Historic plantation house destroyed by fire in May
BYQUINN COFFMAN Staff writer
The Nottowayplantation house will be rebuilt “exactly” as it stood before the May fire that totaled it, endingits reign as the largest antebellum home in the South, its owner says.
improves communication,
BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer
The Baton Rouge Police Department has introduceda new, 16-footdrone into itsarsenal this year
Thedrone is oneof30suchtools thedepartment now has and will help prioritize safety for officers and residents, according to BRPD Chief Thomas “TJ” Morse.
The Stalker VXE30, madebyLockheed Martin, can help locate fugitives using thermal imaging, and police officers can communicate with suspects via the drone, enabling safer communication. The rest of the department’sdrone fleet is smallerand allows officers to see things outof their line of sight.
“It’sade-escalation tactic, instead of a
See DRONE, page 4A
BY SCOTT BAUERand THERESA BRAINE
Associated Pressand Newyork Daily News (TNS)
Investigators working on the disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’smother areconsulting with Walmart management to develop leads because abackpack the suspect was wearing is sold exclusivelyatthe stores,the Pima County,Arizona, sheriffsaid Monday Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and was reportedmissing
ä See GUTHRIE, page 4A
“It was asad day,May 15. It was asad day for us,” Dan Dyess said. “Part of us saidwecould just sell and leave, but we didn’twant to leave alegacy of just leaving Nottoway on the ground.”
When the fire started,Dyesswas driving down fromNatchitoches, where he owns thehistoricSteel Magnolia House.Hehad the progress of thefire describedtohim in increasingly hopeless phonecalls. By thetime he reached Nottoway, theelectrical fire hadbeen blazing for nearlyfour hours. It had started on the
southern side, wherethe basement museum was located, then spread quickly inside to all three floors.
Afterthe fire, Dyess said, he received calls from people alloverthe world, speaking “about how much they love Nottoway.”
Even so, Dyess said he was surprised the fire became nationalnews. The news cyclewas dominated by questions of whether it is propertohost weddings
See NOTTOWAY, page 4A
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS NottowayPlantation was destroyedbya fire on May15.
ABOVE: Paradegoers call for beads andcandy being tossed froma floatduringthe Krewe of Shenandoahparade on Monday RIGHT: Arider looks for someone to toss a toytoasthe Krewe of Shenandoah parade rolls along on Monday night.
STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON
Administration ordered to restore slavery exhibits
PHILADELPHIA A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore the slavery exhibits that the National Park Service removed from the President’s House last month.
U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, a George W. Bush appointee, issued a ruling Monday requiring the federal government to “restore the President’s House Site to its physical status as of January 21, 2026,” which is the day before the exhibits were removed.
The order does not give the government a deadline for the restoration of the site. It does require that the National Park Service take steps to maintain the site and ensure the safety of the exhibits, which memorialize the enslaved people who lived in George Washington’s Philadelphia home during his presidency and were abruptly removed in January Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration filed a federal lawsuit arguing that dismantling the exhibits was an “arbitrary and capricious” act that violated a 2006 cooperative agreement between the city and the federal government
The federal government has the option to appeal the judge’s order During a hearing last month, Rufe called the federal government’s argument that a president could unilaterally change the exhibits displayed in national parks “horrifying” and “dangerous.” She ordered the federal government to ensure the panels’ safe keeping after an inspection and a visit to the President’s House earlier this month.
Israeli to be charged with killing activist RAMALLAH, West Bank Israeli prosecutors said Monday that they plan to charge a settler in the killing of a Palestinian activist during a confrontation that was caught on video, opening a rare prosecution of violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
The death in July of Awdah Hathaleen has drawn particular attention due to his involvement in the 2025 Oscar-winning film “No Other Land,” which chronicled Palestinian villagers’ fight to stay on their land. The case also stands out because the confrontation between Palestinians and Yinon Levi, an internationally sanctioned settler, was captured on video from multiple vantage points.
In a video that family members say was taken by Hathaleen himself, Levi could be seen firing toward the person holding the camera. Another showed Levi firing two shots without showing where the bullets struck. An Israeli judge released Levi from custody six months ago, citing a lack of evidence that he fired the shots that killed Hathaleen.
Israel’s State Attorney General’s office confirmed in a statement Monday that it had initiated proceedings to indict Levi. It did not specify the charges.
Khalil Hathaleen, Awdah’s brother, said the family was glad some measure of justice was being pursued but felt the charge of “reckless homicide” was insufficient.
“It was an intentional killing in broad daylight, with prior intent and premeditation,” he said Explosion in China kills 8 ahead of Lunar New Year
BEIJING An explosion and fire at a fireworks shop in eastern China has killed eight people and left two others with minor burns ahead of the Lunar New Year, authorities said.
The Sunday afternoon blast in a village in Jiangsu province was caused by a resident setting off fireworks improperly near the store, the Donghai county government said in a statement. Setting off firecrackers at midnight on the Lunar New Year is a tradition in China, but many places have banned fireworks in recent years, at least in part because of air pollution.
The Lunar New Year falls on Tuesday It will mark the start of the year of the horse in the Chinese
3 dead in shooting at R.I. rink
3 also hospitalized in incident authorities say may have been
family
dispute
BY KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press
PAWTUCKET, R.I Three people, including the suspect, were fatally shot during a Rhode Island youth hockey game Monday, authorities said.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that three other victims are hospitalized in critical condition.
“It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” she said. Goncalves did not provide details about the suspect or the ages of those who were killed, though she said it appeared that both victims were adults.
She said investigators are trying to piece together what happened and speak with witnesses of the shooting inside Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence They are also reviewing video taken from the hockey game. Unverified footage circulating on social media shows players diving for cover and fans fleeing their seats after popping sounds are heard.
Outside the arena, tearful families and high school hockey players still in uniform could be seen hugging before they boarded a bus to leave the area. Roads surrounding the arena were shut down as a heavy police presence remained and helicopters flew overhead.
Pawtucket is nestled just north of Providence and right under the Massachusetts state border A city of just under 80,000, Pawtucket had up until recently been known as the home to Hasbro’s headquarters.
Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall dies
BY BOB THOMAS Associated Press
LOS ANGELES Robert Duvall, the Oscar-winning actor of matchless versatility and dedication whose classic roles included the intrepid consigliere of the first two “Godfather” movies and the over-the-hill country music singer in “Tender Mercies,” has died at age 95.
Duvall died “peacefully” at his home Sunday in Middleburg, Virginia, according to an announcement from his publicist and from a statement posted on his Facebook page by his wife, Luciana Duvall.
“To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything,” Luciana Duvall wrote. “His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented.”
The bald, wiry Duvall didn’t have leading man looks, but few “character actors” enjoyed such a long, rewarding and unpredictable career, in leading and supporting roles, from an itinerant preacher to Josef Stalin Beginning with his 1962 film debut as Boo Radley, the reclusive neighbor in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Duvall created a gallery of unforgettable portrayals. They earned him seven Academy Award nominations and the best actor prize for “Tender Mercies,” which came out in 1983.
He also won four Golden Globes, including one for playing the philosophical cattle-drive boss in the 1989 miniseries “Lonesome Dove,” a role he often cited as his favorite. In 2005, Duvall was awarded a National Medal of Arts.
He had been acting for some 20 years when “The Godfather,” released in 1972, established him as one of the most in-demand performers of Hollywood. He had made a previous film, “The Rain People,” with Francis Coppola, and the director chose him to play Tom Hagen in the mafia epic that featured Al Pacino and Marlon Brando among others. Duvall was a master of subtlety as an Irishman among Italians, rarely at the center of a scene, but often listening and advising in the background, an irreplaceable thread through the saga of the Corleone crime family “Stars and Italians alike depend on his efficiency, his tidying up around their grand gestures, his being the perfect shortstop on a team of personality sluggers,” wrote the critic David Thomson. Was there ever a role better designed for its actor than that of Tom Hagen in both parts of ‘The Godfather?’”
who with equal vigor enjoyed surfing and bombing raids on the Viet Cong. Duvall required few takes for one of the most famous passages in movie history, barked out on the battlefield by a bare-chested, cavalry-hatted Kilgore: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn’t find one of ’em, not one stinkin’ dink body “The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like — victory.”
Coppola once commented about Duvall: “Actors click into character at different times — the first week, third week. Bobby’s hot after one or two takes.”
Research, planning, energy
Fellow actors marveled at Duvall’s studious research and planning, and his coiled energy. Michael Caine, who co-starred with him in the 2003 “Secondhand Lions,” once told The Associated Press: “Before a big scene, Bobby just sits there, absolutely quiet; you know when not to talk to him.” Anyone who disturbed him would suffer the wellknown Duvall temper, famously on display during the filming of the John Wayne Western “True Grit,” when Duvall seethed at director Henry Hathaway’s advice to “tense up” before a scene.
a prize he accepted while clad in a cowboy tuxedo with Western tie. In 1998, he was nominated for best actor in “The Apostle,” a drama about a wayward Southern evangelist which he wrote, directed, starred in, produced and largely financed. With customary thoroughness, he visited dozens of country churches and spent 12 years writing the script and trying to get it made. In his mid-80s, he received a supporting Oscar nomination as the title character of the 2014 release “The Judge,” in which he is accused of causing a death in a hit-and-run accident. More recent films included “Widows” and “12 Mighty Orphans.”
Son of admiral, actress Robert Selden Duvall grew up in the Navy towns of Annapolis and the San Diego area, where he was born in 1931. He spent time in other cities as his father, who rose to be an admiral, was assigned to various duties.
Bobby took after his mother, an amateur actress, in playing a guitar and performing. He was a wrestler like his father and enjoyed besting kids older than himself.
In another Coppola film, “Apocalypse Now,” Duvall was wildly out front, the embodiment of deranged masculinity as Lt. Col Bill Kilgore,
Duvall was awarded an Oscar in 1984 for his leading role as the troubled singer and songwriter Mac Sledge in “Tender Mercies,”
Iran meets U.N. nuclear watchdog in Switzerland
BY JAMEY KEATEN and STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN Associated Press
GENEVA Iran’s top diplomat met with the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on Monday ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and said he would also meet with Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi of Oman, which is hosting the U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday “I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Araghchi wrote on X. “What is not on the table: submission before threats.”
As U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an additional aircraft carrier to the region, Iran on Monday launched a second naval drill in weeks, state TV reported It said the drill would test Iran’s intelligence and operational capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman
Just before the talks, Iran announced its paramilitary Revolutionary
Guard started the drill early Monday morning in the waterways that are crucial international trade routes through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Separately, EOS Risk Group said sailors passing through the region received by radio a warning that the northern lane of the Strait of Hormuz, in Iranian territorial waters, likely would see a livefire drill Tuesday Iranian state TV did not mention the live fire drill. This is the second time in recent weeks sailors have received warning about an Iranian live fire drill. During the previous exercise, announced at the end of January the U.S. military’s Central Command issued a
strongly worded warning to Iran and the Revolutionary Guard. While acknowledging Iran’s “right to operate professionally in international airspace and waters,” it warned against interfering or threatening American warships or passing commercial vessels.
The Trump administration is seeking a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program and ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons. On Sunday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled that Tehran could be open to compromise on the nuclear issue, but is looking for an easing of international sanctions led by the United States.
He lacked the concentration for schoolwork and nearly flunked out of Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. His despairing parents decided he needed something to keep him in college so he wouldn’t be drafted for the Korean War. “They recommended acting as an expedient thing to get through,” he recalled. “I’m glad they did.”
zodiac.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK STOCKWELL
A woman reacts near the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, R.I after a shooting at the ice rink on Monday.
PHOTO PROVIDED By IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, and International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi meet Monday in Geneva
Duvall
Minn. denied access to evidence in shooting
BY JEFF DAY The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)
The Trump administration has formally denied Minnesota law enforcement access to information and evidence from the FBI investigation into the shooting death of Alex Pretti by federal agents on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis.
The announcement comes in the wake of White House border czar Tom Homan announcing the end of Operation Metro Surge and a drawdown of federal agents in Minnesota Homan’s arrival came in the wake of global outrage over the killing of Pretti, and Homan vowed a renewed focus on cooperation between state and federal officials.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a news release Monday that the FBI notified him last week that it will not share evidence from its investigation with the state. Evans said the BCA has continued to request access to federal investigative materials not only from the killing of Pretti but also from the killing of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan 7 in south Minneapolis and the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis by a federal agent in north Minneapolis on Jan. 14.
“While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to thorough, independent and transparent investigations of these incidents,” Evans said, “even if hampered by a lack of access to key information and evidence.”
streets. Trump’s left hand cannot investigate his right hand. The families of the deceased deserve better.”
Last week, Walz said the state and federal governments were “very close” to an agreement to share investigative materials.
“We’re only asking for what’s always been done,” Walz said. “We’re only asking for the right thing. Justice needs to be served.”
Pullback from deal
Two weeks ago, people familiar with the ongoing effort to repair relationships between the federal and state governments told the Minnesota Star Tribune the announcement of a joint investigation between the FBI and BCA into the killing of Pretti was imminent. That announcement never came.
per hand to announce it.”
After Pretti was killed by a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer, BCA investigators were denied access to the crime scene on Nicollet Avenue by federal agents, despite having a judicial warrant granting them access. That led several state political and law enforcement leaders to argue that Minnesota had entered an unprecedented situation where the federal government was refusing to adhere to state laws.
The BCA, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Minnesota Attorney General’s Office have been working together to conduct an independent state investigation into the killings of Good and Pretti.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement Monday that the federal government’s refusal to cooperate shows it is “not confident in their agents’ actions or their im-
Winter storm wallops California with high winds, heavy rain, snow
BY KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press
California was walloped Monday by a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.
Millions of Los Angeles County residents faced flash flood warnings as rain pounded the region and people in some areas scarred by last year’s devastating wildfires were under an evacuation warning through Tuesday because of the potential for mud and debris flows.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ordered emergency crews and city departments to be ready to respond to any problems.
The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported. In Santa Barbara County, a large tree toppled onto U.S. 101, shutting down southbound lanes.
Forecasters said the west-
ern slope of the Sierra Nevada, northern Shasta County — including portions of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state’s Coast Range could see up to 8 feet of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday. The heavy snow, wind and low visibility could also make travel conditions dangerous to near impossible, forecasters added. “It has seemed ‘springlike’ for a large part of 2026, but winter is set to show it’s not quite done yet,” the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post urging residents to stay aware of the storm.
California’s Office of Emergency Services said it was placing fire and rescue personnel and resources in areas most at risk for flooding, mud and debris flows. In Southern California, Six Flags Magic Mountain was closed Monday due to the storm, and Knotts Berry Farm amusement park shut its doors early But the winter weather was celebrated by local ski resorts that have waited weeks for snow Other states on Monday braced for different threatening weather events. Resi-
dents in parts of eastern Colorado received warnings that they could be in fire danger due to a combination of abnormally high temperatures, gusty winds and dry conditions. The risks were expected to continue further into the week as gusts up to 60 mph are likely to hit the Colorado eastern plains on Tuesday Parts of Texas, New Mexico and Kansas were also under red flag warnings. The latest storm comes amid a snow drought across much of the American West, with snow cover and depth measuring at the lowest levels scientists have seen in decades. Most states saw half their average precipitation or less in January though California fared better others due to heavy rains in December It was the first of several days of stormy weather forecast for California. A coastal flood advisory was in effect for San Francisco until Tuesday afternoon, with cooler showers and a chance of hail on Tuesday, while nearby mountains were expecting snow the National Weather Service in Monterey reported.
Researcher pulled from Texas cave
BY MARIA SALETTE ONTIVEROS
(TNS)
The Dallas Morning News
A woman was rescued early Sunday after sustaining head and back injuries inside Sorcerer’s Cave in Terrell County, according to officials involved in the response
The incident occurred about 7 p.m Saturday. The caver was part of a research group exploring the underground river inside Sorcerer’s Cave, which, according to the Texas Speleological Survey, is the deepest known cave in the state
The caver was beginning her ascent out of the River Pit, approximately 470 feet underground, when a rock dislodged above her and struck her head and back, according to information released by officials. Rescue operations took about nine hours
and were completed around 4:45 a.m. Sunday
Members of the cave team began medical care and initiated vertical rescue procedures. The rescue required transporting the injured woman through narrow passages and multiple vertical pits, ranging in depth from about 30 to 90 feet.
More than 60 emergency personnel from multiple agencies responded to assist in the rescue effort.
The U.S. Border Patrol’s Search, Trauma and Rescue Team made contact with the cave team around 3 a.m. Sunday The team assisted with transporting the injured person through a passage and two vertical pits, relayed updates to surface teams and provided additional rope systems to continue the rescue.
mediate response.” She praised the BCA for its efforts to conduct a joint investigation but said that even without federal cooperation, the “work continues” on a state investigation.
Gov Tim Walz posted on social media that, “Minnesota needs impartial investigations into the shootings of American citizens on our
Walz said the Trump administration pulled back from the joint investigation after details of the agreement were reported by the Star Tribune before it was formally announced.
Walz said there’s a “contingent” within the FBI and federal government that understands the best way to investigate the fatal shootings is jointly with the state. The framework for a joint investigation is in place, he said.
“It’s just a matter of them feeling like they have an up-
The BCA and other law enforcement offices in Minnesota have longstanding ties to the FBI and a history of working together on criminal investigations of all sorts. The rupture in the relationship first became apparent after the killing of Good, when Trump administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, quickly branded Good a domestic terrorist, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the federal government was not investigating Ross.
“The Department of Justice, our civil rights unit, we don’t just go out and investigate every time an officer is forced to defend himself against somebody putting his life in danger,” Blanche said. “We never do.”
Agreat savingsalternative forbusinesseslooking fora solid investment withoutrisking principal.
Hundreds of flowers and pieces of art are on display Saturday at the memorial site for Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
DRONE
Continued from page 1A
confrontation between the officer and the suspect. Now you have a drone that you can talk through,” Morse said.
The department received a grant of around $1 million in the beginning of 2025 to buy the drone, train the officers and establish proper regulations. It took about a year to prepare it for flight.
Morse said the department’s drones operate under the same rules as police officers and only go to locations where there is probable cause or reasonable suspicion.
The drone has a camera positioned to look toward the horizon and only looks down when activated by an officer
money each year without helicopters. The department did not provide The Advocate with an average annual savings figure.
Having a helicopter instead of a drone would be more beneficial only in a rural area, according to Sgt Dustin Conde, not an urban city like Baton Rouge.
“In rural places, I can understand the need for a helicopter because it could be an hour and 45-minute drive to get an injured person to a hospital,” Conde said.
out about using the thermal imaging,” Morse said. “If they say, ‘Hey, we have a large structural fire,’ we can put a drone up and look at the thermal imaging and say there’s still a hot spot in this area you can put water on.”
As the department continues its training on the drone, the FAA requires that it has a visual on the drone at all times.
“Anytime you see an officer deploy a drone, it’s for a reason. It’s for a suspect, it’s for a call, if for police reasons that officer has justification to go here or there, they’re just sending the drone in for safety,” Morse said.
NOTTOWAY
Continued from page 1A
and vacation stays on the grounds. Some people celebrated its destruction.
Dyess said the “disheartening” backlash has motivated him to consider a “memorial” to Nottoway’s enslaved Black population, though the details are still unclear. He views rebuilding as his due diligence to the White Castle community and to visitors who still have fond memories of the place. Salvage and demolition start this week, Dyess said.
Almost all of the mansion’s white-painted old-growth cypress boards sit charred in untouched piles around the base of the structure. While a sooty skeleton of Nottoway’s façade still stands, the north-facing portico is completely gone, with only stacks of bricks and snapped cast-iron railings where it stood.
The ruin’s tallest heights are now the tops of blackened pillars, which narrow to points where the third floor once was. A large needlepoint rug hangs from one of those pillars; it was original to the house but is now too burned for its pinkand-white floral pattern to be recognized.
Fire investigation teams with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were required to knock down the house’s remaining chimneys over fears of them collapsing on workers
The surviving granite front staircases are still cluttered with discarded fire hoses, left when Nottoway’s ceiling collapsed, making entry impossible.
Despite the damage, Dyess said he’s committed to rebuilding Nottoway regardless of the time or cost. He estimates the former at two or three years and the latter at “several million dollars.”
No insurance was purchased for Nottoway before the fire due to the cost, Dyess said. And he thinks it’s unlikely he’ll receive any grant funding for historical preservation. Dyess hopes to rely in part on the support of those who had a fondness for the historic home. In the months since the fire, stays in the property’s cottages and even a few rentals of the Randolph ballroom have continued.
In November Dyess and his wife, Desiree, opened a restaurant on the grounds with a new chef. Traffic to “Randolph’s at Nottoway” has been steady, Dyess said.
Dyess says one way he is raising funds is through donations by selling engraved bricks for $150 that will be laid along the recreated plantation house’s paths.
“We’re doing everything in our power with the people working here to improve the property,” Dyess said. “Planning painting, replacing stuff, keeping everything going by having a restaurant, hav-
GUTHRIE
Continued from page 1A
the following day Authorities say her blood was found on the front porch. Purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for paying have passed The Federal Bureau of Investigation released surveillance videos of a masked person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door in Tucson the night she vanished.
A porch camera recorded video of a person with a backpack who was wearing a ski mask, long pants, a jacket and gloves.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a text message to The Associated Press on Monday that the 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack was the only clothing item that has been “definitively identified.”
“Because it’s unmanned, you don’t have to worry about the drone crashing and injuring someone,” Morse said.
While helicopters offer the benefit of an officer in the air patrolling, they are expensive to maintain. Morse said the department will save a substantial amount of
Officer safety has been the top priority for the department after a fatal helicopter crash in 2023 killed two officers. The department disbanded its Air Support Unit and handed over use of the unit’s hangar to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. The drones are helping to fill that gap.
“We don’t have that here From anywhere in the city, you are about a 10-minute drive away from a hospital.”
