Skip to main content

The Acadiana Advocate 09-24-2026

Page 1

THE

ACADIANA

ADVOCATE

T H E A C A D I A N A 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 24, 2026

Education levels hit new high in Louisiana

54% of adults have credentials beyond high school, report says

$2.00X

Documents reveal Cajuns’ spending on NIL, revenue sharing Basketball spent more than football in 2025-26 school year BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Despite a new state law protecting such information, team-specific payout details for four UL system sports programs were accidentally included in documents posted online for last month’s University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors meeting. At UL, the Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball program spent more on public NIL and revenue sharing than football during the 2025-26 school year. According to Board of Regents documents, UL men’s basketball had $647,500 in public NIL/revenue sharing expenses during the first year under coach Quannas White. During the same year, the football program totaled $591,895, while baseball totaled $120,600. No actual figures were listed for other men’s

ä See SPENDING, page 4A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Graduates take a selfie while celebrating their graduation during the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Spring Commencement for Colleges of Engineering and Sciences at the Cajundome on May 15. BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

More Louisiana students than ever are getting college degrees or other credentials after high school, which state leaders say is the result of a yearslong push to expand dual enrollment, accelerated degrees and other programs. In 2026, 54% of adults in the state had a “credential of value,” meaning they had completed some kind of education beyond high school, according to a Board of Regents report released Wednesday. That number has climbed steadily since Louisiana identified educational attainment as a priority in 2019, when 44.2% of the population held a credential higher than a high school diploma. The state also graduated 85,000 students with credentials or degrees in 2026. That hits a target the Regents had set for 2030, according to the board. Louisiana does not rank highly compared with other states for edu-

“We believe that education can move people from poverty to prosperity. It’s something we’ve talked about since 2019. We have to stay committed, remain committed, in making sure that more students who enroll with us complete what they start and that more people who never have an opportunity to come to us find a way to get to us.” KIM HUNTER REED, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education cation, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed said. But she called the Bayou State a “state on the move.” “We believe that education can move people from poverty to prosperity,” Reed said. “It’s something we’ve talked about since 2019. We have to stay committed, remain committed, in making sure that more students who enroll with us complete what they start and that more people who never have an opportunity to come to us find a way to get to us.” Nationally, around 55% of adults

have a post-high school credential, according to data from the Lumina Foundation in 2024. Reed said introducing students to higher education earlier, such as through dual enrollment programs, and intervening when they need more support have helped raise the state’s number of degree and credential holders. Colleges and universities have also worked to make their offerings more affordable and tied to workforce needs with programs like accelerated bachelor’s degrees,

ä See ATTAINMENT, page 4A

Guillory seeks dismissal of malfeasance charges Former Lafayette mayor’s trial set for Nov. 16

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR

Staff writer

Former Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory is asking a judge to dismiss four felony malfeasance charges he faces in St. Martin Parish. Guillory’s trial is set for Nov. 16 on allegations stemming from his administration’s 2022 removal of a spoil bank along the Vermilion River in St. Martin Parish without the required permits or permission from St. Martin Parish officials. On Tuesday, his attorney filed a motion to quash all four charges. Guillory has maintained he did nothing wrong and pleaded not Guillory guilty. He is charged with: n Removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River without a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, in violation of the federal Rivers and Harbors Act.

ä See GUILLORY, page 4A

D.C.-based group wades into 6th Congressional District race Club for Growth launches attack ads against Edmonds

But a Washington, D.C.-based solid conservatives. Both have a 100% anti-abortion group, Club for Growth, has just launched a millionvoting record from dollar attack ad against Louisiana Right to Life Edmonds that says he during their years in H H H H H H “lies,” is a “sellout” and the state Legislature. is guilty of “betrayal” Both score at least 90% BY TYLER BRIDGES for his position on three from the Louisiana AsStaff writer bills over the past five sociation of Business State Senators Rick Edmonds and Industry. Both score 100% years. Club for Growth has endorsed and Blake Miguez — the highest- from the National Federation of profile candidates for a vacant Independent Business. Both have Miguez — even though he voted Baton Rouge-based congressional the endorsement of the Louisiana ä See RACE, page 4A seat — have earned a reputation as Republican Party.

WEATHER HIGH 94 LOW 69 PAGE 6A

ELECTION

Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................5A Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C

Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, left, speaks with Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, in the Senate chamber during the 2025 legislative session. STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

102ND yEAR, NO. 86


2A ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Rome’s Colosseum closes after worker death

ROME — Rome’s Colosseum, Italy’s most-visited monument, was closed to the public suddenly on Wednesday to mourn a worker who fell to his death overnight while helping install a new illumination project. The 22-year-old man, Andrea Moretti, specialized in working at altitude on ropes. He had been installing cabling for the project that was expected to be completed next month and died inside the Colosseum, the archaeological site’s press office said. Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the government was deeply shocked and saddened by the death and called for the cause to be determined as quickly as possible. “Dying at the age of 22 is unacceptable — even more so when it happens in the workplace,” she said in a statement. Authorities are working to determine the circumstances of Moretti’s death, the park’s statement said. A separate statement late Wednesday said the park would remain closed on Thursday to mourn Moretti and in solidarity with his family. Representatives of Italy’s main union, CGIL, were on site after the death to request information about Moretti’s employer and contract and said that closing the monument was the least Rome authorities could do to honor his memory.

lll

WHO warns of worker shortage Congo Ebola facilities lack enough staff to operate By The Associated Press BUNIA, Congo — Congo is running short of health workers to staff treatment centers for history’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak, particularly in the eastern province of North Kivu where cases have surged 73% over three weeks, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The warning came despite signs of improvement in other provinces, including Ituri, the outbreak’s epicenter. The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures. Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20, cases fell 26% in Ituri province and 15% in Haut-Uele, said Marie Roseline Belizaire, the WHO’s

regional emergency director for Africa. But transmission patterns vary widely and the outbreak remains uncontrolled, she said. “While cases and deaths are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others,” Belizaire said. “The outbreak is still not under control and remains spread across a wide geographic area.” The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said it is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Catherine Smallwood, the WHO’s

Ebola incident manager, said cases and deaths had begun declining in North Kivu after several weeks of increases. But although treatment beds are being added daily, facilities still lack enough staff and partners to operate them. “The human resources gap is one of the biggest gaps,” Smallwood said. WHO representative in Congo Anne Ancia said one Ebola treatment center requires about 300 health professionals, including anesthetists, hygienists, nurses and general practitioners. “We are building Ebola treatment centers but do not always have the human resources needed to operate them,” Ancia said. “Those health workers must be paid.” Frontline workers in Ituri previously went on strike over unpaid

Preservation group launches legal defense fund BY JILL COLVIN Associated Press

Flights canceled after fighters take over airport ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Regional forces in Tigray in northern Ethiopia took control of the local airport on Wednesday morning, prompting the state-owned carrier to cancel flights to the troubled region. Ethiopian Airlines said it suspended flights to Tigray’s capital Mekelle and the cities of Axum and Shire “due to the current situation,” without providing further details. The regional government said in a statement it had instructed its fighters to enter into “defensive war” after federal forces attacked Tigray on Tuesday using drones and heavy artillery. The African Union Commission chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, called for restraint and immediate de-escalation. In a statement, he expressed concern over the renewed tensions and occupation of the airport, saying these actions risk destabilizing the region and reversing gains made in a 2022 peace agreement. He also condemned the “detention of federal personnel by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front,” but did not give details. The U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin J. Massinga expressed disappointment over the fighting, calling it a “poor decision” and threatening sanctions.

Mass shooting kills 11 in South Africa CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Three gunmen barged into a small house in an impoverished neighborhood in South Africa and opened fire on a group enjoying a party inside, killing at least 11 people including a pregnant woman, police and local authorities said Wednesday. Three others were wounded in the late-night mass shooting Tuesday in KwaMakhutha township, which is located about 19 miles south of the city of Durban on the east coast. The motive for the shooting wasn’t known, but some of the shooting victims were known to authorities as part of investigations into criminal activity, police said. Police didn’t give out any more information on those investigations, saying it could compromise them. “Although the motive of the shooting cannot be confirmed yet, (a) feud between rival groupings cannot be ruled out,” the South African Police Service said in a statement. Ten people, including the pregnant woman, died at the scene and an 11th was declared dead at a hospital. Authorities didn’t immediately give out details on the condition of the three people who were wounded. Police said they were searching for three men and no arrests had been made.

wages, worsening access to care. Health Minister Roger Kamba said in July that the government was verifying payroll lists after the names of people not involved in the response were added. Frontline workers said officials promised to pay the arrears, but some workers received nothing and others only part of what they were owed. Another major challenge in the response is the fatality rate among children, according to the WHO. Children under 5 have the highest case fatality rate, more than 60% compared with approximately 40% among adults, Belizaire said. WHO Ebola Incident Manager Smallwood said detecting cases among children under 5 is also very difficult because the children can’t necessarily explain their symptoms, and the presentation of symptoms can be confusing.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping walk together at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Wednesday after Trump greeted Xi planeside.

Trump greets China’s Xi planeside for state visit Salutation kicks off three days of events

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday, where he was met with a rare planeside greeting from President Donald Trump, who was there to welcome his counterpart instead of waiting for him to drive up to the White House. Trump’s decision to greet Xi at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington rather than receiving him at the executive residence shows how far the U.S. president is going to honor China’s leader as he made his first state visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade. A 100-foot-long red carpet was unfurled at the bottom of the staircase placed at the door of Xi’s plane, where a 21-person honor guard was arrayed and Trump and first lady Melania Trump stood waiting for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, when they walked down the staircase and shook hands with the Trumps. The welcome ceremony was also set to include a flyover by two B-1 bombers, flower presenters, platoons from each military service, and a presentation of the flags and anthems of both countries. The salutation kicks off a three-day visit that’s expected to be saturated with pomp, even by White House standards. The state visit, complete with a

formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, is supposed to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur that marked Trump’s May visit to China. But it also is a showy patina at a time when tensions between the two geopolitical rivals are high over trade, artificial intelligence, Trump’s war with Iran and China’s designs on Taiwan. Beyond using the visit to try to keep “strategic stability” between the two countries, Trump seems to be pulling out all the diplomatic stops to show off for Xi. Trump has lavished praise on Xi as a “great leader” and described a warm relationship with the man he has called a friend. That is all while he has given Xi a pass on many issues. Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the “lavish welcome.” Wicker, R-Miss., said during a speech Tuesday in the Senate that Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.” Wicker archly suggested a list of topics that Trump could discuss with Xi at the state dinner, such as “the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran,” saying that “during every minute of dialogue” Trump should keep in mind that “his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”

Pakistani officials say Afghan Taliban shelled Pakistan’s border Kabul denies any attack from their forces

BY RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban forces shelled Pakistani border posts overnight after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants, local Pakistani officials said Wednesday. The spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied any attacks by the Afghan Taliban forces. The conflicting statements came just days after Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islam-

abad said were militant hideouts, an escalation between Kabul and Islamabad that threatens mediation efforts by regional powers. Separately, Pakistani security forces neutralized eight rudimentary drones, which Islamabad said were launched by the Afghan Taliban, before they could enter the northwestern city of Kohat and the border town of Torkham. All the drones were shot down and caused no damage, authorities said, adding the action underscored Pakistan’s round-theclock vigilance and readiness. This week’s airstrikes ended several weeks of relative calm following months of cross-border hostilities. Also, earlier this month, Pakistani security forces killed 15 militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan.

NEW YORK — The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has been at the forefront of efforts to halt President Donald Trump’s massive White House ballroom project, is launching a new legal defense fund to help underwrite its work. The group on Wednesday announced a campaign aimed at raising $10 million “to protect and honor our nation’s shared civic and cultural inheritance against urgent threats emanating from Washington.” The group’s president and CEO, Brent Leggs, said the fund was the first of its kind for the privately funded nonprofit organization, which is charged by Congress with protecting historic sites, and would help bolster its legal division and government relations staff. “It is a response to the urgent and existential threats to historic preservation,” he said. The group has been critical of efforts by the president to put his lasting

stamp on Washington and the White House. So far that includes razing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that will dwarf the rest of the complex; paving over the White House Rose Garden to create a patio in the style of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida; adding a helipad to the South Lawn; and redecorating the Oval Office with golden accents. Elsewhere in the nation’s capital, he has been trying to rename and renovate the Kennedy Center, is working to build an enormous triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, and has tried repeatedly to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The group is part of a lawsuit aimed at halting the administration’s efforts to overhaul the Kennedy Center. It has also been pushing back against proposed changes to the National Historic Preservation Act that it says threaten legal protections for historic sites and public land.

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

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


The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● 3A

lll

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

In defiant speech, Iran’s South Pacific island nation announces president calls out Trump change to name Pezeshkian says his country will fight ‘until our last breath’

Nauru will return to its historical pronunciation

BY FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war. The defiant speech by President Masoud Pezeshkian marked a striking instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while their country is at war with the host nation. While defending his country, Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 Iranian schoolchildren killed on the first days of the war. “We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us.” He added of the United States: “Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.” Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name. “It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” he said. Shortly after, both U.S. and Israeli officials blasted the speech, saying that it was hypocritical for the Islamic Republic to present itself as the victims of the world. U.S. Secretary of State Marco

BY TED ANTHONY AP national writer

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By STEFAN JEREMIAH

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian holds an image of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. Rubio told reporters: “I don’t know what standing Iran has to lecture anyone on human rights or the international system when they habitually violate it.”

A busy 24 hours for U.S.-Iran Arriving in New York under heavy security and scrutiny, Pezeshkian — who, within Iran’s political landscape, is considered a moderate politician — addressed world leaders a day after Trump used the same stage to mull whether to massively escalate a war that has already spiraled out of control. “I have a big decision to make,” Trump said in his wide-ranging address Tuesday. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” Hours after those stunning threats, Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about

three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering. But he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange. “It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.” Also on Tuesday, Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Pezeshkian while he’s in New York. But Tehran downplayed Tuesday’s unscheduled exchange, which were the first indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials since a June ceasefire unraveled. Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, maintained the country’s negotiating position in talks with U.S. officials, demanding that Washington end its blockade of Iranian ports and release frozen Iranian assets, Baghaei said the talks — conducted indirectly through Qatari mediators — were “not anything new.” Rubio echoed that sentiment Wednesday, saying that “it was a continuation of conversations that have occurred in the past.”

Zelenskyy urges leaders to keep impeding Russia’s war efforts BY EDITH M. LEDERER and JENNIFER PELTZ

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the world’s leaders Wednesday to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts, telling the U.N. General Assembly that “Russia’s revenues must remain a target.” “When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. And that is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor, and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves,” he said in English, a language he often uses at the world body. Russia gets its turn Saturday to address the assembly. President Vladimir Putin hasn’t traveled to the gathering in years, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead. Lavrov told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that Russia is prepared to negotiate toward a lasting peace but won’t just “pause” the war. He argued that such a pause would just buy Ukraine and its backers time to line up more weapons. Zelenskyy cast doubt on

Russia’s interest in ending the fighting. “Something always seems to stop Putin from saying, ‘That’s it. Enough. Peace,’ ” Zelenskyy said. “Can you even imagine him without war? He is ‘Patient Zero’, the one from whom war keeps spreading further. ... ‘Patient Zero’ must be stopped.”

drones and missiles. Russian drones pounded the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in daylight attacks on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 23; two others were injured by a strike that started a big fire at a shopping mall in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it struck Ukrainian milAcross the planet itary-industrial and energy Russia invaded Ukraine facilities, logistics centers, more than 41/2 years ago and sea vessels overnight. and says it’s out to protect The ministry said its air deits own security and the fenses intercepted more than interests of Russians and 500 Ukrainian drones over Russian-speakers in parts of multiple Russian regions and Ukraine. Western analysts Crimea, as well as the Sea estimate that over 500,000 of Azov and the Black Sea. Russian troops have been Crimea is the peninsula that killed and that Ukraine has Russia seized by force and ilrecorded more than 500,000 legally annexed in 2014. military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. ‘You can stand and survive’ Neither country discloses Zelenskyy told the assemits own casualty totals. bly that Russia has used The war has had global 63,000 attack drones of difrepercussions for fuel, fer- ferent types against Ukraine tilizer and grain shipments so far this year alone. While — and for geopolitics, wid- celebrating that his own ening divisions between country “has proven that even against a much bigger Russia and the West. With front-line positions enemy, you can stand and in eastern and southern survive,” he implored world Ukraine largely unchanged leaders to deny Putin money since last year, Russia and or foreign fighters. “Limit his money. Limit his Ukraine have intensified long-range attacks with war,” he said.

Tech leaders recommend regulations for artificial intelligence technology BY SETH BORENSTEIN and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — The heads of major artificial intelligence firms pleaded with the United Nations on Wednesday to save the world or at least its people — by somehow regulating the fast-expanding technology that they have been designing.

“If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” said Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of Anthropic. And from his competitor Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, came this assessment: “We could lose control of the future to AI.” Both said the countries of the world, through the U.N. Security Council, where they testified Wednesday,

have to set safeguards of some kind to prevent the technology from getting too powerful to rein in. They also called for the world to make sure that the power of AI isn’t concentrated in one company or country. They also touted the benefits of the technology for bettering humanity and what Altman called “giving people more power over their own lives.”

NEW YORK — His voice forceful and proud, he rose in front of the world’s largest gathering of leaders on behalf of his nation and announced that he had something important to say. The tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru, its president said, had altered its name — and reclaimed its heritage in the process. “I have traveled far,” David Adeang said Tuesday at the United Nations. What was known to the world for many years as Nauru, Adeang said, was returning to the name and pronunciation of its past: Naoero. “There are moments in the life of a nation when its people are called to remember who they have always been,” Adeang said in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. “This is such a moment for us.” Though the names are similar and, in essence, the same word, the shift in spelling and pronunciation represents the nation’s effort to recast — rebrand, even — itself for its own people as much as for the outside world. He called it not a change but an effort to “affirm a truth.” “For many years, the world has known our country as Nauru. Nauru is how our name sounded to those who found it hard to say, and the world kept it,” Adeang said. “But it is not the name our people used among themselves.” The nation, an eight-squaremile island with about 12,000 people, became independent in 1968 after longtime colonial rule under the United Kingdom, New

Zealand, Australia and Germany. It announced the renaming in August after signaling its intent in February. The country’s international code is changing from NRU to NRO and its people will be known as dei-Naoero instead of Nauruan. Commonly known abroad by the pronunciation of Now-roo, the new name is spoken as Now-ero. Across the past century, other nations have renamed themselves or tweaked their names for various reasons, from modernization to rejection of colonialism. The African nation of Eswatini changed its name from Swaziland in 2018. In Africa, Dahomey became Benin after a 1975 coup and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980 after shedding colonial rule. Siam became Thailand in 1939 to foster ethnic unity and shed a foreign label. Turkey, meanwhile, has been officially named Turkiye since 1920 but requested in 2022 that the United Nations use the spelling and pronunciation as its name in English as well — in part to avoid confusion by underscoring that the bird wasn’t the word. The list goes on. Persia became Iran. Burma became Myanmar. Upper Volta is now Burkina Faso, Gold Coast is Ghana and Ceylon is Sri Lanka. A name, obviously, is a pivotal and intimate expression of a nation’s identity on any stage, domestic or international. Adeang’s remarks Tuesday reflected this as he carefully pronounced the name to differentiate it from its former pronunciation. “We do not make this choice to erase our past. We make it because we honor it,” he said. “That name carries the memory of our ancestors, our language, and our identity. It has been there all along. Never lost, never absent. Today, we restore Naoero.”

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR HOME FINF OUT WHAT

YOURIS WORTH HOME

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

1-833-671-6635

CALL TODAY

THINKING

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

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


4A ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

ATTAINMENT

Continued from page 1A she said. Still, education advocates say Louisiana struggles in other metrics compared to the rest of the country. The six-year graduation rate for the freshman class of 2018 was 54.8%, according to numbers released by the higher education board this spring. The national rate around the same time frame was 61.1%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. “This is continuous work,” said Erin Bendily, senior vice president at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. “This is a great celebra-

tion for our students, but this is by no means a reason to declare this work over or done.” She emphasized that, in addition to handing out more credentials overall, Louisiana needs to focus on placing students in industries that guarantee strong wages. “We need to always continuously make sure that the numbers of credentials being earned are also in fields that represent real opportunity, real economic opportunity,” Bendily said. Other advocates say relying on the educational attainment number alone paints with too broad a brush. The accessibility of posthigh school education can vary widely depending on the demographic, said Tramelle Howard,

lll

state director of Louisiana for EdTrust. According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the historically Black Southern University had a 38% eightyear graduation rate — compared to a 70% graduation rate at the state’s predominantly White institution, LSU. “I think we need to separate the difference between improvement and adequacy,” Howard said. “Yes, we’re improving quickly, but is it equitable enough to meet the economic demand and needs of Louisiana?” He said improving Louisiana’s statistics is a unique challenge because the state has a large population of students who have been

historically disadvantaged. “We have to understand that if we close these gaps, that improves economic opportunity for the entire state of Louisiana,” Howard said. “But because we have the higher population of students who are historically underserved, we collectively have to do more work and be more intentional with how we provide the necessary resources to ensure that students can get to completion and attainment.” The Board of Regents hopes to hit a 60% educational attainment rate by 2030. Getting there doesn’t necessarily involve more money, Reed explained, in light of three consecutive years of standstill state budgets. By the end of 2026-27, the board

estimates that 180 programs will have been terminated since it implemented academic planning across the various public institutions. “We recognize that in a resourceconstrained environment, we may have to continue to reallocate resources as opposed to getting new dollars,” Reed said. “Institutions realize that we are in a different environment now, where they really have to be laser focused on what are the programs and degrees that are most in demand, and how do we ensure that we provide the best quality and value in the programs that we’re offering.” Email Haley Miller at haley. miller@theadvocate.com.

