Local News

U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) voted for bipartisan legislation to provide schools with resources for training, technology, and coordination with law enforcement to help identify warning signs, prevent violence, and keep students safe. The Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act (H.R. 4909) creates a grant program to improve school safety and security. It passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 407 to 10. H.R. 4909 authorizes $50 million annually to train students, school personnel, and law enforcement to identify warning signs and intervene early to prevent violence. The funding would also support school security improvements, threat

Valparaiso Police were called to 401 Galway Dr. for a possible burglary in progress at 10:25 a.m. Thursday morning. An alert individual called police when they located two suspicious individuals and a vehicle at a neighbor’s house. The caller knew the homeowners were not home at the time. 36 year old Ricky Mcabee of Gary and 28 year old Aaron Swelfer of Merrillville were taken into custody. Both subjects are being held at the Porter County Jail on charges of Burglary level 4 felony.

Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Secretary Dr. Jennifer Walthall and Indiana Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement Jim McClelland announced a new tool to help Hoosiers seeking treatment for substance use disorder immediately connect with available inpatient or residential treatment services. This new tool is made possible by a partnership between the state, OpenBeds, a software platform that manages health services, and Indiana 2-1-1, a non-profit organization that provides health care and other resource referrals to those in need. The partnership brings together OpenBeds technology with Indiana 2-1-1’s database of service providers to give Hoosiers access

In St. Joseph County Indiana 39 year old Christopher David King, appeared before a St. Joseph County Superior Court judge Friday for sentencing after his guilty plea—without agreement—to the single count filed in the information, Causing Death when Operating a Motor Vehicle with an ACE of .15 or More, a Level 4 Felony. That charge involves a sentencing range of 2 to 12 years, with a 6 year advisory sentence. King was sentenced to a ten (10) year sentence after the hearing. Seven of those years will be served in prison at the Indiana Department of Correction, while the additional

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly and Chuck Hagel – a Vietnam War veteran, former U.S. Senator, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense – discussed the importance of giving our Vietnam War veterans the welcome home they deserve but that many didn’t receive after the war. In less than two weeks, on Thursday, March 29, 2018, Donnelly will host an event at Plainfield High School for families, friends, members of the community, and all veterans of other eras, to honor our nearly 150,000 Hoosier Vietnam War veterans. Bipartisan legislation authored by Donnelly and Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) permanently designating March 29 as

One of the U.S. Marshals’ most wanted who they considered armed, reckless, and dangerous was captured by an Indiana State Police trooper. Thursday evening., Trooper Alyssa Partyka was working when she saw a Buick Century going south on Broadway in Gary without a license plate. The Buick turned east onto East 20th Place when she made a traffic stop on it. The driver verbally identified himself but fumbled with providing his date of birth and didn’t know his social security number. The driver stated his license was out of Georgia and provided the title to the car and said he

In celebration of Disability Awareness Month, and more precisely, World Down Syndrome Day on March 21, the Michigan City Human Rights Commission is pleased to host Margie Doyle, mom of a son with Down syndrome (Ds), Ds research development activist and Ds advocate on Monday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Living Way Church located at 2410 Duneland Beach Drive (off of Hwy. 12 & Duneland Beach Drive). For more information, visit www.emichigancity.com/cityhall/departments/humanrights.

The Indiana Department of Education today announced the first Indiana Education for Homeless Children and Youth Statewide Conference. The event will focus on preparing individuals for work with, and on behalf of, young children and their families experiencing homelessness. The conference will take place March 19 at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. Indiana’s Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program provides guidance and professional development to districts on the federal and state requirements to educate and support homeless children and youth. The program also outlines assurances to ensure homeless students have equal access to a quality education. (For

The Michigan City Refuse Department will conduct its Annual Spring Clean-Up beginning on March 26th. The Refuse Department requests that all residents separate the debris that is to be discarded into the following three (3) categories: Brush, limbs, shrubs, yard waste, and unpainted concrete (no black-top rubble); Rugs, lumber, furniture, mattress, and box-springs; and Appliances and tires. Tires can be rimmed or un-rimmed, and appliances include items such as stoves, refrigerators, air conditions, water tanks, etc. Residents may place items on curbside or in the alleys, whichever is most convenient. The City will be divided into three Zones, with each

Indiana Dunes Tourism held its annual State of Tourism event  Thursday, March 15, at Riley’s Railhouse in Chesterton. Lorelei Weimer, the Executive Director of Indiana Dunes Tourism, gave a state of industry presentation, featuring key facts about Indiana Dunes Country’s/Porter County’s tourism market. Ms. Weimer said that the tourism industry is growing exponentially, producing $413.4 million in economic impact for Porter County in 2015 alone, which was an 80% increase from 2000 and generated 5,075 jobs. According to Ms. Weimer, nearly six million people visit Porter County every year, and of that, 3.5 million people visit the Indiana Dunes, making

