteast.com.

Sister CelestineWalker Ervins of Baton Rouge, passed away on October 21, 2025, one dayafter celebrating her birthday. Born October 20, 1947, in New Orleans, she was the daughter of thelate Benit and Mary A. Walker Sr Known for her fiery spirit, quick wit, and heart of gold,Celestine leavesbehind cherished memories of love,laughter, and faith Sheissurvivedbyher devoteddaughter, Kisa Johnson(Sylvester). ACelebration of Life will be held Sat.,November 1, 2025, at True Light Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Dennis R. Hebert Sr. Viewing:9-11 a.m.;service: 11 a.m. Interment willfollow underthe direction of Hall Davis and Sons Funeral Service.

Gary DeanHarrell, born in BatonRouge and aresident of DenhamSprings, passed away October 27, 2025 at theage of 66. Gary's unwavering work ethicled himtoa careeras an iron worker for many years. He took greatpride in his workand dedicated himself to his profession. Despitethe demandsofhis job, his family remained thecornerstone of his life, and he cherished every moment spent with them. Hisloveextendedtoall

creatures, and he found happiness in thecompanionship of animals, especiallyhis beloveddog Missy. Hislovingspirit willbe missed dearly by allthose who knew him. He is survivedbymother, MargieL.Crotwell Harrell; sister,TheresaHarrell Moreau; nieces, Tessa Walters (George) and daughter Piper, Tiffany Wilson(JerryJr.)and daughter Chloe;nephew, Cody Forbes (Candace) and their children; Carter, Carley, Catherine and Kyle.

He is preceded in death by father, Dorris Earl Harrell;sister,Doris Ann Harrell Forbes; maternal grandparents, Denver and Leonie Crotwelland paternal grandparents, Christopher and Semmi Harrell Gary leaves behind two cherished friendsRory Fradella and family and TomWilson and family, who became family to him over theyears. The family wouldalso like to give a heartfelt thanksto Amedisys Hospice and all of thecaretakers for their care, kindness and support during his final days.

Services willtake place at Seale Funeral Home in DenhamSprings on SaturdayNovember 1, 2025 with visitationfrom 12:00 PM2:00 PM and service beginning at 2:00 PM.Burial will immediatelyfollow in EvergreenMemorial Park. Pallbearers willbe GeorgeWalters,Jerry Wilson Jr., Cody Forbes, Carter Forbes, Leon Lovettand Cody Lovett Please shareyourcondolences at www.sealefuneral.com.

Lynn Calongne Hendry, affectionately known as "MeMe," passed away peacefully on Monday, October20, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.She was 79. Born on July 29, 1946, in NewOrleans, Lynn was thedaughterofMae Stella Calongne and Charles Octave"C.O."Calongne. She was theeldest of five children, and loved her siblingsdearly. Lynn was aproud graduateof St.Joseph'sAcademy and LSU, where she earneda degree in Elementary Education. She dedicatedher life to teaching and shaping youngminds. For more than 25 years, she taught first grade,influencingthe livesofcountless children with patience, wit, and just enough"mean" to keep everyoneinline. She was belovedbyher students and fellowteachers alike. Adevout Catholic, Lynn was amember of St.Aloysius CatholicChurch. Her home overflowed with love and warmth. She found joy in simple things -family gatherings, her newspaper and morning coffee, cooking,her flower beds, her dogs, and most of all, her belovedgrandchildren. Christmas Eve at her home was acherished tradition that she loved- lively, loud, and full of laughter -that perfectly exhibitedher unmistakable knack forentertaining.She is survived by her four children: Shannon Hendry Hernandez (Todd), Kelley Hendry Thompson (Todd), Tre Hendry (Brittney), and Michael Hendry (Leigh); herformer husband and

father of herchildren,John Seaton Hendry, Jr.; 14 grandchildren: Ben Hernandez(Ashley), Brant Hernandez (Erin),Jordan Thompson Bowlin(Danny), Anna Thompson Raetzsch (Wilson), GraceHernandez ClayThompson, Lauren Hendry, BradyHernandez, MaeThompson,Emma Claire Hendry, Grant Hendry, HarrisonHendry, BanksHendry, andWells Hendry; six great-grandchildren, MallieAnn Hernandez, Hudd Hernandez, John Todd Hernandez,CohenBowlin, GradyBowlin andSawyerBowlin; her siblings: DonCalongne (Sheila), TerryCalongne (Kyrne), KenCalongne (Ann), and Leslie Calongne Chauvin(Larry); andnumerousnieces and nephews. She waspreceded in death by herparents, C.O. and MaeCalongne, andbyher infantgranddaughter, HarperHendry. Sheleaves behind notjust herfamily, buta lifetime of laughter, stories,and recipesthatwill be retold andremadefor generations. The familyextends heartfelt gratitude to her devotedcaregivers, Esther Brady, Eloyace Scott, Teresa Thomas, andLatrica Scott; herphysicians, Dr. DanielLaVieand Dr.Lara Falcon,and thecompassionate team at Audubon Hospice.Visitationwillbe held on Monday, November3,2025, at St.Aloysius Catholic Church in Baton Rouge from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., followed by a funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. Burial willfollow at RoselawnCemetery.Inlieu of flowers, donationsmay be made to the Alzheimer'sAssociation, theAmerican Cancer Society, or Metanoia Manor Shewill be deeply missed by all whoknewand loved her.

With deep sadness, we announce thepassing of Beverly"Babs" Carlene (Elam) Jackson,onOctober 24, 2025, at the age of 71. Awoman of unshakable strength,grace, anda vibrantlove for life. Carlene leaves behinda legacythat willforever live on in thehearts of all who knew her. Carlene wasa graduate of Louisiana State University (LSU), whereshe earnedher

Bachelor's degree in Psychology. Hereducation formedthe cornerstone of alifededicated to understandingand helping others. Throughouther career in publicservice,education andasanentrepreneur, she built meaningfulconnections that made alasting impact. Carlene andher late husband Dicky Jackson hada passion for thoroughbred racing. They established Kidd CreekThoroughbred Farm, that also served as arescue sitefor displaced horses.They created countless memories at theracetrack and in thewinner's circle with Fairwell Madrid, Ide Better Win, My Boy Coy, Fairwell Tax Break, Titanium Girl, ChanceofRena, Robin's Sportand IBeg To Differ. Otherpersonal equines dear to them were TNT, Champ and T'Gray. Carlene wasalso amember of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Association Carlene wasprecededin death by herbeloved husband of 25 years, Eddie "Dicky" Jackson,and her cherished grandparents, Rena andCarlDay, as well as herfather,Dempsey McMorris Sheissurvived by her loving daughter, Taura Elam Fudge,son-in-law Joey, andher granddaughter, MorganMcKinley Fudge.She is also survived by hermother, Sybil Day, hersister,ConnieLeBlanc, andbrother-in-law Kenneth "Muff" LeBlanc (Rhett). Herdevoted companion, T'too,a beloved Great Dane,was by her sideeveryday, offering love andcomfort. Carlene demonstrated extraordinary courage, strength,and grace. Through it all,she remained ashining example of resilience. Thefamily extends theirheartfelt thanks to thecaregivers, wholoved andsupported Carlene.Also, ourgratitude to thefamilyand friends that stood by her through thegoodand difficult times. We wouldlike to recognize herextended familyatAmerica'sBest Signs, whoheld aspecial place in herheart. Carlene wasthe life of everygathering,awoman of wit, wisdom, and warmth whocould turn anyoccasion into something truly special.Her love forconversation, her remarkable insight, and herinfectious energy made heranunforgettable presence in everyroom she entered. She lived life with an unquenchablecuriosity, andher generous spirit of sharingknowledge touched everyone she met. Carlene's family andfriends will forever carry herintheir hearts. Herlegacyisone of beauty, love,laughter, and livingfully, andshe will be dearlymissedbyall who knew her.

Editors’ note: Versions of thiseditorial haveappeared on earlierholidays.

In an age where many of us spend hours glued to our smartphones, another Halloween arrives Friday to remindusthat connecting with strangers in real life —and treating them generously —can be an exercise in possibility rather than peril.

Our other holidays, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving and Easter,advance their own forms of public outreach, but they’re primarily focused inward, into the intimacy of families. Halloween, like Louisiana’smuchbeloved Mardi Gras, is an outward affair,one grounded in the life of the street

Alsolike Mardi Gras, Halloween is an improvised costume ball, one that nudges us to try on other selves. Sometimes we do so topoke fun at public figures or events that made news overthe course of the year.Often, it’sachance to display our creativity.It’sfun that can also serve apurpose. That kind of homespun theater is an exercise in empathy,reminding us that fellowship starts as an act of imagination. In considering the lives of others, we recognize the ties that bind us, regardless of race, religion or party

That kind of connection is needed more than ever these days, as manyofour youths suffer from crippling social anxietyand depression andpolitical divisions are narrowing our sense of what country and communitycan be. When we open our doors to trick-or-treaters, we see in their eager smilesthe simple faiththat sometimes life offers sweet surprises.

Seeing children enjoying this long-standing ritual also brings memories of days past, when costumes were home-sewn and the treats might include apiece of fruit. And though the parties, costumes, haunted houses and decorations have gotten more elaborateasthe holiday has grown in popularity,wewould do well to remember that being agood neighbor is at the heart of this celebration. Many of us these days live behind closed doors and don’twelcome strangers who arrive unannounced. But Halloween is aday to forget our wariness and share our bounty with others.

Somemight ask why, in aworld touched by so much actual horror,weembrace Halloween as afestival of fright. But witches, goblins andeven 12-foot skeletons seem like innocent scaresinaworld where so many live under the threat of war, pestilenceand poverty.Halloween is away for us to smile through the grimness, to express the enduring resilience of the human spirit in the face of fears both real and imagined.

We welcome Halloween across south Louisiana. The days grow shorter,the evenings cooler as trick-or-treaters take up their annual prowl. But that long line of porch lightsdown our streets speaks of something sublime —our willingness to illuminatethe shadows, answering the darknessofthe hour withthe best that we can give.

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

President Donald Trump may try to sidestep this history,but we will not forget what our ancestors endured through slavery and beyond. We cannot eraseour past— we must face it,learn from it and teach it so it is never repeated. As ason of the South and aproud Black man serving Louisiana in Congress, Ispeak from the veryplace where one of America’smost powerful photographs was taken In 1863, in Baton Rouge, Union doctorsexamined an enslaved man named Peter —later called Gordon whose back carried deep scars from whippings. Photographers captured that image, known as “The Scourged Back.”

The photograph shook the nation. Published in abolitionist papers and in Harper’sWeekly on July 4, 1863, it revealed the cruelty of slavery more clearly than words could. Leaders like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truthused it to awaken the conscience of the country

Gordon’sescape, his survival, and his later service as asoldier turned his story intoacall for freedom and

Arecent guest column published in The Advocatetitled “Hyundai incentives would be better spent here at home,” expresses concern over the $600 million investment dedicated to theWest BankofAscension Parish.

The column suggests that thetaxpayer money is being sent to giant corporations to be “sunk intosomeone else’spockets,” but thereality is that this investment is doing just what theauthor calls for —being spent at home.

The state of Louisiana will provide about $440 million, while the remaining $160 million will come from Ascension Parish. The majority of these funds are dedicated toimprovements to westAscension’sroad and energy infrastructure and anew sewer treatmentfacility.These upgrades will support projects likeHyundai’sLouisiana Steel Mill and ensure seamless connectivity for residents and businesses alike.

Anew River Parishes Community College training facility located in the heart of Donaldsonville will also be built

justice. This is not “divisive”history.Itis honesthistory Recentreports of efforts to remove artifacts like “The Scourged Back” from national displays are troubling. Whether or not thisspecific image was taken down, themessage is clear: trying to hide painful truths weakens America instead of healing it.

This photograph belongs in classrooms, museums and monuments. It tells thestory of apeople who built this country,enduredits worst injustices andstill rise with faith and resilience.

As Louisiana’srepresentative,I will not be silent.Wemust teach our children —ofeveryrace —what happened, so they can lead with open eyes and better hearts.

IurgePresident Trump to make clear that America will preserve and teach itsfull history —including the hardestparts. Only then can we grow stronger as anation.

REP.TROYCARTER

U.S. representative,Louisiana’sSecond Congressional District

Other companies, such as Ascension Clean Energy,also have plans for development.CFIndustries will be expanding on the west bank as well. These projects will bring morethan $17 billion in new investments and thousands of high-paying jobs. These jobsare precisely the opportunities that will shape the future of our youth and improvethe quality of life for manyfamilies.

The new RPCC facility will serve as acritical link, equipping locals with theskills necessary to pursue lifechanging job opportunities. Hyundai and the other multi-billiondollar facilities investing in Ascension Parish’s River Plex Mega Park are the beginning of an economicrevitalization and opportunities forresidents in Modeste, Donaldsonville and the entire west bank. We must welcome theinvestment, opportunity,growth and the progress that will affect our future. Thank you, Louisiana and Ascension Parish.

JUANITAC.PEARLEY executivedirector,Donaldsonville Area Chamber of Commerce

My representatives are all Republicans.

When they claim that grocery and energy prices are waydown, they are lying.

When they say that China pays the tariffs,they are lying.

When they say that they won’t damage the White House, they are lying.

When they say that the ballroom won’tcost U.S. anything, they are lying. Do you know what it costs for maintenance, upkeep and climate control fora$300 million building? Oops, it just wentupanother $50 million, again and again.

When they say that they aren’tgoing to cut our health care, they are lying.

When they say that U.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement is only arresting the bad immigrants, they are lying.

When they say that their murders on the high seas are narco-terrorists, they are lying. Why would they release the survivors without prosecution?

When they say that Portland is burning or that the crime is worse in cities with Democrat mayors, they are lying.

When they shut downCongress to protect pedophiles, they are lying.

When they say they can’tafford to keep the government open but taxpayers need to spend abillion dollars on aspent, old gilded jumbo jet, instead of auctioning it off to keep the government running, they are lying. Isuppose Ishould just be grateful that Ican still afford the millions it takes so that my leader can at least enjoy his golf hobby

When they say that they will do what’sbest fortheir constituents, regardless of party,they are lying.

When they say that Donald Trump wonthe 2020 election, they are lying. It’s not debatable.

When they honor the duly prosecuted J-6ers as heroes and patriots, they are lying.

When they say that they will honor and defend the Constitution, they are lying.

Icould go on forpages, but I’m tired of it. Ithink our two-party republic needs aconservative party The GOPisaconfederacy

WILLIAM P. DARLINGTON Lafayette

UNOsailing into rightdirection with LSU

It’s time for the whole state of Louisiana to recognize the great assetithas in the University of New Orleans. Registration opens Nov.3 for UNO’s Spring 2026 semester,perhaps the last full semester before the school moves back into the Louisiana State University system. WhatLSU is getting is aPrivateer ship thatwas listingdangerously,but nowisstabilized and sailing briskly in the rightdirection. The turnaround is largely due to adynamic duo, University President Kathy Johnsonand Rebecca Conwell, president/CEO of the UNOBeach Research and Technology Park. Saturday marksthe secondanniversary of Johnson taking the university’shelm.

Before looking at what agem UNO is, let’sunderstand the dire straits into which it had fallen. Once thriving with some 17,000 students, UNO tookhuge hits from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and from statebudget cutbacks laterthat decade. Now at less than 6,000students, UNOtwo years ago faced adebt of $30 million and an annual operating deficit of $15 million.

Johnson eliminated the latterby implementing numerous tough but necessary savings measures(not worth detailing here) while showing great transparency and instillingconfidence in her leadership and vision. The LSU takeover of the school,overtime, should help with the back debt.

Michael Hecht, the GNO Inc. president and CEO who is the secretary/treasurer of The Beach (researchpark),isa Johnson fan.

