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December 27, 2003 The Top 10 Stories of 2003 Compiled by the Herald-Guide Staff
1. Attempted murder exposes rift between Sheriff, DA’s offices Terry Baraglia, the Des Allemands man whose trial for attempted murder of a police officer exposed a rift between the Sheriff and District Attorney’s offices, plead guilty to aggravated assault on Oct. 9. Judge Douglas Gonzales, an ad-hoc judge from Baton Rouge brought on after Judge Robert Chaisson recused himself from the case, sentenced Baraglia to six months in prison, suspended, and six months inactive probation. He was also being credited for the nearly six months he spent in prison awaiting trial after his arrest on Feb. 27. Detective Steven Gonzales, not related to the judge, responded to a call of a neighborhood disturbance on the night of Feb. 27. Gonzales, not in uniform at the time, knocked on the door of Baraglia’s home several times. Baraglia jumped out of the house and fired a shotgun at Gonzales, missing by inches. Gonzales returned fire, wounding Baraglia twice in the leg. The case received added attention in September when a lawyer for the Sheriff’s Office entered a request for the District Attorney to be recused from the case, claiming that Assistant D.A. Kurt Sins had failed to notify Detective Gonzales that he and the defense attorney were filing a joint motion to allow Baraglia out of prison into the care of his wife. Judge Gonzales refused to allow the recusal. “We let the process work,” Morel said after the sentence was given. “I think this worked out for everybody.” Morel said, upon reviewing the evidence of the case, “I thought there was a problem with the guy shooting a gun.” Earlier, prior to the hearing to have his office recused, Morel said he was still trying to determine if there was enough evidence to bring the case to trial. He said that the plea bargain was a good move for everyone, because he did not believe that there was enough evidence to convict Baraglia of the original attempted murder charge. Chief Deputy Joe Cardella said that the Sheriff’s Office is satisfied with the outcome of the case. “We’re glad that the charges reached a court,” Cardella said, adding that the Sheriff’s Office has considered this case to be an issue of officer safety from the beginning. “We handle disturbance calls all the time... people should not take the law into their own hands.” Cardella also said he was glad that Baraglia admitted his guilt, and that shooting a firearm at someone for any reason is unacceptable. 2. Hahnville man accused of murdering wife Hahnville resident Willie Mayeux was accused of stabbing his wife, Catherine, to death on April 5. He was indicted by a grand jury on May 28. Mayeux is being charged with second degree murder. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment June 16. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Willie and Catherine had been separated for several weeks before the incident, which took place when Catherine had returned to their home to pick up some personal items. At the time of Catherine’s death Willie Mayeux was under a restraining order. In relation to the case, the Louisiana criminal code was changed to include murder cases where the suspect is under a restraining order to be tried for first degree murder. The change came after members of Catherine’s family lobbied the state legislature. The new code, however, will not affect the Mayeux case. The case against Mayeux may come to trial as early as next spring.
3. Undefeated Hahnville Tigers win State Championship The Hahnville Tiger football team brought home a State Football Championship for the sixth time in school history on December 13 in the Superdome. The Tigers were led by the running abilities of backs Darius Reynaud and Craig Turner and the arm of quarterback Bryant Lee. Reynaud won Player of the Game honors for his three touchdown performance. The Tigers went through the season a perfect 15-0. Early in the season, the Tigers downed parish rival Destrehan 20-13. Then, three weeks later, they defeated Top 5 ranked East St. John 55-49. South Lafourche, who handed them their only loss last year, was downed as well 21-10. In the playoffs, the Tigers defeated Fontainebleau, #12 Barbe, Higgins and #1 Carencro before outdueling defending champion Evangel 41-35 for the title. For Head Coach Lou Valdin, this was his first state championship as a head coach. Valdin received honors as District and River Parishes Coach of the Year. Safety Brett Naquin was also honored by being named District and River Parishes Defensive Player of the Year.
