The LSU Board of Supervisors athletic committee has approved an extension and pay raise for football coach Ed Orgeron. Athletics Director Joe Alleva appeared at today’s meeting and said Orgeron is deserving of a 500-thousand dollar raise…

Cut 12 (10) “…extremely well.”

Orgeron’s new contract runs through 2023 and his annual salary is four million dollars, the ninth highest in the SEC.

Flooding in the Midwest has many concerned about how those draining flood waters could impact the already very high Mississippi River levels. National Weather Service Slidell meteorologist Danielle Manning says those flood waters from the Missouri River basin shouldn’t be a threat.

Cut 6 (10) “…come down significantly.”

The Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville is under fire for posting an exhibit sign that described the slaves who powered the plantation as “happy.” A state parks official says the sign has been removed and admits it was in poor taste. Southern University Political Science Professor Albert Samuels says southern historic venues tend to downplay the terror of slavery, and instead play up the pageantry of those who built their wealth and power on the backs of those chained on their property.

Cut 4 (13) “…the focus″

About 850 people were enslaved at Rosedown, and the site has become the most visited historic location in Louisiana, hosting 28,251 visitors last fiscal year.
Here’s a look at your commodities.

The LSU Board of Supervisors athletic committee has approved a two-year contract extension for Coach Ed Orgeron and the Louisiana native is getting a 14-percent raise, which means he’ll make four-million dollars a year. Athletic Director Joe Alleva says Orgeron can earn even more money…
cut 13 (12) “…500,000 dollars”
The full board is expected to approve the new contract this afternoon.

St. Martin Parish sheriff deputies arrest a Broussard mother after she allegedly left her two children, ages 1 and 5, unattended in an unlocked, running vehicle at a truck stop casino for about an hour and a half while she played video poker inside. Major Ginny Higgins says thankfully the kids were not harmed….
Cut 9 (08) “…in there”
37-year-old Tara Jackson is facing two counts of child desertion.

The Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville is under fire for posting an exhibit sign that described the slaves who powered the plantation as “happy.” A state parks official says the sign has been removed and admits it was in poor taste. Southern University Political Science Professor Albert Samuels says he’s not surprised by the sign…
Cut 3 (09) “…institution was”
About 850 people were enslaved there before the Civil War.

Avoyelles Parish School School Superintendent Blaine Dauzat says they’ve received push back since deciding last week to move to a four-day week schedule for next school year. Classes will run from Tuesday to Friday and some working parents are wondering what they will do with their children on Mondays. Dauzat has this response…
cut 6 (09) “…at this point”
Dauzat says four-days a week schedule will help attract teachers and there are examples it has led to improved student achievement.

Starting next school year, the Avoyelles school system will adopt a four-day week. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
The Powerball is up to 550 million, and as more folks decide to buy tickets the Lotto wants to remind people not to toss out those tickets just because you didn’t win the jackpot. Lotto spokesperson Dustin Annison says there’s ine total winnings, so you’re actually more likely to have won a smaller prize than the big one.
Cut 11 (07) “though.”
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Third-seeded LSU is in Jacksonville getting ready for tomorrow’s first round NCAA match-up with 14th seeded Yale. Junior guard Skylar Mays both teams like to play an up tempo style and that should benefit the Tigers
Cut 16 (11) “for us”
Louisiana has the highest percentage of PlayStation fans in the country, per a survey by PC Magazine that asked gamers to name their top console. The poll nabbed 2,000 responses, and let people chose from Xbox, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, or none. Associate features editor Rob Marvin gives the breakdown on how to Bayou State prefers to game…
Cut 7 (09) “…don’t game”
Louisiana had nearly half as many PC first gamers as the rest of the nation, and less than half the average number of Americans who picked Nintendo as their top system.

Four-point-two million dollars in unclaimed property will be sent to about 44-thousand residents in the coming weeks. State Treasurer John Schroder says they now have the ability to work with the Department of Revenue to find individuals who have money owed to them for various reasons…
cut 15 (09) “…..deal with internally”
Go to la-treasury-dot-com to search for unclaimed money.

