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Clash between Edmonds, Miguez ramps up

Candidates file complaints in congressional battle BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

The battle between two state legislators running for Congress intensiﬁed Wednesday after Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, accused Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, of lying about where he lives — and the Miguez campaign ﬁred back, taking aim at Edmonds’

job as a pastor in Mississippi. At a news conference Wednesday, Edmonds said a resident from Miguez’s Senate district in Acadiana ﬁled a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office challenging his residency and eligibility to continue serving in the Legislature. That Senate district is outside of the 6th Congressional District anchored in Baton

Rouge that both men are seeking to represent. The Attorney General’s Office conﬁrmed the complaint was ﬁled but did not immediately provide a copy, citing personal information that may need to be redacted. Edmonds argued that, while Miguez is representing Acadiana at the State Capitol, he is simultaneously saying he lives in Baton

domiciled in New Iberia, then he must explain why he presented himself to 6th District voters as someone who’s lived here for decades.” Edmonds said Miguez has not been truthful in campaign statements and a recent commercial. Miguez Edmonds “Blake has been caught in a lie,” Edmonds said. “This is not merely Rouge as part of his congressional a paperwork dispute; it’s a fundamental question of honesty.” campaign. “Both claims cannot coexist,” ä See COMPLAINT, page 4A Edmonds said. “If he’s legally

Security ramps up for Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss Game to draw ‘largest presence’ of officers

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By ALENA MASCHKE

Former Himbola resident Clarissa Jacobs sits on the porch of her new home in Lafayette in August 2024.

Himbola Manor residents face uncertain housing future

HUd cancels property’s assistance BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

Residents of Lafayette’s Himbola Manor apartments will have to ﬁnd new housing as many of the health and safety violations documented at the complex in 2024 remain unresolved, city ofﬁcials said Tuesday. Some buildings are in such poor condition that they have been condemned. A comprehensive inspection of the property in August 2024 found about 132 violations after years of complaints from

residents about mold, pest infestations, collapsing ceilings and other problems. An apartment fire in August also resulted in a new code-enforcement case and additional violations at the property, said Rachel Godeaux, chief administrative officer for Lafayette Consolidated Government. “It is a tough situation that we have families living in this and they don’t have an option,” Mayor-President Monique Boulet said. There are 147 units at Himbola Manor, said Kathy Trahan, compliance manager with LCG’s Community Development and Planning Department. About 80 to 85 are occupied. Four or five buildings, each containing eight apartments, have been condemned.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

A participant holds a sign during a demonstration to protest the living conditions at Himbola Manor apartments ä See HOUSING, page 4A outside the Lafayette complex in July 2024.

Both LSU and Ole Miss plan to take extra security precautions Saturday ahead of coach Lane Kiffin’s highly anticipated return to the school he left behind in November. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday that the security force it will deploy for the game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on ABC, will be the “largest presence” of officers it’s ever assigned to a college football game day. The department said that roughly 65 to 70 state troopers and commercial transportation officers are expected to be deployed in and around Ole Miss’ campus in the lead-up to the game. Mississippi Highway Patrol is also activating its special operations group, air command and mobile command center for the matchup, and troopers will begin “enhanced traffic enforcement details” on Thursday. “This weekend will bring a significant number of visitors to Oxford,” MDPS Commissioner Sean Tindell said in a statement, “and our priority is making sure everyone can enjoy the game and surrounding events safely. This enhanced presence is about being prepared, staying proactive and working together.” Oxford’s police department is also planning to supplement its normal Ole Miss game-day security forces with at least an additional five mounted patrol officers from Mobile, Alabama, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. New Orleans original-

ä See SECURITY, page 4A

Federal Reserve hikes key rate for 1st time in 3 years Quarter-point increase defies Trump’s demand for a cut

time since 2023 in an effort to quell stubbornly-high inflation and the central bank also signaled that anBY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER other rate hike could occur later AP economics writer Warsh this year. T h e q u a r t e rWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark inter- point increase lifts the Fed’s key est rate Wednesday for the first rate to about 3.9% and, over time,

WEATHER HIGH 95 LOW 68 PAGE 8A

could result in higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. In a set of quarterly projections, the Fed also signaled that its rate-setting committee could hike rates a second time to 4.1%. The move comes as Americans are already struggling with high costs for groceries, gas, and housing. Affordability has taken on a leading role in the upcoming mid-

ä Fed rate hike likely means more expensive credit cards, mortgages. PAGE 10C

decided to keep rates unchanged in late July. Inflation has also remained stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target, and he noted that there is little sign it is cooling. “The plain fact is that inflation is term elections, just seven weeks too high and has been for too long,” away. In a news conference following Warsh said. “We must be confident the Fed’s announcement, Chair that underlying inflation is movKevin Warsh emphasized that the ing to our objective clearly and economy has shown signs of gathä See RATE, page 4A ering speed since the central bank

Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Opinion ........................2B Classified .....................6A Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Nation-World ................2A

102Nd yEAR, NO. 79

2A ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Wiles says she no longer has evidence of cancer

WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said Wednesday that she no longer shows evidence of cancer after she underwent months of treatment for early stage breast cancer. Wiles, who is President Donald Trump’ s closest adviser and counsel, said in a post on X that her pathology results came back clear after an appointment this week at the Mayo Clinic. The 69-year-old had announced her diagnosis in March and said she would remain in her White House role while undergoing treatment. “Thank you to my family, friends, doctors, and everyone who prayed for me, checked in, and supported me along the way,” Wiles wrote. “A special thank you to President Trump for his unwavering support. I am deeply grateful and will continue to work to advance his America First Agenda.” Wiles is a longtime Trump ally who was co-chair of Trump’s 2024 campaign after spending decades as a lobbyist and political operative in Florida and led his 2016 effort in the state.

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Driver arrested in bus collision

AS350, went down near a large into the bus. News helicopter covering incident crashed slammed There were no immediate de- storage facility. At least four cars

BY ASHLEY DUONG, HALLIE GOLDEN and DAVE COLLINS

Rios drove her 2004 Ford Expedition the wrong way down a busy avenue, ran a red light and struck Associated Press a vehicle before hitting the bus. LOS ANGELES — A motorist was ar- One passenger was fully ejected rested on murder charges after from the bus and another was parauthorities say she slammed her tially ejected, police said. SUV into a city bus in Los Angeles, killing at least two people and 2 in air, 1 on ground killed injuring six others in a prelude to NBC4 Los Angeles reported that a second deadly tragedy: the fiery two people aboard the helicopter crash of a TV news helicopter that — reporter Eliana Moreno and was covering the collision. pilot George Marciniw — were Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Val- killed when the chopper went ley, was arrested Tuesday night and down Tuesday in the Chatsworth is being held at a Los Angeles jail neighborhood in the San Fernando with bail set at $4 million, police Valley north of downtown. A person on the ground, identisaid Wednesday. The case is being forwarded to the district attorney’s fied as 29-year-old Edy Gutierrez office, which will decide whether to Mejia, died in a parking lot, the file the charges in court or pursue Los Angeles County Medical Exdifferent ones. Information on a aminer’s Office said. He was from lawyer who could speak on her be- Guatemala, the country’s consulhalf was not immediately available. ate confirmed. The helicopter, which was used The crash happened as news by NBC and Telemundo, crashed crews were reporting on the colabout two hours after police say lision involving the SUV that

tails on what caused the helicopter crash, but an alarm could be heard sounding inside the helicopter’s cockpit as it lost altitude in the ﬁnal seconds of video the crew broadcast before the crash. Just after the beeping noise starts, a woman’s voice says “uh oh.” The helicopter moves quickly away from the bus crash site and starts losing altitude. The woman says “You can’t pull up?” before the video stops as the chopper nears the ground. “That video is probably the most important evidence that we have discovered so far,” National Transportation Safety Board investigator Fabian Salazar said Wednesday at a news brieﬁng. Salazar said the sounds were consistent with the helicopter’s engine changing speed, as well as what he said were likely advisory tones for the pilot. The NTSB said it is also investigating the bus collision. The helicopter, a Eurocopter

Military aid reassigned to Trump-aligned nations WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support conservative-leaning governments in Central and South America. The State Department on Tuesday notiﬁed Congress that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military ﬁnancing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador and Peru last week and pledged to them additional support as the Trump administration has prioritized the Western Hemisphere in its foreign policy with an emphasis on combating drug trafficking and illegal immigration. It is just the latest in a series of moves that have reduced either money or troop deployments to Europe in response to President Donald Trump’s complaints about NATO allies not spending enough on their defense budgets and other matters.

Obamas’ dog Sunny dies, ex-president says WASHINGTON — The Obamas’ pet dog Sunny has died, former President Barack Obama said Wednesday. Sunny, a 13-year-old Portuguese water dog the Obamas got in 2013 while living in the White House, died Tuesday. Obama remembered Sunny as athletic, full of energy and protective of Bo. Despite Sunny’s breed, she hated getting wet. Bo died in 2021.

Expert analyzes final video Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the alarm sounding in the helicopter’s ﬁnal video sounds like the low rotor RPM warning horn that signals the main rotor is no longer spinning enough to keep the helicopter in the air. “It just has all the earmarks of a potential loss of engine power and a dangerous decrease in the main rotor speed,” said Guzzetti who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA. Guzzetti said the pilot appeared to be trying to perform an emergency maneuver to use the wind to force the rotor to spin again much like a breeze turns a windmill. Doing that can create a bit of lift that could help cushion the impact, but Guzzetti said there would have been little opportunity to do that because the helicopter had been hovering at a low altitude beforehand.

Fencing goes up around main Kennedy Center

Democrat places hold on plan to sell bombs WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that he’s going to block a proposed sale of $2.8 billion in heavy weaponry to Israel over concerns that the powerful bombs may not be used in line with U.S. and international law. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said he would withhold approval for the sale because of “grave, unresolved concerns” about how these munitions could be used in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Meeks’ objections, however, will not likely affect the sale, which was informally notiﬁed to lawmakers on Tuesday. Once it is formally notiﬁed to Congress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio can bypass the normal congressional review process by making an emergency determination that the transaction is an urgent national security interest. The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 powerful 2,000-pound bombs, The Associated Press has reported. The transfer of 2,000-pound bombs had been paused by the Biden administration over concerns about the possibility of mass casualties.

and two storage containers burned after the helicopter caught ﬁre.

BY MATTHEW DALY and NATHAN ELLGREN Associated Press

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By JEHAd ALSHRAFI

Palestinian civil defense crews carry a body from the rubble of a collapsed building that housed displaced Palestinians and was heavily damaged during the IsraelHamas war, in Gaza City on Wednesday.

Building damaged by strikes collapses in Gaza BY JEHAD ALSHRAFI, WAFAA SHURAFA and JULIA FRANKEL

lapse, according to Gaza’s civil defense. “The lack of options and alternatives left them with no other choice,” said The Associated Press Aboud Majdalawi, a civil defense rescuer. Gaza’s roughly 2 million people now GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A building damaged by Israeli strikes collapsed suddenly in live in a stretch of land that makes up Gaza City on Wednesday, killing at least less than half the territory. They are de21 people in their sleep, including 11 chil- pendent on aid and are surrounded by dren, in a disaster that forced rescuers to Israeli troops who carry out strikes or dig through the rubble with bare hands. attacks on a near-daily basis. The collapse of the building, which was known to be unstable from strikes ear- Rescuers mount a bare-hands search lier in the war, underscored how perilous In the aftermath of the collapse, people living conditions have become for most searched desperately for loved ones. of the Palestinian enclave’s population The collapse comes as rescuers in the as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza Strip are trying to unearth hundreds Hamas stalls. of bodies from buildings that collapsed in No reconstruction work has happened Israeli strikes earlier in the war. They since the ceasefire was agreed to almost have just a few working excavators, and a year ago. Israel has said that it will not their fuel supply is dwindling. permit any rebuilding until Hamas disOver one-fifth of buildings in Gaza arms, and only a handful of excavators City assessed by the Norwegian Refugee Council in March were not structurally have been allowed into Gaza. sound, but residents inhabiting them said 6 Palestinian families lived in building they had nowhere else to go. The council leads a coalition of shelter As of Wednesday afternoon, the death toll included 11 children and five women, providers in Gaza. In August, the coaliaccording to Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokes- tion released an assessment of shelter person for the Gaza Health Ministry. He conditions in the strip that said twosaid at least 14 people were injured, and thirds of Palestinian households were living in tent camps. rescuers had finished digging. Among those living in buildings, 72% Around six displaced Palestinian families had sheltered there, despite know- of the households were in structures ing the structure was on the brink of col- with minor or moderate damage.

Body of the last victim of Hurricane Helene in Tennessee has been found BY TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press

The remains of the final missing Tennessee victim from Hurricane Helene were found two years after the storm devastated Appalachian mountain towns with floods that wiped away whole communities. Nancy Tucker, 76, disappeared along with her husband Jimmy Tucker when flooding from the Nolichucky River took their home in rural Washington County in the northeastern corner of Tennessee on Sept. 27, 2024. His body was recovered within a couple of days, but hers had been missing until Saturday, said Susan Saylor, spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. Their son lived in the home as well but was at work when the flood hit, Saylor said. Helene killed more than 250 people

and caused nearly $80 billion in damage from Florida to the Carolinas. In the mountains on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, rains of up to 30 inches turned usually gentle streams into torrents that moved trees, boulders, homes and vehicles, and shattered century-old ﬂood records. Many of those killed were swept away in the ﬂooding. In North Carolina, the body of Alena Ayers has never been recovered. Her case prompted the North Carolina Legislature last year to establish Alena’s Law, making it easier to declare a person dead if they disappear during a natural disaster. In Tennessee, first responders over the past two years had narrowed down the search area for Nancy Tucker to a portion of the Cherokee National Forest called Jackson Island. However, they faced both physical and bureaucratic hurdles.

WASHINGTON — Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board voted to close most of the performing arts center for repairs. The board’s vote on Tuesday came after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning President Donald Trump’s name to the building. The Republican president had said in a social media post that the closure was needed for safety repairs. But he said the repairs, which Congress has allocated $257 million to cover, would only happen if the board was permitted to move forward with plans to add his name to the building. Activists who have opposed the closure said there has been no vehicle or pedestrian access to the building Wednesday. An Associated Press reporter who approached the main building was told by a security

guard that it was closed. Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, requested an emergency court hearing Wednesday regarding what she called Trump’s “unlawful closure of the Kennedy Center.” Beatty has led efforts to block Trump’s name from being added to the building, and had a verbal confrontation with Trump Tuesday during a virtual board meeting. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered the Kennedy Center to respond to Beatty’s motion by Thursday morning. Trump, who was named the Kennedy Center’s chairman last year by loyalists on the board, said on social media Tuesday that he’d given $17 million to an endowment intended to support the institution. The Kennedy Center board voted in August to inscribe his name on the Kennedy Center’s façade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.”

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Speaker Johnson recesses House early lll

Massie, on way out, pushes for Hegseth impeachment

trying to stop a war.” Massie, the renegade Republican from Kentucky, seized control of the chamber for a blistering hourlong speech criticizing Johnson, the Republican majority and the work he said the speaker is refusBY LISA MASCARO ing to conduct to lower prices for AP congressional correspondent Americans and hold the Trump adWASHINGTON — Speaker Mike John- ministration accountable. “Why would we be canceling son, R-Benton, is closing up the House early, sending lawmakers days when the country is burnhome Wednesday to campaign for ing?” Massie said. “We should stay the midterm elections after what here for every day that’s on the he claims is the most productive calendar and we should debate.” Congress in decades. But not without a scathing rebuke Tumultuous House session from GOP Rep. Thomas Massie for The afternoon showdown proall the unfinished business. vided a colorful capstone to what Massie’s resolution to impeach has been a tumultuous two-year Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth session of House Republicans in over the war in Iran and his bipar- control by a bare majority, with tisan effort to force the release of Johnson routinely struggling to more files in the Jeffrey Epstein keep the place running. Despite the enormous tools of investigation are all being left bethe gavel — the speaker holds one hind, blocked from votes. “We’re calling off Congress? And of the most powerful positions in we’re in the majority?” Massie Washington, second in the line of succession to the president — railed from the House floor. “I’m trying to get justice for the Johnson has often been thwarted Epstein survivors,” he said. “I’m by his own conference.

The speaker has repeatedly and abruptly canceled House voting days to send lawmakers home rather than manage the disruptions from his own rebellious ﬂank — particularly those legislative efforts that threatened to rebuke President Donald Trump. By one tally, the House has cut 28 days this year, while adding four others, for a net loss of 24 days — about one-fourth of the total scheduled. Still, Johnson has hauled major legislation to the ﬁnish line, most notably the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a package of tax breaks and social service cuts that Trump signed into law last summer. And on Wednesday the House powered Johnson through a full agenda, passing bills large and small, including one to name the American mastodon the national fossil mammal and the Tyrannosaurus Rex the national fossil dinosaur. Johnson called Massie’s effort to

impeach Hegseth “a stunt.” “Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job at the Department of War,” Johnson said. “This has literally been the most productive and successful and aggressive Congress” in decades, he said earlier this month, calling it the top ﬁve of all time. “We’re conﬁdent American voters are going to remember that when they head to vote this fall.” Voters will be assessing the situation in November as they decide whether to keep Trump’s party in power, while Democrats work to dislodge Republicans from majority control of both the House and the Senate. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries assailed the “do-nothing” Republican majority and promised Democrats will perform better. “Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans promised to bring down grocery prices on Day One. They promised to stop endless wars in the Middle East,” Jeffries said. “But Republicans have done nothing to make life more affordable for the American people,” he said.

Massie’s last stand

The confrontation also provided a platform for Massie, the libertarian-leaning go-his-own-way congressman who orchestrated the initial release of the Epstein files and helped lead efforts to halt the conflict in Iran through a war powers resolution. Massie lost his own primary bid for reelection after Trump mounted a costly campaign to kick him out of Congress. But the congressman has only appeared emboldened in his final days in office. Massie spent much of his floor speech assailing Johnson’s leadership and decrying what he calls the “uniparty,” which he characterizes as moving in lockstep with bigmoney special interests at home and abroad. He also devoted substantial time to criticizing Hegseth and the “stupid war” he said the U.S. should not be involved with in Iran. Deriding Hegseth’s leadership, he mocked the secretary for trying to rename the Defense Department as the Department of War without consulting Congress.

Surgeon general pick faces Senate questions over vaccine stance BY FATIMA HUSSEIN and ALI SWENSON

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump’s third surgeon general nominee, was grilled at her Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday about her stance on childhood vaccines, voicing support for immunization as she seeks to serve in an administration that has moved to make sweeping changes to vaccine guidance. Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, faced tough questioning about her views on the safety of childhood vaccines by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, who pressed her to declare whether she believed there was a link between vaccines and autism — which widespread scientific consensus has concluded doesn’t exist, yet which the Trump administration has repeatedly pushed to revisit. “I do not believe childhood vac-

cines cause autism,” Saphier said. She also said “the MMR vaccine is our greatest tool for combating measles,” in response to a question by Cassidy over whether parents should give children that shot. MMR stands for measles, mumps and rubella, and the president recently called for the shots to be spaced out. She suggested support for vaccines as a critical tool to prevent infection and said she appreciated Saphier the administration’s attempts to address questions and concerns among “the vaccine hesitant people,” which Cassidy countered was only creating more confusion. Cassidy pushed Saphier to speak with clarity on some of her answers on vaccines, which she repeatedly presented as a belief rather than a known scientiﬁc fact. Saphier is nominated for a po-

sition that carries limited policymaking power but serves as a loud megaphone as the nation’s top communicator to Americans on public health issues. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump have both suggested that childhood vaccines, such as MMR, may play a role in causing autism. Evidence from decades of studies and real-world use of vaccines have proven there is no link between vaccines and autism. The administration has taken steps to upend the nation’s vaccine guidance — many of them since halted by a judge — including downsizing the childhood immunization schedule. Medical groups and doctors have warned that the changes could stoke vaccine hesitancy. Saphier is Trump’s newest pick after entrepreneur and wellness inﬂuencer Dr. Casey Means saw her path forward stall in the Senate over her background and vac-

cine views. Trump withdrew his ﬁrst nominee, Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions arose about her academic credentials. The position has been vacant throughout Trump’s second term. Like Means, who is a close Kennedy ally, Saphier has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, a longtime recommendation that the Trump administration has been trying to weaken. On Wednesday, she said the universal birth dose of hepatitis B was safe and effective. An author and podcaster who previously hosted her own show, “Wellness Unmasked with Dr. Nicole Saphier,” Saphier frequently commented on the Trump administration’s approach to health, often positively. She also used the phrase “Make America Healthy Again” years before Kennedy popularized it. It was the title of a 2020 book she wrote that criticized the government’s handling of health-

care and the Affordable Care Act. While being supportive of the Trump administration at large, Saphier has disagreed with Trump and Kennedy on some issues, telling The Associated Press last fall that Trump’s cautions to pregnant women who take Tylenol were oversimplistic and “patronizing.” Last year, she decried the administration’s long-anticipated first attempt at a MAHA report, which cited some studies that didn’t exist, calling it “pretty embarrassing.” She said Kennedy’s ﬁring of his ﬁrst Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, Susan Monarez, after less than a month on the job was “a mess.” During lawmakers’ questioning, Saphier was also asked whether she would follow unlawful orders by the president or Kennedy — she said she would follow the law — and was tested on her knowledge of the medication mifepristone, which is used to manage miscarriages and abortions.

DR. CHANCE DEWITT CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON

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4A ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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HOUSING

SECURITY

Now LCG, the Housing Authority of Lafayette and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are working to find new homes for the residents. The process could take three to six months or longer, and some residents could be relocated to Opelousas or New Iberia if housing cannot be found in Lafayette. Agape Himbola Manor at 804 Martin Luther King Drive is owned by American Agape Foundation, a nonprofit foundation based in San Antonio, Texas. The foundation faces around $148,000 in fines, Godeaux said. HUD issues vouchers to pay residents’ rent at the apartments. HUD has canceled the property’s Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract, according to an Aug. 31 letter to Boulet. In the letter, HUD’s Telia Walker, deputy regional administration out of Fort Worth, Texas, said the federal agency notified the owner of Himbola that its Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract has been canceled as of Sept. 30. Tenants will have an opportunity to apply for Tenant Protection Vouchers administered by HUD and the Housing Authority of Lafayette, wrote Walker. Tenants also will have the option of applying for relocation benefits to be administered by a HUD contractor. Residents won’t be pushed out of their apartments in six months, Godeaux said. City Council member Elroy Broussard, who repre-

ly planned to send another four mounted patrol units to Oxford for the game, but a New Orleans Police Department spokesperson said Tuesday that those plans “have changed.” Mississippi agencies are also “coordinating closely” with Louisiana State Police, the department in charge of providing security for Kiffin and LSU’s traveling party. State Police spokesperson Shelby Mayfield said Monday in a statement that the agency does not disclose “specific security plans, personnel numbers or operational methods” for game days, citing public safety concerns and department policy. But it does plan to “increase security measures” for LSU-Ole Miss to match the “larger-thanaverage turnout and heightened attention surrounding this game.” Tindell said on Wednesday that State Police will have 10 to 15 officers working alongside Mississippi law enforcement on Saturday. “We have full confidence in our long-standing partnerships with everyone involved,” the statement said. “For many years, we have worked together across the SEC to ensure these events are conducted safely while maintaining a positive experience for fans.” Oxford police spokesperson Breck Jones said last Friday that local officials are expecting upward of 90,000 people to descend on the Ole Miss campus for the top-10 matchup. Some of them could direct vitriol

Continued from page 1A

COMPLAINT

Continued from page 1A The ad depicts Miguez’s daughter saying, “That’s my dad, Blake. He moved to Baton Rouge in 1999, went to LSU, built a business, and married my mom.” Chris Pack, a spokesperson for Miguez, said in a statement that his campaign hasn’t seen the residency complaint, but he shot back at Edmonds’ accusations. “Regarding our ad, it is 100% factual, and no amount of desperate grandstanding from a Mississippi pastor moonlighting as a State Senator changes that,” Pack said. Miguez lives in a small town outside New Iberia, where his family’s offshore oil and gas business is based. He bought a new house in Baton Rouge this year and has said he has maintained a residence in the capital city for decades. Edmonds lives in Baton Rouge but preaches at a Baptist church in Mississippi on Sundays. “Mississippi Rick can hold as many press conferences as he wants, but truths always have a way of coming out, which is something he’ll

RATE

Continued from page 1A

at sufficient speed. Today the FOMC decided that this standard has not been satisfied,” he added, referring to the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, an arm of the Fed. “Warsh’s tough talk around inflation in the postmeeting press conference suggested that he may be pushing for higher rates in meetings to come,” said Preston Caldwell, chief U.S. economist at Morningstar. Warsh also said renewed combat between the U.S. and Iran, which has driven up gas prices, had convinced Fed officials to support rate hikes. “There’s no hiding from hot spots around the world,” he said. Warsh noted that other central banks are hiking interest rates in response to global turmoil and higher gas prices. The European Central Bank raised its key rate last week, and the Bank of Japan is expected to do the same Sept. 18. The Fed next meets in late October and most economists expect officials will

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin walks with officers after the Sept. 6 win over Clemson at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Continued from page 1A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Residents watch a demonstration to protest the living conditions at Himbola Manor apartments at the Lafayette complex on July 30, 2024. Several buildings have been condemned and HUd has canceled the property’s Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract. sents the Himbola Manor area, said he’d like to move residents into home ownership instead of housing. Broussard said he is concerned residents may not yet understand the extent of the problems or the likelihood that they will have to leave. “They think everything’s going to be fixed and they can stay there and everything is going to be all right,” he said. “They have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes.” Godeaux said LCG representatives will plan a meeting soon to discuss the situation with Himbola Manor

residents. Boulet said LCG tries to work with owners of properties like Himbola Manor to address problems, but the city will pursue demolition when owners cannot or will not make necessary repairs. She cited an abandoned LaQuinta Inn on NE Evangeline Thruway that was demolished in August. “It is not fair to this community when property owners disregard the people their properties affect,” she said in a news release Wednesday.

be finding out in the days and weeks ahead,” Pack said. The Miguez campaign provided a copy of deed in Edmonds’ name for a property in McComb and suggested he lives there. Edmonds spokesperson Delia Taylor said that Edmonds never lived at the house in McComb; instead, he and his wife purchased it as an investment property, fixed it up and then sold it. “He has lived in Baton Rouge the entire time of his legislative service and years predating that,” Taylor said. The Miguez campaign also provided a document showing a $192 lien by the Mississippi Department of Revenue on income tax from 2023. Taylor said Edmonds previously owed the income tax from his job as a pastor. She provided documents from the revenue department showing it was paid, and the lien was satisfied last year. Edmonds and Miguez are the front-runners in the contest for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District, which has drawn a crowd of 10 candidates, including six Republicans, three Democrats and one Libertarian.

