Elkhart County

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.

ELKHART COUNTY - Driving around Elkhart County, you may have noticed some new billboards promoting the county prosecutor's office. In big letters, it says “Elkhart Justice.” So, what's it all about and who paid for them. Close to a dozen of them are located at several spots around the county, including two in Elkhart, all with a catch phrase that's hard to miss. Under that is the address of the county prosecutor's website. “It's to catch the attention of the public,” said Prosecutor Curtis Hill.

GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) - The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says a northern Indiana county that had the state's highest unemployment rate four years ago led the nation in job growth between September 2011 and September 2012. The Elkhart Truth reports ( http://bit.ly/170sw8i ) Elkhart County's job growth of 6.9 percent was the nation's largest percentage increase. The national growth rate was 1.6 percent. The rebound was led by manufacturing, with 4,734 jobs added.

ELKHART - Elkhart County police raided a loud party over the weekend. Officers got a call around 3:15 a.m. Saturday about the party in the 27800 block of County Road 24 near Elkhart. CLICK HERE for map. Police say they found six adults and a juvenile who all tested positive for alcohol. According to the investigative report, Eunique Jackson, 18, Tiara Bonds, 18, Jeffery Mack, 18, and a 17-year-old boy were found to have drunk alcoholic beverages and were cited for illegal consumption of alcoholic beverage and released.

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:   ...

ELKHART COUNTY - Elkhart County police say a 19-year-old man has died from severe injuries received when the unlicensed driver of a vehicle he was in lost control on a snowy road and crashed into a pole. The accident happened just after 10 p.m. Tuesday on Old U.S. 33 near Elk Park Drive. Trent Forte, 19, who was a  passenger in the van was taken to the hospital with a lacerated liver and other internal injuries. Police say Forte died in the hospital around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.

ELKHART - It may be Habitat for Humanity's biggest project in Elkhart yet. Next month, the nonprofit organization will start building 9 houses for families unable to afford a home, and all 9 will go up on the same site. Habitat is looking for volunteers to make it happen. The project is set for a parking lot once owned by Conn Instruments in the area of Conn Ave. and East Beardsley. It's a lot that's been vacant for 20 years. The goal - to build the homes as quickly and efficiently as possible in a project that will be known as Beardsley Bulldog Crossing.

ELKHART COUNTY - A South Bend man was sent to the hospital after his car hit a utility pole and flipped on State Road 19 between Elkhart and Wakarusa. It happened near the County Road 32 intersection around 8:20 a.m. Monday. Police tell WSBT 31-year-old Brody Winebrenner was heading south on SR 19 when he went off the road, struck the pole and knocked down a power line. Winebrenner told police he was distracted by his cell phone ringing and while looking to see who called him, he drifted off the road and struck a ditch.

Some of us have received more snow this weekend than others. Some areas have seen whiteout conditions. New Carlisle was among the places that did Sunday morning, along with parts of southwest Michigan over the last 24 hours. Driving has been slick in places and may still be, depending on where you are. WSBT meteorologist Matt Rudkin says these were the official snowfall totals from Saturday morning through late Sunday morning, numbers released by the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agency: Hudson Lake (LaPorte County)

An Elkhart County mother will have to wait even longer to see the man charged with abusing her daughter brought to justice. Tyler Beathea appeared in a court today for a pretrial conference, but no decisions were made. Beathea's defense attorney simply asked for more time to review the case. Meanwhile, the family of the 3-year-old victim says the whole situation has forced them all to be strong for her. Her mother and grandmother are both disappointed to see the court proceeding pushed back, but they say all they can do now is wait for justice to be served.