AM Newscall February 23

A Representative says it’s time to revisit a bill to allow school educators have guns on campus.  Kelley Ray has the details….

Cut 1 (31) “I’m Kelley Ray.”

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There are over nine-million-dollars annually that go unclaimed in Louisiana lottery winnings.  Jeff Palermo has a look at why that happens.

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Medicaid reform legislation has stalled at the special session. Matt Doyle covers the heated discussion between House Health and Welfare committee members.

Cut 3 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle.”

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Chalmette Representative Raymond Garafalo will reintroduce a bill in the regular session that would allow school educators to carry weapons on campus if they have proper training.  Garafalo first suggested the idea in 2014, but it was shot down by House Criminal Justice committee.  In the wake of recent threats and attacks, Garafalo says allowing guns in the classroom may prevent future mass school shootings…

Cut 4  (11) “have now.” 

Garafalo says faculty who choose to voluntarily carry, would be trained appropriately while law enforcement officers would be notified as to who has a weapon and which teachers don’t…

Cut 5  (10)  “of incidents.”

Garafalo says this legislation will be a step in the right direction since the only sure way to stop the violence is to take all guns away…

Cut 6 (08)  “them away.”

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There are some big Louisiana Lottery winners that haven’t claimed their prizes, which are in some cases at least 50-thousand-dollars.  Lottery spokesperson Kim Chopin says they are seeking a winner who matched four of the five white ball numbers on September 2nd.  Their ticket is about to expire…

Cut 7 (09)  “March 1st”

So what happens to the unclaimed lottery winnings?  Chopin says there are roughly between nine and 11-million-dollars in unclaimed money annually that can be won again…

Cut 8 (09) “one free.”

Chopin’s advice is to sign the back of your tickets, then you can check for the winning numbers on the lottery tv show at 9:59pm on the nights they air.  The Lottery also has other means of getting the word out on winning numbers…

Cut 9 (12)  “as well.” (2X)

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Medicaid reform legislation was pulled from consideration in the House Health and Welfare Committee before it could be voted on, maintaining the special session’s current run of inaction. The bill would have implemented work requirements for Medicaid recipients. Opelousas Democrat Dustin Miller says the bill was mean spirited and wasteful.

Cut 10 (09) “help them”

Miller says the proposal was similar to Kentucky’s Medicaid reform that is currently estimated to cost that state roughly 300 million dollars to implement.

But West Monroe Republican Frank Hoffman says the bill would inspire unemployed Medicaid recipients to get a job and provide for themselves.

Cut 11 (11) “of Medicaid.”

Hoffman says the Medicaid program is burdened by a noticeable amount of unemployed people who lack the motivation to work, but Miller says the numbers don’t back that up.

Cut 12 (12) “ten percent.”

Miller says the bill would have endangered the lives of people too sick to work, but Hoffman says the legislation provides protections for those who qualify.

After the first week of haggling legislative haggling, the only two major pieces of legislation to escape committee have been Louisiana Checkbook, and a spending cap. Stonewall Representative Lawrence Bagley, who traveled over 200 miles to attend the session, says he just wants to chance to do his job.

Cut 13 (11)  “of it.”

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Over the last few days, there have been numerous juveniles and in some cases young adults arrested in Louisiana for making false and some real threats to commit school violence.  Even though some of the teens have been charged with causing terror, legal analyst Tim Meche says most of these threat cases, the punishment is not that severe…

Cut 14 (12) “undergo counseling.”

Meche says a juvenile may face more legal issues, depending on if a threat was followed through…

Cut 15 (10) “including jail.”

In some cases serving time in a juvenile center is the best option for teens who are trying to cause panic in their community.  Meche says just slapping a fine on these teens for their delinquent behavior doesn’t work…

Cut 16 (11) “on that.”

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Two college baseball powerhouses meet this weekend at Alex Box Stadium as 14th ranked Texas visits 22nd ranked LSU. Tigers Coach Paul Mainieri says he has a lot of respect for the Longhorn program and their six national titles…

Cut 17 (19) “about that”

Texas is 3-1 on the season, while the Tigers are 2-and-2. Zack Hess will start on the mound for the Tigers and Mainieri says he’ll face Nolan Kingham, who threw eight shutout innings last week…

Cut 18 (09)  “of Zack”

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LSU has a chance to build on its NCAA Tournament resume on Saturday when they visit Georgia. It’s a winnable game for the Tigers who is trying to become one of the 68 teams in the Big Dance. But Coach Will Wade says has asked his team not to focus on the tourney talk

Cut 19 (10)   “focus lies” 

LSU has lost five straight road games. Wade says they’ve been competitive in most of those contests, but he says they are not finishing…

Cut 20 (15)”this league.”