Regional Summary, Monday 11/19

Indiana Summary: The Latest Here are the stories making news this hour: Indianapolis food pantry empty days before Thanksgiving. BP officials still unsure how to keep pollution levels down. Police arrest day care owner. Indianapolis FOP president will not seek re-election. Another soldier with Indiana ties dies in war. And, Colts clip Chiefs. --- Indianapolis Food Pantry Shelves Empty Just Days Before Thanksgiving (Indianapolis) -- Its just days before Thanksgiving, and a local food pantry has empty shelves. Right now, it looks like some families in one community in Indianapolis might go hungry. The concern is at Mid-North Food Pantry. The pantry serves about 500 people a month in the community. People can call the food bank at 924-7900 or 923-2545 to help. --- Gasoline Prices Under Three-Dollars In Indianapolis (Indianapolis) -- Gasoline prices are under three-dollars for unleaded regular in Indianapolis today. Many stations are selling the fuel for two-dollars-95-cents-per-gallon. Prices are three-dollars plus in others areas of the nation, and forecasters say it will go higher. --- BP Officials Still Unsure How To Keep Pollution Levels Down (Whiting) -- Officials with oil giant BP are still standing by a promise not to dump any added pollution into Lake Michigan. The "Chicago Tribune" reports the petroleum company isnt sure how it will keep that promise and still be able to process heavier Canadian crude oil. BP came under fire this summer for suggesting it would need to increase the amount of chemicals its Whiting, Indiana plant discharges into the lake. Environmentalists say there are solutions that would keep the level of emissions the same, and allow BP to process Canadian crude. They say the company doesnt want to spend the money. BP officials say they may not be able to go forward with a proposed three-point-eight-billion-dollar expansion of the Whiting plant without a technological breakthrough. 1/81/8Note nature of following3/83/8 --- Police Arrest Day Care Owner (Indianapolis) -- Police over the weekend arrested an Indianapolis day care owner on charges of molesting a little girl. Investigators say today that Ronald Eiland is charged with inappropriate conduct. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police say that a phone sex operator told them Eiland put a nine-year-old girl on the phone while he touched himself in a sexual manner. The 59-year-old Eiland has been the subject of investigation since September after detectives received a call from an Ohio based phone sex operator. Police say that Eiland has admitted to engaging in phone conversations with the operator but has denied her allegations concerning the child. Police say that the phone sex operator was so upset by the incident that that she quit her job. Eiland is in the Marion County jail on a 100-thousand-dollar bond. --- FOP President Will Not Seek Re-election (Indianapolis) -- The Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police president says he will not seek re-election. Aaron Sullivan says there are personal reasons for not running again. He says that he is looking forward to getting back on the streets as a patrolman. Sullivan says the future of the local FOP is a bright one. Sullivan is endorsing First Vice President Bill Owensby for the position. Also running in the election is former FOP President Vince Huber. --- Another Soldier With Indiana Ties Dies In War (Vevay,IN) -- Another soldier with Indiana ties has died in the war in Iraq. Twenty-five-year-old Sergeant Kenneth Booker was killed last week. He died from wounds suffered when a bomb exploded near his vehicle. Bookers mother learned of her sons death last Thursday, the same day she had mailed a Christmas package to him. Booker is the 93rd Hoosier to die in the war. --- Colts Clip Chiefs (Indianapolis) -- Adam Vinatieri 1/81/8 vin-ah-TAIR-ee 3/83/8 booted a 24-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to lift the Colts over the Chiefs, 13-ten, at the RCA Dome. Vinatieri missed a pair of field goals in the game before eventually drilling the go-ahead kick. Joseph Addai rushed for 72 yards with a touchdown for Indianapolis, which put the brakes on a two-game ski and improved to eight-and-two. Peyton Manning was just 16-of-32 for 163 yards with an interception in the win. Brodie Croyle threw for 169 yards with a score for Kansas City, which dipped to four-and-six with its third straight loss. Dwayne Bowe hauled in seven passes for 64 yards and a touchdown in the setback. Kentucky Summary: Funeral Services For Northern Kentucky Murder Victims (Ft. Mitchell, KY) -- Visitation be held this afternoon at Blessed Sacrament Church in Fort Mitchell for Terrence and Lynda Bramlage murdered in their Grant County home. Funeral services will be conducted at the church tonight at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Kentucky State Police say little about what theyve learned about who killed the northern Kentucky dentist and his wife. According to the "Kentucky Enquirer" an autopsy revealed they died of gunshot wounds, there was no forced entry into their home, robbery does not appear to