State Police and the Louisiana Department of Transportation team up to relay info about traffic conditions on social media and smart phone apps. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David LaCerte has resigned effective immediately. A statement from the Governor’s Office offered no explanation for the resignation. LaCerte’s decision comes amid an Inspector General’s investigation into the department’s handling of nursing homes for veterans. The governor’s chief counsel, Thomas Enright, has been named interim secretary until Governor Jindal’s term ends in January.

State Police say three people are dead and two others seriously injured from an explosion and fire at the Williams Partners’ natural gas facility in the Terrebonne Parish town of Gibson. Trooper Evan Harrell says prayers go out to the victims…

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The two workers who were seriously hurt are now in the care of doctors who treat burn victims.

LSU’s Golden Band from Tigerland will play South Carolina’s fight song tomorrow in an effort to make the Gamecocks feel a little more at home in Tiger Stadium. LSU Band Director Roy King hopes they can play it as well as U-S-C’s band performs it…

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He says the Tiger Band is excited to get the chance to plan for an extra home game.

An explosion and fire at the Williams Partners’ natural gas facility in the Terrebonne Parish town of Gibson has left three people dead and two others seriously injured. State Police spokesperson Evan Harrell says the two workers who were seriously hurt are now in the care of doctors who treat burn victims…

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He says the workers were performing maintenance on the facility, which was not operational at the time.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation’s website, twitter accounts, and smart phone app will be used by State Police to relay information about traffic crashes, congestion and roadway construction. Trooper Dustin Dwight says drivers can see real time traffic updates on the “Way to Geaux” app, which is available on iTunes and Google Play…

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Dwight says DOTD has eight twitter accounts for different regions across the state.

Early voting for the October 24th election begins Saturday and runs through October 17th, excluding Sunday. Secretary of State spokesperson Meg Casper says there’s a lot on this ballot in addition to the governor’s, lt. governor’s, and attorney general’s races…

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She says you can go online to geauxvote-dot-com to find out where to early vote and what’s exactly on your ballot.

To make South Carolina feel as much at home as possible when playing in Tiger Stadium, LSU’s Golden Band from Tigerland will play U-S-C’s fight song tomorrow. LSU Band Director Roy King says they’re going to play South Carolina’s alma mater, “We Hail Thee Carolina,” during the pregame. He says the Tiger Band felt this was an appropriate gesture considering the circumstances…

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Kickoff is at 2:30.

Three people are dead and two others seriously injured from an explosion and fire at the Williams Partners’ natural gas facility in the Terrebonne Parish town of Gibson. State Police spokesperson Evan Harrell says the workers were performing maintenance on the facility, which was not operational at the time and did not have gas flowing through the system…

cut 13 (08) “that facility”

Harrell says the two workers who were seriously hurt are now in the care of doctors who treat burn victims.

Early voting for the October 24th election begins Saturday and runs through October 17th, excluding Sunday. Secretary of State spokesperson Meg Casper says early voting is becoming quite popular among voters…

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Early voting will be available from 8:30AM to 6PM daily at registrar of voters offices across the state and other select locations.

State Police announces they will use the Louisiana Department of Transportation’s website, twitter accounts, and smart phone app to relay information about traffic crashes, congestion and roadway construction. Trooper Dustin Dwight says L-S-P currently uses the Nixle alert system to provide notifications but now they’ll work even more closely with D-O-T-D to give traffic updates…

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Dwight says State Police and DOTD are teaming up to give drivers a more unified message about what’s going on in your specific region.

Legendary Cajun Chef Paul Prudhomme has died. The Opelousas Chef gained fame at Commander’s Palace where he became executive chef in 1975. Wendy Waren, with the Louisiana Restaurant Association, says part of Prudhomme’s popularity was his relatable personality, but it was the food kept people coming back…:
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The Opelousas native was 75-years-old.

State Police say a 5-year-old child died after he was chasing after his dog in the road in St. Mary Parish. Master Trooper Brooks David says the driver of the vehicle, 38-year-old James Hopkins III of Baldwin, was not cited in the deadly incident…:
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The child died at a local hospital.

