The 108th State Fair of Louisiana gets underway today in Shreveport. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

===================

Deputies say a 67-year-old man from Boyce is facing his third DWI offense after driving drunk on his lawnmower. Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 2 (31) “reporting”

===================

The 108th State Fair of Louisiana gets underway today in Shreveport. The fair runs through November 9th, while being closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. General Manager Chris Giordano says the weather forecast is great this year’s fair…

CUT 3 (07) “and games”

Giordano says this year’s fair features over 60 carnival rides, great food, games and live music from Wayne Toups, Frank Foster, and many more. He says there are lots of great family attractions that are free with your gate admission to the fair, including a bear show and a high-dive show…

CUT 4 (08)  “to be a cowboy”

He says there will also be several street performers at this year’s fair, including a man who rides a unicycle while swallowing a sword and jumping a burning jump rope. Giordano hopes to see big crowds at this year’s State Fair…(For more information go to statefairoflouisiana-dot-com.)

CUT 5 (08)  “mark, I hope”

====================

Two-point-nine million people are registered to vote in the November fourth election. There’s about 93-thousand more voters who are registered as “no party” than six years ago when Senator Mary Landrieu defeated republican John Kennedy. Political Analyst Elliot Stonecipher says these voters are an “X” factor going into the election

CUT 6 (10)  “wait and see”

The Secretary of State’s office reports an increase of seven-thousand black registered voters prior to the October sixth deadline. This brings the total number of black voters to 919-thousand, which democrats see as a positive for Landrieu’s re-election efforts. But Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the big question is how many of them will vote

CUT 7 (08) “not likely”

The number of white registered voters in Louisiana is one-point-eight million and Pinsonat says while the black vote is important to Landrieu’s re-election chances, white voters might be more critical…

CUT 8 (05) “presently doing”

=====================

The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s office says a man is under arrest for DWI number three after cops caught him driving drunk on his lawnmower. Major Mark Wood says one of the deputies spotted 67-year-old Ralph Carroll of Boyce riding a red lawnmower on state Highway 121 attempting to elude law enforcement by driving into the woods…:

CUT 9 (10)  “odor of alcohol”

Wood says the deputy went to the home of Carroll and smelled a strong odor of alcohol…:(Carroll is charged with third offense DWI, operating an unsafe vehicle and having no driver’s license on his person.)

CUT 10 (12)  “he was drunk”

Wood says they brought Carrol to the courthouse where he agreed to a breathalyzer test and was found to be way above the legal limit. The suspect was then charged with his third DWI. Wood says Carroll received a citation for riding his lawnmower on a state highway last week…:

CUT 11 (12) “cooperate“

=====================

Republican State Senator and 6th District Congressional candidate Dan Claitor’s mother has passed away from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. State Trooper Jared Sandifer says the crash happened Saturday on Airline Highway near Prairieville. He says 80-year-old Nancy Claitor switched lanes in her Ford Explorer to make a legal U-turn in front of a pickup truck pulling a trailer…

CUT 12 (11) “pulling that trailer”

Mrs. Claitor was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries late last night. Driver impairment is not suspected in this crash. Sandifer says no charges have been filed in this incident at this time…

CUT  13 (08) “to investigate”

=====================

The State Department’s of Transportation in Mississippi and Louisiana are advising motorists that the I-10 connecting the two states will once again be reduced to one lane this weekend. MDOT spokesman Michael Flood says drivers should expect significant delays on I-10 during this time…:

cut 14 (11) “on Monday”

Flood says one lane will be closed, both eastbound and westbound, of the Pearl River Bridge starting at 7pm Friday night to Monday morning at 6am. He says they are asking motorists to use alternate routes…:(Flood says passenger vehicles should use US 90 as an alternate route.)

cut 15 (12) “one lane closed”

Cold and flu season is upon us and people are looking for ways to avoid coming down with a seasonal bug. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

===================

A report released from the state department of education shows that 92-percent of public school teachers were rated as effective. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

