The Advocate 10-16-2025 by The Advocate

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SupremeCourt hears La.votingrightscase

Justicesquestionhow much race should be afactor

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON —When the U.S. Supreme Court drilled down Wednesday on theissues surrounding Louisiana’svoting rightscase, thesix conservative justices asked questions and made comments that indicatedthey thought Louisiana reliedtoo much on race in drawing asecondmajority-Black congressional district.

JusticeBrett M. Kavanaugh asked in several ways whether race-basedmaps arepermissible foran indeterminate period or shouldhave an endpoint when statesnolonger have to consider race when drawing congressional district maps Justice Amy Coney Barrett askedhow much weight theSupremeCourt shouldput on thelower court ﬁndings that spurredthe Louisiana Legislature’sdecision to redraw itscongressionalmaps to include asecond majority-Black district.

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Troy Carter,D-New

Congressional

WWII veteranfromLa. honoredatfuneral

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

Born in 1926 in New Orleans, Charles Calvin Holdeman Jr.grew up through the Great Depression,waiting in soup lines and packing his shoes with cardboardwhen they worethin

At 17,withWorld WarIIraging across both oceans, Holdeman volunteered for serviceinthe United States MarineCorps. He believedeitherthe salary or the life insurance would benefit his mother back home. At 18, Holdeman waded through volcanic ash on the shoresofthe island of Iwo Jima. Four days after the first landings,Holdemenwitnessed Marines from the 5th Division raise the American flagover Mount Suribachi on thehorizon On Sept. 14, Holdeman celebratedhis 99th birthday at the Barclay Houseon Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge, surround-

Landry haltsnew carbon capture projects

Technology has sparkedopposition in ruralparts of state

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

Gov. Jeff Landry declared amoratorium Wednesday on new applications forcarbon capture injection wells in Louisiana after years of growing complaintsfrom people wholive near where the projects are planned.

Landry’sorder calls forcompanies to makemore effort to seek out public and local government input on pending projects, as the Republican governor seeks to balance pressures fromconstituents in rural Louisiana and energy companies.

In the 12-page executive order, Landry says thechanges arehappening “to provide aclear road map for citizens and local ofﬁcials,” to create transparency forthe public andto recognize the reality of the intensive timerequired to review each project —anestimated 2,000 hours.

“Local government andcitizens, through their local government, have aright to be heardtoensuresafety, transparency, andlocal input,” the governor’sorder says. But the order drewimmediate response from industry groups who worry it could hamstring an industry thatcould be aboon for Louisiana’s economy Tommy Faucheux, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continental Oiland Gas Association, said the projects could “breathe neweconomiclife into our communities and create the opportunities that will keep our kids here in Louisiana.”

“Let’snot let Texas, and other states waiting in the wings, take this momentfrom us because we put any more obstacles in our ownway,” he

ä See CARBON, page 7A

ed by three generations of family,honored by letters from Mayor-President SidEdwardsand Gov. Jeff Landry,and gifted aLouisiana state ﬂagthat had ﬂown over the Capitol. He died afew weeks later on Oct. 3. On Wednesday,Holdeman was laid to restwith full military honors at the SoutheastLouisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell. He was buried with a

ä See VETERAN, page 3A

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT BROWN

Orleans, center,and other members of the

Black Caucusspeakoutsidethe U.S. Capitol after

were heard at the Supreme CourtonWednesday

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CLIFF OWEN

STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Pallbearers carrythe casket of Charles Calvin Holdeman Jr at hisfuneral on Wednesday.

Trump: CIA conducting operations in Venezuela

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and said he was weighing carrying out land operations on the country

The acknowledgement of covert action in Venezuela by the U.S. spy agency comes after the U.S. military has carried out a series of deadly strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. U.S. forces have destroyed at least five boats since early September, killing 27 people, and four of those vessels originated from Venezuela

Asked during an event in the Oval Ofﬁce on Wednesday why he had authorized the CIA to take action in Venezuela Trump afﬁrmed he had made the move.

“I authorized for two reasons, really,” Trump replied. “No. 1, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. And the other thing, the drugs, we have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.”

Syria’s interim leader meets with Putin

MOSCOW Syria’s interim leader, who led a swift rebel offensive last year that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad despite years of Moscow’s support, held talks Wednesday in Russia during his ﬁrst visit to the country that gave asylum to the deposed autocrat.

Welcoming interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the historic links between Moscow and Damascus, and he voiced hope for their expansion. The meeting underlines Russia’s desire to establish working ties with Syria’s new leadership and secure a military foothold in the country Assad was an ally of Russia, and Moscow’s intervention in support of him a decade ago turned the tide of Syria’s civil war Pakistan, Afghanistan announce ceasefire

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday announced a ceasefire following days of the deadliest clashes in years that killed dozens of people on both sides of the border

The pause came after appeals from major regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as the violence threatened to further destabilize a region where groups, including the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, are trying to resurface.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring armed groups, a charge rejected by the country’s Taliban rulers. Pakistan is grappling with militant attacks that have increased since 2021 when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the ceaseﬁre as a 48-hour one and said the ceaseﬁre was at Afghanistan’s request. Key border crossings remained closed. N.Y. officials confirm chikungunya virus case

MINEOLA,N.Y — A person living in New York has tested positive for the chikungunya virus in what state health officials say is the ﬁrst reported transmission of the mosquito-borne illness within the United States in six years

The state Department of Health said Tuesday the virus, which has been spreading in China and elsewhere, was identiﬁed in a person living on Long Island.

The county’s health department, in a separate statement, said the person began experiencing symptoms in August after having traveled outside of the region, but not out of the country.

Judge blocks firing of federal workers

BY JANIE HAR Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from ﬁring workers during the government shutdown, saying the cuts appeared to be politically motivated and were being carried out without much thought.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco repeatedly pressed the assistant U.S. attorney to explain the administration’s rationale for the more than 4,100 layoff notices that started going out Friday even though furloughed workers can not access their work emails and there are no human resources specialists to assist with next steps.

another

body

was

not a captive

Israel receives remains of two more hostages Military says

BY SAM METZ, SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

JERUSALEM Israel received the remains of two more hostages Wednesday, hours after the Israeli military said that one of the bodies previously turned over was not that of a hostage. The confusion added to tensions over the fragile truce that has paused the two-year war

The remains were transferred by the Red Cross from Hamas. After the two cofﬁns arrived in Israel, the military in a statement cautioned that the hostages’ identities had yet to be veriﬁed.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry said it received 45 more bodies of Palestinians from Israel, another step in implementation of the ceaseﬁre agreement. That brought to 90 the total number of bodies returned to Gaza for burial.

The forensics team examining the remains said they showed signs of mistreatment.

As part of the deal, four bodies of hostages were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday, following four on Monday that were returned

hours after the last 20 living hostages were released from Gaza. In all, Israel has been awaiting the return of the bodies of 28 hostages.

The Israeli military said forensic testing showed that “the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages.” There was no immediate word on whose body it was.

In exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel freed around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees Monday Israel is expected to turn over more bodies, though ofﬁcials have not said how many are in its custody or how many will be returned. It is unclear whether the remains belong to Palestinians who died in Israeli custody or were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops. Throughout the war, Israel’s military has exhumed bodies as part of its search for the remains of hostages.

As forensic teams examined the ﬁrst remains returned, the Health Ministry on Wednesday released images of 32 unidentified bodies to help families recognize missing relatives.

Many appeared decomposed or

burned. Some were missing limbs or teeth, while others were coated in sand and dust. Health ofﬁcials have said Israeli restrictions on allowing DNA testing equipment into Gaza have often forced morgues to rely on physical features and clothing for identiﬁcation.

The forensics team that received the bodies said some arrived still shackled or bearing signs of physical abuse.

Sameh Hamad, a member of a commission tasked with receiving the bodies at Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, said some arrived with their hands and legs cuffed.

“There are signs of torture and executions,” he told The Associated Press.

The bodies, he said, belonged to men ages 25 to 70 Most had bands on their necks, including one that had a rope around the neck.

Most of the bodies wore civilian clothing, but some were in uniforms, suggesting they were militants.

Hamad said the Red Cross provided names for only three of the dead, leaving many families uncertain of their relatives’ fate.

Leader of Madagascar’s coup says he is president

BY BRIAN INGANGA, NQOBILE NTSHANGASE and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar

The leader of Madagascar’s military coup told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he is “taking the position of president” and that the armed forces would be in charge of the African island nation for up to two years before any elections are held.

Col. Michael Randrianirina, who led the rebellion that ousted President Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday following weeks of youth-led protests, said in his ﬁrst interview with a global news outlet since taking power that he expects to be sworn in as the country’s new leader in the next few days.

“There must be an oath-taking” to make his position official, Randrianirina said at his unit’s barracks while flanked by fellow officers “We are staying here for at least 18 months, at most two years.”

Randrianirina announced Tuesday that the armed forces were taking power in Madagascar, a sprawling country of about 30 million people off of Africa’s east coast that is the world’s leading vanilla producer and is known for its unique biodiversity Since gaining independence from France in 1960, it also has a history of coups and political crises.

The latest military takeover capped weeks of protests against Rajoelina and his government led by youth groups calling themselves “Gen Z Madagascar.” The protesters, who also included labor unions and civic groups, have demanded better government and job opportunities, echoing youth-led protests elsewhere in the world. Among other things, the Madagascar protesters have railed against chronic water and electricity outages, limited ac-

cess to higher education, government corruption and poverty which affects roughly three out of every four Madagascans, according to the World Bank.

Although some suggest the military seized power on the backs of the civilian protesters, demonstrators cheered Randrianirina and other soldiers from his elite CAPSAT unit as they triumphantly rode through the streets of the capital, Antananarivo, on Tuesday, with one protest leader telling the AP “the military is listening to us.”

The takeover was “an awakening of the people. It was launched by the youth. And the military supported us,” said the protest leader, Saﬁka, who only gave one name as has been typical with the demonstrators. “We must always be wary, but the current state of affairs gives us reason to be conﬁdent.”

The protests reached a turning point Saturday when Randrianirina and soldiers from his unit sided with the demonstrators calling for the president to resign.

“It’s very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost,” she said. “It’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”

She granted a temporary restraining order blocking the job cuts, saying she believed the evidence would ultimately show the cuts were illegal and in excess of authority

Asked for comment, the White House referred The Associated Press to the Ofﬁce of Management and Budget. The budget ofﬁce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal labor unions had asked Illston to block the administration from issuing new layoff notices and implementing those that were already sent out. The unions said the ﬁrings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.

“The president seems to think his government shutdown is distracting people from the harmful and lawlessness actions of his administration, but the American people are holding him accountable, including in the courts,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of legal organization Democracy Forward.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMILIO MORENATTI

Mourners gather near the car carrying the coffin of slain hostage Guy Illouz during his funeral procession Wednesday in Rishon Lezion, Israel. Illouz’s remains were returned from Gaza to Israel as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BRIAN INGANGA

unit commander Col. Michael Randrianirina speaks Wednesday during

interview with The Associated Press in Antananarivo, Madagascar

red Marine Corps veteran hat his family said he was never seen without.

The ﬂag that covered his casket was delivered to Holdeman’s grandniece, Rebecca Nicole Easley, who took care of him over the past year

Despite coming from a military family, Easley said her last months with Holdeman gave her new perspective on how veterans’ service con tinu e s even after they leave the armed forces.

“These people didn’t just give their lives when they went to war,” Easley said, “they gave the rest of their life, too.”

Holdeman’s death highlights the slowly-closing period of American history with still-living witnesses to the U.S. struggle against the Axis powers in World War II.

As such, much of Holdeman’s story is now being carried on by his surviving family On Wednesday, they told The Advocate how hard his young life in New Orleans had been. He worked odd jobs to help his mother and his younger sister until desperation forced Holdeman’s mother to give up the younger child for adoption.

The loss instilled in him a need to take care of his family, regardless of the cost.

“Once he was finished with school, he said, ‘I’m gonna join the Marine Corps. Because they’re paying,’” Easley said. “But not only that, if he died at war, they offered a $10,000 insurance policy to the family And he did that for his mother, because he ﬁgured ‘I could either send her money home and come back and still take care of her, or if I did die you’d be rich.’” He was assigned to the 4th Marine Division, 23rd Marines.

Like many veterans, Holdeman wasn’t eager to describe his time in the military, especially surviving of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the only time he saw combat More often, the stories Easley and her cousins received were funnier

Holdeman had no driver’s license, and had never been behind a wheel in his life, Easley said. However, while deployed, he once was ordered to move a jeep to a different part of the island.

“He always said, ‘You did what you were told, what you did was what you were told,’” Easley said.

So, without another question, he got behind the wheel and there, on the sands of a foreign land, learned to drive.

Another example of a story he would tell, related by his great-nephew Wade Holdeman, showed the gallows humor Marines often used while fighting in the Paciﬁc.

According to Wade Holdeman, his great-uncle and his fellow infantrymen were once bickering over who among them had secured a kill on an enemy Japanese soldier

“They all argued. I got him. No, no, I got him. No, I got him,” Wade Holdeman related.

When they approached the fallen soldier, they found him “riddled with holes,” Wade Holdeman said, and concluded “we all got him.”

As he talked, the smile slightly fell from Wade’s face.

“He never really talked about the battle, losing

friends,” he said.

A longtime friend of Holdeman’s from the VFW William Hunton, said one of the most vivid tellings of Holdeman’s Iwo Jima story was given to a class of Civil Air Patrol cadets, 12- and 13-year-old boys. Hunton compared it to Tom Hanks’ war drama miniseries “The Paciﬁc.”

Holdeman told his family about the fear and the anticipation he felt before landing on the shores of Iwo Jima. He did two things: pray, and write himself off as not coming back.

“He said, ‘You hit that beach, and at that point, mom, apple pie, USA, all that’s gone out the window It’s you and your brother,’” Wade Holdeman said.

“Brothers to your left and right,” added Alex Nesbit, a nephew another generation younger and himself a Marine veteran.

On the beach, Holdeman “did what he was told” and despite not ever working in communications, was ordered to run between battalion headquarters on the beach and connect them with wire so they could talk.

A superior ofﬁcer allegedly turned to him and asked if he could tie a square knot, when he said “yes,” he got handed a spool of wire and was told to move.

After Iwo Jima, he worked in the construction of explosive shells, Easley said.

Just months before his death, in a conversation with Nesbit, Holdeman talked about getting the news of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the relief of a Japanese surrender which avoided an invasion of the home islands.

Once the war was won, Holdeman spent time serving as military police on Guam, guarding Japanese prisoners of war Holdeman arrived at a port in Louisiana in November 1946, and by that time the receptions from American civilians had cooled.

Holdeman was part of a world-historic event while still only a teenager but his family said the rest of his life was full of the same love of service he showed on Iwo Jima’s sands.

While he struggled to ﬁnd work immediately after the war, Holdeman eventually found a lifelong calling with the U.S. Post Ofﬁce, working for 37 years and retiring as chief engineer

He also spent over six decades as the director and chair of the board for

the Post Office Employees Credit Union.

While having no children of his own, Holdeman discovered a whole other side of his family in the 1970s while perusing a phone book.

Almost all of his grandand great-grand-nieces and -nephews said that “Uncle Charlie” would always arrive at their homes with snacks, cookies and especially jars of pickles.

Holdeman also served as commander of VFW Post

3267 for many years, but would “never take a dime from the VFW,” according to Hunton. He wouldn’t let the organization pay for his room and board on trips, believing other veterans were more deserving of the money

This selﬂessness was best shown by the fact Holdeman volunteered well into his 90s, ﬁrst with Jefferson Parish Meals on Wheels. The most well-known volunteering he did was for the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home in Reserve. For years, Holdeman collected $1,000 each month in recycled cans, and consistently donated the funds to the home.

His nephew Nesbit said the connection between Marines is strong across generations and regardless of which wars they fought. Other Marine veterans honored Holdeman at his grave site, and two members of an honor guard folded his casket ﬂag.

“Having all these jarheads around here, it’s an underlying connection, it’s a brotherhood in common,” Nesbit said.

Despite his age, Holdeman’s family said he had immense strength over the last year of medical care, with the 99-year-old consistently doing more exercises than his physical therapy required.

Nesbit attributes it to being a Marine.

“We’re hard as hell to kill,” Nesbit said. “He didn’t go down easy.”

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman@ theadvocate.com.

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Charles Calvin Holdeman Jr

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Rebecca Nicole Easley, with her husband Chris and daughter Preslie beside her, is presented an American flag by a Marine during the funeral for Charles Calvin Holdeman Jr on Wednesday.

Angel Remick, left, hugs Brenda Tromatore as mourners line up for final visitation of Charles Calvin Holdeman Jr., a WWII veteran who died at age 99, at Audubon Funeral Home in Slidell on Wednesday.

By Stevie Cavalier Licciardi| stevie.licciardi@theadvocate.com

“What if the district court was just wrong?” she said

U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, the Baton Rouge Democrat elected last year in the majority-minority district at thecenter of Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais, said after the 21/2-hour hearing that the justices askedpointed questions on all aspects of this complicated case. Fields said he saw the justices’questions as an indication that the conservative majority wouldn’tgoasfar as many legal observers thought and ﬁnd the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional —ordramatically change the act’sSection 2to make it all but unusable.

Their questions reﬂected “the importance of this decision on the nation, regardlessoftheir individual opinions,” he said.

“I’mcautiously optimistic,” Fields said. “This case marks apivotal moment in not only Louisiana’songoing ﬁght to protect fair representation, but states all across this nation as well.”

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 forbids poll and literacy tests andother practices that kept Black people from registering to vote. Thelaw was changed in 1980s to allow minority residents to ﬁle lawsuits claiming their voting power had beendiluted. Insteadofrequiring those lawsuits to prove that state legislators intentionally discriminated against those voters —a difﬁcult legal bar to clear —the act and later court rulings establisheda set of legal tests If amajority of justices changethose standards or finds Section 2unconstitutional in Louisiana,other states could redraw congressional maps and heighten the prospect of fewer minority-majority districts.

Arguing for the Callais group of adozen White litigants, Edward Greim asked the justicestoset aside Section 2because it racially ste-

reotypesbysorting voters into onedistrictoranother “If it was ever acceptable for our colorblindconstitution to do this,itwas never intendedtocontinue indeﬁnitely,” hesaid Janai Nelson —representingthe Robinson litigants, agroup of Black voters, and arguingfor the second Black opportunity district —saidthe proposals by the state and the Callais litigants would “resurrect the intent standard that this court was very clear aboutand Congress was extraordinarily clear about, knowingthatresults iskey to ensuring that we do not continue to have rampantdiscrimination in voting.”

If the highcourt changes or eliminates Section 2, “the results wouldbepretty catastrophic,”she said. Kavanaugh gaveLouisianaachance to respond to her comments.

Louisiana Solicitor General J. Benjamin Aguiñaga said the Robinson litigants focused on the state’sdiscriminatory actionsinthe 1930s, ’40s,’50sand ’60s that no longer apply.Louisiana contends that the VotingRights Act essentially requiresstates to consider

race when redistricting, which is unconstitutional.

Aguiñaga said if theLegislaturewants to draft amap that elects sixWhite Republicans, several hundred thousand Democrats now amajority in two “blue” districts would be assigned andtheir numbers would turn those “red” districts “purple”and could endanger GOPcandidates.

“That’sone political realitythattells me that skyisn’t going to be falling,” he said.

U.S. Deputy SolicitorGeneral HashimM.Mooppan, arguing for theTrumpadministration, said eliminating the tests of Section 2would have little impact on minorityrepresentation in Congress. He said that, of the 60 or so Black members of Congress, only about15come from majorityminority districts.

Elections in Louisiana have ahistory of polarized voting, Nelson argued.

Whentheyare in the majority,White voters have never elected aBlack candidate —even during years when White Democratic candidates won statewide elections. Black people live closeenoughtogether, share similar interests, and adistrict can be drawn us-

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Thecourt’sthree liberal justices questioned the parties on the success Section 2has hadoverseveral decades.JusticeElena Kagan said Section 2only shows when redistricting decisions violate voting rights based on current conditions.

“There’sa‘there’ there that AfricanAmericans can’tchoose acandidate of their choice,” Kagan said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Section 2is “likeatapemeasure” to see if certaincircumstances exist requiring aremedy,but it doesn’trequire aracial solution.

It’suptothe states to decide howtoﬁxthe problem, she said.

Gov. JeffLandry,U.S Sen. John N. Kennedy,RMadisonville,and State Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge and chair of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, wereamongthe Louisiana politicians attending the hearing.

ing traditional redistricting methods, such as being geographically compact,she argued.

In Louisiana, she noted that Black populations often live in the sameareas as the enslaved did —along waterwayssuch as the Red River, along which Fields’ 6th Congressional District lies.As Louisiana legislators haven’t changedthe maps in awhile, allSection 2did wasshow that, if the districts were reconﬁgured, then Black voter preferences would notbediluted, Jackson said.

State Rep. Beau Beaullieu IV,R-New Iberia and chair of the House &Governmental Affairs Committee that would get ﬁrst crack at any redrawn congressional maps, also was there,with state Rep. Michael Johnson, R-Pineville. They’re expectingthe governorto call aspecial session soon to address the possibility of redrawing the current map. Though the justices could rule sooner,historically the court issues decisions in June.

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate. com.

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Most U.S. stocks rise in another erratic day

NEW YORK Most U.S. stocks rose Wednesday following another topsy-turvy day on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 added 0.4%, but only after jumping toward one of its biggest gains since the summer, erasing it all and then climbing back.

The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7% after earlier pinballing between a drop of 0.4% and a rally of 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged the market and edged down by 17 points, or less than 0.1%.

The erratic trading followed Tuesday’s roller coaster, where the Dow careened between a loss of 615 points and a jump of 455. The dizzying moves go back to the end of last week, when President Donald Trump shattered what had been a remarkably calm and strong run for Wall Street by threatening much higher tariffs on China. Technology stocks helped lead the way Wednesday following a better-than-expected profit report from ASML, a major supplier to the semiconductor industry. It expects its revenue for 2025 to be 15% above last year’s, while next year’s should be at least as high as this year’s.

Waymo plans driverless taxis in London in 2026

LONDON Robotaxi pioneer Waymo plans to expand to London next year, marking the company’s latest step in rolling out its driverless ride service internationally

Waymo said Wednesday that it will start testing its selfdriving cars on London streets in the coming weeks — with a human “safety driver” behind the wheel as it seeks to win government approval for its services.

In a blog post, Waymo said it will “lay the groundwork” for its London service in the coming months. The company said it will “continue to engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for our commercial ride-hailing service.”

Waymo’s self-driving taxis have been operating in the United States for years, and currently serve the cities of Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin, Texas. This year, the company made its ﬁrst moves to expand internationally by teaming up with local partners in Japan for testing, though no launch date has been set for commercial service there.

Smucker sues Trader Joe’s over sandwiches

The J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe’s, alleging the grocery chain’s new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are too similar to Smucker’s Uncrustables in their design and packaging.

In the lawsuit, which was ﬁled Monday in federal court in Ohio, Smucker said the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe’s sells have the same pielike crimp markings on their edges that Uncrustables do.

Smucker said the design violates its trademarks

Smucker also asserted that the boxes Trader Joe’s PB&J sandwiches come in violate the Orrville, Ohio-based company’s trademarks because they are the same blue color it uses for the lettering on “Uncrustables” packages.

Trader Joe’s boxes also show a sandwich with a bite mark taken out of it, which is similar to the Uncrustables design, Smucker said.

“Smucker does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales,” the company said in its lawsuit.

Smucker is seeking restitution from Trader Joe’s. It also wants a judge to require Trader Joe’s to deliver all products and packaging to Smucker to be destroyed

U.S. working on more aid to Argentina

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN and ANDREA VULCANO Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is looking to provide an additional $20 billion in ﬁnancing for Argentina through a mix of ﬁnancing from sovereign funds and the private sector

That would come on top of the $20 billion credit swap line that the U.S. Treasury pledged to Argentine President Javier Milei and his government this month to bolster the South American nation’s col-

lapsing currency

“We are working on a $20 billion facility that would complement our swap line, with private banks and sovereign funds that, I believe, would be more focused on the debt market,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Wednesday He called it “a private-sector solution” and said “many banks are interested in it and many sovereign funds have expressed interest.”

