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March 27, 1935 ~ February 19, 2024

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Rosa Mae Touchet Sanders, 88, who died Monday, February 19, 2024 at her residence. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Deacon Byron Soley officiating the services. Those serving as pallbearers will be Matt Sanders, Jeremiah Sanders, Harley Sanders, Stacey Sanders, Nick Simon Sr., and Nick Simon, Jr.
Rosa was a huge Elvis Presley fan having visited Graceland several times. Spending time with family was one of her greatest joys in life. She loved it when her family was all together having a good time.
She is survived by her two daughters, Mary J. Mire and her husband Cleveland, and Theresa Sanders; son, James Yancey Sanders; daughter-in-law, Susan R. Sanders; ten grandchildren; twelve great grandchildren; and seven great-great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, William A. Sanders; daughters, Betty A. Sanders, and Angela Sanders; son, William J. Sanders; parents, Rosmond Touchet and the former Dorita Dore; great-great grandson, Hunter Miller; and seven siblings.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Saturday, February 24, 2024 from 9:30 AM until time of services. A rosary being prayed at 1:30 PM.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

Keep Abbeville Beautiful, in collaboration with the Abbeville Garden Club, is pleased to announce a noteworthy change in the Civic Pride Award.
Throughout January and February, the award will recognize outstanding individuals who epitomize extraordinary community pride within Abbeville.
Traditionally reserved for residential homes or businesses, this shift emphasizes the importance of personal commitment to maintaining beautiful spaces within the community.
Individuals who demonstrate exceptional care for their properties, including well-kept yards, beautiful landscaping, and overall curb appeal, will be celebrated for contributing to the town’s charm and appeal.
Keep Abbeville Beautiful is thrilled to celebrate individuals who demonstrate a strong commitment to making and maintaining beautiful areas. The organization hopes to inspire others to take pride in their surroundings, whether at home or business and to cultivate a sense of pride in the community.
In light of this new focus, Keep Abbeville Beautiful proudly congratulates Jatero Mckinney, Paul Tomino, Aurris Wiltz.
These three men have been recognized for their dedication to maintaining the vibrant flowers seen throughout downtown Abbeville. Their efforts not only enhance the area’s aesthetic appeal but also serve as a testament to the power of community pride.
As Abbeville continues to flourish with its residents’ contributions, Keep Abbeville Beautiful remains committed to recognizing and celebrating those who positively impact the town’s appearance and overall well-being.

There was a big scandal when King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simson. But that was ancient history by the time the couple made an ever-so-brief appearance on Opelousas.
Edward was the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George V and Queen Mary. He was said to be a charming rogue during his youth and when he became king in 1936 quickly raised eyebrows by paying little attention to the way kings were supposed to act.
He was only months into his reign when he brought on a constitutional crisis by his proposal to marry Wallis, who at that time had divorced her first husband and was seeking a divorce from her second. When it became apparent that he could not marry her and keep his crown, he abdicated after only 326 days on the throne
He married Wallis in France on June 3, 1937, after her second divorce became final. After abdicating, Edward was made Duke of Windsor by his brother and successor, George VI, and Wallis became the Duchess of Windsor;
In 1940, the Duke was appointed governor of the Bahamas, but he quit that job in 1945, after which the couple shuttled between Europe and the United States, living the life of glamorous globe-trotters.
They were doing some of that trotting on February 2, 1950, when a Missouri Pacific train that included their special car pulled in for its usual five-minute stop at the depot in Opelousas.
It was running an hour behind schedule, and the Windsors apparently hadn’t intended to make an appearance. But about 150 people who were gathered at the deport called for them and, as the Daily World reported, “they descended from their special car at the rear of the train, smiling and gracious.”
They were headed to Texas and had visited in Baton Rouge, where they’d “stopped practically all activity” during a tour of the state capitol that included a call on Gov. Earl Long’s office. That certainly would have been one of their more interesting encounters, but, alas, Uncle Earl wasn’t there.
In Opelousas, the Duke said they were enjoying their trip and had just crossed “that river that is so hard to pronounce” (the Atchafalaya). He wore a boutonniere that had been given him in Baton Rouge in the left lapel of his double-breasted suit, “but graciously accepted another, a lovely camelia, from Mrs. Edna R. Kurtz and Mrs. M. J. Goudeau, local club women, and placed it in his right lapel.”
Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, “erupted into a smile” as she was presented with a bouquet. She was wearing “a two-piece navy blue dress with pearl choker.” Her appearance caused someone in the crowd to exclaim “ Why, she’s as pretty as the day she was married,” according to the Daily World, which added, “She was, too.”
After touring in Texas, the Windsors came back to Louisiana to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans, again causing a stir. According to a news account, “Not since the Mardi Gras journey to New Orleans by the Russian Grand Duke Alexis in 1872 had the town been abuzz in such anticipation as when news broke that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor would pay a Carnival-time visit to the Crescent City.”
New Orleans writer Ronnie Virgets wrote on February 21, 1950, “The Windsors arrived into the Missouri-Pacific yard on their private railroad cars at 7 a.m. filled with what one witness described as ‘God-knows-how-many trunks.’”
It seems liked the trunks should have held everything they needed, but there was no worry if something was forgotten. Biographer Ralph Martin wrote, “It did not seem outlandish to [the Duke] that a bellhop at the Waldorf in New York [the Windsor’s more-or-less permanent U.S. residence] flew down to New Orleans to bring him his white tie and tails for a big ball.”
There was also another potential dilemma. Carnival protocol demands that the Mardi Gras royalty never bow to anyone. But Rex and his queen were to be presented to the former King of England. Who was supposed to bow to whom?
Once again, the Windsors showed their grace. A history of the Rex organization records, “When the captain of the Comus organization presented the Duke and Duchess of Windsor … the Duchess hit the floor with two of the most beautiful and graceful curtsies ever seen, and the Duke bowed from the waist, almost touching the floor with his forehead. Comus’ 2,500 guests were in ecstasy. They responded with deafening applause.”
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

