Baja St. Martin

Things are pretty quiet over here lately. With crawfishing over, the truck and boat trailer traffic on Hwy. 997 is slight. Hardly any FAS tanker trucks passing, which is a real blessing. At the Belle River landing, the biggest activity seems to be sport fishing. No crabs around here. Some frogs. The water is low and all launch ramps are usable. The doldrums of summer are upon us.
Hard to believe that it won’t be long before school begins again. I’m so glad I won’t be there.
The July 19th bingo at the Belle River center was well attended as always. Josh Menard from Humana came with a beautiful birthday cake and stayed to play a few games of bingo. (He didn’t win and neither did I).
Josh was nice enough to donate a few dollars to the blackout pot so one of the players won a nice amount. Thank you very much, Josh. Normally Morgan Ochsner from Humana is our cake lady but she was on vacation so Josh took her place this time.
The ceiling work in the Community Center awaits still. The construction company is short-staffed right now so our job has to wait just a bit.
I’ve been watching a bit of the RNC convention. I missed Mrs. Trump’s speech but listened to it on YouTube. Now I see there’s a fuss being made about the content of her speech – that she plagiarized parts. That accusation now seems to take second place to Ted Cruz’s speech, which I didn’t hear. I wonder what will be next?
And of course, I’ve been watching and hearing about the shootings here and there, most recently in Baton Rouge. There’s something that puzzles me. When a man (or woman) decides to shoot a policeman or people, what do they think will happen to themselves? Can a man shoot three police officers and expect to survive or escape? I understand he might think he’s being a hero or representing a cause or making a statement, but does he think that he will survive to enjoy the notoriety?
It is now official, I believe, that the voting precinct here in Belle River will move to the Community Center. Right now it’s behind the fire station house, accessible by a dirt lane. Parking primarily on the levee. At the center it will still be a walk but on a nice sidewalk with a large parking lot. I don’t know if it will make a difference in the voter turn-out but it should make things a whole lot easier. I know one person who said he would definitely vote in the coming election but had not been doing so because of the inconvenience.
It is so hot lately! I walk in the late evening just before dark, mow grass practically at night and the rest of the time I stay inside or in the car. I don’t like the confinement but can’t stand the heat.
I recently had occasion to hear state Reps. Chad Brown and Beryl Amadee speak and was quite impressed with them. Sen. Rick Ward was also a speaker. The two reps pretty much said their job (and that of their colleagues) was to make whatever cuts were absolutely necessary to balance the budget and then get to fiscal reform.
One guest at this occasion asked if a student was given a TOPS scholarship then partied and flunked out or left school, did they have to give the money back. The answer was no. I think Rep. Amadee might have mentioned the possibility of raising the GPA level required to get a TOPS, but I’m not sure about that.
Sen. Troy Brown was scheduled to speak at this event, but nobody seemed surprised by his absence considering his latest escapade.
[Brown, from Geismar, has been suspended from all of committee assignments by Louisiana Senate President John Alario following his second arrest on domestic violence charges. – Ed.]

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lindacooke1939@gmail.com.