At a ceremony in New Orleans, Governor John Bel Edwards posthumously pardoned civil rights pioneer Homer Plessy. Plessy was a Creole man arrested in New Orleans 130 years ago when he refused to leave a whites-only railroad car. Plessy’s protest led to the 1896 ruling known as Plessy versus Ferguson, which said it was legal to have white-only spaces in public areas. Governor Edwards says unfortunately the negative effects of that ruling still linger…:
Two children were tragically killed in a house fire early this morning in St. Landry Parish. Opelousas Fire Chief Charles Mason says they received a call shortly before 1:30 of a house fire where six people resided, only four escaped.
One child was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Jonesboro’s Fire Chief Brandon Brown and a Jackson Parish Sheriff’s deputy, George Wyatt face insurance fraud charges involving a two-vehicle crash of fire department vehicles. Trooper Michael Reichardt says two have also been charged with filing or maintaining false public records, and malfeasance in office.
The investigation revealed that Brown’s juvenile son was the driver of one of the vehicles, not Brown or Wyatt.
LSU’s football season ended with a disappointing 42-20 loss to Kansas State in the Texas Bowl Tuesday. This despite the best efforts of 5th-year senior wide receiver & cornerback Jontre Kirklin, who stepped up to fill in at quarterback. Kirklin is known to teammates as a hard worker and team leader.