Winona Lake Considers Building Sewage Plant

Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Retha Hicks says the town is thinking about building its own sewage treatment plant – to avoid paying a proposed 60 percent sewage rate increase to the City of Warsaw. Winona Lake officials say the proposed increase is unreasonable, because rates for other big customers of the Warsaw sewage plant would only go up about half as much. Warsaw City Council approved sewer rate increases during its meeting Sept. 18.

JobWorks Accused of Overbilling State

A report by the state’s inspector general implicates a Fort Wayne non-profit organization in over-billing the state as much as 180-thousand dollars for job-training services. JobWorks has offices around the state and a prosecutor has charged an employee and former employee of the Indianapolis office with felony crimes in the case.

Convicted Killer Reportedly Attacked with Tattoo

Someone apparently attacked an Indiana prison inmate, forcibly tattooing his forehead. 39-year-old Anthony Ray Stockelman is serving a life sentence for molesting and killing ten-year-old southern Indiana resident Katie Collman. Prison officials moved Stockelman to protective custody after they noticed the tattoo, which reads, "Katie's Revenge."

Goshen Teacher Charged with Sex with a Minor

Police arrested a Goshen teacher yesterday on charges of sexual misconduct with a minor. Police say the 44-year-old man had sex with a high school student several times during the past year. The district's website lists the suspect as a fifth grade teacher.

Huntington County Crash Kills One, Critically Injures Another

Police say a crash on I-69 near the State Road 5 exit in Huntington County killed a Greenwood, Indiana woman this morning. According to a news release from Indiana State Police, 30-year-old Beth Hutt died in the crash. Hutt was driving a car that was southbound on the Interstate when another southbound car struck Hutt’s car and left the scene. That crash disabled Hutt’s car and left it partially in the driving lane. A short time later, a semi truck struck Hutt’s car when the trucker failed to see it in time. It was that crash that killed Hutt and critically injured a 29-year-old Franklin man who was a passenger in Hutt’s car. The trucker was not injured. Police are looking for information about a white or light-colored vehicle, possibly a Pontiac Sunfire or similar model, that left the scene of the initial crash. They’re asking anyone with information concerning this crash to call the Indiana State Police Fort Wayne Post at 800-552-0976.

Child, 7, Makes Fales Emergency Calls from School Bus

A series of false emergency calls to the Kosciusko County 9-1-1 center yesterday turned out to come from a school bus… where a seven-year-old boy was using a cell phone. Dispatchers used new technology to trace the calls to the bus. The school suspended the second-grader. His mother had given the child the deactivated phone for playing games, not realizing that deactivated cell phones can still call 9-1-1.

BMV Commissioner Resigns

Governor Daniels announced in a news release today that Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Joel Silverman has resigned. According to a news release from the governor's office, Silverman's resignation is effective October 16. The governor has appointed Ron Stiver, the current commissioner of the Department of Workforce Development, to become the new BMV commissioner. For several weeks, Democrat lawmakers have been calling for Governor Daniels to replace Silverman, whose agency created controversy by closing branches around the state and by had severe problems when a new computer system was installed in early July.

State GOP Candidates Propose Tax Breaks for Service Men/Women

Reservists and National Guard members would not have to pay state income tax on any of the military pay they receive while on active duty, under a plan announced yesterday by Republican candidates for the Indiana House of Representatives. The plan would also increase the tax exemption that’s available to full-time members of the armed services.

Governor Requests Federal Disaster Assistance

Governor Daniels has asked President Bush to approve federal disaster assistance for residents of Lake and Vanderburgh counties because of flooding earlier this month. The governor’s office says that in Vanderburgh County, which includes Evansville, flooding destroyed about 17 homes and did major damage to another 47. In Lake County of northwestern Indiana, high water destroyed four homes and did major damage to 87.

Winona Seeks Sponsors for Trail Artwork

Volunteers in Winona Lake are raising money for sculptures and benches to be placed along a new walking trail. The Heritage Trail is the Winona Lake portion of Warsaw’s Lake City Greenway trail system. You can get more information about sponsoring artwork or a bench by calling the town of Winona Lake at (574) 267-5783.

