The Louisiana Youth ATV/UTV Safety Task Force is uniting law enforcement, education and healthcare professionals to protect young people across the state. Kace Kieschnick reports.
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Outrage in Beauregard Parish as a judge goes easy on a former mayor. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Duck hunters can enjoy a special black-bellied whistling duck season starting this year. Jeff Palermo has more.
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Louisiana is launching a statewide Youth ATV-UTV Safety Task Force. Jay Cripple with the New Orleans Regional Safety Commission says ATV and UTV wrecks result in 500 hospital trips per year and the most injured group is 10 to 19-year-olds.
Cut 4 (08) “…fatalities a year.”
The task force will be a collaboration between law enforcement, state, safety, education and healthcare officials with the goal of spreading awareness to Louisiana families. Cripple says one effort will be promoting the nationally-recognized training program offered by Louisiana 4-H.
Cut 5 (12) “…of these tragedies.”
Cripple says common causes of youth injury include reckless speeds, lack of proper safety equipment, and vehicles with size and power kids are unable to control. He says parents often buy their kids a vehicle they can grow into, which is not a good idea.
Cut 6 (09) “…operating the vehicle.”
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A man who killed a Covington priest and his caretaker shortly after being released from prison will spend the rest of his natural life on death row. 49-year-old Antonio Tyson had pleaded guilty to first degree murder in the 2022 killings of Father Otis Young and Ruth Prats. St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Collin Sims says he and the victims’ families had originally sought the death penalty; however, late disclosures regarding Tyson’s low IQ forced a change of direction.
Cut 7 (10) “…resolve the case.”
So Sims secured a plea deal which calls for Tyson to serve his life prison sentence on death row. He says it’s essentially a death sentence without the execution.
Cut 8 (13) “…so we did.”
Sims says what makes this case all the more tragic is that just months before killing Young and Prats, Tyson had been released from the Rayburn Correctional Facility after serving 30 years of a 40-year sentence for forcible rape, armed robbery and burglary.
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As part of his plea deal, Tyson has agreed to waive all rights to pursue sentence reductions, judicial reviews or release mechanisms.
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She faced up to 17 years in prison; instead, she got 90 days. That was the sentence Judge Kent Savoie handed to former DeRidder Mayor Misty Roberts, who was convicted back in March of having sex with a 16-year-old boy while she was in office. Pamela Sleezer, who’s been covering the trial for the American Press, says the prosecution was not happy with the lenient sentence.
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The victim’s mother called the 44-year-old a predator with hair extensions in high heels during her impact statement. Sleezer says while Savoie acknowledged the mother’s statement, he considered other factors as well.
Cut 11 (10) “…sentencing and everything.”
During the sentencing, the prosecution implored Judge Savoie to be mindful of the fact that Roberts committed this crime while she was serving as mayor. Sleezer says Savoie was unfazed by that.
Cut 12 (11) “…that this occurred.”
Roberts must also pay a five-thousand-dollar fine, undergo regular drug screenings and psychological therapy, and register as a sex offender.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced a new experimental black-bellied whistling duck season starting this year. LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager Jason Olszak says the season will run from October 3rd to the 11th and will offer hunters the opportunity to exclusively target the species.
Cut 13 (06) “…next four years.”
Shooting hours for the special season will be sunrise to sunset. The daily bag limit is four ducks with a possession limit of 12.
Olszak says the black-bellied whistling duck population has shown it can support more harvesting opportunities over the last two decades.
Cut 14 (08) “…in the year.”
The season will run later in the year than teal season due to the species’ late nesting. Olszak says historically, black-bellied whistling ducks left the state or gravitated towards urban areas, but recent research shows that’s changing.
Cut 15 (08) “…end of January.”