have been a motive. Governor-Elect Working On New Administration (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor-elect Steve Beshear is to meet with the more than 200-members of his transition teams today. The "State Journal" reports Governor-elect Beshear says the transition from the Fletcher administration to his administration is "moving very well." The teams have a lot accomplish, studying the operation of cabinets and beginning the vetting process of would be non-merit state workers. Inauguration day now just over four weeks away. Giuliani Planning Kentucky Visit (Frankfort, KY) -- Republican Rudy Giuliani will hold fund raising events in Louisville and Lexington on December 5th. According to the "Herald Leader" Giuliani seeking the Republican presidential nomination has named former U.S. Representative and gubernatorial Anne Northup to be his state campaign chair. Nurses Returning To Negotiations (Lexington, KY) -- Appalachian Regional Healthcare negotiators and negotiators for strike nurses are to return to the bargaining table this week. WYMT TV reports that ARH officials say a federal mediator is scheduling more negotiations this week. Hundreds of nurses began the strike against ARH seven weeks ago today when contract talks broke down. Delayed Murder Trail Begins Today (Danville, KY) -- Three years after the crime, the murder trial of Jack Caldwell Sr. is to begin today. Eighty-two-year-old Jack Caldwell Sr. is charged with the shooting death of his neighbor Jim Trachsel. The trial begins this morning in Boyle Circuit Court. The "Advocate Messenger" reports Caldwell has been in ill health, the trial is expected to last eight days. Officers Son Injured (London, KY) -- The son of a London Police Captain is wounded after a hunting trip. The "Times Tribune" reports that 16-year-old son of Captain John Wright and his dad returned home from a hunting trip, when the boy went to retrieve the weapon from the truck it discharged wounding him in both legs. The teenager is being treated at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Big Parking Changes Of UK Hospital (Lexington, KY) -- The big parking garage adjacent to the University of Kentucky hospital is closed, patients and visitors are being directed across Limestone Street to a new garage. The old garage is being torn down to make way for the new hospital buildings. UK officials say shuttle buses will run from the new garage to the hospital and Kentucky Clinic and it should be as convenient as the old garage. Health Officials Urge Flu Shots (Frankfort, KY) -- The State Public Health Laboratory has confirmed this seasons first case of the flu. The first case is in Fayette County. Officials are urging people to go ahead and take flu shots if they havent already, they say it normally only takes the vaccine two weeks to become effective and prime flu season has not arrived. Illinois Summary: Drew Peterson Becoming More Media-Friendly (Bolingbrook) -- Former Bolingbrook Police Sergeant Drew Peterson is slowly opening up to the media. The husband of missing 23-year-old Stacy Peterson has avoided reporters for most of the past three weeks. His reluctance to talk changed over the weekend. Last week, Peterson appeared on NBCs "Today" Show, and said he was more afraid of the media than of criminal prosecution. Saturday, Peterson told reporters outside his home that he was no longer shying away from cameras, though he did say the media is "intimidating" his family. And Sunday Peterson let a reporter for "ABC-7 1/81/8WLS3/83/8" into his home to show what life has been like since Stacy Peterson disappeared. Today, Peterson will again appear on national television. Authorities consider Peterson a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife Stacy and have re-opened their investigation into third wife Kathleen Savios drowning death. --- Search For Stacy Continues; Savio Autopsy Results Expected Soon (Bolingbrook) -- After a day of rest, volunteers looking for Stacy Peterson will resume searching today. The 23-year-old mother of two hasnt been seen in over three weeks. Police call her 53-year-old husband Drew a suspect in the disappearance. "ABC-7" 1/81/8WLS3/83/8 reports a grand jury looking into the case will likely hear more testimony on Wednesday. It is not clear whether that testimony will be about Stacy Peterson or Drews third wife Kathleen Savio. The Will County Coroner could get the results of a second autopsy on Savios 2004 drowning death this week. That death was initially ruled accidental, but the case has been re-opened. A noted forensic pathologist brought in to examine Savios body says he thinks she was murdered, but that is not an official decision. Savios family will re-bury Kathleen sometime this week. --- Another Near Collision Attributed To Chicago FAA Center (Chicago) -- Two small private planes almost crashed over central Wisconsin this weekend. It happened shortly before noon Saturday about 30-miles southwest of the Wisconsin Dells. The "Chicago Tribune" the planes came within three-miles laterally and 500-feet vertically of each other. Both of those distances are much closer than Federal Aviation