A jungle primary is scheduled for Nov. 3, and a runoff will be held if needed on Dec. 12. The battle between the two men ratcheted up recently with a ﬁght over the Republican Party of Louisiana’s endorsement in the race. The Louisiana GOP’s eight-member executive committee initially voted to endorse only Miguez. But, after pushback from Gov. Jeff Landry and his allies, the committee changed course and voted to endorse Edmonds, too. Now, Both Edmonds and Miguez can run ads showing they are backed by the Republican Party of Louisiana and are potentially eligible for funding from the Republican National Committee. Miguez was never expected to challenge incumbent Congressman Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, who represents the Acadiana district where he is a senator. Instead, with an endorsement from President Donald Trump early this year, he was originally running for Congress in the 5th District, representing northeast Louisiana, part of the Baton Rouge region and the Florida Parishes. But in May, the Legisla-

keep rates unchanged then because it is just a week before the midterm elections. But Wall Street analysts now see a rate hike by December as a near certainty, according to futures prices. Also late Wednesday, the yield, or interest rate, on the 2-year Treasury rose to 4.74% from 4.67%, another sign investors expect the Fed to potentially lift rates further. Still, if inflation does show signs of cooling in the coming months, that could change. Since taking the lead at the Fed in May, Warsh has said it is firmly committed to taming inflation, and that policymakers would take their cues from the data to determine if inflation was going in the right direction. The rate hike marks a turnaround for Warsh, who was appointed by President Donald Trump. Warsh often suggested last year when under consideration by Trump that the Fed could reduce its key rate, echoing the president’s call for lower borrowing costs. And in April, when Warsh’s nomination was under consideration by the Senate Banking Committee, Trump said in a television interview

that he would be disappointed if Warsh didn’t cut rates. On the same day, however, Warsh told the committee he did not promise Trump he would cut rates and said he would be “an independent actor” as Fed chair. Yet the ongoing disruptions from the Iran war, which have pushed up average gas prices more than 7% from just a month ago, threaten to spread through the economy and keep broader inflation stubbornly high. An inflation report last week showed core prices, which exclude food and energy, accelerated a bit in August. According to the Fed’s preferred measure, inflation was 3.7% in July compared with a year ago, up from 2.3% in April 2025, just before Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, was 3.3% in July, the latest data available, up from 3% just before the Iran war and far above the Fed’s target. Fed policymakers unanimously supported the rate hike, compared with late July when the central bank kept rates steady and three officials dissented in favor of higher rates.

A contentious race

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

ture redrew Louisiana’s congressional map. The new map ﬂipped the Democratic-leaning 6th District anchored in Baton Rouge to favor a Republican candidate. Cleo Fields, the Democratic incumbent there, said he wouldn’t seek reelection, and Miguez signed up to run

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

toward Kiffin for taking the unprecedented step of leaving the Rebels team behind last season ahead of its College Football Playoff run so he could start coaching one of its chief rivals. The SEC has taken steps in recent years to curb unruly, potentially dangerous behavior at games. SEC schools now have to pay a $250,000 fine if their fans throw debris onto the field during play, and they have to cough up $500,000 every time their fans storm the field before the visiting players and coaches have enough time to exit safely. Fans have rushed the field after the LSU-Ole Miss matchup in three of the last four years — twice in Baton Rouge and once in Oxford. The debris-throwing policy was implemented, in part, because Tennessee fans threw golf balls, bottles and other objects at Kiffin when he brought his Ole Miss team to Neyland Stadium in 2021 — 12 years after he infamously left the Vols late at night to take the Southern Cal coaching job. On Monday, Kiffin alluded to “real safety issues” he and his team could face Saturday, while Gov. Jeff Landry joked to ESPN that “we might need the National Guard” to protect Kiffin

and the Tigers. Ole Miss coach Pete Golding tried to lower the temperature during a Monday news conference, encouraging fans not to “lose what they’ve created” over “a game or a person.” “This place has always been known to have really, really good people,” Golding said. “To me, what this place has always been about, and why so many people love coming here and respect this place is because of the people that are here. And how they make (visiting fans) feel when they come here.” LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry told reporters Tuesday after an appearance at a Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club meeting that he likes the security plan he discussed with his Ole Miss counterpart, Keith Carter. “We’ve discussed things,” he said. “We’re gonna be the adults in the room and make sure the game takes place on the field.” Landry also told ESPN that his office has had discussions with Mississippi officials to “make sure” that both teams have “adequate security.” “I’m hoping that we can go there,” Landry said, “and play in complete Southern hospitality and have a great, great game.”

in the 6th District. Trump has not so far issued an endorsement in the race under the new map. Besides Miguez and Edmonds, Republicans Larry Davis III, Monique Appeaning, Michael Mebruer and Stephen Wagley ﬁled to run in the 6th District. So have

Democrats Lindsay Rubia Garcia, who was endorsed by the Louisiana Democratic Party; Pat Forbes, whom former Gov. John Bel Edwards endorsed; and former East Baton Rouge Metro Council member Chauna Banks. Libertarian Rufus Craig also ﬁled to run.

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EU leader proposes making Canada associate member BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

STRASBOURG, France — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed making Canada the European Union’s ﬁrst associate member, a striking overture as U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats drive Ottawa closer to Europe. Speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump suggested that allowing Canada to become an associate EU member could be a “hostile act” and threatened to respond to the proposed move by imposing more tariffs on the bloc. Trump conditioned his threat on the “intention” of European leaders, saying that, “If it’s a good intention, that’s ﬁne. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.” He also suggested the U.S. could cut off trade with Europe in certain areas. Trump called the prospect of Canada joining the EU “laughable” and called America’s neighbor a “terrible trade partner.” Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have soured the relationship between the North American neighbors. Canada is seeking to reduce its dependence on the United States, the destination for roughly 70% of its exports, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a “unique alliance” with the EU. In her annual State of the European Union address, von der Leyen said Canada and the EU would build on their existing free trade agreement, known as CETA, with a broader “Alliance for the Future” aimed at creating “a common prosperity and economic security space.” She cast that closer relationship as rooted not just in trade but in shared democratic values. “Above all, dear Mark, Europe and Canada believe in democracy,” von der Leyen said to Carney, who received a standing ovation at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He is due to address the Parliament on Thursday.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By PASCAL BASTIEN

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, at the annual State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Wednesday.

bership. The official said Canada would seek an arrangement allowing its citizens to live and work in Europe without visas as part of a broader strategic partnership. Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, said Wednesday that Ottawa had discussed associate membership with European officials before von der Leyen’s speech and “knew that that was something that was on the table.” He said Canada had talked to the EU about an “Alliance for the Future,” while European officials had raised associate membership. Wilkinson said Canada is not seeking full EU membership because it would require surrendering some sovereignty. Instead, Ottawa wants “to get as close as we possibly can” to the bloc in a way that strengthens Canadian sovereignty rather than diminishes it, Just short of full membership he said. Carney’s office welcomed von A Canadian official familiar with the discussions told The Associ- der Leyen’s proposal, saying Canated Press last week that Ottawa ada was deepening ties with the was exploring ties with the EU EU “to strengthen our sovereignthat could stop just short of mem- ty” and supported a move beyond

CETA.

Canada in procurement program Von der Leyen said the expanded partnership would cover advanced manufacturing, technology, defense production, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity and economic security. “This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” she said. “In short, we want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible.” Because Canada joining the EU as an associate member would be a ﬁrst, there is no rulebook on how that would work or what it would mean in practice. It is unclear who would need to approve membership, and how long that could take. Wilkinson said Ottawa and Brussels are deliberately focusing ﬁrst on the substance of the relationship rather than what to call it. “Before you actually get to the point where you decide what you’re going to call something, you should actu-

House approves sweeping Russia sanctions bill, sending it to Trump BY KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed a broad package of sanctions targeting Russian officials and key pillars of its economy as lawmakers look to deprive President Vladimir Putin of the financial resources needed to wage the war against Ukraine. The bill is named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who spent more than a year negotiating it. The measure was approved in a 262-159 vote and now heads to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The legislation represents the most ambitious effort to support Ukraine since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and would break nearly two years of relative gridlock on the issue following a 2024 emergency aid package. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing for the bill’s passage and made a direct appeal to senators shortly before they passed it last month. The measure sanctions Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving. It also directs Trump to impose up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports.

Democrats are divided Supporters said the provision is aimed at deterring China and India from purchasing Russian energy, but critics of the bill said they fear Trump will use it to target allies in the European Union and elsewhere. Americans, they warned, would pay the price for such tariffs through higher prices at the

Ukraine as Republican support for spending billions of dollars more on the effort has waned. Trump routinely derided the Ukraine aid while campaigning for the White House and insisted that, if elected, he would quickly end the war launched by Moscow’s February 2022 invasion. It took Graham essentially a full year to bring Trump on board with the Russia sanctions package. Eventually, Trump gave a nod to the bill after it included his push for a five-year extension of existing sanctions on Iran. Republicans speaking on the House floor in advance of Wednesday’s vote were overwhelmingly supportive of the package. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., acknowledged Democratic criticism that tariffs could be used aggressively on smaller U.S. allies, but said it was time to deliver a resounding message to the Kremlin: “End this war, get out of Ukraine, focus on rebuilding your shattered international reputation and your destroyed economy.” The Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill by a vote of 86-11 last month, but momentum slowed in the House. Republican leadership focused on other priorities, namely bills designed to put Democrats on defense going into the midterms. A chorus of key Democratic lawmakers voiced alarm about the bill’s tariff provisions. Passage of the bill in the House came on the final day that the chamber is expected to be in session for votes before the Nov. 3 elections. Leading up to the vote, Zelenskyy took to social media urging the House to pass the bill. He said during war it is sometimes better to “make a not-so-perfect decision than to do nothing.” Getting Trump on board “And this is a very imporCongress has struggled tant historical moment for to ensure the flow of U.S. the United States,” Zelenfunding and munitions to skyy said on X.

cash register. “This president has always said he loves tariffs,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. “And we know the history of what he’s done with reference to tariffs to our European allies, and our allies everywhere.” Democrats were divided on the bill, despite overwhelming support in the caucus for aiding Ukraine. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told colleagues they can’t control what the president does, but they can stand up and declare where they are on the war. “If we fail to pass this bill, there will be cheers in the Kremlin and tears in Kyiv,” Hoyer said. But Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., predicted Ukraine supporters would come to regret voting for the bill. “Yes they will be able to say ‘we stood with Ukraine’ in the immediate aftermath,” Beyer said. “But when Donald Trump hits our allies with new tariffs and waives sanctions on Russia, the propaganda victory for Putin will be lasting, and the damage will be embedded in U.S. law.” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, speaking in opposition to the bill, said Democrats would continue to support the Ukrainian people until victory is won, “but this bill does not provide a path to secure that.” Speaker Mike Johnson, RBenton, celebrated the vote and highlighted the additional tariff power it provides the president. “For too long, Putin has bankrolled this devastating war with money and resources from countries willing to look the other way, and today, that ends,” Johnson said.

ally know the shape,” he said. He said the shape is likely to become clearer at the Canada-EU summit in October, when the two sides expect to make an announcement and may settle on how to describe it. Currently, all steps toward EU membership must be approved unanimously by the 27 member countries. The idea of associate membership has been ﬂoated in the past for Ukraine, or for post-Brexit Britain, but no concrete steps have been taken.

Exploring broader alliance The relationship between Canada and the European Union has reached a point where the two sides need to move beyond rhetoric and start building something more substantive, said Tobias Cremer, a German member of the European Parliament. “Now is the time to stop sending each other love letters and put meat on the bone,” said Cremer, from the center-left Social Democrats.

He argued that any new arrangement should be more ambitious than another trade or defense agreement, describing the goal as a more holistic strategic alliance between Canada and the EU. Existing frameworks such as CETA could provide a foundation, Cremer said, but should be used more fully and expanded. The case for closer ties, he said, is increasingly being driven by geopolitics as much as economics. The aim, he said, should ultimately be bigger than a bilateral arrangement — potentially positioning the EU as a convener of middle powers, an idea Carney has also raised. Canada this year became the ﬁrst non-European country to join the EU’s $173 billion SAFE defense program, giving Canadian companies access to joint procurement as Europe seeks to increase its defense readiness. Iratxe García Pérez, president of the Socialists & Democrats group in the European Parliament, praised Carney for showing “great courage confronting Donald Trump” and said allies were needed to defend “sovereignty, solidarity and international law.” Carney said Tuesday that economic integration, once viewed largely as an asset, is increasingly “being used as a weapon by certain countries.” Discussions will ramp up at the Canada-EU summit in late October, he said.

Trump pushes Canada away Canada has retaliated against U.S. tariffs and rejected trade terms Carney says would weaken its sovereignty. The EU has taken a different course with Washington, reaching a trade agreement that set a 15% U.S. tariff ceiling on the vast majority of EU exports while Europe eliminated tariffs on U.S. industrial goods. That contrast has loomed over Carney’s push for closer European ties. In a closely watched speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, he urged middle powers to work together to increase their leverage in an era of great-power rivalry. “When we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered,” Carney said.

6A ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Public Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received until 10:00 AM, Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Scott City Hall Building, 125 Lions Club Road, Scott, Louisiana and shall thereafter be opened and publicly read aloud for: HARVEST POINTE OVERLAY The project will consist of patching and overlay‐ ing a section of Harvest Pointe Circle within the City of Scott. Bids re‐ ceived after the time specified above will not be considered. Digital copies may be ob‐ tained only from Bonnie Anderson at banderson@ cityofscott.org. The Specifications and Documents shall be available until twentyfour (24) hours before the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Bids shall be submitted inside a sealed envelope addressed to City of Scott showing the name of the project as above and the name of the Bid‐ der. Any Bidder submit‐ ting a bid in the amount of $50,000.00 or more shall be a licensed con‐ tractor in accordance with Louisiana R.S. 37:2150-2164 and shall show the license number on the front of the sealed envelope in which the bid is enclosed. The Bid‐ der shall hold a license with the classification ‘Highway, street and bridge construction’ or its subclassification ‘Highway, street and bridge construction – Permanent or paved highways and streets (asphalt hot and cold plant mix)’ as issued by the State of Louisiana Li‐ censing Board for Con‐ tractors. Bids submitted not in accordance with these requirements shall be rejected and returned unopened to the Bidder. Bids must be submitted on the Bid Form included in the Specifications and the Documents. Each bid shall be accom‐ panied by a Certified Check, Cashier’s Check, or Bid Bond payable to the City of Scott, the amount of which is not to be less than five (5) percent of the total bid. This surety shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder will execute the contract should it be awarded to him in con‐ formity with the Docu‐ ments. A Performance Bond and a Payment Bond each in the full amount of the contract must be completed upon award of the contract by the successful bidder. No Bidder may withdraw the submitted bid for at least forty-five (45) days after the time scheduled for the opening of bids, except to withdraw bids in accordance with Title 38 of the Louisiana Re‐ vised Statutes. CITY OF LOUISIANA

SCOTT,

/s/ Jan-Scott Richard, Mayor /s/ Shelley Gautreau, Clerk 200468 Sept. 17, 28, Oct. 7, 3t $118.54 PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received either electroni‐ cally at Central Bidding or in the office of the Purchasing Division at the Lafayette Consoli‐ dated Government Build‐ ing, located at 705 West University Avenue, Lafayette, Louisiana, until 2:00 p.m. Central Time on the 5th day of October, 2026 for the fol‐ lowing: 167118.5.2762 FUEL GAS CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT RE-BID #3 and will, shortly there‐ after, be opened and read aloud in the office of Purchasing at 705 West University Avenue, Lafayette, LA. Bids re‐ ceived after the above specified time for open‐ ing shall not be consid‐ ered and shall be re‐ turned unopened to the sender. Bidders are en‐ couraged to call into the bid opening at the fol‐ https:// lowing link: us02web.zoom.us/j/ 83432156692?pwd=pwq G3B5M1SbgUYNIwYx88K1 amc3CCv.1

Scope of Work: The scope of Work shall con‐ sist of all engineering, design, fabrication, test‐ ing, packaging and deliv‐ ery of a Fuel Gas Condi‐ tioning Equipment and its accessories and in‐ cluding manufacturer's ﬁeld services at the Job Site. All Work shall be completed between Jan‐ uary 1, 2028, and July 1, 2028. In accordance with Louisiana RS 38:2212. vendors may submit 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‐ i d i d f

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Public Notices Bids/Proposals

g 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 Central Bidding, in person, or via mail) to the Purchasing Division prior to the scheduled date and time of the bid opening. Ofﬁcial Bid Doc‐ uments are available at Central Bidding. For questions related to the electronic bidding process, please call the ofﬁce of Purchasing at 337-291-8258. Bidders may request the elec‐ tronic bid package from Dabne Dover at dabne‐ dover@lafayettela.gov.

g businesses are available. Assistance in identifying said businesses may be obtained by calling 337291-8410.

Bidders submitting bids electronically are re‐ quired to provide the same documents as bid‐ ders submitting through the mail as soon as avail‐ able. Bidders submitting bids electronically shall in‐ clude all documents in one (1) combined PDF file with bookmark(s) and are required to provide one (1) hard copy through the mail. Bidders providing bids my mail, shall include one (1) hard copy with all documents in one (1) combined PDF file with bookmark(s) and are required to pro‐ vide an electronic copy in one (1) USB flash drive. SUBMISSION OF CONFI‐ DENTIAL, PROPRIETARY, OR TRADESECRET INFOR‐ MATION (SEE LA. R.S. 44:3.2(D) As a public entity, Lafayette Consolidated Government is subject to the Louisiana Public Records Law, which may require submissions of Bidders to be a public record. Pursuant to La. R.S. 44:3.2(D), Bidders who submit documents or information they be‐ lieve to be proprietary or trade secret must clearly mark each page or piece of information which is, in the Bidder’s opinion, proprietary or trade se‐ cret and must also sub‐ mit with such informa‐ tion a cover sheet that reads as follows in bold type: DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL PROPRI‐ ETARY OR TRADE SECRET INFORMATION A sample cover sheet with this statement is in‐ cluded with the bid docu‐ ments. La. R.S. 44:3.2(D) requires Lafayette Consolidated Government to make a determination as to whether a Bidders sub‐ mission is in fact propri‐ etary or trade secret in‐ formation within thirty (30) calendar days of the Bidder’s submission.

Bids must be signed in accordance with LRS Title 38:2212(B)5. A Cor‐ porate Resolution or written evidence of au‐ thority authorizing the person signing the bid is required 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 upon request by contact‐ ing Purchasing & Prop‐ erty Management Divi‐ sion, located at 705 West University Avenue, Lafayette, Louisiana upon payment of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per set, non-refundable, made payable to the Lafayette Consolidated Govern‐ ment. NOTE: NO CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLY CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS MADE PAYABLE TO LAFAYETTE CONSOLI‐ DATED GOVERNMENT. Bid Documents shall be available until twentyfour hours before the bid opening date. Questions relative to the bidding documents shall be di‐ rected to Dabne Dover by email at dabnedover@ lafayettela.gov. Within one (1) week upon receipt of the Invitation to Bid, Bidders are en‐ couraged to confirm in‐ tent to submit a bid by replying to the "Invita‐ tion to Bid" email sent by Dabne Dover (dabne‐ dover@lafayettela.gov). No bidder may withdraw his bid for at least fortyfive (45) calendar days after the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Each bid shall be submit‐ ted only on the bid form provided with the speci‐ fications. The successful bidder will be required to execute performance and labor and material payment bonds in the full amount of the contract as more fully defined in the bid documents. In accordance with Pub‐ lic Bid Law, bids are valid for a period of forty-five (45) calendar days from the time of the opening of bids. Bids will be evaluated by the Owner based on the lowest responsible and responsive bid submitted which is also in compli‐ ance with the bid docu‐ ments. The Lafayette Consolidated Govern‐ ment reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause in accor‐ dance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. The Lafayette Consoli‐ dated Government strongly encourages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) in all con‐ tracts or procurements let by the Lafayette Con‐ solidated Government for goods and services and labor and material. To that end, all bidders and suppliers are en‐ couraged to utilize DBEs business enterprises in the purchase or sub-con‐ tracting of materials, supplies, services and labor and material in which disadvantaged b i il bl

PURCHASING DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISH DATES: 09-17-26; 9-20-26 DPR 1007058 200780 Sept. 17, 20, 2t $126.56

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE The Lafayette City Coun‐ cil and the Lafayette Parish Council met in Special Joint Session on September 10, 2026 and adopted the following or‐ dinance: ORDINANCE NO. JO-023-2026 A JOINT ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND THE LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL ADOPTING AN OPERATING & FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE LAFAYETTE CITYPARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING NOVEMBER 1, 2026 AND ENDING OCTOBER 31, 2027 BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: WHEREAS, in accordance with all applicable provi‐ sions of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Home Rule Charter, Lafayette Mayor-President has submitted to the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council the Proposed FY 2026-2027 Operating and Five-Year Capital Im‐ provement Budget; and WHEREAS, the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council have taken under consid‐ eration the study of said Proposed Operating and Five-Year Capital Im‐ provement Budget. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Coun‐ cil and the Lafayette Parish Council, that: SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance. SECTION 2: In accordance with the applicable pro‐ visions of the Home Rule Charter of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, including but not limited to Sec‐ tions 5-01 through 5-03, inclusive, and in accor‐ dance with Sections 2-11 through 2-13, inclusive, of said Lafayette CityParish Consolidated Gov‐ ernment Home Rule Charter, the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council do hereby approve the said Proposed Operating and Five-Year Capital Im‐ provement Budget as amended in the attach‐ ments hereto and which are made a part hereof and which will be identi‐ fied in said final docu‐ ment under the title “Adopted Operating & Five-Year Capital Im‐ provement Budget FY 2026-2027.” SECTION 3: The following qualifications shall apply to the implementation and administration of the adopted budget: A. State law requires that certain firemen be given a 2% longevity salary in‐ crease. Accordingly, the pay reserve included herein for eligible fire personnel shall be deemed to include the two (2%) percent “longevity” salary in‐ crease required by State law for the fiscal year 2026-2027. Said pay ad‐ justment will be effective no sooner than the first day of the first full pay period in fiscal year 20262027. B. No Departmental Di‐ rector or agency of Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment shall be with au‐ thority to exceed appro‐ priation levels which are identified departmen‐ tally within the budget adopted for the fiscal year without approval of the Lafayette City Coun‐ cil, the Lafayette Parish Council, or both by ordi‐ nance. C. Inasmuch as the lim‐ ited wording of any bud‐ get ordinance cannot cover all mathematical computation, narrative circumstances resulting from salary and other appropriation adjust‐ ments, the Chief Finan‐ cial Officer, through the Lafayette Mayor-Presi‐ dent, is authorized and directed to comply with the dictates and intent of the adopted budget through whatever means he or she deems to be prudent and necessary and in order to ensure that a balanced budget is adopted. Upon comple‐ tion of budget finaliza‐ tion work each year, the Chief Financial Officer, through the Lafayette Mayor-President, shall prepare a written report to the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council detailing the amount and nature of any adjust‐ ments required to imple‐ ment the adopted bud‐ get. D. Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment’s budget and ac‐ counting practices as‐ sign to each department an amount designated as “Uninsured Losses” rep‐ resenting amounts to be f d f h f

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(6:17:00) ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the LPPA, Chair Boudreaux declared the Special Meeting ad‐ journed.

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y (LPPA) adopting an oper‐ ating and capital budget of revenues and expendi‐ tures for the Lafayette, Louisiana Public Power Authority for the ﬁscal year beginning Novem‐ ber 1, 2026 and ending October 31, 2027, motion to adopt by Hebert, sec‐ onded by Hooks, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hooks, Hebert, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion to adopt was ap‐ proved.

