Death of mayoral candidate stuns city (from www.nwi.com )
Thursday, April 26, 2007 12:12 AM CDT
BY JOYCE RUSSELL joycer@nwitimes.com 219.762.1397, ext. 2222PORTAGE Those who knew and worked with longtime Portage City Councilman Dave Highlands were in shock Wednesday morning.His unexpected death overnight, they said, would leave a void in the city's leadership few felt could be filled."We lost one of the best councilmen ever to serve on the City Council," said fellow Councilman Mark Oprisko. "He did the right things for the right reasons. He was a man of his convictions."Highlands is survived by his wife, Diane, his twin sons Colin and Patrick, his daughter, Tonia Kitchel, and Kitchel's two daughters.Highlands, a Republican who served on the council for 18 years and was the party's mayoral candidate in the November municipal elections, died shortly early Wednesday.
An autopsy was to be conducted Wednesday. Mike Scott, a longtime friend of Highlands' and his campaign manager, said the 54-year-old Highlands complained of a headache Tuesday while at a luncheon with the Porter County Builders' Association.Highlands later went to the doctor, Scott said, where his blood pressure was high. He was sent home, where Scott said he noticed Highlands' speech was slurred. Highlands later went to the emergency room at Porter hospital in Valparaiso, where he underwent a series of tests before dying in his room shortly after midnight."He would have made a great mayor, and I'm so sad for the city of Portage," said Scott, adding Highlands' wife of 33 years also lost her best friend."The citizens of Portage are going to miss David Highlands; he was a great husband, father, grandfather, city councilman, citizen and most of all a great friend," Scott said. "It is rare in a person's life to meet a person like Dave, a person who found a way to lighten a situation no matter how difficult it may be. ... He was like family to me.""It was just so sudden," said Colin Highlands of his father's death.
"He was a great person, someone I looked up to and someone whose footsteps I hoped to follow."Mayor Doug Olson said he and Highlands, despite party differences, were friends since childhood."He was a good guy," said Olson, adding Highlands would come to City Hall early to council meetings and the two would chat. "He was so proud of his family, his kids and his grandbabies.""You always knew where he stood. It is just devastating for the community and his city family," said Olson, who ordered city flags to be flown at half-staff Wednesday.
Developer Ben Houser said he spoke to Highlands after the luncheon Tuesday, which also featured other mayoral candidates."He looked great. He was sounding great. I've known him for 26 years. The city has lost a great leader," Houser said.Houser, Scott, Oprisko and others said they had their differences over issues with Highlands at times. But, they said, he never held a grudge."Dave and I both love the debate, and I think that's why he and I got along so well," Scott said.Council member Olga Velazquez, one of Highlands' potential opponents in November, said she and Highlands had had a "very spirited discussion" during Tuesday's luncheon. When they left, they shook hands and she told him she looked forward to the opportunity to debate city issues with him."It is a very sad loss for everyone, his family and the community," she said.
Portage Township Republican Chairman James Snyder said there had been no discussion about who could replace Highlands on the ballot."Right now our thoughts and prayers are with Diane and her family. He was a statesman with the city of Portage," Snyder said.
Funeral arrangementsVisitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Edmonds and Evans Funeral Home, 6941 Central Ave. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Donations are asked to be made to the Dave Highlands Public Service Funds at either the funeral home or at any branch of First National Bank. Proceeds of the fund will be distributed to the Portage Police Department and Portage Fire Department.OnlineRead remembrances of Dave Highlands and share your own in the comments section of our coverage online at www.nwi.com.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
This week in the news
Car tax campaign revved up, but roadblock awaits
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
INDIANAPOLIS A pair of heavy hitters has launched an 11th-hour push to sell state lawmakers on a tax hike needed to cement local funding for South Shore commuter rail extensions to Lowell and Valparaiso.
Gentlemen, start your job hunt
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
PORTAGE Job-hunters may want to rev up their job-seeking skills this weekend.
Valpo looks to fill in missing sidewalk links
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
VALPARAISO Construction of Vale Park Way filled in one important missing link in the city's transportation network, but scores more remain.
Valpo buses could run directly to Loop
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
The city of Valparaiso is rolling forward with plans to send three coach buses from Valparaiso to the Chicago Loop every work day this fall.
Destination: Victory
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
VALPARAISO The madcap six-minute skit included Goldilocks, three bears, three blind mice, some Twizzlers and an Indian welcoming ceremony with precious oils and the Hindi greeting "Namaste."
Portage economic group to host candidates' forum
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
Times Staff Report PORTAGE The Portage Economic Development Corp. will sponsor a candidates' forum from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 2 in the large group instruction room accessible through the field house entrance at Portage High School.
crimeTimes
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
Police: Man punched, choked his girlfriend VALPARAISO A Chesterton man was arrested Wednesday night after he was accused of punching his girlfriend and choking her until she blacked out. He also is accused of pushing her while she was holding their baby, causing the baby to cry, and of preventing her from calling police.
Times carrier wins merit scholarship
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
VALPARAISO Valparaiso High School senior Christin Spoolstra has been awarded a National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship for children of United Parcel Service employees.
Porter County news briefs
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
Health Department opens Portage office The Porter County Health Department has announced the Portage office is now open for services on a full-time basis. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Students 'slam' their rhymes with reason
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
PORTAGE The collective, soft applause of snapping fingers ushered the first performer to the podium.
