Regional Summary, Friday 11/16

Indiana Summary: Indianapolis VA Hospital Target Of Computer Theft, Possible Identity Breach (Indianapolis) -- Indianapolis Metropolitan Police today continue their investigation into the theft of computers from the Richard Roudebush VA Hospital. The theft could jeopardize security for a large number of military veterans and their families. The computers were taken on Veterans Day, last Monday. Investigators say that two personal computers and a laptop had the names, social security numbers and dates of service of 12-thousand veterans. Last year, a VA laptop was stolen that placed over 27-million active duty and military veterans at risk. Right after that, Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer 1/81/8 Boo-yer 3/83/8 enacted legislation to protect veterans. --- Salvation Army Tree Of Lights Campaign Kicks Off (Indianapolis) -- The Salvation Army Tree of Lights Campaign kicked off yesterday at 11:30 a.m. in Indianapolis. The event took place at the Salvation Armys headquarters at 31-hundred North Merdian Street. The two-point-75-million-dollar goal is the largest in the history of the Tree of Lights campaign. The funds raised will go towards supporting programs by the Salvation Army. Indianapolis Mayor-elect Greg Ballard was on hand to help the kick off of the campaign. --- Indiana Hospital Back To Full Operation After Severe Flood Damage (Dyer) -- A Northwest Indiana hospital is finally back at full strength, nearly three-months after flooding disrupted operations there. The "Northwest Indiana Times" reports that Saint Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Dyer will begin admitting patients and providing emergency room care in its normal location at 7 a.m. today. It will be the first time since the hospitals first floor was flooded as a result of heavy rains on August 24th. The storm caused millions-of-dollars worth of damage and forced the evacuation of 67 patients. Hospital president Thomas Gryzbek said the State Board of Health declared the facility ready for full service after taking a tour on Thursday. --- Officer Injured While Responding To Domestic Dispute (Indianapolis) -- A police officer injured his hand Thursday after responding to a domestic dispute on the citys eastside. Authorities say his hand was injured when he tried to get control of the suspect. The suspect was arrested, and now faces several charges including two counts of battery to a police officer. --- School Bus Collides With SUV (Indianapolis) -- Several students got a scare Thursday on their way to school, when an SUV collided with their IPS school bus. The accident happened on the northwest side at 30th and Clifton. The crash did damage some property, but there were no injuries. --- Thursdays Winning Hoosier Lottery Numbers Daily Three-Midday: 7-9-7; Daily Three-Evening: 8-8-6; Daily Four-Midday: 9-4-8-5; Daily Four-Evening: 7-2-6-2; Lucky Five-Midday: 2-10-12-16-36; Lucky Five-Evening: 1-7-10-15-30. Kentucky Summary: (Floyd County, IN) -- Police in Floyd County are searching for a man they believe is connected to six armed robberies. During the past two weeks police say the suspect has walked into businesses in New Albany and grabbed money out of registers. Investigators say he fired a gun in one restaurant and beat up a clerk at another robbery at a gas station. Police also believe the man is responsible for a robbery in Louisville. If you have any information please contact the Floyd County Police. (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor-elect Steve Beshear has announced the members of his Transition Teams for each state government Cabinet and the Office of the Governor. The teams will be working over the coming weeks to provide Beshear with information regarding the status and issues facing each Cabinet. Beshear says he is confident in the group of talented individuals to head the transition teams, saying there is a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time. Beshear defeated Governor Ernie Fletcher last week and will be inaugurated in January in Frankfort. (Louisville, KY) -- A judge yesterday ordered an Indiana man back to prison after he was arrested in another drunk driving incident. Douglas Miller was granted shock probation from a ten-year prison sentence he received for a 2004 drunk driving death of a Louisville man. Judge James Shake revoked the probation after Miller was arrested in Georgia earlier this year and charged with DUI. Miller pleaded guilty in April 2004 to charges stemming from the New Years Day crash at St. Catherine and First Streets in Louisville. The crash resulted in the death of Terry Dell Minton. (Frankfort, KY) -- With more traffic on the roadways, Kentucky State Police will increase its road patrols and operating safety checkpoints statewide beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 21, and ending at midnight, Sunday, November 25th. KSP officers will also be participating in Operation CARE (Combined Accident Reduction Effort). A nationwide program, CARE works to reduce crashes on interstate highways and parkways by concentrating on the three key causes of traffic fatalities: speeding, impaired driving and failure to use seat belts. During the four-day 2006 Thanksgiving holiday period, there were 15 fatalities on Kentucky roadways. KSP officials say 13 of the 15 victims were not wearing seat belts. (Louisville, KY) -- University of Louisville mens basketball coach Rick Pitino says three high school players have signed a national letter of intent to continue their careers at the school. Pitino says its one of the better recruiting classes ever, with the Cardinal group among the nations top-five. The list of signees includes Terrance Jennings, a 6-foot-10-inch forward/center from Sacramento California. The Cards class also includes Samardo Samuels, a 6-foot-eight-inch power forward from Trelawny, Jamaica. Joining Jennings and Samuels is Jared Swopshire, a 6-foot-7-inch forward from St. Louis. (Fort Knox, KY) -- Officials with Fort Knox say they will hold a German Memorial Day ceremony Monday. The ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. at the Main Post Cemetery, where 17 German World War Two prisoners of war are buried. The German liaison officer to the U.S. Army Armor Center at Fort Knox is hosting the ceremony to honor the fallen and victims of wars, terror and suppression. Between February 1944 and June 1946, Fort Knox was one of 150 POW camps in the U.S. The POWs at Fort Knox served as a labor source, helping build facilities and roads at the base. Some prisoners also helped farm acreage in the nearby communities. Illinois Summary: Chicago Schools Not Making The Grade (Chicago) -- The Chicago Public Schools arent doing very well, according to test scores for fourth and eighth-graders released Thursday for eleven big-city districts. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports that in reading, the average CPS fourth-grader scored at the 27th percentile, making Chicago eighth of eleven cities. Eighth-graders were in the 34th percentile, for the fifth spot out of eleven. Only 17-percent of CPS eighth-graders were "proficient" in reading. In other results, CPS fourth-graders scored at the 24th percentile, making them ninth of eleven and eighth-graders hit the 28th percentile, for seventh place. Only 13-percent of CPS eighth-graders were "proficient" in math. The news follows a report that students at Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago are scoring higher than the national average on standardized achievement tests. --- Midway Closer To Going Private (Chicago) -- Midway Airport is a step closer to going private. Southwest Airlines has reached an agreement in principle on terms that would allow a private operator to lease the airport. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Mayor Daleys administration must now convince four more of the seven airlines that normally operate at Midway to sign on before being able to proceed with the move to privatize. A long-term lease could bring in a lot of money. The citys 99-year-lease of the Chicago Skyway in 2005 was worth nearly two-billion-dollars. --- River Grove Soldier Dies In Crash In Kuwait (Chicago) -- A 20-year-old soldier from suburban River Grove has been killed in Kuwait. Ashley Sietsema died Monday while driving an ambulance in Kuwait for the Illinois Army National Guard. Apparently, the ambulance rolled over and hit a light pole. No other soldiers were killed. Ashley was a 2005 graduate of East Leyden High School in Franklin Park. She is survived by her husband, mother and a brother. --- Investigation Continues After Bodies Found In Forest Preserve (Burr Ridge) -- Police are still working to identify the bodies of two men, both of them beaten, which were discovered Thursday morning near a bike path in a Lemont Township forest preserve. Investigators say the bodies were wrapped in plastic and bed linens and bound with packing tape. The two men appeared to be Hispanic and about six-feet tall but their ages are not known. Cook County Police says it appears the bodies had not been there long. --- Peterson Will Get Pension (Chicago) -- A former Bolingbrook Police sergeant who has been named a suspect in the disappearance of his wife will get his full, 72-thousand-dollar a year pension. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports the Bolingbrook Police board said it had no legal authority to deny Drew Peterson his pension unless he is convicted of a felony related to his job as a police officer. The 53-year-old Peterson handed in his resignation on Monday. The investigation into the disappearance of Drew Petersons current wife, Stacy, has led authorities to re-open the investigation into the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose 2004 death was ruled an accident. Savios body was exhumed on Tuesday. --- Daley Refuses To Attend Transit Funding Meeting (Chicago) -- State and local lawmakers still have little progress to report regarding long-term funding for Chicago-area mass transit. On Wednesday, Mayor Richard Daley walked out on a meeting with state lawmakers, saying others were focusing on gambling, not transit issues. Yesterday, Mayor Daley refused to attend another meeting which was then cancelled. The CTA recently approved another "doomsday" scenario if theres no additional transit funding by January 20th, saying 81 bus routes will be cut, about 24-hundred employees will be laid off and fares will be increased. --- Unclear Future For "Moment Of Silence" (Chicago) -- The future of a "moment of silence" at Illinois schools remains in doubt. A federal judge has ordered the state Board of Education not to issue any directive on how the moment of silence should be approached. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman also says school districts shouldnt be punished for ignoring the law. Gettlemans order comes as he considers a lawsuit brought by the parent of a Buffalo Grove High School student who says the moment of silence statute amounts to a government endorsement of religion. The parent is an atheist. --- Chicago Man To Be Deported For Alleged Nazi Connections (Chicago) -- A federal judge has ruled that an 88-year-old Chicago man who allegedly tried to cover up his ties to a Nazi-controlled police unit during World War Two must be deported to his native Ukraine. The "Chicago Tribune" reports Osyp Firishchak, who moved to the U.S. in 1949, had his citizenship revoked after a trial more than two years ago. At that trial, lawyers charged that a man sharing the same name, birthdate and birthplace as Firishchak was a member of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, which allegedly helped the Nazis slaughter tens of thousands of Jews. Firishchak has until December 10th to appeal his case. --- Board Could Vote To Close Hyde Park Grocery Store (Chicago) -- A long-time South Side grocery store might soon shut down. The board of directors of the Hyde Park Co-op at 55th Street and Lake Park Avenue is expected to recommend a deal this weekend which would close the store. The deal was proposed by the locations current landlord, the University of Chicago. The school says the agreement would allow the business to close without filing for bankruptcy and would enable a new grocer to take over that location in as little as two weeks. --- Rockettes Helping Kickoff "Christmas Around The World" (Chicago) -- The Museum of Science and Industrys annual "Christmas Around the World" and "Holidays of Light" exhibit opens today. The famed Radio City Rockettes will help kick off the event which will include the lighting of the 40-foot Grand Tree in the museum Rotunda. The exhibit features more than 50 trees and other displays decorated according to holiday customs from around the world. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-11-16-07 0718CST