PM LRN Newscall October 23

The 108th State Fair of Louisiana gets underway today in Shreveport. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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Deputies say a 67-year-old man from Boyce is facing his third DWI offense after driving drunk on his lawnmower. Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 2 (31) “reporting”

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The 108th State Fair of Louisiana gets underway today in Shreveport. The fair runs through November 9th, while being closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. General Manager Chris Giordano says the weather forecast is great this year’s fair…

CUT 3 (07) “and games”

Giordano says this year’s fair features over 60 carnival rides, great food, games and live music from Wayne Toups, Frank Foster, and many more. He says there are lots of great family attractions that are free with your gate admission to the fair, including a bear show and a high-dive show…

CUT 4 (08)  “to be a cowboy”

He says there will also be several street performers at this year’s fair, including a man who rides a unicycle while swallowing a sword and jumping a burning jump rope. Giordano hopes to see big crowds at this year’s State Fair…(For more information go to statefairoflouisiana-dot-com.)

CUT 5 (08)  “mark, I hope”

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Two-point-nine million people are registered to vote in the November fourth election. There’s about 93-thousand more voters who are registered as “no party” than six years ago when Senator Mary Landrieu defeated republican John Kennedy. Political Analyst Elliot Stonecipher says these voters are an “X” factor going into the election

CUT 6 (10)  “wait and see”

The Secretary of State’s office reports an increase of seven-thousand black registered voters prior to the October sixth deadline. This brings the total number of black voters to 919-thousand, which democrats see as a positive for Landrieu’s re-election efforts. But Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the big question is how many of them will vote

CUT 7 (08) “not likely”

The number of white registered voters in Louisiana is one-point-eight million and Pinsonat says while the black vote is important to Landrieu’s re-election chances, white voters might be more critical…

CUT 8 (05) “presently doing”

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The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s office says a man is under arrest for DWI number three after cops caught him driving drunk on his lawnmower. Major Mark Wood says one of the deputies spotted 67-year-old Ralph Carroll of Boyce riding a red lawnmower on state Highway 121 attempting to elude law enforcement by driving into the woods…:

CUT 9 (10)  “odor of alcohol”

Wood says the deputy went to the home of Carroll and smelled a strong odor of alcohol…:(Carroll is charged with third offense DWI, operating an unsafe vehicle and having no driver’s license on his person.)

CUT 10 (12)  “he was drunk”

Wood says they brought Carrol to the courthouse where he agreed to a breathalyzer test and was found to be way above the legal limit. The suspect was then charged with his third DWI. Wood says Carroll received a citation for riding his lawnmower on a state highway last week…:

CUT 11 (12) “cooperate

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Republican State Senator and 6th District Congressional candidate Dan Claitor’s mother has passed away from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. State Trooper Jared Sandifer says the crash happened Saturday on Airline Highway near Prairieville. He says 80-year-old Nancy Claitor switched lanes in her Ford Explorer to make a legal U-turn in front of a pickup truck pulling a trailer…

CUT 12 (11) “pulling that trailer”

Mrs. Claitor was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries late last night. Driver impairment is not suspected in this crash. Sandifer says no charges have been filed in this incident at this time…

CUT  13 (08) “to investigate”

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The State Department’s of Transportation in Mississippi and Louisiana are advising motorists that the I-10 connecting the two states will once again be reduced to one lane this weekend. MDOT spokesman Michael Flood says drivers should expect significant delays on I-10 during this time…:

cut 14 (11) “on Monday”

Flood says one lane will be closed, both eastbound and westbound, of the Pearl River Bridge starting at 7pm Friday night to Monday morning at 6am. He says they are asking motorists to use alternate routes…:(Flood says passenger vehicles should use US 90 as an alternate route.)

cut 15 (12) “one lane closed”