RSS Feed

October 27, 1938 ~ September 16, 2020

ERATH — A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 PM on Monday, September 21, 2020 at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Erath honoring the life of Claire “Lynn” Vorhoff Bares, 81, who died Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at her residence. She will be laid to rest at St. Mary Magdalen Cemetery with Fr. Andre Metrejean officiating the services. Pallbearers will be Bill Pipes, Will Pipes, Mark Pipes, Ted Drott, Ricky Bernard and Girard Bernard. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Stephen Brier and James Bares.
Lynn was a homebound Eucharistic Minister, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and lector for 35 years. In 2018, she was awarded the Bishop’s award for her dedicated service. She was a member of the Cursillo Movement and served as coordinator with the Abbeville Ultreya facilitator. For over 20 years she served as a member and leader of Come Lord Jesus program. Member of the Lay Carmelites, professed  Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Saecularis (OCDS) and of the community. Lynn was devoted to Mary and the Holy Trinity.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Allen M. Bares, Sr.; son, Kenneth Bares and his wife, Melissa; two daughters, Claire Pipes and her husband, Bill, and Brenda Bares; and grandchildren, Stephen Michael Brier, William Conrad Pipes, Mark Coleman Pipes, Rachel Claire Pipes, Amy Ann Bares, James Allen Bares and Drema Elizabeth Lynn Bares.
She was preceded in death by her parents, James Conrad Vorhoff, Jr. and the former Mildred Bourque; son, Allen Bares, Jr.; and brother, James Conrad Vorhoff, III.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Pope John Paul II Parish Hall, 700 S. Broadway St., Erath, on Monday, September 21, 2020 from 9:00 AM until 12:45 PM when the procession will depart for the church.
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.

MAURICE – A Graveside Service will be held Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Cemetery for Herbert “T-Black” Norman, 90, who died September 14, 2020 at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center.
Interment will be in St. Joseph Cemetery.
He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 66 years, Anna Catalon Norman; their five children, Michael Norman (Linda Sonnier Norman) of Maurice, LA, Richard Norman (Emily Perkins Norman) of Carencro, LA, Pamela Norman Baggette (Stephen Baggette) of Rosenburg, TX, Sharon Norman Comeaux (Richard Comeaux) of Maurice, LA, Craig Norman (Kerry Francis Norman) of Lafayette, LA; 18 grandchildren; 28 great grandchildren; 2 great-great grandchildren; brother, Edwin Norman, Jr.; sister, Olita Mae Narcisse of LaMarque, TX and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin Norman and Olita Boudreaux Norman; daughter, Joanna Norman Duhon; father-in-law, Eldridge Catalon; mother-in-law, Emma Mouton Catalon; siblings, Roosevelt Norman, Kerbet Norman, Clarence Norman, Velma Arceneaux, Rose Roy, Dorothy Norman, Sharbet Norman, Wilda Trahan, Hilda Perry, Florence Bushnell and Calvina Welch.
Sign the guestbook online at www.syrie.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to Syrie Funeral Home, Inc. of Lafayette, LA.

CROWLEY — Hurricane Laura caused $525.4 million in damage to Louisiana farmers and $1.1 billion to the Louisiana timber industry, according to preliminary estimates by the LSU AgCenter.
Laura devastated 757,538 acres of timber from the southwest to northeast parts of the state, according to a report by AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry and AgCenter forestry specialist Michael Blazier.
In comparison, agricultural losses — including forestry, crops and fisheries — from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 totaled $1.5 billion.
Laura’s $1.6 billion total in losses for Louisiana agriculture will likely increase when damage estimates for the fisheries industry are completed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The damage in 2005 and this year are different, Guidry said. Laura was more of a wind event, while Katrina and Rita brought flooding along coastal Louisiana. Infrastructure damaged by wind was the big factor this year, and crops were not as affected this year as in 2005.
So was Laura the costliest storm for Louisiana agriculture?
“It’s going to be up there as one of the highest we’ve ever had,” Guidry said. “Based on the amount of infrastructure damage that occurred and the losses associated with timber, the total economic impact to the food and fiber sector from Hurricane Laura will be as large as or larger than any storm that I have developed estimates for since my time with the AgCenter.”
But the storm’s impact on crop production and farm revenues across all commodities has been surpassed by other storms or weather events like droughts that have resulted in more widespread and larger production impacts.
However, from a timber standpoint, Blazier said, Laura appears to be the most devastating storm to hit Louisiana, even more destructive than Katrina and Rita combined. “It’s demoralizing. I checked and checked and rechecked the figures, and if anything, it’s conservative,” he said.
Using data from aerial surveys by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Vernon Parish was estimated to have the largest economic loss of timber at $360 million on 160,416 acres, followed by Rapides, Beauregard, Grant and Allen parishes, all estimated to have timber damage exceeding $100 million.
Calcasieu Parish had the highest forestry acreage damage total of 188,292 acres, but the lost timber value was estimated at $76.7 million.
The damage estimate includes national forests as well as privately owned land. Many landowners use timber revenue to supplement their retirement income, and this storm will affect people throughout the state, Blazier said. As an example, he said, one landowner with 42 acres of commercial timber estimated that half of their trees were destroyed.
The heaviest damage tracked the path of the storm’s eye as it went almost all the way to Arkansas as a hurricane. Anecdotal evidence suggests the worst damage occurred in forests that had been thinned recently. “There was just more wind that could come through those stands,” Blazier said.
The AgCenter report determined that only 10% of the downed pine trees can be salvaged and that none of the damaged hardwood trees are salvageable. Blazier said market demand for hardwood pulp is low.
Downed trees in Louisiana’s environment must be salvaged quickly because the wood deteriorates rapidly. “We have a very short window, maybe less than a month,” he said.
In addition, the report says Laura will have long-term effects on the timber industry, with increased debris resulting in more disease and insect pressure on surviving timber. Also, the debris will worsen the potential for wildfire outbreaks and increase the costs of establishing new tree growth.
The timber report considered only impacts from forest landowners’ standpoint, but mills and loggers also suffered infrastructure damage.
Most of the agricultural losses involve infrastructure damage, according to an agronomic crops report by Guidry. That report broke down the impacts on farmers into five categories:
Reduced production resulted in losses, $48.4 million.
Stored commodity losses, $6.9 million.
Livestock losses and forced liquidation, $1.4 million.
Increased crop production costs, $6.7 million
Infrastructure damage, $462 million.
The report says most damage was caused by wind. “Unlike other storms that resulted in widespread and prolonged flooding, Hurricane Laura moved quickly through the state with flooding being generally confined to tidal surge along the coast. However, excessive winds throughout Laura’s entire path through the state caused significant infrastructure damage.”
Wind caused row crops to lodge, or be blown over.

