Louisiana

Friday, November 28, 2008 7:38 AM CST

PONCHATOULA — After Thanksgiving comes holiday spending, and downtown merchants and the Country Market plan to be major players in the post Thanksgiving Day shopping fest.

Downtown merchants and the Country Market plan to have Christmas Open House this weekend.

The downtown open house is sponsored by the Ponchatoula Chamber of Commerce and is scheduled for today through Sunday.

Jan Ripberger, chamber coordinator, said shops will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. She said some merchants will have their specials displayed outside the shops.

Country Market board member Margie Marcombe said the downtown market is observing its 35th anniversary.

(Read the full post about ‘Downtown Ponchatoula stores have open house’…)

NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans holiday tradition experienced a bit of change Thursday.

The Fair Grounds normally celebrates its season opening each Thanksgiving. But the track opened early this year to celebrate the grand opening of a slot machine parlor.

Despite the early opening, thousands showed up Thursday to complete their Thanksgiving ritual at the track.

“I don’t never miss an open day. Never miss it,” spectator Terry Brown said. “The crowd is always large on Thanksgiving. The food’s great. Then we leave here and really go fatten up at the house.”

The Fair Grounds expected up to 10,000 people like Brown to show up for the races Thursday.

“It should be a great show. (Read the full post about ‘Tradition With A Twist At The Fair Grounds’…)

(Sports Network) - The New Orleans Saints may have saved their season with a big win this past Monday night. However, if recent trends are any indication, they may have a hard time sustaining that momentum in this Sunday’s crucial divisional clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium.

Although New Orleans still resides at the bottom of the standings in the competitive NFC South, the team has revived its flickering postseason hopes with a two-game win streak highlighted by Monday’s impressive 51-29 home rout of the Green Bay Packers at the Superdome. (Read the full post about ‘Bucs Look To Give Saints Unhappy Welcome’…)

(Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers will attempt to complete a perfect three-game homestand Friday when they welcome the New Orleans Hornets to the Rose Garden.

The Blazers, who are 6-0 at home this season, are coming off their most impressive performance of the year Wednesday against the Miami Heat.

Channing Frye led six Portland players in double figures with 17 points, and the Trail Blazers blew out the Heat, 106-68.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points and seven rebounds for Portland, which has won four of five overall. Greg Oden added 10 points and 10 boards in the win.

Meanwhile, the Hornets aim to finish a perfect three-game road swing. (Read the full post about ‘Blazers Close Out Homestand Vs. Hornets’…)

NEW ORLEANS — Hours after WDSU NewsChannel 6 aired a story about a missing 11-year-old boy, he was located wandering the streets of New Orleans.

Keshone Engalade, the sister of 11-year-old Jack Engalade said police officers located the boy sometime Thursday morning.

Engalade is autistic and was reported missing from his 9th Ward home Sunday.

Relatives said Engalade is doing fine considering he was missing for close to five days.

Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:17 AM CST

INDEPENDENCE — Town officials have refused to give DoRan SeaPak more time to meet requirements to reduce odors.

Town officials have decided to stop providing sewer and water services to the plant after Dec. 1.

The council’s unanimous decision came Tuesday night after 30 months of compromises, extensions and negotiations.

Last month, the council gave the shrimp processing company until Dec. 1 to correct the odor problems and other issues taxing the town’s water treatment plant.

An engineer at the Tuesday meeting, speaking on behalf of DoRan, asked for an extension of several months to build a pond and possibly a dome over the structure, install sophisticated filters and take other steps.

(Read the full post about ‘Seafood company gets no more time’…)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 9:42 AM CST

INDEPENDENCE — The Independence Chamber of Commerce and DoRan Sea-Pak’s recent shrimp lunch plate raised $2,500 for the town fire department, Chamber President Rhonda Crocker announced.

“DoRan Sea-Pak was gracious enough to provide the shrimp, shrimp fry, oils and mobile kitchen,” Crocker said.

Mayor Micheal Ragusa along with DoRan’s representatives were the cooks, Crocker said

Fire department personnel and chamber directors helped prepare the plate lunches for orders that arrived from Independence, Amite, Natal-bany, Hammond and Living-ston Parish.

“We had two burners burn out which put us behind and we sincerely apologize to those folks on their lunch hour that had to wait,” Crocker said.

(Read the full post about ‘Shrimp raises money for fire department’…)

MARRERO, La. — A woman worried that her aunt had been kidnapped by her husband chased the couple through three different parishes Wednesday afternoon, alerting police, who joined in and caught the man.

Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputies got an initial call at 2:46 p.m. from a 27-year-old woman who said her aunt was being held by her husband in a Ford Expedition, said Jefferson Parish Col. John N. Fortunato.

The younger woman followed the vehicle through Terrytown, New Orleans and Westwego, updating police on the car’s location. When the pursuit entered St. Charles Parish, sheriff’s deputies there joined the chase.

The chase then went back into Jefferson Parish. (Read the full post about ‘Police Chase Kidnapping Suspect In 3 Parishes’…)

NEW ORLEANS — The dietary supplement that three Saints players say they took without knowing it contained the banned substance Bumetanide is being recalled by its manufacturer.

Balanced Health Products, Inc., announced Wednesday that it is voluntarily recalling the supplement StarCaps because Bumetanide is not listed on the product label.

Saints players Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant face four-game suspensions from the NFL for taking StarCaps and testing positive for Bumetanide, a diuretic that is banned by the league. (Read the full post about ‘Pills That Caused Saints’ Positive Tests Recalled’…)

NEW ORLEANS — Just days after earning the dubious title of America’s Crime Capital, New Orleans police are making sure the French Quarter is safe this holiday weekend.

Tourists are already in town, and Bayou Classic fans are on their way for Saturday’s game between Southern and Grambling in the Superdome.

“There’s a lot of police here,” observed German tourist Anne Simmer, as she and her mother enjoyed coffee and beignets in the French Quarter.

That police presence is expected to soon increase even more with the approach of the Bayou Classic. With roughly 125,000 visitors expected, theNOPD said the annual game will be handled similar to Mardi Gras and the Sugar Bowl.

“The NOPD is well equipped to handle this event,” said Sgt. (Read the full post about ‘NOPD Steps Up Patrols In French Quarter’…)