The Advocate 12-06-2025 by The Advocate

Developeraccused of financialcrimes

Investigation haltshousing projectfunding

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

The developer of astalled, multimillion-dollar East BatonRouge Parish housing complex faces a raft of charges for alleged ﬁnancial crimes.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’sofﬁce on Friday ﬁled abill of information charging 35-year-

oldBradly Brown— ownerof KMTHoldings and Development LLC —with theft over $25,000, bank fraud, illegal transferof monetary funds,money launderingand ﬁling false public records.

In 2021, the East Baton Rouge ParishMetro Council unanimously approved $6 million in federal dollars for Brown to build an $11 million affordable housing complexin

Scotlandville known as “Housing for Heroes.”

State prosecutors say Brown intentionally stole funds from the city-parish,defrauded three differentbanks of more $1.2 million, knowingly acquiredmoney as aresult of criminal activityand made falsestatements in documents ﬁled withthe city-parish.

Brown and his company were the

subject of federalgrand jury subpoenas issued in May 2024. Federal authorities ordered the city-parish to turn in documents related to the Housing for Heroes project and emails, text messages andother communications between Brown and City Hall ofﬁcials.

Murrill’sofﬁcedeclinedtocommentFriday,citing “additional ongoing criminal investigations.”

“When we can provide more information, we will,”a spokesperson said.

EBR’sColeearns high marks

School leader’s report says he exceeds expectations

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

LaMont Cole hasreceived high marks for his ﬁrst year leading the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, witha score on his job evaluation last bested nearly two decades ago whenCharlotte Placide was the superintendent.

“I was pleasantly surprised that allofthemhad so many nice things to say,” Cole said of theSchool bBard afterward. “And the recommendations they made in terms of areas of improvement were all datadriven.”

Cole, hired in August 2024, has had abusy 16 months on the job. Much of his ﬁrst year was occupied by the development and implementationof adistrictwide “realignment plan” that broughtchanges to 28 Baton Rouge schools, closing nine of them, and affecting more than 10,000 students and about1,400 districtemployees.

East Baton RougeParish schools Superintendent LaMontCole

School on the first dayofschool in 2024, shortly after he

Overall on his jobevaluation, Cole received acomposite score of 3.6 on a4-point scale for 2025. It is slightly better than the 3.56 score thatWarren Drake received in fall 2019 for his ﬁnal job evaluation as superintendent. The last superintendent to better Cole’smark was Placide in 2007, based on her second of ﬁve years as district superintendent.Placide earneda score of 3.8 outof4 Under thecurrentgrading scale, anything above a3“exceeds” expectations. Ascore between 2and 2.9 is considered “satisfactory,” while any-

Capitol

thing belowa 2isconsidered “unacceptable.” In years past, ascore between 1and 1.9 was judged less harshly,as“needs improvement.”

The East BatonRouge Parish School Boardreleased Cole’sresults Thursday at its regular monthly meeting

Six board members present Thursday —board members Mike Gaudet, Dadrius Lanus andCarla Powell-Lewiswere absent —had good things to say about the leader Boardmember Emily Soulé

ä See COLE, page 7A

It is unclear if the Attorney General Ofﬁce’scase is related to the federal investigation.

Reached Friday,Brown denied wrongdoing but declined to commentfurther

To date, less than $1 million of the awarded funds have been paid to the developer.Construction has yet to begin on the project, which was pitched as 36 low-income apartments for essentialhealth

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen.Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, criticized a decision Friday by an inﬂuential advisory panel to stop the threedecade-old practice of recommending all newborns get the hepatitisB vaccine,issuing weaker guidance forsome children.

Supporters of thehepatitisBvaccinations —including Cassidy,a medical doctor who has extensive experience withthe inoculation say thepractice hasled to anear eliminationofaninfection that untreated mothers pass to their babies and that sometimes leads to fatal liver disease later in life.

Since 1991, physicians have given infants their ﬁrst hepatitis Bshot within24hours of birth. The babies then receive twomore doses that are sometimes administered with other vaccinations to children.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

walksthe halls of

Middle

wasnamed to the position.

Education Department

workers ordered back

WASHINGTON The Trump administration is bringing back dozens of Education Department staffers who were slated to be laid off, saying their help is needed to tackle a mounting backlog of discrimination complaints from students and families.

The staffers had been on administrative leave while the department faced lawsuits challenging layoffs in the agency’s Office for Civil Rights, which investigates possible discrimination in the nation’s schools and colleges. But in a Friday letter, department ofﬁcials ordered the workers back to duty starting Dec. 15 to help clear civil rights cases

More than 200 workers from the Office for Civil Rights were targeted in mass layoffs at the department, but the firings have been tied up in legal battles since March. An appeals court cleared the way for the cuts in September, but they’re again on hold because of a separate lawsuit. In all, the Education Department workforce has shrunk from 4,100 when President Donald Trump took office to roughly half that size now, as the president vows to wind down the agency

The department did not say how many workers are returning to duty Some who have been on administrative leave for months have since left.

The backlog has grown to more than 25,000 discrimination cases, AP reporting has shown using department data.

Vanity Fair, Nuzzi split amid RFK Jr. controversy

NEW YORK Vanity Fair is parting ways with West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi amid ongoing controversy over her relationship with profile subject Robert F. Kennedy Jr while she was the Washington correspondent for New York magazine. She had been hired as its West Coast editor in September Nuzzi, 32, had been a star reporter for New York magazine known for colorfully written political proﬁles until last fall, when it was revealed she had an intense personal relationship with Kennedy, now head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Nuzzi was ﬁred by New York for not disclosing her relationship.

This fall, she wrote a memoir, “American Canto,” that refers to Kennedy as “The Politician.” It was excerpted in Vanity Fair but simultaneously, Nuzzi’s former fiancé, journalist Ryan Lizza, wrote a series of Substack posts with embarrassing revelations. The case gripped media insiders as Lizza alleged that Nuzzi had an affair with another proﬁle subject and had given Kennedy political advice, both considered off limits for journalists.

Swallowed pendant recovered in the end

WELLINGTON, New Zealand New Zealand Police said Friday they have recovered a stolen James Bond-inspired Fabergé pendant after six days of closely watching the man accused of swallowing the jewelry in an Auckland store.

They said the pendant was recovered Thursday night after it exited the suspect’s gastrointestinal tract naturally without medical intervention.

The limited-edition, Fabergé egg pendant was inspired by the 1983 James Bond ﬁlm Octopussy,” in which a jewel-smuggling operation involves a fake Fabergé egg.

A photo supplied by New Zealand’s police Friday showed a gloved hand holding the recovered pendant and its long, gold chain with an intact price tag showing the jewelry’s $19,000 value.

The man was arrested inside Partridge Jewelers in Auckland on Nov. 28 shortly after the alleged theft.

The store’s website says the egg, one of only 50 made, was crafted from gold, painted with green enamel and encrusted with 183 diamonds and two sapphires. The pendant is 3.3 inches tall and is mounted on a stand

“The egg opens to reveal an 18ct yellow gold octopus nestled inside, adorned with white diamond suckers and black diamond eyes,” an item description said.

Epstein transcripts may be public

Judge gives DOJ permission to release proceedings from grand jury

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press.

ORLANDO Fla A federal judge on

Friday gave the Justice Department permission to release transcripts of a grand jury investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls in Florida — a case that ultimately ended without any federal charges being ﬁled against the millionaire sex offender

U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said a recently passed federal law ordering the release of records related to Epstein overrode the usual rules about grand jury

secrecy

The law signed in November by President Donald Trump compels the Justice Department, FBI and federal prosecutors to release later this month the vast troves of material they have amassed during investigations into Epstein that

date back at least two decades.

Friday’s court ruling dealt with the earliest known federal inquiry

In 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, where Epstein had a mansion, began interviewing teenage girls who told of being hired to give the ﬁnancier sexualized massages. The FBI later joined the investigation.

Federal prosecutors in Florida prepared an indictment in 2007, but Epstein’s lawyers attacked the credibility of his accusers publicly while secretly negotiating a plea bargain that would let him avoid serious jail time.

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to relatively minor state charges of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18. He served most of his 18-month sentence in a work release program that let him spend his days in his ofﬁce.

The U.S. attorney in Miami at the time, Alex Acosta, agreed not

to prosecute Epstein on federal charges — a decision that outraged Epstein’s accusers. After the Miami Herald reexamined the unusual plea bargain in a series of stories in 2018, public outrage over Epstein’s light sentence led to Acosta’s resignation as Trump’s labor secretary

A Justice Department report in 2020 found that Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in handling the investigation, but it also said he did not engage in professional misconduct.

A different federal prosecutor, in New York, brought a sex trafﬁcking indictment against Epstein in 2019, mirroring some of the same allegations involving underage girls that had been the subject of the aborted investigation.

Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial His longtime conﬁdant and ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was then tried on similar

charges, convicted and sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison.

Transcripts of the grand jury proceedings from the aborted federal case in Florida could shed more light on federal prosecutors’ decision not to go forward with it.

When the documents will be released is unknown. The Justice Department asked the court to unseal them so they could be released with other records required to be disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The Justice Department hasn’t set a timetable for when it plans to start releasing information, but the law set a deadline of Dec. 19.

The law also allows the Justice Department to withhold ﬁles that it says could jeopardize an active federal investigation. Files can also be withheld if they’re found to be classiﬁed or if they pertain to national defense or foreign policy

One of the federal prosecutors on the Florida case did not answer a phone call Friday and the other declined to answer questions.

FIFA gives Trump inaugural peace prize

BY SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump was awarded the new FIFA peace prize on Friday at the 2026 World Cup draw — giving the spectacle to set matchups for the quadrennial soccer tournament even more of a Trumpian ﬂair Trump, who had openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, had been heavily expected to receive the newly created FIFA prize.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a close ally of Trump, has said he thought Trump should have won the Nobel for his efforts to broker a ceaseﬁre in Gaza.

In awarding the prize, Infantino told Trump it was a “beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you want to go.”

Trump promptly placed the medal around his neck. The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world.”

Infantino also presented Trump with a gold trophy with his name on it that depicts hands holding up the world

President

“You definitely deserve the ﬁrst FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way,” said Infantino, who spoke after a video was played that showed images of Trump meeting with world leaders from countries whose conﬂicts he has taken credit for resolving.

Trump thanked his fam-

ily, including his wife, ﬁrst lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — in his brief remarks, saying the coordination with the countries has been “outstanding.”

quent visitor to the Oval Ofﬁce, including in November when the administration announced new efforts to expedite visa processing for World Cup visitors. Infantino had a prime seat at Trump’s January inauguration and FIFA has established an office at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

FIFA has given no details about the process for choosing a winner When Infantino first announced last month that the organization would give out a peace prize, some of its senior ofﬁcials were caught off guard, learning about it through reports in the media.

“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” Trump said, adding that “most important, I just want to thank everybody The world is a safer place now.”

U.S., Ukraine officials say there’s progress on security framework

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine President Donald Trump’s advisers and Ukrainian ofﬁcials said Friday they’ll meet for a third day of talks after making progress on creating a security framework for postwar Ukraine and are urging Russia to commit to peace.

The ofﬁcials, who met for a second day in Florida on Friday, issued a joint statement that offered broad brushstrokes about the progress they say that’s been made as Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a U.S.-mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war

“Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings,” the statement said. “Parties also separately reviewed the future prosperity agenda which aims to support Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, joint U.S.-Ukraine economic initiatives, and long-term recovery projects.”

U.S special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s talks in Florida with Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, follow discussions between President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. envoys at the Kremlin on Tuesday

Friday’s session took place at the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, Florida, a high-end private golf and lifestyle destination owned by Witkoff’s real estate development company Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s delegation in Florida wanted to hear from the U.S. side about the talks at the Kremlin.

Zelenskyy, as well as European leaders backing him, have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling in peace talks while the

Russian army tries to press forward with its invasion. Zelenskyy said in a video address late Thursday that ofﬁcials wanted to know “what other pretexts Putin has come up with to drag out the war and to pressure Ukraine.”

Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Friday, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov praised Kushner as potentially playing an important role in ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ushakov also took part in Tuesday’s talks at the Kremlin.

Putin has sought to sow division between Trump and Ukraine and Europe at a moment when Trump’s impatience with the conﬂict is mounting. Putin said his ﬁve-hour talks this week with Witkoff and Kushner were “necessary” and “useful,” but some proposals were unacceptable.

Ushakov, who accompanied Putin on a visit to India on Friday repeated the Russian president’s recent criticism of Europe’s stance on the peace talks Kyiv’s European allies are concerned about possible Russian aggression beyond Ukraine and want a prospective peace deal to include strong security guarantees.

Kyiv’s allies in Europe are “constantly putting forward demands that are unacceptable to Moscow,” Ushakov told Russia’s state-owned Zvezda TV. “Putting it mildly, the Europeans don’t help Washington and Moscow reach a settlement on the Ukrainian issues.” Russian drones struck a house in central Ukraine, killing a 12-year-old boy, ofﬁcials said, while long-range Ukrainian strikes reportedly targeted a Russian port and an oil reﬁnery

The Russian attack on Thursday night in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region destroyed the house where the boy was killed and also two women were injured, according to the head of the regional military administration.

Infantino has often spoken about soccer as a uniﬁer for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

Infantino has been a fre-

The FIFA president was also on hand Thursday at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, where Trump and the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a deal aimed at ending the conﬂict in eastern Congo. The Nobel for peace was awarded this year to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after the prize was announced that she was dedicating it in part to Trump for “his decisive support of our cause.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EVAN VUCCI

Donald Trump is presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Friday during the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Justices will take up birthright citizenship

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to take up the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’sorder onbirthright citizenship declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are notAmerican citizens.

Thejustices will hear Trump’s appeal of alower-court ruling that struck down thecitizenship restrictions. They have not taken effect anywhere in the country

The case will be argued in the spring. Adeﬁnitive ruling is expected by early summer

The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed Jan. 20,the ﬁrst day of his second term, is part of his Republican administration’s broadimmigration crackdown Other actions include immigration

Rushingwaters strandedcampers in attics,onroofs

BY JIM VERTUNO Associated Press

KERRVILLE, Texas In an in-

stant, frantic voices over-

whelmed the two county emergency dispatchers on duty in the Texas Hill Country as catastrophic ﬂooding inundated cabins and youth campsalong theGuadalupe River Afirefighter clingingto atree who watched his wife be swept away.Afamily breaking through their roof,hoping for rescue. A woman calling from an allgirls camp, waters swirling around and unsure how to escape.

Their panic-stricken pleas were among more than 400 callsfor help across Kerr County last summer when unimaginable ﬂoods hit during the overnight hours on the July Fourth holiday,according to recordings of the calls released Friday

“There’swater fillingup superfast, we can’tget out of our cabin,” acamp counselor told adispatcherabove the screams of campersin thebackground. “Wecan’t get out of our cabin, so how do we get to the boats?” Amazingly,everyonein the cabin and the rest of campers at Camp La Junta were rescued.

The ﬂooding killed at least 136 people statewide during the holiday weekend, including 117 in Kerr County alone. Most were from Texas, but others came from Alabama, Californiaand Florida, according to alistreleased by county ofﬁcials.

One woman called for help as the water closed in on her house near CampMystic,a century-old summer camp for girls, where 25 campers and two teenage counselors died.

“We’re OK, but we live a mile down theroadfrom Camp Mystic and we had two little girls come down the river.And we’ve gotten to them, but I’m not sure how many others areout there,” she said in ashaky voice. Aspokesperson forthe parents of the children and counselors who diedat Camp Mystic declined to comment on the releaseof the recordings.

On rooftops andintrees

Many residents in the hard-hit Texas Hill Country have said they were caught

enforcementsurges in several cities and the ﬁrst peacetime invocation of the18th-centuryAlienEnemies Act.

The administration is facing multiple courtchallenges,and the high court has sent mixed signals in emergency orders it has issued.

The justiceseffectively stopped the use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged Venezuelan gangmembers without court hearings.But theSupreme Court allowed the resumptionofsweeping immigrationstops in theLos Angelesarea afteralower court blocked thepractice of stopping people solely basedontheir race, language, job or location.

Thejusticesalsoare weighing the administration’semergency appeal to beallowedtodeploy National Guard troopsinthe Chicago area forimmigration enforcement actions. Alower court has indeﬁ-

nitely prevented the deployment Birthright citizenship is theﬁrst Trumpimmigration-related policy to reach the court foraﬁnalruling. Hisorder would upend more than 125 years of understanding that the Constitution’s14thAmendment confers citizenship on everyone born on American soil,with narrowexceptionsfor thechildren of foreign diplomats and those born to aforeign occupying force.

In aseries of decisions, lower courts have struck down theexecutive order as unconstitutional, or likely so, even after aSupreme Court ruling in lateJune thatlimited judges’use of nationwide injunctions.

TheSupreme Court, however, did not rule out other court orders that couldhavenationwide effects, including in class-actionlawsuits and those brought by states. The justices did not decide at that time

off guard and didn’treceive anywarningwhen the floods overtopped the Guadalupe River. KerrCountyleaders have faced scrutinyabout whether they didenough right away.Two officials told Texaslegislators this summerthattheywereasleep during the initial hours of the flooding,and athirdwas out of town Usingrecordings of first responder communications, weatherservice warnings, survivor videos and official testimony,The Associated Press assembled achronology of thechaotic rescue effort. The AP was one of the mediaoutlets that filed public informationrequestsfor recordings of the 911 calls to be released.

Many people were rescued by boatsand emergency vehicles. Afew desperate pleas came frompeople ﬂoating away in RVs. Some survivors were found in trees and on rooftops

But some ofthe calls released Friday came from people who did not survive, said Kerrville Police Chief Chris McCall, who warned that theaudioisunsettling.

“The tree I’m in is starting to lean and it’s going to fall. Is there ahelicopter close?”

Bradley Perry, aﬁreﬁghter calmly told adispatcher, adding that he saw his wife, Tina,and theirRVwash away

“I’ve probablygot maybe ﬁve minutes left,” hesaid. BradleyPerrdid notsurvive. His wife was later foundclinging to atree, still alive.

Moving higher andhigher

In another heartbreakingcall, awomanstaying in acommunity of riverside cabins told adispatcher the water was inundatingtheir building

“Weare ﬂooding, and we have people in cabins we can’t getto,” she said.“We are flooding almostall the

way to the top.”

Thecallerspeaksslowly and deliberately.The faint voices of what sounds like children can be heard in the background.

Some people called back multiple times,climbing higherand higher in houses to let rescuers know where they were andthattheir situations were getting more dire. Families called from second floors, then attics, then roofs sometimes in the course of 30 or 40 minutes, revealing how fastand how high thewaters rose.

As daylight began to break,the callvolume increased, with people reporting survivors in trees or stuck on roofs, or cars ﬂoating down the river.

Britt Eastland, the codirector of Camp Mystic, asked for search and rescue and the National Guardto be called, saying as many as 40 people there were missing. “We’re outofpower We hardly have any cell service,” he said.

The 911 recordings show thatrelatives and friends outside of theunfoldingdisasterand those who had made it to safetyhad called to get help for loved ones trapped in the ﬂooding.

Onewoman saidafriend,

whetherthe underlyingcitizenship order was constitutional.

Every lower court that has looked at the issue has concluded thatTrump’sorder violates or likely violates the 14th Amendment, which was intended to ensure that Black people, includingformer slaves, hadcitizenship. Birthright citizenship automatically makes anyone born in the UnitedStates an American citizen, including children born to mothers who are in the country illegally,underlongstanding rules.

The case under review comes from New Hampshire. Afederal judge in July blocked the citizenship order in aclass-action lawsuit including allchildren who would be affected. TheAmerican Civil LibertiesUnion is leading the legalteam representing thechildren andtheir parentswho challenged Trump’sorder

“No president can change the 14th Amendment’sfundamental promiseofcitizenship,”Cecillia Wang, the ACLU’snationallegal director,said in astatement, adding, “Welook forward to putting this issue to rest once and for all in the SupremeCourt this term.”

The administration has asserted that children of noncitizensare not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.

“The Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause was adopted to grantcitizenshiptonewly freed slavesand their children —not to the children of aliens illegally or temporarily in the UnitedStates,” top administration top Supreme Court lawyer,D.JohnSauer,wrote in urging the high court’sreview Twenty-four Republican-led states and 27 Republican lawmakers are backing the administration.

an elderly man, was trapped in his home with water up to his head. She had realized his phone cut out as she was trying to relay instructions from a911 operator

Dispatchers’ comfort

Overwhelmed by the endless calls,dispatcherstried to comfort thepanic-stricken callers yetwere forced to move on to thenextone

Theyadvisedmanyof those who were trapped to get to their rooftops or run to higher ground. In somecalls,children could be heard screaming in the background.

“There is water everywhere, we cannot move. We areupstairs in aroomand thewater is rising,”said awoman who called from CampMystic. The same womancalled back later.“How do we get to the roof if the water is so high?” she asked. “Canyou already send someone here? With the boats?” She asked the dispatcher when help would arrive. “I don’tknow,”the dispatcher said. “I don’tknow.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILE PHOTO By ERICGAy Rain falls as Irene Valdez visits amakeshift memorial for flood victimsalong the Guadalupe River on July 13 in Kerrville, Texas.

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N.O. officials seek info on immigration sweeps

Border Patrol operation raises concerns

BY JOHN SIMERMAN, BEN MYERS and LARA NICHOLSON Staff writers

As New Orleans Mayor-elect

Helena Moreno called out Trump administration ofﬁcials over their secrecy surrounding the immigration sweeps that have gripped the region, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was busy ordering cracklins and smiling for selﬁes on Friday afternoon inside a Kenner convenience store. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, meanwhile, was warning New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick in a letter that an NOPD policy that limits support for immigration agents could open her up to a criminal charge.

The third day of “Operation Catahoula Crunch,” the latest round of immigration sweeps from President Donald Trump’s administration after similar campaigns in Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, brought a rise of political tensions amid more sightings of masked agents but few ofﬁcial details on the number of people detained or for what. Moreno led the calls for transparency, joined Friday by U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, and former Mayor Marc Morial, among others. Moreno said at a news conference that she’d sent a letter to Bovino demanding basic information about the stops and arrests his agents are making, their legal bases, any criminal charges and warrants.

