Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency as a result of this wicked winter weather. Edwards says 12-hundred DOTD employees have helped put one-point-five million pounds of salt on the roadways statewide. He says it is critical for everyone to stay off the frozen highways…
cut 12 (10) “…the hospital”

The icy conditions are likely responsible for the death of a south Louisiana fire chief. 48-year-old Russell Achord of St. Francisville was killed as he was responding to another accident on Highway 61 in West Feliciana Parish. State Police Senior Trooper Bryan Lee says he was hit by 51-year-old Robert McCoy of Tallulah, who came around a curve…
Cut 16 (11) “Chief Achord.”

Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff Bud Torres says freezing temperatures resulted in the death of an eldery New Roads man who was scared to use a space heater. Torres says the sad outcome shows people should check on their elderly neighbors during extreme cold weather…
cut 9 (11) “….to safety”
The victim’s wife has also been hospitalized as temperatures inside the home were in the 20s.

Louisiana continues to suffer through its worst flu season on record, with nearly 10 in 100 doctors visits in the last month for flu related symptoms. State Health Department Immunization Director Frank Welch says in his 20 years of doing this, he’s never seen so many cases
Cut 4 (06) “in Louisiana”
Welch says if you come down with the flu, isolate yourself.