RECORD PRODUCER
CLIVE DAVIS
1932-2026 6A
THE
ECONOMIST
ACADIANA
ALAN GREENSPAN 1926-2026 3A
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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T u e s d ay, J u n e 23, 2026
$2.00X
Recovery begins after Avoyelles flooding
Audit: Regulator benefited off state contracts
Former official accused of helping associates secure deals to manage orphan wells BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER
Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Relief workers unload supplies from National Guard trucks Monday at the Moreauville Volunteer Fire Department, a drop-off and pick-up location for flood relief supplies, in Moreauville after Tropical Storm Arthur flooded areas of Avoyelles Parish.
Residents can report damage through state website Robert Lemoine, the 91-yearold recently retired Moreauville fire chief, helps unload supplies Monday.
BY JA’KORI MADISON
Staff writer
At 91 years old, former Moreauville Fire Chief Robert Lemoine was one of dozens of volunteers ranging from children to adults at the Moreauville Volunteer Fire Department, distributing cleaning supplies and recovery kits to neighbors after Tropical Storm Arthur flooded areas of Avoyelles Parish. Lemoine, who’s been involved with the department for 65 years, said the response reflected the close-knit nature of his small community that lies just south of La. 1 as residents are helping each other recover. After Tropical Storm Arthur moved through Louisiana, the National Weather Service reported major flooding across Avoyelles Parish, with more than 195 homes affected. That number includes Moreauville, where more than 100 homes were reported flooded. Twenty to 30 inches of rain fell in Avoyelles last Thursday from about 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., mainly in the nearby town of Cottonport and the village of Plaucheville,
both in the southern part of the parish, according to Jonathan Brazzell with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles. A rain gauge between the two communities recorded 29.06 inches, he said.
In Moreauville, the flooding was like nothing anyone had ever experienced. Sandra Lemoine, an 18-year resident of
ä See RECOVERY, page 4A
A former state regulator helped longtime associates obtain a lucrative state orphan well contract through a series of “shell” corporations that allowed them to “run it how we see fit, no questions asked” and avoid scrutiny if the “Commissioner or anyone goes looking,” Adams according to emails obtained in an investigative audit. Johnny Adams, the former assistant commissioner in the Office of Conservation, later received a $780,000, below-market loan from those corporations to buy a Baton Rouge home, auditors said. And two of his children got jobs from the associates in a possible violation of state law, according to the report. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office has been investigating the Louisiana Oilfield Restoration Association and its associated companies since at least October 2024. The contract was part of the state’s effort to address “orphan wells,” which are abandoned oil wells that are potentially dangerous without costly procedures to cap them. The company shut down last year amid scrutiny over alleged “self-dealing” and excessive management fees. On Monday, the auditor released a 72-page report that includes emails between Adams and four people involved with LORA. Reached Monday afternoon, Attorney General Liz Murrill — whose office previously opened a civil case against LORA — said in a statement that “we will be further reviewing the case for criminal charges that may be appropriate as well.” In response to the auditor’s findings, Adams’ attorney, Steve Moore, said the report contained “misstated facts” that he believes are “unfounded, misleading or completely inaccurate conclusions.” LORA’s attorney, J. Eric Lockridge,
ä See AUDIT, page 4A
Teachers union opposes Landry cuts for stipends
UL shutters Picard, Marine training center
BY PATRICK WALL
Two centers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette — the Cecil J. Picard Center for Child Development and Lifelong Learning and the Marine Survival Training Center — have been shut down. The closures occurred last week, according to senior comSTAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK munications specialist Eric Maron. Eighth graders participate in the School While UL has faced a finanGarden Initiative Training Day in 2016 at the cial deficit resulting in cuts, Cecil J. Picard Center for Child Development Maron said closing the centers is part of an “organizational reand Lifelong Learning in Lafayette.
Staff writer
Louisiana educators overwhelmingly want to receive pay stipends, but they oppose Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to bankroll the pay boost by cutting public school funding, according to the results of a statewide teachers union survey released Monday. Nearly 70% of survey respondents said they support giving teachers and certain
WEATHER HIGH 93 LOW 74 PAGE 6A
school support staff one-time stipends again this year, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Landry state’s largest teachers union. If the state fails to fund the stipends, educators who have received the bonuses the past three years instead of
ä See STIPENDS, page 3A
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
Staff writer
Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4A Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
structuring effort.” “These decisions were not made because of the university’s financial position,” he said. “The changes were part of an overarching effort to better align research programs with the University’s academic mission, address programmatic alignment and streamline operations.” Two primary research programs at the Picard center, Maron said, and seven researchers supporting those programs, have been moved
ä See UL, page 4A
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