Three men have been charged with armed robbery after a student was robbed while walk-ing home from school.

Kaplan Police Chief Boyd Adams reported the department received a phone call Monday afternoon of an armed robbery in the area of Mill Street and Klaby Meaux.

When off icers responded, the victim stated he was walking home from school when a car pulled up to him.

When the vehicle was alongside of him, the passenger of the vehicle pulled a gun on him and demanded his jacket,

shoes and bag. Once the juvenile complied with the demands, the vehi-cle then drove off.

Twenty minutes after descriptions were given of the suspects, Kaplan police had the three men in custody.

Arrested were Martin Perez, 18, 109 Latour Street, Kaplan. Perez was the passen-ger who pulled the gun on the student. He was charged with armed robbery and charge of contributing to the deli-quency of a juvenile.

Also arrested was Reilly Thurston, 20, 201 South College, Lafayette, the driver of the car. Thurston was charged with armed robbery and contribut-ing to the deliquency of a juvenile for having his child with him dur-ing the commission of

a felony. Child services was also notified of the incident.

Hunter Harrington, 19, 310 W. 8th Street, Kaplan, La. was the rear passenger of the car. He was charged with armed robbery and contributing to the delinquency of a juve-nile.

All suspects are cur-rently incarcerated in the Kaplan City ail.

Bond was set at $220,000 for Perez; $190,000 for Thurston and $105,000 for Harrington.

HERALDHERALDwww.vermiliontoday.com

By Judy T. MireManaging editor

See Broussard, page 3

Email us at:judy.mire@

vermiliontoday.com

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Three arrested for armed robbery

Hunter Harrington Martin Perez Reilly Thurston

On May 1st, 2017, the Kaplan Police Department was dis-patched to the 1800 block of West Third Street in reference to a medical emergency.

Norman Marceaux, 49, of Kaplan, was found lying face down in the coulee.

Marceaux was travel-ing down West Third on his motorized wheelchair when he went off the roadway into the coulee.

Officers arrived on scene in minutes and removed Marceaux from the wheelchair and pulled him onto the levee and started CPR. Acadian Ambulance arrived soon after, but unfortunately, were unable to revive him.

Chief Adams states the wheelchair company had serviced the wheelchair that morning for issues with the right front wheel. Adams advised a full investigation will be conducted in the incident.

Motorized wheelchair accident claims life of Kaplan man

Broussard enters not guilty plea

(Courtesy of Daily Advertiser) — The Rev. Felix David Broussard, accused 10 months ago in a child pornography case in Breaux Bridge, entered a plea of not guilty last Tuesday morning in 16th Judicial District Court.

He served as pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church for several years prior to going to Breaux Bridge.

District Judge Paul deMahy set Broussard's next court appearance for Aug. 14, more than a Broussard

Norman Marceaux

Vermilion Parish Paraeducator Awarded LAE Education Support Professional Image AwardKES’ Thibeaux honored at LAE’s annual assembly

Veronica Thibeaux, (center) acccepts the LAE Education Support Professional Image Award from LAE President Debbie Meaux (right). Also shown is LAE Vice President Daryl Roberson.

The Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) is pleased to announce Vermilion Parish paraeducator, Veronica Thibeaux, as the recipient of the 2017 LAE Education Support Professional Image Award.

Thibeaux is a spe-cial education teach-ing assistant at Kaplan Elementary School who has dedicated her life

to working to better the educational experiences of Vermilion Parish’s stu-dents.

“I can’t think of a more rewarding career than one where you have the opportunity to impact the lives of children,” says Thibeaux. “I’m blessed to work with exceptional kids on their journeys to becoming life-long learn-ers.”

LAE’s Image Awards

are presented annually to recognize Louisiana edu-cators whose leadership and actions in their pro-fessions have advanced public education in Louisiana. Every year, an association selection committee chooses one outstanding education support professional to honor with the LAE ESP Image Award.

The individual is chosen based on their

advancement of the image of support profes-sionals and the associa-tion.

LAE President Debbie Meaux presented Thibeaux with the presti-gious award at the annu-al LAE Representative Assembly on Saturday, April 22.

LAE will submit Thibeaux for the National Education Association’s ESP of the Year Award.

Dorothy Mae Touchet

June 17, 1943 ~ May 1, 2017

Kaplan—A Mass

of Christian Burial was held at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Mission Chapel honoring the life of Dorothy Mae Touchet, 73, who died Monday, May 1, 2017 at her residence. She will be laid to rest at Kaplan Cemetery with Reverend Paul Bienvenu officiating the services.