4. Orion Refinery bought by Valero Orion Refining Corporation announced in May, after declaring bankruptcy, that it had entered into an agreement to sell its refinery to Valero Energy Corporation. Valero submitted and Orion accepted a Stalking Horse bid of $400 million plus an approximate $100 million for working capital. The agreement also provided for a potential earn-out payment of up to $175 million over the next seven years, with payments to be made if refining margins exceed agreed upon values during that period. With the exception of many of the upper management positions, most of the work force at the Orion plant was rehired by Valero. Many community programs sponsored by Orion have continued under Valero, including the annual bridge run and other United Way programs as well. Since the purchase, Valero has repaired the refinery’s sulfur plants which are designed to help reduce emissions. And the company plans to invest $100 million to help improve the local facility’s reliability, infrastructure and efficiency.
5. Dialysis Center closes, Parish moves to fund new one When the dialysis center in Luling closed down on June 30, 23 people were left without a place to go for their necessary, life-saving treatments. The patients found new centers farther away, making trips that were burdensome to people with the health problem On Nov. 17 the parish council unanimously agreed to approve a loan to St. Charles Hospital.The loan of $277,000 will go towards starting up a new outpatient dialysis center The hospital currently has an inpatient dialysis unit, but it is not sufficient to meet the needs those who lost their center this summer when Gambro, the Swedish-owned company that owned the center, is pulled out of the area citing problems with the facility on Milling Avenue. Gambro recently constructed a new dialysis center in Kenner, and elected to close the Luling center rather than building a new one in St. Charles Parish. The agreement provides the hospital with $100,000 up front, followed by an additional $100,000 a month after the unit opens and another $77,000 a month after that. Theresa Green, whose husband is a dialysis patient, travelled extensively with Hospital CEO Fred Martinez and others to ask for help from the state legislature and Louisiana’s federal congressional delegation. “From Baton Rouge to DC I’ve been telling people, ‘Keep an eye on St. Charles Parish. We have people who care’,” she said at the meeting where the loan was announced. “All of you have done something very, very great tonight.” 6. I-49 meets opposition At public meetings in November on the proposed I-49 project through St. Charles Parish, residents spoke in opposition to several of the alternatives that are being considered for the project. Later in the month, the parish council and school board passed proclamations opposing the only two alternatives in the Luling area. One of the paths would have sent I-49 through the Willowdale and Willowridge neighborhoods, whereas the other would have placed it in the Monsanto Chemical Plant and Barton Avenue in Luling. The proclamation said the proposals would adversely affect existing neighborhoods in the area. It also stated that the “semi-country” living in the parish would be disrupted by the major interstate. Another round of public meetings are scheduled for March after La. Dept. of Transportation and Development officials have reviewed the comments received from residents after the November meetings.
7. Airline Drive canal takes seven lives, study launched In response to the public call for action regarding a stretch of Airline Drive bordered by a six-mile canal that claimed seven lives this year, the Louisiana Department of Transportation announced in June it is forming a task force to study the situation. Among the people involved in the task force will be Sheriff Greg Champagne, Parish President Albert Laque, representatives of the state police, DOTD and Federal Highway Administration and State Representative Gary Smith. “It was his brainchild,” said DOTD representative Mike Bourgeois. Smith and State Senator Joel Chaisson II joined parish officials in pressuring the state to take action. Because Airline Drive is also U.S. Highway 61, a federal highway, the parish has no power make renovations to the area on its own. The area began to gain notice in February when four siblings from Destrehan perished after their vehicle plunged into the canal. In April, a 27-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter died in a similar accident, and there were three more accidents in the early summer in which the drivers either managed to escape or were rescued by bystanders. Making the question even more puzzling is the fact that many of the incidents have been single-car accidents. In May a truck driver went into the canal after having a seizure at the wheel, but most of the other incidents have had no obvious, linking cause. Smith said that the area was under scrutiny even before the incident in February. There have always been accidents there, but this year the increase in accidents has been unusual. “I’ve lived my entire life in Norco,” Smith said. “I’ve driven up and down that stretch thousands of times... We’ve had such a horrible rash of incidents. It’s becoming imperative that we do something.” Smith says there are many theories as to the cause of the increased frequency of the accidents. Possible factors include increased traffic from Interstate 310, the higher populations of Destrehan and the Ormond area and increased speeds, but hasn’t ruled out anything down to blowouts and people trying to avoid armadillos and alligators crossing the road. The canal, which is approximately six miles long, borders the north side of Airline in Destrehan and New Sarpy. In some areas, it is as much as 30 feet deep, full of murky water and vegetation. The bottom of the canal is soft and muddy, making it easier for vehicles to become embedded. Many possible solutions are on the table, Smith said, including cables, metal guardrails, shrubbery, cement walls or bamboo plantings, a technique he says has been used in other parts of the world.
