The Advocate 11-08-2025 by The Advocate

Panelnamed forlakes, City Park master plan

BREC committeetoguide processwithgoal of envisioningareaasrecreationdestination

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

Last month, ameeting concerning aproposed plan to transform Baton Rouge’slakes region and City Park descendedinto lengthy debate and confusion, with multiple proposals and ardent pushback

Attendees objected to theparks commission partnering with outside groups afﬁliated with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to fund andguide the work, leading the commission to reject

thepartnership and fund the $631,000 project alone.

Theﬁrststep has now been taken DuringaThursday meeting,the BREC Commission created acommittee to guide the masterplan process with the goal of envisioning the area as a recreation destination.

Butthe commission continued to face some pushback, as it rejected residents’ requeststoinclude arepresentative from an association of homeowners along the lakeshore or Friends of City Park, agroup dedicated to

preserving the park andgolf course They fear theeventual plan will try to removethe City Park GolfCourse or change the historic nature of CityBrooks Community Park.

Before thevote, CommissionerMichael Polito told members of Friends of City Park that theirabsencefrom the committee wouldn’tlimit their input “This committee is managing,and guiding, and keeping it on track and

Meta partners forsolar farmsinLa.

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Meta, the parent company of Facebook andInstagram, has signed adeal with adeveloper for two large-scale solar farms in rural Louisiana, projects tied

Man indicted on sex trafficking counts

Prosecutors allege ‘ElPerro’ operated twobrothels offNicholson Drive

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

Federal prosecutors allege that aman knownas“El Perro” operateda human trafﬁcking ring in Baton Rouge for more than two years, using WhatsApp to attract clients and lure victimstotwo brothels off of Nicholson Drive.

“ElPerro”has been identiﬁedasJesus Lopez, a45-year-old Honduran national who also went by the alias Pedro Vargas. The women under his control referred to himas“Fran,” according to court documents.

See PANEL, page 5A ä BR couple arrested in second human trafficking case.

On Wednesday,afederal grand jury indicted Lopez on multiple counts of sex trafﬁcking by force, fraud and coercion, as well as coercing and enticing to travel forinterstate prostitution. TwoHonduran women, Zaira Lopez-Olivia, 23, and Kirsis Castellanos-Kirington, 30, face similar counts forassisting in the operation. The arrests, made in October, were theresultofayearslong investigation by the East BatonRouge Sheriff’sOfﬁceand Homeland Security Investigations.

According to an afﬁdavit obtainedfrom theU.S.Middle DistrictCourt in Louisiana, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office received atip in August 2024 that women —possibly underage —were being forced into prostitutionataresidenceonthe 900 block of Aster Street, near Nicholson Drive.

The sourceprovidedWhatsApp messages advertising commercial sexusing aseries of photographs showing women in lingerie or naked, purportedly of various nationalities. The messages,whichdetectives later learned wereknownas“The Menu,” showcased new women each week, according to

ä See INDICTED, page 4A

to the tech giant’sconstruction of itslargestdatacenter yet in the state’snortheast.

The 385-megawattprojects, with developer Treaty Oaks, will generate enough power foraround 80,000 homes. Meta will purchase thesolar energy generated at the

two sites in Morehouse and Sabine Parishes. The clean energy will flow directly to the region’sgrid, helping Meta offset asmall portion of the emissions from the three gas-ﬁred

ä See META, page 5A

Construction continues on

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Acommittee created by BREC will guide the master planprocess for Baton Rouge’slakes areaand City Park.

17th strike on alleged drug boat announced

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth late Thursday announced another deadly U.S. strike on a boat he said was trafﬁcking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.

The attack Thursday killed three people aboard the vessel, Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign in South American waters up to at least 69 people in at least 17 strikes.

Hegseth posted a 20-second video of the strike on social media and wrote, “As we’ve said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their poisoning of the American people stops.” He claimed the vessel was “operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

President Donald Trump has justiﬁed the strikes by saying the United States is in “armed conﬂict” with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations.

The administration has not provided evidence or more details.

Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed a small group of congressional leaders Wednesday on the growing military campaign, providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes.

Report:

Combs caught with booze behind bars

Sean “Diddy” Combs found himself in hot water this week for allegedly drinking booze behind bars in federal prison.

The 55-year-old, who last month started serving four years for two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, was caught with homemade alcohol — consisting of fermented Fanta, sugar and apples at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey, sources told TMZ

Two insiders said that ofﬁcials at the low-security prison decided against moving Combs to another unit from that of the special drug program unit where he reportedly resides.

At his October sentencing, Combs said in a letter to Manhattan federal court Judge Arun Subramanian that his time at Brooklyn’s infamous Metropolitan Detention Center where he’d been held since his arrest in September 2024, resulted in his ﬁrst bout of sobriety in over two decades.

Harry apologizes to Canada for Dodgers cap

LONDON Prince Harry went to Toronto for events marking the end of World War I and found himself on an apology tour for offending Canadians.

Speaking to a military charity on Thursday night, the Duke of Sussex sought to once again address the “blue-hatted elephant in the room.” He was referring to his widely ridiculed choice to wear a Los Angeles Dodgers cap at a World Series game in Los Angeles against the Toronto Blue Jays It was seen as a major snub in Canada, a British Commonwealth nation, where his father King Charles III, is the head of state.

Harry apologized for the blunder and tried to put a humorous spin on the incident he referred to as “Hat Gate.”

“When you’re missing a lot of hair on top, and you’re sitting under floodlights, you’ll take any hat that’s available,” he joked in an interview with Canadian broadcaster CTV He then donned a Blue Jays cap that happened to be an arm’s length away The prince and his wife, Meghan, stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to Canada brieﬂy before settling in California.

The appearance of Harry and Meghan at Game 4 of the series that L.A. went on to win in seven games — also rankled some Dodgers fans The couple sat in the ﬁrst row in front of Dodgers great Sandy Koufax and Lakers star Magic Johnson who is a part owner of the team. Harry said the couple had been invited to the game by the team owner He felt “under duress” and wore the hat as a polite gesture

Fla. AG sues Planned Parenthood

It’s latest challenge to abortion pills

BY ROMY ELLENBOGEN Tampa Bay Times (TNS)

TALLAHASSEE,Fla.— Florida Attorney

General James Uthmeier is suing Planned Parenthood, accusing the group of “lying to” women about the safety of abortion medication.

The lawsuit marks at least the second time that Uthmeier has used his ofﬁce to go after mifepristone, one of the medications used by doctors providing abortions.

Earlier this year, Uthmeier moved to join a lawsuit challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to ease restrictions on mifepristone.

The lawsuit ﬁled by Uthmeier’s ofﬁce Thursday takes issue with Planned Parenthood’s marketing, which says that abortion medication is “safer than Tylenol.”

Florida is suing the nationwide Planned Parenthood, Florida’s Planned Parenthood organization and the national and state Planned

Parenthood Action Fund, the groups’ political wing.

His ofﬁce argues that mifepristone and misoprostol, which are used to provide abortions, can result in hemorrhaging and the need for emergency medical attention.

The FDA says mifepristone is safe and was approved 25 years ago based on a “thorough and comprehensive review of the scientiﬁc evidence.”

The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists says the drug is safe and that complications are “exceedingly rare.”

Under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and at the urging of Republican attorneys general, the federal administration is reviewing the safety of mifepristone again.

Uthmeier’s lawsuit argues that Planned Parenthood uses medication abortion as a “cash cow,” saying that Planned Parenthood charges an average of $580 for a medication abortion but gets pills at a low cost.

“It is vile that Planned Parenthood cares more about lining their

pockets than providing women with factual information about the health risks of chemical abortion drugs,” Uthmeier said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood did not immediately return a request for comment.

The lawsuit makes a broad antiabortion statement, saying that elective abortions, whether surgical or medical, are “unethical practices that violate the Hippocratic Oath and deny the inalienable rights of all human beings.”

Florida is challenging Planned Parenthood under both the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, arguing the clinics’ campaign deceived consumers, and its anti-racketeering law

The state is asking a judge to ﬁne Planned Parenthood $10,000 for each medication abortion provided by Florida Planned Parenthood since the “safer than Tylenol” language was posted in June 2023. The attorney general’s ofﬁce estimates that fee to reach $350 million.

Uthmeier is also asking a judge to consider taking additional steps

U.S. skips human rights review by U.N. body

By The Associated Press

GENEVA The United States on Friday snubbed a review of its human rights record by a United Nations body on orders of the Trump administration, which has turned its back on the Human Rights Council.

To the chagrin of U.S. allies and rights advocates alike, the U.S. seat sat empty as the council president sought input from the United States — once a stalwart participant and defender of human rights worldwide — as it came up for its turn as part of regular review of all U.N. member states.

Council members expressed regret that the United States didn’t take part, called on the council president to urge the U.S. to resume its cooperation, and moved to reschedule the U.S. review next year: Such a review can’t take place without the “concerned country” taking part. Honduras faced its review earlier in the day Friday

There’s no indication whether the Trump administration would take part next year either The U.S. already announced in September that it would sit out Friday’s review

The American Civil Liberties Union said the Trump administration was “setting a dangerous example that will further weaken universal human rights at home and abroad,” and pointed to rights

concerns in the United States.

“From the discrimination and violence inﬂicted in the ICE raids, to the attacks on free speech of protesters and journalists, to the deployment of the National Guard in American cities when no crisis exists, the world is watching the United States government attacking the constitutional and human rights of its own people,” said Chandra Bhatnagar, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The council examines the rights records of all 193 U.N. member countries about every four or ﬁve years. This was to be the fourth such review of the United States since the 47-member country council was created two decades ago. Israel, in 2013, became the only other country to reject the council’s review process — but ended up taking part nine months later, council ofﬁcials have said.

U.S. President Donald Trump in February issued an executive order announcing that the United States was withdrawing from the council.

The first Trump administration, citing the council’s alleged anti-Israel bias and refusal to reform, pulled the United States out in 2018, before the Biden administration brought the U.S. back. The United States still took part in the review process during Trump’s ﬁrst term.

U.S. to boycott G20 in South Africa

BY SEUNG MIN KIM and MICHELLE L PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Friday that no U.S. government ofﬁcials would be attending the Group of 20 summit this year in South Africa, citing the country’s treatment of White farmers. Trump had already announced he would not attend the annual summit for heads of state from the globe’s leading and emerging economies Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to attend in Trump’s place, but a person familiar with Vance’s plans who was granted

anonymity to talk about his schedule said Vance would no longer travel there for the summit.

“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump said on his social media site.

In his post, Trump cited “abuses” of Afrikaners, including violence and death as well as conﬁscation of their land and farms.

The Trump administration has long accused the South African government of allowing minority White Afrikaner farmers to be persecuted and attacked.

As it restricted the number of refugees admitted annually to the U.S. to 7,500, the administration indicated

that most will be White South Africans who it claimed faced discrimination and violence at home.

But the government of South Africa has said it is surprised by the accusations of discrimination, because White people in the country generally have a much higher standard of living than its Black residents, more than three decades after the end of the apartheid system of White minority rule.

The country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said he’s told Trump that information about the alleged discrimination and persecution of Afrikaners is “completely false.”

such as ordering Planned Parenthood to give up real estate, prohibiting it from providing abortion medication, ordering Planned Parenthood’s dissolution and suspending its licenses to do business in Florida. Planned Parenthood is headquartered in New York. Planned Parenthood of Florida is headquartered in West Palm Beach. Uthmeier’s ofﬁce ﬁled the lawsuit in Santa Rosa County in Florida’s Panhandle. There is no Planned Parenthood location in Santa Rosa County The nearest location is in Tallahassee. Florida restricts most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and requires anyone wanting abortion medication to see a doctor in person. In 2022, nearly 57% of abortions performed in Florida were done using medication, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite Florida’s law, doctors in states that have “shield laws” to protect providers from criminal and civil litigation do send abortion medication through the mail.

House cleaner goes to wrong address, gets shot to death

BY TODD RICHMOND Associated Press

Authorities are considering whether to charge an Indiana homeowner who they say shot and killed a woman working as a house cleaner after she mistakenly went to the wrong address.

Police officers found 32-year-old Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez dead just before 7 a.m. Wednesday on the front porch of the home in Whitestown, an Indianapolis suburb of about 10,000 people, according to a police news release. She was part of a cleaning crew that had gone to the wrong address, the release said. Rios Perez’s husband, Mauricio Velazquez, told WRTV in Indianapolis that he and his wife had been cleaning homes for seven months Velazquez said he was standing with her at the home’s front door but didn’t realize she had been shot until she fell into his

arms, bleeding. On a fundraising page, her brother described Rios Perez as a mother of four children. Police said Friday that she was from Indianapolis but the family plans to bury her in Guatemala, according to her obituary and her brother’s fundraising page. Authorities have not publicly identified the shooter Police turned over the findings from their investigation to Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood on Friday afternoon, but the prosecutor said the decision on whether to file charges won’t be easy The case brings Indiana’s castle doctrine laws squarely into play, he said. Those laws allow a person to use reasonable force, including deadly force, to stop what they reasonably believe is an unlawful entry into their dwelling. Thirtyone states have similar laws on the books, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Harry

KEySTONE PHOTO By MARTIAL TREZZINI

The American delegation seat is empty Friday following the U.S. boycott at the Human Rights Council 60th session of the UPR Working Group at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva.

Jonathan Matessino President, Bank of AmericaNew Orleans/Baton Rouge

BY JOSH FUNKand RIO YAMAT Associated Press

Anxious travelers across the U.S. felt abit of relief Friday as airlines mostly stayed on schedule while still cutting more than 1,000 ﬂights largely because of the government shutdown.

Plenty of nervousness remained, though,asmore canceled ﬂights are coming over the next week to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’sorder to reduce service at the nation’sbusiest airports.

The order is in responsetoair trafﬁc controllers —who haven’t been paid in nearly amonth as the shutdown drags on —calling out of work in higher numbers as they deal with ﬁnancial pressure

While it’sleft some passengers making backup plans and reserving rental cars, the ﬂights canceled Fridayrepresented just asmallportion of overall ﬂights nationwide. Passengers still faced last-min-

ute cancellations and long security lines at the40airports targeted by the slowdown including major hubs in Atlanta, Dallas,Denver and Charlotte, North Carolina. Airlines expect limited disrup-

tions this weekend andstressed that international flights are not expected to be affected.

But if the shutdown persists much longer,and morecontrollers call out of work after theymiss their second paycheck on Tuesday, the number of cancellationscould jumpfrom the initial10% reductionofﬂights to 15% or 20%,Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News on Friday

Thosewho showed up before sunrise Friday at Houston’sGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport faced security lines that barely moved, prompting some people to liedown while they waited.

“It was snaking around all different parts of the regular area,” Cara Bergeron said after flying from Houston to Atlanta. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Others were less fortunate. Karen Soika from Greenwich,

Connecticut, found her flight out of Newark, New Jersey,was rebooked for an hour earlier.Then she learned her plane wasactually leaving fromNew York’sJohn F. Kennedy International Airport, at least an hour away Soika,asurgeon,unsuccessfully tried to book arental car to get to Utah fora weekend tripbefore settling on an option that seemed straight out of Hollywood.

“I’m going to U-Haul and I’m going to drive atruck cross-country,” said Soika, who is advising on medical scenes there for aspinoff of the TV series “Yellowstone.” Hertz reported asharp increase in one-way car rentals.

More than1,000 flights were called off nationwide Friday —ﬁve times the number canceled Thursday,according to FlightAware, a websitethattracksﬂight disruptions.

BatonRouge couple arrested in second humantraffickingcase

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

ABaton Rouge married couple were the subject of an 11-month investigationintoanalleged human trafﬁcking and prostitution operation before their arrests,according to authorities.

Maurilio Vargas, 40, and his wife, Zabdi Guzman-Diaz, 40, were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Oct. 13 on counts of human trafﬁcking, pandering, promoting prostitution and contribut-

INDICTED

Continued from page1A

records. Clients were instructedtocontact someone identified as “El Perro” to book appointments, then again upon arrivalatthe address.

Investigators discovered that “El Perro” also operated asecond brothel at an apartment downthe street on Nicholson Drive.Surveillance teams observed groups of Hispanic men, ages 18 to 60,coming and going from the property with sometimes ﬁveatatime waiting outside to enter,according to theafﬁdavit.

Traffic stops of severalvehicles leaving the Aster Street location confirmed the operation.The men told officers they had contacted“El Perro” after receiving photosof women through WhatsApp. They said prices typically rangedfrom $40to$60, and they had discovered the brothel through friends and co-

ing to the delinquency of ajuvenile, according to anEast Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Ofﬁce news release. It is the second suchoperation uncovered by law enforcement in theBaton Rougeareathis week.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Officefirst receivedinformation in January thatasubject nicknamed “Primo,” later identified as Vargas, was trafficking women out of an apartment on Holt Avenue, near Goodwood Boulevardand South Flannery Road,accordingtothe release.

workers, accordingtorecords In October 2024, detectives obtained search warrants for WhatsApp and AT&T records, tracing“El Perro’s” numbertoa phoneregistered under the name PedroVargas. Further investigation revealed aMay 2023 report ﬁled with Baton Rouge police, in which an anonymous Hispanic woman said aman named Jesus Lopez —using thesame number associated with Vargas —had texted that “hesells women of all ages for sex,” theafﬁdavit states.

Using thephone number,investigators located Lopez’sresidence andvehiclesregisteredinhis name. Surveillance soon showed Lopez, along with Lopez-Olivia and Castellanos-Kirington, moving belongings from theAster residence to theNicholson apartment. The trio was later observed entering theapartment late at night and makingatrip to anearby bank.

Detectivesbelieve CastellanosKirington and Lopez-Olivia collected cash fromwomen working

Theinvestigation into “Primo” involved countless hours of surveillance on the Holt Avenue residence, as well as twootherlocations: one in the 4000block of Monticello Boulevard andanother in the 1200 block of Moisant Street in Kenner

While executing search warrantsonthese locations on Oct. 13, EBRSO rescuedtwo adult female trafﬁcking victims in Baton Rouge andone in Kenner, according to therelease.

An AK-47 rifle anda Glock 40 handgunwerealsorecovered in

at theNicholson location. Surveillance footage alsocaptured Lopezand Lopez-Olivia drivingto andfromLouis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, at times picking up or dropping off unidentiﬁed females.

In September,according to court records, aconﬁdential informantentered the Nicholson Drive apartment equipped withaudio and video devices. The informant told investigators that Lopez had sent him “The Menu,”aweekly message circulated every Monday promoting new women for sex.

At theapartment, theinformant called Lopez and was told to knock on aback door,where awoman answered.After refusing sexual services, theinformant learned from thewoman that Lopez never entered the apartment himself, butalways seemed to be around. She added thathekept aconstant watch through video cameras installed outside, the afﬁdavit says.

On Oct. 9, EBRSOand Homeland Security agentsraided the Nich-

thesearches.

“Human trafﬁcking is one of the most heinous crimes in our society, and I’m extremely proud of the tireless work of our detectivesand partner agencies in bringing these individualstojustice,” SheriffSid Gautreaux said in astatement.

The Sheriff’s Ofﬁce was involved in another, larger humantrafﬁcking andprostitution bust during the same period,which involved two brothels allegedly being run out of apartments off NicholsonDrive.

“Our detectives devoted thou-

olson apartment and three other locations, including residences on Stan Avenue and Shelley Street in BatonRouge.Inside, theyfound phones, receipts, passports, identiﬁcation cardsand bank documents linked to the suspects, according to court records.

At the Nicholson apartment, agentsrecovered condoms,lubricants,lingerie andothercommercial sex items. Records add that two women were found inside and taken to LSU Police headquarters, and later spoke with Homeland Security forensic interviewers from thevictim assistance program,according to court records. According to federal court records, onevictim, aGuatemalan national, told Homeland Security investigators she was working as a housemaidinHouston when Lopez recruited her. Shesaidshe needed money for her daughter’svisa and traveled between Houstonand Baton Rouge three times. Known to her as “Fran,” Lopez allowed her to keep half of whatclients paid butnever

sands of hours to this investigation, following every lead and working relentlessly to rescue thesevictims.The moment they were safely recovered wasboth huge and deeply emotional foreveryone involved,” Gautreaux said. “Rescuing these victimsand holdingtheirtrafﬁckers accountableis atestament to what can be accomplishedwhen local,state andfederal agencies work together with one shared mission —toprotect the vulnerable andensure justice is served.”

let her leave the apartment. She said shefearedLopezwouldkillherifshe tried to escape or tell anyone, even whenshe wasback in Houston. The second victim, aColombian nationalwho hadlivedinNew Jersey,said in an interview that afriend introduced her to Lopez after she complained of ﬁnancial hardship. She wastold she would be giving massages, but discovered uponarrivalthat shewould be forced into sex work. Sheadded that she planned to ﬂee the day police raided the apartment but admitted she wastoo afraid to leave, according to records. During questioning, Lopez-Olivia confessed to transporting women to and from the airport, collecting their earnings and designing “The Menu.”

All three defendants were living in the U.S. illegally,according to court records. They were arrested on Oct. 13 and booked the same day in the East BatonRouge Parish jail, before being later moved into federal custody

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

making sure it goes to all corners of the community to ﬁnd out what people want in this park,” he said “So, your input is not limited by not being on this committee.”

The committee will include commissioners Clarice Gordon and Carl Stages, the BREC superintendent, the chair of BREC’s Selection of Professionals Committee and the head of BREC golf. It will also have one representative each from the LSU Foundation, BREC Foundation, Knock Knock Children’s Museum, BRAF, Baton Rouge Gallery and Mayor-President Sid Edwards.

The committee proposed on the agenda included only one commissioner — appointed by Chair Donna Lewis — and didn’t include the BREC superintendent.

A motion to include a Friends of City Park representative failed in a tie vote, with Commissioner Collis Temple III absent. Lewis then moved to nominate Stages and add Gordon and the superintendent, who is currently Janet Simmons, in an interim role. It passed 10-0.

Residents and members of

Trumppardons former Mets greatStrawberry

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump haspardonedformer New York Mets great Darryl Strawberry on past tax evasion and drug charges, citing the 1983 National LeagueRookie of the Year’s postcareer embrace of his Christian faith and longtime sobriety. Strawberry was an outfielder and eight-time All-Star,including seven with the Metsfrom 1983-90. He hit 335 homers and had 1,000 RBIs and 221 stolen bases in 17 seasons. Plagued by later legal,health andpersonalproblems,Straw-

berry wasindicted for tax evasion and eventually pleaded guilty in 1995 to asingle felony count. That was based on his failure to report $350,000 in income from autographs, personal appearances and sales of memorabilia.

Strawberry agreed to pay more than $430,000 as part of thecase. He was diagnosed with colon cancer andunderwent surgery and chemotherapyin1998.

Thefollowing year,Strawberry was sentenced to probation and suspendedfrom baseball after pleading no contest to charges of possession of cocaine andsolicitingaprostitute. He eventually spoke in court about struggling

BY MALCOLM RITTER

AP science writer

James D. Watson, whose co-discovery of the twistedladderstructure of DNA in 1953 helped light the long fuse on arevolution in medicine, crimeﬁghting, genealogy and ethics, has died.He was 97.

The breakthrough —made when the brash, Chicagoborn Watson wasjust 24 turned him into ahallowed ﬁgure in the world of science for decades. But near the end of his life, he faced condemnation and professionalcensure for offensive remarks.

Watson shared a1962 Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a double helix, consistingof two strands that coil around each other to create whatresembles along, gently twisting ladder That realization wasa breakthrough.Itinstantly suggested how hereditary informationisstored and howcells duplicatetheir DNA when they divide. The duplication begins with the two strands of DNA pulling apart like azipper Even among non-scientists, the double helix would become an instantly recognized symbol of science.

The discoveryhelped open the door to more recent developments such as tinkering with the genetic makeup of living things, treating disease by inserting genes into patients, identifying human remainsand criminalsuspects from DNA samples, and tracing familytrees and ancient human ancestors. But it has also raised ahost of ethical questions,such as whether we should be altering the body’sblueprint for cosmetic reasons or in away that is transmittedtoa person’soffspring.

“Francis Crick andImade the discovery of the century, that was prettyclear,”Watson once said. He later wrote: “There was no way we could have foreseenthe explosive impact of the double helix on science and society.” Watson never made another lab finding that big. But in the decades that followed, he wrote inﬂuential textbooks and abestselling memoir and helped guide the project to map the human genome. He picked out

bright young scientistsand helped them. Andheused his prestige and contacts to inﬂuencescience policy.

Watsondiedin hospice care after abrief illness, his son saidFriday. Hisformer research lab confirmed he passed away aday earlier

“He neverstopped fighting for people who were sufferingfrom disease,” Duncan Watson said of hisfather Watson’sson Rufus had been hospitalizedwith a possiblediagnosis of schizophrenia, and Watson figured that knowing thecomplete makeup of DNA would be crucial for understanding that disease —maybe in time to helphis son. He gained unwelcomeattentionin2007,whenthe Sunday Times Magazine of London quoted himas saying he was“inherently gloomy about theprospect of Africa” because “allour social policiesare based on thefactthattheir intelligence is thesame as ours —where allthe testing says notreally.”Hesaid that while hehopes everyone is equal,“people who have to deal with Blackemployees find this is not true.”

He apologized, but after an international furor he was suspended from his job as chancellor of the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. He retired aweek later Watson’scombinationof scientiﬁc achievement and controversial remarks created acomplicated legacy. He has shown “aregrettable tendency toward inflammatory and offensive remarks, especiallylate in his career,” Dr.Francis Collins, then-director of theNational InstitutesofHealth said in 2019. “His outbursts, particularly when they reflected on race,wereboth profoundly misguidedand deeply hurtful. Ionly wish that Jim’sviews on society andhumanity couldhave matched hisbrilliant scientiﬁc insights.”

It was in the fall of 1951 that thetall, skinnyWatson— alreadythe holderof aPh.D. at 23 —arrived at Britain’sCambridge University,where he metCrick. As aWatson biographer later said, “It was intellectual love at ﬁrst sight.” Crick himself wrote that the partnership thrived in part because thetwo men

with depression,and wascharged with violating hisprobation numerous times— including on his 40th birthday in 2002. Strawberry ultimately served11 months in Florida state prison, and was released in 2003.

AWhite House ofﬁcial said Friday that Trumpapproved apardon for Strawberry whohad served time andpaidback taxes. Speaking on condition of anonymitytodetail apardon thathad not yet been formally announced, the ofﬁcial noted that Strawberry

found faith in Christianity and has been sober formorethana decade, and thathe’d become active in ministry and started astill-active recovery center Strawberry posted on Instagram apicture of himself and Trumpand wrote, “Thankyou, President @realdonaldtrump for my full pardon and for ﬁnalizing this part of my life, allowingmetobetruly free and clean from all of my past.”

“This experiencehas deepened my faithand commitmenttoworking for His kingdom as atruefollower of Jesus Christ,”Strawberry wrote, while also noting, “This has nothing to do with politics —it’s about aMan, President Trump,

caring deeply for afriend. God used him as avessel to set me free forever!”

The president has broad constitutional powers to grant pardons, which don’texpunge the recipient’scriminal record but can be seen as acts of justiceormercy, often in cases thatcan furtherpublic welfare. Strawberry played forthe Mets, New York Yankees,Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants between 1983 and 1999. He won the World Series with the 1986 Mets, starring alongside the likesofDwight Gooden and Keith Hernandez, andwiththe Yankees in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

shared “a certainyouthful arrogance, aruthlessness, and an impatience withsloppy thinking.”

Together theysought to tackle the structure of DNA, aided by X-ray research by colleague Rosalind Franklin and her graduate student RaymondGosling. Watson was later criticized for adisparaging portrayal of Franklin in “The Double Helix,” and today she is considered aprominentexample of a female scientist whose contributions wereoverlooked (She died in 1958.)

Watsonand Crick built Tinker Toy-like models to work out the molecule’sstructure

OneSaturday morning in 1953, after ﬁddling with bits of cardboardhehad carefully cuttorepresent fragments of theDNA molecule, Watson suddenly realized how these pieces could form the “rungs” of adouble helix ladder.His ﬁrst reaction: “It’s so beautiful.”

Figuring out the double helix “goes down as one of the three most important discoveries in thehistory of biology,” alongside Charles Darwin’stheory of evolution through natural selection and Gregor Mendel’sfundamental laws of genetics,said Cold Spring Harbor lab’s president,Bruce Stillman.

