Issuu

SAVE 81 ¢

SAVE $ 61 1

— ONLY —

PREVIOUSLY FROZEN

Chicken Drumsticks

visit rouses.com for more weekly ad specials!

88 ¢

SAVE 51 ¢

SAVE up $ 91 to 1 — ONLY —

VALUE PACK

Assorted Pork Chops

$ 88 LB

Includes 4 Sirloin, 4 Center Cut and 4 Rib End Chops!

WASHINGTON STATE GROWN

Honeycrisp or Sugar Bee Apples

$ 88 LB

5 OZ CAN

Starkist Chunk Light Tuna

88 ¢

Prices good at all Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville stores August 26th - September 2nd, 2026.

THE

ACADIANA

ADVOCATE

T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M

Before ‘Little House,’ Rose Wilder Lane lived in Louisiana

— ONLY —

M o n d ay, au g u s t 31, 2026

$2.00X

‘COMING INTO THE

MODERN WORLD’

Meta data center transforms local government in Richland Parish

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Long before Laura Ingalls Wilder’s memories became the beloved “Little House” books, her daughter was writing a chapter of her own story in Crowley. More than 120 years ago, Rose Wilder Lane came to Louisiana at 16, graduated at the top of her class from Crowley High School and later helped shape the literary legacy that made her mother’s stories famous. Today, the Acadia Parish Library stands on the same ground where Crowley High School once stood, meaning visitors may be standing where Wilder’s daughter once attended classes. Historical accounts confirm that Lane graduated from Crowley High School in 1904 as the top student in a class of seven. “She was a very intelligent woman,” said Claire Dore, programming and outreach librarian and archivist for Acadia Parish Library. “She liked school. She wanted to be as educated as possible.” Born in 1886, Lane spent her early years moving with her parents, Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder, through several Midwestern communities before the family eventually settled in Mansfield, Missouri. By the time she reached her teenage years, Lane had become fascinated by the world of literature. She grew up in rural communities, and at the time, the school in Mansfield, where Lane lived with her parents, did not offer the full course of study she wanted, but Crowley did. In the early 1900s, Crowley was becoming a place of educational opportunity. Crowley High School offered students the opportunity to complete the full high school curriculum through the 12th grade, while Acadia College gave students a path to continue

ä See WILDER, page 5A

Tate Pitre fishes for crabs by one of the existing breakwaters in Grand Isle on Thursday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to add 31 more. STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 76 PAGE 10C

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Elliot Colvin, the longest-serving member of the Richland Parish Police Jury, responds to an infrastructure issue concerning Meta’s data center while he and his farm crew harvest a field in Rayville on Aug. 4. BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Cecil Reddick dealt with the typical constituent requests after he was elected to the Richland Parish Police Jury in rural northeast Louisiana: repair roads, upgrade drainage and demolish dams built by beavers that were now flooding roadside ditches. Then, in late 2024, Gov. Jeff Landry and executives with Meta announced shocking news: the California-based company planned to build a massive data center to power Artificial Intelligence computing, in fields where corn, rice, cotton and soybeans were grown.

Now, residents constantly seek out Reddick, the Police Jury president, approaching him at the local Walmart or interrupting his meal at Wafﬂe House. “My phone never quits ringing,” Reddick said during a recent interview, adding that he’s happy to help. It’s constituents with the normal calls, but also people asking about the Police Jury’s decision to impose a moratorium on new RV parks to house an army of construction workers. Calls also come from reporters, the governor’s ofﬁce and out-of-town investors enticed by the prospect of earning big money from

Richland Parish Police Jury President Cecil Reddick said he is frequently contacted by residents with questions about the data center plans.

ä See RICHLAND, page 4A

Project would protect Grand Isle’s fading beach More than 260,000 tons of rocks will be used for breakwaters

But that was what culminated on Thursday, when Gov. Jeff Landry, U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise and ofﬁcials from President Donald Trump’s administration gathered in Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island to anBY MIKE SMITH nounce a long-sought project. The project will build another Staff writer 3 miles of rock breakwaters along It may seem unlikely that piles of the Gulf side of Grand Isle, each one rocks off Grand Isle would touch off about 250 feet long with equal-sized a debate about coastal protection, gaps between them. The cost will how the nation prioritizes projects be $51 million, fully funded by the and the survival of a storm-battered ä See BEACH, page 5A community.

Classified .....................4A Deaths .........................4B Nation-World ................2A Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Opinion ........................2B Commentary ................3B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

102ND yEAR, NO. 62

2A ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Officer killed, second hurt in S.C. shooting

A South Carolina police officer died and a second was injured in a gunfight Saturday in a park following a call about a domestic dispute, the police chief in Columbia said. The suspect, a 33-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record, also died, Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said at a news conference in the capital city. The deceased officer, 29-yearold Christopher DeLong, had been with the police department for two years and leaves behind a wife and two young children, Holbrook said. “Our hearts are broken this evening,” he said, appearing choked up at times. DeLong’s wife, in a social media post, praised her husband as the “best dad to our babies” and said she was “living a nightmare.” After a Saturday night news conference, Holbrook and other law enforcement officials joined in a procession from the hospital. The second officer, David Dymock, was in stable condition, the chief said. “I hope that our officers know that they’re not alone in this. We will lean on each other in this tragic time,” Holbrook said. “Let’s pray for this department.”

Hundreds attend funeral in Haiti for attack victims

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hundreds of people crowded into a church near Haiti’s capital on Sunday for the funeral of four of the 47 people killed in a recent gang attack so brutal that it shook a country that has long struggled with violence. Mourners wiped away tears, raised their hands and cried out as cofﬁns arrived at a church in the farming community of Kenscoff. “We thank everyone who came in solidarity with the families that died and those who lost their loved ones,” Pastor Jean Robert Dorlus said. “God will open a space to receive them.” Inside the church, people swayed to gospel music. Some wailed as their shoulders shook. The church was so packed that dozens had to stand outside, peering through the windows, as they honored those being laid to rest: a mother, father and their son, and a 70-year-old man whose body had been set on ﬁre by the gang members. “I’ve known them for a long time,” said Yvon Marleus, a Kenscoff resident who lost a cousin in the attack. “These are people who are respected in the community.” Gangs abducted more than 50 people during the attack, although they recently released six children and seven women following an intervention by community leaders and UNICEF.

1 killed, 5 injured in shooting at Swiss rave

GENEVA — A shooting at a rave in the northern Swiss canton of Aargau left one person dead and five injured early Sunday, local police and media reported. Police said they are still looking for potentially more than one suspect. Aargau cantonal police wrote earlier on X that a 22-year-old woman died of injuries at the scene. Four men and one woman, between 24 and 27 years old, were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to severe. All of the victims are residents of Switzerland, police said. They did not release their names in line with Swiss privacy rules. However, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday evening identified the woman who was killed and two other victims as Italian citizens. “I express my deepest condolences for the death of Maria Spinelli, the young Italian woman who was a victim of the tragic shooting in Aarau, Switzerland,” she wrote on X, identifying the dead woman by name. “My thoughts also go to the other injured individuals, among whom there are two Italian citizens, and to all the people involved in this dramatic event,” she said, adding that she trusts “the work of the Swiss authorities to shed full light on what happened and identify those responsible.”

lll

U.S. strikes Iranian rocket launchers Attacks mark first military action in weeks

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, CARA ANNA and BEN FINLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Iran swiftly vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack. Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command. The U.S. military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes. Semiofficial news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak island on the strait. The Guard in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster noted “the martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and compatriots.” A return to open conflict would be dangerous for the region, where Iran has targeted U.S. military bases

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VAHID SALEMI

Crowds fill a street Sunday during celebrations marking Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in Tehran, Iran. and infrastructure in Gulf countries since the war began on Feb. 28. The last time the U.S. military confirmed targeting Iran was on July 29, when it announced a “heavy wave of strikes” on dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets including coastal surveillance and defense sites. On Aug. 1, President Donald Trump said he would order the military to hold off on new strikes at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The attack comes just days after the Trump administration said it would

turn its focus to increasing economic pressure — rather than military action — to try to end its war with Iran. The shifting strategy centers on threats to punish any country or entity that continues to conduct business with Tehran. Sunday’s attack was a “fatal mistake by the Trump regime during the economic war” and the enemy will pay the consequences militarily and economically, a Guard spokesperson, Gen. Hossein Mohebi, said in a statement carried by Iranian media. The U.S. turn to using sanctions came as the administration weighs di-

minished munitions stockpiles after months of war, sparking concerns that the prolonged conflict could undermine U.S. military readiness in other parts of the globe. As the conflict grinds on, Trump’s talk of finding a quick end to the war also appears to be fading. He stressed last week that he’s “not in a hurry” to get Iran back to the negotiating table, and he continues making the case that the Islamic Republic’s leadership is on the ropes. Appointments to Iran’s senior security leadership in the past month, however, have signaled Tehran’s de-

fiance after weathering decades of sanctions as well as a lack of tolerance for dissent at home. Trump has consistently emphasized that the U.S. and Israel campaign has been devastating for Iran’s navy and air force. Iranian officials have said the country has suffered $270 billion in direct and indirect damage. Israeli military strikes in the first weeks of the war wiped out much of the theocratic government’s leadership structure. But Iran has found leverage through its strikes against vessels on the Strait of Hormuz, where relatively few ships carrying oil and liquefied natural gas are risking passage. Iran still has enough drones and missiles to fire at vessels transiting the waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows. Tehran continues to assert that even after it works out a management plan for the strait with Oman, its neighbor on the other side of the waterway, the U.S. can’t use it until it fulfills its obligations under the memorandum of understanding the countries signed in mid-June. Trump has repeatedly declared that the “Strait of Hormuz is open,” saying 24 vessels passed through last week. But that’s a fraction of the roughly 130 vessels that transited daily before the war began.

Iceland votes down proposal to restart EU bid BY KWIYEON HA and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland’s voters rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland’s prized fisheries, officials said Sunday. Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%, the National Electoral Commission said. The result puts the divisive issue to rest for now — more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended EU talks that had begun after the 2008 financial crisis. The vote Saturday was held in the shadow of repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to take control of nearby Greenland. Although Iceland is a NATO member, supporters said European solidarity would provide greater protection if Trump ever made similar threats toward the volca-

to change in the next 24 months for this to be at the top of the agenda.” Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, leader of the opposition Independence Party who opposed the measure, said the result is a blow to the government but not European relations. “The best way to heal the wounds is for the government to listen to the conclusion and put this path aside,” she told RUV, the national ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARCO DI MARCO broadcaster. “Because we Leaders of the campaign against a proposal for Iceland want to remain in close with the European to restart negotiations to join the European Union react contact Union, Europe and as many to results on Saturday during an election night gathering other countries as possible,

in Reykjavik.

nic island. Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had planned for next year after Trump mistakenly named Iceland four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said she did not see the loss as a setback for her coalition government but

as a win for democracy as more than 82% of the eligible 270,000 voters cast ballots. She said she would respect the result but would not rule out a future attempt to reopen the issue. “Things happened in the past couple of years, though, that I could not have predicted,” she said. “But this government will not go forward with it. And something big has

Dozens of people evacuated from Grand Canyon after flash flood BY JAMIE STENGLE and FELICIA FONSECA

Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A major flash flood at the Grand Canyon forced the evacuation of dozens of people and swept large boulders, metal structures and other debris into the Colorado River that runs through it, the National Park Service said. The flooding in Bright Angel Creek, which ﬂows into the river, happened Saturday afternoon. Torrents of water wiped out footbridges over the creek and significantly altered the landscape, widening the creek bed and creating what appeared to be a new river rapid. The park service said it was seeking information about more than 20 people who may be miss-

ing or unaccounted for after the ﬂood and asked anyone with details about people hiking or camping in the area to get in touch. It said it was working with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to continue evacuations Sunday. “This is a reminder of what a dynamic and active landscape Grand Canyon is,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. Popular tourist spots including the Bright Angel Campground, Phantom Ranch and parts of the North Kaibab trail remained closed on Sunday while park officials surveyed the damage, the park said. Rafting trips on the Colorado River also have been halted for now. More than 60 people were evacuated from Phantom

Ranch, which has a historic canteen and dorms, and is a common spot for rafters to get off and on the river. More evacuations were planned Sunday, the park said. No injuries have been reported. Erica Viola said she was at Bright Angel Campground when the rain started Saturday afternoon, and she and about 50 other hikers watched the creek rise and then debris start to ﬂow by, including what looked like a bunkhouse. The group was taken by helicopter to safety, ending her adventure two days early, she said. About half an inch to 1 inch of rain fell within about 30 minutes in the rocky area where there’s a steep drop in elevation, said National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Johndrow in Flagstaff.

the nation is sending a clear message that we intend to steer that course ourselves.” Voters faced a simple yes-or-no question: Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union? The capital of Reykjavik was the only area in the island nation of 400,000 people where a majority supported the referendum. The inﬂuential ﬁshing industry led opposition to the referendum over fears the bloc’s common fisheries policy would open its waters to Spanish, Dutch and other trawlers.

GET IN TOUCH Customer Service: HELP@THEADVOCATE.COM or 337-234-0800 News Tips / Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM Obituaries: 225-388-0289 • Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-5; Closed Sun Advertising Sales: 337-234-0174 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Classiﬁed Advertising: 225-383-0111 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Subscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com The Acadiana Advocate (USPS # 25-866) is published daily by Capital City Press, LLC at 203 W. Third St., Lafayette, LA 70501. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA ISSN 2643-7252 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Acadiana Advocate, Circulation Accounting, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Newspaper carriers are independent contractors and not employees of Capital City Press.

All home delivery subscription sales are non-refundable. Should you discontinue your subscription during term, the subscription will end with the expiration date on your subscription, and there will not be a refund of a prorated amount. Subscribers who purchased their subscription before Feb. 1, 2023 and wish to cancel can request a refund of a remaining balance at https://www.nola.com/app/forms/ refund-request-form/. Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of Capital City Press, LLC or its designee. All subscriptions purchased that include a special edition will have the special edition value deducted prior to any refund provided to subscriber upon cancellation of service. Standard subscription rates may be effective upon renewal. All standard subscriptions include digital access and e-Edition, a digital replica of the printed Advocate edition(s). The apps are free for tablets and smartphones. Smartphone apps may not be supported on all devices. The Advocate standard subscription rate is $80.89 per 4-week period, plus tax. The Acadiana Advocate standard subscription rate is $80.89 per 4-week period, plus tax. Standard digital subscriptions include e-Edition with the rate of $31.15 per 4-week period, plus tax starting 1/1/25. Special editions included in home delivery subscriptions are 1/30/26, 3/11/26, 4/15/26, 5/27/26, 7/8/26, 8/19/26, 9/30/26 11/26/26, 1/22/27, 3/10/27, 4/14/27, 5/26/27, 7/14/27, 8/18/27, 9/29/27 and 11/25/27 and are billed at $6.23 each. The Thanksgiving Day edition will be billed at your regular Thursday rate plus $6.23. To opt out of special edition delivery, email help@theadvocate.com or call 225-388-0395. By opting out of special editions you will not receive that day’s newspaper. Thanksgiving Day is not a special edition and opting out for that edition isn’t permitted. Prices shown are in U.S. dollars. Prices subject to change. Other restrictions may apply. We no longer provide credit for temporary delivery stops of 14 days or less. During a temporary delivery stop donations are made to our News in Education program. This program provides newspapers and digital access to schools across Louisiana. This program is paid for by sponsors and temporary stops so that students may use the newspaper for educational purposes in the classroom. During a temporary delivery stop of the print edition subscribers have unlimited digital access to theadvocate.com, nola. com and the apps for tablet and smartphone. Seasonal delivery times from August 2025 through February 2026 will extend to 8:00 a.m. on weekends. Subscribers may also choose to access our digital replica e-Edition of the printed Advocate, Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate and Acadiana Advocate only. As a highly valued customer, we also value your privacy. All personal information collected by The Advocate will be used for administration and customer veriﬁcation; it may be used for promotional purposes in accordance with The Advocate’s privacy policy. Please refer to our policy located at https://www.theadvocate.com/new_policy/ for information regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. By providing your phone number and email address you agree that we can call or email you to conﬁrm delivery service, satisfaction and/or sales promotions as they may occur from The Advocate. The Acadiana Advocate: 203 W. Third Street, Lafayette, LA 70501

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● 3A

lll

Nepal warns of possible fresh flooding Communities grapple with devastation

BY VICTORIA MILKO and NIRANJAN SHRESTHA Associated Press

al Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing the country’s water resources ministry, said a new lake formed after Wednesday’s ﬂoods high in the mountains had largely drained. But Xinhua said the min-

istry warned that a crater located 3.5 miles upstream, which held an estimated 1.4 million cubic meters of water, still posed some risk and required close monitoring. Nepal’s disaster agency said Sunday the death toll had climbed to 788 with 2,502 missing, while Chi-

U.S. coaches Polish forces in drone-focused military drill BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL,Fla.— NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before. SpaceX launched the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope shortly after daybreak aboard a triple-the-firepower Falcon Heavy rocket. Roman blazed toward an observation point 1 million miles away that’s home to the Webb Space Telescope, one of NASA’s other big-ticket eyes in the sky. The bus-sized telescope — named after the late Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer — will take more than three months to reach its destination. Once there, it will cast the widest gaze yet on the hidden parts of the universe from space, uncovering the unimaginable with unsurpassed speed. “It’s going to find thousands of supernovae, tens of thou-

sands of planets, billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars,” said NASA science mission director Nicky Fox. “It’s going to be able to do things that we’ve never been able to do before with its massive ﬁeld of view.” Several minutes after the thunderous launch from Kennedy Space Center, the rocket’s two reusable side boosters descended tail-ﬁrst in a thrilling scene, producing sharp sonic booms as they landed back at Cape Canaveral. Soon afterward, the telescope separated successfully from the rocket’s upper stage, drawing applause from ground controllers. Fox was in tears watching the action unfold. “It’s such a good day!” she said. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was in the middle of a news conference a couple hours later, predicting that the Roman Space Telescope would soon become a household name, when his cell-

phone rang. President Donald Trump was on the line, offering congratulations. “Boy, it looked beautiful on television,” said Trump, fresh off his visit to Houston’s Johnson Space Center on Friday to honor the Artemis II moon crew. “You’re the hottest in space.” Roman’s field of view is more than 100 times wider than that of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, still churning out celestial glamour shots after 36 years in orbit. Webb joined the effort several years ago with an even narrower yet spot-on vision capable of zooming in on objects almost as old as the universe-creating Big Bang. These three orbiting powerhouses will join forces — along with the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft and the National Science Foundation’s Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile — to reveal some of the universe’s biggest secrets.

U.S. plans to sanction another bank to up pressure on Iran, Bessent says BY FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

%* 35

ishing sanctions. However, hostilities between the U.S. and Iran flared on Sunday. U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month, breaking a lull in fighting. Iran vowed to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack. In addition, the administration has mostly relied on warnings rather than new sanctions against Iran’s trading partners. There’s also the question of how Trump will handle China, which is Iran’s biggest trading partner and

up ave to

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks Sunday during an interview with The Associated Press in Asheville, N.C.

special forces units. The scenario, which runs for several days, takes place on a large, 1,100-squaremile plot of land nestled in the Bavarian countryside. Poland’s special forces will be expected to sneak past a U.S. Army airborne infantry unit, whose soldiers will play the enemy. The U.S. airborne infantry unit will parachute into the closed-off training area at the Army’s Hohenfels base and set themselves up into a front line. Assuming the Polish forces can make their way past the U.S. Army, they must then move north — through about 60 miles of German countryside — to another training area in the town of Grafenwoehr, where they are expected to destroy a simulated target. In between lie German farms and villages, private and government cameras, as well as a city with a large population, all of which not only pose as obstacles but also create the potential for them to be spotted. The senior enlisted soldier said that in previous instances of the exercise, the Army Green Berets removed their uniforms “so they can blend in” before adding that “blend in also means don’t get seen by civilians.” German civilians in the area largely are not aware of the exercise and serve as a reasonable test of how well special forces can blend into the local population. If they fail, reports of suspicious people to police will make it back to the military, which will use them to pinpoint the team.

Supe

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

leading buyer of its oil. Bessent told the AP he would speak to his Chinese counterparts at the G20 meeting and “all options are on the table” in terms of sanctioning Beijing for its continued purchases. But he rejected the idea that the administration was reluctant to confront China, calling it “a completely false narrative that the media picked up on.” He insisted that China and the U.S. agree on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Treasury’s first official action in this campaign of economic pressure was a proposed rulemaking on Friday, which would, if ﬁnalized, sever the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, from access to the U.S. financial system. In stopping short of imposing sanctions on the Egyptian bank, the Republican administration appeared to be signaling its reluctance to penalize major trading partners that do business with Iran, including China and India.

