Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Join over 5120 subscribersand follow us for free at:
www.facebook.com/TheRegionalNews46 –––– A newspaper in its 105th year of publication printing its 11th edition of the year ––––
| B 48º | The Voice of SouTh counTy | 75¢ .
PLEASE RECYCLE
ContactSubscribeUSPS Home Delivery
(219) 544-2060 orkielmedia.com/subscribe
FollowPO Box 53, LaCrosse, IN 46348
(219) 544-2060kielmedia.com
Weather 2Stock Indexes 2Subscription Order Form 3
State and National News 6Classifieds 7Obituaries 8Church Directory 8Games & Puzzles 9
Index
$0.75 RETAILA Kiel Media Newspaper
Copyright © 2019
Thursday, March 12, 2020Vol. cV, iSSue 11 |
In response to the rapidly changing situation with the nov-el coronavirus (COVID-19), Pur-due University Northwest (PNW) announced today, March 11, a temporary suspension of many on-campus activities in support of the health and well-being of students, faculty, staff and thegreater PNW community. The measures were announced in a message from Chancellor Thom-as L. Keon to all students, faculty, andstaff.
PNW suspended face-to-face
instruction beginning March 12 through April 4. Following spring break, which is March 14-22, classes will be taught online or through alternative delivery from March 23 through April 4. At this time, PNW anticipates face-to-face instruction to resume April 6, while the university continues to monitor this extremely fluidsituation.
The PNW campuses will remain open. However, all events will be suspended from March 12 through April 4.
“The health and safety of our entire PNW community is our highest priority,” Keon stated. “While we have no reported cas-es of COVID-19 on our campuses, thereareconfirmedcasesinIndi-ana and Illinois. To minimize the impact of the potential spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health of our PNW community, we are taking actions to address these current circumstances.”
PNW will continue to monitor the situation and will provide fu-ture updates accordingly.
PNW to Suspend Classroom Teaching
Next week is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana, with a statewide Live Tornado Alert test planned for Wednes-day, March 18 at 9:15 a.m. CT.
The Indiana Broadcasters As-sociation (IBA) in cooperation with the National Weather Ser-vice (NWS) is conducting a test of the state Emergency Alert System (EAS) next Wednesday morning to prepare for severe spring weather. The 15-minute alert is done to ensure the sys-tem is working properly in the event of an actual tornado. In
the event of severe or inclem-ent weather, the test will be rescheduled and held on Thurs-day morning, March 19th, at the same time.
“We work cooperatively with the National Weather Service each year to make sure that our state’s Emergency Alert System is operating as it should during emergencies,” said IBA Execu-tive Director Dave Arland.
“Hoosiers in all parts of the state rely on these alerts to re-spond appropriately and findsafety. The Federal Communi-
cations Commission is aware of our annual test and Indiana’s broadcasters will be listening for the Live Tornado Warning alert issued by the National Weather Service and relaying that test alert to our listeners and viewers.”
The annual test is part of Se-vere Weather Preparedness Week and includes coordinated efforts to work with their resi-dents, businesses, and govern-ment agencies across Indiana on preparedness activities.
Statewide Emergency Alert System Test, 3-18
Union Mills will be serving their Annual Cornbread and Bean Supper at the Conser-vation Clubhouse in Mill Pond Park from4 to7p.m.onMon-day, March 23.
Eighty-six years ago, Kenny Trump and the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Union Mills were working on a way to raise funds for the park and Mill Pond. They came up with the idea of cooking for the townsfolk and the annual Corn Bread and Bean Supper was conceived! It is now in the Conservation Club-house on the last Monday of ev-ery March. Just good eating!
Eat Corn Bread and Beans for anominalfee.It'sjust$7.00foradults, $3 for kids under 12, and preschool eat free! Chili is also on the menu if you prefer it over beans. Carry-outs are available, and the dessert is free. This event, held at the Conservation Clubhouse, gives you a chance to sit among friends and talk about spring!
The Clubhouse is the site for many functions, and the rental fees help with the upkeep of it, the pond, and the park. Meet-ings, reunions, sports sign-ups, trade fairs, fundraisers, cele-brations, and even funeral me-
morials and a bi-monthly Red Cross Blood drive are the norm. Rental rates are reasonable, and parking is plentiful. There are now four ball diamonds and two pavilions and a gazebo for the people's pleasure.
The Mill Pond Festival will be celebrating 34 years in August, and that and the beans are what keeps the park and all ven-ues open.
Everyone is welcome to Union Mills and to the annual Corn Bread and Bean Supper, an all you can eat affair, onMonday,March23rdfrom4until7.
