News for Wednesday 021313

By Dave Graichen

An  arrest  has  been  made in the double murder case in  Abbeville. Officials say 24-year-old  Mike  Guidry  and his brother 25 year old Gary Guidry were found dead by a roommate  Tuesday  morning.  No  other details  about  the  suspect  or  exactly  what  happened  are being released  at  this  time. It's being reported the brothers had  just moved into the home they shared with four other people.

It has been a long time coming, over 15 years, but today the doors officially open to the new Jena Choctaw Pines Casino. The casino on highway 167 in Grant Parish will be the third Native American-Owned casino in the state and will offer more than 700 gaming devices, a poker room, buffet and sports bar.

Members of the Pineville city council were told last night, that it may be time to consider the sale of alcohol within the city limits. City auditor Mark McKay gave the city a clean audit report, but he noted that the numbers clearly indicate Pineville is moving into the red more each year with its budget. McKay's report covered the year ending June 30, 2012. He found no compliance or internal control problems in the audit. What he did find, however, was losses. According to McKay, the city’s sanitation fund has lost over $100,000 a year for the past 5 years. The airport lost $95,000. McKay said the city’s sales tax base is stagnate and  until the city has alcohol sales there will be no national restaurant chains, other than fast food companies.  McKay went on to tell the council, he was not sure the city is ever going to be able to grow the downtown or the riverfront without alcohol sales."

A Haughton lawmaker has pre-filed a bill that would require court clerks  to report information about mentally ill citizens to state police and  the FBI -- so they are not able to purchase a gun. Representative Henry  Burns says state and local officials would have 30 days to report when a Louisiana resident has been deemed mentally ill.

A settlement has been reached in the wrongful termination suit filed by  coastal  researcher  Ivor  Van Heerden against LSU. Terms of the deal have yet to be released.  Van  Heerden  claims  he lost his job

because he was outspoken about his criticism of the US Army Corps of Engineers  for  how  they  designed  the  levees that failed  during Hurricane Katrina.

A new report just released by the federal government show Louisiana has the second-lowest public high school graduation rate in the nation for special education students. The 29% rate in Louisiana is only lower than Mississippi and Nevada, which both have a rate of 23%. South Dakota is tops in the nation at 84 percent. The national average is 58 percent.

Natchitoches  Parish  Sheriff's  officials say a Dallas man is under arrest  for filing a fake complaint  with  authorities  in  November alleging he was robbed of several thousand dollar’s worth of valuable coins and  currency. During the course of the investigation deputies discovered that  the  alleged victim, 64-year-old Burton Paul Dupuy, had staged the home invasion which, was actually at his parents’ house,  where he knew there was  about  $350,000  worth  in a safe.  Apparently Dupuy admitted to authorities he has  a  gambling problem.

Shreveport  Police  say  they  stormed  into  a house Monday  night  to prevent  a local man from setting it on fire, with  his  grandmother inside. Officers  say the man was caught trying to start a fire with a propane burner and  a  blanket.  He  was  shot  with  a non-lethal device;  a  bean-bag gun, and taken into  custody. The elderly  woman was treated at a nearby hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

A state judge is expected to rule tomorrow on whether  the Thibodaux man accused of beheading his disabled son in 2011 is mentally fit to stand  trial. Judge John LeBlanc has heard over 6 days of  testimony in the case  of  Jeremiah  Wright,  who allegedly dismembered the child  while his mother  was away. The ruling is on whether Wright is sane enough to assist in his  own  defense,  NOT whether he was sane when he committed the act.

Another check on the fuel gauge  report from the American Automobile Association. The current average statewide  for  a gallon of regular gas is $3.40. A month ago we were paying $3.22.

The town of Homer in Claiborne Parish voted on Monday to disband its police force. The town council moved  to  get  rid  of its 10 member police department, including the chief, effective March 1.

The Delta Regional Authority announces they will invest  210-thousand dollars   towards  northeast  Louisiana's  workforce  training   and development   efforts.   The   authority's   co-chairman  says  this

investment will give workers a chance to develop  new  skills to get good paying jobs.