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“TEAM MEAUX did it again, and broke records.
The 7th Annual Gumbo for Meaux Elementary was recently held on Saturday, March 5, 2021 at The Red Barn in Abbeville.
The annual event is a family fun day which included over 30 gumbo cooking teams, live & silent auctions, drinks, concessions, bake sale treats, fun jumps, kids games, face painting & live entertainment performed by some very talented & generous local musicians who donate their time. The bands & musical line up included: The Bayou Beats, The Beau Young Band, Aaron Jay & his band & Alligator Blue.
After seven years of organizing & hosting this event, it is still such a joy to see everyone come out & share their day with us. Our committee of dedicated parents meet year round to plan ahead for the next event & we always pray our fundraising efforts are a huge success. We are constantly blown away by the amount of community support. This year, they have broken the record with the amount of cooking teams that signed up & the amount of gumbos cooked! Our judges had a tough challenge ahead of them but they got it done. Thank you so much to this year’s judges: Brian Marceaux, Wesley LeMaire, Jamie Bergeron & Dr. Dac Pourciau.
On behalf of the Gumbo for Meaux committee, we are so excited to announce we have also broken last year’s record total. All of the numbers have been tallied up & the grand total this year comes to $33, 382.15.
Thank you again so much to all our guests, event volunteers, parents, family, teachers, staff & students! Without your help, none of this would be possible. Thank you also to all of our sponsors, donors, cooking teams, judges, auctioneers & musicians for all of your donations & time! It is truly a team effort and we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you again to Gabe Marceaux & Gerrod Brasseux for an exceptional job helping on the mics for our Live Auction. Special thank you to Monique Lemaire with Monique Designs for an incredible job & for taking care of our awesome Event T-shirts & banners.
Thank you so much to each and every one of you who continue to help. Without you, none of this would be possible.We are always looking for more volunteers, please keep a look out when we begin to plan for our next event. We invite any and all who would like to participate in any way.
The committee is currently gathering estimates, doing research & looking into ways to spend the funds in the most beneficial way to the school & students. A few projects we plan to work on first include replacing the flag poles in front of school, updating the front of school’s landscaping & wall sign, adding a PA speaker/mic system to be used for outdoor events, purchasing a nice school logo rug for the front entry & hopefully we plan to help add a covered pavilion that will be useful on rainy days for all PE classes or to hold outdoor events. It will even include new outdoor bathrooms for all to use.

Article & Photos submitted by: Brook Stelly, Gumbo for Meaux Committee Member

BATON ROUGE—Lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly rejected a bill to ban hand-held driver phones after a handful of amendments, debates and product demonstrations.
The bill would have allowed law enforcement to ticket anyone caught with a cell phone in hand while driving.
“This bill is a wireless cell phone hands-free bill,” the author of the bill, Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, said. “It does not keep you from using a cell phone when you're driving. It just requires you to do it in a safe manner.”
The bill failed to pass in the House by a close margin of 48-46. But prior to the vote, lawmakers discussed the bill in intense debates.
Lawmakers adopted eight amendments to alter the bill since it was first proposed in the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works on March 14.
Amendments increased maximum fines from $100 to $300 as well as community service from 15 hours to 90 hours.
The amended bill also would have prohibited officers from arresting an individual who was caught with a phone in hand while driving even if the officer observed illegal activities or items in the car.
Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, argued that the ban might still prompt an officer to abuse his power.
“I'm going to submit to you that, if he walks up to the vehicle and visibly observes an open container in the console, they’re going to find a reason to detain you and get a search warrant,” Brown said.
Huval said the bill would not allow an officer to do so.
Brown also questioned how law enforcement officers would be able to accurately spot someone driving with a phone in hand.
He held up an item while standing several feet away from Huval and asked him if an officer could fine him if he was driving. Huval said yes, but Brown then revealed it was a phone charger.
“That's my point,” Brown said. “If an officer sees this, he thinks it's a cell phone, but it’s a phone charger.”
This was not the only demonstration.
When lawmakers debated the bill in March, Rep. Robby Carter, R-Amite, argued that the bill discriminated against people who can only afford “pay-as-you-go” phones without voice-command features.
“It will not be possible to operate a cell phone in a car that doesn’t have Bluetooth,” Carter said during that debate.
Huval picked up a Dollar General bag with a phone inside.
“This phone costs $49, but I found out I can go to Walmart and get it for $19,” Huval said. “I drive a car that is 50 years old, and…all it has is AM radio. You know what, I can drive my car with this hands-free.”
The bill failed even though the House passed a similar bill in the 2021 session. A motion to reconsider the bill is pending.

