State

Local Headline

Local Headline

SUN Bucks program returns to Louisiana for Summer 2025

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) announced today that the state will participate in the SUN Bucks program again this summer. SUN Bucks provides a one-time $120 summer grocery benefit to children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.
Sittig wins poultry exhibit

Sittig wins poultry exhibit

Sittig wins poultry exhibit

Evangeline Parish Extension and 4-H would like to apologize to Aubrianna Faye Sittig, from Ville Platte High School, for omitting her name from the original article that appeared in the March 16, edition of the Ville Platte Gazette, and would like to congratulate her on winning parish poultry...
Local Headline

Local Headline

Spring Squirrel Hunting Season opens May 3

By: TREY ILES LDWF The Louisiana spring squirrel hunting season begins May 3 in most parts of Louisiana and lasts until May 25, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) announced. Squirrel hunting is the perfect gateway for hunting and a great introduction for youth into the sport.
From left, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Sen. Edward J. Markey, Rep. Troy Carter, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, speak with reporters during a news conference held Tuesday, April 22, 2025, outside an ICE detention facility in Basile. (John Gray/Verite News)

From left, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Sen. Edward J. Markey, Rep. Troy Carter, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, speak with reporters during a news conference held Tuesday, April 22, 2025, outside an ICE detention facility in Basile. (John Gray/Verite News)

Congress members visit detained students in Basile

By: BOBBI-JEAN MISICK Verite (Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. It can be found online at lailluminator.com.) BASILE – U.S.
Local Headline

Local Headline

Chicken thieves are in the coop

By: TONY MARKS Editor Two suspects are in custody and face theft of livestock and additional charges. On March 27, deputies responded to the 1000 block of Old Park Road, located in the unincorporated portion of Evangeline Parish, in reference to chickens being stolen from a secured chicken coop.
Pictured from left are back row- Evangeline Parish School Board member Mike Fontenot; front row- Superintendent Darwan Lazard, Chataignier Elementary Principal Leslie DesHotels, Mamou High band director Michael McElroy, Mamou High Principal Adrian Foret, Mamou Junior High Principal Lisa Celestine, EPSB Vice President Sheila Joseph, and EPSB member Karen Vidrine. (Gazette photo by Tony Marks)

Pictured from left are back row- Evangeline Parish School Board member Mike Fontenot; front row- Superintendent Darwan Lazard, Chataignier Elementary Principal Leslie DesHotels, Mamou High band director Michael McElroy, Mamou High Principal Adrian Foret, Mamou Junior High Principal Lisa Celestine, EPSB Vice President Sheila Joseph, and EPSB member Karen Vidrine. (Gazette photo by Tony Marks)

EPSP recognizes students’ successes at band festival, state competitions

By: TONY MARKS Editor VILLE PLATTE - Students achieving success in and out of the classroom were recognized during the Evangeline Parish School Board meeting.
Local Headline

Local Headline

Court of Appeal affirms manslaughter sentence

By: TONY MARKS Editor The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal held up a sentence of 25 years at hard labor with credit for time served that was imposed on Antonio Jackson for manslaughter.
Sports Headline

Sports Headline

LDWF announces the addition of a new WMA in Allen Parish

By: RENE LEBRETON LDWF In partnership with Trust for Public Land, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will be establishing a new 426-acre Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Allen Parish.
In the left photo, guests watch as the final beam was installed on the construction site of the new hotel being built at Coushatta Casino Resort.

In the left photo, guests watch as the final beam was installed on the construction site of the new hotel being built at Coushatta Casino Resort.

Coushatta Casino Resort “Tops Out” latest hotel project

By: CARISSA HEBERT LSN Editor Another milestone was hit by the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana last week when a “Topping Out Ceremony” was held to recognize the last beam being installed at the Coushatta Casino Resort’s latest construction project of a new hotel.