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Salvation Army Making Last Push for Campaign Goal

The Salvation Army of Lake County reports they are just under 90-thousand dollars, or seven-point-eight percent, short of meeting the goal of their annual Christmas campaign. At last check, they report the campaign has raised one-million-50-thousand-564 dollars toward their goal of one-million-140-thousand dollars, which translates into 27-thousand-400 people through Lake County not receiving services. The Salvation Army of Lake County reports they are asking friends, family, and you for help,...

Read more: Salvation Army Making Last Push for Campaign Goal

 

Structure Fire in Boone Grove: Update

Multiple departments responded to a structure fire in the Boone Grove area late this morning. The call came in just after 11am, and the fire was reported to be in the walls on the attic, at a residence located on County Road 600 West. No other information ia available at this time, but according to the Boone Grove Fire Department's Facebook page, they thanked their mutual aid departments, Hebron, Kouts, Four Seasons, Morgan, and Porter E-M-S, for their quick response.
Boone Grove Structure Fire
(Photo Courtesy of the...

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Indiana Democrats Outline Healthcare Exchange

Keep healthcare in Hoosier hands; expand access to Indiana’s families
INDIANAPOLIS— During a press conference Wednesday morning, State Senator Karen Tallian (D-Ogden Dunes) presented her proposal for the implementation of guidelines within the federal Affordable Care Act. Flanked by democrats from both the Indiana Senate and House of Representatives, Sen. Tallian outlined her plan for a state health exchange and expansion of health care to as many as 400,000 more of the state’s residents.
Senate...

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Authorities say Ask for ID Before Letting Strangers In

Highland Police are asking residents to ask for identification before allowing anyone into their home after a reported theft of valuables from a residence on Delaware Street Monday. Authorities report a Hispanic man, weighing 250 to 300 pounds, wearing a gray coat, baseball cap, and sunglasses, introduced himself to the homeowners as a future neighbor, and asked to come inside. Police say once inside, the man inquired about basement flooding issues in the neighborhood, and after engaging in...

Read more: Authorities say Ask for ID Before Letting Strangers In

 

Major Expansion Project for Community Hospital

MUNSTER - Community Hospital has announced it will begin a $33 million expansion of its Munster campus. Construction of a new four-story addition to the Emergency Department Pavilion will begin on Monday, January 21. This multiphase project will take 24 months during which time all hospital services will remain open.
The project is designed to add private rooms, double the capacity of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), expand the main Surgical Services area and increase capacity for...

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Structure Fire in Boone Grove

Multiple departments are responding to a structure fire in the Boone Grove area.  We've been told Boone Grove, Hebron, Kouts and Lakes of the Four Seasons are on scene.  The call came in just after 11am today.  The fire is reportedly in the walls of an attic at a residence on County Road 600 West. No other information was available at this hour.
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NW Ind Senator Introduces Marijuana Bill

A northwest Indiana lawmaker is continuing her effort to decriminalize smaller amounts of marijuana. Ogden Dunes Democrat State Senator Karen Tallian has introduced legislation that among other things would reduce the penalty for possession of less than two ounces to a Class C infraction. Tallian has argued that lessening the penalties would ease prison overcrowding in the state. Here is a link to the text of Senate Bill 580:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2013/IN/IN0580.1.html
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Read more: NW Ind Senator Introduces Marijuana Bill

 

Indiana Flu Deaths Rise to 27

The state's weekly influenza report issued today says a total of 27 flu deaths have now been reported in Indiana this season, two under the age of 18, with seventeen deaths reported in the past week. The Indiana Department of Health does not report the number of deaths in each county until five deaths have occurred in a specific county, and officials say no county in the state has had five reported deaths. The report also says twenty of the individuals who died had underlying medical...

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Gov Pence Holds First Cabinet Meeting

Indiana Governor Mike Pence today held his first meeting with members of his Cabinet. Twenty-one agency heads who gathered today included the new Superintendent of the Indiana State Police Doug Carter, Transportation Commissioner Michael Cline, Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Scott Sanders, and Indiana National Guard Adjutant General Martin Umbarger. Today marks the governor's second full day in office. On Monday, he signed 15 executive orders immediately after inauguration,...

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Indy Hospitals Limiting Visitors to Fight Flu Spread

At the request of Marion County health officials, an announcement today hospitals in Indianapolis are limiting visitors and instituting restrictions to keep the flu from spreading.  On Tuesday, Franciscan Alliance Lake County hospitals in Crown Point, Dyer, Hammond and Munster announced visitor restrictions and the removal of toys and reading materials from waiting rooms. State health officials this week reported 21 influenza-related deaths in Indiana this flu season. They say two of the...

