The Advocate 10-21-2025

‘WELIKEWINNERS’

TrumpwelcomesLSU andLSU-S championship baseball teams

President Donald Trumpposes for photos with LSUbaseball

Neffendorf on Mondayastheypresentjerseys madefor himduring an event to honor the

eachschool.

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON President DonaldTrump on Monday applauded LSU’s2025 national championship baseball team ina ceremony in the East Room of theWhite House Trump said Louisiana is “a special state,” noting how extraordinary it was to have national champions forboththe NCAA and the NAIA —LSU Shreveport, whose teamalso wason-hand—hailfrom the same state. As the NCAA oversees sports at majorcolleges, the NAIA, or National AssociationofIntercollegiate Athletics,governssports at smallerinstitutions.

“Two amazing seasons,”Trump said. “You might have them, but not from the same state, amazing.”

Both LSU coach Jay Johnson and LSU-S coach Brad Neffendorf awarded Trump with team jerseys with the number 47, signifying the Trump presidency

With the help of dominant pitching by Kade Andersonand AnthonyEyanson, along with the timelyhitting of Jared Jones, Derek Curiel and others, LSU in June won its second national champion-

ship in three years —its eighthsince 1991.

Trump mentioned the contributions of severalplayers whoweregathered

ä See WINNERS, page 4A

Shutdown threatens food stamps

that federal money forfood

if

could run out late next

government shutdowncontinues, interrupting aprogram that helps pay for groceries for roughly

people in the state. The lack of money for food assistance programs would hit people during amonth with amajor holiday,when kids are home from school and familiesare trying to plan aThanksgiving meal,said Susan East Nelson, executive director of the LouisianaPartnership for Children and Families.

“Kids aren’t going to have thefood that they need right at the time as they’re not going to be in school becauseofthe holiday. You’re going to have kids who go without food.”

SUSAN EAST NELSON, executive directorof theLouisiana Partnership for Children and Families

“Kids aren’tgoing to have the foodthat they need right at the time as they’re not going to be in school because of the holiday,” she said. “You’re going to have kids who go without food.” The Supplemental Nutrition AssistanceProgram, which provides monthly benefits to low-income people to help cover the cost of groceries, is fundedbythe federal governmentand administered by states Roughly 40 million Americansget food benefits through SNAP,including over 800,000 people in Louisiana —about 17% of the state’spopulation. Federal officials earlierthis month warned that funds for SNAP could

ä See SHUTDOWN, page 4A

Livingston Parish’s search foranew librarydirectorcontinues

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

As the Livingston Parish library board narrows down candidates for anew director,it’supinthe air if the search is coming to aclose or will have to keep going.

The Livingston Parish Library Board of Control interviewed two director candidates on Friday as part ofits search for anew library system leader,marking itsthird director shake-up in thepast three years.

Board members asked about

howtheywould handle budget cuts, reviewing book contentand being aliaisontothe community and parish government. Butasole finalist hasn’tpublicly emerged after theday of interviews. After interviews,board members could notgive an answer as

to what would happennext, but boardmember Jonathan Davis didsay there could potentially be a specialboard meeting held within themonth.

If aboardmember wantsa candidate fordirector,itcould be added to an agenda, he said, or the

search will continue with potential small tweaks to the application.

“Wewould pick one or open applications back up,” he said. “Lowering the(application) requirements isn’tgoing to happen.”

ä See LIBRARY, page 5A

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Louvre remains closed one day after jewel heist

PARIS The Louvre remained closed Monday, a day after historic jewels were stolen from the world’s most-visited museum in a daring daylight heist that prompted authorities to reassess security measures at cultural sites across France.

The museum’s staff asked dozens of visitors who were queuing in front of the glass pyramid entrance to leave. In a message posted on social media, the Louvre said visitors who have booked tickets will be refunded It did not provide additional details.

The Louvre will also be closed on Tuesday its weekly closing day On Sunday, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre’s façade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels officials said The theft occurred about 30 minutes after the museum opened, with visitors already inside, and was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory

French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledged security failures on Monday

“One can wonder about the fact that, for example, the windows hadn’t been secured, about the fact that a basket lift was on a public road,” he said on France Inter radio. “Having (previously) been interior minister, I know that we cannot completely secure all places, but what is certain is that we have failed.”

Many CDC experts skip meeting amid shutdown ATLANTA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers are being forced to skip a pivotal conference on infectious disease this week due to the government shutdown, missing out on high-level discussions not long after surges in measles and whooping cough hit the U.S. IDWeek, the largest annual meeting of infectious disease experts in the nation, is the leading venue for experts to trade information about diagnosing, treating and preventing threats including bird flu, superbugs and HIV among many other topics.

The CDC typically sends scores of researchers and outbreak investigators. But of the hundreds of speakers listed in the printed program for the four-day conference, about 10 were identified as CDC scientists. And even that small number didn’t show up.

The main reason is the government shutdown that started Oct. 1. Federal scientists aren’t being paid and conference appearances are postponed unless they are funded outside of annual government budgets.

The Infectious Disease Society of America and its conference partners selected Atlanta, where the CDC is based, as its host more than a year ago. Organizers were excited to have the meeting in “the heart of public health,” and CDC officials agreed to be heavily involved in planning, said Dr Yohei Doi, a University of Pittsburgh researcher who helped organize the meeting But soon after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, there was an immediate, if temporary, freeze on CDC communications and participation at medical meetings. That was followed by layoffs and funding cuts.

Myanmar military raids major cybercrime center

BANGKOK Myanmar’s military has shut down a major online scam operation near the border with Thailand, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite internet terminals, state media reported Monday Myanmar is notorious for hosting cyberscam operations responsible for bilking people all over the world. These usually involve gaining victims’ confidence online with romantic ploys and bogus investment pitches.

The centers are infamous for recruiting workers from other countries under false pretenses, promising them legitimate jobs and then holding them captive and forcing them to carry out criminal activities.

According to a report in Monday’s Myanma Alinn newspaper the army raided KK Park, a welldocumented cybercrime center, as part of operations starting in early September to suppress online fraud, illegal gambling and cross-border cybercrime

Amazon cloud suffers major outage

Disruption takes down many online services around the world

BY KELVIN CHAN and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press

LONDON — Amazon says a massive outage of its cloud computing service has been resolved as of Monday evening, after a problem disrupted internet use around the world, taking down a broad range of online services, including social media, gaming, food delivery, streaming and financial platforms.

The all-day disruption and the ensuing exasperation it caused served as the latest reminder that 21st century society is increasingly dependent on just a handful of companies for much of its internet technology which seems to work reliably until it suddenly breaks down.

About three hours after the outage began early Monday morning, Amazon Web Services said it was starting to recover, but it wasn’t until 6 p.m. Eastern that “services returned to normal operations,” Amazon said on its AWS

health website, where it tracks outages.

AWS provides behind-the-scenes cloud computing infrastructure to some of the world’s biggest organizations. Its customers include government departments, universities and businesses, including The Associated Press.

Cybersecurity expert Mike Chapple said “a slow and bumpy recovery process” is “entirely normal.”

As engineers roll out fixes across the cloud computing infrastructure, the process could trigger smaller disruptions, he said.

“It’s similar to what happens after a large-scale power outage: While a city’s power is coming back online, neighborhoods may see intermittent glitches as crews finish the repairs,” said Chapple, an information technology professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

Amazon pinned the outage on issues related to its domain name system that converts web addresses into IP addresses, which are numeric designations that identify locations on the internet Those addresses allow websites and apps to load on internet-connected devices.

DownDetector, a website that

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO A Venmo mobile app shows it is not available Monday during the Amazon Web Services outage.

tracks online outages, said in a Facebook post that it received over 11 million user reports of problems at more than 2,500 companies Users reported trouble with the social media site Snapchat, the Roblox and Fortnite video games, the online broker Robinhood and the McDonald’s app, as well as Netflix, Disney+ and many other services.

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and the Signal chat app both said on X that they were experiencing trouble related to the outage.

Amazon’s own services were also affected. Users of the company’s

Palestinians collect

U.S. envoys visit Israel to bolster ceasefire

Gaza militants hand over a hostage’s remains

BY SAM MEDNICK, SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press

TELAVIV,Israel Two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys traveled to Israel on Monday to shore up the ceasefire in Gaza, a day after deadly violence gave the fragile deal its first major test.

The truce appeared on track as Israel received the remains of another hostage in Gaza, and Israel allowed aid deliveries to resume to the devastated territory.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric did not say how much aid was getting in.

Israel on Sunday had threatened to halt shipments of humanitarian aid, and its forces killed dozens of Palestinians in strikes across Gaza after accusing Hamas militants of killing two soldiers. Israel later said it resumed enforcing the ceasefire.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about developments in the region. U.S. Vice President JD Vance and the second lady, Usha Vance, are scheduled to visit Tuesday and meet with Netanyahu, the prime minister said in a speech.

Netanyahu also warned Hamas that any attacks against Israeli forces would be met with a very heavy price.”

Asked about maintaining the IsraelHamas ceasefire Trump said the U.S. will give the situation a “little chance” in hopes that there will be less violence. He put the blame on Hamas and said the militant group must behave or face consequences “They have to be good, and if they’re not good they’ll be eradicated,” he said.

The U.S.-proposed truce aimed at ending two years of war took effect on Oct. 10.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters that Hamas had been “doing some shooting.”

He also suggested that the violence might be the fault of “rebels” within the group.

Hamas security forces have returned to the streets in Gaza, clashing with armed groups and killing alleged gangsters in what the militant group says is an attempt to restore law and order in areas where Israeli troops have withdrawn.

On Sunday, Israel’s military said militants had fired at troops in areas of Rafah in southern Gaza that are Israeli-controlled according to agreed-upon cease-

fire lines.

Retaliatory strikes by Israel killed 45 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which says a total of 80 people have been killed since the ceasefire took effect

Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.”

The Israeli military said Monday it was using concrete barriers and painted poles to more clearly delineate the so-called yellow line in Gaza to where troops have withdrawn and several instances of violence have occurred.

Earlier in the day, Israel said one of its fighter jets struck and killed several people it said had crossed the yellow line in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, approached troops and “posed an imminent threat.” In two similar incidents Monday in a neighborhood of Gaza City, the military said it struck several people who crossed the line there and posed an “immediate threat” to its troops.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel is still waiting for Hamas to turn over the remains of 15 dead hostages. Thirteen have been turned over

The ceasefire’s next stage is expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory The U.S. plan proposes the establishment of an internationally backed authority.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” news program over the weekend, Kushner said the success or failure of the deal would depend on whether Israel and the international mechanism could create a viable alternative to Hamas.

“If they are successful, Hamas will fail, and Gaza will not be a threat to Israel in the future,” he said.

A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya was in Cairo to follow up on the implementation of the ceasefire deal with mediators and other Palestinian groups.

Palestinians in Gaza fear the deal may fall apart.

Funeral services were held Monday for some of the dozens of people killed by Israeli strikes Associated Press footage showed mourners lining up for prayers.

“There should be concerns as long as the matters have yet to be settled,” said Hossam Ahmed from the southern city of Khan Younis.

Ring doorbell cameras and Alexapowered smart speakers reported that they were not working, while others said they were unable to access the Amazon website or download books to their Kindle.

Many college and K-12 students were unable to submit or access their homework or course materials Monday because the AWS outage knocked out Canvas, a widely used educational platform.

“I currently can’t grade any online assignments, and my students can’t access their online materials” because of the outage’s effect on learning-management systems, said Damien P Williams, a professor of philosophy and data science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The exact number of schools impacted was not immediately known, but Canvas says on its website it is used by 50% of college and university students in North America, including all Ivy League schools in the U.S.

At the University of California, Riverside, students couldn’t submit assignments, take quizzes or access course materials, and online instruction was limited, the campus said.

Court: Trump can take command of Ore. troops

Deployment blocked for now

BY CLAIRE RUSH and GENE JOHNSON Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — An appeals court on Monday put on hold a lower-court ruling that kept President Donald Trump from taking command of 200 Oregon National Guard troops However, Trump is still barred from actually deploying those troops, at least for now U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued two temporary restraining orders early this month — one that prohibited Trump from calling up the troops so he could send them to Portland, and another that prohibited him from sending any National Guard members to Oregon at all, after the president tried to evade the first order by deploying California troops instead.

Customer

The Justice Department appealed the first order, and in a 2-1 ruling Monday, a panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the administration. The majority said the president was likely to succeed on his claim that he had the authority to federalize the troops based on a determination he was unable to enforce the laws without them. However, Immergut’s second order remains in effect, so no troops may immediately be deployed. Soon after the ruling Monday, the Justice Department asked Immergut to immediately dissolve her second order, which would allow Trump to deploy troops to Portland The Justice Department argued that it is not the role of the courts to second-guess the president’s determination about when to deploy troops. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, said he would ask for a broader panel of the appeals to reconsider the decision

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Trumpsayshe’sdoubtfulUkraine canwin war

BY SAMYAKULLAB and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine President Donald Trump said Monday that while he thinksitispossible that Ukraine can defeat Russia, he’snow doubtfulitwill happen.

Thecommentsfrom Trump added afresh layer of skepticism toward Kyiv as he plans to meet again in the coming weeks with Russian President Vladimir Putin for face-to-face talks in Budapest, Hungary, on ending the war

skyy,Trump made another reversaland calledonKyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end their brutal war

Asked on Monday about his whiplashing opinion on Kyiv’s position, Trumpoffered thedour assessment about Ukraine’schances. He added, “I never said they would winit. Isaidthey could. Anythingcan happen Youknow war is a very strange thing.”

“They could still win it. Idon’tthink they will, but they couldstill win it,” Trump told reporters on Monday at the startofa White House meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Trump last month reversed his long-held position that Ukraine wouldhave to concede land and could win back all the territory it has lost to Russia.

But after alengthy call with Putin last week followed by ameeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelen-

Earlier Monday, Zelenskyy said that during the White House meeting Trump informed him thatPutin’s maximalist demand —that Ukraine cede the entirety of its eastern Donetsk and Luhanskregions—was unchanged.

Still, Zelenskyy described the meeting as “positive,” even though Trump alsorebuffed his request for longrange Tomahawkcruise missiles.

In public comments in the weeks leading up to his meetingwith Zelenskyy,Trump had appearedtowarm to the possibility of sending the Tomahawks,whichwould allow Ukrainianforces to

strike deeper into Russian territory.

But the U.S. leader’s tone changed after his latest call withPutin and he made clear thathewas reluctant to send Ukraine themissile system, at leastfor the time being.

“In my opinion, he does notwant an escalation with the Russians until he meets with them,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Sunday.His

Comey’slawyers push for case againsthim to be tossed

BY ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey urged ajudge Monday to dismiss the case against him, calling it avindictive prosecution motivated by “personal animus” and orchestrated by aWhite House determined to seek retribution against aperceived foe of PresidentDonald Trump. The lawyers separately called for the indictment’sdismissal because of what they said was the illegitimate appointment of the U.S. attorney who filed the case days after being hastily named to thejob by Trump.

usual circumstances of the prosecution,whichincluded Trump exhorting his attorneygeneral to bringcharges againstComey as well as his administration’sabrupt installationofaWhite House aide to serve as topprosecutorofthe eliteoffice overseeing the case.

The two-prong attack on the indictment, which accuses Comey of lying to Congress five years ago, represents the opening salvo in what is expected to be aprotracted court fight ahead of atrial currently set for Jan. 5. The motions challengenot only the substance of the allegations but also the un-

“Bedrock principlesofdue process and equal protection have long ensuredthat government officials may notuse courts to punish and imprison their perceived personal and political enemies,” wrote Comey’sdefense team,which includes Patrick Fitzgerald, the former U.S.Attorney in Chicago and alongtimeComeyfriend. “Butthatisexactlywhathappenedhere.”

They saidthe JusticeDepartment hadbrought the case because of Trump’shatred of Comey,who as FBI directorinthe earlymonths of Trump’s first term infuriated the president through his oversight of an investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump fired

Comey in May 2017. The two have been open adversaries since,withComey labeling Trump “unethical” and comparing him to amafia boss andTrump branding Comey an “untruthful slime ball” andcalling for him to be punishedbecauseofthe Russia investigation.

“The government has singled out Mr.Comey for prosecution because of his protectedspeech andbecause of President Trump’spersonal animus towardMr. Comey,” defense lawyers wrote, adding thatsuch a“vindictive and selection prosecution” violates multiple provisions of the Constitution and must be dismissed.

Comey’sdefenseteam had foreshadowed the arguments during his first andonly court appearance in the case, wherehepleaded not guilty Though motions alleging vindictive prosecutionsdo notoften succeed, thisone lays outatimeline of events intended to link Trump’sdemands for aprosecution with the Justice Department’s scramble to secureanindictment last month just before the statute of limitations was settolapse.

comments were embargoed until Monday morning. Zelenskyy also expressed skepticism about Putin’s proposal to swap some territory it holdsinthe Kherson andZaporizhzhia regions if Ukraine surrenders Donetsk and Luhansk, saying theproposalwas unclear.The Donetsk and Luhansk regions make up theDonbas Ukraine’sleader said

Trumpultimately supported afreeze along the current front line.

“Weshare President Trump’spositive outlook if it leads to theend of thewar,” Zelenskyy said, citing “many rounds of discussion over more than two hours with him and his team.”

Zelenskyy wasdiplomatic about his meeting with Trumpdespite reports that

he facedpressure to accept Putin’sdemands. The meeting followed the disastrous Oval Office spat on Feb. 28 when the Ukrainian president wasscolded on live television for not being grateful for U.S. support.

Zelenskyy said he hopes that Trump’smeeting in the coming weeks with Putin in Hungary —which does not support Ukraine —will pave the way for apeace deal. Zelenskyy said he hasnot been invited to attend but would consider it if the formatfor talkswerefairto Kyiv

He also took ashot at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying he does notbelieve thata prime minister “who blocksUkraine everywhere can do anything positive forUkrainians or even provide abalanced contribution.”

Zelenskyy said he thinks thatall partieshave“moved closer” to apossible end to the war

“Thatdoesn’tmean it will definitelyend, butPresident Trump has achieved a lotinthe Middle East, and riding that wave he wants to end Russia’swar against Ukraine,” he added.

SupremeCourt to weigh marijuanausers’gun rights

BY LINDSAYWHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court said on Mondaythat it will consider whether people whoregularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to come before thecourt since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.

President Donald Trump’s administrationasked the justices to revive a case against aTexas man charged with afelony becauseheallegedly hadagun in his home andacknowledged being aregular pot user. The Justice Department appealed after alower court largelystruckdowna law that bars people who use any illegal drugs from having guns.

Last year,ajury convicted Hunter Bidenofviolating the law,amongother charges. Hisfather,then-

President Joe Biden, later pardoned him.

Argumentsprobably will take place early in 2026, with adecision likely by early summer

TheRepublican administration favors Second Amendment rights, but government attorneys argued that this ban is ajustifiable restriction.

They asked the court to reinstate acase against Ali Danial Hemani. Hislawyers got the felony charge tossed out after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that theblanketban is unconstitutionalunderthe Supreme Court’s expandedviewof gun rights. The appellate judges found it could still be used against people accused of being high and armed at the same time, though.

Hemani’sattorneys argue the broadly writtenlaw puts millions of people at risk of technical violations since

at least 20% of Americans have tried pot, according to government health data. About half of states legalizedrecreationalmarijuana, but it’sstill illegal under federal law

The Justice Department argues the law is valid whenused against regular drug users because they pose aserious public safety risk. The government said the FBI found Hemani’s gun and cocaine in asearch of his home as they probed travel and communications allegedly linked to Iran. The gun charge was the only one filed, however,and hislawyers said theother allegations were irrelevant and were mentioned only to makehim seem more dangerous. The casemarks another flashpoint in theapplication of the SupremeCourt’s newtestfor firearmrestrictions.

BY JEFF MARTIN

Trumpturned and shook hands with Anderson.

“Welike winners at the White House,Kade,”Trump said.

The president noted that Anderson was drafted by the Seattle Mariners,who were set to play the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night —with the winner goingto the World Seriesagainst the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Trump asked if he’d be watching the game. Anderson said he would.

Johnson nodded toward House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise,R-Jefferson, and said that Louisiana had the top two leaders in the U.S. House —both of whom graduated from LSU. But most of his accolades wenttoward the players, who he said kepttheir heads when times were hardand practiced togetherness throughout the championship season

“They made it about the team,” the coach said.

The LSU teamarrived Sunday night and was fetedataU.S. House office building with astriking view of the U.S. Capitol. On Monday morning, the teams and their entourages, becausetheywere so large, convened in the House chamber Trump and Speaker Johnson only mentioned in passingthatthe federal government had been shut down since Oct. 1. Trump said he, Mike Johnson and Scalise want the Senate Democrats to agree to aresolution to continue government operations.

Several other top Louisiana officials also attended the ceremony, including BatonRougeRep.Julia Letlow,aRepublicanwhose district stretches from Monroe down to LSU’scampus and muchofsouth BatonRouge,where professors, staff and students live; U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy,R-Madisonville, who taught law classesatLSU; and Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, who lives at the gates of the LSU campus.

