AM Newscall August 24,2017

Twenty-five years ago today Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida and then took its aim on Louisiana. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

______________________________________

Tropical Storm Harvey is expected to make landfall on Friday in Texas and Calcasieu Parish is getting prepared. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

______________________________________

State Climatologist Barry Keim says the main thing to worry about with Harvey is that it’s not going to be in a hurry to leave. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

______________________________________________________________

St. Martinville hopes to become “The Pepper City of the World.” Mayor Pro Tem Mike Fuselier says they will ask the state legislature to pass a resolution giving them the prestigious title. He says for nearly a century, St. Martinville has had a pepper industry, like Pepper’s Unlimited.

Cut 4  (07) “internationally”

St. Martinville is also known for the company Cajun Chef, which produces 250 different products. Fuselier says they also have been home to a pepper festival for the last 26 years. He says the town is a big tourist attraction and adding this title will only boost visitors.

Cut 5  (10)  “good stuff”

Fuselier says this is the perfect opportunity to capitalize on something that’s played a huge role in St. Martinville for nearly 100 years. He says he gets asked all the time what kinds of peppers are growth in the area.

Cut 6 (07) “habanero”

________________________________________________________

Twenty-five years ago today one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history made landfall in Florida and then crossed the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall near Morgan City. Former WAFB Meteorologist Mike Graham was working at the Baton Rouge TV station and remembers the anxiety as the storm took aim on Louisiana…

Cut 7 (11)  “Louisiana coast”

Andrew slammed into Louisiana on August 26th, 1992. It left extensive damage in its wake in St. Mary and Iberia Parishes and across a good portion of south Louisiana. Private property damage was estimated at one billion dollars. But Graham says we’ve seen bigger disasters since then from Hurricane Katrina to last year’s devastating floods…

Cut 8 (11) “weather events”

Graham also remembers the recovery moved at a quick pace, because of much of the destruction was caused by wind and not water. Edwin Edwards was the governor of Louisiana in 1992…

Cut 9 (06)  “federal government”

____________________________________________________

Calcasieu Parish is gearing up as Tropical Storm Harvey is expected to make landfall on Friday evening in Texas. Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness for the parish, Dick Gremillion, says they anticipate a lot of rain and depending on the track, storm surge is also a possibility.

Cut 10 (08) “inches”

Gremillion advises members of the public who live in a warning zone to move to higher ground due to the possibility of storm surge. He also urges everyone to stay inside because flash flooding is possible.

Cut 11 (09) “preparedness”

Gremillion says they are prepared with rescue assets in the event of extreme flooding.  He also reminds motorists not to drive through water of unknown depth.

Cut 12 (10) “events”

____________________________________________________

Governor John Bel Edwards will hold a news conference this morning at GOHSEP to provide updates on Tropical Depression Harvey. State Climatologist Barry Keim says this system will likely be more of a rainmaker for most of Louisiana, but areas across the coast are looking at more complicated circumstances. He says it’s not the time to be fishing in the Gulf…:

Cut 13 (10) “coastal zone”

Keim says Harvey should make landfall around the central-Texas coast sometime Friday evening. He says once that happens, the system is expected to turn eastward, and slow down. There’s the potential that over 20 inches of rain, with Houston/Galveston being ground zero…:

Cut 14 (09) “the state”

Keim says 5 to 10 inches of rain over any given area of the state can not be ruled out over the next week. He says once that storm stalls, it could sit there for a couple of days…:

Cut 15 (08) “for this entire region”

________________________________________________________

LSU quarterback Danny Etling is excited about being named the stater when the Tigers hit the field September 2nd against BYU in Houston. The fifth year senior says he’s never entered a season without competing hard for that starting job…:

Cut 16 (13) “that I’m proud of”

Coach O said it was important to make the announcement about a starter a couple of weeks before the season started so that Etling knew the team believed in him. Etling says when Orgeron broke the news to him, he initially
joked that he needed to discuss an academic issue…:

Cut 17 (15)  “right after”

Etling remained the presumed starter throughout the spring despite a back injury that required off-season surgery. He says the only thing on his mind during camp was that he’s got to get better…:

Cut 18 (13) “focus on” 

Etling took over under center during the second game of last season and has maintained the job since. He threw for 2,123 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 59.5 percent of his passes.

Cut 19 (18) “this fall”