“Under Kathy’sleadership and with the support of the governor’soffice and the Legislature, UNO has cleanedup itsbalance sheet,” he said. “Kathy is characterized by being accessible and inclined towards partnership.” Meanwhile, The Beach is an impres-

sive facet of UNO life. With 800,000 square feet of space on a30-acre property,The Beach is where more than 30 entrepreneurial companies leasespace, often for high-tech research of thesort wherebusiness and science students can learn and contribute.Beach CEO Conwell touts its “academic-industry partnerships,”and it has government lessees as well, including engineersfor the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, biologists for the stateDepartment of Energy and Natural Resources —and also the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Center at the Congressman Bob LivingstonEast Campus.

An entire feature should be dedicated (elsewhere) to all the ways UNO students are at the cutting edge of research andentrepreneurship through TheBeach:shipbuilding, wind and other energyprojects,cybersecurity, even kinetic-motion-analysis apps for exercise watches that help basketball players refinetheir shot-making

Especially important here is that, whereasthe research park anumber of years ago had become basically just a business real estatesitewithout major engagement with the university itself, nowThe Beach is, as Hecht describesit, “anactiveand constructive contributor to UNO both academically and financially.”

Hecht creditsConwell for therenewedfocusthat he calls “a total changeoverinthe missionand constitution of that organization.”

“Weare obsessed with that,” Conwell said. “Wewake up everymorning thinking about the connectivitybetween the research parkand theuniversity. We have really spent alot of time thinking about how we impact student experiences.”

It is thenatureofthe UNO students themselves, though, along with the servicethe university provides them, that is perhaps themostremarkable thing about the college as awhole. The

proportion of studentseligible for Pell Grants —meaning generally (although not always) from lower economic strata —is59%, considerably higher than the national average of 34%. YetUNO is having remarkable success with these students, and in general withstudents (Pell Grant or no) from less financially advantaged homes

An education-dataand software outfit called CollegeNET publishes the “Social Mobility Index,” which measures “the extent to which acollege or university educates moreeconomically disadvantaged students(with family incomes below the national median) at lower tuition and graduates theminto good paying jobs.”Insum, it measures the improvement in student economic conditions (regardless of race) at each college. UNO rankedinthe top10% in the whole country Additionally,for universityquality and effectivenessasa whole, an outfit called Intelligent.com,which does “data-driven analysis on over 2,000 colleges,” rankedUNO the 14thbest“urban” college in the nation, behind prestigious UCLA and the University of Chicago but ahead of suchstalwarts as Columbia and Vanderbilt.

Now,with President Johnson’simpressive stabilization work on finances and mission, along with the pending move back to theLSU system,Johnson says UNO is ready “toget back into growth mode” by emphasizing “workplace-relevant credentials.”

Also akey metric: Some 89% of all UNO studentscome from Louisiana, and nearly 70% of them stay hereto build communities rather than leaving the state as so many other top-notch young people do.

As Johnson said, “Wewill always have afocus on this region” —and on being adriverfor Louisiana’scivic and economic health.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

Aroyal assaultonthe people’s house

SusanStamberg hosted NPR’sevening news broadcast, “All Things Considered,” for 14 years, starting in 1972.

Whenshe diedrecently at age 87,a female friend recalledwhata difference it made to hear awoman’s voiceonthe radio.Susanwas the host, she recalled, she wasauthoritative, anditwas inspiring.

Thatmemorymight seem woefully outdated, but Stamberg, as the first womanever to host anationalnewsbroadcast, made an enormous impact. Katherine Maher, NPR’spresident, put it this way: “Susan’svoice was notonly acornerstone of NPR —itwas acornerstone of American life She inspired countless journalists to believe theycould explore life andtruth, andlead with both authority and warmth.”

Herassignment almost didn’thappen.

“There were no role models for me,” she told The Seattle Times in 1999. “There were objections fromstationmanagersthatwomen’s voices were not as authoritative.”

But the network’sprogramming chief, Bill Siemering, put heronthe air anyway.“He said two magical words to me very early on,” Stamberg recalledyearslater.“He said, ‘Be yourself.’ And what he meant was, we want to hear from —wewanttohear voices on ourair that we’d hear acrossour dinnertablesatnight or at the local grocery store. And we want ourannouncersand ouranchorpeople to sound that way,too.”

Those voices,tobereal and reliable, had to include women, and Susan was akey member of what came to be calledNPR’sFounding Mothers, asorority that included Nina Totenberg, Linda Wertheimer and my late wife, Cokie Roberts.

Their impact was felt inside NPR as well as outside Theywererolemodels and rule breakers, advocates andallies, sisters and friends. They formed an Old Girls’ Network, doing for other women what men hadalways done fortheir own.

Notwithstanding the millions of Americans who turned out for the No Kings protests, we clearly have aking in residence at the building formerly known as the White House.Goingforward, it shall be known as The Palace. It appears the president of the UnitedStates suffers crownenvy.Or, perhaps, sheikh envy.His new,under-construction ballroom will rival that of other countrieswhere leaders are bloodline monarchs or recently enrichedoil barons. One thing is for certain: Donald Trump will out-gild and out-chandelier the Saudi king’sresidence Suffice to say,wenever should have let Trump go to Riyadh, where Trump was treated like royalty

My hunch is he began conjuring images of his own ballroom during his 2017 visit with King Salman to securea multibillion-dollar arms dealwith Saudi Arabia. The king’spalaces aredecked out with opulent chandeliers, goldtrimmed walls and marble floors, featuring parlors and throne rooms large enough to seat hundreds.I was witness to these jaw-dropping structures while traveling in 2007 with then-first lady Laura Bush. Trump’s ballroom, where he says he’ll host up to 999 people for statedinnersand royal visits, will feature similar appointments. The president has never met alilyhedidn’twant to gild, as his personal touches to the Oval Office confirm.

Construction of the $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which is being underwritten by donors,has caused astir like no other.Trump’searlier statement that the new structure wouldn’tinterfere with the existing people’shouse was adiamond-studded prevarication. As most have seen by now, the East Wing has been completely demolished.

“It was never thought of asbeing much,” His Majesty said of the wing that housed the first lady’s office and otherwisewas usedfor ceremonial events. “It was avery small building.” As youknow,Trump detests all things small. But then, Trump didn’tget to see Mick Jagger and B.B. King performin the East Wing, where only200 people could be seated. That sort of intimacy is gone forever.In2012, Iwas alucky attendee at the Red, White and Blues concert hosted by President Barack

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama Seateddirectlybehind the Obamas, I’d guess theperformers were maybe 10 feet away.If the president hadn’tbeen blocking me,I might have felt Jagger’ssweat as he slithered and strutted across theroombeneath alife-size portrait of George Washington. Those were the days, myfriends. Nothing like it has happened in the White House sinceTrumpmoved in. Meanwhile,it’sDay 24 of the shutdown andcounting.The Senate blocked bills to lock in back payfor federal workers While our soldiers worry about their paychecks,you’dthink thecommander in chief might delay construction of his grandiose partyhouse. All gnashing of teeth andrending of garments aside, Ifind myself not as freaked outabout the WhiteHouse makeoverassome readerswho are urging me to say something. This is just one more assault on the American psyche.One wearies. This is as Trump wouldhave it. Throw everything at the peopleuntil they can no longer muster outrage.Each objectionable action frominvading and militarizing cities to dropping bombs on small boats —merges with allthe othersintoone prolonged scream thatnoone can hear So,we’re going to have agilded warehouse onthe WhiteHouselawn that only aTrump could love,with no vestige

left of the relatively quaint East Wing wherehistory was made for morethan 100 years Trump has never stopped being Trump, and we’ve long been aware of how he has viewed theWhiteHouse. He wantsanofficial setting worthy of kings and sheikhs and, of course,his royal self.Ifothers have found the White House lacking in grandeur,they may alsohave seen it as elegantly understated. We’rethe United States of America, after all, and we don’tdoostentation in the people’shouse. Showing off isn’t who we are—orwere. Onceupon atime, humilitywas,in fact,acherished national virtue and the striving for biggest and best was understood to be anouveau riche aspiration. Call me aWASP,sure, but there’s much to be said for how WarrenBuffett chooses to live amodestlifestyle compared with say,oh, nobody in particular It’s toobad the ballroom won’tbe ready in time for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’sNovember visit. Maybe he’ll make acontribution in keeping withhis $2 billion donation to Jared Kushner’s equity firm. I’m guessing King Trump, who accepted a$400 million luxury jetfromQatar,probably wouldn’tobject.

Kathleen Parker is on X, @kathleenparker

Iwitnessed their powerfirsthand in 1977, when Cokie andIreturned to Washington afterfouryearsinEurope,and she startedjob hunting.

Acolleague at The NewYorkTimes suggested Icontact Nina, then and now NPR’schief legalaffairs correspondent, and when Icalled her, Nina immediately said, “Get me Cokie’s resume tomorrow.”

The men at NPR raised all sorts of objections: Cokie’s voicewas tooharsh, hername toocutesy,her family toopolitical.“What finally made the difference were herfemale allies,”Iwrote in my book about Cokie. Robert Krulwich, one of the editors who finally hiredher,recalled: “It wasvery definitely pressure.Theywere for herand wantedto recruit herand were notgoing to back down.” WhenIaskedNina if she wasacting outof sisterly loyalty,she replied: “Oh, absolutely,I wouldn’thavedonethat for aman.Noway.”

The Founding Mothers didn’tjust shape the culture of NPR; they changed the whole way Americansviewedwomen as sources of information andfiguresoftrust. Evenafter Cokie’s TV career blossomed on ABC, she continued to appear on NPR every week, and she once described herinteraction with the public this way: “Mencome up to men on the street and say, ‘Welike your commonsense.’ But women say, ‘Welovethe wayyou don’tlet them interrupt you, andthatyou hand it right back to them.’ Iget the feeling that the country is full of women who’ve never gottena word in edgewise when men talk about politics.”

Jean Becker,ajournalism student when the Founding Mothers were in their prime and who later became White House chiefofstaff underPresident George Bush 41, described their legacy this way: “Women like Cokie made me feel Icould do anything Iwanted to do.She gave us confidence.”

Amna Nawaz, nowthe co-host of the “PBS News Hour,” remembers herparents giving hera copyofCokie’s first book, “WeAre Our Mothers’ Daughter”: “She was an example for us,” recalledAmna, whose parents were immigrants from Pakistan. “It was, look at this incredible woman, look at everything she has accomplished, andlook at the personshe is andthe work that she does andthe difference she makes. This is apath you should take.”

Just the otherday,aformer student of mine, arising staratCNN whose family also emigratedfromSouth Asia,askedifIcould introduceher to Amna, her hero. The legacy continues.

The Old Girls’ Network endures. The Founding Mothers would be delighted.

Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.

Baton RougeWeather

Pallbearers are Andy Jackson, Anthony Lazerus, David Elam, Hunter Callihan, Kenneth LaBlanc "Muff" (Rhett), Matthew Elam, Maurice Adams, and Tommy Porter.Honorary Pallbearers are Joey Fudge, Tom Jackson, Greg Callihan, Scott Callihan,Jacob Seimer, Albert Cernich, Benny PaulJenkins,Tucker Alanzo, Melvin Green, and Val Murrell

Services will be held at Seale Funeral Home located at 1720 South Range Ave. Denham Springs, LA.

Visitation will begin Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 9am to 12pm with service to follow at 12pm. Burial at Center Methodist Cemetery, Hwy 1043 Greensburg, LA.

Gary John Meise, son of Helmut and Friedel Meise wasborn on August9,1965, in Goodlark Hospital, Dickson Tennessee._ He passed awayonOctober 21, 2025, at Lady of Our Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the age of 60.

Garygraduated from DicksonCounty Senior High School in 1983 as the valedictorian. He was also voted Most Intellectualby his peers and chosen by the faculty to be the Gold Medal Faculty Award recipient. _Inaddition to being an Eagle Scout, he was aNationalMerit ScholarFinalist, which earned him afull scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University. _Heearned his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1987 and, following several years as a science teacheratDonelson Christian Academy was admitted to Vanderbilt law School,earning his law degree in 1997._ Gary was admitted to the bar that same year._ He worked as an associate attorney for Bass, Berry, and Sims, alaw firm in Nashville, Tennessee

DEATHS continued from In additiontoexcelling academically,hehad a fierce passion formusic, early in life as aclarinetist, and throughouthis life as achorister.Asrecently as aday before his passing he was sharingwithhis friends and family music that moved him profoundly, such as Beethoven's String QuartetNo.15 in A minor Op. 132

Following several years in the practice of law, Gary began alongstrugglewith mental health and addiction,leading to many years in andout of treatment; however,evenduring those dark timesofstruggle, he continuedtouse his multiple talents to contribute to many different communitiesinmany ways.

In his final years as a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,hewas an activemember of the University PresbyterianChurch, servingasanelder _He was also amember of the University Presbyterian Chancel Choir,the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus, and theBaton Rouge CommunityChorus.

Garyfrequentlydevoted his intellectualskills to various communityorganizations,specifically serving TogetherBaton Rouge, anonprofit organization devoted toimproving the communitybybuilding relationshipsacross racial, religious, and political affiliations.

Gary is survived by his sister,Dotty (Chuck) Quinn; his brothers, Herbert (Cathy) Meiseand Michael (CindyFreeman) Meise; his twodaughters, Ashley (Adam) Walsh and AndieMeise; and his grandson, Patrick Walsh.

All arrangements will be made through Taylor Funeral Home._A "Celebration of Life"memorialservice willbeheldatDickson First Presbyterian Church on November 22, 2025, at 3:00 PM. UniversityPresbyterian Church of Baton Rouge will also host a gathering prior to church choir rehearsal on November 5, 2025at6PM.The family asks any memorial gifts to be made to the Dickson County HelpCenter or TogetherBaton Rouge or the Baton Rouge University Presbyterian Church.

Funeralarrangements are under thedirectionof TaylorFuneral Home 615446-2808 www.taylorsince1909.com

BeolaMoldenRogers a nativeofPlaquemine,LA, passed away on Monday, October 20, 2025, in the care of ClarityHospice of Baton Rouge surrounded by her family.BornJanuary 21, 1950, to theunionof Freddie and OdealMolden, Jr., she was thetenth of fourteenchildren. Beola was known for her unwavering love forher family Beolawas preceded in death by her husband Donald "Duck" Rogers, parents, four brothers and five sisters.She is survived by her childrenTiffany Parker and JosephOliver, Jr five grandchildren, onegreat grandchild, twobrothers, twosistersand ahost of nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friendswho will forever cherish her memory. Avisitationwillbeheld from4:00 PM to 6:00PMon 2025-10-31 at Hall Davis & Son, 58790 Iron Farm Rd.A visitation willbeheldfrom 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on 2025-11-01 at Point Pleasant Baptist Church, 27800 LA-405. Religious service willfollow.

Nelson,Frank J.

tation on Friday,October 31, 2025, at St.Augustine Catholic Church,from 9:00amtoMassofChrist‐ian Burial at 11:00am.Inter‐mentinthe church ceme‐tery. Survived by aGodson hereared, Robert Gray;3 brothers, Lenroy,Stanley, and Donald Nelson;3 grandchildren,Shonice Duhon, Damerica Butler and KhyleLewis;a God‐daughter, YolandaPayton; a host of nieces,nephews, other relativesand friends. Precededindeath by his wife, ShirleyNelson; par‐ents, Melissa andEdgar Nelson, Sr.; 4brothers, Edgar,Jr, Spencer, Sr Jeromeand KennethNel‐son.Arrangementsby Williams &SouthallFuneral Home, 5414 Hwy1 Napoleonville,LA70390 (985) 369-7231. To sign the guest book or offercondo‐lences, visitour websiteat www.williamsandsouthall funeralhome.com.

Pattan III,Gordie A. 'Nicky'

Gordie A. Pattan, III, affectionately known as "Nicky," passed away peacefully on Friday, October24, 2025, at theage of 71. He is survivedbyhis loving wife, SusieG.Pattan; daughters, Dr. Kasey Pattan-Williams and Shantell Eisley-Lewis; son, Jason Pattan (Terecita); sister, LindaPattanMatthews (Frank); and brothers, Ronald Pattan, Kimbreaux Pattan (Chastity), and Zachariah Pattan. He is also cherished by his grandchildren: Zephaniah Bush, Zechariah Bush, TaylorPollard, Eddie Eisley IV, JaciePattan, Elon Williams, and Eliana Williams; and 7great

grandchildren. Nickywas preceded in death by his parents, Joyce Marie and GordieA.Pattan,II, and hisbrothers, PatrickPattan and Shawn Pattan.