“Only in Louisianadoyou get two national champions in thesame sport in one year! It was great to

SHUTDOWN

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runout if the government shutdown persisted into November

On Oct. 10, the U.S. DepartmentofAgriculture, which oversees the program at the federal level, sent aletter to states saying, “if the currentlapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individualsacross the Nation.” USDA in the communication directed states to put November benefits on hold “until further notice.”

The Louisiana Department of Health, which recently took over the administration of SNAP from the Department of Children and Family Services, did not respond to questions for this story Pat VanBurkleo, executive director of Feeding Louisiana, which represents the state’sfive regional food banks, warned that Louisiana’sfood banks don’thave

mark the moment with President Trumpand both teamsatthe White House,” Cassidy said. Gov.Jeff Landry and state Reps. Mark Wright, R-Covington, and Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, were also on hand The 1991 champions, the first visitedPresident George H.W Bushinthe WhiteHouse. Coach Skip Bertman was unable to accompany the team. TheLSU teams that wonthe titlein1993,1996, 1997 and 2000 didn’tvisit theWhite House.

LSU coach Paul Mainieri’s2009 national championshipteam visited the White House and was hosted by then-Vice President Joe Biden. Then-Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, gave the team atour of the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington National Cemetery

the capacity to service everyone on food stamps.

“For everyone meal that the food banksprovide, SNAP usually provides nine,” he said.

Thereisn’tenough food in their warehouses to do 10 times the amount of distribution they typically handle, he added.

Both VanBurkleo and East Nelson said thelack of SNAPfunds will strain grocers and other food retailers, too.

“The retailers are the peoplewho getthe money from SNAP.Soifthere are no SNAPbenefits, the retailers aregoing to seethe loss,”EastNelson said Swaths of the federal government shut down Oct. 1afterlawmakersinCongress couldn’treach adeal on ashort-term spending bill to fund federal agencies through Nov.21.

Democrats in theU.S Senatefor weeks have been withholding theirsupport for the Republican spending bill and demanding Republicans agree to extend tax credits that subsidize healthinsurance formillions of Americans covered

through the Affordable CareAct.

Republicans have saidnegotiations on the tax credits canhappen once theshortterm funding bill passes. For now, discussionsonthe funding bill appear stalled.

During ashutdown, nonessential government work is paused and hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed. Many functions continue, however,like airtraffic control, military and public health. The Medicareand Medicaid programs also continue uninterrupted.

VanBurkleo said that based on discussions with officials at the Louisiana Department of Health, the agency is exploring ways to get food to people who need

ICEsaysfunds

BY CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press

CHICAGO Many federal officers assigned to immigration enforcement in the Chicago area have body cameras but Congress would have to allocate more funds to expand their use,officials testified Monday at ahearing aboutthe tactics agents are using in Trumpadministration’scrackdown, which has produced more than 1,000 arrests.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis last week ordered uniformed agents to wear cameras, if available, and turn them on when engaged in arrests, frisks and building searches or when being deployedtoprotests. She held ahearing Monday at which she questioned aU.S. Customs and Border Protection officialand aU.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcementofficial about the operation and complaints that agents are increasingly using combative tactics.

Kyle Harvick, deputy incident commander with CBP,said Border Patrol agents who are part of Operation Midway Blitz have cameras. He said201 areinthe Chicago area.

But Shawn Byers, deputy field office director for ICE,saidmore money from Congress would be

LIBRARY

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Thesearch for anew director comes after the Livingston Parish president and the Library Board voted in July not to renewformer library director Michelle Parrish’scontract.This vote is being questioned by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill for potentially violating the Open Meetings Law

Notably,the library director candidates interviewed live outside Livingston Parish and have not worked in theparish librarysystem. The library’sinterim director, Kyla Robertson Webb, also did not apply.This is astarkcontrast from previous appointed directors, like Parrish and herpredecessor, Giovanni Tairov

neededto expand camera use beyond two of that agency’sfield offices. He said no cameras have been wornbyICE agentsworking at abuilding in Broadview,outside Chicago, where immigrants pass through before beingdetained

elsewhere. It’s been thesiteof protests that at times have been tumultuous.

Byersalsoexplainedthatwhile thereare surveillancecameras outside theICE facility,they recordover previous footage every

28 days. Ellis expressedsurprise when Byers said that meantfootagefrombeforeSept.18was gone

The Broadview facility becamea focusofprotesters after Operation Midway Blitz began in early September

“All of that needs to be preserved,” Ellis said. Near the end of the hearing, Ellis said she would allow attorneys to question additional federal officials, including Gregory Bovino, theBorderPatrol chief who is leading CBP’sChicago operation andalsowas central to the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.

The hearing was part of alawsuit by news organizations and community groupswitnessing protests and arrests in the Chicago area. Ellis said earlier this month that agents must wear badges, andshe banned them from using certain riot control techniques againstpeacefulprotestersand journalists.

Then last Thursday,she said she wasa“little startled” after seeing TV images of street confrontations in which agentsusedtear gasand other tactics.

Harvickdefended the use on tear gas on protesters in aChicago neighborhood on Oct. 12, saying residents who had gathered “would notallow agents to leave

the scene.”

“The longer we loiter on ascene andsubjectscome, the situation gets more and more dangerous,” Harvick said. “And that’sasafety concern, not just formybrother Border Patrol agents but the detainee and other people whocome out to see what’sgoing on.”

News media andcommunity groups submitted five pages of proposed topics for Thursday’s hearing. Theycovered avariety of subjects, from the number of agents in the Chicago area to questions about training, tactics and justification forwidespread immigration strikes. It’snot clear what the judge will allow to be asked.

The government has bristled at any suggestion of wrongdoing.

“The full context is that law enforcement officers in Chicago have been, and continue to be, attacked, injured, and impeded from enforcing federal law,” U.S. Justice Department attorney Samuel Holt said in acourt filing Friday Separately, President Donald Trump’sadministration has been barred from deployingthe National Guard to assist immigration officers in Illinois. That order expires Thursday unless extended. The administration also has asked the SupremeCourt to allow the deployment.

Originally,three candidates were supposed to be interviewed untilone dropped out of the race theday before theinterviews.

Davissaidthe library narrowed down candidatesfroma pool of around30applicants.

Four members of theboard interviewed Na’Chel Shannon, library director of theSouth Mississippi Regional Library in Columbia, Mississippi, and Leslie Sam, head librarian of Nunez Community CollegeinChalmette.

Questionsabout library budget and handling content in books took precedent at the interviews —adirect reflectionofthe twomostcontentious topics thathave embroiled theLivingston Parish library in turmoil for the past few years.

While boardPresident JenniferDorhauer said the questions were created by previous board

members for the last director’s interview, manyquestions were still relevant to the current relationship between the library and parish.

Dorhauer asked the candidates about how they would handle certain scenarios, like what they would do if the library’smillage taxwere rolled back or how they wouldprepare librarystaff for budget cuts.

“How would you go about handling asituation where asingle elected official publicly advocates cuts to both theoperating budget and millage of the library system?”Dorhauer asked.

If adirector is picked before the end of the year,one of the first and largest —tasks they will have to manage is gettingthe board to approve abudget for thenext operating year

This was acontentiousprocess last year that dominated board meetings for months. Some community members wanted the budgetcut to roll back themillage, while others advocated for thebudget to stay at the proposed amount.

Davis saidinterview questions like these are tailored to find the best candidatefor thejob and that they do “want someone with afinancial background,”but that candidatesshouldhavethatfrom theirmaster’sdegree in library and information science.

“The MLIS degree covers ahuge part of that. …Mostofthe people coming in have had budget experience,” he said. Other questions included how directors would handle book contentand people’srequests to move booksbased on specific types of

content, whichiswhat kicked off theparish library commotion years ago.

However,Davis said, the parish librarians’ reading thousands of young adult materials to check for explicit content will have helped afuture director’s jobinhandling scenarios dealing with reconsidering content. Davis said there was an added emphasis on handlingabudgetand working with the community and local government, which he said is probably not as common forother library job postings. If the board decides to follow precedent, then it could be picking adirector finalist within the next fewweeks.

Email Claire Grunewaldat claire.grunewald@theadvocate. com.

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Trump suggests U.S. will buy Argentine beef

President Donald Trump said the UnitedStates could buy Argentinebeefinanattempt to bring downpricesfor American consumers.

“Wewould buy some beef from Argentina,”the Republicanpresident told reporters aboard AirForce One during a flight from Florida to Washington on Sunday.“If we do that, that will bringour beef prices down.”

Trump promised days earlier to address the issue as part of his efforts to keep inflation in check. U.S. beef prices have been stubbornlyhighfor a variety of reasons, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico due to aflesh-eating pest in cattle herds there.

Trump has been working to helpArgentinabolster itscollapsing currencywith a$20 billioncreditswap line and additional financing from sovereign fundsand the private sector ahead of midterm electionsfor his close ally President Javier Milei.

Cancellations up in Sept. for Disney+, Hulu Disney+ and Hulu subscription cancellations rose during the month that ABCbriefly canceled“Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” according to data from subscriptionanalytics company Antenna.

36%ofU.S.adultsapprove of howTrump is handling theeconomy,itreveals DOW

Walt Disney Co. owns the streaming platforms and ABC. ABCpulled the show offthe airfor lessthanaweekinSeptember in the wake of criticism over hiscomments related the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Antenna estimates total cancellationsinSeptemberwere 4.1 million for Hulu and 3million for Disney+. The “churn rate,” or the percentage of customers that cancel their subscriptions in aspecific month, jumpedfrom 5% in August to 10%inSeptember for Hulu. That figure jumped 4% in Augustto8%inSeptember for Disney+ However,sign-ups were higher in Septemberfor bothHulu and Disney+ than the prior five months.

Antenna is asubscription analytics company that tracks U.S. consumer data. The data excludes subscribers in bundle deals. In its most recent earnings report for the quarter ended June 28, Disney reported183 million Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions Disney declinedto comment Kering sells beauty division to L’Oreal French luxury goods company Kering said Sundayitis sellingits beauty divisionto L’Oreal for $4.66 billion. Under the agreement, Clichy, France-based L’Oreal will acquire the House of Creed highend fragrance company as well as licenses to create beauty and fragranceproducts forKering brands like Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga. The companies saidthey will establish astrategic committee to ensure coordination between Kering brands and L’Oréal. Kering and L’Oréal said they are also exploring joint business opportunities in the wellness and longevity market, combiningL’Oreal’sinnovation with Kering’sdeep understanding of luxury clients. Thedeal hassomeprecedence. L’Oreal acquired the beautylicense for Kering’s Yves Saint Laurent brand in 2008.

Luca de Meo,CEO of Parisbased Kering, said the deal combinesL’Oreal’sexpertise with Kering’sluxury reach

“Joining forces with the globalleader in beauty, we will accelerate the development of fragrance andcosmeticsfor ourmajor houses, allowing them to achieve scaleinthis categoryand unlock theirimmense long-term potential, as did Yves SaintLaurent Beauté underL’Oréal’sstewardship,” de Meosaid in astatement.

Apple’srally sendsWallStreethigher

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stocks rallied on Monday to thecusp of theirrecords.

TheS&P 500 climbed 1.1% and pulled within 0.3% of itsall-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage jumped 515 points, or 1.1%, and theNasdaqcomposite gained 1.4%.

Apple led theway and rose 3.9% amid optimism about demand for itslatestiPhonedesign. It was the strongestforce liftingthe S&P 500 and set itsown record high.

Cleveland-Cliffs jumped 21.5% after the steel company’sCEO, Lourenco Goncalves, said it would provide details soon about apotential deal with amajor global steel producer that could mean bigger profits. He alsosaid his company has potentially found signs of rare earths at sites in Michigan and Minnesota.

Suchmaterials have grabbed the global spotlight after China recentlyput curbs on theexport of its ownrareearths, amovethat PresidentDonald Trump characterized as hostile.Trump’sensuing threat of higher tariffs trig-

gered big swings for Wall Street, but theconcerns eased abit after Trump said suchhigh tax rates on Chineseimports are unsustainable.

Another source of worry for Wall Street, from the banking industry,also appears to be easing. Stocks of smaller and midsized banks climbedMonday,recovering some of their losses after acouple raised alarm bells last week by warning aboutpotentially bad loans they’ve made.

Zions Bancorp.gained4.7% Monday following its 5.1% drop last week, when it said it had found “apparent misrepresenta-

tions and contractual defaults” relatedtoacouple borrowers. Amazon’sstock held up despite awidespread outage for its cloud computing service that caused disruption forinternetusers around the world Monday.Amazon’sstock rose 1.6%. Alltold, theS&P 500 added71.12 points to 6,735.13. The DowJones Industrial Average climbed 515.97 to 46,706.58, andthe Nasdaqcomposite gained310.57 to 22,990.54. This weekfeaturesa raft of big namesreporting theirlatestquarterly results, including Coca-Cola on Tuesday,Tesla on Wednesday andProcter &Gamble on Friday

More Americansinsecureabout chancesonjob market,pollsays

BY JOSH BOAK and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press

WASHINGTON Americans are growing increasinglyconcerned about theirability to find agoodjob underPresident Donald Trump, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research pollfinds, in what is apotential warning sign for Republicans as apromisedeconomic boom has given way to hiring freezes and elevated inflation.

High prices for groceries, housing and health care persistasafear for many households, while rising electricity billsand the cost of gasatthe pump arealsosources of anxiety,according to the survey

Some 47%ofU.S. adults are“not very” or “not at all confident” they could find agood job if they wantedto, an increase from 37% when the question was last asked in October 2023.

Electricity bills are a“major”source of stress for 36% of U.S. adults at atime when the expected build-out of datacentersfor artificial intelligence could furthertax the power grid. Just morethan one-half said the cost of groceries are a“major” source of financial stress, about 4in10said thecost of housing and health carewere aserious strainand aboutone-third saidthey were feeling high stress about gasoline prices.

The survey suggests an ongoing vulnerabilityfor Trump, who returnedtothe WhiteHouse in January withclaims he could quicklytame the inflation that surged after the pandemic duringDemocratic President Joe Biden’s term. Instead, Trump’spopularityonthe economy has remained low amid amix of tariffs, federal worker layoffs and partisan sniping that hasculminated in a government shutdown.

Linda Weavil, 76, voted for Trump last year because he “seems like asmart businessman.” Butshe said in an interview that the Republican’s tariffs have worsened inflation, citingthe chocolate-covered pecans sold for herchurchgroup fundraiser that now cost more.

“I thinkhe’sdoinga great job on alot of things,but I’m afraid our coffee and chocolate prices have gone up because of tariffs,” the retiree from Greensboro, North Carolina, said.“That’s akickinthe back of the American people.”

The poll found that36% of U.S. adultsapproveofhow Trumpishandling theeconomy,afigure that hasheldsteady this year after he imposed tariffs that caused broad

Trumpsigns

BY LAURENDEZENSKI and HADRIANA

LOWENKRON Bloomberg News (TNS)

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump signed an agreement with visiting Australian PrimeMinister Anthony Albanese to boost access to critical minerals and rare earths, as the U.S. looks to reduce reliance on Chinese supplies.

“In aboutayear fromnow,we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earthsthat you won’t know whattodo with them,” Trumpsaid Monday at the WhiteHouseduring ameeting between the two leaders.

Albanese said thedeal represented an $8.5 billion “pipeline that we have ready to go.” He hailed

economic uncertainty.AmongRepublicans, 71% feel positive about his economic leadership. Yetthat approval within Trump’sown partyisrelatively low in ways that could be problematicfor Republicans in nextmonth’s racesfor governor in NewJerseyand Virginia, and perhaps even in the 2026 midterm elections.

At roughly thesame point in Biden’sterm, in October 2021, an AP-NORC poll found that 41% of U.S. adultsapproved of how he was handling theeconomy,including about 73% of Democrats. Thatoverall number was a littlehigher than Trump’s, primarily because of independents— 29% approvedofhow Biden was handling theeconomy,compared with the18% whocurrently support Trump’s approach.

The job market was meaningfully stronger in terms of hiring during Biden’spresidency as the United States was recovering from pandemic-related lockdowns. Buthiring has slowed sharply under Trumpwith monthly job gains averaging less than 27,000 afterthe April tariff announcements

People see that difference.

Four years ago, 36% of thoseinthe survey were “extremely” or “very” confident in their abilitytoget agood job,but that has fallen to 21% now Biden’sapprovalonthe economysteadily deteriorated through the middle of 2022 when inflation hita four-decadehigh, creatinganopening forTrump’s politicalcome-

back. In someways, Trumphas madethe inflationproblems harderbychoosing to cancel fundingfor renewable energy projects and imposing tariffs on theequipment needed forfactories and power plants. Those added costs are coming before the anticipated construction of data centers for AI that could further push up prices without more construction.

Even though 36% see electricity as amajor concern, there are somewho have yettofeel aserious financial squeeze. In thesurvey, 40% identified electricity costs as a“minor” stress, while 23% said their utility bills are “not asource” of stress.

Kevin Halsey,58, of Normal, Illinois, said his monthly electricity bills used to be $90 during the summer because he had solarpanels, buthavesince jumped to $300 Halsey,who works in telecommunications, voted Democratic in last year’spresidential election and described the economyright now as “crap.”

“I’ve got to be pessimistic,” he said. “I don’tsee this as getting better.”

At afundamental level, Trumpfinds himselfinthe sameeconomicdilemma that bedeviled Biden. There are signs the economy remains relatively solid with alow unemployment rate,stock market gains anddecenteconomicgrowth,yet the public continuestobeskeptical aboutthe economy’s health.

the minerals and rare earths pact as taking thenations’ economic anddefense cooperation “tothe next level.”

The leaders said theagreement would include Australian processingofrare earths, with Albanese adding thatAustralia had “capacity” to expandthose efforts.The U.S. and Australia pledged to protect their domestic marketsfrom “unfairtrade practices,” includingthrough adopting trading standards that involve “price floors or similar measures,” according to the text of the deal circulated by Albanese’soffice.

The deal will beginwiththe U.S and Australia each paying more than$1billion over thenext six monthsfor initial projects, with

some furtherprojects in both countries and one development to include Japan, the Australianprime ministersaid. The document did not includedetails on which entities would provide that financing.

ThePentagon will help fund the construction of a100 metrictonper-year advanced gallium refinery in Western Australia as part of the deal, according to the White House. The Export-Import Bank of theUnited States is also issuing letters of interest for morethan $2.2 billion in financing on critical mineral projects.

The sitdown, Albanese’sfirst WhiteHouse visit since Trumpretook power,comesasthe Australian leader lookstoshore up ties with theU.S., using his nation’s

wealthincriticalminerals as leverage.China’smovetoimpose unprecedented export restrictions on rareearths hasrattled economiesacross the globe, with U.S. Treasury SecretaryScottBessent saying last week that allies —including Australia —are in talks about aunited response. Australia, which holds the world’s fourth-largestdeposits of rare earths, hassough to position itself as aviable alternative to Chinafor supplies crucialfor industries covering semiconductors, defense technology,renewableenergyand other sectors. The country is also the base of the only producer of so-called heavy rare earthsoutside China through Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.

Trumpnominates Will Crainfor judgeship

Nomineewould fill EasternDistrict benchvacancy

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Will Crain, an associate justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court, was nominated Monday by President Donald Trump to be afederal judge in New Orleans.

If confirmed by the Senate, Crain would fill one of three vacancies on the federal benchinthe Eastern District of Louisiana.

Crainhas been ajudge at various levels since 2009, including the past six years on Louisiana’shighest court.

Crainwas also atrial court judge and appeals court judge in St. Tammany Parish before winning an election in 2019 to join the Louisiana

Supreme Court. Trump wrote that Crain “has proven he has the Wisdom and Courage required to put our Constitution FIRST.Now,morethan ever,weneed Judgeswho will holdviolent criminals accountable, enforce the Rule of Law,and protect our Inalienable rights.”

Crain is aRepublican who hasbeenknown forhis conservativerulings on the Supreme Court,particularly favoring thestate in criminal matters. Duringcampaigns to be ajudge,helovedtotell stories abouthis former boss, state Sen. SixtyRayburn, a colorful populist Democrat who represented Washington Parish for 48years.

Crain played akey role in drafting anew map for the seven-member Supreme Courtthatstate lawmakers approved in 2024. Legislators hadlast redistricted the

STAFF FILE PHOTOByCHRISGRANGER

Louisiana Supreme CourtJustices Will Crain, left, and Cade Cole, right, helpJustice Piper Griffindownthe steps on Oct. 6atJackson Square. Crain was nominated Mondaytobea federal judgeinNew Orleans.

SupremeCourt in 1996. Crain grew up in Bogalusa and graduated from LSU

andLSU Law School.His father,Hillary,also served as ajudge in St.Tammany

Parish for years andchaired the Louisiana Gaming Control Board under Gov.Mike

Pope meetswithglobalgroup of clergy abusesurvivors

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Pope Leo XIV

met Monday for the firsttime with an organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates, who said he agreedto maintain apermanentdialogue as they press for azerotolerance policy for abuse in the Catholic Church.

Ending Clergy Abuse is a global organization that has been campaigning to universalize theU.S.church’sabuse policy Among other things, the policy callsfor thepermanent removal from ministry of apriest based on evena single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established accordingto church law

The U.S. policy,first articu-

latedinthe 1990s, was publicly adoptedatthe height of the scandal there in abid to restore trust and credibility in the U.S. hierarchyafter revelations of decades of abuse and cover-up. It is church law in the UnitedStatesbut is not embraced elsewhere.

