PM Newscall, September 23rd, 2016

A New Orleans activist group has announced plans to take down the statue of Andrew Jackson during a protest Saturday. Don Molino has more…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Don Molino”

================

US Congressman Garret Graves says he’s frustrated that the proposal to get $500 million dollars in federal aid to flood victims is wrapped up in politics. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 2 (30)  “I’m Michelle Southern”

==============================================

A New Orleans activist group is planning a protest tomorrow in Jackson Square when they say they will take down the statue of Andrew Jackson. Malcom Suber is a member of Take Em Down NOLA, a group that seeks to remove confederate monuments from the city. He says they want to remove the statue of Jackson and rename the area Freedom Square.

CUT 3 (08)  “our city”

Suber says the protest will begin at 1pm, and they expect hundreds of people to come. City officials say they support peaceful protests, but vandalism of public property is a crime.  But he says they see this as an issue of civil rights.

CUT 4 (08)  “this city”

Suber says they feel they are within their rights because the city council voted to remove confederate statues in New Orleans. He says their position has always been to remove any monuments that represent white supremacy.

CUT 5 (10)  “come down”

==================================================

Hunters for the Hungry is hosting their annual “Clean out your Freezer Day” to benefit food banks throughout Louisiana. On Sunday, September 25th from 1 to 4 p.m., hunters with leftover meat are encouraged to donate before they stock up again during hunting season. H-F-H Executive Director Jimmy Anthony says the program started 25 years ago when a group of hunters thought it was a shame to waste all of last year’s frozen game.

CUT 6 (11) “new meat”

The donations will be directly distributed to nearly 400 agencies across Louisiana. Anthony says typically the Baton Rouge Food Bank stores all of the meat but there is no room this year after the flooding so a New Orleans Food Bank will be collecting the food. He says they will also be collecting canned goods.

CUT 7 (06) “Food Bank”

H-F-H collected more than 230-thousand pounds of fish, game, and other meats in years past. Anthony says there are 12 collection sites and to find one in your area visit hunters-the-number-4-hungry-louisiana-dot-org (hunters4hungrylouisiana.org). He says they are not collecting any meat over a year old

CUT 8 (10) “and dated”

==================================================

US Congressman Garret Graves says he’s frustrated that the proposal to get $500 million dollars in federal aid to flood victims is wrapped up in politics. The money is part of a short-term budget fix and is earmarked as disaster assistance for several states. Graves says this money would be spread across 16 different major disasters…:

CUT 9 (04) “to Louisiana”

Graves says when you look at the tens of thousands of people that need assistance to get back in their homes, $500 million doesn’t go anywhere..:

cut 10 (09)  “drop in the bucket”

Graves says he’s been trying to collect as many flood stories as he can so that he can get the message out to Congress how dire the situation in Louisiana is…:

Cut 11 (06) “up here”

===================================================

A state panel has made surprising discoveries about student discipline in Louisiana. The Advisory Council on Student Behavior found that over a thousand kindergartners were suspended during the last school year. New Orleans attorney and chairwoman of the council, Jennifer Coco, says they want to find better ways to discipline students than kicking them out of class.

cut 12 (08) “feel safe”

The council found that nearly 8-thousand students between pre-kindergarten and third grade received out of school suspensions during the 2015-16 school year. Coco says the primary reasons students are getting suspended is being disrespectful or disobedient. But she doesn’t think that kicking a child out of school will teach them to be more respectful.

Cut 13 (11)  “by that”

Coco says the 24-member council is required to meet three times a year and discuss their findings. She says they will put together an annual report and present it to the education committees in the legislature and BESE.

cut 14 (07)  “might be”

===================================================

Livingston Parish Schools have received more than $100,000 in donations, grants and gifts to assist teachers, staff and students with flood recovery efforts. Superintendent Rick Wentzel says the St. Tammany Parish Public School System and their surrounding communities stepped up in a huge way…:

cut 15 (10) “over $8000″

Wentzel says they also got a massive donation from a huge celebrity…:

cut 16 (14) “means a lot to us”

===================================================