The Acadiana Advocate 10-15-2026

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T H U R S D AY O C T O B E R 15, 2026

MEAT PIES AND A MISSION

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Hotel violations detailed Missing lights, plumbing leaks found throughout Express Inn

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

Gavyn Delaney, from left, Brandon Gaubert and Jarrod Trumps prepare food in the Shade Tree Cafe in Broussard.

Shade Tree Cafe helping individuals with disabilities develop skills and build independence BY JA'KORI MADISON

Staff writer

Set on the grounds of towering oak trees and a historic home, Shade Tree Cafe in Broussard is serving familiar comfort food with a new mission: helping individuals with disabilities develop job skills, gain confidence and build independence. The D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation of Acadiana purchased the restaurant in October 2025 and reopened it as Shade Tree Cafe by D.R.E.A.M.S. about six weeks before founder Donielle Watkins’ interview. “D.R.E.A.M.S. continues to expand, and we want our com-

munity to see what members of D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation can do,” Watkins said. Three of the 15 individuals in the D.R.E.A.M.S. program rotate shifts at the cafe each day, taking on tasks such as preparing food and delivering orders to customers. Employees have a range of intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome and autism, and gain hands-on experience in a restaurant setting. “This job taught me how not to be in my shell so much,” said Mason Malbrough, who has been working with

ä See HOTEL, page 4A

Mason Malbrough, from left, Gabe Ward and Kyle Primeaux package and label boxes of frozen stuffed pies at the Shade Tree Cafe, which is located on the property of a 100-yearä See MISSION, page 4A old home owned by D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation.

Social Security recipients to get 3.6% cost of living boost

Library patrons must renew cards BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO BY NAM Y. HUH

The Social Security Administration projected a 3.6% cost of living adjustment, which would amount to about $75 a month increase per ä See BOOST, page 4A recipient.

WEATHER HIGH 89 LOW 67 PAGE 6A

STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

The Express Inn was shut down last week due to excessive criminal activity.

LAFAYETTE PARISH

BY FATIMA HUSSEIN WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration projected Wednesday that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities will go up by 3.6% beginning in 2027, with some recipients complaining that is not enough to offset soaring prices. The adjustment translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income. The announcement comes as inflation adds pressure on household budgets and busi-

The Express Inn on Evangeline Thruway in Lafayette, one of two hotels shut down last week due to excessive criminal activity, also is facing 76 health and safety code violations that include no fire alarms, unsound support beams for stairs and balconies and organic growth, likely mold, in some rooms. Last week, a judge ordered the hotel shut down for five years after the 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Lafayette Consolidated Government and Lafayette Police Department made a case that the hotel is unsafe. The Police Department received 1,902 calls for service and generated 294 police reports at the Express Inn from January 2023 through Aug. 17, 2026. Meanwhile, in an Oct. 5 notice of violation, Micki Capritto, compliance supervisor with LCG’s Community Development & Planning Department, listed 76 health and safety code violations noted during an Oct. 2 inspection at the hotel, where some individuals and families live long-term as a last resort to homelessness. The inspection noted that support beams for stairways as well as balconies may not be structurally sound. Metal handrails on stairs and balconies are loose, and rust has eaten through some of them, the inspection reported. Multiple rooms have holes in the walls, paint issues, organic growth and damaged flooring.

Most of the 148,000 people with Lafayette Public Library cards have to renew them in the next six months or at least temporarily lose the ability to borrow books and CDs, reserve meeting rooms and download books electronically. Library Director Danny Gillane said email notices went out to all library cardholders who were active 4½ years ago and who were still in the database advising them that they need to renew their cards within six months. Anyone who didn’t receive an email is advised to check their junk

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folder. Another email reminder should be heading to their inbox 30 days before the card expires. Renewal is free to those who live, work or own property in Lafayette Parish. To renew their library cards, patrons must go to the library and show and ID and proof that they live, work or own property in or attend school in Lafayette Parish. Anyone who doesn’t live, work or own property in Lafayette Parish will be charged $20 a year for a card. The library system offers

ä See LIBRARY, page 4A

102ND YEAR, NO.107

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Cornell president didn’t follow up on rape allegation

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

N.Y. to ban Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages NEW YORK — New York City lawmakers plan to ban horse-drawn carriages from Central Park, ending their more than 150-year run as an iconic, old-timey tourist attraction, following decades of opposition from animal welfare activists and the death of a teenage tourist last spring. The City Council is expected to approve a bill next week that would end the rides by 2028. Three consecutive mayors had called for an end to the carriage rides because of safety concerns, only to have lawmakers yank back the reins. A spokesperson for Julie Menin, the council speaker, confirmed the incoming vote and said the proposal had enough support to pass. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office said he had reached a deal with the speaker on the legislation. “The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City,” Mamdani said. The latest push for a ban started in June, when 18-yearold Romanch Mahajan, visiting the city from India, died after jumping from a runaway horse carriage.

Caine Prize winner rejects claim he used AI HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza, whose prize for a short story is under review over allegations of AI use, denied using artificial intelligence to write what he said was a story inspired by his family’s experiences, and he suggested that AI-detection technology is biased. Kundizeza’s “The Blue Fighter” won this year’s $10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing last week, but a report in The Atlantic magazine said the AI detection tool Pangram had indicated the entire story was AIgenerated with the exception of an excerpt from a poem by another author. Kundizeza posted a denial on X late Tuesday, and in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press said that African writers and readers should challenge such accusations. “There is need to use technology responsibly so that it is not deployed to create a bias against natives who seek to write about their own experiences and cultures,” he said.

French prosecutors investigate 14-year-old PARIS — French anti-terror prosecutors opened a judicial investigation on Wednesday into a school shooting that wounded a principal and a teacher, and requested pretrial detention for the 14-year-old suspect. The investigation covers attempted premeditated murder linked to terrorism, terrorist conspiracy and weapons offenses, the national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Three investigating judges in Paris will oversee the case. The teenage suspect acknowledged carrying out Monday’s attack at Lakanal middle school in Aubagne, near Marseille, and told investigators he had been planning it for several months, the prosecutor’s office said. He denied intending to kill. The boy told investigators he wanted revenge for bullying by teachers and classmates, an allegation prosecutors said had not been corroborated.

Dog missing in Yellowstone captured Luna, a Jack Russell terrier who eluded capture for over a month as concern for the dog’s survival mounted ahead of winter in Yellowstone National Park, was caught in a live trap Wednesday and reunited with her owners. The 10-year-old dog had been spotted crossing intersections, strolling through employee housing and entering lodges through automatic doors at the sprawling national park that’s home to grizzly bears, wolves and other predators. Katie Boucher, the volunteer leading the rescue effort and a spokesperson for the dog’s California owners, said she found Luna in the trap baited with scraps from a T-shirt and pillowcase belonging to the family.

Official addresses handling of case ahead of vote

BY LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY ANDREW MEDICHINI

Pope Leo XIV leaves the Vatican on Tuesday for the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where he had part of a lung removed.

Pope recovering well after cancer surgery

Tuesday’s surgery confirmed with specific characteristics. Leo eating, that Leo has lung adenocarcinoma, Liu, who is not involved in the the most common type of lung can- pope’s care, said that, of the differcelebrating Mass cer. Surgeons removed the lower ent types of lung cancers, adenocarcinoma has the most favorable but trip is in question lobe of his right lung.

BY NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press

ROME — Pope Leo XIV resumed his regular diet, began walking and celebrated Mass in the hospital Wednesday as he recovered from surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his lung, the Vatican said. Questions remained about whether the cancer had spread, while Peru’s president suggested Leo might have to alter his planned visit to Latin America next month. Blood tests and a chest X-ray showed the 71-year-old pope was recovering normally, his two doctors said. “The Holy Father underwent respiratory physiotherapy and has begun walking in his room. He resumed his regular diet and had breakfast and lunch,” said Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope’s personal doctor, and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, the head thoracic surgeon at Gemelli hospital. “Recovery is proceeding as planned.”

The right lung has three lobes and the left has two. After one lobe is removed, the remaining lung tissue can gradually compensate, especially in otherwise healthy, physically active people. Leo is known for his interest in sports, including weekly tennis games and swimming. The Vatican said late Wednesday that the pope had celebrated Mass with his secretaries in the afternoon in a special chapel set up for him on the 10th floor of the hospital. Experts said some of Leo’s lymph nodes would also have been removed and tested to determine whether the cancer had spread. Those results have not so far been made public. If the cancer has spread, test results will guide treatment, said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Options include chemotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, or targeted therapy, which uses pills to treat cancers

prognosis. “While we know the diagnosis, we now need to know the stage,” Liu said. “We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved. Is it just one nodule, or more than one, and the lymph nodes, are they cancerous?” Dr. PierCarlo Gentile, head of radiation oncology at Rome’s San Pietro Fatebenefratelli Hospital, said the minimally invasive, video-assisted chest surgery the pope underwent typically requires 15 to 20 days of recovery. Postoperative complications, including infections, are rare, he said. The Vatican hasn’t announced any changes to Leo’s planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru on Nov. 6-17. But Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori said Wednesday that the pope’s diagnosis and recovery could affect the visit, even as she expressed hope it would go ahead. Leo spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, holds Peruvian citizenship and is beloved by his flock there.

Source: Rep. Omar’s phone seized in criminal probe Relatives among those subpoenaed

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BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities investigating Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar seized the Democratic lawmaker’s phone and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, according to a person briefed on the probe. The subpoenas were issued for a grand jury collecting evidence in Minnesota as federal authorities probe potential fraud in Omar’s immigration paperwork, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The investigation led to federal agents searching Omar’s Washington, D.C. home on Monday just weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection. The scope of the investigation into Omar is unclear, though Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has suggested that authorities were examining potential crimes related to her family’s immigration paperwork. On Tuesday, Washington D.C. U.S Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a Fox News interview that “there are several investigations going on” related to Omar and that her office is also probing issues concerning the lawmaker’s financial disclosures. “If there was a crime that was committed, it will be prosecuted,” Pirro said. The search of Omar’s home so close to next month’s midterm contests that

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff knew in 2024 that a student had reported being gang raped at a fraternity house, but never followed up to learn what had happened to her or whether any of the accused students had been punished. In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, a day before Cornell’s Faculty Senate began debating a noconfidence resolution in his administration, Kotlikoff acknowledged that he did not know until recently that the woman had dropped out of Cornell or that students had been expelled or suspended over the incident. Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations involving drug use and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house in a November 2024 message to the Cornell community, saying criminal and university investigations were underway. He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault, but said this week that he never followed up to learn the outcomes of the criminal or Title IX investigations into the woman’s allegations. The case has drawn national attention since the woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit alleging that seven Chi Phi fraternity members sexually assaulted or exploited her in October 2024 and that Cornell mishandled her complaints. On Tuesday, Kotlikoff announced a ban on fraternity parties through the end of the academic year and plans to give state police a role in investigating sexual assault reports. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten initially declined to pursue charges after reviewing a summary prepared by Cornell University Police, but later said it omitted key details.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., listens during a congressional spotlight hearing on Capitol Hill in September.

will determine control of the House and the Senate was swiftly condemned by Democrats, who accused the administration of targeting the Democrat for political purposes. Omar, in a statement on X, called the search an “attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” “For 10 years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said. “I will not be silenced.” A phone message seeking comment was left Wednesday with a representative for Omar. Though the Republican focus on Omar’s background dates back years, the search notably took place three weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking reelection. The Justice Department has historically sought to avoid public investigative actions involving a candidate within 60 days of a primary or general election. Omar, who was first elected to the House in 2018, represents Minnesota’s 5th District, including Minneapolis.

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Trump hits campaign trail Justice Department threatens California in Arizona and Montana over voter roll claim Western swing aims to help boost GOP candidates

BY SAFIYAH RIDDLE and ERIC TUCKER

Associated Press

BY WILL WEISSERT and MIKE CATALINI

Associated Press

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. — President Donald Trump’s midterm roadshow to rally the GOP stopped Wednesday in swing-state Arizona and was headed next to a Republican-leaning U.S. House district in Montana. The visits come as the Republican president works to bolster his party in Nov. 3 elections that will determine control of Congress, and they follow stops earlier this week in Ohio and Alaska. In Bullhead City, Arizona, soaring music played as the former Qatari jet now serving as Air Force One flew low over an airport where supporters awaited Trump in the heat. The plane circled around and landed moments later. The president, wearing his signature red baseball cap, emerged with a wave and a fist bump and slowly descended the stairs as speakers blasted Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” the song that marks Trump’s entrance at campaign events. Air Force One, now wearing Trump’s new red, white and blue paint scheme, and the Black Moun-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY ALEX BRANDON

People cheer Wednesday as President Donald Trump arrives at Laughlin Bullhead International Airport for a campaign rally in Bullhead, Ariz. tains filled the background as Trump started speaking. “We want to say a very special hello to Arizona and Bullhead City,” Trump said. Trump is in Arizona to rally support for Rep. Andy Biggs, who is seeking to defeat incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Republicans running in the state’s two competitive U.S. House districts, Jay Feely and Rep. Juan Ciscomani, skipped the event. Afterward, Trump is set to travel to Western Montana’s 1st District to

try to boost Aaron Flint, a former aide to retiring Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as Interior secretary in Trump’s first-term Cabinet. Trump has kept up a brisk pace of hour-plus-long rallies — new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia called it a “midterm blitz” — in his effort to stem expected Republican losses and fight a historical trend in which the president’s party typically loses seats in elections halfway through their term in the White House.

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Justice has threatened California with possible legal action over what it says are noncitizens believed to have received mail ballots for next month’s midterm elections. A letter sent Tuesday to Secretary of State Shirley Weber from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy U.S. attorney general, says the department has provided officials in Los Angeles County with a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. California mails ballots to all registered voters. The letter obtained by The Associated Press gives the state 48 hours to determine whether any citizens are included on the list. For individuals whose citizenship cannot be independently verified, the state is to instruct local election officials to segregate their mail-in ballots until their status can be determined, and to not provide a ballot to anyone who has not yet received it. The let-

ters warns that legal action may follow if the state does not meet the 48-hour deadline to review the list. “If you cannot implement this process by then, given the ongoing federal election, the United States will have no choice but to seek emergency relief,” the letter states. A separate, similar letter was sent to the registrar’s office in Los Angeles County, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office had investigated during the state’s June primary. Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan confirmed in a statement that his office received the letter and a thumb drive, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls. He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device and hasn’t yet accessed any files. The letter, which Logan made public, does not specify the number of individuals flagged by the federal government. Logan said his office is working with the secretary of state and attorney general’s offices to decide how to proceed. Neither of those two offices immediately responded to an emailed request for comment.

Questions swirl about new White House press secretary’s resume BY JILL COLVIN Associated Press

NEW YORK — The new White House press secretary is facing mounting questions about her background and resume as she transitions into her role as the public face of the Trump administration. Katie Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and News-

max. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago. The questions add to the confusion surrounding Zacharia President Donald Trump’s decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social me-

dia company for only a few months when he announced her appointment and whose debut at the podium Tuesday has been widely panned. Afterward, the president was asked by reporters where Zacharia had passed the bar exam, following a report by the independent outlet Popular Information that she did not appear to be licensed in any state. Trump stepped aside to allow Zacharia to answer. “When I moved to China,” she responded over the sound of Marine

One whirring in the background. It is not clear what she had intended to say or whether she had finished the sentence. China’s notoriously difficult National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination can only be taken by Chinese citizens. Asked what credentials she held, the White House passed along a statement from Zacharia, who received a bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University in 2007 and received her law degree from

Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2011, according to the school and her LinkedIn bio. “I practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials,” it read. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, added that Zacharia was “uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as press secretary.”

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MISSION

Continued from page 1A D.R.E.A.M.S. Manufacturing since 2018. “I used to be nervous, but now I say, ‘Have a good day, and I hope y’all come back,’” he said. The transition to the cafe involved reworking the kitchen and adding a back room to accommodate employees with special needs, creating a space where they could learn tasks through repetition and practice. “We wanted them to become independent and have a fulfilled life,” Watkins said. While the restaurant now has a broader purpose, it still serves many traditional menu items, including hamburgers, grilled and fried chicken, plate lunches and its signature meat pies. The cafe has also brought back its Delcambre BLT, featuring shrimp, bacon, lettuce and tomato, and added a chicken parm sandwich. The changes extend beyond the menu. When the restaurant first opened in 2010, customers primarily ate outdoors while the building served as the former owners’ residence. Now, guests can choose to sit inside or outside. “People that came here years ago didn’t know what the inside looked like,” Watkins said. “They were amazed.” Chef Lonnie Pope and Eric Letulier opened Shade Tree Cafe in 2010, building a following for its homemade comfort food and plate lunches. After roughly 15 years in operation, the restaurant closed before the D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation acquired the property and began a new chapter. Since reopening, Watkins said customers have responded positively to the changes, particularly seeing employees take an active role in serving them. “From the first day, we had the employees standing out there serving the food and welcoming people in, and that was a game changer,” Watkins said. The cafe is part of the foundation’s broader effort to create employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Watkins and her husband, Brian, founded the D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation in 2007 after their son, Logan, was diagnosed with spina bifida. What began as a family’s effort to ensure their child could participate in the community grew into a foundation offering approximately 15 activities, including sports, theater and art. As the children grew older, Watkins recognized another challenge:

STAFF PHOTOS BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

Mason Malbrough, from left; Donielle Watkins, executive director of the D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation; and Kyle Primeaux package and label boxes of frozen stuffed pies at the Shade Tree Cafe on Friday.

What would happen when they no longer wanted to play sports or participate in children’s activities? Where would they work? “They grew up, and they don’t want to play baseball,” Watkins said. “They want to work.” That realization prompted the

foundation to expand beyond recreation and into employment. D.R.E.A.M.S. began producing meat pies to create work opportunities through D.R.E.A.M.S. Manufacturing Company. As the operation expanded, the foundation moved into the res-

taurant business with Shade Tree Cafe. For employee Kyle Primeaux, who enjoys making meat pies and maintaining the grounds, teamwork and learning from his coworkers are among the most rewarding parts of the job.

“This job taught me patience and understand people mindset and physical set because dreams is different and each person different, and we are in each other lives to see how different people work,” Primeaux said. The cafe makes about 150 meat pies a day. Some are delivered, while customers pick up other orders at the cafe. Watkins said guests are often surprised to see employees performing their jobs with enthusiasm and welcoming customers. “When you get the kids bringing you your food, I mean, first of all, you never know what they’re going to say,” Watkins said. “But it’s usually something pretty lively.” She hopes more people will visit, enjoy the food and experience the mission firsthand. “Just come experience the unexpected here and enjoy the food because it is phenomenal,” Watkins said. “We’re putting out a good thing to support.” Lunch is served Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Shade Tree Cafe by D.R.E.A.M.S. Foundation of Acadiana, 219 S. Eola Road in Broussard. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.

Plumbing leaks also were found in several rooms. Some air condiContinued from page 1A tioning units aren’t working properly and are leaking, causing high humidity in rooms. Roach infestations were found Some rooms are missing bathroom doors and lights, and some in some rooms and often, smoke bathroom exhaust vents are either alarms were not present. In some places, flashing is missmissing or not working.

ing from the building’s exterior, allowing water under the roof and into rooms. Doors on rooms in the back of the hotel are screwed in, the inspection revealed. The inspection noted electrical issues in multiple rooms. Some electrical outlets didn’t have face-

plates. A swimming pool on the property is stagnant and green. The pump isn’t working, the inspector said, and the pool needs to be drained. Finally, one building on the property caught fire and burned a few months ago. It needs to be demolished, the report states.

An administrative hearing is scheduled Nov. 4 “to determine whether the property should be condemned and demolished” as a result of the code violations, Capritto wrote. Several agencies are working with residents of the hotel to find alternative living arrangements.

Gillane said students and employees of Lafayette public schools, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and South Louisiana Community College are not required to act if they use their school ID instead of a library card. “Many longtime patrons say they have never been asked to renew a library card before, even after de-

cades of use,” Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship recently wrote on its Facebook page. This is the first time library cards are expiring, Gillane said. The change, he explained, was made around the time the Library Board of Control voted in 2022 to eliminate free library cards for Bayouland Library System cardholders.

The move also is an effort to keep the library system’s database of users current, Gillane said, because some vendors charge for their services based on the number of people in the database and because the extra names take up memory and slow database searches. The Dec. 12 Lafayette Parish ballot will contain a 3.12-mill property

tax renewal for the library that is expected to generate around $9 million a year. In May, voters defeated the renewal. It appeared on the ballot below five unpopular state constitutional amendments, which may have contributed to its defeat. Library leadership has said if the tax is not renewed, some library branches may be forced to close.

group, said the latest inflation data shows that “as important as the Social Security COLA is, it is not keeping up with prices.” Lorrie Ufkin, a 71-year-old retiree who lives outside Rochester, Minnesota, said the COLA will not put a dent in her healthcare costs, which are set to increase after the Trump administration concludes at year’s end a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that has helped offset premiums. Ufkin said that her premiums and drug cost are expected to rise, although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has projected a modest increase for most people. The COLA “doesn’t even meet what they’re going to do for changes to Medicare,” she told The Associated Press. She said one of the medications both she and her husband take will go from $11 per month for each prescription, to $200 per month, after Republican administration changes made to older Americans’ healthcare programs. She said that was “catastrophic.” Senior advocacy groups say the COLA is a strong reminder of the financial straits of many older people. “There’s a lot on the line finan-

cially right now for older Americans — one in five have no retirement savings, and more people feel financially insecure this year than last. That makes Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment critically important,” said AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan. Jaime Jakubczak, a 68-year-old resident of Buffalo, New York, who retired early at 55, has recently gone back to work to make ends meet, specifically to afford rising property taxes. He said the COLA is insufficient because it is offset by high inflation and a proposed 3.9% property tax increase in his town. Jakubczak called the 3.6% costof-living adjustment “a pittance,” given how high food, healthcare and gasoline prices have become across the country. “We were getting ahead a little bit with the COLA based on inflation, but the inflation is so high that it doesn’t offset what our COLA allowance is,” he said. Most older adults believe the COLA isn’t adequately keeping up with inflation, according to an AARP poll from September. That poll found that about three-quarters of those 50 or older disagreed with the idea that a 3.5% COLA in 2027 would be enough to keep up

with rising prices.

ally criticized calls to raise taxes on the wealthy. The Peterson Foundation estimates that lifting the payroll tax cap would add roughly $3 trillion into the program over the next 10 years. Both the Trump and Biden administrations signed into law new benefits for retirees, which boosted their finances, but simultaneously accelerated the insolvency of the old-age benefits program. The Trump administration, as part of Republicans’ tax and spending bill, gave a temporary tax deduction for people 65 and over, which applies to all income — not just Social Security. But those who aren’t able to claim the deduction include the lowest-income older adults who already don’t pay taxes on Social Security, those who choose to claim their benefits before they reach 65 and those above a defined income threshold. Additionally, Democratic President Joe Biden in 2024 repealed two federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset — that previously limited Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million people, including largely former public workers.

