Once again the Lafourche Parish Council gets it wrong. After 33 years of having a Council-President form of government, they still think Lafourche Parish is using a Police Jury system, like our neighbors in Assumption Parish. At its regularly scheduled meeting on October 27, 2009, the council decided to push for an amendment to the parish charter that would reduce...

In a special election to fill State Senate District 20, recently vacated by former Senator Reggie Dupre, State Representative Damon Baldone (District 53), wants to use the difference in voter turnout between those north of the Intracoastal Waterway and those south of it. In an interview with the Tri-Parish Times newspaper, Baldone is claiming low-voter turnout and being the only...

WASHINGTON - United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., today made the following comments about yesterday's late-night release of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Disaster Housing Strategy (NDHS). In July, FEMA released a version of the NDHS -- 13 months after the legal deadline by which it was required -- with significant shortcomings. In particular, an analysis of the NDHS...

On December 19, the Daily Comet ran a story about the Lafourche Parish government announcing it was going to give businesses and residents the opportunity to receive local news and information from parish government through an email service. The need was sparked because of comments made following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike about residents who evacuated turning to email to receive...

Last week, Greg LeBlanc, Sr., owner of the Geri LeBlanc Pontiac Buick GMC franchise here in the Thibodaux area announced he is terminating his franchise agreement with GM. He cited the viability of GM as a going concern as his reason for closing the franchise. Is this foresight on his part, as the Big Three (Ford, General Motors, Chrysler) automakers...

The curfew within the City of Thibodaux and Lafourche Parish has been changed effective immediately from 8:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. until further notice. Residents returning to the area are encouraged to bring supplies with them and to be as self-sufficient as possible upon return. There are limited resources available for residents expecting to stay in the city. The Lafourche...

Thibodaux, LA - August 29, 2008 Due to the potential threat of TS Gustav affecting Lafourche Parish as a Category 3 hurricane as early as Tuesday, September 2nd, Mayor Caillouet of the City of Thibodaux is advising the people of Thibodaux that Parish President Charlotte Randolph has issued a State of Emergency for the Parish of Lafourche including the City...

“Soyez toujours votre propre personne.” Because the five words above are French, many of students and their parents, descendants of the French who settled in south Louisiana generations ago, would get the gist of the sentence, even if they could not translate it directly. Most would not even realize that the phrase was in a language other than English. Unfortunately,...

Although I agree with Bobby Jindal's statement that the Legislature is a separate body, that does not relieve Governor Jindal of his responsibility to maintain the fiscal soundness of the state. As Governor, he is the last line of defense for the people when the Legislature does something as absurd as this pay raise was. Everyone of these legislators knew...

Many in Southeast Louisiana are mourning the passing of Deacon Willie Orgeron, who died in his Thibodaux home on Saturday, March 29th, 2008. Deacon Willie, a well-regarded church and civic figure, is survived by his wife of 51 years, Margaret Ann Boudreaux Orgeron and four sons: Ray Joseph Orgeron & his wife Malese, of Woodstock, Georgia; Ricky James Orgeron...

Just a Little Common Sense Here in South Louisiana, we are used to seeing rain. Lots of rain, in a very short period of time. It may not happen every week or even every month, but I'm sure you can count on a heavy down pour at least once every quarter. Since we do get these heavy down pours on...

We all rely on government services for such basic necessities as roads and drainage. But when the government, especially local government, does work on private property, who is responsible for damages? The Lafourche Parish Council is responsible for drainage within the unincorporated areas of the parish. Because of the vast number of homes and the distances between some of them,...

Civic leader and Thibodaux business man, Westley Annis, announces his candidacy for Parish Council District 3. “Parish government has struggled for over twenty years to make the transition to a council form of government. The only way we will be able to make that transition is if we get new leadership in office. “My intent, when I am elected, is...

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln 16th president of US (1809 - 1865) Lafourche Parish Councilman Daniel Lorraine has proven once again that he is not a student of Abraham Lincoln. At the Lafourche Parish Council meeting on July 10 where a ordinance to ban the public...

Lafourche Parish councilman Lindel Toups has introduced an ordinance that would make it illegal to wear low handing pants that expose underwear. Modeled after a similar law that was passed recently in Dalcambre, La. As a coincidental aside, on my home from work on Monday, when this proposed ordinance was first reported, I saw four kids riding bikes down...

Mike Gorman, City Editor for the Daily Comet, says he considers term limits “Voters’ ultimate insult”. His reasoning is that voters wield the power to vote anyone out of office. As he states, “We should be insulted whenever we are told we can’t be trusted to choose our own leaders, no matter how many years they have held office. “We...

Two changes are being proposed to the Lafourche Parish Home Rule Charter. One doesn't go far enough, the other goes too far, and no one is talking about a third that should be considered also. Councilman Michael Matherne, District 3, has proposed term limits for council members and the parish president. He wants to limit them to four consecutive terms...

Election results are in and the three tax propositions passed, Mike Billiot has been elected Councilman in the Town of Golden Meadow, and Eddie Hebert and Debbie Swanner are in a run-off for Councilman in the City of Thibodaux. Although it passed, I was quite surprised to see the 5 mill Property Tax proposition for the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department...

Equal Treatment screams the headline in the Saturday, February 24 edition of the Daily Comet. Equal treatment in this case is allowing a male student from H.L Bourgeois to bring his boyfriend to the junior prom using a couples ticket. In the end, Terrebonne Parish School Board officials reversed the decision of Bourgeois principal Nason Authement’s initial decision not to...

The Daily Comet, in its February 2 editorial, rightly came out against changing the Lafourche Parishes Home Rule Charter to give more operations control to the council. I think the Charter should be changed, just not in the manner currently being discussed.