HOHENFELS, Germany — On a moonless and rainy night, a group of soldiers emerged from a ramshackle building meant to resemble a church. The alpine terrain loomed over them as they quietly set off for the tree line of the German countryside a short distance away. The soldiers are members of the Polish special forces and are taking part in an exercise designed only months ago that simulates moving through enemy lines, traversing miles of enemy territory and launching a drone strike on a key enemy location. Initially designed by the Army’s Green Berets for U.S. Special Forces, the exercise that began Friday is informed by and simulates many of the challenges that Ukrainian troops have experienced in their conflict with Russia. It is the first time a NATO ally like Poland has undertaken the training, and it comes at a time when tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and NATO countries have escalated. “We’re using lessons learned from Ukraine,” an Army Green Beret officer assigned to the training complex said Thursday. “All of those effects that we’re seeing either Russia or Ukraine having to overcome — we’re doing our best to replicate.” The Associated Press received rare access to both the training ground and the troops conducting the exercise, which has only been conducted twice before,

both times this year, by two different Green Beret teams. The drill highlights the focus that some parts of the U.S. military have on learning the latest techniques in drone warfare, pioneered by Ukraine during its 4½year effort to repel Russian forces. It also shows how the U.S., its NATO allies and Ukraine are working together to counter the threat of possible further Russian action in coming years even as the Trump administration has warned of troop drawdowns in Europe. CIA Director John Ratcliffe went to Moscow this week to warn Russia not to attack NATO countries, The Wall Street Journal reported. Russia has the appetite to conduct sabotage and cyberattacks against NATO countries, but Putin wants to avoid a direct confrontation, according to three Western ofﬁcials, who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. During the exercise in Germany, a senior enlisted soldier familiar with the training scenario at Joint Multinational Readiness Center Hohenfels — about an hour’s drive southeast from Nuremberg — said the plan is to run it several times a year. The officer said he expects most, if not all, of the 32 NATO nations to express interest in sending their troops to try the exercise. Both spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the U.S. military’s long-standing policy of not publicly identifying individual members of

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN RAOUX

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the space observatory Roman Telescope lifts off Sunday from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — President Donald Trump’s administration plans to impose sanctions on another bank this week as it intensiﬁed efforts to economically isolate Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press on Sunday. “This is going to be ﬁnancial violence if we have to,” Bessent said in the interview. “We are showing people that we know who you are, you know who you are, and this has got to stop.” Bessent spoke with the AP ahead of Group of 20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, where he will meet individually with his counterparts from the world’s major and developing economies to encourage cooperation against Iran. The Trump administration recently signaled that it would shift from military strikes to economic pressure during a war that recently reached the six-month mark, promising what it called an “economic D-Day” against a country that has already weathered decades of pun-

nese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing on the Chinese side of the border. The missing include hundreds of people from over a dozen countries who were in the region to work, visit the mountains or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.

NASA launches newest space telescope

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NIRANJAN SHRESTHA

A resident looks at the swollen Trishuli River on Sunday in Galchhi, Dhading District, Nepal.

tion. The plant serves over 20,000 people across four districts. In the town of Galchhi, a group of residents sought higher ground on a nearby bridge and watched as the river roared by. Some pointed to enormous rocks washed downriver during the earlier floods, while others standing on a suspension bridge were warned off with whistles. Along the river, homes, vehicles and farm tractors could be seen jutting from the thick gray-brown sediment that enveloped entire villages in some areas. Parts of rice terraces along the riverside had dropped into the river after landslides hit them. Homes and businesses left intact after the flooding were still without electricity on Sunday, as twisted power line poles and wires lay tangled in the mud. Residents of flood-hit villages said they were struggling to make sense of nearconstant alarms they’ve received since the initial floods.

DHADING, Nepal — Authorities in Nepal warned of possible fresh flooding on Sunday and urged residents in ﬂoodaffected districts to remain on high alert after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi River. Flood warning notices were sent to people’s phones early Sunday as rescue crews worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst hit by Wednesday’s catastrophic floods, which killed at least 800 people and left more than 3,000 missing in Nepal and Tibet. The latest warnings came after Chinese authorities informed their Nepalese counterparts of increased water ﬂow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s Nation-

On Sunday, Chinese state media said 261 foreigners were missing in Tibet, including over a hundred Nepalis and others from around the world. In Dhading, one of the worst-hit regions in Nepal, some residents began returning to ruined homes to see what can be salvaged. Residents sat in homes with walls washed away by the ﬂoods, shoveling sludgelike mud and rubble off balconies or window frames. Others scanned the ground for items they could pick out of the mud and rinse off. One man had returned for his chickens, which he found alive. He tied them up and put them in the cabin of his truck. “Everything is finished. Nothing is left. Not even our home,” Sharmila Tamang, a Dhading resident who was trying to salvage items from her home, told The Associated Press. At a key power plant that was severely damaged by the ﬂoods, workers started inspecting the facilities Sunday to survey the destruc-

m mer S

Goodbye Clogged Gutters Upgrade your gutters this summer! LeafFilter blocks out common debris.

Before LeafFilter

Save up-to*

After LeafFilter

+ Free gutter inspection, quote good for 1 year Promo code: 285

35% Oﬀ Call 1-877-582-6101

*Promotional offer includes 25% off plus an additional 10% off for qualified veterans and/or seniors. Cannot be combined with other offers. See representative for full warranty details. AR 366920925, AZ ROC 344027, CA 1035795, CT HIC.0671520, DC 4.20223E+11, FL CBC056678, IA C127230, ID RCE-51604, LA 559544, MA 213292, MD MHIC111225, HIC164488, MI 262300331, 262300330, 262300329, 262300328, 262300318, 262300173, MN IR810524, MT 2661922, ND 47304, NE 50145-24, 50145-23, NJ 13VH13285000, NM 408693, NV 86990, OR 218294, PA PA179643, RI GC-41354, TN 10981, UT 10783658-5501, VA 2705169445, VT 174.0000871, WA LEAFFLH-763PG, WI No. 537-DCFRR WV WV056912. Promotion exp: 8/31/2026.

4A ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

RICHLAND

Continued from page 1A skyrocketing land values. “This is all new to us,” Reddick said. “We’re learning as we go.”

Becoming a boomtown The creation of what Meta now says will be a $50 billion investment has upended the lives of the nine police jurors who each receive $1,600 per month to represent about 1,500 people apiece in a parish where life for decades has centered around the farmland crops. Most of the police jurors are farmers accustomed to the slow pace of life in a parish that has had no need for zoning laws. None of the four jurors interviewed for this article have a college degree, but they have Ph.D.s in life experiences. Interstate 20 bisects Richland Parish, but until recently, only a handful of passing drivers had a reason to stop in either of the parish’s two towns, Delhi (population: 2,500) and Rayville, the parish seat (population: 3,200). The parish has been steadily losing population since it peaked with 26,000 residents in 1940. The 2025 estimate: 19,500. Local officials believe that the influx of investment and workers now swells the parish’s population by about 8,000, or nearly 50%, each workday. Locals now complain about traffic jams on Interstate 20 and U.S. 80, which runs parallel a mile north. Sheriff’s deputies now try to keep traffic moving along the two-lane highways that ring the data center, known as Hyperion. The residents and police jurors in Vermilion Parish — where SpaceX just announced plans to spend $100 billion to build a massive spaceport — are about to face many of the same issues. For as long as anyone can remember, Richland Parish has had only enough money to take care of basic needs. Now the police jurors have more than $20 million in the bank after sales tax collections nearly doubled in 2025. The sales tax jump provided more money than the parish had received over the previous 20 years combined, according to NELA Growth, which promotes investment in northeast Louisiana. “We’re having to learn how to spend it, so that we spend it in the right places to improve the parish,” said Jesse Lively, a police juror. “For the first time ever, we hired an in-house engineer. He takes a lot of guessing out of what we normally do.” The police jurors have also had to learn to address issues involving variance requests, permit fees and step-backs from property lines. They have been grappling with such questions as whether Hyperion will leave the parish short of water (the police jurors say it won’t), will raise electricity bills (they say they don’t believe it will) and whether the new power plants will make too much noise. On that count, the police jurors want to require Entergy Louisiana to construct power plants that emit 50-60 decibels outside. Entergy favors an 85-decibel limit. “They have to do what we tell them,” Reddick said, while acknowledging that the Police Jury faces enormous pressure from Meta, Entergy Louisiana and Landry to not impede construction of the data center.

From rumors to rush hour Steve Adcock, 70, is a retired registered nurse who provided home hospice care at the end of his career. He lives on a farm. “I’m a Christian. I try to do service for the Lord,” he said as he dug into an order of fried catﬁsh at Big John’s Steak and Seafood, listed by tripadvisor.com as the best place to eat in Rayville. (Subway is No. 6, Waffle House is No. 7.) Adcock was elected to the Police Jury in November 2023. Months later, he was invited to a meeting in Monroe, a half hour away, with 15-20 people in attendance. He was not allowed to bring his cellphone into the meeting.

Work continues on the Meta Richland Parish Data Center near Rayville on Aug. 3.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By JILL PICKETT

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Richland Parish Police Jury President Cecil Reddick listens to a report during a meeting in Rayville on Aug. 3.

Richland Parish Police Jury member Steve Adcock, District 4, listens to a report during a meeting on Aug. 3.

Some business officials told the group that they represented a big corporation that wanted to move into the area, on farmland in an unincorporated area known as Holly Ridge. Adcock’s district encompasses that area. “They said they would have 300-500 full-time employees,” Adcock remembered. “It sounded great, especially in a parish where people go off to college and don’t return. They asked how hard it would be to get parish government behind them. I said it wouldn’t be hard.” Adcock asked: “‘Who are you?’ They said, ‘We can’t tell you.’” The business officials asked Adcock to sign a nondisclosure agreement. He did. Reddick, the Police Jury president, missed that meeting. But he soon began to hear rumors that a company wanted to invest big money in Richland Parish. “A woman who cuts my hair told me that she heard that Meta was coming here,” Reddick said. “I knew what it was.”

A Meta official advised him that a ditch alongside one of the two-lane highways around Hyperion now posed a safety problem and asked: Does the parish maintain the ditches? If so, could

time, your body, your health, all your money. There’s always something that has to be tended to every day.” Colvin stopped talking. He had to respond to a text message.

Colvin ask to have a worker take care of the problem? Colvin texted back that he would ask a parish employee to address it. Email Tyler Bridges at The police jurors are ne- tbridges@theadvocate. gotiating a ticklish but big- com.

.theacadianaadvocate.com

THE CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT will be closed on NDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th MONDAY in observance of

LABOR DAY

And will be observing the following Early Deadline: Deadline: Display Ads Thursday 9/3 @ 3pm

A barrage of requests Elliot Colvin drew a blank when he ﬁrst got word. Colvin, 50, is a third-generation farmer who is the longest-serving member of the Police Jury, having been elected initially in 2015. As he rode in a giant green combine cutting corn, he described himself as the kind of person who willingly takes on tasks. Married, with three children and overseeing a full-time farming operation, he also serves as a deacon at his church and as a member of the local water system board. Colvin had to drop out of what was then called Northeast Louisiana University after his father fell in an industrial accident. Given Colvin’s lengthy tenure and steady hand, other members of the Police Jury look to him for advice on how to handle certain matters. Reddick named him to chair a newly created economic development committee after the announcement. But when Colvin first heard the name Meta, he knew nothing about the company. “Somebody said it’s the people who own Facebook,” he recalled. “My ﬁrst reaction: ‘Why do they want to come to rural Richland Parish?’ I didn’t even know what a data center was. I didn’t have a clue early on about the magnitude.” Colvin quickly became so busy dealing with a hundred matters involving the economic development committee that he often couldn’t tend to the 5,000 acres he farms. Nor did his family get the time it needed. “I had to pump the brakes some to focus on them,” Colvin said. “The farm suffered. A farm is a beast. It will consume anything and everything you give it. Your

dollar issue with Meta. The parish typically requires payment of 1% of the construction cost to obtain a permit to get started on any project. But Meta officials balked at paying 1% of the initial $10 billion construction cost as a permit fee. So instead of paying $100 million, Meta provided $10 million. The two sides are back at the negotiating table now after Meta announced plans to double the size of Hyperion. Reddick said he believes that the two sides will settle on Meta paying a tenth of 1% for the next phase, which will generate at least another $10 million. “We’re committed to Richland Parish and to being a partner this community can count on for the long haul,” a Meta spokesperson said. “That commitment is already having a huge impact: more than $1 billion in local roads, water, and infrastructure, over $1.6 billion in work for Louisiana businesses, and resulting in historic teacher bonuses of up to $50,000 this year. We’re proud to call Richland Parish home.” Police jurors are also trying to better prepare themselves for what’s to come by hiring a consulting firm to produce a report by the end of the year that could lead to Richland Parish having its first zoning laws. “We’re coming into the modern world,” Reddick said.

Run Date Tuesday 9/8 Wednesday 9/9

As always, you may place your ad 7 days a week, 24 hours a day online at www.theadvocate.com or call Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

(225) 383-0111 Public Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Employment BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Positions Available: * Accounting * Bookkeeper * Account Coordinator * Finance * Payroll Officer * Sales Representatives * Customer Service * Business Admin Representative As part of our ongoing expansion, we are seeking part-time, work-fromhome candidates. The position offers a monthly salary of $1,300, in addition to benefits, and requires minimal time commitment. The role involves just 2-3 hours of internet access per week. Requirements: * Must be computer literate * Must have 2-3 hours of internet access per week * Must be efficient and dedicated Interested candidates may reach out via email at michelle.appliedit@gmail.com for further information

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received either electroni‐ cally at https://lafayet tecsdgovla.tylerportico. com/va/vendor-access/ registration or in the of‐ fice of the Purchasing Di‐ vision at the Lafayette Govern‐ Consolidated ment Building, located at 705 West University Av‐ Lafayette, enue, Louisiana, until 3:00 pm Central Time on the 15th day of September, 2026 for the following: TWO 2025 OR NEWER MOBILE SURVEILLANCE CCTV TRAILERS RE-BID and will, shortly there‐ after, be opened and read aloud in City Hall lo‐ cated at 705 West Univer‐ sity Avenue, Lafayette, LA. Bids received after the above specified time for opening shall not be considered and shall be returned unopened to the sender. Bidders are encouraged to attend the bid opening virtually by using the following link https://us02web.zoom. us/j/88521925618? pwd=oYvVHbRBPDkW2sf bkmqQrVbT2nhDls.1 Meeting ID: 885 2192 5618 Passcode: 861035 In accordance with Louisiana RS 38:2212. may submit vendors their bid electronically at the website listed above. Bidders wishing to sub‐ mit their bid electroni‐ cally must first be regis‐ tered within LCG Vendor Access at the website listed above. The regis‐ tration process can take some time; therefore, LCG recommends regis‐ tering days in advance of the time that bids are due. It is the sole respon‐ sibility of the bidder to ensure their bid is deliv‐ ered (whether electroni‐ cally via Vendor Access, in person, or via mail) to the Purchasing Division prior to the scheduled date and time of the bid opening. Vendors may request the bid package from electronically Thomas Metrejean at tg‐ metrejean@lafayettela. gov.

Vendors submitting bids are re‐ electronically quired to provide the same documents as bid‐ ders submitting through the mail as soon as avail‐ able. Only a bid bond, check or certified cashier’s check shall be submitted as the bid se‐ curity. Electronic copies of both the front and back of the check or bid bond shall be included with the electronic bid. Bids must be signed in accordance with LRS Title 38:2212(B)5. A Cor‐ porate Resolution or Cer‐ tificate of Authority au‐ thorizing the person signing the bid is re‐ quired to be submitted with bid. Failure to sub‐ mit a Corporate Resolu‐ tion or Certificate of Au‐ thority with the bid shall be cause for rejection of bid. Copies of the bidding documents are available at the Purchasing Office located at 705 West Uni‐ Avenue, versity Lafayette, LA 70506. Tele‐ phone number (337) 2917187 (Attn: Thomas Me‐ trejean). Bidding docu‐ ments shall be available until twenty-four (24) hours before the bid opening date. Each bid shall be accom‐ panied by a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the Lafayette Consolidated Government, the amount of which shall be five percent (5%) of the total bid price. If a bid bond is used, it shall be written by a surety or insurance company currently on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service list approved bonding of companies which is pub‐ lished annually in the Federal Register, or by a Louisiana domiciled in‐ surance company with at least an A-Rating in the latest printing of the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide to write individual bonds up to ten percent (10%) of policyholders’ surplus as shown in the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide, or by an insurance com‐ pany in good standing li‐ censed to write bid bonds which is either domiciled in Louisiana or owned by Louisiana resi‐ dents. The bid bond shall be issued by a company licensed to do business in Louisiana and counter‐ signed by a person who is under contract with re‐

No bidder may withdraw his bid for at least fortyfive (45) days after the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Each bid shall be submitted only on the bid form provided with the specifications. Bids will be evaluated by the Purchaser based on the lowest responsible and responsive bid sub‐ mitted which is also in compliance with the bid The documents. Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause in ac‐ cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. The Lafayette Consoli‐ Government dated strongly encourages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) in all con‐ tracts or procurements let by the Lafayette Con‐ Government solidated for goods and services and labor and material. To that end, all contrac‐ tors and suppliers are encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐ prises in the purchase or sub-contracting of mate‐ rials, supplies, services and labor and material in disadvantaged which business are available. Assistance in identifying said businesses may be obtained by calling 2918410. PURCHASING DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISH DATES: 8/31/26, 9/6/26 DPR # 1008622 198820 Aug. 31, Sept. 6, 2t $100.82 PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received either electroni‐ cally at https://lafayet tecsdgovla.tylerportico. com/va/vendor-access/ registration or in the of‐ fice of the Purchasing Di‐ vision at the Lafayette Consolidated Govern‐

CATS RAGAMUFFIN & RAGDOLL KITTENS www.CatsByFrancy.com/kittens $1500up! Reg. Shots & Guaranty 337-230-3150

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

ment Building, located at 705 West University Av‐ Lafayette, enue, Louisiana, until 3:30 pm Central Time on the 15th day of September, 2026 for the following:

g located at 705 West Uni‐ Avenue, versity Lafayette, LA 70506. Tele‐ phone number (337) 2917187 (Attn: Thomas Me‐ trejean). Bidding docu‐ ments shall be available until twenty-four (24) hours before the bid opening date.

pp encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐ prises in the purchase or sub-contracting of mate‐ rials, supplies, services and labor and material in disadvantaged which business are available. Assistance in identifying said businesses may be obtained by calling 2918410.

TELEHANDLER FORKLIFT siding in this state. The certiﬁed check, cashier’s check, or bid bond shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder shall exe‐ cute the contract, should it be awarded to him, in conformity with the con‐ tract documents within ten (10) days.

Pets

and will, shortly there‐ after, be opened and read aloud in City Hall lo‐ cated at 705 West Univer‐ sity Avenue, Lafayette, LA. Bids received after the above specified time for opening shall not be considered and shall be returned unopened to the sender. Bidders are encouraged to attend the bid opening virtually by using the following link https://us02web.zoom. us/j/89221577253? pwd=oa9GKAADJk4ZZ0v 7tO1GUwhoxUsMxv.1 Meeting ID: 892 2157 7253 Passcode: 355427 In accordance with Louisiana RS 38:2212. may submit vendors their bid electronically at the website listed above. Bidders wishing to sub‐ mit their bid electroni‐ cally must first be regis‐ tered within LCG Vendor Access at the website listed above. The regis‐ tration process can take some time; therefore, LCG recommends regis‐ tering days in advance of the time that bids are due. It is the sole respon‐ sibility of the bidder to ensure their bid is deliv‐ ered (whether electroni‐ cally via Vendor Access, in person, or via mail) to the Purchasing Division prior to the scheduled date and time of the bid opening. Vendors may request the bid package from electronically Thomas Metrejean at tg‐ metrejean@lafayettela. gov. Vendors submitting bids are re‐ electronically quired to provide the same documents as bid‐ ders submitting through the mail as soon as avail‐ able. Only a bid bond, check or certified cashier’s check shall be submitted as the bid se‐ curity. Electronic copies of both the front and back of the check or bid bond shall be included with the electronic bid. Bids must be signed in accordance with LRS Title 38:2212(B)5. A Cor‐ porate Resolution or Cer‐ tificate of Authority au‐ thorizing the person signing the bid is re‐ quired to be submitted with bid. Failure to sub‐ mit a Corporate Resolu‐ tion or Certificate of Au‐ thority with the bid shall be cause for rejection of bid. Copies of the bidding documents are available at the Purchasing Office l d i

Each bid shall be accom‐ panied by a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the Lafayette Consolidated Government, the amount of which shall be five percent (5%) of the total bid price. If a bid bond is used, it shall be written by a surety or insurance company currently on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service list approved bonding of companies which is pub‐ lished annually in the Federal Register, or by a Louisiana domiciled in‐ surance company with at least an A-Rating in the latest printing of the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide to write individual bonds up to ten percent (10%) of policyholders’ surplus as shown in the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide, or by an insurance com‐ pany in good standing li‐ censed to write bid bonds which is either domiciled in Louisiana or owned by Louisiana resi‐ dents. The bid bond shall be issued by a company licensed to do business in Louisiana and counter‐ signed by a person who is under contract with re‐ siding in this state. The certified check, cashier’s check, or bid bond shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder shall exe‐ cute the contract, should it be awarded to him, in conformity with the con‐ tract documents within ten (10) days. No bidder may withdraw his bid for at least fortyfive (45) days after the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Each bid shall be submitted only on the bid form provided with the specifications. Bids will be evaluated by the Purchaser based on the lowest responsible and responsive bid sub‐ mitted which is also in compliance with the bid The documents. Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause in ac‐ cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. The Lafayette Consoli‐ Government dated strongly encourages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) in all con‐ tracts or procurements let by the Lafayette Con‐ Government solidated for goods and services and labor and material. To that end, all contrac‐ tors and suppliers are d ili

PURCHASING DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISH DATES: 8/31/26, 9/6/26 DPR # 1008628 199063 Aug. 31, Sept. 6, 2t $100.40

Public Notices Successions

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE Administrator for the Succession of Mary Fern Cobb Briggs gives notice of his intent to sell via private sale, the follow‐ ing: 1. The immovable estate home and property lo‐ cated at 311 Sunny Lane, Louisiana Lafayette, 70506, Being the same property acquired by Mary C. Briggs by Cash Sale from Jeanie Slay Mellinger dated April 29, 1994, recorded on May 2, 1994, under instrument no. 1994-00016195 of the records of public Louisiana.; Lafayette, and 2. All movables within the estate home at 311 Sunny Lane, consisting of home furnishings, deco‐ rations, and kitchenware. Any objections to the sale of the above prop‐ erty can be ﬁled with the Judicial District 15th – Parish of Court Lafayette under probate docket number 20250640, pursuant to LA C.C.P. art 3282. 198202 Aug. 22 to Sept. 20, 30t $456.60

STAY INFORMED

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● 5A

lll

BEACH

Continued from page 1A federal government. Using 262,000 tons of stone, they will close the gap between existing breakwaters on either end of the 7-mile island, with the aim of slowing beach erosion and helping strengthen the coastline against storms. The breakwaters will rise roughly 6 feet above the water’s surface, numbering up to 31 in total. Beyond being repeatedly hit by hurricanes, the vulnerable island is also facing the combined effects of subsidence and sea level rise, with water levels increasing at a rate of about 3 feet per century. It has all led to serious questions over the future of Grand Isle, which has a shrinking population but also a strong emotional pull for generations of southeast Louisianans who have spent summers there fishing, swimming and vacationing. Between 2000 and 2020, the population shrank from 1,541 to 1,005, census ﬁgures show, though it swells with visitors in the summer. Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle grew tearful as he spoke of what he sees as the importance of the breakwater project and overall efforts to ﬁght for the community’s survival. “All my people that live here — it’s amazing. They love this place, and that’s why we’re not going to stop fighting,” Camardelle said at the groundbreaking, held indoors at a town events center because of heavy rain. “And I’m telling you, as long as there’s one grain of sand to plant the American flag, we’re not going nowhere.” Work is set to begin soon and be completed by the peak of next year’s hurricane season, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the project.

