News for Wednesday 011613

By Dave Graichen

The threat of icy roads has forced the closure of the following schools today: Rapides, Grant and LaSalle  parish Public  schools and all Catholic schools in Rapides Parish, Hope Baptist, Calvary Baptist Daycare, Bright Beginnings, Alexandria Country Day, Emmanuel Baptist Day School and Horseshoe drive United Methodist in Alexandria, England Airpark Child Development Center,  Montessori Educational Center in Alexandria  First Baptist in Pineville,  Bentley Christian Academy and Temple Christian Academy in Jena. Also, Unitech Training Academy and Kolin Learning Center in Pineville. All Closed..

*Munchkinland Child Development Center ,Extra Care Academy in Pineville, Creative Development Center in Pineville, Tiny Tot Skool in Alexandria, Kollege Kamp, *Litte Hearts & Hands Daycare  Y.A.L.E. Private School in Ball, Little Angels' Activity Center in Ball,

NSU Cenla campuses at the Learning Center & RRMC will be closed Weds. All other NSU campus locations will be open.

LSUA and satellite campuses, including Learning Center for Rapides Parish will open at noon Weds.

LSUE at LSUA Campus will open at noon Weds.

Rapides Parish Courthouse Note: Those on Judge Yeager's Jury should report to court at 9am on Thurs.
YWCA of Alexandria-Pineville.
Rapides Senior Centers.

Also due to the weather, I-49 is now closed between MacArthur Drive Rapides Station. Also closed is the Broadway Avenue overpass.

The Gillis Long or Jackson Street bridge is also closed.

An article in today’s Town Talk, written by Jeff Matthews, reports Multiple entities have expressed interest in taking over public hospitals in North and Central Louisiana, including Huey P. Long Medical Center in Pineville. According to a recently released report from LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, "multiple written indications of interest were received" from potential nonprofit or private partners.  However, Names of the interested providers or other details were not released, and may not be until deals are struck. Representatives from Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital and Rapides Regional Medical Center confirmed they have had discussions about Huey P. Long, but did not provide further details. In an effort to cut costs, the state decided last year to pursue turning over LSU-run health care services for the poor and uninsured to the private sector. That includes the three hospitals under the management of LSU health science center in Shreveport,  Huey P. Long, University Medical Center in Shreveport and E.A. Conway Medical Center in Monroe.

Two Jefferson Parish state lawmakers  file  a legal challenge of the state's   budget--saying   its   financing   violates    the   state Constitution.  Republican  Representatives  Cameron  Henry and  Kirk

Talbot  allege that the Governor's budget tactics--particularly  his use   of   one-time    money    to    pay   recurring   expenses—is unconstitutional.  Attorney  General  Buddy   Caldwell   and   State

Treasurer John Kennedy are named in the suit as defendants.

State Treasurer John Kennedy says Governor Jindal's plan to end state  incomes tax is a bold idea, but it raises a LOT of questions. Kennedy  says the proposed tax swap would do away with payroll taxes while hiking  sales taxes by up to 3 percent. He'd like to see some of the Jindal  team's math on that. Kennedy agrees the plan is innovative and may help to bring more  commerce to Louisiana. However, he says, until the Governor's Office  provides a lot more details, he's brimming with unanswered questions.

Another gun in school incident. This time, in Morehouse Parish where a 17-year-old at  Bastrop  High brought a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol to school...with a loaded clip on his person. The school says

the boy's parents tipped them off that their son might have the gun. Deputies  say  the clip was not in the gun when the boy was arrested.

A Prairieville woman  wins  a quarter-million dollar Louisiana Lotto jackpot  on  a  ticket  she  didn't   even   mean  to  buy.  Lottery spokesperson Kimberly Chopin says Shannon Peabody  meant  to  buy  a

Powerball  ticket  for the November 28th drawing. Peabody tucked the Lotto  ticket  into her  purse  and  forgot  about  it  for  over  a month. After taxes, Peabody took home $175-thousand, which she plans to use for a college fun for her 9-year-old daughter.

Slidell Police  say a burglary suspect wore camouflage to break into a local business,  but  forgot  one  important  thing  - a mask.  The owner of  Kenney's Seafood quickly realized he had been burglarized, when he found cash missing from the register, so he checked the security cameras. The video showed the crook with a bucket over his head. Just one problem, he had to keep lifting it up to see where he was going. The  suspect,  23-year-old Richard Boudreaux is charged with simple burglary and as you may suspect, drug  possession.

Police in Monroe say a man is under  arrest for setting his mother's house  on  fire Sunday while there were  people  inside.  Monroe  PD spokesperson Detective Jeff Gilbert says 38-year-old Dominique Ellis

was told to  leave  the residence after he told his mom he wanted to watch her die. He says when police arrived they encountered Ellis on the scene after he'd set a small corner of the house on fire. Ellis is charged with aggravated arson.

A couple from Lafourche Parish who just got married, are each headed to separate prisons. 30-year-old Tanna Hawkins and 28-year-old  Tara Hawkins  were  married  the  first  week of January, after they knew

they'd both be pleading guilty on cocaine  distribution charges. The convictions  on un-related charges would have  prevented  them  from living together  after  their release from prison (each as convicted

felons) unless they were married.

New  Orleans Police say a Texas woman they arrested for working as a prostitute  out of a downtown hotel had her 4-year-old son with her. Officers were  tipped  to  28-year-old Miranda Crisp by an online ad

she placed for sexual services  on a trading website. They found the child, when they moved in to make  the  arrest.  The  child  will be placed with Protective Services.