Leo acknowledged “there was great resistance”tothe ideaofauniversal zero-tolerance law, said TimLaw,ECA co-founder. But Lawsaid he told Leo that ECA wanted to workwith him and the Vatican to move the idea forward. Leohas met before with clergyabuse survivors, and was thepoint personfor listening to victims in the Peruvian bishops conference when he was abishop there. Buthistory’s first American pope acknowledged the significance of meeting with

ECA as an activist organization, memberstold anews conference.

PopeFrancis and Pope BenedictXVI before him also met with individual victims but had kept activist and advocacy groups at arm’s length.

“He said, ‘This is the next historic step: to sittogether and talk,’”German participant Matthias Katsch said of Monday’smeeting. “He allowed us to stay in contact, to have an open channel of communications.”

Theaudienceinside the Apostolic Palace lastedan hour and Leolistened intently,participantssaid. The Vatican didn’tinitially list it among Leo’saudiences Monday, though subsequent versions of the pope’sagenda included it

Foster Trump also nominated AlexanderVan Hook to be adistrictcourt judge to fill the vacancy in the Western District of Louisiana,which includes Lafayette, Alexandria,Shreveport, Lake Charles and Monroe. He would be basedinShreveport.

During much of 2025, Van Hook served as acting U.S. attorney for the Western District. Before that, he spent 25 yearsworking as a prosecuting attorney in that office.

“He’sa terrifictrial lawyer,and I’mdelighted,” said U.S. District Court Judge Donald Walter,who is on seniorstatus andhas been on the bench since 1985. The nominations mean that Sens. JohnN.Kennedy R-Madisonville, and Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, have blessed the picks.

Nuclear security agency furloughing workersamidgovernmentshutdown

BY MATTHEWDALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON The federal agency tasked withoverseeing the U.S.nuclear stockpile has begun furloughing employees as part of theongoingfederal government shutdown, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday In avisit to Nevada, Wright said theNational Nuclear Security Administration is furloughing 1,400 federal workers as part of theshutdown, whichbegan Oct. 1. Nearly 400 federal workerswillremainonthe job, along withthousands of nuclear agency contractors, the Energy Department said. The nuclear agency asemi-autonomous branch of the Energy Department, also workstosecure nuclear

materials around the world.

“Tough day today,” Wright said in Las Vegas before a scheduledvisit to theNevada National Security Site in Mercury,Nevada. “We’re working hard to protect everyone’sjobs and keep our national stockpile secure,” Wright said.

The furloughs do not pose an immediate threat to national security,Wright said, adding: “Wehaveemergency employees and the current nuclear stockpile is safe.”

President Donald Trump’s Republican administration firedhundreds of nuclear agency employees earlier this year,before reversing course amid criticism the action could jeopardize national security.Similar criticism emergedMondayafter Wright’sannouncement.

Wright said the disruption would affectemployees and their families and will delay testing of commercial reactors, including some small modular reactorsthatthe Trumpadministrationhas pushedasacheaper alternativetocostlynuclear plants that cantake years or even decades to bring online.

“These are jobs of great gravity,” Wright said, urging congressional leaders to reopen the government as soon as possible. Democratic Sen. Ed MarkeyofMassachusetts said it was “dangerously unacceptable that the Trump administration claimsit will have to temporarily suspend certain nuclear security programs because of theongoing government shutdown.”

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LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Recreating chicken history

Back in 1996, when Raising Cane’sfounder Todd Graves was deep in the throes of launching his first restaurant at the corner of Highland Road and East State Street in Baton Rouge, he rented thesmall second-floor apartment next door He moved his bed into the living room so he could keep a clear view of the restaurant and drive-thru. He worked most of the time, but when he was in his apartment and things gotbusy, he would head down the stairs, out the front door and crossthe parking lot to help.

The apartment served adual purpose —itwas also therestaurant’ssupport office, with bulky computers filling the kitchen and former bedroom.

For Graves, that apartment is ground zero for the early years of what has since become his restaurant empire. In 2016, when thebuilding came on the market, he bought it. Over the nexttwo years, he not only restored the rather dilapidated building but also returned his old apartment to its 1996 glory He replicated it as closelyas possible —furnishings, details, even the cereal boxes atop the fridgeand the brown paisley comforter on the bed.

Though it’snot open to the public, Cane’s regional marketing director Zachary Corbin took me on atour last week.

“Todd was passionate about trying to restore it, preserve it —for nothing else other than the fact that the history of the building is so important to our history,” Corbin said.

Cane’semployees often refer to Graves’ old apartmentas “the museum,”but the restof the building serves more utilitarian purposes, including storage space downstairs for stashes of specific pieces unique to the original restaurant next door old-style napkin holders, ketchup squirt bottles and replacement furnishings.

As Corbin and Iwalked upstairs to unit No. 4, Graves’ old apartment, he told me that Graveswas in Nashville getting ready for the LSU-Vanderbilt game.Even so, the Cane’sfounder took some time to answer afew questions about his decision to remake his oldapartment, which is all about the details —down to thescales in the bathroom.

“Look, Iwill tell you, I’ll tell you this, Todd is the most detailorientedperson I’ve evermet in my entirelife,” Corbin said. “I genuinely believe it’sone of the things that’smade the business successful.” Appreciating the level of detail required to bring 1996 back to life, Iasked Graves, “On ascale of 1to10, how sentimentalare you?” He answered, “11!” Certainly,the apartment was evidence of that.

“People always ask if I’m planning to sell or take the brand public, and the answer is ‘no’ because no one cares for acompany like afounder does,” Graves said. “We’ve been around for 29years and still have the same menu as we didwhenIopened ‘the mothership’ that first day.”

He says when he first started, his goal was to open one restaurant. He was focused on doing everything he could to makethat dream areality After the first successfulfall semester,hebegan thinking about where he and his team could open asecond locationon the other side of campus.Back then, he said he thought Cane’s was arestaurant conceptthat

ä See RISHER, page 2B

St.Georgegetsextension

Public works, infrastructure transition pushed back

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Governmentservices for St George residents were supposed to completely transition from East Baton Rouge Parishtothe newly incorporated city last week, but that deadline has now been extended alittlefurther St. George was set to takeover publicworks, infrastructure maintenance and 311 from the city-parish on Oct. 15, but will now cover those services for its residents starting Nov.1

St.George officials did not answer questions about why the

deadlinewas extendedand instead released astatementfrom Mayor DustinYates touting a smoothtransition and working relationship with the administration in Baton Rouge.

“Wecontinue to work really wellwith the Edwardsadministration on thetransition,” Yates said.“We continue to methodically stand up St.George city services and look forwardtotaking on more forour citizensin November.”

East BatonRouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ assistant chief administrative officer, William Daniel, said St. George

will continue to be chargedfor theservices the city-parish provides. With each request for service, Baton Rouge officials work up an estimated cost and, if St. Georgeapproves, thework is completed and St. George is billed, he said.

Afterthe newdeadline, the city-parish might provide at least oneservicefor thenew city going forward.

“Wemay continue to provide maintenance of thetraffic signals,” Danielsaid. “However,we would be compensated for the work.”

After ayear of contention, St.

George officialsand city-parish officials reached an agreement April 23 forthe transferofsales tax revenue collected in the St. George boundary to the city’s budding government.Included in thatagreement wasalso aplan to gradually transition services as St. George put together its new government.

Officials said the deadline extension is not an example of the city-parish granting St. George anyextra flexibility

“Wedonot feel like we are giving St. George leeway,” Daniel said. “They are paying for the services we provide. Thepayment is at acompetitive rate and recovers all our administrative expenses as well.”

BIGSTEPPERS

STAFF PHOTOSByHILARy SCHEINUK The Flamingeauxs perform during the15th annualHalloween Parade on Saturdayindowntown Baton Rouge

ABOVE: AWoodlawn High marching band member playsthe trombone.

LEFT: Amember of The Golden Guys strikesa pose while performinginthe parade

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

more than 30 locations The deaths of three Elayn Hunt CorrectionalCenterinmatesover thepastmonthare beinginvestigated, with coronerand toxicologyreports in the works,Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said. A45-year-old inmate at the St. Gabriel prison died Sept. 26. A22-year-old died Wednesday and a65-year-old died Friday,

able againafter they’re soldfrom theBaton Rouge location. “Weare deeply grateful to the associates who have represented

Stassi said. The Sheriff’s Office is awaiting coroner’sreports on all of the deaths, he said. The LouisianaDepartmentof Public Safety and Correctionsis active in the investigations. Manarrested in Southern homecoming shooting Aman who allegedly fireda

N.O. archdiocese proceeds with Christopher Homes sale

Residents fear

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

The Archdiocese of New Orleans

said Monday it is on track to sell Christopher Homes by the middle of 2026 to a buyer who has agreed to keep the 15 apartment complexes as affordable housing for some 1,700 low-income seniors

The update comes as inspectors have arrived in recent weeks at some of the Christopher Homes properties to conduct environmental reviews and inspections. Consultants have also filed requests with City Hall seeking to verify the zoning classification of the properties.

The sale of the property is key to resolving the archdiocese’s longrunning bankruptcy case. And while such “due diligence” measures are not unusual before a property deal takes place, the activity has stoked concerns among some residents that the more valuable complexes under the Christopher Homes umbrella could be sold to a private developer and converted to hotels or market-rate apartments.

An archdiocese spokesperson said that is not the case, referring to a letter sent last month to Christopher Homes residents from the organization’s board of directors.

“Any sale will require the new owner to preserve and maintain all properties as affordable housing for seniors,” the letter said. “Most importantly, this means there will be no changes to your rent. It also means the new owners will extend the affordability agreement for decades to come.”

According to court documents

filed in the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, the properties are expected to generate as much as $50 million that will be added to a trust for survivors of clergy sex abuse totaling more than $200

million. If the case is settled, those funds will be distributed over several years to hundreds of abuse survivors.

Committed to the mission

Christopher Homes was founded by the late Archbishop Philip Hannan in 1966 and eventually grew to include 21 apartment complexes for low-income seniors in and around New Orleans. In the early 2010s, the church sold six of the complexes to Providence Community Housing, a local nonprofit that develops affordable housing.

Last November, it turned over management of the remaining 15 properties to Providence, though the archdiocese continues to own them.

The properties are scattered throughout the metro area. They

include suburban complexes like Wynhoven I and II on the West Bank, Metairie Manor I, II, III and IV in Metairie, and the 10-story Christopher Inn, which towers over Frenchman Street in the historic Faubourg Marigny The latter, because of its location, is likely the most valuable of the properties.

In September, the archdiocese and attorneys for clergy abuse survivors agreed to a joint settlement in the bankruptcy case that included guaranteed funds from the Christopher Homes sale. At the time, the archdiocese confirmed that it had reached a purchase agreement with a buyer though it declined to identify them.

In the weeks since, consultants for that buyer have been conducting physical inspections of the properties and researching them

in city records. A Virginia firm, Dominion Due Diligence Group, filed documents on the city’s One Stop app seeking to verify the properties’ zoning classifications Among the questions they asked was “can the property be rebuilt as is if destroyed?”

Some residents, already on edge, said such questions only heightened fears that they could be forced to move out amid a broader redevelopment effort.

“Some of us are skeptical, some of us are hopeful,” said Jan Bruno Livingston, a resident of Christopher Inn. “I don’t trust any pie that has Catholic fingers in it. I’m just waiting to see what happens.”

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said all of the information communicated to residents last month in the letter from the Chris-

Man linked to Hamas attack faces hearing

Federal court to hear probable cause proceedings

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

A 33-year-old man living and working in Lafayette who is accused of being involved in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel is set for a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Lafayette to determine if there is probable cause to hold him.

Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub alMuhtadi was arrested last week on allegations he aided a terrorist group and lied on his visa application, entering the United States via Dallas in September 2024, nearly a year after the attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people, including 49 American citizens.

Some of the victims were shot point-blank with rifles, tortured, beheaded, or sexually abused, Su-

RISHER

Continued from page 1B

would only work on a college campus. After they opened the second restaurant, at 202 W. Lee Drive, and recognized the different traffic patterns with business people at lunch, moms and dads going through the drive-thru to pick up meals for their kids on their way home and church groups on Sundays, he got the vision and the passion to grow Cane’s.

The company has seen enormous growth in the years since. Even so, Graves said, “there’s so much runway for Cane’s.” He’s looking forward to continuing to expand in the U.S. and beyond, specifically to opening in the United Kingdom next year, with additional international markets to come.

Meanwhile, the original Cane’s just on the outskirts of LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, continues to hum. Next door, that small apartment waits frozen in time, cereal boxes and all — standing as a quiet testament to what can happen when someone keeps believing in an idea long after everyone else has gone home.

Walking through Graves’ ode to 1996 made me wonder what kind of shrine the rest of us might create if we took the time to honor

pervisory Special Agent Alexandria O’Donnell, of the FBI, wrote in a 44-page federal affidavit Oct. 6.

Wednesday’s appearance in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette will be al-Muhtadi’s second He was in court Friday as an interpreter read O’Donnell’s affidavit in Arabic. He has been detained but has not been indicted. It’s unclear if al-Muhtadi’s wife, who watched Friday’s proceedings from the courtroom, will be charged.

Al-Muhtadi was represented Friday by Lafayette attorney Lester Gauthier just for that hearing, along with Assistant Federal Public Defender John Piccione. Neither would disclose additional information Monday, such as where al-Muhtadi is being held or where he resided or worked in Lafayette before his arrest.

Court recessed briefly Friday while Gauthier and others in the court system discussed whether it would be improper for Gauthi-

er to represent al-Muhtadi’s wife. It does not appear she has been charged. Gauthier would not comment Monday on whether he was hired to represent al-Muhtadi’s wife, whose name has not been released.

In the affidavit, O’Donnell referred to al-Muhtadi’s wife twice. She said al-Muhtadi indicated on his June 16, 2024, visa application to enter the U.S. that his wife assisted him in filling out the application.

Al-Muhtadi indicated on the application that he had no specialized skills or training in firearms, had not served in any paramilitary or insurgent groups, was not a member of a terrorist group and had not committed political killings or other acts of violence.

Federal officials said they have evidence that links al-Muhtadi to terrorist groups, including Hamas. He rallied armed men and entered Israel to join the fighting on Oct. 7, 2023, officials said.

The document also indicated law enforcement had obtained authorization to search the email records for an account used by al-Muhtadi’s wife. The FBI New Orleans Field Office and Joint Task Force 10-7 are investigating the case, according to the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs The Louisiana State Police, Lafayette Police Department, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol provided significant assistance, they wrote.

The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Nickel in Lafayette; trial attorneys A.J. Dixon, Andrew Sigler and Joint Task Force 10-7 lead attorney Alicia Cook, of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell of the Eastern District of Virginia

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.

topher Homes board remains valid

“We are committed to bringing in a responsible and experienced owner that shares in our mission to provide high-quality affordable housing and has an established track record,” the letter said. “We believe that you will be very pleased when the new owners are announced. Their commitment to the ‘mission’ is outstanding.” Regulations and safeguards Court documents filed in the bankruptcy case initially estimated the sale of Christopher Homes could generate anywhere from $36 million to more than $50 million. More recent estimates in updated versions of the proposed settlement have put the number at closer to $50 million.

The properties are encumbered by $70 million in debt from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That means the ultimate sale price will be at least $120 million and potentially much more since the HUD debt will have to be repaid before the $50 million goes into the settlement.

HUD regulations make it difficult, though not impossible, to convert the properties to marketrate housing or some sort of commercial venture. If that were to happen, HUD would require that residents be relocated to another affordable complex.

In its letter to Christopher Homes residents last month, the board said that won’t happen. Rather, the board suggested that the buyer intends to pump millions of dollars into the properties, updating and upgrading them for their low-income senior residents.

“As part of our due diligence, we are also gauging their ability to devote significant resources to improving residences, shared spaces and infrastructure across the community at no additional cost to you,” the letter said.

ORVIS

Continued from page 1B

Orvis with passion and expertise in this community, and to the loyal customers who have supported this store over the years,” Perkins said in a statement.

The company has 70 stores nationwide with more than 500 retail partners.

Orvis has operated a 10,000-square-foot store in Perkins Rowe since November 2008. It is the only retail store the company has in Louisiana.

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

gun on Southern University’s campus during the school’s homecoming football game has been arrested, according to East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office records.

A Baker police officer arrested Muhsin Morehouse, 24, of Baton Rouge, during Saturday’s game, before turning him over to campus police, said Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn. Morehouse faces one count each of aggravated criminal damage to property, reckless discharge of a firearm, and possessing a gun in a firearm-free zone (Southern’s campus).

“Mr Morehouse was shooting at another individual on campus,” the arresting officer noted in documents.

Police were called about a shooting on campus about 5 p.m. Saturday No one was reported injured from the incident.

Elementary student airlifted to hospital

A student at South Fork Elementary in Denham Springs had to be airlifted to a hospital Monday morning, according to a Facebook post from the school. The school announced the student was taken by Air Med at 11 a.m. Monday, and said the child’s parent had been notified. No further details have been released.

Lanclos, Robert

OurLadyofMercy at 10 a.m.

LeBlanc, Louis

OursoFuneralHomeinGonzalesat

noon.

Dale Katherine Cordell, a native of New Orleans, and aresident of Covington, passed away on October 15, 2025atthe age of 75. She is survived by her partner of 47 years, Chrystine Staiger. She is preceded in death by her mother Grace Josephine Mandella Cordell, fatherOrville Eugene Cordell, and brother Donald Carl Cordell. She is survived by her brother David Eugene Cordell (Karen), and sister Cynthia Ann Cordell Melancon (Donald).

Dale loved her gardens and her pool, spending most of her time outdoors caring for them. Avisitation will be held at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church 13396 River Road, Destrehan, LA on Wednesday, October 22 at 10:00 AM with aMass of Christian burial at 11:00 AM. Interment immediately following at St. Charles Borromeo Mausoleum.

Grace Ann Harrington Dessert, our beloved "Ga Ga", went home on Friday, October 17, 2025. Grace was born to Mary Elizabeth and Jeremiah James Harrington on July 26, 1933, in Providence, Rhode Island. She married William Joseph Dessert and together they began their life's adventure traveling south to pursue Bill's career with Allied Chemical. They enjoyed raising their four children in Virginia, Kentucky, and finally Baton Rouge. Grace became a courageous and curious lifelong learner and world traveler after Bill's passing in 1989. Her greatest accomplishment and gift, however, was the love she shared with her family and the way she taught them to share that lovewith one another. Grace is survived by her brother, Jeremiah James(Carol) Harrington, Jr.; her children, Kathleen (Eric) Rosenberg, Mary Loretta (Ed Bailey) Dessert, Christine (Vincent) Musso and Paul William (Joanne) Dessert; six grandchildren, William Christopher (Channing) Musso, Nicholas Jon (Nicole) Musso, Lynne Meghan Dessert, Allison Kayla (Paul) Guidry and six great grandchildren, Cassandra Mixon, Gabriel Musso, GeorgieMusso, Adler Musso, Ellie Musso and Halen Guidry and a seventh greatgrandchild ( Grace Ruth!) is due in November. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to St. Theresa School Capital Campaign or the American Cancer Society. Avisitation will be held on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, from 10:00-11:30AM at Ourso Funeral Home 13533 Airline Hwy, Gonzales, LA, 70737.Service will begin at 11:30, with interment to follow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory Cemetery.

y (Kedrick), Tina Wright, Feli‐cia Douglas, BreannaDou‐glas, andChristenDouglas; his sons,WillieEarlGra‐ham,CarlosJames Brown, Junior Wright, Michael Smith,James DouglasIII, and AnthonyJames Dou‐glas. He is also survived by his sisters, DorothyJean Bennett (Gerald),Rosie Douglas Harper,Valarie Anderson, andDebra Dou‐glasRoss; hisbrothers, PaulE.Douglas and LawrenceWilliams (Nancy);along with ahost ofgrandchildren,greatgrandchildren,aunts,un‐cles, nieces,nephews,and manyother relativesand friends.Hewas preceded indeath by hislovingpar‐ents, AnnieLee andJames Douglas,Sr. Visitation will beheldonThursday, Octo‐ber 23,2025, at Hall’s Cele‐bration Center,9348Scenic Hwy., beginningat9:00 a.m.until thetimeofthe funeralservice at 10:00 a.m.Interment:Southern MemorialGardens.Ser‐vices entrustedtoHall Davis &Son FuneralSer‐vice. www.halldavisan dson.com

Bobby Wayne Efferson grew up in Baker, Louisiana.Hewas born on December 9, 1936, and passedawayonMonday, October 13, 2025, at the age of 88. In lieu of flowers, Bobby's family prefersdonations to the American CancerSociety.Friends and family areinvited to attend avisitation at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 FloridaBlvd,Baton Rouge, LA, on Wednesday evening, October22, 2025, from 4pmto7:30 pm and again, the next morning at St. AlphonsusCatholic Church, 14040Greenwell Springs Rd., Greenwell Springs,70739 on Thursday, Oct23, 2025,from10am until Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30amconcelebrated by the Rev. Mike Moroney.Interment will follow in GreenoaksMemorial Park.Full Obituary at www.dignitymemorial com

John Skip"Hardeewas born April4,1943inDeBerry,TexastoJohnnieand Alice Hardee andpassed awayonOctober 13, 2025 in Baton Rouge,Louisiana. John was dedicated to his workasa salesman with Standard Alloys. He also enjoyedspending time with his family, golfing,fishing and dancing at Ric Seeling Dance Studio He was adie hard fanof the NewOrleans Saints and LSU Tigers John waspreceded in death by hisfather Johnnie Hardee, his mother Alice Hardee,his wife Diane Hardee,his sisterBeverly Monroe, his stepson John McCurley and hisbeloved cat Chace John is survived by his brother Chris Hardee,sister Peggy Bradshaw, daughters Elizabeth Hardee,Susie Hardee and Jennifer Hardee,daughter in lawShannon Seay and grandchildrenHeather Hardee, ChanceMcCurley, BrandonMcCurleyand Lily Seay John's kindness and charismaticpersonality willbegreatly missed. He alwaysoffered asmile and ahandshaketoall. He never knew astranger. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Ascension Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to any Alzheimer's foundation in his memory

Leon,

Frank James Leon entered intoeternal rest on October 17, 2025, at theage of 90. He was born on March 29, 1935, in Maringouin, Louisiana,and was acurrent resident of Grand Coteau, Louisiana. Frank was abelovedfather, grandfather, greatgrandfather, and greatgreat-grandfather. He lovedhis family dearly and was known for his humor, laughter, feistyspirit,and was also known by many as "Big Dog". Frank was an avid fan of theNew York Yankees, alifelong admirer of ElvisPresley, and someone who enjoyed spending his younger days fishing, hunting,and dancing.He found joyinlife'ssimple treasures and always said he livedagoodlife. He was an advocate for walking and rarely missed his daily miles.Heissurvived by his twodaughters,Christelle Taylorand husband Leroy Taylor,and Mary Ellen Leon;his son, Kenny Leon; and hisformerwife,Joyce Leon. He is also survived by hisbrother, Charles Leon,and his wife, Emily, of Melville, and hissister, JosephineLegier, of Mandeville. Frank was blessed with five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and one great-greatgrandchild,all of whomhe loveddearly. He is preceded in death by his father, Charley Leon(e); mother Mary PecoraLeon; sister, EstelleMiletello and husband Sam; brothers Lawrence Leon and wife Joyce, PhillipLeon and wife Irene,Guy Leon,Anthony Leon and wife Lynn; and brother-in-law LeoD Legier. Avisitationwillbe held at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Livonia on Wednesday,October 22, 2025 from9 am until the Mass of ChristianBurial at 11 am. The interment will follow in the church cemetery.Pallbearers willbe Brock Taylor, Scottie Leon TerryLeon, JacobLeon, Brad Joffrion,and James Chamberlain.

