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Robert B. Vincent has been honored by the Southern University Law Center with the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Vincent, an Erath native, received the award at his home Thursday night.
Vincent is a 2010 graduate of Southern University Law Center (SULC).
The award ceremony was originally scheduled for April 2. It had been moved to later time this fall. A video of Vincent receiving his award will be played during that event.
Judge Jonathan Perry, a fellow Vermilion Parish native and SULC Class of ‘03, presented Vincent with his award. Perry is a former state senator and representative and now serves on the Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal.
“It has been one of the greatest joys of his life to be able to help others by serving as an attorney,” Perry said. “He is uncompromising in his belief of justice, equality and the dignity of fellow man. He continues to live a wonderful life.
“It is with great pleasure and honor that I present this award to Robert B. Vincent.”
The SULC Distinguished Alumni Award is designed to honor outstanding graduates who have maintained an active engagement in the continued progression of SULC. The honorees have demonstrated leadership, character and service by sharing their expertiese at the community or state level.
After graduating from SULC in ‘10, Vincent passed the bar and began practicing law in January of ‘11, in his hometown of Erath.
“He never had any intentions of being an attorney in the ‘big’ city,” Perry said. “He loves and considers Erath ‘paradise on earth.’ He wanted to return home to help the people he had known and loved all of his life.
“He is good to his clients and they are good to him.”
Along with Perry, Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice James T. Genovese and Warren Perrin presented Vincent with the award.
Perrin is Vincent’s cousin and has served as a mentor. Vincent helped Perrin found the Acadian Museum in Erath.
“I have an overwhelming feeling of pride and joy in being bestowed this honor,” said Vincent. “One of the greatest joys in a person’s life is to be recognized by your peers for your contributions to your profession and community. Being a small town attorney, I never thought about receiving an award like this. I always thought it was only attorneys from large firms that were recognized. I was astounded when I was told I was going to receive this award and was disappointed when the Coronavirus postponed the ceremony. Unbeknownst to me, the law center and my family were working together to surprise me with a presentation of the award at my home.
“My good friend and fellow SULC graduate Judge Jonathan Perry, Third Circuit Court of Appeal, made the presentation on behalf of the law center. This special day was made even more momentous with the presence of Justice Jimmy Genovese, Louisiana Supreme Court and my mentor and lifelong friend, Warren A. Perrin.”

While the rest of the country is finding it challenging to purchase meat in supermarket chains, there are two businesses in Abbeville whose business has picked up because of the decrease in meat nationally.
Richard’s Meat Market, Hebert’s Slaughterhouse & Meat Market, south of Abbeville, and Hebert’s Specialty Meats in Maurice have seen a spike in business for the last two weeks because of what is happening with the closure of meat processing plants in the United States.
In the supermarkets, many Americans see a limited amount of meat available because hundreds of workers of processing plants are sick from Coronavirus. Outside of Louisiana, there have been nearly 5,000 reported cases of workers with COVID-19 at some 115 meat processing facilities nationwide. At least 20 meatpacking workers have died.
So, while the rest of the nation is panicking in search of pork, beef, and chicken, Cajuns in Vermilion Parish are remaining calm because they know there is an alternative way to buy meat.
Many have begun to head to their local meat market, such as Richard’s , Hebert’s Slaughterhouse and Hebert’s Specialty Meats.
The businesses are doing two and three times more business in the last two weeks. The last time they were this busy was in 2005 when many parish residents lost their meat because of Hurricane Rita.
Chris Hebert and his family were working non stop at Hebert’s Slaughterhouse this past week. He said people were not walking in and buying packs of steaks or pork chops. Instead, they were ordering a half or whole calves and pigs to be butchered and dressed.
Hebert’s Slaughterhouse is one of only four stockyards in South Louisiana that still butcher pigs and cows and then pack the meat for the customer.
“There is no shortage at all,” said Hebert. “Look at the board. We got people bringing us animals to slaughter. There is no shortage at all, in local meat markets.”
Hebert said he could not put the finger on why the run of meat. “Maybe they are scared the local meat markets will run out of meat. That is not going to happen anytime soon.”
One local farmer realized his calves were now in demand. Instead of selling them to a stockyard in Acadiana, he decided to advertise them for sale on the Internet, and within days, they were sold and brought to Hebert’s Slaughterhouse for processing.
