Believe it or not, there is an election tomorrow. Halen Doughty has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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The Louisiana Tech women’s basketball program lost its head coach Tyler Sumitt who admitted he had an affair, and reports say it was with a player. Jeff Palermo has more on the reaction in north Louisiana.
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It may come as a surprise to many Louisianans, but there is an election tomorrow in 41 parishes. Polls open at 7 AM and close at 8 PM. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says this election typically has a low voter turnout because so many people aren’t aware there’s an election.
Schedler says in addition to local runoff elections, there are also tax renewals up for vote in several parishes. He says you can check the GeauxVote app to see exactly what’s on the ballot in your precinct.
Schedler says the early voting turnout was very low, as only about 34-tousand people casted ballots. He expects the turnout for this election to be around 11-percent and encourages everyone to exercise their right to vote.
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The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival begins today and there are lots of activities for festival goers. Festival Spokesperson Shelley Matherne says there will be tons of organizations selling delicious food, as well as, games, carnival rides, and a parade. She says this is the state’s biggest free festival.
This year hasn’t been a good one for the strawberry industry given the recent flooding but Matherne says that won’t stop anyone from having a great time at the festival.
Festival Queen Danielle Rodriguez says the festival is near and dear to her heart because her family has a history of strawberry farming. She says this is a great event for the entire family.
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The now former head coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters, Tyler Summitt, suddenly resigned Thursday after admitting to having an inappropriate relationship. The 25-year-old is the son of legendary head coach, Pat Summitt, and he’s married. Gene Ponti is the Sports Director at KTVE in Monroe. He says everyone is totally shocked at this news…:
CUT 9 (09) “and for the program”
In a statement, Summitt said he negatively affected the people he loved and hopes to repair those relationships. Ponti says a scandal like this is a black eye on any sports program, and on women’s basketball as a whole…:
SB Nation is reporting the woman Summitt had an affair with is a player and she’s pregnant. Summitt was the youngest head coach in women’s basketball. Ponti says even though his age was criticized by some, a popular public sentiment was that he was wise beyond his years…:
Cut 11 (09) “some people thought”
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Governor John Bel Edwards says he’ll spend the weekend putting the finishing touches on the proposed budget for next year, which will contain a 750-million cut in state spending. Edwards says the spending plan for next fiscal year he’ll present to lawmakers on Tuesday will be very sobering.
Healthcare, higher ed, TOPS, social services, and other vital programs are expected to receive cuts. Edwards says many state services will receive much less funding this year because of the massive budget deficit.
Lawmakers were able to raise over a billion dollars in the special session, but it wasn’t enough to close the budget gap. Because taxes cannot be raised during this regular session, another special session may be necessary. Edwards says his administration will release more details on Tuesday.
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State Police have been called in to investigate after a woman was run over by a police vehicle while sunbathing on the beach in Grand Isle. Sgt. Nick Manale says two women were tanning near the dunes area when the truck drove near them and one was able to get out of the way in the nick of time. He says the woman struck by the vehicle received moderate injuries.
cut 15 (06) “several surgeries”
Manale says the victim’s injuries are not life threatening. He says the name of the police officer driving the vehicle has not been released.