August 2021

State, parish give vaccine data updates

According to the latest data, around 30 percent of Jeff Davis Parish residents are vaccinated so far, coming in below the state’s average.

On Aug. 20, Governor John Bel Edwards announced Louisiana is now second in the country behind Mississippi in COVID-19 case growth. This is welcomed news as the state has been battling its fourth surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant and was previously first in the nation for COVID-19 case growth.

Earl Junior Spell

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LAKE ARTHUR — Mr. Earl Junior Spell passed away on Aug. 22, 2021, at the age of 79.

A private memorial service will be announced at a later date.

He was a longtime resident of Lake Arthur.

Mr. Spell was born on Jan. 9, 1942 to Walter Lee Spell and Mary J. Spell. Earl was a kind, generous and hardworking family man who never met a stranger and could fix anything anyone needed.

Stephen ‘Steve’ Naquin

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Stephen “Steve” James Naquin, 69, of Cleveland, Tenn., passed away Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, at a Chattanooga health care facility following an accidental fall.

His family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, at Fike-Randolph & Son Funeral Home of Cleveland.

He was born Nov. 30, 1951, in Houma. Steve worked in the oil fields through college and received his BS degree in electrical engineering from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. Before graduation, he married Judy Tipton on May 15, 1974, in Jennings.

Cleanup begins in Northeast as Henri leaves

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Residents across the waterlogged Northeast began clearing mud and tearing out sodden carpets Monday after deluges dropped by Tropical Storm Henri, whose remnants threatened further flooding in New England as the system made a slow trek back to the sea.

The smell of sewage filled the air as residents of Rossmoor, a retirement community in central New Jersey’s Monroe Township, returned to soaked homes and ruined possessions after Henri turned their streets into rivers.

Hochul to become NY’s first female governor as Cuomo exits

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Kathy Hochul was set to become the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo.

The Democrat from western New York was to be sworn in as governor in the first minutes of Tuesday in a brief, private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore.

State receiving water system applications for grants

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana has received nearly 200 applications so far from community water systems seeking a share of $300 million in federal coronavirus aid that state lawmakers have earmarked for improvements to public water and sewage systems.

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, the governor’s chief budget adviser, provided an update on the program Monday. His office is accepting the applications and will make recommendations to lawmakers about which ones they should approve.

The grant application period opened Aug. 1 and continues until Sept. 24.

A Toe Tappin’ Time

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Locals came out to tap their toes and enjoy some traditional Cajun music at the Southwest Louisiana Cajun Music Jam on Saturday. 

Louisiana education board: No special meeting on mask rules

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana’s top school board won’t hold a special meeting to discuss whether to challenge Gov. John Bel Edwards’ mask mandate for K-12 schools, after the last meeting on the topic was disrupted by unruly crowds who refused to follow the face covering requirement for public buildings.

US troops surge evacuations out of Kabul but threats persist

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military reported its biggest day of evacuation flights out of Afghanistan by far on Monday, but deadly violence that has blocked many desperate evacuees from entering Kabul’s airport persisted, and the Taliban signaled they might soon seek to shut down the airlifts.

Vaccine approval sparks La. vaccine, testing mandates

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — With Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine receiving full federal approval Monday, Louisiana’s universities soon will start requiring tens of thousands of students to get the shots, and Gov. John Bel Edwards intends to mandate regular COVID-19 testing for thousands of state workers who aren’t immunized.

Just how many people the vaccine and testing mandates will cover and when they’ll take effect in a state seeing one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 surges remained uncertain, however.