Continued from page 1A

A majority of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, whose members were hand-picked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., found that “vaccine safety risks are not well understood and were never assessed appropriately.”

ACIP voted on the proposals, which were rewritten several times during the second day of their meeting in Atlanta.

The panel of physicians and scientists recommended that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keep vaccinating newborns of mothers who test positive for hepatitis B. Mothers who don’t test positive should consult their physician to decide if and when the vaccinations are scheduled

The panel recommended a “dose is administered no earlier than 2 months of age.”

The panel’s ﬁndings don’t carry the force of law but are recommendations that the CDC leadership can adopt Private insurance, Medicaid and child health programs rely on the CDC rulings to decide which vaccinations will be covered

“The language will have no impact on availability of covered vaccines,” said Dr Robert W. Malone, ACIP deputy chair and an ad-

She also demanded that agents remove masks and show clear identiﬁcation, and probable cause for arrests.

“Our points are just very simple,” she said. “I don’t believe that we’re asking for too much here.”

Bovino demurred, however, as he strode armed down Martinique Avenue in Kenner with masked agents, in search of a suspect.

“I think this is about as transparent as it gets right here,” he said.

Department of Homeland Security officials have repeatedly declined to share speciﬁcs on people detained in their immigration sweeps, though they’ve said dozens have been arrested in the New Orleans area so far

Asked if the goal remained 5,000 arrests from the operation, as previously stated, Bovino responded:

“The goal is as many as we pos-

junct professor at the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Malone said he was concerned that children receive so many vaccinations that the common components in vaccines could prove risky when all are added together during a short time. That situation has not been researched well.

“This topic has merit,” he said.

The decision enraged many in the medical community including Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee. Cassidy recommended that the CDC not accept the new recommendations but instead retain the current approach.

“As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake,” Cassidy wrote on X. “The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. The birth dose is a recommendation, NOT a mandate.”

Cassidy continued: “Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns a year were infected with hepatitis B. Now, it’s fewer than 20. Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker.”

Some ACIP members expressed doubts about the majority’s decision

sibly can. It could be 100,000, you never know.”

He said they were in the area targeting someone with “a signiﬁcant immigration history” but declined details.

“You know what? Nothing to fear if you’re an American citizen,” Bovino told a reporter “If you’re not an American citizen, then look out Legal residents tend to know that we’re friends We’re friends with all legal residents.”

While DHS has not provided a full list of those who they’ve detained, they have touted some of the arrests. On social media Friday for example DHS posted a photo of a man in a vehicle.

“Another sicko off the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana,” the department’s account posted on the social media website X, without naming him. “This criminal

“We are doing harm by changing this wording,” said Dr. H Cody Meissner, of Tufts Medical Center and a panelist who voted no. “We will see hepatitis B come back.”

“I simply hope that the committee will accept its responsibility when this harm is caused,” said Dr Joseph R. Hibbeln, an ACIP member from the National Institutes of Health and another no vote.

Adults often are infected with hepatitis B from sharing needles or having sex. More often than not, adults survive the liver infection.

Infants are often infected by their untreated mothers. Infected babies have a 90% chance that more serious problems will develop later in life, such as cancer or cirrhosis.

One in 4 people who die of liver disease were infected as newborns.

ACIP members pointed to what they called uncertainty about true rates of incidence and transmission from mother to child. Others said the impact of the vaccine hasn’t been thoroughly researched.

Vicky Pebsworth, an ACIP member and Paciﬁc Region director for the National Association of Catholic Nurses, noted that many parents had expressed dissatisfaction with their babies getting vaccinated.

Some committee members questioned vaccinating all

illegal alien from Honduras has a rap sheet that includes charges for strangulation, simple battery, domestic abuse, child endangerment, and simple battery He will be REMOVED from our country!”

In recent Border Patrol sweeps in Chicago and North Carolina, a vast majority of detainees had no criminal backgrounds. Since the operation launched Wednesday in Louisiana, allegations have mounted of agents detaining people with work permits and American citizenship.

Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy, which provides free legal assistance, has been contacted by loved ones of 15 detainees, said Homero Lopez, the group’s director He said a majority of those clients either have legal status or are in the process of obtaining it.

“What we are hearing from our clients is exactly what we have seen happen in other cities. Folks are being arrested indiscriminately, targeted for the color of their skin, the language they speak, the location where they are working,” Lopez said.

One video that spread nationwide showed a 23-year-old mother ﬂeeing to her West Bank home as agents chased her The woman told The Times-Picayune that an agent asked her to come toward him as more began to approach. She said she twice told them she was a citizen before running to her Marrero home.

In a statement Friday, the Department of Homeland Security called its pursuit of the woman part of a targeted operation against “a criminal illegal alien previously charged with felony theft and convicted of illegal possession of stolen property.” She’d matched the description of the wanted subject, and the agents

newborns when drug users and the sexually promiscuous are responsible for the spread of hepatitis B and don’t get tested or inoculated.

Part of the dramatic increase in cases was also linked to immigrants moving to the country from countries with a high incidence of the infection.

identiﬁed themselves, DHS said.

“Agents immediately stopped upon reaching the property, determined the individual in question was not the target, and all agents departed the area,” the agency said. “No arrests were made.”

But the mother of the Marrero woman rejected the agency’s explanation.

“We’ve seen this, and they’re just trying to cover their a**** because they did not identify themselves or ask her,” said Ramona Anglin.

Morial, who heads the National Urban League, said the tactics of the masked federal agents reminded him of those of the Ku Klux Klan.

“I do not suggest that ICE are the Ku Klux Klan, but in this country, there are zero precedents for sworn law enforcement officers to mask themselves,” he said. “If they’re insisting on wearing a mask, they can ride in Rex, Zulu or Endymion.”

Bovino’s agents appeared to focus their attention Friday outside of New Orleans.

In Kenner some locals blew whistles, recorded the agents and yelled for people to stay inside their homes. A trail of cars followed Border Patrol agents. Some formed a blockade on Friday

Bovino said roughly 30 cars in all “were harassing Border Patrol and causing severe trafﬁc problems.” But Kenner police soon intervened, halting trafﬁc on West Esplanade Avenue to help he and his agents clear out.

Bovino was soon praising Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley on social media, calling the move “the ﬁrst that has ever happened by a state or local (agency).”

Staff writer James Finn contributed to this report.

Dr Evelyn Grifﬁn, a member of ACIP and an obstetrician in Baton Rouge who immigrated from Poland as a child, said more needs to be done to screen people moving into the country and mothers who don’t get tested for hepatitis B infections.

“We have problems that adults need to solve with other resources” rather than give newborns vaccinations, Griffin said “I do have a problem of treating our babies as a safety net.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, right, talks with U.S Rep Troy Carter D-New Orleans, in a hallway at City Hall following a Friday news conference she hosted about the U.S Border Patrol sweeps in the region.

care workers andprofessionals.

The bill of information ﬁled Friday includes three separate counts of bank fraud. On one count, prosecutors say Brown “executed or attempted to execute ascheme” to defraud the Bank of Montgomery in the amount of $787,000 in December 2021. According to a2022 civil suitﬁled by the bank, Brown took out a$787,000 loan and used land slated for the Housing for Heroes development as collateral.Although he had been approved for federal funding at the time, none of that money had yet been disbursed.

Less than six months after approving the loan, the bank moved to seize the property —and later won that request —even as the Housing for Heroes project was stillunderway

On the two other countsof fraud, prosecutors accuse Brown of defrauding or attempting to defraud Citizens Bank of $263,000and Home Bank of $229,000.

The specifics on what fraudulent actions investigators believe took place were not spelled out in the charges ﬁledFriday morning.

The Housing for Heroes project began during Sharon Weston Broome’stenure as mayor-president. Emails obtained through a records request show that, as early as 2022, Broome slowed the project after learning of compliance concerns and instructed the developer and her staff to make sure it met federal guidelines.

Following Friday’scharges, current Mayor-President Sid Edwards —who took ofﬁceatthe startof2025 said in astatement that his administration paused work on Housing for Heroes after investigators contacted his ofﬁce.

“Shortly after taking office as mayor-president,I ordered areview of all federal and state projects and programs to prevent any misuse of tax dollars,” Edwards said.

Community development policies were revised, the mayor said, and his administration changed processes to ensure compliancewith legal regulations.

“Those changes included stopping funds from being distributed before work was performed on projects and before real invoices were presented by developers for reimbursement,” Edwards said. “During the process of our reviews and reforms, we were contacted by investigative agencies about this case, and we complied with their requests for assistance and information. Also, during this time, we paused the work on this project in an effort to save tax dollars that might be otherwise at risk.”

Email Patrick SloanTurneratpatrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.

read aloud fromher evaluation

“Superintendent Cole hasshown he is willing to leadbyexample and do the hard things. He is ajoy to work with,” Soulé said. “I’m grateful for the way he has engaged the community and changed the narrative of EBR public schools.”

Cole cameonthe job after the tumultuous three-year tenure of Superintendent Sito Narcisse, during which six of the nine school board members were replacedby voters.Atransportation crisis in fall 2023 particularly strained relationsbetween thesuperintendent and the board.

Aveteran educator,Cole was alreadyversed in politics after servingfor 9 years on theMetro Council. After becoming superintendent,Cole strove to forge strong relations with his new bosses. During his tenure,heand theboard, with acouple of exceptions, have been aligned publicly and kept disputes private Board meetings, which used to routinely runlate into the evening, have been much swifter in the past 16 months.

“As you know,wedidn’t start outtoo wellwhen most of uscame onto theboard,

and it’s suchagood feeling at thismomenttofeel like we are headed in apositive direction,”said BoardPresident Shashonnie Steward, who took ofﬁce in 2023.

Boardmember Patrick MartinV commendedCole “for ajob well begun,” but added anote of caution.

“Westillhave along way to go,whichheismore aware of than any of the rest of us,” Martin said.

Theschool system faces many challenges. Enrollment has steadily declined for years. And while school letter grades generally im-

proved this past year,the school district still is home to manystruggling schools.

Those struggles are increasingthanks to new, harsher school accountability system thatwill likely lead many schools to post poorer results, particularly high schools.

Colesaidhereceived his resultsonThursday and was still processing them.

“I know we arenot where we want to be, but Ibelieve we are headed in the right direction,” Cole told board members.

Cole is known for get-

ting up early each dayand regularly visiting schools. He doesn’ttend to get to the Central Ofﬁce on South FosterDrive until late morning. He credited his leadership team forworking hard with him,acknowledging that he can be demanding.

“I believeafter 2:59a.m., it’s OK to text early in the morning to say what we have to accomplish forthe day,” Cole revealed.

In releasing his own evaluation results, Cole stands in contrast to his immediate predecessor Narcisse,who broke with tradition and re-

fused to release any information aboutthe resultsof the three job evaluations he receivedduring his tenure as superintendent. One of those evaluations, for the year 2022, however, did becomepublic the following Juneafter Narcisse gave it to officials in BrowardCounty,Florida, in his unsuccessful bid to become their superintendent. It showed Narcisse earning an overall compositescore of 3.42 on a4-point scale. Narcissealsoshared theresults forindividual board members whoseoverall scores rangedfromtwo members who gave him aperfect 4.0 scoretoone who gave him only a2.09. Cole’s evaluation process forthis year is not over In addition to his $285,000 annual salary,Cole can earn as much as $68,400 more in incentive pay.Hesaid the data is still being pulled together on the 12 performance targets outlined in his employment contract. Each targetmet earns him $5,700. Examples includeda 3% increase in percentage of students earning mastery andabove on annualLEAP tests in math andEnglish, and adecrease by ﬁve in the number of schools receiving Dand Flettergrades from the state.

Email CharlesLussierat clussier@theadvocate. com.

Baton Rouge Zoo lawsuit dismissed

Family sues after exotic bird nearly bit off child’s finger

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

said in granting BREC’s summary judgment motion. State law says a plaintiff must

show that an animal owner had knowledge of a previous attack by the animal in order to hold the owner liable for any subsequent attacks. It is a legal principle colloquially known as the “ﬁrst bite rule.” That bite occurred Jan. 26, 2022, when a Victoria crowned pigeon attacked a 2-year-old girl in an enclosed bird sanctuary open to the public.

Jessi and Urian “Ryan” Clements ﬁled suit against BREC in January 2023 on behalf of their daughter

The parents sued for damages and thousands of dollars in medical expenses, alleging that gross negligence by zoo ofﬁcials at the wildlife park led to the unprovoked attack. According to the court records, a

ABOVE: Tom Morgan and his son James browse through records together at Capital City Records on Saturday

LEFT: Customer Nicole Richard is in shock after owner Dana Labat pulls up a record she was struggling to ﬁnd at Capital City Records on Saturday STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

BREC board backs contract extensions

Leaders also suggest cuts, privatization to save money

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

BY OLIVIA McCLURE

Contributing writer

Fifth and sixth graders will no longer be allowed to wear skirts to school after the Zachary Community School Board voted Tuesday to ban the garments, citing complaints from staff about how much time they spend dealing with girls who disobey the dress code

The change will take effect 60 days after the board’s vote. Girls in prekindergarten through fourth grades can still wear skirts as long as their hems hit at 3 inches or less above the knee, as stipulated in the school

BREC commissioners are looking at extending contracts for several interim administrators through the summer while simultaneously launching a search for a permanent

superintendent. At a workshop Thursday for the East Baton Rouge Parish’s parks and recreation system, commissioners agreed on a rough leadership transition timeline suggested by interim Superintendent Janet Simmons. She pitched a three-month search followed by a threemonth onboarding period, saying BREC leadership could begin to fully transition to the new superintendent around July Any action on her contract and the con-

ACLU drops immigration enforcement lawsuit

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Lou Ferrigno to appear at Cajun Con

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

Watch out, folks — the Hulk’s in town.

Veteran actor and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno, most famous for his portrayal of “The Incredible Hulk” muscular monster in the 1977-82 TV series, will be one of 85 stars from the pop culture world in the house for the inaugural Cajun Con. It’s happening at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 S. St. Landry Ave., Gonzales, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday And fans, there’s no need to be green with envy Golden tickets are still available for download online at www cajunconla.com, and they’re free. Don’t like standing in lines? There’s also a $150 VIP fast pass good for both days.

Do you do a lot of these types of events?

I do when I can. I travel all over the world, but between filming, I enjoy doing the Comic Cons They’re a lot of fun. It gives me a chance to connect with my fans, especially this weekend. You know, I’ve never been down to that area — Gonzales and I am excited to see my fans.

Do you sign autographs, pose for photos or do both?

Yes. I sign autographs, take selfies and then (take photos) with the fans. It is funny because I’m excited because a lot of the celebrities are friends of mine.

As far as your fans, are there both adults and kids?

other people. It’s very interesting, a dark comedy

With fans at these kind of events, have you had any crazy experiences?

A lot of times fans, what they do now, they have me autograph their leg or their arm and they have it tattooed. It’s a great honor for me as an actor It looks like you’re still in great shape. What kind of workout do you do these days?

ACLU

Continued from page 1B

Cajun Con takes on a “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” theme as three cast members from the original ﬁlm will reunite at the event. From actors to animators, Power Rangers to pro wrestlers, fans can meet the special guests and, usually for an extra fee, take a photo or grab an autograph. Plus, shop from 200 vendors, compete in a cosplay contest at 3 p.m. Sunday, or check out a few star cars.

In advance of his appearance, Ferrigno, 74, discusses his place in pop culture and more.

The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

BREC

Continued from page 1B

III, St. George Mayor Dustin Yates, Murelle Harrison and Marshall Ortego — also discussed their goals for Simmons to tackle during any contract extension.

Several members of the commission, including Evans, advocated for privatizing parts of BREC, arguing that it would help the roughly 900-employee organization save money and become more efﬁcient.

“I think we need to ﬁnd a superintendent who understands lean principles and lean operational charges,” he said.

Rapid changes this year

Some goals expressed by commissioners for Simmons and the next BREC superintendent reflect the board’s changed priorities following the departure of former Superintendent Corey Wilson and the passing of a new state law

Last year several critics including Evans — accused BREC of mismanagement

LAWSUIT

Continued from page 1B

family nanny took the Clements’ daughter and two sons to the zoo for a “fun” outing. As the group was walking through the zoo’s Asian Aviary, a medium-sized bird ran up to the toddler and, unprovoked bit the middle ﬁnger on her left hand.

Family members who witnessed the attack described the pigeon as a bluish-gray bird about the size of a large shih tzu dog — with red eyes and a sharp beak. They said it began squawking and making territorial noises, then fanned its wings out before it went into “attack mode” and charged toward the toddler according to court records. The bite wound was down to the tendon past the first knuckle on the child’s finger Her older siblings had to wrestle her hand from the bird’s grip, and relatives rushed the girl to the Lane Regional Medical Center emergency room in Zachary, where she underwent surgery Doctors restitched her detached ﬁngertip During Thursday’s hearing, plaintiff attorney Collins Meredith accused the zoo’s bird curator, Lee Shoen, of willfully ignoring red ﬂags that the Victoria crowned pi-

Well, it’s three generations of fans: grandparents, parents and kids. Especially, you know, being the bodybuilder, and the “Hulk” series for many years. We always have a great time, especially now, because it’s three generations.

Acting-wise, any upcoming projects we can look forward to?

My horror ﬁlm is going to open in the theaters March 6 called “Hermit.” It’s a pretty intense ﬁlm.

And this Friday, they’re having a premiere for my other ﬁlm called “Forgotten Fortune,” about these three friends, older men, they deal with Alzheimer’s. So I’ve been very busy and very blessed. It’s a great story When people see it, they learn a lot about Alzheimer’s, how it affects someone’s life and it affects

before a tax renewal vote, pointing to state audits that found misappropriated money and some weak ﬁnancial safeguards.

The organization also periodically faces accusations that its leadership prioritizes Baton Rouge over the rest of the parish. A state law passed this year pushed control of the 10-member board toward outlying areas, giving Baker, Central, St. George and Zachary seats on the board. It also requires two members to be Baton Rouge residents and one to be from an unincorporated area of the parish. Previously, BREC’s board included a designee of the East Baton Rouge mayorpresident, a School Board designee, a Planning Commission member and six Metro Council appointees.

Commissioners’ proposals Evans, Yates and Polito all suggested BREC leadership cut costs and privatize areas of the organization. Evans said he thought voters wouldn’t approve a tax renewal unless the commission showed it was saving money

“It’s something our tax-

geon species had “dangerous propensities.”

He told the judge that Shoen admitted during his deposition that such a pigeon had snipped at him in the past. BREC lawyers noted that Shoen never implied it was either of the two Victoria crowned pigeons housed at the Baton Rouge Zoo on the day of the toddler attack. But Meredith insisted zoo ofﬁcials failed to take action to prevent such an incident.

“You cannot put your head in the sand and pretend that something is not a problem when it is,” he said. “He knew that these birds could get aggressive. He could have done something about it. But he didn’t.”

Robert Schmidt, one of the attorneys for BREC, countered that 17 years of zoo records showed just seven instances of the pigeons chasing or pecking at other birds at the zoo, and there were no documented accounts of any threats or attacks on humans. There were no zoological records of dangerous or aggressive behavior for the two particular Victoria crowned pigeons roaming the aviary the day of the attack.

Schmidt said zoo ofﬁcials didn’t fail to protect zoo patrons because there were no signs of danger He argued the Clements could not show evidence that the birds were

I still train the same, but I train much lighter I do cardio maybe like four times a week. I weight-train five times a week just to maintain what I have now because I don’t need to train heavy but I’m very consistent. When people do come see me, they get motivated because of my physicality. It’s great because they have a chance to talk to me. They learn a lot about nutrition, about getting yourself in shape. That’s why I enjoy meeting people from all walks of life.

And what kind of diet do you try to follow?

I’m on a good heart/protein diet, carbohydrates. I try to stay away from saturated fat, like cake, pastries. I try to eat clean.

What does 74 mean for you?

It means a lot to me because when I was very young, I saw people 55, 60, they just fell apart because they didn’t take care of themselves. But today’s 74, it’s almost young because a lot of people now live to be 80, 90, especially if you take care of your body I’m very happy at the age of 74 because mentally I feel like I’m 35.

payers deserve. I don’t think they’ll willingly renew,” he said. “Right now, it’s a very tough time. I think we owe it to them to say ‘Look, we’re cutting.’”

Polito read a list of priorities he had, including privatizing project management of capital projects and a 10% reduction in force.

“Take that money and increase people’s pay,” he said about the reduction in force.

“You know, or a portion of that money and increase people’s pay.”

And Yates recommended that leadership look at removing retirement plans for new employees, saying many in the current workforce don’t stay at their careers for a lifetime like in the past.

“I always think that’s the elephant in the room when we talk about governmental spending. When we start talking about for every dollar you spend, you’re spending another 50 cents, 60 cents in benefits,” he said.

“I’m not talking about taking anything away from existing people, but at some point in time, we have to rip the Band-Aid off and move in a different direction.”

“unreasonably dangerous” prior to the incident

“The history of these birds was they they’d never attacked or bitten anybody, so that showing simply cannot be made,” Schmidt said.

Jorden, the judge, said his decision came down to the zoo caretakers’ awareness of any violent behavior from the birds. He determined there were “no genuine issues of material fact” to sustain the plaintiffs’ allegations.

“There is an absolute test for these things,” he told the Clements’ attorney “I don’t think you met the burden in this case to show that (Shoen) knew or should have known that this Victorian crown pigeon — this one in particular — displayed aggressive tendencies toward people.

“I’m not saying that child asked to be a victim,” he added later. “My heart goes out to that baby It was a horrible incident But I just don’t think that the law was on your side in this case.”

LOTTERY

THURSDAY, DEC. 4, 2025

PICK 3: 1-2-7

PICK 4: 8-3-5-9

PICK 5: 1-1-1-4-6

The full scope of the law remains unclear Murrill’s ofﬁce has declined to take a stance on whether the law would make it illegal to share information about the location of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents, or whether it would be a crime to warn someone not to go to a certain location because of a possible immigration arrest. Passed this year, Act 399 expands the definition of obstruction of justice to include any act “intended to hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere with or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.”

