Regional Summary, Monday 2/18

Indiana Summary Victim Of Deadly Hit And Run Identified (Indianapolis) -- Police have identified the victim of a deadly hit and run accident in Indianapolis. The accident on the northeast side Saturday night killed 59-year-old Stanley Warfiled. Investigators say the man was struck by the side mirror of a car. Witnesses tried to move him out of the roadway and another car ran over him. The incident happened near the intersection of 30th Street and Forest Manor Avenue. Police continue looking for drivers involved in the accident. --- Eight-Year-Old Girl Shot To Death Laid To Rest (Indianapolis) -- Family and other mourners laid an eight-year-old girl to rest over the weekend after she was shot to death in her home. Karissa Hitchings died after she was hit by gunfire while watching TV. Police say shots were fired through a window by a man who earlier had an argument with the girls father about money. Authorities say they have arrested 26-year-old Emannuel McClendon Jr. --- Homeless Shelter To Close Due To Lack Of Funds (Indianapolis) -- An Indianapolis homeless shelter will close at the end of February because theres not enough money to run it. Operators of Wheeler Mission on East Michigan Street say donations have been down. Meanwhile, theres concern over what will happen to the cold and hungry as other missions fill to capacity. From 1997 to 2007, the number of persons seeking shelter on a nightly bases has increased 512 percent. --- Here Are Saturdays Winnning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Saturdays jackpot had no winner, sending the estimated top prize for Wednesday to $12.5 million. The numbers were: 7-22-31-33-36-45. Kentucky Summary (Frankfort, KY) -- Kentuckys weather is changing again, from spring like weather on Sunday a return to winter weather in the next 24-hours. The National Weather Service reports along with the mild temperatures on Sunday winds stepped up, a gust of 53 miles an hour was reported at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, a gust of 46 miles an hour in Bowling Green and 46 in Frankfort. Minor wind damage was reported in several communities. Forecasts say the winds are settling down and the temperatures are heading back down today. (Ashland, KY) -- Many Kentucky school students will be going to school longer this year. State law requires at least 175 days of six hours each to make up a school year. Snow and the wind storms are adding days because of days off. Boyd County School students missed ten days, Greenup County students missed eleven days even Lexington students missed several days. Some schools are having classes today to make up a snow day and many districts are adding days. In Boyd County instead of summer vacation beginning on May 23rd it will be delayed until may 30th. (Carlisle, KY) -- A Morehead University professor will lead students and some other folks on a search of the Blue Licks Battlefield near Carlisle. Seventy-eight Kentuckians lost their lives in the battle. The Battle of Blue Licks was the last battle of the Revolutionary War and fought on August 19th, 1782. The searchers hope to find tangible evidence of the battle. Its expected to begin sometime next month or in early April. (Frankfort, KY) -- Shelbyville funeral director and attorney Steve Collins is the new chair of the Kentucky Historic Properties Advisory Council. Appointed by Governor Steve Beshear, the son of former Governor Martha Layne Collins will head the 14-member commission that oversees maintenance, furnishings and repairs of the Executive Mansion, the Old Governors Mansion and the capitol. (Benton, KY) -- Mike Ward, Commonwealth attorney for Marshall and Calloway County, faces DUI charges. Marshall County sheriffs deputies stopped Ward over the weekend and charged him with driving under the influence. He was booked into the Marshall County jail, then bonded out. (Frankfort, KY) -- Proposed by a Grayson lawmaker and endorsed by the Kentucky Attorney General, lawmakers are asked to consider new identity theft legislation. The bill by Representative Robin Webb would require businesses to notify residents if their personal information is compromised. The bill would also criminalize "phishing," where e-mails or websites mimicking legitimate businesses are created to scam consumers. The victims would permit victims to sue. (Danville, KY) -- Theres a public hearing tonight in Danville to discuss smoking. The Boyle County Health Department director is proposing a smoking ordinance. Director Roger Trent is urging the public to turnout and make their feelings known. In recent years smoking ordinances have been enacted in Lexington, Louisville and a number of other Kentucky cities. A second public hearing in Danville will be held on February 26th. Illinois Summary --- Presidents Day Shuts Government Buildings, Some Schools (Chicago) -- All city, county, state and federal offices will be closed for the Presidents Day holiday today. Chicago public schools will be closed, as will schools in many of the suburbs County, state and federal courts also wont open. Cook County Holiday Bond Court, however, will. There will be no mail delivery. Banks and financial markets will be closed. CTA, Metra and Pace will run on their normal weekday schedules, and parking meters must be fed. --- NIU Victims Funerals Begin