118 West 111th Street 632-5003
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER LAROSE, LA thelafourchegazette.com
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Law enforcement announces plans for Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign this holiday
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will join other local law enforcement agencies in participating in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign which runs December 15, 2016, through January 1, 2017. The campaign is coordinated and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. Additional deputies will be assigned to saturated patrol efforts, and there will be several checkpoints held in conjunction with the campaign throughout the month of December. The first of these will be a seat belt checkpoint to be held this Thursday, December 15. There will be two other seat belt checkpoints and one DWI checkpoint during the campaign period. See Sober Page 10-A
MEETINGS WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14 S.L. BEACHFRONT DEV. 6:00 p.m. South Lafourche Library 16241 E. Main - Galliano
AMERICAN LEGION #315 7:00 p.m. 210 Legion Ave. - Galliano THURSDAY, DEC. 15 LAF. REC. DISTRICT 1 7:00 p.m. Lockport Town Hall 710 Church St. - Lockport
SPECIAL ED. DIST. 1 12:00 noon 5510 W. 55th St. - Cut Off
VETERANS MEM. DIST. Ward 10 5:00 p.m. 16937 Hwy. 3235 - Galliano
BAYOU FELLOWSHIP #484 7:00 p.m. E. 93rd St. - Galliano
INSIDE
Arrests.............................9-A
Bid Notices......................9-A Calendar of Events.........2-A Classifieds.......................8-A
Engagements..................3-A Lottery.............................2-A
Memorials........................9-A News In Brief...................3-A Obituaries........................9-A
Public Notice...................9-A
Surfin’ The Net................9-A
SERVING: MATHEWS • GHEENS • LOCKPORT • VALENTINE • LAROSE CUT OFF • GALLIANO • GOLDEN MEADOW • LEEVILLE • GRAND ISLE
Term limits approved for parish president and council
Cruisin’ for a cause …
Photo by Babs
The Cajun Cruisers held their annual Toy Run Saturday in Larose. Cajun Cruisers is a non-profit organization serving the needs of various charities in the community by hosting an annual poker run and Christmas toy drive. Two-year-old Karli Jo is all smiles while she visits with Santa and gets a gift from Santa’s helper.
Governor: More dollars will likely be needed MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards looked ahead Thursday to next year’s legislative session, saying Louisiana needs to enact a tax structure that is fair, predictable and “sufficient” to pay for state services. “We don’t have it today,” the Democratic governor said in a state-of-the-state speech at the annual meeting of the nonpartisan Council for A Better Louisiana. Edwards and lawmakers are gearing up for a tax reform debate during the 2017 legislative session, a rewrite aimed at ending several cycles of budget woes. But the leaders who will be integral to craft-
ing the plans and getting them passed into law disagree on what the term “reform” means — and whether they want to raise more money for government as they rewrite tax laws. The governor suggests more dollars likely will be needed. “There is no Santa Claus, and people want and deserve a certain level of services,” Edwards said. “We just have to live in the real world, and we have to decide that we are going to pay for the government that we want. And we’ve got to bring this into balance. The longer we wait, the greater disservice we do to our state.” At the governor’s urging to balance the budget, lawmakers passed more than $1.5 bilSee Governor Page 10-A
VOLUME 51 NUMBER 14
Lafourche voters Saturday approved term limits for the parish president and parish council. Parish presidents will now be able to serve up to two consecutive fouryear terms, and council members will be able to serve up to three consecutive four-year terms. The measures will take effect with terms beginning in 2020 and will not apply retroactively. According to complete but unofficial results, the proposition for parish president term limits passed by a wide margin of 73 percent to 27 percent, or 11,403 votes to 4,259. Of the parish’s 59,251 registered voters, 26.4 cast ballots. The proposition for council member term limits also passed by a wide margin, 71 percent to 29 percent, or 11,058 votes to 4,535, according to complete but unofficial results. Of the parish’s 59,251 registered voters, 26.3 cast ballots. Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle campaigned on the proposal last year and commented on its approval. See Term Limits Page 6-A
Kennedy: ‘Lot of work left’ as treasurer before Senate term
versity who is majoring in Pre-Veterinary Medicine, needed an internship to graduate. She learned about the Loop Abroad program and found it was a perfect fit. “Becoming a veterinarian is what I have always wanted to do, and I believe that this trip will help me to achieve that goal. I want to thank all of the people that helped me to get to Thailand between all the donations and prayers,” said Kara. “It is greatly appreciated.” While they learned what it’s like to be a veterinarian, students made a difference in the lives of these dogs. By providing check-ups and cleanings, diagnosing and treating ear and eye problems, taking and testing blood, administering vaccines, cleaning and treating wounds, and helping with sterilization surgeries, the students were able to help support the health and wellbeing of these dogs. See Kara Page 10-A
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MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Fresh off a landslide win, U.S. Sen.-elect John Kennedy said Sunday he’ll head to Washington this week for orientation, but doesn’t plan to immediately relinquish his job as state treasurer. The Republican winner of this weekend’s runoff election said he wants to help craft ideas for stabilizing Louisiana’s state budget during
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See Kennedy Page 6-A
Cut Off girl volunteers time in Thailand working with animals
This summer, Kara Laird, 21, of Cut Off, spent two weeks in Thailand helping animals and learning hands-on what it’s like to be a veterinarian. Traveling with the Boston-based Loop Abroad, Kara was part of a small team that volunteered giving care at a dog shelter and then spent a week working directly with rescued elephants at an elephant sanctuary. The Veterinary Service program brings students to Thailand for two weeks to volunteer alongside a staff veterinarian. For one week, students volunteer at the Animal Rescue Kingdom dog shelter in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The shelter is home to over 100 dogs that have been rescued after being abandoned, beaten, or abused. While the dogs can be adopted, any that aren’t will be cared for by the shelter for their whole lives. Kara, a senior at Nicholls State Uni-
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