BATON ROUGE - More homeowners in the Inniswold Estates and Jefferson Terrace neighborhoods are talking about their experiences with the homeless population living at a property on one of their streets Several people tell 2 On Your Side they're requesting the property be cleaned up and that someone restore the calm in their once peaceful area of the city Shawn Sellers says he's been scared to take a walk in his own neighborhood "It's terrifying the fact that we have to live like that," he said The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office has had several visits to the house on Houston Drive has been seen walking around the neighborhood all hours of the day He has been caught defecating in front yards One neighbor took a video of Willeman climbing a street pole barefoot and rolling around in the grass the neighborhood continues to have visitors at the property on Houston Drive "The reason they're coming to my neighborhood is that house," said Sellars Last week, 2 On Your Side shared a video of the inside of the house attracting the homeless He went to the house looking for the person who damaged his mailbox "There's a man who lives there that goes around the neighborhood and beats up mailboxes," said Bech Behind the property there are two large holes in the barrier wall leading to the interstate Sellars says more paths have been created cutting through to Bluebonnet Boulevard "Unless there's something that can be done about it we're in a terrible situation," said Sellars The house is owned by Austin Duszynski and the property taxes are current The city says the property has their attention and blight enforcement is underway Duszynski has until Monday to clean up his property or could face fines It's not the first time the city has done enforcement action at this address He currently does not have an arraignment set Calvin Collier poses for a picture while holding a piece of barbecue chicken while smoking them before opening at Smoke Bayou on Thursday Interior of the new Smoke Bayou on Coursey Boulevard The new patio at Smoke Bayou's new Coursey location After five years, Smoke Bayou is moving to a bigger location Their last day of operation at 4355 Inniswold Road was March 30 Smoke Bayou has been a Baton Rouge favorite since July 2020 Owner Calvin Collier soft opened his new location on March 28 and spent the weekend balancing both locations The move brings the small mom-and-pop feel of Smoke Bayou into a venue that can fit around 200 people There’s a patio outside — and a stage for live bands and comedy shows to perform in the future Collier plans to add those in after he gets acclimated to the new place He will host a grand opening later this month but wants to continue his soft opening operations for about two weeks the move was motivated by how busy they are The small homey feel of the Inniswold location was good but Colier says he was losing business because he couldn’t serve people fast enough he doesn't believe slow service will be a problem When internet food reviewer Keith Lee visited the spot on his visit to Baton Rouge last summer and called the chicken “the juiciest chicken” he’d ever had in his life “They smokin' for real,” he said while reviewing the sausage A post shared by Keith Lee (@keith_lee125) Collier said the review brought a huge influx of business in the first six months after the video was posted he’s excited about bringing new jobs to people and giving small bands who are just getting their start the opportunity to get their name out “I’m excited to be on Coursey with the big dogs — Chimes “I’m just excited to be in that category.” Email Serena Puang at serena.puang@theadvocate.com. Follow her on Instagram @dear.yall This story is only for subscribers like you${formattedName Email notifications are only sent once a day News Tips:newstips@theadvocate.com Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application  Gwyn enjoyed spending time with family  She will be missed dearly by all those who knew and loved her Gwyn is survived by her loving husband of 41 years and daughter Leigh Anne Harrell with husband Juston  Also survived by her brothers and sisters and Chris Burton and wife Tonya; Father-in law Terry Carlin and Mother-in law Rene Carlin There will be a gathering to honor Gwyn’s life at her childhood home 9774 E Cremation is under the direction of Church’s Funeral and Crematory in Baton Rouge  Memorials can be made to the charity of the donor’s choice Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. 