===================

Cold and flu season is upon us and people are looking for ways to avoid coming down with a seasonal bug. The Centers for Disease Control recommends everyone over six-months of age to get a flu vaccine. Dr. Fred Lopez, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, says there is a reason for that recommendation…

CUT 3 (10) “in this country”

He says one you get the flu vaccine, don’t expect it to work immediately. Lopez says it takes a couple of weeks for your body to develop antibodies from the vaccine…

CUT 4 (07)  “hasn’t developed yet”

Lopez says once you receive a flu vaccine, you’ll still want to take steps to avoid any infections this season. He says washing your hands with soap and water and using hand sanitizers are good ways to keep the flu at bay. But Lopez says you should not stop there…

CUT 5 (06)  “and flu season”

====================

Governor Bobby Jindal announces JP Morgan Chase has donated $1 million into the fund that helps technical colleges fund programs focused on training skilled workers. Jindal says this money will allow the community and technical colleges to expand courses specifically designed to meet the workforce training needs here…:

CUT 6 (07)  “raise a family”

Monty Sullivan is the Louisiana Community and Technical College System President. He says this money will be used in a very targeted way to address the most high demand programs in Louisiana…:

CUT 7 (08) “engineering technology”

The $1 million dollar gift will be matched with $4 million in state funds. Sullivan says the donation will help them secure funding through the WISE Fund which was created by the legislature to help fill high-need jobs…:(Sullivan says the money will be used to pay for classes such as welding, pipe-fitting, petroleum technology and electrical work.)

CUT 8 (10) “in programs”

=====================

The man who killed his son’s abductor at the Baton Rouge airport in March of 1984, Gary Plauche, died this week at the age of 68. Jeffrey Doucet was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting Plauche’s son Jody 30-years-ago — and when the suspect was extradited back to Baton Rouge, Plauche was waiting at the airport then fired a shot. The incident was caught on camera and Abram McGull was the news photographer…:

CUT 9 (14)  “same thing too”

Plauche was sentenced to 5 years probation but did not get jail time. The news director of the television station at the time, John Spain, said he didn’t think the public wasn’t surprised that Plauche just received a suspended sentence…:

CUT 10 (14)  “understood it”

His family said Gary died from complications related to a stroke. The son, Jody who was 11 years old at the time, is now an advocate for child victims of sexual assault. McGull, who is a former federal prosecutor, says he found out the video of the incident is being used by the FBI and other law enforcement…:

CUT 11 (11) “incident“

=====================

The Louisiana Department of Education released a report today on the evaluation of public school teachers. The report shows 92% of teachers received an effective grade. Superintendent John White says while we should be proud of teachers reaching that achievement, the inflation of highly effective scores outpaced the growth of student achievement scores…

CUT 12 (08) “any favors”

Teacher “Compass” ratings are based equally on Student Growth Score and classroom observations. Individual school districts are responsible for rating their teachers. White says schools and school districts that set a high bar when observing teachers see progress in both educators and students…

CUT  13 (11) “not use it well”

White says the most critical piece of information they received from this report is that schools who expect more of their teachers, will see an increase in student growth…

cut 14 (14) “learning goes up”

President Bill Clinton is scheduled to join Senator Mary Landrieu in Baton Rouge today to rally support for her campaign. Michelle Southern reports…

CUT 1 (32) “reporting”

______________________________________

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says auto theft in Louisiana has dropped 48% since 2007 which beats the national average of 34% in the same time period. Michelle Southern reports.

Cut 2 (30) “reporting”

______________________________________

Customers at Chic-Fil-A locations in north Louisiana are now able to pay for their order with their mobile phone. Scott Carwile reports.

