Tonight, the annual Bonfires on the Levee celebration takes place in St. James Parish. Jeff Palermo reports…
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Governor-elect John Bel Edwards takes time from the transition to spend a couple of days celebrating Christmas. Don Molino has the story…
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Over 150 soldiers with the Louisiana National Guard return today after 10-month deployment overseas. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Tonight, the annual Bonfires on the Levee celebration takes place in St. James Parish. The fires are scheduled to be lit at 7PM to light the way for Papa Noel. St. James Parish President Timothy Roussel says the lighting of the bonfires is a big deal because it’s tradition…
He says thousands of people will descend on the area for tonight’s festivities. If you plan on heading to the Bonfires on the Levee celebration, it’s recommended that you get into the area before 6PM. Roussel says, if you’ve never seen the bonfires before, it is a sight to see…
He says 133 structures will be set ablaze along the levee tonight. For safety reasons, the structures are 15 feet tall instead of 20 feet, as in year’s past. Roussel says this is the perfect event to get anyone into the Christmas spirit…
Cut 6 (09) “festive atmosphere”
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Many religious fellowships throughout the state will engage in “candlelight services” this Christmas, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office is issuing guidelines to organizations who plan to utilize candles this season. Marshal Butch Browning says folks need to understand that there’s a possibility for tragedy regarding the use of open flames in assemblies..:
The National Fire Protection Association showed that in all 9,000 religious structure fires from 2007-2011, more than 350 were directly attributed to the use of candles. Browning says stationary candles should be on a strong base so that they don’t tip over in large crowds…:
Browning says candles should never be issued to young children. He says it just takes one second for a flame to be dropped during a crowded ceremony and somebody’s clothes catch on fire…:
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Governor-elect John Bel Edwards knows he has a challenging year in front of him, but he’s looking forward to spending the next couple of days with family for the Christmas holiday. Edwards says his family gathering at his mother’s home in Tangipahoa Parish tonight…
Edwards says his contribution to the Christmas dinner is oyster soup. He says another family tradition is to watch the black-and-white version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He says he’ll also spend the Christmas holiday reflecting on the huge challenge in front of him, one that he embraces
Edwards says his transition teams have been busy since the election day working on solutions to improve transportation, education and health care…
Cut 12 (09) “that opportunity”
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It’s a timely gift for members of the Louisiana National Guard’s 1023rd Engineer Company, as the unit returns today from a 10-month deployment. Over 150 soldiers will arrive in Monroe this afternoon after spending much of 2015 in Kuwait. Ross Bethea is the Captain of the 10-23rd Engineer Company
Betha says they also completed missions in Iraq, Jordan and Afghanistan. He says during the course of their deployment they helped strengthen facilities and living conditions for Kuwaiti and ally forces
Betha says none of the soldiers from the 10-23rd were injured or killed during their deployment. He says the experience for everyone involved was tremendous…
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