Following the discovery, Watson spenttwo yearsat the California Institute of Technology,thenjoinedthe faculty at Harvard in 1955. Before leaving Harvardin 1976,heessentially created the university’sprogramfor molecular biology,scientist Mark Ptashne recalledina 1999 interview Watsonbecame director of the Cold Spring Harbor lab in 1968, itspresident in 1994 and its chancellor 10 years later. He made the labon Long Island an educational center for scientists andnonscientists,focused research on cancer,instilled asenseof excitement and raised huge amountsofmoney

James Dewey Watson was born in ChicagoonApril 6, 1928, into“afamily thatbelieved in books, birds and the Democratic Party,” as he put it.Fromhis birdwatcher father he inherited an interest in ornithology and adistaste for explanations that didn’t rely on reason or science.

Watson entered the University of Chicagoona scholarship at 15, graduated

Dems’ offer to end shutdown swatted down

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON Senate Majority

Leader John Thune quickly swatted down a Democratic offer to reopen the government and extend expiring health care subsidies for a year, calling it a “nonstarter” as the partisan impasse over the shutdown continued into its 38th day

Senate Minority Leader Chuck

Schumer

D-N.Y made the offer to reopen the government on Friday as Republicans have refused to negotiate on their demands to extend health care subsidies. It was a much narrowed version of a broad proposal Democrats laid out a month ago to make the health tax credits permanent and reverse Medicaid cuts that Republicans enacted earlier this year

Schumer offered Republicans simultaneous votes to end the government shutdown and extend the expiring health care subsidies, along with a bipartisan committee to address Republican demands for changes to the Affordable Care Act “All Republicans have to do is say yes,” Schumer said.

But Republicans quickly said no. Thune, R-S.D., reiterated that they would not trade offers on health care until the government is re-

opened. “That’s what we’re going to negotiate once the government opens up,” Thune said after Schumer made his proposal on the ﬂoor

Thune said he thinks the offer is an indication that Democrats are “feeling the heat.”

“I guess you could characterize that as progress,” he said. “But I just don’t think it gets anywhere close to what we need to do here.”

Republicans met Friday afternoon with no resolution about steps forward

“We’re back to square one,” said Sen. John Kennedy R-Madison-

ville, adding that he could not predict when the shutdown will end. It was unclear what may happen next Thune has suggested a weekend Senate session was possible.

President Donald Trump called on the Senate to stay in town “until they have a Deal to end the Democrat Shutdown.”

Moderates continue to negotiate

As leaders of the two parties disagreed, a small group of Democrats continued to negotiate among themselves and with rank-and-ﬁle Republicans on a deal that would

end the shutdown.

The group has been discussing for weeks a vote for a group of bills that would pay for parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things — and extend funding for everything else until December or January The three annual spending bills that would likely be included are the product of bipartisan negotiations that have continued through the shutdown.

But the contours of that agreement would only come with the promise of a future health care vote, rather than a guarantee that Affordable Care Act subsidies are extended by the end of the year

Many Democrats have said that’s unacceptable.

Republicans eye new set of bills

Trump urged Republicans at a White House breakfast on Wednesday to end the shutdown quickly and scrap the legislative ﬁlibuster which requires 60 Senate votes for most legislation, so that they bypass Democrats altogether and fund the government.

“I am totally in favor of terminating the ﬁlibuster, and we would be back to work within 10 minutes after that vote took place,” Trump said Friday Republicans have emphatically

rejected Trump’s call, and Thune has instead been eyeing a bipartisan package that mirrors the proposal the moderate Democrats have been sketching out. It was unclear what Thune, who has refused to negotiate, would promise on health care.

The package would replace the House-passed legislation that the Democrats have now rejected 14 times.

Johnson delivers setback to talks Democrats are facing pressure from unions eager for the shutdown to end and from allied groups that want them to hold ﬁrm

Many Democrats have argued that the wins for Democrats on Election Day show voters want them to continue the ﬁght until Republicans yield and agree to extend the health tax credits.

A vote on the health care subsidies “has got to mean something,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “That means a commitment by the speaker of the House, that he will support the legislation, that the president will sign.”

But Speaker Mike Johnson, RBenton, made clear he will not make any commitments. “I’m not promising anybody anything,” Johnson said on Thursday when asked if he could promise a vote on a health care bill.

By The Associated Press

BOSTON The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown, even though residents in some states already have received the funds. A judge had given the Republican administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked an appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in

a contingency fund, and instead allow it to continue with planned partial SNAP payments for the month.

After a Boston appeals court declined to immediately intervene Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an order late Friday pausing the requirement to distribute full SNAP payments until the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause. Jackson handles emergency matters from Massachusetts. Her order will remain in place until 48 hours after the appeals court rules, giving the administration time to return to the Supreme Court if the appeals court refuses to step in.

Trump’s administration told the Supreme Court that the fast-acting states were “trying to seize what they could of the agency’s ﬁnite set of remaining funds, before any appeal could even be ﬁled, and to the detriment of other States’ allotments.”

“Once those billions are out the door, there is no ready mechanism for the government to recover those funds,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the court ﬁling. The food program serves about 1 in 8 Americans, mostly with lower incomes.

Officials in more than a half-dozen states conﬁrmed that some SNAP recipients already were issued full No-

vember payments on Friday

But Jackson’s order could prevent other states from initiating the payments.

In Wisconsin, more than $104 million of monthly food beneﬁts became available at midnight on electronic cards for about 337,000 households, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov Tony Evers said. The state was able to access the federal money so quickly by submitting a request to its electronic benefit card vendor to process the SNAP payments within hours of a Thursday court order to provide full beneﬁts.

Officials in Kansas, New Jersey and Pennsylvania also said they moved quickly to issue full SNAP beneﬁts Fri-

day Ofﬁcials in Illinois, Kentucky Louisiana and North Dakota said they distributed partial November payments.

Jasmen Youngbey of Newark, New Jersey, waited in line Friday at a food pantry in the state’s largest city

As a single mom attending college, Youngbey said she relies on SNAP to help feed her 7-month-old and 4-yearold sons. But she said her account balance was at $0.

“Not everybody has cash to pull out and say, ‘OK, I’m going to go and get this,’ especially with the cost of food right now,” she said.

Later Friday Youngbey said, she received her monthly SNAP beneﬁts. Because of the federal

government shutdown, the Trump administration originally had said SNAP beneﬁts would not be available in November However, two judges ruled last week that the administration could not skip November’s beneﬁts entirely because of the shutdown. One of those judges was U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who ordered the full payments Thursday In both cases, the judges ordered the government to use one emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to pay for SNAP for November but gave it leeway to tap other money to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIAM ZUHAIB

The roadway in front of the Supreme Court and U.S Capitol is closed to traffic Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

Many Americans are fortunate to have dentalcoverage fortheir entire working life, through employer-providedbenefits. Whenthose benefits end with retirement, paying dental bills out-of-pocketcan come as ashock, leading people to put offoreven go without care. Simply put —without dental insurance, there maybe an importantgap in your healthcare coverage.



Charter schools in line for renewal

Three sites on track to continue operating through 2030

BY CHARLES LUSSIER | Staff writer

Three charter schools are on track to continue operating through 2030 after the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board preliminarily approved renewing them.

The board on Thursday unanimously voted in favor of four-year

renewals for CSAL Middle, The Emerge School for Autism and South Baton Rouge Charter Academy A ﬁnal vote is set for Nov 20. Absent renewal, the charters for these three schools are set to expire in June. Charter schools are public schools run privately via charters, or

LSU’s live mascot, Mike VII, lets out a big cat yawn as he hangs out in his habitat on campus in Baton Rouge on Wednesday

New air sensors collecting real-time pollution data

Environmental group hopes to show air

quality issues

BY DAVID J MITCHELL | Staff writer

After months of work and political wrangling over potential legal impact, a new, small network of air sensors began collecting real-time data in four Mississippi River communities and has already detected spikes in pollution since going live in September, an environmental group says. For years, community and environmental advocates have argued that the state should require real-time, fence-line air monitoring around the state’s major industrial facilities to supplement its regional network with more localized data. But the idea has faced resistance from industry regulators and legislators over the cost, the fear of false positives and of providing fuel for lawsuits.

Located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, new AQMesh sensors sponsored by environmental group LEAN represent a different tack, putting monitors in the community and offering, the nonproﬁt’s ofﬁcials believe, the potential to spur voluntary air quality improvements even if the sensors’ data don’t have regulatory teeth.

“It is our hope that by shining a light on contaminants in the air, we can show companies where their operations are having

This collection of monitors is an example of the type of air sensors that the Louisiana Environmental Action Network has installed in four communities between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

potentially adverse impacts on neighboring citizens, as well as on company workers, and can spur constructive discussions of ways to reduce emissions and lessen the health impacts,” Marylee Orr, LEAN’s executive director, said in a statement. The AQMesh sensors can’t carry the force of law because they don’t meet a new state equipment standard, LEAN officials acknowledge, but they insist the accuracy is close to regulatorylevel equipment.

‘I’m still shocked at what we find’ 13 arrested in child-predator sting

BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer

In September the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted sting operations that resulted in the arrests of 13 men who were allegedly attempting to meet a juvenile for sex.

These “proactive investigations” involve deputies with LPSO’s Internet Crimes Against Children Team who uncover predators by posing as minors in undercover online chats.

For the baker’s dozen of men who responded to these messages and who eventually entered a Livingston Parish house used for the operation, a pair of handcuffs wasn’t the only thing awaiting them

Chris Hansen, the reporter and entertainer famous for his original “To Catch a Predator” series on “Dateline,” was also waiting for them along with a camera crew

“We collaborate and conduct these investigations to put together our show ‘Takedown,’ which investigates these matters all over the country,” Hansen told The Advocate on Thursday

His most recent work with LPSO was actually his fourth visit to Livingston Parish to conduct stings for “Takedown with Chris Hansen,” which

streams on TruBlu.

“I think the results that we see in Livingston Parish have been so successful for a couple of different reasons,” Hansen said. “One, you’ve got a law enforcement agency that aggressively is proactive and wants to go after these guys before they actually commit a crime against a child.”

Hansen said he thinks many agencies, including LPSO, are tired of reacting to crimes only after they have taken place.

On this latest visit, the ICAC Team arrested eight men from Louisiana, two from Texas, two from Mississippi and one from West Virginia.

Only two of the 13 individuals taken into custody lived in Livingston Parish, according to Sheriff Jason Ard.

“Learn from this: the internet has NO boundaries Child predators will go to any length to exploit children,” Ard said in a statement on Wednesday

The number of platforms predators can use to reach children has exploded in recent years, to more than 150, Ard said in the statement. He said 26% of online grooming happens on Snapchat, while 47% occurs on Meta-owned products like Instagram and WhatsApp.

These men were arrested on individual counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and

STING, page 2B

Conversely, South Baton Rouge Charter has more than 800 students in grades prekindergarten through

See RENEWAL, page 2B

contracts. These are three of 13 charter schools sponsored by the parish school system There are 15 additional charter schools in the parish sponsored by the state as well as four satellite campuses in Baton Rouge run by state-sponsored charter schools whose main campuses are elsewhere in the state. And there are two large online charter schools that are based in Baton Rouge but draw students from all over Louisiana. CSAL Middle — then known as CSAL, short for Community School for Apprenticeship Learning — opened in 1997, making it the oldest charter school in Louisiana. It is now one of ﬁve schools in the CSAL charter school network, all based in Baton Rouge. Emerge, which caters to children with autism, opened in 2014. It is the smallest charter school in East Baton Rouge Parish, with 48 students in kindergarten through third grade.

Bond set for ex-BRPD officer

Attorneys seek to appeal conviction for solicitation

BY MATT BRUCE | Staff writer

A former Baton Rouge police officer convicted of soliciting sex from a Southern University student was supposed to begin his six-month stint in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Friday

But Donald Steele Jr.’s prearranged date with a jail cell was postponed after his attorneys asked a judge to set bail for him while they appeal his conviction and sentence.

Steele

During a hearing Friday morning inside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse, Chief Judge Donald Johnson granted Steele an $18,000 postconviction bond — resetting bail in the same amount it was before the courts found the ofﬁcer guilty and sentenced him to serve time.

Johnson gave Steele a year in the parish prison during his Oct. 16 sentencing hearing. He suspended half of the term, placed Steele on a year of probation after his release and ordered him to turn himself in at the courthouse Monday to begin his sentence. But the judge was not on the bench Monday so the surrender was postponed to Friday During Friday’s hearing, however, Steele’s legal team argued for bail and notified Johnson of their intent to file an appeal. That invoked a mandate of state law that requires a post-conviction appeal bail to be set for defendants in cases when the sentence is five years or less.

Prosecutors and Johnson agreed that the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure entitled Steele to a bond. But Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings pressed the judge to set the amount higher than it was before. Steele, 38, was released from jail on an $18,000 surety bond two days after he was arrested in August 2021, according to court records. He never returned to jail as he awaited trial and the case worked all the way up to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Now the final outcome remains unfinalized. Johnson ordered Steele’s attorneys to file the motion for reconsideration of his sentence within 30 days. Cummings worried that the defendant’s appeal motion was an effort to delay his jail term and asked the judge to order him into custody Friday Cummings also noted that Steele is no longer presumed innocent as he was prior to his conviction.

“This case involved misconduct by a police ofﬁcer,” she told the judge “He has taken no responsibility He was a law ofﬁcer This is not a serious case for the defendant; he doesn’t take it seriously But it is a serious offense. It’s a serious offense to the victim. And it’s also a serious offense to the people of Baton Rouge. So bond should be set appropriately.”

Steele’s attorneys highlighted his track record of compliance while he has been free on bond and emphasized the fact that he had no prior criminal record. They argued the biggest incentive for Steele to remain compliant

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

PHOTO PROVIDED By LOUISIANA ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION NETWORK

with his bond conditions is not a high bail amount. They said it was so he won’t have his bond revoked and face the possibility of having to serve the suspended portion of his jail sentence.

Johnson took note of the former ofﬁcer’s lack of criminal conduct and the fact that he has appeared at all his court dates.

STING

Continued from page 1B

computer-aided solicitation of a minor: n Ashton Brignac, 27, of Broussard,

n Chad Romero, 44, of New Iberia, n Devon Lamar Nealond, 20, of Baton Rouge, n Jeremy Britten, 41, of Baton Rouge, n Joe Bridges III, 29, of Baton Rouge, n Hunter Easterling, 27, of Denham Springs, n Tyler Daigle, 31, of Denham Springs, n Lawrence Scott, 32, of White

SENSORS

Continued from page 1B

Financed with part of a $500,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, the four LEAN air sensors are located in Alsen, Geismar, St. James and Donaldsonville. The communities were selected after an earlier phase of the project used Aclima’s mobile air monitoring car to identify pollution hot spots in the river region.

Running since the beginning of the year, the four sensors were ﬁrst calibrated for months standing next to Louisiana regulatory air monitors and were found to meet EPA thresholds for data comparability with the state equipment, LEAN’s scientiﬁc advisers say

The monitors collect information on ﬁne particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulﬁde, total volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. They also collect data on wind speed and direction, with the information published on LEAN’s website every 15 minutes.

These pollutants are regulated by the state and federal government, have known health impacts and are common near industrial sources, but, in many cases, can come from many other sources as well.

Slawomir Lomnicki, an LSU environmental science professor who is advising LEAN, explained that

RENEWAL

Continued from page 1B

eighth grade. It is second in size to only BASIS Materra, which has about 950 students. South Baton Rouge is run by Charter Schools USA, a for-proﬁt network based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the largest charter operator in Louisiana.

CSAL Middle and South Baton Rouge both have “C” academic letter grades from the state, meaning a maximum renewal of four years. If they were “A” or “B” schools,

“Bail is not made to be punitive,” he said in setting Steele’s new bond.

“I’m not to punish the defendant by setting a bail that is in itself punitive.” The case stems from a trafﬁc stop early the morning of June 23, 2021, when Steele was a uniformed patrolman for the Baton Rouge Police Department He pulled over Triaria Pitcher, then a 19-year-old Southern student, as she exited her Burbank Drive apartment complex around 2 a.m. Steele accused Pitcher of drunk-

Castle,

n Jeremy Watts, 51, of Kingsland, Texas, n Nikola Grifﬁn, 23, of Foxworth, Mississippi,

n Sam Al Quhaif, 35, of Picayune, Mississippi. Jeramy Yarbrough, 43, also of Kingsland, Texas, was arrested on counts of principal to indecent behavior with a juvenile and principal to computer-aided solicitation of a juvenile.

Hansen said Watts and Yarbrough showed up at the sting house together and felt so at home that they got into the hot tub at the house, along with the adult decoys who were posing as minors.

“One of those two was chatting and talking the whole way about how he’s got to be careful, be-

the data so far are providing clear trends, including spikes in Geismar for volatile organic compounds, a class of chemicals that can be tied to toxic industrial pollution.

“When we look at the correlation between atmospherical conditions and these pollutants, in many cases, you can see a very clear correlation with the direction from where the plume is coming,” he said.

LEAN ofﬁcials say they have been meeting with community members to discuss the data and then will facilitate meetings between residents and area companies “to explore ways to correct and prevent emissions incidents.”

The arrival of the sensors has sparked a mix of praise and criticism from community groups, as well as caution from industry and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality

“This is historic; for the ﬁrst time, we have access to real-time information about the air we’re breathing. And now, we — the people — can be part of the solution,” Pastor Harry Joseph, LEAN’s local community shepherd, who oversees the air quality sensor in St. James Parish, said in a LEAN statement.

DEQ ofﬁcials said they don’t yet have enough information to comment on the air sensors.

The Louisiana Chemical Association, a key trade group for river industries and outspoken critic of the cost and feasibility of public fence-line monitors, said it wants

under a recent change in district policy, they could be renewed for seven to 10 years. They also met either “most” or “all” of other factors measured, including board governance, ﬁnances and “school leader capacity.”

For much of its current charter, CSAL Middle was run by LaMont Cole, who left CSAL in August 2024 to become superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. Cole’s replacement as principal at CSAL, Yvonne Santos, spoke on behalf of her school.

“I heard you have some big shoes to fill,” board member Patrick Martin V said to Santos.

en driving, but told her he wouldn’t ticket her because she was cute, according to the former ofﬁcer’s police report Prosecutors alleged Steele threatened to arrest the woman if she didn’t follow him to an abandoned warehouse in the 600 block of Chippewa Street Once there, he groped the woman’s breasts, tried to kiss her against her will and asked to come to her apartment later that morning to have sex, prosecutors alleged. After Steele and the woman part-

cause Chris Hansen does his investigations, among other places, in Louisiana,” Hansen said.

When Hansen confronted the two men, they still had towels with them from the hot tub.

“It’s a scene like I’ve never — in 21 years of doing these investigations, I’m still shocked at what we ﬁnd,” he said.

Hansen said his career was been a 20-plus-year quest to understand why these men make the choice to harm children, and risk so much themselves in order to do so.

“I cannot honestly tell you that, even after interviewing hundreds and hundreds of these guys, I understand it,” Hansen said.

However, he has sorted men who sexually prey on children into a few categories.

to review the findings “to better understand” them, “conﬁrm their methods and quality controls, and interpret how the results compare with reported emissions data from state and federal authorities.”

“Ambient measurements can reﬂect background levels and nonindustrial contributors, including trafﬁc and other businesses, so we want to ensure these are properly taken into account,” said David Cresson, president and CEO of LCA and its sister organization, the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance.

“We hope to continue to work with LEAN to identify the areas of impact as indicated by their data, and if the speciﬁc source can be veriﬁed take practical steps to remediate the issue.”

Other community groups have criticized the sensors as technologically insufﬁcient, though those criticisms have come in the context of a parallel LEAN project still under development in St. Rose.

Four more AQMesh sensors are in place and being calibrated for future reporting in the St. Charles Parish community, where chronic smells and emissions have fueled concern over a large tank farm owned by International Matex Tank Terminals.

Those sensors come after DEQ removed one of its own community monitors a few years ago which both residents and IMTT had wanted to remain.

Though LEAN’s early mobile

“Everyone loves and misses Mr Cole, so yes, I have tremendously huge shoes to ﬁll,” Santos responded. “I wear a size 37,” quipped Cole. Emerge does not have a state letter grade because all but a handful of its students are in grades not subject to Louisiana’s LEAP test. East Baton Rouge officials, however judged that the specialized school has shown academic growth in other measures, including reading, numeracy, communications and language, as well as social-emotional skills. Emerge improved in other areas, including more students and classrooms

ed ways, and while he was still on police duty, he continued to send her sexually explicit text messages and even offered to give her money to get her hair and nails done according to trial testimony District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose presided over Steele’s bench trial in March 2024. After listening to two days of testimony she acquitted Steele of second-degree kidnapping and found him guilty of a misdemeanor variant of malfeasance in ofﬁce — a charge that doesn’t exist in Louisiana law

The first, he describes as a young man who is interested in taking advantage of someone who is less experienced and more vulnerable than him.

“In his mind, he doesn’t think much of it because he’s been an internet-raised human being who has been desensitized to sex in general and to age differences speciﬁcally, and who thinks he can get away with it,” Hansen said.

He said people often ask if he has sympathy for some of the predators he interviews, especially the younger ones. Hansen said he does, and that he sometimes is compelled to wonder if a younger man doesn’t understand the consequences of his actions.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hansen says there is a type

testing didn’t ﬁnd St. Rose was an emissions hot spot, according to a report on that work, IMTT agreed to ﬁnance additional LEAN sensors. The data will be collected by a third party and published in real time on LEAN’s website, like the current data.

Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh, who leads the St. Rose community group Refined Community Empowerment, said she didn’t trust LEAN’s early hot spot ﬁndings and argued the LEAN sensors won’t provide speciﬁc enough information about what kinds of toxic chemicals are in the air

Traci Johnson, IMTT’s vice president for environment, health, safety and security, said the company followed LEAN’s recommendations on which chemicals the sensors should test for ‘What’s going on here?’

In 2024, as environmental groups began proposing their own community-based systems and conducting other efforts like mobile air monitoring, the Legislature pushed through new rules that barred data from these systems from being used for regulatory actions or lawsuits if they didn’t match federal standards for regulatory air monitoring equipment.

That law is the subject of a 1st Amendment lawsuit brought in federal court by environmental groups, though not LEAN.

Larry Starﬁeld, a retired top EPA

meeting academic and other goals set out in students’ individualized education plans. In January 2023, Emerge had a much rougher ride. Then-Superintendent Sito Narcisse recommended closing the school. The board, which had six new members then, ended up renewing the school for three more years.

Board member Cliff Lewis said he knew little about Emerge then and said there was confusion at the time about how best to judge its operations, but he said he is impressed with what he sees.

“What they do there is fantastic,” Lewis said.

Three weeks later, after becoming aware of the erroneous verdict, Johnson Rose acquitted Steele of felony malfeasance. Last September the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal overturned Johnson Rose’s April 2024 ruling and determined Steele was guilty of a felony charge. The Louisiana Supreme Court in February denied Steele’s request for a review and upheld the 1st Circuit’s decision. Email Matt Bruce at matt.bruce@ theadvocate.com.

of man who is a “hard-core, heavy hitter, predator pedophile who’s going to do this no matter what and needs to be locked up forever.”

“Then there’s a guy in between who’s the doctor, the engineer, the road worker, who fantasizes about this for whatever reasons,” Hansen said. He said one of the LPSO arrestees who ﬁt this mold was an actual medical doctor, who even wore a ﬂeece with the logo of his medical facility on it to the sting.

“Then the internet provides anonymity and the addictive quality and the ability to say things you wouldn’t say face to face,” Hansen said about these types of predators. “And suddenly the fantasy is so great the only way to fulﬁll it is to show up and make it happen.”

ofﬁcial and lawyer who also advised LEAN, said that while the sensors are not the same as regulatory air monitors, they have seen great improvement in accuracy over the past decade and come at significantly lower cost than regulatory equipment.

Starfield, who spent his last 12 years at EPA as the principal deputy assistant administrator for enforcement before his retirement in 2023, said that LEAN’s advance calibration work has shown the results “are highly consistent with readings that would be expected using LDEQ’s regulatory monitor.”

But he added that LEAN’s intended application will ﬁt a role that EPA says is acceptable for sensors and won’t violate the new state law, highlighting instead elevated emissions in the hopes of voluntary corrections, not to allege violations of law

“Where you have people living so close to industry, having a local, real-time, every-15-minute look at what’s going on in your neighborhood in terms of air quality is just unique, and so it just gives them a chance to raise a ﬂag and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’” he said.

Starﬁeld pointed out that the earlier phase of the LEAN project that used the air monitoring car found elevated emissions and a company quickly corrected the problem after it was informed. He called it a “different way of doing business” than more traditional, slower methods through enforcement or litigation.

Board member Dadrius Lanus also complimented Emerge, saying its costly educational approach is worthwhile given the kids it serves.

“You cannot put a price on what it is that you do,” Lanus said.

LOTTERY

THURSDAY,

Scenic Highway,at11a.m

Carter,Olivia

NewLight MissionaryBaptist Church,650 Blount Road,Baton Rouge La at 12pm.

Daves, Mary St.Charles Cemetery,Grand Coteau

Louisianaat11am.

Dupre, James A. Wesley Faith Center,152 Highway 30350 in Morganza, at noon.

Jones,Alivia

2025 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate ry.Toddispreceded in death by his parents,F.T and Bea Lou D'Aquin; as well as his in- laws,Irwin andMaxine Smith. The family wouldlike to express our gratitude for the many prayersand kind words of supportoffered up toTodd, as well as the compassionate care shown by Dr Shows during his illness. Visitation will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Baton Rouge on Monday, November 10, 2025, from 9:00 AM until the Liturgy Serviceat 11:00AM, celebratedby Deacon Joseph Scimeca. Interment to follow at a laterdate.Remembrances may be made in Todd's honor to the Leukemia& Lymphoma Societyorthe Alzheimer's Association Arrangements by Rabenhorst Funeral Home East.

Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2562 Toulon Drive, at 2p.m

KlineJr.,William ClintonUnitedMethodist Church in Clintonat11:30 a.m.

McCaleb, Marion NewGalilee BaptistChurch, 9185 Wilbur Street,at10a.m

Medlen,Charles Bayou PlaquemineBaptistChurch 29215 Highway 75 in Plaquemine, at 11

a.m.

Paine, William ResthavenFuneral Home,11817

JeffersonHighway,at11a.m

Raynal, Lisa

ResthavenGardenofMemoryat10

a.m.

Robertson, Darrion

Saintsville C.O.G.I.C.,8930Plank Rd.at11am.

Robinson, Rhonda

Greenoaks FuneralHome, 9595 FloridaBoulevard, at 10:30a.m

White,George La Chapelle de Martin &Castille in Lafayette at 1pm.

Carraway, Samuel 'Sam'

Mr. Carraway, loyal husband and father, beloved special education teacher, and resident of Mandeville, died Oct. 24, 2025.Hewas

Alongtimeresidentof theBaton Rouge area,he wasthe ownerofProfessional Printing, and active inthe Chamber.

Todd Thomas"Papa T" D'Aquin, 70, passed away unexpectedly, after abrief illness, on October 30, 2025. Anative and lifelong residentofBaton Rouge, Louisiana, he was born on October 23, 1955, the second child of Mr. &Mrs. F.T. D'Aquin, Jr. He is a1974 graduate of Broadmoor High School. Todd's career spanned over40years whereheexcelled in Maintenance &Turnaround planning. After 30 years at BASF Geismar, Todd continued in similar roles with Turner Industries and BRIS at BASF, Oxy, IP, and Lion Elastomers. He was recognized as a"go to" guy and formed many friendships that he maintained in retirement. His dedication, knowledge and humor earned him respect and affection from all who knew him. He enjoyed duck and turkey hunting best, mixed in with alove for saltwater fishing on the coast. His "Happy Place" was his camp, Tarpon Marsh Club (TMC), on the Jourdan River, in Bay St. Louis,Mississippi, spending time with family or simply by himself, piddling.Todd leaves behind alegacy of devotion, hard work, ethics, and personality that willforeverberemembered by those who knew him. He was aloving husband, father, grandfather, brother anduncle. With Todd, it was always about havinga good time and making a memory. On February 25, 1978, Todd married the love of his life, Natalie Smith, and together they shared 47 years of devotion, laughter, and family life. He is survived by his wife; his daughter, Aubrey Ueltschey and husband, Lee; and his son, Garrett. He was the proud and beloved "Papa T" to granddaughters, Peyton, Ainsley and Piper Ueltschey. He is also survived by his siblings, Susan Dupont (Robbie), Lisa Sanders (Mark), Dane D'Aquin (Bipsy), Sally D'Aquin, Lauren Field (Rob), Molly Kimble (Mike); and extended family, Karen and Bob Arnold, and Bryan Smith as well as numerous nieces and nephews and close friends who will cherish hismemo-

Harris,Jackson A.

