The state Department of Transportation is mourning the stabbing death of a Motorist Assistance Patrol worker on Interstate 10 in West Baton Rouge Parish yesterday. Marsanne Golsby has more..
______________________________________
The former First Gentleman of Louisiana and longtime University of Louisiana at Lafayette administrator Raymond “Coach” Blanco died over the weekend at the age of 87. Jeff Palermo has the story
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
______________________________________
State Department of Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says he’s sickened by the Sunday death of a Motorist Assistance Patrol worker who authorities believe was fatally stabbed by someone he was trying to help.
Retired BRPD officer Darrell Guillory was helping the driver around noon. Witnesses called the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies, who killed the attacker. Wilson says Guillory joined DOTD in 2017.
He says the Motorist Assistance Patrol is one of the DOTD’s most popular services.
Wilson says Guillory received lots of compliments for the way he did his job.
Motorist Assistance Patrols operate throughout the state. Their services include changing a flat tire, jump-starting, filling a radiator with water, cell phone use, and providing one gallon of gas.
___________________________________________________
Former first gentleman and the husband former governor Kathleen Blanco, Raymond “Coach” Blanco, has passed away at the age of 87. Coach Blanco was the vice president of student affairs at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for decades. Current school president, Doctor Joe Savoie, says Coach felt it was his moral obligation to listen to students…
Coach Blanco served as the school’s vice president of student affairs from 1974 to 2009. Savoie says there are hundreds of stories about his larger-than-life exuberance…
Cut 7 (12) “…unique individual”
Raymond Blanco joined the football coaching staff in 1963 and then entered university administration in 1969. Savoie says Coach Blanco hired him in 1978 at the university after the two got to know each other while he was a student and a fraternity president…
Cut 8 (10) “…student organizations“
_______________________________________
Holiday travel means more traffic and that means more accidents. AAA wants to remind motorists to “Slow Down and Move Over” for emergency crews. Those crews include law enforcement, ambulances, and tow truck operators. Spokesperson Don Redman says failure do so in Louisiana can cost you $200.
Redman says nearly a quarter of those surveyed aren’t aware of the Move Over law. And it’s not just emergency responders who are injured, since 2015, 1,600 people have been struck or killed while outside of a disabled vehicle in the US.
In addition to cellphone usage when you’re behind the wheel, Redman says when traveling familiar roadways motorists tend to daydream and get distracted. One way to avoid that is to follow what you’re told in driver’s ed and check your mirrors every three to five seconds.
Cut 11 (08) “…you’re driving.”
_______________________________________________
Louisiana gas prices continue to fall, now down to a statewide average of $3.09 a gallon ahead of the busiest travel week of the year. This comes in just below last year’s Thanksgiving average of $3.10/gallon making Louisiana one of the only states to see a decrease from last year. GasBuddy.com petroleum analyst Patrick Dehaan says prices have been steadily dropping…
Cut 12 (07) “…for Thanksgiving.”
Dehaan credited the decreasing price of oil for the price drop. The ongoing lockdown of China’s economy and decreased oil consumption combined with refineries returning to production from maintenance have helped to decrease the price at the pump. Dehaan says the price has fallen substantially in the last few weeks…
Dehaan predicts that, at least for the next few weeks, prices will continue to fall. He says there’s no certainty when dealing with gas prices but things are looking good heading into December…