South Bend

The state of Indiana is about to make major changes to its child support laws, putting it in sync with most other states. Starting July 1, the age of emancipation will be 19 instead of 21. This means after the child turns 19 years old ... a parent no longer pays support, meaning a big change for families who not only pay ... but receive support. For people with one child ... they can just stop paying as of July 1. If child support payments are withheld from your paycheck, you will need court approval to have those stopped.

Dozens of frustrated parents and social workers hope state lawmakers will take their advice on how to fix Indiana's Department of Child Services. They packed a meeting in South Bend, Thursday night, and for some it was their only opportunity to share their thoughts. There were so many stories in the room -- each one, very different. And so it was not an easy task for state senators John Broden (D-South Bend) and Carlin Yoder (R-Goshen) to take it all in and try to find some answers to the problems that many people say plague DCS. “We're here for solutions at this point, we need to get things fixed,” said Yoder.

SOUTH BEND - A teenager will spend several decades in prison for the murder of a South Bend high school student. A judge Tuesday sentenced 18-year-old Damontray Lovelady to 50 years in prison. Lovelady admitted last month to shooting 16-year-old Jhaelon Johnson, a Washington High student, in the head last September. Lovelady and Johnson reportedly got into an argument on Washington Street. Police were called to the 3100 block of Washington St. September 16, 2012 after shots were fired.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend plans to address the issue of vacant and abandoned homes by demolishing some of them. One council member says not so fast. Houses with boarded up doors and broken windows are scattered throughout the city of South Bend.      City Council Member Henry Davis Junior proposed the bill because he wants to make sure the city is paying attention to the potential of the houses. He says, "We want to make sure that we're doing it responsibily and that we're not behaving irresponsibly and that we're doing it with the though of redevelopment later on. " He agrees some houses do need to be demolished but he also wants to verify that tearing down the houses meets state and municipal laws.

This video just posted on Facebook shows South Bend native Brett Banasiewicz riding at an outdoor park Wednesday night in Dallas, TX.   http://on.fb.me/14VQr6x The local BMX star suffered a serious injury last August, when he fell 8 feet during a practice session and landed on his head. Banasiewicz's mother, Lisa, tells WSBT that her son has been riding indoors a little since Christmas, but has only been riding outdoors for the last few weeks. Banasiewicz is thrilled to be able to ride again after the doctors said he would never walk, talk or ride.

SOUTH BEND -- The family of a 6-year-old girl who was stabbed to death by her father is planning her memorial service. Preliminary autopsy results show Shirley Mundia died of multiple sharp force injuries. The result indicated her father Edward Mwaura died of a stab wound to the chest and multiple gun shot wounds.       A South Bend police officer shot and killed Mwaura after Mwaura was found stabbing his daughter Shirley inside a unit at the Irish Hills apartment complex on South Bend's south side.

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SOUTH BEND - Before approving a $186,000 annual contract with South Bend Community School Corp.'s new superintendent, the vice president of the school board gave her an admonishment. “Kind of remember,” Bill Sniadecki told Carole Schmidt, “when you start looking for budget cuts again, look furthest away (from the classroom).” The district is facing a $10 million shortfall over the next two years, and among other things, Schmidt has unsuccessfully proposed that up to half of the district's kindergarten aides be eliminated.

SOUTH BEND - A prostitution sting in South Bend leads to the arrest of three men. The sting took place late Saturday night and into the early morning hours. It involved the Street Crimes Unit going undercover and posting an ad for prostitution on a popular website. "No chit chat, so they're not just looking to have communication; they want to get down to business. They're trying to earn money, utilize the website for that, not for making friends," said Lt. Daniel Skibins with the South Bend Police Dept.

He suffered a serious head injury just six months ago. But that's not stopping Washington High School student and BMX star Brett Banasiewicz from returning to South Bend this month to host an event he founded.  The 18-year-old's mom told WSBT in an e-mail Brett plans to attend the second annual Pro-AM BMX Contest on the 23rd and 24th; in just over two weeks. Lisa Banasiewicz says ESPN will be covering the competition. Brett continues to recover from head trauma after falling during practice in August in Virginia.

