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A 23-year veteran of the Lafayette Police Department died Saturday afternoon in a motorcycle crash on La. 3000 north of Interstate 10 in Iberville Parish, a State Police spokesman said. Lt. Richard “Ricky” Rees, who was off duty at the time of the wreck, served as the administrative lieutenant in the department’s Precinct 4, Trooper 1st … Continue reading →
SCOTT — The city is moving north. Work is expected to begin next month on a $1.2 million project to extend city water and sewer lines under Interstate 10 to serve undeveloped tracts north of the interstate, said Pat Logan, who oversees planning for Scott. Hotels, restaurants and retail stores have … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout on Friday disputed a federal indictment that implies officers in his small department were paid to look the other way during illegal drug sales and prostitution at Desperado’s Gentlemen’s Cabaret. Stout said none of the officers who provided $20-an-hour security at the strip club during off-duty … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — A plan being considered by city-parish officials could set the stage for wide bicycle and pedestrian paths and a landscaped buffer with benches, sculpture and parks along the new stretch of Ambassador Caffery Parkway. Traffic began flowing in 2010 on the four-lane extension of Ambassador Caffery in southern Lafayette Parish. Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Parish school system and individual schools may soon be able to draw from private donations to pay for new computers, band uniforms or renovations without siphoning money out of the district’s budget. The Lafayette Parish Fund for Excellence in Public Schools, approved by the School Board in … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s spring 2013 commencement ceremonies will be Saturday. A general assembly with all graduates for the awarding of doctoral degrees is set for 11 a.m. in the Cajundome. Master’s and bachelor’s degrees will be conferred at ceremonies for each academic college. The … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The Rev. Kevin Bordelon, director of vocations and seminarians for the Diocese of Lafayette, recently announced internship assignments for seminarians who will be ordained transitional deacons during a 10 a.m. Mass on May 25 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The men will serve church … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — A federal indictment alleges that a strip club owner and others “made special arrangements with some local police officers” to allow prostitution and drug distribution to occur unimpeded for at least seven years at Desperado’s Gentlemen’s Cabaret. Desperado’s owner James Panos, 55, of Broussard faces one count each of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to … Continue reading →
OPELOUSAS — The St. Landry Parish Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to introduce a $1.2 million 2013 operating budget for the parishwide Community Action Agency. Although parish government oversees the operation of the CAA, Parish President Bill Fontenot said this is the first time the agency’s budget has been presented to the council for … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Parish School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to survey classroom teachers for their input on discipline issues. When the survey was first suggested at the board’s May 1 meeting, Superintendent Pat Cooper requested the board seek a third party to create an unbiased survey. Cooper, and at least one … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Two organizations pitched proposals Wednesday to build and open new charter schools as soon as the 2014-15 school year in collaboration with the Lafayette Parish School Board. The groups, Michigan-based National Heritage Academies and Florida-based Charter Schools USA, manage schools in Louisiana and have the financial capital to build new schools in … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — More than 100 bicyclists rode in silent, solemn pairs across 10 miles of Lafayette on Wednesday in the local observance of what organizers say is the worldwide “Ride of Silence” movement to raise awareness of those who ride and to honor riders killed or injured by motorists. The ride started … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — About 900 residents attended community forums this week to help shape Lafayette’s future, according to estimates from city-parish government. The Tuesday and Wednesday forums were held to gather input for Lafayette’s Comprehensive Plan, a guidebook for growth and development in the coming decades. The specifics of the plan will be based on … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — A teen who drowned in Moore Park this week was identified Wednesday as 17-year-old Christlyn Willis, of Lafayette. A witness who had been swimming with Willis told police the pair swam out to the middle of a Moore Park pond on Tuesday about 4 p.m. when they had trouble staying afloat, according … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Rather than take $6.7 million from its rainy day fund to balance next school year’s $258 million budget, the Lafayette Parish School Board decided Tuesday to allow district staff more time to devise a list of cuts to offset the shortfall. Superintendent Pat Cooper said the proposal to “float” the … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — A group of downtown bar owners hopes to strike down a special security fee without a court fight, arguing on a technical issue that Lafayette city-parish government has failed to respond to their federal lawsuit by the legally required deadline. The federal Clerk of Court’s Office on Tuesday put city-parish … Continue reading →
