We are at the pinnacle of the summer vacation season, and health professionals say taking a break from your daily tasks is just what the doctor ordered. Brooke Thorington explains.

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

___________________________________

Enrollment at Louisiana Community and Technical College System schools dropped ten percent for the 2020-2021 school year. Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.” 

_________________________________________

A pandemic fueled surge in outdoorsy interest has the state park system closer than ever to being self-sufficient. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (28)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

_______________________________

As we enter the height of the summer vacation season many people are taking a break from work and school, especially after COVID travel restrictions in 2020. But for some, a vacation is a luxury, not all are afforded. LSU Clinical Psychologist Dr. Michelle Moore says even if you can’t travel, taking a break from work is essential for your health.

Cut 4 (10) “…to rest.”

Moore says taking a proper break from daily tasks will help you rejuvenate and refresh your outlook on both your personal and work life.

Cut 5  (09) “…to do.”

The “I don’t have time for a vacation” excuse Moore says is dangerous for your physical and mental wellbeing. She says daily stress can take a toll on your body and heighten depression.

Cut 6 (06) “…a break.”

Moore says students are given a break from school and it’s imperative that adults also take a break from their daily tasks also.

_______________________________

A Webster Parish deputy was killed Friday night while responding to a call as a Doyline patrol officer. Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker says William Earl Collins, Junior, also known as Billy, was a good officer, father, and husband.

Cut 7 (08) “…of us.”

Collins was a full-time deputy at the Bayou Dorcheat Correction Center but was serving as a part-time Doyline police officer when he was shot.

The shooting happened just off Green Tree Road. Parker says Collins was airlifted to LSU Ochsner Health and died shortly before 8 pm.

Cut 8 (10) “…at assist.”

Collins was shot in the head. The two deputies assisting were not injured but, their patrol units were damaged by gunfire. 

The suspect reportedly barricaded himself in the home for several hours after shooting Collins but was later taken into custody with life-threatening injuries. Parker declined to give the suspect’s name because he wanted the focus to be on the loss of Collins. Parker says his heart goes out to the Collins family.

Cut 9 (09) “…closure.”

State police are investigating the shooting.

________________________

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System saw a 10 percent drop in enrollment during the 2020-2021 school year.

LCTCS spokesperson Quintin Taylor says many of their students have children and the chaotic situation in K-12 education during the worst of the pandemic made it hard for parents to pursue their own education.

Cut 10 (11) “…space.”

Taylor says nationally the decline in community college enrollment was closer to 12 percent.

Taylor says another factor was other higher ed institutions temporarily relaxing ACT admissions criteria due to how hard it was to schedule and hold safe testing dates.

Cut 11 (08) “…schools.”

Taylor says the final factor that drove down enrollment was COVID-19 safety concerns.

Taylor says the good news is enrollment seems to be rebounding. For the current summer semester enrollment has increased five to fifteen percent in some places.

Cut 12 (08) “…as well.”

__________________________________

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says state parks are having their best year yet and that seems to have the system getting closer and closer to being entirely self-funded.

State Parks Deputy Assistant Secretary Clifford Melius says about six state parks made more money this year than what it costs to operate them.

Cut 13 (08) “…of that.”

Melius says about 70 percent of their traffic is coming from Louisiana residents and at some parks they’re booked up to 13 months out.

Cut 14 (10) “…statewide.”

Melius says part of the success has been increasing the number of amenities at each park, adding in attractions like horseback riding, canoe vendors, and other draws…

Cut 15 (11)“…longer.”

A Webster Parish deputy was killed Friday night while responding to a call as a Doyline patrol officer. Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker says William Earl Collins, Junior died shortly before 8pm. Parker says his heart goes out to the Collins family.

Cut 9 closure :10

The suspect was taken into custody with life threatening injuries, hours later after he barricaded himself in the home.