Milford Plant Opponents to Meet

A group that opposes a possible ethanol plant near the Kosciusko County town of Milford plans an organizational meeting tonight. The group is called the Northern Lakes Area Concerned Citizens Association. It is encouraging members of the public to attend tonight’s meeting and make suggestions. American Milling Company is interested in a site near Milford, but it’s one of several sites the company is considering and the company has not asked the county to rezone the property. Tonight’s meeting takes place at the Milford Community Center at 7 p.m. There’s more information on the group's web site, www.milfordethanol.com.

Governor Supports New Local Taxes

Governor Daniels says he is committed to seeking new taxing options for local governments during the next legislative session. He made the comment at a meeting of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, which backs a plan that would allow counties, cities and towns to implement local sales taxes of up to 1 percent; an income tax in addition to those already in place; a local motel tax and a local restaurant tax.

Voting Machines have Software Glitch

Five thousand voting machines around Indiana, including some in the Q101 area, have a software glitch that would prevent people from voting straight-party ballots in November. The Microvote Company disabled the straight-party feature in order to get its machines certified for last May’s primary. Now, it must upgrade the software in all the machines before November 7.

West Nile Infects Noble, Elkhart, Allen County Residents

State health officials announced this afternoon that 16 new patients in Noble, Elkhart, Allen and four other counties have been infected with the West Nile virus. The remaining counties with new human cases are Lake, Blackford, Clinton and LaPorte Counties. According to a news release, West Nile virus has been identified in 66 counties in Indiana so far in 2006, with a total of 30 human cases.

Kosciusko United Way Names Campaign Chair

The United Way of Kosciusko County has announced the name of the chairman for the organization’s 2006 campaign. Retired Zimmer executive Ron Donkers will lead efforts to raise more than one-point-seven-million dollars for 51 human service programs in the county.

Gun Found in Tippecanoe Valley Locker, Student Arrested

Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine announced this morning that police and school officials found a handgun in the locker of a Tippecanoe Valley High School student yesterday. According to a news release from Rovenstine, Police arrested a 17-year-old Akron boy and charged him as an adult with two crimes – Dangerous Possession of a Firearm and Theft. Rovenstine says no threats had been made, the gun was not loaded, and it had no live ammunition with it. According to the release, the student had brought the gun to school to trade it for other property. The investigation began with a tip to school officials from another student.

Skeleton of Possible Homicide Victim in Wabash Building

Some apparently killed a person in Wabash in the past few years and buried the body in the basement of a downtown building. Wabash police uncovered what appears to be a fully-clothed, human skeleton after they received a tip from the Speedway Police Department near Indianapolis. The remains were removed from the building yesterday, after a forensic anthropology team from Indiana University spent several hours excavating the site. Police say they hope dental records can identify the victim who they believe had no connection to Wabash. Police also say they do have suspects in the case.

Etna Green Bank Robbery Defendants Senteced

A Warsaw judge sentenced two people yesterday in connection with the robbery of a bank in Etna Green last April. 21-year-old Michael Islas had pleaded guilty to a charge of armed robbery as part of a plea agreement. Judge Rex Reed gave Islas 10 years in prison. Islas had been a lookout and timer during the robbery. 22-year-old Ashley King of Warsaw had also entered a plea agreement through which she pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting robbery. Reed gave King a year in jail and three years of probation. Court records indicate King drove the getaway car.

Peru Motel Robbed

Police say a man held up the Best Western motel in Peru at about five o’clock this morning. At last report, police didn’t have much information about the suspect or his vehicle. Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area should call the Peru Police Department.

High School Band Director Arrested on Sex Charges

The band director of an Adams County high school faces nearly 70 criminal charges this morning related to allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a female student and possessed child pornography. The 26-year-old man turned himself in to police yesterday. Adams Central Schools had suspended the band director before the school year started.

Lawyer Says Blood-Thinner Labels Confusing

A lawyer for the families of two infants who died at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis says the packaging of the medicines that killed the babies is confusing. The lawyer says he’ll ask the drug company to change how it labels the two doses of the blood thinner, Heparin. The lawyer says the families have not yet decided whether to sue the hospital or the drug company.

