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MAURICE — A successful fundraiser held June 25 at Mendoza Ford in Maurice will help offset some of the costs for the Maurice Volunteer Fire Department, chief David Landry said, but there’s still more that the fire department needs to do in order to keep up with a rapidly growing community.
“Mendoza and surrounding businesses and community made this thing a huge success,” Landry said of the Mendoza Independence Day Celebration that raised funds for the fire department and the Maurice Police Department. “The public turnout was phenomenal like it normally is. Mendoza was on point getting everything scheduled and organized, the fireworks display, the whole nine yards. It was tremendous.”
This year’s event helped out two other volunteer fire departments and two other police departments in addition to Maurice’s, said Landry, 37. A full-time firefighter with the Abbeville Fire Department for nearly 18 years, Landry has been fire chief in Maurice for a year and a half. He’s been with the Maurice Volunteer Fire Department for nearly 20 years.
The Maurice VFD will be upgrading its air compressor, thanks to the Abbeville Fire Department. Both the Maurice and Abbeville fire departments had applied for a grant for a new compressor, and when Abbeville received the grant, Landry asked Abbeville Fire Chief Jude Mire what was going to be done with the old air compressor.
“I asked if we could possibly get it, and the city was generous enough to donate it to the (Maurice) fire department,” Landry said.
The air compressors are used to fill the air tanks used in Self Contained Breathing Apparatus systems, the air packs that firefighters wear on their backs when fighting fires. Landry said the current 2216 psi air compressor fills air tanks that last 30 minutes when firefighters are working in a structure fire. The new 4500 psi bottles would allow for increased work time inside structures, allowing firefighters to be more productive.
“That’s going to be a big aspect for us, because with us growing, we’re going to have to eventually go to 4,500 bottles, which the cascade system we have now is not compatible with, so they helped us be able to grow into the growth of our area,” he said.
The Maurice fire department also is hoping to acquire a ladder truck with the help of a grant that the town has applied for. A previous try for the grant was unsuccessful as the town was still classified as a village at the time, but with the growth in population in the 2020 census elevating Maurice to town status, Landry is hopeful this application will be successful. A 1995 grant application from the town helped purchase one of the fire department’s pumper trucks.
“The town of Maurice is growing at an unbelievable rate,” he said. “They agreed to apply for the grant and help us pay the 10 percent (matching funds) and all the things we need for that particular unit. Right now Maurice Fire Department has a 45-foot extension ladder, which is sufficient to help the residents of Maurice inside and outside of the town keep their (insurance) rates as low as they can. The (Property Insurance Association of Louisiana) requires us to have some type of what they classify as an aerial device, and that 45-foot ladder was sufficient for the last few years. We were told that if we do not get it (a new ladder truck), that 45-foot ladder will not be compliant.”
The main issue Landry sees facing the town’s fire department is the need for more firefighters.
“No. 1 right off the top is manpower,” he said. “Like every other department in the parish, we’re facing manpower shortages.”
It’s often hard for people with full-time jobs to respond quickly to emergency calls during work hours. That can be an issue with the PIL, which is the rating organization that dictates homeowner insurance rates.
“They require us to have certain things in certain spots,” Landry said. “So for us, we have to look at potentially getting a second (fire) station. We have to have certain manpower (numbers) come out at certain calls. We have to have certain equipment come out. That’s a big thing for us because our guys are doing everything that they can, and we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got.”
It boils down to funding, he said — adding a new ladder truck, or a new station, costs money. The town has property for a potential new fire station, but would have to fund building one. Manpower is another thing that costs money.
“Getting part-time people inside the town would help offset some of the manpower issues and also help people’s insurance ratings,” he said. “Over three-quarters of our active roster are certified Fire 1s, which is the basic requirement like we have in Abbeville. We would basically have part-time people sitting in the station Monday through Friday. We get a call, we get the help out to you quicker. We get the help there to you not just for fires, but for medical (emergencies), car wrecks, etc.”
The fire department also needs to find some permanent funding.
“I hate to say the word because most people don’t like it, but a tax for the Maurice Fire District, for the simple fact that we’re growing so fast that it’s going to have to come down to that,” he said.
The fire department is doing its best to help keep residents’ insurance rates down and their property as safe as the department can keep it.
“We’d like everybody to know that if they have any questions, feel free to just get with us on Facebook, or come by the fire station on a Monday night if they want to join, or have questions about how to join. We’re there every Monday unless it’s a holiday.”