Today we honorand cel-

ebrate the life of Jackson Harris, aman whosespirit and kindness touchedthe livesofall who knew him. Borninsouth Louisiana, Jackson was kind, gentle, and aray of sunshine to all who knewhim. Jackson was the belovedson of Robert and Amy Harris, a cherishedbrotherto Sawyer, and atreasured grandson to ElvisMcCoy Jr.,Cheryl McCoy,and Suzette Moser. He was precededinpassing by his grandmotherJudith McCoy, whose kindness and humor he shared. Jackson deeply loved his family, relatives, and his circle of close'framily'.Jackson launcheda successful careeratBisso Towboat in Louisiana,wherehewas notonlya dedicatedemployee butalsoanintegral part of the workfamily. Colleaguesknew Jackson for his reliability, his eagerness to lenda helping hand,and his ever-present smilethat couldbrighten even the cloudiest of days.Jackson Harrislived lifetothe fullest, embracing each newday with open armsand an open heart. His interests were as broad as hissmile, rangingfromthe simplest pleasures to grandadventures. He was aman who found joyinthe everyday, whosesmileand laughter wereinfectious, and who saw the beauty in the world around him. Kind, loving, and spirited—these words truly encapsulate the essence of Jackson. He waskind not onlyinactions but in spirit, always ready to offersupport or a kind word. His loving nature was agifttohis family and friends. Jackson'sspirited approach to lifeinspiredothers to seekout joyand live each moment with passion.As we say farewelltoJacksonHarris, wereflectonthe impact he made on those around him. His legacy is one of love, laughter, and the pursuit of adventure.Hemay haveleftthis world, but the memories he created, the liveshetouched, and the love he spread will continuetoresonate with us all. Jackson'sjourney throughlifewas atestamenttothe power of a positive and resilientspirit, andhis memorywillforever be abrightlight for those who were fortunate enough to know him.Today,aswecelebrate Jackson'slife, let us remember thehappiness and laughter he brought into our lives and honorhis memory bylivingashe did—with kindness, love, and aspiritedheart.JacksonHarris may have departedfromour sight, but he willnever depart from ourhearts.

JudgeWilliam F. Kline, Jr.passedaway peacefully on Sunday,November2, 2025 at TheLodge at Lane in Zachary. An only child, he wasbornonJuly27, 1929 in Clinton, Louisiana andwas doteduponbyhis

parentsand grandparents as they raised himina lov‐ing, God-fearinghomethat shaped hisabiding faith in Godand deep love forfam‐ily. He livedanidyllic child‐hood in Clintonbeforeat‐tendingLSU where he re‐ceived aBSin1951and a MA in Educationin1953. During hiscollege days,he served as Presidentofthe Wesley Foundation and MethodistYouth Move‐ment.Hewas adistin‐guishedmilitarygraduate andmemberofScabbard andBlade,anhonorary military association. Upon graduation from LSU, he taught fortwo yearsat ClintonJunior High before fulfilling hismilitaryoblig‐ationinthe United States AirForce.Heservedfour yearsasa pilot, operations officer, andinstrument flight examiner,attaining therankofCaptain during theKoreanConflict. Upon completion of hismilitary service, he attended law school at LouisianaState University on theG.I.Bill. He served as Presidentof theStudent BarAssocia‐tion,was amember of OmicronDelta Kappa HonorSociety andwas se‐lected by hisclassmates as theOutstanding Gradu‐ateof1960. He practiced lawinClintonfor 16 years before beingelected as a judgeinthe 20thJudicial District in 1976, aposition he held forthe next 20 years. As ajudge he was knownfor hishumility, kindness, andfairness. Everyone left thecourt‐housebelieving that jus‐tice hadbeen served.After retiring from thedistrict courtbench,hewas ap‐pointedJudge ProTempore by theLouisiana Supreme Courttovarious jurisdic‐tionsinthe state. He was appointedtomultiple termsasa JudgePro Tem‐pore at theFirst Circuit CourtofAppeals, eventu‐ally retiring at age84. Throughout hiscareer he wasactiveinBoy Scouts DixieYouth baseball, United Way, University MethodistFoundation Board, andLSU Baseball where he served on the CoachesCommittee during Skip Bertman’stenure. He wasanactivememberof ClintonUnitedMethodist Church hisentirelife. He livedhis faith dailyand al‐ways taught that “weare called to shareour faith with others.Theycan ei‐ther accept it or reject it, butone thingiscertain whenweshare ourfaith withothers, they will never be thesame. andneither will we.” For62years he wasmarried to Evelyn Goen Kline, hisbeloved wife andmothertotheir twosons. Shepassedaway in 2013. Shewas hisanchor andloveofhis life.His passingwas on herbirth‐dayand AllSouls Day, a specialconsolation forhis family. He is also preceded in deathbyhis parents, WilliamF.Kline, Sr.and Willie D. Kline. He is sur‐vivedbyhis twosonsand theirspouses:Billy and Donna KlineofZachary andKyleand Sharon Kline of Clinton; grandchildren: Chip andEmily Kline, Kay‐lanand LeeLedet,Brad andCarolineKline,Patrick andElizabeth Kline, Kamerynand Adam Fevella andJordanand Reilee Kline. He wasalsoblessed with 17 great-grandchil‐dren who lovingly called him“Poppy” andwho will miss himdearly. Visitation will be held at Clinton United MethodistChurch on Saturday,November8 from 9:00-11:30 followed by amemorialservice con‐ducted by Dr.CurtisCar‐roll,ReverendKen Graham andReverendHarold Babin. He will be laid to rest in Rosehill Cemetery in aprivate familyservice.In lieu of flowers, thosewish‐ingtomakecharitabledo‐nationsmay send them to ClintonUnitedMethodist Church,P.O.Box 148, Clin‐ton, LA 70722; St.Johnthe BaptistCatholicChurch Building Fund,4727 McHugh Drive, Zachary, LA 70791 or St.Jude'sChil‐dren's Research Hospital, 262Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Special thanks to allofhis dedi‐catedfriends andtothe staffs at Oakwood Village Assisted Living andthe LodgeatLanefor their care andcompassiondur‐inghis final years. Share sympathies,condolences andmemoriesatwww.Cha rletFuneralHome.com.

May24, 1944 -November 5, 2025, John Langlois,lov‐

inghusband to Felicia, his belovedwifeof40years devotedfathertohis 2chil‐dren,Jeff& J’An,brother to hissiblings, TimLanglois, Lisa Bosarge, andKaren Bergeron,and “Pa” to his grandchildren, Catherine, Sofia, Madeline,and Jon‐Michael, wascalledhome to theLordwithhis wife andchildrenbyhis side at theage of 81. A1964gradu‐ateofIstroumaHigh School,heretired from UnionTexas Petroleumin Geismar, LA at theage of 53. Neverone to rest,he founded AlarmTechhome andbusinesssecuritysys‐tems andgrewthisintoa successful companywith accountsacrossSouth Louisiana. John leda welllivedlifedefinedbyhard work,lovefor hisfriends andfamily, devotion to his Catholic faith,and aproud ManofManresa.Hewas kind andgenerous, always willingtohelpwhenever andwhereverneeded.You neverknewifyou would find him fishing, camping at Gulf Shores,orworking around thehouse,inhis yard,orinhis community He wasa Master electri‐cian,anexpertat fixing anything,and an incredible cook.Hewas preceded in deathbyhis father Roland,his mother Susie, andhis sister,Susanne John will be misseddearly. Visitation will be at Our Lady of Mt.Carmel Catholic Church in St.Fran‐cisville at 10 am on Novem‐ber10, followed by Mass at 12 noon

Barry DouglasMaggio, age80, passedaway peacefully on November 4, 2025, after abrief illness, surrounded by hisloving family. AnativeofSt. Amant, Barry wasa proud graduate of St.Amant High School.Helater made his home in BatonRouge for many yearsbeforeretiring to Pierre Part,where he en‐joyedhis days fishingand spending time with friends andfamily. Barry is sur‐vivedbyhis devotedwife of 59 years, SusanMaggio; hisdaughters,Laree Berg‐eron andhusband Stephen, andAmy Maggio; hissis‐ters,Susan Duhe,Nilah Burbank, andConnieDuhe; hisgrandchildren,Zachary Hebert andMarie-Elise Billings andhusband Michael; andhis greatgranddaughter, Camille Billings.Hewas preceded in deathbyhis parents, Frankand DotMaggioand Vivian andElwin Duhe;and hisbeloved daughter,Bar‐rieAnn Hebert.Barry was theproud ownerofMag‐gio’sPlumbingand adedi‐catedmemberofUALocal 198for 60 years. Hisfaith andservice were centralto hislife—he wasanactive member of theKnights of Columbus (Councils2807 and5352) for59years and volunteered for27years at St.PiusX Catholic Church where he wasfondlyre‐membered as chairman of theannualparishfair. From cuttinggrass to serv‐ingonthe financecommit‐tee, Barry wasalwayswill‐ingtolenda hand.Along‐side hiswifeand daugh‐ters,theyall served as Eu‐charisticMinisters to‐gether,particularlyone specificChristmas mass at thesametime. In retire‐ment,Barry found joyon thewater andinthe stands.Hewas an avid fan of allsports, especially LSU andthe St.Louis Cardinals. Many will remember Barry andSusan fortheir hospi‐tality andthe many tail‐gatestheyhostedintheir motorhomeatTouchdown Village,where laughter friendship,and purple and goldspiritalways filledthe air. Avisitationwillbeheld at Greenoaks Funeral Home on Monday,Novem‐ber10, 2025from10am until funeralservice at 12 pm.Burialwillfollowin Greenoaks MemorialPark. PallbearerswillbeTerry Maggio, EddieHernandez, SteveLandreneau, Wade McDaniel,Michael Billings, andZachary Hebert.Inlieu of flowers, donationsmade be made in Barry’s honor to St.JudeChildren’sRe‐search Hospital.Please visitwww.greenoaksfu nerals.com to leavecondo‐lences to thefamily.

MarionMcCaleb was born on August 23, 1942, and peacefullyentered eternalrest on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, at the blessed age of 83. Shewas adevoted resident of Baton Rouge anda faithful servant of theLord. Marionleaves to cherish herpreciousmemories: herchildren, DavidMcCaleb Jr., Princess, JonDerrick (Adrienne),and Jeannie(Gilbert) Bonnet; her loving sister,Carrie Mae (Henry) Johnson; anda host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren,relatives, anddear friends who will forever remember her kindness and love.She waspreceded in death by herbeloved husband, David N. McCalebSr.;two sons, Tyrone and Leonard; herparents; and hersisters and brothers anda cherished granddaughter, Alexis.Visitationwillbe held at NewGalileeBaptist Church,9185 WilburSt.,Baton Rouge,LA70807, on Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until thetimeofservice at 10:00 a.m. Intermentwillfollow at Southern Memorial Gardens, 3012 BlountRd., Baton Rouge,LA. Arepass will be held at Greater New GalileeBaptist Church following the burial.

Deacon PercyJ.Rossen‐teredintoeternal rest at OchsnerMedical Center on November 2, 2025. He was a72-year oldnativeof Paincourtville, Louisiana anda resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Viewing at NewBeginningsBaptist Church,5925 NorthFoster Drive, BatonRouge on Thursday,November13, 2025 from 10:00 am until CelebrationofLifeService at 11:00 am conductedPas‐torRobertWilliams;inter‐ment at LouisianaNational Cemetery.Survivors in‐cludehis devotedwife, Shelia Ross; children,Janu‐aryRoss, PercyRoss, III andVerniqueEdwards (Donald);11siblings; and sixgrandchildren.Pre‐cededindeath by hispar‐ents,and four siblings Arrangements entrustedto Miller &DaughterMortu‐ary.

II, Leonard Cary

LeonardCarySaurage II March26, 1944 -November4,2025

LeonardCarySaurage II, known to his many friends andloved ones simply as "Cary," passed away peacefully at home on November 4inBaton Rouge,Louisiana. Atrue

patronofthe artsand generoussupporter of his community, Cary'sname lives on in the Cary SaurageCommunity Arts Center,a reflection of his lifelongdevotion to beauty, creativity, and civic engagement. Caryloved fine art,landscape architecture,his family, hisfriends, dogs, andawell-poured glass of Chardonnay. He wasknown for his kindness, hisgentleness, and hisquiet civility, traits that lednearlyeveryone who met himtosay, "He'sthe nicest person I've ever known." Aveteran of the United States Army, Cary later devotedmuchofhis life to philanthropy and culturalpreservation.He notonlycollectedart but also activelyserved in leadership roleswithmany organizations,including theLouisiana Artand Science Museum, theLSU Museum of Art, andHill Memorial Library. Hisdeep appreciationfor nature andlandscape design inspiredhis steadfast support of theLSU Burden Center andMagnolia MoundPlantation. Cary waspreceded in death by hisparents, Alma Lee Spaht Saurageand H. Norman Saurage, Jr andhis brotherH.Norman SaurageIII.Heissurvived by hisbrother Roland R. Saurage(Dean Bordelon) andsister Linda L. Saurage; sister-in-law Donna M. Saurage; and beloved nieces and nephewsSusan SaurageAltenloh, Stephanie Saurage, Hank andLaurie Saurage, Jennifer andJim Moreland, andMatt and CatherineSaurage.Hewill also be dearlymissedby his17great- and greatgreat-nieces andnephews, all of whom adored their UncleCary. Memorial contributionsmay be made to theArtsCouncil of Greater Baton Rouge to benefit the CarySaurage Community Arts Center, 233 St.Ferdinand Street,Baton Rouge LA 70802, or to thecharity of yourchoice. Agraveside service will be held on Monday, November 10 at 10:00 AM,atRoselawn Memorial Parkfollowed by aCelebrationofLife honoringCary'sremarkable legacyofgenerosity, grace, and love of beauty.

Stringer, Annie Mary Walker AnnieMary (Walker) Stringer was bornDecember21,1939 in Waynesboro, Mississippiand passed away on October 20, 2025 at TheOaks of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana. Sheattendedthe University of SouthernMississippi in Hattiesburg,Mississippiwhere sheearned aBachelor's degree in Home Economics. Later shewould earnher Master'sdegree in Early Childhood Education from Nicholas State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Anniewas employedby theLafourcheParish SchoolBoard, teaching first at Bayou Blue Elementaryand thenThibodaux Elementary as an inclusive kindergarteneducator Mrs. Stringer was precededindeathbyher husbandof51years, Thomas Ray Stringer,her parents, James FranklinWalker, Sr andSarah McCrae Walker, brothers James Franklin "Jim"Walker, Jr.(and wife, ShirleyRigaud Walker), FarkerEvander"Bud" Walker, andPatrick Walker (infant).

Sheissurvivedbyher daughters, Virginia AnnetteStringer of Lawrence, Kansas andJana Leigh Stringer of Shreveport, Louisiana, nieceJamie Walker Batey (Larry) of Shreveport, Louisianaand nephew James Franklin "Jeff" Walker, III (Nancy) of Bogalusa, Louisiana, three great nieces, onegreat nephew, onegreat-great niece, and onegreat-great nephew. As perher wishes, no servicewill be held. Mrs Stringer's family asks that donationsbemadeinher name to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

McCaleb, Marion G.

Maggio, Barry Douglas

Wilkerson, Roosevelt

NewSt. Luke

B.C.,Solitudeat1pm

Ross, PercyJ

D'Aquin,Todd Thomas

Saurage

Langlois,John

Obituaries

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

Meat packers blamed for prices

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday accused foreign-owned meat packers of driving up the price of beef in the U.S. and asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation.

The Republican president announced the move on social media days after his party suffered losses in key elections in which the winning Democratic candidates focused relentlessly on the public’s concerns about the cost of living.

“I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation,” Trump wrote in the social media post.

“We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers, who artiﬁcially inflate prices, and jeopardize the security of our Nation’s food supply,” he continued.

Trump offered no proof to support his allegations. There are four major meat packing companies in the United States, and the largest beef company JBS is headquartered in Brazil. JBS USA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday Last month, Trump suggested the U.S. would buy Argentine beef to bring down stubbornly high prices for American consumers, angering U.S. cattle ranchers.

Beef prices have soared in part after drought and years of low prices led to the smallest U.S. herd size in decades. Trump’s tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter have also curbed imports.

Peloton recalls exercise bikes

NEW YORK Peloton is recalling nearly 878,000 of its exercise bikes across the U.S. and Canada because the products’ seat posts can break during use, posing fall hazards.

According to notices published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada on Thursday, the recall covers certain “Peloton Original Series Bike+” units carrying model number PL02. Peloton has received three reports of seat posts breaking on these bikes in the U.S., two of which resulted in fall injuries. There’s been no additional incidents in Canada to date.

Both consumer safety watchdogs and Peloton urge owners of these bikes to stop using them and contact the New York-based exercise company for a free seat post replacement.

“The integrity of our products and our Members’ well-being are our top priorities,” a Peloton spokesperson said in an emailed statement — adding that the company would make its redesigned seat post replacements “available to all affected Bike+ users.”

Peloton’s website has information to help determine if your bike is part of the recall and instructions on how to install this new seat post if needed.

The now-recalled bikes were sold at Peloton and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, as well as websites like Amazon and eBay, from 2020 through April 2025 for about $2,495. The impacted Bike+ units have serial numbers beginning with the letter “T.”

An almanac’s end

The 208-year-old Maine-based Farmers’ Almanac to fold after 2 centuries

BY PATRICK WHITTLE and KATHY MCCORMACK Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine It’s the Maine one, not the main one — a 208-year-old, Maine-based publication that farmers, gardeners and others have relied on for planting guidance and weather predictions will publish for the ﬁnal time.

The Farmers’ Almanac, not to be confused with its older, longtime competitor, The Old Farmer’s Almanac in neighboring New Hampshire, said Thursday that its 2026 edition will be its last. The almanac cited the growing ﬁnancial challenges of producing and distributing the book in today’s “chaotic media environment.”

Access to the online version will cease next month.

The Farmers’ Almanac was ﬁrst printed in 1818 and the Old Farmer’s Almanac started in 1792, and it’s believed to be the oldest continually published periodical in North America.

Both almanacs used secret formulas based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts.

“It is with a heavy heart,” Editor Sandi Duncan said in a statement, “that we share the end of what has not only been an annual tradition in millions of homes and hearths for hundreds of years, but also a way of life, an inspiration for many who realize the wisdom of generations past is the key to the generations of the future.”

Editors at the other publication noted there’s been some confusion between the two. “The OLD Farmer’s Almanac isn’t going anywhere,” they posted online.

The two publications come from an era where hundreds of almanacs served a nation of farmers over time. Most were regional publications and no longer exist. The Farmers’ Almanac was founded in New Jersey and moved its headquarters to Lewiston, Maine, in 1955.

They contain gardening tips, trivia, jokes, and natural remedies, such as catnip as a pain reliever and elderberry syrup as an immune booster But its weather forecasts make the most headlines.

Scientists sometimes disputed the accuracy of the predictions and the reliability of the secret formula. Studies of the almanacs’ accuracy have found them to be a little more than 50% accurate, or slightly better than random chance.

Readers, saddened to hear the news, posted online about how they used it in their families for generations as a guide to help them plant gardens and follow the weather

Julie Broomhall in San Diego told The Associated Press in a social media post that she’s used the Farmers’ Almanac for years to decide when to take trips and plant ﬂowers.

She said she planned a three-month, crosscountry trip last year by reading the almanac. On one leg of it, she left Oklahoma the day before a prediction for a major snowstorm in the area. It snowed.

“I missed several I-40 mishaps because of the predictions,” she wrote.

Among Farmers’ Almanac articles from the past is one from 1923 urging folks to remember “old-fashioned neighborhoodliness” in the face of newfangled technology like cars, daily mail and telephones. Editors urged readers in 1834 to abandon tobacco and, in 1850, promoted the common bean leaf to combat bedbugs.

The almanac had some forward-thinking advice for women in 1876, telling them to learn skills to avoid being dependent on ﬁnding a husband. “It is better to be a woman than a wife, and do not degrade your sex by making your whole existence turn on the pivot of matrimony,” it counseled.

Tesla shareholders approve Elon Musk’s giant pay package

World’s richest man has chance to become history’s first trillionaire

BY BERNARD CONDON Associated Press

NEW YORK The world’s richest man was just handed a chance to become history’s ﬁrst trillionaire.

Elon Musk won a shareholder vote on Thursday that would give the Tesla CEO stock worth $1 trillion if he hits certain performance targets over the next decade. The vote followed weeks of debate over his management record at the electric car maker and whether anyone deserved such unprecedented pay, drawing heated commentary from small investors to giant pension funds and even the pope. In the end, more than 75% of voters approved the plan as shareholders gathered in Austin, Texas, for their annual meeting.

“Fantastic group of shareholders,” Musk said after the final vote was tallied, adding “Hang on to your Tesla stock.”

The vote is a resounding victory for Musk showing investors still have faith in him as Tesla

struggles with plunging sales, market share and profits in no small part due to Musk himself. Car buyers ﬂed the company this year as he has ventured into politics both in the U.S. and Europe, and trafﬁcked in conspiracy theories.

The vote came just three days after a report from Europe showing Tesla car sales plunged again last month, including a 50% collapse in Germany

Still, many Tesla investors consider Musk as a sort of miracle man capable of stunning business feats, such as when he pulled Tesla from the brink of bankruptcy a half-dozen years ago to turn it into one of the world’s most valuable companies.

The vote clears a path for Musk to become a trillionaire by granting him new shares, but it won’t be easy The board of directors that designed the pay package require him to hit several ambitious ﬁnancial and operational targets, including increasing the value of the company on the stock market nearly six times its current level.

Musk also has to deliver 20 million Tesla electric vehicles to the market over 10 years amid new, stiff competition, more than double the number since the founding of the company. He also has to deploy 1 million of his human-like

Stocks wind up mixed on Wall Street

Associated Press

NEWYORK Stocks wavered to a mixed finish on Wall Street Friday and notched their first weekly loss in the last four Major indexes wobbled throughout most of the week, but ultimately pulled back from records set the prior week. Technology stocks once again determined the broader direction of the market. The market was weighed down by technology stocks, especially several big names with huge valuations that give them outsized influence over the direction of the market. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, fell 2.1% and Broadcom fell 1.7%. Payments company Block, which operates the Square and Cash App businesses, sank 7.7% after turning in results that fell short of forecasts. Exercise equipment maker Peloton jumped 14.2% after its results beat estimates.

Expedia Group surged 17.5% after beating analysts’ quarterly earnings forecasts.

The U.S. government shutdown is now responsible for yet another missing economic report typically relied on by Wall Street and economists. The monthly employment data for October was unavailable, as was the monthly data for September previously The lack of data on employment is especially troubling because the job market was already weakening. Wall Street still has several private sources of economic data to turn to, outside of earnings The latest came Friday from the University of Michigan, with its monthly consumer sentiment report.

Lawsuits claim ChatGPT drove people to suicide, delusions

Those affected had no prior mental health issues

BY BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technology writer

robots that he has promised will transform work and home — he calls it a “robot army” — from zero today

Musk could add billions to his wealth in a few years by partly delivering these goals, according to various intermediate steps that will hand him newly created stock in the company as he nears the ultimate targets. That could help him eventually top what is now considered America’s all-time richest man, John D. Rockefeller The oil titan is estimated by Guinness World Records to have been worth $630 billion, in current dollars, at his peak wealth more than 110 years ago. Musk is worth $493 billion, as estimated by Forbes magazine.

Musk’s win came despite opposition from several large funds, including CalPERS, the biggest U.S. public pension, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. Two corporate watchdogs, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, also blasted the package, which so angered Musk he took to calling them “corporate terrorists” at a recent investor meeting. Critics argued that the board of directors was too beholden to Musk, his behavior too reckless lately and the riches offered too much.

OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues.

The lawsuits ﬁled Thursday in California state courts allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter and negligence. Filed on behalf of six adults and one teenager by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project, the lawsuits claim that OpenAI knowingly released GPT-4o prematurely, despite internal warnings that it was dangerously sycophantic and psychologically manipulative. Four of the victims died by suicide.

The teenager 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey began using ChatGPT for help, according to the lawsuit ﬁled in San Francisco Superior Court But instead of helping, “the defective and inherently dangerous ChatGPT product caused addiction, depression, and, eventually, counseled him on the most effective way to tie a noose and how long he would be able to “live without breathing.’”

“Amaurie’s death was neither an accident nor a coincidence but rather the foreseeable consequence of OpenAI and Samuel Altman’s intentional decision to curtail safety testing and rush ChatGPT onto the market,” the lawsuit says.

OpenAI called the situations “incredibly heartbreaking” and said it was reviewing the court ﬁlings to understand the details.

“These lawsuits are about accountability for a product that was designed to blur the line between tool and companion all in the name of increasing user engagement and market share,” said Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, in a statement

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROBERT F BUKATy

The final edition of the Maine-based Farmers’ Almanac releases after two centuries of publication.

OPINION

ANOTHERVIEW

What theBritish reallythink of theirroyal family

Even in amonarchy,public opinion matters. Which raises the question: Whatdothe Britishreally think of their royal family?

As we know,King Charles recentlystrippedhis brother,Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, of hisroyal title and other privileges.Andrew’srecklessbehavior, especially his sordid ties to the vile JeffreyEpstein, had passed the breaking point.Somesaw Charles’ actions as “cleaninghouse” before he hands the crown to Prince William Others saw it as his duty —tosavethe monarchy

The British royal family continuesto battle old and new challenges: internal feuds, tabloid banners, nosy books and viral memes drippingwithmalice. These daily assaultscome and go, as targets change, but they will alwaysbe there. It can be said, too, that pollsare agrowing annoyance for the shelteredresidents of BuckinghamPalace and Windsor Castle. Henry VIII andQueen Victoriahad much to worryabout,but oneoftheir worries wasn’tscientiﬁcally calculated favorability ratings. Today’sroyals can’tignore them.

Remember “The Queen,” the2006 HelenMirren ﬁlm? Critics assumed it was aboutthe crown’sstoic reaction to Princess Diana’sdeath.Itwas really about misreading public opinion—and itsconsequences

So,what do the poll numbers now show?The latest YouGov poll ﬁnds the royal family is broadly popular Asolid 59% majority of British adults view them positively,with barelyathirdtaking anegative view Leading thepack in personal popularity areWilliam (76% positive), Catherine (73%) and Princess Anne (70%), the king’ssister King Charles does well, too; 62% of Britons arein his corner.That’supthree pointssince August. Moreover,the king’sjob rating,which measures his ofﬁcial performance and not justpersonalfeelings toward him, is arobust 65%

The king rates better among womenthanmen.His strongest agecohort is Baby Boomers; his weakest, Generation X. He does best amongfollowersof Britain’sConservative Party(88%), buthas plenty of fansinother parties as well: 67%ofLabour, 60% of Reform UK and 72% of Liberal Democrats Charles enjoys much higher public approval than hisown prime minister,Keir Starmer, who has alimp 27% positive rating. In fact, theking is more popular in theU.K. than many world leaders areathome. For example, French PresidentEmmanuelMacron has droppedto11% in one Verian Group poll, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz sitsat25% in an RTL/NTV survey and U.S. President Donald Trumpaverages 43% based on ﬁve recentpolls. Britons are divided on Queen Camilla.Fewer than half (45%) rate her positively,while 41% holdanegative opinion of her.This lackluster public esteem is proof that acontroversialback storyand relentless criticism takes atoll Prince Harry,who retains his title (atleastfor now), is decidedly under water,30% positive and58% negative. His wife, Meghan,the DuchessofSussex, rates even worse: 21% favorable, 66%unfavorable. No wonder they’re reluctant to move back to Britain. Interestingly, polls taken in theU.S. show Americans haveamorepositive view of these two than do the British.

And Andrew? Before losinghis title,herated a ghastly 4% positive, 91% negative. Thesenumbers aren’tjust bad, they’re bring-down-the-monarchy bad. Demoting his brother was the king’sonlycredible option. Still, Britons wonder: Whattook himso long? Then there is the monarchyitself. Support forits continuation is 62%; only 25%ofBritish adults would prefer to have an elected head of state While support for monarchy isdown ﬁve points sinceQueen Elizabeth’sdeathin2022, it still draws wide backing. The latest YouGov poll showsthatonly 13% of Britons believe theinstitution of monarchyis bad for Britain. Monarchy,however,has agenerational predicament. While heavy majorities of those50and older favor keeping it,fewer than half of those18-49 do. Youmight think the ascent of William andKatewould eventuallyclose thatgap, but pollingshows even they do better among older than younger folks. These polls conﬁrmwhat we’ve longknown, that the British are masters at keepingcalm and carryingon —even when it comes to thecrown.

