Police seek thief who stole Christmas donations from Elwood’s Veteran’s post

ELWOOD, Ind. – Police are seeking a thief who broke into Elwood’s Veterans of Foreign Wars post and stole 50 holiday food baskets meant for needy families and more than $800 in Christmas donations intended for a children’s home.

Post Commander Charlie Idlewine said the thief or thieves pried open a steel door and broke the lock to gain entry Wednesday.

The money was raised to help a children’s home in Michigan, and it cost the VFW about $2,500 to fill the food baskets.

Liquor and cigarettes were also stolen, along with money from vending machines.
The VFW is now asking for donations so it can replace the food baskets.


South Bend Studebaker museum gets grants

SOUTH BEND – The Studebaker National Museum has become eligible for historic preservation grants, now that it has been accredited by the American Association of Museums.

The museum displays cars, trucks and other memorabilia from the Studebaker Corp., which produced automobiles in South Bend until 1966.

Museum board members were informed of the accreditation Monday.

The museum opened at its current location near downtown South Bend in October 2005. The museum has been housed at various locations around the city. Its roots stem from Studebaker Corp.’s private collection, which began in the 1890s.


Suit filed over jailed man’s heart disease death

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. – The family of a 57-year-old man who died of heart disease in the Whitley County jail is suing county officials, alleging that they failed to provide him with proper medical care.

Larry E. Walkup died at the jail in November 2006, three months after he was convicted of six counts of theft. An autopsy revealed that Walkup died of blockages in three arteries.

The suit says jail officials failed to provide Walkup with the proper medication and discouraged inmates from making health complaints.

Walkup was an insurance agent who was convicted of bilking elderly clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Associated Press left a message with an attorney for the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department seeking comment.