Site preparations for a nearly $3 billion coastal restoration project in Plaquemines Parish are set to resume months after the state issued a stop-work order amid legal disputes. Mel Bridges has more.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Mel Bridges.”
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Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) boating law administrator Major Clay Marquez is reminding boaters to stay safe this summer and to take their free boating safety course. Kace Kieschnick has more…
Cut 2 (28) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”
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The FBI is now the lead agency in the horrific kidnapping and murder of a three-year-old girl from Loranger. Erin Brunett and her 6-year-old sister Jalie were taken from their home by 36-year-old Daniel Callahan, who allegedly killed their mother Callie Brunett, and took them to Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade…
An accomplice 32-year-old Victoria Cox has been arrested in connection with the case
Once Callahan was apprehended, Wade says he led them to the surviving six-year-old child Jalie and the body of three-year-old Erin.
Jackson TV Station WLBT reports that Callhan’s last known address was Lincoln County and that he has a previous criminal record which includes sexual battery. And while detectives work the scene, Wade questions why Callahan brought them to Mississippi.
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After months of legal disputes, preparatory work on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is set to start again. Houma Representative Jerome Zerengue (rhymes with merengue) says the diversion, which would redirect some of the Mississippi’s sediment-heavy water into a new channel and guide it into the Barataria Basin, has years of research behind it.
If successful, the sediment from the nearly $3 billion diversion will settle and gradually restore land in the basin that’s been disappearing for decades. Zerengue says this isn’t an invasive procedure since the diversion is just continuing the work of Mother Nature.
Opponents of the diversion say any benefits the diversion would bring are outweighed by the introduction of non-salty water into brackish and saltwater areas. Zerengue says even if that’s the case, something has to be done to save our coasts.
The project’s stop-work order was partially lifted on Thursday after officials agreed to stay opposing litigation.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is reminding residents to stay safe on the water this summer. Major Clay Marquez says the best way to do so is by taking the free online or in-person boating safety course offered by the state. Marquez says it makes a world of difference…
Cut 9 (13) “…education course.”
In the last five years, there have been 107 boating fatalities in Louisiana, 82 percent of which involved boaters without a personal floatation device. Marquez identified alcohol as the highest risk factor involved in boating fatalities and says reckless boaters may not come from where you think…
Cut 10 (11) “…getting killed.”
Marquez says consuming alcohol while operating a boat leaves boaters liable to the same consequences of drunk driving. He also reminds boaters to prepare for the weather, create a float plan, and remember operating a vessel is different from a vehicle…
Cut 11 (12) ” …enjoy themselves.”
Visit LWDF for more information
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(More Sound Loranger murder/kidnapping)
Multiple agencies are working on the case, including the FBI and the National Bureau of Investigation. (Jackson Police Chief Joseph) Wade says while they can’t confirm the crime scene is possibly linked to human trafficking, they do want to know why Callahan brought the young girls to Jackson.
Wade told reporters that he can’t confirm at this time that the cages involved were used for human trafficking but he vows that no stone will be unturned in the wooded area of the crime scene in Mississippi.
Cut 13 (12) “…crime scene now.”
When referring to this suspect, Wade called Callahan a horrible person and a coward. He says what he had to witness Thursday afternoon was devastating.
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