Wabash Police Investigate Possible Homicide

The Wabash City Police Department announced this afternoon that it is investigating a possible homicide that happened in the city within the last few years. According to a news release, the investigation began with information received from the Speedway Police Department. The release says police are gathering evidence in an attempt to identify the victim. Investigators believe that the victim had no connection to the city of Wabash. The release says police are investigating possible suspects, that the investigation is in the early stages and that it will be ongoing for some time.

Governor Wants Fast Full-Day Kindergarten Roll-Out

Governor Daniels says he’d like to roll out full-day kindergarten for all students in the state in one year. And he says doing that would cost about 166-million dollars. A single year implantation is one of three plans the governor presented yesterday in a memo to the state’s Education Roundtable. The other two options would phasing in full-day kindergarten over a period of five years. All three plans would require a mix of state and local tax dollars.

Mysterious Investigation in Wabash

Reports indicate that human remains might have been discovered inside a building in downtown Wabash yesterday. Police spent much of the day conducting some kind of investigation in the building. But Wabash police say they don’t plan to reveal why they were called to the scene until later today.

Committee Approves Stricter Coroner Rules

A legislative committee has approved a proposal that would mandate more training for coroners and set standards for the identification those who die. The intent of the legislation is to avoid errors like the one that happened in Grant County last spring, where a Taylor University student who survived a crash was mistakenly identified as one who died.

No Charges Against Trucker in Police Bicycle Deaths

A prosecutor announced yesterday that a truck driver will not face reckless homicide charges in a crash that killed two police officers who were on a charity bicycle ride. The prosecutor says after reviewing investigator’s reports, state statues and case law, she found no basis to charge the 49-year-old Kentucky man.

Accidental Overdose Kills Third Infant

A third premature infant has died after receiving an overdose of a blood-thinning medication at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis last weekend. Three other babies who received the overdose of Heparin have survived and a hospital spokesman says they are no longer in danger from the overdose.

Kosciusko Commissioners Nix Lake Funneling

Kosciusko County Commissioners approved a measure yesterday that will prevent a development practice called, “funneling” on the county's lakes. Funneling allows people with lots that aren’t on a lakefront to gain access to the lake through a narrow strip of land. The amendment that Commissioners approved requires each development on or near a lake to have a certain amount of shoreline.

Biomet Reports Record Sales, Earnings

Warsaw orthopedic company Biomet says strong sales of orthopedic reconstructive devices and dental reconstructive implants led to record sales and earnings for its first quarter, which ended August 31st. Net sales increased five percent and net income increased two percent. More information is available on Biomet's web site.

Kosciusko United Way Sets Goal, Pacestter Campaign Begins

The Kosciusko County United Way has set a goal of 1.715 million dollars for this year’s campaign. Three companies, Chore Time Brock, Bart’s Water Sports and Kosciusko County REMC have already started soliciting pledges from their employees, to set the pace for the campaign. The United Way raises money to help support a broad spectrum of health and human service programs.

Nader to Speak at Manchester College

Manchester College says famous consumer advocate, author and presidential candidate Ralph Nader will speak on campus Monday. Nader is one of a series of lecturers at the college who are focusing on the pharmaceutical industry this fall. Nader’s lecture will be open to the public. More information is available on the Manchester College web site.

Columbia City Man Sentenced for Bilking Elderly

A former financial planner from Columbia City got 12 years in prison yesterday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a number of elderly northern Indiana residents. Last month, a Whitley Superior Court jury convicted 57-year-old Larry Walkup of six felony counts of theft. According to court records and testimony, Walkup was heavily in debt when he kept money his former clients gave him for investments. His victims include an 83-year-old legally blind woman who lost $37-thousand dollars and the ability to sell her home. Walkup faces similar charges in Huntington County.

Hospital Announces New Drug Safety Procedures

Methodist Hospital says it now has new policies and procedures designed to keep infants from receiving dangerous adult doses of a blood thinner. The hospital has stopped stocking the dose that six infants received last week. And new double checks will happen both in the hospital pharmacy and at the bedside. Two infants died of the overdose and one was in critical condition at last report.

