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Two Arrests Made in Home Burglary

The La Porte County Sheriffs office has made two arrests in connection with a residential burglary yesterday (Tuesday), where deputies were dispatched to Goldring Road... after the homeowner arrived to find items stacked outside the home – and suspected something was wrong. Officials say the same home had been burglarized about two weeks earlier. Police say deputies tracked two people seen running into a wooded area for about a half-mile, and the 18-year-old suspects were taken into custody at a...

It's Official: USPS Says Sat Mail Delivery Ending

The Postmaster General announced today ( Wednesday) that the US Postal Service will end Saturday mail delivery this summer... in an effort to save about two billion dollars a year. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says things like online bill payments have resulted in big losses for the postal service. The postal service plans to continue more profitable delivery of packages on Saturday. ABC News reports that Congress could still block the move, having insisted for years on six-day mail d...

Carey Named Special Projects Coordinator

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program has hired Dorreen Carey of Gary as special projects coordinator. Carey, who's been involved in environmental issues in the Region for decades, most recently worked as a storm water and environmental consultant for business and municipalities, and prior to that she served as environmental director and storm water coordinator for the city of Gary. Carey begins her new job February 18, and state officials say her primary...

US 20 Crash Victim Identified

Officials say a 24-year-old woman was killed and six other people hurt in a two-vehicle crash on US 20 in Pine Township just west of the Porter/LaPorte County line Tuesday afternoon. Reports say an SUV collided with a car that had apparently lost control and crossed the center line. Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris says a passenger in the car, identified as 24-year-old Jacquelyn Reed, who'd just recently moved to Michigan City, died at the scene. The driver was at last word reported as...

Reports: Saturday Mail Delivery Ending

Today (Wednesday) the United States Postal Service is expected to announce an end to first-class mail delivery on Saturdays. The announcement, planned for about 10 a.m. EST, is also expected to say that packages, mail-order medicine, and express mail will continue to be delivered on Saturday, but not letters, bills, cards, and catalogs. The move is meant to save the financially struggling agency about $2 billion a year as it responds to the rising popularity of email and social media and the...

Autopsy Photos Shown at Murder Trial

Trial continues for Dustin McCowan, a Wheeler-area man charged with murder in the death of his one-time girlfriend, 19-year-old Amanda Bach of Portage. The Times reports a packed courtroom heard testimony Tuesday, and prosecutors showed autopsy photos of Bach. McCowan, who has maintained his innocence, is accused of taking Bach's life in September 2011
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Baked Goods Manufacturer Growing in the Region

A baked goods manufacturer in the Chicago suburbs has announced plans to expand its operations in Michigan City. Hearthside Food Solutions makes grain-based snack foods, including snack bars, cookies, crackers and pretzels. Formed in 2009, the Downers Grove-based company plans to renovate and add to its existing facility on US Highway 20, and install equipment expected to be operational this spring that will allow it to produce a cracker-based product. Hearthside already has more than 400 f...

Case of Typhoid Fever Confirmed at Purdue

A health alert from Purdue University's main campus in West Lafayette -- Purdue is urging diners to watch for symptoms after a case of typhoid fever was confirmed on campus. Local health officials and Purdue are working with the Indiana State Department of Health to investigate the case and assess the risk to the public. Here is more information from a news release issued by Purdue:
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University is reaching out to anyone who may have eaten food on Jan. 23-25 from...

One Killed, Six Others Hurt in Pine Twp Crash

Officials say a 24-year-old woman was killed and six other people hurt in a two-vehicle crash on US 20 in Pine Township just west of the Porter/La Porte County line Tuesday afternoon. Reports say a passenger in one of the vehicles died at the scene, the driver was critical at a South Bend hospital, and a child in the car was taken to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, and four people in the other vehicle, including three children, were being treated at a Michigan City hospital
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Senate Says Yes to Cursive Writing Bill

The full Indiana Senate has signed off on legislation requiring cursive writing be taught in Hoosier elementary schools. Senate Bill 120 passed by a 36-to-13 vote. Cursive writing became an option in 2011. Author Jean Leising of Oldenburg says studies have shown finger movement associated with handwriting activates regions in the brain linked to cognitive, language and motor processes, noting at least five other states – Alabama, California, Georgia, Kansas and Massachusetts – have passed cur...