André Cormier and Heather Olander walk the beach by one of the existing breakwaters in Grand Isle on Thursday. Water Resources, Law and Policy. He called the beneﬁt-cost calculation “more alchemy than chemistry, and there are limits to how far you can push it.” “But the important thing is we have those rules for a reason, and that is to keep you from misusing scarce resources on projects that could be less beneﬁcial,” he said. “And it’s also a way of essentially maintaining face with the public that’s fundamentally putting up the money.”

‘Rather have a house’

try had spent more money adding sand to the Grand Isle beach over the last 20 years than it would on the breakwaters. “We never say we can’t. We always say we can, and we will always find a way to make it happen,” Landry told the audience. There have long been complaints about how the Corps’ beneﬁt-cost ratio works, and few Louisianans would turn down more resources arriving from Washington for coastal protection. But the way in which the Grand Isle decision was made raises questions, said Mark Davis of the Tulane Institute on

across the country, but her connection to Louisiana did not disappear completely after she left. Her Crowley experience was later dramatized in “On the Banks of the Bayou,” part of the “Rose Years” series of books based on her life. The story follows Lane as

she leaves the family farm and moves to Louisiana to live with her aunt. The book was written by Roger Lea MacBride, Lane’s literary heir, but the parts of the book focus on a Crowley setting which reﬂects a real chapter of her life. And the Acadia Parish Li-

Gov. Jeff Landry speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Grand Isle Multiplex in Grand Isle on Thursday.

Construction was approved in an unusual way — and seemed to reflect Landry’s and the Louisiana delegation’s ties to the Trump White House. Typically, the Corps carries out a beneﬁt-cost ratio analysis for projects, and the result weighs heavily on whether they are ultimately funded. The analysis seeks to gauge projects’ economic beneﬁts in comparison to its costs. Adam Telle, the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, said at Thursday’s event that following a visit to Grand Isle a year ago, he returned to the Pentagon and asked how the breakwa-

ter project could be moved forward. He said he was told that the “the formula that we use in Washington is going to make it not viable,” later clarifying he was referring to the beneﬁt-cost ratio. “And within about two days, I signed the piece of paper that waived all of that so this project could get started,” Telle said to applause in the audience. Asked about that change later, Telle said he felt the initial analysis did not sufficiently take into account all the residual beneﬁts provided by Grand Isle. He mentioned the possibil-

WILDER

Continued from page 1A their education beyond high school. Dore said Crowley’s early leaders recognized the importance of building those educational opportunities so students could gain an education and eventually return to the community to work. Many residents also spoke both French and English, giving Lane a glimpse of a multilingual culture she found fascinating. “She liked the Cajun aspect as well,” Dore said. “She thought it was very interesting that ... most people spoke French and English.” So Lane left home and came to Louisiana to live with her father’s sister, Eliza Jane Wilder Thayer. She moved to Crowley in about 1903, at around 16 years old, and enrolled at Crowley High School. Lane’s arrival also came as Crowley was growing into a center of the rice industry, drawing people to the area with the promise of opportunity. That was actually how Lane’s aunt and uncle came to Louisiana. Eliza Jane and her husband, Thomas Thayer, moved to the area after hearing about the possibilities of rice farming. The original Thayer house is gone, but portions of the structure were incorporated

structure that’s not natural. Having something that creates a little bit more habitat could also be of value because it’s such a healthy ecosystem down there.” Corps project managers Amy Dixon and David Bradley say the existing breakwaters have worked, shielding the beach while allowing more sand in through the gaps between them. “We’ve seen the results of how they perform over here,” Bradley said. “It builds and maintains the beach. It’s an effective solution.” Dani Cortez, who lives on the island in the summers and can trace her family’s roots there to the 1930s, said she was relieved to hear the breakwaters were being built. A levee breach during 2021’s Hurricane Ida took out surrounding camps and damaged hers, which is an older building made of cypress, located along the Gulf side of the island. She said the breakwaters do pose swimming hazards, and beachgoers will have to be aware of that, but otherwise she felt the rocks were needed. “We would much rather have a house,” said Cortez, 42 and a mother of six who also keeps horses at her camp. “That’d be such a blessing because we’ve been waiting forever.”

Whether rocks are the answer is another point of debate, though not among the island’s leadership, which has long pushed for them. Coastal advocates note that there are no such rocks in south Louisiana, and they must be brought from elsewhere. They are also being placed atop south Louisiana’s sinking soils, and, separately, there are concerns over hazards posed to swimmers along the beach. Kristi Trail, executive director of the Pontchartrain Conservancy nonproﬁt, said rocks should be used as a “last resort” since they are not natural to south Louisiana. She said restoring the beach and dunes seemed more appropriate. “It’s worth noting it doesn’t really create habitat,” Trail Email Mike Smith at said. “It’s just that hard msmith@theadvocate.com.

‘Never say we can’t’

ity of nearby shipping channels being clogged with sediment if the island washes away, as well as its role as a buffer for hurricanes and storm surge. He also noted that workers in nearby energy hub Port Fourchon use the island. “So it’s really about zooming out and understanding Grand Isle’s role beyond just this local area,” said Telle, who has visited Louisiana several times since taking ofﬁce and was on a tour of the Gulf Coast last week. Landry concurred, and said he personally made the case to White House officials, arguing that the coun-

STAFF PHOTOS By ENAN CHEDIAK

brary still has a copy. The old Crowley High School was eventually demolished in the 1970s, and the library was built on the site. Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

Protection your loved ones deserve ... PROVIDED PHOTO

Rose Wilder Lane lived in Crowley in 1903-04 at this house with her father’s sister, Eliza Jane Wilder Thayer. into another house on Second Street in Crowley after the original home suffered a ﬁre and other damage, Dore said. It was in that home that Lane lived during her year in Crowley. Dore has found newspaper accounts documenting the literary programs Crowley’s students participated in during Lane’s time at the school. According to the Crowley Signal, a newspaper that was based in the area, Lane presented a parody of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” using the poem to reﬂect on the loneliness and separation the graduating class would face because they were all going separate ways. “She was very much into linguistics,” Dore said. “She loved literature, as well.” After graduation, Lane returned briefly to Missouri, learned telegraphy and soon

began working as a telegraph operator; she also began traveling and writing. She published her first novel, “Diverging Roads,” in 1919. Then in 1930, more than two decades after Lane left Crowley, her mother began turning her memories of frontier life into the stories that would become the Little House books. The books were written with the encouragement and editorial assistance of Lane. Laura Ingalls Wilder began writing down her childhood memories, publishing “Little House in the Big Woods” in 1932 and “Little House on the Prairie” in 1935, according to the Library of Congress. Lane’s career eventually carried her into journalism and writing. She traveled extensively and worked for newspapers and magazines

GUARANTEED Life Insurance up to $30,000.00

Modiﬁed Whole Life Insurance from Physicians Life Insurance Company

Imagine what $30,000.00 could mean to your family after you’re gone — cash to help pay your funeral, medical bills or other ﬁnal expenses. • Guaranteed acceptance for ages 45 to 85* • No medical exam, no health questions • Lock in your rate for life

Find out how affordable this coverage can be — Call for your FREE Information Kit

1-877-654-4599 Life55plus.info/Acadiana

 Plus — you’ll also get a FREE

Final Wishes Planner just for calling!

*Ages may vary by state. Guaranteed for one of these life insurance policies. Benefi Benefits ts reduced fifirst rst two years. Insurance Policy L770 (ID: L770ID; OK: L770OK; TN: L770TN). 6236-0625

6A ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

wanted: 20 people

Limited Time Offer

WE NEED 20 PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS TO TRY THE LATEST ADVANCEMENTS IN HEARING AIDS!

Your hearing plays a crucial role in your overall health. Untreated hearing loss can affect communication, conﬁdence, and even long term cognitive well being. That's why we're inviting 20 people to experience the newest breakthroughs in hearing technology - completely risk free. Visit us during our August Special Event and receive these FREE services: FREE Hearing Consultation FREE Video Otoscope Exam - Find out if it's hearing loss or just earwax FREE Clean & Check on your current hearing aids FREE Baseline Audiogram Assessment FREE Familiar Voice Test FREE Demonstration of Audibel's Latest Hearing Technology Try it with zero cost and zero obligation

FREE

Limited Time Offerr

Hearing Consultation

Appointments are first come, first served, and every service is 100% free. Simply call one of our offices to reserve your spot.

Audibel is NOW Offering... Government-Wide Service Benefit Plan Member Name

John Doe

Member R0000000 Rx# RxPCN RxGrp

Enrollment Code R0000000 00/00/0000

0000 0000

a pair of Aris AI Hearing Instruments Offer valid on select in-stock 24 level technology. Exclusions may apply.

Limited Time Offer

Effective Date

0000

• Hearing aids at NO COST to those who qualify!• • That’s Right...No Co-Pay! No Exam Fee! No Adjustment Fee! If you have this card, you may qualify for free hearing aids! Call today to verify your benefits.

$ $1000 OFF

CLEAN & CHECK

If you already have hearing devices, receive a free cleaning & maintenance check.

★ LAFAYETTE 105 Westmark Blvd., Ste. 2

337-205-9576

AUGUST 2026 NEW IBERIA

224 N. Lewis St., Ste. C

337-606-7301

★ SPECIAL EVENT ★ AT THESE LOCATIONS Call for details!

★ ABBEVILLE 100 S. Louisiana St., Ste. 300

337-516-0050

LA South Lafayette 8/17 LA South Abbeville 8/18

Complimentary hearing consultations are widely available at no cost.

Amieva, H., Ouvrard, C., Giuloli, C., Meillon C., Rullier, L., & Dartigues, J. F. (2015). Self-reported hearing loss, hearing aids, and cognitive decline in elderly adults: A 25-year study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Oct;63 (10):2099 – 104. Doi: 10.1111/jgs.13649. 2Rechargeable option not available in all styles. See clinic for details. 1

©2024 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4/23 Audibel and Audibel logo are registered trademarks of Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Signature Series is a trademark of Starkey Laboratories, Inc.

RECEIVE UP TO

2000

Toward premium technology when you Trade-In & Trade-Up your old hearing aids. *Offer valid on 24 level technology. Exclusions may apply. Cannot be combined with other offers.

METRO

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

M o n d ay, au g u s t 31, 2026

1Bn

30 years of pickin’ chicken

Todd Graves’ past, present and future collide in original Raising Cane’s BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

PHOTO PROVIDED By CONNOR LAGNEAUX

Sydney Hemphill, left, the first recipient of the Cocodrie Collective Art School Student Debt Relief Fund, speaks during the award presentation as Colette Bernard, owner of Cocodrie Collective, listens.

Paying it forward

After paying off her own student loans, Lafayette business owner seeks to help other artists do the same BY JA’KORI MADISON

Staff writer

After paying off more than $130,000 in student loans through the art businesses she built, Lafayette artist and entrepreneur Colette Bernard decided to help someone else do the same. Bernard, owner of Cocodrie Collective, has launched the Cocodrie Collective Art School Student Debt Relief Fund, an annual award intended to help artists working in the arts pay down student loan debt. The ﬁrst recipient was particularly close to home. Sydney Hemphill, a Cocodrie Collective employee whose work helped the business triple its revenue over the past year and expand to a second location, received the inaugural award at the grand opening of the new store.

Bernard said the fund grew out of her own experience building a career in the arts while carrying substantial student loan debt. “We ﬁrmly believe that the arts are worth pursuing,” she said. “And we’re in the middle of a student loan crisis here in America. If this is one of the ways that we can give back to our community, what better way to do that than by starting with Sydney, who really helped me build my business?” Bernard knows ﬁrsthand what it means to build a career in the arts while carrying student debt. A visual artist herself, Bernard paid off more than $130,000 in student loans last year through the businesses she built around her art. Reaching that milestone, she said, made her think about how Cocodrie Collective could become something more than a retail business.

“We are basically a design store, gift shop, where I help other artists sell their art,” Bernard said. “The question becomes what sets us apart from every other gift shop, and that is our design collective.” The answer, she decided, was to use the business’ growth to create opportunities for other artists. Hemphill joined Cocodrie Collective nearly two years ago as a storefront associate after graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She became a manager and helped expand the company’s relationships with artists before moving into a research and development coordinator role about three months ago. Bernard said Hemphill played a major role in Cocodrie Collective’s growth, helping the company triple its revenue over the past year

ä See FORWARD, page 4B

Todd Graves doesn’t consider himself a celebrity. At least, not the red carpet kind. “A chicken finger celebrity,” the Raising Cane’s founder joked as he stood in the doorway of his office outside the Mothership, the nickname for the original Raising Cane’s restaurant near the North Gates of LSU. Graves detailed the rise of the business, from concept to globalization, during a media Graves event Tuesday morning celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary. Alongside him were his wife, Gwen, and children Sophia and Charlie, all of whom work in some capacity in the family business. His children will be tasked with carrying on the Cane’s legacy in the future, Graves said. Though he doesn’t outright consider himself a celebrity, the room at the Mothership said otherwise. Influencers, TV stations and press filled the space, some traveling from as far as Hollywood and New York to learn the tale of how a Louisiana man grew a chicken finger empire. Cane’s staff, wearing black clothing with the bright red Cane’s logo, spanned the room with video cameras. The first restaurant was a labor of love. Though Graves’ famed story of a bad grade for a chicken finger restaurant business plan is common business school lore, the toil goes beyond the written plan. Graves replaced the paneling of the dated building, once an Italian restaurant and before that, a bakery. He took a crowbar to the wall to expose the brick that was underneath. It was worth it, he said. The rent for the building was cheap as long as he fixed it up. Much of his equipment came from Office Depot. Baton Rouge is woven throughout Graves’ life: He met his wife at the popular Perkins Road overpass bar Ivar’s and describes himself as an LSU fanatic. He still makes trips to Superior Grill. Graves’ success — and fame — came face to face with the restaurant’s humble beginnings on Tuesday. Who would he want to play him in a film? His good friend Leonardo DiCaprio, he said. Cane III, the latest dog that inspired the name of the company, was on the floor next to Graves. She graced Vogue magazine’s Dogue series this summer, the latest in the brand’s intersection with the fashion industry, after hosting an event during New York Fashion

ä See CHICKEN, page 4B

Chain restaurant buys Lafayette Japanese steakhouse closes old Drago’s building BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

A Texas-based chain restaurant will open in the former Drago’s building along Johnston Street in Lafayette next summer. The restaurant will open at 3151 Johnston St. after the owner, an LLC registered to Yi Cheng Zheng of Houston, bought the building and assumed the lease on the land underneath it earlier this month, court records show. Sophie Zhoa, whose ﬁrm Beyond Realty represented the buyer in the deal, declined to give specifics but indicated the business will need about 10 months of interior renovation work before it will open. Details will be released later, she

said. Zheng bought the building from New Orleans-based Select Properties for just under $1 million and will lease the land from PA Judice Corp., which owns 14 acres at that corner, records show. There’s been visible activity at the site, but no building permit has been approved by Lafayette Consolidated Government. The restaurant will be the latest to occupy the space, which has been empty since Drago’s closed in early 2024 following a six-year run. It’s a space that has had so many previous businesses open and close that The Mellow Mushroom held an exorcism at the site before opening in 2014, archives

ä See DRAGO’S, page 4B

A Japanese steakhouse in Lafayette has closed after its lease was apparently not renewed. Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse, 3511 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, posted on its marquee the word “Closed” last week without mentioning anything on its social media page. According to court records, the restaurant’s lease likely ended. The lease it signed with the previous owner, Equity One, in 2011 included a five-year lease that expired Aug. 31, 2016, with two options to extend another five years, court filings show. In a post late Thursday, the restaurant noted the ending of its lease and hinted at a new location for the restaurant. “Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse is not saying goodbye!” the post

PROVIDED PHOTO

Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse, 3511 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, which opened in 2011, recently closed after losing its lease. read. “We are evaluating a new location where we can begin our next chapter.” Texas-based Gulf Coast Commercial Properties has owned the building since 2019. Tokyo Steakhouse moved into the building after The Tilted Kilt

closed there after two years, archives show. It housed a Bennigan’s for over 20 years until the company ﬁled for bankruptcy in 2008. Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.

2B ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

YOUR VIEWS lll

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

Potholes, construction and lack of lanes make biking hazardous To ride a bike in Baton Rouge unfortunately feels like you are putting your life at risk. My husband and I just went biking to get coffee. To get to our desired location, we had to cross Lee Drive, with all its potholes, very little shoulder, and, of course, no bike lanes. As we approached the LSU Lakes, we had to take an alternative route because of the neverending dredging project and more recent road construction. Again, we had no bike paths. Thankfully, we were aware of the risks and challenges ahead of us before leaving home, and we chose to ride mountain bikes, which can endure the bumps and are capable of navigating off-road when necessary. Many other cities in this country and abroad have worked diligently to encourage people to bike and walk by providing safe bike lanes, sidewalks and helping the community understand and respect biking and pedestrian rules. Sadly, Baton Rouge rates of obesity are currently 33% or higher. When visiting cities that are bike- and pedestrian-friendly, the health beneﬁts are noticeable. It’s time for Baton Rouge to get on board.

ALICE DEVALL Baton Rouge

Drivers must stop, look and wait at stop signs This is an urgent appeal to New Orleans drivers: Please remember that at stop signs, the law requires drivers to come to a full and complete stop. Then, before proceeding, drivers must look both ways, even if entering or crossing a one-way street. Finally, pedestrians in or near crosswalks have the right of way, and vehicles must remain at a full stop until pedestrians have completed crossing. Following these simple rules keeps drivers and pedestrians safe.

KEITH LIEDERMAN New Orleans

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are

published identifying name and the writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and TO SEND US A LETTER, phone number SCAN HERE 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.

Will Johnson keep his position on Ten Commandments? The 10 Commandments poster distributed by the Louisiana Family Forum has a photo of Speaker Mike Johnson on it. If the midterm elections in November give the Democrats the House majority, Hakeem Jeffries will probably become speaker. Does anyone think that the Louisiana Family Forum will print and distribute new posters with Jeffries’ photo? Could and should the current posters be removed as inaccurate? Just wondering.

TERESA OGDEN New Orleans

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Dolly Parton arrives at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in 2019 in Los Angeles. The Grammywinning singer, actor and humanitarian died Tuesday.

Americans deserve calm, dignified leadership

Can’t we all be a little more like Dolly Parton?

I cannot think of one person who has received the millions and millions of accolades for making an impact on people around the world and from every walk of life like Dolly Parton. Who might come close? Maybe a pope, maybe another musician, maybe an elected ofﬁcial, maybe a television host, maybe a local, national or worldwide community activist, maybe a poet, maybe

Americans look to their president for inspiration, confidence and calming leadership. While there has never been a perfect president, we have seen examples of how presidents have reassuringly addressed the American people. For illustration purposes only, I cite President George H.W. Bush and his son, President George W. Bush, both Republicans. Each of them faced trying military conflicts and had their admirers and detractors. However, both men addressed the American public via national television in an even, self-assured and calm fashion. Addressing the nation is not defined as catered group chats or staged campaign events. The overwhelming idea that the presidency is a dignified and respected institution is tantamount to our republic. America does not benefit when a president defines his leadership by inventing slang insults, insufferable social media posts, denial of facts, omnipotence on every subject and an almost daily insertion of chaos. Americans have historically been viewed as beacons of light for the world. Presidential leadership’s beacon should be the standardbearer for all Americans and the world. That is an expectation that we the people deserve.

a great writer, maybe a well-known and respected journalist, maybe a king or a queen or maybe even Mr. Rogers. What a wonderful, beautiful, brilliant musician and a self-deprecating and generous human she was. Can’t we all be like Dolly?

EVA JACOB BARKOFF Metairie

Volunteers, LASPCA do what they can, but animal control is city’s job Having volunteered in animal welfare for more than 50 years, I have witnessed many debates about animal control and sheltering in New Orleans. What concerns me today is not the discussion itself, but the risk that public frustration will once again be directed at the very people working hardest to help animals. I remember when the Sunday newspaper published front-page photographs of euthanized dogs in August 1984. The public response was swift and harsh. Shelter staff were called “murderers,” donations were threatened and some people even threatened violence against the LASPCA. Lost in the outrage was the reality that shelter staff were dealing with the consequences of unchecked breeding and overwhelming animal overpopulation while also operating low cost spay/neuter services to address the problem at its source. Today, we ﬁnd ourselves facing another crisis. The city has reduced funding for animal control, yet criticism is again being directed at the Louisiana SPCA, which already subsidizes services that are ultimately the responsibility of local government. Animal control is far more complicated than picking up a stray dog. Dangerous animals, bite investigations, legal proceedings and public safety responsibilities require experienced personnel,

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM THE LASPCA facilities and resources. As a founder of Trap Dat Cat, I have seen ﬁrsthand how community-based solutions can help. Last year, our volunteers trapped, sterilized and vaccinated 3,500-plus cats, many through the LASPCA clinic. That work reduces suffering, decreases shelter intake and saves taxpayer dollars. If we truly want to improve outcomes for animals, we should focus on solutions, not scapegoats. Supporting animal control, prevention programs and community partnerships will beneﬁt animals, taxpayers and the entire city.

