Regional Summary, Thursday 3/27

Indiana Summary --- State Trooper Involved In Crash (Indianapolis) -- An Indiana State Trooper was involved in a car crash early this morning in Indianapolis. The accident happened as he was blocking traffic after an accident on the southside of I 465 near I 65. Investigators say Trooper Mike Eland was struck when another driver came around the scene and rear-ended the officer. Police say alcohol is suspected in the accident. Eland complained of neck and back pain, and was treated and released from the hospital. The unidentified driver was taken into custody. --- Clinton Campaign Returning To Indiana (Indianapolis) -- Democrat Hillary Clinton is returning to campaign in Indiana for the second time in as many weeks. Clinton is scheduled to visit six cities, including her first stop in Indianapolis. She will hold an economic town hall meeting at Ben Davis High School on Saturday morning. There are four events on Friday. Clinton is scheduled to travel from South Bend to Hammond on Friday morning. Stops in Ft. Wayne and Muncie end the day. Clinton and Senator Barack Obama are competing in the states May 6th primary. --- Hillary Clinton Coming To New Albany (New Albany) -- New York Senator and Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is making good on her promise to visit New Albany, with a visit Saturday afternoon. Clinton had planned on visiting New Albany during her Indiana trip last week, but it was cancelled, and she promised to visit this week. The details of the New Albany trip havent been released yet, but Clinton will visit Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis Saturday at 10 a.m. Stops in South Bend, Fort Wayne and Muncie are planned for tomorrow. Clinton will also speak in Madisonville, Kentucky on Saturday night. --- Senator Clinton To Visit Hammond (Hammond) -- With Indiana a major player in the Democratic presidential race for the first time since 1968, Senator Hillary Clinton is coming to Hammond. The "Northwest Indiana Times" reports Clinton will hold a rally at noon Friday at the Hammond Civic Center. She also plans to visit five other Indiana cities that weekend. Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Junior has endorsed her over Barack Obama. Clinton, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea are all expected to visit Lake and Porter Counties in the days leading up to the states May 6th primary. --- Judge Dismisses Second Muncie Election Lawsuit (Muncie) -- Democrats are dealing with a second setback in their legal challenge to the city of Muncies mayoral election. Special Judge Joel Roberts dismissed the request for a special election in one of the precincts. Republican Sharon McShurley was declared the winner in a recount when more than a dozen absentee ballots in precinct 46 were disqualified. Democrat Jim Mansfield held the lead on election night last November, but lost the recount by 13 votes. McShurley commented on the case to the "Muncie Star Press" saying, "Its over." The ruling could be appealed. --- Indianapolis Mayor Looking At Replacement For IFD Chief (Indianapolis) -- Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is looking for a replacement for Indianapolis Fire Department Chief. Ballard says he is looking for new ideas. Now, the chief is James Greeson. He has been with the department since 1970 and has been chief since 2004. Ballard and Director of Public Safety Scott Newman say they are concerned about the "culture of the fire department." --- Investigation Continues Into Death Of Man Found After Two-Years (Plainfield) -- The investigation continues into the circumstances surrounding the death of a man found a couple weeks ago after missing for over two-years. Twenty-nine-year-old Brad Hensley was found in his jeep, submerged in a pond near his apartment. A letter to Plainfield Police detectives this week stated that the death of Hensley was not accidental. Investigators are saying its possible that foul play was involved in Hensleys death. Kentucky Summary (Frankfort, KY) -- House officials say a vote on a casino bill that could allow casinos to be built in the state could come tomorrow. House Bill 550 could be voted on by tomorrow, which is the deadline for getting the 60 votes needed to pass an amendment in the House. House Speaker Jody Richards says its more likely to come on Friday. Richards says he still hopes the question can be called for a vote in the House but, he says it still lacks the sixty votes it would need for passage. (Louisville, KY) -- A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted three-teenagers in connection with the shooting death of 16-year old Brandon Trumbo. The grand jury indicted 15-year-old Todd Brown, 16-year-old Leslie Harbin and 17-year-old Howard Williams, Junior. The three teens will be charged as adults and face murder and assault charges. Trumbo