When a boxin\u2019 match starts, de ring announcer says who iz fightin\u2019, whare day are from an\u2019 how much day weigh. Well, we had de qualifyin\u2019 for different offices recently, an\u2019 now de fight iz on.<\/p>\n
In our parish, for now, we\u2019ll have a special election for district judge in District F. Dat wuz de office helt by Judge Wilfred Carter until he recently announced he wuz steppin\u2019 down. Dem what qualified are Derrick Kee, Michael Ned an\u2019 Sharon Wilson. De winner uf dat race will fill de res\u2019 uf Carter\u2019s term, an\u2019 den have to run again in de fall.<\/p>\n
You would imagine de winner will probably not have much oppozition in de fall. Still, two elections jus\u2019 months apart iz kinda hard.<\/p>\n
De race dat will be closely watched iz happenin\u2019 on de Occupied West Bank \u2026 de city uf Sulphur. De incumbent mayor, Chris Duncan, iz seekin\u2019 reelection an\u2019 is facin\u2019 de man he beat by 200 votes to win 4 years ago \u2014 Ron LeLeux. LeLeux supporters have been layin\u2019 low so far, but you can expect some real action in de next few weeks in dis one.<\/p>\n
Also in de race are city councilman Mike Koonce and longtime water plant manager Clopha Boudreaux.<\/p>\n
As for de city council, District 5 Councilman Stuart Moss got a free ride. In District 1, Dru Ellender, de incumbent, will face Randy Hebert. District 2 will see Paul Bergeron and C.J. Vincent facin\u2019 off. Both are political newcomers.<\/p>\n
District 3 will see incumbent Veronica Allison facin\u2019 Ronnie Banks and Lelan LaBorde. Randy Favre, de incumbent in District 4, will face Fred Baden.<\/p>\n
De election for de first primary iz April 5. If you live in Sulphur, we urge you to vote. Voter turnout in recent years for municipal elections haz been very low, an\u2019 lots uf folks would like to see a better turnout.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lots Uf Republicans<\/strong><\/p>\n At de urgin\u2019 uf my fran Mike Kurth, I braved\u00a0 nasty weather to go see former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speak at a recent gatherin\u2019 uf local Republicans. Me, I taught de nasty weather would keep de crowd away. Far from it \u2026 de Contraband Room at de Civic Center wuz packed.<\/p>\n Huckabee, who iz rumored to be de vice presidential candidate for de Republicans in de next presidential election, gave a very good speech. He told of growin\u2019 up poor in a small town in southern Arkansas, an\u2019 how he faught for everything he has today.<\/p>\n His speech drew a standin\u2019 ovation, an\u2019 right after, he grabbed a guitar an\u2019 played a little wit\u2019 local music star Judd Bares. Huckabee haz played with Jerry Lee Lewis an\u2019 udder Nashville stars, an iz said to be pretty good on several instruments.<\/p>\n Also on de program were Commissioner uf Agriculture Mike Strain, who says he ain\u2019t runnin\u2019 for governor, but keeps showin\u2019 up at political gatherings. Elbert Guillory, who made national headlines when he became one uf de few African-Americans to switch from Democrat to Republican, also spoke. De state Sen. from Opelousas iz runnin\u2019 for lt. governor next year. Jay Dardenne, who haz de office now, will run for governor.<\/p>\n House Speaker Chuck Kleckley pointed out Republicans have 59 uf de 105 legislative house seats an\u2019 23 uf 39 Senate seats. All but one uf de state\u2019s congressmen are Republicans. Of course, in de U.S. Senate, Mary Landrieu is a Democrat an\u2019 David Vitter a Republican. Tink back 20 years ago; no one who keeps up wit\u2019 politics in our state would have imagined de Republicans dominatin\u2019 az day are.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n LABI Has Dog An\u2019 Pony Show<\/strong><\/p>\n Every year LABI (de Louisiana Assoc. uf Bidness an\u2019 Industry) goes trewout de state tellin\u2019 bidnessmen what dar gonna be focusin\u2019 on in de upcomin\u2019 session uf de Legislature.\u00a0 Dis year de event wuz helt in de new SEED center near McNeese, an\u2019 me an\u2019 my buddy Max went.<\/p>\n Steven Waguespack, who replaced Dan Juneau afta 27 years uf service, iz now president uf de group. He gave a well-organized presentation uf what de organization wuz gonna focus on durin\u2019 de session, which starts March 10 and runs trew June 2.<\/p>\n Waguespack sed dar gonna concentrate on two tings: workforce development an\u2019 civil justice reform. Dis workforce development ting appears to be de buzzword wherever you turn dese days. Over de years, we\u2019ve seen udder buzzwords in our state run into de ground, like offshore royalty, TOPS, right to work, an\u2019 uf course, Core Curriculum. But now I bet you can\u2019t talk to a politician for mo dan three minutes without hearin\u2019 \u201cworkforce development.\u201d<\/p>\n In any case, Waguespack explained how de group wuz gonna beat on de legislators for mo money for trainin\u2019 uf workers for jobs dat are comin\u2019 to our state.<\/p>\n De udder item LABI will concentrate on iz civil justice reform.\u00a0 One uf de points day will address is auto insurance. Our state leads de nation, wit\u2019 an average cost uf $2,699 per year. Texas iz second at $1,545 a year.