Cutstomers line up to order lunch outside the Shade Tree Cafe.

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services to homebound residents. The employee in that role knows the patrons on their homebound route and can extend the homebound person’s library privileges with a call, Gillane said.

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Continued from page 1A nesses and as midterm elections are weeks away. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees and disabled beneficiaries is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers, up to a certain annual salary. That is set to increase to $192,300 in 2027, from $184,500 in 2026. The agency’s commissioner, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement that the adjustment will give recipients “greater financial stability.”

The bite of rising costs Some older adults feel the increase is a drop in the bucket as inflation has eaten away at monthly savings. The government reported Wednesday that inflation accelerated in September, with the consumer price index rising 3.7% in September compared with a year ago and gas prices have spiked in the wake of renewed fighting between the United States and Iran. Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy

A looming funding shortfall The Social Security Administration faces a looming bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress. The June 2026 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report states that Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits. While a permanent solution for shoring up the benefits program has not been passed into law, lawmakers on the Hill have called for new measures to replenish the trust funds. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in June proposed lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap, which is a maximum amount of earnings taxable. Treating all income the same “would generate substantial revenue that would extend the solvency of Social Security for another generation,” they wrote in The New York Times. The move is controversial because Republicans have tradition-

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, October 15, 2026 ● 5A

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November 3, 2026 Election Said election will be held at the following polling places situated within Lafayette Parish, which polls will open at six o’clock (6:00) a.m. and close at eight o’clock (8:00) p.m., in accordance with the provisions of LA R.S. 18:541 to wit:

Public Notices

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

PUBLIC NOTICE --PROCEEDINGS OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUN‐ CIL OF THE CITY OF YOUNGSVILLE, LOUISIANA TAKEN AT THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026 AT 6:00 PM AT YOUNGSVILLE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1. OPENING 1.1 Invocation was led by Pastor Travis Minnich, First Assembly Youngsville. 1.2 Pledge of Allegiance was led by Shannon D. Bares. 2. CALL PRESENT: ROLL Mayor Ken Ritter, Shan‐ non D. Bares (Division A), Mayor Pro Tem Lindy Bol‐ giano (Division B), Matt (Division C), Romero Nicholas Niland (Division D), Simone B. Cham‐ pagne (Division E). AB‐ None. STAFF: SENT: Guidry (City Nicole Clerk), Terry Bourque (COO), Cathryn Greig (CFO), Jean Paul Brous‐ sard (Police Chief), Wade Trahan (City Attorney), Tim Robichaux (Parks & Rec Director). Mayor Rit‐ ter announced that item 5.2 - Preliminary Plat ap‐ proval of Sugar Mill Pond, Phase 31 will be tabled and heard at later meeting. 3. MINUTES 3.1 Approval of September 10, 2026 minutes. Motion made by Shannon D. Bares, seconded by Lindy Bolgiano, approving the September 10, 2026 min‐ utes. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Champagne. NAYS: None. ABSTAINED: Matt Romero. ABSENT: None. Motion Approved. 4. FI‐ NANCE REPORT 4.1 Ap‐ proval of August 2026 fi‐ nance report. Motion made by Shannon D. Bares, seconded by Matt Romero, approving the August 2026 finance re‐ port. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Cham‐ pagne. NAYS: None. AB‐ STAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Motion Approved. 5. PRELIMINARY PLATS (PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION) 5.1 Request for Preliminary Plat ap‐ proval of Burley Planta‐ tion, Phases 1A & 1B, lo‐ cated in Section 19, T11S, R5E, was read aloud and opened for public hear‐ ing by Mayor Ritter. Brian i d

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min g y y McLain & Andre Montag‐ net made comments on the upcoming develop‐ ment. Mr. Niland pre‐ questions on sented pressure and water sewer capabilities. Public comment was received Michael Shamsie. by Hearing no further com‐ ments, a motion was made by Lindy Bolgiano, seconded by Simone B. granting Champagne, Preliminary Plat approval Burley Plantation, of Phases 1A & 1B, located in Section 19, T11S, R5E, recommended by as McBade Engineers and Consultants in a letter September 30, dated 2026. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Cham‐ pagne. NAYS: None. AB‐ STAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Motion Approved. 5.2 Request for Prelimi‐ nary Plat approval of Sugar Mill Pond, Phase 31, located in Section 12, T11S, R4E, was tabled at this time. 6. OTHER BUSI‐ NESS 6.1 Susan Theall an‐ nounced her candidacy for District Judge, Divi‐ sion M. 6.2 Dyan Schnarrs was not present to an‐ nounce her candidacy for District Judge, Divi‐ sion M. 6.3 Mayor Ritter issued a Proclamation recognizing October 4-10, 2026, as National 4-H Week. 6.4 Ann Raush re‐ quested the following variances for commercial development located at 1101 Fortune Rd: a. To waive the required 36’ access entrance. b. To waive the required side‐ walk along Fortune & Atlas Roads. Questions and comments were pre‐ sented to Ms. Raush by some members of the Council. Motion made by Simone B. Champagne, by Matt seconded Romero, granting a vari‐ ance for commercial de‐ velopment located at 1101 Fortune Rd: a. To waive the required 36’ access entrance. b. To waive the required side‐ walk along Fortune & Atlas Roads. YEAS: Shan‐ non D. Bares, Lindy Bol‐ Matt Romero, giano, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Champagne. NAYS: None. ABSTAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Motion 6.5 Colton Adopted. Blanco requested a vari‐ ance to allow the opera‐ tion of a food truck within 100 ft from the main entrance of a fixed establishment food (Crawfish Boss) (Sec. 8105.) The variance re‐ quest failed for the lack of a motion and second.

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Comments of concern were made by members of the Council. 6.6 Jessica a requested Tavernit variance to allow a 5’ re‐ duction in the rear set‐ back and a 10’ reduction on the west side setback for mobile home located at 169 Vermilion Circle. Motion made by Lindy Bolgiano, seconded by Matt Romero, granting a variance to allow a 5’ re‐ duction in the rear set‐ back and a 10’ reduction on the west side setback for mobile home located at 169 Vermilion Circle. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Bolgiano, Matt Lindy Romero, Nicholas Niland. NAYS: Simone B. Cham‐ pagne. ABSTAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Motion Adopted. 7. RESOLUTIONS 7.1 Resolution No. 202628 – A Resolution of the City of Youngsville de‐ claring movable property as surplus and further authorizing disposal in accordance with state law. Motion made by Matt Romero, seconded by Simone B. Cham‐ pagne, adopting Resolu‐ tion No. 2026-28. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Champagne. NAYS: None. ABSTAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Resolu‐ tion Adopted. 7.2 Resolu‐ tion No. 2026-29 – A Reso‐ amending the lution 2026-2027 Utility Fund Budget in the amount of $75,000 for a noise reduc‐ tion enclosure at the Water Treatment Plant. Motion made by Simone B. Champagne, seconded Nicholas Niland, by adopting Resolution No. 2026-29. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Cham‐ pagne. NAYS: None. AB‐ STAINED: None. ABSENT: Resolution None. Resolution Adopted.7.3 No. 2026-30 – A Resolu‐ tion amending the 20262027 1999 Sales Tax Fund Budget in the amount of $130,000 for bar screen repair at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Motion made by Nicholas Niland, by Matt seconded Romero, adopting Reso‐ lution No. 2026-30. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Champagne. NAYS: None. ABSTAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Resolu‐ tion Adopted. 8. ORDI‐ FOR PUBLIC NANCES AND FINAL HEARING ADOPTION 8.1 Ordinance No. 519-2026 - An Ordi‐ nance of the City of Youngsville, Louisiana di h d f

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

Public Notices Meet/Hear/Min

g amending the Code of Ordinances Chapter 130 “Land Use Regulations” as it relates to regula‐ tions of bars, lounges and nightclubs, was read aloud and opened for public hearing by Mayor Ritter.Mayor Ritter made comments as it relates to the intentions of the pro‐ posed ordinance and what the new regula‐ tions will govern. He also noted that the version presented this evening has been amended from introduction in order to address future bars out‐ side of a specific area rather than the entire city. Public comments were received from Patti Figueroa, Xavier Ortiz and Daniel Dugas. A mo‐ tion was made by Lindy Bolgiano, seconded by Nicholas Niland, to adopt Ordinance No. 519-2026, as amended. Mr. Romero further suggested amending the ordinance to alter Page 3, Section 4 (s)(1)(a) to strike “Iberia Street” and replace with “Fortune Road” and to add (e) Ambassador Caf‐ fery. Both the first and second motions agreed to the suggested amend‐ ment. Upon hearing no further comments, the motion, as original amended, was amended to revise page 3, Section 4 (s)(1)(a) by striking “Iberia Street” to be re‐ placed with “Fortune Road” and adding Sec‐ tion 4 (s)(1)(e) Ambas‐ sador Caffery, was sub‐ mitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows: YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Bolgiano, Matt Lindy Romero, Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Champagne. NAYS: None. ABSTAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Or‐ dinance Adopted. 9. OR‐ DINANCES FOR INTRO‐ DUCTION 9.1 Ordinance No. 520-2026 - An Ordi‐ nance of the City of Louisiana Youngsville, amending the official map of the City of Youngsville, providing for the annexation of addi‐ tional land into the cor‐ porate limits of the City of Youngsville, Louisiana being the tracts owned by J & M Land Invest‐ ments, LLC and S & C De‐ velopers, LLC, consisting of 196.778 acres located in Section 30. Township 11 South, Range 5 East, Parish, as Lafayette shown on that map titled Map Showing Property to be annexed into the City of Youngsville, LA, con‐ taining 196.778 acres, prepared by Jeremy P. Soirez, Professional Land Surveyor, dated May 7, 2026. Comments were heard from the council & Mr. Michael Mayor. Shamsie stated that he met with Mr. Brian Lan‐ glinais to discuss the de‐ velopment and left the meeting with a better un‐ derstanding of the pro‐ ject. Mr. Shamie also ex‐ pressed his commitment to working with the city on benefits such as fire service and roads, etc. Motion made by Lindy Bolgiano, seconded by Nicholas Niland, intro‐ ducing Ordinance No. 520-2026. YEAS: Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, i h l il d

g Nicholas Niland. NAYS: Shannon D. Bares, Si‐ mone B. Champagne. AB‐ STAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Motion Approved. 10. MAYOR & COUNCIL 10.1 ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor/Staff Announce‐ ments Roads/Drainage: Hwy. 89 – Phase 1 cur‐ rently boring and in‐ stalling conduit for lights to be complete in 3 months, Phase B asphalt binder on east lane start‐ ing Sat, Phase 2 received GMP from contractor on 30% plans but waiting on GMP for 60% plans. For‐ tune Rd Ext. – pending concurrence from State before close out can be complete. Hwy 92 Im‐ provements - working on punch list items. Chemin Agreable - Phase 1 com‐ plete. Hwy 92/Prescott – with plans complete working on Stage 0 checklist. Hwy 89 Side‐ walks TAP Grant – work‐ ing on Stage 0 checklist. Anslem Coulee Detention Pond – working with property owners for ap‐ and acquisi‐ praisals tions. Larriviere Improve‐ ments – working on box culverts and should be complete by end year. 2026-2028 Striping Project – had kick off meeting, to start in next few weeks. Water/Sewer: Waste‐ water Treatment Plant SBR basins 75% com‐ plete, equipment deliv‐ ered and will begin process piping. Water Fil‐ ter 4 – anticipated deliv‐ ery in Feb. Pump Stations 5 & 14 - awaiting funding. Pump Stations 8 & 17 – review submittals wait‐ ing pump delivery. Sports Complex: teams and leagues continue. Out of Darkness Suicide Walk on Sat at Foster Park. Cat Rental employee appreci‐ family softball ation games this Saw. ARCA Cookoff – Oct 24. Our Saviors Church – Harvest Fest Oct 30. Farmers Mar‐ ket - Sat near expansion in grassy area. Chamber Fall Boutique Crawl on Oct 23-24. Nov 1 Fall into Fashion Show at Crème de la Creme. Nov 10 – Youngsville Career Fair at Rec. Center. Nov 20 – Swinging for Sweet Life Golf Tournament. 10.2 Council Announcements Mr. Niland: Healthy Kids Running Series kicks off Oct 18 and a color run on Nov 1. Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month – en‐ everyone to courage learn CPR and locate AEDs at their daily jobs. Bolgiano: com‐ Mr. mended Rotary Club on Patch at the Park. Run‐ ning with Padre on Oct 17. Welcomed Backwards Hat – new men’s clothing store. Fire Dept. physical and agility tests for new applicants on Oct 17. Mr. Romero: Rotary Club on Patch at the Park raised close to $20,000 and thanked all participants and staff. Ms. Cham‐ pagne: Oct 1 -31 is Breast Awareness Cancer month. 11. ADJOURN‐ MENT 11.1 Adjourn Meet‐ ing Motion made by Lindy Bolgiano, seconded by Matt Romero, to ad‐ journ the meeting. YEAS: Shannon D. Bares, Lindy Bolgiano, Matt Romero, i h l il d i

g Nicholas Niland, Simone B. Champagne. NAYS: None. ABSTAINED: None. ABSENT: None. Motion Approved. /s/ Ken Ritter, Mayor /s/ Nicole Guidry, City Clerk 203784 Oct. 15 1t $148.05

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SHERIFF'S SALE 21ST MORTGAGE CORPO‐ Versus No. RATION 20240572 KEITH RONALD PHARIS, JR. A/K/A KEITH R. PHARIS, JR. A/K/A KEITH PHARIS, JR. AND ALJAI CHANTAE HOWARD A/K/A ALJAI C. HOWARD A/K/A ALJAI HOWARD 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: 2020 CHAMPION (CHAM) MOBILE HOME BEARING NUMBERS SERIAL AND 021000HA006125A AND 021000HA006125B THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH AND IMPROVEMENTS SIT‐ UATED THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, AND SERVITUDES THEREUNTO APPERTAIN‐ ING AND ALL APPURTE‐ NANCES THEREOF, SITU‐ ATED IN SECTION 29, TOWNSHIP 11 SOUTH, 5 EAST, RANGE PARISH, LAFAYETTE BEING LOUISIANA, AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS TRACT 1A-3, OF THERESA ESTATE LEWIS, CONTAINING 0.71 ACRE, MORE OR LESS,

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Lafayette High School, 3000 W. Congress St, Lafayette, La.

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Allen Comeaux Recreation Center, 411 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La

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Lafayette High School, 3000 W. Congress St, Lafayette, La.

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Allen Comeaux Recreation Center, 411 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La .

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Lafayette Consolidated Government Building, 705 W. University Ave, Lafayette, La

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Comeaux High School, 100 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La.

Myrtle Place Elementary School, 1100 Myrtle Place Blvd, Lafayette, La.

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Comeaux High School, 100 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La.

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Comeaux High School, 100 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La.

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Allen Comeaux Recreation Center, 411 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La

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Broussard Middle School, 1325 S. Morgan Ave, Broussard, La

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Broussard Middle School, 1325 S. Morgan Ave, Broussard, La

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Katharine Drexel Elementary School, 409 St. De Porres St, Broussard, La.

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Katharine Drexel Elementary School, 409 St. De Porres St, Broussard, La.

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Martial Billeaud Elementary School, 500 E. Fairfield Dr, Broussard, La.

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Southside High School, 312 Almonaster Rd, Youngsville, La.

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Green T Lindon Elementary School, 603 Ave B, Youngsville, La.

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Ernest Gallet Elementary School, 2901 E. Milton Ave, Youngsville, La.

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Milton Elementary School, 222 W. Milton Ave, Milton, La.

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Milton Elementary School, 222 W. Milton Ave, Milton, La.

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Youngsville Middle School, 600 Church St, Youngsville, La.

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Carencro Middle School, 4301 N. University Ave, Carencro, La.

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Carencro Middle School, 4301 N. University Ave, Carencro, La.

Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary School, 601 T-Ma Rd, Carencro, La.

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Carencro Middle School, 4301 N. University Ave, Carencro, La.

Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 309 Cora St, Lafayette, La

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Carencro Middle School, 4301 N. University Av., Carencro, La.

Dr. Raphael A. Baranco Elementary School, 801 Mudd Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary School, 601 T-Ma Rd, Carencro, La.

Dr. Raphael A. Baranco Elementary School, 801 Mudd Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary School, 601 T-Ma Rd, Carencro, La.

Domingue Recreation Center, 901 Mudd Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary School, 601 T-Ma Rd, Carencro, La.

J.W. Faulk Elementary School, 711 E. Willow St, Lafayette, La.

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Ossun Elementary School, 400 Rue Scholastique, Lafayette, La.

Domingue Recreation Center, 901 Mudd Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Live Oak Elementary School, 3020 N. University Ave, Lafayette, La.

Domingue Recreation Center, 901 Mudd Ave, Lafayette, La.

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J. Wallace James School, 1500 W. Willow St, Lafayette, La.

LeRosen Preparatory School, 516 E. Pinhook Rd, Lafayette, La.

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Heymann Recreation Center, 1500 S. Orange St, Lafayette, La.

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Heymann Recreation Center, 1500 S. Orange St, Lafayette, La.

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Northside High School, 301 Dunand St, Lafayette, La.

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Carencro High School, 721 W. Butcher Switch Rd, Lafayette, La.

Ernest Gallet Elementary School, 2901 E. Milton Ave, Youngsville, La.

109

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Department of Veterans Affairs, 2100 Jefferson St, Lafayette, La.

Milton Elementary School - Gym, 222 W. Milton Ave, Milton, La.

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Lafayette Consolidated Government. Building, 705 W. University Ave, Lafayette, La

Broussard Middle School, 1325 S. Morgan Ave, Broussard, La.

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Acadian Middle School, 4201 Moss St, Lafayette, La.

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Evangeline Elementary School, 610 E. Butcher Switch Rd, Lafayette, La.

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Acadian Middle School, 4201 Moss St, Lafayette, La.

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Northside High School, 301 Dunand St, Lafayette, La.

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Northside High School, 301 Dunand St, Lafayette, La.

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Northside High School, 301 Dunand St, Lafayette, La.

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Alice Boucher School, 400 Patterson St, Lafayette, La.

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Alice Boucher School, 400 Patterson St, Lafayette, La.

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Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 309 Cora St, Lafayette, La

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Edgar Martin Middle School, 401 Broadmoor Blvd, Lafayette, La..

Youngsville Middle School, 600 Church St, Youngsville, La.

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Northside High School, 301 Dunand St, Lafayette, La.

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Carencro High School, 721 W. Butcher Switch Rd, Lafayette, La.

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J.W. Faulk Elementary School, 711 E. Willow St, Lafayette, La.

Lafayette Consolidated Government Building, 705 W. University Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 309 Cora St, Lafayette, La.

Lafayette Elementary School, 1301 W. University Ave, Lafayette, La.

Live Oak Elementary School, 3020 N. University Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Duson Elementary School, 301 Fourth St, Duson, La.

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Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 309 Cora St, Lafayette, La.

Lafayette Elementary School, 1301 W. University Ave, Lafayette, La.

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Broussard Middle School, 1325 S. Morgan Ave, Broussard, La

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Duson Elementary School, 301 Fourth St, Duson, La.

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University Student Union Building, 620 McKinley St, Lafayette, La.

Southside High School, 312 Almonaster Rd, Youngsville, La.

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J. Wallace James School, 1500 W. Willow St, Lafayette, La.

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117

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Scott City Hall, 125 Lions Club Rd, Scott, La.

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Milton Elementary School - Gym, 222 W. Milton Ave, Milton, La.

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Scott City Hall, 125 Lions Club Rd, Scott, La.

Department of Veterans Affairs, 2100 Jefferson St, Lafayette, La..

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Duson Community Center, 310 Avenue Au Nord., Duson, La.

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Lafayette Consolidated Government Building, 705 W. University Ave, Lafayette, La.

Youngsville Middle School, 600 Church St., Youngsville, La.

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Duson Elementary School, 301 Fourth St, Duson, La.

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Scott Middle School, 116 Marie St, Scott, La.

Lafayette Economic Development Authority, 211 E. Devalcourt St, Lafayette, La.

Ossun Elementary School, 400 Rue Scholastique, Lafayette, La.

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Scott Middle School, 116 Marie St, Scott, La.

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121

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Acadiana High School, 315 Rue De Belier, Lafayette, La.

Laf.ayette Economic Development Authority, 211 E. Devalcourt St, Lafayette, La.

Corporal Michael Middlebrook Elementary School Cafeteria, 1801 Kaliste Saloom Rd, Lafayette, La.

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Acadiana High School, 315 Rue De Belier, Lafayette, La.

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Woodvale Elementary School, 100 Leon Dr, Lafayette, La..

Corporal Michael Middlebrook Elementary School Cafeteria, 1801 Kaliste Saloom Rd, Lafayette, La.

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Prairie Elementary School, 1101 Rue De Belier., Lafayette, La.

78

Woodvale Elementary School, 100 Leon Dr, Lafayette, La.

Carencro Middle School, 4301 N. University Ave, Carencro, La.

79

L. J. Alleman Middle School, 600 Roselawn Blvd, Lafayette, La.

123

Carencro Middle School, 4301 N. University Ave, Carencro, La.

80

L. J. Alleman Middle School, 600 Roselawn Blvd, Lafayette, La.

124

Scott Middle School, 116 Marie St, Scott, La.

125

81

Woodvale Elementary School, 100 Leon Dr, Lafayette, La.

Edgar Martin Middle School, 401 Broadmoor Blvd, Lafayette, La.

82

Thomas Park Recreation Center, 300 Geraldine St, Lafayette, La.

126

Comeaux High School, 100 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La.

127

Allen Comeaux Recreation Center, 411 W. Bluebird Dr, Lafayette, La

128

East Regional Library, 215 La Neuville Rd, Youngsville, La

130

Heymann Recreation Center, 1500 S. Orange St, Lafayette, La

133

South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St, Lafayette, La

134

Martial Billeaud Elementary School, 500 E. Fairfield Dr, Broussard, La.

135

Southside High School, 312 Almonaster Rd, Youngsville, La.

136

Green T Lindon Elementary School, 603 Ave B, Youngsville, La.