Hebert said he recently got a phone call from a farmer in Baton Rouge, who is bringing seven calves to Hebert’s Slaughterhouse to process and then bringing them back to Baton Rouge.
“All of the area slaughterhouses/meat markets are busy,” said Hebert.
Neal Richard is the owner of Richard’s Meat Market, located on 117 Park Avenue. Richard’s Meat Market is not a slaughterhouse, but they do cut and package meat. Neal orders his meat from area stockyards and meatpacking plants in Louisiana.
Like Hebert’s Slaughterhouse, his business has also increased. Neal, said as of today, he is able to keep up with the demand for meat. But he added, that could change in two weeks.
Neal said the best two weeks of his business was right after Hurricane Rita. Since 2005, Neal has been waiting for another meat demand. That time has finally arrived.
“I have been mentally preparing for it since Hurricane Rita,” said Neal.”I figured something was going to happen, but never to this magnitude. Rita was regional. This is nationwide.”
Neal explained that there are plenty of cows, pigs, and chickens to feed America. Where the problem lies is that there are not enough open meatpacking plants. Because of the virus, meat processing capacity is down 40 percent nationwide. Slower lines in the meatpacking plants mean less meat that makes it to markets. It is creating a bottle-neck. Farmers, nationally, are having to euthanize their animals because they can not be processed.
Neal said he recently received a phone call from someone who knew a farmer who wanted to off-load pigs at 50 cents a pound. To get that low price, you had to buy 200 pigs. Neal said, no thanks to that deal.
With there being a shortage of meat at the supermarkets, Neal is seeing new faces walk into his store, asking to purchase meat. He gave one example that one person purchased 50 pounds of ground meat. He also got a phone call from a restaurant owner who was looking for ground meat. Neal was able to find ground meat.
Because of the demand for meat, prices have climbed due to supply and demand.
His meat suppliers are predicting the meat shortage could last two or three weeks.
“This is the first time I have seen this,” said Neal. “I am not stressing over this yet. My biggest concern is keeping up with the customer. Not so much having the product, but just being able to fulfill the order in a timely fashion. So far, we are doing OK.”
Sammy Hebert, owner of Speciality Meats in Maurice, buys his meat from national meat packing plants such as Tyson. The first 10 days of the virus, he noticed a big increase in sales. Then, this past week, because of the slowing down of the meat processing plants, he has run into different issues.
“We got shorted ribeyes this week,” said Sammy Hebert, who said he is ready for the stay-at-home policy to be lifted. “I am not sure how long this will last. I hope it does not go much longer.”
Because of the shortage of beef, his ground meat increased by $2 a pound this past week. Today, ground meat is $2 more a pound than it was two weeks ago. He has not had an issue being supplied chickens.
Hebert said, “I think this is all political that’s going to drive the prices up. There is nothing we can do about it.”

February 22, 1945 ~ May 8, 2020

KAPLAN — Graveside services were held honoring the life of Patsy LeMaire, 75, who died Friday, May 8, 2020 at her residence. She will be laid to rest at LeMaire Cemetery with Reverend Greg Willis officiating the services.
She is survived by her four sons, Scottie LeMaire of Kaplan, Malcolm Willis and his wife, Nancy of Collins, MS, Terry Willis and his wife, Lupe of El Centro, CA, and Ricky Willis and his wife, Michelle of Grant, LA; one daughter, Tammy and her husband, Jamie Gaspard of Kaplan. Patsy was MawMaw to nine grandchildren, Sydnee Gaspard, Chad Willis, Brittney Walker, Colin Willis, Candace Willis, Heather Achord, Jamie Burke, Tyler Disatell and Ricky Willis Jr.; 22 great grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. Patsy is the oldest of nine siblings, Mildred and her husband, Terry Langley, Dorothy McGee, Elroy Ray and his wife, Billie, Darlene Ray, and Sandra and her husband, Jason Pearce all of Oakdale, LA, Donald Maricle and his wife, Patty of Massillon, OH, and Barbara Newman of Longville, LA.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Freddie LeMaire, Jr.; parents, Elroe and Eda Lois Ray; and one brother, Bobby Maricle.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the LeMaire family at www.vincentfuneralhome.