MICHIGAN CITY - The suspect in the murder of a retired Michigan City teacher has been captured in South Bend. Last Thursday, June 6, police were called to the 500 block of E. 8 th St. in Michigan City in regards to a welfare check. When they arrived, they found a person dead inside his apartment. The victim was 66-year-old Henry Whitten. An autopsy the next day determined Whitten was the victim of a homicide. According to the Michigan City News-Dispatch, LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said Whitten died from a brain bleed caused by blunt force trauma.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, along with other local officials, rallied Friday afternoon to encourage Indiana Senators Joe Donnelly and Dan Coats to vote in favor of immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for over 11 million immigrants.   The bill just reached the Senate this week.  If passed, it will impact many aspiring Americans. Many people are now entering the country illegally in search of work and improved living conditions.  One young undocumented worker elaborated on his struggle.

SOUTH BEND - Police believe they have solved a nearly 16-month-old murder investigation in South Bend. On February 26, 2012, Christopher Simril, 18, was killed at Walker Park on West Ewing Ave, and the autopsy showed Simril died of several gunshot wounds to the head. After a long investigation by the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit, murder charges were filed Friday against Tyree Justin Scott. According to court documents, Scott is accused of killing Simril during an armed robbery.

SOUTH BEND - It's a popular place for families, but the EPA says it could also be dangerous. Local companies like Bendix used to dump things like asbestos and oil at LaSalle Park, a.k.a. Beck's Lake. People living in the area voiced their frustration at a public forum Thursday at the Charles Black Center. The EPA held the forum. It says studies over the years have shown arsenic in the soil of the park but no contamination in the lake itself. The EPA says it believes there's enough pollution for the park to be considered a Superfund site.

SOUTH BEND - Police may have a suspect in a shooting that left a man with two gunshot wounds late Wednesday night. Police found the 20-year-old man lying in the 900 block of Lombardy Drive in the pouring rain about 10:15 p.m. after someone called 911 to report three gunshots and a man down, city police Capt. Phil Trent said. The man's girlfriend told police he had just gotten out of his car and was about to go inside a house when another vehicle pulled up. The girlfriend, who was waiting in the car, told police she watched as the man got in a verbal dispute with someone in the car. “That's when gunshots ring out and he collapses in the street,” Trent said.

SOUTH BEND -- Indiana State Police are looking for a suspect who got away from them on foot after a vehicle pursuit yesterday. The excitement didn't end with the chase, however, as something at first mistaken for a bomb in the suspect's trunk turned out to be a mobile meth lab.   The full release from Indiana State Police Bremen Post is below: St. Joseph County - A short car chase Wednesday afternoon turned into a long investigation for...

GRANGER - A Granger woman is being called a hero after jumping into the St. Joseph River and saving a young girl's life. Jennifer Eaton, a mother of four, says she just keeps replaying what happened Tuesday afternoon in her head. Eaton was at Leeper Park in South Bend around 4 p.m. with her kids when she heard screaming and found out a girl had fallen into the river. Eaton says her only instinct was to risk her life to help this person she doesn't even know.

SOUTH BEND-- Hunger doesn't stop when school is over which is why the South Bend Community School Corporation has the summer food service program.    Wednesday was the first day kids could get a free, nutritious meal through the federally-funded initiative. A facilitator with the program says 70% of students in the South Bend schools get free or reduced lunches during the school year, so they want to make sure kids have at least one good meal each weekday during the summer.

SOUTH BEND - South Bend hopes a new property tax assessment will help sell the former College Football Hall of Fame. Right now, the property's assessed value is $6 million. But the city wants to appeal that and is asking the Redevelopment Commission for permission to hire an outside appraiser to help. In 2011, the assessed value was $2.6 million. The city believes having the Hall's assessed value more in line with its market value will help sell it.

SOUTH BEND - You can soon expect a fine if property you own in South Bend has too many calls for police or code enforcement. Monday night, the city's Common Council passed a nuisance property ordinance. It will take effect October 15, which is much later than the May 1 effective date in the original ordinance. Talk about how, when and why the ordinance was needed delayed the vote until Monday with the council passing it 8 to 1. The nuisance calls for a $250 fine for property owners who have 5 or more police calls or code enforcement violations within 60 days at a single location with 50 or fewer units,12 calls in 9 months for those with more than 50. Properties like Courtyard Place apartments, which had an average of 1.4 calls for police per day for 6 years, prompted the council to look at the ordinance.