A Leesville man and a New Iberia man are dead after a single-vehicle crash early Wednesday morning on La. 42 in Baton Rouge.

Calcasieu Parish students will have a full week off in 2010 for Mardi Gras, at the expense of a later spring break, thanks to a recommendation by the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, and a motion voted in at the School Board meeting last night.

All state offices are closed today in observance of Acadian Day, a legal state holiday.

During the holidays, motorists need to remain attentive to their surroundings, exercise patience, extend respect and courtesy to other motorists and avoid and limit distractions inside the vehicle, according to the Louisiana State Police.  

Two bridges of the four bridge construction project on Hwy. 468 are completed as construction moves ahead of schedule to complete the total project.

Allegations of sexual misconduct have led to the arrest of Tina Schlegel, 28, of Leesville, a substitute teacher at Pickering High School.

Ethel Carpenter was originally seen for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after a fall. Irena Ardoin was a patient diagnosed with uncontrolled congestive heart failure and hypertension. Geneva Moss has uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension and rapid heart rate. These three women do not know one another, yet they are connected by a thread that has allowed them relative comfort while at the same time helped them to heal.

As reported by Sulphur Police Chief Chris Abrahams, on Nov. 12 about 10:10 a.m., a 2000 Buick LeSabre, driven by Alton J. Savant, 81, of Sulphur crashed into the West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital building near the northeast corner.

Louisiana State Representative Mike Danahay gave a short recap of the voting results of constitutional amendments one through seven at last week’s Sulphur Sunrise Rotary meeting.

Albert Ringelstein, McNeese State University professor of political science, says only 1 to 2 percent of Americans fully understand the Electoral College process for presidential elections.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Department has named a suspect in the carjacking spree and shooting that occurred in the Lake Charles area Monday night through Tuesday morning. Joshua Allen Clark, 18, has been named a suspect in the case.

Don Cravins, Jr., state senator, spent Tuesday visiting Vinton and Westlake residents with a drive through Sulphur. Cravins is running against Charles Boustany for the US Representative seat for the 7th Congressional District. -- Southwest Daily News

The government has given the lobsters food stamp cards of their own, and they don't need to work for food any longer, so they've quit their jobs at Wal-Mart and are simply sitting around on the beach in their travel homes (lobsters are like turtles, right?) soaking up the sun and welfare.

The mission of the Women’s Commission of Southwest Louisiana Inc., according to Pam Golding, vice president and Fall Conference chairwoman, is “to empower women.” And the annual conference is the commission’s main tool in helping to achieve that mission.

Terry Backhaus, Sulphur Rotarian and investment adviser, has looked into his crystal ball, and he says it shows a mild recession, among other things. Don’t panic.