was shot and killed at the corner of 15th and Broadway last month. (Louisville, KY) -- The medical examiner delayed a ruling in the case of a dead infant yesterday. The ruling is pending further studies on the child. Police say a baby boy was found in the closet of a home in Pleasure Ridge Park on Tuesday after EMS crews were called into the home. Homicide detectives are conducting a death investigation to determine what happened to the child. The incident happened in the 36-hundred block of Alameter Drive. (Louisville, KY) -- The University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University mens basketball games will air live on television tonight. Louisville will take on Tennessee at approximately 9:57 p.m. on CBS. The Hilltoppers will face off against UCLA at 9:40 p.m. (Shelbyville, KY) -- Health department officials say more people are coming forward and saying they got sick after eating at the popular Claudia Sanders Dinner House. Restaurant officials say they believe a distributor may have delivered a bad product. The product was reportedly ham that was delivered by Pit Ham in Indianapolis. Health department officials say at least one man has died, and nearly 70 people have reported being ill after eating at the restaurant. If you ate at the restaurant last weekend and feel ill, youre asked to call The North Central District Health Department at 502-633-1243. The restaurant will remain temporarily closed, until further notice. Claudia Sanders, and her husband Colonel Harland Sanders, founded the popular restaurant in 1959. Harland Sanders founded the fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken. (Louisville, KY) -- TARC received a waiver yesterday that will allow the agency to provide bus service during this years Kentucky Oaks and Derby. The service will be provided this year exclusively by TARC, although starting next year one or more private vendors will get a chance at the job. The president of Miller Transportation, John Miller says the new federal regulations that guarantee private vendors to have an opportunity to offer special transit service is "long overdue." The new federal regulations will take effect on April 30th. Under those regulations, TARC could not participate in the service and Churchill Downs would have to negotiate a deal to provide the service with one or more private vendors. (Louisville, KY) -- The University of Louisville is reminding everyone about the danger of fake tickets to tonights NCAA mens basketball game against Tennessee. Officials say if people do not buy their tickets from the university, there is a chance they could be fake. On the website Craigslist, dozens of people are trying to sell tickets to the Sweet 16 game, with some charging 500-to-28-hundred-dollars for tickets. Officials say the legitimate tickets come from the NCAA and have holograms. (Louisville, KY) -- U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth will present a 500-thousand-dollar check to the city today for Louisvilles Health & Wellness Services. The money will be used for a Mobile Dental Health Unit for low-income individuals and seniors, the Center for Health Equity and the Louisvilles Mens Health Program. The event will take place this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the Center for Health Equity. (New Albany, IN) -- Floyd Countys only public facility for outdoor swimming will be closed this summer. The parks department voted recently to close the Camille Wright Pool because of the dire need for extensive repairs. Officials say the pool leaks badly and has declined in age,. Officials say no decision has been made on what will be done with the pool, saying the pool could be repaired or replaced or shut down permanently. (Louisville, KY) -- Mayor Jerry Abramson and Brightside are seeking nominations for the Brightside Fred Wiche 1/81/8 WISH-Ee 3/83/8 Awards. Nominations can be submitted through May 16th by filling out an application at www.brightsideinc.org. Winners will be notified in August. The awards gives cash to three Louisville schools for outstanding environmental stewardship. The Adult Award recognizes the efforts of an individual or group in the Kentuckiana region whose environmental stewardship improves their neighborhood or community. Request for nomination forms can also be made by calling Metro Call at 311. Illinois Summary AA Flight Schedule Should Return To Normal Friday (Fort Worth, TX) -- Inspections continue on American Airlines planes today causing 132 flight cancellations system-wide. Mostly domestic passengers are being affected by the cancellations with about 40 cancelled departures at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and 21 at Chicago OHare. Airline spokesman Tim Wagner says 318 flights were cancelled yesterday for aircraft inspections after a joint audit with the FAA raised questions about how a certain