The City of Central was hit hard by the Great Flood of 2016, with 90-percent of its residents taking on water in their homes. Mayor Jr. Shelton says 9-thousand out of 11-thousand homes were affected. He says complete subdivisions are just devastated and now Central residents are trying to rebuild…:
CUT 9 (11) “destroyed”
Shelton says Central is a very resilient city and even after losing everything, people are still helping each other with the cleanup.

The Alabama football program is sending a truckload full of donated supplies to Louisiana to assist in flood relief efforts. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban called on the Tuscaloosa community to help out their fellow SEC team saying that football and rivalries take a back seat to providing help to those in need. The program tweeted out, “Truck #1 is off to Louisiana.”

The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank lost nearly one million pounds of food as it took on four feet of water during the flooding. Emelie Gunn has more on their recovery…:
CUT 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

The National Hurricane Center says they are still monitoring the strong tropical wave moving west across the northern Leeward Islands, but continue to say it still lacks a well-defined circulation. They say the system could become a tropical storm or tropical depression at any time during the next couple of days. Because of the large uncertainties regarding this system’s development and future track, it is too early to speculate on what specific impacts might occur.

Kaplan Senator Jonathan Perry wants to set the record straight about the alleged comments he made about regulating the Cajun Navy. Halen Doughty has the story…:
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

FEMA reported today that 18 shelters remain open throughout the state with about 2500 displaced flood victims, and more than 117,000 people have submitted claims. Officials with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness are meeting today to talk about recovery efforts in the aftermath of the flooding.

The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank received more than four feet of water, lost a million pounds of food, along with the majority of its equipment during the Great Flood of 2016. President and CEO Mike Manning says with the hard work and donations from the Salvation Army and other food banks, they’re back online distributing food…:
CUT 6 (08) “the problem”
It’s estimated it will take more than one million dollars to clean their facility.

During his visit to Baton Rouge, President Barack Obama met with the family of the deputy who was critically injured in the July 17th ambush on officers. 41-year-old Nick Tullier has been in the hospital since being shot in the head and stomach in the attack, which killed three other officers. James Tullier said on Facebook that Mr. Obama’s doctors will speak with those treating Deputy Tullier and get back to them with recommendations.

Governor John Bel Edwards gave President Obama a list of requests that the state needs in order to recover from the Great Flood of 2016…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Edwards will once again appear on his monthly call-in radio show, “Ask the Governor” today to discuss the flooding across South Louisiana. He will be joined by FEMA’s Regional Coordinator Gerard Stolar. The show begins at 2pm and will be broadcast live over the Louisiana Radio Network. Following the show, he will hold a news conference to update the public on new housing assistance programs becoming available.

It was recently reported that Kaplan Senator Jonathan Perry wants to file legislation that would create more red tape for the “Cajun Navy” during emergencies. But Perry says that’s not the case. In an interview with KPEL Radio in Lafayette, the senator set the record straight that he wants to help those volunteers…:
CUT 3 (11) “law enforcement”
Perry says after WWL-TV and The Hayride wrongfully reported that he wanted to regulate the Cajun Navy, calls and emails came in attacking not only him, but his family as well.

Republican US Senator Bill Cassidy says Congress needs to know from the state an exact dollar amount needed in additional funding for flood relief…:
CUT 14 (08) “they will”
The Governor’s Office hopes to have those dollar figures by the beginning of September.

While President Obama was visiting Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards gave him a letter asking for more federal assistance. The governor’s communications director, Richard Carbo, says it was important for the President to see the devastation first hand, but he doesn’t want to discredit what the federal government has already done for Louisiana.

Cut 7 (08) “weeks ago”

Carbo says Governor Edwards’ letter includes requests for assistance for flood victims, as well as more flood protection along the Comite River.

Republican US Senator Bill Cassidy says Congress will vote on an assistance package for Louisiana when they convene after Labor Day. He says thousands of people across the country have been affected by natural disasters, and Congress wants to help them all.

Cut 15 (07) “disease”

The Department of Environmental Quality has issued an emergency order that expands the range of items that can be accepted in certain landfills in the hopes of speeding up the cleanup process. DEQ spokesperson Greg Langely says many people lost appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, and they also have a plan for handling those.

Cut 11 (08) “disposed of”

The emergency order ends September 30.

The Louisiana School Board Association is assisting flood damaged schools with repairs and supplies, with some help from First Lady Donna Edwards. LSBA Executive Director Scott Richard says they’ve helped raise about 8-thousand dollars over the last few days. He says it’s unfortunate they’re losing instructional time, but he understands how many families have been affected.

