News

The Winnfield City Council met on Feb. 11 to discuss various resolutions, and to give awards to two Winnfield citizens. Councilman Matt Miller asked City Attorney Herman Castete for an update on litigation concerning damage to a street as a result, the council says, of the new library facility’s construction crew. The council moved to file a suit against the construction crew, and Castete remarked that it would be filed “forthwith.”

At the urging of District 29 State Senator Rick Gallot (DRuston), members of the Louisiana Legislature will consider a measure to prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors during the 2014 Regular Session, which begins March 10. Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or vaporizers, do not burn tobacco or produce combustible “smoke” like traditional cigarettes; however they do contain habit-forming nicotine.

Sales tax collections in Winn Parish saw their highest numbers in four years in 2013, according to numbers released by the Winn Parish School Board. The City of Winnfield saw its 1.5% sales tax collection down to their lowest in over five years, collecting $1,110,790.80 over the year 2013. That is down from the $1,145,680.08 that was collected in 2012, signaling a difference of $34,889.28, or - 2.1%. The tax collections in 2012 were also down from 2011.

Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center (CLAHEC) and LSUAlexandria (LSUA) recently presented the “CI: Healthcare” program for high school juniors and seniors living in CLAHEC’s upper eight-parish region, which included three students from Winn Parish. This unique program was a one-day interactive experience that provided students the opportunity to explore nursing and allied health fields.

35 states have been designated “widespread” outbreak sites for Influenza, and Louisiana is one of them, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In order for a state to be considered widespread, more than 50% of the geographic region of the state has to report flu activity.