She is survived by her son, David Saltzman of Kaplan; three daugh-ters, Ann and her husband, William Broussard of Lafayette, Theresa Saltzman of Kaplan, and Crystal Saltzman of Kaplan; one sister, Virgie and her husband, Roland LeMaire of Kaplan; one brother, Joseph Elias Touchet, Jr. of Kaplan; and four grandchildren, Tonya Broussard, Jenny Broussard, Amanda Romero, and Randy Romero.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Elias Touchet and the former Nelia Dailey.

All funeral arrange-ments were conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the Saltzman family at www.vincent-funeralhome.net.

Elton ‘Chick’ Schexnider

Elton “Chick” Schexnider passed away peacefully at Abrom Kaplan Memorial hos-pital in Kaplan, LA on April 2, 2017 surround-ed by his family at the age of 88.

Chick is survived by his children Vicki Meaux and husband Jim, Jan Mayard & husband Larry, Craig “Chick” Schexnider and wife Nanette; and siblings Audrey Weber ,Deanna Myers, and Phyllis Walsh; 7 grandchildren -Kelly Meaux Potier & husband Martin, Heather Mayard Perrin & husband Chip, Drewe Schexnider & wife Anika, Melana Schexnider Lemaire & husband Chris, Delana Schexnider & fiance’ Jared Chaney, Jayde Mayard Ditch & husband Joshua, and Julien Schexnider and 5 great-grandchil-dren, Kade Stutes, Lily Grace Perrin, Sutton Schexnider, Dax Perrin and Alexina Schexnider.

He is preceded in death by his wife Genevieve Thibodeaux Schexnider and parents Alfred and Zula Mae Schexnider, siblings Melton Schexnayder, Margie Daugereau, Lorena Mould, and Candy Morgan.

Chick was born on February 14, 1929. A native of Crowley, LA and a resident of Kaplan, LA for 57 years, he was a member of the Knights of Columbus,

American Legion and Woodmen of the World. He served in the United States National Guard for 10 years. Chick owned and operated Schexnider’s Upholstery for over 40 years.

A memorial will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church in Kaplan, LA. The fam-ily would like to thank the staff of Kaplan Healthcare, Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital and Dr. Randal Faulk for their dedi-cation to his care and comfort.

Peggy Touchet Girard1950-2017

Peggy T. Girard was born November 8, 1950 at Abrom Kaplan Hospital. She passed away peacefully at her home on April 19, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. after a bat-tle with cancer.

A memorial service was held at 10 a.m. on May 9, 2017, at Cabrini Church in Kaplan. She was laid to rest at Abshire Cemetery fol-lowed by a bereavement lunch at the home of Dion Dubois in Leory.

She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Russell Girard; one daughter, Maria Girard; one grandchild, Chloe Broussard; two sisters, Kathy Fontenot and her husband, Anthony ‘Fuzzy’ Fontenot and Kim Campbell and her husband, Danny;

her mother, Velma M. Touchet; six nieces, and three nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father, Eldridge Touchet; a sister, Barbara T. Trahan; and nephew, Christopher Trahan.

Peggy was a mem-ber of the Kaplan Krewe Chic-A-PIe and was named Queen Jambalaya XLI in 1995. She worked for Kaplan Vermilion News for several years, was a member of the Catholic Daughters, was active in the Jaycees for many years, and was a cheerleading coach for the Vermilion Parish Football League.

The family would like to thank Heart of Hospice staff for tak-ing such great care of her and Father Miley for giving the last sacra-ments.

Jeff C. SmithJuly 8, 1933 ~ May

4, 2017

K apl a n—F u ner a l services were held at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan honoring the life of Jeff Conley Smith, 83, who died Thursday, May 4, 2017 at Maison Teche Nursing Home. He was laid to rest at Mire Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Mark Duplantis, Eddie Duplantis, Josh Boudreaux, Allen Matte, Shawn Mazuera, and Gerald Stansbury, Sr. Honorary pallbearers

will be Lacey Mazuera and Ron Webster.

He is survived by his

two step-sons, Eddie Duplantis and his wife, Linda of Lake Charles and Mark Duplantis and his wife, Shawn of New Iberia; two step-daughters, Barbara and her husband, Gerald Stansbury of Jeanerette and Sherry Louise Louviere and her fiance’ Ron Webster of Lafayette, one son, Danny Head; 8 grand-children; and 18 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in

death by his wife, Louise Dubois Smith; one daughter, Jacqueline Smith; one step-son, Clifford Duplantis, Jr.; two grandchildren, Jack Daniels Louviere and Brandon Paul Louviere; one brother, Jack K. Smith; four sisters, Pauline Bayum, Norma Lee Gillum, Lucille Willis, and Eva Jo Peterson; and his par-ents, Hiram Smith and the former Cora Keene.

