SAVE Mississippi Local $ 11 3 LB
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Fresh Catfish Fillet
THE
5
$ 88 LB
3 LB BAG U.S. #1
Yellow Onions
SAVE up $ 38 to 4
When You Buy 2
When You Buy 2
— ONLY —
— ONLY —
MISSISSIPPI FARM RAISED
Louisiana Local
SAVE up $ 50 to 2
SAVE $ 52 1
1
$ 47
— ONLY —
5
2/$
22 - 24 OZ
Zatarain’s Fish-Fri
— ONLY —
8 PACK 12 OZ BOTTLES OR 10 PACK 7.5 OZ CANS
10
2/$
Coke, Pepsi or Sprite
Prices good at all Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville stores February 18th - February 25th, 2026.
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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M o n d ay, F e b r u a ry 23, 2026
$2.00X
Lafayette inmate housing costs soar Sheriff’s Office cites end of ‘gentlemen’s agreement’
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL
Correctional Center longer than expected, limiting available beds and forcing parish detainees to be The cost to house Lafayette Par- sent elsewhere. Lafayette Consolidated Governish inmates outside the local jail surged last year as state inmates ment spent $442,133 last year to remained in the Lafayette Parish house parish inmates in other jails Staff writer
— a 13,479% increase over 2024 spending levels, according to LCG documents obtained by The Acadiana Advocate. By early this month, the parish had already spent about $130,000 on outside housing, putting it on pace to meet or exceed last
year’s total. As of Feb. 5, 58 parish inmates were housed in other parish jails. At the peak in 2018, as many as 192 inmates were housed outside the Lafayette jail. Under Louisiana law, jails may transfer inmates for safety reasons, and the sheriff must notify the court of the intent to transfer at least 72 hours in advance. The
‘They made me feel like I belonged’ After years of searching, woman reunites with foster parents
Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office said it is trying to prevent the onset of unsafe conditions. The parish owns the jail and pays to house parish inmates, while the Sheriff’s Office operates the facility. When parish inmates are sent to other jails, LCG bears the cost.
Man convicted in theft of millions from widows chats to email or enFake aliases used amorous crypted messaging apps like There, his true to woo victims WhatsApp. motivations would become clear. into sending He pressed one 77-yearold Mandeville woman who money
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
BY JA’KORI MADISON
The scheme started on Facebook and Instagram with elderly widows, romantic entreaties — and lies. Posing as an oil rig worker or a decorated military officer, the man would gain the women’s trust over social media, then ask to move their
Staff writer
For most of her life, Ginger Cawley held onto a single photograph and the memory of a hug from foster parents she never forgot. Now, after searching for them for more than 20 years, a reunion she once thought was impossible came simply from her stepping out on faith when she posted in a Facebook group called Looking for Lost Family. What felt like a long shot turned into something more after members of the Lafayettearea community began sharing the post. Someone recognized the names, and Cawley’s foster parents, Paula and Ronnie Boffner, were found within 24 hours of the search. “It was like my heart was trying to catch up with my brain,” she said. “I was excited, but I also wanted to be gentle. I didn’t know where they were in life or how they’d feel.” The reunion was emotional for everyone involved, given the brief but formative role the Boffners played in Cawley’s childhood during a turbulent time in her life. It also underscores broader challenges within the foster care system, where privacy rules, limited records access and the lack of a formal pathway can make it difficult — or impossible — for former foster children and foster parents to reconnect years later. Cawley, a Lafayette native, entered foster care around age 5, sometime between 1989 and 1991, because of instability at home. After an earlier placement where things were unpleasant, she was placed with the Boffners. She said the months she
ä See FOSTER, page 5A
WEATHER HIGH 59 LOW 37 PAGE 10C
ä See INMATE, page 3A
believed he was a four-star military general for money to fix a school he said was damaged in a storm. She sent him $124,757 over about a year. Another woman in Hawaii wired $250,000 to someone she thought was an Air Force officer stationed in Syria named “Michael Minihan.” Yet another believed
ä See WIDOWS, page 3A
PHOTO By CHRISTOPHER R. VINN
Late last month, an engineer hired by Westlake warned that the second level of the clubhouse at The National Golf Club of Louisiana could ‘fall or cave in’ without immediate action.
Taxpayer-funded Westlake clubhouse has structural issues Engineer warns $6M building could cave in
BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer
PROVIDED PHOTO
With only this photo of herself and her foster mom, Ginger Cawley searched for about 20 years before reuniting with foster parents Paula and Ronnie Boffner.
firm to litigate the problems. The Westlake City Council unanimously approved a resolution last week authorizing Mayor Hal McMillin to hire Stutes & Lavergne Law Firm over problems with the clubhouse and restaurant at The National Golf Club of Louisiana. The 16,000-square-foot facility was completed at the end of 2021, and cost $6 million through a combination of city, parish and state tax dollars.
A $6 million, taxpayer-funded clubhouse at a Westlake golf course is straining under the weight of potential structural issues that an engineer recently warned could lead to it falling or caving in while the city has now hired a law ä See CLUBHOUSE, page 5A
Classified .....................4A Living............................5C Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Lottery..........................4B Opinion ........................2B Commentary ................3B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
101ST yEAR, NO. 238