9-11-17
A ROAD WIDENING PROJECT ON VEROT SCHOOL ROAD IN LAFAYETTE BETWEEN FEU FOLLETT ROAD AND VINCENT ROAD IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY NEXT SUMMER. SOME PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHT BETWEEN THE EXISTING ROAD AND THE NEW LANES, WHICH ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER. DEIDRA DRUILHET, WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT, TELLS THE ADVERTISER THE WHOLE ROAD WILL BE BUILT AT THE LOWER LEVEL. SHE SAYS IT WILL INCLUDE A WELL DESIGNED DRAINAGE SYSTEM TO HELP ADDRESS ROADWAY FLOODING.
A MOTORCYCLIST WAS KILLED AFTER COLLIDING WITH AN S-U-V. IT HAPPENED ON HIGHWAY 171 JUST NORTH OF THE RAGLEY OVERPASS IN BEAUREGARD PARISH. ACCORDING TO LOUISIANA STATE POLICE TROOP D, THE DRIVER OF A FORD EXPEDITION CROSSED AN INTERSECTION AND INTO THE PATH OF THE MOTORCYCLE. THE MOTORCYCLIST WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE.
The head of Louisiana’s transportation department says the state has seen a “significant and alarming increase” in crashes in an area where Interstate 10 is under construction. Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Shawn Wilson said Friday that accidents have gone up along I-10 between Interstate 49 and the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, where two rehabilitation and widening projects are ongoing. Wilson’s department is encouraging drivers to pay attention and drive safely through construction zones, reducing speed and being aware of lane shifts. The transportation department says it will take steps to reduce speed through the construction corridor to try to reduce accidents.
Louisiana residents who had damage from last summer’s widespread flooding have more time to submit the proof of loss form required for a flood insurance claim.
The deadline’s been extended until the end of the year. FEMA says more than 29,600 claims have been filed with the National Flood Insurance Program from policyholders affected by the August 2016 floods. About 100 claims remain to be processed.
U-L is turfing out some turf grass to create wildflower-covered urban prairie. But first, the University is letting the 10-acre tract get long and shaggy. Officials say that once the grass is at least 18 inches high, it will be sprayed with an environmentally safe herbicide and removed. A news release says this is part of the school’s sustainability plan to reduce mowing by 10 percent over the next three years.
TWO MEN WHO STARTED AN ONLINE CAJUN MUSIC STATION A YEAR AGO ARE MAKING A PUSH TO GET FRENCH IMMERSION CLASSES IN JEFF DAVIS AND ACADIA PARISHES. JEREMY LEBLANC TELLS THE AMERICAN PRESS THAT CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE AT A YOUNG AGE SO, IF THEY DECIDE TO PURSUE CAJUN MUSIC, THEY’LL BE ABLE TO PROPERLY SPEAK IT. HE SAYS THEIR GOAL IS TO GET FIFTY STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN AND FIFTY STUDENTS IN FIRST GRADE INTO A FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAM BY NEXT YEAR. PARENTS HAVE TO PETITION THE SCHOOL BOARDS TO GET IT IMPLEMENTED AND THE STATE’S MINIMUM FOUNDATION PROGRAM PROVIDES UP TO TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN SALARIES PER TEACHER.
OPELOUSAS POLICE ARE STILL SEARCHING FOR THREE SUSPECTS WHO STOLE A SAFE WITH NEARLY THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN IT FROM MONEY MART A WEEK AGO SUNDAY. IT WASN’T DISCOVERED UNTIL AFTER THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY, WHEN THE BUSINESS REOPENED. VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SHOWED THREE SUSPECTS CUTTING A HOLE INTO THE BACK OF THE BUSINESS, WHICH IS LOCATED IN A SHOPPING CENTER ON EDITH STREET. ANYONE WITH INFORMATION ON THE CRIME IS ASKED TO CALL THE OPELOUSAS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
A former correctional officer at Louisiana’s maximum-security prison has pleaded guilty to participating in the beating of a handcuffed and shackled inmate. Thirty-year-old John Sanders, of Marksville, was one of four officers charged in the inmate’s alleged beating at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in January 2014.
Federal prosecutors say Sanders repeatedly punched the inmate in the head in retaliation for an earlier incident and then joined other officers in trying to cover up the beating. Sanders pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a federal civil rights violation and conspiracy.
