Az 2013 comes to a close, we should all look back an’ see what’s been accomplished in our area durin’ de las’ 12 months. Toppin’ all de accomplishments would have to be de Sasol announcement dat day wuz gonna spend billions on buildin’ an’ operatin’ a huge LNG plant in our area.
Den dar wuz de Magnolia Corp. announcin’ day wuz comin’ to town to locate on Port uf Lake Charles property.
De casino ball finally got rollin’ wit’ Houston bidnessman Tilmon Fertitta announcin’ he wuz buyin’ de Pinnacle property an’ wuz gonna open a Golden Nugget next to L’Auberge.
Mo good news came wit’ de sealin’ uf de deal for de old Sears property, which will include shops an’ apartments.
De Ryan Street improvements wuz finished, an’ boy do day look good. De Ward Three city court buildin’ wuz finished way ahead uf schedule an’ looks great. De McNeese Street extension wuz completed an’ designated, pavin’ de way for mo bidnesses an’ homes to be built in de east section uf town.
We also want to mention de Sulphur area, which completed its Heritage Park an’ de West Cal Coliseum, which will draw big-time events to de Lake Area.
Of course dar are udder projects we’d like to see to make our area first class. Lights on de I-10 bridge come to mind. De Boardwalk Project still haz lots uf folks wonderin’, an de extension uf Enterprise Blvd. to Highway 171 are jus’ a few.
Now, public officials always tell us to be patient, but az taxpayers, we want to see tings done an’ done right now. But let’s all be thankful for all de good dat haz come to our area, an’ let’s all work togedder to make mo uf de same happen in 2014.
Coliseum Shapin’ Up
Az you’ve probably noticed, Burton Coliseum iz getting’ a facelift, an’ we understand when all iz sed an’ done, it will be firs’ class. Improvements inside will also be noticeable. Better lightin’ an’ better sound are jus’ some uf de tings one will notice when de project iz completed.
In addition to MSU basketball an’ rodeo, de Coliseum will host several state high school basketball championships in girls an’ boys divisions dis year. Las’ year, dar were a few classes uf state championship games at de Civic Center. We understand dis year dar will be mo classes uf state championships.
Folks, de Louisiana High School Athletic Assoc. likes our area, which already has state championships in girls’ softball, swimmin’ an’ baseball at de Sulphur Recreation complexes. De addition uf de basketball finals to our area iz a big plus.
Like we’ve reminded everyone before, mamas an’ daddies an’ relatives from all corners uf our state come to our area to see de kids compete. An’ when day do, day spend money on lodgin’, food an’ gaz.
It takes a lot uf work to get dem tournaments to our area, an dat’s where de Convention an’ Visitors Bureau comes in. Shelly an’ de gang do a great job uf gettin’ good solid bids for dese events, an’ hotels an’ restaurants are really happy because uf it.
Edwards Takes Swat At Obama
Former Gov. Edwin Edwards wuz in town recently az de gues’ speaker at de Hector San Miguel annual banquet. De 85-year-ol’ former governor hit on de subject uf de pipeline project dat would get oil from Canada to de refineries along de Gulf coast.
Edwards blamed President Obama for de delays in gettin’ dis done. He pointed out dat Canada will sell de oil to somebody, an’ if we don’t buy it, dem Canadians are gonna sell it to China. An’ Edwards joked de Chinese will probably make Mardi Gras beads out uf de oil an’ sell de beads to us.
He wuz jokin’, but it illustrates how we keep giving billions to Arabic countries when we have de opportunity to get oil from our neighbors. Don’t make no sense, do it?
Army Cadets Comin’
Southwes’ Louisiana got mo good news recently when it wuz announced dat Army Cadets uf America will set up a unit in Sulphur. Dis is de firs’ such unit in our state, an’ one uf only a dozen or so in our country.
De Army Cadet uf America iz a non-profit youth explorer program chartered by de Boys Scouts’ Learning for Life program. From what we understand, de program works pretty much like de Army Reserve; members meet once a month for drills, an’ in summer, go to Florida or Alabama for a 14-21 day camp.
