Regional Summary, Monday 12/24

Indiana Summary: --- Indianapolis Man Shot To Death Over Weekend (Indianapolis) -- An Indianapolis man was shot and killed over the weekend on the Indianapolis Eastside. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police say that 44-year-old Michael Gilbert died in the 44-hundred block of Winthrop Avenue. He was shot one time in the chest. Detectives are looking for a dark blue or black PT Cruiser in connection with the case. --- Man Walking Home From Casino Hit, Killed By Plow (La Porte) -- An Indiana man apparently walking home from a casino was hit and killed by a snowplow early Friday. La Porte County sheriffs deputies say 65-year-old Milan Radakovich was walking south on the side of U.S. 35 when an Indiana Department of Transportation plow hit him. Authorities say the snowplow was part of a group of plows going to an INDOT garage for cleaning. It was not plowing the roads at the time. Radakovich lived in Knox, but was walking 35-miles home from the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. --- Congresswoman Julia Carson Laid To Rest (Indianapolis) -- Indiana Congresswoman Julia Carson was laid to rest Saturday at Crown Hill Cemetery. Following a funeral service at Eastern Star Church, the hearse accompanied by family, friends, dignitaries and other mourners said goodbye as a military salute was presented and her son received an American flag. Carson rested in repose in the Statehouse rotunda on Friday after a horse-drawn caisson took her remains from her Park Avenue home to the Statehouse where mourners gathered throughout the day, including Governor Mitch Daniels and Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman. Other dignitaries included senators Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, Congressman Mike Pence, broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Louis Farrakhan. Carson died at her home just over a week ago from cancer. --- Here Are Sundays Winning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Daily Three-Evening: 5-0-3; Daily Four-Evening: 6-9-1-8; Lucky Five-Evening: 5-12-25-31-35 Kentucky Summary: (Frankfort, KY) -- Many Kentucky State Police are working this holiday, on the interstate and roadways enforcing the law. Kentucky State Police report nine people died in nine crashes in Kentucky during last years three day holiday period. KSP will running additional patrols and traffic checkpoints this holiday. (Harlan, KY) -- Nurses at nine Appalachian Regional Healthcare facilities in Kentucky and West Virginia approved a new contract and are going back to work. Over 600 nurses have been on strike since the first week of October. ARH officials say the new contract is effective immediately and runs through April 2011. Recall starts immediately with 350 nurses returning across the nine ARH hospital system by January 31st, 2008 and the remainder of the nurses to be recalled by March 31st, 2008. (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor Steve Beshear was quick to react to the end of the nurses strike. Issuing a statement from his office over the weekend Governor Beshear says hes pleased that an agreement has been reached and "patient care in Eastern Kentucky can again begin to rake precedence over contract disputes." (Frankfort, KY) -- Attorney General-elect Jack Conway is announcing who will fill his top appointed position. Dana Bynum Mayton will serve as Deputy Attorney General. Mayton has served state government before, but is currently Associate Vice-President for Governmental Affairs and Special Assistant to the President of the University of Louisville. (Loyall, KY) -- Two occupied and one occupied Harlan County homes have been destroyed by fire. The fire began in a vacant house in the Loyall community, five fire departments rolled to the scene, but the fire quickly spread. No injuries are reported. (Lexington, KY) -- Lexington Police search for suspects in the death of a nineteen year old man. Luis Quiroz was fatally wounded his body discovered in a car. Police and fire units rushed him to a hospital where he died. Police say the shooting may have been gang related. (Frankfort, KY) -- A proposed new law would put some cell phone calls on hold. Representative Tom Burch is sponsoring a bill to prohibit drivers from using cell phones except to make emergency calls. People with hands free devices would also be exempted. (Louisville, KY) -- Last month a WHAS TV/Survey USA poll showed more people disapproving then approving of the performance of Senator Mitch McConnell, but thats changed. A new WHAS TV/ Survey USA poll shows 51-percent approve of the job Senator Mitch McConnell is doing, 42-percent disapprove and seven-percent are undecided. In the past few weeks Senator McConnells re-election campaign has launched a series of TV ads citing accomplishments. (Frankfort, KY) -- The Kentucky Oral History Commission is listening and recording the stories of Kentuckians who served in World War Two, the ranks of this "greatest generation" are diminishing and the commission wants to capture there stories for future generations. The commission is not just looking for heroes they want to hear from "everyday people." The commissions hopes more people contact them at the Kentucky History Society website. Illinois Summary: --- ComEd Crews Continue Restoring Power (Chicago) -- With luck, all ComEd customers who lost power during yesterdays storms will be out of the dark by tonight. ComEd officials say only 75-hundred customers remain without power this morning after the weekend wind and snow knocked out electricity to about 225-thousand homes and businesses. Bad weather also forced the cancellation of more than 300 flights at OHare yesterday, with an average delay of between two and three hours. Midway saw delays of about an hour for most flights, but did not report any cancellations. --- Driver Of Van That Crashed Into TV Studio In Custody (Chicago) -- Chicago