At a White House meeting Tuesday with Milei, Republican President Donald Trump said his administration wanted to help “our

neighbors” with the aid package, but he also suggested that the money could be pulled if Milei’s party did not prevail in the Oct. 26 midterm elections.

“If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina,” Trump said.

The Argentine peso weakened slightly Wednesday after Trump’s comments. The peso depreciated about 0.7%, with the dollar the currency Argentines rely on to save — trading at 1,395 pesos, compared with 1,385 pesos the previous day

In Argentina, the opposition’s criticism was swift.

Former President Cristina Fernández, who is under house arrest after a corruption conviction, wrote on social media: “Trump to Milei in the United States: ‘Our agreements depend on who wins election.’ Argentines you already know what to do!” Martín Lousteau, president of the centrist Radical Civic Union, said “Trump doesn’t want to help a country — he only wants to save Milei,” and that “nothing good can come of this.”

Shutdown putting spotlight on cracks in U.S. aviation system

BY RIO YAMAT AP airlines and travel reporter

A startling message came over the radio from an air traffic control tower near Los Angeles less than a week into the federal government shutdown: “The tower is closed due to staffing.” Without enough air traffic controllers to guide planes into and out of Hollywood Burbank Airport, the tower went dark for almost six hours on Oct. 6, leaving pilots to coordinate their movements among themselves. Flight delays averaged two-and-a-half hours in one of the first visible signs that the shutdown was already taking a toll on the nation’s aviation system.

Since the shutdown began Oct. 1, the Federal Aviation Administration has reported controller shortages in cities across the U.S., from airports in Boston and Philadelphia, to control centers in Atlanta and Houston. Flight delays have spread to airports in Nashville, Dallas, Newark and more.

And already there has been an increase in unscheduled absences among security screeners at some airports. The union representing Transportation Security Administration employees says the absences haven’t yet caused major disruptions, but it warned longer lines at security checkpoints could soon become a reality after workers received their ﬁnal paychecks over the weekend.

Experts and union leaders say the disruptions are a stark reminder that the aviation system is already stretched too thin by chronic understafﬁng and outdated technology. They warn the cracks in the system could rapidly deepen the longer the shutdown drags on and critical aviation workers are without their regular paychecks.

“It’s like having a drought the year after you had a drought,” Greg Raiff, CEO of Elevate Aviation Group, told The Associated Press.

Problems have persisted for years

These concerns aren’t new. In 2019 the aviation system buckled under the weight of a 35-day government shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — during President Donald Trump’s ﬁrst term.

Around the three-week mark, air trafﬁc controllers, many of them working up to 60 hours a week, sued the government over their missed paychecks. One terminal at the Miami International Airport was forced to close because security screeners were calling out sick in large numbers. Some even quit altogether

“Here we are so many years later and the problems have not been addressed,” said aviation attorney Ricardo Martinez-Cid, a Florida Bar-certiﬁed expert on aviation law who regularly represents crash victims.

“Now we’re in a worse position when we had been put on notice. We had the opportunity to address it.”

Since then, the country has faced repeated warnings. In January, a midair crash over the Potomac River involving a commercial jet and a military helicopter killed 67 people.

A Transportation Security Administration worker guides travelers at a security checkpoint in Denver International Airport on Thursday.

A series of equipment failures and radar outages this year also highlighted the need for upgrades.

Controller shortage at a ‘critical’ point

Before the latest shutdown, both the FAA and TSA were already dealing with stafﬁng shortages. That includes a shortage of about 3,000 air trafﬁc controllers.

Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Trafﬁc Controllers Association, has said staffing levels have reached a “critical” point, the lowest in decades. The shortage is so severe that even a few air trafﬁc controllers missing work can disrupt operations at already understaffed facilities.

“And on top of that,” he said, “they’re working with unreliable equipment.”

The shutdown began just as the FAA was starting to make some progress on addressing the shortage of controllers and modernizing the outdated equipment they rely on that keeps disrupting ﬂights when it malfunctions

The agency says it topped its goal of hiring 2,000 controllers this year after streamlining the application process at its academy in Oklahoma City, but it will take years still to eliminate the shortage. And it had just begun looking for companies to help oversee a $12.5 billion effort to overhaul its aging and complex technology systems.

Now, the shutdown is delaying those longneeded efforts. And union leaders say the stafﬁng shortages may be worse by the time the government reopens.

Shutdown could increase gaps in staffing

Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter representing TSA workers, expressed concern that the shutdown could drive even more security screeners to leave

the agency, especially given the uncertainty that the workers already have faced this year That includes the Trump administration’s attempts to revoke their collective bargaining rights.

Daniels, meanwhile, warned it could stoke fear among newer controllers and trainees who might reconsider the career entirely to avoid working in future shutdowns.

It’s a long-standing concern. In 2019, after the 35-day shutdown ended, a congressional committee hearing dug into the impacts on air travel.

“All of these air traffic controllers and aviation safety professionals were used as pawns in a political ﬁght that had nothing to do with aviation. This is wrong and must not be allowed to happen again,” warned the union leader representing air trafﬁc controllers at the time.

At the hearing, there were also bipartisan calls for reform to keep the FAA funded “without interruption, even when the rest of the government shuts down,” as one lawmaker put it Stories were shared of controllers and TSA agents taking on extra jobs to pay rent, mortgage and other bills despite working longer shifts to fill the gaps in staffing. Lawmakers and industry officials who testified agreed: The shutdown made the aviation system less safe.

“We implore all involved, please heed not only our warnings but the entire stakeholder community’s warnings. This vicious budgetary cycle of stops and starts with little to no stability or predictably has simply got to stop,” said Nick Calio, then-president and CEO of Airlines for America, an industry trade group representing airlines including Delta, United and Southwest. Associated Press transportation reporter Josh Funk contributed to this report.

Group buying Aligned Data Centers in deal worth about $40B

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN Associated Press

A group including BlackRock, Nvidia and Microsoft is buying Aligned Data Centers in an approximately $40 billion deal in an effort to expand next-generation cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The acquisition comes amid a flurry of deals in recent months involving top AI developers that are flooding the booming AI sector with resources and money, and addressing resources — such as electricity and infrastructure — needed to support such technology. Last week it was revealed that

semiconductor maker AMD will supply its chips to artiﬁcial intelligence company OpenAI as part of an agreement to team up on building AI infrastructure. OpenAI will also get the option to buy as much as a 10% stake in AMD, according to a joint statement announcing the deal The deal is expected to close in the ﬁrst half of 2026. Last month, OpenAI and Nvidia announced a $100 billion partnership that will add at least 10 gigawatts of data center computing power Aligned’s portfolio includes 50 campuses and more than 5 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity, including assets under de-

velopment, mostly located across the U.S. and in Latin America. Aligned, which is privately held, will continue to be led by CEO Andrew Schaap and keep its headquarters in Dallas. One of the sellers, Macquarie Asset Management, initially invested in Aligned in 2018. Ben Way, head of Macquarie Asset Management, said in a statement, “The scaling of Aligned Data Centers from two locations to 50 in seven years is representative of our approach to working with great companies and teams to support their rapid growth and deliver positive impact.” The transaction is the ﬁrst deal for the investment consortium,

which is named the Artiﬁcial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership. The consortium has an initial target of mobilizing and deploying $30 billion of equity capital, with the potential of reaching $100 billion including debt.

“AIP is positioned to meet the growing demand for the infrastructure required as AI continues to reshape the global economy,” BlackRock Chairman and CEO and AIP Chairman Larry Fink said in a statement “This partnership is bringing together leading companies and mobilizing private capital to accelerate AI innovation and drive global economic growth and productivity.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DAVID ZALUBOWSKI

added.

Carbon capture and sequestration involves pumping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced from industrial processes deep underground, compressed to anear-liquid state. The chemicals would be stored there permanently Industry,LSU scientists and other sources argue Louisiana’ssedimentary geology is prime to safely use the technology The technology,however, hasrecentlysparked opposition in conservative-leaningrural Louisiana, which typically is supportive of oil and gas and new industries. It has also drawn criticism from the state’smore leftleaning environmental justice movement.

They worryabout storing waste carbondioxide under tens of thousands of acres of farm and pasture land, country estates and timber properties.

Concerns revolve around amix of issues: land rights; the impact on underground aquifers if CO2 leaks; skepticism of climate change; skepticismofits effectiveness in fully capturing CO2; andopposition to the use of federalmoney andtax credits to ﬁnance the effort.

Louisiana regulators gained primacyfor carbon capture in early 2024,allowing the state to take over ﬁnal approval of carbon cap-

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

BKV Carbon Ventures project manager Spencer Crouch looks at acompression station where captured CO2isdehydrated and pressurized for storageina nearbysequestration injection well in Bridgeport, Texas, on May29.

tial tradegroups,including the Louisiana Chemical Association, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry,and the Louisiana Mid-ContinentOil andGas Association

While pledging to work with Landry,industry groups’ concerns about his order revolved around a similar theme —that thenew rules createuncertainty that could cede Louisiana’slead position in anew industry that couldmean billionsin economic development.

“The momentum Louisiana has built is no accident. It is the direct result of securing state primacy and leveraging our unique geology,world-classenergyinfrastructureand highly skilled workforce,” said Will Green, president and CEO of LABI. David Cresson, president

said. On the other hand, Landry’sadministration has seen opposition bubbling up in spread-outcorners of the state,triggering apush in themost recent legislative sessiontoblock or restrict carbon capture. Though mostofthose bills failed, one requiringthe state to give “substantial consideration” to local officials’ concerns has triggered new directives within the state Department of Conservation and Energy for greater public input.

Dustin Davidson, the department’sleader,said the Landry administration is trying to balance economic development andthe communityconcerns,saying that failedpushestoban carbon captureinparishes is “a messagethatyou can’t overlook.”

oritized six of more than 30 projects forreview while thedepartment works to developaprioritylistfor the remainingprojects.

Davidson saidthe lead six projects gained thatposition because of theireconomic impact and lack of identiﬁable “leak paths” for stored carbon dioxide, like old wells, that would have to be mitigated for approval.

“That is what allows us to determine that those are good projects to move forward with and prioritize,” Davidson said. “Wewill continue to do that processmoving forwardinterms of identifying, again, thesafestin terms of theamount of leak paths and the best economic value to the state and to the local communities.”

Davidson added that the prioritization process is also away of managing the workload. Department officials saythe state has received far more projects than the 12 originally expected and faces totals thatare about

half as big EPAishandling for46other states. Landry’sorder also says other recent legislative changes on land acquisition for CO2 pipelines andfor creating carbon storageareas would constitute anew “landowner bill of rights” that should guide government decision-making on new carbon capture projects. Those newlaws make it harder forpipeline companies to gain land expropriation power for CO2 pipelines,increase public notice requirements about expropriation plans andraise the percentage of landowners whomust agree —from 75% to 85% —before aregion, or “unit,” can be set aside for underground CO2 storage. Someopponents, however, sayLandryhasn’tgone far enough to stop carbon captureand block unconstitutional land acquisition laws. Mark T. Guillory,aretired AirForce colonel andpilot fromPineville, saidLandry should calla special session

to repeal aseries of laws that, he says, illegally allow companiestouse private land forcarbon capture and related pipelines.

Guillory,who is part of Save My Louisiana, oneof several groups opposing carbon capture, said the order is also contradictory becauseitdoesn’t stop the projectsalreadyunderreview He argued that if one of those future projects were to leak into abig regional aquifer, it won’tmatter what was stopped “because you’ve alreadymessed things up.”

“We’re concerned about allofit, notjust theones that you’re going to do from today forward,” he said. “It’s meaningless in that way.” Since gaining primacy,the state has approved only one carbon storage project, in early September

Email DavidJ.Mitchellat dmitchell@theadvocate. com.

Catholic Church on Saturday, October 18, 2025. Visitation will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., followed by aCatholic Mass at 12:00 p.m.Interment will follow at Roselawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asksthat donations be made to Raphael Village in New Orleans or The Hospice of Baton Rouge,in Sis's memory.

Clifton

Clifton "Cliff"Hal Shermanpassed away peacefully on September 23, 2025, with his loving wife of 54years by hisside. Born on April 19, 1948, in Brickeyes, Arkansas. Cliff proudly served his country in the United State Army and was honorably discharged in 1970 after serving in the Vietnam War. Following his military service, he moved to Donaldsonville, where he began working in the local chemical plants. It was there that he met his future wife, Jodie Acosta. Cliff retired from Agrico in 2007 aftera long and dedicated career. Cliff had alifelong love of drag racing, apassion that began on the streets inArkansas with his brother Richard. Over the years, he continued racing alongside his son Allen, with his granddaughter Alexis following in his footsteps. Hisproudest moments included watching and helping his son and granddaughter race, sharing many heartfelt conversations with his granddaughter Taylor, and teaching his grandsons how to drive ---patiently passing along not only skill, but confidence and care behind the wheel. Above all, Cliff adored his great-granddaughter Lyllah, who, in his eyes, could do no wrong. Cliff is survived by

DEATHS continued from his devotedwife, Jodie; his son Allen (and his wife Heather); granddaughters, Taylor (and her husband Josh, and their daughters Lyllahand Norah); Alexis (and her husband Clayton and their sonLuke); grandsons Austin, Riley and Christopher; hisnephew KenSherman (and hiswife Angie); and his sister-inlawShirley Sherman. He also leaves behind many belovednieces, nephews, brothers-in-law, sisters-inlawand friends. He was preceded in deathbyhis parents, Allen andElsie Sherman; brothers Richard, Allen, Johnand Nathaniel; sister Vicky; parents-in-lawLloyd,Sr. and Josie Acosta;Nanny FayeMontero; sisters-inlawKathy Acosta and Rachael Acosta,and nephew Jude Jarreau. Cliff willberememberedasa lovinghusband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, and friend. His passion forfamily and racing,his strength, and hisdevotion willremain a lasting inspiration to all who knew him. Amemorial Mass willbeheld on Saturday,October 18, 2025,at 11:00AMatSt. Francisof Assisi Church in Donaldsonville, by FatherMatt Dupre. Visitation will be from 9:00 AM -11:00AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite charity in Cliff's memory.

Roma Nell MillerTheriot, passedfrom this world and into the lovingarms of her Lord and Savior Jesus ChristonOctober 11, 2025, while in hospice care at The ButterflyWinginBatonRouge,Louisiana.Roma was born at the family home on December2,1934, inAmite County, Mississippi. She was the second child of Fleet Nelson Miller

Sr. and Blanche Sybil Jones Miller.After graduating fromKentwoodHigh School in 1953, Roma moved to Houston,Texas, whereshe met her husband, Raymond AlbertTheriot whilehewas serving on activedutyinthe U.S. AirForce.Ray and Roma were happily married for 64 years prior to Ray's passing at age84onApril 25, 2018. Roma lovedlife andenjoyed cooking for family events, traveling and spending time with her largefamily and many friends. An avid reader, Roma was famous for her delicious cathead biscuits, her special mac and cheese, and her contagious laugh, and she was adored by her multigenerational family by whom she was affectionately called 'Nanny.' Roma is survivedbyher daughter Rebecca Lynn Theriot van Deutekom (Mike) of Buffalo,Wyoming; twosons, Randall Rene' Theriot (Mary Thorne) and Rodney Albert Theriot (Lynn Gregoire), both of Baton Rouge; six grandchildren, Scott Wesley Theriot (Amanda), Ryan Stewart Theriot (Johnnah), and Austin Thorne Theriot (Caroline)ofBaton Rouge; Heather Lynn van Deutekom Plante (Joel) of Longmont,Colorado; Adam Michael van DeutekomofFirestone, Colorado; and Danielle Christine Theriot Bennett (David) of Clinton, Louisiana; fourteengreatgrandchildren, Kate Theriot,Reese Emily Theriot HoustonTheriot, Macey Theriot, Georgia Theriot, Sloan Wischropp,Ray Plante, BridgerPlante, Everly vanDeutekom, Brooks vanDeutekom, RubyBennett, OliveBennett,Britton Brumfield, and Brady Brumfield;a brother Steven Miller (Wendy); sister-in-lawLoretta Davis, sister-in-law Patricia Hristopoulas;sister-in-law Sherry Theriot;brother-inlawRobert Theriot(Linda); brother-in-law GarySchlotterer; and numerous cousins,nieces, nephews, and dear friends, including ShirleyKelley, Mel Miley, Roxanne Perry, and her special'Tuesday School' church friendsatLiving Hope Fellowship,where Roma was along-time member. Roma is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her sisters JerryO'Connorand BonnieSchlotterer, and her brother Fleet Nelson Miller, Jr.Visitation willbeheld

from9:00 -11:00 a.m. on October18, 2025 at Rabenhorst East Funeral Home, 11000 Florida Boulevard, BatonRouge,Louisiana Religious services,conducted by Living Hope Pastor Josh Causey,willbe held at Line CreekBaptist Church in Kentwood, Louisiana, at 1:00 p.m. on October18, 2025, withinterment to follow in the church cemetery. PallbearerswillbeWes Theriot,Ryan Theriot,Austin Theriot,Adam van Deutekom, Houston Theriot, and StewartMiller. Honorary pallbearers are Mike vanDeutekom, Steven Miller, Robert Theriot,JoelPlante, and David Bennett.Itiswithsincere gratitudethat thefamily wouldliketothank Hannah Martin, Shellie Birch, Amaya Cage, Rosa White, and BrendaBates forhelpingtokeep Roma comfortable during her final days. We would also like to thank theexcellent staff at Hospice of Baton Rouge, especially Roma's nurse, Courtney Stewart,who guidedher on herjourney home. She's gone from our sight,but Roma Nell will remain in our heartsforever.Inlieuofflowers, the family requests donations be madetoThe Hospice of BatonRouge,3600 Florida Blvd.,Baton Rouge, LA 70806.

In Loving Memory of the Reverend Father Wilmer "Willie"Todd November 27, 1938 -October 12, 2025 With deep sadness, yet firm hope in the Resurrection promisedtousbyour Lord Jesus Christ, we announce thepassing of the Reverend Father Wilmer "Willie"Todd, who went home to theLordonthe evening of Sunday, October12, 2025, at Legacyof

Lafourche Nursingand Rehabilitation.Father Todd was86yearsold andwith great faithand quiet strength he hadborne a long illness. Born on November 27, 1938, FatherTodd was ordainedtothe sacred priesthood on December 21, 1963, and faithfully served the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux for over 61 years, shepherding generationsofCatholics with compassion,wisdom,and adeep love forChrist and HisChurch. For many years, FatherTodd wrote religiouscolumns that ran in seven newspapers throughout theDiocese. In addition he authored a book entitled, "What a Life."

Throughout his priestly ministry, Father Willie served in numerous parishes across the Diocese: Associate Pastor,St. Joseph,Chauvin (19641968), FoundingPastor,St. Thomas Aquinas (19701979),Pastor, Holy Cross (1979-1987),Pastor, St Bernadette(1987-1998),Pastor,St. Genevieve (1998 -2007),Pastor, St.Luke (2002-2007),Retired (20072014),In Residence,St. Joseph,Chauvin (20142017), Chaplain St.Joseph Manor (2022-2025), and served as aChaplainfor Journey Hospice (Agape CareGroup)(2009-2022).

Even in retirement,Father Willie remained aspiritual presence and pastoralguide, embodying the love of Christ through his humility, service,and unwaveringdedication to his flockasheassistedwith Mass coverage andother sacraments across the Diocese

Father Todd will be deeply missed by his brotherpriests, his family andfriends,and all those whose lives he touched through hisministryand friendship.

We ask the faithfulto please join us in praying forthe repose of Father Willie's soul, and for the consolation of his loved ones. May Christ theGood Shepherd,whomheserved so faithfully, nowwelcome himintoeternalpeaceand joy. "Welldone,goodand faithfulservant... enterinto thejoy of yourMaster."

-Matthew 25:23 Fr. Todd wasthe son of LewisJ.Todd andCharlotteLozes Todd. Grandson of Frederick andCharlotte Lozes andWilmerLewis Todd, Jr.and AnnaVitter Todd. Preceded in death by

hissister Mary Todd Harveyand Thomas F. Ford He is survivedbyBrother Terrence N. Todd, SJ., Patricia Todd Dennis (Tom), Charlotte Todd Sproul (Marty), John G. Todd, TimothyA.Todd (Vicki), ChristopherM Todd (Susan) andCarol Todd Stamatedes. Also survived by manywonderfulcousins, nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind hisveryspecial, loving andcaringfriend of 50 years, Sr.Carmelita Centanniwho wasalways therefor him until his passing In lieu of flowers, donationsmay be given to the Fr. Willie Todd Foundation with theCatholic Foundation of South Louisiana in ordertocontinuehis legacy Avisitation will be held in hishonor on Friday, October17, 2025 at St.Joseph Co-Cathedral from 9:00 am untilthe Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am. Burial will follow in thePriest Mausoleum at St.Joseph Cemetery,Thibodaux, Louisiana. Online condolences can be given at www.landrysfu neralhome.com Landry's FuneralHome, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Sherman,

Hal 'Cliff'

Todd, Wilmer 'Willie'

Theriot, Roma Nell Miller

THEADVOCATE.COM | Thursday, OcTOber 16, 2025 1bN

4 recall integration experiences

They entered all-White BR schools in 1963

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

deliberate speed.”

“Why did you choose to experience this?” he asked

They comprised one of many difﬁcult chapters in the long and still ongoing effort to end segregation of races in public schools.

The event Tuesday at LSU dealt with more than just their stories.

It focused on the legal history of school desegregation in the United

Four old friends reminisced recently for an audience at LSU Law School about their senior year of high school, a year when they made history, but which left them each with lasting scars They were four out of 28 Black teenagers in Baton Rouge who agreed in fall 1963 to leave their all-Black high schools and integrate four all-White high schools.

States, starting with Brown vs. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision in 1954 that found racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The event, however, focused more on what followed, including the high court’s lesser known but also important Brown II decision in 1955, which mandated that those schools must desegregate “with all

LSU law professor Ray Diamond served as emcee for Tuesday’s event. Diamond is a legal scholar who wrote a 2003 book on the Brown decision.

“You must have known that this would be trouble,” Diamond said, turning to the four who sat on the stage with him. He noted the ugly violent school integrations that occurred in places like Little Rock, Arkansas, and Oxford, Mississippi, before their senior year of high school.

SWEET AS SUGAR CANE

A harvester ﬁlls a waiting trailer while harvesting sugar cane along Enterprise

Plaquemine on Thursday.

BRCC breaks ground on construction lab

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Baton Rouge Community College leaders broke ground Wednesday morning on the Capital City Construction Lab.

The school ushered in its latest effort to meet a rising demand for construction workers in a ceremony with architects, community members and representatives from the Lowe’s Foundation, which is partnering with BRCC on the project. The project is funded by the Lowe’s Foundation Gable Grant, a $50 million fund to support the training of 50,000 people in trade skills over ﬁve years.

BRCC received $850,000 from the foundation for the 4,434-square-foot lab, which will open in April. The project is estimated to cost about $1 million.

“This facility makes a clear statement,” Sarah Barlow, BRCC provost and vice chancellor for workforce and student development, said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Workforce development belongs at the heart of our institution. Embedding this state-ofthe-art lab on our ﬂagship campus, we are ensuring that every student, faculty member and visitor sees workforce training not as something that happens on the margins, but as a central, celebrated part of who we are.”

The lab is an open-air space with a waterproof canopy to allow for year-round use and will sit near the Mid City campus’ Cypress Building and intramural ﬁeld. Barlow said the construction education in the lab will be

“Like Dr (Martin Luther) King had a dream, I had hoped that one day there would be quality education for everyone,” answered Merrill Patin.

Patin, who was one of ﬁve Black students that year at Glen Oaks High, said he felt he was protected by a guardian angel.

“Every morning before I went to

ä See INTEGRATION, page 2B

Plant sues maker, installer of boiler

Supply denies fault in fire

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

Smitty’s Supply is suing the manufacturer of a natural gas-fed boiler and an industrial maintenance company, blaming them for the devastating August ﬁre at its lubricants plant. Smitty’s alleges that it was not at fault for the ﬁre, which sent black soot across rural Tangipahoa Parish and caused millions of gallons of chemicals and petroleum products from the company’s destroyed storage tanks to spill into a nearby river Smitty’s instead accuses Fulton Thermal Corp. of making defective boiler equipment and J&M Boiler Combustion Control Services Inc of negligence in its installation and maintenance of that equipment.

