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Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019
School board member facing theft charges resigns By Halle Parker Daily Comet Staff Writer
A Lafourche Parish School Board member facing charges of theft resigned from his position at the start of last Wednesday night’s meeting. Former board member Robby Gisclair’s decision came Robby ahead of the Gisclair board’s discussion to potentially censure him “for conduct detrimental to the board” and request his resignation. “After a reflection of the agenda item for tonight’s meeting discussing my personal allegations and how it affects the school board and district, I along with my family and my attorney have decided that my continued involvement as a school board member does not seem to be in the best interest for our school board members for our school district, my family or myself,” Gisclair read from a statement before exiting the building.
Voters will decide several key races Saturday
Local and statewide voters helped break records as early voting ended Saturday. Voters will make their final decisions on several keys races in this Saturday’s runoff election, mainly, who will lead Louisiana for the next four years, current Governor John Bel Edwards, Democrat, or challenger Eddie Rispone, Republican. For the office of Secretary of State voters will decide between incumbent Kyle Ardoin, Republican, or “Gwen” Collins-Greenup, Democrat. Lafourche Parish residents will also be electing a new judge for the 17th Ju-
dicial District, Division C. Voters will decide between either Marla Abel, Republican or Rene C. Gautreaux, Independent. Judge Walt Lanier vacated the seat after being elected to the state appellate court. For the parish president seat, voters will decide between Archie Chaisson, III, Republican, or Luci Sposito, Republican. Voters in Recreation District No. 8 will also decide on a 9.96 mills property tax on all the property subject to taxation in the District (an estimated $65,548 rea-
sonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year) for a period of ten (10) years, beginning with the year 2020 and ending with the year 2029, for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, improving, maintaining and operating recreational facilities for the District. To view your ballot, visit www.geauxvote.com. The polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Lafourche schools to bring half-cent sales tax before voters By Halle Parker Daily Comet Staff Writer
Lafourche Parish School District will move forward with plans to ask voters to pass a half-cent sales tax this spring to pay for employee raises. While the district found money to provide a step increase for 2019-20 after freezing salaries for three years, the average classroom teacher pay in Lafourche ranked 47th in the state for the 2018-19 school year at $47,011. Lafourche schools Superintendent Jarod Martin said the half-cent sales tax would give all certified employees, such as teachers, a $3,000 raise and all non-certified employees, such as support personnel, a $1,500 raise. All employees would also be brought up to date on their salary schedule after the lengthy freeze. The tax is expected to generate about $7.3 million annually. As an example, Martin said, a certified employee who has been with the district for more than four years would receive a raise of $3,900 if the tax passes.
See Gisclair Page 5-A
Medical marijuana in Louisiana: Questions about cost arise By MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Three months after medical marijuana became available in Louisiana, doctors and clinics say some patients are finding the cost for therapeutic cannabis too See Marijuana Page 11-A
INSIDE
Arrests.......................13-A Calendar of Events.....2-A
Classifieds.................12-A Football Contest.........6-A
News In Brief.............11-A
Obituaries...................12-A
VOLUME 54 NUMBER 10
Parish libraries, schools, veterans’ organizations, and others, held ceremonies and socials all week to honor veterans of our area. Pictured is a wall of pictures of veterans displayed during a social held Thursday at the Lockport Library. (Town of Lockport)
See School Tax Page 5-A
Mrs. Torris has done so much for so many in local youth athletics By CASEY GISCLAIR Sports Editor Story first ran in the Houma Times
Some may not know the name. But just about everyone who has played Biddy Basketball or middle school sports over the past 25-30 years will know the face and the smile — the sweet, loving smile of a woman who has become synonymous with local youth sports over most of her adult life. Her name is Mrs. Lorraine Torris, and she’s a woman who has literally helped children compete in athletes for decades in our community. Mrs. Torris is the Director of Lockport Biddy Basketball — a job she’s held for several years. She’s also the Athletic Director at Lockport Middle School. In her career, Mrs. Torris has organized literally hundreds of tournaments and has overseen thousands of games played by tens of thousands of competitors.
She’s one of a kind, and still going strong even as she gets older. Her passion for fighting the good fight has inspired others in the next generation to continue to do the same. Several local Biddy Basketball leaders say they love the work Mrs. Torris has done in her career. Some of the local Biddy leaders even played in some of her tournaments as children. Mrs. Torris is a genuine, good-spirited lady who has never met a stranger. When she sees colleagues and old friends in the gym, they’re always met with the same smile and hug. Even though she keeps a super busy schedule, there’s always just enough time in the day to ask folks how they’re doing. Mrs. Torris loves to organize youth
sports events, and she’s put on literally tons of events and tournaments over the years at the old Lockport Middle School Gym (the old junior high). But she also follows the young men and women as they rise up the ranks and get to high school, as well. See Torres Page 5-A
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