Township schools eye land and roofs
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, 11:43:42 PM
UNION TOWNSHIP The Union Township School Corp. has commissioned two appraisals of a 71-acre property near the middle and high schools with an eye toward future building.
Duneland bookkeeper charged with theft
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
VALPARAISO A former bookkeeper has been charged with stealing more than 45,000 from the Duneland School Corp.
Police beat burglar at his own game
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
VALPARAISO Valparaiso police Sgt. David Castellanos knew from his experience that whenever Valparaiso Professional Pharmacy got burglarized, there was a good chance Pharma-Card Pharmacy would get hit the same night.
Big search in Porter for naught
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
UNION TOWNSHIP More than 50 police and firefighters assisted by a bloodhound and a helicopter searched for hours Wednesday in rural Porter County for a woman who later turned up safe in suburban Chicago.
IMAX theater plays well in Portage
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
PORTAGE The Portage 16/IMAX may not be celebrating its official grand opening until next month, but attendance at the theater has been more than grand so far.
Portage borrowing against tax draws again
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
PORTAGE Portage Township Schools administrators are planning to borrow money again to cover delayed property tax revenues.
crimeTimes
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
Man finds stranger sleeping on his sofa LIBERTY TOWNSHIP A Liberty Township man called police at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday to report that he found a woman he didn't know sleeping on his sofa.
Panel endorses settlement with former employee
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
PORTAGE The city's Advisory Claims Committee on Wednesday approved settling a lawsuit with a former employee for 85,000.
Rally Saturday to benefit council candidate
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
Times staff report PORTAGE Brendan Clancy, Democratic candidate for Portage City Council's 2nd District, is hosting a Pig Roast 'n' Rally from 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday at Clancy's of Portage, 2542 Portage Mall.
Residents calling for bigger recycling bins
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
VALPARAISO A letter sent Tuesday offering residents a chance to replace their blue recycling bin with a 96-gallon bin had phones at the Public Works Department ringing off the hook Wednesday.
New dialysis center looms for Chesterton
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
VALPARAISO Construction is under way on a 15,000-square-foot dialysis center and nephrology offices at Coffee Creek's regional health care campus in Chesterton.
Costas borrows page from author
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 11:34:43 PM
VALPARAISO President George W. Bush has poked fun at his image as an nonintellectual, saying he once read a book.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
I received this in an email about statements made by Jay Leno.
“The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3’s of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ”What we are so unhappy about?”
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?
Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy. Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don’t have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book forsucceeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn’t take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?
Think about it……are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the “Media” told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn’t have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ”general” discharge, an ”other than honorable” discharge or, worst case scenario, a ”dishonorable” discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?
Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by “justifying” them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn’t kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way……Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.”
With hurricanes, tornado’s, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, “Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?”
-Jay Leno
Not sure Jay actually said all this, found on lots of blogs, but I liked the ideas anyway.
“The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3’s of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ”What we are so unhappy about?”
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?
Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy. Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don’t have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book forsucceeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?
The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn’t take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?
Think about it……are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the “Media” told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn’t have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ”general” discharge, an ”other than honorable” discharge or, worst case scenario, a ”dishonorable” discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?
Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by “justifying” them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn’t kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way……Insane!
Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.”
With hurricanes, tornado’s, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, “Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?”
-Jay Leno
Not sure Jay actually said all this, found on lots of blogs, but I liked the ideas anyway.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Porter Hospital Sale Votes
You can vote on the terms of the deal at nwi.com and over at the Porter County Government site.
This is a chance to make your voice heard. So far the Comissioners haven't done much listening except to the doctors. Are you prepared to have the doctors make this call for you? Health care in Porter County is a big deal.
Northwest Indiana and Porter County healthcare, The Region needs to make a decision.
This is a chance to make your voice heard. So far the Comissioners haven't done much listening except to the doctors. Are you prepared to have the doctors make this call for you? Health care in Porter County is a big deal.
Northwest Indiana and Porter County healthcare, The Region needs to make a decision.
Porter Hospital Deal a Sham?
Did we sell for less than the best price?
Did we sell to Triad so that this terrible foundation idea could grab the money?
Who's really running the show over there? Maybe the doctors? Are they stipulating that the money must stay in the foundation and not be controlled by our elected council?
Lots of questions, no real answers.
Did we sell to Triad so that this terrible foundation idea could grab the money?
Who's really running the show over there? Maybe the doctors? Are they stipulating that the money must stay in the foundation and not be controlled by our elected council?
Lots of questions, no real answers.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
County wants people to vote online about Hospital
Times Article suggesting county is seeking community input.
Site is www.porterco.org and survey requires your full name and address.
Site is www.porterco.org and survey requires your full name and address.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Easter Politics
Mayoral candidates ramp up campaigns
Yesterday, April 07, 2007, 11:01:14 PM
PORTAGE Some of this year's mayoral candidates are reaching potential voters the old-fashioned way -- knocking on one door at a time.
Big plans for Chesterton medical campus
Thursday, April 05, 2007, 11:28:32 PM
Construction is under way on a new medical office building at Chesterton's Coffee Creek, but community builder T. Clifford Fleming sees the foundation of something far greater.
'You want the best bidder'
Thursday, April 05, 2007, 11:28:32 PM
CHESTERTON As the debate builds over the fate of the estimated 100 million expected from the sale of Porter hospital, officials there are playing down the role of money in the pending deal.
Porter County Message Board on NWI.com. Check out the Hospital Sale thread!
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