SPENDING

Continued from page 1A sports, but the total for all women’s sports was $157,354. The figures to be approved for 2026-27 are budgeted amounts. This time, football leads in public NIL/revenue sharing expenses at $750,000, followed by men’s basketball at $701,700. Baseball is budgeted at $50,000, while all women’s sports combined are budgeted at $200,000. The other schools in the Louisiana system are Nicholls State, McNeese State, Louisiana Tech, Southeastern, Grambling State and ULM. McNeese, Nicholls and ULM did not report any public funding for NIL or revenue sharing. Louisiana Tech did not report any public NIL spending for 202526. However, the school’s budget for the 2026-27 period includes $1.2 million for football, $498,991 for men’s basketball and $200,000 for baseball. All women’s sports combined are budgeted at $86,000. The report only included football for Nicholls, at $81,000 for 2025-26. Northwestern State spent $123,486 on football in 2025-26 and $244,000 on men’s basketball. All women’s sports totaled $50,843. Northwestern State’s 2026-27 budgeted totals are $300,000 for football and $350,000 for men’s basketball. Grambling’s NIL and revenuesharing numbers were not broken down by sport. For the 2025-26 fiscal year, it spent $426,685.64 and budgeted $460,000 for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Brandon DeCuir, an attorney who represents the UL system, told the Louisiana Illuminator the information was disclosed in error. Louisiana lawmakers earlier this year passed a bill by Rep. Tehmi Chassion, D-Lafayette, that allows universities to shield from public

RACE

Continued from page 1A with Edmonds on two of the three bills. Both were tax measures signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry. Edmonds is crying foul. “Club for Growth is spending big dollars to distort my conservative voting record,” Edmonds said in a statement. “Their bogus ad is an attack on our conservative legislature and governor’s efforts to reform the state’s outdated tax code, to give the largest tax cut in Louisiana history, and to bring billions in historic investments to the State of Louisiana, including SpaceX, Venture Global, Meta and Hyundai.” Edmonds added, “Club for Growth wouldn’t know the truth, because, like Blake Miguez, they are not from here and they don’t care about our people.” Edmonds has been attacking Miguez for living in Erath, near New Iberia and outside the 6th District. Miguez notes that he studied in Baton Rouge and currently owns a house in the district. Roy Fletcher, a veteran political consultant in Baton Rouge who works for both Republicans and Democrats, said the Club for Growth ad presents a threat for

GUILLORY

Continued from page 1A n Removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River without a Corps of Engineers permit in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. n Instructing employees to do work in violation of the U.S. and state constitutions and laws by removing spoil banks without permission of St. Martin Parish flood

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

According to Board of Regents documents, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette football program had $591,895 in public NIL/revenue sharing expenses during the 2025-26 school year. view how much they pay to individThe law applies to athletic de- their name, image and likeness. It ual athletes and each athletic team. partments’ self-generated rev- is separate from private NIL deals The law says only the total spent on enue, which Division I schools are athletes make with sponsors. all teams must be disclosed. allowed to use to pay players for Louisiana law treats all self-gen-

erated revenue from state college campuses and other agencies as public money that requires legislative approval for how it is spent.

Edmonds because he will need to respond to it — and may not have the money to do so. The latest campaign finance reports, through July 18, showed that Edmonds had only $323,000 on hand, while Miguez had $2 million, thanks to a $3 million loan he made to his campaign. Club for Growth, Fletcher said, “is trying to show that he (Edmonds) is not the conservative he claims he is, that he’s a typical politician. I think they’re doing that because he has a pretty good image, and they want to crack that image.” Club for Growth just might succeed, Fletcher added. “If you don’t have the money to respond, it takes hold and busts your ass,” he said. “TV ads are enormously powerful, especially negative ads.”

from St. Francisville; and Stephen Wagley, a business owner from Baton Rouge. The Democrats are Chauna Banks, who served 12 years on the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council; Pat Forbes, who spent 20 years in high-level state government positions for three governors; and Lindsay Garcia, a former social studies teacher in New Orleans who obtained a law degree from Southern University last year. Rufus Craig, a lawyer, is a Libertarian candidate from Baton Rouge. The top two finishers in the Nov. 3 jungle primary, regardless of party, will advance to the runoff in December. Four candidates — Edmonds, Banks, Garcia and Miguez — are bunched around 10% of the vote in a survey taken on Sept. 14-15 by New Orleans-based pollster Greg Rigamer. Davis, Wagley and Forbes all received about 4%. A whopping 42% said they were undecided, meaning all of the candidates have the chance to break out, in theory. Super lobbyist Alton Ashy paid for the poll, which surveyed 400 likely voters and had a 4.9% margin of error.

the Legislature to approve a similar measure. Miguez did not vote on Edmonds’ 2021 measure, House Bill 456. Club for Growth did not respond to a request on why it is bashing Edmonds for supporting measures also backed by Miguez. Club for Growth calls itself “the leading free-enterprise advocacy group in the nation.” It issues endorsements after having candidates fill out a lengthy questionnaire.

The Club for Growth ad highlighted a statement by Edmonds from 2016 where, then a state House member, he said, “I would not raise their taxes in order to avoid cutting the size of government.” Edmonds also signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” from Americans for Tax Reform “to oppose and vote against tax hikes.” In 2016, he and Miguez both voted against a temporary 1-cent

sales tax increase approved by the Legislature at the request of thenGov. John Bel Edwards to close a huge budget deficit he inherited from his predecessor, Gov. Bobby Jindal. In 2024, Edmonds and Miguez both voted for a bill sought by Landry that raised the state sales tax but more than offset that by reducing individual and corporate income taxes. Only one Republican legislator, state Rep. Beryl Amedee of Gray, voted against the measure, House Bill 10. Edmonds’ vote led Club for Growth to say in the ad, “He lied, and we paid.” The ad also said Edmonds voted to give “sweetheart tax deals for woke Big Tech companies” — a reference to legislation in 2024 that authorized Landry to give big tax breaks to Meta for its $50 billion data center now under construction in Richland Parish. Miguez also voted for that measure, House Bill 827. The Club for Growth ad said Edmonds didn’t want the public to know “how much corporate welfare he is shelling out to his cronies” because of a measure he sponsored in 2021 that would have allowed Louisiana Economic Development to not disclose tax breaks it planned to award investors for big projects. That bill didn’t pass, but Landry later got

plain administrator per two St. Martin Parish ordinances. n Intentionally causing barges to be placed across the Vermilion River, a navigable waterway, and rendering movement on the river more difficult, in violation of a state law: simple obstruction of a highway of commerce. Guillory’s attorney, Kevin Stockstill of Lafayette, wrote in the motion that St. Martin Parish is not the proper venue for malfeasance charges alleged to have occurred when Guillory was in public office

in Lafayette. He wants a judge to decide. Stockstill argues that if Guillory committed malfeasance, it occurred in Lafayette, not St. Martin Parish, so the case should be heard in Lafayette. On the two charges involving federal environmental laws, Stockstill argues those laws do not impose the kind of specific legal duty that can form the basis of a malfeasance charge. He said the “conditional regulatory prohibitions potentially im-

posed by the federal acts do not create an ‘affirmative duty’ required for a malfeasance charge.” Stockstill also argues that the two St. Martin Parish ordinances underlying one of the charges are invalid and unconstitutional and therefore cannot establish the legal duty required for a malfeasance charge. Further, none of the ordinances or statutes upon which the malfeasance charges are based, he wrote, impose an affirmative duty on Guillory.

Three votes

A fierce political fight

Political analysts expect either Edmonds or Miguez to ultimately win the 6th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, a Democrat, is vacating the seat after the Republican Legislature reconfigured the district in May to elect a Republican this fall. Edmonds represents a Baton Rouge-based district in the state Senate, while Miguez represents a state Senate district south of Lafayette that is not among the 11 parishes in the 6th Congressional District. Four other Republicans are running. They are: Monique Appeaning, a former high-level aide to Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards who lives in St. George; Larry Davis III, a member of the Livingston Parish Republican Parish Executive Committee who lives in Den- Email Tyler Bridges at ham Springs; Michael Mebruer, tbridges@theadvocate.com.

Stockstill alleges Guillory’s prosecution is selective and violates the U.S. and Louisiana constitutions. A St. Martin Parish grand jury in May indicted Guillory on the malfeasance charges. The St. Martin Parish indictment came a week after the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Lafayette announced it would not pursue charges against Guillory or members of his administration over the alleged spoil bank violations.


The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● 5A

lll

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

.theacadianaadvocate.com 225-344-9309.

Announcements Anyone having any information on the whereabouts of Suzanna Germany, please contact Christian B. Landry, 802 General Mouton Avenue, Lafayette, LA 70503, (337) 237-7135, or chrislandry@daniellandrylaw.com. 201581-Sept 22-24, 3t $88 Anyone having any knowledge of the whereabouts of FELICIA SCHEXNAYDER A/K/A FELICIA SCHEXNAYDER BOWMAN A/K/A FELICIA S. BOWMAN A/K/A FELICIA BOWMAN, please contact The Landry Law Firm, P.O. Box 3784, Lafayette, LA 70502, (337) 237-7135. 201585-Sept 22-24, 3t $106.90 Eva 1 Inc dba Hopkin Quick Stop is applying to the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control of the state of Louisiana for a permit to sell beverages of high and low alcohol content at retail in Parish of Iberia at the following address 810 S Hopkins St New Iberia, LA 70560 Eva 1 Inc dba: Hopkin Quick Stop Members: Sam Mousa 201901 Sept. 24 1t $91.66 Advertising Looking to promote your services or find a new hire? Deliver your classified message statewide for as little as $265 per week through the Louisiana Press Association’s Classified Network. Pre-payment required. To learn more, email advertising@lapress.com or call

Miscellaneous End your tax worries today. Let us make your tax problem our priority. Scared, stuck with high tax amounts? Our A+ tax professionals can help. Call for a FREE consultation. Call Priority Tax now 1877-249-9376. We Buy Houses for Cash AS-IS! No repairs. No fuss. Any condition. Easy process: Call, get cash offer and get paid. Call today for your fair cash offer: 1-225-545-1983. Struggling with debt? If you have over $15,000 in debt we help you be debt free in as little as 24-48 months. Pay nothing to enroll. Call Now: 1-877-773-1742. Donate your car, truck, boat, RV and more to support our veterans! Schedule a FAST, FREE vehicle pickup and receive a top tax deduction! Call Veteran Car Donations at 1-844-742-5188 today! Health and Wellness Audien Hearing. The world’s first hearing aid with touchscreen controls. No tiny buttons, apps or prescriptions. 45-day risk free trial. Free shipping. Lifetime support. More than 1.5 million happy customers. Call Audien 1-866-6788713. DENTAL INSURANCE from Physicians Mutual Insurance Company. Coverage for 400 plus procedures. Real dental insurance - NOT just a discount plan. Do not wait! Call now! Get your FREE Dental Information Kit with all the details! 1-855-268-0108 www.dental50plus.com/morning #6258

Public Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

Legal Notices

Public Notices Bids/Proposals

p g shall be submitted only on the quotation form provided with the speci‐ fications.

g home, approximately 16x80, gray in color, VIN AILA811172142807.

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE TO BIDDERS Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received either electroni‐ cally at https://www.cen tralbidding.com or in the office of the Purchasing Division at the Lafayette Consolidated Govern‐ ment Building, located at 705 West University Av‐ enue, Lafayette, Louisiana, until 11:00 am Central Time on the 9th day of October, 2026 for the following: Prime Commercial Liquid Sulfur Dioxide and will, shortly there‐ after, be opened and read aloud in a room lo‐ cated at 705 West Univer‐ sity Avenue, Lafayette, LA. Bids received after the above specified time for opening shall not be considered and shall be returned unopened to the sender. Bidders may attend the bid opening in person, but are highly encouraged to virtually join the bid openings via Zoom using the following https://us02web. link: zoom.us/j/84563679482? pwd=D5AraXplIvprca5 sbYnzX2xshZnqWk.1

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‐ tering days in advance of the time that bids are due. It is the sole respon‐ sibility of the bidder to ensure their bid is deliv‐ ered (whether electroni‐ cally via Vendor Access, in person, or via mail) to the Purchasing Division prior to the scheduled date and time of the bid opening. Vendors may request the bid package electronically from An‐ toni Hoyte-Small at ahs‐ mall@lafayettela.gov or Laycia Batiste at lbatiste@lafayettela.gov. Vendors submitting bids electronically are re‐ quired to provide the same documents as bid‐ ders submitting through the mail as soon as avail‐ able. Only a bid bond, certified check or cashier’s check shall be submitted as the bid se‐ curity. Electronic copies of both the front and back of the check or bid bond shall be included with the electronic bid. Bids must be signed in accordance with LRS Title 38:2212(B)5. A Cor‐ porate Resolution or Cer‐ tificate of Authority au‐ thorizing the person signing the bid is re‐ quired to be submitted with bid. Failure to sub‐ mit a Corporate Resolu‐ tion or Certificate of Au‐ thority with the bid shall be cause for rejection of bid. Copies of the bidding documents are available at the Purchasing Office located at 705 West Uni‐ versity Avenue, Lafayette, LA 70506. Tele‐ phone number (337) 2918263 (Attn: Antoni HoyteSmall). Bidding docu‐ ments shall be available until twenty-four (24) hours before the bid opening date.

Bids will be evaluated by the Purchaser based on the lowest responsible and responsive bid sub‐ mitted which is also in compliance with the bid documents. The Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the right to reject any and all bids for just cause in ac‐ cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. The Lafayette Consoli‐ dated Government strongly encourages the participation of DBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) 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 contrac‐ tors and suppliers are encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐ prises in the purchase or sub-contracting of mate‐ rials, supplies, services and labor and material in which disadvantaged business are available. Assistance in identifying said businesses may be obtained by calling (337) 291-8410. PURCHASING DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISH DATES: 9/24/2026, 9/27/2026 DPR: 1008141 201798 Sept. 24, 27, 2t $100.82

Legal Notices

PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE Notice is hereby given, pursuant to article IV, section 21(D)(1) of the Louisiana Constitution, that on September 17, 2026, Delta South Louisiana Gas Company, LLC (“Delta South”), a natural gas public utility having facilities to per‐ mit the local distribution of natural gas to residen‐ tial and commercial cus‐ tomers in the parishes listed below, filed with the Louisiana Public Ser‐ vice Commission (“LPSC”) its Evaluation Report pursuant to its Gas Operation Rate Sta‐ bilization Plan (“RSP”) Rider for the test year ended June 30, 2026 (“TY 2026”), in accordance with LPSC Order No. U37345. Delta South’s Gas Operations RSP filing, if approved by the LPSC as filed, will result in a rate increase of approxi‐ mately $9.30 million an‐ nually inclusive of im‐ pacts due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”), ef‐ fective as of December 16, 2026. Affected Parishes: Aca‐ dia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Rapides, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tam‐ many, Tangipahoa, Ver‐ milion, Vernon, and Washington. Delta South’s RSP filing for the 2026 Test Year re‐ flects an Earned Return on Equity (“EROE”) of 5.30% and pursuant to the RSP’s cost of service sharing mechanism, the EROE requires a rate ad‐ justment by Delta South. It is estimated that the requested net rate in‐ crease will have the fol‐ lowing effect on average monthly bills: a Residen‐ tial customer using 27 CCF will increase approx‐ imately $4.99; and a Small Commercial-Firm Service customer using 155 CCF will increase ap‐ proximately $28.65.

Each bid shall be accom‐ panied by a certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond payable to the Lafayette Consolidated Government, the amount of which shall be five percent (5%) of the base bid plus additive alter‐ nates. If a bid bond is used, it shall be written by a surety or insurance company currently on the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Management Service list of approved bonding companies which is pub‐ lished annually in the Federal Register, or by a Louisiana domiciled in‐ surance company with at least an A-Rating in the latest printing of the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide to write individual bonds up to ten percent (10%) of policyholders’ surplus as shown in the A.M. Best’s Key Rating Guide, or by an insurance com‐ pany in good standing li‐ censed to write bid bonds which is either domiciled in Louisiana or owned by Louisiana resi‐ dents. The bid bond shall be issued by a company licensed to do business in Louisiana and counter‐ signed by a person who is under contract with re‐ siding in this state. The certified check, cashier’s check, or bid bond shall be given as a guarantee that the bidder shall exe‐ cute the contract, should it be awarded to him, in conformity with the con‐ tract documents within ten (10) days.

Notice is hereby given that the mobile home lo‐ cated at 425 Toby Mou‐ ton Road, Lot 6, Duson, LA 70529 has been aban‐ doned. Lucky Pecan MHP LLC, owner of Lucky Pecan MHP, located at 425 Toby Mouton Road, Duson, LA 70529, will begin the process of se‐ curing legal ownership and conducting a private sale of the mobile home on 10/21/2026, during normal business hours.

No bidder may withdraw his bid for at least fortyfive (45) days after the time scheduled for the opening of bids. Each bid h ll b b i d l

The last known owner is Trevor Durham. The mo‐ bile home is a 3-bed‐ room, 2-bath single-wide h i l

The Company’s filing and its attachments may be viewed in the Records Di‐ vision of the LPSC at the following address: Records Division 602 N. 5th Street, 12th Floor Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 Telephone: (225) 342-3157 Toll Free (800) 256-2397 DELTA SOUTH LOUISIANA GAS COMPANY, LLC 201779 Sept. 24 1t $265.33 PUBLIC NOTICE --NOTICE OF ABANDONED MOBILE HOME

For additional informa‐ tion, contact Admin, Lucky Pecan MHP LLC at admin@luckycommunitie s.com or 504-445-6500. 201793 Sept. 24 1t $122.39

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

PUBLIC NOTICE --LPSS - Public Meeting Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Selection Review Committee Ovey Comeaux Workforce Innovation Academy CMAR RFQ No. 08-27 Minutes September 15, 2026 @ 2:00 PM 202 Rue Iberville, Board‐ room, Lafayette, LA 70508 Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM. 1. ROLL CALL 1.1 Roll Call Committee Members Present: Max Fontenot (Lafayette Parish School System-Owner Represen‐ tative); Chad Abell (AQ Studios-Architect); Sam Viator (Castle Row Con‐ struction-Mechanical En‐ gineer); Jimmy Ricks (Southeast Engineers and Land Surveyors-Prin‐ cipal Engineer); and Kevin Gossen (Gossen Architects-Architect) LPSS Staff Present: Joshua Fontenot, Jamie Barnett, Kristie Sam, Francis Touchet, Jr., Dr. Mark Rabalais and Christi Guidry Other Public Attendees: Stuart Billeaud and Kellie Crader with JB Mouton 2. AGENDA 2.1 Submission of score sheets and announce‐ ment of score for each proposal by individual committee member; Compilation of scores to determine rank; and An‐ nouncement of top 3 ranked proposals. The six qualified pro‐ posers were: ARL Con‐ struction, Donahue‐ Favret, JB Mouton, Lemoine, Ratcliff and Rudick. There were no proposers who were dis‐ qualified. Each committee member submitted their score‐ sheet to Joshua Fontenot, Executive Di‐ rector of Facility Plan‐ ning & Maintenance. Mr. Fontenot read each com‐ mittee member's score and asked the committee member to confirm their score. The top three ranked proposers were: JB Mouton (46); Lemoine (40); and Rudick (14). Ranking_Tally_Workbook - SOQ Tally.pdf All proposals were col‐ lected from the commit‐ tee members by Jamie Barnett with Facility Planning & Maintenance.

Home Improvement Safe Step Stairlifts. Enjoy greater independence and stay in the home you love. Feel safe on every level. $750 off plus FREE installation. Made in the U.S.A. Call today for a free quote. 1-866-915-2470. BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 1-877-496-0371. PROFESSIONAL LAWN SERVICE: Fertilization, weed control, seeding, aeration and mosquito control. Call now for a free quote. Ask about our first application special! 1-877-6911898.

Employment HOSPITALITY We are currently seeking experienced Chefs/Utility Hand/Housekeeping per‐ sonnel for offshore work rotating hitches of 14 days/12 hours per day then 14 days off. Must have the follow‐ ing: RIG PASS • SAFEGULF • HUET • BOSIET • MMC • TWIC • THREE YEARS OFFSHORE UTILITY EXPERIENCE. Appli‐ cants will also be required to pass a USCG Merchant Mariner Physical and a USCG DOT Drug Test. https://cardinal.bamboohr.com/jobs

PEST CONTROL: PROTECT YOUR HOME from pests safely and affordably. Roaches, Bed Bugs, Rodent, Termite, Spiders and other pests. Locally owned and affordable. Call for service or an inspection today! 1-877-728-0264 Have zip code of property ready when calling! Home Services DIRECTV- All your entertainment. Nothing on your roof! Sign up for Directv and get your first three months of Max, Paramount+, Showtime, Starz, MGM+ and Cinemax included. Choice package $84.99/mo. Some restrictions apply. Call DIRECTV 1-866-734-0452 Dish Network: Get DISH Satellite TV + Internet! Free Install, Free HD-DVR Upgrade, 80,000 On-Demand Movies, Plus Limited Time Up To $600 In Gift Cards. Call Today! 1-855-654-8207

Pets

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

NEWS 24/7 ON Public Notices Sheriff Sales

IGNATED AS LOTS 13 AND 15 OF VIEUX CHENES SUB‐ DIVISION, PHASE III, A SUBDIVISION OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SHAPE, FORM, DIMENSION, BOUNDARIES AND MEA‐ SUREMENTS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY DAWSON ENGINEERS, INC., DATED FEBRUARY 18, 1992, REVISED FEBRU‐ ARY 16, 1993, ATTACHED TO THAT CERTAIN ACT RECORDED UNDER FILE NUMBER 1993-6026 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT, WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE A PART HEREOF BY REF‐ ERENCE THERETO. (“PROPERTY”). MUNICI‐ PAL ADDRESS: 417 GOR‐ DON CROCKETT DRIVE, 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: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.04 SHERIFF'S SALE FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION Versus No. 20264945 ES‐ TATE OF BARBARA FAYE HICKEY BEAL AND ESTATE OF LARRY ALLEN BEAL 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 sell for cash, and ***WITHOUT*** ap‐ 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 FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***OCTO‐ BER 28, 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 THEREUNTO BELONGING, SITUATED IN SECTIONS 24, 25, 86 AND 89, TOWN‐ SHIP 10 SOUTH, RANGE 4 EAST, CITY AND PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, BEING KNOWN AND DESIG‐ NATED AS LOT 119, WALKER’S LAKE SUBDIVI‐ SION, PHASE I, SAID LOT HAVING A FRONTAGE ON HUTTINGTOWER LANE WITH THE DIMENSIONS, BOUNDARIES, SHAPE, FORM, LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY DATED MARCH 29, 2006, REVISED ON JULY 18, 2006, PREPARED BY COMEAUX ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING, RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2006-33123 OF THE RECORDS OF THE LAFAYETTE PARISH CLERK OF COURT’S OF‐ FICE (THE “PROPERTY”). MU‐ NICIPAL ADDRESS: 108 HUTTINGTOWER LANE, 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: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $35.40

Looking for the right hire?