State Credits Indy for Millions in Underpayment

The Daniels administration is forgiving about $13 million in debt owed by Indianapolis to fix a mistake that shortchanged the city over the past 30 years. The state has also decided to excuse other Indiana cities and towns from repaying extra money they received from state excise taxes on alcohol sales.

Police Hope to ID Child Killler Through Handwriting

More than 18 years after an eight-year-old Fort Wayne girl was kidnapped and murdered, police have asked for the public’s help identifying handwriting on notes the killer might have written. Police say the notes turned up two years ago in various locations around Allen County. You can see pictures of the notes and other information about the case by following this link to the Fort Wayne Police Department's web site.

Indy Hospital Gives Overdoses, Infants Die

Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis says it’s investigating how six premature infants in the hospital received overdoses of a blood thinner. Two of the babies died. The hospital says human error is to blame and it has already taken some corrective measures. The infants received adult doses of Heparin, which is a blood thinner that hospitals routinely give to keep blood clots from clogging intravenous drug lines. An overdose can cause severe internal bleeding.

Tainted Spinach Continues to Sicken Hoosiers

Health officials say a second person might have died from bacteria on tainted spinach. They’re investing the death of a 23-month-old Ohio girl. Meanwhile, at least 109 people in 19 states, including Indiana, have become ill from the E. coli bacteria. At last report, eight Hoosiers had become ill. Officials say you should not eat fresh spinach or products containing fresh spinach until further notice.

Sleep, Food Help Students with ISTEP

ISTEP tests begin this week for about 700-thousand Indiana students in grades three through 10. Experts say parents should make sure their children get plenty of sleep and nutritious meals. They say proteins like meat and cheese will help test performance better than sugary foods. And they say elementary students need 10 to 11 hours a sleep, while high school students need at least nine.

Whitley Dispatcher Receives State Honor

A state agency has honored a dispatcher at the Whitley County Emergency Medical Service as Indiana’s E-M-S Dispatcher of the Year. Kathy Shively received the honor in Indianapolis Saturday night. Also Saturday, paramedics Tony Doyle and Carl Wireman of Warsaw’s Multi-Township E-M-S placed third in a statewide competition.

Throw Away Your Spinach

Health officials are blaming bagged, fresh spinach for a widespread outbreak of illnesses caused by E. coli bacteria. It's affecting people in Indiana and elsewhere around the country. The e-coli has killed one person, in Wisconsin, where 20 cases have been reported. The rest are sprinkled across the map, from Connecticut to Oregon. At least one Hoosier has come down with the illness. Doctors say the disease usually has an onset of sudden and severe abdominal cramping followed very quickly by diarrhea at first watery then in the more severe cases bloody diarrhea. No word yet where the spinach was grown or what brand was tainted.

Governor Declares Disaster in Lake County Flood

Governor Daniels has declared a disaster in Lake County, where flooding has damaged at least a thousand homes. The hardest hit areas are East Chicago, Hammond, Griffith and Highland. At last report, the governor had not decided whether to ask President Bush for a federal disaster declaration.

Warsaw Man Critically Injured in Crash with Semi

Kosciusko County police say a 22-year-old Warsaw man suffered critical injuries this morning in a crash at the intersection of U-S 30 and County Road 200-North. Police say a semi truck driven by an Illinois man blew a red light and slammed into the driver’s side of the Warsaw man’s car. EMS transported the Warsaw man to a Fort Wayne hospital, where he is listed in critical condition. The trucker suffered minor injuries. According to a news release from the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, alcohol or drugs might have been a factor in the crash.

West Nile Infects Wabash County Resident

State health officials say a Wabash County resident has been infected with the West Nile virus. That person is one of 10 new human cases the Indiana State Department of Health announced this morning. The others are in Porter, Lake, Elkhart, LaPorte and Vanderburgh counties. So far this year, the virus has been found in 61 counties and a total of 14 Hoosiers have been infected. State Health officials say they are confident that the virus exists in all 92 counties, even those in which no mosquitoes, birds or humans have tested positive. Health officials recommend staying inside from dusk to dawn, which is prime mosquito biting time. If you have to go outdoors, they suggest applying insect repellent that contains DEET, picaradin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus to clothes and exposed skin.

