Hi all, During my pregnancy I got reallll Into cajun food. I had never really had it before, but I tried gumbo for the first time and fell in love. Since then I’ve loved trying Cajun recipes. I live way up in New York, but I’ve been wanting to try Tasso, boudin, smoked sausage ect. There’s unfortunately nowhere in my area where I can buy any of this, most people have no idea what it is.

I’ve seen some websites where you can order these items, but there’s lots of brands to choose from. What are your favorite Louisiana+ Cajun brands, what do you reccomend? I’m allergic to shellfish which sucks- so shellfish free reccomendations please!!

https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2024/12/14/vaccination-measles-whooping-cough-and-worse-could-roar-back-on-rfk-jr-s-watch/

I can’t be the only one that considers this all Hammond

I've been playing around with the idea of starting a mobile coffee shop in avoyelles Parrish, specializing in cold brew and high quality cups of hot coffe at a decent price point.

My question is, if you were to see a coffee stand on the side of the highway, early in the morning on your way to work, would you stop and give it a try?

Louisiana History Buffs!

We’re in the early stages of planning a modest weekend trip to Poverty Point World Heritage Site this February to celebrate Harry’s birthday weekend!

I’ve got a good start on the itinerary, but I’d love your input on reliable and safe lodging options nearby. If you’ve visited before or know the area, please share your recommendations!

Thanks in advance for your help!

***Long Post Warning****

https://www.facebook.com/61562434762515/videos/424120987439223

I need help, or more awareness brought to this issue. As of this post, I have a little over 500 views on Facebook. No one seems to regulate municipal water and sewage systems in Louisiana. Department of Health, DEQ, EPA, LMA, and every other alphabet agency within the state denies regulating these systems. I have reached out to KNOE and KALB, and every politician I can think of and nothing. Environmental attorneys as of three years ago wanted $5,000.00 to sit and "talk" to the village and $20,000.00 to sue them. I cannot come out of pocket that much just to "make" the village do what is right... Why would I want to sue them for money? Ultimately, that would just hurt this village's means to properly address the situation. I figured I would post here to get some insight/advice. Maybe you have a cousin who works for an agency that actually regulates this and could give them a push about my battle....

I am posting this as the problem has NOT been FIXED, nor has anyone with the Village of Harrisonburg reached out to me.

Yesterday, 12/13/2024, while on the phone again with state and federal agencies, I see little Billy Wayne Franklin, supervisor of utilities for the village, creeping out of the neighborhood. I was well within the line of sight of where he likes to park, come through the property, and sprinkle diluted bleach water on the property as the village's "fix". I did not see little Billy come in, or across my property. My only assumption at this point is that he went down to the next road and walked the wood line down to my property, a tactic used in the past. I specifically asked that he make contact with me regarding the RAW SEWAGE dumped on MY property, into a bayou, and into the Ouachita River, for the past three (arguably more from witnesses) years.

Little Billy is not the only one avoiding the topic. There is Mayor Mike Tubre, Councilman Greg Terry (my neighbor, who could have well smelled the sewage for days), Councilwoman Judy Cotton, Councilman Blake Barbo (who, after his election, no longer lives within the village limits), and Town Clerk Patricia Hefner (aka, little miss "let's make this a little Jena", oh, and the best of my knowledge, still does not live in the parish, let alone the village).

As of this post, my original video of the RAW SEWAGE coming out on my property has had a little over 300 views and five comments. Harrisonburg and Catahoula Parish, are we actually okay with this happening? What if it was your property? What if it was your children around this? Oh wait, it is... As I said before, every parent that has a child attending the Harrisonburg School should be upset. The children heard in the background of the video are at recess around 100 feet, and definitely within the range of inhaling the RAW SEWAGE, which can lead to a plethora of health issues.

No one seems to care. Accountability is a joke. I bet if I could divert the sewage to Councilman Terry's yard, first, I'd be arrested and then something would actually be done. It is all about "who you are" around here. The "good ole boy system" prevails and the phrase of the day is "out of site, out of mind". I realize that the town does not want to deal with me. I am a thorn in their side. They do not want to deal with someone who is trying to hold them accountable. Mike et al, I am not going away.... I will be giving away free samples of the "Harrisonburg Spring water" at the Christmas parade if I need to....

UPDATE: 12/13/2024 ~10:00 a.m.

