Louisiana news briefs

Court approves drilling near Houma homes
HOUMA (AP) — Vanguard Environmental has won an appeal to drill an underground oilfield-waste well near houses and businesses in north Houma after a state court judge affirmed a 2012 decision.
The well would be drilled less than a mile away from St. Gregory Elementary and Legion Park Middle schools — injecting wastewater under high pressure into sand formations about 4,000 feet underground.
The well would also accept water from pipeline testing and cleaning.
The state court agreed in June that Terrebonne Parish officials had unconstitutionally applied parish law to block the well. The state Supreme Court reviewed the appeal and declined to hear the case in November.
Parish President Michel Claudet said the parish has exhausted its legal options to prevent the construction.

Teacher exodus is slowing
LAFAYETTE (AP) — The rate at which teachers are leaving the Lafayette Parish School System is showing signs of slowing, but Superintendent Pat Cooper still isn’t happy with the trend.
Since the beginning of this school year, approximately 130 teachers have left the Lafayette Parish School System. District records show that 74 of those resigned, while 56 chose to retire.
If the figures hold steady, that would mean about 260 teachers would leave the district in the 2013-14 school year, a decline of 25 percent from the number of departures last year.
Cooper said he is pleased that more teachers are staying with the system, but he isn’t happy about the overall direction.

Cajundome may
undergo seating redesign
LAFAYETTE (AP) — Leaders at the Cajundome in Lafayette want to spend $16 million to redesign the first-level seating area, which would include adding as many as 1,000 seats.
Cajundome Director Greg Davis is touting the proposed changes as a way to make the Cajundome more competitive in attracting events like concerts, while bringing fans closer to the action at University of Louisiana-Lafayette basketball games.
UL Lafayette owns the Cajundome and, along with state government, is responsible for capital improvements.

Elmer woman, Arizona man booked in child porn case
ALEXANDRIA (AP) — Two people have pleaded not guilty to hundreds of charges in a Rapides Parish child-pornography investigation.
Dorothy Jean Vanasselberg and Kyle Smith Hauenstein entered the pleas Friday during an arraignment in 9th Judicial District Court.
A pre-trial hearing was set for April 3.
Authorities say Dorothy Jean Vanasselberg, 31, of Elmer, was arrested in July. She was booked with charges including aggravated incest, aggravated sexual battery, pornography with juveniles and indecent behavior with a juvenile.
Hauenstein, a former resident of Phoenix, is believed to have received child pornography from Vanasselberg. Hauenstein was arrested Aug. 7 on a fugitive warrant in Washington County, Oregon. He was extradited to Rapides Parish on Aug. 31. The nature of the relationship between Hauenstein and Vanasselberg is unclear.
Vanasselberg is facing 81 counts of aggravated incest, 31 counts of sexual battery and 47 counts of pornography with a juvenile. She is being held on a bond of $2.031 million.
Hauenstein is facing 355 counts of pornography with children, 40 counts of sexual battery, 52 counts of indecent behavior, 25 counts of aggravated incest and 60 counts of attempted aggravated rape. He is being held on a bond of $2.819 million.
Hauenstein’s wife, Christel Boling Rice Hauenstein, 38, also was arrested in connection with this case. She was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact and two counts of criminal obstruction of justice.

Teacher accused of sexual misconduct with student
PINEVILLE (AP) — A teacher at Pineville High School has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a student.
Robert Stone, 27, was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on Friday on three counts of prohibited sexual conduct between educator and student.
The Pineville Police Department received a complaint of alleged sexual misconduct involving Stone and a student on Wednesday.
Police say the investigation is ongoing, and they were not allowed to reveal how old the student was or where the alleged sexual encounters took place.

Long-awaited road
project to begin in Houma
HOUMA (AP) — A long-awaited project to widen a stretch of Hollywood Road in Houma will get underway in 2014, officials said.
The $11.4 million project will widen South Hollywood Road from two lanes to four between Martin Luther King Boulevard and La. 311.
Work should begin sometime in March, but there’s no firm projection on a completion date, according to Jeanne Bray, Terrebonne Parish’s capital projects manager.
The project has been more than a decade in the making and was slowed by land appraisals and public opinion over a possible hurricane evacuation route, Bray said. Underground utility lines also had to be moved.
In addition to expanding to four lanes, each lane will be widened from 10 feet to roughly 11.8 feet with curbs and gutters, instead of the existing gravel shoulders and ditches.

Fourth arrest made
in prostitution of girl, 14
DONALDSONVILLE (AP) — Ascension Parish sheriff’s deputies have arrested a fourth person wanted in the prostitution of a 14-year-old girl.
The sheriff’s office says in a news release that Gregory Hardin of Addis was booked Thursday on counts of criminal conspiracy to commit soliciting to prostitutes, criminal conspiracy to commit prostitution with persons under the age of 18 and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
Authorities allege Hardin conspired with Lakeisha Marshall of Donaldsonville to prostitute the girl for drugs and money. Marshall and two others were arrested in the case in December.
Deputies say the girl was prostituted out of Marshall’s home. Two others prostituted the girl in the New Orleans area and other south Louisiana cities.
The girl was removed from the home and placed in state custody.
From The Associated Press.