LRN Sportscast 16:45 February 18

Tonight at Alex Box Stadium, LSU will host Nicholls State. Tigers Coach Paul Mainieri used three different line-ups during the weekend sweep of Kansas and the head coach plans to continue shuffling players in and out of the line-up to find out who he can count on…
cut 18 (10) “…right guys”
After tonight, LSU will host Boston College. Because of the likliehood of rainy weather on Sunday, the two teams have decided to play a split doubleheader on Friday, with game one at two o’ clock and game two at seven o’ clock. They’ll wrap up the series on Saturday with a three o’ clock game.

Louisiana Tech won its first game of the season today and it was the first win for new head coach Greg Goff as the Bulldogs crushed McNeese State 12-to-2. Byrce Stark hit a grand slam for Tech, while Phil Maton allowed one run over seven innings for the win. It was the first loss of the season for McNeese State.

The Pelicans announced today that guard Jrue Holiday will be out at least another three weeks after re-aggravating the stress reaction in his lower right leg. Holiday has missed the last 16 games with the injury. In 37 games. Holiday has averaged 15 points and seven assists a contest. New Orleans is at Orlando on Friday night and they hope to have Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson back from injuries.

Baton Rouge based Marucci BodiTrak has developed what they call a smart fabric to help diagnose head injuries to football players during games. President Curtis Cruz says when an impact or collection of impacts registers hard enough into the fabric, a team official will automatically be notified via a mobile device…
cut 15 (07) “this level”
Cruz says they’ll try this technology out during LSU spring football and there will be pilot programs with several youth football organizations in the fall.

LRN Newscast 15:30 02-18-15

The Louisiana Association of Educators has released a new survey showing about 78 percent of teachers are against yearly standardized tests of students, because they say the prep time for kids to get ready is taking away from learning time. LAE President Debbie Meaux says it’s a problem now, and a possible problem for the future, as they seek to find new teachers…
CUT 8 (06) Q: “for children”

A late-night shooting at a New Roads nightclub has left two people dead, and authorites on the hunt for the suspect who pulled the trigger. Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain Steven Juge says the suspect who remains at large is 31 year-old Jamie Croom…
CUT 11 (06) Q; “a club”
That club was the Sugar Shack, and the dead are 38 year-old Seneca Williams and her brother, 41 year-old Lichelle Williams.
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New federal guidelines for an increase in guest worker wages could be hitting crawfish lovers in the pocketbook. Louisiana’s crawfish industry depends heavily on guest workers to perform jobs they cannot fill locally, and processors say the five dollar an hour raise to 12.35 an hour will result in a $3 per pound increase in the price of tail meat…
CUT 4 (07) Q: ‘of the country’
That’s Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor Frank Randol.

In Union Parish, a Bernise woman is under arrest after leaving her 8 month-old son on a relative’s doorstep. With temperatures in the mid-30s before being discovered after about 90 minutes outside, the child was taken to the hospital with pnemonia. Sheriff Dusty Gates says they arrested 23 year-old Keondra Ferguson on criminal child abandonment charges…
CUT 14 (05) Q: ” the child”
The baby is now in the custody of the father.

LRN Newscast 14:30 REVISED 02-18-15

The price of Louisiana crawfish could be going up big time. Here’s Eric Gill with that story…:
CUT 1 (30) Q: “reporting”

The US Department of Health and Human Services says over 184,000 people in Louisiana are signed up for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. That is a growth of 82 thousand state-wide over last year. Nationwide that number is about 11.4 million Americans. These numbers are as of February 15th which was the deadline to sign up this year.
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New numbers from the Louisiana Association of Educators reveals 78 percent of teachers believe annual state-required standardized tests takes too much time away from classroom instruction…
CUT 7 (10) Q: “to learn”
That’s LAE President Debbie Meaux, who thinks the better option is to test once in elementary school; once in middle school; and one more time at the high school level.

A brother and sister are dead after being shot at a New Roads nightclub early this morning. Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain Steven Juge (rhymes with huge) says there was some type of altercation at the The Sugar Shack …:
cut 10 (09) “from people”
The dead are thirty-eight-year-old Seneca Williams and 41-year-old Lichelle Williams. The suspect is 31-year-old Jamie Croom, who remains at large.

PM Newscall February 18th, 2015

Crawfish processors say new federal guidelines regarding legal foreign worker wages, could cause a big hike in the price of crawfish. Eric Gill reports..

