News

The Indiana Department of Labor’s new Youth Employment System, or YES, went live this morning, opening the door for Hoosier employers to begin using the system to comply with a new youth-employment law that goes into effect July 1. The new law requires Indiana employers who hire five or more minor employees (under age 18), per location, to list those employees in the new YES registry. The change is part of amendments to Indiana Code 22-2-18.1-26 made during the 2020 state legislative session, which also mandated implementation of the YES registry and effective date of employer registration by July 1, 2021. “We

― The Indiana State Department of Health has designated the Special Care Nursery at Northwest Health – La Porte, located in downtown La Porte, as a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. According to the revised Indiana Perinatal Hospital Standards, hospitals certified as a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care are capable of providing specialty care for infants delivered as early as 32 weeks or who are moderately ill with problems that are expected to resolve rapidly and who would not be anticipated to need subspecialty-level services on an urgent basis. The designation followed a rigorous examination of the hospital’s Special

Seniors aged 60 or older in certain Indiana counties who have a household income at or below 130 percent of the current federal poverty income guidelines are encouraged to sign up for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which supplies free food to seniors. Eligible individuals must meet the income criteria and live in Allen, Brown, Crawford, Dearborn, DeKalb, Dubois, Elkhart, Gibson, Hendricks, Huntington, Johnson, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Lawrence, Marion, Marshall, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Perry, Porter, Posey, Spencer, St. Joseph, Steuben, Switzerland, Vanderburgh, Warrick or Whitley counties. Each state in the federal CSFP program has a

Today, Governor Eric J. Holcomb signed Executive Order 21-14 to extend the public health emergency. Continuation of the public health emergency allows certain individuals who otherwise would not be eligible to administer COVID-19 vaccinations and allows the state to continue to receive pandemic emergency funds for programs such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He also signed Executive Order 21-15 to adjust and lift other requirements beginning June 1. The Executive Order changes include: Removing the mask mandate while in state facilities, except for anyone inside any these state government congregate facilities –

The Ogden Dunes Police Department reminds you that summer parking restrictions are currently in effect. All vehicles parked within the restricted area must display a valid 2021 beach area parking permit. If you are having guests this holiday weekend, please stop in and get temporary parking permits. Temporary Permits for this weekend will cover the entire weekend including Monday May 31st All parking permits are available at Town Hall Monday thru Friday from 8:00AM to 3:00PM. If you are unable to stop into town hall during these hours, please call 219-762-4125 to make arrangements get your permits. Vehicles parked within the

KRUEGER MIDDLE SCHOOL 2001 Springland Avenue Wednesday, June 2 2:30-5:30pm BARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL 319 E. Barker Road Saturday, June 5 9:00am-12:00noon Sign up by NOON on Tuesday, June 1st at https://educateMC.net/vaccine HealthLinc will be offering the Pfizer vaccine at these clinics for anyone age 12 and above. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Please bring ID and health insurance card (if you are insured) with you. Your follow-up Pfizer 2nd vaccine dose appointment will be scheduled at the time of your first vaccine.

On any given day, more than 90 percent of motorists can be found wearing their seat belts. Unfortunately, the small percentage of people who choose not to buckle up make up a disproportionate amount of the fatalities that occur every year on Indiana roads. It is a concern that the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office is working to address this spring by participating in the national Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign. Now until June 6, deputies will be out in greater numbers seeking to educate motorists about the importance of wearing a seat belt. The high-visibility patrols are paid

Memorial Day Holiday Schedule The Refuse Department will be closed Monday, May 31, 2021 to observe the Memorial Day Holiday. Trash and Compost pickup will resume on Tuesday, June 1st , and the normal pickup day will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.

As we are seeing more vaccinations, and COVID numbers decreasing, Mayor Duane Parry is pleased to announce City Hall will be open for business once again! Beginning Tuesday June 1st, City Hall will be opening for business. We will however continue the use of masks in common areas covering the mouth and nose and suggest proper social distancing. Of all things that occurred to us in 2020, the City was placed in a position to move all City meetings to “Zoom” based on pandemic restrictions. The positive result was more citizens became involved and began tuning into the meetings and

A record of more than 1,800 Purdue University Global graduates worldwide took part in virtual commencement ceremonies on Saturday (May 22). It marked Purdue Global’s 10th commencement since its formation in 2018.   Six ceremonies were streamed live throughout the day. Graduates, who were recognized by their name, degree and photo, received a cap and tassel, PG Proud sign, Purdue For Life gift and celebration props before the ceremonies.   Degrees were awarded from the schools of Business and Information Technology, Education, Health Sciences, Nursing, and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Concord Law School. https://www.concordlawschool.edu/about There were 854 bachelor’s degrees,

Northwest Health has announced recipients of the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nursing at both Northwest Health – La Porte and Northwest Health – Starke. Lori Bridegroom, RN, an Emergency Room nurse at Northwest Health – Starke was nominated by a patient who was anxious and fearful during her first time being a hospital patient. The patient shared that Lori’s calming manner and kindness calmed her nerves. Her nomination noted that, because of Bridegroom’s outstanding nursing care she’d gladly choose Northwest Health – Starke for her healthcare needs in the future. When given the award, Bridegroom was thanked for providing excellent