Apparently someone got the message that the lift station did not have power. Harrisonburg Springs is no longer flowing. This DOES NOT mean that the issue is fixed. The next time the electricity flickers, the spring will be flowing again. I am still calling for the problem to be FIXED and the pollution be addressed PROPERLY.

I have had a visual towards the sewage all morning and no one has bothered to show up to see the issue for themselves. There now is a white residue on the ground, looks like frost, that is toilet paper and other sewage residue. Also still puddles of standing sewage on my property and the bayou is still full of raw sewage.

This quote on the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice is the truth:

“In Louisiana, even though the EPA and all these federal organizations exist and they regulate in Louisiana, there is no enforcement of that regulation at any level of government in Louisiana. Even though we have access to protections, we don’t even have enforcement… that’s always the piece with whether this is local, state, or federal policy is that we have to get to some accountability and some enforcement around these policies.”—Ashley Shelton

ORIGINAL POST:

I see that the Catahoula News Booster posted about wearing your Village of Harrisonburg Christmas Shirt tomorrow. Well, this village needs all the support it can get.

Today (12/12/2024), I walked to the back of our property to start some work. We are wanting to create a trail and bring back some of the native landscape, getting rid of some of the invasive species that have taken over. When I arrived to the back, I found what is in the video....

This is RAW SEWAGE flowing from a main sewer line for the village, just like a natural spring. Apparently it has been flowing for days... There is a manhole cover that you cannot see because the "debris" from the sewer has covered it up, again.

I called the mayor, no answer. I got one of the maintenance guys on the phone, let him know, and asked that the supervisor come look at what was happening before turning the lift station back on. No supervisor yet and no return call from the mayor. Right before this post, I have even tried to call one of our council members, and surprise, no answer. You can smell the raw sewage from the front of our driveway now.

THIS IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM!!! This has been happening for the past THREE YEARS!!! I have contacted the Health Department, DEQ, EPA, and the village has not been made to FIX the problem. An alarm system was supposedly installed that send alerts to phones when the power goes out at the lift station (on the grounds of Harrisonburg High School). Apparently it does not work because I am the one who has alerted the village the past several times the sewer begins to overflow. The solution that was given to the village from the environmental agencies, "spray a little diluted bleach water on the ground".

This bayou, Taliaferro Bayou, runs into the Ouachita River. How can the village not be held accountable for dumping raw sewage on my ground, a bayou, and a river?!?! Next, if you have kids at the Harrisonburg school, you should be sounding off. The kids you hear in the background of the video are your kids at recess. They are breathing this filth. Is this safe? No, not at all.

I have been told that they (the Village of Harrisonburg) would rather it (the raw sewage) come out on my property versus the manhole on the school grounds. I can only partially agree. It IS NOT OKAY for raw sewage to be coming out of any manhole cover, period.

However, what does the village need, a water park and recreational complex! Now, I know little Ms. Town Clerk will say something like, "Well, that money came from a grant and different funds", but that is not the point. The point is the messed up priorities in trying to make this a little Jena. Fix your infrastructure first, then get nice things. How about this? How about we get a fully functional fire department so insurance rates can be lowered? How about we FIX the sewer issue so that when kids are at the water park, they do not have to smell RAW SEWAGE?

I remember that house movers were a standard business down here. They'd literally lift up a whole house and roll it down the road. Seems like it's been 20 years since I've seen that. It was so commonplace before.

Is it illegal now?

So I just stumbled onto the nicotine vape ban randomly just looking online from last year cause I quit thc, they banned flavored nicotine vapes cause they were worried about kids getting them, yet now all the kids swapped to buying flavored thc/thca carts online? Doesn’t seem like they really thought that through, just seems like its more of a “which vape company will line our pockets and which ones wont so we can ban them”

Anyone here originally from a northern state where it’s cold cold during this time of the year? I was at the dentist last week and it was like 60 degrees that morning and I had on shorts and a sweatshirt. The woman in the waiting room with me was astounded that I had shorts on. Like couldn’t believe it and asked how I wasn’t freezing and I said well, I’m from MN originally so this is nothing lol. Just thought it was a funny story and seeing if anyone else relates to this.

I've been in talks with others for means of peaceful protests in the states and one suggestion was to hold a candle light vigil or service for people lost to lack of coverage or for being turned down. It would show how many people were affected and allow people to be seen and heard. I'm not very good at organizing, but wanted to see if others are interested and if there is interest, getting a team together to organize it.