Familyand friends are invited to attendthe visitation on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at Hall Davis and SonofPortAllen,1160 Louisiana Ave., Port Allen, LA, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visitation will resume on Friday, October 31, 2025, at Scott United Methodist Church, 310 Atchafalaya St Port Allen, LA, from 9:00 a.m. untilthe time of theFuneral Service at 11:00 a.m. ServicesEntrustedto Hall Davis andSon. www.halldavisandson.c om

It is with profound sorrowthatweannouncethe passing of Mr.Marlon "Terry" TerrellWalker who departedthisearthly life on the17th of October,in theyear of ourLord2025, at the distinguishedage of 56. Apublicviewing shall be held in hishonor on Friday, the 31st of October, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM at St.JohnBaptist Church, 820 NewRafe MayerRoad, Baton Rouge,Louisiana. Thecelebration of life servicesshall follow at 9:30 AM.The distinguished& solemn arrangements have been entrustedtothe care of Winnfield Funeral Home of Baton Rouge &C D. Slaughter,FDIC.

Wilson,Olivia'Teedy'

Olivia "Teedy" Wilson passedawayonFriday, Oc‐tober 24, 2025, at Audubon Healthand RehabinThibo‐daux, LA.She was78, ana‐tiveand resident of Thibo‐daux, LA.Visitationon Thursday,October 30, 2025 atWilliams& Southall Fu‐neral Home from 3:00pm

Home, 1204 ClevelandSt. Thibodaux,LA70301. (985) 447-2513. To sign guest book or offercondolences, visit ourwebsite at www williamsandsouthallfune ralhome.com.

‘What are we doing?’

football parents share thoughts, interactions with Kelly

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

When Jafau Delane watches football, his eyes turn to the sideline.

That’s where Delane a former youth football coach and the father of two sons playing at LSU and Ohio State — learns about the quality of a team How do the players walk out to the field? Are they confident with extra pep in their step, or is their body language poor?

“These are just subtle things that I think as players, you don’t realize it’s be-

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Coach Matt McMahon never has led an LSU team with this many new players. Even in his first year, when he accepted the job without any player committed to returning, he had five players come back from the previous season. The fourth-year coach only has two returners this year: Robert Miller and Jalen Reed.

Figuring out how to distribute playing time will be one of the focuses early in the season. In the team’s only exhibition at Central Florida, where it won 75-68 on Sunday, the team played nine players.

McMahon would like to even-

ing done,” Delane said. “But when you’re excited about anything, you run to the moment.”

When Delane watched LSU play this season, he didn’t see a group of players who were eager for the moment. Delane, whose son Mansoor is a star senior cornerback with the Tigers, saw something else instead, especially when it was the struggling LSU offense that was trotting out to the field.

“If you go back and watch the tape, it didn’t seem like the offense was locking in and getting ready to go change the tide

ä Tarleton State at LSU, 7 P.M WEDNESDAy, SECN+

tually land on an eight-man rotation, but he said Wednesday that isn’t something he’s fully set on.

“I think the players get to determine who plays by their consistent performance in practice,” he said. “I do like the depth of our team, but I think it’s important to establish a fairly consistent rotation And that’s what these first five home games in November will go a long way for us in determining that.”

Here’s what we project as the team’s rotation ahead of the season opener at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Tarleton State at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

Starters

of the game,” Jafau Delane said. “And then when they would go on, if it wasn’t a TV timeout, it was a very lackadaisical approach.”

LSU decision-makers must have agreed with Delane, or at the very least were concerned with the results of that bad body language.

Their worries were enough to decide Sunday night to fire the coach responsible for all of those problems and a 5-3 start: Brian Kelly

ä See PARENTS, page 4C

QB Shough: I’ve just reached my starting point

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

When Tyler Shough learned Tuesday that he was going to be the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback, his first call went to the person who was by his side for the entire journey

ä Saints at Rams, 3:05 P.M. SUNDAy FOX

His wife, Jordan Shough, was there for the circuitous college football career that wound from Oregon to Texas Tech and finally Louisville. She was there to help keep doubts at bay when Shough went through multiple seasonending injuries. She was there when he went through the uncertainty of the draft process, and when he watched from the sidelines for much of the first eight games of his pro career And, as a former college athlete herself, she was there to strike the right tone when Shough shared the exciting news.

“She was like, ‘Good. Go out there and win,’ ” Shough said “She’s not really satisfied and neither am I.” He is a starter, but this is a starting point. He now holds the title he first let himself dream about when he was a kid wearing a Brett Favre jersey, but he also understands the reality of his situation. Shough is taking over a 1-7 football team that has not performed well on offense this season.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Shough said.

The Saints are invested in Shough, having selected him 40th overall in this year’s draft. But they’ve been content to let him develop in the relative shadows, with Shough’s only game experience coming in garbage time against the Seattle Seahawks prior to his takeover in the second half of last week’s loss to Tampa Bay But the Saints have seen the maturation while Shough has operated the scout-team offense during practice.

Projected minutes: 20-24

Forward: Marquel Sutton

Point guard: Dedan Thomas Thomas is the team’s engine. It’ll be surprising if the 6-foot1 lefty doesn’t lead the team in minutes. The team might struggle when he’s not orchestrating plays. The 20-year-old junior is a natural playmaker who McMahon is excited to see accentuate the strengths of everyone else.

Projected minutes: 30-33

Guard/wing: Max Mackinnon The Portland transfer is a spotup shooter with nice size at 6-6. What he lacks athletically doesn’t matter if he is a spacer for Thomas in the corner and wings. Mackinnon started in the exhibition, making 3 of 4 shots from the 3-point line.

The 2024-25 Summit Player of the Year is a versatile piece McMahon will use to guard at least four positions. If he shoots even a modest 3-point percentage and defends with energy, Sutton will be hard to take off the court.

Projected minutes: 25-28

Forward/center: Jalen Reed LSU will be patient with Reed as he returns from his right ACL tear last year The 6-10 forward will have to shake off some rust early When he gets fully comfortable again, the redshirt junior should return to being a face-up driver in the frontcourt who can average about 11 points

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The first time coach Kim Mulkey’s fifth LSU women’s basketball team took the floor, it defeated Division II Mississippi College by more than 100 points. It was just an exhibition. The real games don’t start until Tuesday

But the tune-up still offered a chance to see how eight newcomers can help returning stars Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams lead LSU back to the Final Four Two transfers started while a third came off the bench. A freshman led the Tigers in scoring. And a returning sophomore guard took the reins at point guard to start the game. Mulkey likes to involve every scholarship player in nonconference play then whittle her rotation down to a core of eight

ä Langston at LSU, 7 P.M.THURSDAy SECN+

or nine once LSU begins facing SEC opponents in January. Who will be a part of that group? Let’s project the starters and key reserves ahead of the Tigers’ second and final exhibition game, which tips off at 7 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network+).

“You just want to be in that rotation of eight,” Mulkey said, “and you want to play extended minutes and long minutes.” Five starters

G Jada Richard, G Flau’jae Johnson, G Mikaylah Williams, F Amiya Joyner, C Kate Koval

The key question here is who starts at point guard: Richard or MiLaysia Fulwiley? Mulkey said

It’s not a perfect setup. Shough’s job was to give the starting defense a look at what the opponent might do in a given week, meaning he’s not running his own playbook. The receivers he was throwing to were not the ones he will work with Sunday and the same thing is true for the offensive line.

There are benefits to it, though.

“One of the best things that comes out of being a scout-team quarterback is the pockets aren’t going to be ideal,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said “You’re playing against your starting defense and the goal in practice is to make the blitzes and everything look good, so you’re going to be in some challenging, compromised situations.

“You’re going to have to force yourself to adapt and hang in there and still deliver a throw.”

Moore watched Shough develop more feel for how to navigate muddy pockets — a knock on Shough coming out of Louisville and something he sometimes struggled with during training camp. He also noticed the rookie beginning to test his limits, pushing to see whether he could make a certain throw or decision. The latter part of that, Shough said, was “huge.” The scout-team reps gave him some additional freedom to try different things that he may not have done while practicing within the structure of the typical offense.

“From a timing element, the pocket presence, ripping seams, hole shots, finding the check-downs, finding different routes, doing everything you can to manipulate defenders, it’s been really good to kind of test that,” Shough said. That behind-the-scenes look was enough for New Orleans to pull the trigger on the quarterback switch — one that Moore reiterated Wednesday afternoon was not going to be temporary With nine games remaining, Shough will have every chance to fail and learn without having to wonder whether his job is in jeopardy on a week-to-week basis.

“Tyler’s starting,” Moore said. “We’re not looking back on that.” While Spencer Rattler played well for

On TV

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

6p.m. Norfolk State at Delaware St. ESPNU

6:30p.m. Tulane at UTSA ESPN

6:30 p.m. Marshall at Coastal Carolina ESPN2

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

5:30 p.m. Penn St. at Ohio St. BTN

8p.m. Minnesota at Wisconsin BTN

WOMEN’SCOLLEGE SOCCER

5p.m. Wake Forest at Florida St. ACC

Twinshire Sheltonas manager

By The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS

The Minnesota Twins have picked formerbench coachDerekShelton as their newmanager,a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed Wednesday night.

Theperson spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hire. Major League Baseball encourages clubs to avoid spotlighting big moves during the WorldSeries.

Shelton served as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates for fiveplus years with an overall record of 306-440 before he was fired on May 8, just 40 games into this season. The 55-year-old was the bench coachfor the Twins in 2018 and 2019 under two different managers,Paul Molitor and Rocco Baldelli. With theunderfunded Pirates,Sheltonnever finished higherthan fourthplace in the NL Central or better than 76-86.

Baldelli was fired the dayafter the regular seasonended with a 527-505recordover sevenyears, plus 3-8 in the postseason.The Twins won three AL Central titles under Baldelli, including their 101-61 finish in 2019 when the rookie skipper wonthe AL Manager of the Year award, but they made the playoffs only once in his last five seasonsand frequently struggledtoshepherd their top prospects into becoming consistent contributors. New York Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, who held that role for the Twinsunder both Molitor and Baldelli before leaving to become bench coach of the Miami Marlins in 2020, was also one of the finalists. According to multiple reports, formerSeattle Mariners manager Scott Servais andcurrent Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty were in the mix, too. The Twins are one of nine MLBteams who have changed managers this year Shelton, who was well-regarded within the Twins organization and aclose friend to Baldelli, willtakeoverateamthatspiraled to a70-92 finish after the front office decided to usethe leverage of the deadline tomaximize the incoming talent and traded 10 players off themajor league roster in astunningly aggressive teardown.

The Twins tradedtheir five best relievers, from closer Jhoan Duran on down, and leftthe final 54 games to aragtag group that had eight blown saves in 18 opportunitiesduringthatspan. The conversion rate of 44.4% ranked second-worst in the majors over the final two months.

The Twins are 82-119over their last 201 games for a.408 winning percentage, and that includes a13-game winningstreak this season.

7p.m. NC State at North Carolina ACC

WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

9p.m.Loyola MarymountatPepperdineESPNU GOLF

6a.m. DP WorldTour:Rolex Grand Golf

8:30 p.m. LPGA: Maybank Champ. Golf HORSE RACING

Noon America’s Dayatthe Races FS2 NBA

7p.m. Golden State at MilwaukeeNBA NFL

MAJORLEAGUEBASEBALL

7:15 p.m.Baltimore at Miami PRIME NHL

6p.m.DallasatTampa BayTNT/TruTV TENNIS

5a.m.Paris-ATP,Jiujiang-WTATennis

10 p.m.Paris-ATP,Jiujiang-WTATennis HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

7p.m.East Ascension at DutchtownCox4

Gettingelbow room

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

LOS ANGELES Shane Bieber elbowedShoheiOhtani rightout of thespotlight

Aformer Cy YoungAward winner who returned from Tommy John surgery just two months ago, Bieber outpitchedthe celebrated two-way star and struck him out twice in winning his World Series debut.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Bieber said with awide smile after pitching Torontoover the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Tuesdaynight to tie the World Series at two games apiece.

Bieber nearly made his first Fall Classic appearance in the 19th inning Monday,but theDodgers won6-5 on FreddieFreeman’s 18th-inning home run. Max Scherzer had approached Bieber in the 11thor12thinning about getting ready to relieve.

“Max is always one step ahead,”

Bieber said. “He was like, ‘Biebs, if this getssquirrely’ —you could tell the wheels were turning and he’slike, ‘Can you pitch?’ ”

So Bieber told manager John Schneiderand pitching coach

Pete Walker he was available, and Bieber warmed upinthe 18th.

“I was definitely amped up,” he said. “Potentially,I wasthinking about my first big-league save, and inthe World Series. That would havebeen very cool.”

Bieber gotback to theteam hotel at 1a.m. and dozed off about 45-60 minutes later.But notfor long.

“I didn’tsleep verywell,” he said.

His first batter was Ohtani, who reached nine times on Monday with two homers, two doubles and five walks.

Bieberwalked him on afull count with an outside corner changeupthat could have been strike three. He struck out Ohtani

in thethird on achangeup at the outside corner and froze him with aknuckle curve for acalled third strike in thefifth,athree-pitch at-bat that left Ohtanishaking his head.

“He attacked really at theedge andwas able to executelocationwise,” Ohtani said through a translator

A30-year-old right-hander who went to high school in nearby Laguna Hills, Bieber was drafted by Cleveland in 2016. He made it to the majors twoyears later and became an All-Star in 2019. He was aunanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award for the pandemicshortened2020 season, when he led the majorleagues witha 1.68 ERA. He missedmorethan two monthsin2023 with elbow issues, pitched12scoreless inningswhile striking out 20 in his first two outings in 2024, then had Tommy John surgery in April 2024 with Dr.Keith Meister Bieber felt he was making steady improvement andthrew 21/3 scoreless innings in his first minor league outing, for the Arizona ComplexLeagueGuardians on May 31. Then he experienced soreness during abullpen session three days later and didn’tpitch in a gameagain until July 15.

“In speaking withthe medical staff in Clevelandand most specifically Dr.Keith Meister in Texas,he’slike, ‘Hey,it’svery rare for anybody to nothave any sort of hiccup, so this was probably always going to happen, and your body’sjusttelling youitneeds a couple days off,’ ”Bieber said. “I was able to get back on track after that.”

Bieber made threemoreminor league starts, then was dealtto theBlue Jays at the July 31 trade deadline for minorleague righthander Khal Stephen.

After three starts at Triple-A

Buffalo, he returned to the major leagues for the first time in 161/2 months, allowing one run and two hits over six innings at Miami on Aug. 22. He made sevenoutings down thestretch, going 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in helping boost Toronto to its first AL East title since 2015.

As the banged-up Blue Jays piecedtogether apostseason rotationwithout injured José Berríos, they slotted former LSU star Kevin Gausman first, followed by rookie Trey Yesavage, Scherzer and Bieber,shifting Chris Bassitt to thebullpen.

Bieber is 2-0 with a3.57 ERA in four postseason starts, the last threeBlue Jays wins that includedvictories in Games 3and 7ofthe American League Championship Series against Seattle. Hisstay with Toronto might be a short one, since he’slikely to turn down aplayer option for2026 and becomeafree agent.

“These are thespots that we acquired himfor,” Schneider said “It’sasking alot of him, basedon what he’sbeen throughwiththe recovery from the surgery and stuff. Buthe’senjoying it and he’s embracing it and he’sbeen ahuge part of us getting here.”

Bieber allowed one run and fourhits in 51/3 innings against L.A., giving up Kiké Hernández’s second-inning sacrifice fly after Max Muncy’swalk and Tommy Edman’ssingle put runners at the corners.

“Used thecutter,spun us, minimized damage, limited traffic, and we really didn’tget awhole lot of good swings,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Justin Bieber,the Canadian singerand songwriter,sat in the front row behind the Blue Jays dugout at Dodger Stadium.Shane says they’re not related, as faras he knows.