Electrocution Victims Identified

Police have released the names of two people who were electrocuted at the scene of a car crash near Churubusco Tuesday night. 17-year-old Samantha Merchant of Churubusco was driving a car that hit a power pole and brought down live wires. She came into contact with the wires after she got out of the car and died at the scene. The electricity also killed 35-year-old Charles Webb of Fort Wayne, who stopped to help after the one-car crash.

School Lunch Hot Dog Kills LaPorte Boy

A nine-year old boy choked on a hot dog during lunch at a LaPorte school and died. School workers tried to clear the boy’s airway with the Heimlich maneuver but were unsuccessful. A coroner says a hot dog’s tubular shape makes it one of the most dangerous things a child can eat.

Two of Indiana's Corners Flood

Heavy rain has caused flooding in extreme northwestern and southwestern Indiana. In the northwestern Indiana city of Highland, water has caused the basement walls of some homes to collapse. In Evansville, high water has stranded dozens of cars and school buses.

Poisonous Spiders Infest School

An elementary school in rural Anderson is infested with poisonous brown recluse spiders. Health officials have advised the school system that the spiders do not present any imminent danger to students, so the school remains open. Experts say the spiders rarely bite humans and if they do, their venom causes a rash. School officials are using pesticides to eliminate the spiders.

Indiana Soldier Dies in Iraq

The Defense Department says enemy fire has killed a 19-year-old soldier from southeastern Indiana while he was on a military base in Baghdad. Private First Class Anthony Seig died after about a year in the Army and two months in Iraq as a military police officer.

Pork Theft Dampens Cromwell Fundraiser

Someone stole 350 pounds of pork from a Lions Club in the Noble County town of Cromwell. The club discovered the theft Sunday morning, when members went to the town community center to retrieve the food from the center’s walk-in freezer. The club had planned to cook up the porkburgers and hot dogs at a Cromwell festival Sunday, to raise money for scholarships for West Noble High School students. Cromwell Lions were able to borrow some pork from the Ligonier Lions Club, but they still weren’t able to raise as much money as they would have with their own food.

Warsaw Commemorates Sept. 11 Attacks

Warsaw commemorated the September 11th terror attacks with a parade yesterday, followed by a ceremony at the Kosciusko County fairgrounds. At 8:45 this morning, the Warsaw Fire Department and the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution will conduct a flag-raising ceremony on the courthouse lawn.

Trucker Arraigned in Fatal Taylor Univ. Crash

A Michigan truck driver appeared in a Marion courtroom yesterday for arraignment in the case of the crash that killed four Taylor University students and a staff member. A judge assigned public defender Joe Lewis to represent the 37-year-old trucker, who faces charges of reckless homicide and criminal recklessness. The man’s truck crossed the median on I-69 last April and collided with a university van. Lewis says he plans to convince the court that the crash was an accident, not a crime. And Lewis says he plans to ask for a change of venue.

Legislative Prayer Argued Before Federal Appeals Court

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments yesterday in the battle over prayer in the state House of Representatives. Lawyers for House Speaker Brian Bosma and lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice urged a three-judge panel in Chicago to overturn a lower court ruling that prohibits the House from opening its daily business with sectarian prayers. A lawyer for the ACLU of Indiana argued that sectarian legislative prayers violate the constitutional requirement of separation of church and state.

Appeals Court Reduces Warsaw Man's Sentence

The Indiana Court of Appeals has reduced the sentence of a Warsaw man who’s serving time for operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death. A judge had given 31-year-old Jeffrey Reed the maximum sentence of 20 years, with six years suspended. The Appeals Court ruled that the evidence did not support a sentence that harsh and reduced it to 15 years, with four-and-a-half years suspended.

Officials Work on ISTEP Changes

State education officials are working on a proposal that could move the ISTEP test from the fall to the spring and create smaller tests students would take throughout the year. Officials don’t know how much the new tests would cost or when they could be implemented. They plan to iron out those details and make recommendations to state lawmakers by November first.