86th Annual Cornbread and Bean Supper
On Tuesday, Tri-Township Schools provided notice of an executive session to be held on Monday, March 16, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting, which will not be open to the public, will be held at Wanatah School for the pur-pose of discussing “strategy with respect to the following: Initiation of litigation or litiga-
tion that is either pending or hasbeenthreatenedspecificallyin writing.”
When The Regional News reached out to Superintendent Kelly Shepherd for a comment on the meeting as well as sev-eral other topics, he declined to comment by responding, “In general I have no comment for your publication on any topic going forward.”
As of Wednesday evening, no cases showed up in the court’s onlinefilingsystem.
Monday’s executive session will mark the 11th executive session the school board has held since July 2019, a number of closed-door meetings that exceeds every other entity in Southern LaPorte County com-bined during the same time pe-riod.
Tri-Township to Hold Closed-Door MeetingJustin KielStaff Reporter
In the recent days the Coronavi-rus, now declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has been increasingly creep-ing closer to home. On Friday, March 6, the Indiana State De-partment of Health announced the first case ofwhat has beencalled COVID-19 in Indiana. By Wednesday, eleven individuals had been infected with the virus oversevencounties.Healthoffi-cials in St. Joseph County also an-
nounced Wednesday afternoon that a man in his 50s had tested positive for the virus.
Universities across the state have begun announcing clo-sures. Purdue University stated all courses would be moved on-line before March 23 and that it could last through the end of the semester. Indiana University would also be closed until April 6th with students taking class-es remotely. Purdue Northwest, Notre Dame, IU Northwest, Ball State, and IUPUI, amongst oth-
ers, have announced on-campus closures. Valparaiso University is currently on spring break and, unless a closure is announced, will return to school on March 16th. Ivy Tech had not an-nounced a closure at the time of publication.
Local public schools were also preparing for the possibility of an outbreak and subsequent closures. South Central and Westville released letters to par-ents explaining the steps the schools were taking to prevent
infections. Both letters pledged to work closely with state and local authorities, with Westville noting they would be increasing disinfecting practices.
Superintendent of MSD of New Durham Township, Sandra Wood, said, “We have been mon-itoring information regarding this virus for several weeks, and as such, we feel that we are as prepared as any school can be.”
“South Central will continue to work with the Indiana Depart-
Coronavirus Cases Increase in Indiana
IN THE NEWS
Modern Woodmen Support Local Teachers pg 2
DOE Releases Annual School Grades pg 3
Delams Hosts Chili Cook-Off pg 3
Proposal Fails on Path Forcing Out Indiana AG pg 4
Lawmakers to Limit Coal Plant Closures pg 4
Joe Haney Denounces Terms of County Home Sale pg 5
Universities Close and Schools Begin Preparations
Continued on Page 5
Local farmers Randy and Al-ynn Eggert of LaPorte recent-ly directed a $2,500 America’s Farmers Grow Communities donation, sponsored by Bayer Fund, to the South Central Jr/Sr High School Agriculture De-partment.
South Central Jr/Sr High
School Agriculture Depart-ment will use the funds to pur-chase a FarmBot, making it the 2nd school in the state to have a FarmBot, hydroponics set-ups, and aquaculture setups incorporated into the agricul-ture program. The FarmBot is
Eggert Farms Directs $2,500 to SC’s Ag Program for a FarmBot
Continued on Page 10
On Monday, March 9th, Tri-Township students in grades 7-12gathered in theTigerDenaround 12:30 to listen to guest speaker, Brad Hurtig. Brad is with the Relevant Speakers Network. He began by sharing his life story. Brad grew up in a small town in Ohio. He was a multiple-sport athlete, but his favorite was football. He was the starting middle linebacker for his high school varsity team. His life changed tremendously only a few days after finishinghis sophomore year.
One night he was working in a factory with a few friends when the accident happened. The big 5-ton press that they were working with came down on his hands when he tried readjust-ing a piece in the press. He was taken to the hospital immedi-ately. They tried everything they could, but they could not save his hands. His right arm is am-putated just past the elbow, and the left is amputated just past the wrist.
After a lot of hard work and determination, he was able to become the kicker for his foot-ball team during his junior year.
Inhisfinalyearoffootball,hefi-nally regained his starting posi-tion. As a middle linebacker, he led his team in tackles and re-ceived all-state honors, all with no hands.
Brad’s message was to al-ways “Find A Way.” He had stu-dents volunteer to participate in an activity that encouraged his message. They had to finda way to pick up a water bottle offthegroundandtakeadrinkwithout using their hands. His story and message are going to leave a lasting impact on these students.
