Post-Tribune

Allegiant Air pulling out of Gary airport

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:36:00 -0500

Allegiant Air plans to discontinue passenger service from Gary to Sanford, Fla., in August, officials with Gary/Chicago International Airport said Friday night. The company remains open to discussing other opportunities at the airport, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said. The airport’s large-scale runway expansion project and a potential public-private partnership have accelerated discussions with other airlines, she said. “The airline industry is taking notice and other airlines are expressing an interest in Gary,” Freeman-Wilson said. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. begin flying between Gary and Sanford on Feb. 15, 2012. Beginning June 5, weekly flight service will switch to Wednesdays and …

Gary airport panel urges use of tax-exempt bonds

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:36:01 -0500

GARY —The ad-hoc committee charged with searching for a private-public agreement to operate the Gary Chicago International Airport will advise seeking a tax-exempt bond to the airport authority. During a meeting Friday, the board discussed the trade-offs for both taxable and tax-exempt bonds. With lower interest rates and the potential to access $8 million more to complete upgrades to the airport, board members said it was a clear choice. The tax-exempt bond, however, comes with restrictions. Any potential contracts with airline services cannot offer special preferences. Phoebe Seldon, a financial adviser to the committee, suggested the board develop a pay …

Downtown Hobart street work almost done

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:41:04 -0500

HOBART--Visitors to the downtown business section should be able to drive down Main Street without having to detour around two sets of barricades by mid-week, according to Public Works director John Dubach. “I hope by Wednesday you’ll be able to drive all the way through Main Street,” Dubach said Friday. Dubach said work being done at the Norfolk Southern Railroad crossing, located between 4th and 5th Streets and next to city hall, is expected to be done Wednesday, weather permitting. He said that project, which began about April 1 and involves the replacement of an existing sanitary sewer pipe and …

National Park Service encourages safe beach practices

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:36:01 -0500

PORTER — With warmer weather bringing people to the shores of Lake Michigan for an assortment of recreational opportunities, the National Park Service issued a reminder Friday that water conditions quickly can change from calm and inviting to rough and dangerous with little or no warning. Beachgoers should remember that north winds create dangerous conditions. Steep, uneven waves have overcome even the most experienced swimmers. People easily are knocked off sandbars into deeper water. High waves are the No. 1 cause of drowning at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Breaking waves and whitecaps on the lake are an indication it is …

Burglar contrite after having ‘come to Jesus moment’

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:36:01 -0500

A Chicago man with an extensive criminal history was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for burglary. Clarence C. Butler, 48, had an extra week in the Lake County Jail after Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez said he didn’t see any remorse from Butler, who tried to blame the victim for the incident. Deputy prosecutor Michael Woods had asked permission to withdraw the plea, then asked the judge to take the request under advisement for one week. Defense attorney Karen Coulis said Butler had a “come to Jesus moment” in jail. At Friday’s hearing, Butler appeared contrite and …

U.S. Chief Justice returns to LaPorte school for commencement address

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:36:01 -0500

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. returned to his roots at La Lumiere School, the small northern Indiana private academy near LaPorte he graduated from 40 years ago, to give the Friday morning commencement address to this year’s group of 62 graduating seniors. Security was tight and an impressive number of graduates and undergraduates, their families, school alumni, friends and dignitaries gathered to celebrate the graduation and hear Roberts’ address. “It’s great to be back,” Roberts began. He first offered two quick tips to the seniors for their first few weeks at college, “because people forget advice but …

Women honored for their influence in the region

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:02:21 -0500

HOBART — Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, has earned a number of awards and accolades during her long and distinguished tenure in the Indiana legislature; still she said Thursday she was gratified to be nominated as an Influential Woman in Northwest Indiana in 2013 in government, an award she was to capture later in the evening. “I’m very grateful to be nominated for the award and for others to recognize the influence we women legislators have over our rules and laws,” Rogers said. She encouraged other women to get involved in government. “We have a positive influence and contribute greatly to …

Lake County E-911 plan laid out in combined group meeting

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:25:22 -0500

CROWN POINT – Just what will happen next in Lake County’s E-911 consolidation process was outlined Thursday during a joint meeting of the county commissioners, council and consolidation planners. Officials outlined a strategy for completing the interlocal agreement the 17 different municipalities must agree upon and sign for the consolidation and laid out a timeline for hiring an E-911 director and technical consultant. Ray Szarmach, council attorney, said he personally did not want anyone to sign the last version of the interlocal agreement because it did not have enough information about the costs for officials to agree to the document. …

