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1925 - 2020

WAPPINGERS FALLS, New York - Berney Joseph LeBlanc, 95, a resident of Wappingers Falls, NY since 1988, died on April 8, 2020 at home surrounded by his family.
Born on January 9, 1925 in Abbeville, LA, Berney was predeceased by his parents Duprelon LeBlanc and the former Adele Bergeron. After dating since age twelve, Berney married his teenage sweetheart, Frances Viator, on January 26, 1946 in Abbeville, Louisiana. She predeceased him on July 3, 2008. He proudly served our country in the US Army during World War II and was employed as an Office Manager for A&P in Long Island, NY and Edison, NJ.
Berney loved his family - he dedicated his life to his wife, daughter, granddaughters, and great grandchildren. Right up until his final days, he enjoyed cooking and hosting dinners for them. He especially loved the phone calls, visits, letters, and Cajun treats from his extensive extended family who always made him feel special. Berney was great at giving good advice and wisdom, and never stopped trying to help and support his family. He was a proud and humble man, whoever met him adored and gravitated to him. He always knew how to make you laugh. He was also a generous financial donor to many charitable organizations. He gave true meaning to the words, "The Greatest Generation."
Berney is survived by his daughter, Judy DeGiorgio of Wappingers Falls; his granddaughters, Lauren Lewis and her husband Michael of Poughkeepsie, Jeannine Conforti and her husband Joseph of Hopewell Junction, and Tara DeGiorgio and her fiancé Brian Bischoff of Holmes; his great grandchildren, Christopher and his partner Sara, Rebecca, Mackenzie, Kaylie, Berney, and Jacob; his son in law, Mario DeGiorgio; and his large extended Cajun family. In addition to his parents and his wife, he was predeceased by his granddaughter, Lisa DeGiorgio; 4 sisters, Lucy (Fredrick), Euna (Theroit), Eula (Faulk)), and Zoie (Lege); 3 brothers, Eunice, Essie, and D.A.
Service will be private for the family with entombment in the Community Mausoleum at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. A memorial service in his honor will be set for a later date. Donations may be made in Berney's memory to Hudson Valley Hospice, 374 Violet Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY. Please visit Berney's Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.

BATON ROUGE — Today, at the request of the Louisiana Secretary of State, Gov. John Bel Edwards has postponed Louisiana’s elections for another few weeks because of the COVID-19 outbreak in the state. The Governor originally moved the elections on March 13.
The June 20, 2020 Presidential Preference Primary election in Louisiana is hereby rescheduled for July 11, 2020 from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. The July 25, 2020 election is hereby rescheduled for August 15, 2020 from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

As Louisiana's Corona virus numbers had seemed to be leveling, suddenly the state Tuesday posted the largest one-day spike in deaths, an additional 129, breaking above 1,000 in Louisiana's COVID-19 fatalities at 1,013.

"The virus is obviously fatal for a number of these people, as we are reporting these deaths," Governor John Bel Edwards said at his Tuesday press conference. "People are contracting this disease and spreading this disease, so it's important that people follow the precautions we give them, whether it's the order to stay home, whether it's the hygiene, social distancing, all these things."

But another reality that has the governor concerned is traffic. Police and GOHSEP employees have observed that traffic in many parts of Louisiana is now back to levels almost as high as the days before Coronavirus.

"I did fly to north Louisiana yesterday over some of our major highways," Governor Edwards said, "and I did see more traffic than, quite frankly, I expected to see or wanted to see. People here at GOHSEP tell me they've seen a marked increase in traffic. In addition, we have social distancing apps now that are assigning letter grades. We weren't doing particularly well to begin with. I think our state was a 'C' or a 'C-'. I think we moved down to a D most recently because they [cellphone service providers] are using the GPS data in people's phones to measure what the movement is."

The governor fears what he's always feared, that Louisianans -who tend to be outdoors and social individuals- are getting cabin fever and have reached their limit of the lockdown. To get more proof that the virus is still very much with us, he is ramping up still more testing. He says Louisiana has regained the position of testing more per capita 'more rapidly' than any other state.