bundle of wires is secured to the MD-80 aircraft. Wagner says 243 out of the airlines 300 MD-80s are back in service after being inspected and repaired if needed. About 50 others are being worked on and are expected to return to service throughout the day. Wagner says about a dozen more aircraft will be inspected tonight, and flight schedules should return to normal by Friday. --- Legendary Radio Host Dead At 82 1/81/8NOTE use of radio station call letters3/83/8 (Chicago) -- A radio legend in Chicago has passed away. WGN Radio officials say Wally Phillips died at age 82 following a five year bout with Alzheimers. He retired from the mike in 1998 after a career that started at WGN in 1956. Phillips morning show was in the number one slot from 1968 until 1986 when he moved to afternoon drive. He was succeeded as the radio stations morning man by Bob Collins, who died in a plane crash in 2000. --- Search For Stacy Peterson To Resume (Bolingbrook) -- The family of a Bolingbrook mother of two last seen in October plans to resume searching for her. Stacy Petersons sister, Cassandra Cales, says that with better weather approaching, the search for Stacy could resume as early as this weekend. Stacy, the wife of former Bolingbrook Police sergeant Drew Peterson, has been missing since October 28th. --- Classes Continue Despite Shooting Threat At Illinois University (Macomb) -- Classes at Western Illinois University will carry on as expected today but school officials say there will be an increased police presence. Yesterday, the school issued an emergency alert after receiving a written shooting threat. Residence halls are locked and will remain accessible only to residents with keys until further notice. Macomb Area Crimestoppers and others, including University President Al Goldfarb, are offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the anonymous threat. --- Chicago To Buy Land For New Runway In Elk Grove Village (Elk Grove Village) -- To the surprise of Elk Grove Village officials, Chicago appears set to buy its first piece of property in their backyard for the planned expansion of OHare Airport. Northwest suburban leaders believe Mayor Daley is settling for a 384-square-foot parcel in the parking lot of an office complex that the city sought to condemn. Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson told the "Chicago Tribune" that area officials were contacted by the lawyer for Arthur J. Rogers & Company and he told them about the citys acquisition. Arthur J. Rogers is a development firm that owns a multiple-tenant office complex at 1651 Carmen Drive. Officials say the property would be used to install approach lights for a new runway scheduled to open in November. Elk Grove and Bensenville officials have been the loudest foes against Chicagos 15-billion dollar plan to reconfigure runways at OHare. --- Sibling of Stone Parks Political Leader Dies In Motorcycle Accident (Melrose Park) -- West suburban Melrose Park Police are investigating a motorcycle crash that killed the brother of Stone Parks mayor. The accident happened Wednesday afternoon in the 20-hundred block of North Mannheim Road. Police say 33-year-old Ivano Mazzulla died after his motorcycle and a SUV collided. Mazzulla is the brother of Mayor Beniamino Mazzulla. The victim is also a corporal in the Stone Park Police Department. He leaves behind a wife and three children. --- Postal Officials Warn Residents To Keep A Close Watch For Stimulus Check Delivery (Chicago) -- Theres a bit of bad news when it comes to the economic stimulus rebate checks that millions of American will soon receive in the mail. Chicago U.S. Postal inspector spokesperson Wanda Shipp says the checks will be easy pickings for thieves. She says the pros know how to cash your checks and steal your identity. The Mailbox Works President Mark Fitzpatrick told the "Chicago Tribune" that his phones are ringing off the hook with calls with requests for the installation of mailboxes that lock. He says the lowest priced security boxes start at 60 bucks and are wall mounted. Those not mounted run about 160 dollars. Mail theft is a felony and a conviction can get a person up to five years in prison. --- Superstars Ex-Lover Losses On Claim That He Owed Her Five Million Dollars (Chicago) -- A long-running case between a retired Chicago Bulls great and his former lover will not be heard in court. On Wednesday, the Illinois Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal made by Karla Knafel that Michael Jordan promised her five million dollars. Knafel contends that the former superstar agreed to pay her the cash as hush money and also to make sure she did not file a paternity suit after learning she was pregnant in 1991. Jordan denied making the promise and DNA tests showed that Jordan was not the father. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-03-27-08 1039CDT