1-9-24
THE CAUSE OF A FIRE THAT BURNED DOWN A VACANT HOME IN LAFAYETTE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. EMERGENCY CREWS RESPONDED TO THE HOUSE FIRE ON WEST GILMAN STREET AT TEN-FIFTEEN SUNDAY NIGHT, BUT IT WAS ALREADY ENGULFED IN FLAMES. NEIGHBORS TELL KLFY TV THAT THE HOME HAD BEEN VACANT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. THEY HAD SEEN INDIVIDUALS THEY DID NOT KNOW GOING IN AND OUT OF THE STRUCTURE.
JEANERETTE RESIDENTS HAVE EXPRESSED SAFETY CONCERNS ABOUT THE SHORTAGE OF OFFICERS ON THE FORCE. DANIELLE DUNCAN HAS MORE.
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Advocates for LGBTQ rights have announced a lawsuit to block enforcement of Louisiana’s new ban on transgender health care procedures including hormone treatments, gender reassignment surgery or puberty-blocking drugs for anyone under 18. The lawsuit was prepared by Lambda Legal and other advocates on behalf of five Louisiana minors and their parents, identified in the lawsuit by pseudonyms. State lawmakers approved the ban last year and overrode a veto by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat. The law took affect Jan. 1.
A DISTRICT JUDGE HAS GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD FOR A RECALL ELECTION OF ELTON MAYOR KESIA LEMOINE. JEFF DAVIS PARISH DISTRICT JUDGE STEVE GUNNELL RULED MONDAY THAT THE RECALL MAY PROCEED. HE DETERMINED THE PARISH REGISTRAR OF VOTERS FOLLOWED THE PROVISIONS OF THE ELECTION CODE FOR CERTIFYING A RECALL PETITION. THE RECALL ELECTION IS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE IN APRIL.
THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS LAUNCHING A NEW PROGRAM WHICH ALLOWS RESIDENTS TO INFORM THEM OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DISABILITIES THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO COMMUNICATE. POLICE SERGEANT RAYMOND OVERBY, WHO HAS A SON WITH AUTISM, CAME UP WITH THE IDEA. THE CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT’S I-T DEPARTMENT HELPED DEVELOP A DATABASE THAT CAN BE ACCESSED BY ALL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS IN THE PARISH. IF A FIRST RESPONDER FINDS A PERSON WANDERING ON THEIR OWN, THEY’LL NOW BE ABLE TO CHECK THE DATABASE, ALLOWING THEM TO IDENTIFY THAT PERSON AND GET THEM TO SAFETY.
MORE THAN FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS HAS BEEN RAISED SO FAR FOR A BREAUX BRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYER, WHO WAS SHOT ON SATURDAY. EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD KOLE HEBERT IS PARALYZED FROM THE NECK DOWN AND IS EXPECTED TO BE AT OUR LADY OF THE LAKE HOSPITAL IN BATON ROUGE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. HEBERT WAS SET TO GRADUATE IN MAY AND HAD RECEIVED A FULL SCHOLARSHIP TO L-S-U-E TO PLAY BASEBALL. A GOFUNDME ACCOUNT HAS BEEN SET UP TO HELP WITH EXPENSES AND THEY ARE HOPING TO RAISE AT LEAST SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Newly sworn-in Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has issued an executive order calling for a special redistricting session. It gives lawmakers the opportunity to draw and replace the state’s current congressional map that a federal judge says dilutes the power of Black voters. Louisiana is among states still wrangling over congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act. Louisiana’s current GOP-drawn map, which was used in the November congressional election, has white majorities in five of six districts.
A EUNICE LAWMAKER HAS BEEN ELECTED AS SPEAKER OF THE LOUISIANA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. REPUBLICAN PHILLIP DEVILLIER REPLACES REPUBLICAN CLAY SCHEXNAYDER, WHO LEFT THE HOUSE TO RUN FOR LOUISIANA SECRETARY OF STATE, WHICH HE LOST IN THE PRIMARY. DEVILLIER WAS FIRST ELECTED TO THE FORTY-FIRST LOUISIANA HOUSE DISTRICT IN TWENTY-FIFTEEN, WHICH INCLUDES PORTIONS OF ACADIA, SAINT LANDRY AND EVANGELINE PARISHES. HE ALSO IS THE OWNER OF DEVILLIER HOUSE MOVERS OF EUNICE.
