“We’re going to do any patient relocation or evacuations for any bedbound patients from the lower part of the affected area,” Taylor said.

Taylor says the ambulances have been deployed to Marianna, Florida. He says they will hunker down once the storm starts impacting the area.

“Once the storm passes, then they will get out and assess damages and then support the local fire departments and ambulance services there in the affected area; and also, any hospitals or medical facilities that would require transport,” Taylor noted.

Taylor says their crews could be in Florida for the next couple of weeks.

“Depending on how significant and isolated the damage is; especially to healthcare facilities and moving any patients out of there until things get back to normal,” Taylor explained.

“These things are just kind of odd for me, but it’s a huge honor. I’d say it’s really more of a reflection of what we’ve been able to accomplish in Louisiana, and it’s being seen nationally,” Woodard said.

Woodard says along with a plaque and a $1,000 Willard B. Simmons award, his alma mater is also benefitting from his honor.

“They donated $1,000 to the pharmacy school of my choice, which was the University of Louisiana at Monroe Pharmacy School, where both my wife and I graduated,” Woodard noted.

Woodard earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from ULM in 2007. He later earned his MBA from LSU in 2011.

Woodard says contrary to popular belief, he and other independent pharmacists are able to effectively compete against the major pharmacy chains.

“Our prices are the same or better, usually; we’re in every little small town in America. There’s several parishes in Louisiana that do not have a chain pharmacy, so an independent pharmacy is their only option,” Woodard explained.

Woodard says the biggest challenge facing independent pharmacists is the current model in which pharmacy benefit managers that also own the big pharmacy chains reimburse them at below their costs.

“It’s a new tradition, celebrating Louisiana’s college football rivalries that make it so special, right here in this state,” Landry said.

Landry says the cup will go to whichever team wins the regular season series among the three schools.

“An inaugural trophy will be presented to the champion in December, right here at the Governor’s Mansion. Again: Three universities, one state, one rivalry, one Governor’s Cup. Let the games begin,” Landry explained.

Tech’s trip to ULM next week will be the second game in the series, and the Warhawks and Cajuns will cap off the race for the cup on November 12.

“It’s certainly been a long journey, but it’s been well worth it. Our fanbase is excited. I think this is what makes college athletics so great: The regional rivalries and the opportunity for us to renew those rivalries has been really special,” Ivey said.

Ivey says there has been a lot of interest in the game, and they’re expecting over 20,000 fans. The Bulldogs are coming off a big home win over Army last week, but the Cajuns are off to a hot 4-1 start. Ivey says he expects to see a lot of red while out tailgating.

“People in South Louisiana know how to tailgate, so I know they’re going to be coming up here ready and be in full force; and they may even teach us a thing or two about tailgating. But I think the hospitality’s going to be great,” Ivey noted.

It will be Tech’s first October Saturday home game since 2020 after years of weekday Conference USA matchups. Ivey says he’s thrilled to host a weekend game that means a lot to both schools.

“We’re looking forward to a great game and would just encourage everyone, whether you’re a Dog fan or a Cajun fan, come on up; there’s a lot of opportunities, Ruston has a lot to offer on Saturday for a gameday, so come on up and enjoy it,” Ivey said.

Kickoff is at 6:30.

“It’s going to promote all things that we currently do, including our ‘Operation Save A Life’ effort, which is our free smoke alarm program in the state; and also, our generator safety sign program that we do,” Leo said.

Leo says the mascot is a concept conceived by John Cailleteau, who recently joined the community risk reduction department.

“John’s concept was to use the pelican, which is the state bird, as a recognizable character to be out in front of that fire safety messaging that we’re doing,” Leo explained.

Leo says Pelly-Can will help the State Fire Marshal communicate with children in a way that they can understand.

“We need to talk to all ages. Having that recognizable character, a lot of times, helps drive that message home,” Leo noted.

Pelly-Can’s main message is simple: “Making Fire Safety Soar in Louisiana.”

For more information about fire safety or to request a free smoke alarm installation, residents are encouraged to contact their local fire department or visit lasfm.org.

“Better retention of students, better completion; adopting high-impact practices, remedial education reform, more students in dual enrollment starting early; truth in advising for students so we keep them on track,” Reed said.

Dr. Reed says they have more data now compared to when they first started in 2019, when they only had public post-secondary information to go on.

“Now we have proprietary school information, private school information; so we have a broader and more complete understanding of all of the completions in the State of Louisiana,” Reed explained.