J&M, which is based in Baton Rouge, was hired in 2021 to install a thermal ﬂuid heater made by Fulton and later maintained it, according to the lawsuit. Smitty’s bought the heater from Fulton in the same year Fulton ofﬁcials couldn’t be reached for comment.

PLANT, page 2B

DONALDSONVILLE

Drainage district’s scope questioned

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

immersive, with construction management technology and interactive digital displays. In January BRCC will have its first cohort in a new one-year plumbing program, supported by the Gable Grant. Barlow said school leaders decided to offer the program after state legislators modiﬁed licensure requirements for residential plumbers. Demand for construction education and construction work has been on the rise, Barlow said, and BRCC will connect students in the career and technical education program with upcoming construction projects in the state Baton Rouge will add 21,600 jobs in the next two years, and the state will see 74,500 new jobs overall in that time frame, largely fueled by construction projects in Ascension Parish and Meta’s artiﬁcial intelligence data center, respectively “Students are realizing they can have rewarding careers in this space,” Barlow said. Janice Dupré, Lowe’s executive vice president of human resources and the Lowe’s Foundation chair, said the foundation has invested $43 million in Gable grants in the past two years to meet the high demand for construction workers. She said 41% of construction workers will retire by 2031.

“These people are going through these programs to demonstrate how these careers are offering a winning formula to stability, ﬂexibility and entrepreneurship,”

The city of Donaldsonville is asking the Louisiana Attorney General’s Ofﬁce to determine whether a local drainage district is responsible for routine projects within city limits. There was a similar debate in Sorrento a few years ago. The question concerns the scope of authority for the West Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District, which oversees drainage-related projects and operations on the west bank. The Ascension Parish ordinances state that the district has the power to maintain all drains within its boundaries. Members of both the city and the district’s board say they want to determine if that authority includes ditches within Donaldsonville

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Boulevard in

STAFF PHOTO By IANNE

Plan to redevelopRiver Center progresses

Projectwould create 350-room hotel

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

The effort to redevelop the Raising Cane’sRiver Center in downtown Baton Rougeisprogressing, and the ﬁrm representing the center’sowners is now seeking quotes from developers.

Downtown Development District staff met with the River Center Oversight Committee last week to

discuss the redevelopment of the center into a350-room hotel with event space.

DDDExecutive Director Whitney Hoffman Sayal saidatthe October DDD meeting thatHunden Partners, aChicago-based ﬁrm representingthe River Center owners, willbedeveloping an RFQ —requestfor quotation —toassessdeveloper interest in theproject and identifyfunding strategiesinthe upcoming phase oftheir two-year plan to secure adeveloper HundenPartners recommended that theredeveloped RiverCenter

3arrestedinBRshootingdeath

Staff report

Three teens havebeen arrested in connection with the Oct. 4 shooting death of a17-year-old after attempting to robthe victim, Baton Rouge police said.

include aballroom, meeting rooms and a40,000-square-foot “flex hall,” and a3,500-person capacityconcert venue. The project aimstoincrease bookings andavailable meeting space at thecenter to bring Baton Rouge up to speed with convention centers in peer cities. Following the RFQ, the firm will putout arequest forproposalsto identify morecompetitive proposals from developers. Sayal saidHunden Partners will be coordinating with the architecture firm Sasaki and others involvedinPlan Baton Rouge III to align the efforts.

INTEGRATION

Continuedfrom page 1B

“The next stepsisfurther deﬁning the project, breakingthatdown into more detail, identifying afunding strategy andthenanimplementationapproach,” she said.

Retail study

DDD Assistant Executive Director Casey Tate said the DDD is working with Throughline Consultants to conduct astudy on downtown’s “retailhealth,”sinceBaton Rouge fares loweronthe number of downtown retailers compared with peer cities. Tate said highrentprices and lim-

ited parking can discourage Realtors and vendors looking to relocate downtown. TheDDD will be meeting with downtown property owners andmanagersonOct.28todiscuss the challengesinattracting retailers.

“We’re trying to ﬁgure out ways to mitigatethose barriersinthisﬁnal report, andthenwe’regoing to be meeting with the property owners andmanagers to hear directlyfrom them,” he said.

Email Ianne Salvosaatianne. salvosa@theadvocate.com.

COUNCIL

Continued from page1B

Council unanimously approveda resolution Tuesdaynight authorizing the city to seek an opinion from the attorney general on the scope of the district’sauthority.The move comes before aNovember election date, during which west bank voters will decide whether to renew the 4.67-mill drainage tax that helps fund the district.

Mayor Leroy Sullivantold the council that the proposition creating the district didn’tmention it would be responsible for only major projects.

“In their proposition, it does not say major drainage. But when youtalktothe parish, they’relike, ‘We’re just responsible for major drainage,’” he said.“So that’s not what the people voted for.”

The situation follows the conclusion of ayearslong court case over asimilar dispute on the east bank, which ended earlier this year with parties agreeing to dismiss the case Clarification wanted

The resolution occurred at the end of atwo-hourmeeting, when City Attorney Spencer Long said there were “unansweredquestions” about the division of responsibility According to Long, the district’s stated responsibility encompassed only major drainage projects,such as BayouMcCall, IrishCanal and Bayou Napoleon.

“They don’tbelievethattheyare responsible for drainage inthe subdivisions, drainage on the sides of the roads, or really just any drainage in the city,” he told the council. He said he had discussedthe situation with Sullivan,who serves on the drainage district board, and needed aresolution from the council to re-

The shooting happened shortly before10:20 p.m. in the7800 block of Scenic Highway

Thevictim, Micah Booker,17, was transported to ahospital, where he later died fromhis injuries, police said.

Kaleb Raffety,18; Kobe Grandberry,17; and a16-yearold male were each arrestedon counts of ﬁrst-degree murder, attemptedﬁrst-degreemurder, armed robbery and illegaluse of aweapon,policesaidina news release.

quest an attorney general opinion.

PamelaMatassa, aspokesperson forthe parishgovernment, said in astatementthat the government was aware of the city’srequest for an opinion.

“Ascension Parish Government will be working with theAttorney General’sOfﬁce to provide any supportingdocumentation or informationthey may require as part of that review,” she wrote.

Ascension Parish councilmember OliverJoseph, who chairs the board of the district,said he appreciated thecity’sresolution because both sides require clarity

“The bottom line is we’re just trying to understand the language and get an attorney opinion (on) what’s theparish’sresponsibility and what’sthe city’sresponsibility from themillage,” he stated.

SimilartoSorrentocase

The situation closely resembles acourt case brought in 2020 by the town of Sorrento, which Donaldsonville City CouncilChair Charles Brown referenced after themeeting.

“I’ve been over this 20 years, of course, and I’ve seen the dispute with Sorrento,” he said. “…With the parish saying, ‘Wedon’t do work in themunicipality,but the people voted for that.’”

Sorrento sued the East Ascension drainage district in 2020, alleging the districtwas requiredtoperform ditch andculvert maintenanceinside the town.

In 2022, Judge JasonVerdigets ruled in favor of the town, writing that the East Ascensiondrainage district “acted in away thatis manifestly arbitrary and unreasonable” when it refusedtomaintain the ditches. The districtappealed the ruling, and an appeals court reversed part of thedecisionlater that year

school, Igot on my knees andasked him to bring me homesafely,” Patin recalled.

Allfourhad previouslyattended SouthernLab School on the campus of Southern University,a school they still speak about in glowing terms and thatthey were reluctant to leave.

Elaine Boyle Patin,who went to Baton Rouge High, saidthat, even as ateenager,she was deeply immersedinthe civil rights struggles in Baton Rouge. She recalled that herfamily housedout-of-state studentswho were expelled from Southern University fortheir activism and whom she got to know

“Wereally had to make some changestobecometotalcitizens,” she said.

Charles Burchell, who went to Baton Rouge High, said it was right beforethe start of theschool year when he and other high schoolers were askedifthey wouldenroll in oneofthe White high schoolsin town. He recalls debating the idea with fellowstudent Murphy Bell, who, like Burchell, ended up changing schools as well.

“I told Murphy,ifwedon’tdoit, who will?” Burchell remembers.

FreyaAnderson Riverswas the most resistant of the four to the idea andthe most pessimisticabout its ultimate impact.

Rivers said herfather,Dupuy Anderson, was acivil rights attorney in town and had runfor mayor of Baton Rouge three years earlier While her father never told her she hadtochange from her beloved school, she felt compelled.

“I decided to go,” Rivers said. “It was underduress, but Idecidedit was something Ihad to do.”

Their talk was bookended by two speakers.

The first was LSU history professor ZeviGutfreund, whois researching the history of school desegregation in NewOrleans.He gave ahistory of school desegregationinthe yearsbefore and after 1963. The other speaker was Victor Jones,senior counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, alegal aidorganizationformed by the NAACP that polices school desegregation cases for compliance. Jones,who is based in NewOrleans, handlescases in theSouthfor the fund.

At one point,Gufreund displayed

apanel held TuesdayatLSU

speaksabout when he volunteered in the fallof1963 to enroll at then all-WhiteBaton RougeHigh,while fellowBlackstudents from those days listen.

afamous 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell of 6-year-old Ruby Bridges as she integrated an all-White elementary school in NewOrleans. Thepainting shows her dwarfed by an entourageoffederal marshals.

“Readers could see that Ruby Bridgeshad moreinteraction with federal marshalsthan shedid with the White children at her same school,” Gutfreundsaid.

Thefour students who integrated BatonRouge high schoolsin1963 alsointeracted withfederal marshals. One suchoccasionwas on Nov.22ofthatyear,the daythat then-President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.The news that Kennedy,who washated in some of the South in part forhis support of the civil rights movement, was now dead was celebrated at manyofthe White highschoolsinBaton Rouge. Rivers remembers acheer went up thatday at Lee High:“We killed Lincoln. We killedKennedy.We will kill anybody else who tries to help you n******.”

Federal marshals soon arrived on the campus to escort Rivers andthe other Black students out of school andtowaiting taxis —the students had to pay for taxis daily to take them to school.Rivers remembers thatthe whole way, students surroundedthe marshals andharassed them. She recalled that someone poureda bucketof urine on the taxi as it raced away

“Baton Rouge trulyrejoiced the deathofJohnF.Kennedy,” she said. In his portion of the event, VictorJones recounted the hard work of the LegalDefense Fund to help Black studentsget the education they deserve under the law.He said thereare still many school desegregation cases across the South, including about athird of the school districts in Alabama.

“Black childrenare still being

denied opportunity,” Jones said. Federal case law spells out multiple ways in whichschool districts have to show they have rooted out the “last vestiges” of segregated schools before they can exit desegregation court orders. One area that Jones said he enjoys the most is making sure extracurricular activities are open to all students. He said he recently successfully pressed forchanges at an Alabama high school that had almostno Black students in its band, including discontinuing a$150 audition fee. The following year,15Black students were in theband, and three of them later went to college thanks to band scholarships.

“That is the one area where I can see real-life, tangible results,” Jones said.

Diamond asked the four former students, knowing what they know now,would they do it again. Rivers was the only one who said shewouldnot. Shealluded to the past few months when the Trump administration hasshifted the focus of the federal government from protecting Black civil rights to attacking many of thosepractices as “woke” and anti-White. “If Ithought it hadmadeadifference, Iwould definitely say yes,” Rivers said. “But right now, Ifeel like my life has been in vain because the samehatred that existed then,itstill existstoday.It’s not changing. The hatred won’tgo away.And that’ssomething that I’m trying to live with right now.” Diamond, who graduated from high school in NewOrleansa few years after Rivers, politely disagreed.

“You were heroes andheroines. Youset foot on ground that was dangerous. Youshowedcourage,” he said. “And showed those of us who followed that there was something to do of signiﬁcance.”

Jean Window,president of J&M, said her company hadn’t worked for Smitty’sfor afew years and didn’tknow why her companywas being sued. Sheaccused Smitty’s of “grasping at straws.”

“Wedon’thave astake in the game,” she said.

damaged Smitty’s Supply’s property and inventory, led tomass layoffs of our valued employees, and impactedthe Roseland community,” MatthewSherman,Smitty’s Supply’sattorney,said in astatement.

already cost the federalagency tens of millionsofdollars and is requiring morethan 450 people to sustain.

the fire began in theboilerand spread to the rest of the plant but did not say what originally caused theblaze, whetherany equipment was defective or if boiler operations were at fault.

Continued from page1B LOTTERY TUESDAY,OCT.14, 2025

Smitty’sclaims it was unaware of the boiler’sallegedly defective condition andcontends “no action or inaction on the part of Smitty’s caused or contributed to the happening” of the ﬁre.

“Fulton sold Smitty’sa defective thermal ﬂuid heater,and J&M was negligent in its installation and/or maintenance of the heater,causing an incident that irreparably

He addedthatSmitty’sregularly hadthe equipment inspectedand useditproperly Smitty’sisseekingmonetary damagesfor its property,business and other losses, as well as cleanup costs.

The suit was filed on Tuesdayin the21st Judicial District Court in TangipahoaParish. The company has beenaccused of being at fault for the fire in more than 20 other suits filedinthe same court.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also considers Smitty’sasthe responsible party liable foran extensive cleanup that has

In astatementabout thesuit, Smitty’s ofﬁcials saidthe lawsuit was “an unfortunate but necessary step to protectSmitty’sSupply’s business, reputation and ability to build back in TangipahoaParish.”

Fed by natural gas, the equipment in questionheated up thermal fluid usedtowarmlubricants in Smitty’sstorage tanks through aclosed-loop system,akin to the waya radiator andthe fluid running through it cool acar engine ChadTate, president of Smitty’s, told authorities in lateAugust that thefire started in “the heating portion of theboiler,” according to a Louisiana State Police incident report. State Police investigators found

Several government investigations remain pending, including one by the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’sOfﬁce.

Ken Pastorick, spokesperson with that ofﬁce, said Tuesdaythat state troopers are continuing to assist in the ﬁre marshal’sprobe and that investigators have already spoken “to theboilermanufacturer,aswell as all service contractors relevant to the investigation.”

In August, Tate identified for state troopers adifferent armof Fultonthan the one Smitty’ssued as the maker of the thermal ﬂuid heater and adifferent maintenance company than the one named in the lawsuit.

Window, thepresident of J&M said her company is not connected to that company Askedwhy Smitty’s sued J&M and not the maintenance company Tate had identiﬁed in August, Smitty ofﬁcials saidJ&M wasnamed because it installed the equipment.

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets

STAFFPHOTO By CHARLES LUSSIER

Merrill Patin, fromleft, Elaine BoylePatin, Charles Burchelland Freya Anderson Rivers attend

LawSchool. Burchell

White Chambers,Betty

St.Francis Xavier Catholic Church

1150 S. 12thStreet,at11a.m

Obituaries

Adams, Sheila Hebert

Sheila Hebert Adams (1944 -2025) Sheila Hebert Adamsof Baton Rouge, Louisiana, passed away on October4 2025, surrounded by loving family. She probably gave St. Peter her opinion on his entry requirements before passing through the pearly gates.

Born August19, 1944,in New Orleans and raised in LaPlace, Sheila was never one to do anything halfway. Achampion cutting horse rider, she had more grit than most cowboys and more trophies than she had shelf space. When she wasn't on horseback, she was just as happy in adeer stand, proving that patience and good aim were two of her many virtues. She loved her dogs asif each were her favorite child (her son is fairly certain that's atrue statement), and she filled her home with lush plants, lively conversation, and décor that was always one throw pillow away from perfection. Sheila had opinions—and wasn't shy about sharing them—but they were always delivered with conviction and heart.

She leaves behind her son, Serrhel Adams, and his wife, Patty Adams; her stepson, Bryan Krantz, and his wife, Vickie Krantz; grandchildren Rachael Adams, Nicholas Adams, Austen Krantz, and Ashlee Stanley; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends whowere lucky enough to get caught in the orbit of her fierce love and lively spirit. Those who knew her best will remember her as awoman who could ride shoot, plant, talk, love, and laugh with equal passion. Heaven's garden just got greener—and its conversations awhole lot livelier Aprivate family gathering will be held to celebrate Sheila's extraordinary life, with stories, laughter, and perhaps a joyful tear or two.

Barksdale, A. Troy

Dr. A. Troy Barksdale passed away after abrief illnessonSunday, October 12, 2025, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Centeratage 84. He was born on December 26, 1940 to Emmett Elmore and Ruby Carney Barksdale in Baton Rouge,LA. Dr. Barksdale graduated from Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Education from Louisiana College in Pineville. He received hisMaster of Artsin Education and his Doctorate in Education from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He served as ateacher and administrator in the Louisiana State University System and as an Assistant Vice President in the University of North Carolina System. He was an avid woodworker, outdoorsman and reader. He was aloving husband, father and grandfather. He was much loved and will be greatly missed and his memory cherished by those closest to him. Dr. Barksdale is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Mary Jane (Weatherly) Barksdale; his son, Dr. Phillip A. Barksdale (Dr. Sharon Lee Barksdale); and his two cherished grandchildren, Mary Elizabeth Sandroni (Peyton) and Charles Emmett Barksdale. He is also survived by his brother, John G. Barksdale of Baton Rouge and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and two sisters, Wayne Barksdale Goss and Diane Barksdale Ferguson. Aprivate burialservice willbe held at Resthave Memory is in charge ments. the family you make

Bercegeay, Fabian

InLoving Memory of Fabian Bercegeay Fabian Bercegeay, United States Air Force (Retired), passed awaypeacefully,leaving behinda legacyofhonor, leadership,and unwaveringdedicationtohis country and loved ones. Over thecourse of 25 years of distinguishedmilitary service, CMSGT Bercegeay exemplified the highest ideals of the Air Force. Following hisretirementfrom the AirForce, Fabian continued his aviation journeyasa flight engineerand A&P mechanic. He was aman of quiet strength, generous spirit and unwavering values.

Beyondhis professional accomplishments, Fabian was adevoted husbandto Cheryl and aproud stepfathertoRob andGreg, whom he loveddeeply and supported wholeheartedly. He was proceededindeath by his parents, Constant Sr. and Selma Bercegeay; siblings Constant, Jr.Lee Pansano, Bernard, and Marie Hebert. Fabian willbemissed by allwho knew and loved him.

Amemorial servicewith fullmilitaryhonors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on October 16th, 2025,where he willbelaid torest.

Bueche, Raymond S. Raymond S. Bueche, 73, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, passedawayThursday, October 9, 2025. Raymond retired from banking after many yearsofserviceto his community.Hewas a lovingand devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend and will be missed dearly by allwho knew him. Raymond was preceded in deathbyhis parents, Sidney and Doris Bueche.Hewas survived by his wifeof54years, PamelaBueche;son, MatthewBueche and wife My'Uniqua; daughter, Andrea Bueche;grandchildren, Mattayah andMulan Bueche;brother,Paul Bueche;aswellasmany other relatives and friends. Serviceinformation canbe requestedthrough his family. Please shareyour condolences at www.sealefuneral com.

Betty Jo Parent Chapman passedawayFriday, October10, 2025,athome surrounded by familyat the age of 82. She wasa resident of Gonzales, LA. Betty is survivedbyher children,Chuck Lebeau (Brigitte), Rhonda Rivere and AngelaGill (Earl).Betty had 9Grandchildren, 25 Great Grandchildren and 2 Great Great Children.She is precededindeath by her parents,Jerry Paul Parent and Helen MaeLambert Schexnayder, Herson CarbetF Gautreau Jr.,Son in Law VincentRivere Sr., 4 Grandchildren and 4Great Grandchildren. Visitation willbeheldatAscension Funeral Home in Gonzales, LA, on Friday, October17, 2025,from9:00 am until the funeral service at 11:00in the funeral home chapel. Graveside serviceswillfollow immediatelyatHope Haven CemeteryonHighway 30 in Gonzales.

On Sunday afternoon, October 5, 2025, Sheila Cheatham, laidaside the cares of this world. Hand in hand with her Savior, she was gently escorted intoGlory—leaving behind earthlytrials to embrace her eternal reward. Her absence leavesa silence that willecho in the heartsofmany for years to come.

Thoughour heartsmay ache, we rejoice in knowing that Sheilanow restsin perfect peace—surrounded by heavenly light,radiant joy, and theloveofher Savior. Our loss is heaven's gain, and even in our tears, we celebratethe promise that we willsee her againinthatsweetbyand by.

Avisitationwillbeheld from5:00 PM to 7:00PMon 2025-10-17 at Richardson FuneralHome, 11816 JacksonStreet.A celebration of life will be held from11:00 AM to 1:00 PM on 2025-1018 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 9147 Highway 422.

Sherri Lynn Davis, born January22, 1964, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to the late Ernest and Geraldine Davis Sr., passed away on October 9, 2025, while peacefully surrounded by lovedones. She willberemembered forher strong faith and her commitment to her family,friends, and church. She willberemembered forher generosity towardsothers. And she will be remembered forher larger-than-life laughthat couldfillany room. Sherri is survived by her twodaughters,Paige and SykaraPicquet; four grandchildren, Radley Taylor, Unique, Admire,and Chance Houn;one greatgrandchild, Reign Taylor; and eight siblings, Ernest (Sylvia)Jr.,Diedra, James Sr Brian (Deadra) Sr., and Eric(Doreen) Davis Sr Lorraine (Carlton) Williams, Doreen(Danny) Martin, and Wayne (Tanya) Ragas Sr;She was preceded in death by her sisters, Detrice Williams &Wanda JaneDavis;and her grandson, Prince Zachary. She willbemissedbya host of other nieces, nephews, cousins, family,friends, and lovedones. Visitation willbeheldatKingdom Life Family Center, 8894 Airline Hwy Suite C, Baton Rouge, LA 70815 on Friday, October17, 2025, from9:00 to 11:00 a.m.,withfuneral services immediatelyfollowing. Burial willtake place at St.Mark Cemetery. The family would like to extend heartfelt thanksto family,friends, caregivers, TrinityPersonal Care Services, and Audubon Hospice for theirsupport and compassion. FuneralServices Entrusted to Richardson FuneralHomeof Louisiana.

WilliamJohn Dawson Jr of BatonRouge,Louisiana, passed away on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at theage of 72. He was born January 15, 1953, in BatonRougeto WilliamJohn Dawson Sr. and Madge Kenny Dawson. John graduated from Catholic Highin1971 and went on to graduatefrom LouisianaStateUniversity. He was areal estatebroker formany years, in which he retired from. In his younger years, John lovedtospend time fishing and playing golf. He was an avid LSUfan and loved to grill whilespending time with friends and family With awelcoming smile andanopenheart,he madefriends everywhere

he went.Heloved his spouse,childrenand grandchildrendearly. He is preceded in death by his parents, William John DawsonSr. and Madge Kenny Dawson, and sister, Mary Ann Dawson. He is survivedbyhis spouse of 51 years, Bonnie Reaux Dawson; daughter, Jill Bercegeay (Joel); son, BillDawson(Brandy); sister, Donna Dawson; brother,David Dawson (Lisa); and grandchildren, Luke, Julia,and Avery Bercegeay Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Mass of ChristianBurial at Our LadyofMercy Catholic Church, 445 Marquette Ave in BatonRouge,onFriday, October17, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Avisitation willbe held at thechurch beginning at 1:00 p.m. Inurnment will follow at Our Ladyof Mercy GardenofPeace Family andfriends may sign theonline guestbook and leavea personal note to thefamily at www.resth avenbatonrouge.com.

Doris ButlerDelone, born November 28, 1958, a nativeofWhiteCastle and residentofPlaquemine passed away peacefully at her home on October9 2025. She retiredasCaptain with theLouisianaDepartment of Corrections. She wasa member of Second Baptist Church, where she served as President of theDeaconessBoard. She leaves to cherish her memories, husband, EricDelone,children Erica Hanchel (Arthur) and Elliott Delone Sr. (Shanice Ruth); grandchildren, Aubree, Madison, Elliott Jr Skylar, Ar'Zayvon, and Ar'Taevon; sister, Patricia Breaux; and ahost of family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Hannah Butler, daughter Micaela father and mother-in law Thoyal and DorothyDelone,siblingsRuthRogers, MarilynGreene,Mervin Wright, Jr., Louis Butler, Jr., and Charles Butler, Sr. Visitation: Friday, October 17, 2025 from5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Second Baptist Church, Plaquemine) CelebrationofLife:Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 1:00 pm (Second Baptist Church, Plaquemine) Pastor Mark I. Stewart,Sr.,Officiating. Pugh's Mortuary is in charge of the service.

