EBR residents can get post-Isaac food aid
East Baton Rouge Parish residents now are eligible for the federal government’s help with grocery expenses following Hurricane Isaac.
The state Department of Children and Family Services asked residents Thursday to pre-apply for the program by calling (888) 524-3578 or by logging onto www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/preapply.
The benefits help low-to-moderate-income households buy groceries after a catastrophic event.
The program will begin Monday with applicants going to locations on a certain day according to the first letter of their last name. DCFS said locations would be announced later.
People already receiving food stamps should not apply.
For the disaster food stamps, eligibility is based on income and the amount of cash on hand. DCFS said, on average, a family of four with an adjusted gross monthly income of no more than $2,477 would be eligible.
LSU entering class biggest since 1988
LSU has enrolled its largest freshman class since the university started using admission standards in 1988.
The school announced Tuesday that it has 5,725 freshman students on campus this fall, up from its previous high of 5,700 freshmen in 2004.
More than 29,500 students are enrolled on the campus, up 2 percent from last year. That includes more than 24,600 undergraduates, according to the data released by the university.
The enrollment figures became final last week after the 14th class day.
Captive, missing fighters remembered
FORT POLK — The POW/MIA flag is flying at Fort Polk.
The Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk have a Friday morning ceremony to honor prisoners of war and service members missing in action. It culminates with a motorcycle ride led by the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.
Since 1979, the third Friday in September has been a national day to recognize U.S. service members who were held prisoner or remain missing, and their families.
It is one of six days that Congress has mandated flying the POW/MIA flag at major military installations, national cemeteries, post offices and other sites including the White House.
The Department of Defense has more than 600 people working to account for more than 83,000 missing service members from conflicts as far back as World War II.
New Orleans joins
anti-violence summit
NEW ORLEANS — A White House initiative designed to prevent youth violence has been expanded to include New Orleans and three other cities.
The Justice Department announced Wednesday that New Orleans, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Camden, N.J., have been selected to participate in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention.
They will join six other cities — Boston; Chicago; Detroit; Memphis, Tenn.; Salinas, Calif.; and San Jose, Calif. — already involved in the initiative launched in 2010.
The 10 cities are scheduled to hold a national summit in Washington next spring.
Police: No suspect
in triple shooting
NEW ORLEANS — A triple shooting in the Central City neighborhood Wednesday night left a 25-year-old man dead and two male teenagers wounded, police said.
The shootings happened about 8 p.m. near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Magnolia Street.
Police said an unidentified person in a black vehicle opened fire on the three as they stood near the entrance to a grocery store.
All were shot multiple times and were taken to a local hospital, where one later died.
The wounded teens were described as 15 and 18 years old. Officers said they have no suspect or possible motive.
Fla. man found guilty of sex trafficking
NEW ORLEANS — A Florida man was convicted by a federal jury of child sex trafficking charges.
Benson December Coriolant of Orlando, Fla., faces a maximum sentence of life in prison following his convictions Thursday.
Prosecutors said Coriolant recruited a 14-year-old girl to work for him as a prostitute in Florida and Louisiana. He allegedly plied her with alcohol and drugs to control her behavior.
Coriolant is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20.
Man, 34, convicted of 2nd-degree murder
NATCHITOCHES — A Natchitoches man was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder.
Natchitoches Parish District Attorney Van Kyzer said a 12-person jury convicted Rodney Ian Barnes, 34, in the killing of Chackawanda Beard, of Natchitoches.
Barnes originally was convicted of the crime last year, but the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal found an error in the way the jury was selected in the first trial.
Second-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
Man arrested in girl’s injury in hit-and-run
METAIRIE — A man was arrested Wednesday night after a 2-year-old girl was injured in a hit-and-run accident, Jefferson Parish authorities said.
Sheriff’s deputies booked Jesus Isaac Lopez, 32, with felony hit-and-run, vehicular negligent injuring and operating a vehicle without lawful presence in the United States.
Deputies said the incident happened about 6:15 p.m. in a parking lot on Hessmer Avenue in Metairie. The injured girl was taken to nearby East Jefferson General Hospital.
Lopez fled but was captured after witnesses provide license plate information to deputies.
He was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
Compiled from staff
and news services
N.O. film workshop scheduled in October
NEW ORLEANS — The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy and the New Orleans Video Access Center will offer training for individuals who want to work as production assistants in the city’s film industry.
The workshop is set Oct. 20-21 at Second Line Stages, 800 Richard St., in the Warehouse District.
The training includes on-set skill development, career advice and job placement assistance. It will be staffed by instructors from the film industry training academy P.A. Bootcamp.
The workshop is limited to 30 participants, who must be residents of New Orleans and 18 years old or older.
Applicants should send a résumé workforce@ and cover letter to novacvideo.org.
More information is available online at http://www.novacvideo.org or by calling (504) 940-5780.
The deadline to apply is Oct. 5.
Horses receive hay after surviving Isaac
CHALMETTE — The State Animal Response Team sent 360 bales of hay to St. Bernard Parish Animal Services for horses affected by Hurricane Isaac.
Parish officials said Monday that the hay was divided between Poydras Arena and a farm where displaced horses from Plaquemines Parish were being housed.
It also was distributed from those two locations to St. Bernard residents whose horses were affected by the storm, which hit the state last month.