The family would like to express a heart-felt appreciation to the staff of Maison Teche Nursing Home and Bridgeway Hospice for their compassion and care.

All funeral arrange-ments are being con-ducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan. Condolences may be sent to the Smith family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

Norman “Joe” Marceaux

August 19, 1967 ~ May 1, 2017

Kaplan—Funeral ser-

vices were held at 1:30 PM on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at Vincent Funeral Home - Kaplan honoring the life of Norman “Joe” Marceaux, 49, who died Monday, May 1, 2017. He was laid to rest at Harrington Cemetery with Reverend Farley Painter officiating the services.

He is survived by his three sons, Evan Marceaux of Lafayette, Eric Marceaux of Kaplan, and Benjamin “Ben” Marceaux of Kaplan; four sisters, Marie Hebert of Wright, Judy Henry of Kaplan, Anna Istre of Kaplan, and Kristie Bourque of Kaplan; three broth-ers, Ronald Marceaux of Kaplan, Jaimes “Jim” Marceaux of New Iberia, and Euell “Brud” Marceaux, Jr. of Laplace; and his step-mother, Rose Marceaux of Kaplan.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Euell Joseph Marceaux and the former Anna Demet.

All funeral arrange-ments are being conduct-ed by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the Marceaux family at www.vincent-funeralhome.net.

Obituaries

The Kaplan Herald Page 2 Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Broussard, from page 1

year after his arrest.Broussard arrived at

the courthouse by him-self before it opened at 8:30, without an attor-ney present, and stood alone before deMahy to offer his plea. However he identified Thomas Guilbeau as his attorney to deMahy.

His was one of the first cases called — there were a handful of people in court to be arraigned — and Broussard appeared in black slacks and a blue dress shirt,

bearing no sign that he is a diocesan priest, a role from which he has been suspended by Bishop Douglas Deshotel. He entered the courtroom alone, too, but eventu-ally was joined there by five women, apparent supporters, who chat-ted amiably with him on the front, left side bench as he waited for more than an hour for court to begin.

The women exited the courthouse with Broussard, and escorted

him to his car, a Toyota sport utility vehicle parked alongside the courthouse lawn.

He declined to answer questions as he entered the courthouse.

A Diocese of Lafayette priest for more than two decades, Broussard last served as pastor at St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Breaux Bridge at the time of his arrest in July 2016. In that capacity, he was also chancellor of the parish school.

State Police investiga-tors said there were more than 500 pornographic images of “child sexual abuse” on Broussard’s personal computer when he was arrested and charged with pornogra-phy involving juveniles July 27. The investiga-tion revealed he had sought and possessed such images for a period of about two years. The computer was recovered in the priest’s residence at the church.

Deshotel immediate-ly placed Broussard on administrative leave; the accused pastor has been forbidden from exercis-ing priestly duties since then. Under church law, the bishop is required to follow civil law and coop-erate with civil authori-ties in child sex abuse cases.

Days after being

accused, Broussard sent to his parish and to the diocese a verbal apol-ogy, delivered by Bishop Douglas Deshotel, who celebrated Masses at St. Bernard's on the week-end following Broussard's arrest. Deshotel had visited Broussard, who remained free Monday on $25,000 bond, in jail dur-ing that week. Deshotel relayed Broussard's apol-ogy during his homily.

Diocesan spokes-woman Blue Rolfes

said that following the end of the state's case against Broussard the diocese may convene its own tribunal to weigh Broussard's status with the church. Under the church's own laws, sins of adultery including sex with minors are consid-ered criminal acts and can be cause for removal from the priesthood

Dr. Lege’ presented his patient Emarie Greer with his office’s annual Easter basket. Emarie was the lucky winner in this year’s drawing. She is the daughter of Robert and Tara Greer.

R.D.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 The Kaplan Herald Page 3

Kaplan Police Report:Chief Boyd Adams

advises officers investi-gated the following:

April 27Theft on the 500 block

of N. Louisiana.Domestic disturbance

on the 600 block of E. Second.

Disturbance on the 800 block of N. Trahan.

Suspicious vehicle on the 700 block of Bert.

Matthew Britt, 26, 17137 Dalton Rd., Kaplan, was arrested and booked on warrants for failure to appear for arraignment/ unsafe vehicle; failure to appear for arraignment/no insur-ance; failure to appear for arraignment/driving under suspension; failure to appear for arraign-ment/theft; failure to appear for arraignment/speeding 38mph in a 25mph speed zone.

April 28Traffic accident at

Forth and Church.Disturbance on the

200 block of St. John.Leash law violation on

the 600 block of Church.Theft on the 200 block

of Bourque.Theft on the 1400

block of W. Veterans Memorial Drive.