“I used to tell people: second cousin, twice removed,” Shane said withasmirk.

Kentucky Derby winner pulls out of Breeders’ Cup DELMAR, Calif. Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty has been scratched and will not run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturdayaftercatching afever this week, taking the favorite out of the $7 millionworld championship race. TheBreeders’ Cupannounced the scratch of the country’stop 3-year-old horse on Wednesday after trainer Bill Mott told the Daily Racing Formabout thedecision he and his camp made.Motthad previously said Sovereignty not racing was apossibility Sovereignty opened as aheavy 6-5 morning line favorite in thefield of 10, which alsoincludes Derby and Belmontrunner-up and Preakness winner Journalism. The Breeders’ Cup Classicwas expected to determine the horse of theyear

Former Duke, NBA player Singler charged with assault

Former Duke and NBA player Kyle Singlerhas been charged with assault in Oklahoma.

HaskellCounty deputies say Singler and his girlfriend were staying at an Airbnb in Whitefield in eastern Oklahoma whenheallegedly tried to rape her, grabbedher and pushedher down last Thursday. Mitch Dobbs, with the Haskell County Sheriff’sOffice, told News 9the woman hadmarks on her face consistent withSingler’s handprints. Singler,37, appeared to be under the influence of narcoticsand refused to cooperate with investigators, he said.

Atoddler in the homeatthe time of theincident was deemed safe

The alleged victim told deputies she shares the young child with Singler

Rozier,Billups won’t get salaries while on leave

NBAguard Terry Rozier and coach Chauncey Billups will not receive their salaries while on leavefor their arrests on federal gambling-related charges, two people with knowledge of the matters told The Associated Press on Wednesday Rozier hadbeen due to receive the first installment of a$26.6millionannual salary with the Miami Heat later this week. That, and futureinstallments, will be held pending resolution of his legal case, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity If Rozier is cleared and allowed to returntothe NBA, whichplaced him on leave hours after his Oct. 23 arrest, he could receive the held payments in full, one of the sources said.

Sinner’sbid for No.1 starts with win over Bergs in Paris

PARIS JannikSinner’sbid to reclaim theNo. 1rankinggot off to a good startWednesdaywitha 6-4, 6-2 win over Zizou Bergs in thesecond round of the Paris Masters, which the Italian needs to win to knock Carlos Alcaraz off thetop spot

Sinner’s65-week reign as No.1 ended in September when Alcaraz won the U.S. Open finalagainst him for his sixth majortitle and thetop spot. But Alcaraz lost in Paris on Tuesday in the second round to unseeded Cameron Norrie, opening the door forSinner in their seesaw rivalry Sinner had Bergs under constant pressure, forging 11 break-point chances and converting three, while not conceding abreak point of his own.

The 24-year-old Sinner plays unseeded Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.

Jets to trade CB Carter to Eagles for WR Metchie

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK Mondaynight’s18-inning marathon between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3ofthe World Series averaged 11.31 million viewers in the U.S. according to Nielsen, Fox and MLB. That is a17% decline from the audience of last year’sthird game between the Dodgers and New York Yankees, and it wasn’tthe most-watchedprogramofthe night. The “Monday Night Football” game between the Washington

Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs averaged 17.6 million on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportesand NFL+ streaming, makingitthe highestMNF Week 8audience since Washington at Dallas in 2014. It wasthe 10thtime since 1986 that aWorldSeries game was played on aMondaynight, but only thefifth that it went head-tohead against “Monday Night Football” on networktelevision It is the second time in three years the NFL beat the Fall Classic on Monday night Even though the extra innings

were in prime time on the West Coast,the length of the game likely had an impact in the viewer average as it ended near 2a.m. in the Central time zone. Theviewership numbers aren’t all bad for MLB though. The combined 17.62 million average in the U.S. and Canadafor theDodgers’ 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays on Freddie Freeman’s18th-inning home run off BrendonLittle was a27% increase from last year Through three games, the World Series is averaging 18.73 million combined viewers in theU.S. and Canada, a25% jump.

Blue Jays games in Canada are being aired on Sportsnet. The networkisowned by RogersCommunications Inc., the parent company of the Blue Jays. According to Fox,the audience in the U.S.peaked at 13.17 million as thegamewentinto extrainnings (10:30-10:45 p.m.).

TheDodgers’ 3-2 18-inning victory over theRed Soxin2018 averaged 13.3 million. Game 3ratings for Japan were not available as of Wednesday evening. The Japanese average for the first twogames was 10.7 million

The NewYorkJets agreed to trade cornerback Michael Carter to thePhiladelphia Eagleson Wednesdayfor wide receiverJohn Metchie, aperson with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The Jets will also receive asixthround pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and will send aseventh-round selection in that draft to the Eagles, the person told theAPoncondition of anonymity because the teams didn’tannounce the trade. Carter, afifth-round pick in 2021 out of Duke, became the NFL’s highest-paid nickel cornerback last year when he signed athreeyear,$30.75 millionextensionafter becoming one of the best playersathis position.

‘One

game at a time’

Southern finds motivation amid 6-game losing streak

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Sugarcoating things is not in Herman Brister’s nature.

The Southern safety was asked Tuesday about how as a leader he keeps his teammates motivated

The preseason All-SWAC secondteam defender tells them to play with pride and to do whatever is necessary to win.

If a player needs a nudge that is more individualistic, his pitch is simple: If you don’t play well, you may not be a Jaguar next year

“The cameras are always rolling,” Brister said. “Film is always going to be on. And I’m just going to shoot it straight, whoever is the coach, if it’s (interim) coach (Fred) McNair next semester, whoever it is, they always looking at film. They always gonna try to bring in guys to replace us to be better So at the end of the day, what you put on film is gonna matter.”

Motivational tactics of almost any kind will be used by Southern (1-7, 0-4 SWAC) this week as it looks to snap a six-game losing streak when it faces ArkansasPine Bluff (3-5, 1-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Simmons Bank Field in Pine Bluff, Arkansas McNair said execution is the key to a strong last four games. More crucial than any scheme is relentless encouragement “The biggest thing is to just keep encouraging the young men to go out and play hard each and every down,” McNair said. “I think they do a great job of that. As coaches,

“Coach McNair is doing a good job of making sure we stay on track and making sure we take it one game at a time, and one play at a time. His energy at practice hasn’t changed since he got the job.”

HERMAN BRISTER, Southern safety

ä Southern at Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2 P.M. SATURDAy

(we’re) mingling with the young men during the stretch period, making sure they’re motivated and things of that nature. So if we just continue to do that and get the young men to understand, we just have to execute And I think the young men today they’re doing a great job right now of handling the situation that approaches us each and every week.”

The positive disposition McNair had as a co-offensive coordinator hasn’t changed now that he’s the interim coach.

“Coach McNair is doing a good job of making sure we stay on track and making sure we take it one game at a time, and one play at a time,” Brister said. “His energy at practice hasn’t changed since he got the job.”

The results of his positivity were seen in his first game, leading the Jaguars last week as they played

with more ferocity and scored a season-high in points during a 4335 loss to Florida A&M.

“They know we’re right there,” McNair said. “Anytime you got a team like this, and sitting at the record we’re sitting at, and you still got a lot of energy, a lot of guys motivated to try and win ball games, then you know you got yourself something.”

Regardless, Southern allowed 21 points in the fourth quarter After every loss, players and coaches feel displeasure. The pangs of losing repeatedly hurt.

“It’s kind of hard to gather guys around who a lot of us have never lost,” Brister said. “You know, we come from schools around the state, around the country, really, who’ve never really lost.”

In Brister’s case, during his true freshman season at Air Force, the team went 9-4. Last year, as a redshirt freshman, he was a key contributor as Southern won the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division. Even dating back to his high school days at Southern Lab, he never had a record below .500 and won a Division IV state title as a high school junior in 2021.

“It’s a college game, and it’s very important,” starting quarterback Ashton Strother said. “But at the end of the day it’s a game we’ve been playing since we were 5, 6, 7, 8 years old. So we got to remember not to get too high and get too low but just have fun with it.”

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com.

Gonzales gets long-awaited shot to be head coach as Florida’s interim

BY MARK LONG Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Billy Gonzales has coached as many years at Florida as Hall of Famer Steve Spurrier He has twice as many national titles, too. Gonzales is in his third stint with the Gators, having first stepped foot on campus under Urban Meyer in 2005. He returned with Dan Mullen in 2018 and came back again when Billy Napier asked in 2023. Now it’s his program — for the next five games anyway Gonzales agreed to serve as the team’s interim coach when athletic director Scott Stricklin fired Napier on Oct. 19 Gonzales jumped at the offer After all, he’s waited more than three decades for this opportunity

“It’s always been about the players,” said Gonzales, 54 “When you get into coaching and you have an opportunity, it’s most importantly about the players. And, for me, it was to hopefully continue to give back to what the coaching staff gave me when I was a player, and that’s to provide guidance, to provide another family, another father figure.” He hesitated for a second and then continued: “Obviously I like winning. We want to win. We’re at the University of Florida. We want to win games. And let’s call it what it is: We’re out here to try to get that done as well, too.” Gonzales has a chance to get a

other than installing quarterbacks coach Ryan O’Hara as the primary play-caller They plan to spread things out and push the ball down the field, no surprise considering Gonzales is a longtime receivers coach.

But there has to be concern about players checking out with so little at stake down the stretch.

“Just playing for the (Gators) patch and playing for the name on our back,” left tackle Austin Barber said. “That’s the big thing for us. We got a lot of seniors out there, and we want to put out a good product for them. And it’s just about playing for the University and playing for the fans.”

From NFL stars to HBCU coaches

Former Eagles teammates Vick and Jackson on same path as they reunite in Philadelphia

BY DAN GELSTON Associated Press

DOVER, Del. — Years before DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick thrilled Eagles fans with deepthreat touchdown passes and decades before they became head coaches set to lead their teams from historically Black colleges into a showcase game on national television at an NFL stadium, the future friends first met at a Los Angeles shopping mall.

Jackson was in about the ninth grade when the star-struck teen first saw Vick, already a bright star with the Atlanta Falcons. He had his hefty entourage in tow when Jackson summoned the nerve at the Beverly Center to try and say hello.

“I said like, ‘What’s up?’ or something like that,” Jackson said with a laugh. “But you know, I’m looking at him like, Oh my God!”

Jackson grew from looking up to Vick to sharing a huddle with him in Philadelphia The two retired NFL stars will be together again Thursday night when their teams — Vick at Norfolk State and Jackson at Delaware State, both out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference — face each other at the home of the Super Bowl champion Eagles. They are the kind of football programs and a conference that would never get such a major platform in the regular season — the game is on an ESPN channel — had they not become the latest HBCU’s to dip into the celebrity coaching well.

Jackson and Vick’s missions are clear use their celebrity their connections, their football smarts to resuscitate two long-suffering programs in the HBCU community much in the way Deion Sanders did on his way to Colorado.

Following Prime’s career path

Jackson and Vick are trying to follow the path blazed with humor, hubris and a lot of wins much as Sanders as did as perhaps the most successful former NFL star who cut his teeth in coaching at the HBCU level.

Sanders began his coaching career at Jackson State, a historically Black college that plays in the NCAA’s second-tier Championship Subdivison, and guided the Tigers to consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles before he made the jump to Power Four program Colorado.

He led Colorado to a 9-4 record last season and earned a bowl bid.

“I don’t think my position would have been possible if he didn’t do what he did,” Jackson said. Sanders has discussed the scarcity of Black head coaches at the highest levels of college football and how he aims to be a catalyst for change.

Vick and Jackson both credited Sanders as a mentor and lean on him for advice in how to use their name recognition as a springboard for being able to recruit top talent and serve as father figures in much the way former Eagles coach Andy Reid filled that role for them.

“We had coaches who bought into us,” Vick said. “As players, you think back to how you got to this point. You start thinking about all the people who bought into your life and all the mentorship that you had and the people that really cared. We’ve got an opportunity to reciprocate that.”

Different directions

The 45-year-old Vick, who starred in college at Virginia Tech and was a four-time Pro Bowler in 13 seasons for Atlanta, Philadelphia, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh, is off to a rocky start in his rookie season.

Norfolk State, with an enrollment of about 5,100 students, is 1-7 and has lost six straight games. Vick recently fired some assistant defensive coaches as he tries to revive a Spartans’ program that has made only one playoff appearance since moving to FCS in 1997.

“We can’t fail We can only go up,” Vick said.

Jackson has orchestrated a rapid turnaround at Delaware State, with an enrollment of about 6,500 students, that already includes its first conference win since 2022. The Hornets are 5-3 and beat North Carolina Central 3526 last week for their first win in Durham since 1977.

Jackson has pitched his NFL fame as a selling point and tried to raise the program out of a malaise that included a 1-11 record last season. He said he created a name, image, and likeness fund at the school that spreads cash to six or seven select players on the team. There are plans to build a field house near the football stadium.

“It’s not the expectations of what I thought it’d be,” Jackson said. “But man, I feel like these times will make it all worth it. Whenever I go somewhere bigger, something like this will make me go, man, I started at the bottom and I went to the top.”

Grand plans ahead

Should Jackson grow the Hornets into an elite HBCU program, he could follow Sanders and start fielding offers to become a Power Four coach.

“Anybody in my position will want to eventually be in a bigger school,” Jackson said. “To tell you the timeframe or when it would be, I don’t know But I’m going to be prepared to do whatever it is, whether it’s here, wherever else, I’m always going to be the best I can.”

When Jackson played for the Eagles, he looked cockeyed at coaches who watched game film as lunch bled into night and into the next morning, and said, no way It wasn’t a career path for him. After his last season in 2022, and more than 11,000 career yards receiving, Jackson enjoyed retirement. He’d wake up in the early afternoon, dabble in real estate and volunteer with the occasional nonprofit organization. The itch to do more eventually got to Jackson and he accepted a job as a high school offensive coordinator in Long Beach, California. Before accepting the Norfolk State job, Vick also spoke to Sacramento State about its open head coaching position and wanted to hire Jackson on his staff.

Vick said he always wanted to coach and spent most of the last few years coaching his daughter’s flag football team. Vick — who earned a second chance in Philadelphia after his NFL career with Atlanta was derailed by his conviction in 2007 for his involvement in a dogfighting ring — had run football camps since he was a rookie with the Falcons.

Jackson now tries to find success at an underfunded football program on a 56-acre suburban campus across the street from a NASCAR track.

“It’s just the dynamics of HBC,” Jackson said “Delaware State, they’ve never been in a position where they had to do certain things. I don’t know if they took sports as serious. That’s why they bring a guy like me in here, to bring us to the next level.”

Buf first, a game against an old friend.

huge victory when the Gators (34, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) play No. 5 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) in the rivalry game known as “the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in Jacksonville on Saturday

The Bulldogs have won four in a row in the series, with an average margin of victory of 21.5 points. Although coach Kirby Smart’s team has looked susceptible at times this season — trailing at halftime in four of five conference games — Georgia has turned it up late to remain in the SEC race and in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth. No one really knows what to expect from Florida following a bye. Gonzales made no staff changes

Gonzales might be the ideal interim coach to keep the team together He won two national titles alongside Meyer and has experienced the firings of Mullen and now Napier He has so much respect for the program that he chose not to move into Napier’s office or even use his parking spot.

“I’ve been asked to oversee the program right now by Mr Stricklin,” Gonzales said. “I always told him, ‘We are doing this together as a staff. It’s us working together It’s us working with our players.’ Always will be, and I take great pride in that.”

Gonzales has heard from several head coaches he worked for in the past week, including Meyer and Mullen. They told him the same thing: Be yourself.

Wilson says Nussmeier still starting QB

Interim coach did open possibility of more Van Buren

BY WILSON ALEXANDER, KOKI RILEY and JASON WILLIS Staff writers

Garrett Nussmeier is still the LSU starting quarterback.

Interim coach Frank Wilson made that clear Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference, but in the wake of the firing of coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, he suggested backup quarterback Michael Van Buren could have an increased role.