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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A survey of Louisiana public school teachers finds that 78-percent of them believe the annual standardized tests are excessive. Jeff Palermo has the story

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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Crawfish processors say new federal guidelines regarding guest worker wages, could cause a big hike in the price of crawfish. Louisiana’s crawfish industry depends heavily on guest workers, legal foreign workers, to perform jobs they cannot fill locally. Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor, Frank Randol, says the federal government says those workers now must be paid $12.35 an hour…

CUT 3 (08)  “wholesale level”

Randol says the Department of Labor’s $5 an hour wage hike will result in a $3 per pound increase in the price of crawfish tail meat. There is concern that the price of crawfish could climb higher than what consumers are willing to pay. Since the 90s, guest workers were paid wages based on local surveys done by employers in the market. However, Randol says the Labor Department changed the rules in December…

CUT 4 (07)  “of the country”

Lafayette Representative Charles Boustany and other Gulf Coast Representatives are petitioning the Labor Department to reverse their decision. Randol says the process of obtaining guest workers is a long and tedious process closely regulated by the federal government. He says when they started the process in the fall, they were told everything was fine…

CUT 5 (10)  “changed the game”

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A survey of Louisiana teachers finds 78-percent of them believe state-required standardized tests takes too much time away from classroom instruction. Louisiana Association of Educators president Debbie Meaux says teachers believe there’s an overemphasis on standardized testing in state’s school accountability system

CUT 6 (10)  “burden”

Meaux believes students should only be required to take standardized tests once in elementary school, then again in middle school and one more time on the high school level. She says annual testing does not give teachers enough time to teach the concepts for mastery

CUT 7 (10)  “to learn”

Meaux says current amount of standardized tests is also driving younger teachers away

CUT 8 (06)  “for children”

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The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office says a brother and sister are dead after being shot at the Sugar Shack in New Roads early this morning. Captain Steven Juge says the incident remains under investigation, but witnesses have said there was some type of altercation between the suspects and victims…:

CUT 9 (08)  “parking lot”

Juge says they are currently working to determine if the victims were inside the club when the altercation began…:

cut 10 (09)  “from people”

Juge says the victims are identified as 38-year-old Seneca Williams and 41-year-old Lichelle Williams. The suspect who remains at large is 31-year-old Jamie Croom.  Juge says they were called out in reference to the double homicide at the lounge around 12:30 am..:

cut 11 (06)  “a club”

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The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office says a Bernice woman is under arrest after leaving her eight-month old son on a relative’s doorstep. Sheriff Dusty Gates says they received a call from the child’s father reporting that the baby was left outside a relative’s residence in Bernice…

cut 12 (12)  “30 degrees”

The infant’s mother, 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson, is charged with criminal child abandonment. The child was reportedly outside the residence for more than 90 minutes, with temperatures in the mid-30s, before being discovered. Gates says the baby was wrapped in warm clothing and in a car seat when found…

cut 13 (08)  “have pneumonia”

Gates says the child was taken to the hospital where they discovered he has pneumonia. He says the infant had apparently been sick before being abandoned. The baby is now in the custody of his father. Gates says when authorities interviewed Ferguson, she admitted to leaving the infant…

cut 14 (05)  “the child”

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13:30 Newscast February 18th, 2015

Crawfish processors say new federal guidelines regarding guest worker wages could cause a big hike in the price of the mudbugs. Louisiana’s crawfish industry depends heavily on legal foreign workers to perform jobs they can’t fill locally. Lafayette restaurant owner and crawfish processor Frank Randol says the federal government mandates those workers now be paid $12.35 an hour…:
CUT 3 (08) “wholesale level”
There is concern that the price of crawfish could climb higher than what consumers are willing to pay.

Over 184,000 Louisianians are signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act as of February 15th which was the Obamacare enrollment period deadline. The US Department of Health and Human Services says Louisiana had the second-fastest growth rate during the last week of enrollment.

A woman from Bernice is in big trouble accused of leaving her baby on a doorstep of the father’s relative. Union Parish Sheriff Dusty Gates says 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson allegedly dropped her 8 month old son outside the residence for more than 90 minutes, with temperatures in the mid-30s, before being discovered. Gates says the baby was wrapped in warm clothing and in a car seat when found…:
CUT 13 (08) “have pneumonia”
He says Ferguson is charged with criminal child abandonment. The father is keeping the child.

Federal authorities are helping the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s office in locating the 31-year-old suspect who is accused in the murders of a brother and sister last night outside of a club in New Roads. They say Jamie Croom has a long criminal history and should be considered armed and dangerous.

 

12:30 Newscast February 18th, 2015

The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office says they are looking for the suspect they believe is responsible for shooting and killing a brother and sister last night at a club in New Roads. Captain Steven Juge says the victims are identified as 38-year-old Seneca Williams and 41-year-old Lichelle Williams. The suspect who remains at large is 31-year-old Jamie Croom. He says it appears there was some type of altercation between the suspect and victims…:
CUT 9 (08) “parking lot”
He says Croom should be considered armed and dangerous.

The US Department of Health and Human Services says 184,532 people in Louisiana are signed up for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Nationwide that number is about 11.4 million Americans. These numbers are as of February 15th which was the deadline to sign up this year.

A survey of Louisiana Public school teachers finds that 78 percent believe annual standardized testing is excessive…:
CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

If you’d made plans to watch some LSU baseball at the Box this weekend the start times have change amidst worries of nasty weather. Boston College and the Tigers now play a double header Friday at 2pm and 7pm then game three is Saturday at 3pm. LSU and Nicholls play tonight at 6:30 in Baton Rouge.

