YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER LAROSE, LA thelafourchegazette.com
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
SERVING: MATHEWS • GHEENS • LOCKPORT • VALENTINE • LAROSE CUT OFF • GALLIANO • GOLDEN MEADOW • LEEVILLE • GRAND ISLE
School Board addresses teacher pay concern
Person of interest sought in Galliano burglary investigation
Deputies are seeking to identify a person of interest in a burglary investigation. The burglary occurred at a boat storage facility in Galliano. On the morning of March 20, when deputies responded to the boat storage facility in Galliano, they learned a person or persons had broken into several boat sheds. Deputies are still working to determine what items were stolen during the burglary. Upon reviewing surveillance photos, deputies identified a person of interest in the case who was seen on the grounds earlier in the day on the date of the incident. The man was traveling on a bicycle with a basket mounted to the front. Anyone who may be able to identify the person of interest, or anyone with any See Burglary Page 5-A
By Dan Copp Daily Comet Staff Writer
Photo by Babs
The Lockport American Legion will once again host its 3rd Annual Spring Craft Show this Saturday, March 30. The event will be held inside the Legion Home at 921 Veterans Street in Lockport, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Come on out and shop for all your Easter goodies, featuring a variety of vendors with lots of different crafts. Plate lunches will also be available for purchase and will consist of chicken and sausage jambalaya, white beans, and bread for $8. For more information contact Tammy Loupe at 985-805-0719 or Christina at 985-413-2198. Pictured is Ronnette Rome checking out the crochet purses at last year’s event.
Dead alligators dropped to darkest Gulf depths to see what bites
By TRISTAN BAURICK NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune undefined
MEETINGS
THURSDAY, MAR. 28 GOLDEN MEADOW ROTARY CLUB 7:00 p.m. Old Parish Library LA 1- Golden Meadow MONDAY, APR. 1 TOWN OF GOLDEN MEADOW 7:00 p.m. 107 Jervis Drive Golden Meadow
VOLUME 53 NUMBER 29
What happens when you drop a dead alligator in the darkest depths of the Gulf of Mexico? It’s not a question that has plagued many scientists, but it has plagued at least one - Craig McClain, a marine biologist and executive director of the Louisiana University Marine Consortium in Cocodrie. McClain wanted to see what unfolded if he introduced a rare calorie-rich reptile to the abyssal seafloor, a dark and nearly lifeless place with little food for the few critters dwelling there. So last month, McClain and a team of LUMCON researchers plopped three adult alligator carcasses, each seven to eight feet long, into the Gulf, where they sunk to depths of more than a mile. They then deployed a live-feed video camera to cover the action. It didn’t take long for one of the creepiest creatures of the deep to sniff out the
WEDNESDAY, APR. 3 LAFOURCHE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD 7:00 p.m. 805 E. 7th St. - Thibodaux
INSIDE
Arrests.........................9-A Bid Notices.........9-A/10-A
Calendar of Events.....2-A
Classifieds....................8-A Legals.......................10-A
Lottery.........................2-A Obituaries...................9-A
16230 Hwy 3235 Cut Off, LA 70345 985-325-7077
gators. Giant isopods, each about a foot in length, swarmed in and began nibbling on what, to them, must have been a bountiful and exotic feast. “We had assumed given the tough hide of the alligator it might take a while for deep-sea animals to access the soft tissue,” McClain said in email during an outing on a LUMCON research vessel. “But the giant isopods seemed to find soft spots in the hide on the abdomen and in the armpits.” From the top, an isopod looks like a gargantuan version of the pill-bug, a landdwelling cousin. See Alligators Page 5-A
Natalie Lathrop shows a wild hog wing, a popular item featured at the Larose Civic Center’s Wild Game Supper. The 22nd annual event is this Thursday, March 28 and will feature over forty exotic dishes including ostrich, duck, deer, wild boar and Louisiana seafood prepared by some of the Bayou’s finest chefs. Call 985-693-7355 for details and tickets.
The Lafourche Parish School Board recently approved a measure that changes the way its teachers are paid. The board unanimously voted on March 13 to amend the district’s salary schedule in hopes to give local teachers a level playing field with those who get hired from other districts. The measure was brought to the table by board member Tyler Dufrene, who said he has researched and discussed the matter with teachers throughout the district. Due to economic hardships, the Lafourche School District was forced to freeze employee salaries in March 2016, causing teachers to fall three salary steps behind where they should be, Dufrene said. Because of the way the current salary schedule was worded, a teacher from another school district who transferred to Lafourche could have earned more than an established Lafourche teacher with the same amount of experience, Dufrene said. “For example, if a teacher with four full years of experience comes from another parish into Lafourche, he or she will earn $1,200 more per year than a teacher with four full years of experience who has remained in Lafourche Parish throughout his or her career,” Dufrene said. “This is because that outsider would be given credit for all of his or her documented years and placed on the correct step. While that newcomer would remain frozen See Teacher Pay Page 5-A
Chili / Cracklin’ cookoff
File Photo
Who has the best cracklins and the best chili? Find out Saturday, March 30 when the Lafourche Shrine Club hosts their annual Chili and Cracklin Cook-off from 10 a.m. – till at the Larose Civic Center. There will be food, fun, music, arts and crafts, auctions and fun for the whole family! The entry fee is $5 per person for all the chili you can eat. Children under 12 are free. Contact Wayne Danos at 985-2915271 for more information.
Now Open Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.