Natchitoches Parish is bracing for the upcoming closure of the International Paper mill in Campti. Colleen Crain has an update
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There’s a new Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, a modern facility designed for up to 116 patients with severe mental illnesses. Sean Richardson has more.
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Lake Charles is a basketball mecca this week. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Soon, more than 400 workers at the International Paper mill in Campti will be out of work when the plant closes next month. However, Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois (BOO-zhwah) says most won’t be unemployed for very long, if at all.
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Bourgeois says on the other hand, there is a ripple effect of the plant’s closure that Governor Landry is focused on.
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Bourgeois says the closure of the plant means a major loss of tax revenue for Natchitoches Parish, so the state is looking at ways to repurpose the plant’s site.
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Early voting starts this Saturday in the state constitutional amendment election. You’ll be voting on four amendments, including Amendment 2, which for all intents and purposes rewrites Article 7 of the state constitution. Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson says it codifies some changes in the tax laws that the legislature passed in the special session last November.
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Nelson says it also gives teachers a permanent pay raise of at least two-thousand dollars.
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Nelson says the passing of Amendment 2 is necessary in order to achieve the objectives of the new tax law.
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The Louisiana Department of Health unveiled the new Central Louisiana State Hospital in Pineville, a modern facility designed for up to 116 patients with severe mental illnesses. The 33-million-dollar project focuses on rehabilitation, patient-centered care, and recovery. Pineville Representative Mike Johnson says the facility is needed, but far fewer beds are available.
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Johnson says the facility features enhanced safety, natural lighting, and privacy-focused designs. It includes two new patient care buildings, a utility plant, and renovated therapy and medical staff structures.
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In June 2024, CLSH relocated from its historic Shamrock Street site to the smaller facility on Esler Field Road. Johnson says the need for the hospital is growing and will expand in the future to help facilitate the need in the community.
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Lake Charles is a basketball mecca this week, with two tournaments being held in the city. Eric Zartler, the executive director of the Lake Charles Regional Sports Authority, says it’s going to be a huge economic boost for the region.
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The Southland Basketball Tournament is taking place at the Legacy Center on the campus of McNeese State University. The tournament started yesterday with the men’s first round. The women’s championship will take place Wednesday, with the men’s championship the following night. Zartler says locals who want to see the McNeese men play will have to wait until tomorrow, with the Cowboys earning a double bye as the tournament’s top seed.
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Today, the Boys’ Marsh Madness Basketball Championships get underway at the Burton Complex, with scores of high school basketball fans coming from all over the state. Zartler says it’s an event that the Lake Charles community gets behind.
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The championship games will take place Friday and Saturday.
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The ninth-ranked LSU Lady Tigers were ousted in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament Saturday night, losing to Texas 56-49. LSU was without Flau’Jae Johnson, who’s nursing a shin injury. Aneesah Morrow left the game in the third quarter with an injury to her left ankle, and Mikaylah Williams was on the bench for long stretches due to foul trouble. Still, Coach Kim Mulkey was proud of her team’s defensive effort against the number-one team in the nation.
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Mulkey says she had no reason to put Morrow back in the game after she went down with her ankle injury and said both she and Johnson will be back for the NCAA Tournament.
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Williams led the team with 11 points, but she says she felt that she let her team down by getting into foul trouble.
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LSU will not know their next opponent until the brackets for the NCAA Tournament are released at seven Sunday night. The top four seeds in each regional will host first and second round games, which means in all likelihood, two first round games and a second round game will be played at the P-MAC.