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Jasmine Broussard

Senior Highlight: Kaplan High School's Jasmine Broussard

Plans after high school?

I plan to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to further my education and ultimately earn a college degree.

Who is/was favorite teacher?

All of my teachers were amazing but my favorite teachers were Mr. Clayton Chauvin and Mr. Blake Touchet.

Who has had the greatest influence on you, why?

Coach Amelia Broussard has had the greatest influence on me because she was not only a coach/teacher. She taught us life lessons and things that would later prepare us for life outside of school.

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is Hidden Figures.

If you had a chance to have dinner with one person from history, who would it be?

If I had the chance to have dinner with one person from history it would be my grandfather.

If you could go back, what advice would you give “freshman” you?

If I could go back and give myself advice freshman year, I’d most definitely tell myself to study a little harder because that could be the difference between a 3.9 and a 4.0

What was your most memorable moment from your senior year?

My most memorable moment from senior year was our annual homecoming Lip Sync Battle. It was the one thing that made me realize that this was actually my last year with all of my classmates.

Who would you count on to uplift your spirits when you’re feeling down?

There were so many people that I could count on to uplift my spirits when I was feeling down. So, I can’t really choose.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years I see myself being spiritually, mentally, and financially successful.

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Mary “Dean” Broussard

September 12, 1936 ~ May 17, 2020

ABBEVILLE — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church honoring the life of Mary Dartez Broussard, 83, who died Sunday, May 17, 2020 at her residence. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Fr. François Sainte-Marie officiating the services. Pallbearers will be Corey Broussard, Quinton Stelly, Eli Weathers, Donald Bolin Jr., Fay Perez III, and Shawn Nunez. Honorary pallbearer will be Blake Stelly.
Mary was a parishioner of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church for more than 60 years, where she served as a Eucharistic minister and sacristan. She was a faithful adorer at the Perpetual Adoration Chapel and was a religion teacher for many years.
Mary enjoyed taking vacations, especially at the beach, attending country concerts, spending time with family and playing Pokeno.  She was an avid Saints fan and enjoyed going to Saints games for the last six years. She adored her grandchildren and enjoyed watching them play sports and other activities.
Mary is survived by three daughters, Gweneth Broussard of Abbeville, Lisa Weathers and her husband, William of Baton Rouge, and Michelle Bolin and her husband, Donald of Del Valle, TX; two sisters, Gloria Bergeron and her husband, Norman of Abbeville, and Linda Gayle Owens and her husband, Wilfred Jr. of Lafayette; nine grandchildren, Corey Broussard, Geneva Nunez, Gabrielle Perez, Blake Stelly, Quinton Stelly, Fay Perez III, Ashley Bolin, Eli Weathers, and Donald Bolin Jr.; nine great grandchildren; and a daughter of the heart, Denise LeBlanc.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene J. Broussard; her parents, Treville Dartez and the former Louise Touchet; and a granddaughter, Jayla Bolin.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 from 4:00 PM until 9:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, May 20, 2020 from 8:00 AM until 12:45 PM when the procession will depart for the church.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

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ARRESTS MADE IN THEFT OF MONEY AT CRAWFISH PLANT

CROWLEY — Three arrests have been made in connection with the recent theft of money from a local crawfish wholesale business.
Shane Gautreaux, Christopher Sonnier and Heather Vincent were arrested by Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Deputies in connection with the theft from the business on South Highway 35 near Rayne.
During the investigation, it was determined that an employee was involved in the theft and distracted other employees to allow other suspects to enter the premises and steal operating funds, according to Sheriff K.P. Gibson.
During the investigation, deputies served a search warrant on a residence and were able to recover a large portion of the money which was stolen.
“This case led to three people being arrested for their involvement in this theft,” Gibson said. “The deputies did an outstanding job leading to the recovery of the money which was stolen. I appreciate their hard work.”
Arrested were:
• Shane Gautreaux, 26, of Rayne: felony theft, criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of stolen things;
• Christopher Sonnier, 31, of Church Point: felony theft; and
• Heather Vincent, 38, of Rayne: felony theft, criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of stolen things.
All were booked into the Acadia Parish Jail.

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The library will begin to offer limited services on Monday.

