NOT AGAIN!!!

Recently, de Lake Charles City Council again brought up de topic uf a downtown hotel. Now, If you’ve been livin’ around here for any amount uf time, you know dis haz been a regular topic for at leas’ de las’ 10 years. An’ it’s shot down every time, an’ wit’ good reason.

Folks don’t want it, an’ hotel an’ motel owners shore don’t want to compete wit hotels funded by de public.

Me, I tink dem efforts by de council would best be put to gettin’ a casino where de Harrah’s casino wuz. Now some say dat can’t be done cause Pinnacle put it in dar donation uf de property to de city dat it could not be used for gamin’. Me, I’m shore if de city sold de property to someone, dar would be some lawyers who could get dat taken care uf. Remember, if you have enough lawyers, you can do anyting.

Some ax where de license for de Lake casino would come from … probably Baton Rouge or New Awlins, since both cities now have properties dat ain’t exactly settin’ new records.

Back to de city getting in de hotel bidness. It reminds me uf cities gettin’ into de football stadium bidness an’ tellin’ folks it will be a money maker for de city. Day aren’t money makers for de city. Like one economist sed, if they wuz money makers, millionaires would build dem demselves an’ keep all de money for demselves.

Same ting wit’ a downtown hotel; how come dem big hotel chains ain’t linin’ up to build a 20-story unit on de lakefront an’ keep all de money for demselves? We hope we have heard de las’ uf dis silly idea from de City Council.

Anudder ‘Not Again’

De Air Show iz comin’ to town again for the third or fourth try at it. Now me, I like goin’ out to Chennault to see all de planes on display an all de udder stuff.

But dar’s anudder ting dat hasn’t made money an’ will no doubt lose money again dis year an’ not be back next year.

Jus’ like golf dat we discussed in de las’ issue, air shows aren’t de big draw day used to be. Couple dat wit’ de bunch uf tings kids have to do today, an’ you’ll understand why de Chennault version uf de big show ain’t so big an’ ain’t so profitable.

Circus is de same ting. Me, I like de Ringling Brothers circus. An’ when I went to de las’ one day had here, I knew it would be de las’, ’cause day combined two performances into one. In fact, I tol’ Sedonia, my wife, right den, “sa c’est tous” (that iz all).

Before dem folks keep trowin’ money at shows an’ entertainment, maybe day should do a little research an’ ax folks what they want. Get dem folks dat do political polls. Dar usually right on de money about candidates. Why couldn’t we hire dem to tell us what folks want and den provide it?

So me, I applaud de air show folks for tryin’ it again, but it don’t look good. T Claude, him, he tinks dey should have a booray tournament at de Civic Center every Friday night. Now you know he researched dat real good.
Galvanizin’ Plant Comin To Our Area

Good news for Southwest Louisiana came recently in the way uf a dedication uf a galvanizin’ plant in Jeff Davis Parish. Metalplate Galvanizing sez it will build de largest plant uf its kind in our state on Farm Supply road and Highway 90 just west uf Jennings.

Metalplate haz de same kinda plants in Birmingham, Atlanta, Jacksonville and Houston. Top dogs from de company sed one uf de reasons dar comin to our area iz de expansion uf petrochemical an’ refinery outfits in Lake Charles.

Now folks, dis iz what we can expect to see a whole lot uf in de next few years … support industries dat make tings dem plants need. De 50,000-square-foot plant will have a staff uf 104 earnin’ mo dan $45 grand each a year. De price tag for de plant is $9.75 million. Dat’s good news for Jeff Davis Parish and all uf Southwest Louisiana.

Marsh Madness Part Deux

You’ll soon see high school busses from trewout de state transportin’ basketball players to an’ from Burton Coliseum. For de second year in a row, de state high school championships will be decided here. So expect to see lots uf folks in town for dis event.

We’ve commented befo how de Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau does an excellent job uf pitchin’ dem kinda events against de likes uf Baton Rouge, Shreveport an’ New Awlins. De LHSAA principals vote afta de presentations are made. An’ it shore looks like dey like our area, because state championships in softball, swimming an’ baseball are helt in Sulphur, an’ basketball championships are helt at Burton Coliseum.