34

Ridge Elementary School, 2901 S. Fieldspan Rd, Duson, La.

35

Judice Middle School, 2645 S. Fieldspan Rd, Duson, La.

36

Ridge Elementary School, 2901 S. Fieldspan Rd, Duson, La.

37

Judice Middle School, 2645 S. Fieldspan Rd, Duson, La.

38

Lafayette High School, 3000 W. Congress St, Lafayette, La.

83

Broadmoor Elementary School, 609 Broadmoor Blvd, Lafayette, La.

39

Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE), 537 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, La.

84

Broadmoor Elementary School, 609 Broadmoor Blvd, Lafayette, La.

40

Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE), 537 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, La.

85

Edgar Martin Middle School, 401 Broadmoor Blvd, Lafayette, La.

41

Lafayette High School, 3000 W. Congress St, Lafayette, La.

86

South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St, Lafayette, La

42

Lafayette High School, 3000 W. Congress St, Lafayette, La.

87

Corporal Michael Middlebrook Elementary School Cafeteria, 1801 Kaliste Saloom Rd, Lafayette, La.

43

Prairie Elementary School, 1101 Rue De Belier, Lafayette, La.

88

Corporal Michael Middlebrook Elementary School, 1801 Kaliste Saloom Rd, Lafayette, La.

44

Prairie Elementary School, 1101 Rue De Belier Lafayette, La.

89

Corporal Michael Middlebrook Elementary School, 1801 Kaliste Saloom Rd, Lafayette, La.

45

Lafayette High School, 3000 W. Congress St, Lafayette, La.

90

Department of Veterans Affairs, 2100 Jefferson St, Lafayette, La..

201124-688810-oct 15-1t $ 405.72

6A ● Thursday, October 15, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

TODAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Sunshine, a shower in the p.m.

A couple of morning showers

Breezy in the morning

Nice with partial sunshine

Pleasant with clouds and sun

Mostly sunny

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

LOW

89° 67°

LOW

86° 51°

LOW

72° 50°

78° 59°

Beaumont 87/70 Port Arthur 86/73

0s

Baton Rouge 91/65

Lake Charles 89/69

10s

20s

30s

Houma 88/67

40s

50s

YESTERDAY

60s

70s

80s

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today

90s 100s 110s

FIRST

OCT 18

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

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

PRECIPITATION

90°/69° 82°/61° 88°/60° 92° in 2017 39° in 1907

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 87/71

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

84° 59°

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

Hattiesburg 93/61

Alexandria 91/65

Lafayette 89/67

LOW

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Wednesday

Jackson 93/63 Many 90/67

LOW

TEMPERATURE

Longview 92/64

-0s

79° 57°

Monroe 93/65

Shreveport 90/67

-10s

LOW

Well, your Thursday is looking like a very nice day across southwest Louisiana. After some early-morning fog, expect a mostly sunny and hot day with a light breeze. Temperatures this afternoon, for most of us, will be above average rising into the upper 80s with some areas reaching the low 90s. The afternoon high temperatures will remain above average until a cold front sweeps through on Friday. Rain chances remain at zero today, may rise a bit on Friday and likely will not rise signifi cantly until next week.

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

HIGH

10:30a 4:48a 11:05p 1:15a 12:19a --1:27a

7:10 a.m. 6:37 p.m. 11:57 a.m. 9:54 p.m.

FULL

LAST

OCT 25

Hi

89 61 88 43 88 81 84 90 92

TODAY Lo

64 48 60 26 76 65 63 80 67

NEW

NOV 1

W

s pc pc c sh s t pc pc

NOV 9

Hi

FRI.

74 69 67 41 88 83 69 90 70

Lo

51 48 50 29 76 62 47 78 47

W

pc t pc c sh s t sh t

FT.

0.9 2.1 2.3 1.9 1.6 --1.9

LOW

11:02p 3:55p 11:40a 3:23p 12:10p 10:28a 1:12p

0.00” 0.89” 2.00” 47.05” 50.70”

FT.

HIGH

0.2 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

MODERATE

READING 80 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

FT.

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

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

LOW

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

FT.

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

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

Today Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

3:19a 4:14a 5:08a 5:58a 6:46a 7:29a 8:10a

City

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

Hi

87 89 68 89 67 89 81 87 90

9:31a 10:27a 11:20a 12:10p 12:34a 1:18a 1:59a

TODAY Lo

71 74 59 70 61 66 48 64 76

3:44p 9:57p 4:39p 10:52p 5:33p 11:45p 6:23p ---7:09p 12:57p 7:52p 1:40p 8:32p 2:21p

W

s t pc s pc pc t s t

Hi

85 90 78 87 70 88 56 91 88

FRI. Lo

61 74 53 69 42 54 44 69 74

W

pc t t s sh pc pc s t

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

AND HAVING SUCH DI‐ MENSIONS AND MEA‐ ARE AS SUREMENTS SHOWN ON THAT PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY AND MONTAGNET DOMINGUE, INC., DATED APRIL 30, 2019, THE ORIG‐ OF WHICH IS INAL RECORDED UNDER ENTRY 2020-003052, NO. RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA. MU‐ NICIPAL ADDRESS: 517 ROAD, B, AUSTIN 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.47 SHERIFF'S SALE 21ST MORTGAGE CORPO‐ Versus No. RATION KAWASKI 20260812 LEDET A/K/A AKEEM KAWASKI A. LEDET A/K/A KAWASKI LEDET 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: 1982 LAND DEALERS MO‐ BILE HOME BEARING SER‐ IAL NUMBER HWC066760, IMMOBILIZED ONTO AND INCLUDING THE FOLLOW‐ ING DESCRIBED PROP‐ ERTY: THAT CERTAIN LOT OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH IMPROVEMENTS AND AND THE COMPONENT PARTS THEREOF, SITU‐ ATED IN SECTION 16, T9S, R4E, LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA, AND BEING AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 95 OF MOUTON ESTATES, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH MEA‐ BOUND‐ SUREMENTS, ARIES, CONFIGURATIONS AND DIMENSIONS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN AND DESCRIBED ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY POLLOCK ENGINEERING COMPANY DATED JULY 30, 1979, RE‐ VISED SEPTEMBER 17, 1980, A COPY OF WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THAT ACT FILED CERTAIN UNDER ENTRY NO. 80RECORDS OF 24029, PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE THERETO MUNICI‐ PAL ADDRESS: 111 HAVEN LOOP, SCOTT, LA 70583 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12,

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.26 SHERIFF'S SALE GULF COAST BANK Ver‐ sus No. 20262203 TSS PROPERTIES, L.L.C. 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN TRACT OF LAND TOGETHER WITH IMPROVEMENTS ALL THEREON, LOCATED IN SECTION 75, TOWNSHIP 10 SOUTH, RANGE 4 EAST, PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA, BEING MORE FULLY DESCRIBED AS: PLOT A OF TRACT B, MEA‐ 298.21 FEET SURING ALONG THE EASTERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF U.S. HIGHWAY 167, BY A DEPTH OF 443.99 FEET ALONG THE SOUTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY OF BELLE‐ VUE PLANTATION ROAD CONTAINING 3.145 ACRES AS SHOWN ON “PLAT SHOWING PROPERTY OF TRACE ENTERPRISES LO‐ CATED IN SECTION 20 AND 75, T10S, R4E, DATED OCTOBER 15, 1981 AND REVISED NOVEMBER 12; 1981, AND MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT A PAGES 1 AND 2 ATTACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 198132986, MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFERENCE THERETO. LESS AND EXCEPT: THAT CERTAIN TRACT OF LAND, TOGETHER WITH ALL BUILDINGS AND IM‐ PROVEMENTS SITUATED OR THERETO APPERTAIN‐ ING, LYING AND BEING SITUATED IN SECTIONS 20 AND 75, TOWNSHIP 10 SOUTH, RANGE 4 EAST, PARISH OF LAFAYETTE, STATE OF LOUISIANA. SIT‐ UATED AT THE INTERSEC‐ TION OF U.S. HIGHWAY 167 AND BELLEVUE PLAN‐ TATION ROAD ACCORD‐ ING TO A PLAT OF SUR‐ VEY OF SAID PROPERTY PREPARED BY SELLERS, DUBROC AND ASSOCI‐ ATES, INC., DATED NO‐ VEMBER 9, 1982. SAID PROPERTY IS BOUNDED, OR FORMERLY, NOW BY NORTHEASTERLY PLANTATION BELLEVUE ROAD, SOUTHEASTERLY AND SOUTHWESTERLY BY OTHER PROPERTY OF WILLIAM J. DORE’, AND NORTHWESTERLY BY U.S. HIGHWAY 167; AND IS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT A POINT AT THE IN‐ OF THE TERSECTION NORTHEASTERN RIGHTOF-WAY OF U.S. HIGHWAY 167 AND THE NORTH‐ WESTERN RIGHT-OF-WAY OF BELLEVUE PLANTA‐ TION ROAD, THENCE S 57°43;54”E A DISTANCE OF 110.00’ TO A POINT; THENCE S 32°16’06”W A DISTANCE OF 134.22’ TO A THENCE N POINT; 57°36’46” W A DISTANCE OF 126.71’ TO A POINT ON THE EAST RIGHT-OF-WAY

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

LINE OF U.S. HIGHWAY 167 A DISTANCE OF 135.00’ TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING. SAID TRACT LAND CONTAINS OF 0.3644 ACRES OR 15,872 SQ. FT. OF AREA, AND BEING THE SAME PROP‐ ERTY SOLD TO DUA MOR‐ VANT, JR. AND ELIZABETH KASPERSKI IN THAT CASH DEED DATED FEBRUARY 3, 1993 AND FILED UNDER NO. 93-4137, ENTRY RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA. LESS AND EXCEPT: THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF LAND SITUATED IN SEC‐ TIONS 20 & 75, T10S, R4E, PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, SAID PARCEL CONTAINING 64 ACRES, AND IDENTIFIED AS LOT 1 ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY PAUL L. MIERS ENGINEER‐ ING, LLC, DATED SEPTEM‐ BER 11, 2017 AND FILED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2017RECORDS OF 37913, PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, AND BEING MORE FULLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: COMMENCING AT THE IN‐ OF THE TERSECTION SOUTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF BELLEVUE PLANTATION ROAD AND THE EASTERLY RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF JOHNSTON STREET (204’ R/W), ALSO BEING THE POINT OF COMMENCEMENT (POC); THENCE PROCEED ALONG THE EASTERLY RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF JOHNSTON STREET SOUTH 39°25’07” WEST A DISTANCE OF 134.91 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING (POB). THENCE SOUTH 57°33’55” EAST A DISTANCE OF 161.40 FEET; THENCE SOUTH 32°20’24” WEST A DISTANCE OF 161.95 FEET; THENCE NORTH 57°36’46” WEST A DISTANCE OF 181.29 FEET; THENCE NORTH 39°22’48” EAST A DISTANCE OF 163.30 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING. THE SUBJECT PROPERTY IS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS “REMAIN‐ PROPERTY 2.14 ING ACRES” ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY PAUL L. MIERS ENGINEERING, LLC, DATED SEPTEMBER 1, 2017 AND FILED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2017-37913, RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE PARISH, LOUISIANA FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, SAID PROPERTY IS BELIEVED TO BE A PORTION OF THE PROPERTY AC‐ SAME QUIRED IN PART BY KAY LEGENDRE DORE’ BY ACT OF EXCHANGE DATED DE‐ CEMBER 2, 1981, AND RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 81-32987, AND IN PART BY ACT OF PARTI‐ TION BETWEEN WILLIAM J. DORE’ AND KAY LE‐ GENDRE DORE’ DATED 11, 1988, JANUARY RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 88-1899, ALL OF THE OF THE RECORDS PARISH LAFAYETTE CLERK OF COURT’S OF‐ FICE. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 100 OF BELLEVUE BLOCK ROAD, PLANTATION LAFAYETTE, LA 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $66.91

CLASSIFIEDS WORK

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. 20263120 DAGMER THI‐ BODEAUX A/K/A DAGMER THIBODEAUX CONQUES A/K/A DAGMER C. THI‐ BODEAUX A/K/A DAGMAR THIBODEAUX CONQUES A/K/A DAGMAR C. THI‐ BODEAUX A/K/A DAGMAR THIBODEAUX 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, 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 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 9 OF AN‐ NELIE COURT SUBDIVI‐ SION, SAID PROPERTY HAVING A FRONTAGE OF SEARPOINT COURT WITH THE FURTHER DIMEN‐ BOUNDARIES, SIONS, SHAPE, FORM, LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION AS SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY OF SAID SUBDIVISION DATED 29, 2006, SEPTEMBER LAST REVISED, JANUARY 31, 2008, PREPARED BY & MONTAGNET AND AT‐ DOMINGUE TACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2008-23926 OF THE PARISH LAFAYETTE CLERK OF COURT’S OF‐ MUNICIPAL AD‐ FICE. DRESS: 114 SPEARPOINT COURT, 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $35.19 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. 20264982 SEAN KEATING BRIDGET THI‐ AND KEATING, BODEAUX BRIDGET THI‐ (A/K/A BODEAUX, BRIDGET KEAT‐ ING) 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

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

FLOOR in Lafayette, Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on WEDNESDAY, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH IMPROVEMENTS AND AND COMPONENT PARTS THEREOF, SITUATED IN SECTION 5, T9S, R4E, PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, AND BEING AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 45 OF BROCK POINTE SUBDIVI‐ SION, SAID LOT HAVING MEASUREMENTS, SUCH BOUNDARIES, CONFIGU‐ RATIONS AND DIMEN‐ SIONS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY C.P.S. ENGI‐ NEERING AND LAND SUR‐ VEYING, INC. DATED OC‐ TOBER 4, 2007, LAST RE‐ VISED SEPTEMBER 11, 2008, A COPY OF WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THAT ACT FILED CERTAIN UNDER ENTRY NO. 2008 36587, AS CORRECTED BY THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2008RECORDS OF 39320, PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, WHICH PLAT OF SURVEY IS MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE THERETO. SAID PROPERTY BEARS A MUNICIPAL ADDRESS OF 252 WEXFORD STREET, 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $36.26 SHERIFF'S SALE LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVIC‐ ING, LLC Versus No. TRENESSA 20265219 LENEE WILLIAMS A/K/A TRENESSA L. CHAISSON DIVORCED WIFE OF/AND WILFRED DERAFECUS WILLIAMS 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 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 HIGHLAND RIDGE SUBDI‐ VISION, PHASE II AND BEING DESIGNATED ON THE OFFICIAL PLAN OF SAID SUBDIVISION, ON FILE AND OF RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK AND RECORDER OF SAID PARISH AND STATE,

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

AS LOT NUMBER TWO HUNDRED SIXTEEN (216), SAID SUBDIVISION, SAID LOT HAVING SUCH SIZE, SHAPE, AND DIMENSIONS AND BEING SUBJECT TO SUCH SERVITUDES AS ARE SHOWN ON SAID MUNICIPAL AD‐ MAP. DRESS: 303 HILL RIDGE DRIVE, 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.90 SHERIFF'S SALE ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC No. 20261245 Versus SUZANNE GERMANY 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL IMPROVE‐ WITH MENTS THEREON, AND ALL RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AP‐ PURTENANCES AND AD‐ THEREUNTO VANTAGES BELONGING AND ALL AP‐ PURTENANCES THEREOF, BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT FORTYSIX (46) OF FOUNTAIN‐ VIEW PLACE SUBDIVI‐ SION, A SUBDIVISION OF PARISH OF THE LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE, ON THAT CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PREPARED BY AND MONTAGNET INC., AT‐ DOMINGUE, TACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2009-9721 AND MADE PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE, AND BEING DE‐ SCRIBED WITH REFER‐ ENCE THERETO AS HAV‐ ING A FRONTAGE ON ROSEMARY PLACE AND HAVING SUCH DIMEN‐ SIONS, BOUNDARIES AND MEASUREMENTS AS ARE MORE FULLY SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. MUNICIPAL ADDRESS: 235 PLACE, ROSEMARY 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.54

PRINT ADVERTISING WORKS

TODAY

MODERATE

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

SHERIFF'S SALE ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC No. 20265370 Versus BOULLARD MONICA A/K/A MONICA OZENNE BOULLARD A/K/A MON‐ ICA O. BOULLARD 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND, TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL BUILD‐ AND IMPROVE‐ INGS MENTS THEREON AND THEREUNTO BELONGING, SITUATED IN SECTION 6, 9 SOUTH, TOWNSHIP 4 EAST, RANGE PARISH, LAFAYETTE BEING LOUISIANA, AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 72, OSSUN SUBDIVISION, HEIGHTS PHASE II, SAID LOT HAV‐ ING A FRONTAGE ON SPANISH PLACE WITH DIMENSIONS, THE SHAPE, BOUNDARIES, FORM, LOCATION AND AS CONFIGURATION SHOWN ON THAT CER‐ TAIN PLAT OF SURVEY DATED MARCH 5, 1982, REVISED MAY 3, 1982, PREPARED BY CAFFERY, & REAUX, PATE RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 1982-18806 OF THE RECORDS OF LAFAYETTE CLERK OF PARISH COURT’S OFFICE. MUNICI‐ PAL ADDRESS: 111 SPAN‐ ISH PLACE, 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $34.54 SHERIFF'S SALE MORTGAGE STANDARD Versus CORPORATION No. 20264829 GUY MCNEIL JR., HEIR OF GUY MCNEIL, III 15TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT ---- PARISH OF STATE OF LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA Notice is hereby given that by virtue of a writ of SEIZURE AND SALE is‐ sued in the hereinabove entitled and numbered cause I have seized and taken into my possession and will offer for sale sell for cash, and appraise‐ ***WITH*** ment, to the last and highest bidder, at public at the auction, LAFAYETTE PARISH GOV‐ ERNMENT BUILDING, 1010 LAFAYETTE STREET, 2ND in Lafayette, FLOOR Louisiana, between the legal sale hours com‐ mencing at 10:00 A.M. on ***OCTO‐ WEDNESDAY, BER 21, 2026*** ,the fol‐

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

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6.30 23.70 25.20 10.30 6.10 3.95 3.70

-1.58 +1.27 +0.90 +0.20 +0.20 -0.07 +0.03

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+0.34

19

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-0.03

18 29 8

-1.33 9.70 2.53

none -0.01 -0.27

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9.45 6.29 5.13 4.50 3.90 2.89

+0.52 +0.26 +0.34 +0.05 none -0.19

data as of 7 a.m. Wednesday

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

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF GROUND. TO‐ GETHER WITH ALL IM‐ PROVEMENTS THEREON THEREUNTO BE‐ AND LONGING SITUATED IN PARISH. LAFAYETTE BEING LOUISIANA, AND DESIG‐ KNOWN NATED AS LOT 65 OF HIGHLAND RIDGE SUBDI‐ VISION WITH FURTHER BOUND‐ DIMENSIONS. ARIES, SHAPE FORM, LO‐ CATION AND CONFIGURA‐ TION AS SHOWN ON THAT CERT AIN PLAT OF SUR‐ VEY OF SAID SUBDIVI‐ SION DATED JUNE 16, 2005, LAST REVISED ON 11, 2006, SEPTEMBER PREPARED BY WALTER S. COMEAUX, II AND AT‐ TACHED TO THAT ACT RECORDED UNDER ENTRY NO. 2006-43684 OF THE OF THE RECORDS PARISH LAFAYETTE CLERK OF COURT. MUNIC‐ IPAL ADDRESS: 109 SUM‐ CREST DRIVE, MIT YOUNGSVILLE, LA 70592 ANYONE PURCHASING PROPERTY AT SHERIFF'S SALE IS GIVEN UNTIL 2:00 P.M. ON SALE DAY TO PAY FULL PURCHASE THE AMOUNT BY CERTIFIED FUNDS

Public Notices Sheriff Sales

HAVING SUCH MEASURE‐ BOUNDARIES, MENTS, SHAPE, FORM, CONFIGU‐ RATIONS AND DIMEN‐ SIONS AS SHOWN ON SAID PLAT OF SURVEY. BEING THE SAME PROP‐ ERTY ACQUIRED BY BOB‐ BIE JEAN BEAVERS FROM BEAVERS LIVING TRUST, PER TRANSFER DATED MARCH 29, 2010, FILED FOR RECORD MARCH 29, 2010, BEARING ENTRY NO. 2010-11358, RECORDS OF PARISH, LAFAYETTE MUNICIPAL LOUISIANA. ADDRESS: 105 TIFFANY 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: OCTOBER 15, 2026 & NOVEMBER 12, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $38.62

PUBLISH ON: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026 & OCTOBER 15, 2026 LAFAYETTE PARISH SHER‐ IFF'S OFFICE MARK T. GARBER, SHER‐ IFF $33.69

SEVEN DAYS

SHERIFF'S SALE VANDERBILT MORTGAGE AND FINANCE, INC. Ver‐ sus No. 20265341 TIERRA T. WEBB A/K/A TIERRA WEBB 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, ***NOVEM‐ BER 18, 2026*** ,the fol‐ lowing described prop‐ erty, to wit: 2021 SOUTHERN ENERGY (SOEN) MANUFACTURED SERIAL NO. HOME, RUS079474AL AND THAT CERTAIN PARCEL OF TOGETHER GROUND, ALL BUILDINGS WITH AND IMPROVEMENTS SIT‐ UATED THEREON AND THEREUNTO BELONGING, TOGETHER WITH ALL THE RIGHTS, WAYS, PRIVI‐ LEGES, SERVITUDES, AD‐ VANTAGES AND APPUR‐ THEREUNTO TENANCES BELONGING OR IN ANY‐ APPERTAINING, WISE BEING KNOWN AND DES‐ IGNATED AS LOT TWELVE (12) OF AGAPE ESTATES, SUBDIVISION OF A PARISH, LAFAYETTE LOUISIANA, MORE FULLY DESCRIBED ON A CERTAIN PLAT OF SURVEY PRE‐ PARED BY R.C. SPIKES, DATED JUNE 23, 1978, LAST REVISED NOVEM‐ BER 3, 1978, RECORDED UNDER ORIGINAL ACT NO. 79-8716, RECORDS OF THE LAFAYETTE CLERK, PARISH, LOUISIANA; SAID PLAT BEING MADE A PART HEREOF BY REFER‐ ENCE HERETO. SAID LOT

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T h u r s d ay, O c T O b e r 15, 2026

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Candidates split on school budget plan College. She previously ran Both see teacher retention as priority nity against Chad Desormeaux for the

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

This fall Lafayette Parish voters will elect a School Board representative for District 2, which covers Carencro and parts of north Lafayette. Incumbent Robert “Ted” Davidson, a Republican, is running against Democrat Stasia HerbertMcZeal for the seat on the Lafayette Parish School Board. Both candidates participated in a forum at the Carencro Community Center on Tuesday night, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Lafayette and Move the Mindset. The forum was moderated by League spokesperson Kathleen Espinoza

and included questions around student achievement, budget and governance issues, teacher retention and falling enrollment across the district. Davidson, a longtime Carencro resident and H H H former educator and coach at Acadiana High School, was appointed to the board in April following the resignation of District 2 representative Chad Desormeaux, who is facing shoplifting charges. His resignation triggered a special election for the rest of the term, which expires in 2027. Herbert-McZeal is a native of Carencro and the dean of liberal arts at South Louisiana Commu-

seat in 2023. Candidates pointed to magnet academies and improved test results as strengths of the Lafayette Parish school system, but identified the need for better communication, improved teacher reH H H tention and increased parent engagement as priorities — as well as the need to bring more resources to District 2. Herbert-McZeal stated, “What the system has not done well is listen to the community, listen to the people it serves. We, as School Board members, serve the teachers. We serve the parents, we

ELECTION

STAFF PHOTO BY JOANNA BROWN

Candidates Robert ‘Ted’ Davidson and Stasia Herbert-McZeal speak at a forum at the Carencro Community Center on Tuesday. They are running to represent District 2 on the Lafayette Parish School Board in the Nov. 3 ä See CANDIDATES, page 4B election.