Using drones in police forces has become increasingly common across the country, said Morse. It’s a safer and cost-effective form of everyday policing that can benefit multiple public safety departments.
“Fire departments have reached
An angel statue looks over the charred remains of Nottoway Plantation on Jan.
ing a gift shop. We don’t want to quit, and we won’t quit until we get this done.”
Dyess estimates that 54% of the original building survived, primarily in the unburned garçonnière and the ground floor He calls that a sign that the mansion can be remade authentically, not as a replica.
Of Nottoway’s original square entrance pillars, only the leftmost survived the blaze, which was the one still bearing a notch from where grapeshot struck and lodged itself during the Civil War. To Dyess, this is another sign his rebuild is a legitimate extension of the original property
It’s those same 20-inch, oldgrowth cypress pillars that architect Shane Aymond predicts will pose the greatest challenge for his team during the rebuild.
“You can’t get wood that wide anymore without it wanting to curl,” said Aymond, an architect with more than 23 years of experience in restoring historic homes.
“The wood on that house right there was cured for so many years, and it was all virgin cypress.”
Aymond plans to use treated cypress replacements for the pillars to ensure they can support the house’s weight without twisting or buckling.
That’s one of the dozens of structural, material and design hurdles faced in accurately rebuilding the pre-Civil War mansion.
Aymond’s team will consult the few available historical primary sources and the plentiful images of the original structure. Then they will either procure the same wood, brick or plaster believed to be used in the original or the best approximation.
Wherever possible, structurally sound original materials that survived the fire will be used.
“The goal is to recreate the house as authentic as possible to the actual construction that was done in 1859,” Aymond said.
Aymond said that for days after the fire, he couldn’t stop thinking about the ruins. That feeling didn’t go away until he contacted Dyess, he said.
“I needed to call this man, I need-
“This backpack is exclusive to Walmart and we are working with Walmart management to develop further leads,” Nanos said. The suspect’s clothing “may have been purchased from Walmart but is not exclusively available at Walmart,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Monday “This remains a possibility only.”
Investigators on Sunday announced that a glove discovered near the Guthrie home has been sent for DNA testing. The FBI said that it received preliminary results Saturday and was awaiting official confirmation. The development comes as law enforcement gathers more potential evidence. Authorities previously said they had not identified a suspect
The FBI said the suspect in the surveillance footage is a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build Nanos said on Monday that mem-
ed to find out who he was, and I needed to offer my help,” Aymond said. “He could have said no, but he didn’t. He could’ve gone with a massive well-known builder, but he didn’t.”
What followed was extensive research Aymond contacted author Robert Brantley, who wrote a biography on Henry Howard, the famed architect of the original Nottoway Brantley provided a copy of the original contract between Howard and sugar cane planter John Randolph, which included details on the house’s construction However, in his search, Aymond was repeatedly told that Randolph deliberately destroyed the original designs to keep Nottoway unique.
In addition to local craftsmen, Aymond has brought in specialists from Washington D.C. and New York to recreate the home’s mantles and plaster frieze work.
A central Louisiana team will handle the new cypress planks inside the house and some of the original planks for the outside siding. Finding era-appropriate antique furniture will be easier and will include a few recovered original drapes alongside recreations.
Aymond and Dyess say the goal is to rebuild the structure “exactly” as it was in 1859. The biggest change is that guest rooms will be on the lowest floor, where a storage area and, later, the bowling alley once stood.
Both men say that, in some ways, the rebuild will be more accurate to the original structure than the one that burned last year For one, air-conditioning and electrical systems can be built inside the walls, hidden.
“We have a couple photos that show a balcony going around the girls’ wing that was removed over time,” Aymond said “We’re actually going to be putting it back on.” Reached for a second opinion, Kevin Harris, an architect and historical home preservationist who worked on both Magnolia Mound and Woodland plantations, estimated such a rebuild could take at least five years. He couldn’t offer a possible total cost Harris said the rebuilders must
bers of Guthrie’s family, including siblings and spouses, are not suspects.
“The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” Nanos said in a statement. Media outlet TMZ has received a fourth demand for bitcoin in exchange for the name of Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper, the entertainment news and gossip site said Monday
“I know what I saw five days ago south of the border and I was told to shut up so I know who he is and that was definitely Nancy with them,” the alleged clue-holder’s message read in part, according to TMZ. Monday’s missive was the second to reference multiple kidnappers and a possible international component, TMZ noted.
The bitcoin account matched the one in the previous three notes TMZ has received, the outlet said, referring to the sender as
“Either we have to see it from the launch site or have people stationed to where they can keep a visual line of sight on it and keep radio contact with the pilot,” Morse said.
Morse said the stigma around drones is not accurate and the department is committed to using the technology to keep the community and officers safer
“It’s really no different than what we’ve always done with the helicopter program,” Morse said. “This is just a lot more safer and cost-effective.”
she wouldn’t criticize anyone for being glad the plantation burned, Banner said preservation is very important in her work at Woodland, down to collecting every discarded nail.
“I think the sad part of our history as Black people, as descendants of enslaved people, is that sometimes these houses are the only material thing that we have left of our ancestors,” she said.
balance the cost and ease of new construction materials and techniques with the preservation of the building’s history An owner wanting only a wedding venue might opt for the former, he said.
“It was one of the finest houses ever built in Louisiana,” Harris said. “This was the best of the best at the time, it’s a tribute to its design for sure, but it’s also a tribute to the people that actually built it They may have built it under duress, but they were master craftsmen.”
Aymond echoed that, saying the project is a way to honor enslaved builders who created Nottoway Dyess has stressed his goal is to “unify the community and our state, our nation” through “hope and not hate.”
He said he doesn’t want to rebuild the former plantation in a historically one-sided way, and that his interest in the property is historical as well as architectural and commercial.
“We’re going to probably do something, I don’t know what it would be, to memorialize,” Dyess said. “Some kind of plaque, or room, or something. We’re going to recognize that and embrace the future.”
Dyess said his model will be the Whitney Plantation in Wallace. He said he believes there’s room for such an acknowledgment while still keeping the property as a business open for weddings, corporate retreats and bed-and-breakfast stays.
Jo Banner is a co-owner of Woodland Plantation in St. John the Baptist Parish, as well as founder of the Descendants’ Project, which is “committed to healing and flourishing of the Black descendant community in the Louisiana river parishes,” according to its site.
“My concern is, and I’ve seen other attractions do this, where they may put all of the history about enslavement relegated to one room or one statue, and say, ‘Yeah, we have acknowledged enslavement,’” Banner said.
Banner said she felt both relief and pain upon hearing Nottoway burned down and understood why there was a celebration. So while
“he.” The person has tweaked his demand since the FBI increased the potential reward to $100,000 on Friday and is now asking for $50,000 in bitcoin upfront, followed by $50,000 more after he supplies the information, TMZ said.
The outlet said it was passing all messages to the FBI and urged the person to send the information.
“We will immediately forward the information to the FBI. If it leads to finding Nancy and/or the kidnappers, you then have a public record that you are the one responsible, thus ensuring you will get the reward. The FBI is aware we are making this overture.”
The sender told TMZ that a 10-year-old burglary charge made him hesitant to come forward publicly The would-be tipster first messaged TMZ last Wednesday asking for a single bitcoin — about $67,000 — for information on Nancy’s whereabouts. A second message was sent on Thursday
Banner said including the descendants of Black Americans enslaved on a plantation is necessary in any future decisions about such locations, especially when the sites are operated as businesses. To her, even if the destruction of the site was wanted, the fire was an accident, not a direct choice by descendants. Some of her suggestions, including connecting with local Black faith leaders and studying the work at Whitney Plantation, had already been taken up by Dyess in the wake of the fire.
Mia Crawford-Johnson lives in Baton Rouge and traces some of her family heritage to Nottoway and other plantations along River Road. Photos Crawford-Johnson posted the day of the fire, which show her and her cousins celebrating on the levee above Nottoway, went viral during the fire’s news cycle.
She drove to White Castle after hearing the plantation was burning. Before leaving, she made sure to grab a bottle of House of Mandela wine from South Africa. As the house still smoldered, CrawfordJohnson stood on the grounds and poured the wine out.
“Nelson Mandela represented freedom,” Crawford-Johnson said. “I intentionally poured that wine as tribute to the ancestors that once roamed that plantation. We often forget about the things that took place on plantations.”
Crawford-Johnson said she thought of Nottoway as a place interested in honoring slave owners more than the enslaved themselves, and noted the resort’s website at the time of the fire didn’t mention the 155 men, women and children believed to have been enslaved there in 1860.
Crawford-Johnson said she isn’t fully against reconstructing the house, however, as long as proper memorials are made.
“They need to do something to honor those ancestors that were on that land,” Crawford-Johnson said, “because those spirits are still there and they’re never going to go away.”
While Dyess is excited about the new restaurant and the prospect of the rebuild, he acknowledges the long road ahead.
“It’s the legacy thing. I’m 71 years old,” Dyess said. “I don’t know how many more years I got. Nobody knows how many more years anybody got, but we didn’t want our legacy to be that we left Nottoway on the ground.”
and a third on Friday in which he promised to reveal “the name of the main individual” once the first payment had been deposited. It was the first indication that more than one person may be involved, TMZ said.
Savannah Guthrie pleaded once again for Nancy’s return in a short video late Sunday
“It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope. And we still believe,” the “Today” co-host said in a video posted to Instagram.
“And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone,” she continued haltingly appearing to search for the right words. “And it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here And we believe And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.”
PROVIDED PHOTO
The Baton Rouge Police Department’s Stalker VXE30 drone is manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
28.
Larrymarks 15 yearsasU.K.’spolitical topcat
Chiefmouseris symbol of stability in turbulenttimes
BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press
LONDON In turbulent political times, stability comes with four legs, whiskers and afondness for napping.
Larry the cat celebrated 15 years on Sunday as the British government’sofficial rodent-catcher and unofficial first feline, areassuring presence who has served under six prime ministers. Sometimesitseems like they have served under him.
“Larry the cat’sapproval ratings will be very high,” said Philip Howell, aCambridge University professor who has studied the history of human-animal relations.
“And prime ministers tend not to hit those numbers.
“He represents stability and that’satapremium.
The gray-and-white tabby’srags-to-riches story has taken him from strayon the streets to Britain’sseat of power,10Downing St., where he bears the official title Chief Mousertothe Cabinet Office.
Larry,the
Adoptedfrom London’s Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by then-Prime Minister David Cameron, Larry entered Downing Street on Feb. 15, 2011. According to aprofile on theU.K.government website, his duties include “greetinggueststo thehouse, inspecting security defenses and testingantique furniture for napping quality.”
Larry roams freely and
has aknack for upstaging world leaders arriving at 10 Downing St.’sfamous black door,tothe delight of news photographers.
“He’s great at photobombing,” said Justin Ng, a freelance photographerwho hascome to knowLarry well over the years. “If there’sa foreignleader that’sabout to visit then we know he’ll just come out at the exact momentthatmeet-and-greet is
about to happen.”
Larry hasmet many world leaders, who sometimes have to steparoundorover him. It has been observed that he is largely unfriendly to men, though he took a likingtoformer U.S.President Barack Obama, and he drew asmile from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on one of the Ukrainian leader’s visitstoLondon.
WhenU.S. President Don-
ald Trump visited in 2019, Larry crashed the official doorstep photo and then took anap under the Beast, the president’sarmored car Reports of Larry’srodentcatching skills vary,though he has been photographed snagging the occasional mouse —and, once, apigeon, which escaped.
“He’smore of alover than afighter,” Ng said. “He’s very good at what he does: lounging around and basically showingpeoplethat he’svery nonchalant.”
Larryhas cohabited, sometimesuneasily,with prime ministerial pets including Boris Johnson’sJack Russell crossDilyn andRishi Sunak’sLabrador retriever Nova. He is kept well away from current PrimeMinister Keir Starmer’sfamily cats, JoJo andPrince, who inhabit the private family quarters while Larry rules the working areas of Downing Street. He had avolatile relationship with Palmerston, diplomatic top cat at the Foreign Officeacrossthe street from No. 10. The pair were caught tusslingseveral times before Palmerston retiredin 2020. Palmerston diedthis month in Bermuda, where
he was serving as “feline relations consultant” to the governor
Meanwhile, Larry abides. He is 18 or 19,and has slowed down abit, but continues to patrol his turf and to sleep on awindowledge above aradiator just inside the No. 10 door He is British softpower in felineform, and woe betide anyprime minister who got rid of him
“A cat-hating PM, that seems to me to be political suicide,” said Howell. He said Larry’sstatus as nonpartisan “officialpet sets him apart from the American presidential pets —most often dogs —that U.S. leaders have sometimes deployedtosoften their image.
“The fact thatcats are less tractable is part of the charm,too,”Howell said. “He’ssort of whimsically not partisan in apolitical sense, but he tends to take to somepeople and not to others and he won’t necessarily sit where you want him to sit and pose where you want him to pose.
“There is acertain kind of unruliness aboutLarry which Ithink would endear him,certainly,toBrits.”
Former President Barack Obama said in apodcast interview Saturday that aliens are real, but they aren’t at Nevada’sArea 51.
During an appearance on YouTuber Brian TylerCohen’sshow,Obama said he hadn’tseen extraterrestrials but that they existed.
“They’re not being kept in Area 51, there’sno underground facility,unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from
the president of the United States,” Obama said during a rapid-fire round of questions at theend of the interview Cohen didn’task afollowup question on thesubject, and Obamadidn’texplain hisanswerfurther
“What was thefirst question you wanted answered when you became president?” Cohen asked next.
“Whereare the aliens?” Obama replied witha laugh On Sunday,the former president released astatement on Instagram,appearingtoclarify what he meant by his comments that have
since gone viral.
“I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify.Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’slife out there.But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low,and Isaw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!” Area 51, the classified operatinglocation near the Nevada National Security Siteabout 90 miles north-
Ukrainianrefugee killed alongside boyfriendstationed at Fort Bragg
BY MARK PRICE
The Charlotte Observer(TNS)
AValentine’sDay double homicide in North Carolina is gettinginternationalattention due to one of the victims being aUkrainian refugee Kateryna Tovmash, 21, died alongside her boyfriend, Fort Bragg soldier Matthew Wade, at her home near Vass, investigators say The suspect —25-year-old Caleb Hayden Fosnaugh was captured Sunday during atraffic stop in the CoshoctonCounty,Ohio, the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office said in aFacebook post. That’smore than 460 miles from the crime scene.
“On Feb. 14 …atapproximately 7:45 a.m., Moore
County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to areport of a shooting at aresidence on Daphne Lanein Vass and locatedtwo individuals deceasedinside the home,” thesheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
“Investigators have confirmed that Tovmash and the offender,Caleb Fosnaugh, had previously been in arelationship in Ohio.”
Fosnaugh faces two counts of murder andone count of breaking and entering, the Moore County Sheriff’s Officesays.
Wade,28, is originally from Hamilton,Mississippi, and was stationed at Fort Bragg, which is about a25mile drive from Vass. Family members report Tovnash
was his girlfriend.
Tovmash moved to the U.S. twoyearsago withher family “after Russia’sfullscale invasion of Ukraine in searchofsafety,” TheNew Voice of Ukraine reports.
The double shooting has been covered by theKyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravada, theNew Voice of Ukraine and RBC Ukraine, andother mediaoutlets in Europe. Allhavenoted it’s the second killing of aUkrainianrefugeeinNorth Carolina in six months.
Iryna Zarutska, 23, was stabbedtodeathinAugust while ridingina Charlotte light rail car.The attack was random andinvolved aman sitting behind her,video showed.
N. Koreaopens housingfor families of itssoldierskilledinUkraine war
BYKIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea North Korea said Mondayitcompleted anew housing district in Pyongyang for familiesof North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, the latest effort by leader Kim Jong Un to honor the war dead. State media photos showed Kim Jong Un walking through the new street —called Saeppyol Street —and visiting the homes of some of the families with his increasingly prominent daughter,believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, as he pledged to repay the“young martyrs” who “sacrificed all to their motherland.” In recent months, North Korea has intensified propaganda glorifying troops deployedtofight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, such as establishing amemorial wall and building amuseum. Analysts see it as an effort to bol-
tionswith
makers it estimated 6,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded duringtheir deployment in the war,but did not provide a breakdown of fatalities. The agency said last year it believed roughly 600 had died.
west of Las Vegas, haslong captured popularculture’s attention as agovernment facility believed to be holding UFOs and aliens. In reality, the site has been atest bed for thenation’s high-tech aircraft dating back to whenitwas establishedin1955totestthe high-flying U-2 spyplane. But the U.S. government did not acknowledge the facility’sexistence until 2013, when the CIA declassified documentsconfirming Area 51’suse as atesting sitefor U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. The secrecy surrounding
the site’spurpose hasmade
Area 51 the subject of countless out-of-this-world conspiracies, includingclaims that the facility holds pieces of alien spacecraftand technology that workers are trying to reverse-engineer
National media attention turned to Area 51 in September 2019 after aviral social media post saw millions demanda glimpse of extraterrestrial life.
Atongue-in-cheek Facebook event madebyCalifornia man Matty Roberts had more than 2million people sign up to storm Area 51, all
pledging to run into the facility and “see them aliens.” What began as an online joke became afour-day musicfestival knownasAlienstock that drew thousands to the small Lincoln County communities of Rachel and Hiko, both near Area 51. An Ipsos poll conducted during theStormArea51social media movement found aquarter of Americans thoughtthatcrashed UFO spacecrafts are held at the site. Slightly more than half of Americans, 52 percent, believedthat extraterrestrial lifeexists.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By FRANK AUGSTEIN
Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, walks outside10Downing St.in2020.
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LOUISIANA AT LARGE
It’s halftime, nota hobby
Five, six, seven, eight.
When Iwalked into Premiere Fitness in Metairie on Feb. 7, Nelly’s“Hot in Herre” was already in full rotation and27 senior adults were fanning their facestothe beat. Then they started moving.
“Group One comes in on one. Group Twoonthree. Group Three on five,” called out Willy Foster, choreographer andcoach. “Now,when you’re bringing that arm around to reachdown, nobody throw out ashoulder.We don’thave time for that today.”
I’m not sure what Iexpected when Iarranged to practice with the Early Birds, New Orleans Pelicans’ over-55 dance team, but Ididn’texpect Nelly
Watching the moves they had learnedinthe 30 minutesbefore Iarrived made me rethink jumping right in.
Idecided to observe. After all, Ihad photographs to take.
More than 200 people audition for the Early Birds each year Only 27 members are selected. The team reflects the full spectrum of New Orleans. Some are lifelong dancers, while others found their way back to the practice later.They perform once amonth duringhalftimeatthe SmoothieKingCenter. It’sapaid gig —anhourly rate for practices,performances and appearances. There are Saturday practices in Metairie and adress rehearsal at the arena before each game to set andperfect the routine. This is not ahobby class. This is halftime.
Many of the Early Birds —and Foster herself —have been with the organization since the Hornets era. Foster,35, blends serious expectationswithanunderstanding of the lives her dancers have already lived. She startedasa dancer on the Hornets’ kid team, the Stingers. As ayoung adult, she was aHoneybee for two seasons, then danced three years with the Houston Rocketsbefore returning home to coach. She’s in her sixth year working in the NBA. “I get to tie in the culture that I grew up on with the team,” Foster said.
Second-line songs, line dances, rap and other New Orleans staples are layered into their routines, eight counts at atime Under her leadership, the practice moves quickly.Water breaks are short and frequent. When dancers return totheir spots, some are peeling bananas. Team member Gwen Simpson bringsfruit to every practice one of the small gesturesthat separates this group from the typical image of professional dance rehearsals. Some call her the group’sCarmen Miranda. There is laughter.There is encouragement. There are corrections. When they moved into asection that involved eight counts of striking apose followed by another eight counts of striking adifferent pose, one of the dancers said to me, “Get in here and join us.”
Sixteen counts of posing had me thinking, “I’ve got this.” Then the music shifted to Flo Rida’s“Low,” and we were “tootsie rolling” to “apple-bottom jeans and boots with the fur.”
Idid my best to keep up.
Tworows in frontofme, Sharon Carter Sheridan, 76, was doing just fine. She’sbeen dancing
ä See RISHER, page 2B
Dancegroup subjecttoslurs
Golden Guys call Comogo parade ‘horrible’
BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer
The Baton Rouge all-maledance group, theGolden Guys, marched in the Krewe of Comogo parade in Plaquemine for the first time Sundayevening.Itmay very well be their last.
As the men danced theirway down the route, they had homophobicslurs and beads aggressively hurled at them while police officers did little to stop it, they said.
“Weget theoccasional gay comment,but this was using the‘f-ag’ slur.And Isaw the kids say it,” said Kevin Piper,amember of the group. Piper said manyofthe people whosaidthe slurswereyounger people and looked high schoolaged. He evenconfronted amom whostood by as her son shouted obscenities.
The Golden Guys is a501(c)(3) nonprofit thatraises moneyfor OurLadyof theLakeChildren’s Hospital andcelebrates inclusion
anddiversity.The group launched in 2018, and this was their seventh parade of the Mardi Gras season.
Trey White, of Baton Rouge, whowas near the back of the group, said it was one of the worst
experiences he’shad marching in aparade.
“I had someone shoving stuff in my face and yelling slurs,” White said. “Wehad people physically coming at us while we were danc-
ing. It was just completely horrible.”
Piper said he flagged down several police officers at various points along the parade route, concernedabout the Golden Guys’ safety.Hesaid the police appeared to be overwhelmed by the numberofpeople, so they didn’tseem to be able to focus on those shouting something inappropriate.