It drew attention after the U.S. Border Patrol launched operation “Catahoula Crunch” in the New Orleans area, part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to detain and de-

BAN

Continued from page 1B

that some children may show up to school in too-short skirts because they’ve had a recent growth spurt not because they’re intentionally breaking rules. But the board ultimately decided that, to alleviate the burden on staff, getting rid of skirts altogether at Copper Mill Elementary School, which houses Zachary’s fifth and sixth grades, was the way to go.

As board member Marty Hughes put it, “If you can’t follow the rules, then we’ve got to change them.”

Lia White-Allen, Copper Mill’s principal, told the board she is exhausted from constantly policing skirt lengths.

“If I had the support of parents, that would be one thing, but it’s the same group of girls over and over again,” she said. “I’ve gotten to the

U.S. Border Patrol agents gather outside of their vehicles as Chief Patrol Agent of U.S Customs and Border Protection Gregory

and

center, travels through

on day one of the

on Wednesday.

port immigrants in massive numbers.

Ahead of the operation, the ACLU said, Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit, stopped offering workshops advising immigrants of their legal rights for fear they would

point now where I’ve actually just pulled back because I don’t have the energy or the time to tell the same girls and write the same girls up every day over and over again.”

School employees do not use rulers to measure the distance between students’ skirt hems and knees.

“If we did that, we would be on the news,” White-Allen said.

Instead, staff make judgment calls, which bring their own share of complications.

“One teacher might say ,‘This is too short,’ and another teacher might say, ‘You know what? I think it’s OK,’” she said White-Allen worries about how the situation is affecting other aspects of student conduct.

“What it has done is kind of crippled my discipline, what I have in place for discipline,” she said, “because they know now that we’ve just thrown our hands up because it’s too much.”

Some board members,

violate Act 399. Lawyers argued the law violated the First Amendment right to free speech. In a court ﬁling, Murrill’s ofﬁce said the law did not prohibit such activity and was geared toward “conduct, especially violent conduct.”

though sympathetic to White-Allen’s dilemma and supportive of the dress code revisions, were uneasy with the timing of the request. They asked school leaders to clearly communicate with families and to offer a grace period for violations.

“There’s always a concern when we make changes in the middle of the school year that could impact parents and what they’ve already purchased and potentially be a possible hardship on a family,” said board member Elecia Lathon

While Superintendent Ben Necaise agreed the midyear change isn’t ideal, he said he doesn’t think it will cause any major problems.

“With it being winter, most students aren’t going to wear skirts over the next couple of months anyway,” he said. “And if they’re not wearing skirts, they’re wearing something else which means they would have something else to wear the rest of the year, probably.”

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Bovino,

Metairie

Kenner

‘Catahoula Crunch’ sweeps

Ferrigno

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Obituaries

"A woman of dignity knows that her worth is not defined by society's standards, but by her own strength and character."

Jackolyn W. Durrett, a beloved and kind-hearted soul, passed away on November 22, 2025, at the age of 88. She was alongtime resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana,and was known for her faithful dedication to her community andfamily. Born on September 25, 1937, in Meridian, Mississippi, Jackolyn pursueda Master Degree in Social Work from Louisiana State University (LSU). Her passion for helping others was

evident in hercareer and her personal life.

Jackolyn was an avid readerand amemberof several book clubs, where she sharedher love forliterature with friends and fellow enthusiasts. Her commitment to her faith was demonstratedthrough her active participation as amemberofThe First MethodistChurch.

Jackolyn is survived by her children, Douglas (Suzie) Durrett of Zachary, Louisiana,and Suzanne (David)Mott of Roswell Georgia. Her legacy continues through her grandchildren, Whitney Strong,MasonMott, and SarahMott, and herfourgreat-grandchildren. She is also survived by her twobrothers, Bobby Walkerand Mike Walker, and herlifelong friend Ann Smith.

Shewas precededin death by her parents, NolanJamesWalkerand Hazel Walker; her husband, Joseph Durrett; and her newbornchild, Phillip Durrett.

Jackolyn'slifewas a testament to herloving nature and her unwavering dedicationtothose she cherished. She will be deeply missedbyall who knew her

Relatives and friends areinvited to the chapel of Rabenhorst Funeral Home fora memorial visitation on Saturday, December 6, 2025 beginning at 10:00AM until the memorial service beginning at 12:00PM. In lieu of flowersthe family requests donations be made to the charity of your choice

It is with great sadness that we letyou know my motherpassed awaytoday, November 28, 2025.Judith "Judy"

ment of Revenue fora year whileshe pursued working for thefederal government at theIRS,where she retired after 20 years of service. She is survivedbytwo sons, "Don" Nall Jr.(and Kay), of Montgomery,AL., and David Juban Nall,primary caregiver (and Scott Pitzer)ofBaton Rouge, LA., threegrandchildren,"Jimmy" Nall,III,(and Janiece Rodriguez)ofSanta Cruz CA,Brandon Nall (and Allie Nicholson) of Bloomington, IL,and "Becka" (and Jeremy Karpa) of Eatontown, NJ., one greatgrandson, Cohen Nall,ofSantaCruz, CA., one niece,Trisha Chapman Cote,ofBaton Rouge, as well as many other family

She is preceded in death by her husband of 38 years, David Hettinger,her sisterJeanChapman, her parents, HomerV.and Beatrice "Bea"Juban of Baton Rouge, LA., as well as aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Thank youtoPinnacle Hospice of BatonRouge. And thank youtothe wonderful staff of Barkley House(Assisted Living), for their wonderfulservices in taking care of her. At this time, thefamily is not planning acelebration of life,according to her wishes. Anydonations may be madetoPinnacle Hospice of BatonRouge.

Vick, Margaret Anne

Aproud residentofBatonRouge until theage of 87, Margaret spent her final 5years calling Dallas, Texas home.

Learning to weaveupon retirement, Margaret was amember of acherished community of fellow weavers for over 30 years. Also committed to learning thenativeplants of Louisiana, she lovedgardening in her backyard and volunteering at LSUHilltop Arboretum. Margaret was able to see much of thecountry and globe, with her love fortravel taking her to Great Britain,Europe,Peru and Machu Picchu, Mexico, Ecuador, Hawaii and more. She adored her many

nieces, nephews, greatnieces, and greatnephews, who loved spending summers together water-skiing, exploring theartsinBaton Rouge, or at thefamily's farm house in Clintonrocking on the shadyfront porch. Stories of summers spent with Margaret are recounted again and again withjoy by all. Over theyears, the Clinton farm house is where she hosted avariety of warmly remembered events, from weaving retreats to annualfamily Thanksgivings, which were always complete withkickball gamesinthe front yard and firesideroasted marshmallows in theden

Margaret showed wonderful hospitality to her family and wide circle of friends, readilyopening her door and her heart. Each time she flashed her incredible smileatyou the stir in your heart was palpable! Everyone who had thefortune of knowing Margaretbenefited from her lifetime of cultivating wisdom and peace.

The past five years were spent living with her niece Pattyand husband Paul in Texas.Her Texas family was privilegedtospend thelast 5years of herlife withher.

Margaret is preceded in death by her parents, Katherine and William Eugene Vick,sister Gene ClaireVick Collins, sister Linda Vick Krizan, and nephew JamesR."T" Collins and cherished friend Richard Miller.

The family is grateful to Flor Chaconfor 5years of loving care.

Aprivate memorial service willbeheld.

SandraW."Sandy"

Wills, age 80, passed away peacefully aftera life filled with love on December 2, 2025. She wasbornonAugust 24, 1945, in Pineville, Louisiana, andwas a proudgraduate of Pineville High School.

Sandy was adevoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother whose joycamefromthe family shecherishedsodeeply. Sheloved divinginto mystery andromance novels, working herdaily crossword puzzles, andnever missed achancetocheer for LSUfootball. Bingo nights andquiet moments with agoodbook were some of herfavorite pastimes.

In herfinal days, Sandy gave herfamilyanextraordinarygift —she brought them backtogether,reminding everyoneofthe strength of love,unity, and theimportance of oneanother.

Sandy is survivedbyher daughter, Beth Bucy (Rick); sons, Harold Wills, Joey Wills, and Glen Wills; grandchildrenKasidy Bucy, DestineeWills, and Wesley Hebert;along withgreat grandson, Maddox Bucy.

Sandy is preceded in death by herhusband,

accounting, graduating from LSU Magna cum Laudewhile raising two children. Shepassed the CPA exam on herfirst attempt, then went to work forthe State of Louisiana,Depart-

Wesley Wills; son, Jeffery Wills; and herparents, Roy andMary Wainwright.

Durrett,Jackolyn W.

Fed’s preferred inflation gauge elevated in Sept.

WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inﬂation changed little in September

Prices rose 0.3% in September from August, the Commerce Department said Friday, in a report that was delayed ﬁve weeks by the government shutdown. It matched the increase recorded during the previous month. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 0.2% in September from August, the same as August, and a pace that if it continued for a year would bring inflation closer to the Fed’s 2% target.

Compared with a year ago, overall prices rose 2.8%, up slightly from 2.7% in August. Core prices also rose 2.8% from a year earlier, a small decline from the previous month’s ﬁgure of 2.9%.

The data indicate that core inﬂation was muted in September and will bolster the case for a cut to the Fed’s key interest rate at its next meeting Dec 9-10. Inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target, partly because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but many Fed ofﬁcials argue that weak hiring, modest economic growth, and slowing wage gains will steadily reduce price gains in the coming months.

Chicago Tribune sues Perplexity AI

The Chicago Tribune ﬁled a copyright infringement lawsuit Thursday in New York federal court against Perplexity AI alleging the California-based startup has been unlawfully profiting off the newspaper’s content in building its AI-driven search engine.

The complaint challenges the unauthorized use of often fully reproduced Tribune reporting to provide answers on the Perplexity AI platforms, essentially bypassing the need to link to the newspaper’s website “Perplexity’s GenAI Products generate outputs that are identical or substantially similar to the Chicago Tribune’s content,” the lawsuit states “Upon information and belief, Perplexity has unlawfully copied millions of copyrighted Chicago Tribune stories, videos, images, and other works to power its products and tools.”

A spokesperson for Perplexity AI did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday

In addition to lifting content verbatim, Perplexity is also prone to “hallucinations,” creating inaccurate results and attributing them to the Tribune, which the lawsuit alleges is likely to tarnish the newspaper’s brand and cause “serious damage to its worldwide reputation” as a truthful and accurate news source.

Wall Street rises to the edge of its all-time high

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market rose to the edge of its all-time high on Friday

The S&P 500 added 0.2% and ﬁnished just 0.3% shy of its record closing level, which was set in October.

Ulta Beauty helped lead the market and jumped 12.7% after the retailer reported stronger proﬁt and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. CEO Kecia Steelman said its customers are broadly feeling pressure, but Ulta saw growth across its categories, particularly in e-commerce.

Another encouraging signal for the holiday shopping season came from Victoria’s Secret & Co. It delivered a milder loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it likewise raised its forecast for sales over the full year Its stock rallied 18%. On the losing end of Wall Street was SoFi Technologies The ﬁnancial technology company fell 6.1% to $27.78 after saying it would add $1.5 billion worth of its stock into the market in order to raise cash. It’s selling the stock at a price of $27.50 per share.

BUSINESS

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and MATT OTT

AP business writers

NEWYORK Netﬂix struck a deal Friday to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max, in a $72 billion deal that would bring together two of the biggest players in television and ﬁlm and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.

If approved by regulators, the merger would put two of the world’s biggest streaming services under the same ownership — and join Warner’s television and motion picture division, including DC Studios, with Netﬂix’s vast library and its production arm which has released popular titles such as “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game.”

The proposal could draw intense antitrust scrutiny, particularly for its effects on movie making and streaming subscriptions.

“Netﬂix is the top streaming service today Now combined with HBO Max, it will absolutely cement itself as the Goliath in the streaming industry,” said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, a market research company

The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close in the next 12 to 18 months, after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations Not included in the deal are networks such as CNN and Discovery

Will streaming services combine?

One of the big unanswered questions, Proulx added, is whether HBO Max and Netﬂix would “stay as separate streaming services or combine into a mega streaming service.”

But either way he said, customers could see some price relief in the form of a single subscription bill or bundle promotions, which would be a welcome change as streaming prices continue to rise and consumers feel the pinch of paying for multiple services.

Of course, that all depends on whether the deal goes through. Netflix on Friday maintained that the addition of HBO and HBO Max programming will give its members “even more high-quality titles” and “optimize its plans for consumers.”

Others warned that a Netflix-Warner combo could create an even bigger entertainment titan with ramifications for both consumers and people working across the film and TV industry Critics said the consequences could include job losses and a reduced variety of content.

Gaining Warner’s legacy studios would mark a notable shift for Netflix, particularly its presence in theaters. Under the proposed acquisition, Netflix has promised to continue theatrical releases for Warner’s studio films, honoring Warner’s contractual agreements. Netflix has kept most of its original content

within its core online platform. But there have been exceptions, including qualifying runs for its awards contenders, including this year’s “Frankenstein,” limited theater screenings of a “KPop Demon Hunters” sing-a-long and its coming “Stranger Things” series ﬁnale. Effect on theaters and filmmakers

Critics said a Netﬂix-Warner combo would be bad news for moviegoers and for people who work in theaters. Cinema United — a trade association that represents more than 30,000 movie screens in the U.S. and another 26,000 screens internationally — was quick to oppose the deal, which it said “poses an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business.”

“Netflix’s stated business model does not support theatrical exhibition. In fact, it is the opposite,” Michael O’Leary, CEO of Cinema United, said Friday “Theaters will close, communities will suffer, jobs will be lost.”

The Writers Guild of America sounded a similar alarm and called for the merger to be blocked.

The Producers Guild of America said the Netﬂix deal must prove that it protects workers’ livelihoods and theatrical distribution. “Legacy studios are more than content libraries — within their vaults are the character and culture of our nation,” the union added.

Warner Bros., which is 102 years old, is one of the “big ﬁve” studios left in Hollywood. If the Netﬂix sale goes through, the remaining legacy studios would be Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Universal.

The Netflix-Warner deal also sent shock waves through Washington, on both sides of the aisle.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a longtime antitrust hawk, said the proposed merger “looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare.” And Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican and close Trump ally, said the deal “raises serious red ﬂags for consumers, creators, movie theaters and local businesses alike.”

Trump urged to drop plan for drilling off Florida coast

Congressional delegation cites threat to tourism

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON Florida’s Republican-dominated congressional delegation is urging the Trump administration to drop a plan that would allow new oil drilling for the ﬁrst time in decades off the state’s coast.

A letter signed by Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody — as well as by all 28 House members from Florida — says the Interior Department plan would put the state’s thriving tourism industry at risk and disrupt military operations in a key training area.

“In 2020, you made the right decision to use executive action to extend the moratorium on oil and gas leasing off Florida’s Gulf and east coasts through 2032, recognizing the incredible value Florida’s pristine coasts have to our state’s economy, environ-

ment and military community,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter Thursday to President Donald Trump.

The letter represents a rare pushback against the Republican president by GOP lawmakers and demonstrates how important the state’s beaches and coastal waters are to Florida’s economy

The letter does not criticize Trump, whose Mara-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida would not be affected by the drilling plan. Instead lawmakers praised Trump’s action during his ﬁrst term, when he imposed a moratorium on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico through 2032 after similar pushback from Florida lawmakers to an earlier drilling plan.

The moratorium received overwhelming bipartisan support, the lawmakers noted.

“We urge you to uphold your existing moratorium and keep Florida’s coasts off the table for oil and gas leasing. Florida’s economy, environment and military readiness depend on this commitment,” they wrote.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced a five-year offshore drilling plan last month that includes new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the ﬁrst time in decades. The plan, which critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, comes as Trump seeks to expand U.S. oil production to achieve what he calls “energy dominance” in the global market.

The oil industry has been seeking access to new offshore areas, including Southern California and off the Florida coast, as a way to boost U.S. energy security and jobs. The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995, because of concerns about oil spills. California has some offshore oil rigs, but there has been no new leasing in federal waters since the mid-1980s.

Two lease sales are proposed near Florida, in 2029 and 2030, the Interior Department said.

Friday’s announcement followed a monthslong bidding war for Warner Rumors of interest from Netﬂix, as well as NBC owner Comcast, started bubbling up in the fall. Skydance-owned Paramount, which completed its own $8 billion merger in August, also reportedly made several all-cash offers.

While Netﬂix’s bid won over Warner’s approval, experts stressed that a bumpy regulatory road lies ahead.

“No doubt politics are going to come into play,” Proulx said. He pointed particularly to the Trump administration’s relationship with the family of Larry Ellison, whose son David runs Paramount, and reports of that company’s frustrations over Warner’s sale process — both of which, he noted, “can’t be ignored as part of the calculus as to the outcome of all of this.”

Christina DePasquale, a Johns Hopkins University professor who specializes in antitrust issues, said the government might be skeptical of a streaming behemoth controlling both the production and distribution of content

Warner Bros. Discovery, which was formed just three and a half years ago, announced its intention to split its streaming and studio operations from its cable business back in June. The move arrived as more and more consumers continue to “cut the cord” and rely almost entirely on streaming.

The company outlined plans for HBO, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group and DC Studios, to become part of a new streaming and studios company That is what Netﬂix is now acquiring. Meanwhile, networks such as CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports and other digital products will make up a separate cable counterpart called Discovery Global.

Warner signaled that it was open to a sale of all of parts of its business back in October, citing “unsolicited interest” it had received. Now that it’s agreed to Netﬂix’s bid, Discovery Global is set to become a new publicly traded company by the third quarter of 2026.

BY KELVIN CHAN Associated Press

LONDON European Union regulators on Friday fined X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, $140 million for breaches of the bloc’s digital regulations, in a move that risks rekindling tensions with Washington over free speech.

It’s the ﬁrst time that the EU has issued a so-called non-compliance decision since rolling out the Digital Services Act. The sweeping rulebook requires platforms to take more responsibility for protecting European users and cleaning up harmful or illegal content and products on their sites, under threat of hefty ﬁnes.

The Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, said it was punishing X because of three different breaches of the DSA’s transparency requirements.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on his X account that the Commission’s fine was akin to an attack on the American people. Musk later agreed with Rubio’s sentiment

“The European Commission’s $140 million ﬁne isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an

attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments,” Rubio wrote “The days of censoring Americans online are over.” Vice President JD Vance, posting on X ahead of the decision, accused the Commission of seeking to ﬁne X “for not engaging in censorship.”

“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” he wrote.

Regulators said X’s blue checkmarks broke the rules because on “deceptive design practices” and could expose users to scams and manipulation. Before Musk acquired X, when it was previously known as Twitter, the checkmarks mirrored veriﬁcation badges common on social media After Musk bought the site, it started issuing the badges to anyone who wanted to pay $8 per month. That means X does not meaningfully verify who’s behind the account, “making it difﬁcult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with,” the Commission said in its announcement EU hits Musk’s X with $140 million

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAE C. HONG

The Warner Bros. water tower is seen at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., on Friday.

Netflix struck a deal Friday to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant behind ‘Harry Potter’ and HBO Max, in a $72 billion deal that would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film

entertainment industry.

OPINION

Mamdanicould ease Trump’s return to N.Y.

There’snomysterywhy ZohranMamdani wanted to getalong with DonaldTrump. Thepresident threatened New York City with fundingcuts, deployment of federal forces and other unpleasantriesifits voters elected theself-described democratic socialist as mayor.But why after calling Mamdani all kinds of names, even warning of his possible arrest,did Trump later smother themayor-elect with ﬂamboyant affection?

An explanation:The MAGA show is closing —asisTrump’stime in the White House. Trump needs anew forum on which to stagehis dramas. New York may seem anatural placefor theman who, beforebecoming president, styledhimself as Mr.New York. He already has real estate thereand, as abuilder,might want to cozy up to amayor who vows to build thousands of apartments. Butﬁrst, he has to get past the fact that many NewYorkersloathe him.

Mamdanicould ease Trump’sway backin. The charismatic new mayor could play defense to make hisreturn smooth

Of course, Trump has other places to go after the White House. Mar-a-Lago would be an obviouschoice. Problem is, Palm Beach will be muchlesslively once Trump can no longer dispense government favors to rich hangers-on. Furthermore, oncehe’snolonger president, the cameras will move on. There’s “Trump Country,” onesupposes. Theproblem there is he’sleaving much of Trumpcountry in shambles. The tariffs are bankrupting farmers, and theimmigration crackdown is takingtheir workforce. Meanwhile, most of rural America will be hurt by Medicaid cuts.

Besides, wild horsescouldn’t drag Trumpto the places that most loved him. Notenough models.Not enough monied nightspots. Not enoughmoney,ingeneral. And above all, not enoughcameras

The cameras never left Manhattan. Trump may again want to “play the Palace.” Theexpression refers to the 1913 Palace Theatre, then themostfamous vaudeville theater in America. For performers, to play thePalace wasproof they had truly made it.

But Trump will be 82 when he leavesofﬁce. He’sno longer the swinging youngbuck who gamboled his wayontotabloidcovers. New Yorkersdidn’tparticularly hate Trump in the old days. They regarded him as an amusing rogue.

Mamdani is also acagey guyand unlikelytolet Trump play him. Trump’soffer tohelphim “Make New York Great Again” didn’tplay so well in Gotham. NewYork already regardsitself as great. It’smuchof the MAGA heartland thatdoesn’t seem to be doing so great. On the other hand, as longasTrumpcontrolsthe federal government, he has carrots to dangle. New York Gov.Kathy Hochul has pretty much shotdown Mamdani’splan for free buses. The state runs the region’stransportation system, andshe is notkeento provide the $800 million thatwould be needed. But didn’t Trump offer towork with thenext mayor for the betterment of New York City? Considerthat $800 million is nothing in Washington. Trumpcould do the free buses in return for something personal. Now,becomingbros withTrump would be problematic for Mamdani, who had vowedtobethe president’s“worst nightmare.” Is it really in his interests to participate in arehabilitation of DonaldTrump?

But Trump may figure, what goes down can also go up.In2015, he cinematically launched his first presidential run by coming down the TrumpTower escalator as actors reportedly paid $50each applauded. Trump may now want to take theupescalator,back to the glittery New York life he once well knew. But he would probably find,asthe expression goes, that “the past is aforeign country.”

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop.Email herat fharrop@gmail.com.

