June 2019

DOTD: Use caution during heavy rainfall

With recent rainfall across the parish exceeding 10 inches just over the last week, motorists should use caution when traveling in wet or severe weather.

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), out of nearly six million vehicular accidents that occur each year in the U.S., approximately 22 percent are weather-related. Also, more accidents occur when the roads are wet following a rainstorm than in any other type of weather.

Nearly 6,000 people are killed and another 445,000 injured due to accidents that occur during bad weather, according to FHA.

No budget woes? Lawmakers create feuds

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LOUISIANA SPOTLIGHT

Freed from the budget problems of prior years, Louisiana lawmakers found other things to bicker about in their just-ended session: abortion, sports betting, and even cauliflower rice and soy milk.

But after years of angry battles over taxes and spending, even the most heated feuds of the 60-day session that ended Thursday seemed pretty low-key by comparison.

Making a standardized testing molehill into a mountain

During my school days, I used to enjoy taking standardized tests the way some people like doing crossword puzzles. To me, they were more rewarding than most of what went on at school. As an avid reader and an indifferent student, tests like the SAT were made for somebody like me — a bookworm who read fast enough to finish the exam early and who knew lots of vocabulary words he’d never heard spoken at home.

Welsh sets annual Juneteenth celebration

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WELSH - Bethune and Richmond Parks Ltd. has planned its annual Juneteenth Celebration for Saturday, June 22.

Juneteenth commemorates the abolition of slavery that was announced June 19, 1865, in Texas after the end of the Civil War. It is the oldest, nationally celebrated holiday in remembrance of freeing the enslaved.

“There were so many things that took place for us to arrive at this point in history,” said organizer Eddie “Bruiser” Achan. “Let us celebrate this occasion that many struggled to help us to this place in history.”

Floodgates in need of repair

LAKE ARTHUR - The town is in the process of securing funds needed to repair a broken floodgate at the Molenzun Canal adjacent to a pump-off station.

“An incident occurred where the gate at one pumping station flew off,” said Mayor Sherry Crochet. “We had to have a diver go down to find it because the gate is specially made for the pumping station.”

Crochet said the gate was secured with 16 bolts but stainless steel was not used and the bolts deteriorated over time.

Vacation Bible School Fun

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Union Baptist Church on South Main Street is holding its vacation Bible school from 8-11:30 a.m. June 10-14. Students in grades pre-K through high school are invited to attend. Monday, children participated in two different crafting sessions and had the opportunity to show off their knowledge by playing Bible Trivia.

Town of Elton working to improve debt collection

ELTON - Town officials say they have already seen new revenues coming in from unpaid traffic tickets.

Last year the town hired a third-party debt collection company to help recoup debt from unpaid tickets.

Town Clerk Theresa Fontenot said May 14 she submitted old unpaid tickets with court dates from January 2007 up to January 2019.

In the first three weeks the company has already collected over $1,200 in debts, Fontenot said.

Jennings man charged in crawfish theft

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WELSH - On Monday, John Jaman Coleman, 22, of Jennings, was charged with theft for allegedly stealing 11 sack of crawfish from a farmer in Welsh on May 23.

Jeff Davis Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Christopher Ivey said the crawfish were stolen from a cooler located on La. 1126.

During the investigation, detectives learned that Jennings Police Department Officers had stopped a vehicle that same night which contained sacks of crawfish.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Coleman, who admitted to detectives he took crawfish from the cooler.

Experts question coroner’s finding that woman died from THC

LAPLACE (AP) — Experts are questioning a coroner’s finding that a Louisiana woman died from an excess amount of THC.

News outlets report St. John the Baptist Parish Coroner Christy Montegut announced last week that the active ingredient in marijuana caused the death of a woman in LaPlace.

That’s despite a police report saying the woman’s boyfriend told officers she recently was treated for a chest infection.

Altercation at Welsh park leads to arrest

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WELSH - A Welsh man is currently in custody after a fight with a family member at Richmond Park led to his arrest.

Ronald Paul Achane, 59, of Welsh, is being charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless operation of a vehicle, driving under suspension, public intoxication, disturbing the peace by fighting, disturbing the peace by loud and profane language, resisting arrest by failure to provide identification, driving left of center, failure to use turning signal, no seat belt and open container in a motor vehicle.