"The key to moving forward, especially between now and at such time when the vaccine becomes available will be through very aggressive, robust testing," he said, "plus contact tracing."

"Contact tracing" is a new term for the ability by cellphone service providers to use the Bluetooth feature of a people's cellphones to tell not just their movements but how close they get to others and whether they have been near someone diagnosed with COVID-19.

"All of it is incredibly important," insists the governor. "The worst thing you can do is not know what you're dealing with. And now we can say we have testing in every single region of the state. We're trying to expand on the testing that's available for surveillance purposes, diagnostic purposes and for detecting the presence of the antibodies through serology tests."

Governor Edwards says testing is the ultimate key to when Louisianans can go back work. He says he'll be watching closely Louisiana's statistics for the last two weeks of April, saying those will be decisive.

"And the test results will inform our decision," he said. "And not just about who potentially can go to work. But if we start seeing another spike in the testing, we may have to ratchet back down and put in more restrictions. What we don't want to do is go right back to that place we've been trying to avoid."

Steps to Heaven began in Vermilion Parish in 2015 as a way to help families in crisis.
Volunteers with the non-profit organization sew and provide families with NICU day gowns, receiving blankets, crocheted caps as well as infant burial remembrances, such as a pocket blanket set, burial gown set, keepsake pillow and the Holy Land Stone angel.
As a worldwide crisis has now impacted so many, Steps to Heaven has adjusted its response.
Since the onset of COVID-19 (coronavirus) spreading, Steps to Heaven has created and distributed more than 1,000 mask to doctors, nurses and others on the frontline of the pandemic.
“We began sewing fabric masks free of charge three weeks ago,” Steps to Heaven’s Phyllis Berberich said Tuesday morning. “We are giving them to anyone who contacts Steps to Heaven.
“I have lost count because we have been so busy trying to get as many out as we can.”
Anyone in need of a mask can contact the non-profit organization at stepstoheaven102@gmail.com.
Berberich said masks have been delivered to Abbeville General, Abrom Kaplan Memorial, Lafayette General, Iberia Comprehensive Community Health Center and other local medical facilities in the area. Berberich said the Alexandria VA Medical System Hospital in Pineville has even reached out.
“One of our volunteers has a family member in the Navy in San Diego,” Berberich said. “We sent some masks to California yesterday.”
There are around 50 volunteers involved in making the masks.
“Women are sewing at home and distributing to those who need them in their communities,” Berberich said.
Depending on where the masks are needed, volunteers are making proper adjustments.
“We are sewing masks with either two or three layers,” Berberich explained. “Some of the medical facilities have asked for an extra layer to filter. Their staff is coming in contact with the general public, as opposed to being limited to an office.
“We are trying to provide whatever the needs are in our community.”
Steps to Heaven’s current mission doesn’t mean that its original one is being ignored.
“I delivered NICU gowns last week to two hospitals we service,” Berberich said. “We did it so the babies will have the gowns they need for Easter. We also delivered bereavement items.
“We still have some of our seamstresses sewing bereavement items and day gowns.”
There are volunteers who do not sew who are cutting material to help save time, allowing seamstresses to keep up with the demand for masks.
All materials being used are donated. Berberich said support in that regard has always been great.
“Our fabric and all of our supplies have been donated by our supporters,” Berberich said. “Our supporters have been very generous in providing supplies that we need. Some have made monetary donations so that we can go out and purchase what we need.”
Anyone who would like to donate can contact Berberich through email (stepstoheaven102@gmail.com).
In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Stay-At-Home order has been extended through April 30. There have been signs that social distancing and other measures are helping to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Masks can be a good tool, and Steps to Heaven will continue to help provide those free of charge.
“We are going to do this as long as it is needed,” Berberich said. “This is a new ministry that God is taking us on. Steps to Heaven is a ministry that services families in crisis. That’s how our ministry began. At this time, our whole country is in a crisis.
“That’s why we have shifted our gears to help families impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.”