Letters are published identifyingname, occupation and/ortitle and the writer’scity of residence.TheAdvocate |The TimesPicayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but thatinformation is notpublished. Letters arenot to exceed 300 words. Letterstothe Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

Accusationsabout LNG’s environmentalimpact should be questioned

The recent guest column, “Dredge spill in Cameron Parishhighlights worries with LNG megaprojects,” paintsanincompletepicture of dredging activityinLouisiana’swaterways.

The word “spill” may sound alarming, but thereality is that dredging is acarefully managed, routine and essential process for our environment.

The redistribution of sediment is anatural occurrence that supports biodiversity and plays an important role in keeping the deltasystem healthy.This ultimately beneﬁts ﬁshermen, shrimpers and the communities that rely on Louisiana’s working coast. The faster the dredging is completed, the less disruption there will be.

Iurge my neighbors to exercise caution when presented withthe alarmist explanations. We should absolutely hold companies accountable to existing environmental regulations, but the issue presented by theauthors is simply not one.

The work being done by manufacturing plantsand LNG export facilitiesisstrengthening the economy

along Louisiana’scoastline, not causing the calamity presented by theenvironmental activists. Natural gas companies in the region have even taken steps to preserve the coastline’slongevity by investing in restoration efforts. When environmental activists continue to raise false alarms about Louisiana’seconomic powerhouses, they distract from the real progress being madetooffset reliance on Russian oil and gas overseas and bolster international security here at home.

According to Loren Scott’s LouisianaEconomic Forecast, LNG export facilities will bring tens of thousands of jobs to the state over thenext two years. And further,the development of theLNG export industry has “radically” increased the growthprospects of theregion. We should be applauding efforts to untether the world from Russian gas and creating good-paying jobs here in Louisiana, not actively working against them

CHARLIE MELANCON spokesman forLouisiana EnergyExport Partners (LEEP)Coalition

Spending on LITdevelopment should be examined

The powerful Port of New Orleans,inits claimed zeal to stay competitive with container ship operations along the Mississippi River,has spent and wasted at or over $100 million of state coffers.

Ourgovernor,who claims to be afiscal conservative, jumped onto that trainand has promoted the Louisiana International Terminal development in St.Bernard Parish, despitethe unified opposition by parishgovernment, the St. Bernard school district andpractically every elected official in the parish.

In addition to thepublic opposition,acommunity advocacy group has initiated lawsuits to prevent thedevelopment of the project that would destroy an entire community

Now,itisevident that the LIT is at astandstill, and there are major legal and infrastructure problems that cannot be overcome anytime in

theforeseeable future.

The executive director of the PortofNew Orleans and the board of directors have clearlybreached their ﬁduciaryresponsibilities and forged forward as aresult of their complete incompetence. Someone must be held accountable for this wanton waste of public money.Where is the Louisiana Legislative Auditor? How is it that the PortofNew Orleans has so much surplus money that it could justify spending these public funds on such apurely “speculative project,” according to Port of New Orleans Executive Director Beth Branch in court testimony?

Gov.Jeff Landry should pull the plug on this debacleashedid on theMid-Barataria and Mid-Breton diversions.

PHILLIP DIFATTA

formercommissioner,St. Bernard Port Harbor and Terminal District

When will we admithurricane season forecasts areunreliable?

Hurricane season came to an end on Nov. 30. Since then, Ihave been waiting foranarticle to be written apologizing to the readers because the doom and gloom from major hurricanes impacting the United States, as predicted by weather forecasters and NOAA, never came to be. No hurricanes entered the Gulf of Mexico this year that could impact the United States. Each year,prior to and during the hurricane season, articles are written about the crisis and destruction sure to come soon.

Reality is that forecasters cannot predict what will happen from year to year,and Mother Nature is in complete control of what is to happen. It is adisservice to readers to constantly use unreliable forecasts to scare people. It is timetochange your ways and stop using the socalled experts whoare guessing at best as reliable newssources.

BRYANHALE

Time to changea broken system

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy ﬁnally proposed something Ican agree with. Yes, all congressional pay should stop during ashutdown. But how manyofhis fellow senators or representatives agree?

We,the ordinary people, ﬁnd ourselves in asad situation, but one that is not different from what the colonists found. Our early colonists fought forindependence from a king whowas not listening to them

Our representatives, through their parties, have invented new kings. Our so-called representatives have ignored the people’s needs, and one party has madea king of our present president. Maybe we should follow the example we have been given, get rid of our kings and kingmakers. Let us ﬁnd another way.This system is not working forus, the people.

Our early colonists changed things when the system wasn’t working forthem.Maybe it is time forustodothe same!

MERLE T. HARRIS

Metairie

Froma Harrop

SPORTS

Saints safety setto startvs. Buccaneers

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

MORE MEANS ST L

Terrell Burgess had been out of football for almost ayear when he received acall from the New OrleansSaintsthis past offseason. Having coached the safety when Burgess was arookie,defensive coordinator Brandon Staley wasn’tconcerned about the inactivity.Hewasn’tbothered by how Burgess had gotten “lost,” bouncing from team to team since they last worked together on the LosAngelesRams.Staley instead thought back to his initial impression of the former 2020 third-round pick.

Staley remembered aversatile rookie with great coverage skills who easily fit in on one of the best defenses in collegeatUtahand then again for the league’stop-rated defense in Los Angeles. “Sometimes, you just need asecond chance at it,” Staley said. “And going to the right fit. …Hewas hungry.Hewas humble.” Burgess’secondchancewithStaley has led him to Sunday,when he’sset to start in place of an injured JustinReid(knee) on the road against the TampaBay Buccaneers. It’ll be just the sixth start of his career in 54 games, ajourney that hasnow spanned five teams. His opportunity,too, marks anotherway the Saints have had to adapt at safety this season. Originally,the Saints signed Reid to athree-year,$31.5 milliondeal and expected to pair him withTyrann Mathieu. But once Mathieu unexpectedly retired before training camp, the Saints brought in veteran Julian Blackmon —who lasted just one game before suffering aseasonending injury that pavedthe wayfor rookie Jonas Sanker Burgess hasbeen ready

Tosome, collegefootball’sconference championship games need to become arelic of the past, like single-bar facemasks or playersbeing true amateurs.

Remember that version of collegefootball?

The College Football Playoff is taking up more and more of theair in the room— at leastthe airnot reserved forbombastover LaneKifﬁn’smove from Ole Miss to LSU. The playoff went fromfour teams to 12 in 2024, may expand to 14 or 16 teams in January,and there are reports theBig Tenwants it to growto24to28teams

That said,when theﬁrst Saturday in December comes ‘round, it’sthe SEC championship game —the original conference championship game started way back in 1992, the grandaddy of them allinthat realm —thatstill takes center stage.

ä See RABALAIS, page 4C

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Flau’jae Johnson scored agame-high18 points on Thursday in theLSU women’s 9377 win over Duke —agame she’sbeen looking forward to since July

ä LSU at UNO 3P.M. SUNDAy,ESPN+

That’sbecause Johnson had somethingto prove to sixth-year Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson. Over the summer, the LSU senior guard was one of 12 college basketball stars who played on the USA Basketball team thatLawson coached to gold at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup in Chile. Except Johnson couldn’tcrack Lawson’s rotation in the games that mattered most, losing “a lot of conﬁdence” as aresult, coach Kim Mulkey said Thursday

“I was happy for Flau’jae,” Mulkey said. “She didn’thave agood experience with USA Basketball with(Lawson) this summer, and so she’shad this date circled

“You get nervous, right? Youget nervous because you think she’sgonna try to come

BYKOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU’s2026 recruiting class wasbuilt through the defensive trenches,and it was up to LaneKiffin to keep it that way. That’swhat Kiffinand his staff accomplishedFriday,the finalday of the early signing period. LSUsigned five-stardefensive lineman Lamar Brown, four-star edge rusher Trenton Henderson and four-star defensive lineman Deuce Geralds, three of the 70 best players in the nation, according to the247Sports Composite rankings.

The headliner on Friday wasBrown, the No. 2playerinAmerica andthe top recruitinLouisiana.The UniversityHigh star planned to sign withLSU on Wednesday, butBrown andfive-stardefensive lineman Richard Anderson’sagent told On3 Sports that both recruits would not sign their letters of intentwithLSU during theearly signing period. Anderson—who is an Edna Karr star and the No. 29 player in the nation and No 2recruitinLouisiana—changed course WednesdaybeforeLSU madehis signing official Thursday.Brown waited five days

to sign after his face-to-face meeting with KifﬁnonSunday night.

Brown’sdelay in signingwithLSU mostly had to do with the uncertainty surrounding the defensive coaching staffafter Kifﬁn’sarrival.

The former Ole Miss coach brought most of his offensive staff from Oxford to Baton Rouge, but questions remained as to the futures of defensive coordinator Blake Baker, secondary coachCorey Raymondand others as of Friday evening. Baker has taken interviews for the open head coaching jobs at Tulane and Memphis, per WVUE-TV Along with the defensive staff, LSU interim coach/recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson’sfuture with the programisalsoup in the air.Wilson, who built astrong rapport with Brown, workedunderKifﬁn at Tennessee and was seen meeting with him whenheﬁrst arrivedSunday.

“Our program here at LSUwill be designedtop to bottom to be theNo. 1destination foreliteplayers in allofAmerica,” Kifﬁn said. “That’swhy we’re here. Ourimmediate priority is assemblingthe best staff in

ä See LSU, page 3C

PHOTO By RUSTy JONES

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK

guard Flau’jae Johnson takes ashot overAlcornState guard Nakia Cheatham on Nov. 20.Johnson scored agame-high

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No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle for Big Ten

BY MICHAEL MAROT AP sportswriter

INDIANAPOLIS Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has been here before Twice. His second-ranked Hoosiers, just like ﬁrst-ranked Ohio State, have not.

For the ﬁrst time in more than a decade and just the third time since conference championship games were standardized, the nation’s topranked teams will play for a title. The two previous top-ranked conference title games were in the Southeastern Conference in 200809 when Florida and Alabama went back to back.

Cignetti was on Nick Saban’s Alabama coaching staff. And, yes, experience could matter

“A year late,” Cignetti joked after Indiana punched its ticket by routing Purdue. “I had the opportunity to be part of a couple of those at Alabama when we played Florida and (Tim) Tebow and Urban (Meyer) two years in a row It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I think — no I know — you’re playing this game for a reason. A Big Ten championship means an awful lot.”

The Buckeyes (12-0) and Hoosiers (12-0) are in similar positions

The are playoff locks, with good chances at a ﬁrst-round bye no matter what happens in Indianapolis on Saturday

But the contrast between these programs couldn’t be starker Ohio State owns eight national championships, is closing in on program win No 1,000 and has claimed at least three Big Ten crowns in every decade from the 1930s through 2010s. Despite the steady parade of players from Columbus to the NFL, the Buckeyes watched the last four Big Ten title games from home — a drought that coincided with their four-game losing streak to dreaded Michigan That streak ended last week and this week the

defending national champs hope to fulfill another preseason goal by hoisting their ﬁrst Big Ten trophy in ﬁve years

“We’re excited we put ourselves in a position to have a chance to play for the Big Ten championship,” All-American Caleb Downs said. “We’re going to go at it with a lot of energy and put everything into it this week and then go play as well as we can Saturday.”

As a program, the Hoosiers are relative newcomers to the big stage.

They ﬁnally shed the label of the FBS’ losingest program last month, then completed the first perfect regular season in school history and are now seeking their third Big Ten title The ﬁrst came in 1945, the last in 1967, leaving Indiana tied with Minnesota for the conference’s longest active title drought.

The Hoosiers have an experienced roster with key players who have played for championships in previous stops and, oh yeah, Cignetti. They also can rely on the lessons learned from their only losses last season — at Ohio State and at national runner-up Notre Dame.

“We fell short in the moment,”

ﬁrst team all-conference linebacker Aiden Fisher said, reﬂecting on those defeats “Coach Cignetti said it kind of got a little too big for us, and I think we went in with too much of an underdog mentality This year, every single game we’ve been in there’s been no doubt at all.

It’s never crept in that, ‘Oh, we might lose this game.’”

There’s no reason to change that philosophy now in a contest that features the nation’s two stingiest scoring defenses, two of the nation’s top-15 scoring offenses, the nation’s two most efﬁcient quarterbacks and major college football’s

a game against Purdue

last two unbeaten teams.

“I don’t expect any handouts,” Cignetti said. “We’ve earned everything up to this point, and we’ve got to earn it on Saturday.”

Heisman battle

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin are going head to head as top Heisman Trophy contenders. Some believe this game could determine the trophy’s winner. Though nobody wants to talk about the race, there is some mutual admiration between the two.

“Julian Sayin and I never ofﬁcially met, however, through high school we used a similar quarterback coach,” Mendoza said. “And this year we had a lot of overlap

games, and we were able to watch their ﬁlm. I really respect Julian, he is effective and he ﬁts the offense perfectly.”

On the move

Buckeyes offensive coordinator coach Brian Hartline accepted his ﬁrst head coaching job, at South Florida, on Wednesday But unlike other coaches, Hartline isn’t going anywhere yet. Coach Ryan Day said Wednesday that Hartline would stay with his alma mater through the playoffs.

“The timing isn’t great, but that’s not Brian’s fault. Instead of being upset about it, we’re going to embrace it,” Day said. “I’m really happy for he and his family He’s put in a lot of hard work here.”

Penn State in talks to hire Iowa St. coach Campbell

Penn State is in talks to name Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as its next head football coach according to reports.

Multiple outlets, citing anonymous sources, reported talks between Campbell and the Nittany Lions were progressing.

The potential hire comes nearly two months after the ﬁring of longtime coach James Franklin midway through his 12th season following an 0-3 start in Big Ten play

The Nittany Lions began the year ranked No. 2 after advancing to last year’s CFP semiﬁnals. They went 3-3 under interim coach Terry Smith and are currently awaiting a bowl assignment. Campbell signed a contract extension at Iowa State in August worth $5 million per year until 2032, with a buyout of $2 million.

LeBron’s double-digit scoring record now over

LeBron James’ NBA-record run of 1,297 consecutive regularseason games with at least 10 points ended Thursday night at Toronto and he was the one who made the decision to have it end Instead of trying to score to win the game and extend his streak — he set up Rui Hachimura for the ﬁnal shot.

Hachimura connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer, James got the game-winning assist, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Raptors 123-120.

James’ streak started Jan. 6, 2007, and lasted nearly two decades. It was, by far the longest such streak in NBA history, the next being Michael Jordan, who had 866 consecutive double-digit scoring games

Commanders’ QB Daniels to start against Vikings

ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will start Sunday at Minnesota after missing three games with a dislocated left elbow Daniels, the 2024 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, got hurt in the ﬁnal minutes of Washington’s 38-14 home loss against Seattle on Nov 2. Though the television replay prompted fear of a longterm concern, subsequent tests revealed Daniels did not suffer any signiﬁcant structural damage.

The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner returned to practice on a limited basis last week and practiced in full on Thursday and Friday Coach Dan Quinn said Friday that the QB “threw a great week of practice” and has been cleared to play

Lions safety Branch has reportedly torn his Achilles DETROIT Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch tore his left Achilles tendon against the Dallas Cowboys, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Tests revealed the signiﬁcant injury on Friday, the person told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the results were not announced.

Branch was hurt late in Detroit’s 44-30 win over Dallas on Thursday.

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sportswriter

ARLINGTON, Texas BYU coach Kalani Sitake and Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire have shared a few meals together, and they’ve talked about their teams making the Big 12 championship game.

“If you want me at my best, Joey understands this, it’s usually when we’re eating,” said Sitake, the former Cougars fullback now in his 10th season as their coach “If you want to talk about manifesting we talked about playing each other in the championship game. We manifested it, and now here we are They meet for the Big 12 title Saturday, when the Red Raiders (11-1, No. 4 CFP) are a virtual lock for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff no matter the outcome For the Big 12 to get a second team into the playoff when the bracket comes out Sunday, the Cougars (11-1, No 11 CFP) have to beat Tech this time, something they weren’t able to do four weeks ago in Lubbock.

Texas Tech, one of six teams to be part of all 30 Big 12 seasons, is in the championship game for the ﬁrst time after investing millions of dollars in the transfer portal — this is the 24th title game with none between 2011-16. This is also the ﬁrst

in the Big 12 for BYU, which joined the league in 2023 after 12 seasons as an independent. The Cougars’ last conference title game was the 1998 WAC game they lost to Air Force

“Two very physical teams. I think the two best teams in the conference are playing,” McGuire said.

“He’s a players’ coach like me. He loves his guys and and I’m just honored and ﬁred up, so impressed with his team. I’m sitting here watching his last few games since we played, and they just keep getting better and better.”

The first meeting

Texas Tech won 29-7 on Nov 8 in one of the most-hyped games ever on the Lubbock campus. The game was spotlighted with ESPN’s “College GameDay” airing from there for the three hours before kickoff of what was the Big 12’s ﬁrst conference matchup of top 10 teams since 2021.

With league rushing leader LJ Martin (102.4 yards per game) hampered by a shoulder injury that day the Cougars had season lows for total yards (255) and points.

They had three turnovers, with Tech standout linebacker Jacob Rodriguez having an interception and a fumble recovery while also doing a Heisman pose. BYU trailed

26-0 before true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier (2,593 yards passing) threw a 6-yard TD pass to Chase Roberts midway through the fourth quarter BYU hasn’t been held to fewer than 24 points any other time this season. Texas Tech scored on six of seven trips inside the 20, but that included ﬁve ﬁeld goals.

“It’s hard to beat somebody twice. Your team’s why is very important on beating somebody twice,” McGuire said, who told his coaches to “really dig in to the ﬁrst game of where we missed the mark and some stuff where they could take advantage of us, where we could take advantage of them.”

That “why” for the Red Raiders is winning their ﬁrst outright Big 12 title. The closest they have been was a three-way tie with Oklahoma and Texas for the South Division lead in 2008, but they missed making the championship game on the tiebreaker

Healed up Martin, who is from El Paso, Texas, and was recruited by the Red Raiders, has rushed for 405 yards

and six touchdowns in BYU’s three games since leaving Lubbock. Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton (2,248 yards passing with 20 TDs and four interceptions) missed two games, including not playing in their loss at Arizona State, and got banged up before halftime in two others. He has been back the last four games, with an open date mixed in, and in the past two games completed 39 of 51 passes (76.5%) with four TDs and no interceptions.

“Whenever Behren plays well, we play a really high level,” McGuire said.

Staying around a while

Both McGuire and Sitake got new contracts this week.

Sitake had conversations with Penn State and was considered a top candidate for that vacancy until he agreed Tuesday to a long-term contract extension with the Cougars, where he is 83-44 with four 10-win seasons.

McGuire, 34-17 in his fourth season, got a new contract that will pay him $6.5 million next season with $100,000 annual increases to $7.1 million by 2032. That replaces a six-year deal he got at the end of the 2022 season, also with $100,000 increases each year that would have topped out at $4.6 million in 2028.

The injury is a major setback for the Lions, whose secondary is very banged up.

Free safety Thomas Harper, ﬁlling in for injured Kerby Joseph, suffered a concussion in the ﬁrst quarter and wasn’t cleared to return and cornerback Terrion Arnold went on injured reserve earlier this week.

Young, Spaun part of 5-way tie in the Bahamas NASSAU,Bahamas U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun converted two of his three eagle chances, Cameron Young shot 30 on the back nine and Hideki Matsuyama was bogeyfree, all of them part of another ﬁve-way tie for the lead Friday in the Hero World Challenge.

Akshay Bhatia birdied the 18th for a 68 to join former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (68), Spaun (68), Matsuyama (66) and Young (64).

They were at 10-under 134 at Albany Golf Club, where nearly half of the 20-man ﬁeld was separated by two shots going into the weekend.

Spaun made only five eagles all season and then seized on the scoring holes. “Didn’t get a great start, but salvaged a pretty decent round,” Spaun said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By DOUG MCSCHOOLER

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza looks to pass the ball during

on Nov. 28 in West Lafayette, Ind.

ä Indiana vs. Ohio State. SATURDAy 7 P.M., FOX

ä BYU vs.Texas Tech. SATURDAy 11 A.M., ESPN

Dukequarterback Darian Mensah throwsoverWakeForest

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN

MCKEOWN

defenders Gabe Kirschke,middle,and Dylan Hazen on SaturdayinDurham, N.C.

Surprising Duke settoface

Virginia in ACCtitle game

BY STEVE REED Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

It’sthe Atlantic Coast Conference championship game that washard to imagine back in September —and onethat could potentially complicate the College Football Playoff scenario.

Duke, by virtue of winning a complicated ﬁve-team tiebreaker, will face No. 16 Virginia in Charlotte on Saturdaynightafterboth teams overcame steep odds for a chance to compete for their ﬁrst ACC championship.

Those on the College Football Playoff bubble will be keeping a close eye on this one.

If Virginia (10-2, No. 17 CFP) wins, the Cavaliers will almost certainly earn aplayoff spot. Avictory by the unranked Blue Devils (7-5), a31/2-point underdog, opens up the possibility of the ACC being squeezed out of the 12-team CFP entirelybasedonTuesday night’s rankings And then there’sascenario where bothconference championship contenders couldbe shut outofthe playoffswhile the conference’stop-ranked team, No.12 Miami (10-2, 6-2), gets in Or,both Virginia and Miami could make it.

Yes, it’salot to digest.

But that’sthe type of strange, unpredictable season it has been in the ACC, aconferencethathas largely been dominated by perennial national power Clemson over the past decade.

Clemson, which has won eightof thepast 10 ACCchampionships entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to win itall be-

LSU

Continued from page1C

the country and securing top talent.”

With Anderson,Brown,Geralds and Henderson,LSU has adefensive line class that is likelythe most talented in modern program history Anderson and Brown mark the first time LSUhas landed apair of ﬁve-star recruits on the defensive line in the same class since 247Sports began tracking recruiting rankings in 1999. The 2026class is also the ﬁrst LSU class to have four defensive linemen ranked among the top-100 players in the nation. Brown and Anderson were the big names, but Hendersonand Geralds were also key additions. LSU reportedly fended off late recruiting surges from Ole Miss and Georgia Tech to land Geralds’ signature,per On3. With Henderson, Auburn allegedly made alate push.