The Plaquemine PoliceDepartment andIberville Parish Sheriff’s Officedid notrespond to a request forcomment on Monday
The group will discuss among board members whetherthey will attend theparadenextyear, according to board member Jonathan Jarvis. This was their first invite andtheyhavetodecide if it’sworth the risk to return. White said that even if the group decides to go back, he will not and has no desire to be in the city
The group wasexcited to march in theparadeand complimented the artistry of their floats. Jarvis said they spoke with other Baton Rouge dance groups, like
DIRTyDEMOLITION
Manfatally shot aftercar crash, police say
CRIME BLOTTER staff reports
Aman was fatally shot Sunday on Goodwood Boulevard after his vehicle was struck and he attempted to followthe driver of the other car, BatonRouge Police said. Joshua Young, 43, was found dead in thegrass by the road, shortly before 7p.m. at 13400 Goodwood Blvd.atSouth Flannery Road,police said in anews release. Asecond victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Preliminary reports indicate that another driver struck Young’s vehicle andtried to flee thescene, andYoung followed him in his vehicle, before being fatally shot No suspects or motives have
been determined, police said. Anyone withinformation on the case is asked to contact BRPD’s ViolentCrimesDivision at (225) 389-4869 or Crime Stoppers at (225) 344-7867.
Inmate dies, 4arrested in separate investigation A32-year-old inmate at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center was found unresponsive in his cell Sunday morning. He was later pronounced dead,according to Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi. This is the fourth inmate death this year Also on Sunday, policearrested four people, including Meagen Brown, 27, of Denham Springs; Latasha Antoine, 44, of New Or-
leans; Brian Collins, 54, of California; and Shanda Paul, 40, of New Roads, forbringing contraband to acorrectional facility
All four individuals have been booked intoIberville Parish Jail to await trial. Brown allegedly hada burned glasspipe and meth in her car wheredeputies found it during avehicle search.Thatsame day, deputies allegedly found aleafy green substance in Antoine’scar Paul wasarrested forallegedly having aSmith &Wesson pistol in herpurse at thecorrectional center Collins was arrested forallegedly having twocansofmarijuana that he said were prescribed to him by adoctor The arrests follow an investigation by the Louisiana State Police to crack down on contraband in theprison andimplement new visitor search procedures. Victim of Sunday shooting identified A22-year-old man was fatally shot Sunday as he walked to his vehicle at an address on Sharp Lane, Baton Rouge Police said. The victim,David Johnson, was found dead at the sceneat567 Sharp Lane, police said in anews release. The shooting happened shortly
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Work continues on the demolitionatthe former central wastewater treatment plant offRiver Road on Thursday in Baton Rouge.
STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
The Golden Guys dance down River Road as La KreweMystique de la Capitale parade rolls throughdowntown Baton RougeonSaturday.
See SLURS, page 2B
Robert Duvall’s time remembered in Lafayette
Actor filmed ‘The Apostle’ around area
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
Fans of actor Robert Duvall today are mourning his deathatage 95 and recalling their favorite Duvall movies.
South Louisiana residents,meanwhile, are reminiscing about the time Duvall spent filming and directing “The Apostle” in Acadiana.
Released in 1997, “The Apostle” starred Duvall as a Texas preacherwho fled to Louisiana after beating his wife’slover Accordingtoonline and local sources, St. Martin Parish wasthe
primary location for themovie’s production
OtherAcadiana locations reportedly included in and around the former East BayouBaptist Church in Lafayette, Sunset and the Atchafalaya Basin
People also recall somescenes were shot in andaroundBaton Rouge, Gibson andDes Allemands
Other known actors in thefilm included Billy BobThornton,Farrah Fawcett and JuneCarter Cash. Duval reportedly hired local actors, production workers and extras.
Attorney Ryan Goudelocke was around 17-18 years old andanaltar boywhenhewas calleduponby theDiocese of Lafayette to playa small, nonspeaking role in the film Goudelocke played an altar boy holding abook while theRev Glynn Provost performed aceremony during theBlessing of the
Fleet. Duvall, he recalled, was in the background of thescene. Goudelock didn’tspeak withhim “I thought it was kind of neat beinginitfor abouthalfasecond,” he said.
Lafayette native Leslie BourqueWalsh, who now lives in New Jersey,was aproduction assistant on thefilm, setting up Fawcett’shotel room at the Hilton, getting her food andfavoriteflowers. Shepickedup Thornton’sassistant at the airport and they became friends,reconnecting when Bourque-Walsh moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting.
Shirees Dufour wrote on the Lafayette MemoriesFacebook page that ahospital scenewas filmed at amotel off Cajundome Boulevardand CameronStreet in Lafayette andthat shemet Fawcett whileshe wasintown
filming. Fawcett visited Craig Guilbeaux’s restaurant two nights in arow,herecalled, and signeda menufor him
Somescenes were shot near Beau Chene HighSchool in Prairie Basse near Arnaudville. According to Willie Vincent Sr., ascene earlyinthe film with acar upside down in apasture wasfilmed across from theschool,while Sarah Breaux recalledsome working on the film ate lunch in the school cafeteria.
Vincentsaid some scenes were filmed at his grandfather’sold store in BreauxBridge,which later became Charlie Ts. Other locals recall seeing Duvall aloneatDowntown Alive as well as at Mulate’s Restaurant in Breaux Bridge. The Oscar-winning actor,whose classicroles also included thein-
Tucksexpels2 riders in incident
7-year-old whocaughta controversial ‘Barbie-like’ dollsinvited to GallierHall
BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer
The Krewe of Tucks said Monday that two parade riders who dangled dolls from strands of beads during Saturday’sparade have been kicked out of the organization, after the incident drew more condemnation Monday from public officials, community activists and a family whose child received one of the dolls.
The krewe issued astatement Monday evening saying the riders had been “swiftlyand permanently terminated,” and that its investigation found members had purchased 30 Black and 30 White “Barbie-like” dolls to throw to children along the parade route.
“Weknow that the image of beads tied around the neck of aBlack doll is evocative of painful history,” the statement reads. “Wealso recognize that racism is not athing of the past but continues to plagueour community and our country.”
The krewe leadership hopestomeetwith Mayor Helena Moreno, Council President JP Morrell and Attorney General Liz Murrill —three officials who immediately spoke out to condemn the incident —to further discuss the issue
“Thepractice of putting a bead around adoll, stuffed animal or some other toy to ensure it got into the hands of theintended paradegoer is typical, it is our hopethat
RISHER
Continued from page1B
with the group since it began in 2007.
“It’ssoexciting,” she said. “Once you get on that floor and people start clapping and screaming, the music is just so much fun.”
Charlene Hibbs, who invited me to the practice, saysdancingagain is about connection —with longtime friends andwith apart of herself that never left. For Hibbs, it really comes down to joy
“After decades as a dance teacher,the joy of performing again and sharing it with my teammates takes me back,” Hibbs said.
She says the thrill of stepping onto the court in her 60s reminds her of stepping onto the Saints’ field when she was in her 20s.
Celeste Pfefferle said the crowd always takes a second to warm up.
“You never know which move it’sgonna be,” she said. “But there’samove that sets them off, and they go crazy.And then you’re lucky if you can hear the music because they’re into it.”
When Sharon McCoy told me that she had to get the moves just right or hear about it from her
theongoing investigation will shed lightonany practices by Tucks that might facilitate ill-intentioned actions outside themission of any given krewe, and thus avoidfuture hurt,” the krewe said
The controversy beganon Saturdayafternoon when aphoto appearedonsocial media of aBlack toy doll hung by the neck from a float titled “Crack Pipe”in the popular Tucks parade. Images of the dangling doll went viral on social media, where it was broadly interpreted as aracist taunt, evoking thehistory of lynching and violence against women.
Moreno,Morrell, Murrill and Krewe of TucksCaptain Lloyd Frischhertzall issued statementsSaturday night pledging to gettothe bottom of the matterand to take action against thosefound responsible
Shedidn’tunderstand RailynLee, a7-year-old girl from Houston,caught oneofthe dollsonher birthdaySaturdayonCanal Street
Her dad, George Lee, an automotive mechanic,said his wife’sfamily hails from New Orleans’ West Bank. He and hiswife, Shayna, lived in New Orleans seven years agobefore moving to Houston. They’d returned last week to blend theCarnival celebration withtheir daughter’s birthday.
George Lee said Monday
that he wasn’tawareofitat the time, but his daughter hadcaughtone of thedolls and deposited it in abag filled with other throws
The worst part of theexperience, he said, was the need to keep the doll from hisdaughter. “Initially, I was prettyheartbroken,” he said.
“Her innocence had to be taken from her. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t have it. And that’snot aconversation to be having with a 7-year-old.”
Viasocial media, the Lees became connected with City Council member Aimee McCarronand eventually the mayor,who invited thefamily to join her at Gallier Hall to watch other parades.
In an Instagram post, Moreno explained that she andthe City Council “wanted to ensurethat the visiting family sees the true spirit of New Orleans,acityrooted in love, respect and inclusion. The hateful symbolism of thatthrow does not represent who we are!”
GeorgeLee said his family wastreated withgreat kindness by Moreno and the staff at Gallier Hall. Railyn caught throws from passing parades,was treated to more Carnivaltreasures that the mayor had gathered in heroffice andwas alsoprovidedlunch, George Lee said.
George Lee saidthe family appreciated the mayor’s hospitality, but they’vedecidedtoleaveMardi Gras early.He’stroubled, he said, thatthe Krewe of Tucks has notcontacted him with an explanation or apology.“It shouldn’t be that hard,basi-
cally,” he said.
“So,insteadofforcing ourselves to be uncomfortable, we’d rathergohome.”
Acallfor action
EarlierMonday, ahandful of Black church and community leaders convened on the South Claiborne Avenue neutralgroundnear aplaque honoring Coretta Scott King. Taking turns at themicrophone, theleaders, representingorganizations including theNAACP ACORN and National Action Now,derided the doll incidentand called on City Hall and the Krewe of Tucks to act swiftly to punish the offenders.
“Wewant accountability,” said Janet Tobiasofthe SouthernChristianLeadership Conference. “Wewant the krewe to pay a$5,000 fine. We also want to meetwith that organization (the Krewe of Tucks)and we want them to be on probation.”
The Rev.Gregory Manning, of the Broadmoor Community Church, said thatriders must be responsiblefor theimplications of their actions.“People know what they’re doing,” he said. “Atthis timeinour nation, when racial tensions are heightened, you have to be careful.”
The rider “may have had some White Barbie dolls,” he said. “But you can’tdo the same thing with Black Barbie dolls. That’snot wise, it’snot smart and if you don’t know why it’soffensive, we’ll tell you.”
Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate. com.
daughter,welaughed together.Even though we had just met, we recognized the shared knowledge of mother-daughter dynamics.
Rehearsing with the group made me appreciatethe subtle rebellion of 27 seniors learning choreography toFlo Rida on aSaturday morning in Metairie.
Theyhave careers behind them, adult children, grandchildren and de-
cades of life experience. Andyet once amonth, at halftime, they step onto thecourt at the Smoothie King Center and wait for thecrowd to jointhem in appreciating the rhythm. In theirpractice studio, despitemyweak “tootsie roll” efforts, Ifelt right at home.
Not because Ikept up. Butbecause they did. Five, six, seven, eight. The Early Birds are scheduled to perform at
theFeb.
trepid consigliere of the first two “Godfather” movies and the overthe-hill country music singer in “TenderMercies,” died“peacefully” at his home Sunday in Middleburg, Virginia, according to an announcement from his publicist andfrom astatement posted on his Facebook page by his wife, Luciana Duvall.
“Tothe world, he wasanAcademy Award-winning actor,adirector,astoryteller.Tome, he was simply everything,” Luciana Duvall wrote. “His passion for his craftwas matched only by his deep love for characters, agreat meal, and holding court. For each of his manyroles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented.”
Contact ClaireTaylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.
Severaltornadoes reported on Saturday
No injuries, minor damagereported
BY STEPHENMARCANTEL Staff writer
At least fourtornadoes are confirmed to have touched downinthe AcadianaregiononSaturday night.
The tornadoes’ wind speed reached anywhere from 80 to 95 miles per hour,according to the National Weather Service in Lake Charles. No injuries were reported.
Evangeline Parish received one EF1tornado, was reported around 9p.m., northwest of Pine Prairie near the Crooked Creek Reservoir. Trees and six buildings were damaged.
TheEF, Enhanced Fujita Scale, categorizes tornadoes by the highest burst of wind speed.With an EF0 beginning at 65-85 mph, up
SLURS
Continued from page1B
theFlamingeauxs and Golden Grannies, who each hadpositive experiences dancing.
The Krewe of Comogo organizers did not respond to arequest for comment on Monday Jarvis, who’s been with thegroup sinceits inception in 2018, drove the truck with the DJ that the dancers follow.Hesaw the shouting escalate from his rearview mirror. He said he hopes that the parade takes their concernsseriouslyand interprets it as constructive criticism rather than anything more.
“We’re abunch of 30-something dadbodswho are uncoordinated. That’spart
to an EF5 with wind speeds over 200 mph, according to the weather service. In Acadia Parish, an EF0 tornado landed around 10 p.m.near Hancock Road, southeast of Crowley, providing minor tree damage to the area. Aseparate nearby EF1tornado damaged several trees and destroyed one home. In Port Barre in St. Landry Parish, an EF1tornado fell around10p.m., traveling about three-quarters of a mile, damaging several buildings andcausing tree damage. There was significant destruction along La. 741 in Port Barre. Accordingtoreports,the winds ripped sheet metal roofing from homes, destroyed outbuildings andflippeda pontoon boat and ahorse trailer No injuries or fatalities were reported.
of ourcharm,” Jarvissaid. “We’re out there to make people smile, be abig group of inclusive folks and ultimately raisemoney forthe OLOL Children’s Hospital as our primary goal. It’salways been our mission statement. But some folks just kind of stack away that fun, sometimes with their nastiness and their bigotry.”
TheGoldenGuyssaidthey understand that the nature of what they do may draw somecriticism from people, but nevertothe extentofbeing called slurs. The worst experiencetheyhavehad wasa beer bottle thrown into their group at the Spanish Town Mardi Grasparade twoyears ago.
“A lotofpeople are ignorant to thefactofwhatour mission is andwhatwedo for the Baton Rouge community,” Piper said.
24 Pelicans game againstthe Golden State Warriors at theSmoothie King Center
Duvall
STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER
12 to be considered fornextULpresident
Committeeto review applicants on Thursday
BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Presidential Search Committee willconsider 12 applicants before selectingits semifinalists at ameeting this week.
The university has been without apermanentpresident since July when thenPresident Joseph Savoie abruptly stepped down. It has had two interim presidents, Jaimie Hebert, who hassince returned to his position as provost, and Ramesh Kolluru, former vicepresident of research, innovation and economic development.
The 21-member committee will meet Thursday morning in Baton Rouge to discuss the candidates and selectsemifinalists.
Thecandidates are:
n Wenbin Deng,dean and Sun Yat-sen University (Guangdong,China) distinguished professor of pharmacology
n Robert Dodd, support team specialist of research compliance with the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York
n Pernell Goodwin,vice president of Copiah-Lincoln CommunityCollege’s Natchez campus
n Chavonda JacobsYoung, former under secretary and chief scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
n Hitesh Rai Kathuria, tenured professor and former provost and executive vice president foracademic affairs at Empire State University in Saratoga Springs,New York
n RameshKolluru, interim president of UL and former vice president of research, innovationand economic development
n RichardLudwick, former presidentand current
presidentemeritus of the University of St.Thomas in Houston
n Kristian Magar,vice president of health, safety and environment of Cactus WellheadinHouston
n RobertNobles III, vice presidentfor research administrationfor Emory University in Atlanta
n EvanOrtlieb, dean of thecollege of education and human sciences at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota
n Connie Veazey,clinicalpsychology program director and core faculty for the clinicalpsychology program at Fiedling Graduate University in Santa Barbara,California
n Cortlan Wickliff, associate vice provost of academic affairs and strategic initiatives at Rice University in Houston.
Notably absentfrom the listofapplicants is Hebert, who said in November he was interested in participating in the search as
an applicant. It is unclear why he didn’tapply
After semifinalistsare selected, the committee is expected to conductoncampus interviews and selectfinalists on Feb.23-24. The finalists should be presented to thefull University of Louisianasystem, which overseesUL, at a special meeting on Feb. 27.
Thedecision to form a search committee came last year during aNov.13 meeting that addressed speculation the UL system board would forgoa search and install apresident at the university withoutany inputfrom faculty, staff or students.Professors and the public pushed back against initial plans to install Kolluru into the jobwithout asearch.
Thesearchcommittee last month heard from faculty, staff, alumniand community members who asked them to prioritize transparency in their search and to choose a leader who will focuson
student success and addressthe university’s financial woes.
Thenextpresident of UL will be tasked with tackling the school’sfinancial struggles. Financial concerns cametolight last year after UL’s Vice President of Finance and Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc resigned abruptly in May, andSavoie stepped down in July beforehis contract was up. Afterbeingnamed interimpresident, Hebert announced job eliminations and other cost-cutting measures to try to make up fora $25 million deficit.
Thesearchcommittee will meet to select semifinalists at 10 a.m.Thursday in the Louisiana Purchase Room of theClaiborne Conference Center,1201 N. Third St., Baton Rouge. ReporterMegan Wyatt contributed to this report.
Contact AshleyWhite at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.
Zulu, Argusroyalty meet in Kenner forLundi Gras
BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer
As akid, Ronald Tassin celebrated Lundi Gras with his family in Kenner
On Monday,the Jefferson Parish native returned, this time as King Zulu.
“Lookatmenow,” said Tassin, standing alongside royaltyfromthe krewesof Argus and Zulu at their annual meeting in Kenner’s Historic Rivertown.
“I’m telling all the young ones in here: ‘Dreams do come true,’”headded.
On the eve of their respective reigns over thepremiereparades in New Orleans and Metairie, royalty from the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the Krewe of Argus gathered in Kenner to exchange gifts, parade through the street and receive proclamations from Kenner’selected leaders. The annual meeting betweenArgus, akrewe established in 1972 by civicminded Jefferson Parish business owners, and Zulu, founded in 1909 and wellestablished as one of the biggest krewes in the city, began in 1999 to honor that year’sZulu King, aKenner resident.
It’sgrown into acherished tradition.
Zulu President Oscar Raymond said the event shows “what unity means and what Mardi Gras stands for.”
Monday’scelebration began with aceremony at The Crossing event venue in Kenner’sRivertown, where royalty offered brief remarks and tradedgifts. Argus gifted two hand-painted bottles of Champagne, while Zulu gifted coconuts, the official Zulu poster and beads.
“I hope to see you all on thestreets tomorrowfor Mardi Gras Day and Iwill get you acoconut— hopefully,”Queen Zulu Sharell Monique Chatman, alifelong resident of Jefferson Parish and an engineer in parish government, told the
crowd
The Zulu royalty were joinedbyKing Argus David Haydel Jr., co-owner of Haydel’sBakery,and Queen Argus Callie Langhetee, a senioratAcademy of Sacred Heart.
The pair of royalsthen handed out beads as they walked down Williams Boulevard,trailing Bonnabel High School’sBruin Band andits royalcourt before turningintoaparking lot filled with spectators and food vendors.
“StopbyZulu in themorning. Come see us in the afternoon!” Haydel told the crowd
Kenner officialstook turns reading out proclamationstoeach of the royals. Kenner Mayor Michael Glaser concluded the ceremony with aceremonial toast “May yourtimeasMardi Gras royaltybejoyousand
provide youmemories you can treasurefor alifetime. Hail Argus! HailZulu!”he said. It was TamekaEskridge’s second time attending the LundiGrascelebration, which alsofeatured performances by theband The
Topcats and aprocession of wagon floats decorated by Kenner residents. The Arkansas nativemoved to Kenner afew years ago and attended this year’sevent with her neighbor “They’re slowly incorporating me into the culture of
Louisiana, and I’m learning alot,” she said, adozen plasticbeadshanging around her neck. “I’m glad Ilive here now.”
Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate. com.
STAFF PHOTOSByDAVID GRUNFELD
Fromleft,Zulu Queen Sharell Monique Chatman, Zulu King Ronald Tassin, King Argus XLI
and Queen ArgusXLI Callie Langhetee take part in Kenner’sRivertown event for their annual celebration and meeting
Kenner MayorMikeGlaser,center,proposes atoast
MardiGras spirit welcomes alltothe celebration
Editor’snote:This editorial, slightlymodified, hasappeared during previousCarnival seasons in this newspaper
If Mardi Gras is so great,one might ask, as another Fat Tuesday arrives today,thenwhy hasn’titbeen copied across the land?
Maybe it’sbecause any effort to duplicate Mardi Gras beyond Louisiana would surely lead to efforts to improve it, makingitintosomethingnoone wouldrecognize.
Thecharm of Mardi Gras —and itsmaddening complication —isits monstrous inefficiency. The parades are longer than anyprudent planner would make them. The distributionof beads and other trinkets is random, excessive, profligate —inshort, areveler’srebuke to any student oflogistics. As forthe Mardi Grasdiet —king cakes, cocktails, gumbo andgoodnessknows-what-else —suffice it to say thatit’sa running revolt against restraint.
One can only imagine how aprudent reformer might refine Mardi Gras if it were attemptedin some saner city —like Omaha, Nebraska,say, or Peoria, Illinois. The parades would be shorter,nodoubt, more punctual, with an eyetoward keeping everyone on schedule. Transplantedto tamer places, aMardi Gras menu mightreplace king cake with bran muffins, bourbon with herbal tea, gumbo with tofu.
But the magic of Mardi Gras —the onewe know and love —isthat ittranscendsthe mean arithmeticofmeans andends, thearid geometry of the straight line, thegriminsistence that hard fact is somehow invariably betterthan heady fantasy
Yes, Mardi Gras is too much —too much noise, too much food, too much togetherness. But like all holidays,itmakes ameaning from its heedless plenitude.