LaCrosse Students Learn to “Find A Way”Emily PontbriandLocal Correspondent
La Porte County Sheriff JohnT. Boyd has announced the re-lease of the 2019 Annual ReportfortheLaPorteCountySheriff'sOffice.The2019AnnualReportcontains crime-related and sta-tistical information in the follow-ing categories: calls for service
as well as information in the ar-easofoffenses,arrests,crashes,citations, the Jail Division, the Warrants Division, and the Civil Division. "This year's annual re-port year reveals some major reductions in certain areas, such
Sheriff Boyd Releases 2019 Report and Stats
Continued on Page 3
Help Us Cover the NewsHave a Story Tip? Let us know at [email protected] or (219) 544-2060.
LC Lions Leap Ahead by FourStory on Page 10
On Monday, LaPorte’s People Engaged in Preservation and In-diana Landmarks announced a partnership to raise funds for an alternative study to take a sec-ond look at the cost of renova-tion for the LaCrosse High School building. Organizers are hoping to raise$7,500 tosupplementa$2,500grantbeingofferedbyIn-diana Landmarks.The fundraising efforts come
after a round of criticism over the estimates provided by Per-formance Services during the
recentFebruary27thandMarch4th public meetings. The costs provided by Performance Ser-vicesputtherenovationat$6.57million as opposed to between $2.8 million and $3.6 million as stated only five years earlier.Meanwhile, many believed that the estimates of the Wanatah School addition were found to be missing important components inordertoartificiallykeepcostslower.
As of Wednesday, a Go Fund
Fundraising Begins for LCHS Historical Renovation Study
Continued on Page 5
Justin KielStaff Reporter
The Regional News
Our paper celebrates and promotes the local people. We have creatde this space for local businesses that wish to show their support of the local programs and activities.And in return, hopefully the local people will in turn show their support to these businesses.
Get an ad like this for as low as $10/week
Grow with the Region
CARRIE BLOCK, [email protected]
“Dedicated and Responsive”
4975 W ST RD 10NORTH JUDSON, IN 46366
(574) 896-34821STCHOICEINSURANCE.NET
AUTO-HOME-FARM-LIFE-HEALTH-BUSINESS
Daniel W. GranquistAttorney & Counselor at Law
Business | Real Estate | Estate Planning219-728-2880
Advertise your business here for only $10/week
Call (219) 544-2060 for details
| Thursday, March 12, 2020 | 5
Marlene MurphyMarketing & Sales Representative
300 S. Heaton StKnox, IN 46534
www.lochmandy.com
[email protected]: 574-806-8371
Store: 574-772-2181
Get $100 when you refer your friends and family to me and they purchase!
LAPORTE COUNTY — Today, LaPorte County Commission Candidate Joe Haney strongly denounced the handling of the recent sale of the LaPorte Coun-ty Home. Haney, who is oppos-ing three-term incumbent Vidya Kora for the District 3 Commis-sion seat, stated, “This is just one more example in a series of systemic failures on the part of Commission leadership. The conduct of the Commissioners in the sale of the County Home was, in my opinion, irresponsi-ble and unconscionable.”
At the end of February, the LaPorte County Home was sold at auction to the single bid-der in attendance. The mini-mum bid of $50,000, set by the County Commission, included over 5 acres of prime real es-tate on State Road 2, located just outside LaPorte city limits. The final vote concerning theproperty occurred on February 19, 2020 when Commissioner Vidya Kora motioned to ap-prove a boundary survey for the County Home and adjacent 5.39 acres, moving the auc-tion forward. Fellow Democrat Commissioner Sheila Matias seconded, and then both Kora and Matias voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed 2-0, as Commissioner Richard Mro-zinski was out of town and un-able to vote.
“Regrettably, the property appears to have been listed ac-cording to the bare minimum standards allowed under Indi-ana state law,” Haney said. “In my judgment the Commission-ers have failed the citizens of LaPorte County, and a number of outstanding questions re-main.”
When asked to comment on the fact that only a single bidder attended the auction, Haney said, “There are several reasons why, and I believe that chief among them was that the Commissioners failed to prop-erly oversee the marketing and advertising of the property; in-stead they chose to do the bare minimum. One glaring example is that the address listed in the auction notice was the legal tax address of Zeigler Road, even though the County Home and its acreage are commonly known to be located on State Road 2. Unless potential bid-ders were intimately familiar with this, no one would think to equate the County Home
with the address listed in the auction notice. Moreover, the Commissioners neglected to place even a single sign in front of the home, advertising the upcoming auction, despite the County Home's highly visible and prominent location.”