1-800-960-6397

3. ADJOURN 3.1 Adjourn Meeting There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:12 PM. /s/Francis Touchet, Jr. Francis Touchet, Jr. Secretary-Treasurer /s/Joshua Fontenot Joshua Fontenot Executive Director of Facility Planning & Maintenance

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SHERIFF'S SALE GLENDA CALLOWAY AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE SUCCESSION OF OUIDA BOWEN CALLOWAY Ver‐ sus No. 20261353 SAIRAM 2109, LLC, BOARDWALK SUITES LAFAYETTE PART‐ NERS, LLC AND GM PROP‐ ERTIES, LLC 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 28, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: A CERTAIN PARCEL OF LAND, TOGETHER WITH ALL BUILDINGS AND IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON AND THERETO BELONG‐ ING. TOGETHER WITH ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES AND ADVANTAGES THERE‐ UNTO BELONGING AND ALL APPURTENANCES THEREOF, LOCATED IN SECTION TWENTY-THREE (23), TOWNSHIP NINE SOUTH (T-9-S), RANGE FOUR EAST (R-4-E), LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA CONTAINING THREE AND 2/10 (3.2) ACRES AND BEING MORE CLEARLY SHOWN ON THAT PLAT OF SURVEY BY MICHAEL J. BREAUX & AS‐ SOCIATES, INC. DATED JUNE 28, 1994 AND AT‐ TACHED TO ORIGINAL ACT NO. 1994-032450, RECORDS OF THE CLERK OF COURT OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, SAID PROPERTY BEING MORE PARTICULARLY DE‐ SCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: COMMENCING AT THE IN‐ TERSECTION OF THE

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

WESTERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF LA HWY 182 (N. UNI‐ VERSITY AVENUE) AND THE NORTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF ALCIDE DO‐ MINIQUE DRIVE (1/2” I.R.), SAID POINT ALSO BEING THE POINT OF BE‐ GINNING: THENCE LEAV‐ ING SAID RIGHT OF WAY ALONG THE NORTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF ALCIDE DOMINIQUE DRIVE, SOUTH 65 DEGREES 25 MINUTES 52 SECONDS WEST, 404.77 FEET (1/2” I.R.); THENCE LEAVING SAID RIGHT OF WAY NORTH 24 DEGREES 40 MINUTES 52 SECONDS WEST, 477.44 FEET (5/8” I.R.); THENCE ALONG THE SOUTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF INTERSTATE 10, NORTH 71 DEGREES 17 MINUTES 28 SECONDS EAST, 323.89 FEET (LDH THENCE MONUMENT); ALONG A RIGHT OF WAY FLARE, SOUTH 54 DE‐ GREES 33 MINUTES 55 SECONDS EAST, 167.00 FEET (2” 1.P.); THENCE SOUTH 65 DEGREES 26 MINUTES 05 SECONDS WEST, 200.40 FEET (5/8” I.R.): THENCE SOUTH 24 DEGREES 41 MINUTES 27 SECONDS EAST, 200.07 FEET (5’8” 1.R.): THENCE NORTH 65 DEGREES 20 MINUTES 25 SECONDS EAST, 200.00 FEET (5/8” 1.R.); THENCE ALONG THE WESTERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF LA HWY. 182 (N. UNI‐ VERSITY AVENUE) SOUTH 24 DEGREES 33 MINUTES 46 SECONDS EAST, 100.00 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING. SAID PROP‐ ERTY IS BOUNDED NOW, OR FORMERLY, AS FOL‐ LOWS: NORTH BY INTER‐ STATE 10; EAST IN PART BY LA HWY. 182 (N. UNI‐ VERSITY AVENUE) AND EXXON CORPORATION; SOUTH IN PART BY EXXON CORPORATION AND ALCIDE DOMINIQUE DRIVE; AND WEST BY LOT 1, PROPERTY OF ALCIDE DOMINIQUE. THE PROP‐ ERTY IS SUBJECT TO THOSE TWO (2) EASE‐ MENTS SHOWN ON SAID SURVEY WHICH ARE RECORDED UNDER ACTS NOS. 550888 IN BOOK P59, PAGE 443; AND 566216 IN BOOK B-62, PAGE 5, OF THE RECORDS OF THE OF‐ FICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT IN AND FOR THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA. TOGETHER WITH ALL BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AT‐ TACHMENTS, RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVILEGES, SERVITUDES, ADVAN‐ TAGES, BATTURE AND BATTURE RIGHTS THERE‐ UNTO BELONGING OR IN AN WISE APPERTAINING, INCLUDING ALL IMMOV‐ ABLE BY NATURE OR DES‐ TINATION, NOW OR HERE‐ AFTER FORMING PART OF AND ATTACHED TO OR CONNECTED WITH SAID PROPERTY OR USED IN CONNECTED WITH SAID PROPERTY OR USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH (HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS “PROPERTY”). MU‐ NICIPAL ADDRESS: 1605 N. UNIVERSITY AVENUE, LAFAYETTE, LA 70506 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY PURCHASE THE FULL AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $57.05 SHERIFF'S SALE HSBC BANK USA N.A., AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF ACE SECURITIES CORP. HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST AND FOR THE REG‐ ISTERED HOLDERS OF ACE SECURITIES CORP. HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST 2007-ASL1 ASSET BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFI‐ CATES Versus No. 20246502 KRISTEN COPENHAVER A/K/A KRISTEN CORGIE LEE COPENHAVER A/K/A

KRISTEN CORGIE LEE A/K/A KRISTEN C. LEE A/K/A KRISTEN LEE A/K/A KRISTEN CORGIE COPEN‐ HAVER A/K/A KRISTEN C. COPENHAVER A/K/A KRISTEN LEE COPEN‐ HAVER A/K/A KRISTEN L. COPENHAVER 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, ***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 30, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS AND ALL THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIV‐ ILEGES AND SERVITUDES THERETO PERTAINING, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT 13 OF BLOCK 10 OF RIVER OAKS SUBDIVISION, A SUBDIVI‐ SION OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY DATED DECEMBER 21, 1959, PREPARED BY ROLAND M. LAURENT, RECORDED UNDER 390941 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AND MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE THERETO, AND HAVING SUCH DIMEN‐ SIONS, MEASUREMENTS AND BOUNDARIES AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 115 HOMAS ROAD, LAFAYETTE, LA 70501 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 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $37.76 SHERIFF'S SALE JEANERETTE FIRST NA‐ TIONAL BANCORP, INC. (A/K/A THE FIRST NA‐ TIONAL BANK OF JEANERETTE) Versus No. 20262310 KATHY M. DORSEY AND CHARLES ANTHONY DORSEY 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 30, 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 SITU‐ ATED AND ALL RIGHTS,

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

WAYS, PRIVILEGES AND SERVITUDES, SITUATED IN SECTION 32, TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 5 EAST, OUTSIDE OF THE CORPO‐ RATE LIMITS OF CAREN‐ CRO, SIXTH WARD PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, WHICH AC‐ CORDING TO A PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY RICHARD C. SPIKES, R.L.S., DATED JUNE 29, 1987, CONTAINS ONE ACRE, IS IRREGULAR IN SHAPE AND HAS A FRONTAGE OF 205.9 FEET ON NORTH WILDERNESS TRAIL, 201.8 FEET ON ITS EASTERN BOUNDARY LINE, 208.71 FEET ON ITS SOUTHERN BOUNDARY LINE AND 237.2 FEET ON ITS NORTHERN BOUND‐ ARY LINE, SAID TRACT IS BOUNDED ON THE NORTH, SOUTH AND EAST BY PROPERTY OF WALTER PREJEAN OR ASSIGNS, AND WEST BY NORTH WILDERNESS TRAIL. THE ABOVE DESCRIBED TRACT IS ALSO SHOWN ON A MAP PREPARED BY MON‐ TAGNET AND DOMINGUE, INC. DATED DECEMBER 3, 1998 AND RECORDED LAFAYETTE UNDER PARISH ENTRY NO. 9852656. BEING THE SAME PROPERTY ACQUIRED BY DONALD RAY DORSEY AND KATHY ANDERSON DORSEY BY CASH SALE RECORDED ON JANUARY 12, 2005 UNDER LAFAYETTE PARISH ENTRY NO. 2005-1579. THIS PROPERTY BEARS MUNICIPAL ADDRESS 316 NORTH WILDERNESS TRAIL, CARENCRO, LOUISIANA 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: AUGUST 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $40.12 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. 20247547 ANTWANET JORESE ROBINSON 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 28, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: LOT 34, A CERTAIN PAR‐ CEL OF GROUND IN ACA‐ DIAN LAKES SUBDIVI‐ SION, PHASE 1 “A RESI‐ DENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD TO‐ DEVELOPMENT”, GETHER WITH ALL THE BUILDINGS AND IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON, AND ALL OF THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVILEGES, SERVITUDES, APPURTE‐ NANCES AND ADVAN‐ TAGES THEREUNTO BE‐ LONGING TO OR ANYWISE APPERTAINING, SITUATED IN THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, AS SHOWN ON PLAT RECORDED AS FILE NUM‐ BER: 2020- 00043600, OF THE CLERK OF COURT’S OFFICE FOR LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA. MU‐ NICIPAL ADDRESS: 118 NOVA LAKE DRIVE, DUSON, LA 70529 ANYONE

PURCHASING

ORDINANCE NUMBER 2026-9 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING APPENDIX C OF THE SCOTT MUNICIPAL CODE TO REVISE, ENACT AND ADOPT FINES AND PENALTIES FOR TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR VIOLATIONS COMMITTED WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF SCOTT WHEREAS, Appendix C of the Scott Municipal Code SCHEDULE OF FINES AND PENALTIES should be amended to revise, enact and adopt fines and penalties for traffic and misdemeanor violations committed within the corporate limits of the City of Scott; WHEREAS, pursuant to Act 697 (2026), the Court Case Management Information Fund (CMIS FEE) authorized by Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 887(F)(l) payable to the Louisiana Supreme Court has been increased to $7.00, effective August 1, 2026. WHEREAS, said revised fines and penalties are set forth on the attached 2026 Revised Schedule of Fines and Penalties; BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and City Council for the City of Scott, Louisiana, in regular session assembled, that the following ordinance is adopted, to wit: SECTION I. - ADOPTION OF FINES AND PENALTIES The City of Scott hereby amends Appendix C SCHEDULE OF FINES AND PENALTIES of the Municipal Code to revise, enact and adopt the fines and penalties for traffic and misdemeanor violations committed within the corporate limits of the City of Scott, which revised fines and penalties are set forth on the 2026 Revised Schedule of Fines and Penalties attached hereto and made a part hereof. SECTION II. - EFFECTIVE DATE This ordinance shall become effective on the 3rd day of September 2026, SECTION III. REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES Ordinance number 2026-2 is hereby repealed. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in direct conflict herewith are hereby repealed. This ordinance having been submitted to a vote in regular session of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Scott, Louisiana, the vote thereon being as follows:

ccg 201588 - Sept. 24 1t $37.76

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SHERIFF'S SALE ASSURANCE FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC Versus No. 20265150 DEREK TODD DAVID A/K/A DEREK DAVID AND KIM ANNETTE THIBODEAUX 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, ***OCTO‐ BER 28, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THOSE CERTAIN LOTS OR PARCELS 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‐

201619-690424-sept 24-1t $ 110.88

201618-690423-sept 24-1t $ 128.21


6A ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

TODAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Mostly cloudy and warm

Mostly sunny

Partly sunny

A t-storm around in the p.m.

A stray afternoon thunderstorm

Humid; a few afternoon showers

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

LOW

94° 69°

LOW

89° 70°

LOW

90° 72°

Beaumont 95/69

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

Baton Rouge 93/71

10s

20s

30s

Houma 91/72

40s

50s

YESTERDAY

60s

70s

80s

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

90s 100s 110s

FULL

SEP 26

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

PRECIPITATION

94°/73° 88°/69° 93°/74° 98° in 1921 45° in 1918

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 91/76

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

0s

Hattiesburg 92/66

Lake Charles 95/67

Port Arthur 93/71

LOW

89° 73°

TEMPERATURE

Alexandria 90/64

Lafayette 94/69

HIGH

91° 72°

Jackson 88/66 Many 89/60

LOW

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Wednesday

Longview 91/63

-0s

91° 70°

Monroe 91/66

Shreveport 91/64

-10s

LOW

Well, a weak cold front is making its way into the Gulf today, and behind that front some much drier air is moving into southwest Louisiana. So today, expect a mostly sunny, hot, less humid and breezy day. Temperatures this afternoon will be slightly above average rising into the mid-90s. Humidity is lower today so temperatures will only feel like they’re in the upper 90s to low 100s. A spotty shower or two is possible but overall, rain chances are less than 10% through the weekend.

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

HIGH

7:54p 2:13p 4:08a 6:35a 9:27a 8:53a 10:35a

6:57 a.m. 7:02 p.m. 5:55 p.m. 4:51 a.m.

LAST

NEW

OCT 3

Hi

98 63 95 51 89 96 76 88 83

FIRST

OCT 10

TODAY Lo

72 54 71 31 78 74 57 76 62

W

pc pc pc s sh s pc t pc

OCT 18

Hi

FRI.

97 64 92 57 86 96 75 88 84

Lo

73 55 73 35 77 76 55 74 56

W

s r pc s r s pc t s

FT.

LOW

0.00” 2.37” 4.00” 46.16” 47.68”

FT.

HIGH

0.7 5:31a 0.3 1.7 10:39p 0.8 2.1 7:42a 1.7 1.7 12:06p 1.2 1.3 6:51p 0.7 1.6 5:06p 0.8 1.5 7:53p 0.8

FT.

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS

A/K/A EVALYN LANDRY

PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026

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 ***OCTO‐ WEDNESDAY, BER 28, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit:

LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $32.40 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. TRACI K. 20261410 ROBERT 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 30, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH IMPROVEMENTS AND THEREON, AND ALL THE RIGHTS BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, AND ALL THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ THEREUNTO VANTAGES BELONGING AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT FIFTYFOUR (54) OF SOUTH‐ FIELD SQUARE SUBDIVI‐ SION, A SUBDIVISION IN PARISH OF THE LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY RANDALL J. HEBERT & AS‐ SOCIATES, INC. DATED JULY 27, 1981, WHICH PLAT IS ATTACHED TO ACT NO. 8206624 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA AND MADE A PART HEREOF BY THERETO. REFERENCE BEING THE SAME PROP‐ ACQUIRED BY ERTY THOMAS J. BEARY AND KIRSTEN NAOMI BREAUX BEARY, BY THAT CERTAIN CASH SALE DATED FEBRU‐ 29, 2016, AND ARY RECORDED IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, PARISH, UNDER FILE ENTRY NO. 2016-7193 (“PROPERTY”) MUNICI‐ ADDRESS: 207 PAL PKWY, SOUTHFIELD LAFAYETTE, LA 70506 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 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.90 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. EVALYN 20262866 MARIAH LANDRY A/K/A EVALYN M. LANDRY

15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA

THAT CERTAIN IRREGU‐ PARCEL LARLY-SHAPED OF GROUND, TOGETHER ALL IMPROVE‐ WITH MENTS THEREON, AND ALL THE RIGHT, WAYS, PRIVILEGES, SERVITUDES, APPURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DESIGNATED AS THE SIXTY-SIX NORTHERLY AND FOUR TENTHS (66.4) FEET OF LOT NINE (9) OF TROSCLAIR SUBDIVISION, A SUBDIVISION OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY ROLAND W. LAURENT DATED SEPTEM‐ BER 8, 1958, REVISED FEB‐ RUARY 24, 1960, AT‐ TACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY 393658 OF THE NO. RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA AND MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE, AND BEING DESCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ A WESTERLY ING FRONTAGE OF 66.4 FEET ON CALAIS STREET AND BOUNDED WESTERLY BY STREET, CALAIS NORTHERLY BY CALAIS STREET, EASTERLY BY LOTS 17 AND 18 AND A PORTION OF LOT 19, AND BY THE SOUTHERLY TEN (10) SOUTHERLY FEET OF SAID LOT 9. MU‐ NICIPAL ADDRESS: 100 STREET, CALAIS 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 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.90 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. SHERRON 20263343 GAYNELL WILLIAMS AND KENNETH JAMES WARD 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

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 30, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH IMPROVEMENTS AND AND THE COMPONENT PARTS THEREOF, SITU‐ ATED IN SECTION 5, TI0S, R4E, LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AND BEING AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 25 OF FOX SUBDIVISION, CHASE PHASE 2, SAID LOT HAV‐ SUCH MEASURE‐ ING BOUNDARIES, MENTS, AND CONFIGURATIONS AS ARE DIMENSIONS MORE FULLY SHOWN AND DESCRIBED ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY R. DOU‐ GLAS MCGEE & ASSOCI‐ ATES, LTD. DATED JUNE 1982, LAST REVISED JULY 22, 1982, A COPY OF WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THAT CERTAIN ACT FILED UNDER ENTRY NO. 82RECORDS OF 21320, PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE THERETO. MUNICI‐ PAL ADDRESS: 412 TIM‐ CREEK DRIVE, BER LAFAYETTE, LA 70506 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 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.76 SHERIFF'S SALE METROPOLITAN TOWER LIFE INSURANCE COM‐ Versus No. PANY 20258361 LEGACY EMPIRE CHA’HARRE ED‐ LLC, PARKER AND WARDS RONAL OBIDIO MALDON‐ ADO PADILLA 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 30, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH IMPROVEMENTS AND AND THE COMPONENT PARTS THEREOF, WITH ALL RIGHTS, WAY, PRIVI‐ LEGES AND SERVITUDES THERETO APPERTAINING, IRREGULAR IN SHAPE, SITUATED IN SECTIONS 13, TOWNSHIP 9 SOUTH, 4 EAST, RANGE PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, HAVING A FRONTAGE ON PATTER‐ SON STREET (FORMERLY AS NORTH KNOWN PIERCE STREET EXTEN‐ SION) OF NINETY-THREE THREE-TENTHS AND (93.3`) FEET, AND BEING BOUNDED ON THE NORTH IN PART BY PROPERTY OF

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

ISAACE LABAUVE OR AS‐ SIGNS AND IN PART BY PROPERTY OF PRESLEY BENOIT OR ASSIGNS; ON THE EAST IN PART BY PROPERTY OF RICHARD RIVOIRE AND WIFE, ROS‐ ALIND ANN ARCENEAUX OR ASSIGNS AND IN PART BY NETTA STREET OR AS‐ SIGNS; SOUTH IN PART BY NETTA STREET AND IN PART BY PROPERTY OF AURELINE MOUTON OR ASSIGNS; AND WEST BY STREET PATTERSON (FORMERLY KNOWN AS NORTH PIERCE STREET EXTENSION); SUBJECT TO SERVI‐ RESTRICTIONS, TUDES, RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OUTSTANDING MIN‐ ERAL RIGHTS OF RECORD AFFECTING THE PROP‐ ERTY. MUNICIPAL AD‐ DRESS: 720 PATTERSON STREET, 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: AUGUST 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $38.62

SHERIFF'S SALE SOLUTIONS MORTGAGE OF COLORADO, LLC DBA SOLUTIONS MORTGAGE FINANCIAL Versus No. TROY J. 20256926 KINCHEN 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 30, 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 LOUISIANA, PARISH, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT 61 OF TWIN OAKS SUBDIVISION, WITH FURTHER DIMEN‐ BOUNDARIES, SIONS, SHAPE, FORM, LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY OF SAID SUBDIVISION DATED MAY 25, 1977, PREPARED BY RANDALL HEBERT AND ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 77-11102 OF THE OF THE RECORDS PARISH LAFAYETTE CLERK OF COURT’S OF‐ FICE. WHICH HAS THE AD‐ DRESS OF 111 RUE BONA‐ PARTE, LAFAYETTE, LA 70508 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 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24,

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.47 SHERIFF'S SALE PLANET HOME LENDING, LLC Versus No. 20260645 ANTHONY HOANG LE, (A/K/A ANTHONY LE) 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 ***OCTO‐ WEDNESDAY, BER 28, 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 AVERY MEADOWS, PHASE 1, AND BEING DESIG‐ NATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAT OF SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND OF SAID RECORDER PARISH AND STATE, AS LOT 3, SAID SUBDIVISION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE AND DIMEN‐ SIONS AND BEING SUB‐ JECT TO SUCH SERVI‐ TUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MAP. THE IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON BEAR MUNICIPAL NUM‐ BER 305 JUDICE LANE, DUSON, LA 70529. 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 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $32.83 SHERIFF'S SALE U.S. BANK TRUST NA‐ ASSOCIATION, TIONAL NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF2 ACQUISITION TRUST No. 20240103 Versus ERICK J. CORMIER A/K/A ERICK JOSEPH CORMIER AND SHERI D. CORMIER 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of AMENDED SEIZURE AND SALE 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, appraise‐ ***WITH*** ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public at the auction, LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND FLOOR in Lafayette, i i b h

READING 54 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

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

City

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

Hi

3:53a 10:26p 4:33a 11:06p 5:15a 11:49p 6:02a ---6:53a 1:06p 7:51a 2:05p 8:53a 3:08p

TODAY

91 88 70 98 68 67 77 78 91

Lo

76 73 55 78 43 51 63 69 72

W

pc t pc t pc c pc s t

Hi

88 85 73 101 70 72 77 80 88

4:15p 4:55p 5:38p 6:25p 7:19p 8:18p 9:23p

FRI. Lo

73 67 58 80 46 49 60 69 70

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

MODERATE

--- ----- ----- ----- --2:26p 2.0 7:40p 0.8 4:40p 1.5 11:31p 0.7 --- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---

Today 10:04a Friday 10:44a Saturday 11:27a Sunday 12:14p Monday 12:41a Tuesday 1:37a Wednesday 2:39a

Public Notices Sheriff Sales y Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***SEPTEM‐ BER 30, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OF GROUND SITUATED IN GROVE ESTATES OAK SUBDIVISION, IN THIRD WARD OF THE PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, AND BEING KNOWN AND DESIGNATED AS LOT 8; SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SHAPE, FORM, DIMEN‐ SIONS AND BOUNDARIES AS SHOWN ON THE PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY J. BREAUX, MICHAEL DATED MARCH 26, 1993, A COPY WHICH IS AT‐ TACHED HERETO AND MADE A PART HEREOF; SUBJECT TO RESTRIC‐ SERVITUDES, TIONS, AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY OUTSTANDING MINERAL RIGHTS OF RECORD AF‐ FECTING THE PROPERTY. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 115 STREET, TYRONA 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 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.69 SHERIFF'S SALE U.S. BANK TRUST NA‐ ASSOCIATION, TIONAL NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST No. 20245368 Versus PATRICK J. GUILLORY 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 28, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THOSE CERTAIN LOTS OR PARCELS OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL BUILD‐ IMPROVEMENTS INGS AND ALL THEREON RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES, AND AD‐ THEREUNTO VANTAGES BELONGING OR IN ANY‐ WISE APPERTAINING, LO‐ CATED IN SECTION 33, 8 SOUTH, TOWNSHIP RANGE 4 EAST, BEING AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 46 & 47, GRANDE STAKES SUBDIVI‐ SION, LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AS SHOWN THE SUBDIVISION ON PLAT OF SURVEY PRE‐ BY SELLERS, PARED DUBROC & ASSOCIATES, INC., DATED MARCH 26, 1981, LAST REVISED JUNE 25, 1981, AND RECORDED JULY 31, 1981, UNDER ACT NO. 81-020687 IN THE OF THE RECORDS PARISH LAFAYETTE CLERK OF COURT’S OF‐ FICE. THE LOTS BEING CONTIGUOUS AND HAV‐

TODAY

MODERATE

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

ING A FRONTAGE ON RUF‐ FIN DRIVE WITH SUCH DI‐ MEASURE‐ MENSIONS, BOUNDARIES, MENTS, SHAPE, FORM, LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION AS SHOWN ON THE SUBDIVI‐ SION PLAT OF SURVEY. WHICH HAS THE AD‐ DRESS OF 125 RUFFIAN DRIVE, CARENCRO, LA 70520 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 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $37.12 SHERIFF'S SALE WHOLESALE UNITED MORTGAGE, LLC Versus No. 20253493 JITENDRA PATEL AKA JITENDRA C. PATEL 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 28, 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 CHEMET PARK AND BEING DESIGNATED ON THE OF‐ FICIAL PLAN OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF OF SAID RECORDER PARISH AND STATE, AS

