Valparaiso City Utilities Director Steve Poulos says city utilities field crews were working on a water main leak in the 400 block of Weston Street, where the crews initiated a trench within the street to replace the line, and during the trenching a NIPSCO gas line was hit.  Valparaiso Police and Fire crews are on scene and per his communications with field crews, Benjamin Franklin Middle School has been evacuated to the high school field house as a safety precaution. NIPSCO has been called to respond to the leak so it may be repaired.  Assistant Distribution Manager Mark Geskey is on site with City Utilities staff.
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An 22-year-old Indiana University Northwest officer responding to a police pursuit was among two people injured in a two-vehicle crash near Ridge Road and Van Buren Street in Gary. Gary Police Corporal Gabrielle King says a Gary officer and another IUN officer were in the area of 43rd and Washington Monday afternoon when they noticed an SUV drive by with a passenger not wearing a seat belt, then recognized that person as someone who was being sought by authorities.  "In the meantime," Corporal King says, "while they were chasing that car, another Indiana University officer was on his way to assist them, and he was involved in a crash."  Corporal King says it's her understanding that injuries sustained by that officer and the other person in the crash are not life-threatening.   Police say the suspect being pursued was taken into custody about a half-hour later on warrants out of Lake and Jasper Counties.
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Gary Police continue to investigate a crash that left two dead and two others hospitalized. The Lake County Coroners office says ten-year-old Symone Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene in the 700 block of West 4th Avenue around 4:30 Sunday afternoon, and the driver, 53-year-old Charles Thomas died at Gary Methodist Northlake. Gary Police say at approximately 3:48 pm a Ford Econoline van was traveling westbound on West 4th Avenue when for unknown reasons it left the roadway, struck a fire hydrant and came to rest in a house. Gary Police Corporal Gabrielle King says a 32-year-old woman and six-year-old boy were taken to the hospital, and the boy was later transported to Chicago. Police say the girl who died was the woman's daughter. Corporal King says there was no indication anyone was inside the house, which she said appeared to be vacant.
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Fire crews from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will be burning approximately 100 acres of land near West Beach today.

Fire officials with the National Lakeshore say as long as weather conditions remain good, crews will be burning the parcel of land along County Line Road, north of US 12 to improve animal and plant habitats.
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U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Stephen Elliott
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, Michigan, is doing some work in the northwest Indiana waters of Lake Michigan. On Monday, as shown in the photo above, they repositioned shoal buoys off the entrance to Burns Harbor, to better mark a shoal created by Hurricane Sandy that covered much of the entrance to the commercial port. The other day the crew also commissioned the Southern Lake Michigan NOAA weather buoy.  The crew of the Mackinaw is conducting buoy operations along western Lake Michigan as part of Operation Spring Restore.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Dave Lieberman
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., prepares to commission the Southern Lake Michigan NOAA buoy, April 26, 2013.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Ashley
The Southern Lake Michigan NOAA buoy is lowered down to the water by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., April 26, 2013.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Dave Lieberman
The Southern Lake Michigan NOAA buoy floats free after being set and anchored by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., April 26, 2013.
The crew of the Mackinaw is conducting buoy operations along western Lake Michigan as part of Operation Spring Restore.
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A man and a child are dead after a motor-vehicle accident in Gary. There's no indication at this time what caused their vehicle to crash. The Lake County Coroners office says ten-year-old Symone Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene in the 700 block of West 4th Avenue around 4:30 Sunday afternoon, and 53-year-old Charles Thomas died at Gary Methodist Northlake.  Gary Police are investigating.
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Police in Chesterton continue to investigate a robbery at the Speedway Gas Station in the 700 block of Indian Boundary Road. Officials say a man who first bought a candy bar came back about 15-minutes later and demanded money from the register around 3:15 am last Thursday, threatening the clerk with physical violence. He reportedly left on foot, and a Porter County Sheriffs Department K-9 unit assisted in a search, but he wasn't located.
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In Gary, police are investigating the report of a 61-year-old man being robbed at gunpoint outside his home in the 39-hundred block of Broadway. Authorities say around 10:30 Friday night, six men, one of them armed with a gun, reportedly approached the victim, demanded his car keys, and stole his 2013 Hyundai Accent. Anyone with information is asked to call Gary Police Detective Lorenzo Davis.
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Indiana motorists who traverse the state line with their E-Z Pass transponders may soon be paying a little extra when they get to Illinois toll plazas. Drivers with the Illinois I-Pass pay a three-cent transaction fee on the Skyway and Indiana Toll Road, which are both operated by the same company. E-Z Pass customers, however, pay no additional fee on the Illinois Tollway, and officials tell the Chicago Tribune they're evaluating their policy in the spirit of fairness. The E-Z Pass system replaced I-Zoom in Indiana last year.
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The City of Hammond will hold a Public Meeting on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. featuring a couple of presentations.........first at City Hall, then a second one that evening at Washington Irving Middle School to discuss a proposed project to reconstruct and widen Chicago Street from South Brainard Avenue, on the Indiana border with Illinois, to White Oak Avenue, at the eastern limits of the City of Hammond. The entire length of the proposed project is approximately 2.1 miles.
The proposed project will include improvements to the existing roadway, including new pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalks, storm sewers, roadway lighting, and new traffic signals.