Haney additionally pointed out, “It's important to note that every reference to the home I have seen by the Commis-sioners, during their meetings, referred to the home as being located on State Road 2. I don't believe any member of the gen-eral public or potentially inter-ested party who would have seen the listing, which only ap-peared on two days, could rea-sonably believe it had anything to do with the County Home. This helps to explain why there was only one bidder at the auc-tion.”
Haney criticized the lack of exploring other potential solu-tions related to the home, such as developing the property into senior housing. This opportu-nity fell short when the county repeatedly failed to show the property to potential develop-ers, as revealed by long time County Home advocate Phyllis Marks, during the March 4th, 2020 Commissioner Meeting.
“One of the key reasons I'm running for County Com-missioner,” Haney said, “is to change the current 'bare min-imum' culture that has been allowed to fester in the county. The citizens of LaPorte Coun-ty deserve accountability from theirelectedofficials.Doingtheminimum required by law may be 'business as usual' for a poli-tician running for his third term, but for a matter as important to our people as the Coun-ty Home, such indifference iscompletely unacceptable.”
When asked about the home itself, Haney spoke fondly of it anditssignificancetothecom-munity: “The County Home was completed in 1886 and deserves recognition as a pre-mier historic site of LaPorte County... it's a true landmark. As Commissioner, I would have ensured that the County Home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, as had been previously requested of the Commissioners. Doing so would have allowed poten-tial investors to receive a 20 percent federal tax credit for preserving and restoring the
property, expanding the pool of buyers.”
Haney continued, “Most im-portantly, protective covenants should have been put in place to ensure that a 'low ball' buy-er would not be able to simply strip the property for anything of value and then 'flip it' oreven demolish it. Inexplicably, no such protections were af-forded to this county treasure, and with the sale of the home under these circumstances, anything seems to be on the table. It's disturbing to think that my opponent, Vidya Kora, would be so cavalier as to sim-ply unload the home and leave its fate up to the goodwill of potential bidders... or in this case a single bidder. Basically they gave away the property, with the county having zero recourse in whatever fate may await the home.”
“The Commissioners have not just a duty, but a moral re-sponsibility, to ensure proper disposition of County-owned property, and I believe they havefailedintheirfiduciaryre-sponsibilities to the taxpayers of LaPorte County. We need strong and principled leader-ship in LaPorte County and, whenelected,Iwillfightforthepeople of this county, for our property, for our livelihood and for our history,” Haney conclud-ed.
Joe Haney is the Republican candidate for LaPorte County Commissioner, District 3. He is a small business owner who resides on a small farm near Door Village with his wife of 18 years and their three daugh-ters. Haney is active in the community and has spent his adult life volunteering his time and talents, from serving as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT tovolunteering at homeless shel-ters, animal rescue groups and more. Visit JoeForLaPorte.com for more information.
County Commission Candidate Joe Haney Denounces Terms of County Home Sale
ment of Education, the Indiana State Department of Health, and the LaPorte County Health Department to prepare and implement a response for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are confident that we have thecapacitytofulfillavarietyofre-sponses upon recommendation from these organizations,” wrote South Central Superintendent Theodore Stevens.
Despite the national concern of the virus rapidly increasing, a concern that was elevated fur-ther by an Oval Office addressby President Donald Trump, as of Wednesday evening the Tri-Township Schools hadn’t shared any mitigation or pre-vention strategies. When The Regional News contacted Su-perintendent Kelly Shepherd for comment on his school’s prepa-rations for the virus along with other issues, Shepherd declined to comment on the matter. The superintendent, who has been under scrutiny recently for his recommendation to close La-Crosse High School, wrote, “In
general I have no comment for your publication on any topic go-ing forward.”
By Wednesday afternoon, the State of the County event, which had been scheduled for March 13th, had been canceled.
Across the nation, major events were being canceled at an un-precedented rate. The N.C.A.A. announced that it would be lim-iting attendance to the March Madness basketball tournament gamestoonlyessentialstaffandlimited family attendance. The NBA has suspended its season until further notice after a player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus, the league announced Wednesday night. In Chicago, the St. Patrick’s Day parade and dyeing of the Chica-go River were indefinitely post-poned. The University of Chi-cago canceled all events on its campus.
By late Wednesday evening, the number of infected by the virus in the United States had reached 1,322 people with 38 patients having died as a result.
The virus poses particular
risks for the elderly population. According to studies of 44,672patients by the Chinese govern-ment, the virus had a 14.8% mor-tality rate for those above the age of 80 and an 8.0% mortality rate for thosebetweenages70and 79. Those with preexistingconditions or weakened im-mune systems saw significantlyincreased mortality rates.
