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One man has been arrested and another is wanted in connection to a shooting that occurred in Abbeville last Saturday.
Investigators with the Abbeville Police Department obtained warrants regarding the shooting that took place near East Oak Street and North Bailey Street on April 9. Officers who responded to that call found one victim shot. The victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
On April 13, the Abbeville Police Department arrested 22-year-old Bradley Broussard of Abbeville on charges of Principal to Illegal Use of Weapons and Obstruction of Justice. Broussard was transported to the Vermilion Parish Correctional Center.
​Investigators are searching for 27-year-old Jaylin Veney of Abbeville. Veney has an outstanding warrant for Attempted 2nd Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies. The Abbeville Police Department is asking for anyone knowing Veney’s whereabouts to contact the Abbeville Police Department. Veney is to be considered armed and dangerous.
​This investigation is still ongoing and more arrests are expected in this case.
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.

Back in prehistoric days when nobody had a TV set or air conditioning, there were few things better to do as the weather turned warm than to seek out entertainment and a cooling breeze in the grandstands of the hometown baseball team. In south Louisiana that meant the game could quickly turn hotter than the weather.
The Evangeline Baseball League was organized in 1934 and fielded teams until 1957, over the years earning, even reveling in, its nickname — the Hot Pepper League. The season usually ran from mid-April through the Labor Day weekend, and in most games fans were just as likely to see a brawl as a double play.
t was a Class D league, the most minor of the minor leagues, so the baseball was not the best. But the games were always entertaining and always lively — especially in the early days when only one umpire (making the magnificent sum of $2.50 per game) had to call balls and strikes, as well as outs on the bases, while keeping tabs on the outfield.
League historian Paul Leslie pointed out several years ago, “The use of a single official produced serious problems: On close plays in the outfield, the distracted official lost sight of the base runners who often took shortcuts across the diamond to either third base or home plate.”
I can attest to that. I remember attending a game in Lake Charles as a boy, and people in the stands yelling, “Cut across, Shorty! Cut across!” on such a play. I don’t remember who Shorty was. My most vivid memory of those games is of the hot dogs served at Legion Field. I’ve been trying to replicate them for years. They were the best I’ve ever eaten.
The league suspended operations for three seasons during World War II, but in 1945 “local baseball leaders” from across south Louisiana decided to reorganize it “to provide the returning veterans with their favorite national pastime,” according to a news account.
Baseball buffs from Eunice, Rayne, Opelousas, Ville Platte, New Iberia, Jeanerette, Lafayette, Alexandria, and Lake Charles were among those who met at the Pecan Grove in Erath, to see who could pony up the fees demanded by the National Association of Professional Baseball Clubs.
Teams proposed for 1946 included the Abbeville Athletics, Alexandria Aces, New Iberia Cardinals, Houma Indians, Thibodaux Giants, Hammond Berries, Baton Rouge Red Sticks, Port Arthur Tarpons, and Natchez Giants. It appears that the smaller towns couldn’t come up with the needed cash.
Still, William Keefe, sports editor for the Times-Picayune in 1946, predicted a good season with lots of fans welcoming the return of hometown baseball. Better highways would mean “more fans following their teams around for the night games,” he said. “Most of the parks are well-equipped with lighting systems and can get ready without undue expense.”
Loyal fans did follow their teams, and sometimes helped the league reestablish its “hot pepper” reputation.
A 1946 game between Alexandria and Port Arthur illustrates the point. The game was tied 14-14 in the bottom of the 11th inning when an Ace player tried to stretch a single into a double and was called out by umpire Carmen Conte.
“The Alexandria bench emptied in protest,” Leslie reports. “Manager Harry Strohm and a number of his players charged out of the dugout and surrounded the official. ‘Everybody was yelling at the top of their voice,’ Conte recalled.”
When a couple of players bumped the ump, he demanded, “Who’s the manager here?”
Strohm replied, “It don’t make no difference who is, you punk. ... We’re all managers.” So Conte ejected the entire group from the game — six players and the manager.”
That’s when trouble really started. The ejections left Alexandria without the nine men needed to continue the game.
Alexandria had to forfeit, the fans joined the melee, and the ump needed a police escort to get safely out of town.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.