Pfizer is asking health officials to recommend a third booster shot for the COVID vaccine but as of now the CDC and FDA aren’t on board.  LSU Health Shreveport infectious disease specialist Doctor John Vanchiere says right now increasing vaccinations is the priority.

Cut  11 (09) “…boosters.” 

Legendary escape artist Cara the Burmese Python is back safe in her exhibit at the Blue Zoo in Baton Rouge after spending most of the week evading capture in the Mall of Louisiana. Dr. Christopher Austin with LSU’s Museum of Natural Science says it’s good she was found…

Cut 4 (11) “…survive”

Cara wasn’t the only one to make national headlines this week from the Bayou State… 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde from Harvey won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night becoming the first person from Louisiana and African American to win the bee. She spelled Murraya correctly to win…

Cut 12 (10) “…applause fades”

She also holds three world records in dribbling the most balls simultaneously.

A Webster Parish deputy was killed last night responding to a disturbance at a home in Doyline. Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker says William Earl Collins, Junior, also known as Billy, died just before 8 p.m.

25 closure :11

The suspect was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries.

Louisiana has now recorded 1,700breakthrough COVID cases where a fully vaccinated individual gets infected. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says that’s still a tiny fraction of all vaccinated adults in the state and nearly all of those cases we’re mild, but…

Cut 7 (12) “…Louisiana”

Pfizer is pushing the CDC and FDA to approve their recommendation that people get three shots instead of just two to ward off variants but the federal agencies aren’t backing that request yet. LSU Health Shreveport infectious disease specialist Doctor John Vanchiere says right now it’s more important to increase the vaccination rate.

Cut 10 (09) “…coronavirus.”The Scripps National Spelling Bee named a new champion Thursday t, 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey, a west bank community in the greater New Orleans area, became the first Louisianan and African American to win the famed contest. Avant-garde says spelling is just a hobby, her real passion is basketball where she holds three Guinness World Records…

Cut 14 (09) “…six balls.” 

A Webster Parish deputy was killed Friday night while responding to a call as a Doyline patrol officer. William Earl Collins, Junior , also known as Billy, died just before 8 p.m.  Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker says Collins was a good officer, father, and husband.

Cut 24 of us :09

The suspect reportedly barricaded himself in the home for several hours and was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries.

State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says 39 percent of all Louisianans have received at least one dose of a vaccine, but among those most vulnerable, the 65 and older crowd, that number is 80 percent.

Cut 6 (10) “…improve”

Drugmaker Pfizer is advocating for a booster dose of their vaccine as immunity is waning among COVID variants. But the CDC and FDA issued a joint statement against a booster shot right now. LSU Health Shreveport infectious disease specialist Doctor John Vanchiere says in the meantime we should focus on vaccinating more people.

Cut 9 (09) “…this time.”

A 14-year-old girl from Harvey won the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday  becoming the first person from Louisiana to win the bee. Zaila Avant-garde is also the first African American winner of the 96-year-old tournament. She spelled Murraya correctly to win…

Cut 12 (10) “…applause fades”

She also holds three world records of dribbling multiple basketball simultaneously.

Louisiana has now recorded 1,763 breakthrough COVID cases where a fully vaccinated individual gets infected. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says that’s still a tiny fraction of all vaccinated adults in the state and nearly all of those cases we’re mild, but…

Cut 7 (12) “…Louisiana”

49.5 percent of Louisiana adults have been vaxed at least once so far, second-worst in the nation, but you’re really supposed to get two shots if you take Moderna or Pfizer for full effect. Now Pfizer is asking the CDC and FDA to approve their request to bump that number to three shots but the feds aren’t biting just yet. LSU Health Shreveport pediatric infectious disease specialist Doctor John Vanchiere…

Cut 9 (09) “…this time.”

Cara the Python is back home at the Blue Zoo in the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge after spending three days out of her enclosure. Taylor Sharp reports Cara was found in a ceiling crawl space…

Cut 1 (28) “ …I’m Taylor Sharp” 

The deadline to register for the first 100,000 dollar drawing for the Shot at a Million vaccine incentive program is tonight at midnight. Those who’ve received at least one COVID vaccine shot are eligible to apply at Shot at a Million and drawings will be held every Friday through the end of the month with a grand prize million dollar drawing being held in August.