Experts urged the public not to panic but recommended being prepared and adopting habits that would prevent the spread of infections. Everyone should wash their hands with soap and water frequently for at least twenty-seconds, or use alco-hol-based hand sanitizers when hand washing isn’t practical. Thosewithflu-orcold-likesymp-toms should self-quarantine, and make concerted efforts to stayat least six feet away from oth-er individuals. It is recommend-ed that households stock up on home supplies and be prepared in the event of a widespread quarantine. For more detailed preparedness guides visit: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
Coronavirus Cases Increase in IndianaContinued from Page 1
Make sure you save the date! The Westville Lions would like to inviteyouto theirfirstCarandBike Show. All vehicles are wel-come. The Car and Bike Show will be May 2nd with a rain date of May 3rd. It will be located downtown Westville on Main Street. Registration starts at 8 a.m. and the car show is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is $15 for a pre-registered vehicle and $20 on the day of the event. You can find the registration formon their Facebook, the Westville Public Library, and Greenway
Cafe. Stay tuned for additional places to pick up registration forms.
Proceeds from the car show will be donated to local veter-ans programs. At their March board meeting, they will final-ize what programs they are as-sisting. There will be trophies awarded for best in show, peo-ple's choice, and some other categories. There will be a dona-tion box on site for gently used clothing for veterans. The Lions will have donation box for un-used keys, glasses, or hearing
aids. This is a family-friendly event
with no admission fee. There will be a DJ and other activities for kids. There will be food to purchase from local restau-rants. The Lions are hoping to make this a successful service project for the community so we can all help give back to our veterans! As always, the Lions would like to thank you for your support. You can follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westvillelions.
Get Your Motors Ready!
Me fundraiser had collected $2,410 for the alternative study. People Engaged in Preservation agreed to contribute an addition-al $1,000. Landmarks Indiana was scheduled to meet Wednes-day evening to evaluate the grant application for the study.
Todd Zeiger of Indiana Land-marks indicated he had spoken with Tri-Township Superinten-
dent Kelly Shepherd about an-other firmevaluating the condi-tion of the high school building and preparing an estimate, and that Shepherd had agreed to al-low them to inspect the building. Zeiger believed the original es-timates for the high school ren-ovation were too high and the Wanatah addition were too low. He also pointed out that a reno-vation of the existing high school
would produce roughly 22,000 square feet as opposed to only 6,300 with an addition.
Those interested in donating to the fundraiser can do so by vis-iting www.gofundme.com/help-save-lacrosse-high-school or by delivering a check made out to People Engaged in Preservation to the LaCrosse Public Library or mailing it to PEP, PO Box 853, LaPorte, IN 46352-0853.
Fundraising Begins for LCHS Renovation StudyContinued from Page 1
By TOM DAVIESINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State
legislators on Tuesday gave their finalapprovaltoaproposalban-ning motorists from using hand-held cellphones on Indiana roads to combat distracted driving.
The Indiana House voted 81-11 and the Senate 49-1 in favor of the bill allowing cellphone use by drivers only with hands-free or voice-operated technology, ex-cept in emergencies.
The measure would broaden the state's current ban on texting while driving that officials pointout is unenforceable and doesn't ban actions such as emailing or using Snapchat, Twitter and oth-er apps.Thenewlawwouldtakeeffect
in July, but any tickets issued to
violators won't result in state Bureau of Motor Vehicles points toward a driver's license suspen-sion until July 2021.
Republican Rep. Holli Sullivan of Evansville, the bill's sponsor, said that delay is to allow more time for a public awareness campaign about the dangers of distracted driving, especially in highway work zones, and for po-liceofficerstogivewarningtick-ets and inform drivers about the cellphone ban.
Distracted driving was to blame in at least 860 injury crashes and 48 fatalities in Indiana last year, according to state police.
Legislative committees heard emotional testimony from sever-al people who had been injured or lost family members in crash-
es caused by distracted driving. They were joined by representa-tives of the trucking industry, au-tomakers and emergency room doctors.
The proposal now goes to Re-publican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has endorsed it. Twenty-one oth-er states already have similar bans.
Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, a Munster Democrat, said while itmightbedifficult forpolice toenforce the ban, it sends a mes-sage similar to when laws were adopted requiring seat belt use.
"Here we are, everybody gets in the car and puts their seat belt on automatically," Reardon said.
The bill would make violations a ticketed infraction with a maxi-mum$500fine.
Ban on Drivers Using Phones Wins Approval
