Post-Tribune

Fix in the works for trail collapse at Portage Lakefront Park

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:01:36 -0500

PORTAGE — The city and National Park Service are working together to repair a large pavement collapse that’s closed the south river walk trail entrance at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Park. Constantine Dillon, superintendent of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park, which owns the park in a partnership with the city, said heavy rains in April undercut the asphalt near the trail’s stairway, causing the collapse. “It’s a difficult slope going down to Burns Ditch. Supports are augured into the embankment. Time, water and force — that’s what happened. Hopefully, the solution will be sustainable,” Dillon said. A.J. Monroe, director …

Student parking fees to help pay for Valparaiso drug testing program

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:03:45 -0500

VALPARAISO — Student parking fees at the high school will double in the 2013-14 school year to pay for the random student drug testing program. On Tuesday the school board approved raising the rate to $20 for the year. Superintendent Mike Berta said the range of school parking permits for area schools runs from $10 to $25. The school last year had 650 students parking, bringing in $6,500 to pay for window parking decals, part of the parking lot monitor’s salary and some office supplies. Based on the 650 students driving to school, the new rate would bring in $13,000. …

Racers brace for soapbox derby in Valparaiso

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:04:12 -0500

VALPARAISO — Lauren Slisher took part in her first soapbox derby in 2007 in Michigan City, and made it to nationals in Akron, Ohio. Since 2008, Lauren, now 14, has raced in the Valparaiso derby, even though she admits her interest has waned. “I like going down the hill. It used to be a lot more fun when I was younger,” the Michigan City teen said, adding she used to think of the event as a competition, and now it’s more of a social event. She and her mom joined other racers Tuesday evening at Coastal Valley Water Co. on …

Porter County courts: 2 men each get 4 years for transporting cocaine

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:58:00 -0500

VALPARAISO 2 men each get 4 years for transporting cocaine Two men who drove 2 kilos of cocaine through Porter County in October were each sentenced on Tuesday to four years in prison. Porter Superior Judge Mary Harper accepted the May 16 guilty pleas to Class C felony possession of cocaine from Antonio Perez, 25, who is listed in court records as being from West Virginia but gave police a Mexican passport when stopped near the 28 mile marker of Interstate 80-90, and Leonal Gonzalez Ojeda, 27, who produced a falsified international driver’s license that said he’s from Ohio. Police …

Porter County could set up endowment with hospital sale funds

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:06:05 -0500

VALPARAISO — The Porter County Board of Commissioners and Council will soon explore setting up an endowment with the proceeds from the sale of the county hospital, with the goal of relieving pressure on the county’s general fund. Commissioners President John Evans, R-North, on Tuesday called for an Aug. 6 joint meeting of the two elected bodies to hear presentations on how such an endowment might work. “I have an open mind,” Council President Bob Poparad, D-At-large, said, adding he looks forward to the presentation. There is $159 million in principal and almost $11.6 million in interest from the hospital …

Report blasts teacher training, but PUC gets high rating

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:03:17 -0500

Purdue University Calumet is one of just 13 schools in the country with two highly rated teacher education programs, according to a controversial report released Tuesday that slams teacher-training programs. It offered harsh words for the nation’s education schools labeling them an “industry of mediocrity.” The review, conducted by the not-for-profit National Council on Teacher Quality, was published Tuesday in the U.S. News and World Report. The study criticized education schools for admissions standards, course syllabi, and textbook selection. “A vast majority of teacher preparation programs do not give aspiring teachers adequate return on their investment of time and tuition …

Industrial chemicals found in Lake Michigan waters

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:01:46 -0500

Preliminary reports have revealed that several industrial chemicals seeped into Lake Michigan on Monday afternoon, causing officials to keep beach goers out of the water near Porter Beach.

