12-30-14
State police say a Youngsville man was attempting to walk across U.S. Highway 90 in St. Martin Parish when he was hit by a small SUV. Master Trooper Brooks David says 48-year-old Brian Bearden was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead Sunday night. David said the driver of the SUV was not injured.
Tales of the fire that devastated Lake Charles in 1919, other historical information and ghost stories all are part of a free new smartphone app about the city’s Charpentier Historic District. Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau spokeswoman Angie Manning tells the American Press the app offers half-hour and one-hour tours. Manning says it explains that the area’s Victorian homes reflect the personalities of the carpenters who built them. It can be downloaded in the Apple App Store or Google Play by searching for “Lake Charles Historic Tour.”
A TRIAL DATE HAS BEEN SET FOR THE EUNICE FIRE CHIEF, WHO IS ACCUSED OF INAPPROPRIATELY TOUCHING A FEMALE VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER. THE ATTORNEY FOR FIRE CHIEF MICHAEL ARNOLD AND THE DISTRICT TRIED TO SETTLE THE MATTER DURING A PRETRIAL HEARING MONDAY NIGHT, BUT COULD NOT COME TO A RESOLUTION. THE TRIAL FOR ARNOLD WILL TAKE PLACE ON FEBRUARY 23RD. MAYOR RUSTY MOODY HAS PUT ARNOLD ON PAID ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE.
The state’s largest utility needs to come up with more power before the end of 2016, and then find even more by the end of 2019 to meet the demands of Louisiana’s ongoing industrial boom. That likely means building power plants for about $1 billion a piece, which the 1 million customers of Entergy Corp.’s Louisiana companies will be expected to pay. The Advocate reports that Entergy is spending a couple of billion dollars over the next few years to move huge amounts of electricity to where the new manufacturing facilities will be located and also is asking for bids to buy power from elsewhere. Corporations from around the world are investing about $59.2 billion in Louisiana operations.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette students and faculty could find an easier commute into the heart of campus next semester with a $21 million, six-story parking tower set to open next month. The Advocate reports the Girard Park Circle Parking Garage will offer more than 1,000 parking spaces, with cars entering between the university’s Oliver and Fletcher halls near the park. The garage will mean a quick drive to late nights crafting art in neighboring Fletcher Hall art studios, listening to lectures in Rougeau or Griffin halls’ auditoriums or hours of programming in Oliver Hall’s computer labs. UL-Lafayette multimedia specialist Chris Welty says students will find the park side of campus much easier to access without having to park illegally or miles away at Cajun Field.
A 12-YEAR-OLD LAKE CHARLES AREA BOY IS A HERO AFTER PREVENTING A FRIEND FROM CHOKING TO DEATH. 11-YEAR-OLD DAX BROUSSARD GOT PART OF AN ORANGE LODGED IN HIS THROAT, AND HIS FRIEND, LANE HULSEY, WENT INTO ACTION, PERFORMING THE HEIMLICH MANEUVER. HULSEY TELLS KPLC TV THAT HE GRABBED BROUSSARD’S STOMACH, PULLED BACK ON IT AS HARD AS HE COULD, HELPING BROUSSARD TO SPIT THE ORANGE OUT. HULSEY CREDITS HIS MOM AND THE CUB SCOUTS WITH HELPING HIM TO LEARN THE HEIMLICH.
A BASILE POLICE OFFICER WAS ARRESTED BY A DESOTO PARISH SHERIFF’S DEPUTY FOR IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER. ERICA HOFFPAUIR SAYS SHE WAS PULLED OVER BY THE DEPUTY SATURDAY NIGHT FOR SPEEDING, AND THE DEPUTY CLAIMED HE SMELLED MARIJUANA. HOFFPAUIR PRODUCED DOCUMENTATION SHOWING SHE WAS AN OFFICER FOR THE BASILE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT THE DEPUTY BELIEVED THE DOCUMENTATION WAS FALSE AND TOLD HER HE’D NEVER HEARD OF BASILE. HOFFPAUIR IS NOT ONLY WANTING TO SEE THE CHARGE DROPPED BUT SHE WANTS AN APOLOGY FROM THE DESOTO PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE.
THE NEW YEAR WILL BRING NEW D-W-I LAWS THAT CARRY JAIL TIME FOR FIRST TIME OFFENDERS IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE LIVES BY REDUCING THE NUMBER OF IMPAIRED ON LOUISIANA ROADWAYS. JULIE DARCY HAS MORE.
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