Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain was found is guilty on all charges and faces a mandatory life sentence for raping and molesting multiple children Brooke Thorington has more.
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The vote count is in for early voting ahead of this Saturday’s November 13th election and, as Dave Brannen reports, they are somewhat surprising.
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Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain faces a mandatory life sentence after it took five hours for a jury to convict him on eight charges of sex crimes involving several juveniles dating back to the 1970s. District Attorney Warren Montgomery credited his staff for their hard work…
A jury of six men and six women found him guilty of four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated incest and one count of sexual battery, and one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile.
The jury deliberated for more than five hours yesterday over the charges the former sheriff of 20 years faced. Montgomery says the guilty verdict is important because it reminds the public that everyone must be held accountable.
Montgomery says has as hard the trial process was for the prosecutors, the jury to hear the evidence, and especially the five victims who testified, he hopes the verdict will bring Strain’s victims peace.
Strain will be formally sentenced on January 18th however the charges that he’s been found guilty of require a mandatory life sentence.
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Some surprising numbers from early voting in Louisiana for the November 13th election. Pollster John Couvillon tells us the figures far exceed those of 2017.
He says almost exclusively driving this increase is those choosing the mail-in option of voting. Couvillon says at this point four years ago only 92-thousand votes had been cast in early voting for that election, the mail-in volume almost triple what it was in 2017.
Couvillon says that while early voting numbers are significantly higher than four years ago, he doesn’t expect that to translate to an overall turnout increase for the election in the same percentage.
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All in all, Couvillon does not expect an overall rush to the polls statewide this Saturday since in most cases the only thing on the ballot in many parishes are the four constitutional amendments.
He expects the statewide turnout to total about 16 percent of the state’s registered voters, while the turnout in Orleans Parish alone should be in the ballpark of 35 percent.
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Northwestern State University’s new president, Marcus Jones, has now dropped the interim title he had held since July after the UL System Board of Supervisors appointed him Monday permanently to the post. Jones seems humbled by the move and looking forward to moving the school forward.
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He says he owes part of his success to being able to compromise after being reared in a family where he was the 18th of 20 siblings.
Jones has a goal of further globalization of Northwestern State’s educational efforts for its students.
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Jones says as Northwestern State’s 20th president and first African-American to lead the school he would like to be known for his progressive leadership, and just not in a global way, but in service to the community it serves.
UL System President Jim Henderson calls Jones a leader possessing character, integrity and vision.
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Construction is underway on the Houma Navigation Canal Lock Complex in Terrebonne Parish. It’s part of the state’s effort to provide Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes with 100-year storm surge protection. Terrebonne President Gordon Dove says the H-N-C Lock complex will be critical during storm surge and high water events…
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The project will consist of dredging over one-million cubic yards of material which will create 178 acres of marshland. He says actual construction on the structure will take place next spring
State officials have also announced the construction of the 147-foot Grand Bayou Floodgate has been completed. Dove says there’s now a continuous levee segment stretching 47 miles from Gibson in Terrebonne Parish to the town of Lockport in Lafourche Parish