It has been quite an interesting week utility wise here. Last week a truck somehow managed to knock down at least four power poles right near the Ochsner Hospital or at least in that area. Lots of people in Morgan City lost power, more lost phone service, computers, tablets. I managed to catch the MC Mayor giving an update shortly after the accident happened but not a word was said about the truck driver, the truck, nor how on earth one big truck managed to pull down four poles. The mayor kept mentioning a “loop” which I guess referred to the power and cable lines pulled down in that area, wherever it was.
I didn’t have any trouble with my power nor my phone but some friends did. Whatever happened was fixed pretty quickly or at least temporarily.
Then, Sunday, July 6, I guess it would be, the hot and humid day very abruptly turned into a really nasty storm with straight line winds here, heavy rain, lots of lightning and a power failure for about two hours. Then the sun came out and it was just as nice as earlier. I did have to pick up my big trash can which I’d put by the road for Monday pickup. It had blown over and half the trash was strewn over the yard. My three porch chairs were tangled together in the corner of my deck.
The Purple Martin house was ok and as yet this morning I haven’t checked around thoroughly to see if there was any damage. I guess the abrupt onset of the storm kind of hit home because I’d just been watching reports on that Texas flooding where they showed a camp where a bunch of young girls had drowned. The reporter said the Guadalupe River (I think) had risen 26 feet in just an hour and hit one camp in the middle of the night. I had a flashback of going to a church camp when I was young—one my parents sent me to, that was on a lake and such a fun place. What a horrible thing for those parents.
I cannot imagine how much water that was and how fast it rose. Those people had no chance. It sort of disgusts me to now start hearing/reading about what should have been done, who didn’t do something, why this and that. Who could have ever prepared for such a thing!
It is quiet over here with not much if any crawfishing still going on. I see a truck and trailered boat passing now and then with flattened crawfish traps piled high but that’s about it. At the landing it seems mostly sport boats. A friend who has a few hoop nets in Belle River says he’s getting half a dozen catfish every few days. He did catch a really huge buffalo fish on a hook and line off his dock.
The construction going on just before Stephensville on Hwy 70 continues. The one camp or whatever it will be is absolutely huge. Three stories atop concrete pilings. I’ve mentioned a campsite in the making just north of me. A concrete slab now accompanied by a mailbox.
A newly made dirt track nearby leads to the river and a small camp parked by the bank.
There are alligators everywhere these days and I noticed there weren’t many people playing in the water by the camps over the weekend. Probably a wise thing.
Before sending this in I have to report that the 2025 LEAP results are available and it shows that Stephensville Elementary School scored 57% Mastery in in grades 3-8 in Math and Science. It also scored 63% Mastery in English for grades 3-8. I think those were the best in the entire parish but don’t quote me on that. Still, kudos to Stephensville Elementary for being such an outstanding school.
Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lindacooke1939@ gmail.com.