TOM LEWIS Baton Rouge

Gerrymandering leaves citizen feeling that some votes don’t count I recently received a new voter registration card, only to discover that I have been gerrymandered out of my Democratic district into Rep. Steve Scalise’s deeply red District 1. This district does not represent my views. To add insult to injury, when I tried to contact Scalise via email to voice my objection to this gerrymandering, I was told I was not in his district and therefore could not submit my complaint. Obviously, our state government has been quick to gerrymander, but not so quick to adjust their records, leaving many of us in the new district without a voice. Furthermore, this grievous gerrymandering on the part of the Republican Party has ensured that the checks and balances of a two-party system no longer exist in Louisiana. We bemoan the fact that a large proportion of voters don’t vote, yet can you blame them when our government has guaranteed that only Republican votes will count?

NITA HEMETER Trap Dat Cat New Orleans

Quiet deals, NDAs just business as usual “They’re free to turn me in to the ethics board, which I’m sure would do nothing.” Louisiana Sen. Jay Morris, the spearhead of Meta’s sweetheart deal, said this when confronted about his own proﬁts from that deal. While many of our own elected politicians quietly signed nondisclosure agreements — the deal is so great for Louisiana citizens that they won’t tell us what it is — Morris and his “business partners” held plots of land in rural Louisiana that were then sold to Entergy for gas turbines. This same state senator was also at the forefront of the recent carve-up of our state, and the gerrymander — again — was so democratic they wouldn’t trust it to a people’s vote.These actions form a coherent way of life: one where a very small group of

people — always rich and mostly men — take everything and leave us with the bill. But there’s more of us than them, and their world would be our choice. We can also choose justice but still respect the precedents they set. Morris claimed the answer to his alleged corruption was to go to the state’s ethics board, and perhaps that’s the worst he thinks he’d ever face. As of this writing, his own party’s Department of Justice has secured a federal indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. This indictment wasn’t for bribery, not for fraud or conspiracy. Comey was indicted for posting a picture of seashells.

ANDREW KEMP Baton Rouge

MARY ANNE FISCHER New Orleans

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING

KEVIN HALL

President & Publisher

RENE SANCHEZ

VP/News, Executive Editor

KARYN KEARNEY EVP/Strategic Partnerships

ARNESSA GARRETT Managing Editor/ Opinion

JUSTIN MITCHELL

Managing Editor/ Audience

HANK STUEVER

Managing Editor/ Enterprise

FRED KALMBACH

JENNIFER BROWN

JERRY DICOLO

EMMA DISCHER

Managing Editor

Managing Editor, New Orleans

KRISTIN ASKELSON Managing Editor, Acadiana

BARBARA LEADER Managing Editor, Shreveport

Senior Editor Senior Editor

ANDREA GALLO

ROGER HOLMES

Chief Revenue Ofﬁcer

ASHLEY WHITCHER

VP/ Consumer Sales

JIM MYERS

General Manager/ Advertising

VP/IT

Senior Editor/ Investigations

VP/Finance

JESSICA WILLIAMS

ROBERT STOLL

Senior Editor

CHASE HEATHERLY

Executive VP, Operations

VP/Distribution

KYLE WHITFIELD

GEORGES MEDIA GROUP JOHN D. GEORGES Owner

JUDI TERZOTIS

ROBERT YOUNG

Chief Executive Ofﬁcer

LOU HUDSON

Editorial Page

VP/ Majors & Nationals

DAN SHEA

Chairman

ARNESSA GARRETT STEPHANIE GRACE WILL SUTTON QUIN HILLYER FAIMON ROBERTS

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● 3B

lll

COMMENTARY Americans have a right to know who Natalie Harp is It’s summertime, and the living is uneasy, particularly in Washington newsrooms and bureaus. At this time of year, historically, serious news can be harder to find than the newspeople available to cover it. The result is what journalists call “the silly season,” when you can never guess what pseudo-story will get elevated to the headlines. Searching for silly Clarence news in seriously serious Page Washington can be easier than you might think, and of late it is becoming difficult to draw the line between the consequential and the absurd. Consider the kerfuffle raised around a remark by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat often mentioned among presidential hopefuls, about President Donald Trump and a young female aide. Ossoff angered Team Trump — and Trump himself — by calling suggestive attention to the relationship widely described as exceptionally close between the president and Natalie Harp, his 35-year-old executive assistant. “He doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff declared to an enthusiastic crowd, regarding Trump’s air of befuddlement amid a swirl of crises bedeviling his administration. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar.” “With Natalie.” Those two words ignited the crowd and delighted down-inthe-dumps Democrats elsewhere who, in this polarized election season, are looking exceptionally hard for candidates who show backbone. And they were not alone. A brief sound bite from Ossoff’s 30-minute speech drew more than 5 million views on X and a volcanic backlash from Republicans, including Harp’s boss, who shot back, calling Ossoff a “Pee Wee Herman lookalike” — after mistakenly calling him “Pinky Herman.” A chorus of MAGA influencers took to social media to post their outrage that this upstart cad from Georgia had impugned the honor of a blameless professional woman. Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got the Bat Signal, and he assailed Ossoff on X for “misogynistic language diminishing and smearing someone who is simply doing their job.” But I would caution those who are eager, for whatever reason, to jump on the bandwagon that sees Ossoff’s barb as

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

White House aide Natalie Harp walks down the steps of Marine One to board Air Force One during a departure at Joint Base Andrews, Md., last week. sexual innuendo. It would bother me if all the Harp chatter was about spreading salacious rumors about an attractive young woman working with an older boss. We’ve seen this too many times before. You might even say it’s the way of the world, I guess, but without real evidence to back it up, I don’t want to be part of the rumor mills. But I would also suggest that Ossoff’s comment was not intended to suggest a sexual relationship. Although I acknowledge that such an explanation is exactly the misdirection GOP strategists would want to create. Rather, this story is about Trump’s deep, pathological need for sycophancy. Throughout his careers in business and politics, Trump has always sought to display his dominance. It’s no surprise, then, that in his televised cabinet meetings his closest advisers vie to outdo each other in displays of ﬂattery. What’s important about Harp’s relationship to Trump is not the prurient interest but rather that she seems to be, as New York Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman put it, “sort of his binky, for lack of a better word, his comfort blanket.” And, consequently, she seems to be his main conduit to reality. We have little idea who Harp is. And the more we learn, the more anxious we ought to be. Harp is referred to by many in Trumpworld as “the human printer” for her role supplying the president with

printed copies of everything from news reports to social media chatter. She reportedly works seven days a week, texts with world leaders on his behalf and stays up late with him drafting social media posts. Over the years, questions have arisen about who controls Trump’s social media accounts and gatekeeps the often toxic messages that emanate from them. Some observers suggest that Harp is a central player. I was downright outraged by reports that Harp sent out the racist video on Trump’s Truth Social account that portrayed former President Barack Obama and former ﬁrst lady Michelle Obama as apes. Some of us take that personally, not that Trump appears to care. The post, created under Trump’s direction, appeared in February at the end of a minute-long video promoting false claims about the 2020 election. It was deleted about 12 hours later after a furious bipartisan backlash. But, as one who believes in free speech and our democratic system, I hold the faith that such cheap shots will be punished, sooner or later, by the voters. That’s the way democracies mete out political justice. It’s not perfect but it offers an irreplaceably valuable chance for us voters to be heard. And we need every chance we can get. Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.

A frivolous and oblivious president gan’s Upper Peninsula from the Lower. This August features a stunning diThis should make Iran think. vergence. The world becomes more Dabbling in naval architecture, the dangerous as U.S. governance becomes polymathic president has got the Navy more frivolous. thinking about what The WashThe president is miffed with South Korea because, among ington Post calls his “preferred other insolences, that nation’s aesthetic” for aircraft carriers. insufficient help regarding his His taste favors the World War (you and South Korea might II look, when carriers’ command suppose) redundant second centers, called “islands,” were military operation against Iran. forward, nearer the George farther The second was undertaken to middle than, as today, the back of Will destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons the ships. He also wants to return program, which the president to steam-powered catapults to said the first operation “obliterated.” launch jets off the carriers, replacing The president, regretting that “it is the newer electromagnetic catapults the too late to cancel,” decided to “substanNavy thinks serve launching efficiency. Making these changes, which would tially reduce” joint U.S.-South Korea alter the ships’ balances, would cost military exercises. He said these “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and billions of dollars and delay by years hostile” to North Korea, which has been, delivering the carriers to the fleet. The president also wants a “Golden Fleet” he said, “unthreatening” during his including 15 new battleships, costing presidency. an average of $18 billion, more than the The president sees nothing threatening about North Korea’s development of $13.3 billion newest and largest carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. ballistic missiles capable of delivering The aesthetics of aircraft carriers, its nuclear warheads to California. He is and the counterintuitive argument for consistent. enormous surface warships in an era of On June 13, 2018, the president said, proliferating anti-ship missiles, will be “There is no longer a nuclear threat considered by the Navy. Probably until from North Korea.” On Sept. 29, 2018, he explained to some perhaps perplexed noon, Jan. 20, 2029. Regarding another “desperately West Virginians in Wheeling that he and needed” (his words) national security North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, construction: The president recently “fell in love” after exchanging letters. remembered that his proposed White The presidential patience with Iran is exhausted, so he has unleashed a one-two House ballroom is actually not about his original justification for it — morepunch. He has threatened to “bomb the shit out of” a U.S. ally, Oman, if it “gets in elegant presidential parties. In a Truth Social post that did not use the word the way” of negotiations with Iran. And “ballroom,” he said that beneath the he has proclaimed the Strait of Hormuz ballroom would be a military complex. a “NEW U.S. territory,” perhaps like the He did not say why a ballroom must Straits of Mackinac that separate Michi-

sit on top of this. He did say that people blocking what he later called the “great Military Complex/Ballroom” are “TREASONISTS” who “revealed Top Military Secrets!” The ballroom’s contribution to national security is contestable. Its contribution to constitutional law might break the “national security” spell that transfixes courts. They might reasonably block this presidential mania, saying that Congress must authorize the destruction and construction of government buildings. And that incantations of the phrase “national security” are not substitutes for thinking. Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court held that its inquiry into matters of national security “is highly constrained.” But such inquiry is not impermissible for anyone. Otherwise, “security” becomes an elastic justification for government to do whatever it wants. “The Guns of August” is Barbara Tuchman’s riveting history of Europe’s 1914 stumble into a four-year catastrophe. On Aug. 23, 1939, the Hitler-Stalin “nonaggression pact” presaged the war that began with Germany’s invasion of Poland eight days later. On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. A large and long U.S. military involvement in the region would follow. This August, an ally on the Korean Peninsula has been slighted for the benefit of a contiguous enemy. At least the president refrained from threatening to “bomb the shit” out of South Korea. Battleships and ballrooms, another August to remember. Email George Will at georgewill@ washpost.com.

Democratic voters reject resistance stars There has been a lot of commentary on the differences between Resistance 1.0, the effort by anti-Trump activists to bring down President Donald Trump in his first term, and Resistance 2.0, the effort by anti-Trump activists to bring down Trump in his second term. There are some tactical contrasts, but the simple fact is, they’re still at it. This year’s election season has featured two much-lauded figures of Resistance 1.0 as they tried to use their anti-Trump agitation as a springboard to public office. Alex Vindman, the former National Security Council staffer who in 2019 set off the first Trump imByron peachment, ran for U.S. Senate York in Florida, and George Conway, the lawyer who talked E. Jean Carroll into suing Trump, ran for the House in New York. Both suffered crushing defeats in Democratic primaries. Conway ran in New York’s 12th Congressional District, in Manhattan, the seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler. There were a lot of candidates. Conway finished fifth, with 6.1% of the vote. A wealthy lawyer, Conway loaned his campaign $2 million for the run. In all, he spent $5.7 million. The money allowed Conway to mount a vanity campaign, to publicly fantasize about getting Trump, and to pound his chest about the massive damage judgment against Trump in the Carroll trial. Conway obviously thought the theme might work in New York’s 12th, in which Kamala Harris beat Trump 81% to 17% in the 2024 presidential election. But of course, all Democrats in the race promised to oppose Trump. The Democratic voters’ job was to choose the best. Conway was not their first, second, third or fourth choice. Instead, the primary winner was a member of the New York state assembly named Micah C. Lasher, who pledged to stand up to Trump. The other Resistance star to face-plant was Vindman, who in 2019, as an active-duty Army lieutenant colonel on the staff of the National Security Council, set in motion the first impeachment of Trump. Vindman, who was privy to some of the president’s calls with world leaders, felt that Trump had committed some sort of unspecified violation in a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vindman relayed secret information to a friend in the CIA, who came up with a “whistleblower” complaint against the president. The impeachment failed, of course. Under pressure from the Trump administration, Vindman retired from the military and began trading on his notoriety. He wrote a memoir called “Here, Right Matters,” with the title based on his congressional testimony. He started a company called Here Right Matters LLC. It did well; in a financial disclosure form this year, Vindman listed around $1.5 million in income from that and other ventures. The Alexander Vindman business did pretty well. The next step would be politics. Vindman moved to Florida and ran for the Senate as a Democrat. When he jumped into the race in January, his announcement video began with news clips from his role in the Trump impeachment. A moment later, Vindman said, as pictures of his congressional testimony played: “The last time you saw me was here, swearing an oath to tell the truth about a president who broke his. See, my family came to America as refugees to escape tyranny. And I sure as hell was not going to bow down to some wannabe tyrant. This president unleashed a reign of terror and retribution, not just against me and my family, but against all of us.” No subtlety there; the Hero of the Resistance had arrived to take on Trump! Vindman raised $16 million for his campaign, while his Democratic socialist opponent, Angie Nixon, raised a little less than $1 million. Vindman immediately became a heavy favorite to win the Democratic nomination. He remained the favorite until Election Day, when Nixon shocked the political world by trouncing Vindman, 56% to 44%. Once again, the Resistance 1.0 magic did not work. As it had been in Manhattan, only on a far larger scale, Florida Democratic voters just didn’t care that a candidate had led one of the many unsuccessful efforts to drive Trump out of office from 2017 to 2021. That doesn’t mean they like or support Trump; they absolutely don’t. But it does mean that all the excitement that Conway and Vindman and their allies stirred up in the wayback time of Trump 1.0 truly came to nothing. Email Byron York at byork@washingtonexaminer.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the

writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone 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, SCAN HERE

4B ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Two N.O. murder convictions tossed Court cites wiretaps of disgraced former officer

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

A Louisiana appeals court has thrown out a pair of 30-year-old murder convictions in New Orleans, ﬁnding authorities failed to turn over key evidence before Manuel Nelson’s trial for both killings. Among the recently discovered records cited by the state 4th Circuit Court of Appeal in its decision last week are transcripts of wiretapped phone calls involving notorious New Orleans Police Department ofﬁcer Len Davis. Those wiretaps caught Davis and partner Sammie Williams talking about one of the July 1994 killings, with Williams at the scene before emergency responders. Another call captured Williams trying to pin the killing on Nelson, the court said, though he and Davis in a third call agreed Nelson’s co-defendant did it alone. The panel of Judges Paula Brown, Dale Atkins and Rachael Johnson ruled it was enough for Nelson, 56, to receive a new trial in the July 1994 slayings of Elbert “Little” Wynn and William Henry “Peewee” Jones. Their murders took place six days apart in the Florida housing development in the deadliest year in mod-

ern New Orleans history, with 424 people killed in the city. Wynn was shot 18 times, and Jones was shot 15 times. Nelson, then 24, was convicted of both murders the following year and received two life sentences. Criminal District Judge Robin Pittman ruled in February that Nelson failed to show that the wiretaps and other undisclosed information “probably would have resulted in different verdicts.” The appeals court disagreed. Brown’s opinion says the court was swayed by “contemporaneous police notes, supplemental police reports, a previously undisclosed ballistics report, post conviction statements by witnesses and transcripts from FBI wiretaps.” Among its findings, the decision said one of the state’s star witnesses to both murders initially told police she was asleep for one of them, information that wasn’t revealed earlier. The same witness was found to be dating the lead New Orleans police detective on the case during the trial, according to the opinion. A different witness later said the detective pressured her to identify Nelson. According to the panel, the wiretapped conversations revealed that Davis and Williams discussed Jones’ killing, as well as a shooting two days later in which Nelson was the victim.

Williams indicated in one call that Nelson’s co-defendant, Lawrence Peters, killed Jones. “Davis confirms, ‘Lawrence did the dude by himself?’ ” the opinion says. “Williams replies, ‘Yeah.’ ” “Much of the remainder of the conversation indicates that both Davis and Williams had a particular animus towards Nelson,” it added while suggesting Nelson was framed. Peters, his co-defendant, is serving life. As an officer, Davis earned the nicknames “The Desire Terrorist” and “RoboCop” for his aggressive tactics. He was convicted of ordering the Oct. 13, 1994, execution of Kim Groves, a 9th Ward mother who had reported Davis and Williams for police brutality. The two cops were suspected of running a protection racket for drug dealers and became targets along with several other officers in an FBI probe dubbed “Operation Shattered Shield.” Groves’ killing would mark a low point for the NOPD before reforms under Superintendent Richard Pennington, who was sworn in the day she was killed. Davis would be sent to death row. Former President Joe Biden commuted his sentence to life in 2024 along with 36 other federal death row prisoners. Davis challenged the commutation, saying he didn’t ask for it, but a federal judge ruled he had no choice. Williams agreed to coop-

erate with the government and received a five-year sentence. In tossing Nelson’s convictions, the appeals court found that “the interjection of Davis and Williams into the investigative process raises the specter of corruption in that process.” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams’ office opposed Nelson’s petition. In a statement, a spokesperson for the ofﬁce said prosecutors “intend to consult with the next of kin of both victims, as well as defense counsel, next week” to decide on a possible appeal. The statement highlighted the discovery of the FBI wiretaps but left open a decision. “The contents of those recordings are deeply troubling and raise serious concerns. It is clear that there should have been greater coordination and transparency between federal and local law enforcement regarding this information during the 1990s prosecution,” it read. “At the same time, Mr. Nelson was convicted of two separate homicides, and the recently discovered wiretap evidence relates to only one of those charges. That distinction is signiﬁcant and must be carefully considered as we evaluate the appropriate path forward.” Nelson was tried and convicted of both murders at once. His attorneys declined to comment. Staff writer Matt Bruce contributed to this story.

FORWARD

Continued from page 1B and expand to a second location. “You are nothing without your team,” Bernard said. “This was really about being the change we wish to see within the art world.” The student debt relief fund will now become an annual award for an artist actively working in the arts. “Sydney helped us build a business that gave us the opportunity to pay off our own student loans from art school,” Bernard said. “Now, we get to use what we’ve built to help someone else do the same.” That growth is also visible in Cocodrie Collective’s newest location. The downtown Lafayette shop, filled with art prints, candles, jewelry, home decor and other accessories from independent artists and makers around the world,

DRAGO’S

Continued from page 1B show. It closed three years later. Access to the building is not great, said Rex Moroux, commercial real estate agent with Scout Real Estate, and the tenant has to share parking with Corner Bar and the movie theater next door. Requiring businesses to lease the land while owning the building can also make it less attractive to a buyer, he said. “It’s very mysterious often

recently opened a second location at The Bend, 500 Settlers Trace Blvd., in River Ranch. Bernard said the expansion was designed in part to make the business more accessible to customers. “We love our downtown location in Lafayette,” Bernard said. “But it’s easier to get to our second location. It’s in the heart of where most commerce is done in Lafayette, and there’s a more accessible parking lot.” The new location also includes dedicated event space that will allow Cocodrie Collective to host more art workshops, creative gatherings and community-led e vents. For Bernard, the expansion and the debt-relief fund are connected. Cocodrie Collective began as a way to create a place where artists could sell their work. Now, she hopes its growth will allow the business to do something more for the people behind that work.

times,” Moroux said. “It’s based on perception. That’s really a hard thing to pin down. Something fails five or six times, and the public perception is it can’t succeed.” Other businesses that once called that location home include Tex-Mex restaurant Bako’s that closed in 2011, Serrano’s Salsa Co. that closed in 2007 and U.S. Border Cantina & Grill that filed for bankruptcy in early 1997 after opening the previous year, archives show. A Shoe Town store may have been the first to occupy that space in the mid-1980s.

CHICKEN

Continued from page 1B Week. In December, Graves told The Advocate a dream collaboration of his would be with Louis Vuitton. In the next 30 years, he hopes the company’s finances become more liquid. Selling chicken ﬁngers is a capital-intensive business, he said, but he wants to generate enough proﬁt to give “billions” back to the community one day. His net worth is valued at $22 billion, making him the richest person in Louisiana and the 115th richest person in the world. “I’m still as actively involved as Cane’s since I was from day one, and it’s been amazing to see how it’s grown,” he told the crowd. He repeated his famous quote, “God made me good at chicken fingers to help people.”

Raising Cane’s founder and owner Todd Graves recounts the making of the company, alongside his kids Sophia and Charlie and wife Gwen, at a 30th anniversary event inside the original store on Highland Road.

