A massive explosion, a blaze that destroyed a 100-year-old fixture of downtown New Iberia, a political return for one of Iberia Parish’s veteran politicians, a first-time championship for one local softball team and the saving of a more than 150-year-old Live Oak tree named “Mr. Al” marked some of the highlights in the Teche Area for 2011.

1.

Explosion rocks city

June 14 began like any other day for New Iberia residents.

That all changed just before 4 p.m., when an explosion at Multi-Chem Corp., located near Acadiana Regional Airport, sent plumes of black smoke into the sky, similar to a mushroom cloud.

 Within hours of the first blasts, word of the incident quickly spread, eventually catching the attention of the national news media. Authorities evacuated everyone within a three-mile radius of the blast site, and quickly began fighting back the raging fires growing in and around the Multi-Chem’s facility.

“I heard it over my head when it first went off and I knew it wasn’t thunder because there was no rain,” Leah Viator said that day while standing outside the Spanish Lake Truck & Casino Plaza on Louisiana 182, as explosions continued to rock the area.

Watching the smoke rise from his home on Jefferson Island Road, Barry Comeaux said based on what he saw, he doubted anyone could have lived from the explosion.

“I don’t know if anybody got out of there,” Comeaux said.

Fortunately, Comeaux was wrong, and no one was killed, though the plant burned for more than 24 hours before being contained by first responders from the numerous local and state agencies.

2.

Suspect grabs headlines

Of the thousands of arrests made by the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2011, one man seems to have kept deputies and detectives busier than others.

That man was Brian Segura, who first made headlines after he was arrested for kidnapping a woman and her child at knifepoint in late March. Sheriff Louis Ackal said Segura then was considered the “mastermind” of a situation at the Iberia Parish Jail in July during which a deputy was held hostage by Segura and two other inmates. Soon after that, Segura is said to have confessed to an unsolved homicide of seven years ago.

Ackal alleges that before Segura fully confessed to the killing of Carrie Billeaud in December 2004, Segura provided detectives with information related to the case, starting with the location of the alleged murder weapon.

Shortly after the July incident at the jail, the Sheriff’s Office made the news for excavating a pond off U.S. 90 near Coteau. At the time, Ackal said that the activity along U.S. 90 was an effort to locate a weapon possibly used in one of the Sheriff’s Office’s cold case homicides.

By October, Segura was set to stand trial for

aggravated kidnapping, but days before his upcoming court date, Ackal was reported saying Segura had confessed to Billeaud’s killing, and that the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation had been turned over to prosecutors.

A jury found Segura guilty of aggravated kidnapping, which carries a possible life sentence, neither the sheriff’s nor district attorney’s offices have commented further on the status of the Billeaud case, saying it  is pending.

3. Lodge Fire

This year was a century-mark for the Mason’s Lodge on Main Street, which burned to the ground June 22. Now an empty lot, the old building was home to the Aurora Masonic Lodge No. 193 for 100 years.

The building caught fire around 10 p.m., shortly after the group’s members had finished a meeting. Authorities said faulty wiring likely caused the blaze, which also was home to Vicki and Thomas Holleman’s medical supply business on the first floor.

Shortly after the fire, the Masons retrieved a mysterious time-capsule buried before the building was erected in 1911. Yet, in the Masonic tradition of secrecy, it was said that the capsule contained the group’s original charter.

Since, the site where the old building once stood remains vacant, and without an insurance policy, the Mason’s remain without a permanent home.

4. Long murder case

The end of an unfortunate chapter in the lives of the Long family came in 2011.

For Assistant District Attorney Bo Duhe, upholding justice for the family of slain gun shop owner Sidney Long Sr. meant doing what he had to do to ensure the two killers spent their lives behind bars.

During the first-degree murder trial of Easton Francisco, Duhe said that sometimes evil can only be stopped by making a deal with the devil.

Without a murder weapon or DNA evidence linking Francisco to Long’s shooting death, Duhe was forced to make a plea deal with Akeem Evans, who then testified that he and Francisco both shot Long inside his Center Street business.

Duhe’s tactic proved successful, a jury found Francisco guilty of first-degree murder.

While Francisco was absent throughout his trial, he appeared for his sentencing hearing, the day after the jury handed down its decision.

During the hearing, family members of both Francisco and Long filled the courtroom. From the moment the convicted killer was escorted into the room, the tension began to mount.

Francisco was ejected twice for cursing out Long’s grandson Jordan LaSalle, as well as District Judge Paul deMahy, who eventually kicked a number of Francisco’s family members out of the courtroom from threatening the Long family.

Even Sheriff Louis Ackal stormed in and out of the courtroom, shouting orders at deputies to assemble outside to force the Francisco’s off the courthouse property to avoid a riot.

