2-20-17
LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT VOTERS WILL PASS A TEN YEAR, HALF CENT SALES TAX IN APRIL. THE TAX WOULD FUND 195 MILLION DOLLARS IN PROJECTS THAT WILL HELP THE DISTRICT ELIMINATE 248 TEMPORARY CLASSROOMS AT TWELVE SCHOOLS. SIX YEARS AGO, VOTERS REJECTED A 561 MILLION DOLLAR FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PLAN, BUT BOARD MEMBERS HAVE NOTED THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF INFIGHTING IN THE SCHOOL BOARD AT THAT TIME, AND VOTERS MAY BE RECEPTIVE TO A MORE MODEST PROPOSAL. LAST WEEK, THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP ONE ACADIANA VOTED TO SUPPORT THE NEW PLAN.
THE FAMILY OF A WOMAN KILLED IN A HIT-AND-RUN INCIDENT IN LAKE CHARLES LAST OCTOBER HELD A CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN DERIDDER SATURDAY NIGHT TO REMEMBER HER. THERE ARE STILL NO SUSPECTS IN THE DEATH OF 25-YEAR-OLD DONISHA STROMAN AND HER MOTHER, SANDRA MCCOY, TOLD KPLC TV THAT THEY WANT THE PERSON TO TURN THEMSELVES IN SO THE FAMILY CAN HAVE CLOSURE. DONISHA’S BROTHER-IN-LAW, MICHAEL SHAINE HAMPTON, POINTED OUT THE IRONY THAT SHE SERVED IN IRAQ TO KEEP THE COUNTRY SAFE, BUT GETS KILLED IN THE STREETS OF AMERICA AND THEY HAVE NO JUSTICE. THE FAMILY HAS PUT UP A 15 THOUSAND DOLLAR REWARD FOR INFORMATION THAT LEADS TO THE ARREST OF THE SUSPECT.
A Tennessee woman has died after her car crashed and entered the water in St. Martin Parish. The sheriff’s office says deputies responded to a reported car crash at the boat landing near the Butte Larose Welcome Center at about 3:33 a.m. Saturday. WBRZ-TV reports deputies discovered a vehicle containing four people had entered the water next to the boat landing. Three of them — two children and an adult — escaped safely.
STAFF MEMBERS OF THE U-S SENATE AND HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES ARE VISITING LOUISIANA, INCLUDING ACADIANA, TODAY TO TOUR FLOOD-DAMAGED AREAS. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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A LAFAYETTE MAN, WHO PLED GUILTY IN NOVEMBER TO ONE COUNT OF FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM, WAS SENTENCED FRIDAY TO 21 MONTHS IN PRISON. IN SEPTEMBER OF 2015, 21-YEAR-OLD SHAWN D’ANTHONY BROWN OF LAFAYETTE WAS PULLED OVER ON CELESTE STREET FOR NOT USING HIS HEADLIGHTS, AND POLICE FOUND A LOADED REVOLVER SPRAY PAINTED GOLD IN HIS POCKET. THEY CHECKED AND FOUND HE’D HAD TWO PREVIOUS FELONY CONVICTIONS.
The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury has granted Chennault International Airport access to land close to the runway in order to deal with nuisance wildlife. Chennault’s executive director, Randy Robb, says they’ve had to shoot five coyotes in just the past 2½ months. They had been living across from the runway and posed a serious threat to planes taking off and landing. KPLC-TV reports Robb is terrified that what happened this week at Charlotte-Douglas Airport in North Carolina will happen at Chennault. A plane carrying 44 passengers hit a deer while taking off, causing a leak in the fuel tank.
THE ACADIA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE IS LOOKING FOR A MISSING TEEN, WHO MAY BE A RUNAWAY. 16-YEAR-OLD CHEYENNE BEARDEN WAS LAST SEEN ON NORTH PARKERSON AVENUE IN CROWLEY. SHE’S WHITE, FIVE-TWO, 135 POUNDS, WITH BROWN HAIR AND BROWN EYES, AND SHE WAS CARRYING A BACKPACK AND GUITAR CASE. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ON HER WHEREABOUTS IS ASKED TO CALL THE ACADIA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE AT 788-87-72 OR 9-1-1.
The Louisiana House has narrowly backed a budget cut proposal that would add another $55 million to the reductions sought by Gov. John Bel Edwards to close a state deficit. The proposal by Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry would cut $115 million from the state operating budget, much of it from the health department, over the remaining four months of the financial year. The measure approved Friday in a 57-39 vote heads next to the Senate for consideration. The special session must end Wednesday.