International expansion By the end of the decade, Graves aims for Cane’s to become one of the top 10 restaurant chains in the United States. He plans to open 100 restaurants each year and gradually increase the annual rate over time. Recently, Cane’s has hopped across the pond and south of the border. The company aims to open its ﬁrst London location in Piccadilly Circus in March and spread throughout Europe from there. The restaurant will open in Monterrey, Mexico, soon with drive-thru restaurants and plans to later expand in the country. Graves will own the London restaurants but franchise the Mexico stores, staying consistent with the company’s past international expansion practices of partnering with local operating groups in certain countries where it may be more difﬁcult to enter the market. Cane’s partnered

STAFF PHOTOS By IANNE SALVOSA

Renowned chef Duff Goldman made a cake for Raising Cane’s 30th anniversary. with Alshaya Group to open restaurants in Middle Eastern cities like Dubai and Kuwait City; they now have more than 50 locations in the region. Though the chain’s footprint is worldwide, Graves has been adamant about keeping close to his roots. He has maintained that the company’s headquarters will remain in Baton Rouge, with more than 100 satellite operations around the country, though various

headwinds have consistently pushed businesses and residents out of the Pelican State. He said the people of Baton Rouge and the support they have given him keep him in the city. “This is where Cane and I reside,” he said.

chef Duff Goldman. Edible recreations of prominent items in Cane’s history stacked on top of each other, starting from the bottom with Graves’ briefcase, a sockeye salmon and hard hat representing the ﬁshing and oil jobs that he took on to raise money for the restaurant, a Cane’s combo, the 30 years of One Love number “30” in the exposed On one of the tables in the brick common in the stores original Cane’s restaurant and topped with a replica of on Tuesday stood a roughly the Mothership. Graves, surrounded by 7-pound cake by renowned

the crowd of influencers, reporters and staffers, gawked at the cake. “This is my baby,” he said of the Mothership replica. He led a tour of his old apartment adjacent to the restaurant, which he has turned into a limited popup museum chronicling the Cane’s story. Rows of plush puppies resembling Cane in different outﬁts, which the company sells and donates proﬁts to animal welfare, sat side by side in a display case. The original business plan for the restaurant — which he was going to name Folly’s Fingers — sits in a propped-open briefcase. The pop-up museum will be open for the next month. Above the museum is Graves’ former unit, which he decorated to replicate exactly how it was when he lived in it, complete with 1990s-era TVs and computers, an LSU basketball poster hanging above the

bed and a copy of the ﬁrst article written about the company titled “Trio’s Raising Cane a hit in LSU area,” published in The Advocate, pinned to a bulletin board.

LOTTERY

SATURDAY,AUG. 29, 2026 PICK 3: 9-1-9 PICK 4: 3-1-5-0 PICK 5: 6-0-9-2-9 EASY 5: 4-5-21-29-30 LOTTO: 13-15-17-2041-42 POWERBALL: 18-56-6265-67 (18)

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

Funerals Today Donohue, Patrick

St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church at 10:30am.

Jaubert, Constance

La Chapelle de Martin & Castille at 2pm.

The Advocate’s Obituary Department Labor Day Holiday Hours Due to the Labor Day Holiday, our offices will be closed Monday, Sept. 7th, 2026.

EARLY DEADLINES FOR OBITUARIES DOWNLOAD

DOWNLOAD

ONE great state FOUR great apps

DEADLINE

SATURDAY 9/5 @ 3 PM

RUNDATE

SUNDAY 9/6 MONDAY 9/7 TUESDAY 9/8

Email obits@theadvocate.com or call 225-388-0289

OFFICIAL NEWS PARTNER OF THE LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS

SPORTS

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

M o n d ay, au g u s t 31, 2026

C L E M S O N A T L S U • 6 : 3 0 P. M . S A T U R D A y • A B C

1Cn

Saints set initial 53-man roster In surprise move, veterans Burgess, yiadom miss cut

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

MAKING THE CUT

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt looks to make a pass during practice on Aug. 20 at the school’s practice facility. STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Projecting LSU’s depth chart ahead of season opener vs. Clemson

When Sunday began, the New Orleans Saints had 81 players on their roster with 28 moves to make to hit the NFL-mandated 53-man roster limit by 5 p.m. The Saints made a series of different transactions to get there, waiving 15 players, releasing four veterans, placing two players on injured reserve with a return designation — including first-rounder Jordyn Tyson — placing five players on seasonending injured reserve, one on the Physically Unable to Perform list and one more on the reserve/suspended list. The initial 53-man roster included three quarterbacks and all but two members of the Saints’ eight-player 2026 draft class — Tyson and seventh-round cornerback T.J. Hall. As always, the initial 53-man roster is fluid and subject to change in the coming days. Two of the somewhat surprising veteran moves were the release of safety Terrell Burgess and corner Isaac Yiadom, both of whom started games for the Saints last season. Yiadom opened the season as one of the starting outside corners for the Saints last

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer There’s less than a week before LSU football’s season opener against Clemson on Saturday, but we still don’t know what Lane Kiffin’s first roster will look like on game day. That’s because a Louisiana judge is set to rule on a preliminary injunction hearing on Thursday that will determine the fate of over 40 athletes searching for a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA. As many as five of the plaintiffs in the suit — Dae’Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris, Blake Cotton, Jack Pyburn and Junior Tuihalamaka — intend to join Kiffin’s roster if they are granted the injunction. LSU would get to add key players at multiple positions of need if the players win their court case. So what kind of impact could they make, and what does the rest of LSU’s roster look like ahead of its matchup with Clemson? Here’s a final look at LSU’s depth chart ahead of the season opener.

Quarterback Starter: Sam Leavitt, R-Jr. Backups: Husan Longstreet, R-Fr.; Landen Clark, R-So. Breakdown: By all indications, Leavitt has recovered from a foot injury that hampered him throughout last season and forced him to miss most of the spring. He’ll need to prove again that he can be as productive as he was in 2024 at Arizona State, but this time do it week in and week out against SEC competition. Longstreet was a ﬁve-star recruit

in the 2025 class, while Clark was the Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year in the Coastal Athletic Association. Both backups are talented enough to play, but lack the experience and polish to be immediate starters.

He was the Badgers’ second-leading rusher last season despite only playing in seven games. He’ll likely share snaps with Berry, a former ﬁve-star recruit who showed ﬂashes of potential last season. Durham has led LSU in carries in each of the past Running back two years. But with a new SEASON coaching staff in place, Starter(s): Dilin Jones, PREVIEW there’s no guarantee he reR-So.; Harlem Berry, So. Backups: Caden Durham, Jr.; Stacey ceives the same workload this year. Gage, R-So.; Rod Gainey, R-So.; RayWide receiver cine Guillory, R-Fr. Breakdown: Jones is a WisconStarters: Jayce Brown, Sr.; Eugene sin transfer who has surprisingly ä See LSU, page 3C worked his way up the depth chart.

Buccaneers waive w Pyburn, paving way foor LSU return

way out of a college return after he followed Linebacker could join a two-sack effort against the Jets with another pair of quarterback takedowns in the Tigers after clearing waivers Bucs’ preseason ﬁnale against the Jaguars.

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

Is the NFL’s preseason sack leader bound for Baton Rouge? It’s entirely possible, as much as it might roil college football purists. Jack Pyburn, an undrafted free agent from LSU, was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. A court filing in an eligibility lawsuit filed in Baton Rouge said Pyburn planned to return to LSU for the 2026 season if he was granted a fifth year of NCAA competition and wasn’t on an NFL roster on Tuesday. If Pyburn clears waivers over the next 24 hours, the Tigers might have another late addition to their defensive end rotation. LSU’s season opens Saturday versus Clemson. It appeared Pyburn may have played his

LB Jack Pyburn

AP PHOTO

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Saints cornerback Isaac yiadom warms up during minicamp on June 16 at the team’s indoor practice facility in Metairie. yiadom was released by the Saints on Sunday.

College sports kicks off season under shadow of court ﬁghts BY EDDIE PELLLS AP national writeer

His four sacks in the NFL eclipsed the three Pyburn totaled in college with Florida and LSU. It was ultimately difﬁcult for Tampa to keep a preseason overachiever because the franchise invested a ﬁrst-round pick in exMiami pass rusher Rueben Bain in April and brought in Al-Quadin Muhammad after an 11-sack season in Detroit. The Bucs also returned fourth-year v veteran YaYa Diaby, who had seven s sacks in 2025, and Pyburn was beh hind eight-year veteran Anthony N Nelson and recent fourth-round p pick David Walker in the peckin ng order. Talking to reporters in Tampa a after Friday’s preseason finale, P Pyburn credited Bucs outside linebackers coach Larry Foote for tak-

Imagine tthe Dallas Cowboys threatening to sue tthe NFC East, then teams in the division n saying they won’t play them unless they y remove a player from their roster. No well-run pro sports league would dream m of it. College sports? Threats, lawsuits and instability a are now as common as playaction passe es and handoffs. The week k leading to the start of the 2026 season featured LSU and the Southeastern Con nference squaring off amid a destabilizing g frenzy of lawsuits over eligibility and tthe mind-bending reality that players who o signed on with a pro team, albeit brieﬂy, y, might soon be suiting up in college again.. Two months ago, it was the Big 12 going to o court against one of its own teams, Texas T Tech. In between: threats about leagues breaking away, talk k of “conference-led governance” and a b bill meandering through Congress that prop poses to ﬁx it all.

ä See PYBURN, page 3C

ä See COURT, page 3C

2C ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV

TENNIS 10:30 a.m. U.S. Open 6 p.m. U.S. Open

MEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER Indiana at Louisville MLB 5:45 p.m. Miami at Washington 6 p.m.

ESPN ESPN

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

ACCN

2 p.m.

FS1

7 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER Arsenal at Aston Villa WOMEN’S SOCCER Angel City at Boston

USA CBSSN

Pegula shakes off nerves at U.S. Open BY BRIAN MAHONEY Associated Press

NEW YORK — Jessica Pegula was one of the first players to compete at the U.S. Open, and she learned last year that starting Sunday provided some nice relief. “It is a little bit weird, but I did kind of enjoy that I could breathe for the next couple of days and everyone else is still freaking out about whether they’re going to win their first round,” she said. The head start is great — unless it’s a head start back to the airport. “We were just talking about it, and I said, it’s so nice to play on Sunday when you win. But if you lose it’s not nice, because you feel like the tournament didn’t even start and you’re out of it,” No. 11 seed Marta Kostyuk said. Pegula and Kostyuk both won easily and now the get the benefit of any extra day of rest before returning for the second round. The No. 3-seeded Pegula beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-2. She said she was nervous early, which makes sense given what could be at stake for the 2024 U.S. Open runner-up. Pegula leads the women’s tour with 46 wins this season. She has two titles and has reached three other finals. Pegula can become No. 1 in the rankings if she wins her first major title and No. 2 Elena Rybakina loses before the semifinals. Pegula next faces the winner of the match between Venus Williams and fellow wild card Sofia Kenin. They were set to play in the nightcap at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Williams and sister Serena are scheduled to play doubles together. “I felt really nervous before I went out there, but I know my coaches were like, ‘You didn’t really look that nervous. We thought you played great,’” Pegula said. The No. 11-seeded Kostyuk sure did, beating Storm Hunter 6-4, 6-1 for a strong start to the year’s final major after reaching the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon..

Donald ends retirement, returns to L.A. Rams

LOS ANGELES — Aaron Donald has returned to the Los Angeles Rams, ending his retirement after 21/2 years to join Myles Garrett on their defensive line. The Rams announced decision on Sunday following several weeks of discussion, preparation and intensive workouts for the star defensive lineman. Donald, 35, agreed to a one-year contract, and ESPN reported he will make at least $20 million in an incentive-laden deal. Donald became one of the greatest defensive players of his era during his ﬁrst 10 seasons spent with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles. He won three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards while earning 10 Pro Bowl selections, eight All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring.

Scherzer passes Perry for 9th on career strikeout list

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KIRSTy WIGGLESWORTH

Jessica Pegula returns the ball to Elena-Gabriela Ruse during the first round of the U.S. Open on Sunday in New york.

her opening match against Camila Osorio, before Carlos Alcaraz, who won his second U.S. Open title last year, plays his ﬁrst singles match since April after recovering from a right wrist injury. Past U.S. Open champions Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, Sloane Stephens and Stan Wawrinka are also on the Monday schedule, along with Wimbledon women’s champion Linda Noskova and men’s contenders such as Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils, Felix AugerAliassime and Frances Tiafoe. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, shook off his miserable preparation for the tournament by beating Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The No. 7 seed was just 1-3 in the North American hard-court swing, usually a time he thrives. “Last couple of weeks was not Champions begin Monday easy,” Medvedev said. “But I’m It was the second year of a happy that today I managed to Sunday start, though some of the produce high-level tennis.” Other winners Sunday included biggest headliners won’t begin until Monday. Two-time reigning No. 19 Jasmine Paolini and No. champion Aryna Sabalenka plays 31 Leylah Fernandez, the 2021

U.S. Open runner-up. No. 27 seed Barbora Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, lost 7-6 (4), 6-2 to Kamilla Rakhimova. American Tommy Paul, the No. 20 seed, bounced back from losing a ﬁrst-set tiebreak to Coleman Wong to win 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Wong a year ago became the ﬁrst man from Hong Kong to win an Open-era Grand Slam men’s singles match on the way to reaching the round of 32. Novak Djokovic was set to begin his quest for a recordextending 25th Grand Slam title on Sunday night against Mariano Navone. Djokovic, 39, most recently lost his opening match earlier this month at Cincinnati. Maric Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, and 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud both withdrew with injuries on the opening day.

on for nearly a week. The mixed doubles tournament, an exhibition headlined by Roger Federer’s return to Flushing Meadows and the singles qualifying tournaments drew large crowds, with admission to the grounds free. Fans who came for the first time Sunday may have noticed a tournament in transition. The U.S. Open is in the second year of a three-year renovation project of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main venue at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The improvements in the $800 million project include the addition of some lower-level seating, upgrades and additions of entertainment areas and the construction of a player performance center. “Please pardon our appearance while we are reimagining spectacular,” reads a sign above the A new look entrance to Ashe. The project is scheduled to be Though the main draws didn’t begin until Sunday, action at the completed in time for the 2027 U.S. Open has already been going U.S. Open.

TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer moved into ninth place on the career strikeout list Sunday, passing Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Scherzer, 42, reached the mark by striking out Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh for the second out of the seventh inning, the 3,535th of his career. The sellout crowd of 42,039 rose for a standing ovation when the record was shown on the scoreboard. It was Scherzer’s season-high 10th strikeout of the game. It was just the third time in MLB history a pitcher 42 or older threw seven or more innings, struck out 10 or more and allowed two or fewer baserunners. Nolan Ryan did it twice, most recently on May 1, 1991 against Toronto, his seventh and ﬁnal no-hitter.

Chinese star Ruoning Yin wins FM Championship

NORTON, Mass. — Ruoning Yin won the FM Championship on Sunday at the TPC Boston for her sixth career LPGA Tour victory, outlasting Hyo Joo Kim. Yin ran in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th for a share of the lead with playing partner Kim. The 23-year-old Chinese player parred the next ﬁve in breezy conditions and birdied the par-5 18th for a 2-under 70 and a two-stroke victory. Kim shot 71. She dropped back with a three-putt bogey on the par3 16th, missing a 9-foot par try. The South Korean player — a twotime winner this season — missed a 7-foot birdie attempt on the par-3 17th.

Curaçao tops Nevada, wins Preece wins at Daytona, takes ﬁnal playoff spot Little League World Series BY MARK LONG Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Known for two violent wrecks at Daytona International Speedway, Ryan Preece experienced a much different ride at NASCAR’s hometown track Saturday night: a trip to victory lane. Preece won the Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona in overtime to secure the final playoff spot for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. Late Preece, who feSaturday rociously flipped cars at Daytona in 2023 and again in 2025, moved to the front during a green-whitecheckered finish when leader Zane Smith got bumped, started spinning and slammed into other cars on the last lap. Preece took the checkered flag under caution and edged Shane van Gisbergen for the 16th and final berth in the postseason finale. “This is redemption,” said Preece, whose victory landed two RFK cars into the 16-driver Chase for the championship. Chris Buescher is the other. “I’m just speechless right now,” Preece said. “Those guys, that 60 (car), we’re fighters. When you put our back against the wall, we swing hard. ... Last year, there were a lot of keyboard warriors saying I was nothing. Well, we just kicked their butts tonight.” Preece expressed confidence all week, but he found himself needing a victory late to pass van Gisbergen for the last playoff spot. Van Gisbergen finished 27th after pitting during the final caution and taking four tires. “Shame we’re not in it,” said van Gisbergen, who won twice during the regular season but missed the

“Days of Thunder.” The 64-yearold Cruise announced Saturday at Daytona he will reprise his role as NASCAR driver Cole Trickle. He said he wants to show audiences “the speed, the excitement and all that danger and stuff.” Anne Hathaway will co-star as a team owner and engineer in the ﬁlm scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 2, 2028.

Johnson’s final Daytona 500 Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will drive a familiar-looking No. 48 in his final Cup Series start. Johnson unveiled his paint scheme for his Toyota in the 2027 Daytona 500 by driving a ceremonial lap around the track before Saturday’s race. The gray-and-blue scheme melds the three main sponsors during ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN RAOUX Johnson’s record-setting racing Ryan Preece, center, celebrates with his crew after winning a NASCAR career: Lowe’s, Ally and Carvana. Cup race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday in Daytona Johnson’s final start will come in Beach, Fla. the 69th running of the Daytona 500, scheduled for Feb. 21. Henplayoffs under NASCAR’s new Van Gisbergen won Stage 1 and drick Motorsports loaned Johnson format that puts more emphasis created more of a cushion on Pre- the No. 48 for his last ride. on season-long results than vic- ece, who was caught up in a three“Seeing this car for the first time car crash as he neared the finish brings back a lifetime of memotories. Bubba Wallace and Austin Cin- line. Preece raced his way back ries,” Johnson said. dric locked up the other two avail- to the front in Stage 2 and picked able spots. Wallace, Cindric, van up much-needed points with a Herbst sits out Gisbergen, Preece and Brad Kes- second-place finish behind Ryan Riley Herbst was scratched from the race because of “linelowski started the night vying for Blaney. But it came down to the final lap. gering effects” from a crash last the final three spots in the 10-race Preece needed to win to get in — weekend. Harrison Burton reChase. Wallace, who was nearly a lock and he pulled it off in dramatic placed Herbst in the No. 35 Toyota to make the 16-driver field when fashion. and finished 12th. “I’m a racer. I know what it the green flag dropped, claimed Herbst was involved in a crash his spot with a seventh-place fin- takes to build speed,” Preece at New Hampshire Motor Speedish in the opening stage. Cindric said. “So every man and woman way last Sunday, with his car avoided trouble all night, finished at RFK, thank you for giving me backing into the outside barrier sixth and advanced without much a rocket ship so I could go to the before being struck again. moon tonight.” fanfare. Up next Daniel Suarez finished second in ‘Days of Thunder’ follow-up the race, followed by Michael McThe 10-race Chase for the chamDowell, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Tom Cruise is getting back be- pionship begins at Darlington Stenhouse Jr. hind the wheel for a follow-up to Raceway next Sunday.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Juriënsly De Windt and Shardijon De Lanoi combined to drive in six runs, and Curaçao won its second Little League World Series title, beating Nevada 11-2 in the championship game on Sunday. De Windt started on the mound and allowed two runs in three innings. Giendry Ryan and Steven Felix were nearly flawless in relief with four strikeouts over the final three innings for the tiny island nation, which previously won the tournament in 2004. Curaçao had advanced to the finals by winning the international title in 2005, 2019, 2022 and 2023. This time, the group from Pariba Little League in Willemstad had enough firepower from the mound and at the plate to beat the U.S. champion.

Palou seals 4th straight IndyCar championship

WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Alex Palou won his record-tying fourth consecutive IndyCar season championship with a 10th-place finish Sunday night in the resumption of a raindelayed race at the Milwaukee Mile. The 29-year-old from Barcelona, Spain, added to yet another dominating year for himself and Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou’s four consecutive championships match the record set by Sebastien Bourdais from 2004-07. He becomes just the third driver to win five titles, with A.J. Foyt winning seven and Scott Dixon six. It’s also a record-setting 18th title won by a Ganassi driver, one more than Team Penske. Palou finished fifth in Sunday’s regularly scheduled race.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● 3C

lll

COURT

But there were no immediate signs that LSU — the Continued from page 1C SEC school actually planning on bringing back some pros — was changing its “We can enjoy the fact plans. Louisiana’s governor, that the players can ben- who keeps his hand in sports efit financially from play- at the state’s biggest school, ing in college now,” Duke declared: “Don’t hate the football coach Manny Diaz player, hate the game.” The Big 12’s lawsuit said, diagnosing the original reason for the problem. against its own team, Texas “At the same time, recog- Tech, came in June after nize the ultimate truth that quarterback Brendan Sorswe’re not a professional by’s admission that he had a sports franchise. We are gambling addiction. Sorsby a collegiate, scholastic eventually withdrew from school activity, and we’ve college and gave up the fight, but the lawsuit lingot to rein that in.” Or, as Barbara Osborne, gers on — triggered by a a professor at the North state court order that had Carolina law school who is temporarily allowed Sorsby an expert on NCAA gov- to play despite the NCAA longtime ban ernance put it: of players who “The difference “The difference gamble. between a probetween a On all the diffessional sports ferent forms league and colprofessional legiate athletics sports league and the eligibility is literally night collegiate athletics issue takes, the courts are havand day.” is literally night ing quite a say. Indeed, most and day.” The smartest colleges are plaintiffs’ atpublic instituBARBARA OSBORNE, torneys are dotions whose North Carolina law ing a good job athletic deschool professor shopping for partments are judges sympaa small part of the overall equation on thetic to their cases — and their campuses. Unlike pro there are more than 30 at sports, where finances usu- the moment with nearly ally rule the day, decision- 400 athletes involved. Most makers in college come claim it is unfair to exclude from classrooms, board- high school Class of 2022 rooms and research pro- athletes the way the NCAA grams. Even when teams in rule did, but it’s also clear a certain conference (like that many athletes hoping the SEC) or division (like to come back can count on Division I) agree, the deci- money — revenue-sharing, sions don’t always lead to NIL deals — that were not available six years ago. smooth sailing. “Unfortunately, this Courts having a say is the latest example of In the past week, in the member schools weaponwake of the NCAA’s new izing locally elected judgfive-year eligibility rule es to skirt member-agreed that excluded last year’s upon rules,” said NCAA graduating class from that senior vice president Tim extra year, the Big Ten and Buckley in response to a SEC passed rules barring ruling from a Louisiana players from returning judge who sparked the after leaving for the pros. LSU case and keeps findThe Big 12 and ACC quick- ing against the NCAA and SEC. ly passed similar rules.

