Times staff reports

PORTER COUNTY

Police offer training to first responders

The Porter County Sheriff's Department is hosting a 40-hour training course for its Crisis Intervention Team. First responders and dispatchers will learn special skills to deal with situations that involve people with cognitive problems or mental illness.

Porter-Starke Services, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Porter County United Way and the Sheriff's Department have teamed up to bring the training to the county. The only other police agency in Northwest Indiana to have certified CIT officers is Gary.

Police officers often deal with persons exhibiting abnormal behavior. Being trained to recognize symptoms of mental illness and to deal with such disorders has proven to reduce conflicts and injuries to both officers and people with these symptoms.

Officers and 911 dispatchers from several agencies are participating. The class began Monday and runs through Friday at the Sheriff's Department.

PORTER COUNTY

County seeks to fill airport agency post

The Porter County commissioners' office announced that the Airport Authority has a board position that needs to be filled in July.

People interested in being considered for a board position may visit the Porter County commissioners' office, 155 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso, to obtain a letter of instruction and application. Applications also can be found at the Porter County Web site, porterco.org. Go to the link for Departments, then Commissioners, then Board Appointment.

The public should be aware that certain requirements, such as residency, and/or certain political party affiliation, must be met in order to qualify for a particular appointment.

The applications must be returned no later than June 25, and the final decision will be made at a public meeting July 1.

VALPARAISO

VU will screen Ken Burns' WWII series

Ken Burns' acclaimed public television documentary "The War" will be the focal point of a summer film series and photography exhibition at Valparaiso University.

Beginning June 11, screenings of "The War" will take place at 1:30 p.m. each Wednesday in Christopher Center Room 205, ending July 23. VU faculty members will interview Northwest Indiana World War II veterans at the beginning of the screenings June 18 and 25, and July 9 and 16.

In addition, Of Men and Mission, an exhibition commissioned by Lakeshore Public Television featuring 25 portrait photographs of Northwest Indiana veterans, will be displayed in the Union Hallway on the second floor of the Christopher Center.

Both the film screenings and the exhibition are free to the public. The Christopher Center's summer hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday.