Donna loved to travel and she and her family saw much of the world together. Media departures are always strange. Donna Britt, beloved WAFB news anchor and 'a rare breed,' dies after battle with ALS. CBS affiliate after eight years. The only station to get a bigger share of the local audience was KCCI, the CBS affiliate in Des Moines, which was watched by 17.9% of area households. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 46 to VHF channel 9. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom will result in WAFB gaining new sister stations in nearby markets, including CBS/ABC affiliate KNOE-TV in Monroe and NBC/CBS affiliate KALB-TV in Alexandria, in addition to its current Raycom sister stations. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. A friend who had not heard from Roger since Friday checked on him about 9:30. Before the end of the program the winners of the annual Color Guard competition were announced by LTG Middleton Chapter Commander, LTC Patrick L. Widner, USA Ret. WAFB also has a Cox cable channel devoted to airing simulcasts and rebroadcasts of its news broadcasts. The beloved former WAFB-TV personality died Thursday after a battle with ALS. On March 3, 2008, WAFB became the first in Baton Rouge and the third in Louisiana to broadcast its local broadcasts in high definition. 3 Local TV Group", "Gray Closes On $3.6 Billion Raycom Merger", ":: Baton Rouge Business Report:: Ron Winders heads back to Savannah", "Longtime WAFB anchor Donna Britt dies following battle with ALS", "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds", Louisiana State Archive and Research Library, LA Art and Science Museum (Yazoo&MS. They approached me and asked if I would be willing to work full-time and I said no if I wanted to do that, I wouldnt have left the job I had!. From what I can tell, the Tulliers got involved because his wife started saying things on FB, which got a lot of people fired up. Southern alumnus, Vietnam Vet receives Medal of Honor, Arrests made during investigation of prostitution happening at massage parlors, Attorney General Jeff Landry seeks endorsement from Trump, plans to travel to Florida, Cajun Navy joins search for Nathan Millard, organizes outreach, Deputies: 1 wanted, 3 arrested after video of witness testimony shared on social media, First Free Sundays return to LSU Center for River Studies, La. This is the complex process she must follow to vote. Hey! Donna passed away on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Chris Scheuermann is currently serving as the National Executive Director of The Pershing Rifles Group. If theyre looking for a woman to replace her they can give her spot to Jim Engster. Made me chuckle every time. Donna rode in countless parades across South Louisiana. The unit is performing for the first time in its new LSU historical cadet uniforms. PRAL awards At the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Public Relations Association of Louisianas annual awards ceremony April 27 at the Watermark Hotel are, from left, First Circle Award recipient Jinx Broussard, Communicator of the Year Donna Britt, chapter President Delia Taylor, Practitioner of the Year Cheryl Michelet and Member of the Year Avery Davidson. WAFB 9News is Louisiana's News Channel, servicing breaking news, weather and traffic coverage for Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Assumption, Livingston, East Feliciana, West Feliciana . Donna retired from the station and anchored her last newscast nearly one year after publicly announcing her diagnosis. A married mother of two, she was a member of First United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge and the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher. Davis was one of the first Black officers in the elite Army Green Berets. When her father retired from the church ministry, the family continued to preach by rescuing failing churches. Golden Deeds -- The 'first lady of Baton Rouge broadcasting' Donna Britt, center, is honored as this year's Golden Deeds winner and is congratulated by WBRZ's Whitney Vann and Sylvia Weatherspoon. Syndicated programming on WAFB (as of September 2022) includes Tamron Hall, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Inside Edition, 25 Words or Less, TMZ and Access Hollywood. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Click to become an INSIDER for under $2.00 a week, Andre Moreau parts ways with WAFB after eight years, 2022 Welcome: Official Visitors Guide to Greater Baton Rouge. Mahaffey paid to get his car fixed and, when it broke again, he bought him a new car,"Hodge recalled. Brooke Cain is a North Carolina native who has worked at The News & Observer for more than 25 years. Her mother trained for a ministry in church music. Photo 1 - LSU Pershing Rifles, Company D-17, Color Guard of Elijah Jones, Todd Dixon, Chris Scheuermann, and Ethan Nicosia. PROVIDED PHOTO "I'm moving on," Kiran Chawla said. [3] In 1965, the station moved its transmission tower from Zachary to south of LSU's campus, allowing viewers in a 90-mile (140km) radius to receive its signal; it was also in that year that the station started broadcasting in color. The longtime ABC11 evening anchor, who left the station at the end of July to move back to her native Louisiana and start a new career with more family friendly hours, told The News & Observer on Tuesday that part-time anchor jobs just dont happen. what role does individualism play in american society. WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg, Mississippi moved to channel 7 to accommodate this switch. Tisha Powell's new job as an afternoon anchor at WAFB in Baton Rouge is something she didn't think was possible. Attending the event are, from left, Chief Walter Smith, of Slaughte; Chief Justin Nevels, of Norwood; Donna Britt, WAFB anchor; Chief Fred Dunn, of Clinton; Chief Mark Dousay, of Jackson; and Chief Kenneth Stewart, of Wilson. But three days of testing at Houston Methodist Hospital have removed doubts. WAFB Anchor Matt Williams is an anchor for 9News This Morning and Early Edition. Authorities say the individual could have information about the incident. She physically trained on an elliptical machine for two months, morning and evening, to build her stamina for the grueling push. Asians arent immune from cancel culture. Hodge addedMahaffey, "had a huge heart and would do anything for you.". Until 2015, WAFB aired the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; the show aired on sister station WBXH until its cancellation in 2019. Donna Britt, who has been with WAFB for