Affectionately known as"Bibby",Jerelyn Cardi‐nal Mouchquietly and peacefullyleftthisworld at5:25amonFriday, Octo‐ber 17,2025, in thepres‐enceofher daughters, just one week before her82nd birthday. Jerrie wasborn and raised in Plaquemine, Louisiana.After graduating fromPlaquemineHigh School,Jerriereceiveda secretarial certification fromSouthwesternLouisiana University.Soonafter college,Jerriemarried and had 3girls in 30 months.As a young stay-at-home mom andhomemaker ex‐traordinaire, Jerrie always maintainedanimmacu‐latelyclean home andpro‐vided family dinner every night.A pioneerinhome exercise, whenitwas in its infancy,Jerrieorganized and taught aerobics classesfor years. Initially, she held classesinher liv‐ing room butthatquickly morphed into apopular westsideaerobicsclass program which drew enoughmembers forher to moveclassestothe Port Allen Community Center.In her lateryears,whenJerrie was on herown, sheex‐celledatseveral adminis‐trative positionsand also asa part-timenanny to her granddaughter Brenna for a year.Ultimately, Jerrie found hercalling as theac‐tivitiescoordinatorat Williamsburg Retirement Community.Loved and cherished by staffand resi‐dents alike, Jerrie thrived atWilliamsburgand re‐mainedinthatposition until herretirementin 2005. Afterretiring, Jerrie enjoyed an enormously ful‐fillinglifewithfamilyand friends traveling, shopping eatingout andattending socialevents. Jerrie was deeply loved, admiredand

p y respectedbycountless family, friendsand neigh‐bors. Shewas arelentless giver of hertime, talents and love throughout her life. As herhealthissues began to limither abilityto traveland drive, Jerrie's vastcircleoffriends from AlAnon, HealingPlace Church (HPC)and her neighborhood ensuredshe alwaysmadeittoappoint‐ments,outings andmeet‐ings. Bibbywillforever be loved andrememberedby everyonewho hadthe pleasureofknowing her. Jerrie'sfamilyiseternally gratefulfor theoutpouring ofloveand supportduring her briefillness anddeath The common andrepeti‐tivedescription of whatan amazing,lovingand gen‐uinefriendshe wastoall is the epitomeofwho she was andwho we should all strivetobelike. Although raisedCatholic, Jerrie chose to publicly commit her life to Christ andac‐ceptedJesus as herLord and Savior in 2000 at HPC. Jerriewas involved in the OLOLChildren'sMiracle Network charity, St Jude outreachprogram andthe Cancerministrythrough HPC.Those left behind to mourn thelossofthis great lady areher 3daugh‐ters; JulieBroussard (Stu‐art), AngieM LeGlue and TerrieDagenhart (Michael).The best bibs/ bibster/biberooney/bibby will be missed so very muchbyher grandchil‐dren: Firstborn, Tori Tranchina followed years later by Brenna Campo (Adrian), RyleeLeGlueand Molly Bucek. Jerrie was alsoprecededindeath by her parents: Anthony (Tony)and Lena Cardinal and brother, RonnieCardi‐nal.Without adoubt,Bibby has been reunitedwithher granddaughter,Bailey Marie LeGlue.Itisimpossi‐ble to expresswithwords the depth of gratitudethe familywishestoextendto the BRGphysiciansand staff during herhospital stay. With respect, admira‐tionand appreciation,the familywould like to ac‐knowledge Dr's Raju,Ka‐planand Campbell fortheir genuine care,concern and expertise.The family would also like to person‐allythank sitters: Sheila, Adrianand Lou, BRGin-pa‐tient staff, nurses: LeAn‐dre,Sandrina, Brendan& Alexis, PCA's: Kimand Dia‐mondfor theirdedication totheir profession while caringfor Jerrie andtothe Audubon Hospiceteam thatcared forour mom. Fi‐nally,the family wouldlike h i d

y y to expresstheir deepest gratitude forthe neighbors thatbecamefriends,then familyand have largely contributed to Jerrie's abil‐ity to remain at herhome and live independently overthe years: NicholeDel‐lucky andFrancoand Vin‐centBellipani.Jerrie's daughters aregratefulto God forthe opportunity to honor theirmom's selfless wishbydonatingher body inanefforttohelpeducate othersafter herpassing Per Jerrie's wishes,a cele‐bration of life,inlieuofa traditional funeral, will be plannedata laterdateand willinclude food,music and dancing-3thingsJerrie enjoyed themost. Please considermakinga dona‐tiontothe charityofyour choice, in memory of Jere‐lyn,thatyou andshe may havehad amutualinterest inorevenmet as aresult of

Bette Zane"Honey" Smith Theiswas born Oct. 17, 1930, in Spearsville, LA, andpassed away Oct. 14, 2025, in Baton Rouge.She wasa belovedwife,mother,grandmother, great grandmother,sister,aunt, andfriend.

Shegrewupona farm in North Louisianawhere she learnedthe importance of family, hard work, neighborly love,and faith in God. Honeyloved the Lordand served Himdaily. Shealso lovedmusic and sangaltoinchurch choirs throughout herlife, includingMetairie Baptist, First Baptist of Baton Rouge, University Baptist, and Broadmoor Baptist where she also served as adeacon.

Honeywas alongtime member of theBaton Rouge Chorus of Sweet AdelinesInternational whereshe served as President andtraveled the world, bringing joyand entertainment to thousands of people. Sherecentlycelebrated 76 years of marriageto ArthurRichard "Art"Theis of Shreveport, whom she

met while attending Louisiana Tech University. Hisservice in the U.S. Navy, during WorldWar II andthe Korean War,took hertovariousplaces, including Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Honeyworked throughouther life, first serving as atelephone operator in Ruston and thenasa kindergarten teacherand directorinMetairie.After moving to Baton Rouge in 1970, she began working at theLouisiana Highway Safety Commission and waslater appointedExecutive Director by Governor Edwin Edwards. Sheserved in that capacity until1993 when she retiredfrom stategovernment. Sheissurvivedbyher husband, daughters Marsha Jabour and husband Rusty, and SandraAlessi and husbandJim; grandsons ChristopherHarpin andwife Carla; andTodd Jabour; granddaughter Foster Alessi;and great granddaughters Madaleine Alessi and Alexandra Alessi;sister-in-law Irlene Smith; brother-in-law Bobby Elkins, andnumerous nieces andnephews. Honeywas preceded in death by herparents,Harmon andEva RogersSmith; andsiblings, George Harmon Smith,RudolphSmith, Lavon Smith, Kenneth Smith, LaNelleRambin,and Elizabeth Elkins. Shewas interred on Oct. 18 at Spearsville Cemetery after aprivate service officiated by Dr.Daniel Hall of Madison, MS Thefamilywould like to thank Farrar Funeral Home in Farmervilleand thestaff at St.Joseph's Carpenter HouseinBaton Rouge for theirloving care.

They don’toften get the spotlight, but we can’t overlook how much Louisiana’scommunity colleges have grown in recent years andhow much they are reshaping our state’sworkforce. Around athird of the state’s280,000 college studentsattendcommunityand technical colleges,which offertwo-yeardegrees and other certifications.And last year, arecord 35,000 graduates received degrees or certifications from these institutions. That represents arebound after losses during the pandemic, when enrollment at communityattechnical colleges fell by as much as 28%. Andthese gainscome despite significant uncertainty aboutfederal support for higher education going forward Community and technical college courseshelp advance the hopes and dreamsofthousands of Louisiana residents. Highschool students choose community colleges as an alternative when other options seem out of reach, butalso increasingly to lower their debt burdenwhen they move to four-year institutions. Working adults look to community colleges when they seek to change careers to earn more money to supporttheir families. Thosewho have been out of the workforce for some time can earncertificationsattechnical colleges, often workingin apprenticeshipsthat lead directly to jobs.

The LouisianaCommunityand Technical CollegeSystem, which comprises 12 campuses, has been fortunate forthe past decade to have robust management and advocacy underthe leadership of President Monty Sullivan.Sullivan, who was appointed to leadthe system in 2014 after years at the helm of Delgado Community College in New Orleans,announcedthat he will be retiring early next year During Sullivan’stenure, enrollment tripled, the system said.And he was instrumentalin ushering through the M.J. Foster Promise Program, which provides scholarships for Louisiana adults pursuingworkforcetraining. Sullivan is also anationally known voice on education, testifying before Congress as it sought to expandthe Pell Grant program tothose seeking certifications and leadingnational organizations such as Rebuilding America’sMiddle Class, a coalition of community colleges. The contributions of Louisiana’scommunity andtechnical colleges to ourstate shouldbecelebratedbyall. They help provide opportunities to the most diverse rangeofstudents. They not only change lives; they also help train a crucial pipeline of workers to industries thatour state hopes to build. LCTCS haspartneredwith economic development agencies todevelop skilled workers for jobs in healthcare, construction, technology and other high-demand,high-wage fields. As Louisiana continues to mark gains in jobs and economic development, lots ofpeople deserve credit —publicofficials, businessleaders and ahost of nonprofit organizations.

But let’snot forget the unsungheroesworking in our community and technical colleges to trainthe workforce of tomorrow.It’spasttime for them to move from the shadows, steponto center stage and take abow

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Years ago, Ispentcountless hours inside theEast Baton Rouge Parish Prison as acorrections officer.I’ve walked those halls, talked with deputies on overnight shiftsand seen the daily strainofkeeping people safe in abuilding long pastits prime. That experience convinced me: We need anew facility and delaying thedecision only costs more.

Some argue taxpayersshouldn’t pay to “better houseprisoners.”

Butwealready spend millions patching an outdated structure and paying other parishes to hold our inmates.Thosestopgap measures fix nothing and drain the budget year after year

This isn’tabout giving inmates nicer accommodations.

It’sabout everyone who must work there —deputies, medical staff, counselors, volunteers —neighbors who pull long shiftsinunsafe, overcrowded conditions. They deserve thesame protection we expect for any public servant.

Tworecent fires in West Baton Rouge reveal afire department stretched dangerously thin.OnSept. 15 in Brusly,afamily lost everything as firefighters called for help from Baton Rouge FireDepartment. Days later in PortAllen, crews saved a structure, but all contentswere destroyed because fire had advanced before arrival. Earlier this year,another Brusly family lost their home, again requiring outside assistance. My heart goes out tothese families —no one should endure such losses. These incidents highlight our firefighters’ dedication and bravery.They respond professionally despite impossible conditions. The problem isn’t them —it’sthe leadership structure above them. WBR Fire Department has operated withacontract leader since 2022. The departmentcritically needs afull-timefire chief, aperson sworn intothe role and accountable to theparish, not someone hired through contract.

When fire service was consolidated in 2014, manyhoped it would unify and strengthen protection. Instead, constructive critics are dismissed as “negative.” This patternemerged

Amodern facility means safer supervision, dedicated medical and mental-health areas, and reduced liability.Investing now saves money over time and lowers the risk of costly lawsuits. It also creates space for rehabilitation programs that can reduce repeat offensesand improve public safety Supporting anew jail is not being soft on crime. It’sbeing smart with resources and serious about communitywell-being. We can keep pouring money into afailing structure,orwe can make aresponsible investment that protectsstaff, respects human dignity, and ultimately saves taxpayers. From what I’ve witnessedonthe inside, thechoice is clear.Let’s move beyond thefalse narrative of “better housing for prisoners” and build afacility that reflects our parish’s values of justice, safety and fiscal responsibility

CYNTHIA YOUNG Baton Rouge

with ambulance service, where no clear plans were provided to stakeholders when requested. More concerning is that, with so little information shared upfront about the ambulance service, there are worries that paramedics could be pressed into firefighting roles, leaving fewer ambulances available formedical emergencies. Today,the parish relies mostly on alimited number of paid firefighters without the volunteer surge capacity that once existed. Help from neighboring departments was meantto supplementresponses, not replace local capacity.One day, outside help might not be available, leaving residentstopay the price, especially when there are multiple manpowerintensive responses in the parish in a short time period. The community deserves better.We need permanent leadership committed to rebuilding our fire protection capabilities, not temporary solutions that leave residents vulnerable when seconds count

ANTHONY SUMMERS

formerWestBaton Rougevolunteer firefighter

Fear,anxiety,hesitation, and yes even excitement. Early in my 25-year YMCA career,I’d have to say that my feelings toward organizational change typically mirrored the first three emotions listed above and not so muchthe fourth. That said, what I’ve learned in my many years of serving communities of all shapes and sizes is that change is the absolute not-so-secret sauce in any growth-oriented YMCA.

Don’tget me wrong, strong YMCAs will always remain committedtothe same fundamental growth principles to achieve success.

People, programs, partnerships and place will always drive what we do (and how we do it) in our YMCA business. That is, the business of serving our communitiestothe best of our abilities. But here’sthe thing. Our communities change. They evolve. They shift. They grow.They transform.They adapt. As aresult, our YMCA’s,our people, our programs and our places will always need to be aligned with those changes if we are to ultimately meet our YMCA mission. I’m not sure where or whenIfirst heard that phrase, “the only thing that’sconstant is change,” but it rings more true to me today than it ever has. As we continue to grow and evolve our YMCA, it will take atotal team effort to make those changes the catalyst of growing our organization into the future.

An exciting timefor our YMCA, our communitiesand the countless kids and families we are privileged to serve every day SEAN ELLIOT president and CEO,yMCA of the Capital Area

The good? KokiRiley’sinsightful Monday college football column. The bad? To again take Vladimir Putin’sword, this time that Russia would adhere to nuclear arms limits forone moreyear as per 2010’snew START pact. The ugly? ABC/Disney spin doctors proffering their “allowing” forthe return of Jimmy Kimmelwhen, in fact, they caved to the whimsofthe public.

BILL TIMKEN Metairie

Edwards’ adminturmoil is hurtingThriveplan

Is Sid Edwards fumblingthe Thrive plan?

With just afew weeks to go before East Baton Rouge Parish voters weigh in on Edwards’ signatureinitiative three tax rededication propositions to address the yawningbudget gap the city-parish faces since the incorporation of St. George —the turmoil in his administration is causingunnecessary distractions. On Friday,Edwards placed AssistantChief Administrative Officer MoniqueAppeaning on administrativeleavepending an investigation intoher conduct stemming from acomplaintfiled a week earlier by another staffer.That staffer,Chief Service Officer Yolanda Burnette-Lankford,accused Appeaningofreferring to another employee by using aracially-chargedslur for disabled people and of creatinga “toxic, intimidating and emotionallydistressing” work environment.

Appeaning’ssuspension camehours after four Metro Council members, including three of Edwards’ fellow Republicans and one Democrat,sent an email to the mayor-president raising questionsoverher useofanautopen, adevice that can replicateEdwards’ signature without him having tophysically sign adocument. They worried, specifically,that Appeaning had used the device to award big raises to some employees or sign contractswithout Edwards’ knowledge

To say that Edwards doesn’tneed this rightnow risks underplayingthe pivotal moment of hisfirst year

The package of three separate propositions on the Nov.15ballot would rededicate aportion of taxes currently collected by the parish’slibrary system, its mosquitoabatement andits council on aging to the city-parish’s generalfund. In addition,some $52 million of the library system’s$100 million reserve would be transferredto the city-parish.

The increased revenuesand funds would be used to pay down debtsand infrastructure projects. If the proposals,which have been branded Thrive EBR, fail, Edwards andothers have warned of severe layoffs and service cuts. They’veasked departmentstoprepare budgets6% and 12% smaller than what they got this year

Just gettingthe proposals on the ballot wasasignificantwin for Edwards, after hefirst suggested rededicating the entire library tax and reserve fund to payfor police raises in thecity of Baton Rouge That drewsuch an immediate and furious reaction that he was forced to go back to the drawing board. What emerged was the product of negotiations with all three agencies and, impressively,won the support of all 12 council members and the parish’s Democratic and Republican parties. Now, instead of touting that unity, council members are calling for an investigation into Appeaning and openly wonderingwho is in charge. Edwards should have seen this coming. Appeaning has been at thecenter of private Metro Council and city-parishstaff complaints for months. Those culminated in Burnette-Lankford’s four-pagecomplaint.

Burnette-Lankford said Appeaning ran her departments “like amafia boss” and onseveral occasions humiliated her in front of co-workers. In one case, Burnette-Lankford arrived at work to findpeople moving her things out, allegedly at Appeaning’sdirective. Burnette-Lankfordalso said Appeaning, who is Black, had referred to anotheremployeeasa “sambo retard.”

Edwardscould have moved decisive-

ly when the complaint was filed and put Appeaning on leave. Buthedidn’t, and that allowed the story to fester for acrucial week in the run-up to the Thrive vote. None of this should be terribly surprising. Edwards is not just anovice mayor-president, he’sa novice politician. That comes with arefreshing forthrightness and awelcome willingness to listen to other officials, but it has also madehim appear indecisive. Appeaning’ssuspension hasn’tbeen theonly shake-up. Edwards last month replaced his chief administrative officer with consultant Christel Slaughter who took the job on an interim basis while she’salso conducting the LSU president search. None of this would be that big of a deal if the stakes weren’tsohigh. Putting acomplicated tax proposal before voters is atricky thing that requires strong coordination and deft messaging. These problems have distracted from that. Andwhether he wantsitthis way or not, Thrive is at some level areferendum on Edwards’ first year Maybe it won’tmatter and voters will go for it anyway.But if they don’t, Edwards can prepare for ableak 2026. Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Trumploves farmersintobankruptcy

Asound of morning silence is coming to Atlanta.

The sound of newspapers landing on sidewalks in residential neighborhoods will vanish when, at year’send, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joining anational trend, stops publishing print editions. Turning trees into paper,marking it with ink, trucking it to people whodeliver it to readers soon this laboriousness might be as forgotten as men with tongs lugging large slabs of ice forhome iceboxes. The waning of the 400-year era of newspapers is, however,about cultural changes moremomentous than the efficiency and convenience of written words presented digitally

The Economist reports that the share of American adults whoread forpleasure has fallen 40% in 20 years, and students’ ability to read in quantity,with comprehension, is in parallel decline. An Oxford professor of English says students “struggle to get through one novel in three weeks.” Students lack, another professor says, “habits of application and concentration.”

The sentences that are being read are shorter and simpler.The Economist says an analysis of hundreds of New York Times bestsellers “found that sentences in popular books have contracted by almost athird since the 1930s.” Readers, if they can be called such, whoare mentally wired for driblets of 280 characters cannot cope with Charles Dickens’s“Bleak House” (1.9 million characters). Can people unable to decipher sophisticated prose manage sophisticated political ideas?

