5-20-19
Louisiana’s governor has toured a community where a possible weekend tornado damaged or destroyed at least 50 homes and businesses. Gov. John Bel Edwards visited Ville Platte hours, after a possible twister Sunday morning. Edwards says at least three non-serious injuries were reported and he was thankful no lives were lost. The storms knocked out power lines, so electricity will be out for the next few days. As a result, schools in Evangeline Parish have been closed for today.
AN UNIDENTIFIED MAN WAS FOUND DEAD NEAR HOLLY BEACH ON SUNDAY. JEFF HORCHAK REPORTS.
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LAFAYETTE POLICE ARRESTED TWO JUVENILES WHO SPRAY PAINTED GRAFFITI ON HOMES AND CARS NEAR SOUTH COLLEGE. THE GRAFFITI INCLUDED RACIST AND HOMOSEXUAL SLURS AS WELL AS OBSCENE WORDS AND IMAGES. RESIDENTS IN THE AREA TELL KATC TV THAT TWO PEOPLE APOLOGIZED TO THE HOMEOWNERS AND HAVE PROMISED TO CLEAN IT UP. THE VANDALISM TOOK PLACE SATURDAY NIGHT.
Louisiana’s child welfare agency is launching a new recruitment campaign searching for potential foster parents willing to care for teenagers. The Department of Children and Family Services says teens account for about 20% of the children under the state’s oversight. But fewer than 5% of non-relative foster homes are taking in teenagers. More information about becoming a foster parent is available online at LouisianaFosters.la.gov .
Authorities say two Louisiana high school students poured a chemical into a teacher’s drink and filmed it on Snapchat. Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot says the 17-year-old Eunice High School juniors were arrested Friday on a felony count of mingling harmful substances. Police say the students mixed Krud Kutter, an all-purpose cleaning solution, into the teacher’s cup Wednesday when she stepped out to get supplies. Fontenot says the suspects said they did it as a prank.
LAKE CHARLES POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING A HOMOCIDE. POLICE WERE CALLED TO REID STREET YESTERDAY AFTERNOON BECAUSE OF REPORTS OF A SHOOTING. THEY FOUND A MAN SUFFERING FROM A GUNSHOT WOUND WHO LATER DIED AT THE HOSPITAL. HIS NAME HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED.
A BRANCH WOMAN, WHO WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT ON THURSDAY, DIED FRIDAY FROM HER INJURIES WHILE BEING TREATED AT LAFAYETTE GENERAL. STATE POLICE TROOP I SPOKESMAN THOMAS GOSSEN SAYS THAT AT AROUND 10:20 THURSDAY MORNING, 21-YEAR-OLD MARY HELEN HUNDLEY WAS TRAVELING ON L-A 365 WHEN SHE STRUCK THE BACK OF A PARKED TRACTOR TRAILER. THE RIG, WHICH HAD ITS EMERGENCY FLASHERS ON, WAS PARKED IN THE WESTBOUND LANE. GOSSEN SAYS IMPAIRMENT IS NOT SUSPECTED AS A CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT, BUT TOXICOLOGY SAMPLES WERE TAKEN FROM BOTH DRIVERS.
Louisiana’s debt load has declined for the first time in a decade, a notable benchmark in a state trying to get a handle on its finances after years of budget gaps and record borrowing. But the amount Louisiana owes for every man, woman, and child still outstrips the national average. An updated debt report presented to the State Bond Commission shows Louisiana’s per capita, tax-supported debt dipped to $1,497 in 2018. That’s down $61 per person from $1,558 a year earlier, as the state works to shrink its outstanding obligations for construction projects.