Porter County Law and Order: Chihuahua reported stolen from yard

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:24:00 -0500

PORTER COUNTY Chihuahua reported stolen from yard A black and white Chihuahua was reported stolen Monday afternoon from Salt Creek Commons, northwest of Valparaiso. The owner told police that at about 3:50 p.m., he attached the dog’s collar onto a cable in the back yard of his home, in the 300 block of Sandalwood Drive. When he went to bring the dog back inside at about 4:30 p.m., it was gone and the end of the cable appeared to have been cut. Police said the backyard also was surrounded by a fence, with no visible way for a dog to …

Green Acres Drive in Valpo to close for work

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:06:49 -0500

VALPARAISO — From 7 a.m. Tuesday through 5 p.m. Thursday, the city will close Green Acres Drive between Hemlock Drive and Central Avenue for storm work. The closure will affect about a quarter of a mile of the side street that is north of Bullseye Lake Road and east of Campbell Street. Workers will install new storm structures and storm mains, according to the city press release. A different street restriction will happen on June 25 along Silhavy Road between Rock Dove Avenue and Country Club Road. The city plans to remove trees from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Flagmen …

Police seek man who lives where stolen property was found

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:43:48 -0500

VALPARAISO -- Police arrested one man and are looking for others after finding stolen property at a home south of Valparaiso. Valparaiso Police officer Ron Chapman came across suspicious activity at about 2:45 a.m. Friday at a storage business in the 300 block of West Street. When he approached to investigate, several people ran into a nearby wooded area and Chapman discovered property was missing from the business. After identifying a possible suspect later on Friday, Valparaiso detectives and Porter County Sheriff’s Police served a search warrant at property he rents in the 200 block of South Indiana 2, a …

Two arrested for six Valpo area thefts

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:44:28 -0500

VALPARAISO — Two men arrested for thefts from at least six vehicles in the Hampton Manor subdivision, northwest of Valparaiso, also are suspected of stealing two vehicles from the neighborhood. Robert Brown Jr., 24, of Gary, was arrested at about 6:20 a.m. Sunday for felony theft and misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. Joel Bogdan II, 19, of Portage, was arrested at about 6:30 a.m. on the same charges plus public intoxication. Police, in the area for a theft complaint, saw the two men sitting on several items - later determined to be stolen - in the 500 block of Hampton Manor …

Swimmers ordered out of the water at Porter Beach

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:01:55 -0500

PORTER BEACH — A beach closure stretching from Porter Beach to Michigan City will be extended until mid-morning Tuesday as state water quality officials try to determine what substance or chemical led to swimmers being ordered out of the water Monday afternoon. Several Porter Fire Department vehicles, an incident response truck towing an inflatable boat and National Lakeshore Park rangers converged on Porter Beach around 1:45 p.m. Monday. Rangers instructed everybody to exit the water due to what was initially believed to be an oil spill in the waters adjacent to Dune Acres or Porter Beach near Dunes State Park. …

South Shore trains delayed; rush hour may be a hassle

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:01:12 -0500

Train service on the South Shore Line was suspended for more than two hours Monday after a problem occurred with the equipment that transfers the energy from the overhead line to the trains. John Parsons, planning and marketing director for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, said that Train 116 was headed westbound just east of the East Chicago station when the equipment that touches the overhead power lines on the back two cars of the six-car train was damaged. That in turn set off a substation, and power was also cut to Train 107, which was in between the …

Tax abatement, facade grant approved at Valpo Council meeting

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:05:35 -0500

VALPARAISO — Task Force Tips plans to bring about four new full-time jobs to the city, and last week the company received a tax abatement on five new pieces of production equipment is buying to create those positions. The abatement will save the company about $50,000 in taxes over five years on more than $1.6 million in equipment, Economic Development Director Matt Murphy told the council Monday. The new equipment will speed up production of larger pieces of equipment and have less breakdowns, said Task Force Tips’ Executive vice President and Chief financial Officer Martin S. Sonnenberg. The equipment includes …

Working Smarter series helps sharpen career advancement skills

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:02:31 -0500

Allen Hines is a certified addictions recovery specialist and has been working with addicts since 1998. But he wanted to treat the person as a whole, not just their addiction. So Hicks, a Chesterton resident, returned to school, getting a bachelor’s degree in 2010 and recently graduating — at age 58 — with a master’s degree in psychology from Calumet College of St. Joseph in Hammond. “When someone is an addict, they often have a mental disorder, whether they’re bipolar, have schizophrenia or a personality disorder. Sometimes you don’t know what to treat first, the addiction or the personality disorder,” …