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Times: BP Looking at Marktown Property

An article in today's Times says oil giant BP is looking into the possibility of buying property in north Lake County's historic Marktown neighborhood. Designed by renowned Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw in 1917 in the style of an English Garden city as corporate or industrial housing for Chicago industrialist Clayton Mark's Mark Manufacturing, the East Chicago neighborhood eventually landed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among its unique features – it was included in R...

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Report Says Region Broke Temp Records

A new report on Extreme Weather 2012 by the Natural Resources Defense Council says last year Indiana experienced record-breaking heat in 36 counties – including Lake, Jasper and La Porte-- and a total of 109 broken heat records. At the same time, there were ten broken snow records... three of those around Medaryville in Pulaski County... and two large wildfires, one of those in northwest Indiana,the other in the southwest corner of the state.
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Day Two for Indiana Gov Mike Pence

pencesafetyteam
Indiana Governor Mike Pence met with members of his public safety team Tuesday including Superintendent of Indiana State Police Doug Carter, Executive Director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security John Hill, Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard General R. Martin Umbarger and Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Corrections Bruce Lemmon. [Photo provided/Governors office]
On day two as governor, Mike Pence had his very first two-year budget presented to state lawmakers, a...

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Tuskegee Airman Quentin Smith, 94, Dies

Arrangements are pending in Gary for one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, Quentin Smith, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 94. Smith was born in Texas, and was a child when his family moved to the Region. He served in World War Two as part of a legendary group of America's first black military airmen, and after returning to northwest Indiana, held a number of leadership roles, including principal at West Side High School and member of the Gary City Council. This past April, he received a...

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Rep Brown Chosen Chairman of NW IN Leg Delegation

A state representative from Gary has been chosen as the new chairman of the Northwest Indiana legislative delegation. The group, consisting of 19 lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, chose Democrat Charlie Brown, who takes over for Democratic State Representative Chet Dobis, of Merrillville, who retired in 2012. Brown says among things he is interested in exploring is having a better working relationship between his delegation and those lawmakers serving in Marion County, working with regional...

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Emerald Ash Borer Detected in Starke County

Emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive species that kills ash trees, has been detected for the first time in Tipton and Starke counties.
In Tipton County, EAB was found in Liberty, Madison and Wildcat townships.
In Starke County, EAB was found in North Bend Township, specifically, at the Bass Lake Beach and Campground.
Additionally, EAB has been detected in new locations in counties where the insect was already known to exist. In Blackford County, EAB was detected in Jackson and Licking...

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250 Citations During LaPorte Co Saturation Patrols

A total of 596 vehicles were stopped during saturation patrols conducted by the LaPorte County D-U-I Taskforce, from October 1st, 2012, through December 31st, 2012. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Office reports a total of 250 citations were issued, and 558 warnings were given for various traffic offenses. Authorities report a total of 46 impaired drivers were arrested for operating while intoxicated, with one operating while intoxicated arrest being made every 5.86 hours of saturation patrol. The...

Read more: 250 Citations During LaPorte Co Saturation Patrols

   

Customs Holds Up Shipment of Human Heads

The Chicago Tribune is reporting a paperwork issue is holding up a shipment of human heads at O-Hare International Airport. Published reports say the embalmed heads were shipped from Rome apparently on their way to a research facility in the United States, but their specific destination was unclear, leading Customs officials at the airport and other federal agencies to investigate.
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Visitor Restrictions at Franciscan Alliance Hospitals

News Release (Jan 15 2013):    
Franciscan Alliance Lake County hospitals have adopted temporary visitor restrictions in an effort to help prevent spread of the influenza virus. 
The measures, effective at Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point, Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer and Hammond and Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Munster, include:
     * People exhibiting flu-like symptoms are asked to not come to the hospitals to visit. Symptoms include runny nose, cough, or fever of more tha...

Read more: Visitor Restrictions at Franciscan Alliance Hospitals

   

Daniels Begins New Role as Purdue President

danielspurdue
[Photo/Purdue.edu]
Now-former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels officially begins his new job as of today. Last June, the Purdue Board of Trustees unanimously selected Daniels to be the university's next president at the conclusion of his second term as governor. The former president stepped down in July. Daniels was on campus in West Lafayette Monday, meeting with students, faculty and staff. The Indianapolis Star reports the main campus is considering changing to three trimesters with 13 weeks of...

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