JimmyWayne “Ace” Fleming,a resident of Slaughter,passedaway peacefullyonSunday, Oct. 12, 2025 at hishome. He was 78 yearsold andwas retired from Wyesco with 22years of service. Visita‐tionwillbeatSlaughter First BaptistChurch on Fri‐day,Oct.17, 2025 from 9 amuntil serviceat12pm. BurialwillbeinSandy Creek BaptistChurch Cemetery, Zachary. He is survivedbyhis wife of 53 years,Kathleen “Kathy” Fleming.Their children, David WayneFleming and wife, Adele, TonyaMarie Knost andhusband,Eddie, and KevinLee Flemingand wife, Jessie. Grandchildren, Cameron andDelaney Brown, LaneyFleming, Dylan Fleming, Knox Flem‐ing,and AveryFleming Great grandchildren, Sadie Katherine andCameron ClaireBrown. His ﬁrst cousin, LindaFleming,nu‐merousniecesand nephews andhis furbaby, Gizmo.Heisprecededin death by hisparents,David and IdaLee Fleming, sib‐lings,BobbieJeanHamil‐ton,VirgieMae Bridges, Carol Lee, Walter David Fleming,Jr.,RonnieEarl Fleming andGlynn Flem‐ing,and by hisnephew, David KeithFleming.Pall‐bearers will be RonniePoe EddieKnost,Dylan Flem‐ing,Cameron Brown, Todd Bridges,Steve Cupit, Knox Fleming,Butch McLinand PJBourgeois.Honorary pallbearerwillbeTim Fleming. “Ace”was an avid

ﬁsherman. He enjoyed spendingtimeathis camp inCocodrie. He wasa mas‐ter brickmason,talented musician, especially on his 12-string guitar.Hewas a woodworker,gardenerand artistjusttonamea fewof his hobbies. TheFamily wishestoextendveryspe‐cialthankstoDavid Flem‐ing,Linda Flemingand Kathy Taylor with Hospice ofBaton Rougefor allthe careand compassion given toour “Ace”. Sharesympa‐thies,condolences,and memoriesatwww.Charlet FuneralHome.com.

Lillie Petit Gallagher,88, passed away October 12th in Baton Rouge,Louisiana with herson Charles by herside. Lillie wasbornon May24, 1937, to Sam and Lillian Petit in Cut Off, Louisiana, asmall French speaking community. After graduating from St.Mary's Dominican CollegeinNew Orleansin1959, Lillie moved to Baton Rouge whereshe met thelove of herlife, George Clark Gallagher. There, she raised herfamilyand remained untilher passing.A Louisiana educator, adoption advocate, andartspatron,Lillie helpedshape Baton Rouge's culturaland civic life for more than five decades through herquiet yet powerful leadership After graduating from St Mary'sDominican College andearninga graduate degree in child development andsocialservicesfrom Louisiana State University, she devotedher career to education andchild advocacy.Lillie taught early childhood development and, in 1966, founded the original MontessoriSchool of Baton Rouge.In1975, she went on to establish Louisiana's first statewide Gifted and Talented Program as programdirector for theLouisiana DepartmentofEducation.Lillie's most enduringworkcame as thefoundingExecutive Director of St.Elizabeth Foundation,a non-profit adoption agencyfounded in 1988 by A. HayesTown, whichprovidessupport andcarefor pregnant women across Louisiana. Sinceits inception,this charitableorganization hasbeen responsiblefor placingmorethan600 babies with loving parents. For herwork, Lillie was namedan"AngelinAdoption"bythe Congressional Coalition on Adoption for whichshe wasrecognized by PresidentGeorge W. Bush in 2001. Through compassion,grace, and quietstrength,Lillie was instrumental in fostering legislation that reshaped adoptionservicesacross thestate. Aconsummate volunteer andsteadfast patron of the arts, Lillie also devoted herselftohistoricpreservation and communityservice.With herguidance, volunteers from LSU, Southern University, and local highschools have helped maintainthe historicAfrican American Lutheran Benevolent SocietyCemetery for many years. Lillie was particularly keenonpreserving Baton Rouge's iconic City Parkand itsgolf course whichislistedonthe National Register of Historic Places. When the historic golf course faced redevelopment, she leda community efforttopreserveits historiclayoutand communityuse and form. In 2024, the Friends of City ParkGroup,along with representatives of the state, city-parish andBREC honored herlegacy with a benchatthe first tee, whichrecognized herunwaveringefforts to preserve CityPark. Theseeffortscontinued into herfinalweekoflifeand are nowcarried forward by a dedicated group of diverse communityleaders, everyday citizens, and golfers youngand old. TheGallagher familysupports and encourages thecommunity'scontinued efforts to preserve CityParkGolf Course for thebenefitof futuregenerationsto come. Lillie lived hervaluesasbeautifullyasshe spoke them. Through her devotion to herCajun French heritage,Lillie and herhusbandfundedthe Lillie Pettit& George Clark Gallagher GraduateStudent Travel and Research Scholarship in French Studies.This scholarship helpsensure that future d i h

students cansustainthe French culture and Louisiana historyshe so dearlycherished andcelebrated. Lillie was also passionate and devoted to the annual Bastille DayMass andCelebrationheldatSt. Joseph Cathedral,celebratingthe shared French heritage of theCathedral andthe CityofBaton Rouge.Her signature red lipstickwas ever-present. It washer small,but unmistakable symbol of confidence andcare. Lillie's elegance wasnevervanity, it wasrespect for others andfor thecauses she championed. Lillie's story is oneoflegacy andhumanity. Shewas an educator whoshapedminds, an advocate whobuilt families,and apatron who made hercitymorebeautiful, oneact of kindness at atime. To herfamily& friends, shewas simply Mom, MiMi,orMs. Lillie buttosomany othersshe wasthe heart of Baton Rouge.The familywould like to express their most sincere gratitude to Antoinette Robertson for her years of caring,loving support,and assistance,along with herdedicated physician, Dr.Susan Richarme. Aspecial thanks is also extended to herson Charles, whohas providedtireless care to his motheroverthe years. Lillie is preceded in death by herhusband, George Clark Gallagher; herparents, Lillian Camille DeFelice andSampson Joseph Petit;her sister Joyce Petit Fontaine, and Joyce's husband,Lenhard JamesFontaine;and her niece, Allyce Fontaine Juenke. Lillie is survivedby herchildrenMary CatherineGallagher Eymard (HiltonJr.), John Joseph Gallagher(Carol Giltner), PaulGeorge Gallagher (MichelleBourgeois), and Charles Petit Gallagher; hergrandchildren, Ashton Gallagher Eymard,Hilton Joseph Eymard III,and Camille Ruth Gallagher; andnumerous nieces and nephewswho lovingly knew heras"NanLillie." Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. with a Rosary at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 16, at RabenhorstFuneral Home 825 Government Street, andfrom9:00-10:00 a.m. on Friday, October17, at St Joseph Cathedral,401 Main Street,with funeral Mass to follow at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to St Elizabeth Foundation,8054 Summa Avenue, Baton Rouge,LA70809. Aprivate familyburialwill follow at L'Ange Callahan Cemetery SacredHeart Church in Cut Off, Louisiana. Rabenhorst Funeral Home Downtown is in chargeofarrangements. Thosewho believe in theCommunion of Saintsare asked to pray for hersouland thespiritual welfare of hersurvivors. "Beholdmybeloved son, in whom Iamwell pleased." —Matthew 17:5

Florance Catherine MoralesGraves passed away peacefullyather home on Monday, October 13, 2025, at the age of 96. Shewas aresident andnative of Plaquemine,LA. Visitationwill be held at St John theEvangelist Catholic Church,PlaquemineonFriday, October 17, 2025, from 9am untilMass of Christian Burial at 11am, celebrated by Father MartinLawrence.Interment will follow at GraceMemorial Park, Plaquemine.Florance is survivedbyher sons, William "Bill"Graves andwife Marsha, Randy Graves,and Daryl Graves andDarleneLeonard; numerousgrandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren; sisters, Theresa Baldwin andElizabeth "Punkin" Sanchez;and numerous nieces andnephews. Precededindeathbyher husband of 66 years, Joseph "Joe" Graves,Sr.;daughters, Carol Jackson and husband Jack, andKandy Rarickand husband Michael; daughters-in-law, Debbie Graves andPeggy Pendarvis; parents, Thomas andDoraDubois Morales; siblings, Elouise "Tiny"Curry, Thomas "T.J." Moralesand wife Gloria,

Cheatham, Sheila

Gallagher, LilliePetit

Delone, DorisButler

Davis, Sherri Lynn

Fleming, Jimmy Wayne'Ace'

Graves, Florance

Catherine Morales

Chapman, Betty JoParent

Dawson,John

Governor made right call on Tiger Stadium security

Saturdays in Death Valleyhave an atmosphere that is unique in college football. The tens of thousands of fans who gather to root on the LSU Tigers flood the campus expecting to enjoy tailgating, good times and hopefully awin.But at two recent home games, that atmosphere was shattered when news of shots fired on or near the campus spread among the crowd. It happened Sept. 13 during LSU’sgame against Florida when campus police responded to an incident near the Law Center,where gunshots were heard as two groups were arguing. Thankfully,noone wasinjured. And it happened again on Saturday during LSU’s homecoming game against SouthCarolina. As the game was ending, campus police sent out an alert about ashooting that had occurred near the campus’ north gatesat8:30 p.m. Two people were injured, and a16-year-old has been arrested. Needless to say,the incidentsrattledfans and the broader community. That’s why we must commend Gov.JeffLandry for quickly announcing that there would be enhanced security on campus for upcoming home football games. That is the response thatcitizens should expect when public safetylapses occur Toooften there is the temptation to defend the status quo and expect the public toaccept an unacceptable level of risk. We are indeed fortunate that there were no fatalities in these cases, but there’snoreason towait until agreater tragedy occurs. The time to act is now That was the message Landry sent as he orderedState Police to work the LSU police, the Baton Rouge PoliceDepartment and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office to assess security anddevelop aplan to be implemented by the time LSU plays its next home game against Texas A&M on Oct. 25.

LSU released astatement saying that safety is apriority and that it has 600 trained ofﬁcers on-site for all home games. It also uses technology,such as cameras and license plate readers, to monitor the crowds.

We are glad to know these measures are in place,and we have no doubt that everyone involved is committed to making Tiger Stadium and the LSUcampus as safe as they can be. But these recent incidents need to be treated as the wake-up call they are.

LSU’smany boosters and fans throughout the as well and visitors from elsewhere welcomed into Tiger Stadium during college football season deserve to know thatevery effort has been madetoensure they have asafe environment. The only worry for fans should be what’s going on the ﬁeld, not what’shappening outside of the stadium. We hope that these violent incidents are an anomaly.But the increased focus on security will help Tiger Stadium continue to live up to its reputationasacollege football mecca.

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

Manufacturing powerfuels La.’sfuture

October is Manufacturing Month, which is atime to celebrate an industrythat often humsquietly in thebackground but powers nearly every part of our daily lives. From petrochemicals and industrial machinery to food processing and plastics, Louisiana’s manufacturing industry is central to our prosperity In Louisiana, we don’tjust make things, we makethings that matter According to theNational Association of Manufacturers, Louisiana manufacturers add roughly $59.4 billion in value, accounting for about 18.1% of the state’sGDP.Atthe sametime, morethan 140,000 Louisianans, with thousands more working in the supply chains and transportation networks,

are employed in manufacturing. These are good-paying, high-skill jobs that sustain families and communities from LakeCharles to Baton Rouge to Monroe. Manufacturing in Louisiana is more than just numbers on aspreadsheet. It’sabout thepeople and pride. It’s the welders,technicians, engineers and operators who show up every day to turn raw materials into products that move theworld forward.

Even with our scale, challenges remain.For example, while manufacturing jobs have hovered in the 140,000145,000 range in recent months, the sector lost anet 1,470 jobs in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number

Question politicians’ integrity, notChristianity

The Oct. 9letter,“Christian politicians need to look at their priorities” addressed the question“Do you think it is possible to be agood Christianand a politician?”

Why not ask thesame question of a Jewish person? Or Muslim? Both religions promoteservice to othersand a higher power,asJesus did.

Iacknowledge no “god” at all but do thinkit’sobvious that there is an unknowable and ineffable power that encompasses all of creation, and that everything comes from and is apart of that power What that power demands of us is the samefor each of us, but each one of us must ﬁgure that out for ourselves and determine our own path.

Consequently,viewing myself as connected to everyone and everything in a very real, physical way,Istrivetolive as though my actions toward others

affect me in the same wayasthey do them, and so am (usually) careful about what Isay and do.

Rather than ask if apolitician can still be agood Christian, Jew,Muslim,Hindu or atheist, abetter question might be whether aperson can be apolitician and remain true to his/her moral compass.

Proclaimingoneselfa “Christian,” “Muslim,” or whatever says nothing about one’smoral character or strength. The proclamation is just a bunch of words. However,Ibelieve aperson’smorals and their strength in them can be readily recognized by aperson’sactions and answers regarding moral questions. Andaperson of strong moralcharactercan still be agoodpolitician.

It’sjust alot harder

WAYNE PARKER Baton Rouge

Don’tforgethistory of National Guardtroopsuse

Twowords should explain why National Guard troops should not be calledtoAmerican cities to confront protesters: Kent State. For those too young to remember, National Guard troops were deployed to KentState University in May 1970 to control studentsprotesting theexpansion of the war in Vietnam. Troops carrying weapons with live rounds ﬁred on unarmed students. They killed four,including astudent who was not protesting and walking acrosscampus, and wounded nine. There was no tear

gas,rubber bulletsorother nonlethal means of control used. Abunch of young, scared,poorly trained soldiers reacted with force to agroup of student protesters. Jump to today.Troopsare now armed with larger,morelethalweapons capable of killing more protesters. Protesting in this country is atimehonored tradition going back to colonial days.Does the Boston TeaParty ring abell?

BARBARA BURTON Baton Rouge

suggests headwinds such as supply chain pressures or talent gaps are real. We need to continue investing in education, training, and partnerships that help students see the range of careers available in this ﬁeld. Every parish in the state has arole to play in building that future. This October,aswecelebrate Manufacturing Month, let’stake amoment to appreciate the impact this sector has on our communities. Louisiana has always been astate that knowshow to build, reﬁne and create. That’ssomething worth celebrating, not just this month, but every month of the year NATALIEKACZYNSKI lead of strategic communications, TheTJC Group

Howcan Congress agreetokeeptheir salaries while others go without?

What if our elected senators and representatives decide that they will notaccept any salary during the partial government shutdown? Not only that, but that they will also direct that their staff members not receive any salaries during the shutdown. Both decisions would be admirable policies to adopt. Since they and the Trump administration are the national political body that has caused this shutdown, it is only appropriate that our senators and representatives are financially impacted by it. Our esteemed senators, Congress members and their staffs will be applauded for their wiliness to be financially deprived. If our senators, Congress members and their staff continue to accept their compensation, then their acceptance of ill-earned monies is despicable. They have put partisan politics first, while ignoring the financial straits and plans of Americans. Such office holders should be voted out of office at the next set of election by outraged constituents. Such senators and representatives are partisan cowards who have chosen to not act in the best interestsofthis country or of its residents.

BYRON ALMQUIST Metairie

Peace, warand Trump

“It’snice to start Updatewithsome good news for once: There’speace in the Middle East,” Colin Jost cracked on “Saturday Night Live.” “The only downsideis, there’swar in Chicago.” Alaugh line, but also atelling truth Those two words, peace and war,reﬂect two different sides of Donald Trump. Twodifferent political strategies in two differentforums. Twodifferent views of the world.

Steve Roberts

Trump sees himself as the world’s best dealmaker,and openly yearns for thehighest honor adealmaker can receive: the Nobel Peace Prize. (Afterall, there’s no Nobel WarPrize.) And even his Democratic rivalsmust admit that his brief buttriumphal visit to the Middle East celebrated asingular achievement: aceaseﬁre after two years of brutal warfare.

The president received astanding ovation in Israel’sparliament, with many lawmakers donningred hats emblazonedwith the words “TRUMP THEPEACE PRESIDENT.”Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told Trump that he was “the only onecapable of bringing peace to ourregion.” But back home, the word “peace” is practically banned, while “war” is everywhere. Trump has changed the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. And while the highest goal of any military should be to prevent wars, not provokethem, Secretary Pete Hegseth keeps extolling his troops as “warfighters” rather than “peacekeepers.” In fact, Trump keeps saying that a main mission of those “warfighters” is to repress civilians, not repel invaders. Speaking to agathering of military officers at aMarinebase in Quantico, Virginia, the president argued that “SanFrancisco, Chicago, NewYork (and) Los Angeles”were“very unsafe places, and we’re gonna straighten them out, one by one.

“That’sawar,too,” he continued. “It’s

“Trumpdeploys tactics and language of war against perceived domestic threats,” reads aWashington Post headline. That approach “represents adramatic shift in theuse of the military, which has been focused for most of American history on threatsfrom abroad.”

This is dramatic and dangerous, warns Michael Waldman, president of theBrennan Center for Justice at New York University’sSchool of Law.“It’s a militarylanguage used by thegovernmentagainst itsown people at atime, in fact, of relative tranquility,” he told thePost. “That’sreally damaging, and it’sreally rare.”

Trumphas even mused about invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 —a law meanttorepress rebellions bordering on civil war —tojustify the useoffederal troops against domestic foes.

What to make of Donald Trumpnow?

awar from within.”

“We’re directly confronting the sinister threat of left-wing domestic terrorism or violence,” Trumptold his Cabinet during arecent meeting. He’s even suggestedthat themilitary use the “war from within” in America’scitiestotrain its “warﬁghters.”

On the world stage, Trumpbasks in the praise of foreign leaders like el-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him the“greatestfriend that the stateofIsrael has ever had in the White House.”Inthose moments, he is the president of the whole country —anational leader,not just apartisan or factional chieftain. Back home, exactly theoppositeis true. He is not aunifying ﬁgure, but openly andproudly the president of Red America —atwar with the “others,” with theenemy “within.” That’s howhecampaigned, and that’show he governs:constantly demonizing his foes in waysthat galvanize his core base ofsupportand justify increasingly ruthless methodsofrepression, including the deployment of armed National Guard troops

“It’s an extremely dangerous slope, because it essentially says thepresident can just do about whatever he chooses,” Randy Manner,aretired Army major general and National Guard leader told Reuters. “It’s absolutely,absolutely the deﬁnition of dictatorship and fascism.”

The mosttelling rebuke of Trump’s homefront “war” camefrom afederal judge he appointed during his ﬁrst term: Karin Immergut. In rejecting the president’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, Immergut wrotethat Trump’sdescription of Portland as awar-ravaged city “was simply untethered to the facts.”

“This country has alongstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in theform of military intrusion into civil affairs,” Immergut wrote. “This is a nation of constitutional law,not martial law.”

Trump does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for hisforeign achievements if he declares war on his own citizens here at home.

Email StevenRoberts at stevecokie@ gmail.com.

AfterGaza: What’s next forIsrael?

In his address to Israel’sKnesset followingthe release of 20 livinghostages by Hamas, President Donald Trump said severalthings that reﬂect wishful thinking. Among them: “The forcesof chaos that have plagued theregion are totally defeated.” “The enemies of all civilization are in retreat.” And the “long and painful nightmare is ﬁnally over.”

Cal Thomas

While the president and his team of negotiators are rightly given full credit for achievingthis moment (even by many Democrats), thereisnoevidence thatIsrael’senemies see it his way.Thisbattle may be over,but Israel’senemies don’tshare the same view Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) keeps tabs on what terrorist groups and others are saying abouta post-Gaza future. It has compiled20 examples that show thePalestinian Authority’s (PA) real intentions. In thePA’sOct.2 publication there was this: “It may be necessary to ﬁnd away to persuade Hamas to completely leave theareafor ayearortwo. Later,when things become clearer,wecan lookfor ways to bring Hamas back to operation.”

After Trump won re-election last November,PMW PresidentItamar Marcus told The WashingtonFree Beacon: “(Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud) Abbas and his people hate Trump. They think he’snot upto their level of humanity.They mock theway he looks. They mock the way he talks. Now that Trump will be thepresident again, they think they can play him,but he should recognizeexactly who they are. They see themselves as in acamp with Russia and China and theIslamic world, and they are diametrically opposed to American policy around the world.”

In aSept. 29 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Abbas claimed thePA had “rejectedviolence andterrorism” and “adopted aculture of peace.” And yet the day before, the PA’s ofﬁcial daily continued to glorifythe terrorist murderers who killed six in an attack in Jerusalem three weeksearlier as Palestinian and Islamicheroes. This

is another example of the duplicity in which Israel’senemies have engaged at least since 1948 when the modern state was restored in its ancient Jewish homeland Need more examples for why this latest “peace” is not what the West has beenhoping for?

Palestinianschools aren’tteaching children to lay down their rhetorical arms against Israel, but to ratchet them up. PMW found ayoung girl in a Hebron school who said that the Oct. 7massacre and hostage taking by Hamas was a“beautiful dream...We woke uptothe sounds of laughter it was impossible to express theemotions in our hearts, and we never imagined such prideinour people on our faces. The sense of honor that we felt is indescribable.”

Don’t counton“journalists,” who have been pressured and threatened by Hamas to carry only their storyline, to tell thetruth. As Marcus wrotefor PMW on Sept. 1: “JournalistsinGaza,

whether working for Palestinian media or foreign newspapers, know that deviating from Hamas’sversion of events places their freedom and even their lives in danger.Survival comes ﬁrst; truthcomes second.”

Celebrating therelease of hostages and mourning the dead is alegitimate response to theend of the current Gaza conﬂict.

ButIsrael, the U.S. and the rest of the civilized world should not engage in self-delusion, especially since Israel’s enemies have not repealed their charterscalling for the destruction of the Jewish state, nor have they heard from Allah that he has changed his mind and told Muslims to live at peace with Israel. Given thatindisputable truth, based on history andcommon sense, this is not the time for Israel to beat itsswordsinto ploughshares.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.

What to makeofa president whopowered aMiddle East peace agreement that eluded Egypt, Qatar,and France; who wonanaccord that matches and perhaps exceeds that of Jimmy Carter with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat (1979) and Bill Clinton with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat (1993) —and who has dispatched federal troops to cities in his own country,used agovernment shutdowntoﬁre federal workers, and redeﬁned the extent of executive power?

What to makeofanAmerican chief executive whose fondest hopes include aNobel Peace Prize but whoismaking war in the high seas off Venezuela, the homecountry of María Corina Machado. She wonthe award forbeing, as the selection committee put it, awoman “who keeps the ﬂameofdemocracy burning amid a growing darkness” —evocative, even ironic, language forthe Americas that likely wentunnoticed or was swiftly dismissed in the White House.

The United States has had enigmatic presidents before: Andrew Jackson (democratic sentinel, Indian fighter), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (ordering Japanese-Americans to internmentcamps, presiding over forces liberating Nazi concentration camps); Lyndon B. Johnson (high priest of the war on poverty,flawed minister of the warinVietnam), Richard Nixon (masterly in big-power politics, paranoid in domestic politics), Bill Clinton (skillful practitioner of the pastoral role of the office, fatefully addicted to raging personal hungers). But even the word “enigmatic” fails to capture Donald Trump, especially the Trumpon vivid display in the first half of October In that brief period he has soared in reaching heights of achievement abroad beyond the dreamsofhis mostardent supporters even as he descended into new depths of retributive actions at home. No American president has showntwo sides of his personality and politics that have diverged so dramatically in so short aperiod.