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Louisiana allows predominantly White area to form new city sparking segregation concernsby RAY LEWIS | The National Desk (TND) — The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Friday a predominantly White area can form a new city separate from Baton Rouge George will form after a roughly six-year effort organizers undertook that resulted in what they believe will now be an improved government “This is a historical and exciting day for the City of St George citizens,” St. George Transition District Chairman Norman Browningposted on Facebook “I look forward to our ability to build an efficient and vibrant city while contributing to a thriving East Baton Rouge Parish.” Friday's decision overturned lower courts’ rulings concluding St George would not be able to provide public services within a reasonable amount of time and decided its incorporation was reasonable argued the ruling was the culmination of Louisiana residents exercising their constitutional rights Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome opposed St citing financial consequences for her city’s residents “When potential tax increases where threats to basic services that effect our citizens’ quality of life are at stake it’s crucial that we proceed with careful consideration,” Broome noted all East Baton Rouge Parish neighborhoods which will be included in St The NAACP Baton Rouge branch expressed concern over potential segregation and the unequal distribution of parish resources as well as consequences for Baton Rouge’s education system A state House bill granting any public school system the same treatment and authority given to parishes also raised alarms with the NAACP due to its potential impact on students and staff “We stand ready to collaborate with you to ensure that the interests of our students are protected and that they continue to have access to the excellent education they deserve regardless of any changes in municipal boundaries,” the organization wrote Follow Ray Lewis on X for trending national news @rayjlewis or send a tip to rjlewis@sbgtv.com president of the Inniswold Estates/Jefferson Terrace Civic Association board; Wendell and Dawn Brumfield; and Danielle Bowel A 40-year-old sweet orange tree towers over the backyard oasis of Wendell and Dawn Brumfield The Inniswold Estates/Jefferson Terrace Civic Association has chosen the property of Wendell and Dawn Brumfield at 10644 Cal Road as its fall yard of the season the Brumfields can be found working in their gardens The front of the house is lined with Sunshine Ligustrum zinnias and heather flowers blossom throughout The beauty continues in the back of their home a 40-year-old sweet orange tree towers over of their backyard oasis which also includes a vegetable garden and a cypress tree The Brumfields were awarded a $25 gift card courtesy of Clegg‘s Nursery Baton Rouge police dispatchers received a report of a man walking on Airline Highway carrying a rifle was seen standing behind a beauty supply store A tape of emergency radio transmissions reported the location as behind the beauty supply store there was another report of shots being fired the man with the rifle was reported to be near the car wash officers can be seen firing toward the car wash from behind a squad car and the State Police said the man was the only person believed to have been involved in the deaths and injuries of the officers The police used a robot to check the dead suspect for explosives from the police station to the intersection of Interstate 12 had been the site of protests in the weeks since the fatal police shooting of Alton B BATON ROUGE - According to deputies in Baton Rouge after a bystander noticed a small child wandering around a parking lot alone and contacted authorities deputies tracked down the child's guardian and happened to find her just as she was poised to consume heroin Arrest records identify 30-year-old Kristina Tremblay was responsible for a six-year-old boy who was found by a concerned bystander when a man who'd stopped by the Subway restaurant on Jefferson Highway and Bluebonnet Boulevard noticed the six-year-old wandering around the parking lot all by himself Deputies say the man told the boy to go home and accompanied him to a residence within the 4300 block of Inniswold Road But no adult or appropriate guardian seemed to be at the residence After this information was passed along to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office deputies report going to the Inniswold Road home and being invited in by Tremblay Documents say she told authorities she was the small boy's caretaker and that he'd been left on his own at the Inniswold Road residence while she went to the store deputies say as they looked around the residence they saw "a piece of metal with a piece of cotton and brown liquid in it as well as a syringe next to the metal on the bathroom counter..." and "two black digital scales in the open second drawer of the bathroom cabinet which was next to other drug paraphernalia." It became clear that Tremblay was in possession of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia Tremblay admitted that when the deputies knocked on the door she was poised to inject herself with heroin would have occurred while the six-year-old was no more than 15 feet away Tremblay was arrested on multiple drug-related charges as well as child desertion and then booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a $17,000 bond Water pours out of a sewer line on South Blvd near the Mississippi River Freezing temperatures are expected again tonight George firefighters got calls from Inniswold residents concerned