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La. gets $208M for rural health care

“We believe pay is a contributing factor, along with the change in the concept of being a law enforcement officer.”

LT. L’JEAN ‘GENO’ MCKNEELy, Baton Rouge Police Department

BRPD cancels January training academy

Funds to aid hospitals, those with chronic conditions

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

persons with the drive and the heart and the want to be law enforcement officers to serve their community.”

The department is allotted 698 positions, but only 542 are currently filled.

For those who want to go into law enforcement, McKneely said there are other agencies offering more money to recruits. And in those jurisdictions, it’s

Louisiana will get more than $208 million from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, which the state plans to spend “The use on efforts like treating chronic health of this conditions, recruit- funding will ing and retaining doctransform tors and nurses and lives through shoring up hospitals innovative and health clinics, officials announced approaches Monday. to improve The $10 billion prohealth care gram was created in access the Working Families in rural Tax Cuts Act — otherwise known as the communities “One Big, Beautiful across the Bill” — that enacted state.” much of President Donald Trump’s doBRUCE mestic agenda.

GREENSTEIN, Louisiana’s share Louisiana of the program is secretary of “among the highest in health the nation,” the Louisiana Department of Health said in a news release. Nearly 1.1 million people live in rural parishes, more than a third are on Medicaid and more than 1 in 5 are covered by Medicare.

“The use of this funding will transform lives through innovative approaches to improve health care access in rural communities across the state,” said Secretary of Health Bruce Greenstein in the release.

ä See ACADEMY, page 3A

ä See RURAL, page 4A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Cadets take the oath of office during a Baton Rouge Police Department basic training academy graduation in 2019.

Department cites lack of applicants for new officers

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Staff writer

Already short more than 100 officers, the Baton Rouge Police Department won’t be adding to its ranks any time soon.

The department will not hold its January training academy for new officers, officials say, citing a lack of new cadets.

BRPD Lieutenant L’Jean “Geno”

McKneely said there are multiple reasons for the shortage of newcomers, but a major one is the lack of competitive pay compared with other local and statewide law enforcement agencies.

“We believe pay is a contributing factor, along with the change in the concept of being a law enforcement officer,” McKneely said. “We understand it’s not just us that’s battling this. But there’s just a trending difficulty in finding those

Swiss officials believe sparkling candles ignited deadly bar fire

BY JOHN LEICESTER, JAMEY KEATEN bar crowded with New Year’s Eve other 119 injured in the blaze early attorney general for the Valais that he might be one of the six revelers.

Thursday as it ripped through the region warned of possible pros- injured people who had yet to be and STEFANIE DAZIO

Associated Press

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited a fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a

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Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, were permitted for use in the bar.

Forty people were killed and an-

busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes. The

ecutions if any criminal liability is found.

Arthur Brodard, 16, from the Swiss city of Lausanne, was among the missing. His mother, Laetitia, was in Crans-Montana on Friday and frantic to find him.

She held out “a glimmer of hope”

Business ......................5B Deaths .........................4B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................7D Living............................1D Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-6D Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

identified.

“I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” she told reporters. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side, wherever that may be — be

ä See FIRE, page 3A

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New Year’s Eve attack plan in N.C. disrupted, FBI says

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Pipe bomb suspect to stay jailed before trial

WASHINGTON — A federal magistrate judge on Friday refused to order the pretrial release of a man charged with planting two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national parties on the eve of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ruled that Brian J. Cole Jr. must remain jailed before trial. The magistrate concluded there are no conditions of release that can reasonably protect the public from the danger that Cole allegedly poses.

Justice Department prosecutors say Cole confessed to placing pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee headquarters only hours before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. According to prosecutors, Cole said he hoped the explosives would detonate and “hoped there would be news about it.”

After his arrest last month, Cole told investigators that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election, which Democrat Joe Biden won, was stolen and that he wanted to target the country’s political parties because they were “in charge,” according to prosecutors.

If convicted of both charges against him, Cole faces up to 10 years of imprisonment on one charge and up to 20 years of imprisonment on a second charge that also carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Louisville police reform agreement dismissed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed Louisville’s proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over police reforms after the department withdrew its support of the plan earlier this year.

The Justice Department announced in May it was canceling proposed consent decrees with Louisville and Minneapolis that sought to curb police racial bias and abuses after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that spurred nationwide protests in the summer of 2020.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton wrote in a Dec. 31 ruling that “the responsibility to lead the Louisville Metro Police Department in compliance with federal law must remain with the city’s elected representatives and the people they serve.”

A judge in May dismissed Minneapolis’ proposed consent decree, which places a federal officer in charge of tracking the progress of reforms laid out in the agreement.

Justice Department officials under President Joe Biden’s administration conducted a multiyear investigation in Louisville prompted by the fatal shooting of Taylor and police responses to public protests in 2020. A draft of the investigation was released in 2023, alleging the Louisville Police Department “discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities,” uses excessive force and conducts searches based on invalid warrants.

6.5 magnitude quake rattles Mexico, killing 2

MEXICO CITY — A strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico on Friday, interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first news briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded and leaving at least two people dead.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5 and its epicenter was near the town of San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero near the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, according to Mexico’s national seismological agency.

There were more than 500 aftershocks.

The state’s civil defense agency reported various landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state.

Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said that a 50-year-old woman living near the epicenter died when her home collapsed.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said that one person died after suffering an apparent medical emergency followed by a fall while evacuating a building.

in custody after a federal Plot inspired court appearance Friday.

by Islamic State An attorney representing did not immediately regroup, officials say him spond to an email or phone

PHOTO PROVIDED By FARS NEWS AGENCy

Protesters march Monday in downtown Tehran, Iran.

Trump, Iran trade threats over protests

three nuclear sites during Israel’s 12-day Demonstrations war on the Islamic Republic. No one was though a missile did hit a strucwiden across Islamic injured, ture there.

As of Friday, no major changes had Republic; at least 8 killed been made to U.S. troop levels in the Mid-

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump and top Iranian officials exchanged dueling threats Friday as widening protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic, further escalating tensions between the countries after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.

At least eight people have been killed so far in violence surrounding the demonstrations, which were sparked in part by the collapse of Iran’s rial currency but have increasingly seen crowds chanting anti-government slogans.

The protests, now in their sixth day, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the protests have yet to be as widespread and intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

Trump initially wrote on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran that if it “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.”

“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote, without elaborating.

Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, alleged that Israel and the U.S. were stoking the demonstrations. He offered no evidence to support the allegation, which Iranian officials have repeatedly made during years of protests sweeping the country.

“Trump should know that intervention by the U.S. in the domestic problem corresponds to chaos in the entire region and the destruction of the U.S. interests,” Larijani wrote on X, which the Iranian government blocks. “The people of the U.S. should know that Trump began the adventurism. They should take care of their own soldiers.”

Larijani’s remarks likely referenced America’s wide military footprint in the region. Iran in June attacked Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after the U.S. strikes on

dle East or their preparations following Trump’s social media posts, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

In a letter late Friday to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the U.N. Security Council, Iran’s envoy asked the world body to condemn the rhetoric and reaffirm the country’s “inherent right to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security, and to protect its people against any foreign interference.”

“The United States of America bears full responsibility for any consequences arising from these unlawful threats and any ensuing escalation,” said Amir Saeid Iravani, Iranian ambassador to the U.N. Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who previously was the council’s secretary for years, separately warned that “any interventionist hand that gets too close to the security of Iran will be cut.”

Trump’s online message marked a direct sign of support for the demonstrators, something other American presidents have avoided out of concern that activists would be accused of working with the West. During Iran’s 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, President Barack Obama held back from publicly backing the protests — something he said in 2022 “was a mistake.”

But such White House support still carries a risk.

“Though the grievances that fuel these and past protests are due to the Iranian government’s own policies, they are likely to use President Trump’s statement as proof that the unrest is driven by external actors,” said Naysan Rafati, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.

“But using that as a justification to crack down more violently risks inviting the very U.S. involvement Trump has hinted at,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei recently cited a list of Tehran’s longtime grievances regarding U.S. intervention, including a CIAbacked coup in 1953, the downing of a passenger jet in 1988 and the strikes in June.

Zelenskyy taps Ukraine’s head of military intel as new chief of staff

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV

the current minister for digital transformation, as the new minister of defense.

Fedorov, 34, is credited with spearheadKYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zel- ing the introduction of drone technology enskyy on Friday appointed the head of in Ukraine’s army and introducing sevUkraine’s military intelligence as his new eral successful e-government platforms chief of staff, a move that comes as the in his current role.

U.S. leads a diplomatic push to end RusHe replaces Denys Shmyhal who took up the post last July in a major sia’s nearly 4-year-old invasion. government shake-up. Zelenskyy Announcing the appointment thanked Shmyhal and said he of Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenwould be taking up another role skyy said Ukraine needs to focus in government. He also credited on security issues, developing its the ministry for reaching a target defense and security forces, and production of more than 1,000 peace talks — areas that are overinterceptor drones per day in Deseen by the office of the president.

Zelenskyy had dismissed his Budanov cember. previous chief of staff, Andrii Earlier, Zelenskyy appointed Yermak, after anti-corruption officials Foreign Intelligence Service head Oleh began investigating alleged graft in the Ivashchenko to replace Budanov as intelenergy sector. ligence chief.

The president framed Budanov’s apBudanov is one of the country’s most pointment as part of a broader effort to recognizable and popular wartime figsharpen the focus on security, defense ures. He has led Ukraine’s military inteldevelopment and diplomacy. ligence agency, known by its acronym “Kyrylo has specialized experience GUR, since 2020. in these areas and sufficient strength to A career military intelligence officer, achieve results,” Zelenskyy said. he rose through the defense establishBudanov, 39, said on Telegram his new ment after Russia’s illegal annexation of position is “both an honor and a responsi- Crimea in 2014. He also took part in spebility — at a historic time for Ukraine — cial operations and intelligence missions to focus on the critically important issues linked to the fighting with Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine beof the state’s strategic security.”

In his evening address, Zelenskyy an- fore the full-scale invasion of February nounced further changes to his team, say- 2022. He reportedly was wounded during ing he had proposed Mykhailo Fedorov, one such operation.

Associated Press

BY GARY D. ROBERTSON and ERIK VERDUZCO Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group.

Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Investigators said he told an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant about his plans to attack people. Their online messages, along with a recent search of his home, indicated attacks would occur with knives and hammers, according to prosecutors and records.

Worried Sturdivant might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed him under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.

Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, Ferguson said at a news conference in Charlotte.

“At no point was the public in harm’s way.”

Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained

message seeking comment.

Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.

The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who proclaimed support for IS on social media.

The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.

Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for the attack, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle told reporters.

“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.

A handwritten note found in a trash can at Sturdivant’s home listed details of the planned attacks and the number of intended victims at a Burger King restaurant and unnamed grocery store, according to an FBI affidavit.

The note also said he would attack arriving officers and “hoped to die by the hands of police.” Ferguson said the attack was to take place in Mint Hill, a bedroom community of Charlotte.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIK VERDUZCO

FBI Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr., center; U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson, right; and Mint Hill Police Chief Joseph Hatley speak Friday in Charlotte, N.C.

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The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 3A

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FIRE

Continued from page 1A it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

The injured included 71 people from Switzerland, 14 from France and 11 from Italy, along with citizens of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal and Poland, according to Frédéric Gisler, police commander of the Valais region. The nationalities of 14 people were unclear.

Among the crowd was Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris, who said he felt as if he was suffocating inside the Swiss Alpine bar where moments before he had been ringing in the new year.

The teenager escaped the inferno by forcing a window open with a table. The dead included one of Clavier’s friends, and he told The Associated Press that two or three other friends were still missing hours after the disaster.

An impromptu memorial took shape near the bar, where mourners left candles and flowers. Hundreds of others prayed for the victims at the nearby Church of Montana-Station.

A French teenager on Friday brought a bouquet of tulips to the regional hospital in Sion for her best friend, a fellow 17-year-old girl who was badly burned and in intensive care. The two attend school together in Lausanne, said the girl, who was in distress and did not give her full name to the AP. But when she arrived at the hospital, her friend had been heavily sedated for a dressing change and could not see visitors. It was the latest in hours of heartbreak for the teen, who had intended to join a dozen schoolmates at the bar but ultimately decided against it.

She said she has since learned that two of the 12 are in a Zurich hospital. She

ACADEMY

Continued from page 1A frankly an easier job, he argued.

“You’ve got smaller agencies and larger state agencies, where you can work less hard and make more,” he said. “Our call volume is way higher than them. We deal with a lot more trauma and anxiety that we’re being faced with on a day-in and day-out basis.”

While in the academy, new BRPD cadets make just short of $41,000. After one year on the job, officers make $50,598, with merit increases and state supplement pay kicking in.

In comparison, a Louisiana State Police cadet earns about $10,000 more during training and an additional $10,000 after a year of service.

“We just want to be in the position of where pay wouldn’t even be an issue,” McKneely said. “Right now, you can go to Gonzales PD and not only get more, but the call volume is way lower.

So that means you deal with less stress.”

The department hopes to hold an academy for new cadets in April if applicant turnout is high enough, he said.

Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ office declined to comment. He pitched raises for BRPD in February 2025 through a tax rededication plan later called “Thrive.”

Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, joined the effort to get people out of the tavern.

“People were collapsing.

We were doing everything we could to save them,” he said. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out. She was all burnt.

You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

The severity of the burns made it difficult to identify bodies, requiring families to supply authorities with DNA samples. In some cases, wallets and any identification documents inside turned to ash in the flames.

Emanuele Galeppini, a promising teenage Italian golfer who competed internationally, was officially listed as missing. His uncle Sebastiano Galeppini told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the results of DNA tests, though the Italian Golf Federation on its website announced that he had died.

With high-altitude ski runs rising nearly 9,850 feet in the heart of the Valais reASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANTONIO CALANNI gion’s snowy peaks and pine Mourners gather at a memorial of flowers and letters on Friday near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating forests, Crans-Montana is a major destination for interfire left 40 dead and 119 injured during the New year’s celebrations in Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps. national alpine skiing competitions. It’s also home to did not know if the others tles topped with the burning inside.

He described people on the the European Masters each survived.

Gianni Campolo, a Swiss ground suffering from ter- August. sparklers.

On Instagram, an account Associated Press journalTwo women told French 19-year-old who was in rible burns. filled up with photos of peo- broadcaster BFMTV they Crans-Montana on vaca“I have seen horror, and I ists Geir Moulson in Berlin, ple who were unaccounted were inside when they tion, raced to the bar to help don’t know what else would Graham Dunbar in Geneva and Nicole Winfield and for, and friends and rela- saw a male bartender lift- first responders after re- be worse than this,” CamGiada Zampano in Rome tives begged for tips about ing a female bartender on ceiving a call from a friend polo told French television contributed to this report. their whereabouts. his shoulders as she held who escaped the inferno. network TF1.

Valais regional govern- a lit candle in a bottle. The ment head Mathias Reynard flames spread, collapsing told RTS radio Friday that the wooden ceiling, they told officials have “numerous the broadcaster.

One of the women deaccounts of heroic actions, one could say, of very strong scribed a crowd surge as solidarity in the moment.” people frantically tried to He lauded the work of escape from the basement emergency officials on the nightclub up a flight of stairs day after the fire but added and through a narrow door. “in the first minutes it was Another witness speakcitizens — and in large part ing to BFMTV described young people — who saved people smashing windows lives with their courage.” to escape the blaze, some Clavier, the Parisian teen- gravely injured, and panager, said he did not see the icked parents rushing to the fire start, but he saw servers scene in cars to see whether arrive with Champagne bot- their children were trapped

“We must properly fund public safety first. Only then can we afford to fund the other very nice functions that we enjoy.”

DWIGHT HUDSON, East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member But that plan was revised to instead pay off city-parish debt and ultimately failed at the polls in November.

The department has not had raises since 2020.

Metro Council member Dwight Hudson said achieving competitive pay and full staffing for BRPD remains a top priority, as does properly funding the rest of the criminal justice system.

Hudson said the council will soon be considering several tax renewals — some tied to public safety and others not — and determining which to prioritize will be critical.

“The temptation will be to view these different issues

separately. I don’t think we can afford to do that any longer,” Hudson said. “We must properly fund public safety first. Only then can we afford to fund the other very nice functions that we enjoy.”

BRPD’s request for a $10 million increase to its 2026 budget was denied last month, though it did not receive any cuts.

Meanwhile, nearly every department in the cityparish was forced to cut its budget by 11%, triggering layoffs of about 200 government workers.

Together, BRPD’s annual budget of $98.3 million and the Baton Rouge Fire Department’s budget — the other agency whose budget went unscathed — of $57.4 million make up about 47% of the city-parish’s general fund.

To make up for lost sales tax revenue now in the hands of the city of St. George, the city-parish was forced to cut $15.5 million from the 2026 general fund.

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4A ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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Trump eyes overhaul of ‘president’s golf course’ He has yet to play course located inside Joint Base Andrews

BY WILL WEISSERT

Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump has spent much of his two-week vacation in Florida golfing. But when he gets back to the White House, there’s a military golf course that he’s never played that he’s eyeing for a major construction project.

Long a favored getaway for presidents seeking a few hours’ solace from the stress of running the free world, the Courses at Andrews — inside the secure confines of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, about 15 miles from the White House — are known as the “president’s golf course.” Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Joe Biden have spent time there, and Barack Obama played it more frequently than any president, roughly 110 times in eight years.

Trump has always preferred the golf courses his family owns — spending about one of every four days of his second term at one of them. But he’s now enlisted golf champion Jack Nicklaus as the architect to overhaul the Courses at Andrews.

“It’s amazing that an individual has time to take a couple hours away from the world crises. And they’re people like everybody else,” said Michael Thomas, the former general manager of the course, who has golfed with many of the presidents visiting Andrews over the years.

Andrews, better known as the home of Air Force One, has two 18hole courses and a 9-hole one. Its facilities have undergone renovations in the past, including in 2018, when Congress approved funding to replace aging presidential aircraft and to build a new hangar and support facilities. That project was close enough to the courses that they had to be altered then, too.

Trump toured the base by helicopter before Thanksgiving with Nicklaus, who has designed top courses the world over. The president called Andrews “a great place, that’s been destroyed over the years, through lack of maintenance.”

Other golfers, though, describe Andrews’ grounds as in good shape, despite some dry patches.

Online reviews praise the course’s mature trees, tricky roughs, and ponds and streams that serve as

RURAL

Continued from page 1A Jeff Reynolds, executive director of the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition, said a great deal of work is ahead to determine how exactly the state will distribute the money.

But he said the state is prioritizing areas where help is “desperately needed.”

“This type of investment is very appreciated and very needed,” he said.

The rural health program was created to address concerns that tighter restrictions on Medicaid, enacted in the same law, would leave more people without health insurance and potentially deal a

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLES DHARAPAK

President Barack Obama, from right, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich walk on the first green during a round of golf at Andrews Air Force Base in 2011. water hazards. The courses are mostly flat, but afford views of the surrounding base.

The first president to golf at Andrews was Ford in 1974. Thomas began working there a couple years later, and was general manager from 1981 until he retired in 2019.

He said the Secret Service over the years used as many as 28 golf carts — as well as the president’s usual 30-car motorcade — to keep the perimeter secure.

“It’s a Cecil B. DeMille production every time,” said Thomas, who had the opportunity to play rounds with four different presidents, and with Biden when he was vice president.

He said the commanders in chief generally enjoyed their time out on the course in their own unique ways, but “they all like to drive the cart because they never get an opportunity to drive.”

“It’s like getting your driver’s license all over again,” Thomas laughed.

Trump golfs most weekends, and as of Friday, has spent an estimated 93 days of his second term doing so, according to an Associated Press analysis of his schedules.

That tally includes days when Trump was playing courses his family owns in Virginia, around 30 miles from the White House, and near his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, where he’s spending the winter

holidays. It also includes 10 days Trump spent staying at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where his schedule allowed time for rounds of golf.

Trump has visited Andrews in the past, but the White House and base have no record of him playing the courses.

Andrews’ military history dates to the Civil War, when Union troops used a church near Camp Springs, Maryland, as sleeping quarters. Its golf course opened in 1960.

The White House said the renovation will be the most significant in the history of Andrews. The courses and clubhouse need improvements due to age and wear, it said, and there are discussions about including a multifunctional event center as part of the project.

“President Trump is a championlevel golfer with an extraordinary eye for detail and design,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “His vision to renovate and beautify Joint Base Andrews’ golf courses will bring much-needed improvements that service members and their families will be able to enjoy for generations to come.”

Plans are in the very early stages, and the cost of — and funding for — the project haven’t been determined, the White House said.

Trump has said only that it will require “very little money.”

The Andrews improvements

join a bevy of Trump construction projects, including demolishing the White House’s East Wing for a sprawling ballroom now expected to cost $400 million, redoing the bathroom attached to the Lincoln bedroom and replacing the Rose Garden’s lawn with a Mar-a-Lagolike patio area.

Outside the White House, Trump has led building projects at the Kennedy Center and wants to erect a Paris-style arch near the Lincoln Memorial, and has said he wants to rebuild Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.

On Wednesday, meanwhile, the Trump administration ended a lease agreement with a nonprofit for three public golf courses in Washington — which could allow the president to further shape golfing in the nation’s capital. The White House, however, said that move isn’t related to the plans for Andrews.

When the president is golfing, Andrews officials block off nine holes at a time so no one plays in front of him, allowing for extra security while also ensuring consistent speed-of-play, Thomas said.

That’s relatively easily done given that the courses aren’t open to the public. They’re usually reserved for active or retired members of the military and their families, as well as some Defense Department-linked federal employees.

Thomas remembers playing a round with the older President Bush, a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee known for fast play, while first lady Barbara Bush walked with Millie, the first couple’s English Springer Spaniel. George W. Bush also played fast, Thomas said, and got additional exercise by frequently riding his mountain bike before golfing.

When he wasn’t golfing at Andrews, Obama tried to recreate at least part of the experience back home. He had a White House golf simulator installed after thenfirst lady Michelle Obama asked Thomas how they might acquire a model that the president had seen advertised on the Golf Channel.

Thomas gave her a contact at the network.

Obama famously cut short a round at Andrews after nine holes in 2011 to hustle back to the White House for what turned out to be a top-secret review of final preparations for a Navy SEAL raid on the compound of Osama bin Laden.

But, while Thomas was golfing with presidents, he said he never witnessed play interrupted by an important call or any major emergency that forced them off the course mid-hole. There also were never any rainouts.

“If there was rain coming, they’d get the weather forecast before we would,” Thomas said. “They would cancel quick on that.”

huge financial blow to alreadystruggling rural health care providers.

The way the program is structured benefits Louisiana.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, was one of the senators who pushed for the fund to be added.

He said in a statement that he was “proud that Louisiana has secured an outsized share of this historic investment that will save lives and improve rural health care.”

Half the money will be distributed equally across states, regardless of size, and the rest will be distributed based on a formula developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that considers rural population size, the financial health of a state’s medical facilities and health outcomes for a

state’s population.

That formula ties $12 billion of the five-year funding to whether states are implementing health policies prioritized by the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. Examples include requiring nutrition education for health care providers, having schools participate in the Presidential Fitness Test or banning the use of food stamp benefits for soda, candy and other “junk foods,” according to Medicaid administrator Mehmet Oz. Louisiana has already enacted many of those policies.

Democratic-led states have argued the formula is unfair to larger states that don’t agree with the president’s health agenda. And

some Democratic officials and health care leaders have argued that the fund isn’t enough to offset looming Medicaid cuts.

In the news release, the Department of Health laid out four “key groups” for the program: n Rural residents with chronic or complex conditions like hypertension and diabetes n People who need coordinated care across multiple providers, like those with behavioral health needs, perinatal or postpartum risks and cancer n The rural health care workforce, which is facing “persistent recruitment and retention challenges” n Upgrades and infrastructure for rural health care facilities like clinics, critical access hospitals

and community-based organizations.

Louisiana health care providers have long warned of growing staffing problems in clinics and hospitals in more remote parts of the state.

“Recruiting doctors and nurses into those communities is a very tough proposition,” Reynolds said.

And, with fewer doctors and specialists within a reasonable range of home, it can be hard for rural residents to reliably treat chronic conditions.

“Anybody who has had an illness and is trying to work their way through the current health system knows that is a real challenge,” Reynolds said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 5A

lll

Grandmother, grandson burn to death in Gaza tent Angelina Jolie visits Rafah crossing

BY WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — A grandmother and her 5-yearold grandson burned to death in Gaza when their tent caught fire while cooking, as thousands of Palestinians endure colder weather in makeshift housing.

The nylon tent in Yarmouk caught fire Thursday night while a meal was being prepared, a neighbor said. A hospital official said that two Palestinian men were killed

by Israeli gunfire on Friday in Gaza.

The shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group has largely ended largescale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli forces, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control.

On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

Fatima Abu al-Bayd inspects what remains of her mother’s tent on Friday after her mother, Amal Abu Al-Khair, and grandchild, Saud, were killed when it caught fire overnight at the yarmouk displacement camp in Gaza City.

Over the past few weeks, cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, causing flooding, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing damaged buildings to collapse.

Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting into Gaza during the truce.

Figures recently released by Israel’s military suggest it

hasn’t met the ceasefire stipulation of allowing 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, though Israel disputes that finding.

Israel has said throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies, preventing the population in Gaza from receiving them.

Last month, the World Food Program said that there have been “notable improve-

ments” in food security in Gaza since the ceasefire.

Palestinians have long called for mobile homes and caravans to be allowed in to protect them against living in impractical and worn out tents.

Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then vis-

ited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.

Her visit sought to raise support for the displaced and humanitarian workers in the crises in Gaza as well as in Sudan, Jolie’s team told The Associated Press in a statement.

“What needs to happen is clear: the ceasefire must hold, and access must be sustained, safe and urgently scaled up so that aid, fuel and critical medical supplies can move quickly and consistently, at the volume required,” Jolie said about Gaza.

Reopening the crossing, which would allow Palestinians to leave Gaza — especially the ill and wounded who could get specialized care unavailable in the territory — has been contentious. Israel has said that it will only allow Palestinians to exit Gaza, not enter, until militants in Gaza return all the hostages they took in the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war. The remains of one hostage are still in Gaza.

Israel also says Palestinians wanting to leave Gaza will have to get Israeli and Egyptian security approval.

Egypt, meanwhile, says it wants the crossing immediately opened in both directions, so Palestinians in Egypt can enter Gaza.

That’s a position rooted in Egypt’s vehement opposition to Palestinian refugees permanently resettling in the country.

For more than two decades until 2022, Jolie worked with the U.N. refugee agency, including as a special envoy.

On Friday, the foreign ministers of Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, expressed concern about Gaza’s humanitarian situation.

The situation has been “compounded by the continued lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential lifesaving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials,” according to the joint statement.

The Palestinian death toll from the war is at least 71,271, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. The Israel-Hamas war began with the Hamasled Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

U.S. Coast Guard searches for survivors of boat strikes days later

BY BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it’s still searching for people in the eastern Pacific Ocean who had jumped off alleged drug-smuggling boats when the U.S. military attacked the vessels days earlier, diminishing the likelihood that anyone survived.

Search efforts began Tuesday afternoon after the military notified the Coast Guard that survivors were

in the water about 400 miles southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, the maritime service said in a statement.

The Coast Guard dispatched a plane from Sacramento to search an area covering more than 1,000 miles, while issuing an urgent warning to ships nearby. The agency said it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, working with other countries as well as civilian ships and boats in the area.