Leash law violation on the 600 block of N. LeJeune.

Victoria Williams 19, 112 Nicky St., Rayne, was cited with speed-ing 40 mph in a 25 mph speed zone.

Kevin Gilliam, 36, 14534 Preacher Rd., Rayne, was cited with Stop Sign.

April 29Disturbance on the

1800 block of W. Third.Alarm on the 1000

block of N. Jackson.Leash law violation at

800 block of LeMaire.Harassment on the

500 block of Deshotel.Traffic complaint

on the 1100 block of LeJeune.

Theft on the 1400 block of W. Veterans Memorial Drive.

Alarm on the 700 block of N. Hebert.

Edward L. Purvis, 34, 2790 Rodeo Rd. Apt. 318, Abbeville, was cited with speeding 35 mph in a 25 mph speed zone.

Elizabeth Whittle, 35, 806 N. Boudreaux, Kaplan, was cited with 3 counts of stop sign viola-tion; child restraint; care-less operation and sus-pended driver’s license.

April 30Alarm on the 1100

block of W. Veterans Memorial Drive.

Noise complaint on the 600 block of E. Third.

Suspicious person on the 500 block of N. Jackson.

Alarm on the 700 block of N. Guidry.

May 1Theft on the 1400

block of W. Veterans Memorial Drive.

Suspicious person on the 100 block of LeJeune.

Robbery on the 300 block of Vincent.

Traffic complaint on the 300 block of N. Trahan.

Alarm on the 600 block of E. Eighth.

Disturbance on the 300 block of N. Frederick.

Suspicious person on the 600 block of N. LeJeune.

Quinton Miller, 29, homeless, Kaplan, was arrested and booked on a warrant for probation and parole.

Blake W. Bourque, 20, 312 E. Fourth, Kaplan, was cited with disturbing the peace by fighting.

Walter D. Morgan, 37, 305 N. Frederick, Kaplan, was cited with disturbing the peach by fighting.

Martin Perez, 18, 109 Latour, Kaplan, was arrested and booked with armed robbery and contributing to the delin-quency child endanger-ment.

Reilly Thurston,

20, 201 S. College Rd., Lafayette, was arrested and booked with armed robbery and contributing to the delinquency child endangerment.

Hunter Harrington, 19, 310 W. Eighth, Kaplan, was arrested and booked with armed robbery and contributing to the delinquency child endangerment.

May 2Traffic accident on the

500 block of N. Cushing.Traffic accident on the

2700 block of N. Herpin.Harassment on the

300 block of E. Fourth.Suspicious person

on the 500 block of N. LeJeune.

Hilary Morvant, 28, 1022 South Avenue-D, Crowley, was cited with speeding 42mph in a 30mph speed zone.

May 3rdAlarm on the 1900

block of American Legion Rd.

Alarm on the 900 block of W. Veterans Memorial Drive.

Disturbance on the 400 block of N. Irving.

Noise complaint on the 800 block of Montgomery

Jeffery H. White, 54, 314 Sims Dr., Kaplan, was cited with stop sign violation.

Five area educators at 2017 State Convention of Delta Kappa Gamma at Airport Hilton in New Orleans are: Seated Judy Dronet (Kaplan) and Standing (Jackie Brown (Hathaway), Anne Ar-ceneaux (Jennings), Virgie Dronet (Kaplan), and Frances Byler (Lake Arthur).

EEDITORIALDITORIALPage 4 The Kaplan Herald Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Thomas Sowell

A thinking mom’s message for Jimmy Kimmel

‘Tax cuts for the rich’?

One of the painful re-alities of our times is how long a political lie can survive, even after hav-ing been disproved years ago, or even generations ago.

A classic example is the phrase "tax cuts for the rich," which is loudly proclaimed by opponents, whenever there is a pro-posal to reduce tax rates. The current proposal to reduce federal tax rates

has revived this phrase, which was disproved by facts, as far back as the 1920s -- and by now should be called "tax lies for the gullible."

How is the claim of "tax cuts for the rich" false? Let me count the ways. More important, you can easily check out the facts for yourself with a simple visit to your local public library or, for those more computer-minded, on the Internet.

One of the key arguments of those who oppose what they call "tax cuts for the rich" is that the Rea-gan administration tax cuts led to huge federal gov-ernment defi cits, contrary to "supply side econom-ics" which said that lower tax rates would lead to higher tax revenues.

This reduces the whole issue to a question about facts -- and the hard facts are available in many places, including a local public library or on the In-ternet.

The hardest of these hard facts is that the rev-enues collected from federal income taxes during ev-ery year of the Reagan administration were higher than the revenues collected from federal income taxes during any year of any previous administra-tion.