Sadly,wefeel the need to say again that the heedlessness of Mardi Gras isn’ta license for wantoncruelty or racism, which everysooften rearsits ugly headonthe parade route as it did on one float over the weekendinNew Orleans. We condemn it now as we alwaysdo, butwe wishthat all could move past this foronceand for all. It goes against the spirit of Carnival which simply put, affirmsthatlife’sgoodfortune, when shared generously,bears theseeds of its own renewal
It is that spirit which draws thousandsto come to Louisiana to join theparty.Acelebration that welcomes all also addshundreds of millions of dollars into thecoffers of thecity of New Orleans alone. We knowthat other festivities attract millions more to cities andtowns around the state
But Mardi Gras isn’tsolely about money.Part of the joy for Louisianans is sharingthe good times, andthey are alwaysgood times,with our friends from around the world.
So let the good times roll, and HappyMardi Gras to all.
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE
WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
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TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE
What BR canlearn from Ohio aboutcurbing crime
As aBaton Rouge native, Iwas disheartened tosee another act of gun violence at aMardi Gras parade in Clinton that left several people injured, including a6-year-old child. Events meantfor joy should never turn intoscenes of fear.While homicides have declined nationwide since thepandemic, violence involving young people is increasing. Baton Rouge cannot accept this as inevitable. There is an opportunity for my hometown toturn acorner.InColumbus, Ohio, where Inow live, the city achieved ameaningful reduction in homicides through abalanced approach that combined strategic enforcement, community engagement and evidence-based intervention
Akey driver of this progress was Columbus Violence Reduction, housed within the city’sOffice of Violence Prevention and grounded in theGun Violence Reduction Strategy developed by theNational Institute for Criminal Justice Reform.
At thecenter of this work is direct, respectful communication with individuals at the highest risk of serious
When did our nation begin protectingthose who are here illegally morethan our own citizens? And why —the better,but even more speculative question.
So often we hear mainly politicians when speaking about one in an opposing partyclaim, “no one is above thelaw.”
Then why don’tweall support that claim for those here in our country illegally,and who have aknown violent criminal past?
Idon’tlike what Isee regarding what Immigration and Customs Enforcement is having to go through to locate and bring those who are here illegally to justice. If only we had consistent, secure borders, Ibelieve that all could have been avoided. But then many of those so-called protesters, who are not,inmyopinion, protesters but paid activists, would be out of ajob. Then theregretful news of afederal judge from Louisiana, born in
violence. Twotools matter most. Custom notifications areface-to-face meetings where asmall team,often including ahigh-ranking police officerand atrusted community leader, meets with ahigh-risk individual in their homeorneighborhood. The message is personal and clear.Violence must stop, support is available and the individual has choices. Call-in sessions, also knownas community safety meetings, bring together high-risk individuals and community stakeholders to deliver a unified message about accountability,consequences and help. These meetings treat people as responsible adults while making clear that continued violence will bring swiftattention and that positivechange will be supported. This approach helped Columbus reduce retaliation, stabilize lives and save lives. With commitment from community leaders, lawmakers and criminal justice partners, Baton Rouge can do thesame. We owe our children and our neighborhoods nothing less.
TERRANCEHINTON Westerfield, Ohio
Lafayette, releasing fourillegal immigrantswith vast violentcriminal backgrounds, just slapped me across my true American face.
How does this benefit our beloved stateornation?
Bad form, your honor. Iamcertain that if acriminal enters your homeillegally after he gets by your guarded community,brick fence, alarm system and bolted door lock, you will allow him to stay,even if he is aknown violent criminal, just as you have forced thesame on those of this state andnation.
Spilling red wine on awhite tablecloth is easy but leavesanasty stain. Getting the stain out is tough. For four years, our nation wasinvaded by illegal immigrantswith ease. Trying to clean it up is not so easy, especially with so many obstacles in ICE’sway God bless America!
JEFF CAVELL Crowley
The penny dropped recently,and I had an epiphany about storytelling. My brother’swifeonce said at afamily gathering that we always tell the same stories, something my husband also said about aclose friend group. Our shared stories impart asense of belonging, asense of inclusion and wellbeing. We share stories because they matter to us and reinforce our shared history.Some of our stories may be slightly less than accurate, as memories can be fickle, but are good stories nonetheless.
As adults, family members realized that the story of their grandparents’ escape from World WarIIinPoland couldn’thave unfolded as always told when compared to historic facts and timelines. But that didn’tmake it any less compelling in the family’shistory Someofour stories are all too real and traumatic, like an aunt’salcoholism,a neighbor’sphysical abuse of his wife or acousin’scriminal past. Lives were impacted and changed.
All of our stories are important, which makes the current administration’sefforts to change or alter American history so deplorable. Hiding our history with afocus on the positive doesn’tundo the negative. Excluding people from the story doesn’tmean they weren’tthere. And the truth will always come out. “Patriotic education” should mean that we embrace all of our stories so we can learn from them, rejoice in them or worktonever repeat them.The definition of apatriot is one wholoves their country in spite of its faults and works to makeitbetter
CHERYL KOBETSKY Baton Rouge
The current administration is using $45 billion to movebeyond temporary tents to permanent structures to detain persons fordeportation. Undocumented immigrants are not an inexhaustible resource to support permanent detention jobs. To keep those current jobs in Louisiana, forinstance, whowill next be “detained” forprocessing?
JAMES R. MADDEN
Baton Rouge
In Carnival satire,a littleless Trump, alittlemoreTrumpism
Each year,when Iwriteaboutthe hot topics in Carnival satire, my first step is to look for an overridingtheme. Often, over the past decade, that process hasstarted and ended withone word: Trump. In 2026, ayear into Donald Trump’s return engagement as president, the New Orleans krewes that specialize in satire seemed to collectively settle on avariation on thattheme: Not so much Trump, but Trumpism, or different aspects of theall-encompassing national drama that has been hissecond term. In other words, while we didn’tsee that much of Trump’ssignature orange face or painstakingly sculpted hair down St. Charles Avenue, we sawplenty of floats inspired by the insane flood of news around him. The krewes that practice thiscraft considerthemselvesequal opportunity satirists, although it’s fair tosay that the Krewe of Muses tends to lean somewhat left and KnightsofChaos andleKrewe d’Etat more to the right Ithink we saw more of that this year than in the past, along witha certain heightened levelofcoarseness from some quarters. Maybe that’s just asign of our angrily divided times.
Each of these parades has an overall theme, so the floats are designed to fit that theme. Chaos’ paradewas about schools, Muses —mylongtime krewe, in the interest of full disclosure —was based on mysteries, and d’Etat’s was about all things space. For one float, Chaos leaned intothe extreme flattery that Trump demands, and gets, from his cabinet members andother allies. Afloat called “Teacher’sPets” featured Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Tulsi Gabbardholdinga pitcher of Kool-Aid and Louisiana’sown extremely compliant House Speaker Mike Johnson, pictured preparing to kiss acertain presidential body part Thekrewe’s“Snack Time”float had RFKJr. drinking raw milk
D’Etat had an immigration-themed float called “E.T., go home,” which satirized alleged abuses byimmigrants more than the very controversial crackdown. The krewe’s “Media Shower”—asopposed to meteor shower float focused on the end of public fundingfor PBS and talk show hosts that Trump has targeted, including Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. Chaos had asimilar float inspired by Sesame Street, called “Class Dismissed.” Muses, meanwhile,aimed itsmedia commentary in adifferentdirection “Hush, Hush, Fox News,” itsfloat was titled. Like Chaosand d’Etat, Musesalso focused on some of the controversies of Trump’sfirst year back. It had afloat about the mass firings of government workers by Elon Musk’sDOGE, called
“And Then There Were None.” Another Muses float was based on the X-Files, but it was the “Eps Files”—asinEpstein.Riffing on the1990s TV show’s signature line, “The truthisout there,” thekrewe added: “But you ain’tgetting it.”
Of course, Trumphimself —his likeness,anyway —did makeafew appearances on theavenue, including in d’Etat’ssolar system-themed “Gas Giant” float. Muses just went with the top of hishead, which showed up on the otherwise elegant float modeled on the White Lotus’ lush opening graphics. “The Orange POTUS” float said simply: “Karma comesfor everyone. Likealways, this year’ssatirists didn’tjust aim their pens at Washington, but also skewered those much closer to home This was probably thelast real chance to comment on former Mayor LaToya Cantrell’stravails —depending on what happens at her upcoming federal trial, that is —and boy did they Chaos’ Cantrell float was called “No Class,” and pictured her and her formerbodyguard and now co-defendant posed like that couple who got caught on camera together at aColdplay concert. D’Etat’swas called “Probe” —if yousaw it,you got theidea. Museshad Cantrell in aNixonian stance on its “Gone Girl” float,saying, “You won’t have Teedy to kick around anymore.” Gov.Jeff Landry got off relatively easy,although d’Etat did ridicule his Greenlandadventure on “Bayou Hoth.”
Maybe it was “to easy,LOL,” as they say, but all three krewes targeted the mass Orleans Parishprison break back in May.Muses had “Escape Room OPP,”d’Etat offered up “Escape Pod” andChaos called its version “Spring Break.” As always, there were plenty of floats
inspired by the challenges of simply living here once all the Carnival fun is over.D’Etat’sfloat about bad services at City Hall was called “No OneCan Hear YouScream.” Muses had afloat about traffic; instead of “Murder on the OrientExpress,” it was “Martyr on the Westbank Expressway ” Another perennial target is thearea’s pro sportsfranchises, where years of floatsdepicting glory are but adistant memory—with theobvious exception of Bacchus, which skips satire but offered plenty of nostalgia in 2026 by bringing back newly-minted Hall of Famer Drew Brees Otherwise, neither theSaints nor the Pelicansgot any love. D’Etat featured top exec Mickey Loomis on its “The Wrong Stuff” float,and Chaos went with owner Gayle Benson on “Flunked Out.” Muses zeroed in on basketball this year with its “The Pelicans, Briefly” float, about how theNBA team’s best hopes always wind up leaving New Orleans. Of course, not all satire is meantto be biting. In fact,sometimes it’sdownright affectionate. Case in point: Muses paid tribute to PopeLeo’slocal roots, and all the people here who have combed their family trees hoping to find afamiliar connection.Instead of The DaVinci Code, it was “Da Vatican Code.” The krewe also honored thepublisher of the popular Mardi Gras Guide, who’s retiring after 50 years. So instead of theHardy Boys, we had “The Arthur Hardy Boys” solving the“King Cake Capers.” Personally,Iwould have gone with “The Case of theDelayed Parade.” On theother hand, that’sprobably a mystery that no detective can unravel Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@ theadvocate.com.
COLUMBIA, S.C. —South Carolina continues to seize national attention in surprising —and not-so-surprising —ways. As to the former,the Palmetto State is the fastest-growing state in the country at atimewhen it has the nation’sbiggest measles outbreak, owing in part to religious objections to vaccines. Go figure. The rapid population growth, driven by affordability,job availability and climate, is statewide, judging from all the insta-developments along highways from the Upstate to the Lowcountry The measles outbreak is concentrated in the Upstate, aregion in the northwestern part of South Carolina, specifically in Spartanburg County,the center of which is Spartanburg. The city of roughly 40,000 is in what wasknownas “Bob Jones Country,” referring to the namesake evangelical Christian university in nearby Greenville. It’s achurchgoing, family town. This leads us to the not-so-surprising part. Suffice to say,when religion and science butt heads in the DeepSouth, you can confidently bet on God.
The area of the county where measles has found ahome —876 cases and counting —offers public, charter and private schools, and Pentecostal and fundamentalist churches where the Bible is interpreted literally.Never mind that the Bible doesn’tmention measles vaccines; religious conviction is partly responsible forthe decision of fartoo manyresidents to put their children and families at risk. Some schools have vaccination rates as low as 20%.
Last year,10% of Spartanburg County school students —nearly 6,000 children —got exemptions from vaccination rules or did not meet certain requirements. Of Spartanburg County students, about 8% had religious exemptions, which are easy to come by.The state requires only anotarized request but no doctor’sor preacher’simprimatur Anti-vaccine messaging from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who hassaid no vaccinesare safeand effective, hasled to mixedmessages aboutthe MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Kennedy has said the vaccine is the best way to ward offthe viruses while also casting doubt on its safety.Many in the antivaccine community are convinced that the vaccine causes autism, adebunked Kennedy claim. They are also concerned that the vaccine contains fetal cells —orthat they have “a lot of aborted fetus debris,” in Kennedy’swords. Moral objections to abortion have fueled the fetal-cell debate in recent years. There’s aspeck of truth to Kennedy’sobscene statementbut only in the mosttangential way. Put another way,it’sinaccurate. Kennedy hath neither shamenor expertise. His pharmaceutical background and training can be traced to ayearslong heroin addiction. Otherwise, his last nameisKennedy,which President Donald Trumpseemingly can’tresist forits cachet, associated wealth and performing arts center Trumpput his namebefore John F. Kennedy’s and placed the late president’snephew in charge of the nation’shealth.
Ashort primer on the vaccine Kennedy has sownconfusion about: Each of the three viruses in the MMR vaccine is created separately.The viruses are grownincultured cells, which are purified to remove cellular material.
The measles virus is growninchick embryo cell cultures, not fetal cells. But cell lines used to produce rubella, among other viruses, do come from fetal cells procured from two elective abortions performed in the early 1960s in Europe. Cells, or rather fetal fibroblast cell lines, weretaken from the ill-fated fetuses once, and every MMR vaccine since has been created from those samecells.
While manyChristians and others abhor using fetal material forany reason, the ultimate theological take on the issue comes not from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Benton), whorecently tried to school Pope Leo XIV about the Bible’sstance on immigration, but from the Vatican. While still condemning fetal stem cell research, the Vatican has said that Catholic moral theology allows vaccines from those cell lines if no other alternatives exist.
It is, indeed, odd to be wading through these discussions in the 21st century,but stranger things happen often these days, not least in South Carolina. Even so, those whocall this state homewould rather live here than anywhere else and, apparently,sowould everybody else. Just please, before you cross the state line, be sure to get your shots. All of them. If you insist on joining the human deluge heading this way,you’re going to need them Email Kathleen Parker at kathleenparker@ washpost.com.
Kathleen Parker
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Muses had a float about the mass firingsofgovernment workers by Elon Musk’s DOGE,called ‘And Then There Were None.’
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Ato-do list for the U.S. featuresVenezuela, Greenland,Cuba, and Iran on the side of a floatinthe KnightsofChaos parade in NewOrleans on Feb.12
Stephanie Grace
withmeteorologist Damon Singleton
COURT ABSENCES
Top LSU players frequently have missed time under McMahon
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
Coach Matt McMahon didn’t have four players available for LSU’s 10-point loss at Tennessee on Saturday in yet another instance of the Tigers being far from fully health in his fourth season in Baton Rouge. Saturday’s game marked the first time this season McMahon had that many players scratched from a game. The newest additions to the list of injured players were depth guard Ron Zipper, who is in concussion protocol, and starting guard Max Mackinnon, who injured his knee during a 29-point home loss to Arkansas last Tuesday Mackinnon is averaging 16.4 points and 2.8 assists per game and shooting 34.8% on 3-pointers and 94.4% from the freethrow line against Southeastern Conference competition.
LSU (14-11, 2-10 SEC) won’t have four
players out again when it faces Texas (16-9, 7-5) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Zipper and Mackinnon are both not listed on the SEC availability report.
One of the prevailing themes of McMahon’s tenure has been top players missing a significant number of games, especially during conference play
Dedan Thomas and Jalen Reed are the primary examples this season. Thomas is scheduled to have season-ending foot surgery this week, the program announced on Saturday The point guard injured his left foot on Jan. 2, the day before the Southeastern Conference opener, and reaggravated the injury on Jan. 28 in a 14-point home loss to Mississippi State.
Thomas was averaging a team-high 16.2 points on 49.3% shooting, an SEC-high 7.1
assists and only 1.8 turnovers per game before conference play, leading the team to a 12-1 start. He played in just 16 games this season, including three in conference play
Thomas joins Reed, who was ruled out for the season after a left Achilles tendon injury The 6-10 redshirt junior was injured in the sixth game during a ninepoint win against Drake on Nov 28. He averaged 11 points on 60.6% shooting and 6.0 rebounds before going down.
But McMahon is sort of used to this at LSU. Here’s a rundown of the absences LSU has dealt with during his tenure prior to this season: 2024-25 season
McMahon had two returning players miss the majority of last season. Reed who was McMahon’s first high school recruit, suffered a season-ending
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
It’s official: Friday’s LSU-Oklahoma gymnastics meet will be a meeting of No. 1 and No. 2 once again. The RoadtoNationals.com rankings, based on season averages, have Oklahoma at No. 1 and LSU at No. 2. The Sooners have an NQS (National Qualifying Score) of 197.900, while the Tigers have an NQS of 197.658. The meet, LSU’s first trip to Norman since Oklahoma joined the Southeastern Conference for the 2025
is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.
To say this has become the rivalry in women’s collegiate gymnastics would be an understatement.
This will be the seventh straight time the Tigers and Sooners will compete in the same meet ranked 1-2 LSU and Oklahoma are the last two NCAA champions, with the Tigers winning in 2024 and the Sooners winning in 2025. They shared the SEC regular-season title last year, with LSU winning the SEC championship meet. They come into this meet with Oklahoma sporting 10-0-1 and 5-0 in the SEC marks, and the Tigers are 6-1-1 and 3-11. The tie? In their season-opening meet in the Sprouts Collegiate Quad in Utah, both teams finished with first-place scores of 197.500.
“The fans love it,” LSU coach Jay Clark said Monday “It’s awesome for the fans.”
However as Clark and his gymnasts said, there isn’t much either team can do to each other There’s no playing defense, like in this past Saturday’s women’s basketball showdown between LSU and South Carolina.
“They can’t tackle us and we can’t tackle them,” Clark said.
Junior Kylie Coen said the Tigers’ focus has to remain internal.
“It’s just another week,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who is on the floor with us. We don’t train harder or less hard because of who’s out there. We’re just excited for another week of competition.” LSU is coming
BY JENNA FRYER AP auto racing writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Michael Jordan inherited the racing bug from his late father, who routinely packed everyone into the car and drove from North Carolina to a handful of tracks every year as attending NASCAR races became Jordan family vacations.
Decades later, Jordan is now a Daytona 500 winner He was an ecstatic team owner during the victory celebration, which he joined seconds before winner Tyler Reddick was presented the trophy Sunday Reddick paused the party and was enveloped in Jordan’s arms before the Basketball Hall of Famer gave high-fives to the No 45 crew from 23XI Racing. A stream of well-wishers soon followed, including NASCAR chairman Jim France, who warmly congratulated Jordan with a smile and a handshake. It was at least the second cordial public interaction the two have shared since December, when France and NASCAR settled the federal antitrust lawsuit that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports had lodged. The lawsuit consumed the sport for more than two years and ended on the ninth day of trial, when NASCAR relented and settled before the top motorsports series in the United States
more humiliation. The
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for
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NIGEL COOK
Jordan,
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
LSU guard Dedan Thomas, left, and forward Jalen Reed chat on the court before tipoff against Kentucky on Jan. 14 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
Top five remain unchanged
UConn coach Auriemma ties
VanDerveer for most appearances in poll
BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer
Geno Auriemma tied Tara VanDerveer for most appearances in the AP women’s basketball Top 25 poll when UConn remained No. 1 on Monday Auriemma has led the Huskies to 654 appearances in the poll during his 41-year Hall of Fame career to match VanDerveer, who retired from Stanford in 2024 UConn has been ranked for the past 621 consecutive weeks, dating to the preseason 1993-94 poll, and once again was a unanimous choice at No. 1 from the 31-member national media panel. Monday was the 900th poll in the 50-year history of the rankings. UCLA and South Carolina remained second and third behind the Huskies. Texas and Vanderbilt were next as the top five remained unchanged from a week earlier. The Commodores beat the Longhorns last week before losing to Georgia on Sunday Michigan, LSU and Louisville were next. Duke moved back into the top 10 at No. 9 as the Blue Devils are riding a 16-game winning streak after beating rival North Carolina on Sunday Ohio State dropped two places to 10th after losing to Maryland on Sunday The Terrapins jumped up six spots to 14th.
In and out
Minnesota entered the Top 25 for the first time this season as the Golden Gophers came in at No. 23.
They have an eight-game winning streak but a difficult week ahead with games against Ohio State and No. 18 Michigan State. Minnesota was ranked for two weeks last season. Georgia also came back into the rankings this week, appearing at No. 24 after its win over Vanderbilt. Princeton and Washington fell out of the poll.
Conference supremacy
The SEC remained the top conference with 10 teams in the poll.
The Big Ten is next with seven.
The Big 12 has four teams, the Atlantic Coast Conference has three and the Big East one.
Games of the week
No 6 Michigan at No 13 Iowa, Sunday — A fight for second place in the Big Ten as the Wolverines and Hawkeyes are a game apart in the loss column in the conference standings, trailing UCLA. The Hawkeyes beat Nebraska in
a matinee Monday No. 7 LSU at No. 17 Mississippi, Thursday — A key SEC matchup with the Tigers looking to rebound from a loss to South Carolina. The Rebels have a busy week with games against Tennessee, LSU and South Carolina this week.
Michigan No. 1 for first time in over a decade
Wolverines on top for first time in 13 years, ending Arizona’s nine-week reign
BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer
Michigan is No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the first time in 13 years, ending Arizona’s nine-week reign.
The Wolverines (24-1) claimed 60 of 61 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to climb one spot and supplant the Wildcats, who were unbeaten entering last week before falling at Kansas and at home to Texas Tech “Not much,” coach Dusty May said when asked by the AP after Saturday’s rout of UCLA about the significance of potentially topping the poll “It means we haven’t drank our own Kool-Aid We’ve put ourselves in a position to be playing the types of games in midFebruary that we want to be in, but we’ve got to continue to improve.” Michigan had been ranked No. 2 behind Arizona for six of Arizona’s nine weeks at the top but was No. 1 in analytics rankings by KenPom, Evan Miyakawa and Bart Torvik last week. Now the Wolverines have their first AP No. 1 ranking since January 2013. Houston and Duke each moved up one spot to sit behind Michigan, with the second-ranked Cougars claiming the remaining first-place vote. The Wolverines and Blue Devils are set to meet this weekend in a marquee nonconference matchup in the nation’s capital. Arizona dropped three spots to No. 4. UConn was next at No. 5, followed by Iowa State, Purdue, Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois to round out the top 10.
