1-9-18
THE LAFAYETTE CONSOLIDATED COUNCIL WILL VOTE TODAY ON WHETHER OR NOT NEW BARS WILL BE ALLOWED TO OPEN IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. JEFF HORCHAK HAS MORE.
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THE CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF SAYS HE DOESN’T BELIEVE A MAN’S DEATH IN WESTLAKE WAS A HOMOCIDE. THE BODY OF A MAN WAS FOUND SUNDAY AFTERNOON BY HIS FAMILY IN A MARSHY AREA. THE MAN HAD NOT BEEN SEEN SINCE NEW YEAR’S DAY. SHERIFF TONY MANCUSO SAYS THEY ARE NOT RULING OUT A HOMOCIDE, BUT THERE WAS NO VIOLENCE DONE TO THE BODY. HE SAYS HE’S WAITING ON THE CORONER’S OFFICE TO FIND OUT THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD TODAY FOR THE FORMER MAYOR OF HENDERSON, PAT J. HUVAL. HE DIED SATURDAY AT THE AGE OF 88. HUVAL WAS THE MAYOR OF HENDERSON FOR 22 YEARS AND ALSO OWNED SEVERAL BUSINESSES INCLUDING PAT’S RESTAURANT. THE FUNERAL IS TODAY AT ELEVEN A-M AT OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH IN HENDERSON.
Gov. John Bel Edwards says he won’t hold firm to the Jan. 19 deadline he set to reach a tax deal with House GOP leaders, if the two sides are making meaningful progress. At issue are negotiations over closing a $1 billion state budget gap that hits July 1. In December, the Democratic governor said he needed an “agreement on principle” with House Republican leaders on a tax package by Jan. 19, or he wouldn’t call a February special legislative session to boost tax collections. House Speaker Taylor Barras said he’s optimistic the two sides could reach a tax deal for a February session but might need time beyond next week.
ANOTHER LAFAYETTE RESTAURANT HAS SHUT ITS DOORS. POSADA’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT ON AMBASSADOR CAFFERY IS CLOSED AFTER NEARLY TWENTY YEARS OF OPERATING IN LAFAYETTE. THE EMPLOYEES FOUND OUT WHEN THEY CAME TO WORK MONDAY MORNING. MANAGER MELISSA GUILBEAUX TELLS KLFY TV THAT THEY ARRIVED AT WORK TO FIND THE DOORS LOCKED AND MANAGEMENT FROM THE CORPORATE OFFICE IN TEXAS TELLING THEM THE STORE WAS CLOSING.
TWO JUVENILES HAD TO BE AIRLIFTED TO A HOSPITAL AFTER THEY WERE STRUCK WHILE WALKING ALONG FIFTH AVENUE IN LAKE CHARLES YESTERDAY MORNING AT AROUND 6:20. POLICE SAY THE DRIVER OF A 2002 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HIT THE TWO AND THEN STOPPED, CALLED POLICE AND RENDERED AID. THE DRIVER SAYS HE DIDN’T SEE THE TWO IN THE ROADWAY. THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE JUVENILES TELLS KPLC TV THAT HER SON WAS RELEASED AFTER TREATMENT FOR MINOR INJURIES, BUT THE OTHER IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION AND UNDERWENT SURGERY.
THE ACADIA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE ARRESTED TWO JENNINGS MEN FOR A ROAD RAGE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED SATURDAY MORNING AT AROUND TWO ON INTERSTATE TEN NEAR RAYNE. THE PASSENGER IN THE VEHICLE, 25-YEAR-OLD JORDAN PROVOST, IS ACCUSED OF FIRING SHOTS AT ANOTHER VEHICLE, STRIKING A SIDE MIRROR AND THE BUMPER, BUT NO ONE WAS INJURED. PROVOST FACES TWO COUNTS OF ATTEMPTED SECOND DEGREE MURDER. THE DRIVER, 26-YEAR-OLD AARONTON WILLIAMS, ALSO WAS ARRESTED ON OUTSTANDING WARRANTS.
The LSU AgCenter says farmers and experts are “cautiously optimistic” that the recent freeze didn’t do major damage to Louisiana’s sugar and wheat. AgCenter agent Blair Hebert says in a news release that about 10 percent of the Teche area’s sugarcane is still in the field, partly because farmers increased plantings. Farmer Mark Patout tells the AgCenter that a hard freeze can split stalks, letting in bacteria that can reduce the sugar content. He says warm weather shortly after a freeze makes things worse.