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer basedinLouisiana.

YOUR VIEWS

Cassidy’sletterjustthinly veiled campaign propaganda

Since when does your department permit apolitician to sneak ano-cost campaign ad into the Opinion section?

That’sexactly what you did on Oct 8. Sen. Bill Cassidy‘s “opinion letter” was nothing but acampaign ad. It wasquiteobvious Firstly,Hurricane Katrina did damage tothe southeast coast of Louisiana, but did not devastate New Orleans. How manytimes do Ihave to remindpeople that the devastation in New Orleansin2005 was due to thefact that the levees were built cheaply by the Army Corps of Engineers to save thefederal government millions of dollars? In case you don’tremember,the cheaply built levees broke. Cassidy should acknowledge that as well. Second of all, his allying with

President Donald Trumpthroughout thewhole piece was nothing but “preaching tothe choir” since his opponents are also Trumpsupporters, and he needstomakesure that everyone in the state still votes for himinstead of his Trump-supporting opponents. Cassidy has done somegood thingsbut no one must forget that he opened the doors wide open for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.totake ajob about which he knows nothing and is athreat to thehealth of United States citizens. Surely this space on your page could have been better utilized with theopinion of one of ourreaders, as it should be. Iknow you all have better judgment than this. SUSAN C. LEVIN Metairie

Voting Rights Actnecessary as country is still grappling with racial issues

Oneofthe last thingsthat Smiley Anders put to paper was lamenting that we were still struggling with race relations. Right now,the U.S. SupremeCourt is sitting on acase arising in Louisiana involving gerrymandering congressional districts to dilutethe Black voteinthe state. Justice John Roberts, earlier in the Shelby Countydecision, involving the Voting RightsAct of 1965, expressed concern about how long theVoting RightsAct should remain “the law.”

It’sa valid concern for the Su-

premeCourt. Ibelieve Anders answered that question from Justice Roberts.

We don’tknow when or even if that day will come. So until that day ever comes, theVoting Rights Act of 1965 should remain the law of the land. And maybe statelegislators could devoteall of their energy to trying to ﬁx Louisiana’sreal problemsinstead of concentrating on keeping themselves in ofﬁce with political power

ALEXCHAPMAN

Ville Platte

Anyone who wantscitizenship must follow the law

The front-page article in arecent edition about the deportation of aLouisiana State Penitentiary at Angola inmate to Laos is almost exactly the sameasasituation I witnessed around 20 years ago. Afamily Iknow received legal status as refugees and had an infant son at the time. The father went through alengthy and expensive naturalization process; however,the son never had automatic citizenship as aresult of that. The son was almost deported after his 18th birthday,but his parents went through alengthy and expensive process to obtain legal status for him.Hewas also warned at the timetobevery careful not to get into any sort of legal trouble, even as small as atrafﬁc ticket. They wereultimately successful, but he was never an automatic citizen because of his father’slegal status and later naturalization. And they wentthrough an expensive legal process to prevent deportation. The difference in the Laotian case is that he had acriminal conviction and never pursued the required legal process. It looks to me that U.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement followed the process and did not single him out. It maybeanunfortunate outcome, but he did makeapoor choice with the unlawfulpossession of a ﬁrearm,and alegal appeal at this point seemssomewhat futile if not ridiculous.

DARRYL SANDERSON Baton Rouge

LSUfootballcoaches have notusedtheir playerswisely

Aquestion for themillion-dollar coaches at LSU: If you have alineman who is agreat pass blocker but not agood run blocker,would you replace him with agood run blocker on acrucialrunning play? If the answer is yes,then whyhave they consistently kept agreat passing

quarterback in on plays that require aquarterback who can run and pass?

To be clear,Iamspeaking only about crucial short-yardage and goal-line situations. Iknow the second-string quarterback played in 10 games last year,running and passing. Ibelieve this coaching staff

failed to utilize his talents in these situations, knowing our starting quarterback is not adependable runner.Also, using arunning back or awide receiver as aquarterback creates very fewdefensive changes.

BOBBY LEE Brusly

Faucheux

Inthe LSUfootball team room Tuesday,alarge drum was perched in the front of the small auditorium.

Plastered across theinstrument’sface was asinglephrase: “ALLIN.”

“When he beats that drum, it’s kind of likehesets thetonefor theday,” ﬁfth-year senior linebacker West Weeks said. “Whatever’s happened theprevious day, whatever happened early in theday,thatkind of goes out the window and helps us lock in for theday.”

LSU interimcoach Frank Wilson introduced thedrum before Tuesday’s practice. He said he adopted the motivational tactic from former Southern Cal coach and currentLas VegasRaiders coach Pete Carroll, and it’s somethingformerLSU coach Ed Orgeron used to do Its purpose?Represent theheartbeat of the team.

Chris Hilton Jr LSU,Wide Receiver

LSU GAMEDAY

BROADCAST INFORMATION

LSU at Alabama

6:30 p.m. Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala

TV: ABC | Line: Alabama by 10½

Radio: WDGL-FM, 98.1; WWL-AM, 870; WWL-FM, 105.3; KLWB-FM, 103.7

LSU

Date Opponent Time/TV

8.30 at Clemson W, 17-10

9.6 Louisiana Tech W, 23-7

9.13

OFFENSE

DEPTH CHARTS COACHES

Continued from page 1C

“I wanted to bring that symbolism, if you will, the heartbeat,” Wilson said. “So we could charge our special teams. We could charge our team that when the ball goes in play life has been injected into us.”

The drum is one of many changes Wilson has implemented since being appointed as interim coach after Brian Kelly’s Oct. 26 ﬁring. Ahead of his ﬁrst game in charge, Wilson hopes his adjustments will inspire the Tigers to pull off an upset over No. 4 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa (6:30 p.m., ABC).

“I know everything on social media is going crazy. Like, people saying whatever they want to say about this team and kind of how this season has turned out,” Weeks said. “But at the end of the day, when we come in here and hear that (drum), it just reminds us of the brotherhood we have.”

The revisions Wilson has made to the way LSU operates have come amid myriad changes within the program and athletic department.

After Kelly’s firing, offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was let go the next day Tight ends coach Alex Atkins assumed play-calling duties in his place, but Atkins’ promotion was just the tip of the iceberg.

Two days after Sloan’s ﬁring, Gov Jeff Landry declared Oct. 29 that athletic director Scott Woodward would not choose the next LSU coach. The school parted ways with Woodward the next day and appointed executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry as interim athletic director

The interim tag was removed from Ausberry’s title on Tuesday, just hours after new LSU president Wade Rousse was appointed by the LSU Board of Supervisors.

“I think (Ausberry) is detailed. I think he’s profession-

al. I think he has a view holistically of what it takes to run an athletic program, and he’s done his due diligence,” Wilson said of Ausberry “He’s put in the work. I think it’s a position that he has earned over the years.”

With a president and athletic director in place, LSU now can focus its attention on ﬁnding its next coach.

Could that be Wilson? He has deep recruiting ties within Louisiana as the LSU recruiting coordinator, served as the LSU running backs coach for nine seasons across two different stints and has experience as a head coach, working in the role at Texas-San Antonio (2016-19) and McNeese State (2020-21). But the odds of him earning the head job in Baton Rouge full-time are slim. Wilson went just 19-29 at UTSA before going 7-11 at McNeese. After his second season with the Cowboys, he left to become the running backs coach at LSU again.

A successful ﬁnal four weeks of this season could boost his candidacy After this Saturday, LSU faces Arkansas, Western Kentucky and another College Football Playoff-contending team in Oklahoma. But anything short of three or four wins almost certainly would mean that LSU will turn elsewhere in its coaching search.

... When mother university calls for you, you answer. You pull up your bootstraps and you do what’s required and asked of you to represent our university.”

FRANK

WILSON, LSU interim coach

STAFF PREDICTIONS

WILSON ALEXANDER

ALABAMA 35, LSU 17

Interim coach Frank Wilson may get the team to play hard, but this game does not set up well for LSU It could be difficult to run the ball more — as much as LSU wants to — behind a shaky offensive line and the defense has gotten torn apart the past two games. LSU has to get to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson often to have a chance.

REED DARCEY

ALABAMA 28, LSU 21

LSU should play with more energy and focus. It should also run the ball more often But a coaching change can fix only so many of the Tigers’ deficiencies all of which bubbled to the surface in the second half of the game against Texas A&M. Will that team go on the road and upset a top-five opponent? Probably not. Alabama wins, but LSU keeps it competitive

“We didn’t indulge too much into it,” Wilson said when asked whether he’d discussed the possibility of becoming the head coach full-time with Woodward before he left “. When mother university calls for you, you answer You pull up your bootstraps and you do what’s required and asked of you to represent our university.”

Wilson has answered the call in a variety of ways, most notably with how he’s emphasized the importance of special teams and the Tigers’ run game. LSU has struggled in both aspects for stretches of this season but were especially porous on special teams in Kelly’s ﬁnal game against Texas A&M.

In the Tigers’ 49-25 loss, LSU allowed 68 kick return yards

SCOTT RABALAIS

ALABAMA 27, LSU 20

I’m not going to venture onto the upset limb, but I do think LSU’s Fighting Frank Wilsons will give a much better accounting of themselves than they did against Texas A&M. The pressure and uncertainty is off for now, and I think the Tigers will get that familiar interim coach bump LSU carries the fight to Bama into the fourth quarter, but a late drive to force OT fizzles.

KOKI RILEY

ALABAMA 31,

The LSU defense has struggled in recent weeks. The lack of a four-man pass rush has placed added stress on the back seven, and Tigers have struggled to stop the run against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M Alabama’s run game hasn’t been as strong, but the Crimson Tide has one of the best aerial attacks in the nation. That’ll be tough to stop if LSU

pressure Simpson

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU associate and running backs coach Frank Wilson greets running back Kaleb Jackson after Jackson scored a touchdown against Wisconsin in the first half of the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

and 137 punt returnyards, includinga 79-yard punt return for atouchdown in the third quarter as part of 35 unanswered points.

The introduction of the drum,inpart,was meant to emphasize the importance of LSU’s kick return and kickoff teamsastone-setters to start each game. On Tuesday,the ﬁrst meetingLSU had after banging the drum wasabout special teams.

“(Wilson) just has suchhigh energy,and it gets everybody ready,especially the special teams,” sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green said. “Special teams is abig part of the game, so he just comes in and he harps on it.”

Meanwhile, the LSU rushing attack steadily has improved as the season has worn on, but with Sloan,itwas never an integralpart of the offense.The Tigers are lastinthe SoutheasternConference in rushing attemptsdespite averaging at least 5.5 yards per carry in each of their lasttwo games when adjusted for lost sack yardage.

But under Wilson and Atkins —who was the run game coordinator prior to his promotion —running the ball will become apriority.That was evident during practice Tuesday when the Tigers ran anine-on-seven drill, where nine LSU defenders were tasked with stopping various running plays against aseven-man offense.

“Obviously the advantage is towards the defense. So if you can split something or get a 4-yard gain, that’sawin for us,” senior center Braelin Moore said. “So to go out thereand hear all the pads popping and all the energy ﬂyingaround, it wasfun.”

By incorporating the drum, continuously stressingthe importance of specialteams and committing to the running game, Wilson is establishing aculture based around energy, enthusiasm and togetherness.

Moore, who transferred to LSU in the spring after three years at Virginia Tech,said Tuesday that the biggest difference he’sseen since Wilson’spromotion has been the energy he’s brought to the table. He addedthatprior to Wilson’spromotion, the team’s energy was lacking as it trudged towarda5-3 start to the season. “He’ll come in herecalm and collectedgoing through what we have for theday of thesched-

LSU associate coach Frank Wilson walks on the ﬁeld during the second half of agameagainst South Carolina on Oct. 11 at TigerStadium. Wilson wasnamed interim coach following Brian Kelly’s ﬁring

ule, andthenjustﬂip aswitchand juststart screaming and gettingpeople excited,”Moore said.“ .He’stryingtobring that swaggerback and that juice that LSU was known for.”

Whether that enthusiasm translates into wins is anybody’sguess. But after three-and-a-half seasons of falling short under Kelly,perhaps a change in leadership is exactlywhatthis programneeded.

Anew drumbeat to follow

“When they started smacking it,like, it’s just energy,” Moore said, “likeyou just feel the room is different.”

Email Koki Riley at Koki.Riley@ theadvocate.com.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

(6-2), 2:30 p.m. No. 7Ole Miss (8-1) vs.The Citadel (4-5), noon No. 8BYU (8-0) at No. 9Tex. Tech (8-1), 11 a.m. No. 10 ND (6-2) vs.Navy(7-1), 6:30 p.m. No. 12 Virginia (8-1) vs.W.Forest (5-3), 6p.m. No. 14 Louisville (7-1) vs.Calif. (5-4), 6p.m. No. 15 Vander. (7-2) vs.Auburn (4-5), 3p.m. No. 18 Miami (6-2) vs.Syracu. (3-6), 2:30 p.m. No. 24 Wash. (6-2) at Wisconsin (2-6), 3:30 p.m.

EAST Va.Lynchburg(0-3) at Sacred Heart (6-3), 11a.m. Stonehill (3-6) at CCSU(6-3),11a.m.

(4-4), 11a.m SMU (6-3) at BostonCollege (1-8),11a.m. HolyCross (1-8) at Lehigh(9-0), 11 a.m. Yale (5-2) at Brown(3-4), 11 a.m. NC A&T (2-7) at StonyBrook (4-5), 11 a.m. Temple (5-4) at Army(4-4),11a.m. Colorado(3-6) at West Virginia (3-6), 11 a.m.

Duquesne (5-4) at LIU Brooklyn (3-6), 11 a.m.

Indiana(9-0) at Penn St.(3-5), 11 a.m.

Colgate(4-5) at Lafayette (6-3), 11:30 a.m. Cornell (3-4) at Penn (5-2), noon NewHampshire(5-4) at Monmouth (NJ) (8-1), noon

Stetson (3-6)atMarist (3-6),noon Bucknell (4-5)atFordham (1-8), noon Villanova (6-2)atTowson(4-5),noon Princeton (3-4)atDartmouth (5-2),noon Bryant (2-7)atAlbany(NY) (1-8),noon Richmond(5-4)atGeorgetown (5-4), noon Maryland (4-4)atRutgers(4-5), 1:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech (5-3)atDelaware (4-4), 2p.m. Duke(5-3) at Uconn (6-3),2:30 p.m. Merrimack (3-6)atNew Haven(4-5), 2:30 p.m. SOUTH Furman (5-4)atChattanooga (4-5), 11 a.m. Georgia (7-1)atMississippi St. (5-4), 11 a.m.

Missouri St. (5-3)atLiberty(4-4), noon Presbyterian (8-1)atDavidson (1-8), noon Maine (5-4)atHampton (2-7), noon The Citadel (4-5)atMississippi (8-1), noon Butler (5-4)atMorehead St. (5-5), noon Wofford(3-6) at VMI (1-8), 12:30 p.m. SE Missouri (3-6)atGardner-Webb (5-4), 12:30 p.m. Howard (4-5)atSCState (6-3), 12:30 p.m. Rhode Island (7-2)atElon (4-5), 1p.m. Incarnate Word (3-6)atNorthwestern St. (1-8), 1p.m. Tennessee St. (2-7) at UT Martin(4-5), 1 p.m. NorfolkSt. (1-8)atNCCentral (6-3), 1p.m. William &Mary (5-4) at Campbell (2-7), 1 p.m.

(7-1)atW.Carolina(6-3), 1:30 p.m. JacksonSt. (6-2)atMVSU(1-7), 2 p.m. Tulsa(2-6) at FAU(3-5), 2p.m. Charlotte (1-7)atEast Carolina(5-3), 2p.m. FIU (3-5)atMiddle Tennessee (1-7),

(6-2),2:30 p.m.

(4-5)atSamford(1-8),2:30 p.m. Southern(1-8) at Alcorn St.(3-6),3 p.m.

(6-3)atN.Alabama (2-7),3 p.m.

(1-7) at Coa.

(4-5)atVanderbilt (7-2),3p.m. Cent. Arkansas (3-6)atAustinPeay(5-4) 3p.m. Stanford(3-6) at North Carolina(3-5) 3:30 p.m. Florida St. (4-4)atClemson(3-5),6 p.m. California (5-4) at Louisville (7-1), 6p.m. Wake Forest (5-3) at Virginia(8-1),6 p.m.

p.m.

LSU (5-3)atAlabama (7-1), 6:30 p.m. Florida (3-5)atKentucky (3-5), 6:30 p.m. MIDWEST San Diego (5-4) at Valparaiso (1-8),noon St. Thomas (Minn.) (6-3) at Drake(6-2),noon IllinoisSt. (6-3) at IndianaSt. (3-6), noon Ohio St. (8-0)atPurdue (2-7), noon Bowling Green (3-6)atE.Michigan (2-7)

STAFF FILEPHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK

From left, LSUassociate and running backs coach FrankWilson and head coach Brian Kelly walk onto the ﬁeld in the second half of agame againstSouth Carolina on Oct. 11 at TigerStadium Wilson was named interim coach after Kelly’s ﬁring

THENATION

THINGS TO WATCHINWEEK11

Who, what andwhere to keep an eyeoninthisweek’sgames around thenation

MIZZOU FACESUNBEATENAGGIES

Missouri has lost twice in threegames and is without talented quarterback Beau Pribula due to aseason-ending injury.TheTigers(No. 22 CFP) still have plenty toplay for,though their margin is slim for making the conference title game and theCollegeFootball Playoff. But it all startswith beating the Aggies,something nobodyelse has managed to do.Someof Texas A&M’ssuccessisthanks to its offensive line, which hasn’t alloweda sack in three straight games and five of eightgames this season.

OREGON ENTERS CLOSINGSTRETCH

TEXASTECHHYPED FORBYU

1. TEXASA&M

Record: 8-0overall, 5-0 SEC

Previous rank: 1

Last week: Idle

No.6 Oregon needs to win out to stayalivefor asecond straightCollegeFootball Playoff bid, startingSaturdayatIowa’sKinnick Stadium. The Ducks (7-1, 4-1 BigTen) sawtheir marginfor error reduced this week when they landedatNo. 9inthe initial CFP rankings. Iowa (6-2, 4-1) is No. 20 in the CFP rankings after winning three straight. Oregon coachDan Lanning’sbiggest concerns are Iowa’sdefense andspecial teams. He saidhis offense will be challengedbya defensivelinethat eats up blocks andasecondary that limits big plays

The Red Raiders face their biggesthomegame in overa decade, amatchup with ByU that has playoff implications and couldbea preview of the Big12title game. ByU (8-0, 5-0 Big12, No.7 CFP) and TexasTech (8-1, 5-1, No 8CFP) are meeting in the Big 12’s first conference matchup of top-10 teams since 2021. The Red Raiders appear primed and ready forthe moment.Tech’s defense is led by playmaker JacobRodriguezand national sacks leader David Bailey. ByU ranksthirdbothin scoring 36.3 points and allowing17per game. 2 1 3

—AssociatedPress

Amid upheaval,intense rivalrygameawaits

Thisweek: at Missouri, 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)

2. ALABAMA

Record: 7-1overall, 5-0 SEC

Previous rank: 2

Last week: Idle

Thisweek: vs.LSU,6:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)

3. GEORGIA

Record: 7-1overall, 5-1 SEC

Previous rank: 3

Last week: DefeatedFlorida 24-20

Thisweek: at Mississippi State,11a.m. Saturday(ESPN)

4. OLEMISS

Record: 8-1overall, 5-1 SEC

Previous rank: 4

We interrupt this coaching search and recent athletic directorship icebergcollision to bring you the LSU-Alabama game. Youremember the game, don’tyou? THE Game? Actual, not political, football? This is the series that produced the Game of the Century in 2011. That produced as thrilling agame as has ever been seen in Tiger Stadium back in 2022, a32-31 LSU overtime victory that portended great things for the Brian Kelly era. Well, it was good for theTigers while it lasted Given the moon-sized spotlight on the search for Kelly’s replacement —and who will be doing the replacing —this matchup has ﬂown under the radar about as much as possible for aTigers-CrimsonTide tussle. LSU fans, understandably,are mostly checked outon this team and this disappointing season, focused on who and what is to come in 2026. It may surprise afew folks around here to know that the Tigers still have ateam. Even more so that they’re still eager to play Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa (on ABC). And they still have, what is that word?

Ah, yes. Pride.

Pride and awelcomed feeling of afresh start after amonth in which their season spun shockingly out of controlwith three losses in LSU’spast four games followinga4-0 start.

“Obviously it’satime of change for us,” senior linebacker West Weeks said. “Every day is new.Change is going to happen. We’ve come in each day focused on what we’re going to do.” The leader of that change has been interim coach Frank Wilson. He’scharged up practices with more physical contact —inpart because of a telling request from defensive coordinator Blake Baker —and tried to instill arenewed sense of excitement with abig purple and white bass drum frontand center in the team meeting room stamped with the words “All In.”

“I’m pleasedwith the morale of our team,” Wilson said Monday.“Ithink we’re abetter team than we were last week.” Better than last week, last game, wouldn’trequirealeap of Mondo Duplantis-like proportions to clear the bar of LSU’s fetid 49-25losstoTexas A&M.

If there’sasense of failure within the LSU team, it did a darnedgood job of not letting it show this week. The sounds of practices from behind the

high fence encircling The Ponderosa (the nickname for LSU’sexpansive football practice facility) were loud andexuberant. Wilson and his players woresmiles, and there wasanease about them to news conferences. Thesense that a greatweight,pressingdown on theprogram through losses in three of its past four games, has been liftedwas palpable. But make no mistake. There hasbeen failure at LSU. Costly failure.This whole saga cost Kelly,athletic director Scott Woodwardand offensive coordinatorJoe Sloan, justtostartthe list, their jobs.Itcould costLSU more than $60 milliontobuy them out (Reminder: Thestate of Louisianaand its taxpayers won’t pay; deep-pocketed boosters will). It cost untold damage to LSU’s reputationand image because of the way everything hasbeen handled,from Gov Jeff Landrysaying publicly that Woodwardwouldn’t hire the next coachtothe kerfufﬂe over whether VergeAusberry would be Woodward’spermanent suc-

cessor. Finally,after adark week and ahalf, the clouds began parting Thursday.Ausberry,the ﬁrst former LSU football player to serve as the school’sathletic director,has the job and is in charge of the football coaching search. Full stop. Youmay be happy or unhappy withAusberry as the choice, but there’s no question this is progress. It’sall part of anew wind blowing theTigers toward Tuscaloosa for this game. Sure, LSUstill has some of thesame old problems —a leaky offensive line and acreaky ground game, still no Whit Weeks at linebacker —and Alabama will be theonly team on the ﬁeld at Bryant-Denny Stadium with SEC and CFPchampionship hopes at play

The Tigers are playing spoiler.They’re playing for asignature win much like in 2022, achance to maybe not ruin Alabama’schances of making the12-team CFP ﬁeld but put a serious dent in them.

It’sanalmost identical sce-

nario to thegame in 2021 in Tuscaloosa between theTigers and Crimson Tide. LSU carried theﬁght to Bama all night long. At theend of a20-14 Crimson Tide victory,Bama fans chanted “Wejust beat the hell out of you,”knowing really their team was fortunate to escape. Can history repeat itself Saturday night?Insome rather remarkable ways, it has. Alabama was ranked No. 3four years ago and is No. 4this time. LSU has already ﬁred its coach (Ed Orgeron) and is in the market for anew leader,one whowill trytoput this rivalry on amore even footing when the Crimson Tide comes toTiger Stadium in 2026. That’sfor then. Here and now is the biggest game remaining on LSU’s2025schedule, achance to repay someof thecost of the past couple of weeks.

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

Last week: DefeatedSouth Carolina 30-14

Thisweek: vs.The Citadel, noon Saturday (SECNetwork+)

5. OKLAHOMA

Record: 7-2overall, 3-2 SEC

Previous rank: 9

Last week: DefeatedTennessee33-27

Thisweek: Idle

6. TEXAS

Record: 7-2overall, 4-1 SEC

Previous rank: 7

Last week: DefeatedVanderbilt 34-31

Thisweek: Idle

7. VANDERBILT

Record: 7-2overall, 3-2 SEC

Previous rank: 5

Last week: Lost to Texas 34-31

Thisweek: vs.Auburn, 3p.m. Saturday(SEC Network)

8. TENNESSEE

Record: 6-3overall, 3-3 SEC

Previous rank: 6

Last week: Lost to Oklahoma33-27

Thisweek: Idle

9. MISSOURI

Record: 6-2overall, 2-2 SEC

Previous rank: 8

Last week: Idle

Thisweek: vs.TexasA&M, 2:30 p.m. Saturday(ABC)

10.LSU

Record: 5-3overall, 2-3 SEC

Previous rank: 12

Last week: Idle

Thisweek: at Alabama, 6:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)

11.FLORIDA

Record: 3-5overall, 2-3 SEC

Previous rank: 13

Last week: Lost to Georgia 24-20

Thisweek: at Kentucky,6:30 p.m. Saturday (SECNetwork)

12.MISSISSIPPI STATE

Record: 5-4overall, 1-4 SEC

Previous rank: 14

Last week: DefeatedArkansas 38-35

Thisweek: vs.Georgia, 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPN)

13.SOUTH CAROLINA

Record: 3-6overall, 1-6 SEC

Previous rank: 10

Last week: Lost to Ole Miss 30-14

Thisweek: Idle

14.KENTUCKY

Record: 3-5overall, 1-5 SEC

Previous rank: 16

Last week: DefeatedAuburn10-3

Thisweek: vs.Florida, 6:30 p.m. Saturday (SECNetwork)

15.ARKANSAS

Record: 2-7overall, 0-5 SEC

Previous rank: 15

Last week: Lost to Mississippi State38-35

Thisweek: Idle

16.AUBURN

Record: 4-5overall, 1-5 SEC

Previous rank: 11

Last week: Lost to Kentucky 10-3

Thisweek: at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m.

(SECNetwork)

SECRATINGS By REED DARCEy

Scott Rabalais

STAFF FILEPHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU defensivecoordinator and linebackers coach BlakeBaker speaks with players on Sept. 6during a game against Louisiana Tech at TigerStadium. Oneofinterim head coach Frank Wilson’schanges has been havingmore physical practices.

A RETURN HOME

Southern interim coach McNair back at Alcorn, where his dreams came true

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Southern interim football coach Fred McNair was a teenager when he saw his future in the stands of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi

It was 1984 and he was one of the 63,808 people who ﬂocked to watch one of the biggest football games in the history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

It was the high-octane offense of Mississippi Valley State, led by Jerry Rice and quarterback Willie Totten, against the rugged defense of Alcorn State, whose architect was legendary HBCU coach Marino

Is Moore to blame for Saints’ slow starts?

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Analysis ä Saints at Panthers. NOON SUNDAy FOX

Every week, Kellen Moore devises a game plan that aims to get the Saints off to a strong start. The first-year coach has enough confidence in these plays that lately, the Saints have chosen to return the opening kickoff when they win the coin toss. The Saints haven’t played much with a lead this season, so Moore wants to set a tone right away But more often than not, Moore sends the call in and watches it fail. Few, if any, teams have been worse on their opening possession this season than the Saints. They are averaging a league-low 4.22 plays per drive. A whopping 44.4% of New Orleans’ opening drives have resulted in a three-and-out, behind only Jacksonville and Denver “We’ve got to get some cleaner (opportunities), continue to get some freebies,” Moore said. “Get the sense of urgency going.” In the NFL, teams map out their first 15-20 plays — commonly known as “the script.” They are looks that can present a new flavor to the offense or staples aimed to earn explosive plays. In an ideal setting, Moore said, these scripted plays last two to three drives before calling from the rest of the sheet.

The script also isn’t always straightforward, Moore said. Playcallers will vary up their rhythm within the selection of plays available, and Moore said third downs

ä See SAINTS, page 6C

Once coach Kim Mulkey and her staff landed the nation’s No 1 recruiting class, then lost several veterans to the transfer portal, they knew they’d have to rely on freshmen.

What the LSU women’s basketball program didn’t know was just how much it could trust each of those ﬁve newcomers Mulkey could evaluate them in their high school and AAU matchups, but ﬁguring out how their games would translate to the next level is a trickier proposition.

“What you never know is work ethic,” Mulkey said. “You never know heart.”

Two games into the season Mulkey is already getting those answers

The No. 5 Tigers (2-0) have beaten up a pair of overmatched teams from the Southland Conference. LSU defeated Houston Christian by 53 points on Tuesday then smothered Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday, winning 115-26 in one of the two most lopsided games it ever has played.