Mr.Trumpinfull is, to be sure, full of himself.Trumpthe crusader forpeace is as much awarrior forconflict and revenge. Trumpthe aspiring winner of the Nobel Peace Prize campaigned forthe honor in amanner destined to deny him the medal. The face that appeared in silhouette across the front page of the Jerusalem Post, an art composite of images of the last hostages from the Hamas attack of 2023, in other settings glowers and appears in sneers. The president whospeaks as if he possesses great truths about human nature and practical politics traffics in untruths; he never has been, as James Boswell said of the 18th century explorer James Cook, “a plain and sensible man with an uncommon attention to veracity.” No one has ever said, as Roy Hattersley (the deputy leader of Britain’sLabor Party,19831992) did about Herbert Henry Asquith (British primeminister,1908-1916), that Trump’s“life wasavictory forthe vigorous application of a fine mind and highly developed conscience.” Aman of contradictions and chaos, Trump seemstocreate both as he barrels through the workday.He’smade an entire country delirious while dividing his own. His peace plan depends in large measure on Egypt, even as Egyptian worries about its access to American arm sales are prompting it to cozy up to China, one of Trump’smany foes. His tariffthreats against Canada and rhetoric about making it the 51st state have produced aspike in nationalism north of the border that conflicts with both countries’ enthusiasm forthe military links that would result from cooperation on adefensive missile shield.

Prior successful presidents mastered the arts of subtlety and nuance. Trumpdoes not do subtlety or nuance. He is not knownfor a single sentence of understatement. He lacks the gentle touch.

Other presidents wielded the equivalent of aslender lit matchstick as an instrument of enlightenment and, ultimately,ofpower; here Harry Truman and, on their best days, George H.W.Bush and Barack Obama, come to mind. Trumpemploys ablow torch. Other presidents have romanced Congress in astyle that suggests the soothing piano tones of Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune;Mr. Trumpaddresses Capitol Hill much like Franz Schubert’s Marche Militaire

But days ago, when appearing triumphantly in the Israeli Knesset, he heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak of a“covenant between ourtwo promised lands.” TheTrump mystery and confusion only grow

Email DavidShribman at dshribman@postgazette.com.

David Shribman

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ARIEL SCHALIT Freed Israeli hostageAvinatan Or gestures from avan Monday as he arrives at Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva, Israel, after he wasreleased from Hamas captivity in theGaza Strip.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

President Donald Trumpgreets Israel’s PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu on Mondayashearrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near TelAviv.

and Mack Morales; brother -in-law, Beauford Baldwin. Pallbearers willbeher grandsons, Jack Michel, Chris Graves, Sr., Mark Graves, Kevin Graves, Colby Hutton, Dustin Graves and Michael Rarick, Jr. Special thanks to Bridgeway Hospice especially her nurse Haley Bourgoyne and her aid Tesha Williams. Florance loved to dance and listen to Cajun music, going camping, spending time with her family and was always willing to lend ahelping hand to anyone in need. Please share memoriesonline at www.wilbertservices.com.

Johnny "Sonny" Harris transitioned peacefully on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at the age of 85, surrounded by his loving family. Alifelong resident of Baton Rouge, LA, Sonny was raised and educated in the West Baton Rouge Parish School System and wasa proud graduate of Southern University. Sonny never met astranger and touched the lives of many He was aman of many talents—an accomplished entrepreneur, agifted saxophonist, and an inspiring motivational speaker. Sonny is survived by his devoted children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. Family and friends are invited to celebrate his life on Friday, October 17, 2025, with visitation beginning at 9:00 AM, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 1565 Curtis St., Baton Rouge, LA. Father Thomas Clark will officiate. Entombment: Heavenly

Gates Mausoleum. Services areentrusted to Hall Davisand Son Funeral Services

LaCombe, Geraldine Theresa'Jerry'

Geraldine "Jerry"Theresa LaCombe enteredeternal peace and rest on October 10, 2025, surrounded by her family in prayer. Shewas borninBaton Rouge in 1940 and was 85 years young. Shewas precededin death by her parents, Eula Gass and Edward Albert Gros; herbrother Walter Gros; hersister, Betty Lecompte;granddaughter, Courtnie Seymour; and exhusbandof43years, Donnie Mitchell LaCombe. She is survived by her children Donnie Edward LaCombe (Cindy), DinaLaCombe LeJeune (Darryl), ChrisAnthony LaCombe (Michelle) and Tony Mitchell LaCombe(Terri). Sheisalso survived by 8grandchildrenand 12 great grandchildren Jerrywas adevout Catholic, who prayedthe rosary oftenand went to Catholicschool at St. Gerardand Redemptorist High School. She was adedicated stay at home motherfor most of herlifebut also worked in over 20 movies as an extra including Everybody'sAll American, Steel Magnolias and PelicanBrief whenthey were being filmed in Louisiana. Shewas abeautiful movie star,evenatthe age of 85. Shewas so beautiful she competedinthe Mrs. Baton Rouge Beauty Pageant in the 1970's and placed in the top 3. Jerrywas an avid bowlerand proudlycarried a160 average.She enjoyed bowling with herfamily on league teams at Plank Bowl, Circle Bowl and Don Carters. Anyone thatknew her wouldknow that call-

ing her the"Life of theParty" was an understatement;she was theparty She wasalways thefirst persononthe dance floor and thelast to leave the party, includingthe Ascension Council on Aging Dance she attended with her belovedcousin, Pat Bordelon, just 3weeks ago in Gonzales. Geraldine was an Elvis Presley "fanatic". She had ahuge collectionofElvis scarvesfrom theconcerts she attended."Love Me Tender" was one of her favorites and "FormyDarling, We Love Youand We Always Will" Visitation willbeheldat Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 FloridaBlvd,Baton Rouge, LA,onFriday, October17thfrom 12 pm until 8 pm.Visitation willcontinue on Saturday, October 18th at St. Gerard Majella CatholicChurch, 3808 Plank Rd,Baton Rouge, LA from9 am until Mass of ChristianBurial at 10 am. Burial willfollow at Greenoaks Memorial Park. Pallbearers willbeher grandsons and greatgrandsons: Thomas R. AbingtonIII,Chris A. LaCombe Jr., ChristopherJordanLaCombe, Stephen J. LaCombe, Donnie E. LaCombe II,Thomas R. AbingtonIV. Honorary Pallbearersare Cooper Poirrier, Wren Jeansonne,Eyan KadeLollar. In lieu of flowers, thefamily request donations be madetothe Ascension Council on Aging, 526 S. Irma Blvd, Gonzales, LA 70737.

IdaMae Hebert

LeBlancpassed awayonTuesday,October 14, 2025, at TheParcin Gonzalesatthe ageof86. She wasbornJanuary 17 1939. Shewas alifelong residentofBayou Pigeon Idawas alovingwife,

mother,grandmother,sis‐ter,aunt andfriendtoall she met. Shehad many roles throughout herlife, including workingfor HedgesGauging Service and HostessatCityCafé in Plaqueminewhere sheen‐joyed meetingand talking toall thepatrons.She was a longtime member of the St. Joan of ArcCatholic Church in BayouPigeon, volunteeringfor theAltar Society andChurch Fair for manyyears.Ida is survived byher children andtheir wives,Kevin andHolly LeBlanc,Kerwinand Tara LeBlanc;fourgrandchil‐dren, Callie,Lukeand Lau‐ren LeBlanc, Camilleand husband Jake Carter and numerousniecesand nephews.Special niece, PatriciaSettoon,who was likea daughter that pro‐vided love andcareover the yearsfor both Idaand Calvin. Idawas preceded in death by herhusband CalvinPierreLeBlanc;par‐ents, Odom andMabel Set‐toon Hebert;siblings, Hay‐wardHebertand Lois H. Landry. Visitation will be at St. John theEvangelist Catholic Church in Plaque‐mineonSaturday, October 18, from 10 a.m. until Mass ofChristian Burial at 12 p.m.,celebratedbyRev

JoeCamilleri.Burialwill followinGrace Memorial Park. Specialthankstothe staff at TheParcAssisted LivinginGonzalesfor their lovingcareoverthe last several yearsand Clarity Hospice fortheir care and compassion. Memorial do‐nations maybemadeto Bayou Pigeon Heritage As‐sociation,POBox 1087 Plaquemine, LA 70764 Pleaseshare memories at www.wilbertservices.com

passing of CatherineMcIntire Pegues, lovingly known as "Sis," alifelong residentofBaton Rouge, Louisiana. She passed away peacefully at the age of 83. Born in 1942, Sis grew up in theGarden District andspent most of her life in thefamilyhome built by herfather in 1938. Adevoted Catholic, she lived herlifewith faith, kindness, andagenerous spirit.She dedicatedher professional career to managingSkill Real Estate, whereshe built lifelong friendships andtouched thelives of many in her community. Siswas precededindeathbyher belovedbrothers, Ronnie McIntire,Thomas O'Day; andher parents, Ronald KleinMcIntire,Sr. andAliceMcIntire.She is survivedbyher daughters, GretchenCase (Robert Wollman), Jacqueline Case (Mark Redding),and Leslie Pegues Molieri(Sergio Molieri); andher cherished grandsons, Case Redding, Frankie Molieri, andRafa Molieri. Shewill be rememberedasanavidgardener friendtoall,and loverof cats. Funeral serviceswill be held at St.Agnes

Ozone 88/66

DEATHS

Pegues,Catherine McIntire

It is with great sorrow that we announcethe

Harris, Johnny 'Sonny'

SECMEDIADAYS

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

BIRMINGHAM,Ala. —After Flau’jae Johnson nearly willed the LSU women’s basketball team back tothe Final Four last season, she could have walked offthe court in Spokane, Washington,and called it acollegiate career

The WNBA was there. Johnson,then ajunior,was ageeligible to declare for thedraft.But something pulled herback to the Tigers —beitaneed to add more tools to her game, adesire to maximizeher earning potential or an itch to team back up with MikaylahWilliamsand trytobookendher collegiateexperiencewithnational championships

LSU won it all when she wasafreshman, then fellone step shy of the Final Four when she wasbotha sophomore and ajunior

“It was athought toleave,” Johnson said, “just for the business side. Like,people think that your NIL stops

when you go to the league, but in fact,you actually get moremoney,sothat was abig deal.”

It wasn’talways certain whether Johnson would make it to this point, oneinwhichshe representsLSU —asa senior —atthe annual basketballmedia days that the SEC held Tuesday and Wednesday

In April, Johnsonhad oneweektodecideabout her future. Would she go pro?Would she return to the Tigers forher senior year? The hybrid basketball-music star maintains an active presenceonsocial media, but she went dark after her junior season ended, letting the uncertainty linger for nearly twoweeks after LSU lost to UCLA in theElite Eight.

Coach Kim Mulkey then and told herthatshe wanted to takeonmore on-court responsibilities.

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

The shotgun handoff went to Ju’Juan Johnson, and agaping hole was leftfor him on the leftside of the offensive line. It wasthe sort of creviceLSU running backs haven’tencountered muchthrough thefirst half of the season. But Johnson didn’thesitate as he took the ball andsprinted56yards to put LSU at the 11-yard line with 2:51 left in the third quarter against South Carolina. The sophomore’srun was LSU’slongest carry of the season,coming on an uncharacteristically strong night forits rushing attack. The Tigers ﬁnished with aseason-high 166 yards rushing on 30 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt in their 20-10 win over the Gamecocks.

“A lot of the things that take time to come togetherare starting to come to fruition,” LSU coach Brian Kelly saidMonday.“And so the run game, as Isaid, has got to be central to our overall offensive efﬁciency.” Kelly’sright. LSU’simproved running

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Making the NCAA Tournamenthas eluded LSU coach Matt McMahon for threestraight seasons

The fourth-yearcoach said that playing and winning gamesinthe biggest postseason tournament in collegebasketball always will be anon-negotiable for the program. When asked whether he feels an additional sense of urgency to get the Tigers back on that stage for the ﬁrst time since the 2021-22 season, he said no Having seriousnessineverythinghe does as acoach is his default approach, regardless of howsuccessful the prior

season was.

“I have urgency everysin day I’ve ever coached,” McM hon told TheAdvocate at SE media day on Wednesday a the Grand BohemianHote Mountain Brook.“That’sneve changed. That’snever wavered

“I want to be aplaymaker,” Johnson said. “So we had that conversation, andI feel like she’sseen that work ä Saints at Bears NOON SUNDAy,FOX

Moldinga team with 11 new players into asuccess is an o portunity he’sexcited toha with aroster he loves. Rather focusing on his job security lackluster results in prior year Mahon is excited about thete hasinfront of him.

“My job is to makeanim on ourplayers andultimatel games,” he said.“Iwill contin put my focus on thethings tha control and the things as apro

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Four years ago, after committing apair of costlyturnovers againstahated rival, Spencer Rattler was banished to the bench. The man who replaced him in the lineup will be across the ﬁeldfrom

PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

On TV

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

6:30 p.m. Tulsa at East Carolina ESPN

WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER

6p.m.WakeForest at Clemson ACC

6p.m. LSU at Ole Miss SEC

10 p.m. Wake Forest at Clemson BTN

WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

6p.m. Purdue at Indiana BTN

BROADCASTHIGHLIGHTS

8p.m. Michigan at NorthwesternBTN GOLF

10 p.m.LPGATour:BMW Ladies Champ. Golf

2a.m. DP WorldTour:India Champion. *Golf

HORSE RACING

Noon America’s Dayatthe Races FS2

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALLPLAYOFFS

5:05 p.m.NLCS: Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers TBS

7:30 p.m.ALCS: Toronto at Seattle FS1

NBA PRESEASON

6:30 p.m. Houston at Atlanta ESPN2

7:15 p.m.Pittsburgh at Cincinnati PRIME

WOMEN’S SOCCER

2p.m.Arsenal at Benfica CBSSN TENNIS

5a.m.Stockholm-ATP,Brussels-ATP Tennis

9:30 p.m.Stockholm-ATP,Brussels-ATP Tennis

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

7p.m.ChurchPoint at NorthwestCox4

*Friday

BY ARNIE STAPLETON

AP pro football writer

ENGLEWOOD,Colo. Statistically, theDenverBroncos have the best defense in the NFL, and it could be getting even better this weekend.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw is eligibletocome off injured reserve against the New York Giants (2-4)on Sunday after rec ov er i ng from aquadriceps injury that has sidelined him since summertime.

Greenlaw practiced Wednesday for the ﬁrst time since Sept. 12.

“Dre looked good out there,” cornerback Patrick Surtain said. “Obviously,his ﬁrst day back out there on the ﬁeld in a minute. It seems like he’s very sharp on everything, the game plan, so I’m very excited for him.” And for how much better the Broncos (4-2) can be with their prized free-agent acquisition’s Denver debut.

“I think it’sawesome,”edge rusher Jonathon Cooper said. “Obviously,weknow the type of player Dre Greenlaw is; you watch the film. And you add that type of dynamic to this defense with him being right, it’sjust going to take us even to another level.

“I’m excited for him to return.”

Broncos’ top-ranked defenseset to getbetter Saints notebook

Denver’sdefense leadsthe NFL in severalcategories, including red zone defense (28.6%) and third-down defense (27.1%). Their 254.2 yardsper game yield is just behindAtlanta’s253.4. Their league-best30 sacks are 10 morethan secondplace Pittsburgh and Nik Bonitto leads the NFL witheight sacks, putting him on pace for 23. Cooper was namedthe AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday,aweek afterBonitto earned the honor.

“It’sjust motivating me to do more,” Cooper said.

Cooper and Bonitto are the ﬁrst Broncos to win the league’s weekly defensive award back to back.

“I’m just trying to beat him. Ican’tlet him take over me. I should be out there with sacks with him right now,” said Cooper,who has 41/2 sacks. “But no, Ithink it’sreally cool.That’s my brother “I shout him outevery time I get achanceto. Yeah, he’sone of the best football players I’ve ever played with.

“He doesitone week, I’ve got to make sure I’mright there with him, you know?”

The Broncos held the Jets to minus-10 yards passing Sunday in agritty 13-11 win in London, where they allowed quarterback Justin Fields to complete just nine passes and sackedhim nine times, the second-highest one-game total in franchisehistory In an earlier game, theBroncos gave Eagles quarterback an average of 3.2 secondstothrow and sacked him six times.

Cooper is eager to see what Denver’sdefense can do Sunday when it faces Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

“Yeah, Imean, he’sa young guy.He’sfeeling himself a littlebit. He’sout there running around, he’sgot the chain on,he’sdancing,” Cooper said “You know,looks like everybody needs something. But we went againstQBs who have run around the pocket and everything, try to do stuff with their legs. “So, it ain’tnothing we haven’t seen.”

Bearsfeastingonturnovers

Chicagodefense rankssecondinNFL with 12 takeaways

BY LUKE JOHNSON and MATTHEW PARAS Staff writers

On the surface,the Chicago Bears defense that the Saintswill face this weekend hasstruggled in many ways. Through its ﬁrst five games, Chicago ranks27th in the NFL in scoring (28.2points pergame) and total defense(369.4 yards pergame).

Itsrun defense is next to last in the league, yielding 156.4 yards pergame on theground.

But there isone aspect of what the Bears aredoing under coordinator DennisAllen —the former Saints coach —thathas theSaints’ attention.

“Theturnoverthing is real,” Saintscoach Kellen Moore said.

TheBears have forced12turnovers inﬁve games, eight of which are interceptions. Both of those figures ranksecondinthe NFL behind the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Veteransafety Kevin Byard leads the Bears and is in athree-way tie forsecondinthe NFL with three interceptions.

“We’ve gottorespect them, and we’ve got to be on ourA-game protecting theball,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said. “That’sthe main focusthisweek,especially playing theseguys.”

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

guys, andIdeﬁnitely wanttobe mentioned in that group, because Ifeel likeconﬁdence-wise, I’m up there with those guys.”

Butonce they were teammates —and it may be fair to say rivals. There was aspeciﬁcmomentthat altered the paths for both of them.

It was October 2021 and Rattler was thestarting quarterback foranunbeatenNo. 6Oklahoma Soonersteam. Hisplayhad been uneven that season,though, and against Texas it started to fall apart. An earlyinterceptionled to atouchdown drivethat put Texas up 21-7. Asecond-quarter fumble was followed byanother Texas score. Down 35-17, Rattlerlosthis grip onhis starting job. Williamsreplaced Rattler and led afurious Oklahoma rally,outscoring Texas 38-13 during the remainder of the game in awild 55-48 win Alot changed, and quickly.They both transferredthe next year,RattlertoSouth Carolina and Williams to Southern California,where he followed coach LincolnRiley and won the 2022 Heisman Trophy

Despite their 1-5 record,the Saintshave been one of the NFL’s better teams at avoiding turnovers. New Orleans has committedonly four turnovers through itsﬁrst sixgames, tied with Chicago and Indianapolis for the seventh-fewest in theNFL.

Rattler hasthrown just one interceptioninhis 203 pass attempts this season —down from ﬁve in 228 attempts last season.

Butthe Bearshave found away to create turnovers.OnMonday night against the Washington Commanders,Chicago forced three turnovers against ateam that hadturneditoverthreetimes in its ﬁrst ﬁve games combined.

Kamara misses practice

Alvin Kamara played in Sunday’s gameagainst thePatriots, despite being questionable withanankle injury.Days later, the running back missed practice.

Kamara was absent from Wednesday’ssession with an ankle injury,Moore said. Kamara was oneoftwo Saints to sitout with injuries, joiningcornerback Isaac Yiadom (hamstring).

Kamara had10carries for only 31 yards against thePatriots.He told reporters last week thathe suffered theinjuryagainstthe New York Giants, which he said required him to ice it.

“Justhow to deal with adversity,”Rattler said about what he took from the experience. “It’s not the ﬁrst time aquarterback had to go through that, so I’mnot the only one. But adversity, it’sthe quarterback position, it’swhat comes with thejob. You’ve got to deal withit and move onto the next.”

Their paths from that dayin Oklahoma presented both with challenges. Ever since Williamswon the Heisman, it feltlike aforegone conclusion that he would go No. 1whenever he entered the draft. That hype comes with pressure to perform, and Williams did not always deliver as arookie in a city that is perennially starvedfor good quarterback play For Rattler,acouple of years of good but not spectacular football at South Carolina resulted in him lasting until Day 3ofthe draft He enteredthe NFL as abackup withintriguing potential. If it wasn’tfor Derek Carr’ssurprising retirement, that might still be what he is.Even afterCarr’s retirement, theSaints drafted TylerShough in the second round, andRattler had to beat Shough to earn the starting job The path matters, and notjust from anarrative standpoint. The

“I feel good,” Kamara said. “Just something in the game that Ithought wasn’tthatserious really,and really it’snot that serious really,but just alittle soreness. I waslike,‘Let me go put some ice on it.’ It’ll be all right.”

Moore saidKamara’sinjury did not getworseand that Wednesday’sday off wasrequired “maintenance.”

Kamara’sabsence comes after he reportedlyinformed the Saints he would like to remain with the franchise amid other teamsexpressing interest in trading for him

The NFL Network reported overthe weekendthatgeneral manager Mickey Loomis went to Kamaraafter teamscalled about his availability

Moore’sroleintrades

Moore said Wednesdaythathe’d mostly let Loomis handle trade decisions.

“I’m going to allow Mickey to roll withthat and I’ll defer to him in alot of those situations,” Mooresaid. “Certainly we’ll have conversations as we go, but we love thisgroup, it’s abunch of really good people, we’vegot the right people in the room,welove these guys and we wantthem to be successful here, ﬁrst and foremost.”

Bears are committedtobuilding around Williams as afranchise cornerstone, treatmentthatcomes with thedraft investment. As aDay 3draft selectionleading a1-5 team, thebar is much higherfor Rattler to get the same consideration

Butwhatalsomatters is the opportunity.While Williams will have alonger runway,Rattler has converted some doubters with his play this season. He has compiled modest statistics through six weeks, throwing six touchdown passes, averaging 202.8 yards passing per game and posting a91.5 passer rating, all below league average forstarting quarterbacks. But Rattler has avoidedcostly mistakes —his 0.5% interception rate and5.1% sack rate both rank among league leaders —and he’spositioned arebuilding Saints team to be competitive late in four of the ﬁve losses.

Awin Sunday against the Bears with Williams on theothersideline may convert afew more doubters, even if Rattler isn’t willing to place any added signiﬁcance on the whoand why.

“Weall have our own paths, and we’vegot to do our best with our own paths,” Rattlersaid. “The pastisthe past, and I’m focused on the present and the future.”

The NBA has reminded teams to prioritize addressing inappropriate fan behavior at games this season. In amemo sent to all 30 clubs, the league told teams thatitwants“consistent and vigilant enforcement of theNBA Fan Code of Conduct to deter andaddress fan misconduct at NBA games and events.”

Amongthe notable incidents in theNBA last season: some fans in Dallas were ejected for their reactions in the days followingthe team’s decision to trade longtime Mavericks star Luka Doncic to the Los AngelesLakers, andthe Minnesota Timberwolves ejected afan fromaplayoffgame forracially charged comments directed toward Golden State’sDraymond Green.

Ex-Angelsofficialtestifies in pitcher’swrongful death suit

SANTAANA, Calif. Aformer Los Angeles Angels ofﬁcial has testiﬁed that an employee convicted of providing drugs leading to thedeath of one of the team’spitchers had been taking prescription medicationto deal withdepression and bipolar disorder

TimMead, who oversaw communications withthe Angels, said he was aware of themental health struggles employee Eric Kay had faced.The testimony came in acivil trial to determine whether the Angels should be held responsible for the 2019 overdosedeath of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

Kay was convicted of providing the drugs that led to Skaggs’ death on ateam trip to Texas.

The trial is expected to take weeks andcould includeplayers’ testimony NBA memo to all30teams targetspoor fanbehavior

Veteran guard Westbrook agrees to deal with Kings

Former MVP Russell Westbrook is joining theSacramento Kings, apersonfamiliarwith the agreementtold The Associated Press on Wednesday

The 36-year-old Westbrook is enteringhis 18th seasoninthe league He’sthe all-timeleader with 203 triple-doubles and ranks 20th in NBAhistory with 26,205 pointsand eighth with 9,925 assists. He holds career averages of 21.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.0assists.

The nine-time All-Starbegan his career with Oklahoma City and teamed with Kevin Durant to help the Thunder becomealeague power.After Durant left to join the Golden State Warriors, Westbrook was named the league MVP the following season —the ﬁrst of his threestraight averaging atripledouble.

Big 12 fines Kansas $25K forLeipold’sknife comment

The Big 12 ﬁned Kansas $25,000 on Wednesday for coach Lance Leipold’sstatement that apocketknife was thrown at his staff during the Jayhawks’ game at Texas Tech last weekend.