W

s pc c t s s c s s

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

-2.10 16.40 19.30 6.80 4.00 3.51 3.00

-0.30 +0.40 +0.40 +0.30 none +0.16 none

40

17.34

+2.47

19

-1.52

+0.19

18 29 8

-1.18 9.89 2.40

+0.08 +0.07 +0.04

13 15

1.48 0.62

+0.06 -0.02

47 34 29 20 12 6

6.60 4.42 2.91 3.48 3.30 2.13

-0.01 -0.05 -0.11 -0.14 +0.20 +0.08

data as of 7 a.m. Wednesday

Forecasts and graphics, except for Damon’s Outlook, provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2026 Public Notices Sheriff Sales

LOT NUMBER THIRTYTHREE (33), SAID SUBDI‐ VISION, 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‐ 107 CHEMET DRESS: ROAD, 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 24, 2026 & OCTOBER 22, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.11 SHERIFF'S SALE SAVINGS WILMINGTON FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS TRUSTEE OF QUERCUS MORTGAGE INVESTMENT Versus No. TRUST 20235743 JASON WOODS AND CASMERE WILSON WOODS, (A/K/A CASMERE WOODS) 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of AMENDED SEIZURE AND SALE 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, 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 30, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL IMPROVE‐ WITH MENTS THEREON, AND ALL THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVILEGES, SERVITUDES, AND APPURTENANCES ADVANTAGES THERE‐

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

UNTO BELONGING AND APPURTENANCES ALL THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DESIGNATED AS LOT (51) OF FIFTY-ONE SUBDIVI‐ SOUTHFIELD SION, A SUBDIVISION OF PARISH OF THE LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY COMEAUX ENGINEERING & CONSULTING DATED NOVEMBER 17, 2011, AT‐ TACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY 12-649 OF THE NO. RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AND MADE PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE, AND BEING DESCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ ING A FRONTAGE ON NEWSHIRE DRIVE AND IS BOUNDED WEST BY NEW‐ SHIRE DRIVE, EAST BY LOT 54, NORTH BY LOT 50, AND SOUTH BY LOT 52 HAVING SUCH AND DIMENSIONS, OTHER BOUNDARIES AND MEA‐ AS ARE SUREMENTS MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. WHICH HAS THE AD‐ DRESS OF 102 NEWSHIRE DRIVE, BROUSSARD, LA 70518 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 27, 2026 & SEPTEMBER 24, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $37.97

7 DAYS A WEEK

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

For the latest news, sports and entertainment, download the Acadiana Advocate app


METRO

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 24, 2026

1bN

H

UL professor named a top geoscientist Work on climate research lands him on 50 under 50 list BY JOANNA BROWN

of Geosciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, has been named to the Geological Society of Brian Schubert’s research deals America’s inaugural “50 Under 50” with understanding how Earth’s cli- class. The ranking is an acknowlmate record can be read in plants edgment of researchers who are over time, giving us the ability to advancing new knowledge in their see what was happening in Earth’s work — such as Schubert’s method atmosphere millions of years ago. for studying tree rings in fossilSchubert, who directs the School ized and modern wood using isotoStaff writer

pic analysis, which shows seasonal precipitation and temperature shifts when the tree was growing. Students have worked in his lab on groundbreaking efforts measuring how leaves store carbon, which lets researchers see how trees are responding to atmospheric conditions in real time, leaving a permanent record of the plant’s time

and place. “Recognition for your research is really nice, and it’s very rewarding to know that you are helping to make meaningful Schubert contributions to science,” Schubert said. “But I think the most gratifying work I do is the teaching and mentoring. I’ve taught thousands

of students during my time here, and that’s really important to me, that people learn about the world around them.” Schubert has also conducted field research in Siberia as part of an international team, running tests on ancient fossils to uncover variability in rainfall patterns from 5.3 to 11.6 million years ago. Email Joanna Brown at joanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

FRESH COAT OF PAINT

ABOVE and RIGHT: Angel Gomez uses a boom lift as he applies a fresh coat of white paint to the upper porch of the A. Hays Town building at the Hilliard Art Museum, completed in 1968 as a replica of the 19th-century Hermitage Plantation in Darrow, on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus on Wednesday. STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Residents invited to National Night Out ‘It’s like a mini festival,’ police officer says BY DEAN BOUDREAUX

Lafayette bar plans includes AI bartenders Zoning board recommends conditional use permit approval

Lafayette. Lafayette Consolidated Government’s city zoning commission voted 3-1 Monday to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for Plush Syndicate to open at 201 Jefferson St., Suite B, with stipulations. The matter will go to the City BY DEAN BOUDREAUX Council for final approval next Staff writer month. Quintin Borel, a software engiA bar that will feature AI bartenders and automated systems neer and former military commucleared its first hurdle Monday nications intercept, is planning before it can open in downtown what he described as a business

built around membership and automated systems instead of a conventional bar. Borel told commissioners it would require membership to enter that would be verified through buildingwide technology that would monitor patrons through cameras analyzed by what he called a “DNI-system.” He said an artificial intelligence system would manage lighting, sound and occupancy in real time. “The technology is a testament to the innovation of humanity,”

Borel said. “And that’s what I hope to implement so people can have a sense of what the future holds.” The stipulations are that patrons must be at least 21 to enter, no external speakers, a maximum capacity of 325, a private security plan coordinated with LCG’s Alcohol and Noise Control, no open containers can leave the premises and two off-duty officers on-site every night the business is open.

ä See BAR, page 4B

Staff writer

Lafayette is aiming to draw 300 people to the MLK center for National Night Out on Oct. 6, up from at least 200 last year, Sgt. Robin Green said. “I love it because we get to meet new faces and engage with community members while off duty,” Green said. The free event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 309 Cora St., and parking is free, Green said.

ä See NIGHT OUT, page 4B

Authorities: Inmates turned Bible pages into cigarettes Inmates face additional charges mates appeared after allegedly using pages from CRIME to be intoxicated, a Bible to make and smoke ciga- BLOTTER stumbling as they walked out of the rettes inside the Evangeline Parrestroom, depuish Jail, according to the Evange- Advocate staff line Parish Sheriff’s Office. ties said. Deputies reported that several reports When deputies inmates entered a dormitory entered the dorrestroom on the night of Sept. mitory, they noticed the smell of 18. Throughout the night, the in- burnt paper throughout the area.

Deputies found pieces of Bible pages rolled into cigarettes that appeared to have been soaked in cleaning chemicals and other substances, according to the sheriff’s office. The inmates allegedly used two batteries, a magnet, a metal plate and a staple to ignite the Bible paper before smoking it, deputies

said. The following inmates were arrested after the incident: Kochanski Ardoin, Atravion Charles, Robert Gallow, Templeton Guillory, Tyrel Guillory, Skaundrey Herbert, Derrick Holcomb, Haiden King, Kamryn McClay,

ä See BLOTTER, page 4B


2B ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

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

OUR VIEWS

Hyundai-POSCO investment will pay off but La. leaders need to explain how Amid the flurry of economic development projects on the way to our state, one of the first announced is now getting off the ground. In March 2025, Hyundai Motor Group and state officials had a news conference at the White House to unveil plans for the company’s first steel plant in the United States to supply its auto plants in Alabama and Georgia. The $5.8 billion plant is a partnership between South Korean powerhouses Hyundai Motor and POSCO, the world’s seventh-largest steelmaker, as well as the South Korean automaker Kia. It broke ground earlier this month at the site in Ascension Parish, where a 17,000-acre industrial park sits in Modeste, a predominantly Black community north of Donaldsonville. Recently, the Louisiana State Bond Commission approved $1.3 billion in tax-free financing for the project. The companies have already invested nearly $2.9 billion in the mill. They have said that the mill could bring 1,300 long-term direct jobs paying an average salary of $95,000. What has happened in the time from the first giddy announcement of the project to now is unfortunately what too often happens as Louisiana pursues economic development. Questions have been raised about how the deal came to be, who will really benefit, what the environmental impacts are and whether the state is giving away too much. None of this is unique to Hyundai, and none of it reflects what the company is doing in Louisiana. Since 2025, Hyundai executives have been a part of the community in Donaldsonville. They have sponsored local organizations and events. They have faced questions at a public meeting and from this Editorial Board. The company is working with River Parishes Community College to establish a training center to help locals build the skills needed to work in the steel and manufacturing sector. What it reflects is a failure by state and local officials to build trust with the Louisiana residents they serve. We call on Gov. Jeff Landry, Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment and Donaldsonville Mayor Leroy J. Sullivan to do everything in their power to ensure the project proceeds with transparency, fairness and the utmost integrity. They are the ones who can change perceptions. Dismissing the opposition as mostly outside agitators isn’t going to make it go away. The project still has one more hurdle to clear. It must obtain an air permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The company says the electric arc furnace-based integrated steel mill it’s building would cut CO2 emissions. Eventually, it says it could even use “green” hydrogen to produce steel. But some worry that details are scant. This would seem to us the perfect opportunity for officials to show they plan to protect residents who really want to believe the investments the state is making will pay off for all of us. It’s up to our leaders to explain how.

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

identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

YOUR VIEWS

Pare away religious commandments, post only the laws

Take industrial revolution as a warning, not an inspiration Rich Lowry takes an interesting approach to convincing people of the foolishness of opposing data centers (“What if factories had gotten the data center treatment?” Sept. 10). To show that progress always has a downside, he points to the unchecked pollution caused by the first industrial revolution: smoke-filled skies and a river so polluted it regularly caught fire, and to the 1892 Carnegie Steel strike that killed and injured workers and the Pinkerton agents breaking it up. At least he left out the deaths and injuries of child laborers, which continued into the 1930s. Even Lowry seems compelled to acknowledge the value of improvements in industrial conditions after World War II. But those weren’t the result of letting companies do whatever they wanted. Instead, those improvements came about thanks to labor laws, the rebuilding of unions and regulations spurred by awareness of the environ-

mental harms of industry. Indeed, recalling the earlier industrial revolution seems more like a reason not to repeat its mistakes than to stop worrying about today’s. No, you can’t have industry without using resources, but it’s still wise to pay attention to how much and for what. The products of the first revolution, including steel, were clearly useful. AI is a more dubious gain: Its construction boom is quite possibly short-term, its production hungry for energy and resources and its applications not without harms of their own. Its CEOs, eyes set on profit, may not want to admit limits, but the fact that our industrial forefathers also moved fast and broke things is a useful reminder to pay attention this time and to speak up for what is beneficial for all, not just a few, before — rather than after — unnecessary harms.

For the many who feel that the Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our society and our country’s history, I suggest you take a step into the history of it all. The Treaty of Tripoli confirms we are not a Christian nation (Article 11: “The government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”). At the same time, our Founding Fathers respected not just the freedom of religion, but an understanding of the First Amendment that lets everyone know that you possess freedom from religion. That’s not to say that you tell an individual to not have their own religion, but rather that the government cannot dictate what religion you are required to see or to be exposed to — for example, forced to observe the Ten Commandments. So let’s look at the issue itself. The first four commandments are demonstrably religious, so why include them on the page? Next, laws against murder and theft are obviously universal, so we shouldn’t consider them special to the Ten Commandments. False witness seems straightforward, but slander laws exist already. What of adultery? Should we ask our president and politicians if they broke a law with that one? Lastly, we have to stand aghast at the last commandment, which forbids coveting your neighbor’s possessions — including his wife and slaves. Ignoring the idea that a wife is a possession, do we have laws against coveting? Seems to me that if we posted state laws against murder, theft and slander, we would save money and actually give students a view of real laws, not 3,000-yearold ideas that, for all that time, have failed to do their job.

CHRISTINE ALBERS New Orleans

Fund would restore visitor amenities on public land For more than 20 years, families have come to Bent’s RV looking for a chance to unplug, get outdoors and make memories together. Access to America’s public lands matters to these families, and to businesses, employees and communities that depend on outdoor recreation. That’s why I’m urging Congress to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund. Created in 2020 through the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act, the fund helps repair roads, campgrounds, trails, water systems and other infrastructure on federal public lands. When campgrounds are open, roads are maintained and public lands are accessible, families travel. They purchase fuel, food, supplies, equipment and services from businesses along the way. When these facilities fall into disrepair, communities feel the impact. Deferred maintenance across federal

public lands totals tens of billions of dollars. Delaying repairs only makes them more expensive while potentially limiting access to places families enjoy. Investing in existing infrastructure protects what taxpayers have already built while supporting the outdoor recreation economy. Our customers need places to go, and businesses like ours depend on those destinations remaining safe, accessible and enjoyable. Congress should reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund and continue investing in the campgrounds, roads, trails and public lands that millions of American families use. It’s an investment in our public lands, local communities, small businesses and the next generation of families ready to enjoy the outdoors.

BRIAN BENT Bent’s RV Boutte

Constitution protects reporters’ ability to do their job When the president of the United States bans certain reporters from the White House because he does not like their reporting, he forgets that reporters, like all people in this country, have a First Amendment right to be skeptical. It is why our Constitution has been called a daring and courageous document.

It is why neither reporters nor any other people in this country can be intimidated into conformity. It is why the Founding Fathers wrote that a society that will trade a little liberty for a little order will lose both and deserves neither.

NATHAN MEAUX Crowley

ALFRED F. BOUSTANY III Lafayette

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING

KEVIN HALL

President & Publisher

RENE SANCHEZ

VP/News, Executive Editor

KARYN KEARNEY EVP/Strategic Partnerships

ARNESSA GARRETT Managing Editor/ Opinion

JUSTIN MITCHELL

Managing Editor/ Audience

HANK STUEVER

Managing Editor/ Enterprise

FRED KALMBACH

JENNIFER BROWN

JERRY DICOLO

EMMA DISCHER

Managing Editor

Managing Editor, New Orleans

KRISTIN ASKELSON Managing Editor, Acadiana

BARBARA LEADER Managing Editor, Shreveport

Senior Editor Senior Editor

ANDREA GALLO

ROGER HOLMES

Chief Revenue Officer

ASHLEY WHITCHER

VP/ Consumer Sales

JIM MYERS

General Manager/ Advertising

VP/IT

Senior Editor/ Investigations

VP/Finance

JESSICA WILLIAMS

ROBERT STOLL

Senior Editor

CHASE HEATHERLY

Executive VP, Operations

VP/Distribution

KYLE WHITFIELD

G

GEORGES MEDIA GROUP JOHN D. GEORGES Owner

JUDI TERZOTIS

ROBERT YOUNG

Chief Executive Officer

LOU HUDSON

Editorial Page

VP/ Majors & Nationals

DAN SHEA

Chairman

ARNESSA GARRETT STEPHANIE GRACE WILL SUTTON QUIN HILLYER FAIMON ROBERTS


lll

The Advocate n theadvocate.com n Thursday, September 24, 2026 n 3B

COMMENTARY Politics poisons the AI debate are worried rogue AI agents will make Over the past few weeks, the public humanity go extinct. The fear of death has woken up to the debate that’s been is, for most people, a more powerful going on in the artificial intelligence motivator than the prospect of great safety community for more than a decade. Will we create superintelligence? wealth. There’s good reason to think those fears are sincere, given that Will it kill us? What should we do? many AI executives have been publicly I don’t have the answers to those fretting that AI could destroy huquestions. All I have are principles for thinking about the manity since before they started problem, which are being their companies. riotously violated all over the As you assess what they’re internet. telling you, separate empirical Some propositions, in no parquestions from value questions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ticular order: Megan ega Don’t form strong beliefs McArdle many people forgot that while virologists knew a lot about (yet). Even in the frontier labs, viruses, they did not have any no one knows what the future holds. Those outside the labs don’t even special insight into the complex tradeoffs involved in locking down society know what the present holds, because or forcing everyone to wear masks. they haven’t seen the most advanced Those were value judgments, not scimodels, which haven’t been released. If you are sure you know what will hap- entific questions. Such judgments have pen, or what we should do about it, you to be made by society, not a handful of virologists or tech CEOs. are nurturing what writer and satirist As we debate those value questions, Ambrose Bierce called “a vagrant our emotions will tend to shade our opinion without visible means of supanalysis of the empirics. The reason it’s port.” important to keep an open mind, rather As you try to form an opinion, be than getting emotionally invested in a skeptical but not cynical. Many people seem convinced that frontier lab CEOs strong view about what should be done, is that once we’re so invested, we’ll be who want government permission to collaborate on safety, and possibly reg- tempted to seize on any fact that supulation, could have only one possible ports our position while ignoring those motive: boosting their stock price and that don’t. hamstringing their competition. I’m all Many folks in my own techno-optifor healthy skepticism, but this overmist camp are now pooh-poohing worshoots into cynicism — and then shoots ries about AI as just another episode in straight out the other side into a kind of a long history of technology panics that painful naiveté that assumes financial turned out to be misplaced. They’re motives are the only determinants of right about the past, but as writer Tom human behavior. Chivers has noted: “It is definitionally It is helpful to remember what the true that every prediction of the apocaleaders in the labs are saying: They lypse will be false except the last one.”

It’s fine to look for parallels in the past, but you have to assess each new situation on the merits, not the historical record. Pay as much attention to differences as you do to similarities. The Anthropic CEO is not the public health official who closed down your local parks and imposed a vaccine mandate. AI safety folks are not Luddites. More broadly, don’t let past commitments lock you into future positions. You may dislike the idea of regulation, corporations collaborating to slow down product development or, for that matter, AI. You may already have made strong declarations on these subjects. The stronger your past commitments, the more tempting it will be to ignore any fact or argument that might force you to revisit them. Resist this temptation. Be prepared to gracefully retreat if necessary. These precepts should strike most of us as reasonable. Unfortunately, our poisonous political atmosphere makes them unusually hard to follow. Increasingly, we assess facts and policy questions not by whether they are true, but according to which team seems to benefit most. If what the frontier labs are saying is correct, we can’t afford that kind of thinking. If the worst fears about rogue AI come to pass, Team Red and Team Blue will both lose the only contest that matters. So for the duration, let’s all try to focus on making sure that Team Humanity wins. Megan McArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo. Email her at Megan. McArdle@washpost.com.

Closed primaries a curse on our democracy I didn't leave my political party; my party left me. Both of them. I've been a Democrat, and I've been a Republican. What I am now doesn't matter. The point is that a lot of American voters feel perpetually frustrated by the choices they find on the November ballot. The Democratic or Republican candidate is often chosen in lowturnout primaries where organized ideologues or special interest groups select the nominee. Right now, about 47% of registered American voters do not affiliate with a party. That's almost half the electorate. Independents are the largest group of registered voters in 10 states. Yet across much of the country, that huge chunk of voters is shut out of partisan primaries. If their state is solidly red, as is the case in conservative Oklahoma or Texas, the Republican is almost sure to win the general election. In liberal Maryland or Oregon, the Democrat can almost take victory for granted. There used to be very little discussion of independent voters. In 1961, 80% of Americans belonged to either the Democratic or Republican party and talk about “unaffiliated” voters tended toward the derogatory. They were Froma generally written off as Harrop disgruntled Republicans or Democrats. “Outside the presidential race, for most Americans, it's a one-party country,” explains Jeremy Gruber, senior vice president of Open Primaries, a nonpartisan group that advocates for letting all voters participate in primary elections. “When you have a one-party state, the general election is largely meaningless. The dominant party's primary is the only important election.” Open primaries do not seem to favor one party over the other. About 15 states run strictly open primaries. They include Massachusetts, Alaska and North Carolina. These states are worlds apart demographically and ideologically. And there's a mistaken belief that independent voters tend to be conservative white men. Not the case. They are now heavily Latino. Apparently, 52% of Latino voters are unaffiliated. “Like Latinos nationally,” wrote Mike Madrid, author of “The Latino Century,” “Latinos in California are the least partisan bloc of voters in the state.” Open primaries sees similar trends

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Eric Cowan comes out of the voting booth at the Dryades yMCA polling location in New Orleans on May 16. in Asian communities. Gruber points out that many immigrants come from countries where party membership has a negative connotation. Younger Americans are among the least likely groups of voters to join a party. Nationally, 57% of Gen Z and 54% of millennials are independent. Given these numbers, it's striking that three big American cities still run fully closed partisan primaries. They are New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore. All three are solidly Democraticcontrolled. Yet there are more independent voters in New York City than Republicans. Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for mayor with the support of only 11% of the city's registered voters. A group called UniteNY is pushing for open primaries as a civil rights issue. Its July 2026 Voter Empowerment Index found that two-thirds of New Yorkers favored open primaries. That would presumably include many reg-

istered Democrats. There's a strong legal argument for opening the primaries. The Democratic and Republican parties are both private entities. State and local governments run the primaries with taxpayer money. When independents call their boards of election to ask why they can't vote in an important primary race, the most bureaucrats can often offer is to help them join a party so that their voice can be heard. But, Gruber rightly asks, “Why should Americans have to join a party whose agenda they don't believe in to participate in the selection of their leaders?” Special interests of both parties understandably like the concentration of power that closed primaries confer. But we who are so often unhappy with the choices in the general election do not agree: Closed primaries are bad for the democracy.

Ten years later, Kaepernick remains unpersuasive A decade later, Colin Kaepernick is as tiresome as ever. To mark the 10-year anniversary of his kneeling during the national anthem, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is out with a new memoir, “The Perilous Fight.” (Get it?) In an interview with NBC News in advance of the book's release, which he clearly imagines as part of a vindication tour, he proved himself as committed to woke racial politics as ever. He told NBC that his protests were about fighting “police killing Black folks” and “systemic oppression.” He added that he was thinking — not very modRich estly — about the Montgomery Lowry bus boycotts, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King while he took a knee. It's certainly true that Kaepernick sacrificed his career to his protests, although he was a marginal player by the end. In his prime, Kaepernick was a top-notch athlete and electric performer. No one can take his exemplary 2012 and 2013 seasons away from him. In one playoff game in 2012, he passed for 263 yards and ran for 181, a single-game record for rushing by an NFL quarterback. He couldn't maintain this level of performance, though. In 2015, he lost his starting job to journeyman Blaine Gabbert. He won it back for a time in 2016, although he got benched during one game after throwing for all of 4 yards. The 49ers went 1-10 when he started, and by one metric, he ranked 23rd out of 30 qualifying quarterbacks. So he was hardly the GOAT, instead oncevery-good, now-mediocre. Then there was the issue that his style of play didn't necessarily fit in most offensive schemes. Layer on top of this the circus he'd bring to town with his kneeling and it's understandable that teams didn't find him an alluring proposition in 2017 when he was a free agent. There were myriad options available as backup quarterbacks who weren't notorious for disrespecting the national anthem immediately prior to games. None of this would have mattered if Kaepernick had maintained his 2012 level of play; in that hypothetical, teams would have signed him even if he started to do the black power salute during huddles. Kaepernick has now worked himself into a position where he's compared NFL players to enslaved people (in an absurd Netflix documentary), and he's bitter that he isn't numbered among them as a 38-year-old who hasn't played in 10 years. Then there's the substance of his advocacy. The high-water mark for Kaepernick's antipolice worldview came in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, when the NFL basically apologized for not listening to his supposed wisdom and the police were put on their back foot in many cities around the country. The result was an increase in violent crime that, of course, disproportionately victimized Black people. The country has now recovered from this idiocy — based on the lie that the police indiscriminately kill Black people — and the country is much safer for the people who Kaepernick purports to care most about. If we ever go anywhere near his preferred policy of abolishing the police and prisons, we'd instantly create the worst crime wave in the country's history. Kaepernick is sometimes compared to Muhammad Ali. The legendary boxer sacrificed part of his career by claiming conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War. Ali was hated for a time, but his true greatness as a boxer, his incandescent charisma and his outsized place in the culture allowed him to transcend that political controversy and become a beloved American figure. That is not going to happen to Colin Kaepernick, whose claim to fame is kneeling on the sidelines during some NFL games. He's very dismissive of the enduring change wrought in the NFL by his protests and the tumult after 2020. The league has painted the words “End Racism” in end zones. Kaepernick rightly considers these pointless messages performative, but so was his scorn for the anthem of his own country a decade ago. Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry.

