Three people were killed when their vehicle split in half in Ascension Parish. Halen Doughty has the story…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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The Senate is committed to fully funding the TOPS scholarship program, despite budget troubles, according to President John Alario. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Safe Boating Week kicks off Saturday in Louisiana and runs through May 26. Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says their agents will be conducting more safety checks on waterways this week. He says it’s important to remember three things when out on the water.
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With the summer boating season getting underway, Einck encourages boaters to make sure they have the proper safety equipment on their vessels, including life jackets for everyone on board and a fire extinguisher. He says it’s important to stay safe on the water at all times, or it could cost you your life.
Cut 4 (07) “boating fatalities” 2x
Alcohol consumption is the leading cause of boat crashes and fatalities. Einck advises people to sign up for LDWF’s free boating safety course. For more information on the class, visit wlf.la.gov.
Louisiana saw 24 boating fatalities in 2016, and this year 9 people have died in boating accidents.
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Three people were found dead in an Ascension Parish bayou by their own family member. State Trooper Bryan Lee says the family had not heard from 23-year-old Thomas Jones, 22-year-old Austin Kiernan, and 19-year-old Sydney Persac of St. Amant after they went out Wednesday night.
It’s believed the crash occurred in the early morning hours on Thursday, and the crash site was not discovered until just before midnight Thursday. Lee says when troopers arrived they discovered a grisly scene of the vehicle split in half by a tree.
Lee says this was a gruesome discovery for a family member to make, as the bodies of all three victims were found outside the vehicle. He says the investigation is ongoing, and troopers still have a lot of unanswered questions in this case.
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Senate President John Alario says the upper chamber is committed to fully funding the TOPS scholarship program. Alario says the House budget plan takes money away from the Department of Health to fully fund TOPS and they are taking a close look at that proposal.
Alario says tapping into 200 million dollars that has yet to be allocated could reduce some cuts in multiple departments, as the House wants to only use 97.5-percent of what the Revenue Estimating Conference says is available. He is concerned the Department of Children and Family Services is not properly funded.
A measure filed by Baton Rouge Representative Franklin Foil would raise the GPA requirement from 2.5 to 2.75 and would save the state 17 million dollars a year. Alario expects any changes to TOPS will be unsuccessful in the Senate. He says too many students rely on the program.
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Higher training standards for police officers have been approved by the full House. A proposal by Baton Rouge Representative Ted James would require officers to receive at least 400 hours of basic POST training before entering the field.
James says he’s worked with law enforcement around the state to come up with the best practices to prepare officers for work in the field. The measure also mandates 20 hours of additional training annually. He says his bill also requires more training in some key areas.
James authored the measure after Alton Sterling, a black man, was killed in a confrontation with two white police officers outside a convenience store last July. He says that’s why his bill also includes training on bias policing recognition.
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The measure passed on an 82-5 vote and heads to the Senate.
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