YOUNGSVILLE — U.S. 90 eastbound between Petroleum Parkway and Ailler Road in Youngsville will be reduced to one lane from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Tuesday for road work, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announced Tuesday. Crews will be … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Lafayette city-parish government ended 2012 with savings of nearly $18 million in its general fund, thanks in part to gains in tax revenue and a major hiring freeze, according to an audit released Monday. The audit also shows that the city’s four-year-old television, telephone and Internet fiber optic service is not yet … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — A Breaux Bridge man was killed Monday morning when the motorcycle he was riding struck the rear of a truck on La. 31 north of Poche Bridge Road, State Police said. Trooper Stephen Hammons said in a news release that Coby Champagne, 29, of St. Martinville, was driving a 2006 Chevrolet pickup truck … Continue reading →
JEANERETTE — Jeanerette High School held its commencement at 6 p.m. Monday, May 13, in the school gymnasium. Graduates are: Valedictorian: TaQuincy Damon Alexander. Salutatorian: David Thai Le. Distinguished graduates: Hannah Marie Schneiter and LaDarien … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The future of Lafayette could be shaped by residents who show up at forums on Tuesday and Wednesday to help craft a plan to guide growth here. Lafayette’s “comprehensive plan” could lead to a series of new regulations, guidelines and incentives that encourage some types of development and discourage others. City-parish … Continue reading →
The LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant will hold a pond management seminar at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at South Regional Library, 6101 Johnston St., Lafayette. Topics include pond construction, fish stocking, weed management, water quality and aeration. The Center for Louisiana Studies’ Backyard Series continues at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday with … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — In the 23 days he was on the run, Wade Lohse traveled through Southern and East Coast states, posted a YouTube video and, according to authorities, probably stole a frozen drink machine before his arrest in Philadelphia on April 16. Lohse’s multi-state trek officially came to an end at 2 a.m. Sunday, … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — An alternate route for Interstate 49 South that would bypass Lafayette could be revived for discussion after being considered but dismissed a decade ago. State Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, and state Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, have asked the state Department of Transportation and Development to study the so-called “Teche … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Students in Lafayette, St. Landry and St. Martin parishes can learn more about career options and earn elective credit toward their graduation requirements during South Louisiana Community College’s free “Career Pathways Summer Camp.” The camp highlights career fields, such as health care and emergency medical services, information technology, architecture and construction, … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The new school year at Teurlings Catholic High School will bring many new faces to the campus in August, including a Lafayette police officer. The private school partnered with Lafayette police to provide a school resource officer as an additional security measure for the campus, said Bruce Baudier, an assistant … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Lafayette High School welding teacher Gene Daigle admits tossing a hammer over a teen’s head, but said he had grown tired of the student’s antics in his class that day and did it only to get his attention. “He got in my face,” said Daigle, who has taught students wage-earning trades in … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Authorities have arrested a Kaplan man for an alleged sexual encounter with a child more than 20 years ago. Henry Johnson, 57, was arrested Thursday on one count of molestation of a juvenile, who was under 10 at the time, Louisiana State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons said Friday in a news … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Descendants of the famed Acadian resistance fighter Joseph “Beausoleil” Broussard are planning a family reunion Saturday at Vermilionville and the park’s rededication of the historical plantation home of Broussard’s son, Amand. Charissa Helluin, Vermilionville’s curator, said La Maison Broussard is the jewel or bijou of Vermilionville. The six-room plantation home sits toward … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — A recreational vehicle equipped as a mobile dental clinic should hit the road this summer, offering care to St. Martin Parish students enrolled in school programs. The services were set to begin in October, but the delayed receipt of federal and state approvals postponed the launch, said Roderick Campbell, CEO … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The results of a State Police investigation into the Dec. 2 death of a girl killed by a Breaux Bridge police officer were turned over to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office on Thursday. Trooper Stephen Hammons said State Police met with prosecutors in Baton Rouge to hand over their report on the … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Plains Exploration & Production Co. is building a $20 million facility in Broussard to support deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations, the Lafayette Economic Development Authority and company officials announced Thursday. Houston-based PXP already employs about 220 people in the Lafayette area and plans to add about … Continue reading →