Here's more info from the city:
The City of Hammond will hold a Public Meeting on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Two presentations will be offered. The first presentation will be held at City Hall, 5925 Calumet Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46320, with a formal presentation at 12:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The second presentation will be in the auditorium of Washington Irving Middle School located 4727 Pine Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46327 with a formal presentation at 6:00 p.m. An open house will follow each of the presentations. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the project purpose and need, alternatives being investigated, and afford an opportunity for public participation and allow discussion of any views and comments the public may have in relation to the proposed project. Concept plans of the proposed project will be on display for public review. City of Hammond and design consultants will be available during the meeting to discuss the project.
The City of Hammond, Indiana, is developing a federal-aid project to reconstruct and widen Chicago Street (formerly known as State Route (SR) 312) through Hammond from South Brainard Avenue, on the Indiana border with Illinois, to White Oak Avenue, at the eastern limits of the City of Hammond. The entire length of the proposed project is approximately 2.1 miles. Former SR 312 coincides with three separate streets as it traverses the project study area, including Gostlin Street, Sheffield Avenue, and Chicago Street. The project limits, from west to east, begin at the intersection of Gostlin Street and South Brainard Avenue and continue east along Gostlin Street to the intersection of Gostlin Street and Sheffield Avenue, where the project study area continues south along Sheffield Avenue to the intersection of Sheffield Avenue and Chicago Street. At this intersection, the project study area turns east along Chicago Street to the study area’s eastern terminus at the intersection of Chicago Street and White Oak Avenue.
The western end of the proposed project corridor is currently a two-lane roadway. Travelling east along the corridor, the roadway remains two lanes until the intersection of Gostlin Street and Sheffield Avenue, where a left-turn lane is provided for both eastbound and westbound traffic. Turning south, Sheffield Avenue is a two-lane facility. No left-turn lane is provided at the intersection of Sheffield Avenue and Chicago Street. Turning east onto Chicago Street from Sheffield Avenue, Chicago Street is a two-lane facility with striped on-street parking along both sides of the roadway up to its intersection with Calumet Avenue, where both left- and right-turn lanes are provided for eastbound and westbound traffic. East of Calumet Avenue, Chicago Street becomes a four-lane roadway with two eastbound and two westbound travel lanes and striped on-street parking along both sides of the roadway through to the end of the project study area. Left-turn lanes are provided for both eastbound and westbound traffic at the intersection of Chicago Street and Columbia Avenue.
The proposed project will include improvements to the existing roadway, including new pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalks, storm sewers, roadway lighting, and new traffic signals. Several alternatives are currently being evaluated. The current proposed project includes realignment of Gostlin Street between the Indiana/Illinois state line and Sheffield Avenue, leaving the current alignment of Gostlin Street as a local access road between Clark Avenue and Wabash Avenue. The intersection of Sheffield Avenue and Gostlin Street will be shifted to the southwest and become a roundabout. Sheffield Avenue will be slightly realigned, and the intersection of Sheffield Avenue and Chicago Street will be realigned to eliminate the 90 degree turn. The intersection of Hohman Avenue and Chicago Street will also become a roundabout. Additionally, Chicago Street between Hohman Avenue and Torrence Avenue will be widened to accommodate these improvements. Intersection improvements are also proposed at Johnson Avenue, Pine Avenue, and Columbia Avenue.
This project is being proposed to improve safety, reduce congestion, repair deteriorated infrastructure, and maintain the east-west travel corridor for truck traffic. It is anticipated that new permanent right-of-way will be acquired from residential, commercial, park, and industrial properties.
The proposed project is anticipated to be constructed in two phases with Phase I extending from Brainard Avenue to Calumet Avenue and Phase II extending from Calumet Avenue to White Oak Avenue. It is anticipated that Phase I will be let in July 2015 with Phase II being let in September 2016. Estimated construction costs as of September 2011 were $16 million with 80 percent of this total being provided by federal funding and 20 percent coming from local funding. Maintenance of traffic during construction will be coordinated with the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the City of East Chicago, and the City of Hammond.
Initial investigations, including an assessment of potential hazardous materials sites, historic resources, land use, and ecological resources have been completed. Several sites along the project corridor contain hazardous materials and will be further investigated. One property, the Polish Army Veterans’ Post No. 40 located at 241 Gostlin Street, was recommended as eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for its association with the ethnic and military heritage of the Hammond Polish community. Additionally, the project traverses Census Tracts containing both low income and minority populations identified as meeting the criteria for an Environmental Justice population. An Environmental Assessment is being prepared for this project and will be completed in 2013.
This notice is published in compliance with Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 771.111(h) entitled “Early Coordination, Public Involvement and Project Development,” and the Indiana Public Involvement Manual, approved by the Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, on August 16, 2012.
Please direct any questions or comments concerning this project to Christine Meador, American Structurepoint, Inc., 7260 Shadeland Station, Indianapolis, Indiana 46256. Contact Ms. Meador at (317) 547 5580, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
In accordance with the “Americans with Disabilities Act,” if you have a disability for which the City of Hammond would need to provide accommodations pertaining to the accessibility to program documents and participation at the public meeting, or if you are a person of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) requiring assistance pertaining to accessing project documents and participating at the public meeting venue, contact Christine Meador at American Structurepoint, Inc., 7260 Shadeland Station, Indianapolis, Indiana 46256, (317) 547 5580, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the project website at GoChicagoStreet.com.
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