200789 Sept. 17 1t $23.19

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Legal Notices

g transferred from each of the departments to the City-Parish Risk Manage‐ ment Program for unin‐ sured losses incurred by the department. Such ap‐ propriations labeled “Uninsured Losses” shall not be transferred to any other line item in any de‐ partment having such an appropriation. E. Salary appropriations for filled positions adopted in the annual budget shall be consid‐ ered encumbered upon the implementation of the adopted budget. F. Salaries-Promotion Costs Line Items: Certain promotion costs have been funded in a special salary account entitled “promotion costs” and assigned the object code “503000” within each de‐ partment. Whenever an intra-departmental pro‐ motion occurs, an ad‐ ministrative budget revi‐ sion may be affected to move the salary and ben‐ efit costs to the appro‐ priate line items for that division and to amend the Manning Table for the personnel position changes effective with the date of the promo‐ tion. No promotion date shall be before the first full pay period of the new fiscal year. Such changes to the budget shall be af‐ fected by administrative budget revision, a copy of which should be pro‐ vided to the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council. G. Overtime Line Items: Where additional over‐ time by existing employ‐ ees is required to fulfill the duties of vacant posi‐ tions, funds necessary to pay salaries for the same may be moved from the salary account allocated for the vacant position to an overtime line item for that division, provided, however, that the funds moved to the overtime line item shall not reduce funds available for the vacant position to less than the amount that would be required to fill the vacant position for the remainder of the fis‐ cal year. Such changes in the salary account and the overtime line item shall be accomplished by administrative budget re‐ vision, a copy of which should be provided to the Office of the Lafayette Clerk of the Council. H. The general amend‐ ments may include changes to existing work orders in the FY 2025budget. Those 2026 changes are reflected in a separate column, if ap‐ plicable, on amended schedules and this ordi‐ nance serves to approve and amend in the current FY 2025-2026 budget the changes so reflected and the Chief Financial Offi‐ cer is authorized to af‐ fect the required budget changes. I. Whereby Resolution No. R-94-96 allowing for the transfer of budgeted funds among existing utility capital appropria‐ tions provided the trans‐ fers total $100,000 or less in the aggregate has not been updated to reflect cost increases over the past 26 years; and recent supply chain constraints and the current inflation‐ ary economy have cre‐ ated disparities between budgeted project esti‐ mates and actual bid costs returned, restrict‐ ing the government’s ability to proceed with approved critical infra‐ structure and capital im‐ provement projects. The Lafayette Mayor-Presi‐ dent shall have the au‐ thority to transfer utility capital appropriations among existing capital appropriations provided (1) capital appropria‐ tions remain in the fund previously approved by council ordinance and (2) the transfer of appropri‐ ations does not exceed the greater of 20% of the original capital appropri‐ ation or $100,000 in the aggregate. J. Whereby Resolution No. R-94-96 allowing for the transfer of budgeted funds among existing non-utility capital appro‐ priations provided the transfers total $5,000 or less in the aggregate has not been updated to re‐ flect cost increases over the past 26 years; and re‐ cent supply chain con‐ straints and the current inflationary economy have created disparities between budgeted pro‐ ject estimates and actual bid costs returned, re‐ stricting the govern‐ ment’s ability to proceed with approved critical in‐ frastructure and capital improvement projects. The Lafayette MayorPresident shall have the authority to transfer nonutility capital appropria‐ tions among existing capital appropriations provided (1) capital ap‐ propriations remain in the fund previously ap‐ proved by council ordi‐ nance and (2) the trans‐ fer of appropriations does not exceed the greater of 20% of the original capital appropri‐ ation or $100,000 in the aggregate. K. The amounts allocated herein for External Agen‐ cies (Arts & Culture, So‐ cial Services and ACA Grant) shall only be dis‐ bursed upon the ap‐ proval of the Lafayette City Council based on recommendations sub‐ mitted to the Lafayette City Council. The Lafayette Mayor-Presi‐ dent is directed to de‐ velop and present to the Lafayette City Council an appropriate ordinance to amend the existing ordi‐ nance relative to the funding of external agen‐ cies in order to incorpo‐ rate the spirit of this sec‐ tion. L. Whereby changes to existing work orders in the Five-Year Capital plans may be required to fulfill the adopted FY 2026-2027 Five-Year Capi‐ l d

p tal Improvement Budget, such changes are re‐ flected in the capital out‐ lay budget column titled “Existing Work Order Changes.” This ordinance will serve to approve and amend in the current FY 2025-2026 budget the changes reflected in that column and the Chief Fi‐ nancial Officer is autho‐ rized to affect the re‐ quired budget revision if applicable. M. Additions of positions, deletions of positions, title changes, and/or other personnel changes are hereby approved as submitted and identified in the Manning Table. N. The plan submitted to rename the division UTENVIRONMENTAL COM‐ PLIANCE to UT-REGULA‐ TORY COMPLIANCE is hereby approved by the City Council as submit‐ ted. O. The plan submitted to create a new section named UT-ELECTRIC RE‐ LIABILITY under the newly renamed UT-REGU‐ LATORY COMPLIANCE di‐ vision within the Utilities Department is hereby ap‐ proved by the City Coun‐ cil as submitted and identified herein the Manning Tables. SECTION 4: Certain activi‐ ties and services are jointly provided and funded in the Adopted Operating & Five-Year Capital Improvement Budget with City of Lafayette funds and/or with Parish of Lafayette funds, and it is intended that the cost of such ser‐ vices and activities be shared equitably as set forth in the Allocation Schedule included in the “Budget Overview & Highlights” section of the Adopted Operating & Five-Year Capital Im‐ provement Budget. The Allocation Schedule re‐ flects the financial oblig‐ ations of the City and Parish funds for such services and activities, and the Chief Financial Officer, through the Lafayette Mayor-Presi‐ dent, is authorized and directed to make monthly transfers as necessary to comply with such schedule based on actual expendi‐ tures. It is agreed and understood that such transfers will be made by applying the percentages set forth in said Alloca‐ tion Schedule to the final adopted budget amounts. SECTION 5: If any one (1) of the provisions of this ordinance or the applica‐ tion thereof to any per‐ son or circumstance is held invalid or unconsti‐ tutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or application of this ordinance which can be given without the invalid provision or appli‐ cation, and, to this end, the provisions of this or‐ dinance are declared severable. SECTION 6: All ordi‐ nances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby re‐ pealed. SECTION 7: After first having been adopted by a majority of the autho‐ rized membership of both the Lafayette Parish Council and the Lafayette City Council, this joint ordinance shall become effective upon signature of this joint or‐ dinance by the Lafayette Mayor-President, the elapse of ten (10) days after receipt by the Lafayette Mayor-Presi‐ dent without signature or veto, or upon an over‐ ride of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL 200790 Sept. 17 1t $111.72 PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE The Lafayette Public Power Authority met in Special Session on Sep‐ tember 10, 2026 and adopted the following or‐ dinance: ORDINANCE NO. O-LPPA-252 AN ORDINANCE OF THE LAFAYETTE PUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY (LPPA) ADOPTING AN OP‐ ERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET OF REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA PUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGIN‐ NING NOVEMBER 1, 2026 AND ENDING OCTOBER 31, 2027 BE IT ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Council, acting as the governing authority of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (LPPA), that: WHEREAS, in accordance with all applicable provi‐ sions of state law, all ap‐ plicable provisions of prior ordinances and/or resolutions of the Lafayette Public Power Authority, and/or all ap‐ plicable provisions of the Home Rule Charter of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment, the Lafayette Mayor-President, in her capacity as Chief Execu‐ tive Officer of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (hereinafter re‐ ferred to as “LPPA”), has submitted to the Lafayette City Council, in its capacity as the gov‐ erning authority of the LPPA, the Proposed FY 2026-2027 Operating and Capital Budget; and WHEREAS, the Lafayette City Council, as govern‐ ing authority of the LPPA, has taken under consid‐ eration the study of that said proposed budget. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

Legal Notices

FURTHER ORDAINED by the Lafayette City Coun‐ cil, acting as the govern‐ ing authority of the Lafayette Public Power Authority (LPPA), that: SECTION 1: All of the aforedescribed “Whereas” clauses are adopted as part of this ordinance. SECTION 2: In accordance with all applicable provi‐ sions of state law, all ap‐ plicable provisions of prior ordinances and/or resolutions of the Lafayette Public Power Authority and/or all ap‐ plicable provisions of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Govern‐ ment Home Rule Charter, the Lafayette City Coun‐ cil, as governing author‐ ity of the LPPA, does hereby approve the said Operating and Capital Budget which is attached hereto and made a part hereof. SECTION 3: Since the LPPA capital budget is administered and man‐ aged by the partners of Rodemacher 2, the list of specific projects in‐ cluded herein is informa‐ tional only and may change subject to ap‐ proval of the partners. Therefore, the Chief Fi‐ nancial Officer is autho‐ rized to control the capi‐ tal budget in total and make transfers among work orders as neces‐ sary to properly support projects approved by the partners. SECTION 4: Inasmuch as the limited wording of any budget ordinance cannot cover all mathe‐ matical, computation, narrative circumstances resulting from any nec‐ essary adjustment, the Chief Financial Officer, through the Lafayette Mayor-President, is au‐ thorized and directed to comply with the dictates and intent of the adopted budget through what‐ ever means he or she deems prudent and nec‐ essary and in order to ensure that a balanced budget is adopted. Upon completion of budget fi‐ nalization each year, the Chief Financial Officer, through the Lafayette Mayor-President, shall prepare a written report to the Lafayette City Council detailing the amount and nature of any adjustments re‐ quired to implement the adopted budget. SECTION 5: If any one (1) of the provisions of this ordinance or the applica‐ tion thereof to any per‐ son or circumstance is held invalid or unconsti‐ tutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or application of this ordinance which can be given without the invalid provision or appli‐ cation, and, to this end, the provisions of this or‐ dinance are declared severable. SECTION 6: All ordi‐ nances or resolutions, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby re‐ pealed. SECTION 7: This ordi‐ nance shall become ef‐ fective upon signature of the Lafayette MayorPresident, the elapse of ten (10) days after re‐ ceipt by the Lafayette Mayor-President without signature or veto, or upon override of a veto, whichever occurs first. ***** /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL 200791 Sept. 17 1t $41.41

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

PUBLIC NOTICE --PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTE PUBLIC POWER AUTHORITY MEETING OF THE CITYPARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A SPECIAL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA.

SHERIFF'S SALE 21ST MORTGAGE CORPO‐ RATION Versus No. 20264395 DAVID MILTON ROYALL A/K/A DAVID M. ROYALL A/K/A DAVID ROYALL, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS THE SURVIVING SPOUSE IN COMMUNITY OF KATHY DIANE EVANS MORRIS ROYALL 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ***WITH*** appraise‐ ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***OCTO‐ BER 21, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: 2015 PLATINUM (PLAT) MOBILE HOME BEARING SERIAL NUMBER PHAL03453A AND PHAL03453B AND THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF GROUND, TOGETHER WITH ALL IMPROVE‐ MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ VANTAGES THEREUNTO BELONGING AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT EIGH‐ TEEN (18) OF EVANGELINE ACRES SUBDIVISION, A SUBDIVISION OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY MONTAG‐ NET & DOMINGUE, INC., ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2012-2245 AND MADE PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE, AND BEING DE‐ SCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ ING A FRONTAGE ON DUNAWAY STREET AND AS HAVING SUCH DIMEN‐ SIONS, BOUNDARIES AND MEASUREMENTS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. BEING A PORTION OF THE AC‐ SAME PROPERTY QUIRED BY EVANGELINE ACRES, LLC IN THAT ACT RECORDED OCTOBER 7, 2011 UNDER ENTRY NO. 2011-41324 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA. MU‐ NICIPAL ADDRESS: 100 DUNAWAY STREET, CARENCRO, LA 70520 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 & OCTOBER 15, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $39.05 SHERIFF'S SALE ASSURANCE FINANCIAL GROUP LLC Versus No. 20261065 CHRISTOPHER ALLEN GRAY AND NAOMI DAWN GRAY 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ***WITHOUT*** ap‐ praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: ONE (1) CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL THE BUILDINGS AND IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON,

ATTENDANCE LPPA: Kenneth P. Boudreaux (Chair, Dis‐ trict 5), Liz W. Hebert (Vice-Chair, District 3), Elroy Broussard (District 1), Andy Naquin (District 2) and Thomas Hooks (District 4) ABSENT: None COUNCIL STAFF: Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Cindy M. Semien (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs), Kelly Comeaux (Assis‐ tant Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Jeremy Richardson (Associate Clerk for Operations and Citizen Advocacy) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Monique B. Boulet (Mayor-President), Rachel Godeaux (Chief Administrative Ofﬁcer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Fi‐ nancial Ofﬁcer), and Robert A. Mahtook, Jr. (City-Parish Attorney)

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Chair Boudreaux called the Special LPPA Meeting of September 10, 2026 to order.

FOR

FINAL

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: O-LPPA-252 An ordi‐ nance of the Lafayette Public Power Authority ( ) d i

ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.26 SHERIFF'S SALE ASSURANCE FINANCIAL GROUP LLC Versus No. 20264000 ROBERT A. DOMINGUE A/K/A ROBERT DOMINGUE 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ***WITH*** appraise‐ ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL BUILD‐ INGS AND IMPROVE‐ MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ VANTAGES THEREUNTO BELONGING AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN (114) OF THE PLANTA‐ TION, A SUBDIVISION OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SHAPE, FORM, DIMEN‐ SIONS, BOUNDARIES AND MEASUREMENTS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY R. DOUGLAS MCGEE & AS‐ SOCIATES, ATTACHED TO THAT CERTAIN ACT RECORDED UNDER FILE NUMBER 1981-27026, AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY R. DOUGLAS MCGEE & AS‐ SOCIATES, ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER FILE NUMBER 1981-31997 BOTH OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT, WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE THERETO. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 201 B LONG PLANTATION BOULEVARD, LAFAYETTE, LA 70508 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.90 SHERIFF'S SALE FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORA‐ TION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FREDDIE MAC SEASONED CREDIT RISK TRANSFER TRUST, SERIES 2022-1 Ver‐ sus No. 20264909 DEBO‐ RAH A. COLEMAN A/K/A DEBORAH COLEMAN 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ***WITH*** appraise‐ ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***OCTO‐ BER 21, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON THEREUNTO BELONGING, SITUATED IN LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT 48 OF AZALEA PARK SUBDIVI‐ SION, EXTENSION NUM‐ BER 1, WITH FURTHER DI‐ MENSIONS, BOUNDARIES, SHAPE, FORM, LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY OF SAID SUBDIVISION, DATED OCTOBER 28, 1971 PREPARED BY SELLERS, BARNES AND ASSOCI‐ ATES AND ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED ENTRY NO. 578127 OF THE RECORDS OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT’S OF‐ FICE. MUNICIPAL AD‐ DRESS: 414 MARIGOLD LOOP, LAFAYETTE, LA 70506 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 & OCTOBER 15, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.54

FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION Versus No. 20252199 BOOKER TERRIO AMOS A/K/A BOOKER AMOS AND BETTY PARISH AMOS A/K/A BETTY AMOS

Call to order

ORDINANCE ADOPTION

SITUATED IN THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, IN THAT SUB‐ DIVISION KNOWN AS MEADOW BEND SUBDIVI‐ SION, AND BEING DESIG‐ NATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAN OF SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND RECORDER OF SAID PARISH AND STATE, AS LOT NUMBER EIGHTYEIGHT (88), SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO SUCH SERVI‐ TUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP (“PROP‐ ERTY”). MUNICIPAL AD‐ DRESS: 210 WOODHAVEN RD., YOUNGSVILLE, LA 70592

SHERIFF'S SALE

(6:16:00) COMMENCEMENT

WELCOME AND CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS No Chair Announcements were made.

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of AMENDED SEIZURE AND SALE issued in the here‐ inabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash,

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

***WITHOUT*** ap‐ praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF GROUND, TOGETHER WITH ALL IMPROVE‐ MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ VANTAGES THEREUNTO BELONGING AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT FORTYTHREE (43) OF TRACT E OF LE TRIOMPHE, PHASE I, A SUBDIVISION OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY SELLERS, DUBROC & ASSOCIATES, INC., ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 85-22508 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AND MADE PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE, AND BEING DE‐ SCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ ING A FRONTAGE ON SPY‐ GLASS LANE AND HAVING SUCH DIMENSIONS, BOUNDARIES, BOUND‐ ARIES AND MEASURE‐ MENTS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. MUNICI‐ PAL ADDRESS: 301 SPY‐ GLASS LN., BROUSSARD, LA 70518 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.04 SHERIFF'S SALE FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION Versus No. 20256644 THANH VAN NGUYEN AND MY ANH LIEU AKA MY ANH LIEU NGUYEN 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ap‐ ***WITHOUT*** praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: ONE (1) CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL THE BUILDINGS AND IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON, SITUATED IN THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, IN THAT SUB‐ DIVISION KNOWN AS AM‐ BASSADOR GARDENS, AND BEING DESIGNATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAT OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND RECORDER OF SAID PARISH AND STATE, AS LOT 62, SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO SUCH SERVI‐ TUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP; SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS, SERVI‐ TUDES, RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OUTSTANDING MIN‐ ERAL RIGHTS OF RECORD AFFECTING THE PROP‐ ERTY. MUNICIPAL AD‐ DRESS: 106 GRANDMARK STREET, LAFAYETTE, LA 70506 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.11 SHERIFF'S SALE FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION Versus No. 20264757 ELIZABETH MARIE WOOTERS 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF LAFAYETTE STATE OF LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ***WITHOUT*** ap‐ praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***OCTO‐ BER 21, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON AND THEREUNTO BE‐ LONGING, SITUATED IN LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, BEING KNOWN AND DESIG‐ NATED AS LOT TWELVE (12) OF NITA HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION, PHASE II, WITH FURTHER DIMEN‐ SIONS, BOUNDARIES, SHAPE, FORM, LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY OF SAID SUBDIVISION, SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY EDMOND E. DUPRE, JR., INC., AT‐ TACHED TO THAT CER‐ TAIN ACT RECORDED UNDER FILE NUMBER 1984-19146 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT (SAID LOT 12 FORMERLY BEING PART OF NITA HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION, PHASE I, AS SHOWN ON AN EARLIER PLAT OF SUR‐ VEY PREPARED BY ED‐ MOND E. DUPRE, JR., INC., ATTACHED TO THAT CER‐ TAIN ACT RECORDED UNDER FILE NUMBER 1981-13894 OF RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT), WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE THERETO, WHICH HAS AN ADDRESS OF, 123 OCHO RIOS LANE, SCOTT, LA 70583. ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY THE FULL PURCHASE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 & OCTOBER 15,

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● 7A

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Legal Notices

PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL AND LAFAYETTE PARISH COUNCIL OF THE CITY-OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, TAKEN AT A SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 HELD AT 705 W. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA.

Fontenot reported that on Exhibit A within the internal memorandum packet presented to the Council, there was a housekeeping proposed. Naquin announced that he would offer it as a General Amendment. Gordon-Wiltz announced it would become General Amendment #53.

ATTENDANCE CITY COUNCIL: Kenneth P. Boudreaux (Chair, District 5), Liz W. Hebert (Vice-Chair, District 3), Elroy Broussard (District 1), Andy Naquin (District 2) and Thomas Hooks (District 4)

NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #53:

ABSENT: None

Chair Richard opened the floor to the Councilmembers to state any changes to the current General Amendments. There were none.

PARISH COUNCIL: Donald Richard (Chair, District 2), Ken Stansbury (ViceChair, District 3), Bryan Tabor (District 1), John Guilbeau (District 4) and AB Rubin (District 5) ABSENT: None COUNCIL STAFF: Joseph Gordon-Wiltz (Clerk of the Council), Cindy M. Semien (Associate Clerk for Legislative Affairs), Kelly Comeaux (Assistant Clerk for Legislative Affairs) and Jeremy Richardson (Associate Clerk for Operations and Citizen Advocacy) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: Monique B. Boulet (Mayor-President), Rachel Godeaux (Chief Administrative Officer), Karen Fontenot (Chief Financial Officer), and Robert A. Mahtook, Jr. (City-Parish Attorney) (5:18:00) COMMENCEMENT Call to order Parish Council Chair Richard, called the Special Joint Meeting and the Parish Council meeting of September 10, 2026 to order. City Council Chair Boudreaux, called the City Council Meeting of September 10, 2026 to order. AGENDA ITEM NO. 1: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance Parish Council Chair Richard called upon City Councilmember Naquin to cite the invocation and on Parish Councilmember Rubin to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. CHAIR ANNOUNCEMENTS Richard made the following announcements: - There will be a Special LPPA Meeting directly following this meeting, for the LPPA budget. - I would like to start off by reviewing how budget adoption generally works; - To begin, a motion and second are needed to place the initial ordinance, as presented, on the floor; - Separate amendments will be voted on individually with each requiring a motion and second from the relevant Council or both Councils; - General amendments will be offered in globo. (Vote by City Council & Parish Council). Staff will read all General Amendments for the viewing public before the vote; - Public Comment will be allowed on the single vote for general amendments and on each individual separate amendment; - Finally, when all of the amendments have been addressed, both general and separate, a vote will be taken to adopt the ordinance, as amended. - This is a Special Joint Meeting of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council. At times during the meeting, I may defer to the City Council Chair to preside over City Council matters. AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no Council Announcements. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3: EXECUTIVE/MAYOR-PRESIDENT’S REPORT Boulet’s announcements: • Thanked all for their efforts on the budget. Stated it was a long process and a lot of work. JOINT ORDINANCE FOR FINAL ADOPTION AGENDA ITEM NO. 4: JO-023-2026 A joint ordinance of the Lafayette City Council and the Lafayette Parish Council adopting an Operating & Five-Year Capital Improvement Budget of revenues and expenditures for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government for the fiscal year beginning November 1, 2026 and ending October 31, 2027 Motion to adopt by the Parish Council offered by Stansbury, seconded by Tabor. Motion to adopt by the City Council offered by Broussard, seconded by Naquin. Chair Richard opened the floor first to the Clerk to present any housekeeping amendments submitted by the Administration or amendments requested in advance by Councilmembers for consideration in-globo by the Parish Council. (Joseph read the Parish amendments to be considered in-globo) Fontenot reported that on Exhibit A within the internal memorandum packet presented to the Council, they had one (1) housekeeping amendment proposed for Finance. Fontenot reported that it is a City item to clean up some line items within Capital Outlay in Fund 4610 and 4850. Naquin offer it as a General Amendment. Gordon-Wiltz announced it would become General Amendment #53. SEPARATE AMENDMENTS: Richard then handled the remaining separate amendments one-by-one. PARISH STANSBURY – To fund the 5 FY 2026-2027capital requests made by Adult Corrections including Food Service Equipment, Washer/Dryers, Intake Equipment, Security Equipment, and Tools & Equipment from the Courthouse Complex Fund; Tabor objected (ADULT CORRECTION) Stansbury withdrew his Separate Amendment, therefore, no vote was necessary as it was no longer an amendment. SEPARATE AMENDMENT #1: PARISH RUBIN – Create a PARC O&M line item to fund summer camps in the amount of $90,000 from the Parish General Fund; Stansbury objected (PARC) PARISH COUNCIL A motion was offered by the Parish Council by Rubin. Motion died due to a lack of a second. NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #47: PARISH TABOR - To add $100,000 in capital reserve for each Parish Council District (COUNCIL) NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #48: PARISH TABOR - To add $100,000 in capital reserve for each Parish Council District (COUNCIL) PARISH TABOR - To add (1) Civil Engineer Aide Spec I position within the Operations-Engineering Division of the Drainage Department; 09-10-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (DRAINAGE) New General Amendments #47 and #48, Tabor stated that he would author both as General Amendments. NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #49: PARISH STANSBURY - Amendment to fund additional LPCC capital funding requests; WU #17, 09-10-2026 Amendment, as adjusted and provided by Finance; Author: Bryan Tabor (ADULT CORRECTION) Stansbury stated that he would offer Item #49 as a General Amendment. NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #50: JOINT STANSBURY - To reallocate (1) Facilities Maint Repairman add (1) Carpenter I and add (1) Painter II within the Capital Improvements - Facility Maintenance Division; 09-10-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (CID)

CITY NAQUIN – Housekeeping amendment to balance Funds 4610 and 4850 (FINANCE)

GENERAL AMENDMENTS: Richard asked for motions to take all General Amendments (1 – 53) in globo: PARISH COUNCIL A motion was offered by the Parish Council by Tabor, seconded by Stansbury, for the Parish Council to approve the general amendments, in globo. CITY COUNCIL A motion was offered by the City Council by Broussard, seconded by Hebert, for the City Council to approve the general amendments, in globo. Parish Council Chair Richard requested that staff read the entire list of General Amendments for the viewing/listening public. 1. JOINT - NAQUIN & TABOR – To create a new Radio Communications Fund, Division, and Section within the Department of Innovation & Technology and to transfer funding for radio communications; 08-062026 Amendment #1, as provided by Finance (IT) 2. CITY - HOOKS – Housekeeping amendment to transfer SaaS cost from Fund 1010 to “Road Striping Program” and “Vehicle Detection Equip” project, renamed “Traffic Signal Synchronization,” in Fund 4610; 08-062026 Housekeeping Amendment #2, as provided by Finance (IT) 3. JOINT - HOOKS & STANSBURY – To move parish crosswalk project from Fund 4610 to Fund 1050, and amend project names in Traffic, Roads & Bridges FY27 Proposed Capital Appropriations; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #3, as provided by Finance (TRB) 4. PARISH - GUILBEAU – Transferring funding for supplies & materials from capital to O&M; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #5, as provided by Finance (TRB) 5. CITY - BROUSSARD – Amendment to adjust the appropriation for Microtransit; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #6, as provided by Finance (TRB) 6. CITY - NAQUIN – To amend crosswalk project name within the Traffic, Roads & Bridges FY27 Proposed Capital Appropriations; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #4, as provided by Finance (TRB) 7. JOINT - RUBIN & HEBERT – To add (1) Civil Engineer Aide Specialist II position; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #8, as provided by Finance (CID) 8. JOINT - NAQUIN & TABOR –To adjust the budgeted amount of Contractual Services within the Code Enforcement Division of Environmental Quality; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #9, as provided by Finance (CID) 9. JOINT - STANSBURY & BROUSSARD – Transfer the Proposed FY27 budgeted line items from Capital Improvements - EQ Adjudication Bureau to Community Development & Planning – Adjudication Bureau due to adopted Reorg; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #10, as provided by Finance (CID) 10. CITY - HEBERT – Amendment to transfer $300,000 from Fund 1010 to Traffic Signal Synchronization project in Fund 4610; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #7, as provided by Finance (TRB) 11. JOINT - GUILBEAU & HEBERT – To adjust Printing & Binding expense for the budget book, due to printing cost increase; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #11, as provided by Finance (FINANCE) 12. CITY - HEBERT – To adjust the FY27 Police Retiree COLA estimate; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #12, as provided by Finance (FINANCE) 13. PARISH - RUBIN – To increase FY27 external appropriation for Lafayette Parish Service Officer; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #13, as provided by Finance (FINANCE) 14. CITY - NAQUIN – To move remaining balances from City Combined Bond Fund 4410 Bond Costs of Issuance to the correct Debt Service Sinking Fund per bond attorney’s advice; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #14, as provided by Finance (FINANCE) 15. JOINT - TABOR & HOOKS – To adjust the salary of (1) Chief Communications Officer within the Office of the Mayor-President; 08-062026 Housekeeping Amendment #17, as provided by Finance (MP) 16. JOINT - NAQUIN & STANSBURY – To add (1) Time and Attendance Specialist within the Human Resources Department; 08-06-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #18, as provided by Finance (CAO) 17. CITY - HEBERT - To adjust the salary, benefit and promotion line items of the City Marshal’s Office to align with the Proposed City Marshal Pay Plan; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #17, as provided by Finance (CITY MARSHAL) 18. JOINT - HEBERT - Adjust the salary and benefits of the City Court Judges to correspond with a Statewide Judicial Salary Increase; 0811-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #18, as provided by Finance (CITY COURT) 19. CITY - HEBERT -Housekeeping amendment to correct Building Maintenance account description; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #19, as provided by Finance (PARC) 20. CITY - HEBERT - Housekeeping amendment to amend project name within the PARC Dept.’s FY27 Proposed Capital Appropriations; 08-112026 Housekeeping Amendment #20, as provided by Finance (PARC) 21. CITY - HEBERT - Amendment to add new account line items for each coterie & to add new coterie Washington Heights; 08-11-2026 Wrap-Up Amendment #1, as provided by Finance (CDP) 22. CITY - HEBERT - Amendment to allocate $100,000 in capital funding for Acadiana Center for the Arts; 08-11-2026 Wrap-Up Amendment #6, as provided by Finance (CDP) 23. CITY - HEBERT - To move the $1,900,000 appropriation from Aerial Truck to Pumper Trucks and to change name from PUMPER-RPL1 to PUMPER-RPL3; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (FIRE) 24. CITY - NAQUIN - Amendment to increase rent expense for Moss St. Customer Service location; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #21, as provided by Finance (LUS) 25. CITY - NAQUIN - Housekeeping: To correct the salaries and benefits cost of (1) Electric Reliability Supervisor within the Regulatory Compliance Division – Electric Reliability Section; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #22, as provided by Finance (LUS) 26. CITY - NAQUIN - Housekeeping: To correct the salaries and benefits accounts within the Environmental Compliance Division of the Utilities Department; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #23, as provided by Finance (LUS) 27. CITY - NAQUIN - Amendment to add Backflow Preventers project to normal capital outlay; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #24, as provided by Finance (LUS) 28. CITY - NAQUIN - To amend LUS’s FY27-31 5-year CIP; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #25, as provided by Finance (LUS)

NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #51:

29. CITY - NAQUIN - To add (1) Communications Sales Representative within the Sales & Marketing Division and add promotional dollars to promote (1) Customer Service Supervisor to (1) Communications Customer Service Manager within the Customer Service Division, and to reduce project #27 in the Communications System 5 Year Capital schedule in order to balance; 08-11-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #26, as provided by Finance (LFT FIBER)

CITY BROUSSARD - To reallocate (1) Maintenance Worker to add (1) Painter I within the Operations & Maintenance Division of PARC; 09-10-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (PARC)

30. PARISH - GUILBEAU - To adjust expense accounts in anticipation of FY27 election costs; 08-13-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #30, as provided by Finance (REG OF VOTERS)

NEW GENERAL AMENDMENT #52:

31. PARISH - GUILBEAU - To add appropriation for Juvenile Detention Facility millage renewal election expense; 08-13-2026 Housekeeping Amendment #31, as provided by Finance (JUVENILE DETENTION)

Stansbury stated that he would offer Item #50 as a General Amendment.

