A man from LaPlace has developed an app to keep teenagers from texting and driving. Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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Turkey season opens tomorrow and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries predicts a bumper crop for hunters. Eric Gill reports…

Cut 2 (30) “reporting”

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Demographer Elliot Stonecipher is concerned the state is not growing fast enough to prevent the loss of another Congressional seat. Scott Carwile has more…

Cut 3 (31) “reporting”

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A man from LaPlace has developed an app to keep teenagers from texting and driving. Mike Watson says Text Guardian is tied to the GPS device on cellular devices and parents can set to a certain speed…:(Right now Text Guardian is only available on Android devices but should be on iOS soon.)

cut 4  (06)  “deactivated”

Watson says if somebody tries to call or text a teen while Text Guardian is activated, they will get a message back right away saying that the person will get back to you when it is safe to do so. He says it’s completely free and the difference between this and some other anti-driving-and-texting apps is that Text Guardian can not be removed…:

Cut 5  (10)  “or attempted manipulation”

Watson says once the phone reaches the pre-set speed, all that works is 911, a few contacts and the navigation system. He is the owner of Jim’s Body Shop and came up with the idea of creating an app like this after dealing with so many vehicles that had been in serious crashes involving teenagers who were texting and driving…:

Cut 6 (11)  “to do something about it”

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Turkey season opens tomorrow and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries predicts a bumper crop for hunters. Wild Turkey and Resident Small Game Leader, Jimmy Stafford, says there should be some carryover this season after bad weather lead to a poor hunting last year…

CUT 7 (08)  “go up some”

This year’s season is coming a few days later than normal, which Stafford says should move the birds closer to their peak of gobbling. Although more turkeys are expected to be harvested this season, Stafford says Mother Nature is always a factor…

Cut 8  (10)  “significantly improved” 

He says the Louisiana turkey population is scattered, but most gobblers can be found in the western or north-central part of the state. Stafford says if you’re looking to bag a turkey on opening day, he’s got a tip on where to look…

Cut 9 (08)  “harvest go”

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Demographer Elliot Stonecipher says Louisiana could be in jeopardy of losing another Congressional seat if the state doesn’t see more growth in population. Stonecipher is making that statement based on new Census figures, which shows the state’s population has only increased two-point-six percent since 2010

Cut 10 (12) “Census happens”

Louisiana saw it’s Congressional delegation shrink from seven to six members as a result of the 2010 Census. Stonecipher says the data suggests to him that Louisiana still has an out-migration problem

cut 11 (12) “nervous about”

East Baton Rouge Parish remains the most populated parish in the state. The three fastest growing parishes in the state since 2010 are Ascension, Orleans and St. Bernard. Stonecipher says from 2013-14 Orleans Parish grew one-point-four percent…

cut 12 (10)  “positive years”

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Well there was somebody in Louisiana who could have been a Powerball millionaire, but they missed their chance. The Match 5 winning ticket was sold in Minden for the September 27th drawing, but no one came forward to claim the prize by the Thursday deadline. Louisiana Lottery spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says the $1 million will go back into winnings…:

Cut 13 (11)  “player promotions”

Chopin says by using unclaimed prizes, they’ve been able to increase prize payout over the last five years from about 59%, to about 62%…:

Cut 14 (06) “like to play more”

Chopin says it’s extremely rare for a million dollar prize to go unclaimed. She says sometimes when the jackpot gets really high, people who don’t normally play Powerball try it out and don’t realize that you don’t have to have all 6 numbers to win a prize…:

Cut 15  (07)  “prize”

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The number one ranked LSU baseball team opens up a three-game series tonight against Kentucky, with first pitch set for seven P-M at the Box. The Wilcats are 2-and-4 in league play, but Tigers Coach Paul Mainieri says they are one of the better hitting teams in the conference…

Cut 16  (17)  “good ball players”

LSU is led offensively by Kade Scivicque and Andrew Stevenson, who are both hitting over .400 over the year. Right behind them is Mark Laird, who is hitting .392. Mainieri says he’s not surprised that his speedy right fielder is having a huge season…