Rising
The seventh-ranked Boilermakers jumped six spots for the week’s biggest leap, coming after an overtime win at Nebraska and a win at Iowa. The preseason No. 1 has won four straight entering Tuesday’s visit from Michigan. No. 13 Texas Tech rose three
spots after its home win against Colorado followed by the OT win at Arizona. As did No. 21 Louisville, with freshman Mikel Brown starring with an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman-record 45 points in a win against N.C. State and 29 more in a win against Baylor
Sliding No. 15 Michigan State and No. 16 North Carolina had the week’s biggest tumbles of five spots. The Spartans lost at Wisconsin on Friday, while the Tar Heels lost at Miami while also learning that star freshman Caleb Wilson is out indefinitely with a fractured bone in his left hand. Seven ranked teams fell from last week’s position.
Quick turnaround for Badgers
Wisconsin returned to the poll, going from receiving no votes last week to No. 24 after back-to-back wins against top-10 opponents Illinois and Michigan State last week.
Wisconsin previously had fallen out of the poll after a Nov 21 loss to BYU as the Badgers struggled through a 7-4 start. Last week’s
wins, along with being the only team to take down Michigan, has the Badgers alongside the Red Raiders as the only teams with victories against three top-10 teams this year
“Early in the year we were soft mentally and physically,” coach Greg Gard said after the 92-71 win against the Spartans “We had to mature, had to grow up collectively and individually You’re not going to be able to compete in these types of games in the upper echelon of this league if you’re not physically and mentally tough. This group has responded.” Comings and goings
No. 25 Alabama joined Wisconsin as the week’s new additions after the Crimson Tide pushed to a fourgame winning streak. They replaced Clemson (No. 20) and Kentucky (No. 25) in the poll. Conference watch
The Big 12 and Big Ten dominated the top of
bined
Source: LSU safeties coach
Olsen decides to stay put LSU safeties coach Jake Olsen has decided to stay with the Tigers after he was in advanced talks with the Washington Commanders, a source confirmed Monday night with The Advocate.
Olsen coached the LSU safeties the past two seasons. A report from CBS Sports stated he accepted the NFL job before changing his mind and staying in Baton Rouge His decision kept the LSU defensive staff intact heading into new head coach Lane Kiffin’s first season. The Tigers begin spring practice March 24. Olsen worked with new Commanders defensive coordinator Daronte Jones at LSU in 2021. Jones was the defensive coordinator, and Olsen helped with the linebackers as a defensive analyst under thenlinebackers coach Blake Baker.
Dolphins release receiver Hill in major roster cuts MIAMI GARDENS,Fla. The Dolphins are releasing star receiver Tyreek Hill, ending the All-Pro’s four-year tenure in Miami, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press on Monday Hill, who turns 32 on March 1, is recovering from a season-ending injury suffered in a game against the New York Jets on Sept. 29 that required surgery to repair significant damage to his left knee. It is one of several major roster cuts the Dolphins made on Monday morning, the person said, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not made any announcements. Miami also will release two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Bradley Chubb and cut offensive lineman James Daniels and receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, the person said.
Browns safety Hickman assaulted in hotel lobby
NEW YORK — Cleveland Browns safety Ronnie Hickman was treated for minor injuries and released, the team said on Monday after New York police received reports that he was jumped by four men in a hotel lobby
The Browns said Hickman, 24, was at home resting with his family There have been no arrests and an investigation continues, according to a statement from the New York Police Department.
Authorities said they responded to a 911 call at 4:35 a.m. Monday reporting an assault in a hotel lobby
“Upon arrival, officers were informed that four unidentified individuals punched a 24-year-old male about the body following a verbal dispute,” police said.
Trout wants to return to center field for Angels
TEMPE, Ariz. — Mike Trout says he would prefer to return to center field for the Los Angeles Angels, and the star slugger says he will skip the World Baseball Classic because of insurance issues.
The 11-time All-Star who has been plagued by injuries since 2021 says his familiar position isn’t as physically demanding as the corner outfield spots, contrary to traditional thinking.
Trout played his most games since 2019 last season, finishing at 130. The three-time American League MVP started 22 of his first 29 games in right field before a knee injury sidelined him for a month. Trout had 26 home runs but hit just .232, by far the worst average of his career when he had at least 400 at-bats.
Twins starter López ends bullpen session early FORT MYERS Fla Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo López ended a bullpen session early on Monday over what manager Derek Shelton said was “a little bit of elbow soreness.”
López, who turns 30 next month, threw two-plus innings before shutting things down. He was considered ahead of schedule in preparations to join Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic. López has been the opening day starter for the Twins the past three seasons. He was limited to 75 2/3 innings last year, with three stints on the injured list for hamstring, shoulder and forearm issues.
The 2023 All-Star had made 32 starts in each season from 202224,
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JESSIE ALCHEH
guard Kiki Rice drives to the basket during a game on Sunday in
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LON
Michigan players, from left, Malick Kordel, Aday Mara, Morez Johnson and Elliot Cadeau celebrate on the bench late in the second half of a win over UCLA on Saturday
Competition better at All-Star weekend
BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter
INGLEWOOD, Calif. If you still didn’t like the NBA’s newest All-Star Game format, you probably just don’t like All-Star games.
That seemed to be the sports sphere’s consensus after the U.S against-the-world, round-robin tournament Sunday produced three thrilling mini-games and several impressive individual performances. Something about the setup compelled these stars to play their exhibition at a level much closer to real competition than usual.
“I think every team honestly wanted to win,” said Phoenix guard Devin Booker, a member of the victorious Stars team.
That’s no small statement about an event that had become sports shorthand for pointless midseason pseudo-competition a charade that wasted fans’ time and produced unwatchable TV while players simply tried to get it over with.
That’s precisely why the NBA implemented its fourth format in four years, creating a World team and two teams of Americans to play 12-minute games. To the surprise of those who assumed this event was irredeemable it actually worked for most people.
“I’ve been asking for it, fans have been asking for it, media have been asking for it, (and) I feel that after today, I think you all can see the competition is there,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “I think that we all brought it today brought a sense of effort. I hope that the fans and all of you appreciate it.”
An Americans-versus-everybody finale didn’t materialize, however
Instead, the team of slightly younger Americans routed the team of slightly older Americans in an anticlimactic finale.
Even that finish had its entertaining points, though: “We’re definitely one-up on the uncs right now,” said a grinning Tyrese Maxey, who scored nine points in the final.
The NBA hasn’t declared a format
for next year’s All-Star Game in Phoenix, and the World component has potential problems depending on how many international players are having All-Star-worthy seasons.
Several players, including LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, said they still want a return to the classic East vs. West format you know, the one that produced enough bad games to force the NBA to try something different in the first place.
It’s tough to imagine basketball in its current state producing an AllStar Game significantly better than this one, but not everything about the All-Star weekend at Intuit Dome was savory
The highs and lows of an eventful weekend in Inglewood: Dismal dunks
Just when the NBA might have its All-Star Game fixed the Slam Dunk Contest was underwhelming enough to prompt fan discussion on how to save a venerable competition that’s running out of steam.
The event immortalized by the likes of Julius Erving, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant was mostly compelling for bad reasons this year, although Miami’s Keshad Johnson did well enough to join 3-Point Contest champion Damian Lillard in an all-Oakland sweep of the two marquee events at All-Star
Saturday
In the early round, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes gave an effort that drew online criticism from his own fans. Orlando’s Jase Richardson took a horrifying fall onto his back and head when his arm hit the backboard on a 360-degree spin attempt. Richardson was OK, but the frightening moment underscored the dangers of this event
Johnson won anticlimactically when San Antonio’s Carter Bryant couldn’t complete an impressive second dunk after scoring a perfect 50 on his first.
Can the NBA persuade star players to return to the contest? Can the dunkers rediscover the creativ-
Guerrero says World Series loss is behind him and Blue Jays
Associated Press
DUNEDIN,Fla.— Vladimir Guerrero
Jr was the last person to leave the Toronto dugout after the Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series last fall because the star slugger wanted that to be the moment when he moved on The first full workout for the Blue Jays at spring training Monday brought some clarity to that plan.
“When I left, I felt like I had faced reality and the only thing I had left to say to myself was just thank God for the year I had, for the year the team had had,” Guerrero said through an interpreter “Right then, I just turned the page.”
The Blue Jays lost the decisive game 5-4 in 11 innings, missing on a second consecutive chance to clinch the franchise’s third championship at home For manager John Schneider, this spring training is no different from a year ago.
“The main message is we’re not defending anything,” Schneider said “We’re not defending the AL East. We’re not defending the American League. We’re attacking 2026 like we did in 2025 or any year, really You’re trying to win the division, you’re trying to win the World Series. That’s it.”
Guerrero jolted the franchise at the start of the spring last year, when he said there was no deal on a new contract and that his own deadline for getting one done had passed, raising the specter of free agency in 2026. Instead, the sides settled on a $500 million, 14-year contract early last season, and the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero went on to hit .292 with 23 home runs and 84 RBIs. In the postseason, Guerrero had a 1.289 OPS while hitting 397 with eight homers in 18 games and was MVP of the American League Championship Series. He didn’t homer in any of his first three trips to the playoffs, and the Blue Jays lost all six of those games.
“Going back to the postseason last year, I think it’s really cool for everyone to be on that heightened stage and to see how they responded,” Schneider said. “I
ity that compelled Blake Griffin to jump over a car, Gerald Green to blow out a cupcake candle on the rim, Dwight Howard to put on a cape and Vince Carter to stick his whole arm in the hoop?
That’s no slam dunk.
Kawhi’s barrage
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in 12 minutes while leading his team to victory in Sunday’s third mini-game The seven-time AllStar went 11 of 13 with six 3-pointers, dazzling his fellow All-Stars and even prompting 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama to attempt to guard him out of desperation.
“That’s probably one of the most special quarters of basketball we’ve witnessed,” Booker said.
If Leonard’s team had put up more of a fight in the finale, he probably would have been the MVP instead of Anthony Edwards. Leonard scored only one point, looking gassed along with his teammates in
their third straight game.
“That’s what the home crowd wanted to see,” Leonard said. “I’m glad I was able to do something in that game.”
Dame’s dominance
During his year away from the game due to injury, Lillard reminded the world why he’s one of the greatest shooters of his generation with a stellar performance to win the 3-Point Contest for the third time. He joins Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players to do it.
The 35-year-old Portland guard held off Booker in the tremendously exciting final, winning 29-27 when Booker missed his final three shots.
Lillard tore his Achilles tendon last April, and his inclusion in this contest initially began as a joke he had with an NBA official — but the native Californian got the call, and he was healthy enough to shoot the lights out in Inglewood.
His performance was another example of an impressive comeback from that serious injury Jayson Tatum, who also tore his Achilles tendon in last spring’s playoffs, is back in practice with Boston’s G League team.
After watching Lillard’s performance, Stephen Curry announced he’s going to compete in 2027, and he’s hoping to be joined by his Splash Brother, Klay Thompson.
Afternoon hoops
The All-Star events Saturday and Sunday began at 2 p.m. Pacific time because NBC is showing the Winter Olympics in prime time every night.
That led to empty seats in Intuit Dome at the start of both events, although they eventually filled in. The early starts also muted the bigevent feeling for fans and viewers who might have missed the show entirely if they didn’t check the TV listings.
Yankees captain Judge frustrated by his team’s offseason inactivity
BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer
Monday.
think that kind of bleeds into this year but (Guerrero) has been a little bit more vocal than I’ve ever seen him, a little bit more loose than I’ve ever seen him and understands that he’s one of the best players in the game.”
The 26-year-old Guerrero, a five-time All-Star, is now the longest-tenured Blue Jays player
“I don’t see myself as a leader,” Guerrero said. “I always put myself as a good teammate, and when you are a good teammate, then you become a good leader. I’m a good teammate.”
His role as the face of the franchise was cemented when Bo Bichette left the team, signing a $126 million, three-year with the New York Mets and moving from shortstop to third base.
“It’s difficult not having him around,” said Guerrero, who played with Bichette through the minor leagues. “I mean, we played 10 years together But at the same time, I understand it’s business, and he has to take care of his family as well.”
The Blue Jays signed Japanese infielder Kazuma Okamoto to fill the void left by Bichette while adding pitchers Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce.
“I think we’re very capable,” Guerrero said. “I think it’s going to be more fun, and I’m actually more happy than last year.”
TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge fretted like many Yankees fans as bigname free agents kept signing elsewhere.
“It was brutal,” the New York captain said Monday after the year’s first full-squad workout. “Early on it was pretty tough to watch. I’m like: Man, we’re the New York Yankees. Let’s go out there and get the right people.”
Judge spoke at length about the Yankees’ lack of a World Series title since 2009, of homering and striking out against 22-year-old flamethrower Carlos Lagrange during the workout, about captaining the U.S in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and last year’s elbow injury
“The awards, the MVP All-Stars, man, that stuff, it doesn’t matter What matters is putting New York back on top and putting this organization back where it belongs,” Judge said “I don’t get paid to just play this game. I get paid to win here.”
Judge missed 10 games between July 25 and Aug. 5 because of a flexor strain in his right elbow suffered while making a throw home from right field at Toronto on July 22. He didn’t return to the outfield until Sept. 5, and he threw gingerly at 67.9 mph. Judge gained arm strength during the rest of the sea-
son but didn’t get to 100%.
“I’ve never dealt with any elbow stuff, so I was definitely concerned,” he said. Judge wasn’t sure until after the postseason that he would avoid surgery
“They ran all the checks again and did all the tests and they said: ‘You’re good to go,’ ” he remembered. “And I said: All right, when can we start throwing? So it was good. It was great. It was great to hear those words so that now I can go into the offseason and just prepare the way I need to be in the best shape to start the year
“Throwing to bases a couple of times already so no worries. Just excited to get back out there and just have the confidence, especially — that was the toughest thing for me last year, was the pitcher’s working his butt off and the guys around me were working their butt off and then the ball was hit to me and I had no shot.”
Judge, who turns 34 in April, won his third AL MVP in four years and became just the fourth player in major league history to hit 50 homers four times after Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. He won his first AL batting title, hitting a big league-best .331 with 53 homers, 114 RBIs, an AL-high 124 walks and a major league-leading 1.144 OPS. Then in the playoffs, he went 13 for 36 with one homer, seven RBIs and a 1.273 OPS.
New York, seeking its first title since 2009, retained center fielder Trent Grisham early in the offseason but didn’t make bigger moves until late.
“Let’s sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces because I’m seeing other teams around the league get better,” Judge said. “They’re making trades. They’re signing big prospects or big players. And we’re sitting there for a while kind of making smaller moves.”
Asked whether he made his thoughts known to the Yankees, Judge flashed a toothy grin and said: “Yeah, oh, yeah.”
New York’s late moves involved re-signing Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. The Yankees also acquired left-hander Ryan Weathers from Miami in a trade.
“It was frustrating, but I think we’re right where we need to be,” Judge said.
Judge appeared to clear Steinbrenner Field in left on a 99.3 mph from Carlos Lagrange. Judge later struck out on a 102.6 mph fastball from the 6-foot-7 right-hander and praised “his personality and presence.”
Lagrange was promoted to Double-A Somerset last June and went 7-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance, striking out 104 and walking 50 in 78 1/3 innings. He has been working to improve his control.
Chio ranks high LSU sophomore Kailin Chio continues to rank as one of the brightest stars in the collegiate sport. She is tied for first on balance beam with Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez, both with NQS averages of 9.955. Chio’s full schedule average is a bit higher 9.963-9.954 and she has the nation’s only perfect 10 on beam to date.
Chio is second on vault to Oklahoma’s Addison Fatta, 9.945-9.940. Fatta is one of five gymnasts with 10s on vault, while Chio has had 9.975s the past two meets. Chio also is third in the all-around behind Jordan Chiles of UCLA (39.705) and Fatta (39.580) with a 39.520.
Chiles and Chio are tied with the best all-around scores this season of 39.875, the LSU gymnast’s top mark coming against Auburn. Chio had a perfect 10 on floor, but her floor NQS (9.885) is tied for 21st. LSU sophomore Kaliya Lincoln is tied for fourth on floor
with a 9.920. Blackson bears watching Clark said the Tigers are in overall good physical condition going into this week’s meet, though there is some concern about fifth-year senior Courtney Blackson’s shoulder Blackson, who has had three scores of 9.925 or better on uneven bars this season, only did vault against Auburn because of her shoulder “There’s inflammation in there,” Clark said. “It’s uncomfortable and it seems to go from day to day Some days are worse than others. She looked good (Sunday) in the gym. We just have to monitor it. The docs looked at it and there’s nothing structurally wrong.” For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JAE C. HONG
USA Stripes forward Kawhi Leonard, center, dribbles between World guard Jamal Murray, left, and forward Alperen Sengun during the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif
AP PHOTO By FRANK GUN Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr smiles during spring training in Dunedin, Fla., on
MI LA N CO RT IN A OL YM
Meyers Taylor wins first gold at 41
Bobsledder becomes oldest American woman to take gold at Winter Games
BY TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press
JAPAN WINS FIRST OLYMPIC PAIRS GOLD WITH WORLD-RECORD FREE SKATE: Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara thought their chances of Olympic gold had gone by the wayside when the Japanese skaters made an uncharacteristic slip-up during their short program.
But the two-time defending world champions rebounded Monday with a world-record free skate under the current scoring system, lifting them from fifth place all the way to the top step of the podium and Japan’s first Olympic medal in the pairs event.
Miura and Kihara dropped to their knees in a tearful embrace when they realized they had won gold.
MALININ HINTS AT ‘INEVITABLE CRASH:’ Ilia Malinin posted a video on social media Monday hinting at an “inevitable crash.”
The American alluded again to the weight he felt while competing in Milan in the caption to his video.
“On the world’s biggest stage those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” wrote the 21-year-old Malinin.“Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise.Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash.
Malinin was the heavy favorite to add another gold in the individual event but he fell twice, placing eighth.
USA, CANADA WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAMS FACE OFF FOR GOLD: MariePhilip Poulin won’t dispute how good the Americans have looked in romping through the women’s hockey tournament And Canada’s captain will readily acknowledge her team has yet to come close to playing its best.
What matters to Poulin is having the opportunity to play in a showdown with gold medal on the line Thursday.
On Monday, Poulin broke the Olympic record for goals in women’s hockey She scored twice against Switzerland to reach 20 for her career
The U.S. and Canada will face off for Olympic gold for a seventh time since women’s hockey debuted at the 1998 Nagano Games in a rivalry between the sport’s two global powers.And this time, the Americans are the favorites.
NORWEGIAN LOSES IN SLALOM, RETREATS INTO FOREST: Atle Lie McGrath’s gold-medal hopes in the Olympic slalom slipped away His ski poles were then thrown away And then he simply stumbled away through the snow toward the woods.
“I thought that I would get some peace and quiet, which I didn’t,” the Norwegian ski racer said of his retreat from the course after losing out on a medal.“Because photographers and police found me out in the woods. But I just needed some time for myself.”
McGrath entered the final run of the final men’s race with a big lead
But after straddling a gate, he lost a medal, then control of his emotions.
McGrath has been racing with a heavy heart, with his grandfather dying the day of the opening ceremony.
“What he’s gone through these last 10, 12 days, it’s been really tough,” said teammate Timon Haugan.
— The Associated Press
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy Elana
Meyers Taylor’s two young sons
watched her leap into the air, throw her fists skyward, wave the American flag, then fall to her knees and start to cry
In time, they’ll understand what they saw They saw history
The 41-year-old U.S. bobsledder
— a mother of two special-needs children, an athlete whose career was jeopardized by concussions, someone who dealt with plenty of doubt in recent years is, finally, an Olympic champion. Meyers Taylor won the gold medal in monobob at the Milan Cortina Games on Monday night, her sixth career medal and first Olympic title.
“I thought it was impossible,” Meyers Taylor said. She was never happier to be wrong.
She became the oldest American woman to hear “The StarSpangled Banner” played in her honor at the Winter Games Rallying in the fourth and final heat, Meyers Taylor prevailed with a four-run, two-day time of 3 minutes, 57.93 seconds.
Meyers Taylor had medaled five times before — three silver, two bronze. She was the most decorated Black athlete at a Winter Olympics even before this win, and her place in history got a whole lot more dazzling on a frosty night in the Italian mountains. And this medal, her sixth, tied Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S woman in the Winter Olympics.
“To have my name up there with Bonnie Blair it doesn’t even make sense to me,” Meyers Taylor said. Germany’s Laura Nolte the leader after the first, second and
third runs — was second and Kaillie Humphries Armbruster of the U.S. was third.
“I’m a bit sad because now at the moment it feels like I lost gold — and not that I won silver In a few hours I think I can celebrate it, because it’s still a great result,” Nolte said. “Elana also deserves it. She’s a super kind human and she has won silver for many times now and the gold was missing.”
It was the fifth career medal for Humphries Armbruster She’s 40 and about 18 months removed from becoming a mom and she technically became the first woman 40 or older to clinch an Olympic bobsled medal, since she finished her competition exactly 2 minutes, 29 seconds before Meyers Taylor crossed the line to join the 40-something medal club.
“You get a lot of people that like to write you off as soon as you reach 40, it’s all downhill from there, is what you hear I think Elana and I are both proof that that’s not true,” Humphries Armbruster said. “As soon as you become a mom, your body’s not the same, and you can never get
that high performance back, and I think we were able to show that that’s not true again.”
Nolte led by 0.15 seconds going into the final run, with Meyers Taylor second and Humphries Armbruster third — 0.24 seconds off the lead. Barring big mistakes, gold, silver and bronze would be theirs in some order; nobody else was within 0.6 seconds of Humphries Armbruster, nor within about a full second of Nolte’s lead going into the final heat. They go in reverse order in sliding. That meant Humphries Armbruster went first among the final three, then Meyers Taylor, then Nolte.