CITY BROUSSARD - To add $100,000 Traffic Calming project in City District 1; Author: Elroy Broussard (TRB) Broussard stated that he would offer Items #51 and #52 as General Amendments.

32. PARISH - GUILBEAU - Amendment to increase external appropriation to the LA Cooperative Extension Service by $7,500 to fund internship program; 08-13-2026 Amendment Request by Council, as provided by Finance (COUNTY AGENT)

Legal Notices

33. PARISH - TABOR & RICHARD - Eliminate $13,319 appropriation to line item 1050-9130-890000-000000 CAPITAL OUTLAY and use $5,000 of that amount to increase line item 1050-9130-760100-EXT047 EXT APPACAD DIST LIVESTOCK to $20,000 on page 281 (COUNTY AGENT) 34. PARISH - RUBIN - Amendment to transfer remaining funds from completed FY24 Millcreek Drainage project to Coulee MaintenanceUnimproved Coulee project; 08-27-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (DRAINAGE) 35. PARISH - STANSBURY - Amendment to increase supplies & materials appropriation by $2,992 (JP/CONST) 36. JOINT - NAQUIN - Housekeeping amendment to increase funding for auditing fees; 08-27-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (VARIOUS) 37. JOINT - NAQUIN - To allocate promotional dollars within the Vehicle Maintenance Division for the Fleet Mechanic I and Fleet Mechanic II apprenticeship program; 08-27-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (TRB) 38. CITY - NAQUIN - Housekeeping amendment to increase capital funding for tasers; 08-27-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (CITY MARSHAL) 39. CITY - NAQUIN - Housekeeping amendment to remove vehicle lease appropriations from Fund 4850 that are grant funded; 08-27-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (CDP) 40. CITY - BOUDREAUX - Amendment to separate the operations and capital of three coteries created in GA #21 (WU #1); Author: Elroy Broussard (CDP) 41. CITY - BOUDREAUX - Amendment to appropriate $1,000,000 from the City General Fund for City Hall restroom renovations and sewer improvements, with any remaining funds allocated for improvements to employee break areas; Author: Andy Naquin (COUNCIL) 42. CITY - BOUDREAUX - To add (1) Golf Operations and Agronomy Coordinator within the Golf Course Division of PARC; Author: Kenneth Boudreaux (PARC) 43. CITY - BOUDREAUX - Amendment to create external appropriations for disaster housing reserve and for homeless prevention and rapid rehousing; Author: Kenneth Boudreaux (FINANCE) 44. CITY - BOUDREAUX - Amendment to appropriate $500,000 from the City General Fund in order to increase the appropriation to FY25 Mouton Park capital project; Author: Kenneth Boudreaux (PARC) 45. CITY - NAQUIN-REVISED - Amendment to transfer funds from City General to PARC Department for public facilities maintenance and golf course maintenance capital projects; Author: Kenneth Boudreaux (PARC) 46. CITY - BOUDREAUX – Amendment to transfer $1,000,000 from City General Fund to the PARC Department for tennis facilities maintenance; Author: Liz Hebert (PARC) 47. PARISH - TABOR - To add $100,000 in capital reserve for each Parish Council District (COUNCIL) 48. PARISH - TABOR - To add (1) Civil Engineer Aide Spec I position within the Operations-Engineering Division of the Drainage Department; 09-102026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (DRAINAGE) 49. PARISH - STANSBURY - Amendment to fund additional LPCC capital funding requests; WU #17, 09-10-2026 Amendment, as adjusted and provided by Finance; Author: Bryan Tabor (ADULT CORRECTION) 50. JOINT - STANSBURY - To reallocate (1) Facilities Maint Repairman add (1) Carpenter I and add (1) Painter II within the Capital Improvements Facility Maintenance Division; 09-10-2026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (CID) 51. CITY - BROUSSARD - To reallocate (1) Maintenance Worker to add (1) Painter I within the Operations & Maintenance Division of PARC; 09-102026 Housekeeping Amendment, as provided by Finance (PARC) 52. CITY - BROUSSARD - To add $100,000 Traffic Calming project in City District 1; Author: Elroy Broussard (TRB) 53. CITY - NAQUIN – Housekeeping amendment to balance Funds 4610 and 4850 (FINANCE) Richard called for Comments from the Public on the General Amendments. There were no comments from the public. PARISH COUNCIL To approve the General Amendments, in globo (1 thru 53) by the Parish Council, the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion to approve the general amendments, in globo, was approved. CITY COUNCIL To approve the General Amendments (1 thru 53) by the City Council, the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion to approve the general amendments, in globo, was approved. Guilbeau asked if it was too late to ask for money for AOC or to waive their rent. Fontenot stated that it was not too late. Goudeaux announced that Legal advised that the rent could not be waived because the building is a federal building. Naquin made a motion to allocate $150,000 from general funds for AOC. Hebert and Hooks objected. Boulet stated support for AOC and that she would like at other ways to assist them. Naquin withdrew his motion. FINAL ADOPTION VOTE ON ORDINANCE NO. JO-023-2026, AS AMENDED COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC With all amendments being addressed, Richard called for comments from the public on the ordinance as amended. There were no public comments. PARISH COUNCIL The Parish Council Chair Richard then called a vote, from the Parish Council, on Ordinance No. JO-023-2026, as amended, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Tabor, Richard, Stansbury, Guilbeau, Rubin NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion by the Parish Council, to adopt, as amended, was approved. CITY COUNCIL The City Council Chair Boudreaux then called a vote, from the City Council, on Ordinance No. JO-023-2026, as amended, and the vote was as follows: YEAS: Broussard, Naquin, Hebert, Hooks, Boudreaux NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None Motion by the City Council, to adopt, as amended, was approved. Boudreaux thanked all for a job well done including the Council staff. Richard also congratulated all for their hard work and gave thanks as well to the Council staff. (6:14:00) ADJOURN There being no further business, City Council Chair Boudreaux declared the City Council Meeting adjourned. Parish Council Chair Richard declared the Parish Council Meeting and the Special Joint Meeting of the Councils adjourned. /s/ Joseph Gordon-Wiltz JOSEPH GORDON-WILTZ LAFAYETTE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL

200787-687737-sept 17-1t $ 529.20

8A ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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LOW

0.00” 2.37” 2.96” 46.16” 46.64”

2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.90 SHERIFF'S SALE HUNTERS FOREST CON‐ DOMINIUM OWNERS AS‐ SOCIATION INC Versus 20258186 FIRST No. STONE INVESTMENTS LLC 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of FI FA issued in the here‐ entitled and inabove numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash, ap‐ ***WITHOUT*** praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON AND ALL THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVILEGES AND THERETO SERVITUDES BEING PERTAINING, AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS UNIT NO. 24 OF HUNTER’S FOREST CON‐ DOMINIUMS, BEING A CONDOMINIUM PARCEL, AN UNDI‐ INCLUDING VIDED INTEREST IN THE COMMON ELEMENTS, AS DEFINED BY THE CONDO‐ DECLARATION MINIUM OF HUNTER’S FOREST FILED CONDOMINIUMS, RECORD UNDER OF NO. 83-18614, ENTRY RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, PARISH, FURTHER DE‐ BEING SCRIBED ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY EDMOND R. DUPRE, JR., DATED NO‐ VEMBER 3, 1982, REVISED APRIL 21, 1983, SAID PLAT OF SURVEY BEING AT‐ TACHED TO AND MADE A PART OF THE ABOVE DE‐ SCRIBED CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION, SAID CON‐ DOMINIUM DECLARATION REVISED BY THAT CER‐ TAIN AMENDMENT TO DECLA‐ CONDOMINIUM RATION DATED JULY 13, 1983 AND FILED UNDER ENTRY NO. 85-14417 OF RECORDS OF THE PARISH, LAFAYETTE MUNICIPAL LOUISIANA. ADDRESS: 100 TEAL LANE #24, LAFAYETTE, LA 70507 PURCHASING ANYONE PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.90 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. 20264359 GREGORY MOU‐ A/K/A GREGORY TON MOUTON CARMICHAEL AND NAKESHA R. MOU‐ A/K/A NAKESHA TON TRAHAN MOUTON 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and ap‐ ***WITHOUT*** praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: ONE (1) CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL THE AND IM‐ BUILDINGS PROVEMENTS THEREON, SITUATED IN THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, IN THAT SUB‐ KNOWN AS DIVISION MOSS BLUFF, PHASE I, AND BEING DESIGNATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAN OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND RECORDER OF SAID PARISH AND STATE, AS LOT NUMBER EIGHTYTHREE (83), SAID SUBDI‐ VISION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO SUCH SERVI‐ TUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP. MORE DESCRIBED CORRECTLY AS FOLLOWS: ONE. (1) CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TOGETHER WITH ALL THE BUILDINGS IMPROVEMENTS AND THEREON, SITUATED IN PARISH OF THE LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, IN THAT SUB‐ KNOWN AS DIVISION MOSS BLUFF, PHASE 1, AND BEING DESIGNATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAN OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND RECORDER OF SAID PARISH AND STATE, AS LOT NUMBER EIGHTYTHREE (83), SAID SUBDI‐ VISION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO SUCH SERVI‐ TUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP (“PROP‐ ERTY”). MUNICIPAL AD‐ 214 ELWICK DRESS: DRIVE, LAFAYETTE, LA 70507 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $39.47 SHERIFF'S SALE NEWREZ LLC Versus No. ROCKY 20261711 LEBLANC (A/K/A ROCKY WAYNE LEBLANC) AND JESSICA LEBLANC (A/K/A DELATTE JESSICA LEBLANC) 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and ap‐ ***WITHOUT*** praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at bli i h

Public Notices Sheriff Sales g public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THOSE CERTAIN TRACTS OR PARCELS OF LAND, WITH ALL TOGETHER PARTS, COMPONENT LYING AND BEING SITU‐ ATED IN THE CITY OF YOUNGSVILLE, LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, IN SECTION 17, TOWNSHIP 11 SOUTH, RANGE 5 EAST AND BEING AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 132 OF SUGARLAND ESTATES, AS SHOWN ON A PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY PAUL L. MIERS ENGINEER‐ ING, L.L.C., DATED NO‐ 6, 2007, VEMBER RECORDED IN LAFAYETTE PARISH FILE NO. 20084772, AND MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE THERETO. WHICH HAS THE ADDRESS OF 101 FOX ROAD, HILL YOUNGSVILLE, LA 70592 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.04 SHERIFF'S SALE ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC No. 20263727 Versus DEMOUCHET AKEEM (A/K/A AKEEM P. DE‐ AKEEM MOUCHET, PHILLIP DEMOUCHET) 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and ap‐ ***WITHOUT*** praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: ONE (1) CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL THE AND IM‐ BUILDINGS PROVEMENTS THEREON, SITUATED IN THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA, IN THAT SUB‐ KNOWN AS DIVISION PAIGE PLACE, PHASE 1, AND BEING DESIGNATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAT OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND RECORDER OF SAID PARISH AND STATE, AS LOT 59, SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO SUCH SERVI‐ TUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP. WHICH HAS THE ADDRESS OF 103 PAIGE PLACE, BROUS‐ SARD, LA 70518. ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $32.83 SHERIFF'S SALE MORTGAGE STANDARD Versus CORPORATION 20262944 TRACY No. MARIE BROWN 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and appraise‐ ***WITH*** ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public at the auction, LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on ***OCTO‐ WEDNESDAY, BER 21, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON AND ALL THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVILEGES AND THERETO SERVITUDES BEING PERTAINING, AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 34 OF BLOCK 5 OF NORTHSIDE SUBDIVISION, A SUBDIVI‐ OF LAFAYETTE SION PARISH, LOUISIANA, AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY DATED JANUARY 4, 1950, PREPARED BY C. K. LAN‐ RECORDED GLINAIS, UNDER ACT NO. 238395 OF THE RECORDS OF PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, AND MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ THERETO, AND ENCE HAVING SUCH DIMEN‐ SIONS, MEASUREMENTS AND BOUNDARIES AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 157 DRIVE, SHERWOOD LAFAYETTE, LA 70501 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 & OCTOBER 15, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.69 SHERIFF'S SALE MORTGAGE STANDARD Versus CORPORATION No. 20264829 GUY MCNEIL JR., HEIR OF GUY MCNEIL, III 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale and sell for cash,

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

***WITH*** appraise‐ ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public at the auction, LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on ***OCTO‐ WEDNESDAY, BER 21, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND. TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON THEREUNTO BE‐ AND LONGING SITUATED IN PARISH. LAFAYETTE BEING LOUISIANA, AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 65 OF HIGHLAND RIDGE SUBDI‐ VISION WITH FURTHER BOUND‐ DIMENSIONS. ARIES, SHAPE FORM, LO‐ CATION AND CONFIGURA‐ TION AS SHOWN ON THAT CERT AIN PLAT OF SUR‐ VEY OF SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION DATED JUNE 16, 2005, LAST REVISED ON 11, 2006, SEPTEMBER PREPARED BY WALTER S. COMEAUX, II AND AT‐ TACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2006-43684 OF THE OF THE RECORDS PARISH LAFAYETTE CLERK OF COURT. MUNIC‐ IPAL ADDRESS: 109 SUM‐ CREST DRIVE, MIT YOUNGSVILLE, LA 70592 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 & OCTOBER 15, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.69 SHERIFF'S SALE STONE BANK Versus No. 20261626 SPARKLES CAR WASH LLC 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and appraise‐ ***WITH*** ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public at the auction, LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OF GROUND TOGETHER WILL ALL BUILDINGS AND IM‐ PROVEMENTS AND THE PARTS COMPONENT THEREOF, SITUATED IN SECTION 48 AND/OR 49, 9 SOUTH, TOWNSHIP 4 EAST, RANGE PARISH, LAFAYETTE AND AC‐ LOUISIANA, CORDING TO A PLAT OF SURVEY BY A.R. YANDLE DATED OCTOBER 31, 1950, A COPY OF WHICH IS AT‐ TACHED TO THAT CER‐ TAIN ACT FILED UNDER NO. 253673, ENTRY RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, IS AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 1 OF DAN DEBAILLON SUBDIVISION, SAID LOT HAVING A FRONTAGE OF 102.6 FEET,

TODAY

REAdING 42 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

FT.

HIGH

0.8 --- --1.9 7:08p 0.5 2.2 1:30p 0.4 1.9 5:11p 0.4 1.5 2:07p 0.3 1.9 12:30p 0.3 1.8 3:09p 0.4

FT.

---------------

LOW

FT.

---------------

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 Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

4:44a 10:57a 5:36a 11:49a 6:27a 12:15a 7:15a 1:02a 8:00a 1:48a 8:43a 2:31a 9:24a 3:13a

City

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

TODAY

92 89 86 94 81 91 97 77 92

74 74 71 81 65 68 74 66 73

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

MORE OR LESS, ON MOSS STREET, BY A DEPTH BE‐ TWEEN PARALLEL LINES OF 253 FEET, MORE OR AND BEING LESS, BOUNDED, NOW OR FOR‐ MERLY, NORTH BY LOT 2 OF SAID SUBDIVISION, WEST BY PART OF LOT 31 OF SAID SUBDIVISION, EAST BY MOSS STREET, AND SOUTH BY DAN (NOW JUDGE STREET DRIVE). LESS AND EX‐ CEPT: PARCEL #8-1 CON‐ TAINING 1,208.3 SQUARE FEET, MORE OR LESS, CONVEYED TO THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANS‐ PORTATION AND DEVEL‐ OPMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA BY SALE DATED FEBRUARY 14, 1979 AND FILED UNDER ENTRY NO. 79-4615, RECORDS OF PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA. AND THAT CERTAIN LOT OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH IMPROVEMENTS AND AND THE COMPONENT PARTS THEREOF, SITU‐ ATED IN SECTION 48 AND/OR 49, TOWNSHIP 9 SOUTH, RANGE 4 EAST, PARISH, LAFAYETTE AND AC‐ LOUISIANA, CORDING TO A PLAT OF SURVEY BY A.R. YANDLE DATED OCTOBER 31, 1950, A COPY OF WHICH IS AT‐ TACHED TO THAT CER‐ TAIN ACT FILED UNDER NO. 253673, ENTRY RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, IS AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 2 OF DAN DEBAILLON SUBDIVISION, SAID LOT HAVING A FRONTAGE OF 102.6 FEET, MORE OR LESS, ON MOSS STREET, BY A DEPTH BE‐ TWEEN PARALLEL LINES OF 253 FEET, MORE OR AND BEING LESS, BOUNDED, NOW OR FOR‐ MERLY, NORTH BY LOT 3, SOUTH BY LOT 1, EAST BY MOSS STREET, AND WEST BY LOT 31. LESS AND EX‐ CEPT: PARCEL #8-2 CON‐ TAINING 1,026.9 SQUARE FEET, MORE OR LESS, CONVEYED TO THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANS‐ PORTATION AND DEVEL‐ OPMENT OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA BY SALE DATED FEBRUARY 14, 1979 AND FILED UNDER ENTRY NO. 79-4614, RECORDS OF PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA. SAID LOTS ARE CONTIGU‐ AND TOGETHER OUS CONTAIN 1.133 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, AND ARE SHOWN AND DEPICTED AS THE NEW LOT 1 OF DAN DEBAILLON SUBDIVI‐ SION, ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT DATED AUGUST 31, PREPARED BY 2022 RICHARD C. SPIKES, INC. ATTACHED HERETO BY THEREOF, REFERENCE FORMERLY KNOWN AS LOT 1-A ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY MONTAG‐ NET AND DOMINIGUE, INC. DATED APRIL 29, 2011, REVISED JUNE 1, 2011, A COPY OF WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THAT ACT FILED CERTAIN UNDER 2011-27734, AN‐ OTHER REVISION WAS DONE SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 DEPICTING LOTS AS 1-A-1 AND 1-A-2, A COPY OF WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THAT CERTAIN ACT FILED UNDER 2016-36527 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, PARISH, WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE THERETO, AND HAVE SUCH FUR‐ MEASUREMENTS, THER BOUNDARIES, CONFIGU‐ RATIONS AND DIMEN‐ SIONS AS MORE FULLY SHOWN AND DESCRIBED ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY AND BEING MORE PAR‐ TICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:

GOOd

SOURCE: LOUISIANA dEQ ANd AIRNOW.GOV

5:09p 11:22p 6:02p ---6:52p 12:39p 7:40p 1:27p 8:24p 2:12p 9:07p 2:55p 9:47p 3:35p

s t pc pc t s t pc t

91 88 85 102 78 91 94 78 90

FRI. Lo

73 71 64 81 58 69 76 67 76

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

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

YESTERDAY GOOd

PRECIPITATION

93°/77° 89°/71° 92°/73° 100° in 1933 48° in 1902

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

New Orleans 92/74

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

Hattiesburg 95/65

Alexandria 96/67

Lafayette 95/68

LOW

94° 74°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 96/66

Many 96/67

LOW

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Wednesday

Longview 99/72

-0s

93° 73°

Monroe 99/68

Shreveport 99/70

-10s

LOW

A small craft advisory is in effect between High Island, Texas, and the lower Atchafalaya River out into the Gulf until late this afternoon. It was issued due to easterly winds of 25 mph with gust to 30 mph and 3- to 7-foot seas. These conditions are hazardous for small craft. Otherwise, expect a sunny, hot and breezy day. The air is dry, so humidity is very low. Temperatures this afternoon will rise to the mid-90s, the UV index is at the very high level and no rain is expected today or tomorrow.

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

BEGINNING AT A POINT ON THE WESTERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF MOSS STREET, SAID POINT BEING THE COR‐ NORTHEASTERLY NER OF LOT 2 OF DAN DE‐ SUBDIVISION: BAILLON WITH SAID THENCE RIGHT OF WAY OF MOSS STREET S 00° 09’ 00” W – 176.59’ FEET TO A POINT FOR CORNER: THENCE ALONG A CURVE TO THE RIGHT FOR A DISTANCE OF 44.15 FEET (RADIUS = 27.00’, CH = S 46° 59’ 22” W – 39.39’) TO A POINT FOR CORNER. SAID POINT ON THE BEING NORTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF JUDGE DRIVE; WITH SAID THENCE RIGHT OF WAY OF JUDGE DRIVE N 86° 10’ 16” W – 214.50 FEET TO A POINT FOR CORNER: THENCE N 01° 03’ 42” E – 205.20 FEET TO A POINT FOR CORNER: THENCE S 86° 10’ 16” E – 240.02’ TO THE POINT OF MUNICIPAL BEGINNING. ADDRESS: 3701 MOSS STREET, LAFAYETTE, LA 70501 THIS PROPERTY WAS OFFERED PREVIOUSLY APPRAISEMENT, WITH BUT NO BIDS WERE RE‐ CEIVED, SO THE SALE WILL BE OFFERED AT COST AND ACCORDING TO LAW. ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $68.42 SHERIFF'S SALE U.S. BANK TRUST NA‐ ASSOCIATION, TIONAL NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF THE TRU‐ MAN 2021 SC9 TITLE Versus No. TRUST 20246571 WES MITCHELL CONROY 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and appraise‐ ***WITH*** ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public at the auction, LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL IMPROVE‐ WITH MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ THEREUNTO VANTAGES BELONGING AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT THREE (3) AND EASTERLY 1’ OF LOT FOUR (4) OF WINDY HEIGHTS, A SUBDIVISION THE PARISH OF OF LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE, ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY R.C. SPIKES, ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NOS. 7725875 AND 79-31113 AND

t t pc s pc t t pc 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

WED. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

-2.83 15.16 18.46 6.67 3.82 2.94 2.43

+0.84 -0.21 -0.25 +0.22 -0.06 +0.02 -0.77

15.77

-0.24

-1.60

-0.06

18 29 8

-1.02 9.95 2.20

none -0.02 +0.10

13 15

1.74 0.70

-0.95 -0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.40 4.07 3.14 3.06 2.90 2.10

-0.03 -0.10 +0.04 -0.13 -0.10 -0.22

data as of 7 a.m. Wednesday

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE, AND BEING DESCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ ING A FRONTAGE OF 100 FEET ON HERITAGE DRIVE, HAVING SUCH AND DIMENSIONS, OTHER BOUNDARIES AND MEA‐ AS ARE SUREMENTS MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. AND THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL IMPROVE‐ WITH MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ THEREUNTO VANTAGES BELONGING, AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT FOUR (4), LESS AND EXCEPT THE WESTERLY MOST SIXTY-EIGHT FEET (68’) OF LOT FOUR (4), AND LESS AND EXCEPT THE EASTERLY MOST ONE FOOT (1) OF LOT FOUR (4) OF WINDY HEIGHTS, A OF THE SUBDIVISION PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY BY R.C. PREPARED SPIKES, ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NOS. 7725875 AND 79-31113 AND MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE, AN BEING DESCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ ING A THIRTY-ONE FOOT (31’) FRONTAGE ON HER‐ ITAGE DRIVE, AND HAV‐ ING SUCH OTHER DIMEN‐ SIONS, BOUNDARIES AND MEASUREMENTS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY; SUBJECT TO RESTRIC‐ SERVITUDES, TIONS, AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY OUTSTANDING MINERAL RIGHTS OF RECORD AF‐ FECTING THE PROPERTY. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 105 DRIVE, HERITAGE YOUNGSVILLE, LA 70592 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $46.12 SHERIFF'S SALE VILLAGE CAPITAL & IN‐ VESTMENT LLC Versus No. 20264078 KRISTIN SONNIER 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and ap‐ ***WITHOUT*** praisement, to the last and highest bidder, at public auction, at the LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 23, 2026***, the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS, THEREON THEREUNTO BE‐ AND LONGING, SITUATED IN PARISH, LAFAYETTE BEING LOUISIANA, KNOWN AND DESIG‐

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

NATED LOT FIFTY-NINE (59) OF OSSUN HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION, PHASE II, SAID PROPERTY HAVING A FRONTAGE OF 66.00 FEET, MORE OR LESS, ON GERMAN LANE, WITH THE DIMENSIONS, FURTHER SHAPE, BOUNDARIES, FORM, LOCATION AND AS CONFIGURATION SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY OF SAID SUBDIVISION DATED MARCH 5, 1982, REVISED MAY 3, 1982, PREPARED BY CAFFREY, PATE & REAUX ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 8218806, OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT (“PROP‐ ERTY”). MUNICIPAL AD‐ 204 GERMAN DRESS: LANE, LAFAYETTE, LA 70507 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: AUGUST 20, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.33

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

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One Acadiana launches SpaceX resource

The site will also have informawill offer key project help bring this transformational SpaceX is expected to employ Online hub set up for spacex, details, anticipated timelines, investment to our region, but at least 3,000 over the next 10 tion about Source Louisiana, the residents, businesses frequently asked questions and securing the project was only years with an average salary of state’s online database connect-

resources for businesses interested in becoming suppliers for SpaceX, One Acadiana officials Acadiana business editor announced Wednesday morning. It will be updated throughout One Acadiana has created an online resource hub for residents the $100 billion project in the Peand businesses seeking informa- can Island area that is expected tion regarding the SpaceX proj- to be ready to launch rockets possibly by late 2029. ect in Vermilion Parish. “One Acadiana was proud to The site, oneacadiana.com/

BY ADAM DAIGLE

the beginning of our work,” One Acadiana President and CEO Troy Wayman said. “A project of this magnitude will make a signiﬁcant economic impact on Vermilion Parish and our surrounding parishes, and it is important that our businesses and communities have access to clear, reliable information as it moves forward.”

