5:30 LRN Newscast Dec 23

A Vernon Parish woman is dead after she threatened to kill deputies and then herself when officers responded to the call. Brooke Thorington has more..:

CUT 02 (33)      “…Thorington.”

Across the state, in Pointe Coupee Parish, a very similar tragedy as man was shot and killed by LEOs after he drove his car into a home, tried to set it on fire, then turned a weapon of arriving cops. 48-year-old Jessie Gaither was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. His motives for the violence are unknown. State Police are investigating, as they do with all officer-involved shootings.

 

State Police and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission have a message for holiday motorists: “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The national highway safety campaign uses federal money to pay for dozens of officers – both state and local –the overtime needed to keep highways safe. Here LHSC Director Lisa Freeman…:

CUT 09 (08)      “…is really at peak.”

Freeman says this is not about money from fines or putting people in jail; it’s about saving lives. Last Christmas holiday saw 181 people killed or hurt in Louisiana traffic crashes.

State wildlife & Fisheries agents report some good news: so far, all deer tested in the state for Chronic Wasting Disease have come back “negative.” So far that is over 270 deer bagged in Union, Morehouse and other parishes near Arkansas, where the disease has been detected. LDWF is still testing. If you want to give them your harvested deer, go to “wlf.louisiana.gov” and look for CWD Testing