Henderson, atop recruit at Pine Forest High in Pensacola, Florida,

ä ACCchampionship,Virginia vs.Duke. 7P.M. SATURDAy,ABC

hind Associated Press preseason first team All-American quarterback CadeKlubnik. But Dabo Swinney’sTigers stumbled out of the blocks with back-to-back conference losses and never recovered, opening the door for other schoolstomakesome noise.

Dukeand Virginia, picked to ﬁnishsixth and 14thinthe conferencerespectively beforethe season, capitalized.

The Cavaliers won their ﬁrst outright regular-season championship in school history while the Blue Devilsearned atrip to the title game despite ﬁve losses because of ahigherconference opponent winning percentagethanMiami, SMU,Pitt and Georgia Tech, the other teams that finished6-2 in ACC play

For Virginia, reaching the ACC title gameinits fourth season under coach Tony Elliottrepresents ahuge step for theprogram. The Cavs were 5-7 last year

“I think it gives us conﬁrmation. It gives us motivation. It gives us encouragement, alittle bit of validation that we’re deﬁnitely headed in the right direction to make this acompetitiverivalry and make Virginiaaprogram of relevance locally and then also nationally,” Elliott said after the team clinched aberth in the championship game with awin over rival Virginia Tech lastSaturday

Duke’s CFPchances

The Blue Devils aren’tguaranteed aspot in theCFP even with a

is the No. 8edge rusher in the nation and theNo. 7recruit in thestate. Geralds is the No. 56 playerinthe nation and the No. 7recruit in Georgia. He attends CollinsHill High in Suwanee, Georgia.

LSU finished the early signing period with the 13th-best recruiting class in the nation, butnoschool in the country had ahigheraverage rating per recruit.Signing only 14 players held it back from cracking thetop 10 of the national rankings.

LSU went into Wednesday with 15 commitments, losing two pledges andadding one more beforethe end of theperiod. The Tigers lost four-star offensive lineman Bryson Cooley toAlabama andfour-star safety Dylan Purter to Florida,but they also signed former Ole Miss commitment and four-star wide receiverCorey Barber Additionally,just before the signing period started,LSU ﬂipped three commitments and lost three pledges. Four-star tight end JC Anderson, four-star wide receiver BraydenAllen andthree-star

win, largely because of nonconference losses to Tulane and UConn.

Duke coachManny Diaz predictably disagrees withthat scenario, saying theACC champion deserves aspot

“Wehave five losses, and we wish we’d played better in those games,”Diaz said. “But we lost to two 10-win teams, two nine-win teams and an eight-win team. Records have alot to do with schedules.”

Rematchisset

Coaches had plenty of fresh tape to study this week in preparation for this rematch.

The two teams played just three weeks ago with Virginia thumping Duke 34-17 in Durham, North Carolina.ChandlerMorristhrewfor 316 yards and twotouchdowns and J’Mari Taylor ranfor 133 yards and twoscores as theCavaliers led 31-3 after three quarters.

Duke was held to season lows in several categories,including total offense (255), yards rushing (42), yards passing (213), passcompletions (18),pointsscored (17) and ﬁrst downs (11).

Elliott downplayed his team’s successinthat gameleading into Saturday night

“You’vegot to throwout what you did in theprevious game,” Elliott said. “This gameisgoing to come down to execution,and I’m sure we’re going to get Duke’sbest effort. Since our game, (Duke) has gotten back into rhythm offensively and been able to score abunch of points.”

This marks theﬁrst time since 1906 that Virginia has played an opponent twice in the same season.

Hisvisionshaped today’scollege football landscape

BY EDDIE PELLS Associated Press

Pretty much every debate over who should play for the national title, every argument about the staggering amounts of money, everyangry tirade about how college football is nothing like what it used to be, traces back to aman who saw alot of this coming, then madealot of it happen —Roy Kramer

Kramer,the onetime football coach who became an athletic directoratVanderbilt, then, eventually,commissionerofthe Southeastern Conference where he setthe template forthe multibillion-dollarbusiness college sports would become, died Thursday.Hewas 96. The SEC said he died in Vonore, Tennessee. The man whocurrently holds his former job, Greg Sankey, said Kramer “will be remembered for his resolve through challenging times,his willingness to innovate in an industry driven by tradition and his unwaveringbeliefinthe valueofstudent-athletesand education.” Kramer helped transform his ownconferencefromthe home base fora regionalpastimeinto the leader of anational movement during his tenure as commissioner from 1990-2002.

During that time, he reshaped theentire sport of college footballbydreaming up the precursortotoday’s playoffsystem theBowl Championship Series. “Heelevatedthis league and set thefoundation” for Sankey and Kramer’simmediate successor, Mike Slive, to buildon, former Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “Every decisionhe madewas what he thought would elevatethe SEC. It’s thething that stands out most when Irememberhim: his passion and love for this league.”

Conference titlegame Kramer was theﬁrst to imagine aconference titlegame, which divided hisnewlyexpanded 12team leagueinto divisions,then pitted thetwo champs in awinner-take-allaffair that generated millions in TV revenue. Thewinnerofthe SEC title game often hadaninsidetrack to Kramer’sgreatestcreation theBCS, whichpivotedcollege football away from its long-held traditionofdetermining achampionvia media and coaches’ polls. The system in place from1998 through 2013 relied on computerized formulastodetermine which

LSU FOOTBALL BACKTRACKS ON RAISING SEASON-TICKET PRICES

LSU footballseason tickets will cost the samein2026 as theydid this past season, the board of supervisors and athletic departmentannouncedFriday.

It’s areversal fromanOctober price hike

“LSU has the best fans in the nation whoare passionate, loyaland loud. Because of that support, the LSUBoard of Supervisors and LSU Athletics have decided that we will not raise the price of the football season ticket cost for next year,” the university said in astatement.

As aresult of the proposed ticket price increase, LSUwould have pocketed morethan $4.5 million in additional revenue, theschool previouslyestimated.

The increase wouldhavebeen applied on speciﬁcsections —“areas with high renewal rates and high secondarymarket values,”LSU said.

LSU’s2026 home schedulebeginsagainst Clemson in the season opener.

offensive lineman Ryan Miret changedtheir commitments to come to LSU. Anderson and Miret hadbeen committed to Kifﬁnat Ole Miss, while Allen was an Oklahomapledge. Thepledges LSUlostincluded four-star wide receiver Kenny

AP FILEPHOTO RoyKramer,seen Feb.12, 2004, is best knownfor beingcommissioner of the Southeastern Conference.

two teams should play in the top bowlgame forthe title. That system,vestiges of which are still around today,produced itspredictable share of heated debate and frustration fora large segment of the sport’sfans. Kramer,inaninterview when he retired in 2002, said it had been “blamed for everything from El Nino to the terrorist attacks.” But he didn’tapologize. The BCS got people talking about college football in away they never had before, he said. Afour-team playoff replaced the BCS in 2014 andwas expanded to 12 teamsstarting last season. SECbecomes national power BeforeKramerwas named commissioner, theSEC wasa mostly sleepy grouping of 10 teams headlinedbyBear Bryant and Alabamawhose provincial rivalries werepunctuated by the Sugar Bowl. One of Kramer’sfirst moves was to bring Arkansasofthe Southwest Conference andindependent South Carolina into the fold. That small expansion previewed aspasm of bigger reshufflings that continue to overrun this industry some35years later Kramer sold the rightstotelevise his newly created league title gamefor ﬁveyears to CBS fora then-staggering sum of $100 million. Alook at some numbers tellsthe storythatKramersaw before mostpeople:

n In his ﬁrst year as commissioner,the SEC distributed $16.3 million to its member schools. n In his last, in 2002, the amount rose to $95.7 million.

n In 2023-24, it was $808.4 million. “By anystandard,” former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghesesaidin2002, “Roy’sinfluence has been mind-boggling.”

his ﬁrst season in Baton Rouge.The transfer portal doesn’t open until Jan. 2, and his coaching staff has not been ﬁnalized.

But for Kifﬁn, signing the No. 2 playerinthe nationand four top-70 recruits on the defensive line was anice start.

“Wehavebig-picture thinking, too,” Kifﬁnsaid Monday.“We’re not reaching (and) we’re notsigning kids because they’re from this school or that school or any of that stuff,OK?

Jason Willis

Darby,three-star offensive linemanJalan Chapman andthree-star wideout Kervin Johnson. Darby signed with Kentucky on Friday, while Chapman andJohnson both signed with Ole Miss. Thereisstill alot of work to be done before Kifﬁn’steam is set for

“I have zero concern about the interest of players with that, because Iknow what the interest was of players nationally to come play foruswhere we werejust at, andnow when youput that with this stadium and with that logo, I mean, (it) makes me want to get on the phone right now.”

Email Koki Rileyatkoki.riley@ theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates,signupfor our newsletter at theadvocate.com/ lsunewsletter

SECCHAMPIONSHIP

ALABAMA GEORGIA

Alabama

the past twogames and threwfor only 70 yards against Georgia Tech. He also will work without injured center DrewBobo.

ATYPICAL ALABAMA Alackofa strong ground game (plus leading rusher Jam Miller is questionable) isn’t vintagechampionship Alabama. The Crimson Tide rode an explosive passing attack to Atlanta, with quarterback Ty Simpson throwing for 3,056 yards with 25 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Bama’spassing game withreceiversGermieBernard and Ryan Williams will have to be on point to best aGeorgia defense led by linebacker CJ Allen and 2024 SEC title game MVP Daylen Everette.

AND THEWINNER IS Georgiais116-20 under KirbySmart, but Alabama has been the Bulldogs’ Kryptonite with a7-1 record against UGAunder Smart. Statistically,this game is basically adead heat.And despite the factthe game is in Atlanta, the crowd should be pretty even as well.We’ll go with Georgiatowin the rematch (Bama won24-21 in Athens) because the Bulldogswill be able to runthe ball and keep it away from the Crimson Tide’sdangerous offense. GEORGIA24,ALABAMA 21.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByVASHAHUNT

Georgia coachKirbySmart,left, and Alabamacoach Kalen DeBoer meet at midfield before agame on Sept. 28, 2024, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Both coaches will face each other again on Saturday at the SEC championship

Georgiaaimstoovercome itsone bugaboo: Alabama

BY CHARLES ODUM AP sportswriter

ATLANTA— After No. 3Georgia closed an 11-1 regular season with its eighth straight win over Georgia Tech last week, coach

Kirby Smart was asked about his senior class dominatingits top rivals through four seasons.

Smart replied with areminder thatGeorgia Tech, Florida, Auburn and Tennesseedonot form acomplete list of the Bulldogs’ biggest rivals.

“You know,there’s other ones out there we haven’tbeat,” Smart said.

Smart didn’t mentionNo. 10 Alabama, buthedidn’thave to.

Georgia players understand there’sunﬁnished businesswaiting in Saturday’sSoutheastern Conference championship game.

Awin over Alabama (10-2, No. 9 CFP) is theglaring omission on theGeorgia seniors’ four-year 50-5record that includesthe 2022 national championship and two SECtitles.

“Everybody knowsthe history of Georgia-Alabama,” Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton said. “I mean, it’sthere.”

There are reminders everywhere. Even in the pregame me-

winning championships. It starts with an SEC championship.”

OK, maybe not quite center stage on this ﬁrst Saturday in December.There is that little tussle up in Indianapolis on Saturday night when No. 1OhioState squaresoff with No. 2Indiana (still can’tbelieve I’m typingthat) forthe Big Tenchampionship.

But this game in Atlanta between CFP No. 3Georgia (11-1) and No. 9Alabama (10-2) is still mighty important.Not just for the playoff implicationsbut for the prize. They’re playing for the S-ECchampionship, and when it comes to conference titles, it is still the toughest one to win.

“You start the season —and this is the best conference in college football —and to be playing in this game, Itell our guysthey earned this,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “This is what our program’sbeen builton, is

No teams in SEC history have won moreconference championshipsthan these two schools:Alabama with30, Georgia with 15. In fact, stack up their 45 trophiesand it’sonly aslightly smaller pile than the rest of the SEC combined with 51 (LSU ranks fourth with 12). Yes, everyone wantstomake it into the CFP,and that is theoverriding goal. But if you don’tthink Kifﬁn and Krewe at LSU aren’t making this gamea goal as well, youdon’tknowTrinidad Chambliss from former Atlanta Braves hitter Chris Chambliss.

“It’sbeen agreathonor to play in” the SEC title game, Georgia coach KirbySmart said. “I mean, to win SEC championships are one of the hardestthings to do. You look how elusive they’ve been, howfew programshave been able to win them across theSEC.”

Winning SECtitles hasn’tbeen that hard for Georgia under Smart;they’ve doneitthree times, including last year’sdra-

dia notes prepared by Georgia (No. 3CFP), there is arecap of the seriestitled “The Elephant In The Room.”

Alabama casts ashadow Georgia has struggled to escape.

“Like,the team is pretty aware,” linebacker Raylen Wilson said.

With each team trying to improve its national championship hopes as well as claim the SEC title, there is more on theline than just theseries history between theconference powers.

“It’sdeﬁnitely going to be a great battle, one for the centuries, like it alwaysiswhenAlabama andGeorgia play,” Alabama nose tackle TimKeenan said.

Alabama will play for itsﬁrst title with coach Kalen DeBoer Alabama beat Georgia forits seventh SEC championship in 2023 with former coach Nick Saban.

Georgia fell to 1-7against Alabama under Smart with a 24-21 loss on Sept. 27. It was the Bulldogs’ ﬁrsthome loss in six years. The Bulldogs are 0-3 in the series in the last fouryears, including a27-24 loss in the 2023 SEC championship game when Georgia was No. 1, undefeated and comingoff back-to-

“This

matic 22-19 overtime victory against aTexas team making its maiden conference voyage. Winning against Alabama has been hard. For all of its success under Smart —116 total victories, those three SEC titles and two national championships —beating Alabama has been exceedingly rare. Smart’sDawgs are only 1-7 against the Crimson Tide.

Yes, you can say he was 1-5 against Nick Saban’sAlabama teams.Join the club. Buthis teams are also 0-2 against DeBoer’sBammers, including a24-21 loss on Sept. 27 in Athens in which Georgia never led. Georgia is also 0-4 against Alabama in this game. Three of

back national championships.

Awin Saturday would give Alabama atwo-game sweep of the Bulldogs this season, with both games in thestate of Georgia.

“We’re notevenworried about having bragging rights or anything,” Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson said. “Wejust know this is anothersteppingstone on our way to get to where we wanttogo. That’sreally our main focus.”

Georgia hasnot topped the Crimson Tide since a33-18 win in the 2021 national championship gamefor its first title in 41 years. Each team entersSaturday’s gameatMercedes-Benz Stadium motivated to improve its chances in this year’sCollege Football Playoff. Georgia will be playing to protect its position for afirstround bye Alabama wants to avoid athird loss that could endangerits spot in the 12-team field. The Crimson Tide’smove up onespotinthis week’sCFP ranking may mean Alabama will make the playoff field even with aloss to Georgia, but whymakethe committee make thatcall?

“Man, Ifeel like honestly we’ve kind of had that mindsetever since our ﬁrst loss,” Lawson said.

thefour have been decided by atouchdown or less, but that doesn’tmake the stone wallthe Bulldogs have been bashing themselves against any less hard. Smart downplayed the advantages/disadvantages of arematch from theregular season.

“Both teams have thesame tape,” he said. “Both teamshave acommonthread that we played each other.I think sometimes coaches overdoit, overthink it.I just think it boils down to whoblocks,who tackles, who preparesthe best, who mentally preparesthe best, who handlesit the best.”

Whenthe season began, Alabama looked like anything but achampionship contender. The CrimsonTide was left crimson with embarrassment after getting run off theﬁeld31-17 by a Florida State team that went 2-10 in 2024 —and would wind up 5-7this season.DeBoer’s bunch looked soft, andhis railwas being preparedfor him to be run outof Tuscaloosa on

ButBama bounced back.The Tide went 4-1against ranked teams— losing somewhat inexplicably 23-21 to an Oklahoma team it outgained406-212. Only ablowout loss to Georgia,which appears unlikely,islikely to keep Alabama outofthe CFP.

“Allofour experiences that have shaped whatthis team is, howwe’vecome through, only make us believe even more, give us that much moreconﬁdence,” DeBoer said. There wasadistraction earlier in theweek that DeBoer was being sizedupfor thePennState job,though that search ended Fridaywiththe announcementof Iowa State coach Matt Campbell to theNittanyLions.DeBoer doesn’t want to be theﬁrst Alabama coach to lose to Georgia in this particulargame.

That’sbecause it’s forthe SEC championship.

“I believe there still is validity” in this game, SEC commissioner Greg Sankeysaid. You’dbetter believe it

KALEN DeBOER,

Saints willingtoallow Smythtokickfromdeep

BY MATTHEW PARAS AND LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

If the New Orleans Saints have to attempt agamewinning kick in Sunday’s gameagainst the Tampa BayBuccaneers, special teams coordinator Phil Galiano revealedthe rangefrom which they’d be willing to send kicker Charlie Smyth out there.

And it’sadoozy Galiano said Thursday he told coach Kellen Moore during last week’sloss to the Miami Dolphins that he’d be comfortable with Smyth attempting akick from the 50 —asinthe 50-yard line. That would equate to a68yard field goal, which, if made, would tie theNFL record.

Smyth, who made his professional debut last week, made his lone attempt of 56 yards against Miami. But the Ireland native has demonstrated that he hasquite theleg in practice,notably making a65-yarder during apractice at Tulane in 2024. He also hit a66-yarder in warmups before theDolphins game.

“Wealwaystalk about what our line is in anormal field goal range andifit’s the last kick of the half,or of the game, and Ifelt conﬁdent if we were on the45 (yard line) or in, then we can kick afield goal in a normal situation,” Galiano said. “And then if it was going to be the last kick of the game, Itold Kellen if we can get the ball to the 50, we can kick it.” Jacksonville kicker Cam Little broke the league’srecord for longestkick last month

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

through it all

Despite not making the team’sinitial 53-man roster, the safety had astrong training camp that was slowedby his own hamstring injury

Afterjoining thepractice squad following cuts, Burgess didn’thave to wait long before he was signed to the active roster two weeks into the season.

Until the Miamigame, when he replaced Reid, Burgess hadplayedsparingly but always seemed to make apositive impact.

At the lectern this week, coach Kellen Moore said that’sa reﬂection of the veteran’spreparation. He pointed to Burgess’ lone snap two weeks ago against the Atlanta Falcons, when he broke up apass on third down to force apunt. And how Burgess came off the bench for apivotal pass breakup on a

when he drilleda 68-yarder against the Las VegasRaiders. Littlealso hita70-yarder during the preseason.

Smyth has been on the Saints practice squadfor the pasttwo seasons, taking up aspot as part of the league’s International Pathway Program.

But he became the Saints newkickerafter theteam waived BlakeGrupe last week.

Galiano said he was pleased with Smyth’sfirst outing, whichalso included the kicker hitting an onside kickthat theSaints recovered.

Galiano also said Smyth’s 56-yarder wouldhave likely still been good even if it was attempted from afarther distance

“I wouldhavesaid(from) 70, and that’sjust me lookingatit,” Galiano said.

3startersout

Three key Saints starters will not play againstthe TampaBay Buccaneers, and another isquestionable forthe game

The Saints ruled out running back Alvin Kamara (knee), offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga (ankle) and safety Justin Reid (knee) for Sunday’sgame in Tampa Bay.Widereceiver Chris Olave (back) is questionable.

This willmark the second consecutive game missed by Kamara, whohas not practiced since theFriday before he injuredhis knee in theﬁrst quarter against the Atlanta Falcons.

Rookie Devin Neal handled the primary running back duties last week inKamara’sabsence, rushing for 47 yards on 14 carries against the Miami Dolphins.

Reid suffered his knee injury on the ﬁrst play from

ﬂeaﬂickerinNew Orleans’ Week 5win over the New York Giants.

“Yeah, it’sa53-man roster—wereally saw him, viewed him as (player) 54 then,” Moore said.“Because he was ready to gofromthe beginning.He’sjust the ultimate pro, theultimatevet.”

Told of Moore’scomments,Burgess’ eyes lit up at his locker.That’show he felt throughout camp,the safety said.Even though he was initially part of cuts, Burgess wasexcited for any rolewith the Saints. He admittedhedidn’t know whetherhe’d receive anotheropportunityafter theBuffalo Billsreleased him with aninjury settlement just before thestartof the 2024 season The Saints called in May to request atryout. Burgesswould have worked out for any team, but there was something extra meaningful aboutreuniting with Staley.Hecredited the coordinator forhelping him

Steelers greats addﬁre to coachTomlin’shot seat

BY ROBMAADDI AP pro football writer

Mike Tomlin isn’tjust hearing“FireTomlin!” chants from Steelers fans.

Acoupleofthe franchise’s greatest playersare saying Pittsburgh needs to make a coaching change

The NFL’s longest-tenured coach has beenunderheavy criticism, and even Ben Roethlisberger andJames Harrison have joinedin.

“Coach Tomlin’s been here along time,”Roethlisberger saidonhis “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast this week. “You’d give him astatue, whatever you’ve got to do, because he deserves it, he’searned it. Butit’stime to ﬁnd thatnext guy.Who’sthat next guy that could be here forthe next 20 years?”

Strong comments from thetwo-time Super Bowl champion quarterback who played 15 seasons for Tomlin before retiringinJanuary 2022.

Tomlin ledthe Steelers to aSuper Bowl title in his second season but hasn’t returnedtothe AFC championship game since 2010. He’snever had alosing season in 19 years in Pittsburgh but is 0-5inthe playoffs since 2016.

he wasagood (coach). A good coach gets youtoplay to your potential. And right now, the players we have on that team Ihaveseen play,they’re notplayingup to their potential. Agreat coach gets you to play to your potential.”

scrimmage against Miami.

Neither he nor Fuagapracticed this week

After playing nearly every offensive snap as a rookie, Fuagawill miss his fourth game due to injuries this season. He missed the Week 3gameagainst theSeattleSeahawkswith kneeand backinjuries, then missedWeeks 10 and 12 with an injury to theopposite ankle that he’scurrently dealing with.

