Sauk Village man was loving, friendly

Darrell Ramos was a friendly person who always helped others, said his wife, Dianna Ramos.

2013 Cooking with Mint Contest Winners

Winners of the 2013 Cooking with Mint Contest in North Judson were Kristi Hayworth (left) with daughters Alyssa Lambert, 5, and Alexis Lambert, 7, Kate Henry and Bill Soenksen, shown with the recipes Saturday at the 36th Annual Mint Festival in North Judson, Ind.

Dig into music at Crown Point library

CROWN POINT | A string concert will be performed by local students from the Crown Point Orchestra at 6 p.m. Thursday in Meeting Room 2 at the Crown Point Community Library, 122 N. Main St.

Free fitness classes offered at Wolf Lake

HAMMOND | The Hammond Port Authority is hosting a series of free Zumba fitness classes this summer.

Comedy set for two weekends at Beatniks on Conkey

HAMMOND | Beatniks on Conkey presents a comedy, Ray Cooney's "Out of Order," opening this weekend at the coffee house theater Beatniks on Conkey, 418 Conkey St.

Teacher Janet Hetterscheidt and Times Columnist Philip Potempa in June 2001

Times Columnist Philip Potempa with teacher Janet Hetterscheidt, following his return to North Judson-San Pierre High School to serve as commencement speaker in June 2001.

Three Tri-Creek School Corp. employees honored

LOWELL | The Tri-Creek School Corp. has honored three employees for outstanding work.

Robotics club introduces St. Mary's students to engineering

CROWN POINT |St. Mary Catholic Community School students got an introduction into engineering this spring as members of the Cybercatz robotics team.

Hospital CEO named Most Influential Woman of the Year

St. Catherine Hospital Chief Executive Officer Jo Ann Birdzell has been selected as Most Influential Woman in Northwest Indiana not only for her positive impact in the field of health care, but for the overall contributions to the Calumet Region.

Hobart Jaycees ready to host annual Jaycee Fest starting June 28

The Hobart Jaycees have had a busy spring, hosting its fourth annual Women’s Expo, where they collected a carload of food items to donate to the Hobart Food Pantry. The Jaycees also picked up 10 bags of trash through its Adopt A Highway and Adopt A River projects. Plans are underway for the…

Hobart chamber to host free networking breakfast on June 26

HOBART | The Hobart Chamber of Commerce holds a free networking breakfast at 8:30 a.m. on June 26 at the chamber office, 1001 Lillian St.

Hessville Neighborhood Crime Watch to meet Thursday

HAMMOND | The Hessville Neighborhood Crime Watch will meet 7 p.m. Thursday at the Jean Shepherd Community Center.

St. Bridget Catholic Church in Hobart to host weekend festival

HOBART | St. Bridget Catholic Church, 568 E. 2nd St., holds its annual festival on Friday and Saturday.

Badminton teams to play at Whiting Community Center

WHITING | The city will host a National Pro League Badminton competition at the Whiting Community Center on July 5.

Lakeshore PAWS Pets to participate in Harley Davidson Cruise-In Night

VALPARAISO | Meet some of Lakeshore PAWS' adoptable pets during Harley-Davidson of Valparaiso’s Southpoint Cruise-In Night on Friday

Area high school students will get up-close look at medical field careers

MICHIGAN CITY | Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City, in conjunction with the Explorer Boy Scouts Group of America, will host a Health Career Fair for LaPorte County and Porter County- area high school students from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday in the hospital’s St. Francis Hall, lower level of…

Celebrating a Silver Anniversary in Portage

History and the summer go hand in hand in our city just about this time every year.

Training planned for weather observers

CROWN POINT | Community Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow) in their local communities.

June programs at National Lakeshore

The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore offers a variety of June programs as summer gets underway on the shores of Lake Michigan. For more information, call (219) 395-1882 or visit www.nps.gov/indu.

Bridge players show improvement in thrice-weekly games

Improvement is a key ingredient for the top 50 bridge players who achieved the highest individual masterpoint totals for the month of March in duplicate bridge in thrice-weekly games in Highland and Calumet Township.

Softball proceeds benefit Cancer Resource Centre

MUNSTER | Red squared off against blue as the Munster fire and police departments took to the ball field in a charity softball game. The friendly competition took place May 19 at Community Park and benefited the Cancer Resource Centre in Munster.

Garden summer camp free to children

SCHERERVILLE | Youth 6 to 11 looking for something to do outdoors this summer are invited to a free Garden Summer Camp at Tri Town Safety Village, 1350 Eagle Ridge Drive.

Porter County crime briefs

Police look for two men who followed teen in Chesterton

South Holland board OKs new rules for police to impound vehicles

SOUTH HOLLAND | The Village Board on Monday approved five new reasons for police to impound an automobile.

Gary gas stations cited for selling fake pot, police say

GARY | Two Gary Citgo gas stations were cited Tuesday for selling synthetic marijuana, Indiana State Excise Police said.

Griffith Council says no hearing for former cop chief

GRIFFITH | The Town Council on Tuesday said "no" to a second demand from Ron Kottka's lawyer to give the former police chief a hearing on his demotion in November.