about white smoke filling their homes It wasn't a fire — the smoke in houses on Ridgley Drive Oliphant Road and Cal Road was coming out of the plumbing Baton Rouge sewage system workers were performing a common maintenance procedure called a smoke test in which smoke is pumped into sewage pipes and workers watch to see if it's spotted drifting out of nearby yards or storm drains The sewage system is supposed to be closed only connecting buildings' plumbing to the parish's two sewage plants it can point to a broken pipe or an illegal tie-in to the system that need to be addressed city-parish Director of Environmental Services Rick Speer said Smoke tests are typically followed by camera inspections which pin down the exact source of the break for repairs The smoke from the tests is also commonly seen coming out of the roofs of nearby homes because it's standard plumbing practice to include a ventilation line from a building's plumbing to its roof The tests this week in Inniswold were part of regularly scheduled maintenance and inspection The city-parish maintains a policy to notify residents of upcoming smoke tests with door hangers and local fire departments are also alerted It is unclear if the Inniswold residents who called for the fire department were notified ahead of the smoke test but Armstrong said the city-parish emphasized to its maintenance workers the need for that advance notice on Thursday If residents find smoke inside their house from a smoke test that could be a sign of other issues that need to be addressed Sinks and bathtubs are all built to include a p-trap or the goose neck pipe homeowners can view underneath their sink That p-trap is designed to hold water in it that prevents air from the sewer system from making its way out of a drain The water in a p-trap can evaporate over time if a sink or bathtub isn't frequently used That can cause the smell of sewage — or smoke from a smoke test — to fill a house Speer runs the faucet in his guest bathroom every few months to keep the p-trap full of water Smoke can also enter a building if there's a broken sewer pipe below it you're probably already smelling sewer," Speer said that means you have a connection between the sewer system air and your house."  If you do get smoke from a test in your house George Fire Department used its high-powered ventilation fans to clear the houses out An insurance claims adjuster assesses flood damage in Kevin Dominique and wife Chrystine's Inniswold neighborhood house on Friday Much of their belongings are already on the curb The highest density of National Flood Insurance Program residential policies are concentrated closer to the Louisiana coastline but had been increasingly popular after the 2016 floods in more inland parishes there’s been a slight decline in new flood policies Most Louisiana residents with flood insurance are expected to see an increase up to $120 per year for flood coverage through FEMA Annual policy increases are capped at 18% each year until it hits the new market rate for premiums The National Risk Rating 2.0 analysis projects that 23% of policyholders nationwide will see on average $86 per month savings and 66% would get between $0 and $10 per month increases Another 7% would see increases up to $20 each month and 4% would see uptick of $20 or more each month flood insurance is paid annually so those figures are more like: $1,032 average savings versus $120 increases Chrystine Dominique and her husband Kevin are glad they have flood insurance coming off a harrowing experience of being rescued by boat from their doorstep after the region was pummeled with more than a foot of rain last week which runs behind the Baton Rouge couple's Inniswold neighborhood near Airline and Jefferson Highways overflowed and rapidly seeped across their lawn around 8:30 p.m The couple was rescued by first responders around 1 a.m Tuesday as their mailbox was swept into the rushing flash-flood water "It kept getting closer so we started putting comforters in front of the door trying to keep water from coming in We were trying to run out of the front and I realized it was already coming in through the back from the creek," said Dominique as she surveyed the growing pile of belongings on the curb as scrappers and resellers picked through the wares and building material Wednesday evening the Dominique family is one of hundreds of thousands of households whose damage is covered across Louisiana through National Flood Insurance Program policies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency But there is an effort underway that could affect premiums as the federal government tries to balance a program that has paid out billions of dollars more in claims than it collects in payments The flood policies — purchased separately from regular property casualty insurance — can cover up to $250,000 for home structures The Baton Rouge family's flood policy — required by their mortgage lender because they are in a moderate flood zone near to the bayou — covers about $185,000 for the home plus $36,000 for items inside The Dominiques have been