College building

to start in July

ST. MARTINVILLE — Officials say construction on a new building for the South Louisiana Community College Evangeline campus in St. Martinville will likely begin in July.

The cost of the project is estimated at $9.2 million.

The new building will replace the existing Evangeline campus. The SLCC has campuses in Lafayette, St. Martinville, Abbeville, Crowley, Franklin, New Iberia, Opelousas and Ville Platte.

In St. Martinville, a 36,849-square-foot building will be constructed across the street from the existing campus.

Steven Domingue, project manager with Architects Southwest, says as part of the new campus plan, all programming will be under one roof.

La. man dies after hunting accident

LEWISVILLE, Ark. — Authorities say a Louisiana man has died one week after he was shot during an apparent hunting accident in south Arkansas.

Miller County Coroner Eddie Hawkins says 38-year-old Stacy Sewell of New Iberia was pronounced dead Sunday night at a Texarkana, Texas, hospital.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says Sewell was shot in the neck Dec. 29 with a .22-caliber magnum rifle. Capt. Jackie Runion tells the Texarkana Gazette that Sewell was hunting with a group near Mays Lake in Lafayette County.

Runion says a 17-year-old was shooting at a hog when he accidentally struck Sewell. Runion calls the shooting a “freak accident” and says authorities don’t plan to charge or cite the teenager.

9 people ill after eating oysters

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana’s health department has recalled oysters from one Cameron Parish harvest area and has closed it to shellfish harvesting because nine people got stomach illness after eating oysters gathered there.

The Department of Health and Hospitals order Friday recalls all oysters harvested in West Cove off of south Calcasieu Lake since Dec. 28, including shucked, frozen, breaded, post-harvest processed and oysters for the half shell market.

Department spokesman Ken Pastorick said the recall involved about 500 sacks of oysters and health officials were working to find out where they were distributed and pull them from sale.

The closure is expected to last at least three weeks.

The department says nobody was ill enough to be hospitalized.

Extension service head retiring

BATON ROUGE — The head of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service is retiring after more than 34 years with the LSU AgCenter.

Paul Coreil said Friday that he will leave the administration July 1.

He will continue with other national and state committee and professional obligations until Sept. 15.

Coreil has been vice chancellor of the AgCenter and director of the extension service for 12 years.

A native of Ville Platte, he earned his bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1976. His master’s in wildlife management and doctorate in vocational education are from LSU.

Except for a brief stint in 1998-1999 with private industry, he has been with the AgCenter since 1978.

Higher Ed appointments made

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal has made appointments to two of the state’s higher education boards; the Board of Regents and the Southern University Board of Supervisors.

Among those appointed Friday to the Southern board is Leon Tarver, a former president of Southern.

New members named to the Southern board were Michael Small, of Slidell, a senior network engineer at Computech Solutions Inc.; and Raymond Fondel Jr., of Lake Charles, who owns an insurance agency.

Tony Clayton, a Port Allen lawyer; and the Rev. Joe Rascoe Gant Jr., of Shreveport, were reappointed.

New members Jindal named to the Board of Regents are businessman Robert Lipsey, of Baton Rouge; Joel Dupre, of New Orleans, who is president of Southern Recycling; and Edward Markle of New Orleans, the president of Markle & Associates.

Jindal reappointed Robert Levy, of Vienna, and Mark Abraham, of Lake Charles.

Levy is district attorney for the 3rd Judicial District. Abraham is managing partner of Gulf Island Shrimp and Seafood and Big Easy Foods.

Farmers market closes for winter

THIBODAUX — The Thibodaux Main Street Farmer’s Market has closed for the winter.

Officials of the Lafourche Parish market said it will reopen the first weekend in April.

The market is on St. Mary Street.

Children’s parade planned in Houma

HOUMA — The Krewe of Aphrodite’s annual children’s Carnival parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 19.

Children can decorate their own floats, but motorized floats will not be permitted.

Besides the parade, there will be entertainment and introduction of the Aphrodite court.

Children 12 and younger can participate. Awards will be given for first, second and third place in a variety of categories. Admission is free.

More information is available by calling 985-637-4183 or 985-856-7930.

French Quarter improvements completed

NEW ORLEANS — A joint effort between the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans has completed $11.3 million in street and sidewalk improvements in the French Quarter.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said in a Friday release that the work in New Orleans’ tourist heartland was mostly completed in December, although some minor items remain.

Parts of eight streets were paved with new asphalt, curbs and sidewalks were repaired and wheelchair ramps were installed. Street names are being set in New Orleans’ trademark blue-and-white tiles at corners.

Enough money was left over to allow the city to build some additional pedestrian safety islands.

The work was part of the Paths to Progress program, a $90 million-plus effort to improve more than 60 roads in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

Terrebonne council could vote raises to successors

HOUMA — The next Terrebonne council and parish president would receive pay raises under proposals up for consideration Monday.

Parish President Michel Claudet said he will introduce the measures to attract quality candidates.

The raises would take begin in 2016 after the next elections.

Terrebonne Parish Council members’ annual salaries would rise from $12,660 to $17,064. The council chairperson’s pay would rise from $14,244 to $19,200.

It would be members’ first raise since 1998.

The parish president’s salary has remained at $75,782 since 2005.

Courthouse upgrades planned

LAFAYETTE — A collection of major renovation projects at the Lafayette Parish Courthouse will refurbish two of the decades-old elevators and gut the former parish jail on the seventh floor.

More than $2 million worth of work is planned during the next two years.

Kay Richard, with the city-parish Department of Public Works, says the elevators, which are original to the 1960s-era building, will be fully refurbished with new parts.

6 teens arrested

in mall disturbance

BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies have arrested six teenagers in a fight that caused the Mall of Louisiana to be evacuated and closed Saturday night.

Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said the arrests including three girls, ages 13, 14 and 15 and three boys, ages 14 and 15.

They were booked on several charges including disturbing the peace, simple battery and resisting an officer.

Hicks said deputies are still investigating fight that started in the food court.

No injuries were reported.

Chalmette man stabbed to death

CHALMETTE — St. Bernard Parish deputies say a 68-year-old Chalmette man was found stabbed to death in his apartment after a co-worker hadn’t heard from him for two days.

Authorities arrested two people in the case, including a woman who was a friend of the victim.

Deputies say Joseph Spurlock was found in his apartment Sunday with multiple stab wounds to his upper body.

Spurlock was employed by Bayou State Security in New Orleans. A co-worker went looking for him Sunday because he hadn’t come to work since he finished a shift early Friday.

Deputies say 43-year-old Shari Head and 39-year-old Chris Geeting were booked Sunday with first-degree murder.

Park makeover nears completion

BATON ROUGE — Construction in Repentance Park in downtown Baton Rouge is nearing completion.

The park, which is adjacent to Galvez Plaza and bordered by City Hall and the Louisiana Arts and Sciences Museum, has been under construction since last February. It was initially expected to be completed in September, but weather issues and some unexpected underground obstructions led to delays.

Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District, said construction will wrap up in about two weeks.

The park has also been reshaped to include a hill rolling downward from the Old State Capitol.

The $3.5 million project is being paid for with state sales tax rebate that can only be used for downtown riverfront projects.

From The Associated Press.