Daily News Sports Writer

LAKE ARTHUR – Spring football came to an official end here Monday night when the Lake Arthur Tigers battled with the Rayne Wolves in their spring scrimmage. Saturday, the Welsh Greyhounds went to Lake Charles to scrimmage the Sam Houston Broncos’ junior varsity squad.

Both local coaches were pleased with the results of their scrimmages.

Helen Mary Simon

LAKE ARTHUR – It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that the family of Helen Mary Simon announces her passing from this life during the early morning hours on May 19, 2013, while in the comfort of her home in Lake Arthur. She was 78.

A Mass of Christian burial was held to honor Helen’s life at Our Lake of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Arthur today, Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at 11:30 a.m. She was laid to eternal rest in St. Anthony Cemetery. Msgr. Ronald Groth officiated.

A gathering of Helen’s family and friends to bid their final farewell was held at Matthews and Son Funeral Home in Lake Arthur on Monday, May 20, 2013, from 10:30 a.m. until the time of her funeral mass on Tuesday. A rosary was recited on Monday evening at 7 p.m.

Helen Mary was born in Gueydan to the late Elair Hebert and the late Edia Simon Hebert on March 20, 1935. She was a homemaker and devoted her life to the care of her family. Helen loved spending time with her children and grandchildren and she also enjoyed cooking.

Helen is survived by her beloved husband, Nelson Simon of Lake Arthur; her son and daughter-in-law, Charles and Amy Simon, also of Lake Arthur; her four daughters, Carole (Stephen) Harrell of Slidell, Jennifer (Charles) Benoit of Lake Arthur, Stephanie (Troy) Pelsia, also of Lake Arthur, and Nekeya Bertrand of Roswell, N.M.; her daughter-in-law, Crystal Simon Hebert of Lake Arthur; one brother, Dave (Margaret) Hebert of Lake Arthur; two sisters, Virgie Hebert and Betty Hebert Simon, both of Lake Arthur; her 15 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Helen now rests in Heaven with her beloved family who preceded her in death: her parents, Elair and Edia S. Hebert; her three sons, Richard, Mark and Steven Simon; her daughter, Charlotte Simon; and one brother, Joseph Hebert.

To extend online condolences, please visit www.matthewsandsonfuneralhome.net.

Shelby Christine Granger

November 16, 1994 ~ May 16, 2013

ELTON – Funeral services for Shelby Christine Granger, 18, were held today,Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at 1 p.m. in St. Paul Catholic Church of Elton. Rev. Marshall Boulet officiated the services and burial followed in St. Ann Cemetery under the direction of Ardoin Funeral Home of Elton.

The family received visitors at Ardoin Funeral Home of Elton on Monday, May 20, 2013, from 12-10 p.m. A rosary was recited at 6:30 p.m.  Visitation continued today from 8 a.m. until time of service.

Shelby was a junior at Elton High School and a member of St. Paul Catholic Church. She was full of life and loved dancing and cheering. She was an Elton High cheerleader. She had a great sense of humor and was a free spirit. She was a young lady with countless friends; she loved to have fun; and she adored her family. Shelby will be forever in the hearts of many a beautiful young lady with the bluest of eyes!

Left to mourn Shelby’s loss are her parents, Cindy and Jimmy Granger Jr. of Elton; one sister, Jamie Ray Granger of Elton; her maternal grandparents, Peggy and Rand Wagner of Lake Charles; her paternal grandfather, Jimmy Granger and wife, Pat, of Jennings; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Shelby was preceded in death by her paternal grandmother, Christine Holt Granger.

Words of sympathy may be expressed at www.ardoinfuneralhome.com.

Daily News photos by Holli Brucchaus

LAKE ARTHUR – Fifty-three Tigers walked out of Jack Doland Stadium with diplomas in hand here Friday night as the graduating Lake Arthur High School (LAHS) Class of 2013 was sent off to the next leg on their journey of life.

