News for Wednesday 013013

By Dave Graichen

Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives served a search warrant at a Pineville residence early Tuesday morning, resulting in the arrests of a couple on firearms and drug charges. Arrested were 28 year old Brett Lyons and 27 year old Lyric Rogers. Detectives found a firearm, narcotics and drug paraphernalia. Both were booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center.

A Rapides Parish man has been arrested for cooking  up  crystal meth in  his home...again. 43-year-old Steven T. Belgard was busted  back in September,  for  running  a  possible  meth lab. Acting on a tip, officers this week busted Belgard a second  time.  He's  in custody, without bond as yet.

We note the passing of Former Pineville High School French teacher Terri Juneau, who died yesterday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Juneau was a beloved educator of over 29 years at Pineville high and she will be sorely missed, or as one facebook post put it, "The world's loss is heaven's gain,".

State lawmakers known as  the  "fiscal  hawks" announce a package of bills that will change how the budget is  crafted  and  the  way the state handles budget cuts. Lake Charles Representative Brett Geymann says  one thing they want to do is open more areas of the budget  to cuts, so  higher ed  and health care are not hit the hardest during tough fiscal times. Geymann's legislation also  addresses the annual argument over using one-time funds on annual expenses.

State officials are calling this a win win.. A  fairly new state program,  that  intercepts  casino  winnings  of parents  behind  on  state-ordered  child support, is a success. The state  Department  of  Children  and  Family   Services   says  over $800-thousand in gaming winnings has been intercepted from about 600 persons,  since  the program started in Fall of 2011. That money  is routed to custodial parents taking care of their kids.

State  insurance regulators have  rejected a request  by  State Farm to  raise their rates by 16.6 percent.  Insurance  Commissioner  Jim Donelon   has  said  they  declined the company's  request  after  a review found the rate revision  not  to be justified. The  company's last   rate    request   of   7.8   percent   was  implemented  last February.

With more than a million people expected to be in New Orleans for the  Super Bowl, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency  Preparedness is activating their Crisis Action Team today. GOSHEP  spokesperson Christina Stephens says this is just a way to prepare for  any public safety issue.  Stephens says GOSHEP is working along with the local and state agencies  in order to make sure the Super Bowl is a fun and safe time for all the  visitors to the Big Easy.

State Police say a 7-year-old  girl  was  killed  last night, as she tried to cross a very busy Highway 190 near Eunice.  Trooper Stephen Hammons  says  little  Kendessa Castile was hit by two vehicles  and pronounced dead at the scene. Charges have not been filed against either driver. Police say they are still interviewing  family members to try to figure out why the child was so close to the busy highway.

Lawmakers  are  able  to  file  bills  for  the upcoming legislative session, and a Shreveport lawmaker is making  a  proposal that would require people to keep their firearms locked up. Barbara Norton says more and more children are gaining access to guns and her bill would require gun owners to be more diligent with their weapons. Bossier City Representative Jeff Thompson is starting  a campaign to defend the rights of gun owners called "Defend Louisiana."  He  says he's not going to let stricter gun legislation go unchallenged. Norton  says  she's  not trying to take away anyone's guns. She just feels that if guns were  kept  in  a locked case, it would be harder for children and potential criminals to have access to them.

A federal judge has approved an agreement for BP to plead  guilty to manslaughter and other charges for the deaths of 11 men in the  2010 Deepwater  Horizon  oil  rig  disaster.  The  deal  allows BP to pay $4-Billion in criminal penalties. Judge Sarah Vance heard  testimony today  from  relatives  of  the 11 victims of the rig explosion.  BP agreed to plead guilty back in November.

More and more football fans are arriving in New Orleans for Super Bowl  47 and there are tickets available for the big game at the right price. The big game between the Forty-Niners and Ravens might be sold out, but  Glenn Lehrman (luhr-man), with StubHub.com, says tickets are still available on-line and actually less than last year's game.

Traffic  on  the  Mississippi  River remains at a standstill,  while crews  continue to contain oil leaking  from  a  barge  that  hit  a railroad  bridge  at Vicksburg early Sunday morning. It's unknown how much longer the river will be closed.