Post-Tribune

Michigan State too much for Valpo to handle in NCAA loss

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:46:33 -0500

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Through the second official timeout, Valparaiso hung with Michigan State, with the score tied. Down the stretch, the Crusaders continued to play with determination against the Spartans. It was the bulk of the game in between that proved problematic for Valparaiso in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004. The No. 3 seed Spartans pummeled the No. 14 Crusaders inside, and Valparaiso did not make nearly enough shots, as it fell 65-54 on Thursday at The Palace of Auburn Hills in a Round of 64 Midwest (Indianapolis) Regional game. The loss marked the end of a …

Rep. Pete Visclosky discusses budget woes at Radisson Hotel

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 06:27:12 -0500

MERRILLVILLE — The challenge was seemingly simple: Identify a combination spending cuts and tax increases that balance the federal budget. But for more than 100 Northwest Indiana residents gathered Monday night at the Radisson Hotel, the decisions were never easy. Discussions were civil yet passionate as residents debated missile defense, the Medicare eligility age, tax rates, and other priorities at the “How Would You Balance the Federal Budget” event, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, and the Concord Coalition. Visclosky said the problem is not impossible, but “it is a problem of arithmetic,” to quote former President Bill …

Bach friends remember victim as McCowan final arguments begin

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:41:32 -0500

VALPARAISO — When searchers fanned out across Union Township on Sept. 17, 2011, to search for Amanda Bach, Nancy Steele, a friend of the Bach family, was there for them. On Tuesday morning, as the sleet began to fall outside the Porter County Courthouse, Steele and her daughter, Alexis Petrak, who grew up with Bach, were the first among a growing crowd who gathered to wait for a jury to decide whether Bach’s former boyfriend, Dustin McCowan, killed her. They wore pink and carried bright pink posters, covered in plastic against the weather, that called for justice for Bach. Passersby …

Quentin Smith Sr. remembered as man of ‘heroic proportions’

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 06:26:32 -0500

GARY — Family, friends, members of the military and fans of former Tuskegee Airman Quentin P. Smith Sr. filled the sanctuary of St. Augustine Church on Tuesday to say farewell to a respected local educator who had a role in military and African-American history. Smith died Jan. 15 at the age of 94. Smith’s legacy as a B-25 bombardier with the Tuskegee Airmen, a black World War II Army Air Corps, is well-known. Indiana National Guard Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger of Indianapolis reflected on a 21/2-hours-long meeting with Smith four years ago. “When I was informed that an 90-year-old …

Whiting building destroyed by fire Sunday night

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 06:32:59 -0500

WHITING — More than four hours after it started, firefighters were still trying to put out a blaze that hollowed out a three-story shop and apartment building in downtown Whiting Sunday night. No one was injured in the blaze, and there were no reports of smoke inhalation among the firefighters from Whiting, Hammond and East Chicago. Whiting Police Chief Steve Miller said police received a call around 4 p.m. about a fire at Lubia’s Dresses, located at 1401 119th St. Police started to evacuate the apartment tenants and shut down a stretch of 119th Street to traffic. One tenant said …