De race for Lake Charles mayor iz pretty quiet so far considerin we have eight folks runnin. Dar are also beaucoup trowin dar hats in de race for City Council. In addition, we have races in Vinton an Jennings dat should attract a whole bunch uf attention before election day on March 25.<\/p>\n
You have until Feb. 22 to register. You can call de registrar uf voters to find out if you\u2019re still registered an you can also find out how to register.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re seein lots uf signs from de candidates, an a few are already on billboards. Bet you dem what taught day could run dat race on $40,000 are finding out dar ain\u2019t no way once you look at de prices uf billboards and yard signs. An we ain\u2019t even talked about TV an newspaper advertisin yet.<\/p>\n
A while ago, a buddy axed me what I taught it would cost to run an election for mayor uf Lake Charles. He nearly passed out when I told him $400,000. Now, if you want to jus run and not have any exposure, you can do it for de qualifyin fee. But if you want to have a chance uf winnin\u00a0\u2014 400 grand.<\/p>\n
Right now it looks to me like de front runners are former Lake Charles council member Marshall Simien and Calcasieu Parish Police Juror Nic Hunter. Of course, lots uf tings can change between now an election day. An az my franz Max an Slim remind me, I\u2019ve been wrong before.<\/p>\n
Whoever wins for Lake Charles mayor will have some big shoes to fill in replacing mayor Randy Roach. Randy has done a whole lot for Southwest Louisiana, an hiz administration haz been great. Not once durin all hiz years in office did we hear anyting about malfeasance by anyone in his office. Such iz not de case with a whole buncha udder city an parish administrations in our state. Randy will be missed.<\/p>\n
So Much For Customer Service<\/strong><\/p>\n De city uf Sulphur an Sudenlink are in a bit uf a brew ha ha over de closin uf de Suddenlink customer service office. De last day for de Sulphur office is Feb. 24.<\/p>\n Mayor Chris Duncan haz been on TV complainin about dis move. Duncan says folks from Vinton an DeQuincey will have a long ride to Lake Charles to do bidness, like orderin or returnin a digital box or udder equipment. An if you ever have to pay a bill at de Lake Charles office, plan to spend 20 minutes or more standin in line. You see de waitin line is from here to Mulvey.<\/p>\n If Suddenlink wuz really customer-oriented, day would put up two or three service offices trewout de parish, like AT&T does.<\/p>\n Me, like a lotta udders, had hoped for de customer service to improve with de new company from France takin over. Instead, all we\u2019ve seen is higher prices an less service.<\/p>\n Can you say \u201ccut de cord\u201d? It\u2019s happenin all over de USA. Folks are gettin rid uf cable an hookin up to Netflix or udder services an dar gettin dar news on dar cell phone or tablet. Like day say in de TV commercial, \u201cOh, it\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Could We See Bigtime Pipeline Protest?<\/strong><\/p>\n A few weeks ago, a large group gaddered in Baton Rouge to tell de DEQ day didn\u2019t want a controversial pipeline to run trew de Atchafalaya Basin. Dis group uf fishermen, hunters, bird watchers and environmentalists claimed de pipeline would really hurt de crawfish industry an would only employ 12 folks once it\u2019s finished.<\/p>\n De 30-inch pipeline will run from Nederland trew Lake Charles an all de way to St. James. State Sen. Ronnie Johns spoke in favor uf de project. Former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu spoke for it and wuz booed by de packed house.<\/p>\n De crowd uf mo dan 400 also heard from retired Lt. Gen. Russel Honor\u00e9. He spoke against de project, givin basically de same reason udders who wuz against it had given.<\/p>\n Several questions pop up. Why wuz dar no coverage uf dis most important meetin by our local media? Could dis become anudder Standing Rock? Since we already see a basin full uf abandoned pipelines, how can de DEQ assure us dis pipeline wouldn\u2019t be de same in 20 or 30 years? Tink uf our children, folks.<\/p>\n What\u2019s So Special Bout Dis Special Session?<\/strong><\/p>\n Meantime, our governor haz called a 10-day special session to see how de Legislature will deal with a $300-million shortfall. Now, again, who says dat is de correct number?<\/p>\n Edwards haz sed he won\u2019t cut education and health care any more. He says in calling dis dogfight dat everting is on de table, including judicial and legislative budgets. Dat should go over really well. Dat\u2019s two groups dat have real long memories dat usually last till election time. Folks in de know say de cost to run de Legislature iz $50-60 thousand a day. You know in some states, legislators get no pay. See how far dat one will go durin dis special session.