Laporte

LAPORTE — A group of area volunteers and doctors are preparing for a trip to Haiti — members of a non-profit called Haitian Support Ministries, a program that's been helping Haiti's children for 20 years. "These people have no reserves, they live literally hand and mouth every day, and when there is a disruption in the water supply and food supply, I mean they will just be completely out," volunteer Dr. David Miller explained about the situation in Haiti. Dr. Miller and his wife, Dr. Lovera Miller, travel twice a year to Jacmel, a town 40 miles south of Port au Prince, to treat the town's children.

Could you have run a city at age 28? LaPorte's mayor is doing just that. Blair Milo took officeon Jan. 1. It is not easy being a brand new mayor ... much less being a woman, under age 30 in politics. But Milo doesn't seem to notice and is already making changes in LaPorte. "Whirlwind" says Milo as she laughs, "and that is probably going to be the next four years too. " That is how Milo describes her first three months in office and already she feels she is doing what she set out to do. "To impact the community for the betterment of what the history of the city is going to be," explains Milo.

A LaPorte teenager died in a car accident south of Indianapolis early Thursday morning. State Police say 19-year-old Craig Milcarek was in the passenger seat when the driver lost control and hit a guardrail on I-65 near Seymour. The driver, 21-year old Cory Allison and another passenger are in critical condition. Police say speed and aggressive driving may have been factors in this crash.

LAPORTE - An amazing rescue in LaPorte was caught on camera. A WSBT viewer Jason Ott sent us a video of the fire. Five people were stranded on the roof of a burning apartment building Saturday afternoon in the nine-hundred block of Jackson Street. Some of them jumped from their roof to the roof of a nearby garage as they waited for firefighters with ladders to help them down. Thankfully no one was seriously injured and everyone made it out okay. Firefighters are still investigating what caused the fire.

A  home on the property of The Red Barn Experience in LaPorte - a venue for events such as weddings - was destroyed by fire Friday night. The fire broke out around 6 p.m. Firefighters told a WSBT photographer at the scene it started in the basement, and was hard to fight because the house was built in the 1850s and has a lot of additions. Smoke could be seen for miles as 70 to 80 firefighters from four departments worked to extinguish it. Crews were at the scene until about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Dozens of local fugitives are back behind bars this morning. Several LaPorte County police departments and the U.S. Marshals service teamed up for something called Operation County Crackdown. They arrested at least 45 fugitives wanted in the area, including one who'd run to Nebraska. Most were wanted on drug charges, some for robbery. But police say the operation isn't over. As of this morning they're still looking for 100 more fugitives.

LAPORTE - South Bend is not the only city getting a lot of attention for electing someone under 30 to be the next mayor. LaPorte also voted in a 29-year-old who will take office in January. Blair Milo grew up in LaPorte, and like South Bend mayor-elect Pete Buttigieg, she is in the Naval Reserves. Milo attended Purdue and also went to grad school at George Washington. As mayor, she wants to help LaPorte's economy and fight drugs. “Drugs have been a problem for a long time and they are a large problem nationwide but I think we can mitigate the impact that they have on the community and continue to work with individuals in the community,” said Milo.

LaPORTE, Ind. (AP) - A LaPorte factory that makes candy and licorice is planning a $10 million expansion company officials say will add 35 new jobs by 2015. American Licorice Co. plans to renovate its 285,000-square-foot plant and install a licorice production line and a rail spur to ferry ingredients to the plant. The Times of Munster reports ( http://bit.ly/11R63cL ) American Licorice is one of the nation's original licorice manufacturers. The company produces Red Vines, Sour Punch, Natural Vines, Super Ropes and Snaps.

More than 1,400 NIPSCO customers spent part of Sunday night in the dark following a power outage. The power went out about 6:10 p.m. CST, according to LaPorte 911 dispatch. It was restored several hours later. A blown transformer was believed to be the cause, and weather was not a factor in the outages. Another 340 customers were without power in Michigan City, according to the NIPSCO outage Web site. About 160 were still out shortly after 11 p.m. Wet, heavy snow falling Sunday night may bring down branches and cause further weather-related outages, the National Weather Service warns.

Police in the city of LaPorte say a man caught a thief in his home and was slashed with a box cutter during the struggle that followed. Detective Matt Drangmeister told WSBT this happened around 8:30 Thursday night in the 800 block of Kingsporte Avenue. The homeowner arrived at his house and found the suspect inside. As he was struggling with the suspect the homeowner was slashed on his chest, arms and face. The victim's wounds were superficial, according to Drangmeister.

An ice cream man on his route in LaPorte had the back window of his truck shot out.  According to LaPorte Police, it appears a BB gun was used judging by the small size of the hole in the glass   Investigators Thursday were at a loss to come up with a suspect because the driver did not see anyone around or what direction the shooter fired the shot. "That's the problem.  We don't really have anything to go on right now," said LaPorte Police Capt. Tom Heath.

