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After driving into a drainage ditch, an SUV caught fire. The driver and passengers managed to escape without injuries. (photo taken by Mandy Brook Trahan)

Joy ride goes wrong

Wed, 08/16/2023 - 11:16am

Three people decided to go joyriding in a sugar cane field off Montgomery Road. The ride, however, did not end too joyfully.
A 20-year-old male, his girlfriend, and a friend decided to go off-road riding in a sugar cane field on Sunday just after 8 p.m. The male was driving a Cadillac Escalade SUV through a sugar cane field, and then he crashed head-on into a drainage ditch.
The three got out of the SUV before it caught fire and burned.
Volunteer fire departments responded and were able to put out the fire before it spread into the field or homes nearby.

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The Drought Monitor Map shows parts of Vermilion Parish are under extreme drought conditions (in red) while the rest of the parish is under severe drought conditions (in orange).

Vermilion Parish experiencing extreme drought

Wed, 08/16/2023 - 10:02am

Everyone knows it is hot. But what many don’t know is that Vermilion Parish is having major drought issues.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s latest map, one third of Vermilion Parish is under extreme drought conditions. The other two thirds of the parish is under a severe drought.
Also experiencing extreme drought conditions are parts of Iberia, Lafayette and Acadia parishes.
Since 2000, it is only the second time Vermilion Parish has experienced extreme drought conditions. The last time was in 2011.

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Agents with the Vermilion Municipal and Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force recovered evidence during the arrest.

Investigation results in arrest made by Vermilion Narcotics Task Force

Tue, 08/15/2023 - 1:15pm

According to Sheriff Mike Couvillon, the Vermilion Municipal and Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force made the following arrest for narcotics related offenses within the parish.
On Aug. 7, after a lengthy investigation, agents were able to seize a large amount of various narcotics as well as a firearm from Fabian Mitchell, (Date of birth: 7-23-1982).  Mitchell was placed under arrest without incident after attempting to discard the narcotics and the firearm.  Mitchell was charged with the following offenses:
• Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

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Abbeville man arrested in St. Landry Parish for attempted second-degree murder

Tue, 08/15/2023 - 1:14pm

Deputies with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office have booked an Abbeville man on multiple charges related to a shooting last month.
Darious Javon Lavine, 24, faces a list of charges, including attempted second-degree murder
According to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz, on July 26, deputies with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a local hospital regarding a shooting.

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Photo by V. Todd Miller/LSU AgCenter
Omega Protein General Manager Steve Williams and 4-H campers stand in front a mountain of menhaden meal, which can be used as aquaculture feed or dietary supplements during a tour of the processing plant at Marsh Maneuvers. The annual July camp teaches Louisiana students about the importance of marsh and coastal environments.

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Photo by V. Todd Miller/LSU AgCenter
Workers mend fishing nets at Omega Protein, where 4-H’ers learned about the uses of menhaden, or pogy, at Marsh Maneuvers, an annual July camp that teaches Louisiana students about the importance of marsh and coastal environments.

Something fishy going on at 4-H Marsh Maneuvers

Mon, 08/14/2023 - 12:21pm

“It’s like a cross between dog food and burnt pizza,” said one attendee of the smell permeating the hot July air at Omega Protein, a sustainable menhaden processing plant near Abbeville.
He was part of a group of 4-H youths participating in Marsh Maneuvers.
For more than 30 years, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant coastal specialist Mark Shirley has been leading the five-day camp, which teaches Louisiana students about the importance of marsh and coastal environments. It’s split into four-week groupings every July.

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