White Oak Shelter at Luhr County Park. (County parks photo)

The shelter's interior. (County parks photo)

(Click on photos to enlarge)

The LaPorte County Parks Department earned an award from the Indiana Park and Recreation Association (IPRA) for its development of a new shelter at Luhr County Park. This park is part of the 74 acres located south of LaPorte and features four ecosystems: upland forest, wetland, prairie and a stocked pond, open to fishing.

The new addition, White Oak Shelter, provides seating for 100 and can be reserved by the public for family reunions, wedding receptions, birthday parties and high school graduations, as well as environmental education programs. White Oak Shelter is adjacent to the Luhr Park Nature Center and close to parking, public restrooms, water and electric.

All LaPorte County Parks shelters are available for rent from April 1 through Oct. 31.

The LaPorte County Prosecutor’s infraction fund, containing fines paid for speeding tickets issued in the county, allowed the parks department to purchase the materials to build this unique shelter.

Parks Superintendent Tim Morgan said, “It is partnerships like that with the prosecuting attorney that made county park facilities like White Oak Shelter some of the nicest park facilities in the State of Indiana.”

From left: IPRA President Terry Prather, LaPorte County Parks Superintendent Tim Morgan, LaPorte County Parks Maintenance and Construction Supervisor Roger Grove, LaPorte County Park Foundation President Jim Jessup, and IPRA Executive Director Mi'Chelle Bettner.

]]> http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2012/02/06/new-white-oak-shelter-at-luhr-park-awarded-by-state/feed/ 0 http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2012/02/06/citizens-students-invited-to-join-trip-to-statehouse-feb-21/ http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2012/02/06/citizens-students-invited-to-join-trip-to-statehouse-feb-21/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:55:48 +0000 Staff http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/?p=29403 Leadership LaPorte County is inviting local citizens and students to join this year’s adult leadership class to visit the Statehouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

“The public is welcome to join us until the bus is full,” said Monica Komasinski, director of Leadership LaPorte County. The bus will leave LaPorte at 6 a.m. and return around 6 p.m. The group will take a tour of the Statehouse, visit committees, and view the House and Senate if they are in session. Lunch with local legislators is also included.

The cost of the trip is $30, which includes the bus and lunch. To reserve a seat or for more information, contact Leadership LaPorte County at 325-8223 or info@leadershiplaportecounty.com.

“After discussion with the clerk-treasurer and my department heads regarding the current long-standing BOW meeting schedule, I presented the idea of changing the time and the day,” Mayor Blair Milo said in a press release. “I wanted to make this change to ensure that the meeting time is more accessible to the general public. I know how difficult it can be to try and take off work to attend a Wednesday morning meeting. I am excited by the change and hope that it allows for more citizen involvement in the issues that come before our Board of Works.”

Among the board’s duties are hearing reports from department heads, handling bills and claims, and addressing citizens’ concerns.

At the Jan. 12, 2012, LaPorte Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, Cains told the board that the LaPorte Fire Department and LaPorte County EMS recently responded to a call at an apartment in the 500 block of Jefferson Avenue, where they found an unconscious woman. At LaPorte Hospital it was determined that she had high levels of carbon monoxide in her system and had subsequently had a heart attack.

Cains told the board that carbon monoxide poisoning results mainly from poor heating systems. He reminded landlords that it’s city law that they make sure their heating systems are working properly. He encouraged all homeowners and landlords to have their heating systems inspected annually. Renters can best protect themselves by making sure this is done prior to moving into a rental unit, he said.

Cains also suggested that the city look into passing an ordinance requiring registration of apartment units so they can be inspected properly.

To make sure there’s room for all recyclables, it is important for residents to bring all items inside the trailers provided and put everything possible into the boxes lining the trailers’ insides. Only old-style TVs larger than 25 inches should be placed along the trailer wall.

Hours of operation for both sites are Monday through Friday (except holidays) as follows: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Michigan City, and 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in LaPorte. Please do not leave electronics outside the trailer or facility gates at any time.