“Garrett is our starting quarterback,” Wilson said. “I think he gives us a great opportunity to be efficient with our offense. I think Michael has a skill set that adds value to our football team that will be called upon that could help us

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“As a fan, we’re sitting back watching it, and you can see, what are we doing?” Delane said “Like, the communication was horrible.” Kelly’s tenure ended less than four years into a 10-year, $100 million contract. He left Notre Dame and arrived in Baton Rouge with grand expectations, and for good reason. He made the national championship game, reached the playoff and became the winningest coach in Notre Dame history before arriving at LSU.

But Kelly’s best season in Baton Rouge ended up being his first in 2022. LSU reached the SEC championship game and had an outside chance of cracking the four-team playoff field deep into November It was also the year he inherited the most players from the previous regime under Ed Orgeron Among those players were wide receiver Jack Bech, a sophomore who led the Tigers in receptions the year before Kelly arrived at LSU.

Bech, his mother Michelle said, had a close relationship with Orgeron.

“Coach (Orgeron) recruited him,” Michelle said. “And you know, of course, Jack was sad to see (Orgeron) leave.”

Once Kelly and his new staff took control, Bech’s relationship with them was much different, Michelle said. Kelly and his coaches had a “different” approach to the way they wanted to run the team

“I don’t know that Jack really ever even had that much interaction with (Kelly),” she said Relative to his standout freshman campaign, Bech struggled in his only season under Kelly while playing through a stress fracture in his leg. He entered the transfer portal after the season and went to TCU, but his decision to depart LSU had nothing to do with Kelly

“Jack made a very independent decision to leave,” Michelle said. “It was about him being closer to my brother-in-law and his uncle. And it just all really worked out well for Jack.” Kelly then coached through a pair of frustrating seasons in 2023 and 2024.

LSU historically had a great offense and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback in Kelly’s second season. But a historically bad defense ended the Tigers’ hopes of reaching the playoff as LSU went 9-3 for a second consecutive year

The next year wasn’t any better for Kelly The Tigers’ record dropped to 8-4 and their improvements on defense were offset by an offense that took a step backward. “The nature and the temperature

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she doesn’t know, and she doesn’t think it really matters. Both will have significant roles, she said. Sometimes, they’ll even share the floor

But who will run the LSU offense at the end of close games?

For now, we’ll give the nod to Richard because, as Mulkey said after the first exhibition, the sophomore understands how to play point guard in her system, and she’s now a “completely different player” than she was as a freshman. Fulwiley is the better

win the game.”

Nussmeier has not met preseason expectations as the entire offense has struggled through a 5-3 start

After throwing for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns as a first-time starter last year, Nussmeier has completed 65.9% of his passes for 1,806 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.

LSU has averaged 249 yards passing per game, which ranks 47th in the country. With an inefficient offense in multiple areas, it ranks 83rd nationally in scoring at 25.5 points per game

“There’s things that he likes and does well, and so we want to do those things for him,” Wilson said.

“We owe it to him to put him in that position. He’s a very talented quarterback. He didn’t coincidentally get to the status that he is with an inability

“So now, it’s urgent upon us to be able to identify that and game-plan around that so that he’s able to have the success that he wants, that we need and that ultimately affects the

outcome of the game for our football team.”

Wilson emphasized Tuesday that LSU will run the ball more over the last month of the regular season. After firing Sloan, the Tigers named tight ends coach and running game coordinator Alex Atkins as the interim play-caller

There also could be a role for Van Buren, a sophomore who transferred from Mississippi State after starting eight games as a freshman. Van Buren has completed 13 of 16 passes for 172 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions He also has run nine times for 23 yards and a touchdown.

“We haven’t finalized that in our game-planning just yet, but there’s things that he does very well that we’ll ask him to do that we may not necessarily ask Garrett to do,” Wilson said of Van Buren.

Whit Week trending up

Junior linebacker Whit Weeks did not practice Tuesday but is trending in the right direction when it

of college football is win,” Harry

Berry the father of current freshman running back Harlem Berry, said. “So if you can’t do that and (win) consistently, a change is going to be made.”

LSU’s struggles weren’t because of lackluster results on the recruiting trail. The Tigers signed top-10 classes nationally heading into both seasons, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Kelly knew the importance of recruiting the state LSU signed 20 top-10 recruits from Louisiana during his time in Baton Rouge.

Among those prospects was Tyree Adams, a four-star offensive lineman who became LSU’s starting left tackle this year

Tyree’s mother, Barbara, met Kelly and his wife Paqui a few times over the years and had only nice things to say about the LSU coach and his wife.

“They are amazing people,” Barbara said. “They’re very nice people.”

Another top recruit LSU landed during this period was sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green, who has emerged as one of LSU’s top receivers this season, catching 19 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns over the Tigers’ last three games.

Green arrived at LSU as the No. 1 tight end in the nation and the No. 2 player in Louisiana. But Casondra, Green’s mother, said she has met Kelly only twice, and both times were on the recruiting trail.

“I’m not sure on the relationship that he has with him, but I know he’s talked with him many of times,” Casondra said. “I know he has the utmost respect for him.”

Expectations were sky-high entering the 2025 season. A trip to the playoff was a must, especially after the Tigers tripled their financial commitment on the roster and added one of the top transfer portal classes in the country

Among those top transfers was Mansoor Delane, who arrived at LSU from Virginia Tech after three years as a starter Despite Mansoor’s individual success Jafau said he had to reach out to LSU instead of the other way around when Mansoor entered the portal.

That wasn’t the case with Texas

all-around scorer but she’s still trying to figure out how to play that position.

Importantly, neither Richard nor Fulwiley turned the ball over in the first exhibition. Richard kept the ball moving through LSU’s halfcourt sets, while Fulwiley ignited its transition offense. Perhaps those are ways in which they can each contribute this season.

Fulwiley joined the Tigers as one of the nation’s top transfers, but Mulkey said she was not promised a spot in the starting lineup.

“That’s not how it operates,” Mulkey said. “I play to win, and Jada’s gonna give her a bit of what she needs to give her to compete at that position, and man, they both

comes to his status for the Nov 8 game at Alabama, Wilson said. Weeks has missed LSU’s last two games with a bone bruise on his ankle. It’s the same ankle he injured during the Texas Bowl last season.

“I’m optimistic more now than ever before that the probability of him playing in this game is a reality,” Wilson said. “I don’t know that for a fact just yet It will need to continue to trend in the right direction. But he had a very, very productive day from a rehabilitation standpoint, from a diagnostic standpoint on his status.”

Orgeron weighs in Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron and Kelly now have something in common: They were both fired by LSU. Orgeron discussed Kelly’s firing on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike” show Wednesday

“Whether or not it’s true or not, it looked from the outside Brian Kelly never embraced the state of Louisiana,” Orgeron said.

Orgeron was named the interim

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and seven rebounds as he did last year

Projected minutes: 20-23

Center: Michael Nwoko

The Mississippi State transfer is the most powerful player LSU has in the paint at 6-10, 261 pounds. The junior’s offensive rebounding will be essential, and he could be a boon as a post scorer if he stays out of foul trouble.

coach at LSU in 2016 when the team parted ways with former coach Les Miles He impressed enough to hold onto the job and later led the Tigers to the 2019 national championship.

Orgeron was fired two years later after LSU went 11-11 in his final two seasons.

He said the next head coach should do away with a Kelly policy that reportedly limited former LSU players entering the football facility

He also said the next coach should develop a better relationship with fans.

“Be nice to them when you see them. Shake their hand, take a picture. Be available,” Orgeron said. “I said when I became the head coach, ‘This is for the state of Louisiana.’ And when you say that and you mean it, that means embracing the state of Louisiana.”

When asked, Orgeron said he’d be open to returning to LSU — as a head coach or assistant coach.

“I love LSU. I still got my home in Baton Rouge,” he said.

from the starters.

Projected minutes: 19-22

Point guard: Jalen Reece

The 6-foot freshman from Orlando, Florida, is the only other true point guard on the roster other than Thomas. While the Tigers don’t want to throw too much at him all at once, McMahon believes in his playmaking talents.

Projected minutes: 8-12

Depth pieces

Guard/wing: Ron Zipper

A&M, which contacted Mansoor immediately when he became a free agent.

“They made it seem like as if they sought after Mansoor,” Jafau said. “In all actuality, we considered LSU and I reached out to some of the contacts that I had when (Mansoor’s younger brother Faheem) was being recruited, and sort of told them, ‘Hey, this is what we wanted to do.’ “ Between Faheem’s recruitment and Mansoor’s time in the portal, Jafau built stronger relationships with Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin than he has with Kelly

“One of the things that I felt, even with Lane Kiffin, as much as he’s a younger guy, his personality really runs on that team as well,” Jafau said. “Dan Lanning, I know him very well. His intense attitude towards defense (results in) his teams playing very physical.

“And if you were to look at Kelly, what is that personality that he’s putting on that team? It’s not one.”

Once Mansoor arrived at LSU he told Jafau about Kelly’s CEO approach to coaching. Kelly oversaw the operation and was “checking the boxes,” but he didn’t give the sort of oneon-one instruction Mansoor thought he might receive. It was not a “hands-on experience.”

“You can’t be a CEO, in a sense, and run a college football team because they have to take on that coach’s personality,” Jafau said. “And I’m not speaking only in correction, but it’s how you walk, it’s how you talk, it’s how you interact with people.”

Kelly’s CEO philosophy clearly didn’t work. LSU won its opening four contests this season but then lost three of its next four games before he was fired Sunday night.

His termination was sudden, but the warning signs were there much earlier

“Maybe Brian Kelly got too comfortable with the idea that success was just going to happen,” Jafau said, “versus him demanding it from the players and expecting it and knowing how close it is.”

bring good stuff to the table.”

First four off bench

G MiLaysia Fulwiley, G Kailyn Gilbert, F ZaKiyah Johnson, F Grace Knox Johnson impressed in the exhibition, scoring a game-high 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. She was recruited as a guard, but now she’s an undersized post player who looks comfortable around the rim.

If LSU wants to stagger the minutes of its two tallest, most physical post players — ensuring at least one of them is on the floor at all times — then it can bump the 6-foot-2 Joyner to the bench and start Johnson next to the 6-5 Koval Johnson and Knox also can form

Projected minutes: 20-23

Role players

Guard/wing: Rashad King King has the best case as a sixth man, as he is billed as a threelevel scorer who averaged 18.5 points at Northeastern. If the 6-6 senior can replicate some of that offense, he can be the group’s spark plug when Thomas rests.

Projected minutes: 19-22

Forward/center: Robert Miller

The 19-year-old sophomore should be the first big to come off the bench. His consistency on the glass and ability to remain out of foul trouble will be what determines whether he is occasionally depended on or steals minutes

Zipper is the team’s biggest wild card as the 22-year-old freshman brings professional experience from Israel. The 6-5 lefty could be useful as he has a reputation as a knockdown shooter

Projected minutes: 5-10

Power forward: Pablo Tamba If one of the frontcourt players gets hurt, the 6-7, 206-pound graduate student from Malaga, Spain, will take on their minutes. Tamba, a UC Davis transfer is a good athlete who makes up for his lack of height with a high motor

Projected minutes: 5-10

Shooting guard: PJ Carter

The 6-4, 183-pound fifth-year senior is another dead-eye shooter The Memphis transfer shot 40.3% from beyond the arc last season in 14.6 minutes per game.

Projected minutes: 5-10

a versatile, athletic frontcourt punch off the bench by themselves. They can both rebound and handle the ball. Gilbert’s fit is a tricky one. LSU signed two highly rated freshmen guards, then landed Fulwiley out of the transfer portal. Will there be enough touches and shots left over for her to score in the half court like she did last season? If she can rebound and defend, then Mulkey will find room for her in the rotation.

Other contributors

G Bella Hines, G Divine Bourrage Hines is a floor-spacing guard and a long, active defender Bourrage is a tall, lanky ballhan-

dler one who may need some time to develop before she can play meaningful minutes for a national title contender Expect Hines to push for a role this season but only if she can knock down outside shots at an efficient clip and defend SEC perimeter players. They’re both high-profile recruits with bright futures. For now, they’re each expected to

Moore blames self for lack of Hill snaps

BY MATTHEW PARAS AND LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

Kellen Moore repeatedly has said that Taysom Hill‘s role would expand as the season progressed, which made sense considering the New Orleans Saints’ do-it-all weapon was working his way back from a serious knee injury

Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a notable departure from that plan.

Hill played just five offensive snaps against the Buccaneers, his lowest total in a game since 2019. Three of those five reps resulted in touches as the 35-year-old had two carries for 6 yards and a 6-yard catch.

Hill’s lack of usage wasn’t “by design,” Moore said.

“When you look at the play numbers, that’s on me,” Moore said. “We certainly had a lot of stuff in the plan for Taysom to be a part of this thing, but it just didn’t allow itself. So I’ve got to find a way to get him on the field more.”

Hill’s snaps were limited in part because the Saints failed to get into the type of situations in which he typically has been utilized. Against the Buccaneers,

during a game on Oct. 12.

New Orleans didn’t even get into the red zone — an area where 60 of his 295 touches have come since 2022. Under Moore, five of Hill’s 14 touches have come on third and short, but only five of the Saints’ 16 third downs faced 3 yards or fewer to convert.

Moore did try to use Hill in different ways than he had previously For the first time this sea-

Bills say they are on same page about passing game

BY JOHN WAWROW AP sportswriter

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y Bills coach Sean McDermott put to rest any suggestion of a disconnect between him and coordinator Joe Brady on how they view Buffalo’s suddenly struggling passing attack.

McDermott welcomed a question on the issue Wednesday by saying he and Brady are on the same page, two days after they presented contradictory assessments. McDermott said the passing game needed to improve, while Brady said he had no concerns.

“I’m aware of what he said and how it was said,” McDermott said. “We see it the same way, so we’re in a good spot.”

Assurances aside, the lingering concerns aren’t going away The Buffalo receivers are having trouble getting open down field, forcing Josh Allen to throw short passes and hope players can generate yardage after the catch.

The Bills (5-2) didn’t need a strong passing attack last Sunday, when James Cook rushed for a career-best 216 yards in a 40-9 win over Carolina. The question is whether a similar approach can work this weekend, when Buffalo hosts Kansas City (5-3) in what’s become an annual showdown of AFC contenders.

It’s a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game, which the Chiefs won 32-29. That outcome was sealed when Allen’s desperation fourth-down pass attempt fell through the hands of tight end Dalton Kincaid in the final minutes. On Monday, McDermott noted how the passing game lagged behind the running attack against Carolina.

“The results in the running game were clear to see for everyone. Not so much in the passing game,” McDermott said. “And it’s something that we have to continue to work on as coaches and figure that piece out.” Allen struggled in the first half, going 6 of 13 for 66 yards, before

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significant stretches of this season, the Saints offense still lagged toward the back of the NFL pack.

New Orleans ranks near the bottom of the league in every major statistical category, none more important than scoring offense: Only three teams are managing less than the Saints’ 16 points per game. So while Shough said he’s gotten a positive reception from his teammates after his appointment in the starter’s seat, he acknowledged that this isn’t exactly cause for celebration.

“Obviously it’s not a fun situation,” Shough said. “We’re 1-7 right now We’ve got to go out there and play better.”

finishing 12 of 19 for 163 yards and a touchdown. He completed just one pass that traveled beyond 20 yards Khalil Shakir’s 54-yard TD came on a 4-yard catch, with the receiver doing the rest.

McDermott’s goal is to keep the offense balanced, and his concerns date to Allen’s struggles in two straight losses before the win over the Panthers.

Brady, who spoke after McDermott on Monday saw things differently

The third-year coordinator began by saying Buffalo didn’t need to pass the ball against Carolina because of how effective Cook was.

“I have no concerns with the pass game,” Brady said. “Obviously, I’d love to go every game and run for 200 and throw for 300, but that wasn’t how the game needed to be won.”

Brady then defended the passing attack, noting how Allen threw for 251 yards in the fourth quarter alone to rally Buffalo from a 15-point deficit in a 41-40 seasonopening win over Baltimore.

It wasn’t until he was reminded of the offense’s struggles in losses to New England and Atlanta that Brady acknowledged some deficiencies.