But sophistication is not in the repertoire of journalism devoted to what Andrey Mir,aCanadian, calls the retribalizing of society.Inhis epigrammatic 2020 book “Postjournalism and the death of newspapers,” Mir,aself-described “media ecologist,” says the media lost agenda-setting power when the internet enabled crowdsourced agendasetting.

As advertising dollars migrated to the internet, newspapers, which hitherto werefunded from above by selling readers to advertisers, became funded from below by selling themselves to readers. Newspapers encouraged readers to think of subscriptions as donations to political causes. Subscribers enjoy their “slactivism,” outsourcing their activism through “donscriptions” —subscriptions thought of as donations.

Mir says “the last newspaper generation” was born in the early 1980s. It came of age as the internet did. Soon journalism stopped being about informing people to makethem citizens, and began to be about making them agitated.

The new business model depends on polarization, amplifying readers’ irritations and frustrations. “A newspaper,” wrote Vladimir Lenin, “is not only acollective propagandist and acollective agitator, but also acollective organiser.”

At a2018 news conference in New York City,Trump saidofAmerican farmers, “I lovethem, and they voted for me, and they loveme. And they said, ‘Wedon’t care if we get hurt, he’sdoing the right thing.”’ During his 2025 joint address to Congress, Trump said, “Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer —I love the farmer.”

Hardly any sector has suffered from Trump’strade wars more than agriculture. Soybeans were hardest hit Before the first trade war in the first Trump administration, China was the biggest foreign market for U.S. soybeans, taking about 30% of totalproduction. Soybean exports toChina fell from $12.3 billion in 2017 to $3.1 billion in 2018. Joe Biden came into office, and exports rose in 2022 to arecord $16.4 billion. But farmers didn’tvotefor Biden’ssuccessor in 2024. They voted againfor Trump, even though he campaigned with apromise for TradeWar II, singling out China. And come “Liberation Day” on April 2, he launched it with heightened ferocity.China retaliated, targeting U.S. agriculturalproducts. This year,just as American soybean farmers anticipate abumper crop, exports toChina are down to about zero. Other American farm productshave also suffered greatly.They include corn, beef, tree nuts and pork

The political mystery endures. “It’s somewhat understandable that Trump

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

President Donald Trumpspeaks to reportersaboard Air Force Oneon Sunday, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., as he returns from atrip to Florida.

appealed to rural voters in 2016. After all, hekeptsaying he loved farmers. The first tradewar undoubtedly took them by surprise, though he did bail them out with $23 billion in aid, courtesy of theAmerican taxpayer Butwhy didthey votefor him a second time? Trumpreceived an even larger percentage of their support while promising another trade war

Almost 78% of voters in farmingdependentcounties supported him in 2024. Thereasons were probably part cultural —rural Americans tend to be moresocially conservative —and Trump’sinflation argument also hit home.Under Biden,prices were rising for fertilizer,fuel and equipment

Butevenifthis latest trade war ended tomorrow,growers of commodity crops like soybeans would still face lasting damage. They’ve spent decades cultivatingbuyers for their products in Chinaand elsewhere. Chinaislooking for new suppliers, and once those rela-

tionships are cemented, it will be hard to win them back.

China has turned to Brazil and Argentina for soybeans —Australia for beef. It’s investing in port projects in Peruand Brazil to ensure areliable supply of farm productsfrom South America. Trumpistalking about another big bailout of farmers, but once replaced, Americanshave lost long-term. No magic wand can bring their export marketsback to their former glory

The trade war has also further raised thefarmers’ prices, especially for fertilizer.Much of it comes from tradewar target Canada.

Onedoubts that other business interests would have been as accommodatingtoTrump’sruinous policies as farmers were after getting whacked thefirst time around.

Heartland grumbling has turned into louder protest. Butnomatter.Trump is presumably not running again for president.Henolonger needs their vote—orrural scenery for campaign backdrops. Andhecertainly doesn’t yearn for their love. He’s acity boy, and the company he favors hail from crypto, tech and Wall Street. How did Trumppull it off, abusing farmers while convincing them, like battered wives, that he still loved them? That took considerable talent, reminiscent of his much-quoted remark, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody,and Iwouldn’tlose any voters.”

Thing is, people on Fifth Avenue are doing just fine. It’sthe farmers who are bleeding.

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop.

“Americans,” Mir says, “consumemedia 12 hours per day.Counting weekends, this is twice as much as afull-timejob.” Because there is insufficient newstofill the time, emphasis has shifted to “expertise, commentaries, and opinions.” Prestige newspapers’ membership models make them function, Mir says, as validators. Readers value the newspapers’ attitudes toward events, not the newsthat readers already know about events. Readers must be financially able and emotionally inclined to makedonscriptions. The workof reader-driven newspapers is to justifythe readers’ agenda and inculcate it in others, whowill become donors.

What Mir calls the “commodification of the Trumpscare” has completed journalism’stransition from “making happy customers” fordepartmentstores and other advertisers, to “making angry citizens.” For what Mir calls postjournalism, the next challenge is to find asuccessor scare.

“The shiftfrom rationality to emotionality and peddling intensities” has, Mir says, madenegativity mandatory.Hence this from the New York Times website on May 14, 2020:

“Almost 3million U.S. workers filed forunemployment last week. Although the weekly tally has been declining since late March, experts are warning of along struggle ahead.”

There should be akey on the contemporary journalist’scomputer that prints the phrase “experts are warning of.” Mir writes, “The trendsetting emotional tone is easy to read even on the faces of TV hosts:”

“Inthe 1970s, TV anchors had to wearsmiles; now,they are obliged to wear an anxious grimace. Today’snews anchors makeakind of ‘basset face’ that would have looked unprofessional on 1970s TV.Inreturn, an anchor with a‘corgi face’ from the 1970s would look like an idiot on today’snews show.”

Time flies. Until the 1840s, information could moveatabout 35 miles per hour —asafast as a train. Today,information matters less relative to opinions, and opinions are distilled to attitudes. These are performative, and they compete forattention with upwardly spiraling shrillness. Hence this distinctively 21st-century achievement: the velocity of stupidity

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com

Second-yearcoach ousted following 1-6start; McNair named interim

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

Southern firedfootballcoach Terrence Gravesafter leading the team to a1-6 record to start the season, the university announced on Monday According to astatement releasedbythe university,anational search has begun to find Graves’ replacement.

“I want to thank coach Gravesfor the energy,determination, and for leading the team to aWestern Division championship,” Southern athleticdirector Roman Banks said in astatement. “Graves’ connectionto Southern University runs deep —hewill always be aJaguar

“Thiswas adifficult decision,but theresults on the field were not acceptable. After evaluating every aspect of the football program. Ibelieve it is in thebest interests of Southern football student-athletes, our fans and our university.”

Southern’sinterim coach will be Fred McNair, whohas been serving as the team’s co-offensive coordinator and play-caller

year 1ofJoe Dumars eratoset tone forPelicansfuture

The words that once adorned the walls of the New OrleansPelicanspractice facility area thing of thepast

Words like “Mindfulness,” “Joy”and “Compassion” that decoratedthe gym under theDavid Griffin regime have been replaced by thesetwo simple words:“One Goal.”

Next to the words “OneGoal”isa giant picture of the Larry O’Brien trophy

No New Orleans team —not the Jazz in the ’70s, the Hornets in the early 2000s, nor the Pelicans as they have been calledsince 2013 —has ever comeclose to lifting an NBA trophy

But Joe Dumars, who replaced Griffin as the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketballoperations in April, hopes to change that. His first season on the job will answer some key questions forthe franchise.

The main one, of course, is this one: Are the Pelicansheadinginthe right direction?

But there are plenty more.

Will Zion Williamson continue to be the face of the franchise?

Will Trey Murphymakethe leapto superstarstatus?

Will head coach Willie Green continue to be the one guiding the ship?

We’llfind out the answers over the next 82 games, starting Wednesday in Memphis, Tennessee, where the Pelicans play the Grizzlies in their season opener Realistically,the “one goal”of winning the NBA title is far-fetched this season. Teams that won just 21 games the year before don’tascend to the top of theNBA ladder right away Dumars, who has been around the NBA long beforethe playersonthe Pelicans roster were born, knows that.

“Before you can get to theplayoffs or acertain amount of wins, the first

LSUmakingadjustments to

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Following another disjointed performance from hisoffense at Ole Miss, LSUcoach

dores on the road or satisfy the anger of afrustrated fanbase.

thingyou have to get to is,‘We competehard every night,’ ”Dumars said. “If you don’testablish that in your building first,you’re just talking. You’re just giving quotes out at that point. For me, it’s aprocess of establishinga hard,competitive playingteamevery night. Then we will get to thewins and losses.” PriorityNo.1 is staying healthy The Pelicans’ four best returning players (Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy,Herb Jones andDejounte Murray)missed acombined 194 games last season.

ä See PELICANS, page 2C

Brian Kelly told offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and wide receivers coachCortez Hankton to make an adjustment. LSU was going to pare downits playbook. Instead of runningawide variety of plays, the Tigers would focus on mastering the concepts they could already run efficiently “Wewent into that process about three weeks ago through the bye week,” Kelly said during his weekly Monday press conference, “and Ithink it’sproved to be effective for us.” Kelly has apoint. The Tigers hadover 400 yards of offense in their next game against SouthCarolina. They then scored 24 points this past Saturday against Vanderbilt —the most it had scoredagainst an FBS opponent this year —while averaging 4.8yards per rush. Improvements have been made, butthey weren’tenough to take down the Commo-

“If you really wanttotakethe big picture, Iwas pleased with alot of things, butit’sthe outcomes,” Kelly said.“Our fan base wants positive outcomes,and Iget that. There’snothing that brings thecommunity together better than an LSU victory.And so we clearly understand that.”

Even after watching thefilm, Kelly’stakeaways from Saturday’soffensiveperformancedidn’t change much. There were too many situations where the Tigers needed atouchdown, but settled for afieldgoal instead. The most obvious of those lost opportunities cameinthe fourthquarter when LSU trailing by 10,settled fora field goal after sophomore running back CadenDurham’s 51-yard runplaced the Tigers in first and goalatthe 2-yardline.

BY LUKEJOHNSON Staff writer

Things areabout to getmoredifficultfor a New OrleansSaints offense thathas already struggled to string together consistent efforts this season. The Saints got the worst kind of doublebarrel injury barrageMonday followinga loss to the ChicagoBears that dropped them to 1-6: Both Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy, whotore his biceps, andNo. 2running back Kendre Miller, who tore his ACL, would miss the remainder of the season.

“Obviously,it’sreally unfortunate, because both those guys we feltlike had been playing some really good football,” coach Kellen Moore said. The injuries are adevastating blow to an offensethatfinished Sunday’s loss ranked No.29inscoring and 24th in

2p.m.

Pelicans roster hasnew look

young team seeks to reboundfor 2025-26season

BY LES EAST Contributing writer

The New Orleans Pelicansfinalized their regular-season roster Monday,and it features six primary players that weren’twith the team last season.

The projected startinglineup features three players —Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones —who missed a combined 143 games lastseason.

So the team that opens the season Wednesday at Memphis will look very different than the one that literally andfiguratively limped to the end of last season with a21-61 record.

Three players on this year’s team —point guard Dejounte Murray,trade acquisitionKevon Looney and Derik Queen, thesecondofthe team’stwo lotterydraft picks —are sidelined with injuries as the season gets underway

The combination of mainstays, familiar faces returning to health and veteran and rookie newcomers give fourth-year coach Willie Green aroster capable of greatly exceeding last year’srecord —the second-worst in franchise history.

This year’steam has the potential to approachthe 49-33record of two years ago —tied forthe second-best in franchise history

Whether the team can avoid the inordinate number of long-term injuries to key players that have plagued it in recent seasons and howquickly andhow wellGreen and his staff can mesh thecollection of parts will go along way in determining the Pelicans’ success over the next six months.

“I love the connectivity of this group,” Green saidafter practice Monday.“One of the most important components is being able to communicate on both ends of the court. Thisgroup hasput in the work, and Ithink the new faces have assimilated to where we can get off to agood start.”

New executive vice president of basketball operations JoeDumars said he assembleda rostercapable of overcoming significant injuries

And that brings us to acloser look at the players on the Pelicans’ opening-day roster:

FZionWilliamson

The two-time All-Star is the team’s most important player. Whenhe’s playing, they’re good. When he’s not,they’re bad.Two years ago, he playedin70games, and the Pelicans went to the playoffs. Last year, he played in 30 games,and they had the second-worst recordinthe West. There’smore to those num-

PELICANS

Continued from page1C

The Pelicans’ inability to stay healthy is the main reason theteam won the second-fewest number of games in franchise history.Itcame on the heels of a49-win season, tied forthe second-mostwins in team history.The oddsmakers in Vegas project the Pelicans to be more like lastseason than the season before The over/underonwins setbyVegas is at just 31.5. Expectations from the national media are similarly low.Onthe contrary,most of the local media members predict they will exceed that low bar Dumars is taking more of awaitand-see approach.

“It’samistake to come in and just say‘We’regoing to change things overnight,’ ”Dumarssaid

“It’sjust not how sports work. The teams you saw in the Finals (the OKC Thunder andIndiana Pacers), none of that was overnight. That was aprocess. It’s a process to getteams to where they want to be. But it shouldn’t be aprocess for the fanstosee us play in astyle that they like. The success part of it might be more of aprocess. But the style of play —resilience, toughness, hard, never quit —that’swhat we want people to see right away.” Wednesday night in Memphis is step one. Awinning season and

NewOrleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears practices on Oct. 10 at the Smoothie King Center.The Pelicans chose Fears as the No.7 overall pick in thedraftearlier this year

bersthan justWilliamson’savailability,but it’sthe biggest factor in this team’sprospects.

G/FHerbert Jones

Acase canbemadethat Jones, a first-team all-NBA defender in his lastfullseasontwo yearsago, is as important to thePelicans defense as Williamson is to theoffense. His ability to contain the opponent’s best perimeter offensive player makeshim aspiritual leader on theteam, and offensively he has evolved into adouble-figure on average each of the pasttwo seasons.

CYvesMissi

As a20-year-old rookie ayear ago, Missi was pressed into aprominent role and ledthe team in games played (73) as wellasstarts (67). The acquisitionofLooney andthe draftingofQueen should lessen the burdenonMissi, but it won’tinitially becauseMissi, on whom the organization exercised athird-year contract optionlastweek, is theonlyfully healthy big man tostart theseason

G/FTreyMurphy

Murphy’sever-expanding game made it easier for the previous regimetotrade Brandon Ingram during last season rather than give him amaximumcontract.

Murphy’s rare 3-pointrange has always made him avaluable offensive asset, but his enhanced ability to drive to the basket, set up teammates, rebound anddefend make him one of theteam’s most important players.

GJordanPoole

ThePelicans traded for Poole to boost the offenseatboth guard positions. Murray’sabsence might require him to play more point guard earlyon, but he will be an important leader frombothpositions.

G/FSaddiqBey

His career has been consistent

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado is expected to be avaluable contributor off thebench.

withrecent Pelicans history showinga lot of promise beforebeing derailed by injury.His injury —atornACL —was sufferedina game with theHawksagainst New Orleans on March 10, 2024, and his first gamesince thenwill come Wednesday.His perimeter shooting and ability to defend multiple positions should make him akey player off the bench.

GJoseAlvarado

The energy and enthusiasm that Alvarado brings offthe benchon anightly basis have made him a valuable contributorduring the pastfour seasons. He’ll continue to be counted on toprovide alift.

GJeremiahFears

The Pelicans used theNo. 7 overallpick in the draft to grab the teenager out of Oklahoma. His ability to createfor himself and othersgives him an opportunity to carve out an important roleright away,but thePelicanshaveenough veterans in thebackcourttobring him along slowly if necessary

F/CKarlo Matkovic

He had aslow adjustment to the NBA as arookie last season, playing in just six of the Pelicans’ first 42 games. But he played 36

atrip to the playoffs would be a success. Another dismal outcome like last season would be adisaster,especially for ateam that traded away a2026 first-round draft pick to trade up andselect forward DerikQueen.Itwas a highly scrutinized, high-riskmove thatDumars was willing to take. If Queen becomes astar,Dumars’ move will be genius.Ifthe Pels struggle this season and Queen never pans out, the trade will be ridiculed for years to come. Dumars’ goal is to have ateam that plays with the sametoughness and resiliencythat the people in NewOrleanscan relate to. He saw it in Detroit when he won NBA titles as both a player and again as

an executive withthe Pistons. He’s tryingtobring that championship pedigreetoNew Orleans. Players have taken notice.

“You can tell with the energy that Joe has brought in thebuilding that you’re going to have to get after it,”Williamson said. “Nobody is going for that soft stuff. It’s kind of a‘BadBoys’mentality.”

Green spends much time in Dumars’ office discussing thegame.

“It’s his presence and his mindset,” Green said. “Knowing what it takes to win championships both as aplayer and as an executive.

I’m learning alot. It just sets the tone forour culture. Just coming in with that mindset. Understandingthatthere is aresponsibility

Police: Former NFL player Martindied after struggle

of thelast 40 games, scoring in double figures 15 times, including the last eight games, andgrabbing double-figure rebounds six times. Matkovic, who missed practice Monday because of an elbow injury,enters the season as Missi’s primary backup while Mooney and Queen heal.

GJordanHawkins

Hawkins took on abiggerrole as asecond-year player last season and increasedall of hisper-game averages.His 3-point shooting should continue to earn him minutes, but just how many is uncertain if adeep backcourt stays mostly healthy Nonetheless, theorganization likes him enough to have exerciseda fourth-year option on himlast week.

G/FMicah Peavy

The 40thpick in the draft naturally got overshadowed by the two lottery picks. Peavyhas achance to eventually find aniche.

F/CDerik Queen

The second lottery pick seems likely to be the first injured player to return. He had wrist surgery in thesummer but was cleared last week to resume full activities.

F/CKevon Looney

He is the oldestplayeronthe team, though he won’t turn 30 until February.Last season with the Warriors, Looney had his fewest starts and fewest minutes in five seasons, but the three-time NBA champion will have asignificant influence on younger players and will provide an importantinside presence when he returns. His sprained kneeisscheduled to be re-evaluated in twoweeks.

GDejounteMurray

Murray’sleadership, defense and playmaking make him one of theteam’smost important players. The timing of his return from Achilles surgery is uncertain,.

GJaden Springer

In four NBA seasons, he has played in 110 games(six starts) with the 76ers, Celtics and Jazz.

Playerswithtwo-way contracts

GTreyAlexander

He playedin24games last season after joining theNuggets as an undrafted free agent.

CHunterDickinson

The 7-foot-1 rookie undrafted free agentcould have an early opportunitydue to the team being short-handed at center

GBryce McGowens

He hasplayedin118 games, including 21 starts, during thepast three seasonswhile with the Hornetsand theTrail Blazers.

anda standard thatweall want to uphold. It starts with our leadership.”

Jordan Poole and KevonLooney, two veteran players Dumars acquiredduring the offseason, know what achampionship team looks like. Looney won three titles with theGolden State Warriors andPoolewon one. Poole likesthe make-upofwhatDumars hasassembled.

“Assoonasyou walkintoa locker room at thebeginning of the season, youcan kinda feel it in thelocker room with the guys with thechemistry and camaraderie,” Poolesaid. “We’ve gotguys who compete. You don’thavetomake us get after each other or make us play hard against each other.Wehave guys that naturally want to get better Ithink ‘iron sharpensiron’isa really good quote for this team

.It’sdefinitely the elements of achampionship team.”

Those loftyaspirationsaren’t coming this season, especially with the Pelicans playing in aWestern Conference that is now more stackedthan ever.But the Pelicans will be reminded of theone goal everytime they glance at the wall in the team’spractice facility

“I’mnot going to put anumber on it (a win total) because Idon’t know what it is,” Dumars said.

“But Iexpect our team to play hard every night. Iexpect no less and Iwill accept no less.”

OAKLAND,Calif. Former All-Pro NFLrunning back DougMartin died after astruggle with police officerswho were taking himinto custody while they were investigating abreak-in at ahome in Oakland, police said Monday Martin, best known for his stellar career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becameunresponsive afterbeing arrestedearly Saturday,according to astatement released by the Oakland PoliceDepartment. He wastransportedbyparamedics to ahospitalwhere he died, policesaid. He was36. Acause of death has not been released. Police said in astatement that Martin wasinvolved in abreak-in and that a“brief struggle” happened as police were attempting to detain him

Nuggets, Braun agreeto $125M, 5-year extension

DENVER— Shooting guard Christian Braunagreedtoa$125million, five-year contract extension with the Denver Nuggets on Monday.His agent, Bill Duffy, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press. It wasfirst reported by ESPN

The 24-year-old Braun is coming offa season with the Nuggets in which he moved into the starting lineup. He averaged 15.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.

Known for his high-energy defense and hustle, Braun fits seamlessly alongside Nikola Jokic,Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. The 6-foot-6 Braun was taken by Denver with the 21st pick in 2022 after finishing his career at Kansas with anational title.

Hawks, Daniels agree to $100M, 4-year extension

ATLANTA— Atlanta Hawks guard

Dyson Daniels has agreed to a four-year,$100 million rookie contract extension, aperson familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press on Monday Daniels earned the extension after being named the NBA’s most improved player while finishing as the runner-up as defensive player of the year last season.