Accepted items include TVs, computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, copiers, stereos, VCRs, DVD players, telephones, cell phones, zip drives/hard drives, keyboards, mice, calculators, video game stations, microwaves – basically any small appliance that plugs into a wall or runs on battery power.

The district’s contractor is a licensed, professional electronics recycling company; however, the district urges you to protect yourself by erasing personal data that may have been stored on your computer or cell phone. Please remove your hard drive or SIM card, or destroy the hard drive by drilling a hole in it before recycling.

Removal of any electronic device from the trailers is prohibited.

New LaPorte Mayor Blair Milo takes the oath of office from Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos as her parents, Fran and Tom Milo, stand beside her.

Photos by Dennis Proud

(Click on photos to enlarge)

New and returning LaPorte city officeholders were sworn in on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, at LaPorte City Hall. LaPorte Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos presided as new LaPorte Mayor Blair Milo and others took their oaths of office. Here are some scenes from the ceremony.

From left are (standing in background) board of works members Mark Krentz and Clay Turner, Mayor Blair Milo, Matt Cook (human resources), Jerry Jackson (wastewater dept.), Lynn Cains (code enforcement), Mike Fraze (street dept.), Brian Niksch (park and recreation), Tom MacLennan (TransPorte), Mary Jane Thomas (city planner), and Todd Taylor (water dept.).

Milo speaks during the ceremony as Joanne Layman, deputy clerk-treasurer, and City Attorney Don Baugher listen.

Current City Attorney Don Baugher and future City Attorney Autumn Halaschek stand before Judge Alevizos.

New LaPorte Fire Chief Andy Snyder and Assistant Chief A.C. Pressler are sworn in.

New LaPorte Police Assistant Chief Julie Smith and Chief Adam Klimczak are sworn in.

Milo

“It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce the following individuals will be serving the City of LaPorte within or alongside my administration commencing at 12 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2012,” she announced in a press release:

– Don Baugher, City Attorney

– Autumn Halaschek, Assistant City Attorney. “Over the course of the upcoming year, the Assistant City Attorney will assume the role of City Attorney as the current City Attorney transitions toward retirement,” Milo said.

– Lynn Cains, Code Enforcement Director

– Matthew Cook, Human Resources Director

– Mike Fraze, Street Department Director

– Jerry Jackson, Wastewater Director

– Adam Klimczak, Chief of Police

– Mark Krentz, Board of Public Works and Safety Member

– Annette Loeffler, Administrative Assistant

– Tom MacLennan, TransPorte Director

– Brian Niksch, Parks Superintendent

– A.C. Pressler, Assistant Fire Chief

– Julie Smith, Assistant Chief of Police

– Andy Snyder, Fire Chief

– Todd Taylor, Water Department Director

– Mary Jane Thomas, Community Development and Planning

– Clay Turner, Board of Public Works and Safety Member

“The City Engineer position remains under consideration as prior commitments have prevented a discussion during a compressed time period,” Milo said in the press release.

Milo added: “I would like to thank Kathy Chroback and her administration for the years of dedicated service they have provided to the City of LaPorte.

“Please join us as for a ceremony at LaPorte City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, at noon as we take the Oath of Office.

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all, and my team and I are looking forward to working with you to make LaPorte the greatest city in Indiana.”

The manager will serve as the liaison between downtown businesses and the above-mentioned agencies, according to a press release. The position will be funded by those entities.

Mike Seitz, chamber president, said a connection is needed between the revitalization of downtown LaPorte and the participating agencies. “That is what this position will be designed to do: assist the downtown and its businesses with marketing, providing background information on the programs offered by the Urban Enterprise Association and linking with the Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote LaPorte tourism and shopping. The chamber will develop a CVB satellite office providing local tourism information.”