KINGSFORD HEIGHTS - A 20-year-old Hamlet, Indiana woman was killed this morning in a crash near Kingsford Heights. The LaPorte County coroner says her blood alcohol content - .283 - and the dense fog are equally to blame. The single-vehicle crash happened around 1:12 a.m. Central Time at the intersection of Range Road and 800 South, just north of Kingsford Heights. LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said Amanda Lovins' Ford Explorer left the roadway and crashed into a cement drainage culvert.

MICHIGAN CITY - A Michigan City clergyman was among the people arrested from a recent  sweep of convicted registered sex offenders in La Porte County. Darrell Roberts, 53, was taken into custody Friday on a warrant charging him with two counts of sex offender registry violations, according to La Porte County Police. Police said officers with arrest warrants issued out of La Porte Superior Court 4 found Roberts at the Deliverance and Victory Five-Fold Worship Center at 113 Skwiat Legion Ave.  Roberts is listed as the apostle on the church website while his wife, Vera, is listed as the pastor.

UPDATE: The two killed in a crash Saturday morning have been identified as 39-year-old Shay Hedden and 7-year-old Matthew Hedden, both from Michigan City. The following release was issued Saturday afternoon by LaPorte County police: On Saturday, April 6th, 2013 at approximately 11:36 am, Deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office were summoned to the scene of a single (1) vehicle crash in the area of 5141 North C.R. 600 West, in Springfield Township.  Upon the arrival of medical personnel, it was discovered that a female and a young juvenile male inside the vehicle were deceased.     Once deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered a single vehicle crash involving a tree.  The scene of the crash was located near 5121 North C.R. 600 West.  Observations and a witness statement at the scene revealed the vehicle, a Tan 1993 Toyota, was traveling south on C.R. 600 West.  The vehicle passed the witness vehicle in a no passing zone.  While attempting the passing maneuver, the vehicle lost control while in the northbound lane of C.R. 600 West.  The vehicle crossed back into the southbound lane of C.R. 600 West, left the west side of the roadway, and struck a tree.

LAPORTE - A LaPorte man is behind bars accused of beating his wife in front of the couple's young children. Police were called to a disturbance in an apartment house in the 600 block of Tipton St. around 11:50 p.m. Sunday. Officers spoke with the female victim who told them her husband had struck her in the face and was throwing her around by her hair. The woman had facial injuries and was bleeding from her ear, where it appeared an earring had been torn out. The victim told police she pleaded with her husband to stop hitting her, and she sent her young sons to the neighbors for help.

MILL CREEK, Ind. - A one-car crash in LaPorte County has claimed the life of a 21-year-old man, and police say alcohol was involved. Police say it happened shortly after 3:30 (CST) Sunday morning on North C.R. 875 East in the Mill Creek area of Wills Township. CLICK HERE for map. County police say Kyle Flotow from New Carlisle, a passenger in the car, died on the scene. Kyle's 22-year-old brother, Ryan Flotow, was driving the car when the vehicle went off the road and hit a tree.

LAPORTE - The cause of a fire that heavily damaged Thanhardt-Burger Corp., the longtime maker of high-end picture frames sold nationwide, remains unknown. LaPorte Fire Chief Andy Snyder said investigators quickly halted the probe in order to team up with the insurance company on the investigation. He said the state fire marshal's office also has been asked to assist in trying to determine what triggered the blaze. "It was such an extreme fire, we're trying to piece this together yet," Snyder said.

LA PORTE - A LaPorte man who contracted West Nile Virus last summer has died. Ronald Lawson never returned home after falling ill. He died Friday night at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. "He'd have good days and he'd have his bad days," said his wife, Cleda Lawson. The 66-year-old Lawson contracted the virus in August. Infected mosquitoes transmit the virus to humans and family members speculated he must have contracted West Nile while sitting on the front porch of his home in the 100 block of Laurel St. Early symptoms included extreme weakness, sore throat, shortness of breath and high fever.

A  home on the property of The Red Barn Experience in LaPorte - a venue for events such as weddings - was destroyed by fire Friday night. The fire broke out around 6 p.m. Firefighters told a WSBT photographer at the scene it started in the basement, and was hard to fight because the house was built in the 1850s and has a lot of additions. Smoke could be seen for miles as 70 to 80 firefighters from four departments worked to extinguish it. Crews were at the scene until about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Police say a man on the LaPorte County top ten most wanted list for being a “sexually violent predator” was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department was notified by the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday that Maurice Ward was found and arrested in Birmingham without incident. It is unknown if Ward will face charges in Birmingham. He is going to be extradited back to LaPorte to face charges for failing to register as a sex offender - a Class C felony - as well as parole violation.