7-7-16
THE LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD VOTED 8-TO-1 TO KEEP THE CURRENT POLICY OF REQUIRING STUDENTS TO STAND DURING THE RECITING OF THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. THE POLICY DOES NOT REQUIRE STUDENTS TO RECITE THE PLEDGE. THE BOARD ADDRESSED THE ISSUE BECAUSE OF AN INCIDENT AT ACADIANA HIGH SCHOOL IN APRIL WHEN A STUDENT WAS DISCIPLINED FOR REFUSING TO STAND. THE ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD, BOB HAMMONDS, TOLD THEM THAT THE POLICY CANNOT BE LEGALLY ENFORCED BECAUSE REFUSING TO STAND IS A FORM OF SPEECH.
A 55-YEAR-OLD LAKE CHARLES MAN WAS ARRESTED FOR INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL CONTACT WITH A TODDLER. THE GIRL IS 14-YEARS-OLD NOW. THE ALLEGED CRIME HAPPENED WHEN SHE WAS THREE. A COMPLAINT WAS FILED AGAINST JOHN K. SAM ON JUNE FIRST AND JUDGE DAVID RITCHIE ISSUED A 400 THOUSAND DOLLAR WARRANT FOR SAM ON TUESDAY. SAM WAS ARRESTED LATER THAT SAME DAY.
TWO EUNICE TEENAGERS WERE ARRESTED TUESDAY FOR A HOME INVASION THAT OCCURRED AROUND TWO THAT MORNING. 19-YEAR-OLD DARIUS KAIN BRUNO BAZILE AND 17-YEAR-OLD ISAIAH BRADLEY ALLEGEDLY FORCED THEIR WAY INTO A HOME BRANDISHING GUNS, BEATING A MAN, FIRING SEVERAL SHOTS, AND STEALING THE CELL PHONES FROM THE FOUR PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE, ONE OF WHOM WAS PREGNANT. THE MAN WHO WAS BEATEN WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR A BROKEN JAW, COLLAPSED LUNG, AND A FRACTURED EYE SOCKET. THE ST. LANDRY PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE EXPECTS TO MAKE MORE ARRESTS IN THE CASE.
Two states have joined the 11-state coalition Texas is leading in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Obama administration’s recent directive about transgender students in public schools. In a court pleading filed Wednesday in Wichita Falls, Texas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also seeks a preliminary injunction to halt implementation of the directive pending a final judgment in the lawsuit. Kentucky and Mississippi joined the coalition challenging the directive to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. The coalition also includes Louisiana.
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN LAFAYETTE WILL BE CLOSED BECAUSE OF LOW ENROLLMENT. ONLY SIXTY STUDENTS WERE ENROLLED FOR THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR, AND CHURCH AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS FELT THEY NEEDED TO HAVE 150 STUDENTS TO REMAIN VIABLE. THE DIOCESE OF LAFAYETTE, IN A NEWS RELEASE, ALSO CITED POOR TEST SCORES AT THE SCHOOL AND A 200 THOUSAND DOLLAR DEFICIT AS REASONS FOR THE CLOSURE. THE SCHOOL ORIGINALLY OPENED IN 1934.
LAST NIGHT THE LAKE CHARLES CITY COUNCIL PASSED TWO ORDINANCES THAT DEAL WITH DEVELOPMENT AT A TIME WHEN THERE IS A LOT OF GROWTH IN THE CITY. THE COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY PASSED A COMPLETE STREETS INITIATIVE THAT STREAMLINES PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS FOR THE CITY WITH THE HELP OF ARCHITECTS SOUTHWEST AND SWIFT AND ASSOCIATES. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HOPE TO ENSURE THE DOWNTOWN AREA REMAINS ACCESSIBLE TO MOTORISTS AND PEDESTRIANS WITH THIS INITIATIVE. THE COUNCIL ALSO PASSED WITHOUT OBJECTION A MASTER PLAN FOR DRAINAGE AND ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE.
IN ACADIA PARISH, A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY HAS DIED IN WHAT AUTHORITIES SAY WAS AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING. JULIE DARCE HAS MORE.
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Hundreds of mourners, friends and family members of a black man killed by police in Louisiana gathered at the scene of the shooting for a second night of protest, prayer and remembrance. Many carried signs Wednesday night to express their anger and demand for justice, blocking streets near the Baton Rouge convenience store where 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killed. Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped raise Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds with a broken voice, tearful. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the U.S. Justice Department to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.
