Going mobile: A mobile pet shelter designed to help transport and shelter pets during declared emergencies was unveiled today at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The mobile pet shelter is a tractor-trailer that has capacity for up to 55 pets. It is equipped with metal cages, generator, battery power and a wash down system, and has an air ventilation system to provide proper air circulation and temperature for the pets. The new mobile pet shelter unit will also be used in search and rescue missions and will be available, upon request, to other states during a disaster. The total cost of the project was $80,000.
On holiday: Guns, ammunition and other hunting supplies will be exempt from state and local sales taxes between Friday, Sept. 4, and Sunday, Sept. 6. The annual sales tax holiday also applies to individual consumer purchases on hunting gear including archery supplies and apparel such as safety gear, camouflage clothing, jackets, hats, gloves, mittens, face masks and thermal underwear. Off-road vehicles such as all-terrain vehicles designed and intended primarily for hunting are also included in the holiday, but the exemption does not apply to golf carts, go-carts, dirt bikes, mini-bikes, motorcycles, tractors, motor vehicles or heavy equipment such as cranes, forklifts, backhoes and bulldozers. The Louisiana Department of Revenue has complete details.
Ready for takeoff: Bell Helicopter has completed its 82,300-square-foot assembly center at the Lafayette Regional Airport, where the company plans to begin commercial production of the new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X aircraft in 2016. Bell Helicopter President and CEO John Garrison, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Steven Grissom and other state, regional and local officials dedicated the Lafayette Assembly Center in a midday event that included a ribbon-cutting and ceremonial lifting of the delivery center doors. As the first modern-era aircraft assembly facility in Louisiana, the Bell Helicopter site will create 115 new direct jobs, with an average salary of more than $55,000 per year, plus benefits, according to LED, which has more details on today’s announcement.