Death row inmate’s requests rejected Judge denies rehearing, governor refuses life sentence BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Staff writer

Better Than Earth Festival, presented by Taylor Lyons Vaughan, is happening in Lafayette on Sunday.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Celebrating sustainability

Better the Earth Fest in Lafayette aims to grow local interest in composting BY JA’KORI MADISON

Staff writer

Coffee grounds, banana peels, brown paper bags and cardboard packaging often end up in the trash. But Taylor Lyons Vaughan sees these materials as resources that can be transformed into healthier soil and help grow food. Through her business, WormLadyRecycles, Vaughan collects paper products and food scraps and uses worms to turn organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. Now, she hopes to spread that message through Lafayette’s first Better the Earth Fest, a festival connecting residents with local businesses, nonprofits and organizations promoting sustainability, gardening and healthy living. “I hope to expand recycling options in Acadiana while helping residents understand how everyday habits can benefit their homes and the environment,” Vaughan said. The festival is scheduled Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 105 Dorset Ave. in Lafayette. It will feature local vendors, nonprofits, free educational sessions, children’s activities, a plant sale and food vendors. Paul Piazza will perform from 9 a.m. to noon,

A Baton Rouge man convicted of double murder saw his path to avoid the death penalty get narrower this week when a federal judge denied a request to reconsider his sentence and the governor said he would not consider giving him clemency. Todd Wessinger was convicted of killing two of his former restaurant co-workers in Baton Rouge in 1995. On Monday, Wessinger’s at- Landry torneys filed a request with the state Board of Pardons to recommend that the governor amend his sentence to life without parole and take him off death row. But Gov. Jeff Landry said Tuesday that a life sentence would not be an option. “There will be no clemency for Todd Wessinger,” Landry wrote Tuesday afternoon on X. “We stand firmly with the victims and their families.” Also on Tuesday, Judge John deGravelles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana denied Wessinger’s plea to halt his looming execution, rejecting an argument that

ä See REQUESTS, page 4B

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE

Taylor Lyons Vaughan, with Worm Lady Recycles, left, talks about her selection of plants with Chris Frazier as the weekly Farmers and Artisans Market. followed by Leif Meche from noon to 3 p.m. The event also will include a Pilates session with Adage Pilates and a free CPR skills session at 1 p.m. Vaughan began developing WormLadyRecycles around 2018, initially hoping to create a larger composting

facility for Acadiana. “There isn’t a widespread residential pickup or drop-offs for food scraps,” she said. “So I wanted to fill in that gap in any way that I could.”

ä See SUSTAINABILITY, page 4B

Church Point police searching for suspect in fatal shooting Church Point police have South Broadway Street at obtained an arrest warrant about 8 p.m. Wednesday, pofor a 20-year-old man lice said. The victim in connection with a had been taken to a fatal shooting Wednes- CRIME hospital in a personal day night. BLOTTER vehicle and was proJason Delano Hopnounced dead there Advocate after suffering a sinkins, of Edmonia Drive in Church Point, is staff gle gunshot wound. wanted on charges of reports The investigation is first-degree murder, ongoing. Anyone with possession of a firearm by a information about the shootconvicted felon and obstruc- ing or Hopkins’ whereabouts tion of justice, according to is asked to contact the Church the Church Point Police De- Point Police Department or Acadia Parish Crime Stoppartment. Officers responded to a pers. shooting in the 200 block of Hopkins is considered inno-

cent unless and until proven olation of state law, according to a department news release. guilty in court. The investigation began Oct. 9 after police were notified of suspicious charges on an account held by the Knights of A 57-year-old Arnaudville Columbus, the release said. Hardy serves on the St. Marman who serves as an official in St. Martin Parish was ar- tin Parish School Board and rested Monday in connection the Republican Parish Execuwith an investigation into sus- tive Committee, according to picious charges on a Knights police. He was booked into the of Columbus account, police St. Landry Parish Jail. The said. Chad Christopher Hardy release did not provide adwas arrested Oct. 12 by the ditional details about the alArnaudville Police Depart- leged charges or the amount ment on a charge of theft, a vi- of money involved.

St. Martin Parish official arrested

Man accused of shooting at students in Arnaudville Staff report A 71-year-old Arnaudville man was arrested after allegedly firing shots at a group of high school students who were participating in a toilet-papering prank, St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux said. Deputies responded to a shooting around 11:57 p.m. Oct. 12 in the 1300 block of Rue de la Porte in Arnaudville. During the investigation, deputies learned that several local high school students had been throwing toilet paper over nearby residences, according to a news release from Breaux. Investigators said Travis Frederick exited his home carrying a firearm and fired a shot toward at least five people. As the students tried to leave in a vehicle, Frederick allegedly fired a second shot, striking the vehicle. No injuries were reported, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Frederick was booked into the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center on one count of attempted manslaughter, five counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of aggravated criminal damage to property. Bail had not been set at the time of the announcement. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office at (337) 394-3071.

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

OUR VIEWS

Additional recommendations for the constitutional amendments on the Nov. 3 ballot Louisiana voters are being asked to consider 10 constitutional amendments on the ballot Nov. 3. Early voting begins Oct. 20. Yesterday, we addressed amendments dealing with property tax issues. Today, the newspaper looks at the other amendments, some of which look to solve problems that are not yet apparent to us. We have often noted that our constitution is already overstuffed, and our principle is that we should amend the constitution only to address urgent or structural issues. Here are our recommendations for the remaining constitutional amendments: Amendment 3: Eliminate Post-Conviction Bail for Crimes Against Children. No This amendment would prohibit bail for defendants convicted of serious crimes against minors, such as murder, rape and aggravated assault. That would mean they would stay in custody as they appeal their conviction. While measures like this are designed to appear “tough on crime,” they actually reduce the discretion judges have to determine who is a threat to the community. It is so broad as to potentially include those who were convicted but later exonerated by DNA. And while proponents point to a few cases where criminals released on bail reoffend, we see no widespread problem here and note that in most of our state’s largest cities, crime is at an all-time low. Amendment 4: Limit Governor to Two Terms in a Lifetime. No This amendment that would limit the Louisiana governor to two terms over a lifetime has gotten much attention. The governorship is already limited to two consecutive terms, after which a candidate must sit out for one term before running again. Only two governors in our state’s 200-year history have served more than two terms: Earl Long, who won two terms after finishing the unexpired term of a governor who resigned, and Edwin Edwards, who served four terms. This should indicate that voters can be trusted to reject entrenched political dynasties. In the past, as we saw in Edwards’ race against Klan leader David Duke, old pols have been useful in uniting voters against worse options. This measure seems aimed more at limiting voter choice rather than striking a blow against political machines. Amendment 5: Add Flexibility in Paying State Retirement Debt. Yes This amendment would change a policy that is preventing government from running more efficiently, we feel. It would give state pension systems receiving one-time windfalls the flexibility to choose which debts to pay off, rather than paying the oldest debt first as the law now requires. Just as a household would choose to pay off high-interest credit cards before lower interest loans, the state’s pension agencies should not be hamstrung into paying off debts in chronological order. Amendment 7: Using Public Money for Drinking Water Service Lines. Yes This amendment would clear the way for public money to be used on private property to replace lead pipes. The issue is particularly acute in New Orleans, where aging infrastructure is a threat to public health. The federal government has millions available to fix the problem, but there is some uncertainty about whether the law allows it. This amendment could remove an unnecessary obstacle to accessing these funds. Amendment 8: Bar Expropriating Property for Foreign Adversaries. No We have no evidence of North Korean, Chinese or Iranians firms itching to get their hands on land in Louisiana that is not for sale or of government officials willing to give it to them, so this amendment preventing expropriation of land to foreign adversaries or their agents seems a bit premature. This is the quintessential example of something that could be handled with legislation rather than a constitutional amendment, if it is necessary at all.

YOUR VIEWS

Sometimes love of country means criticizing its leaders

We fought for fair maps, so now what are we fighting for? Here we are, approaching another midterm election, and Louisiana voters have an opportunity to choose who will represent them in the United States Congress. I’ve been following the 6th Congressional District race closely, paying attention to the candidates, their backgrounds, their platforms and the endorsements being made. And as I watch everything unfold, I can’t help but think back to those legislative hearings and all the conversations about fair representation. I find myself wondering where some of that same passion and urgency have gone. During the redistricting debate, there was no shortage of public statements about the importance of Black representation and protecting the voices of historically underrepresented communities. Yet, as political endorsements and alliances take shape in this election, I find myself questioning how some of those earlier commitments are being understood and applied today. One question in particular has stayed

with me: Was the fight for fair representation about ensuring Black communities have a meaningful political voice, or was it also about advancing particular political interests? And how do we distinguish the two? I recognize that politics involves strategy. I understand that endorsements are influenced by many factors, including policy positions, relationships, party priorities and different assessments of candidates’ qualifications. I’m not naive about how politics works. I’ve watched it long enough to know that there are often competing interests at play. Still, I believe it’s important to examine whether our actions reflect the principles we say matter to us. We cannot expect everyday citizens to show up, organize, testify, advocate and remain engaged while treating political leaders’ decisions as though they are beyond public questioning.

In a recent speech to the military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that the media and those critical of the administration “hate President Trump more than they love America.” Nothing could be further from the truth. We are adamant in our opposition to this president precisely because we hate what he is doing to the country we love.

JERRY MEUNIER New Orleans

Anti-Trump opinion based on propaganda, not facts

CYNTHIA YOUNG Baton Rouge

In regards to Will Darlington’s rant against the president (“Trump haters are fixed on the wrong target,” Oct. 7): He should know that his opinion is based on propaganda and not facts. If he really hates everything that President Donald Trump has done, why doesn’t he self-deport to Venezuela? He might like it better than here. The country voted for Trump and especially for his policies of closing borders and energy independence. Those are good things.

Archbishop Sheen was an example for many Thanks for publishing the wonderful column by Kathryn Jean Lopez about Blessed Fulton Sheen (“Happy Blessed Fulton J. Sheen Day,” Oct. 4). And what a blessing it was for me to be in St. Louis to join others with the Virgin Most Powerful Radio group and others of all walks of life, faiths and even nonbelievers to celebrate the Beatification of Archbishop Sheen.

Sheen lived out sanctity as he humbly — and with telegenic media savvy — was known by his television show, “Life Is Worth Living!” As Lopez noted in her column, may we all follow Blessed Sheen’s example of humility, confidence in the Lord and a zest for sharing life. That is certainly worth living.

DAVID BASSHAM Houma

KEITH HORCASITAS Baton Rouge

Livestreamed execution makes commandment ring hollow

Don’t judge people by age; value them for contributions Oct. 9 was Ageism Awareness Day. This is an invitation for us to have a conversation we don’t have often enough: the importance of identifying and making changes to ageism. Ageism is not simply making a joke about someone’s age. It is the stereotypes, assumptions and discrimination we encounter because of age. It influences healthcare, employment, public policy and how people are treated in our communities. And ageism doesn’t begin at 65. A younger person can be dismissed as “too young.” A middle-aged worker can be quietly pushed aside as “too old.” An older adult can be assumed to be incapable of learning, contributing or making decisions. Women can face an especially complicated form of ageism when cultural expectations about both age and appearance collide. The worst part? How easily ageist mes-

sages become internalized. Research by Becca Levy, PhD (“Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live”) indicates how internalized ageism affects our physical and mental health. In a landmark study, people with a positive view on aging lived 7½ years longer on average than those with negative age stereotypes. We are all aging. This isn’t somebody else’s issue. I encourage everyone to notice the language we use, question assumptions about age and ask a simple question: Would we say or do this if the person’s age were different? Be a community where we value persons for their participation and contributions, not judge them by their age. Let’s talk about ageism and how we can make changes.

Louisiana requires every classroom to display the Ten Commandments, including “Thou shalt not kill.” Yet some in our government want to livestream the firing-squad execution of the Fort Hood gunman. That act would make the commandment hollow — nothing more than decoration on a classroom wall. Children notice when adults say one thing and do another. If we mean the commandments we hang on those walls, should we not live by them?

GINA ROSSI Baton Rouge

STATE SEN. PATRICK CONNICK District 8 Marrero

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Thursday, October 15, 2026 l 3B

COMMENTARY Stop the Flock camera hysteria In the bad old crime days of New York City, I spent a Christmas Eve waiting outside an emergency room. Our foursome had been violently robbed in a subway station, and I was eager for the doctor’s report on one member who’d suffered a concussion fighting off a mugger. Because someone got hurt, city detectives took the case seriously. They interviewed us and urged a trip to transit authority headquarters to look at mugshots. We did. Desperate to nail the Froma two attackers, I gazed Harrop over page after page of faces. If this happened today, subway and street cameras would have identified the criminals almost immediately. Even if they were masked, cameras would have captured their dress, gait, body type, mode of attack — and tracked their escape route. Two years ago, a knife-wielding 25-year-old man raped a 13-year-old girl in a Queens park and forced her male schoolmate to watch. Days after the NYPD released images of the attacker, locals found him, and he was soon behind bars. Stories like these are why I can’t join the widespread paranoia fueling protests against the Flock and other surveillance cameras now in public areas. The standard Flock plate-reader is a black box on a tall pole. It can record passing cars’ license plates, color, dents and bumper stickers. Police departments use them to capture suspected criminals. Republicans and Democrats alike condemn Flock cameras as invasions of privacy. Many liken them to the surveillance state in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984.” But if those critics had read “1984,” they’d know that the shocking feature of Big Brother’s cameras was their invasion of private spaces. They were inside apartments. Flock cameras

STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK

A solar Flock Safety camera is used for reading license plates in Lafayette. can’t see through walls. Pointed at uncovered windows, especially if they’re lit, the cameras can peer inside. But so can neighbors across the street. That’s the whole point. Cameras, when properly used, see the same thing a human standing outside on a public sidewalk can observe without controversy: cars and trucks, people biking, pedestrians. Billionaires hire 24-hour security people to sit outside their mansion walls and check all who pass. Nobody complains. That’s not to say that such cameras don’t raise concerns. Some homeowners complain that cameras pointed at a neighbor’s driveway can look onto part of their own property. There were reports of a police officer using his department’s Flock camera system to stalk his ex-girlfriend. These misuses should be addressed case by case. The argument that stalkers can use Flock cameras to harass their exes or other perceived enemies ignores the reverse. A woman being harassed can report it and ask police to check whether the same car keeps turning up on her street. Stalkers spend a

lot of time spying on their victims’ homes, and that pattern is exactly what Flock cameras record. While use of cameras by law enforcement can help find perpetrators of crimes, they can also exonerate those unjustly accused. When I was going through the transit authority’s mugshots, I probably saw interspersed pictures of innocents or nonviolent criminals, a means to test we victims’ recollections. As noted, we wanted to get the bastards. I fixed on one who sort of looked like the guy. The detective told me that he was someone who had stolen washing machines. I then said, “Maybe not.” Looking back, I may have been fingering the wrong individual, and that would have added an injustice on top of another injustice. Say “we don’t want to live like this,” and I’ll agree. Much of the recent outrage may be tied to panic over AI and other technology. But as long as these cameras cover only public spaces, let’s learn to live with them. Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

The high cost of Abdul El-Sayed Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, expresses irritation when he is asked about his association with Hasan Piker, the streamer/provocateur who said America deserved 9/11. “I’m not here to disavow people’s views,” El-Sayed said back during the Michigan Democratic primary campaign. “I’m here to have a conversation about how to get money out of politics, put Byron money back in pockets York and pass Medicare for all.” Give El-Sayed credit for staying on message; those are the three main themes of his campaign. On his website, El-Sayed groups several positions under each one. Under “Money Out of Politics,” for example, he lists his support for terrible ideas like abolishing ICE and setting up a structure to bring waves of immigrants more quickly to the United States. He also vows to end the war in Iran, to “reform” the Supreme Court, to pass restrictive new campaign finance laws, to abolish the filibuster and more. Under the theme “Money in Your Pocket,” El-Sayed put his views on AI, on farming, on trade, on education, on housing, on data centers and more. Much of it is standard Democratic boilerplate. The last item, “Medicare for All,” gets a category by itself. If there is one policy proposal that El-Sayed seems to base his entire campaign on, it is Medicare for all. “I will fight to expand Medicare to cover all necessary healthcare, including vision, dental, and hearing, and extend it to every single American from cradle to grave without premiums, copays, or deductibles,” El-Sayed says. “Medicare should be automatic, for everyone, and accepted everywhere.” No premiums! No copays! No deductibles! El-Sayed’s Democratic audiences apparently love to hear that sort of thing. But anyone, even those not naturally skeptical, has to wonder how El-Sayed would create

AP PHOTO BY SARAH RICE

Abdul El-Sayed speaks in Detroit, Mich., in May.

this wonderful system. In the years since Medicare for All became a progressive cause, there have been several estimates for how much it would cost. The Wall Street Journal editorial page cites one study done back in 2018, when Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a Medicare for All bill, which put the price at $32.6 trillion over the program’s first decade. Other estimates have found similar numbers, while others have said the price might go to $36 trillion or higher. El-Sayed has never offered a detailed proposal on how he would pay for the new system. In an interview with NewsNation last month, he was asked whether Medicare for All would involve raising taxes on Michigan families making around $100,000 a year. “The hope is no,” El-Sayed answered, which was not a terribly confidence-inspiring response. He went on to claim that in the big picture the new system would reduce what Americans pay for health care. El-Sayed cannot solve the mas-

sive math problem that his proposal raises. Start with this fact: The total, combined net worth of every billionaire in America adds up to somewhere around $8 trillion to $9 trillion. That is everything they own — money, property, investments, etc. And then look at those estimates of the cost of Medicare for All -- around $32 trillion over its first decade. Do the math. What that means is that the government could confiscate every penny that every billionaire in America has, and it would not be enough to pay for more than a few years of Medicare for All. And then, there would be no more billionaires with wealth to confiscate. Of course, no Democrat has had what it takes to propose confiscating billionaires’ wealth. Instead, they just propose to tax the heck out of it. El-Sayed is a fan of Sen. Sanders’ and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna’s Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share bill, which would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on billionaires. It’s crazy. The wealth tax raises huge problems of how it would be calculated and how it would be collected. It raises the even bigger problem of serving as a powerful inducement for billionaires to leave the United States. And in the long run, it raises the problem of reducing the number of billionaires who are able to pay the billionaire tax. On top of that, it is probably unconstitutional. What would happen if Medicare for All were enacted as El-Sayed hopes, is that the government would have to raise taxes on Americans who are not billionaires. After all, that’s where the real money is. Remember that the net worth of all U.S. billionaires put together is $8 trillion to $9 trillion. The collective net worth of everybody else, all American non-billionaires, is somewhere around $180 trillion. Does anybody believe that a Sen. El-Sayed would not start looking at them to pay for his dreams? Byron York is on X, @Bryon York. Email him at byronyork@yorkcomm. com.

