Local News

24 year old Roddell Durbin, Jr., appeared Thursday before a St. Joseph County Superior Court judge and was sentenced to 10 years for Possession of Child Pornography. Three (3) of those years are to be executed in the Indiana Department of Correction, with seven (7) years of the sentence suspended. He was also sentenced to 2 years reporting probation upon his release from the DOC, when he will also be required to register as a sex offender. Mr. Durbin previously pled guilty by agreement to all four counts with which he was charged in September 2017. Of these four counts,

Jason Anderson, 39, of Michigan City, Indiana was sentenced before South Bend District Court Senior Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Thomas L. Kirsch II. Anderson was sentenced to 180 months imprisonment and 2 years supervised release. According to documents in this case, in or around March of 2017, Anderson possessed one or more firearms after having been convicted of serious drug offenses in both Indiana and Illinois. The court sentenced Anderson under the Armed Career Criminal Act due to his prior convictions. This case was investigated by the Bureau of

Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) is now accepting applications from families in 20 counties who may be eligible for grants for their children to receive high-quality, prekindergarten education through the On My Way Pre-K program for the 2018/2019 school year. The pilot program was expanded in 2017 from five to 20 counties to provide the benefits of early childhood education to more Hoosier children from low-income families. The program will be available for the 2018/19 school year in Bartholomew, DeKalb, Delaware, Elkhart, Floyd, Grant, Harrison, Howard, Kosciusko, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Vigo Counties.

The LaPorte County Sheriff s Office is joining law-enforcement agencies across Indiana this March to increase dangerous and impaired driving patrols for the NCAA Tournament and St. Patrick's Day. Last year, the weekend beginning St. Patrick' s Day had the highest number crashes involving impaired drivers. With March 17, 2018 falling on a Saturday, police are conducting random patrols, saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints intended to make our roads safer. The top causes of all Indiana traffic crashes are drivers following too closely and failing to yield the right of way. Aggressive, distracted and impaired driving reduce reaction times to

31 year old Branden Furnari of South Bend, Indiana was charged with possession of a firearm (destructive device) not registered in the National Firearms Registration Record. According to documents in this case, Furnari was arrested after allegedly selling destructive devices to an undercover law enforcement officer. Furnari explained in detail how to assemble the components using the “Det cord” and “Blasting caps” which was all provided in the transaction for $800 dollars to the undercover officer. The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that a Complaint is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until, and unless,

Earlier this week, The House of Representatives voted in favor of State Rep. Jim Pressel’s (R-Rolling Prairie) House Resolution 8 urging the General Assembly to study the use of electronic communication devices while driving. Pressel’s resolution calls for a study committee to review the use of electronic communications devices, like a cell phone or smartphone, while operating a motor vehicle. The committee would also take a closer look at the relationship between the safety of workers in construction zones and the use of cell phones while driving. Pressel said interim committees are an important avenue in which to research complex

There is an opening in Porter County for the position of Fourth Deputy Treasurer. Applications and/or resumes will be accepted at the Treasurer’s Office counter, 155 Indiana Avenue, Suite 209, Valparaiso, IN 46383. Applications may be acquired at the receptionist console at this same address. Mark the envelope “Porter County Treasurer, Confidential”. This is a full-time non-exempt position with benefits and an annual salary of $40,000. A probationary period applies for the first ninety (90) days. During this period the salary is based on 95% of the offered salary. For more information and to download an application visit: www.porterco.org/Jobs

The Michigan City Police Department in collaboration with the Michigan City Area School System conducted "Active Shooter" training at the Michigan City High School on Tuesday. The Special Weapons & Tactics Team (SWAT Team) felt it necessary to research the grounds and rooms of the school to familiarize themselves to be proactive in any type of unforeseen incident that might occur. A Facebook video https://www.facebook.com/MCPD46360/videos/1540919872611566/ illustrated a small sample of tactical maneuvers conducted by the MCPD.

The Portage Police department is hosting an “Active Shooter Survival Guide for Teachers administrators and Office Staff” workshop. Portage Township Schools staff are encouraged to register for any of the dates (March 13th, 20th, April 10th, April 17th). Contact Debbie Bolin at 764-5713 or dbolin@portage-in.com. Classes will be held at the Portage Police Department and are from 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

Yesterday, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office was afforded the opportunity to utilize the indoor VirTra Range at the Michigan City Police Department. The 300-degree VirTra wrap around simulator presented deputies with a wide variety of scenario based training. The scenario training is realistic to everyday encounters that deputies may be exposed to within La Porte County. The VirTra scenario based training incorporates: situational use of force, critical thinking, communication skills, decision making under stress, reading body language, and the use of de-escalation techniques. After each scenario, Sheriff’s Office Firearms Instructors debriefed with the deputies. The deputies who were present

At the direction of President Donald Trump, Governor Eric J. Holcomb is directing flags across the state to be flown at half-staff to honor Rev. Billy Graham. Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of his funeral, Friday, March 2. Gov. Holcomb also asks businesses and residents across the state to lower their flags to half-staff on Friday to honor Graham.

