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April 4, 1939 - February 8, 2020

ERATH – The life of Norma White Dugas will be celebrated in a Mass of Christian burial at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Erath. Monsignor Douglas Courville, JCL, pastor of St. Stephen Church in Berwick, Louisiana, will be the celebrant of the Mass, and will conduct the funeral services. Scripture readings will be by Anna Trahan and Renèe T. Chaisson; gift bearers will be her grandchildren. Visitation will be held at David Funeral Home in Erath on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. until the time of services. Rosary will be led by Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Entombment in Our Lady of Lourdes Mausoleum will follow Mass.
Norma, 80, of Lafayette, Louisiana, died on Saturday, February 8, 2020, at Lafayette General Hospital surrounded by her family.
Born April 4, 1939, in Abbeville, Louisiana, she was the only daughter of Joseph Doris White and Ernestine Broussard White.
Following graduation from E. Broussard High School, she attended Spencer Business College. In 1955, Norma was chosen Queen of the Agriculture Festival in Erath.
On May 4, 1958, Norma married Rodney James Dugas of Erath where they made their home until moving to Lafayette, Louisiana, in 2007. Norma was employed by the Bank of Erath and Gulf Coast Bank for several years, and was a member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court 1670 of Erath. In addition to being a wife, mother, and grandmother, Norma most enjoyed cooking, sewing, dancing and sharing her life within those she loved. She will be forever remembered for her beautiful smile, unwavering Christian faith, and kind heart.
Norma is survived by her devoted husband of 62 years, Rodney James Dugas; two sons Jude Gerard and wife Donna-Sue of Lafayette; Mitchell Gerard and wife Rachel of Gulf Breeze, Florida; two granddaughters, Sophie Lin and Melody Grace; two grandsons, Joseph Parker and James Clark; two nieces, Charmaine (Stan) Swearingen and Anna (Fred) Trahan; three nephews, James White, John (Sandy) Trahan, and Donald (Tina) Trahan; sister-in-law and husband, Elsie Faye and Carlin Trahan, along with friends and extended family.
Norma was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Doris White and Ernestine Broussard White; her infant son, Jason Edmond Dugas; brother, Eldridge White; mother-in-law, Leurline T. Dugas; father-in-law, Eluse E. Dugas; and niece, Elizabeth Trahan Korf.
Pallbearers will be her son Mitchell; nephews John David Trahan, Donald Emile Trahan, Nathan Jerome Thibodeaux, Edward James Thibodeaux; and dear friend Edson L. Davis, Jr. Honorary pallbearer is Michael LeBlanc.
The family would like to express their gratitude to friends Brenda Calkins and Cherelle Thibodeaux and to Dr. Michael Cain, Dr. Jason Breaux, Dr. Bradley Chastant II, Dr. Jody Rosson, Dr. Michael Alexander, First Option Home Health and the many nurses at Lafayette General Hospital for their commitment and care.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
You may sign the guest register book and express condolences online at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of Erath, 209 East Putnam Street, (337) 937-0405 is in charge of arrangements.

LAFAYETTE — U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that Holden Matthews, 22, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Lafayette to intentionally setting fire to three Baptist churches because of the religious character of those buildings. Specifically, Matthews pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Church Arson Prevention Act—one count for each church—as well as one count of using fire to commit a federal felony. The fires, which Matthews set over a ten-day period in March and April of 2019, completely destroyed each of the church buildings. United States District Court Judge Robert R. Summerhays presided over the hearing.
At the plea hearing, Matthews admitted that, between March 26 and April 4, 2019, he intentionally set fire to three Baptist churches with predominantly African-American congregations in the Opelousas, Louisiana area. First, on March 26, 2019, Matthews set fire to St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre, Louisiana. Next, on April 2, 2019, Matthews set fire to the Greater Union Baptist Church, in Opelousas, Louisiana. Then, on April 4, 2019, Matthews set fire to the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas, Louisiana. The fires Matthews set destroyed each of the church buildings. Matthews admitted to setting the fires because of the religious character of these buildings, in an effort to raise his profile as a “Black Metal” musician by copying similar crimes committed in Norway in the 1990s. Matthews further admitted that, after setting the third fire, he posted photographs and videos on Facebook that showed the first two churches burning. Matthews admitted that he had taken these photographs and videos in real time on his cell phone, as he watched those churches burn, and that he had posted them to Facebook in an effort to promote himself in the Black Metal community.
“Today, the defendant has taken responsibility for the burning and destruction of three of our churches,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph. “The freedom to safely congregate and worship in our churches is a fundamental right of all Americans and will be vigorously protected by my office and our law enforcement partners. I want to thank the ATF, FBI, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Landry Parish Fire Department, Louisiana State Fire Marshal, Louisiana Attorney General’s Cybercrime Unit, Louisiana State Police, and the Florida State Fire Marshal for their hard work and seamless collaboration on this case.”
“The Department of Justice will remain unwavering in its protection of the freedom to practice religion without the threat of discrimination or violence,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “Matthews admitted to setting fire to three churches because of their religious character. His disgraceful conduct violated the civil rights of the church’s parishioners and harmed their communities.”
“Protecting our communities is a vital part of our mission,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn. “ATF will continue to provide expertise and resources to investigate arson at houses of worship which threaten the well-being of our communities. I would like to thank all of our law enforcement partners for working tirelessly to ensure justice will be served.”
“Holden Matthews made a conscious decision to randomly target and destroy churches within his own community,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Bryan Vorndran. “His atrocious actions inflicted severe pain and grief upon these congregations, as well as all of St. Landry Parish. Throughout this investigation, the men and women of the FBI, ATF, Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Landry Parish District Attorney’s Office, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Cybercrime Unit, and the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office worked tirelessly to bring Holden Matthews to justice.”
Matthews will be sentenced on May 22, 2020. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a statutory maximum sentence of 70 years in prison.
This case was investigated by the ATF’s National Response Team, the Lafayette Satellite Office of the ATF’s New Orleans Field Division, the Lafayette Resident Agency of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal, the Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crimes Unit, the St. Landry Parish Fire Department, and the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Luke Walker, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, and Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
For more information about the Department of Justice’s work to combat and prevent hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes: a one-stop portal with links to Department of Justice hate crimes resources for law enforcement, media, researchers, victims, advocacy groups, and other organizations and individuals.

UPDATE: The ALL CLEAR has been given in all schools in Erath.
Officials will begin the process of getting students back to their classes

Public Information Officer Drew David with the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office is reporting that their office is assisting the Erath Police Department with an alleged bomb threat within the city limits of Erath.
The Sheriff's Office made one sweep of the schools and could not find any bomb. They are conducting a second sweep of the schools as of 11 a.m.

“From all indications a note was found on one of the buses which referenced a bomb threat. It is unclear what school was targeted at this time because the bus services three different schools. Precautions are being taken and students from Dozier Elementary, Erath Middle, and Erath High School are being removed and taken to safe locations. Bomb detection dogs are on the way, and I will give updates as more information becomes available.”