Cut 6 (10) “learning environment”

After President Obama visited Louisiana, he left with a letter from Governor John Bel Edwards asking for help for flood victims. Over 115-thousand south Louisiana residents have signed up federal disaster assistance, and many had significant damage to their home with no flood insurance. Edwards’ spokesman, Richard Carbo, says the President’s visit is part of the dialogue on how to help these individuals out…:
Cut 9 (08) “be available”
He says following the Governor’s call-in radio show today at 2pm, he will hold a news conference to update the public on new housing assistance programs becoming available.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm system currently known as Invest 99 has a medium to high chance of development into a tropical depression or tropical storm over the next 2 to 5 days. Forecasters say this one does have the potential of moving into the Gulf of Mexico, but it’s way too early to tell exactly.

The Department of Environmental quality has issued an emergency order that would expand the type of debris that can be accepted at landfills. DEQ spokesperson Greg Langley…:
CUT 10 (09) “like that”.
The emergency order ends September 30.

The Louisiana School Board Association is encouraging people to donate to aid flood damaged schools. Emelie Gunn has more…:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

A spokesman for Governor John Bel Edwards says President Obama was given a list of aid requests for flood victims during his visit to South Louisiana. Richard Carbo, says they are also looking to reduce the costs the state will have to absorb for responding to the disaster…:
Cut 8 (08) “the cost”
Over 115-thousand south Louisiana residents have signed up federal disaster assistance.

Republican US Senator Bill Cassidy says Congress needs to know from the state an exact dollar amount needed in additional funding…:
CUT 14 (08) “they will”
The Governor’s Office hopes to have those dollar figures by the beginning of September.

Edwards will hold a news conference today at GOHSEP to update the public on new housing assistance programs becoming available.

Debris cleanup in flooded neighborhoods should move more quickly now because of an order signed by the Department of Environmental Quality. Halen Doughty has more…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

During his visit to Baton Rouge, President Barack Obama met with the family of the deputy who was critically injured in the July 17th ambush on officers. 41-year-old Nick Tullier has been in the hospital since being shot in the head and stomach in the attack, which killed three other officers. James Tullier said on Facebook that Mr. Obama’s doctors will speak with those treating Deputy Tullier and get back to them with recommendations.

Governor John Bel Edwards gave President Obama a list of requests that the state needs in order to recover from the Great Flood of 2016…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Meanwhile schools are still working to re-open in the area. LSBA Executive Director Scott Richard says they created a GoFundMe page to help kids get back in the classroom…:
CUT 5 (11) “basic supplies”

The Department of Environmental quality has signed an emergency order which would speed up the process of getting debris out of flooded neighborhoods. Spokesperson Greg Langley says it expands the range of debris that can be accepted in certain landfills, which is good because the trash could become a health hazard…:
CUT 12 (10) “unhealthy”
This is the first time since Hurricane Katrina that DEQ has expanded what is allowed in landfills.

Governor John Bel Edwards will once again appear on his monthly call-in radio show, “Ask the Governor” today to discuss the flooding across South Louisiana. He will be joined by FEMA’s Regional Coordinator Gerard Stolar. The show begins at 2pm and will be broadcast live over the Louisiana Radio Network.

After President Obama visited Louisiana, officials say he left with a better understanding of this 1,000 year flood. Richard Carbo with the office of the governor says while seeing the devastation first-hand is important, he doesn’t want to discredit what the federal government has provided to Louisiana…:
CUT 7 (08) “weeks ago”
Over 115-thousand south Louisiana residents have signed up federal disaster assistance.

Republican US Senator Bill Cassidy says it’s good that Mr. Obama’s visit shined a national spotlight on this disaster, but now we need to see the follow through….:
Cut 13 (09) “projects”
Cassidy says Congress will vote on additional funding for Louisiana when they convene for the fall session after Labor Day.

First Lady Donna Edwards is working with the Louisiana School Board Association to assist flood damaged schools with repairs and supplies. LSBA Executive Director Scott Richard says at this point, about 20 schools were severely damaged during the rainstorm…:
cut 4 (10) “Lafayette Parish”
Visit the LSBA Fund for Restoring Schools GoFundMe page to donate.

The National Hurricane Center is keeping its eye on three tropical systems in the Atlantic, and one of them has the potential of getting into the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters say the disturbance called Invest 99 is worth watching.