5-6-16
DOZENS OF POSITIONS WITH THE LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM COULD BE ELIMINATED TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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THE JEFF DAVIS PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE DISCOVERED A MAJOR DRUG OPERATION LAST NIGHT IN WELSH. THE OPERATION WAS IN A MOBILE HOME LOCATED IN THE 800 BLOCK OF WEST WELSH STREET. DEPUTIES FOUND COCAINE AND MARIJUANA, TWO STOLEN GUNS, DRUG PACKAGING MATERIALS, AND THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS AT THE RESIDENCE, ACCORDING TO COMMANDER CHRIS IVEY, THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE. HE SAYS DEPUTIES ARE STILL SEARCHING FOR SUSPECTS IN THE DRUG OPERATION.
THE ST. LANDRY PARISH SCHOOL BOARD VOTED 8-TO-3 YESTERDAY AGAINST RENEWING THE CONTRACT OF SUPERINTENDENT EDWARD BROWN. THE CONTRACT EXPIRES AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AND BROWN SAYS HE PLANS TO CONTINUE WORKING UNTIL THE CONTRACT EXPIRES. BROWN TOLD THE ADVOCATE HE WASN’T SURPRISED BY THE VOTE, BUT HE HAD NO COMPLAINTS AND ST. LANDRY PARISH HAS BEEN GOOD TO HIM OVER THE PAST 42 YEARS. NONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO VOTED AGAINST RENEWING THE CONTRACT GAVE A REASON AND THERE WERE NO PROPOSALS TO BEGIN THE SEARCH FOR A NEW SUPERINTENDENT.
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission says the state’s spring inshore shrimp season will open statewide at 6 a.m. on May 23. The commission voted unanimously Thursday to go against state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries data showing the season should be opened earlier in the Barataria (bare uh TARE ee uh), Timbalier, Terrebonne and Vermilion-Teche basins. NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports it’s the second straight year that the opening won’t be staggered among the state’s shrimp zones. The portion of state outside waters from the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel to the western shore of Freshwater Bayou also opens May 23.
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER GATHERINGS WERE HELD THROUGHOUT THE NATION YESTERDAY. ABOUT 250 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE EVENT AT THE CARENCRO COMMUNITY CENTER, WHERE LUNCHES WERE DONATED BY SUPER ONE FOODS. CITY OFFICIALS, INCLUDING MAYOR GLENN BRASSEAUX, WERE THERE, AS WELL AS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND LAFAYETTE PARISH SHERIFF-ELECT MARK GARBER. ORGANIZER STACEY JUDICE TOLD THE DAILY ADVERTISER THAT IT WAS A WONDERFUL EVENT WITH ALL DENOMINATIONS COMING TOGETHER TO STAND FOR THE CITY, THE STATE, AND THE NATION.
YESTERDAY PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR ALLEN WAINWRIGHT ASKED THE CALCASIEU PARISH POLICE JURY TO PUT OUT A REQUEST FOR A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING FIRM TO EVALUATE A POTENTIAL REGIONAL STORMWATER DETENTION FACILITY. HE SAYS IT WOULD BE LOCATED ALONG LOUISIANA AVENUE AND HELP REDUCE FLOODING ALONG THE CONTRABAND BAYOU. WAINWRIGHT SAYS THE IDEA IS TO HAVE GREEN SPACE THAT COULD BE USED AS A PARK BUT DOUBLE AS A DETENTION POND WHEN FLOODING OCCURS. HE SAYS THEY HAVE DONE A PRELIMINARY STUDY THAT SHOWS GOOD RESULTS AND THEY NEED TO TAKE THE NEXT STEPS.
A FORMER CECILIA JUNIOR HIGH TEACHER HAS ADMITTED TO HAVING HAD RELATIONS WITH A 15-YEAR-OLD STUDENT. 28-YEAR-OLD KAYLYN HUVAL OF BREAUX BRIDGE PLED GUILTY TO ONE COUNT OF CARNAL KNOWLEDGE OF A JUVENILE. THE ST. MARTIN PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE SAYS HUVAl WAS GIVEN A SUSPENDED TEN YEAR PRISON SENTENCE AND FIVE YEARS OF SUPERVISED PROBATION. HUVAL WAS ARRESTED IN MARCH OF 2015 AFTER AN INVESTIGATION INTO HER CONDUCT WITH THE TEENAGER.
Civil rights attorneys in Louisiana are asking that nine people held in various jails across the state be released immediately because they have been held for months without a lawyer. The lawsuits were filed Thursday in different Louisiana courts.
The suits said none of the nine can afford an attorney but funding problems with the state’s public defender system to represent the poor mean they have been in jail for months without representation. Public defenders across Louisiana have been struggling with layoffs and cut backs due to budget problems.
