March 2018

Extremist slain after deadly rampage in southern France

TREBES, France (AP) — A gun-wielding extremist unleashed bloodshed in a quiet corner of southern France on Friday, killing three people as he hijacked a car, opened fire on police and took hostages in a supermarket, where panicked shoppers hid in a meat freezer or ran through the aisles.

The 26-year-old attacker was slain as police stormed the market with the help of a heroic officer who had switched places with a captive and suffered lifethreatening wounds — one of 16 people injured in the day’s violence.

China targets $3B of US goods in tariff spat

BEIJING (AP) — China announced a $3 billion list of U.S. goods for possible retaliation in a tariff dispute with President Donald Trump and girded Friday for a bigger battle over technology policy as financial markets sank on fears of global disruption.

The Commerce Ministry said higher duties on pork, apples, steel pipe and other goods would offset Chinese losses due to Trump’s tariff hike on steel and aluminum imports. It urged Washington to negotiate a settlement but set no deadline.

Spain charges 13 Catalan separatist leaders

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish Supreme Court judge charged 13 Catalan separatist politicians with rebellion Friday for their attempts to make the region independent of Spain, dealing a heavy blow to the secessionist movement with an indictment that could put its political elite behind bars for decades.

Judge Pablo Llarena ordered five of the Catalan politicians who answered a court summons Friday to be held without bail. Another of the summoned politicians, the ERC party’s Marta Rovira, did not heed the order and announced in a letter she was fleeing the country to live “in exile.”

LA man arrested for mower theft

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Suspect connected with 2015 murder

A man connected with the 2015 murder of a Lake Arthur man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing lawn equipment from a Jennings home.

Vaughn Robinson, 40, of 504 Commercial Street in Lake Arthur was arrested and charged with illegal possession of stolen things, Jeff Davis Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris Ivey said.

At the time of his arrest Robinson was out of parish jail on bond for two different arrests, Ivey said.

Online service helps residents test water

The Louisiana Department of Health Office of Public Health has recently launched an online service which provides Louisianans easy access to test privately-owned water wells for biological contaminants.

This new service through the department’s Office of Public Health can be accessed by visiting www.la.egov.com/ldh/privatewell/. From there, citizens have the option to order water collection kits to be returned for testing of biological contaminants or request a local public health sanitarian to administer the test.

CDA recognizes Education Contest winners

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Court Mother Cabrini Catholic Daughters’ annual Education Contest theme was “Finding Joy in My Life.” Pictured are the winners, including Division II, Kassidy Richard in Art; Division IV, Melody Trahan in Photography; Division III, Elaina Sonnier in Photography; Division IV, Amanda Jeffries in Poetry; and Division I, Isobel Sonnier in Essay. Those not pictured include Division I, Olivia Benoit in Art; Adelynn Sonnier in Poetry; Division II, William Millican in Poetry; and Olivia VanHook in Photography.

Top ticket salesmen for KC barbecue fundraiser announced

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At the March meeting of Knights of Columbus Council 2012 from Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Jennings, the top ticket salesmen for the annual barbecue fundraiser conducted on March 18 were recognized.

They are pictured from right to left with the number of tickets each sold listed: Dr. Paul Cheramie (40) with wife Cindy (seated); Dale Hotard (55) with wife Sandra (seated); Johnny Miller (62) with wife Linda (seated); Bill Caraway (126) with wife Betty (seated); Charles Savoy

Mermentau River search continues for missing Crowley man

The search for a missing 35-year-old Crowley man in the Mermentau River near the Jeff Davis Parish and Acadia Parish line continued Friday morning after being suspended for several hours Thursday night.

The man went missing in the Mermentau river near the intersection of Hwy. 90 around 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division Public Information Officer Adam Einck said.

Respect your voters

Democrats are strongly united around their fear and loathing of Donald Trump. Party loyalists give him a 7 percent approval rating in the latest Gallup poll. But focusing on the president’s flaws masks serious splits that could limit Democratic chances of recapturing Congress this fall, or defeating Trump in 2020.

Girlfriend worried about former addict boyfriend

DEAR HARRIETTE: My boyfriend is a recovering drug addict. About a year ago, he was in a bad place in his life and was in a downward spiral. He got his act together and has now been sober for a year. I am proud of how far he has come and all the changes he has made, but I fear that one day he won’t be able maintain his sobriety.