Griffith Separation Bill Advances

A renewed effort by the town of Griffith to gain its independence from Calumet Township is making its way through the Indiana House. House Bill 15-85 … regarding the transfer of municipal territory... has gotten out of committee on an eleven-to-one vote, according to a report in the Times today. The measure allows voters in town to vote on leaving the township and joining another, if enough people sign a petition requesting a referendum. Then it would need at least two-thirds of voters to say y...

Semi Rollover Near Crown Point

(Photo/Indiana State Police)
In Lake County, Indiana State Police Lowell Post say a semi driver who hit the interstate sign for the Crown Point exit on I-65 Tuesday afternoon reported he blacked out. The rig, loaded with 35-thousand pounds of general merchandise, rolled onto its side and slid for about two-hundred feet before coming to rest off the roadway around 4:45 pm, police say. No load was lost. Troopers say the driver said he was not hurt, but he was taken to a local hospital to be...

US-41 Purple Heart Corridor Extends Southward

On Monday, Cedar Lake has joined other Lake county communities in designating a portion of US-41 as a Purple Heart Corridor. Ian Nicolini, Town Administrator says the honor is a privilege and "really neat to be part of something that's so much bigger than a town, so much bigger than the Region." Nicolini says it is a really neat project to be part of and that the council was fully behind it "especially Ward 6 council member, Patsy Casassa." Nicolini says the Purple Heart Corridor is "a gre...

Isom Found Guilty of Murder by Jury

(Photo Courtesy of the Times)
The trial of a 47 year old Gary man is almost over as the Times reports the jury found Kevin Isom guilty on three-counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and two step children, and guilty of criminal recklessness, after two-hours of deliberation. The Times reports sentencing begins tomorrow morning, and Isom faces either the death penalty, life without the possibility of parole, or a sentence of a specific number of years.
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Crashes on I-65 US 20 Causing Delays

Two separate crashes in the region have caused some lane closures. The right lane of northbound I-65 is closed near U-S 231 due to a crash, causing stop and go traffic and up to 20 minute delays, as you travel northbound on I-65 near mile 246. Meanwhile, tipsters are reporting a bad crash on US-20, just west of Michigan City, that has both directions shut down. No further information is available at this time.
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Closing Arguments Made Today in Isom Murder Trial

(Photo Courtesy of the Times)
The trial of a 47 year old Gary man charged with three-counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and two step children is now in the hands jurors, after closing arguments were made today. The Times reports Kevin Isom is also accused of three-counts of attempted murder for allegedly shooting at officers responding to the incident. If found guilty, he faces either the death penalty, life without the possibility of parole, or a sentence of a specific number of years.
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Positive Case of Typhoid Fever at Purdue University

State health officials today have announced a positive case of typhoid fever in a food handler at Purdue University. The Indiana State Department of Health is working with local health officials, and Purdue University, to investigate the case and assess the risk to the public. Health officials say anyone who ate the Boiler Bistro, John Purdue Room, or the coffee shop, and Lavazza, at Marriott Hall on the Purdue Campus, from January 23^rd through the 25^th, maybe at risk, and advise those...

Testimony Scheduled Today in McCowan Trial

(Photo Courtesy of the Times)
Jury selection began Monday and testimony was scheduled to begin this afternoon, according to the Times, for a Wheeler area man accused of killing a 19-year-old Portage woman in September of 2011. 20 year old Dustin McCowan is charged with murder in the death of one-time girlfriend Amanda Bach, whose body was found the day after her vehicle was discovered along State Road 130 in Wheeler. Published reports say McCowan has maintained his innocence. The trial has been...

College Financial Aid and Opportunity Night on 2/21

An event scheduled to highlight financial aid resources offered by the federal government will take place later this month in Gary. College Financial Aid and Opportunity Night will be held at the Gary Area Career Center, in the 18-hundred block of East 35^th Avenue, from 6 to 8pm, Thursday, February 21^st. Scheduled to attend the event are Congressman Pete Visclosky, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, Doctor Cheryl Pruitt, of the Gary School Corporation, and a presentation will be given by Richard...

Hobart, Taco Bell Hosts Bloodmobile Today

This is the time year when blood supplies are at their lowest but add to that the recent disaster of Hurricane Sandy and inventory becomes critical making the need for blood dire. Andy Piffer, Area Coach, Taco Bell, Eric Oppermans Company (that owns eight restaurants in the area) are responding to the shortage by hosting the American Red Cross Bloodmobile at their Taco Bell location at 8476 E. Ridge Rd./US-6 in Hobart from 1pm to 6pm today.
Piffer says he appreciates anyone who can come by and...

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