Fill the government with barbarians, you get barbaric government To understand Pete Hegseth, go beyond superficial judgments about his carefully curated image. Beneath the tattooed and testosterone-obsessed public persona there lurks altruism. He aspires to be America’s tutor. Understand this: The secretary of war wants to improve us. A live-streamed execution by firing squad might seem a problematic instrument for the nation’s moral regeneration. Nidal Hasan’s execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood in Texas, where in 2009 the former Army psychiatrist killed 13 and wounded 32. Might this live-streaming desensitize the audience and coarsen society? Benjamin Rush, the Philadelphia physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, thought capital punishment “lessens the horror of taking away human life,” thereby fostering murders. Today, it neither encourages nor deters. Death sentences are handed down so capriciously and administered so glacially (Hasan’s is scheduled for 17 years after his crime), its deterrent effect, if any, is vanishingly small. Capital punishment’s clear effect is to cloak the death-dispensing state with dark majesty, and a claim to infallibility. Hence the sudden enthusiasm, in the early days of Germany’s Third Reich, for executions by handheld axes. This “swift, direct action,” George writes Peter Fritzsche in “Hitler’s Will First Hundred Days,” quoting German prosecutors, emphasized the “superiority of the state.” Nowadays, public firing squads could accomplish this. But the majesty of Tennessee’s government has not been burnished by its bungling of the not-quitelethal injection of Christa Pike. She now must be nursed back to sufficient health for the state to consider taking another crack at killing her. Her experience would have made unsatisfactory television. Hegseth says, earnestly if ungrammatically, that Hasan’s killing should be public “because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” Who are the people whose understanding Hegseth deems unsatisfactory? Surely not terrorists of Hasan’s ilk, for whom “these types of things” (mass murder) are a religious vocation — a calling. Perhaps Hegseth thinks the other 340 million Americans need to be instructed not to commit massacres. Hegseth’s interest in strengthening cultural norms might prompt him to share his expertise with parents. Does he think children should have the formative experience of watching the live-streamed execution? The wee creatures are soft wax, impressionable, and perhaps counterterrorism indoctrination cannot start too early. If Hasan’s live-streamed execution is supposed to be statecraft as soulcraft, perhaps the government should sell the television rights to this spectacle. It could be a Netflix special. Or a pay-per-view moneymaker for the government. Public instruction by death in prime time could also be a deficit-reduction measure, financed voluntarily by Americans snacking on bowls of popcorn while viewing. There is precedent. In 1936, America’s next-tolast public execution (the hanging of a Kentucky Black man convicted of raping a White woman) was enjoyed by perhaps 20,000 spectators, some of whom might have attended the previous evening’s “necktie” parties that were reportedly part of Owensboro’s festivities. For centuries, executions were public entertainments. Now, even Americans who want capital punishment do not want to see it. It has become particularly grotesque because the punishment often is more than a decade distant from the crime. Hegseth’s announcement of Hasan’s execution-asmoral-tutorial approximately coincided with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s delivering in Athens a speech celebrating Western civilization. This civilization’s history of punishments is a horrifying yet encouraging story of “the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.” This language is from a 1958 Supreme Court opinion concerning the Eighth Amendment’s proscription of “cruel and unusual punishments.” Leave for another day the debate pitting originalists against others about how, if at all, this “evolving” should influence construing the amendment. But unquestionably standards of decency, and not just about punishment, do evolve. Regarding standards of all sorts, however, “evolving” is not a synonym for “improving.” Sometimes they regress. Rubio, speaking near the Acropolis, one of Western civilization’s ornaments, serves a president who sits where Lincoln sat. Put aside the question of whether the soldiers who will be in the Fort Hood firing squad anticipated such an assignment when they enlisted. But credit Hegseth with usefulness. His idea of live-streaming the infliction of death comes as the nation approaches midterm elections widely considered a referendum on the Republicans’ national administration. Hegseth has clarified what should be the preeminent issue: Fill the government with barbarians, you get barbaric government. Revulsion is not an argument. But regarding Hegseth and the administration he vividly exemplifies, it is a virtue. Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

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Lawsuit: St. Francisville officer staged drowning

After spending the day together, listed the psychoactive drug tri- a homicide investigation. her family is suing him, the town of Family alleges While reinvestigating the case, St. Francisville, its police depart- Parsons dropped off Horton at a St. fluoromethylphenylpiperazine, or and West Feliciana Sheriff Francisville hotel around 3:45 a.m. TFMPP, which produces stimulant- authorities found evidence on Parwoman’s death wasn’t ment Brian Spillman. The family alleges March 7, 2022, just before the end like effects similar to ecstasy but sons’ phone linking him to another properly investigated Parsons drugged and sexually and of his shift, according to the law- can also be used in drug-facilitated crime, Sam D’Aquilla, then-district

BY GIGI LIMAN Staff writer

For years, Debbie Hinze believed her daughter died after accidentally slipping, falling and drowning in the bathtub of a St. Francisville hotel. That was the explanation she received from St. Francisville police Officer Richard Parsons Jr., 39, who discovered her daughter in March 2022. The officer said he found Renee Horton in the tub and that she had a knot and blood on her head from the fall. Investigators with the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office gave her a similar account, she said. It was not until 2025, when Hinze’s son reviewed Horton’s autopsy and toxicology reports, that the family began questioning what they had been told. Now, as Parsons faces a manslaughter charge in Horton’s death,

SUSTAINABILITY Continued from page 1B

Lafayette has a composting facility that accepts yard materials such as leaves and sticks, Vaughan said. But food scraps and certain paper products require different processing options, which she hopes her business can help provide. Vaughan estimates collecting between 500 and 1,000 pounds of food waste per pickup, with several

CANDIDATES Continued from page 1B

serve each other, and we need to focus on looking at how we provide equitable access to all students in our district, and the school system as a whole.” They also agreed that the board needs a more organized, accessible system for public comments. The way the School Board handles comment time is at the center of a current lawsuit against the Lafayette Parish School Board, and Davidson said some changes may be made to the way the board presents agenda items at meetings. “We need some type of system for public comments, have them fill out cards — I think the City Council does something. For organizational purposes there needs to be a better system than what is going on right now,” he said.

Budget concerns The candidates differed in their approach to addressing LPSS budget concerns. The School Board recently voted to draw more than $14 million from the rainy day fund to pay for teacher stipends and construction at the Ovey Comeaux Work-

REQUESTS

Continued from page 1B Wessinger did not receive effective counsel in his original trial. He did so after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a previous ruling in Wessinger’s favor, saying that new evidence could not be considered in the case. Wessinger’s attorneys recently requested a new penalty phase for his case in state court. His attorneys said a 2014 brain scan, conducted nearly two decades after a jury gave him a death sentence, shows he had a stroke as a child that affected the part of his brain that impacts decision-making and impulse control. Christie Gibbens, a federal public defender on Wessinger’s case, said his legal team will keep seeking legal remedies. “Two federal judges have found that Todd Wessinger’s death sentence is unconstitutional because his jury

physically assaulted Horton, resulting in her death, and that law enforcement failed to properly investigate. “We want justice for our daughter, and somebody’s got to bring this to light,” Hinze said. The suit, filed Oct. 6 in federal court, comes weeks after Parsons’ charge in connection with Horton’s death was upgraded from negligent homicide to manslaughter. Parsons is also facing a charge of malfeasance in office and a sexual battery charge related to a separate case. The former officer, who resigned from the Police Department in 2022, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Spillman did not respond to a request for comment. St. Francisville Police Chief Chris Green said he was not familiar with the civil filing and that he did not work at the department at the time of Horton’s death or during the investigation that followed.

suit and criminal filings. He then returned to the hotel once he was off the clock, where, he said, he discovered Horton. The documents state Parsons told investigators he found Horton drowned in the bathtub. He called police, who quickly brought in the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office to handle the investigation. Investigators and Parsons himself told Horton’s family that her death was an accident, Hinze said. At the time, Hinze said, she accepted the explanation. “If you slip and fall in the bathtub, that certainly can knock you out or kill you, so we just had no reason to question anything at that point,” Hinze said. But Horton’s autopsy report, which law enforcement received within a week of her death, showed no head trauma, according to the complaint, contradicting Parsons’ account. Her toxicology report also

sexual assault, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Parsons forced or coerced Horton to ingest TFMPP, before taking other actions that led to her death. The suit accuses the Sheriff’s Office of failing to pursue and preserve evidence, including Parsons’ missing uniform shirt, a bloody towel found at the scene and surveillance footage from the hotel. It states Spillman later acknowledged that his office “dropped the ball” in the investigation. Hinze said she received the autopsy report months after her daughter’s death but could not bring herself to read it. For years, she said, she continued to believe her daughter had died in an accident. In 2025, her son examined the report and saw the unusual drug, prompting the family to question if there was more to Horton’s death. They went back to Spillman, who subsequently reopened the case as

attorney for the 20th Judicial District, told The Advocate in September. Evidence from Parsons’ phone allegedly showed him performing a sexual act on a man who appeared to be unconscious. When the man was contacted by police, he told them he had not consented to the act, D’Aquilla said. Hinze said she and her husband, 69 and 71, respectively, now raise Horton’s children. “She’s got three beautiful kids that miss their mom every day,” Hinze said. The family’s attorneys described the civil case as a complementary effort at justice alongside the criminal case. “We intend to pursue justice for Renee and her children to the fullest extent of the law, in every forum available to us, so that no other family in West Feliciana Parish or anywhere else has to go through this again,” Jacob Longman, co-counsel for the family, said in a statement.

pickups each week, in addition to paper products. “I think I was surprised by how many people wanted to participate, from schools to businesses,” she said. “So it eventually grew into an educational initiative.” WormLadyRecycles provides free drop-off locations for accepted paper products, including paper egg cartons, brown paper bags, cardboard tubes and certain types of packaging paper. The business also partners with restaurants and grocery stores to collect food waste for composting. Accepted food scraps

include coffee grounds, most fruits and vegetables, eggshells, meat and cooked food. In vermicomposting, worms break down organic materials into nutrient-rich castings that gardeners can use to improve soil and support plant growth. Composting also can help divert organic waste from landfills. “The food can go into them and then back into the worm, then back into the food,” Vaughan said, describing the cycle she teaches. As requests for classes, school visits and field trips grew, Vaughan

expanded her work to teach residents and students how to recycle materials, maintain worm bins and understand the connection between food waste and growing new food. That educational mission will carry into Better the Earth Fest, where visitors can take part in hands-on activities. Children can play recycling games, make crafts, touch worms, plant seeds using worm castings and take home a plant. Other activities include rock painting and a bee-themed activity. Vaughan also plans to sell Worm-

LadyRecycles products, including worm castings, composting worms and plants, while sharing advice about fall gardening. “It’s really important for me to have things that everyone can join in on,” she said. “So anyone can recycle with us.” Vaughan hopes visitors leave the festival feeling that sustainable practices are accessible and easy to incorporate into their lives. “I hope that the community comes to the festival and leaves thinking this is something that they can do,” she said.

force Academy, with plans to restore the money to the Economic Stabilization Fund by the end of the fiscal year. If he were to enact budget cuts, Davidson said he would favor a “top-down” approach that preserves funding for teachers and classrooms. “Tough decisions have to be made sometimes. As far as I’m concerned, we start at the top. Don’t start at the bottom up — the ones who are meeting with the kids every day. Those are the ones we need to try to take care of.” Herbert-McZeal agreed that prioritizing teacher pay is crucial, “but I also think we need to start looking at how we live within our means.” “We need to make sure that we’re not constantly dipping in our savings account to pay bills, and we need to be transparent when it comes to that budget with our community,” she said. “We are all taxpayers, and we want that accountability. I think once we start being transparent, saying ‘this is our actual spending each month,’ we can actually find ways to keep our budget intact.” She linked budget issues to the rise of students leaving Lafayette Parish schools for charters, which removes

funding from the district. “If we can grab our students back from the charter schools, that will keep that funding in Lafayette Parish. We’ve never sat down and asked that hard question. We’ve never done a survey. I think constantly losing money to charter schools is going to be something we need to look at,” said Herbert-McZeal. Davidson is a proponent of building a collaborative relationship with area charter schools, noting that Carencro Middle had a number of students reenroll from charters. He said, “I think it’s OK to work with them. There may be an opportunity for them to pay tuition to go to the career center that is financed by LPSS. I’m not why the tremendous growth of charter schools — maybe they feel they will be better served by the charter, but there seems to be somewhat of a return back to public schools at certain levels.” In her comments on teacher pay and retention, Herbert-McZeal suggested that the district can explore paying for continuing education as a way to help recruit and keep teachers. Davidson’s remarks centered on potential future challenges affecting teacher retention — such as coming SpaceX

never heard evidence of his brain damage and the abuse he suffered as a child, evidence that carried a reasonable probability of a life sentence,” Gibbens said in a statement. “No state court has ever afforded Mr. Wessinger a full and fair hearing on that claim, and his successor petition seeking that hearing remains pending.” Gibbens said Landry’s statement “does not take into account the person Mr. Wessinger has become over nearly three decades on death row, as documented in his clemency application.” Wessinger and his attorney are not arguing about whether he actually shot and killed Stephanie Guzzardo and David Breakwell, two of his former co-workers at a Calendar’s Restaurant that was located on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge. Instead, their claims argue that the jury imposed a death sentence without all of the relevant facts. Separately, he also asked the federal court in September to stop the execution, ar-

guing that the state’s method of execution using nitrogen hypoxia or midazolam and hydromorphone was cruel and unusual. Last week, after a U.S. appeals court denied Wessinger’s request for a rehearing, Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said he planned to apply for a death warrant. That legal order would set the date, time and location for the state to execute Wessinger. Email Patrick SloanTurner at patrick.sloanturner@theadvocate.com.

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investments in Vermilion Parish. “We are in a great competition for educators, and it’s only going to get bigger when Vermilion Parish gets millions of dollars from SpaceX,” said Davidson. “They are going to provide pay that right now we don’t

have the ability to match. We’re going to have to find creative ways to pay our teachers to retain them.” The election for Lafayette Parish School Board District 2 will take place on Nov. 3. Other races on the ballot include U.S. senator and U.S. representative for the

3rd Congressional District, the Carencro mayor race, Scott and Youngsville police chiefs, district attorney for the 15th Judicial District and more. Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

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

Cajuns believe Sampson rounding into form

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T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 15, 2026

1CN

SAINTS AT GIANTS • NOON SUNDAY • FOX

ANALYSIS

Depths of Disappointment

Top wide receiver has battled injuries

BY KEVIN FOOTE

Staff writer

In the first quarter of UL’s 32-31 loss at Louisiana Tech, something potentially very important took place. Redshirt junior wide receiver Shelton Sampson caught his first pass of the season. It wasn’t just any catch. He broke a tackle and raced 41 yards ä Troy at UL to the Tech 21. If the 6-foot-4, 206-pound4 P.M. SATURDAY, er hadn’t missed the entire ESPN+ spring, preseason camp and most of the regular season with a combination of knee and ankle injuries, might he have scored on that play? “I think he might have, yes,” UL offensive coordinator Tim Leger said. “I mean, maybe, possibly. I think so, but right now, I’m working with what I’ve got,” Sampson said. Heading into a 4 p.m. Saturday showdown with reigning Sun Belt West champion Troy at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium, the Ragin’ Cajuns hope last week’s progress was the first big step toward Sampson becoming the No. 1 receiver they envision when he’s healthy.

ä See CAJUNS, page 3C STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray eludes Saints defensive ends Chase Young and Carl Granderson during their game Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. The Saints lost 23-13, dropping to 1-4 on the season.

These five areas are why Saints are off to 'unacceptable' start BY MATTHEW PARAS

But to get to this 1-4 record, the Saints have had five clear disappointments through the first five games:

Staff writer

PROVIDED PHOTO BY UL COMMUNICATIONS

UL wide receiver Shelton Sampson had two receptions for 60 yards last week, including this 41-yarder.

The pressure is on now. By delivering an eight-minute speech on the New Orleans Saints’ “unacceptable” 1-4 start, owner Gayle Benson immediately sent a message to coach Kellen Moore and strongly suggested he could be on the hot seat if he doesn’t turn the season around. How did we get here? Based on her speech, Benson reached her tipping point after the Saints got embarrassed in prime time by the Atlanta Falcons on a day that celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Domecoming. A week later, another bad loss made clear that the Saints weren’t upholding the high standards once set by Drew Brees and Sean Payton.

Investments not paying off The Saints’ early returns on the resources they poured into the run game haven’t been promising. New Orleans hasn’t seen the turnaround it envisioned when it signed running back Travis Etienne (four years, $48 million) and guard David Edwards (four years, $61 million) to big-time deals. Etienne hurt his hamstring and landed on injured reserve. Before his Week 3 injury, the running back averaged a respectable 4.3 yards per carry, but New Orleans struggled to run the ball in two of those three contests.

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

Mothershed flows with ‘concerned’ SEC’s number mber, position transition Sankey relationship with LSU damaged SEC MEDIA DAYS

Junioor transfer a revelation at tight end for Tigers

BY JON BLAU Staff writerr

One niight in September, the newest member of the LSU tight end room, Roman Motthershed, was going over plays with offe ensive analyst Heath Dedeaux. Dedeaux, a former Ole ä Mississsippi Miss tight end, randomState at LSU ly asked Mothershed a 11 AM. SATU URDAY, question. “He had asked me how ESPN I felt about my number and stuff,” recalled Mothersh hed, a 6-foot-5, 212-pound receiver from Troy T who initially wore a No. 82 LSU jerssey. There would be symbolism and foreshadowin ng in what happened next. Motherrshed arrived in the locker room the next day to find a No. 14 jersey, which was owned by Trey’Dez Green before he

ä See LSU, page 3C

LSU TE Roman Mothershed STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said Wednesday he was “concerned” that the league’s legal battle with LSU could damage the conference’s relationship with one of its founding members. Sankey addressed reporters a day after the SEC submitted a filing in federal court asking that its lawsuit against LSU officials not be dismissed because Tigers coach Will Wade still could add ex-pro RJ Luis to his roster. Sankey didn’t provide any more details when asked, saying: “We’ll let our filings speak for themselves on these issues.” Sankey was transparent about his worry that these legal proceedings could damage the SEC’s relationship with LSU. “Certainly concerned, and we’ve had disagreements among our membership over time,” Sankey said. “So this is Year 12 for me. I know that there’s also a commitment to the league and a commitment to its members. But we have to work through

some of these difficulties.” Wade, who couldn’t travel for his slotted appearance at SEC media days on Tuesday because of weather, answered questions virtually, revealing he doesn’t have Luis — the Sankey former St. John’s star who signed an NBA contract — on his team. “We’re going to follow all the SEC protocols with him,” Wade said Tuesday. “I think it’s been pretty clear what the SEC protocols are on all that. He didn’t travel with us to McNeese (for an exhibition), and he hasn’t been rostered.” When Sankey was asked whether he’s had any conversations with Wade on the construction of his roster of multiple fifthyear transfers and international commitments, he said: “I keep conversations to myself most frequently.” He didn’t provide much detail on what he wants LSU to do to improve its standing in the conference.

ä See SANKEY, page 3C

2C ● Thursday, October 15, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS 7 p.m.

On TV MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 8 p.m. Alabama vs. Ole Miss SECN COLLEGE FOOTBALL 6:30 p.m. East Carolina at UAB ESPN 6:30 p.m. Georgia Southern at ODU ESPN2 7 p.m. Colorado St. at Texas St. CBSSN WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER 5 p.m. Florida St. at Wake Forest ACCN 6 p.m. Missouri at Ole Miss SECN

North Carolina at Clemson ACCN WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 6 p.m. Michigan St. at Illinois BTN 8 p.m. Purdue at Iowa BTN GOLF 10 p.m. LPGA Shanghai GOLF HORSE RACING noon America’s Day at the Races FS2 MLB noon Tampa Bay at Cleveland TBS

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

7 p.m.

Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers NBA PRESEASON 7:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Houston NFL 7:15 p.m. Seattle at Denver MEN’S SOCCER 11:45 a.m.Crystal Palace at Lyon 2 p.m. Celtic at Benfica TENNIS 10 p.m. Shanghai Quarterfinals

FS1 NBATV PRIME CBSSN CBSSN TENNIS

UL ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026

Cooper produced for Cajuns on court Editor’s Note: This is the third in a five-part series on the UL Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026, which will be honored Friday.

BY DAN MCDONALD Contributing writer

By the numbers, Tenna Cooper ranks as one of the greatest to ever wear a UL women’s basketball jersey. She’s the Ragin’ Cajuns alltime career rebound leader, the second-most accurate shooter in program history and ranks seventh in scoring, all despite her collegiate career ending almost four decades ago. Imagine what she would have accomplished if Ross Cook had let her play under the basket her whole career. But the Cajuns coach had bigger plans to run his high-post offense. “Players like her are program builders,” said Cook, who coached the Cajuns in the first three years of Cooper’s career. “She could do all the little things on both ends of the floor, and then you realize she’s 6-foot-3 and can run and pass, and with a basketball IQ that was off the charts.” Cooper helped lead the Cajuns through uncharted waters and conference changes. In fact, she’s one of the few in UL history to earn all-conference honors in two different leagues — the Southland Conference where she was a first-team pick as a junior in 1987, and the fledgling American South Conference where she took those honors in 1988. “She had a quality of character you don’t see in the stat line,” Cook said. “She had that, but she could also fill the stat box if that’s what we needed. We had a lot of people that could score a lot of points, including her, but she was the reason that people scored those points. She made everybody around her better.” Because of that, Cooper will be inducted into the UL Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday. She will be inducted along with baseball standout Dylan Moore, three-

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP

Former UL women’s basketball standout Tenna Cooper is being inducted into the UL Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend. time All-America triple jumper Lawrence Willis, football standout Fred Stamps and former Cajuns football coach Nelson Stokley. Almost 40 years after her final game, Cooper remains UL’s all-time rebounding leader with 1,082, and nobody has come within 100 rebounds of that total. She also ranked second in program history in scoring at the

end of her career, and she still ranks seventh on that list with 1,358 points, making her the only Cajun ever with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She also shot 56.1% from the floor in her career and still holds the record for single-game shooting with a 10 for 10 effort against Rice in 1988, a year in which she shot 61.8% from the field.

That season, Cooper accepted a leadership charge from Cook that he said made great moments possible over the next few years when Kim Perrot joined the program and began her legendary career. “We had one of the best players that’s ever played the game out at the point,” Cook said. “Tenna would come to me and say she’s a freshman that’s turning the ball over too much. I told her I know you can handle what I’m about to tell you, you’re looking at one of the best players in America but she’s not yet. I’m going to let her go, let her play wild and loose for a while, and I’m asking you to understand what I’m doing. “I told her she had to go to Kim and tell her where the two of you can do more, where you score best, where you need to get the ball. I wasn’t going to squeeze her game at that point, that would come later, but Tenna as an older and very intelligent player, I let her find out what’s best for her and how she was going to improve.” That season capped a stellar career for the Slidell native, which included her leading the Southland in shooting (60.9%), field goals (195), rebounding (282) and rebound average (10.4). She led the team in scoring as a junior, and the following year finished off leading the Cajuns in rebounding for three straight years. The scoring totals might have been higher if she’d played closer to the basket, something that Cook admitted. “We had Aronji (Johnson), and she was so good down low,” he said. “But I bet 80 percent of Aronji’s scoring came from passes from the high post and that was Tenna. That kind of thing gets lost, and we asked a tremendous amount from her and she did it all. “When we beat Oregon, she played the low block the whole game, and she went down and battled and did it brilliantly. We beat them like a drum and she was the big reason. They couldn’t do anything with her.”

Benson’s words suggest Saints better shape up Gayle Benson isn’t like Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones is quick to praise or criticize his team every time he sees a microphone. Benson rarely does either of those (especially Rod the latter) when it Walker comes to her New Orleans Saints or New Orleans Pelicans. But every now and then, she will. Especially when she hears the frustration of the fanbase, which she certainly has over the 10 days. That was quite clear Tuesday afternoon when she spoke at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club luncheon held at The Cannery in mid-city. She didn’t just get up to the podium and wing it. She read a prepared speech like she always does, an indication that every word spoken was well thought out with intention. She didn’t sugarcoat anything when talking about the Saints, off to a 1-4 start that has the entire fanbase frustrated. “I will not make excuses, and I will not accept this level of performance as our standard,” she said. One thing I’ve learned about Benson is she doesn’t like her team being embarrassed or the butt of jokes. That’s what the Saints were Oct. 5 when they got drilled by the Atlanta Falcons 45-24 on national television on a night that was supposed to be all about New Orleans.

