(Photo Courtesy of the South Shore CVA)
A new partnership was announced Thursday morning between the City of Hammond and the South Shore CVA. The two organizations will work together to collect demographic data from attendees during the 10^th annual, five day, Festival of the Lakes, July 17^th through the 21^st,‎ at Wolf Lake Memorial Park in Hammond. South Shore CVA President and CEO Speros Batistatos says the information will be gathered each night of the festival, and the goal is to allow the city to make better decisions regarding allocation of sponsorships, advertisement, and how funds are spent on musical entertainment.
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Read more: Hammond, S Shore CVA Partner to Collect Data at FOTL

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Joe Donnelly co-sponsored a resolution designating June 2013 as National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month.  This designation would help increase awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its associated health risks.  The resolution, S. Res. 169, passed the Senate yesterday.
“The first step in addressing the mental health needs of our servicemembers and veterans is to talk about the challenges they face,” said Donnelly. “This resolution will bring greater attention to post-traumatic stress disorder and to the resources available to respond to their mental health needs.  Our troops have served with honor and distinction, and it is both our challenge and our priority to effectively respond to problems resulting from their military service.”
Senator Donnelly joined Sen. Heitkamp and Sen. Boozman to help introduce the bipartisan resolution.  It is the first time the Senate has designated a full month for national PTSD awareness.  In 2011 and 2012, the Senate passed S. Res. 202 and S. Res. 455, designating one day in June as PTSD Awareness Day.
One of Senator Donnelly’s priorities is to improve the mental health resources available to members of the military and veterans in order to better prevent suicide.  Donnelly is working to expand and improve upon existing military suicide prevention efforts, as we lost more servicemembers to suicide (349) than in combat in Afghanistan (295) last year.   Donnelly is dedicated to working with his colleagues to ensure the psychological needs of servicemembers and veterans are adequately addressed, that they are screened for risk of suicide, and that they have access to resources such as counseling and suicide prevention without fear of negative effects on their career.
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Read more: Donnelly Supports Designating June as PTSD Awareness Month

Published reports say a memorial for a 25 year old corrections officer killed while jogging after being struck by a vehicle in March of 2012 will have to be taken down before the accused has his trial later this month. A Lake County judge approved the request and Jason Cozmanoff, who is charged with reckless homicide, failure stop after an accident resulting in death, four-counts of criminal recklessness, and three-counts of failure to stop for an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, in the death of Brittney Meux, who was running along West 93^rd Avenue in Crown Point at the time of the incident. Three other corrections officers were also injured, and a jury trial is scheduled for June 24^th.
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Read more: Judge Approves Taking Down Memorial for Fallen Officer before Trial

(Photo Courtesy of the Times)
In Highland, firefighters were called out to battle a blaze in the 31-hundred block of Highway Avenue. According to the Times, witnesses at the scene reported the homeowners were taken to the hospital, and a dog and cat were able to be saved. No further information is available at this time.
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Read more: Afternoon House Fire in Highland

The National Weather Service is inspecting the damage in Northwest Indiana after severe storms brought heavy rains and 70 mile an hour wind gusts. ABC's Ryan Burrow reports
for Marie Bates of Crown Point,  the storm cost her a living room window, among other things... "The neighbor's trampoline flew across their yard, and basically just ran right into our window." The window shattered... "We couldn't keep the water out. It drenched our couch, our coffee table, our carpet. There was glass everywhere. It soaked our TV." But nobody was hurt. She says her neighborhood also had downed trees and some damaged roofs.
To view the many pictures region residents have submitted to us, visit http://www.regionnewsteam.com/.
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Read more: Storm Blows Trampoline Through Crown Point Home

A warrant sweep in Michigan City Wednesday morning netted 27 individuals. Michigan City Police report a majority of charges were drug related, with a few for theft, and failing to appear in court. Also participating in the sweep were the Street Crimes Unit, Department Administration, Detective Bureau, Traffic Division, Patrol Division, United States Marshal’s Service, Indiana State Police, LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department, Trail Creek Police Department and the LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office.
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Read more: Warrant Sweep in Michigan City Nets 27 Individuals

(Barricaded area just east of the I-65 interchange on SR 2; photos Courtesy of Karl Berner)

(Downed building in Crown Point, just south of 93rd St, right off SB I-65)
NIPSCO crews are busy cleaning up after Wednesday night's storms that blew through the region, which downed power lines and toppled huge transformer towers just east of I-65. Our own Karl Berner spoke to a contracted worker through NIPSCO this morning in Lowell about the State Road 2 roadblock that goes down to Clay Street, and who stated that once the wires have been picked up off the roadway it will be reopened, which said could happen sometime this afternoon. The straight-line winds took down four electrical towers which destroyed high-voltage 345-thousand K-V lines.
It was just two years ago, almost to the day, that Route 2 was shut down between Lowell and Hebron after powerful storms came through and toppled huge transformer towers just east of I-65. To view the many pictures submitted to us from Region residents of the storm, visit anyone of our websites at http://www.regionnewsteam.com.
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Read more: NIPSCO Cleaning Up On SR 2 in Lowell