$92,600. The project is expected to include ﬁve launch complexes that will each have two launch pads and a propellant farm. It will also include a propellant production facility, power generation, vehicle processing and residential housing for employees and their families.

ing Louisiana businesses with contract and vendor opportunities associated with major economic development projects. SpaceX has joined Source Louisiana, and businesses can use the site for potential contracting opportunities. Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@ theadvocate.com.

Meeting on ‘loop’ proposal is set Commission to discuss expressway possibilities

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

PROVIdEd PHOTO By BRyON TAyLOR

Romey Roe, left, with 2027 Miss America Regan Hutsell, wearing a custom Roe dress, close out the New york Fashion Week.

‘A PART OF OUR IDENTITY’

A meeting of the Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission has been scheduled to reopen discussion on building part of a loop in western Lafayette Parish, which may beneﬁt Elon Musk’s proposed SpaceX rocket launch site in neighboring Vermilion Parish. Elaine Abell, chairwoman of the commission, has called a meeting for 9 a.m. Sept. 29 in the conference room at the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, 211 E. Devalcourt St. in Lafayette. For years there had been discussion about building a loop around Lafayette, much like other cities in Louisiana have. The commission was created in 2003 by the state Legislature to guide the project. Abell told The Acadiana Advocate recently that it may not be feasible at this time to build the entire loop, but the commission may focus on building the western

ä See MEETING, page 4B

La. designer closes Fashion Week show with new Miss America BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Lafayette designer Nathan Walker, known professionally as Romey Roe, took his latest collection to New York Fashion Week — and shared the runway with the newly crowned Miss America. Regan Hutsell, who was crowned Miss America 2027 on Sept. 6, closed Walker’s show in a custom Romey Roe red gown before joining him on the runway at Gotham Hall. Walker debuted his latest collection, “Botanical Armor,” at The Bureau during New York Fashion Week. The gown was custom-made for Hutsell in a matter of days leading up to the show

after she tried on several Romey Roe designs. Walker said the red gown ultimately stood out because of how comfortable Hutsell felt wearing it and because it represented the brand’s identity through its signature red, hand-beaded details and classic silhouette with a reimagined structure. The collection was inspired by the idea of walking through a beautiful garden that is both living and dying at the same time, representing the ﬂow of life. “You walk through a garden, and you see beautiful patches, and then you’ll see mud and messy patches, and maybe a tree kind of dying,” Walker said. The show was also about demonstrat-

ing what Louisiana creatives could accomplish on a national stage. Much of the team that traveled to New York, including models and hair and makeup professionals, came from Louisiana, with some from Acadiana and New Orleans. “Louisiana really being a part of our identity and the identity of this show is really something that’s important to me,” Walker said. The Miss America partnership was not Walker’s ﬁrst connection with the organization. He previously designed a gown for Cassie Donegan, Miss America 2026, who wore a custom Romey Roe design to the Go Red for Women

ä See DESIGNER, page 4B

Three cited for alligator harvesting violations Two parishes see separate incidents

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

Three men were cited recently by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents for alligator harvesting violations in two separate incidents. Kim Reagan, 46, of Franklin, was cited for taking an alligator without a license and for intentional concealment of wildlife, according to a LDWF news release. Agents received a complaint that someone had shot an alligator on his property along Franklin Canal in St. Mary Parish.

Officers made contact with Reagan on Sept. 10 and found a dead alligator tied up to the bank with brush placed over the carcass to conceal it. Reagan admitted he shot the alligator several days earlier with a .22-caliber rifle, according to the news release. He did not possess a license to legally shoot the alligator. Intentionally concealing wildlife carries a $900-$950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Taking an alligator without a license carries a $250-$500 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Reagan also faces civil restitution totaling $250 for the illegally taken alligator. In another incident, LDWF

agents received a complaint about illegal alligator hunting in West Fork Bayou in St. Martin Parish. A LDWF agent patrolled the area on Sept. 3 and set up surveillance on a line with a live 5-foot alligator on it. The agent then observed two men check the line and cut the alligator loose, according to the news release. Blair Weber, 47, of Brusly, and Clifford Legrange, 77, of Plaquemine, admitted to cutting the line with the live alligator, according to the release. Louisiana alligator hunting regulators require hunters to inspect their hooks and lines daily and remove all captured alligators. Hooks and lines must be removed

once a hunter’s quota has been reached. If a hunter captures an alligator after having met his quota, he is required to release the alligator in the most humane manner possible. This rule is designed to prevent releasing smaller animals to keep only the biggest, most valuable ones, according to LDWF. Cutting a live alligator from a line before reaching the hunter’s quota carries up to a $350 ﬁne. Agents participating in these cases are Senior Agent Carl Reed, Trevor Benoit and Patrick Stansbury, Lt. Jeremy Foret and Agent Gage Naquin. Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.

ST. LANDRY

Parish getting $120M in state funding

Money slated for infrastructure, healthcare BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

State legislators Gerald Boudreaux and Dustin Miller outlined more than $120 million in state funding for St. Landry Parish during a town hall Tuesday in Opelousas, with the money supporting a range of infrastructure, healthcare and economic development projects. “Funding at this level has never been achieved before,” Boudreaux told the crowd. The funding will support ongoing and future projects throughout the parish, with transportation, healthcare and economic development among the primary focuses of the evening. The event also provided a means to connect constituents directly

ä See FUNDING, page 4B

2B ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

Panel on health of Atchafalaya Basin needs to get to work Amid the many crises southern Louisiana faces, one that is often overlooked is the declining health of the Atchafalaya Basin. A vast area of wetlands that stretches from Simmesport in central Louisiana to Morgan City about 140 miles to the south, where it empties into the Gulf, would seem hard to ignore. But that, sadly, seems to be what has been happening. It’s anchored by Baton Rouge to the east and Lafayette to the west, and the only time many city dwellers think about the basin is when crossing the infamous 18.2-mile bridge that connects the two cities. It isn’t often in the discussion of our state’s priorities. That could change when a panel created by the state Legislature starts looking at the threats facing the area. The Joint Legislative Committee on Atchafalaya Basin Water Quality will hear from public and private interests concerned about the future of hunting, fishing and economic activity in the area. It was supposed to meet earlier this month at the State Capitol, but failed to reach a quorum. That’s unfortunate. We hope that doesn’t indicate that the basin is once again on the cusp of being forgotten. We have high hopes for the panel, which was created in response to hunters and fishers in the area who are seeing increased sedimentation, stagnant water and invasive species affecting the wildlife and habitat. It is expected to issue its recommendations by April 1. At 100 million acres, the basin is larger than the Florida Everglades, its much more heavily protected little brother. In fact, it’s North America’s largest river swamp and contiguous hardwood bottomland forest. If trees are the lungs of the Earth, our wetlands are often called the kidneys, filtering out toxic pollutants from water upriver to deliver clean water to lakes, rivers and streams nearby. They also act as a brake for storm winds and a drain for storm waters. We know the basin has also been a working swamp, with oil and gas development leading to miles of pipeline cut through its brackish waters and commercial crawfish producers relying on its bounty. So we recognize there are many competing interests to balance. Some basin advocates want answers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about flood control structures they believe are blocking the flow of water into the basin, making sedimentation worse. We hope this panel gets those answers. We are also glad that the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is looking to create a master plan for the basin. A lot of credit must go to groups like the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and the Louisiana Wildlife Federation who’ve been sounding the alarm for many years — their cries often falling on deaf ears. This panel should get to work and let them know someone — finally — is listening.

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Powers that be threaten to destroy way of life in St. Bernard

Churches should study ways to cope with active shooters The front-page article on Sept. 13, “’This is where we are’ — with increased security churches seek new ways to welcome congregants” was very interesting. Unfortunately, it did not cover many aspects of past church shootings nor actions that need to be taken to minimize victims. For instance, about half of church attacks start in the parking lot. Anyone who is a pastor, church security person, teacher, principal of a school or even a law enforcement ofﬁcer tasked with protecting a church, school or event should read the book “First 30 Seconds: The Active Shooter Problem, America’s Four Decades of Failure to Adapt and What America Must Change to Minimize Victims” by Ed Monk, a retired lieutenant colonel. The author points out that just

because you have an armed ofﬁcer present you should not think you are completely safe, and you still bear the burden for your own safety. There is even a chapter on church shootings. The book is for serious persons who really want some very good knowledge of this problem and preventive measures. The author is a West Point graduate, retired military ofﬁcer and schoolteacher. He has made a pretty extensive study of shootings in schools, churches and events and has some very good recommendations. For those who do not believe guns should be allowed in church, he simply points out the active shooter has no problem bringing one there.

The fight to keep our home continues! Twenty-one years ago, there were only six homes in all of St. Bernard Parish that survived the floods of Hurricane Katrina when the inferior levees broke, and 164 residents perished. The population in our parish plummeted from 69,000 to zero. Today, 49,000 residents have chosen to fight and return to “Da Parish” to rebuild in the place that we call home. Now comes the Port of New Orleans once again, applying its power and political might over the citizens of St. Bernard Parish with its Louisiana International Terminal. Despite the objection of every elected official in Da Parish, the Port of New Orleans forges forward on a project destined to destroy an entire community that was settled before the Louisiana Purchase. No parish in the history of Louisiana has ever been so challenged by the powers that be, including the governor and the Port of New Orleans, who refuse to even appear in front of the citizens to hear our pleas. Here is how an entire community is destroyed. All simultaneously, the Army Corps of Engineers is engaged in the Industrial Canal lock-widening project, at one of only two entrances to the parish. The Port of New Orleans is developing a grain terminal in the neighboring Lower 9th Ward of the city, requiring a railroad system connecting to St. Bernard Parish’s only railroad. The Port of New Orleans is developing its massive 416-acre container port in our parish. And the Louisiana DOTD is constructing an elevated highway over the last remaining pristine marsh to carry 1,700 trucks in and out each day. This will be nothing other than total gridlock and will paralyze an entire community — thus the destruction of what we call home.

HERBERT CANNON Baton Rouge

drawing district lines to group voters is un-American I still can’t believe we haven’t stopped the divisive actions to create electoral districts to (supposedly) ensure the Black vote is guaranteed representation. Whether created along racial lines, political party lines, religious lines or (perish the thought!) favorite sports team lines, all are patently un-American actions. Has everyone forgotten that “diversity is our strength?” Artiﬁcially creating

voting districts to achieve otherwise contrary possibilities for a certain race, gender or other identiﬁer is completely against the American “melting pot” model that allowed the United States to become the most democratic and prosperous country in history. What next, determining the starting LSU players by grade point average?

JAMES CARTER Ponchatoula

Is the Russian connection starting to make sense? Now, “President calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel,” Sept. 14. Trump says attacks on reﬁneries are causing a global shortage. The shortage is from his attack on Iran, prompted by Israel. I have never understood the supposed Russian involvement in the 2016 election, but his recent behavior has lent some credence to Russian involvement.

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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.

YOUR VIEWS

His sending a team to discuss the war has been a waste of U.S. money, as they are trying to force Ukraine to give up. The Russians are not our friends. NATO is our friend, having supported the United States after the 9/11 attack. The president has never understood history.

DR. RALPH CHESSON, M.D. U.S. Navy (retired) New Orleans

Biggest football game of the week deserved some ink I hope that you can imagine my surprise and disappointment when I opened and read your sports section on Sunday. There was plenty of news about LSU and Tulane. Congratulations! But there was no news about what was probably the biggest college game of the week. Nothing at all, not even the ﬁnal score, of the Ohio State-Texas game!

There was a column on the games in the “Top 25 roundup,” but unfortunately no mention of the game between the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the country. Luckily, I have access to the internet, where I found that Texas upset Ohio State. You really have to do better in the future!

PHILLIP DIFATTA former board member, St. Bernard Port Harbor and Terminal Violet

MALCOLM LEDET Terrytown

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ARNESSA GARRETT STEPHANIE GRACE WILL SUTTON QUIN HILLYER FAIMON ROBERTS

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● 3B

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COMMENTARY La. legislators cross the aisle at elite national conference Two Louisiana legislators last month were among a select number nationwide showing that politics doesn’t necessarily need to be partisan. More of this, please. A venerable national group called the Council of State Governments awards fellowships each year for a ﬁve-day “collaborative leadership” conference to, in its words, “equip some of the nation’s most promising leaders with the relationships, Quin perspectives and skills Hillyer needed to bring people together, solve problems and strengthen public service.” Selection to the conference is highly competitive, so it is noteworthy that not one but two Louisianans were among just 47 chosen from across the nation, from all three branches of various state governments, for the program held Aug. 21-25 in Lexington, Kentucky. The Louisianans are both state representatives, Democrat Aimee Adatto Freeman of New Orleans and Republican John Wyble of Franklinton. “Our districts and our constituents are very, very different,” Wyble said. “But yet, not only did Aimee and I, but the group, found a lot of commonality. And quite honestly, what the majority of Americans and Louisianans, I believe, are looking for ... are solutions to kitchen table issues, good jobs, affordability, opportunity for their children and their children’s children.” And, he said, progress can be made “if we actually get in rooms and talk to one another more, rather than relying on the hyperbole that is social media.” Freeman’s “50,000-foot view” was similar: “I wouldn’t even call it ‘bipartisanship,’ I would call it ‘non-partisanship,’ in that there are people out there who truly believe in public service for the sake of public service.” Freeman said she was impressed, for example, by two female legislators from Ohio, one of them an older Republican, another a “very young” Democrat pregnant with her ﬁrst baby, and “it was very interesting having lunch

fact of applying for these particular competitive fellowships, Wyble and Freeman show themselves particularly inclined to reach across the aisle anyway, so the five days in Lexington aren’t creating sudden accord among cutthroat partisans. Freeman was a Republican for decades before switching parties in 2008; Wyble, CEO for an outfit called the Center for Literacy and Learning for STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS years before his election, had worked Representatives John Wyble, on education issues with legislators of R-Franklinton, left, and Matthew Willard, both parties. Still, they said they are now better d-New Orleans, shake hands during the equipped to help colleagues forge first day of the special legislative session across-the-aisle collaborations. at the state Capitol on Oct. 13. And while nobody should suggest that legislators shouldn’t battle to enact policies in accord with their principles with them one day and hearing about or their constituents’ desires, and to the things that they were working on oppose policies that don’t, the reality is together.” The 47 participants did numerous ex- that even those with differing principles can find very practical common ground. ercises to build civility and teamwork On a national level, that has happened and then broke into regional groups to decide on a public-policy challenge for on some notable occasions. In 1964, when Democratic Senate Mawhich to consider solutions. The Southern group with Freeman and Wyble, jority Leader Mike Mansfield of Monfor example, developed ideas for the tana worked with Republican Minority almost entirely unregulated field of Leader Everett Dirksen of Illinois to prop betting, which are wagers on spe- overcome a fierce filibuster to pass the cific events or player performances not landmark Civil Rights Act. In 1983, with Social Security’s official trust dependent on a game’s final score. fund within half a decade of insolvency “If you are a state right now, you’re and negotiations to fix it at a standstill, leaving money on the table because Republican Bob Dole of Kansas and prop betting is unregulated, and there Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan of are no collections coming into the New York insisted on giving negotiastate,” Freeman said, saying that she and Wyble perhaps will collaborate on tions one more try — and they forged that issue next session. an agreement that extended the trust Wyble said he also hopes he can find fund’s life for an extra 45 years. ways to work across the aisle on a topic Nobody said Dole was less of a hardthat another region’s delegates chose, nosed Republican after that agreewhich is mental health policy. ment. He wasn’t a sellout, and neither “Certainly there has to be a partnerwas Moynihan: They were legislative heroes. ship at all levels of government workSo count this as a congratulations ing together to make sure those mental to Freeman and Wyble for their wellhealth services are available,” he said. motivated pursuits. Here’s hoping Of course, a few caveats must be acthat spirit — somehow, some way — knowledged. First, it is a lot easier for spreads to their colleagues in Baton politicians (in general, not these two) Rouge and in Washington. to blather on about public service and common ground than it is for them to act constructively when partisan pres- Email Quin Hillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com sures are raging. Second, by the very

Again, it will be all about turnout Republicans held a unique midterm combination rally, get-out-the-vote convention in Dallas last week. The GOP hopes to raise enthusiasm (and money) for Republican candidates in the November election. One indication they are in trouble is that polls show Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, twice impeached by members of his own party and accused of being a serial adulterer and tax cheat, and Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico, serial ﬂipper Cal and recreator of God in Thomas his image, are close to being tied. There’s another factor that may keep the Texas Senate race and other Republican races close. People are fed up with politics and politicians. One hears the same tired promises and criticisms over the years. Only the candidates change, not so much the script. Today’s candidates, like yesterday’s, are going to improve education, reduce the cost of everything (though they never say how), reduce crime (that’s been tried before. Remember “Midnight basketball created by Bill Clinton aimed at getting kids off the streets?) They promise everything except reducing the $40 trillion debt. As usual, the promises don’t come true after the election. If they did, wouldn’t the problems of which they speak be solved by now? Both parties have had majorities in Congress and their party member as president. Shouldn’t they have more than moderate success with important issues, like Social Security and Medicare reform? This is what drives voter cynicism. And cynicism leads to disappointment. And disappointment leads to disengagement. And disengagement gets people elected that the larger pool of potential voters come to dislike. Repeat cycle. America has been suffering from voter turn off instead of voter turnout for some time. According to the Pew

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

A voter walks to the polling station at Fire Station No. 12 on June 27. Research Center, the U.S. falls far behind most other developed countries when it comes to voter turnout. Only 55.7% of Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, and even less of the population, 36.4%, voted in 2014. One might think that seeing so many other nations without the right to vote or voting in rigged elections whose outcome is predetermined, people would take this voting privilege more seriously and see it as a patriotic act. Alas, even patriotism has been turned political and instead of uniting us, it has become a weapon used to blast an opponent who “waves the ﬂag.” As the patriotic song says, “Do you know of a better ﬂag to wave?” The title is “This is a Great Country.” According to Democracy Docket, 24 states have made it easier to vote this year, even as President Trump (rightly in my view) wants to restrict mail-in ballots to reduce what he sees as fraud. The Democrat line that Republicans want to restrict voting by poor and mi-

nority citizens is increasingly a weak argument. Tuesday elections keep many people from voting. Either change the day or make it a holiday. Here’s the big one from Pew: Citizens don’t vote if they think their vote doesn’t matter. In elections that are increasingly close, they may matter more than ever. They certainly don’t matter if they are not cast. Every time I cast my ballot, I think of the people who have sacriﬁced even their lives to make it possible. We used to teach such things in many of our schools, salute the ﬂag and sing patriotic songs. We’re not doing that as much now or teaching kids why they should love America and not be seduced by socialism. The resulting absence of these and other values have led to low voter turnout and its consequences. Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com.

Conservatism in the age of Trump WARREN, N.H. — It’s been four years, an eternity in American political history, since I last drove along a backwoods byway from here to Lebanon, N.H., and contemplated what that route told me about the destination of American conservatism. In an age long past, the ultimate direction of the road that led from the home of Meldrim Thomson Jr., who as governor of the Granite State from 1973 to 1979, warned conservatives about “those who wish to completely socialize America,” to the home of Sen. Norris Cotton, who, for two decades from 1954, described himself as “rock-ribbed conservative David proud of it,” was unknown. Shribman and The question preoccupying me four years ago seemed more vital than ever as once again I was driving along the over-grandly named Meldrim Thomson Scenic Highway to the political base of Cotton. That’s because conservatives, in an aspect of their creed at odds with their general predilection against change, seem to be engaged in an important debate and undergoing a fundamental transition. I lived in New Hampshire during the years of both Thomson and Cotton, and later visited with the former governor — who had moved from curmudgeonly to almost (but not quite) cuddly — on Mount Cube, where, in soiled, faded blue jeans and an old olive work shirt, he poured his own sweet maple syrup over pancakes his wife served. Thomson was fierce, and his rhetoric had a bite, but it was a 1970s version of bile, issued quietly, almost whispery, and the imprecations he issued — and his effort (Beat this, Pete Hesgeth!) to order flags at half-staff on Good Friday to mark the death of Jesus Christ — seem mild, even madcap, compared to the daily fare of Truth Social, where the phrases “radical left lunatic,” and “stupid,” and “low-IQ” hardly register now. Today President Donald Trump is the face of conservatism, with a tone and timbre that couldn’t be more different from that once personified by Calvin Coolidge (who hardly spoke, and never spoke ill of anyone); Robert Taft; Bob Dole (who repressed his early mean-spirited instinct and became known as one of the gentlemen of politics, perhaps the funniest); and George H.W. Bush (who never said a mean thing to, or about, anyone). Their conservatism, and that of Richard Nixon, was generally respectful of political norms and American institutions. The conservatism of today respects neither. Nixon, Bush and Dole might be accused of accepting too much of a status quo shaped by the liberal impulses of the New Deal; Trump has been targeted for opprobrium for figures like that. But, in a sense, their views were conservative in that they didn’t seek to repeal precedent and didn’t comprise an assault on the prevailing ethos of the time. Trump does not share the respect — actually the reverence — for the past that the early philosopher of conservatism, Edmund Burke, proclaimed at the end of the 18th century. Trump is, if anything, ahistorical, though he surely is a significant part of modern American political history. He will tell you so. Back on Cube Hill all those years ago Thomson talked about his anti-tax philosophy that Ronald Reagan later promoted and that may be, along with disdain for the United States, the principal strand of the old conservatism that Trump embraces. Thomson and Cotton would share Trump’s protectionist instincts. Cotton, no free-trader, was fiercely protective of New Hampshire’s textile industry and supported tariffs to protect the mills that, in his time and in mine, sat on the Merrimack River in Manchester and in small towns scattered among the hills of the state. That’s a break from the free-trade orthodoxy that’s been part of conservatism in modern decades and is at the heart of the ideology still promoted by many conservatives and is worshiped on The Wall Street Journal editorial board. But the swagger on the domestic front and at international meetings may be a signature Trump diversion. The old conservatism was about manners as much as it was about ideas. Politeness: prized. Boasting: condemned. Public swearing: verboten. Restraint: celebrated. Discretion: venerated. Showboating and grandstanding: forbidden. Gaudiness: decried. Verbal cruelty: not tolerated. Multiple marriages ( Trump has had three): deplored. ( Thomson was married for 63 years, Cotton for 51 years until his first wife’s death, then married again for an additional nine.) The road from the home of Meldrim Thomson to that of Norris Cotton is especially winding. And the ultimate destination of its political road? That’s perhaps the greatest unknown in American life. Email David Sribman at dshribman @post-gazette.com.

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4B ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Regulators reject bid to abandon service

hurt their quality of life, re- CA’s effort to abandon the camps. already faces devastating land loss. shortly and direct the hiring of its Utility sought to cease and Still, it was not immediately With climate change intensifying own expert to make determinaquiring them to live off generator clear what would happen to elec- hurricanes, electric utilities have tions.” power. power to camps

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

A controversial and novel effort by a small electric utility to abandon electric service to dozens of camp owners in coastal Louisiana hit a roadblock Wednesday, with state regulators voting against the utility’s plans to stop servicing three stretches of electric lines in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes. The utility, the South Louisiana Electric Cooperative, had sought since 2024 to abandon four sets of electric lines spanning 44 miles in the coastal marsh. But the more than 200 camp owners in the region had fought back, arguing the move had tanked their property values

The Public Service Commission, the state’s five-member elected body that regulates utilities, had already voted to let SLECA abandon the largest of the lines, Lake De Cade, which spanned 30 miles. That was the ﬁrst such known case in the country, and raised fears about other parts of southern Louisiana losing access to power as climate change creates stronger hurricanes that stress the grid. Commissioners also sent the debate over the three remaining lines — Grand Pass, Lake Fields and Four Point — back to an administrative law judge. That judge ruled in late August that SLECA failed to meet the burden needed to abandon the lines. The PSC on Wednesday voted to uphold that ruling, denying SLE-

tric service for the dozens of property owners. Commissioners have hinted that they may try to find a compromise where SLECA pays camp owners a lump sum to settle the deal, offsetting some of the cost of buying generators to power the camps in the future. SLECA initially offered camp owners $1,000 each, which several camp owners called insultingly low. “I strongly want power back,” said Grady Covington, a camp owner at Four Point Island, told commissioners. “A compromise would have to be something way more than $1,000.” The fight over the first proposed abandonment of electric customers in Louisiana’s history has intensified existential questions about the future of coastal Louisiana, which

had to reckon with how to build and maintain infrastructure that can withstand stronger storms. Hurricane Ida in 2021 damaged some of the electric equipment that powered the camps. For years after the storm, SLECA told the camp owners that they planned to build them back. But in 2024, the utility’s board voted to abandon the camps, setting off the sprawling battle in PSC meetings and courtrooms. Camp owners have also ﬁled lawsuits against SLECA. Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, R-Metairie, suggested the commission might hire its own consultants to evaluate the matter. “There is going to be one way or another a method to ﬁnd service,” he said. “The commission is in a position where it can come back

None of the PSC members committed to a resolution Wednesday, ensuring the matter will continue to garner debate. Donna Boudreaux, a retired public schoolteacher and member of SLECA, asked commissioners to approve the abandonment, citing the $12 a month she might have to pay if the lines were rebuilt. Cooperatives are nonproﬁts without shareholders, and SLECA’s 21,000 members generally share in the cost of improvements. Sara Boudreaux, a camp owner who has fought against the abandonment, pleaded with the PSC to end the matter. “Denial cannot mean more limbo,” she said. “Lake Fields has already been without power for ﬁve years.”

