12:30 Newscast, July 23rd, 2015

Three jockeys at Evangeline Downs Race Track in Opelousas have been arrested for allegedly taking part in a race fixing scheme on June 19th. State Police booked 46-year-old Joseph Patin Jr. and his brother, 51-year-old Bill Patin, and 24-year-old LeSean Conyers. Master Trooper Brooks David says the three allegedly engaged in questionable riding tactics in the June race and the Patin brothers are also accused of shocking horses:

CUT 13 (09) “any time”

The complaint came in from the Louisiana Racing Commission.

Judge Edward Rubin has sentenced Seth Fontenot of Lafayette to a 13 month sentence for the death of 15-year-old Austin Rivault and the injury of two other teens. Earlier in July, Judge Rubin sentenced Fontenot to three years behind bars, but suspended all but 13 months of the sentence for time served. Both lawyers pointed out that a new sentencing date would have to happen as state law does not allow a judge to suspend a sentence in which violence has happened during the crime.

A study from the transportation research group TRIP shows Louisianians pay about $514 extra per year for car upkeep due to poor road conditions. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 1 (29) “I’m Eric Gill”

Gas prices dipped again from the day before. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular in Louisiana is $2.48.

Three jockeys at Evangeline Downs Race Track in Opelousas have been arrested for allegedly taking part in a race fixing scheme on June 19th. State Police booked 46-year-old Joseph Patin Jr. and his brother, 51-year-old Bill Patin, and 24-year-old LeSean Conyers. Master Trooper Brooks David says the three allegedly engaged in questionable riding tactics in the June race and the Patin brothers are also accused of shocking horses:

CUT 13 (09) “any time”

The complaint came in from the Louisiana Racing Commission.

Judge Edward Rubin has sentenced Seth Fontenot of Lafayette to a 13 month sentence for the death of 15-year-old Austin Rivault and the injury of two other teens. Earlier in July, Judge Rubin sentenced Fontenot to three years behind bars, but suspended all but 13 months of the sentence for time served. Both lawyers pointed out that a new sentencing date would have to happen as state law does not allow a judge to suspend a sentence in which violence has happened during the crime.

A study from the transportation research group TRIP shows Louisianians pay about $514 extra per year for car upkeep due to poor road conditions. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 1 (29) “I’m Eric Gill”

Gas prices dipped again from the day before. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular in Louisiana is $2.48.

 

11:30 Newscast, July 23rd, 2015

According to a study from the transportation research group TRIP, Louisianians pay about $514 extra per year for car upkeep due to poor road conditions. Associate Director of Research and Communications, Carolyn Kelly, says the additional costs come in the form of accelerated vehicle depreciation, tire wear, and maintenance costs…:
CUT 6 (07) “damage repaired”
The report shows 36-percent of roads in Shreveport are considered in poor condition, 38-percent in Baton Rouge, and 42-percent in New Orleans.

Seth Fontenot was re-sentenced today to 13 months in prison with hard labor on his manslaughter and aggravated battery conviction in a 2013 shooting which claimed the life of 15-year-old Austin Rivault and injured two others. Fontenot was initially sentenced to three years in prison, with all but 13 months suspended, but lawyers claimed the penalty wasn’t legal because manslaughter convictions can’t be suspended.

The State Department of Health and Hospitals has confirmed the presence of a brain eating amoeba in the St. Bernard Parish Water System. Spokeswoman Olivia Hwang (WONG) says they water is safe to drink, but they are conducting a 60-day chlorine burn out of an abundance of caution…:
CUT 9 (11) “high up their nose”
The site was tested by DHH as part of the state’s new drinking water surveillance program.

State Police say a single-vehicle crash in Richland Parish has claimed the life of a 96-year-old Delhi man. Trooper Michael Reichardt says James Coleman was driving his truck south of Delhi when he lost control of the vehicle…:
CUT 3 (05) “pronounced dead”
He says the elderly man was not restrained when he crashed and stresses the importance of buckling up when you get behind the wheel.

 

10:30 Newscast, July 23rd, 2015

A Lithuanian based company will transform an idle Grant Parish facility into an ammonia plant. Emelie Gunn has more…:
CUT 3 (29) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

State Police say a single-vehicle crash in Richland Parish has claimed the life of a 96-year-old man. They say James Coleman of Delhi lost control of his vehicle, traveled off the roadway, struck a ditch embankment before overturning. Investigators discovered Coleman wasn’t restrained and he later died from his injuries. The crash is under investigation.