How can that be? Because tax RATES and tax REVENUES are two different things. Tax rates and tax revenues can move in either the same direc-tion or in opposite directions, depending on how the economy responds.

But why should you take my word for it that fed-eral income tax revenues were higher than before during the Reagan administration? Check it out.

Offi cial statistics are available in many places. The easiest way to fi nd those statistics is to go look at a copy of the annual "Economic Report of the President." It doesn't have to be the latest Report under President Trump. It can be a Report from any administration, from the Obama administration all the way back to the administration of the elder George Bush.

Each annual "Economic Report of the President" has the history of federal revenues and expendi-tures, going back for decades. And that is just one of the places where you can get this data. The truth is readily available, if you want it. But, if you are satisfi ed with political rhetoric, so be it.

Before we turn to the question of "the rich," let's fi rst understand the implications of higher income tax revenues after income tax rates were cut during the Reagan administration.

That should have put an end to the talk about how lower tax rates reduce government revenues and therefore tax cuts need to be "paid for" or else there will be rising defi cits. There were in fact rising defi cits in the 1980s, but that was due to spending that outran even the rising tax revenues.

Congress does the spending, and there is no amount of money that Congress cannot outspend.

As for "the rich," higher-income taxpayers paid more -- repeat, MORE tax revenues into the federal treasury under the lower tax rates than they had That happened not only during the Reagan admin-istration, but also during the Coolidge administra-tion and the Kennedy administration before Rea-gan, and under the G.W. Bush administration after Reagan. All these administrations cut tax rates and received higher tax revenues than before.

More than that, "the rich" not only paid higher total tax revenues after the so-called "tax cuts for the rich," they also paid a higher percentage of all tax revenues afterwards. Data on this can be found in a number of places, including documented sourc-es listed in my monograph titled "'Trickle Down' Theory and 'Tax Cuts for the Rich.'"

As a source more congenial to some, a front-page story in the New York Times on July 9, 2006 -- dur-ing the Bush 43 administration -- reported, "An un-expectedly steep rise in tax revenues from corpora-tions and the wealthy is driving down the projected budget defi cit this year." Expectations, of course, are in the eye of the beholder.

by Michelle Malkin

I feel your pain. But please use your brain.On Monday, late-night TV comedian Jimmy

Kimmel delivered an emotional monologue about his newborn son. His baby was born with a con-genital heart defect that required emergency open-heart surgery.

Millions of American parents, myself included, have walked in Kimmel's shoes. We've experienced the terrifying roller coaster of emotions -- panic, helplessness, anger, anxiety, relief, grief and un-conditional love -- that comes with raising chroni-cally ill kids.

But Kimmel didn't use his high-profi le platform to educate the public about coping with rare diseas-es. Or to champion the nation's best and brightest pediatric specialists and medical innovators. The Tinseltown celebrity turned his personal plight into a political weapon, which his liberal friends were all too happy to wield. Top Democrats tweeted their praise for Kimmel's advocacy of expanded govern-ment health care regulations:

"Well said, Jimmy," Barack Obama gushed."Thanks @jimmykimmel for sharing your story

& reminding us what's at stake w/health care," Hillary Clinton effused.

The Huffi ngton Post piled on: "Jimmy Kimmel's Humanity Underscores Heartlessness Of GOP's Approach To The Poor."

I don't need lectures from Huffi ngton Post and Hollywood elites about having a heart. Neither do the rest of America's parents, whatever their po-litical affi liations, who know what it's like to stay up night after endless night with suffering chil-dren, wondering whether they would ever be able to breathe normally again or see the light of the next day.

Kimmel doesn't need more maudlin Twitter suck-uppery. He needs a healthy fact-check.

"Before 2014," he claimed, "if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you'd never be able to get health in-surance because you had a pre-existing condition, you were born with a pre-existing condition."

This is false. If parents had health insurance, the child would have been covered under the par-ents' policy whether or not the child had a health problem.

Kimmel continued: "And if your parents didn't have medical insurance, you might not live long enough to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition."

The term "pre-existing condition" is used to de-scribe uninsured chronically ill people who apply for insurance coverage, not for a child in need of immediate care. Moreover, in the U.S., virtually all hospitals are legally obligated to provide emergency

treatment to every patient who urgently requires emergency medical care regardless of the patient's insurance status. This would include a newborn with an urgent heart condition. This requirement does not apply only to patients who enter an emer-gency room. It applies to all patients who set foot on a hospital's property.

Kimmel then dramatically asserted: "If your baby is going to die, and it doesn't have to, it shouldn't matter how much money you make."

I repeat: It does not matter if you are rich are poor or if you are uninsured. If your baby is in the hospital, he or she will receive emergency care no matter what.