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop.

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

writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE


4B ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Plaquemine vibration study doesn’t find shaking Some residents not satisfied with data BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

Residents of the Plaquemine area along the Mississippi River have complained for years of lowfrequency sounds and vibrations they say may be damaging their homes and their health. An Iberville Parish study has now provided them with answers — but it is being met with skepticism from some. After more than three months of monitoring, the study didn’t turn up noises or ground vibrations outside the normal range. But it also didn’t collect as much data as originally planned. The conclusions drew immediate criticism from some Plaquemine residents and calls from some council members for more inquiry. Though the area has plenty of heavy industry nearby, some residents have blamed a barge-cleaning operation across the Mississippi River in Sunshine. But the new round of testing by IVC Technologies did not find any ground vibrations. Although the company did detect 13 instances in which sounds peaked beyond 75 decibels, those peaks and other periods with lesser decibels were

BAR

Continued from page 1B Stipulations were recommended based on input from the Lafayette Police Department, Alcohol and Noise Control, Lafayette Fire Department and the Downtown Development Authority. Brian Taylor, Borel’s uncle and president of the company’s security and operations arm, told commissioners he has decades of experience in food service, hospitality management and entertainment production. He said the business

NIGHT OUT

Continued from page 1B National Night Out is a crime and drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. Green said the organization started years ago so residents of high-crime areas could team up and feel supported by local law enforcement. The release said more than 17,000 communities nationwide will take part and asked residents to lock their doors and turn on outside lights before attending

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B DeQuandre Soileau and Mario Wilson. All 11 inmates were charged with four felonies: one count of possession of contraband in a penal facility; one count of fire raising in a correctional facility; one count of fire raising in a correctional facility; and one count of possession or distribution of synthetic cannabinoids. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

2 hospitalized after exchanging gunfire Two 19-year-old St. Martin Parish men remained hospitalized in stable condition Tuesday after exchanging gunfire Monday night, and both are expected to survive, according to the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were dispatched to the 1000 block of Juleau Champagne Road at 8:41 p.m. Monday after a 19-year-old man was found suffering from a gunshot wound, Sheriff Becket Breaux said in a news release. EMS transported him to a hospital. As deputies were re-

not at low enough frequencies to cause rumbling or structures to shake, according to the report. Seventy-five decibels is about the sound of a lawnmower or leaf blower. IVC Technologies said the level was an arbitrarily chosen threshold “to evaluate the few times when the sound level” detected by the company was higher than average. The final weeks of the sound analysis happened during the Fourth of July period. At least one late-night peak on the Fourth was attributed to fireworks displays. Sound levels peaked at 105.8 decibels then, the highest recorded during the testing, according to the report. “There was nothing above the standards,” John Clark, Iberville Parish’s executive director of economic development and environmental matters, told the Parish Council on Tuesday night. “No events were recorded with a low frequency, and some of our issues or complaints were that these incidents were like low frequency, which may be a little more intense than what you would imagine.”

Questioning the study Roxanne and Glynn Traigle are among the residents who believe the VLS barge cleaning operation and its flare have been the source of the vibrations, which they con-

tend are being amplified by the river and railroad tracks on the west bank. They say they continue to hear and feel chronic low-frequency vibrations in their home and questioned the timing of the study because it was during a summer period when, they say, barge cleaning is reduced due to low water in the river. “I don’t think they hired the right kind of people to come do the study and used the right kind of equipment,” said Roxanne Traigle, who lives with her husband a few blocks from the Mississippi. The VLS flare is used to burn off remnant material in barges that have been carrying chemicals, and the company has previously said it has spent $1 million to try to limit its impact. Company officials didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The parish study looked at ground vibrations from April 3 to May 22 with real-time monitors and concluded that the data “did not indicate there was a ground vibration causing the issue.” The contractors also set up two acoustic monitors: one at the Plaquemine Lock at the Mississippi and another on the second-floor, outdoor porch of a home on Court Street next to the river levee. The home is in the area where com-

would manage noise and crowds responsibly. Asked what would make his business the right fit for downtown, Borel said, “I want AI bartenders. I don’t want customers to have to stand up to order.” “It sounds fundamentally different than Nitetown,” Commissioner Olivia Pontiff said. Borel’s plans include a three-floor operation with a ground-floor bar, a secondfloor VIP and merchandise area and a third floor for production, technology and administrative work. The board approved the measure despite a request from DDA Executive Di-

rector Kevin Blanchard to defer the matter because he believes the permitting process isn’t working. “I wish they hadn’t kicked the can down the road to the City Council,” Blanchard said. “We’re putting all the work at the end when we should be addressing it at the start.” Blanchard said afterward he traced the permit process to a nightclub moratorium the LCG adopted years ago when downtown had 14 nightclubs operating out of largely vacant buildings. The moratorium barred new bars outright until 2018, when the city worked with the authority to create

that evening. The Louisiana State Police, the Marshal’s Office and the Lafayette Fire Department will attend, Green said. Nearly a dozen organizations and law enforcement partners will offer information, according to a news release. Children can enjoy a bounce house, pizza, face painting and a visit with McGruff the Crime Dog. Two horses from the Police Department’s mounted patrol will be on hand, Green said. The Fire Department’s Smoke House will let children walk through a fog-

filled space while firefighters explain how smoke detectors work and how to escape a fire. High school students interested in law enforcement careers can learn about and sign up for the LPD explorer program. The program currently has 12 members, Green said. Green said residents who have never attended are missing out. “They don’t know what they are missing. It’s like a mini festival,” Green said.

sponding to the scene, a hospital notified them that a second 19-year-old man had arrived seeking treatment for a gunshot wound. He was dropped off by a private vehicle, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jordan Lippincott said in an interview. “Investigators are still working to determine what led to the shooting and the relationship between the two men,” Lippincott said. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed. The Sheriff’s Office has identified both men but will not release their names unless an arrest is made or one of them succumbs to his injuries, Lippincott said. Investigators have not determined whether anyone witnessed the shooting and are working to determine whether surveillance foot-

age exists, she said. Anyone with information about the shooting or surveillance footage is asked to contact the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office at (337) 394-3071 or St. Martin Crime Stoppers at (337) 4413030 or through the P3 Tips app. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Email Dean Boudreaux: dean.boudreaux@ theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2026 PICK 3: 6-5-4 PICK 4: 8-7-6-3 PICK 5: 5-3-6-3-3 MEGA MILLIONS: 7-13-26-37-68 MEGA BALL: 8 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

Mugs, shirts, hats, posters, books. Something for everyone at the Advocate Store!

STORE.ADVOCATE.COM

plaints have been made downriver from the lock, Clark explained. The acoustic monitors were supposed to be gathering data between May 22 and July 13, but Clark said the data card from the monitor in the home was blank when engineers collected it at the end of the study period. He said it “malfunctioned somehow,” but it was unclear why. The other monitor at the Plaquemine Lock had been set up as a “control” site away from areas where the complaints have been centered but also directly across the river from the VLS barge operation. That’s the monitor that picked up the 13 instances of sounds exceeding 75 decibels. Those highvolume peaks ranged in frequency from 31.5 to 125 hertz or had a wide range of frequencies. Decibels measure how loud something is. Hertz measures frequency, or the number of sound waves per second. “There were no events recorded with low-frequency sound that would cause rumbling or shaking of structures,” the report stated.

Further study?

cy range can cause vibrations, and some studies suggest humans can sense sounds below 20 hertz. Council members zeroed in on one of the 13 high-decibel incidents that lasted for 110 minutes on June 11. Clark pointed out the area has lots of industrial activity, industrial flares, railroad cars and trucks and other heavy equipment driving down the road. He added the area also has unstable geology that could be amplifying vibrations from that activity. The testing showed the June 11 incident had sound waves with a wide range of frequencies. But council Chairman Steve “Pine” Smith asked Clark whether highway traffic could cause that level of noise for nearly two hours. He asked instead if the parish could try to correlate that time period with known activities at area plants or at the barge cleaning operation. He said he believed the parish needed to look further at the situation. Under questioning from council member Chasity Easley, Clark said the parish could do more study if the council wished. “We work at your pleasure,” he said. “All it costs is more money.”

Human hearing is generally said to range from 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz. Low frequencies typically David J. Mitchell can be range from 20 to 200 hertz. reached at dmitchell@ Some sounds in the low-frequen- theadvocate.com.

the conditional use permit system, allowing new bars downtown only after caseby-case review. That review process, he said, has been watered down in recent years. He said city planning staff now hands applicants a standard list of conditions before consulting his office or police, reversing what he said was supposed to be the order of operations. “They drastically reduced the number of questions they ask, and they’ve really taken themselves out of any kind of decision-making,” Blanchard said. Blanchard attributed the need for more scrutiny to a

video of a fight on Jefferson Street, which has accumulated over 500,000 views in the past week, explaining it as evidence showing an unaddressed safety problem downtown. He said he represents about 770 downtown businesses and 3,000 residents who bear the reputational and economic costs when videos like that spread. The commission’s attorney said the Downtown Development Authority does not have legal standing in the permit process, and any formal role for the authority in the permitting process would require a policy change from the City

Council. Blanchard denied he is trying to control the process. “You are in control of this process,” he told commissioners. “You are the decision makers. Right now you have a bad process, and you are making bad decisions.” Email Dean Boudreaux: dean.boudreaux@ theadvocate.com.

Funerals Today Hollier II, Donald

Fountain Memorial Funeral Home, Lafayette at 11:00am.

OVER 50? UNLIMITED FOR JUST $35/MONTH.

Backed by #1 Network Coverage and Customer Satisfaction.*

100% U.S. BASED CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by ACSI®.*

FAST, RELIABLE NATIONWIDE COVERAGE. Ranked #1 in network coverage by ACSI®.*

Switch & Save Today.

844-238-7868

© 2026 Consumer Cellular, Inc. Terms and Conditions subject to change. Plans shown include $5 credit for AutoPay and E-billing. Taxes and other fees apply. Credit approval required for new service. Cellular service is not available in all areas and is subject to system limitations. For unlimited plans, high-speed data is reduced after 35GB on single-line plans and 50GB of combined usage on multi-line plans for the remainder of your billing cycle. Unlimited data plans only for customers age 50+. Age validation required. *2025 ACSI® Survey of customers rating their own wireless service provider. ACSI® and its logo are registered trademarks of the American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC. For more about the ACSI®, visit www.theacsi.org.


OFFICIAL NEWS PARTNER OF THE LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS

H

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 24, 2026

R A I D E R S A T S A I N T S • 3 : 2 5 P. M . S U N D A y • C B S

Saints doing some of their best offensive work on third-and-long situations

DISTANT THREATS

1CN

Wade: ‘Everybody’s waiting for us to fail’ LSU coach talks unstable roster ahead of season

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Will Wade on Wednesday discussed an LSU roster with only four publicly listed players just 41 days from the Tigers’ season opener Nov. 3. Before answering the obvious question, Wade joked that his group has enjoyed 2-on-2 practices for months. The rest of Wade’s opening comments in his first official media availability since his March 30 introductory news conference addressed what is going on. His answer is LSU has signed 15 players, and all have practiced together since Sept. 2. That includes former St. John’s star RJ Luis, who was granted a preliminary injunction to play on Aug. 24 in his lawsuit against the NCAA. “Every one of them’s out there running around and have been since school got back,” said Wade, who previously led LSU (2017-22) to a 105-51 overall record and a 56-33 mark in the Southeastern Conference. “We’ve been operating as a normal program since we started the semester in August.” Even though Wade said his operation is

ä See WADE, page 3C

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

To put a new spin on an old cliché: When the going gets tough, the Shough gets going. Through two games, the New Orleans Saints have converted 50% of their third downs, ranking No. 6 in the NFL. They’ve also converted an NFL-best four fourth downs and have scored five touchdowns in seven redzone trips (71.4%, T-9th). “Well, I think we have some really good guys running routes, a really good quarterback throwing them the ball,” Saints offensive guard Cesar Ruiz said. “That’s it. It feels good to see the playmakers and the guys that can do special things do special things in those situations.” The numbers are impressive, especially for a team that was extremely lacking in those areas this time a year ago, but they don’t tell the full story. The Saints have been even better when needing to pick up a thirdand-long conversion. Take last week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. New Orleans went into eight situations where it needed

7 or more yards to convert on third down, and it succeeded five times. That’s a 62.5% conversion rate on the most difficult downs. On those plays, New Orleans averaged 14.3 yards per play — an astonishing number, especially when considering one of those plays resulted in an 8-yard loss on a sack. Quarterback Tyler Shough has been the main driver of this never-say-die offense. His ability to keep plays alive has opened new avenues for big plays, such as the one where he found Devaughn Vele for 29 yards to convert a third-and-13 against Baltimore. On the play, Shough evaded pressure and moved up in the pocket, threatening to take off up the middle of the field. The safety, Malaki Starks, bit on the bait and left his zone to prevent Shough from taking off. The Saints quarterback proceeded to throw the ball over his head right to Vele, who was crossing in the area Starks vacated. “Statistically, you expect third-and-long is not a high conversion rate,” Ruiz said. “So when we convert those,

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave pulls in a pass over Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey in the second half against the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore. AP PHOTO By NICK WASS

UL defensive front excelling with new philosophy BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

It’s only three games, but the UL defense has a different look this season. Coach Michael Desormeaux said Monday that some changes beyond personnel adjustments were made during the offseason. “We’ve had a little bit of a ä UL at philosophy shift up front,” Charlotte Desormeaux said. “We’re way more active up front than we 5:30 P.M. had been. Instead of going to a SATURDAy, two-gap, hold the point type of ESPN+ front ... we’re letting those guys play. They’re moving, they’re playing ... we’re allowing them a little bit more freedom.” Looking back, Desormeaux was throwing out such hints through August camp. Nearly every time the head coach was asked about which unit was looking good, Desormeaux would point to the way the defensive line was performing. He didn’t want to give the Lamar coaches a scouting report through quotes to the media, but the cat is out of the bag after three games. “We’ve got a veteran group up there,

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL defensive lineman Fitzgerald West celebrates a big stop near the goal line during ä See UL, page 2C the Cajuns’ 21-14 win over UAB on Saturday.

STAFF PHOTO By PEARL SPURLOCK

LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade speaks at a news conference on Wednesday at LSU.

Fair or not, LSU must make CFP this season

Who says the regular season is diminished now that it’s paired with a 12-team College Football Playoff? When LSU hosts Texas A&M (both 2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m., ABC), it will almost qualify as a CFP elimination game. Yes, it’s the last Saturday in September, not the third Saturday in November. But with both teams coming off losses — LSU 32-24 at Ole Scott Miss, A&M more ominously Rabalais 31-21 at home against previously unheralded Kentucky — this really, really ä Texas counts. According to ESPN’s A&M at Heather Dinich, the loser of LSU 6:30 P.M. Saturday’s game has at best SATURDAy,ABC a 10% chance to reach the CFP this season. The Aggies made the playoffs in 2025, bowing out in the first round to Miami. Texas A&M is in its third season under coach Mike Elko, a season in which the Aggies may have been expected to take a step further into national championship contention. Whether or not that happens is yet to be written.

ä See RABALAIS, page 3C


2C ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV

7 p.m.

AUTO RACING 7 a.m. Formula 1: Practice APPLETV COLLEGE FOOTBALL 6 p.m. Benedict at Tuskegee ESPN2 6:30 p.m. Liberty at Coastal Carolina ESPN WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER 5 p.m. Wisconsin at Maryland BTN 5 p.m. Memphis at South Florida ESPNU 6 p.m. Notre Dame at Duke ACCN 6 p.m. Kentucky at South Carolina SECN 7 p.m. UCLA at Rutgers BTN

Mississippi St. at Tennessee ESPNU GOLF 11:30 a.m. Presidents Cup GOLF HORSE RACING noon America’s Day at the Races FS2 MLB 11:30 a.m. St Louis at Pittsburgh MLBN 2:30 p.m. Arizona at Colorado MLBN 6 p.m. Cincinnati at Atlanta FS1 9 p.m. San Diego at L.A. Dodgers MLBN NFL 7:15 p.m. Atlanta at Green Bay PRIME

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

NHL PRESEASON New Jersey at N.y. Rangers NHLN Utah at Vegas NHLN MEN’S SOCCER 1:30 p.m. Norway vs. Denmark FS1 6:50 p.m. Dominican Rep. vs. Nicaragua FS2 8:50 p.m. Costa Rica vs. Curacao FS2 TENNIS 10 p.m. Seoul & Singapore TENNIS WNBA 6 p.m. Toronto at Connecticut NBATV 7 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota USA 9 p.m. Las Vegas at Phoenix CNBC 6 p.m. 9 p.m.

Scott eager for Presidents Cup win Australian is hungry for International team’s first victory over U.S. in his 12th straight appearance

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

MEDINAH, Ill. — Adam Scott was a fresh face at age 23 and getting feisty under the darkening sky in South Africa. The Presidents Cup was tied. Ernie Els and Tiger Woods were in a tense playoff when the captains agreed to a tie, meaning the Americans would keep the cup as defending champions. “Keep playing,” Scott shouted. They ultimately agreed to share the cup. Asked for his recollections from his 2003 debut, the 46-yearold Australian smiled and said: “I think I strongly suggested that Ernie get to the 18th tee because we’re playing. I was confident they could tee off. I don’t know that they could have finished the hole.” Scott never could have imagined then that it would be the closest he’d ever come to playing on a winning International team in the Presidents Cup. This week at Medinah marks his 12th consecutive appearance, tying the record held by Phil Mickelson. It’s another testament to a career built around a swing so pure it has kept Scott free of injury as he became only the second player to compete in at least 100 consecutive majors, and it has kept him relevant enough to be part of yet another Presidents Cup. It’s also one more chance, and Scott doesn’t take it for granted. “I feel like it’s a huge opportunity for me,” Scott said. “There was probably a period 10 years ago, in the middle of my career, where it was, ‘Oh, this (winning) is going to happen.’ But now there’s not many more, that’s for sure. I’ve been given another chance. It might be the last one.” The Internationals gathered for the team photo Wednesday morning, and it was only fitting that Scott had a place next to the gold trophy, with lifelong friend and International captain Geoff Ogilvy on the other side. One is the captain who has been the model of quiet confidence. The other is the inspiration for a team that wants to win as badly as Scott does. “He’s part of the International furniture now,” Christiaan Bezuidenhout said. “All of us would love to win the cup, but it would

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is expected to have season-ending surgery on his left knee, according to a person with knowledge of the details of the injury. Dart was injured on the first drive Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams when his left leg bent awkwardly as he was hit by two defenders. After initially saying it was in the neighborhood of a medial collateral ligament injury, coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday the evaluation process for Dart was still ongoing. An MRI revealed medial collateral ligament, posterior cruciate ligament and meniscus damage, according to a report by the NFL Network. Jameis Winston takes over the starting role beginning Sunday against Tennessee. The Giants’ next five opponents have a combined 2-8 record.

Heel injury lands Colts WR Pierce on IR again

The Indianapolis Colts are placing receiver Alec Pierce on injured reserve, three days after he hopped off the field at Kansas City after aggravating his injured left heel. Coach Shane Steichen made the announcement Wednesday. The move means Indy will be without its top receiver for at least four weeks. Pierce had been held out of offseason work and all three preseason games after undergoing offseason surgery on his left ankle and heel. He was activated from the physically unable to perform list in late August. Steichen said Pierce hit all of his rehab benchmarks before being cleared to return, and he caught four passes for 61 yards against Baltimore in the season opener.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT SLOCUM

International team captain Geoff Ogilvy, left, and player Adam Scott, of Australia, look at the Presidents Cup trophy during a team portrait prior to the start of the Presidents Cup against the U.S. at Medinah Country Club on Wednesday in Medinah, Ill. ä Presidents Cup.

11:30 A.M. THURSDAy, GOLF. be so much more special if we can do it while Adam is still in the team.” Scott, coming off a runner-up finish in the BMW PGA Championship last week in England, still can find plenty of happy memories from his two-plus decades being on losing teams. He partnered with Els for a pair of foursomes victories in South Africa — “He’s a bit of a god down there. That was awesome,” Scott said — and he was with K.J. Choi at Royal Melbourne in 2011 when they handed Woods and Steve Stricker their worst loss (7 and 6) in team competition. But the beer-drinking celebrations with the cup in hand? Foreign territory. “It’s a quarter of a century. It’s

his whole career,” Ogilvy said. “Certainly the last two or three times he’s been super motivated. Like: ‘This is something I have to do before I’m done. I have to be on a winning team.’ ”Scott’s two closest friends in golf, Ogilvy and Trevor Immelman, have been or are captains. He surely is next in line, unless there’s another Presidents Cup for Scott to play. In some respects, he already is one, given his presence — his experience — in the team room and on the bus. “He’s like a playing captain,” Ogilvy said. “You can hear in his voice his desire to win this tournament. He’s the leader of the players, clearly, and he’s embracing that role now.” Scott started his Presidents Cup career playing alongside Els and Retief Goosen, Nick Price and Vijay Singh, all of them in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

UL

Continued from page 1C which I talked about going into the year,” Desormeaux said. “Everybody you play in Group of Six football, they’re going to pressure, they’re going to stunt, they’re going to move the front, they’re going to do all those things.” The results are in the numbers. Opponents are averaging only 114.7 yards rushing and 187.3 yards passing against the Cajuns. The defense has delivered six sacks in three games and 17 stops behind the line. “It allows you to get more knock back on early downs,” Desormeaux said. “It allows you to create some more chaos up front. And then it lets your linebackers play. Now they got to play gap to gap. It’s not as clearly defined. But when you have guys that can run like we do, they can get gap to gap.” The other big change is how the secondary is operating with more confidence at cornerback. “We’re playing much tighter coverage,” Desormeaux said. “We’re not giving up a bunch of gimmes, a bunch of easy ones. Since I’ve been the head coach, we’ve had one corner that we felt really good about being able to do that. We haven’t had two at a time, much less three. We’re playing much tighter coverage, and they’re doing a good job in it.”