Humphries Armbruster finished in 3:58.05, knowing she was assured of her fifth career medal when she crossed the line. As the sled skidded to a stop, she was already on her feet — throwing her arms into the air, knowing at least bronze was coming her way U.S. coach Brian Shimer, often stoic, started punching the air in celebration. And then the scene was set for Meyers Taylor, who held on to no worse than the sil-
ver spot and wrapped herself in an American flag after hopping out of the sled.
Nolte had the lead going into the last run. She just couldn’t hold it. Kaysha Love, the world monobob champion for the U.S. last year had big trouble in her second and fourth runs and finished seventh with a final time of 3:59.27.
“Seeing Elana, that was iconic,” Love said.
Humphries Armbruster won the gold medal in the inaugural running of monobob at the 2022 Beijing Games, with Meyers Taylor winning silver
This is the fifth time that Meyers Taylor and Humphries Armbruster have competed in the Olympics. Each has medaled in each of their previous four appearances; Humphries Armbruster was also on the Canadian Olympic team in 2006, but did not race in those Turin Games. They’re now 5-for-5. And Meyers Taylor finally has the golden moment.
“I didn’t need it,” Meyers Taylor said. “But I wanted it.”
Gu wins silver in big-air final for 5th Olympic medal
BY EDDIE PELLS Associated Press
LIVIGNO,Italy Eileen Gu last competed in a big-air contest four years ago. She learned the trick that helped her reach the medals stand Monday night four days ago. Then, in a frenzied training session before the snowy Olympic final, she tried an even bigger trick, but hit her head on the landing and cracked her helmet.
Given all that, finishing second, a mere 1.75 points behind Canada’s Megan Oldham, felt like a victory, not a loss for the sport’s best-known star Given all that, picking up a fifth medal in the five events she has entered over two Winter Olympics felt like a time to celebrate, not think about what might have been.
“‘Five-time Olympic medalist’ kind of has a nice ring to it,” Gu said.
While Gu has two silvers at these Olympics — one in slopestyle and the latest in big air — Oldham, the 24-year-old from Parry Sound, Ontario, has a bronze and a gold Egged on by her older brother, Bruce, who is also a pro freeskier, Oldham traded in gymnastics and figure skating a handful of years ago to start catapulting herself off mountains. The other sports taught her a lot about “air awareness, and spinning in general,”
she said. It also took her from a pair of dangerous sports to one that borders on death-defying. In this Olympic big-air contest, the adrenaline junkies have to ride an actual elevator to the top of a scaffolding on which sits a manmade hill 165 feet in the air
“A brutal sport,” Oldham called it. “A lot of times when you’re learning these new tricks, you can fall pretty hard.” She suffered a concussion in December and said she felt pressure, not knowing if she could
make it back in time for the Olympics.
“Just coming back from that alone, I’m pretty proud of myself,” Oldham said. So was bronze medalist Flora Tabanelli, who took bronze for Italy’s 23rd medal of the Games. She’s four months removed from a torn ACL. She decided to compete in a brace instead of opting for season-ending surgery
“Three months ago, after the injury, I thought I wouldn’t make it here,” she said “When I arrived here and said to myself, ‘I
HIGHLIGHTS
feel pretty good,’ it was already a win.”
Gu naturally came to Italy with better name recognition and higher expectations than anyone else in the snowpark.
After her first jump, a 1,440-degree whirl that put her in medal contention, she ran to the stands to celebrate She had friends from college and from junior high who took advantage of the three-day weekend in the United States to come watch.
She’s the sport’s only threeevent athlete. So, over the past few years, something had to give between all the skiing, Stanford University, modeling and globetrotting between her native U.S. and her mom’s home country of China, the country she competes for That one thing was big air
She had not been on an entry sheet for the sport’s highest-flying discipline since the day she left Beijing four years ago with the first of two gold medals in tow “If you’d asked me four days ago and said, ‘What tricks are you going to do in the final?’ I’d be, like, ‘I’m in the final?’” she said. During warmups for the final, she crashed while trying a 1,620-degree spin, the likes of which won her that gold. She was fortunate that a near blizzard rushed through the snowpark shortly after delaying the start by 75 minutes.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALESSANDRA TARANTINO
Gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor of the United States celebrates at the finish after the women’s monobob competition on Monday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GREGORy BULL
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China celebrates with fans after the women’s freestyle skiing big-air finals on Monday in Livigno, Italy
‘He
Cajuns basketball legend Lamar dies at age 74
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
UL athletics has lost one of its most legendary sports figures.
Three-time All-American basketball player Dwight “Bo” Lamar, 74, died Sunday evening in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio after a lengthy illness.
“Legend” is often used to describe former players and coaches, but it’s not an exaggeration when it comes to Lamar and the teams he played for at then-Southwestern Louisiana.
Those who witnessed Lamar’s performances from 1969-73 will never forget or cease trying to describe what they witnessed
“He was our Pistol,” said Lou Hebert, who attended the college during Lamar’s playing days. “It was as simple as that. I know Andrew Toney was an incredible pro, incredible player, but Bo lit this place up.”
The numbers certainly support Hebert’s memory LSU legend “Pistol” Pete Maravich is still the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader with 3,667 points Until Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis reached 3,664 points from 2018-23, next on that list was Lamar’s 3,493 points.
As a sophomore, Lamar led the nation’s College Division in scoring as his reached that division’s final four
“He developed as a freshman under (future NBA teammate Marvin) Winkler,” USL teammate Steve Caldwell said. “Winkler was a good mentor for him and he just ran with it after that.”
As a junior, he led the NCAA Uni-
LSU MEN
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torn right ACL injury during the eighth game of the season against Florida State on Dec. 3, 2024. He was averaging 12.4 points on 59.6% shooting and 7.4 rebounds in the first seven games. Those figures would’ve made him the team’s second-leading scorer and leading rebounder that season. LSU also didn’t have Tyrell Ward, the top returning scorer from the previous season The 6-6 wing, who has since transferred to Virginia Commonwealth, didn’t play any games after stepping away from the program because of mental-health reasons. The team announced his departure minutes before the season opener on Nov 6, 2024 Ward averaged 9.1 points and shot 41.3% from the 3-point line as a sophomore the year before. He was expected to fill a large role. The Tigers also had two productive freshmen injured during conference
NASCAR
Continued from page 1C
enough to stand up to NASCAR’s dictatorship way of ruling the series. But that was already behind Jordan by the time he got to Daytona International Speedway, where he started Sunday by insisting the goal was to help grow NASCAR moving forward and focus on making 23XI a championship-contending race team.
“Both sides have been somewhat at a stalemate and we both needed to have conversations about change, how we can grow this sport,” Jordan told Fox Sports before the green flag. “Unfortunately, we had to go through what we had to go through. But I think coming out of that, you have a much better appreciation for each other, and I think it opens up conversations amongst each other to continue to grow the game.” Hours later, he was in victory lane celebrating as if he’d just won a seventh
versity Division in scoring at 36.3 points per game.
In that 1971-72 season, he was a first-team All-American alongside such names as Bill Walton, Bob McAdoo and his East High teammate Ed Ratleff of Long Beach State.
A year later as a senior, Lamar was a first-team All-American with other superstars such as Walton, Ratleff, David Thompson Doug Collins and Ernie DiGregorio.
“There was a lot of talent on that team, but like they said about Reggie Jackson with the Yankees, Bo was the straw that stirred the drink,” said Hebert, referring to other NBA players on those Cajuns teams such as Roy Ebron and Freddie Saunders. “Once Bo got here, this place exploded. Everybody wanted to see him play.”
Hebert said he grew up going to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, but once it came down to his college choice, he chose USL because he wanted to watch the basketball team play
Hebert said he learned of Lamar’s death in a text Monday morning.
“I had tears running down my cheeks,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. It just affected me like that We knew those guys. We felt like we were part of it.
Caldwell said Lamar’s impact on the Acadiana area can’t be minimized.
“I would say Bo Lamar and then Ron Guidry put Lafayette, Louisiana, on the map,” Caldwell said. “I had a ringside seat right there, but it was at practice, too. They were just as good at practice.
“I could run as fast as I could down court, and Bo could pass me up with the basketball. He was fast and quick and could jump and shoot. He was the whole package.”
Caldwell remembers the story of how USL was recruiting Lamar’s high school teammate Ratleff in Columbus, Ohio, when the school’s principal suggested to USL assis-
play. Vyctorius Miller and Corey Chest, who have both since transferred to Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, respectively, missed a combined 11 games in SEC play
Miller missed seven of 18 SEC games with an ankle injury The 6-5 guard averaged 8.9 points in 19 minutes last season. Chest, then a redshirt freshman, missed four conference contests because of a foot injury The New Orleans native started 19 games and averaged 6.1 points, a team-high 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.1 minutes.
2023-24 season
McMahon’s second season was his most successful as LSU finished 9-9 in SEC play and 17-16 overall. But the Tigers had two players miss most of the season, including one major contributor and one rotational player Point guard Jalen Cook started nine of his 13 games. The former Walker High School star and Tulane transfer averaged 15.6 points (a team-high), 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and shot
NBA championship When France stopped by, it was clear all parties are moving forward.
Denny Hamlin, the threetime Daytona 500 winner who is partners with Jordan at 23XI, was the winning team owner representative in post-victory requirements and said there are no lingering bad feelings among the parties
“I think December was a wake-up call. I think that the conversations since then have been a lot of selfreflection, in my opinion from NASCAR I think they would have done things differently had they had the opportunity to,” Hamlin said. “But we knew that we needed to stick up for what we believed was right. We have to now figure out how we can get the sport back where it was decades ago.
“In order to do that, the only way we can do it is we’re all going to have to pull the rope in the same direction Even conversations that I’ve had with NASCAR executives as late as a couple days ago, sitting in a bus talking about what
tant coach Tom Cox that he “sign Bo and Ed might come.” That team also had Nick Conner, who enjoyed a big career at Illinois.
Ratleff chose Jerry Tarkanian and Long Beach State, but Lamar came to Cajun Country
On Dec. 10, 1971, Ratleff and No. 6-ranked Long Beach State played Lamar’s squad in the Bayou Classic at Blackham Coliseum.
“My biggest memory was that Long Beach State game,” longtime UL basketball fan Mike Hebert said. “I was a sophomore in high school. I would listen to the games on the radio but my dad agreed to take me to the game.
“It was 83-all and Bo hit one of his patented long jumpers from what would be NBA 3 today — 26 to 30 feet. That gave us the lead 85-83, and we went on to win 90-83. I’ll never forget that game.”
That was a week after USL beat No 7 Houston 97-88. In an era where only 24 teams made the NCAA Tournament, USL beat Marshall 112-101 and Texas 10070 before falling to Louisville 8884 during Lamar’s junior season
As a senior, USL beat No. 7 Houston 102-89 in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Kansas State 66-63 and then South Carolina with Alex English and Brian Winters 90-85 in the consolation game
“That had to be so satisfying after blowing that game at Houston (82-80) earlier that season,” Mike Hebert said.
With Lamar leading the way coach Beryl Shipley’s teams were among the nation’s elite in that era. In Lamar’s final three seasons, the USL record was 74-13. The only team with a better record in that stretch was the UCLA Bruins with John Wooden. In fact, a Sports Illustrated article proclaimed USL as one of the few teams in the country capable of beating the dynastic Bruins. Other fans remember Lamar’s
41.3% overall. He also had four 20-point performances against SEC competition.
The 6-foot senior missed the team’s first 10 games because he didn’t have NCAA eligibility as a two-time transfer That changed once he received a temporary restraining order for the season from a U.S. district court judge in West Virginia. Cook was a freshman at LSU during the 2020-21 season, played at Tulane for two seasons and returned to the Tigers as a true senior Cook didn’t play again after McMahon announced on March 4, 2024, that he was suspended “for failure to meet the standards” of the program. He missed the last 10 games of the season. He missed one game due to injury and five other games before McMahon’s announcement.
Daimion Collins, a former five-star recruit and Kentucky transfer, also dislocated his right shoulder in the sixth game of his first year with the Tigers. He averaged 4.3 points in 10.3 minutes. Collins played 30 of 32 games the following season at LSU but has since
do we need to be five years from now, two years from now, 10 years from now What does the sport need to look like?
“Those were all really good conversations, and they were very open to suggestions.”
Jordan didn’t become a NASCAR participant until 2021, when he partnered with Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, to form 23XI. He attends races — sometimes he watches from pit road, other times a suite and although others run the team, Jordan is involved and sounds committed to NASCAR.
The Reddick win was a win for NASCAR, Hamlin argued, because it got Jordan into the headlines.
“It’s big for the sport. He’s the most popular athlete in the world. I don’t think there’s any disputing that,” Hamlin said. “He loves the sport, and certainly he goes to a lot of races. Sometimes you don’t even see him and he’s there. He makes more races than people know He loves this race team.”
school-record 62 points against Northeast in 1971 or the memorable clashes with Mike Green and Louisiana Tech throughout his career That magical era was tarnished when the NCAA gave the basketball program the death penalty for the next two seasons, mostly because of impermissible payments to players.
Lamar was a third-round pick of Detroit in the NBA but was the first overall pick in the ABA draft by the San Diego Conquistadors. He was a member of the ABA AllRookie team, averaging 20.1 points a game, including one 50-point performance. Lamar averaged 19.7 points and
transferred to South Florida. 2022-23 season
McMahon’s first season at LSU had the fewest player absences. Of the team’s
4.6 assists in his 202-game ABA career, and he played one NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers after the merger After his playing days, Lamar served as color analyst for the Cajuns and later was the head basketball coach at Holy Rosary in town before returning to Ohio.
“He could stop and elevate on a dime,” Lou Hebert said. “This was before the 3-point line. He would be coming down the court and boom, just go up and hit this rainbow jumper so pretty, bottom of the night. His shooting ability was amazing to watch.”
Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.
eight leaders in minutes per game, seven played at least 30 of 33 games. The only player who didn’t was guard Justice Williams, who played 23 games and
averaged 15.9 minutes. The team’s top two leading scorers, forward K.J. Williams (17.7) and guard Adam Miller (11.5), both played every game.
MJ’s Cafe reopening with
new owner, menu
BY MADDIE SCOTT and JANRISHER Staff writers
MJ’sCafe, 5162 Government St., is reopening in Februaryafter atemporary closure for renovations.
MJ’sCafe originallyopened in 2011, serving aplant-based menu with veganand vegetarian options. It temporarily closedabout a month and ahalf ago.
The cafe will reopen Wednesday,the day after Mardi Gras, according to new owner Stephen Hightower,alongtime Baton Rouge restaurateur. Thecafe’soriginalowner,Maureen Joyce, will continuemaking her signature soups, and the same staffwill remain involved, Hightower said.
“MJ’sisa living organism, no pun intended,” Hightower said. “Wewant to respect that and keep the same vibe.Weare updating the menu with some chicken and seafood options, but we will keep the vegan and vegetarian fare MJ’shas done so well for so long.”
The revamped menu willserve breakfast, brunch, tapas, soups, salads and sweets under new executive chef MadelineSlade Hightowerdescribes the new menu as “flexitarian,” with avocado sourdough toast, vegan breakfast sandwiches, Italian bruschetta on atoasted baguette, salmon cakes, seared tuna lettuce wraps and avarietyof bowls. One new menu item, likely to be ahit, is Slade’sversion of edamame dumplings, which are stuffed with acreamy edamamebasilfilling andfinished with Parmesanor vegan cheese, green onionand lemonzest.
The restaurant will alsocontinue to serve avariety of pastries and sweets, including a regular brownie and chocolate croissant, a vegetarian croissant, gluten-free and vegan cookies and cupcakes.
The restaurantseats 65 people andwill feature some interior renovations, including the addition of acoffee corner witha special coffee blend.
CAPITALCITY CARNIVAL
Alookatsomeofthe happenings at BatonRouge MardiGras2026
When MardiGras washes over Louisiana, its cities are filled with music, laughterand thesweetnessofking cake. Families gather along paraderoutes, andthe air hums with brass bands. In Baton Rouge,MardiGras is acelebration of tradition, joy and togetherness. Even after thelast float passes, the magic still lingers on thewalk back to thecar.Until next year
Beetlejuice takes aphoto withamember of the Krewe of Cardboard during the Mid CityGras Parade on Feb 8.
By
ABOVE: The Mande Milkshakers dance during the KreweofOrion parade on Feb.7
LEFT: Donya Christie, the 2025 National AmericanMissLouisiana Teen, throws afootballtothe crowd during the fifth annual KreweofAscension Mambo parade on Feb.7
Editor’snote: This is the final installment of athree-part “What’sonmytree?” series about organisms that arecommonly found growing on trees in Louisiana
Not many plants can lose up to 97% of their moisture content and then spring back to life within hours of rainfall. But for resurrection fern,this remarkable featisjustpartof its survival strategy Resu rrection fern (Pleopeltispolypodioides) is acommon sight on the branches of live oak and other treesinLouisiana. It spends much of its life in a dried, brown state, blending in with the bark of the trees. But as soon as it rains, the fronds rehydrate,unfurl and turn alush green —hence thename resurrection fern.
The Golden Guys strut during the Krewe Mystique parade on Feb.7
STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER
Madeline Slade is the newexecutive chef at MJ’sCafe.
AGCENTER PHOTO By OLIVIA MCCLURE Resurrection fernisa remarkably resilient plant that can rehydrate and turngreen within hours of rainfall.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS young paraders toss throws during the Krewe of Orion parade in downtown Baton RougeonFeb.7
STAFFPHOTO
JAVIER GALLEGOS
STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS Floats rollbythe State Capitol during the KreweMystique parade on Feb.7
Friend backsout of vacation plans
Dear Harriette: My friend and I have been talking for amonth now about booking asummer vacation together to Greece. Irecently brought itupagain, and shesaid that she can’tgoanymore because she booked adifferent vacation with adifferent friend. She didn’tmention it beforehand or talk to me about possibly changing plans.She just said it was cheaper and easier to coordinate.
Iwas caught off guard.Technically we hadn’tbooked anything yet, but we had been talking about this for weeks, and it felt like an
unspoken commitment. What hurt mostwas feeling like Iwas easily replaced. Now I’m questioning whether she ever even wanted to go on avacation with me at all or if she was just lying to me this whole time. Idon’tknow if I’m overreacting or if my feelings are valid. Should Itell her that this hurt me or just letitgo since nothing was officially booked? How do Imove forward without feeling like I’malways the backup plan friend? —Dumped
Dear Dumped: Youhave every right to feel upset about this. Your friendhas theright to change her mindaswell, butshe should have been upfront with you. It does seem like your friend thought of you as thebackup plan and treated youasdisposable when
somethingbetter came along. Either way,that is not thesign of a friend who prioritizes you or has your back. At this point, you can tell her that you do not appreciate being discarded like that without even therespect to tell you she was considering other options. You should also keep this incident in mindthe next time she starts making big plans of any kind.
Dear Harriette: My husband and I were on aroad trip, pit-stopping in acouple of cities. Oneofmy girlfriends asked if we could meet her for lunch, and we obliged. When the bill came, my husband paid for himself and me andleft the remainder of the tab for my girlfriend to pay.She seemed surprised. We had never
said out loudhow we’dhandle thebill, but frankly Iwas abit surprised,too. The place wasn’t overly expensive, so Ithought my husband would just pay for everything. Later,when Icalled my girlfriend to let her know we had arrived at our next city,wegot into an argument because she thought it was common courtesy that my husband should have paid the entire bill. While Ishare that line of thought, Idonot think it is her place to have opinions about what my husbandshould or should not do. That feelslike entitlement. Now,I’m not clear on how to properly address this with my friend or my husband.Any advice?
Split the Bill
Dear Split TheBill: Yousay your
During dryspells, resurrection ferndries and turnsbrown, blending into tree bark.
FERN
Continued from page1D
This plant is aharmless epiphyte, or air plant. That means itswater and nutrient needs are met through the air andrain. It doesn’thurt trees, simply using them as aplace to grow. Resurrection fern can be found throughout thesoutheastern United States, as it likes warmer climates withregular rainfall. Likeother ferns, it spreads by spores and rhizomes, not seed. It prefers oak species but also
can make itself at home on cypress, magnolia,pecanand other trees as well as structures in the landscape. Theplant hasbeenstudied as amodel for drought tolerance and has even beentaken into space for scientific experiments.While most plants can toleratelosingonlyabout 10%oftheir water before dying, resurrection fern is capable ofsurviving while nearly completely desiccated —sometimes foryears! Resurrection fern usually sheds about 75% of its water during dry spells, and in extreme drought situations, it can loseupto97% of its moisture andstill live.
Howisthismiracle possible?
When dryweather hits,resurrection fern shrivels up to reduce itssurface area andgoes dormant. Special proteins called dehydrins protect its cells from damage, so cell walls can shrink and stretchwithout breaking. This allows theplant to lose nearly allits water without dying.
So, thenext time you’re outdoors after it rains, look up into thetrees. You justmightspot resurrection fern an interesting plant, and one that reminds us thatrenewal is always possible, even when life is challenging.
Tips forcleaninghard-to-reach areas
friend asked you to meet her forlunch. If that’sthe case, she should not expect you to pay her bill. The old-fashioned thinking is that the man should pay foran unaccompanied womanjoining acouple forameal, but this is 2026. She doesn’thave the right to be angry.Tell her you are sorry her feelings were hurt, but there should not have been an automatic assumption that you would foot the bill when she invited you to lunch. In fact, modern etiquette dictates that the one whoinvites is the one whoshould pay Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o AndrewsMcMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Is ‘gussied up ’ acompliment?
charming, Ifeel uncomfortable. Ioften give the vague answer of “Seemslike forever.”
Dear Miss Manners: Idon’t know how to respond when meeting afriend and they exclaim, upon seeing me, “You’re all gussied up!” I don’ttake it as acompliment. Somehow it sounds like a put-down. Itend to get defensive and argue that just because I’m not wearing jeans and aT-shirt, it doesn’tmean I’m gussied up. Wouldn’titbenicer to say, “You look nice today”?
