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Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an order on August 26 that extends Phase Two and the statewide mask mandate, closure of bars to on-site consumption and gathering size limits in Louisiana for another two weeks, until September 11, 2020. Despite progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the state, The White House Coronavirus Task Force still has Louisiana in the red zone for new cases, just as schools and colleges return to campus and Hurricane Laura is set to impact the state. Further, almost half of the state’s parishes have positivity rates in excess of 10 percent.

The Governor’s current order expires on Friday, August 28. He signed a new order today.

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In the August 20, 2020 Back to School Section, the photograph of Stanley High School was inadvertently left out of the photo spread on the back page of all of our area schools. We apologize for any confusion or problems this may have caused. You can see in the photo that construction continues at the school to improve traffic conditions on campus. Panther Pride – DeSoto Parish Strong!

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On August 19, The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) released its 2020 Legislative Scorecard, highlighting the lawmakers and leaders inside the State Capitol who supported pro-business legislation in both this year’s regular session and the first special session.

This edition of the Scorecard details the votes taken on 19 key bills that have a tremendous impact on Louisiana’s economy, business climate, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report gives citizens an inside look at what happens in Baton Rouge and how the actions taken by the Legislature impact the state’s working families and job creators.

Sheriff Jayson Richardson wants our citizens to know that the DPSO is closely monitoring the weather conditions in the gulf, and they will bring you more updates as these two systems grow closer to DeSoto Parish. Bringing everyone up to date, two hurricanes will hit Louisiana this week. The local impacts of wind and rain will be based on what side of the storm we are on and that is yet to be determined.

Hurricane Marco is forecasted to hit Louisiana Monday into Tuesday as a Category One hurricane. Once Marco pushes inland the Louisiana Gulf Coast has about 24 hours before Tropical Storm Laura’s outer bands begin to hit. Laura is expected to strengthen once it gets in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico late Monday. It will likely become a hurricane in the Gulf and threaten Louisiana by Wednesday and Thursday of this week. The following impact points are likely going to be changing over the next few days:

On August 20, just after 7:30 p.m., Louisiana State Police Troop G responded to a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 49 just north of the Natchitoches Parish line. This crash claimed the life of two passengers from Georgia.

The initial investigation revealed a 2015 Freightliner 18-wheeler, driven by 48-year-old Patrick Burns of Denton, TX, was traveling north on Interstate 49. For reasons still under investigation, the Freightliner traveled off the road, down a ditch embankment and began to overturn.

Burns and his two passengers were ejected, from the vehicle, during the crash. His two passengers are identified as, 48-year-old Chanell Stephens-Andrews of Loganville, GA and 6-year-old Ayden Ware of Loganville, GA. Both were ejected and pronounced dead at the scene by the DeSoto Parish Coroner’s Office.

Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order declaring that an emergency exists for Louisiana’s November election because of COVID-19, while also acknowledging that the current emergency election plan from the Secretary of State does not go far enough to protect public health.

The emergency declaration, which must be requested by the Secretary of State and granted by the Governor, allows the state to move forward with emergency plans to support the election and take into account health and safety issues that might affect voting.

Gov. Edwards announced on August 13 that Louisiana will pursue an option under President Donald Trump’s executive order that it believes will allow around 454,000 eligible unemployed Louisianans to get $300 a week in additional assistance through the federal government.

“Last night, we received helpful guidance from the federal government that we believe allows us to use the total amount of money the state is paying in unemployment funds as cost share to draw down the additional $300 per qualified applicant. While all of the details are not yet available, we are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to provide an additional $1,200 a month to qualified people on unemployment,” Gov. Edwards said. “This is a temporary solution, as funds are limited, and I am still calling on Congress to act. However, as soon as these funds are available to us, we will move quickly to pay them out.”

Sheriff Richardson and the Bringing Joye Program will be hosting a fundraiser for someone special, and organizers are asking for community assistance in making a dream come true.

Dillon Cotton is a 16 year old charismatic young man from Mansfield who has spent the better part of his life with a disability, and a chair that limits his future dreams. Dillon has started a fundraiser on GoFundMe which has already raised $5,190 of the $25,000 needed for a new Action TrackChair. Dillon says he needs the chair to help him move in a standing position, reach higher shelves, help his family around the house, hunt, fish, and feed his horses which are all things he loves to do. Dillon has also landed himself a job and hopes the chair will help him to be more a more productive employee.

Brent Hardy, Louisiana State Police – Troop G spokesman, reported that on Sunday, August 16, 2020, around 7:00 a.m., Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations/Bossier Field Office (LSP/BFO) responded to an officerinvolved shooting in the Stanley Community. LSP/BFO was requested to investigate the shooting by the DeSoto Parish Sheriff ’s Office

(DPSO). The preliminary investigation revealed two DeSoto Parish deputies responded to a call for service at a residence on Booker Loop Road with due to a report that someone that was armed was trying to attack him (Booker). Upon the deputies’ arrival, a subject at the residence began shooting at the deputies with a shotgun. During the exchange, one of the deputies was shot. At least one of the deputies exchanged gunfire with male subject, later identified as 57-year-old Jeffrey Booker. Booker then barricaded himself inside the residence.

On August 6, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an extension of his order keeping Louisiana in Phase Two and extending his statewide mask mandate, the closure of bars to on-premises consumption and the limitation on gatherings of more than 50 people for at least another 21 days, through Friday, August 28.

Gov. Edwards’ order to mandate masks and restrict bars matches recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force and the advice of public health experts advising the Governor. The Governor’s order was upheld by Judge Janice Clark in the 19th Judicial District Court on August 6.

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