LRN PM Newscall April 29

Chalmette Representative Ray Garofalo is facing backlash and calls for his removal as House Education Chairman as a result of a comment he made about slavery. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Jeff Palermo” 

____________________________________

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was forced to euthanize a black bear after it became a threat to the public in Port Allen. Brooke Thorington.

Cut 2 (32) …I’m Brooke Thornigton”  

________________________________________

Louisiana’s Legislative Black Caucus has asked for the removal of Chalmette Representative Ray Garofalo as House Education Chairman over a comment he made about slavery. While discussing his bill to ban “divisive concepts” Garofalo said there were some good components of slavery…

Cut 3 (11)  “…maybe.” 

A video of Garofalo making the comment has gone viral. Garofalo says the slavery comment was taken out of context and blames the media of inflammatory reporting…

Cut 4 (11) “…accused of.” 

But Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Ted James calls Garofalo’s comments about slavery troubling and his comments on the House floor explaining the situation never resulted in an apology…

Cut 5  (11)  “…initial comments.”

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder told the Advocate he has not made a decision on whether Garofalo will be removed as House Education Chairman. The Speaker says he spoke with Garofalo and plans to meet with the Black Caucus. James says as a chairman of a committee, Garofalo, should be held to a higher standard

Cut 6 (07) “…of the chairman”

__________________________________________________

Former LSU wide receiver Ja’marr Chase should hear his name called early in tonight’s NFL  draft as he’s projected to be a top-10 pick.  Chase’s high school head coach and Rummel athletic director Jay Roth says he knew Chase had a chance to be great.

Cut 7 (14) “…special here”

Archbishop Rummel has a very rich football tradition as they continue to be one of the top teams in the state.  Despite all of the talent to go through the school, Roth thinks Chase might be the best receiver he’s coached.

Cut 8 (10) “..in the NFL.”

Chase was one of the big-time college players to opt-out of the 2020 season due to the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.  While Chase hasn’t played football in a year, he’s still considered the top receiver in this draft class.  Roth says it’s a credit to his hard work.

Cut 9 (10) “..NFL draft”

_________________________________________________

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff deputies say a homeowner used a pair of scissors to fight back against an armed robber who got inside his home. Chief Jimmy Travis says the homeowner feared for his life and two small children as one of the assailants was attacking him…

Cut 10 (10) “…on the scene” 

Twenty-six-year-old Devin Mitchell of Hammond died from his injuries. Travis says Mitchell was one of five people involved in the armed robbery and home invasion. The other four have been arrested. Travis says the homeowner will not be charged…

Cut 11 (11) “…bodily harm”

The four subjects behind bars are facing several charges, including first-degree murder, since their actions led to the death of Mitchell. Travis says the couple that owns the home, arrived at their house while the home invasion was in progress. He says the suspects began aggressively attacking and beating the couple

Cut 12 (06)   “…their children” 

__________________________

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife of Fisheries had to make a difficult decision to put down a black bear after it became a threat to public safety in Port Allen. LDWF Biologist Supervisor Scott Durham says after relocating the bear in the woods over the weekend it returned to the West Baton Rouge Parish town.

Cut 13 (07)“…this case”

The bear was put down Tuesday night.

Durham says the bear demonstrated dangerous behaviors in his search for human-sourced food and even made its way on to a porch of someone’s home

Cut 14 (10) “…the town” 

Euthanizing a bear does not happen very often in the state, Durham says the leading cause of death for bears is car accidents when they roam. But when a bear becomes accustomed to human food it is very difficult to change their behavior once they begin seeking food in suburban areas.

Cut 15 (11) “…first” 

The bear was originally rescued from a tree in Port Allen on Saturday and relocated to the woods.  However, the same bear returned to the city and became a threat on Tuesday.