 

11:40 LRN Sportscast

The fourth ranked LSU baseball team plays its first mid-week game of the season tonight as the Tigers host Nicholls State. Freshman right-hander Doug Norman will start on the mound for LSU, while the Colonels counter with a senior. Chalmette’s Ryan Deemes starts tonight after making a dozen starts last season. LSU Coach Paul Mainieri says tonight’s game should be a good challenge for his team…
cut 17 (19) “….or form”
First pitch is at 6:30. In other college baseball action today, Louisiana Tech wraps up a mid-week series at McNeese State. The Cowboys are undefeated, while the Bulldogs are winless. U-L Lafayette is at Northwestern State and Southeastern Lousisiana hosts Tulane, the Lions beat Jackson State 19-10 last night.

The LSU men’s basketball team had an eight point lead with 12 minutes left, but couldn’t hold on as Texas A-and-M rallied to beat the Tigers 68-62. LSU missed its last seven shots as the Tigers fell to seven and six in conference play.

A Baton Rouge company has developed what they call a smart fabric to help diagnose head injuries to football players during games. Michelle Southern reports….
voicer 4 (32) “…reporting”

11:30 Newscast February 18th, 2015

A survey of Louisiana teachers finds 78-percent of them believe state-required standardized tests takes too much time away from classroom instruction. Louisiana Association of Educators president Debbie Meaux says teachers believe there’s an overemphasis on standardized testing in state’s school accountability system…:
CUT 6 (10) “burden”
She believes students should only be required to take standardized tests once in elementary school, then again in middle school and one more time on the high school level.

The victims and suspects in the Pointe Coupee Parish shootings have been identified. Deputies say Jamie Croom is accused in the murders and currently remains at large but should be considered armed and dangerous. The victims are Seneca and Lischelle Williams who were murdered at the Sugar Shack over night in New Roads.

The Lafayette Police Department believes the person responsible for a fiery three car wreck yesterday was driving drunk. They say 23-year-old Bryce Champman slammed into a vehicle which was stopped to turn and upon impact engulfed in flames killing the driver. Champman is charged with 2nd offense OWI and Vehicular homicide.

The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office says a Bernice woman is under arrest after leaving her eight-month old son on a relative’s doorstep. Sheriff Dusty Gates says they received a call from the child’s father reporting that the baby was left outside a relative’s residence in Bernice…:
CUT 12 (12) “30 degrees”
The infant’s mother, 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson, is charged with criminal child abandonment.

 

10:30 Newscast February 18th, 2015

The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office says a brother and sister are dead after being shot at the a bar called Sugar Shack in New Roads early this morning. They say there was some sort of fight that started inside the club and spilled outside, but not much else is known at this point and the names of the victims and potential suspects are not being released at this time as the investigation is ongoing.

Today is the start of the Lenten season which is a really big 40 days for the seafood industry as many people give up meat. Gulf Seafood Institute chairman Harlon Pearce says we need things to warm up to grow supply…:
CUT 7 (09) “out there”
He says fish are in great supply right now and this is the best time of year to get the best big juicy Louisiana oysters.

The Union Parish Sheriff’s office says a 23-year-old mother is behind bars accused of abandoning her 8 month old son on a doorstep in mid-30 degree temperatures. They say Keondra Ferguson of Bernice allegedly left the baby outside strapped in a car-seat covered with a blanket at the home of the paternal grandfather who made the discovery 90 minutes later. The mother is charged with criminal child abandonment.

Today a church in Shreveport is offering drive-thru Ash Wednesday ashes. Scott Carwile reports…:
CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

 

09:30 Newscast February 18, 2015

Baton Rouge based Marucci BodiTrak has developed what they call a smart fabric to help diagnose head injuries to football players during games. President Curtis Cruz says when an impact or collection of impacts registers hard enough into the fabric, a team official will automatically be notified via a mobile device…

cut 15 (07) “this level”

He says to truly help prevent concussions there needs to be a better way to detect injuries and provide care.

Today in Shreveport, Christ United Methodist Church will offer “Drive By Ashes” to accommodate those who’s schedules won’t allow them to make their full Ash Wednesday church service. Associate Pastor Kelly Berne says this is just another way to minister amid today’s hectic lifestyles…

cut 6 (06) “their busy schedule”

She says they will be set up in the church parking lot from 11 – 4 and you can receive your ashes without leaving your car.

The Union Parish Sheriff’s Office says a Bernice woman is charged with criminal child abandonment after leaving her eight-month old son on his grandfather’s doorstep, wrapped in a blanket and fastened in a car seat. They say the child was outside, with temperatures in the mid-30s, for over 90 minutes before being discovered. 23-year-old Keondra Ferguson admitted to authorities that she left the child because she was depressed and there was no one to help her. The father is now taking care of the baby.

Abita Brewing Company announces their craft-brewed root beer is now available in cans. Michelle Southern reports…

cut 2 (30) “reporting”