Students and teachers in Livingston Parish are heading back to school today and hoping for some normalcy this year. Jeff Palermo has more…
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LSP in Troop C, which covers southeast Louisiana, is worried about the uptick in preventable traffic fatalities in the area. Emelie Gunn has more…
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The controversy over how the pumps operated in the city of New Orleans during the weekend flooding event is not over. Michelle Southern reports..:
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Livingston Parish students and teachers are looking forward to a year of normalcy as they begin classes today just days ahead of the one year anniversary of the August flood. School superintendent Rick Wentzel says crews worked extensively on 8 flood damaged campuses throughout the summer. Three of those are complete, but five in the Denham Springs area will not be fully rebuilt for some time.
Cut 4 (11) “next summer”
That’s why three temporary campuses are still active. This year all students in the parish will receive free breakfast and lunch. Wentzel says the parish qualified for the program through the USDA because so many students were impacted by last year’s flood.
Cut 5 (11) “our parents”
Last school year got off to a devastating start, as much of Livingston Parish was under several feet of water. Homes, schools, and businesses alike were shuttered for what many felt like would be forever. Wentzel says after dealing with all of that, many students are ready for life to get back to normal.
Cut 6 (10) “safe environment”
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State Police in the Troop C area, which covers parishes in the Deep South of Louisiana is concerned about the recent increases in preventable traffic fatalities in the area. Troop Commander Captain Frank Besson (Bay-sawn) says they have investigated 31 fatality crashes, resulting in 37 deaths, so far this year, up 35-percent in 2016. He says not wearing seat belts and impaired driving are the biggest factors.
Cut 7 (10) “the crashes”
Troop C covers Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, and parts of St. James and St. Charles parishes. Besson says these are extremely alarming numbers. He says they are working hard to provide the blanket of the security the community deserves but DWI arrests are up this year.
Cut 8 (10) “as well”
Besson says it’s easy to make good driving decisions, like wearing your seat belt and never driving under the influence and education starts at home with young drivers. He says they are cracking down on drunk drivers by upping check points and…
Cut 9 (09) “get blood”
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Two suspects in a Lafayette kidnapping apparently drowned in the Intracoastal Canal after evading deputies in a chase. That’s according to West Baton Rouge Sheriff Mike Cazes, who says it all started when Iberville Parish deputies called for assistance in a chase down I-10.
Cut 10 (08) “his problem”
Cazes says the suspects’ van got stuck in the mud, and two black males fled on foot. He says his deputies made a shocking discovery when they searched the van the two men abandoned near LA 1.
Cut 11 (10) “manhunt started”
Cazes says the police dogs lost the suspect’s trail at the waters’ edge. Kids playing in the water found the first body and reported it around 3 p.m., and the second was seen by a tugboat a few hours later. The sheriff says he’s certain these are the two men they were looking for.
Cut 12 (10) “out that water”
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The controversy over how the pumps operated in the city of New Orleans during the weekend flooding event is not over. The city council called a meeting just before Sewerage & Water Board Executive Director Cedric Grant announced his retirement saying he’d learned his staff hadn’t been honest about the event. The board’s Superintendent, Joe Becker, said that the system is not designed to handle that much rain in a short period of time:
Cut 13 (11) “four and five hundred more pumps”
At issue was the initial response from the board which indicated all of the pumps had worked exactly as they were designed to do. When City Councilman Jason Williams asked Becker about that statement, Becker said, “all of the pump stations were working at their maximum capacity.” Rogers called that a fabrication and asked Becker to clarify…:
Cut 14 (10) “(angry crowd jeering)”
Becker said he would need six times the drainage that the city currently has to keep up with a rain event like what happened Saturday. The board originally said 7 pumps were out of service the night of the storm, but then came back and said 14, including 8 drainage pumps, were not working. Councilmember LaToya Cantrell asked why they were told everything was at capacity…:
Cut 15 (12) “city of New Orleans”
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LSU Senior Quarterback Danny Etling likes the progress the Tigers are making during preseason camp. The Bayou Bengals are in training camp mode for the rest of this week and next and then school starts on Monday August 21st. Etling says the goal is to get better every day
Cut 16 (19) “game plans”
Head Coach Ed Orgeron says freshman running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the suprise of camp. “Clyde the Gide” played at Catholic High in Baton Rouge just like star running back Derrius Guice, who says he’s not surprised Edwards-Helaire is making plays on the practice field…
Cut 17 (21) “right nowt
Because of regular camp injuries, LSU started three freshmen along the offensive line for the first scrimmage on Saturday. Etling says Saahdiq Charles, Edward Ingram and Austin Deculus did well despite the lack of college football experience…
Cut 18 (20 “up as well”