“When you look at us the last few weeks, we have to obviously improve in the pass game,” he said, before referring to the Bills hurting themselves by getting into third-and-long situations. “I wouldn’t say it’s been hard. But in the situations that we’re in, we’re not helping ourselves get out of some of those situations.”

The issues appear similar to last season, when Buffalo sputtered in losses to Baltimore and Houston in Weeks 4 and 5.

General manager Brandon Beane responded by acquiring veteran receiver Amari Cooper. Though Cooper’s production was limited, his presence drew the attention of defenses and opened space for other receivers.

Beane has yet to make a move and has little room under the salary cap to add talent before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday

Shough won’t get much of a break in his first start against the Los Angeles Rams. He will try to fix the Saints’ scoring problem against the league’s No. 3 scoring defense.

Moore shrugged off the timing of Shough’s debut against the Rams, saying “there’s no soft landing” in the NFL If Shough is going to continue to develop as a player he’s going to have to do it in challenging circumstances.

“I’m going to make mistakes, so I’m going to do everything I can to learn from those mistakes, and then just have fun doing it,” Shough said. “ What a great opportunity to go out there and just let it rip.”

And, as his wife reminded him, to win

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

“There’s a lot of situations you have plays for but you’ve got to get to ‘em,” Moore said.

New back

The New Orleans Saints have added their second new running back to the roster since Kendre Miller was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Last week it was former Denver Broncos running back Audric Estime Wednesday, the Saints added former Colts running back Evan Hull to the practice squad, waiving defensive lineman Coziah Izzard to make room for him.

Neal Velus Jones had spent most of the season as the No. 3 running back, but the Saints released him last week to make room for tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden, and Jones recently signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

Injury report

son, Hill had a traditional running back carry in which he received a toss from quarterback Spencer Rattler — whereas his previous rushing attempts in 2025 came lined up as a quarterback. Still, Moore wouldn’t be the first play-caller to wrestle with finding the right balance for Hill. But the first-year coach knows that five snaps weren’t enough.

Hull was a fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2023. He missed almost his entire rookie season with a serious knee injury — he not only tore his MCL but also his meniscus root, which resulted in a much longer recovery He played only nine total snaps with the Colts before being released. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason but did not make the roster after rushing 11 times for 33 yards in the preseason. Hull was one of several running backs who tried out for the Saints earlier this week.

New Orleans currently has only two running backs on the 53man roster in Alvin Kamara and Devin

The Saints have been their healthiest in years amid their worst season in decades. New Orleans again did not have a player miss practice Wednesday although it did have four players listed as limited. Kamara and Neal are dealing with ankle injuries, while Rashid Shaheed (hip) and cornerback Alontae Taylor (shoulder) also popped up on the report. But the injuries weren’t severe enough to keep them out of the entire session.

Tight end Juwan Johnson (neck) and wide receiver Chris Olave (ankle) were also full participants.

The Saints do have a handful of players on injured reserve — including starting center Erik McCoy (biceps) and Miller — but that pales in comparison to the issues they dealt with last year

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

District races in area down to nitty gritty

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

With just two weeks left in the regular season, time is running out for Baton Rouge area teams to make their playoff push and rise in the district standings.

Several key games will be played on Thursday and Friday this week. Here’s what to know about five games we’ll be following closely: Central at Zachary

The Broncos host the Wildcats on Thursday in a game that could end the loser’s chances at a district title. Zachary (6-1, 2-1) will close the season with Catholic, which is first in District 4-5A. If the Broncos can beat Central, then they will set themselves up with a chance to win a district title against the Bears in Week 10. Central (6-2, 2-1) already lost to Catholic, but a win over Zachary would put the Wildcats alone in second in District 4-5A. A win in Week 10 and a Catholic loss to the Broncos could help Central nab a share of the district title. East Ascension at Dutchtown District 5-5A is one of the clos-

est district races in the Baton Rouge area. East Ascension, Dutchtown and Denham Springs are in a three-way tie heading into Week 9.

The Spartans (5-3, 3-1) taking on the Griffins (5-2, 3-1) could give more clarity to a possible district winner when the two sides meet Thursday East Ascension is coming off a 64-29 loss to Teurlings Catholic, while Dutchtown defeated Walker 19-14 in Week 8.

Madison Prep at University High

The District 6-3A winner could be decided Friday night when the Chargers travel to take on the Cubs.

Madison Prep (7-1, 4-0) has won its last five games. The Chargers have shut out three opponents across that stretch and have scored an average of 50.6 points per game.

U-High (6-2, 4-0) also has won five straight and has shut out two teams during its winning streak. The Cubs have scored 52.4 ppg in their last five games. Friday’s game will be cru-

cial in deciding the district winner and also for the power ratings.

Prairieville at St. Amant

The Hurricanes and Gators are behind three teams in the District 5-5A hunt, but a win Friday could give the winning side an outside chance at a share of the title.

Prairieville was tied for first last week before a 51-13 loss to Denham Springs dropped the Hurricanes to 4-4, 3-2. St. Amant (6-2, 2-2) dropped two heartbreakers to East Ascension and Dutchtown, both in one-score games.

St. Michael at Brusly

The Panthers host the Warriors in a vital District 6-4A matchup. Both teams are chasing Plaquemine (7-1, 6-0), which defeated both teams.

Brusly (7-1, 5-1) is second in the district after a 39-0 win over McKinley St. Michael (6-2, 4-2) is third but could take Brusly’s spot with a win Thursday While it could be difficult for either side to take the district title, a win is still key for moving up in the power ratings.

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Catholic cross country coach

Corey Mistretta watched each of his boys cross the finish line on Wednesday Mistretta’s top five runners finished in the top 15 overall, with sophomore Augustin Juneau placing second after finishing the 5K race in 15 minutes, 52.81 seconds.

“We’re satisfied with that,” Mistretta said. “It’s right where we need to be.”

Catholic won the East Baton Rouge Metro Championship on Wednesday at Highland Road Park with a score of 37 points to top second-place Episcopal (79).

Mistretta said he hopes his team can continue to grow ahead of the regional and the state meets.

“The guys are really showing up every day at training and working hard,” he said. “That’s all we can ask for If they keep showing up and working hard, then hopefully we can get a little bit better next week.”

Mistretta said he wants his team to run with a pack mindset for regionals and state. The competition is only going to get better, so he wants his side to grow stronger by running together Shah takes first

Dutchtown’s Shrey Shah won the boys 5K race. The junior finished with a time of 15:46.06. With the north wind blowing hard as a cool front moved through, Shah said he took a different approach to the race.

“It was definitely a more strategic race,” he said. “Wasn’t as fast from the start, but it was all about maintaining composure and just knowing when the right time was to make a move.”

He said the Metro meet is usually a strategic race for him and other runners, looking to use it as a building block for the state meet.

St. Joseph’s claims first

The Redstickers ripped off another first-place team finish

after finishing with a score of 45. Parkview Baptist was second at 54.

St. Joseph’s seniors Tiana Khuri and Audrey Manda secured second and third place among the Redstickers runners. Manda placed ninth overall with a time of 19:13.81, while Khuri was 10th with a time of 19:32.31.

Both notched personal bests.

The girls ran really well,” coach

Mark LaHaye said “Considering the wind and the conditions, big surprise on how we mixed it up.”

Freshman Hannah Schneider finished first for SJA and third overall with a personal best of 18:16.38.

LaHaye compared Schneider to Michelle Daigle, a former Redstickers star and current freshman on LSU’s cross country team.

LaHaye compared Schneider to Michelle Daigle, a former Redstickers star and current freshman on the LSU cross country team

“Hannah’s already exceeded where she’s been at,” LaHaye said of the freshman. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I mean it’s looking really good, considering how well she’s doing right now.”

Cramer sisters 1-2

Eagles junior Lucy Cramer won the girls 5K. Right behind her was her sister, sophomore Molly

Cramer

Lucy Cramer notched a time of 18:03.93, while Molly Cramer finished with a season’s-best 18:06.48.

Lucy and Molly Cramer nearly were in step the whole race, something Lucy Cramer likes.

“When she’s there with me, it gives me confidence,” Lucy Cramer said. “It makes me happy just because I know that we’re not running alone, we’re working together.”

She worked to take advantage of the conditions.

(25-14, 25-11, 16-25, 25-22) St. Michael def. Denham Springs (25-12, 25-18, 25-13)

Cross country

Metro Championship

Girls Team scores: 1. St. Joseph, 45. 2. Parkview Baptist, 54. 3. Episcopal, 83. 4. Baton Rouge High, 136. 5. Dutchtown, 138. 6. Denham Springs, 148. 7. Zachary, 195. 8. Dunham, 257. 9. Live Oak, 267. 10. Central Private, 281. Individuals: 1. Lucy Cramer, Parkview Baptist, 18:03.93. 2. Molly Cramer, Parkview Baptist, 18:06.48. 3. Hannah Schneider, St. Joseph, 18:16.38. 4. Georgia Theriot, Parkview Baptist, 18:20.91. 5. Keira Melan, Dutchtown 18:53.45. 6. Neva Lambert, Episcopal, 18:57.35. 7. Lila Silk, Denham Springs, 19:03.92. 8. Adanze Mere, Episcopal, 19:05.15. 9. Audrey Manda, St. Joseph, 19:13.81. 10. Tiana Khuri, St. Joseph, 19:32.31. Boys

Team scores: 1. Catholic High, 37. 2. Episcopal, 79. 3. Dutchtown, 95. 4. Zachary, 118. 5. Denham Springs, 124. 6. Baton Rouge High, 206. 7. Central, 220. 8. Parkview Baptist, 262. 9. St. Michael, 263. 10. Dunham, 308. Individuals: 1. Shrey Shan, Dutchtown, 15:46.06. 2. Augustin Juneau, Catholic High, 15:52.81. 3. Rowan Silk, Denham Springs, 15:53.17. 4. William DeCuir, Catholic High, 15:56.18. 5. Maximo Gennaro, Zachary, 15:56.37. 6. Peter Watson, Catholic High, 16:01.98. 7. Andrew Watts, Parkview Baptist, 16:05.99. 8. Max Tsolakis, University Lab, 16:06.84. 9. William Foster Lambert, Episcopal, 16:13.28. 10. Mason Kelly, Episcopal, 16:28.23.

Texas

scores

20

20

St. (4-3) at Middle Tennessee (1-6), n FIU (3-4) at Missouri St. (4-3), n Thursday’s games

St. (5-3) vs. Norfolk St. (1-7) at Philadelphia, 6 p.m. Marshall (4-3) at Coastal Carolina (4-3), 6:30 p.m. Tulane (6-1) at UTSA (3-4), 6:30 p.m. Friday’s games Brown (3-3) at Penn (4-2), 6 p.m. North Carolina (2-5) at Syracuse (3-5), 6:30 p.m. Sam Houston St. (0-7) at Louisiana Tech (4-3), 7 p.m. Memphis (7-1) at Rice (4-4), 6 p.m. Idaho (3-5) at N. Arizona (5-3), 9:30 p.m. Saturday’s state schedule Southern (1-7) at Ark.-Pine Bluff (3-5), 2 p.m. Alabama A&M (4-4) at Grambling (5-3), 2 p.m. UL (2-6) at South Alabama (2-6), 2:30 p.m. Old Dominion (5-3) at UL-Monroe (3-5), 2:30 p.m. Houston Christian (2-6) at Nicholls (2-6), 3 p.m. East Texas A&M (2-6) at Southeastern Louisiana (6-2), 6 p.m. Northwestern St. (1-7) at McNeese St. (2-6), 6 p.m. Horse racing

Breeders’ Cup odds Breeders’ Cup Classic in Del Mar, Calif Distance: 1¼ miles on dirt for 3-year-olds and up. Purse: $7 million. Post time: 5:25 p.m. Saturday. Listed as post position, horse, trainer, jockey, odds

■ 1. Fierceness, Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez, 5-2

■ 2. Baeza, John Shirreffs, Hector Berrios, 10-1

■ 3. Nevada Beach, Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 20-1

■ 4. Contrary Thinking, Chad Brown, Florent Geroux, 50-1

■ 5. Forever Young, Yoshito Yahagi, Ryusei Sakai, 7-2

■ 6. Sovereignty, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, SCRATCHED

■ 7. Sierra Leone, Chad Brown, Flavien Prat, 7-2

■ 8. Mindframe, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 6-1 ■ 9. Journalism, Michael McCarthy, Jose Ortiz, 5-1 ■ 10. Antiquarian, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 10-1

FROM BODY

PAINTAND

FABRIC DYETOSPICES, THEANNATTO SEED HASMANYUSES

Exploreour favorite fruit’s savory side

BY GRETCHEN McKAY Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Usually,you don’thave to think too hard about what to do withthe abag or bushel of apples. Apples are terrific out of hand,of course, and make agreat (and healthful) addition to yourchild’s lunchbox. They also travel well, makingthem an excellentcar food

Thanks to thefruit’s natural sweetness, apples lendthemselves especially well to baked goods. Youdon’t have to look too far to find any number of seasonal cakes, pies, crispsand crumbles built around apples as the star attraction.

Apples also cook down pretty easily into applesauce —with or without added sugar —and slices can be dried into chips for agood-for-you anytime snack

Yet, confining our favorite fall fruit to the dessert table is to not put afullspin on its versatility Crisp and tart apples that hold their shape while cooked, such as thepopular green Granny Smith, PinkLady and Honeycrisp, can add abrightand tangy flavortoeverything from salads to soups to gratins and curries. Thefruit’s natural sweetness and acidity also pairs well with savory,roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

And if you’re trying to get moreplants into your diet? When marinated in a tangy vinaigrette, they make asurprisingly delicious addition toacheese sandwich.

These savory recipes won’tupsetthe apple cart. Instead, they’llshine alight on the fruit’spossibilities.

Diversity powerhouse

BY ANNEMILNECK Contributingwriter

TBY NICOLE HVIDSTEN

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

Afriend once said there’snosuch thing as soup season —itshouldbe enjoyed year-round. As someonewho just happily ordered acup of chicken

rice soup on a90-degree day,I agree. But when the air finally does turn crisp, it reignites the desire to cook all cozy.Dutch ovens and stockpots stay frontand center, and we start rotating in all the recipes that have been on summer hiatus. Soup is acool-weathermainstay in many kitchens. Abig batch meansnot only dinner that night, but also several

he spice world is rich with ingredients that transform dishes through aroma and taste, and there are some spices that alsodeliver vibrant color Annatto seed is one such spice that imparts both delicious flavors and atransformative hue.

Known across Latin America and theCaribbean as achiote, this tiny, brick-redseed is an oft-overlooked workhorse. Often absent in today’shome kitchens, annatto is afoundational ingredient in traditional Mexican cuisine and Indigenous cultures. Annatto seeds are harvested from the Achiote tree, native to tropical regions of Centraland South America. Widely referred to as the “lipsticktree,” Achiote trees’ annatto seeds were historically used to make body paint and fabric dye. In modern food processing, an-

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Whole annatto seed can be stored for up to twoyears in acool,dry place. Ground annatto seeds should be used within six months, as theybegin losing potency and color once ground

natto seeds became known as “poor man’ssaffron” for theseed’sability to impart theorange colortopackaged yelloworsaffronrice mixes. Theannatto seed’sflavor is similar to paprika withslightly peppery, smokyand earthynotes andfloral

ä See ANNATTO, page 2D

Pork Tenderloin Achiote paste (Recipe 2D) Salt 2pork tenderloins, trimmed Vegetable or olive oil

1. Lightly salt the pork tenderloins on all sides, then rub with the achiote paste. Place in azip-top bag and refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. When ready to cook,remove the pork tenderloin from the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to take off the chill.

3. Heat aheavyskilletovermedium-high heat. Drizzle in oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Sear the pork tenderloinonall sides until golden brown.

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2025. There are 62 days left in the year.

Today in history: On Oct. 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali, 32, knocked out George Foreman, 25, in the eighth round of a scheduled 15-round bout known as the “Rumble in the Jungle,” in Kinshasa, Congo (then Zaire), to regain his world heavyweight title.

