12-7-15
A NEW FOUR MILLION DOLLAR REC CENTER AT THE YOUNGSVILLE SPORTS COMPLEX IS COMPLETED BUT IT WON’T BE OPENED UNTIL A HARD SURFACE PARKING LOT IS COMPLETED. IT’S EXPECTED TO OPEN IN MID-FEBRUARY, IN TIME FOR LATE SEASON YOUTH BASKETBALL GAMES. THE REC CENTER HAS TWO FULL SIZE BASKETBALL COURTS,WHICH CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR AREAS WITH THE USE OF TEMPORARY WALLS THAT CAN BE QUICKLY INSTALLED. MAYOR KEN RITTER SAYS THE INTERIOR OF THE FACILITY LOOKS GREAT AND HE TELLS THE ADVOCATE HE THINKS RESIDENTS WIL BE PROUD OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
A 110-year-old World War II veteran is heading to Washington. A white limousine brought Frank Levingston to VFW Post 2013 on Saturday for a departure ceremony at which the mayor of Lake Charles and the Calcasieu Parish sheriff and district attorney spoke. The American Press reports that a crowd of community members and veterans attended. Then the limo took him to the airport for a flight to Washington.
MANY SOUTH LOUISIANA RICE FARMERS WERE PLEASED WITH THEIR SECOND CROP HARVEST. STEVE LINSCOMBE, DIRECTOR OF THE L-S-U RICE RESEARCH STATION IN CROWLEY TELLS THE DAILY ADVERTISER THAT NUMEROUS RICE FARMERS CALLED IT BY FAR THEIR BEST SECOND CROP IN TERMS OF YIELD AND THE QUALITY WAS GOOD AS WELL. HE SAYS A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF FIELDS WERE USED THIS YEAR TO GROW A SECOND CROP. LINSCOMBE SAYS THIS WILL HELP FARMERS WHO HAD POOR FIRST CROPS AND WHO ARE DEALING WITH LOW PRICES.
LOUISIANA GOVERNOR ELECT JOHN BEL EDWARDS IS EXPECTED TO NAME HIS FIRST MAJOR APPOINTMENT TO HIS INCOMING GUBERNATORIAL ADMINISTRATION. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft says he will be retiring from the police agency he started with 39 years ago. At a news conference Friday morning, Craft said he will step down from his post Jan. 31. Craft spent the last ten years as chief under current Lafayette Mayor-President Joey Durel. Multiple news outlets report City-Parish President-elect Joel Robideaux said he plans to make an announcement on an interim chief after taking office Jan. 4.
Prosecutors say a 38-year-old man suspected of killing his newborn son by placing him in his freezer in Lake Charles 14 years ago has been sentenced to 45 years in prison on unrelated charges in Ascension Parish after he pleaded guilty to having relations with a teenager. The Advocate reports that Benjamin G. Tonguis has pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated crimes against nature, according to court records. He was set for trial Wednesday in state court in Gonzales. Lake Charles Police Department Deputy Chief Mark Kraus is pushing to get a grand jury to take up the older case.
Artist George Rodrigue — whose paintings featuring a small blue dog are known around the world — will be honored in his hometown of New Iberia with a memorial park. The Daily Iberian reports that the George Rodrigue Memorial Park will be located on the town’s main street. Rodrigue was an internationally recognized artist and New Iberia native best known for his paintings featuring a small blue dog. The park also will have a mural representative of Rodrigue’s earlier work, which emphasized darker shaded oak trees.
The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved a new policy that will require the state’s public school seniors apply for education aid for college. The Advocate reports the board approved the policy last week which will require the state’s 35,000 high school seniors to apply for the aid or submit a signed form indicating that they won’t. About 15,000 seniors currently do not seek federal aid. Applications will be required for graduation starting in 2018.
