1-22-24
TWO SCHOOLS IN SAINT MARTIN PARISH REOPEN TODAY. THEY ARE SAINT MARTINVILLE JUNIOR HIGH AND BREAUX BRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. SUPERINTENDENT FREDERICK WILTZ CITED LOW WATER PRESSURE AS THE REASON FOR THE SCHOOL CLOSURES.
A DYSFUNCTIONAL BATHROOM FAN HAS BEEN DETERMINED AS THE CAUSE OF AN APARTMENT FIRE AT THE ILE DE CANNES APARTMENT COMPLEX IN SCOTT FRIDAY NIGHT. TEN PEOPLE WERE EVACUATED AS SCOTT FIREFIGHTERS PUT OUT THE BLAZE. THEY WERE CALLED AFTER ONE OF THE TENANTS NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM HER APARTMENT CEILING JUST BEFORE NINE FRIDAY NIGHT. THE ONLY DAMAGE WAS TO THE ATTIC PORTION OF THE BATHROOM AND KITCHEN WHERE THE FIRE OCCURRRED.
THE DRIVER OF A PICKUP TRUCK WAS INJURED IN A MAJOR CRASH NORTH OF DEQUINCY SUNDAY MORNING. IT HAPPENED ON COWARD ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY THREE-THIRTEEN A-M. THE DRIVER FLIPPED THE TRUCK ONTO ITS ROOF. THE DRIVER WAS TAKEN TO LAKE CHARLES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT.
Louisiana lawmakers have passed a bill that will change the state’s election process for certain primary races, including Congress and the state Supreme Court. Candidates will now participate in a party primary with the winner of the Democratic primary and the Republican primary going on to face each other in the general election. Candidates without party affiliations will automatically advance to the general election if they meet qualifying requirements. This is a change from the state’s unique “jungle primary” when all candidates run on the same ballot regardless of their party affiliation.
The Louisiana Legislature passed a congressional map with a second majority-Black district on Friday, marking a win for Democrats after a legal battle and political tug-of-war that spanned nearly two years. Democrats have long fought for a second majority-minority district among Louisiana’s six congressional districts — arguing that the political boundaries passed by the GOP-dominated legislature in 2022 discriminates against Black voters, who make up one-third of Louisiana’s population. The change could deliver an additional seat in Congress to the Democratic Party. The GOP has resisted drawing another minority district, but during this special session said their hands had been tied by a looming deadline and fears that a federal judge would redraw the map herself.
EVANGELINE PARISH SHERIFF CHARLES GUILLORY SAYS HE’S NOTICED AN INCREASE IN ATV AND OFF-ROAD VEHICLE THEFTS, BUT HE’S LEARNED HE’S NOT THE ONLY ONE. GUILLORY SAYS HE SPOKE TO ACADIA PARISH SHERIFF K-P GIBSON WHO SAYS HE’S ALSO HAVING VEHICLE AND ATV THEFTS, AND SINCE THEN HE LEARNED THE PROBLEM IS IN SAINT LANDRY PARISH, AS WELL. THE THEFTS IN ACADIA AND SAINT LANDRY PARISH GO BACK TO THE SUMMER. THERE’S SPECULATION FROM LAW ENFORCMENT THAT THESE THEFTS MAY BE PART OF AN ORGANIZED RING.
TOMORROW LAFAYETTE CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT AND LAFAYETTE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY WILL BE HOSTING A COMMUNITY NIGHT IN THE CORRIDOR. SYLVIA MASTERS HAS THE DETAILS.
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A SEVENTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM EUNICE WAS KILLED IN A SINGLE VEHICLE CRASH ON L-A THIRTY-ONE-SIXTEEN, JUST SOUTH OF THE EUNICE CITY LIMITS IN ACADIA PARISH. STATE POLICE SAY JOHN C. LEDOUX WENT OFF THE ROADWAYS INTO A DITCH AND STRUCK A CULVERT JUST AFTER ONE A-M FRIDAY. THE ACADIA PARISH CORONER PRONOUNCED LEDOUX DEAD AT THE SCENE. THIS WAS THE FIRST FATAL CRASH OF THE NEW YEAR FOR STATE POLICE TROOP I.
