8-26-19
THE LEADERS IN THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT ARE ASKING FOR AN INCREASE IN THE STARTING WAGE SO THEY CAN RETAIN POLICE OFFICERS. DEPUTY CHIEF REGINALD THOMAS TELLS THE ADVOCATE THAT THEY ARE LOSING OFFICERS AT A TREMENDOUS RATE, APPROACHING AN EMERGENCY. LAST YEAR THE DEPARTMENT LOST 32 OFFICERS AND, SO FAR THIS YEAR, THEY HAVE LOST 24 OFFICERS. THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS THE LOWEST STARTING SALARY OF ANY MUNICIPAL POLICE DEPARTMENT IN LAFAYETTE PARISH.
A LAKE CHARLES MAN WAS KILLED IN A TWO VEHICLE CRASH JUST AFTER 6:15 SATURDAY MORNING. 22-YEAR-OLD AUSTIN BOUDREAUX WAS TRAVELING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED ON L-A 378 WHEN HE CROSSED THE CENTER LINE AT A RIGHT HAND CURVE AND STRUCK THE FRONT OF A PICKUP TRUCK. BOUDREAUX, WHO WASN’T WEARING A SEATBELT, WAS EJECTED AND DIED AT THE SCENE FROM HIS INJURIES. THE DRIVER OF THE PICKUP TRUCK, WHO WAS WEARING A SEATBELT, WAS TAKEN TO A LAKE CHARLES HOSPITAL WITH MODERATE INJURIES. THE CRASH REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION.
IMPAIRMENT IS SUSPECTED AS A CAUSE IN A CRASH THAT KILLED A 35-YEAR-OLD SUNSET WOMAN AND A TWO-YEAR-OLD BOY AND SERIOUSLY INJURED A 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL. AT AROUND 1:30 SUNDAY MORNING, 48-YEAR-OLD MICHAEL SHANE GUIDRY OF CARENCRO, DRIVING A PICKUP, CROSSED THE CENTER LINE ON THE I-49 SOUTH SERVICE ROAD AT ZICK MILLER ROAD AND STRUCK A CAR. THE DRIVER OF THE CAR, 35-YEAR-OLD LACY LEGER AND THE TWO-YEAR-OLD BOY, WHO WERE BOTH PROPERLY RESTRAINED, WERE KILLED. GUIDRY, WHO WAS NOT WEARING A SEATBELT, SUFFERED NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES. THE CRASH REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION AND CHARGES ARE PENDING.
State officials are looking for suggestions on what to include in the new Louisiana Civil Rights Trail. The Louisiana Office of Tourism says in a news release that submissions can include sites, “events, persons, activities, stories, or experiences that had a significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement in Louisiana.” In recent months officials have held 15 meetings across the state to discuss the project. The deadline to submit suggestions online is Dec. 6.
Hot air balloons are heading to Louisiana’s Acadiana region for “Glow in the Cro,” a new event taking place over the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Advertiser reports Carencro’s inaugural two-night celebration is $5 to attend and will feature food trucks, carnival rides and 20 hot air balloons that will light up the sky each night for night-glow tethered rides at Pelican Park. Pelican Park Director Jim Thibodeaux and Chairman Tom Meyers say they were inspired to bring the festival to Carencro after attending the Ascension Hot Air Balloon Festival last year. Gates open at 4 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.
GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS HAS ANNOUNCED EFFORTS TO REPLACE THE I-TEN BRIDGE IN LAKE CHARLES. HE SAYS THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP, WHEN HE VISITED THE REGION IN MAY, MADE A COMMITMENT TO FUND THE BRIDGE. EDWARDS ANNOUNCED THAT, AT HIS DIRECTION, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION ARE TAKING STEPS TO PUT 85 MILLION DOLLARS IN GENERAL OBLIGATION FUNDS FOR THE BRIDGE IN THE 2020 CAPITAL OUTLAY BUDGET. EDWARDS SAYS THE MONEY WILL BE READY AND AVAILABLE WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DETERMINES THEIR SHARE OF THE PROJECT.
CROWLEY POLICE ARRESTED A SUSPECT FOR ALLEGEDLY MAKING THREATS INSIDE OF A WALMART. CAROLINE MARCELLO REPORTS.
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Three days of public mourning for Louisiana’s former governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, have ended with a funeral Mass and burial service for the devout Catholic. Gov. John Bel Edwards was among the hundreds of people Saturday who packed St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Lafayette to honor the state’s only female governor. After the Mass, Blanco was buried in a private family service. Blanco, who served one term as governor and various elected positions across two decades, was in Louisiana’s top job during the destruction of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
