5th District Congressman-elect Ralph Abraham says he’s ready to begin his duties in Washington D.C. Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 1 (27) “reporting”

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The United States Postal Service says if you are shipping by standard post, today is the last day to get that package in the mail for an on-time Christmas delivery. Scott Carwile reports…

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A man who was once the janitor at Port Barre Elementary School and years later became the principal is being featured in a People Magazine series called “Heroes Among Us.” Michelle Southern reports…

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5th District Congressman-elect Ralph Abraham says he’s ready to begin his duties in Washington D.C. The Republican from Richland Parish says he’s already be told he’s secured assignments on the House Agriculture and Veterans Affairs committees…:

cut 4  (10)  “in the nation”

Abraham will be sworn in on January fifth and he expects the new Congress, will quickly act on a couple of important items ..:

Cut 5  (11)  “Obamacare”

Abraham is a physician, veteran, farmer and business owner. He says on the AG committee he’s going to push for looser EPA restrictions because farmers need freedom to grow a crop without a lot of government oversight. Abraham says as a doctor he realizes how vital it is that we properly take care of our Veterans which is not happening in many parts of the country…:

Cut 6 (11)  “and the right care”

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The United States Postal Service says if you are shipping by standard post, today is the last day to get that package in the mail for an on-time Christmas delivery. Spokesman McKinney Boyd says today is the post office’s busiest day where they’ll process in the neighborhood of 354,000 packages statewide…

CUT 7 (09)  “and letters tonight”

Boyd says they expect to process an additional 1.5 million cards and letters tonight. He says if you are shipping by First Class or Priority Mail, the deadline is Saturday for a Christmas delivery. Boyd says you can avoid lines at the post office by going to their website and schedule a free package pickup…

Cut 8 (07)  “pick it up” 

The web address is www-dot-usps-dot-com. For the true last minute shopper, December 23 is the deadline to send a package using Priority Mail Express. Boyd admits that most people communicate electronically these days, but says there is still nothing like receiving a Christmas card in the mail…

Cut 9 (09)  “many miles away”

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A man who was once the janitor at Port Barre Elementary School and years later became the principal is being featured in a People Magazine series called “Heroes Among Us.” Joseph “Gabe” Sonnier says on day in the mid-80s the then-principal at the school told the janitor he knew he was very smart and capable of going more with his life…:

Cut 10 (08) “to heart” 

Sonnier says later he decided to go to school full-time while he continued working as the custodian. He says after getting his associate’s degree and bachelor’s degree he began teaching a Port Barre Elementary School…:

cut 11 (09) “elementary”

Sonnier, now 53, says he got his master’s degree then was appointed principal at the same school where he worked as a janitor for 27 years. His story has inspired many people and Sonnier has been featured on several TV shows and magazines. He says this is his lesson to us all…:

cut 12 (11)  “or your dream”

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Louisiana hopes to generate one-point-four million dollars in revenue by selling over seven-hundred underutilized state vehicles at auction. Division of Administration assistant commissioner Jan Cassidy says these vehicles are not being used enough by various state agencies, so the decision has been made to auction them off

Cut 13 (11)  “one-point-four-million”

The vehicles will be auctioned off in East Baton Rouge Parish. Cassidy says these vehicles have been driven less than 15-thousand miles over the last year

Cut 14 (12)  “job done”

Cassidy they are constantly evaluating state inventory to make sure they are spending tax dollars appropriately and it’s been determined they reduce the number of state vehicles by over seven-hundred

Cut 15  (08)  “surplus vehicles”

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The Saints will try to get another win on the road tonight when they face the Chicago Bears. New Orleans went to the Windy City last year and won 26-18 as Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns

Cut 16  (14)       (Brees chuckles)

It’s been a frustrating season for the Saints, who have lost four in a row at home, but they’ve won their last two on the road. New Orleans defensive end Cam Jordan says they’ve focused on being more consistent heading into tonight’s game

Cut 17  (17)   “get this win”

Jordan hopes the Saints defensive line can set the tone in tonight’s game by getting after Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler…

Cut 18 (11) “next coming”

State Police say two Town of Franklinton employees are under arrest, accused of stealing over $22,000 in water and utility payments from residents. Eric Gill has the story…

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Former Saints safety Darren Sharper has been indicted by an Orleans grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape. Michelle Southern reports.

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State Police say two Town of Franklinton employees are under arrest, accused of stealing over $22,000 in water and utility payments from residents. Master Trooper Greg Marchand says town officials noticed some irregularities in how town utility bills were being collected and called them to investigate…

CUT 3 (09)  “a town account”

He says 39-year-old Carmen Freemen and 42-year-old Caprice Dawson processed over 230 payments that were never deposited into the town’s account. Marchand says Freeman’s and Dawson’s official duties included processing the billing and payments of all customers utilizing the town’s water services…

CUT 4 (07)  “own personal gain”

Marchand says they were able to collect enough evidence to acquire arrest warrants on the pair on several charges, including felony theft and malfeasance in office…

CUT 5 (06)  “in Franklinton”

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Former Saints safety Darren Sharper has been indicted by an Orleans grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape. Sharper allegedly drugged and raped women in New Orleans — accusations he also faces in multiple states. He is currently held without bond in Los Angeles. Legal analyst Tim Meche says rape is typically “he-said-she-said”…:

CUT 6 (13)  “about this case”

Meche says even though Sharper is accused in other states he will likely face a trial in New Orleans because aggravated rape carries a life sentence, so he probably won’t plead guilty…:

CUT 7 (12) “tried first”

A New Orleans arrest warrant says witnesses report that Sharper and co-defendant Erik Nunez acknowledged they had non consensual sex with two women. Sharper was part of a successful championship run while with the Black and Gold. Even though he is so well known, Meche doesn’t think the trial will be moved from Orleans…:

(Sharper was also indicted today on federal drug charges.) 

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State Police is investigating a fatal accident that happened this morning on I-20 which claimed the life of a woman who was not buckled up. Trooper Michael Reichart says 35-year-old Candace Henderson was traveling west on the interstate near a rest area in Lincoln Parish went she says she hit something in the road…:

CUT 9 (08)  “lane of travel”

Reichart says the vehicle was then hit by an 18 wheeler…:

CUT 10 (08)  “died at the hospital”

A passenger in Henderson’s vehicle, 28-year-old Kimberly Henderson of Monroe, was not restrained and was ejected and died as a result. Reichart says he can’t stress enough the importance of buckling up…:

cut 11 (05)  “event of a crash”

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LSU’s ticket office says they have about seven-hundred tickets left for the Music City Bowl on December 30th. On that day the 22nd ranked Tigers will take on Notre Dame in Nashville and LSU ticket office manager Brian Broussard is expecting to sell its allotted eight-thousand tickets

cut 12 (11) “over that time”

LSU sold only six-thousand tickets for last year’s Outback Bowl against Iowa. Broussard says an intriguing match-up with Notre Dame and a great bowl destination is helping ticket sales this year

cut 13 (05) “to visit”

Broussard says you can also purchase tickets through Ticketmaster, but the tickets LSU is selling are in a better location…

cut 14 (10) “100 level”