The weather during that

time has included 9-foot seas and 40-knot winds. The U.S. has not said how many people jumped into the water, and, if they are not found, how far the death toll may rise from the Trump administration’s monthslong campaign of blowing up small boats accused of transporting drugs in the region.

The U.S. military said earlier this week that it attacked three boats traveling along known narcotrafficking routes and they “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels

prior to the strikes.” The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the region, said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked.

The strikes occurred in a part of the eastern Pacific where the Navy doesn’t have any ships operating. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast

Guard to activate search and rescue efforts for the people who jumped overboard before the other boats were hit.

Calling in the Coast Guard is notable because the military drew heavy scrutiny after U.S. forces killed the survivors of the first attack in early September with a follow-up strike to their disabled boat. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts said the military committed a crime, while the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say the follow-up

Yemen’s separatists announce constitution for independent south

BY AHMED AL-HAJ and FATMA KHALED Associated Press

ADEN, Yemen — Yemen’s separatist movement on Friday announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south and demanded other factions in the war-torn country accept the move in an escalation of a confrontation that has pitted Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against each other.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council depicted the announcement as a declaration of independence for the south. But it was not immediately clear if the move could be implemented or was largely symbolic. Last month, STC-linked fighters seized control of two southern provinces from Saudi-

backed forces and took over the Presidential Palace in the south’s main city, Aden.

Members of the internationally recognized government — which had been based in Aden — fled to the Saudi capital Riyadh.

On Friday, Saudi warplanes bombed camps and military positions held by the STC in Hadramout province as Saudi-backed fighters tried to seize the facilities, a separatist official said. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed STC forces and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for the separatists.

Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their allies on the ground in Yemen have all been part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting

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Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who control the north in the country’s decadelong civil war. The coalition’s professed goal has long been to restore the internationally recognized government, which was driven out of the north by the Houthis. But tensions between the factions and the two Gulf nations appear to be unraveling the coalition, threatening to throw them into outright conflict and further tear apart the Arab world’s poorest country.

The head of the STC, Aidarous al-Zubaid, issued a video statement Friday saying that the constitution his group issued would be in effect for two years, after which a referendum would be held on “exercising the right to selfdetermination for the people of the South.”

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strike was legal.

There have been other survivors of the boat strikes, including one for whom the Mexican Navy suspended a search in late October after four days. Two other survivors of a strike on a submersible vessel in the Caribbean Sea that same month were sent to their home countries — Ecuador and Colombia. Authorities in Ecuador later released the man, saying they had no evidence he committed a crime in the South American nation.

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6A ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

Baton Rouge Weather TODAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Clearing - 20%

Crisp

Sun and high clouds

Partly sunny

Partly sunny

Isolated showers - 30%

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

74° 45°

LOW

HIGH

65° 43°

LOW

HIGH

72° 52°

LOW

HIGH

76° 57°

ALMANAC

LOW

HIGH

77° 59°

LOW

78° 61°

TEMPERATURE

High/low Normal high/low Record high Record low

77°/54° 62°/42° 83° in 2023 20° in 2018

THE NATION

24 hours through 5 p.m. Fri. Month to date (normal) year to date (normal)

Trace Trace (0.41”) Trace (0.41”)

Longview 63/43

TODAY

MODERATE

GOOD

READING 56 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

Port Arthur 72/49

FLOOD STAGE 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE Memphis 34 -2.80 +1.09 Vidalia-Natchez 48 16.10 -0.61 Red River Landing 48 19.20 -0.60 Baton Rouge 35 7.50 none Donaldsonville 27 4.00 +0.10 Reserve 22 2.61 +0.01 New Orleans 17 1.90 +0.29 MISSISSIPPI

OHIO 40

14.29

-0.37

19

-1.43

none

18 29 8

-0.98 10.13 0.42

-0.01 -0.03 -0.03

13 15

2.70 0.85

-0.01 -0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.27 4.09 3.89 2.89 2.30 2.35

+0.31 +0.07 +0.26 -0.07 +0.30 +0.16

COMITE AMITE

Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW

Montpelier Holden Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

New Orleans 78/52

Lake Charles 72/46

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

Houma 80/52

Forecasts and graphics, except WBRZ forecasts, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

TIDES HIGH

FT.

Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) 6:54a 0.7 Shell Beach 12:36a 1.6 South Point, Marsh Island 12:16a 1.6 Cypremort Point 9:25p 1.3 Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) 9:39p 1.2 Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) 8:49p 1.5 Wine Island 10:47p 1.4

LOW

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

FT.

6:56p -0.5 12:47p -0.8 7:43a -1.4 11:50a -1.0 8:09a -0.9 6:22a -1.1 9:11a -1.1

SUN AND MOON

HIGH

FT.

LOW

FT.

----- --------- ----6:02p 1.6 8:19p 1.5 ----- --------- --------- --------- -----

TODAY City

Hi

Lo W

SUNDAY Hi

7:02 a.m.

5:16 p.m.

5:41 p.m.

7:28 a.m.

73 42 s 32 24 pc 64 39 s -35 -45 s 80 68 sh 75 49 s 59 49 pc 43 27 pc 76 60 s 21 4 c

72 50 s 31 13 sf 64 53 pc -36 -42 pc 76 69 sh 69 50 s 63 46 c 40 29 pc 79 62 t 30 23 i

Amsterdam Bangkok Barcelona Berlin Brussels Cairo Dublin Frankfurt Havana Hong Kong Jerusalem

38 87 55 33 36 66 37 35 78 64 53

38 88 50 31 35 67 37 35 80 69 54

LAST

NEW

FIRST

JAN 3

JAN 10

JAN 18

JAN 25

MAJOR

MINOR

MAJOR

TODAY City

Nashville New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

SUNDAY

Hi

Lo W

Hi

Lo W

55 78 77 35 73 27 44 40 68 74

30 pc 52 r 62 pc 28 pc 55 pc 21 c 32 r 26 pc 60 c 64 pc

48 65 74 38 74 27 53 42 67 75

33 s 48 s 55 pc 24 s 56 pc 18 c 31 s 33 c 58 sh 55 pc

70 38 53 74 9 28 62 39 62 29 50

48 pc 26 s 41 c 44 pc 1 pc 20 c 43 s 26 s 53 c 21 sn 38 s

61 37 49 73 11 28 63 37 60 24 52

41 s 28 s 32 r 42 s -8 s 14 sn 44 s 25 s 49 sh 13 c 38 s

THE WORLD

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter.

Today Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri.

Lo W

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Houston Las Vegas Louisville Miami Minneapolis

SOLUNAR TABLE

FULL

ATCHAFALAYA

10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s

Baton Rouge 74/45

Lafayette 74/46

Beaumont 73/48

RIVER STAGES

0s

Hattiesburg 74/47

Alexandria 62/42

Many 60/42

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

-0s

Jackson 62/41

AIR QUALITY YESTERDAY

-10

Monroe 58/40

Shreveport 63/47

PRECIPITATION

Near Olive

A weak front will push through on Saturday morning. Ahead of it, some lingering showers will be possible through late morning. Keep an umbrella handy early if you have outdoor plans, but it won’t be needed most of the time. By the afternoon, showers will exit, and skies will partially clear. Temperatures will be slow to fall behind the front, and highs will still make it into the mid-70s. However, mugginess will start to drop as the day progresses, and it will feel much fresher by sunset. Sunday is looking like the pick of the weekend for outdoor plans. With highs in the mid-60s and bright sunshine, it will be a nice day to soak in some seasonable, crisp January weather.

AROUND THE REGION

BATON ROUGE THROUGH 5 P.M. FRIDAy

Cairo

Weather News by Chief Meteorologist Dr. Josh Eachus

MINOR

10:57a 4:41a 11:29p 5:13p 12:00p 5:45a ---- 6:15p 12:34a 6:47a 1:01p 7:15p 1:33a 7:46a 1:58p 8:10p 2:28a 8:39a 2:51p 9:02p 3:18a 9:29a 3:39p 9:50p 4:04a 10:14a 4:24p 10:35p

32 sn 70 s 46 c 24 sn 31 sf 49 pc 27 pc 29 sn 53 s 59 pc 40 s

30 sn 71 pc 42 c 27 c 26 s 48 pc 27 pc 23 c 60 s 60 pc 44 c

Kuwait City London Madrid Mexico City Montreal Moscow New Delhi Paris Rome Stockholm Tokyo

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

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Even if you’ve had quality dental work in the past, you shouldn’t take your dental health for granted. In fact, your odds of having a dental problem only go up as you age.2

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Perkins Road furniture store to close After 91 years, Grand Gallery says goodbye

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Andrew Tadman, East Baton Rouge Parish Library head of reference, left, and Austin Langley, business librarian, stand in the Main Library on Tuesday.

BR library offers free business services Databases, training available with a free library card

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library isn’t just for books. It’s for business.

That’s what EBRPL Head of Reference Andrew Tadman wants library patrons to know. He oversees the Small Business Services department, which includes a small team of business librarians, to serve budding entrepreneurs and experienced businesspeople looking to launch their idea into the marketplace or take their operations to the next level.

The desk connects patrons with applications ranging from business training modules to databases for compiling research on a given industry. Librarians walk entrepreneurs through how to use advanced search functions and Boolean operators, keywords used to narrow down search parameters, to pinpoint the information they need to confidently enter the market from applications they may be unfamiliar with like Statista, Data Axle and Gale.

“The name doesn’t mean anything to the average person,” Tadman said. “So for us, it was trying to be very intentional about connecting people with the resources for what they actually need to do.”

EBRPL Small Business Services are open to nonprofit and for-profit businesses, both established and in nascent stages. Most of the businesses they serve are for-profit entrepreneurs seeking a place to start. Tadman said the small business services desk provides a nonjudgmental space for entrepreneurs to workshop

Austin Langley, business librarian, top, and Andrew Tadman, East Baton Rouge Parish Library head of reference, look over the second floor of the the EBRPL Main Library on Tuesday.

“When you’re at a point where you’re not sure what your next step is, you can stop by the library, get good guidance or more information about what’s next because we deal in information and research.”

AUSTIN LANGLEy, business librarian their ideas.

“We are a neutral community organization,” Tadman said. “We’re not trying to sell you anything. We want you to succeed.”

The library has long offered resources for small businesses through books in

its catalog, but implemented personal consultations and digital resources that patrons can access at home in 2018 following a survey by a library advocacy group.

ä See LIBRARY, page 2B

Rules tweaked for 3rd-party candidates Would affect Supreme Court, BESE elections

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

Louisiana is lowering the number of petitions third-party candidates need to obtain in order to run in special elections for a seat on the state Supreme Court and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The state is moving next year to a closed party primary sys-

tem. Under the new rules, candidates for the two major political parties, Republicans and Democrats, sign up to run by paying a filing fee during a qualifying period, as all candidates previously did. But third-party candidates will now need to obtain petitions signed by qualified voters in their districts in order to be placed on the ballot.

For seats on the high court and the education board, 1,000 signatures would be required under the new system. But, because the two seats were vacated and the state is moving to fill them on a shortened timeline, Gov.

Jeff Landry signed executive orders reducing the number of signatures necessary to 150, the Secretary of State’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.

The open Supreme Court seat is District 1, which covers Livingston, Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes. Justice Will Crain left the seat after President Donald Trump selected him as federal judge for the New Orleans area.

The BESE open seat is for District 1, which covers Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes. It was va-

cated by Paul Hollis, who Trump picked to run the U.S. Mint.

The deadline for candidates to submit nominating petition signatures is Jan. 30. Republican and Democratic candidates will sign up to run from Feb. 11-13.

The party primary is May 16, with a runoff scheduled for June 27 if no candidate gets a majority. The general election is Nov. 3.

Under the new closed party primary system, Republicans vote for Republican candidates and Democrats vote for Democrats. Voters with no party affiliation can choose to vote in either primary.

Grand Gallery Inc., an independent Ethan Allen retailer, is closing its doors after 91 years in business.

The furniture and home decor store on Perkins Road has been owned and operated by Baton Rouge’s Grand family since 1934, but will shutter as the family retires from the industry. Grand Gallery served as an Ethan Allen retailer specifically for 51 years, with a 13,000-square-foot store offering furniture showrooms, an interior design team and room planning software.

The Perkins Road store was the brand’s last remaining Louisiana location after its Metairie and Shreveport outposts closed.

The Grand family stressed that the business and the Baton Rouge community did not influence their decision to close. They did not disclose the store’s last day of business, but it is closed for the holidays until Jan. 7, according to its website.

“This decision comes with deep gratitude and mixed emotions,” owner Todd Grand said in the announcement. “Serving our customers and our city has been an incredible privilege. Many of our customers became friends, and many families welcomed our furniture into their homes across generations. We are profoundly thankful for the loyalty, trust, and support we’ve received over the years.”

Ethan Allen is based in Danbury, Connecticut, and operates more than 170 stores in North America, with about 300 company-owned and independently owned outposts worldwide.

Lawsuit challenges Louisiana’s restrictions on voters in jail Those awaiting trial should be able to cast ballots, advocates say

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

An advocacy group is fighting to keep Louisiana election officials from enforcing state laws that prevent some jailed East Baton Rouge voters from casting ballots from the parish prison while they await trial.

Voice of the Experienced, or VOTE, filed the Dec. 12 lawsuit in the 19th Judicial District Court against the state of Louisiana, Secretary of State Nancy Landry and East Baton Rouge Registrar of Voters Steve Raborn.

VOTE is a grassroots nonprofit founded and operated by released prisoners. The group advocates for currently and formerly incarcerated people. They filed their latest legal challenge on behalf of Rachael Day, a 36-year-old Denham Springs woman who has been jailed at the parish prison for more than six years awaiting trial. Day and two other people were indicted for second-degree murder and armed robbery charges that stem from the August 2019 killing of Jody

ä See LAWSUIT, page 2B

2B ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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Warehouse District hotel in N.O. sells for $29M Sonesta sale adds to growing list of transactions

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

The Sonesta Extended Stay hotel near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has been sold for $29 million, adding to a growing list of New Orleans hotel transactions that point to a big slump in commercial property values across the city.

The three-story property at 345 St. Joseph St., which has 231 rooms along with an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts, was sold by a unit of Service Properties Trust, a Massachusetts-based real estate investment trust, according to court records.

Public records show the hotel was bought by a Delaware-registered entity owned by a California company. Sale documents were signed on behalf of the buyer by an individual named Laxmi Mehta, whose role and connection to the purchasing entities are not clear from public filings.

Service Properties Trust didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Mehta could not be reached for comment.

Steep discounts The Sonesta has been owned by Service Properties Trust since the late 1990s and was last renovated in 2020. The sale price works out to roughly $125,500 per room — a figure that reflects the buyer-friendly conditions, according to local real estate watchers.

“This is the most attractive hotel buying window New Orleans has offered in more than a decade,” said Leonard Wormser, senior vice president at HREC Investment Advisors, noting the depressed prices coupled with a forecast for a rebounding convention visitors market over the next several years.

Brokers and analysts have described the last several years as one of the most turbulent periods for hotel owners in New Orleans in more than a decade. Several wellknown properties have been put up for sale at steep discounts to their construction costs or to valuations from just a few years ago, driven by a combination of elevated interest rates, rising insurance and tax expenses, and a slower-thanexpected post-pandemic recovery in group travel.

The Virgin Hotel in the Ware-

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The Sonesta Extended Stay hotel near the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has been sold for $29 million. house District, which opened four years ago, cost roughly $80 million to build and is now expected to sell for about half that amount. Other hotels currently on the market include The Saint on Canal Street and the historic Le Pavillon Hotel on Poydras Street, along with several additional downtown and Warehouse District properties that have been tested privately with investors.

High-profile transactions over the past year have reinforced the reset in pricing. In June, Sunstone

Hotel Investors sold the 252-room Hilton St. Charles for $47 million, well below what it paid for the property a decade earlier.

National trend Against that backdrop, the Sonesta sale also reflects a broader national repositioning by Service Properties Trust. The real estate investment trust has been selling off Sonesta-branded hotels as part of a long-term strategy to reduce debt and increase its cash holdings.

Earlier this month, the company disclosed that it had sold 112 hotels totaling 14,631 rooms for approximately $859 million over the past year.

According to hotel industry research firm CoStar, Service Properties Trust has been selling hotels with long-term franchise agreements and putting the cash aside to deal with debt that’s set to come due.

While the market downturn has been painful for existing owners, industry observers have said that New Orleans is adding few new hotel rooms in the near term due to high construction costs, regulatory hurdles and a difficult environment for getting loans. That, coupled with convention bookings expected to rise in the coming years, has offered hope for a rebound in the sector.

The proposed 1,000-room Omni headquarters hotel in the Warehouse District is the only significant new hotel on the horizon. If it gets all necessary approvals from City Hall, the $600 million publicprivate partnership between the hotel group and the state-controlled Convention Center would be the first hotel of its size and scope to be built in New Orleans since the 1980s.

Boudreaux’s Jewelers announces $4 million northshore expansion Mandeville location to double in size

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

A longtime south Louisiana family jeweler is expanding its operations and footprint on the northshore, a $4 million project that will more than double the space of its Mandeville location.

Boudreaux’s Jewelers says the investment at its store on La. 22 will also give it one of the largest on-site jewelry manufacturing operations in Louisiana. Boudreaux’s has operated at the Mandeville site since 1995, and also has locations in Metairie and Baton Rouge.

The store currently has about 2,500 square feet, and the expansion will increase it to more than 7,000 square feet. The first floor, at around 4,000 square feet, will be for retail operations, said Brandon

Boudreaux, the company’s chief operating officer.

The second floor will become a workshop for manufacturing jewelry. The company has wanted to expand its manufacturing capacity for a while, Boudreaux said.

“Our business has had a base in manufacturing,” he said. “That’s something we’re really proud of.”

Boudreaux said the company’s business on the northshore has been very good over the years. He said the store in Mandeville also offered the best place for an expansion.

In a news release announcing the expansion, the St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation said the company will participate in the state’s High Impact Jobs program and Industrial Tax Exemption program, both of which are incentives the state can use to lure or retain companies.

The news release said the expansion will create two new jobs while

also helping retain 19 other jobs at the company.

The work at the Mandeville store will begin in January and is expected to be completed in October. The store will remain open during the expansion project.

Boudreaux said the family business dates to 1933, when his greatgrandfather Gilmore Boudreaux Sr. opened a jewelry shop in New Orleans during the Great Depression.

In the news release, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois called familyowned businesses such as Boudreaux’s “the fabric of Louisiana’s economy.”

“Their continued investment in St. Tammany Parish is exactly what our new High Impact Jobs program was designed to support — businesses of any size that are creating higher-wage opportunities for local workers and strengthening Louisiana’s future,” she said.

Westwego man gets 35 years in sex abuse case Search warrant found explicit images of children

BY MICHELLE HUNTER

Staff writer

A Westwego man accused of recording himself as he sexually abused a child has pleaded guilty and faces a lengthy prison sentence, according to Jefferson Parish Court records.

Darrell Devenny, 63, was sentenced to a total of 35 years in prison after admitting to molestation, possession of child pornography, indecent behavior and other charges on Dec. 16.

Devenny was arrested in March by agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations. The agency had received a tip about a sexually explicit image of an infant that had been uploaded to the internet by an email address linked to Devenny, authorities said.

Agents executed a search warrant at Devenny’s house in Westwego and discovered dozens more lewd images of children, authori-

LAWSUIT

Continued from page 1B Arcediano, a 36-year-old Zachary man shot dead inside a Baton Rouge hotel room.

The plaintiffs cite four provisions of Louisiana’s election code that work in concert to effectively deny eligible first-time voters their right to cast a ballot if they’re behind bars.

The petition claims Louisiana’s current interplay of voting laws forces some pretrial detainees to miss out on several state, municipal and federal elections if they remain jailed months or years while they await their day in court.

“VOTE believes that currently and

ties said.

Among those were videos of a sleeping child who was being fondled and touched by a man’s genitals. Investigators later identified Devenny as the man in those videos, authorities said.

The child appeared in other explicit images recorded over the course of several years, beginning when the victim was about 4, according to authorities. Investigators later determined the child was known to Devenny.

At least one of the images taken while the child was out in public appeared to have been digitally altered by artificial intelligence software to make it appear as if the child was nude, authorities said.

Devenny admitted using AI to create some of the pornographic images, also known as “deepfakes,” according to authorities.

He also admitted to viewing and saving other sexually explicit images of children.

Devenny was booked with production of child pornography, several dozen counts of possession of child pornography and creating unlawful deepfake images.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office formally charged Devenny on May 27 with molestation of a juvenile, video voyeurism, sexual battery of a victim under the age of 13, three counts of possession of pornography involving a juvenile and four counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile under the age of 13, according to court records.

Devenny pleaded guilty before Judge Stephen Grefer of the 24th Judicial District Court. Grefer sentenced Devenny to 35 years in prison for the molestation and sexual battery charges as well as one count of possession of pornography involving juveniles under 13.

Devenny was ordered to serve 10 years for video voyeurism, 25 years for the indecent behavior charges and 20 years for the remaining pornography charges. All of the sentences will be served at the same time.

Once released from prison, Devenny will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to court records.

formerly incarcerated people have a unique perspective and should be included in the electorate,” the lawsuit states. “As such, VOTE’s mission is to restore the full civil and human rights of those affected by the criminal legal system.”

Convicted felons can lose their right to vote, and people declared mentally incompetent might have interdictions that restrict their voting rights.

But people convicted of misdemeanors and inmates in jail who’ve yet to be convicted at all remain eligible to participate in elections, according to state law.

People in jail can vote absentee.

But Louisiana statutes require voters who register online or by mail to cast their ballots in person if they’ve never voted before as a security

measure. The law makes exceptions for deployed military service members, disabled citizens, people in Department of State confidentiality programs and college students going to school outside their parish of residence. But Louisiana does not allow first-time voters to cast absentee ballots if they are in jail on election day or during the early voting period leading up to an election.

Jails, prisons and other penal institutions are also barred from having polling locations on their premises, according to state law.

“Louisiana law makes it impossible for these first-time voters who are in jail to cast their ballot,” the plaintiff states.

The Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment Tuesday, citing the fact that it’s pending litigation.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Andrew Tadman, EBRPL head of reference, left, and Austin Langley, business librarian, pose for a picture together at the EBRPL Main Library on Tuesday.

LIBRARY

Continued from page 1B A cohort of the Urban Libraries Council, an organization that conducts research and creates partnerships for library systems in North America, surveyed 116 ULC member libraries about their services for local businesses in 2018. The survey aimed to identify best practices for member libraries to adopt and strengthen their resources for entrepreneurs.

The study found that business services varied greatly among the survey participants, with some offering access to education resources, entrepreneurial programs, one-on-one support and partnerships with outside organizations.

Tadman joined the ULC cohort to formalize the library’s smallbusiness services in a way similar to EBRPL’s Career Center, which has served patrons for more than two decades.

The ‘information specialists’ With a library card, free to EBR parish residents and residents of neighboring parishes, those seeking to start a business can access databases and resume and business plan applications.

Through the library, patrons can access tools like Statista and Data Axle, which provide market research and lists of companies in a given industry, respectively, to prime entrepreneurs on market conditions, competition and potential consumer bases. Gale Business: Plan Builder allows users to enter information about their business and generates a business plan in PDF format, suitable for presenting to potential customers or investors.

Attorneys say Day registered to vote at an October 2024 registration drive VOTE held in the Parish Prison. She’s never voted before and expects to remain in the Baton Rouge jail through next year’s elections. Court records in Day’s criminal case show no date has been set for her murder trial.

VOTE argued that denying voters like Day the right to vote undermines efforts to register inmates and noted that the sheriff of local jails verifies detainees’ identities and eligibility to vote. That should qualify them to cast absentee ballots.

VOTE is asking a 19th Judicial District judge to issue a permanent injunction stopping state election officials from enforcing the statutes that they claim violate jailed voters’

A library card offers big savings for entrepreneurs: Statista and Data Axle cost a combined $16,508 per year, and the resume and business plan applications each cost $150 per hour. Library patrons have free access to LinkedIn Learning, which typically ranges from $75 to $450 for each class and can also access classes through Gale Courses and Udemy.

Tadman said the role of EBRPL Small Business Services is to provide information to entrepreneurs, but they refer patrons to partners like the LSU Small Business Development Center for advisement.

“We’re the information specialists, but not the business specialists,” Tadman said.

This year, the library partnered with business mentoring organization The Alliance to create a five-part training series led by local businesspeople on topics like how to build a business plan, accessing capital and budgeting for growth. The EBRPL Small Business Engine reemphasizes the library’s resources for entrepreneurs and provides guidance from industry experts.

“Getting to hear the journey from somebody who’s been through it is invaluable,” Austin Langley, a business librarian, said.

EBRPL’s business librarians hold weekly office hours at the Main Library at Goodwood, but Langley also conducts outreach outside of library grounds to bring awareness of the free services to those who don’t already have a library card.

“When you’re at a point where you’re not sure what your next step is, you can stop by the library, get good guidance or more information about what’s next because we deal in information and research,” Langley said.

rights.

“Petitioner Day and many Louisianans who VOTE serves in jails are eligible to vote, but are disenfranchised because they are seeking to vote for the first time and anticipate being incarcerated through an upcoming election, thus leaving them no opportunity to vote in person or via absentee ballot,” plaintiff attorneys wrote in Day’s lawsuit.

LOTTERY

THURSDAY, JAN. 1, 2026 PICK 3: 0-5-4 PICK 4: 5-1-5-1 PICK 5: 8-0-4-2-7

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The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 3B

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4B ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

Funerals Today Bowers, Velma

Winnfield Funeral Home at 11am.

Breaux, Allen

Asberry Methodist Church, 31755 Laurel Ridge Road, White Castle, LA at 11am.

extend many thanks to the wonderful staff of St. Joseph Hospice for the care of their mother.

Please share memories online at www.wilbertservices.com.

Cavalier, Leroy

Renew Church of Baker, 8160 Pettit Rd Baker, LA at 10am.

Deville, John

LaVille Funeral Home Chapel at 1pm.

Hogan, Shirley Nunnally

Duke, Audrey

St. Aloysius Catholic Church at 11am.

Grover, Rebecca

Hall's Celebration Center, 9348 Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge, LA at 10am.

Kimble, James

Charlet Funeral Home in Zachary at 4pm.

Knighten, Robert

New Hope Baptist Church at 10am.

Langlois, Charles

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 14040 Greenwell Springs Rd. at 11am.

Morgan, Jerry

Walker Baptist Church in Walker at noon.

Nahas, Margaret

Central Funeral Home, 9995 Hooper Road in Central, at 1 p.m.

Quimby, Ernest

Brown-Holley 11am.

Funeral

Home

at

Rucker Sr., Thomas

St. Mark United Methodist Church, 6217 Glen Oaks Dr. Baton Rouge, LA at 11am.

Serrett, Darrell

Plains Presbyterian Church, 22929 Old Scenic Hwy, Zachary, LA at 11am.

Traweek McNabb, Mary

Seale Funeral Home, 1720 S. Range Avenue in Denham Springs, at 1 p.m.

Willis, Earl

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Brusly at 11:30am.

Obituaries Chambers, Jason

Jason Michael Chambers was born on February 15, 1971, and passed away on December 23, 2025.

A celebration of his life will be held on January 10, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church.

Family and friends are invited to attend and honor his memory.