The conference said the allegation was inaccurateand Leipold’s comments after the 42-17 loss to the Red Raiders were “disparaging.” Speaking about Tech fans’ tradition of throwing tortillasontothe ﬁeld, Leipold said apocketknife wasalso thrown in the third quarter of the game.

“I mean it’sridiculous,” he said in his postgame news conference. “I mean it’ssupposed to be for safety andthings like that. It’s aculture that’sbeen accepted to apoint and it hasn’tchangedand eventually someone is going to be seriously hurt unfortunately.”

Expansion not discussed at annual NHL meeting

NEWYORK Expansion wasnot discussed at the NHL’sBoard of Governors meetingonWednesday, commissioner Gary Bettman said afterward.

The league has been at 32 teams since Seattle entered forthe 202122 season.There aregroups who have aspirations of franchises in Atlanta and Houston, among other places.

Askedifthe door couldbe opened on theexpansionfront at the next board meeting in DecemberinColoradoSprings, Bettman said that’snot for the NHL to decide.

“If somebody knocks on the door, we’ll peek around to see who’s knocking and then decide what to do with it,” Bettman said.

Greenlaw

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByJEFF LEWIS

ChicagoBears safety KevinByard intercepts apass and runs against the Las VegasRaiders on Sept. 28 in LasVegas. The Bears, whohaveeight interceptions, have forced 12 turnovers this season.

Fulwiley details how she ended up at LSU

BY REED DARCEY and TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writers

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — MiLaysia Fulwiley on Wednesday detailed her decision to transfer from South Carolina to LSU when the SEC held its annual basketball media days.

Fulwiley a junior guard from Columbia, South Carolina, said she did not want to leave the SEC when she decided in April to enter the transfer portal and sign with the Tigers one of her hometown program’s chief rivals She still wanted to compete for a national championship, she said, and play for a “great coach.”

“So I think I kind of just thought about those type of things,” Fulwiley said, “and that’s when I went in the direction of LSU, and I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s a great ﬁt for me.’ I had to make sure the style of play was for me.”

Fulwiley’s decision was one of the most intriguing moves of the 2025 transfer cycle. So how did the transfer process play out?

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told “The Breakfast Club” radio show in May that she wasn’t surprised Fulwiley decided to transfer The junior guard and her mother, Staley said, sat down in her ofﬁce and said she thought she wanted to transfer Staley then asked Fulwiley if she thought she wanted to transfer or if she knew When Fulwiley said she knew Staley told her that she “only wants her (to be) happy.” Fulwiley knew where she wanted to go. She didn’t even visit the Tigers before she announced her commitment on April 25.

Coach Kim Mulkey told Baton Rouge personal injury attorney Gordon McKernan on his podcast in May that Fulwiley “pretty much had her mind made up.” The two parties,

Mulkey said, spoke only one time before Fulwiley committed.

Mulkey has said she’s “challenging” Fulwiley to play point guard this season while still giving her opportunities to play on the wing as well. The 5-foot-10 transfer spent time playing both roles in the two years she spent with the Gamecocks, who brought her off the bench As both a freshman and a sophomore, Fulwiley scored 11.7 points per game in the 18 minutes she played on average, each night. Her responsibilities could broaden at LSU under the direction of Mulkey “(Mulkey) told me that when I came here, I was gonna love it,” Fulwiley said, “and it hasn’t been

WHIT WEEKS QUESTIONABLE VS. VANDERBILT

LSU junior linebacker Whit Weeks has been listed as questionable ahead of Saturday’s matchup atVanderbilt,according toWednesday’s SEC availability report.

Weeks’ inclusion comes as a surprise after the star linebacker played 61 snaps last week against South Carolina, according to Pro Football Focus.

LSU coach Brian Kelly did note on Monday that Weeks was experiencing soreness as a result of the ankle injury he suffered against Baylor in the Texas Bowl last season.

LSU also listed ﬁfth-year senior edge rusher Jimari Butler as questionable. Butler left the South Carolina game early because of an ankle injury, but Kelly noted Monday that the ailment is not a high-ankle sprain.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Aaron Anderson and redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Paul Mubenga were listed as probable. But starting ﬁfthyear senior defensive tackle Bernard Gooden, who left Saturday’s game early with a collarbone injury, was listed as doubtful.

Kelly said Monday that Gooden had a bruised collarbone, and though it wasn’t broken, he noted that the South Florida transfer was “very sore right now.”

Koki Riley

anything different since I’ve been there. I mean, it’s a great program. She makes me feel at home She reminds me what she brought me here for and what areas she’s gonna help me in, and that’s been working out.”

Reed talks injury Jalen Reed, the longest-tenured player on the LSU men’s basketball team, is fully back to 5-on-5 action, he said Wednesday

The forward plans on playing a few minutes in a closed scrimmage the team will have this weekend and is expecting to play in the Tigers’ exhibition game against Central Florida on Oct. 26 at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando,

JOHNSON

Continued from page 1C

match up to what I said. Like, I’ve been playing so well. Even in the scrimmages, just really like distributing the ball, rebounding in all facets of the game because that’s what I want to show for the scouts in the WNBA.”

Johnson also said she feels “nervous” when she thinks about her future. She could choose her college team, she said. But she can’t decide where she will play professional basketball, or even if the WNBA and its players strike a new collective bargaining agreement by the time her career starts.

Both parties are in active negotiations — so far, a contentious process that could lead to a work stoppage The current WBNA CBA expires on Oct. 31.

Florida.

Coach Matt McMahon said Reed is two months ahead of schedule in his 12-month recovery process from the torn ACL he suffered on Dec. 4 against Florida State.

“Been an inspiration watching how he’s committed to the work to get back not only to the ﬂoor but the growth from a mindset and leadership standpoint,” McMahon said.

“I really think he’ll have a monster year for us. Really proud to have an opportunity to coach him.”

The redshirt junior’s season ended with him averaging 11.1 points on 60.4% shooting and 6.5 rebounds per game. Reed is one of two returnees for LSU, along with sophomore

LSU

Continued from page 1C

game played a big part in its offense becoming more efficient Saturday The 420 yards of total offense it accumulated was the most in any contest outside of the Southeastern Louisiana game. The Tigers averaged a healthy 6.7 yards per play, and the passing game thrived in part because of that balance. When LSU struggled Saturday, it had little to do with the run game or down-to-down efﬁciency

The Tigers turned the ball over twice at the goal line and scored just three points on three trips to the 1-yard line.

“In our blue zone — 5 yards going in, 10 yards going in — that clearly has to be much better,” Kelly said. “So we know the errors that we need to improve on, they’re all very much within our grasp of doing so.”

Improving the run game was an emphasis for the Tigers during their off week, especially when it came to their offensive line. Kelly told the SEC Network before Saturday’s game that his offensive line needed to work on pushing out, instead of up, with their run blocks.

“We come off the ball, we want to fire out instead of firing up, which is what Brian Kelly has been talking about,” SEC sideline reporter Cole Cubelic said and demonstrated during the ﬁrst quarter of Saturday’s game. “When you come up, that loses leverage. You’re not able to get a push, you’re not able to get a drive on those defenders.

Kelly noticed an improvement in LSU’s technique on the line, noting how the Tigers “ran off the ball for the ﬁrst time.” Kelly has said on multiple occasions

that LSU’s technique upfront has needed improvement.

“Where we’ve got to get better is technically; our guys are playing hard,” Kelly said prior to LSU’s matchup with Southeastern Louisiana. “They are locked in. We’ve got to be better in terms of technical.”

Besides improving its technique, LSU also mixed formations in the run game. The Tigers handed the ball off to a running back from under center five times against South Carolina They also executed a wildcat run with Johnson receiving the shotgun snap in the ﬁrst quarter

A lack of creativity hasn’t been a major issue for the Tigers’ rushing attack, given how often they’ve handed the ball off to wide receivers. But offensive coordinator Joe Sloan’s decision to run the ball under center more often was a change from what defenses saw from LSU through the ﬁrst ﬁve weeks of the season.

“I think it’s just been an evolution,” Kelly said Monday when asked about LSU’s uptick in under-center runs. “I think it starts with getting off the ball. I think it starts with aiming points for our offensive line.”

The question that remains is whether LSU can sustain this level of success on the ground this weekend at Vanderbilt, next week against Texas A&M or at Alabama after the Tigers’ ﬁnal off week.

For LSU to have an efﬁcient attack, that will be a necessity

“We need to have a running game that keeps you honest, that you can’t put ﬁve guys in the box and cover down with seven others,” Kelly said the Monday prior to LSU’s win over South Carolina

“... We’ve got to be able to run the ball efﬁciently When you give us that look, if you want to play two high safety and give us fair numbers (in the box), we’ve got to be efﬁcient in running the football.

“I’ve never been in a place where it’s been so unknown,” Johnson said. Mulkey said when LSU began preseason practices that she wanted her star guard to “put it all together” and embrace more of a leadership role. In games, she doesn’t want her to dwell on, say, poor ofﬁciating or her own poor performance.

Johnson was the ﬁrst high-proﬁle recruit to choose LSU during Mulkey’s tenure. Now her career is winding down.

McMAHON

Continued from page 1C

we can control. And I’m going to enjoy the hell out of getting to coach our team.

“I get an opportunity to build this team essentially from scratch and max it out, become the very best we can be. I’m all in on that, and I believe in it with all of my heart that we’re going to have a successful year That’s the bottom line of everything that we’re trying to accomplish.”

Making the NCAA Tournament is also Jalen Reed’s personal mission. The redshirt junior, who is coming off of a torn ACL, is also desperate to fulﬁll the NCAA Tournament goal.

“I just want to see coach do well and get what he deserves because he’s such a real person,” Reed said.

Reed, who was McMahon’s ﬁrst LSU recruit in 2022, wasn’t the only player present who felt that way UNLV transfer point guard Dedan Thomas has known McMahon for only a few months, but he is a believer that the fourth-year coach is more than capable of getting this team to March Madness.

“Great coach deﬁnitely knows what he’s talking about, deﬁnitely

forward Robert Miller, and said the decision to stay at LSU was based on how much he’s loved his experience thus far

“I just love being at LSU. I love how Mac has really invested in me all four years and trusting me and welcome me back every year,” Reed said. “I just feel I’m a loyal person, and it’s rare to see nowadays but they hadn’t given me a reason to leave. And again, I trust them. Coach McMahon and his plan for me.”

Johnson playing post

The LSU women are listing ZaKiyah Johnson as a guard, but she worked on the low block in the Tigers’ first practice of the preseason.

Johnson — a 6-foot freshman from Kentucky who enrolled at LSU as one of the 15 best recruits in the country — is beginning her career as a post player Mulkey said Wednesday that Johnson hasn’t had to adapt to that position because she’s played it before. “I need to get her on the floor,” Mulkey said. “The best way to do that is give her minutes at the four.” Every post player from the team that LSU ﬁelded last season either exhausted her eligibility or entered the transfer portal. The roster churn forced the No. 5 Tigers to build a brand-new frontcourt. The new-look group now features three freshmen and two transfers. Kate Koval, a 6-5 sophomore from Notre Dame, is on track to start at center East Carolina transfer Amiya Joyner could slot in with the starters alongside her, but she must ﬁrst fend off Johnson and her fellow freshman Grace Knox the seventh-best recruit in the Class of 2025, according to ESPN.

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

know the ropes. So, go lead your basketball team.”

“This is it,” Mulkey said. “I think she’s always been reluctant to be a leader of teammates because she wants them to like her She never felt comfortable doing it because she always had the great older player in that locker room. Now you are that older player You’re the senior You’ve been here You

has gotten me a lot better since I’ve been here,” the junior said

“He definitely deserves to be in the tournament and, I mean, we’re gonna get him there this year.”

For the second consecutive season, LSU is expected to be among the bottom three teams in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers were predicted to finish 15th this season in the preseason media poll. Last season, it was voted 14th and finished 15th in the standings with a 3-15 SEC record. McMahon said he doesn’t look at predictions and doesn’t feel a need to use them as motivation for his group.

When Johnson started her career LSU was beginning its second season under Mulkey. It had won only one NCAA Tournament game under Mulkey at the time, and it was ranked 16th in the AP preseason poll. The Tigers since have won 12 NCAA Tournament contests, and now they’re beginning the fifth year of Mulkey’s tenure as the nation’s No. 5 team. LSU has the nation’s top-ranked freshman class for the second time in three years, as well as two coveted transfers — former South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley and ex-Notre Dame center Kate Koval. Voters in the SEC preseason poll said the Tigers will ﬁnish third in the league — behind only No. 2 South Carolina and No. 4 Texas. They also gave Johnson a firstteam preseason All-SEC nod while also voting Williams onto the second team. Both players can lead LSU back to the Final Four For Johnson, the WNBA will come calling again whether the Tigers get there or not. This time, she won’t have a choice but to go.

“It’s always a goal of mine to be the No. 1 pick,” Johnson said, “so I feel like if I work hard, and I put in the work, then I could be in consideration for that when it’s all said and done.”

transfer Marquel Sutton, who was the 2025 Summit League Player of the Year, said that doesn’t bother him.

“You kind of knew coming into a team where it’s all new players, no one votes for you or whatever, and it’s kind of for the media and the fans,” the ﬁfth-year senior said. “So I don’t really got a problem with it. We’re just gonna have to go out there and prove them wrong.”

“I think it’s almost impossible to do preseason rankings now because essentially every team is new every year,” he said. “A lot of those rankings are maybe based on what happened a year ago.”

LSU is one of six teams in the conference not to have a player named to any of the three preseason All-SEC teams. Omaha

McMahon said that as cliché as it sounds, the program is focused on what it can control — not on outside expectations. What the Tigers can control is their preparation for a season “to put a product on the floor that is going to beabletocompeteand win in the best league in college basketball.”

“The first opportunity this spring, we were able to go out and get some of those type (of) players that I think can do it,” McMahon said. “So it’s nothing but excitement and appreciation for the opportunity ahead.”

MATT MCMAHON, LSU coach

PROVIDED PHOTO By SEC LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson takes questions during SEC media days on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. Johnson, a senior will play her ﬁnal season with LSU

PROVIDED PHOTO By SEC

LSU guard MiLaysia Fulwiley speaks during SEC media days on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala.

AFCNorth rivalryto take on touchofgray

BY JOE REEDY Associated Press

Joe Flacco wasasked duringthe preseason about continuing to play at 40 years old.

However,Flacco is a youngster compared to his counterpart, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.

Thursday night’smatchup betweenthe Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengalswillmarkonlythe third regular-season game between 40-year-old starting quarterbacks.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees won both regular-season games against Tampa Bay and TomBrady in 2020.But Brady sent Brees into retirementwhen the Buccaneers beat the Saints in an NFC divisional round game.

“Yeah, it’sone thing you guys can’t talk aboutthis week in terms of me being older,atleast, but it’spretty neat,” Flacco said. “I’ve been in alocker room my whole life, so, you know,age isn’tsomething that Ithink about. Ijust view myself as one of those 20-somethingyear-olds in the locker room.

So, it’snot something Ireally think about, but Ithink one day,when you look back on it, it’sjust one of those thingsthat’ll be pretty cool to be able to have amatchup like this.”

At the beginning of the season, Flacco thought this matchupwould happen when the Browns faced the Steelers last Sunday.Flacco was replaced as Cleveland’s starterafter four gamesand then traded to Cincinnati last Tuesday,which stunned most people, including Steel-

ä Steelers at Bengals. 7:15 P.M.THURSDAy,PRIME

ers coach MikeTomlin

With Bengals quarterback Joe Burrowsidelined untilatleast mid-December after toe surgery on Sept. 19, many expected them to make amove afterJake Browning was ineffective in histhree starts. Few expected it to comefrom adivision rival.

“(Brownsgeneral manager) Andrew Berry must be alot smarter thanme or us, because it doesn’t make sensetometotrade a quarterback that you think enoughof to make your opening day starter to adivision opponent that’s hurting in that area. Butthat’sjust my personal feelings,”Tomlin said on Monday This will be the fourth matchup between Rodgers and Flacco. Rodgers has won the previousthree

“I think it’sgreat for allthe old guys. Iknow that when I watch other sports, maybe it’s because I’m the older guy,but Itend to pull for the older guys to win,” Rodgers said. “I’ve known Joe for a long time. He’sbeen great comingto my charity event. He’shad agreat career,and it’sfun that we’rebothstill playing.”

Rodgers hashelpedlead the Steelers to a4-1 start and

ﬁrst place in theAFC North

He is secondinthe AFC with a105.4 passer rating, along with 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Akey to Rodgers’ success this season is that his average time to throw is 2.57 seconds, second quickest in theleague and his quickest since at least2016. He has completed81.1% of his attempts on passes under2.5 seconds andisaveraging8.2 yardsper attempt,which is second best

He will be facing aBengals defense that allows a league-high 7.7 yards per attempt on quick passes and eight touchdowns, second most.

Flacco hasn’t hadmuch practice time with the Bengals, but he has developed a quick rapport withstarreceivers Ja’Marr Chase and TeeHiggins.Hepassed for 219 yards and two touchdowns againstthe Packers in his Cincinnati debut, but mostofthat cameinthe second half after Cincinnati fell behind 10-0 at halftime.

Flacco and the Bengals (2-4) will try to snap afourgamelosing streak and stay within striking distance of the Steelers. Flacco has faced the Steelers 25 times in his career,including the playoffs, with24starts.

“He knows their styleof play.Heknows their level of aggression on defense and played against mostoftheir guys over there,” coach Zac Taylor said.

“Obviously, he’s played them more than anybody hasinthis league that is currently playing, so Ithink he’sgot agreat sense of what it takes to win.”

QB Danielswilltry to rebound from a game-changingmistake

BY NOAH TRISTER AP sportswriter

Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears lookstopass during practice on Fridayatthe

Growingupquickly

Pelicans rookie Fearswasting no time showing he belongs

PELICANS TO START THESEASON WITHOUT VETERAN BIG MAN LOONEY

It would have been the best 19thbirthday celebration ever if the 29-foot shot as time expired had swished through thenets. Instead, Jeremiah Fears’ shot clanged off the back of the rim, one of the few things that didn’t go his way in Tuesday night’s 130-128 preseason loss tothe Houston Rockets.

Butfor the Pelicans’ rookie guard, it was another leap in the right direction.

Just three preseason games in, Fears is showing just how quickly he is growing. His numbers have steadily improved from his ﬁrst two games in Australia to Tuesday’s gameinBirmingham, Alabamaagainst theRockets.

ASHBURN, Va This week has been abit of anovelty for Jayden Daniels. For perhaps the first time in his NFL career,the Washington Commanders lost and abig part of it was his fault. Daniels has had off days before, but this last defeat was different. Facing third-and-1 late in the fourth quarter Monday night, Washington was a couple first downs away from potentially running out the clock when Daniels fumbled on ahandoff.That gave the Chicago Bears the ball near midfield, they drove for the winning field goal, and Danielshas had to face one of the less enjoyable aspects of playing quarterback —taking ownership in defeat.

“I mean, that’swhat a quarterbackdoes,”hesaid. “But it was on me. So Itake accountability.” After adazzlingrookie season in which Daniels led Washington to its ﬁrst NFC

Dodgers’

championship game inover 30 years, there were plenty of questionsabout whether he would regress abit in year two. There hasn’tbeen much evidence of that. In thefourgames he’s been healthy enough to play, Daniels hasa98.7passer rating —awfully similar to lastseason’s100.1 —and he also continues to impact the game with his legs.

The interception he threwearly in Monday’s game washis first of the season. The key fumble at the end? It was the ﬁrst he’d lost in his NFL career Still, you don’thave to look too far to find someone suggesting Drake Maye haspassedhim as the top quarterbackfromthat draft class. Andwiththe Commanders sporting a 3-3record,there will be some scrutiny on Daniels at Dallas this weekend, when Washington may need toscore alot to win.

“Wefeel we can put up points, but we just got to be betterwith the details andexecution,” Daniels said.“So we don’thave slow starts.”

TheCommanders have been outscored 36-14 inthe ﬁrst quarter this season. Daniels has maintained

good production despite alot of upheaval in the receiving corps, which continuedWednesday when theCommandersput Noah Brown(knee, groin) on injured reserve after he’d missedthe past four games

“Last week we worked Noah Brown back into practice, andunfortunatelyhis groin didn’trespond,”coach Dan Quinn said.

“The aim is to get Noah fully right.He’ssuch a tough competitor,and it’s the right call right nowto get him into that spot. Let’s gethim allthe waybackand ready.”

On amoreoptimistic note for Washington, receiver Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) could potentially return this weekend aftermissingthe lastthree games. He waslistedaslimited at practice Wednesday

“He’ll practice this week,” Quinn said. “Today is going to be more at ajog-through pace wherewe’re not fully speed, up and going. That’ll be more as we get into tomorrow.

“I’llhave abetterassessment after we go through some full-speedroutesand movements to see where he’sat. But I’mexcited wherehe’strending.”

In his first game two weeks ago against Melbourne United, Fears shot adismal 3of15from the floor (0 for 6on3-pointers) and finished with seven points. In the second gameagainst SouthEast Melbourne Phoenix,Fears played better,knocking down 5of10shotsand finishing with12points. Buthesaved his best for Tuesday in his first game against an NBA opponent.

Fears finishedwith a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and twosteals. He made eight of the 15 shots he took, scoring 14 of his points in the final five minutes to help the Pels erasea 15-point deficit and almost pull out what would have been an amazing comeback.

“If you look from the ﬁrst preseason gameto now,Ifeel like I’ve done a great job just continuing to get better each game,” Fearssaid.

It’sjust thepreseason, so it’snot time to anoint Fears thefuture face of the franchise just yet.But we can dub him thebaby face of the franchise for now He’syoung, but potential is there for him to be special Youcan see the“it”factor and a“want-to” that you like to see in aplayer who should be entering his ﬁrst year of college.

“He works at it,”coach Willie Green said. “When

The Pelicans will startthe season without one of their big men Center Kevon Looney has been diagnosed witha proximal tibiofibular ligamentsprain in his left knee, the team announced Wednesday. The injuryoccurredduring the Pelicans’ second preseason game in Australia. Looneywill be reevaluatedina fewweeks

The Pelicans signedthe 6-foot-9 Looneytoa twoyear deal worth$16 million in June on the first dayof free agency.Looneyspent his first 10 NBAseasons withthe GoldenState Warriors, winning three

ä Pelicans at Magic 6P.M.THURSDAy

you work that hard and you’re one of the ﬁrst guys in the gym he’sreceptive to coaching. We saw some really good glimpses.”

There’sstill plenty of room forimprovement.

He had three turnovers in the game. But when it came downthe stretch, he stepped up big. Both teams had pulled their starters by then, but Fears showed what he can do in clutch moments.

“Just helping the team in any waypossible,” Fears said. “Sometimes we might have astretch where we’re not playing the greatest.

Being in the point guard position, you’ve got to talk to the team and tell them we haven’thad areally good stretch these last three minutes so let’stry to execute plays and get somegood shots. And just continuing to be the coach on the ﬂoor.”

During the ﬁnal ﬁve minutes, Fears converted on two three-point plays, knocked downapair of 3-pointers and drained a

NBAtitles. He averaged 4.5 points and 6.1 rebounds last past season. His best season was 2022-23 when he averaged career-highs in points (7.0) and rebounds (9.1). His signing brought veteran leadership to the locker room and durability. He playedinall 82 games in the 2021-22 and 202223 seasons. He playedin 74 games the following year and 76 this past season. He has 89 games of playoff experience Looneystartedboth games in Australia, but didn’t dress out for Tuesday’sloss to the Houston Rocketsin Birmingham,Alabama. yves Missi, in his second season, startedatcenter.

Rod Walker

fadeaway jumper

“His pace is high the whole game,”Zion Williamson said. “In the fourth quarter,hewas able to ﬁnd arhythm and pickhis spots and it deﬁnitely carried us in the fourthquarter.”

Although his potential game-winner didn’tfall, Fears was pleased with how he played.

“The mainthing forme was just going out there competing until it says zero on the clock,” Fears said. “Just going out there and giving it everything I had until the buzzer rang. Being able to take that shot was super dope, especially on my birthday.Being able to take the NBAfloor for the first timewas super dope as well.” Fears and the Pelicans get their final preseason tune-up Thursday night on the road against the Orlando Magic.

