Two, Including Juvenile, Arrested For Elkhart Murder

Joshua Love         Victim: Gerald Wenger


 A 13-year old boy and a 19-year old Elkhart man are under arrest for murder.

Gerald Wenger was gunned down March 8^th near Middlebury and Monroe Streets in Elkhart. Joshua Love and the juvenile face murder in connection with his death.  They also face car jacking and armed robbery charges.

 

Love was already in the St. Joseph County jail on a federal weapons charge. The juvenile was in custody at the Elkhart County Juvenile detention Center for a burglary charge.

 

Michigan City Man Indicted On Several Child Porn Charges

(AP) Federal authorities say a Michigan City man has been indicted on seven counts regarding child exploitation and child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in South Bend says 45-year-old James Allen Hatch traveled from Indiana to Wisconsin in April with young boys, planning to have sex with them. Wisconsin police arrested Hatch in a motel room, where he was found with three young boys and marijuana.

Indiana authorities have seized a computer and several videotapes from Hatch's home. Authorities say the computer contained hundreds of child pornography images and the videos showed children engaging in sexual conduct, including one of the boys who was with Hatch in Wisconsin.

Hatch remains in federal custody after a grand jury indicted him Thursday.

 

Elkhart’s Smoking Ban Starts Today

Elkhart is as of today… smoke-free in public places.

The smoking ban was signed by Mayor Dick Moore last month, but today is the first official day smoking is no longer allowed in pubic venues, including restaurants.

Bars have until next May to comply, but they have to have a permit.  Exemptions must be applied for through the city and the deadline for applications is June 15^th.

Bank Robbery Suspect


Suspect Vehicle


St. Joseph County Police Looking for Attempted Bank Robbery Suspect

St. Joseph County Police need your help to identify a suspect and suspect vehicle in an attempted bank robbery.

According to police a white man, 6 feet tall in his 30’s wearing a grey shirt with blue jeans and a black baseball hat, entered the Community Wide Bank on SR 933 in South Bend Wednesday afternoon and handed the teller a note demanding cash.

The suspect left the bank without money, and fled the area in a red 1990’s Chevy Cavalier. Anyone with information is asked to call St. Joseph County Police or Crime Stoppers.

3 Workers Arrested In Elkhart For Drug Possession

Richard Anderson     Harold Wood        Andrew Buckta

 

Three employees of Performance Painting in Elkhart were arrested Wednesday for possession of marijuana.

 

Officials launched an investigation after receiving several complaints of people at various factories in the city smoking pot during lunch breaks.

 

Richard Anderson, Harold Wood and Andrew Buckta were taken into custody during a saturated traffic patrol as employees left work.

 

 

Get Answers On How New Legislation Affects You

 

You may not realize all the ways Indiana’s new property tax legislation will affect you.

 

There’s a public presentation today (Thursday) at 4pm at South Bend’s Century Center

The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and government officials will be there to answer your questions.

 

Officials say House Bill 1001 will severely impact services such as public safety, schools and libraries.

 

 

High Gas Prices Affecting Indiana’s Revenue

(AP) Soaring prices at the pump don't necessarily mean big bucks in taxes to the state of Indiana.

The state's gas excise tax is a fixed 18 cents on every gallon of gas. But so far this fiscal year, gas consumption is down about 3 percent, costing the state about 12 million dollars.

The state's seven percent sales tax does mean more money for the state since that revenue grows as prices increase. 



 

Marian High School

Marian HS Threat

 

Attendance is light again today, as it was yesterday, at Mishawaka’s Marian High School.

 

A threat against the school was found Tuesday night in a bathroom, but what was threatened hasn’t been made public.  Police presence has been increased. A power outage ended up making it an early day for students who did attend Wednesday.

 

Dealing With Threats of School Violence  

 

In recent weeks at least four local high schools have dealt with threats of violence that resulted in excused absences and increased security. 

 

Indiana Youth Institute President Bill Stancyzkiewicz  says students sometimes become copycats.

 

 

“What happens here is one student see this in the news or hears about by word of mouth and decides that their going to try and be funny and do the same thing also.”

 

Stancyzkiewicz says some students truly don’t realize just how serious these threats are.

VIM To Install New System

 

As Elkhart’s VIM Recycling continues to rebuild, it’s planning to install a new state-of-the-art system that will cut down on dust emissions, the Truth reports.

 

Wood dust was what ignited a fire resulting in last June’s explosion that killed one worker and destroyed the business.

 

 

 Karen Schrock

Elkhart Woman Arrested for Assault

A woman is facing battery and public intoxication charges, after allegedly assaulting two Elkhart Police officers in a restaurant Wednesday. 

 

Corporals Williamson and Herbert were sitting in a restaurant when they were approached by 53-year-old Karen Schrock.  Shrock allegedly threw her to-go order at Williamson… Herbert claims she threw a book at him and kicked him several times.

  

Pain At The Pump: Will It Last?

With gas prices in Michiana near $4 a gallon, many are wondering if prices ever coming down. Chicago’s Alaron Futures analyst Phil Flynn says yes.

 

 

“Some of the people who are so bullish right now that can never see this market coming down haven’t really studied the history of oil prices.  When they go up this fast, there’s always a correction coming.”

 

Flynn expects prices to drop a bit just before or just after Memorial Day, but there may not be a major difference for quite a while.

He also says there are some positives coming from the current market: Investment in alternative fuels and people changing their driving habits.

Ellsworth Only Uncommitted IN Congressman

(AP) Freshman Indiana congressman Brad Ellsworth is the state's last uncommitted Superdelegate in the Democratic presidential race.

Congressmen Joe Donnelly and Pete Visclosky’s endorsements this week of Barack Obama give the Presidential candidate the support of 7 Indiana Superdelegates to Hillary Clinton’s 4.

 

IN Democrats Getting Ready For Gubernatorial Race

(AP) Indiana Democrats are uniting behind gubernatorial nominee Jill Long Thompson in her bid to unseat Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in the fall.

 

Long Thompson acknowledges she will need to raise a lot of money to defeat Daniels. She has less than half-a-million dollars in her campaign coffers compared to the over 5-million Daniels has.

 

 

 

Indiana BMV Offers New Online Services

(AP) The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has created a new online tool that allows customers to obtain 10 different services through the Internet.

People can set up ``myBMV'' accounts that allow them to access services like reserving personalized license plates and ordering driver records. The BMV is offering a special $5 discount for every registration renewed online.

Renewing a driver's license and some other services must still be done in person at license branches.  More than 25,000 people have already set up a ``myBMV'' account.