Diamond, Gloria Mae Verret

"Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come." Proverbs 31:25. Gloria Mae Verret Diamond, age 91, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, surrounded by her family. She was born on Bayou Chene, the fourth of six children to Carrie Daigle Verret and Milton Verret. Gloria later married the love of her life, Roy Lee Diamond, Sr., together they made their home in Bayou Sorrel and raised four children. If one could summarize her life with one word, it would be "family." Every Sunday afternoon was spent on her porch with family enjoying coffee and fritters. Gloria was a strong woman and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and sister who gave all to her family. She was affectionately known as "Aunt Neat" by her nieces and nephews. Gloria will be greatly missed but will live forever in the hearts of her daughter, Jo Ann Mendoza and husband Dean; sons, Roy Lee "Boo Boo" Diamond, Jr. and wife Joyce, and Gregory Diamond, Sr. and wife Lynn; thirteen grandchildren and twenty-three great grandchildren.

Preceded in death by her beloved husband, Roy Lee Diamond, Sr.; son, Craig Neil Diamond; grandson, John Marque, III; parents, Carrie Daigle Verret and Milton Walter Verret; sisters, Melba Diamond, Bernice Wisdom, and Audrey Duke; and brothers, Cecil and Murden Verret. Visitation will be held at Wilbert Funeral Home, Plaquemine on Sunday, January 4, 2026, from 5 to 9pm and will resume on Monday, January 5, 2026, from 9am until religious services at 1pm, conducted by Rev. Frank Manguno. Interment will follow at St. John Cemetery, Plaquemine.

Pallbearers will be Roy "Boo Boo", Gregory, Sr., Doug, Devin, Gregory, Jr. and Gabe Diamond, Dean and Brandon Mendoza. Honorary pallbearers will be Joel Keith Hutton and Jason Dufour.

The family would like to

Shirley Ann Nunnally Hogan, a resident of Baton Rouge, LA. passed away on December 26th, 2025, at the age of 89. Born in Whitton, AR, Shirley is survived by her sons Ronald (Kathleen) Hogan of San Antonio, TX and Donald Hogan (Jerri) of Baton Rouge, LA; grandsons Christopher (Hyde) Hogan, Drew (Kristen) Hogan, and Jeffrey Higgs; great-grandchildren Addison Hogan, Kit Hogan and Dani Hogan; and a host of dear nieces and nephews.

Shirley was proceeded in death by her parents, siblings, and her beloved daughter Kathryn Ann Hogan Higgs.

Shirley attended Broadmoor United Methodist Church, remaining a member until her passing.

Shirley was the Manager of Baton Rouge Police Supplies for 34 years, working up to her most recent illness. She was beloved by many customers and members of the law enforcement community in the State of Louisiana.

In lieu of Flowers, memorial donations can be made to Broadmoor United Methodist Church https:// broadmoormethodist.org/ A visitation will be held from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on 2026-01-04 at Greenoaks, 9595 Florida Blvd.

A funeral service will be held from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM on 2026-01-05 at Broadmoor United Methodist Church, 10230 Mollylea Dr.

Morgan, Jerry Caldwell

Jerry Caldwell Morgan Sr. passed away peacefully in his home in Walker, Louisiana, on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at the age of 91 years and 5 months. Jerry was born on July 29, 1934, in Wisner, Louisiana. He graduated from Wisner High School and went on to earn his master's degree plus 30 additional graduate hours from Southeastern Louisiana University. Jerry married his high school sweetheart, Ann Jennings Morgan, on September 11, 1953.

Together, they shared 70 wonderful years of marriage, standing side by side through life's joys and challenges. Jerry was a man of strong Christian faith. His faith guided his life and was evident in the way he loved his family, served others, and lived with humility and kindness. He found strength and comfort in his relationship with Christ, which remained central throughout his life. He dedicated 27 years to education as a teacher, coach, and principal, leaving a lasting impact on countless students. Jerry played an instrumental role in helping establish Walker High School's football program and in the construction of Wildcat Stadium. His passion for mentoring children and guiding young people defined his career and legacy. Outside of education, Jerry was a gifted carpenter, well known for building porch swings and completing many projects for his beloved wife. He found joy in life's simple pleasures, including feeding birds and caring for stray animals that crossed his path. Jerry was a devoted husband and father, and above all, he cherished his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whom he adored deeply.

Jerry is survived by his two sons, Jerry C. Morgan Jr. and wife Becky, and Bobby Morgan and wife Kim; two granddaughters, Heather Boley and husband Wesley, and Hope Valenti and husband Jake; three greatgranddaughters, Whittney Boley, Emma Valenti, and

lll

Ava Valenti; and one brother, Phillip Morgan and wife Nyla. He was preceded in death by his parents, S.A. and Sara Morgan; sisters, Peggy McMannis and Betty Talbert; and brothers, Robert Morgan, Edward Morgan, Richard Morgan, Tommy Morgan, and Bruce Morgan. Relatives and friends are invited to attend visitation at Walker Baptist Church in Walker, Louisiana, on Saturday, January 3, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. until funeral services begin at 12:00 p.m. Services will be officiated by Alton Foster. Burial will follow in Walker Baptist Cemetery in Walker, Louisiana. A reception will follow at the church. Pallbearers will be Wesley Boley, Jake Valenti, Dennis Howze, Adam Taylor, Terry Crotwell, and Gene Gilcrest. Honorary pallbearers will be Ronnie Jennings Jr., Warren Curtis, and the 1959 Walker High School Football Team.

Flowers and condolences may be sent to Walker Baptist Church, 10696 Florida Blvd., Walker, LA 70785.

The family requests attendees wear green, white, or gold to honor Jerry's Wildcat legacy. Arrangements have been entrusted to McLin Funeral Home. Online condolences may be shared at www.mclinfuner alhome.com.

Rabalais, Steven Paul

Steven Paul "Stevie/ Steve" Rabalais (64) entered into eternal rest on December 4, 2025 at his home in Slidell, Louisiana.

Born March 2, 1961 in New Orleans, Steve grew up in Chalmette and graduated from Chalmette High School in 1979.

Steve was a member of the IAM Union during his career as a machinist/millwright.

Steve was preceded in Death by his loving parents James Harding "Rab" Rabalais, Sr and Leona Brouillette Rabalais.

He is survived by his brother James H "Jim/Sonny" Rabalais, Jr (Rosanna), sister Jeanne Rabalais Treuil (Steve), nephew, nieces, loving family and friends.

Memorial Services will be held on Monday January 5, 2026 11:00 AM, mass at 12:00 PM at Our Lady Prompt Succor Church, Chalmette, Louisiana. Inurnment to follow at St Bernard Memorial Cemetery.

Ragusa, Ben P.

Nunez, Harry Miguel

Harry Miguel Nunez, Jr., aged 82, passed away on December 24, 2025, at his home in Covington, LA with his wife and three children by his side.

Born on September 4, 1943, Harry was a revered figure in the realms of education and athletics, dedicating 54 years to coaching and mentoring young minds.

Harry was a standout athlete at his alma mater, Holy Cross High School, but even more importantly, he became a living example of the faith, honesty, and integrity that define the Holy Cross Man. He carried that same passion and commitment to Southeastern Louisiana College, where he excelled in football. He was honored with inductions into the Hall of Fame at both institutions.

While his achievements on the field were remarkable, Harry was most cherished for the way he shaped young lives—encouraging character, self-discipline, and dedication in the countless young men who looked up to him. Those same qualities guided his life beyond the game, whether he was spending time with family, practicing calligraphy, or seeking out football fields whenever his travels took him to new cities. He was also a donor to the Tulane Sport Brain Bank, a final act speaking volumes to his character.

Surviving Harry are his beloved wife of 59 years, Sharon; his children, Kellie Nunez, Harry (Mick) Nunez (Tammy), and Patricia Lobdell (JW); his five grandchildren and one great grandchild, Jack Nunez, Kiernan Nunez, Ella Nunez, Walker Lobdell (Jane) and their son Miles, Alex Lobdell; and his sister, Alma Leonardi. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harry M. Nunez, Sr. and Yvonne Koski Nunez; his brother, John Nunez; and sisters, Joy Nunez and Yvonne Lemoine.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in his honor on Monday, January 5, 2026, at St. Peter Church in Covington, LA. Visitation will begin at 9:30 am, followed by the funeral mass at 11 am. In remembrance of Harry's legacy, donations can be made to Holy Cross School, St. Paul's School, or the Tulane University Center for Sport Brain Bank at (504) 9234826, in lieu of flowers.

Ben P. Ragusa, Jr attended Sacred Heart Elementary School and Baton Rouge High School. He played baseball and football, until all the other guys were bigger than he was.

As a young child, Ben worked in his father's grocery store, eventually working as a butcher in the store.

Ben Jr left high school and enlisted in the Navy, earning his high school diploma while at sea. Ben Jr was stationed on air-

craft carriers as a flight deck signal man. He spent months at sea In the Cuban blockade. Ben was on shore leave in Norfolk, VA when President Kennedy was assassinated...The chaos of MP's rounding up ALL the sailors in the bars and establishments in Norfolk and the resulting flood of ships leaving the docks with or without tugboat assistance was surreal.

Ben returned to Baton Rouge and opened his own neighborhood grocery store.

Ben met Patti Thomas on a blind date and told her that he was going to marry her at the end of their first date.

Ben started to look for a sales career. IBM and Xerox both wanted to hire him, but required a college degree, both offered to pay for the education. Ben could not take time to go to school; he had a growing family to support. Ben took an Interview with a company called Lanier.

The opportunity sounded right! Ben accepted the copier sales job with Lanier in late 1967. Ben quickly became the #2 sales rep for Lanier in the U.S., he never could beat Chuck Foreman, in Florida, they became great friends.

Ben ascended the ranks of Lanier winding up at the Atlanta HQ in the fall of 1977. Ben eventually left the company as Exec VP of Worldwide Sales (#3 in the Company).

In 1988, Ben and George DeBenedetto founded OMNI Business Products, a Toshiba copier dealer, in Atlanta. Jeff dropped out of LSU to Join the family business and Ed Doyle left Lanier and moved from New Jersey to Join OMNI. In 1994, Ben sold OMNI to Toshiba and Ben, Ed, & Jeff founded Applied Business Concepts, (ABC) in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. ABC now employs over 30 people and operates in all of South Louisiana with locations in Baton Rouge, Kenner, and Lafayette.

Ben supported Cure SMA, Tunnel to Towers, Folds of Honor, Wounded Warrior Project, Samaritan's Purse, St. Jude Hospital, and The Cannata Gala, as well as several Local Charities, Churches, and Schools.

Ben is preceded in death by his Beloved Wife, of 59 years, Patricia Thomas Ragusa. His Parents: Ben P Ragusa, Sr and Mary Ann Grasso Ragusa. His Sib-

lings: Peter Anthony Ragusa and Angie Ann Ragusa Cates. Ben is Survived by His Siblings: Phillip Manuel Ragusa and Myrtle Jean Ragusa David.

His Children: Jeffrey Wayne Ragusa, Sr (57) and Stephanie Ragusa Charpentier (54) His Grandchildren: Madeline (28), Elizabeth (28), Jeffrey, Jr (27), Patricia (26), & Megan (24).

Relatives and friends are invited to Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 for a visitation beginning at 10:00 AM until a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM followed by a committal service at Resthaven Gardens of Memory.

How to place an Obituary Notice EMAIL:

obits@theadvocate.com OR CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION:

225-388-0289

How to place a Memorial Ad An “In Memory Of” ad, is a way to pay tribute to your loved one.

This remembrance is often printed on the anniversary of a loved one’s death.

The deadline is two days prior to the day you want your ad to appear.

TO PLACE A MEMORIAL AD GO TO: obituaries.theadvocate.com, click submit an obituary and select create a memoriam.

Louisiana needs in-depth, solutions-driven, public service journalism more than ever.

Please consider donating to local journalism in Louisiana. Your tax-deductible contribution goes solely to funding reporters in the field.

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BUSINESS

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 5B

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/news/business

DOW 48,382.39 319.10 0.66%

NASDAQ 23,235.63 -6.36 -0.03%

S&P 500 6,858.47 12.97 0.19%

EURO 1.1728 -0.0019 -0.16%

CRUDE OIL 57.33 -0.09 -0.16%

GOLD 4,317.80 -7.80 -0.18%

6-MO T-BILLS 3.61 0.0 0.0%

30-YR T-BONDS 4.87 0.03 0.6%

Wall Street edges higher in a wobbly start to 2026

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE

Associated Press

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street Friday in a wobbly day of trading to kick off the new year.

Markets were mostly quiet on the first trading day of 2026, with the influential technology sector driving much of the up-and-down action. The mostly minor moves also cap off a tepid and holiday-shortened week. Markets were closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day. Foreign markets fared better and benchmarks in Britain and South Korea hit records.

Technology stocks steered the market, especially companies with a focus on artificial intelligence, continuing the trend that pushed the broader market to records

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RICHARD DREW

Trader Fred Demarco works Friday on the floor of the New york Stock Exchange. in 2025.

Nvidia jumped 1.3% and was the biggest force trying to push the market higher.

But a 2.2% fall for Microsoft helped to check those gains.

Tesla also weighed on markets with a 2.6% drop after

reporting falling sales for a second year in a row.

Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla are among the most valuable companies in the world and their outsized valuations give them more influence on the stock market’s direction.

That includes sometimes pushing the market up and down from hour to hour.

Technology companies have been a major focus because of advancements in artificial intelligence technology and the potential for growth within the sector.

Wall Street has been betting that demand for computer chips and other items needed for data centers will help justify the big investments from technology companies and their pricey stock values.

Furniture companies gained ground following President Donald Trump’s move to delay increased tariffs on upholstered furniture. RH rose 8% and Wayfair rose 6.1%.

E-commerce giant Alibaba climbed 4.3% and Baidu, maker of the Ernie chatbot, jumped 9.4% in Hong Kong after it said it plans to spin off its AI computer chip unit

Kunlunxin, which would list shares in Hong Kong early in 2027. The plan is subject to regulatory approvals.

Wall Street will move past the mostly quiet holiday season starting Monday. The first full week of the new year will include several closely watched economic updates. They will also be some of the last big updates the Fed sees before its next meeting at the end of January.

Next week will feature private reports on the status of the services sector, which is the largest part of the U.S. economy, along with consumer sentiment.

Government reports on the job market will also be released. The hope is they’ll help paint a clearer picture of how various parts of the U.S. economy closed out 2025 and where it might be headed in 2026.

The Fed has had a more difficult task because of the complex shifts within the economy. It cut interest rates three times toward the end of 2025, partly to help counter a weakening jobs market.

But inflation remains above its target rate of 2% and cutting interest rates could add more fuel to rising prices. Consumers have already expressed more caution amid the squeeze from stubborn inflation and the U.S. trade war with much of the world has added more uncertainty.

The Fed has already signaled concern and caution.

Wall Street is betting that the central bank will hold its benchmark interest rate steady at its January meeting.

AP business writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Tesla no longer world’s biggest EV maker China’s ByD takes over while U.S. company’s sales fall for 2nd year

BY PAUL HARLOFF and BERNARD CONDON Associated Press

NEW YORK — Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.

Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.

Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

It’s a stunning reversal for a car company whose rise once seemed unstoppable as it overtook traditional automakers with far more resources and helped make Musk the world’s richest man.

For the fourth quarter, sales totaled 418,227, falling short of even the much reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet had expected. Sales were hit hard by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By NOAH BERGER

Tesla vehicles line a parking lot at the company’s Fremont, Calif., factory on Aug. 5.

Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, investors are betting that Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi services and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices. Reflecting that optimism, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%.

The latest quarter was the first with sales of strippeddown versions of the Model Y and Model 3 that Musk unveiled in early October

as part of an effort to revive sales.

The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000.

Those versions are expected to help Tesla compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia.

For fourth-quarter earnings coming out in late January, analysts are expecting the company to post a 3% drop in sales and a nearly 40% drop in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Analysts expect the down-

ward trend in sales and profits to eventually reverse itself as 2026 rolls along.

Investors have largely shrugged off the falling numbers, choosing to focus on Musk’s pivot to different parts of business. He has been saying the future of the company lies with its driverless robotaxis service, its energy storage business and building robots for the home and factory — and much less with car sales.

Tesla started rolling out its robotaxi service in Austin earlier this year, first

with safety monitors in the cars to take over in case of trouble, then testing without them. The company hopes to roll out the service in several cities this year.

To do that successfully, it needs to take on rival Waymo, which has been operating autonomous taxis for years and has far more customers.

It also will also have to contend with regulatory challenges. The company is under several federal safety investigations and other probes. In California, Tesla

is at risk of temporarily losing its license to sell cars in the state after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about their safety.

“Regulatory is going to be a big issue,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well-known bull on the stock. “We’re dealing with people’s lives.”

Still, Ives said he expects Tesla’s autonomous offerings will soon overcome any setbacks.

Musk has said he hopes software updates to his cars will enable hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles to operate autonomously with zero human intervention by the end of this year.

The company is also planning to begin production of its AI-powered Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals in 2026.

To keep Musk focused on the company, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially enormous new pay package that shareholders backed at the annual meeting in November.

Musk scored another huge windfall two weeks ago when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that deprived him of a $55 billion pay package that Tesla doled out in 2018.

Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire later this year when he sells shares of his rocket company SpaceX to the public for the first time in what analysts expect would be a blockbuster initial public offering.

Ford working on fixing quality after record year of recalls

BY BREANA NOBLE

The Detroit News (TNS) Ford Motor Co. ended a record-breaking recall year with 152 notices to consumers in 2025 concerning safety issues or product defects requiring repair. But executives say quality costs are improving.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker nearly doubled the record previously set

by General Motors Co. of 77 recalls in 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall tracker. From faulty parking modules that create the potential for rollaways to risks of parts detaching from SUVs to notices that an electrical short may create conditions for a fire to spark, issues have run the gamut.

And those cost the automaker time, money and reputation among consumers.

“I would like the consumers to know that we stand behind our products,” Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer, said in an interview with The Detroit

News. “Our initial quality has improved substantially this year, and if something does go wrong with their vehicle, I want them to know that we will act promptly to take care of it.”

Stellantis NV reported 53 recalls in 2025. GM was fourth in recalls with 27, according to NHTSA, behind RV manufacturer Forest River.

The recall totals are a sign of the Blue Oval’s prioritization of quality, safety and warranty cost reductions, Ford executives said. Over the past two years, the company doubled its safety team to find and fix problems, and now it is testing critical systems to failure. Initial quality for products rolling off the line in 2025 is among Ford’s best ever, according to internal data, said Josh Halliburton, Ford’s executive director of quality.

But for customers, recalls can come with frustrations.

John MacLellan, 37, an attorney in Jacksonville, Florida, faced challenges with buying a Mustang Mach-E this

summer after the automaker ordered dealers not to deliver the electric vehicles due to a lockout issue.

“They text me that they’ll get the keys ready, and then I hear nothing, and I hear nothing,” MacLellan said about reaching out to a dealer to buy the SUV. “I see the news on Reddit. It makes you a little leery that it could theoretically trap a kid inside.”

Ford last month also cited cost improvements in its announcement to raise its 2025 adjusted operating earning guidance to about $7 billion.

That was up from $6 billion to $6.5 billion it stated in November, though still would represent a more than 30% decrease from 2024 following the advent of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, supply chain disruptions, the expiration of the federal plug-in vehicle tax credit and consumer sentiment deterioration.

Galhotra declined to provide financial specifics, citing the company’s blackout period ahead of reporting earnings, but said costs have

DETROIT NEWS PHOTO By CLARENCE TABB JR.

Jim Duncan, 49, a technician at Village Ford Service Center, installs an instrument panel cluster update on a recalled 2023 Bronco Sport on Tuesday in Dearborn, Mich. improved for multiple quarters now and part of that is quality and warranty.

Last year’s recalls included about 40 reissued related to software. An audit found the company didn’t have a robust way of ensuring the software was in the right place. The effort was to ensure the software had been installed correctly.

Dealers like Jim Seavitt,

owner of Village Ford in Dearborn, said their service departments regularly have full-day schedules of addressing recalls. Meanwhile, dozens of new vehicles sit on the lot, unable to be delivered because they need a fix.

“They’ve taken a lot of what could be customer-paid work, and they don’t pay that well,” Seavitt said of the impact of the recall repairs on

his business. “It used to be: ‘Quality is job one.’ Somewhere, they lost that.”

Consumers weigh dozens of matters in a decision to buy a vehicle, including recalls and repairs, said Stephanie Brinley, S&P Global Mobility’s AutoIntelligence principal automotive analyst.

They can forgive a mistake, but how an automaker addresses the problem is what really makes a difference.

“Some people get a bunch of recall notices and don’t think it’s important and don’t do anything about it,” she said. “Having a ton of recalls looks bad, but on the other hand, it’s how well it’s handled from the consumers’ perspective — how quickly, how well or how efficiently.”

Third-party product testing has validated Ford’s claims of improved quality. Ford scaled Consumer Reports’ brand reliability ranking, finishing at No. 11 in the top half of all brands included, up from No. 22 the year prior. It was its best placement in the past 15 years. Lincoln was No. 20.

OPINION

6B ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

ANOTHER VIEW

A buried autopsy and the new face of the status quo

Entering a new year is a time to look back for lessons learned and forward for what’s next.

In the world of politics, this means looking back at how Democrats got where they are and looking ahead to where Republicans, the “in” party, may end up in November’s midterm elections.

After Democrats lost the White House and Congress in 2024, party leaders commissioned an autopsy of the election. It was recently completed — and promptly buried. It must have been hair-raising.

If Democrats won’t face their own reality and tell you what led to their defeat, I will.

First, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

By 2024, voters had concluded Biden was unfit to continue as president. His policies were unpopular, and his disastrous debate performance made a loss to Donald Trump look likely. Democrats panicked; they pushed Biden aside at the eleventh Ron and slated a new nominee, Kamala Faucheux hour Harris.

Plenty of voters were relieved they didn’t have to choose between Biden and Trump, a matchup they dreaded. But they were also unsettled by how Biden’s campaign ended and how Harris took his place — without primaries, caucuses or debates. It didn’t feel right.

As vice president, Harris was chained to the administration’s record. Her own inability to defend that record — and, when need be, to distance herself from it — ultimately sunk her candidacy. She now blames lack of time as the reason she lost. She’s wrong, of course — lack of time actually helped her. Wonder what the autopsy says about that?

Second, Democrats went too far during the early years of Biden’s presidency. Political analyst and Shreveport native Charlie Cook, a longtime friend, says the Democratic Party was “tone deaf” after it won in 2020: “Biden and his team committed a political cardinal sin — misreading their election and presuming a mandate when none existed. ... Decisions were made that planted the seeds of (their 2024) loss.”

Democrats allowed themselves to become the party of political correctness, open borders and soft-on-crime policies. They underestimated the risk of being perceived as the cradle of woke — handing Republicans a club that they used to beat them unmercifully.

Third, the big, ugly status quo. Americans wanted change in 2024. Exit polling showed that more than two-thirds viewed economic conditions negatively, and Trump won 70% of them. Another 73% said they were dissatisfied or angry with the way things were going in the country, and Trump won 62% of them.

You don’t need much of an autopsy to see that Democrats were on the wrong side of these numbers.

Looking toward this year’s midterm elections, Republicans are now riding the back of that angry tiger called status quo. If things go well, they’ll benefit; if not, they’ll be eaten by it. Their success or failure depends upon Trump. Republican candidates are so tightly linked to the president that they will have little room to pivot away if needed.

To face this new reality, Republicans have two things to watch: First, the warning signs. In 2025, Republicans lost governorships in Virginia and New Jersey by bigger margins than expected. They dropped 13 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates and five seats in New Jersey’s General Assembly. They lost California’s closely watched redistricting referendum (by a landslide), along with key down-ballot races in Pennsylvania and Georgia.

New polling from the Economist/YouGov shows that only 27% of independents — those voters who often swing close elections — have a positive opinion of Trump.

Second, public concern about national conditions. The latest Quinnipiac poll finds that solid voter majorities disapprove of Trump’s handling of big-ticket issues: 59% on health care, 57% on the economy, 55% on deportations, 55% on trade and 54% on foreign policy. Polls on the cost of living and the Epstein files are even more sour.

This is why Republicans, on average, are currently losing by four points when voters are asked which party they prefer to control Congress.

When President Franklin Roosevelt asked his vice president, John Nance Garner, for his assessment of how his plan to pack the Supreme Court was doing in Congress, the crusty Garner puffed on a cigar and asked his boss, “You want it with the bark on or off?” FDR replied, “The rough way.” Said Garner, “You’re beat.”

The party that assesses its weaknesses the rough way, and acts quickly and wisely, won’t have to do an autopsy later.

YOUR VIEWS

Landry should focus on La. problems Doesn’t Gov. Jeff Landry have more important things to do than to be President Donald Trump’s envoy to Greenland?

By most quality-of-life metrics, Louisiana is last or almost last among the 50 states in areas like literacy, infant mortality, the economy, etc.

(Thank God for Mississippi). Because of politicians like our governor, Louisiana has been and will continue

Changes to college sports weaken fan loyalty It’s not the same. Our usual group of fans were less inclined to gather for grilling and watching the Tigers on television this year. No one doubts that talent levels are exceptional and that athletes as agents for revenue for the university are due some compensation. It’s just that we don’t feel loyalty to a team whose stars are not loyal to us, having been employed by up to three other schools before transferring here.

Another revealing measure of loyalty is the number of potential NFL athletes declining to play in postseason games. Might not end well for their marketability.

I suggest that all Division I schools have two teams. One would play in a “gladiator league“ where phenomenal athletes can be recruited and traded at will and play a postseason schedule beginning in late January when football diehards are suffering with withdrawal.

The other regular-season team would be populated with true scholar-athletes, the many all-district and all-state players who don’t have the speed or stature to compete with the gladiators, but who are hometown heroes who love the game and are more career-oriented outside of sports performance.

Four other suggestions to improve the game of football: 1. Coaches get paid the percentage of their salaries as their season’s win/loss record with pre-agreed-upon goodbye severances.

2. Make the point-after-touchdown more competitive. It’s almost a “gimme “ now.

3. No more “icing” the field goal attempts. It has nothing to do with good sportsmanship and frustrates television viewers.

4. Also, as in rugby, no more taking a knee to run out the clock. I’m not familiar with another sport or even occupation, except investing in the stock market, where this is admirable, prudent or possible.

But I suppose these days, university football does have more in common with the $tock market.

STEPHEN WILSON Baton Rouge

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

China to take Taiwan. It sets a bad example. It is also evidence that Republicans like Landry will do anything to please President Trump even if it upsets an ally, violates international law and hurts our national security. Rather than celebrate Landry’s appointment, people in Louisiana should be appalled by this appointment.

to lose its “best and brightest” to other states.

Moreover, this newly created position is not only absurd, but it is damaging to U.S. national security.

Greenland belongs to Denmark, a NATO ally. Secondly, Trump’s position and Landry’s position is that if you want to annex another country, just take it. This gives the green light to Russia to take Ukraine and to

NORMAN PLOTKIN Lafayette

New battleships seem like little more than show What would be the mission of the Defiant-class (BBG) battleship?

Would it be sea control? Sea denial? Support for Marine Corps amphibious assault? Or is it merely like a Mardi Gras float bristling with every imaginable munition that can be heaped on and be merely for show —the Golden Fleet that only the president’s sense of aesthetics appreciates?

Could it survive counter battery fires of every type of its proposed weapons — nuclear cruise missiles, high kinetic energy rail gun projectiles, laser munitions, five-inch naval artillery?

And, don’t forget the lowly

sea mine. Real World War II Iowa-class battleships were designed to take a hit by a 16-inch naval cannon round, which was their primary battery, and still execute its mission.