De numbers wuz good last year; let’s make ’em even better this year. You get to see great games, an’ some uf de players you will see later on TV at de college level. So make plans to attend Marsh Madness at Burton Coliseum.

He Did It

Las’ year afta winnin’ a Grammy for best album, Steve Riley sed it’s like an education — dey can never take that away from you. An’ when you’re introduced, dey will introduce you az a Grammy Award winner.

Our hats are off to my good friend Jo-El Sonnier for landing a Grammy dis year. He won wit’ hiz album Legacy. Now, Jo-El was born an’ raised in Rayne, but haz lived aroun’ here for many years. So we gonna claim him az one uf us.

Like Ron Guidry sed, nobody knew him in Carencro until he won de Cy Young Award; den everyone in Lafayette Parish claimed to be related to him.

Way to go Jo-El … or should dat be coozn Jo-El.

Mardi Gras Better Dan Ever

Mardi Gras in Southwest Louisiana wuz bigger an better dan ever dis year. From Lake Arthur to Iowa to Moss Bluff, to Sulphur to Lake Charles. Bigger parades, mo beautiful costumes an’ mo fun dan ever.

Me an’ Sedonia went to de Krew uf Barkus Parade an’ shore enjoyed all dem dogs. She brought her fox terrier an’ t-foo an’ me. I brought my coon hound, Bubba. T-foo had a good time minglin’ wit’ de udder dogs.

Now Bubba, let’s jus say he ain’t goin back next year. No wonder day kicked him outta dog school.

Mo Employee Camps Comin’?

Folks in Hackberry wuz none too pleased to learn about plans to build a man camp off Dugas Road in dar community. Like one citizens sed, 2,500 men in a camp would double de size uf de city. De small Cameron Parish town doesn’t have sewage, water or police to handle dat much growth all at once.

Meantime, dar’s also talk uf a camp for womens. We’ll see how dis plays out in de next 12 months.

West Cal Pavilion Dedicated

Politicians from all ova gathered recently at the West Cal Event Center for de official dedication uf both the Event Center an de Rodeo Pavilion. It took a lotta hard work from our legislators, datin’ back to when Tim Stine was a state representative, to make dis happen. Now dar’s a facility for Mardi Gras balls, gun shows, weddings and a whole lot more. De presentation wuz short and very nice. Way to go West Cal.

A Good Move By De Go Group

Recently de Calcasieu Parish Police jury named Karen Lambert Clapp as head uf de Go Group. Me, I tink de Jury made de right choice. Clapp has a MBA from McNeese, an’ has been marketing director at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital for de las’ seven years. We know she’ll do a good job uf informin’ folks trew de media uf happenings at de industries.

Deep Taughts While Listenin’ To LSU Baseball

10) What happened to all dem games we wuz gonna see on de SEC network?

9) Jeff Landry and John Kennedy want to run for attorney general. Can Buddy Caldwell handle dem?

8) Iz any uf our parish-wide officials gonna have any opponents for fall elections?

7) When iz my buddy Anthony gonna treat me to Vic ‘N Anthony’s like he promised?

6) Why iz it de day after oil prices rise you see gaz go up, yet it takes two weeks to drop afta it falls?

5) Why do I feel so grumpy when I have de flu?

4) Why don’t mo folks wear gold an blue on Fridays to show dar support for McNeese?

3) When iz de price uf crawfish gonna start droppin’?

2) How come John Bridges keeps hintin’ for me to make him porkback jambalaya wit’ blackeye peas?

1) What udder big acts we gonna see at de casinos dis spring and summer?

Final Shot

Lefty went to de Krew uf Krewes parade. He hung around de tobacco-free zone an worked up a chew uf Redman. A big ol’ feller wit’ a shirt dat sed “Security” on it pointed to a sign dat sed “tobacco-free” an’ axed, “Can’t you read.” To which Lefty replied, “Mais yea, can you?” De security guy punched Lefty so hard he swallowed hiz chew uf Redman and turned purple. Why iz Lefty such a trouble maker?

‘Til next time, lache pas la patate.