Cut 17 (13)  “your hits”

Senior Jared Foster is also having a big season. He’s hitting .348 with five home runs after hitting just .115 last year. Mainieri made Foster the starting second baseman at the start of SEC play and has no plans of moving the former outfielder somewhere else…

Cut 18 (18) ” helped us’

An 11-year-old boy has missed more than two weeks of school because his hair is too long according to Rapides Parish School Board policy. Eric Gill reports…

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The Terrebonne DA says a grand jury has cleared a deputy who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy near Houma last September. Michelle Southern reports…:

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Shreveport’s Independence Bowl finds itself, once again, without a sponsor. Duck Commander, who was the title sponsor of last year’s game, will not return as the title sponsor this year. Mayor Ollie Tyler says she is determined to help the I-Bowl foundation find a new sponsor…

CUT 3 (06)  “us economically”

Last year’s game was played under a letter of intent between Duck Commander and the Independence Bowl and not a contract. This isn’t the first time the bowl has had sponsorship issues. The 2008 game was played without a sponsor. Tyler says this game is not only important for Shreveport, but the entire area…

CUT 4 (08)  “areas benefit”

Tyler says a hotel tax, which narrowly failed last year, would provide much needed, ongoing revenue for the Independence bowl. She says the measure could be back on the ballot this fall. Tyler feels the passage of this occupancy tax will be significant in landing a new title sponsor…

CUT 5 (11)  “develop this area”

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An 11-year-old boy has missed more than two weeks of school because his hair is too long according to Rapides Parish School Board policy. Ashton Bodiford’s hair falls past the middle of his back. Louisiana ACLU Executive Director Marjorie Esman, who is not involved in this case, says it’s time for courts to recognize that students should be able to have a greater range of appearances…

CUT 6 (06)  “with the student”

Esman says courts have ruled that schools are within their rights to have appearance policies like this. Bodiford was told he could not return to school until his hair was cut to meet the requirements. His parents say the rules are unfair and discriminatory and want a policy that is equal for both genders. Esman says the 5th grader should not be penalized just because someone doesn’t like the way he looks…

CUT 7 (10)  “the victim”

Policy requires male students to keep their hair no longer than chin length in the back and no longer than three inches on top. Bodiford’s parents hope to address the issue at next month’s school board meeting. Esman says, because of previous court rulings, the family has a hard road ahead…

CUT 8 (10)  “and unfair”

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The Terrebonne DA says a grand jury has cleared a deputy who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy near Houma last September. They returned a ruling of “no true bill” which means there wasn’t evidence presented that indicated Deputy Preston Norman committed a crime in the death of Cameron Tillman. Carlos Lazarus is the First Assistant DA in Terrebonne…:

CUT 9 (09)  “or another”

The FBI is also investigating this case. Family members of Tillman assert the juvenile did not have a weapon but the sheriff’s office say he was holding what looked exactly like a .45-caliber pistol. Lazarus says it was a pellet pistol…:

cut 10 (10) “you can not tell the difference”

The sheriff’s office says Norman and other deputies were responding to a call of children brandishing guns at an abandoned house where the incident took place. Lazarus says he showed the jury pictures of the weapon the juvenile was holding and a real .45-caliber pistol and said they are identical…:

cut 11 (11)  “what he should do”

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One of the four Louisiana National Guard soliders, who was killed in a helicopter crash on March 10th near Pensacola, Florida, is laid to rest today in Alexandria. Chief Warrant Officer 4, David Strother, leaves behind a wife and a son, a stepdaugther and mother. Louisiana National Guard Captain Kreg Stiles says Strother was a great American and human being…

cut 12 (09)  “him justice”

Strother served in the National Guard from 1988 to 2007 and then returned in 2009 and served until his death. He had over 24-hundred flight hours, including 700 combat hours. Stiles says Strother was born to serve our country and born to fly…

cut 13 (10)  “duplicate that”

Strother was a Black Hawk pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan. His remains returned to central Louisiana last week and Captain Stiles says Strother’s family and friends have been impressed with the outpouring of support from the residents of central Louisiana…

cut 14 (10)  “completely amazing”