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S at u r d ay, O c t O b e r 4, 2025
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Lafayette teachers to get bonus School Board also OKs $30M in construction projects
BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP
Quarterback Lunch Winfield, center, celebrates with teammates after coming off the bench to lead the Cajuns to a 54-51 overtime victory over Marshall.
Lunch leads the way
Backup QB Winfield may be unlikely leader for Cajuns, but his hometown of Lutcher knew he always was one BY KEVIN FOOTE
Staff writer
As far back as he can remember, University of Louisiana at Lafayette quarterback Lunch Winfield recalls people following him. It wasn’t something he planned for or expected. It just kept happening. If the there was a group project in class, everyone wanted to be in Winfield’s group. “Even when I was in the second or third grade, people just listened to me,” Winfield said. “I really don’t know why. I just started noticing that people just kind of gravitated to me.” If a friend was struggling with learning how to play basketball or football growing up, Winfield taught him. “I still have people tell me, ‘You remember the day you taught me how to play basketball, or whatever?’ ” Winfield said. When Lutcher High’s football program was struggling through some off-the-field issues during Winfield’s freshman season, the coaching staff bypassed the expected senior starter at quarterback to insert sophomore wide receiver Winfield, even though he had never played quarterback before. “We just noticed how he carried himself on the basketball court,”
So when the Ragin’ Cajuns began to see their season slipping away, trailing Marshall 34-17 in the middle of the third quarter with a 1-3 record, UL coach Michael Desormeaux called on Winfield to save the day. The redshirt sophomore answered the call again, leading the Cajuns’ offense to six straight scoring drives with five straight touchdowns in a 54-51 double overtime win. While UL coaches, players and fans could hardly believe their eyes, no one in Lutcher was surprised. “The one thing I always said about him is the impact you see on the field is just the tip of the iceberg,” Jenkins said. “What he does in the locker room and in the building to build up everybody around him is where the secret is. That’s where he makes his biggest impact. “That’s what you kind of saw Saturday night in Lafayette.” It was Jenkins’ biggest selling point when the Cajuns recruited UL quarterback Lunch Winfield jumps Winfield. “People didn’t know what to make over a Marshall player for the gameof him,” Jenkins said. winning touchdown on Sept. 27. The Power 4 programs wanted him to play safety, but Winfield wanted Lutcher coach Dwain Jenkins said. to play quarterback. His leadership “I believed in his ability to develop skills almost demanded it. “It’s genuine, and if you’re around as a quarterback, but we were going to turn this thing around, do things him, it’s infectious,” Jenkins added. the right way, and he was going to ä See LUNCH, page 5A lead us.”
Lafayette Parish teachers will receive a nearly $3,000 bonus check with 2002 half-cent sales tax funding. The Lafayette Parish School Board voted unanimously at its October meeting to approve the $2,908.74 payments to be distributed to eligible employees this month. The money comes from about $8.1 million in excess funding collected from the sales tax. The funding in the past has been used for one-time “bonus” checks and for permanent raises. The tax generated about $37 million during fiscal year 2024-25. The tax helps fund professional development, tutoring and lower class sizes in the district. The board also approved about $30 million in construction projects throughout the district.
ä See TEACHERS, page 5A
AG Murrill fires secretary of state lawyers Officials at odds over canceling of legal contracts as redistricting case looms
BY TYLER BRIDGES
Staff writer
Attorney General Liz Murrill has fired all of the outside lawyers working for Secretary of State Nancy Landry in an extraordinary high-stakes legal battle between two of Louisiana’s six statewide elected officers. Murrill said she acted to protect her primacy as Louisiana’s chief legal officer after Landry, in her view, challenged that authority in advance of an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on whether Louisiana will have to redraw its congressional voting maps. Landry believes Murrill has overreacted and questions whether the attorney general has the
ä See LAWYERS, page 5A
Trump orders bombing to stop after Hamas accepts parts of plan BY WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE and JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered Israel to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan to end the nearly two-year war and return all the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Senior Hamas officials suggested there were still major disagreements that required further negotiations.
WEATHER HIGH 87 LOW 68 PAGE 6A
There was no immediate response from Israel, which is largely shut down for the Jewish Sabbath, and Hamas’ response fell short of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demands that the group surrender and disarm. But Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE.” “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” he wrote on social media. Hamas said aspects of the proposal
ä See BOMBING, page 4A
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Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip on Thursday. ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA
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