12-6-18
SUSPENDED LAFAYETTE CITY MARSHAL BRIAN POPE HAS BEEN INDICTED AGAIN BY A LAFAYETTE PARISH GRAND JURY. JEFF HORCHAK REPORTS.
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LAST NIGHT THE LAKE CHARLES CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A THREE PERCENT PAY RAISE FOR CITY FIRE FIGHTERS. TRAVIS DELANO, THE SECOND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FIREFIGHTER’S UNION, SAYS THE RAISE WILL HELP THEM TO RETAIN FIREFIGHTERS. HE TELLS KPLC TV THEY HAVE BEEN LOSING GUYS TO SULPHUR, BEAUMONT, AND OTHER LARGER DEPARTMENTS THAT WERE PAYING BETTER. THE VOTE FOR THE RAISE WAS UNANIMOUS.
NEW IBERIA IS HAVING A PROBLEM WITH LOITERING AND THE CITY COUNCIL IS TRYING TO DEAL WITH IT. MAYOR FREDDIE DECOURT TELLS KLFY TV THAT COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS AND PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH LARGE CROWDS CONGREGATING AT THEIR BUSINESSES OR PROPERTY. THE COUNCIL HAS COME UP WITH A NEW FORM FOR BUSINESSES TO FILL OUT WHICH WILL ALLOW PUBLIC WORKS TO POST “NO LOITERING” SIGNS AND THE POLICE TO ENFORCE THEM. ONE INTERSECTION THAT’S SEEN LARGE CROWDS IS AT TWENTY ARPENT ROAD AND ANN STREET, WHERE A YOUNG MAN WAS SHOT AND KILLED LAST SEPTEMBER.
Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco says there’s “no escape” from the incurable cancer that has spread throughout her body. News outlets report Blanco was honored Wednesday by the Council for a Better Louisiana and gave what felt like a farewell speech. Blanco is the state’s first elected woman governor and served from 2004 to 2008. She was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in 2011, and the disease reappeared during a checkup in 2017.
LAFAYETTE POLICE CHIEF TOBY AGUILLARD HAS COME OUT AGAINST A PROPOSED HALF CENT SALES TAX BY LAFAYETTE PARISH SHERIFF MARK GARBER, THAT IS ON THE BALLOT THIS SATURDAY. AGUILLARD SENT A MEMO TO DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES SAYING ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF THE TAX WOULD GO TO THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT, EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE TAX REVENUES WOULD COME FROM WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. HE SAYS HE SHARES GARBER’S DESIRE TO INCREASE PAY, BENEFITS, TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT FOR ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN THE PARISH, BUT THE CURRENT TAX PROPOSAL IS NOT THE ANSWER. AGUILLARD IS THE ONLY POLICE CHIEF IN THE PARISH WHO IS NOT SUPPORTING THE TAX PROPOSAL.
LAST NIGHT THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING A CARRIAGE AND A VEHICLE. IT OCCURRED ON SHELL BEACH DRIVE IN LAKE CHARLES. TWO PEOPLE WERE INJURED AND A HORSE SUFFERED A BROKEN LEG. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HASN’T RELEASED ANY FURTHER DETAILS AT THIS TIME.
CLECO PRESENTED A CHECK FOR MORE THAN 63 THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE ST. LANDRY PARISH SCHOOL BOARD. THE MONEY COMES FROM CLECO’S UTILITY ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM KNOWN AS POWER WISE. THE MONEY IS FOR ENERGY SAVING UPGRADES TO SIX SCHOOLS. THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR ST. LANDRY PARISH SCHOOLS CLAUDIA BLANCHARD SAYS TEACHERS AND STUDENTS HAVE EXPRESSED EXCITEMENT AND GRATITUDE FOR THE IMPROVEMENT TO THE FACILITIES.
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy says he “agonized” over his decision not to run for Louisiana governor next year. Kennedy says he made his choice only hours before announcing it and received a personal entreaty from President Donald Trump to stay in the Senate. On Monday, he shocked many in his own party by choosing to stay in Washington rather than trying to unseat Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards in the 2019 election. Kennedy says he made his decision Sunday: “I decided just to trust my gut.”