Trial for N.O. jail escapees delayed Deadline nears to claim Powerball prize BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A judge who was recently handed the case of 10 accused jail escapees from the Orleans Parish lockup delayed setting a trial date to give time for one of them to hire a new lawyer. Criminal District Judge Angel Harris set a status hearing in the case for Sept. 30. Dkenan Dennis, 25, one of the accused jailbreakers, needs a new lawyer after his former one, David Belfield, received a yearlong suspension this month. The ruling

FUNDING

Continued from page 1B with representatives from state agencies present at the meeting, and to discuss changes brought about in the most recent legislative session. “This is less about hearing from us and more about hearing what this funding is going to do for all these different agencies,” Miller said. One of those agencies is the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, with officials providing key updates on road projects currently in effect or slated for future development. In particular, Vine Street, which runs concurrently with U.S. 190 as the main highway through downtown Opelousas, is set for a long-awaited overhaul beginning in 2030. The long wait is in part due to increased requirements in the lead-up to construction because of federal funds acquired for the project. According to officials, the project is in the environmental study stage, which likely won’t be completed until 2028. “The time it takes to complete an environmental study all comes back to impacts,” said Joe Brown, critical projects manager. “If you’re just milling or overlaying, it takes a month. This project involves widening and relocating water and gas lines. It also runs through a historic district as well, so it’s going to take some time.” Additionally, DOTD discussed minor improvements to Opelousas’ stretch of Interstate 49, including improved lighting and the southbound on-ramps at the Exit 15 interchange with Harry Guilbeau Road. DOTD officials also confirmed that funding has been

MEETING

Continued from page 1B section near the border with Vermilion Parish. Musk’s team on Aug. 25 announced plans to build a $100 billion rocket launch base near Pecan Island on the Gulf, about 45 miles southwest of Lafayette in rural Vermilion Parish. That has raised questions about the need for roads and highways capable of handling the increased traffic and heavier commercial trafﬁc the project is expected to create. Building the western sec-

said he failed to refund an unearned $2,500 client fee, among other violations of professional rules. “I thought the only new guest to the party was me,” Harris said Wednesday. “But that’s not true.” Attorney General Liz Murrill’s ofﬁce is prosecuting the case, which Harris inherited after another jurist recused Judge Leon Roche, who oversaw the grand jury that recently indicted Murrill on charges of public intimidation and malfeasance in ofﬁce. Those charges have been dropped.

Before his recusal, Roche had set a “must-go” trial date in the case for Tuesday. The jail escape case was among dozens handled by Murrill’s office for which Roche was recused. It was randomly reallotted to Harris. Each of the men faces an aggravated escape charge in connection with allegations they broke out of the New Orleans lockup early one morning in May 2025. A monthslong manhunt ensued. All of the defendants in the case have pleaded not guilty to the felony charge.

identified for construction work on La. 745 near Washington as well as La. 751 near Lawtell, among others. Officials from the Louisiana Department of Health discussed changes to Medicaid and healthcare access. Beginning Jan. 1, some adults enrolled in Medicaid will be required to meet work or other qualifying activity requirements to maintain their coverage. The requirements stem from changes to federal Medicaid law, with exemptions for certain people and circumstances. The Health Department says 1.2 million of the state’s 1.5 million Medicaid enrollees will not be affected. Medicaid accounts for 35.1% of health insurance coverage among Opelousas residents, according to 2024 Data USA estimates. “We want to make sure that everyone is aware of these changes, and that the new process is as easy and straightforward as possible,” said Health Department Medicaid Executive Director Seth Gold. “The department already receives payroll information for many individuals as well as information about many possible exemptions. We’re confident we can keep this relatively painless.” The Health Department presentation was briefly interrupted when St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz asked to use the platform to rebut claims by Parish President Jessie Bellard regarding jail funding. The condition of the parish jail and the cost of providing medical care to inmates also came up during the meeting. Guidroz said more than 100 inmates are sleeping on the jail floor and that overcrowding poses a health risk. “Those are people’s loved ones we’re talking about. It’s a health risk because of how

overcrowded it is,” Guidroz said. Inmate healthcare costs have risen dramatically in recent years, adding to the ﬁnancial burden on medical providers and the parish, Guidroz said. He suggested that some overcrowding could be alleviated by booking inmates at the Opelousas City Jail. Opelousas also has a high poverty rate: 37.4% of residents were living in poverty from 2020 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “That 37%, they’re not able to thrive in this community. That’s not acceptable,” said Charles Phipps, who serves as vice president of policy with the Urban League of Louisiana. The Urban League advocates for policy changes to assist impoverished inner-city communities achieve economic self-reliance. Phipps highlighted homeownership as a key means of bringing generational wealth into the community, directing attention to legislation that allows ﬁrst-time homeowners up to three years to access funds for down payment assistance. Focus also briefly turned to statewide redistricting this election cycle that split St. Landry into multiple districts. Miller criticized the redistricting process and singled out U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton. “Mike Johnson didn’t want anything to do with St. Landry in his district,” Miller said, adding that St. Landry “has a history of voting Democrat.” “Redistricting is always going to be political,” Boudreaux added. “It’s as political as tomorrow is Wednesday.” Boudreaux and Miller both opposed the redrawn maps adopted by the Louisiana Legislature earlier this year.

tion of the expressway may help by connecting Vermilion Parish with Interstate 49, which runs north to south, and Interstate 10, which runs east to west. I-10 and I-49 intersect in Lafayette. A public-private partnership will probably be needed to pay for construction of the expressway, Abell said. The expressway may be built with revenue from tolls. A Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision was issued in December 2022 for the expressway. LMEC meetings are open to the public. Visit the Xpressway web-

site at www.lrxpressway. com. Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2026 PICK 3: 1-4-9 PICK 4: 3-9-2-5 PICK 5: 0-6-6-4-8 MEGA MILLIONS: 27-36-43-57-58 MEGA BALL: 16 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

Staff report Someone who bought a Louisiana Lottery ticket in Baton Rouge earlier this year has 40 days left to claim the $1 million prize, the corporation said Wednesday. The Powerball ticket, enhanced when the buyer

paid an additional $1 to increase the prize, was purchased at the Circle K store at 5055 Jones Creek Road. The winning numbers were 3-19-35-51-67 with 15 as the Powerball. The drawing was held on April 29, and the prize expires on Oct. 26, meaning the winner has a little over

a month left to claim their million, according to the Louisiana Lottery Corp. Prizes of this size must be claimed at the Lottery headquarters in Baton Rouge, at 555 Laurel St. Winners should bring a valid photo ID and a completed claim form, the lottery said.

PROVIdEd PHOTO By BRyON TAyLOR

Romey Roe, left, with 2027 Miss America Regan Hutsell, wearing a custom dress by Roe, close out New york Fashion Week.

DESIGNER

worn by Billboard artist Robin Barnes Casey, marking the ﬁrst time the Romey Continued from page 1B Roe brand was represented on the Grammys red carpet. His work also reached Red Dress Collection Conthe 69th Primetime Emmy cert in New York City. Walker’s designs have also Awards, where actress Liz appeared on major enter- Fenning wore a red silk satin, lace and sequin gown tainment red carpets. He made his Grammy designed by Walker. Now, two years into preAwards debut in 2026 after designing a custom gown senting collections at New

York Fashion Week, Walker said he wanted to show what Southern talent could accomplish on a national stage. “I really wanted to show what a small-town Louisiana boy can do,” Walker said. “If you just keep dreaming, keep being determined.” Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

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SPORTS

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

T h u r s d ay, s e p T e m b e r 17, 2026

1CN

Ole Miss serves court paapers to t LSU DE Move comes just days away from Tigers’ much-anticipated game in Oxford

BY JON BLAU

ä LSU at Ole Miss 6:30 P.M. SATURdAy,ABC

LSU edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen has spent most of this week preparing to face his former school, Ole Miss, in a football game. Ole Miss, however, has asked the senior to prepare something else ahead of Saturday’s matchup: discovery materials in a pending lawsuit. Umanmielen, who was sued by Ole Miss in late July for allegedly breaking a revenue-sharing contract to transfer to LSU,

was served with the discovery request Tuesday, according to court records obtained by The Advocate. The kicker: Umanmielen was served, according to ESPN and The Associated Press, in the parking lot outside of the LSU football facility. While this is a standard legal maneuver, it came just four days ahead of a rivalry game where LSU coach Lane Kifﬁn and a handful of former Rebels will make a much-antici-

Staff writer

LSU dE Princewill Umanmielen

pated return to Oxford, Mississippi. The move prompted Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to jab Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter on social media. “The process server found Princewill in the LSU Football Ops parking lot. Keith Carter could have saved Ole Miss some money and waited until Saturday,” Landry posted to X. “He’ll be easy to find in the Ole Miss backfield often!” A “notice of service” of Ole Miss’ discovery requests, filed by the university’s

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

ä See LSU, page 3C

SAINTS AT RAVENS • NOON SUNdAy • CBS

TE Chappell steps up for Cajuns

Senior playing with ‘urgency’ in Jensen’s absence BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

AP PHOTO By REy dEL RIO

Saints tight end Noah Fant pulls in a touchdown reception against the detroit Lions during overtime on Sunday in detroit.

Revamped Saints offense learning to adjust on the fly BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Tyler Shough blamed his first interception in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Detroit Lions on playing too fast, but the turnover also was another symptom of the plague that can happen at the beginning of every season. It takes time on task to learn new teammates, and the mistakes along the way can be painful. With 5:31 left in the second quarter, the New Orleans Saints quarterback saw an open Noah Fant and fired a pass that was headed past the first-down marker. But Shough did not see, nor did he anticipate, the tight end cutting to the outside, leading to an easy takeaway for safety Chuck Clark.

To Shough, having the patience to take another second likely would have avoided the errant throw. But more reps together also may have prevented the turnover. Shough and Fant, after all, have been working together for only a handful of months after the tight end joined the Saints in March. “We had an option route. I thought he was going to sit down and (Fant) broke out, which he was right in doing,” Shough said. After the Saints revamped their offense in the offseason, Week 1 showed the team’s new pieces still need time to gel — no matter how many reps were logged in training camp and the preseason.

The UL coaching staff looks forward to the day when both sides of its 1-2 tight end punch are available. In the season opener, Brock Chappell was out after suffering a leg injury in the second August scrimmage. After his ﬁfth catch in the season opener against Lamar, Caden Jensen suffered a similar injury and is expectä UAB at UL ed to miss his second game 7 P.M. SATURdAy, when the Ragin’ Cajuns take on UAB at 7 p.m. Saturday ESPN+ at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. “Yeah, seeing him go down, it kind of made me feel like I had to step up in the room even more and get back as fast as possible,” said Chappell, who was initially was expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Fortunately for the Cajuns, his recovery went way better than expected. “I was already on a good path of getting back and then with him going down, it just made me like have more urgency to get back and to help the team,” Chappell said. “If I could get back and I could help the team in any way, that’s what I was going to try and do.” Chappell didn’t just play, he caught three passes for 47 yards in the 49-30 loss at USC on Saturday, including a 37-yard reception to the 1 to set up Steven Blanco’s short TD leap. “As soon as I got out there, I saw the safeties and where they were at, so I knew I was getting the ball,” Chappell said. “I knew I just had to make a play. It had to be the one for the team, you know, bring it back and get us into position to score again and ended up getting us down to the 1.” UL tight ends coach Jorge Munoz said there’s been a joke about one of the tight ends breaking a long one for a score. “The one thing we’re trying to get better, a little bit, as far as getting some yac (yards

ä See UL, page 2C

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

Petty Ole Miss leads slew of intriguing stories So, in full football mode, let’s It’s now Thursday, and you can start with: feel the anticipation for SaturFIRST DOWN: In case you’ve been day’s LSU-Ole Miss showdown living under a goal post, this LSUrising to a fever pitch. Ole Miss game has bubbled into The players. The Kifﬁns. The one bitter battle with all sorts of Nick Saban “College GameDay” sidelights, most of them revolving swear words. The love. The hate. Scott The lawsuits. Rabalais around Lane Kifﬁn’s return to OxOften I come at you with a ford. For Ole Miss, it’s the classic “Three and Out” of three takes on jilted lover syndrome. a game or a happening. But we’re going This has resulted in some sideways to go the four downs mode today with anger, like serving current LSU and forlots of compelling tidbits to talk about. mer Ole Miss defensive end Princewill

Umanmielen with legal papers Tuesday — and in the LSU football complex parking lot. Ole Miss is suing him and LSU/former Ole Miss offensive lineman Devin Harper over breaking NIL contracts when they transferred. A contract is a contract, and both Umanmielen and Harper must make ﬁnancial restitution with Ole Miss. But this is a petty stunt by Ole Miss (and/or its legal representatives) and certainly

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C

PROVIdEd PHOTO By UL ATHLETICS

UL tight end Brock Chappell, shown here catching a first down during a win at South Alabama last season, is showing improvement so far in 2026.

2C ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV

AUTO RACING 2 p.m. NASCAR Truck Series: Practice FS2 3:05 p.m. NASCAR Truck Series: Qualifying FS2 4:30 p.m. ARCA Menards FS1 7 p.m. NASCAR Truck: UNOH 250 FS1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL 6:30 p.m. Syracuse at Pittsburgh ESPN WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER 5 p.m. SMU at NC State ACCN 7 p.m. duke at North Carolina ACCN

WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Marquette at Wisconsin BTN GOLF 2 p.m. PGA: Biltmore Championship GOLF MLB 11:30 a.m. L.A. dodgers at Cincinnati MLBN 6 p.m. Philadelphia at N.y. Mets FOX 8:30 p.m. Minnesota at L.A. Angels MLBN MEN’S SOCCER 11:45 a.m. Salzburg at Levski Sofia CBSSN 2 p.m. Bournemouth at Sociedad CBSSN 7 p.m.

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

WOMENS’ SOCCER 7:45 a.m. England vs Nigeria 11:15 a.m. North Korea vs. Japan NFL 7:15 p.m. detroit at Buffalo TENNIS 11 a.m. GuadalajarA & Sao Paulo WNBA 7 p.m. Los Angeles at dallas 9 p.m. Las Vegas at Seattle

FS2 FS2 PRIME TENNIS USA CNBC

Oregon determined to do better BY ANNE M. PETERSON

AP sportswriter

After the Oregon Ducks were upset by Oklahoma State last weekend, the players held a meeting to air out their concerns. Quarterback Dante Moore said the player-led meeting was needed to get everyone “on the same page” going into the rest of the season. As a result of the 39-31 loss in Stillwater, Oregon tumbled down the rankings from No. 6 to No. 21. The team that was being looked at as a possible national champion in the preseason was now facing tough questions. Oregon (1-1) wraps up its nonconference slate Friday night when the team hosts lower-division Portland State. After that, the Ducks are on the road for their Big Ten opener against No. 12 Southern California. “I feel like every team needs it, just to communicate, debrief, talk about the thoughts everybody’s having in their heads,” Moore said about the meeting. “Wasn’t much screaming going on. It was just trying to get on the same page with everybody. I feel like it was very important because we needed it. And I feel that what we said in that meeting helped carry over into this week, and we’ve been attacking every day.” Devon Jackson, without going into details about the gathering, said, “Things will deﬁnitely be different from here on out.” Oregon opened the season with a mostly lackluster 34-27 victory over Boise State, although Moore threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns. Against Oklahoma State, he threw for 191 yards, including two second-half touchdowns after the Ducks had trailed 24-17 at the half. It was the Ducks’ ﬁrst regular-season road loss since 2023, snapping a 12-game winning streak.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By MITCH ALCALA

Oklahoma State safety Mose Phillips, right, tackles Oregon running back dierre Hill, left, during a game in Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday. Coach Dan Lanning called the loss “by far the worst performance” the Ducks have had since his arrival in Eugene. And he called out the team leadership, even his own. “I’ll tell you, at this point, there’s been a lack of leadership — myself included. It starts with accountability, but it’s got to show up,” Lanning said. “Again, you can’t talk about it. You’ve got to see it. We haven’t seen it to this point.” Moore acknowledged the team’s leaders have fallen short in the past two games. “But I kind of feel like we’ve been looking in the mirror, ﬁnd out who we truly are, and I feel as a team we’ve grown these past couple days ever since the Oklahoma State game,” Moore said. “Been more vocal, been more connected. But these things happen in life,

BY REED DARCEY

and you appreciate them because it just molds you better as a team.” Lanning suggested special teams was the only aspect of the Ducks’ performance that was up to par. Among the concerns were first-down execution, both on offense and defense, and penalties. Oregon ran for just 90 yards against the Cowboys and fi nished with 281 total yards offense — compared to Oklahoma State’s 554. The Ducks are 0 for 6 on fourth-down conversions through their first two games. Oklahoma State (1-1) went 1-11 last season and lost its opener to Tulsa 20-10. The Cowboys were 23½-point underdogs. In the aftermath, Oklahoma State’s players and coaches have said that the Cowboys defense knew whether the Ducks were going to run or throw on any given play because of Moore’s footwork.

Linebacker Tate Romney also said the offensive line provided tells. “In general, you have tendencies. At times, they’ll show up. We have to do a better job disguising that, for sure,” Lanning said. It was also revealed that Moore was dehydrated and needed IVs afterward, saying “I was going through a little tough time at the end of the game.” The game at home against Portland State gives Oregon the chance to recalibrate ahead of conference play. “A lot of times, when you’re focused on where you have to improve, the best thing you can do is go right back to work,” Lanning said. “I’ve been pleased with that process so far. There’s still some time left this week to be able to go do that, but having the turnaround Friday will be a big positive for us from that standpoint.”

ambassadors that this university has and what she did for this program and LSU deserves to be recognized permanently.” Fowles was named an AP AllAmerican in three of the four years she spent at LSU. Today,

she’s still the Tigers’ all-time leader in rebounds (1,570), blocks (321), career double-doubles (86), games played (144) and postseason games played (20). Her 2,234 career points rank fifth in program history. The Miami native is one of eight LSU players or coaches who have been enshrined into the Naismith Hall of Fame, and now she’ll become the seventh athlete or coach to be honored with a statue on the LSU campus. Augustus, a Baton Rouge native who was one of Fowles’ LSU teammates for two years, was the ﬁrst female athlete to be honored with a statue on campus. The school unveiled hers in January 2023, two months before the Tigers won their ﬁrst national championship in basketball and a little more than a year before Mulkey added Augustus to her coaching staff. Fowles and Augustus also played together on three goldmedal-winning U.S. Olympic teams — in 2008, 2012 and 2016 — and they’re both assistant coaches. Fowles works for the

Portland Fire, a WNBA expansion franchise. “Sylvia has been the ultimate representation of LSU and this athletics department at the highest level,” LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry said, “and I am thrilled to see one of our most iconic athletes be immortalized forever.” Fowles said in a statement that it’s a “privilege and an honor” to be given a statue and that she “doesn’t take this recognition from LSU lightly.” “It says a lot to be recognized for all my hard work,” she said, “and I wouldn’t appreciate it the way that I do if I didn’t accomplish it on LSU’s campus. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.” LSU said that it will set a day and time for Fowles’ statue reveal at a later date.

especially near the goal line. “That’s one big thing that we’re big on,” he said of not stretching the ball in a risky fashion to try to score. “I actually messed up with two fumbles in camp. So when I ended up right there at the end, we were taught not to reach the ball. So going down on the 1, it was best for the team.” Chappell said ball-security drills topped his training routine while he was out of practice with the injury. While younger tight ends such as Teddy Gawlik and Quandre Coates have shown improvement in two games, the spotlight will remain on Chappell until Jensen returns. “I don’t really feel pressure,” Chappell said. “I feel like it’s just,

you know, another time. Last year, he went down against Rice. He went down against Marshall. He went down against Troy. He was out against South Alabama. So I’ve been kind of prepared to fall into the wide role and knowing both. I learned both as soon as I got here last year.” Chappell said Munoz began teaching him both tight end spots because of how much versatility is valued. “I think it helps a bunch, because both those spots really have different types of rules associated with them,” Munoz said. “So the fact when you’ve got a guy, one of your better players can step in at the ‘H’ position or stepping back at the ‘Y’ position when Caden got hurt, that really makes a team that much

more versatile as far as the things that we’re asking him to do.” Chappell is relieved to be back on the ﬁeld after enjoying “probably my best camp in four years” in August, only to get injury at the end. That progress he noticed in camp was evident in his ﬁrst game back. “I think he’s better from a leadership standpoint,” Munoz said. “He knows both the ‘Y’ position and the ‘H’ position, which is a big deal for us. Plus, Brock’s a big guy, smart guy, a physical guy, really good hands. When you’re 6-5, 255 pounds, it’s hard to be really fast, but he’s really fast enough.”

Staff writer

Continued from page 1C after catch), which is tough to do for big guys,” Munoz said. “I thought Brock, like on that play, did a good job of stiff-arming a guy about the 20 and making it down to the 1.” Chappell was just 1 yard away from achieving that goal. “I’d seen him,” Chappell said of the safety. “I still tried to stiff-arm him, and then I thought he fell. I thought he had gone away from me, so I turned my eyes to the goal line and I got my legs taken from me.” As much as he wanted to score, Chappell said ball security has been a point of emphasis for the Cajuns,

Former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green has landed a new job. The Dallas Mavericks named Green as their lead assistant Wednesday. Green’s hiring was first reported in July but was solidified when the Mavericks announced their staff for first-year head coach Dusty May. Green was fired by the Pelicans in November, 12 games into his fifth season in New Orleans. Green finished with a 150-190 record as head coach. The team’s 49-33 record under Green in the 2023-24 season tied for the second-most wins in franchise history. But they followed that up with a 21-61 record, the secondworst record in the team’s history. The Pelicans’ first game against the Mavericks is Jan. 4 at the Smoothie King Center.

Two O-linemen for Lions out Thursday against Bills

LSU to honor hoops great Fowles with statue LSU announced Wednesday that it will soon unveil a statue of women’s basketball great Sylvia Fowles. Fowles, a 6-foot-6 center who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025, helped the Tigers reach four consecutive Final Fours from 2005-08. She’s a former WNBA MVP, a four-time WNBA defensive player of the year, a two-time WNBA Finals MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medalist. LSU said that Fowles’ statue will stand outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, alongside those of Pete Maravich, Shaquille O’Neal, Seimone Augustus and Bob Pettit. “Sylvia Fowles is one of the greatest players, not only at LSU, but in the history of our game,” coach Kim Mulkey said in a statement. “This honor is something that is extremely well-earned. She is one of the most signiﬁcant

Ex-Pelicans coach Green now assistant with Mavs

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Former LSU star Sylvia Fowles, right, will become the second female athlete to get a statue on the LSU campus.

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

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

The Detroit Lions will be without two starting offensive linemen against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night. Detroit ruled out rookie offensive tackle Blake Miller (knee) and guard Christian Mahogany (hip) with injuries. Cornerback D.J. Reed (foot) was questionable on the injury report Wednesday. Miller, drafted No. 17 overall after not missing a game at Clemson, played through a knee injury during his NFL debut in an overtime win over New Orleans on Sunday. Mahogany was hurt early against the Saints. The Lions have veterans to ﬁll in for Miller and Mahogany, who was replaced by 28-year-old Ben Bartch against the Saints. Larry Borom, will likely start at right tackle in place of Miller against the Bills.

Chiefs expect CB Delane to play on Sunday night

The Kansas City Chiefs expect to have cornerback Mansoor Delane on the ﬁeld when they play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, less than a week after the sixth overall pick out of LSU hurt his shoulder on the opening series of his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos. Delane made good on his immense promise right away, picking off Denver quarterback Bo Nix on the ﬁrst ball thrown his way. But he was tackled on the same shoulder that gave him trouble in the offseason, and he was soon in the locker room. Delane did not return to the game. But he was back on the practice field Wednesday, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he anticipates Delane won’t miss a game.

Yankees OF Judge leaves game with leg tightness

New York Yankees star right fielder Aaron Judge was pulled for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Wednesday because of tightness in his lower right leg. Judge, who was on the bench Tuesday for planned rest, struck out in both of his at-bats against Minnesota starter Zebby Matthews before being pulled for Heliot Ramos. Judge had to run to the gap to track down a double in the fifth, his last action in the field, but he didn’t show any sign of discomfort or slowness. The three-time American League MVP is 4 for 26 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games since returning last week from a broken rib.