Authority regulations. The newspaper reports a miscommunication between air-traffic controllers at an FAA facility near Chicago caused the near-collision. Its the second time in less than a week controllers at that facility have made a serious mistake. --- BP Officials Trying To Deal With Pollution Concerns (Whiting, IN) -- Officials with oil giant BP arent sure theyll be able to honor a promise not to dump any added pollution into Lake Michigan and also process heavier Canadian crude oil. BP came under fire this summer for suggesting it would need to increase the amount of chemicals its Whiting, Indiana plant discharges into the Lake. The "Chicago Tribune" reports BP officials say they may not be able to go forward with a proposed three-point-eight-billion-dollar expansion of the Whiting plant without a technological breakthrough. Environmentalists say there are solutions that would keep the level of emissions the same and allow BP to process Canadian crude. They say the company doesnt want to spend the money. --- Chicago Police Auditing Search Warrant Execution (Chicago) -- The Chicago Police Internal Affairs department is auditing fellow officers to determine if theyre executing search warrants properly. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports investigators looked at 39 July warrants by the citys gang and gun teams in the first wave of audits. Results are not yet available. Internal Affairs plans to move to the detective and organized crime divisions next. Recent scandals in the Chicago Police Department have raised questions about officer conduct when executing warrants. --- Hospital Cop Accuses Senior Of Damaging Reputation (Chicago) -- A one-time Stroger Hospital Police officer has filed a lawsuit against a 78-year-old stroke victim who the officer says sullied his reputation. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Remoh Robert is suing Agustin Sotomayor and his family in Cook County Circuit Court. Over a year ago, Sotomayor accused Robert and other officers of pulling him out of his car and beating him. The officers say Sotomayor drove over another officers foot. No charges were ever filed, but the County Board did issue a formal apology. Robert says Sotomayors family publicly named him and in part forced him to leave for a suburban department. Hes asking for more than 150-thousand dollars in damages. Robert is the target of two lawsuits saying he has violated peoples civil rights, including one filed by the Sotomayors. --- Illinois-Made Hybrid Buses Catching On (Warrenville) -- Eleven states and the District of Columbia are all in the process of turning their yellow school buses green. Theyre testing or planning to test buses with hybrid engines. The buses are made in Warrenville, and the engines themselves are assembled at a Melrose Park plant. "USA Today" reports Illinois is not one of the states looking at the hybrid buses, which lower fuel costs and produce cleaner emissions. Part of the reason is the cost -- the hybrid bus costs about three times as much as a regular bus. Some federal grants are available to states interested in the hybrid buses. --- Three With University Of Chicago Ties Named Rhodes Scholars (Chicago) -- Three University of Chicago students are Rhodes scholars. Oxford University announced 32 scholarship winners yesterday. They include 23-year-old Isra Bhatty, a Glenview native who graduated from the Univeristy in 2006. She is studying at Yale Law School, but will focus on social interventions at Oxford. Washington D.C. natives Nadine Levin and Andrew Hammond were also chosen. Levin is a senior in biological sciences and Hammond a 2007 graduate in political science. Rhodes scholars are generally chosen for their full body of work, including extracurricular activities, and not just for their academic success. No other school had as many Rhodes scholars chosen this year, though Stanford also had three recipients. --- Property Tax Hike Requested In Large Suburban School District (Arlington Heights) -- The states second-largest school district is asking for a property tax increase. Township High School District 214 has six schools and more than 12-thousand Cook County students. The Arlington Heights-based district is proposing a four-and-a-half percent property tax hike. But school officials tell the "Chicago Tribune" county tax cap provisions will likely lower the actual increase. Property taxes make up about 80-percent of the districts operating budget. A public hearing is scheduled for December 6th. --- New Illnesses Prompts New Pot Pie Recall Warning (Springfield) -- Some Illinoisans are still getting sick because they ate recalled pot pies. The State Department of Public Health says nine people have gotten sick since the last warning. Fifteen Illinoisans in all have come down with salmonella. ConAgra has issued a massive pot pie recall. Those on the list include pot pies made by Banquet, Albertsons, Food Lion, Great Value, Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer, and Western Family. The recall covers all varieties, including chicken, turkey and beef. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-11-19-07 0619CST