Manchester College Collects Tsunami Donations

Manchester College is helping to collect donations for the tsunami relief effort. The college will accept cash or check donations in its campus business office through February first. Manchester will forward the money to the Church of the Brethren denomination headquarters, which will send it on to Church World Service.

Leesburg House Fire

Fire destroyed a house in Leesburg this morning. Leesburg Fire Chief Terry Eppley says one of the homeowners woke up and smelled smoke at about 4:30. Hear a sound bite from Chief Eppley No humans were hurt but the family’s dog died. Eppley blames the fire on a faulty extension cord that was connected to a space heater.

Crash Critically Injures Huntington Teen

State police are looking for a vehicle that might have caused a nasty crash in Huntington County… and then left the scene. The collision left two Huntington teens in the hospital. One is in critical condition this morning. State police say a 17-year-old Huntington boy was driving a pickup truck on a southern Huntington County road yesterday afternoon… with three other teenaged boys inside. The driver lost control of the pickup truck after he swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle that had crossed the centerline. The pickup truck rolled over and clobbered a utility pole. The driver was pinned in the wreckage for about 30 minutes and one of the passengers suffered critical head injuries after he flew out of the truck and fell into a field. Police say the boys described the other vehicle as a white, older model S-U-V or pickup truck with a broken black grill. They want you to call the Fort Wayne State Police post if you know anything about that vehicle.

North Manchester Store Robbed

North Manchester police are looking for an armed robber this morning. Sergeant Jeff Perry says the hold-up happened at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon at the Eel River Package store on East Second Street. Hear a sound bite from Sgt. Perry The clerk handed over some money from the cash register. Perry says the robber took off in a small, silver hatchback car. He hopes you’ll call the North Manchester Police Department if you have any information on the crime. The number is 260-982-8555.

Police Catch Suspect in Attempted DQ Robbery

A 22-year-old Mentone man faces charges this morning for allegedly trying to rob the Warsaw Dairy Queen last night. Dispatchers say the suspect walked up to the drive through window at about midnight and demanded money from workers who were closing up inside. The workers refused to give the man anything, so he walked off. As Warsaw police responded to the call, they saw a man who matched the description and arrested him.

Pierceton House Fire

The oldest house in Pierceton caught fire last night. Pierceton Fire Chief Gordon Baker says residents discovered the fire when they heard crackling in the ceiling. Hear a sound bite from Chief Baker. Baker says firefighters contained the fire to the ceiling and attic area. He says it looks like some kind of electrical problem ignited the cellulose insulation in the attic. The call came in at about 10:45 last night.

Moped Accident

A 37-year-old Leesburg man is in critical condition this morning after a moped accident near North Webster last night. Police got the call at about 10 o’clock. When they got to the scene on State Road 13, they found that a moped had run off the road and into a ditch. The driver suffered head injuries. Police don’t know yet why the moped left the road.

House Fire near South Whitley

Fire has destroyed a house near South Whitley. Hear a sound bite from Fire Chief Joe Jackson. Cleveland Township Fire Chief Joe Jackson says no one was living in the house and no one was hurt. The house was in the 5800-block of West Whitley County Road One Thousand South. The call came in at about 7:30 last night and it took firefighters from Cleveland Township and three other departments about an hour and a half to control the fire. At about 2:40 this morning, dispatchers sent firefighters back to the house because flames had sprung back up.

Warsaw Christmas Tree Pick-up

Warsaw residents have plenty of time to take down their Christmas trees. Curb-side pick-up of trees takes place a week from Saturday. Workers will make only one pass through the city, so if you don’t have your tree out by January seventh, you’ll have to find another way to get rid of it.