Giants QB Dart’s knee surgery likely to end year

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL coach Michael Desormeaux questions a call during a game against Lamar on Sept. 5 at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. There also were big adjustments made at inside linebacker. Redshirt senior Jake St. Andre has played a lot of football at UL, but mostly on special teams. The same can be said about redshirt junior Micah Johnson. “It’s definitely an adjustment for the linebackers,” UL linebackers

Now he’s with Ryo Hisatsune and Tom Kim, who weren’t even born when Scott turned pro. South Africa wasn’t the only close call. It went down to the final match in 2005 in Virginia and in 2015 in South Korea. The Internationals had the lead going into Sunday singles at Royal Melbourne in 2019 until the Americans rallied behind Woods, a playing captain, and finally secured victory in the 11th of 12 matches. But it was another loss, and two more followed after that. “It’s come down to the last hole several times, and they can go any way. And it hasn’t gone our way,” Scott said. “For me, of course, I want to win one desperately and I don’t know how many more I can possibly play in. But it’s a team effort to do it. We all have to want it so badly. I think it would be an amazing experience for us all to win this cup.”

Stoker said. “Conor (McPherson) is going to keep getting better. He’s very talented and extremely athletic. Ethan (Veal) is talented, too. It’s just a lot to learn, and it’s really a process.” St. Andre’s leadership is helping the adjustment period. “Huge role,” Stoker said of St. Andre. “He makes things easier for Conor. Without Jake, Conor would struggle with some things until he figures them out. It’s a great combination because Jake is probably one of the smartest football players ... he’s very intelligent. He knows his limitations.” The linebackers’ willingness to accept Stoker’s old-school coaching approach is also a positive. “Conor’s grown up a lot,” Stoker said. “He takes hard coaching. It doesn’t matter to him. He wants it. All the guys do really, and that makes a big difference.” At Charlotte on Saturday, the UL defense will face an offense with two running backs averaging more than 5 yards a carry and three receivers with 144 or more yards. The 49ers are averaging 131.7 yards rushing and 237.3 yards passing a game. “Overall, I think we’re ahead of where we were last year,” Stoker said. “I think it’s a really, really close group of kids. We don’t have a lot of transfers. Our guys are homegrown, and I think that makes a big difference.”

coach Scott Stoker said. “It takes a while for the inside linebackers to understand what’s a fast fit and what’s a slow fit. There’s not an exact gap that you have, so that’s a challenge.” What Stoker’s linebackers do provide is plenty of athleticism. Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ “They’re learning as they go,” theadvocate.com.

Groin injury sends Panthers running back Brooks to IR

Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales said backup running back Jonathon Brooks is set to undergo surgery on his groin and will miss 6-8 weeks. The Panthers placed Brooks on injured reserve on Wednesday. He will have surgery on Thursday. The expectation is that Brooks will return later in the season. The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of Carolina’s 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Brooks has struggled with knee injuries in the past, limiting his playing time to only five of 36 games since joining the league as a second-round pick in 2024. He tore his ACL during his final season at Texas and then reinjured the same knee during his rookie season with the Panthers.

Court ruling allows Indiana defenders on field again

An Indiana state court has opened the door for Indiana defensive linemen Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt to return to the playing field for Friday night’s Big Ten Conference opener against Northwestern. Monroe Circuit Court Judge Kara Krothe issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday that grants Daley, Wyatt and more than 90 other athletes a fifth year of eligibility. The NCAA is expected to appeal. For now, though, the ruling clears the way for Daley, Wyatt and dozens of others to return to action. Daley and Wyatt did not play in Indiana’s 38-0 victory over Western Kentucky last weekend because a temporary restraining order allowing them to compete had expired.

Braves outfielder Acuña listed as day-to-day

Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña left Atlanta’s game against Cincinnati in the third inning after fouling a ball off his left leg Tuesday night. Acuña was listed as day-to-day with a contusion after X-rays and a CT scan showed no serious damage. He was able to walk slowly off the field under his own power after hobbling away from the battling circle and dropping to his knees in clear pain. The injury comes with the playoffs just a week away for Atlanta, which clinched its seventh NL East title in the past nine years. Asked if he had any worries about Acuña being ready for the postseason, manager Walt Weiss replied: “Not as I sit here today, unless things change. No concerns.”


The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● 3C

lll

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Moore marvels at draft mate Cousins’ career BY MATTHEW PARAS and LUKE JOHNSON

was open to reporters. If Brown can’t play in Sunday’s home opener against the Raiders, that also would be a blow to special teams. In the upset over Baltimore, Brown returned a kick for 53 yards just before halftime, setting up a Saints field goal and making it a one-possession game heading into the break.

Staff writer

Kellen Moore issued a friendly reminder when asked Wednesday about the longevity of Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins. The New Orleans Saints coach noted he and Cousins are the same age. “We came out together from college to the NFL,” Moore said. “He’s awesome. I think the world of Kirk. He’s a really special person, special player. He’s had a phenomenal career.” That career has landed Cousins in Vegas with former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, whom the Raiders hired in the offseason after the coach served as the playcaller for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Thanks to the pairing, the Raiders are off to a surprising 2-0 start ahead of Sunday’s game in New Orleans. The 38-year-old Cousins has thrown for 413 yards and a league-high six touchdowns to just three interceptions. Moore and Cousins took different trajectories as pros. While Cousins is on his fourth team across 15 years and 169 starts, Moore is in his second year leading the Saints after entering the coaching ranks in 2018 after a six-year stint as a backup quarterback. Moore also shared another fun fact about him and Cousins: The two were on the same Senior Bowl team ahead of the 2012 draft. “We spent a lot of time (together)

WADE

Continued from page 1C

Banks to IR

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KATIE CHIN

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins throws a pass during the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif. going between that kind of collegeto-NFL phase,” Moore said.

suffered the injury in Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens, Moore said. No Brown Brown was one of three absences The New Orleans Saints have for the Saints, joining cornerback just four receivers on their 53- Martin Emerson (shoulder) and defenman roster, and only three of them sive tackle Christen Miller (toe). Pracpracticed Wednesday. tice squad wide receiver Trey Palmer Sixth-round rookie Barion Brown (undisclosed) also missed practice did not participate in Wednesday’s and has yet to practice this season. practice as he deals with a hamThere were also several sigstring injury. The wide receiver nificant players listed as limited,

and those Wade discussed, 14 players are known to be joining the team. LSU has four international commitments: 22-year-old Italian-Senegalese wing Saliou Niang, 23-year-old French center Brice Dessert, 19-year-old Croatian forward Michael Ruzic and 24-year-old Israeli center Gilad Levy. Wade said LSU no longer will have Brazilian center Marcio Santos on the team. When asked why, he said, “You’d have to ask the NCAA on that.” Wade has one incoming high school recruit in 6-8 forward Jordan Bender, who does not have a profile on any major recruiting sites. The Tigers have seven transfer portal additions in point guard Donovan Dent (UCLA), combo guard Skyy Clark (UCLA), forward Mo Dioubate (Kentucky), shooting guard Abdi Bashir (Kansas State), point guard Divine Ugochukwu (Michigan State), combo guard Austin Nunez (Texas-San Antonio) and guard Luke Stansbury (Stephen F. Austin), the son of associate head coach Rick Stansbury and likely a walk-on. Dent and Clark are fifth-year players who gained eligibility after being among more than 70 players granted a temporary restraining order in an age-based eligibility lawsuit filed in California against the NCAA. That ruling is unaffected by the NCAA’s request to stay the class-wide preliminary injunction in Colorado. Luis is eligible through the courts after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, signing a two-way NBA contract and playing in preseason games. He was among the group Wade referenced without naming who still have eligibility hurdles. The SEC implemented rules preventing member schools from rostering athletes who were professionals. Luis clearly breaks two rules after going through the NBA draft and signing an NBA or G League contract. “With him, we’re gonna go through the process,” Wade said. “We’re going to abide by what the SEC tells us to abide by. We’re not trying to do anything untoward toward any of that. So we’re going to go through processes, and we’ll see where that ends up.” Wade said he expects this roster-building approach to be a “one-year deal,” returning to the traditional way of recruiting more high school players. When asked about his and LSU’s perception as a controversial program, he said it helps the program in some ways. “In a weird way — and this is what’s so crazy about it — it really helps us in recruiting,” he said. “The more you write bad about us, the more people are like, ‘Oh man, I kind of want to see what these guys are about.’ ”

normal, he understands why LSU basketball appears “chaotic and hectic on the outside.” He acknowledged the “unconventional” approach he’s taken, delaying the release of his full roster while assembling a team with multiple overseas commitments and players trying to gain eligibility through lawsuits against the NCAA. Wade doesn’t think untraditional methods mean the Tigers are bound to fail. He also said he’s comfortable being told he’s wrong if the 2026-27 season flops. “If it doesn’t work, write about what an idiot I am,” he said. “Like I told our guys, we’re going to be unconventional. We’re going to be unapologetic about it. “Everybody’s waiting for us to fail. That’s fine. If we fail, I own it. But I felt this was the best way to try to deliver a championship team for LSU from the jump that gives us the best chance to jump-start our program. We ain’t gonna be worse than we been. I mean, hell, what’s the downside?” Wade said he likes where his team is in the offseason, despite three of four players still facing hurdles in guaranteeing their eligibility. He didn’t specify which players those were and said he didn’t want to dissect each case specifically. Wade also didn’t say when he’ll officially announce his full roster, only that the holdup is in a few players’ best interests. “I could release it today, but there’s some reasons why I’m not,” he said. “I’m not saying you have to agree with it, but it’s in the best interest of a couple of the players. “We’ll make sure we get the roster updated when we feel like it’s in the best interest of all those guys.” Wade understands there’s probably “some frustration” with how the roster appears to be in flux as LSU nears its first exhibition game against McNeese State at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles. There’s a real possibility the roster won’t be finalized by then, and Wade could be missing players. “No matter how our roster looks, we got five guys we’re gonna go play the game,” said Wade, who coached McNeese from 2023-25 and led the Cowboys to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths. “We’re not going to chicken out. We’re not going to, ‘You know, because we don’t have everybody.’ ” He expects to have an answer on every player’s status by the first game. Wade didn’t list all 15 players who practiced Wednesday. When counting the four players LSU has announced, the players reported and confirmed by The Advocate, the players Email Toyloy Brown III at who announced on social media toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com

including running back Travis Etienne (hamstring), defensive end Chase Young (calf), safety Jonas Sanker (knee) and defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd (hip). Although the Saints had only three healthy receivers Wednesday, several practice-squad members contributed. Kevin Austin, Jalen Cropper, Kyrese Rowan and Cedric Tillman were seen participating during the individual portion of practice that

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C it’s more momentum to keep going.” All of the Saints’ successful thirddown plays against the Ravens came with three receivers on the field and Shough in the shotgun. In that mode, Shough hasn’t always had to create. He’s shown savvy in directing the protection plans to account for blitzes, and he’s gotten the ball out of his hands quickly. The best example was the thirdand-8 late in the game that set up the Saints’ go-ahead touchdown, when Shough stood tall as Trey Hendrickson barreled toward him from the backside to fire an ontarget pass to Juwan Johnson that allowed his tight end the room to break tackles and pick up 25 yards. But Shough also did it a few series earlier when he zipped a perfect quick out to Chris Olave on a third-and-5, placing the ball just right so Olave could run after the catch for 11 yards. But Shough isn’t alone. The Saints offense has come through in the most difficult situations. Midway through the second quarter, with the Saints still looking for their first points and facing a third-and-8 from Baltimore’s 33, the Ravens sent All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith to blitz through the

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C But what of LSU? The Tigers are, as has been well-documented, in their first year under Lane Kiffin. In college football’s traditionbound past, a new coach would get a grace period to build up his program through high school recruiting and perhaps a sprinkle of junior-college transfers. That’s no longer the case. The NIL/transfer portal era radically has altered expectations, sending them soaring. There is very little sentimentality left for building for the future. With all the money being thrown around, the future is quite literally now. Another pressure point is the totally unexpected success of Indiana in its first two seasons under Curt Cignetti. Literally the program with the most losses in FBS history, Cignetti transformed the downtrodden Hoosiers into a College Football Playoff team in his first season in 2024, then led them to one of the most surprising national championships ever with a 16-0 record last season. It wasn’t a fluke, either, as Indiana’s Rose Bowl victim Alabama (38-3) could attest. If it could be done at former basketball power/football doormat Indiana, college football fans logically assume it can be done anywhere. To win on a major scale, LSU has opened up a football version of Fort Knox. First the school fired Brian Kelly after a 49-25 debacle of a loss to A&M 11 months

AP PHOTO By NICK WASS

Saints quarterback Tyler Shough passes under pressure from Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones in the first half on Sunday in Baltimore.

The Saints officially placed promising young tackle Kelvin Banks on injured reserve Wednesday in order to sign a new long snapper to their active roster. Banks suffered an ankle injury during the third quarter Sunday. He was carted off the field shortly after his injury, and Moore said he is slated for surgery this week to correct the issue. The No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft started each of the Saints’ 17 games last season, leading the team in snaps played. By going on IR, Banks will miss a minimum of four games, but his recovery from the ankle injury is expected to take much more time, with him potentially returning late in the season. Veteran Asim Richards will step in at left tackle. New Orleans needed to make a move to clear room for long snapper Cam Adomitis on the active roster. Last week, that job belonged to Scott Daly, who filled in for the injured Zach Wood. But because Daly was on the practice squad, the Chicago Bears were able to sign him to their active roster.

Saints 36, Shough dropped back into a clean pocket and didn’t like what he saw — six Baltimore defenders covering deep zones, leaving no room for any of the three vertical routes. So he flipped his hips and found Johnson, who had released his block and drifted into the flat. Johnson caught the ball and saw a lot of green grass, sprinting up the sideline for 25 yards before the Ravens were able to push him out of bounds. This isn’t especially new: As a rookie, Shough finished with the third-highest passer rating on third-and-long (113.9) among NFL passers with at least 30 attempts. Shough brushed off the idea that facing difficult odds brings out the best in him. He said he and his teammates approach those situations the same as they would any other play: Go through the pre-snap process, analyze what they see and adjust once the pieces start moving. “There’s also an element of playing ball; you have to extend plays sometimes,” Shough said. “Then there’s also the side of it to where you’ve got to put the ball in play and let the playmakers go get some (yards after the catch). Sometimes it’s a check-down, sometimes it’s a big (play). “More than anything, it comes to preparation.”

A gap. Saints undrafted rookie running back C.J. Donaldson wiped Smith out of the play completely, giving Shough a wide-open lane to fire an 11-yard completion to Olave on a dig route. “I thought Tyler, the offensive unit as a whole, did a better job against pressure this week as far as being on the same page and communicating,” coach Kellen Moore said. “I thought that showed up in some of those critical situations.” Even when some plays look dead on arrival, the Saints have made them work. Email Luke Johnson at Facing a third-and-13 from the ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

ago, telling him to get lost despite owing him a $54 million buyout. Then it hired Kiffin away from CFP-bound Ole Miss with a $91 million, seven-year deal, plus the various buyouts and payments LSU had to make to get rid of Kelly’s staff and bring in Kiffin’s. Then there’s the LSU roster. The Athletic ranked the top-10 spenders in college football coming into this season. It pegged LSU fourth at between $47 million and $50 million, behind only Ohio State ($49 million to $54 million), Oregon ($48 million to $54 million) and SEC rival Texas ($45 million to $55 million). Texas A&M, by the way, is right behind LSU at $45 million to $50 million. You think the prices at the pump are bad? It’s truly astounding to think how costs have skyrocketed in college sports. The Athletic went on to say that Arkansas spent less this season than any other SEC team ($22 million to $25 million), but that’s still more than the $18 million Kelly said LSU spent on what was expected to be a competitive roster in 2025. But back to Kiffin’s Tigers. Is it fair to have a playoff-or-bust attitude when assessing his first season in Baton Rouge? Whether or not it’s fair, it is. You could get a pass for a near miss at the four-team CFP, as it was when LSU won the title in 2019. In the 12-team era, for schools spending like LSU, it’s truly pass/fail. In major league terms, LSU’s spending equals that of the Philadelphia Phillies, who rank fourth in pro baseball. The Phillies are solidly ensconced in the playoffs as a Na-

tional League wild-card team with one weekend remaining. Spending, of course, doesn’t guarantee winning. The New York Mets have the MLB’s biggest payroll — $357.6 million compared to the two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at $322.4 million — and Wednesday were well outside the playoff picture at a dismal 72-85. Injuries certainly play a part, and LSU left Oxford with two big ones in defensive back Dashawn Spears (season-ending) and tight end Trey’Dez Green (will likely be back at some point). Kiffin has been talking a lot about those injuries as if to soften the blow if LSU should come up short in the CFP chase. “We got some unfortunate injuries with some special, critical players,” he said on Wednesday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference. Injuries are a factor for any would-be playoff contender. And LSU has a very good chance to build on this year’s roster — which has depth issues in spots and holes on the offensive line — for 2027. Kiffin has said he anticipates many of this year’s 43 transfers to return next season. But the imperative is now, especially when you consider that it may be more difficult to rally the financial support for another major spending spree next season if LSU doesn’t make it this season. The implications for LSU football, like this year’s football roster budget, are quite enormous. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter


4C ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

THE VARSITY ZONE

Dugas doing it all for struggling Northside

Mya Leonard of Teurlings Catholic, left, attempts a kill against Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Rebels defeated the Pios 25-20, 25-20, 25-27 and 25-18.

Junior playing on offense, defense and special teams

BY ERIC NARCISSE

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Staff writer

Teurlings knocks off Notre Dame in 4 sets BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

After his team’s performance in the Sacred Heart of New Orleans tournament over the weekend, Teurlings Catholic volleyball coach Terry Hebert said his Rebels seemed to have reached a turning point in the season. If their performance Tuesday against Notre Dame was indicative, Hebert might be right. In a match where they excelled in nearly every facet, the Rebels defeated the Pios in four sets 25-20, 25-20, 25-27 and 25-18. “It’s always a huge win (when it comes) against Notre Dame,” Hebert said. “Every single time we play them it is a barn burner. It is always great to beat them.” Hebert applauded his team’s serving ability and defense.

“We served aggressively and I think that kind of limited what they were doing somewhat,” Hebert said. “Everybody across the board, from my (girls) at the net who were blocking balls that they needed to block. And when we didn’t block it, Kate (Trahan) and Bailee (Hebert) were back there digging balls. When we were serving aggressively, I felt like we were in the driver’s seat. Everybody had a hand in (the win).” Trahan had 27 digs and three aces, while Hebert finished with 11 digs and an ace. In addition to Trahan and Hebert, the Rebels were led by Hannah Bergeron, Ava Robin, Maci Sheppard, Mya Leonard, Aubrey Turner (34 assists, seven digs, four aces) and Kallie Landry (21 assists, seven digs, aces). Bergeron finished with a game-high 18 kills, 19 digs

and two aces; Robin recorded 11 kills, three digs and two blocks; while Sheppard and Leonard had nine kills each. “Hannah doesn’t come off the court,” Hebert said. “She’s a team leader and she is very crafty and smart. She’s not very tall, so she’s got to be smart with what she’s doing.” The Rebels (10-4) return to action Thursday when they host Westminster Christian. The Pios (4-8) were led by Molly Hensgens, Greta Melancon, Kate Trahan and Ainslee Medus (six kills, four blocks). Hensgens finished with a team-high 16 kills, 12 digs, three blocks and one ace. Melancon had 21 digs and one ace, and Trahan had 18 assists, 13 digs and three kills. Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

VOLLEYBALL REPORT Tuesday’s results St. Thomas More def. St. Joseph’s, 3-0 Lafayette Renaissance def. LCCP, 3-0 New Iberia def. David Thibodaux, 3-1 Teurlings def. Notre Dame, 3-1 Lafayette Christian def. St. Louis, 3-2 Lafayette def. Ascension Epis., 3-0 Acadiana def. Aca. Christian, 3-1 Cecilia def. St. Martinville, 3-2 Scotlandville def. Opelousas, 3-2 North Vermilion def. Northside, 3-0 Iota def. Marksville, 3-0 Elton def. Crowley, 3-0 Beau Chene def. Church Point, 3-1 Carencro def. Breaux Bridge, 3-0 Vermilion Catholic def. Eunice, 3-0 Northside Christian def. OCHS, 3-0 Catholic-NI def. Highland Bap., 3-0 ESA def. Houma Christian, 3-1 TEURLINGS 25-25-25-25, NOTRE DAME 20-20-27-18 TEUR: Bailee Hebert 11 digs, 1 ace; Mya Leonard 2 blocks, 4 digs; Hannah Bergeron 19 digs, 2 aces; Kate Trahan 3 aces, 27 digs; Blair Luneau 1 dig; Courtlin Moran 5 digs, 2 blocks; Ali Foster 4 digs, 1 block;

Kallie Landry 1 ace, 21 assists, 7 digs; Aubrey Turner 7 digs, 34 assists, 4 aces; Maci Sheppard 3 digs; Ava Robin 3 digs, 2 blocks; Kennedy Bergeron 2 digs. NDAME: Molly Hensgens 16 kills, 12 digs, 1 Ace, 3 blocks; Greta Melancon 21 digs, 1 Ace; Kate Trahan 3 kills, 18 assists, 13 digs; Ainslee Medus 6 kills, 4 blocks. NORTH VERMILION 25-25-25, NORTHSIDE 10-9-13 NV: Ashante Rose 5 kills, 5 Aces; Kaitlyn Hargrave 4 kills, 5 Aces, 3 Assists; Annalise Marix 7 Assists, 3 Aces; Ellie Martin 2 kills, 4 Aces, 1 dig; Londyn LeBlanc 1 block, 7 Kills; Gabby Caruso 5 Assist, 3 Aces; Chloe LeBlanc 6 kills; Charli Knickerbocker 2 kills 2 Aces. Records: NV 6-3. IOTA 25-25-25, MARKSVILLE 14-23-20 Iota: Greta Brown 10 kills, 2 aces; Camrynn Lantier- 8 kills, 6 blocks, 3 aces; Elizabeth Miller 7 kills, 3 blocks, 6 digs; Addison Toups 6 kills, 13 assists, 9 digs; Jaycie Willis 12 assists, 10 digs.

CATHOLIC-NI 25-25-25, HIGHLAND BAPTIST 12-14-15 CATH: Mackenzie Batiste 11 kills, 19 assists, 6 aces, 3 digs; Amelie Trappey 8 kills, 18 digs, 6 aces, 5 assists; Charlotte Shea 9 kills, 3 digs; Niyeh Ferdinand 8 kills, 1 block, 1 assist; Renee Frederick 19 assists, 3 kills, 1 ace, 6 digs. Record: Catholic 11-1. Next: Catholic hosts Southside on Thursday.

Thursday’s matches Acadiana at Hanson, St. Thomas More at Episcopal of Acadiana, Lafayette at St. Martinville, Family Christian at Beau Chene, New Iberia at Carencro, Southside at Catholic-NI, Sulphur at Lafayette Christian, Notre Dame at St. Louis Catholic, Abbeville at Northside, Breaux Bridge at Sacred Heart, David Thibodaux at Church Point, Crowley at Lake Charles Prep, Opelousas at Pineville, St. Edmund at Marksville, Vermilion Catholic at Centerville, Acadiana Renaissance at Westminster-LAF, Acadiana Christian at Patterson.

