NORTHWEST INDIANA
Beach cleanup targets trash along shoreline
Sick of dirty, trash-strewn sands? Lend a hand.
The Alliance for the Great Lakes is seeking volunteers to pick up trash along Great Lakes shorelines during the group's annual September Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup on Sept. 20.
Volunteers will help clear beaches and shorelines between 9 a.m. and noon along beaches from Whiting to Michigan City. Last year, more than 300 volunteers picked up 1,418 pounds of trash at Indiana beaches.
The program also benefits the Alliance's education campaign, as volunteers enter their findings into a database that helps identify the biggest sources of beach litter. The Hoosier cleanup is supported by the Indiana Lake Michigan Coastal Program and NiSource, and this is the third year of Northwest Indiana cleanups.
For more information, go to www.greatlakesadopt.org. For questions about volunteering in Indiana or Illinois, contact Frances Canonizado at (312) 939-0838, ext. 228 or fcanonizado@greatlakes.org.
CROWN POINT
Gary woman charged with welfare fraud
A Gary woman was charged Thursday with felony welfare fraud involving more than $50,000 in benefits from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Lake County Criminal Court records allege.
Tracey Allen, 38, told welfare administrators that her children's father did not live in the home and that she was going to school.
Tax records revealed Allen and the children's father filed under the same address, court records allege.
Allen signed up for courses in school, but withdrew after her benefits were approved.
She and her family received $52,462.76 in cash, food stamps, Medicaid and child care benefits that they were not entitled to, court records allege.
CROWN POINT
Court rejects plea in reckless homicide case
Lake County Judge Pro Tem William Enslen on Thursday rejected a plea agreement for an accidental shooting that killed one girl and critically wounded her cousin, Lake County Criminal Court records show.
Daniel Contreras, 18, faces felony reckless homicide and criminal recklessness charges in the death of 16-year-old Krystina Garcia and the wounding of her then 17-year-old cousin.
Lake Juvenile Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura waived Contreras to adult court.
Enslen declined Thursday to accept the plea agreement offered by the defense and Lake County prosecutors, citing an inadequate factual basis.
The terms of the proposed plea agreement were not available Thursday.
Police allege Contreras, a Hammond High School student, was showing off a semiautomatic handgun shortly after midnight Oct. 20 at a North Hammond house party in the 4900 block of Walnut Avenue when the gun discharged.
A single bullet went through Garcia's head, killing her, and struck her cousin, standing nearby, in the neck, lodging near her spine, police said.
The suspect fled, but surrendered to police five days later.
Contreras faces a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison if convicted.
He will be back in court Tuesday, court records show.
HAMMOND
City sets effort in motion to demolish 8 homes
One neighborhood eyesore was ordered torn down Thursday, and bids were opened to demolish another seven condemned buildings in the city.
The Board of Public Works and Safety awarded a contract to JM Wrecking of Hammond to remove an abandoned house at 4640 Cameron Ave. on the firm's low bid of $7,800.
The board also accepted bids to demolish structures at 3246 Kenwood St., 4343 Torrence Ave., 1327 Truman St., 4502-06 Sheffield Ave., 5628 Walter Ave., 5651 Walter Ave. and 833 Wilcox St., which ranged from $87,560 to $95,800.
A contractor for the work is expected to be announced next week.
The house at 6849 Maryland Ave. got a two-week reprieve from the board in order to allow the property's new owner a chance to evaluate the options for his purchase.
The board also ruled that the basement apartment in a four-unit former single-family home at 5969 Park Place was unfit for habitation due to exposed pipes, the removal of a fire wall between it and the building's upstairs area, and a ceiling that was too low to meet building codes.
HAMMOND
Man arrested after allegedly taking gutters
A man was arrested early Thursday morning after police said he was caught with copper gutters reportedly torn off a Robertsdale house.
Police were called to the 1600 block of Roberts Avenue at 1:43 a.m. after a resident there reported hearing metal banging outside.
In the alley behind the building, police reported finding a 46-year-old Hammond man putting a bent, 30-foot-long section of copper downspout into a city garbage can.
The man said he was scrapping, and found the gutter in the alley, police said, but a witness told them he was seen tearing down the pipe and dragging it into the alley.
Police said the house had copper gutters and downspouts that matched the piece in the alley, and one was missing from the structure.
The man was taken into custody on probable cause charges of theft.
EAST CHICAGO
Cash taken from register at Walgreens pharmacy
Police are looking for a man who reportedly stole cash from an Indiana Harbor pharmacy Wednesday night.