Today (DeKalb) -- Catalina Garcia and Ryanne Mace will be laid to rest today. Their funerals are the first of five scheduled this week for students killed at Northern Illinois University Thursday. The 20-year-old Garcias family held a visitation in Forest Park yesterday. She will be buried in Cicero. Services for 19-year-old Ryanne Mace will take place in St. Charles. A visitation is scheduled for 20-year-old Dan Parmenter this afternoon and evening in Oakbrook. He will be laid to rest tomorrow. Visitations for 20-year-old Gayle Dubowski and 32-year-old military veteran Julianna Gehant are planned on Tuesday, with funeral services for both on Wednesday. Gehant will be buried with full honors. --- Gunman Called Former Girlfriend Before NIU Shooting (Wonder Lake) -- The night before his rampage at Northern Illinois University, 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak 1/81/8kaz-MEER-chek3/83/8 called his ex-girlfriend to say goodbye. Jessica Baty tells CNN, Kazmierczak gave no indication that he would storm a classroom the next day, killing five students and injuring a dozen before turning a weapon on himself. Baty says she knew Kazmierczak had purchased two guns, but he told her they were for home protection. The two were living together and had dated off-and-on for two years. Baty says Kazmierczak also sent her two packages in the mail. One held a goodbye note and a new cell phone -- the other, a gun holster and ammunition. Baty also says she still loves Kazmierczak. --- Threatening UIC Email Bond Set (Chicago) -- A University of Illinois at Chicago student who allegedly sent three e-mails Friday threatening a "mass shooting" is jailed on 75-thousand dollars bond. Police say 24-year-old Mahtab Shirani of Wheaton threatened a campus shooting during the 2008 spring semester. She also wrote four times that the e-mail was not a joke. Shirani is charged with disorderly conduct. The emails were sent less than 24 hours after the Northern Illinois University shootings that killed five students. --- Man Shot, Killed By Off-Duty Robbins Officer (Chicago) -- An off-duty Robbins police officer shot and killed a man on a Chicago street last night. Chicago officials say the officer and 36-year-old Cornell McKinney got in an argument on the sidewalk near the intersection of East 61st Street and South Langley Avenue at about 8 p.m. Police say McKinney pointed a handgun at the officer during the argument. The officer then shot McKinney out of fear for his life. Chicago police say they have released the officer, who will not be charged. The officers name has not been released. --- Police Seize A Dozen Weapons From Northwest Side Home (Chicago) -- A phone tip led Chicago police to seize twelve guns from a home on the citys Northwest Side yesterday. Police say 59-year-old Fred Habib did not have a FOID card for any of the three handguns, three shotguns, or six long rifles they recovered. Authorities also found several hundred rounds of ammunition at the home in the 52-hundred block of North Olcott Avenue. Habib is charged with twelve misdemeanor counts of failing to register his firearms. Hell appear in court in April. --- Tinley Park Shooting Victims Honored In Ceremony (Tinley Park) -- Tinley Park residents gathered yesterday to honor victims of the Lane Bryant store shootings. About 500 people listened to music, readings, and speeches from leaders like Mayor Ed Zabrocki. Six candles were lit at the front of the church -- five white ones for the women killed in the assault two weeks ago, and a green candle for the as-yet unnamed survivor. Police still have not arrested an assailant. They released a second composite sketch of the gunman over the weekend. --- E-2 Victims Remembered With Sidewalk Vigil (Chicago) -- Yesterday marked five years since the E-2 nightclub disaster. Twenty-one clubgoers died at the bar on Chicagos South Side as they tried to escape a cloud of pepper spray used by security personnel breaking up a large fight. Family members gathered on the sidewalk outside the now-closed club to hang balloons and photographs and light candles. Legal battles in criminal and civil courts continue. --- Hoffman Estates Tests Night Court (Hoffman Estates) -- The second installment of "Night Court" in Hoffman Estates is scheduled for this week. Officials began the program earlier this month to handle contested parking tickets, curfew violations, and other minor ordinance citations. The "Chicago Tribune" reports village officials want to make it easier for those cited so they dont have to take time off from work to appear in court during the day. Most fines are 50-dollars or less. More than 60-people appeared in court last time, and over half had their citations dismissed. --- Womans 28-Hundred-Plus Doll Collection Auctioned Off (St. Charles) -- Playing with dolls turned out to be very lucrative for a Downers Grove woman. Mary Voigt collected more than 28-hundred dolls over the past 35-years, using the figurines to decorate her three-bedroom home. Now shes moving to a smaller home in LaGrange Park, so yesterday the "Daily Herald" reports most of her collection was auctioned off. Some of the dolls fetched more than one-thousand dollars each. Voigt says shes starting a new life, so losing the dolls wont be too rough. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-02-18-08 0605CST