The jackpot for tonight’s Powerball drawing is a whopping 550-million dollars. Louisiana Lottery spokesperson Dustin Annison says thousands of residents will purchase a ticket today hoping to win the grand prize, but the multi-state lottery game also features several prizes if your ticket doesn’t match all of the numbers….
cut 12 (08) “…prize tiers”
The drawing is at 9:59 tonight and sales end an hour before that time.

Starting next school year, Avoyelles Parish public schools will hold classes four days a week, instead of five. Avoyelles School Superintendent Blaine Dauzat says the Tuesday through Friday schedule hasn’t received a warm reception from everyone.
Cut 4 (10) “…parents and community.”
But Dauzat says a four-day school week will help attract teachers. Caldwell Parish also has a four-day week and Dauzat says they’ve seen school performance scores rise for nine of the 11 years it’s been in place.

A survey finds PlayStation is Louisiana’s favorite gaming console and in fact the Bayou State had the highest percentage of PlayStation users in the United States. PC Magazine Associate features editor Rob Marvin says Louisiana was just one of nine states that picked Play Station as its top choice…
cut 8 (06) “….xbox”
X-Box is the top video game console for 27 of the 50 states, with 31-percent of US consumers voting X-Box as their favorite.

The state Treasury Department is mailing out a second round of unclaimed property checks. Just over 44,000 checks went out this week, totaling $4.2 million dollars. State Treasurer John Schroder says they had issues with the first wave of checks, as some folks thought it was a scam…
Cut 13 (08) “…to the bank.”
A new law allows Schroder’s office to work with the Department of Revenue for the sole purpose of returning unclaimed property.

The Powerball is up to 550 million for tonight’s drawing. Louisiana Lottery spokesperson Dustin Annison says if you don’t win the grand prize, don’t toss out your ticket, because you may have won one of the smaller prizes…
Cut 10 (12) “…check your tickets”
The 550-million jackpot is the eighth largest in Powerball history, 11th highest in American lotto history.

Which video game console is the most popular in Louisiana? Matt Doyle has the answer…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

LSU basketball begins play tomorrow in the NCAA Tournament when they face Yale in the first round. How far can the Tigers go, junior guard Skylar Mays believes they have the necessary ingriedients to make a long run…
cut 17 (09) “…whole thing”
Tip time is at 11:40.

The state department of treasury has sent over 44-thousand checks to Louisiana residents who are owed money. State Treasurer John Schroder says the four-point-two million dollars in checks comes from the state’s unclaimed property program…
cut 14 (07) “….citizens fo Louisiana”
Dollars in the unclaimed property fund are old checking accounts, payroll checks, insurance proceeds and other payments that are not claimed by their owners. The maximum check sent out is 15-hunded dollars.

A survey finds that Louisiana has the highest percentage of PlayStation users in the U-S, as 38-percent of gamers in the Bayou State say PlayStation is their favorite gaming console. Associate features editor of PC Magazine Rob Marvin says men and women also have different tastes in their video game console of choice….
cut 9 (07) PC gaming”

Starting next school year, the Avoyelles school system will adopt a four-day week. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

A state parks official tells the Advocate that a sign in front of a popular state owned plantation that read slaves were well taken-care of and happy has been taken down. It’s unclear how long the sign was posted at the Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville. About 850 people were enslaved there before the Civil War.

Starting next school year, the Avoyelles Parish School System will become the second school district in the state to have classes just four days a week, instead of five. Superintendent Blaine Dauzat says a primary reason for the change is to attract more teachers to Avoyelles Parish, which is last in the state for teacher salaries..
cut 5 (11) “…we currently have”
Dauzat says starting in August an extra hour will be added to each school day and classes will be held Tuesday through Friday.

Third-seeded LSU is in Jacksonville getting ready for tomorrow’s first round NCAA match-up with 14th seeded Yale. Junior guard Skylar Mays says both teams like to play an up tempo style and that should benefit the Tigers
Cut 16 (11) “for us”
Will Wade remains suspended as the team begins its journey through March Madness.

You could receive a check from the Department of Treasury soon? …
voicer 3 (32) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

Ferriday native and Rock n roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis has cancelled upcoming shows including an appearance at Jazz Fest as he recovers from stroke suffered last month.

