Baja St. Martin

A few people are still fishing crawfish, either because they don’t have anything else to do, are still making enough money to keep going, or because they don’t have enough money to quit. A young friend of ours is still fishing and says at $1.25 a pound he can still make $100 a day. It’s got to be awfully hot in the woods though.
The dog and I are still taking our daily walks but it is miserably hot even in the late afternoon. Since we’ve been getting rain pretty often, the levee hasn’t been mowed so the grass is knee high making walking a bit problematic. I can’t see where I’m putting my feet, nor what might be in the grass. I trust that my dog will alert me to any critters. She wouldn’t know what to do if confronted, but at least she’d let me know something was there.
Some people across Belle River have a nice over-the-river deck and boat house and last week I kept hearing music which turned out to be coming from their place. At first it was sort of nice, but then the music continued day and night, for three or four days, finally becoming a bit annoying, so I drove over and spoke to the owner. I mentioned the continuing music and how clearly it could be heard across the water and she was very apologetic and promised to turn it off, which she did. I feel a bit ashamed to have even said anything to her, but I was pretty sure she had no idea how sound carries on the water and at least now she will also know that regular conversation can be heard quite a way.
The FAS tanker truck traffic on Hwy. 997 seems to be increasing lately. For a few days the trucks almost stopped, but now the volume is back to what it was if not more. They go pretty fast. We’ve not heard anything from the DNR about the hearing they have promised to hold. Someone suggested September but that’s just hearsay I think. In one conversation with Mr. Daryl Williams at the DNR, he asked if there was someplace large enough for a public hearing here in Belle River and I assured him there was, so I’m hoping the hearing will be here, not in Baton Rouge.
Got to talking with a friend recently who told me that at the old T-Man Bailey location in Four-mile Bayou there is a new business where house boat slips are available for lease. T-Man’s daughter, Gayle, said a new seawall has been put in with extensions for the boats. Sounded pretty nice. For those of you who don’t know, that’s way at the very end of the Four-mile Bayou road (Six miles down the Four-mile Bayou road to be exact) which is now paved almost all the way. T-Man passed away some years ago but he had a store and gas station for years there. Before the Four-mile bayou road was made, the only way to reach T-Man’s store and gas station was by boat. T-Man himself used to take kids to school by boat. A few years ago, part of the movie “Deja Vu” starring Denzel Washington was filmed at the old store. In addition to the boat slips, T-Man’s grandson, Jason has a party barge located there which he will rent out. If you’re interested in either or both of these new opportunities you can reach Jason at (985) 518-7048.
I feel quite upbeat about the growth of Baja St. Martin. We have a nice walking trail and meeting room in Belle River, the possibility of the parish COA finally offering services to our residents, the nice Stephensville park, ball field and walking trail. We’re getting big time!

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.