LSU

Continued from page 1C Wilson, R-Jr.; Winston Watkins, So. Backups: Jackson Harris, R-Jr.; Tre Brown, 5th-yr. Sr.; Roman Mothershed, R-Jr.; Malik Elzy, R-Jr.; Phillip Wright, R-Fr.; Corey Barber, Fr.; Josh Jackson, R-So.; Tyree Holloway, R-Jr.; Jabari Mack, Fr.; Brayden Allen, Fr. Breakdown: LSU’s depth chart at receiver is still anyone’s guess. Jayce Brown, Wilson, and Watkins have the most impressive résumés in the room, but nothing we’ve seen in the spring or preseason suggests they will be the starting trio against Clemson. Jayce Brown led Kansas State in receiving yards last season. Wilson was productive at Florida, but injuries have hampered his career. Watkins had 373 yards as a freshman in Kifﬁn’s offense at Ole Miss last year. Mothershed had an impressive spring, but Harris and Tre Brown have the clearest paths to playing time outside of the Jayce Brown, Wilson and Watkins trio. Harris is a deep threat who averaged nearly 20 yards per reception in 11 games at Hawaii a year ago. Tre Brown was Old Dominion’s top pass catcher, accumulating 762 receiving yards and averaging 20.1 yards per catch.

Tight end Starter: Trey’Dez Green, Jr. Backups: Malachi Thomas, Jr.; Zach Grace, R-Jr.; JC Anderson, Fr.; JD LaFleur, R-Fr. Breakdown: If a Louisiana judge grants Wright a preliminary injunction, he could give LSU’s 12 personnel (two tight ends, one running back) packages a major boost. Wright hauled in a careerhigh 39 catches for 635 yards at Ole Miss last season. Whether Wright is allowed to play shouldn’t affect Green, who is set to be Leavitt’s top pass-catching option. He comes into this year as an AP first-team All-American, and last season he caught 33 passes for 433 yards and seven touchdowns.

Offensive line Starters: Jordan Seaton, Jr. (LT); Bo Bordelon, 5th-yr.

Sr. (LG); Braelin Moore, 5th-yr. Sr. (C); Aliou Bah, 5th-yr. Sr. (RG); Weston Davis, R-So. (RT) Backups: Devin Harper, So.; Sean Thompkins, R-Jr.; William Satterwhite, R-So.; Darrin Strey, R-Fr.; JaKolby Jones, Jr.; Brysten Martinez, Fr.; Solomon Thomas, R-Fr.; Adrian Lamb, R-So.; Jar’Mand Jones, So.; Ja’Quan Sprinkle, R-Jr.; Brett Bordelon; R-Fr.; Ryan Miret, Fr. Breakdown: Seaton, Moore and Bah are virtual locks to start. Seaton was the top offensive lineman in the portal out of Colorado, while Moore is a returning starter and Bah had an impressive twoyear run at Maryland. The questions on the line are at left guard and right tackle. Davis started at right tackle for most of last year, but he struggled. He has the physical tools to be an SEC tackle — new offensive line coach Eric Wolford just needs to help him reach his potential. Bordelon never played much in four years under Brian Kelly, but he lined up as LSU’s starter at left guard during the spring. Harper and Satterwhite are in line for playing time in case something happens to any of the starters. Harper followed Kifﬁn from Ole Miss to LSU, while Satterwhite earned playing time at Tennessee last season.

Defensive tackle Starters: Richard Anderson, Fr.; Deuce Geralds, Fr. Backups: Dominick McKinley, Jr.; Malik Blocton, Jr; Stephiylan Green, R-Jr; Achilles Woods, R-So.; Shone Washington, 5th-yr. Sr.; Brandon Brown, R-Fr. Breakdown: This room is also in flux given the potential addition of Harris. If he receives a favorable ruling in court, he could provide a big boost to the middle of LSU’s defense. He had 58 tackles, including nine for loss, last year at Ole Miss. Two freshmen occupy starting spots in this exercise, but expect LSU to do a lot of rotating at this position. Anderson and Geralds were heralded recruits, but Green, Blocton and McKinley provide plenty of power conference experience. Add Harris into the mix, and LSU’s defensive tackle room will have a strong six-

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C season, but the job felt like a temporary posting while New Orleans prepared Quincy Riley for the position. This summer, he worked almost exclusively with the second team defense. But when Riley went down with an injury in training camp, the Saints turned to Martin Emerson as his replacement, pushing Yiadom further down the secondary’s hierarchy. Burgess also didn’t make the club out of training camp last year, but he quickly made it back to the active roster and appeared in 16 games. As vested veterans, Burgess and Yiadom do not have to go through the waiver process, meaning the Saints do not have to worry about another team claiming their rights. If there is mutual interest, the Saints could bring both

PYBURN

Continued from page 1C ing his game to another level. “That is the biggest thing that I have worked on, is timing the snap and getting off the ball as fast as possible,” Pyburn said. “His overall understanding of how an offense works has helped me so tremendously understand that at a deeper level.” Pyburn’s time in the NFL could be LSU’s gain. While he was working to make an NFL team, Pyburn remained on a list of 40-plus plaintiffs in a lawsuit in Baton Rouge challenging the NCAA’s decision to not allow Class of 2022 high school graduates to play a ﬁfth season. The judge overseeing the case, William Jorden, grant-

man rotation.

Edge rusher Starters: Princewill Umanmielen, Sr.; Jordan Ross, Jr. Backups: Lamar Brown, Fr.; Dylan Carpenter, R-Jr.; Jaylen Brown, R-So.; Trenton Henderson, Fr.; Damien Shanklin, R-Fr.; Kolaj Cobbins, R-So.; Jaiden Braker, R-Fr. Breakdown: Tuihalamaka and Pyburn could drastically change the outlook of this room if they join the team. Tuihalamaka — a Notre Dame transfer if he’s ruled eligible — never signed a pro contract, so he has an even clearer path to the team than Harris, Pyburn or Wright. Pyburn was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. If another NFL team doesn’t pick him up on waivers, he could be primed for a return to Baton Rouge. Both Tuihalamaka and Pyburn’s best attribute is their ability to set the edge against the run. That skill set is a need for LSU’s edge room, which lacks depth and is mostly made up of players who do their best work rushing the passer. This became especially true after redshirt sophomore Gabriel Reliford tore his ACL in the spring. Umanmielen was one of LSU’s biggest additions from the portal, registering nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss last season. Ross is a former ﬁve-star recruit who had 1.5 sacks at Tennessee last year. Brown is another former ﬁve-star recruit who is expected to make an impact as a freshman. Carpenter is another run-stuffing edge who earned playing time last season.

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints kicker Charlie Smyth lines up a kick during training camp on Aug. 9. Smyth was cut by the Saints on Sunday.

the club after impressing on special teams and showing he can play safety. Included in the roster cuts for the third consecutive year was kicker Charlie Smyth, the native Irishman who took over with six games remaining last season as the Saints kicker. New Orleans had pushed Smyth hard with competition this offseason after he went 8-for-12 in his small sample last season. The Saints brought in former Pro Bowler Younghoe Koo for a workout and also pitted Smyth against undrafted free agent Mason Shipley and former UFL star Tanner Brown. Smyth and Brown spent most of training camp going back and forth, but when neither truly broke out, the Saints brought in former All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson with less than a week remaining in camp.

back on the practice squad. Tight end Treyton Welch made the roster out of training camp for the ﬁrst time after the Saints saw their depth depleted by injuries to rookie Oscar Delp and Email Luke Johnson at Moliki Matavao. Defensive ljohnson@theadvocate. back Mike Reid also made com.

Saints moves Here is the full list of transactions the Saints made Sunday.

Released

S Terrell Burgess CB Michael Davis RB Zamir White CB Isaac Yiadom

Waived

K Tanner Brown DL Myles Cole WR Jalen Cropper EDGE Fadil Diggs RB CJ Donaldson CB T.J. Hall TE Cody Hardy OT Alan Herron OL Easton Kilty WR Trey Palmer OL Torricelli Simpkins LB Jackson Sirmon K Charlie Smyth DL Jay’Viar Suggs OT Alex Wollschlager

Injured reserve

CB Dalys Beanum EDGE Mike Heldman CB David Long RB Devin Neal OT Barry Wesley

Injured reserve, designated for return

WR Jordyn Tyson LB Jaylon Ford

Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform WR Mason Tipton

Reserve/Suspended

WR Brock Rechsteiner

come the first college football player who previously logged statistics for a pro team. Wright suited up for the Browns this month but didn’t record a reception, and Harris was cut by the Saints on Aug. 8 because a foot injury kept him off the field. The SEC implemented rules against member institutions adding ex-pros, including a fine of 50% of a sport’s budget and a half-season suspension of the team’s coach. But the judge amended the temporary restraining order to void those penalties. The league, unsurprisingly, will abide by the court order, but the SEC is likely to appeal if the plaintiffs in the Baton Rouge case are granted an injunction during Thursday’s initial hearing. For now, LSU and other

conference schools can add former pros. Pyburn could still be claimed by another NFL team, as well, but Pyburn will want to be on a 53man roster. College contributors tend to make more in the NIL and revenue-sharing era than rookie NFL practice squad members, who reportedly receive $13,000 a week, or about $234,000 over the course of an 18-week season. If Pyburn re-enrolls at LSU, this would be the Tigers’ second August addition to the defensive end rotation. Notre Dame transfer Junior Tuihalamaka, who is also a plaintiff in the Baton Rouge eligibility case, previously committed to LSU. Tuihalamaka was injured during the pre-draft process and never signed with an NFL team.

brother Zach has excellent er of Mansoor, who was the speed and could also con- No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft this spring after a steltend for reps. lar campaign with LSU. The Star younger Delane arrives at Starter: Dashawn Spears, Jr. LSU after transferring from Ohio State. Backup: C.J. Jimcoily, So. Breakdown: Spears inherits the role Harold Perkins had Cornerback for two seasons under defenStarters: DJ Pickett, So.; PJ sive coordinator Blake Baker. Woodland, Jr. After playing mostly in thirdBackups: Ja’Keem Jackson, and-long situations at safety R-Jr.; Michael Turner, R-So.; last season, Spears will try Havon Finney, Fr.; Dez Elto prove he can be an every- lis, Fr.; Emari Peterson, Fr.; down player this season. Treylan James, R-Jr.; Lavonte Williams, So. Safety Breakdown: LSU has turned Starters: Ty Benefield, Sr.; to the courts for extra help at this position as well. Tamarcus Cooley, R-Jr. The Louisiana lawsuit Backups: Faheem Delane, So.; Jhase Thomas, R-Fr.; states that Cotton “intends Aiden Hall, Fr.; Isaiah Wash- to seek a roster spot at a D-I ington, Fr.; Jackson Wil- university in Louisiana,” liams, Fr.; Mason Dossett, likely meaning that he will try to join LSU’s roster this R-So. Breakdown: Benefield was season. Cotton started in a major portal addition for eight games at Utah and finLSU. The former Boise State ished second on the team in safety was an All-Mountain pass breakups last year. Cotton, at the very least, West first-team selection last year. Cooley, meanwhile, could provide depth for an is a returning starter after LSU cornerbacks room that a productive first season in needs it. With sophomore Aidan Anding out for the Baton Rouge. Behind them, Thomas was year with an Achilles tear, seen taking some reps with Jackson, a former Florida the first team during the pre- transfer, is currently in line season. Delane is the broth- to be LSU’s third corner-

back. Jackson played more than 10 snaps in just one SEC game last year, according to Pro Football Focus. With that said, LSU’s starters at corner are strong. Pickett and Woodland return as key pieces of last year’s defense. Add in Cotton, and the Tigers would be set at the position.

ed a temporary restraining order against the NCAA and, more recently, the Southeastern Conference, making Pyburn and his fellow athletes eligible to play in college. LSU has already recruited multiple players who were previously signed by NFL teams, including tight end Dae’Quan Wright (Eagles and Browns) and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris (Saints). The judge ruled ex-pros were eligible as long as they were released from their contracts and paid back whatever money they made. Pyburn’s undrafted deal with the Bucs reportedly guaranteed him $115,000, including a $15,000 signing bonus. If Pyburn doesn’t land on another NFL roster and returns to LSU, he would be-

Special teams Kicker: Scott Starzyk, So. Punter: Grant Chadwick, Jr. Long snapper: Mack Mulhern, R-Fr. Punt returner: Jayce Brown Kick returner: Harlem Berry Breakdown: Starzyk made 14 of 18 ﬁeld goal attempts at Arkansas a year ago. Chadwick, after a strong first season at LSU, could face competition from Florida transfer redshirt freshman Hayden Craig. Craig and Mulhern followed new special teams coordinator Joe Houston from Florida. Brown was seen fielding punts in the spring, but he didn’t take any at Kansas State. Berry didn’t ﬁeld any kicks last season, but has the speed and vision to be dangerous in the role. He was also seen fielding kicks in the spring.

YEARS

11 teams. 6 conferences. 1 state.

Linebacker Starters: Whit Weeks, Sr.; TJ Dottery, 5th-yr.-Sr. Backups: Davhon Keys, Jr.; Zach Weeks, R-Fr.; Tylen Singleton, R-So.; Charles Ross, So.; Keylan Moses, R-Fr.; Theo Grace, R-Fr. Breakdown: Weeks and Dottery form one of the top linebacker duos in the SEC. Weeks was awarded the No. 7 jersey for a reason, while Dottery was a key starter on Ole Miss’ defense over the past two seasons. Keys started for an injured Weeks last season and should still earn some time on the field, giving him or Dottery a breather. Whit’s

TODAY•5PM

KLPB 27

www.lpb.org

b.o

.lp ww

str ive g/l

m ea

4C ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Titans cut QB Levis as teams trim rosters

BY ROB MAADDI

AP pro football writer Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis was among more than 1,100 players cut Sunday as NFL teams trimmed their rosters, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Titans hadn’t announced their cuts. A second-round pick in 2023 who started 21 games for the Titans, Levis was stuck behind Cam Ward and Mitch Trubisky. He was 5-16 for Tennessee in two seasons and didn’t play in 2025 following shoulder surgery. “I think he’s been awesome,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said of Levis following Saturday’s game. “I thought he did a really nice job today. I thought he had a really good two-minute drive at the end of the half. Very good awareness with the time.” Levis said he believes he can be a starting quarterback in the NFL. “I feel like you’ve got to have that conﬁdence in yourself regardless of your position,” Levis said after going 14 for 22 for 143 yards against the Bears in a 24-15 loss to close out the preseason. “I saw a quote, I forget who it was, but it’s, ‘Everyone in the league here is a starter.’ You’ve got to have that mentality. You could be in at the press of a button and just be ready to play. That’s one thing that I feel like I gained a lot in my time away, is gaining back some of the conﬁdence that I lost throughout the last year that I played and I’m

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis warms up before a preseason game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday in Nashville Tenn. Levis was cut on Sunday. going to maintain that mindset the rest of my career.” Teams had to be down to 53 players from 90 before 6 p.m. EDT. Three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made the New York Giants after missing the 2025 season. The Vikings kept J.J. McCarthy, a ﬁrst-round pick in 2024. Anthony Richardson, a ﬁrst-round pick in 2023, remains with the Colts. Both quarterbacks were on the bubble. The Browns kept four QBs after placing Dillon Gabriel on injured reserve with a back injury. Shedeur Sanders will back up Deshaun Watson and rookie Taylen Green is No. 3 on the depth chart. Gabriel,

who started six games as a rookie last season, can return in Week 5. The Atlanta Falcons also went with four QBs, keeping Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Cooper Rush and Jack Strand.

Numerous players traded Several teams made trades ahead of the cutdown deadline. Offensive tackle Broderick Jones, a 2023 first-round pick, changed teams on Sunday. So did quarterback Quinn Ewers and defensive lineman CJ Okoye. Quarterback Kyle McCord, tight ends Hunter Long and Mark Redman, tackle Walter Rouse, defensive back Clark Phillips III, defensive

lineman Gervon Dexter, centers Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Jarrett Patterson were also traded. A day after trading Ewers to Jacksonville, the Dolphins landed a new backup quarterback by acquiring McCord from Green Bay for a 2028 sixth-round pick. The Dolphins had acquired a 2028 sixth-round pick from the Jaguars for Ewers. McCord threw four touchdown passes in a 42-38 victory over Arizona on Friday, including two in the ﬁnal 3 1/2 minutes. But the Packers signed Tyrod Taylor in May to back up Jordan Love. McCord will back up Malik Willis, who signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract in March after playing behind Love in Green Bay the past two seasons. The Cardinals acquired Long and a 2028 seventh-round selection from Jacksonville for a sixth-round selection in 2028. Long has 20 receptions for 153 yards in 46 games. The Colts got Van Pran-Granger and a 2027 seventh-round pick from Buffalo for a 2027 sixth-round selection. Van Pran-Granger appeared in 18 games, including one start with the Bills in two seasons. The trade is an indication starter Connor McGovern will be ready to go after missing much of the past month with an undisclosed lowerbody injury. Lloyd Cushenberry had replaced McGovern when he was sidelined. The Bears acquired a 2027 ﬁfthround pick and Phillips from Atlanta for Dexter. The 49ers added a backup center in Patterson from Houston for

a 2027 seventh-round pick, a person familiar with the deal said on condition of anonymity because it hadn’t been announced.. Patterson started 21 games over the last three seasons after being a sixth-round pick by the Texans in 2023. He will back up Jake Brendel in San Francisco. The Niners had signed Brett Toth to ﬁll that role in the offseason but he has been out since early August with a concussion. The Packers continued to boost their tight end depth by acquiring Redman from the Rams for a 2028 seventh-round pick. The move comes three days after Green Bay signed veteran tight end Jonnu Smith. The Vikings sent Rouse and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Patriots in exchange for a sixthround pick in the 2027.

Saturday’s trades A day earlier, the Steelers sent Jones to Dallas for draft picks. Jones who was picked 14th overall by Pittsburgh three years ago, gives the Cowboys depth at offensive tackle. Ewers, a seventh-round pick by Miami last year, will replace Nick Mullens as Trevor Lawrence’s backup. Okoye went from the Ravens to the Giants, reuniting with Harbaugh.

Practice squad Many of the players who were cut will rejoin their teams on the practice squad. Others will go to new teams. Some will reach the end of their NFL career.

SCOREBOARD Sports Betting Line NFL Wednesday

FAVORITE at SEATTLE

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4½ 3½ (44½) NE

FAVORITE at LA RAMS

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3½ 3½ (48½) San Fran

Thursday

Sunday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at PITT 3 3½ (42½) Atlanta Chicago 2½ 2½ (47½) at CAR Baltimore 3½ 3½ (47½) at IND at CIN 3½ 3½ (50½) Tmpa Bay at TEN 2½ 2½ (39½) NY Jets at DETROIT 7 7 (49½) Nola Buffalo 1½ 1½ (44½) at HOU at JAX 7½ 7½ (40½) Cleveland at LAS VEGAS 3½ 3½ (40½) Miami at CHARGRS 10½ 10½ (47½) Arizona at MIN 1½ 1½ (45½) Green Bay at PHILA 4½ 4½ (46½) Wash Dallas 2½ 2½ (48½) at GIANTS

Monday

FAVORITE at K.C.