“Itmeans the world to me,” Fears said. “I’ve been watching the NBAfor a long time. I’mﬁnally being able to step in here and show what I’mcapable of.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.

starters have dominatedBrewers in NLCS

Glasnow, Ohtani will look to continue trend

BYBETH HARRIS AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES DaveRoberts has found away around the Los Angeles Dodgers’ struggling relievers. Barely use ‘em. The defending World Series champions haverelied on their starting pitching to take acommanding 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Brewers in their best-ofsevenNLChampionship Series. Two-time Cy Young Awardwinner Blake Snell tossed eightscore-

less innings to go with10strikeouts before rookie RokiSasaki and Blake Treinen tamped down alateBrewers rally in closing out Game 1.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto tosseda three-hitter in the first postseason complete game by aDodgers pitcher sinceJoseLimathrewa

ﬁve-hit shutout in the2004NLDivision Seriesagainst St. Louis in Game 2.

“I’ll take as manyaswecan get,” Robertssaid, laughing when asked how many complete games his staff can deliver.“They’re doing their part by attacking, being efﬁcientand putting themselves in a position to do that.”

ä Brewers at Dodgers. 5:05 P.M.THURSDAy,TBS

Snelland Yamamoto combined to allowone run on four hitsover17 of 18 innings in Milwaukee. Now,here come TylerGlasnow and Shohei Ohtani. Glasnow starts Game 3atDodger Stadium on Thursday.Ohtaniis set to go in Game 4onFriday The Dodges’ rotation struggled earlierinthe season with injuries and slumps, but it’sclicking now “It’sperfect timing,” Glasnow said Wednesday.“The vibe is reallygoodinthe clubhouse. Everyone is feeling great. It’sjust agood

time to get hot, forsure.” Glasnow allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in Game 4 of theNLDS against Philadelphia, when the Dodgers finishedoff the best-of-five series. The Dodgers have carefully managed Ohtani’sinnings this season —his first pitching since he had asecond elbow surgery in December 2023 when he was with theLos Angeles Angels. The righthander twicepitched into theseventh in the regular season.

“The century mark isn’tlike a ceiling on pitches. Yeah, Ithink it’s just kind of contingent on how he’sthrowing,”Roberts said. “He’swaited forthis moment, and

Ithink with the rest thathe’sgot going into that game, he’sgoing to be ready to go.”

Ohtani wasimpressed with Snell and Yamamoto pitchingdeep into theirstarts andhe’seager to do the same.

“Thatwould be great,” he said through atranslator.“But my number one priority is making sure I’m putting up zerosnomatterwhat and making sure we’re the team that scores ﬁrst.”

The Brewers have lost their last nine road playoff games since 2018, and will need to win at least twoofthe next three games in Los Angeles to force the series back to Wisconsin.

Daniels

Rodgers Flacco

Rod Walker

STAFFPHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Smoothie King Center.Fears finished with 20 points, six rebounds, fourassists and twosteals in the Pelicans’ 130-128 preseason loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

Looney

Making an early case

1,749 yards at a 71.1% completion

clip

Haven is averaging 291.5 yards passing per game and he’s been sacked just four times.

He’s also is the team’s leading rusher with 335 yards on 47 carries with three rushing touchdowns.

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

The high school football season is just past the midway point, but there are plenty of individual performances worth celebrating so far in the Baton Rouge area.

The region is again loaded with some top-ﬂight high school football players and state championship contenders

Here are six area athletes making strong cases for All-Metro MVP

Elijah Haven, Dunham

The 6-foot-5 junior quarterback is off to another hot start, having thrown for 30 touchdowns and

The top-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2027 has led the Tigers to a 5-1 record.

Trevin

Simon, Ascension Catholic

The Bulldogs senior moved to running back this season after playing wide receiver. The move has paid off with big numbers each week

Simon has 1,360 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground, helping Ascension Catholic to a 4-2 record.

In his last game, a win against Ascension Christian, he ran for 293 yards on 21 carries and scored three TDs.

He leads the state in yards rushing, according to MaxPreps.

Landon Johnson, Madison Prep

The two-way junior has made plays all over the field for the Chargers, including offense, defense and special teams. At quarterback, Johnson has thrown for 858 yards and eight touchdowns with a 55% completion percentage.

He has also ran the ball 50 times for 383 yards and four touchdowns. At wide receiver, Johnson caught four passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns last week against Southern Lab. On defense, he has two interceptions, four pass breakups and four tackles for loss in helping Madison Prep to a 5-1 record.

Cash Davis, Live Oak

The junior wide receiver is setting records and putting up big numbers for the Eagles. Davis has caught 46 passes for 860 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Davis leads the state in yards receiving, according to MaxPreps.

On Sept. 19, Davis set a school record for most yards receiving in a game with 226 against Ponchatoula. In the same game, he caught three touchdowns for another school record.

Cooper Babin, St. Amant

The Gators senior quarterback is putting up numbers through the air

and on the ground this season. Babin has thrown for 1,309 yards and 10 touchdowns with a 54% completion rate. He’s only had two interceptions. Babin is the team’s leading rusher with 625 yards on 78 attempts, which is good for 8.3 yards per carry He has 11 rushing touchdowns for the 5-1 Gators. DeCaleb Green, Donaldsonville The junior edge rusher has put up big numbers for the Tigers through the ﬁrst six weeks of the season. Green has compiled 11 sacks, 32 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. He’s also forced three fumbles and one has one safety for the 5-1 Tigers.

(19-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-12) Hannan def. Loranger (25-5, 25-6, 25-11) Parkview Baptist def. Teurlings Catholic (25-23, 25-14, 18-25, 25-14) Brusly def. McKinley (25-10, 25-18, 25-10) St. Thomas More def. Comeaux (25-5, 25-10, 25-9) Edna Karr def. Patrick Taylor (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) Kenner Discovery Health def. Warren Easton (25-16, 25-12, 25-13) South Lafourche def. South Terrebonne (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) Destrehan def. West Jefferson (25-14, 25-7, 25-6) Fontainebleau def. East Ascension (25-11, 25-22, 25-22) St. Joseph def. Liberty (25-10, 25-14, 25-7)

(1), Uribe (). DP—Los Angeles 0, Milwaukee 2.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Dunham quarterback Elijah Haven slices up the Live Oak defense for a big run on Sept. 11 at BREC’s Olympia Stadium.

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS St. Amant QB Cooper Babin gets good yardage as Dutchtown DB Braden Dunn defends in the

rst half of a game on Oct 3 in St. Amant.

TheFirstAmendmentguidesusandforgesourbelief thatreportingthetruth–forourreaders,forourcity–isa responsibilitywemustfulﬁllnomatterthecost.

Fresh red peppers are the star of this panzanella

BY BETH DOOLEY

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

Panzanella, the classic Italian salad of sun-split tomatoes and crisped croutons ﬂush with a bold vinaigrette, is the pinnacle of the late summer harvest And if we were in Tuscany, home of the original panzanella, and sipping chianti as the sun sinks into the hills that dish might include a whole lot more — roasted red peppers or roasted eggplant, or blanched green beans, perhaps tomatoes.

In Italy, panzanella simply means bread salad. Born of Italian thrift and creativity, it’s a delicious way to dispatch stale bread and what’s left in the garden. This recipe was inspired by a bounty of plump, almost too-ripe, red bell peppers from the farmers market. It showcases their sweet smoky nature when blistered under the broiler or on the grill, and it relies on a few slices of stale miche, baguette or ciabatta

Though some recipes recommend soaking the bread in water ﬁrst, that step washes out its ﬂavor and texture Lightly toasted dried-out bread has the best texture, crisped on the outside and

ä See PANZANELLA, page 2D

DAIODA/DREAMSTIME/TNS PHOTO

Roast the peppers, turning occasionally until their skins are blackened and blistered all over, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Start with butternutsquash for a creamy, nutritious soup

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

It may not exactly be soup weather yet, but as October progresses, you know the brisk weather that mandates pulling on a sweatshirt could soon be upon us. The enticing aroma of burgers sizzling on a grill is starting to be replaced by the smell of a backyard ﬁre pit, and it’s hard to walk two blocks without seeing Halloween decorations.

The scene is a little different at your local farmers market or grocery produce section, too. Bins that just a few

ä See SOUP, page 2D

Skeleton, and Homemade

and Cucumber

Dip

A healthy skeleton? This nutritious display will be the hit of Halloween

BY APRIL HAMILTON Contributing writer

din of “Monster Mash.” Equal parts festive and frightening.

ä See VEGGIES, page 2D

Hummus

Yogurt

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Oct. 16, the 289th day of 2025. There are 76 days left in the year.

Today in history: On Oct 16, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of Soviet nuclear missile sites in Cuba.

Also on this date:

In 1758, American lexicographer Noah Webster was born in Hartford, Connecticut

In 1793, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded during the French Revolution.

In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led an unsuccessful raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what was then western Virginia. The raid failed to spark Brown’s intended slave rebellion, but deepened North-South animosities leading to the Civil War. (Ten of Brown’s men were killed, others ﬂed, and Brown and six followers were caught and executed.)

In 1934, Chinese communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their “long march” lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China In 1968 American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving “Black power” salutes during a victory ceremony after they had won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race. In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II. In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality in South Africa.

In 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure was pulled from an abandoned well in Midland, Texas, after being stuck there for more than two days. The efforts to rescue “Baby Jessica” captured the attention of the nation

In 1995, the Million Man March, a gathering of Black men meant to foster unity in the face of economic and social issues affecting African Americans, was held in Washington, D.C. In 2017, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured and held by the Taliban for ﬁve years after walking away from his post in Afghanistan in 2009, pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy He was subsequently given no prison time after submitting evidence of torture at the hands of the Taliban. A federal judge vacated his military conviction in 2023. Today’s birthdays: Actor Fernanda Montenegro is 96. Actor Barry Corbin is 85. Musician Bob Weir is 78. Actor-director Tim Robbins is 67. Rock musician Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 63. Filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan is 63. Actor Terri J. Vaughn is 56. Singer John Mayer is 48. Former WNBA point guard Sue Bird is 45. Actor Caterina Scorsone is 44. Philadelphia Phillies outﬁelder Bryce Harper is 33.

Butternut Squash Bisque

Serves 8. Recipe is adapted from “Vegana Italiana: Traditional Italian the Plant-Based Way” by Tara Punzone with Gene Stone.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 tablespoons maple syrup Zest 1 orange (about 2 tablespoons) 1 teaspoon sea salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper Dash of cinnamon Generous sprinkle of nutmeg

1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste Thinly sliced green onion, for garnish

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish

2 tablespoons toasted pepitas, optional

SOUP

Continued from page 1D

weeks ago overﬂowed with sweet corn, peaches and local tomatoes now hold pumpkins, root vegetables like beets and rutabaga, kale and other hearty greens and a host of winter squash.

A perennial favorite is butternut squash, a peanutshaped winter squash with yellow-tan skin and sweet, nutty orange ﬂesh.

Often roasted as a side dish because it’s so easy to peel, slice and cook all you need to make it shine is a sprinkle of salt and drizzle of olive oil butternut also makes the great base for a creamy and supernutritious, seasonal soup. This recipe from Tara Punone’s upcoming cookbook “Vegana Italiana” (Rodale Books, $32.50) is a great op-

1. In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic and ginger, and saute for 10 minutes.

2. Add butternut squash and coconut milk to the pot and stir

3. Cover the pot and bring soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease heat to mediumlow

4. Keep the pot covered and simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender

5. Stir in water, maple syrup, orange zest, salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and curry powder

6. Use an immersion blender to blend until the soup has a smooth, creamy consistency It should not be porridge-like add more water if it is too thick

7. Garnish with green onions, parsley, pepitas and a drizzle of olive oil.

tion for vegetarians, vegans and people who follow a dairy-free diet. Chock-full of veggies, it also is suitable for those trying to get more plant-based meals into their weekly rotation It starts with an aromatic, mirepoix-like mix of onion, carrots and celery sauteed in olive oil. The fragrant broth that cooks the veggies after chunks of squash are added also includes garlic, ginger and coconut milk, which adds a lovely creaminess and subtle coconut ﬂavor

The original recipe includes a teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg, but I wasn’t quite ready to commit to Thanksgiving ﬂavors. So I ﬂavored the soup instead with curry powder and a pinch of red pepper I also decreased the amount of coconut milk from three cans to two to make it a little less fattening

It’s easy to puree the soup

Harvest Panzanella

right in the pot using an immersion blender If you choose to instead liquefy it in a blender, be sure to let the soup cool for a few minutes in the blender jar before hitting the on button, and work in small batches. Also, make sure to cover the top of the blender with a clean dish towel to prevent messy splatters. When purchasing, choose a heavy butternut squash with smooth, unblemished skin and a dry intact stem. Don’t worry when it comes time to peel it — unlike other thick-skinned winter squashes like Blue Hubbard or kabocha, butternut squash is blessed with a thin and delicate skin that easily comes off with a good vegetable peeler With some thick pieces of buttered toast or a grilled cheese sandwich, this soup makes a ﬁlling mid-week meal. In small portions, it’s also a lovely appetizer

Serves 6. Recipe is from Beth Dooley. You can make this ahead, just be sure to toast the bread well so it doesn’t turn to mush as the ﬂavors meld together. Use any fresh veggies you have on hand This recipe features roasted peppers but tomatoes, corn and green beans all work beautifully. Add a few olives for color and punch. 4

2. Roast the peppers, turning occasionally until their skins are blackened and blistered all over, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and cover with a kitchen towel or set in a paper bag to cool for 15 minutes. Peel and seed the peppers and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces Transfer to a large bowl and add the onion.

ing the pan occasionally until crisped and brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

4. Put the garlic, vinegar, pinch of red pepper ﬂakes, basil, parsley and the remaining oil into a blender and whizz together

Homemade Hummus

Store-bought hummus is good; homemade hummus is great. You can season as you like and it is so easy to make. A friend whose grandmother is from Lebanon shared the wisdom from her culture: While the hummus is blending in the food processor, go vacuum the whole house. Point well taken, a long spin in the food processor makes a silky smooth hummus.

Note: I make hummus with and without tahini, depending on what I have on hand. Due to sesame allergies, leaving it out is a good option for serving children.

Cucumber Yogurt Dip

Many cultures have variations on this creamy cucumber dip. It is great with vegetable dippers, as a sandwich spread or with grainy crackers. Protein is today’s buzzword and making this dip with Greek yogurt ramps up the protein content.

1. Preheat the broiler on

ta-

3. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper Scatter the bread cubes over the baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, tossing until well coated. Season with salt and pepper and toast in the oven, shak-

5. Transfer the toasted bread cubes to the bowl with the vegetables and toss with the vinaigrette Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding additional oil and vinegar, salt, red pepper ﬂakes and black pepper as necessary Cover and allow the ﬂavors to mingle at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours before serving.

VEGGIES

Continued from page 1D

In ﬁfth grade, we invented a game called Name that Veggie with alphabetical riddles from asparagus to zucchini. “I look like a tree and start with B.” If you guessed broccoli, you win! The prize? A fresh bouquet of broccoli and a recipe for creamy broccoli soup. I don’t recall the

1. Grate the peeled/seeded cucumber, using the large holes of

2. Stir well to combine, transfer to

lettuce riddle, but the prize was a head of romaine and a recipe for Caesar salad. Stopping by the store after school that evening, we saw a family from her class with recipe in hand to guide their shopping for the rest of the salad ingredients. Cue the happy dance. Fast forward and I am grateful the climate of the sugar-fueled celebration has changed. With the abundance of alternatives, cupcakes and candy aren’t

even missed. Look no further than the produce department or school garden and you can turn a basket full of fresh vegetables into the life of the party Add a dollop of homemade dip — the recipes here happen to pack a lot of protein — and be the superhero of Halloween (no cape necessary). Hope you will enjoy this fresh approach to head, shoulders, knees and toes. Wishing all a safe, happy and healthy Halloween!

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Veggie Skeleton and Homemade Hummus

LIBRA(sept. 23-oct.23) Take nothing for granted. Tidy up loose ends and buy yourselftime to relax and enjoy life. Walk away from no-win situations and indulgent temptation. Choose to work on yourself instead of trying to change others.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Refusetolet emotions standbetween youand greatness. Youhave plenty to offer by allowingyourself room to grow. Be confident, and make changes for yourself, not for others.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec.21) Envision whatyou want and proceed. Work behind the scenes andconcentrate on details andyourbudget to ensure you come out on top. Trust your instincts and only make changes that are necessary.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Excess is the enemy. No matter whatyou aredealing with, it is besttokeep it simple, affordable andwithin theconfines of the rules, regulations and restrictions.

AQuARIus(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Putmore time andeffort into personalchange and growth. You will be given false information that can deter youfrom reaching your expectations. Leave nothing to chance; do thelegwork yourself.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Think twice beforeyou implementchange.Takethe initiativetosource the best instruction and helppossible.Use commonsense and consult expertstoavoid setbacks.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) You knowwhat othersexpect, so do your part andmove

along. Trying to avoid the inevitable will weigh you down mentally and emotionally.Get your priorities straight.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Base your actionsonfacts, notonemotions. Your best option is to pursue events that allow youtogrow. Latch on to thepeople,places andpastimes that encouragebetter relationships.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Achange will brighten your day. Engaging in social activities, attending networking events or spending time withsomeone special will put you in the right frame of mind.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Participate in events that help youpromote something you're passionate about, and you'll attract theattention of someone with influence. Negotiationswill lead to positive change LEo (July 23-Aug.22) Even out the playingfield if you wanttocompete. Observe any competition or situation that might compromise youand adjust accordingly beforeengaging. Preparation is keytogettingwhatyou want. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Listen andlearn Theinformation yougather will playa direct role in helping youand others. Joinforces with someone, and it will transform howyou utilize your skills or earn aliving.

Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILYCIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotationsbyfamous people, past and present. Each letter in thecipher stands for another.

toDAy'scLuE: yEQuALsV

CeLebrItY CIpher

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe AndGrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placingpuzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place the numbers1to9inthe emptysquares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains thesame number only once. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIPALDER Bridge

H.E. Martz said,“He who builds abetter mousetrap these days runs intomaterialshortages,patent-infringementsuits, work stoppages, collusivebidding,discount discrimination— and taxes.”

Atthebridgetable,whenyourcontract appearshopeless, be aman, not amouse, andsee if youcan trapanopponent into helpingyou.South blazes intosix hearts despite West’s one-spade overcall. West leads the spade king. After winning with hisace, howshoulddeclarer continue?

AfterNorth made alimit raise, South bid what he hoped he could make. (Yes, atournamentplayer would have treated North’s three heartsaspre-emptive; he wouldhavecue-bid twospadestoshow heart support andatleastgame-invitational values.)

At first glance,South hastwo unavoidable spade losers. He also has only11top tricks:onespade,sixhearts,onediamond and three clubs. Yes, the biddingtells declarer that Eaststarted with asingleton spade, but howdoes that help?

Declarer cashes hisdiamondace and heart queen. When the trumps are 2-1, South plays atrump to the dummy, ruffs the last diamond, unblocks histwo club honors, returnstodummy with atrump, anddiscardsaspade on the club queen.

Then comes the taxing play: Declarer leads dummy’s last club, and when East followssuit, Southdoesnot ruff;instead, he discards another spade. East is trapped. He has onlydiamonds left, and on thistrick, declarer sluffs his last spade and ruffs on the board.

AndrewsMcMeel Syndication

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

Previousanswers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or more letters. 2. Wordsthat acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional

or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper

or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD PARoLE: pah-ROLE: Conditional release of aprisoner.

Average mark 22 words

Time

Can you find

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

MINUTES WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING GOVERNMENT BUILDING 880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen Thursday,September 25, 2025 5:30 PM

The Following Minutes AreSummarized For Brevity,For Precise Meeting Information Please Refer To Meeting Audio Or Video

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER &REQUEST ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES BE SILENCED

ARegular Meeting of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council was held on Thursday,September 25, 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.Chris Guerin who led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

4. LOG ATTENDANCE

The following members wererecorded as being present: Messrs. Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Gary Joseph, Mrs. Katherine Andre. Absent: Mr.Kirk Allain.

Also, present wereMr. Jason Manola, Parish President, Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne, Executive Assistant, Mr.Chance Stephens, Director of Finance, Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne, Director of Public Works, Ms. Kristen Canezaro, Special Legal Counsel, and Mrs. Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk

5. MINUTES APPROVAL

A. Approval of Minutes from the Regular Meeting of September 11, 2025.

Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoapprove Minutes from the Regular Meeting of September 11, 2025.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf”Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS:0 (None)

ABSENT:1 Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the 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: Recent statewide outage of 911, Parish set up a separate line to call in the meantime; Ongoing budget meetings; Mayor luncheon, spoke in depth about upcoming millage renewals.

Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne gave abriefupdate on the La1/415 connector project and the ongoing delays from thestate. Mr Bourgoyne explained therewas aphone call with the Secretary of LADOTD, Senator Kleinpeter,President Manola, and Rick Ward to express the need to keep this project on schedule.

8. PUBLIC COMMENTS

Ms. Dorothy Collor was recognized and asked about the boxes being stacked on Lafiton Ln. The Chairman explained when that item would come up on the agenda, and noted she would be able to ask questions in regards to this at that time.

9. COMMUNICATIONS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AND/OR ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIALS

Mr.Chance Stephens was recognized and laid out the upcoming timeline for budgets, and brieflyexplained upcoming budget adjustment requests.

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne was recognized and gave abriefoverview of the ongoing work of the Roads and Drainage departments.

10. COUNCIL MEETINGAS BOARDOFREVIEW TO HEARANY ANDALL PROTESTS FROM TAXPAYERS ON THE 2025 TAX

ASSESSMENTS

A. Appeal to BoardofReview for 2025 TaxAssessment of: 6454 Highway 1SouthBrusly, La 70719 for Cerniglia Enterprises LLC. Assessment Number 204700004600 Identified by the WBR Assessor as: Lot 1Skyview Acres CONT 2.81 AC IN SEC 22 T8S R12E 47-46 (MB476)

The Council at this time met as the BoardofReview in order to hear all appeals and protests as well as the 2025 Taxassessment Report.

The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioneditem

Mr.Louis Barcelona Jr.ofCerniglia Enterprises LLC., was recognized and explained to the Council his reason for requesting the appeal of the new fair market value of the aforementioned property 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 Katherine Andretouphold the 2024 fair market value as set by the WBR Assessor for 6454 Highway 1 South Brusly,La70719 for Cerniglia EnterprisesLLC. Assessment Number 204700004600 Identified by the WBR Assessor as: Lot 1Skyview Acres CONT 2.81 AC IN SEC 22 T8S R12E 47-46 (MB476).

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:1 Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

B. BoardofReview Consideration of Approval of 2025 Tax Assessment Report At this time, the WBR TaxAssessor,Mr. Chris Guerin was recognized to present the 2025 tax assessment values of property as determined by the West Baton Rouge Parish Assessor Mr Guerin then reviewedand read into the recordexcerpts from schedules A&Bfor real estate, personal property &public service for tax years 2024 &2025 as well as homestead exempted property totals and personal property value changes for the same. Mr Guerin certified the assessment lists of West Baton Rouge Parish for 2025 to the BoardofReview in the amount of $789,414,621.00, with the additional total assessment for 2025 Public Service from the Louisiana TaxCommission being $49,531,710.00 for aGrand Total of $838,946,331.00 which is adecrease of 1.3% overall.