Abbeville library opens with limited services

The Vermilion Parish Library is happy to announce that it will reopen on Monday, May 18.
The reopening will come with limited service.
All branches of the Vermilion Parish Library will go back to their regular scheduled hours of operation. In the Phase 1 plan we will be offering limited services to our patrons.
The services are listed below”
Phase 1
• Drive up and curbside service starts, no printing, copying, faxing or scanning services will be available.
• At opening we will be offering drive up and curbside service to patrons.
• Please wait to be called before driving to any branch to pick up a requested book.
• Curbside delivery will be a no contact delivery, so please coordinate a time with your local branch to pick up your books on the cart located outside the front door.
• All materials will be quarantined for a period of 3 days. (they will still show checked out on your account until the 3 day period is over)
• Staff will be required to wear masks and gloves while working with the public.
• All materials will be returned in the book drop so they can be properly quarantined.
• We will continue to be a fine free facility until we are able to get back into our normal operating routine.
If you have any questions please email suetrahan@vermilion.lib.la.us or call 337-893-2674(starting Monday, May 18, 2020)

About Vermilion Parish Library
Since 1942, the Vermilion Parish Library has brought the joy of reading to the residents of Vermilion Parish in South Louisiana. With six branches throughout the parish, the library offers a wide variety of services and facilities for everyone from toddlers to senior citizens. The library’s book collection numbers more than 60,000, plus over 2,000 current magazine and newspaper subscriptions. In addition to traditional reading materials, the library features a large selection of books on cassette, videos, DVDs, books on CD and its newest addition; books on MP3. The library also serves its communities with copy services, faxing, free wireless Internet, VCR and DVD players and meeting rooms for groups large and small, accessible during and after hours.

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Jé Johnnie

Senior Highlight: Kaplan High's Jé Johnnie

What are your plans after high school?

After high school, I will attend college and pursue a degree in Kinesiology with the hopes of being a physical therapist.

Who is/was your favorite teacher?

My favorite teacher would have to be Mr. Chauvin because everyday he makes it interesting to learn in his class!

Who has had the greatest influence on you, why?

My mom has had the greatest influence on me because she is the most positive person in my life. She keeps me motivated and strong no matter what!

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie would have to be The Cheetah Girls!

If you had a chance to have dinner with one person from history, who would it be?

Michelle Obama would be the first on my list because she is such a great influence to me.

If you could go back, what advice would you give “freshman” you?

I would tell myself to never procrastinate and to stay focused at all times no matter how many extra curricular activities i’m in.

What was your most memorable moment from your senior year?

While this pandemic is definitely something I will never forget about my senior year, being voted as one of the Senior maids on Kaplan High’s Homecoming Court is one of my most memorable moments!

Who would you count on to uplift your spirits when you’re feeling down?

I’m rarely ever feeling down on myself, but when I am my friends are always there to uplift my spirits.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years, I see myself having a career of my interest while being financially stable. Also, I want to buy my own house while being able to nourish a happy family!

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Seth Sonnier

Senior Highlight: Erath High's Seth Sonnier

What are your plans after high school?

I will attend Louisiana State University and major in Biological Sciences and minor in Business.

Who was your favorite teacher?

I do not have one favorite teacher. My favorites are Lauren Trahan, Kelsey Sikes, and Laurie Broussard because they always pushed me to try harder and to do better in school.

Who has had the greatest influence on you?

I had a lot of influential people in my life. The most influential person is Landon Boudreaux. He helped me to realize that I need to take what I want and to grab power when I see it.

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is either Air Force One, Olympus Has Fallen, or White House Down.

If you had the chance to have dinner with one person from history who would it be?

I would love to meet George Washington. I love politics and I love how when people or a country was threatening him and his country, he went to war with them and he won. I always win what I want.

If you had the opportunity to go back in the past, what advice would you give your “freshman” self?

I would tell myself to enjoy every moment because high school goes by fast.

What was the most memorable moment from your senior year to date?

--Anything from band will always be my favorite moment from all of high school. Friday night lights with my friends in the stands will always be my best thing.

Who in your senior class you could always count on to uplift your spirits in you were down?

Any of my closest friends could help to bring me up when I’m down.

Where would you like to be in 10 years?

In 10 years, I will be in either a medical residency program, a dental residency program, or I will have just graduated law school and I will be setting up to become a lawyer.

