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BIRDS OF A FEATHER

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ASSIST Agency to kick off summer feeding program

The ASSIST Agency will be sponsoring the Summer Food Service Program at Jennings Elementary starting Tuesday, May 29 until Friday, July 6, with the exceptions of Memorial Day and Fourth of July.

This program will consist of daily meals for qualifying children as well as a recreation and education program.

Children ages one to 18 are eligible to participate in the feeding program with breakfast being served from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to noon.

Beware of suspicious activity

Scammers might be using Jennings Daily News as a ruse to gain personal information.

An advertiser reported Monday that an individual contacted her requesting personal information in order to send a “digital copy” of an ad recently published in this newspaper. The phone call reportedly originated from Fairfield, Connecticut, and showed a phone number of (203) 307-0715.

If an advertiser or subscriber is ever uncertain that they are speaking to a Jennings Daily News employee, please hang up the phone and contact our office at (337) 824-3011.

Two errors reported in Tourist Commission audit

According to a report released by the state Legislative Auditor’s Office last week, the Jeff Davis Parish Tourist Commission has a healthy financial outlook but made two errors in its accounting practices.

The audit, which covers the financial year between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017, was not received by the Legislative Auditor within six months of the end of the reporting period, causing one of the errors of the report.

New patrol units top agenda at Elton meeting

ELTON - The police department here is in need of new vehicles, according to its chief.

Elton Police Department Chief Bruce Lemelle said at a Monday meeting that he wanted the town council to consider methods of purchasing new units for the police department due to how current ones are aging.

“These units are getting old, they’re from 2010,” he said. “I’ve got one from the sheriff’s department from 2003. Last month, I probably spent roughly $10,000 in vehicle repairs, and they’re starting to break down.”

Safety-net hospitals, med school leaders sound budget alarm

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana’s health officials have ramped up their warnings to lawmakers about budget cuts, saying proposed reductions could devastate services at safetynet hospitals, cripple medical education programs and create damaging ripple effects for years.

Lawmakers are debating how to close an estimated $700 million gap in the budget year that begins July 1. Health care services are the biggest target for cuts, because those programs account for nearly half of Louisiana’s annual operating budget.

Easter Coloring Contest Winners Announced

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Cosby lawyer launches fierce attack on accuser

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Bill Cosby’s lawyer launched a blistering courtroom attack on the comedian’s accuser Tuesday, portraying her as a con artist whose goal was “money, money and lots more money.”

Lawyer Tom Mesereau told jurors in his opening statement at the former TV star’s sex-assault trial that Andrea Constand wasn’t attracted to Cosby but was “madly in love” with his fame and money and made up the accusations to score a big payday.

Trump cancels overseas trip to address Syria threat

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday canceled plans to travel to South America later this week, choosing to stay in the United States to manage the U.S. response to Syria’s apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that Trump will not attend the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru or travel to Bogota, Colombia as planned, remaining in the United States to “oversee the American response to Syria and to monitor developments around the world.”

Chemical weapons watchdog to send inspectors to Syria

BEIRUT (AP) — The international chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it will send a fact-finding mission to the Syrian town where a suspected gas attack took place over the weekend, after receiving a request from the Syrian government and its Russian backers to investigate the allegations.

In a statement, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding team is “preparing to deploy to Syria shortly.”