It has been a rough start for the Northside football team. The Vikings (0-3) are averaging 10 points per game and have been outscored 130-30. If there has been a bright spot for the Vikings, it’s the play of their do-it-all star Chace Dugas. “Chace has been playing his part,” firstyear coach Brandon Green said. “He’s been playing his role and doing everything that has been asked of him and then some.” It’s not hard to notice Dugas on the field, not only because he’s a talented athlete, but because he rarely comes off the field. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound junior plays all three facets of the game — lining up at receiver and taking snaps at quarterback on offense, playing in the secondary on defense and serving as the kicker, punter and return man on special teams. “He’s an outstanding athlete,” Green said. “He’s just an all-around athlete and leader. Chace is one of those guys that you want to get the ball to. He’s not scared to try something new.” While some might wonder about him getting fatigued or being overused, Dugas said he wouldn’t want it any other way. “I just like playing football,” he said. “Wherever my team needs me to play, I will play. Whatever they need me to do, I will do.” It’s that team-first mentality that sets Dugas apart, Green said. “He’s just a natural-born leader,” Green said. “He’s so gifted in his talents; it’s like he’s a man amongst boys. He’s the type of player that every coach wants to coach. He is going to show up on time, do all of the little things right and he’s not going to quit until it is perfect. “He is the type of player that is going to give you his all.” Through three games, Dugas has nine carries for 60 yards, seven receptions for 40 yards, and has completed 2 of 4 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. He averages 35 yards per punt and has 22 tackles along with an interception and three pass breakups. “He’s the heartbeat of this team,” Green said. “We have other great players on this team, but Chace literally can do it all. You can put him anywhere on the field and he’s going to be able to excel. It is just a matter of what do you need from him when the time comes.” The Vikings will look to get their first win when they host Bunkie at 7 p.m. Friday. If they are going to do it, Dugas knows he will play a big part in it. “We just need to come together as a team,” Dugas said. “Everybody has to take accountability for what they do and (for things to get better).”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Northside’s Chace Dugas directs the offense while playing quarterback last season. This season, Dugas has played quarterback, wide receiver and safety while also serving as the team’s punter, kicker and return specialist.

FOOTBALL REPORT Area leaders Rushing

Player Att. Yds. DeShun Lightfoot, Acadiana 73 594 Jaden Celestine, Lafayette High 49 585 Justin Williams, Southside 65 513 Pierce Gable, Westminster-Lafayette 51 508 Joseph Clues, Opelousas 31 498 Kristian Aubrey, Acadiana Ren. 63 473 De’Maurion Cormier, Kaplan 47 380

Avg. 8.1 11.9 7.8 9.9 16.0 7.5 8.0

TD 10 10 5 8 6 8 2

Player Com. Austin Calandra, Teurlings 58 Noah Antoine, Westgate 35 Grayson Hemard, St. Thomas More 46 John Parker Robison, Catholic-NI 35 Landen DeRouen, Erath 29 Kennan Brown, LRA 51 Carson Gurzi, Carencro 38

Att. 106 44 83 56 46 81 72

Yds. 794 640 560 557 556 539 505

TD 3 9 8 4 7 4 3

No. Yds. 11 304 15 257 13 230 11 227 13 224 9 208 10 189

Avg. 27.6 18.3 17.6 20.6 17.2 23.1 18.9

TD 5 4 2 0 1 2 2

Passing

Receiving

Player Cayden Lancelin, Westgate Tate Collins, Erath Jamion James, St. Martinville Kyhlon Edwards, Catholic-NI Brewer Cain, Teurlings Carter Champagne, Erath Jaylon Owens, Opelousas

Week 4 schedule

All games at 7 p.m.

Thursday’s games

Delcambre (3-0) at Highland Baptist (0-3) Ascension Episcopal (1-2) at Jeanerette (2-0) Centerville (2-1) at Westminster-Lafayette (3-0) Southside (1-2) at New Iberia (1-2) Sacred Heart (3-0) at Opelousas Catholic (1-2)

Friday’s games

St. Thomas More (2-1) at Acadiana (3-0) Lafayette (3-0) at Barbe (3-0) Teurlings (0-3) at Lafayette Christian (2-1) Erath (1-2) at Acadiana Renaissance (1-2) Lafayette Renaissance (1-2) at Liberty (0-3) Carencro (1-2) at West Feliciana (3-0) Bunkie (1-2) at Northside (0-3) Delhi (2-1) at North Vermilion (3-0) Eunice (3-0) at Rayne (1-2) Opelousas (3-0) at Westgate (3-0) Loreauville (2-1) at Kaplan (2-1) Catholic-NI (2-1) at Notre Dame (3-0) Helix Academy (1-2) at Beau Chene (3-0) Breaux Bridge (0-3) at Franklin (2-1) St. Martinville (2-1) at Cecilia (2-1) Church Point (2-1) at Iota (1-2) Crowley (1-2) at Northwest (1-2) Abbeville (1-2) at Menard (0-3) St. Edmund (2-1) at JS Clark (2-1) North Central (3-0) at Westminster (0-3) Vermilion Catholic (0-3) at Welsh (2-1)

Eail Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@ theadvocate.com.

SCOREBOARD Odds NFL Thursday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at GREEN BAY 7½ 5½ (43½) Atlanta

Sunday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Seattle 3½ 7 (40½) at WASH. at GIANTS 3 2½ (39½) Tennessee Kansas City 7 11½ (46½) at MIAMI Carolina 2½ 2½ (42½) at CLEVE. at J’VILLE 1½ 2½ (45½) New Eng. Cincinnati 1½ 3½ (42½) at PITTS. Houston 2½ 2½ (42½) at INDIANA. at DETROIT 9½ 6½ (47½) NY Jets at BUFFALO 2½ 7½ (50½) LA Chargers Minnesota 1½ 1½ (42½) at TAMPA at SAN FRAN. 11½ 8½ (47½) Arizona at N.O. 3 3½ (43½) Las Vegas Baltimore 2½ 3½ (52½) at DALLAS LA Rams 3 2½ (45½) at DENVER

Monday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Philadelphia 1½ 4½ (41½) at CHICAGO

College football Thursday

FAVORITE Liberty

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 1½ 2½ (50½)at C. CAROLN

FAVORITE Army Navy at RUTGERS at INDIANA Clemson

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 3½ 3 (48½) at TEMPLE 12½ 7 (51½) at UAB 42½ 42½ (53½) Howard 23½ 21 (49½) N’western 1½ 1½ (50½) at CAL

Friday

Saturday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at OHIO ST. 26½ 27½ (54½) Illinois at PITT, 49½ 52½ (61½) Bucknell Texas 6½ 4½ (55½) at TENN. at BAYLOR 6½ 10 (55½) Colorado at LOUISVLLE 13½ 12½ (58½) Wake Forest at KENT ST. 3½ 3½ (50½) Ball St. at TEX. TECH 40½ 34½ (55½) Sam Hou. UNLV 13½ 13½ (52½) at AKRON at UTSA 10½ 13½ (58½) Colorado St. Virginia Tech 14½ 14 (48½) at BO. COLL. at TOLEDO 3½ 3 (52½) S.D. St. at KENT. 20½ 20½ (54½) S. Alabama at E. MICH. 28½ 26½ (50½) Lindenwood UCLA 1½ 1½ (56½) at MARY. Notre Dame 27½ 27½ (58½) at PURDUE at GA. ST. 8½ 10½ (55½) N. Illinois Hawaii 5½ 3 (44½) at WYOMING at FLA. ST. 43½ 44½ (60½) C. Arkansas at MIAMI (OH) 5½ 3½ (51½) UConn TCU 1½ 3 (48½) at UCF at GEORGIA 10 14 (44½) Oklahoma at DUKE 43½ 43½ (61½) Will. & Mary Utah 11½ 8 (48½) at IOWA ST.

Boise St. 7½ New Mexico 13½ at FLORIDA 1½ at MICHIGAN 4½ at BUFFALO 28½ at OHIO 37½ at MARSHLL 26½ Houston 20½ at E. CARO. 31½ at AUBURN 8½ at PENN ST. 11½ Nebraska 5½ South Florida 14½ J. Madison 1½ at Fiu 34½ at VIRGINIA 21½ at TEXAS ST. 30½ UL 13½ at MIAMI (Fla.) 42½ at J’VILLE ST. 12½ at TULANE 16½ at W. VA. 2½ Kansas St. 6½ at ALABAMA 11½ at ARK. ST. 5½ at W. KENT. 37½ Arizona 12½ Oregon 5½ at UTAH ST. 1½ at N. TEXAS 38½ at LSU 3 at NC ST. 11½ at MISS. ST. 1½ Fla. Atlantic 11½ at ARKANSAS 10½ UMass 5½ at SMU 34½ Oregon St. 10½ at FRESNO 12½ Georgia Tech 5½ Air Force 3½ at WASH. 8½

7 11½ 3½ 5½ 28½ 32½ 24½ 18½ 34½ 9½ 10 5½ 17½ 6 33½ 19½ 30½ 10½ 41½ 7½ 18½ 1½ 6½ 12½ 6½ 39½ 10½ 3 3 38½ 8½ 14 6½ 13½ 7 3½ 34½ 10½ 13½ 3½ 5½ 9½

(50½) at W. MICH. (48½) at N.M. ST. (58½) Ole Miss (38½) Iowa (44½) R. Morris (52½) Stonehill (51½) Gard.-Webb (56½) at GA. SOUTH. (54½) N.C. Central (54½) Vanderbilt (44½) Wisconsin (49½) at MICH. ST. (49½) at B. GREEN (44½) at OLD DOM. (51½) LIU (52½) Delaware (64½) UIW (49½) at CHAR. (53½) C. Mich. (51½) M. Tenn. (52½) So. Miss (60½) Okla. St. (55½) at CINC. (53½) S. Carolina (52½) Kenn. St. (55½) Mercyhurst (48½) at WASH. ST. (62½) at USC (47½) Troy (58½) Hou.Christian (51½) Texas A&M (55½) App. St. (58½) Missouri (57½) at ULM (50½) Tulsa (48½) at SACR. ST. (60½) Missouri St. (55½) at UTEP (44½) Rice (48½) at STANFORD (50½) at NEVADA (46½) Minn.

MLB Wednesday

American League FAVORITE LINE at KANSAS CITY OFF at BOSTON OFF at N.Y YANKEES -150 at ATHLETICS OFF at SEATTLE OFF National League FAVORITE LINE at PITTSBURGH -160 at CHICAGO CUBS -198 Arizona -164 at PHILADELPHIA OFF at ATLANTA -217 at LA DODGERS -169 Interleague FAVORITE LINE N.Y Mets -111

UNDERDOG White Sox Cleveland Tampa Bay Houston LA Angels

LINE OFF OFF +127 OFF OFF

UNDERDOG St. Louis Miami at COLORADO Milwaukee Cincinnati San Diego

LINE +135 +165 +134 OFF +180 +140

UNDERDOG at TEXAS

LINE -110

Pro basketball

Tuesday’s scores

WNBA glance EASTERN CONFERENCE

W x-Atlanta 29 x-Indiana 28 x-Washington 27 x-New York 26 Chicago 16 Toronto 11 Connecticut 10 WESTERN CONFERENCE W x-Minnesota 32 x-Golden State 31 x-Las Vegas 30 x-Dallas 26 Portland 17 Phoenix 16 Los Angeles 16 Seattle 8 x-clinched playoff spot

L 14 15 16 17 27 32 33

Pct .674 .651 .628 .605 .372 .256 .233

GB — 1 2 3 13 18 19

L 11 12 13 17 27 27 27 35

Pct .744 .721 .698 .605 .386 .372 .372 .186

GB — 1 2 6 15½ 16 16 24

Washington 79, Connecticut 69 Chicago 97, Toronto 85 Indiana 96, Minnesota 77 Golden St. at Portland, n Portland 90, Golden State 82, OT

Wednesday’s games Atlanta at New York, n Dallas at Seattle, n

Thursday’s games

Toronto at Connecticut, 6 p.m. Chicago at Washington, 6:30 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota, 7p.m. Golden State at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. Las Vegas at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

American League x-Tampa Bay y-New York y-Boston Toronto Baltimore Central Division Cleveland Chicago Minnesota Detroit Kansas City West Division Houston Texas Seattle Athletics Los Angeles x-clinched division y-clinched wild card

Washington 4, Detroit 2 Baltimore 4, Toronto 2, 1st game Minnesota 4, San Francisco 2 Toronto at Baltimore, n, 2nd game Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, n Cleveland at Boston, n. Chicago White Sox at Kansas City, n N.Y. Mets at Texas, n L.A. Angels at Athletics, n Houston at Seattle, n

Pct .611 .573 .535 .490 .484

Thursday’s games

Thursday’s games

x-Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 92 87 77 75 72

L 65 70 80 84 85

Pct .586 .554 .490 .472 .459

GB — 5 15 18 20

x-Milwaukee Chicago Pittsburgh St. Louis Cincinnati

W 98 87 80 76 73

L 59 70 77 81 84

Pct .624 .554 .510 .484 .465

GB — 11 18 22 25

W 97 87 83 65 57

L 60 70 74 94 100

Pct .618 .554 .529 .409 .363

GB — 10 14 33 40

Central Division

L 61 67 73 80 81

Washington 4, Detroit 2 Minnesota 4, San Francisco 2 Milwaukee at Philadelphia, n St. Louis at Pittsburgh, n Cincinnati at Atlanta,n Miami at Chicago Cubs, n N.Y. Mets at Texas, n Arizona at Colorado, n San Diego at L.A. Dodgers, n

Wednesday’s games

National League East Division

Major League Baseball W 96 90 84 77 76

Wednesday’s games

Chicago White Sox (Sandlin 2-2) at Kansas City (Dobnak 3-4), 1:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Thornton 5-5) at Texas (TBD), 1:35 p.m. Cleveland (Cantillo 10-9) at Boston (Suarez 8-4), 5:45 p.m. Tampa Bay (Peralta 9-11) at N.Y. Yankees (Schlittler 14-6), 6:05 p.m. Houston (Lambert 8-10) at A’s (TBD), 9:40 p.m. L.A. Angels (Rodriguez 4-8) at Seattle (Woo 12-9), 8:40 p.m.

Tuesday’s games

East Division

Minnesota 3, San Francisco 2 L.A. Dodgers 7, San Diego 0

N.Y. Yankees 2, Tampa Bay 0, 1st game Washington 3, Detroit 1 Cleveland 3, Boston 2 Tampa Bay 6, N.Y. Yankees 1, 2nd game Chicago White Sox 14, Kansas City 11 N.Y. Mets 6, Texas 3 Minnesota 3, San Francisco 2 Houston 7, Seattle 0 Athletics 9, L.A. Angels 7 Toronto at Baltimore, ppd.

GB — 6 12 19 20

W 82 81 75 74 67

L 75 76 84 84 90

Pct .522 .516 .472 .468 .427

GB — 1 8 8½ 15

W 78 78 73 62 60

L 79 79 84 95 97

Pct .497 .497 .465 .395 .382

GB — — 5 16 18

West Division x-Los Angeles San Diego Arizona San Francisco Colorado x-clinched division

Tuesday’s scores

Pittsburgh 2, St. Louis 0 Philadelphia 6, Milwaukee 4 Washington 3, Detroit 1 Cincinnati 4, Atlanta 0 N.Y. Mets 6, Texas 3 Arizona 7, Colorado 2 Miami 8, Chicago Cubs 2, 12 innings

St. Louis (Leahy 10-5) at Pittsburgh (Skenes 10-11), 11:35 a.m. Miami (Phillips 5-6) at Chicago Cubs (TBD), 1:20 p.m. Mets (Thornton 5-5) at Texas (TBD), 1:35 p.m. Arizona (Rodriguez 15-7) at Colorado (Gordon 1-5), 2:10 p.m. Milwaukee (TBD) at Philadelphia (Mayza 3-4), 5:05 p.m. Cincinnati (Singer 6-15) at Atlanta (Mahle 7-10), 6:15 p.m. San Diego (Pivetta 3-2) at L.A. Dodgers (Glasnow 5-1), 9:10 p.m.

Wild-card glance American League

W y-New York 90 y-Boston 84 Chicago 81 Texas 78 y-clinched wild card z-clinched playoff berth

L 67 73 76 79

Pct WCGB .573 +9 .535 +3 .516 — .497 3

W 87 87 87 83

L 70 70 70 74

Pct WCGB .554 — .554 — .554 — .529 4

National League Chicago Philadelphia San Diego Arizona

Pro football NFL glance Thursday’s games

Atlanta at Green Bay, 7:15 p.m.

Sunday’s games

Carolina at Cleveland, noon Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, noon Houston at Indianapolis, noon Kansas City at Miami, noon L.A. Chargers at Buffalo, noon N.Y. Jets at Detroit, noon New England at Jacksonville, noon Seattle at Washington, noon Tennessee at N.Y. Giants, noon Arizona at San Francisco, 3:05 p.m. Minnesota at Tampa Bay, 3:05 p.m. Baltimore vs. Dallas at Rio de Janeiro, 3:25 p.m. Las Vegas at New Orleans, 3:25 p.m. L.A. Rams at Denver, 7:20 p.m.

Monday’s game

Philadelphia at Chicago, 7:15 p.m.


Fish Piccata: an elegant yet simple dinner

LIVING IVIN

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 24, 2026

5CN

BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

Here’s a simple, elegant dinner featuring tender cod fillets topped with a silky lemon-caper sauce. The bright lemon complements the mild cod, while briny capers add just the right amount of savory flavor. Asparagus and rice are prepared in the microwave, making this a complete meal with minimal cooking and no extra pan to clean. HELPFUL HINTS: n Any type of fish fillet such as haddock or tilapia can be used. n Green beans can be used instead of asparagus. n If you prefer you can use fish or vegetable broth, whatever is on hand.

Fish Piccata Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer. ¾ pound cod fillet 2 tablespoons flour 2 teaspoons olive oil 2 crushed garlic cloves 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 cup reduced-fat, no-salt-added chicken broth, divided use 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon capers

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

1. Cut cod into 2- to 3-inch slices. Place flour on a plate. Add the cod slices to the flour making sure both sides are coated. 2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cod in one layer and cook until browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn cod over and cook the second side until browned, about 1 minute. Remove cod to a plate. 3. Add the garlic and ½ cup broth to the skillet. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, scraping up the small bits remaining in the skillet. Cook to reduce the broth by half. 3. Mix the cornstarch in the remaining chicken broth. Add the broth, lemon juice and capers to the skillet. Cook stirring until sauce starts to thicken, about 1 to 2 minutes. 4. Return the cod to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. A meat thermometer should read 123 F. Timing is for a ½-inch-thick fillet. Cook a few minutes more if needed. 5. Divide the cod in half and place over the rice and asparagus on the two dinner plates. Spoon sauce on top. NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 223 calories (23 percent from fat), 5.8 g fat (0.9 g saturated, 2.3 g monounsaturated), 72 mg cholesterol, 32.4 g protein, 9.1 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 210 mg sodium.

Liz Williams’ gazpacho, RECIPE 6C

Liz Williams TIP OF THE TONGUE

TNS PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER

Fish Piccata with Asparagus and Rice

Asparagus and Rice Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer. ¾ pound asparagus 1 package microwaveable brown rice (to make 1½ cups cooked) 2 teaspoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Remove thick end of asparagus and cut remaining stem into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Place in a bowl and microwave on high 2 minutes. 2. Remove from microwave and add the brown rice. Microwave according to package instructions. Measure 1½ cups and save any remaining rice for another meal. 3. Add rice, oil and salt and pepper to taste to bowl, with asparagus and toss to combine. 4. Divide in half and place onto 2 dinner plates. NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 260 calories (21 percent from fat), 6.2 g fat (1.1 g saturated, 2.7 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 7.8 g protein, 45.6 g carbohydrates, 5.9 g fiber, 10 mg sodium.

Bowls of goodness, both for your taste buds and the environment

G

Blueberry Cream Soup

Serves 6-8. 2 pints fresh blueberries (or any other fresh berry that you like), washed and drained 1 pint vanilla ice cream, melted in the refrigerator 1 pint half and half ½ cup sugar Zest of one orange 1 teaspoon grated ginger 1 cup ice-cold water

6-8 teaspoons Grand Marnier, Cointreau or white Triple Sec Mint leaves

1. Place the first 6 ingredients into a large food processor or blender. Pulse until all of the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. 2. Add up to 1 cup cold water and pulse again until the water is incorporated. (Juicy blueberries might not need as much water. Stop adding water when the consistency and thickness are to your taste.) 3. Place into 6 dessert bowls. Add 1 teaspoon of liqueur to each bowl. Garnish with mint. Serve with cookies or meringues.

one are the sultry days of summer now that everyone is back in school. There are a plethora of activities that keep us busy, like sports, music lessons and homework. Although the holiday season hasn’t really begun yet, we are already looking ahead to the festivities. All of this takes time after a long workday, so I have three soups that can be made from pantry ingredients. They can also make the “not quite enough” leftovers become enough for a meal. The classic gazpacho is one such soup. If you have leftover salad, whiz it up in the blender or food processor to create the base. Even if you have no leftovers and are resorting to a casserole, that delicious back pocket specialty, you can stretch leftovers by adding gazpacho as a first course. ä See SOUPS, page 6C


6C ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Farmers market flexibility Spicy stir-fry features oyster mushrooms, lemongrass and snap peas

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS) When I head to a favorite farmers market, I usually have a few very specific ingredients in mind so I can make a few very specific dishes — say, heirloom slicing tomatoes for sandwiches, corn for Mexican elote or cilantro and other fresh herbs for a bright and zesty chimichurri. Recently, for example, I was on the hunt for plump and juicy Italian plums so I could make one of my husband’s favorite end-ofsummer desserts: Marian Burros’ plum torte, which has been a favorite recipe ever since it was published in The New York Times way back in 1983. (It’s fabulous!) While there were piles (and piles) of another favorite summer stone fruit — yellow peaches — I could not find the small, eggshaped purple fruit that cooks up so wonderfully jammy. But I still walked away from the market with a smile, thanks to a beautiful display of locally cultivated fungi sitting next to the cash register. Oyster mushrooms with broad, fan-like caps and ruffled edges immediately caught my eye. In an instant, I was pondering what I could make for dinner that night instead of fretting over what I wouldn’t be

Gazpacho Serves 4-6. 3 pounds fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped 2 cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped (I leave the seeds in) 2 or 3 scallions, roughly chopped 3 cloves garlic ½ to ¾ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons Jerez vinegar (Or substitute wine vinegar) Salt and pepper

able to make for dessert. Thanks to their meaty texture, oyster mushrooms make an excellent substitute for beef, pork or chicken in any number of dishes. (They become slightly chewy when cooked.) Their porous, spongy flesh, which is filled with air pockets, also make the fungi an excellent medium for soaking up whatever other flavors are in the pan. Another plus: Since they cook in a flash, they’re a perfect building block for a quick midweek meal. Inspired by a recipe for a spicy stir-fry that I found online as I stood in line at the register, I decided to buy one of the feathery clusters. The original recipe calls for pounded and finely chopped fresh lemongrass, a culinary herb with a fresh, citrusy aroma and flavor that’s easy to find in most Asian markets. Unfortunately, it can be an oddball item in smaller grocery stores. No worries: I substituted ready-to-use lemongrass paste, and added a splash of fresh lime juice just before serving to add some of the missing zing. A handful of sugar snap peas gives the dish its crunch and bright green pops of color; chopped jalapeño peppers and a finishing sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes add a little heat. I served most of the stir-fry with a side of steamed white rice, and tossed the leftovers with cooked ziti for lunch the next day. Both were pretty tasty. Cook’s note: Oyster mushrooms should have firm, gray or tan caps with a velvety texture and a mild, fruity aroma. Avoid ones with broken edges, dark discolorations or slimy gills. They’re best within a few days of harvest.

