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Bowlers roll into BR Nation’s largest tournament brings in $110M to city
State pushes measles vaccine Outbreak in Texas has killed one child
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
Bowlers compete in the Doubles Competition II of the Special Olympics North America National Unified Bowling Tournament on Thursday at the Raising Cane’s River Center. The Special Olympics tournament was held in advance of the United States Bowling Congress Open Championship, which begins Saturday and will run for the next five months. BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor
For the third time in 20 years, Baton Rouge is hosting the nation’s largest bowling tournament, an event local tourism officials say will have the economic impact of more than six big LSU football games. More than 58,000 people are expected to come to Baton Rouge over the next five months for the United States Bowling Congress Open Championship, beginning Saturday in the Raising Cane’s River Center. The tournament’s economic impact on the city is expected to reach $110 million, said Jill Kidder, president and CEO of Visit Baton Rouge. By comparison, a conference or rivalry LSU home football game adds up to $18 million to the local
event, said Aaron Smith, communications manager for the national bowling championship. That’s the highest number of teams since the last time the tournament was held in Baton Rouge, when there were nearly 11,800 teams. “That speaks volumes to bowlers who went on previous trips enjoying their time here,” Smith said. “They enjoy seeing a new place.” About 400 bowlers will arrive every three days. They will bowl one day at the temporary lanes set up in the River Center, take a day off, then return to the River Center for A competitor cleans off his bowling ball as bowlers compete in a final day of competition, said Thursday’s event. Laura Cating, a spokeswoman for Visit Baton Rouge. The event will end on July 28. rooms every night.” economy. “They’re going to bowl alSo far, more than 11,600 five“It’s like having a large state convention every night for five member teams representing most 24/7 for 150 days,” Cating months,” she said. “They’re 50 states and foreign nations ä See BOWLERS, page 6A going to take up 300 hotel have signed up for this year’s
Southern student dies off campus
Bodies discovered in Santa Fe home of Oscar winner
BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer
ä See STUDENT, page 6A
WEATHER HIGH 75 LOW 46 PAGE 8B
ä See MEASLES, page 7A
Mystery surrounds death of actor Hackman, wife
Club recruiting activities halted
Southern University on Thursday halted indefinitely all club recruiting activities, including those related to Greek life, following the off-campus death of a student earlier that day. A university spokesperson said the pause on the Baton Rouge campus was due to the death of Caleb Wilson, 20, a junior from Kenner studying mechanical engineering. Wilson’s mother is a student at Southern University’s New Orleans campus. Wilson’s father, Corey Wilson, worked 35 years as a deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. He also served on security details for Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. Caleb Wilson died at a Baton Rouge hospital Thursday morning after being found unresponsive in a Baton Rouge park. An unconscious Wilson was brought to the hospital by people who found him at North Sherwood Forest Park, Baton Rouge police said. Officers were called
As neighboring Texas faces a growing measles outbreak that killed an unvaccinated child Tuesday night, two top Louisiana officials who are physicians are encouraging residents to get vaccinated against the disease. Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, a gastroenterologist from Baton Rouge who worked on hepatitis B vaccination efforts before entering politics, noted in a social media post Tuesday that a measles alert was issued in San Antonio, east of where the outbreak originated. In a press call, Cassidy said the measles outbreak “is moving across the I-10, and it’s now in San Antonio, which means it’s moving to us.” “By golly, if it’s coming down the I-10, it’s gonna be in Houston, it’s gonna be in Lake Charles,” he said. “It’s gonna be in Laffy and Baton Rouge, and then it’s gonna go up the I-49 to Shreveport.” Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, also a physician, said in a social media post Tuesday the Louisiana Department of Health “is on alert and ready to respond if the virus spreads to Louisiana.” “The measles vaccine (known as MMR) has proven to be safe and effective, and I recommend it to my patients,” he said. “Adults and children should consider getting the vaccine if they haven’t already received it. Be sure to talk to your doctor before making that decision.” The MMR vaccine is the best way to protect against measles and is generally recommended for children and adults, said Health Department spokesperson Emma Herrock.
BY SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 2003.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were apparently dead for some time before a maintenance worker discovered their bodies at the couple’s home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, investigators said. The bodies were found Wednesday. Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said there was no indication they had been shot or had any wounds that would indicate foul play. But Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detectives wrote in a search warrant affidavit investigators thought the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature
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to require a thorough search and investigation.” Hackman, 95, was in an entryway, and his 65-year-old wife, Betsy Arakawa, was lying on her right side in the bathroom. A space heater was next to her head and may have fallen when she abruptly dropped to the floor, according to the affidavit. The New Mexico Gas Co. tested the gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were discovered, according to the warrant. At the time, it didn’t find any signs of problems and the Fire Department found no signs of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. A detective wrote that there were no obvious signs of a gas leak, but he noted that people exposed to gas leaks or carbon monoxide might not show signs of poisoning. The gruff but beloved Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing
ä See HACKMAN, page 6A
100TH yEAR, NO. 243