Your daily news briefing, with the video of the day, the top news and the quote of the day.

Seniors at Leesville High School celebrated their graduation from high school at Wampus Cat Stadium Thursday evening. Throughout the past two weeks, Vernon Parish schools have held their graduations honoring their seniors. For the 2012 Leesville Daily Leader graduation special section, make sure to check out the Friday, May 25 edition of the Leader.

Soldiers encounter a number of dangers while deployed. One of the greatest threats is improvised explosive devices, often buried underneath the soil and visually undetectable. The Counter Improvised Explosive Device Integration Cell, or CI2C, participated in a “Train the Trainer” course on the use of new equipment May 14-18 to increase soldier survivability in theater. The CI2C will be able to train Fort Polk soldiers on the equipment, but first, they had to learn it themselves.

The introduction of an ordinance to rezone two lots in the Allendale subdivision in Leesville to a C-3 Neighborhood Commercial District drew a larger crowd than usual at the Leesville City Council meeting Monday.

Dear Editor,

Travel to any region within the state of Louisiana and drilling rigs will most likely be visible. Due to the vast amount of natural gas within the Haynesville Shale, and large sections of crude oil beneath our land’s surface, Louisiana is THE energy state.

A guaranteed parking spot in a luxury condo building in New York City is going for $1 million. The parking spot is inside the building and offers privacy that other parking spots don’t.

At a special call meeting Tuesday, members of the Rosepine Town Council met with Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) officials to discuss exceedances and overflow problems with the town's water treatment plant.

Your daily news briefing, with the video of the day, the top news and the quote of the day.

At Monday's regular meeting, the Vernon Parish Police Jury approved a motion to abandon a portion of Wright Road, extending from the property line of Brian Wright and extending west to the dead end, by a 12-0 vote.

Testimony continued Monday in the trial for Justin Sizemore, accused of killing Christopher Hoffpauir in the morning hours of June 14, 2010, with testimony from detectives Rhonda Jordan and Ray Ortiz from the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office.

Candice Skinner, of Candice Skinner Real Estate in Leesville, has been named to the “30 Under 30” Class of 2012 by the editors of Realtor Magazine. Each year, the magazine recognizes 30 young practitioners who are making a mark in the real estate industry through success in real estate sales, business management, leadership, or community service. This year’s honorees are featured in the May/June 2012 issue of the magazine.

Soldiers representing 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division participated in North Polk Elementary School’s Volunteer Banquet May 15.

Councilwoman Alice Guess, along with the Leesville Lady Cats softball team, were recognized for their dedication and hard work on May 14 at the Leesville City Council meeting.

On Friday morning, a commission in Italy announced a proposal to tax owners of dogs and cats for each pet, but the plan was killed by evening after a huge uproar. Animal owners, animal-rights groups and just about everyone else reacted angrily to the plan all day Friday, and it was scrapped by Friday evening.

The Leesville Lions Club will hold its annual telethon on June 15-16 to raise money for the Louisiana Lions Crippled Children's Camp, located in Vernon Parish.

Follow the link to see our look at what’s happening this week.

The Vernon Parish Chamber of Commerce held grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremonies for two local businesses last week, including the Byrd Regional Clinic, in Rosepine, and David Haymon's State Farm Office in Leesville.

Brandon McDowell turned 8 years old today, May 20. Brandon is the sun of Cynthia Fondren and Joey McDaniel, both of Anacoco, and is the grandson of Belinda Fondren, of Anacoco; Gregory Fondren, of Shreveport; Larry McDaniel, of Slagle; and Rosie Bynog of Anacoco.

Dear Editor,

Is your mail late again? If not, it may happen soon. United States Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe is convinced that less service is a solution to his financial problems. He and his predecessor have slashed expenses and sadly, more than 247,000 employees since 2000.
Under similar constraints many businesses “slash” until it hurts. Delivery service is now hurting.

During my undergraduate days at the University of Iowa, all undergraduates were required to take, in addition to the courses in their major field, eight hours in each of four general or core areas — history, social studies, literature and science. There was also a requirement of two years (four semesters) of Military Science and Tactics (ROTC) and physical education.
In addition, each new student was required to show adequate skills through tests in communication science (English grammar, speech and writing) and general mathematics.