"This isn't football," Kimmel implored. "There are no teams. We are the team, it's the United States. Don't let their partisan squabbles divide us on something every decent person wants."

Kimmel implies that opposition to Obamacare-style insurance mandates is both un-American and indecent. Had he been less hysterical, he would have acknowledged that different health care sys-tems have pros and cons -- and decent Americans can have legitimate differences of opinion on such matters.

In the land of make-believe, it would be wonder-ful if everyone had free access to the same high-quality care Kimmel and his family did at Cedars-Sinai and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

In the real world, Obamacare plans have se-verely curtailed the number of doctors and hospi-tals that customers can use. Command-and-control regulations on guaranteed issue, community rating and pre-existing conditions favored by Kimmel and company are driving up costs for everyone. Limited access to specialists and long waits have become the increasing norm -- just like that other model of government-run health care, the Veterans Affairs system, where the despicable practice of "death by queuing" spiked under Obama.

Moving toward a nationalized health system might play well with an emotion-driven late-night comedy audience. But sober observers know it would mean undermining America's superior ac-cess to cutting-edge diagnosis, innovative treat-ment, top specialists and surgeons, technology, and drugs.

Compassion without clear thinking is just a waste of Kleenex.

Michelle Malkin is host of "Michelle Malkin Investigates" on CRTV.com. Her email address is writemalkin@gmail.com. To fi nd out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Cre-ators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 Kaplan Herald Page 52017 Kaplan

CommunityCommunity

VFW meetingsThe Guidry-Hebert

VFW Post 3793 in Kaplan holds their meet-ings the first Thursday of each month beginning at 6 p.m. All veterans are invited to attend. A meal is always served. We are now on Facebook.

KC MeetingsThe Kaplan Knights

of Columbus meeting are held the third Monday of each month at the KC Hall in Kaplan.

The Choates on their wedding day. The Choates today.

On April 23, 2017, Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Choate celebrated their 60th wed-ding anniversary with a family gathering.

It was on April 23, 1957 that Jimmie Choate married the former Gloria Gene Guidry at Saint Anne Catholic Church in Cow Island.

Choates celebrate 60 years of marriage

What’s cooking in the Sauce Piquante

SportsSports

Check us out at vermiliontoday.com

The Kaplan Herald Page 6 Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The three Kaplan High School seniors on the Pirate baseball team includes (l-r) Devin Hernandez, Evan Hebert and Gage Marceaux.

Kaplan High School Senior Pirates

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 The Kaplan Herald Page 7

The Kaplan Herald Page 8 Wednesday, May 10, 2017

CAJUN BROWNIES

2 cups milk 4 eggs1 tsp. vanilla 2 tbsp. granulated sugar3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup boiling water2 tbsp. gelatin 1/2 cup cold waterDirections

Scald milk (milk heated almost to boiling) and pour over egg yolks, beaten slightly with the two tablespoons of sugar. Caramelize the 3/4 cup of sugar and dissolve in boiling water. Add to the soft custard. Add gelatin which has been softened in the cold water. Strain into a bowl and set in ice water. When it begins to thicken, add vanilla and egg whites beaten stiff. Chill. Serve plain or topped with whipped cream.

realcajunrecipes.com

HOPE FOR THE FAMILY With Mother’s Day approaching I thought I would talk with you about your relationship with your mother. If your relationship is anything like me and my mom’s it has been sometimes good, some-times bad and sometimes ugly. But through it all I always believed she loved me and I believe she knew that I loved her. I say that because we survived. We both had to do a lot of forgiving of each other but we have survived.

I know when I start talking about forgiveness; people will chime in and say, you don’t know what they did to me. I know I don’t know but God does and He expects all of us to forgive. You see one of the most important things you have is your relationship with your mom. I know at times you may not understand each other but that is okay. The important thing is that you forgive and love one another. You see Jesus died to mend the relationship between God and man so He is all about mending relationships. Praying that this Mother’s Day is your best.God Bless you today! Your Friend. Pastor Farley Painter Faith Christian Church www.fcckaplan.com

I, Louis Garrot, a practicing trial lawyer for 43 years in Abbeville and Vermilion Parish, announce my retirement from trial and office work. I am happy to offer my services at your home for preparation and signing of wills and powers of attorney.

Unless you have a child under the age of 24 or one any age at your death (who because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity is permanently incapable of taking care of his person or administering his estate), in most instances you have the legal right to leave all or part of your property and assets to anyone if you execute an enforceable will before dying.

Louisiana Law provides automatic inheritance without a will to classes of survivors such as surviving children, collaterals and parents, but you will need to execute an enforceable will if you desire to leave all or parts of your estate to non-relatives, or if you want to be specific as to who inherits what.

