Regional Summary, Thursday 6/12

Indiana Summary --- Evacuation Mandatory In Daviess Levee Breach (Capehart) -- A mandatory evacuation has been in effect for part of Indianas Daviess County because of a White River levee breach. About 400 people have been told to leave their homes near the town of Capehart, which is about 100 miles southwest of Indianapolis. Daviess Emergency Management Director Paul Goss says they are reacting to wherever the water goes. The levee was overtopped early yesterday. Goss said the water moved too quickly from nearby Owen County for a sandbagging operation to be utilized. The river had been predicted to slowly decline from a crest of over 29 feet. It is too soon to tell if that will happen, according to Goss. The river is expected to remain at flood levels downstream in Petersburg for the rest this week. Dry weather is in the forecast until Friday, when more storms are expected. --- Tentative Deal Between Kroger And Indianapolis Union Workers (Indianapolis) -- The grocery store giant Kroger and the union representing more than four-thousand of its Indiana workers have agreed to a new contract. The tentative agreement must be ratified in a vote by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union 700. The contract covers employees at 60 stores in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Kokomo, and other central Indiana communities. Details of the contract have not been made public. --- Here Are The Winning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Daily Three-Midday: 9-4-5; Daily Three-Evening: 4-9-2; Daily Four-Midday: 8-3-6-6; Daily Four-Evening: 7-8-4-1; Lucky Five-Midday: 3-4-6-12-30; Lucky Five-Evening: 2-3-15-23-34. Kentucky Summary (Louisville, KY) -- The Ford Motor Company has dropped their plans to lay off nearly 600 workers at the Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road next month. Ford still plans though to reduce production of the Explorer, by cutting from two shifts to just one shift. Officials from Ford say they will keep the two-thousand workers through rolling weekly layoffs. (Louisville, KY) -- GE Union workers at Appliance Park approved a proposal to cut more than 180 jobs yesterday. Union officials say the jobs will be eliminated through early retirement. The effort to cut costs at the site began before General Electric said they plan to sell or spinoff its entire appliance business. More than five-thousand people are employed at Appliance Park. GE is Louisvilles sixth largest employer. (Frankfort, KY) -- Lawmakers can expect to spend the week after next in Frankfort. The governor is expected to call them into special session to take a first step in reforming the state retirement system. Legislative leaders have reached an agreement on pension reform. Its a step leaders call a beginning. The governor has urged lawmakers to act saying if legislation can be approved by the end of the month it will save the state tens of millions of dollars. (Louisville, KY) -- The Kentucky Lottery announced yesterday that they will layoff 28 employees, reduce advertising and eliminate some cash-prize pay outs. Lottery board members say the layoffs will happen by June 27th. Theyll also cut one-point-five-million-dollars form its ten-point-five-million-dollar advertising budget for the next fiscal year. Officials say they will convert some of the cash prizes on scratch off tickets into more free tickets. The plans call to cut 50-million-dollars worth of cash prizes from scratch off tickets and replace them with 50-million-dollars worth of free tickets. The Kentucky Lottery is making the cuts to return 190-point-five-million-dollars to the state. (Louisville, KY) -- A new report by the American Water Works Association says that Louisville has the best-tasting water in America. Mayor Jerry Abramson and Louisville Water Company officials celebrated the announcement yesterday by handing out free bottles of Pure Tap to children and adults at Waterfront Park downtown. The Louisville water was named the best at the American Water Works meeting in Atlanta in its annual tasting competition. Louisvilles water beat out large and small cities all over the country. The second place award was given to the Mal Paso Filtration Plant in Puerto Rico. (LaGrange, KY) -- Oldham County is considering a 60-dollar annual utility fee. A committee decided to recommend the fee earlier this week during a meeting. The fee proposal will now head to the Fiscal Court, who will consider it. Officials say the fee would help the county meet federal regulations dealing with storm-water runoff. The fee would affect nearly 17-thousand owners of single-family homes and duplexes and 900 business and multi-family home owners. (Frankfort, KY) -- Education Commissioner Jon Draud created a controversy when he added 13-thousand-dollars in extras to a new state car. Draud has apologized to the state board of education Draud says it he had it to do over again, he would do things differently. The board is looking at ways to get its money back or maybe exchanging the car. (Springfield, KY) -- A reenactment will be held to mark the anniversary of the wedding of Abraham Lincolns parents, which took place more than two centuries ago. The Lincoln-Hanks Wedding Celebration will feature the outdoor drama "Dearly Beloved: The Vows of a Lincoln Legacy," which reenacts the 1806 