“They’re confident. They will guard anybody on the floor. They might get abused, but they still will come back.

coach

LSU

KIM MULKEy,

LSU at Georgia Southern.

The easy wins have produced some eye-popping numbers. The Tigers already have a whopping 42 steals. They’ve also shot 60% from the ﬁeld and 15 of 31 (48%) from 3-point range while assisting on more than half of the shots they’ve made. Mulkey isn’t relying too heavily on her starters. All 12 active scholarship players are logging, on average, at least 11 minutes per game, and nobody is getting more than 22 minutes per game. Inside such a balanced rotation, Mulkey can evaluate her ﬁve freshmen. They’ve all impressed

her in different ways so far.

“They’re confident,” Mulkey said. “They will guard anybody on the ﬂoor They might get abused, but they still will come back. They’re going to try and do their best.

“Nothing has surprised me.” ZaKiyah Johnson, a 6-foot freshman forward, is starting in the post and giving LSU the kind of production Aneesah Morrow used to provide. She plays sound defense, runs the ﬂoor and crashes the glass on both the offensive and defensive ends. She followed up an 11-point, 11-rebound debut Tuesday with an efﬁcient 16-point, five-rebound, four-steal showing Thursday Bella Hines, a 5-foot-10 guard, drained five of the first seven 3-pointers she has attempted as a Tiger Against the Lions, she also drew two charges, including one along the baseline near the LSU bench that

enjoyed enough to celebrate with a pair of long, swinging ﬁst pumps. Forward Grace Knox has chipped in 21 points, seven

Mulkey

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK LSU coach Kim Mulkey speaks with freshman guard Bella Hines during an exhibition game against Langston on Oct. 30 in the PMAC. Hines has made five of her first seven 3-point attempts this season.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Saints coach Kellen Moore watches a play that is under review against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 14 at the Caesars Superdome.

PHOTO By STACI VANDAGRIFF

Southern interim coach Fred McNair walks along the sideline before taking on Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Saturday in Pine Bluff, Ark. McNair will lead the Jaguars against his alma mater Alcorn State on Saturday afternoon in Lorman, Miss.

Commanders QB Daniels avoids surgery on elbow

Jayden Daniels did not tear ligaments in his dislocated left elbow, tests showed so he does not need surgery and the Washington Commanders will not place the quarterback on injured reserve, at least for now

While the ultimate length of this absence is not known, and could depend on how Washington (3-6) fares in its upcoming games, it is clear that Daniels will not play Sunday against the visiting Detroit Lions (5-3). Backup QB Marcus Mariota will start instead.

The Commanders’ next game after that is in Spain on Nov 16, followed by their bye week.

Saints aim to stop surging RB Dowdle

BY LUKE JOHNSON AND MATTHEW PARAS Staff writers

If the New Orleans Saints are going to pull off an upset against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, their chances probably rest with how they defend running back Rico Dowdle

Dowdle, who signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with Carolina this offseason and opened the season as the backup running back, has emerged as one of the league’s better stories. During the last five games, Dowdle has rushed for 652 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 6.3 yards per carry The Panthers are 4-1 in those contests.

“He’s playing as well as anybody in the league right now at the running back position,” Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said “.. The physicality, the decisiveness, I think he’s a great ﬁt to how they want to run the ball.”

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Dowdle ranks No. 4 in the NFL in rushing despite coming off the bench in the ﬁrst four games. He seems particularly well-suited to this offense, which has poured resources into offensive linemen who excel as run blockers.

Dowdle is averaging 3.1 yards per carry before contact. Only Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions and Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens are averaging more this season.

“The play calling, the offensive line, blocking downfield by the receivers, they’ve got a stable of tight ends that are doing a great job so I think it’s a team effort, but he’s doing an incredible job,” Saints linebacker Demario Davis said. Trade reaction

This is the time of year when those associated with losing NFL teams are reminded of the business side of things

That’s where the Saints reside, having traded away two of their offensive starters Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks and Trevor Penning to the Los Angeles Chargers — prior to the trade deadline after a 1-8 start.

For some, it’s an introduction to this reality

“I was pretty shocked,” rookie quarterback Tyler Shough said. “Obviously, I’d gotten pretty close to (Shaheed) just in the little period of time we’d been working togeth-

SAINTS

Continued from page 5C

tend to be their own section, separate from the scripted plays. But just looking at play counts, the Saints typically don’t reach their 15th play until well into the game. They’ve had four games — including last Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams — in which it took until the fourth drive to reach play No. 15. For the ﬁve other contests, the Saints have had three games in which they hit the threshold by their second drive and two others on their third. Either way, they aren’t getting enough production. New Orleans has only one opening-drive touchdown — an 18-yard score from running back Kendre Miller to cap an impressive sevenplay, 69-yard series in a Week 4 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“When we’ve been starting games, we get behind the chains,” wide receiver Brandin Cooks said. “Next thing you know, (it’s) second-and-long, third-and-long. And when you get in that position in this league, the defenses are too good to be able to consistently convert that.”

How much is Moore to blame? Play calling can be a tricky subject to analyze. Is it the plays or has the execution simply not

er He’s obviously such a great dude, and Trevor as well, those are some of the ﬁrst two guys I’d gotten to meet coming here.”

Other players are plenty used to how it works.

Brandin Cooks is in his 12th NFL season He has been traded four times in his NFL career, though never at the trade deadline.

“It’s all part of the business, right?” Cooks said.

Cooks said he sees the trades especially the one involving Shaheed, which netted the Saints a pair of Day 3 picks in next year’s draft — as a “win-win” for both parties.

“Shaheed has a heck of an opportunity in front of him, obviously, being with the (offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak) that was with him before,” Cooks said. “So there’s familiarity He had a lot of success there. He was having success this year Then from a team standpoint I think (general manager Mickey Loomis) is always looking at it from a standpoint of how do I do what is best for the organization and also right by players, for the most part.”

Cooks explained that Loomis

goes out of his way to find the right opportunities in trades for players who have contributed in a positive way for the Saints.

“He didn’t just look to ship him anywhere,” Cooks said. “He saw an opportunity like, ‘Man, it’s a great opportunity to be able to get some draft picks and also do something that’s going to be able to enhance the organization from a standpoint on a draft the following year.’ ” Injury report

The Saints ruled out tackle Taliese Fuaga with an ankle injury and listed ﬁve others as questionable Friday ahead of Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

Running back Alvin Kamara (ankle), tight end Jack Stoll (ankle), defensive lineman Jonah Williams (shoulder), tackle Barry Wesley (neck) and defensive lineman Bryan Bresee were listed as questionable after going through practice this week.

Of those ﬁve, only Wesley and Williams were full participants for all three practices Kamara, Stoll and Bresee were limited. Bresee was added to the injury report Thursday after being a full

been good enough? Moore, for instance, isn’t dialing up a run play for Alvin Kamara on ﬁrstand-10 just so the running back can gain a yard something that happened on the ﬁrst play of the Rams game. It also isn’t Moore’s fault if his quarterback fumbles on the opening drive, like Spencer Rattler did in back-to-back games before he was benched. But there have been curious moments Against the Rams, rookie Tyler Shough threw short of the sticks on third-and-7 for a 6-yard gain. On that play, four of

the five routes didn’t get past the first-down marker Against the Patriots, three underwhelming calls led the Saints to settle for an opening-drive field goal, despite a 53-yard gain from Chris Olave. Moore’s track record as an offensive coordinator isn’t encouraging in this area. The Philadelphia Eagles, despite winning the Super Bowl, scored only two opening-drive touchdowns last season. The Los Angeles Chargers ranked around league average in 2023, while the Dallas Cowboys’ productivity varied

participant a day earlier “(He’s) trending well there,” coach Kellen Moore said “But you’ve got to let these things take its course through the entire week.”

The Saints’ decision to rule out Fuaga was not a surprise. Moore said earlier in the week that he was unlikely to play as he suffered a high-ankle sprain in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Fuaga did not practice at all throughout the week and is expected to be replaced by Asim Richards

The Saints are now missing three of the five offensive linemen they envisioned as starters entering the season. In addition to Fuaga’s injury, the team traded Penning on Tuesday, and Erik McCoy suffered a season-ending biceps injury last month.

Carolina’s injury report had a notable addition Friday

The Panthers listed rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillian as questionable after he “popped up” with a hamstring injury, coach Dave Canales told reporters.

McMillian leads the Panthers with 41 catches and 558 yards receiving.

between league average and bad. The 2020 Cowboys failed to score an opening-drive touchdown, although quarterback Dak Prescott missed most of the year

Scripted play calls last longer than opening drives. Moore arrived in New Orleans with a reputation for being a strong play-caller, with those who knew him praising the coach for his intellect and ability to teach the game. His approach helped the Eagles win it all, and he’s had an above-average offense in four of his previous six seasons.

To be fair to Moore, some of the Saints’ best plays this season have come within their ﬁrst 15-20 plays. The bomb to Olave to open the Patriots’ game. A 39-yard play-action strike to Rashid Shaheed against the San Francisco 49ers. A 29-yard run from Taysom Hill. There are plays that are well-designed and look pretty when executed.

They’re just few and far between, whether that’s on Moore or not.

“Obviously, it’s a commitment from the coaching staff,” offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting our guys the best plays early in the game. And we’ve got to do a better job of executing.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Daniels hurt his non-throwing elbow midway through the fourth quarter of Washington’s 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday night.

Ex-Alabama All-America

LB Lowe dies at age 71

Woodrow Lowe, a three-time All-America linebacker at Alabama and an 11-year starter for the San Diego Chargers in the NFl, has died. He was 71. Lowe died at his home in Collierville, Tennessee, on Thursday, according to the National Football Foundation.

Lowe was a 2009 NFF Hall of Fame inductee. He starred at Alabama (1972-75) and was the second player in program history to make the ﬁrst-team AllAmerica list three times. He helped the Crimson Tide make the Sugar Bowl in 1973, losing to eventual national champion Notre Dame, and was a consensus All-America selection the following year

Dodgers reliever Vesia announces daughter’s death

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, who missed the World Series because of what the team said at the time was a “deeply personal family matter,” said on Friday his daughter, Sterling, has died.

“Our little angel we love you forever & you’re with us always,” Vesia and his wife, Kayla, said on Instagram in a post that included a picture of an infant holding hands with adults “Our beautiful daughter went to heaven Sunday October 26th. There are no words to describe the pain we’re going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her.”

The team announced Oct. 23, the day before the World Series started, that he was not with the team.

Sabalenka, Rybakina set for WTA Finals title match

1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka reached the title match at the WTA Finals for the ﬁrst time in three years after overcoming Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the semiﬁnals Friday

Sabalenka will play ﬁrst-time ﬁnalist Elena Rybakina on Saturday No. 6 Rybakina beat No. 5 Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on the back of 15 aces.

Sabalenka was pushed to the brink by No. 4 Anisimova, who matched Sabalenka’s power and aggression for more than two hours in a rematch of the U.S. Open final. The first set lasted an hour Anisimova missed five break chances and racked up 24 unforced errors. But she halved that in the second set and broke Sabalenka three times to force a deciding set.

Hataoka, Shin share lead at LPGA event in Japan

OTSU Japan Japanese golfer Nasa Hataoka and Shin Ji-yai of South Korea sat atop the leaderboard Friday after the second round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic.

Hataoka shot a 4-under 68 and Shin was in with a 67 for tworound totals of 11-under 133. Miyu Yamashita of Japan, who shared the lead with Hataoka after the ﬁrst round, was a stroke back of the leaders after a 69 at the Seta Golf Club in western Japan. Three more Japanese golfers were only two strokes off the lead: Sayaka Takahashi (67), Ai Suzuki (67) and Shuri Sakuma (66). Minjee Lee of Australia, among the best-known players in the ﬁeld, shot 1-over

and

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT LUDTKE

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle runs against Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper during the first half of a game on Sunday in Green Bay, Wis.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints coach Kellen Moore and others watch a third-down play against the New England Patriots during the first half on Oct. 12 in the Caesars Superdome.

GAMEDAY

SOUTHERN at ALCORN STATE

3p.m. Saturday, Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium,Lorman,Miss.

TV: None | Radio: KQXL-FM, 106.5

Line: AlcornState by 12½

Alabama St., JSUstayontop

BY RASHAD MILLIGAN and TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writers

This week’sSouthwestern Athletic Conference footballpower rankingshave another big change for asecond consecutive week.

In Southerninterim coachFred McNair’ssecond game at the helm, the Jaguars lost 40-21 at Arkansas-PineBluff. The seventh straight loss marks the current longest streak in the conference.

Jackson Statebounced back in thewin columnina road contest against FAMU, butTigersfans are stillconcernedabout starting quarterback JaCobianMorgan being out for at least twomore weeks.

Listed below are thisweek’s SWAC power football rankings before Week 11 games kick off.

1. AlabamaState

Record: 6-2 overall, 4-1 SWAC

Previous rank: 1

LEADERS

PASSING

Ashton Strother

54.7%, 752yards,2TDs,3INTs

Cam’RonMcCoy

50%, 513yards,4TDs,2INTs

RUSHING

Trey Holly

134carries,756 yards, 5.6avg,6 TDs

Cam’RonMcCoy

38 carries, 180yards,4.7 avg, 3TDs

RECEIVING

Darren Morris

21 catches, 411yards,19.6avg,4TDs

Malachi Jackson

16 catches, 226yards,14.1avg,TD

Last week: 31-28 win at Prairie View

This week: vs. TexasSouthern, 2p.m.Saturday

Extrapoints: AlabamaState,like Jackson State,has dealt withan injury to its starting quarterback. Coach Eddie Robinson said AndrewBody sufferedashoulderinjury,and he’s hoping the QB canreturn to actionthis season. Redshirt freshman Te’Sean Smootcompleted 4of6passes for 9yardsin Alabama State’s31-28 win over Prairie View

2. JacksonState

Record: 6-2 overall, 4-1 SWAC

Previous rank: 2

Last week: 41-16 win at FAMU

This week: at Mississippi Valley State,2 p.m. Saturday

2p.m. Saturday

DEFENSE

Elijah West

54 tackles

Herman Brister

42 tackles

GreysonLafleur

40 tackles

SCHEDULE

AUGUST

Extrapoints: CoachT.C. Taylorexpressed hissatisfaction in JSU’s response after losing against GramblinginLas Vegas andlosingstarting quarterback JaCobian Morgan. Taylor challenged freshman quarterback Jared Lockhart to leadthe team to more drives ending in touchdowns, and he responded with a31-point second halfled by astrong rushing attack.

Extrapoints: The defensecarried Grambling to avictory over Alabama A&M last week, as thegroup allowed zero third-downconversions and ﬁnished with eight sacks and 13 tackles for loss. The unit will need asimilar performance this week againstthe third-highest scoring teaminthe conference, Bethune-Cookman, which averages 31.3 points per game.

5. Bethune-Cookman

Record: 5-4 overall, 4-1 SWAC

Previous rank: 5

Last week: 42-34 win vs.Mississippi Valley State

7. Alcorn State

Record: 3-6overall, 2-3 SWAC

Previous rank: 10

Last week: 33-14win at Texas Southern

This week: vs. Southern, 3p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: Alcorn is coming off a win at Texas Southern, but coach Cedric Thomas wants his offense to convert more on third down. Alcorn State leadsthe all-time series against Southern, 41-30. Thomas said he’sappreciative of Southern interim coach Fred McNair because he’shired Thomas twicein his career.“But like the kids say,” Thomas said. “He’sthe opps (opposition) right now.”

8. TexasSouthern

Record: 4-4 overall, 3-2 SWAC

Previous rank: 6

10.Alabama A&M

Record: 4-5 overall, 1-4 SWAC

Previous rank: 8

Lastweek: 13-10 loss at Grambling

This week: vs. Prairie View,2 p.m.

Saturday

Extrapoints: This week, the Bulldogs look to remain undefeated at homeagainstNo. 3Prairie View.PrairieViewholds thealltimeadvantage over AAMU,10-8. Alabama A&M will be looking to rebound after blowing a10-0 lead against Grambling. Coach Sam Shade attributes the losstospecial teamsand defensive ﬂaws.

11.MississippiValleyState

Record: 1-7 overall, 0-4 SWAC

Previous rank: 12

Last week: 42-34 loss at BethuneCookman

23 N. Carolina Cent.* L, 31-14

30 at Miss.ValleyState W, 34-29 SEPTEMBER 6Alabama StateL,30-7

13 at Fresno State L, 56-7

PREDICTION

ALCORN STATE35, SOUTHERN

30: TheJaguarsare coming off theirsloppiest performanceof the season,fromapenalty perspective, in theirlosstoUAPB. Even if they’re notasmistake-prone,theywillbe challenged by apass-heavyoffense Alcorn Statequarterback Jaylon Tolberthas thethird-mostpassing yardsinthe conference andwillface aSoutherndefense that is proneto untimely blunders fortouchdowns. Toyloy BrownIII

SWAC STANDINGS

3. PrairieView

Record: 6-3 overall, 4-1 SWAC

Previous rank: 3

Last week: 31-28 loss vs. Alabama State

Thisweek: at Alabama A&M,2 p.m Saturday

Extrapoints: Coach Tremaine Jackson wants Prairie View to cut down on its turnovers after having four last week againstAlabama State. Despite the Hornets’ No. 1ranking, Jacksondoesn’t give his programthe moral victoryfor only losing by 3points. History is on Prairie View’sside against Alabama A&M with a5-2 all-time record against AAMU.

4. Grambling

Record: 6-3 overall, 3-2 SWAC

Previous rank: 4 Last week: 13-10 win vs. Alabama A&M This week: vs. Bethune-Cookman,

MCNAIR

Continued from page5C

Theoccasion is afootball game betweenSouthern (1-8, 0-5 SWAC) and Alcorn State (3-6, 2-3) at 3p.m. SaturdayinLorman, Mississippi.

“’I’mnot nervous,I’m justexcited to go back and see the fansand see some alumni that I’vecrossed (paths with) over thepast years,” McNair said.“Ihavenoregrets about anything. Going to school there, coachingthere.It’salways been agood place for me.”

Not many people have seen more of McNair’scareer than Rick Cleveland, aMississippi Today columnist since 2016. The 14-time Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year has reported on the sportsscene acrossthe state, including at Alcorn State, forThe Clarion Ledger for 33 years. He was even aware of McNair as ahigh school quarterback, as hishometown of Hattiesburg was about30minutessouth of Mount Olive. Cleveland said that McNair is one of themorebeloved ﬁgures at Alcorn State, starting withhis playing career.Hewas ahomegrown talentwho transitioned from wide receiver to quarter-

This week: at Grambling, 2p.m. Saturday Extrapoints: MississippiValley Stategave Bethune-Cookman a scare this past weekend, as the Delta Devils nearly came back from a21-7 deficit.Coach Raymond Woodie said the secondary needs to tighten up its coverage. This week, BCU takesonGrambling, against whom theWildcatshave won ﬁve of the past six matchups.

6. FAMU

Record: 3-5 overall, 2-2 SWAC

Previous rank: 7 Last week: 41-16 loss vs. Jackson State

This week: at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 2p.m. Saturday Extra points: CoachJames Colzie wants FAMU to getmoreearlydown yards to avoidthird-and-long situations. He also wantstoimprove the kick return ﬂaws shown in last week’sloss to Jackson State. DespiteUAPBquarterback Christian Peters ranking in theSWAC’s topthree for passing, Colzie wants his team to stop the run ﬁrst

back, earning himthe nickname “Air” McNair, whichheshares with his late brother Steve, who wasdubbed“AirII” when he played at the sameschool before his decorated career in the NFL.

Thefondness for Fred McNair in thecommunity intensified when he returnedfirst as aquarterbacks coach starting in 2013 andthen as theheadcoach from 2016-23, leading the Braves to four SWAC East Division titles and twoSWAC championships. He finishedwith a47-33 record and was named SWAC Coach of theYear twice, becoming the program’sfirst coach of the yearsince Cardell Jones earned it in 1992.

Cleveland said that fans today still “absolutely” respect McNair forwhat he’s accomplished as a “good football man” and “really good person.”

His successor at AlcornState is coach Cedric Thomas, who said thathe’ll always appreciate McNair “Coachhired me twice, so I’m forever indebted for what he did for me and my family,” Thomas said on the SWAC coaches virtual conference Monday.“Got some coaches on thestaff thatwas part of those championshipswithhim, so Iknow he’sdear to alot of people. Not only on the staff, but just

Last week: 33-14 loss vs.Alcorn State Thisweek: at Alabama State,2 p.m. Saturday Extrapoints: TexasSouthernis1-9 all-time against AlabamaState. CoachCris Dishman said he hopes to establish aculture in Houston like Robinson has built in Montgomery.Following last week’s loss againstAlcorn State, the Tigers are looking for their ﬁfth win in sixgames.

9. Arkansas-PineBluff

Record: 4-5overall, 2-3 SWAC

Previous rank: 9

Last week: 40-21 winvs. Southern This week: vs. FAMU,2 p.m.Saturday

Extrapoints: UAPB defeated Southern, aprogram it had beaten just once in theprevious 10 meetings, last week. Now,UAPBlooks to get its ﬁrst winever over FAMU.Rattlers coach James Colzie saidhis team will prepare to stop the run. UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton acknowledgedhis team’soffensive success starts on the ground.

in the Alcorn community.We’ll be excited just to see coach fromthe standpoint of what he done for us.”

McNair said the adoration is mutual.He’sgrateful to the school for launching his football career that continued in the Arena Football League, giving him his ﬁrst college head coaching job and being the place where he earned his bachelor’sand master’sdegrees.

Hiscoaching departure from his alma mater in December 2023 was adecision thatheagreed to with theadministration.

“No hard feelings, nothing,” McNair said. “Just told them,you know,Ijust couldn’tdoitlike this no more.You know,gave‘em a handshake and told them goodbye. And Ialready talked to the staff about it, so it wasn’tnothing drastic. Just bothpartiescouldn’tmeet together.” Cleveland said he’sstill unsure what the divide was, but he knows how many people in the area felt.

“I think when the split happened, that there wasmore support for Fred than there wasfor theadministration,” Cleveland said.

When McNair arrives on the AlcornState campus forhis third game as the interim coach of the Jaguars, he’ll be flooded with memories. He’lltry to ﬁndhis tail-

This week: vs. JacksonState,2 p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: MVSU enters this weekend with a5-64 all-timerecord against No. 2Jackson State. Delta Devils junior quarterback Josh Brownmade up foramajority of the team’soffense last week against Bethune-Cookman, as he accountedfor 418passing yards, atouchdown, an interceptionand tworushing touchdowns.

12.Southern

Record: 1-8 overall, 0-5 SWAC

Previous rank: 11

Last week: 40-21 loss at ArkansasPine Bluff

This week: at Alcorn State, 3p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: Interim Southern head coach Fred McNair faces his almamater andformer employer,Alcorn State, this weekendaftera disappointing outing at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. McNair wantsthe Jaguars to stop giving up explosive plays on defense andestablish therun game offensively to give Southern abetter chance to win.

gate family that used to greet him consistently after games.

There won’tbeany extra motivation to beat his former team, he said. His priority is getting his players to play their best game.

“I just want themtocome out and play football, play sound football for60minutes,” McNair said.

“That’sthe only motivation Ineed If they come out and just compete for60minutes and give it all they got. An outcomeisgonna be the outcome. So that’s whyI always tell them,man, we just got to play for 60 minutes. When the clock hits zero (and) if you’re happy the way you put out for60minutes, you can say you did your job.” McNair’scoaching future isn’t certain beyond this year.Athletic director Roman Banks said Oct. 21 thatSouthern would like to name a coach not too long after the Bayou Classic on Nov. 29. The chances that McNair becomes the full-time coach are realistic,but it’snot top of mind for the Alcorn State legend.

“I’d be surprised if he’s not(considered) because of his previous successinthe league,” Cleveland said.“Imean, he’s proven he can do it.”

Email Toyloy BrownIII at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Alabama State players celebrate after atouchdown against SouthernatA.W.Mumford Stadium on Sept. 6.

The Hornets stayedNo. 1inthe SWAC powerratingsthis week, and Southernfell to last place.

St. Joseph’s volleyball returns to state tourney

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

St. Joseph’s volleyball coach Donna Pixley likes to challenge her team to seize the moment, and the Redstickers did just that Friday night in a Division I regional round playoff match against St. Amant. Taking control with fast starts in the ﬁrst two sets, fourth-seeded St. Joseph’s never trailed on its way to a 3-0 victory over No. 13 St. Amant at the Redstickers gym. The individual set scores were 25-13, 25-16 and 25-14.

“I tell all my teams, ‘Why not us?’ “ Pixley said “You show up every day to work, and everybody has the same goal. Let’s work together and go get it.”

The win moves St. Joseph’s (23-12) into a quarterﬁnal match Thursday at the Cajundome in Lafayette. The Redstickers will play the winner of Saturday’s match between No. 5 Northshore and No. 12 Mandeville.

The state tournament berth is St Joseph’s ﬁrst in two years. Prior to that, it had made the quarterﬁnals or better for 10 straight years.

“I think the last two years were

an anomaly for this program,” Pixley said. “It’s always one match at a time, but our goal was to get back to the Dome. Now let’s see what we can do.” Led by Caroline Hultberg (11 kills) and Gracie Mann (10 kills), there was plenty of offensive support for St. Joseph’s. Caroline Burkhalter added 18 assists while Mann and libero Mackenzie Chuilli each had 19 digs. Pixley also praised sophomore Emmy Graves, who was a presence with 13 assists and seven kills. For St. Amant (28-14), the loss

provided a bookend for the Gators, who lost their opening match of the season at St. Joseph’s in September. St. Amant coach Lucie Broussard said her team showed much more ﬁght on Friday

“I know the score doesn’t necessarily reflect it, but our girls played their hearts out,” Broussard said. “This is the best we have played in a very long time. It didn’t go our way but that happens sometimes. These girls love each other so much.”

Fast starts by St. Joseph’s in the opening two sets had St.

SCOREBOARD

Amant playing catch up In the third set, the Gators forced a tie at 9-9 and trailed 15-12 after Calli Hargrave’s kill. After that, two kills from Graves keyed a 5-0 spurt as St. Joseph’s took a 20-12 lead.

St. Amant got a kill from Josie Leon but could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way Hultberg closed out the 2514 set win with a kill down the left line.

Khayren Josey topped St. Amant with six kills, while Ally Frazier and Hargrave each ﬁnished with ﬁve.

Sacked-Yards Lost 6-29 2-14 Punts 8-37.375 7-41.857

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 11-83 11-78

Time of Possession 29:14 30:46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_Las Vegas, Jeanty 19-60, Tucker 1-7, G.Smith 3-7, Mostert 1-4, Bowers 1-(minus 4). Denver, Dobbins 18-77, Harvey 4-9, Nix 5-(minus 2). PASSING_Las Vegas, G.Smith 16-26-1-143, Pickett 0-1-0-0. Denver, Nix 16-28-2-150.

RECEIVING_Las Vegas, Lockett 5-44, Mayer 3-22, Jeanty 3-3, Tucker 2-28, Bowers 1-31, Mostert 1-11, Thornton 1-4. Denver, Franklin 5-40, Sutton 3-24, Engram 2-12, Harvey 2-9, Bryant 1-43, Prentice 1-13, Dobbins 1-7, Trautman 1-2. MISSED FIELD GOALS_Las Vegas, Carlson 48. Denver, Lutz 59. College basketball Women’s State Schedule Wednesday’s games Iowa State 85, Southern 58 Tulsa 77, UNO 60 Thursday’s

LSU women’s soccer reaches SEC title game

The LSU women’s soccer team’s red-hot run has taken the Tigers to the SEC championship game. The Tigers beat Mississippi State 3-1 in the SEC Tournament semiﬁnals on Thursday night, getting goals from Ava Galligan, Ida Hermannsdottir and Sariyah Bailey LSU will play Vanderbilt in the tournament final at 1:30 p.m. Sunday on the SEC Network. The Tigers and Commodores tied 0-0 in their regularseason meeting Sept. 12 at Vanderbilt. LSU, ranked No. 23 and No. 25 nationally in the two major polls, hasn’t

lost since Sept. 21 at Tennessee Since then, the Tigers are 8-0-2, including three straight tournament wins in Pensacola, Florida Seeded ﬁfth, the Tigers (13-5-3) beat No. 12 seed Auburn 3-2 in the first round last Sunday, then knocked off No. 4 Tennessee 2-0 in the quarterﬁnals Tuesday before beating Mississippi State (12-6-2) on Thursday Galligan opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a goal off a half-volley The play was started by a long free kick from the Tigers’ own half. It was her 10th goal of the season, the most for an LSU player since 2016. The match really turned

in LSU’s favor 11 minutes later when midﬁelder Gadea Blanco Gonzalez was fouled in the box by Mississippi State’s Rebeka Vega-Palenka. After video review, Vega-Palenka was given a red card, forcing the Bulldogs to play the rest of the match with 10 women, and LSU was awarded a penalty kick. Hermannsdottir buried the penalty for the eighth time in nine career tries. Just three minutes later, Bailey made it 3-0 on a header Mississippi State answered before halftime but couldn’t put a further dent in the LSU lead during a scoreless second half.