Seems to me that this BBG class would be nothing more than a show boat — if it would ever actually be constructed, launched and commissioned.

Finally, is there an opportunity cost to be reckoned?

What really useful ships or submarines would be deferred in order to fund this class of showboat? What has the U.S. Congress to say about this new direction?

LAWRENCE IVERSON Metairie

Enough shame to go around as immigration raids continue Shame on President Donald Trump. By his words and actions, he has proven to be a racist president who thinks it’s OK to refer to fellow human beings as garbage. This doesn’t make America great.

And it’s wrong.

Shame on Congress. It has abdicated its powers and is complicit in allowing our military to murder suspected enemies without a declaration of war or proof that they are, indeed, enemies.

This is cowardice. And it’s wrong.

Shame on Homeland Secu-

rity. It has invaded our towns with covered faces and racially profiled our neighbors who helped rebuild our city after Katrina. This is bullying. And it’s wrong.

Shame on us, America. We all need to speak up. Show up.

Vote. Donate. Call out injustice and hatred. Name it what it is: a shame. If we do nothing to stop the corruption of our values, our communities and our leaders, we will get more of the same. And that’s just wrong.

JOSHUA MAYER New Orleans

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S at u r d ay, J a n u a ry 3, 2026

SAINTS AT FALCONS • NOON SUNDAy • FOX

TOP

OF THE

CLASS

1Cn

LSU gymnasts sparkle in exhibition

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Amari Drayton soared high through the air on her vault routine as though it really counted for something.

Newcomer Courtney Blackson bounced with delight after sticking her uneven bars landing.

And coach Jay Clark had to pause addressing the record crowd that turned out for Friday’s Gymnastics 101/Open Mike Night exhibition at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center when Kailin Chio ran up to him and pointed across the floor to Konnor McClain waiting to anchor the night on balance beam.

Fresh starts and false starts. That was the purpose of this meet: to work out some of the mistakes and jitters before the season starts for real next week.

For Clark, who grades on a tough curve upholding the high standards for LSU gymnastics he helped create, the evening was a success.

“I liked almost everything,” Clark said.

“You normally come into this thing in December and we moved it for a litany of reasons. The way the calendar broke, we felt Jan. 2 was too early to have a meet. We had one Jan. 3 last year (against Iowa State) and that was pushing it. We needed this first weekend to open and get back into the swing

ä See EXHIBITION, page 3C

Saints safety Jonas Sanker leaps to make an interception during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 7 in Tampa, Fla. Sanker was a third-round pick. AP PHOTO By PETER JONELEIT

Saints’ 2025 rookies look like one of best groups in NFL

K

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

ellen Moore would say that even he didn’t know exactly what to expect from the New Orleans Saints’ rookie class. The coach liked the picks, sure, but he’s been in the NFL long enough to know that rookies sometimes have to sit behind veterans and reps can be limited.

LSU gymnast Amari Drayton performs her floor routine during the team’s Gymnastics 101/Open Mike Night exhibition meet on Friday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

But in his first year since being hired by the Saints, Moore couldn’t have asked for much more.

“Right demeanor, right mindset,” he said.

The Saints haven’t struck gold the same way they did in 2017, but for a franchise desperately needing

an injection of youth, this year’s rookie class appears to be the team’s best since then.

In just one group, the Saints have found a quarterback of the future, a franchise left tackle, two defensive starters and a rotational running back. Those players will have to continue to progress for them to reach their potential, but those five are off to extremely promising starts. ä See SAINTS, page 4C

Star quarterback Chamblliss keeps Rebels’ season rolliing

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

In the post-Sugar Bowl news conference Thursday night, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made a simple declarative statement to explain his Bulldogs’ wild 39-34 loss to Ole Miss on New Year’s night in the Caesars Superdome.

“They made more plays than we did,” Smart said.

Perhaps he was thinking back to a pair of plays in particular made by Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, plays that typified his amazing, MVP-worthy performance.

It was early in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss faced third and 7 at its 28 trailing Georgia 24-19.

Chambliss rolled right to pass but was immediately cornered by three blitzing defenders.

Instead of panicking or throwing the ball away, Chambliss spun back to his left near the Rebels’ goal line. Running in a wide arc, he finally flipped a pass near the Georgia sideline to wide-open running back Kewan Lacy. He shook off a shuddering hit by Bulldogs safety KJ Bolden and lunged forward for the first down to the Ole Miss 36.

Next play, Georgia defensive lineman Christian Miller came right up the middle into Chambliss’ face mask, but the Ole Miss quarterback showed a surgeon’s touch, sliding right to loft a 44-yard pass to Harrison Wallace over cornerback Ellis Robinson to the Bulldogs’ 20.

Three plays later, Lacy scored on a 5-yard run, a crucial touchdown drive in the Rebels’ eventual victory.

“Their scrambles,” Smart said, “were explosive. A lot of credit to that kid and their offense.”

The win was doubly sweet for Chambliss, who now heads to the College Football Playoff semifinals. No. 6-seeded Ole Miss (13-1) will play No. 10-seeded Miami on Thursday in the Fiesta Bowl.

This win was also sweet redemption for what happened the first time the Rebels faced Georgia. Ole Miss led 35-26 going into the fourth quarter Oct. 18 in Athens but gave up 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter

ä See REBELS, page 6C

ä Fiesta Bowl Ole Miss vs: Miami

6:30 P.M.THURSDAy, ESPN

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss AP PHOTO By MATHEW HINTON

‘Real deal’ arrives for LSU men’s basketball

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Mike Nwoko’s voice booms more than most on the LSU basketball team.

One of the messages the Mississippi State transfer has preached all season is for his teammates to brace themselves for the challenge of Southeastern Conference play.

“I’m very confident heading into SEC play, for sure,” said Nwoko, ä LSU at Texas who is averaging 16.1 A&M 3 P.M. points per game on a conference-best 71.2% from SATURDAy, ESPNU the field. “Being one of the few guys that was on an SEC team last year, I definitely warned these guys a whole lot about, ‘Hey, the real deal is coming.’ ” Dedan Thomas nodded when he heard this. That message has resonated with a team that has only two players in the rotation who played in the SEC last year. This doesn’t include Jalen Reed, who is out for the season because of a left Achilles injury.

“We have a lot to prove still,” said Thomas, who is averaging 16.2 ppg. “12-1, we handled business nonconference, so like he said, the real deal is about to start.”

ä See LSU, page 2C

2C ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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IN BRIEF

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10 a.m. Virginia at NC State ESPN2 11 a.m. Virginia Tech at Wake Forest ACCN 11 a.m. Northeastern at Campbell CBSSN 11 a.m. Clemson at Pittsburgh CW 11 a.m. Kentucky at Alabama ESPN 11 a.m. UTSA at Temple ESPNU 11 a.m. Providence vs. St. John’s FOX 11 a.m. Villanova at Butler TNT 11 a.m. VCU at Duquesne USA noon Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech ESPN2 noon Auburn at Georgia SECN 12:30 p.m. ByU at Kansas St. CBS 1 p.m.

Boston College at Georgia Tech ACCN 1 p.m.

Dayton at Loyola of Chicago CBSSN 1 p.m.

Vanderbilt at South Carolina ESNU 1 p.m.

Xavier at DePaul FS1 1 p.m.

Kansas at UC FPEACOCK 1 p.m.

Houston at Cincinnati FOX 1 p.m.

Baylor at TCU TNT

1 p.m.

La Salle at George Washington USA 1:15 p.m. North Carolina at SMU CW 2 p.m.

Tennessee at Arkansas ESPN2 2:30 p.m. Mississippi at Oklahoma SECN 2:45 p.m. Duke at Florida St. CBS 3 p.m.

Oral Roberts at N. Dakota St. CBSSN 3 p.m.

LSU at Texas A&M ESPNU 3 p.m.

Arizona at UTA PEACOCK 3 p.m.

Rhode Island at George Mason USA 4 p.m.

Minnesota at Northwestern BTN 4 p.m.

Colorado at Arizona St. ESPN2 5 p.m.

Davidson at Saint Joseph’s CBSSN 5 p.m.

Wichita St. at Charlotte ESPNU 5 p.m.

UCLA at Iowa PEACOCK 5 p.m.

Mississippi St. at Texas SECN 6 p.m.

Illinois vs. Penn St. BTN 7 p.m.

Wyoming at New Mexico CBSSN 7 p.m.

Purdue at Wisconsin FOX 7:30 p.m. Florida at Missouri SECN 9 p.m.

Boise St. at San Diego St. CBSSN WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 11 a.m. Seton Hall at UConn FS1

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

7 p.m.

Southern Cal at UCLA PEACOCK HORSE RACING 1:30 p.m. America’s Day at the Races FS2 3 p.m.

America’s Day at the Races FS1 MEN’S LACROSSE 9 p.m.

Calgary at San Diego ESPNU NBA 4 p.m.

Minnesota at Miami NBATV 6:30 p.m. Philadelphia at New york NBATV 9:30 p.m. Boston at L.A. Clippers NBATV NFL 3:30 p.m. Carolina at Tampa Bay ABC 7 p.m.

Seattle at San Francisco ABC NHL 11 a.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit ABC 6 p.m.

Toronto at N.y. Islanders NHLN MEN’S SOCCER 8:55 a.m. Dundee at Dundee United CBSSN 9 a.m.

Burnley at Brighton USA 11:15 a.m. Al Taawoun at Al Ittihad FS2 11:30 a.m. Arsenal at AFC Bournemouth NBC 9 p.m.

Empire at San Diego FS2

Mulkey ‘stunned’ by rebound woes

BY REED DARCEY

Staff writer

Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks thinks it was about 2 a.m. one morning this week when it caught his attention.

Brooks was up late watching one of coach Kim Mulkey’s news conferences. His ears perked up when Mulkey pointed out that she didn’t have a single post player who had previously competed in the SEC — something she said throughout the LSU women’s basketball team’s nonconference slate.

“And we do,” Brooks said.

So Kentucky took advantage.

Across the past five seasons, only one team has earned a wider rebounding margin in a game against the Tigers than the No. 11 Wildcats (14-1) did Thursday in their SEC opener — a game they won 80-78 on a last-second 3-pointer.

Kentucky won the rebounding battle 45-29. The 17 offensive boards it corralled, then turned into 18 second-chance points are tied for the most LSU has allowed one of its opponents to collect since Mulkey took over the program in 2021. The No. 5 Tigers (14-1), on the other hand, grabbed only four offensive rebounds — a new single-game low for the past five seasons.

“I’m just stunned that we got outrebounded like we did,” Mulkey said. “That literally was the difference in the game.

“If you would’ve told me that we would’ve been outrebounded with this group I have, there’s no way I would’ve believed you. But that goes back to experience. That goes back to toughness. And we just got to get better.”

Kentucky is one of the tallest, most physical teams in the SEC. Four of its five starters are at least 6 feet tall. Forward Amelia Hassett is a 6-4 senior. Forward Teonni Key is a 6-5 senior. Center Clara Strack is a 6-5 junior.

LSU has size, too. Transfer center Kate Koval is 6-5, but she’s a sophomore who logged only about 13 minutes per game in ACC play last season at Notre Dame. Trans-

LSU is set to host former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby on a visit this weekend, according to multiple reports Friday.

Sorsby, a redshirt junior with one year of eligibility remaining, is considered one of the top players in the transfer portal. He visited Texas Tech, another team in need of a quarterback, on Friday.

Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards, ran for 580 and scored 36 combined touchdowns this season. His mobility gives him an ideal skill set for new head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. Since starting his college career at Indiana, Sorsby has thrown for 7,208 yards and 60 touchdowns. He transferred to Cincinnati before the 2024 season and started for the past two years under coach Scott Satterfield.

Cardinals place receiver Harrison on injured reserve

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals placed receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on injured reserve on Friday, ending a disappointing season for the second-year player.

The 23-year-old left last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of a foot injury and coach Jonathan Gannon already said earlier this week that he wasn’t expected to play in the finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Harrison also dealt with a heel problem and missed a few weeks because of an appendectomy.

The No. 4 overall pick out of Ohio State in 2024 played in 12 games this season, including 10 starts.

He caught 41 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns, struggling to make the big plays that the Cardinals expected.

Dolphins place TE Waller on IR, sign RB Edwardss

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Kim Mulkey reacts to a turnover against Kentucky on Thursday at the PMAC. The Wildcats won 80-78. ä LSU at Vanderbilt.

4 P.M. SUNDAy, ESPN

fer forward Amiya Joyner is 6-2, but she spent the past three years at East Carolina.

The Tigers’ other two post players — Grace Knox and ZaKiyah Johnson — are long and athletic, but they’re freshmen who haven’t yet faced the kind of players they’ll encounter this season in January, February and March.

Key grabbed 5.8 rebounds per game during Kentucky’s nonconference slate, but on Thursday, she outrebounded LSU’s entire frontcourt by herself. She grabbed 16 boards. Koval, Joyner, Knox and Johnson combined to pull down only 13.

Mulkey has said she thinks she’ll need her guards to help her post players clean up misses.

They just didn’t crash the glass often enough on Thursday, when Mikaylah Williams (eight rebounds) and Jada Richard (three rebounds) were the only guards

who corralled more than one board.

Flau’jae Johnson grabbed 13 rebounds in LSU’s win over Kentucky last season, but she collected only one board in the 38 minutes she played on Thursday.

“It is a big thing,” Brooks said.

“We didn’t specifically gameplan for it, but we knew we could have, maybe, an advantage with some experience when things got a little bit tough.”

How can LSU fix the issue?

Mulkey said she’ll address it in the film session and practice she and her staff plan to hold ahead of the Tigers’ next game against No. 12 Vanderbilt, which will tip off at 4 p.m. Sunday.

“You go hard,” Mulkey said, “but you don’t go long. You go hard in the areas that you need to fix. Rebounding, blocking out, those types of things. You go hard in the film room. You grab their attention in the film room.”

There’s urgency to improve on the glass. Because LSU lost to Kentucky, it is now 0-8 under

LSU

Continued from page 1C When the UNLV transfer was asked whether LSU was underrated before the season, he said “absolutely.” Three months later, Thomas said the team still possesses a “chip on our shoulder” because it wants to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

The most critical part of the regular season has arrived. The Tigers open SEC play against Texas A&M (10-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies played five highmajor opponents during their nonconference slate, losing to Oklahoma State, Central Florida and SMU. LSU also played SMU, which it beat 89-77 in New Orleans. Texas A&M fell to the Mustangs 93-80 in overtime at a neutral site in Texas.

Texas A&M will be without one of its biggest portal additions in Mackenzie Mgbako, who is out for the season because of a foot injury. Regardless, LSU coach Matt McMahon has immense respect for first-year Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan’s group.

“This Texas A&M team (is) really, really good,” McMahon said. “(Averaging) 96 points a game

LSU hosting highly touted transfer quarterback Sorsby

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU forward Mike Nwoko is fouled by Southern Miss forward Tylik Weeks, center, as Southern Miss forward Djahi Binet defends on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. and some change offensively, really explosive there. On the defensive side of the ball, they turn you over at a high rate, as coach McMillan’s teams have always done.

They score a lot of points off their defense, and (they’re) an older, really experienced team.”

The Aggies frequently use various full-court defenses. The re-

lentless pressure on ballhandlers results in steals for breakaway layups and other kinds of deadball turnovers. Texas A&M is tied for 15th in the country in forced turnovers per game (16.38), which is second in the SEC behind only Georgia.

“Ball security will be at a premium,” McMahon said. “Then de-

Mulkey in games against SEC teams ranked in the top 12 of the AP Top 25 Poll. That series of games includes five matchups with South Carolina, two with Texas and now one with the Wildcats.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier. Four of the Tigers’ next five games are on the road, and three of those contests are against teams ranked in the top 12 of the latest AP poll — No. 2 Texas, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 12 Vanderbilt.

Before the game against the Commodores rolls around, Mulkey wants LSU to first renew its commitment to cleaning the glass, erasing a deficiency opposing coaches can notice in latenight prep work.

“The entire game was lost because of rebounding,” Mulkey said. “And we gotta go fix that.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

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

cision-making, if you’re fortunate enough to beat the press, becomes critically important when you get in some of those scramble advantage situations.”

LSU will not counteract its opponent’s style of play by trying to force its own turnovers. McMahon said that isn’t where his team’s strength lies. Instead, the Tigers will trust Thomas to handle the pressure and, when facing multiple defenders, to pass to the open man.

Thomas leads the SEC with 7.1 assists, which is tied for ninth in the country. Even more impressive is that he averages only 1.8 turnovers.

When the ball crosses half court, LSU has faith in its offense. It’s going to have a heavy dose of Thomas pick-and-rolls with bigs, along with post-ups for Nwoko and perimeter scoring from Max Mackinnon.

But the SEC experience that Nwoko, sophomore Robert Miller and even Reed possesses is important for the Tigers.

“I think this is where you rely on a Mike Nwoko, who started every game last year in SEC play,” McMahon said. “Jalen Reed, I’m still counting on him and holding him accountable from a leadership standpoint as someone who’s been through these SEC battles, and I think he’ll continue to have a great impact on our team.”

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins placed tight end Darren Waller on injured reserve Friday with a groin injury and signed running back Donovan Edwards to the active roster off Washington’s practice squad.

Waller will miss the Dolphins’ regular-season finale at New England on Sunday, ending his lone season in Miami with 24 catches for 283 yards and six touchdowns.

The Dolphins are also dealing with injuries to several other key players entering Sunday’s game.

Edwards entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with the New York Jets in 2025. He played collegiately at Michigan, rushing for 2,251 yards on 422 carries with 19 touchdowns in 14 career starts.

Aikman to advise Dolphins in search for new GM

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman will be advising the Miami Dolphins in their search for a new general manager.

Aikman, who led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins and is now an ESPN analyst, isn’t expected to remain with the organization beyond their GM search, ESPN reported. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel welcomed the outside help.

The Dolphins fired longtime general manager Chris Grier on Oct. 31 after a 2-7 start to the season. McDaniel has remained head coach despite questions about his job security.

Aikman has been in the broadcast booth since he retired from a 12-year career.

Boxer Joshua’s driver charged after deadly crash

LAGOS, Nigeria — The driver in a deadly car crash that injured heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and killed his two friends in Nigeria was charged, the police said on Friday.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was charged with dangerous and reckless driving in southwestern Ogun state following Monday’s crash, police spokesman Oluseyi Babaseyi said in a statement on Friday.

The vehicle carrying Joshua, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele hit a stationary truck on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which links Ogun state to Lagos.

The defendant was charged on four counts, including dangerous driving causing death, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care as well as driving without a valid national driver’s license.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 3C

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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Ten players score as EA knocks off Capitol

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

The East Ascension boys basketball team put together a team effort Friday night, and it paid off with a 63-42 win over Capitol at the Spartans’ gym.

The Class 5A Spartans had 10 players score as they created all the separation they needed in the second quarter. Capitol, a Class 2A program, never got its deficit under 10 points in the second half.

“We played 14 guys, so I think our depth kind of wore them down. That was the goal — to push them and push them,” East Ascension coach Troy Green said.

“Come district time and in the playoffs, you’re going to need a bench, so that’s what we’re trying to do. We want to play everybody and get them some confidence.”

East Ascension (10-3) led 16-11 after one quarter and extended its lead to 26-17

ä High school basketball summaries. PAGE 6C

three minutes into the second quarter. The Spartans turned up the defensive pressure to outscore the Lions 12-2 the rest of the quarter.

During one key stretch, East Ascension forced turnovers on seven of eight Capitol possessions. The Spartans were relentless on the offensive boards and pulled down nine in the quarter.

“A lot of times when you’re pressing, you’ll give up some easy layups, but if you keep the pressure going, in the long run, if you have the depth you’ll be successful,” Green said.

Dylan Vaughn scored 13 points to lead the Spartans while Curtis Joseph added 10. Vaughn was one of six Spartans to make a 3-pointer.

Capitol (8-7) settled down in the second half. It was

enough for the Lions to play on even terms in the final two quarters but not nearly enough to mount a comeback.

“East Ascension has a really good team,” Capitol coach Marlon Robertson said. “They’re very disciplined and very wellcoached. We’re a Division III program so we enjoyed the experience of playing them.

“They’re from a bigger division, and we look forward to playing them because it helps us get tougher.”

Fred Thomas of Capitol finished with 12 points.

Chris Washington was also a factor with 10.

East Ascension outrebounded Capitol 55-30, a key statistic that helped the Spartans overcome 36% shooting.

The Lions shot 38%, but East Ascension took 25 more shots than Capitol thanks to its work on the offensive rebounds.

Woodlawn girls respond to challenge, top Geo Next

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS

Contributing writer

Geo Next Generation had put together its best minutes, rallying to tie Friday’s nondistrict encounter at Woodlawn in the latter stages of the third quarter.

That prompted Panthers coach Alicia Dedeaux to call timeout with a serious question for her team.

“I asked them, ‘Do you want this?’ “ she said. “It seemed like we were fooling around. We had to get them cranked up because it was time to go.”

Woodlawn responded with an 8-1 run over the last three minutes of the quarter, and the back-toback Division I select state runners-up turned that into a decisive 21-3 surge for a 51-35 victory.

“I had to keep my composure and try to get it back on defense because my offense wasn’t going how I wanted,” said Woodlawn point guard Mariah Scott, one of two returning starters along with forward Aaliyah Gaddis. “I knew I had to go all out on defense.”

Scott and Gaddis provide Woodlawn (11-7) with a solid foundation, but the

EXHIBITION

Continued from page 1C of things.”

The result was an attendance of 4,472, the largest crowd ever for LSU’s exhibition meet.

“You can’t get this anywhere else,” said Blackson, a transfer from Boise State who sat out the 2025 season but decided to come to LSU for her fifth year of eligibility.

Seventeen of LSU’s 21 gymnasts did routines Friday, the only time the Tigers get to perform in the PMAC until the regular season begins. Just three Tigers did routines on all four events — vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor: junior Madison Ulrich, a transfer from Denver; sophomore Lexi Zeiss and freshman Nina Ballou.

Ulrich, a three-time AllAmerican with her previous school, showed the full repertoire that made Clark want to outduel Southeastern Conference rival Oklahoma for her in the transfer portal. And Ulrich saw what Friday nights in the PMAC can be like.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I love the fans and the energy and the noise. It was really cool to be there with

Panthers have come back from a recent six-game losing streak because of the production of some of their newcomers.

Forward Janeseyah Young was her team’s top scorer with 14 points, including four to spark Woodlawn’s initial run that broke a 26-26 tie at the 3:29 mark of the third quarter. Gaddis, who didn’t play in the second quarter because of three fouls, scored all 11 of her points in the second half, while Scott had nine and reserve Keitha McQuarter added eight.

“Everybody else other than Mariah and Aaliyah, they’re finding their way together,” Dedeaux said.

“I knew Geo Next Generation had a good team. Our job was to try and increase the tempo, defend and rebound.”

Geo Next Generation (15-3), a Division III select playoff team in its first season a year ago, was under constant duress from Woodlawn’s full-court pressure. The Tigers suffered 16 of their 34 turnovers in the first half but trailed only 24-16 at halftime.

Leading scorer Kimberly Jack (12 points) started a

9-2 run with a three-point play and a runner across the lane over Gaddis. Geo Next tied the game for the second time on Sur’Myricle Jackson’s put-back basket.

“We’re taking a lot away,” Geo Next coach Michael Ingram said. “The remainder of our schedule is nothing but 5A-4A games. We’re trying to get ready for the playoffs.”

An 8-1 run that finished the third quarter, capped

by Gaddis’ first basket on a baseline drive, spilled over into the first four minutes of the fourth. Gaddis knocked down a 3-pointer, made a pair of free throws and took a feed from Scott for a layup and 47-29 advantage.

Woodlawn, which shot 46% (13 of 28) in the second half, limited Geo Next to eight baskets and 38% shooting (8 of 21) in the second half.

“Everybody has to come out strong, and we have to keep each other up no matter what happens,” Scott said. “We’re always encouraging each other to keep going.

“We can’t do it with just one or two people. We need everybody.”

my teammates and have everyone supporting us.”

Splitting the squad into Purple and Gold teams, the Tigers performed a total of 43 routines compared to 24 in a typical dual meet.

Among the most notable performances was a high, arching vault by Drayton, a junior expected to be a major contributor for LSU this season.

“I’ve been working on running really slow down the vault runway,” Drayton said.

She added that senior teammate Tori Tatum told her to slow down because “when I go fast, I go out (of bounds).

“It felt really good.”

Chio, the 2025 NCAA vault champion, competed only on bars and without attempting a dismount because she recently tweaked an ankle in practice. Clark said he expects she will be ready to go for the regular season.

Despite a couple of falls, LSU appeared to avoid any troubling new injuries Friday as compared to last season’s exhibition meet.

Tigers all-time great Haleigh Bryant, now in her first season as one of LSU’s assistant coaches, jammed her elbow on her vault routine in this meet in December 2024 and was hampered much of the 2025 season.

While the meet was not

judged for scoring, Clark said getting his gymnasts — new and old — used to performing in the PMAC is vital.

“We love our training facility,” he said. “At the same time, getting into this building with 80-foot ceilings and different TV lighting, when you’re 10, 12, 14 feet in the air flipping and you have to find your feet, the spatial awareness of that can be daunting.

“You’ve got to be dialed in. It’s mental as much as physical.”

Ranked No. 2 in the gymnastics coaches’ preseason poll, LSU opens the regular season next Saturday in the Sprouts Farmers Market Intercollegiate Quad against No. 1 OU, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Utah. The meet is set for 3 p.m. on ABC. LSU then goes to Georgia on Jan. 16 for its SEC opener before finally returning home Jan. 23 against Kentucky. The Tigers will have five regular-season home meets, plus the Podium Challenge on March 1 against Alabama and North Carolina at the Raising Cane’s River Center and will host an NCAA regional at the PMAC April 3-5.

“This is the beginning of what we believe will be another championship run,” Clark said.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Southern coach Kevin Johnson watches a game from the sideline against Ecclesia on Nov. 17, 2024, at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.

Southern men ready to tackle SWAC play ä Texas Southern at Southern. 5 P.M. SATURDAy

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

The Southern men’s basketball team has been in survival mode during the early part of the season, but that changes Saturday when it begins its Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule.

Southern has played 10 road games and only three at home. Through it all, the Jaguars (4-9) have emerged in good health as they look to defend the regular-season championship they won last season.

“We survived it. I think that’s the most important thing when you look at our schedule,” Southern coach Kevin Johnson said. “We’ve had some bumps and some bruises. We’ve had some injuries, and we’ve had some guys missing games, but we’ve been able to survive it.”

Southern won its three home games against outmanned competition by an average of 60 points. On the

road, there were close losses to Washington, Texas State and California Baptist, as well as a 75-73 win at Northwestern State.

“We’ve done some good things in the nonconference in terms of playing how we want to play,” Johnson said.

“Now it’s time to try and go up a level in improvement.

Like so many teams in our league that play all these road games, it’s all about survival in the nonconference. Ten games on the road and three at home makes it awful tough.”

Southern will open its conference slate with its traditional first-week opponents, Texas Southern and Prairie View, in Baton Rouge. The Texas Southern game is set for 5 p.m. Saturday while the Prairie View contest is at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Texas Southern is led by former LSU coach Johnny Jones and has three players

averaging in double figures.

Prairie View turned heads Dec. 22 when it shot 67% from the floor in the first half of a 104-90 loss at LSU. The Panthers were led by former Scotlandville High star and one-time Southern Jaguars player Tai’Reon Joseph in that game with 34 points. He leads the SWAC in scoring at 22.2 points per game.

