8-7-18
A RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY WAS HELD YESTERDAY FOR THE REOPENING OF WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SCOTT. THE SCHOOL HAS BEEN COMPLETED REFURBISHED AFTER THE AUGUST 2016 FLOOD. LAFAYETTE PARISH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT DONALD AGUILLARD SAYS THE SCHOOL IS ALL NEW EXCEPT FOR THE SLAB AND ROOF, AND IT’S ESSENTIALLY WATERPROOF. A RETENTION POND IS NOW ON THE SCHOOL PROPERTY TO HELP ALLEVIATE FUTURE FLOODING.
SULPHUR IS PARTICIPATING IN THE NATIONAL NIGHT OUT AGAINST CRIME, WHICH TAKES PLACE TONIGHT FROM SIX TO EIGHT AT THE WEST CAL ARENA. THE NIGHT IS A CELEBRATION HELD ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO ENCOURAGE SAFE AND FAMILY FUN ATMOSPHERES FOR FAMILIES. THERE WILL BE FREE FOOD AND DRINKS, GAMES, MUSIC, A CAR SHOW, AND MORE. THERE WILL ALSO BE DISPLAYS FROM NUMEROUS LOCAL AND STATE AGENCIES, SUCH AS THE SULPHUR POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, ACADIAN AMBULANCE, STATE POLICE, THE U-S COAST GUARD, AND THE CALCASIEU PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE.
VERMILLION PARISH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT JEROME PUYAU HAS BEEN PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE, WHILE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM ARE INVESTIGATED. A LIST OF ALLEGATIONS AND COMPLAINTS WERE BROUGHT AGAINST PUYAU AT A MEETING, WHICH LED TO THE DECISION TO LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION. ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT PAUL HEBERT WILL TAKE OVER HIS JOB UNTIL THE INVESTIGATION IS COMPLETED. PUYAU TELLS KATC TV HE WILL STAY AT HIS HOME BUT CONTINUE TO WORK FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE BACKGROUND.
As Louisiana’s public schools begin to reopen, local superintendents are telling parents to brace for a drop in upcoming school letter grades. Louisiana has a new, tougher rating system that will force ratings lower, prompting some education officials to worry that will spark an outcry. The worries stem from major changes in the calculation of school performance scores, which show how students fared on key tests, graduation rates and academic growth. The changes are aimed at adding rigor to classrooms and making annual snapshots of student achievement in Louisiana comparable to other states.
A FIRE DAMAGED SEVERAL MANUFACTURED HOMES IN SCOTT YESTERDAY. THE SCOTT FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AT NINE YESTERDAY MORNING TO THE FIRE AT THE CYPRESS MOBILE HOME PARK ON ROPER ROAD. THE FIRE STARTED FROM AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN THE LIVING ROOM OF ONE OF THE HOMES. THE SHORT CAME FROM AN OUTLET THAT A WINDOW AIR CONDITIONER WAS PLUGGED INTO AS WELL AS OTHER ELECTRICAL ITEMS.
EXCESSIVE SPEED IS SUSPECTED AS A FACTOR IN A FATAL CRASH IN LAKE CHARLES YESTERDAY. SERGEANT JAMES ANDERSON OF STATE POLICE SAYS A MAN WAS DRIVING WEST ON I-TEN IN A RAINSTORM WHEN HE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND WENT OFF THE ROADWAY, HITTING A TREE. THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED ONE MILE EAST OF L-A 397. A PASSENGER IN THE VEHICLE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE WHILE THE DRIVER SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURIES AND A BACKSEAT PASSENGER HAD MINOR INJURIES.
A LIST OF BUS STOPS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED FOR RIDE ACADIANA, WHICH IS A PILOT COMMUTER BUS ROUTE CONNECTING ACADIA PARISH TO LAFAYETTE BEGINNING ON AUGUST 20TH. THERE WILL BE EIGHT STOPS IN CROWLEY, THREE IN RAYNE, ONE STOP EACH IN DUSON AND SCOTT, AND SEVEN STOPS IN LAFAYETTE. BUS FARES WILL BE FIVE DOLLARS FOR A TWO RIDE CARD, TWENTY DOLLARS FOR A 12 RIDE CARD, AND DISCOUNTS FOR THE DISABLED, THOSE ON MEDICARE AND FOR THOSE OVER THE AGE OF 65. FOR COMPLETE DETAILS, VISIT THE WEBSITE, RIDE ACADIANA-DOT-COM.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says he’s meeting with President Donald Trump this week to talk about the state’s criminal justice overhaul. The Democratic governor’s office says Edwards is among a handful of governors invited to sit down with the Republican president Thursday in New Jersey. Louisiana’s prison population is dropping, with the state no longer the nation’s top jailer, under changes enacted last year. The overhaul championed by Edwards expanded probation and parole opportunities and reduced sentences, mainly for nonviolent offenders.