There was more humiliation six days later. Looking into the lower bowl of the Caesars Superdome and seeing that sea of purple-clad Vikings fans taking over the building most certainly didn’t sit well with her, either. The last time Benson criticized one of her teams was last November in an exclusive interview with The Times-Picayune. Both her Saints and Pelicans were off to historically bad starts. The Saints were 2-8 at the time. The Pelicans were just as bad at 2-9. “I am obviously not happy,” Benson said that day in November. “I am disappointed, and I would expect our fans to also be disappointed. What we established over the last two decades with the Saints was a winning organization with the expectation to compete for championships every year. That is our goal, and that has not changed. That is what I expect, and it is what our fans expect.” Two days after that interview, the Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green. Saints head coach Kellen Moore was in his first season and obviously had plenty of grace as the Saints were in a rebuild mode. Benson’s words Tuesday probably aren’t foreshadowing her making any sudden moves. But it’s definitely an indication that folks are on notice and she wants results quickly. She let it be known in that interview last year that she is well aware of what’s going on with her franchises. “I am not an absentee owner

who flies in just for games,” she said. “I am in the office and am out in the community every day. I talk to fans, partners and our staff every day.” And she can’t be pleased with what she’s hearing from the Who Dat Nation. The noise surrounding the Saints has gotten as loud as the visiting fans while the Saints try to shake the funk of a three-game losing streak. Even Drew Brees uncharacteristically criticized the Saints while handling broadcasting duties for Sunday’s game against the Vikings. You best believe that didn’t go unnoticed by Benson. To her credit, she is holding everyone accountable — including herself. “Kellen Moore and his coaches are responsible for preparing our players to perform,” Benson said. “Mickey Loomis and our football staff are responsible for Benson building a roster capable of sustained success. The players are responsible for their preparation and execution. I am responsible for holding this organization accountable.” So props to Benson for not shying away from the obvious. She easily could have stepped to the podium Tuesday and gave the audience the same cliches Moore has given the media lately after games. “We’re working hard. We have to stick together. Blah. Blah.

Blah.” She didn’t. None of what she said Tuesday really matters if they were empty words. She gets that. “Words will not restore our fans’ confidence,” she said. “Our performance must do that.” The Saints are just five games into the season. Maybe Moore can turn things around and restore some of that optimism that surrounded the team after Week 2 when the Saints went on the road and beat Baltimore. “There is a great deal of football ahead of us,” she said. “But our response must show up on the field.” The Saints needs that response to start Sunday against the Giants. How soon would she make a change? Not sure. But if you think Benson doesn’t like seeing her teams embarrassed on national TV or in the Dome, imagine if her Saints go to Paris and humiliate her there. “To our fans, I hear you very loudly,” she said. “I understand your disappointment. And I share your determination to see this team succeed. Your support deserves a response you can see on the field. We cannot change the results of our first five games. We are responsible for what we do next. “I expect better. Our fans deserve better. And I am determined to see that we deliver.” Time is ticking. Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

Astros choose not to renew manager Espada’s contract

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros have parted ways with manager Joe Espada after deciding not to renew his expiring contract. The team announced the decision Wednesday while also moving on from several members of his coaching staff. His contract is set to expire at the end of this month. The move comes after the Astros overcame a plethora of injuries to win the AL West with an 81-81 record and become the first team in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason without a winning record. They were then swept by the Chicago White Sox in two games at home in a Wild Card Playoff series. The Astros will now be searching for a new manager and general manager after former GM Dana Brown was fired in August.

Phillies give manager Mattingly a 2-year deal

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies are keeping Don Mattingly as manager, removing his interim tag and giving him a twoyear deal even after a late-season collapse nearly cost the team a playoff spot. Team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced the move Wednesday. Mattingly led the team to a 79-55 record and a spot in the postseason after he replaced the fired Rob Thomson in late April. The Phillies nearly blew a four-game lead for a wild card in the final week of the regular season, then lost in three games to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Series. The 65-year-old Mattingly was hired last offseason to serve as a bench coach and had another year left on his contract.

Falcons QB Penix returns to practice, expected to start

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Quarterback Michael Penix returned to practice Wednesday and is on track to start for the Atlanta Falcons Sunday against the Chicago Bears after leaving last week’s loss to Baltimore with a rib injury. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Penix will start against the Bears “as long as everything goes according to plan.” Penix showed no sign of the injury in the portion of practice open to reporters as he moved and threw passes. Penix led the Falcons (2-3) to two straight wins before Sunday night’s 30-23 overtime loss to the Ravens. He was held out in the overtime period after suffering the injury in the fourth quarter.

Ravens QB Jackson absent from practice with injury

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson was absent again at practice Wednesday, as the Baltimore star deals with an ankle injury that has already caused him to miss one game. Jackson was injured two weekends ago in a victory over Tennessee. The Ravens were able to win at Atlanta on Sunday night with Tyler Huntley at quarterback. They play at Cleveland on Sunday. Baltimore (4-1) has some margin for error after a solid start. That’s in contrast to last season, when Jackson was hurt early on and didn’t come back until the team was 2-5. He rarely looked great after that, so there’s some risk in bringing him back too soon. Huntley has won all three of his starts for the Ravens since the beginning of last season.

Medvedev beats Tsitsipas at Shanghai Masters

SHANGHAI — Daniil Medvedev is back in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals after getting the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the latest chapter of their combustible longtime rivalry. There was no real drama this time, though, as the fifth-seeded Medvedev won 6-4, 7-5 to become only the fourth player — after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — to reach the last eight of the tournament in three straight years. There have been verbal flareups in previous meetings between Medvedev and Tsitsipas down the years, including in the Australian Open semifinals in 2022. Earlier, Rafael Jodar won after being a set down for third straight match and also reached the quarterfinals.

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LSU

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his eyes when he gets into the game that makes you want to throw him the ball, because you got nothing but faith in him.” Luckily for the Tigers, both No. 7 and No. 14 are on the sideline. Green has been grabbing Mothershed as he comes off the field, letting him know what he can do better on each play. “He’s like eyes off the field,” Mothershed said. “The things that I’m being exposed to now, like the looks I’m getting, I see linebackers in the box move different ways, he’s been able to be able to calm my eyes down. “What I’m seeing, I see slower so I’m being able to do my job quicker.” He may never be a plus run blocker at 212 pounds, but Mothershed provides a true receiving option at tight end. On LSU’s opening drive at Kentucky, he lined up in the slot, in a two-point stance and turned a 6-yard curl route into a 15yard gain. In the fourth quarter, Mothershed was in a three-point stance at the snap, coming off the line at half-speed as LSU receiver Jackson Harris caught a quick toss to the sideline. Mothershed then accelerated past Kentucky linebacker Grant Godfrey, hauling in Harris’ trick pass for a 41-yard touchdown. That receiver pass play was installed the Tuesday before the Kentucky game, and it was repped at the end of each practice during the week. Harris let Mothershed know, if he had him one-on-one in the game, he was letting it rip. “He threw the mess out of that ball,” Mothershed said. A non-quarterback threw a perfect spiral to a tight end who hadn’t lined up in a threepoint stance until this season. Until the Tigers get their No. 7 back on the field, throwing to No. 14 isn’t a bad alternative. Mothershed, who last season was playing in front of 30,000 fans at Troy’s stadium, appreciates the opportunity to play in front of 102,000-plus at Tiger Stadium. “I’ve never felt nothing like that ever in my life,” Mothershed said. “Really being in Death Valley, that atmosphere is completely different.”

earned LSU’s coveted No. 7, hanging in his locker. “It was a surprise for me,” said Mothershed, who became the Tigers’ next-best option for a matchup problem at tight end when Green was sidelined by a knee injury at Ole Miss. At Kentucky, LSU would call Mothershed’s new number. He had two catches for 56 yards last weekend, which was 2 yards shy of Mothershed’s career high at Troy. He had a 41-yard touchdown catch, giving him scores in back-to-back games. Mothershed had just one touchdown catch last season at Troy. LSU had to find alternatives at tight end with Green, who had 222 yards receiving in three games, sidelined and Lane Kiffin’s effort to add former Ole Miss tight end Dae’quan Wright thwarted by SEC rules. Mothershed has been a much-needed revelation. “I was prepared to do whatever it took to get on the field to be able to make an impact to help the team,” Mothershed said of switching to tight end. “When (tight ends) coach (Joe) Cox came to me and introduced the idea to me, I was with it.” There was no refusal from an oversized wideout with 327 yards over two campaigns in the Sun Belt Conference. Mothershed was going to make the most of his SEC opportunity, even if it meant doing something slightly uncomfortable. Lining up in a three-point stance? It was more than unfamiliar to Mothershed. “It’s probably the first time I’ve put my hand in the dirt,” he said. What Mothershed had going for him was athleticism. He’s a baby version of the 6-7, 237-pound Green, because Mothershed was also a basketball and football athlete at Pike Road High School in Alabama. He’s similar in personality, too. “I talk about Trey’Dez, how he’s always smiling and bringing great juice,” LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “Roman’s another one of those guys. Just constant- Email Jon Blau at ly is ready to go, and he has this look in jon.blau@theadvocate.com

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The Troy defense ranks No. 3 in the Sun Belt against the run at 113.6 yards per game and 10th against the pass at 236.2 yards a game. Sampson said Leger is always preaching “the Cajuns go as the receivers go.” So there may not be a better game for Sampson to approach his potential. “I definitely feel like I’m ready,” Sampson said. “I’m getting my speed and my acceleration back. So, you’ve got to go out there and play, like I said, get back to dominating.” One advantage Sampson has over last season is he knows he can play at that elite level, because he experienced it last year. “Last year was just a proof to myself that it’s in me,” he said. “Like, I can do this.” Last year’s journey also taught the former Catholic High of Baton Rouge standout to “take care of my body better — recovering, eating, sleeping, just everything off the field.” The injuries didn’t stop, with Sampson suffering a bruised knee days before the start of August camp and then spraining his ankle in the first quarter of the season opener against Lamar. He returned against Arkansas State but didn’t make a catch. Sampson isn’t focused on what he’s overcome, instead concentrating on helping the Cajuns win Saturday. “I mean, it was frustrating, but I just try to look at the positives and what I can control,” Sampson said. “I attacked the rehab every day and pushed to get back as soon as possible.”

“He made tremendous progress last week,” Leger said. Sampson finished with two catches for 60 yards on four targets. “I feel like it’s gotten better every game,” Sampson said. “I’ve just been attacking the days and attacking practice, and practice translates into the game. “I feel like just getting back to running routes like myself, just honing in on the details again and getting back right.” The hope is Sampson will return to the form he exhibited during a four-game stretch in the middle of last season. He’s had a constant battle with injuries. Sampson began last season injured before hitting his groove by catching 19 balls for 359 yards and five touchdowns during that four-game stretch. He was running past defenders and leaping over them to make catches. Sampson finished last season with 32 catches for 537 yards and six touchdowns. Going into the offseason, the Cajuns were hoping those numbers had just scratched the surface of his potential. “He’s a guy on the GPS during summer workouts when he’s healthy, he’ll be in the 23 miles an hour range,” Leger said of Sampson’s speed. “That’s how fast he can be. He hasn’t hit that yet in a game. He’s still not at his top yet, but it’s getting ... a lot closer. “I think that’s right around the corner, and hopefully, I think you’re going to see Email Kevin Foote at it this week.” kfoote@theadvocate.com.

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SEC’s lawsuit against herself and multiple LSU officials — including president Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry, the board of supervisors and Kiffin — because those football players weren’t added by LSU and the issue was “moot.” The SEC lawyers’ filing asking not to dismiss the lawsuit said LSU “openly recruited former NBA player RJ Luis Jr., has allowed him to practice with LSU’s men’s basketball team, and has refused to publicly and definitively state that he will not be included on LSU’s basketball roster, which is not due for several more weeks.” The filing also quoted Wade, who previously said he would be “unapologetic” about a roster-building strategy that includes, according to Tuesday’s filing, “international professional basketball players whose eligibility remains in question.” On Sept. 23, Wade spoke to reporters for the first time since being reintroduced as the Tigers coach in March. In the media availability, he didn’t directly name Luis but referred to him when explaining that his program will “abide by what the SEC tells us.” Wade also explained why he wasn’t being detailed when asked about Luis’ eligibility status. “Outside of one, because the SEC, you know, they hold everybody’s words against them,” Wade said. “So I want to be careful about not doing anything with that. But outside of that one, I think everybody knows who I’m talking about.”

“Well, I’d like to not be in court,” he said. “But as I said, those legal filings speak for themselves.” The SEC’s Tuesday filing said LSU had not submitted a “declaration, sworn or otherwise” saying it will comply with the SEC’s professionalism rules and not obstruct a vote to potentially expel LSU from the conference. “Defendants are trying to have it both ways,” the SEC attorneys wrote. “They ask the Court to find that no live dispute exists, while keeping the door wide open for LSU to continue defying the Professionalism Rules and violating principles of institutional control without risking the termination of its Conference membership.” The SEC originally filed its lawsuit in early September with a federal court in Alabama, which said the conference would hold a vote on Sept. 10 to decide whether to expel LSU. That vote didn’t happen after LSU football coach Lane Kiffin decided not to add a pair of players who previously signed with NFL teams to his roster. The league established penalties for programs if they added an athlete who previously signed a pro contract with an NFL, NBA or WNBA franchise, including a fine equal to 50% of a team’s budget and a halfseason suspension for its coach. Three weeks ago, Louisiana attorney gen- Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy. eral Liz Murrill filed a motion to dismiss the brown@theadvocate.com

The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Thursday, October 15, 2026 l 3C

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY MATTHEW HINTON

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson catches a touchdown pass against Saints safety Jonas Sanker, left, and cornerback Quincy Riley during the second half on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.

SAINTS

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and cornerback T.J. Hall (on the practice squad) haven’t logged a non-special teams snap. Excluding special teams, the Saints’ 2026 draft class has combined to play just 306 snaps — the ninth-fewest across the league. Five weeks don’t make or break a draft class, but the minimal returns so far stand in stark contrast to last season — when the Saints appeared to hit on two foundational pieces (Kelvin Banks and Tyler Shough) and picked up two more defensive starters (Jonas Sanker and Quincy Riley).

Although Pro Football Focus grades can be highly subjective, Edwards has the lowest run-blocking grade in his eight-year career. The issues in New Orleans’ run game go far beyond those two. But other tweaks, such as emphasizing more outside zone runs, haven’t yielded results. Run-game coordinator T.J. Paganetti said in training camp that he felt the Saints were “very, very good” at outside zone plays, only for Secondary picked on the Saints to average 3.3 yards per carry Say what you want about the defensive on such plays, according to FTN Fantasy. line, but at least Chase Young is having a monster season. The edge rusher accounts Repeated problems for 21 of the Saints’ 57 pressures. The secondary? The unit looks in desThis is arguably the biggest issue across Moore’s two seasons with the Saints. perate need of a star. The same problems keep happening, Kool-Aid McKinstry, New Orleans’ No. from dreadful first-quarter starts to an in- 1 cornerback, has allowed 17 catches for ability to run the ball. The Saints have yet 255 yards — the 14th-most in the league, to have a 100-yard rusher in a game under according to Pro Football Focus. The 15 Moore. And they’ve been outscored by a yards per catch is the highest of his caleague-worst 121 points in the first quarter reer, as are his allowed passer rating (102) since he took over. and reception percentage (60.7%). In her speech, Benson harped on prepaRiley, the corner opposite McKinstry, also ration and fixing “the mistakes that are has struggled. He has allowed an even highcosting us games.” er passer rating of 116.8, with three of his That has rarely happened with Moore. 13 allowed catches resulting in touchdowns. The Saints have not carried the momen- The Saints have also alternated snaps betum of last season’s late four-game win- tween Riley and backup Martin Emerson. Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has ning streak into this season. Other curious trends with Moore include said they’ve done that because they view a lack of play action through his time as a Emerson as a starting-caliber corner, but it play-caller and an inconsistent approach likely wouldn’t happen if Riley played well to fourth down. The Saints, according to enough to fully solidify his spot. Teams also have gone after Sanker, RBSDM, have been one of the most conservative teams this season when decid- the Saints’ new addition in the slot. The second-year safety has been targeted 27 ing to kick or go for the conversion. times, giving up 24 catches for 212 yards Rookie wasteland and two touchdowns. The Saints had a case last year for having the league’s best rookie class. The Tackle issues black and gold can’t make that claim this Much has been made about how Moore year. leaves his tackles on an island, matched up New Orleans has gotten a staggering one-on-one against edge rushers. lack of production from its rookie class, And while that approach has opened up starting at the top. First-round wide re- the coach to criticism, it honestly wouldn’t ceiver Jordyn Tyson hasn’t played this be as big of an issue if the linemen could season because he’s on injured reserve block better. Yes, that’s oversimplifying it. But right with a hamstring injury, and it looks like tackle Taliese Fuaga has given up 21 preshe won’t return before Week 9. The next two picks haven’t fared much sures — the most in the league, according better. Defensive tackle Christen Miller to Pro Football Focus. Left tackle Asim missed two games with a toe injury, was Richards, filling in for an injured Banks, inactive when available for a third absence ranks sixth with 17. Some of that reflects and then played a limited role in Sunday’s how often the Saints throw the ball, but the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, even with two tackles rank second (Richards, 12.7%) two other starting linemen out. Third-round and eighth (Fuaga, 9.4%) in the NFL in tight end Oscar Delp mostly has been used pressure percentage allowed. as a blocker and caught just one pass. Fuaga, in his third season after being That leaves either fourth-round wideout drafted 14th overall in 2024, has given up Bryce Lance (five catches, 57 yards) or the second-most sacks this season with sixth-round wide receiver Barion Brown four. (326 return yards on 13 kickoffs) as the Saints’ most productive rookie. Guard Jer- Email Matthew Paras at emiah Wright, cornerback Lorenzo Styles matt.paras@theadvocate.com

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RB Briscoe combines both mind and muscle

PREP REPORT Football Week 7 schedule All games at 7 p.m.

Thursday’s games

Rayne (2-4) at LaGrange (0-6) McMain (0-6) at Acadiana Renaissance (2-4) Mamou (2-4) at Crowley (2-4) Franklin (3-2) at Lafayette Christian (4-2)

Friday’s games

BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

Cecilia High School senior Deondre Briscoe is the ideal combination of brains and brawn. Briscoe, who is in the running for class valedictorian and maintains a 4.0 GPA, is also among the team’s strongest players. “(The 4.0 GPA) comes with study, paying attention in class and asking questions,” said Briscoe, who plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. “You have to be a great person, not just on the football field but in the classroom.” Briscoe The 6-foot, 200-pound running back is also tops on the team in the power clean, where he hoists 295 pounds in one of the most physically challenging lifts. “We lean on him,” coach Cody Champagne said of Briscoe, who leads Cecilia (4-2, 1-0 District 5-4A) with 505 yards rushing on 84 carries and six touchdowns. “He’s a bruiser who is getting more able to handle four quarters. He’s getting so much better running downhill. He’s never had to do that before as the H-back.” Last season, Briscoe primarily played H-back, which is a term for a versatile offensive skill player who can line up near the tight end, in the backfield or in the slot. H-backs catch the ball more than they run it. Briscoe has showcased his receiving abilities this season with six catches for 105 yards. “His season has been going as we expected,” Champagne said. “Briscoe is a grinder and is going to keep grinding.” Senior Braylon Calais, the primary running back the past two years, was moved to receiver, the position the four-star recruit is expected to play at LSU. “It’s a good feeling the way (Calais) and (6-foot4 receiver) Ashton Ruffin handle their business on the outside,” Briscoe said. “It makes it easier.” Briscoe hopes to garner attention from college recruiters by finishing the season strong and landing a scholarship to play running back. “I’m not on the radar of colleges yet, but I have the opportunity to show what I can do,” he said. The Bulldogs, who have 31 seniors, celebrate homecoming this week against Beau Chene (6-0, 1-0), which is off to its best start in school history. Not surprisingly, Briscoe puts the same effort into studying film of opponents that he does with a calculus textbook. “You have to study (to) know if the defensive line is going to slant or what the linebackers have a tendency to do,” he said. Champagne said Briscoe’s drive, intelligence and athletic prowess make him an attractive college prospect. “Deondre hasn’t been a vocal leader, but he is starting to become one,” he said. “The big thing for us is to work on the little things and make sure they’re done correctly. If anyone is doing that, it’s him. “He wants to get better and is pushing the offense to do things (in that capacity). He’s a diamond in the rough with recruiting. Obviously, if you get him, you’re getting the work ethic from a high-character kid. It’s worth taking a chance on a kid like that.”

PHOTO BY ROBIN MAY

Carencro quarterback Carson Gurzi looks to pass against Lafayette Christian in the season opener on Sept. 4 at Lafayette Christian.

Righting the ship

Gurzi’s leadership helps Carencro overcome tough early season, pick up upset victory BY ERIC NARCISSE

Staff writer

Like many of his teammates, Carencro High School quarterback Carson Gurzi was optimistic for this season. While he anticipated the ups and downs that come with any season, Gurzi never envisioned the trials and tribulations his Bears would face this season. For starters, co-defensive coordinator Jordan Romero left the team and went back to Acadiana High before preseason practice. Then the Bears lost several key players before the start of the season because of a combination of academic ineligibility and season-ending injuries. “It has been an extremely tough season,” coach Gavin Peters said. “You lose your No. 1 offensive weapon on the perimeter in the offseason and a Division I left tackle to a freak accident in the weight room, that’s kind of tough.” One of the things that’s allowed the Bears (2-4) to keep pressing forward is Gurzi’s leadership. “I mean, it has been tough,” Gurzi said. “But I don’t think the toughness of everything we’ve gone through or the adversity is anything that our program, coaching staff or my teammates can’t handle. ... We have pushed through and we’ll continue to push through.” Gurzi, who also has fought wrist, shoulder and ankle injuries this season, has been the Bears’ glue. “I wouldn’t say that I’ve learned more about Carson this year,” Peters said of the 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior. “I would say that this season has only confirmed what he’s always been and that’s a first-class young man who puts his team first.” In five games this season, Gurzi has

completed 71 of 115 passes for 822 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Gurzi also works as a long snapper. “Going all the way back to June, Carson has been the captain of the ship and the pilot of the plane,” Peters said. “No one feels more pressure in the program than me as the head coach and him as the quarterback. He has done a tremendous job of handling it.” Gurzi didn’t play in a 43-0 loss to Westgate on Oct. 1. In his first game back last week against Opelousas in the District 4-5A opener, Gurzi was 10-of-14 passing for 174 yards as the Bears upset the Tigers 27-26 in overtime. It was the kind of performance that shows the rest of the district the Bears aren’t reaching for a white flag. “We showed last week that we are capable of battling through a tough couple of losses,” Gurzi said. “We preach day in and day out that adversity creates an opportunity to be special. We have a great opportunity to be special throughout the coming weeks. We have an opportunity to compete for a district title and we have a great chance to do that by getting that win last week against a great Opelousas team.” The Bears, who hope to build on that victory against Breaux Bridge (0-6, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, know that despite their early-season struggles, their goals remain attainable. “Oh, 100%,” Gurzi said. “When you have stuff on the line and stuff to play for, it is motivating. To have a chance to win the district championship after beating Opelousas last week, it is a great feeling. It only makes us want to work harder and get better each and every day.” Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@ theadvocate.com.

