In de Sunday American Press recently dar wuz three letters to de editor regardin’ man camps, where workers will eat and sleep while away from large industrial projects in our area.
In one letter, de writer called dem “Workers Villages” and in de udder, two writers called dem “man camps.” Guess dat’s like bein’ a lawyer or an attorney, wit’ de difference dar bein’ about 100 grand a year.
Regardless uf what you call dem, folks really don’t care for dem and have been successful in keepin’ dem out uf certain neighborhoods. De firs’ one to be rejected by de police jury wuz de one on Highway 27 north uf Sulphur. De udder wuz on de WPA road wes’ uf Sulphur.
De latest proposal dat’s gettin’ a lotta folks organized against a man camp iz in Westlake. Dis one iz probably worse dan de udder two in dat it’s right behind de National Golf Course, where you have nice homes in de $300,000+ category. Dar’s also a good many lots being sold for homes in dat same price range.
Now dat means children goin’ to school an’ school busses competin’ with labor camp busses on de not so spectacular roads. Residents opposed to dat one are organized, an’ began by gettin’ petitions signed on de day uf de recent teacher sales tax vote. Smart move on dar part.
Now no one iz opposed to man camps. It’s just dat day don’t want dem in dar back yards. We hope all uf dis gets resolved soon.
Interestin’ Race Takin’ Shape
Distric’ 34 state Rep. A.B. Franklin wuz cruisin’ along, figgerin’ on havin’ token opposition in de October election. Den … BOOM!!! … Wilfred Carter, former representative from dat district and former district judge, trows hiz hat in de ring. Former Ward Three City Judge Tom Quirk jumps in de race and den dar’s another BOOM!!!!
Next, Alvin Joseph gets in de race. Dat’s three worthwhile opponents for Franklin.
Now some had figured if Carter ran Franklin wouldn’t run. Not so. A.B. iz runnin’.
Watch dis one folks … dar all good men, and three have years uf experience in how gubment works. Dis one should be a real dog fight. An’ it ain’t over yet. Dar may be some udders jumpin’ in dar wit’ hopes uf makin’ de runoff.
Stephen Has Strong Showin’
District 35 Rep. Brett Geymann iz termed-out an’ can’t seek re-election in de fall. Moss Bluff attorney Stephen Dwight iz runnin’ for dat seat.
Me an’ Sedonia went to a crawfish boil he put on at Pinederosa Park in Westlake recently. Every one who’s anyone in politics wuz dar at de $100 a couple crawfish boil. Sedonia got mad at me for eatin’ three trays uf crawfish. I got to admit when I took a bath dat night I wuz crawlin’ backwards in de bathtub.
Folks, dis gadderin’ wuz a real show uf strength. An’ anyone who’s tinkin’ uf runnin’ against Stephen better have dar head examined.
Lots Uf Softball An’ Baseball
Az you probably know, Sulphur Parks and Recreation hosted de Fast Pitch 56 girls state championship for de umpteenth year recently. Congrats go out to de Sam Houston girls, who beat Dutchtown 3-1 in class 5A competition. And congrats to Hackberry, who won anudder state championship in Class C, beatin’ St. Joseph’s uf Plaucheville 16-6 in 6 innings. De game wuz stopped because uf de mercy rule, which means dat after 6 innings if a team iz leadin’ by 10 or more, de game iz stopped. In de olden days, we called it de “skunk rule.”
Also congrats in baseball go out to Sulphur, Barbe, Kinder and Fairview for makin’ de big dance.
You blue and gold McNeese fans should be proud uf both de softball and baseball teams. De girls will probably make de regionals (to be announced soon) and de men’s team had 30 wins. Great goings for all de ball teams in our area.
Mint Honors Kisatchie
If you’re like me, you like drivin’ through Kisatchie National Forest to see all de critters on de side uf de road. You’ll usually see deer, red fox, armadillos and my favorite — wild turkeys.
De U.S. mint haz honored de central Louisiana forest by strikin’ a quarter showin’ a bird in flight wit’ tall pines in de background. You can go to de U.S. Mint website and order de quarter or de three coin set wit’ de presentation display card. Dis is a very nice job by de U.S. Mint.
Way To Go, Rick
We wuz pleased to see dat Rick Richard haz been appointed to de Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau board uf directors.