Olave missedWednesday’spractice with aback injury that first cropped up aweek prior,but he returned to the field for the subsequent Thursday and Friday sessions. He was also questionable forlast week’sgameinMiami, but he played nearly 90% of the Saints offensive snaps in that contest.

Rookie safety Jonas Sanker, who popped up on theinjury report Thursdaywith a head injury,was afull participantinFriday’s practice.

No Mike Evans

Tampa Bayreceiver Mike Evans will notmakehis return frominjured reserve against the Saints.

Evans, who last season clinched his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season on theﬁnalplayofa Week 18 gameagainst the Saints, has only appeared in four gamesthis season.Hehas been on injuredreserve since he suffered abrokencollarbone in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions.

In 21 career games against the Saints, Evans has caught 72 passes for 1,083 yards and ﬁve touchdowns.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.

grow as aplayer,sayinghe learnedtoplay quarters coverage in the NFL because of Staley.Hehadn’tplayed the concept at all in Utah, he said. The Utes primarily ran aman-to-man defense.

“He’sdeﬁnitelysomebody that always hadbeliefin me,” Burgess said. “As athletes, from when you’re a kid to when you’reupatthe highest level now,I think (there’s) something about a coach believing in you that’s going to help you play better.”

Burgess was oneofa handful of players with ties to Staley thatthe Saints brought in before the season, joining edge rusher Chris Rumphand defensive tackles Jonathan Bullard and Jonah Williams.

All of them have carved out roles throughout the year —withBurgessbeing thelatest.

“He’sperformed exactly like he did back then(with theRams),” Staley said. “We’re glad we have him.”

The Steelers (6-6) are playing for ﬁrst place in the AFC North against the Baltimore RavensonSunday yetcriticsare pilingonbecause they’ve lost five of seven and don’tseem likeateam that has achance of making aplayoff run.

Harrison, atwo-timeAllProlinebackerwho played parts of 10 seasons for Tomlin, washarsher thanRoethlisberger

“I have never been aperson (who) thought Coach Tomlin was agreatcoach,” Harrison said on his “Deebo and Joe” podcast. “I thought

It’srare to hear accomplishedplayers be this critical of their former head coach, especially someone as respected as Tomlin.His impressive resumewould help him quickly land another jobifheleft Pittsburgh.

TheSteelershave only had three coaches since 1969. Chuck Nollled them to four SuperBowl titlesin 23 years. Bill Cowher won a SuperBowl in his14thof15 seasons. Both coaches are in the Pro Football Hallof Fame.

Tomlin is 189-113-2with one Lombardi trophy.He shouldget agoldjacket when he’sﬁnishedcoaching. Maybehis message has grownstale in Pittsburgh.

Perhaps he needs afresh start.Sometimesachange of scenery works outfor an organizationand acoach Andy Reid was fired by the Eagles in 2012 after winning moregames than any coach in franchise history because he couldn’twin a Super Bowl.Hewentright to Kansas City andhas won three rings with the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has won two Super Bowls with twocoaches —Doug Pederson andNickSirianni —sinceReidleft

“Here’swhat you don’t do: Youdon’tﬁre aguy like Coach Tomlin,”Roethlisberger said. “He’saHall of Famehead coach, he’srespected. What youdoisyou cometoanunderstanding and agreement, andit’slike, ‘Hey,listen, Ithink it’sprobably best for both of us.’ “You go, ‘Hey,coach,listen,it’sprobably best for all parties involved, let’s start over.’ It happenedwith ChuckNoll, it happened with coach Cowher.”

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By LyNNE SLADKy

NewOrleansSaints kicker Charlie Smythkicks a field goal during agameagainst the Miami Dolphins on SundayinMiami Gardens, Fla Notebook

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

PHOTOByERIN HOOLEy

Pittsburgh Steelers head coachMikeTomlin walksonthe sidelineduring agame against the ChicagoBears on Nov. 23 in Chicago.

THE VARSITY ZONE

ACHS cruises past Westminster as RB Simon sets records

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

With a trip to the state title game on the line, Trevin Simon ran through Westminster Christian and added a couple of state records on the way

Simon ripped off a 70-yard touchdown on the ﬁrst drive of the game and was hard to bring down all night, running 33 times for 364 yardsandsixtouchdownsinAscension Catholic’s 45-14 victory at Crusader Field to make it to the Division IV select championship game.

Simon set state records for rushing yards in a season with 3,765 yards and rushing touchdowns with 57. The previous records were set in 2024 by Leesville’s Xavier Ford with 3,467 yards and 52 touchdowns.

“Deﬁnitely have to give credit to the offensive line,” Simon said. “I wouldn’t be here in this position without them. The record’s mine and theirs.”

The Bulldogs (11-2) will face No. 2 Riverside Academy in the championship game.

“Exhilaration,” Bulldogs firstyearcoachTaylorJamessaidabout the feeling. “This community has waited a long time for this. It’s been seven years in the making.”

On the ﬁrst drive, Simon took three carries for 10 yards. He then ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run to give his team an early 7-0 lead.

Later in the first quarter, the Bulldogs harassed Crusaders quarterback Steven George, forcing him into an incompletion and another three-and-out midway through the ﬁrst quarter

Simon broke another state record on the next drive. He ripped off two runs for 28 yards to get into Westminster Christian territory Then quarterback Greg Fernandez found tight end Kole Folse wide open for a 27-yard gain. Simon ran in his second touchdown on an 11-yard run to make it 14-0 Westminster Christian (12-1) failed to pick up a ﬁrst down on their ﬁrst four drives. Bulldogs senior lineman Vaughn Blanchard tallied a sack and was one of the Olineman blocking for Simon. “I wasn’t going to let down,” Blanchard said. “I was in it for

all of it. I was ready for it.”

On the Bulldogs’ ensuing drive, Fernandez fumbled on a bad snap from the Crusaders 37. He lost the ball, but the referees ruled an inadvertent whistle and Ascension Catholic kept it. Fernandez then ripped off a 37-yard touchdown.

Midway through the second quarter, the Crusaders reached the red zone for the first time.

George dropped back on a screen pass on third and 4 from the 13 but threw an interception to Bulldogs linebacker John Rob Daigle, who returned it to his own 39.

Simon extended the lead to 27-0 after capping off a six-play, 61-yard drivewitha45-yardtouchdownrun with 3:13 left before halftime.

Westminster looked to get on the scoreboard before the break but was stuffed on fourth down for a 2-yard loss at the Bulldogs 39. Ascension Catholic struck quickly after Simon took a pitch and then heaved a pass to Cy Landry for a 49-yard gain to the Crusaders 10. Simon took it in on his fourth touchdown run of the game to make it 33-0 at the half.

The Crusaders finally scored with 7:37 left in the third after George found tight end Evan Lemon on a 9-yard touchdown pass.

Simon added touchdown runs of 5 and 20 yards in the second half Westminster added a late touchdown in the fourth to make it 45-14.

Karr’s four takeaways too much for Catholic

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

The Catholic ball carrier had what looked to be a clear path to the end zone when Edna Karr linebacker Kylon Jones put his arms around him and Ronell Kindell knocked the ball loose. That takeaway by the Karr defense was its fourth of the game and sealed a 17-10 victory Friday at Morris F.X. Jeff Sr Stadium in Algiers that advanced the topseeded Cougars (13-0) back to the LHSAA Division I select state ﬁnal next week at the Caesars Superdome. Defensive end Romeo Brown recovered the football that let Karr regain possession with 1:27 remaining, and senior running back Tre Garrison (26 carries, 121 yards) ran 12 yards for the ﬁrst down that allowed the Cougars to kneel out the clock Catholic (10-3) had the ball at the Karr 20 after a pass interference call on fourth down let the visiting Bears keep possession, but the next play resulted in the fumble that all but sealed the win for Karr.

Karr will face St. Augustine in the state ﬁnal — a rematch from when the Cougars won 42-21 in the regular season.

“Week 15 again, at 4400, that sounds good to me,” Karr coach Brice Brown said in reference to the General Meyer Avenue address for the high school. Karr and Catholic played a closely contended semiﬁnal for the second year in a row after last season’s game resulted in a 21-19 victory for the Cougars on their way to winning a seventh state championship.

In this one, Karr quarterback

John Johnson ran for one touchdown and threw for another, all before halftime, as neither team scored after the break.

The other three Karr takeaways came on interceptions, the ﬁrst two by Maurice Williams just before halftime and LSU signee Aiden Hall on an underthrown pass near the goal line.

Jones, who wrapped up the ball carrier that led to the fumble, caught a pass tipped by defensive tackle Richard Anderson — another LSU signee — for the other takeaway Another key play came on a fourth-down stop deep in Karr territory when quarterback Baylor Graves tried to escape pressure and threw incomplete to the end zone.

“Turnovers in a margin-oferror game, a one-possession game — things like that are going to make a big difference,” Catholic coach Hudson Fuller said.

The lead changed hands three times before halftime Karr senior Xavier Owens caught a 36yard pass to the end zone for a 7-3 lead late in the ﬁrst quarter

Catholic responded when Graves scored on a 36-yard keeper around the left end. Johnson put the Cougars back in front with an 11-yard keeper up the right sideline for a 14-10 lead.

Karr took a 17-10 lead into halftime when Brayan Castellon kicked a 25-yard ﬁeld goal with less than a minute remaining.

Karr won with 14 players on the ﬁeld who signed with Division I colleges on Wednesday against a Catholic team that also had Ohio State signee Blaine Bradford on defense along with UL signee Harrison Kidder at linebacker

DUNHAM DOES IT

Tigers beat LCA in shootout behind Haven, Washington

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

For the second consecutive year and third time in four seasons, the Dunham Tigers are headed back to the state ﬁnals.

Behind a tremendous performance by quarterback Elijah Haven and receiver Jarvis Washington, the Tigers took down Lafayette Christian 49-48 in the Division III select semiﬁnals Friday in Lafayette.

“Coach has been telling us all week to visualize it, see it happening and it is going to happen,” Washington said. “That’s what we did. LCA is a good opponent, and they were a real challenge, but the best man won.”

With the Knights leading 48-41 with 4:35 remaining in the game, the Tigers did what they had done offensively all game — responded. This time, the Tigers went 68 yards in six plays, capping it off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Haven to Washington to pull the Tigers within 48-47 with 1:46 remaining. Dunham elected to go for two and converted it when Haven hit Khris Thomas in the front corner of the end zone to put the Tigers ahead 49-48.

“Our team endures, man,” Haven said. “We endure and we rise to the occasion. That’s what we did.”

Needing a stop, Washington came through on the defensive end for the Tigers intercepting a pass at the Knights’ 47-yard line with 1:29 remaining in the game.

“Before I went out there, coach told me to go out there and win this game for us,” Washington said. “I can do it all, so I just went out there and showed my versatility.”

Although the Tigers were forced to punt, which was partially blocked and gave the ball back to the Knights at their own 39-yard line, the Tigers defense successfully batted away a Hail Mary attempt to close out the game.

“It feels great to be going back to the finals,” Haven said. “It’s a reflection of our preparation The job is not finished. We still have work to do.”

Haven completed 18 of 27 passes for 357 yards, six touchdowns and one interception

while also rushing for a team-high 61 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

“I told Elijah he is the best quarterback in the nation,” Washington said. “He showed it (Friday).”

Washington ﬁnished with 182 yards receiving and four touchdowns on seven receptions.

“I just trusted in the game plan,” Washington said.“Coachtoldmetherewouldbebigplaystobe made, and I trusted myself to make those plays.”

“He’s a baller,” Haven said of Washington.

“Week in and week out, he just goes out and makes plays. (Friday) was just another night for him.”

With the win, the Tigers will face No. 6-seeded Calvary Baptist — which defeated Notre Dame 34-28 in overtime — in the Caesars Superdome for the Division III select championship at 7 p.m. Thursday

“We are back,” Washington said. “Now we have to go ﬁnish the job.”

Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

U-High falls to St. Charles in overtime

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

St. Charles and University High went to overtime in the postseason for the second time in three years, and St. Charles was able to prevail again.

U-High was trailing St. Charles by 13 points at halftime on Friday during a Division II select semifinals matchup at Frank Monica Field in LaPlace but staged a second-half comeback to force overtime. St. Charles got the ball ﬁrst in overtime and scored a touchdown, which was all it needed in a 34-27 overtime win.

St. Charles’ defense came up with a fourth-down stand in overtime to end U-High’s season and advance to the state championship game. Comets quarterback Landree LeBlanc found the end zone from 10 yards out in overtime, ﬁnishing with 121 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

“(The state championship game) is the standard here,” St. Charles coach Wayne Stein said. “Our kids know that’s the expectation, and they found a way to get it done. (UHigh’s) offense kind of us got us playing on our heels, but then our

defense really dug in.”

U-High quarterback Ethan McGlynn found wide receiver Lawson Dixon for a 47-yard touchdown with 1:30 to go in regulation to tie the game at 27. St. Charles blocked the extra point attempt, leading to overtime

“We got back in it, but (St. Charles) blocked an extra point, which was big,” U-High coach Andy Martin said. “We would’ve probably taken the lead there and it would’ve been our ﬁrst lead. It was a big point in the game there that I wish we would’ve had.”

LeBlanc set the tone with a 23-yard touchdown run on St. Charles’ ﬁrst drive of the game to put the Comets up by seven early St. Charles kicker Tyler Milioto was responsible for the next six points with ﬁeld goals from 33 and 32 yards out to go up 13-0. Evan Duffour caught a 3-yard pass from LeBlanc to put St. Charles up by 20. U-High cut the lead to 13 before halftime after quarterback Ethan McGlynn found the end zone from 17 yards out.

McGlynn completed 17 of 22 passes for 163 and a touchdown, and Dixon was U-High’s leading

receiver with eight catches for 114 yards

U-High scored the first points of the second half when Corbin Odell found the end zone on a 2-yard run. St. Charles quickly answered with a 39-yard touchdown run by LeBlanc, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 85 yards and played a part in all four Comets touchdowns Odell found the end zone again from 18 yards out to cut the St. Charles lead to six points. He finished with 36 rushing yards on nine carries, with Ingram finishing as U-High’s lead rusher with 105 yards on 18 carries. Duffour was St. Charles’ lead receiver with 39 yards on three catches. Skyler Edwards finished with 64 rushing yards on 19 caries for the Comets along with five catches for 20 yards.

No. 1-seeded St. Charles (12-1) will face the defending state champion Shaw, the No. 7 seed in Division II select. It will be a rematch from the regular season, which St. Charles won 24-0. No. 4-seeded U-High’s season ends with a 10-3 record. “Can’t say enough about this group,” Martin said. “The senior class was amazing.”

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

Dunham quarterback Elijah Haven carries the ball against Lafayette Christian in a semifinal playoff game on Friday in Lafayette. Dunham prevailed 49-48.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP Ascension Catholic running back Trevin Simon breaks through the Westminster Christian defensive line for a touchdown on Friday.

The Knights’ Brayden Allen is tackled at the goal line by Dunham’s Khris Thomas in a semifinal playoff game on Friday.

ACC’sshaky starttoseasoncontinues

Women’shoops teamsloseACC/SEC Challenge13-3

BY AARON BEARD Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. Dukehad just played with its best start-to-finish level of competitive fight in an opening month gone awry,only to end up with another loss to a top-flight opponent in No. 5LSU

Senior guard AshlonJackson was clinging to the ideathat the struggles could pay off in the long term.

“We’re in the mud right now,” Jackson said softly She might as well have been talking for the entire Atlantic Coast Conference in women’s basketball.

The preseason ACC favorite Blue Devils are 3-6. The league has no top-10 teams in the AP Top25poll for the ﬁrst time in nearly aquarter-century to go with an awful record in Quadrant 1games that top apostseason résumé. And it wrapped up a13-3 loss in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday night, including all three matchups involving its ranked teams in No. 11 North Carolina, No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 22 Louisville.

Of that trio, the Cardinals nearly upset No. 3South Carolina, losing 79-77 at home.

“I know we have good players in our leagues,wehavegood teams,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said after Thursday night’s9377 loss to LSU. “For (Duke), we haven’thad the startthat we’ve

Football semiﬁnals

wanted. It’sour job to change it.”

Roughstart

This isn’tthe position anyone expected for the ACC. The league opened this year with ﬁve AP Top 25 teams, headlined by the North Carolina-based “Triangle” schools of Duke at No. 7, N.C. State at No. 9and UNC at No. 11.

And the ACC had ﬁelded at least one top-10 team in everyAPTop 25 poll dating to December 2001, arun of 453 consecutive polls. Yetthat streak endedbymidNovember,leaving the TarHeels —who lost 79-64 at No. 2Texas on Thursday night —asthe league’s highest-ranked team for thepast three polls

The Blue Devilsopened with a loss to Baylor in Paris, followed shortly afterward by alossto West Virginiainwhich the Mountaineers finished with just five players because of numerous ejections to knock the Blue Devils out of theAP poll. The Wolfpack, who lost Wednesday in overtime at No. 9Oklahoma, fell out this week in aseason featuring ahome loss to unranked Rhode Island.

As of Thursday’s games, the ACC has acombined 2-31 record in Quad 1games, with the Fighting Irish’swin against Southern Californiajoining theWolfpack’s season-openingwin againstTennessee as the only victories.

Even the twoACC teams that didn’tplay in the ACC/SEC Challenge hadtheir troubles Wednes-

day. Wake Forest was hoping for itsﬁrst 10-0 start since 2008-09, only to fallbehind by 25 at home before losing to William &Mary (3-4), while Quinnipiac (4-3) won at BostonCollege by 27 points. Wrongtrajectory

TheACC had adifferent team reach the FinalFour in 2022, 2023 and 2024, while the Blue Devils reached last year’s NCAA Elite Eightafter winning their first ACC Tournament title since 2013. So there’sstill atrack record to point back to amid thestruggles, withUNC coach Courtney Banghart saying this week: “The league will be just ﬁne.”

“I feel like we’re abetter team than people think. Ifeel like our league’sbetter,”Banghart said before theTexas game.“You could say, ‘Well, there’s acouple of results thatdon’tshow that.’. Ialways say: ‘Let’ssee when it’s all said and done, who’sadvanced (inthe NCAAs), howmany teams did you send to each round and what thatlooks like.’”

Maybe so. But the trajectory of the annualSEC tussle is heading in the wrong direction: from the teams splitting 14 games in 2023 to the SEC winning 10-6 last year and now this year.

“13-3 SEC? I’m glad we’reone of the13,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said after theDuke win, adding later: “Wedidn’thavetohavean ACC Challenge to ﬁgure outhow tough our league is.

PREP REPORT

The No. 5Tigers defeated the preseasonACC favorite Blue Devils 93-77.

Duke’s challenge

The Blue Devils’ plight has stood out amongthe ACC’sopening-month hiccups.

They entered Thursday having lost threestraight,the previous two coming in blowouts to the Gamecocks and No. 4UCLA. And they faced the unenviable test of slowing LSU’soffense, which had scored 100-plus points in each of itsﬁrsteight games to setan NCAArecord.

Duke started the gameona 14-1run as LSU sputtered, only to seethe Tigers take control

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0

with a31-point second quarter By theend, theTigers hadshot 59.7% and were vocally celebrating through the ﬁnal minutes on the Blue Devils’ Cameron Indoor Stadium court. NowDuke heads to Virginia Tech on Sundaytoopenleague play

“I think we can grow into areally good team,” Lawson said. “That’swhatwe’re focused on doing. Ihaven’t watched the other ACC teamstobeable to tellyou, but Iwould venturetosay that a lot of them can grow into really good teams, too.”

4-40 SCORING SUMMARY AscensionCatholic141966—45 WestminsterChristian0077—14 ACHS: Trevin Simon 70 run (Mike Blanchard kick) ACHS: Simon 11 run(Blanchardkick) ACHS: Greg Fernandez 37 run(Blanchard kick no good) ACHS: Simon 45 run(Blanchardkick) ACHS: Simon 10 run(Blanchardkickno good) WCA: Steven George 9pass to Evan Lemon (Mac Profﬁtt kick) ACHS:

Karr First Downs 11 16 YardsRushing 32-69 46-151 YardsPassing 177 140 Passes(C-A-HI) 12-23-3 12-21-1 Punts-avg.4-23 4-40

LSUdefensive coordinator Bakerstaying

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker is staying on the Tigers’ staff under head coach Lane Kiffin after receiving head coaching interest, Kiffin confirmed Friday night in asocial media post. Baker interviewed Monday for the open Tulane job and was aperson of interest for Memphis, but Kiffin said Baker “is going nowhere.

Kifﬁn wanted to keep Baker on staff, and LSU has been working to sign him to anew contract extension

WDSU ﬁrst reported that Baker withdrew his name for consideration from the

JOHNSON

Continued from page1C

in here and do too much, and Iwas proud of how she handled herself.” Johnson scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help LSU preserve its comefrom-behind win on Thursday.Duke raced out to a17-3 lead, but the Tigers battled back, becoming just the second team to score more than 90 points against the Blue Devils sinceLawson took over the program in 2020. Thisseason,Johnson is averaging 17.1 points per game on 55% shooting. She’salso drained 18 of 31 attempts from 3-point range (58%) But Lawson could not find meaningful minutes forJohnsonlastsummerin

Team USA’s 65-52 semiﬁnal win over Canada or its 92-84 ﬁnal victory over Brazil. She logged only three minutes in both matchups, ceding playingtimetoguardssuchas

Notre Dame junior Hannah Hidalgo, TCU senior Olivia Miles, Vanderbiltsophomore Mikayla Blakes and UCLA senior Gianna Kneepkens. “(Lawson’s) done alot

on Kiffin’sstaff

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU defensivecoordinator

BlakeBaker is staying on staff under Lane Kiffin.

Tulane joblateFriday night while the Green Wave was playing in the American Conference championship gameagainst NorthTexas. Bakerisentering thelast

of wonderful things in her career,” Mulkey said, “and when you become acoach, whether it’s(with)USA Basketball, whether it’satLSU, whether it’satDuke, players aren’t going to always be happy andcontent.”

Lawson was asked about Mulkey’scommentsonJohnson’ssummer.She said that herexperience coaching Team USA“wasa good one.”