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly and Chuck Hagel – a Vietnam War veteran, former U.S. Senator, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense – discussed the importance of giving our Vietnam War veterans the welcome home they deserve but that many didn’t receive after the war. In less than two weeks, on Thursday, March 29, 2018, Donnelly will host an event at Plainfield High School for families, friends, members of the community, and all veterans of other eras, to honor our nearly 150,000 Hoosier Vietnam War veterans. Bipartisan legislation authored by Donnelly and Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) permanently designating March 29 as

Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Secretary Dr. Jennifer Walthall and Indiana Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement Jim McClelland announced a new tool to help Hoosiers seeking treatment for substance use disorder immediately connect with available inpatient or residential treatment services. This new tool is made possible by a partnership between the state, OpenBeds, a software platform that manages health services, and Indiana 2-1-1, a non-profit organization that provides health care and other resource referrals to those in need. The partnership brings together OpenBeds technology with Indiana 2-1-1’s database of service providers to give Hoosiers access

In an effort to accommodate an expected increase in ridership, the South Shore Line will offer additional capacity and an extra passenger train on Saturday, March 17th, Train 606 heading west to Millennium Station will have additional capacity to accommodate passengers heading to Chicago in the morning. Train 606 will make all regular stops to Chicago. In the afternoon, an eastbound passenger extra will run following the parade and dyeing of the river. It will depart Millennium Station at 4:25pm (Van Buren St. at 4:28pm), run non-stop to Hegewisch and make all local stops terminating at Carroll Avenue, Michigan City.

56 year old Sharon Ramos, of South Bend, was sentenced for ten counts of making false entries in government records, two counts of conversion of government money, and one count of wire fraud. Ramos, convicted after a four-day jury trial in November 2017, was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $550,383.66.

Bill payment assistance will still be available after the state’s moratorium on disconnecting electric and natural gas service during the winter for eligible customers ending today (Thursday). Between December 1 and March 15, natural gas utilities in Indiana do not disconnect service to Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) customers who are delinquent on their home heating bills. Customers experiencing financial challenges are encouraged to contact NIPSCO to explore the options available to them. For more information on billing options and payment assistance, visit NIPSCO.com/PaymentAssistance or call 1-800-4-NIPSCO (1-800-464-7726).

The American Legion Department of Indiana announced that the Indiana Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Academy is currently accepting applications for the 2018 class. The Indiana Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Academy, which is a partnership between the Indiana Troopers Youth Services and The American Legion Dept. of Indiana, provides first-hand experiences and insight into the operations of law enforcement agencies. The program also affords these highly motivated young people an opportunity to consider law enforcement as a potential career choice. Please visit the https://www.trooper.org/camps website for more registration information and form or contact Sgt. Danielle Elwood Henderson at (317) 450-8720 for information.

Porter County is now hiring for the position of Supervisor - Porter County Highway Department. This position requires knowledge of budget preparation and administration, and estimating materials costs. The incumbent serves on 24-hour call and must be able to work extended hours during emergencies. The full-time position pays $67,299.75 annually. For more information and to download an application visit: https://www.porterco.org/Jobs.aspx

In a press release the Michigan City Police Department stated the following. “Reports from a recent posting by 24/7 Wall St. in USA TODAY, have described the violent crime rate in the Michigan City-LaPorte Metro area to have increased drastically in the last five years. We the Michigan City Police Department dispute this claim and can only speak on our statistical data that we report annually. The article itself is quite contradictory and makes it difficult to interpret. According to 24/7 Wall St. they claim to have reviewed FBI data for nearly 200 metropolitan areas nationwide to identify the cities

The Valparaiso Police Department is investigating a theft/fraud from Best Buy in Valparaiso on March 8th. The individual is a person of interest for obtaining a cellular phone fraudulently by using a identification stolen from someone else. Anybody with information regarding the identity of the individual is asked to call Detective Schafer at 462-2135 or texting information to TIP411 (847-411) and enter "Valpo" as the keyword in the message field prior to sending the information. Check out the WIMS Facebook page for a photo of the suspect.

The La Porte County Sheriff's Office is currently investigating a series of thefts from vehicles and other suspicious activity that has recently occurred in the 7000 to 8000 West block of CR 400 North. This is the immediate area near Creek Ridge County Park. Citizens residing in this area and rural Coolspring Township are being urged and reminded to secure any vehicles that may be parked outside on their property. In addition, the Sheriff's Office is urging citizens to remove all valuable items from all parked vehicles. Anyone who witnessess or hears any suspicious activity is asked to immediately contact