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S at u r d ay, S e p t e m b e r 20, 2025
North Lafayette to get new K-8 school
Facility to be built on J.W. Faulk Elementary property
LSU tight end Bauer Sharp
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ELECTION 2026
Closed party primaries could limit ballots in La.
Nominating petition required for non-major party candidates BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Voters may find the list of candidates is much shorter than in years past when casting a ballot in the 2026 midterm elections next November. That’s because, under new rules for Louisiana’s closed party primary races that begin in April, candidates for U.S. House and Senate who aren’t Democrats or Republicans have more work to do to get on the November ballot. Democratic and Republican candidates can sign up to run for office in January by filling out a candidacy form and paying the qualifying fee for the race. It’s $3,500 for the Senate and $1,500 for the House. All other candidates for those races — for example, unaffiliated “no party” candidates, Green Party members and Libertarians — are required to qualify through the state’s little-used nominating petition process. To qualify by nominating petition, a candidate
ä See PRIMARIES, page 4A
STAFF FILE PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
J.W. Faulk Elementary was built in 1958.
School will merge students from Faulk Elementary, Baranco Elementary and Paul Breaux Middle
La. teachers investigated for Kirk posts Social media comments about killing of activist draw scrutiny
BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
The Lafayette Parish School Board voted unanimously to build a new school in north Lafayette that will serve kindergarten through eighth grade students. The board voted at its Thursday meeting to work with an underwriter for up to $50 million in bonds. That money will be used to build a new facility on the J.W. Faulk Elementary property. “(This) was a long time coming,” said board member Amy Trahan. “I have had such support from members within my district. I’ve had so many calls for this new school. People are fired up for this.” The school will merge students
BY PATRICK WALL and ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writers
The need for a new building comes as those aging facilities need more and more capital funding to complete repairs. Current Paul Breaux
Several Louisiana teachers have come under fire for social media posts related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with some facing district investigations and intense online criticism. Four educators in Ascension Parish were placed on leave this week while district officials investigated their online posts, a teachers union representative confirmed. In Caddo Parish, a School Board member put out a call for evidence of district employees celebrating Kirk’s killing, while some online commenters demanded that a local teacher be fired for her remarks on social
ä See SCHOOL, page 4A
ä See TEACHERS, page 4A
Third-grade teacher Taylor Wallace works with students at Baranco Elementary, a facility that was built in 1926. from J.W. Faulk Elementary, Dr. Raphael Baranco Elementary and Paul Breaux Middle schools after its completion. Baranco was built in 1926; Faulk and Paul Breaux were built in 1958.
Corps again plans sill to halt salt water in Mississippi River Officials monitor flow rate amid drought
BY ALEX LUBBEN
Staff writer
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that it will build an underwater sill to keep salt water from moving up the Mississippi River, the fourth-straight year in which the structure has been needed to protect upriver water systems.
WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 69 PAGE 6A
The barrier will be constructed near Myrtle Grove in Plaquemines Parish. Due to a deepening drought, the Mississippi’s flow rate has fallen and that is allowing salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to travel north. The Corps has built the sill every year since 2022. Prior to that year, the agency had only built a sill in the river three times: in 1988, 1999 and 2022. Under normal conditions, the steady flow of fresh water down the river keeps salt water in the Gulf. But in times of extreme low water, the rate
at which the water flows downriver slows, and salt water, which is denser than fresh water, will creep upriver in a wedge shape along the river bottom. The sill is designed to halt it. The construction prompts flashbacks for residents in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, who in 2023 flocked to grocery stores to stock up on bottled water as the saltwater wedge approached drinking water intakes. Salt water poses a risk to municipal
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges move silt to an ä See SILL, page 4A underwater sill in the Mississippi River in 2023.
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101ST yEAR, NO. 82