ST. JOSEPH/LAPORTE COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces lane restrictions in both directions on State Road 2, between Quince Road near South Bend and U.S. 20 near Rolling Prairie, will continue throughout the day, Friday, June 14^th. Crews performing a chip seal and fog seal operation were delayed by weather this week, forcing the extension of the restrictions. One lane in each direction will be open tomorrow and a reduced speed limit of 45 mph will be in effect. Work is expected to be complete tomorrow evening..
The chip-seal process consists of distributing a liquid asphalt emulsion on the roadway and covering the liquid asphalt with crushed stone to provide a new wearing surface. Chip-sealing extends the life of a roadway by protecting it from moisture, ultra-violet degradation, and any other damaging exposures.
Drivers should exercise caution during these projects. Loose stone will be present on the roadway during the initial cure of the asphalt and can damage windshields and paint on vehicles that may be following each other too closely. It is recommended when travelling on a recently chip-sealed road to slow down and allow additional space between vehicles.
The fog seal is being applied on top of the chip-seal work. The fog seal is a light application of asphalt material that can lock in loose stone and help with dust problems. It also makes the road black, which makes pavement markings more visible.
INDOT reminds drivers to use caution and consider worker safety when driving through a construction zone. For the latest road closures and news from INDOT, like us at www.Facebook.com/INDOTNorthwest and follow us at www.Twitter.com/INDOTNorthwest.
You can find traffic restriction information at www.trafficwise.IN.gov.  Contact the LaPorte District toll free at 1-855-GO-INDOT.
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Read more: SR 2 Work in LaPorte and St. Joseph Co Extends into Friday

(Photo Courtesy of the City of Gary)
On Wednesday, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson swore in 26 firefighters in the Gary Council Chambers amongst a crowd of friends and family. Gary Fire Chief Teresa Everett, who was also in attendance, along with her senior staff, says over the next few weeks of training, the recruits will become full-fledged firefighters.
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Read more: 26 Firefighters Sworn In Wednesday in Gary

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— As the Senate takes up debate this week on the bipartisan immigration reform bill, Harper Polling released the results of a new state poll showing overwhelming voter support for the legislation. During a press call today, state leaders and supporters of immigration reform discussed how the new poll indicates voters in Indiana are ready for a commonsense solution to the country’s broken immigration system that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
The poll was sponsored by the Alliance for Citizenship, Partnership for a New American Economy and Republicans for Immigration Reform, three organizations who represent the broad support for immigration reform from across the political spectrum.
“The results of this statewide poll should be yet another indication to our elected officials in Washington that their constituents want, and are ready for, a real and lasting solution to mend our broken immigration system,” said Mayor Tom Henry of Fort Wayne. “Comprehensive immigration reform is one of the rare issues that is both good politics and good policy. There is bipartisan support for the Senate bill that includes a path to citizenship.”
According to the poll, voters in Indiana support the Gang of Eight bill by large margins. Moreover, the results show that there is a genuine imperative for Senators Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly to support the bill as constituents said they are more likely to vote for an elected official who votes for reform.
“The immigration reform bill currently in the U.S. Senate is a much needed common sense approach toward strengthening and reforming federal laws in a way that benefits our businesses,” said John Livengood, president the of Indiana Restaurant Association. “Indiana is best served by an economy that maximizes individual freedom and opportunity. Immigrants play an important economic role as workers and taxpayers.”
Highlights of the findings include:
·         69% of those polled said they strongly or somewhat support bipartisan immigration reform legislation being debated in Washington;

·         62% of those polled said they strongly or somewhat support a bill that includes a tough but fair path to citizenship;
·         47% of those polled are more likely to vote for an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. 

·         92% of those polled said it was very or somewhat important that the U.S. fix its immigration system this year.

·         Of those polled, 44% identified as Republicans, 33% as Democrats, and 23% as Independents.

Full results of the poll can be found here  https://www.dropbox.com/s/c5fma4mb1of7zfs/Indiana%20Immigration%20Poll%20Toplines.pdf.
The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone surveys of likely voters were conducted between June 2-10, 2013.  The poll has a minimum sample size of 500 respondents and a margin of error of less than 5%.
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Read more: New State Poll Shows Hoosiers Support Immigration Reform