Cops say a former pastor from Franklin has been arrested again for alleged inappropriate contact with a second 16-year-old boy. Franklin Police charged 56-year-old Jules Anderson with computer-aided solicitation of a minor for sexual purposes, sexual battery and molestation of a juvenile. The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested Anderson on similar charges in May.

Tabasco lovers will get a new excuse to visit the factory again as the company gets ready to open a brand new restaurant and museum at hot sauce’s Visitors Center on Avery Island. Vice President of Administration Cecil Hymel says the new eatery is called “1868″ and will open around August 10th and offer a variety of Louisiana foods incorporated with each of the 7 different flavor Tabasco pepper sauces:
CUT 12 (05) “you know”
He also says they are expanding their tours.

 

09:30 Newscast July 23, 2015

The US Department of Agriculture has declared 35 Louisiana parishes as natural disaster areas due to floods and storms that impacted them from April through June. The declaration means farmers in those parishes can apply for low-interest loans to help them recover from the damage incurred. 12 parishes were named primary disaster areas, while the rest are designated as contiguous disaster areas.

The summer heat these days in Louisiana has been brutal. Michelle Southern speaks with State Climatologist Barry Keim…

cut 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

Seth Fontenot will be re-sentenced today on his manslaughter and aggravated battery conviction for a 2013 shooting that killed 15-year-old Austin Rivault and injured two others. A digital billboard has popped up in Lafayette featuring a photo of Rivault asking Judge Ed Rubin to get the sentence right this time. Meche says judges are not supposed to be swayed by pubic opinion, but points out that judges in Louisiana are elected to the bench by popular vote…

cut 6 (09) “is affected”

Fontenot’s original sentence was declared illegal because a portion of it was suspended.

An idle Grant Parish plant will be transformed into a $265 million ammonia plant by a Lithuanian based company. State Representative Terry Brown says the facility originally opened in 1977 but has been sitting idle for the last several years…

cut 15 (10) “plus benefits”

Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2016.

08:30 Newscast July 23, 2015

Re-sentencing is scheduled today for Seth Fontenot, convicted of manslaughter and aggravated battery in a 2013 shooting that killed 15-year-old Austin Rivault and injured two others…

cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The state Department of Health and Hospitals have confirmed the presence of the brain eating amoeba, naegleria fowleri, in the St. Bernard Parish water system. State health officials say the water is safe to drink, but residents should avoid getting the water into their nose. Parish officials say they will conduct a 60-day chlorine burn to kill the amoeba in the system.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says while the summer heat these days across Louisiana has been brutal, it’s not as bad as some other temps we’ve seen in the not-so-distant past. Keim says back in 2011 in Shreveport, 86 of 92 days in the summer were 95 degrees or greater…

cut 8 (10) “on two of those days”

Keim says a dome of high pressure that’s sitting over the southeastern United States is causing these sweltering temperatures across the state.

A Lithuanian based company will transform an idle in Grant Parish plant into a $265 million ammonia plant. State Representative Terry Brown says Grant Parish continues to grow and new job opportunities help the area flourish…

cut 14 (11) “Louisiana”

The investment which will create 85 new direct jobs and over 500 construction jobs.

07:30 Newscast July 23, 2015

Today, Seth Fontenot will be re-sentenced on his manslaughter and aggravated battery conviction for a 2013 shooting that killed 15-year-old Austin Rivault and injured two others. In July, Fontenot was sentenced to 3 years at hard labor with all but 13 months suspended. Legal analyst Tim Meche says the state filed a motion for re-sentencing after Judge Ed Rubin handed down his decision…

cut 4 (06) “original sentence”

State law prevents a judge from suspending the sentence of someone convicted of a crime of violence.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says the cause of this current run of extremely warm weather across Louisiana is a dome of high pressure that’s sitting over the southeastern United States. He says that and the clear skies are causing the sun to bake the surface…

cut 9 (11) “big favor”

If you have to be outside, it’s important to stay properly hydrated.

A plant that has sat idle in Grant Parish will be transformed into a $265 million ammonia plant. A Lithuanian based company is making the investment which will create 85 new direct jobs and generate over 500 construction jobs. State Representative Terry Brown says the plant will be located near Pollock…

cut 13 (09) “from Lithuania”

The plant will produce 500-thousand tons of ammonia per year.

You’ll soon see a new restaurant, museum and expanded tours at The Tabasco Sauce Factory in Iberia Parish. Vice President of Administration Cecil Hymel says the museum is set to open in the fall and will hold pre-Civil War artifacts and give insight to the McIhenny family and Avery Island. He says there will be an exhibit exploring each of Tabasco’s presidents since the opening of the facility…

cut 11 (09) “into this”

He says visitors will now be able to see parts of the plant never seen before.

06:30 Newscast July 23, 2015

The summer heat these days in Louisiana has been brutal. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the cause of these runs of extremely warm weather is a dome of high pressure that’s sitting over the southeastern United States. He says Baton Rouge has gone six straight days with temperatures of 96 degrees or greater and hit 98 on Monday…

cut 7 (11) “maximum temperatures”

Keim says you should try to stay indoors during peak heat hours.

The Tabasco Sauce Factory in Iberia Parish is set to open a new restaurant, museum and expanded tours at their Visitors Center on Avery Island. Vice President of Administration Cecil Hymel says visitors will now be able to see parts of the plant never seen before…

Cut 10 (11) “being processed”

Hymel says the new restaurant called “1868″, will open around August 10th.

Today, Seth Fontenot will be re-sentenced on his manslaughter and aggravated battery conviction in a 2013 shooting that killed 15-year-old Austin Rivault and injured two others. In July, Fontenot was sentenced to 3 years at hard labor with all but 13 months suspended. But state law prevents a judge from suspending the sentence of someone convicted of a crime of violence. Legal analyst Tim Meche says the decision rests on Judge Rubin’s shoulders…

cut 5 (11) “appropriate sentence”

Prosecutors want Judge Rubin to sentence Fontenot to at least 10 years in prison while Fontenot’s attorneys want a lighter sentence of 13 months.

LRN Newscast 17:30 July 22nd

According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, oil and gas jobs in Louisiana continued their decline in June, dropping to the lowest level in almost 10 years. Eric Gill has more…
voicer 2 (30) “…I’m Eric Gill”
Sabine Parish authorities say they are treating the death of an eight month old child as a homicide. Kayla Lewis died yesterday afternoon and Coroner Ron Rivers says a preliminary autopsy result shows there was blunt force trauma to the child’s face. At this time, no charges have been filed.

A survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that more teenage girls are using the morning after pill. Dr. Valerie Williams, with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, says more teens are taking the pill now because it’s easier to get over the counter…:
CUT 12 (11) “insurance”
The report indicates more than 1 in 5 sexually active teen girls have used the morning after pill from 2001 to 2013 when it was 1 in 12 a decade earlier.

Thirty-four-year-old Tomeka Stair of Harvey is in custody after she allegedly shot three of her children with BB guns as punishment. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Col John Fortunato says Stair’s 21-year-old girlfriend was also arrested and it was her who confirmed the abuse…:
CUT 7 (06) “both females”
They are each booked with three counts of juvenile cruelty.

LRN Newscast 16:30 07-22-15

According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, oil and gas jobs in Louisiana continued their decline in June, dropping to the lowest level in almost 10 years. Eric Smith, Associate Director of the Tulane Energy Institute, says these jobs are some of the best jobs in the state…
CUT 9 (08) “in manufacturing”
He says the lower price of crude oil is the leading factor.

The Hammond City Council refuses to allow establishments — that ONLY serve alcohol–to open on Sundays. The vote was 3-2 last night against changing the longtime law. Todd Delaune, owner of Red, White and Brew in Hammond was one person who spoke out in favor of the change…
CUT 3 (11) “discriminatory”
=====================
A Harvey woman was arrested after allegedly shooting three of her five children with a BB gun and choking them as punishment. 34-year-old Tomeka Stair was charged with three counts of cruelty to a juvenile. Col. John Fortunato with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department says a family member alerted authorities…
CUT 6 (11) “their heads”
The kids’ ages range from 9 to 11.

A recent report from the C-D-C shows 1 in 5 teen-aged girls are using the “morning after” pill, which is about a 60% increase over 10 years ago. Dr. Valerie Williams,with the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, says it’s good for young women to have an emergency option, but it shouldn’t be used as a primary form of contraception.
cut 14 (09) “contraceptives”