Southside (3-3) at Lafayette (4-2) Acadiana (4-2) at Sam Houston (2-4) Sulphur (4-2) at New Iberia (1-5) Barbe (6-0) at St. Thomas More (5-1) Leesville (5-1) at North Vermilion (5-1) Teurlings (1-5) at Lafayette Renaissance (4-2) Hanson (3-3) at Ascension Episcopal (3-3) Westminster-Lafayette (6-0) at Central Catholic (3-3) Northside (1-5) at Westgate (5-0) Beau Chene (6-0) at Cecilia (4-2) Breaux Bridge (0-6) at Carencro (2-4) Opelousas (4-2) at Livonia (1-4) Church Point (4-2) at Ville Platte (0-6) Northwest (4-2) at Eunice (6-0) Iota (2-4) at Port Barre (0-6) Sarah Reed (5-1) at Abbeville (2-4) Marksville (5-1) at Erath (3-3) Parkview Baptist (2-4) at Kaplan (4-2) Avoyelles (3-3) at St. Martinville (2-4) Notre Dame (6-0) at Basile (2-4) Catholic-NI (4-2) at Loreauville (4-2) Delcambre (5-1) at West St. Mary (3-3) JS Clark (4-2) at Westminster (2-4) Hannan (5-1) at Opelousas Catholic (1-5) Berchmans (2-4) at St. Edmund (3-3) Jeanerette (3-2) at Vermilion Catholic (1-5)

Area leaders Rushing

Player Att. Yds. Avg. TD Justin Williams, Southside 115 970 8.4 13 Thomas Carter, Loreauville 97 925 9.5 16 Pierce Gable, Westminster-Lafayette 88 921 10.4 14 Kristian Aubrey, Acadiana Ren. 127 894 7.0 11 Blathon Citizen, Church Point 91 868 9.5 14 Jaden Celestine, Lafayette 98 863 8.8 15 Joseph Clues, Opelousas 89 750 8.4 8

Passing

Player Kennan Brown, Lafayette Ren. John Parker Robison, Catholic-NI Noah Antoine, Westgate Landen DeRouen, Erath Jaxsen Frederick, North Vermilion Grayson Hemard, St. Thomas More Carson Gurzi, Carencro

Receiving

Com. 79 66 61 61 37 68 71

Att. 122 115 81 93 64 125 115

Yds. TD 1112 12 1070 9 1056 15 1027 12 897 13 886 14 822 5

Player No. Yds. Avg. TD Khylon Edwards, Catholic-NI 25 545 21.8 4 Cayden Lancelin, Westgate 19 455 23.9 8 Carter Champagne, Erath 21 418 19.9 6 Jackson Semien, North Vermilion 12 405 33.75 6 Markez Davis, Northwest 16 377 23.5 5 Shemar Taylor, Lafayette Renaissance 14 369 26.3 3 Tate Collins, Erath 19 362 19.0 5

Volleyball Tuesday’s results Iota def. Ascension Episcopal 3-0; ESA def. Vermilion Catholic 3-0; St. Thomas More def. Beau Chene 3-0; Westminster-Lafayette def. Highland Baptist 3-2; St. Michael def. Westminster 3-2; Teurlings def. Carencro 3-0; Lafayette def. St. Louis 3-1; Southside def. New Iberia 3-1; Cecilia def. Westgate 3-0; North Vermilion def. Leesville 3-1; David Thibodaux def. Lafayette Renaissance 3-0; Catholic-NI def. Houma Christian 3-0; Berwick def. Loreauville 3-0; Abbeville def. Northside 3-0; Opelousas def. Crowley 3-0; Marksville def. Eunice 3-0; Rayne def. St. Martinville 3-0;

Teurlings def. Carencro, 25-11, 25-7, 25-8:

TEUR: Hebert 14 digs, 1 ace. 1 kill; Leonard 1 dig, 4 kills; Bergeron 15 digs, 10 kills; Turner 17 assists, 4 digs; Luneau 5 kills; Moran 3 digs, 1 dig; Foster 1 kill, 3 digs; Landry 23 assists, 9 digs; Trahan 9 digs; Robin 2 kills; Bergeron 3 kills.

North Vermilion def. Leesville 24-26, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19

NVERM: Ashante Rose 10 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks, 1 ace; Kaitlyn Hargrave 5 kills, 2 digs, 2 assists; Annalise Marix 19 assists, 2 kills, 4 digs, 2 aces; Ellie Martin 5 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs; Londyn LeBlanc 1 ace, 2 blocks, 3 kills; Gabby Caruso 14 digs, 2 assists; Chloe LeBlanc 11 kills, 3 digs; Briley Stevens 2 digs; Elliot Black 10 assists, 1 kill, 3 digs; Amelia Addison 2 kills, 2 blocks, 3 digs, 2 aces; Kyla Landry 4 digs; Ellery Dupuy 2 digs. Record: Nverm 9-5, 1-0.

Iota def. Ascension Episcopal 25-19, 25-19, 25-12

IOTA: Camrynn Lantier 9 kills, 9 blocks, 7 digs; Elizabeth Miller 8 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces; Greta Brown 5 kills, 1 block, 2 aces; Addison Toups 6 kills, 17 assists, 9 digs; Jaycie Willis 15 assists, 12 digs; Bryn Doucet 12 digs; Regan McGee 17 digs, 2 aces.

Catholic-New Iberia def. Houma Christian, 25-17, 25-16 25-17 CATH: Amelie Trappey 9 kills, 17 digs, 5 aces, 5 assists; Charlotte Shea 9 kiills, 4 digs, 1 block, 1 assist; Caroline Meyer 3 kills, 5 blocks, 1 dig; Renee Frederick 15 assists, 6 kills, 2 block, 9 digs; Mackenzie Batiste 14 assists, 7 kills, 2 blocks, 7 digs. Record: Catholic 20-3. Next: At Vandebilt Catholic on Wednesday.

Thursday’s schedule Lafayette at Acadiana, New Iberia at Sulphur, Barbe at Southside, Cecilia at St. Thomas More, Teurlings at Westgate, Acadiana Renaissance at David Thibodaux, Beau Chene at Lafayette Renaissance, Breaux Bridge at St. Martinville, Sam Houston at Iota, Rayne at Northside, Livonia at Northwest, Lake Charles Prep at Opelousas, Carencro at Acadiana Christian, Ascension Episcopal at Westminster-LAF, Highland Baptist at Patterson, Vermilion Catholic at Northside Christian.

SCOREBOARD Hole-in-one Bobby Wade Course: Webb Memorial Hole, yardage: No. 17, n/a Club selection: pitching wedge Witnesses: Joe Gray, Bar Lambert

Odds NFL Thursday

FAVORITE Seattle

Sunday

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 2½ 2½ (40½) at DENVER

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at JACKSONVILLE 1½ 2½ (42½) Houston at INDIANAPOLIS 3½ 6½ (44½) Tennessee Carolina 6½ 1½ (40½) at PHILA. Pittsburgh 1½ 2½ (39½) at TAMPA at NEW ENGLAND 9½ 7½ (43½) NY Jets New Orleans 2½ 1½ (45½) at GIANTS Baltimore 7 5½ (42½) at CLEVE. Chicago 3 1½ (51) at ATLANTA at LA RAMS 13½ 12½ (52½) Arizona at KANSAS CITY 2½ 8½ (42½)LA Chargers Buffalo 6½ 4½ (53½) at LAS VEGAS at GREEN BAY 3 1½ (53½) Dallas

Monday

FAVORITE at SAN FRAN.

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 5½ 7½ (50½) Washington

College football Thursday

FAVORITE East Carolina Ga. Southern at TEXAS ST.

Friday

OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 6½ 4½ (47½) at UAB 2½ 3½ (47½)at OLD DOM. 9½ 14½ (70½) Colo. St.

at WYOMING at GEORGIA Toledo at TEXAS TECH at OLE MISS at VA. TECH Tulsa at UL at OREGON ST. at S. FLORIDA at VANDERBILT at MIAMI (Fla.) at BAYLOR Arkansas St. at N. DAK. ST. at UCLA at OKLAHOMA Louisville at STANFORD at HOUSTON Notre Dame at UTSA Louisiana Tech San Jose St. Ohio Utah Fresno St. Wake Forest New Mexico at OREGON

8½ 7½ (40½) N. Illinois 16½ 20½ (49½) Auburn 6½ 6½ (53½) at E. MICH. 12½ 14½ (48½) Arizona St. 7½ 5½ (59½) Missouri 8½ 10 (57½) Ga. Tech 3 4½ (46½) at RICE 3½ 3½ (49½) Troy 13½ 17½ (52½) Wash. St. 18½ 20½ (45½) Kent St. 6½ 6 (50½) Arkansas 16½ 21½ (56½) Florida St. 6½ 5½ (48½) TCU 6½ 7 (62½) at SO. MISS 14½ 14½ (42½) Nevada 3 2½ (43½) Wisconsin 6½ 6½ (43½) Kentucky 12½ 14½ (56½) at SYRA. 32½ 35½ (56½) Elon 2½ 4½ (62½) Okla. St. 10½ 10½ (46½) at BYU 7 6½ (56½) Navy 14½ 15½ (56½) at ULM 10 7½ (46½) at UTEP 13½ 15½ (48½) at SACR. ST. 13½ 15½ (49½) at COLO. 8½ 7½ (46½) at S.D. ST. 8½ 9½ (53½) at CAL 17½ 14½ (44½) at HAWAII 7½ 7½ (52½) Nebraska

Major League Baseball Thursday

American League FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG at CLEVELAND -134 Tampa Bay National League FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG at L.A. DODGERS OFF Milwaukee

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Memphis 6½ 6½ (55½) at TULANE Appalachian St. 2½ 1½ (49½) at C. CARO. at PURDUE 2½ 3½ (52½) Wash.

Pro football

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at TEXAS 9½ 11½ (51½) Florida at KANSAS ST. 8½ 4½ (55½) Kansas at ARMY 3½ 2½ (55½) Florida Atlantic at WEST VA. 2½ 1½ (63½) Cincinnati at JAMES MAD. 10½ 12½ (58½) Georgia St. at BO. GREEN 8½ 6½ (47½) Ball St. at SMU 6½ 8½ (52½) Virginia Pittsburgh 6½ 6½ (42½) at B. COLL. Ohio St. 1½ 3½ (50½) at INDIANA 10½ 14½ (57½) Miss. St. at LSU Northwestern 7½ 7½ (49½) at MICH. ST. at CLEMSON 43½ 42½ (56½) Charle.So. 4½ 4½ (57½) at MARYLAND Rutgers at TEMPLE 23½ 20½ (46½) Charlotte at TEXAS A&M 44½ 45½ (56½) Citadel UMass at BUFFALO 3½ 6½ (41½) W. Michigan 8½ 6½ (43½) at C. MICH. at MICHIGAN 6½ 6½ (42½) Penn St. Alabama 1½ 8½ (52½) at TENN. at MIAMI (OH) 9½ 9½ (46½) Akron at DUKE 4½ 3½ (47½) N. Carolina UNLV 3 1½ (48½) at AIR FRCE

East

Saturday

LINE +110 LINE OFF

Baltimore Cleveland Pittsburgh Cincinnati West Kansas City Denver Las Vegas L.A. Chargers

N.Y. Giants Philadelphia Dallas Washington South Carolina Atlanta Tampa Bay New Orleans North Minnesota Green Bay Detroit Chicago West San Francisco Seattle L.A. Rams Arizona

MIDWEST W 3 2 2 1

L 1 3 3 3

T 1 0 0 1

Pct .700 .400 .400 .300

PF 109 92 138 115

PA 106 112 136 149

W 2 2 1 1

L 2 3 4 4

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .500 .400 .200 .200

PF 121 119 100 118

PA 109 122 112 151

W 5 3 3 3

L 0 2 2 2

T Pct 0 1.000 0 .600 0 .600 0 .600

PF PA 109 64 104 112 164 148 119 96

W 5 3 2 1

L 0 2 3 4

T Pct 0 1.000 0 .600 0 .400 0 .200

PF PA 154 93 134 105 119 120 108 162

Thursday’s game

Seattle at Denver, 7:15 p.m.

Sunday’s games

Houston vs Jacksonville at London, 8:30 a.m. Baltimore at Cleveland, noon Carolina at Philadelphia, noon Chicago at Atlanta, noon N.Y. Jets at New England, noon New Orleans at N.Y. Giants, noon Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, noon Tennessee at Indianapolis, noon Arizona at L.A. Rams, 3:05 p.m. Buffalo at Las Vegas, 3:25 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, 3:25 p.m. Dallas at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m. Open: Cincinnati, Miami, Detroit, Minnesota Washington at San Francisco, 7:15 p.m.

College football

AFC

Jacksonville Indianapolis Houston Tennessee North

East

Monday’s game

NFL glance

Buffalo New England N.Y. Jets Miami South

NFC

W 4 3 2 0

L 1 2 3 5

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .800 .600 .400 .000

PF PA 164 141 110 94 93 96 70 132

W 4 2 1 0

L 1 3 4 5

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .800 .400 .200 .000

PF PA 123 70 124 138 110 112 58 109

W 4 3 3 3

L 1 2 2 2

T 0 0 0 0

Pct .800 .600 .600 .600

PF 146 93 111 128

W 4 3 3 0

L 0 2 2 5

T Pct 0 1.000 0 .600 0 .600 0 .000

PA 119 112 109 109

PF PA 118 77 97 111 132 129 84 129

Tuesday’s scores Middle Tennessee 33, Delaware 30 Jacksonville State 27, FIU 24

Wednesday’s games

Kennesaw St. (1-4) at Missouri St. (1-4), n W. Kentucky (2-4) at Sam Houston St. (1-4), n

Thursday’s games SOUTH

East Carolina (3-2) at UAB (3-3), 6:30 p.m. Georgia Southern (2-4) at Old Dominion (2-4), 6:30 p.m.

SOUTHWEST

Colorado St. (2-3) at Texas State (2-3), 7 p.m.

Friday’s games EAST

Columbia (3-1) at Penn (2-2), 6 p.m.

SOUTH

Memphis (5-1) at Tulane (2-3), 6:30 p.m. Appalachian St. (3-2) at Coastal Carolina (2-4), 7 p.m.

Washington (3-3) at Purdue (3-3), 7 p.m.

Major League Baseball Postseason glance LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

(Best-of-7); x-if necessary American League Cleveland 1, Tampa Bay 1 Monday: Game 1: Cleveland 7, Tampa Bay 3 Tuesday: Game 2: Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 Thursday: Game 3: Tampa Bay (Jax 8-10) at Cleveland (Williams 14-8), noon Friday: Game 4: Tampa Bay at Cleveland, 5 p.m. Saturday: Game 5: Tampa Bay at Cleveland, 7 p.m. x-Monday, Oct. 19: Game 6: Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. x-Tuesday, Oct. 20: Game 7: Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.

National League

Milwaukee 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 0 Sunday: Game 1: Milwaukee 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 1 Monday: Game 2: Milwaukee 7, Dodgers 4 Wednesday: Game 3: Milwaukee (Gasser 5-5) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Snell 4-1), n Thursday: Game 4: Milwaukee at Los Angeles Dodgers, 7 p.m. x-Friday: Game 5: Milwaukee at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8 p.m. x-Sunday, Oct. 18: Game 6: Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 7 p.m. x-Monday, Oct. 19: Game 7: Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Tampa Bay 3, Cleveland 1 Late Tuesday Cleveland

Tampa Bay ab r hbi ab r h bi Kwan lf-cf 5 0 2 0 Díaz dh 4 0 0 0 Ramírez 3b 4 0 1 0 Aranda 1b 3 0 0 0 DeLauter dh 2 0 1 1 Caminero 3b 3 0 1 0 Adell rf 4 0 0 0 Mesa rf 4 1 0 0 Lowe 1b 4 0 0 0 DeLuca cf 4 0 2 0 Bazzana 2b 4 0 1 0 Simpson lf 3 1 1 0 Halpin cf 3 0 1 0 Williamson 2b 1 1 0 0 Martínez lf 1 0 0 0 Palacios ph-2b 1 0 0 0 Hedges c 1 0 0 0 Hicks c 3 0 2 2 Bailey ph-c 1 1 0 0 Walls ss 3 0 1 0 Rocchio ss 4 0 0 0 Totals 33 1 6 1 Totals 29 3 7 2 Cleveland 000 000 100 — 1 Tampa Bay 000 300 00x — 3 E — Ramírez (1). DP — Cleveland 2, Tampa Bay 0. LOB — Cleveland 9, Tampa Bay 5. 2B — DeLauter (2), Caminero (1). SB — Ramírez (1). IP H R ER BB SO Cleveland Messick L,0-1 5 6 3 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 1 12⁄3 Armstrong 1 ⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 Herrin Cecconi 1 0 0 0 0 2 Tampa Bay Peralta W,1-0 6 4 0 0 2 6 2 ⁄3 1 1 1 1 0 Kelly H,1 1 0 0 0 2 Seymour H,1 11⁄3 Baker S,1-1 1 0 0 0 0 1

HBP — Peralta (Hedges), Messick (Aranda). WP — Peralta. ABS Challenge — DeLauter (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Peralta (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Peralta (Ball-Confirmed); Kelly (BallOverturned to Strike). Umpires — Home, Carlos Torres; First, Mark Ripperger; Second, Jordan Baker; Third, Chad Fairchild; Right, Nestor Ceja; Left, Adam Hamari. T — 2:42. A — 32,125 (25,025).

Pro basketball WNBA playoff glance Finals

(Best-of-5) No. 2 Golden State vs. No. 4 Atlanta Saturday: Atlanta at Golden State, 2:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19: Atlanta at Golden State, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21: Golden State at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24: Golden State at Atlanta, noon x-Monday, Oct. 26: Atlanta at Golden State, TBA x-Thursday, Oct. 29: Golden State at Atlanta, TBA x-Saturday, Oct. 31: Atlanta at Golden State, TBA

Transactions BASEBALL

American League HOUSTON ASTROS — Fired manager Joe Espada. MINNESOTA TWINS — Named Brian Reith pitching coach.

FOOTBALL NFL

ARIZONA CARDINALS — Signed TE Shawn Bowman from the practice squad to the active roster. Designated S Kitan Crawford to return from injured reserve. Signed RB Jerome Ford, WR Shedrick Jackson and LB Riley Wilson to the practice squad. Released LB Eugene Asante and DL Jay Toia from the practice squad. BUFFALO BILLS — Re-signed CB Anthony Kendall to the practice squad. CLEVELAND BROWNS — Designated RB Dylan Sampson to return from injured reserve. HOUSTON TEXANS — Reinstated RT Braden Smith from injured reserve. Signed QB Mark Gronowski and WR Bryce Oliver to the practice squad. LOS ANGELES RAMS — Signed K Blake Grupe. Signed OLB Garrett Nelson to the practice squad. Waived K Harrison Mevis. Added CB Damarion Williams to the practice squad as an exception. Released OLB Jamie Sheriff from the practice squad. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Designated WR A.J. Brown to return from injured reserve. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Signed RB Jarquez Hunter to the practice squad.

LIVING

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

|

T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 15, 2026

H

5CN

Can’t go wrong with a classic 2 sweet tricks maximize flavor in Pork Bolognese

BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

I love a good Bolognese sauce. This classic Italian favorite is traditionally made with meat, but it can be prepared with different types of protein. For this lighter version, I used ground pork. It comes together quickly, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner without breaking the calorie bank. One secret to a rich flavorful Bolognese is to thinly slice the onions and cook them slowly until they become soft and sweet. My other favorite trick is adding a little orange zest to the sauce. It brings a subtle sweetness and an intriguing citrus note that brightens the rich flavors. For maximum flavor, hold the orange over the sauce while removing the zest. Serve it with your favorite pasta and open a bag of washed, ready-to-eat salad for an easy side dish.

TNS PHOTO BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER

Pork Bolognese Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer. Olive oil spray 1 cup thinly sliced onion ½ cup thinly sliced celery 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons dried rosemary ¾ pound ground pork 2 cups reduced-sodium marinara sauce Orange zest from 1 orange (about 1 tablespoon) Salt and freshly ground black pepper ¼ pound spaghetti 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (optional garnish) ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 cups washed, ready-to-eat salad 2 tablespoons reduced-fat salad dressing 1. Boil a large pot with 3 to 4 quarts water for spaghetti. 2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with olive oil spray. Add onion and celery. Saute 5 minutes, without browning. 3. Add garlic, oregano, rosemary and pork. Saute 5 minutes, breaking up pork into small pieces while it cooks. Add the marinara sauce and orange zest. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. 4. Meanwhile, add spaghetti to boiling water and cook 9 minutes or according to package instructions. 5. Drain and divide between two dinner plates. Serve Bolognese sauce over the spaghetti. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley (if using). 6. Place 2 cups salad on the 2 dinner plates and drizzle dressing on top. NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 670 calories (22 percent from fat), 16.1 g fat (4.8 g saturated, 4.0 g monounsaturated), 120 mg cholesterol, 48.1 g protein, 79.1 g carbohydrates, 11.9 g fiber, 451 mg sodium.

STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS

Pumpkin Pancakes

SPICE IT UP

How to pump up your pancakes for an impromptu party BY APRIL HAMILTON | Contributing writer

W

hen my daughters were young, homemade pancakes were the star of our breakfast table. We took a page from one of their favorite books, “Pancakes, Pancakes!” by Eric Carle, which features a persistent young boy requesting pancakes. His busy mother is happy to fulfill his order after he gathers the ingredients: wheat from the field which the miller grinds into flour; eggs from the backyard hen; milk from the spotted cow, plus the cream which he churns into butter. To sweeten his pancakes, he fetches homemade jam stored in their cellar. Cue my toddlers foraging these ingredients from our own pantry. They measured and mixed, always with a friendly fight

ä See PANCAKES, page 6C

Pumpkin Pancakes

Serves 4. Recipe is by April Hamilton. ½ cup unbleached flour ½ cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon fine sea salt ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for serving ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup buttermilk*, plus extra if needed ½ cup pumpkin puree

1 egg 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for the griddle Plain Greek yogurt for serving (I used Siggi’s) Toasted pumpkin seeds for serving Syrup for serving (I used Dr. Bill’s Cane and Maple) *As a buttermilk substitute: combine 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup of milk

1. Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, sea salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together to blend. 2. Add the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, egg and oil and whisk together until smooth. Add a little extra milk if the batter is too thick. 3. Rub a little oil over a griddle or large frying pan. Heat over medium heat. 4. When a drop of water sizzles on the griddle, pour about 2 tablespoons of batter onto the heated griddle for each pancake.