Another level of competition, another win for McKinsey Nicholas of Abbeville.
McKinsey, 18, earned the Louisiana Boys & Girls Club “Youth of the Year” over the weekend. He won the Acadiana version of the award a few months back.
McKinsey is a long-time member of the Boys & Girls Club Rodney Unit in Abbeville. He will compete for the Regional Boys & Girls Club “Youth of the Year” award in Atlanta this June.
He becomes the third Abbeville youth in seven years to earn the Louisiana Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year.
In 2015, Abbeville’s Bre’Jai Roberton won the award. Then in 2020, Abbeville High’s Zontré Scott also won the state award.
“It is a big accomplishment,” said McKinsey about winning. “I am so blessed to win this award and represent Louisiana.”
He won a $2,500 college scholarship.
Since 1947, the Youth of the Year award has been the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier recognition program. Each year, one Boys & Girls Club member is chosen for the role of National Youth of the Year from clubs across the
country.
McKinsey will go on to compete in the Southeast Regional Youth of the Year competition in June in hopes of becoming eligible for the National Youth of the Year honor. The National Youth of the Year serves as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club.
McKinsey, a two-sport athlete, took the competition seriously, especially at the district level. He contacted Zontre Scott of Abbeville High, a former district and state Boys and Girls Club winner, and got major pointers. Scott and members of the Abbeville Boys and Girls Club prepared McKinsey with writing a special essay to draw the judges in and make them understand what the Boys and Girls Club means to him.
Once he won the region, McKinsey worked even harder preparing for the state level. He practiced answering questions that the state judges may ask him.
When he walked out of the interview room at the state level, he walked back to his table and told his mom, he drilled it.
“I knew I won,” said McKinsey. “The judges asked me leadership questions, and I was prepared.”
McKinsey has a twin brother, McKinley, who is not as vocal as McKinsey. McKinsey said he got his personality from his mother, Angienette, who is a pre-school teacher.
Because of his outgoing personality, McKinsey is not afraid to speak in front of a crowd. By winning the region and state competition, he added, “It gave me a lot of confidence about my self.”
The Abbeville High senior is not settling for winning the local and state Boys and Girls Club award. He wants to win more.
With high school just about over, McKinsey has already entered the work force and is working at least 40 hours a week with the City of Abbeville. For the next four weeks, his life will consist of work, sleep and preparing for the regional event in Atlanta.
“I am looking at the next competition as a sporting event. I am trying to win the championship. Winning the state award just got me closer to winning the national award.”

An Abbeville mother faces numerous charges related to severe injuries that her infant suffered.
​On May 2, at approximately 7 p.m. officers with the Abbeville Police Department received a call from the Louisiana Office of Child Services regarding possible child abuse. Detectives traveled to an area hospital to meet with the complainant.
​During the investigation it was learned that an infant was in the hospital for several extensive injuries, including broken bones and head injuries. After interviewing several persons, officers arrested the mother of the child, 26-year-old Kassidy McGee of Abbeville, for 2nd Degree Cruelty to a Juvenile and Illegal Use of Controlled Dangerous Drugs in the Presence of a Juvenile.
Kassidy was transported to the Vermilion Parish Correctional Center, where she was also booked on unrelated Contempt of Court warrants. The infant child is still in an area hospital and is listed in Critical Condition.
The Abbeville Police Department is asking that anyone who may have any information regarding any crime, to please contact the Abbeville Police Department by calling 893-2511. You may contact our “Tips” line at 892-6777. All callers may remain anonymous.
Citizens may also send anonymous tips through CrimeStoppers of Vermilion by calling 740-TIPS or the P3 app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.