(American Press Archives)
A man accused of raping two young girls was found guilty of a lesser charge Tuesday in 14th Judicial District Court.
Late Tuesday, Judge Wilford Carter found Ashanti Okung Kelley, 37, guilty of molestation of a juvenile, ending the afternoon-long trial. Kelley was charged with three counts of ag ...
By John Guidroz / American Press
BATON ROUGE — Legislation that includes more than $251 million in projects for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System appears to have enough votes to get out of the House Appropriations Committee, LCTC System President Joe May said Tuesday. The committee is scheduled today t ...
By Natalie Stewart / American Press
SULPHUR — With hurricane season less than two weeks away, Mayor Chris Duncan is encouraging residents to sign up for the city’s alert system. Duncan said the system, which has been in use for almost three years, can be helpful during hurricanes and other disasters. “If a natural ...
By John Guidroz / American Press
BATON ROUGE — The Senate Finance Committee on Monday approved two proposed constitutional amendments intended to bring in more Medicaid money for state hospitals, nursing homes and intermediate care facilities. The committee voted 9-1 in favor of House Bills 532 and 533 by House Speaker Chuc ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
Even though Sharon Hensley was last seen with William Felix Vail in Sulphur in 1973, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said evidence would be needed to prove that a crime happened. Vail, 73, was arrested in Canyon Lake, Texas, Friday and charged with second-degree murder in the 50-year-old dro ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
Jury selection began Monday for a man accused of murdering his cousin. Eric Jon Bello, 41, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of 32-year-old Pauline Bryant in 2008. Bello and Bryant reportedly lived in the same home, at 2265 Birdnest Road in Gillis, at the time of her death. Bec ...
By Eric Cormier / American Press
Louisiana biological officials are using weevils and herbicides in an effort to get the upper hand against an aquatic plant that is spreading quickly in waterways around Southwest Louisiana. Eric Shanks, a spokesman with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries office in Lake Charles, sa ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
The 12 officers that begin their careers today as Lake Charles policemen were chosen from a group of nearly 100, Police Chief Don Dixon said. Dixon said the Lake Charles Police Department publicized the openings and received 96 applications. From that group, LCPD officials deemed 14 fit for hire, ...
By Natalie Stewart / American Press
SULPHUR — The City Council unanimously agreed to donate $50,000 to the Brimstone Museum for its permanent exhibit, which will document the history and culture of the city. Thom Trahan, museum director, went before the council in March soliciting donations for the project, which he said has a ...
By Lance Traweek / American Press
Gas prices in Louisiana “have been immune” to the rising costs of gas across the Midwest caused by shortages, a AAA spokesman said Sunday. The national average for gasoline is $3.65 a gallon — up 14 cents from a month ago and up 7 cents from a week ago, according to AAA. The p ...
By Jordan Gribble / Special to the American Press
About 3,000 people joined together at the Lake Charles Civic Center on Friday and Saturday for the area’s 20th annual Relay for Life to raise money to cure cancer. Ariel Caraway, American Cancer Society community representative, said the event was on track to raise $221,000 — $150,000 ...
By Eric Cormier / American Press
A group of energy sector executives expect natural gas prices to remain around $4 per million British thermal units through the rest of 2013. That information bodes well for companies like Louisiana Pigment, Sasol North America, Westlake Chemical, Cheniere, BG Group, and Magnolia LNG — whic ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
Although he is in prison, former Leesville Police Chief Bobby Hickman’s pay continues to accrue, his lawyer said. Leesville fired Hickman in January 2011, although the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal nullified the termination because the city had not followed protocol. The court said the invest ...By Alex Onken / Special to the American Press
Watch out for flying mortarboards and tassels. McNeese Sate University’s spring commencement ceremony took place at 10 o’clock in the morning on Saturday at Burton Coliseum. Friends, family, fellow students, and McNeese faculty gathered to celebrate the end of a four-year journey for ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office outlined their case against William Felix Vail in an eight-page arrest warrant and affidavit, released Friday. After what Sheriff Tony Mancuso and District Attorney John DeRosier said was a joint yearlong investi ...
By Alex Hickey / American Press
The back door is still a door. McNeese State’s season will continue despite Saturday’s 6-4 loss to Southeastern Louisiana thanks to rival Lamar, which defeated Nicholls State 6-5 to assure that the Cowboys will be the eighth and final seed in next week’s Southland Conference t ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
Felix Vail arrived in Lake Charles on a Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office plane late Friday night. Vail, charged Friday with second-degree murder in the 1962 death of his wife Mary Horton Vail, was arrested Friday afternoon in Comal County, Texas. A person who answered the phone at the Coma ...
By Eric Cormier / American Press
Pinnacle Entertainment’s Lake Charles property was the top casino boat revenue generator in April. L’Auberge Lake Charles brought in $30.3 million last month. In March, the casino took in $32 million. Louisiana’s month gaming revenue report was released by the state’s Gamin ...
By John Guidroz / American Press
For the second consecutive year, Lake Charles has won first place in the Louisiana Garden Club Federation’s Cleanest City Contest. The win came in Category I, which includes cities with a population of 45,000 to 99,999. Lollion Elmer, a longtime volunteer in the cleanup effort, said the w ...
