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MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE ATTENDED A MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE AT FOUNTAIN MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME AND CEMETARY IN LAFAYETTE. JILLIAN HEBERT SANG THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER, AND A BUGELIST PLAYED THE MILITARY SONGS OF ALL SERVICE BRANCHES. VIETNAM VETERAN CAPTAIN TOM GROTH REMINDED THOSE IN ATTENDANCE THAT 22 VETERANS COMMIT SUICIDE EVERY DAY. HE SAYS IF WE DON’T TAKE CARE OF OUR VETERANS WHEN THEY COME BACK, GIVING THEM TOP QUALITY HEALTH CARE, HOW CAN WE EXPECT PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO VOLUNTEER TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY?
NEARLY A THOUSAND AMERICAN FLAGS LINED THE DRIVEWAY AT THE ORANGE GROVE GRACELAND CEMETARY IN LAKE CHARLES YESTERDAY. THE AVENUE OF THE FLAGS IN LAKE CHARLES IS THE LARGEST DISPLAY OF MEMORIAL FLAGS BETWEEN FLORIDA AND THE WEST COAST. EACH OF THE MEMORIAL FLAGS IS LOANED FOR THE MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY BY THE FAMILY OF A DECEASED VETERAN. THIS YEAR’S CEREMONY HONORED BELVIN FONTENOT OF LAKE CHARLES, A MEMBER OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, WHO DIED EARLIER THIS YEAR.
THE OPELOUSAS COMMUNITY CHOIR TOOK PART IN A SPECIAL MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE AT THE ST. LANDRY PARISH VETERAN’S MEMORIAL. THEY PERFORMED A PATRIOTIC MUSICAL ENTITLED “I LOVE AMERICA.” THE BRICK MEMORIAL PATHWAY, WHICH IS LESS THAN TWO YEARS OLD, HAS THE NAMES OF ACADIANA VETERANS. OVER THE WEEKEND, COMMITTEE MEMBERS ADDED NEW BRICK DEDICATIONS IN TIME FOR THE MEMORIAL SERVICE.
If cuts fall on the TOPS college tuition program, lawmakers want every student eligible for the award to get some money from the state. Under current law, if TOPS isn’t fully funded, only students with the highest ACT scores receive the tuition aid. A bill by Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, a Jennings Republican, calls for across-the-board cuts if the program is short of the money to pay for all eligible students. The Senate voted 36-1 Monday for the measure, sending it to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who supports it.
Louisiana lawmakers have decided the state’s drivers should get to choose whether they want a driver’s license that complies with the federal REAL ID security law.
With a 28-9 vote Monday, the Senate gave final legislative passage to a bill that lets a driver decide between a license that meets the federal act requirements or one that does not. Propelling the debate was worry that Louisiana residents without a REAL ID-compliant license could need a passport or other federally approved identification to board domestic flights or enter federal buildings within a few years. Privacy concerns have been repeatedly raised by conservative groups, however, about the data collection required to comply.
THE HOME OF THE YOUNGSVILLE FIRE CHIEF WAS DESTROYED BY A FIRE. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE, WHICH BEGAN AT AROUND THREE A-M MONDAY, IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION. CAPTAIN AUSTIN SHOTWELL TOLD KATC TV THAT THE DAUGHTER OF FIRE CHIEF BLAIR RIVETTE WOKE HIM WHEN SHE SMELLED SMOKE. HE SAYS 98 PERCENT OF THE CONTENTS OF THE HOME WERE DESTROYED BY SMOKE,FIRE AND WATER DAMAGE.
AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY IS ONE OF 17 EDUCATORS WORLDWIDE THAT WERE SELECTED TO TAKE PART IN A MISSION TO EXPLORE THE DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN. DR. AMBER HALE LEFT YESTERDAY TO TAKE PART IN A THREE WEEK JOURNEY HOSTED BY OCEAN EXPLORATION TRUST, THE GROUP THAT DISCOVERED THE TITANIC WRECKAGE. THE TRUST WILL SEND TWO REMOTE VEHICLES FOUR THOUSAND METERS DEEP, ALLOWING RESEARCHERS TO STUDY METHANE GASES COMING FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR. PEOPLE CAN WATCH VIDEO FROM THE VEHICLES ONLINE AT NAUTILUS LIVE-DOT-ORG, AND DR. HALE WILL BE ONE OF THOSE EXPLAINING TO VIEWERS WHAT IS HAPPENING.
TWO SUSPECTS ARE IN CUSTODY AFTER A 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL ARRIVED AT A HOSPITAL DEAD FROM A DRUG OVERDOSE. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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