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Grant Allows Local Hiring for Marquette Park Project

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The site of a one-million dollar Environmental Protection Agency dredging project in Gary, removing decades of accumulated sediment, will be getting some help from the people of Gary. The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority has received a 351-thousand dollar grant for stormwater management around the Marquette Park Lagoon, which will be used to create a conservation corps to implement green stormwater best management practices. Lauren Riga, Green Urbanism and Environmental Affairs...

Armed Robbery in Schererville

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(From Schererville Police)
Police in Schererville are asking for the public's help as they investigate an armed robbery at the T-Mobile store on US 41. Police say shortly before 4-o'clock Monday afternoon two men ordered the employees and one customer to the rear of the store at gunpoint, then took an undetermined amount of cash and numerous cell phones. There were no injuries reported. Police say the suspects were described as male black in their early to mid 20’s. One was wearing blue sw...

New Medical Center Opening in Schererville

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[Image provided]
Community Hospital is expanding outpatient services in Lake County with the June 2013 scheduled opening of the new Community Hospital Outpatient Center Schererville, at the corner of U.S. 30 and Harvest Drive The center will offer family medicine, immediate care, laboratory and outpatient diagnostic services. Community Hospital also operates other outpatient centers in St. John and Munster and several medical offices throughout Lake County.
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House Fire in Calumet Township

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Multiple Region fire departments – including Lake Ridge, assisted by Griffith and Merrillville – responded to a house fire in Calumet Township Monday night. One fire official tells nwi-dot-com there were no people but numerous animals inside the house in the 16-hundred block of Elm Street, and word at this hour of possibly only one dog surviving. The dog received oxygen at the scene from attending firefighters. No other information was available at this hour.
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Portage PD Holding Safety Forums for Groups

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The Portage Police Department will be hosting a series of Safety and Security Awareness Enhancement Forums, with the very first one February 13^th, for private and parochial schools and daycares. Chief Williams says there will be separate forums on church safety, senior issues, and youth sports organizations, with others possibly to be announced. Also these are not public forums – these are for specific groups, then police will look into holding forums for the public. Portage schools and c...

Vigil Held in Gary to Remember Child

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A vigil was held in Gary to remember a 13-month-old child shot and killed five years ago, a case that remains unsolved. Authorities say Josiah Shaw was being strapped into his child seat by his mother when the woman was approached and shot in the 500 block of West 21^st Street in Gary, and officers later found the child, with gunshot wounds, inside the vehicle about a half-mile away at 17^th Avenue and Virginia Street. The boy later passed away from his injuries, reports say, and his mother, who...

Meals on Wheels Volunteers Needed in Lake Co

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Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana is searching for additional volunteer drivers especially for the Griffith and Highland areas. Also, a spokesman for the group says the Lake Station route is huge, and ten to twelve additional Lake Station volunteers are needed to cover it. Two training sessions are scheduled for February. Here's more info:
Each day, volunteers assist in the delivery of more than 1,600 meals throughout Lake County. The duties of a Meal Delivery Volunteer include:
Driving your...

Valpo to Put Money Aside for Employee Health Insurance

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The Valparaiso City Council Monday night approved an ordinance that puts money aside for health insurance for city employees. Valparaiso City Administrator Bill Oeding says the city is receiving 73-thousand dollars more this year than last year in the EDIT Budget, and while the budget essentially stays the same, the difference this year is they are putting 550-thousand dollars aside for health insurance for employees, with 50-thousand of that going toward a program that works as a “safety net”,...

Police/Family Seek Help to Find Missing Man

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(Photo Courtesy of the Gary Police Department)
Family and friends of a missing 62 year old Gary man are asking for your help in locating him. Gary Police report Lonnie Watkins has been missing since he left his mother's home, in the area of 4^th Avenue and Durbin Street, the afternoon of January 9^th, when Watkins road his bicycle about six-blocks away to an empty rental property his sister owns on the 700 block of Burr Street. Police say Watkins, who is a diabetic, and had just been released from...