Daniels led theNBA with3.01 steals per game last season. He added surprising offense by setting acareer high with 14.1 points per game.

The Hawks acquiredDaniels as part of apackage thatincluded twofirst-round picks in atrade that sent guard DejounteMurray to NewOrleans before the 2024-25 season.

Padres plan to interview Pujolsfor manager job

SAN DIEGO The Padres will meet with future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, sources said, as they seek to replace manager Mike Shildt, who announcedhis retirement last week. It is not knownwhen the interview of Pujols will take place. Pujols, whoretired in 2022 after 22 seasons playing for the Cardinals, Angels and Dodgers, is also expected to interview with the Orioles. Pujols interviewedwith the Angels earlier this month but is no longer acandidate forthat job, according to multiple reports. The 11-timeAll-Star,whose 703 career homeruns are fourth most in history,has never managed in themajor leagues. He managed Leones de Escogido to the Dominican Winter League and Caribbean Series titles earlier this year

TexasTechisbanning tortilla-throwing tradition

LUBBOCK, Texas Texas Tech is banning thethrowing of tortillas by fans on kickoffs after the 14thranked Red Raiders were penalized twice and fined for objects being thrown onto thefieldintheir mostrecent homegame.

Athletic director Kirby Hocutt said Monday fans entering the stadium would be instructed to discard tortillas, and there would be reminders before kickoff for anyone who took tortillas in to give them to stadium workers in order forthem to be thrownaway. Anyone caught throwing tortillaswould have theirticketprivileges revoked from the rest of the academic year across all sports, Hocutt said.

Hocutt was the lone dissenting vote when theBig 12 approveda policy to penalize teams forobjects thrownonthe field.

CLASS 5A-4A

1. Plaquemine (6-1): The Green Devils rise to the top spotafter defeating St. Michael, 53-21, to remain undefeated in district play and move their win streak to

2. Catholic-BR (5-2): TheBears scored aseason-high in points in a57-28 win on the road against Central.Catholic is now2-0 in District 4-5A play.

3. Zachary(5-1): The Broncos took their first loss of the season at home to Liberty on Friday. Zachary lost 5231 to the Patriots.

4. Brusly (6-1): The Panthers won aclose one against West Feliciana, 21-13, to move to 4-1 in District 6-4A play.

5. Denham Springs (5-2): Theyellow Jackets blewpast Dutchtown, 42-24. Denham Springs has scored at least 40 points in each of their past three games.

6. East Ascension (5-2): The Spartans notched arivalrywin overSt.Amantina49-48 thriller The Spartans are tied for firstin District 5-5A with a3-1 record with Prairieville.

7. Central (5-2): The Wildcats suffered their first district loss after falling to Catholic-BR, 57-28.

8. Dutchtown (4-2): Coming off a byeweek, the Griffins fell on the road to Denham Springs, 42-24, for their first district loss.

9. St.Amant (5-2): The Gators lost anarrowone to East Ascension, 4948,athome. St.Amant is now1-2 in district play.

10. Istrouma (5-2): The Indians took down Broadmoor 12-7.The defense is allowing just 5.9 points pergame this year Class 3A and below

1. Dunham (6-1): The Tigers rolledto another dominant win, taking down Northeast 49-0.

2. Madison Prep (6-1): The

Plaqueminequarterback Brennan Miles hands the ball off to Austin young against Brusly during theirgame on FridayatBrusly HighSchool.

Chargers dominated Port Allen in a 63-0victory.Madison Prep has now wonfour straightgames. During the winstreak, the Chargers have won gamesbyanaverage marginof46.5 points.

3. NorthIberville (7-0): The Bears shut outWhite Castle in a48-0 win. NorthIberville hasscored at least 40 pointsineach of itspast four games.

4. University High(5-2): The Cubs blewpastGlen Oaksathomeina 57-0 win.University High has now wonfour straightgamesaftera1-2 start.

5. St. James (5-2): The Wildcats bounced back from their loss against Archbishop Shawwith a40-8 win overMcDonogh 35.

6. Catholic-PC (6-1): The Hornets defeated Berchmans Academy 43-7 last week. Catholic-PC has nowwon its past threegames, scoring at least 40 in allthree

7. Donaldsonville (6-1): The Tigers took down East Feliciana, 20-6, to bounce back from their 21-7 loss against Brusly.

8.Ascension Catholic (5-2): The Bulldogs ran all over St.John in a5735 win. Running back Trevin Simon ranfor aschool-record 519 yards in thewin

9. East Feliciana (5-2): Despite a20-6 losstoDonaldsonville,the Tigers remain unbeateninDistrict 8-2A play.

10. Kentwood (4-3): The Kangaroos enter the rankings aftershutting out Independence in a24-0 win Jackson Reyes

NowwithGibbs,Briscoe hasshotatNASCARtitle

BY JENNA FRYER Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. When he

fired the engine on his race car before last year’sNASCAR finale, Chase Briscoe sat inside the cockpit and cried. As an Indiana native aspiring to make it to the top levels of motorsports,hegravitated to Tony Stewart, afellow Hoosier,three-time Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer.Itwas adream come true when Briscoe, couch-surfing in North Carolina while trying to crack his way into NASCAR, got aseat in 2020 at the team co-owned by Stewart. But come the 2024 season finale, Stewart-HaasRacing was closing after the race and Briscoe’sfull circlecareer moment would end.

“I remember sittingonthe grid after we fired engines and just crying for my whole childhood. Iidolized Tony.He was my hero,” Briscoe said. Briscoe had already lined up anew job at Joe Gibbs Racing, where Stewarthad wontwo of his titles in the first part of his NASCARcareer,but after four seasons drivingStewart’s No.14, he was unsureofwhat life would be like inside adifferent organization. He waspickedtoreplace

Martin TruexJr.,who was retiring, moving from Ford to Toyotaand wouldn’thave hishero around for guidance. It was an emotional moment,partreflection and part fear,for Briscoe.

“Just knowing that chapter of my life was ending, not knowing what theJGR chapterwas really going to look like,” Briscoe said.

“You never know goingtoa new place. If Idon’tgowin, I’m never going to gethired againbecause the expectation is you have to go to JGR and win.

“If you can’twin in aJGR car,why would anybody hire you for another team?” Briscoe hasnothing to worry about for the foreseeable future. His victorySunday at Talladega Superspeedway locked him into thechampionship four and he will return to Phoenix Raceway ayear after splitting with Stewart with his first chance to win aCup title Briscoe joined teammate Denny Hamlin in the championship field, with the final two slots to be filled this SundayatMartinsville Speedway in Virginia. Christopher Bell, the finalJGR driver still eligible to race forthe title, holdsa one-pointedge over Kyle Larson for the final two spotsinthe winnertake-all decider

It would be thefirst Cup title for any of the threeGibbs drivers —assuming Bell advances —but Briscoeisthe only one making his championship debut.His chance at theCup comes at the same Phoenix track wherehewon his first Cup Series race, in 2022 drivingfor SHR. Arecentreturn trip back to the track caused him to reflect on howhis careerhas developed and what is at stake

“I stood on thefront straightaway,Ihadn’tdone that since Iwon there. Ikind of thought how that day felt, winningmyfirstCup race,” Briscoe said. “Next time you stand here,you might be a champion.”

Briscoe hasthrived in his move to JGR, where Talladega gave him his career-best thirdwin of the season.

He leadsthe CupSeries with seven poles this season as qualifying has been his strong suit

Briscoe has been in the thickofthis titlerace all season, even if he is overshadowed at JGR by histeammates.He’sadmitted that he feels every week driving for Gibbs is an audition to keep his job,anotion Gibbs himself dismissed after the victory when he said “I think rightnow he can get anything he wants. I’ll put it that way.”

You knowhim well. Scotthas been covering LSU since 1992. He is the author of three highly acclaimed booksonLSU and was chosen as an LSU Expert forESPN’s SEC 150 Documentary

Each Monday,Scottwillput his thoughts on the last week’sgame and the next week’sgame into avideo essayplacingthe game in its context anddrawing historical parallels

Rattlerstill Saints’startingQB, fornow

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

After he committedfour turnovers in last week’sloss to theChicago Bears, Spencer Rattlerwill remain as thestartingquarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against TampaBay But with second-round pick Tyler Shough waiting in the wings, Saints headcoach Kellen Moore did not dismiss the possibilityofa change at the position laterin the season. Asked if there would come apoint when the Saints would have to take alook at Shough in the starting role, Moore said, “That’sweek-to-week. We’ll see as we go. We’re focused on getting better right now.…Spencer obviously had agame where some turnovers occurred; we get to respond.”

Rattler has started each of the Saints’ first seven games this season and has won some admirers for his play despite the Saints’ 1-6 record. He threw six touchdown passes against just one interception in the first six gamesand had theSaints in position to be competitive in the losses.

But things unraveled Sunday against aChicago team that has now forced at least three turnovers in four consecutive games

Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler passes against the Chicago Bears in the first half of agame on Sundayin Chicago.

ASSOCIATED

ERIN HOOLEy

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByNAM HUH

Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler calls an audible at the line of scrimmageinthe first half against the ChicagoBearsonSunday in Chicago.

Rattler lost afumble on the Saints’ secondplay of the game and then followed with three interceptions. Through his sevenstarts thissea-

son, Rattler is completing 67.7% of his passes witheight touchdowns and four interceptions. Going into Mondaynight’sgames, his 88.4

Saints QB Rattlercan’t afford anymorerough outings

passer rating ranked 22nd among qualifying quarterbacks, just ahead of 2024 first-rounders Bo Nixand Michael Penix.

SAINTS

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round of the2019 draft, is the anchor,leader and longest-tenured member of ayoung Saints offensive line. Not only is he acriticalpiece of theSaints’ offensive brain, calling out protections and helping get the offensive line in position, he is probably the best individual player on the offensive front.

“He’sone of our most impactful leaders on this team,soother guys are going to have an opportunity to fillthat voidonthe field,”Mooresaid. “Erik still has that presence to all these guys, no matterwhat capacity he’sin. He’lldoeverything he can to help.

“I thinkthe world of him. He’s been playing some phenomenal football.”

Rattler beat Shough in atraining camp competition for the starting quarterback job. To this point in the season, Shough’sonly game action came late in ablowoutloss to the Seattle Seahawks. Shough played one series, throwing two incomplete passes as the Saints went three and out.

After Sunday’sloss to the Bears, Moore said he did not consider making aswitch during the game.

“We’ve just got to get better on offense,”Moore said. “Spence obviouslyhad theturnovers in this game,but he’s played alot of good football. We’vegot to get better.Ithink (Rattler) is going to continue to grow and get better

“Tylerhas gotten betterasthe season hasgoneonaswell. Obviously,his is behind the scenes and he gets to developfrom ascout team quarterback perspective.” NewOrleans hastwo tough games coming up against NFC powerhouses, hosting the Buccaneers this Sunday before traveling to face the 5-2Los Angeles Rams in Week 9. The Saints’ bye week comes in Week 11 aftera roadgameagainst theCarolina Panthers.

Email Luke Johnsonat ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Coy’sabsence. The 2022 thirdrounderstarted 17 games at center as arookie for the Jaguars, but lost his gripona starting job lastseason and wasconsidered expendable by this summer.New Orleans has several other players with center experience on the roster,including Torricelli Simpkins and Cesar Ruiz.

“We’llhavetonavigate theroster as far as howthatposition ends up playing out,” Moore said. “Wehave about24hours to sort through thatand then we’ll have to putaplanofactiontogetherand move forward.”

While Millerdidn’tplayas substantivea roleinthe Saints’ offense as McCoy, his injury is just as disappointing for differentreasons. Because of various injuries, Miller has played eight, sixand seven games in his first three professional seasons. The2023third-rounder suffered his injury on his first carry of the game, with his left knee twisting awkwardly underneath him as Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards dragged him downfollowing a7-yard gain.

Spencer Rattler had arough day Sunday One week after his best performance as the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback, he suffered hisworst one: four sacks,three interceptions, afumble anda season-low 66.3 passer rating It led to ademoralizing 26-14 loss to theChicago Bears and lowered his overall record as a starter to 1-12. Rattler’sperformance was the kind his skeptics had predicted would happen since he was named the starting quarterback in fall camp, and the kindhe’d largelyavoided since takingover the starting job.

After showing dramatic improvement with his accuracy, pocket awareness and decisionmaking in the first six games, Rattler reverted to some bad habits, and the Bears feastedon his mistakes. The turnover total would have been even higher if Bears defenders had been surerhanded.

Afterward, Rattler accepted the blame and preached about the importance of protecting the ball and learning to live for another play.But Rattler knowshe can’tafford many more repeat performances if he wantstolive another day as the Saints starter Tyler Shough is waiting in the wings. The rookie second-round draft pick has played sparingly this season, but he flashed enough talent in the preseason to push Rattler until the final weeks of camp in their spirited competition forthe starting job. Rattler is aconfident guyand has said all the right things about theSaints’ quarterback dynamic, buthe’ssmart enoughtoknow the situation. The club selected Shough with the No. 40 overall pick in the NFL draft for areason. He’sthe highest quarterback drafted by the Saints since Archie

Manning in 1971. At some point, team officials are going to wantto getalook at him.

Rattler might notsee Shough over his shoulder,but like the infamous Keyser Soze, he has to feel his loomingpresence.

Rookie quarterbacks are a crap shoot. There’snoguarantee they’llbethe answer or savior

While Jaxon Dart has revived theNew York Giants, Cam Ward has done little to change the fortunes of theTennessee Titans.

Seven gamesintohis NFL career, Ward has twice as many turnovers (10) as touchdown passes (four) andhas already seen his head coach get fired. Jayden Daniels thriveda year ago, while Caleb Williams struggled.

The best thing about rookie quarterbacks, as they say,isthat they become second-year quarterbacks.

It’snot likely that Shough would changethe fortunesofthis Saints team. At least notenough toalter theirtrajectory or thewin-loss record

Sunday’ssetback was the Saints’ sixth in seven games this season.They have now lost 10 of their last 11 gamesand 18 of their past 22, datingto last season. It’s oneofthe worst stretches in franchise history,one that cost Dennis Allen his job and led Derek Carr to abruptly “retire” in theoffseason.

Seven gamesintothe season, the Saintsfind themselvesstill searching for an identity or a calling card. There’snoaspect of the game at which they excel, nothing to hang their hats on when the going gets tough. The Saints rank 24th in the league in total offense,29thinscoring offense,19thintotal defense and 27th in scoringdefense. Likewise, they areinthe bottom half of the leagueinevery other major situational category: third down, goal line, red zone. Most expectedthe Saints to struggle this season. With anew coach,anew quarterback, new

coaching staff and new schemes on both sidesofthe ball, there were alot of moving parts to synchronize.

Butthe Saintshave somehow been even worse than expected. In five of their seven games, they have never led for asingle minute. Of their 73 total offensive drives, they have trailed on 62 of them. These are not thehallmarks of ateam that is “close” or competitive.

Andwith games against Super Bowl contenders Tampa Bay and theLos Angeles Rams on deck, theSaints are staringata1-8 start,which would be theclub’s second worst in franchise history

Perhaps even more ominous, theSaints entered the Bears gameasone of the healthiest and least mistake-prone teams in the league. They had committed just four turnovers in their first six games. It made you wonder: What happens when the injuries and turnovers inevitably start to pile up?

On Sunday,welearned the answer Rattler’s strugglesagainst the Bearswere to be expected. There will always be growing pains with any young quarterback. Rattler’s strugglesinkey situations, though, are worrisome. His67.7 passer rating on third down is anemic. Andhis 50.0 completion percentage in the red zone is lacking. Those numbers certainly won’t quiet his critics, many of whom have called for the SaintstoelevateShough intothe starting role. Rattler is not afrail flower.He’s overcome adversity before in his career and shown he will not wilt from achallenge in tough times

Butifthe mistakes andlosses continue to mount, the Saints will have no other choice but to call on Shough. Rattler’s runway as the starter was shortened considerably on Sunday

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

The two-time Pro-Bowlercurrentlyranks as Pro Football Focus’bestpass blocking center, having allowed just three pressures andnosackson253 pass blocking opportunities. He was theservice’shighest graded centeroveralllastseason,albeit in an injury-shortened campaign. This will nowmarktwo straight yearsthat McCoy has only played in sevengames forthe Saints. Lastseason it waselbow and groin injuries that cut his season short He’d worked hisway back to thefield throughout the offseason, and had played all but three of the Saints offensive snaps through the first six games. But he left Sunday’slossagainst the Bearsinthe fourth quarter,cradling hisarmsagainst his body The injury occurred when McCoy was pulling on arun offthe right tackle. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker duckedunderMcCoy’s block, causing McCoytoreach with his left arm.The center collapsed to the turf in obvious pain after theplay.

When McCoy leftthe game, the Saints turned to veteran Luke Fortner to handle center duties.

NewOrleans acquiredFortner during the preseason in atrade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, sending defensive tackle Khalen Saunders to Jacksonville in the trade.

It’s not yet clear if Fortner will continue to handle center in Mc-

When Millerleftthe game in the first quarter, sixth-round rookie Devin Neal filled in as theNo. 2backbehind Kamara finishing thegame with two carries for 9yards. Neal also handled kick return duties in Miller’sabsence.

It’s an unfortunate end to whathad been one of the few bright spots for the 2025 Saints. Millerhad finally stayed healthy throughout training campand the first six games of the season, and was carving out arole as acomplementary back to Kamara. He hadalready established acareer high in rushing, with 193 yards on 47 carries.

“I’m reallyproud of what Kendre has turned this season into fromanindividualstandpoint, theprogress he’s made,” Moore said. “It’sreally unfortunate timing from an injuryperspective, because eventhatrun yesterday (that he got hurt on) wasareally good run.

“There will be some challenging days for him because of this. We thinkthe worldofhim.He’s going to be better moving forward, andhe’ll be back andhave more opportunitiesinthe future.”

Email Luke Johnsonat ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

LSULTAdams expected to miss game vs.Texas A&M

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The ankle injury that offensive lineman TyreeAdams suffered on Saturday in LSU’sloss to Vanderbilt is expected to sideline him forat least one game, coach Brian Kelly confirmed on Monday Adams, aredshirt sophomore, started each of the No. 20 Tigers’ firstseven contests at left tackle. He was injured in the first quarteroftheir matchup with the No. 10 Commodores, then was spotted later watching therest of the game from the sideline on crutches

LSU inserted redshirt sophomore DJ Chester at lefttackle in place of Adams, buthestruggled to slow down Vanderbilt edge rushers. According to ProFootball Focus, he allowed three pressures, ahit and asack acrosshis 22 passblocking snaps.

The right side of the Tigers’ offensive line had just as much trouble. Redshirt freshman right tackle Weston Davis,accordingto PFF,surrendered fivepressures andthree hits across his 33 passblocking snaps.

Kelly said Monday thatChester will continue to start in place of Adams, though LSU (5-2)isplanning to give freshman Carius Curne practice reps at that position throughout the week.

“(Chester’s)our most experienced guy,” Kelly said.

“Hehad onestumble where his foot got caught in the ground on the turf, and we had asack that was given up. But by and large, he did what was expected of him,and Ihaveconfidence thathecan go out there and do the job.”

LSU also faced the Commodores without linebacker Whit Weeks,defensive tackle Bernard Gooden and edge rusher Jimari Butler.Receiver Aaron Anderson and of-

SOUTHERN

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McNair served as the Alcorn State head coach from 2016-23, compiling arecord of 47-33 and reaching apair of Celebration Bowls.

The Jaguars are 0-3 in theSouthwestern Athletic Conference, making them one of three teams winless in the conference after eight weeks. They will be looking for their fourth coach since Dawson Odum left the program for Norfolk State after the 2020 season Following Southern’s24-3 loss to Prairie View,Banksheld an impromptu postgame press conference with reporters.The nineyear athletic director and former Southern basketballcoach said that he would have several meet-

fensive lineman Paul Mubenga returned to the field, but they each hadquiet days Anderson caught one pass for 18 yards, and Mubenga didn’tplay a single snap. Redshirt sophomore Coen Echols started in his place at left guard.

CBS Sports first reported the news that Adamswas expected to misstime.

On Saturday, LSUwill return home to faceNo. 3Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. on ABC. TheTigers have an off weekbetweenthat game and theirnext one,a road matchup with No. 4Alabama.

TwoDBs to redshirt?

TwoLSU defensive backs haven’tseen the field in over a month.

Kelly said Monday that it’sbecause the Tigers are hoping they canpreserveredshirt seasons forbothofthem: cornerback

AshtonStamps and safety Jardin Gilbert

“We’re trying to protectthem,”

Kelly said.“Both of them. They’ve bothplayedthree games, so if we can, in fact, protect their year, we’ll try to.”

Neither Stamps, nor Gilbert, has seen the field since LSU beat Florida on Sept. 13. Stamps started 24 games across theprevious two seasons, buthe’ssince slipped down the depthchartbehindsophomore PJ Woodland and five-star freshman DJ Pickett

Gilbert is afifth-year senior who preppedatUniversity High and started his career at Texas A&M.

