Regional Summary, Tuesday 6/24

Indiana Summary Funeral Services Today For Fallen Marine (Richmond) -- A funeral will take place this afternoon in Richmond for U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Layton Crass, who died this month in Afghanistan. Richmond High Schools Tiernan Center will host the funeral, which starts at 1 p.m. Crass graduated from the school in 2005. The 22-year-old was killed when the humvee he was riding in hit a roadside bomb on June 14th. Three other Marines died in the explosion. --- Decision Expected Today On Jeffersonville Road Rage Shooting (Jeffersonville) -- The Clark County prosecutor is expected to make a decision later today if a southern Indiana woman will face criminal charges after she allegedly shot a man last week. Yalanda Parrish is accused of shooting Wesley Mosier after she says he threatened her. The shooting happened at the intersection of 10th Street and Allison Lane, and police are calling it a road rage incident. Mosier survived the shooting and is recovering. --- Musician Fatally Stabbed At Bloomington Party (Bloomington) -- Bloomington police say a murder suspect used a Bloomington mans home as a hideaway after he fatally stabbed a musician who had just performed at a house party. Homeowner, Jeremy Durham said he came home from the store, when his dog was guarding the back door and was ready to pounce on a stranger. According to authorities the man was 32-year-old, Brian White who had just stabbed Christopher Johnson in the chest. Johnson who was the lead singer of the band "Useless Wooden Toys", had just performed at a party in a home which was just around the corner from Durhams home. When Durham said he was going to call 911, White shouted back that he just needed help and sanctuary. Police later found White hiding in a temporary sanctuary in Durhams cellar with a piece of tin covering up the opening. He now faces murder charges. --- Here Are The Latest Winning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Daily Three-Midday: 0-1-7; Daily Three-Evening: 6-9-2; Daily Four-Midday: 8-8-7-0; Daily Four-Evening: 5-6-5-6; Lucky Five-Midday: 7-10-22-23-34; Lucky Five-Evening: 1-7-16-19-20. Kentucky Summary (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor Steve Beshear calls the financial problems caused by the state pension system "ominous," comparing it to a runaway freight train or tsunami. The governors remarks to a joint session of the legislature last night. The governor says we "face a financial catastrophe, one that demands significant and immediate action." The lawmakers are in special session to act on a state pension reform. Lawmakers hope to complete their work by weeks end. (Covington, KY) -- The jury is to begin deliberations this morning in the trail of three attorneys facing federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Melbourne Mills Jr., William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. are charged with taking too much of the 200-million dollar settlement with the drug company for themselves. (Frankfort, KY) -- A group of property owners and others age going to court to try and stop Kentucky American Water Company from proceeding with its work on a water treatment plant and pipeline. The pipeline would connect the new treatment plant on the Kentucky River in Owen County to Fayette County. Citizens for Alternative Water Solutions filed an appeal in Franklin Circuit Court of the Public Service Commission decision to approve the pipeline project. (Frankfort, KY) -- A Frankfort woman has lost her dog and computer in a burglary. Police are searching for the burglar who broke into the womans home, killed her dog, then left with her computer. The woman, who is tutor at Kentucky State University says she came home for lunch to find her dog dead and her home broken into. (Frankfort, KY) -- Fifteen people died on Kentucky roads last week in 15 separate crashes. Kentucky State Police report 13 of the crashes involved motor vehicles and two motorcycles. Through last week, 351 people have died in accidents on Kentucky roadways this year. (Lexington, KY) -- Safe Kids Fayette County is urging people to keep fireworks away from youngsters. The group says it is a very dangerous time of year for children. In 2006 more than two-thousand children ages 14 and under were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for injuries involving fireworks during the fireworks season. The season runs from mid June to mid July. The coordinator of Safe Kids says the solution is simple, "Dont let kids play with fireworks." Illinois Summary --- Gunmen Fire At Van, Hitting Child (Chicago) -- An eight-year-old boy is hospitalized in critical, but stable, condition this morning after he was shot in Chicagos Humboldt Park neighborhood last night. Authorities say Jose Torres and his parents were sitting in a van in the eleven-hundred block of North Spaulding Avenue shortly before 10. Someone in a passing dark-colored car fired shots into the van, hitting the child in the lower part of his body. The childs parents were not hurt. Police say they have not made any arrests in what may be a gang-related shooting. --- Ministers Question Police-Involved Shootings (Chicago) -- Chicagos Independent Police Review Authority 1/81/8 IPRA 3/83/8 is