Yesterday, Governor Eric Holcomb added four counties to the disaster emergency he declared Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 in response to widespread flooding and infrastructure damage caused by sustained heavy rainfall. The governor signed a new executive order to include Harrison, Jasper, Ohio and Pulaski counties—in addition to Benton, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Jefferson, Spencer, Warrick, Carroll, Dearborn, Elkhart, Fulton, Lake, Marshall, Perry, St. Joseph, Starke, Switzerland and White counties—making 22 total counties covered by this disaster emergency declaration so far. The disaster declaration means the state Department of Homeland Security can take necessary actions to provide expanded emergency services and

The Sinai Temple Sisterhood will host a distinguished speaker, Dr. Peter Ascoli, on Sunday, March 11, at 2 pm at Sinai Temple, 2800 Franklin Street, Michigan City. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Baked refreshments will be available after the program. The talk is entitled Five-Thousand Schools of Hope in the Segregated South. It will tell of the legacy of philanthropy and collaboration by Julius Rosenwald, chief partner of Sears, Roebuck, and Booker T. Washington, president of Tuskegee University and rural black communities to build more than 5,000 well-designed, fully equipped schools for black children

Attorney General Curtis Hill announced a settlement with TK Holdings Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Takata, over allegations that the company concealed safety issues related to airbag systems installed in a wide variety of vehicles. TK Holdings Inc. filed a bankruptcy case in Chapter 11 in June 2017, and its reorganization plan has been confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. In addition to Indiana, the settlement with TK Holdings Inc. also is joined by the attorneys general of 43 other states and the District of Columbia. It concludes a multistate investigation into the company’s failure

The Duneland Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an afternoon speed networking event on Thursday, March 8, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The event will be held at AJ’s Pizza, located at 3050 Matson Street in Chesterton. There is no cost to attend, and Chamber members are encouraged to bring guests. For more information about the upcoming Speed Networking event on Thursday, March 8, please call the Chamber at 219.926.5513, or email info@dunelandchamber.org.

The Indiana Arts Commission announced that Hoosiers will have many opportunities to engage with the arts through the Arts in the Parks & Historic Sites program, with more than 170 arts activities taking place across the state. To see a complete listing of 2018 opportunities including dates, locations, and program summaries visit https://www.in.gov/arts/files/2018_APHS-Activities.pdf. For more information about a specific program, contact the individual state park or historic site.

With the flooding that has occurred throughout most of the Midwest, many families have had to evacuate their homes due to emergency and damage.  Here is a list of shelters that are open, provided by the Indiana Joint Information Center. The following shelters are currently open; another nine locations are on stand-by: · Central Christian Church, 418 W. Franklin St., Elkhart · New Life Community Church, 1 N. Pennsylvania, Hobart (crated pets allowed) · Knox Community Schools, 1 Redskin Trail, Knox · First Christian Church, 3209 Middle Rd. Jeffersonville

Over the last week, heavy rain and storms have occurred, causing many rivers in Indiana to overflow their banks. County-level response has been ongoing, and the State Emergency Operations Center has been providing coordination and resource support. On February 24, 2018, Governor Eric J. Holcomb issued a disaster declaration for 11 Indiana counties due to flooding, including Carroll, Dearborn, Elkhart, Fulton, Lake, Marshall, Perry, St. Joseph, Starke, Switzerland and White counties. This flooding has destroyed or caused severe damage to homes, businesses, structures and infrastructure.  On February 26, 2018 seven counties were added: Benton, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Jefferson, Spencer and Warrick counties. Governor Holcomb signed a new executive order

On Tuesday night Officer Jon Watson was recognized and received Honorable Mention Awards for his duties. The awards were presented to him at a City Council meeting in City Hall. The awards were presented due to the following incidents. On June 12, 2017, Officer Watson was working on a High Intensity Drug Trafficking patrol along Interstate 94 (a joint federal grant) when he observed a vehicle traveling to close to another vehicle. A traffic stop was conducted and two individuals both from Michigan and one a previous felon were identified. A search of the vehicle located two guns in the

USO of Indiana has been selected from more than 2,128 charitable organizations across the country to compete in Brackets For Good 2018.  Starting Friday, March 2, USO of Indiana will rally supporters to advance in an online single-elimination bracket-style fundraising tournament. Donations from the Brackets for Good tournament will go toward the five hospitality centers and outreach programs the USO of Indiana operates throughout the state of Indiana such as the Bob Hope Legacy United Through Reading Program.  The Camp Atterbury USO Center has room dedicated to the Bob Hope Legacy United Through Reading program where USO volunteers video record