Gentle reader: Sure.But notas satisfying to anyone whose ideaof“dressing up” is putting on clean athleisure and doesn’twanttobeshown up. Youare right that this is not an innocent compliment. The subtext is that you are trying too hard, and that your efforts just look silly
But that is only asubtext. Youdonot really have to deal with that.
Adisarming alternative is to take it on face value, as acompliment. Responding, “Thank you, I’m glad you like it” at least shows your friend that the implied insult misfired. And Miss Manners gives you permission to add, “It’swhat I’m wearing to the Oscars.”
How do Ikeep these well-meaning people from asking intrusive questions without being rude myself?
Gentle reader: Among the trials of old age, being considered adorable is surely a minor one. And while Miss Manners understands that you feel patronized, she is going to ask you to put up with it —not, however,to the extent of reciting your marital history to anyone whoasks.
As you are aware (and have experienced), the lifetime marriage is, for whatever reasons, not as common as it used to be. People are nostalgic about it, and therefore touched when they think they see evidence of its survival. In addition, they believe that people are flattered to be askedtotalkabout themselves —whichmany people are, although not everyone.Furthermore, theythink theyhave chosena pleasanttopic.“How long have youbeen married?” is notinthe same intrusive categoryas, for example,“Why aren’tyou married?”
Dear Heloise: Whencleaning smallorhard-toreach areas, Irely on a handheld vacuum with abrush attachment. Using the brush helps loosen dust, while the vacuum captures it so that it doesn’tget stirred up and settle elsewhere. I use this method for baseboards, corners, shelves, and other nooks and crannies where dust tends to
By The Associated Press
Today is Tuesday,Feb. 17, the 48th dayof2026. There are 317 days left in the year
Todayinhistory: On Feb. 17, 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr,electing Jefferson president; Burr became vicepresident. Also on this date: In 1863, five appointees of the Public Welfare Society of Geneva announced the formation of an “International Committee for the Relief of Wounded Combatants,” which would later be renamed the International Committeeofthe Red Cross. In 1864, during the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonicwas rammed and sank in Charleston Harbor,South Carolina, by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley,inthe first naval attack of its kind; theHunley also sank.
collect. It’salso perfect for cleaning computer keyboards and laptop keys, where crumbs and dust can build up quickly
This approach keeps messes to aminimum and makes quick cleanups much easier. Thanks for all the helpful tips; I enjoy reading them regularly —Brady Polk, in Gastonia, North Carolina
Acknowledginga gift
Dear Heloise: Idon’tneed atraditional thank-you note from everyone I send agiftto; Ijust like
TODAYIN HISTORY
In 1897, theNational Congress of Mothers, the forerunner of the National Parent Teacher Association, convened its first meeting in Washington with over 2,000 attendees. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court,inWesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state must be roughly equal in population. In 1992, serial killerJeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to lifeimprisonment after being found guilty of15 countsoffirst-degree murder. In 1995,Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings; he was later sentenced to 315 years in prison.
In 2008,Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. In 2013,DanicaPatrick won theDaytona500 pole becoming the first womanto
to knowthatthe giftor card hasactually reached them. Thesedays, with mail delaysand delivery problems, it’sreassuring to getconfirmation that something hasarrived safely
Because of this, Ioften send aquicktextoremail to the recipient to request an acknowledgment of receipt of the giftorcard It doesn’t have to be formal or time-consuming. It really is the thought that counts, but sometimes we can’tcount on the deliveryservicetodo
securethe top spot forany Sprint Cup race. In 2014, Jimmy Fallon made his debut as host of NBC’s“Tonight Show,” taking over from Jay Leno. Today’sbirthdays: ActorBrenda Fricker is 81. ActorRene Russo is 72. ActorRichard Karn is 70. Olympicswimming gold medalist and television commentator Rowdy Gaines is 67. ActorLou Diamond Phillips is 64. Basketball Hall of FamerMichael Jordan is 63. Film director Michael Bayis61. Hockey Hall of FamerLuc Robitaille is 60. Olympicskiing gold medalist Tommy Moe is 56. ActorDenise Richards is 55. Musician BillieJoe Armstrong (Green Day) is 54. ActorJerry O Connell is 52. ActorJason Ritteris 46. Media personalityParis Hilton is 45. ActorJoseph Gordon-Levitt is 45. Singersongwriter Ed Sheeran is 35. Actor Jeremy Allen Whiteis35. Tennis player Madison Keys is 31.
its job correctly. Abrief message providespeace of mind. —Sandy,inTucson, Arizona Stifftowels
Dear Heloise: To the lady from Texaswhose mother’stowelsare stiffand scratchy when they’re dried off, is she giving them too much time in the dryer? Dryingtowels for too longcan have this effect. —Margaret M.,inMadison, Wisconsin
Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
Dear Miss Manners: My husband and Iare in our 80s now,but we have been married only 20 years. This is a second marriage foreach of us.
People are frequently asking us how long we have been married. Ifeel sure that they want to hear a good story about the cute couple being together for 60 years. After hearing our answer of 20 years, more intrusive questions are asked: “How did you meet? How long did you date? Did you each own ahome?”
While Ifeel certain the inquiries are meanttobe
Youhaveonly to turn around thatassumption. “Twenty years,”you can say, “and howabout you?” Or,for singles, “Do you encounter many long marriagesthese days?”
Youwill have easily disabusedthemofthe notion that yours is alifetime romance, and, with any luck, gotten them started on talking about themselves.
Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners. com; to heremail, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
OLIVIA MCCLURE
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Hints from Heloise
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.19) Let your interests, work ethics and principles lead the way, and you'll discover alternativesthatspeed up your daily routine.Ifyou want or need help, don't be afraid to ask for it.
PISCES (Feb.20-March 20) Interacting with professionally like-minded peoplewill help you gain momentum and insight intothe best pathforward. Put aplan in place anduse kindness and consideration to moveforward.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Putenthusiasmbehind your plansand initiate the changesthatwillmakeyour life less stressful. Saying akindword or offering ahelping hand will make you and those you aid feel good.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Explain how you feel or what you expect, and it will help you gain insight intothe changes youcan implement. Avoid anger while striving to promotepeace.
GEMINI (May21-June 20) Refuse to let youremotions interfere with your productivity anddoing what's right.Set standards, maintain equality and stick to areasonable budget.
CANCER (June21-July 22) Explore the possibilities and use your charm and consideration to enlist thehelpofothers. When in doubt,honestyisthe best policy. Self-improvement will be wellreceived.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Planyour actions, live and learn, and refuse to letanger andfrustration ruin your day. Focus on
what'spossible, do your research and put in theeffort and timenecessary to reach your goal
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept.22) Pay attention to what's happening around you, and you'll benefitfromwhatyou observe Takethe plunge and say what's on your mind and what you intend to do next
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Weigh the pros and cons,and proceed with aclear head and aplaninplace. Social and networkingeventsare favored if you put your best foot forward, presentingand promotingwhat you can do.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Less pushiness and more charm will get the jobdone. It will take thought, work and discipline to achieve what you set out to do. A domestic change thateliminates stress or tension is in your best interest.
SAGITTARIUS(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Keep workingtoward agoal that is liberating and offers healthybenefits. Don'tlet your emotions callthe shots when common sense is what's necessary. Choose selfimprovement
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take a moment to rethink thepast, present and future. When one door closes, another willopen. Look forthe silver lining, and youwill findthe perfect fit for your personal or professional pursuits.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotationsbyfamouspeople, past and present. Each letter in thecipherstands for another
FAMILYCIrCUS
TODAy'SCLUE: REQUALS y
CeLebrItY CIpher
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
LAGoon
bIG nAte
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Jean Cocteau, aFrench poet and novelist who died in 1963, said, “The greatest masterpiece of literature is only adictionary out of order.”
In most deals, theexact orderinwhich youplaythe tricks does not matter too much. Occasionally, though, you have to followa specific sequence, or youcan be defeated by accurate defense.
Whichappliesintoday’s deal?South is in three no-trump after East opened one spade. West leads thespade nineand East overtakes with his 10. What should declarer do?
Although East has only 11 high-card points,his hand is worth opening. He has length in the majors, an easy two-heart rebid, andifhefinds afit with hispartner, his hand has only sevenlosers(two spades, two hearts, onediamond and two clubs), which is the normal number for aminimum opening bid with afive-card suit.
South starts with only six toptricks: two spades and four clubs.Hemight be able to get three more tricks from diamonds, but if he has to lose two diamond tricks, East will establish andrun his spade suit to defeat thecontract.
Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,
Previousanswers:
Average mark18words
Time limit 30 minutes
Can you find25ormorewords in SUBVENED?
Don’t
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
purpose of
amineral lease(s) or ageophysical agr eement( s), provided and corrected exclusively by the nominating party.Therefore, any mineral lease(s) or geophysical agr eement (s) awarded by the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board(Mineral Board) from the Tract(s) listed below arewithout warranty of any kind, either express, implied or statutory including, but not limited to, title or the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for aparticular purpose.
An error or omission in the nominating party’sTract description may requirethat aState mineral lease(s) or geophysical agreement(s) be modified, canceled or abrogated due to the existence of conflicting leases, operating agreements, private claimsorother futureobligations or conditions within the Tract(s) described. In such case, however the Mineral Board shall not be obligated to refund any consideration paid by the Lessee prior to such modification, cancellation or abrogation including, but not limited to, bonuses, rentals and royalties.
Tract(s) available for leasing may be situated in the Louisiana Coastal Zone as defined in Act 361 of the Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature of 1978 (promulgated as LSA-R.S.49:213) and may be subject to the guidelines and regulations promulgated by the Office of Coastal Management of the Department of Conservation and Energy for operations in the Coastal Zone. Further, in accordance with Article XII, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, and notwithstanding any language herein to the contrary,any mineral rights granted by the Mineral and Energy Boardtothe tract(s) advertised herein are subject to the surface usage for integrated coastal protectionor hurricane and flood protectionprojects promulgated, funded and effected through the State of Louisiana, the Louisiana Coastal Protectionand Restoration Authority the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration, and the Department of Conservation and Energy and
its divisions, whether solely or in conjunctionwith other state, local or federal governmental agencies or with private individuals or entities.
Bids may be for the whole or any particularly described portion of the land advertised, but no bids will be accepted that does not equal the Minimum Royalty as set forth in La. R.S. 30:127 or which arenot in compliance with the provisions of Sub-part Aof Chapter 2, Title 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended, other applicable laws or the guidelines established by the Boardthrough the Office of Mineral Resources. The Minimum Royalty is not to be construed as an amount acceptable to the Mineral Board, it being the policy of the Mineral Boardto reject any bid which does not reflect tract potential. The Board considers bonus, royalty percentage, and also compares royalty granted to landowners in the area.
Multiple portion bids on the sametract may be accepted by the Mineral Board, even though they overlap. In the case of overlapping portion bids on the same tract, each of which is otherwise acceptable to the State, the Mineral Boardhas the sole discretion, to determine which one of the multiple bids on the sametract is most advantageous and in the best interest of the State. The Mineral Board may base it decision on factors such as but not limited to the royalty,per acrecash payment, bonus, any additional consideration. The selected bid, (referred to as “Bid A”), will be given priority in having alease issued. The Mineral Board will also indicate the acceptability of other portion bids on the sametract, if any in the order of their acceptance (referred to respectively as “Bid B”, “Bid C”, etc.). Once the plat of “Bid A” ‘s portion has been rendered as accurately as possible, “Bid B” will be contacted and given an option to take alease on the remaining portion of his portion bid acreage not overlapping “Bid A” ‘s bid portion, at “Bid B’ ‘s per acrebid price (both as to bonus and rental); and thereafter each successive bidder whose bid is otherwise acceptable will be given the option to take a lease on whatever portion remainsof his portion bid acreage at his respective per acrebid price, less and except any prior portion bid acreage on which the successful bidder has opted to take alease.
The Mineral and Energy Boarddoes not obligate itself to accept any bid, and that acceptance is at the sole discretion of the Mineral Board which reserves the right to reject any and all bids or to grant a lease on any portion of the tract advertised and to withdraw the remainder of the tract.
Addition al requirementstobe included in all sealed bidssubmitted to the Office of State Resources and additional tract information associated with each tract advertised can be found at the Office of State Resources website titled “Notice of Publication” located at: https://www.denr louisian a.gov / page/not ice-ofpublication-202512. It is the bidders’ responsibility to properly complete the bid package pursuant to the requirements stated in both the public notice and the
Notice of Publication.
The rights to geotherma l resources, free sulphur,potash, lignite, salt and other solid minerals aretobe excluded fromany oil or gas mineral lease and any bid purportingto includethose rights will bedisregarded as to the extent of those rights only
If you require accom mod at io ns due to adisability in order to attend or participate in a meeting, please notify the Office of State Resources at P.O. Box 2827, Baton Rouge, LA 708212827 or 225-3424615 at least two (2) working days before the meeting date.
TAXADJUDICATED LANDS TRACTS (Tract Nos. 46022 through 46035 inclusive, herein).
TRACT 46022Bienville Parish, Louisiana
All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to and acquired by the State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineralrights thereto, and which is not under valid minerallease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being more fully described as follows: That certain tract of land being the West Half of East Half of Southeast Quarter (W/2 of E/2 of SE/4) and West Half of Southeast Quarter (W/2 of SE/4) of Section 10, Township 16 North, Range 7West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the samelands described in that certain Patent from the State of Louisiana to Allen Davis, dated August 12, 1949 and recorded in Conveyance Book 180, Page 428, Instrument No 109825, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 120 acres
TRACT 46023Bienville Parish, Louisiana
All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to and acquired by the State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineralrights thereto, and which is not under valid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows: That certain tract of land being the Southeast Quarter (SE/4) of Section 19, Township 16 North, Range 8West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the samelands described in that certain Patent from the State of Louisiana to Harvey Wiggins, dated May 11, 1945 and recorded in Conveyance Book 152, Page 339, Instrument No 99064, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 160 acres
TRACT 46024Bienville Parish, Louisiana
All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to and acquired by the State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineralrights thereto, and which is not under valid minerallease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows: Those certain tracts of land located in Section 22, Township 16 North, Range 6 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, more particularly described
as follows:
Tract 1: That certain tract of land being the West Half of Southwest Quarter of Southeast Quarter (W/2 of SW/4 of SE/4), Less a0.5 Acre, moreorless, in the Northwest Corner owned by J.R. Loe and that part of Southeast Quarter of Southwest Quarter lying East of the LAND N.W.R.R and South of that Lot owned by D.P Whitley,ofSection 22, Township 16 North, Range 6West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the Stateof Louisiana to D.T Whitley,dated April 8, 1937 and recorded in Conveyance Book 118, Page 383, Instrument No 84122, Records of BienvilleParish, Louisiana, herein containing 19.50 acres, moreorless.
Tract 2: That certain tract of land being the SouthHalf (S/2) of Block 16 of the A.H.Pearce Addition, situated in Section 22, Township 16 North, Range 6West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the StateofLouisiana to W.L. Huckaby, dated December 5, 1950 and recorded in Conveyance Book 186, Page 649, Instrument No 112692, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 1.00 acre, moreorless.
Tract 3: That certain tract of land being Lot 5inBlock 11, Bienville, situated in Section 22, Township 16 North, Range 6 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainSheriffs Sale from the State of Louisiana to Marcie Boston, et ux, dated December 1, 1994 and recorded in Conveyance Book 724, Page 18, Instrument No 19950024, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 0.10 acre, moreorless.
The above tracts hereincontain atotal of 20.60 acres
TRACT 46025Bienville Parish, Louisiana Allofthe mineral rights onlyunder land adjudicated to and acquired by the State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineral rights thereto, and which is not under valid mineral lease from the StateofLouisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows: That certaintract of land being the Northwest Quarter of South East Quarter (NW/4 of SE/4) of Section 25, Township 14 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certain Patent from the StateofLouisiana to Mollie Potts, dated October 14, 1947 and recorded in Conveyance Book 172, Page 432, Instrument No 106555, Records of BienvilleParish, Louisiana, herein containing 40 acres
TRACT 46026Bienville Parish, Louisiana
All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to and acquiredbythe State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineral rights thereto, and which is not under valid mineral lease from the StateofLouisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows:
Those certaintracts of land located in Section 29, Township 16 North, Range 8 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, more particularly described as follows:
Tract 1: That certain tract of land being the SouthHalf of Northwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (S/2 of NW/4 of NW/4) of Section 29, Township 16 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the StateofLouisiana to Jim Wood, dated November 26, 1952 and recorded in Conveyance Book 197, Page 133, Instrument No 116736, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 20 acres, moreorless.
Tract 2: Lots 6and 7inBlock 15 of Jamestown, being situated in Section 29, Township16 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainSheriffs Deed from the State of Louisiana to Noah T. David, dated February 21, 1959 and recorded in Conveyance Book 230, Page 484, Instrument No O6539, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 0.32 acres, moreorless.
The above tracts hereincontain atotal of 20.32 acres
TRACT 46027Bienville Parish, Louisiana Allofthe mineral rights onlyunder land adjudicated to and acquired by the State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineral rights thereto, and which is not under valid mineral lease from the StateofLouisiana on March11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being more fully described as follows: That certaintract of land being the Northeast Quarter of Northeast Quarter (NE/4 of NE/4) of Section 3, Township 15 North, Range 7West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certain Patent from the StateofLouisiana to Currie Powell, dated August 14, 1947 and recorded in Conveyance Book 169, Page 9, Instrument No 105508, Records of BienvilleParish, Louisiana, herein containing 20 acres TRACT 46028Bienville Parish, Louisiana All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to and acquiredbythe State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineral rights thereto, and which is not under validmineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows: That certain tractofland being the North Half of Southwest Quarter (N/2 of SW/4), North Half of Southwest Quarter of Southwest Quarter (N/2 of SW/4 of SW/4), and 30 acres on West side of Northwest Quarter of Southeast Quarter (30 ac. W/2 of NW/4 of SE/4) of Section 2, Township 15 North, Range 7 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the Stateof Louisiana to Roy O. Martin Lumber Co Inc.,dated January 5, 1952 and recorded in Conveyance Book 134, Page 595, Instrument No 91874, Records of Bienville Parish,
Louisiana, herein containing 130 acres
TRACT 46029Bienville Parish, Louisiana
All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to and acquiredbythe State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineral rights thereto, and which is not under valid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows: Those certaintracts of land located in Section 14, Township 15 North, Range 8 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, more particularly described as follows:
Tract 1: That certain tract of land being the West Half of Northwest Quarter of Southeast Quarter (W/2 of NW/4 of SE/4) of Section 14, Township15North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the Stateof Louisiana to Elgie Cox, dated July 12, 1954 and recorded in Conveyance Book 244, Page 444, Instrument No P4874, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 20 acres, moreorless.
Tract 2: That certain tract of land being the Northeast Quarter of Southwest Quarter (NE/4 of SW/4) of Section 14, Township 15 North, Range 8 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the Stateof Louisiana to R.Z. Loud, dated July22, 1954 and recorded in Conveyance Book 202, Page 615, Instrument No 119680, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 40 acres, moreorless.
The above tracts herein containa total of 60.00 acres TRACT 46030Bienville Parish, Louisiana Allofthe mineral rights onlyunder land adjudicated to and acquired by the State of Louisiana in and through a proper tax sale, and subsequently alienated by the State which retained the mineral rights thereto, and which is not under valid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and being morefully described as follows: Those certaintracts of land located in Sections 13 and 18, Township 15 North, Range 8 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, more particularly described as follows:
Tract 1: That certain tract of land being the East Half of Northwest Quarter (E/2 of NW/4) and Northwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (NW/4 of NW/4) of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the StateofLouisiana to Avie Gardner dated August 7, 1950 and recorded in Conveyance Book 183, Page 456, Instrument No 111829, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, herein containing 120 acres, moreorless.
Tract 2: That certain tract of land being the SouthHalfof Southwest Quarter (S/2 of SW/4) of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatent from the StateofLouisiana to Heirs of Mose
Henry Cockerham dated March 9, 1954 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 206, Page 412, Instrument No. North 1765, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing80acres, moreorless.
Tract 3: That certain tract of land being the Northwest Quarter of Southeast Quarter (NW/4 of SE/4) and Northeast Quarter of Southwest Quarter (NE/4 of SW/4) of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to Henry Egan dated January 10, 1952 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 192, Page 312, Instrument No. 114834, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing80acres, moreorless.
Tract 4: That certain tract of land being the Southwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (SW/4 of NW/4) of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8 West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana,being the same landsdescribed in thatcertainPatent from the State of Louisiana to Cleve Loud,dated July 12, 1954 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 202, Page 544, Instrument No. 119834, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing 40 acres, moreorless.
Tract 5: That certain tract of land being the East Half of Northeast Quarter of Southeast Quarter (E/2 of NE/4 of SE/4) of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish Louisiana,being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to JaneMosley, dated December 5, 1957 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 221, Page 506, Instrument No. O2278, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing 20 acres, moreorless.
Tract 6: That certain tract of land being the Southwest Quarter of Northeast Quarter (SW/4 of NE/4)of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana, being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to LucyCockerham, dated June 6, 1955 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 208, Page 444, Instrument No. North 3137, Conveyance Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana herein containing 40 acres, moreorless.
Tract 7: That certain tract of land being the West Half of Northeast Quarter of Southeast Quarter (W/2 of NE/4 of SE/4) of Section 13, Township 15 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish Louisiana,being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to Leon W. Johnson, dated July 12, 1954 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 206, Page 392, Instrument No. North 1720, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana,herein containing 20 acres, moreorless.
