4-27-22
THE LAFAYETTE PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS CONFIRMED A SECOND PERSON HAS DIED FROM A POSSIBLE DRUG OVERDOSE ON SUNDAY. SYLVIA MASTERS REPORTS.
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YESTERDAY EVENING, THE NINETEENTH ANNUAL TAKE BACK THE NIGHT MARCH WAS HELD IN OPELOUSAS. THE MARCH ENCOURAGES THE COMMUNITY TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT. OPELOUSAS POLICE STATISTICS SHOW FOUR SEXUAL VIOLENCE OFFENSES SO FAR THIS YEAR. THE MARCH ENDED AT THE SAINT LANDRY PARISH COURTHOUSE WITH A CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR LAURA BELLE BALTHAZAR, THE FORMER HEAD OF THE SAINT LANDRY EVANGELINE SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTER, WHO DIED LAST YEAR.
Bills to limit actions that state and local governments can take to control COVID-19 continue to advance in the 2022 legislative session. The full House voted 70-28 on Tuesday for a bill by Metairie Republican Stephanie Hilferty that would exempt state-owned buildings — such as the Superdome in New Orleans — from local government emergency provisions. Approval of Hilferty’s bill follows Monday’s House approval of a bill allowing either house of the Legislature to end or alter a governor’s emergency proclamation, even without the other house’s approval. Meanwhile, pending in the state Senate, is a recently passed House resolution to remove COVID-19 vaccines from the list of required vaccinations for school children.
JOHNSON FUNERAL HOME ON LAKE STREET IN LAKE CHARLES HAS REOPENED THEIR LOCATION AFTER SUFFERING MAJOR DAMAGE DURING HURRICANE LAURA. DURING THE STORM, THE ROOF CAVED AND WATER POURED IN. OWNER ZEB JOHNSON CREDITED THE COMMUNITY WITH HELPING THEM TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS AFTER LOSING THEIR BUILDING. HE SAYS LOCAL CHURCHES OFFERED THEIR FACILITIES FOR FUNERALS WHILE THE FUNERAL HOME WAS DEALING WITH THE REBUILDING.
IN JUST A LITTLE OVER A DAY, MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS HAS BEEN RAISED FOR A SCOTT FIREFIGHTER, WHOSE SON IS SERIOUSLY ILL. ON APRIL TWELFTH, FIREFIGHTER JARON LEBLANC’S SON WAS BEING DELIVERED BY C-SECTION WHEN HIS HEART STOPPED BEATING AND HE WAS FLOWN TO A NEW ORLEANS HOSPITAL, WHERE HE’S BEING TREATED. THE FAMILY WAS WORRIED ABOUT EXPENSES, WHICH LED KELLY SONNIER, THE WIFE OF FIRE CHIEF CHAD SONNIER, TO SET UP A GOFUNDME PAGE. CHAD SONNIER SAYS LEBLANC IS OVERWHELMED WITH ALL THE SUPPORT HE’S RECEIVED.
THIS SATURDAY, VERMILLION PARISH VOTERS WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF A PROPOSED HALF CENT SALES TAX. THE FUNDS THAT COME FROM THE SALES TAX WOULD GO TO RAISE THE SALARIES OF TEACHERS AND SUPPORT WORKERS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SUPERINTENDENT TOMMY BYLER SAYS HE WANTS TO ATTRACT MORE TEACHERS TO VERMILLION PARISH, CREATING A BETTER EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS. THE POLLS OPEN SATURDAY MORNING AT SEVEN AND CLOSE AT EIGHT P-M.
Louisiana’s agriculture commissioner says rising global temperatures could damage crop production, but farmers also need domestic oil and gas production to increase. The Advocate reports that Commissioner Mike Strain told the Press Club of Baton Rouge the answer is carbon capture, even though hundreds of environmental groups have called carbon capture a “false solution.” Natural gas is a key feedstock for fertilizers, and Strain said prices need to stay low to keep food costs down.
ACADIA PARISH CRIME STOPPERS IS SEEKING HELP FROM THE PUBLIC TO SOLVE A RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY IN RICHARD. ON MARCH TWENTY-SEVENTH, MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS IN FLOORING MATERIAL WAS STOLEN FROM A HOME UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON RICHARD SCHOOL ROAD. VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SHOWED THE SUSPECT’S VEHICLE WAS A DARK-COLORED QUAD CAB TRUCK, BUT ITS MAKE AND MODEL WAS NOT DETERMINED. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION LEADING TO AN ARREST CAN GET UP TO A THOUSAND DOLLAR REWARD BY CALLING SEVEN EIGHT-NINE-TIPS.