He transferred to LSU ahead of the 2024 season, ayear in which he appearedinall 13 games the Tigers played andmade nine starts at safety

LSUaddressed that position in the portal when it signed Houstontransfer AJ Haulcy andNCState transfer Tamarcus Cooley.Now,accordingtoPro Football Focus,

ings with players and Graves to make adecision

“I need to communicate with them and kind of get downtothe bottom of it,” Banks said Saturday.“But obviously it’s not trendingwell. We’re not excited about it. And it’sour jobsascoaches, and I’ve been in the business on that sidebefore, so Iunderstand, but it’sour jobtohave teams ready.”

Before the firing was official, Bankssaid that acoaching change forhim is meant to findthe “right personfor Southern” and that in this line of work,winning is the “bottom line.”

TheJaguars made theSWAC titlegameinGraves’ first season, finishing 8-5 overalland 7-1inthe conference.Entering 2025, Southern was voted thepreseason No. 1 team in the SWAC West by coaches and sportsinformation directors

Gilbert hasplayed fewer snaps this season than notonly the two new starters, but also sophomore Dashawn Spears and junior Javien Toviano “This wouldbeaweek,” Kelly said, “where they could play their fourth game and still maintain eligibility.”

Kellytalks Napier firing

Kelly was asked Monday about Florida’sdecision to fire coach Billy Napier after a3-4 start, and he said that the move is “the nature of the business we’re in.”

“LikeI said earlier,” Kelly said,“it brings communities together.Itbrings states together.Itbrings so much hope, right? And when there’sthat much at stake, thingslikethat do occur

“But Igotta be honest with you. I can’t take time to think aboutthose things.”

Napier,aformer UL coach, washired to steer the Gators’ programthe same year that LSU lured Kelly away from Notre Dame. Sincethen, Florida is 2223 overall with a12-16 record in gamesagainst SECopponents. It was 1-3 duringNapier’stenure against Kelly’sTigers, who suffered their lone loss in the series on the road in 2024.

“Everyinstitution hastheir own reasons,” Kelly said. “I don’tknow, certainly,what thereasons were. Ilike (Napier) as acolleague. I think he’sprofessional. Ithink he’ssmart. Buteachinstitution has theirown reasonsfor why they makethose decisions, andI’m not privy to that.”

Napier wasthe ninthFBS coach andsecond SECcoach to be fired this season. On Sept.28, Arkansas fired sixth-year coach Sam Pittman and named offensive coordinator and former head coach BobbyPetrino its interim.

and the preseason No. 4team in theBOXTOROWnational HBCU football media poll. Banks said thatwhile the program doesn’tput muchstock into preseason rankings, this season has been “real disappointing.” Southern attempted to get its seasonontrack when it made adjustmentstothe coaching staff, elevating McNair from quarterbackscoach to theteam’sco-offensive coordinator and play-caller starting with its Sept. 13 game against Fresno State.

“I was hoping, you know,wecan get some energy in the room, but it seemed tonot be working,”Banks said.

The Jaguars have dealtwith a bevy of injuries, with none more critical thanthe one sufferedby Jalen Woods, who was expected to be their starting quarterback.

Many of the best HBCU football teamsenjoyed abye week during Week 8ofthe season. However,acouple of programs enjoyed big wins and proved why they should. Here’s how Ivoted in the BOXTOROW HBCU football media poll this week: 1. Jackson State (5-1): The Tigers didn’t play last week and no other team has done enough to come close to taking their spot. Jackson State leads the SouthwesternAthletic Conference in totalrushing yards (1,600) and rushing yards allowed (742). That domination on both ends makes its margin forerror bigger than any otherHBCU team.

2.AlabamaState (4-2): Alabama State, which is comingoff abye, is one of thefew teams in the same tier as Jackson State after losing 38-34 in Week 7. While quarterback Andrew Body has grabbed many headlines, tailback Jahbari Kuykendall has been excellent. The sophomore leadsthe SWAC with 9.5 yards per game.

3.North Carolina Central (5-2): The Eaglesare thehottest team in theMidEastern Athletic Conference. They areona four-game win streak, entering their bye last week. North Carolina Central’soffense has scored 45 or more points in every game duringthe streak.Itis13th in FCS in points pergame (36.1).

4.PrairieView (5-2): Prairie View took down Southern 24-3 on the road, holding the opponent to aseason low in points.SafetyTravor Randle had agame-high12tackles in the win. The Panthers have officially proven to be the clear favoriteto win the SWAC West,asit’sthe only team outside of Jackson State without aloss in conference play

5. South Carolina State (4-3): The Bulldogs, whodidn’thave a gamelast week, have won their past two contests, beating North Carolina A&T State and Savannah State. South Carolina State has themost fearsome defensive end in the MEAC in graduate student Michael Lunz. The Tulane transfer leads the conference with five sacks and 10 tackles for loss in five games.

6. Delaware State (4-2): Delaware Stateisthe only MEAC team averaging morepoints than North Carolina Central with 38.3 per game. The Hornets have enjoyed as good ayear under

LSU

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Turning those types of possessions into touchdowns has been an issue forthe Tigers dating back to last year

“Wesettled for field goals and theygot touchdowns,” Kellysaid. “And that ultimatelywas thedifference.”

But don’texpect Kelly to take over playcalling dutiesinthose moments, or start overruling Sloan’s decision-making within games at any pointmovingforward

“Play calling is an art and a science. It’s both,right?” Kelly said. “And if youstart getting involvedinthat too much it does, in my opinion, over my career,it’s notthe best thing.

Kelly did add that he has veto powerovercertain play calls andhas used that power in the past.But mostofhis involve-

The redshirt sophomore was the only returner at the position, and he hasn’tplayed since Aug. 30 after being put in concussion protocol against Mississippi Valley State. He left the game in the second quarter after taking ahit to the helmet while sliding.

Banks acknowledged the injuries after Saturday’slossand said that it’snot an excuse, which Graves had previously said he agreed with.

“Obviously,I know we have some injuries, but that’sthe game of football, and we recruit for a reason,”Banks said. “So personally,I know that student-athletes andthe coaches in that room aren’t happy, butthere’s also,you know, leadership and fans that all expect more.”

Southern’soffense is last in the SWAC in points (13.1) and total

Amao, right, celebrates with histeammates after blockinga touchdown pass against Southern on Saturday at A.W.Mumford Stadium.

first-year coach DeSean Jackson as could’ve been expected. Last year,the team was 1-11.

7. Bethune-Cookman(3-4): BethuneCookman’slast game wasin Week 7when it dominated Southern 45-14. The defense’s improvement was encouraging, as that had been aweakness up to that point. If it can force more three-and-outs as it did versus the Jaguars, then they’ll have the potential to rise in the rankings.

8.Texas Southern (4-3): Texas Southern did what was expected in a 61-10 victory against Virginia Lynchburg of the National Christian College Athletic Association. The Tigers were unstoppable running the ball, picking up 306 yards and four touchdowns.

9. Benedict (7-0): Benedict continues its reign as the lone unbeaten team in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference of Division II. It beat Edward Waters University 31-27 on the road thanks to ago-ahead 58-yard rushing touchdown by running back Johntarrious Thomas with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter 10.Virginia Union (6-1): Virginia Union returns to my ballotfor the first time sincemyballotfollowing Week 2. The back-to-back champions in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association beat Lincoln (Penn.) 66-21 at home. The Panthers’ only loss was to Edward Waters, falling 41-38 on agame-winning 45-yard fieldgoal

mentwith LSU’s offense deals with the Tigers’ gameplanning throughout the week.

“I think, from my perspective, that’sthe best place for me,” Kelly said.

But, from acoaching standpoint, whatever the solution is for LSU’soffense hastobe found this week.The Tigersare aloss away from beingessentially eliminatedfrom theCollege Football Playoff discussion, and their next two contests are against top-5 opponents in Texas A&M andAlabama.

If the Tigers can’t figure it out now, this season may go down as alost cause for an offense that entered the year with high hopes.

“We’re disappointed with the loss, don’tget me wrong, and we want to do better for our fan base.Weget that,” Kelly said.

“But having said that, there were alot of things that we can take away from the game that we need to build on.”

yards per game(285.4).

The Jaguars wereGraves’ first head coaching job after he spent 31 years primarily as an assistant college coach at several stops, including three times as an interim head coach.

Graves became the interim coach after Southern fired Eric Dooley on Nov. 14,2023. Graves then coached the Jaguars to a2722 winover Grambling in the 50th Bayou Classic.

Graves had three different stints as an assistant coach at Southern from1996-2002, 2004-09 andfrom 2022-23. He held positions as special teams coordinator,linebackers coach and defensive coordinator.Hewas also aSouthern graduate assistant from 1994-95.

Email Toyloy BrownIII at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com.

DUSTY MILLER

Whyit’s time to add this La. SuperPlant to theyard

GARDEN NEWS

With eye-catching, silvery foliage that’svelvet-soft to the touch, Dusty Miller is aunique plant. Add to that the fact that it’seasy to care for and readily survives frosty winter temperatures, and you’ve got arecipe for a winning plant for cool-season landscapes. That was the thinking of LSU AgCenter horticulturists when they named Dusty Miller a Louisiana Super Plant for 2025.

Dusty Miller (Centaureacineraria) is along-standingstaple of Louisiana gardens.AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg calls it “one of the best plants to use for fall and winter color.”

“It has this incrediblesilver color,which is often hardtofind in the landscape in Louisiana, and it lasts so long,” he said.

Dusty Miller typically starts showing up in garden centers in October.Plant it this month, and it’ll carry you through the entire cool season —through Marchand beyond. While most folks treat it as an annual,Dusty Miller—which is native to the Mediterranean —can perennialize and live multiple years in warm climates like ours.

LSU AGCENTERPHOTO

By OLIVIA McCLURE

Dusty Miller works well in mixed container plantings.

Aversatile plant, Dusty Miller works well in beds,along borders and in containers.

It has alow,rounded growth habit, reaching 1to2 feet high andwide at most.

Dusty Miller’ssilver-to-white fuzzy,lobed foliage bringsinteresting visual and textural contrasts to the landscape. Its cool hues pop, serving as apleasing foil to more vibrant flowersand foliagesharing bed space with it. Because of its light color, Dusty Miller leaves can even appear to glow at night.

The soft feel of Dusty Miller isn’tjust nice to run yourfingers over.Italso is aturnoff for hungry deer,whichdon’t like to eat leaves with noticeable textures.

Although Dusty Miller is grown for its attractive foliage, it can begin to produce small, yellow blooms as spring approaches. Many gardeners clip these flower buds to avoid detracting from the foliage or take them as asign thatit’s time to remove the plantsfrom thegarden.

Ideally,Dusty Miller should be planted in full sun, which enhances its silvery tones. But part sun locations are fine, too.

“Planting this in full shade is not really the best idea, as it’sgoing to struggle and get leggy,” Stagg said.

Dusty Miller is alow-maintenance plant that usually doesn’tneed fertilizer or any special care. Once established, it’sdrought tolerant, and itcan handle light frosts and freezes.

For atwist on this classic cool-season plant, Stagg suggests trying out New Look,a newer cultivar

LIVING

ABOVE: The fringed jacket worn by Bill ‘Buckskin Bill’ Black on WAFB-TV’s‘The Buckskin Bill Show’isondisplayinthe LSU Textile &CostumeMuseum’s exhibit, ‘Dressing Louisiana: Histoires de la mode de la Louisiane.

Common threads

From Buckskin Bill to Louisiana’s firstladies, LSUexhibit tells state’sstories throughfashion

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

“You’re nevercompletely dressed without asmile.”

Thelate Bill “BuckskinBill” Black alwaysclosedhis localtelevisionprogram with that phrase, and though he’s no longer here to “complete” his fringed outfit on display in theLSU Textile &Costume Museum, plenty of visitors are closing the gap with their own smiles.

The attire wornbyBlack’s alter ego during the35-year runofWAFB-TV’s “The BuckskinBill Show” stands center stageinthe museum’s exhibit, “Dressing Louisiana: Histoires de la mode de la Louisiane.”

Theshow runs through March 6, highlighting the state’sfashion spectrum from the sparkly Mardi Gras attire andLouisiana first ladies’inauguration pageantry to LSU athletics wear and, yes, Buckskin Bill.

Storiesthrough fashion Black’sdisplay is wherethe museum’smission becomes

The LSU Textile & Costume Museum gives a nod to LSU athletics fashion in its exhibit.

clear.This show is about more than its featured garments —it commemorates the manyways Louisianans have created and used fashionasa tool foridentity and celebration. Buckskin Bill figures into this narrative as acelebration of childhood as alot of Louisianakidsgrewupwatching his

show between 1955 and 1990. His display stands next to the Hollywood glitz of another Baton Rouge area celebrity,Donna Douglas, known forplaying Ellie Mae Clampett in the popular 1960s sitcom, “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

ä See EXHIBIT, page 2D

Blue Rabbit Bakehouse sourdough bread is a vendor at the Artist’sLoft Market.

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Is it OK to displayphotosofmyself?

Dear Miss Manners: In the eraof selfies, I’m as guilty as anyone of holding my phone out and snapping aphoto of my spouse and me in front of some interesting feature

Those photos stay on my phone, or maybe on asocial media account, but no further

Conversely,mygrandparents, of blessed memory,who never even heard the word “selfie,” had 8x10 studio photographs of themselves framed and hanging on the walls in their respective living rooms. Ialso inherited large-format portrait photos of two pairs of great-

grandparents, both of which are in fairly elaborate frames. They nowhanginmyliving room.

glamor in Douglas’ exhibit case is upstaged by a pair of jeans, pink gingham shirt and rope belt —the official uniformofEllie Mae Clampett.

“Every time Donna Douglas made public appearances throughoutthe rest of her life,she often dressed in an Ellie Mae costume,” museum directorMichaelMamp said of theZachary native “Shedidn’tactually wear the costume in this case on the show,but she wore it at those appearances.”

Douglas’ Hollywood glamor is displayed behind the Ellie Mae costume in the form of asequined gown designed by Richard Blackwell

Yes, thesameRichard Blackwell, simplyknown as Mr.Blackwell, whose annual “Worst Dressed List” drew the ire of Hollywood fashionistasand socialites, including Princess Diana. However,itappears that Douglas was never targeted.

“She always wore Mr Blackwell’sdesigns on the red carpet,” Mamp said. “The dress in this case is one of them.”

Notall namesare famous

Not all names in this show are famous, butthey do offer alook at Louisiana in a different light.

“While cataloging the collection, it impressed me howmanyinterestingstories there were about people from Louisiana,” Mamp said. “So Iwanted to create this exhibit as away to highlight those fashion histories of Louisiana.”

Mamp walks through the gallery,stopping to point out some of those stories.

There’sthe work of late New Orleans-based designer Ray Cole, who embellished silk gazar with liquid latex to create one-of-a-kind fabrics for his designs.

Lisa Johnson, whose mother had abooth named “Mommacita’s,” took over the lease in May after her mother reached out to her for help. Johnson’sfriend Sharon LeBouef wanted to partner with her,and today,the space has beenreinvigorated as home for vendors, collectors, artisans, bakers and creators.

“I give all the credit to like Miss Donna and that core groupofvendors that just really didnot want to see it fail,” Johnson said. “And then when you come and look at it, Imean, it has such agood little niche forthis side of town.”

Open Thursdaythrough Sunday,with the food court openonSaturdays, the marketplace features local artisans, handmade goods, vintage finds, upcycled treasures, refinished furniture and food from local vendors

Johnson is proud that Artist’sLoft encourages the vendors to make their booth

DUSTY

Continued from page1D

“The larger leaves have margins that are smoother and not as highly serratedas

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Thoughitwas obviously once common, Idon’t knowanyone who has framed portraits of themselves in their homes now

An oil portrait of my spouse andmeisn’tinour budget,but Ihave been consideringhanging aprofessionally composed and framed photo of usinour home. Wouldthis come acrossasnarcissistic? Or is it simply aloving continuation of athree-generation tradition?

“He used ahypodermic needle tospreadthe latex,” Mamp said. “So, each design was aunique artwork, and someofhis art designs are reminiscent of Modigliani.”

Afew newly donated pieces by designer Geoffrey Beenealso are featured. Themuseum dedicated a 2024 summer show to the Haynesville native whose designsattained an international following Of course, no Louisiana fashion story would be complete without anod to Mardi Gras, represented here by Winifred Robinson’ssequined goldcaptain’s dress from Baton Rouge’s2011 Krewe of Romany ball; the gown worn by AvaRobertsonas 2025 queen of NewOrleans’ Young MenIllinois Club; and Pauline McIlhenny Simmons’ 1971 queen’s dressfor New Orleans’ Krewe of Proteus.

“Thisdress cost $7,000 when it was made in 1971,” Mamp saidofthe Proteus gown. “It was designedby Nolan Miller,avery famous Americanfashion designer It’sinour collection, but the collar crown and scepter aren’t.”

Thecollar and scepter are nowpartofthe Louisiana State Museum’s permanent collection. Between1970 and 1980, the queens of the Krewe of Proteus allwore the same

space their own. They are allowed to paint the walls and decorate the booths to createa personalized experience for shoppers.

TheArtist’sLoft also rents wall space for artists, jewelry makers and photographers to display their work.

One moment ashopper can get lost in aboothofvintage art, then turn around andbecomeimmersed in comic books.

“It’smore of afamily atmospherewith the vendors,” Gaspard said. “It’s a placewhereyou don’twant to leave. And when you go, youwant togoback.It’smy happy place.”

Johnsonand LeBouefinvite localartisansandcollectorsto join in and participate in the community market space far from theotherantique stores in Baton Rouge. Currently,all spaces are rented outexcept for three wall spaces, which are available.

LeBouef and Johnson aim to support local artists to have the ability to sell their work, whether it be glitter cupsand glittertumblers, soaps, candles,paintings or

theolder cultivar,which is called Silverdust,” he said.

“Cirrus is another cultivar with less dramatic leaf serration.They’re allgreat plants.” Dusty Miller is just one of many plants that have been crowned Louisiana

Gentle reader: Who, in what you so aptly named the EraofSelfies,will dare to raise thecharge of narcissism?And which is more blatant: including yourselves among family in your own living room,or posting it for all the world to see?

Showcasing painted portraits of oneself was considered acceptable because theywere presumably valued for their artistic merit, rather thantheir subjects —and never mind thatthe subjects had commissioned them in the first place.

If you want to be above reproach, Miss Manners suggests thatyou avoid pictures in which you are shaking hands with the president or displaying the biggest fish you

collar crown and scepter, Mamp said. The dress doesn’t closeover the shoulders, and the collar is attached to an elaborate corset underneath, so thedress hasalong strip of hooks and eyes.

Mamp decided to stage a reunion of sorts.

He borrowedthe collar andscepter to reunite them with the dress for the first time in over 50 years.

“So, we have ahistory-making moment here,” he said.

Justaround thecorner from the Mardi Gras section, the museum pays homage to LSU athletics through acollection of uniforms wornby school athletes through the years. The most notable in this section is awarmup suit that LSUbasketball legend BobPetit wore before games between 1952 and 1954.

Highlighting firstladies

However, even LSU’sathletes can’tsteal thespotlight from thegroup of inauguration ballgownsonthe opposite side of thegallery,each worn by one of Louisiana’s first ladies.

These gowns represent Alice Foster,Dodie Treen,Supriya Jindal, Donna Edwards andthe state’scurrent first lady,Sharon Landry,all of whom donated theirdresses to the museum.

“The first ladies’ choices are so interesting,” Mamp said. “Although Mrs. Jindal’s choice is avery beautiful gown, it was also very inexpensive. Youknow,Mr. Jindal’splatformwas all aboutfiscalresponsibility So, it’s interesting how each first lady alignedtheir aesthetic withwhatever their husband’splatform was.”

Whichiswhy Edwards chose local designer Yvonne Lafleurtodesignbothher ballgownand swearing-in suit

“She wanted to support localbusinesses, so shechose alocaldesigner,” Mampsaid As for Foster’sgown, well, it could easily compete with those worn by Hollywood’s

wood carvings.

The Artist’sLoft Market is having agrand reopening from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. Nov 1with pop-up vendors, food and music.

“Our maingoal is just to letthe community knowthat we are here,” Johnson said. “Itisnew andimproved and this is where you need to come. Especially for the holidays. We are right here in your backyard. Now,being the cityofSt. George, we are trying to really be out there for the community.”

Roger Butner,a local familycounselor, discovered hispassion for nature photography anddisplays his eye-catching photos at the Artists Loft Market.

“It’saspecial place in Baton Rouge where community members of all kinds —artists, art lovers, shoppers, giftgivers and anyone looking for alittle something else in their day —get to meet one another and share beauty,creativity,ideas, conversations and new perspectives with one another,” he said.“It really is atreasure.”

Super Plants —adesignation reserved for tough, beautiful plantsthat are university-tested and industry-approved. To learn moreabout theprogram, visit www LSUAgCenter com/SuperPlants.

ever caught. But frankly, she doubts that there is much danger thesedays, when modesty is no longer considered avirtue, but rather an unfortunate lack of self-esteem

Dear Miss Manners: Ihad dinner partyguests arrive 45 minutes early.They weren’tconfused about the time, they just came early.What should Ihave done?