June 27, 1953 ~ July 12, 2022

ABBEVILLE — Shana Ledet Qualls, a resident of Maurice, Louisiana, passed away on July 12, 2022, at 69 years of age. Visitation will be held at Vincent Funeral Home in Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Sunday, July 17 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a rosary being prayed at 6:30 p.m. Visitation at Vincent Funeral Home will continue on Monday, July 18 at 8 a.m., with funeral service at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church at 11 a.m. An undoubtedly lively reception will immediately follow the church service in the lobby at Abbey Players Theatre.
Shana was born on June 27, 1953, in Newport News, Virginia to Minus Pierre and Marianne Curtis Ledet. Shana was the fourth of five children and had unique relationships with each of her siblings, Jean, Brian, Kevin, and Ulyssa. Her family moved around a great deal during her childhood due to her father’s military service, including a time she cherished when they were stationed on Okinawa Island, Japan. They eventually made their way back to Chalmette, Louisiana, where she graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 1971.
Shana began her college journey at Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, Louisiana. Her college career was cut short by her insatiable desire to have as much fun and do as much theatre as humanly possible. Her passion for theatre led her to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where she married and started her family, eventually moving to her father’s hometown of Abbeville, Louisiana to be nearer to her parents.
Shana was involved with many theatre companies across the country over the course of her life, including an international tour of the musical Labor of Love in 1990, of which she was extremely proud and during which she established life-long friendships. Of all the places she worked, Abbey Players Theatre held her heart and was where she began the Children’s Theatre Guild in 1981. She was proud to serve on the board of directors at Abbey Players multiple times, over the course of many years, directing and acting in numerous plays and musicals that entertained many. It was a feather in her cap to direct her own children and grandchildren on the Abbey Players stage.
Shana was a teacher and speech coach who impacted the lives of hundreds of students at Vermilion Catholic High School, Kaplan High School, J.H. Williams Middle School, Erath High School, and Breaux Bridge High School. She also directed productions with Vermilion Players, a summer co-production put on among all public and private high schools in Vermilion Parish for a number of years.
After devoting her life to being a single mother for over fourteen years, Shana embarked on her wildest adventure yet - a move to Los Angeles to explore her acting career at the age of 52. She lived in L.A. for five years, working in Marketing and Consumer Products at Universal Studios, while still having as much fun and doing as much theatre as humanly possible!
Of all of her accomplishments in life, Shana was most proud of her four children and six grandchildren. Nothing brought her greater joy than holding court around a dining table at a holiday dinner. She was a stellar cook, a creative spirit, and an adopter of lost souls. There was rarely a time when Shana didn’t have someone who needed a helping hand living with her and her family. She had open arms, an open heart, and an open door at all times. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Shana is survived by her children, Evona Qualls (John Perry), Victoria (Ken) Atkins, Etienna (Peter) Wright, and Cramer Qualls; grandchildren, Adella Perry, Cecilia Atkins, Vance Atkins, Claudia Wright, Samuel Wright, and Benjamin Wright; her siblings, Kevin (Marcia) Ledet, and Ulyssa Ledet; five nieces; four nephews; ten great nieces; and seven great nephews.
Shana was preceded in death by her four grandparents; her parents, Minus and Marianne Ledet; her brothers, Jean and Brian Ledet; and her brother and sister who died in infancy, Loren Ledet and Evona Ledet.
Shana’s family would like to thank the staff and administration at Pelican Pointe Healthcare and Rehabilitation for their care and compassion during their time with the Pelican Pointe family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Abbey Players Theatre at 200 S. State St., Abbeville, LA 70510, or by donating online at https://www.abbeyplayers.com/.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.

ERATH — Funeral services for Earline Landry, 88, will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday July 16, 2022 in David Funeral Home of Erath with Deacon Tim Marcantel officiating.
Visitation will be held Saturday July 16, 2022 from 9 a.m. until time of services. Burial will follow in St. Marcellas Catholic Cemetery in Rynella LA.
Survivors include her nieces Mandy Richard (Monty), Mishala Terrebonne (Joshua), Sharon Hebert (Kelly), Janet Duhon (Chuck), Linda Huval (Tony), and Nadine Pourciaux (John); nephews Ritchie Richard (Rachel), Lance Richard (Jessica), Benjie Terrebonne (Kelly), Tommy Terrebonne (Monique), and Jimmy Broussard (Susan); and numerous great nieces and nephews.
Earline was preceded in death by her parents Emick and Rosella Delcambre Landry; sisters Verna L. Terrebonne, Claudette L. Romero, and Sue L. Broussard; nephew Robert Romero; and her niece Venessa Hebert.
Serving as pallbearers will be Jimmy Broussard, Lance Richard, Tommy Terrebonne, Benjie Terrebonne, Tate Terrebonne, and Sean Richard.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to a great-niece, Chanee R. Tomino, for all she did for Aunt Nin.
Condolences may be sent to the Landry family at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home 209 E. Putnam Erath 337-937-0405 is in charge of arrangements.