paying into the national flood program in the case of such an event for 18 years not even in the massive area flood of 2016 "This year and the last couple years it kept on increasing," Dominique said recently rising from $1,900 to $2,100 for the year their future rates will be subject to changes coming ahead in the national flood program that will affect how much the Dominique's and others across the nation and state will pay the National Risk Rating 2.0 analysis projects that 66% of policyholders will see increases of between $12 and $120 per year Another 7% would see increases up to $240 a year and 4% would see an uptick of more than $240  each year 23% of policyholders will see an average $1,032 per year decrease are expected to see average increases ranging from small sums up to $120 each year according to a new risk-rating analysis released in March would increase between $121 and $240 each year while 3% would see increases of more than $240 per year would see immediate savings across Louisiana though those amounts were not spelled out in the March report Flood insurance is not required in what is known as a preferred flood zone though roughly 25% of all flood claims actually come from low-risk areas where cheaper policies typically are offered For historic properties along known flood plains or near bodies of water the same policy could cost tens of thousands of dollars a year With the national program paying out billions more in flood claims than it is collecting new risk-rating rules are expected to go into effect on Oct New or renewing policies would be subject to new calculations on April 1 the process already has been delayed several times for various reasons "It's surprisingly similar to FEMA's national analysis," Lloyd Dixon senior economist and director for the Kenneth R Feinberg Center for Catastrophic Risk Management and Compensation with RAND Corp. said of flood-prone Louisiana's rate change projections but they are very similar in the percent of different policyholders to experience these different rate effects," he said "Moving toward a more risk-based term of pricing is a good idea but the affordability issue is very important," he said of the changes As the federal government recalibrates its risk-rating process Louisiana sits at the crossroads of a potentially massive change to the real estate landscape Some properties will no longer be viable financially for middle-class residents who live there While there are efforts to reduce displacement of existing communities "What we don't know is what is the income distribution of those households (getting premium hikes) compared to the rest of the country," Dixon said how many people does it push over into being considered housing burdened …," which means they can't get a mortgage from a lender because of costs would find it hard to stay in their current home with higher insurance premiums," Dixon said He believes subsidy programs and discounts should be targeted to those who most need them instead of including higher-income households for aid And the way to calculate affordability should be the principal to household income — a formula that typically sets the feasibility of a mortgage to no more than 28% of a borrower's gross monthly income While FEMA's leadership asserts that nobody knows exactly what new flood premiums could be until bills are handed down to policyholders FloodFactor estimates that for the 70809 Zip code the average annual loss for properties is $642 That's less than the federally estimated premium cost of $878 The difference suggests homeowners in the area could see new flood premiums decline when "real risk" of flooding is determined in the flood program reboot and there are many homes expected to be handed a much larger bill potentially prompting a sticker shock effect In Louisiana, there are 241,852 residential properties with a substantial flood risk that are expected to have collective loss of $745.3 million in 2021, according to estimates by New York City-based nonprofit First Street Foundation, which runs FloodFactor.com For Louisiana homes inside FEMA's special flood hazard areas that require insurance the foundation estimated the average loss for those properties in 2021 would be $4,379 whereas the average state premium was only $1,104 That would suggest that "if premiums were adjusted to cover current risk they would have to increase 4 times," according to the nonprofit "The concern is that this creates a financial burden on the homeowner People are already paying thousands of dollars a year," said Sam Brody senior fellow at the Baton Rouge-based Water Institute of the Gulf The floodplain moved into them and they are not necessarily responsible nor were they communicated with about changes." Areas that participate in FEMA's Community Rating System could work toward significantly lower premiums expertise and buy-in from those willing to implement preventive measures to stop flooding — instead of just waiting for checks when disasters happen Communities could earn rate discounts between 5% and 45% based on the community rating system