Eldery Woman Found Dead Behind Wheel

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An investigation continues into the death of a 80 year old Hammond woman reportedly found unresponsive behind the wheel of her vehicle, at the intersection of Ridge Road and Howard Street, in Munster today. The Lake County Coroner's Office reports Mary Bales was pronounced dead at 11:30 this morning, in the Emergency Room of Munster Community Hospital. Published reports say an autopsy has been scheduled, and no further information is available at this time.
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Expanding Benefits to Employees Killed in Work Zones

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A bill designed to expand benefits for family members of state employees who die in the line of duty now moves on the the Indiana House of Representatives, after passing through the Senate. Senate Bill 324, co-authored by Democrat Jim Arnold, of LaPorte, would raise benefit amounts from 50 to 100-thousand dollars for employees killed while on duty, and an amendment to the bill approved naming dependent stepchildren as beneficiaries, if the spouse of the deceased was no longer living. The...

Gas Prices Up Nationally and in the Region

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ABC News is reporting new government numbers show gas prices are on the rise, with the national average up four-cents to three-dollars-71-cents a gallon. According to gasbuddy-dot-com, the highest and lowest price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel in Lake County at last check can be found in Merrillville, with the low being three-dollars-20-cent and the highest at three-dollars-77-cents. Statistics show in the Gary metropolitan area, the average is three-dollars 50-cents a gallon, up about...

Visclosky Announces Events in the Region

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First District Congressman Pete Visclosky has announced a couple of events coming up in the Region... He's hosting a job fair Saturday, March 9 (1 to 4 pm) at the Genesis Convention Center in Gary, and featured participants will include the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and contractors who serve the RDA. A full list of participating organizations will be available in February.
… a couple days later, Monday March 11^th, (6-8pm) at the Radisson in Merrillville, .the Congressman...

Schererville PD Announces 'Morning Call' Pgm

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The Schererville Police Department and Chief David Dowling have announced a new program for Schererville residents called “Morning Call”. Schererville Police Corporal Timothy Arvanitis says the new program is designed to reach out to senior citizens or shut-ins in our community who may have no family, or family not in the immediate area. Each weekday volunteers from the town's VIPS (Volunteers in Police service) program will call each individual on their list to check in on them to make sure th...

NIPSCO Announces New Mobile Meter Readers

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Company officials say estimated bills for NIPSCO customers could soon be a thing of past. The utility today announced mobile meter readers are coming. The multi-year project to upgrade gas and electric meters across the northern part of the state is expected to improve customer service, efficiency and safety. The Automated Meter Reading (AMR) System takes readings through a receiver mounted in a NIPSCO vehicle, eliminating the need for people to walk door to door to read more than 900-hundred...

South Shore Service Resumes

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South Shore service has resumed with westbound Train 14 and eastbound Train 7 following a derailment in Michigan City early this morning. The westbound train was running about 20 minutes late, and the eastbound train is expected to be running about a half-hour late. Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) Spokesman John Parsons says early this morning, at about 5 am., the rear car of one of their trains derailed in Michigan City as it was moving from the yard to the main to...

South Shore Service Resuming This Morning

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Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District says they expect regular westbound South Shore service to resume with Train 14 scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 10:28 a.m. with an expected delay of approximately 15-20 minutes.
Earlier this morning a derailment in Michigan City forced the cancellation of 6 South Shore rush hour trains scheduled to arrive in Chicago between 7:21 a.m. and 8:52 a.m. There were no injuries. Metra Electric will honor South Shore ticketed passengers who rode Metra...

Derailment Affects South Shore Svc -- Latest Update

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All South Shore trains scheduled to arrive in Chicago after 6:40 a.m. remains temporarily suspended due to a derailment in Michigan City. There are no injuries but service is affected. We expect this disruption to affect the balance of the morning rush hour. Metra Electric will honor South Shore tickets.
We are working on a plan to provide limited unscheduled service between East Chicago and Chicago using 2 trains unaffected by the derailment. Expect limited seating and crowded conditions.
We...

New Credit Card Surcharge Possible

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As of this past weekend, a new credit card surcharge, up to 4 percent, is allowable in 40 states, including Indiana and Illinois. Ten states have barred retailers from charging the fee. Adam Levin, of credit-dot-com, says retailers have to make customers aware of the fees,."When you walk in, there has be a sign conspicuously displayed indicating that they do surcharge." California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas ban credit card s...

Lake County May Get Veterans Court

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There's a measure on its way to the Indiana Senate that would create a special veterans court in Lake County. House Bill 10-16 establishes a pilot project in Lake County allowing the county council to put funds from the county drug free community fund toward the cost of what's described as a “problem solving court program” that may provide rehabilitative services.
Link to bill here:
http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2013&session=1&request=getBill&doctype=HB&docno=1016
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