“There are many activities taking place throughout the year in the downtown area that need promotion. These activities help bring attention to the downtown. The downtown development manager will assist these activities by providing marketing and coordinating any assistance that can be provided by the sponsoring agencies. All of the participating organizations bring valuable resources to the table that can assist the businesses in the downtown and surrounding areas. This person will be the ombudsman for these local businesses,” Seitz said.

LaPorte Mayor Kathy Chroback said, “We have been actively working toward the formation of the position for some time. Our downtown has the potential to be a real tourist destination; charming buildings, landscaped streets, quaint shops and eateries. What we need is someone who can promote all that we have to offer. This will truly revitalize the area.”

Jack Arnett of the visitors bureau said, “We felt that there has been a need in the LaPorte community and the (bureau) needs to take a more active role in and proving a presence in LaPorte. We have been discussing and planning for this position for the last six months. It has taken time to ensure the funding was in place and a job description developed.

Seitz also added that the groups have received the green light for the move from LaPorte Mayor-elect Blair Milo.

Wearing the LPFD pink T-shirts are (front row, from left): Gary Smith, Bill Lott, Maria Fruth of LaPorte Hospital Foundation, Matthew Schuster, and Andy Snyder. Back row, from left: Dr. Hester Muller, Brian Gray and Michael Boardman. (CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE)

Besides protecting the community, the LaPorte Fire Department is showing its muscle as a powerful fundraising group.

– The LaPorte squad raised $11,203 in its 2011 Fill-the-Boot drive for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. That’s the highest raised by any of the 32 departments in the region that held drives. LaPorte FD’s total, which was $2,000 higher than last year’s, bested the amounts raised by fire departments in larger towns such as South Bend, Elkhart and Hammond. In fact, Hammond’s total was a distant second to LaPorte’s at $8,500.

All told, the 32 departments raised $100,000 for MDA. The funds will go toward sending children with muscle diseases to a summer camp, as well as supporting a no-cost clinic in Elkhart, research, and medical equipment.

– LaPorte Firefighters IAFF Local 363 sold pink T-shirts during the month of October to raise funds for breast cancer awareness. Proceeds were donated to the LaPorte Hospital Foundation to support its breast cancer prevention efforts.

Maria Fruth, executive vice president/chief operating officer of LaPorte Hospital Foundation and Dr. Hester Muller, supervising radiologist for mammogram services at IU Health LaPorte Hospital Women’s Imaging Center, visited the firefighters at Station No. 2, where they were presented with the check.

The idea to sell the shirts came from a few firefighters whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. “We were discussing in one of our union meetings about looking for a community cause that we could support,” said firefighter Matthew Schuster, union treasurer. “Several of the guys had a wife or mother who had breast cancer so we felt it was important to do something that brought about an awareness of breast cancer and early detection.”

The Breast Cancer Prevention Fund assists uninsured, low-income women age 40 and older, and women of any age who are at high risk for breast cancer, to receive screening or diagnostic mammography services through a doctor’s order. The fund also provides education for women in early detection practices.

The T-shirts have the fire department emblem on the front, a pink breast cancer ribbon on the sleeve, and a Firefighters for the Cure logo on the back. Remaining T-shirts are available to the public and may be purchased for $15 at LaPorte Fire Station No. 1 at 18th and I streets.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

The new location of LaPorte County’s Purdue Extension office is greener now after the addition of new trees courtesy of NIPSCO and the DNR. Eight trees were planted at the new office building, 2857 W. Ind. 2, LaPorte, thanks to an energy conservation tree-planting grant from the utility and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Community and Urban Forestry Division.

The trees will help save heating and cooling costs as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Autumn Blaze Maple and Red Sunset Red Maple were planted on the west and south sides of the new building and are estimated to reach a mature height of 50 feet tall with a width up to 50 feet.

Providing additional technical assistance for the tree-planting project were Bill Woodruff, president of LaPorte County Landscaping, and Dawn Komasinski, utility arborist for NIPSCO Forestry Operations.