1. Place all ingredients into the blender. This machine will incorporate the most air and make the lightest gazpacho that will feel creamy, without having any cream. If you don’t have a blender, or if you like the gazpacho less homogenized, use a food processor. If you have leftover salad, incorporate it now. Blend until you are happy with the consistency. 2. Taste the gazpacho. With fresh ingredients, it will vary every time, so use your judgement to adjust the seasoning. If you used salad,

Liz Williams’ tomato and cheese soup

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/TNS PHOTO By GRETCHEN McKAy

Spicy Oyster Mushroom ends trimmed, strings removed tablespoon fish sauce and Lemongrass Stir-Fry 1Splash of fresh lime juice

Serves 4. Recipe is adapted from Bonappetit.com.

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil ½ small yellow onion, cut into thick wedges 3 tablespoons lemongrass paste 1 large Fresno chile or jalapeño, quartered, seeds removed, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 teaspoons Madras-style curry powder ¼ teaspoon sugar 1 ⁄8 teaspoon ground turmeric, optional ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 10-12 ounces oyster mushrooms, torn into thick, bite-size pieces 4 ounces (about 1 cup) sugar snap peas,

taste before adding the oil and vinegar, as last night’s dressing may be enough. If it needs more tartness, add vinegar, a teaspoon at a time. Stir and taste before adjusting. 3. If you find the soup too thick, add about ¼ cup of water and stir. Keep doing this until you like the consistency. Taste again to adjust the salt and pepper. 4. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, if you can. It will improve the flavor. Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes and serve.

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Cheese and Tomato Soup Serves 4-6. 3 tablespoons olive oil (and 4 to 6 teaspoons more for finishing) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes ½ bottle (or more) of beer (You can use a dry white wine too. If you don’t have either leftover in the fridge, use beer over wine.) 4 ounces cheese, grated (You can use cheddar, Swiss or pepper jack. Each will give a different flavor profile to the soup. Don’t use preshredded cheese, as it is coated in a starch, which inhibits melting.)

SOUPS

Zest of 1 lemon ½ cup fresh green herbs such as cilantro, parsley, basil or a combination, chopped 1. Place the oil in a pot and let it heat over a low flame. When it begins to simmer, add garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook the garlic and bloom the herbs in the oil for one minute. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the beer and stir again. 2. Continue heating, stirring occasionally so that the soup heats evenly. As bubbles begin to form around

usually make this soup as an extension of dinner. Enjoy it Continued from page 5C on its own for lunch or pair it with a rolled quesadilla for dipping. And when there is no time There is no need to heat for elaborate dessert makit. It is best served not icecold from the refrigerator, ing, blueberry cream soup but chilled. will come to the rescue. On-hand ingredients can Serve it with cookies or be put to good use in cheese meringues. This recipe can and tomato soup. In the use up the bits of ice cream pantry, I try to always have left in multiple containers a few large cans of crushed in your freezer. tomatoes. In the refrigeraFood waste is not sometor, there is often cheese and thing any of us can afford with grocery prices being an open bottle of beer. I

the edge of the pot, add half of the cheese and stir. When it has melted, add the rest of the cheese. Stir again. Add the lemon zest and stir again. 3. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle chopped herbs and drizzle a teaspoon of oil onto each serving. (If you warm the bowls with boiling water, they will help the soup stay hot while you are eating. Fill each bowl with boiling water, discard the water before adding the soup, garnish and serve.) on the rise, but that is no reason to serve less than thoughtful and delicious meals. I think of it as a game — me against the impulse to waste. And I want to win! Liz Williams is founder of the now-closed Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’s podcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. Email Liz at lizwillia@gmail.com.

Chopped green onion, for garnish Crushed red pepper flakes, for garnish Cooked white or brown rice, for serving

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok or a nonstick or carbonsteel skillet over medium heat. 2. Add sliced onion and lemongrass paste and cook, stirring often, until onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes. 3. Add Fresno chile or jalapeño, chopped garlic, curry powder, sugar, ground turmeric (if using) and kosher salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 4. Add torn oyster mushrooms and cook, stirring, until coated. In-

crease heat to high and cook, stirring often, until firm-tender, 2-3 minutes. 5. Add sugar snap peas and cook, stirring, until warmed through and glistening, about 1 minute. 6. Add fish sauce and a splash of lime juice and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Taste stir-fry and season with more salt if needed. 7. Transfer to a platter to serve. Garnish with green onions and pepper flakes and serve with hot cooked rice. NOTE: Mushrooms are mostly water, so they release their internal juices as they heat up in a dry pan. So don’t worry if the sauce seems dry at first. Add more or less jalapeño or Fresno chile, depending on taste

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Thursday, Sept. 24, the 267th day of 2026. There are 98 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 24, 2017, more than 200 NFL players knelt or sat during the national anthem after President Donald Trump criticized the players’ protests in a speech and a series of tweets. Also on this date: In 1789, President George Washington signed a Judiciary Act establishing America’s federal court system and creating the post of attorney general. In 1869, thousands of businessmen were ruined in a Wall Street panic known as “Black Friday” after financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established Devil’s Tower in Wyoming as the first U.S. national monument. In 1957, the Los Angelesbound Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. In 1960, the USS Enterprise, the first nuclearpowered aircraft carrier,

was launched at Newport News, Virginia. In 1963, the U.S. Senate ratified a treaty with Britain and the Soviet Union limiting nuclear testing. In 1968, the TV news magazine “60 Minutes” premiered on CBS. In 1969, the trial of the Chicago Eight, later the Chicago Seven, began. (Five were later convicted of crossing state lines to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic convention, but the convictions were ultimately overturned.) In 1988, Jackie JoynerKersey won gold and set a world record in the women’s heptathlon at the Summer Olympics in Seoul. In 2013, a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked southwest Pakistan, killing at least 376 people. In 2015, a stampede and crush of Muslim pilgrims occurred in the holy city of Mina, Saudi Arabia. While the official Saudi death toll stood at 769, The Associated Press estimated that more than 2,400 people were killed. In 2022, Russian forces launched new strikes on Ukrainian cities as Kremlin-orchestrated votes took place in occupied regions of Ukraine to create a pre-

text for their annexation by Moscow. In 2023, NASA’s first asteroid samples fetched from deep space were parachuted in a capsule into the Utah desert to cap a seven-year journey by the Osiris-Rex spacecraft. In a flyby of Earth, the spacecraft released the capsule from 63,000 miles out and it landed four hours later as the mother ship set off after another asteroid. In 2025, a man with a rifle opened fire from a nearby roof onto a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement complex in Dallas, killing one detainee and wounding two others in a transport van before taking his own life. Today’s birthdays: Football Hall of Famer Joe Greene is 80. Actor Gordon Clapp is 78. Actor Harriet Walter is 76. Filmmaker Brad Bird is 69. Actor Kevin Sorbo is 68. Actor-screenwriter Nia Vardalos is 64. Celebrity chef Robert Irvine is 61. Actor Jackie Sandler is 52. Actor Ian Bohen is 50. TV personality Ross Matthews is 47. Olympic gold medal gymnast Paul Hamm is 44. Actor Spencer Treat Clark is 39. Actor Grey Damon is 39. Actor Ben Platt is 33. Actor Joe Locke is 23.

IRS Back Taxes Got You Worried? These guys helped so much!! Helped me navigate my unfortunate situation with such ease. A BIG thank you... A huge blessing.

“

- Catherine

Our Tax Professionals will get you on the phone with the IRS in minutes for FREE. We will help negotiate the best solution for your tax challenge. At PRIORITY TAX, WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK!

CALL NOW FOR FREE CONSULTATION!

844.426.1495

Priority Tax is a private company that identifies qualified consumers who require tax assistance. They are not the IRS, nor a State Taxing Authority. They are not a debt relief company or attorney referral service. Costs and results will vary. RESULTS ARE NOT GUARANTEED. Hiring a tax resolution company is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. There is no charge for a consultation. Call for complete details.


The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● 7C

lll

FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

zodIAC LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) — It's OK to be different. A change will offer lessons that encourage you to replenish your spirit by allowing yourself the freedom to accept who you are and do what makes you happy. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) — Adjustments that add to your comfort may not be appreciated by everyone, but they will make your life easier. Self-improvement is highly recommended. Relax, enjoy your own company and take care of yourself. sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) — Let your uniqueness lead the way. The changes you initiate at work or at home may not please everyone, but in time, acceptance will manifest. Trust your instincts and explore what's possible. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Distance yourself from negativity and conversations with people who don't share your beliefs, integrity or standards. Focus on how well you do your job, run your life and handle financial matters. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Focus on home improvements, budget and investments. A lifestyle change will help you get back on track and be conscientious about health and emotional well-being. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) — If you express your feelings through your gestures, you'll gain insight into who has mutual respect for you. Participate in activities that are useful and geared toward health. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) — Take a close look at yourself, your relationships and

the amount of time you can spare to take care of your needs. Be realistic, shake things up and find that sweet spot. TAuRus (April 20-May 20) — Set your sights on simplifying your life. Taking on too much will lead to stress and overreacting. Put drama aside, and pay more attention to making memories with the ones you love. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) — A change of scenery will prompt you to make changes. Finding an outlet for pent-up energy will give you the confidence necessary to pursue your dreams. Consider a hobby that eases stress. cAncER (June 21-July 22) — A creative outlet will spark your imagination and encourage you to expand and use your talents to make money. Self-improvement projects will help you excel. Update your resume. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Monitor what's happening around you and how you feel physically. Address issues concerning home improvements, medical issues and how committed you are to your lifestyle. Investigate what's available to you. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) — Reaching out to an old colleague or childhood friend will offer insight into what you can do with your skills and experience. Don't be shy. Love, romance, personal growth or getting a new look are favored. 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: o EQuALs R

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY


8C ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

lll

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

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword


The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● 9C

lll

B.C.

Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER John Lennon said, “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.” This week we are looking at deals from reality — how they were actually bid and played by nonexperts. What do you think of the bidding in this deal? Also, against five diamonds, West led the heart two. When declarer played low from the dummy, East put up his king. South won with her ace, played a diamond to dummy’s king, returned a heart to her jack, ruffed a club in the dummy, discarded a club on the heart queen, drew the missing trump, and claimed all 13 tricks. How many mistakes were made? In the auction, East might have made a takeoutdoubleoveronespade.AndSouth should not have jumped straight to five diamonds. With four aces, her hand had slam potential. I would have continued with three hearts, leaving partner room to describe his hand. Here, North would probably have bid four diamonds. (I like the Principle of Fast Arrival, when, in a game-forcing auction, a jump to game is discouraging. So four diamonds is stronger than five. Yes, North has only six points, but four trumps and a club void are great assets.) In the play, West should have led the heart seven, top of nothing. Regardless,

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

East should have played his eight at trick one, not the king. West would not have been underleading (leading low away from) the ace. East should have assumed that West had the heart jack. The rest of the play was fine except that declarer should have drawn the second round of trumps a tad quicker. © 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 — HELIcon: HEL-ih-kon: A large tuba similar to a sousaphone.

Bizarro

marmaduKe

Average mark 20 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 25 or more words in HELICON? yEsTERDAy’s WoRD — DIFFIcuLTy difficult duct duff dulcify duly duty icily idly iffy fifty fitful

flit fluid fluidity city cliff cuff cult licit lift lucid lucidity

ludic luff tidily tidy tiff tuff

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:26-27 Here is where you can find real confidence. G.E. Dean


10C ● Thursday, September 24, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

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

DOW 51,511.59 -352.10 -0.68%

NASDAQ 26,936.04 -308.24 -1.13%

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

U.S. stocks slide on worries about inflation NEW YORK — Pressure from the U.S. bond market hit a new level on Wall Street Wednesday after a surprisingly strong report on the economy raised worries about inflation, while oil prices halted their slide. The squeeze caused U.S. stocks to sink. Stocks wilted after the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 5.10% late Tuesday. High yields undercut prices for stocks and other investments, while also slowing the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money. Worries about inflation got a jolt Wednesday morning after a preliminary report suggested growth in U.S. business activity surged to its strongest level in more than five years. The price for a barrel of Brent oil to be delivered in November rose 3.9% to $103.08 on Wednesday. That is much higher than the roughly $72 it cost before the war with Iran began. KB Home became the latest to deliver a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But its stock nevertheless swung between losses and gains after the homebuilder’s executive chairman said conditions got even tougher for the industry over the last three months. General Mills likewise reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But the company behind the Cheerios and Progresso brands said it also expects growth this fiscal year to fall below its historical track record “driven by a continued challenging consumer backdrop.”

Stockholders approve Caesars-Fertitta merger LAS VEGAS — Caesars Entertainment shareholders have approved a multibillion-dollar merger with Fertitta Gaming that would create one of the largest gaming empires. Caesars has a dominant presence on the Las Vegas Strip. It also operates casino resorts across the United States. Billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta is the largest shareholder in Wynn Resorts and the sports betting company DraftKings. Fertitta stepped back from his role as president and director of his company following his April 2025 confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino. The merger was first announced in May, with Fertitta agreeing to pay $5.7 billion and take on close to $12 billion in debt from Caesars, putting the total value of the deal at about $17.6 billion. Caesars and Fertitta still must complete the federal antitrust review process. If it goes through, Caesars will become a privately-held company. Its shareholders will get $31 in cash for each share they own.

Melania Trump rings opening bell at NYSE WASHINGTON — Melania Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to promote her new initiative to help women become leaders and achieve economic power. It’s called Imperia, and its members include CEOs, founders, innovators, entrepreneurs and others. The first lady also rang the opening bell at the NYSE in January before the release of her Amazon documentary, “Melania,” about her life in the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term in office. A new two-part docuseries featuring her will be released in the fall. She said it will be different from the documentary and teased that it will include some surprises. “It’s more conversation, one on one with me,” the first lady said. “So when I was traveling and doing all of the filming, the director was asking me questions, and there are some private questions that I will answer that people never heard before. So it’s kind of exciting.”

S&P 500 7,706.03 -58.61 -0.76%

EURO 1.1382 -0.0066 -0.58%

CRUDE OIL 92.16 1.64 1.81%

GOLD 4,281.30 -57.60 -1.33%

6-MO T-BILLS 4.34 0.04 0.93%

30-YR T-BONDS 5.39 0.1 1.79%

CFTC warns prediction markets

in June to crack down on ly generated nor externally verifi- to make more than $100,000 on Pull back on risky proposal bets related to war and terrorism. able,” the CFTC said in a release Kalshi on what President Donald Trump would say in speeches. new guidance, which doesn’t on Tuesday. ‘mention’ bets, it says The carry the weight of an agency rule, The guidance said access to He agreed in August to pay over

BY NICOLA WHITE

Bloomberg News (TNS) Prediction market wagers involving bets on what high-profile people might say in public present heightened manipulation risk and can only be offered in limited circumstances, Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff warned in new guidance. The advisory is the regulator’s latest attempt to reel in the exploding industry after it floated a

applies to a niche corner of prediction markets, where users can place yes-or-no trades on future events like sports and politics. The bets on so-called mention markets involve trading on words or phrases people might say in speeches, earnings calls or postgame press conferences. “These contract types present a heightened risk of manipulation because their settlement turns on the discrete conduct of a person that may be neither independent-

scripts, prepared remarks, or unpublished content creates opportunities for trading advantages, noting that “makes individuals more susceptible to influence by others seeking to manipulate the outcome, whether through social engineering, inducements, or public pressure campaigns.” Mention market wagers were at the center of a CFTC investigation into the trades of a White House teleprompter operator, who allegedly used insider knowledge

$172,000 to settle the regulator’s claims without admitting to the CFTC’s allegations. The National Football League in July asked the CFTC to prohibit these types of wagers for sports, saying broadcast mentions and similar bets are easily manipulated by a single person. Major League Baseball also called on the CFTC to rein in wagers on words uttered during news conferences or postgame interviews.

Next on McDonald’s menu: More tech, hand-breaded chicken Company will spend $8.5B over the next decade to modernize its restaurants, add AI-enabled drive-thru

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN AP business writer

McDonald’s said Wednesday it will spend $8.5 billion over the next decade to modernize its restaurants globally. Fast-food traffic in many markets, including the U.S., is flat, so for McDonald’s to continue to grow it has to grab share from competitors and improve restaurant productivity, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at a meeting with investors at the company’s Chicago headquarters. McDonald’s wants to automate more tasks, like inventory and scheduling, and improve kitchen operations. “The winners will be the companies that create more demand and deliver it more efficiently,” Kempczinski said. McDonald’s shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald’s 46,000 global stores. On the product side, McDonald’s said handbreaded chicken, which has rolled out at 10,000 restaurants in Asia and a handful of restaurants near Chicago, has boosted sales and quality ratings. Many of McDonald’s competitors, like Chick-fil-A and KFC, offer hand-breaded chicken. The company plans to expand its testing to more markets in the U.S. and Ireland next year. McDonald’s also plans to introduce grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps in the U.S. and other markets and experiment with products like egg bites and bowls to meet the needs of customers who are seeking more protein and varied portion sizes. Skye Anderson, the president of McDonald’s USA, said approximately 30 million Americans are now using GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and they’re seeking smaller, more protein-packed meals as a result. But the company’s research indicates that 60 million Americans are actively seeking more protein in their diet. “This is an opportunity. We need to keep giving them more reasons to make McDonald’s their first choice,” Anderson said at McDonald’s investor day. McDonald’s said the restaurant modernizations include lockers to handle delivery orders, more visible coffee preparation areas to enhance quality perceptions, bigger play

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By TED SHAFFREy

McDonald’s said Wednesday that its planned restaurant modernizations include lockers to handle delivery orders, more visible coffee preparation areas to enhance quality perceptions, bigger play areas and improved kitchen layouts. areas and improved kitchen layouts. Scales to help ensure order accuracy — which are already in use at 10,000 restaurants globally — will be in 20,000 restaurants by 2028, McDonald’s said. The company is deploying its ArchIQ system, developed with Google, that improves order accuracy with artificial intelligence and automates tasks like inventory management and scheduling. Archy, the company’s AI-enabled drive-thru ordering system, is now capable of taking orders in Spanish and English with a 90% accuracy rate. Archy could eventually reduce at least 50 labor hours per week in a typical McDonald’s, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said. But he said the intention is not to reduce staffing. Instead, employees can focus more on hospitality or on tasks like handbreading chicken. Kempczinski said customers have responded positively to Archy in testing because it helps make their orders more accurate. “It’s not AI is bad or AI is good. We try to be really thoughtful about how we use it,” he said. McDonald’s is also rolling out new employee training that will focus on hospitality and food quality, said Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald’s chief people officer. The training will be more experience-based, showing employees what a perfectly cooked Big Mac tastes like, for example, and will encourage more pleas-

ant interactions with customers. At the same time, McDonald’s is still focused on value. Kempczinski said low-income consumers, defined as U.S. households making $45,000 or less, continue to go out for fast food but not as often as they used to. McDonald’s has done a good job with meal bundles, like its $5 meal deal, he said. But the company is exploring ways to offer entrylevel prices on a basic menu of items in the U.S., as it does in Europe and other markets. “This is the environment that we’re in right now. You have to be on your game and deliver that value,” Kempczinski said. “The pressure around cost of living isn’t going away.” McDonald’s U.S. franchisees typically spend up to $450,000 per decade on required store remodels. Under the company’s new plan, they will have to spend an additional $800,000 over time, but McDonald’s will pay a portion of that cost in the form of rent relief and capital support. Borden said the investments will be phased in over time when markets and individual franchisees are ready for them. Once the investments are made, the efficiency improvements will deliver roughly $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits to the average U.S. restaurant, some of which can be reinvested in the restaurant, Borden said. “We’d love to see it going into hospitality to elevate the experience with our customers,” Borden said.

Bill Clinton calls on leaders to fill gaps left by ‘retreating governments’ Donald Trump and his fund, a $100 million initiative from the successful companies it U.S., other nations cut President administration on multiple fronts. launched Tuesday with an $11 mil- supports to bolster more compa“I suppose I could take my entire lion donation from philanthropists nies. foreign assistance allotted time to discuss the self-ev- Karen and Rob Hale to pay for its Carmen Rojas, the Marguerite

BY GLENN GAMBOA

AP business writer

NEW YORK — Former President Bill Clinton opened this year’s Clinton Global Initiative conference Tuesday in New York, calling on attendees to promise to “step into the void created by retreating governments” following cuts by the United States and other nations to foreign assistance. “We know that we can’t completely fill the hole that retreating governments are leaving behind,” said Clinton, adding that philanthropy and other sectors will have to find new ideas and resources to protect progress on issues already made. He made his appeal after opening the conference challenging

ident wisdom of building an Arc de Triomphe in Washington to hold all our drones,” Clinton joked. “Some of this stuff it’s hard to make up.” After the laughter subsided, though, Clinton seriously laid out how he disagreed with the idea that “cooperation is not important, that winning is important in the short run.” The Clinton Global Initiative has convened political, business and philanthropic leaders to address the world’s issues for more than two decades. Donna McKay, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s president and CEO, unveiled one of those new ideas Tuesday. BCRF Ventures is the foundation’s first venture philanthropy

creation and early investments to encourage others to donate. “It makes sense that at this point in time when there are extraordinary advances happening that BCRF throw everything that we can at research and science,” McKay told The Associated Press in an interview. “What this venture philanthropy program will do is try to fast-track advances and get them to patients as quickly as possible.” The new initiative will not replace BCRF’s more traditional grantmaking to breast cancer research scientists, which the foundation expanded last year in the face of federal funding cuts to medical research. The goal for the venture philanthropy fund is to use the earnings

Casey Foundation’s president and CEO, outlined a more commonsense approach that is still seen by many in philanthropy circles as radical. “This is an invitation that I give to donors, to foundations in the room, to anybody who has a rich cousin, this is a moment to give out money,” she said. “Lots of it. Right now.” Rojas explained how there is currently extraordinary need and that should be met with extraordinary action. The Marguerite Casey Foundation announced plans in June to increase its annual donations to at least $500 million over the next decade in order to alleviate some of the pain the communities it serves are feeling following federal funding cuts.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
The Acadiana Advocate 09-24-2026 by The Advocate - Issuu