Isat them in the living room, got themeach adrink and then abandoned them for 45 minuteswhile I changed clothes and finished up in the kitchen. They seemed peevish when Ifinally joined them, but honestly,what should Ihave done?

Gentlereader: Seated them in the living room, given them drinks,

golden age stars.

“I think it’s my favorite,” Mamp said. “It’s very 1930s Hollywood, and it’sgorgeous. And my favorite part is how it drapes in theback. Alice Fosteralways looked so beautiful in her clothes.”

Standing aloneatcenter stage is Landry’shanddraped silk inaugural gown, which was ordered through IDoBridalCouture of Baton Rougeand custommadein New York.

“I was just so thrilled that Mrs. Landry decided to give it to us,”Mampsaid. “It’sso beautiful.”

Mamp has rounded out the display with photos of the first ladies in their gowns, eachcompleting their ensemble withasmile.

Which would have made Buckskin Bill proud.

“Dressing Louisiana: Histoires de la mode de la Louisiane”runs through March 6atthe LSU Textile &CostumeMuseum in theHuman Ecology Building, 140 Tower Drive on campus.Hours are 11 a.m. to 4p.m. weekdays and 2p.m. to 4p.m. on the first Sunday of every month. Admission is free. For more information, call (225) 5781087 or visit lsu.edu/agriculture/textilemuseum/index. php/index.php.

By The Associated Press

and then abandoned them while you changed clothes and finished up in the kitchen.

Toobad they didn’task Miss Manners what they should have done: not arrived early,apologized if they did, thanked you for the drinks, and assured you that they would be fine sitting in the living room until you were ready

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 21, the 294th day of 2025. There are 71 days leftinthe year

Todayinhistory:

On Oct. 21, 2014, Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide for shooting and killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The conviction was later upgraded to murder; Pistorius was released on parole in January 2024.

Also on this date:

In 1797, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also knownas“Old Ironsides,” waschristened in Boston’s harbor

In 1944, U.S. troops captured the German city of Aachen —the first German city to fall to American forces in World WarII.

In 1959, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum opened in NewYork.

In 1966, 144 people, 116 of them children, were killed when acoal waste landslide engulfed a school and some20houses in Aberfan, Wales. In 2021, Actor Alec Bald-

win waspointing agun on the set of the Western movie “Rust” in New Mexico whenitwent off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Charges of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin were dropped in July 2024. In 2024, jury selection beganinthe trial of aU.S. Marine Corps veteran,DanielPenny,for placing aman who was acting erratically on aNew York Citysubway traininMay 2023 in adeadly chokehold. In December 2024, Penny was cleared of allcharges, including criminally negligent homicide. Today’sbirthdays: Rock singer Manfred Mann is 85. TV’sJudge Judy Sheindlin is 83. Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu is 76.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Tackle what's necessary first. Do what needs doing without complaint. Don't sign up for more than you can handle or anything that has hidden costs. Spend only what's necessary.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Don't hesitate when speed is of the essence Think and follow through, and you'll gain ground. Network, negotiate and use your charismatic charm to achieve your objectives.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Deal with domestic matters cautiously. Hesitation and uncertainty will mount if a decision is necessary. Maintain your status quo by consistently delivering high-quality work.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take charge without malice. It's how you go about getting others to do things for you that will lead to your success. Work your magic, and you'll get the results you hope for.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) A change at home will save you time and money. Refuse to let mixed emotions lead to unnecessary costs. Invest more time in cultivating a positive self-image.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Urge others to respect you and your property. Connect with people on a level playing field and avoid giving anyone the advantage over you. Know what you want, and don't stop until you reach your destination.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Think on the move, and you'll devise a plan that surpasses expectations. Trust your instincts and move forward with confidence. It's up to you to be a leader.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Your savvy ideas and dedication will open doors and win support It's how you represent yourself that will make a difference. Execute your plans with courage.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Listen and learn. Positive changes result from being diligent and leaving nothing to chance. Socializing will lead to opportunities and give you plenty to consider.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Follow the money and engage in events that show you the way to success. Pump yourself up and find an outlet for your skills. Use intelligence to reach your goals.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Take control over domestic situations that face change or require fine-tuning. Figure out how to keep things running smoothly. A tall order will offer a healthy gain.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Simplify your life, start conversations and distance yourself from out-of-control individuals. Be the one with discipline and foresight to take the path that protects you, your assets and your possessions.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Robert Orben was aspeechwriter for GeraldFord.Orbensaid,“Ialwaysgetto theairportanhourearly.Thatway,Ican be one of the first to know that the flight has been delayed.”

Atthebridgetable,youcansometimes delay akey play, but much more often you should get down to businessimmediately.Howdoesthatapplytothisdeal?

Southisinfour spades. West leads the heart king. How should declarer proceed?

Over West’stakeout double, North’s redoubleindicated 10 points or more and denied fourormorespades.(With four or more spades, North would have responded two no-trump, whichshould be called Truscott, but is oftenknown as Jordan because he popularized the gadget in theUnited States.) After this redouble,eitherNorthandSouthbuythe contract or an opponent plays in something doubled forpenalties.

North’sthree-spade rebid indicated game-forcing values withexactlythreecard spade support.

South has four losers: two hearts and twodiamonds.Hehasonlyninewinners: five spades, one heart, one diamond and two clubs.

But if declarer canruff aloser in the shorter trump hand, it will generatean extra trump trick. Here, Southshould

wuzzles

ruffhis thirddiamond on the board. And there is no point in delaying. He takes thefirst trick and plays tworounds of diamonds

SupposeWestwins,cashestwohearts, andshifts to aclub. Declarer wins in his hand, ruffsthe third diamond high, drawstrumps and claims.

By Andrews McMeel

©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist.

Syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InStRuctIonS: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAY’S WoRD HonoRIFIc: on-or-IH-fik: Conferring or conveying esteem or recognition.

Average mark16words

Timelimit 30 minutes Can you find 24 or morewords in HONORIFIC?

YEStERDAY’S WoRD —notABLY

nobly only talon tonal tony ably alto atony baton blat bloat blot boat bola bolt bony botany loan

today’s thought

“So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, loveyou me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that Ilove you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.” John21:15

322,330.00; thence South3,481.49 feet to apoint on the North boundary of State Lease No.22114 having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 andY =318,848.51; thence along the boundaries of said State Lease No. 22114 the following courses: West 90.16 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,259.84 and Y=318,848.51, South 1,320.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,259.84 and Y=317,528.51 and East 90.16 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =317,528.51; thence South2,573.49 feet to apoint having CoordinatesofX= 2,635,350.00 and Y =314,955.02; thence West 14,748.12 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,601.88 and Y =314,955.02; thence North 00 degrees 00 minutes 52 seconds West 7,374.98 feet to the point of beginning, containing ap pr ox ima tel y 2494.38acres

having Coordinates of X=

2,614,550.00and Y =315,730.00, South 775.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X=2,614,550.00 and Y=314,955.00, East 700.00 feet to apoint

apoint having Coordinates of X=

2,605,850.00and Y =314,705.00; thence North 7,625.00 feet to the point of beginning, containing appr ox imat el y 1696.82 acres. TRACT 45977Portion of Block 26, Main Pass Area, Revised, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana All of the lands now or formerly constituting the beds and bottoms of all water bodies of every natureand description as to which title is vested in the State of Louisiana, together with all islands arising therein and other lands formed by accretion or by reliction, whereallowed by law,excepting tax adjudicated lands, and not presently under mineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having Coordinates of X=

2,620,600.00and Y =322,330.00; thence East 14,750.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00and Y

TRACT45978Portion of Block 33, Breton Sound Area PlaqueminesParish, Louisiana

All of the lands now or formerly constituting the beds and bottoms of all waterbodies of everynatureand description as to whichtitle is vested in the State of Louisiana, together with all islands arising therein andotherlands formed by accretion or by reliction, where allowed by law,excepting tax adjudicatedlands, and not presently undermineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having CoordinatesofX =2,635,350.00.00 and Y=322,330.00; thence East 14,750.00 feet to the Northwest corner of State Lease No. 21543, as amended having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 andY =322,330.00; thence South 5,114.46 feet along the west boundary of said State Lease No. 21543 to its Southwest corner having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 andY =317,215.54; thence continue South2,260.52 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 and Y =314,955.02; thence West 14,750.00 feet to apoint having CoordinatesofX= 2,635,350.00 and Y =314,955.02; thence North 2,573.49 feet to apoint on the South boundary ofState Lease No. 22114 having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =317,528.51; thence along the boundaries of said State Lease No. 22114 the following courses: East 1,229.84 feet to apoint having CoordinatesofX= 2,636,579.84 and Y=317,528.51, North 1,320.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,636,579.84 and Y =318,848.51 and West 1,229.84 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =318,848.51; thence North 3,481.49

feet to point of beginning,containing appr ox imately 2460.00acres

TRACT 45979Portion of Block 25, Main Pass Area, Revised, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana All of the lands now or formerly constituting thebeds and bottoms of all waterbodies of every natureand description as to which title is vested in the State of Louisiana, together with all islands arising therein and otherlands formed by accretion or by reliction, whereallowed by law,exceptingtax adjudicated lands, and not presently under mineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,605,850.00 and Y =314,705.00; thence East 14,751.94 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,601.94 and Y =314,705.00; thence South 00 degrees 00 minutes 52 seconds East 7,124.95 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,603.75 and Y =307,580.00; thence West 14,753.75 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,605,850.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence North 7,125.01 feet to the point of beginning,containing appr ox imately 2413.09acres

TRACT 45980Portion of Block 26, Main Pass Area, Revised, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana

All of the lands now or formerly constituting thebeds and bottoms of all waterbodies of every natureand description as to which title is vested in the State of Louisiana, together with all islands arising therein and otherlands formed by accretion or by reliction, whereallowed by law,exceptingtax adjudicated lands, and not presently under mineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,601.88 and Y =314,955.02; thence East 14,748.12 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =314,955.02; thence South 7,375.02 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence West 14,746.25 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,603.75 and Y =307,580.00; thence North 00 degrees 00 minutes 52 seconds West 7,375.02 feet to the pointof beginning, containing appr ox imately 2496.80acres

TRACT 45981PortionofBlock 33, BretonSound Area, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana

All of the lands now or formerly constituting thebeds and bottoms of all waterbodies of every natureand description as to which title is vested in the State of Louisiana, together with all islands arising therein

and other lands formed by accretion or by reliction whereallowed by law,excepting tax adjudicated lands, and not presently under mineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =314,955.02; thence East 14,750.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 and Y =314,955.02; thence South7,375.02 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence West 14,750.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence North7,375.02 feet to the point of beginning, containing ap pr oxima tely 2497.28 acres.

TRACT45982Portion of Block 31, Main Pass Area, Revised, PlaqueminesParish, Louisiana Allofthe lands now or formerlyconstituting the beds and bottoms of allwater bodies of every natureand description as to which titleisvested in the StateofLouisiana, together with all islands arising therein and other lands formed by accretion or by reliction whereallowed by law,excepting tax adjudicated lands, and not presently under mineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,603.75 and Y =307,580.00; thence East 14,746.25 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence South6,693.90 feet to the Northeast corner of State Lease No. 12002 having Coordinates of X=2,635,350.00 and Y= 300,886.10; thence along the boundaries of said StateLease No 12002 the following courses: South83 degrees 12 minutes 29 seconds West 237.57 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X=2,635,114.10 and Y= 300,858.01, South79degrees 46 minutes 39 seconds West 363.38 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,634,756.49 and = 300,793.52, South76 degrees 29 minutes 04 seconds West 289.85 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X=2,634,474.67 and Y= 300,725.78, South72degrees 29 minutes 28 seconds West 291.54 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,634,196.64 and Y= 300,638.07, South68 degrees 21 minutes 26 seconds West 335.45 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X=2,633,884.84 and Y= 300,514.35, South65degrees 03 minutes 49 seconds West 312.16 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,633,601.78 and Y= 300,382.74, South61 degrees 53 minutes 35 seconds West 329.09 feet to apoint having Coordinate of X= 2,633,311.50 and

Y= 300,227.70, and South57degrees 55 minutes 34 seconds West 43.74 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,633,274.44 and Y =300,204.47; thence West 12,672.57 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,620,601.87 and Y =300,204.47; thence North00degrees 00 minutes 53 seconds East 7,375.53 feet to the point of beginning, containing ap pr ox ima tely 2476.63 acres.

TRACT45983 -

Portion of Block 48, Breton Sound Area, PlaqueminesParish, Louisiana Allofthe lands now or formerlyconstituting the beds and bottoms of allwater bodies of every natureand description as to which titleisvested in the StateofLouisiana, together with all islands arising therein and other lands formed by accretion or by reliction whereallowed by law,excepting tax adjudicated lands, and not presently under mineral lease on November 12, 2025, situated in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,635,350.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence East 14,750.00 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 and Y =307,580.00; thence South7,375.53 feet to apoint having Coordinates of X= 2,650,100.00 and Y =300,204.47; thence West 14,750.00 feet to apoint on the East boundary of State Lease No. 12002 having Coordinates of X=2,635,350.00 and Y= 300,204.47; thence North 681.63 feet along the east boundary of said StateLease No. 12002 to its Northeast corner having Coordinates of X=2,635,350.00 and Y= 300,886.10; thence continue North6,693.90 feet to the point of beginning, containing ap pr ox ima tely 2497.52 acres.

STATEAGENCY

TRACTS (Tract No.45984 herein cannotspecify a lease primary term exceeding three (3) years).

TRACT45984Caddo Parish, Louisiana Acertain Tract of land, excluding the beds and bottoms of allnavigable waters, belonging to and notpresently under mineral lease from Caddo Bossier Port Commission on November 12, 2025, being more fully described as follows: That certain tractorparcel of land situated in Section 3, Township 16 North, Range13 West, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, being more particularly described in that certainCash SaleDeed recorded, January 22, 1996 and recorded under Instrument Number 1501831 in the Conveyance Records of the Clerk of Courts office, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Geo # 161303-000-005700, containing 6.895 acres,moreorless. The description is based on information provided by the State

Agency regarding location and ownership of surface and mineral rights.

NOTE: Any such lease shall cover onlyoil gas condensate, and other hydrocarbons normally produced in association withoil and gas.

NOTE: Anything in such lease to the contrary no tw it hs ta nd in g, upon the expiration of the primary term, drilling or other operationson, or the existence of a unit well producing commer cially or capableof commer ci al production,from any unit established in any manner so as to include all or any part of the leases premises, and whether or not the unit well be located on the leases premises, shall maintainthe lease in force only as to the portion of the leases premises which is included in such unit. If,however,the Lessee is conducting drilling operations on the leased premises or on any land which is included with any of the leased premises in any unit at the end of the primary term, or if a well located on such lands is completed or abandoned within ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the primary term, the entire lease shall be continued in forceas long as the Lessee conducts continuous drilling operations, as defined under the terms of the lease on such lands.

NOTE: Any such lease shall only cover the depths from one hundred (100)feet below the stratigraphic equivalent of the Cotton Valley Formation to one hundred (100)feet below the stratigraphic equivalent of the base of the Haynesville ShaleFormation.

NOTE: The Lessee of such lease agrees to indemnify, save, and hold harmless the Lessorfrom and against any liability fordamage to property or injury to persons, including death, or claims thereof, sustained as aresult of the Lessee’soperations on the leased lands.

NOTE: Any such lease, or any portion thereof,isextended beyond the primary termbyproduction, and the well or wells from which this production comes areshut-in for a period in excess of sixty (60) days for any reason, such lease willnot terminate if the Lessee pays the Lessor,its heirsor assigns, ashut-in royaltyinthe amount of Tenand No/100 ($10.00) Dollarsper acreper month for each affected mineral acreduring the shutin period,withthe first shut-in payment due within thirty(30) days after the initial sixty (60) day period and monthly thereafter The shut-in payments shall terminate when production is reestablished.The maximum lengthof time any such lease shall be maintained by shut-inpayments for any singleshutin period is one (1)

year. Theamountof shut-in royalty shall increase at arateof five (5%) percent per annumcompounded followingthe firstyear afterthe expirationof theprimary term of anysuchlease.

NOTE: If theLessee of suchlease conducts tests or drilling on theleased lands or on land unitized or pooledtherewith, theLessee,upon receivingthirty (30) days written notice from theLessor, agrees to supply the Lessor alldataand information obtained from suchtests and drilling including, but notlimited to, seismograph reports, electric logs, core analysis, drill stem test data and reservoir engineering studies. TheLessor of suchlease agrees to keep anydataor information provided by theLessee in strict confidence.

NOTE: TheCaddoBossier Parishes Port Commission will requireaminimum bonus of $5,000.00 per acre anda minimumroyalty of notlessthan1/4th or 25%.

TAXADJUDICATED LANDS TRACTS (TractNo. 45985 herein).

TRACT45985Caddo Parish, Louisiana

All of themineral rights only under land adjudicatedto andacquired by the State of Louisiana in andthrough a propertax sale, andsubsequently alienated by the State which retained themineral rights thereto, andwhich is notunder valid mineral lease from the State of Louisianaon November12, 2025 situated in Caddo Parish,Louisiana, andbeing more fully described as follows: Those certain lotsinSection 23 Township19North, Range16Westmore particularly described as follows:

Lots 85 and106 in theS/2 of theN/2 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain SheriffSale from theState of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, Sheriff, on behalf of Ernest E. WilliamstoAlton CharlesWise husband of Sheryl Choate Wise dated February 19,1992 andrecordedin Conveyance Book 2838,Page181 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lots 46,49, 69,and Lot108 in theS/2 of theN/2 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain SheriffSale from theState of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, Sheriff to Alton Charles Wise, husband of Sheryl ChoateWise datedAugust28, 1991 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 2838,Page182 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lot110 in theS/2 of theN/2 andLot 111inthe N/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23-19N-16W, having

beendescribed in that certain Process Verbal from the State of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, Sheriff to Alton Charles Wise, husband of Sheryl ChoateWise datedJune7,2000 andrecordedin Conveyance Book 3396,Page542 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lot113,114, 132, 134, and153 in theS/2 of theN/2 of Section 23-19N-16W,having beendescribed in that certain Process Verbal from the State of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, SherifftoBlue Collar Land Company, LLCdated May2 2023 andrecorded under Instrument No. 2927410 in the Conveyance Records of Caddo Parish, Louisiana

Lot15, 35 and55in theS/2 of theN/2 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain TaxSalefrom theState of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, Sheriff to Andrew Mattson datedJanuary 10 1996 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 3245,Page463 in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.

Lots 3, 44,63, 102, 103, 104, and105 in theS/2 of theN/2 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain TaxSale from theState of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, J.H. Flournoy, SherifftoW.E.Hall, husband of Virgil J. Hall datedApril 13 1966 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 1106,Page647 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lots 32 and53inthe S/2 of theN/2 and Lots 7, 108and 109 in theN/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain Process Verbal of Sale from theState of Louisiana datedMay 12 2021 andrecorded under Instrument No. 2840005 in the Conveyance Records of Caddo Parish Louisiana

Lots 38 in theS/2 of theN/2 andLots 64,65, 92,and 95 in theN/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that Tax Sale from theState of Louisiana,Parish of Caddo, James M. Goslin,Sheriff datedMarch 14 1973 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 1384,Page452 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lot42inthe N/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain Amended Process Verbal of Sale from theSuccession of George H. Wood to State of Louisiana datedDecember11, 2020 andrecorded under Instrument No. 2814879 in the Conveyance Records of Caddo Parish Louisiana

Lot 48 and50inthe N/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain Process Verbal of Sale from theState of Louisiana to Melissa Mitchell datedMarch 16, 2022 andrecorded under Instrument No. 2882529 in the Conveyance Records of Caddo Parish Louisiana Lots 75,95, 116, 117and 118inthe S/2 of theN/2 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain SheriffSale from theState of Louisiana,Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, Sheriffto Alton CharlesWise husband of Sheryl ChoateWise dated September9,1992 andrecordedin Conveyance Book 2843,Page494 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lots 76,104,105, 106and 107inthe N/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township19 North, Range16 West, havingbeen described in that certain SheriffSale from theState of Louisiana,Parish of Caddo, JamesM Goslin, Sheriffto R.W. Turner dated February16, 1972 andrecordedin Conveyance Book 1332,Page582 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lot81inthe N/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain Process Verbal of Sale from theState of Louisiana to Alton Charles Wise, husband of DanetteWise datedNovember2 2022 andrecorded under Instrument No. 2914389 in the Conveyance Records of Caddo Parish Louisiana Lot98inthe S/2 of theN/2 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain TaxSale Deed from theState of Louisiana, Parish of Caddo, Don Hathaway, Sheriff to Robert Mayes, husband of Jennifer Mayes datedJune2, 1995 andrecorded in Conveyance Book 3047, Page 98 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Lots 40 in theN/2 of NW/4 &NW/4 of NE/4 of Section 23,Township 19 North,Range 16 West, havingbeen described in that certain SheriffSale from theState of Louisiana,Parish of Caddo, JamesM Goslin, Sheriffto R.W. Turner dated February16, 1972 andrecordedin Conveyance Book 1332,Page582 in Caddo Parish Louisiana.

Theabove tracts aggregate 47.874 acres,moreorless.

161259-564273 Oct. 21,1t $1,303.90

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