Starting next school year, the Avoyelles school system will adopt a four-day week.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 1 (31) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

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Which gaming console is the most popular in Louisiana? Matt Doyle has the answer…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

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Could you be getting a check from the Department of Treasury soon?  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

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Starting next school year, the entire school system in Avoyelles Parish will have a four day week. The decision was made in an effort to recruit teachers to the area. Avoyelles School Superintendent Blaine Dauzat says the Tuesday through Friday schedule hasn’t had a warm reception from everyone.

Cut 4 (10) “…parents and community.”

Mondays were selected as the day off as the school district believes it would be optimal for students in making doctor and dental appointments.

Dauzat says the parish is last in salaries for teachers in the state and an attempt to collect a tax aimed at giving teachers a raise failed a few years ago.

Cut 5 (11) “…we currently have.”

The schedule change means every weekend is a three day weekend and the school days will be extended by an extra hour. Among the concerns about the change is what parents will do for childcare for their kids for Mondays. Dauzat says conversations schools are not in the babysitting business.

Cut 6 (09) “…at this point.”

Caldwell Parish is the only other system in the state to adopt the four day week, doing so eleven years ago and has seen their district performance score rise for nine of those years.

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Louisiana has the highest percentage of PlayStation fans in the country, per a survey by PC Magazine that asked gamers to name their top  console. The poll nabbed 2,000 responses, and let people chose from Xbox, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, or none. Associate features editor Rob Marvin gives the breakdown on how to Bayou State prefers to game…

Cut 7 (09) “…don’t game”

Louisiana had nearly half as many PC first gamers as the rest of the nation, and less than half the average number of Americans who picked Nintendo as their top system.

Taking a look at the breakdown, it’s not a regional trend, and Louisiana was among only nine states that picked PlayStation as their top choice.

Cut 8 (06) “xbox.”

The survey also got a chance to take a look at how different demographics pick their gaming systems. Marvin says it’s clear men and women have different tastes in gaming.

Cut 9 (07) “…gaming″

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The Powerball is up to 550 million for today’s drawing, and as that number rises, so do the amount of people playing, all trying to chase that elusive life changing big ticket. But, Lotto spokesperson Dustin Annison says even if you don’t take home the grand prize, don’t toss out your ticket.

Cut 10 (12) “…check your tickets”

The half billion dollar drawing is the 8th largest jackpot in the history of Powerball, and the 11th highest in American lotto history.

Already this year the Lotto has seen a million dollar ticket go unclaimed, meaning that money is now back in Lotto hands. To avoid another incident like that, Annison says double check your results after the drawings, because statistically, you’re actually more likely to win 50,000 dollars than a couple hundred mil.

Cut 11 (07) “though.”

Most folks play for the big prize, so it’s normal to only see the winning Powerball numbers displayed after a drawing, but Annison says go to the lotto’s website after the drawing to see what else you may have scored before tossing a potential life changing ticket in the trash.

Cut 12 (08) “…prize tiers.”

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The Department of Treasury is mailing out a second round of unclaimed property checks. Just over 44,000 checks are being mailed out this week, totaling $4.2 million dollars. State Treasurer John Schroder says they had some issues with the first wave of checks, with people not believing they had come into a large sum of money.

Cut 13 (08) “…to the bank.”

The checks range in value and could be worth upon to $1500. Any greater value will result in a claim form being mailed to the recipient.

Schroder says every parish in the state has residents receiving some sort of money.

Cut 14 (12) “…citizens of Louisiana.”

Schroder encourages residents to keep an eye on your mailbox and keep an eye on the department’s website. He adds more money is coming.

Cut 15 (09) “…deal with internally.”

For those that are curious to see if anything has been found in their name, head over to LATreasury.com and click on “unclaimed property” at the top of the page.

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Third-seeded LSU is in Jacksonville getting ready for tomorrow’s first round NCAA match-up with 14th seeded Yale. Junior guard Skylar Mays both teams like to play an up tempo style and that should benefit the Tigers

Cut 16  (11) “for us” 

Will Wade remains suspended as the team begins their journey through March Madness. Mays say they miss Wade, but the talent on the floor is good enough to reach the Final Four, especially when it comes to guard play between him, Tremont Waters and Javonte Smart…

 cut 17 (09)   “whole thing” 

Mays even though the Tigers didn’t win a game in the SEC Tournament, they remain confident heading into the Big Dance

Cut 18 (13) we play”