Around The Region

State officals investigate fish kill\nDANVILLE, Ind. -- State officials were investigating a fish kill Tuesday that occurred after a sewage spill along White Lick Creek in Hendricks County.\nAn estimated 50,000 gallons of raw sewage was released from a manhole, spewing the sewage into a ditch that led to the creek, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said.\nThe overflow was caused by a mechanical failure at a lift station.\nThousands of fish were killed in the spill, including bluegill, carp, crappie, bass and minnows.\nThe flow of sewage had been stopped by Tuesday evening, and live fish were returning to the affected area, IDEM said in a news release.\nState officials were still determining the extent of the kill. Because of potentially elevated levels of E. coli, they advised people to avoid contact with the creek.\nE. coli is a bacteria found in the intestines and feces of warm-blooded mammals. When swallowed, it can cause diarrhea and other health problems.\nMiss Indiana amoung winners in Miss America preliminary rounds\nATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Contestants from Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New York and Texas won Tuesday in the first of three nights of preliminary competition leading up to the Miss America Pageant.\nMiss Indiana Tangra Riggles, a Purdue University student, won a $4,000 college scholarship for her rendition of "God Bless America" in the talent portion of the competition.\nMiss New York Tiffany Walker won in swimsuit, capturing a $2,000 scholarship in the process.\nMiss Maryland Camille Lewis won in evening wear, which was good for a $2,000 scholarship.\nMiss Texas Lisa Dalzell won a $5,000 scholarship for the judges' interview, which was held separately, and Miss Nevada Teresa Francisca Benitez won for "on stage knowledge," a new category in which contestants answer questions before their introductions in the evening wear competition. Benitez won a $3,000 scholarship.\nIn preliminary competition, the 51 Miss America contestants are split into three groups of 17 apiece. They compete against each other in the preliminaries, and their scores are used to help narrow the field to 15 semi-finalists in the Miss America Pageant finals, which will be televised live by ABC at 8 p.m. Saturday.\nFederal passenger screeners posted at Indianapolis\nINDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis International Airport on Tuesday joined the list of airports where privately contracted passenger screeners have been replaced by federal employees.\nA total of 102 airports have made the switch, which was required by Congress to improve security at airports following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Indianapolis was among nine airports making the change Tuesday.\nAt Indianapolis, maroon-vested screeners employed by Globe Aviation Services were replaced by white-shirted workers from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.\nThe screeners have received 40 hours of classroom training and will get another 60 hours of on-the-job instruction.\nDick Seukawa, the federal agency's director in Indianapolis, declined to say how many screeners would be employed at the city's airport, citing security reasons. Twenty-two agency trainers have been brought in to oversee the rookie screeners, he said.