An American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety study shows that distraction in teen crashes is worse than previously thought. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

______________________________________

A state legislator wants to make it a law that a designated driver be present at certain locations that sell alcohol. Scott Carwile reports…:

Cut 2 (31) “reporting”

______________________________________

A jury in Lafayette has found Seth Fontenot guilty of manslaughter, but not first degree murder prosecutors were seeking. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 3 (28) “reporting”

______________________________________

An American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety study shows that distraction in teen crashes is worse than previously thought. The study found that distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes. AAA spokesman Don Redman says the two leading causes of distraction are other passengers and cell phones…

cut 4  (10)  “teen drivers”

Researchers analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 1,700 videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders. Redman says teen drivers and cell phones have proven to be a more dangerous combination than anyone realized…

Cut 5  (10)  “into someone”

Redman says parents should sit down with their teen drivers and talk about the dangers of using their cell phones while behind the wheel. He also suggests that parents restrict the number of passengers their teen drivers are allowed to drive around…

Cut 6 (09)  “in the vehicle”

______________________________________

A leak in one of the 97 igloos storing the 16 millions pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden in Webster Parish has resulted in the recommendation of the emergency destruction of its contents. Minden Representative Gene Reynolds says the moisture build up creates a chemical reaction the could cause the M6 to “auto-ignite”…

CUT 7 (12)  “somewhere else”

Reynolds says, as he understands it, this is an emergency procedure and the material will be removed from the igloo and transported somewhere else for disposal. As far as the disposal of the remaining M6, Reynolds says the evaluation team, lead by the Louisiana National Guard, is still reviewing the bids that were submitted…

Cut 8  (08)  “that decision” 

Reynolds says he expects an announcement on the method of disposal of the propellant any day now. He says the evaluation team has looked at many different methods other than an open burn…

Cut 9 (10)  “going forward”

______________________________________

A legislator wants to make it a law that a designated driver be present at certain locations that sell alcohol. Haughton Representative Henry Burns says he at least wants to get a dialogue started about the importance of having someone present who hasn’t been drinking at establishments which sell alcohol…:

Cut 10 (10) “or not”

Burns is still working on the final details, but believes that it should be illegal to sell alcohol to a designated driver. He says he’s been a DD before and knows first hand that sometimes libations get a little out of hand…:

cut 11 (11) “other people’s safety”

Burns says HB 132 defines a “designated driver” and authorizes them to be the DD for more than one person at any given time. He says at the very least the proposal would get a conversation started…:

cut 12 (10)  “not under the influence”

____________________________________________

The Louisiana SPCA is offering a reward of 13,000 dollars for information about a gruesome 12-second video of five men beheading a goat. CEO Anna Zorilla says the men in the video are laughing and cheering as the beheading went on.

Cut 13 (10)  “behead the goat”

Zorilla says the graphic video shows the culprits standing in a circle around the plastic swimming pool, with a string tied around the goat’s neck and then one of the men beheads the goat with a sword

Cut 14 (09) “and video”

Zorilla says the video was sent to the SPCA from a New Orleans University police officer, but they are not sure if the beheading actually ocurred in the Crescent City or Louisiana

Cut 15  (08)  “what happened”

____________________________________________

LSU’s Jarell Martin will enter the NBA draft after two seasons with the Tigers. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged nearly 17 points and 9 rebounds a game this past season and was named to the All-SEC first team. Martin believes after a solid sophomore campaign, he’s ready for the pros….

Cut 16  (17)  “mentally prepared”

LSU Coach Johnny Jones says NBA scouts like Martin’s versatility and that will help him on the next level….

Cut 17 (18)  “athleticism”

________________________________________________

Saints Coach Sean Payton is really excited about his new weapon on offense and that’s running back CJ Spiller, who signed with New Orleans during the free agency period. Payton says Spiller was not a target for them when free agency started, but that quickly changed after watching some of his film from his games with the Bills

Cut 18 (20) ” he’s impressive’

Spiller had over 33-hundred yards rushing and caught 158 passes during five seasons in Buffalo. Payton also addressed the trade that sent Jimmy Graham to Seattle. The head coach says quarterback Drew Brees understand they had to make some changes on offense in order to improve the defense….

Cut 19 (16)   “down 10″

Over 40 Beau Chene (SHEN) High School Students have been suspended after an investigation into a student who is accused of changing their grades. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

==================

The Strawberry Festival Board and the Kiwanis Club of Ponchatoula have both apologized for the controversial 2015 poster and said they will not sell it at the event. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

===================

A total of 46 Beau Chene High (SHEN) School Students have been suspended after an investigation into a student who is accused of changing their grades. St. Landry school superintendent Edward Brown says a student was able to gain access to a web-based grading computer program, after obtaining a teacher’s password…

CUT 3 (10)  “grade changing”

It’s reported that the accused student would charge money or favors in exchange for changing grades. Brown says some students didn’t know their grades were being altered. He says the scheme began unraveling after one pupil became suspicious…

CUT 4 (09)  “central office”

Brown says the suspensions vary in length based on the student’s involvement, but no specifics were given. He says he’s confident they’ve caught all involved, but there’s no way to be certain. Brown says they’ll use this situation to teach students a lesson that reaches far beyond the classroom…

CUT 5 (08)  “the system”

============================

Baton Rouge Police are looking for 31-year-old Yovanni Anibal Ramos-Salazar for the killing of a 28-year-old man who was accused of rape. Authorities say it was a vigilante killing. Corporal Don Coppola says the man who was fatally shot has been identified as 28-year-old Joel Guevara…

CUT 6 (09)  “family members”

Family members of Guevara say the rape allegations against him are false, but Coppola says they were looking to arrest him for an alleged rape that took place in January

CUT 7 (10)  “and stalking”

Ramos-Salazar was last seen driving a silver 2000 Toyota Tundra pickup with a Louisiana license plate. The shooting occurred outside of a Baton Rouge apartment complex on Sunday and Coppola says Ramos-Salazar targeted Guevara after learning of a sexual assault that occurred against one of his family members

CUT 8 (08)  “on construction”

============================

Many people are awed by the pictures and video circling of the two elephants who helped kept an 18-wheeler from overturning yesterday on I-49 near Powhatan (Pow-Hat-Tin). There was a concern by some that this was some sort of animal abuse. But Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office Capt Tony Moran says the animals seemed to be willing to assist…:

CUT 9 (09)  “from overturning”

Moran says these were circus elephants who were being transported from New Orleans to Dallas and after the driver became stranded, he gave a command to the elephants to help out…:

cut 10 (10) “didn’t appear to be abused”

Moran says deputies reported that at no time did the animals appear to be injured during this incident. He says the elephants were a huge help…:

cut 11 (03)  “did a great job”

============================

The Strawberry Festival Board and the Kiwanis Club of Ponchatoula have both apologized for the controversial 2015 poster and said they will not sell it at the event. A meeting was held this morning with the NAACP and other concerned leaders who felt this year’s festival poster was racist. Pontchatoula Councilman Melvin Toomer was at that meeting…:

cut 12 (11)  “which they have done”

Toomer says the Kiwanis Club Organization, which is responsible for the poster, will not be selling it at the festival April 10th-12th — but they will continue to distribute it before that time. The club board had originally said they would not stop selling the poster but Toomer says the compromise all parties reached today made both sides happy…:

cut 13 (10)  “for everybody”

The civil rights organization also called on both boards to have a more diverse membership which they agreed to make an effort to do. Toomer says they didn’t mind that the club would continue to sell the poster before the festival because that’s “inside their house” which is less offensive than it being sold at the event…:

cut 14 (10)  “that’s your house”