Chesterton teacher dies in multiple car accident
24 year-old Chesterton Middle School Teacher Lauren Thompson died as a result of a multiple car accident on Tuesday night, in Portage, Indiana. At around 5:45pm, emergency services responded to the intersection of Willowcreek and Lute after receiving a call for the incident. Portage police believe a 42-year-old man, driving a Cadillac SUV, was traveling at “an extreme speed,” southbound on Willow Brook, before rear-ending a GMC SUV which was stopped at a red light. The GMC then was pushed into a third vehicle, causing additional collisions involving three other vehicles.
The Chesterton school community is mourning this tragedy, as Thompson was in her second year of teaching English at the Middle School. A candlelight vigil was held in her honor on Wednesday night.
Bloomington Handmade Market
The Bloomington Handmade Market is an indie craft show featuring artists and crafters from all over the Midwest. This free public show is held at the Monroe Convention Center. Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 12, and Sunday, November 13, 2022, and plan to attend this iconic Bloomington event!
15 new conservation officers graduate training
The DNR Division of Law Enforcement held graduation ceremonies today at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. Fifteen new Indiana Conservation Officers officially joined the division during the event. Conservation Officer Matt Landis, the 2020 James D. Pitzer Officer of the Year, administered the oath of office to the recruits, who will fill positions in various locations around the state. The new officers represent the 40th recruit class of conservation officers, the oldest state law enforcement agency in Indiana.
The officers and their assignment locations (by county, in parentheses) are Deangela Bailey (Boone), Austin Bolt (Wayne), David Delph (Tipton), Caden Graber (Putnam), Paul Greene (Montgomery), Nick Hartman (Steuben), Charles Martin (Vigo), Shiloh Mast (Franklin), Jakob Maxwell (St. Joseph), Adonia Meiss (Lake), Jonah Mikel (Elkhart), Claire Mitchell (Scott), Hunter Smalley (LaGrange), Nathaniel Stadick (Union), and Blake Van Syoc (LaPorte). The new officers completed six weeks of recruit training and will next attend the 15-week basic law enforcement academy. Upon completion of the academy, officers will complete additional specialized training before doing 90 shifts of field training.
The Indiana DNR employs 214 conservation officers who, in addition to enforcing state laws, are often called upon to help during emergencies and natural disasters. They also engage in non-law enforcement activities such as outdoor instructional programs that include boater, hunter, snowmobile, and trapper education. DNR Law Enforcement’s river rescue, cave rescue, underwater search and recovery, and K-9 teams are specialty response units available statewide whenever needed.
This Week in Hoosier History
1986 – Hoosiers premiered at the Circle Theater in Indianapolis. Loosely based on the 1954 Milan High School basketball team, the movie was shot entirely in Indiana and has become one of the most popular sports films of all time. Film Critic Roger Ebert awarded the picture a full five stars. “Hoosiers works a magic,” he wrote, “in getting us to care about the fate of the team and the people depending on it . . . it is a movie that is all heart.”
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