Amotion was made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin to certify the 2025 Assessment Lists of West Baton Rouge Parish in the amount of $789,414,621.00 as presented by WBR Assessor Chris Guerin.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:1 Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

11. NEW BUSINESS

A. Set Halloween- Trick or Treat times for the Unincorporated

Areas of West Baton Rouge Parish for Friday,October 31st, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Amotion was made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to approve setting Halloween —TrickorTreat times for the unincorporated areas of West Baton Rouge Parish for Friday October 31st, from 5:30pm to7:30pm.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:1 Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. 12. PUBLIC HEARING ON PREVIOUSLYINTRODUCED

Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map Rezoning Request of Martha B. Lawson. Regarding Property located at 9690 Hwy 190 West. Port Allen, La 70767. File #2025-23: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACT JCONT 10.93 AC IN SECS 28 &29T6S R11E P/OSWANSON PROP 14-80. Rezoning from C-1.2 (CommunityScale Commercial) to AG-3 (Agricultural Full Scale). MASTER PLAN CHANGE. The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne was recognized and brieflyexplained the reasons for this request, also noting Planning and Zoning recommended approval of the aforementioned item No public comments for or against saidordinance werepresented. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed. Amotionwas made by Council Member AlanCrowe, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoapprove An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning DesignationMap (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3

Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning MapRezoning Request of Martha B. Lawson. Regarding the property located at 9690 Hwy 190 West. PortAllen, La 70767. File #2025-23: Described by the WBRAssessor as: TRACT JCONT10.93 AC IN SECS28&29

T6S R11E P/O SWANSON PROP 14-80. Rezoning from C1.2 (Community ScaleCommercial)toAG-3 (Agricultural Full Scale).MASTER PLAN CHANGE

The votewas recorded as follows: YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, KennethGordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, KatherineAndre, GaryJoseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 1Kirk AllainABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motionPassed.

B. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact Part III (Unified Development Code),Chapter 101 (General Provisions), Sec. 101-1, (Definitions), Chapter 104 (“Zoning Ordinance”), Article II (District Regulations), Sec. 104-26 (Adoption, Amendment, and Interpretation of Zoning Districts), Sec.104-28 (Base District Regulations By Zoning Districts), Appendix A(“Zoning Districts”), Chapter 106 (Site Planning), Article V(Yard/ Setback, Open Space And Common Area Requirements),Sec 160-126 (I-1 Site Development Regulations),Sec 106-128 (I-3 Site Development Regulations) and Sec. 106-134 (AG Site Development Regulations) Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances.

The Chairman opened apublic hearing for the purpose of receiving comment regarding the aforementioned item Mr.Bourgoyne was againrecognized and explained the reasons for the aforementioned ordinance, which was created by the Zoning Review Board, also noting this item was recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission. No public comments for or against saidordinance werepresented. No written protests opposing the ordinance werereceived. The Council Chairman at this point declared the Public Hearing closed. Councilman Crowe brieflyexplained the reasons for the changes in this ordinance. Mrs.Tullier noted an amendment that would be needed; Line#152 wouldneed to be updated to read 100ft.

Amotionwas made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded by Council Member KennethGordon to approve with amendment to line#152 as noted An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact Part III (Unified Development Code), Chapter 101 (General Provisions), Sec. 101-1, (Definitions), Chapter 104 (“Zoning Ordinance”),Article II (District Regulations), Sec. 104-26 (Adoption, Amendment,and Interpretation of Zoning Districts), Sec. 104-28 (Base District Regulations By Zoning Districts), AppendixA (“Zoning Districts”), Chapter 106 (Site Planning),Article V(Yard/Setback, Open Space And Common Area Requirements),Sec 160-126 (I-1 Site Development Regulations), Sec 106-128 (I-3 Site Development Regulations) and Sec. 106-134 (AG Site Development Regulations) Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances.

The votewas recorded as follows: YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, KennethGordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT: 1Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motionPassed. Ordinance 42 of 2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

13. CONSIDER STATUS REPORT, CHANGEORDER AND/OR OTHER

MATTERS AS REQUIRED ON CURRENT PROJECTS

A. Consider Change Order No. 1for 2025 Asphalt Road Rehab Program for Rebelle Lane.

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne was recognized and explained the reasons forthe aforementioned change order and offered to answer any questions.

Amotionwas made by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andretoapprove ChangeOrder No.1for 2025 AsphaltRoad Rehab Program for Rebelle Lane.

The votewas recorded as follows:

YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, KennethGordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, KatherineAndre, GaryJoseph)

NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT: 1Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motionPassed.

14. RESOLUTIONS A. AResolution To Authorize The Parish President To ExecuteThe Entity-State AgreementsBetween The Parish Of West Baton Rouge And The Louisiana Department Of Transportation For Funding And Responsibility of Sidewalk Project (State Project Number H.014944, Multi-Use Path And Sidewalks Phase 1, CourtStreet) Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne was recognized and brieflyexplained the reason for the aforementioned resolution, and offered to answer any questions.

Amotionwas made by Council Member Alan Crowe, seconded by Council Member Gary Joseph to approve AResolutionToAuthorize The Parish President To ExecuteThe Entity-State Agreements Between The Parish Of West Baton Rouge And The Louisiana Department Of Transportation For Funding And Responsibilityof Sidewalk Project (State Project Number H.014944, Multi-UsePath And Sidewalks Phase 1, Court Street).

The votewas recorded as follows: YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, KennethGordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 1Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motionPassed.

Resolution21of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

B. Resolution Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Council For The Purpose Of Updating ContractFor Special Legal Counsel

Chairman Denstel brieflyexplained the need for this resolution, and offered to answer any questions.

Amotionwas made by Council Member KennethGordon, seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin to approve the ResolutionOfThe West Baton Rouge Parish Council For The Purpose Of Updating Contract For Special Legal Counsel.

The votewas recorded as follows: YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, KennethGordon, Carey Denstel,Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT: 1Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motionPassed.

Resolution22of2025 can be found at the end of these minutes.

15. INTRODUCTIONOFORDINANCES

Mrs.Tullier,CouncilClerk 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 Council Chambers, located at 880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen, La.:

A.AnOrdinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, PartIII (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 101 (“General Provisions”), Section101-1 (“Definitions”); And Chapter 105 (“Subdivisions”), Article II (Minimum Design Standards), Section105-40 (“Improvements”) Public Hearing Date: October 9, 2025

16. CONSIDER SUBDIVISION PLATS, CONDEMNATIONS, WAIVERS

AND MATTERS RELATEDTHERETO A. ConsiderVariance Application for Workbox LLC. at 2160 LobdellHwy.PortAllen, La 70767, Requesting Site Plan Variance on Setbacks and Height Restrictions. Mr.Martin Padial, the ownerofWorkbox, andthe applicantfor the aforementioned waiver, wasrecognizedand explainedthe reasons he is asking for the twowaivers listed, one for double stacking andone for areduction of the setbacks of said property

Mr.Padial explainedthe hardship wasthe size andconfiguration of the property to fitall the items requi9red for his rentalbusiness. Ms. Dorothy Collor,who livesnear the property,was asking about whathappenswhenwehave hurricanes andhigh winds, what happens with the double-stacked boxes. Ms. Collor also asked what, if anything, was being stored in said boxes. Council member KatherineAndreasked for ahardship definition. Ms. Canezaro brieflyread aloud the hardship applicability language in the parish code. Ms. Canezarowentonthe explainthe parameters of a consent judgment from 2016 whichhas never been adhered to. ChairmanDenstel pointed out the location of the boxes which obstructedthe view of roadways ChairmanDenstel asked Mrs. Tulliertoread into the record the two letters of objection received from Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne Public Works Director,and Mr.John Andre, Roads Superintendent. Council Member Walkernotedthe safety concerns on the roadways andexplainedwhy he would support denying this request.

Amotion wasmade by Council Member AlanCrowe, seconded by Council Member AtleyWalker to deny the Variance Application for Workbox LLC. At 2160 Lobdell Hwy.Port Allen, La 70767, Requesting Site PlanVariance on Setbacks andHeight Restrictions.

The vote wasrecorded as follows: YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, AtleyWalker,Brady Hotard Kenneth Gordon, CareyDenstel, AlanCrowe,KatherineAndre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:1 Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed andthe variance requests were denied.

17. ALCOHOL PERMITS A. ConsiderApproval of MMA ExpressInc. dba MMA Express located at 1521 Hwy 190 W. Port Allen, La 70767, ClassB Liquor License. Mrs. Tullierexplainedthe aforementioned business hasmet allthe requirements of Chapter 6Alcoholic Beverages of the WBR Parish Code of Ordinances, andoffered to answer anyquestions. Vice ChairmanAlanCrowe made comments in regard to previous tenants at this location andthe issuesthatwehave hadinthe past, explaining to the applicantifthose issuescome up once again, the Council will act as we as aCouncil did in the past. Amotion wasmade by Council Member AlanCrowe,secondedby Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babintoapprove the alcohol permit of MMA Express Inc. dba MMA Express located at 1521 Hwy190 E. Port Allen, La 70767, Class BLiquor License. The vote wasrecorded as follows: YEAS: 8(Daryl “Turf” Babin, AtleyWalker,Brady Hotard Kenneth Gordon, CareyDenstel, AlanCrowe,KatherineAndre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:1 Kirk Allain ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of thevotes, the motion Passed.

18. CORRESPONDENCE REPORT CorrespondenceReport from Council Clerk, Mrs. Michelle Tullier includedthe following items: •Next Planning &Zoning Meeting Tuesday,October7,2025 at 5:30pm; •Next Council Meeting Thursday, October9,2025 at 5:30pm.

18. ADJOURN There being no furtherbusiness, amotion to adjournwas made by Council Member Brady Hotard andwas adopted by acclamation at 06:45 PM. ALL MEETINGINFORMATION INCLUDING MINUTES AND VIDEOS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE WBRPARISH.ORG UNDER THE AGENDA AND MINUTESTAB

Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning MapRezoning Request of Martha B. Lawson. Rezoning fromC-1.2 to AG-3.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council in legal session that Chapter 104 Zoning, Sec. 104-3 Establishment of Districts, Official Zoning Map of the Compiled Ordinancesofthe Parish of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana is amended and re-enactedtoread as follows:

Sec.104-3. Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map For Rezoning Request Of Martha B. Lawson. Regarding Property located at 9690 Hwy 190 West. Port Allen, La 70767. File #2025-23: Described by the WBR Assessor as: TRACT JCONT10.93 AC IN SECS 28 &29T6S R11E P/O SWANSON PROP 14-80. Rezoning fromC-1.2 (Community Scale Commercial) to AG-3 (Agricultural Full Scale).

BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council that this Ordinance shall also serve as aMaster Plan Change.

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

NOWTHEREFORE 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 UPON MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALAN CROWE, WHICH WASSECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KATHERINE ANDRE. THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED TO AVOTE AND RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING:

YEAS: 8(CROWE, ANDRE, BABIN, WALKER, DENSTEL, HOTARD, GORDON, JOSEPH)

NAYS: 0(NONE)

ABSENT:1 (ALLAIN)

ABSTAIN: 0(NONE)

WHEREUPON the ordinance was declared adopted on the 25th Day of September,2025.

ATTEST:

ORDINANCE 42 OF 2025

As Introduced by the West Baton Rouge Parish Council At The Regular Meeting of August 14, 2025 And Adopted on September 25, 2025

An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact Part III (Unified Development Code) Chapter 101 (General Provisions), Sec. 101-1, (Definitions), Chapter 104 (“Zoning Ordinance”), Article II (District Regulations), Sec. 104-26 (Adoption, Amendment, and Interpretation of Zoning Districts), Sec. 104-28 (Base District Regulations By Zoning Districts), Appendix A(“Zoning Districts”), Chapter 106 (Site Planning), Article V(Yard/ Setback, Open Space And Common Area Requirements), Sec 160-126 (I-1 Site Development Regulations), Sec 106-128 (I-3 Site Development Regulations) and Sec. 106-134 (AG Site Development Regulations) OfThe West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances

WHEREAS the West Baton Rouge Parish Council seeks to exercise its police power to protect the health, safety and welfareof the citizens of West Baton Rouge Parish AND

WHEREAS as part of its role in exercising police power,the Council has from time-to-time adopted and amended zoning regulations to provide for development consistency and transparency AND WHEREAS the West Baton Rouge Parish Council has determined that changes in agricultural zones is needed,

THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THIS COUNCIL that Part III (Unified Development Code) Chapter 101 (General Provisions), Sec. 101-1, (Definitions), Chapter 104 (“ZoningOrdinance”),Article II(District Regulations),Sec. 104-26 (Adoption, Amendment, and Interpretation of Zoning Districts), Sec. 104-28 (Base District Regulations By Zoning Districts), Appendix A(“Zoning Districts”), Chapter 106 (Site Planning), Article V(Yard/Setback, Open Space And Common Area Requirements), Sec 160-126 (I-1 Site Development Regulations), Sec 106-128 (I-3 Site Development Regulations) and Sec. 106-134 (AG Site Development Regulations) Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Code OfOrdinances be amended and reenacted to read as follows (NOTE: underlined redwords areadditions and strikethrough blue words aredeletions. Three asterisks -* indicate sections of the code skipped for brevity of this ordinance. Such sections aretoberetained by the code editors.):

PART III –UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE

CHAPTER 101 –GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 101-1 –Definitions

Laydown/Staging yard, light meansthe open-air storage, distribution, and handling of materials and/or finished products or properties dedicated to the parking or storage of large trucks, trailers, and/or heavy equipment. Only 50% of the property area with amaximum area of 30,000 square feet can be dedicated to the storage of materials, finished products, and/ or trucks/trailers/heavy equipment. If either area parameter is exceeded, the land use shall be construed as warehouse, storage and distribution, heavy as defined elsewhere.

Livestock keeping (residential setting) is the land use/zoning classification which includes,but is not limited to, the keeping, boarding, raising, feeding, and/or providing shelter for livestock whether any of the previously mentioned activities areperformed on atemporary or permanent basis. This classification does not include the agricultural, commercial selling, commercial boarding or commercial veterinary service classifications that aredefined elsewhere. Furthermore, the term livestock includes, but is not limited to any horse, cow,bull, ox, mule, donkey,bovine, sheep, hog, pig, goat or llama.

*** Warehouse storage and distribution, heavy,means the open-air storage, distribution and handling of materials and equipment. Typical uses include open air storage yards for constructionmaterials (pipe, aggregate, dirt, storage containers, portable toilets, etc.) and equipment (dump trucks, cranes, dozers, flatbed trailers, etc.), stone or prefabricated concrete yards, grain elevators, [and] offshore equipment storage related to the oil industry.This land use is limited to I-2and I-3. Aspecial use permit for permanent outdoor storage in light industrial (I-1) districts may be granted by the parish council after the appropriate public hearing as provided for in the regulations for special use permit hearings, chapter 111, section 111-78 of the West Baton Rouge Parish Code of Ordinances. Aspecial use permit for agricultural storage and distribution, heavy,may be granted by the parish council in AG-3only,afterthe appropriate public hearing as provided for in the regulations for special use permit hearings in chapter 111, section 111-78.

Chapter 104 -ZONING ORDINANCE ** * ARTICLE II. -DISTRICT REGULATIONS ** *

Sec. 104-26. -Adoption, amendment, and interpretation of zoning districts.

Map Code District Name

AG-2 Agricultural Moderate Scale

AG-3 Agricultural Full Scale

Note: (Code Editors please add the aforementioned in the appropriate alphabetical location)

Sec. 104-28. -Base district regulations by zoning districts.

AG –Agricultural District (22,500 squarefeet minimum area)

1. Purpose. The purpose of the AG agricultural district is to reserve areas of the parish which have historicallybeen used for agricultural and related purposes, to allow single family development and to limit the uses that may be incompatible with those permitted uses.

2. Permitted, prohibited and special uses. See appendix Atothis chapter

AG-1 -Agricultural Small(22,500 squarefeet minimum area) district

1. Purpose. The purpose of the AG-1 district is to reserve areas of the parish which have historically been used for agricultural purposes and allow small-lot, single family development with use restrictions for this zone.

2. Permitted, prohibited and special uses. See appendix Atothis chapter

AG-2 -Agricultural Moderate(64,340 squarefeet minimum area) district

1. Purpose. The purpose of the AG-2 district is to reserve areas of the parish which have historically been used for agricultural purposes and all medium-lot,single family development, with some incidental livestock and poultry allowed.

2. Permitted, prohibited and special uses. See appendix Atothis chapter

AG-3 –Agricultural FullScale(4acreminimum)district

1.Purpose. The purpose of the AG-3 district is to reserve areas of the parish which have historically been used for agricultural and related purposes and to limit the uses that may be incompatible with those permitted uses.

2. Permitted, prohibited and special uses. See appendix Atothis chapter

Note: (Code Editors please add the aforementioned in the appropriate alphabetical location) ***

APPENDIX A- ZONING DISTRICTS

The table below indicates which land and building uses arepermissible and non-permissible in each zoning district. The phrase “any other similar uses compatiblewith” each zone may applied by the zoning administrator for C-1, I-1, I-2 and I-3 zoning districts. The following codes apply:

P=Permitted use;

Blank Space =Prohibited use;

S=Special use permit required for the use.

()=Special notation for certain zones and/or size restrictions

>= Greater Than ,< =Less Than

1.5ac. =65,340 Sq. ft. 4ac. =174,240 Sq.

UseClassifications

ME,DIRECTEDBYTHE‐HONORABLE THEEIGH‐TEENTH JUDICIAL DIS‐TRICT COURT, FORTHE PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGE,INTHE ABOVE ENTITLEDCAUSE,I WILL PROCEED TO SELL BY PUBLIC AUCTION, IN FRONT OF THECOURT‐HOUSE DOOR,ONTHE 22NDDAY OF OCTOBER, 2025 AT TENO’CLOCK (10:00)A.M THEFOL‐LOWINGDESCRIBED PROPERTY:

Parish andState,asLOT NUMBER FOURTEEN (14) AND FIFTEEN (15) SQUARETIIIRTY (30),said subdivision,saidlot hav‐ing such measurements and dimensions and being subjecttoservi‐tudesasshown on said

subdivisionmap THE MUNICIPAL ADDRESS IS :561 6THSTREET,PORT ALLEN, LA 70767 SEIZED IN THEABOVE SUIT. TERMSOFSALE: CASH TO

THEHIGHEST BIDDER WITHBENEFIT OF AP‐PRAISEMENT, ANDAC‐CORDING TO LAW. JEFF BERGERON,SHERIFF PARISHOFWESTBATON ROUGE

BY:ANGIE DELAUNE DEPUTYSHERIFF ADVERTISEINTHE ADVO‐CATEON: 9/18/25 & 10/16/25 $31.04

$63

PUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICE TheCityofSt. George Planning& Zoning Com‐missionswillholdpublic hearingsonMonday, No‐vember3,2025, at 6:00 pmatSt. George City Hall, 14100 AirlineHwy St. George,LA70817, to considerthe following: PlanningCommission S25-20-FExchangeof Propertyat16405 &16525 Jefferson Hwy: This com‐bined 3.18-acre proper‐tiesiscomprised of Wes‐ley Denham Tractand Tract Aofthe HeardTract inSec.38, T8S-R2E, GLD, EBR,LA. Theapplicantre‐questsanexchangeof propertybetween two lotsinthe RRural Zoning District.(Applicant: Christopher Maestri, MR Engineering& Surveying, LLC,onbehalfof5AProp‐ertyHoldings, LLC) Zoning Commission Z25-13 C1 to LC2at4341 and 4355 InniswoldRd: This1.23-acre property is located on LotA andB of the InniswoldEstates Section 1inSec.70, T7SR1E,GLD.The applicant requeststorezonefrom C1Light Commercialto LC2 LightCommercial Two Zoning District.(Ap‐plicant:WilliamRogers Eagle ControlSystems)

T25-09: AmendTitle 7 Uniﬁed Development Codetomodifyregula‐tions forshort-term rentals,and providefor related matters.

One(l) certainlot or par‐cel of ground,together withall buildingsand im‐provementsthereon,sit‐uated in theParishof WestBaton Rouge, State ofLouisiana in that sub‐divisionknown as THE SETTLEMENTAT SILVER‐STONE SUBDIVISION, and being designated as LOT TWELVE(12) on theofﬁ‐cialmap prepared by CletusLanglois. R.L.S. recordedonJune 7, 2017 atMap Book 9, Page 29 in the ofﬁce of theClerk and Recorder forthe ParishofWestBaton Rouge,State of Louisiana.Saidsubdivi‐sion, said lothavingsuch measurementsand di‐mensionsand beingsub‐jecttosuchbuilding lines andservitudesas shown on said map. Havinga municipalad‐dress of 2060 Silverstone Avenue,PortAllen,LA 70767 SEIZED IN THEABOVE SUIT.

TERMSOFSALE: CASH TO THE HIGHESTBIDDER WITHBENEFIT OF AP‐PRAISEMENTAND AC‐CORDING TO LAW.

JEFF BERGERON,SHERIFF PARISHOFWESTBATON ROUGE BY:ANGIE DELAUNE, DEPUTYSHERIFF ADVERTISEINTHE ADVO‐CATEON: 9/18/25 &10/16/25 $29.03

that an electionwill be heldwithinthe corporatelimitsof theDistrict on Saturday,November 15, 2025 (the Election”) and that at theElectiontherewill be submittedtoall registered voters in theDistrict qualified and entitledtovoteatthe Electionunder theConstitutionand Lawsofthe StateofLouisiana (the “State”) and theConstitutionofthe United States, thefollowing propositionto-wit: PROPOSITION

ShallFireProtectionDistrict No.5 of theParishofLivingston, StateofLouisiana (the “District”),beauthorized to levy and collect of atax of five (5.00) mills on allthe property subject to taxationinthe District (anestimated $950,000 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from thelevy of thetax for an entireyear)for aperiodoftwenty(20) years, beginning with theyear 2026 and endingwiththe year 2045, forthe purposes of paying thecostofacquiring and constructing fire protection facilitiesofthe District,maintaining,operating and developing theDistrict’s fire protectionfacilities, purchasing fire trucks and other firefighting equipment,includingmovable and immovable property,constitutingworks of public improvements, and paying thecostofobtaining waterfor fire protectionpurposes, including chargesfor fire hydrant rental and service?

TheElectionwill be heldatthe following pollingplaces situated within theDistrict,which polls will openatSeven O’clock(7:00) a.m.,and close at EightO’clock (8:00) p.m.,inaccordance with theprovisionsofLa. R.S. 18:541, to-wit:

T25-11: AmendTitle 7 Uniﬁed Development Codetomodifyregula‐tions forofﬁce/ware‐house useinlight com‐mercial districts. 162865-OCT16-18-19-3T $ SHERIFFSALE TIB THEINDEPENDENT BANAKERSBANK, N.A. VS RICHARD DALE BARNETT, JAMES KEITHBARNETT MICHAEL ANDREW BAR‐NETT, COLETTE BARNETT NEELY, A/K/ACOLETTE R. BARNETT NEELY, APRIL BARNETT GREMILLION 18TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF WEST BATON ROUGESTATE OF LOUSIANA SUIT NO.49141 BY VIRTUE OF AWRITOF SEIZURE ANDSALETO ME, DIRECTED BY THE HONORABLE THEEIGH‐TEENTH JUDICIAL DIS‐TRICT COURT, FORTHE PARISHOFWESTBATON ROUGE,INTHE ABOVE ENTITLEDCAUSE,I WILL PROCEED TO SELL BY PUBLIC AUCTION, IN FRONT OF THECOURT‐HOUSE DOOR,ONTHE

The pollingplaces set forth aboveare hereby designated as the pollingplaces at whichtoholdthe Election, and theCommissionersin-Charge and Commissioners, respectively, shallbethose designated according to law.

Notice is further given that aportion of themonies collected from the taxdescribed in thePropositionshallberemittedtocertainstate and statewideretirement systemsinthe manner requiredbylaw

The Electionwill be heldinaccordance with theapplicable provisions of Chapter5,Chapter 6-Aand Chapter6-B of Title18ofthe Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, and other constitutionaland statutory authority,and theofficers appointed to holdthe Election, as provided in this Notice of Election, or such substitute therefor,asmay be selected and designatedinaccordance with La. R.S. 18:1287, will make due returnsthereof to said Governing Authority,and NOTICEISHEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that theGoverning Authority will meet at itsregular meetingplace, 8098 FloridaBlvd, Denham Springs,Louisiana, 70733, on January 13, 2026, at SixO’clock (6:00) p.m.,and shallthen and there in open and public session proceed to examineand canvass thereturns and declarethe resultsofthe Election. ThisGoverning Authority reserves theright to postpone thedateand time set forth abovefor thecanvass of thereturns (without any further publicationofnoticeofthe change in the date, time and/or location).All registered voters of theDistrict areentitled to vote at theElectionand voting machines will be used thereat The estimated cost of theelectionasdetermined by theLouisiana Secretary of Stateis$47,600.