Post-Tribune

For many, housing remains a stumbling block

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:40:56 -0500

Hobart residents Doreen Skiles and Jerome Gorman took a wait-and-see attitude when they started thinking about selling their house three years ago, but two weeks ago they thought the time was right. “There are a lot of factors you have to consider,” Skiles said. “We watched the market in our area, looked at houses that were comparable to ours, and we really looked at what is available. We built our house new so we really had to compare the hit we were going to take.” Since the housing bubble burst in 2007, home values have taken a dive, putting homeowners …

Commencement speaker reminds VU Law School graduates: ‘It can be done’

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:42:30 -0500

VALPARAISO — Late President Ronald Reagan’s motto, “It can be done,” is Allen Fore’s motto, too. Fore, the commencement speaker for the Valparaiso University Law School and a 1991 graduate, told graduates the motto is on his desk. Calling Reagan a personal hero, Fore, director of public affairs for Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., used the phrase as a framework for his speech to the more than 140 law school graduates and their friends and family, who filled the Chapel of the Resurrection on the VU campus Saturday. “Those are four simple words that, when put together, have significant meaning,” …

Kankakee Valley student did the math to get to national spelling bee

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:18:00 -0500

WHEATFIELD — Fourteen-year-old Ted Tobias has done the math. The Kankakee Valley Middle School eighth-grader knows the odds of beating 280 other spellers to claim the crown at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., next week are slim, a mere 0.36 percent. “I love math. I was curious about the odds. Knowing it’s less than 1 percent is not too comforting,” Tobias, of Wheatfield, said. That reality does not seem to intimidate the bright and articulate teen who aspires to be a video game designer or engineer. While the numbers may not be comforting to the straight-A student, …

Stray photograph helps crack cold case in Gary

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:18:00 -0500

GARY — The photograph that arrived on Detective Cpl. Michael Barnes’ desk was worth more than the proverbial thousand words. That picture linked the brutal death of Franklin Simmons, 61, shot and killed in the basement of his home Aug. 15, 2010, to some of the same assailants who shot Kevin Champion, 41, as he closed the family business just blocks and minutes apart. Members of Simmons’ family found the photo of a woman they didn’t recognize while sorting through belongings at his home and mailed it to Barnes, the lead investigator on the case. Seven months had passed when …

Jerry Davich: Sky’s the limit for record-setting pole vaulter

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:16:08 -0500

Nick Stack’s arch nemesis isn’t any of the fellow high school athletes he competes against in track and field. Nor is it the fractured foot, hip injury or locker room full of other bumps and bruises from dozens of previous pole vaulting competitions. It’s also not his family’s record-breaking history in the ultrachallenging sport — his father, Andy Stack, and his uncle, Jimm Stack, both were known for their high-flying pole vaulting feats back in high school and college. And it’s not the weather that torments him, although an untimely wind gust can play a huge factor in propelling the …

Lawmakers seek more oversight of casino grants

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:16:08 -0500

CONNERSVILLE — Indiana officials are calling for more oversight of a public grant program similar to East Chicago’s that was designed to use casino revenue to spur economic development after a newspaper investigation found few jobs to show for the millions of dollars awarded. The Indianapolis Star reported that a Lawrenceburg grant program using money from the Hollywood Casino awarded $10 million a year but required little accountability for startup companies that in many cases failed to deliver on their promises to create jobs. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, and Attorney General Greg Zoeller said the situation is similar to …