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ 2½ (42½) Denver

College Football Thursday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at RUTGERS 30½ 29½ (53½) UMass at KEN ST 21½ 23½ (51½) W Georgia at BUFFALO 27½ 24½ (48½) Albany at DELAWRE 30½ 28½ (55½)Merrimack at W. FOREST 22½ 24½ (48½) Akron at UCF 38½ 42½ (59½) B.Cookmn at GA TECH 7½ 6½ (50½) Colorado at MISSOURI 50½ 54½ (60½) UAPB at MIN 43½ 42½ (51½) E. Illinois at UTAH 35½ 34½ (56½) Idaho at ILLINOIS 27½ 28½ (55½) UAB

Friday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at E. MICHGN 4 3½ (54½) San Jse St. at PURDUE 30½ 35½ (56½)Indiana St. at GA ST 26½ 28½ (63½) NC A&T at KANSAS 40½ 39½ (53½) LIU Post at OKLA 40½ 41½ (50½) UTEP at MICH ST 10½ 10 (49½) Toledo at USC 23½ 22½ (51½) Fresno St. Miami (FL) 22 24½ (48½) at STAN

Saturday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at UCONN 21½ 19½ (58½) Lafayette at SYRACUSE 27½ 33½ (55½)New Hamp at B. GREEN 1½ 2½ (47½) Tarlton St. at J. MADISON 6 6½ (52½) Liberty at NEBRASKA 23½ 23½ (47½) Ohio at HOUSTON 18½ 20½ (51½) Oregon St. at ALABAMA 26½ 28½ (54½)E. Carolina at INDIANA 40½ 40½ (55½) N. Texas at ARMY 37½ 37½ (51½) Bryant at W. VIRGNA 17½ 21½ (56½)C. Carolina at PITT 15½ 16½ (49½)Miami (OH) at OHIO ST. 50½ 50½ (56½) Ball State at S. CAR 34½ 36½ (53½) Kent State at IOWA ST. 30½ 29½ (53½) SEMSU at KENTCKY 27½ 23½ (62½) Youngs St at AIR FORCE 23½ 28½ (58½) Duquesne at TEMPLE 12½ 10½ (51½) Rhde Islnd at GEORGIA 48½ 46½ (56½) Tenn St. at CHAR 17½ 17½ (46½) Citadel at UTSA 27½ 28½ (59½) Utrgv at AUBURN 7 7½ (59½) Baylor at NDSU 35½ 39½ (57½) Fordham at NAVY 30½ 30½ (53½) Towson at CIN 7½ 7½ (51½) B. College at DUKE 9½ 9½ (50½) Tulane at OREGON 24½ 24½ (51½) Boise St. at TEXAS 30½ 30½ (60½) Texas St. at TEN 47½ 46½ (66½) Furman at APP ST. 22½ 18½ (53½) Maine at PENN ST. 23½ 24½ (54½) Marshall Oklahoma St. 12½ 14 (60½) at TULSA at IOWA 30½ 31½ (45½) N. Illinois at ARKANS 40½ 40½ (63½) N. bama at S. MISS 23½ 21½ (50½) Alcorn St. at OLD DOM 41½ 41½ (55½) Norfolk St. at CSU 3½ 3½ (47½) Wyoming at S. BAMA 14½ 12½ (52½) Selu at S. FLORIDA 12½ 13½ (54½) Flrda Intl at M. TEN 25½ 20½ (59½) Murray St. at KAN ST 41½ 40½ (55½)Nicholls St. at UTAH ST. 23½ 13½ (61½) Idaho St. at JAX STATE 20½ 19½ (54½) E. Kent at VAND 35½ 30½ (61½) A. Peay at TX A&M 38½ 41½ (52½) Missou St at GA SOUTH 26½ 25½ (51½) Chrlstn S at TEX TECH 41½ 42½ (59½)A. Chrstian at RICE 21½ 22½ (47½)Hou Christ at TROY 17½ 16½ (53½) Sam Hou at MEMPHIS 10½ 9½ (53½) Arkans St at MICHIGAN 26½ 27½ (47½) W Michgn at MISS ST 28½ 28½ (55½)UL Monroe at LSU 11½ 10½ (51½) Clemson at VA TECH 47½ 51½ (57½) VMI at LA TECH 40½ 43½ (52½)Nrthstrn St 27½ (59½) Fla Atl at FLORIDA 26½ at NRTHWSN 15½ 12½ (46½) S. Dkta St. at UL 17½ 20½ (48½) Lamar at MARYLND 41½ 45½ (56½) Hampton at BYU 47½ 47½ (54½) Utah Tech 23½ 28½ (51½) Mercyhrst at NNMSU at ARIZONA 29½ 33½ (56½) N. Arizona at SDSU 40½ 40½ (58½) Prtland St. UNLV 1½ 3 (58½) at HAWAII at ARIZ ST 42½ 41½ (52½) Morgan St at NEW MEX 12½ 10½ (46½) C. Michign at SAC ST. 32½ 35½ (56½) Miss Va St W. Kntcky 3 2½ (52½)at NEVADA UCLA 1½ 1½ (53½) at CAL

Sunday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at WASH 21½ 23½ (50½) Wash St. at N.D. 20½ 20½ (47½) Wisconsin at OLE MISS 6½ 6½ (55½) Louisville

Monday

FAVORITE SMU

MLB

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ 3 (53½) at FSU

Monday

American League FAVORITE LINE at BOSTON -168 at MIN -135 at TEXAS -221 at HOUSTON -135 N.Y Yankees -138 National League FAVORITE LINE at ATLANTA OFF San Diego -147 at WASH OFF Milwaukee -112 Philadelphia -118 Interleague FAVORITE LINE at TAMPA BAY -166 Baltimore -136

UNDERDOG Seattle Detroit Athletics White Sox at LA ANGELS

LINE +135 +110 +175 +110 +118

UNDERDOG San Francisco at CINCINNATI Miami at CHI CUBS at ARIZONA

LINE OFF +120 OFF -111 +100

UNDERDOG N.Y Mets at COLORADO

LINE +138 +116

x-Indiana x-Atlanta x-New York x-Washington Chicago Toronto Connecticut

W 26 26 24 24 15 11 10

L 14 14 16 16 25 29 29

Pct GB .650 — .650 — .600 2 .600 2 .375 11 .275 15 .256 15½

x-Minnesota x-Golden State x-Las Vegas x-Dallas Portland Los Angeles Phoenix Seattle

W 31 28 27 23 16 14 14 8

L 9 11 13 16 23 25 26 31

Pct GB .775 — .718 2½ .675 4 .590 7½ .410 14½ .359 16½ .350 17 .205 22½

x-clinched playoff spot Saturday’s Games

Sunday’s Games

Miami 6, Washington 2 Atlanta 3, Colorado 2, 10 innings L.A. Dodgers 6, Detroit 1 Tampa Bay 5, San Diego 4, 11 innings Pittsburgh 5, St. Louis 4 Texas 7, Milwaukee 4 Houston 6, N.Y. Mets 3 Philadelphia 5, L.A. Angels 2 Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs, n

SOUTHWEST

Ark.-Pine Bluff 35, Morehouse 15 Incarnate Word 76, Okla. Panhandle St. 14 Lamar 21, Abilene Christian 14 North Carolina 15, TCU 10 Tarleton St. 49, Prairie View 30 Texas Southern 42, NC Central 30 UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 44, TexasPermian Basin 0

Monday’s Games

San Francisco (TBD) at Atlanta (Elder 8-7), 5:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Stock 0-3) at Tampa Bay (Seymour 9-5), 5:40 p.m. San Diego (King 8-9) at Cincinnati (Singer 5-12), 5:40 p.m. Miami (Gusto 1-3) at Washington (TBD), 5:45 p.m. Milwaukee (Harrison 10-3) at Chicago Cubs (Holmes 5-6), 6:40 p.m. Baltimore (Bradish 7-12) at Colorado (Gordon 1-4), 7:40 p.m. Philadelphia (Nola 5-10) at Arizona (Pfaadt 7-1), 8:40 p.m.

FAR WEST

Idaho St. 38, VMI 10 Memphis 27, UNLV 21 Montana 28, S. Utah 21 Montana St. 54, Utah Tech 0 N. Arizona 34, E. Washington 27 Southern Cal 42, San Jose St. 26 Stanford 37, Hawaii 27 UC Davis 31, Portland St. 24

Major League Baseball East Division

WNBA Glance

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Washington 5, Miami 4, 10 innings Milwaukee 5, Texas 3 San Francisco 7, Arizona 2, 2nd game Philadelphia 4, L.A. Angels 2, 10 innings

American League

Pro basketball EASTERN CONFERENCE

Chicago 44, Chicago State Cougars 28 Dayton 43, Fairmont St. 20 E. Michigan 28, Sacramento St. 17 N. Dakota St. 33, Jacksonville St. 7 S. Dakota St. 70, Stetson 7 SE Missouri 23, Indiana St. 21 South Dakota 59, CCSU 20 Valparaiso 59, Lawrence 13

New York 85, Chicago 66 Phoenix 101, Toronto 69

Sunday’s Games

Atlanta 89, Minnesota 81 Los Angeles 90, Seattle 74 Golden State at Portland, n Connecticut at Dallas, n

Monday’s Games

No games scheduled.

Pro football NFL Glance Thursday’s Games

Buffalo 28, Pittsburgh 27 Cleveland 37, New England 13 San Francisco 18, Las Vegas 12 L.A. Rams 20, L.A. Chargers 18

Friday’s Games

Baltimore 41, Washington 3 Atlanta 17, Miami 12 Carolina 16, Houston 13 Jacksonville 19, Tampa Bay 0 N.Y. Giants 23, N.Y. Jets 6 Cincinnati 30, Philadelphia 13 Green Bay 42, Arizona 38 New Orleans 27, Dallas 24 Seattle 9, Kansas City 9 Denver 34, Minnesota 6

Saturday’s Games

Detroit 25, Indianapolis 16 Chicago 24, Tennessee 15

College football

Golf

Tampa Bay New York Boston Toronto Baltimore

W 82 78 74 68 67

L 54 59 63 70 69

Pct .603 .569 .540 .493 .493

GB — 4½ 8½ 15 15

Chicago Cleveland Minnesota Detroit Kansas City

W 72 69 65 63 62

L 64 68 72 73 76

Pct .529 .504 .474 .463 .449

GB — 3½ 7½ 9 11

Houston Texas Seattle Athletics Los Angeles

W 68 67 64 53 52

L 68 70 73 83 84

Pct .500 .489 .467 .390 .382

GB — 1½ 4½ 15 16

Central Division

West Division

Saturday’s Games

Boston 6, N.Y. Yankees 0, 1st game Detroit 2, L.A. Dodgers 1 Chicago White Sox 3, Minnesota 2 Toronto 4, Seattle 3 Kansas City 8, Cleveland 3 N.Y. Mets 6, Houston 2 Tampa Bay 7, San Diego 6 Milwaukee 5, Texas 3 N.Y. Yankees 9, Boston 2, 2nd game Baltimore 5, Athletics 3 Philadelphia 4, L.A. Angels 2, 10 innings

Sunday’s Games

Cleveland 11, Kansas City 1 Toronto 7, Seattle 0 L.A. Dodgers 6, Detroit 1 N.Y. Yankees 16, Boston 1 Minnesota 5, Chicago White Sox 1 Tampa Bay 5, San Diego 4, 11 innings Texas 7, Milwaukee 4 Houston 6, N.Y. Mets 3 Baltimore 8, Athletics 5 Philadelphia 5, L.A. Angels 2

FM Championship Par Scores

Monday’s Games

N.Y. Mets (Stock 0-3) at Tampa Bay (Seymour 9-5), 5:40 p.m. Seattle (Kirby 9-10) at Boston (Tolle 8-6), 5:45 p.m. Detroit (Jobe 1-1) at Minnesota (Bradley 9-6), 6:40 p.m. Athletics (Jump 6-8) at Texas (deGrom 9-9), 7:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox (Kay 9-6) at Houston (Lambert 8-7), 7:10 p.m. Baltimore (Bradish 7-12) at Colorado (Gordon 1-4), 7:40 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Rodríguez 0-2) at L.A. Angels (Klassen 2-2), 8:38 p.m.

National League East Division

EAST

Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 82 76 69 65 61

L 55 60 68 74 75

Pct .599 .559 .504 .468 .449

GB — 5½ 13 18 20½

Milwaukee Chicago St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati

W 85 77 68 67 64

L 52 59 70 71 72

Pct .620 .566 .493 .486 .471

GB — 7½ 17½ 18½ 20½

SOUTH

Alabama St. 30, Southern U. 17 Alcorn St. 56, Miles 7 Campbell 49, ETSU 37 Florida A&M 20, Albany St. (Ga.) 7 Florida St. 34, New Mexico St. 17 Grambling St. 49, Clark Atlanta 7 Hampton 45, Va. Lynchburg 0 Jackson St. 26, Tennessee St. 24 Mercer 23, East Texas A&M 15 Morgan St. 17, NC A&T 7 Norfolk St. 56, Winston-Salem 0 North Alabama 22, Samford 10 Richmond 35, Bucknell 14 SC State 87, Savannah St. 0 Stephen F. Austin 38, McNeese St. 27 Tennessee Tech 38, Monmouth (NJ) 14 Virginia 34, NC State 8 W. Carolina 45, E. Kentucky 21 Wofford 42, The Citadel 14

MIDWEST

Butler 27, Georgetown (KY) Tigers 23

Central Division

West Division Los Angeles Arizona San Diego San Francisco Colorado

W 82 73 72 56 52

Saturday’s Games

L 55 65 65 81 85

Pct .599 .529 .526 .409 .380

Detroit 2, L.A. Dodgers 1 Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 2 Chicago Cubs 17, Cincinnati 5 Arizona 7, San Francisco 1, 1st game N.Y. Mets 6, Houston 2 Tampa Bay 7, San Diego 6 Atlanta 2, Colorado 1

At East Lake GC Atlanta Purse: $40 million Yardage: 7,440; Par: 70 Final Round Scottie Schefﬂer 65-67-66-66—264 Viktor Hovland 64-66-65-72—267 Ryan Gerard 65-65-66-72—268 Jacob Bridgeman 68-67-66-68—269 Alex Fitzpatrick 68-68-67-66—269 Chris Gotterup 64-67-67-71—269 Russell Henley 70-65-66-68—269 Min Woo Lee 62-73-66-68—269 Rory McIlroy 68-69-63-69—269 Ludvig Åberg 65-68-65-71—269 Tommy Fleetwood 66-70-67-67—270 Adam Scott 66-67-65-72—270 Cameron Young 70-62-68-70—270 Tom Kim 67-68-68-68—271 Si Woo Kim 69-68-65-69—271 Collin Morikawa 64-67-72-68—271 Xander Schauffele 67-71-67-66—271 Akshay Bhatia 65-69-71-68—273 Sam Burns 66-68-67-72—273 Justin Rose 68-65-69-71—273 Patrick Cantlay 68-70-68-69—275 Wyndham Clark 67-69-67-72—275 Matt Fitzpatrick 66-67-69-73—275 Hideki Matsuyama 69-70-67-69—275 Kristoffer Reitan 70-69-68-70—277 Ryan Fox 66-68-70-74—278 Alex Smalley 67-68-72-72—279 Robert MacIntyre 67-76-63-74—280 Gary Woodland 66-68-71-77—282

GB — 9½ 10 26 30

75-69-73-71—288 71-72-71-74—288 74-70-71-73—288 72-71-71-75—289 72-72-72-73—289 71-71-73-74—289 70-72-77-71—290 73-70-75-72—290 74-69-76-71—290 75-67-76-72—290 74-67-73-77—291 75-68-75-73—291 69-70-76-77—292 71-73-75-73—292 74-69-76-73—292 71-71-76-76—294 73-71-73-77—294 71-73-74-76—294 73-70-75-77—295 77-67-72-79—295

E E E +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +6 +6 +6 +7 +7

Tennis U.S. Open Results Sunday

At The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center New York Purse: $5,438,400 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Results Sunday from US Open at The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (seedings in parentheses):

Men’s Singles

Sunday

Major Scores Bryant 24, Stonehill 6 Howard 31, Alabama A&M 24 Lehigh 35, Holy Cross 10 Robert Morris 28, Wagner 7

Tour Championship

Dewi Weber, $18,239 Yana Wilson, $18,239 Ina Yoon, $18,239 Laetitia Beck, $15,407 Nelly Korda, $15,407 Dongeun Lee, $15,407 Chella Choi, $13,820 Robyn Choi, $13,820 Lucy Li, $13,820 Ryann O’Toole, $13,820 Hannah Green, $12,462 Wei-Ling Hsu, $12,462 Anna Huang, $11,406 Soo Bin Joo, $11,406 Paula Reto, $11,406 Aditi Ashok, $10,762 Aphrodite Deng, $0 Kiara Romero, $10,762 Ana Belac, $10,309 D. Darquea, $10,309

-16 -13 -12 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -10 -10 -10 -9 -9 -9 -9 -7 -7 -7 -5 -5 -5 -5 -3 -2 -1 E +2

At TPC Boston Norton, Mass. Purse: $4.4 million Yardage: 6,533; Par: 72 Final Round Ruoning Yin, $660,000 71-65-68-70—274 -14 Hyo Joo Kim, $413,842 68-67-70-71—276 -12 A. Corpuz, $300,213 68-67-74-68—277 -11 Sei Young Kim, $209,582 64-74-67-73—278 -10 Rose Zhang, $209,582 72-68-70-68—278 -10 Jenny Bae, $131,037 68-68-72-71—279 -9 B. Matthews, $131,037 72-69-70-68—279 -9 M. Yamashita, $131,037 65-70-75-69—279 -9 Jin Hee Im, $89,213 70-70-69-71—280 -8 Somi Lee, $89,213 66-72-70-72—280 -8 Hae-Ran Ryu, $89,213 68-70-72-70—280 -8 Jeeno Thitikul, $89,213 72-68-71-69—280 -8 Na Rin An, $67,971 72-72-66-71—281 -7 L. Coughlin, $67,971 68-71-70-72—281 -7 Na. Guseva, $67,971 69-68-72-72—281 -7 Nasa Hataoka, $67,971 71-70-72-68—281 -7 P. Tavatanakit, $67,971 71-68-73-69—281 -7 Hye Jin Choi, $54,288 72-66-73-71—282 -6 Karis Davidson, $54,288 70-73-70-69—282 -6 Charley Hull, $54,288 71-70-73-68—282 -6 M. Metraux, $54,288 71-65-73-73—282 -6 Linnea Strom, $48,486 73-67-75-68—283 -5 Ashleigh Buhai, $44,127 70-71-71-72—284 -4 N. Madsen, $44,127 73-71-68-72—284 -4 S. Schubert, $44,127 70-72-72-70—284 -4 A. Yubol, $44,127 68-75-70-71—284 -4 Hailee Cooper, $33,669 72-68-73-72—285 -3 Olivia Cowan, $33,669 73-71-69-72—285 -3 Aki Iwai, $33,669 74-66-72-73—285 -3 MinJi Kang, $33,669 73-70-71-71—285 -3 Minami Katsu, $33,669 71-73-69-72—285 -3 Megan Khang, $33,669 73-69-70-73—285 -3 Yan Liu, $33,669 74-70-67-74—285 -3 Gaby Lopez, $33,669 68-72-73-72—285 -3 72-70-69-74—285 -3 Mao Saigo, $33,669 Lottie Woad, $33,669 68-73-70-74—285 -3 S. Vnjchtam, $26,738 73-65-76-72—286 -2 P. Annnrkrn, $23,148 73-70-73-71—287 -1 M. De Roey, $23,148 72-72-73-70—287 -1 A. Jutanugarn, $23,148 75-67-73-72—287 -1 N. Nadaud, $23,148 72-68-77-70—287 -1 A. Nordqvist, $23,148 74-68-73-72—287 -1 E. Pedersen, $23,148 65-72-74-76—287 -1 A. Doherty, $18,239 70-69-73-76—288 E Lindy Duncan, $18,239 70-69-70-79—288 E Isi Gabsa, $18,239 73-69-74-72—288 E

First Round Kamil Majchrzak, Poland, def. Hamad Medjedovic, Serbia, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Daniel Merida, Spain, def. Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Yibing Wu, China, def. Adam Walton, Australia, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 7-5. Jiri Lehecka (18), Czechia, def. Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain, 6-1, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2. Arthur Rinderknech (26), France, def. Sho Shimabukuro, Japan, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Lloyd Harris, South Africa, def. Jack Kennedy, United States, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Dino Prizmic, Croatia, def. Aleksandr Shevchenko, Russia, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Tommy Paul (20), United States, def. Coleman Wong, Hong Kong, China, 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Daniil Medvedev (7), Russia, def. Hugo Gaston, France, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Toby Samuel, Britain, def. Tomas Machac, Czechia, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Luca Van Assche, France, def. Cameron Norrie (29), Britain, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

Women’s Singles

First Round Jasmine Paolini (19), Italy, def. Veronika Erjavec, Slovenia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Kamilla Rakhimova, Russia, def. Barbora Krejcikova (27), Czechia, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Jessica Pegula (3), United States, def. ElenaGabriela Ruse, Romania, 6-3, 6-2. Donna Vekic, Croatia, def. Talia Gibson, Australia, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Polina Iatcenko, Russia, def. Renata Zarazua, Mexico, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Leylah Fernandez (31), Canada, def. Zhang Shuai, China, 6-3, 6-2. Marta Kostyuk (11), Ukraine, def. Storm Hunter, Australia, 6-4, 6-1. Wang Xinyu, China, def. Emiliana Arango, Colombia, 6-4, 6-2. Lanlana Tararudee, Thailand, def. Elvina Kalieva, United States, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2. Lucrezia Stefanini, Italy, def. Dayana Yastremska, Ukraine, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Karolina Pliskova, Czechia, def. Hanne Vandewinkel, Belgium, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. Ekaterina Alexandrova (18), Russia, def. McCartney Kessler, United States, 6-2, 6-2.

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League BOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated LF Roman Anthony and SS Trevor Story from the 60day IL. Optioned LHP Raymond Burgos, 2B Anthony Seigler and DH Mickey Gasper to Worcester (IL). LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Recalled LHPs Blake Weiman and Mitch Farris from Salt Lake (PCL). Optioned RHP Trevor Martin to Salt Lake. Placed RHP George Klassen on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 27. MINNESOTA TWINS — Recalled RF Gabriel Gonzalez from St. Paul (IL). Placed CF Byron Buxton on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 27. Sent RHP Woo-Suk Go outright to St. Paul. NEW YORK YANKEES — Recalled RHP Luis Gil from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). Optioned RHPs Brendan Beck and Yerry De los Santos to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. SEATTLE MARINERS — Recalled RHP Nick Davila from Tacoma (PCL). Placed RHP Emerson Hancock on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 29. National League ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Sent RHP Zac Gallen on a rehab assignment to Reno (PCL). Optioned LHP Mitch Bratt to Reno. SAN DIEGO PADRES — Reinstated LF Samad Taylor from the 10-day IL. Recalled 2B Sung-Mun Song from El Paso (PCL). Placed 1B Gavin Sheets and LF Luis Rengifo on the 10-day IL. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Recalled LHP Matt Wilkinson from Sacramento (PCL).

LIVING

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

M o n d ay, au g u s t 31, 2026

5Cn

AP PHOTO By DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS

Raise a toast

Can you still find hucklebucks and frozen cups around New Orleans?

Sippin’ (and chuggin’) through the years with a party mainstay — the red Solo cup BY JOSH HOFFNER Associated Press

BY TAMMY BARNEY Contributing writer

iggle like a snake. Wobble like a duck. Hunch your

back and go! That describes the Hucklebuck, a late-1940s dance craze that featured shimmies and hip gyrations. But in New Orleans, the hucklebuck also meant something much cooler: a frozen treat sold from neighborhood houses. Grandmothers became unofficial summertime entrepreneurs, serving one homemade hucklebuck at a time. Celina Fortuné was one of those grandmothers in the 7th Ward. She had a handwritten sign on her screen door listing the available flavors. Kids could knock on the door to buy a hucklebuck until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. “Not only was she earning her own money,” her granddaughter Jessica Davis remembers, “but she also was looking out for the kids. She made sure they got home by the time the street lights came on.” Davis was 5 years old when she first remembers hucklebucks being sold. The neighborhood grandmothers used those little frozen treats to help pay utility and medical bills and, in some cases, send their children to college. Today, Davis is carrying that tradition forward. The respiratory therapist sells a gourmet version of the frozen treat through her business, Jessie’s HuckABucks, which is available at 48 locations — mostly corner and convenience stores — across the metro area. “I’m not just selling frozen treats,” Davis said. “I’m preserving New Orleans culture one cup at a time.” Every neighborhood seemed to have its own name for the frozen treat. In the Lower 9th Ward, it was a “frozen cup.” Uptown, an “iceberg.” Elsewhere,

AMERICA @ 250

a “zip.” The names changed from neighborhood to neighborhood and from one generation to the next, but the treat provided the same result: cold, sweet relief from a sweltering New Orleans afternoon. The basic recipe was simple: Sweeten and ﬂavor a liquid — traditionally Kool-Aid or ﬂavored syrup — pour it into a paper or plastic cup, and freeze it solid. There was an art to eating one, too.

