Actor James Van Der Beek, star of ‘Dawson’s Creek,’ dies at 48 2A THE
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T h u r s d ay, F e b r u a ry 12, 2026
Second Harvest hosts festive ‘packing party’
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LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL
Residents protest ICE regulations at meeting Public comment shut down as comments get contentious
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Volunteers Debbie Renfrow, left, and Mashaera Alexander pack up emergency grocery boxes with donated food items during the Mardi Gras Mambo-themed food packing party on Wednesday at Second Harvest Food Bank.
“Shame!” “Cowards!” “We pay your salaries!” Those were some of the comments yelled at the Lafayette Parish Council as council member Donald Richard ended the public comment section abruptly at Tuesday’s meeting. The jeers followed council members as they walked off the chamber floor, before returning to resume public comment and listen to citizens’ continued calls for the city and parish to implement ordinances that would limit and regulate Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in the parish following a signed agreement between the federal agency and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office in December. Richard took some time before public comment to explain the parish’s inability to exercise
ä See PROTEST, page 4A
Volunteers celebrate Mardi Gras while filling grocery boxes BY ASHLEY WHITE
Former DeRidder mayor to face trial later this month
Staff writer
As “Mardi Gras Mambo” wafted through the Second Harvest Food Bank Lafayette Distribution Center, volunteers tapped their feet and repacked donated items into emergency grocery boxes. There was king cake for the volunteers and purple, green and gold balloons. Volunteers took dance breaks while the Mardi Gras themed “packing party” continued. The monthly celebrations are a way to thank the hundreds of volunteers who spend their time working with Second Harvest of South Louisiana. “Volunteers are the key to our success. It really helps us reach those rural parishes. It helps extend our
BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer
Volunteers dance during the Mardi Gras Mambo-themed food packing party ä See PACKING, page 5A on Wednesday at Second Harvest Food Bank in Lafayette.
The trial of former DeRidder Mayor Misty Roberts, who was arrested in 2024 over allegations she had sex with a teen boy, has been rescheduled for Feb. 23 after a recent attempt to take the case to trial ended in a mistrial before jurors were seated. Roberts resigned from office days before her arrest, and faced felony charges of indecent behavior with a juvenile and carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The case was scheduled to go to trial
ä See TRIAL, page 5A
E LEC T ION 2026
Fleming blasts rivals for Senate seat as qualifying begins Office in Baton Rouge after didates who qualified for races of Candidates line up for State’s qualifying for the Senate election. statewide significance, including Fleming described the contest as U.S. Senate, the six congressional significant races being between “two liberal Repub- races, two elections to the Public
BY TYLER BRIDGES and ALYSE PFEIL
Staff writers
State Treasurer John Fleming had strong words for his two main Republican opponents in this year’s U.S. Senate race — Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Julia Letlow — as he qualified Wednesday for the May 16 primary. Fleming said that Cassidy flipflops on key issues, while Letlow got into the race only because she received President Donald Trump’s endorsement. “The endorsement I want is from the people of Louisiana,” Fleming told reporters at the Secretary of
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lican candidates” in Cassidy and Letlow, both R-Baton Rouge, and himself, “the only true conservative in this race.” He went on to say that Trump’s endorsement of Letlow is a “scheme” of Gov. Jeff Landry aimed at eventually benefiting the governor’s future political aspirations. “Jeff Landry has been working on this, this endorsement for over a year. I’ve heard about it from a number of people,” Fleming said. A spokesperson for Landry did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the campaigns for Letlow and Cassidy. Fleming was one of many can-
Service Commission, one election to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and three state Supreme Court races for the Democratic and Republican primaries on May 16. Fleming has been a bystander in recent days while Cassidy and Letlow have hogged attention in the Senate race. But the treasurer came out swinging Wednesday while proclaiming himself the most conservative candidate. He highlighted his opposition to injecting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases deep underground in a process known as
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming addresses reporters as he signs up to ä See QUALIFYING, page 4A run for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.
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101ST yEAR, NO. 227