Three gubernatorial candidates participated in the latest televised debate and one of the topics was Louisiana’s budget problem. Democrat John Bel Edwards says he wouldn’t raise income taxes, but instead expand Medicaid to create more money and lower tax rates…:
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Republican Jay Dardenne says all options need to be considered, including an income tax hike. Republican Scott Angelle wants tax exemptions to be combed through. Republican David Vitter did not attend.

SEC officials say the game between South Carolina and LSU at 2:30 on Saturday in Tiger Stadium will be televised on ESPN. Reports indicate the network had to move around at least 5 other games to make this happen. The contest was moved to Baton Rouge due to historic flooding and devastation response in Columbia. LSU says minus expenses for hosting the game, all ticket sales will be transferred to South Carolina as it is the Gamecocks’ home game.

Louisiana Cajun food lovers are mourning the loss of superstar Chef Paul Prudhomme who has died at the age of 75. Wendy Waren, Vice-President of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, says Chef Paul, a native of Opelousas, was one of the first people to promote Louisiana cuisine to the world…:
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Prudohmme’s New Orleans restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, said he passed after a brief illness.

Sad story out of St. Mary Parish. State Police say a 5-year-old died after being hit by a vehicle while he was playing with his dog. Master Trooper Brooks David says the child chased his dog into the road just as 38-year-old James Hopkins III of Baldwin was driving by. He says the driver hit the dog and child…:
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He says Hopkins was not cited in this tragedy.

In the most recent televised gubernatorial debate, the three major candidates discussed Louisiana’s budget problems. Emelie Gunn has more..:
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Company officials confirm there was an explosion and fire at the Williams Partners’ gas facility in the Terrebonne Parish town of Gibson. They say four contractors who were performing scheduled maintenance at the facility were being treated by emergency response personnel. The severity of the injuries can not be confirmed at this time.

Internationally-known Louisiana superstar chef Paul Prudhomme has died following a brief illness. Eric Gill reports…:
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Company officials confirm there was a pipeline explosion this morning at the Gibson Williams Gas Plant in Terrebonne Parish and that four contract employees were injured, but the severity of the injuries cannot be confirmed at this time. Houma Today reported that one worker died and three others were being taken by AirMed and ground ambulances to area hospitals.

State Police say they worked a crash investigation involving a juvenile that sadly killed an off duty Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Deputy. RPSO Lt. Tommy Carnline says troopers believe 32-year-old Deputy Troy Verheyden was hit by a 16-year-old driver who they believe ran a stop sign. He says Verheyden had been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2013…:
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Authorities say the car that ran the stop sign was occupied by two juveniles who received moderate injuries.

Many LSU fans attending Saturday’s game in Tiger Stadium against South Carolina are planning to wrap their arms around their opponent who was forced to move their home game to Baton Rouge due to catastrophic flooding in Columbia. The LSU Tiger Marching Band is learning the South Carolina Alma Mater and fight song for the contest as USC was unable to send a pep band due to the last minute change in venue. ESPN will televise the game with a 2:30pm.

Internationally known Louisiana Cajun and Creole Chef Paul Prudhomme has died. His restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen confirmed the news this morning. Wendy Waren, Vice-President of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, says this is a tremendous loss…:
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The Opelousas native was 75.

State Police say a 5-year-old was struck and killed by a passing vehicle on LA 83 in St. Mary Parish. Master Trooper Brooks David said the child was outside chasing his dog when the animal ran into the road…:
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The child died at a hospital. David says the driver of the vehicle was unable to avoid hitting the child and was not be cited.

Authorities in Terrebonne Parish are on the scene of a reported explosion at Williams Gas Plant in Gibson. Houma Today is reporting that fire officials confirmed a pipeline exploded and one person was killed. We’ll have more on this as it develops.

Three gubernatorial candidates discussed the budget during last night’s televised debate. Republican Jay Dardenne says he would consider everything on the table, including an income tax increase…:
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Democrat John Bel Edwards said he would expand Medicaid to create money and lower taxes. Republican Scott Angelle says tax breaks on industries need to be examined. Republican David Vitter was in Washington D.C.