<\/p>\n Uf course a group like LABI will blame de trial lawyers for dis, an\u2019 uf course you can bet de trial lawyers will be loaded for bear when de Legislature convenes. Remember de dates for de session, folks, an\u2019 az we always say, watch your wallet when dem boys are in Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nagin Verdict Shocked Some<\/strong><\/p>\n When former New Awlins mayor Ray Nagin wuz fount guilty on 20 uf 21 corruption charges, lots uf folks wuz shocked. Udders sed it wuz jus\u2019 anudder step in de clean-up uf de Big Easy.<\/p>\n De fact iz, de feds offered him a deal an\u2019 he refused it. An\u2019 when you do dat, you better win de trial.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to get a jury to vote 12-0, which is what it haz to be on every charge, an\u2019 day voted 12-0 twenty times.<\/p>\n Mos\u2019 say Nagin didn\u2019t help hiz cause by takin\u2019 de stand an\u2019 makin\u2019 himself an easy target for de prosecutors.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll be sentenced later. Federal guidelines call for 15 years for each count, but de federal judge doesn\u2019t have to follow dat guideline. In any case, he will be spendin\u2019 jail time for his takin\u2019 uf bribes an\u2019 political contributions in exchange for city contracts.<\/p>\n Wonder if he an\u2019 former Congressman William \u201ccash in freezer\u201d Jefferson will play booray in prison.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n IMCAL Gettin\u2019 Feedback\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n IMCAL, dis area\u2019s regional transportation planning commission, haz held some input meetings trewout our area to find out what folks use in de way uf transportation, an\u2019 what day want to see done to improve de movement uf folks in our area.<\/p>\n Me, I attended one uf dem meetings an\u2019 heard lots uf good comments from folks about bridges, highways an\u2019 even bike trails. Late in de evenin\u2019, when I\u2019d been up waaay too long, I summed up my thoughts wit\u2019 dis idea: blow up de I-10 bridge and built anudder one an\u2019 provide bus service between Lake Charles and West Cal. Guess I shouldn\u2019t have sed dat, but I did.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some Folks Doin\u2019 Good<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s always good to read or hear about folks in our community doin\u2019 sometin\u2019 to help dem what iz less fortunate dan day are. Such was de case recently when Dr. Harry Castle uf Oak Park Dental offered free dental service for de needy on Valentine\u2019s day an\u2019 saw almost 200 people. Next time you see de good doctor, give him thanks for doin\u2019 good for de community.<\/p>\n Also recently, de Family Foundation of Southwest Louisiana\u00a0 singled out some folks for dar work in improvin\u2019 our community. Christine Perry, Phillip and DaWanna Tarver and First Federal Bank were named philanthropists uf de year by de foundation. District Attorney John DeRosier spoke uf Perry\u2019s involvement in preventin\u2019 child abuse and her work with the Salvation Army and de court-appointed Special Advocate program. De Tarvers were recognized for dar long history of contributions to local schools, athletics and civic organizations. First Federal Bank was recognized for the huge part it plays in so many organizations in our area. Congratulations to Christine, the Tarver family and First Federal Bank for making a difference in our community.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deep Taughts While Plannin\u2019 What\u00a0To Wear At Mardi Gras<\/strong><\/p>\n 10) Will my buddy, Ardoin, in Mamou, make us a good gumbo again dis year?<\/p>\n 9) Will de McNeese baseball team ride dat win over Missouri to a great season?<\/p>\n 8) Where can I find some real cane poles to be ready for white perch season?<\/p>\n 7) Iz Mary Landrieu bein\u2019 chairman uf de Senate Energy Committee good for us?<\/p>\n 6) Why does de co-pay on insurance keep goin\u2019 up every year?<\/p>\n 5) Does T Claude have a chance uf makin\u2019 de bobsled team for de 2018 Olympics?<\/p>\n 4) Will de Texans take Johnny Football in de first round uf de NFL Draft?<\/p>\n 3) Can someone win de firs\u2019 shot in dat special election for judge in District F?<\/p>\n 2) Will anyone from around here run for state office in de 2015 elections?<\/p>\n 1) Iz Snookie stretchin\u2019 de truth when he sez he had 1,200 pounds uf deer\u00a0meet processed at\u00a0 Hollier\u2019s?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Final Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n Lefty Sez he went to Mardi Gras las\u2019 year an\u2019 got knocked out by a coconut trown from de firs\u2019 float in de parade. Me, I tink he got dat shiner in anudder way.<\/p>\n \u2018Til next time, lache pas la patate<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When a boxin\u2019 match starts, de ring announcer says who iz fightin\u2019, whare day are from an\u2019 how much day weigh. Well, we had de qualifyin\u2019 for different offices recently, an\u2019 now de fight iz on. In our parish, for now, we\u2019ll have a special election for district judge in District F. Dat wuz de [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[280,279,278,31,276,277],"yoast_head":"\n