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Officials say Duson Police Chief Kip Judice has made major progress during his first six months on the job. The Advertiser reports Duson hasn’t had any homicides or violent crimes in 2015. Seventeen violent crimes and two homicides took place in the small town in 2014. Judice has worked to organize a full evidence room and clean up a backlog of felony arrest reports that weren’t submitted to the district attorney’s office.
LAKE CHARLES CITY EMPLOYEES WILL BE GETTING A MAJOR PAY INCREASE STARTING JANUARY FIRST. THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED AN ACROSS THE BOARD EIGHT PERCENT PAY INCREASE, WHILE FIRE FIGHTERS WILL SEE THEIR PAY BOOSTED BY TEN PERCENT. MAYOR RANDY ROACH SAYS IN 2017, CITY EMPLOYEE PAY WILL GO UP AN ADDITIONAL TWO PERCENT AND FIRE FIGHTERS WILL GET A FOUR PERCENT SALARY INCREASE. THE PAY RAISE WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY A 15 YEAR, QUARTER CENT SALES TAX APPROVED BY LAKE CHARLES VOTERS IN OCTOBER.
THE ST. LANDRY PARISH COUNCIL APPROVED A 40 THOUSAND DOLLAR ANNUAL PAY RAISE FOR PARISH PRESIDENT DON MENARD. THAT MEANS, BEGINNING IN JANUARY, MENARD WILL BE PAID 105 THOUSAND DOLLARS ANNUALLY. OPELOUSAS BUSINESSMAN BOBBY DUPRE TOLD COUNCIL MEMBERS MENARD DESERVES THE RAISE AND POINTED OUT THAT THE PARISH ASSESSOR, CLERK OF COURT AND SHERIFF EACH RECEIVE 136 THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR. ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO VOTE AGAINST THE PLAN, ALVIN STELLY, QUESTIONED GIVING A RAISE TO THE PARISH PRESIDENT WHILE PARISH EMPLOYEES HAVEN’T RECEIVED A RAISE IN 12 YEARS.
A new state study places a price tag on the costs Louisiana could suffer if land loss continues at the pace predicted by scientists — and it’s in the billions of dollars.
The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority commissioned the study on the economic effects of land loss in Louisiana. The agency released the report on Wednesday. The study found that if a Hurricane Katrina-like storm hits again in the next half century, coastal land loss could cost Louisiana more than $133 billion in economic damage, according to NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune.
GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL MADE A STOP IN LAFAYETTE WEDNESDAY AS PART OF HIS FAREWELL TOUR. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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VETERANS FROM SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A FREE HAIRCUT ON BOARD THE U-S-S ORLECK IN LAKE CHARLES. THE
U-S-S ORLECK NAVAL MUSEUM IS TEAMING WITH TWENTY STYLISTS TO GIVE THE FREE HAIRCUTS ON MONDAY BETWEEN TEN A-M AND EIGHT P-M. THE IDEA CAME FROM THE MUSEUM’S DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND EVENTS, LACIE WALKER, WHO SAYS SHE THOUGHT ABOUT IT WHILE THINKING OF ALL THE VETERAN’S WHO HAVE NOWHERE TO GO TO GET CLEANED UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS. THE STYLISTS WILL ALSO GO TO AREA RETIREMENT VILLAGES TO GIVE HAIRCUTS TO VETERANS WHO COULDN’T MAKE IT TO THE U-S-S ORLECK.
AN ABBEVILLE FAMILY RETURNED HOME FROM A VACATION THIS PAST WEEKEND ONLY TO FIND THEIR HOME HAD BEEN BURGLARIZED, INCLUDING SOME PRESENTS TAKEN FROM UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE. AROUND 15-HUNDRED DOLLARS IN ITEMS WERE TAKEN FROM THE HOME INCLUDING TWO T-V SETS AND JEWELRY. IN NOVEMBER, THE FAMILY’S GARAGE HAD ALSO BEEN BROKEN INTO AND TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF TOOLS WERE TAKEN FROM A WORK TRUCK. THE CHIEF OF INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE ABBEVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT, LT. DAVID HARDY, URGED RESIDENTS TO TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS BECAUSE, HE SAYS, CRIMINALS ARE VERY ACTIVE THIS TIME OF YEAR.
The Iberia Parish School Board has purchased 22 acres for a new elementary school to help alleviate overcrowding of area schools. Superintendent Dale Henderson says the total cost for the school project is $13 million. The Advocate reports the board’s next step toward possibly opening the school sometime in the 2017-18 school year is hiring architects to design the 60,000- to 70,000-square foot building. The pre-K to sixth grade school will be built adjacent to Belle Place Middle School in New Iberia.
