10-19-22
THE LAFAYETTE CITY AND PARISH COUNCILS PASSED AN INTRODUCTORY ORDINANCE THAT WOULD GIVE TWO L-C-G EMPLOYEES A PAY RAISE. UNDER THE ORDINANCE, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER CYDRA WINGERTER WOULD RECEIVED AROUND A THIRTY-TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR RAISE WHILE SENIOR COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST CLAIRE REGAN WOULD SEE A TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR BUMP IN PAY. CITY COUNCIL CHAIR NANETTE COOK TELLS KLFY TV THERE WAS MISCOMMUNICATION THAT LED TO OVERLOOKING THOSE TWO POSITIONS IN THE ORIGINAL BUDGET. A FINAL VOTE ON THE RAISES WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE FIRST COUNCIL MEETING IN NOVEMBER.
POLICE IN NEW IBERIA ARE INVESTIGATING A SHOOTING THAT LEFT ONE PERSON DEAD LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. DANIELLE JOHNSON REPORTS.
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A federal agency says an outage involving a Coast Guard marine warning system and “data gaps” in radar systems were factors in last year’s deadly capsize of an oil industry lift boat off Louisiana’s coast. A report issued Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board said the captain of the Seacor Power made a “reasonable” decision to get underway on April 13, 2021, en route to an offshore platform. But the report said he had insufficient weather information from the liftboat company. And he never received a warning about approaching severe weather because of a Coast Guard broadcasting station outage. The disaster caused 13 deaths.
SCHOOL EMPLOYEES IN CALCASIEU PARISH WILL BE RECEIVING SUPPLEMENTAL PAY IN THEIR OCTOBER THIRTY-FIRST CHECK. THE SCHOOL BOARD YESTERDAY AGREED TO GIVE THE MONEY TO EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF EXCESS MONEY RAISED IN A SALES TAX THAT IS DEDICATED TO EMPLOYEE SALARIES AND BENEFITS. TEACHERS WILL GET SIX THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY DOLLARS WHILE ALL OTHER EMPLOYEES WILL RECEIVE FOUR THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. THE TOTAL COMES TO THIRTY-SIX-POINT-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS WHICH, SOME BOARD MEMBERS SAY, IS THE BIGGEST AMOUNT THEY’VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO PAY OUT.
A MAN WHO WAS SHOT TUESDAY NIGHT IN OPELOUSAS RAN TO A HOME SEEKING HELP. POLICE CHIEF MARTIN MCCLENDON SAYS OFFICERS RESPONDED TO REPORTS OF SHOTS FIRED IN THE AREA OF HAYWARD AND MOUTON STREETS. THEY FOUND THE VICTIM BLOCKS AWAY AT THE HOME WHERE HE SOUGHT HELP. MCCLENDON SAYS THE VICTIM’S WOUNDS WERE NOT LIFE-THREATENING.
IOTA POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR A NEWER MODEL WHITE NISSAN SEDAN THAT WAS INVOLVED IN A HIT-AND-RUN WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE ON OCTOBER EIGHTH. THE CAR, BELIEVED TO BE A MAXIMA OR ALTIMA, WAS LAST SEEN HEADING SOUTH ON HIGHWAY NINETY-ONE TO EGAN. THE CAR HAS DAMAGE TO THE DRIVER’S SIDE FRONT END AND DOOR. ANYONE WHO HAS INFORMATION IS URGED TO CALL SEVEN-EIGHT-NINE-TIPS WHERE UP TO A THOUSAND DOLLAR CASH REWARD IS BEING OFFERED FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO AN ARREST.
Louisiana authorities have begun the transfer of juvenile offenders from a violence-plagued lockup in suburban New Orleans where some two dozen inmates have escaped since early last year. They’ll be held at the state’s main adult prison north of Baton Rouge. WWL-TV reports that Republican state Sen. Pat Connick of Marrero said 10 juvenile offenders were transferred early Tuesday from the facility in Bridge City to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Officials say the transfer is a temporary solution while new housing for juveniles is constructed.
SAINT MARY PARISH SHERIFF BLAISE SMITH ANNOUNCED HE WILL NOT BE SEEKING REELECTION. SMITH MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT IN A FACEBOOK POST, CITING HEALTH ISSUES AS THE REASON FOR HIS DECISION. SMITH WAS FIRST ELECTED TO SHERIFF IN TWENTY-EIGHTEEN IN A SPECIAL ELECTION TO REPLACE RETIRING SHERIFF MARK HEBERT. SMITH SAYS, IF HE’S ABSENT BECAUSE OF HEALTH-RELATED ISSUES, CHIEF GARY DRISKELL HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO RUN ALL DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