“I’ve had a chance to see both of those teams play quite a bit, and those are a tough two to start with at home,” Johnson said. “Texas Southern is good every year.

(Coach Johnny Jones) is in Houston, and he just reloads with all the players from that area. They’ve done some really good things in their nonconference play.

And, of course, Prairie View will be tough. We’ve got two tough ones right out of the gate.”

Southern won the SWAC regular-season title last season with a 15-3 record before being upset by Grambling in the SWAC Tournament.

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New Orleans Saints’ Moore content with when game in Paris could he made quarterback switch be in jeopardy for 2026 SAINTS NOTEBOOK

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The New Orleans Saints could finish the 2025 season as the NFC South’s second-place team if they beat Atlanta on Sunday and Carolina beats Tampa Bay on Saturday.

That, combined with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough winning five of eight starts since taking over midway through the season, has led to questions like these for first-year head coach Kellen Moore: Do you wish you’d started Shough earlier this season?

Spencer Rattler beat Shough to win the starting quarterback job out of training camp, and though he played fairly well, New Orleans went 1-7 in his starts.

Moore is not interested in revisionist history.

“I think the timing was right,” Moore said. “Coming out of training camp, Spencer earned the right to be the starting quarterback here. He put a lot of good film out there, he played in some challenging situations against some of the best teams in this league, ultimately, as you look at the standings. I thought there were a lot of positives there.”

Of the Saints’ seven losses with Rattler at quarterback, five were against teams in the playoff mix.

The seven losses came against teams with a combined 70-42 record (.625 winning percentage).

The early season hole was nearly impossible to climb out of, and the Saints were eliminated from playoff contention before the calendar flipped to December.

New Orleans switched over to Shough late in the seventh loss to a Buccaneers team that was 6-2 at the time. Moore said he felt that not only was the time right to make a switch but also that Shough had reached a point where the franchise felt comfortable turning the offense over to him.

“Every player’s development is going to go through a different path; no two are the same,” Moore said. “Tyler developed off the field for a number of weeks, so when (he was) presented the opportunity, he’s taken advantage of it. He’s done an awesome job, and we’re excited with where he’s going.”

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough warms up before the start of a game against the Carolina Panthers at the Caesars Superdome on Dec. 14. Shough is 5-3 as a starter this season.

averaging career bests in yards per carry (5.3) and rushing yards per game (90.3), and he’s added another element to his game with a career-best 76 receptions for 810 yards.

“He impacts the game in every element,” Moore said. “The run game obviously. In the pass game, he can take a check down and turn it into an explosive play. You get the ball out in space and you’re in these challenging tackling situations. He’s arguably the best running back in this league.”

Robinson is also coming off one of his finest games, rushing for 195 yards against the Los Angeles Rams. He had a 93-yard touchdown in that game, one of 35 runs of 10-plus yards he’s accounted for this season.

For the most part, New Orleans has kept Robinson in check as a runner during their five previous matchups. He has just as many games with 28 yards rushing (two) against the Saints as he does with 90 or more yards on the ground.

But one of those 28-yard rushing games also featured Robinson reBig test cording 103 yards on seven recepThe final challenge for the Saints tions as a receiver. defense this season is to figure out a way to slow down star running Injury report back Bijan Robinson.

Facing a roster crunch for the fiRobinson enters Week 18 with nal game of the season, the Saints a league-best 2,255 yards from placed four players on injured rescrimmage, 572 of which have serve. come during the Atlanta Falcons’ Wide receiver Mason Tipton, spethree-game winning streak. cial teams gunner Michael Davis, and The third-year pro is having the tight ends Jack Stoll and Zaire Mitchellbest season of what has been a Paden all went on injured reserve. superb career to this point. He is New Orleans also ruled out run-

ning back Alvin Kamara (knee/ankle), receiver Chris Olave, and defensive linemen Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd.

Three additional players are questionable in linebacker Demario Davis (calf), left guard Dillon Radunz (knee) and Rattler (finger).

The Saints filled three of the IR spots by signing rookie defensive end Fadil Diggs, and wide receivers Ronnie Bell and Samari Toure to the active roster from the practice squad. The fourth open spot could go to quarterback Jake Haener if Rattler is unable to play.

Olave had been ruled out earlier in the week after he went to the hospital to take care of a blood clot in his lung. He was released from the hospital Thursday.

“Obviously, he’s going to be on a journey here. There’s a process he’s going to have to go through,” Moore said. “Chris has had really good spirits through this whole thing.”

The Kamara news also did not come as a surprise, as he hasn’t practiced since injuring his knee against Atlanta in November.

The 2025 season was the worst of Kamara’s career. He played in a career-low 11 games and failed to crack 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the first time in nine NFL seasons, finishing with 657 total yards.

Moore said Friday that Kamara did not go on injured reserve because the team wanted the opportunity to see how his recovery progressed.

“Alvin’s done a ton of work behind the scenes,” Moore said.

Benson, Landry to lobby with Silver, Goodell Start spreading the news.

New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and Gov. Jeff Landry have a big trip planned to New York next week.

During the two-day excursion, the tandem will visit with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA commissioner Adam Silver to update them on the business affairs of the Saints and Pelicans, Jeff and to re-emphasize Duncan the state’s interest and readiness to host future Super Bowls and NBA All-Star Games. Benson arranged the meetings and invited Landry to attend them as her guest.

The first stop will be Atlanta, where Benson and Landry will watch the Saints play their season finale against the rival Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

From there, they will fly to New York and meet Goodell at NFL headquarters in Manhattan to discuss, among other things, New Orleans’ hopes to bid on the 2031 Super Bowl.

Because of protracted negotiations on the Saints’ lease agreement at the Superdome last fall, the city missed an NFL deadline to be placed on the short list of host sites for the game. When Benson signed the new lease in October, she vowed to revisit the situation with Goodell and try to persuade him to allow New Orleans to re-enter the competition for the game, a process that would require approval from NFL owners.

The next three Super Bowls — in 2026, 2027 and 2028 — have been awarded to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta, respectively.

Las Vegas and Nashville, Tennessee, are considered the favorites to host the 2029 and 2030 games.

New Orleans officials have targeted 2031 because conflicts with Mardi Gras and major conventions will prevent the city from hosting the game in other future years.

Goodell is aware of New Orleans’ plight but is making no promises, I’m told. As the commissioner of the world’s most powerful sports league, he has other mouths to feed, and the competition to host Super Bowls is more intense than ever, with new stadiums scheduled to come online soon in Nashville, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Florida, and Washington, D.C. By all accounts, New Orleans performed well as the host site for Super Bowl LIX last February. Goodell praised the city’s world-renowned hospitality, night life and joie de vivre throughout the week. Still, the NFL saw room for improvement.

The city’s inventory of high-end hotel rooms and luxury event space was found wanting, as was the airport’s capacity to handle the influx of out-of-town visitors.

To that end, Benson and Landry’s presentation will include updates on the city’s plan to expand and upgrade Louis Armstrong Airport and add two major downtown hotels: the 1,000-room Omni and 250room Fairmont hotels.

“I think they’re going to let us

bid, even though we’re coming in late,” Benson told me during an interview in November. “Our league meeting is in May (in Orlando, Florida, to discuss future Super Bowls). They like to (decide on) Super Bowls four years out.”

After meeting with Goodell, Benson and Landry will visit Silver at NBA offices on Tuesday to document plans for a major renovation of the Smoothie King Center, the linchpin for a long-term lease extension between the team and state. The project, which is still in the conceptual stage, would involve the transformation of Champions Square into a refurbished and reimagined entertainment district.

“The importance of the trip for the governor is that he wants to make sure the NFL commissioner clearly understands that he is the governor for crime fighting in this country, and that he will continue to ensure that New Orleans is safe for major events,” said Shane Guidry, Landry’s adviser who has served as the state’s point person on negotiations with the Saints and Pelicans for new leases at the Superdome and Smoothie King Center. “The governor is really busy, so that he has carved out time to meet with the NBA commissioner shows how important he thinks it is. The main thing is he understands the importance of economic development in the city and state.”

If New Orleans lands a future Super Bowl and NBA All-Star Game out of the trip, their investment of time and resources certainly will have been worthwhile.

Saints fans, put those Paris plans on hold.

A first-ever NFL game in France featuring the Saints appears to be in jeopardy — at least for the 2026 season.

Negotiations between the NFL and stadium officials in Paris are ongoing, but with the clock ticking on the league’s plan to announce its international series for the 2026 season, it’s looking more likely that the NFL’s official debut in the French capital might have to wait until 2027 at the earliest.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league hopes to expand its International Series to eight games next season and potentially double that total by 2030. International games in Munich, Rio de Janeiro and Melbourne, Australia, have been announced by the league, with London and Mexico City also expected to host games again.

“There is no agreement in place with any cities or countries beyond the ones that have been officially announced,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said this week. “We have a process. There is no definitive timeline (for an announcement). It depends on discussions with local countries,

cities and stadiums.”

Saints and NFL officials had hoped to stage a regular-season game at Stade de France in Paris as early as 2026, Saints president Dennis Lauscha said in November. The NFL never has held a game in Paris, but league officials have expressed interest in playing a game there in recent years.

In 2023, the Saints were granted the international marketing rights in France — the first NFL club to select and be awarded the French market — as part of the league’s global markets program.

Last year, the Saints announced a strategic partnership with the Paris Musketeers, who play in the European League of Football, through which the team hopes to grow the American game while also increasing its own brand visibility in France.

Saints owner Gayle Benson and linebacker Demario Davis led a Saints contingent that visited Paris in July to market and promote the team.

When asked in November about the Saints eventually playing a game in France, Benson said, “We’re working on it,” adding, “Roger (Goodell) would love to see us play there. But he told me, ‘I don’t know when. I can’t tell you if it’s ‘26 or ’27 or ‘28.’ We just don’t know right now. Nothing has been decided yet.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints rookie cornerback Quincy Riley, center, celebrates a San Francisco 49ers stop with teammates during the first half on Sept. 14 at the Caesars Superdome. Riley was a fourth-round pick.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C And that’s not all. The Saints also made four other selections, two of whom could emerge as starters next season. The final two, a pair of seventh-rounders, have contributed in spots as well.

As the season comes to a close Sunday, the success of the draft class prompts one question: Is it the best in the league?

That’s obviously subjective, but the group has earned high marks.

The Ringer’s Todd McShay, for instance, had quarterback Tyler Shough and left tackle Kelvin Banks taken first and fourth overall in a recent exercise of redrafting the 2025 class. Ben Solak from ESPN had four Saints make his all-rookie team, tied with the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns for the most selections.

And according to oddsmakers, Shough is the outright favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The development of the rookies is a large reason the Saints have rattled off four straight wins.

“They’ve gotten better, obviously, throughout this whole process,” Moore said. “(They’re) guys that obviously you can see carrying significant roles moving forward.”

According to Stathead, the Saints’ class has taken the fourthmost snaps in the NFL this season, not including work on special teams. Total snaps may not be a perfect metric to capture a group’s impact, but the Saints (3,260 combined snaps) are behind only the Cleveland Browns (3,875), New York Jets (3,625) and Tennessee Titans (3,371).

Of those three, the Browns might have the best argument for having a more impactful set of rookies. Cleveland has gotten a combined 72 starts from its seven drafted rookies, the most in the NFL. That group includes a disruptive interior pass rusher (Mason Graham), a stud linebacker (Carson Schwesinger), a potential star running back (Quinshon Judkins) and an electric tight end (Harold Fannin). And that’s before you get to Shedeur Sanders, the polarizing quarterback who will lead Cleveland in quarterback starts this season.

Other teams with great returns on their class include the Falcons (the defense-heavy approach paid off), the New England Patriots

(Drake Maye got some help) and the Seattle Seahawks (their first two picks could be All Pros down the line).

But the case for New Orleans would be how the rookies have stepped up beyond initial expectations.

Derek Carr, for instance, had yet to retire when the Saints drafted Shough in the second round. While there was uncertainty about the veteran’s shoulder injury, it wasn’t clear how much the rookie would end up playing in 2025. Third-round safety Jonas Sanker and fourthround cornerback Quincy Riley were also thrust into roles earlier than anticipated.

Even Banks, the ninth overall pick, came with questions. Remember the pre-draft scuttlebutt that the Texas product might be better suited to play guard instead of tackle? Banks leads the entire 2025 draft with 1,052 snaps — all at tackle.

“He’s elite,” Shough said of Banks. “Especially for how young he is, being thrust into it right away. Some of the stuff he does is unbelievable from a physical perspective. And he’s also cool, calm and collected. He’s like our best communicator on the O-line at left tackle, as far as helping guys out, helping receivers out.

He’s been an unbelievable player for us this year, and I think he’s stepped up big time.

“It’s hard whenever you’re a first-round draft pick living up to some of those Twitter trolls or whatever. He’s done his job, he’s obviously going to be here for a while and continue to do great things.”

Most likely not every 2025 pick for the Saints will turn out to be a star. Third-rounder Vernon Broughton played in only one game before suffering a seasonending hip injury. Seventh-rounders Fadil Diggs and Moliki Matavao have bounced between the active roster and practice squad.

And players can regress.

But the Saints had nine selections this past April, their most since 2015. And for as many swings as New Orleans took, the hit rate looks pretty good.

“It’s a credit to (general manager) Mickey (Loomis) and the staff for seeing that vision that way, as far as, we want good players on the field and off the field, how can we continue to get better and go forward from there,” Shough said.

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 5C

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ALL-METRO CROSS COUNTRY GIRLS RUNNER OF THE YEAR

BOYS RUNNER OF THE YEAR

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Lucy Cramer leads en route to winning the Metro Cross Country Championship on Oct. 29 at Highland Road Park. Cramer won five events this season and capped her season with a fourth-place finish at the LHSAA Division III state meet in Natchitoches.

Shrey Shah of Dutchtown heads for the finish line to win the Metro Cross Country Championship on Oct. 29 at Highland Road Park. Shah had three first-place finishes during the season and took sixth overall at the Division I state meet in Natchitoches.

LUCY CRAMER PARKVIEW BAPTIST, JUNIOR

SHREY SHAH DUTCHTOWN, JUNIOR

Parkview Baptist junior Lucy Cramer capped a dominant season with a top-five finish at the LHSAA state meet in November. Before that, she finished first in five events, including three in the 3-mile run and two in the 5K. Her personal record came in the Pete Boudreaux Catholic High Invitational on Oct. 11 with a time of 18 minutes, 1.1 seconds in the 5K. In that race, she ran alongside Northshore’s Grace Keene and her sister, Eagles sophomore Molly Cramer.

“I just used them right behind me to work my way up,” Lucy Cramer said.“That last mile, I just tried to break away from them and hold the lead to the end.”

Throughout her races this season, she credited having her sister to run alongside her as a factor

Dutchtown junior Shrey Shah talked to his coach, Mitch Bogran, during his sophomore year about the mileage he wanted to run and the time he wanted to cut down.

“He took it upon himself to really up the miles that he did and the workouts that he was doing,” Bogran said.

Shah’s dedication to his craft resulted in three first-place finishes in the 3-mile events this past season.

He also finished first twice, running the 5K in two events.

Shah’s time of 15 minutes, 31.6 seconds was good for sixth overall in the 3-mile run at the LHSAA state meet at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.

He was the first Dutchtown boy to finish in the top 10 at the state meet.

in her success, as well as her trust in God. She recalled her faith in her win in the Catholic High Invitational, especially down the stretch, as other runners grew close to passing her.

“I knew I had to go, and I was tired from running the race,” she said.“I knew my strength doesn’t come from me, but it comes from God. I just dug deep. I used my mind and my heart, and then I just pushed with that strength that God has given me.”

Both Lucy and Molly Cramer finished in the top five in a majority of meets this season.

Eagles coach Kate Cramer emphasized how important it was for the two to feed off of each other’s energy in meets.

Lucy Cramer finished fourth at the state cross country meet with a time of 19:19.8.

Jackson Reyes

His personal record in the 3-mile was achieved Sept. 27 in the St. Joseph’s Invitational with a time of 15:09.27.

His run set a school record.Shah also took first in the Metro Championship race with a 5K time of 15:46.06.

Bogran pointed to Shah’s mental fortitude as the biggest key behind his successful season.

He said he’s able to visualize what he wants to attain and stay focused on that.

“He does what needs to be done to get there,” Bogran said.“In those longer-distance races, it’s really a mental battle with yourself.

That doubt that creeps in, but he’s able to push it away and really execute the race as needed.”

Jackson Reyes

GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR

BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR

KATE CRAMER PARKVIEW BAPTIST

CLANEY DUPLECHIN EPISCOPAL

Cramer’s Parkview Baptist team won its second-straight Division III team title at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.

The Eagles finished with 27 points to top Episcopal, which had 39. Five of the Eagles’

runners finished in the top 10.

Sophomore Molly Cramer, Kate Cramer’s daughter, finished first overall with a time of 18 minutes, 19.5 seconds.

Jackson Reyes

GIRLS ALL-METRO TEAM

Duplechin entered the season motivated. His team had a streak of 25 straight team state titles snapped in 2021.

His team returned to form in 2024 and repeated as champions this past season,

rolling to the LHSAA Division III championship with a 39-point tally to finish ahead of Newman (87).All seven of Episcopal’s runners finished in the top 20 at the state meet.

Jackson Reyes

BOYS ALL-METRO TEAM

LUCY CRAMER Parkview Baptist Junior

KEIRA MELAN Dutchtown Junior

AUDREY MANDA St. Joseph’s Academy Senior

SHREY SHAH Dutchtown Junior

MAX GENNARO Zachary Junior

CARSON DIETZ Dutchtown Junior

MOLLY CRAMER Parkview Baptist Sophomore

ADA MERE Episcopal Sophomore

HOPE LEMOINE St. Joseph’s Academy Junior

AUGUSTIN JUNEAU Catholic High Sophomore

MAX TSOLAKIS University Senior

MASON KELLY Episcopal Junior

HANNAH SCHNEIDER St. Joseph’s Academy Freshman

LUCY THOMAS Baton Rouge High Senior

CATE BARBIER St. Joseph’s Academy Junior

ROWAN SILK Denham Springs Senior

PETER WATSON Catholic High Senior

KALEB WEBER Dutchtown Senior

GEORGIA THERIOT Parkview Baptist Senior

ELLA WILLOUGHBY St. Amant Senior

OLIVIA CREWS St. Joseph’s Academy Junior

WILLIAM DECUIR Catholic High Junior

COOPER HUNT Parkview Baptist Senior

JONATHAN THOMPSON Catholic High Sr.

NEVA LAMBERT Episcopal Sophomore

LILA SILK Denham Springs Freshman

Note: The Advocate AllMetro selections are made by the Baton Rouge-area cross country coaches.

ANDREW WATTS Parkview Baptist Junior

WILLIAM LAMBERT Episcopal Senior

Note: The Advocate AllMetro selections are made by the Baton Rouge-area cross country coaches.

GIRLS HONORABLE MENTION

BOYS HONORABLE MENTION

Charlotte Beck, St. Joseph’s Academy, Jr.; Lauren Bradford, Episcopal, Sr.; Sidonie Bayard, Baton Rouge High, Sr.; Tiana Khuri, St. Joseph’s Academy, Sr.; Kaitlyn Garidel, St. Joseph’s Academy, So.; Grace Martin, St. Joseph’s Academy, Sr.; Carrington Sprouse, Denham Springs, Fr.; Shelby Comeaux, Dutchtown, Fr.; Noella Fields, St. Joseph’s Academy, Jr.; Kate Sumner, Central Private, Jr.; Brynlie Monistere, Parkview Baptist, So.; Quinn Saucier, Parkview Baptist, Fr.; Blair Smith, Zachary, Jr.; Ansley Bernhard, Parkview Baptist, So.

Charlotte Beck, St. Joseph’s Academy, Jr.; Lauren Bradford, Episcopal, Sr.; Sidonie Bayard, Baton Rouge High, Sr.; Tiana Khuri, St. Joseph’s Academy, Sr.; Kaitlyn Garidel, St. Joseph’s Academy, So.; Grace Martin, St. Joseph’s Academy, Sr.; Carrington Sprouse, Denham Springs, Fr.; Shelby Comeaux, Dutchtown, Fr.; Noella Fields, St. Joseph’s Academy, Jr.; Kate Sumner, Central Private, Jr.; Brynlie Monistere, Parkview Baptist, So.; Quinn Saucier, Parkview Baptist, Fr.; Blair Smith, Zachary, Jr.; Ansley Bernhard, Parkview Baptist, So.

6C ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

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SCOREBOARD High school basketball

Pro basketball

Boys basketball

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE

Ascension Catholic 62, Riverside 41

Riverside 8 2 13 18 — 41 Ascension Catholic 17 17 13 15 — 62 Scoring: RIVERSIDE: K. Woodland 11, C. Evans 11, C. Evans 9, D. Gibson 6, P. Maxie 5, Z. Williams 2, J. Dace 2, M. Joseph 2. ASCENSION CATHOLIC: K. Schexnayder 11, C. Anthens 10, V. Blanchard 8, J. Julien 6, J. Verner 4, H. Lebouef 3, G. Fernandez 2, T. Simon 2, R. Couch 2, B. Dunn, H. Turner 3-Point Goals: Riverside 3 (Maxie 2, Woodland 1); Ascension Catholic 3 (Julien 2, LeBouef 1)

East Ascension 63, Capitol 42

Capitol 11 8 15 8 — 42 East Ascension 16 22 16 9 — 63 Scoring — CAPITOL: Fred Thomas 12, Chris Washington 10, Malcolm Harrington 9, Willie Hamilton 5, Shawn Alexander 2, Jayden Spears 2, Demarion Marshall 2. EAST ASCENSION: Dylan Vaughn 13, Curtis Joseph 10, Dwayne Mitchell 9, Landis Criss 6, AJ Scott 6, Gavin Rann 5, Jonathan Stokes 5, Roshawn Munson 4, Brycen Williams 3, Tyler Pierre 2.

3-pointers — Capitol 1 (Harrington). East Ascension 6 (Mitchell, Criss, Rann, Williams, Stokes, Vaughn) Team records — East Ascension 10-3, Capitol 8-7.

Girls basketball Woodlawn 51, Geo Next 35

Geo Next 8 8 11 8 — 35 Woodlawn 14 10 10 17 — 51 Scoring — GEO NEXT: Kimberly Jack 12, Ivoryana Powell 6, Sur’Myricle Jackson 4, Rylee Jones 4, Kennidi Simmons 4, Carlaysa Forman 2, Elivia Hill 2, Taia Brown 1; WOODLAWN (51) – Janeseyah Young 14, Aaliyah Gaddis 11, Mariah Scott 9, Layla Turner 7, Keitha McQuarter 6, Madison Anderson 2, Zakyra Howard 2.

3-point goals — Woodlawn 3 (Gaddis, Scott, Turner) Records — Woodlawn 11-7, Geo Next Generation 15-3

OPEN 3 4½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (43½) Carolina 2 (47½) at SAN FRAN

FAVORITE OPEN at MIN 1½ at CIN 8½ at HOUSTON 4½ at JAX 4½ at ATLANTA 5½ Dallas 1½ at LA RAMS 4½ at NE 2½ at BUFFALO 9½ Kansas City 6 at DENVER 2½ at PHILA 4½ at CHICAGO 1½ Baltimore 3

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 8½ (37) Green Bay 7½ (44½) Cleveland 10 (39) Indianapolis 12½ (47½) Tennessee 3½ (44) New Orleans 3½ (49½)at NY GIANTS 7½ (46½) Arizona 11½ (45½) Miami 7½ (37½) NY Jets 5½ (36½) at VEGAS 12½ (37½) LA Chargers 4 (39) Washington 3 (50½) Detroit 3½ (41½) at PITT

Sunday

L 10 12 15 14 21

Pct GB .697 — .636 2 .571 4 .563 4½ .323 12

Orlando Miami Atlanta Charlotte Washington

W 19 19 16 11 8

L 15 15 19 22 24

Pct GB .559 — .559 — .457 3½ .333 7½ .250 10

Detroit Cleveland Chicago Milwaukee Indiana

W 25 19 16 14 6

L 9 16 17 20 28

Pct GB .735 — .543 6½ .485 8½ .412 11 .176 19

San Antonio Houston Memphis Dallas New Orleans

W 24 21 15 12 8

L 9 10 18 23 28

Pct GB .727 — .677 2 .455 9 .343 13 .222 18

Oklahoma City Denver Minnesota Portland Utah

W 29 23 21 15 12

L 5 11 13 20 21

Pct GB .853 — .676 6 .618 8 .429 14½ .364 16½

W 20 19 18 12 8

L 11 14 16 21 26

Pct GB .645 — .576 2 .529 3½ .364 9 .235 13½

Central Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Southwest Division

Northwest Division

College Football

L.A. Lakers Phoenix Golden State L.A. Clippers Sacramento

Friday, Jan. 9

Peach Bowl Atlanta FAVORITE OPEN Indiana 4

NBA

Saturday

FAVORITE Minnesota at TORONTO at NEW YORK at CHICAGO at SA Houston at GOLDEN ST Boston

Friday’s Games

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3 (51½) Ole Miss

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4 (47½) Oregon

LINE 2½ OFF OFF OFF OFF 7½ OFF 2

O/U UNDERDOG (236½) at MIAMI (OFF) Atlanta (OFF) Philadelphia (OFF) Charlotte (OFF) Portland (226½) at DALLAS (OFF) Utah (221½) at LA CLIPPRS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Saturday

FAVORITE at NC STATE Clemson at ALABAMA Villanova at ST. JOHN’S at TEXAS TECH at GEORGIA BYU Kansas Vanderbilt Houston at TCU North Carolina at ARKANSAS Duke Arizona at IOWA Illinois Purdue Florida

LINE 3½ 2½ 5½ 1½ 10½ 10½ 4½ 9½ 6½ 16½ 9½ 1½ 1½ 1½ 16½ 18½ 4½ 18½ 8½ 7½

UNDERDOG Virginia at PITTSBURGH Kentucky at BUTLER Providence Oklahoma State Auburn at KANSAS STATE at UCF at S. CAROLINA at CINCINNATI Baylor at SMU Tennessee at FLORIDA STATE at UTAH UCLA at PENN STATE at WISCONSIN at MISSOURI

y-New England x-Buffalo e-Miami e-N.Y. Jets

W L 13 3 11 5 7 9 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .813 452310 .688 446357 .438 337386 .188 292468

x-Jacksonville x-Houston e-Indianapolis e-Tennessee

W L 12 4 11 5 8 8 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .750 433329 .688 366265 .500 436374 .188 277437

Pittsburgh Baltimore e-Cincinnati e-Cleveland

W L 9 7 8 8 6 10 4 12

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .563 371363 .500 400372 .375 396472 .250 259361

y-Denver x-L.A. Chargers e-Kansas City e-Las Vegas

W L 13 3 11 5 6 10 2 14

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .813 382308 .688 365321 .375 350314 .125 227420

y-Philadelphia e-Dallas e-Washington e-N.Y. Giants

W L 11 5 7 8 4 12 3 13

T 0 1 0 0

Pct PF PA .688 362301 .469 454477 .250 332434 .188 347422

Carolina Tampa Bay e-Atlanta e-New Orleans

W L 8 8 7 9 7 9 6 10

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .500 297364 .438 364397 .438 334384 .375 289364

W

T

Pct PF PA

West

NATIONAL CONFERENCE East

South

North

x-Seattle x-San Francisco x-L.A. Rams e-Arizona

W L 13 3 12 4 11 5 3 13

T 0 0 0 0

Pct PF PA .813 470289 .750 434358 .688 481326 .188 335451

Sam Houston 67, Louisiana Tech 64

e-Eliminated from playoffs x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division Saturday’s Games

Carolina at Tampa Bay, 3:30 p.m.