Cardinals activate Wetherholt after he missed 15 games

St. Louis activated rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt from the 10-day injured list Wednesday morning before the Cardinals met the San Francisco Giants. Wetherholt last played on Aug. 29 and was placed on the IL on Aug. 30 with right wrist tendinitis. He missed 15 games. Entering Wednesday, Wetherholt had hit .242 with 14 doubles, 17 home runs and 48 RBIs. He had scored 88 runs and stolen 14 bases. Wetherholt, who turned 24 on Sept. 10, took part in his regular pregame routine ahead of being activated. Cardinals inﬁelder Ramón Urías and pitcher Peter Strzelecki were designated for assignment. Urías, 32, hit .151 in 43 games this season. Strzelecki, 31, posted a 5.78 ERA in eight games with St. Louis.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● 3C

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LSU

Continued from page 1C

the program at 10:02 p.m. on Jan. 3, and Harper inked his contract at 8:19 a.m. on Jan. 6. It was publicly reported Harper entered the portal on Jan. 12, and Umanmielen was out the door on Jan. 15, just one day before it closed. The pair followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge. Kiffin has declined to say whether he was aware of the athletes’ contracts with Ole Miss and their buyout provisions when he recruited them to LSU. Umanmielen has been a standout at LSU in his short tenure, recording five sacks in his first two games. He’s already eclipsed 2025 sacks leader Harold Perkins, who produced four in 12 contests. Umanmielen is more than halfway to a new career high after posting nine sacks for the Rebels in 2025. He combined for just 1.5 sacks in two seasons at Nebraska, which made him a great find for Kiffin when he transferred to Ole Miss as a junior. “Glad he’s on our side,” Kiffin said Monday, referencing the oddity of studying the 2025 Ole Miss defense and remembering Umanmielen isn’t someone he has to worry about. Umanmielen probably would be top-of-mind for Ole Miss fans if Kiffin wasn’t slated to receive the lion’s share of vitriol this week because of his pre-College Football Playoff departure for LSU after six seasons in Oxford. For that reason, Kiffin said his team should be able to play without feeling pressure. “Whatever Kiff says goes,” Umanmielen said Tuesday, agreeing with his coach’s premise on the same day he was served court papers by Ole Miss. Umanmielen, who was steadfast in saying LSU’s trip to Ole Miss was just “another game,” admitted some excitement playing against his former teammates. “But it’s another week, they’re on the opposing side,” Umanmielen said. “Ain’t no friends on the field, you know?”

attorney on Tuesday in the circuit court of Lafayette County, Mississippi, said a “first set of interrogatories,” a list of questions for a defendant to answer, had been forwarded to Umanmielen. It also requested a “production of documents” from him. These are standard asks from a defendant in a lawsuit. The manner and timing of the request may seem dramatic, but it fits the lawsuit’s general timeline. Umanmielen and LSU offensive lineman Devin Harper, who also transferred from Ole Miss, were sued on July 27 in Lafayette County. The court issued a summons for both on Aug. 14. It said they had 30 days from receipt of the document to respond. It’s been just over a month since that filing. There had been no recent activity in the university’s lawsuits until court records in Umanmielen’s case were updated Wednesday morning to include the discovery request. Harper’s case file doesn’t say whether he’s been served a similar request for materials. Ole Miss has sued both players for breach of contract, claiming Umanmielen and Harper owe $550,000 and $400,000 in buyout costs, respectively, for transferring prematurely. Ole Miss has said it requested LSU pay the money on the players’ behalf, but LSU responded by saying it wasn’t a party to the contracts. LSU has declined to comment on the situation. “The University of Mississippi has a responsibility to enforce its contractual terms, and this position is consistent with the actions of other institutions in the current landscape of college athletics,” Ole Miss said in a statement. “The university attempted to amicably resolve this matter prior to filing.” According to Ole Miss, Uman- Email Jon Blau at mielen signed a deal to return to jon.blau@theadvocate.com

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C an ill-timed one with the game just days away. This probably won’t make Umanmielen play any harder against his old team, but why poke the bear? Especially that massive human, who leads the FBS with five quarterback sacks. It won’t make Trinidad Chambliss any easier to bring down — he’s been sacked once in two games — but the timing couldn’t have been worse. If Ole Miss wanted to get in Umanmielen’s head somehow, it may have just succeeded in getting under his skin. SECOND DOWN: For once this season, a controversy is engulfing someone else in college football besides LSU and Kiffin. And it just happens to be the nation’s No. 1 team, coached by Steve Sarkisian and quarterbacked by New Orleans native Arch Manning. Sark, as you recall, gave ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe a rude brush-off after Texas rallied to beat No. 1 Ohio State 24-23. Then someone created an AI version of their encounter, which showed Sarkisian slapping Rowe. Manning piled on at a Monday news conference when he called the video “hilarious.” That immature remark brought a blitz of criticism resulting in an apology by Manning, who spoke to Rowe personally. Look, there’s no excuse for any of it: Sark’s petulance, the loser who created the AI video or Manning’s laugh over the whole thing. Some have called his apology “performative,” but Rowe accepted it and that should be good enough. For those who say the video was no big deal, imagine if it was your mother, wife, daughter or sister. Even the pretend image of violence against women has no place. As for Manning, just imagine what foolish things we said or did at 22 and having those things make national headlines. I’m sure he’s learned a tough lesson, though his coach hasn’t been mature enough to apologize in kind. THIRD DOWN: Ole Miss has been in this Kiffin corner before. Tommy Tuberville, now a U.S. senator from Alabama, left Oxford in 1998 for Auburn, the big difference being that their first meeting as SEC West rivals was played in 1999 at Auburn. Ole Miss won 24-17. It wasn’t until 2000 that Tuberville led Auburn to Ole Miss for a 35-27 win. Ed Orgeron was the Ole Miss

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Lane Kifﬁn chats with players on the sideline in the fourth quarter of a game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

coach from 2004-07 and beat the Rebels in 2016 when he became interim LSU coach after Les Miles’ firing. LSU won 38-21 in Tiger Stadium, then 40-24 the following year in Oxford. The Rebels didn’t kick up much of a fuss, of course, since Orgeron had been fired 10 years earlier. There’s been a lot of talk that Kiffin left Ole Miss in the midst of its best season ever. Certainly it produced the Rebels most wins ever (13-2), but their best season? Not quite. In 1960, Ole Miss went 10-0-1, won the SEC and finished No. 2 in the final AP poll. The only blemish on its record? A 6-6 tie with LSU in Oxford on Oct. 29. You could also pick the 1962 Ole Miss team that went 10-0, won the SEC and finished No. 3 in the AP rankings. FOURTH DOWN: This one isn’t about football, but it’s important to slip in a few words about LSU’s announcement Wednesday that women’s basketball great Sylvia Fowles will be honored with a statue outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. I still think LSU needs to tap the brakes on athletic statuary. Fowles’ work will make five for basketball — this is a football school, isn’t it? — plus one each for Billy Cannon and Skip Bertman. But for Fowles, I’m happy to make an exception. She is probably the most talented player in LSU women’s basketball history and arguably the most successful with four Final Fours, three SEC championships, two WNBA titles, a WNBA MVP award and four Olympic gold medals with Team USA. No one in school history in any sport owns more Olympic golds than Fowles. So, congratulations, Big Syl. You’ve more than earned the honor. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Shough, Olave developing long-distance relationship BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

With the New Orleans Saints in desperate need of a jolt, Chris Olave noticed his quarterback was in trouble and sprinted upfield. Tyler Shough dodged the Detroit Lions pass rush, rolled to his right and saw his star receiver in front of defensive back D.J. Reed. While on the move, Shough uncorked a pass that traveled roughly 50 yards in the air before Olave speared it downfield for a gain of 47. That big play ignited a comeback that the Saints nearly finished off, and it also represented a great example of something that has been true since Shough took over as the starter midway through last year. It’s not only that Olave finished the game with a career-best 182 yards receiving but also that he continues to prove he has rediscovered his explosive ability with Shough under center. Olave averaged 18.1 air yards per target last week, ranking fifth in the league among receivers with at least five targets in Week 1. Before Shough took over midway through last season, the Saints were using Olave almost as an extension of the run game. He was averaging 10.2 air yards per target through the first eight games. During Shough’s starts to close the season out, that number jumped to 13.3. Just giving Olave a chance downfield against single coverage has yielded a lot of explosive plays. Olave had an NFL-best four catches of 20 or more yards against Detroit last week. Shough and Olave connected for six such plays in their eight games together last season, including a pair of 60-plus yard connections. “There’s definitely a trust factor with him, putting it out there and he’s going to go make a play or at least knock it down — it’s him or nobody,” Shough said. “That’s the best part about it; we have that chemistry and we’re going to take some shots and stretch the field and be able to change different layers of it. “That’s a credit to him for being the playmaker that he is and trusting him in those moments, because he’s going to go get it.”

ASSOCIATEd PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave runs with the ball after a reception against the detroit Lions on Sunday in detroit.

whether Kamara would be available for the Week 2 contest. “He’s done an awesome job, so he’s right where he needs to be.” In the season opener against Detroit, Travis Etienne and Kendre Miller split the workload evenly, with both handling nine carries. Undrafted rookie CJ Donaldson had a small but notable workload, playing 15 snaps and converting a pair of third-and-short runs after being called up from the practice squad. Kamara suffered a knee injury during a joint practice against the Dallas Cowboys in mid-August. He missed three weeks of practice before returning in a limited capacity Sept. 9. Though he was a full participant in practice last Friday, the Saints decided to wait one more week before putting him back on the ﬁeld. Kamara trending up “He probably could have gone last Saints running back Alvin Kamara week,” Moore said. “I think it was was a full participant in Wednes- just a matter of time on task, getting day’s practice, and he appears to a full week’s work. I thought he did be on track to make his season dean amazing job of putting himself in position last week to practice really but Sunday against Baltimore. “I feel good about Alvin,” Saints well, so he’s in a great place.” Kamara is expected to slide into coach Kellen Moore said when asked

SAINTS

Injury report New Orleans came out of its Week 1 game relatively healthy, and that was reflected on the team’s ﬁrst injury report ahead of its Week 2 game in Baltimore. Only two players — tight end Juwan Johnson (illness) and linebacker Isaiah Stalbird (shoulder) — missed practice. Stalbird appeared to suffer his injury when making a tackle in punt coverage against Detroit last week, but he ended up returning to the ﬁeld after getting a brief exam on the sideline. Rookie tight end Oscar Delp (hamstring, limited) returned to practice for the first time since late August. Veteran edge rusher Cam Jordan also practiced in a limited fashion as he works his way back from a hamstring injury that kept him out of most of training camp. Moore left the door open for Jordan to play against the Ravens. “He’s working his way in the right direction,” Moore said.

Saints wide receiver Bryce Lance warms up before a game against the detroit Lions on Sunday. Lance had a huge 15-yard catch on fourth-and-12.

Continued from page 1C The bumps weren’t exclusive to Shough and his playmakers. New Orleans committed $54 million in guarantees to running back Travis Etienne and guard David Edwards to bolster its rushing attack, only to average 3.6 yards per carry as a team against the Lions. “I would say that’s a continuous evolution through a season,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “There’s always different ways you can use guys. For all of us, we had a great offseason. We know where we’re going and there will be adjustments as we go. “That’s just inevitable.” Nothing replicates the importance of live reps. In an encouraging sign for the Saints, Sunday’s furious comeback demonstrated how Shough can adapt to those pieces in real time. Take the quarterback’s connection with Fant, for example. Half of the tight end’s targets were off the mark — including another that led to Shough’s second interception — but the two started to build chemistry when it mattered most. On the Saints’ final drive, Shough hit Fant for 9 yards and a first down — on an out route, no less. Then at the 8-yard line, Fant shook off a defender to create enough separation for Shough to fire it to the window for an overtime touchdown. The Saints had waited more than a year for Fant. New Orleans pursued him in free agency last year, though the former first-round pick signed with the Cincinnati Bengals instead. But the long wait resulted in a payoff right at the end of his first game with New Orleans. “The really cool thing about Tyler is he’s so open to the communication and just being like, ‘Hey, next play. We’re going to get it right and keep moving forward,’ ” Fant said. “It speaks to the

more of a reserve role this season, with Etienne taking over the leadback duties.

AP PHOTO By REy dEL RIO type of leader that he is, and I have no doubt that among the offense, everybody, the receivers will be where he needs them to be and he’ll put the ball where it needs to be at, and we’ll take off running.” The Saints did find success in how they incorporated their rookie wide receivers. Though 2026 first-round pick Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) is on injured reserve, fourth-round wideout Bryce Lance stepped up to be the Saints’ third receiver — and came through with a huge 15-yard catch on fourth-and-12. Lance’s production is an example of why training camp matters, even if the offense isn’t fully up to speed to begin the year. Shough recalled how Lance looked like “Bambi” at first. “You’re seeing him run and he’s got these long strides,” the quarterback said. But then day after day, the rookie started to find his comfort zone and produced as his role expanded when Tyson went down. “You see it every day, his continual progression,” Shough said of Lance. The rest of the offense will need to continue that progression. In the run game, the most surprising aspect of last weekend’s debut was how the running back rotation panned out. Despite signing Etienne to a four-year, $48 million contract, he received the same amount of carries as Kendre

Miller (nine). Etienne’s snap count — 53, or 59% of the offensive snaps — still led the running backs, but he was far from the bell cow that many expected. “My one year in Philly was probably the only year where a running back just kind of takes everything until he can’t,” said Moore, referring to his time calling plays for Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. “Everywhere else, you’re usually rotating these guys.” Regardless of who was in, the Saints struggled to run the ball. They found some success in the second half — Etienne finished with 5.1 yards per carry — though that was largely after the Lions climbed to a 21-0 lead and played coverages that accounted more for the pass. Moore credited the Lions, adding Detroit’s pressure packages helped limit space and kept the Saints offensive line from reaching the second level. But the only choice the Saints have now, Moore said, is to keep going. “Week in and week out, it’s about playing different matchups,” Moore said. “Every opponent is going to be a little bit different. You have to make adjustments and tweaks. It’s constantly evolving.” Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

4C ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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PREP VOLLEYBALL

St. Thomas More being patient early in transition season BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRyAN TUCK

St. Martinville will rename its football field after longtime footballl coach Carroll delahoussaye in a pregame ceremony Friday. In 28 seasons at the school, delahoussaye had a record of 246-92 and won two state titles.

Glorious days

St. Martinville to honor longtime football coach delahoussaye by renaming its field after him

arroll Delahoussaye remembers when it first hit him that big things were possible for St. Martinville’s football program. He was only 30 years old and just getting his feet wet in the high school coaching world when his Tigers took on Minden in the 1980 Class Kevin 3A state semifiFoote nals. St. Martinville lost 16-7 that night, but when Minden went on to beat Washington-Marion 34-6 in the final, the reality motivated the young coach. “I thought to myself, ‘We can do this,’ ” Delahoussaye said. “That was the first time I actually felt like our program was at the point where we could actually do something big like that.” His premonition was right. In 1981, the Tigers beat Franklinton 14-7 to win the school’s first state football championship in the first year of the Superdome Classic. Three years later, St. Martinville won another one. It was the glory years of football in St. Martinville. On Friday, Delahoussaye’s 28 years of winning and influencing the St. Martinville’s community will be recognized with the renaming of the school’s football field to Carroll Delahoussaye Stadium. “I think it’s awesome,” said son Trent Delahoussaye, who played for his father at St. Martinville and is currently a coach at Loreauville High. “A lot of us felt like it should have happened a long time ago, but it’s just great to see.” With such former players as Curvin Fontenette and Garland JeanBatiste spearheading the effort to make it happen, Trent said his dad tried to remain coy about it — until it was finally approved. “He called me and I could tell in his voice that something was going on,” Trent said. “He said, ‘It passed, it passed.’ He was so happy. Once he realized it passed, he was really thrilled and excited and very grateful to everybody.” In 28 seasons as St. Martinville’s coach, Delahoussaye accumulated a record of 246-92 and those two state championships in an era with only four classifications. “Really, it was Carroll that got the coaches and programs in this area thinking about winning state championships,” longtime Loreauville coach and friend Kirk Crochet said. “Once St. Martinville did it, then Crowley and Carencro came around and it became more of a realistic goal for schools in our area. They saw that it could be done.” The Tigers went back to the Superdome Classic in 1985 — in the first of two years moving

Jessica Burke has been coaching long enough to understand the volleyball season is a marathon and not a sprint. That allows the St. Thomas More coach to trust her process of working through lineups and seeing what works and what doesn’t. By doing that, the Cougars will have developed a rotation built to contend for a state championship. Having lost six players — including four starters and two captains — from last year’s state title team, Burke is back at it as the Cougars look to extend their state championship win streak to six. “I knew we would have to replace a lot of really good leadership and charisma,” Burke said. “So I’m just ... trying to get them a little bit out of their comfort zone. I’m asking them to do things that maybe they’re not supernatural yet. But they’ve been doing a great job of building charisma, conﬁdence and leadership on the court.” Leading the way are Clare Thomson, Virginia Blanchard, Mallory Franklin, Morgan Dunn and Madeline Blanchard. “I think we’re serving extremely well,” Burke said. “We side-out at a high rate still. Our offense is coming around nicely and so is our serve-receive. It’s still a strength, even though it’s not quite the STM standard. “It’s still in the winning threshold, so there’s a lot of things that this team is really doing well. We’re just trying to ﬁnd that continuity and being able to maintain elite movements throughout a whole game.”

Through 13 matches against some of the best teams in the state, the Cougars appear to be establishing themselves as the team to beat in Division II. “Overall, I think we’ve been playing well. I think we just are trying to find consistency,” Burke said. “We look really, really good in some spots and then kind of fall asleep a little bit at times. So we are just trying to find an elite stride and make that our foundation.” The Cougars (11-2) have had wins over John Curtis, St. Joseph’s, St. Scholastica, Riverside and Catholic High of New Iberia, with losses against perennial power Dunham in five sets and Westminster Christian-Opelousas. On Tuesday, St. Thomas More swept Catholic-New Iberia 2520, 25-5, 25-19 to extend its winning streak to seven, while handing the Panthers (8-1) their first loss. In the win, Dunn (14 kills, eight digs), Franklin (10 kills, five digs, three blocks), Virginia Blanchard (eight kills, nine digs, assist), Thomson (35 assists, 11 digs, block) and Madeline Blanchard (14 digs two assists) were among the top performers. One player to keep an eye on is Abby Strother. The junior middle blocker was a starter ast year and has been coming on strong. On Tuesday, Strother had four kills, four digs and a block. “Abby is a kid who is doing phenomenally well,” Burke said. “She has been really hard to stop. She might be undersized, but she is an explosive athlete. She has been very consistent for us and coaches are going to have to prepare for her.”

Clare Thomson of St. Thomas More sets the ball during Tuesday’s match against Catholic of New Iberia. The Cougars swept the match 25-20, 25-5, 25-19.

PROVIdEd PHOTO

Longtime St. Martinville coach Carroll delahoussaye, left, confers with his son Trent during his playing days with the Tigers. up to the highest classification of 5A. That year, the town of St. Martinville was celebrating wins over Neville 31-21, John McDonogh 20-8, Leesville 14-8 and Brother Martin 14-7, before falling to John Ehret 42-7 in the final. “We just didn’t play our best game against Ehret,” Delahoussaye said. “They were good. We just made some mental mistakes in that game. I think maybe the kids were worn out. It was a rough playoff run.” The year before, things went Delahoussaye’s way. After losing to Northside in the regular season, all signs pointed toward having to play the Vikings again after Northside won 74-21 at Lutcher in the quarterfinals. “I didn’t want any part of Northside,” Delahoussaye laughed. “That’s the last team I wanted to play. They were physical and they had speed.” As it turned out, WashingtonMarion quarterback Mark Cole threw all over the Vikings in a semifinals win, before being tamed 21-20 by St. Martinville in the final. “Those were fun days,” Delahoussaye said. “The community was so supportive. Really, there’s so many people who are responsible for me getting this honor. My name is up there, but it’s because of all the great assistant coaches and great players I was fortunate to have and the community support.” Delahoussaye also credits the administration for the program’s success. “I was so fortunate to have worked with seven principals and got along with all of them,” Delahoussaye said. “I hear so many stories about coaches and principals, just not getting along. I can honestly tell you, there was never a loud word between me and one of the seven principals that I had — not one.” As a football coach, the Tigers rested on the fundamentals. Success often came from a long line of tremendous running backs from Troy Filer to JeanBatiste to Cornelius Gedward to James Jacquet to Martel

Narcisse. “He knew the game very well, but he was an extremely great motivator with a lot of enthusiasm,” Crochet said of Delahoussaye. “He even sent his team through the wall of the Cecilia dressing room instead of through the door. He was able to uplift an entire town. I can still remember the band playing “Purple Rain” in the Superdome, and the excitement that was created. I think he just uplifted an entire town for a long time.” Behind the scenes, his son Trent saw the secret sauce behind his father’s connection with the players he coached. Often times, St. Martinville’s roster had half the players of their biggest rivals, but few were tougher. He remembers a player with trouble at home living with the Delahoussaye family during one season until the issue was resolved. “There’s countless times where kids would drive up to our house and sit in our living room and cry to my dad about whatever was going on,” Trent said. “It didn’t matter if it was a starter or a backup player. He always treated each and every kid the same. Once those kids realized that he cared that much for them, they’re going to go out and play their hearts for you. I think that’s why he was so successful. it was about more than just football with him.” Many of those former players are returning for the ceremony Friday, followed by a postgame gathering where the 1984 state title game will be replayed. “These days with all the social media, you can’t get everybody to agree on anything,” Trent said. “But once they announced this, there’s been no pushback at all in the town of St. Martinville. That’s one thing I’ve noticed. This is the ﬁrst time in a while where the whole town is united and agrees on something, which is a great thing.” Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

PREP REPORT Football

Volleyball

Week 3 schedule

Tuesday’s results

All games start at 7 p.m.

St. Thomas More def. Cathollic-NI, 3-0 Lafayette Christian def. Notre Dame, 3-1 Carencro def. Church Point, 3-0 Lafayette Renaissance def. Eunice, 3-0 Lafayette def. Northside Christian, 3-0 Lake Charles Prep def. Breaux Bridge, 3-1 Teurlings def. Ascension Episcopal, 3-0 Westminster def. Iota, 3-0 Rayne def. Acadiana Renaissance, 3-1 Beau Chene def. Opelousas 3-0 Rayne def. Northside Christian 3-1 David Thibodaux def. St. Edmund, 3-1 Morgan City def. Abbeville, 3-0 Carencro def. Crowley, 3-0 Vinton def. Eunice, 3-2 Opelousas Catholic def. St. Edmund, 3-2 North Vermilion def. New Iberia, 3-1 Centerville def. Westgate, 3-1 Port Barre def. Westminster-Lafayette, 3-0 Acadiana def. St. John, 3-1 St. John def. Sacred Heart-GC, 3-0 ESA def. Marksville, 3-1 St. Martinville def. Highland Baptist, 3-1 Acadiana Christian def. Westgate, 3-0 Glencoe Charter def. Northside, 3-2 North Vermilion 25-16-25-25 New Iberia 21-25-23-14 Top Performers: NV — Rose 14 kills, 3 digs, 4 aces, 4 assists; Kaitlyn Hargrave 4 kills, 3 assists; Annalise Marix — 2 kills, 10 assists, 2 digs; Londyn LeBlanc 2 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 1 dig, 1 assist; Gabby Caruso — 9 assists, 1 dig; Chloe LeBlanc — 6 kills; Kyla Landry — 10 digs, 2 aces. Records: NV 4-2. Lafayette Christian 25-22-25-25 Notre Dame 18-25-23-18 Top Performers: LCA — Demi Barrett 29 kills, 13 digs; Finley Landry 4 aces, 14 digs; Demi Batiste 1 ace, 9 digs, 19 assists. St. Thomas More 25-25-25 Catholic-NI 20-5-19 Top Performers: STM — Morgan Dunn 14 kills, 8 digs; Mallory Franklin 10 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks; Virginia Blanchard 8 kills, 9 digs, 1 assist; Clare Thompson 35 assists, 11 digs, 1 block; Madeline Blanchard 14 digs, 2 assists. Records: STM 11-2. CHNI 8-1. St. Martinville 25-25-16-25 Highland Baptist 19-17-25-20 Top Performers: SMSH — Imrie Kately 29 assists, 2 digs; Alivia Joseph 7 kills, 5 digs; Nya Ledet 8 kills, 2 blocks; Bailey Mouton 7 kills, 1 dig; Tristin Fontenette 14 digs.

Thursday’s games

Istrouma (1-1) at JS Clark (1-1) Highland (0-2) at Berchmans (1-1)

Friday’s games

Acadiana (2-0) at Carencro (1-1) Lafayette (2-0) at Erath (1-1) Union Parish (0-2) at Southside (0-2) St. Thomas More (1-1) at Catholic-BR (1-1) Ville Platte (0-2) at North Vermilion (2-0) Rayne (1-1) at Church Point (1-1) Acadiana Renaissance (1-1) at Abbeville (0-2) John Curtis (1-1) at Lafayette Renaissance (1-1) Ascension Episcopal (0-2) at Northside (0-2) Lafayette Christian (2-0) at Alexandria (2-0) Notre Dame (2-0) at Teurlings (0-2) Westminster-Lafayette (2-0) at Houma Christian (1-1) New Iberia (1-1) at St. Martinville (1-1) Jena (2-0) at Westgate (2-0) Beau Chene (2-0) at Port Barre (0-2) Breaux Bridge (0-2) at Crowley (0-2) Cecilia (2-0) at Barbe (2-0) Northwest (1-1) at Opelousas (2-0) Eunice (2-0) at Kinder (1-1) Iota (1-1) at Lake Arthur (2-0) Catholic-NI (1-1) at Kaplan (2-0) Delcambre (2-0) at Pickering (1-1) Loreauville (1-1) at Vermilion Catholic (0-2) North Central (2-0) at Block (0-2) Opelousas Catholic (1-1) at Covenant Christian (1-1) St. Edmund (2-0) at Loyola (1-1) Westminster (0-2) at Live Oak (0-2)

Area leaders Rushing Player Com. DeShun Lightfoot, Acadiana 53 Jaden Celestine, Lafayette 34 Pierce Gable, West.-Laf. 33 Kristian Aubrey, ACRA 43 Joseph Clues, Opelousas 19 De’Maurion Cormier, Kaplan 32 Nathan Driggs, St. Edmund 32

Att. Yds. TD 487 9.1 9 383 11.2 8 342 10.3 4 328 7.6 5 275 14.4 3 262 8.1 2 248 7.7 5

Passing Player Com. Att. Yds. TD Landen DeRouen, Erath 29 46 556 7 Austin Calandra, Teurlings 40 71 515 2 Noah Antoine, Westgate 21 28 434 8 Kennan Brown, LR 30 50 349 2 Grayson Hemard STM 27 47 348 4 John Parker Robinson, CHNI 22 36 346 2 Justin Chavis, Northwest 17 36 306 1

Receiving Player No. Yds. Avg. TD Tate Collins, Erath 12 254 21.1 4 Carter Champagne, Erath 9 208 23.1 2 Cayden Lancelin, Westgate 8 193 24.1 4 Jaylon Owens, Opelousas 6 170 28.3 2 Jamion James, St. Martinville 8 164 20.5 2 Jackilon Roberson, Westgate 7 162 23.1 2 Kadyn James, Loreauville 8 152 19.0 2

Thursday’s matches Acadiana at Cecilia, St. Thomas More at Southside, Thiboduax at New Iberia, Northwest at Carencro, Acadiana Renaissance at Lafayette, Breaux Bridge at Church Point, Crowley at Jennings, Eunice at Lake Charles Prep, Sulphur at Iota, Northside at Lafayette Renaissance, St. Martinville at Catholic-NI, Loreauville at David Thibodaux, Notre Dame at Barbe, Westminster at Lafayette Christian, Acadiana Christian at WestminsterLafayette, Ascension Episcopal at Sacred Heart, St. Edmund at Episcopal of Acadiana, Centerville at Highland Baptist, Northside Christian at North Vermilion, Delcambre at Vermilion Catholic.