Rice
The state’s rice crop suffered most, the report says, with 74,000 acres affected for an economic impact of $28.5 million. Yield losses for the first and second crops are estimated at 1.7 million hundredweight, with average losses of 38% for the first crop and 37% for the second crop. Stored rice losses total $6 million. Electricity needed to power drying systems in storage bins was lost throughout southwest Louisiana, and some storage bins were damaged by winds. Increased harvest costs are projected at $1.3 million.

“There were also significant acres of rice that was in the flowering stage of its development,” the report says. “High winds during that time is expected to lead to reduced pollination and reduced overall production.”

Sugarcane
A 3.2% yield reduction is projected for the 182,000 affected acres for a total loss of 50 million pounds valued at $8.2 million. Replanting is needed on 1,224 acres, costing almost $700,000 and bringing the total economic impact estimated to $8.8 million.

Soybeans
Yield on 153,000 affected acres is projected to be decreased by 9.6%, or 828,000 bushels, costing more than $8 million. Increased harvest costs from downed soybeans is expected to cost farmers $1.3 million, bringing the total losses to $9.4 million.

Cotton
The total impact amount of $6.5 million results from an 11.2% yield decrease of 7.8 million pounds on almost 60,000 affected acres for a $5 million loss. The total includes an additional $1.5 million from increased harvest costs.

Crawfish
The estimate concludes that 5,000 acres of crawfish ponds are affected, with an estimated loss of 75%, or 2 million pounds, for a total impact of $2.7 million.

Corn
The report says almost 17,000 affected acres will have a 15% yield loss of 526,000 bushels, and an increased harvest cost of $124,155 for a total of $2 million in losses.

Other commodities
The report says 10,750 acres of hay production was affected, with a 32% yield loss and more than $800,000 in storage losses that will cost almost $1.5 million.
The loss of grazing days on 703,400 acres is expected to cost $1.4 million.
Pecan losses totaling $745,240 are figured with a 34% yield reduction on 3,904 acres for a crop reduction of 573,262 pounds.
The storm had minimal impact on sweet potatoes, with losses estimated at about $30,000.
Grain sorghum losses are estimated at almost $43,000.

Livestock
The total livestock economic impact is estimated at $1.8 million.
Most of that is from the economic impact on cattle producers, estimated at $1.2 million. The report bases that figure on 130 cattle deaths, costing $88,400; 5,775 animals liquidated, costing $785,400; and 36,675 head evacuated, costing $324,000.
In poultry, the estimated loss of 101,000 birds is projected to cost $545,400. Much of that resulted from power outages that shut down cooling systems needed to control temperatures in chicken houses.
A dozen horses died from the storm, and 530 were evacuated, bringing the total impact to $38,575.
Losses for sheep, hogs and goat were less than $1,000.

Infrastructure
Buildings and facilities carried the biggest part of Louisiana’s agricultural damage estimate with a value of $403.2 million. The report estimates that the storm damaged a third of the ag-related buildings and other structures across 13 parishes.
Also, the storm damaged 5,100 miles of fencing that will cost $58.8 million to repair or replace, according to the report.
Guidry said several aid programs are available through the Farm Service Agency.
“Also, for those parishes designated as disaster areas, emergency farm loans are typically made available,” he said.
Federal legislative action would be required for additional assistance. “In other storm events, there have been programs that have been made available,” Guidry said.