Our politics are arguably more divided now than at any other time in modern history – however, the one thing that both Democrats and Republicans in Louisiana do agree on is the need to rein in Big Tech.
Big Tech companies – specifically Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook) – have come to dominate nearly every aspect of our daily lives, and now wield tremendous amounts of power over the news, content, and information we watch, read, and listen to.
Big Tech’s monopoly over the news and information space is not only blatantly unfair to smaller news outlets – and to conservative journalists in particular, who are too-often silenced – it is also one of the driving forces behind our deepening political divides.
The Founding Fathers enshrined protections for a press free from government regulation in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because a free and diverse press is the backbone of a healthy and vibrant republic.
But the Founders could not have envisioned a future in which nearly all news and information would be controlled by two private entities: Facebook and Google.
To be sure, Louisianans not only recognize the significance of the threat posed by Big Tech’s monopolization of the news and publishing industries, but moreover, are united on the need to curb the outsized economic and political power of these companies.
New polling by Schoen Cooperman Research – conducted among a representative sample of Louisiana adults, and commissioned by News Media Alliance – reveals widespread concern over Big Tech’s undue influence, as well as broad-based public support for reforms to rein in these companies.
In recent years, Big Tech companies have increasingly begun controlling political speech – and as a result, strong majorities of Louisianians are concerned about the economic and political power of Big Tech companies (70%).
Roughly three-quarters of Louisianians are also concerned that Big Tech companies have too much power over the news & publishing industry (75%), and manipulate these industries for their own gain (74%).
To that end, Louisianians are broadly concerned that Big Tech companies are driving small & local news outlets out of business (73%), and widely agree that “Big Tech’s monopoly over the news and publishing industries is a threat to the free press, and is unfair to publishers, especially small and local outlets” (80%).
In addition to being broadly concerned, Louisiana adults strongly support Congress acting action to implement reforms that would empower smaller news outlets by curbing Big Tech’s ability to expropriate their work.
Louisianians widely agree with statements to this effect, including: “I support Congress taking steps to give small and local publishers more power in negotiations with Big Tech companies,” (76%) as well as “Congress needs to rein in Big Tech by passing reforms that would make the publishing industry fairer for smaller media entities and local operators” (72%).
Notably Louisianans also support Congress taking actions that would allow news publishers to band together to collectively negotiate fairer terms for use of content by Big Tech (68%) and increasing regulations on Big Tech in order to curb the power of these companies over the news and publishing industries (56%).
Importantly, Louisianans also indicate that a political candidate’s support for these reforms – or lack thereof – could impact their vote in an election.
By nearly 30-point margins, Louisiana adults say they would be more likely, rather than less likely, to support a candidate for Congress who backed the aforementioned reforms.
In terms of real-world action that Congress can take now, our survey assessed Louisianans’ support for a specific bill that was proposed earlier this year. The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) is a bipartisan proposal that would empower small news publishers – across the political and ideological spectrum – to negotiate fair terms for use of their content by Big Tech companies.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Louisianians support of Congress passing the JCPA, and 62% say it is important for Congress to pass this bill. By a margin of more than three-to-one, Louisianians would also be more likely, rather than less likely, to support a candidate for Congress who supported the JCPA.
Additionally, 62% of respondents agree that: “elected officials who oppose the JCPA are allowing Big Tech companies to continue manipulating the news for their own gain, leaving small and local publishers powerless.”
Ultimately, Louisianians are fed up with Big Tech companies being able to use their power to manipulate the news, silence opinions they don’t agree with, and crush local news outlets.
Louisianans want to rein in Big Tech, and are calling on their elected officials to deliver on targeted reforms – by supporting the JCPA – which our data indicates would have a positive electoral impact for these members.
Our findings present a clear call-to-action to Louisiana officials, who now have a mandate from their constituents to rein in Big Tech by passing the JCPA into law.

For more than 40 years, Douglas Schoen, PhD has been considered one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants in modern American politics. He has guided both political and corporate clients around the world.