Man won’t come to court, sentenced for mail fraud

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:03:02 -0500

A Gary man again refused to attend his sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Court in Hammond. This time, court officials moved on anyway, and U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen sentenced Christopher Cannon to 30 months in prison. Cannon, who claims he is a member of the Moorish Nation, has a history with not cooperating with his legal cases, including at his criminal trial in November, and has claimed he doesn’t have to follow the country’s laws. He was eventually removed from his own trial in November, and the federal jury eventually convicted him to one count of mail …

Man bolts from courtroom after arson, intimidation conviction

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:04:27 -0500

A few minutes after a Lake Superior Court jury had convicted him of arson and intimidation, James E. Gardner III took off running, but was quickly caught. Gardner had asked if he could hug his wife. His hands handcuffed, Gardner kissed the woman and then left the courtroom with a bailiff through the back hallways of the courts building at the government center on the way to the Lake County Jail. Gardner, however, cut back through the courtroom, but was apprehended by court staff. After less than two hours of deliberations on Thursday, jurors convicted Gardner, of the 8000 block …

Former Chicago cop sentenced for involvement with Latin Kings

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:32:00 -0500

Not only did then-Chicago police officer Antonio Martinez Jr. fess up to his criminal wrong doings as soon as an FBI agent questioned him in 2010, but he also cooperated with officials for more than a year to bring down the top leaders of the Latin Kings street gang, other corrupt police officers and his own partner. U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano cited that cooperation, which put Martinez’s own family in danger, Thursday afternoon as he handed down a 12-year sentence, a far departure from the federal sentencing guideline’s recommendation of life. The former officer, dressed in an orange prison …

Law and Order Lake County

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:39:35 -0500

East Chicago Robbery was in front of family Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray sentenced an East Chicago man to six years for a robbery that occurred in front of the victim’s family. Robert Lorenzo Stevenson, 21, admitted he robbed a man on Dec. 29 as he was leaving Hide Out Liquor Store in East Chicago after threatening to hurt the victim. Stevenson stole the man’s wallet, money and the 12-pack of beer he’d just purchased. Deputy prosecutor Judy Massa noted the robbery occurred in front of the 39-year-old man’s two children, ages 11 and 8, who were waiting with …

Gander Mountain opening Firearms Superstore

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:01:59 -0500

HOBART — Gander Mountain has transformed its outdoor store at Westfield Southlake Mall into its first Firearms Super Center in Indiana, removing fishing, camping and other items to make way for thousands of new and used firearms, ammunition and firearm gear. It’s holding grand-opening events through Monday in honor of the change. “It’s a successful new format that’s proved to be a hit,” Gander Mountain spokesman Jess Myers said. “It’s for anyone with an interest in firearms, whether they’re a collector, target shooter, sport shooter, hunter or want a gun for their own personal safety,” Myers said. Lake County Sheriff …

A tail of hope, Portage’s ‘Barnabas’ visits tornado victims

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:53:28 -0500

A Portage Lutheran minister and a golden retriever named Barnabas are part of a team of volunteers offering comfort to victims of Monday’s killer tornado in Oklahoma. The Rev. Tim Engel, pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church on U.S. 6, and Barnabas, a 3-year-old retriever, left Portage Tuesday with the Lutheran Church Charities, the sponsor of K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry, based in Addison, Ill. On Wednesday morning, the group of six trained service dogs and seven adults from Indiana and Illinois, visited ravaged neighborhoods in Moore, which suffered the most devastation from the EF-5 tornado that killed 24 people and …

Van Til pleads not guilty, trial set for July

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:09:38 -0500

Lake County Surveyor George Van Til denied in federal court Monday morning that he used his public office and employees to help run his past four re-election campaigns and asserted his innocence in a public statement later that day. Along with another man also accused of taking part in another local public corruption case, Van Til, 65, of Merrillville, pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court in Hammond to six counts of wire fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice. Wearing a pale yellow shirt, gray suit and handcuffs, Van Til answered “yes” or “no” to U.S. Magistrate …