Seattle at San Francisco, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Cleveland at Cincinnati, noon Dallas at N.Y. Giants, noon Green Bay at Minnesota, noon Indianapolis at Houston, noon New Orleans at Atlanta, noon Tennessee at Jacksonville, noon Arizona at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m.

Detroit at Chicago, 3:25 p.m.

Kansas City at Las Vegas, 3:25 p.m.

L.A. Chargers at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

Miami at New England, 3:25 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 3:25 p.m.

Washington at Philadelphia, 3:25 p.m.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 7:20 p.m.

College basketball Men’s state scores, schedule Wednesday’s games

Tulane 79, East Carolina 70 South Alabama 63, UL 58 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 83, UNO 69 Stephen F. Austin 74, Northwestern State 64 Nicholls 71, Texas-Rio Grande Valley 69

Thursday’s game

L

Friday’s games

McNeese 82, Lamar 70 Middle Tennessee 88, Louisiana Tech 51

Saturday’s games

Southern Miss at UL, noon Texas State at UL-Monroe, 2:30 p.m.

LSU at Texas A&M, 3 p.m.

East Texas A&M at Nicholls, 3 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern, 3:30 p.m.

UNO at Northwestern State, 3:30 p.m.

Prairie View A&M at Grambling, 4 p.m.

Texas Southern at Southern, 5 p.m.

Southern at Lamar, 6 p.m.

Friday’s game EAST

NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE

North

Southern 70, Prairie View 55 Troy 80, UL 54 Texas Southern 61, Grambling 58 Kentucky 80, LSU 78

Men’s national scores

Minnesota at Miami, 4 p.m.

Atlanta at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Portland at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Houston at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Utah at Golden State, 9 p.m.

Boston at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

South

.688 425396 .594 388344 .500 328330 .500 462397

Florida Atlantic at Tulane, noon Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky, 2 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

East

0 1 0 0

Sunday’s games

San Antonio 123, Indiana 113 Washington 119, Brooklyn 99 Cleveland 113, Denver 108 Atlanta 111, New York 99 Chicago 121, Orlando 114 Portland 122, New Orleans 109 Milwaukee 122, Charlotte 121 Sacramento at Phoenix, n Oklahoma City at Golden State, n Memphis at L.A. Lakers, n

Pro football

Thursday

Fiesta Bowl FAVORITE OPEN Miami (FL) 3

5 6 8 8

Southern Miss 87, UL-Monroe 73

Pacific Division

Houston 120, Brooklyn 96 Miami 118, Detroit 112 Philadelphia 123, Dallas 108 Boston 120, Sacramento 106 L.A. Clippers 118, Utah 101

Sports Betting Line NFL FAVORITE at TAMPA Seattle

W 23 21 20 18 10

Southeast Division

11 9 8 8

West

New York Boston Toronto Philadelphia Brooklyn

Thursday’s Games

Odds

Saturday

Atlantic Division

y-Chicago x-Green Bay e-Minnesota e-Detroit

Canisius 85, Fairfield 81 Castleton 96, SUNY-Canton 91 Christopher Newport 64, Rowan 56 Cornell 133, Alfred State 65 Edinboro 92, Mansfield 68 Gannon 80, Shippensburg 58 Grove City 69, Alfred 42 Iona 75, Siena 72 Jacksonville State 67, Delaware 64 LIU 84, Central Connecticut 78 Le Moyne 84, St. Francis (PA) 58 Manhattan 80, Quinnipiac 79 Merrimack 75, Mount St Marys 65 Middlebury 102, Lasell 96 Millersville 87, Pitt-Johnstown 68 New Haven 70, Stonehill 55 Niagara 64, Sacred Heart 61 Northern Vermont-Lyndon 85, Massachusetts 74 SUNY-Plattsburgh 76, Clarkson 72 Sage College of Albany 93, John Jay College 87 Saint Peter’s 69, Marist 59 Seton Hill 77, Kutztown 62 Shepherd 80, Clarion 77 Slippery Rock 72, Bloomsburg 54 Southern Connecticut State 79, Mercy 76 Stevens Institute of Technology 96, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine 89 West Chester 88, Indiana (PA) 83

SOUTH

Emory and Henry 87, Johnson C. Smith 69 Florida International 89, New Mexico State 74 LaGrange 128, Covenant 93 LeTourneau 80, Centenary 75 Liberty 81, Kennesaw State 73 McNeese 82, Lamar 70 Middle Tennessee 88, Louisiana Tech 51 Western Kentucky 102, Sam Houston 91

MIDWEST

Friday’s game

Saturday’s games

Arkansas State at UL-Monroe, noon Lamar at McNeese, 1 p.m.

Northwestern State at Nicholls, 1 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern, 1 p.m.

Nicholls at Northwestern State, 1 p.m.

Prairie View at Grambling, 2 p.m.

Tulane at Wichita State, 2 p.m.

Texas Southern at Southern, 2 p.m.

East Texas A&M at UNO, 2 p.m.

South Alabama at UL, 3 p.m.

Sunday’s game

LSU at Vanderbilt, 4 p.m.

Women’s national score Friday’s games EAST

Fairleigh Dickinson 68, Mercyhurst 46 LIU 72, Central Connecticut 56 Le Moyne 73, St. Francis (PA) 69 New Haven 66, Stonehill 61 Towson 57, Campbell 54 Wagner 62, Chicago State 51

SOUTH

Belmont 78, Bradley 57 Charleston 72, Hofstra 55 East Tennessee State 72, King (TN) 47 Hampton 63, Stony Brook 54 Jacksonville State 75, Western Kentucky 48 Mercer 66, Auburn-Montgomery 55 Middle Tennessee 60, Kennesaw State 47 Monmouth 77, Elon 62 Murray State 101, Illinois State 93, 2OT Northern Kentucky 63, IUPUI 44 Samford 70, Fisk 54 UNC Wilmington 69, Northeastern 67 William & Mary 60, North Carolina A&T 49

MIDWEST

Drake 89, Southern Illinois 75 Green Bay 58, Cleveland State 55 Purdue Fort Wayne 84, Oakland 64 Robert Morris 62, Milwaukee 52 Wright State 82, Detroit Mercy 71

FAR WEST

UC Riverside 65, Hawai’i 58

Late Thursday No. 11 Kentucky 80, No. 5 LSU 78 KENT

FG

FT

Reb

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Hassett 16 0-4 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 Key 39 8-14 1-1 9-16 0 2 17 Obi 31 3-11 0-0 3-10 2 3 6 Strack 31 6-13 3-7 4-9 1 4 15 Morgan 39 7-10 7-12 0-3 12 2 24 Carroll 6 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 Blue 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Boone 35 6-16 1-2 1-4 3 4 18 Team 0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 200 30-69 12-2217-45 19 17 80 Percentages: FG .435, FT .545.

3-Point Goals: 8-27, .296 (Boone 5-13, Morgan 3-3, Hassett 0-3, Key 0-2, Obi 0-3, Strack 0-2, Carroll 0-1) Blocked Shots: None.

Turnovers: 10 (Key 4, Obi 4, Hassett 1, Team 1) Steals: 4 (Boone 1, Key 1, Morgan 1, Strack 1) Technical Fouls: None FG FT Reb

LSU

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Joyner 27 7-8 0-0 1-5 0 1 14 Koval 17 1-4 0-0 1-2 0 5 2 F. Johnsn 38 7-13 1-1 0-1 2 1 15 Richard 31 4-9 4-4 0-3 2 4 14 Williams 38 9-17 5-6 0-8 5 2 26 Knox 21 1-3 3-4 2-4 0 2 5 Fulwiley 16 1-6 0-0 0-1 1 3 2 Z. Johnsn 12 0-1 0-0 0-2 2 2 0 Team 0 0-0 0-0 0-3 0 0 0 Totals 200 30-61 13-15 4-29 12 20 78 Percentages: FG .492, FT .867.

3-Point Goals: 5-11, .455 (Williams 3-5, Richard 2-4, F.Johnson 0-2) Blocked Shots: 4 (Fulwiley 1, F.Johnson 1, Joyner 1, Koval 1) Turnovers: 8 (Williams 2, Fulwiley 1, Z.Johnson 1, Joyner 1, Knox 1, Koval 1, Richard 1) Steals: 5 (F.Johnson 3, Koval 2) Technical Fouls: None Kentucky 22 19 19 20 — 80 LSU 23 18 24 13 — 78 A_11,485 Officials_Tiffany Bird, Ifeyinwa Seales, Toni Patillo

College football

Grand Valley State 79, Michigan Tech 75 Lake Superior State 85, Purdue Northwest 68 Michigan 96, USC 66 Northern Michigan 101, Davenport 65 Robert Morris 85, Detroit Mercy 77 Saginaw Valley State 65, Wayne State (MI) 62

Bowl glance

Chapman 70, Vassar 69 Colorado Christian 99, Northern New Mexico 74 Colorado Springs 98, Western Colorado 89 East Texas Baptist 74, La Verne 70 Wagner 79, Chicago State 72

Independence Bowl Louisiana Tech 23, Coastal Carolina 14 Music City Bowl Illinois 30, Tennessee 28 Alamo Bowl TCU 30, No. 16 Southern Cal 27, OT

FAR WEST

Women’s state scores, schedule Wednesday’s games

Stephen F. Austin 76, Northwestern State 71 Nicholls State 66, UTRGV 56

Thursday’s games

UL-Monroe 61, South Alabama 44

Dec. 29

Birmingham Bowl Georgia Southern 29, Appalachian State 10

Dec. 30

Wednesday

ReliaQuest Bowl No. 23 Iowa 34, No. 13 Vanderbilt 27 Sun Bowl Duke 42, Arizona St. 39 Citrus Bowl

No. 14 Texas 41, No. 18 Michigan 27 Las Vegas Bowl No. 15 Utah 44, Nebraska 22

Friday

Armed Forces Bowl Texas State 41, Rice 10 Liberty Bowl No. 22 Navy 35, Cincinnati 13 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Mississippi St. vs. Wake Forest, n (ESPN) Holiday Bowl No. 21 Arizona vs. SMU, n

College Football Playoff

Quarterfinals Wednesday At Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Texas No. 10 Miami 24, No. 3 Ohio St. 14 Thursday At Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. No. 5 Oregon 23, No. 4 Texas Tech 0 At Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.

No. 1 Indiana 38, No. 11 Alabama 3 At Sugar Bowl, New Orleans No. 6 Ole Miss 39, No. 2 Georgia 34

FCS glance Semifinals

Montana State 48, Montana 23 Illinois State 30, Villanova 14

Final

Monday Frisco, Texas Illinois State (12-4) vs. Montana State (13-2), 6:30 p.m., ABC

Hockey NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Detroit Tampa Bay Montreal Buffalo Florida Toronto Boston Ottawa

GP 42 40 40 39 39 40 41 39

W 24 24 22 21 21 19 21 19

L OT Pts GF GA 14 4 52 130 134 13 3 51 135 107 12 6 50 137 136 14 4 46 124 121 15 3 45 126 124 15 6 44 134 134 18 2 44 130 134 15 5 43 129 127

Carolina N.Y. Islanders Philadelphia Washington Pittsburgh New Jersey N.Y. Rangers Columbus

GP 40 41 39 41 39 40 42 39

W 24 22 20 21 18 21 19 17

L OT Pts GF GA 13 3 51 135 122 15 4 48 116 117 12 7 47 119 114 15 5 47 133 118 12 9 45 126 126 17 2 44 109 120 18 5 43 109 116 16 6 40 118 131

Colorado Dallas Minnesota Utah Nashville St. Louis Chicago Winnipeg

GP 39 41 41 41 40 42 40 39

W 30 25 24 19 18 16 15 15

L OT Pts GF GA 2 7 67 159 88 9 7 57 143 113 10 7 55 129 108 19 3 41 126 118 18 4 40 114 133 18 8 40 105 146 18 7 37 112 130 20 4 34 113 122

Edmonton Vegas Anaheim San Jose Seattle Los Angeles Calgary Vancouver

GP 41 39 40 40 38 39 40 39

W 20 17 21 20 17 16 18 16

L OT Pts GF GA 15 6 46 137 138 11 11 45 122 123 16 3 45 137 141 17 3 43 124 139 14 7 41 99 112 14 9 41 102 107 18 4 40 108 117 20 3 35 112 136

Metropolitan Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division

Pacific Division

Thursday’s Games

Ottawa 4, Washington 3 Utah 7, N.Y. Islanders 2 Toronto 6, Winnipeg 5 Tampa Bay 5, Los Angeles 3 Montreal 7, Carolina 5 Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3, OT Chicago 4, Dallas 3 Seattle 4, Nashville 1

Friday’s Games

St. Louis 4, Vegas 3 N.Y. Rangers vs. Florida at loanDepot park, n Minnesota at Anaheim, n Seattle at Vancouver, n

Saturday’s Games

Pittsburgh at Detroit, 11 a.m.

Buffalo at Columbus, 2 p.m.

Utah at New Jersey, 2 p.m.

Philadelphia at Edmonton, 2:30 p.m.

Montreal at St. Louis, 3 p.m.

Tampa Bay at San Jose, 3 p.m.

Chicago at Washington, 6 p.m.

Colorado at Carolina, 6 p.m.

Nashville at Calgary, 6 p.m.

Toronto at N.Y. Islanders, 6 p.m.

Winnipeg at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Los Angeles, 8 p.m.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League MINNESOTA TWINS — Acquired 1B Eric Wagaman from the Miami Marlins in exchange for LHP Kade Bragg. Designated 3B Ryan Fitzgerald for assignment.

National League WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms with 1B Matt Mervis on a minor league contract.

SATURDAY’S FAIR GROUNDS ENTRIES Post Time: 12:45PM First Race, Purse $54,000, Maiden special weight, 3 yo Six Furlongs-Dirt 01 Hear Thunder (I Castillo) 6-1 02 Parole Drama (D Cannon) 15-1 03 Bad Joke (C McMahon) 5-2 04 Seize the Port (J Loveberry) 10-1 05 A G’s Charlie (C Hernandez) 12-1 06 Dr Hinckley (H Hernandez) 6-1 07 Guitar Guy (B Curtis) 5-1 08 Chariot (J Ortiz) 2-1 Second Race, Purse $55,000, AOC $125,000, 3 yo Five And A Half Furlongs-Turf 01 Sav’n Money (J Ortiz) 10-1 02 Tedder (J Graham) 6-1 03 Distorted Song (C McMahon) 15-1 04 Ketchum (J Loveberry) 6-1 05 Archimedes (I Castillo) 4-1 06 Bridge Classic (P Lopez) 8-1 07 Rude Procedure (A Concepcion) 7-2

08 Casa Cielo (B Curtis) 3-1 09 Big D (M Pedroza, Jr.) 12-1 Third Race, Purse $116,170, Stakes, 3 yo, F (fillies) Six Furlongs-Dirt 01 El Star (M Pedroza, Jr.) 30-1 02 Wickedwithbourbon (B Curtis) 9-2 03 Varinisi (C McMahon) 12-1 04 Little Miss Curlin (J Loveberry) 3-5 05 Liteupthenite (J Ortiz) 4-1 06 Justlikelouise (T Pompell) 5-1 Fourth Race, Purse $55,000, AOC $125,000, 3 yo, F (fillies) One Mile-Turf 01 American Taylor (C McMahon) 15-1 02 Noshametohergame (B Curtis) 5-2 03 Pretty Ribbon (IRE) (M Pedroza, Jr.) 7-2 04 Miss Metoyer (E Santiago) 10-1 05 Bohemian (J Ortiz) 7-2 06 Faye’s Gold (J Loveberry) 10-1 07 Coach Mazzula (A Concepcion) 3-1 Fifth Race, Purse $22,000, Maiden Claiming

$30,000, 3 yo Six Furlongs-Dirt 01 Election Night (P Lopez) 4-1 02 Campanario (S Vives) 8-1 03 Props (J Graham) 6-1 04 Federal Agent (C McMahon) 12-1 05 Zip to Zap (J Ortiz) 7-2 06 Brock’s Boy (A Concepcion) 20-1 07 Key Man (J Rodriguez) 10-1 08 Impavido (J Riquelme) 3-1 09 Standard Deduction (J Loveberry) 6-1 Sixth Race, Purse $54,000, Maiden special weight, 3 yo, F (fillies) One And One Sixteenth Miles-Turf 01 Ur Desire (J Graham) 20-1 02 Alone Time (J Ortiz) 9-2 03 War Belle (A Concepcion) 6-1 04 High Street Pizzaz (P Lopez) 6-1 05 Boost Me Baby (IRE) (E Nieves) 6-1 06 Patron Silver (J Loveberry) 10-1 07 Dagmara (M Pedroza, Jr.) 3-1

08 Ontology (B Curtis) 5-1 09 Lowenstein (IRE) (D Cannon) 6-1 10 Real Drama (J Loveberry) 6-1 Seventh Race, Purse $119,570, Stakes, 3 yo Six Furlongs-Dirt 01 Mor Force (I Castillo) 6-1 02 Golden Mane (J Ortiz) 6-1 03 Guitar Guy (M Pedroza, Jr.) 15-1 04 Slowdownanmoveover (C McMahon) 15-1 05 Alotlikechocolate (D Magnon) 20-1 06 Mo Whiskey (J Melancon) 6-1 07 All Lake (T Pompell) 10-1 08 Our Moneyman (A Concepcion) 7-5 09 Dickie T (B Curtis) 9-2 Eighth Race, Purse $55,000, AOC $125,000, 3 yo, F (fillies) Five And A Half Furlongs-Turf 01 Dale’s Bluff (J Ortiz) 7-2 02 The Town Tempter (M Pedroza, Jr.) 5-1 03 Undisputable (P Lopez) 12-1

04 Candy Talking (J Graham) 20-1 05 No Time Left (D Cannon) 4-1 06 Front Runnin (C McMahon) 10-1 07 Velcamp (A Concepcion) 5-1 08 She’s a Live Wire (I Castillo) 116 20-1 09 Collective Beauty (J Loveberry) 3-1 10 Unfaithful Rose (C McMahon) 7-2 Ninth Race, Purse $15,000, Maiden Claiming $12,500, 3 yo’s & up One Mile-Dirt 01 Gold Gunner (C McMahon) 4-1 02 Classic Sensation (S Vives) 20-1 03 Titanium Man (I Castillo) 12-1 04 Lunar Mine (J Loveberry) 9-2 05 Max S (O Chavez) 6-1 06 Too Cold At Home (F Da Silva) 20-1 07 Traitour (M Murrill) 7-2 08 Full Command (C Hernandez) 9-2 09 Tequila n’ Salt (E Nieves) 6-1

FRIDAY’S FAIR GROUNDS RESULTS First Race - $19,000, Maiden Claiming $20,000, 4 yo’s & up, Six Furlongs Bandido Deal (C. McMahon) $6.00 $2.60 $2.40 Romeo Spikes (D. Magnon) $2.60 $2.20 One Grand Slam (C. Hernandez) $4.20 Finish Time: 1:10.71 Exacta (3-4) $5.30; Superfecta (3-4-2-5) $9.73; Trifecta (3-4-2) $14.25 Second Race - $15,000, Claiming $5,000, 4 yo’s & up, Six Furlongs Bourbon Boss (P. Lopez) $3.80 $2.80 $2.60 Twirling Roses (J. Ortiz) $5.40 $3.60 Oncoming Train (H. Rea) $6.80 Finish Time: 1:11.41 Daily Double (3-1) $5.70; Exacta (1-3) $9.90; Superfecta (1-3-2-5) $21.02; Trifecta (1-3-2)

REBELS

Continued from page 1C to lose 43-35. Chambliss was just 1-of-10 passing in that fourth quarter for 1 yard in what was his first FBS road start.

“I didn’t play my best in the fourth quarter (at Georgia), so I wanted to redeem myself,” said Chambliss, who completed 30 of

$34.65 Third Race - $28,000, Claiming $30,000, 4 yo’s & up, One And One Sixteenth Miles Calibrate (B. Curtis) $5.00 $3.20 $2.10 Write Off Jerry (J. Loveberry) $4.20 $2.40 Summer in Adriane (B. Hernandez, Jr.) $2.20 Finish Time: 1:42.78 Daily Double (1-1) $6.10; Exacta (1-8) $7.70; Superfecta (1-8-3-4) $4.46; Trifecta (1-8-3) $9.15; Pic 3 (3-1-1) $9.55 Late Scratches: Masteroffoxhounds, Curahee Fourth Race - $22,000, Claiming $15,000, 4 yo’s & up, Six Furlongs Guanare (I. Castillo) $4.40 $3.00 $3.00 Upturned Brim (M. Pedroza, Jr.) $4.20 $3.20

Peso in My Pocket (P. Lopez) $7.20 Finish Time: 1:10.38 Daily Double (1-7) $7.70; Exacta (7-6) $8.10; Superfecta (7-6-2-3) $17.18; Trifecta (7-6-2) $39.65; Pic 3 (1-1-7) $7.95 Fifth Race - $22,000, Claiming $15,000, 4 yo’s & up, One Mile Bizzee Channel (J. Lvebrry) $7.60 $4.80 $2.80 Golden Bandit (A. Concepcion) $ 4.20 $3.20 Deccan Prince (IRE) (I. Castillo) $3.60 Finish Time: 1:35.88 Daily Double (7-10) $9.50; Exacta (10-1) $34.20; Superfecta (10-1-5-9) $86.93; Trifecta (10-1-5) $72.05; Pic 3 (1-7-10) $21.80; Pic 4 (1-1/6/7-7-10) $40.20; Pic 5 (3-1-1/6/7-7-10) $144.95

Late Scratches: Great Escape, I’m Your Man Sixth Race - $55,000, Allowance, 4 yo’s & up, Five And A Half Furlongs Free Scrim (J. Loveberry) $3.80 $3.00 $2.40 Munnings Catsle (C. Hernandez) $6.80 $4.00 Achromedoutcat (D. Magnon) $6.40 Finish Time: 1:05.08 Daily Double (10-3) $11.20; Exacta (3-2) $12.40; Superfecta (3-2-8-5) $37.53; Trifecta (3-2-8) $58.40; Pic 3 (7-10-3) $12.40 Late Scratches: Clearly Majestic Seventh Race - $54,000, Maiden special weight, 4 yo’s & up, Five And A Half Furlongs Snare (B. Hernandez, Jr.) $10.80 $6.00 $3.20 Razorcat (P. Lopez) $9.80 $5.80 Hitchcock (J. Ortiz) $2.60

Finish Time: 1:03.67 Daily Double (3-1) $11.80; Exacta (1-6) $45.10; Superfecta (1-6-2-4) $39.57; Trifecta (1-6-2) $59.85; Pic 3 (10-3-1) $33.05 Late Scratches: First Samaritan Eighth Race - $15,000, Claiming $5,000, 4 yo’s & up, One Mile Seventy Yards Bette Davis (H. Hernandez) $2.60 $2.20 $2.10 Roll Gypsy Roll (S. Vives) $4.00 $2.60 Midnight Blaze (P. Lopez) $2.40 Finish Time: 1:45.42 Daily Double (1-2) $8.30; Exacta (2-7) $5.00; Superfecta (2-7-1-3) $3.10; Trifecta (2-7-1) $4.25; Pic 3 (3-1-2) $7.25; Pic 4 (10-3/7-1-2/4) $61.40; Pic 5 (7-10-3/7-1-2/4) $162.10; Pic 6 (1/6/7-7-10-3/7-1-2/4) $142.94

46 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 14 yards. “Our coaches put us in a great position and we executed.”

One of those coaches Chambliss mentioned was offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who eventually will be the LSU offensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin when the Rebels’ CFP run ends. It was Weis who was mesmerized watching highlights of Chambliss leading Ferris State in Michigan to the 2024

Division II national title, calling in other assistants and finally Kiffin to confirm what he was seeing.

“By the time we were done watching the whole thing, there’s about 12 people in there, like at a watch party,” Kiffin said in an ESPN interview earlier this season. “Get him on the phone (Kiffin told his staff).

He’s flying here tonight.”

Now one of the big questions is after Ole Miss flies to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl — then possibly

Miami for the CFP championship game — could Chambliss be flying elsewhere?

College football’s two-week transfer portal window opened Friday. To play at Ole Miss or anywhere else next season — Chambliss was asked at Tuesday’s Sugar Bowl media day about speculation that he could follow Kiffin and Weis to LSU — he would have to be granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

As of late Thursday night, Chambliss said he was still waiting on word of his appeal.

“Hopefully we hear an answer soon,” Chambliss said. “I’ve got people working on it.”

Meanwhile, he’s working on keeping Ole Miss in the national championship hunt.

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

LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

|

S at u r d ay, J a n u a ry 3, 2026

1dn

Roy Petitfils

A few solutions to help teens, yourself If you are raising or working with teens or preteens today, congratulations: you are engaged in one of the most psychologically demanding jobs on the planet.

You are attempting to guide a developing human brain — one that is unfinished, emotionally volatile and desperately trying to orient them toward adulthood, competence and something resembling wisdom.

This is no small task.

Teens live at the intersection of chaos and potential. They are not children, but they are still not adults. One minute they are capable of abstract moral arguments that would baffle Socrates and the next they sleep through a police siren alarm and are late for school. This is not a malfunctioning system; it is the system.

Many adults assume teens are either fragile glass figurines or fully formed grown-ups who “should know better by now.”

They are neither. Teenagers are apprentices to adulthood. And apprentices, by definition, make mistakes — often loudly and with dramatic flair.

So what can we do to help them through this time?

Provide structure. Children and adolescents crave boundaries, though they balk at them constantly.

Clear expectations, consistent consequences and predictable routines help reduce their innate anxiety. Loosey-goosey structure does not liberate teens — it actually terrifies them. When everything is negotiable, their natural insecurities are heightened. Enforcing expectations is not being mean, its being loving.

Treat them seriously. Teenagers are wrestling with real questions: Who am I? Do I matter? Is life meaningful? But they are also convinced that a bad haircut is a social death sentence. Hold space for their concerns without validating every emotional catastrophe.

Sometimes the most helpful response is a calm perspective and well-timed, “You’ll survive this. I promise.”

Orient them toward responsibility. Modern culture tells teens that life’s goal is to “be happy,” which is vague, unstable and largely dependent on Wi-Fi strength. A better aim is competence. Give them meaningful responsibilities — real ones, not fake participation trophies. Responsibility builds confidence. Confidence reduces anxiety.

Anxiety is currently winning, so we should probably change tactics.

Model what you want them to be. Teens have a Ph.D. in picking up on hypocrisy in others, albeit not always for themselves. If you demand respect but speak with contempt, they pick up on that. As unfortunate as this is, if our standards for them are higher than we hold ourselves, our best efforts will often be thwarted. Fortunately, they are aware when we put effort in. And an occasional acknowledgment of our own shortcomings helps too.

Use humor generously. Humor disarms defensiveness. It reminds everyone that this phase, while intense, is temporary. One day, your teenager will sleep until noon, eat all your food and then leave. And you will miss them. Probably.

Teenagers don’t need adults who are perfect. They need adults who are stable, honest, patient and brave enough to stand between them and chaos — even when chaos is very loud and wearing headphones.

Petitfils is a licensed professional counselor in Youngsville.