Protect your family from Fearmonger Fauci

by Michelle Malkin

This Mother's Day weekend, my family defied government pandemania. We drove out east from Colorado Springs to the tiny town of Calhan for a lovely little hike in the purple-and-gold-hued Paint Mines archeological district. Unmasked, we basked in the sunshine, fresh air and freedom. The park was teeming with moms like me who put family bonding over "social distancing."
We were not alone -- and that was a glorious thing.
There is nothing public health fossil Dr. Anthony Fauci can do or say to stop me from making the best choices for my children's health, sanity and resilience. He appeared before the Senate on Tuesday to heckle states like Colorado not to get back to business -- back to life -- too soon and too quickly. "Needless suffering and death" will occur, he told The New York Times. "I think we better be careful (that) we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune from the deleterious effects," he testified.
Irked by Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul's very necessary reminder that no federal infectious disease bureaucrat is the "end-all" decider of our fate, Fauci warned against reopening schools because children in New York are "presenting with COVID-19 who actually have a very strange inflammatory syndrome, very similar to Kawasaki syndrome."
How dare you accuse us parents of being "cavalier" with our children's health, Fauci, when you are scaring them with dubious, unverified claims connecting a few cases of an alleged mystery pediatric disease to the coronavirus?
How dare you toss around so cavalierly the uncorroborated specter of "Kawasaki syndrome" (a rare but treatable disease) while untold numbers among the 57 million K-12 students suffer from the effects of panic-induced anxiety, depression, phobias and isolation?
Here are some actual facts about Fauci's Kawasaki hype: Peer-reviewed studies over the last several years have identified multiple theories of the inflammatory disease's etiology, including genetic factors, environmental triggers, superantigens, bacterial infections and viruses. A blinded, case-control retrospective study on kids at Children's Hospital in Denver investigating whether one strain of human coronavirus infection was a factor among Kawasaki syndrome patients "failed to demonstrate an association." The Mayo Clinic diseases and conditions information website states that "scientists don't believe the disease is contagious from person to person." Moreover, the Mayo Clinic states: "Kawasaki disease is usually treatable, and most children recover from Kawasaki disease without serious problems."
The truth is that Fauci is misleading American families and educators through arrogant acts of both omission and commission. The Kawasaki lie is not his first or last lie. Before he embraced masks for all, he smugly dismissed the measure in March during a "60 Minutes" interview because it would "make people 'feel' a little bit better, and it might even block a droplet, but it's not providing the perfect protection people think that it is." Now, he says, face coverings must be a "should be a very regular part" of our daily lives
Dutiful reporters ignore the flip-flop, slavishly acting as stenographers for Fauci and the rest of the dishonest "deep state." "Masks are here to stay," The Washington Post Lifestyle section chirped last week. To which I say: Hell, no.
As a responsible parent and citizen, I will not let terror rule my children's lives. I speak from heart-wrenching personal experience over the past five years as my teenage daughter, already battling chronic pain and joint hypermobility requiring multiple surgeries, also suffered from severe clinical OCD that left her unable to do mundane things -- like use a public bathroom, eat out at a restaurant or ride in a crowded vehicle. She lost friends. She fell into depression. Her physical and emotional health deteriorated. She was homebound, helplessly trapped in the worst kind of self-imposed lockdown.
Thanks to a brilliant and effective doctor, she learned to confront her fears instead of cowering from them. She learned that avoiding risks at all costs carries its own unacceptable risks. Every member of my family benefited from embracing the exposure therapy ethos. We cannot hide from germs, people or adversity. My daughter has remained strong in the face of mass hysteria and refused to withdraw from the world -- working, seeing friends and living life.
As Dr. Judy Mikovits, author of "Plague of Corruption" and star of the documentary, "Plandemic," which social media platforms have banned everywhere, "Fear is a very powerful immune-suppressant." By holding our children hostage, federal scare-mongers with vested financial interests and ideological agendas are making our most precious and vulnerable members of the American family sick.
Here in Colorado Springs, two cadets at the Air Force Academy committed suicide while on extreme lockdown.
In Ohio last month, 12-year-old Hayden Hunstable committed suicide after suffering in a "perfect storm" of loneliness under quarantine, his family said. Isolation was a "hidden killer and equally as shocking and horrific as what is happening on the front lines of this disease."
Where is Fauci's concern for these invisible victims of the invisible enemy? He's apparently too busy preparing to jab a new generation of young guinea pigs with his BFF Bill Gates' shots. To which I again say: Hell, no.
Teaching your children to live rationally and fearlessly, through words and deeds, is the most potent vaccine we can give them.

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Each NV senior will get a blue mask.

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North Vermilion T-shirts are used to make the masks.

