AM Newscall July 25, 2014

The annual International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo is underway and thousands of people are expected descend on the coastal town to enjoy the festivities. Scott Carwile has more…

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The Saints are settling into their temporary West Virginia home for the start of  training camp. Matthew Doyle has the story…

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LSU AgCenter researchers continue to look at ways to combat feral hog populations throughout the state. Eric Gill reports…

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The annual International Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo is underway and thousands of people are expected descend on coastal town to enjoy the festivities. Anglers from across the area will compete to see who can catch the biggest fish in a number of categories. Property tax clerk for the town of Grand Isle, Bonnie Pizani (piz-annie), says there’s a lot more going on than just fishing…

Cut 4  (12)  “this year”

In addition to the fishing, she says the event will also feature family events, craft vendors, crab races, live music, and more. The fishing rodeo began in 1928 and is informally referred to as the “Mardi Gras of Grand Isle.” Pizani says businesses across the island look forward to the economic boost the thousands of people who attend the event bring every year…

Cut 5  (08)  “of the year”

Grand Isle bills the rodeo, which runs through Saturday, as “the oldest fishing tournament in the United States”. Pizani says if you plan to attend, you may want to leave early as traffic tends to creep along Highway 1, the only road that accesses the island. She says the locals get into the spirit of the rodeo, too…

Cut 6 (13)  “on the board”
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White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, has rolled out the red carpet for the New Orleans Saints who begin training camp there today. The Black and Gold will spend the next three weeks getting ready for the upcoming season at the Greenbrier resort. Kara Dense, with the Greenbrier Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, says they were thrilled when the team bus rolled in…

CUT 7 (12)   “Next Few Weeks”
For the past few seasons, the team has held training camps exclusively at their Meterie facility. Dense says this is a great chance for some out of town Saints fans to watch the team play…

CUT 8 (11)   “Watch them practice”

The county, home to only 35 thousand people, isn’t used to getting big name stars like Quarterback Drew Brees. Dense says the locals are eating it up…

CUT 9 (13)  “for our area”
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LSU AgCenter researchers continue to look at ways to combat feral hog populations throughout the state. They are beginning to look at baits containing sodium nitrite to control the number of hogs. Animal Science researcher Glen Gentry says the first step is to find an effective dose of the chemical to eliminate the animal…

cut 10 (10)  “with these hogs”

The sodium nitrite is effective in taking the oxygen out of the hog’s blood. The process causes them to become drowsy, lie down, and expire. He says hogs don’t like the taste of sodium nitrite in grain-based baits to ingest enough to get a lethal dose. Gentry says they’re testing flavors that pigs are attracted to…

cut 11 (15)  “saltiness flavor”

Gentry says research shows that 60 to 70 percent of the feral hog population needs to be removed annually just to keep the number of the hogs constant. He thinks it will be about four years before there is a product the public will be able to use. Gentry says sodium nitrite can effect other animals so they need to make sure the bait targets feral hogs …

cut 12 (10)  “sort of thing”
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Hundreds are still without power in the Shreveport-Bossier City area as a result of Wednesday’s wicked thunderstorm that knocked down trees and power lines. SWEPCO spokesperson Scott McCloud says they’ve brought in utility crews from surrounding states to get the power back on….

Cut 13 (14)  “safely as possible”

It could be a difficult couple of days for those who are still without power and A-C. McCloud says the storm did so much damage that some customer’s estimated time of repair could be into the weekend…

Cut 14 Audio  (13)  “16 hour shifts”

The storm took out power across other SWEPCO served states as well, with the Shreveport-Bossier City area being the hardest hit. McCloud says the storm rode right along state lines…

Cut 15 Audio  (12)   “long period of time”
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The 2014 NFL season gets underway today for the Black and Gold as they hold their first training camp practice at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. New Orleans defense made great strides last year, but Coach Sean Payton says there’s still room for improvement, especially in the area of turnovers

Cut 16 Audio (13)    “to form”

Tight end Jimmy Graham will be on the field with his teammates for the first time since the playoff loss to Seattle. Graham missed all of the off-season workouts as he stayed away from the team during negotiations for a long-term contract. Payton has no problems with how the situation was handled

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This is the first time since the 2008 season, the Saints have held most of their training camp away from their training facility in Metairie. During the first three seasons of the Sean Payton era, the team worked out in Jackson, Mississippi. General Manager Mickey Loomis on why the move to West Virginia

Cut 18 (19) ”  basis”