9-1-23
A LARGE GRASS FIRE WAS IGNITED OFF OF BAYARD STREET IN NEW IBERIA, WHEN AN EIGHTEEN-WHEELER HIT AND KNOCKED OVER A POLE. IT ALSO CAUSED ELECTRICITY TO BE CUT OFF TO A NEW IBERIA NEIGHBORHOOD. FIREFIGHTERS WERE ABLE TO PUT OUT THE BLAZE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED.
LAFAYETTE FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDED TO A COMMERCIAL FIRE IN THE FIVE HUNDRED BLOCK OF EAST CONVENT STREET WEDNESDAY EVENING, A BUILDING THAT HAD ONCE BEEN OCCUPIED BY LAFAYETTE MOTORS. SYLVIA MASTERS REPORTS.
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Five candidates for Louisiana governor will be gathering next week for the state’s first major televised debate of the race, but early Republican frontrunner Attorney General Jeff Landry won’t be there. His campaign team has objected to one of the organizers of the event — the Urban League of Louisiana. Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Louisiana called on all GOP candidates to boycott the debate, saying the civil rights group was radical and that the debate format would damage Republican candidates. Judy Reese Morse, president and CEO of the Urban League of Louisiana, responds that the group is nonpartisan and advocates on behalf of Black Louisianans and other underserved communities.
PETER LEBLANC IS CELEBRATING FIFTY YEARS AS A BUS DRIVER FOR THE JEFF DAVIS PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM. HE STARTED DRIVING IN NINETEEN SEVENTY-FOUR WHEN HIS FATHER RETIRED FROM DRIVING A SCHOOL BUS. LEBLANC TELLS KLFY TV THAT KIDS NEED A LOT OF HELP TODAY AND, IF HE CAN PUT A SMILE ON THEIR FACE IN THE MORNING, IT MAKES HIS DAY. LEBLANC SAYS HE PLANS TO KEEP DRIVING UNTIL THE DOCTOR TELLS HIM HE’S NO LONGER ABLE.
A GRASS FIRE THAT WAS CONTAINED WEDNESDAY IN SAINT LANDRY PARISH REIGNITED THURSDAY. THE FIRE WAS IN THE VICINITY OF HIGHWAY ONE-NINETY AND BERTRAND ROAD. PARISH PRESIDENT JESSE BELLARD SPECULATED THAT WINDS PICKING UP EARLIER THURSDAY MAY HAVE AFFECTED EMBERS UNDER THE GRAVEL AND GRASS, SPARKING SMALL FIRES. BELLARD SAYS IT TOOK ABOUT AN HOUR TO BRING THE FIRE UNDER CONTROL.
THE LAFAYETTE PARISH LIBRARY BOARD WILL HOLD A SPECIAL MEETING ON SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH TO CONSIDER BUYING LAND FOR A NORTHEAST REGIONAL LIBRARY BRANCH. ROBERT JUDGE CALLED THE MEETING JUST BEFORE HE RELINQUISHED HIS POSITION AS BOARD PRESIDENT ON MONDAY. JUDGE HAS WANTED TO LEASE EXISTING SPACE FIRST TO SEE IF THE NEW LIBRARY BRANCH WOULD BE USED ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY CONSTRUCTING A NEW BUILDING. A COMMITTEE OF LIBRARY BOARD MEMBERS AND RESIDENTS AGREED A NEW LIBRARY SHOULD BE CONSTRUCTED RATHER THAN USING AN EXISTING BUILDING.
Purchases of firearms, ammunition and a wide range of hunting supplies are exempt from state sales tax beginning Friday as part of the Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday. The state Department of Revenue said in a news release that the exemption runs through Sunday. The holiday was reinstated by lawmakers this year. It had been suspended since 2018.
NEW DRAINAGE STRUCTURES ARE GOING TO BE INSTALLED ALONG L-A THIRTY-FIVE IN ACADIA PARISH, ALSO KNOWN AS THE CHURCH POINT HIGHWAY. THAT MEANS DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE HIGHWAY WILL BE CLOSED BEGINNING SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH. THE AREAS OF THE HIGHWAY AFFECTED WILL BE BETWEEN L-A NINETY-EIGHT OR THE WHITE OAK HIGHWAY AND L-A THREE SIXTY-FIVE, OR THE BRANCH HIGHWAY. THE INSTALLATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.
