Kids in Livingston Parish Schools finally return to class today after the flooding. Emelie Gunn has more…

CUT 1 (27) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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Louisiana elected leaders are making the push for more federal aid to assist in the flood recovery, but will they be successful? Halen Doughty has more…

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About one-quarter of the estimated $8.7 billion dollars in overall flood damage affected businesses in the state. Michelle Southern reports on the assessment by Louisiana Economic Development…:

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Students in Livingston Parish finally return to school today after being out for almost a month because of the historic flooding. Parish School Superintendent Rick Wentzel says going back to school gives these kids a sense of normalcy that’s been missing for too long. He says this also helps parents relax a little more knowing their children are safe and back to learning.

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Six schools in Livingston Parish will not reopen due to flood damage. Wentzel says some schools are platooning, which means students at the home school attend classes in the morning, while kids from a flood damaged school go in the afternoon. He says they are still working to find contractors to begin construction on schools that were completely ruined by the flood waters.

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 Wentzel says the re-opening of schools is a major milestone in the recovery…

Cut 6 (09) “this parish”

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The push is on for more federal dollars to assist in flood recovery. Governor John Bel Edwards has requested Congress pass a two billion dollar federal aid package. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says Louisiana’s Congressional delegation will face some difficulty, because three of our members voted against a Superstorm Sandy relief package. Hogan says party politics could also play a factor…

CUT 7 (11)  “for support”

Hogan says House Minority Whip Steve Scalise plays a critical role in Louisiana’s efforts, because of his leadership position. But he says Louisiana’s request could run into some resistance from a Republican-controlled Congress…

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Hogan says other areas of the country have also dealt with significant flooding, which could result in Congressional leaders approving a financial aid package that helps multiple states. But he says time is a factor with Congress taking a recess at the end of the month for the November election.

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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has closed several oyster harvesting areas and delayed the season because the industry is struggling. John Tesvich is a fourth generation oyster grower and also sits on the Oyster Task Force. He says planting usually opens after Labor Day, but this year was more of a partial opening.

Cut 10 (08) “harvesting”

Tesvich says the industry is still recovering from the BP oil spill that happened over 6 years ago, and then there was a mass die off this summer because of dead zones in the water. He says high water levels in the rivers are bringing more nutrient rich water into the harvesting areas and killing the oysters.

cut 11 (09) “of oxygen”

Tesvich says sacking usually begins on October 15, but LDWF delayed it until November 15 in the hopes of helping the oysters grow more. He says most of the Louisiana oysters on the market are coming from private harvesting areas, not public reef.

cut 12 (08) “normal production”

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Businesses in Louisiana suffered losses due to the historic floods to the tune of over $2 billion dollars. That’s according to Don Pierson, the Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. He says overall, the August 2016 disaster caused a total of about $8.7 billion dollars in damage…:

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More than 6,000 businesses flooded in the 22 affected parishes. Pierson says it’s vital that employers take advantage of the assistance being provided by the Small Business Administration, and get their case in prior to October 13th. He says so far, FEMA has surpassed $1 billion dollars in total federal assistance to Louisiana disaster survivors…:

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LED is providing a complete resource guide for flood assistance at OpportunityLouisiana.com. Pierson says the good news is that most of Louisiana’s major industries remained open and today are continuing operations successfully. He says what’s been majorly impacted is the workforce…:

Cut 15 (11) “get our workforce back”

(LED’s assessment found that Louisiana shouldered labor and value-added production losses that affected 6 percent of our economic activity statewide.)

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Two back-ups led the LSU Tigers to a 34-13 win over Jacksonville State for the Bayou Bengals first victory of the season. Quarterback Danny Etling came off the bench for an ineffective Brandon Harris and on his first drive connected with DeSean Smith on a 46-yard touchdown pass. Etling says he was ready for his opportunity…

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Etling ended up throwing for 100 yards, all of it came in the 2nd quarter. He also had a rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Etling arrived on LSU’s campus last year after transferring in from Purdue. He came to LSU after losing his starting job at the Big Ten School and understands the demands of the quarterback position…

Cut 17 (17)  “keep rolling “

When Etling came on the field for the first time in the 2nd quarter, the energy level picked up in Tiger Stadium. Derrius Guice, who filled in for the injured Leonard Fournette and rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown, noticed that LSU played better with Etling at the controls…