Reed says when it comes to attainment, the job’s not done – achieving the 60% goal by 2030 is of utmost importance.

“We will need to exceed 60%, so that Louisiana residents are able to participate in these booming economic development opportunities across our state,” Reed noted.

“It loves sugar. It’s got a sweet tooth. But it can drain the sugar out of the cane, and we were concerned that in certain areas we would have very low sugar; but that’s not the case,” Strain said.

The LSU AgCenter says the pasture mealybug has been detected in every parish that grows sugar, most severely in West Baton Rouge, Iberia and Vermilion parishes.

Insecticides have helped with control, but the insecticides don’t kill the ones in the soil and reinfestation occurs within a couple of weeks. Researchers in Louisiana and Florida are working on a solution.

This is week four of the sugarcane harvest and Strain says it’s going smoothly. It helps that Louisiana has avoided any major storms.

“The sugar’s been coming in very well; harvest has been coming in very well. The price is stabilizing, so it looks very good and very bright now,” Strain noted.

According to the American Sugarcane League, all but one of the eleven mills are in operation. Strain says there is a shortage of truck drivers because of the cap the federal government has placed on H-2B visas.

“Of course, those jobs are offered to Americans first, but we can’t get the drivers in because of some bureaucratic issues dealing with new rules that are in place,” Strain explained.

Strain is also urging motorists in south Louisiana to drive with care in areas where sugarcane harvest activity is occurring. Last week, two people were killed in St. Martinville when a passenger car collided with two sugarcane tractors.

“I felt like this was a necessary, calculated risk to go about this with this year’s roster. We feel good that a lot of them are going to get eligible. We feel like almost all of them are going to be eligible,” Wade stated.

LSU’s roster has returning fifth-year seniors and former international pros who are still going through the NCAA eligibility process. Wade says some of his players have former overseas teammates who have gained NCAA eligibility already.

“It’s going to be hard to deny our kids, when their teammates are eligible and we know their contracts; and their contracts are more than our kids’ contracts. I tend to feel pretty good about our chances. We just don’t know how long that process is going to take,” Wade said.

All the proceeds from the trip to Lake Charles will go to the McNeese basketball program. Wade says he owes everything he has to the people of Lake Charles for sticking their necks out and saving his career by hiring him after he was fired by LSU.

“When your down-and-out, and you need somebody to believe in you; and those folks believed in me. And so this is a small way that we can repay them; they’re going to make quite a bit of money off of this for their program,” Wade explained.

Tip-off is set for 6:30.

“People from the campus and around the community can come and talk about some of the things they’re looking for that we should focus on during the search; and then we’re opening it up to a national search and, hopefully, we find some good candidates,” Turner explained.

Turner says while the search will stretch coast to coast, he would like to see the next president to be hired from within, so to speak.

“We would love to see somebody from Louisiana Tech be there, but if there’s another qualified candidate that we can check off all the boxes in the search, I think we’re wide open to any candidate coming in and applying and seeing who’s the best fit for our college and our city,” Turner said.

In order to receive full consideration in the initial review, candidates should submit their applications by November 6th. The board expects to select Tech’s new president less than two weeks later, on November 19th, with the new president taking office January 1st. Turner says he would like to make the process more confidential.

“We’re one of the only states in the nation that, when you get down to your top few candidates, it’s public; and sometimes that keeps candidates from out-of-state or somewhere where they’re established from putting in their name,” Procopio noted.

The new president will succeed Dr. Jim Henderson, who’s retiring on December 31st.

“If your wife passed away and she was a veteran, then you would still have those benefits even if you moved to another house; but you can only do that once,” Procopio explained.

Procopio says Amendment Six would allow parishes and municipalities to increase the property tax exemption for some homeowners as they age, from 65 up to 81.

“Each municipality, each locality, would actually say whether they want to do it or not; and it needs the vote of the people. So this is just giving locals another possibility to help out the elderly in their area,” Procopio noted.

A vote against Amendment Six would leave the current statewide exemption for homeowners 65 and older unchanged.

Procopio says Amendment Nine would raise the income limit for a property tax assessment freeze from $100,000 to $150,000.

“It doesn’t really give you an exemption. It just stops the increases in what your property values would cause you to pay more,” Procopio said.

Amendment Two would give local taxing authorities more flexibility in deciding when to set property tax rates, while Amendment Ten would allow parishes to offer tax exemptions for property that’s been rehabilitated after being blighted.

For more information on all 10 amendments, check out PAR’s Guide to the Fall 2026 Constitutional Amendments on its website: www.parlouisiana.org.