BATON ROUGE—Newly-elected Republican Gov. Jeff Landry called on lawmakers Monday to erase many of the criminal justice reforms signed by his Democratic predecessor in 2017, urging them to limit parole and good time, expand the death penalty and toughen juvenile justice.
Landry said criminal justice has “forgotten” crime victims and their families, including the more than two dozen he asked to stand in the House balcony overlooking the joint session of the Legislature. He cast those promoting efforts to reduce the state’s high incarceration rates as “radical activists hard at work to empty our prisons.
“The propensity of some to signal their virtuous compassion for criminals has become a liberal custom to many,” Landry said,“without forethought of the consequences to society and the danger it creates in our neighborhoods and homes.”
Though Landry and other conservatives blame the criminal justice reforms for increases in crime, critics point out that crime rose across the nation during the pandemic, a trend that Baton Rouge and New Orleans have started to reverse. The 2017 criminal justice reforms passed with bipartisan support and were signed by a Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards.
Republicans hold a supermajority in each chamber, and lawmakers have already filed more than two dozen bills in the special session that can run until March 6. The proposals can only cover topics laid out by Landry’s 24-item agenda for the session.
House Minority Leader, Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, a leading member of the House Democratic Caucus, repeatedly objected to the House rushing bills to committee without discussion on the floor.
“There is no reason for us to move things quickly.” Willard said, adding, “We should take our time, be deliberate about our actions and give the public adequate time to review proposals and to weigh in on those proposals.”
The Democratic Caucus said they did not have input on the legislation and feel Landry’s proposals do not address crime in a holistic way, instead taking a reactive approach that disregards what they believe are root causes of crime such as mental health and substance abuse.
Despite the objections of Willard and members of the House Democratic Caucus, the majority of the House voted to suspend the rules and refer the bills to committees.
One bill would allow death penalties to be carried out through electrocution, nitrogen gas and lethal injection, following the nation’s first execution by nitrogen in Alabama last month. If it passes, Louisiana will join Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi in allowing nitrogen as an execution method. Louisiana has not executed a death-row inmate since 2010.
Landry said alternative execution methods would only be used if the drugs for lethal injections could not be obtained, which has halted executions in the past.
“When these sentences are handed down, they form a covenant between the state and the victims, and their family and their friends,” Landry said. “Justice requires that we uphold that covenant.”
While Landry proposed more executions by more means, he called for less transparency around those deaths. He asked for legislation that “would declare any and all records or information pertaining to carrying out a sentence be strictly confidential and not subject to public disclosure.”
Another proposal would treat 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system, a reversal of the state’s 2016 “Raise the Age” law, which mostly treated those younger than 18 as juveniles. A different bill — which Landry called “transparency legislation” — would allow greater online access to data and records from the juvenile justice system.
“These juveniles are not innocent children any longer; they are hardened criminals,” Landry said.
Other bills seek to narrow parole opportunities, increase penalties for carjackings to five years from two years (and impose a minimum of 20 years if there is bodily harm), and create a state public defense office under the governor. Landry also lambasted the reduction of sentences for good time, calling the practice “a participation trophy for jail.”
At the same time, Landry has urged lawmakers to pass legislation allowing concealed weapons to be carried without a permit. He said “lawful gun owners are our most law-abiding citizens.”
“This body has repeatedly passed it,” Landry said. “Now, you have a governor who will sign it,” he said, flinging his arms open to a standing ovation.
He also called for qualified immunity for law enforcement officers, which would limit their vulnerability to lawsuits.
Though lawmakers remained poised for disagreement over the coming days, they united in recognizing the crime victims who came to the Capitol. “To the ladies and gentlemen of this Legislature, I say, let this session be about them,” Landry said, motioning to the crime victims, “and those who protect us.”