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Bank of Erath is pleased to announce that Cheney D. Desormeaux has been appointed as Executive Vice President, effective January 1, 2021. The announcement was made by Paul G. Moresi, Jr., the bank’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
Cheney graduated from Erath High School in 1984 and attended Gulf Area Vocational Technical School in Abbeville, where she completed a course in Information Processing in 1987.
Cheney has been Vice President/Cashier for the bank for the past 20 years and has 28 years of banking experience with Bank of Erath.
The Bank of Erath has been in continuous operation in Vermilion Parish for 110 years and is locally owned and operated as a full service community bank with branches in Abbeville, Erath, and Delcambre.

ERATH — A Celebration of Life Gathering for Jason Paul Nunez, 67, will be Wednesday, February 3, 2021 from 10:00AM until 12:00PM. Services will be held at 11:00AM in David Funeral Home of Erath with Rev. Chris Fuselier officiating .
Jason, a native and life resident of Erath passed away Saturday, January 30, 2021 in his residence surrounded by his family. He was an avid bird watcher especially Purple Martins. He enjoyed tracking their migration and building their bird houses. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and all outdoor activities. He was a member of BCA and APA pool leagues for many years.
He is survived by his mother, Marjerine Nunez of Erath, two sons, Mitchell Nunez and wife Tammy of Delcambre, Kirk Nunez and fiancée Leslie Picard of New Iberia, brothers, Scotty Nunez and wife Harriet of Erath, Carson Nunez and wife Fran of Erath, sisters, Vickie Nunez of New Iberia, Lanette LeBlanc and husband Robert of Delcambre, grandchildren, Damon, Noel, Tyler, Mason, Layla, Gracie and Ava.
He was preceded in death by his father, R.J. “Slim” Nunez and a brother, Earlon Nunez.
Condolences may be shared with the family 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 is in charge of arrangements. 209 E. Putnam St. Erath, LA 70533 (337) 937-0405.

ABBEVILLE — A Celebration of Life Gathering for Sharlene Michaud, 57, will be in David Funeral Home of Abbeville on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 from 3:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sharlene passed away Friday, January 29, 2021 in her residence. Sharlene was born in Abbeville and a resident of Duson, LA. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to all. She will always be remembered for her love of family and willingness to help others.
She is survived by her wife, Sandra Bourque (Sandy) of Duson, her children, Brandie L. Connelly and husband Pat of Abbeville, Tara L. Shake and husband Timothy of Abbeville, grandchildren, Jada, Mya, Destin, Nollie, Shawnita, Constance, Hazelynn, great-grandchildren, Zaidyn, Mazelynn, a sister, Sonia Michaud of Abbeville.
She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Judith P. Michaud, and grandchild, Timara.
Condolences may be shared with the family at www.davidfuneralhome.org
In lieu of flowers, monetary donations may be deposited at this account #15615242094 with Chime Bank Online to help defray funeral expenses.
“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 Abbeville is in charge of the arrangements. 2600 Charity Street Abbeville LA 70510 337-893-3777.

By Robert Romano

One of the many executive orders that has come in President Joe Biden’s first few days in office addresses the Covid pandemic and the thorny issue of reopening schools.
Entitled, “Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers,” the order issued Jan. 21 may instead create a number of new regulatory barriers to schools reopening.
It orders the Secretary of Education to “provide, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, evidence-based guidance” on “how to remain open, for in-person learning; and in safely conducting in-person learning, including by implementing mitigation measures such as cleaning, masking, proper ventilation, and testing…”
Of those, “proper ventilation” stands out.
According to the Centers for Disease Control guidance on air ventilation, public buildings should “Consider ventilation system upgrades or improvements and other steps to increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants. Obtain consultation from experienced Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) professionals when considering changes to HVAC systems and equipment… The ventilation intervention considerations listed above come with a range of initial costs and operating costs which, along with risk assessment parameters such as community incidence rates, facemask compliance expectations and room occupant density, may affect considerations for which interventions are implemented.”
Additionally, a new 200-page report on Covid response from the Biden administration states, “In the coming weeks, FEMA, in consultation with ED and CDC, will work with states and local governments to utilize disaster relief funds to address barriers to school reopening, including purchase of masks and sanitizing products, as well as necessary emergency changes to school ventilation.”
Essentially, the Biden administration is proposing to retrofit 130,000 schools across the country. In addition, President Biden is calling for an additional $130 billion of funding from Congress for schools to complete the renovations. That works out to $1 million per school.
Fortunately, in the most recent stimulus legislation passed by Congress and signed by former President Donald Trump, $82 billion was provided to schools and colleges to safely reopen. How soon that will be is anyone’s guess, with millions of students still utilizing distance learning.
As far as Covid cases go, confirmed cases are still coming in at about 188,000 per day nationwide, while probable cases according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at about 574,000 new cases daily.
Is Biden saying that unless Congress puts forth another $130 billion, it won’t be safe for schools to reopen?
That’s a critical question, because besides the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines now being distributed, the greatest barrier to reopening America and getting everyone back to work is solving the issue of schools.
Millions of working parents are being forced to cut back hours or quit their jobs to take care of their kids who would normally be in school, with women being disproportionately removed from the labor force. In fact, females have the lowest labor participation now than at any time since 1987.
Overall, 25 million jobs were lost when labor market bottomed last April. Fortunately, more than 16 million of those have been recovered.
Still, by March, many students will have gone almost a full year without in-person learning, including many with special needs including children with autism. My own daughter is enrolled in a pre-K autism class, and except for a few weeks of reopening in November here in northern Virginia, the school has remained closed.
We are offsetting the lack of in-person schooling with increased ABA therapy, but that is not an option for all children. She and other special needs students are definitely not getting what they need. They are losing years of development.
My wife was admittedly excited about the announcement of President Biden’s plan to “reopen” schools, but our hearts sank as we examined the details, realizing that the barriers included potentially retrofitting every school in America with new ventilation.
We keep asking: When will the schools reopen?
To take what the Biden administration is saying at face value, first, Congress has to pass this new legislation, which could take several months. Then the funds have to be distributed to the states. Then the states have to distribute the funds to the school districts. And then the schools have to be retrofitted by FEMA. Finally, the vaccine has to be proven effective, which we may not really know until the next cold and flu season begins in September.
So, perhaps schools will fully reopen in another year or so? Maybe? We’re not optimistic.

Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.