Police in Hammond continue to investigate a shooting and crash in the parking lot of the Walmart in the eleven-hundred block of Fifth Avenue on the far north side of the city around 2:30 Sunday afternoon. Authorities say two men were leaving the store when two vehicles approached, and the two men ran to their car, then started shooting at the vehicles before driving off toward Chicago. Police say a parked vehicle was hit by one of the vehicles involved. Police say a store employee was grazed by a bullet, and a second person received minor injuries in the crash.
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Read more: Shots Fired in Parking Lot

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating an off-road vehicle accident that occurred near the 400 block of State Road 2. Officials say a 48-year-old Valparaiso woman was operating her neighbors’ ATV when she struck a fence and became airborne. Officers say she was taken to a local hospital and is being treated for severe back pain.
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Read more: Woman Hurt in ATV Accident

Indiana Conservation Officers say a 21-year-old New Buffalo, Michigan, man suffered multiple injuries in a hit-and-run off-road vehicle accident in La Porte County. Authorities say the man was operating his ATV on the roadway around 10:30 Saturday night near 1000 North and 150 East when he was struck by a pickup truck and thrown, then run over by the same vehicle. Officials say he was taken to a South Bend hospital, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Indiana DNR 24-Hour Dispatch Center. Anyone with  regarding this accident is asked to contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources 24-Hour Dispatch Center at 812-837-9536.
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Read more: Man on ATV Hit, Run Over

The Lake County Coroners office says they were called out to the 26-hundred block of Lincoln Street in Gary early Saturday, where a 24-year-old East Chicago man was found with a gunshot wound to the head. . Officials say the Dvae Haynes was pronounced dead at the scene, and his death was ruled a homicide. Gary Police and the Lake County Crime Lab are investigating.
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Read more: East Chicago Man Fatally Shot

In celebration of May being National Bike Month, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore assembled a team of two-wheeled commuters who volunteered to participate in this year's Federal Bike to Work Challenge. Among them was Nick Simic, a park maintenance crew member, commutes 6 miles a day by bicycle. Last year, 2012, federal employees logged over 5,200 bicycle trips and 65,000 miles in the Challenge, saving the equivalent of over 3,000 gallons of gasoline.
During the first week of the Challenge, the team from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore logged 13 trips, 78 miles, prevented about 76 pounds of carbon from being released into the atmosphere and burned an estimated 4,000 calories. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is accessible via the Calumet, Marquette, Oak Savannah, and Porter Brickyard bicycle trails
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Read more: Employees Choose Pedal Power

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has announced the top three telemarketing calls Hoosiers have reported receiving the most. Since January, the Attorney General’s office has received more than 5,100 complaints from consumers who received a telemarketing call from either a live operator or prerecorded message.
“Indiana’s Do Not Call law protects registered numbers from receiving certain telemarketing calls,” Zoeller said. “Unfortunately, illegitimate businesses and scammers skirt the law by trying to deceive consumers with phony sales pitches. That’s why if you are on the Do Not Call list and receive a sales call or text message you can count on it being a scam.”
The next quarterly deadline to block annoying sales calls and text messages is Tuesday, May 21. Consumers can register their residential landline, cell, VOIP or prepaid wireless numbers.
Zoeller said thetelemarketing calls in these categories aim to separate consumers from their money or collect consumers’ personal information.
1. Card Services
More than 920 consumers reported receiving an automated call from a woman, who says her name is Rachel (or Kelly, Courtney, Heather, etc.) from “Cardholder Services,” offering to lower their credit card interest rates. Rachel warns that this “is your final notice,” but Zoeller says Hoosiers should just hang-up on Rachel and her sisters. If you follow through with the prompts, you will be connected with a representative who will collect an upfront payment from you without any intention of providing services or a refund.
2. Home Security
Since January, more than 370 complaints have been filed about an automated call which mentions an FBI report on the number of home break-ins and offers a “free” home security system. These telemarketers have no relationship with federal law enforcement agencies. The caller will take your information and sell it to a home security company that may charge up to $45 per month for monitoring services.
3. Prize/Sweepstakes Scams
So far this year, more than 110 consumers have received calls from a live operator that says “You have won $2 million from Publisher’s Clearinghouse. All you need to do is transfer $250 for fees and taxes via Moneygram, Western Union or GreenDot money card…”  This is a scam designed to separate you from your money. Once you wire money, it’s like using cash and it’s nearly impossible to get back.   
In Indiana, most robocalls are illegal regardless of whether or not a consumer’s number is registered on the Do Not Call list. Exceptions include calls from school districts to students, parents or employees and businesses advising employees of work schedules. It is also legal if a live phone operator first obtains your permission before playing a pre-recorded message.
Zoeller said consumer complaints help the Attorney General’s office bring enforcement actions against violators and stop unwanted calls. Since 2009, the office has obtained 57 settlements or judgments against companies that violated Indiana’s telephone privacy laws. The total awarded to the state has been more than $4.9 million and the total collected is more than $791,800. Zoeller said this money collected is used to defray the cost of enforcing the state’s telephone privacy laws.
Individuals do not need to re-register for the Do Not Call list unless their address has changed. To sign up or to confirm a number is already on the list, visit www.IndianaConsumer.com or call 1.888.834.9969.
Out-of-state area codes can also be added as long as the billing address is located in Indiana. Those consumers who are registered and receive an unwanted call can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com and clicking on “file a complaint.”
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Read more: AG: Beware These Calls

Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart has ordered isolation with a division of the Cook County Jail and a portion of Cermak Hospital after an outbreak of lice and scabies. Five detainees in a mental health unit of the hospital and ten detainees assigned to a dorm within a division of the jail have been diagnosed. The units are being disinfected, new linens and clothing provided and and preventative treatment is being provided.
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Read more: Lice and Scabies Outbreak at Jail

The Valparaiso Police Department is among the numerous police agencies participating in a state wide blitz focusing on motorists and passengers who fail to properly wear a seat belt. This Click It or Ticket blitz began yesterday [Friday May 17] and continues thru June 2nd.. The national mobilization will take place over the Memorial Day holiday period and is supported by thousands of law enforcement agencies and traffic safety advocates across the country. In Indiana, more than 250 law enforcement agencies will conduct special patrols - day and night, to identify and ticket unrestrained motorists.
During Indiana's 2012 Click It or Ticket mobilization, from May 17th thru June 3rd, participating law enforcement agencies issued more than 18-thousand citations to drivers who were not wearing seat belts. During the same time period, there were 170 collisions and 12 fatalities that occurred on Indiana roadways involving unrestrained motorists, with 91 ejections occurring due to not using restraints.
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Read more: Seat Belt Blitz Begins

Bicyclists will be touring the township today//Saturday for a new event to raise funds for Portage Township Parks... The Friends of Portage Township Foundation is hosting “Trek the Township”, a twenty-mile family bicycling event starting at Haven Hollow Park in South Haven Saturday morning, 8am. Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy says the ride features a scenic route on county roads and the Prairie Duneland Trail. For more info, visit www.townshipfriends.org .You can hear our Region Newsmakers interview with Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy here at our website.
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Read more: Trek the Township

It wasn't what the Mayor wanted, but the Portage Redevelopment Commission this week voted against buying the former Travel Inn on US 20, which was closed by the city in January due to multiple fire code violations. At a special meeting Thursday, the Times reports the commission voted against spending up to 725-thousand dollars to acquire it, with members saying it was a lot to spend at this time. The mayor said buying it, to tear it down, was the only way to make sure it didn't turn into a crime-ridden facility, and said the city will have to work with the new owners to make sure it doesn't .
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Read more: Commission Opts Not to Buy Former Inn