Also on this date:

In 1938, the radio play “The War of the Worlds,” starring Orson Welles, aired on the CBS Radio Network. The broadcast panicked some listeners in its portrayal of an invasion by Martians.

In 1961, the Soviet Union

tested a hydrogen bomb, the “Tsar Bomba,” with a force estimated at about 50 megatons (over 3,500 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima). It remains the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.

In 2005, the late Rosa Parks was the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S Capitol Rotunda; Parks became a civil rights icon by refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a White passenger in 1955. In 2018, gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was found beaten to death at a federal prison in West Virginia; the 89-year-old former Boston crime boss and longtime FBI informant had been transferred there just hours earlier (Three inmates entered

plea deals and were convicted in Bulger’s killing).

Today’s birthdays: Author Robert Caro is 90. Football Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil is 89. Rock singer Grace Slick is 86. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 86. R&B singer Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 84. Actor Henry Winkler is 80. Broadcast journalist Andrea Mitchell is 79. Country/rock musician Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles) is 78. Actor Harry Hamlin is 74. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 71. Actor Kevin Pollak is 68. Actor Michael Beach is 62. Musician Gavin Rossdale (Bush) is 60. Actor Nia Long is 55. Business executive and former presidential adviser Ivanka Trump is 44.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples

Serves 4. Recipe is from Gretchen McKay. Brussels sprouts can be bitter when boiled, but stick them in the oven to roast and wow, it’s magic! The high heat causes the vegetable’s natural sugars to caramelize, bringing out their natural sweetness. Throwing a few apples onto the pan enhances the nutty flavor. Be sure to pull off the loose outer green leaves and trim the sprouts’ ends before cooking, and scatter them evenly on a baking tray. They’re done when the leaves are just about to char, and the innermost part of the sprout is fork-tender 1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and outer leaves removed

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Cut Brussels sprouts in half, then place in a large bowl with apples and onions.

3. In a measuring cup, stir together olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper Drizzle over the Brussels sprouts mixture and toss with your hands until everything is thoroughly coated

4. Place the mixture on a rimmed baking sheet Make sure Brussels sprouts are

cut side down. (This ensures that they all get perfectly caramelized.)

5. Place sprigs of thyme on top of and around the veggies.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, shaking the pan a few times as they bake, until the apples are tender, the onions are soft and the sprouts look like they are starting to char

7. Top with pecans and grated cheese, if desired and serve while hot.

Marinated Apple and Cheese Sandwich

Makes 4 sandwiches. Recipe is from foodandwine.com. Trying to eat more plants? The peppery flavor of arugula works incredibly well with sweet apples and savory cheddar in this surprisingly hearty sandwich. The vinaigrette is so simple to make and adds more flavor; I saved the leftovers to use as a dressing on salad. I made the sandwiches on toasted sunflower bread but any hearty variety works.

(such as Granny Smith) unpeeled, cored and very

1. Whisk together vinegar, oil, honey, mustard pepper and salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve honey Stir in shallots and garlic. Remove from heat.

2. Place apple slices in a large, shallow, heatproof dish; pour hot vinegar mixture over apples, and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature 45 minutes, tossing occasionally Drain apples and discard vinegar mixture. (I saved it to use as a dressing.)

3. Spread a generous layer of butter on one side of each bread slice. Divide cheese, apple mixture and arugula evenly on buttered sides of four bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices, butter sides down. Serve immediately

Apple Curry

Serves 6. Recipe is from Gretchen McKay. This one-pot, lightly spiced curry pairs two favorite fall offerings: butternut squash and apples. If you desire a protein kick, add a can of cooked, drained chickpeas or 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken cut into bitesized chunks before adding the coconut milk. Chopped cashews add a rich, nutty finish. 1½ tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 3 large cloves garlic, minced

piece fresh ginger, finely minced

cups cubed butternut squash (about 1 small)

2 cored and roughly chopped apples (peel on)

Aceite de Achiote

Seed Infused Oil)

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil and seeds over low to medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot often, for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the seeds to infuse in the oil for 20 minutes.

2. Strain off the seeds and discard. Store the annatto-infused oil in a glass jar or container with a lid at room temperature. Use within three weeks.

Suggested uses: Use the oil to saute aromatics

ANNATTO

Continued from page 1D

undertones. When combined with other spices and herbs like cumin, coriander and Mexican oregano, it can be used as a Tex-Mex dry rub for proteins and vegetables. Annatto’s ability to impart vibrant color makes it perfect for infusion in fat to create aceite de achiote, or annatto oil.

After steeping annatto seeds in hot oil, the seeds are strained off and the deep orange-red oil can be used to make rice, start a pot of beans, saute meat or roast vegetables.

Another use for annatto

PROVIDED PHOTO Annatto seed imparts both delicious flavors and a transformative hue.

for a pot of beans; sizzle raw rice in a tablespoon of the infused oil before adding the cooking liquid; toss cauliflower florets in 3 tablespoons of the infused oil before roasting.

seeds is to create achiote paste. Blocks of achiote paste are a staple ingredient in Mexican and Central American cuisine, and it’s simple to make at home.

This flavorful paste is a combination of ground annatto seeds, coriander, cumin, oregano, cloves, garlic and an acidic ingredient like orange juice or apple cider vinegar Achiote paste is classically used to create the slow-roasted pork dish cochinita pibil and al pastor marinades.

Creating an achiote paste is easy and will transform the flavor of lean proteins like chicken breasts and pork tenderloin and lead to a deep red crust and tangy earthy flavor

1. Use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind the annatto seeds to a fine powder

2. In a bowl, combine the ground annatto seeds and all other ingredients and stir to create a paste. Use the paste on chicken, pork or beef as a marinade. Marinate the meat at least 8 hours or ideally overnight.

Mum’s Loving Leek and Potato Soup

Serves 4. From “Cooking Fast and Slow” by Natalia Rudin, who writes: “It might sound like a cliché, but my mum is my superhero and her leek and potato soup heals me in more ways than I can put into words. My re-creation will never be as good as hers, but I’ve given it my best shot.” (Ten Speed Press, 2025)

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 leeks, roughly chopped ½ white onion, roughly chopped

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the leeks, onion, fennel seeds, nutmeg and garlic. Put the lid on and sweat them down over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut the potato in half, lay it flat

down, and cut into thin slices. 3. Add the sliced potato to the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, until soft, then add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then use an immersion blender to blend until silky smooth Stir in the butter

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with warm crusty bread.

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk ½ cup vegetable broth or water 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper Cooked white rice, for serving Chopped cilantro, for garnish Chopped cashews, for garnish

1. Add olive oil to a large stockpot or Dutch oven set over medium heat

2. When hot, add in onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender Add in garlic, ginger, butternut squash and apples. Cook for 3 minutes, then sprinkle with curry powder and stir to combine.

3. Pour in coconut milk and broth/water, and scrape up any bits that have gotten stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Turn

heat down to medium and simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally

4. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, or until squash and apples are fork-tender, stirringoccasionallyandadjusting the heat as needed.

5. Remove from the heat. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

6. Serve the curry with white rice, garnished with chopped cilantro and chopped cashews.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Observe and take notes. Preparation is vital to getting what you want. A positive change comes with executing your plans flawlessly. Choose minimalism over excess and indulgence.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Set boundaries, offer honest assessments and pursue something tangible. Focus your energy on updating your surroundings to suit your situation and foster success.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Mixed emotions will drain you mentally and financially. Be wary of scams and people trying to separate you from your cash. Gather information regarding any event that may pose a risk of injury or illness.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your emotions aside and know when to walk away. A debate will not serve a purpose and will leave you feeling distraught. Pay more attention to building your physical strength.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Upbeat talks will help you gain enthusiasm to get moving and to introduce positive change into your life. Stop letting mixed emotions hinder your ability to act.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) A little primping will go a long way. Do something that makes you feel good, boosts your confidence and gives you the nudge you need to make a move. Participate in events that are geared toward a purpose.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) You should sift through your options and decrease the

WonderWord

number of your commitments. Effective communication is essential to prevent mistakes and misinformation.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Live, love and learn, and a positive change will be unveiled. Trust your instincts and let your imagination wander. Reach out, and the result will fulfill your expectations.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Avoid jumping to conclusions or taking on too much Pace yourself and explore all options before deciding on your next step. Tone down drama and indulgence, and concentrate on self-improvement.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Look at the big picture before you make a comment or change. The impression you make and the effect you have on the people you encounter will determine what comes your way.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) It's all or nothing when dealing with domestic or workrelated matters. Stand back, absorb the atmosphere in the room and let your instincts guide you in interpreting the outcome.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Effective money management encourages you to live frugally and appreciate what you already have. Consider what you can do to update your look. Socializing will promote romance.

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

Sudoku

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

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Carl Gustav Jung said, “Knowledge restsnotupontruthalone,butuponerror also.” Howtruethatis. All bridge players makemistakes. But each hopes to learn something from those errors. Today’s deal occurred during asocial game. First, look at the auction.With which calls do youdisagree and what would you have done differently? Thereweretwo clear-cuterrors (and a few calls that were debatable). Thedefinitemistakeswere,first,North’spassing over twoclubs.She might have bid two no-trump, showing 18-20 points,because partner had promised some cards with hisone-spadebid.(Hewouldhavepassed with nothing when East responded one diamond.) Asecond possibility was anothertakeoutdouble,typicallyindicating three-cardspade supportand extra values. Also, South, over two diamonds,should have competed with two hearts. Of course, that might have got his side to four hearts, an unmakable game, instead of to fourspades, themakable game. Against two spades, West led alow club.Southranthattohisjack,tookdummy’s top trumps, playedthree rounds of diamonds,ruffing the lastinhis hand, and cashed dummy’s two club winners, discarding aheart whileEastruffed in

East shifted to theheart 10,which South strangely covered withhis king to lose three tricks in the suit and collect only one overtrick. Since West was marked with the heart ace, Southshould have ducked theheart.Westwould have won but would have been endplayed into conceding asecond overtrick.

©2025 by NEA,Inc dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

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

ToDAy’s WoRD DWARFIsH: DWOR-fish: Smallinstature.

Average

Timelimit

Can

and to all theflock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28

Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babintoapprove with amendment/s

An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map, and Section 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements

1.

ARegular Meeting of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council was held on Thursday,October 9, 2025 and called to order at 05:30 PM. Council Chairman Carey Denstel asked that all electronic devices be placed on silent.

2. OPENING PRAYER

Councilman Atley Walker Jr.led everyone in an opening prayer

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Chairman Denstel recognized Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne who led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

4. LOG ATTENDANCE

The following members were recorded as being present: Messrs. Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph.

Also present were, Mr.Jason Manola, Parish President, Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne, Executive Assistant, Mr.Chance Stephens, Director of Finance, Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne, Director of Public Works, Miss. Kristen Canezaro, Special Legal Counsel, and Mrs. Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk

5. MINUTES APPROVAL

A. Approval of Minutes From The Regular Meeting of September 25, 2025.

Amotion was made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoapprove Minutes fromThe Regular Meeting of September 25, 2025.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresultofthe votes, the motion Passed.

6. CONSIDER ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA Therewerenoitems to consider at this time.

7. PARISH PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Parish President Jason Manola was recognized and covered the following items: Garden of Life dedication for Breast Cancer Awareness; Meeting with Ellie Hebert with Vision West; Recent ITEP requestmeeting for Nu-Gen Services, LLC. for the Allendale Road location; Went to City of Port Allen meeting in regardtothe upcoming Drainage TaxRenewal, and also met with Sheriff’sOffice, Town of Brusly,Town of Addis, School Board, Dow and Women’sClub; Louisiana Community Development Boardmeeting regarding Sewer Bonds; La Chemical Association and Chemical Alliance annual meeting.

8. PUBLIC COMMENTS Therewerenocomments to consider at this time.

9. COMMUNICATIONS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AND/OR ELECTEDORAPPOINTED OFFICIALS

Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne was recognized and gave an update on the LA1/415 connector project, which included an increase in meetings in regardtotrying to minimize cost estimates, with possible route updates, ongoing weekly meetings with project managers.

Mr.Chance Stephens was recognized and brieflyreviewed the updated year-to-date budget to actual numbers for 2025. Said numbers can be found at the end of these minutes. Mr.Stephens also reminded everyone about the upcoming 2026 Budget meetings on October 27 and 28, 2025 at 5:30pm.

10. PUBLIC HEARING ON PREVIOUSLYINTRODUCED ORDINANCES

A. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact PartIII (Unified Development Code) Chapter 111 (Administrationand Enforcement), Article IV (Zoning Enforcement), Sec. 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements and Procedures)

The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item.

Mr.Bourgoyne was recognized and gave abrief overview of the proposed ordinance which came from the zoning review board, noting that this item was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

No public comments for or against said ordinance werepresented. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed.

Amotion was made by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin, seconded by Council Member Kirk Allain to approve An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact Part III (Unified Development Code) Chapter 111 (Administration and Enforcement), Article IV (Zoning Enforcement), Sec. 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements and Procedures).

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 43 of 2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

B. An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map, and Section 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements And Procedures) For Request of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Regarding Property located at 838 Hwy 190 West, Port Allen LA 70767. File #2025-25: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACT E-7 &W P/O TRACT E-8 CONT 4.59 AC BELAIR INDUSTRIALPARK. Requesting aSpecial Use Permit for Wrecker Service/StorageFacility in I-2.

The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item.

Mr.Bourgoyne was recognized and brieflyreviewed the aforementioned special use permit request and explained the Planning and Zoning commission recommended approval of the special use permit.

Mr.Louie Vielee was recognized and explained that his office was next door and he did not want to look at awrecker yardnext to his office, he did not feel this was agood location for this business.

Mr.Jamie Yearing, of Waring Oil Company,which is located next door,was recognized and explained that he was worried about safety,and the oil and gas all around the area, along with it possibly being an eyesore.

Ms. Alicia Doucet, who works for TMI, was recognized and noted that Louie has cleaned up the area, and she does not feel this is agood look for the area, she gets to work early and is worried about security

Mr.Andy Vielee, with TMI, was recognized and noted that TMI has four wrecker yards and they have issues with burglaries. There wereafew questions from the Council in regardto the comments that weremade, specifically by Mr.Andy Vielee.