For the last 12 years, Vermilion Parish residents could always puff their chests out because they knew they lived in one of the best school districts in Louisiana.
They could travel to surrounding parishes and brag to their friends that they live in Vermilion Parish because Vermilion has the best public school systems in Acadiana and one of the top 10 in the state.
Three years ago, Vermilion climbed as high as the state’s No. 2 ranked school system.
But that high ranking could change over the next couple of years if Vermilion Parish can not recruit certified teachers.
The parish has a record number of 60 uncertified teachers out of 664 teachers in the classrooms. That figures to just under 10 percent of the parish teachers are non-certified. A few years back, uncertified teachers were rare in Vermilion Parish.
“We are not getting that influx of teachers from Lafayette Parish, Iberia Parish, and Acadiana Parish, who all pay more than us,” said Superintendent Tommy Byler. “
“In some of our surrounding areas teachers can make 4-5 thousand more than us.
At one time, Vermilion ranked in the top two in the Acadiana area regarding salaries. No longer. The parish ranks number 10 out of 11 Acadiana parishes in teacher pay.
Byler said it is getting harder to recruit new teachers coming out of college because of the parish’s salary.
“Who does not want to go to a parish that pays more?” Byler said. “A brand new teacher sees the starting salary of each parish, and they are going to go to the parish that pays the most.”
The school board has decided the only way to attract and keep teachers and support workers in Vermilion Parish is to pay them more.
On April 30, the voters are being asked to support a 1/2 cent sales tax that is dedicated to employee salaries and benefits. It will bring in a total of $4.2 million per year.
The School Board will use $3 million for salaries and $1 2 million for retirement benefits.
How much of a raise will it be for teachers?
The starting pay for a new teacher is $41,000. If the tax is approved, the projected increase in pay will be $2,100 a year. Every school employee who makes $20,000 will receive a $1,000 pay raise. If the employee makes $60,000 a year, it will be a $3,000 raise.
The raise will be around a five to six percent increase in the base pay schedule for all employees.
“We are trying to keep what we have in our school system,” Byler said. “To continue getting results, we have to be in the competitive market to fight for certified teachers.”
Vermilion Parish may have one of the highest sales taxes in the state at 10.5 percent, but it is not because of education. Vermilion collects only 1.5 percent in sales tax for education. That is the lowest out of the 62 other parishes. A majority of the parishes collect 2 to 2.5 percent.
“We have a good school system. People want to come into our school system,” he said. “We have to remain competitive in the market for teachers as well as all of the support employees that our district needs as well.
“The passing of this tax would show public support for our school employees.”
What happens if it does not pass?
Byler said the salary schedule would stay the same, but he expects to lose more teachers and support workers to other parishes.
“We will have decisions that will need to be made. The quality of education might fall off because of uncertified teachers,” he said.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church honoring the life of Mary Ann Sagrera, 91, who passed away April 11, 2022, at Southwind Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Fr. Mikel Polson, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church will be officiating for the services. The family is requesting visiting hours to be held Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday at Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home in Crowley. A rosary will be recited at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Interment will be in Woodlawn Mausoleum.
Mary Ann worked many years with LSU.Extension Service as a 4-H Agent and then as a Home Economist Agent. Ms. Sagrera started a student exchange program that brought Asian youth to Acadia Parish. Her awards include distinguished service awards, the National Association of County Agents Team Award, and the First Mississippi Corporation Award.
She is survived by her adopted daughter, Lena Rose DeBlanc, and her son-in-law, Lawrence DeBlanc; three nephews, Andrew, Oneil, and Paul Granger; and three nieces, Janet Guins, Mary Beth Colard, and Helen Fruitiger.
Ms. Sagrera is preceded in death by her mother, Lena Hebert Sagrera; her father, Andrew Jackson Sagrera; and two sisters, Helen Rose Sagrera, and Agnes S. Granger.
Family extends special thanks to all the Southwind Assisted Living and the Nursing and Rehabilitation staff for their care and attention in these past four years.
Condolences may be sent to the family by www.geesey-ferguson.com
Arrangement have been entrusted to Geesey-Ferguson Funeral Home of Crowley.