Dying without an enforceable will means that Louisiana Law determines who will inherit from you. Leaving an enforceable will allows the comfort of knowing which specific persons will inherit specific assets from you.

Wills will be prepared after I meet with you in your home, and will be formally executed in your home. My services will be from $150 to $300 - with no additional costs or expenses - and the client will receive a written binding quote before I leave your house. A will can easily be changed or revoked.

Powers of attorney are important to allow a person’s spouse, relative or trusted friend to conduct his business in times of disability. They are cancellable at will. Fee for preparation is $150, with no additional costs or expenses.

LOUIS GARROT Abbeville, LA (337) 652-8618

RETIRING ATTORNEY OFFERING AT YOUR HOME SERVICES FOR WILLS AND POWERS OF ATTORNEY

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The Kaplan Herald

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Directory

Wednesday, May 3, 2017 The Kaplan Herald Page 9

Louisiana Nursing Home Association’s 2016 Administrator of the Year, Tania Lemaire (Pictured center).

2017 Pinnacle Customer Experience Award™ recipient from Pinnacle Quality Insight, a nationally recognized customer satisfaction firm.

American Health Care Association Silver Achievement in Quality Award winner.

1300 West 8th Street Kaplan, LA 70548

T 337-643-7302 • F 337-643-1579

Stop by and say hello! Contact Leslie Dronet

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Expect Excellence Kaplan Healthcare Center Your local leader in nursing & rehabilitation services.

Affiliated with Nexion Health www.kaplanhealthcarecenter.com www.facebook.com/kaplanhealthcarecenter

GRAY, La. – Danos is pleased to announce that Joel Ontiveros has been named 2016 Field Employee of the Year. The award is present-ed each year to a field employee who best embodies the company’s core purpose and values.

Ontiveros is a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., who has lived in Kaplan, La. for the past 18 years. He was nominated for the award by coworkers who praised his outstanding commitment to the com-pany’s high-performance culture and core values. A committee comprising past winners reviewed the nominations and selected Ontiveros as the 2016 winner.

Ontiveros has been a safety technician with

Danos for more than three years. In this role, he provides expert safety leadership and supervi-sion to workers on job sites in a wide range of environments.

In addition to acting as a liason between the company’s headquarters and its workers in the field, Ontiveros is known for being an active safe-ty mentor and engaged member of the field team.

“Joel is one of our most trusted field safety supervisors,” said Mark Danos, vice president of project services.

“His dedication as a mentor and his hands-on approach has significant-ly impacted the teams he engages with and ultimately contributed to Danos achieving the

lowest total recordable incident rate in company history in 2016.”

With more than 18 years of experience in the industry, Ontiveros brings a broad base of knowledge and expertise to his work.

As a field safety techni-cian, he is called upon to both conduct and super-vise a variety of audits, checks and inspections. He also manages inter-nal safety reporting pro-cedures, ensuring impor-tant safety information is communicated between the major project job sites and headquarters.

His fluency in both English and Spanish is a particular asset on the job site.

Ontiveros named ‘Field Employee of the Year’

Eric Danos, Hank Danos, Joel Ontiveros, Mark Danos and Paul Danos

National Day of Prayer Walk

The National Day of Prayer for the communi-ty began at the Kaplan Police Department

with a blessing of police officers, then on to the Kaplan Fire Department for a bless-

ing of the city’s firefight-ers and ended at City Hall for a blessing of city leaders.

Kaplan First Baptist Church Lee Pastor Lee Rodgers (left) reads a Bible passage during at the Kaplan Police Station. Photo by Mi-choude Roussell.

Pastor Farley Painter of the Faith Christian Church (right) welcomes Pastor Wayne Landry, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Kaplan. Photo by Michoude Rous-sell.

While House and Senate leaders contend a proposed increase to the state gasoline tax still has a long road ahead in the ongoing regular session, supporters aren’t letting up on their push to generate more money for Louisiana’s over-whelming transportation needs.

Still, it’s not the kind of political assessment supporters want to hear as the session nears its midway point, with adjournment scheduled for June 8.

Throwing the issue for a new curve this week was President Donald Trump, who told Bloomberg News that he would “certainly consid-er” supporting a hike in the federal gas tax if the revenue were directed to infrastructure spending.

The federal retail gasoline tax is already 18.4 cents and on the state level the levy is 20 cents. Neither has been increased since the early 1990s.

Republican consultant Roy Fletcher of Baton Rouge said Trump’s statement, which stopped short of an endorsement or an announcement of any real plan, may intro-duce a new variable into the debate in the Louisiana Legislature.

