<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Lucida Sans’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">When stopped by a police authority and pulled over, what is the suggested method of getting auto papers out of the glove box: Reach over before the authority comes to the window to get papers, or wait and inform the officer that you need to retrieve papers from the glove box?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">What to do during a traffic stop, according to a Lake Charles Police Department video posted on the city’s website:</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">Find a safe place to pull over.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">Come to a full stop, and put your car in park.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">Keep your hands on the steering wheel; don’t reach for the glove box or beneath the seat.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">Don’t argue with the officer.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">If the officer asks you to exit the vehicle, do so.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">Keep your hands visible; don’t put them in your pockets.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyListing">Follow the officer’s instructions at all times.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Most citizens’ only contact with the police will be due to some type of traffic violation,” Cpl. Larry Moss says in the video, which can be found on the Police Department’s Community Services page.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“The traffic stop is the single most dangerous thing an officer does, and they do this on a regular basis. … The actions of the driver will dictate the response of the officer once the traffic stop has begun.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Additionally, if you have a handgun in the car or on your person, be sure to let the officer know — but do so without reaching for the weapon.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Louisiana R.S. 40:1379.3 requires holders of concealed-carry permits to disclose their weapon possession during traffic stops and to allow officers to disarm them.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Online:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">www.cityoflakecharles.com.</span>

<span class="R~sep~AHeadBrief">State website offers provider database</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Lucida Sans’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Are there any dentists in the Lake Charles or Sulphur area that take Medicaid patients?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yes.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A search of the state health department’s online database returns 26 results for Medicaid-accepting general dentistry providers in Calcasieu Parish.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Additionally, the database shows three providers in Beauregard Parish and one each in Allen, Jeff Davis and Vernon parishes.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">To search for providers, visit the Louisiana Medicaid provider locator site — www.</span><span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">lamedicaid.com/provweb1/provider_demographics/provider_map.aspx.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Select “Medicaid”; choose a provider group; refine the search, if necessary; select whether to search by parish or region; and click on the relevant area on the map on the page.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“The search tool … will help you find medical providers that are currently active in the Louisiana Medicaid program. An ‘active’ provider is one that has received at least one paid visit within the last six months,” reads the website.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Not all Medicaid providers in the list are accepting new patients. Providers have been</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">given the opportunity to keep their new patient acceptance status up to date, but it is best to contact the provider before your first visit.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">For more information, call the state Medicaid service line at 888-342-6207.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Online:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">www.healthy.louisiana.gov.</span>

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<span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">The I</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">nform</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">er answers questions from rea</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">ders each Sunday, Monday a</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">nd Wednesday. It is re</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">searched and written by</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Andrew Perzo</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">, an</span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">American Press</span> <span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">staff wri</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">ter. To ask a question, call</span> <span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">494-409</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">8 and leave voice mail, or ema</span><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">il informer@americanpress.com.</span>