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ERATH – Funeral Services for Mrs. Jacqueline Romero Gary, 65, will be held at 2:30PM on Friday, May 13, 2021 at David Funeral Chapel of Erath with Rev. Robert Wells officiating. Interment will follow at Sacred Heart Mausoleum in Broussard.
Visitation will be held at David Funeral Home of Erath on Thursday, May 13, 2021 beginning at 10:00AM until 9:00PM with recitation of the rosary at 7:00PM. Visitation will resume on Friday, May 14, 2021 from 8:00AM until the time of the services.
A native and resident of Erath, Mrs. Gary died at 1:15AM on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at her residence. She was known for her love to spend time with her family, especially her grandchildren; going to church; shopping; and crocheting.
She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Glenn J. Gary of Erath; a daughter, Raven Renee Brasseaux and her fiancé Donald Braly of Youngsville; a brother, Harvey James Romero; a sister, Marilynn Suire; five grandchildren, Lacey Nicole Hargrave and her fiancé Dylan Geoffroy, Ali Mikal Hargrave, Caymon James Hargrave, Jada Braly, and Drew Braly; and two great grandchildren, Eli Everett Hoke and Jackson Henry Geoffroy.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Dallas Joseph Romero and Hilda Peltier Romero; and a sister, Sandra Faye Langlinais.
Serving as pallbearers will be Caymon Hargrave, Drew Braly, Donald Braly, Dylan Geoffroy, Harvey Romero, and Jake Gary.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Molly Thomas and Hospice of Acadiana.
You may sign the guest register book and express condolences online at www.davidfuneralhome.org
“In order to help keep the community safe we will honor the July 13, 2020 Louisiana Mandates.  All families and their guests are required to wear a face covering while at the funeral home. Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time.” 
David Funeral Home of Erath at 209 E. Putnam St. (337)937-0405 will be handling the arrangements.

March 25, 1925 ~ May 10, 2021

KAPLAN — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12:00 PM on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church honoring the life of Neva Belle Faulk, 96, who died Monday, May 10, 2021 at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center. She will be laid to rest at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cemetery with Reverend Matt Hebert officiating the services.
Ms. Neva was an active and curious person until the end of her 96 years and never lost her sense of humor.  She took an interest in everyone she met and also enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, gardening, quilting and traveling.   
She is survived by her three daughters, Sue Kaplan of Lafayette, Donna Watkins and her husband, Jim of Plano, TX and Chris Faulk and her spouse, Hunter Davis of Nashville, TN; her six grandchildren; numerous great grandchildren; and her sister, Gloria Bourque of New Iberia.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Dunis Faulk; one son, Cedric Faulk; one sister, Dorothy Trahan; one great grandchild; and her parents, Calice Belle and the former Alice Ancelet.
Her family would like to thank Dr. Randall Faulk and the entire staff at Eastridge Senior Living for their many kindnesses toward her.
The family wishes that masks be worn for visitation and services.   
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Kaplan Food Bank, P.O. Box 534, Kaplan, LA 70548.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, 600 N. Church Avenue, on Thursday, May 13, 2021 from 10:00 AM until the time of the services at 12:00 PM with a rosary being prayed at 11:30 AM.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Kaplan, (337) 643-7276 [Service Information 225-5276]. Condolences may be sent to the Faulk family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.

South Louisiana Community College unveiled its new Home Health Training Lab at the college’s Gulf Area Campus in Abbeville this week. This lab is the result of a partnership with LHC Group and Myers Family Foundation called “A Legacy of Caring in the Home and Community” that began in 2020.
The Home Health Lab features a state-of-the-art, immersive environment that replicates a patient’s bedroom or living room and allows SLCC healthcare students to practice the knowledge, skills, and abilities of home care in a realistic environment. The lab is complete with an advanced computerized simulation mannequin that replicates a variety of clinical situations and responds to care given by its users.
“We are thrilled to officially open this laboratory at our Abbeville campus and expose our nursing students to a growing and critical component of healthcare,” said Dr. Vincent June, SLCC chancellor. “Simulations have been incredibly important to training our students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and it allows for a realistic experience to practice and enhance their skills before touching a human patient.”
The creation of Home Health Labs across SLCC’s rural campuses anchors the “Legacy” project, and the college is unveiling similar labs at its Ville Platte and Morgan City campuses this week. Later this year, three additional labs will be completed at SLCC’s St. Martinville, Crowley, and Opelousas campuses.
“The launch of this lab offers an enhanced level of opportunity for members of this community who wish to pursue a career in healthcare,” said Dr. Benjamin Doga, LHC Group’s chief medical officer. “In-home care has increased in both importance and demand across the healthcare industry, particularly over the past year. Now, we can offer students a chance to learn and train in an environment that will hone the skills they need to help our community, our state, and our nation meet this growing demand.”
The project will help to create a new workforce for a growing subset of the healthcare industry. By the end of 2021, more than 350 SLCC students will be trained in the home health labs.
Over the course of the five-year project, SLCC will create a large-scale scholarship program for healthcare students, drive the implementation of a home health credential, bring health training opportunities to SLCC’s healthcare faculty, offer continuing education in home health, and establish endowed professorships to support the recruitment and retention of exemplary nursing faculty. Lastly, the project will create the state’s first community college endowed chair, which will focus its activities on nursing and home health.
The $2.5 million funding behind the project is historic in itself, and represents the largest private investment in a community college in Louisiana.

