YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER LAROSE, LA thelafourchegazette.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Northern expansion helps fuel port growth
SERVING: MATHEWS • GHEENS • LOCKPORT • VALENTINE • LAROSE CUT OFF • GALLIANO • GOLDEN MEADOW • LEEVILLE • GRAND ISLE
1,837 state bridges deemed structurally deficient
By: Doug Cheramie, II Contributing Writer
Just north of the E slip at Port Fourchon sits an ongoing project that will just about double the size of the port. Better known as the “northern expansion”, the project, when completed, will add four slips and 1,600 acres to an already bustling port. Work was begun in 1999, when the Greater Lafourche Port Commission realized that drilling in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico would bring lots of additional business and activity to the port. Slip A, which was permitted in 1999 and completed in 2003, offers 4,700 feet of bulkhead and dock space, while Slip B offers 14,700 feet of waterfront for business needs. Proving to be the success it was expected to be with all space on the first two slips leased, Slip C was permitted in 2011 and is expected to be completed later this year. The C slip will offer 14,700 feet of waterfront with a little more than one third of that linear footage already leased and available for use by June. See Port Page 6-A
CLOSED WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8
Due to utility work being done in the area, and the fact that we will be without power for several hours, the Lafourche Gazette office will be closed all day on Wednesday, April 8.
MEETINGS SATURDAY, APRIL 11 LES ARTISTE DU BAYOU ART GUILD 9:00 a.m. Larose Civic Center
INSIDE
Arrests..........................12-A
Staff photo
The luminaria tribute bags form a circle to remember or honor a loved one who has battled cancer at last year’s Relay For Life of South Lafourche event at the Larose Civic Center. This year’s Relay For Life is set for Saturday under the Civic Center Pavilion from 12 noon to 12 midnight and offers food, games, and free entertainment. Proceeds from Relay For Life, the world’s largest and most impactful fundraising event to end cancer, benefit the American Cancer Society. It unites communities across the globe to celebrate people who have battled cancer and remember loved ones lost.
State’s high school graduation rate reaches all-time high BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Education announced Monday Louisiana’s four-year high school graduation rate achieved a record high in 2014, increasing for the fourth straight year to reach 74.6 percent, a 1.1 percentage point increase from 2013 and a 3.2 percentage point increase since 2011. The 2014 graduation rate of 74.6 percent marks a nearly 10 percentage point increase in less than a decade. In the class of 2014, nearly 1,600 more students graduated than did in the class of 2013, and nearly 3,440 more students than in 2011. Of the nearly 1,600 additional students graduating in 2014, more than 1,200 are of a minority racial group and more than 1,230 are from low-income backgrounds. Graduation rates for students of color improved by 2 percentage points, nearly doubling the state’s overall improvement. From 2013 to 2014, the graduation rate for students with disabilities also significantly improved, seeing a 6.1 point increase.
BUSINESS Spotlight
“This increase in the number of students graduating from high school in four years is a great sign for our state and a true testament to the hard work and devotion teachers, principals, and families across Louisiana,” said State Superintendent John White. “The increases realized by our districts and schools are more evidence our state cannot afford to go backwards.” Districts made great strides in improving student outcomes. In 2013-2014, thirty-two (32) districts posted cohort graduation rates above 80 percent, up from 13 in 2011. Additionally, 52 districts increased their cohort graduation rates from 2013 to 2014, with 47 of those districts increasing at a rate faster than the state increase of 1.1 percentage points. On the local level, Lafourche Parish however showed a slight decrease from 2012-2013, (81.4%) to 2013-2014, (81.3%), down 0.1% change, while Terrebonne Parish was down 4.9 percent, 80.9 in 2012-2013, to 76.0 in 20132014.
Cut Off Youth Center workers and volunteers prepare to serve boiled crawfish at last year’s Cut Off Youth Center’s all-you-can-eat annual Boilin’ On Da Bayou Crawfish Boil-Off. The event will take place on Sat., April 18. But if you can’t wait until then, South Lafourche High School is holding a crawfish boil this Friday, April 10 for a cost of only $15 per plate that includes 3 lbs. of crawfish, potato and dipping sauce. Tickets can now be purchased in the front office of school from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. before the event.
Neil’s Small Engine, Inc. = Quality products and excellent service Grand Opening of new Larose location slated for Friday and Saturday
Lawnmowers have come a long way since the early non-mechanized multi-blade cylinder reels that your grandparents and great-grandparents may have used. Neil’s Small Engine, Inc., which has been established for 36 years, has seen the evolution of mowing equipment evolve from nonpower push mowers to zero turn riding mowers that makes lawn care and maintenance a breeze.
Classifieds............10-A/11-A
Letters and Opinions......2-A Lottery.............................2-A
Memorials......................11-A
News In Brief...................5-A
Surfin’ The Net..............12-A
SHREVEPORT — Louisiana is one of only 10 states with more structurally deficient bridges in 2014 than the prior year, according to a federation of consumer advocacy groups federal data. Federal Highway Administration data from 2014 show the state has nearly 13,000 bridges, and 1,837 of them are structurally deficient, according to the United States Public Interest Research Group. The report comes as Louisiana grapples with a $12 billion backlog in deferred road and bridge maintenance, The Times reported. And state and federal gas taxes, which provide money for transportation infrastructure, are flat and failing to keep up with inflation. John Olivieri, the US PIRG’s national campaign director for 21st Century Transportation, said hard FHA data highlights the state’s spending priorities. See Bridges Page 6-A
Greatest gains seen among students with disabilities and students of color
Calendar of Events.........2-A
Obituaries......................11-A
VOLUME 49 NUMBER 30
Neil’s Small Engines’ new location in the Bon Service Shopping Center in Larose.
“We have seen major changes over the years with the industry. We’ve gone from traditional steering wheel riders to zero turn riders, flathead engines to overhead valve engines, hand-held equipment that used extension cords and electricity to gas and battery powered versions,” said Neil Adams, owner of Neil’s Small Engines, Inc. Neil and his wife Elaine opened Neil’s Small Engine, Inc. for business in April of 1979 with one location near their home in Cut Off. Since then, their family owned and operated business, has moved to Larose and has opened two more locations, one in Houma and one in Thibodaux. The Larose store was recently relocated to the Bon Service Shopping Center in Larose behind Taco Bell. All three locations feature lawn equipment sales and service departments. Neil’s Small Engines has been a long-time Gravely and Echo dealership and recently partnered with Stihl and Scag for their Larose store. They’ve also become a dealer for Graceland Portable Buildings. “With our new Larose location, we have
more room to have more mowers and other lawn equipment out on the floor for customers to view and get a feel for when shopping. We also have space for the portable buildings that work great as storage sheds, cabana-type home additions or even play houses,” Adams said. A grand opening is scheduled for Friday and Saturday during store hours at the new Larose location. See Neil’s Page 6-A
Just a few of the many items Neil’s has to offer with easier access on their huge showroom floor.