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A flood forecasting prototype developed as part of a collaboration between University of Louisiana at Lafayette researchers and tech company CGI has earned a 2020 Government Innovation Award.
The awards are given by a group of media outlets affiliated with Public Sector 360, a company that provides information, analysis and news for government and IT sectors. The Government Innovation Awards recognize “transformative government projects, individual change agents and industry partners that are reimagining public-sector IT,” according to the awards website.
UL Lafayette and CGI’s “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Flood Prevention and Forecasting” prototype was recognized in the Industry Innovator Category. The model uses artificial intelligence to more accurately – and quickly – forecast floods.
Dr. Emad Habib, a UL Lafayette professor of civil engineering who directs the University’s Louisiana Watershed Flood Center, is leading the ongoing project. It implements a data mining prototype to discover and curate large amounts of data.
Rainfall records, river and surface water levels, soil moisture content and other information is culled from dozens of sources, including satellites, gauges and field sensors. The data is integrated and interpreted with machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence.
“Recent technologies in data sciences and machine learning, coupled with the unprecedented growth in environmental data from nontraditional sources, open the door for innovative approaches that can help our communities become more resilient,” Habib said.
The prototype also earned praise in September. It was a Top 8 finalist – among more than 220 nominations – in the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council’s Igniting Innovation Award competition. The council recognized innovative research that benefits people and communities.
Researchers from the Department of Civil Engineering, Louisiana Watershed Flood Center, Institute for Coastal and Water Research, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are contributing to the project.
It is sponsored by CGI through the National Science Foundation Center for Visual and Decision Informatics at UL Lafayette. CVDI is the only NSF center in the nation that focuses on data science, big data analytics and visual analytics.

Because of seven positive COVID-19 tests, Erath High School has to go virtual.
On Wednesday, Erath High School learned there were seven positive COVID-19 cases on the campus.
EHS Principal Marc Turner did not release information on who were the seven who tested positive, but the Abbeville Meridional has learned it was a combo of students and teachers.
On Wednesday, 95 students and teachers were quarantined for 14 days due to contact tracing.
On Thursday, students learned they will no longer attend school on campus and will be attending virtual school for the next six days. Public school will be off the week of Nov. 23-27 for the Thanksgiving holiday break.
The EHS students are expected to return to campus on Nov. 30 after the Thanksgiving break.
Superintendent Tommy Byler wanted to explain that there is not a COVID outbreak on the campus. Those who contracted COVID-19 were away from the campus.
“We are trying to err on the side of caution,” said Byler.
On Thursday, Turner sent out an e-mail to students, parents and staff members explaining the COVID-19 situation.
He explained that starting on Friday, Nov. 13, the students will begin having virtual classes using Google Classroom.
Teachers, administration and faculty will still be reporting to the school, starting on Friday.
They will be there to address the academic needs of the students.
Turner also explained that the football team was exposed, and the entire team is now on a 14-day quarantine. As a result, the remaining two games of the season are canceled.
In his e-mail, Turner wrote, “We must work together to ensure the safety of our community. To preserve the traditional school setting that we desire, and the students need to be successful, we need to be aware of our actions’ consequences. Please consider enforcing social distancing protocol, so school and the future activities can proceed as planned.”

There was not much drama when it came to running the District 6-3A Cross Country Meet.
The meet was held on Monday at Kaplan High School.
Kaplan, Erath, David Thibodeaux and Abbeville competed in the three mile course that was run around Kaplan High and the football and baseball stadiums.
In the end, the favored teams dominated.
The Erath boys and girls took home first place in team standings.
In the boys race, Erath had five out of the six top runners.
Joel Allen of Erath finished first with a time of 16:45.
Right behind him were teammates Jason LeBlanc (17:54) and Dax Boudreaux (18:06).
David Thibodeaux High had a runner place fourth, and then it was Erath also finishing fifth and sixth. Ross Delcambre (19:27) was fifth and Nathan Hardin (19:46) was sixth.
Other top 10 finishers were Cody Lange (20:00) of Erath in eighth, Jayton Stutes (20:04) of Erath was in ninth. Gage Smith (20:08) from Kaplan finished in 10th place.
In the girls race, Erath had seven out of the top 13 finishers.
David Thibodeaux High had two girls finish first and second.
Catherine Sonnier of Erath finished in third with a time of 24:22.

Here are the girls top 12 finishers.

1. Keely Rainey, David Thibodaux, 24:02
2. Grace French, David Thibodaux, 24:22
3. Catherine Sonnier, Erath, 24:43
4. Morgan Comeaux, Kaplan, 25:26
5. Heather Green, Erath, 26:27
6. Lilly LeBlanc, Erath, 26:54
7. Madelyn Lemaie, Erath, 27:28
8. Katie Romero, Kaplan, 27:54
9. Lauren Sonnier, Erath, 28:46
10. Sydney Cormier, Kaplan, 29:13
11. Bre Bright, Erath, 30:37
12 Carlee LeBlanc, Erath, 35:13

The charges keep piling on for Roland Bernard III.
The latest charge was added Monday by the Vermilion Parish Sheriff Office.
According to Drew David, PIO for the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office, the VPSO Criminal Investigation Division charged Roland Bernard III (Date of birth 8-4-92), with Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder on Monday.
No bond has been set on the Conspiracy charge, and due to the investigation deemed ongoing, no further information is available at this time.
The Sheriff’s Office did not release information regarding how Bernard allegedly committed the conspiracy to commit first degree murder charge while in the parish jail.
Bernard was
arrested at the end of September for allegedly firing several rounds at a vehicle while driving his own.
Police say the victim’s vehicle was struck numerous times by Bernard.
He was booked into the Abbeville Police Department on the following charges:
• Attempted 1st Degree Murder
• Illegal Use of Weapons or Dangerous Instrumentalities
• Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property
• Obstruction of Justice
Bernard is no stranger to allegedly shooting at vehicles.
In 2014, he turned himself in to the Abbeville Police Department for allegedly shooting up a car with a female in it.
He was charged with two counts of Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Illegal Carrying of a Firearm in a Firearm Free Zone, Illegal Carrying of a Weapon. The total bond on the warrants was $426,000.00.
Bernard allegedly shot up a vehicle that was in the parking lot of Jade Lounge on Graceland Avenue. There was a woman in the car that Bernard allegedly fired bullets into.
A year later, in 2015, Bernard was arrested by State Police for being a member of the Gremlin Gang.