Mom creates North Vermilion masks for seniors

When North Vermilion High seniors get their diploma, they will be wearing a matching homemade surgical mask with the North Vermilion Patriot logo.
Monique LeMaire is the mother of junior Colin LeMaire. She operates a screen-printing shop and has provided NV T-shirts to North Vermilion over years.
She got wind that for North Vermilion High’s graduation, the seniors and everyone who will be handing out awards will have to have surgical masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LeMaire wanted to do her part to help make graduation enjoyable for the seniors.
“It breaks my heart to see what the seniors are going through,” said LeMaire. “When I heard they had to wear masks, I wanted to do this.”
She contacted NV Principal Tommy Byler and presented him with her idea. He approved it and gave her the amount of masks she would need to make.
She ordered 140 blue masks and then began working on creating a Patriot logo to put on the masks. She had never created a screen print for a mask, so it was a challenge. It took her about 10 tries until she was successful.
“I thinks it looks great,” said LeMaire.
She delivered the blue masks to the high school on Tuesday.
LeMaire said after posting the masks on the Internet, she has received orders from parents.
She can also create masks with other logos such as the Saints, UL or LSU. There is a 10 mask minimum order for those, she said.
“I never thought I would be creating a logo for masks,” LeMaire said.

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BABY ANNOUNCEMENTS for May 17

Teigen Cain White
A son, Teigen Cain White, was born Friday, April 24, 2020, at Abbeville General to British McKayla Plowden of Maurice and Jorrin Andre White of Abbeville.

Evelyn Faye Ryder
A daughter, Evelyn Faye Ryder, was born Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at Abbeville General to Rebecca Lynn Roy and Aaron Keith Ryder, Jr. of Kaplan.

Rylie Rashae Levine
A daughter, Rylie Rashae Levine, was born Saturday, May 9, 2020, at Abbeville General to Gwendolyn Marie Plowden of Abbeville and Roderick Reshawn Levine of Houston, Texas.

Keh’Leina Gianna Bradley
A daughter, Keh’Leina Gianna Bradley, was born Monday, May 11, 2020 at Abbeville General to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Glynn Bradley of Abbeville.
The mother is the former Amber Nicolette Quinn.

Layla Mae’Klair Breaux
A daughter, Layla Mae’Klair Breaux, was born Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at Abbeville General to Sinead Diamond Gray of Abbeville and Michael Jacob Breaux of Rayne.

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John Lester Witt, Sr.

November 22, 1930 ~ May 11, 2020

John Lester Witt Sr., passed away peacefully on Monday, May 11, 2020 at his home in Meaux LA. He was born in Washington D.C. on November 22, 1930 and his loving parents were Charles and Martha (nee Trott) Witt.
Growing up just outside of Baltimore he enjoyed the outdoors including hunting and crabbing for blue crabs. In 1950, John enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he proudly served his country including the Korean Conflict. His last deployment was on the Cruiser, U.S.S. Bremerton receiving an honorable discharge in 1955. It was while in the Navy and stationed in Philadelphia PA. that he met his wife of nearly 55 years, Annette Dunham. It was this union that bore his two children, Diane White and John L. (Jack) Witt Jr. John was very gregarious and outgoing and developed a passion for golf extending over 50 years. He also enjoyed traveling the U.S. primarily by train even more so after his wife passed. He was a big fan of Roller Derby in later life sponsoring the Acadian Roller Girls derby team where he was given the honorary title of “Derby Duke”.
John is survived by his two children, Diane and her husband John, John Jr. and his wife Mary; and his five grandchildren, Robby Anderson and his wife Kerry, Benjamin Anderson and his wife Pamela, John L. Witt III his wife Mindy, Jacob Anderson and Nicholas Witt and his girlfriend Allison Desormeaux. He enjoyed spending time with his six great grandchildren, Collin and Conner Anderson (Robby), Wyatt and Avery Anderson (Ben) and John IV and Jordan Witt (John). He is also survived by one niece, Barbara Jean Hartge and her husband Preston; and one nephew, Eugene Wayson and his wife Kathy.
John was preceded in death by his wife, Annette; parents Charles and Martha; as well as his siblings, Irene Wayson, Marie Ridgely, and Charles Leo Witt.
A private memorial service will be held at a future date.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

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Vermilion Today

Abbeville Meridional

318 N. Main St.
Abbeville, LA 70510
Phone: 337-893-4223
Fax: 337-898-9022

The Kaplan Herald

219 North Cushing Avenue
Kaplan, LA 70548