By John Guidroz / American Press
The Louisiana Ethics Board on Friday upheld an advisory opinion that Sen. Dan “Blade” Morrish, R-Jennings, cannot apply for the chief executive officer position with the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Richard Robertson, the company’s current CEO, submitted his resign ...
By Johnathan Manning / American Press
Overall, crime is down in Lake Charles, according to numbers released Thursday by the Police Department. Criminal offenses reported were down 3 percent (9,952 in 2012 from 10,215 in 2011) and arrests were down 8 percent, according to the department’s 2012 crime report. The Lake Charles Poli ...
By Eric Cormier / American Press
Oil fields in Beauregard Parish thought to be tapped out in the decades before the 1970s are now hot spots for oil exploration. The Wilcox Play, a geological formation that stretches from Newton County, Texas, across most of Beauregard Parish, has seen an increase in production from 1 million ba ...
By Jordan Gribble / Special to the American Press
The Lake Charles Community Band, a volunteer group, will kick off its free summer concert series at 7 p.m. Monday, June 3, at the Arcade Amphitheater. Other concerts will be on June 10, 17 and 24. The series will feature a different theme for every performance. “We’ve got musician ...
By Cliff Seiber / American Press
The study of ballet has meant more than just learning to dance to a graduating student of Lady Leah Lafargue School of the Dance. “It gives you so much confidence, grace and poise,” Katelyn D. Chargois of Sulphur said. “If you see a girl walking in high heels, you can always tel ...
By Jordan Gribble / Special to the American Press
The city of Lake Charles will mark the National Park Trust’s third annual National Kids to Parks Day 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Millennium Park, on Bord Du Lac Drive. “This event is just encouraging the community, families and kids to get out and go to a park,” said May ...
By Cliff Seiber / American Press
Now that Contraband Days has closed, Lake Charles will continue to celebrate food, music and fun with the 15th annual Downtown at Sundown festival 3-10 p.m. Friday on Ryan Street. The event repeats each Friday in May. The venues will be the main stage in the 600 block of Ryan, between Mill and Div ...
By Cliff Seiber / American Press
The fifth annual Brewers Plate fundraiser, helping provide affordable therapy for children with autism, will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18, in the Cash & Carry building at Broad Street and Enterprise Boulevard. “Southwest Louisiana likes food and a lively time, and we think they will ...
By Jordan Gribble / Special to the American Press
In the month of May, when the hawthorn tree releases its fruit, the people of Starks rejoice. It's not just because the fruit will soon be stewed down to make a southern delicacy — mayhaw jelly. The berries also serve as the namesake for the city’s most revered festival. The Starks Ma ...
By Alex Onken / American Press
LaGrange High School students, past and present, came together Tuesday to look back at the school’s 110-year history, as told by a documentary put together by a group of students. The documentary’s premiere event, which took place in the library, also featured a display of yearbooks, p ...
By Natalie Stewart / American Press
SULPHUR — Officers lined up one by one to drop a light blue ribbon into a basket placed below four photos to pay their respects to four deputies killed in the state last year. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Randall Beniot, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office Deputies ...
By John Guidroz / American Press
An 18-year-old Elton woman died, and two other Elton women were critically injured Thursday morning in a two-vehicle crash on Ward Line Road and La. 397, Louisiana State Police officials said. Troop D spokesman Sgt. James Anderson said Kennedy Renee Isaac, 18, was driving north on Ward Line Road a ...
A man accused of raping two young girls was found guilty of a lesser charge Tuesday in 14th Judicial District Court.
Late Tuesday, Judge Wilford Cart ...
BATON ROUGE — Legislation that includes
more than $251 million in projects for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System appears t ...
CINCINNATI (AP) — Tea party activists waving flags and signs, singing patriotic songs and chanting anti-IRS slogans held rallies outside federal ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Internal Revenue Service said he first learned in the spring of 2012 — in the heat of the preside ...
History has not been kind to the top seed at the Southland Conference baseball tournament.
Only twice in the last decade has the regular-season cham ...
BOSTON (AP) — The 50th Super Bowl will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area and the NFL championship will go to Houston the following year.Team ...
When the season was on the line, Bryce Kingsley came up big.
The freshman right-hander from Barbe pitched McNeese State into the Southland Conferenc ...
For the second time in three years, tiny Eunice is atop its part of the softball world.
The Lady Bengals claimed their second Division II national ju ...
The Lake Charles Community Band, a
volunteer group, will kick off its free summer concert series at 7 p.m. Monday, June 3, at the Arcade Amphitheat ...
The City of Lake Charles Recreation and
Parks Department is currently taking registration from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., 3rd floor, City Hall, 326 Pujo St. ...
If a restaurant can stay viable for almost three decades, it must be doing something right.
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Huang opened Peking Garden Chinese Resta ...
The study of ballet has meant more than just learning to dance to a graduating student of Lady Leah Lafargue School of the
Dance. “It gives yo ...
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