Elkhart

ELKHART - 210 workers at an Elkhart factory are about to lose their jobs. Gunite Corporation today announced plans to shut down its Elkhart plant by early 2013. The company will move its local manufacturing operations to Rockford, Ill. Company officials say all 210 hourly and salaried jobs in Elkhart will be eliminated with the phase out beginning around September 23.   Gunite in Elkhart makes machine brake drums and hubs, drum-hub assemblies and spoke wheels for the commercial vehicle industry.

ELKHART - Good economic news in Elkhart. Scientific Developments is adding almost a dozen jobs. The company makes traffic safety products. “Inside Indiana Business” reports the company will spend more than $1.5 million on a facility on Gateway Court. It's expected to open early next year with 11 new employees.  

Police say the Days Inn on Cassopolis Street in Elkhart was robbed Thursday morning. This happened just after 4 a.m. at 2820 Cassopolis St. An employee at the hotel told a WSBT photographer at the scene the suspect came in, demanded money and got away with about $100. This was all caught on tape, according to the employee. Police say they located a “person of interest” at the nearby Red Roof Inn. There's no word on whether the suspect was armed.

ELKHART - The mayor of Elkhart and the city council are at odds over balancing next year's budget. On Monday, Mayor Dick Moore, a Democrat, announced he is vetoing Republican sponsored amendments to the 2013 budget. The council had voted to cut 8 positions, including the mayor's assistant who makes $72,000 a year. Dick Moore has been in office over 4 years and he has never used his veto power until now. He said he felt this action was necessary and in the best interest of the people of Elkhart.

ELKHART - A house fire is under investigation in Elkhart. Firefighters were called to a home in the 500 block of West Franklin St. just before noon on Monday. That's on the city's near west side. They had to close a section of Franklin Street in front of the house for several hours. The street remained closed as fire investigators looked into a cause. So far, there is no word on a cause or amount of damage.

ELKHART - A proposal requiring all city workers in Elkhart to take furloughs this year won't be needed after all. City leaders found other ways to make cuts. That means employees won't have to take days off without pay. Mayor Dick Moore wanted police officers and firefighters to take 3 days off a year and all other city employees to take 5. The proposed furloughs would have impacted more than 400 city employees. “Through the face that department heads were very careful about what they asked for and what they spent, and the face the mayor did a little micro-managing to make sure all expenditures were needs and not wants, and that's how we were able to come forth with additional funding,” explained Mayor Assistant Arvis Dawson.

The Elkhart Central Blazers capped off the greatest baseball season in school history with the program's first-ever state championship. The Blazers held on for a 1-0 win over Indianapolis Cathedral in Saturday night's Class 4A final at Victory Field in Indianapolis. The Irish were trying to become the fourth undefeated team in IHSAA history but could not solve Central lefthander Tanner Tully. Tully led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run and then shut out the Irish over seven dominant innings.

ELKHART - The Elkhart schools are teaming up with two area colleges to provide summer school classes. With less state funding, the district needs help to provide those classes. In this case, students and teachers will benefit. It's the first of its kind in northern Indiana - a partnership between the Elkhart schools IUSB and Saint Mary's College. Both colleges are overseeing summer laboratory schools, providing college students or graduates  a chance to teach six-week-long summer school classes.

ELKHART - Workers at Elkhart's City Hall have been without air conditioning for nearly three weeks, and it's causing problems. Public hearings and meetings have been uncomfortable to sit through, but the city has a plan to upgrade the building that's almost 100-years-old. Just about everywhere you look at City Hall, you can find a fan, a portable air conditioner or open windows. The problem centers around the building being old, built in 1915, with an older infrastructure that needs to be updated.

For the first time in program history the Elkhart Central Blazers will play for the Indiana state baseball championship. The Blazers came from behind to beat Lafayette Jefferson 2-1 in a class 4A Semi-State matchup on Saturday, playing in front of a large crowd of Central supporters at South Bend's Coveleski Stadium. "Heroes will get remembered but legends will never die," was the message senior shortstop Cory Malcom said he put on Twitter before the game. "This team is a legendary team in my opinion.

ELKHART - Children at the Woodlawn Nature Center in Elkhart Friday celebrated being outside for National Get Outdoors Day. Saturday is the event, but Woodlawn got active a day early. The kids had the chance to go hiking, play outdoor games, use microscopes and more. The day was focused on encouraging kids to get off the couch. “We just want to help kids get out, a good family-friendly activity to help people explore nature, have some recreational activities and just spend some time outdoors,” said Woodlawn Educational Director Carla Gull.

ELKHART - Our area is getting a minor league baseball team. The Elkhart County Miracle will be a professional, independent team that will start playing next year. The stadium will cost $6.6 million and will have 1,600 seats. We just don't know where it will go yet. Craig Wallin with CTT Communications says he will announce the location in two weeks, and groundbreaking is set for June 28. “We really want this facility to reflect our community,” said Wallin.

ELKHART - Elkhart Police are still looking for the person suspected of shooting a 19-year-old Thursday at the corner of Indiana and Francis Avenues. An update on Latyris Mitchell's condition wasn't available Friday from police. But on Thursday, he was said to be in guarded condition, meaning doctors aren't sure if he'll make it or not. On a beautiful warm, sunny day, you would expect to see children playing outside.  Yet the swings and slide at Roosevelt Park were completely empty.  There were no children at the playground.

ELKHART - We have some new information on the sewer service controversy brewing in Elkhart. Mayor Dick Moore proposes reducing the fees for existing businesses outside the city limits already connected to city sewer service. It would also phase in the fees for new businesses. The plan has to be approved by the Elkhart City Council. Moore Thursday announced the city is a step closer to revamping the formula for the sewer compact fee, what businesses outside the city pay for city sewer service.

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - There won't be any lazy Sunday afternoons drifting down the St. Joseph River - not on the Elkhart River Queen, anyway. The 66-year-old boat somehow developed a leak, according to owner and operator John Cleveland, captain of the craft. Thus, he made the tough decision to forego operations this season until he can get a more thorough inspection of the vessel done. "You always feel bad," he told The Elkhart Truth ( http://bit.ly/13HXMWc ) Wednesday.

Medics and police responded to Indiana and Francis Avenues in Elkhart after a person was shot around noon. CLICK HERE FOR A MAP WSBT spoke with a witness who heard the gunshots and saw people running from the scene. That witness tells us the shooting happened on the sidewalk outside the Stop-N-Go store. The shooter ran down Frances to Cleveland Avenue, according to another witness at the scene. Police say the suspect has not been arrested at this time.