While some conser-vatives might think Trump’s words of encour-agement offer them some political cover to increase a tax that’s still seek-ing to gain footing at the Capitol, Fletcher said the possibility of gaso-line being double-taxed is something to consider

as well. “If the feds possi-

bly increase their rate — and we don’t know if that’s even the case — does someone want to do something here before that happens?” Fletcher asked.

Or, he added, does it become an issue that’s worth putting on hold, at least temporarily?

Prior to Trump’s state-ment, and even as he was giving it to Bloomberg News on Monday, the ongoing shotgun approach to increasing the state’s gas tax was looking tougher with each passing day.

Attention turned weeks ago to getting at least one of the related bills introduced out of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and onto the House floor, but little progress has been made.

Many committee members believe that an increase upwards of 17 cents, as proposed in one measure, will be a chal-lenging sell.

As such, other options are starting to appear on the table, like the possi-bility of a different fund-ing source, like a small portion of the state sales tax. But those options appear to be taking a back seat to the public discussion over the gaso-line tax.

There have likewise been very informal dis-cussions — talks that core supporters aren’t necessarily a part of — about fallback positions, such as making sure, at the very least, certain legislative elements of

the various proposals out there stay intact, like scaling back administra-tive costs; prioritizing projects; and indexing current and future rev-enue.

That said, none of the teams behind the push for a greater gas tax in Louisiana are throwing in the towel.

There are still rays of hope to be found on the issue, with supporters promising more outreach and education — a daunt-ing task with just half of the session remaining.

There are also some hardcore politics at play. Some Republicans, with an eye to 2019, don’t want to give Gov. John Bel Edwards the benefit of having orange barrels all over the state’s high-ways when he runs for re-election.

Corporate tax over-haul pushed to next week

Legislation that start-ed to get a closer look by Capitol players late last week, due to its intent to lower the cor-porate income tax rate, failed to get a full hear-ing on Monday before the House Ways and Means Committee because its author asked for more time to tweak the pro-posal.

Rep. Kenny Havard, R-St. Francisville, said his HB 648 was incom-plete as drafted and that the amendments he

needed to get the legisla-tion into the right pos-ture were still being put together. He added that his goal is to get back in front of the committee by next week at the earliest with the finalized mea-sure.

With his legislation Havard wants to lower the top corporate rate of 8%, which he called the “highest in the nation,” and move the state toward a flat tax. Havard is calling his concept the “Business Flat Tax” and he told committee members that it would not apply to sub-chapter S-Corps or limited liabil-ity companies.

The idea came under fire last week by Stephen Waguespack, the presi-dent of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, who called it the “governor’s backup plan.”

It was a clear refer-ence to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ failed commer-cial activity tax on gross receipts.

Havard’s bill deals instead with gross mar-gins.

“It will apply to profit and not receipts, mak-ing it completely differ-ent from the governor’s plan or the CAT tax,” said Havard. “Its going to be completely different than that.”

He added that the legislation, once prop-

erly amended, would eliminate “loopholes” and remove or reduce certain tax credits and exemp-tions. If certain financial triggers are met, under Havard’s plan, even the franchise tax would be rolled back completely.

Havard offered an overall mission for the legislation in one sen-tence for the committee: “That all of our profitable corporate taxpayers pay at least little something so that other companies and individuals don’t have to make up the dif-ference.”

Political History: Louisiana on canvas

Did you know that our state has an official painting?

It’s oil on canvas from a father-and-son duo, Johnny O. Bell and Johnny F. Bell.

It took the Bells 10 years the develop the full idea and to com-plete the painting, before the enacting legislation was authored by late state Sen. Mike Cross and approved by the Legislature in 1995.

There was an early version of the paint-ing, now in the posses-sion of the Cross family,

that included slaves in a cotton field, but it was rejected by senators and the Bells had to start over.

When a final version was approved, three duplicate paintings were made, with the gover-nor’s office, lieutenant governor’s office and the late Sen. Cross each get-ting one.

The canvas is domi-nated by images of a mag-nolia flower, a Catahoula Leopard cur, an alligator, a pelican and our state flag — and by state law, it is the official painting of Louisiana.

They Said It“That was really cool

how that happened. Now the devil really is in the details.”

—Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, on how one of his legislative propos-als was assigned the infamous number of HB 666

“As you can see, we are hungry for any good news.”

—Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, on recent news that the state had saved money on early debt repayments

The Kaplan Herald Page 10 Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Gas tax hike still on session agenda

Jeremy Alford

Shanie Verret & Brendan Cloonan 4/21/17Anita Stelly & Colbert Guidry 5/13/17Caitlyn Roy & Aaron Uriegas 5/13/17Simone LeBeouf & Cody Daigle 5/13/17Laura Turnley & Kaleb Trahan 7/01/17

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