An employee of Walgreens in the 1400 block of East Columbus Drive told police she was putting items on shelves in the store about 8:45 p.m. when she heard a strange noise, but thought nothing of it until customers told her someone had just pried open a cash register.
She reported $400 was missing from the register in the store's cosmetics department.
Police said surveillance video showed a tall black male wearing a white shirt, dark pants and brown work boots squatting down behind the counter and forcing the register open with some kind of tool.
The man then grabbed paper money from the drawer and ran out the door, police said.
HOBART
Attempted theft of boat reported Wednesday
Thieves sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning unsuccessfully attempted to remove a 16-foot aluminum boat from Claussen Sheet Metal, 665 N. Hobart Road.
The incident was reported to police at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Lt. Steve Houck said.
The boat had been anchored by a cable and a heavy weight.
The cable had been cut and the boat moved, he said.
"Something apparently must have scared the thieves off," he said.
HOBART
Road rage reported by man Wednesday
A Valparaiso man reported Wednesday that someone had struck his 2009 Toyota truck with both their hands and feet in an apparent act of road rage.
The incident was alleged to have occurred on U.S 30 in front of TGI Fridays, Lt. Steve Houck said.
No arrests were made in the incident.
GRIFFITH
Hydrant testing to start next week in Griffith
The town will begin testing its fire hydrants starting Monday morning through Oct. 17, Public Works Director Rick Konopasek said in a news release.
Testing and flushing will start on the north end of town and sweep toward the south, Konopasek said. It will run each day from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Konopasek cautioned that the testing could discolor residential tap water and clothes washing should be avoided while it is taking place. He also said the water usually clears up after 10 or 15 minutes of running it.
"The water is and will be safe to drink," he said.
The procedure is done to clear iron deposits from the lines and to check the hydrants for water pressure. Afterward, any needed repairs are scheduled.
Konopasek said residents with questions can call the Public Works Department at (219) 924-3838.
DYER
Restaurant has planners rethinking speed limit
The town may have to rethink the speed limit on Calumet Avenue just north of the bridge now that a new restaurant is coming to town, a Plan Commissioner said at the September Planning meeting.
Texas Roadhouse is going in on the west side of Calumet at U.S. 30, and when customers enter and exit, the 45-mph speed limit could be a hazard, especially in the winter, Plan Commission President Scott Cearing said.
The town raised the speed limit between Munster and U.S. 30 a few years ago because Calumet is a commuter road. Several residents also complained of what they said was "a speed trap" on the road.
Texas Roadhouse, whose site plan recently was approved by the town, changes the equation, Cearing said. If the speed limit stays the same, motorists will be crossing and coming off the bridge with little chance to slow down for the traffic turning left into Texas Roadhouse.
DYER
Planners get first look at new ambulance facility
Plan Commissioners got their first look at a new plan by Prompt Ambulance to open an ambulance facility in town at their September study session.
Prompt, which provides ambulance service for Dyer, has negotiated a plan to open the facility in the old fire station, located just to the west of Town Hall. The town would keep a portion of it to house its Building Services, and the other portion would be used as a facility for paramedics working 24-hour shifts. Prompt's section also would include a bay for one ambulance.
"It seems like a suitable location," Plan Commission President Scott Cearing, He noted that the site is just north of the Emergency Services Building on Hart Street and just east of St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers. "I'd have no problem with it."
Prompt's attempt to open a facility on a residential street off Hart Street drew the ire of neighbors, who said the facility would negatively impact their property values. The Town Council said there were too many issues associated with the project, and turned it down.
The town was ready to talk further with Prompt, Town manager Joe Neeb said.
Prompt's new plan and location had to be brought before the Plan Commission, which must decide if it is an acceptable use for a building in the special use district.
CROWN POINT
Kids can get close to big vehicles at event
Crown Point parks and recreation will host the fifth annual Touch a Truck from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 20 at Sauerman Woods Park, 1000 E. South St.
On display will be various city trucks, tractors and vehicles from Allied Waste, Midnight Blue Towing and possibly the Lake County Sheriff's Department helicopter.
The event is free and open to all ages. For more information, contact the parks office at (219) 661-2271.
MERRILLVILLE
Gymnastics classes offered in October
The Merrillville parks department will offer gymnastics courses starting Oct. 1 for children 3 to 5 years old and for children 6 and older at the Pruzin Community Center, 5750 Tyler Place.
The 3- to 5-year-old class meets from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and the 6 and older course will meet from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Both gymnastics classes meet for four weeks and cost $35 for residents and $40 for nonresidents. The deadline to register for the classes is Sept. 24.