over 37 years, has announced she will retire from the local news station after being diagnosed with ALS 11 months ago. Louisiana State Police Major Doug Cain, left, presents longtime WAFB anchor Donna Britt with the Superintendent's Award for Excellence as she is surrounded by friends, family, and coworkers, Wednesday, June 13, 2018, as she signs off for one last time at WAFB studios in downtown Baton Rouge, La. I was a little apprehensive at first because I got my mind wrapped around coming back here and just finishing school and decompressing and going in a different direction, Powell said. Photograph by Carol Anne Blitzer Picture shot on 4-26-99 Kitchen 19 Mark Ballard, Donna Britt and Annie Ballard Keyword Food. The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office made three arrests after a months-long drug investigation on Wednesday, March 1. Her husband, Mark Ballard, serves as the Capitol Bureau Chief for The Advocate newspaper. The WBXH broadcasts were included in the upgrade. Now, she's battling ALS. But three days of testing at Houston Methodist Hospital have removed doubts. For 23 of those years, she's been on the air in Baton Rouge reporting on the . One of Donnas biggest passions while at WAFB was her ten years as a volunteer at Progress Elementary School where she referred to herself as the schools library elf. Every month, she decorated the schools library with giant cardboard decorations she painted at home. Shes a great investigative reporter. Because of concerns about COVID-19, the family plans to wait to hold a memorial service for Donna at a later date, he said. The kids were told they could use the 20 or more toppings for their ice cream in an allyou-can-eat buffet. Golden Deeds recipient Donna Britt gets a standing ovation during the Golden Deeds awards Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, at the Baton Rouge Marriott. Heres how. Former WAFB-TV news anchor George Sells is keeping busy in retirement, producing video obituaries and lending his distinctive voice to various projects. She started at WAFB in 1980 as a news reporter. United Cajun Navy and community partners will organize a Search for Millard. Photo 2 - Ms Donna Britt, WAFB 9 News Anchor, the MOC guest speaker, is greeted prior to the program by LTG Middleton Chapter Vice Commander, LTC Reginald Brown, USA Retired. A write-up slip from elementary school showed she called a fellow 2nd grader poo-poo face. WCCO has addresed the situation both during newscasts and online, with a statement saying: "WCCO-TV anchor/reporter Liz Collin is married to Bob Kroll. Catch the moving sale to save on books, CDs. She was 62. LTC Widner presented the award to St. Amant High School with its near perfect synchronization as champion, and first runner up was Broadmoor High School with its specialized marching footwork. All rights reserved. One locally produced show that brought years of enjoyment to children was hosted by "Buckskin Bill" Black (William Black) that ran in different formats from 1955 until 1990. She was born while her parents were in the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft Worth Texas. The Baton Rouge Police Department has arrested the mother of a child who officials say died of a drug overdose. Then shelter shared desperate plea. Jun 1 "That was inappropriate. (WAFB) - Longtime WAFB anchor Donna Britt, a dedicated journalist and beloved member of the community, has passed away after her courageous battle with ALS. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting. 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Nielsen Media Research ratings showed that 16.2% of all households in the Baton Rouge area watched the show. Former WAFB reporter Kiran Chawla says her love of investigative reporting and the viewing public sparked her to start her new YouTube channel. From: Clay Le Grande [mailto:c.legrande@cox.net] Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2015 12:38 PM LTG Middleton Chapter Massing of the Colors Parkview Baptist School gym was ablaze with Old Glory on Tuesday, November 10th as the Military Order of the World Wars LTG Troy H. Middleton Chapter hosted its annual Massing of the Colors ceremony for the student body and public at Parkview Baptist High School. Buckskin was also one of the first shows in the United States to have a sign-language interpreter for hearing-impaired viewers prior to closed-captioning. Through two gracious campaigns from his show, Buckskin Bill helped to start the Baton Rouge Zoo. While I was at 332016 to 2018and it was widely known that Sharon Weston Broome would only give WBRZ the time of day. "But he was a solid journalist, he loved the news business, and he loved to beat the competition. Photos: Congrats to 2018 Golden Deeds award recipient, Donna Britt! The station also aired Time for Beany during its early years on the air from the Paramount Television Network and was briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network, airing programs Sheriff of Cochise, How to Marry a Millionaire, and This is Alice. The People's Court also once aired on WAFB before going to WBRZ and later WGMB. A family is grieving one week after 41-year-old Jeross Banks was hit and killed while riding his bike to work along LA-1 in Iberville Parish. [2] It launched as a television counterpart to local radio stations WAFB and WAFB-FM, which both signed on in 1948 and were affiliated with MBS. Powell said this week that the folks at WAFB, a Gray Media station, had asked her what it would take to get her to come back to news. I have ALS, Lou Gehrigs disease. Regis and Kelly (now Live with Kelly and Ryan) continues to air on WBRZ. WAFB's Greg Meriwether, left, applauds honorary chairwoman Donna Britt, Saturday, July 14, 2018, during Dancing for a Cause benefiting the Arc of East Ascension at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La. woman accused of using aunts debit card for 136 DoorDash orders held on preset $18 million bond, WANTED: Officials searching for man accused of exposing himself, ExxonMobil faces racial discrimination lawsuit, Fight involving 9 people on Southerns campus leads to 1 arrest, Kentwood man arrested after months-long drug investigation; drugs, money, and guns seized, Man arrested for allegedly robbing victim at gunpoint in Denham Springs, CRIME STOPPERS: Mans killer, details surrounding his death remain a mystery, Emails show governors Europe trip raised staffing, itinerary questions, Juvenile caught behind wheel of stolen vehicle, officials say, Two arrested for flying drone over chemical plants in St. Charles Parish.