classification "The community does the work and the residents get the benefit," Brody said There is debate about how accurate physics-based models are especially when extrapolated nationwide as compared to estimates based on actual losses The so-called "Flood Factor" for the Dominique family's home was considered only moderate forecasted trends in the environment mean the annual damage to the Inniswold home from "all flood scenarios" could increase over time That means the likelihood of at least 1 inch of floodwater rushing into the home in the next year is only 1% this Inniswold home has a 26% chance of flooding The question now is whether last week's flooding might affect the mindset of homeowners After the 2016 flood inflicted massive devastation on the community and other areas of south Louisiana adoption of flood insurance increased in many areas though those memories appear to have been short-lived East Baton Rouge Parish saw a 66.7% increase in flood policies between August 2016 and December 2020 but only 22.1% of single-family homes had active flood insurance policies as of December according to Louisiana Department of Insurance records The peak market penetration for NFIP flood policies in East Baton Rouge Parish was 2018 when 22.7% of residential properties had active flood insurance There was a very similar trend across the metro area It is possible that some of those homeowners previously paying into the federal program bought private flood market insurance which is increasingly attractive for those in lower-risk areas because it's often cheaper and more comprehensive in terms of actual coverage than the more narrow federal program Even it weren't required through her mortgage Dominique said she doesn't take any chances when it comes to flood insurance "I always get the max (insurance) that I can get with contents as well because the thing is I believe in God as my source — he's my everything — but I'm not crazy either," she said Even if I was a millionaire with money sitting in my bank account I'd continue to do what I do as far as insurance I'm not worried about (getting) the cheapest insurance for an extra $30 in my pocket." Her family and friends worked diligently last week to saw out sheet rock up to four feet high Affixed above all the doorways are religious scriptures Photographs and memorabilia from her daughter's childhood and other sentimental items had been thrown into the tops of closets before the couple fled their home "I want my baby's pictures," she said of her daughter I don't care about none of the furniture," she said the exception being her grandmother's antique cypress wood wardrobe and dresser Major appliances and the overall condition of the home were photographed and serial numbers jotted down Remnants of their lives were perched atop each other in a growing mound on the curb An insurance adjuster verified and assessed the damage on Friday the Dominiques will find out how much they'll get for the flood damage and the extent to which all those years of paying for that coverage will be worth the cost "Now we're just waiting on them," Dominique said "We always said we'd do some work around the house and now it's going to get done for real We'll have a better house than what we had." Whether the potential claim could be enough to replace her family's belongings as she took stock of the situation "We're going to make it work," she said as her eyes welled with tears Email Kristen Mosbrucker at kmosbrucker@theadvocate.com Louisiana's insurance commissioner issued an order Thursday to stop State Farm from imposing higher deductibles on homeowners who may have suf… Three years after floods swept across portions of southern Louisiana only 36 percent of homeowners who applied for help through the Restore L… Insurance claims from residents impacted by Hurricane Barry were trickling in after the storm brought high winds and heavy rain through Louisi… Rouses Supermarket had the unexpected happen in August 2016 when its Denham Springs store in Juban Crossing took on several feet of water — it… Shannon Shepherd-Zeringue had been a homeowner in East Baton Rouge Parish nearby the cusp of Livingston Parish for about four months when 16 i… The flooding that hit Baton Rouge Monday came at a bad time for people who lost vehicles during the storm GONZALES — On streets that flooded nearly hip deep the neighbors of Eric Gulotta helped ferry people from the inundated entrance of their new… State highway officials warned drivers Monday that it's against the law to drive around barricades blocking access to the Bayou Manchac bridge… East Baton Rouge Parish is starting to tell 1,750 households that were inundated in August 2016 that they may need to elevate their homes Many homeowners looking to buy new policies under revamped rates for the National Flood Insurance Program are getting sticker shock the native New Orleanian whose long career in science has made him one of the world’s leading authorities on the causes and solutions to his home state’s coastal crisis has a problem with the way the climate science news is being reported