ceremony. The event will take place on Saturday at the Lincoln Homestead State Park and will feature music, dancing, costumed interpreters, and other historical figures. The event will start at 9 a.m. and will run through 6 p.m. Illinois Summary --- Closing Arguments Expected Today In R. Kelly Trial (Chicago) -- Jurors are set to return to the courtroom today for closing arguments in singer R. Kellys child pornography trial. Lawyers for both sides are expected to focus on the identity of the participants seen on the controversial sex tape at the heart of the case. The 41-year-old Kelly is charged with 14 counts of child pornography for allegedly videotaping a sexual encounter with an underage girl. Kellys attorneys maintain Kelly is not the man on the tape. --- Worker Killed, Another Injured In Accident On I-57 (Chicago) -- There is no word yet on possible charges after one Illinois Department of Transportation worker was killed and another was critically injured after a vehicle struck them on southbound I-57 at 119th Street. The hit-and-run accident happened around 2:40 on Wednesday afternoon. State Police took the suspect into custody. --- Murder Charges Filed In Five Killings On South Rhodes (Chicago) -- A bond hearing is scheduled for tomorrow for a man charged in connection with the murders of five people last April on Chicagos South Side. Authorities announced Wednesday morning that 22-year-old Torolan Williams has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of armed robbery and one count of home invasion for the incident on the 76-hundred block of South Rhodes Avenue. Police say they are looking for more suspects in the case. --- Police Wound Offender During South Side Chase, Investigation Underway (Chicago) -- An official investigation is being conducted after a Chicago Police officer shot and wounded a man during a foot chase last night. The Independent Police Review Authority is looking into the incident which occurred around 10:45 p.m. in the 130-hundred block of South Drexel Avenue. The man who was shot was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and is now in custody. Police say a weapon was recovered. --- Man, Sons Charged In Attack (Chicago) -- A man from Chicagos Northwest Side is facing hate crime charges following a confrontation with a motorist this week. Investigators say 53-year-old Mahmoud Alkhazaleh, of the 55-hundred block of North Mango Avenue, is also charged with aggravated battery and vehicle invasion for Mondays incident which happened near his home. The mans three adult sons are charged with felony aggravated battery, accused of attacking the driver of a truck who claims his path was being blocked as he drove down the street. Alkhazaleh is accused of using a racial epithet, which he denies, and says the incident started when the driver tried to hit him. --- Peterson Claims Police Are Spying On Him (Joliet) -- Drew Peterson says Illinois State Police are spying on him. According to a report in the "Joliet Herald-News," the former Bolingbrook police sergeant claims surveillance cameras mounted on his neighbors home are trained on his front yard and backyard swimming pool. Petersons neighbor says she got them for protection after Peterson allegedly gained access to a remote control opener for her garage. --- Alcohol Cause Of Northwestern Students Death (Evanston) -- A Northwestern University student who was found dead in his dorm late Tuesday morning died of accidental alcohol intoxication. Thats the word from the Cook County medical examiners office regarding Nineteen-year-old freshman Matthew Sunshine. The incident remains under investigation. --- Council Members Approve Childrens Museum Move To Grant Park (Chicago) -- The Chicago Childrens Museum is a step closer to relocating. The City Council on Wednesday approved the controversial plan to build a new Childrens Museum in Grant Park. Mayor Daley is the biggest supporter of the measure, and museum officials argue that many civic groups around the city back it as well. Forty-second Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, whose ward includes Grant Park, is an opponent, and plans to fight the move. --- Impeachment Memo, Government Shutdown Top Latest Legislative Talks (Chicago) -- The latest meeting on the states budget problems focused on everything but the spending plan. Governor Blagojevich met with top lawmakers in Chicago and called the meeting to talk about the budget he says is two-billion-dollars out of whack. Most of the legislative leaders instead talked about Speaker Mike Madigans impeachment memo regarding Blagojevich. House GOP Leader Tom Cross calls the memo a "scheme to lie." Democratic Senate President Emil Jones agrees and says Speaker Madigan may be putting Chicagos chances of hosting the 2016 Olympics in danger. --- Naperville Has First Confirmed Emerald Ash Borer In Will County (Naperville) -- The Emerald Ash Borer has made its way to Naperville. The Naperville Department of Public Works has removed eleven infested ash trees by cutting and chipping the trees. The city is also properly discarding the chips so as not to cause further spread of the insect. The Emerald Ash Borer is a small, metallic green beetle that, in recent years, has killed millions of ash trees across the Midwest, including Illinois. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-06-12-08 0654CDT