From book-sized to oversized, Jency Griffin Hogan’s Jesus paintings span all the emotions.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

A PATH TO HEALING

Creative Baton Rouge couple turns adoption loss journey into an intimate art show

BY JUDY BERGERON Staff writer

They named him Hart.

The baby boy, something they’d dreamed and prayed about for years, was finally in their arms.

Just months after bringing him home, though, adoptive parents Jency Griffin Hogan and Aaron Hogan were forced to give back Hart, and it shattered theirs.

With infertility issues, unsuccessful in vitro fertilization procedures and two prior adoption fails, this latest roadblock to parenthood was devastating for the Baton Rouge couple.

“I come from a family, like my parents, when anything hard happened, we always were like, ‘focus on spirituality and Jesus,’” Griffin Hogan said.

That unthinkable day Jency Griffin Hogan, left, and Aaron Hogan sought a reset in Greece after the loss of baby Hart.

The Hogans, who pursued private adoption through a local attorney, met and gave support to baby Hart’s biological mother

during her pregnancy. The infant, born chemically dependent due to the mother’s drug use, spent his first weeks in a hospital NICU, with the Hogans by his bedside.

“We gave him a foundation of safety and love that he needed while he was coming off of his drugs,” Griffin Hogan explained.

“I was in the NICU with him for five weeks, and we had him home.

He got a very strong foundation of lots of prayer, lots of love.”

Four months into life with Hart, his biological father came forward; his sister, Hart’s aunt, wanted to adopt him. She took the couple to court and won.

On Dec. 4, 2024, the Hogans had to tell Hart goodbye.

“When I handed him over to the aunt, he was a happy, beaming (baby). No screaming, no crying. He started to smile really big for the first time,” Griffin Hogan recalled.

ä See ART, page 3D

One Serop’s Cafe closing, another expanding Corporate location will be folded into Perkins site

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

After 25 years of serving Greek and Lebanese food at 7474 Corporate Blvd., Serop’s Cafe is closing and expanding into another location.

The Corporate Boulevard spot will expand into the existing Serop’s Express at 9848 Perkins Road, which is across from Perkins Rowe, according to the Corporate Boulevard location manager Jose Lemus.

Lemus, and almost all of the staff from the soon-to-close spot, will transition work to the Perkins Road location.

Serop’s Cafe opened on Government Street (now closed) in 1979 and currently serves the Baton Rouge community with five locations around the city, Lemus said.

The expansion means there’ll be more tables and chairs added as well as an expanded menu, which will be available beginning Monday. The full menu will be similar to the one at Corporate Boulevard, with a variety of kebabs, pasta, fried shrimp, seafood gumbo and more.

The Perkins location is not expected to temporarily close for expansion, Lemus said.

The Serop’s Cafe on Corporate Boulevard is closing.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

2D ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

Dive bar date seen as too lazy

Dear Harriette: A man asked me on a first date to a dive bar. I said no because I already felt like he was trying to see how little effort he could put into planning where we would go. I’m not saying he needed to spend a ton of money on me — especially for Harriette a first date Cole — but his SENSE AND idea just felt SENSITIVITy flat-out lazy.

In the past, I’ve been in relationships where my boyfriend would see how little effort he could put into me and see if he could get away with it. Saying no felt like an act of selfrespect, but it also left me second-guessing myself. I don’t want to come across as high-maintenance or unfair, but I also don’t want to settle for less than I deserve. How do I balance being open-minded with setting standards for effort and intention early on, and how can I communicate what I want without scaring someone off or feeling like I’m asking for too much? — The Art of Dating Dear The Art Of Dating: The first date I went on with my husband was to grab takeout and go to a park.

It was not expensive, but it was a lot of fun.

Sometimes the cost of an experience is not a good barometer for its value.

That said, a dive bar may not be an optimal way to begin to get to know someone. You trusted your gut, but how can you switch things up a bit?

Challenge the next suitor to do something different.

If he won’t make an effort, move on. How people show up in the beginning is a sign of their willingness to exert energy and effort on you.

Dear Harriette: I have a friend who works in investment banking, and her hours range from 70 to 90 hours per week.

Whenever we make plans, she often has to push back two or three times, and it’s frustrating. There isn’t much I can do because it’s out of her control, but I’m upset that I have to wait around until she’s out of work.

I enjoy spending time with her. She’s a positive and sweet individual, so the solution doesn’t seem to be cutting her off, but I am starting to feel like our friendship exists entirely on her schedule, and that leaves me feeling frustrated. I try to be understanding of how demanding her job is, but it

lll

is hard to constantly rearrange my own plans or sit in limbo, not knowing if we will actually see each other. I don’t want to resent her for a career she worked hard for, yet I also don’t want to quietly build frustration that could damage our friendship.

How can I set boundaries and communicate how I feel without sounding selfish, and is there a healthy way to maintain a close friendship when one person’s life is so completely dominated by work? — No Time for Me Dear No Time For Me: Usually finance jobs don’t last forever at that pace.

While your friend’s schedule is consumed by work, choose to see her less. Agree to once a quarter possibly on the weekend or at a time that’s most likely to work.

Stay in touch via text, but don’t agree to too many hangouts. Make sure she understands why you are limiting your time together. You love her, but you need to have control over your life as well.

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2026.

There are 362 days left in the year.

Today in history: On Jan. 3, 1920, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the contract of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, beginning a championship era for the Yankees and decades of heartache for Red Sox fans. (The Red Sox would ultimately break the “curse” in 2004, winning their first World Series in 86 years.)

Also on this date: In 1777, Gen. George Washington’s army routed British troops in the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey, a key turning point in the Revolutionary War. In 1861, more than two weeks before Georgia seceded from the Union, the state militia seized Fort

Pulaski, in the coastal area east of Savannah, at the order of Gov. Joseph E. Brown.

In 1959, Alaska was officially admitted as the 49th U.S. state.

In 1977, Apple Computer, months after its founding, was incorporated in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Mike Markkula Jr. In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission.

In 2022, a jury in San Jose, California, convicted Elizabeth Holmes of duping investors into believing that her startup company Theranos had developed a revolutionary medical device that could detect diseases and conditions from a few drops of blood.

In 2025, two bombs ex-

ploded in the Iranian city of Kerman, killing at least 84 people and wounding hundreds during a commemoration for Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. drone strike four years earlier; the Islamic State would claim responsibility for the bombings.

Today’s birthdays: Musician Stephen Stills is 81. Musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is 80. Actor and entrepreneur Victoria Principal is 76. Actordirector Mel Gibson is 70. Basketball Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller is 62. Singer and television personality Kimberley Locke is 48. Former NFL quarterback Eli Manning is 45. R&B singer Lloyd Polite Jr. is 40. Actor Florence Pugh is 30. Environmental activist Greta Thunberg is 23.

Please be considerate with noise Dear Heloise: I have one neighbor around the corner who just put up a flagpole in their front yard. I have another neighbor who has hung wind chimes from a tree in their front yard.

I can easily hear the clang clang from Hints from the flagpole Heloise and the ding ding from the chimes in my house, even though my windows are closed. I work from home, and this is very distracting.

To make matters worse, I live in Buffalo, N.Y. In the winter, it is windy almost every day, which makes the noises louder. If I can hear the noises, even though I am not close to either house, I can only imagine how other neighbors feel, those who live closer. Homeowners should be considerate of neighbors before putting up flagpoles, wind chimes or anything else that makes noise 24 hours a day! — Chris K.

A lotion trick Dear Heloise: I live in the

beautiful Sonora Desert, where dry skin is a yearround concern. Our dermatologist said the best place to moisturize your skin is in the shower, after a quick dry off. Keeping the moisturizer in the shower is no problem, but how could I reach the middle of my back? So I put a dab of moisturizer on the back of a long-handled plastic mixing spoon. This works great! — Chris R., in Sonora Desert,Ariz.

Chris, yes the desert is so dry, but certainly also beautiful! What a fabulous way to give yourself an extra hand! — Heloise

White board Dear Heloise: My husband is in assisted living. I keep an erasable white board in his room. When we have a visit or trip planned, I write it on the board. It helps him remember, and the staff loves it. That way, they make sure he’s ready. I also write sport schedules.

I keep the same type of board in our home garage.

I write reminders: get gas, fill bird feeders, take X in the house, bring X to the

garage. It saves me from standing in the mudroom trying to remember what I came for. Thank you. — Barb Crandell, via email

Baking frozen pizza Dear Heloise: I have a different way than D.R.C. to keep my oven clean from melted pizza cheese. While the oven is heating up, I put a pizza pan on the shelf below, where the pizza will be. Melted cheese will drop onto this pan. When the pizza is done, I slide it off the rack onto the hot pan.

The hot pan will keep the pizza warm longer. — C.C.B., in Vermont

Cleaning dryer screens Dear Heloise: I would like to add a much simpler solution to clean the lint off of a dryer screen. Just wet the tips of your fingers (I use the residual water in the dump sink next to the dryer), then swipe across the screen. Every bit of lint comes off instantly. Easy peasy! — Irene, New York Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

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‘Miracle Hunter’ retreat set Jan. 31 Staff report Cypress Springs Mercedarian Prayer Center will host a day of faith, discovery and inspiration with renowned Catholic speaker Michael O’Neill, also known as “The Miracle Hunter.”

The event will take place from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 31 at 17560 George O’Neal Road, Baton Rouge.

O’Neill is widely known

for exploring miraculous and lunch events and heavenly pheTickets are $70. Visit nomena where faith and eventbrite.com for more information. science intersect.

He is the host of EWTN’s “The Miracle Hunter” and the creator of MiracleHunter.com, a leading resource on church-recognized miracles.

The retreat will include: n Mass at 8 a.m. n Seminar with O’Neill from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Places of Worship Directory Places of Worship Baha'i Faith Baton Rouge Baha'i Faith Public Informational Meeting 2nd Sunday of Each month @ 2:30-3:30 pm Goodwood Library Room B Visit bahai.org, bahai.us and bahai-br.us

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Wherever you read the news.

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Baptist

Bapt-Southern

Mount Zion First Baptist Church Dr. Rene’ F. Brown, Pastor 356 T. J. Jemison Blvd.

Sunday School: 8:30 am Sun. Service: 9:30am Wednesday Bible Study: 12 noon & 7:15 pm Communion Service First Sunday: 6pm Broadcast: 11am 106.5 FM www.mtzionfirstbaptist.com

TRUE LIGHT CHURCH Rev.BAPTIST Dennis R. Hebert, Pastor 3836 North Street Phone 383-3912 Sunday School – Sunday Worship – 9:00 10:00A.M. Wed. Prayer Service &A.M. Bible Study – 6:00 P.M. Communion Service 2nd Sunday 10:00 A.M.– Place a Classified ad?

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Methodist

930 North Boulevard (Corner of North & T.J. Jemison) 225-383-4777 Rev Brady Whitton Senior Pastor www.firstmethodist.org Sunday Worship Sanctuary 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM America Street - 9:45 AM First Baptist Church Baton Rouge 529 Convention Street Sunday School 9:15 am Sunday Worship 10:45 am.

Broadcast live stream of Sunday Worship on Youtube and Facebook.

Wednesday Prayer meeting and Bible Study 5:30 pm www.fbcbr.com

Sunday School (for all ages) - 9:40 AM Services Broadcast Sunday 9:30 AM WBXH (Cox Channel 16, Digital Channel 39, Dish TV Ch. 39) 10:30 AM WAFB Channel 9 Radio Broadcast 5:30 AM- WYNK 101.5 FM 8:00 AM- THE RIVER 96.1 FM

Presbyterian

Quakers

UNIVERSITY PRESBYTERIAN Dalrymple @ State St www.upcbr.org Church School 9:30 Worship 11:00 In person and on Facebook

B.R. FRIENDS MEETING Worship 11:30 AM SUNDAYS Information 225-665-3560

Facebook.com/universitypresbyterian

Mugs, shirts, hats, posters, books.

Something for everyone at the Advocate Store!

STORE.ADVOCATE.COM

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 3D

Next time, make the kind gesture lll

Dear Miss Manners: It’s frigid cold here these days, but that didn’t stop a huge turnout for a very popular food truck. The lines were pretty long, both to order and to pick up, but people passed Judith 15-20 minutes Martin the chatting with each MISS other and joking MANNERS about the cold.

An elderly man (late 70s, maybe?) pulled up in his car with (I assume) his wife in the passenger seat. The gentleman got out and stood in line, using a cane, while his wife waited in the car. He had on a jacket and wore

‘Jesus No. 6’ by Jency Griffin Hogan

ART

Continued from page 1D His emotions were a stark contrast to the ones she experienced with Hart. She said he hardly slept and was “shaking and convulsing.”

The Hogans said they were traumatized by witnessing Hart’s drug withdrawal.

“I’ve had to work through that a lot. Just letting go of watching a baby struggle like that,” Griffin Hogan said. “Knowing that there’s so many out there that are probably going through that and being in the NICU and seeing all the different babies. So he is in a good place with his aunt, but we did not get to keep him.”

The couple chose to forgo any contact with Hart going forward. It just would’ve been too difficult and hurt too much, they said.

Turning grief into art The Hogans — she’s an

gloves, but a strong wind was blowing.

I was in the food-pickup line, and noticed that he looked uncomfortable. Ahead of him in line was a woman wearing a very cozy-looking fur coat. I approached her and whispered that the gentleman behind her looked like he was struggling, and that it would be nice if she offered to hold his place in line.

That way, he could return to the car until it was his turn to order.

She looked blankly at me and said, “What man?” I indicated the gentleman behind her. She glanced back and said “Oh,” nothing more.

Embarrassed, I mumbled, “It was just a thought, to help the old

PROVIDED PHOTOS

actress and producer, he’s a photographer — leaned into their creative nature to muddle through their individual emotions.

Just one day after giving up Hart, Griffin Hogan felt compelled to paint, something she hadn’t done since eighth grade. Her heart told her to paint Hart’s face, but as she put brush to canvas, she noticed that it was Jesus’ countenance she was creating. She went with it.

Griffin Hogan stood among 22 “Jesuses,” all painted since the loss of Hart, on different-sized canvases, representing the gamut of loss-triggered emotions. Some are a rainbow of colors, others one intense hue.

She painted “Jesus No. 3” while staying at a friend’s beach house, still early on in the grief process.

“And then I kept getting compelled to keep going,” she said. “I cried all night one night, just didn’t sleep well. I started painting ‘Je-

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

guy out” and slinked back to my place in the pickup line. She never made a move to assist the man, but my order came out quickly and I hurried away.

Miss Manners, was I out of line to make that suggestion? Had I been in the order line, I would certainly have made the offer.

But the look of disdain on the face of that woman was colder than the blasting winter wind. Did I do the wrong thing?

Gentle reader: It is awkward to suggest that someone else engage in an act of kindness on one’s behalf. While your intentions were good, this woman was not likely to have been paying attention to your position at pickup, and was

probably wondering why you did not offer to stand in line for this man yourself.

Miss Manners suggests that if the situation comes up again, you alert the food truck workers and enlist their help. Or ask the wife in the car to keep your food warm while you go help her husband.

Dear Miss Manners: I have been invited to a dinner at my CEO’s home, along with members of the board. Is it still appropriate to arrive with flowers or wine for the host? I don’t know if the CEO drinks wine.

Would I be seen as “brownnosing” if no one else brings anything? I am 57 and kinda oldschool.

sus No. 7.’ While I was painting him, I turned around to do something, came back, and he was crying with me.

He had little tears where I had painted, tears coming out of his face.”

After the Hart trauma, Hogan chose to bury himself in his photography, his comfort zone. He worked every day for months.

“I was struggling with how to find an identity outside of this fatherhood that I thought I was going to be, because I spent all my childhood not wanting to be a father,” Hogan admitted.

“And then God revealed to me I’m going to be a dad.

Then this whole thing became this new identity I immediately took on ... with pride.”

Packing for their monthlong trip to Greece in June, Hogan included his camera, although he planned to leave it in the room most of the time, to have “nonphoto time.” On the beautiful island of Santorini, the couple

hoped to extend the healing, reset and formulate next steps in their efforts to find another baby.

Inspired by Santorini’s breathtaking views, architecture and rich culture, Hogan rethought leaving the camera behind.

“I came back with 4,000 amazing pictures. I was captivated by the light that was there, literally bouncing off of these white walls, putting Jency in this gorgeous light,” he said. “She became my muse. So I got back to the roots of why I got into photography in the first place, ... self-discovery and interest in capturing God’s beauty outside of working for clients.”

Griffin Hogan, meanwhile, kept painting and turning new ideas into drawings for future paintings back home in Louisiana. She thinks “Jesus No. 25” might round out the collection, but she’s not sure.

She is certain, however, that they’ll never forget

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Hart.

“Looking back, having named him that, I’m wondering if some part of me knew. Maybe that name was symbolic of what was going to happen,” she said. “He was always going to be in my heart, but I wasn’t going to get to keep him. He’s in here (touching her chest), but I

don’t have him.”

The Hogans’ paintings and photography are on display at Light House Coffee, 257 Lee Drive, Baton Rouge, for the first two weeks of January.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

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

Aaron Hogan enjoyed photographing churches all over Santorini, including this one which seems to disappear into the sky.

Thank you for trusting me with your journey home

ROBIN HEBERT

Gentle reader: Flowers are the most gracious option. Miss Manners assures you that they will be taken as they were intended: as a thank-you for hosting a dinner party, not a bribe for future promotions.

Old-school or not, you will have to show up with a lot more than flowers if you want to brown-nose your way into a better job.

225-615-7755

Have a Happy New Year!

Find us on Instagram Facebook b k @oaklandcrossing Each office independently owned and operated Licensed REALTORs in the State of Louisiana

WISHING YOU & YOUR FAMILY HEALTH AND PROSPERITY IN THE NEW YEAR!

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225.315.0512

www.charissehanchey.com

4D ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

FrAnK And erneSt

bIG nAte

zItS

lll

zodIAC CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Put your money where it matters most. Don't scrimp on necessities, health or a lifestyle that offers peace of mind and the freedom to live your life your way.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Go over your finances, investments and any recurring payments or subscriptions, and consider what you can eliminate. Take responsibility for your life and your happiness.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) You can't make a difference if you don't participate. Be brave, share your thoughts and concerns, and see what happens. You can reach personal goals if you are fearless, trusting and believe in your abilities.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Steer clear of anyone trying to start a fight or to dictate what you can or cannot do. Keep busy with odd jobs and tidying up loose ends. Make changes to how you earn or handle your money. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) A change is in order. Look for a way to improve your lifestyle. A visit to a place that inspires you to adjust your current space to serve you better will pump you up and motivate you to pursue your dreams.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Do the legwork and implement a positive change. Educate yourself; reach out to experts, ask questions and verify information. How well you prepare will determine your success.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Follow through.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Nurture meaningful relation-

ships and share your long-term goals, intentions and future commitments.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Sit back, wait and watch what unfolds around you.

Observation is your ticket to making better moves when the time is right.

Stay on top of what's available to you through institutions and government programs.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Embrace change and adopt an attitude that allows you the freedom to be a pioneer and a leader. Social events will connect you to like-minded people and prospects that excite you.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Tone down the rhetoric when dealing with family and friends. You don't want to send a negative message when positive reinforcement is necessary. Refuse to let uncertainty daunt you. sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Let your creativity lead the way. Attend events that will encourage you to meet new people and to engage in entertaining conversations that offer a unique perspective on life, love and what's available to you. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Being a good listener will pay off. Domestic situations are being tested by those you share space or other life necessities with. Offer others the same freedom you want for yourself.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

toDAy's CLuE: D EQuALs H

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 5D

lll

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers.

The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 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

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

6D ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ theadvocate.com ■ The Advocate

lll

B.C.

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER Gottfried Leibniz, a German mathematician and philosopher who died in 1716, said, “Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.”

Bridge experts count almost on autopilot. They track high-card points, winners, losers, trumps and hand distributions.

Less capable players often stop at winners and losers. This deal would be easy for an expert and hard for others.

After South opened one heart, North had an awkward response. His hand had the high-card strength for a gameinvitational limit raise, but it had only seven losers (two spades, two hearts, two diamonds and one club), which made it worth a game-force. North struck a strange compromise by jumping straight to four hearts, hoping that this would not result in a missed slam.

West leads the diamond king and continues the suit. South ruffs, draws trumps in two rounds, and runs the club jack. How should East defend?

Anyone who does not count will think that his side must take two spade tricks immediately. He will win with the club king and shift to a low spade. It is true that declarer might misguess by putting up his spade king — but then again, he might not.

Southisknowntohavestartedwithfive hearts and one diamond. Whatever his

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

seven black-suit cards, after he has run dummy’s clubs, he must have two spades left. So there is no hurry to break open that suit. East should take his club king and return a club. Then, when a spade is led from the board, East can play his 10 to ensure that the defenders will take two tricks in the suit for down one. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

word game InstRuCtIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3.

Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD — sQuABBLInG: SKWA-bling: Quarreling over petty matters.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 30 words Time limit 55 minutes Can you find 48 or more words in SQUABBLING? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — AnALoGuE ague alga algae aloe alone along analog angel angle noel lagan

lane lean loan loge lone long lounge luge lune lung lunge

ogle gala gale genoa glean glen glue goal gone guano ulna

elan

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And that he died for all, that they which live should not from now on live to themselves, but to him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15 This is the Christian life. Are you a Christian? — G.E. Dean

The Advocate ■ theadvocate.com ■ Saturday, January 3, 2026 ■ 7D

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Announcements Seeking Financial Sponsors & Sales Professionals, Envirosult, a Non Profit. Email or Text CEO at michaelgreen@envirosult.com, 337-224-0987. Lead Poisonings, PFAS, Other Chemicals, Small USA Communities!

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of any heirs, successors, and/or assigns of Herschiel Townsend please contact Tammy Bowden at 225-266-4873.

172576-12/3-4-5-3t $97.00 Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Tia Loubre of the mother of Marlon Washington Jr. to contact the Ennis Law Firm 225-400-6600.

172555-1/3-4-5-3t $85.00 The Boss Lady Bar & Lounge is applying to The Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control of the state of Louisiana for a permit to sell beverages of high and low content at retail in the parish of East Baton Rouge 3827 Plank Road Baton Rouge, La 70805 The Boss Lady Bar & Lounge.

Member - Darlene Shelmire 172560-1/3-1t $93.86 WE ARE APPLYING TO THE OFFICE OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO CONTROL OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA FOR PERMIT TO SELL BEVERAGES OF HIGH AND LOW IN THE PARISH OF ASCENSION AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS: AYLA DISCOUNT, LLC DBA RUNWAY FUEL STATION, 13142 LA73., GEISMAR, LA 70734; AKRAM SALAH FARHAT, MEMBER. 172608-1/3-1t $93.86

Reporting you can trust on stories that matter

Employment

GENERAL HELP The Diocese of B.R. Child Nutrition Pro‐ gram is seeking FT school Cafeteria Mgrs., Cooks, & Porters. HS Diploma or Equiv. and BG Check req. Apply at www.cnpbr.org/employment

ADMINISTRATIVE Clerk of City Court/ Judicial Administrator The City-Parish Government has an opening for Clerk of City Court/Judicial Administrator. This is a full time, un‐ classified professional court adminis‐ trative, supervisory and record keeping / management position in the Baton Rouge City Court. The full job descrip‐ tion can be found at: https://city.brla.gov/dept/hr/occdesc. asp?GetTitle=7930 Desirable Qualifications: Juris Doctorate Degree and at least six years of progressively responsible ex‐ perience in an administrative/profes‐ sional capacity; or an advanced degree and ten years of progressively respon‐ sible court administration experience, including seven years of supervisory experience in a court system. A certi‐ fied court management certificate may be substituted in lieu of minimum ex‐ perience and training. Louisiana Li‐ censed Attorney preferred.

Salary: $73,836 - $123,392 Excellent Benefits Package Application Information: Applications accepted through 5:00 p.m. January 2 - 31, 2026. Submit cover letter with resume showing education and judicial / court administration ex‐ perience, including 3 references to: Dept of Human Resources Recruiting Division 1755 Florida Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Office: (225) 389-3132 Fax: (225) 389-4962

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FREE RENT 225-351-7449

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Clemency I, RONALD ROSS, DOC #556392 have applied for clemency for my conviction of SCHEDULE I; SIMPLE BURGLARY. If you have any comments, contact the Board of Pardons (225)342-5421.

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(NOTICE OF INTENTION TO INTRODUCE RETIRE‐ MENT BILL) Public notice is hereby given, as provided by Section 29(C), Article X of the Constitution of Louisiana, that there will be introduced at the forthcoming session of the Legislature of Louisiana, to be con‐ vened on March 9, 2026, a bill relative to one or more state retirement systems; to provide rela‐ tive to the powers and duties of the Public Re‐ tirement Systems' Actu‐ arial Committee; to pro‐ vide relative to amortiza‐ tion and liquidation of certain system liabilities; to provide relative to cal‐ culation of required em‐ ployer contributions; to provide relative to the powers and duties of the system's board of trustees; and to provide for related matters.

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PUBLIC NOTICE --(NOTICE OF INTENTION TO INTRODUCE RETIRE‐ MENT BILL – HLS 26RS313) Public notice is hereby given, as provided by Section 29(C), Article X of the Constitution of Louisiana, that there will be introduced at the forthcoming session of the Legislature of Louisiana, to be con‐ vened on March 9, 2026, a bill relative to the Fire‐ fighters' Retirement Sys‐ tem; to provide for mem‐ bership on the board of trustees; to provide for term limits and election of certain board mem‐ bers; to provide for the process of filling vacan‐ cies on the board of trustees; and to provide for related matters.

172446-JAN 3-4-2T $43.38 PUBLIC NOTICE --(NOTICE OF INTENTION TO INTRODUCE RETIRE‐ MENT BILL – HLS 26RS303 and 304) Public notice is hereby given, as provided by Section 29(C), Article X of the Constitution of Louisiana, that there will be introduced at the forthcoming session of the Legislature of Louisiana, to be con‐ vened on March 9, 2026, a bill relative to the Munic‐ ipal Police Employees' Retirement System; to provide relative to de‐ ferred retirement option plan accounts; to provide for the accrual rate for participants; to provide for the transfer of non‐ hazardous employees from the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System to the Municipal Police Employees' Retire‐ ment System; to provide relative to education for

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municipalities whose of‐ ficers participate in So‐ cial Security; and to pro‐ vide for related matters.

172442-jan 3-4-2t $47.96 PUBLIC NOTICE --(NOTICE OF INTENTION TO INTRODUCE RETIRE‐ MENT BILL – HLS 26RS279) Public notice is hereby given, as provided by Section 29(C), Article X of the Constitution of Louisiana, that there will be introduced at the forthcoming session of the Legislature of Louisiana, to be con‐ vened on March 9, 2026, a bill relative to the Teach‐ ers' Retirement System of Louisiana; to provide relative to a phased re‐ tirement program; to provide for eligibility; to provide for implementa‐ tion of the program; to provide relative to the payment of employee and employer contribu‐ tions for both regular re‐ tirement members and optional retirement pro‐ gram participants during phased retirement; to provide relative to the employer contribution rate for optional retire‐ ment plan employers; to provide relative to ad‐ ministrative fees for op‐ tional retirement plan participants; to provide relative to payout of un‐ used accrued leave; and to provide for related matters.

172440-jan 3-4-2t $52.54 PUBLIC NOTICE --LEGAL NOTICE Department of Conservation and Energy Office of Permitting and Compliance Engineering Division

At the Matrimonial Part 51 of the Supreme Court of the State of New York held in and for the County of Queens, at the Courthouse located at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York on the 12th day of December 2025.