ABOUT ACADIANA’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE
South Louisiana Community College is a comprehensive community college that operates campuses in Abbeville, Crowley, Franklin, Houma, Lafayette, Morgan City, New Iberia, Opelousas, St. Martinville, and Ville Platte. The college serves more than 15,000 students annually and offers an array of academic programs. Students earn associate degrees, technical diplomas, certificates, and industry-based certifications. It is ranked 14th among the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers as determined by Community College Week.

ABOUT LHC GROUP, INC.
LHC Group, Inc. is a national provider of in-home healthcare services and innovations, providing high-quality and affordable healthcare services to patients in the privacy and comfort of the home or place of residence. LHC Group’s services cover a wide range of healthcare needs for patients and families dealing with illness, injury, or chronic conditions. The company’s 32,000 employees deliver home health, hospice, home and community-based services, and facility-based care in 35 states and the District of Columbia – reaching 60 percent of the U.S. population aged 65 and older. LHC Group is the preferred in-home healthcare partner for 350 leading hospitals around the country. In 2019, the company was named to the inaugural Forbes list of “America’s Best-in-State Employers.”

ABOUT MYERS FAMILY FOUNDATION
Born out of and supporting St. Landry Parish and the wider Acadiana region, Myers Family Foundation aims to protect and enhance causes related to healthcare education, elder care, and Catholic charities.

Why does so much Louisiana French music come from the prairies of Evangeline Parish and western St. Landry?
Musical traditions such as the long-running Saturday morning broadcast from Fred’s Lounge in Mamou are rooted in a much longer tradition. Ville Platte has been designated by the Louisiana Legislature as the “Swamp Pop Capital of the World” because of the town’s major role in the development of swamp pop music. Floyd Soileau’s JIN Records, the label that has produced more swamp pop acts than any other in the state, began in Ville Platte and recorded such artists as the Boogie Kings, Rod Bernard, Tommy McLain, Joe Barry, Jivin’ Gene, Johnnie Allan, and Warren Storm.
Soileau also came from the prairies, reared in Faubourg near Ville Platte. He produced hundreds of Cajun French records under his other label, Swallow records, Floyd’s Record Shop in Ville Platte was an internationally known Cajun and zydeco music distributor.
“La-La” music, predecessor to much of what we call Cajun and zydeco, was developed on the prairies by memorable musicians such Amédé Ardoin, who was from the Eunice area, and carried on by others like Bois Sec Ardoin, who was born in Duralde, and Canray Fontenot, a native of L’anse aux Vaches near Basile.
Cajun hall of fame musicians such as Mayeus LaFleur (Mamou), Leo Soileau (Ville Platte), Iry Lejeune (Pointe Noire), Dennis McGee (Eunice area) and Nathan Abshire (born in Gueydan but a longtime resident of Basile) were instrumental in developing Cajun music as we know it.
Dewey Balfa and his brothers, who came from Mamou, were among the leaders of the revival of Cajun music.
Those are the ones who pop first into my mind. There were — and are — dozens of others who have their roots in the area and helped form early Louisiana French music and who continue the tradition today.
Why is that? Bois Sec Ardoin once suggested that it might be because in the early days there was nothing else to do out on the prairies but to play music and that once the tradition began within a family, it just kept going. That’s probably as close to the truth as we’re going to get.
These musicians began to play on the front porches of their homes, later graduated to house dances, and then became mainstays at such institutions as the Avalon Club or Rainbow Club in Basile, Richard’s in Mallet, the Evangeline in Ville Platte, Green Lantern and Step-Inn Club at Lawtell and dozens of other dance halls that filled to overflowing on Saturday nights.
The early musicians also were the first to record many Louisiana French songs, and thus their versions became the standard used by later musicians, Songs handed down from front porch to front porch, often with lyrics changed by each musician, were preserved in recordings that others imitated. The lyrics and beat and meter of the recorded version became identified as the “right” way to sing or play a song.
Nowadays Cajun and zydeco music is heard around the world and is identified with all of south Louisiana. And there are, of course, dozens of pioneers and modern practitioners who come from some place other than the Evangeline and St. Landry area. But if you want to find where the roots of the music sink deepest, the south Louisiana prairies might be a good place to start looking.
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, Cajuns and Other Characters, is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.