BROUSSARD — Broussard police arrested two Broussard Middle School students Wednesday for allegedly making a “pressure-cooker” bomb threat at the school on May 2, Police Chief Brannon Decou said. The students were booked into the Lafayette Parish Juvenile Detention Center on a charge of communicating false information of a planned arson, Decou stated in a … Continue reading →
COTEAU — The owner of a controversial landfill that was closed in 2009 has agreed to pay $73,904 and at least $150,000 for environmental cleanup work as part of a pending settlement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ and Gordon’s Disposal, owned by New Iberia businessman Gordon Doerle, have agreed … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Lafayette Parish School System Transportation Director Bill Samec recently requested that the School Board relax its educational requirements so he could find more substitute bus drivers by the start of the school year. A suspension of the job’s requirement of a high school diploma or GED diploma for at … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE The visual and performing arts talent of Lafayette Parish School System students will be showcased in downtown Lafayette on Saturday during the 2013 Student Arts Expo. The annual free expo, planned from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., features about 100 performances and visual arts exhibits … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Drivers with more than $125 in past-due parking or traffic camera tickets could soon face lawsuits if the Lafayette City-Parish Council signs off on a new collection strategy later this month. The council on Tuesday introduced a measure that, if approved, paves the way for the city-parish legal department to … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — An online suggestion box for how Lafayette Parish school system employees think the district should bridge a $12 million budget shortfall opens for comments Wednesday afternoon. By then, school district Chief Financial Officer Billy Guidry and other Central Office administrators will have paid visits to every school in the district to lay … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE The Vermilionville Living History Museum Foundation received a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to offer teachers training on ways to incorporate local history lessons into their classrooms. Vermilionville is a cultural park that offers visitors an idea of how Acadians, Creoles and Native … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Jeanerette police looked for Kendall George for days before learning the fugitive wanted in a shooting was at a Baton Rouge hospital’s burn unit, where his young son was being treated for burns to his feet, police said. Lt. Gloria Lombard, assistant chief in Jeanerette, said George had been wanted by police … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE - Trust is going to be the key to the Lafayette Parish School Board winning approval of any type of tax proposition it brings to voters, said one member of a committee charged with identifying a funding plan for educational and facility improvements. About half of the 45-member community education plan committee attended Monday's session for a discussion on potential … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — Danny Harmon Jr. has asked state Judge Glennon Everett for a new trial after Harmon was convicted April 30 of second-degree murder in a 1989 slaying. In a six-page motion filed late Friday, Alfred Boustany II, Harmon’s lead attorney, raised several issues that occurred during the five-day trial that … Continue reading →
The Lafayette Economic Development Authority will host a job fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 15 at the Cajundome Convention Center in Lafayette. The job fair is free, and registration is not required. Job seekers are encouraged to dress professionally and bring copies of their résumés. Seminars on job-seeking skills are scheduled throughout … Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has added more sections of classes and flexible semester options for its summer sessions. In addition to the traditional eight-week summer semester, the university offers two four-week sessions; two three-week sessions; and a two-week intersession. Continue reading →
LAFAYETTE — With a swipe of a driver’s license or photo ID, Edgar Martin Middle School ensures sex offenders don’t step onto its campus. “That’s the main one you want to keep off our campus and by law, they’re not supposed to be here,” Principal Bobby Badeaux said. The school began … Continue reading →