8. New health center opens St. Charles Parish took a step forward in health care on May 5 with the opening ceremonies for the new Community Health Center. The center, located next to St. Charles Parish Hospital on Milling Avenue in Luling, is open to insured or uninsured people, and is an alternative to the emergency room for people without insurance. The new facility is over 12,000 square feet, a large increase from the previous facility which measured 2,500 square feet. The new building includes a sanitarium, pediatric, and adult suites. All sections of the facility are funded by the state and operated by the parish except the sanitarium suites. Funding for the $1.8 million construction project came from a 2001 bond issue. In addition to state funds, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) has allocated $608,333 to help operate the state of the art facility. The federal funding will recur annually for the next five years, though not at the same level each year. Health centers deliver preventive and primary care to patients regardless of their ability to pay. Almost half of the patients treated at health centers have no insurance coverage and others have inadequate coverage.
9. Laque wins another term as parish president Parish President Albert Laque won another term in office in the Nov. 15 election, defeating Councilwoman from District 3 Darnell “Dee” Abadie with about 54 percent of the vote. Laque took 10,058 votes to Abadie’s 8,572. Laque said that, in his next term, he will continue work begun over the past few years improving drainage, working on the East and West Bank Hurricane Protection Levees, and increasing a focus on the recreation department. Also in the election, Kathleen Blanco defeated Bobby Jindal for governor of Louisiana. In District 3, current Councilman-at-Large for Division B G. “Ram” Ramchandran easily won the seat vacated by Darnell “Dee” Abadie. Ramchandran beat Richard LeSage by a little less than 300 votes, taking 54.12 percent to LeSage’s 45.88 percent. Ramchandran could not run for Councilman-at-Large again due to term limits. In District 5 incumbent April Black defeated her opponent Freddie “Jamie” Coleman. In District 4, Derryl Wayne Walls defeated Danny Sommé 1,459 votes to 804, a 64.47 percent to 35.53 percent margin of victory. Walls succeeds current Councilman Terry Authement, who challenged incumbent Councilman-at-Large for Division A Clayton “Snookie” Faucheux in the October primary, a race Faucheux won. District 7 Councilman Barry Minnich was re-elected to his seat without opposition. Councilmen Desmond Hilaire (District 1) and Brian Fabre (District 2) won their seats outright in the primary election. Councilman Lance Marino was elected that day to Ramchandran’s Councilman-at-Large seat, and Dickie Duhe was elected to succeed Marino as the Councilman for District 6. 10. Rogers convicted of stealing hospital funds Cynthia H. Rogers was arrested on Jan. 9 for theft and forgery in connection with payroll irregularities discovered at St. Charles Parish Hospital near the end of 2002. She was convicted in the fall. Rogers, a payroll clerk and 10-year hospital employee, allegedly stole approximately $700,000 from 1995 through 2002 from the hospital through the payroll system. The accounting firm LaPorte, Sehrt, Romig and Hand originally found the irregularities in a routine audit on Dec. 5, 2002. The firm then conducted further investigation and turned over their evidence to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office. A report issued by the Sheriff’s Office states that detectives originally discovered that Rogers had apparently created duplicate payroll checks for an employee, which she then deposited into her bank account. During an initial interview with detectives, she admitted to forging another employee’s name and depositing the checks.
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