This year’s class boasted five valedictorians, including Cassie Bertrand, Macy Istre, Christina Klumpp, Jake Royer, Dylan Trahan, as well as salutatorian Griffin Benoit. All six students received special awards from LAHS to commemorate their place at the top of the class.

HATHAWAY – Thirteen years of academic preparation culminated in a graduation ceremony for the 2013 seniors of Hathaway High School (HHS) here Friday.

The class of 2013 chose cerulean blue and platinum as their class colors and the Forget-me-not as their class flower. The class song was “Little Wonders,” by Rob Thomas.

Daily News Staff Writer

State senators rejected a proposal on Monday for Louisiana to offer government-subsidized health insurance to the working poor through the federal health overhaul law known as the Affordable Care Act.

The 7-3 vote by the Senate Finance Committee largely fell along party lines, with all but one Republican voting against tapping into the federal Medicaid dollars available for the health coverage, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Over the past week, our local high school seniors bid farewell to their high school careers to embark on their futures. This amazing group of young men and women have already dived into the real world head first. Some already have a few college courses under their belts and are heading off to local colleges and universities in a variety of fields. Several young men and women have committed the next few years of their lives to the United States of America, choosing to serve in the Armed Forces. Still even more have already joined the work force; others are engaged and planning weddings; some are relocating for personal and professional reasons; while a few plan to join their family’s business.

After approximately 14 years of early mornings, late nights, hard tests and endless assignments, this group is sure to do great things in life. The scholarships, awards and honors they attained during their school years prove how dedicated they are to being successful.

We look forward to watching their journeys continue, as well as how they help this parish grow. They will soon be the  educators in the classroom; the medical professionals performing tests and surgeries; the contractors who oversee the building of local homes and businesses; the farmers who provide soy beans, rice and crawfish; and more.

The Jennings Daily News congratulates each and every graduate on this exciting time in their life. We are incredibly proud of your accomplishments and look forward to what you will continue to bring to our communities.

California Senator Diane Feinstein is proposing an AR-style rifle ban to save our children. Yet on this 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, she doesn’t mention the 54 million abortions conducted in this country nor show remorse for this disrespect to human life. Speeches at every Democratic National Convention reference abortion or a pro-choice platform to huge cheers from the rabid convention hall audience. Mother Theresa identified the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion because it is a war against children, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. If a mother can kill her own child and then tell young people not to kill one another, it is the ultimate hypocrisy in the eyes of the young.

Feinstein and her cohorts are using the Sandy Hook tragedy as a first step to trash our Second Amendment right for law-abiding citizens to own and bear arms as a defense against tyranny. Abolishing our Second Amendment is necessary for President Obama as described in his July 2, 2008 speech given in Boulder, Colorado, where he promised the creation and establishment of a “Civilian National Security Force that should be just as powerful, just as strong and just as well funded as the U.S. Military.”

The national security objectives described by Obama define brutal totalitarian government modeled after the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. Achieving his objectives is currently being initiated using the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that he signed into law on Jan. 2 that allows the arrest and indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens. In addition, Obama can secretly target U.S. citizens for execution without even charging them with a crime as admitted by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Robert A. Dahlquist

Orange, Calif.

I quote the Jennings Daily News of Feb. 15, 2013 Headline: “State asked to assist with Jail Funding”

Maybe a better idea would be to contact the U. S State Department for assistance.

According to a recent news article, “U. S. plans to build two prisons in Haiti”, the U. S. Embassy there announced that the U. S. government is planning to build two prisons in Haiti’s countryside that will cost up to $10,000,000

These two jails are to be built in a country where many people are still living in tents and cardboard shelters with little or no sanitary facilities. Wouldn’t you think that building decent housing would come before new jails?

Is the American government mixed up on its priorities or what?

It would be nice to have just a part of that money to help build a new jail in Jeff Davis Parish, Louisiana.

Richard Boisture,

Jennings