Headlines This Week:
Vernon and Beauregard Parish School Closures
According to Vernon and Beauregard Parish School Board Offices, schools will be closed on Wednesday due to potential wind issues associated with Hurricane Ike.
Plans are to re-open all schools at regular times on Thursday morning.
Tropical Storm Isaac Update
Tropical Storm Isaac remains below hurricane status with winds this morning at 65 mph. The storm may have a hard time strengthening significantly in the short term due to it's interaction with some drier air, but strengthening is still expected over the next 12 hours to hurricane status.
Hurricane Warnings continue this morning from Morgan City, Louisiana on the western edge of the storm, to Destin, Florida on the eastern edge.
The current track from the National Hurricane Center would carry Isaac into southeast Louisiana tomorrow night as a hurricane, potentially as strong as a catergory 2 storm with maximum sustained winds exceeding 100 mph.
The thinb to note for southwest Louisiana is that the cone of uncertainty has widened a bit more overnight, and parts of our area are now included in the western edge of the cone.
With Isaac, it's VERY IMPORTANT not to focus on the center of the cone due to forecast uncertainties. This is a large storm and has the potential to slow down upon landfall. This could lead to major flooding in areas well away from the center.
Locations on the west side of the storm will see less of the major impacts such as storm surges, tornadoes and flooding, but since this has the potential to be such a large storm, some flooding is a possibilty.
Tropical storm watches are in effect for Vernon and Beauregard Parishes at this time and precautionary/preparedness actions should be made as soon as possible before conditions deteriorate.
Be aware that we will likely see further modifications to the current watches and warnings today as the cone of uncertainty has widened a bit since last night.
Fort Polk Unit Deploys to Kazakhstan for "Steppe Eagle"
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS DESK
FORT POLK, LA - Soldiers from Fort Polk's C Company, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team will be deploying over the next few days to Kazakhstan to participate in an exercise called "Steppe Eagle," that will have them training with Kazakh forces as well as representatives from other countries. Kazakhstan, located in Central Asia and Europe, is the ninth largest country in the world by land area. It is neighbored from the north by both Russia and China.
For the last few weeks, C Co. Soldiers have been training intensely for the three-week exercise, both culturally and tactically. This is the first overseas deployment of the 2-30th Infantry since Operation Enduring Freedom.
Three Leesville Residents Arrested in Connection with Burglary
FROM THE LEESVILLE DAILY LEADER
LEESVILE, LA -Three Leesville residents were arrested on Aug. 24 in connection with a residential burglary within the city limits.
Ragan Bryant, 22, Audriana Koenig, 20, and Lauren Lambright, 21, were each charged with one charge of simple burglary and theft over $500.
According to the Leesville Police Department, officers made contact with a suspicious vehicle during the early hours of Aug. 24 in the area of Aaron Street. During the investigation, items were located in the vehicle which were determined to be stolen. Upon further investigation, officers determined that the stolen items were from a residential burglary earlier in the week that was committed by the occupants of the vehicle. Officers then obtained a search warrant for the suspects' residence, where additional stolen items were located.
Bond was set at $22,500 each; all three remain in the Leesville City Jail.