promising to completely review each of the citys seven officer-involved shootings in the past two weeks. Police department spokesperson Monique Bond says the agency just needs a little time. A number of Chicago religious leaders say the Authority is taking too long to complete those investigations. Reverend Robin Hood says shootings from last year have not been explained. He points to the death of Aaron Harrison on Chicagos West Side in early August. A final determination in that case has not been made. The City Council set six months as a benchmark for investigations when it founded the IPRA, but that number is often surpassed. So far this year, Chicago Police officers have shot 21 people. Last year by this time, police had shot 19 people. --- Teller Accused Of Stealing Elderly Womans Savings (Chicago) -- The Cook County Public Guardians office is accusing a former Chase Bank employee of stealing more than 300-thousand dollars from an elderly womans bank account. Melindathee Hill has not been criminally charged, though an FBI investigation is underway. But the "Chicago Sun-Times" reports the teller earned the trust of 86-year-old Jessie McDonald and took advantage of her to buy jewelry and pay college tuition. Hill was fired last August after the bank learned of the deception. McDonald is currently staying at the Crestwood Care Centre, and whats left of her savings is rapidly running out. The Public Guardians office is working to get Chase to repay the stolen funds. --- Illnesses Close Suburban Golf Course Restaurant (Wheaton) -- The restaurant at one suburban golf course has been closed since Friday after two-dozen people got sick after eating there. DuPage County health officials say eight customers and 16 employees at the Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton developed flu-like symptoms. The cause of the illness has not been identified. The golf course itself is opened, and scheduled events are going on as planned. Food for those events is being prepared off-site. --- Call Center Offers Link To Help And Information (Springfield) -- Illinois officials have set up a toll-free hotline to help flood victims. Governor Blagojevich says residents will be able to get easy access to information and help. The call center will be staffed by employees from state agencies that offer recovery guidance or assistance programs. The State Flood Recovery Assistance Hotline number is 1-866-848-2067. The line opens at 8:30 this morning. --- Accused Bank Robber Convicted (Chicago) -- A man prosecutors called a serial bank robber has been found guilty of robbing five banks in Chicagos Loop. A federal jury Monday convicted 39-year-old Randy Rencher on eight of nine criminal counts. Jurors deliberated for about two-and-a-half hours before reaching the verdict. Prosecutors said Rencher escaped from the Cook County Jail in 2005, and committed one bank robbery while still wearing a jail guards uniform. Several bank tellers testified that Rencher was the person who committed the holdups. The defense called only one witness, and rested its case on Thursday. Sentencing is scheduled for September 26th. --- United Airlines Laying Off Nearly One-Thousand Pilots (Chicago) -- Chicago-based United Airlines will begin cutting 950 pilot jobs later this summer. The nations second-largest airline will cut about 12-percent of its pilots. Notices to the first 100 pilots to be cut loose will be issued in mid-July and will take effect at the end of August. The notices will continue through 2009. United is also grounding 100 aircraft as part of cost-cutting measures. It is also eliminating as many as 16-hundred salaried and management jobs. --- Recovery, Not Rescue Operation For Missing Teen (Oswego) -- Oswego authorities have now classified the search for a missing 18-year-old man as a recovery mission. Searches for 18-year-old Robert Funston of Montgomery will resume this morning. He and four other teens were swimming in the Fox River Sunday afternoon when a strong current pulled Funston under. The friends spent an hour-and-a-half looking for Funston before calling police. Funston had just graduated from Oswego High School, and the school plans to staff a crisis support center for students. --- High School Basketball Player Collapses, Dies (Plainfield) -- A high school basketball player collapsed and died during an AAU basketball game this weekend. Sixteen-year-old Zamarri Doby, a junior at Waubonsie Valley High School, died while playing at Plainfield South High School Sunday afternoon. Dobys Illinois T-Wolves team had just begun a game when he collapsed as he ran up the court. An autopsy showed Doby died of an enlarged heart. Funeral arrangements are pending. --- Drive-By Shooting Kills One, Injures Four (Chicago) -- Authorities now say a 17-year-old killed in a drive-by shooting on Chicagos South Side last night has died. Three other men were hospitalized after the incident, which happened in the 68-hundred block of South Indiana Avenue at about 7:20. Police say four men drove up in a van and opened fire, killing Jason Edwards. Theres no word on the conditions of the other men, a 25-year-old, 27-year-old, and 31-year-old. Police are still investigating the shooting. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-06-24-08 0628CDT