De program iz designed to develop young men 11-18 in a healthy, drug- an’ crime-free environment. We welcome dis program to our area, an’ we hope our courts will work out an agreement wit’ Army Cadets uf America to help steer young men in de right direction.
Mary Makes Move
For a few months now, a conservative organization haz been attackin’ Sen. Mary Landrieu on de Obamacare issue. Well, she finally got goin’ on de tube herself, claimin’ she wuz workin’ to fix Obamacare. If you didn’t know all de players, you’d tink she’s attackin’ Obamacare too.
Lots uf money iz gonna be spent on dis election between now an’ dis time next year. De Republicans want dat Senate seat real bad, an’ de Democrats want to keep it. Just wish I had de money dar gonna spend on dis race.
Hot Races Comin’
In addition to de judges race dat will be held early next year, dar will be de race for Sulphur mayor. Ron Leleux, former mayor, made it official by kickin’ off his campaign to gain hiz ol’ seat back with an impressive presence in de Sulphur Christmas parade.
Mayor Chris Duncan, who beat LeLeux four years ago, announced a few weeks earlier he wuz in for anudder term. Former Sulphur Waterworks manager Clopha Boudreaux haz also announced he’s runnin’. We hear dar may be two or three mo gettin’ in de race. In addition, dar are gonna be udder races dat will have all uf us political junkies watchin’ de candidates’ every step.
How Much Did You Say??
A Baton Rouge newspaper ran an article recently about how folks who are interested in runnin’ for governor are already raisin’ money. Claims are it will take between $3.5 an $4.5 million to make a serious showin’ in de race. Now, Bobby Jindal raised $10 million an’ beat about 10 in one shot in de las’ race.
Az we mentioned in our last article, de latest poll shows Sen. Vitter leadin’ in de polls, wit’ Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne an’ Treasury Sec. John Kennedy havin’ good numbers az well. Looks like it’s gonna be a long time before we have a Democrat back in de top office in dis state.
Now a friend uf mine who’s in de know says Mitch Landrieu, now mayor uf New Awlins an’ a Democrat, could jump in de race. He would change tings, but I don’t tink he can beat de Republican Machine.
We’ll Miss You, George
Like many folks in Louisiana, I wuz saddened to learn uf de recent death uf Blue Dog artist George Rodrigue. I knew George for many years, goin’ back to de days when he wuz cuttin’ grass at de cemetery in Scott to have enough money to buy art supplies.
Hiz Jolie Blon painting made him famous, an’ hiz Under the Louisiana Oak an’ Blue Dog series made him rich. But he never forgot how he got his start, an’ as such, he wuz great in promotin’ art in schools.
George’s fight with cancer was a long one, and sadly he lost out in de end. He’ll be remembered through his artwork for a long time.
Yellow Jackets Shine In Dome
Congratulations to de Kinder Yellow Jackets on takin’ home de state championship trophy recently. Kinder wuz de only team to make it to de championship game in New Awlins. Udder outstanding teams from de area included Barbe, Jennings an’ Vinton. But de Yellow Jackets were de only ones to go all de way.
Deep Taughts While Smokin’ Some Real Good Ceegars
10) Shouldn’t we all continue to wear blue an’ gold on Fridays to support McNeese?
9) What will really happen wit’ de Mardi Gras Boardwalk project?
8) When iz Ziggy gonna tell me he hit my truck?
7) Why do all dem folks who walk real good have handicap tags on dar cars?
6) Do I really want or need a flu shot?
5) Ain’t it nice to see de downtown area and Civic Center lit up for de holidays?
4) Why does T-Claude always have to come over an’ supervise when I’m makin’ a rouge?
3) How long will it take Snooky to break hiz New Year’s resolutions?
2) Iz anybody gonna run against Joey Alcede for marshal?
1) Will my no good bum brudda-in-law find a job in 2014?
Final Shot
I axed my fran Lefty if he’d made a bucket list for 2014. He sed he had. Hiz list consisted uf him drinkin’ mo giggle juice an’ tryin’ not to kick da bucket.
‘Til next time, lache pas la patate.
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