police continue to investigate why a minivan crashed through the glass windows of ABC-7s 1/81/8 WLS 3/83/8 downtown studio last night. Witnesses tell the station the crash near the intersection of State and Lake Streets may have been intentional. They say the driver was making U-turns in front of the studio and telling pedestrians to get out of the way. Nobody was hurt and authorities have the driver in custody. Anchor Ravi Baichwal 1/81/8 RAH-vee -- BAYSH-wall 3/83/8 was on the air when the crash happened as the 10:00 news got underway. He was preparing to throw to a reporter in the field but a loud noise was heard and Baichwal shouted "Whoa!" as the van crashed through. The newscast continued as scheduled. --- Mother Of Lombard-Native Astronaut Tani Remembered (Lombard) -- Dan Tani couldnt attend his mothers funeral, but he did send a pre-taped message from his perch high above the Earth on the International Space Station. Ninety-year-old Rose Tani was remembered at a funeral service yesterday for her grace, courage and passion. Tani died Wednesday when her car was hit by a freight train in Lombard. The "Daily Herald" reports Tani said he believes the family lost their mother "in the prime of her life." There will be another private funeral service for Rose Tani when her son returns to Earth in January. --- Child Killings Get DCFS, Police Attention (Chicago) -- Two unrelated child deaths are being investigated by police and the Department of Children and Family Services. Both happened early Sunday morning. In the first, 17-month-old Shawn Leggette of Harvey was pronounced dead at about 2:30 a.m. The Cook County Medical Examiners Office says Leggett died of "multiple injuries and child abuse." The medical examiner says the death of three-week-old Joshua Peteran was an accident. He was found dead shortly before 4 a.m. at his familys home near 69th and South Honore. Officials say an older child who shared a bed with the baby in the family may have accidentally rolled onto the baby and suffocated him. --- Visit With Children Requested By Missing Womans Family (Plainfield) -- If family members of a missing Plainfield woman cant see her this Christmas, theyd at least like to be able to see her children. Lisa Stebic has been missing since April 30th. Her family says Lisas husband Craig hasnt let her parents or grandparents see the couples children in about two years. The family is asking a court to appoint an independent counselor to determine whether the two sides can be brought together. The children are eleven and 12-years-old. Craig Stebic is considered a suspect in Lisas disappearance but he has not been charged with any crimes. --- Army Cancels Leave Extension For Soldier With Sick Child (Munster, IN) -- A Northwest Indiana soldier whose newborn son is in intensive care has had his leave extension canceled. Twenty-four-year-old Army Sergeant Chris Williams of Crown Point has served two tours in Iraq. The "Chicago Tribune" reports that doctors are monitoring his son around-the-clock at Munster Community Hospital. Gabriel Douglas Williams was born Tuesday, but soon developed a lung infection. Officials at Fort Lewis in Washington state initially told Sergeant Williams that he had been granted an extension of his leave until January 3rd. This morning, Williams found out that his commander in Iraq rescinded the extension. The commander left Williams a voice-mail message saying that Williams would be "making it harder on himself" if he did not get on the next available plane. An Army spokesperson told the "Tribune" that "they are fighting a war" and "sometimes hard decisions get made." Sergeant Williams tells the "Tribune" hes now rethinking a career in the military. --- House Fire Injures Elderly Couple (Chicago) -- A fire on Chicagos South Side last night sent an elderly man and woman to the hospital with very serious injuries. The fire broke out at a home near the intersection of South Wabash Avenue and East 89th Street. A Chicago fire department spokesman says one of the victims was in extremely critical condition and another in critical condition at Roseland Community Hospital. --- Shoveling Fines Considered In Yet Another Suburb (Des Plaines) -- The growing number of suburbs requiring residents to shovel their walkways continues to snowball. Des Plaines officials are the latest to consider hefty fines against home and business owners who dont take care of their sidewalks during storms. If the proposal passes, Des Plaines would join a large and growing list of communities requiring snow cleanup. Oak Park joined the list this year, and spokesman David Powers tells the "Chicago Tribune" his citys sidewalks have been much cleaner this winter than in years past. --- Security Officers Moonlighting As CPS Workers Affected By Payroll Mistakes (Chicago) -- Off-duty police officers who also work security for Chicago Public Schools are the latest CPS employees to cry foul over paycheck problems. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports that CPS officials plan to dock officers paychecks to cover missing Social Security contributions. Union leaders representing the officers say the Board of Education is at fault for failing to make the deductions. More than 600 officers may be affected by the glitch. The PeopleSoft payroll system installed in March has been blamed for a number of other paycheck and pension problems. Retired CPS teachers held a protest December 19th after the new system shorted their pension checks. --- Fallen Power Line Halts Yellow Line (Chicago) -- Service on the CTAs Yellow Line will be suspended until sometime this morning thanks to work on the tracks. A transit agency spokesperson says the winds caused a crucial power line to fall. Workers will be repairing the line for several more hours. Buses will shuttle passengers between the Skokie and Howard stations. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-12-24-07 0559CST