In the first week of September, two rounds of student fights broke out on different days at Barbe High School. What was unusual about the second round of fights was that a few parents showed up and started fighting themselves.
There is really nothing cornier than an old coot like me saying, “when I was a kid, no one would have dreamed of” doing this or that thing that is actually done in 2023. But corny as it is, I think I’m going to do it for this story.
When I was a kid, students would have been astonished if a bunch of parents showed up at the school during school hours. If we students did catch a glimpse of a parent, only did so at 3 pm when a certain number of parents drove by the school entrance to pick up their kids.
As for fights, if we heard that parents had been in a fight at school, most of us would have dismissed the information as a far-fetched rumor, just as we did the persistent rumor that “Paul is dead” (or at another time, that Davy Jones of the Monkees “is dead.”)
On Sept. 8, the same day that KPLC reported the information laid out above, a statement from school superintendent Shannon LaFargue on the Barbe fights was released. It read:
“It’s important to us as an educational organization for our families to know that the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is, and will always be, a top priority. Teaching and learning cannot happen within the walls of our classrooms if we cannot provide a safe environment for everyone involved.
“In regards to the recent incidents at Barbe High School, we, in conjunction with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, are fully investigating these matters. We are reviewing our current protocols and procedures to see how we can improve.
“School-level logistical adjustments are currently being considered, as well as placement of additional law enforcement personnel. Students involved in incidents on our campuses will be held accountable to the fullest extent possible, and we will not tolerate adults causing disturbances on our properties.”
The only part of that whole thing that is of any particular interest to me is the very last part — “we will not tolerate adults causing disturbances on our properties.”
People are always saying that they will not tolerate this or that thing. If all they do is say it, then the statement is a harmless expression of discontent meant to be quoted on local news broadcasts. If a statement like that is going to have any effect, it has to have some teeth in it.
In other words, the authority figure can’t just say “this won’t be tolerated”; he or she must also say what will be done if the thing happens again. In other words, he’ll say something like this: “We won’t tolerate this, and if does happen again, we’re going to do three things: 1. (first thing that will be done), 2. (second thing that will be done), and 3. (third thing that will be done).” And, of course, to make it stick, the three things must really be done if the offensive behavior occurs again.
So, if parents get in a fight on school grounds again, we may find out at that time whether it will or will not be tolerated.
Lafayette Library In Trouble Again
For the last five years or so, the Lafayette public library has been at the center of controversy on a regular basis. The latest big squabble has nothing to do with drag queens reading books aloud. Instead, it has to do with the sudden removal of library board president Robert Judge. It was so sudden, nobody even knew it was going to happen until the very moment it happened.
And the public wasn’t present at the meeting at which it happened. So there’s that.
From day one, Judge was controversial because of his extremely conservative views. It was, says The Current, “a hard right ideological turn on the board” that enabled Judge to make his way to the presidency. Under Judge, raucous board meetings became “commonplace” as he worked hard to ban books from the library and to shut down the local opposition to the board’s doings.
Among the events that have kept the library in the headlines in recent months were:
— The arrest of an LGBTQ+ activist at a Lafayette Parish Library board meeting for interrupting (February, 2022).
— An attempt to fire a Lafayette librarian who, it was said, likely violated state law (July, 2022).
— The removal of a speaker from a Lafayette library meeting on Judge’s orders (January, 2023).
— The voicing of concerns that Judges’ library board could be violating open meetings laws (February, 2023).
Probably the biggest booboo of the library board under Judge was the failure to commit to building a new library branch on the Northside. The reason the failure was a real problem for Judge was that even most conservative library supporters wanted this new library. Judge was admonished about this matter in August. (Although people aren’t using the word “racist” in the media, common sense dictates that a library built in the place where this one will be built will have many poor black clients.)
Another problem was that the Lafayette City Government has already set aside $8 million to build the new library. Judge wants to lease space rather than build a new building. I imagine a good number of City Government and Council members have been saying, “Who cares what he wants?”
It should be noted that not everyone in Lafayette is unhappy with Judge’s performance. Some approve of his ongoing efforts to restrict minors’ access to reading materials that he, or somebody else, deems inappropriate. (My reading on the internet tells me that the word “inappropriate” is being frequently used in educational circles not just here, but also in Britain. Apparently, even 8- and 9-year-olds are getting in the habit of using the term.)
Meanwhile, remember that matter about an LGBTQ+ activist being arrested that was mentioned earlier? A federal civil rights suit regarding that occurrence is proceeding. Judge is one of the defendants.
What Does Lake Charles Need?
Plenty of people say, in conversation or in internet posts, that Lake Charles is missing or lacking something. But just what is that thing?
Recently, local radio station Gator 99.5 did a survey of listeners and internet followers in order to compile a list of the 10 things Lake Charles needs most.
The results were very much what you would expect from Lake Charles. Almost all of the list was about big retail chains that sell bland food or products (Picadilly, Dave and Buster’s, Bass Pro, Costco, etc.).
There were a few more interesting items. One was go cart racing. When I moved to Lake Charles in 1999, there was a large go cart racing facility right downtown. It’s not there now.
Also recommended is something called Top Golf. I can’t pass judgment on that because I have no idea what it is. But if it’s easy to play and it draws many customers who spend many dollars, it can’t hurt.
Certainly the most novel item suggested in the Top 10 was an aquarium. Here’s the thing about aquariums: they cost money. I assume that most, if not all, of the large aquariums in the U.S. come about as the result of public/private partnerships. My sense of how things like that work here is that when the idea of a public/private partnership is proposed, the private sector is very slow to come to the party, and often doesn’t show up at all. There are plenty of people here who could pay for such a thing as a large aquarium. Odds are 10 to 1 that they never will.
Missing from the Top 10 were demands for a Lake Charles opera or a greatly increased number of bookstores. No one seems to be keen on getting a Korean restaurant here. (For many, chicken strips are sufficient for local cuisine.) And interestingly, no one seems to be lobbying for one more indoor sports team to play in the Civic Center.
Lafayette Real Estate Tanking
Lafayette Parish is experiencing a slump in the housing market, according to data from Market Scope consultan Bill Bacqué. Year-to-date home sales are down 29 percent from the same time last year in Lafayette.
But things get very different when you go outside the city limits. In parishes around the city, only 8 percent fewer homes have been sold.
How do the experts explain it?
First, there are the high interest rates we’re always hearing about. It looks as if Lafayette people who have a mortgage with a rate lower than the present average are sitting tight.
Second, people are building new homes outside the city. In fact, in the last year, new home construction outside the Lafayette city limit has gone up a whopping 41 percent.
What about those who’ve gone ahead and bought new homes inside Lafayette? Well, new builds in Lafayette are waiting, on average, 114 days before they sell. A year ago, the wait was 40 days.
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