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The Saints fail to preserve a two-touchdown lead in the 2nd half and lose to the Oakland Raiders 35-34 in the season opener. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw for 423 yards and touchdowns, but the defense gave up numerous big plays in the 4th quarter to allow Oakland to score 22 points in the 4th quarter. Brees says it was one of those games that could have gone either way…

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Payton says he was disappointed with his defense, but the offense also takes some of the blame in this loss…

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FEMA was bashed by members of Congress over the South Louisiana flood response. Jeff Palermo reports…:

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Two new polls have been released on the U.S. Senate race in Louisiana. Emelie Gunn has more…

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Leaders in Louisiana whose communities were devastated by historic flooding spoke before members of Congress Friday. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss FEMA’s response to this disaster. Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves says the speed at which aid is getting to people is far too slow:

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A representative from FEMA was present and gave updates on the number of flood victims they have assisted. Graves says he’s baffled that FEMA director Craig Fugate did not attend…

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Governor John Bel Edwards testified and said that the help isn’t coming fast enough for people who have lost their homes and have nowhere to go. Congressman Cedric Richmond says many of the FEMA agents on the ground are brand new to the job and the process of getting aid to victims has been extremely confusing…:

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Three local mayors also spoke at the meeting; Walker Mayor Rick Ramsey, Denham Springs Mayor Jr. Shelton and Denham Springs Mayor Gerard Landry. US Congressman John Mica of Florida, who chairs the Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets, toured the flooded areas with Graves. He asked FEMA spokesman Tony Robinson about the manufactured homes progress:

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A Hineston man was killed in a crash after ignoring construction zone warnings. State Trooper Scott Moreau says 61-year-old Kenneth Keele was driving a Jeep Liberty down the middle of Highway 461 in Rapides Parish when a flagman in the northbound lane attempted to have him slow down.

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Moreau says Keele was wearing a seatbelt, but he was pronounced dead at the scene on Thursday afternoon. He says 52-year-old Arnold Johnson of Oakdale was on the Caterpillar mini excavator and was not injured. Moreau says drivers should yield to workers in construction zones for their own safety and the safety of those working on the road.

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Two new polls have been released on the state’s U.S. Senate race. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says the survey conducted by The Remington Research Group and The Hayride confirms what we’ve been hearing, with Republican Treasurer John Kennedy with a comfortable lead. But he says the other survey is quite different…

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The Anzalone poll finds Kennedy leads with 18-percent and Democrat Caroline Fayard and Republican Congressman Charles Boustany are tied at 13-percent. Cross says this poll was paid for by a group that supports Fayard.

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Cross says, looking at the Remington Poll, the most logical outcome for a runoff would be a republican and a democrat but the two democrats in the race, Fayard and Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell are splitting fairly equally the democratic vote. He says both polls have Boustany looking good…

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Sunday marks the 15 year anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack on the World Trade Center that took the lives of nearly 3-thousand people, including one man from Sulphur, Louisiana. Sulphur Mayor Chris Duncan says Leo Russell Keene III was working at the World Trade Center during the attack and died saving people from an elevator. He says the city will honor Keene at Saturday’s memorial service when they unveil a bust made in Keene’s honor.

cut 12 (08) “a hero”

Duncan says the service includes the Stars and Stripes Classic Car Show, free food, and a community march. He says they hand out a bunch of American flags and march from City Hall down to Heritage Square.

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Duncan says Keene’s bust will be placed in the Brimstone Museum so people can learn about his sacrifice for generations to come. He says the unveiling of the bust will feature a special speaker, Allan Grimm.

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The LSU Board of Supervisors elects not to take up a proposal to give football coach Les Miles an additional 100-thousand dollars if the Tigers make it to the college football playoff. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham was there when the item agenda came up for a vote and it was quickly deferred to be considered at a future meeting

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Miles’ current contract calls for him to get a 100-thousand dollar boost in pay if LSU reaches the C-F-P. The proposal that was on today’s agenda would’ve increased that incentive to 200-thousand dollars. Miles is taking a lot of criticism for how LSU played in the season opening loss to Wisconsin and Worsham says it appears the LSU Board of Supervisors is not ready to discuss any aspects of his contract.

cut 16 (11) “surprising”