Cut 3 (31) “reporting”

______________________________________

President Bill Clinton is scheduled to join Senator Mary Landrieu in Baton Rouge today to rally support for her campaign. Clinton’s visit comes the day before the early voting period for the November 4th election begins. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says it’s good for Landrieu that Clinton is stumping for her considering his popularity among the Democratic base…

Cut 4  (06)  “not that popular”

Landrieu is in a tight re-election battle with Republican challengers Congressman Bill Cassidy and retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness. Both parties are sending “big guns” to the state for this Senate race. Republicans sent former presidential candidate Senator John McCain to campaign with Cassidy last week. Dubos says both parties know what is potentially at stake in this election…

Cut 5  (06)  “the national level”

This is Clinton’s second visit to Louisiana on Landrieu’s behalf during this election. Early voting begins tomorrow and runs through October 28th. Dubos says this is part of Landrieu’s last push leading up to election day on November 4th…

Cut 6 (12)  “to go vote”

______________________________________

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says auto theft in Louisiana has dropped 48% since 2007 which beats the national average of 34% in the same time period. Donelon credits the massive decline, in part, public outreach and initiatives by law enforcement…:

CUT 7 (10)  “rest of their lives”

Donelon says they’ve also been able to bust car thieves by using bait cars places in high risk areas that are equipped with monitoring equipment and cameras if they are stolen. He says also says technology has improved so that law enforcement now has the ability to read license plates as vehicles drive down the street…:

Cut 8 (11)   “is stolen”

Donelon says the license plate reader program has resulted in hundreds of apprehensions…:

Cut 9 (13)  “by a theif” 

______________________________________

Customers at Chic-Fil-A locations in north Louisiana don’t have to worry about bringing in cash or a credit card because now you’ll be able to pay with your phone. David Benson is the local operator for the restaurants in Monroe and West Monroe and he says it all starts with downloading the Chic-Fil-A app…:

Cut 10 (11)  “pay for your meal”

Benson says people are slowly but surely catching on and using this method of payment to get their yummy chicken strips and nuggets. He says paying with your phone is more secure than using a credit card. All you have to do is load up whatever amount of money you wish on the app…:

cut 11 (10)  “financial institution”

Benson says when you’ve loaded money into the app, you simply hit the pay button and scan the account code at the register or in the drive-thru line and the money is deducted from the account balance. He says next year the company plans to roll out “mobile ordering.” Benson says Chic-Fil-A wants to stay ahead of the curve…;

cut 12 (12)  “no credit card”

______________________________________

Senior linebacker Terrell Pinson should be named Conference USA defensive player of the week today based on his performance in Saturday’s 27-20 win over Texas-San Antonio. Pinson had two interceptions and had a fumble return for a touchdown. Head Coach Skip Holtz on Pinson’s big day

Cut 13 (19)  “came off turnovers”

The Bulldogs trailed 10-6 at halftime, but the game turned when Pinson had a two-yard fumble recovery for a touchdowns. Tech scored two more quick touchdowns and Holtz says that was the difference in the game

Cut 14 (14)  “it was huge”

_________________________________________

It appeared the Saints were on their way to a victory on Sunday in Detroit, but the Lions roared back with two touchdowns in the four minutes to beat New Orleans 24-23. New Orleans was in control for much of the game, but Detroit hit on a 73-yard touchdown pass with 3:38 left and couldn’t recover. Here’s what coach Sean Payton had to say after the game

Cut 15  (13)  “do it”

Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. But threw an interception with just over three minutes left that set up Detroit’s winning score. Brees believes the 2-and-4 Saints can rebound from this heartbreaking loss

Cut 16  (12)   “to win”

______________________________________________________

After a two-week absence, The LSU Tigers are back in the Top 25 polls. The Bayou Bengals are ranked 24th in the AP poll, and 23rd in the coaches. LSU won easily on Saturday, 41-to-3 over the Kentucky Lions. Coach Les Miles says his team is getting better

Cut 17  (12)   “I promise you”

LSU’s defense was outstanding on Saturday night, holding Kentucky to 217 total yards. Sophomore middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith led the way with nine tackles

Cut 18 (08) “on Saturdays”

Freshman safety Jamal Adams looks like a star in the making. He had eight total tackles against Kentucky, including a sack. Adams says the players on defense have bought into the game plan

Cut 19 (11)   “as a team”