News

The LaSalle Correctional Center (LCC) in Urania will soon be housing U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees as part of a new deal worked out recently between all agencies involved.

The realignment will result in 20-25 new jobs and all employees will receive higher pay packages regulated by federal guidelines. Up to 550 ICE detainees will soon occupy space at the Urania facility.

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The 2019-20 public school session in LaSalle Parish officially gets underway in just two weeks under the watchful eye of third-year LaSalle Superintendent of Schools Janet Tullos.

Teachers will report for in-service training at Jena High School on Tuesday August 13th. Other training has been planned for Wednesday, Aug. 14th, as well as teachers will be getting their classrooms ready for the new school year.

Public school students will report to school for a full day of classes on Thursday, August 15th. Classes at the Head Start School in Good Pine will also begin on Thursday, Aug. 15th.

Classes at Temple Christian Academy in Jena will begin on Thursday, August 15th. Open house at the school will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 13. Pre-K 3 and 4 students will not report to classes until Monday, August 19.

Like many previous years, several changes have been made which will be in effect as the new school year opens.

Jimmie Jenkins King, former mayor of Olla, Louisiana, passed from this life on Thursday, July 18, 2019, peacefully at home following a lengthy illness. He was 87 years of age.

He was born November 30, 1931 in Urania, to the union of his parents, Samuel DeFrance King and Clara Jenkins King.

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Qualifying for this fall’s state election is just two weeks away, to be held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, August 6-7-8.

Legislative and local candidates can qualify at the LaSalle Clerk of Court’s office in Jena. Clerk Steve Andrews reminds candidates that qualifying fees (listed elsewhere in this issue) must be paid by cash, certified check or money order. (Personal checks will not be accepted.)

Statewide candidates will qualify with the Secretary of State in Baton Rouge. Candidates will receive a campaign finance package when they qualify

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More administrators were extended contracts at four different schools in the parish during a special meeting of the LaSalle Parish School Board held Monday night of last week.

The Board approved the performance standards and a new twoyear contract for Kara Masling, principal at LaSalle High School, as well as for Malacha Harris, assistant principal at Olla Elementary School. Masling’s contract runs from July 7, 2019, to July 6, 2021, and Harris’ contract is from Aug. 1, 2019, to July 31, 2021.

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The Louisiana Department of Education released results from the spring 2019 LEAP tests recently and La-Salle Parish administrators are more than pleased with what the scores show.

“We have made gains in every area and the results show better numbers from last year,” LaSalle Parish School Superintendent Janet Tullos said. “We are achieving what we have been preparing for and all of LaSalle Parish should be proud.”

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Eight-year-old Landon Jones sets up an experiment featuring wood and magnets during the Centennial Cultural Center’s Science Experimentation Camp in downtown Olla last week. Students spent the whole week learning and performing various scientific experiments as well as learning magnetism, electricity and solar energy.

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Retail sales in LaSalle Parish for the past fiscal year broke all records with parish wide retail sales increasing by more than 31-percent, according to figures released by the Concordia Sales Tax Collection Agency, which collect sales taxes for several bodies in the parish.

Total retail sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, was placed at $303.0-million, compared to $230.9-million during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.

The LaSalle Parish School Board and LaSalle Law Enforcement District saw a substantial rise in sales tax collections for the fiscal year, gaining more than 31-percent.

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Officials in LaSalle Parish have proclaimed this week as “Business and Industry Appreciation Week” throughout the parish and urge citizens to show their appreciation to all industries and businesses.

The LaSalle Parish Police Jury, School Board, LaSalle Economic Development District (LEDD), Olla-Urania-Tullos-Standard Economic Development District (O.U.T.S.), and all four towns have joined in a special proclamation declaring this special week in the parish.

The week, set aside to salute all businesses, both large and small, was started more than 44 years ago by the former LaSalle Parish Development Board. After LaSalle Parish had observed the week for about five years, the Louisiana Department of Commerce and Industry picked up on the idea and made it into a statewide observance for years.

LaSalle Parish Communications District 9-1-1 Assistant Administrator Logan Whatley and 9-1-1 Administrator Ann Breland assign a new address using a map, collected information and an engineer’s scale at the district’s office located in Room 15 inside the LaSalle Parish Courthouse (former location of the Registrar’s Office).

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