Illiana's proposed tolls raise ire at Illinois meeting

PEOTONE | A specific route has not yet been chosen for the proposed Illiana Expressway, but the presumption it will be a toll road raised concern at a forum Tuesday in Peotone.

Elementary student suicide interventions discussed

VALPARAISO | There were 21 suicide interventions and assessments of elementary students in Valparaiso Community Schools last year, Becky Kirkpatrick, the social work coordinator for the elementary schools, told the School Board on Tuesday.

Hammond commission approves deal for brewpub at Oxbow Landing

HAMMOND | The city has secured a deal with the owners of a popular Illinois restaurant and brewery to build a second location at Interstate 80/94 and Kennedy Avenue.

Family Fun Center offers summer adventure

CALUMET CITY | The Family Fun Center is open for the summer from noon to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Museum of Science and Industry updates make for fun visit

If you haven’t been to the Museum of Science and Industry in the past few years, this is a great time to revisit an old friend.

Teens working at region projects have dual goals

CALUMET CITY | Jonathan Allen, of Alabama, and some 165 other teenagers are hoping their involvement this week in a religious project enables them to help spread God’s word by providing labor to less fortunate people in need of housing repairs.

Thornton Fractional's Nicole Vega is The Times 2013 Girls Soccer Player of the Year

Whether they're a freshman or not, when a player scores 55 goals in a rain-shortened season, it's going to get noticed.

St. John's credit rating goes up

ST. JOHN | The town’s economic future received a boost recently when Standard & Poor's raised the municipality’s credit rating from an A+ to AA-.

Senior citizen's car carjacked in Gary

GARY | A 65-year-old man was reportedly carjacked while at a gas station in the 3200 block of West 4th Avenue early Monday morning.

Teen shot in leg in Gary

GARY | A 17-year-old man was injured when he reportedly was shot in the leg while in the 1000 block of Tyler Street early Monday morning.

Group mounts legal battle over relocation of Virgin Mary statue

Scaffolding is set up Wednesday at the Legion of Mary Wayside Shrine on U.S. 41 in anticipation of the statue's relocation to a site closer to St. John the Evangelist Church. The group Save Our Lady plans to seek a restraining order to stop the parish from swapping the statue erected in 1954…

Group mounts legal battle over relocation of Virgin Mary statue

Our Lady of the New Millennium has stood outside St. John Evangelist Catholic Church in St. John for about two years. The parish plans to move the statue to a location on U.S. 41, where another Virgin Mary statute has stood for nearly 60 years.

Group mounts legal battle over relocation of Virgin Mary statue

The Legion of Mary Wayside Shrine was placed along U.S. 41 in 1954 so it could be seen by those of all faiths as they traveled the highway, according to a group fighting its relocation. St. John the Evangelist Parish plans to move it closer to the church on Olcott Avenue.

Group mounts legal battle over relocation of Virgin Mary statue

St. John Evangelist Parish officials plan to swap the Our Lady of the New Millennium statue on the parish grounds with another Virgin Mary statue that has stood for nearly 60 years along U.S. 41. The plan won't be altered despite a campaign to stop the moves, the Rev. Sammie Maletta said. "T…

Teens working at region projects have dual goals

Volunteers Anna Stephens, left, and Theressa Hall, center, both of Albertville, Ala., and Jennifer Miles, right, of Starkville, Miss., from World Changers empty a storage facility at the Arc of Northwest Indiana in Gary.

Teens working at region projects have dual goals

Volunteers Hannah Tatro, left, of Pratt, Texas, and Bethany Kneller, of Cambridge, Minn., from World Changers paint at the Arc of Northwest Indiana in Gary. The Arc of Northwest Indiana accountant and IT director Cindy Shikles works in her office. The teens are part of a group of volunteers …

Policeman's hand broken in altercation with suspect

PORTAGE | A Portage man is facing multiple charges after what started as a domestic incident Monday evening escalated into a fight with Portage police officers, breaking one officer's hand.

AL HAMNIK: Some can't miss tips for filling seats at U.S. Steel Yard

The RailCats are hovering around .500 in the American Association standings and struggling at the ticket window, so it's time for drastic measures.

Hobart introduces newest K9 officer

Hobart police officer Kevin Garber Jr., left, stands with his new canine partner, Butch, and Cpl. A. Simon Gresser, Hobart Police Department canine team leader. Garber has been with the department for about a year and, along with Butch, is the newest member of the department's canine team. G…

Hobart Police Department newest canine

Hobart police officer Kevin Garber Jr. poses with his new canine partner, Butch. The two are the newest additions to the department's canine handler team.

Kayla Bishton, Lake Central softball

Lake Central's right fielder Kayla Bishton will play in Saturday's North-South All-Star game in Indianapolis. She is one of six area players to compete in the games at Carmel's Cherry Tree Hill Softball Complex.

Newspaper carrier tips police to theft suspect

PORTAGE TOWNSHIP | A Portage Township man was arrested after police said he broke into vehicles early Wednesday morning.

Valparaiso woman took risks to change career

Though she already had a good job she liked, Megan Marrs went back to school to switch her career to marketing, and now owns a branding business, and is a marketing manager at The Times Multimedia Co.