Trucker in Taylor Univ. Crash Transferred to Indiana

A Michigan truck driver arrived at the Grant County Jail late last night, where he’s held this morning on multiple charges related to a crash last April that killed four Taylor University students and one staff member. Grant County officers transferred the 37-year-old suburban Detroit resident from a Michigan jail, after he waived extradition yesterday. Michigan police had arrested the trucker at his home Friday, after Grant County’s prosecutor charged him with five counts of reckless homicide and four counts of criminal recklessness. Officials accuse the trucker of driving nine hours longer than federal regulations allow before his truck crossed the median on I-69 and crashed into a university van.

Verizon Resolves 'Busco Outage

Full telephone service is returning to Churubusco, after a malfunction in Verizon equipment isolated the 693 exchange early this morning. Starting at about five o’clock this morning, about two thousand customers were unable to place calls to locations outside the Churubusco area and that included 911 emergency calls. In addition, Churubusco customers were unable to receive calls from outside their exchange. A Verizon spokesperson says technicians had the problem resolved shortly after eight o’clock this morning. Technicians plan to run extensive tests on the equipment after midnight tonight.

Phone Outage Isolates Churubusco

Verizon telephone customers in Churubusco are cut off from the rest of the world this morning. Dispatchers at the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department say people on the Churubusco 693 exchange are able to call each other, but they cannot call outside their exchange and they cannot call 911. Dispatchers say that until the problem is resolved, instead of calling 911, people in Churubusco should call the local number for the Churubusco Police Department if they have an emergency. That number is 693-2609. A spokesman for Verizon tells Q101 that technicians are attempting to determine what caused the problem and it’s too early to know how soon service will be restored.

Suspects Arrested in Lagro Robbery

The Wabash County Sheriff’s Department announced yesterday that police have arrested three suspects in the August 23rd robbery of a convenience store in Lagro. Two of the suspects are from Fort Wayne and one is from Huntington. They range in age from 20 to 29.

Arrest Made after North Webster Robbery Attempt

The North Webster Police Department announced late yesterday morning that officers arrested a suspect last Saturday in the attempted robbery of a North Webster gas station. The suspect is a 24-year-old North Webster man, who police say was armed with a board.

Kosciusko Crash Kills Roann Woman

A 22-year-old Roann woman died in a one-vehicle crash in Kosciusko County yesterday. Police say Krystal Steele’s S-U-V left State Road 19 near Nappanee and rolled over. The coroner’s office pronounced Steele dead at the scene.

State Trooper Escapes Death in Crushing Collision

An Indiana state trooper escaped death yesterday after a crash crushed the trooper’s car between two semi trucks, while the trooper was sitting inside. It happened along Interstate 65 near Lafayette, while Sergeant Rich Kelly was engaged in a traffic stop. Kelly was able to pull himself out of the wreckage and walk away, despite a broken vertebra. A news release from The Indiana State Police reminds drivers that Indiana law requires them to approach cautiously when an emergency vehicle is stopped with emergency lights flashing. Motorists must change lanes away from the emergency vehicle if they can do it safely. If not, they must slow down and proceed with caution.

Marijuana Bust in Whitley County

State police say a helicopter flying over northern Whitley County discovered 37-thousand-dollars-worth of marijuana growing there. They arrested the 55-year-old Columbia City man who owns the property on a number of drug-related charges.

Guilty Plea in Video Recording of Undressed Girl

A former executive of a Warsaw orthopedic company has pleaded guilty to making a video recording of a girl in various states of undress. A plea agreement calls for the court to convict the 48-year-old Akron man of two counts of child exploitation and to sentence him to up to eight years in prison. A judge scheduled an October hearing at which he’ll announce whether he will accept the plea agreement and sentence the defendant.

Warsaw Man Pleads Guilty in Bank Robbery

A 21-year-old Warsaw man pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in the hold-up of a bank in Etna Green last April. The defendant entered a plea agreement that calls for him to be convicted of armed robbery and receive a 10-year prison sentence. The court has already sentenced two others in the case.