5. Flip when the bubbles on top pop and the edges are slightly dry, about a minute or two. Note: Don’t rush the flipping to avoid a mess on your griddle. Cook on the second side for another minute or so. 6. Remove the pancakes from the griddle onto awaiting plates. 7. Assemble your pancake party with dishes of toppings — plain Greek yogurt, toasted pumpkin seeds and a little butter and syrup if desired.

Coffee and dark chocolate team up in decadent cake OldFashioned Coffee Cake, RECIPE 6C

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/ TNS PHOTO

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS) For a lot of folks, there’s one seasonal fall flavor that no matter how hard you try, you can’t get enough of it — pumpkin spice. We’re not just talking about Starbucks, which launched the pumpkin spice trend way back in 2003 with its Pumpkin Spice Latte and recently added a new Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken

Espresso and Pumpkin Spice Chai to its seasonal drinks menu. The distinctive autumnal spice mix that used to be associated only with pumpkin pie seems to have commandeered nearly every aisle in your favorite grocery store. Its warm, spicy flavors are found not just in desserts and baked goods but everything from beer, potato chips

ä See COFFEE CAKE, page 6C

6C l Thursday, October 15, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Reader sounds off on perfume

STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS

Some of the ingredients used for April Hamilton’s Pumpkin Pancakes

PANCAKES

Continued from page 5C over who got to crack the egg. While I stood by, they dropped spoonfuls of batter onto the awaiting griddle to sizzle into goldenbrown goodness. They even learned the art of the flip, patiently waiting for the bubbles on top to pop before sliding the pancake flipper beneath and plopping it over with a flick of the wrist. Now that our girls have grown and flown from the nest, pancakes are a less frequent feature. Trust me, though, pancakes aren’t

just for kids. When a pancake craving hit just as the morning temperatures dipped, I dusted off my trusted buttermilk pancake recipe — one handed down from my mom — and infused it with the flavors of fall and a little nutrition boost. To my classic pancake batter, I added a scoop of pumpkin puree, plus ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. I sampled one right off the griddle and declared victory. The conversion was so simple it felt like cheating. I invited some friends for an impromptu pancake party, offering an array of toppings so each guest could cus-

tomize their stack: Greek yogurt for a tangy accent that pumps up the protein, toasted pumpkin seeds for a little crunch and added minerals, and just a drizzle of syrup for sweetness. In a nod to Eric Carle’s character Jack, it delights me to source my flour from a Lafayette baker who grinds organic wheat into the silkiest whole wheat flour. I gather my eggs and milk from the farmers market and thank these farmers who feed us. I suppose I could prepare my own pumpkin puree. Perhaps some day. The can in my pantry saved the day for my pumpkin spice pancake craving.

couple of hours later with Dear Heloise: I found Anna a splitting headache, a sore Maria’s comments on throat, and a stuffy nose. perfume sensitivities (it’s I’ve found a list actually not an alof hotels that have lergy) to be a bit “allergy friendly simplistic. If only rooms,” which it were this easy to should be helpful. It “help myself”! I do simply isn’t a queseverything in my power to alleviate tion of calling my Hints from doctor; I’ve done all my allergies, but Heloise this. Avoidance is perfume sensitivity doesn’t respond to the best option, so allergy treatments. It’s a please, folks, help us out. — chemical sensitivity, which Lynda S., in Kingston, New York is a bit different. Lynda, not everyone I’m a singer, and when responses to a particular people around me wear medication in the same perfume, it makes me way. Not everyone is afcough and get a headache. fected by an ailment in the It’s hard to perform when same manner. I wish you you’re coughing. Scented good luck and good health laundry products are imbecause I suffer from allerpossible for me. I can’t gies, too. Perfume doesn’t sleep on most hotel sheets, bother me, but I wear a and if I do, I wake up a surgical mask to dust my

furniture or vacuum a room. — Heloise

Bridesmaid blues Dear Heloise: When my first cousin asked me to be her bridesmaid, I was flattered, until I saw the price tag on the dresses that she had selected. This didn’t include the shoes, handbags, etc. Please advise brides to: n Consider affordability when selecting dresses for bridesmaids.Keep in mind that besides the dress, there are other expenses n Understand that we probably won’t wear this style or color again, no matter what the salesperson says. — Tanya, in Oklahoma Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Thursday, Oct. 15, the 288th day of 2026. There are 77 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 15, 2017, actor and activist Alyssa Milano tweeted that women who had been sexually harassed or assaulted should write “Me too” as a status. Within hours, tens of thousands had taken up the #MeToo hashtag (using a phrase that had been introduced a decade earlier by social activist Tarana Burke). Also on this date: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte, the deposed French emperor, arrived on the British-ruled South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he spent the last 5½ years of his life in exile. In 1945, the former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, was executed for treason. In 1946, Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering

fatally poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel made landfall near the North Carolina-South Carolina coastal border as a Category 4 storm; Hazel was blamed for about 1,000 deaths in the Caribbean, 95 in the U.S. and 81 in Canada. In 1976, the first debate of its kind took place between vice presidential nominees. Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in Houston. In 1991, despite sexual harassment allegations by Anita Hill, the Senate narrowly confirmed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court, 52-48. In 1997, British Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green twice drove a jet-powered car in the Nevada desert faster than the speed of sound, officially shattering the world’s land-speed record. In 2003, 11 people were

killed and 70 were injured when a Staten Island ferry slammed into a maintenance pier. (The ferry’s pilot, who had blacked out at the controls, later pleaded guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter.) In 2018, Paul G. Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates before becoming a billionaire philanthropist who invested in conservation, space travel, arts and professional sports, died at age 65. Today’s birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer is 81. Musician Richard Carpenter is 80. Film director Mira Nair is 69. Britain’s Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, is 67. Chef Emeril Lagasse is 67. Actor Dominic West is 57. R&B singer Ginuwine is 56. Singer-TV personality Keyshia Cole is 45. Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua is 37. Actor Bailee Madison is 27. WNBA basketball player Lauren Betts is 23.

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR HOME FINF OUT WHAT

YOURIS WORTH HOME

IS WORTH PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE/TNS PHOTO

Old-Fashioned Coffee Cake Makes 1 cake. Recipe is adapted from “The Sugar and Spice Cookbook.” FOR CAKE: 6 ounces margarine (12 tablespoons), plus extra for greasing 6 ounces light brown or caster sugar (¾ cup) 6 ounces self-rising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 eggs 3 teaspoons instant coffee, dissolved in 2 teaspoons boiling water FOR ICING: 3 ounces butter, at room temperature 5 ounces confectioners’ sugar, sifted, divided 3 teaspoons instant coffee, dissolved in 2 teaspoons boiling water 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped and melted

COFFEE CAKE Continued from page 5C

and cereal to pasta, popcorn and yogurt. Me? I much prefer anything coffee-flavored when the weather starts to cool and my backyard slowly morphs from green to a mix of brilliant reds and yellows. This rich and easy coffee cake from “The Sugar and Spice Cookbook: Sweet Treats and Bakes to Enjoy as the Nights Draw In” by Francesca Huntingdon (Hamlyn, $27) is a great place to start. When I say coffee cake, I don’t mean the sweet breakfast food with a crunchy

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Beat all the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl or a food processor until smooth. 3. Divide the mixture evenly between two 8-inch pans, greased and lined with oiled wax paper, and spread the surfaces level. 4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Cakes should be well risen, browned and spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip. 5. Leave the cakes for a few minutes, then loosen the edges and turn out onto a wire rack and peel off lining paper. Let cool. 6. Make the frosting. Put

butter and half the icing sugar in a mixing bowl, add dissolved coffee and beat until smooth. 7. Gradually mix in the remaining icing sugar until pale and creamy. (I added a little leftover brewed coffee to thin the icing to a spreadable consistency.) 8. Put one of the cakes on a serving plate, spread with half the frosting, then cover with the second cake. 9. Spread remaining frosting over the top. 10. Pipe or drizzle swirls of melted chocolate on top. NOTE: Cake can be stored in a tin for 2 or 3 days in a cool place.

streusel top. I mean a dessert cake that includes instant coffee among the ingredients not just in the batter but also the creamy icing. It’s “old-fashioned” because it calls for margarine instead of butter. That old-school approach might sound unappetizing to some, but many of today’s margarines have been reformulated to have no trans fats and lower saturated fat. And because it has a higher water content and aerates better, it actually makes a lighter, fluffier cake. In her cookbook, Huntingdon recommends using round pans and going fairly light on the icing, with just a few dabs in between the

layers and not a whole lot on top. I used 8-inch square pans and doubled the icing recipe for a completely frosted cake. Melted chocolate is always fun to play around with when decorating a cake; if you make the cake toward the end of October, drizzle the melted chocolate in a spiderweb pattern to turn it into a spooky Halloween treat. To melt chocolate for drizzling, heat it gently in the microwave in short 15- to 30-second bursts, stirring in between with a fork. I don’t have a pastry bag, so I piped the hot chocolate on top of the cake using a plastic storage bag with a tiny piece of the corner snipped off.

Call Today for an Expert Valuation and Make Your Next Move

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THINKING

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

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

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, October 15, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

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zodIAC LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Opportunities will develop through the hard and dedicated work you put in and the time you spend to build solid relationships with those who can help you reach your objective. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Pay more attention to bringing money in than to being a spendthrift. Managing your financial and professional affairs will encourage you to do better. Choose to use enthusiasm and energy to gain momentum. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Surrounding yourself with what promotes personal happiness will also put your mind at ease and reduce your concern about the things you can't change. Explore possibilities, and simplify your life. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Limitations will result if you allow others to interfere. Someone will dole out false information that can lead you down a dubious path. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Size up your financial situation, and set a budget that will ease stress and keep you on track. A position that interests you will also increase your earning potential. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Focus on what's available that can help you stabilize your life financially. Concentrate on health and well-being, and don't let emotional situations spin out of control. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Set your sights on what you want and speed up your actions to get there. Your ability to get

things done will rival anyone who tries to compete with you. The more momentum you gain, the more energized you will become. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take a moment to rethink your plans before you open your wallet or schedule your day. Trying to fit in too much when you should be focusing on what's most important will be your downfall. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) It will be easy to lose sight of what needs your attention if you let your mind wander and your time be taken up by those who want something from you. cAncER (June 21-July 22) Interaction is highlighted. Network, gather information and connect to those who have something to offer, and steer clear of anyone trying to limit your freedom to be yourself. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Take time to think before you act. Hasty decisions will lead to domestic problems or expenses that can disrupt your plans. Choose to engage in activities that require you to learn something new. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Take better care of yourself and those you love. Spending time sorting through personal differences will help resolve issues before they grow into something unmanageable. 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

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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.

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8C ● Thursday, October 15, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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

BaBY BLueS

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Thursday, October 15, 2026 ● 9C

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Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER Ann Landers said, “One out of four people in this country is mentally unbalanced. Think of your three closest friends; if they seem OK, then you’re the one.” Earlier this week, we saw deals in which a balanced fit (both partners had the same number of cards in it) was a better trump suit than an unbalanced. And that will usually be the case. But one time when a 4-4 fit is not best occurs when the trump holding is weak, resulting in an inevitable loser or two, and there are discards available from the other two side suits for those losers if it is the third side suit. This is typically the case in a slam — as in this deal. When North opens one no-trump, South, with only a five-loser hand, should immediately be thinking about a slam. He uses Stayman and learns of the 4-4 spade fit. But rather than opt immediately for that suit as trumps, he sensibly shows his club suit first. North rebids three hearts to indicate values in that suit and, by inference, weak diamonds. After that, the auction gets a tad murky around the edges, but South should prefer his strong clubs to those pitiful spades. In six spades, North must lose one spade and one heart (and would go down

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

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two if spades broke 4-1). However, six clubs has 12 tricks: two spades, two hearts, two diamonds and six clubs. Finally, note that if North-South play transfers into the minors, there would be a strong case for South’s ignoring the spade suit and immediately transferring into clubs. © 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 — InActIon: IH-nak-shun: Lack of activity.

Bizarro

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Average mark 16 words Time limit 30 minutes Can you find 26 or more words in INACTION? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — HEADAcHEs hash hashed head headache heed each ease aahed aced ache ahead

dace dacha dash case cash cashed cease chad chase scad seed

shad shade shah shea shed

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “However, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” John 16:13 The Holy Spirit will always speak the truth. Let him lead you. — G.E. Dean

10C l Thursday, October 15, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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

DOW 51,621.48 -48.62 -0.09%

NASDAQ 26,692.87 -511.51 -1.88%

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Netflix laying off 6% of its workforce

CHICAGO — Netflix plans to lay off about 6% of its workforce, amounting to nearly 1,000 positions, as the streaming giant makes wider “organizational changes.” Co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos announced the job cuts in a memo to employees Wednesday. They said the company’s product, tech, legal and human resources teams would be the most impacted. “Decisions like these are never easy, and we don’t take them lightly,” Peters and Sarandos wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press. They maintained business was strong — but that Netflix needed to be “disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources” as it invests in future growth and “high impact areas to improve our service.” Beyond the memo from its chief executives, Netflix declined to comment further about Wednesday’s cuts. Between membership signups and price increases, Netflix’s profit has grown this year. In its second financial quarter, the company earned $3.4 billion and racked up revenue of $12.56 billion — up 9% and 13%, respectively, from the same period last year.

S&P 500 7,718.94 -86.51 -1.11%

EURO 1.1152 -0.0045 -0.40%

CRUDE OIL 95.09 0.95 1.01%

GOLD 4,084.80 -68.10 -1.64%

6-MO T-BILLS 4.38 0.03 0.69%

30-YR T-BONDS 5.53 -0.04 -0.68%

Forecast lowered for world oil demand

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP business writer

The International Energy Agency is lowering its world oil demand forecast for the year, noting that the war in Iran is leading to escalating fuel prices, limited oil supplies and a deteriorating economic outlook. The agency’s report on Wednesday said that global oil demand is predicted to drop 2.5 million barrels a day year-over-year in the fourth quarter and fall 2.6 million barrels a day on average this year. Diesel is expected to account for 25% of the drop. The IEA foresees a partial recovery of 2 million barrels a day next

year, but that still puts global oil use 0.6% below 2025 levels. Global production climbed 2.5 million barrels a day month-overmonth to 102.3 million barrels a day in September, driven by Gulf producers. OPEC+ gains of 2.1 million barrels a day were led by Saudi Arabia, while the United Arab Emirates drove non-OPEC+ increases. Oil supply is expected to drop by 5.8 million barrels a day to 100.7 million barrels a day this year before climbing by 7.7 million barrels a day next year. The agency said that renewed Gulf attacks “leave the recovery fragile.” While gas prices in the U.S. have moved lower in recent weeks, they

remain higher than a month ago. Gas prices averaged $4.33 per gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA, up slightly from a month ago. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.6% to $106.37 a barrel Wednesday morning. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.2% to $95.30 a barrel. Brent has been pinballing between $96 and nearly $110 over the last month on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to immedi-

ately supply the U.S. more than 300,000 tons of diesel. That would be followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November, then 4 million more tons at some point after that. But energy policy experts say that the new pact is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere. The price of diesel has shattered records in recent weeks, ratcheting up inflation for a broad swath of consumer goods. Trump’s announcement came a week after the Group of Seven wealthy democracies said that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with “substantial” amounts of diesel.

GlobalFoundries to open 2 new chip plants MALTA, N.Y. — Computer chip company GlobalFoundries Inc. said Wednesday it plans to open two factories in Malta, New York, financed by an investment of up to $21 billion from Japan. The company said the deal was made possible by the Trump administration’s trade and investment agreement with the Japanese government. It said the initiative will accelerate semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and strengthen critical supply chains. The company previously received some federal funding to expand as part of a Biden administration program to expand chip production. As a result of the investment from Japan, that federal funding will now go to investments in other areas to advance semiconductor manufacturing, GlobalFoundries spokesperson Kenneth Craig said in an email. President Donald Trump posted on social media that the U.S. government will receive shares in GlobalFoundries, just as it did for Intel Corp., in an expansion of the administration’s policy of taking ownership stakes in private companies.

Stores scramble to restock after attack PARIS — France’s cybersecurity authority has warned that a cyberattack targeting supermarkets may still be ongoing as stores restocked Wednesday after the attack sent refrigerator temperatures soaring, raising concerns about the security of vital food supply chains. The agency said Tuesday night that the attacks were “likely still underway.” It urged stores to reconnect refrigerators to the internet only through a secure VPN connection or protected network, install firmware updates and change passwords. Attackers remotely took control of refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores across France in the early hours of Monday. Temperatures reached 122 degrees Fahrenheit for about six hours, forcing stores to discard fresh and frozen goods. The Intermarché supermarket chain reported losses of “tens of millions of euros” in a single day. In the Netherlands, a major supermarket chain was restarting systems it had shut down as a precaution amid what parent company Ahold Delhaize called a “cybersecurity incident.” The incident halted home deliveries and disrupted some supplies to its extensive network of stores across the country.

A woman pushes a shopping cart as she leaves a grocery store in Arlington Heights, Ill.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY NAM Y. HUH

Inflation worsened in September to 3.7%

a year ago, up from 2.4% the previous a highly visible sign of inflation and often It’s a sign that prices remain from month and higher than economists had ex- drive down measures of consumer sentipected. And they climbed 0.3% from August ment about the economy. elevated as midterm With fuel much more expensive, air fares to September, an elevated pace that, if it continued for a year, would run well above the rose 1.2% last month and have soared 22% elections near compared with a year ago. Hotel prices rose Fed’s 2% target.

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

AP economics writer

WASHINGTON — U.S. inflation accelerated last month as gasoline and many other goods and services became more expensive, evidence that rising prices remain an economic challenge just a few weeks before midterm elections that have focused heavily on affordability. The consumer price index rose 3.7% in September compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.4% in August. On a monthly basis, costs jumped 0.6% from August to September, the biggest gain in five months, up from a 0.4% increase the previous month. The figures underscore the lingering impact of the Iran war on gas prices and the stubborn persistence of inflation, which has ticked higher since the war began in late February. The rise isn’t all linked to oil and gas, as surging investment in data centers and AI has also pushed up prices for computer chips and the consumer electronics that use them. Elevated inflation has posed political problems for Republicans in Congress and is a challenge for the Federal Reserve, which is required by Congress to seek stable prices. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6% in September

Higher inflation will likely put more pressure on the Fed to lift its key interest rate at its next meeting Oct. 27-28. Economists noted that the report showed price increases were spread more broadly across the economy than in recent months. “The report was worse than expected,” Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Bank, said in a note to clients. “Price increases were widespread. ... Consumer demand seems to be holding up better than the downbeat consumer surveys would suggest, helping businesses maintain pricing power.” Wednesday’s figures are the last major inflation data to be released before the upcoming elections. Ongoing inflation has taken a toll on Trump’s standing with U.S. voters. A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that just 17% of U.S. adults approve of his handling of the cost of living issue. And only 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall, a new low. Higher prices are eroding Americans’ earnings. The Labor Department also said Wednesday that average weekly paychecks, when adjusted for inflation, shrank last month compared with a year ago for the first time since May. Gas prices jumped 9.1% just from August to September, the government’s consumer price index report said. Rising gas costs are

2% from August to September and are up 4.4% compared with a year earlier. Consumers saw some relief in grocery prices, which actually declined 0.1% last month and are up just 1.8% from a year ago. Ground beef prices fell 0.8% in September, though they are still up 5.4% from last year. The cost of toys, new and used cars, sporting goods, and shoes all rose at a rapid clip last month, the government said. The government also said Wednesday that Social Security recipients will receive a 3.6% cost of living increase, based on the inflation figures. The Middle East and Russia-Ukraine conflicts have also sharply inflated the cost of diesel fuel, which is used by long-haul trucks. Higher diesel prices will increase shipping expenses, which in turn could push up prices for a range of goods. Ralph Newhouse, CEO of Chefman, which makes countertop appliances, said that rising diesel prices could force him to raise prices in the coming months. The Mahwah, N.J.-based company, which makes milk frothers, air fryers, blenders and other appliances in China, last increased its prices in 2024. This year, it has used its $20 million in tariff refunds to offset the rise in fuel costs, but may not be able to do so much longer.

U.S. stocks drop to their worst day since July BY STAN CHOE

AP business writer

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks dropped to their worst day since July on Wednesday following the latest signal that inflation is getting worse. The S&P 500 sank 1.1% for a fifth loss in the six days since setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.9% as stocks in the artificialintelligence industry led the way lower. Stocks felt pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where worries grew after a report said U.S. consumers had to pay prices for fuel, food and other costs of

living last month that were 3.7% higher overall than a year earlier. That means inflation accelerated from its 3.4% rate in August and was worse than the 3.6% that economists expected. Inflation has remained more painful than anyone would like since the economy catapulted out of the crevasse created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s accelerated recently in part because of jumps in fuel prices caused by the war with Iran, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude added 0.4% Wednesday to $106.06. That has added to the longstanding worries about fast-rising debt loads for governments, signals that the U.S. economy is still growing and other factors that have

sent bond yields to their highest levels in years. The centerpiece of the U.S. bond market, the 10-year Treasury, saw its yield briefly jump above 5.32% from less than 5.17% just before the inflation report’s release. It eventually gave back much of the gain. Yields on shorter-term Treasurys had even bigger leaps as traders raised their expectations for coming hikes to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, though they also moderated as the day progressed. The Fed recently raised the interest rate that it controls, which affects very short-term loans, for the first time in three years in hopes of reining in inflation. Higher rates do that by making it more

expensive for everyone to borrow money and slowing the overall economy. Traders now see a nearly 35% chance the Fed will raise the federal funds rate at its next meeting in two weeks, up from the 22% probability seen a day earlier, according to data from CME Group. Part of what’s keeping inflation high is that Americans overall are continuing to spend, which encourages businesses to keep raising prices for their products and services. As Americans become more “price-sensitive” and the economy also benefits from greater productivity by workers, Vanguard Senior Economist Adam Schickling said inflation should slow, but “patience will be required.”