Eggplant Parmesan will help ease fall returns BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

LIVING

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

T h u r s d ay, s e p T e m b e r 17, 2026

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Fall comes with more structured routines for many of us. With the kids back at school and a renewed focus on work, meals have to be carefully planned around homework and sports practice schedules and other activities that bring life back indoors. One of my go-to recipes when I’m feeling pressed for time or generally don’t feel like cooking is this breezy, cheesy eggplant Parmesan, made with jarred (or homemade) marinara. It will help get you back into autumnal meal planning with flair and flavor. The recipe features simple ingredients you should be able to find in any decent grocery store and go from stovetop or oven to table in less time than it takes to do a load of laundry or watch your kid solve a sheet of math problems.

STAFF PHOTO By PEARL SPURLOCK

Snack appeel peel Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/ TNS PHOTO By GRETCHEN McKAy

Easy Eggplant Parmesan Serves 6-8. Recipe is by Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette. This meatless entree can be made in a casserole dish or oven-proof skillet. Be sure to slice the eggplant to a consistent thickness so it cooks evenly. Look for eggplant that is dark and shiny and feels firm when pressed. Small to medium-sized fruit have more tender skin. 2 medium globe eggplants Salt 3 large eggs ½ cup all-purpose flour 2 cups seasoned panko breadcrumbs ¼ cup olive oil, for frying 1 to 2 cups jarred or homemade marinara 1 cup shredded mozzarella 1 cup shredded or grated Parmesan 2 tablespoons sliced fresh basil ½ teaspoon dried oregano 1. Cut stems off eggplants, then slice into ¼- or ½-inch thick slices. 2. Arrange slices on a pan and sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt on both sides. Leave eggplant in the pan for around 10 minutes to “sweat” its excess moisture. Pat dry with paper towels and wipe off excess salt. 3. Whisk eggs in a large shallow bowl, and place flour and breadcrumbs in two additional bowls. Coat eggplant slices in flour on both sides, dip into beaten eggs, then into bowl with breadcrumbs. Press breadcrumbs onto eggplant with your fingers (it should be thoroughly covered), then gently shake off excess crumbs. 4. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices. 5. In large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add a layer of breaded eggplant and fry for 2 minutes on each side, or until crispy and golden brown. Lay on paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Repeat until all eggplant has been fried. You may have to add additional oil to the pan. 6. Spread a thin layer of marinara on the bottom of a large casserole pan or ovenproof skillet. Be careful — add too much sauce and your eggplant Parm will be mushy. I used about ½ cup for an 8-inch-by-12-inch pan. 7. Layer eggplant slices, shredded mozzarella, a spoonful of marinara and shredded Parmesan. For bigger crowds or heartier portions, repeat with a second layer of eggplant, cheese and marinara. 8. Bake at 350 F, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until cheese is browned and melted and eggplant is tender when pierced with a fork. 9. Top with chopped fresh basil and oregano, allow to cool for a few minutes (it will make slicing easier) then serve.

don’t throw out those bananas. Try this recipe for a yummy peanut butter banana smoothie

BY APRIL HAMILTON

| Contributing writer

RECIPE y latest breakfast obsession leaves my family in PEANUT disbelief and is proof that “no thank you foods” BUTTER BANANA can become the star of the show. SMOOTHIE The food in question is the humble banana, 6C which my grown daughters have never seen me eat. Discovering a quick, nutritious, delicious peanut butter banana smoothie in my culinary medicine curriculum converted me into a banana fan. Last week while driving to work, I was talking with my daughter in New York, in between sips of my smoothie. “What are you eating?” she asked. When I described my delicious breakfast smoothie, she responded, “I don’t even recognize you right now!” Later sharing my new discovery with my daughter in London, she replied, “WHAT?!!!” I am equally incredulous and so grateful to add the ever-popular fruit to my nutrition repertoire. ä See SMOOTHIE, page 6C

Beef taco salad makes a great busy weeknight meal BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

I was looking for a quick Tex-Mex style dish and decided to make a beef taco salad with lean ground beef browned and ﬂavored with taco seasoning. I found a choice of mild, medium and hot seasoning at the market. So, you can adjust the spice level to your taste. For this quick salad, I added lettuce, tomatoes and corn kernels and topped it all with shredded Mexican-style cheese. Crisp tortilla chips are served on the side. The salad can be made in advance, making it perfect for a busy weeknight. Just serve the tortilla chips at the last minute to keep them crisp.

Beef Taco Salad Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer. 2 teaspoons olive oil ¾ pound 95% lean ground beef 1 tablespoon taco seasoning 1 cup romaine lettuce 1 cup arugula 2 cups whole cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1 cup green bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces ½ cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style shredded cheese 2 tablespoons reduced-fat vinaigrette dressing 1 cup frozen defrosted corn kernels 2 cups baked low-fat tortilla chips

2. Add the taco seasoning and mix well. Cook another minute. 3. Divide in half and add to two large bowls. Divide the romaine and arugula lettuce in half and place in the bowl next to the meat. Place the cherry tomatoes next to the lettuce. 4. Add the green bell peppers and then the corn. Spoon vinaigrette dressing over the vegetables. Sprinkle the cheese over the vegetables. Serve tortilla chips TNS PHOTO By LINdA GASSENHEIMER on the side. Beef Taco Salad NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 575 calories (34 percent from fat), 1. Heat oil in a large skillet over 21.7 g fat (8.1 g saturated, 7.9 g medium-high heat. Add ground monounsaturated), 127 mg chobeef and saute 2 to 3 minutes, lesterol, 50.5 g protein, 45.5 g breaking into small pieces as it carbohydrates, 6.8 g fiber, 773 cooks. mg sodium.

6C ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Party planner good deeds Warming up quickly in the cold still don’t go unpunished Dear Miss Manners: I am ﬂum- a social matter, complete with humility and gratitude, moxed. On two separate occasions, I have offered to into a transactional one. But Miss Manners would host a birthday party for a hate to think that your friend. They were both enabused generosity thusiastically recepwill dissuade you tive to my offer. from continuing In each case, I with more reasonasked for their guest list with email able recipients. addresses to send Perhaps you can e-vites to their inpreface the next Judith offer by saying, “I vitees. I also asked Martin am so excited to each birthday girl MISS give you a party, but for any favorite apMANNERS I’m afraid I have petizers or beveragsomewhat limited es, so I could serve something she particularly time and resources. If that doesn’t suit you, perhaps likes. The ﬁrst friend wanted to you should hire a profesdo everything last-minute, sional.” Thereby making it including getting the guest clear that not only are you list to me. Then she even re- not one, but you should not quested I bring all the party be treated as such. Dear Miss Manners: My husmakings to her house, because that would be easier band is a friendly older for her than coming to mine White man. When we have — on the day of the party! people come and do work The second friend wanted at our home, he often calls to schedule a planning sesthem “my brother,” “my friend” or “my man” when sion where the two of us speaking to them. It doesn’t could go over all of the details a month ahead of time, matter what race or age they are. and wants to text about it The workers are always every other day. polite, so my husband Where did I go wrong, or thinks they like how he am I missing something? speaks. I believe they are Gentle reader: You have no trained not to react if a cusdoubt heard of good deeds not going unpunished? tomer says something ofThe professional party fensive. I think he is being planner industry has, pertoo familiar, disrespectful and possibly patronizing. haps, made what should be

He means well, and I am not objecting to his friendliness. I just think he should call them by name or “sir.” What do you think? Gentle reader: We can hope that the recipients are merely amused, rather than offended. He is being all of the things you fear, so you would be doing him a favor if you can get him to stop. Miss Manners suggests you remind him of a parallel situation he has no doubt run into, whether that be attempts to use teenage slang with the grandchildren, texting abbreviations he did not fully understand with co-workers, or other situations in which those on the receiving end were in a position to be more forthright in pointing out that he does not speak their language. He need not call people he has hired to do work “sir,” but he does need to treat them with respect — which includes not being overly familiar. Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners. com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Dear Heloise: I have two op- remove a jacket, hat or tions to suggest for warm- glove to cool off. They feel ing up a cold, small animal: damp in cold air. n Run a towel through If they were to become hypothermic, they could the dryer and wrap them get inside a sleeping bag, in this along with a space and you could get blanket to hold the in with them. Your warmth in. n If you’re combody heat could save a life. — Heloise fortable with it, wrap the animal A letter of laughter in a soft, thin cloth (like an old ﬂanDear Heloise: About Hints from 30 years ago, you nel sheet) and put Heloise had AC problems the animal on your with your car in chest. Body heat Karnes City, Texas. I works well. worked at the Pontiac deal— Kate D., in Portland, Oregon Kate, the transfer of er, and we were very busy. body heat also works for I led you about three blocks humans. So many people away to a small auto repair forget that in very cold place run by Larry Kotzur. weather, while they’re Our place didn’t have AC in shoveling snow or skiing, the customer waiting area, they may start to perspire but neither did Larry’s. because they’ve worked up Across the street from their body heat. They may Larry’s is Karnes County

National Bank. They had AC if you recall. I forgot about something that you had sent me and accidentally found it after many years. I found it again today. A year ago, Larry said that you sent him something, too. (A cookbook?) You thanked us after meeting us. I’m just now thanking you. Here’s a good lesson: Thank someone immediately. Don’t wait over 30 years! God bless. — Randy Witte, via email Randy, I remember this day, and I greatly appreciated your help and thoughtfulness. Thanks for taking the time to write in! (Better late than never!) It gave me a good laugh. — Heloise Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY behind German lines in the Netherlands. In 1978, after 12 days of Today is Thursday, meetings at the U.S. presiSept. 17, the 260th day of 2026. There are 105 days dential retreat of Camp left in the year. David, Egyptian President Today in history: Anwar Sadat and Israeli On Sept. 17, 1787, the Prime Minister Menachem Constitution of the United Begin signed the Camp DaStates was completed and vid Accords, a framework signed by a majority of for a peace treaty. delegates attending the In 2001, six days after Constitutional Convention 9/11, stock prices nosein Philadelphia. dived but stopped short of Also on this date: collapse in an emotional, In 1862, more than 3,600 ﬂag-waving reopening of men were killed in the Civ- Wall Street. In 2011, a demonstration il War Battle of Antietam calling itself Occupy Wall in Maryland. Street began in New York, In 1908, Lt. Thomas E. prompting similar protests Selfridge of the U.S. Army around the U.S. and the Signal Corps became the world. ﬁrst person to die in the In 2021, a Los Angeles crash of a powered aircraft, jury convicted New York the Wright Flyer, at Fort Myer, Virginia, just outside real estate heir Robert Washington, D.C. The pilot, Durst of killing his best friend 20 years earlier. Orville Wright, was seriously injured but survived. (Durst, who was sentenced to life in prison, died in In 1944, during World 2022.) War II, Allied paratroopIn 2024, thousands of ers launched Operation pagers distributed to the Market Garden, landing

By The Associated Press

Shiite Muslim political party and the militant group Hezbollah blew up in homes, ofﬁces and front lines across Lebanon, remotely detonated by Israel. The pager attack killed 12 people and wounded more than 3,000 others. Today’s birthdays: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is 93. Mountaineer-explorer Reinhold Messner is 82. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson is 81. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is 76. Actor Cassandra Peterson (“Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”) is 75. Director-actor Paul Feig is 64. Film director Baz Luhrmann is 64. Singer BeBe Winans is 64. Actor Kyle Chandler is 61. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is 60. Author Cheryl Strayed is 58. Actor Matthew Settle is 57. Designer-TV personality Nate Berkus is 55. NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson is 51. NHL forward Alexander Ovechkin is 41. Actor Danielle Brooks is 37.

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR HOME FINF OUT WHAT

YOURIS WORTH HOME

IS WORTH STAFF PHOTOS By PEARL SPURLOCK

April Hamilton blends a banana smoothie in her kitchen on Sept. 8.

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Makes 2 servings or many popsicles or pup treats. Recipe is adapted from American College of Culinary Medicine. butter powder. With the lid on, blend for 30 seconds. 2. Add the frozen banana coins, yogurt and peanut butter. Blend again until smooth. Scrape the sides of blender, if needed, and blend again. 3. Add ice if you desire a more slushy consistency. 4. Pour into two glasses and serve, or pour extra 1. Pour the soy milk into a smoothie mixture into popblender and add the peanut sicle molds and freeze. 1 cup plain soy milk (or milk of your choice) 2 tablespoons peanut butter powder 2 medium ripe bananas, peeled, sliced into coins and frozen ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt or Icelandic Skyr 2 tablespoons peanut butter 1 cup ice, if a more slushy consistency is desired*

5. For pup treats, pour about 2 tablespoons of smoothie mixture into paper-lined muffin cups or silicone molds and freeze for a frosty treat the pups can enjoy on the patio. NOTE: When ice is blended into the smoothie, the popsicles or pup treats will have a firmer icy consistency when frozen. Best to pour these up first, then blend in some ice for the smoothie of the moment.

Call Today for an Expert Valuation and Make Your Next Move

1-833-671-6635

CALL TODAY

SMOOTHIE

Continued from page 5C Here are some compelling stats: A medium-sized banana is about 100 calories with 3 grams of fiber and a host of vitamins and minerals. They are available yearround, portable in their own package and a versatile addition to many recipes. This particular smoothie blends frozen banana with milk/ yogurt of choice to make it creamy and calcium-rich and peanut butter and powder to amp up the protein. It’s ready in a flash with the blender doing the work while you brew the coffee. This one also encores as smoothie pops and frozen treats for the pups. When it comes to banana management skills, I am a novice. I learned the hard way that peeling a frozen banana is a job no one finishes. As I watched a lone banana go from ready to

THINKING

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

April Hamilton’s dogs, Gus and Elsie, get to lick the spoon from smoothie-making. ‘oops too late,’ in haste I tossed it whole in its blackening yellow jacket into the freezer. When it was smoothie time, I fetched the frozen fruit only to ﬁnd it impossible to pry the peel off. Now I take a few minutes to peel, slice and freeze so the little banana coins blend effortlessly into

breakfast. The next time your bananas are blackened beyond palatable, slice and freeze and breathe some new life into them. Break out the blender and I promise, this combination of everyday ingredients punches above its weight. It’s how I became a banana believer.

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 ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

zodIAC VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Put your plans on hold until you have everything in place. Acting prematurely will cost you as the day unfolds. Pay attention to detail, and get what you want in writing. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Learning from past relationships will help you become a better partner and encourage you to make wiser decisions. Spend more time listening and less trying to charm others. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Less anger and distaste toward those you encounter and more strength and discipline toward becoming the best version of yourself will pay off. Say no to temptation. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Broaden your horizons, connections and goals. Choose what makes you happy and who you enjoy spending time with most, and adjust your calendar to ensure you schedule what's most meaningful to you. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) No matter who you share time with or what you do, enthusiasm will make the time spent more vibrant, interesting and entertaining. Form close ties with people who bring out the best in you. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Think about what you want to do next. Build your future using your skills, experience and intellectual talents, and you'll find your niche. Set up interviews. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Sensitive issues will make communication difficult. Be bold and direct, and fact-check information before you follow through.

Participate in events or activities that encourage you to use your skills. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Gather information. Whether you research, attend a lecture or sign up for what interests you, it will lead to something that stimulates your mind. Share your thoughts. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take better care of yourself, your relationships and your reputation. Work from home, if possible, and deal with institutions. Pursue any financial help available that can help you with home improvements. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Go where the action is and experience the excitement of being part of a movement you believe in. Your input will be welcome, and what you take on will help you gain insight into something you want to pursue. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Spend more time and effort on home and personal care. A routine will help you reach and maintain healthy goals that encourage you to look, live and feel your best. Be honest with yourself. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Life lessons can be the most effective way to redesign how you live and what you do next. Be open to suggestions and eager to try something new. Your attitude will set the stage for a positive alternative. 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: I EQuALs y

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

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8C ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

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La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 17, 2026 ● 9C

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Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER Livy, a Roman historian who died in A.D. 17, said, “The troubles that have come upon us always seem more serious than those that are only threatening.” This week we are looking at active and passive defense. The defenders either strive to take winners (active) or sit back and wait for declarer to give them tricks (passive). First, the defenders listen to the auction. But when that does not help them to know which plan to adopt, they must take the dummy into account. Is it threatening or not? Threatening is a dummy with a short suit, giving declarer ruffing tricks, or a long side suit, offering declarer a second source of winners. Unthreatening is a balanced hand. In this example, how should East defend against four spades after West leads the diamond two and East takes dummy’s queen with his king? I would have raised to three no-trump with that North hand because of the strong doubleton — and gone down in flames after a diamond lead. East, since the dummy is so flat, should return a diamond at trick two, which removes that dummy entry. If declarer is psychic, he can make the contract: heart to the queen, two rounds of trumps, diamond ruff in the dummy, second heart finesse, cash the heart ace,

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

and run the club nine. East wins with his 10 and returns a low club, but South plays low from his hand to lose only one diamond and two clubs. However, he is unlikely to find that line and will go down. With a relatively flat dummy, stay passive. © 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 — JouRnEys: JOR-nees: Trips.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 20 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 26 or more words in JOURNEYS? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — KILoGRAM kilo lair lark liar limo loam okra oral girl glair glamor

glim glom goal grail gram grim grok ragi rail roam roil

amir amok argil mail mako mark marl milk molar moral

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not stick to me.” Psalms 101:3

We all need to make this resolution. This is God’s will. G.E. Dean

10C l Thursday, September 17, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

lll

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

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U.S. stocks slip after Fed hikes interest rates

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks slipped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hiked its main interest rate for the first time in three years and suggested more may be ahead as it tries to get the nation’s high inflation under control. Bank stocks fell to some of the market’s sharper losses. A slower U.S. economy could mean less demand for loans from them. Banks also get hurt when the gap narrows between short-term interest rates and longer-term ones because the industry makes profit off the difference. Following the Fed’s announcements, the two-year Treasury yield jumped to 4.74% from 4.67% late Tuesday. It tends to closely follow expectations for what the Fed will do with the federal funds rate. The yield on the longer-term 10-year Treasury had a more modest increase, ticking up to 5.01% from 5.00% late Tuesday. Huntington Bancshares fell 5.6%, Citizens Financial Group sank 4.8% and JPMorgan Chase slipped 1%. The largest loss in the S&P 500 came from J.B. Hunt Transport Services, which lost 13.3%. Its chief financial officer told a conference of analysts late Tuesday that it’s facing higher costs and expects its earnings to drop 5% to 10% from the second quarter to the third.

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Retail sales beat expectations

last month after recording a re- The government figures aren’t ad- back in nonstore sales, which deSpending jumps vised 0.5% dip in July, according justed for inflation. The roar back clined sharply in July, according Commerce Department data in spending is happening even as to economists. 1.2% in August after toreleased That was “seasonal noise” Wednesday. Economists consumer confidence took another anticipating a 0.7% gain for hit in July, according to the latest driven by shifts in the timing of shoppers pulled back were the month, according to FactSet. reading by the Conference Board. Amazon’s Prime Day shopping The strong spending report event, which also coincides with The decline in July was notable spending in July because there had been few signs comes as the Federal Reserve heavy promotions from other ma-

BY ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

AP business writer

NEW YORK — Consumers may be griping about higher prices at the pump and elsewhere, but they keep spending, helping to power the economy, according to the latest government snapshot. Retail sales rebounded at a better-than-expected 1.2% increase

of fatigue from U.S. consumers. Americans spent heavily during the World Cup and Amazon Prime Day sales this summer. That followed solid retail sales in April and May as Americans dipped into their government tax refunds. Even excluding business at gas stations, retail sales rose 1.1% in August, underscoring the resilience of the American consumer.

lifted its short-term interest rate Wednesday for the first time in three years to fight stubbornly high inﬂation. The quarter-point increase lifts the Fed’s key rate to roughly 3.9% and, over time, could result in higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. Much of the strength in retail last month reflected a bounce

jor online retailers, according to Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. Rising gas prices also propped up gasoline station sales, he said. But even accounting for these factors, gains in most spending categories were “decent,” led by discretionary sectors such as food services, electronics, and sports and recreation, Pearce wrote.

Paramount, official to meet for merger talks Paramount Skydance will meet with California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s representatives next month for courtordered settlement talks that could clear a path for David Ellison’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The two sides will convene Oct. 14-15, according to court documents ﬁled this week. The talks come as both sides look for ways to resolve the pitched battle over Hollywood’s industry-reshaping deal, which would put HBO, CBS, CNN, TBS, Food Network, Comedy Central and the Paramount and Warner Bros. studios under one roof. Bonta and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general sued in July to block it, and Ellison’s team has been stoking political pressure on Bonta to retreat. Bonta’s Paramount case appears to have rufﬂed the Trump administration. He sued one month after the U.S. Justice Department blessed the merger without demanding concessions — a decision that Bonta said showed federal officials were not doing their jobs to enforce antitrust law. This week the department weighed in on Paramount’s side.

Amazon ups minimum starting hourly wage NEW YORK — Amazon said it’s increasing the minimum starting hourly wage for its U.S. full-time core operations employees to $20 ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. With the $1-per-hour increase across the board for these types of workers who do jobs like pack and ship orders, the average pay for these employees will reach nearly $24 per hour, the company said Wednesday. The retailer said the average total compensation will be more than $32 an hour including the value of its beneﬁts package. The pay increase is effective starting Sept. 27, the retailer said. Amazon also said Wednesday that employees will receive new beneﬁts like a 10% discount on eligible fresh groceries and everyday essentials at Amazon. com and Whole Foods Market online as well as 20% off at Whole Foods physical stores. In comparison, Walmart last year expanded its 10% employee discount to include nearly all grocery purchases at its stores and online. The discount had previously applied to fresh groceries and general merchandise but didn’t include such groceries as milk, pasta, or meat except during the November and December holiday shopping period.

ASSOCIATEd PRESS FILE PHOTO

An advertising sign for building land stands in front of a new home construction site in Northbrook, Ill. The Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point, which will likely make it costlier to borrow for homes, autos and other purchases.

Fed rate hike likely means more expensive credit cards, mortgages But savers may rejoice at the extra returns

and other goods and services, eventually cooling the economy and reducing upward pressure on prices. Kevin Warsh, Fed chair since May, has assured Congress that central bank policymakBY PAUL WISEMAN ers “have no tolerance for persistently elevatAP economics writer ed inflation.” Speaking to reporters Wednesday after the WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve just raised the cost of money — bad news for bor- Fed's meeting, Warsh argued that the rate hike will benefit lower-income Americans because rowers, good news for savers. The Fed increased its benchmark interest they are hurt most by higher prices. “The least rate Wednesday by a quarter-point, the first well off are the ones that have the most to gain rate hike since the summer of 2023. The hike from stable prices,” he said. will likely make it even costlier to borrow for homes, autos and other purchases. But you’ll Which consumers are most affected? probably earn a bit more interest on your savAnyone borrowing money to make a sizable purchase, such as a home, car or large appliings. The increase boosts the Fed's target rate to a ance, will likely take a hit eventually. The new range of 3.75% to 4%. rate will also increase monthly payments and costs for any consumer who is already paying Why is the Fed raising rates? interest on credit card debt. Then again, said Matt Schulz, chief consumThe short answer: inflation. Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% er finance analyst at the online loan markettarget for more than five years. The Labor place LendingTree, “the reality is that a single Department reported Friday that consumer quarter-point rate increase isn't really going to prices rose 3.4% in August compared to a year have a huge impact.” But it would be different earlier, while the monthly increase quadrupled if Wednesday's hike marks the first in a series from July to hit 0.4%. of rate increases. “When this all becomes imThe Fed’s goal is to slow consumer and busi- pactful to people is when you stack a few these ness spending by raising the cost of borrow- on top of each other over time, and it adds up ing, thereby reducing demand for homes, cars to something bigger,” Schulz said.

Fed policymakers signaled Wednesday that they expect to hike the benchmark rate again this year — to 4.1%.

Do savers get a break? Most likely. Wednesday’s move probably means interest rates on savings accounts and certiﬁcates of deposit are headed higher. The Fed doesn’t set rates on savings accounts and CDs but it “sets the tone” for them, the credit reporting agency Experian says. When the central bank started raising rates to combat an outbreak of inﬂation in March 2022, the average rate on a 1-year CD was stuck at a miserly 0.15%, according to FDIC data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The rate shot up to 1.88% by September 2024 and has remained above 1.5% ever since. Online banks and others that offer high-yield savings accounts typically compete aggressively for depositors.

What does this mean for mortgage rates? Mortgage rates don’t necessarily follow what the Fed does. They tend to track the yield on 10-year Treasury notes instead. Unfortunately for home shoppers, 10-year yields have been surging. On Monday they topped 5% for the ﬁrst time since 2023 due to unease over surging energy prices and massive government debt that continues to grow.

EU chief proposes social media ban for kids under 13 BY SAM MCNEIL and KELVIN CHAN

back. I disagree,” von der Leyen said in her annual State of the European Union speech in StrasBRUSSELS — The European Union's bourg. “We do not have to accept addictop ofﬁcial proposed on Wednesday banning children under 13 tive features. We do not have to across the 27-nation bloc from us- accept children being drawn into ing social media sites and impos- ever more extreme content. We do ing limits for older teens on ac- not have to accept that girls have their photos used for AI-generated cessing the platforms. The plan outlined by European sexualized images,” she said. Von der Leyen said that under Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adds to global efforts to her proposal “mini accounts” protect young people using plat- chaperoned by guardians would forms such as Instagram and Tik- be granted to kids aged 13-15, with limits on features and the amount Tok from online harm. “I am aware that many perceive of time they can be accessed. For 15-to-18-year-olds, platforms the power of Big Tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll will need to provide a “safe de-

Associated Press

sign," she said. Further details of the plan are expected Thursday. The EU’s 27 member nations still need to debate and vote on the proposal, which could take years and spark tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long criticized Europe’s tech regulations. Brando Benifei, an Italian member of the European Parliament, said he supported the plan and that Brussels shouldn't shy away from a showdown with the dominant U.S. tech companies. “To apply this, you need to confront in a very frontal way the interests of platforms and Big Tech who are not happy with this,” he said.

Von der Leyen was advancing a plan she foreshadowed earlier this year, when she said kids should be exposed to social media in a “phased and gradual” way. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok already prohibit anyone under 13 from opening an account, but authorities have accused the companies of failing to keep them off. But some experts said the commission was failing to tackle a more fundamental issue with the social media industry’s core business practices based on getting users hooked on scrolling through addictive content while showing them ads.