THEVARSITYZONE

PHOTOSByAPRIL BUFFINGTON

Liberty’sConnerNairn catches the ball as he gets pushed out of bounds by Woodlawn’s

SWEET VICTORY

Keypuntreturnhelps push LibertypastWoodlawn

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS

Contributing writer

The sweet taste of victory couldn’thave tasted any sweetfor Liberty Three straight losing seasons void of postseason play presentedfirst-year coach Jimmy Zachery with plenty of motivation and the Patriots reaped the beneﬁts.

Return specialist Ashton LaFleur delivered akey punt return in the ﬁrst half and Liberty quarterback Brice Preston helped the Patriots breathe easier in the end, keeping for a44yard touchdown with1:26 remainingfor a30-21 victory in District 4-5A action over Woodlawn at Olympia Stadium.

“We’ve been through so much with different coaches, so we deserve this,” LaFleur said. “This is our last year.Wehad to ball out,and this was the result.” Liberty (6-4,3-2)clinched its ﬁrst winning season since 2021and secureda spot in next week’sDivision Iselect state playoffs in Zachery’s ﬁrst season. Woodlawn (4-6, 1-4),which was battling for the final playoff spot in the Division Iselect bracket, got the ball back with just under four minutes left to play.The Panthers moved to the Patriots’ 3where on fourth and 7quarterback Cayden Randall was thrown for a2-yard loss with 1:59togo.

Liberty put the game on ice on itsfollowing series when Preston, facing athird and 8, kept aroundthe left end for his second rushing touchdown of the game. Running back Zaiden Foster, whohad agame-high166 yards on 28 carries, added his third two-point conversion of the game.

“Offensively we were trying to get our skilled guys

Continued from page5C

rebounds and fivesteals in the first two games. Point guard Divine Bourrage, at 5-11, has used her lengthto grab rebounds. Forward MeganYarnevich hasshotefficientlyaround therim,and Mulkey said Tuesday she “may knowthe gamebetter than anybody on that floor.”

to makea lot of plays,” Woodlawn coach Tramon Douglas said. “Wegot abig stop in the fourth quarter from our defense. We were downone (touchdown) and offensively we didn’t ﬁnish the drive.They made more plays than we didatthe end Both teams wereready,we just cameupshort.”

There were three changes in theﬁrst half when LaFleur gave Liberty a14-13 halftime lead with a61-yard punt return with 34 seconds left. It was hisfourthreturn for ascore this season

“I knew my team needed abig play,” LaFleur said. “I just trust my team to setup the wall and took it all the way home.”

ThePatriotsovercame a pair of false-start penalties and adropped touchdown pass in the end zone to take a 8-7 lead at theend of 14-play drive that consumed nearly seven minutes.

There were three first downs on 25 yards worth of

her capabilities. Sheunderstands thegame. And when you see (Mikaylah Williams) and those guys wanting to be on the ﬂoor with Meg, that tells you (that) you got somethingtowork with.”

Football Thursday’s scores Area Plaquemine 52,Broadmoor 0 Catholic-PC 45, OpelousasCatholic 14 LiveOak 56, Dutchtown 53 Parkview Baptist 49,Glen Oaks 22 Southern Lab 74, Thrive Academy6 West Feliciana 48, Tara 0 Catholic 41, Zachary 7 Statewide Airline 34, Huntington 27 Captain Shreve35, C.E. Byrd27 General Trass (LakeProvidence) 62, Delhi26 Grand Lake38, Oberlin12 Hamilton Christian 39, Basile 13 Haynes 55, Jefferson Rise 18

PREP REPORT

rushing attemptsfrom Fosterwhen Liberty converted athird-and-19 opportunityto reach thePanthers’ 3-yard line.

Prestonavoided afierce pass rush and found Jonathon Harris coming back on the play for a17-yard gain. Coupled with an unsportsmanlike penaltyagainst Woodlawn, the Patriots took the lead on Preston’s 3-yard runand Foster’s two-point run.

Woodlawn led 7-0 and 1413 behind Randall’splay whoignitedhis team’sﬁrst drive with a28-yard scramble. ThePanthersreached the Patriots’ 3ona17-yard completion from Randall to Jordan Knox and Randall finishedthe drive with a 3-yard scoringrun on second down.

Randall combined for 208 total yards (123 passing, 85 rushing)and threetouchdowns. Knox led the Panthers with seven catches for 101 yards.

“And she was one of the last ones to go in,” Mulkey said. “Kids want to play with (Yarnevich). She knows

Mulkey won’tput 12 players on the floor every night.When LSU runs into stiffer competition in January, she’ll whittle her rotation down to eight or nine contributors. Johnson and Knoxlook likefavorites to land one of those roles, whileBourrage, Hinesand Yarnevich will have to beat out established veterans to

ﬁnd themselves in that mix. It could happen, especially if thefreshmen keep playing like theydid in the ﬁrst two games this season.

“I’ve been so excited to watch them in practice,” Mulkey said. “I enjoy going to practice because they just getafter it,and they’re coachable, and they’re pleasant to be around.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed.darcey@theadvocate. com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up forour newsletter at theadvocate. com/lsunewsletter LSU

Jaylen KnoxonFridayatOlympiaStadium. Libertywon 30-21.

Woodlawn’sAlonzo Luckett breaks atackle Friday night.

THE VARSITYZONE

FULL STOP

Denham Springs defensesteps up in second half to down St.Amant

BY JACKSON REYES

Staff writer

Denham Springs coachBrett

Beardknewitwould be an offensive shootout against St. Amanton Friday

Both sides traded touchdowns and were deadlocked 26-26 in the third quarter. ButwhenDenham Springs needed astop most, the defense forced apunt and two turnovers on downs in Yellow Jackets’ territory

“Wejust knew there was going to have to be astop made by one of these defenses,” Beard said. “Wecaught alittle ﬁre.Defense bowed up, and we challenged them to do that, and they did just that.” Denham Springs (8-2,5-1) used the defensive stops to score 28 straight points en route to a5426 win overSt. Amant athometo clinch ashare of the District 5-5A title with East Ascension.

“These coaches and kids work so hard,” Beard said. “You want tobe able to put that number on thewall. To win this district is big time ” Senior quarterback Da’Jean Golmond was 15-of-22 passingfor 209 yards with four touchdowns and

one interception. He also had one rushing touchdown.

After the Yellow Jackets gota stop to open the game, Golmond picked the Gators apart, going 4of4for 51 yards. Inside the 10, he threw ascreen pass to running backBrentonPaul for a9-yard touchdown to makeit6-0.

After another stalled Gators’ drive, Paultookoveronthe ground. He ran 13 yards on the ﬁrst play,thenexploded through themiddle and down theleft sideline for a75-yard touchdown late in the ﬁrst quarter In thesecondquarter,St. Amant (7-3, 3-3) reached midfield but faced athird and long. QuarterbackCooper Babin threw apick to Denham Springs linebacker Jackson Seguin.

The Yellow Jackets capitalized after Golmondconnected with his twin brother,Da’Sean Golmond, on fourth down. He shookoff one defenderand tightroped down thesideline for a30-yard scoreto make it 19-0.

St.Amant battled back with a52yard touchdown by Babin to Jermichael Millien midway through the second quarter Later,the Gatorspicked up a fourth-downstop afterDenham Springs reached their 30-yard line.

Babin foundMillienfor a24yard pass on the ﬁrst play of the ensuingdrive. Running back JourdenHickerson later rippedoff a 25-yard runthat set up his 3-yard touchdown tomake it 19-14 at the

break.

ADenham Springs’ penaltyat theend of the ﬁrst half moved the ball 15 yards up on the second-half kickoff. St. Amantattemptedan onside kick and recovered the ball.

After two St.Amantpenalties to start the drive, Babin found Landon Blanchard deep for a48-yard touchdown to give theGators a2019 lead early in the third.

The Yellow Jackets reached the edge of thered zone on theensuing drive. Da’JeanGolmondeludeda defender andfound Da’SeanGolmondinthe end zone. He bobbled theballwith adefender on him, then came down with the catch.

St. Amant tied it after Babin cappedoff an eight-play, 85-yard drive with a28-yard touchdown pass to Riley Rizzuto. Thekick was blocked, making it 26-26.

Denham Springs went back in front after Paul carried four times for 41 yards. He also caught acrucial fourth-down pass for a10-yard gain and ﬁrst down inside thered zone. He scored on a4-yard touchdown with2:46 left in the third.

The YellowJackets added three moretouchdowns off aDa’Jean Golmond28-yardtouchdown pass to Trey Seals, a54-yard rushing touchdown by Da’Jean Golmond, and an 8-yard run by Enzo Landry to seal the win.

“Wehad someadversity, Da’JeanGolmond said.“It was good to see our team ﬁght through that and just come out and kill the second half.”

Brusly shutsout Istrouma by dominating on fourth down

BYCHRIS CHAPPLE

Contributing writer

Brusly’sdefense rose tothe occasion on fourth down one last time Friday night. Senior cornerback Ryland Johnson made sure of that.

Johnson intercepted Istrouma quarterback Isaac Jacksonwith aminute remaining and returned thepick50yards to help Brusly edge Istrouma 6-0 on Friday night at Brusly Johnson, who is in his first seasonofvarsityfootball, now has five interceptions for Brusly (9-1) which finished as the District 6-4A runner-up at 7-1. “Ryland Johnson read that pass perfectly and made the defensive play we needed,” Brusly coach Hoff Schooler said. “He had an interception at the end of the West Feliciana game that he returned for atouchdown. We also got good coverage from DervinRichard on Istrouma’slast drive.”

Istrouma(5-5, 4-4 in District 6-4A)went foritseven timeson fourth down andconverted three times. Istrouma led in first downs (8-4), rushing yards (116 to negative-17) and total offense (161-77). Brusly scored on its first possession.Cordell Oxley had a30-yard kickoff return to set up the two-play 56-yard drive. On seconddown, Bruslysenior quarterback Drake Vincenttosseda54-yard touchdown pass to PatrickGales.The ensuing PATfailed, and Brusly led 6-0 with 10:51 left in the first quarter “Wehad some adversityonBrusly’s first drive but really settled in on defense after that,” Istrouma coach Brian Gloversaid. “Brusly is agreat team. We knewitwould be aclose game.Wehad our shots at theend but just didn’texecute.”

Istroumahad 62 plays on offense compared to 38 for Brusly

Istrouma had two good drives into thered zone in the fourth quarter.Istrouma faced afourthand-10 from theBrusly 11-yard

Parkview ridesa fast starttodropGlenOaks

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

line with 2:55 remaining. Jackson tossed apasstothe endzoneand theball hit thereceiver’shands, but Brusly’sJohnson blew up the play withabig hit. Brusly hadathree-and-out and a short 16-yard punt. Istrouma took over at theBrusly 25-yardline. Istrouma’s Jacksonwas stopped fora 4-yardloss, then tossedtwo incompletionsand threw the interception Jackson led Istrouma in rushing with 67 yards on 19 carries. Tyreek Patonhad twocatches for 13 yards. Gales had two catches for 66 yards to pace Brusly Brusly’sNathan Hodgesrecovered afumble with 3:41 left in the second quarter.The Panthers took over at theIndian 26-yard line Brusly picked up oneﬁrst down and the drive stalled. Brusly lined up to try a34-yard field goal on fourth down. Holder Brayden Ray rolled out to attempt apass, but Istrouma’s rush stoppedhim before thethrow

Late Thursday

Parkview Baptist was looking fora fast startThursdaynight andsophomorerunning back Marquise Franklin made sure it happened Franklin ran formore than 100 yards in the first quarter alone, and Parkview scored touchdowns on its first ﬁve possessions on its way to a 49-22 win over District 6-3A rival Glen OaksatParkview ForParkview (5-5, 4-2), the win keeps alive the Eagles hope of hosting afirst-round DivisionIII nonselect playoff game. Parkview had apower rating of 18 coming into the game andneedstomove into the top16toplay at home next week.

“The message all week was to growfrom last week, and we needed to start fast,” Parkview coach DevinDucote said.“We wantedtoplayfourquartersto aParkview standard and have a mindset of domination.” Franklin finishedwith198 yards andtwo touchdowns on 15 carries. He had no rushes in the fourth quarterand did most of his workinthe ﬁrst andthird quarters. His last carry wasa 45-yard touchdownrun that ended with him dragging adefender into the end zone.

“Itstarts upfront with the offensive line,” Ducote said. “(Franklin) runs so hard behind hispads, andhe’sreallyphysical,but the offensive line is the engine.”

Glen Oaks(3-7, 2-4) still has aspirationsofits own. ThePanthers came in rated high enough to absorb Thursday’sloss and still makethe playoffs

“That’sthe reason Icameback to GlenOaks, to get them to the playoffs,” third-yearcoachAnthony Jones said. “Itwill be aglorious moment.I graduated from Glen Oaks in 2001, and GlenOaks hasn’tbeen to the playoffs since 2010. Iwishwehad abetter record, but I’m happy that we’re in.”

AgainstParkview, Glen Oaks fell behind 35-0 but fought back behind the playofquarterback Jyrus Reado and receiver Melvin Tickles. The duo hooked up for TD passes of 9and 15 yards as GlenOaks pulled within 35-14 of the Eagles in the third quarter Franklin gotloose forhis 45yard score,and Landon Ripple added a9-yard touchdown reception to help Parkview remain comfortably ahead.

Reado completed 19 of 31 passes for236 yards. Panthersrunning back Cardarieous Jackson rippedoff a75-yard touchdown run in the ﬁnal minute and ended with 132 yards rushing. Parkview opened the gamewith asix-play, 56-yard scoring drive. Franklin carried five times before quarterback Grayson Rogers scored on a4-yard keeper On Parkview’ssecond series, Rogers brokeoff two20-yard runs.The secondwas good for atouchdown as the Eagles led 14-0 with four minutes leftinthe opening quarter

Sevin Domingue upped Parkview’s lead with a7-yard touchdown run on the ﬁrst play of thesecondquarter. Aminute later,headded a13-yarder after ashort Glen Oaks punt left the Eagles with ashort ﬁeld. Noah Borill set up the Eagles’ fifthtouchdown with afumble recovery.Rogers cappeda short drive with a6-yard run to give Parkview a35-0 lead midway through the second quarter

Kentwood,Briggstoo much forCentral Private

BY PATRICK WRIGHT

Contributing writer

Kentwood wide receiver/defensive back ChanceBriggs had aﬁrst quarter to remember,and therest of the night wasn’tshabby either as the Kangaroos won at Central Private 44-14 in aDistrict 9-1A gamethat wasthe regular-season ﬁnale forboth teams.

Briggscaught touchdown passes of 17 and66yards and intercepted apass to end aCentral Privatethreat to help Kentwood go up 14-0after the ﬁrst quarter

The rough night for Central Private started on theopening kickoff. ARedhawks player had the kick hit his leg and ricochet towardthe sideline, where it was recovered by Kentwood. Three plays later, Briggs scored hisﬁrst touchdown.

Central Private threatened to even the scoreonits ﬁrst drive, methodically taking 13 plays to cover 63 yards, but Briggs ended the march with his interception in the right ﬂat.

Three playslater,Briggs was in theend zone again, taking ashort pass and weaving his waythough theRedhawks defense forthe 66yard score.

Briggs addeda 45-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter after quarterback Ahmade Bickham scored on a40-yard run, and Kentwood (6-4,2-1)had acomfortable 28-7 lead at halftime.

“Heisa ballplayer,” Kentwood coach Cornelius Blount said of Briggs. “Heisabig-time player, but Ilike the little intangible thingsthat he does that puts him

overthe top. Istayonhim to work on the little things because Iknow he can be great.” Kentwood cameout throwing on its first drive of the second half to extend the lead.

Bickham completed five straight passes for76yards, with Briggs gaining 71 of the yards on three catches. Backup running back Alonzo Ard finished the drive with a17-yard score to put the Kangaroos up 36-7. The plan to pass on five consecutive plays to begin the ﬁrst drive of the half wasaproduct of Blount looking ahead to whatis coming forKentwood.

“Weknowwecan run the ball well. But we have to start throwing the ball better if we are going to win in the playoffs,” he said.

“Wehavetobegoodinbothareas.”

Briggs ﬁnishedwithsix catches for 196 yardsreceiving and three scores.

Ard added 56 yards and two scores in relief of starting running back Jomarrious Campbell, whowas injuredinthe second quarter. Blount said he hopesto have Campbell back by the second round of the playoffs LaikenLaudermilk wasa workhorse for Central Private(4-6, 1-2). He carried the ball 33 times for96yards and added53yards receiving.

Brody Gibson scored both touchdowns for the Redhawks. His28-yard touchdowncatch from Zack Browning came just before halftime,and he added a 15-yard run in the second half to cap the scoring.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Denham Springs running back Brenton Paul scoresinthe first quarter of the game against St. Amant on Friday in Denham Springs.

FAITH MATTERS

Lafayette pastor’s experience of hell changed hislife

Hell has asmell.

Bryan Keelin, 57, who pastors the Lafayette Vineyard Church alongside his wife, Lesley,vividly remembers the unbearable stench of hell that stopped him in his tracks.

On the Fourth of July in 1992, it wasn’t ﬁreworks but the ﬁre of hell that turned his life around while living in Charleston, South Carolina.

“I had an encounter of God and avision of hell opening up and swallowing me up,” he said. “The ﬂoor of my house disappeared, and Icould see the ﬂames of hell coming up.I could smell thesulfur,and it’s still real to this day.”

AMissouri native and Navy veteran, Bryan Keelin said he ﬁrst confessed Christatthe age of 12, but his truesalvation didn’t come until that fateful day at 23.

“I thought Iwas saved,” said Bryan Keelin, who regularly attended church. “Nothing in my life changed when Iwas 12 years. ...There was no heart change. No presence of God.I was taking baby steps without knowing it. Then, he radically touched me, and Ihaven’tbeen the same.”

Everything changed in amatter of 30 seconds.

“The Holy Spirit, in an audible voice, not abig booming declaration or light from heaven, but in astill small voice, whispered, ‘Bryan,you confessed but you never believed,’”hesaid. “Romans9:10 says you have to confess— and believe. And believe means trusting enough to take action.” He took actionafter seeing avision of aplane crashing into his house, killing him and dragging him into hell for eternity

“I started crying out, screaming out, ‘I believe! Ibelieve! Ibelieve!,’”hesaid. “All of asudden, the ﬂoor came back, the coffee table showed up, and Ihad this overwhelming sense of peace and assurance that Ihad encountered the living God and that Iwas now his.” Twoyears later,Bryan Keelin answered his call into ministry in Charleston.

“Honestly,God put me there,” he said. “When Ijoined the Navy,Iended up stationed in Charleston at the Navy base there as part of the submarine ﬂeet. After Igot out of the Navy,God told me to stay therebecausehehad work for me to do.” It was in that season that he met his wife, Lesley,a Charleston native, Bible college graduate and daughter of achurch elder.The couple served in ministry together even before getting married.

“Itwasn’tsomething that Ithought would take me thisfar.Itwas really just ajob at astore,and it sort of morphed into everything it is now.”

WILLIAM EVANS, owner of Abat Jour Interiors

Madeshade

There’snoone wholoves lampsmorethan this BatonRouge lamp expert in MidCity

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Nobodylooksatlamps thesame way as Baton Rouge’spremiere lamp expert, aﬁcionadoand enthusiast.

Meet WilliamEvans, owner of Abat Jour InteriorsinBaton Rouge.

The interior design store specializes in lamp services and custom frameprojects, andthe business’ staff operates like afamily,lighting up people’shomes and hearts.

Thebusinessbegan in 1996 and changed its name in 2001 to Abat Jour,which means lampshade in French.The ﬁrst threeletters(aba) also meant that thebusiness’ title alphabetically appeared at thetop of phonebook listings,a marketing win in thegood ol’ days.

Thebusiness, at 545 S. Foster Drive in Baton Rouge, is decked outwithahodgepodgeoflamps, furnishings,wall art and antiques. The lamp selection varies in style from midcentury modern to vintage European to minimalistic to one-of-a-kind lamps made out of inanimateobjects.

Brad Johnson, The Queen’s director of food and beverage,pours abourbon milk punch into aglass at The Loft bar in 1717 in Baton Rouge.

Evans’ journey into lamps began at 19 yearsold whenheworked aweekendjob at alocal lamp store in Baton Rouge. There, he made ﬁnials,the smallornaments screwedontop of lamps to keep

lampshadesinplace, but they also include anyknobatthe top or end of objects like banisters or curtain rods.

STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON Abat Jour owner and designer WilliamEvans stands in ashowroom surrounded by lampsand other art decor in Baton Rouge.

Several finished repaired lamps hang in the showroom at Abat Jour waiting to be picked up.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Pastors Bryanand LesleyKeelin, of Lafayette Vineyard Church

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff

TerryRobinson

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

“I started making finials because Ithought, ‘Finials, they’re like earrings,’” Evans said.“They just finish everything. It’safinish point.” Finials led Evans to his passion,something he gets to indulge in every day at the shop. His days are always different, whether that’s configuring acustom chandelier out of deer antlers or turning apair of shoes intoa lamp in 24 hours.

“It wasn’tsomething that I thought would take me this far,”Evans said abouthis weekendjob at 19. “Itwas really just ajob at astore and it sort of morphed into everything it is now.” Evans said he couldn’tdo any of this without his team, asmall but mighty group of six employees: an assistant, another lamp expert, a frame expert and acouple of installers who also specialize in design.

Thelampguy

On the ﬁrst ﬂoorofAbat Jour,next to the front desk, is asmall workspace that’s alittle smaller than an LSU dorm room. It’swhere the magic happens, where lamps are resurrected or where inanimate objects like apair of shoes turn to into light fixtures. Thewallsare coveredwith shelves of tools and wires, so everything is no more than three pacesaway, if not an arm’sreach.

“It’sanorganized chaos,” said lamp expert BillyHarmon. “You see all these little pieces, parts and all that? I know where most of them are and what they are.”

Harmonmade his first lamp outofa piggy bank when he was 11 years old. After beinganelectrician for mostofhis life, Harmon joined Abat Jour 10 years ago, establishing areputation as the lamp guy Harmon does the mechanical work that brings Evans’ visions to life. He works on repairing chandeliers, lamps, wall sconces or really any type of light ﬁxture.

On aNovemberMonday, Harmon was sitting in his workspace,cleaning an antique Europeanchandelier

and replacingwires that are probably90years old.

“I think this piece was built in the1930s, and it’s never been rewired,” Harmonsaid, standing in front of the deconstructed chandelier, its parts laid out like it was under surgery.“This is European history right here.”

Theframing department

Up the cheetah-print stairs is the frame room where Joy McDonald builds custom frames —she’s the frame expert at Abat Jour.

“I am the framing department,” McDonald said with alaugh.“AndI’m an artist too, so it’ssonicetobeable to have bothofthose things.”

McDonald began her journeywith frames abouteight years ago, and ever since joiningAbatJourin2021, she’sfound peace and pride in preserving thingsthatare important to people.She has framedthings likepenguin tracks, animal hides,children’spaintings and original artwork

“It’ssonicewhensomebody bringssomething they treasure,” McDonaldsaid.

“For me to be abletomake it beautifulfor them,and not only that, preserveit.”

Being able to build aframe from scratch and work with wood is impressive, andshe calls Evans her muse something that’scorny but true, she said.

“I love it here,” McDonald said. “I’m almost 50, andI’m thehappiest I’ve ever been. I’m super,superhappy.”

She added that thework in theshopisateam effort,all workingtogethertocreate one-of-a-kindpieces.

William has got the amazing eye,” McDonaldsaid. “We’re all very creative, and we get it together andcome up with somethingbeautiful.”

Lamp renovation

Many people throwaway brokenlamps, when they could be ﬁxedwith alampshade replacement or rewiring, something Evans calls lamp renovation.

“When you change alampshade to adifferent design on thatlamp you’ve had for 20 years, that lamp becomes brand-new,” Evans said. “I want people to knowthat theyshould have an open mindwhen it comes totheir lamps.”

About 85% of Abat Jour’s business comefromregulars, Evanssaid, whoare mostly designerswithmultiple projects.

“Wehave designers that we work with that wantto makeall these beautiful things,but theycome to us forthe actual building of whatever it is they’ve dreamed up,” Evans said.

Things like theliving room lamp,the bedside sconce or thekitchenlight can live anew life with a quick change.Maybe it’s time to shine anew light on sentimental objects that are otherwise collecting dust in theattic.

“Don’tforget,” Evans said, “Almost anything can be converted into alamp.”

Abat Jour,545 S. Foster Drive, Baton Rouge. Open from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. Mondays through Fridays, closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, Nov.8,the 312thday of 2025. There are 53 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Nov.8,2000, astatewide recount began in Florida, which emerged as critical in deciding thewinner of the 2000 presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democratic Vice President Al Gore. The recount would ofﬁcially end on Dec. 12 upon orders from theU.S. Supreme Court,delivering Florida’selectoral votes and the presidency to Bush.

Also on this date: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln won reelection as he defeated Democratic challenger George B. McClellan.

In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his ﬁrst attempt at seizing power in Germany withafailed coup in Munich thatcametobeknown as the “Beer-Hall Putsch.”

In 1942, theAllies launched Operation Torch in World WarIIasU.S. and Britishforces landed in

French North Africa.

In 1950, during the Korean War, the ﬁrst air-to-air combat between jet warplanes took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brownshot downaNorth Korean MiG-15.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy wonthe U.S. presidential election over Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

In 1974, afederal judge in Cleveland, citing insufﬁcient evidence, dismissed charges against eight Ohio National Guardsmen accused of violating the civil rights of students killed or wounded in the 1970 Kent State shootings.

In 2012, Jared Lee Loughner was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the January 2011 shootings in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, oneofthe most powerful storms ever recorded, slammedinto the centralPhilippines, leaving more than7,300 people dead or missing, ﬂattening villagesand displacing

more than5 million. In 2016, Republican Donald Trumpwas elected America’s45th president, defeating Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in an astonishing victory fora celebrity businessman and political novice.

In 2018, tens of thousands of people ﬂed afastmoving wildﬁre in Northern California that would becomethe state’sdeadliest ever,killing 86 people and nearly destroying the community of Paradise.

Today’sbirthdays: Racing Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr.is83. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 76. TV personality Mary Hart is 75. Actor Alfre Woodard is 73. Singer-songwriter RickieLee Jones is 71. NobelPrize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro is 71. FilmmakerRichard Curtis is 69. Chef and TV personalityGordon Ramsay is 59. Actor Courtney Thorne-

Continued from page1D

STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

William Evans looksata finished framed imageatthe Abat Jour framing shop.

Billy Harmon workstorestore and changeoverthe wiring on acustomer’slamp at Abat Jour

Butwhy were youcamping on privateland?

do we do withit?”

Dear Miss Manners: Iknow you’re going to think this is amade-up letter,but Iassure you it’s not. (But then, I’d say that even if it were, wouldn’tI?)

When one has been invited to stay overnight in ahome without indoor plumbing, but is provided with achamber pot (no lid) under the bed, what does one do with it the next morning? Leave it? Ask one’shostess? What if you don’tspeak her language?

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

This happened to my husband andmeafew years back, when we were camping in Europe.The people who owned the land were horriﬁed to think of our sleeping outside in the cold. With hand ges-

‘Oil &Fire Encounter’ in Baton Rouge Ignite World Ministries will host its “Oil &Fire Encounter” from 7p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday,Nov.14, at the HamptonInn &Suites Baton Rouge, 11271 Rieger Road. Hosted by Ron and Rhonda Augustus of Ignite World Ministries (McKinney, Texas), this powerful night of worshipand word will be Spirit-filled andSpiritled—centeredonJesus and open to the sovereign move of the Holy Spirit.

“Expect healing, deliverance,prophetic ministryand fresh impartation to equip you for spiritual growth and

MATTERS

Continued from page1D

They helped launch an inner-city outreach mission church.

“Serving with my wife in ministry is the best part of my life,” said Bryan Keelin, who has been married for 29 years. “She is an amazing woman who keeps me focused and encourages me.”