The Flip: The fun started before the ﬁrst bite. Squeeze or roll the cup between your hands until the frozen treat loosened. Then ﬂip it upside down and push it out, revealing that sweet, syrupy slush waiting at the top. The Peel: If your hucklebuck came in a paper or Styrofoam cup, there was no spoon required. Just tear or peel away the sides a little at a time and eat your way

ä See CURIOUS, page 6C

Natocha Honore, ‘The Phrozen Kup Lady,’ stores her Phrozen Kups in multiple freezers at her home in New Orleans.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

‘IT IS REAL ICE MADE BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS.’

N.O. played pivotal role in man-made ice BY KELTON SEARS

The Historic New Orleans Collection

Dr. John Gorrie died anxious, humiliated and debt-ridden in his Florida Panhandle home on June 29, 1855. He had just returned from one of many frustrating visits to New Orleans, where, for the better part of seven years, he desperately and unsuccessfully courted

TABOR, S.D. — It’s red. It’s soft plastic. And it probably contains your favorite beverage. The red Solo cup belongs on any list of the country’s most distinctly American objects, but it’s actually more than a single object. It is a symbol of the American psyche — a country that loves a good party, summertime barbecues, kegged beer, tailgating and above all, friendship and community. The red Solo cup is the receptacle for each of these proud traditions. It also Part of an serves as a occasional foundation for series from beer pong and The Associated functions as Press on a vessel for America’s contraband freedom public drinks. It works as a spittoon and a reusable household cup that survives countless top-rack cycles through the dishwasher. Sharpie name inscriptions are its universal language, along with condensation formed by an ice-cold drink. Its backdrops include campgrounds, block parties, parks, tailgates, keggers and county fairs. It’s also part of the story of capitalism in 20th-century America. The Chicago-based Solo Company originally made coned paper cups for water coolers; in the 1970s, it was modified to plastic and patented in the year of America’s 200th birthday. It grew into a massive disposable foodware company and was sold for about $1 billion to Dart Container Corp. in 2012. You can trace many plot points of the country’s last 80 years with the cup, starting with the advent of a postwar office culture and now-iconic — and cliché — water coolers. The country’s advertising and marketing ethos then allowed a mass-produced plastic cup to become an American household and party mainstay. More recently, it fueled college drinking traditions and a tailgate culture that is practically a business unto itself. And 10-figure sales to larger corporations have become regular occurrences at the corporate level. The cup achieved a new level of status after country star Toby Keith recorded a rhapsodic paean about it. Keith initially viewed the song as a throwaway but warmed up to it and included it on a 2011 album. Perhaps he and his producers realized that a song whose first verse includes “barbecues, tailgates, fairs and festivals” contains all the touchstones necessary to connect with American audiences on a deeper level. “Red Solo cup/I fill you up,” the chorus goes. “Let’s have a party.” And America loves a good party indeed.

investors for his strange new invention: an “artificial” ice machine. Chilly public reception and a string of bad luck drove him to a nervous breakdown, culminating in a sudden illness that claimed his life when he was 51 years old. Shortly before his death, he wrote that his ice

ä See ICE, page 6C

Horse-drawn ice wagon in Gretna between 1954 and 1955, by Pops Whitesell PROVIDED By THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION

Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

6C ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Monday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2026. There are 122 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed after the car she was riding in crashed in Paris; her partner Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul (who was found to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident) also died. Also on this date: In 1881, the ﬁrst U.S. tennis championships (for men only) began in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1886, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of up to 7.3 devastated Charleston, South Carolina, killing at least 60 people. In 1962, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago became independent of British colonial rule. In 1972, the charismatic Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut, 17, won individual gold medals on the balance beam and ﬂoor exercise at the Summer Olympics in Munich; she also won gold for the team all-around competition and a silver in

the uneven parallel bars. In 1980, Poland’s Solidarity labor movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk that ended a 17-day-old strike. In 1992, White separatist Randy Weaver surrendered to authorities in Idaho, ending an 11-day siege by federal agents that had claimed the lives of Weaver’s wife, son and a deputy U.S. marshal. In 1994, Russia ofﬁcially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics after half a century. In 2006, Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream” was recovered by Norwegian authorities after being stolen nine days earlier. In 2010, President Barack Obama announced the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed and telling those divided over the war in his country and around the world: “it’s time to turn the page.” In 2019, a gunman carried out a shooting rampage that stretched 10 miles between the Texas communities of Midland and Odessa,

ICE

‘Pelican Ice’ by Donn young

Continued from page 5C machine “had been found in advance of the wants of the country.” The frigid treatment his invention received had completely thawed by May 18, 1868, when the Louisiana Ice Manufacturing Company, the world’s first industrial ice-making plant, held its grand opening ceremony on the New Orleans riverfront at Tchoupitoulas and Delachaise streets. According to the NewOrleans Times, one of the 150 guests raised a toast to “the change it had effected upon the Mississippi, and of the astonishment the [river] must feel at being suddenly frozen up at this point.” Gorrie’s vision for an icy New Orleans proved prophetic, as the city became one of the epicenters of a new industry that reshaped not just the Gulf South but modern civilization.

‘No joke’ During the first half of the 19th century, if you needed ice and lived in the perennially warm regions of the American South, India, China, Europe or the Caribbean, you were at the mercy of the “Ice King,” Boston’s Frederic Tudor. The Tudor Ice Company was one of the first multinational American businesses, launched in February 1806 to public ridicule thanks to its bizarre premise. Tudor harvested free ice from New England’s lakes, put it on a schooner, and shipped it for sale wherever ice didn’t naturally occur. “No joke,” the Boston Gazette reported of his first shipment. “A vessel with a cargo of 80 tons of ice has cleared out from this port for Martinique. We hope this will not prove to be a slippery speculation.” The first shipment to New Orleans in 1826 went badly. The mayor, Count Louis Philippe de Roffignac, “thought ice was dangerous to the health of people inhabiting so warm a clime and dumped the first cargo into the river,” according to the Times-Picayune. Ironically, the Roffignac, a New Orleans iced cocktail, was invented around 50 years later and named in the mayor’s honor. Over time, the Ice King’s business solidified into a global success. By the 1840s, New Orleans and other hot metropolises around the world were erecting large, insulated “ice houses” to store and distribute Tudor ice, a product that earned the nickname “white gold” that cost today’s equivalent of $30 a pound during the summer.

The first A/C Dr. John Gorrie, of Apalachicola, Florida, was one of Tudor’s many customers, but he wasn’t using the ice to chill his drinks. In 1841,

leaving seven people dead before police killed the shooter outside a movie theater in Odessa. In 2025, a landslide wiped out an entire village in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history. Today’s birthdays: World Golf Hall of Famer Isao Aoki is 84. Violinist Itzhak Perlman is 81. Singer Van Morrison is 81. Rock musician Rudolf Schenker (The Scorpions) is 78. Actor Richard Gere is 77. Actor Stephen McKinley Henderson is 77. Attorney and author Marcia Clark is 73. Olympic gold medal hurdler Edwin Moses is 71. Rock singer Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) is 69. Rock musician Gina Schock (The Go-Go’s) is 69. Singer-composer Deborah Gibson is 56. Queen Rania of Jordan is 56. Golfer Padraig Harrington is 55. Actor Chris Tucker is 55. Actor Sara Ramirez is 51. Former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is 43. NBA All-Star Jalen Brunson is 30. Actor Jaylen Barron is 29. Actor Jason Maybaum is 19.

PROVIDED IMAGE FROM THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION he rigged up a contraption to soothe the waves of malaria and yellow fever patients overwhelming his hospital — the first air conditioner. A bedpan with a small hole was filled with ice and hung from the ceiling. Hot air rose, then flowed back down through the hole as it was cooled, lowering the temperature of the room. It took three years, but by 1844, he had made a slow, hand-cranked prototype for an ice-making machine, taking advantage of the cooling effect produced by rapidly compressing and expanding air — the same trick that powers modern refrigerators. Thrilled, he left his medical practice to pursue fulltime development in 1845. He began writing extensively about the machine in newspapers, but the pushback he received was so intense, he started assuming a pen name. The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce said his invention was a “cockand-bull story,” and some even framed it as a religious affront, including an author at the New York Globe who wrote, “There is a crank down in Apalachicola, Florida, that thinks he can make ice by his machine as good as God Almighty.” On May 6, 1851, U.S. Patent No. 8080 was awarded to “John Gorrie, of New Orleans, Louisiana” for the “artificial production of ice,” the first machine of its kind in the country. That same year, Gorrie’s chief financial backer in New Orleans unexpectedly died, dealing a critical blow to his finances and morale. After continued negative press scared away other potential investors, Gorrie died with today’s equivalent of $200,000 in debt.

‘It is real ice’ In 1859, Ferdinand Carré, of France, patented a more advanced, ammonia-based ice making machine, and by 1863, a ﬁrm founded by two fellow Frenchmen from New Orleans got a pair of small Carré machines through the Union blockade. One was kept in New Orleans, where Mathieu Jules Bujac and Camille Girardey began experimenting with industrial production at the corner of Orange and Tchoupitoulas streets, eventually importing three more machines. “It is a mistake to call this artificial ice. It is real ice made by artificial means,”

the Times-Picayune wrote in 1864. “This was ice made with the thermometer at 93 in the shade.” When the Civil War ended in 1865, engineer and former Confederate Daniel Holden improved the machine and used distilled water, making the final product not only drinkable, but clear. Suddenly, muddy Mississippi River water could be transformed into sparkling, sanitary ice blocks. Holden wrote that Bujac declared it “the most complete ice machine ever erected.” Bujac and Girardey had six 10-ton Carré machines built in Gretna under Holden’s supervision, and in 1868, the units made their historic debut powering the new Louisiana Ice Manufacturing Company, the world’s first industrial ice-making plant. An 1872 Times-Picayune article described New Orleans’s massive appetite for ice, with the city purchasing roughly 45 to 50 tons a day during the winter and 160 to 175 tons the rest of the year. Ice cream saloons alone accounted for up to 3,500 pounds a day, with hotels, soda fountains, restaurants and bars right behind them. But the largest patrons of New Orleans ice companies, the article noted, were “the wagons, which take from one to ﬁve tons per day each for resale to retail customers.” Hauling massive ice blocks in their horse-drawn wagons (and, later, trucks), icemen were a regular sight in the streets of New Orleans. By 1937, New Orleans was home to 49 ice manufacturing plants, employing between 1,500 and 2,000 people. One of which, Pelican Ice, lays claim as the world’s oldest continuously operated ice company, still running today in Kenner. Another, Cosmopolitan Ice Co., occupied a French Quarter building at 537 Chartres St. now owned by the Historic New Orleans Collection. Man-made ice transformed the region, enabling the Gulf seafood industry’s expansion beyond the coast, shaping New Orleans’s iconic cocktail culture, and linking new Northern markets to fresh Ponchatoula strawberries and other refrigerated produce. That legacy gave rise to another historic New Orleans invention as well: Ernest Hansen’s 1934 SnoBliz, the ﬁrst electric block ice-shaving machine, used to create the original sno-ball.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Natocha Honore taste tests her Phrozen Kup product at her home in New Orleans.

CURIOUS

hucklebucks out of her home nine years ago. Today, Continued from page 5C she has four employees mixing and freezing cups in a West Bank factory. She also offers a ready-to-pour down, trying not to let the liquid that makes it easier melting sweetness drip all for home hucklebuckers to over your hands. Sometimes the kids would prepare their treats. “We don’t freeze ice, we find surprises inside, such freeze flavor,” Davis said. as canned fruit cocktail, “We use fruit juices and candy — or a quarter? extracts.” That’s what Amelia LaDavis’ flavors are named Beaud remembers about for different New Orleans a mystery frozen cup she neighborhoods: Bywater bought from a lady in the Blue, Raspberry Lemon8th Ward. She used the quarter to buy another one. ade, Gert Town Green ApNow that she thinks about ple, Treme Tropical Punch, it, “that was nasty,” LaBeWestbank Watermelon and Canal Street Cotton Candy. aud said with a chuckle. “I Known as viral content hope she washed it, but I’m still here so it couldn’t have creator Rolling With Melia, LaBeaud sells gourmet been that bad.” Many remember the fro- frozen cups through her zen cup ladies, but men sold company, The Original New Orleans Snack Box. Most them, too. weekends, the “traveling When Natocha Honore snack lady” takes her frozen was growing up in Treme, cups and other specialized there were a couple of treats — including candied ladies selling zips. Miss pig lips — on the road, travBrown sold red ones with fruit cocktail, while Miss eling as far west as Texas Muddy sold spearmint and and as far east as Miami. bubble gum. Then there Honore, who now lives was Mr. Carl, who put ice Uptown, sells her frozen cream or fruit on top of his treats from home. Known — and he still only charged as “The Phrozen Kup 25 cents to 30 cents per cup. Lady,” she started out with While many older frozen a small operation. cup ladies have passed on, “It basically was like a Davis, LaBeaud, Honore family thing,” she said. and others are keeping the “Every year, it got bigger tradition alive — with a few and bigger. Now I have sweet twists of their own. regular customers who Davis started selling come by every week to load

up. I have people who come from all over to get them.” One of her friends brings an ice chest all the way from Baton Rouge in order to stock up for her kids. With so many customers and large orders, Honore said she has to refill her multiple freezers every other day with such flavors as pink pineapple, yellow watermelon, banana and creamy ice cream. She even sells frozen shot cups for those wanting an adult beverage. The days of 25-cent hucklebucks, frozen cups and zips are long gone. With larger sizes, fresh ingredients and gourmet toppings, they now cost $2 to $8 a cup. For many, however, the memories are priceless. “I’m not just in business, I’m fulfilling my purpose through my business,” Davis said. “So much has been taken from us. I did not want this to be something else taken away. “The people are in these cups,” she continued. “You can’t have culture without the people.” Have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR HOME FINF OUT WHAT

YOURIS WORTH HOME

IS WORTH Call Today for an Expert Valuation and Make Your Next Move

1-833-671-6635

CALL TODAY

THINKING

OF SELLING? A home evaluation is a great place to start

addresslafayettela.com DRE#01901536 This website is a marketing and information program that sends all inquiries to state-licensed real estate professionals.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday, August 31, 2026 ● 7C

lll

FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

zodIAC VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Set yourself up for success. Carry those who have something to offer along with you, but don't jeopardize your goals by trying to carry deadweight. Look at a change carefully. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Don't let anger set in when constructive action is necessary. Keep your personal thoughts to yourself, and use your charm and understanding to convert those you don't see eye to eye with. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) An honest approach will help you gain respect. Put your energy into living up to your promises and doing what you can to become the best version of yourself. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Look for the positive in everything. Letting your mind wander down a dark path will deter your progress. Don't start something new and ignore what you left unfinished. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Rethink your every word before you share your thoughts. Choose to be practical, and invest wisely in yourself and your future. Refuse to let someone talk you into something that benefits them more than you. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take a moment to get your house in order. Clutter will cost you if you must replace items you misplaced. A change of attitude will lead to letting go of people who no longer share your interests or space. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Take your time. Spontaneity will lead to regret. Concentrate on personal growth, awareness and

having a healthy and active lifestyle. Refuse to let taking on too much responsibility stunt your progress. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Read the room before offering your opinion. Look for balance in everything you pursue. Keeping the peace will give you access to what you want. A networking event will help you carve out a path that leads to success. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Get active. You can accomplish plenty if you are astute and tune into the universe. Positive thoughts will lead to actions that help you initiate change. Communication is key. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) What you crave won't sit well with those you encounter. If you want to make progress, fly under the radar. Use your imagination, and you'll be able to achieve your goal and address your concerns simultaneously. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Bide your time, watch for signs and use your intelligence to guide you forward at a pace you can handle. Opportunity is apparent but will require research. Ask questions. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Communicate, ask questions and get answers. How you direct your energy and what you give back will determine your success. A wishy-washy attitude will lead to a force play. Control situations. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

For better or For WorSe WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

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

toDAy's cLuE: W EQuALs M

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

lll

Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday. Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● 9C

lll

B.C.

Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER When you are in a trump contract, you start by counting losers. But on some deals (I estimate around 20 percent), you do better to count winners. So, in an ideal world, you count both before playing from the dummy at trick one. South is in five clubs. What should he do after West leads the spade king? North’s double was negative, promising four hearts. South’s two-spade cuebid was an artificial game-force. Then probably either South should have bid three no-trump over three clubs, or North should have cue-bid three spades over three diamonds to ask his partner to bid three no-trump with a spade stopper. Note, though, that to make three notrump, declarer must win four club tricks. And after his ace drops West’s jack, the percentage play is to finesse East for the queen. In five clubs, though, South can get home without guessing the trump suit. Suppose he wins the first trick with his spade ace and cashes his two top trumps. Now he must collect these 11 tricks: one spade, two hearts, two diamonds and six clubs. Declarer cashes his top diamonds, ruffs a diamond in the dummy, takes the heart ace and king, trumps a heart

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

in his hand, and ruffs his last diamond. That is 10 tricks in. And when South leads dummy’s last heart, he must collect one more trump trick with his nine via a coup en passant. If East ruffs low, South overruffs; if East ruffs with his queen, South discards a spade loser and his club nine is then high. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

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

toDAy’s WoRD — sELDoM: SEL-dum: Infrequently.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 13 words Time limit 20 minutes Can you find 17 or more words in SELDOM? sAtuRDAy’s WoRD — FELonIEs feel feline felon file fine flee flies floe foil elfin else

enisle ensile lenis lens lesion lien life line lion loin lone

lose oneself noel noes noise nose info insole isle seen seine

self selfie senile silo sine sloe soil sloe sone

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13 The Lord hears and delights in this kind of praying. G.E. Dean

10C ● Monday,August 31, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

TODAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

A couple of t-storms; humid

Humid with a t-storm in spots

Humid; a stray p.m. t-storm

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

Some rain and a thunderstorm

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

90° 76°

LOW

HIGH

90° 74°

LOW

92° 74°

Beaumont 94/77 Port Arthur 93/77

Baton Rouge 91/76

Lake Charles 93/77

New Orleans 89/78 Houma 85/76

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

Hattiesburg 93/72

Alexandria 95/74

Lafayette 90/76

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

HIGH

LOW

91° 76°

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

High/low Normal high/low Last year’s high/low Record high Record low

YESTERDAY

TODAY

READING 55 MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

SEP 4

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

HIGH

11:09a 5:56a 6:00a 7:19a 12:41a 12:08a 1:49a

6:44 a.m. 7:32 p.m. 9:26 p.m. 10:05 a.m. NEW

FIRST

SEP 10

100 75 100 51 88 98 95 92 96

TODAY Lo

74 66 80 37 77 77 74 79 72

FULL

SEP 18

s s s c sh s s t s

SEP 26

97 70 99 55 89 98 96 92 98

MODERATE

PRECIPITATION

93°/75° 92°/74° 87°/74° 104° in 2000 59° in 1906

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

LAST

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

LOW

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Sunday

Jackson 95/74 Many 97/72

HIGH

92° 74°

TEMPERATURE

Longview 101/75

-0s

LOW

Monroe 97/75

Shreveport 99/76

-10s

HIGH

90° 75°

We’re watching closely the area of low pressure just off the Louisiana coastline as it drifts slowly to the west. The rain we’re expecting from this disturbance is the reason we are under a marginal risk of excessive rainfall that could lead to some measure of flash flooding today. Expect a partly cloudy, hot, humid and breezy day. Temperatures this afternoon will rise to the low to mid-90s with a heat index of 101 or higher. Showers and storms are expected for the next few days, so keep the umbrella with you.

TUE. Lo

76 64 80 38 77 75 75 81 74

s t s c pc s s t pc

FT.

LOW

0.00” 2.83” 6.06” 43.62” 43.48”

FT.

HIGH

0.5 5:37a 0.4 1.4 1:09p 0.6 1.8 10:57a 0.6 1.5 2:12a 1.0 1.0 9:31a 0.6 1.1 7:36a 0.7 1.2 10:33a 0.7

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

FT.

LOW

FT.

--- --- 8:10p 0.3 --- ----- --8:00p 1.8 10:50p 1.4 10:19p 1.5 2:42p 0.5 --- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---

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

Today Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

City

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

2:07a 3:00a 3:57a 4:56a 5:57a 6:57a 7:54a

89 89 85 97 86 93 98 80 91

8:18a 9:13a 10:11a 11:11a 12:12p 12:41a 1:39a

TODAY Lo

78 76 74 80 72 73 78 69 77

2:30p 8:42p 3:25p 9:38p 4:24p 10:38p 5:25p 11:40p 6:27p ---7:28p 1:12p 8:25p 2:10p

t t pc t pc pc pc pc t

GOOD

89 91 92 101 90 97 99 80 90

TUE. Lo

77 76 75 85 72 75 79 68 79

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

t t t t t pc pc s t

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

FLOOD STAGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

SUN. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

8.60 30.70 32.20 15.80 9.00 6.61 4.90

-1.80 +0.02 +0.40 +0.50 +0.70 +0.33 +0.64

19.94

-2.61

-1.50

-0.06

18 29 8

-0.52 10.18 1.88

+0.28 N.A. +0.15

13 15

1.96 0.81

-0.28 -0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

14.25 9.63 7.77 6.45 3.70 2.66

+0.33 +0.32 +0.10 +0.21 +0.10 none

data as of 7 a.m. Sunday