Elkhart County

ELKHART COUNTY-- There is a messy dispute going on right now over sewer services on  Elkhart's south side.     The city, county, sheriff and health department are involved and at the center is a group of people in the Valley View Hills neighborhood. Willard Martin is retired and spends his days working with his hands. He makes things like picture frames out of wood.      He's lived in his home on Valley View Hills for years but the sewer issue has forced him to seriously consider moving.

MIDDLEBURY - A big win for Elkhart County. An Oklahoma-based company is building a new plant near Middlebury. They provide metal that goes into making pontoon boats, RV's and cargo trucks. The company passed up sites in Chicago and Detroit to build here. “We plan on this being a major hub for us,” said Champagne Metals Founder Mike Champagne. Champagne Metals broke ground on a new 80,000 square foot processing plant near the Toll Road on Thursday.

It's considered one of the worst disasters in our area's history, killing around 50 people in Elkhart County and injuring many others. This retrospective by WSBT-TV, which originally aired in 1995, chronicles the events of Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965 through original broadcasts and survivor interviews.        The following story from WSBT-TV reporter Rachel Lake aired Sunday night:   ...

BRISTOL - An Elkhart County company is looking to expand its workforce. WorkOne is hosting a hiring event for Utilimaster today to fill several assembly and production positions. Utilimaster manufactures walk-in vans and commercial truck bodies. The event is from 9 a.m. to noon at the Bristol American Legion. Job-seekers should come prepared to interview with Utilimaster.

Big developments this morning to a story we've been following for the last several weeks - Elkhart County commissioners have decided to lift the county burn ban. That ban on outdoor burning like bonfires started June 15th. Commissioners say they could reinstate the ban if there is another dry patch lasting at least 7 days. St. Joseph County ended its burn ban last week. Starke and Kosciusko County still have bans in place.

ELKHART COUNTY -- A woman is dead after she drowned in an Elkhart County pond Wednesday evening. Police say the woman, identified by police as Geraldine Wise, drowned in a pond located in the 23000 block of Wilshire Boulevard just after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. It is unclear what the circumstances were following the incident, but we will provide more updates as they become available.

ELKHART COUNTY - A weekend fire involving two cars in Elkhart County is now being called suspcious. Concord firefighters arrived at the corner of Frances and Portland Avenues just after midnight Sunday morning. One car was already fully engulfed and the fire was spreading quickly through the second. The internse flames set fire to a nearby tree and yard. Crews put out the fire quickly and no injuries were reported. The investigation was turned over to the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

ELKHART COUNTY - Police say two cars were involved in an accident Thursday afternoon in Elkhart County. According to police, around 12:43 p.m. they responded to a call of a two-car crash at County Road 46 and County Road 13. Dispatch says that they have not been informed if the road is closed. At this time, no injuries are being reported. Stay with WSBT-TV and WSBT.com for updates as they become available.

We're learning more about a deadly car fire in Elkhart County that WSBT first told you about Friday. Police confirm a mobile meth lab caused the fire. This happened in the 23000 block of County Road 142. Jeremy Graber, 33, died over the weekend from severe burns. The Elkhart County Sheriff's Department did not have any information on the condition of the woman who was in the vehicle with Graber.  

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.

NAPPANEE -- A teenager is in critical condition this morning after a bizarre accident in Elkhart County. It happened around 9 Thursday night in the parking lot of NorthWood High School in Nappanee. Poice say 18-year-old Tori Graff was standing on the bumper of a moving pickup truck when she fell and hit her head on the pavement. She was taken by helicopter to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with head injuries.

SOUTH BEND - A batch of wicked weather caused quite a few problems late Tuesday night across Michiana. A strong line of severe thunderstorms knocked down a number of trees and power lines. Over 7,000 were without power immediately after the storms. Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Indiana Michigan Power reported over 2,000 customers still had no electricity. About 1,400 outages were reported in St. Joseph County, a little over 400 I&M customers are still without their power in Elkhart County, and around 170 in Berrien County, Mich.

ELKHART -- People living near Studebaker Park in Elkhart likely saw a lot of police activity in the area early Thursday morning. That's because Elkhart County dispatchers have confirmed officers located a meth lab in the 1100 block of Pierceton Boulevard just after midnight Thursday. Police didn't say what prompted officers to search the area, but did say one suspect was taken into custody. That suspect has not yet been identified.  

ELKHART - Elkhart County police are investigating a car crash near the Elkhart Municipal Airport late Sunday morning. Around 10:30 a.m., a man was heading north on County Road 5, north of Bristol Street, when his car went left of the centerline and off the road. Police say the car took out a couple of mailboxes, hit the rear of two pickup trucks before slamming into a tree.  The driver was not hurt, but police say a 74-year-old woman in the car was shaken up, suffered some chest pains and was taken to the hospital.  There's no word what led to the crash.

MIDDLEBURY - A Goshen woman is dead after a two-car crash near Middlebury early Wednesday morning. Elkhart County police say around 1:20 a.m., 40-year-old Arellano Eustolia was heading south on State Road 13, about a mile south of Middlebury's town limits when she made a left-hand turn to head east onto County Road 20. At the same time, another car was coming from behind and tried to pass a separate car, failing to see Eustolia making the...

A suspected shoplifter led police on a high-speed chase from Elkhart into St. Joseph County early Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after 1 p.m., city police got a call that someone had stolen some items from Sears at Woodland Crossing Shopping Center on Prairie St. Police caught up with the suspected thief and chased him west across the county line at speeds around 70 MPH. The suspect suddenly stopped at Kern and Dogwood, south of...

CASS COUNTY, Mich. - Just days after airing her cold case on WSBT, the Cass County Sheriff's Department has announced plans to look into the unsolved murder of Ada Haradine. Haradine, 39, lived on Crabtree Lane in East Lake Estates in Elkhart and disappeared from her home on May 8, 1985. Haradine was reported missing by her family, and it was 3 years later on May 12, 1988 when her remains were finally found just north of Union, Michigan in Cass County. She was last seen working around her yard around 3 p.m. A witness thought he saw her talking to a man near the house, but when her son got off the school bus around 3:20 p.m., he was unable to find his mother.

ELKHART - More than six months ago, the sanctuary of an Elkhart County church was hit by fire. Until now, services have been held in the church foyer. But that all changed today, after half a year of work, planning and prayer.   For the first time since last October, members of First Baptist Church on County Road 17 were able to take part in services in the main sanctuary. An area that has undergone a considerable makeover. On October 27 fire broke out on the auditorium stage, causing a substantial amount of damage, in addition to water damage and smoke damage throughout the building.

ELKHART - We have some new information on two children burned in a house fire in Elkhart County over the weekend. 9-year-old Leigha Allen suffered severe burns in the fire, while her 7-year-old brother Chaz is out of the hospital. The owner of the home, Jim Bennett, managed to get both children out. The cause of the fire on Leslie Lane remains under investigation. What we know is Chaz and Leigha were staying there while their mom and another sibling were out of town for a sporting event.