Fortunately, the incident stopped there and Francisco was shipped off to Angola Penitentiary later that day.

Since, Duhe was recognized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lafayette for his prosecution of Long’s killers.

5. CHS softball best in state

The CHS Lady Panthers won the first state softball championship in school history in late April, beating Brusly 4-3 in the Class 3A finals in Sulphur, capping a school year that also saw CHS win the girls’ state volleyball championship and finish as the girls’ state soccer runner-up.

Sydney Lahasky was named the state tournament MVP and Marie Hoag was the Class 3A Most Outstanding Player, with Lahasky and Abby Henagan joining her on the 3A All-State team.

The championship was the third softball state title for a Teche Area school in the last five years, with Hanson (2007) and Delcambre (2008) winning Class A crowns.

6. Mr. Al

One of the more light-hearted stories of 2011 came in May with the saving of Mr. Al, an estimated 150-year-old Live Oak tree that almost met its demise by bulldozers to allow for a U.S. 90 service road project.

On May 17, the more than 875,000-pound tree was lifted atop a 192-wheel trailer, typically used for transporting big boats and other heavy industrial equipment, and taken 1 1/2-miles miles down U.S. 90 to its new home on the Louisiana 83 exit ramp.

As interested residents gathered around Mr. Al’s new home on the day of the tree’s arrival, Jasara Norton of Trees Acadiana said the spectacle was to remember.

“We (Louisianians) don’t get pegged as people who care about the environment, but here we’re saying we are,” Norton said.

Recently, Gary and Joanne Rollerson of Toronto stopped to check out Mr. Al while vacationing in South Louisiana.

After taking a trip Wednesday to Shadow’s-on-the-Teche, Joanne Rollerson said they heard about Mr. Al’s journey, and had to see the famous tree for themselves.

“We heard about Mr. Al and wanted to come right away,” Joanne Rollerson said as she touched the tree’s humongous trunk.

7. Morgann pole vault champ

New Iberia native Morgann LeLeux set state and national pole vault records as a senior at Catholic High School in 2011 before heading to the University of Georgia to compete for the Bulldogs.

LeLeux set the national high school record of 14 feet, 2 3/4 inches in April at the Class 3A regional meet in Lafayette, then set the state meet composite record for all classifications with a winning jump of 13-9 in early May. A five-time LHSAA champion and five-time national junior champion, LeLeux was named the 2011 National High School Girls Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News and the girls’ track and field honoree for the 2011 Senior Athletes of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association. She also won the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in June and the Junior Pan Am gold medal in July.

8. Jeanerette Mills

Discovering its biggest employer was shutting down put a blemish on the 2010 Christmas season in Jeanerette.

With the end of 2011 here, the city — under the leadership of a new mayor — has yet to heal from losing Fruit of the Loom. Despite talk of several possibilities, the building will go into 2012 still vacant.

During Mayor Arthur Verret’s term, a deal to have Bruce Foods use part of the facility got under way.

When Mayor Tim de’Clouet took office in July, he inherited the former administration’s pending deal, but the new mayor held off on signing the Bruce Foods deal, citing the company’s offer of $60,000 a year — $140,000 less than the city received from Fruit of the Loom — was a bad deal, especially since it would only bring a “minimum promise of jobs” to the city.

Despite a slow real estate market, especially for buildings like the 464,000 square foot facility, de’Clouet said he is confident a new tenant is on the horizon.

For now, only one potential tenant has been named, but he missed a recent meeting where the potential lessee was scheduled to discuss his plans for a trucking school.

9. Romo returns

Errol “Romo” Romero finished his last term as the District 48 state representative in 2007 and for four years publicly steered clear of the politics.

In February Romero returned, announcing he would run for parish president and possibly add to his political resume, which includes terms as police juror and sheriff of Iberia Parish.

Promoting a motto of “Unity” among all the municipalities of the parish, the retired Romero knocked on doors and hit the streets, namely busy intersections throughout the parish where he was often seen by motorists waving campaign signs.

In November, Romero beat out incumbent Parish President Ernest Freyou. In a little more than a week, he will begin his next four year political term.

10. 11 Straight Wins

The Catholic High football team set a school record with 11 straight wins this fall and reached the state quarterfinals before bowing out to Evangel Christian Academy.

The Panthers suffered a 1-point loss in their season opener before rolling through the remainder of the regular season without another defeat, led by All-State quarterback Joe Lissard, who passed for 3,142 yards and 39 touchdowns, and All-State wide receiver Blake Byrom, with 1,133 yards and 12 TDs.

Defense also played a big role for CHS, which outscored opponents by an average score of 36-7 during its win streak.

Daily Iberian Sports Editor Chris Landry contributed to this report.