Thoughts: It could be live streamed. We can have special guest speakers, including doctors, healthcare workers, family of survivors, etc. It's something that could include all political affiliations. It could be somewhere close to the capital so our law makers can see it. If there's enough turn out we could have booths set up with organizations already in place and places to register to vote. Etc.

Just putting this out there in hopes of getting a response.

Edit: I created a discord for the planning committee https://discord.gg/QbZMxVmd

I've been searching for a long time but can't find a real list.

What items are explicitly banned from placing in a dumpster in Louisiana? What items are required to be recycled?

Can I put a flat screen tv in the trash? Household appliances?

From what I can gather recycling these things isn't required but is recommended? Any help?

Thanks

I go to school in North Carolina and have taken up ice skating. I'd like to go get fitted for some ice skates with my mom to help me when I'm home for xmas in Louisiana but whenever I look up places that sell ice skates in the state I just get stores geared towards derby and skateboarding. Anyone know any good shops with ice skates in LA or neighboring states?

I am from out of state, so I don’t know much about the music taste of people here. I’m planning to call a few places for gigs. I play guitar and sing fairly well. My questions are:

• What type of music do people here usually listen to?

• How much do they typically pay for gigs?

• If you’re from around here, do you have any recommendations?

• how do i approach them?

I’m a 16 year old that got his permit a while ago and was wondering if I could get my license on the 180th day that’s required to wait or do I have to wait 181 before I can take the test and get my license from the dmv.

I came across a post from Jewish Voices for Peace stating that a their members traveled to Ponchatiula to publicly question Treasurer John Fleming’s decision to invest $40 million of Louisiana’s education funds in Israel. I realize it seems one-sided to post their statement but I'm curious of other opinions on this.

STATEMENT PASTED:

PONCHATOULA, LA (Dec. 11, 2024) Several Jewish activists publicly addressed Louisiana’s elected state Treasurer, John Fleming, demanding an answer about whether or not $5 million worth of Israel Bonds that mature on Feb. 1st 2025, would be reinvested in Israel Bonds or something more ethical. The bonds that Louisiana invests in Israel come directly from funds earmarked for funding our state’s education programs. Treasurer Fleming stated that although he’s “not going to push [his] personal political agenda through private business” he responded to our questions by stating that he has “been to Israel three times and [has] many friends in Israel.” Treasurer Fleming stated to us that “I support Israel and will continue to do so and we will renew our bonds.”The Louisiana Treasury has steadily been increasing their investments in Israel bonds since 2004, after a law was passed by state legislatures that allows up to 5% of the Education Quality Trust Fund and the Millennium Trust Fund to be invested in bonds from other countries. This law was specifically designed to enable Louisiana investments in Israel Bonds. In response to activist’s questions, Treasurer Fleming stated that Louisiana holds $20 million in Israel Bonds, which is inaccurate. The state of Louisiana actually invests a total $40 million in Israel Bonds using money from our state’s education trust funds. These are risky investments for the State of Louisiana’s education funds because Israel Bonds yield low investment returns, making them financially irresponsible investments that squander state resources dedicated to supporting public education. Treasurer Fleming stated that Louisiana is “getting the highest rate of return we can get on Israeli bonds.” However, multiple times in 2024, all three major international credit rating agencies (Fitch, Moody’s, S&P) have downgraded Israel’s credit rating and economic outlook due to the ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza and the expansion of geopolitical tensions in the region. The outlook for Israel’s credit rating remains negative; Moody’s and S&P’s ratings put Israel Bonds one tier away from being classified as “junk bonds.”Rather than investing in the success of our public schools, the Louisiana State Treasury is violating ethical and fiduciary responsibility by investing in Israel Bonds. On February 1st 2025, $5 million of Louisiana's investments in Israel Bonds are scheduled to mature. With this upcoming maturation deadline in mind, we are demanding that the Louisiana State Treasury commit to not reinvesting or purchasing new Israel Bonds. We do not want Louisiana money invested in a foreign entity that continuously violates human rights and puts our local resources at risk. Instead, we demand ethical investments with reliable return rates for the sake of our young people's educations and futures.Activists asked the Treasurer directly if he could commit that the $5 million in Israel Bonds would be reinvested in something more ethically sound with higher returns, when they mature on February 1st, 2025. Treasurer Fleming stated to us that he “support[s] Israel and will continue to do so and [the Treasury] will renew our bonds.”