Mr.Joseph Hidalgo of Deep South Towing was recognized, they areastorage yardand can only leave cars therefor so long, stated they will have fencing per state law,lighting, and security.Mr. Hidalgo stated he is not in the car or the dismantling business, so he will not be dismantling any cars or keeping cars storedfor any length of time that is not allowed by state law.The Council had questions in regardtothe number of vehicles, fencing, dismantling, office hours, and stacking. Councilman Gordon and Joseph asked questions in regardto access to the property,and getting 18wheelersinand out of the property No further public comments for or against said ordinance were presented. No written protests opposing the ordinance were received. The Council Chair at this point declared the Public Hearing closed. Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded by

Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 44 of 2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

C. An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map, and Section 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements And Procedures) For Request of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Regarding Property located at 838 Hwy 190 West, Port Allen LA 70767. File #2025-26: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACT E-7 &W P/O TRACT E-8 CONT 4.59 AC BELAIR INDUSTRIAL PARK. Requesting aSpecial Use Permit for Commercial Seasonal Fireworks in I-2. The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item. Mr.Bourgoyne was again recognized and explained the details of this request, and advised that the Planning and Zoning commission recommended approval. No public comments for or against said ordinance werepresented. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the PublicHearing closed. Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoapprove An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map, and Section 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use RequirementsAnd Procedures) For Request of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Regarding Property located at 838 Hwy 190 West, Port Allen LA 70767. File #2025- 26: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACT E-7 &W P/O TRACT

E-8 CONT 4.59 AC BELAIR INDUSTRIAL PARK. Requesting a Special Use Permitfor Commercial Seasonal Fireworks in I-2.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 45 of 2025 can be found at the end of these minutes. D. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 101 (“General Provisions”), Section 101-1 (“Definitions”); And Chapter 105 (“Subdivisions”), Article II (Minimum Design Standards), Section 105-40 (“Improvements”) The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item. Mr.Bourgoyne was again recognized and explained the reason for the aforementioned ordinance, noting this was from the zoning review board, and was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission. No public comments for or against said ordinance werepresented. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed. Amotion was made by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin, seconded by Council Member Alan Crowe to approve An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 101 (“General Provisions”), Section 101-1 (“Definitions”); And Chapter 105 (“Subdivisions”), Article II (Minimum Design Standards), Section 105-40 (“Improvements”)

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT: 0(None) ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Ordinance 46 of 2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

11. INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES

Mrs. Tullier,Council Clerk read by title the below proposed ordinance/s being introduced and publicized by title, and considered for adoption following apublic hearing as specified below,at5:30 pm in the CouncilChambers, located at 880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen, La.:

A. An Ordinance Adopting the 2025 CouncilAmendments to the Fire Department Budgeted Expenses for the Fiscal Year beginning January 1, 2025 and ending December 31, 2025. PublicHearing Date: October 23, 2025

B. An Ordinance Adopting the 2025 Council Amendments to the Detention Center Budgeted Expenses for the Fiscal Year beginning January 1, 2025 and ending December 31, 2025. Public Hearing Date: October 23, 2025

C. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Code Of Ordinances, Chapter 22 (Elections), Article I(In General), Section 22-3, CouncilMeeting Attendance and Roll Call. Public Hearing Date: October 23, 2025

D. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 109 (“Property Maintenance”), Article V, (Abandoned Vehicles and Junk), Section 109-100 (“Abandonment of Junked Vehicles and Other Items), And Enact Sec. 109- 104 through 109112. Public Hearing Date: October 23, 2025

12. CONSIDER STATUS REPORT, CHANGE ORDER AND/OR OTHER MATTERSASREQUIRED ON CURRENT PROJECTS

A. Accept/Reject Administration Bid Recommendation on Jail Project Mr.Chance Stephens was recognized and brieflyreviewed the bidrequest for the Detention Center project, noting that the administration recommends accepting the base bid of $668,459.82 with Alternate No.1 $154,800.16 for agrand total of $823,259.98 submitted by Smartcomm Solutions LLC. Amotion was made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to accept the Administrations Bid Recommendation on the Jail/Detention Center project of Smartcomm Solutions LLC. With abase bid of $668,459.82, with Alternate No.1 $154,800.16, for agrand total of $823,259.98. The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT: 0(None) ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult

PROP.34A-36 CB301 E-24. Owned by Harlan and Janet Cashiola. Case#2025-488, with a60-day time for all work to be completed.

The vote wasrecorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0 (None) ABSENT:0 (None) ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. B. Consider Ratification of Condemnation for Derelict structure located at 7590 Hwy 190 W. Port Allen, La 70767. Parcel# 0522610004300: as described by the WBR Assessor: P/O LOT 5INSEC 35 T6S R11E CONT.0.5766 AC BEING P/O PAYNE PROP.26A-43 CB213 E147 CB214 E58 E59 E60 &E61. Owned by Augustine Bingham Etals. Case#2025-721 Mrs. Ashley Hatfield, of the Planning and Zoning Office, was recognized and explained the status of the aforementioned location and, upon inspection,the following structurehas been deemed derelict according to Parish Code 109-42 and hereby recommends that the structure be demolished. Mrs. Hatfield showed pictures from September and updated pictures from October showing therehas been no workdone to clean up the property.She notes several structural issues, mold, overgrown vegetation among other building code issues. Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to ratify Condemnation for Derelict structurelocated at 7590 Hwy 190 W. Port Allen, La 70767. Parcel#0522610004300: as described by the WBR Assessor: P/O LOT 5INSEC 35 T6S R11E CONT.0.5766 AC BEING P/O PAYNE PROP.26A-43 CB213 E147 CB214 E58 E59 E60 &E61. Owned by Augustine Bingham Etals. Case#2025-721 with a60day timeframe for all work to be completed.

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:0 (None) ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

15. CORRESPONDENCE REPORT Correspondence Report from Council Clerk, Mrs. Michelle Tullier included the following items: •Next Planning &Zoning Meeting Tuesday,October 21, 2025 Canceled; •Next Quarterly FireBoardMeeting Thursday,October 23, 2025 at 5:00pm; •Next Council Meeting Thursday,October 23, 2025 at 5:30pm. Wear Pink!

16. ADJOURN Therebeing no further business, amotion to adjournwas made by Council Member Alan Crowe and was adopted by acclamation at 06:25 PM.

AND

Aplat

location of existing and proposed structures, location and number of off-street parking and loading spaces, outside storage, buffers, fencing, setbacks and all other requirements of chapter 104, zoning; e.f. Afee of $350.00 for each application shall be paid. The Fee to cover the cost of advertising for special use permits shall be borne by the applicant and shall be the current cost of advertising whether it be in the form of mailings or publications as required in section 111-76.

(2) Procedures.The application shall be reviewed by the zoning administrator who shall be responsible for evaluating and reporting his findings to the planning and zoning commission. The commission shall hold apublic hearing, advertised according to applicable laws, at which interested parties and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. The planning and zoning commission shall review and take action on each application. Areport of the planning and zoning commission’srecommendation and the zoning administrator’s recommendation shall be submitted to the parish council.If procedural rules for reviewing special use permits arenot specifically prescribed in this section, then those rules prescribed for procedures for amendments to the zoning map found elsewhereinthe Unified Development Code of West Baton Rouge Parish Government shall be followed. Such prescriptive, procedural rules found elsewhere shall include, but not be limited to: rules for applications, reviews, schedules, inability to withdraw after certain times, advertising, public hearings, actions by the planning and zoning commission, actions by the parish council, and limitations on re-hearings of the same item. In no cases shall an application for aspecial, conditional use be withdrawn after it has been introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council. Aspecial use permit approval shall be interpreted as constituting achange to the official zoning map of West Baton Rouge Parish. If thereare substantial changes made after the application, or if the information submitted is not followed, the Parish Council shall have the ability to revisit the special use permit for re-consideration or revocation, after proper publication for azoning amendment as noted in Sec. 111-75.

(3) Criteria and guidelines.The zoning administrator and the commission should base their recommendations on the following guidelines and criteria. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary information, documents or other data necessary for such evaluation to the zoning administrator

a. The proposed use will comply with the general public interest and welfare;

b. It will not cause undue congestion of streets and trafficaccess;

c. It will not cause overcrowding of land or overburden public facilities such as transportation, sewerage, water,schools, parks or other facilities;

d. It will not negatively impact in any way surrounding properties and neighborhoods

(4) Approval.The planning and zoning commission, in its recommendation to the parish council, may state its concurrence with, or rejection of, proponent’soffers of proof at public hearings and may so state, in its motion of recommendation to the parish council. The zoning administrator’sanalysis and recommendations, along with the planning and zoning commission’srecommendations, shall be forwarded to the parish council.

(5) Temporaryfacilities related to public road construction.Temporary facilities related to public road construction projects for the duration of the project or any shorter period provided in the permit, such as portable concrete crushers, can be erected in any zone with aspecial use permit.

a. The parish council shall not take action on any application for a special use permit until arecommendation from the planning and zoning commission is received. The council shall hold alegally advertised public meeting on the proposed permit and shall be the final authority to grant or deny the permit application, or to grant with stipulations.

b. Temporary facilities related to public road construction shall have atimeframe stipulated with the current and ongoing project. Once aproject has been completed these facilities shall have 30 days to vacate the premises. After 30 days this special use permit shall be set for apublic hearing to set the correct zoning, per Chapter 104.

b.c. Upon approval, the applicant shall be issued aletter of approval, which shall serve as the permit, and any deviation from the terms and stipulations approved by the council shall be considered aviolation of the permit and shall be punishable under the applicable laws of the parish, state and federal government. (6) Recommendation and approval of special use permits with conditions In the recommendation of, and granting of, approval of special use permits, the zoning commission and/or the parish council may recommend (in the case of the zoning commission) or require(in the case of the parish council) that certain conditions be met perpetually or for atime, with respect to the development of the property. The conditions that may be prescribed along with the granting of the special use permit include conditions related to: Building, structureor other land improvement placement; mass and/or density and/or size of the development; the characteristics of the use; trafficgeneration and/or trafficcirculation; noise; hours of operation; adequacy of parking; proposed “intensity” of the use; landscaping; waste containment and disposal; fencing and/or screening; signage; colors, patterns and types of building materials to be used in developing and/ or maintaining the site in perpetuity.Asnoted above, the special use runs perpetually with the land. Therefore,the conditions placed on the special use shall also run perpetually with the land. If acourt rules that acondition of aspecial use permit was unreasonably,inconsistently or in any other way unjustifiably required by the parish council, then the special use permit granted in the action shall also be nullified and made void until the application can be resubmitted and reheardbythe zoning commission and the parish council.

(7) Consideration of Revocation The parish council shall have the ability to revisit any special use permit for re-consideration of regulations and/or revocation if it feels the applicant had violated any terms or conditions of the special use permit.

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council that this ordinance shall becomeeffective upon the signatureofthe Parish President.

BE IT RESOLVED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council, that all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith arehereby repealed in their entirety THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereofisheld invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications of this ordinance arehereby declared severable.

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE AFTER HAVING BEEN SUBMITTED TO APUBLIC HEARING WASCONSIDERED, AND UPON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER DARYL “TURF” BABIN, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KIRK ALLAIN. THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED TO AVOTE AND RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING:

YEAS: 9(BABIN, ALLAIN, WALKER, DENSTEL, CROWE, HOTARD, GORDON, ANDRE, JOSEPH)

NAYS: 0(NONE)

ABSENT:0 (NONE)

ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 9th Day of October,2025.

ATTEST:

ORDINANCE 44 OF 2025

As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At the Meeting of September 11, 2025 And Adopted on October 9, 2025

An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate

Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map, and Section 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements And Procedures) For Request of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Requesting aSpecial Use Permit for Wrecker Service/Storage Facility in I-2. NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Councilinlegal session that Chapter 104 Zoning, Sec. 104-3 Establishment of Districts, Official Zoning Map of the Compiled Ordinances of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana is amended and re-enacted to read as follows: Sec.104-3. Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map For Rezoning

Request Of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Regarding Property located at 838 Hwy 190 West, Port Allen LA 70767. File #2025-25: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACTE-7 &WP/O TRACT E-8 CONT 4.59 AC BELAIR INDUSTRIAL PARK. Requesting aSpecial Use Permit for Wrecker Service/Storage Facility in I-2. With requirements that All areas of the storage facility visible from any street must be enclosed by an opaque privacy fence to aheight of eight feet which obstructs the view from the street, but shall not include chain-link, and no stacking of vehicles. THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council that this ordinance shall become effective pursuant to Section 2-12 (C) of the Home Rule Charter THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council, that allother ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith arehereby repealed in their entirety

NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applications of this ordinance arehereby declared severable. THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE AFTER HAVING BEEN SUBMITTED TO APUBLIC HEARING WASCONSIDERED, AND UPONMOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALAN CROWE, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DARYL “TURF” BABIN. THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED TO AVOTE AND RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING: YEAS: 8(CROWE, BABIN, ALLAIN, WALKER, DENSTEL, HOTARD, GORDONANDRE)

NAYS: 1(JOSEPH)

ABSENT:0 (NONE)

ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 9TH Day of October,2025.

ATTEST:

ORDINANCE 45 OF 2025

As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At the Meeting of September 11, 2025 And Adopted on October 9, 2025

An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map, and Section 111-78 (Special, Conditional Use Requirements And Procedures) For Request of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Requesting aSpecial Use Permit for Commercial Seasonal Fireworks in I-2.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Councilinlegal session that Chapter 104 Zoning, Sec. 104-3 Establishment of Districts, Official Zoning Map of the Compiled Ordinances of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana is amended and re-enacted to read as follows: Sec.104-3. Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map For Rezoning Request Of Michael Kauffman with MBK Land LLC. Regarding Property located at 838 Hwy 190 West, Port Allen LA 70767. File #2025-25: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACTE-7 &WP/O TRACT E-8

CONT 4.59 AC BELAIR INDUSTRIAL PARK. Requesting aSpecial Use

Permitfor Commercial Seasonal Fireworks in I-2. THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council that this ordinance shall become effective pursuant to Section 2-12 (C) of the Home Rule Charter THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council,that all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith arehereby repealed in their entirety NOW THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Parish Council of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that if any provision or item of this ordinance or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidityshall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalidprovisions, items, or applications of this ordinance arehereby declared severable.

THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE AFTER HAVING BEEN SUBMITTED TO APUBLIC HEARING WASCONSIDERED, AND UPON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER KIRK ALLAIN, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KATHERINE ANDRE. THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED TO AVOTE AND RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING:

YEAS: 9(ALLAIN, ANDRE, BABIN, WALKER, DENSTEL, CROWE, HOTARD, GORDON, JOSEPH)

NAYS: 0(NONE)

ABSENT:0 (NONE)

ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 9TH Day of October,2025.

ATTEST:

ORDINANCE 46 OF 2025

As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At the Regular Meeting of September 25, 2025 And Adopted on October 9, 2025

An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 101 (“General Provisions”), Section 101-1 (“Definitions”); And Chapter 105 (“Subdivisions”), Article II (Minimum Design Standards), Section 105-40 (“Improvements”)

WHEREAS,one of the primary functions of local governments is to protect the health, safety and welfareofits people; AND WHEREAS,inexercising its role to carry-out the above, the West Baton Rouge Parish Councilutilizes its police powers under the Constitution and laws of the State of Louisiana; AND WHEREAS,such exercise of police power involves from time-to-time creating or amending local development (and other) laws in order to protect the public; AND WHEREAS,the West Baton Rouge Councilhas previously regulated zoning land use districts as well as various land uses that arepermitted in various zoning districts; AND WHEREAS,the West Baton Rouge Council finds that thereisa need to updatethe multi-familyuses allowed on agricultural land in West Baton Rouge Parish; NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED that the West Baton Rouge Parish Code of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 101 (“General Provisions”), Section 101-1 (“Definitions”); And Chapter 105 (“Subdivisions”), Article II (Minimum Design Standards), Section 105-40 (“Improvements”) (NOTE: underlined words areadditions and strikethrough words are deletions. Three asterisks**

affect other provisions, items or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items, or applicationsofthis ordinance arehereby declared severable. THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE AFTER HAVING BEEN SUBMITTED TO APUBLIC HEARING WASCONSIDERED, AND UPON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER DARYL “TURF” BABIN, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALAN CROWE. THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED TO AVOTE AND RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING: YEAS:9 (BABIN, CROWE, ALLAIN, DENSTEL, WALKER, HOTARD, GORDON, ANDRE, JOSEPH) NAYS: 0(NONE) ABSENT:0 (NONE)

ABSTAIN: 0(NONE) WHEREUPON the ordinance wasdeclared adopted on the 9TH Day of October,2025.

ATTEST:

RESOLUTION 23 OF 2025

AResolution Authorizing The Parish President To Enter Into An Entity-State Agreement To Provide A25% Match For The Emergency Services Facility State Project No. 50-J61-24-01. WHEREAS,West Baton Rouge Parish agrees to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement, with the State of Louisianan;and WHEREAS,inorder to proceed with said agreement, West Baton Rouge Parish requires that the legislative body of the local government authorizes its chief executive “The Parish President” to execute agreement titled: COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE STATEOFLOUISIANA AND WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH Emergency Services Facility, Planning and Construction (WestBaton Rouge) FP&C Project No. 50-J61-24-01

WHEREAS,the West Baton Rouge Parish Council agrees to provide 25% matching funds as required for this project; and WHEREAS,said agreement is attached hereto and identified as “Exhibit A”. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,the West Baton Rouge Parish Council does hereby authorize Parish President Jason P. Manola to execute on behalf of the Parish of West Baton Rouge, an agreement with the State of Louisiana and sign and execute all futuredocumentation and funding regarding the same.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if any portion or item of this resolution or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applicationsofthis resolution which can be given effect without invalid provisions, items or applicationsand to this