Louisiana continues to languish near the bottom of the state rankings for vaccinations, with only 49.5 percent of adults having received at least one dose. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the good news is at least the most vulnerable, those over 65, have a vaccination rate around 80 percent, but every other age group is lacking…

Cut 6 (10) “…improve”

In Texas, 61 percent of all adults have received at least one dose.

Knowing there was a 12 foot python on the loose in the mall of Louisiana likely dissuaded a few shoppers from heading over to the Baton Rouge staple but Dr. Christopher Austin with LSU’s Museum of Natural Science says the beloved Cara really never posed much of a threat to humans…

Cut 3 (09)  “…eating mode”

The Scripps National Spelling Bee named a new champion last night, 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey, a west bank community in the greater New Orleans area, became the first Louisianan and African American to win the famed contest. Avant-garde says spelling is just a hobby, her real passion is basketball where she holds three Guinness World Records…

Cut 14 (09) “…six balls.” 

Pfizer is pushing the CDC and FDA to approve their recommendation that people get three shots instead of just two to ward off variants but the federal agencies aren’t backing that request yet. LSU Health Shreveport pediatric infectious disease specialist Doctor John Vanchiere says Pfizer’s stated goal of fighting off variants would be better accomplished by vaccinating the unvaccinated.

Cut 10 (09) “…coronavirus.”

Last night 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey became the first ever Louisianan and first ever African American to win the Scripps national Spelling Bee after correctly spelling Murraya, a genus of a citrus plant native to southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Here’s how Zaila approached the spelling of the word

Cut 13 (10) “…that here.”

Zaila told ABC’s Good Morning America she studies 13-thousand words a day.

Legendary escape artist Cara the Burmese Python is back safe in her exhibit at the Blue Zoo in Baton Rouge after spending most of the week evading capture in the Mall of Louisiana. Dr. Christopher Austin with LSU’s Museum of Natural Science says it’s good she was found…

Cut 4 (11) “…survive”

Pfizer is lobbying for a vaccine booster shot but the CDC and FDA say not so fast. Jeff Palermo has more.

Cut 2 (30) …I’m Jeff Palermo.  

State Police are investigating a non-fatal police shooting in Lafayette that landed a suspect in the hospital in stable condition. Officers reportedly were responding to a suicidal individual who approached officers in the parking lot of an apartment complex. At some point during the interaction an officer fired, hitting the person.

State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says it is too early to make any conclusive statements but early evidence suggests areas with higher vaccination rates in the state now have noticeably lower levels of community spread as we face what could be the start of a new surge propelled by the Delta variant…

Cut 8 (11) “…this week”

49.5 percent of Louisiana adults have received at least one COVID vaccine dose, second-worst in the nation ahead of only Mississippi.

A 14-year-old girl from Harvey won the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night becoming the first person from Louisiana to win the bee. Zaila Avant-garde is also the first African American winner of the 96-year-old tournament. She spelled Murraya correctly to win…

Cut 12 (10) “…applause fades”

Pfizer is calling for health officials to recommend a third booster shot be administered to vaccine recipients to counter the growing number of variant cases but as of now the CDC and FDA aren’t backing that call.  LSU Health Shreveport pediatric infectious disease specialist Doctor John Vanchiere says boosters are being considered but right now the priority is the unvaccinated.

Cut  11 (09) “…boosters.” 

Cara the Burmese Python’s great escape captivated the nation and veterinarians were happy to announce that after an examination it looked like the 12 foot reptile is going to be just fine. Dr. Christopher Austin with LSU’s Museum of Natural Science…

Cut 5  (12) “..infected” 

After being checked out by a team at the vet school, Cara was returned to her home at the Blue Zoo.