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SERVING: MATHEWS • GHEENS • LOCKPORT • VALENTINE • LAROSE CUT OFF • GALLIANO • GOLDEN MEADOW • LEEVILLE • GRAND ISLE
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Parish proposes report exchange with council
School Board propositions on Saturday’s ballot
Vo t e r s parishwide will decide on four millage renewals Saturday that will help pay for Lafourche Parish Consolidated School District. Proposition 1 is a 10-year, 7.49 mill property tax renewal to be used for the school’s general maintenance. Yearly revenue estimate from this proposition is approximately $7.2 million, beginning with the year 2020 and would remain in effect for a period of ten years, until 2029. Proposition 2 is a 10-year, 7.49 mill property tax renewal to be used for the payment of salaries of teachers and all other employees of the District. Yearly estimated revenue is approximately $7.2 million, beginning in 2020 and would remain in effect until 2029. See Election Page 3-A
MEETINGS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 LAFOURCHE FIRE DISTRICT. #9 6:30 p.m. Gheens Community Ctr. 1428 Hwy. 654 - Gheens LAFOURCHE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD 7:00 p.m. 805 E. 7th St. Thibodaux
THURSDAY, MAY 2 BAYOU FELLOWSHIP 7:00 p.m. E. 93rd St. - Galliano
G.M. ROTARY CLUB 7:00 p.m. Old Parish Library - LA 1 Golden Meadow MONDAY, MAY 6
LAFOURCHE PORT COMMISSION Committee Meetings 6:00 p.m. 16829 E. Main - Galliano
VOLUME 53 NUMBER 34
By Julia Arenstam Daily Comet Staff Writer
Lockport Mayor Edward Reinhardt visits with a road construction crew recently. Mayor Reinhardt and the town’s administration have been busy getting improvements to many of the town’s streets, sidewalks and drainage ditches. Mayor Reinhardt stated the town was getting ready to start a major drainage project between Catherine and Comeaux streets with construction beginning within a couple of weeks.
Bill requiring restaurants to disclose imported shrimp moving forward
BATON ROUGE - A bill being considered by the Louisiana Legislature would require all food service establishments to tell their customers if they are being served crawfish or shrimp imported from a foreign country. House Bill 335, authored by Jerry “Truck” Gisclair (D-Larose), was approved by the Louisiana House of Representatives Health and Welfare Committee on April 25. According to the bill, “the state recognizes that serious risks to public health may be posed by antibiotics, radiation and numerous toxins found in seafood products … that originate outside the United States.” A 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office stated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only sampled .01 percent of all seafood imports in 2015.
According to the report, about 12.2 percent of the FDA’s drug testing samples for shrimp were found to have the presence of unsafe drug residues. Although foreign shrimp and crawfish from southeast Asia can be purchased cheaper abroad than domestically, the shellfish have been found to contain unsafe levels of illegal antibiotics in the past. Gisclair said he introduced the bill out of concern for the health effects of the shrimp and crawfish being imported. As a consumer, he said he always asks restaurants where their seafood came from. “I have a right to know what I’m putting into my body,” he said. “The hope is to let people know of the health issues involved with imported shrimp.” See Bill Page 3-A
See Parish Page 3-A
Governor announces final funding for three important coastal protection projects
BATON ROUGE — Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is using an innovative financing strategy that will provide $18.5 million to fully fund the Grand Bayou Flood gate, a critical component of the Morganza to the Gulf Hurricane Protection System, fund $35 million for a pump station at the head of Bayou Lafourche, providing fresh water to over 300,000 residents of Assumption, Ascension, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes and invest $5 million for the Larose to Golden Meadow Hurricane Protection System. The $18.5 million floodgate on See Funding Page 3-A
All-you-can-eat crawfish Saturday
TOWN OF GOLDEN MEADOW 7:00 p.m. 107 Jervis St. Golden Meadow
The Central Lafourche High School Trojan Athletic Association will hold their second annual Crawfish Cook Off at the Lafourche Central Market Pavilion this Saturday. Gates will open at 3 p.m. Bring your lawn chairs as the event features all-you-can-eat crawfish, an auction and band, and refreshments for purchase. Pictured are Maurice Martin and Tod Williams, CLHS Class of 1987 and one of 36 teams that participated, cooking and sampling a batch of crawfish at last year’s event.
INSIDE
Arrests.........................7-A
Bid Notice....................8-A Calendar of Events.....2-A
Classifieds....................6-A
Legals..........................8-A Lottery.........................2-A Memorials...................6-A
News in Brief...............7-A Obituaries...................6-A
PLEASE VOTE YES
The Lafourche Parish government is proposing an exchange of financial and legislative audit reports prior to Parish Council meetings. Accounting Manager Carrel Hymel presented the quarterly financial report to the Parish Council April 23, detailing the ending revenues for 2018 and some of the first quarter collections for 2019. When Hymel finished his presentation, Councilwoman Luci Sposito asked that in the future all reports be sent electronically to the council before the meeting, so members have time to review them and ask questions. The report is currently presented as a hard copy to the council at the beginning of the meeting. “I’ll send it electronically ahead of time as well,” Hymel told Sposito and the rest of the council Tuesday. However, when Hymel emailed his report to the council Wednesday morning, he said the administration has decided not to supply the report ahead of time, until the council’s legislative auditor agrees to submit his report prior to the meeting.
File Photo
ON
Proposition 1 is a 10-year, 7.49 mill property tax renewal to be used for the school’s general maintenance and operation. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR “A” RATED SCHOOL DISTRICT BY VOTING YES!
SAT., MAY 4
TO THESE
Proposition 2 is a 10-year, 7.49 mill property tax renewal to be used for the payment of salaries of teachers and all other employees of the District.
LAFOURCHE PARISH SCHOOLS TAX RENEWALS
Proposition 3 is a 10-year, 7.49 mill property tax to be used for acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining and operating school buildings (including the cost of operating and maintaining the air-conditioning facilities).
Proposition 4 is a 10-year, 2 mill property tax for additional support for the District’s unfunded obligations for the retired employees of the school system.
THESE ARE NOT NEW TAXES