Tract 8: That certain tract of land being the Northeast Quarter of Southwest Quarter (NE/4 of SW/4) andWest Half of Southwest Quarter (W/2 of SW/4) of Section 18, Township 15 North, Range 7West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to Angry Havard, dated December 17, 1953 andrecorded underConveyance Book 201, Page
219, Instrument No. North 1720, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing 120 acres, moreorless.
The above tracts herein contain atotal of 520.00 acres
TRACT 46031Bienville Parish, Louisiana All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to andacquired by the State of Louisiana in andthrough a proper taxsale, andsubsequently alienatedbythe State whichretained the mineral rights thereto, andwhich is not undervalid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana andbeing morefully described as follows: That certaintract of land being the North Half of Northwest Quarter of Southwest Quarter (E/2 of NW/4) andNorthwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (N/2 of NW/4 of SW/4), Southwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (SW/4 of NW/4), andSouth Half of Northwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (S/2 of NW/4 of NW/4) of Section 24, Township 15 North, Range 8West, Bienville Parish, Louisiana being the same lands described in that certainHomestead Certificate from the State of Louisiana to Sarah Egan dated October 2, 1948 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 177, Page 83, Instrument No. 108237, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana,herein containing 80 acres
TRACT 46032Bienville Parish, Louisiana All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to andacquired by the State of Louisiana in andthrough a proper taxsale, andsubsequently alienatedbythe State whichretainedthe mineral rights thereto, andwhichisnot undervalid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish Louisiana,and being morefully described as follows: That certaintract of land being the North Half of Northeast Quarter (N/2 of NE/4)and Northeast Quarter of Northwest Quarter (NE/4 of NW/4), Less 1.00 acre, of Section 33, Township 15 North, Range 6West, Bienville Parish Louisiana,being the same landsdescribed in thatcertainPatent from the State of Louisiana to Saline Hardwood Lumber Co., dated June 24, 1935 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 103, Page 293, Instrument No. 75826, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana,herein containing 119.00 acres
TRACT 46033Bienville Parish, Louisiana All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to andacquired by the State of Louisiana in andthrough a proper taxsale, andsubsequently alienatedbythe State whichretained the mineral rights thereto, andwhich is not undervalid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, andbeing morefully described as follows: Those certaintracts of land located in Section 1, Township 14 North, Range 8 West, Bienville Parish Louisiana,more particularly described as follows: Tract 1: That certain tract of land being 6.00 acres in the Northeast Corner of the Southwest Quarter of Northwest Quarter (SW/4 of NW/4), the Southeast Quarter of Northwest Quarter (SE/4 of
NW/4), andthe Northeast Quarter of Southwest Quarter (NE/4 of SW/4) of Section 1, Township 14 North, Range 8West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to E.R. Rigdon, dated January 24, 1947 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 166, Page 381, Instrument No. 104453, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing86acres, moreorless.
Tract 2: That certain tract of land being the South Half of Southeast Quarter (S/2 of SE/4) of Section 1, Township 14 North, Range 8West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to Wilbert Anderson dated March 21,1945 and recorded in Conveyance Book 150, Page 461, Instrument No. 97895, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing 80 acres, moreorless.
The above tracts herein contain atotal of 166.00 acres
TRACT 46034Bienville Parish, Louisiana All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to andacquired by the State of Louisiana in andthrough a proper taxsale, andsubsequently alienatedbythe State whichretained the mineral rights thereto, andwhich is not undervalid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana andbeing morefully described as follows: That certaintract of land being the Northeast Quarter of Northwest Quarter (NE/4 of NW/4) of Section 1, Township 14 North, Range 6West,Bienville Parish, Louisiana being the same lands described in that certainPatentfrom the State of Louisiana to E.A. Sanderlin, dated October 14, 1946 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 162, Page 523, Instrument No. 103413, Records of Bienville Parish, Louisiana,herein containing 40.00 acre, moreorless TRACT 46035Bienville Parish, Louisiana All of the mineral rights only under land adjudicated to andacquired by the State of Louisiana in andthrough a proper taxsale, andsubsequently alienatedbythe State whichretained the mineral rights thereto, andwhich is not undervalid mineral lease from the State of Louisiana on March 11, 2026, situated in Bienville Parish, Louisiana andbeing morefully described as follows: That certaintract of land being the Northeast Quarter of Southeast Quarter (NE/4 of SE/4) of Section 23, Township 14 North, Range 7 West, Bienville Parish Louisiana,being the same lands described in thatcertainPatent from the State of Louisiana to Widow andHeirs of G.B. Ouzts, dated March 5, 1952 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 192, Page 591, Instrument No. 115104, Records of Bienville Parish Louisiana,herein containing 40 acres
REQUISITION 11297726 1t: February17th, 2026 OFFICIAL PUBLIC NOTICE OFTHE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL OFTHE PARISH OF EAST BATONROUGE AND THE CITY OFBATON ROUGE
Notice is hereby given to all citizens of the City of Baton Rouge,Parish of East Baton Rouge and to all other interested persons, of the introduction at the regular meeting of the MetropolitanCouncil of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge, held on February11, 2026 of the proposed resolutions/ordinances, the titles of which areset forth hereinafter,and that public hearing will be held thereon by the MetropolitanCouncil at 4:00 P.M. Wednesday,February 25, 2026, in the Council Chambers (Room 348) on the third floor of the City-Parish Governmental Building in this City,these proposed resolutions/ordinances being entitled as follows: RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the matter entitled “Prentiss Hawkins v. The City of Baton Rouge and BelfordJohnson”, Suit no. 700,920 on the docket of the 19thJudicial District Court, in the amount of $300,000.00, plus court costs in theamount of $6,170.66, for atotal amount of $306,170.66; and appropriating $306,170.66 for such purpose. *This mattermay be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisTodd Comeaux). By Parish Attorney.
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an agreement between the City of Baton Rouge, Parish of East Baton Rouge,onbehalf of the Office of Community Development, and St. Vincent DePaul, in an amount not to exceed $250,000.00 with aterm beginning February 1, 2026, and ending January 31, 2027, and further authorizing the execution of all relateddocuments. By Community Development Director RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an Intergovernmental Agreement with City of St. George conveying, transferring, relinquishing, and assigning, withoutwarranty,any ownership in and to the portion of State Route La 1248 (known as Bluebonnet Boulevard) from its junction with State Route La 30 (known as Nicholson Drive) proceeding east and north approximately 2.52 miles to its intersection with State Route La 42 (known as Burbank Drive). By Transportation and Drainage Director RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to accept an amendment on behalf of the Division of Human Development and Services/Office of Social Services with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, for aCommunity
pay theSubrecipient amaximum amount of $1,450,093 for Federal Fiscal Year 2026. By Human Development &Services Director RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor President on behalf of the Division of Human Development &Services Ryan White Program to amend aMinority Aids Initiative (MAI) subrecipient contract with Our Lady of the Lake in the amount of $62,659.00, for atotal awarded amount of $75,390.00, which includes all funding under the Ryan White Part AHIV Emergency ReliefGrantProgram, andauthorizing the execution of all documents in connection therewith. By Human Development &Services Director RESOLUTION
Receiving areport from the Department of Information Services on the progress of the implementation of the City-Parish Open Data Policy.By Information Services Director RESOLUTION
Authorizing payment of the compromised judgment in the matter entitled “Sharell Horton v. Baton Rouge CityPolice, et al,” Suit no. 681,306, on the docket of the 19th Judicial District Court, in accordance with the payment procedureauthorized by Resolution 42915, adopted by the Metropolitan Council on November 25, 2003, in the amount of $325,000.00, plus court costs in the amount of $9,224.46, for atotal amount of $334,224.46, which amount shall be paid from the account designated “Compromised Judgment” (10004700-10-0550-0000-0000-000000-644850).*This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisDenis Barry). By Parish Attorney RESOLUTION
Authorize the Mayor-President to execute an amendment to thecooperative endeavoragreement with South Central Planning &Development Commission, to provide My Project Now softwarefor the 311 Call Center.ByOffice of Business Operations.
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President, on behalf of the Office of Community Development, to amend Contract No. 800007240 with ACSI Environmental Consultants to expand the Scope of Work andincrease compensation by $4,125.00 for arevised not-to-exceed amount of $53,875.00, and execute all related documents. By CommunityDevelopment Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President, on behalf of the Baton Rouge Police Department, to enter into aSubscription Services Agreement with Leads Online, LLC to provide the PowerPlus Investigations System and CellHawk Cell Phone Mapping &Analysis System subscriptions for investigative services. Thetotal compensation of theagreement is not to exceed $180,030.00 for athree-year term effective March 1, 2026, through February28, 2029. The
Authorizationfor the Mayor-President and/or Chairman of the Airport Commission to execute acontract with Corporate Green LLC, DBA Green Seasons to provide full-service landscaping and irrigation system maintenance for an amount not to exceed $150,000.00. (Account No. 5810-0900-30-09200000-0000-000000-643500-). By Aviation Director
RESOLUTION
Aresolution of the Metropolitan Council of the ParishofEastBaton Rouge and the City of Baton Rouge acknowledging receiptofa resolution adopted by the City of St. George concerning the Highland Road at Pecue Lane Intersection Improvement Project, and providing for the council’sdetermination to proceed with the originally designed signalized intersection based on safety, operational, and fiscal analysis. By Councilman Rowdy Gaudet and Councilman Dwight Hudson.
RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the pre-litigation claim of Sidney and Crystal Poray for damages resulting from an auto accident caused by aBaton Rouge Police Officer,inthe amount of $12,367.15, which amount shall be paid from the account designated “Insurance -Auto Liability” (1000.4700.10.0550.0000. 0000.000000.644120). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (In Proper Person). By ParishAttorney.
RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the pre-litigation claim of Samuel Monisterefor damages resulting from asewer back-up in claimant’shome, for atotal amount of $14,567.45, which shall be paid from the account designated “InsuranceGeneral Liability”(1000. 4700. 10. 0550. 0000. 0000. 000000.644110). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (In Proper Person). By Parish Attorney
RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the matter entitled “Beverly Himel Rafferty v. Bradley Bennett, et al,”Suit no. 650,952 on the docket of the 19th Judicial District Court, in the amount of $50,000.00, plus court costs in the amount of $2,411.64 for atotal amount of $52,411.64, which amount shall be paid from theaccount designated “Insurance -General Liability”(1000. 4700. 10. 0550. 0000. 0000. 000000.644110). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisByron M. Forrest, ForrestCressy &James LLC.). By ParishAttorney
RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the pre-litigation claim of John Parker for damages resulting from an auto accident caused by aPublic Works Street Maintenance employee, in the amount of $14,500.00, which amount shall be paid from the account designated “Insurance -Auto Liability”(1000.4700.10.0550.0000.000.000000.644120). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisJames Oliver,III). By ParishAttorney
RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the pre-litigation claim of Carolyn Smith for damages resulting from an auto accident caused by aBaton Rouge Police Officer,inthe amount of $22,500.00, which amount shall be paid from the account designated “Insurance -Auto Liability” (1000.4700.10.0550.0000. 0000.000000.644120). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Attorney of recordisChris Shows). By ParishAttorney.
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor President to execute an agreement with The Luster Group, LLC for Demolition and Abatement Services,Package A18inan amount not to exceed $79,235.00. By Development Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an agreement with Caldwell Environmental Solutions, LLC, for Demolition and Abatement Services Package A19 in an amount not to exceed $50,852.00. By Development Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute an agreement with Capital Area Construction LLC for Demolition and Abatement Services,Package A20inan amount not to exceed $69,524.00. By Development Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing settlement of the pre-litigation claim of Lorraine Mayer for damages resulting from aback-up in claimant’shome, for atotal amount of $13,876,67, which shall be paid from the account designated “InsuranceGeneral Liability” (1000. 4700. 10. 0550. 0000. 0000. 000000.644110). *This matter may be discussed in Executive Session. (Murphy Sanchez, PLLC, OBO USAA Insurance Company). By ParishAttorney
RESOLUTION
To Urge and Request the Mayor-President to Rename the City-Parish Building
Located at 3773 Harding Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Melvin “Kip” Holden Advanced TrafficManagement/Emergency Operations Center, in Honor of Former Mayor Melvin “Kip”Holden and to Waive the Two(2) Year Waiting Period as Mandated under Resolution 30147. By Mayor Edwardsand Councilman Anthony Kenney
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute aRight-of-Way Agreement with Entergy Louisiana, LLC or purchasing right of way for new powerline services totaling 1.701 Acresatacost of $20,412.00 from City-Parish. By Transportation and Drainage Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor President on behalf of the Division of Human Development &Services Ryan White Program to amend aPart Asubrecipient contract with Our Lady of the Lake in the amount of $299,381.00, for atotal awardedamount of $382,898.00, which includes all funding under the Ryan White Part AHIV Emergency Relief Grant Program, and authorizing the execution of all documents in connection therewith. By Human Development &Services Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor President on behalf of the Division of Human Development &Services Ryan White Program to amend aPart Asubrecipient contract with Family Services of Greater Baton Rouge in the amount of $75,000.00, for atotal awardedamount of $993,184.00, which includes all funding under the Ryan White Part AHIV Emergency Relief Grant Program, and authorizing the execution of all documents in connection therewith. By Human Development &Services Director
RESOLUTION
Amending Ordinance 18504, EBROSCO Ordinance 8614 so as to adda sewer user fee rate for aWholesale Customer Class. By Environmental Services Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President to execute Supplemental Agreement No. 3tothe Contract with HNTB for professionalgrant management services, associated with the InfrastructureProject Identification, Development, Grant Submittal and Implementation Support (Services related to the Bipartisan InfrastructureLaw (BIL) Master Contract and corresponding Supplements No 1and No 2, in an amount not to exceed $350,000.00. By Transportation and Drainage Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President on behalf of the Division of Human Development &Services,Head Start Programs, to enter into acontract with Clay Young Enterprises in the amount not to exceed $77,000.00 for the provision of social media management, for the period of February 2, 2026 through December 31, 2026, authorizing the execution of all documents in connection therewith. By Human Development &Services Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing the Mayor-President
amount nottoexceed $216,441.00. (Account No.PS:9101100001-4610 00000-0000000000-652200). By Buildingand Grounds Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing theMayor-Presidenttoexecute
connection with Baker Branch Library Renovations and Additions, being City Parish Project No. 21-ASD-CP-1623 in an amount not to exceed $635,093.78. (Account No. PS: 9101200008-4610 0000-0000000000-6522000; GL 4610-1200-60-12000000-0000-000000-652000). By Building and Grounds Director ORDINANCE
Amending the 2026 Annual Operating Budget so as to transfer funding in the amount of $50,000 from the Police Department to the Parish Attorney’sOf
Engineering Services with Professional Engineering Consultants Corporation, for services associated with the MOVEBR Project Groom Road (LA 19 to Plank Road)being City-Parish Project No. 19-EN-HC-0035, in an amount not to exceed $10,047.08. (Account No. 9217100076-4370.000000000000000-653240). By Transportation and Drainage Director RESOLUTION
Authorizing
Beautification Portion of the One-Half CentSales andUse Taxfor Street andRoad Improvements. By Transportation andDrainage Director
RESOLUTION
Authorizing theMayor-Presidenttoapprove the AssistantChief Administrative Officer on behalf of the Department of Transportation andDrainage, to increase thepay of Aakyre Williams, Senior Clerical Specialist, job code 2016, pay
RESOLUTION
Rescindingand
RESOLUTION
Rescindingand directingthe
RESOLUTION
13379, andthe Decision and Order recorded on December 15, 2025 at Original 344 of Bundle 13409 in thematter of “City of Baton Rouge vs. Edeassa Jones Lawson andMarkJerome Lawson”- Condemnation Proceeding No. 11699 (11625 Nimitz St.,(House andAbandoned Vehicles), Lot22.A, HardingHeights Subdivision). Reason for Rescission:Property is beingrenovated by theowner By Councilman Kenney.
RESOLUTION
Rescindingand directingthe ClerkofCourt to cancel theNotice to Attend recorded on May14, 2025 at Original 389 Bundle 13371, Original 390 Bundle 13371, andthe Decision and Order recorded on October 27, 2025 at Original 543 of Bundle 13401 in thematter of “City of Baton Rouge vs. Brittani Washington andShana Washington”- Condemnation Proceeding No. 11658 (1580 N48thSt. (House andAny Auxi iary), Lot45, Sq.31, Greenville Extension Subdivision). Reason for Rescission:Property is beingrenovated by theowner By Councilwoman Harris
CONDEMNATION INTRODUCTIONS
The Estate Of Frank Matthews 9324 HeleneSt. Lots 42 &43, SouthernGardensSubdivision -Council District 2-Kenney Mary LeeGreen 9168 Lewis St. Lots 11 &12, Sq.98, North Baton Rouge Subdivision -Council District 2Kenney
Milton L. Clark, John M. Clark, And The Estate Of Norma A. Clark 10044 Avenue A. Lot2,Sq. 40 (Acquisition Reads Square 4), University Place SubdivisionCouncil District 2-Kenney
Gertrude JonesCallahan andHarrison M. Callahan,Jr. 7551 Somerset St. (Fire-Damaged Dwellingwith Rear Shop,Used Tires, and Pallets) Lot7-A +(Resub. of Lots 4, 5, 6, 7, &11. Lot7-A &Lot 11-A), Sq.21, Bank Addition Subdivision -Council District 2-Kenney Anges Keller Kennon, Joseph A. Keller,Carolyn Keller,The Estate Of Benjamin Keller,The Succession Of Annette CorneliousLusk, And The Estate Of Robert I. Keller,Sr. 10531 Elm Grove Garden Dr LotH,Elm Grove Garden Farms Subdivision -Council District 2-Kenney Tamarana(AKA Tamarama) Shelmire(FKA TamaranaShelmireHolland) 5911 At antaAve.(Rear Shed Only) Lot79, East Fairlane, 2nd Filing, Part 2, Subdivision -Council District 5-Hurst Vidrine Investment Properties, LLC 656 NAcadian Thwy E Lot11, Sq.2 (Acquisition Reads Square 12), Eden Park Subdivision -Council District 7-Harris Mary Joann Irvin andThe Estate Of James Irvin 2945
BEINGIN
TOWNSHIP 6 SOUTH, RANGE2 EAST
TRICT, EAST BATON ROUGEPARISH, LA.FROM THEPOINT OF BEGINNING RUNS30°45'57"EFOR A DISTANCE OF 40.98 FEET THENCE ALONGTHE ARC OF ACURVE TO THE RIGHTFOR ADISTANCE OF 78.09 FEET,SAID CURVEHAVINGA RADIUS OF 145.12 FEET,A DELTA ANGLEOF30°50'01" A CHORDBEARING OF S15°20'56"E, AND A CHORDDISTANCEOF 77.15 FEET,THENCE S00°04'04"WFORADIS‐TANCEOF214.77 FEET, THENCE ALONGTHE ARC OFACURVE TO THELEFT FORA DISTANCE OF 237.06 FEET,SAIDCURVE HAVING ARADIUSOF 814.88 FEET,A DELTA ANGLEOF16°40'04",A CHORDBEARING OF S08°15'58"E, ANDA CHORDDISTANCEOF 236.22 FEET,THENCE S16°36'00"EFOR ADIS‐TANCEOF228.61 FEET THENCE S66°22'00"WFOR ADISTANCEOF154.36 FEET,THENCE S46°42'00"WFOR ADIS‐TANCEOF521.19 FEET THENCE N00°00'00"EFOR ADISTANCEOF1179. 78 FEET,THENCEN54°17'21 "E FORA DISTANCE OF 248.57 FEET ALONGTHE SOUTHERLYRIGHTOFWAYLINEOFGREENWELL SPRINGSRD, THENCE N56°59'00"EFOR
PUBLIC NOTICE 1.0PublicNotice- Re‐questfor Qualifications On-CallArchitectural and EngineeringConsultant Services TheEastBaton Rouge Parish School Board (EBRPSB) is requesting proposalsfromqualified andexperienced firm(s)
DELIVERY / INDEFINITE QUANTITY ON CALL ARCHITEC‐TURALAND ENGINEERING CONSULTANT SERVICES Solicitation 08-25 Statements of Qualifica‐tionsshall only be sub‐mitted on East Baton RougeParishSchool BoardStandardQualifi‐cationsFormEBRPSB-AE datedFebruary10, 2026. Asampleformisat‐tached,and acomputer file canbeprovidedupon request. Interested firms mayobtain an official Requestfor Qualifica‐tions(RFQ) package from: Only those firmsthat have obtained theofficial RFQpackage forthispro‐ject will be considered.If an applicantisa joint venture, each prime firm
NOTICE NOTICE theLouisiana De‐partment of Conserva‐tion andEnergy, Office of Permitting andCompli‐ance (OPC)has received thefollowing applica‐tion(s)for aCoastal Use Permit (CUP)inaccor‐dancewithLa. R.S. 49:214.21 et seq.,and the rulesofthe CoastalMan‐agementProgram.Appli‐cationsfor coastaluse permitsmay be in‐spectedat617 North3rd Street,Room 1078, Baton Rouge, LA or on theOPC webpageat: https:// denr.louisiana.gov/page/ public-notices.Copies areavailable,costs apply. Writtencomments aresolicited from the public andmustbere‐ceived within 25 days of thedateofthisnotice. Comments must be up‐loaded directly to our electronic record throughthe OPCweb‐page or mailed to:OPC Administrator, Kyle Balkum,P.O Box44487, BatonRouge,LA708044487. Allcommentsmust containthe appropriate CUPnumber andthe commenter'sfullname andcontact information. Beloware thereferenced application(s):* CUPNUMBER: P20250676 Name:Louisiana DOTD 1201 CAPITOLACCESS ROAD BATONROUGE,LA 70802 Attn:Randi Eames Location:Lafourche Parish,LA; Lat. 29-5016.95, Long.90-48-49.55 (see platsfor additional details).Description:Pro‐posaltodoreconstruc‐tion work on LA 20 from St.Patrick Street to LA 304. Theproposedpro‐ject includes earthwork, subsurfacedrainage, as‐phaltconcreteshoul‐ders,milling,and overlay f h l d d