ERATH — Joyce Elaine Joseph (Pillette / Dozier) was born September 12, 1934 in Erath, Louisiana to Mr. Arthur Pillette Sr. and Mrs. Effie Pillette (Dozier). After fiercely fighting esophageal cancer, she peacefully departed from this life in her sleep on April 24, 2020. She lived to see the golden age of 85 years old.
Joyce was the Matriarch of both the Dozier and Pillette Family and was affectionately known as the Great Pu- Connie. She was a cherished mother, grandmother, sister, auntie, and friend. She was a wise counselor to the entire family and was known for her strength, sense of humor, and fiery personality. She spoke from the heart and never hesitated to “tell it like it is.” She passed many of these traits on to her eleven children and taught them the importance of independence, public service, and higher education which was instilled in her through the legacy of Robert and Frances Dozier.
Joyce was the great granddaughter of Robert and Frances Dozier who founded the first school for African Americans in the 1900s in Erath, Louisiana. She attended school in the Historical Beard Congregational Church founded by Robert and Frances Dozier. During the journey to preserve the legacy of the Dozier family, Joyce provided an oral history about her memories of what it was like to attend classes in the church. She said, “going to school and getting an education was never optional it was serious business.” Joyce was immensely proud to be a part of the legacy created by her great grandparents Robert and Frances Dozier.
Joyce was the ultimate caregiver. As the eldest child in her family, she often helped to care for her younger siblings. In her younger years, she worked at Lahasky Nursing Home in Erath, Louisiana. For the remainder of her life, she worked as a dedicated private duty nurse who took care of countless children and elderly patients in their home. Caring for others was her passion, she wanted all of her girls to become nurses . She has two daughters and two granddaughters that are nurses; 3 Registered Nurses and 1 LPN.
Joyce was a woman of strong Catholic Faith. Not only did she work for the Priest at Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, but she served as a member of the Gospel Choir at St. Theresa Catholic Church and was a lifelong parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Erath, Louisiana. Joyce regularly attended Sunday Mass throughout her life and made sure to pray the rosary in the evenings before bed. When she became ill, she received the anointing of the sick and holy sacrament at home.
Joyce was the center of her family. She opened her home to everyone for family celebrations like Christmas and the 4th of July to enjoy home cooked meals, good conversation and dancing. She had an open-door policy where all were welcome to eat, laugh, and make treasured family memories. There will never be another like Joyce.
She is survived by her eight loving children: Carolyn Henderson (Raymond) Abbeville, LA., Angela Matthew of Long Beach CA., Mary Morrison (Purvis) of Scott, LA., Preston Joseph Jr. of Abbeville, LA., Terry Joseph of Abbeville, LA., Whitney Joseph (Rhonda) of Chiefland, FL. Kevin Joseph (Mona) of Cecilia, LA.; Cindy Joseph Meyers Esq. (Richard) of Lake Havasu City, AZ who took care of her in the final months; three beloved sisters, Audrey Broussard of Erath, LA., Elizabeth Campbell of Abbeville, LA. and Brenda Shelvin (Barry) of Abbeville, LA; She is also survived by grandchildren; Dexter Henderson, Ronald Matthews Jr., Natasha Williams, Kendra Matthews, Shanea Morrison Nelson, Katara Matthews Henry, Shelly Morrison, Kendrick Matthews, Shawn Morrison, Keith Joseph, Kayhale Joseph, Kali Joseph, Krystal Joseph, Jacoby Matthews, Simone Joseph, Sheena Joseph, Karius Joseph, Sky Joseph, Lacy Elaine Meyers, Chloe Joseph, Lexy Meyers and a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends.
Mrs. Joseph was preceded in death by her father, Mr. Arthur Pillette Sr. and mother, Mrs. Effie Pillette (Dozier); her first husband, Mr. Steve Matthews Sr. and second husband, Mr. Preston Joseph Sr.; her sons, Steve Matthews Jr., Ronald Matthews and Glenn Matthews; Granddaughter, Olivia Joyce Henderson; sisters, Violia Pillette, Ophelia Pillette, and Emma Pillette; brothers, Arthur Pillette Jr., Leonard Pillette; and her uncle, Henry Perro.
Sign the guestbook online at www.syrie.com
Mohave Memorial Funeral of Lake Havasu City, Arizona and Syrie Funeral Home in Lafayette, Louisiana were entrusted with the transport and burial arrangements of Mrs. Joyce.