He worked as aNavy engineer,inthe mortgage business, sold carsand in various other ventures beforespending sixyears in afull-time mission ministry

“My passion is to share the gospel and see lives changed. And to see the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,” he said. Ministry then took the couple to northeast Missouri to run aranch for abandoned and abused children.

In 2012, the Keelins moved to the Lafayette area, where he managed aCarencro house farm and worked in the oilﬁeld industry.When the Keelins asked afew strangersfor

tures, they made it clear thatthey wouldbeinsultedifwedid not accepttheir hospitality for the night. Not wanting to be ugly Americans, we did. They generouslygave us their own bedroom, which included theaforesaid chamber pot. Necessity compelled us to use it. But thenext morning We wound up leaving it in the room, but Istill wonder: What was the correct thing to have done?

Gentle reader: If you are able to decipher “Stay in our bedroom or you’reanuglyAmerican” from a hand gesture, Miss Manners feels certain you can ﬁgure out one for, “There is poop in the potty;what

RELIGION BRIEFS

FROM STAFFREPORTS

warfare (Ephesians 4:11–13; Ephesians 6:10–18),” anews releasesays. For moreinformation, visiteventbrite.com.

Star of Bethlehem 116th anniversary

The Star ofBethle hem Ba pt ist Church, 1204St. JosephSt., Baton Rouge,will celebrate its 116th church anniversary at 10 a.m. Sunday Specialguest speaker will be the Rev.Ronald Sutton,ofEbenezer BaptistChurch of SouthBaton Rouge.

Because no doubt your hosts came up with their own hand gesture when they discovered your unpleasant surprise.

Dear Miss Manners: When live musicians are performing during the dinner hour at arestaurant, is it rude not to applaud after each number,orshould themusic simply be considered part of the ambience?

Gentlereader: The artists will understand if you do not drop your fork every ﬁve minutes to stop and applaud. Andthe servers will appreciate it.

Dear Miss Manners: Iamone of a group of friends who have known each other for 30+ years, from early middle age into what are

Thanksgiving meal kit giveaway

Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church,2800Wyandotte St., will host aThanksgiving meal kit giveaway from 9a.m. to noon Thursday,Nov.20.

The event is presented in partnership with Capitol WellnessSolutions, ILERA Holistic Healthcare and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Each meal kitis ready totake home, cook andcelebrate with family.Freemedical cards will also be available.

arecommendation on a church home, they pointed them to the nondenominational Vineyard Church at 705Bonin Road

“Weshowedupatthe Vineyard Church, and thepresence of God was just so real and strong,” he said.“Theword was preached and worshipping God was very important, andwejust knew we were home.”

Bryan Keelin eventually cameonstaff as an associate minister for three years and helped lead a church plan in Carencro for 5and ahalf years. When the two churches merged in 2024, the Keelinsassumed theroles of co-pastors.

The Lafayette Vineyard Church is part of theinternational Vineyard movement,a network comprisingmore than 400 churches in theUnited States andover 3,000 around the world

“The beautiful thing about theLafayette Vineyard is we have aheart for worshippingGod,” hesaid.

“Webelieveinoperating in the gifts of theSpiritand doingthe stuff that Jesus did. People showuphere

now our “golden years.” We’ve been through alot together,supported each other through individual struggles, and been there for thegood times, too. We are allnow widowed, but still get together regularly to enjoy plays, operas, dinners out and to celebrate each others’ birthdays. These are occasions forus, not just “let’smeet forlunch,” and we dress forthe occasions. At these times, Imake it apoint to offer asincere compliment to my friends —anything from how well theyare looking, to abecoming choice of clothes or an attractive hairstyle —knowing the time and effortittakes to put ourselves together.But no one ever seems to reciprocate, and this bothers me

None of us has ahusband nowto telluswe’re looking pretty or beautiful. AndIthinkit’simportant that we hold each other up, acknowledge each others’ efforts, leteach other know we’ve still “got it.” Am Ijust apetty narcissist? Fishing forcompliments? If not, how do Itactfully approach my friends on this subject?

Gentle reader: “Don’tweall look nice?”

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

and get healed, get saved and delivered, and they can encounter God.”

Lesley Keelin said the members’ hunger for the presence of God set them apart.

“I am excited tocome to church every Sunday because of our community Their love for Jesus causes them to embrace people from all generations and walks of life and makes people feel like they are welcome and they belong,” she said.

Bryan Keelin said he primarily handles mostofthe day-to-day operations of thechurch and preaching, while his wife oversees thesmall group ministry teams and home groups.

“She and Ihave had a great adventure for the last 29-plus years, and I’m looking forward to the next however manyyears we have,”hesaid.

For more information about Lafayette Vineyard Church, call (337) 873-7060 or visit lafayettevineyard. org.

ContactTerry Robinson at terryrobinson622@gmail. com.

Dear Heloise: Ijust read theletter about not wearing strong scents as they can really bother people. I agree and would even ask: Why wear it at all?! In olden days, it was worn to mask bad body odor before people bathed regularly.And going even further,a multitude of body productstoday are scented —deodorant, shampoo, body lotion, soap, hairspray,and more. So, withsuch amix of scents, what do you even end up smelling like? Can your perfumeeven smell as it was meant to? Andespecially for women, do men really care about perfume?

HOLIDAY

—Judith Sullivan, in Lake George, New York

Public restrooms

Continuedfrom page1D

Dear Heloise: Not all public restroomsprovide paper seat covers, so Icarry several individually wrapped antibacterial hand wipes in my purse. These take up very little room.I wipe downthe toilet seat with one or more of these wipes. Then Iuse toilet paper to dry the seat. Idon’tﬂush the wipes. —Lois U.,inColby, Kansas Medicine organization

Dear Heloise: When Iget anew medicine, Iwrite “a.m.” or “p.m.“on the top

people to get into the holiday spirit,Tompkins said.

right side of the container with apermanent marker (Sometimes Iwrite “a.m./ p.m.” formedicine Ineed to take twice daily.) This way, when Iﬁll the individualday container,I don’thave to read what each med is for.

This method has

Washingaprons

Dear

The drink menu featuresbourbon milk punch with egg-freeeggnog and athemed espresso martini flight (a playonthe three wiseman) withcaramel, pumpkin spice or hazelnut ﬂavors, served on acocktail board withcookies and cookie butter

“The milk punch with nutmeg on top just brings you into theholiday spirit,” said LisaTompkins, The Queen BatonRouge representative. The Loft is located above 1717 Kitchen +Cocktails, arestaurantserving rustic dishes and Southern comfort classics like alligatorfritters, po-boys and bisques. The food menu will have seasonaldishes, Johnson said, including aThanksgiving menu with traditional turkey, ham, dressing, macaroni and cheese, green beans and sweet potato casserole

Upon entering the restaurant, the stairs to The Loftare just past the hostess stand. The comfy lounge at The Loft offers aclassy space for

And as the festivities slow to aclose each night, complimentary sugar cookies made in-house are given at last call.

While stopping by for a craft cocktail, customers are encouraged to bring new,unwrappedtoys for the Toyfor Tots drive. Donations can be brought to The Players Club on the gaming ﬂoor through Nov.17.

The pop-up also accepts bookingsfor privategroups

up to about 40 people, making it agreat spot for holiday parties, Johnson said.

“It’salreadydecorated,” Johnson said. “Just come here foryour food and drinks, and we’ll get you setupfor your Christmas party.”

The Queen Baton Rouge holiday pop-up bar,1717 River ParkBlvd., Baton Rouge. Open 4p.m. to 8p.m. Thursdays and 4p.m. to close Saturdays.

Sutton

sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Choose an outing, pastime or indulgence that makes you feel good about yourself. Surround yourself with positive people and do what makes you feel grateful.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) It's full steam ahead. Think and follow through. Change begins with you and pursuing what makes you happy. Refuse to wait and see; take charge and do what's best for you.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Observation is necessary. Listen, learn and weigh the pros and cons before you offer your time, money or expertise. Look for the people and opportunities most likely to give back.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Overreacting, indulgent behavior and exaggeration are likely to lead to trouble. Choose to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Discipline and innovative input will pay off.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Listen to what others say, but agree only to what you feel comfortable with. Follow your heart and take care of your needs first. Lead the way instead of chasing someone else's dream.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Make your money work for you. Invest and budget wisely. Refuse to fall prey to emotional spending Set boundaries and priorities, and put a cap on entertainment expenses.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Let your body language and physical responses lead the way. Participate in events that

entice you, and you'll discover how you want to spend your spare time

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Do some research and apply what you learn to your next adventure. Take the initiative to implement changes that encourage broadening your awareness and expanding your circle of friends.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Express your true feelings, encourage what motivates you most and be the force behind what happens next. An innovative approach to how you work and play will help your life flow naturally.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) The less you share about yourself or your plans, the easier it will be to manifest your intentions. Point your energy in a direction that offers answers and a path that leads to personal happiness.

VIRGo (Aug 23-sept. 22) Embrace domestic duties and refuse to let professional matters interfere with your personal life. Only make changes that are necessary to achieve the balance and happiness you desire.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct 23) Uncertainty will lead to poor choices Pay attention to detail, spending and how you look and feel. Let your actions demonstrate your love and concerns. Leave nothing to the imagination.

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

FAMILY CIrCUS

toDAy's CLuE: G EQuALs W

CeLebrItY CIpher

better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers1 to 9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

When you have along, strong suit that is not completelysolid, do not immediatelyassumeitmust be trumps. Maybe partner has some length that makes a different suita better choice. In this deal, North immediatelyimaginesthatsixorsevenheartswillberight, depending on whether partner has the club ace or not.And some playerswould openfourno-trumptofindthatoutimmediately. Here, North wouldend in seven hearts. Butwhat opening lead defeats thatcontract?

Amore circumspect North opens two clubs and rebids two hearts over South’s two-diamondnegativereply.Then,when Southrebids two spades,which guaranteesatleastafive-cardsuitandsomevalues, North sees that spades look better thanhearts.HelaunchesintoBlackwood before bidding seven spades. West leadsthe clubkingagainstthe spade grand slam.South winswithhis aceand,believingthattherearenoproblems, plays aspade to dummy’squeen. When East discards aclub, South has to rethink. Howshould he continue?

South must get back to his hand to finesse West out of the spade jack. Declarer cashes dummy’s heart ace, ruffs aheart in hishand, leads aspade to dummy’s 10, draws West’s last two trumps, and claims.

wuzzles

Note that aclub lead defeats seven hearts, removing the key entry to the South hand.

Yes,thatwouldbeunlucky,butremember also that a4-1 heartbreak, which woulddefeat that grand slambut might not stop seven spades, has a28percent probability.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuCtIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed

toDAy’s WoRD tAntALIZE: TAN-tuh-lize: To teaseortorment by keeping something desirable out of reach.

Average mark28words Time limit 50 minutes

Can you find 44 or morewords in TANTALIZE?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —ZEPPELIns

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

George and Baton Rouge as you make your estimates for Baton Rouge’sbudget for 2026. Youhave made very prudent assumptions and estimates. We will get moreinformation over the next several years so that the estimates can become even better,but at this time, your estimates appear prudent and in line with the expected sales and use taxes for Baton Rouge.

The City-Parish Department of Finance has been veryprudent with its sales tax estimates and this prudence is especially important as we appreciate that thereare always unexpected events that can create economic downturns for thenational economy,the state economy, or thelocal economy.Weappreciate the policy of MayorPresident Edwards in encouraging and establishing such prudence in creating the City-Parish Budget for2026. Based on the advice of these experts, the proposed budget assumes a0.5% growthrate for 2026. This growth rate was applied to projected collections for 2025. Personal Services and Employee Benefits Payments for active employees and retirees and the employer portion of employee benefitprograms areprojected to reach approximately $516.8 million in 2026. The following discussion highlights the changes and funding requirements impacting all funds that include services provided by City-Parish personnel as well as some of the employees of the constitutional offices that participate in the benefitprograms. FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE) POSITIONS

Thereare currently 4,334 positions allotted, with an equivalent of 4,106.53 full-timepositions. The number of proposed positions for 2026 is decreasing by 233.75 FTE positions resulting in anew complement of 3,872.78 positions. The result of changes to the proposed personnel allotment in the General Fund is anet decrease of 221 FTE positions. Amajority of the positions have been frozen for several years and arerecommended to be deleted. It is important that we align our personnel allotment with funding resources and current activities. In addition to the proposed deletions, this budget freezes approximately 200 General Fund positions, resulting in atotal reduction of 421FTEs—a 17% decrease in the General Fund workforce and asignificant reduction in service capacity for ourcitizens.

In the Special Funds anet of four frozen FTE positions is primarily being deleted from the Airport. In the Grant Funds, 8.75FTE positions arebeing eliminated for reorganizational efforts. Three of these positions areinthe WIOA program, and the remaining positions arewithin the Office of Social Services.

Abreakdown of all of the changes by department can be found in the SummaryofAllotted and Full-Time Equivalent Positions.

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION

Funding is included in this budget for 3% merit raises for eligible employees who have not reached the maximum of their pay grade. Compensation increases over and above merit raises have been limited to areas that arebeing reorganized to enhance efficiencies or that have critical recruiting and retentiondifficulties.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Detailed below is information on the various employee benefits offered by the City-Parish. The City-Parish continues to look for ways to manage the rising costs associated with the employeebenefitprograms. Health Insurance

The City-Parish health insurance program is self-insured, meaning that sufficient revenues must be generated and maintained in order to pay actual claims and the costs to administer the program. These benefits areavailable to active employees, and to retirees who make up approximately 53% of the participants. The City-Parish has a contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana to administer aHealthMaintenance Organization (HMO)plan, aPoint of Service (POS) plan, and aHigh Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). In addition, active employees who are on the HMO and POS plans have the option to have Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), which allow them to use pre-tax wages to pay for qualifying health and dependent careexpenses. Active employees selecting the HDHP which has considerably lower premiums and higher deductibles, have the optiontoparticipate in aHealth Savings Account (HSA). The HSA allows them to use pre-tax wages to pay for qualifying health careexpenses. HDHP participants may also have an FSA for qualifying dependent careexpenses. The City-Parish also has aMedicareAdvantage Plan for eligible retirees and their spouses who areenrolled in MedicareParts Aand B. The MedicareAdvantage Plan is afully insured group plan that removes the retirees and their spouses from the City-Parish self-insured program. Since the cost of the MedicareAdvantage premium is less than what the City-Parish is currently paying in employer premiums on behalf of these retirees and their spouses, the entirepremium is paid in full by the City-Parish. In late September of this year,anitem was approved by the Metropolitan Councilestablishing the 2026 premiums for both the City-Parish and the plan participants, as well as the schedule of benefits. The2026 plan design changes areexpected to generate significantsavings, which is offset by an increase in the costs associated with market trends and medical inflation. These savings include atrue Coordination of Benefits (COB) and removal of the MedicarePart Bcredit for retirees with MedicarePart Benrolled in the City-Parish HMO POS, and HDHP plans. With this COB, eligible retirees will be responsible for the payment of coinsurance, copays, and deductibles associated with the HMO,POS,and HDHP plans after Medicarepays primary.Employees arecurrently responsible for the payment of coinsurance, co-pays, and deductibles associated with these plans. In addition, pharmacy benefitprogramswill be implemented for copay assistance and utilizing anetwork for specialty pharmacies. Another cost-saving measurewill transition eligible retirees and their spouses with Medicareastheir

Retirement Contributions

City-Parish Employees’ Retirement System (CPERS)

The CPERS trust is amultiple-employer definedbenefitcost-sharingpension plan. It provides benefits to any person who becomes aregular full-time employee of one of the participatingemployers andconsequently meets the eligibilityrequirements to retire. It is mandatory thatall full-time regularemployees

in 2000 shifted responsibility for payment of their pensions to the MPERS system. As aparticipatingemployer, the City-Parish is required to make contributions to the system. The Public RetirementSystems’ Actuarial Committeeapproved an increase in the rate from 35.60% to 33.475% for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. Includedinthis rate increase is a direct contribution of 0.850% to afunding deposit account to be set aside for future cost-of-living adjustments. The annual decrease in the 2026 budget for contributionstothe system, whencomparedtothe 2025 original budget, is approximately $695,400. The employee contribution rate will remain at 10%.

GeneralFund

REVENUES

As shown in Figure1,the General Fund, excluding operatingtransfers in, makes up 28.7% of the totalCity-Parish budget for the year 2026. The General Fund provides for the general operationsofthe government andincludes allrevenues that arenot legally dedicated for aspecificpurpose.

Major Revenue Assumptions

The impact of the sales and use tax reform legislation approvedinDecember 2024, effective January 1, 2025, and additional changes made during the 2025 Louisiana RegularLegislative Session, effective July 1, 2025, have provided some difficulty in analyzing andforecasting futureimpacts.

In 2026, the sales and use tax collectionswill reflect afull year of transitioningfromthe revenue loss of St. George Aconservative approach was taken in regard to the

retainedthrough June.

Taking several of these factors into consideration, assumptionsresultedinareduction of salesand use tax collections in the parish collections of $19.6million andanincrease in the city collectionsof$10.3million for anet decrease of approximately $9.3 million. Additional anticipatedreductions

Stormwater The City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge hasexperienced extraordinary rainfall events causing flooding and bringing to light the challenges regarding the existing infrastructure for dispensing stormwater and howitismanaged. These events highlightedissues with conveyance systems, anddevelopment anddrainage ordinances and their impact on the overall stormwater management in the parish. To address these issues, the parish has adopted aphased approach to the development of the StormwaterMaster Plantobeused to assist in planning and futureoperations. Currently,the Drainage MaintenanceDivision, operatingunderthe

theadministration of drainage and stormwater maintenance, whichwas obligatedbyDecember 31,

andwill be spent by December 31, 2026.

AStormwater Advisory Committee wasformedtoprovide aforum for key community stakeholders to advise City-Parish staffoncontinuing development of the stormwater utility andrecommend potential stormwater service activities to address citizens’ needs. The 2023 budget appropriated$5million to augment funding needed for MS4permit compliance.

At the end of 2023, atotal of $7 million from prior years’ excess sales taxcollectionswas assignedtosupport stormwater compliance in General Fund-Fund Balance. Includedinthis budget is the second of two$3.5million appropriations from this fund balance account for stormwater compliancein2026. The first allocation of $3.5 million was included in the 2025 budget for stormwater complianceneeds.

RiverCenter

Afeasibilitystudy conducted in 2023 by CSL Internationalsuggested thatinorder to remain competitive in the market, the River Center needed to attract moreconventions andconferences andinclude aheadquarters hotel. With this information, exploration of redevelopingthe River Centerinto abest-in-class convention centerwith a headquarters hotel began.

The Project Oversight Committee, established as an advisory body to the Metropolitan Council, is made up of CouncilMembers, an appointment made by the Mayor-President, andkey stakeholders from the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Build Baton Rouge Downtown Development District, North Baton Rouge Economic Development District, the hospitality industry, and Visit Baton Rouge. Thiscommittee hasbeen tasked with overseeing allaspects of the process, from providing recommendations on consultants and the initialproposals for redevelopment of the River Centercomplexand the development of aheadquarters hotel, to the completion of this critical project.

The Project Oversight Committee andthe Metropolitan Council selected HundenPartners to serve as the CityParish’sOwner’sAdvisor for this project.HundenPartners will move forward with development, engineering, and finance professionalstoplan the design andconstruction of the project, with community input throughout the process.

Embracing this opportunityfor transformation will breathe newlife into the River Center, enhance the quality of life benefits for residents, improve the visitor economy,and usherinanera of unparalleled possibility for Baton Rouge Greater Baton Rouge Airport District On June 8, 2025, the Governor of Louisiana signed into lawSenateBill 176, whichauthorized the creation of the Baton Rouge Regional Airport Authority as alegally independent entity.This legislation provides for the transfer of management and operational responsibilitiesofthe Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport from the City-Parish government to the newly formed authority, contingent upon the adoption of articlesofincorporation by the Metropolitan Counciland approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Metropolitan Council adopted the articles of incorporation at its meeting on August 27, 2025. Additionally,the initialboard for the Baton Rouge Regional Airport Authoritywas appointed on October, 8, 2025 by the Metropolitan Council. Upon approvalbythe FAA, the Airport Authority will assume full operational control, including responsibility for employment, budgeting, contracts, capital development, and regulatory compliance. The City-Parish will conveyorlease allairport assets, associated revenues, and obligations to the Authority.The transition to full operational independence is expected to occur over an extended implementation period. This period will involve coordination among local,state,and federal entities to ensurecompliance with FAArequirements, continuity of services, andthe orderly transferof assets and obligations. This legislative change represents asignificantsubsequent eventthat will materially affect thefuturegovernance, financial reporting structure, andoperational oversight of the airport. As of the date of this report, the Authority’soperational commencementisanticipatedtooccurfollowing FAAcertification. The transfer to and commencement of operations underthe newAuthority is expected to occurwithin the next six to seven months.

Transportation Programs

On October 15, 2005, the citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish approvedanextension of the one-half cent sales and use tax forstreet and road improvements, calledthe Green Light Plan, until 2030. The proposition approved by the voters allocated 70% of the proceeds of the taxtobeused for street construction,27% for road rehabilitation, and 3% for beautification.

The 2026 budget includes $39.36 million in pay-as-you-go funding for the existing Green Light Planfundedby 70% of the one-half cent sales tax of whichapproximately $23.79 million is for debt service. In addition, $15.57 million is included for road construction.

Voters approved an additional one-half percentsales anduse taxdedicated to the MOVEBR Transportation and InfrastructureImprovement Program, estimatedtogenerate$912 million overthe 30-year period beginning April 1, 2019 through March31, 2049. The MOVEBR transportation improvements program is the most significant transportation infrastructureinvestment in East Baton Rouge Parish history. The programincludesexisting and newcapacity projects, improvements to existing corridors, community enhancementprojects, andparish-wide signalization/synchronization. In November 2019, debt andbond proceeds in the amount of approximately $152 million wereappropriated to accelerate funding for the MOVEBR program. In October2024, the Metropolitan Council approved the issuance of an additional$219 million to continue progress with the next phase in the program. The 2026 budget includes the MOVEBR annualappropriation of $61.65 million in pay-as-you-go funding, of which approximately $23.74 million is for debt service requirements relatedtothe bond issues. Enhancing transportation and mobility remains vitaltothe continuedgrowth of the City-Parish andtomaintaining ahighquality of life forits residents. With the strategic enhancementofroadwaysystems, the program has achieved measurable improvements in mobility,safety, andtrafficcongestion for roadways andintersections across the parish. Through the MOVEBR program, 45 projects have been completed, 72 projects areinthe preconstruction phase, and 34 projects areinthe construction phase as of October1,2025. Some projects arebeing accelerated and other projects will have amoreextended pre-construction period to accommodate permitting requirements.

If THRIVE EBR is not successful,a budget amendment will be presented in the first quarter of 2026, and fund balance will be used to support operations until the tax can be renewed by voters. Appropriationsfor operational expenses include funding for normal salary and benefitincreases, increased labor contracts, books, andtechnology enhancements. These increases arebeing offset by areduction in salaries and benefits for 72 vacant positions that will remainvacant until the millagehas been renewed, and revenues and operational needs have been reassessed. An appropriation for capital outlay includes funding for computer hardware. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds

On March 11, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) which established the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. ARPA provided funding for many programs and services nationwide including assistance to state and local governments. The funds availableto local governments through ARPAwereone-time aid directly allocated to states and localities on aformulaicbasis. TheCity-Parish allocation of $165.4 million was distributed in two equal allotments in May of 2021 and 2022. These funds had to be committed by December 31, 2024, and must be spent by December 31, 2026. The2026 budget includes an appropriation of $3.6 million from interest earnings within the America Rescue Plan Act fundfor outside agencies, which werepreviously funded in the General Fund until 2025. According to the U.S. Treasury guidelines, interest earned on ARPAfunds is not subject to program restrictions. Further detailed information on the plan can be foundathttps://www.brla.gov/2670/American-Rescue-Plan-Act-of-2021.

as trauma, limited opportunity, and conflict—beforeharm occurs Serving as acentral hub for coordination, it collects data, tracks outcomes, and builds partnerships among law enforcement, healthcare, schools, and community organizations to strengthen collaboration and accountability. The organization’swork is centered on

hopeful Baton Rouge.

Conclusion In closing, Iwouldlike to express my sincereappreciation to our Metropolitan Council andall of the City-Parish employees for their service to the citizens of East Baton Rouge Parish.Itisanhonor anda pleasuretoserve as your Mayor-President.

Sincerely,

Emile “Sid” Edwards Mayor-President

y Member Lavergne.Public comment:None. Vote: 6 yeas (Fralick,Lavergne, McKinney,Myer, Royand Wells), 0nays, 1absent (Lazaroe). Motion passed.

4) Approval of themin‐utes from theSeptember 23, 2025 CouncilMeeting. CouncilMemberRoy movedtoapprove the September23, 2025 min‐utes as written. Themo‐tion wassecondedby CouncilMemberWells Therewerenoobjec‐tions. TheSeptember 23, 2025 minutesare ap‐proved as written. CouncilMemberMyer wasrecognized as pre‐sent –6:03p.m II. Zoning Cases 1) Discussion andaction regardingthe following P&Zcase(s): None 2) Introduction of thefol‐lowing P&Zitem(s) (with public hearingtobeheld at theNovember11, 2025, Councilmeeting) None III. OldBusiness(Public Hearingand Action re‐gardingthe followingin‐strument(s)): None IV.New Business (Public Hearingand Action re‐gardingthe followingin‐strument(s)):

1) Aresolutiontoautho‐rize theMayor to execute aCEA with EBR City/Parishfor theJoor Rd./Sullivan Rd.round‐aboutproject Aresolutiontoauthorize theMayor to execute a CooperativeEndeavor Agreementwiththe City of BatonRouge,Parishof East BatonRouge related to StateProject No: H.015711 andtoprovide forrelated matters(By CouncilMembers Fralick andMyer) CouncilMemberMyer movedtoapprove this item.The motion was seconded by Council b bli

CITYOFST. GEORGE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MONACHELLO:

2) Aresolutiontoautho‐rize theMayor to execute aCEA to obtain funding from Act461 of the2025 RLSfor theCentral Police Department Aresolutiontoauthorize theMayor to execute a CooperativeEndeavor Agreementwith LouisianaDepartmentof Treasury,State of LouisianarelatingtoAct 461 of the2025 Regular LegislativeSession and to providefor related matters (ByCouncil Member Myer) CouncilMemberMyer movedtoapprovethis item.The motion was seconded by Council Member Lavergne.Public comment:None. Vote: 6 yeas (Fralick,Lavergne, McKinney,Myer, Royand Wells), 0nays, 1absent (Lazaroe). Motion passed.

3) To consider amotion to approvethe Provi‐sional Hire of Ronald Ward as auniform police ofﬁcerfor theCentral Po‐lice Department CouncilMemberMyer movedtoapprove this item.The motion was seconded by Council Member McKinney.Pub‐liccomment:None. Vote: 6yeas(Fralick, Lavergne McKinney,Myer, Royand Wells), 0nays, 1absent (Lazaroe). Motion passed.

4) To consider amotion to approveand ratify the ChiefofPolice’srecom‐mended disciplineof a CPDofﬁcer. CouncilMemberRoy movedtoapprove this item.The motion was seconded by Council Member McKinney.Pub‐liccomment:None. Vote: 5yeas(Fralick, Lavergne McKinney,Roy and Wells), 0nays, 1ab‐stained(Myer), 1absent (Lazaroe). Motion passed. 5) NON-ACTION ITEM: Discussion on the2010 Land UsePlanand the

OffsiteDrainageAssess‐ment (ODA)process that thecity implementedin Aprilof2021. MayorEvans provided a summaryofthisitem andasked Jeff Bell with CSRS to come to the podium.Mr. Bell has uniqueinsight on this matterashewas em‐ployed with theMoore Planning Groupback when Central’s2010 Land UseMasterPlanwas beingdeveloped.Mr. Bell provided detailsonhow the2010 Master Plan came to be andwhatthe city waslookingfor at that time.Hestatedthat thegoals at that time were to identify areasfor growth,maintaina rural characterand to pre‐serveareas that were en‐vironmentallysensitive or flood prone. Basedon thecapabilitiesthe city hadatthe time,theyfelt that thebestway to con‐trol developmentinthe flood proneareas wasto puttheminto“Conserva‐tion Zones”.Mr. Bell notedthatthe 2010 Land UseMasterPlaniswell outofdatenow,and that theCityiscurrently workingtodevelop a newone.Healsomen‐tioned that Stokka Brown’steamatCSRS hasworkedwiththe city formanyyears to de‐velopanEffectiveHy‐draulic Modelfor Central, alongwithConveyance Zones. Thecitynow has policies andprocedures that have been putin placearound theEffec‐tive HydraulicModel and Conveyance Zones, in‐cludinga required offsite drainage assessment of anyproposeddevelop‐ment within sensi‐tive/flood proneareas Mr.Bellstatedthatthis is averyhigh-level, sci‐entificdrainagemodel andthatthisreally su‐persedes the“Conserva‐tion Zones” that were in‐cluded on the2010 Land UseMasterplan. Stokka BrownofCSRSspoke aboutthe technicalas‐pectsofthe models maps andrequiredas‐sessments. Public com‐ment:DaveFreneaux.

