The Humane Society of Louisiana says the lack of services compounds pet overpopulation issues across the state. Teiko Foxx has more…
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DCFS has hired more than 300 employees for their child welfare division after they were plagued with several child death cases that fell through the cracks. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (32) “….I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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State Police are investigating a Wednesday crash in Jackson Parish that took the life of a woman and young girl. Master Trooper Javier Leija (Hah-vee-er LAY-hah) says it happened at around 3:45 yesterday, on state Highway 167, and involved a Honda CRV driven by 29-year-old Katelyn Granger…:
Cut 3 (12) “…and the passenger.”
Leija says Granger, the driver, was wearing a seatbelt when she ran into the back of the stopped bus, but nevertheless died from her injuries after being taken to a nearby hospital. The other victim, is 7-year-old Anna Rivers, who Leija says was not properly restrained, and was in the front seat where children should not be. She was pronounced dead at the scene. He says the driver of the CRV was responsible for her passengers’ safety…:
Two other children in the SUV were wearing seatbelts and suffered moderate injuries. The children on the school bus received some scrapes and bruises, but are otherwise OK. Leija says, at this time, they do not know why Granger failed to brake before she ran into the bus…:
Trooper Leija says impairment is not suspected, but distracted driving cannot yet be ruled out. LSP is investigating.
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It was two weeks ago a suspected cybersecurity attack resulted in the shutdown of Southeastern Louisiana University’s computer network system. The network still has not been restored and S-L-U professor Dayne Sherman says students are worried about their classwork and their credit scores…
Cut 6 (08) “..etcetera, etcetera”
Wi-Fi was recently restored in the union, library and all residence halls. Sherman blames outgoing S-L-U President John Crain for not doing more to help professors and students during this difficult time…
Crain is set to retire at the end of the current academic year and in a statement says good progress is being made to restore to the university’s computer and internet system. Adjustments have been made to the academic calendar. But Sherman says AT&T should have been brought on campus to help…
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The Humane Society of Louisiana is urging the state to approve funding for new animal shelters and improve existing ones. HSLA Director, Jeff Dorson says lawmakers can approve the much needed funding in the upcoming legislative session
More than 31 of the state’s 64 parishes lack facilities. This contributes to stray, missing, and hurt animals struggling to survive on the streets.
Legislators are asked to set aside $3 million to distribute as grants of up to $100,000 to eligible parishes and municipalities.
Cut 11 (09) “…everybody else.”
This year’s legislative session begins April 10.
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The Department of Children and Family Services has hired 326 full-time workers since July, which increases their staff to 35 hundred. The agency has been under fire after several high-profile child death cases. DCFS Secretary Terri Ricks says while she’s pleased, they still want and need more employees.
DCFS has held 12 statewide hiring fairs to increase staffing of the Child Welfare Division. Ricks says people feel called to take on what’s very often a difficult job.
Ricks says as they continue to hire more employees and the agency is also taking steps to retain existing employees with a bump in pay.
The agency has been plagued with staffing shortages at a time when child welfare cases continue to increase. Ricks says welfare investigations are up more than 30 percent compared to their five-year average and are on trend to surpass the last fiscal year’s caseload by 6,000.
Ricks says the agency is also trying to assist families are who experiencing food insecurities after the federal SNAP benefits were reduced. She encourages families in need to call 2-1-1 for assistance.
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