PRESENT: HON. JODI ORLOW, J.S.C. ________________________x TAMALY CHAKRABARTY, Plaintiff, -against-

Index No.: 1244/2024 ORDER FOR ALTERNATIVE SERVICE

SHAMAR CHAKRABARTY, Defendant. ________________________x Upon the reading and filing of the affidavit of the plaintiff, Tamaly Chakrabarty, the affidavit of process server Scott Frank, along with a copy of the results from the Investigative Report, United States Postal Service, Department of Defense, Department of Motor Vehicles, social media search, undeliverable e-mail attempt to defendant at chakrabartyshamar80@gmail.com, and non-responsive text message to defendant at 347-615-5191 and it appearing therefrom to the satisfaction of the Court that the plaintiff has a good and meritorious cause of action against the defendant for a divorce and that the plaintiff has not and cannot locate the defendant with due diligence within or outside the State of New York, and that service cannot be made any other prescribed method. Further based on the results of the investigation, defendant’s last know address was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Now upon the motion, of the plaintiff, Tamaly Chakrabarty, it is hereby ORDERED, that service of the Summons, Verified Complaint, and all required matrimonial notices in the above entitled action, be made by publication thereof in accordance with CPLR §313, CPLR §316 and Domestic Relations Law §232, in one newspaper which will be in the English Language to wit: The Advocate, published in East Baton Rouge Parish, the State of Louisiana, once a week for three consecutive weeks, together with a notice to the defendant and a brief statement of the object of the action, said newspaper being designated as most likely to give notice to the defendant; and it is further ORDERED that a copy of the Summons, Verified Complaint, this Order, all required Matrimonial notices, and papers on which the Order is based shall additionally be text messaged to the defendant at 347-6155191; and it is further ORDERED that the first publication and the text message to the defendant of the Summons, Verified Complaint, along with all required Matrimonial Notices, shall be made within thirty (30) days of the date of this order; and it is further ORDERED that the Summons, Verified Complaint, this Order, all required Matrimonial notices, and papers on which the order is based, shall be filed on or before the first day of publication; and it is further ORDERED that the Court being satisfied that a place where the defendant would receive mail cannot with due diligence be ascertained, the mailing of the copies of the Summons with Notice and Matrimonial Notices, pursuant to CPLR Section 316(b), to the defendant shall be discarded.

This constitutes the decision and order of this Court.

Dated: December 12, 2025 Hon. Jodi Orlow, J.S.C.

171229-597771-jan 3-1t $ 3,465.00

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VISIT BATON ROUGE BOARD MINUTES January 2025 A scheduled Board of Director’s meeting of Visit Baton Rouge was held on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at Visit Baton Rouge Office, located at 359 Third Street.

Present were: Gary Jupiter Rowdy Gaudet Stephen Hightower Mary Stein Claude Reynaud Gary Patureau Marty Engquist Janice DeLerno Jeremy Fontenot

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At this time, Gary Jupiter and Jill Kidder acknowledged Mary Stein for her dedication and service to Visit Baton Rouge during her tenure as a member of the VBR board.

A motion was made by Rowdy Gaudet, seconded by Claude Reynaud to enter Executive Session.

Present but not participating in formal actions: Jill Kidder, Staff Lisa Clary, Staff Danielle Prejean, Staff Stacy Simon, Staff Laura Cating, Staff Emily Mastrantonio, Staff Lauralyn Maranto, Staff Chuck Elkins, Legal Counsel Scott Landry, Legal Counsel Scott Michelet Karen Soniat

Gary Jupiter stated that all applicable legal pre-requisites necessary for entering Executive Session have been complied with, and the Board of Directors will take no vote or binding action in Executive Session. He stated a majority vote was needed to enter Executive Session. A vote was taken for the record.

Vote: Gary Jupiter – Yes Stephen Hightower – Yes Rowdy Gaudet – Yes Claude Reynaud – Yes

Marty Engquist - Yes Jeremy Fontenot - Yes Gary Patureau - Yes Janice DeLerno – Yes

Mary Stein - Yes

Motion Carried.

The Board formally entered Executive Session.

Executive Session ended.

Gary Jupiter called the meeting to order and opened the meeting for public comment. There being no public comment, and the meeting resumed.

A motion was made by Gary Jupiter, seconded by Claude Reynaud to formally exit Executive Session and a vote was taken.

Gary Jupiter informed the board members that the following item would be removed from the agenda:

Vote: Gary Jupiter – Yes Stephen Hightower – Yes Rowdy Gaudet – Yes Claude Reynaud – Yes

Section IX. Item B. Discussion/action in connection with Southern University Scott’s Bluff Trail.

This item was removed since the contract will not expire until the end of 2026.

In other business, Jill Kidder presented the 2025 VBR Plan of Work update and the Meetings Guide and Sports Venues brochures to the board.

Jill Kidder introduced Karen Soniat, President and Executive Director of the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. She stated that Karen Soniat will replace term expired board member, Mary Stein, in one of the two Metro Council board seats on the Board effective January 1, 2026.

A motion was made by Mary Stein, seconded by Marty Engquist, to adopt the minutes of the following meetings minutes as presented: • Minutes of October 23, 2025, Board Meeting • Minutes of November 6, 2025, Emergency Board Meeting • Minutes of November 13, 2025, Finance Committee Meeting • Minutes of November 19, 2025, Personnel Committee Meeting • Minutes of December 4, 2025, Nominating Committee Meeting Motion carried.

Danielle Prejean, VP of Finance, presented the Treasurer’s Report and reviewed the October 2025 Financial Statements.

Danielle Prejean reviewed the second revisions to the 2025 Budget. The revisions were reviewed by the Finance Committee on November 13, 2025, and recommended to the board for approval.

A motion was made by Claude Reynaud, seconded by Jeremy Fontenot to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET

Exhibit “A” Motion Carried.

Danielle Prejean reviewed the second revisions to the Accounting & Financial Policies & Procedures Manual. These changes were reviewed by the Finance Committee on November 14, 2025, and recommended to the board for approval.

A motion was made by Gary Patureau and seconded by Janice DeLerno to adopt the following Resolution: RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL DECEMBER 11, 2025 BE IT RESOLVED that, acting on the recommendation of the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”), the Board of Directors of VBR hereby adopts the amendments, changes, and modifications to the VBR Accounting and Finance Policies and Procedures Manual reflected in the Exhibit “A” attached to this Resolution effective December 11, 2025.

Exhibit “A” Motion Carried.

President and CEO, Jill Kidder presented the Presidents’ Report to the board.

In a public hearing, Danielle Prejean, VP of Finance, reviewed the 2026 Proposed Budget. The PBC 2026 Budget was presented for reference.

Danielle discussed a change to page 6 in reference to the PBC funds.

A motion was made by Claude Reynaud, seconded by Mary Stein to adopt the following Resolution: RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE (“VBR”) CONCERNING THE ADOPTION OF THE 2026 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET DECEMBER 11, 2025 WHEREAS, pursuant to good management practice and the Louisiana Local Government Budget Act, La. R.S. §39:1301 et seq., VBR is required to adopt an annual fiscal budget to guide its operation and to authorize the expenditure of funds by its officers and employees; and WHEREAS, the Board wishes to adopt and authorize the implementation of the proposed 2026 fiscal year budget as prepared by VBR’s President & CEO as follows.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of Visit Baton Rouge that the proposed 2026 fiscal year budget presented to the Board by its President and CEO at the meeting at which this resolution was adopted, being the same budget document prepared

by VBR and properly advertised for public inspection prior to such meeting, be and hereby is approved as the VBR general fund budget for VBR fiscal year 2026.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that pursuant to 39:1305(D), the President & CEO is hereby authorized, at her sole discretion and without further action by the Board, to make changes in budgeted amounts within the various budget classifications of up to five (5%) percent, provided, however, any change greater than five (5%) percent or affecting the total expenditures by VBR for fiscal year 2026 shall require the approval of the Board.

Motion carried.

Mary Stein, Chairman of the Nominating Committee reported that the Nominating Committee met on December 4, 2025. She reported that the nominating committee would present the following 2026 slate of officers to be voted on at the January 2026 Board Meeting:

Mary Stein - Yes

Motion Carried.

A motion was made by Claude Reynaud, seconded by Mary Stein to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING APPROVAL OF THE 2026 EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT & CEO DECEMBER 11, 2025 BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of VBR (the “Board”) that the annual base salary of the President & CEO of VBR be set at the sum of Two Hundred Eighteen Thousand Seventy and No/100 Dollars ($218,070.00) for the period January 1 through December 31, 2026, payable semi-monthly.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that in addition to the base salary increase set forth in the prior resolution, the employment agreement by and between Visit Baton Rouge and its CEO (the “CEO Employment Agreement”) be revised and amended to provide for such other agreements, additions, changes, and modifications as reflected in the 2026 CEO Employment Agreement draft attached hereto as Exhibit “A.” BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that Gary Jupiter, Chairman of the Board, acting on behalf of VBR, be authorized and directed to execute and deliver to the President & CEO the CEO Employment Agreement dated effective January 1, 2026 substantially in the form and substance of Exhibit “A,” but further subject to any corrections, amendments, or modifications that the Chairman, acting in his sole discretion, believes to be appropriate and in the best interest of Visit Baton Rouge.

The remainder of this page was intentionally left blank.

December 11, 2025 BE IT RESOLVED that, acting upon the recommendation of the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”), the Board of Directors of VBR hereby adopts the amendments, changes, and modifications to the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget reflected in the Exhibit “A” attached to this Resolution, effective December 11, 2025.

Marty Engquist – Yes Jeremy Fontenot - Yes Gary Patureau - Yes Janice DeLerno - Yes

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A motion was made by Claude Reynaud, seconded by Gary Patureau, to adopt the following Resolution:

Rowdy Gaudet, Chairman Stephen Hightower, Vice Chairman Robyn Merrick, Secretary/Treasurer Gary Jupiter, Immediate Past Chair

Rowdy Gaudet, reported that the Personnel Committee met on November 19, 2025, and reviewed Jill Kidder’s proposed Employee Agreement for 2026 and recommends the updates for Board approval. Scott Landry discussed the proposed revisions to the agreement.

Absent: Robyn Merrick

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Exhibit “A” Motion Carried.

Scott Landry discussed the change of the Administrator of the VBR OPEB/Retirement Plan to Lisa Clary, VP of Administration, due to the recent retirement of the current administrator.

On a motion by Gary Patureau, seconded by Stephen Hightower, the following resolution was adopted:

RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING RENEWAL OF CONTRACT WITH LOU HAMMOND GROUP FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICES DECEMBER 11, 2025 WHEREAS, during 2023 Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”) conducted a full and fair request for proposals process (the “RFP”) to select an agency to assist VBR with public relations services and Lou Hammond Group (“LHG”) was selected.

WHEREAS, pursuant to such RFP, VBR contracted with LHG for an initial term through December 15, 2024.

WHEREAS, VBR renewed such contract for an additional term of one (1) year, beginning January 1, 2025.

WHEREAS, VBR now wishes to renew such contract for a second additional term of one (1) year, on terms and conditions to be agreed to by and between VBR and LHG, beginning January 1, 2026.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of VBR that Jill C. Kidder, President & CEO, and the Chairman of the Board, acting jointly, are hereby directed and authorized on behalf of VBR to negotiate, execute, deliver, and cause to be performed an agreement for professional public relations advisory services and strategies with LHG (the “LHG Agreement”) containing such terms and conditions as the President & CEO and the Chairman of the Board, in their joint discretion, believe to be in VBR’s best interest.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President & CEO and the Chairman of the Board, acting jointly, are further directed and empowered in the name of and on behalf of VBR to take all actions related to the accomplishment of the above resolution at any time before or after the execution and delivery of the LHG Agreement, including without limitation to approve any subsequent change, amendment, or modification to the such agreement, that, they, in their joint discretion, deem necessary or convenient to the accomplishment of the previous resolution set forth above.

Motion carried.

Discussion was held regarding transfer of funds from the Louisiana Asset Management Pool Account to pay off existing debt.

A motion was made by Mary Stein, seconded by Gary Patureau to adopt the following Resolution: RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM LOUISIANA ASSET MANAGEMENT POOL TO PAY OFF EXISTING DEBT DECEMBER 11, 2025 WHEREAS, in accordance with the policies of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”), from time-to-time, VBR funds may be transferred to or from the Reserve and Operations Contingency Fund, the Building Repair, Renovation, Acquisition, and Relocation Fund, the Special Projects Fund, and the OPEB L/T Retirement Trust Reserve Fund (the “Funds”) with the Louisiana Asset Management Pool (“LAMP”) and other VBR account(s), as such transfer(s) may be authorized, approved and directed by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of VBR. WHEREAS, the Board has determined that it is advisable and in the best interest of VBR to approve and direct the wire transfer of certain sums, as more particularly set forth herein, from the LAMP Building Repair, Renovation, Acquisition and Relocation Fund into the unrestricted cash funds for the purpose of retiring existing indebtedness. VBR’s outstanding obligations include: (1) a $2,000,000 Non-Revolving Line of Credit, of which $483,787 has been drawn to fund VBR parking lot; and (2) a City Loan related to the 2007 renovation of 359 Third Street, with an approximate remaining principal balance of $205,000.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of VBR that Jill C. Kidder, the President & CEO of VBR (“Kidder”), is hereby authorized and directed to initiate a wire transfer in an amount not to exceed Six Hundred Ninety Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($690,000) from the LAMP Building Repair, Renovation, Acquisition and Relocation Fund to VBR’s unrestricted cash accounts for the sole purpose of retiring existing indebtedness.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Kidder, and any other officer, director, agent, or employee of VBR who is authorized in writing by Kidder, is further directed and empowered, in the name of and on behalf of VBR, to execute any agreement, certificate, instrument, or other document and/or to take any other action that Kidder, in her sole discretion, deems necessary or convenient to the accomplishment of the previous resolution. *********

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING APPOINTMENT OF LISA CLARY AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE VBR OPEB PLAN DECEMBER 11, 2025 WHEREAS, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”) is charged with assisting in the economic development of East Baton Rouge Parish through the promotion of travel and tourism in such Parish.

WHEREAS, in furtherance of its governmental mission and acting for the benefit of its current and retired employees, the Board has established a Retiree Health and Other Post-Employment Benefits Other Than Pension Benefits Plan (the “OPEB Plan” or “Plan”).

WHEREAS, the prior Administrator of the Plan, Lauralyn Maranto, has resigned, and the position is currently vacant.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board hereby appoints Lisa Clary, VBR Vice President of Administration, as the Administrator of the Plan, with all the rights and obligations of such office, effective the date of this Resolution.

CERTIFICATE STATE OF LOUISIANA PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE I, Stephen Hightower, certify that I am the duly qualified and acting Secretary / Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Visit Baton Rouge (the “Board”), the governing authority of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”). I further certify that the above and foregoing resolution to which this certificate is attached is a true and correct excerpt from the minutes of a properly constituted meeting of the Board held at VBR’s office on December 11, 2025, and at which meeting a quorum of the Board was present and acting throughout.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, witness my official signature on this 11th day of December 2025, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ____________________________________ Stephen Hightower Secretary / Treasurer Date: December 11, 2025

Motion Carried.

Attest:

Scott Landry discussed the revisions to the VBR Retired Employee Insurance Benefit Plan as recommended by the Personnel Committee.

___________________________ Gary Jupiter Chairman Date: December 11, 2025

A motion was made by Marty Engquist, seconded by Mary Stein to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING APPROVAL OF THE CHANGES TO VBR RETIRED OPEB BENEFIT PLAN DECEMBER 11, 2025 BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors (“Board”) of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”) that the current VBR Retired OPEB Benefit Plan (“OPEB Plan”) be revised as shown on Exhibit “A” attached hereto.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President/CEO of “VBR” is directed and empowered in the name of and on behalf of VBR to take all actions, including without limitation to approve and execute any amendment to the “OPEB Plan”, any other agreement, certificate, instrument, or document determined by him to be in the best interest of “VBR” and necessary or convenient for the accomplishment of the previous resolution.

Exhibit “A” Scott Landry discussed the revisions to the Employee Policy and Procedure Manual as recommended by the Personnel Committee.

A motion was made by Stephen Hightower and seconded by Jeremy Fontenot to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL DECEMBER 11, 2025 BE IT RESOLVED that, acting on the recommendation of the Personnel Committee of the Board of Directors of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”), the Board of Directors of VBR hereby adopts the amendments, changes, and modifications to the VBR Employee Policy and Procedures Manual reflected in the Exhibit “A” attached to this Resolution effective December 11, 2025.

Exhibit “A” Chuck Elkins presented the proposed contract for public relations with Lou Hammond Group.

Motion carried.

Chuck Elkins discussed a proposed contract with Civitas Advisors for the creation and implementation of a TRID. A motion was made by Gary Patureau and seconded by Mary Stein to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE CONCERNING AUTHORITY TO NEGOITIATE AND DELIVER A CONTRACT WITH CIVITAS ADVISORS FOR THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A TOURISM RECOVERY AND IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT DECEMBER 11, 2025 WHEREAS, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of VBR is charged with assisting in the economic development of East Baton Rouge Parish through the promotion of travel and tourism in such Parish.

WHEREAS, in furtherance of its governmental mission and in compliance with its strategic plan, VBR desires to enter a contract with Civitas Advisors or its designated affiliate (“CIVITAS”) to create and implement an innovative funding mechanism for a Tourism and Recovery Improvement District (“TRID”).

WHEREAS, to authorize the President & CEO and the Chairman of the Board to enter into and deliver the contract described above and to attend to any other matters necessary and convenient to same, the following resolutions are offered: NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board hereby authorizes and directs Jill C. Kidder, President & CEO, and the Chairman of the Board, acting in their joint discretion, to negotiate, execute, deliver and cause to be performed the contract by and between VBR and CIVITAS pertaining to the creation and implementation of a funding mechanism for a TRID and containing such terms and conditions as the Chairman of the Board and the President & CEO, in their joint discretion, believe to be in VBR’s best interest.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President & CEO and Chairman of the Board, acting jointly, are further directed and empowered in the name of and on behalf of VBR to take all actions related to the

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accomplishment of the above resolution at any time before or after the execution and delivery of the contract, including without limitation to approve any subsequent change, amendment, or modification to the contract referred to in the prior resolution, that, they, in their joint discretion, deem necessary or convenient to the accomplishment of the previous resolution set forth above.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in no case shall the contract authorized by the above two (2) resolutions provide for the expenditure of funds by VBR with respect to the contract and any related items, exceed the sum of Seventy-Eight Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($78,000.00). ****************** CERTIFICATE

PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE I, Stephen Hightower, certify that I am the duly qualified and acting Secretary / Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Visit Baton Rouge (the “Board”), the governing authority of Visit Baton Rouge (“VBR”).

I further certify that the above and foregoing resolution to which this certificate is attached is a true and correct copy of a resolution passed by a majority of the Board present and voting at a properly constituted meeting of the Board held at Visit Baton Rouge’s office on December 11, 2025, at which said meeting a quorum of the Board was present and acting throughout.

EGAN HUB STORAGE, LLC JENNINGS DOME, ACADIA Pursuant to LAC 43:XIX. Chapter 47 et seq., EGAN HUB STORAGE, LLC has requested expedited pro‐ cessing of Permit Appli‐ cation Nos. TBD for dual Class III Brine (SolutionMining) Wells and Class II Hydrocarbon located at JENNINGS Salt Dome, which pursuant to regu‐ lations, were previously noticed to the public on December 20th 2025, in The Advocate and on De‐ cember 24th 2025, in the Crowley Post-Signal. The expedited review process does not shorten any existing time delays for public notice, com‐ ment period, hearing, or in any way shorten or im‐ pinge upon the public participation process. In accordance with the Public Records Act, R.S. 44:1 et seq., all public records concerning this request for expedited processing are available to the public for inspec‐ tion and copying. Please address all comments or inquiries to: Gavin Broussard, Director Engineering Division Office of Permitting and Compliance 617 North Third Street, 9th Floor Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Attn: Justin Kain 175247-jan 3-1t $178.53 PUBLIC NOTICE --LEGAL NOTICE Department of Conservation and Energy Office of Permitting and Compliance Engineering Division EGAN HUB STORAGE, LLC JENNINGS FIELD, ACADIA Pursuant to LAC 43:XIX. Chapter 47 et seq., EGAN HUB STORAGE, LLC has requested expedited pro‐ cessing of Permit Appli‐ cation No. TBD for a Class II Salt Water Dis‐ posal Well located at Jen‐ nings Field, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, which pursuant to regulations, were previously noticed to the public on Decem‐ ber 23rd 2025, in The Ad‐ vocate. The expedited re‐ view process does not shorten any existing time delays for public notice, comment period, hear‐ ing, or in any way shorten or impinge upon the public participation process. In accordance with the Public Records Act, R.S. 44:1 et seq., all public records concern‐ ing this request for expe‐ dited processing are available to the public for inspection and copy‐ ing. Please address all comments or inquiries to: Gavin Broussard, Director Engineering Division Office of Permitting and Compliance 617 North Third Street, 9th Floor Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Attn: Justin Kain 172552-jan 3-1t $173.46

PUBLIC NOTICE --The City of St. George Planning & Zoning Com‐ missions will hold public hearings on Monday, Jan‐ uary 5, 2026, at 6:00 pm at St. George City Hall, 14100 Airline Hwy, St. George, LA 70817, to con‐ sider the following:

Planning Commission S25-21-P Preliminary Plat at 7958, 8022 and 8044 Antioch Rd: This 26.89acre property is located on Lot E, Lot C-1-A-1-A, Lot B of the James A. Sin‐ gleton Tract, in Sec. 4, T8S, R2E, GLD, EBR. The applicant requests a pre‐ liminary plat for the Haven subdivision, with 87 developable lots, six non-developable lots for greenspace and private detention ponds, 1 pump station tract, new public streets with sidewalks and subsurface drainage, and public sewer lines, in the R Rural Zoning Dis‐ trict. (Applicant: Greg Bauer, Lynn Levy Land Company, LLC) S-25-0101 Exchange of Property at 19551 Fair‐ way Oaks Ave and Tract E-1-A: This combined 2.09-acre properties is comprised of Lot 505 and Tract E-1-A and of the Santa Maria subdivision in Sec. 54, T8S-R2E, GLD, EBR, LA. The applicant re‐ quests an exchange of property between two lots in the R Rural Zoning District.

(Applicant: James Falgout, Earles & Associates, LLC, on be‐ half of Sarah Domingue and Santa Maria HOA) S-25-0102 Subdivision at 8966 Hill Dr: This 0.67acre property is located on Lot 375-A, in Sec. 58, T7S, R1E, GLD, EBR. The applicant requests a pre‐ liminary/final plat to subdivide one lot into two lots, including a flag lot, in the A1 Single Fam‐ ily Residential Zoning District.

(Applicant: Melinda Krebs, Richmond W. Krebs & Associates, LLC, on behalf of Victor Szegfu) S-25-0107 Exchange of Property at 17630 Perkins Rd & 17731 Highland Rd: This combined 4.54-acre properties is comprised of Lots Y-1-A and A-1-A-1 of the Rufus D. Hayes Tract in Sec. 56, T8S-R2E, GLD, EBR, LA. The appli‐ cant requests an ex‐ change of property be‐ tween two lots in the R Rural Zoning District.

(Applicant: Robert Over‐ all, Centerline Engineer‐ ing & Land Surveying, on behalf of Beth Clay‐ b )

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, witness my official signature on this 11th day of December 2025, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. _________________________________ Stephen Hightower, Secretary / Treasurer Motion Carried Discussion was held in connection with an addendum to the CEA with Patton Productions for the creation of the Film Trail.

A motion was made by Mary Stein and seconded by Jeremy Fontenot to adopt the following resolution: RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VISIT BATON ROUGE(“VBR”) CONCERNING AN AMENDMENT TO THAT CERTAIN COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR AGREEMENT WITH PATTON PRODUCTIONS, INC. (“PATTON”) RELATING TO THE CREATION OF THE VISIT BATON ROUGE FILM TRAIL (the “FILM TRAIL”)

STATE OF LOUISIANA

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DECEMBER 11, 2025 WHEREAS, in March 2024 VBR entered into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with Patton for the creation of the Film Trail (the “CEA”).

WHEREAS, Pursuant to Section 2(b)(ix) of the CEA, Patton was required to complete the Development Phase of the Film Trail, as such term is defined in the CEA, prior to December 31, 2025.

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Development Phase of the Trail be extended to December 31, 2026.

WHEREAS, VBR professional staff agrees that such an extension is warranted and recommends to the Board that VBR grant such an extension.

WHEREAS, to authorize the President & CEO and the Chairman of the Board to enter into and deliver an amendment to the CEA described above and to attend to any other matters necessary and convenient to same, the following resolutions are offered: NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board hereby authorizes and directs Jill C. Kidder, President & CEO, and the Chairman of the Board, acting in their joint discretion, to negotiate, execute, deliver and cause to be performed an amendment to the CEA between VBR and Patton relating to the Film Trail, extending the completion date for the Development Phase of the Film Trail, as such Term is defined in the CEA, from December 31, 2025 to December 31, 2026.

Motion Carried.

There being no old business on the agenda, a motion was made by Stephen Hightower and seconded by Jeremy Fontenot to adjourn the meeting.

Motion Carried.

172474-601869-jan 3-1t $ 855.54

WHEREAS, Patton has requested that the completion date of the

Legal Notices

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bourn)

Zoning Commission Z-25-0100 R to LC2 at 14050 Tiger Bend Rd: This 2.59-acre property is lo‐ cated on Tract X-1 of the Harelson Property in Sec. 60, T7S-R2E, GLD. The ap‐ plicant requests to re‐ zone from R Rural to LC2 Light Commercial Two Zoning District. (Appli‐ cant: Kevin Pearson, Louisiana Cheer Force, on behalf of Power House Enterprises, LLC) 171285-dec 20-27-jan 3-3t $135.31

Public Notices Successions

PUBLIC NOTICE --IN THE MATTER OF THE SUCCESSION OF La‐ JEANNE ALICE POSEY DUPUY PROBATE NO. 101,758 SECTION 24 19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE STATE OF LOUISIANA NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO SELL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY AT PRIVATE SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Administrator of this succession has peti‐ tioned this Court for au‐ thority to sell immovable property of this succes‐ sion at private sale, the succession’s interest being valued at Eight Thousand and No/100 ($8,000.00) Dollars. The immovable property pro‐ posed to be sold is de‐ scribed as follows: ALL OF THE RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST THAT THIS SUCCESSION MAY HAVE IN AND TO: TWO (2) LOTS or parcels of ground situated in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, in Section 11, Township 7 South, Range 11 East, in that part thereof known as South Abita Springs Subdivi‐ sion (n/k/a Tammany Hills Subdivision), in Square 28, and being designated as LOTS 39 and 41. Each lot mea‐ sures twenty-nine (29') feet front on Tenth Street by a depth of one hun‐ dred ten (110') feet be‐ tween equal and parallel lines.

Any heir or creditor who opposes the proposed transfer must file his op‐ position within seven (7) days from the date on which the last publica‐ tion of this notice ap‐ pears.

BY ORDER OF THE COURT. _____________________ Deputy Clerk of Court

By Attorneys: McCOLLISTER, McCLEARY & FAZIO, A PLC 11616 Southfork Avenue, Suite 302 Post Office Box 40686 (70835) Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816 Telephone: (225) 292-8898 Email: tfazio@eatel.net BY:__________________ Thomas D. Fazio - Bar Roll No. 16911 172502-JAN 3-24-2T $89.12

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