V. NewBusiness(NonPublic Hearing): 1) Introduction of thefol‐lowing item(s)(with pub‐lichearing to be held at theNovember11, 2025, Councilmeeting): None VI.Reports andPresenta‐tions 1) Mayor’sReports and Presentations a) Update on Central’s GreenwayMasterplan Jeff Bell of CSRS provided an update on Central’s GreenwayMasterplan. 2) Discussion on theEast BatonRouge Mayor-Pres‐ident’sTHRIVEPlanand relatedmatters with Lon Vicknair LonVicknairgavea pre‐sentationonthe THRIVE Plan.EastBaton Rouge Mayor-President, SidEd‐wardsalsospoke 3) Distribution of the June 2025 FinancialHigh‐lights &Statements Reportsweredistributed VII. OtherBusiness 1) Public Comment None 2) Announcements -Central’s Fall Fest will take placeSaturday, Oc‐tober18thatShoeCreek 3) Adjournment CouncilMemberMyer movedtoadjourn.The motion wassecondedby CouncilMember Lavergne.The meeting wasadjourned at 7:19 p.m.

S/ Wade Evans, Mayor S/ Mark Miley, City Clerk 165985-NOV8-1T $95.39

y g that Monica Whitaker theProvisional Adminis‐tratrixofthisSuccession, haspetitionedthe Court requesting authorityin accordance with La.Civ Code Proc.art.3198 to accept thesettlement in thematterentitled, “CalvinJ.Hill, et al v. TMR Exploration, Inc.,etal, Number 41,245, Division ‘B’, 18thJudicialDistrict Court, Parish of West BatonRouge,State of Louisiana,”topay all legalfees andcosts in accordance with the ContingencyFee agree‐ment,and to distribute thenet proceedstothe intestateheirs.Such ordermay be issued after theexpirationof seven(7) days from the date of publicationand that an opposition may be ﬁledatany time prior to theissuanceofthe orderall in accordance with thelaw 165925-nov8-1t $39.88

ders of this Court. The immovablepropertypro‐posedtobesoldatpri‐vate sale is describedas follows:

1) Acertain lotofland lyingandsituatedinthe town of WhiteCastle, in theParishofIberville andbeing LOT55on a plan of 67 lots on file in theoffice of theClerk andRecorderofthis Parish.Measuring fifty feet frontonCypress Street,now called Bowie Street,bya depth be‐tween parallel linesto land of Geo. Adamsin therear; measuring201 '5"onthe side toward theriver and202' 1-1/2" on theopposite side Bounded frontbyCy‐pressStreet,now called BowieStreet,onthe op‐posite side or toward the RiverbyLot 54,onthe opposite side or toward Samstown by Lot56and in therearbylands of George Adams.

2) Acertain lotofland lyingand situated in the town of WhiteCastle, in theParishofIberville andbeing Fifteen (15') feet of LOT54onthe plan abovementioned;Mea‐suring 15 feet fronton CypressStreet,now called BowieStreet,by a depth between parallel linesof201' 5".Bounded frontbyCypress Street nowcalledBowie Street on thesidetowardthe riverbythe balanceof Lot54..Opposite or to‐ward Samstown by Lot55 abovedescribed andin therearbylands of George Adams. Together with allbuild‐ings andimprovements thereonbeing andbe‐longingand with all rights,ways, privileges, servitudes andprescrip‐tionsthereuntoapper‐tainingand thereunto belonging. Beingthe same property acquired by Paul Gau.treaux from HoustonC.Hillbyact of sale datedSeptember 27 1927 of record in Book 51 Entry398 of thecon‐veyancerecords of the Parish of Iberville, Louisiana. Seealso, C.B 47, En.537, C.B. 47, En

C.B. 21,En. 307, C.B. 29, En.28and C.B48, En.120 of said conveyance records. An undividedone-fourth (1/4)interestinthe abovedescribed prop‐erty wasacquiredbyVin‐cent Paul Gautreaux throughinheritance from Paul X. Gautreauxas shownbyJudgmentof Possession of record in Book 161, Entry79ofthe conveyance recordsof theParishofIberville. Theremaining threefourths(3/4) interest wasacquiredbyVincent Paul Gautreauxfrom RosemaryGautreaux Waddell, Dorothy GautreauxOlano and Warren Andrew Gautreauxbyanact of sale datedMarch 28 1963 of record in Book 161, Entry260. Anyheir, legateeorcred‐itor who opposesthe proposed sale must ﬁle an oppositionwithin. Seven (7)daysfromthe dayon which this notice ap‐pears. Taylor Bourgoyne Deputy ClerkofCourt 163178-oct18-nov8-2t $130.88 g thepetition to sell im‐movableproperty: Acertain lotorparcelof ground,together with all buildings andimprove‐mentsthereon,situated in that subdivisionofthe

ORDINANCE NO. 2025-047

TO RENAME PORTIONS OF PECUE LANE AND PECUE

BOULDVARD TO OLD PECUE LANE AND PECUE LANE AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS

WHEREAS, Approximately 15 years ago, two new 4-lane segments of Pecue Lane wereconstructed between Perkins Rd to Airline Hwy; and

WHEREAS,the new road segmentswerenamed Pecue Boulevard; and

WHEREAS, street naming is important for emergency response and public wayfinding; and

WHEREAS, the City believes that street names should only change at controlled intersections; and

WHEREAS, the street namechanges made herein have already been “accepted” as evidenced by DOTD signage and Google Maps labeling ; and

WHEREAS, apublic hearing was held on October 6, 2025, beforethe City of St. George Planning Commission, after which the Commission recommended changing the names of the roadway segments as set forth herein.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the St. George City Council, State of Louisiana, as follows:

Section 1: The portions of Pecue Lane and Pecue Boulevardidentified in the chart and map below arehereby changed as set forth in the chart.

Map# From/To Current Name Proposed Name

1Airline Hwy to Pecue BoulevardPecue Lane OldPecue Lane

2Airline Hwy to Pecue Lane Pecue Boulevard Pecue Lane

3Pecue Ln/Jamestown Blvd/ Performance WaytoPerkins Rd Pecue Boulevard Pecue Lane

Section 2: Conflicts. The specifictermsand conditions of this Ordinance shall prevail against other ordinances of the City to the extent that theremay be any conflict.

Section 3: Severability If any provision of this Ordinance is declared invalid by acourt of competent jurisdiction, the other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 4: Effective Date. This ordinance shall be effective upon publication.

This Ordinance having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows: Ayes: Cook, Dellucci, Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello, Murrell, Talbot Nays: None Absent: None

Introduced on October 14, 2025 and voted on October 28, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Delivered to Mayor on Oct 29, 2025.

Lorraine Beaman, City Clerk

Approved:

Dustin Yates, Mayor

Received from Mayor on 2025 Ordinance published in The Advocate on the day of 2025

CITY OF ST.GEORGE, LOUISIANA BY COUNCIL MEMBER MURRELL:

ORDINANCE NO. 2025-046

AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE ST.GEORGEPUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY PURSUANT TO LOUISIANA REVISEDSTATUTES 33:4172, PROVIDING FORITS PURPOSES, POWERS, GOVERNANCE, FINANCES, AND FORRELATED MATTERS.

BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of St. George, Louisiana, as follows:

Section 1. Short Title.

This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the “Ordinance Creating the St. George Public Power Authority.”

Section 2. LegislativeFindings.

The City Councilofthe City of St.George finds that it is in the public interest to ensurereliable, affordable, and sustainablesources of electric power and energy for the benefitofresidents and businesses.

Pursuant to the authoritygranted by Article VI,Sections 19, 20, and 37 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and Louisiana Revised Statutes §33:4172 et seq., the City is authorized to create by ordinance amunicipal public power authority as apolitical subdivision of the StateofLouisiana.

Notice of intention to introduce this Ordinance has been dulypublished and apublic hearing has been held in compliance with R.S. 33:4172.

Section 3. Creation and CorporateStatus.

1. Thereishereby created abody corporateand politic known as the “St. GeorgePublic Power Authority” (hereinafter the “Authority”).

2. The Authority shall constitute apolitical subdivision of the City of St George.

3. The St. George Public Power Authority is acomponent unitofthe City of St. GeorgeGovernment.Itisa legal entity separate and apart from the City of St.George,with its own financialsand authority over certain power generation and transmission assets. Its governing authority is the St.George City Council, acting in that capacity as the St.George PublicPower Authority’sboard. Its Chief Executive Officer is the Mayor of theCity of St.George.

4. The Authority shall have perpetual succession unless and until dissolved as provided herein.

Section 4. Purposes and Powers.

1. The Authority is created for the purpose of planning, financing, acquiring, constructing, owning, leasing,operating, and maintaining facilities for the generation, production, transmission, distribution, purchase, and sale of electricpower and energy,and all related facilities.

2. The Authority shall have all powers granted by Louisiana law,including but not limited to:

a) To sue and be sued in its corporate name

b) To adopt bylaws for the regulationofits affairs.

c) To acquireproperty by purchase, lease, donation,orexpropriation.

d) To contract with municipalities, parishes, state agencies, federal agencies, cooperatives, and private entities for power supply, transmission, or joint projects.

e) To issue bonds or other obligations payablesolelyfromrevenues, as provided in R.S. 33:4172 et seq.

f) To fix, charge, and collect rents, rates, and fees sufficient to pay costs of operation and maintenance, to service debt, and to provide reserves.

g) To employ engineers, accountants, attorneys, and staffas necessary

h) To exercise all incidental powers necessary to carry out its purposes.

Section 5. Governance.

1. The Authority shall be governed by aBoardofDirectors composed of seven (7) members.

2. Members shallbeappointed by the City Council.

3. Membersshall serve staggered four-year terms. The initial termsshall be as follows: two members for two years, three members for four years. Thereafter,all termsshall be four years.

4. Boardmembers shall be residents of the City of St.George or qualified electors thereof

5. The Boardshall elect aChair,Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer from among its members.

6. Meetings of the Boardshall comply with the Louisiana Open Meetings Law, R.S. 42:11 et seq., and minutes shall be kept as public records.

Section 6. Rates, Revenues, and Finance.

1. The Authority shall establishand revise rates, rents, and fees sufficient at all times to pay operating expenses, debt service, and reserves.

2. All revenues derived from the Authority’soperations shall be pledged solely for its lawful purposes and shall not constitute general revenues of the City.

3. The Authority may issue bonds or other obligations payablesolelyfrom revenues, subject to the provisions of state law

4. The Authority shall prepareand adopt an annual budget, and shall submitaudited financial statements to the City Counciland to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

Section 7. Relationship to the City.

1. The City of St.George shall not be liable for the debts or obligations of the Authority.

2. The Authority shall operate as aseparate political subdivision; however its Boardshall provide quarterlyreports to the City Councilregarding its financial status and operations.

Section 8. Dissolution.

1. The Authority may be dissolved by ordinance of the City Council, provided that no dissolution shall impair or affect the validity of any outstanding bonds, contracts, or other obligations.

2. Upondissolution, any remaining assets, after satisfaction of all obligations, shall be transferred to the City of St.George.

Section 9. Severability

If any provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, such invalidityshall not affect other provisions, which can be given effect without the invalid portion, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance aredeclared severable.

Section 10. Effective Date.

This Ordinance shall become effective in accordance with law upon adoption by the City Counciland publication as required by law

This Ordinance having been submitted to avote, the vote thereon was as follows:

Ayes: Cook, Dellucci, Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello, Murrell, Talbot

Nays: None Absent: None

Introduced on October 14, 2025 and voted on October 28, 2025.

LorraineBeaman,City Clerk

DeliveredtoMayoronOct 29, 2025.

LorraineBeaman,City Clerk

Approved:

Dustin Yates, Mayor

Received from Mayor on 2025

Ordinance published in The Advocateonthe day of 2025

CITY OF ST.GEORGE, LOUISIANA BY COUNCIL MEMBER MURRELL:

ORDINANCE NO. 2025-048 TO REZONEA0.37-ACREPARCELDESIGNATED LOT XOFTHE JEFFAIRE COMMERCIALPARK1ST FILING, FROM M1 (LIGHT INDUSTRIAL)TOLC1 (LIGHT COMMERCIAL ONE) AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS (6650 PecueLane)

WHEREAS, an application made on behalf of East Baton Rouge Sewerage Commission (EBROSCO) to rezonea0.37acreparcel from the M1 (Light Industrial) zoning district to the LC1 (Light CommercialOne) zoning district; and

WHEREAS, aportion of the subject property is currently usedby EBROSCO for asewer pump station with the other(northern)portion enclosedand usedbythe adjacentproperty owner as aparking lot; and WHEREAS, EBROSCO wishestosellthe portion of the lot being used for parking by the adjacentproperty owner and filedanapplication to subdivide the subject property (Case No. S25-18-F); and WHEREAS, the proposed (Lots X-1and X-2) do not meet the M1 dimensional standards but comply with the LC1 minimum lot requirements as well as the use restrictions; and

WHEREAS, on October 6, 2025, the St. George Planning Commission approvedthe subdivision of the subject property subject to the grant of the rezoning application; and

WHEREAS, apublic hearing washeldonOctober6,2025, before the City of St. George Zoning Commission, afterwhichthe Commission recommendedgranting the request to rezonethe subject property to LC1. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the St. George City Council, State of Louisiana,asfollows:

Section 1: Subject Property The Subject Property is the parcel described in Exhibit Aattached hereto andmade apart hereof.

Section 2: Rezoning. The Subject Property is hereby rezoned from the M1 (Light Industrial) zoning district to the LC1 (Light CommercialOne) zoning district.

Section 3: Conflicts. The specifictermsand conditions of this Ordinance shall prevailagainst otherordinances of the City to the extent thatthere maybeany conflict. Except for the foregoing, the use of the subject property is subject to the terms of allapplicable ordinances and regulations of the City of St. George,including anyamendment thereto.

Section 4: Severability If anyprovision of this Ordinance is declared invalid by acourt of competent jurisdiction, the otherprovisions shall remain in full force andeffect

Section5:Effective Date. This ordinance shall be effective upon publication.

This Ordinance having been submitted to avote,the vote thereon was as follows: Ayes: Cook, Dellucci,Edmonds, Himmel, Monachello, Murrell, Talbot Nays: None Absent: None

Introduced on October14, 2025 andvotedonOctober28, 2025.

LorraineBeaman,City

ZONING COMMISSION CITY OF ZACHARY

Monday,October 06, 2025 6:00 PM

A. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Slaughter called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m on Monday,October 06, 2025, at the Zachary City Hall located at 4700 Main Street, Zachary,LA

B. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The Invocation was given by Commissioner Slaughter and Pledge of Allegiance was given by Commissioner Slaughter

C. OPENING PROCEEDURES

1. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT Mindy Slaughter Christina Price (arrived at 6:20) Jared Watkins James Peay Tommy Womack Christi Murphy ABSENT Christina Price

2. READING OF CITY POLICY RELATIVE TO OPEN MEETINGS An opportunity for public comment shall be observed before avoteis taken on any agenda item. Once recognized by the presiding officer,the person afforded the floor,shall identify the agenda item upon which he or she wishes to provide comment and shall limit his or her comments to matters that arestrictly relevant to that agenda item.Commentary shall notexceed three (3) minutes per person. No dialogue between Planning and Zoning boardmembers and the public shall be permitted at these meetings, except to clarify the natureofquestions and/or comments. Thepresiding officer reserves the right to limit and/or terminate any commentary when deemed necessary or outside of public decorum.

3. CHANGES/ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

The motion was made by Commissioner Womack

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Slaughter

To approve to amend the agenda to remove items1Aand 1B fromconsent agenda and place them on regular agenda.

YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins,Peay,Womack,Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

D. READING OF THE MINUTES

1. Approval of minutes of the September 08, 2025, meeting and approve them as written. The motion was made by Commissioner Womack

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Slaughter To approve the minutes of the September 08, 2025, meeting and approve them as written.

YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

E. PRESENTATION OF DELEGATON

F. ANNOUNCEMENTS

G. ZONING

The consent agenda consists of items with no outstanding issues that do not requireplan amendments, text amendments, variances, or waivers. Consent agenda items may be approved with asingle motion without a public hearing, UNLESS removed from the consent agenda and placed in theregularagenda order Items placed on the Consent Agenda by the Planning &Zoning Staffwill nothave time allocated for speaking, UNLESS thereisa member of the Planning &Zoning Commission of the public at the meeting who wishes to speak on the item. In such cases, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and placed in the regular agenda order for discussion.

ALTER AGENDA

1. Consent Agenda

2. Old Business

3. New Business a. RZ-8-25 (2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road) —Torezone Lots 1, 2, &3ofthe Calvin Stevenson, Jr.Tract from Estate Residential (RE)toSuburban Residential (RS), on property located at 2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road, Zachary,La 70791 (Related to case COB-1-25) Commissioner Slaughter opened the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:09p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favor or against the rezone Commissioner Slaughter closed the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:12 p.m

The motion was made by Commissioner Slaughter The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peay To approve RZ-8-25 (2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road) —Torezone

Lots 1, 2, &3ofthe Calvin Stevenson, Jr.Tract from Estate Residential (RE) to Suburban Residential (RS), on property located at 2453, 2457 & 2413 Old Baker Road, Zachary,La70791 (Related to case COB-1-25)

YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins, Peay,Womack,Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None b. RZ-9-25 (6585 Ronnie Street) —Torezone Lot 11-Aofthe Andrew B. Benton Property from Estate Residential (RE) to Suburban Residential (RS), on property located at 6585 Ronnie Street, Zachary,La70791. (Related to cases RESUB-6-25 and CUPMH-3-25) Commissioner Slaughter opened the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:14p.m. Shane Nicholas (Surveyor for project) 4211 Spring Hollow Court, was present to speak in favor of the rezone; Nathaniel House (Owner) 6585 Ronnie Drive was present to speak in favor of the rezone. Therebeing no one else to speak for and no one against the rezone Commissioner Slaughter closed the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:17 p.m

The motion was made by Commissioner Womack

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Slaughter To approve RZ-9-25 (6585 Ronnie Street) —Torezone Lot 11-Aofthe Andrew B. Benton Property from Estate Residential (RE)toSuburban Residential (RS), on property located at 6585 Ronnie Street, Zachary,La 70791. (Related to cases RESUB-6-25 and CUPMH-3-25)

YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins,Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

c. ZOI -55452-SS (19190 Plank Road) —Proposed resubdivision on Tract A-1-A-1 into Tracts A-1-A-1-A, A-1-A1-B, A-1-A-1-C &A-1-A-1-D of the Tate Property,onproperty located at 19190 Plank Road, Zachary,La70791. Commissioner Slaughter opened the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:20p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favor or against the rezone Commissioner Slaughter closed the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:21 p.m.

The motion was made by Commissioner Womack The motion was seconded by Commissioner Slaughter To approve arecommendation of no objection for ZOI -55452-SS (19190 Plank Road) —Proposed resubdivision on Tract A-1-A-1 into Tracts

A-1-A-1-A, A-1-A-1-B, A-1-A-1-C &A-1-A-1-Dofthe Tate Property,on property located at 19190 Plank Road, Zachary,La70791. YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

H. REPORTOFTHE CITY PLANNER

I. REPORTOFTHE CHAIRMAN

J. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 6:22 p.m.

Karen Burdette, Recording Secretary

Minday Slaughter -Chairman

Karen Burdette, Recording Secretary

CITY OF ZACHARY

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF ZACHARY

Monday,October 06, 2025

6:00 PM

A. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Slaughter called the meeting to order at 6:22 p.m., on Monday October 06, 2025, at the Zachary City Hall located at 4700 Main Street, Zachary,LA B. INVOCATION AND PLEDGEOFALLEGIANCE

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance werecarried over from previous meeting.

C. OPENING PROCEEDURES

1. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT MindySlaughter Christina Price

2. READING OF CITYPOLICY RELATIVE TO OPEN MEETINGS

An opportunity forpublic comment shall be observed beforea vote is taken on any agenda item.Once recognized by the presiding officer,the person afforded the floor,shall identify the agenda item uponwhich he or she wishes to provide comment and shall limit his or her comments to matters that arestrictlyrelevant to that agenda item.Commentaryshall not exceed three (3) minutes per person. No dialogue between Planning and Zoning boardmembers and the public shall be permitted at these meetings, except to clarify the natureofquestions and/or comments. The presiding officer reserves the right to limit and/or terminate any commentary when deemed necessary or outside of public decorum.

3. CHANGES/ADDITIONSTOTHE AGENDA

The motion was made by Commissioner Slaughter The motion was seconded by Commissioner Womack To approve to amend the agenda to remove items1A, 1B, 1C from consent agenda and place them on regular agenda.

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAINED: None

The motion was made by Commissioner Slaughter

The motion was seconded by Commissioner Womack

To approve to amend the agenda and add to New Business an introduction of proposed UDCamendmentstocreate Administrative Law procedure for enforcement of selected provisions of the UDCand also to publish notice for apublic hearing for same, at the November 3, 2025 Planning Commission Regular Meeting.

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None ABSENT:None

ABSTAINED: None

D. READING OF THE MINUTES

1. Approval of minutes of the September 08, 2025, meeting and approve them as written. The motion was made by Commissioner Womack Themotionwas seconded by Commissioner Slaughter

To approve the minutes of the September 08, 2025, meeting and approve them as written.

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAINED: None

E. PRESENTATION OF DELEGATON

F. ANNOUNCEMENTS

G. PLANNING

The consent agenda consists of itemswith no outstanding issues that do notrequireplan amendments, text amendments, variances, or waivers. Consent agenda itemsmay be approved with asingle motionwithout a public hearing, UNLESS removed from the consent agenda and placed in the regular agenda order Itemsplaced on the Consent Agenda by the Planning &Zoning Staffwill nothave timeallocated for speaking, UNLESS thereisa member of the Planning &Zoning Commission of the public at the meeting who wishes to speak on the item.Insuch cases, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and placed in the regular agenda order for discussion. ALTER AGENDA

1. Consent Agenda a. FP-2-25 (Brook Hollow,2nd Filing) —Proposed final plat for Lots 83-93, 99-117, 138-145, 168-173 &33, Tracts CA-6, CA-7, P-3, P-4, &Lot 7-A-1 of the Brook Hollow, 2nd Filing on property located at 3600-3700 Rollins Road, Zachary, La 70791. The motion was made by Commissioner Slaughter The motion was seconded by Commissioner Womac To approve FP-2-25 (Brook Hollow,2nd Filing) —Proposed final plat for Lots 83-93, 99-117, 138-145, 168-173 &33, Tracts CA-6, CA-7, P-3, P-4, &Lot 7-A-1 of the Brook Hollow, 2nd Filing on property located at 36003700 Rollins Road, Zachary, La 70791.

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAINED: None

2. Old Business a. Proposed Text Amendmentsfor definitions (Deferred to October 6, 2025 meeting). The motion was made by Commissioner Womack Themotionwas seconded by Commissioner Watkins To approve Proposed Text Amendments -Amendmentstobeconsidered to the Unified Development Code (UDC) regarding Bed &Breakfasts, drive-through hours, mobile vendors, building materials, accessory buildings, and definitions. YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy NAYS: None

ABSENT: None

ABSTAINED: None

3. New Business

a. COB-1-25 (2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road) —Proposed combination of lots of Lots1,2,&3into Lots 1-A and 3-A of the Calvin Stevenson, Jr.Tract, on property located at 2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road, Zachary, La 70791. (Related to case RZ-8-25) Commissioner Slaughter opened the PUBLICHEARING at 6:34 p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favoroforagainst the conditional use permitCommissioner Slaughter closed the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:35 p.m. The motion was made by Commissioner Slaughter The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peay

To approve COB-1-25 (2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road) —Proposed combination of lots of Lots1,2,& 3into Lots 1-A and 3-A of the Calvin Stevenson, Jr.Tract, on property located at 2453, 2457 &2413 Old Baker Road, Zachary, La 70791 (Related to case RZ-8-25)

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAINED: None

b. RESUB-6-25 (6585 Ronnie Street) —Proposed resubdivision of Lot 11-A into Lots 11-A-1 and 11-A-2 of the Andrew B. Benton Property,onproperty located at 6585 Ronnie Street, Zachary,La70791. (Related to cases RZ-9-25 and CUPMH-3-25)

CommissionerSlaughteropened the PUBLICHEARINGat 6:37 p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favor of or against the conditionaluse permit CommissionerSlaughterclosedthe PUBLIC HEARING at 6:39 p.m. The motion wasmade by CommissionerSlaughter The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerPeay

To approve RESUB-6-25 (6585 Ronnie Street) —Proposed resubdivision of Lot 11-A into Lots 11-A-1 and11-A-2 of the Andrew B. Benton Property on property located at 6585 Ronnie Street,Zachary, La 70791. (Related to cases RZ-9-25 andCUPMH-3-25)

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None ABSTAINED: None

c. CUPMH-3-25 (6585 RonnieStreet) —Proposed manufactured home to be placed on Lot 11-A-1 of the Andrew B. Benton Property,onproperty located at 6585 Ronnie Street,Zachary,La70791 (Related to cases RZ-9-25 and RESUB-6-25) CommissionerSlaughteropened the PUBLICHEARINGat 6:41 p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favor of or against the conditionaluse permit CommissionerSlaughterclosedthe PUBLIC HEARING at 6:42 p.m. The motion wasmadebyCommissionerWomack The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerSlaughter To approve CUPMH-3-25 (6585 RonnieStreet) —Proposed manufacturedhome to be placed on Lot 11-A-1 of the Andrew B. Benton Property,onproperty located at 6585 Ronnie Street,Zachary,La70791. (Related to cases RZ-9-25 andRESUB-6-25)

YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:None

ABSTAINED: None

d. To introduceproposed UDCamendments to create Administrative Lawprocedure for enforcementofselected provisions of the UDCand to publish noticefor apublic hearing for same, at the November3,2025, Planning Commission RegularMeeting. The motion wasmadebyCommissionerSlaughter The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerPeay To approve an introduction of proposedUDC amendments to createAdministrative Lawprocedure for enforcementofselected provisions of the UDCand to publish noticefor apublic hearing for same, at the November3,2025, Planning Commission Regular Meeting. YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy NAYS: None

ABSENT:None ABSTAINED: None

e. INTRODUCTION OF FINAL DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE/ MASTER PLAN The motion wasmadebyCommissionerPeay The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerWomack To approve introduction of the DraftComprehensive/Master Plan for adoption at the November3,2025, Planning Commission RegularMeeting andhold aWorkshop on October27, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Floyd, Womack, Murphy NAYS: None ABSENT:None ABSTAINED: None

G. REPORT OF THE CITYPLANNER H. REPORTOFTHE CHAIRMAN J. ADJOURNMENT The meeting wasadjournedat7:05p.m.

Karen Burdette,Recording Secretary

MindaySlaughter- Chairman

Karen Burdette, Recording Secretary CITY OF ZACHARY PARISHOFEAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

CITY OF ZACHARY PLANNING &ZONING WORKSHOP City Council Chamber 4700 MainStreet October 27, 2025 6:00 p.m. –8:00p.m. CALL TO ORDER CommissionerSlaughteropened the workshop at 6:11 p.m., on Monday October 27, 2025.

INVOCATION ANDPLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Invocation by CommissionerWomack Pledge of Allegiance by CommissionerSlaught ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT Mindy Slaughter Jared Watkins Tommy Womack Christi Murphy ABSENT Christina Price James Peay Jason Floyd

NEW BUSINESS: On Monday,October 27, 2025, the Planning andZoning Commissioners of the City of Zachary,LA, held aworkshop to discuss information regarding the Recommended DraftComprehensive/ Master Plan, including public comment. Discussion also between AttorneyLTDupreand Planning andZoning Commissioners.

Aworkshop is an openmeeting, where no items exceptthose thatappear on the Agenda for the meeting maybediscussed. No vote can be taken in aworkshop meeting.

ADJOURNMENT The meeting wasadjournedat7:37p.m.

Karen Burdette,Recording Secretary

Mindy Slaughter, Chairman

Karen Burdette, RecordingSecretary CITY OF ZACHARY PARISHOFEASTBATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA