2-13-19
TOTAL TAXABLE RETAIL SALES IN LAFAYETTE PARISH FOR 2018 WAS THE SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD. THERE WAS A SPIKE IN SALES FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, HELPING THE PARISH REACH SIX BILLION DOLLARS IN SALES FOR THE YEAR. THE RECORD WAS IN 2014, WHEN TOTAL SALES TOPPED SIX-POINT-4 BILLION, ACCORDING TO THE LAFAYEETTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. TOTAL SALES FOR LAST YEAR WERE FOUR PERCENT HIGHER THAN IN 2017 AND UP FOUR-POINT-7 PERCENT COMPARED TO 2016.
NEW SECURITY KIOSKS ARE BEING BUILT IN SOME CALCASIEU PARISH HIGH SCHOOLS AS PART OF AN EFFORT TO INCREASE SECURITY MEASURES. SUPERINTENDENT KARL BRUCHHAUS TELLS KPLC TV THAT HAVING A KIOSK IN A COMMON AREA TELLS STUDENTS WHERE THEY CAN GO IF THEY NEED ASSISTANCE. THE FIRST KIOSK IS EXPECTED TO BE FINISHED BY THE END OF THE MONTH AT BARBE HIGH SCHOOL AND ANOTHER ONE IS BEING BUILT AT LAGRANGE HIGH SCHOOL. EACH SECURITY KIOSK COSTS TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, NOT INCLUDING THE TECHNOLOGY IT WILL REQUIRE.
Louisiana State Police say one man was killed and another injured when a car ran off a road and overturned, throwing both men out. Trooper First Class Thomas Gossen says in a news release that 25-year-old Darryl Carrington of Church Point was killed and 24-year-old Lawarance Leday of St. Martinville was taken to a hospital. Gossen says neither was using a seat belt when the 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier ran off of Louisiana Highway 35 at a curve, hit a culvert and overturned late Monday. The accident occurred about 2.5 miles south of Lawtell and 6 miles southwest of Opelousas.
Louisiana is having a severe flu season, with New Orleans and three nearby parishes getting the worst of it so far. State health department official Frank Welch says that statewide, more than 8 percent of patients are reporting flu-like symptoms to their doctors. He tells The New Orleans Advocate the figure is above 10 percent in Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes. A state report shows the next-highest numbers are in northwest, central, and southeast Louisiana.
SOUTH BERNARD ROAD IN BROUSSARD WILL BE EXTENDED FROM ALBERTSON PARKWAY TO L-A 182, ALSO KNOWN AS MAIN STREET. THE BROUSSARD CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR RAY BOURQUE APPROVED TWO-POINT-9 MILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD THE ONE MILE LONG FOUR LANE ROAD. MAYOR BOURQUE SAYS THE NEW ROAD WILL HELP REDUCE TRAFFIC CONGESTION, WITH MOTORISTS ABLE TO AVOID THE RED LIGHT AT SOUTH MORGAN AVENUE AND MAIN STREET. CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATER THIS YEAR AND TAKE NINE TO TWELVE MONTHS TO COMPLETE.
YESTERDAY LAKE CHARLES MAYOR NIC HUNTER GAVE A PROGRESS REPORT ON DRAINAGE WORK, WHICH WAS HIS PRIORITY WHEN HE RAN FOR MAYOR IN 2017. HE SAYS THEY’VE SPENT ABOUT THREE MILLION DOLLARS ON DRAINAGE PROJECTS SINCE 2017 AND THEY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. HE SAYS THEY ARE BEING MORE AGGRESSIVE AND MORE PROACTIVE AS A CITY THAN EVER BEFORE IN THE CITY’S HISTORY. THE DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND ENGINEERING MIKE HUBER SAYS LAST YEAR THEY CLEANED MORE THAN NINE MILES OF UNDERGROUND PIPING, REMOVING 324 CUBIC YARDS OF SEDIMENT OUT OF THE LINES.
JEFF HORCHAK HAS NEW INFORMATION ON THE CROWLEY POLICE VEHICLES.
VOICER T :24
Louisiana is handing out all of next month’s food stamp aid by March 2. Some recipients will be receiving the assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program earlier than normal. But the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services announced Tuesday that it was adjusting the March aid schedule. That’s because the agency handed out February food stamps early, doling them out in January because of the partial federal government shutdown.
