Pense Donc!!
HOUSE NUMBERS . . .
I’m glad to see that Mayor Jack Dale Delhomme of Breaux Bridge is urging residents of that community to make sure their homes display clearly visible house numbers.
Although the mayor’s immediate concern is that poorly marked homes might lead to the undercounting of Breaux Bridge residents in the approaching 2010 U.S. Census, even more importantly the proper numbering aids tremendously in emergency situations which require a response by police, firemen or EMTs.
Clearly visible house numbers are even more important in rural areas, where street lighting is mostly non-existent and homes are far apart and often set back from the highway.
The problem is of such concern to emergency responders and parish 911 officials that I understand the Parish Council may be considering an ordinance that would establish standards for house numbers and impose penalties for those who fail to comply.
Why don’t you make sure your house numbers are clearly visible from the road. If they’re not, it only costs a few dollars to get the numerals and doesn’t take more than a few minutes to install them.
It could one day help to save your life, or the life of a loved one.
ATTENTION GETTER . . .
Rookie state Rep. Fred Mills Jr. got some ink in an issue of Today’s Business Report last week when his House Bill 59 was shot down by the House and Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill would have required the same disclosure being pushed on lawmakers for members of the state’s various boards and commissions. Mills wondered how an official like a school board member would have to disclose more than, say, a member of the Superdome Commission. He pointed out that these boards and commissions conduct lots of state business and can reject permits and in some cases even issue contracts.
The committee vote was evenly split and Mills said he will focus now on an amendment to the disclosure legislation when it is debated by the House.
THIS & THAT . . .
Mardi Gras in N.Y. – Deanna and Glen Menard of the Breaux Bridge area called to tell me about the great time their grandchildren from New York had while visiting over Mardi Gras week. Everett, 10, and Reagan, 9, were down with their parents, Robert and Lorrie (Menard) Forras of Iflandia (Long Island), N.Y. While driving through Parks they happened upon the Parks Middle School Mardi Gras parade and later took in the Henderson parade and also visited Vermilionville, where they were able to learn a lot about the history of Mardi Gras and other local customs. It so happened that Everett’s 5th grade class at the Mulligan School in Central Islip was studying the Louisiana Purchase and when he returned from his visit his teachers thought it would be great to have a Mardi Gras day for the class, albeit one week late. His dad Robert says they had lots of beads from the local parades and he prepared a chicken and sausage gumbo (using his father-in-law’s recipe) that was a really big hit with the New York youngsters (and their teachers).
Robert, who is a native New Yorker and the chief technical officer for a major computer tech company, and Lorrie are in the process of purchasing a home near St. Martinville and will be moving down from the frozen North in the near future, making for some happy Menard grandparents.
On The Road – I’ll be away from my desk for a couple of weeks on a trip down to Miami and the Florida Keys. The main purpose will be to bring daughter Suzanne and granddaughters Mary and Elizabeth to rejoin son-in-law Brent Hebert who has been in Miami since early January going through an intensive review of his medical school studies. But we’ll also use the opportunity to spend a few days on Sanibel Island picking through the thousands of seashells along the beach, check out the Keys, and visit relatives near Orlando and an old Army buddy in Gainesville.
While I’ve been to the Florida Panhandle (Cajun Riviera) many times, I’ve never been farther south than Sarasota, and that was way back in the mid-Fifties.
Should have some interesting reports from the road as the terrain and scenery will be quite a bit different from our Western trek of last June and July.
Hopefully by the time we return, the up-and-down weather here in South Louisiana will have moved into pre-Spring pleasantness.
Anniversaries – Friends and subscribers who celebrated wedding anniversaries during recent weeks included:
Feb. 14 – The 55th anniversary for Parish Councilman Lloyd “Red” and Mary (Camille) Higginbotham of Catahoula; the 37th for Melvin and Frances (Capritto) Douet of St. Martinville; the 29th for Norris and Shirley (Landry) Robert of Breaux Bridge; the 21st for Pookie and Priscilla Bernis; the 15th for Glenn and Laura Thomas of Breaux Bridge; the 4th for Tyson and Tonia Patterson of St. Martinville; and the ?? for Bryan and Anitra Latiolais.
Feb. 15 – The 55th for Gerald “J-Boy” and Edwina (Chataignier) Guirard of St. Martinville; and the 33rd for Brian and Theresa Gonsuron of Breaux Bridge.
Feb. 16 – The ?? for David and Tessie Serrette of St. Martinville.
Feb. 17 – The 1st for Dustin and Margie (DeBlanc) Robertson of St. Martinville.
Feb. 19 – The 20th for Sim and Brenda (Oubre) Courville of St. Martinville; the 3rd for Ian and Lisette Deckard; and the ?? for Clarence and Dorothy Anthony of St. Martinville.
New subscribers who have joined our family of readers in recent weeks include Joshua Brew and Francine Toucheck of Breaux Bridge; Merlin Theriot and Nolan and Beulah Serrette of St. Martinville; and John Berry of Portland, Ore.
Clair comme le jour: The older I get, the better I used to be. — John McEnroe