<\/p>\n Edwards wants to yank $119 million from de Rainy Day Fund. Republicans from de North Shore area and Baton Rouge and Lafayette and north La. are sayin dat dog ain\u2019t gonna hunt.<\/p>\n It will be interestin to see what Edwards haz up hiz sleeve, an how he can work de Republicans into votin his way. From what we have seen from him so far, it\u2019s safe to say he ain\u2019t no Lyndon Johnson.<\/p>\n West Monroe Band Represents State Well<\/strong><\/p>\n We wuz pleased to see de West Monroe High School marchin band march by de reviewin stand durin de recent presidential inauguration. De band director wuz on Louisiana \u2014 The State We\u2019re in on LPB, an he spoke about how day played Louisiana songs when day got in front uf de review stand. I wuz sorry day didn\u2019t play Don\u2019t Mess Wit My Toot Toot or Big Mamou. But it was still a nice showin by a band from our state.<\/p>\n How Big Are Day?<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re pleased to see mo an mo news reports dat crawfish are much bigger dan usual for dis time uf de year. Crawfish farmers say de large amount uf rainfall we\u2019ve had iz de reason for dis.<\/p>\n Hank, my brudda-in-law, don\u2019t start eatin boiled crawfish until March 1. He don\u2019t care about de price, but he does care about de size. If he starts eatin dem big ones in February, me, I tink he\u2019s gonna have to make a loan at de bank to finance hiz crawfish eatin\u2019 habit.<\/p>\n Graves In Position To Really Help Our State<\/strong><\/p>\n Congressman Garret Graves from Baton Rouge wuz recently named chairman uf de House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on the Water Resources and Environment committee.<\/p>\n I know dat sounds like gubment mumbo jumbo, and it is; but de truth iz dat a guy like Graves, who haz served on de Louisiana Coastal Protection Committee, knows how much we need good infrastructure. An he also knows how Trump iz talkin about a trillion bucks in roads and bridges, etc.<\/p>\n So maybe we get an I-10 bridge out uf dis after all. Now, it ain\u2019t gonna happen tomorrow. But with Graves, we have hope.<\/p>\n Two Who Helped Lots Of Folks Are Gone<\/strong><\/p>\n Southwest Louisiana recently lost two men who were responsible for de success uf thousands uf young men and women in our area. We\u2019re talking about John Land and Sonny Watkins.<\/p>\n Sonny wuz involved in athletics, and wuz athletic director at McNeese, for many years. Land was a teacher and principal at Sulphur High School for many years. Both of dese gentlemen guided many a young person in de right direction, which is so important in dis time.<\/p>\n John John Visits Pope<\/strong><\/p>\n We wuz pleased to see our governor an members uf de state Legislature, includin our own Ronnie Johns, visitin wit de Pope recently.<\/p>\n De main issue covered wuz human traffickin. De visitors brought news uf de openin uf a shelter in New Awlins for women who are kidnapped an den forced into a life uf prostitution. Our state an country got a lot uf positive feedback from de visit to de Vatican.<\/p>\n Deep Thoughts While Watching Maria Bartiromo<\/strong><\/p>\n 10) When iz my cousin in Crowley gonna invite me over for boiled crawfish?<\/p>\n 9) Why iz de price uf gaz goin up while oil remains de same?<\/p>\n 8) Will LSU change de men\u2019s basketball coach after de season?<\/p>\n 7) Where iz dat split bamboo fly rod T-Claude promised me for my birthday?<\/p>\n 6) Can Tucker take time out from gamblin long enough to take me to an Astros game?<\/p>\n 5) Delta Downs haz made $45 million in improvements and dar\u2019s more to come?<\/p>\n 4) Can Mary Morris survive all four opponents who qualified against her?<\/p>\n 3) When will Tony Guillory run for anudder office?<\/p>\n 2) How come it takes so long to get your money back when you return sometin by mail?<\/p>\n 1) Why are dem telemarketers all uf a sudden callin me on my cell phone?<\/p>\n Final Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n Lefty sez he went to dat new Tractor Supply store in Sulphur. He sez he\u2019d gone bout halfway down one isle an had already spunt $500. I axed him how much he end up spendin. He sez he wore out de numbers on hiz card.<\/p>\n \u2018Til next time, lache pas la patate.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" De race for Lake Charles mayor iz pretty quiet so far considerin we have eight folks runnin. Dar are also beaucoup trowin dar hats in de race for City Council. In addition, we have races in Vinton an Jennings dat should attract a whole bunch uf attention before election day on March 25. You have [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[31],"yoast_head":"\n