Now Rick iz involved in all sorts uf activities intended to make Southwest Louisiana a better place to live. He has great knowledge uf de federal gubment, havin’ served on de Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under President Ronald Reagan. He is deeply involved in de Alliance Foundation an’ a whole buncha udder boards.
Congrats to Rick. We know he will work well wit’ udder board members and help bring convention and tourism to our area.
Boustany Does A Roundtable At Republican Roundtable
Me and my fran Max attended a recent Republican Roundtable whare de guest wuz Congressman Charles Boustany. Due to poor weather, de crowd wuz small, so de congressman made dis a true roundtable by chattin’ and listenin’ to de dozen or so who wuz in attendance.
Boustany talked about Medicare an’ Medicaid, sayin’ dat udder congressmen may be lost when dar discussin’ de topic, but he’s a doctor, so he knows how to talk to dem bureaucrats in Washington about what’s workin’ an’ what’s not an’ what is wasteful spendin’.
He also talked about de I-10 bridge and his work on gettin’ it replaced, and de veterans’ building. It wuz nice to see such a high-rankin’ political official just shoot straight for a change instead uf talkin’ in sound bites for TV stations.
Grissom Now Head Uf LED
We sawed in de Baton Rouge Advocate recently dat Steven Moret haz moved from head uf de Louisiana Dept. uf Economic Development to head uf de LSU Foundation. De LSU Foundation is de group dat gets money for de entire LSU system.
Moret did one heck uf a job bringing big industries to de lake area. We should all be sorry to see him go.
Moret will be replaced by Steven Grissom. Now Grissom ain’t exactly chopped liver. He haz a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from LSU an’ an MBA from Rice University. He’s worked for de Shaw Group in Baton Rouge an’ de Baton Rouge Chamber uf Commerce. We know he’ll continue to bring home de bacon to our state an Southwest Louisiana.
De Udder Side Uf De Story
Me, I sat next to a big rig truck driver at de counter at KD’s recently. It wuz interestin’ to hear what he had to say about comin’ trew Lake Charles an’ de bridge an’ de Opelousas Street exit.
He sez his fellow truck drivers hate comin’ trew de city because uf de bridge cause day know dat 6 outta 10 times day gonna be delayed by a wreck. He sed they burn diesel bigtime when day ain’t movin’.
An’ de most serious ting iz gettin’ a rig movin’ once it has stopped on de bridge. Folks, you are talkin’ about rigs loaded down wit’ everyting from motor oil to garlic. Gettin’ dat rig movin’ smoothly iz one big issue.
Anudder big problem iz folks cuttin’ right in front uf dem. Lots uf wrecks happen dat way.
Den dar’s de issue uf a log book day must carry in de truck. After so many hours, day have to shut it down. So needless to say, day ain’t makin’ no money when dar sittin’ on de bridge or I-10 an’ not movin.
Az far as de Opelousas Street exit wrecks, he says better lightin’ and warnings would help a great deal. Now, dis information iz all from a feller who makes a livin’ doing dis.
Deep Taughts While Watchin’ De Tigers
10) How long will it be before Suddenlink starts chargin’ for de SEC Network?
9) How can de Astros be playin’ so good dis year afta playin’ so bad last year?
8) Why iz it dat all legislators are talkin’ about iz increasin’ taxes instead uf cuttin’ services?
7) Will Sedonia bring me back some Cuban ceegars when she goes on her cruise?
6) Didn’t de teachers get a good vote of approval wit’ dar 70 percent win in de recent sales tax election?
5) Why don’t we have more rodeos at Burton Coliseum?
4) Wit’ all de folks from south uf de border comin’, why don’t we celebrate Cinco de Mayo instead of Contraband Days next year?
3) Iz Jay Dardenne gonna move up in de polls afta all dis tourism promotion he’s been doin’?
2) What did La’el Collins mean when he said de Cowboys’ pay wuz mo dan he made in college?
1) Will de LSU Tigers win it all in Omaha dis year???
Final Shot
Lefty went to Contraband Days an’ wuz refused entrance. Cops told him incidents over de last five years wuz de reason. He told de cop he would never go to Contraband again. De police officer smiled and axed him if dat wuz a promise.
“Til next time, lache pas la patate.
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