“Not just coaching Flau’jae but coaching all theplayers,” Lawsonsaid “All 12players.Putting a team together andpracticing within 10 daysand then going to play atournament Andour college players did an incredible job playing against teams that hadpro players on (them)and were able to win the gold. So just really proud of that group.”

Duke has played stout defense for most of Lawson’s tenure, but on Thursday it couldn’tﬁgure out howtoslow LSUdown.TheTigersentered thematchup —theirfirst against ahigh-major team this season —with an NCAArecord eight-game streak of 100-point performances.

LSU didn’thit the century mark against Duke, but it came close. The Tigers shot

year of thethree-year,$2.5 million deal he signed upon coming to LSU from Missouri. He restored LSU’s defenseover thepast two years, andthe Tigers ended the regular season ranked 15thnationally in scoring defense after allowing 18.3 pointsper game.

LSUlikelywon’t undergo much change on the defensive side of theball now that Baker hasdecided to stay, other thanthe interior defensiveline. LSUhas targeted Syracuseassistant coach Elijah Robinsonto be the defensive line coach sources said, and he was on campus Friday as he considers thejob

60% from the field, 5of11 from 3-point range and 14 of 16 at the free-throw line. Six of the nine playerswho saw thefloor scored in double figures, including star guards MiLaysia Fulwiley (16points)and Mikaylah Williams (14 points) Fulwiley scored 14 points in the first half,thenceded control of the offense to Williams.She added10points in the third quarter after hitting aseries of tough midrange looks.

The fourthbelongedto Johnson, who played LSU’s ﬁrst true testofthe season with achip on hershoulder anda renewed sense of conﬁdence.

“It was my jobwhen Igot (Johnson) back on campus,” Mulkey said, “to bring her (conﬁdence) back to where shecan help us do what we need to do at LSU.

“I just winked at her, and Isaid, ‘Just be you. Do what youdofor LSU. Don’t make it personal. Don’ttry to be somebodyyou’renot. Just you in that purple uniform withthose three letters speaks volumes.’”

Email Reed Darcey at reed.darcey@theadvocate.

can come as ashock, leading peopletoput offoreven go without care.

Simply put —withoutdentalinsurance, there maybe an importantgap in your healthcare coverage

Medicare doesn’t pay fordental care.

That’s right.Asgood as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything. That means if you wantprotection, youneed to purchase individualinsurance.

Early detection canprevent smallproblems from becoming expensive ones.

The best way to preventlarge dental bills is preventivecare. The American Dental Association recommends checkups twice ayear.

LIVING

RoyPetitfils

Helping teenshelp theirfriends

When teens struggle, they almost always turn to their friends ﬁrst.

As mental health concerns rise and resiliencedeclines, more adolescents feel pressured to be “the strong one” or the unofﬁcial therapist in their friend group. Teens often ask me, “What do Isay when my friend tells me they don’t want to live anymore?” Parents ask similar questions: “How do I support my daughter when her friends constantly unload on her? Ican see how muchit weighs on her.”

Here are practical ways adults can support teens who feel responsiblefor helping struggling friends:

n Ask your teen directly Teens rarely volunteer that they feel overwhelmed. A simple question —“Do your friends ever come to you about tough things?” —opens the door.You’ll often senserelief that someone ﬁnally noticed.

n Validate their role. Let them know it’sanhonor to be trusted with sensitive information. Ask what feels good about being someone their friends turn to. This helps them recognize the strengths that draw others to them.

n Listen and reﬂect. Mirror back what you hear:“It sounds likeyourfriends see you as caring and trustworthy.” Your calm admiration helps them feel supported without feeling pressured to do more than they can handle.

n Ask about the burden.Once you afﬁrm the meaningful parts, gently ask, “Is it ever stressful for you?” Most teens will say yes —quickly.

n Explore what’shardest Many teens fear saying the “wrong thing,” or they feel their friend’spain and don’t know how to help. Let them name the stress instead of rushing to ﬁx it.

n Reﬂect their sense of responsibility.Say,“Ican see how powerless you might feel when afriend expects youto help them feel better.” Many teens secretly believe they’re supposed to ﬁx the situation. Naming this reduces shame and normalizes the tension they feel.

n Ask what they need when they open up. “When you goto afriend with something hard, what do you really need —advice, or someone who listens?” Most teens realize that being heardmatters more than being ﬁxed. This insight gives them permission to offer presence rather than solutions.

n Teach the differencebetween being responsiblefor someone and responsible to them. Tell your teen, “No one is responsible for another person’slife. But we can be responsible to people by caring, listening, and helping them ﬁnd support.” This distinction often brings tremendous relief. If there’srisk of self-harm, prepare your teen for theemotional cost of telling an adult.

Acknowledge that it may feel like betrayal and that their friend may be upset initially But help them consider the alternative: “If things got worse and no one knew,how would that feel?” Reassurethemthat truefriendship sometimes means making hard, loving choices. Counselors and other safe adults canstepinwhile protecting conﬁdentiality.

n Help them brainstorm healthy options. Ask, “Besides listening, what elsecould help your friend? Who elsecould they talk to?” Your teen may

95-year-oldlay

missionary shares herjourney of faithand serviceinLouisiana andGuatemala

Answering thecall

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Barbara Bahlingerdips her spoon into acup of gumbo.

It’s seafood, herfavorite,made by her favoriteMandeville restaurant, Mandina’s, where shehuddles at acornertable with herniece and nephew,Bruceand MaryGay Bahlinger The95-year-old laymissionary lives in theCovington retirement community St. Anthony’sGardens, but her conversation drifts to BatonRouge,where, on the previous Sunday,St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Churchrededicated its devotionalgardeninher andher sister’snames.

Barbara Bahlinger bonded with the church while serving as amissionary in north Baton Rouge. Speciﬁc yearsescapeher when looking back now,but details are vivid. Her sister,Kathleen Bahlinger, whodiedin2013, was anun in the Congregation of St. Joseph. Barbara Bahlinger chose adifferent ministerialpath as alay missionary for the Catholic Church.

or twoafter the restaurant’sinitial opening in mid-tolateDecember

order to serve.”

AndBarbara Bahlinger didn’t

ﬂinch when the ministry later sent hertoGuatemala despitenot being ﬂuent in the country’snative Spanish. If that waswhere Godwanted her to go, she wouldn’thesitate. And she didn’t.

Oneofninekids

“Aunt Barbara was one of nine childreninher family,” nieceNanette Bahlinger said after the St. Paul’sgarden dedication. “And she wasone of twogirls. Her sister, Kathleen, was the youngest.”

She stands in the devotional garden looking up at the centerpiece statue of Mary holding baby Jesus. Both characters are painted as African Americans, abrassplaque dedicated to her aunts is embedded at the bottom

Bahlinger’snieces often organize ‘girls’ weekends’ with their aunt at the homeplace.

“The ministry was calledCaritas, which means God’slove,” she said. “Wehad to take vows of poverty in

“I spentweeks repainting the statue,” NanetteBahlingersaid

“I’d comehere in the mornings and worktoget it ready forthe dedication ceremony.”

The Bahlingersisters’ niece,

PROVIDED PHOTO By NANETTE BAHLINGER

Barbara Bahlinger shows off a fish she caught at Madonna Pines, the old Bahlinger family home in Jackson.

PROVIDED PHOTOByBARBARA BAHLINGER

Barbara Bahlinger,left, works withsome students in Guatemala. Bahlinger served20years in the countryasa Caritas missionary.

Christmaslists:Baby’s

Dear Miss Manners: Justafter Thanksgiving each year, my young nieces send out a letter to the extended family that contains their “Letter to Santa,” outlining the things they would like as gifts. Sometimes the letters are very cute. My husband and his siblings grew up with these letters as atradition, and I don’tmind receiving them. What Idon’twant is for my kids to write similar letters. Idon’tlikethem getting used to the idea that they can just make lists of things other people should get for them. Quietly Ibelieve this leads to overuse of gift registries later in life

anysort of book or toyon those subjects would be perfect.” And then Miss Mannerssuggestsyou keep natteringonuntil your inlaws wish they had notasked

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2025. There are 25 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

failed as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral launch pad before crashing downand exploding.

Dear Miss Manners: Now that I’m widowed,Iameating breakfast outwith friendsmore frequently.Eggs often needalittle salt, but not always, and restaurant saltshakers often deposit too much at once.

But my in-laws have requested lists from my children. How do Iexplain that this isn’tsomething we’re going to do, without making it seem like negative commentary on other people’s parenting?

I’ve tried suggesting the relatives talk with my kids and see what they are into lately,but that hasn’tgone very far Gentle reader: Then why not tell them yourself? “Well, Noah is into dinosaursright now,and Ruby is into cars, although she also wants to be ascientist. So I’m sure

BARBECUE

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cook food at their table using the built-in stove. There’s also aself-serve bar with dipping sauces, appetizers and desserts.

The Korean barbecue menu has aselection of about 27 meat options, including beef bulgogi, spicy pork belly,salmon, shrimp, curry chicken and cumin lamb. There are also 10 vegetable options, including eggplant, sweet potato, enoki mushroom and bell peppers.

If customers want hot pot, they can choose from one of the eight soup bases like Thai tom yum, mushroom and Szechuan spicy.Once the pot warms up, ingredients arecooked in the broth, like sliced pork belly,beef tongue, squid and dumplings.

The hot pot menu also offers noodles, several tofu options and 20 different vegetables.

The sushi menu includes aselection of classicand specialty rolls, sashimiand hibachi.

There’salso abar that’ll serve cocktails, sake and draftbeer, which will likely open amonth or two after

TEENS

Continued from page1D

even be willing to go with their friend to make the initial contact with another person. n Reassure them they are not alone. Say,“I’m in this with you.” Knowing they have backup reduces fear and prevents them from

What Iprefer is to taste the food ﬁrst, and then if salt is needed, Isprinkle some into one hand. Ithen pinchsome with myother hand, distributing as needed. A“highsprinkle” gives thewidest distribution. If there is extra salt left in my hand, Idumpitina little mound away fromthe food At least one companion has seemedstrangely fascinated by my salt habits. Ihavetried to start with amoundof salt and dip each bite into that,but of course this is usually too much salt, too localized. Am Iwithin civilized bounds to use my clean, dryhands?

Gentle reader: While this practice is practical and as sanitary as anyother method, MissManners still ﬁnds it lessthan…savory

Aquick sprinkle on your hand to testthe acceleration of the salt is ﬁne if you can hide it. ButMiss Manners supposes that if you can get away with that, you can probably also get away with depositing it from your hand ontothe food.

It is what you do with the rest of it that is giving Miss Manners pause. Mounds of salt on the plate or remnantsscattered on the ﬂoor are both unappetizing and potentially dangerous.

Dear Miss Manners: The invitation states “black tie” for a4:30 p.m.wedding. The bridesmaids are wearing long black gowns. Is it acceptable for women guests to wear longblack dresses?

Gentlereader: No. Andnot just because etiquette and Miss Manners condemn it (black looksfunereal at a wedding, and black tie and long dresses for guests should only be worn after 6p.m.). But at this wedding, you will also be confused for abridesmaid.

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

2159

therestaurant’sinitialopening, Chen said. Nonalcoholic beverage optionsinclude sodas, house lemonade, fruit and herbal teas andRamune Japanese sodas. Therewill alsobea selection of tea lattes with toppingslike tapioca.

“I have seen some people from here, Americans, once they try it, they do love it,” Chen said abouttea lattes andboba. “SoIwas like, ‘That’s good. I’lladd it to the menu.’”

Prices andhours

Lunch (offered11a.m.

feelinglike the sole lifeline.

n Keep checking in.Gently follow up: “How’syour friend?And how are you doingwith it?” Consistent check-ins help teensfeel supported andseen. Teensare compassionate andloyal,but they’re still learning their limits. When adultsguide themwith empathy,clarity and steadiness, teens discover they cancare deeply for their

to 4p.m. on weekdays) is $22.99 for adults, $12.99 for children ages 7-10 or $7.99 for children ages 4-6.

Dinner (offered 4p.m. to close every day) is $33.99 for adults, $17.99 for children ages 7-10 or $12.99 for children ages 4-6. There’sa no-wastepolicy, so leftover food may be subject to afee of $8.99 per pound.

Legend Pot, 2159 Staring Lane, Baton Rouge. Open daily 11 a.m. to 10:30p.m Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

friends without carrying the full weight of theirstruggles. By teaching them what healthy support looks like, we protect their emotional well-being and empower themtobecome the kind of friends who listen, care and help others connect with the support they truly need.

Petitﬁlsisalicensed professional counselor in Youngsville

On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment tothe U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery,was ratiﬁed as Georgia became the27th statetoendorse it.

Also on this date:

In 1907, at least 361 men and boys died in acoal mineexplosion in Monongah, West Virginia; it was theworst mining disaster in U.S. history

In 1917, more than 1,700 people were killed when an explosives-laden French cargo ship, theMont Blanc, collided with the Norwegian merchantvessel SS Imo in theharbor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, setting off ablast that devastated theCanadian city

In 1923, apresidential address was broadcast nationally on radio for theﬁrst time as Calvin Coolidge spoke to ajoint session of Congress.

In 1957, America’sﬁrst attempted satellite launch

In 1969, afree concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Alameda County,California, was marred by the deaths of four people, including one whowas stabbed by a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club that was hired to provide concert security

In 1973, Republican House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president after he was selected by President Richard Nixon to replace Spiro T. Agnew,who resigned amid an extortion and tax evasion scandal.

In 1998, in Venezuela, formerLt. Col. Hugo Chávez, who hadstaged abloody coup attempt against the government six years earlier,was elected president.

In 2017, President Donald Trumpofﬁcially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, announcing plans to movethe U.S. Embassy there from TelAviv In 2021, ousted Myanmar

leader Aung SanSuu Kyi was sentenced to four years (later reduced to two) for inciting public unrest and breachingCOVID-19 protocols; sheiscurrentlyserving a27-year prison sentence after aseries of cases brought by themilitary that hadseized power from her elected government. Today’sbirthdays: Actor JoBeth Williamsis77. Craigslist founder Craig Newmarkis73. Actor Tom Hulce is 72. Comedian Steven Wright is 70. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 69. Animator Nick Park is 67. Actor Janine Turner is 63. Writer-director Judd Apatow is 58. Actor Sarah Rafferty is 53.

STAFF PHOTO By MADDIESCOTT

Legend Pot,

Staring Lane, hopes to open mid-to-late December

who lives in Baton Rouge, is one among Barbara Bahlinger’smany grown nieces and nephews, some of whom traveled from other states for the ceremony.They stay in contact with their aunt, the niecesplanning random family “girls’ weekends” with their auntatMadonna Pines, the old Bahlinger family home in Jackson. Nanette Bahlinger jokes about church rector,the Rev Arockiam Arockiam, checking on her while she painted the garden statue, saying that her white skin would become as dark as his and St. Paul’scongregation’sif she continued working in the sun. Arockiam is from India, and his congregates are predominately Black, which was acause of concern for Barbara Bahlinger’sfather in earlier years.

Barbara Bahlinger was a young, single Whitewoman, and she chose to live, work and attend church at St. Paul’sinnorth Baton Rouge’spredominantly Black Eden Park neighborhood. She remembers her father’sworry,how some people viewed the areaas unsafe. She wasn’tbothered. She saw people, not color And she knew bad and good wasn’texclusive to any one place. She’d been called to serve, which prompted her to leave ajob teachingsecond grade in north Baton Rouge to take vows for her ministry

“She came to St. Paul’sin September 1960, with Eunice Royal, Rita Lombardo and Lois Deslond as members of Caritas,” her niece said. “They lived together in ahouse on North 38th Street.”

Deslond was African American and then arecent graduate of Xavier University in NewOrleans. St. Paul’s wasa newlyformed parish on Gus Young Road, and the three missionaries’ house stood directly across the street.

“Weslept in bunk beds,” Barbara Bahlinger said “My brother,Julius, located this house for the Caritas. He was in the real estate business.”

Meanwhile, she andher fellow missionaries went straight to work organizing the church’scatechetical program to preparechildren for First Communion.

“Wealso worked to prepare children to be prepared forConﬁrmation,”she said.

“And we prepared families who were interested in becoming Catholics —we prepared them for the sacrament of Baptism.”

And though the missionaries were happy in their work at St. Paul’s, Pope John XXIII put out acall formore Catholic missionaries in Latin America.

“This inspired our founder,Bertha Mugrauer,tosend us to Guatemala,” Barbara Bahlinger said.

So, the Caritas missionaries answered the call.

Learning anew language

“All Ihad to remember in learning Spanishwas subject, verb, object,”the nonagenarian said,emphasizing each word in the sentence structure with atap on the restaurant table. “Itwasn’t hard. Ilearned Spanish by talking to thekids in the town.”

That’sthe beginningofher story of Guatemala. Niece Mary Gay Bahlinger,who also is her goddaughter, ﬁlls in afew blanks,remembering how she traveled to the impoverished country while in college to help her aunt, who drove aVolkswagen vanback then.

“I remember how,whenit was time for me to go back to school, she drove me all the way from Guatemala through Mexico and up to Austin, Texas, where Iwas going to school,” said this niece,who droveinfrom

her homeinColorado. “Aunt Barbara didn’t let anything stop her.”

Even when resourceswere scarce, her aunt teamed up with fellow Caritas missionariestoorganize aMontessori school in the town of Esquipulas, where cardboard boxesservedasdesks in the beginning. But it didn’t matter,because schoolwas in session, and the local kids were hungry for education.

“After several years of work, all was going very well when we receiveda knock on our door in Esquipulas,” themissionarysaid. “Itwas apriestwho toldus, ‘I have three villages to takecare of.’ We chosethe poorest village of thethree, SanJacinto,to work with. We would go out into the ‘aldeas,’ which were small settlements, and teach religious education andreading, writing and math.”

San Jacintolacked its own priest, so the Baton Rouge woman quickly found asolution.

“I called my brother Donald,”she said.“He was a priest, andhewas given permission by theJesuits to be the pastor of thechurch in San Jacinto. We had Mass every day, andDonald would go to thealdeastooffer Mass.

Back in Louisiana

The Caritas missionaries would work 20 years in Guatemala before moving back to Louisiana.

“Everything was going well, and it was just time to come back,”she said.

Themissionaries moved into ahouse in AbitaSprings donated by aNew Orleans family,eventually settingup apreschool with funds, volunteers and food provided, this time,bylocal Lutheran and Episcopal churches.

Then came afamily emergency

Kathleen Bahlinger needed akidney.This was the same sistershe shared achildhood bed with, the younger sister whom she looked up to —her only sister.

Once again, Barbara Bahlinger knew shewas being called. She donated one of her own kidneys, which extendedher sister’s lifeanother 25 years.

TheCaritas missionaries later moved toCovington, andthe elderBahlinger eventually retired to St.Anthony’s, where her nephew often picks her up for lunches at Mandina’s, as he’sdone on this day,with Mary Gay Bahlinger joining them.

Andthough they know her story,theycan’t hide their admiration while hearing it againbetween bitesof gumbo andshrimppo-boys. They’rehappy to see her happy,proud of herlife welllived.

Email RobinMiller at romiller@theadvocate. com.

Thanks! —Parker,via email Cleaning thelinttrap

Dear Heloise: I’malongtimereader of your columnand Ihave ahint that I’dlike to pass along: I have ahabit of keeping a list of my prescriptions in my wallet because whenever Ivisit a new doctor or specialist, the ﬁrst thing they ask is which medications I’mtaking.

This came in very handy recently when Iwas involved in asevere car accident, and the EMTs asked me the samequestion in the ambulance. Iwas able to give them the list, and they radioed this to the ER, saving everybody’sprecious time!

Dear Heloise: This is in response to Richard, in Anaheim,California, whohad atip on cleaning adryer lint trap with used dryer sheets. No,itisnot safeto use dryer sheets to clean lint traps as the chemicals can leave aresidue that clogs the screen. This buildup can reduce dryer efﬁciency,cause overheating, and potentially create aﬁre hazard. Instead, you should use abrush or avacuum to clean the lint trap, and foradeep clean, wash the screen with hot, soapy water —Marcy Shonk Mumford, in Casey, Illinois Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

RELIGION BRIEFS FROM STAFFREPORTS

Event on tap for thoseinneed

Voices of Virtue invites the communityto “Holidays H.O.P.E. for the Homeless” at 2p.m.Saturday,Dec.20, at 1233Government St., Baton Rouge. This event —Helping OtherPeople Emerge will offergumbo, cocoa, cookies, speakers, haircuts, musicand localvendors,all to uplift and support those in need during the holiday season. Donation requests include blankets, coats, caps and gloves. For more information, call/text (225) 241-8132, (225) 337-4111 or (225) 2238709.

‘TheJesus Experience’

Baton Rouge creatives

Aaron and Jency Hogan will present an immersive artexperience,“The Jesus Experience,” at Eye Wander studio, 7964 Goodwood Blvd, Baton Rouge, from 2p.m. to 4p.m. Sunday The presentations, which last 10 minutes, will include

awalk-through of Jesus paintings by Jency Hogan along with Aaron Hogan’s photography Justice to speak at FairviewBaptist

Fairview Baptist Church, 1636 Braddock St., Baton Rouge, will welcome Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice John M. Guidry as the guest speaker during its 11 a.m.worship service on Sunday All are invited.

Musicprogram at St. Luke’s St. Luke’sEpiscopal Church, 8833 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge,will host theBaton Rouge Music Club Auxiliary’sDecember meeting at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the church’sWitter Hall. The evening will offer aprogram of holiday anthems andcarolsperformed by severalmembers of the St. Luke’sChoir This event is free and open to the public,and light refreshments will be served following the program

STAFF PHOTO By ROBINMILLER

Barbara Bahlinger,center,front, poses for aphoto withher family in St.Paul the Apostle Catholic Church’s devotional garden after aceremony dedicating the garden in honor of her andher latesister,Kathleen Bahlinger

PROVIDED PHOTO By BARBARA BAHLINGER

BarbaraBahlinger,fourth from left, takes some of her Guatemalanstudentstothe zoo. Bahlinger spent 20 years in Guatemala as amember of the Caritas mission.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Asteady pace is the best way to reach your goal Do what works best foryou and refuse to take on others'responsibilitiesata costthat dampens personal gains and satisfaction.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec.22-Jan. 19) Select your path and turnyour aspirations into a reality. Invest time and money in your future,and apositive lifestyle change will be yours. If you believe it and dream about it, you can make it happen.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Achange at homemay not initially delight you, but once it startstounfold, you will see thebenefits. Utilize your skills to your advantage, and channelyourenergy into helpingthose who need your support

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Confusion will set in if you let outsiders interfere in thechoices you make. Take advantage of an opportunity to socialize, learn something new or expand your interests and circle of friends

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Emotions and overreacting will lead to trouble. Use your intelligence andimaginationto pursuepeople, places and pastimes that put asmile on your face.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Nurturing connections with those whocan help you advance or improve your lifestyle will pay off. Be sure to abide by the rules and regulations to avoid setbacks

GEMInI (May 21-June20) Payattention to how you presentyourselftoothers.

Anew lookwill attract attention and boost your ego.Let your intelligence prevail whendealing with concerns.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Your emotions will be front and center. Gauge how you respond to avoid revealing your feelings. Don't be shyabout showing what you can do. Demonstrate your skills LEo (July23-Aug. 22) Sign up forsomethingyou enjoy, and you'll meet someone special. It's time to enhance your life through connections, pastimes or self-improvement projects that boost your confidence.

VIRGo (Aug.23-sept. 22) Observe and learn. Not everyone will be upfront with you. Take your time, notice any discrepancies and ask questions to clarify information.You are overdue for achange, even if you don't want it initially. LIBRA(sept. 23-oct. 23) Apick-me-up will brighten your day. Distance yourselffrom anyone trying to upset or take advantage of you. Clear aspace to house aproject you want to pursue. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Speak up; be honest and bold about how you feel, whatyour intentions are and where your plans will take you. Refusetolet someone elsecontrol or dictate the outcome.

FAMILYCIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letterinthe cipher stands for another. ToDAy's cLuE:o EQuALs u

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 numbers1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

In “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” Tom Stoppard (my favorite playwright)pointedout:“Eternity’saterrible thought. Imean, where’sitall going to end?” In today’sdeal, the trump split is terrible and seems to end declarer’s chance of making six hearts. But he can survive West leads the spade queen. South wins with hisace andcashes theheartace to getthe bad news. Howmust declarer continue?

It is rare thatanauction starting one of amajor -two of amajorends in aslam However, that South hand is very strong. WhenSouthrebid threeclubs, North assumed this was ahelp-suit game-try andjumped to fourhearts because he hadagood club holding and amaximum —aces are wonderful.South then carefully employed Blackwood before bidding the small slam. It seems as though Southmust lose two trumptricks. But if South can reach an ending with the king-jack of hearts and aloser, while West still has his last three trumps, West can be trapped.

Toachievethisending,Southmustruff threediamondsinhishandandfindWest with exactly 3-4-4-2 distribution. At trick three, declarer plays adiamondtodummy’sace.Hecontinueswith adiamond ruffinhis hand, the club king, aclub to dummy’s ace, another diamond ruff, the spade king, aspade ruff on the board, and, at trick 10, thethird diamond ruff.

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”suchas“bats” or “dies,”are notallowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may notbeused. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are notallowed.

ToDAy’s WoRD cAPRIcIous: kuh-PRISH-us: Impulsive; unpredictable.

Averagemark 35 words

Time limit 60 minutes

yEsTERDAy’sWoRD— oBDuRAcy

Can youfind50ormorewords in CAPRICIOUS? orca

your

carb

today’sthought

“The beginning of strife is as when one letsout water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.” Proverbs 17:14

Don’t saysomethingthatyou will regret later. Youwill be gladthatyou held your tongue. G.E. Dean

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

CITYOFCENTRAL

MEETING OF THE CITYCOUNCIL Central School BoardOffice 11576 Sullivan Road Central, LA 70818 https://www.centralgov.com/ Tuesday,October 28, 2025 MINUTES 6:00 PM

I. Preliminary Business

1) Call to Order -Mayor Evans called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

2) Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance -ByRon Erickson,Grace Life Church

3) Roll Call Present: Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy Absent: Fralick, Lazaroe and Wells

4) Approval of the minutes from the October 14, 2025 Council Meeting. Council Member Myer moved to approve the October 14, 2025 minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Council Member Lavergne. Therewerenoobjections. The October 14, 2025 minutes areapproved as written.

II. Zoning Cases

1) Discussion and action regarding thefollowing P&Z case(s): None

2) Introduction of the following P&Z item(s) (with public hearing to be held at the November 11, 2025, Council meeting). None

III. Old Business (Public Hearing and Actionregarding thefollowing instrument(s)): None

IV. New Business (Public Hearing and Actionregarding the following instrument(s)): 1) Aresolutiontorecall Ordinance 2025-16,which was erroneously marked as approved Aresolution to recall Ordinance 2025-16 to correct aclerical error and to provide for related matters (By Council Members Fralick and Lavergne)

Council Member Lavergne moved to approve this item. The motion wasseconded by Council Member Myer.Public comment: None. Vote: 4yeas (Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy), 0nays, 3 absent (Fralick, Lazaroe and Wells). Motion passed.

2) To consider amotion to reconsider the Council Minutes from theJuly 22,2025meeting to correctaclerical error Council Member McKinney moved to approve this item. The motion wasseconded by Council Member Myer.Public comment: None. Vote: 4yeas (Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy), 0nays, 3 absent (Fralick, Lazaroe and Wells). Motion passed.

3) Aresolution to cancel CouncilMeetings scheduled for November 11, 2025 and December 23, 2025. Aresolution to cancel theNovember 11, 2025 and December 23, 2025 City Council Meetings and to provide for related matters (By Council Members Fralick and Roy). Council Member Roy moved to approve this item. The motion was seconded by Council Member Myer.Public comment: None. Vote: 4yeas (Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy), 0nays, 3absent (Fralick, Lazaroe and Wells). Motion passed.

4) Aresolution to adopt the 2024-2025 LA Compliance Questionnaire Aresolution to adopt the 2024-2025 Louisiana Compliance Questionnairerequired by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and to provide for related matters (By Council Member Lavergne). Council Member Lavergne moved to approve this item. The motion wasseconded by Council Member Myer.Public comment: None. Vote: 4yeas (Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy), 0nays, 3 absent (Fralick, Lazaroe and Wells). Motion passed.

5) Aresolution to awardacontract for the 2025 Road Rehab Project Aresolution to awardBarber Brothers, acontractor for the 2025 Cityof Central Road Rehab Project, to authorize the Mayor to execute all related contracts, and to provide for related matters (By Council Member Lavergne). Council Member Lavergne moved to approve this item.The motion wasseconded by Council Member McKinney. Public comment: None. Vote: 3yeas (Lavergne, McKinney and Roy),

(ByCouncilMember Fralick)

Council Member McKinney made amotiontoapprove to open up discussion. The motionwas seconded by Council Member Myer Public comment: None. Council discussion. Council Member Myer made amotiontodefer this item to the next Council Meeting (November 25, 2025). The motion was seconded by Council Member McKinney.Publiccomment: None. Vote to defer: 4yeas (Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy), 0nays, 3absent (Fralick, Lazaroe and Wells). Motion passed and this item is deferred to the November 25, 2025 Council Meeting.

7) Aresolution to declarea CPD TV as surplus and authorize disposal

Aresolutiontodeclareassurplus certain items located in the Central Police Department and authorize disposal and to provide for related matters (ByCouncilMember Roy) Council Member Roy moved to approve this item. The motion was seconded by Council Member Myer.Publiccomment: None. Vote: 4yeas (Lavergne, McKinney,Myer and Roy), 0nays, 3absent (Fralick, Lazaroeand Wells). Motion passed.

V. New Business (Non-Public Hearing):

1) Introductionofthe following item(s) (with public hearing to be held at the November 25, 2025, Council meeting): a) An ordinance to amend the budget to accept and allocate funds received by CPD from ACT 461 An ordinance to amend the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget to accept and allocate funds received by the Central Police Department from ACT461 of the 2025 Regular Legislative Session and to provide for related matters (ByCouncil Member Myer).

VI. Reports and Presentations:

1) Mayor’sReports and Presentations

-Mayor Evans mentioned the great turnout for Central’s FallFest event. He thanked everyone for their hard work in putting the event together -Mayor Evans gave an update on the construction of City Hall.

2) Report from the Central Chamber of Commerce Miranda Denicola, gave areport for the Central Chamber of Commerce.

3) Report from the Central Police Department concerning law enforcement within the City of Central Police Lieutenant MichelleLewis gave areport for the Central Police Department.

4) Report from IBTS regarding services provided to the City of Central Deputy Program &Planning Director,Taurus Freeman, gave a report from IBTS regarding services provided to the City of Central.

5) Distribution of the City of Central AccountsPayable Disbursement Report, Fuel Report and DepositTotals forthe period of September 1, 2025 through September 30, 2025. Reports weredistributed.

6) Distribution of Financial Highlights and Statements for July 2025. Reports weredistributed.

VII. Other Business:

1) Public Comment None

2) Announcements -Police Chief Corcoran announced that the Central Police Department will be handing out candy for Halloween.

3) Adjournment Council Member Myer moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Council Member Lavergne. The meeting was adjourned at 7:03 p.m.

S/ Wade Evans, Mayor S/ Mark Miley, Clerk CITY OF CENTRAL BY COUNCIL MEMBER MYER:

of Central and to provide for related matters

WHEREAS, Act461 of the 2025 RegularLegislative Session (RLS) contains aline itemappropriation of $150,000.00 for safety equipment AFIS System, andfacility repairs andimprovements for the Central Police Department; WHEREAS, the Council for the City of Central,through the adoption of Resolution 2025-25, authorized the Mayor to execute aCooperative Endeavor Agreementwith the Department of Treasury,State of Louisiana in ordertoreceive the appropriatedfunds; WHEREAS, the CentralPoliceDepartment seeks to use the funds appropriatedinAct 461 of the 2025

WHEREAS, the Council for the City of Central desires to amendthe 2025-2026 Fiscal Year Budget to recognize revenue from Act461 of the RLSand to appropriate $150,000.00 to the Central PoliceDepartment for expenditures relatedtosafetyequipment, AFIS Equipment, andfacility

PUBLIC NOTICE

website: www.courts.state.nh.us, select theElectronicSer‐vicesiconand then se‐lect theoption fora selfrepresentedparty.Com‐pletethe registration/log in processthenselect"I am ﬁlingintoanexisting case”. Enterthe case numberabove andclick Next.Followthe instruc‐tionstocompleteyour ﬁling. Once you have re‐d d h

y sponded to theCom‐plaint,you canaccess documentselectronically ﬁledthrough ourCase Access Portal by going to https://odypa.nhecourt us/portaland following theinstructionsinthe User Guide. In that processyou will register validate your email, re‐questaccessand ap‐proval to view your case Afteryourinformation is validatedbythe court, youwillbeabletoview case informationand documents ﬁledinyour case If youdonot comply with theserequirements, you will be considered in de‐fault andthe Courtmay issueordersthataffect youwithout your input. Send copies to: TracyA.Kish, Esq., Korde& Associates,P.C 900 Chelmsford St Ste3102, Lowell, MA 01851 BY ORDEROFTHE COURT December 1, 2025 AmyM.Feliciano ClerkofCourt (126954) 169452 Dec. 6, 13, 20,3t $1,136.38

PUBLIC NOTICE -

WBRNOTICEOFPUBLIC HEARING: CONDEMNATION Pursuant to Parish Code Chapter109-42 “Derelict Structures”, thefollow‐ingpropertieshavebeen condemnedbythe Parish President. Address: 1RosedaleRd Owner: NishaNorthern LegalDescription:LOT 5 MURPHYTRINSQ5 OF THEBURBRIDGE TR 52A27 CB46 E47 APUBLIC HEARINGwill be held by theWest BatonRouge PARISH COUNCILtoratifythe condemnationorder.The ownerofthe structure mayappeal thedecision of theParishPresident by appearingatthis meetingofthe PARISH COUNCILtoshowcause whythe structureshould notbecondemned Date:Thursday,Decem‐ber11th, 2025 Time: 5:30pm Public hearings will be held at theWestBaton

HEARING:

TION Pursuant to

Code Chapter109-42 “Derelict Structures”, thefollow‐ingpropertieshavebeen condemnedbythe Parish President. Address: 1316 RevMan‐ualSt Owner: Albertha Wilson c/oDebra Richardson LegalDescription:LOT 7 MARIONNEAUXSUBD 53A-50CB196 E77CB229

D. READING OF THE MINUTES

1. Approval of minutes of the October 06, 2025, meeting and approve them as written. The motionwas made by Commissioner Womack Themotionwas seconded by Commissioner Slaughter

To approve the Zoning minutes of the October 06, 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 consistsofitemswith no outstanding issues that do notrequireplan amendments, textamendments, variances, or waivers.

Consent agenda itemsmay be approved with asingle motionwithout a public hearing, UNLESS removed from the consent agenda and placed in theregular 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.

WBRNOTICEOFPUBLIC HEARING: CONDEMNA‐TION Pursuant to Parish Code Chapter109-42 “Derelict Structures”, thefollow‐ingpropertieshavebeen condemnedbythe Parish President. Address: 4042 Mulatto Bend Rd Owner: Yvonne Stewart LegalDescription:LOT B TOURNOIR SD IN SEC42 T6SR12E 50-53CB231 E30 CB389 E57(PLAT MAP121) APUBLIC HEARINGwill be held by theWest BatonRouge PARISH COUNCILtoratifythe condemnation order. The ownerofthe structure mayappeal thedecision of theParishPresident by appearingatthis meetingofthe PARISH COUNCILtoshowcause whythe structureshould notbecondemned Date:Thursday,Decem‐ber11th, 2025 Time: 5:30pm Public hearingswillbe h ld

2. READING OF CITY POLICY RELATIVE TO OPEN MEETINGS

An opportunity for public comment shall be observed before avoteis taken on anyagenda 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. The presiding 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

D. READING OF THE MINUTES

E. PRESENTATION OF DELEGATON

F. ANNOUNCEMENTS

G. PLANNING

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 not have time allocated for speaking, UNLESS thereisamember 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 removedfromthe consent agenda and placed in the regular agenda order for discussion.

1. Consent Agenda

2. Old Business

3. New Business

a. Public Hearing and discussion -Toconsider whether or not to recommend approval (to the City Council) of proposed text amendments to the Unified Development Code to create an administrative law procedureand acode enforcement office for the purpose of enforcing selected provisions of the City of Zachary Unified Development Code. Commissioner Slaughter opened the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:04 p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favor of or against the proposed text amendments to the UDC, Commissioner Slaughter closed the PUBLIC HEARING at 6:04 p.m The motion was made by Commissioner Womack The motion was secondedbyCommissioner Peay To approve the proposed text amendmentsto theUnified Development Code to create an administrative law procedureand acode enforcement office for the purpose of enforcing selected provisions of the City of Zachary Unified Development Code. YEAS: Slaughter,Price, Watkins, Peay,Womack,Murphy NAYS: None ABSENT:Floyd ABSTAINED: None

G. REPORTOFTHE CITY PLANNER H. REPORTOFTHE CHAIRMAN

J. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m

Karen Burdette Recording Secretary Mindy Slaughter -Chairman

Karen Burdette, Recording Secretary CITY OF ZACHARY PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

1. Consent Agenda a. RZ-10-25 -1381 Port Hudson-Pride Road —Torezone Lot

C-8 of the BertC.Mills Property from EstateResidential (RE) to Suburban Residential (RS), on property located at 1381 Port Hudson-Pride Road, Zachary, La 70791. The motionwas made by Commissioner Womack Themotionwas seconded by Commissioner Slaughter To approve RZ-10-25 -1381 Port Hudson-Pride Road —Torezone Lot C-8 of the BertC.Mills Property from EstateResidential (RE) to Suburban

Residential (RS), on property located at 1381 Port Hudson-Pride Road, Zachary,La70791. YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy NAYS:None

ABSENT: Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

2. Old Business

3. New Business

H. REPORTOFTHE CITY PLANNER

I. REPORTOFTHE CHAIRMAN

J. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.

Karen Burdette Recording Secretary

MindySlaughter -Chairman

KarenBurdette, Recording Secretary CITY OF ZACHARY

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATEOFLOUISIANA

MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF ZACHARY

Monday,November 03, 2025 6:00 PM

A. CALL TO ORDER

Commissioner Slaughter called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m., on Monday,November 03, 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

Mindy Slaughter Jared Watkins James Peay Tommy Womack Christi Murphy ABSENT Christina Price Jason Floyd

2. READING OF CITYPOLICY RELATIVE TO OPEN MEETINGS

An opportunity forpublic comment shall be observed beforea vote is taken on any agenda item.Once recognizedbythe 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 motionwas made by Commissioner Slaughter The motionwas seconded by Commissioner Womack

To approve amending agenda to add item 3C: Request for revocation of a dedication of unimproved portion of Young Rd.

YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS:None

ABSENT: Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

D. READING OF THE MINUTES

1. Approval of minutes of the October 06, 2025, regular meeting and Minutesofthe October 27, 2025, Recommended Draft Comprehensive/Master Plan Workshop approve them as written. The motionwas made by Commissioner Womack Themotionwas seconded by Commissioner Slaughter

To approve the minutes of the October 06, 2025, regular meeting and Minutesofthe October 27, 2025, Recommended DraftComprehensive/ Master Plan Workshopapprove them as written.

YEAS: Slaughter,Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT: Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

E. PRESENTATION OF DELEGATON F. ANNOUNCEMENTS G. PLANNING

&12-B of the Zachary Heights Subdivision on property located at 4267 39th Street,Zachary, La 70791

d. RESUB-8-25 —1381 Port Hudson-Pride Road —Proposed resubdivision of Lot C-8 into Lots C-8-A, C-8-B,C-8-C &C-8-D of the Bert C. Mills Property,onproperty located at 1381 Port Hudson-Pride Road, Zachary,La70791 The motion wasmadebyCommissionerSlaughter The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerWomack To approve a. EOP-1-25 —4213 Young Street —Proposed exchange of property of Lots 1, 2, &4 into Lots 1-A &4-A of the Town of Zachary Subdivision,onproperty located at 4213 Young Street,Zachary,La70791 b. EOP-2-25 —1538 &1540 Mount Pleasant-Zachary Road Proposedexchange of property of Tracts7-A &7-B into Tracts7-A-1 & 7-B-1 of the M.L.Harvey Tract,onproperty located at 1538 &1540 Mount Pleasant-Zachary Road, Zachary, La 70791

c. RESUB-7-25 —4267 39thStreet —Proposed resubdivision of Lot 12 into Lots 12-A &12-B of the Zachary Heights Subdivision,onproperty located at 4267 39th Street,Zachary,La70791

YEAS: Slaughter, Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

2. OldBusiness

a. Adoption of Comprehensive Master Plan The motion wasmade by CommissionerWomack The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerSlaughter To Table the Comprehensive Master Plan YEAS: Slaughter, Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

3. New Business a. Annexation-2-25(8010 Lower Zachary Road) —Proposed petition of annexation of property located at Tract BB of the Lawrence B. RitterTract,T5S R1ESect 9, 8010 LowerZachary Road, Zachary,La70791 CommissionerSlaughteropened the PUBLICHEARINGat 6:21 p.m. Therebeing no one to speak in favor of or against the Annexation, CommissionerSlaughterclosedthe PUBLIC HEARING at 6:22 p.m. The motion wasmadebyCommissionerWomack The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerSlaughter To approve Annexation-2-25 (8010 Lower Zachary Road) —Proposed petition of annexation of property located at Tract BB of the Lawrence B. RitterTract, T5S R1ESect 9, 8010 LowerZachary Road, Zachary, La 70791

YEAS: Slaughter, Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None b. CUP-1-25 —21000-22000 W.J. Wicker Road —Proposed go kart track on Tract Z-1ofthe William J. Wicker Place, on property located at 21000-22000W.J. Wicker Road, Zachary, La 70791 CommissionerSlaughteropened the PUBLICHEARINGat6:27 p.m. CourtneyDay,8905 WVernon Rd., Joshua O’Neal,2831 Rush St., Slaughter,LA70777, Shane Nicholas(Surveyor for project) 4211 Spring Hollow Court, waspresent to speak in favor of the Conditional Use Permit. Barry Corkern,22283 WJ Wicker Rd., Stacy Alonzo, 22115 WJ Wicker Rd., DianeFletcher, 21363 WJ Wicker Rd., Ruth Whitehead, 21920 WJ Wicker Rd., Jud Corkern 22283 WJ Wicker Rd., Ellis Whitehead, 21921 WJ Wicker Rd., Christy Corkern,22177 WJ Wicker Rd., Larry Perkins, 21973 WJ Wicker Rd. were presenttospeak against the Conditional Use Permit. There being no one else to speak in favor of or against the Conditional Use Permit, CommissionerSlaughterclosedthe PUBLIC HEARING at 7:05 p.m. CommissionerSlaughterreopened the PUBLICHEARINGat 7:05 p.m. Joshua O’Neal, 2831 Rust St., Slaughter,LA70777 spoke regarding concerns made for those against andspoke to Commissioners for questions theyhad.There being no one else to speak in favor of or against the Conditional Use Permit, CommissionerSlaughterclosedthe PUBLIC HEARING at 7:19 p.m. The motion wasmadebyCommissionerWomack The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerPeay

To deny CUP-1-25 —21000-22000 W.J. Wicker Road —Proposed go kart track on Tract Z-1ofthe William J. Wicker Place, on property located at 21000-22000W.J.Wicker Road, Zachary, La 70791

YEAS: Slaughter, Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

c. Request for revocation of adedication of unimprovedportion of Young Rd. The motion wasmade by CommissionerSlaughter The motion wassecondedbyCommissionerPeay

To approve the request for revocation of adedication of unimproved portion of Young Rd.

YEAS: Slaughter, Watkins, Peay,Womack, Murphy

NAYS: None

ABSENT:Price, Floyd

ABSTAINED: None

H. REPORTOFTHE CITYPLANNER

I. REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN

J. ADJOURNMENT The meeting wasadjournedat7:29p.m.

KarenBurdette Recording Secretary

Mindy Slaughter-Chairman

Karen Burdette, Recording Secretary CITYOFZACHARY PARISHOFEAST BATON ROUGE

STATEOFLOUISIANA