AROUND THE STATE

Ind. Senate panel approves ‘puppy mills’ bill

INDIANAPOLIS – An Indiana Senate committee has advanced a bill to regulate large-scale dog breeding operations in the state, but some want stricter requirements on breeders.
The committee changed a House-passed bill Tuesday to eliminate specific care standards, such as sanitary conditions and an hour of exercise a day for dogs. Instead, dog breeders would fall under certain regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dog breeders told lawmakers they approved of the change and supported the regulation, but several veterinarians and others said the USDA standards were made for livestock and are not fit for dogs.
The bill could undergo more changes as the GOP-controlled Senate and Democratic-led House try to reach a compromise.


Children’s home backers renew

INDIANAPOLIS – Advocates rallied at the Statehouse on Monday, sending chants of “Save our home!” echoing through the halls to urge Indiana legislators to keep open a state home for troubled children.
The State Department of Health wants to close the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s Home in Knightstown, saying it costs too much money and that its 115 students should be moved into traditional schools in May. The state spends about $10 million a year on the facility, and the 53-building campus needs repairs that could cost between $65 million and $200
million.
But supporters say the facility, located about 25 miles east of Indianapolis, gives at-risk youths a loving, safe environment where they can flourish. School alumni and veteran’s groups urged lawmakers to put funding for the home into the state budget.
Advocates told the crowd of about 200 people that the home prevents some kids from falling through the cracks and provides structure and guidance they can’t get elsewhere.
“Indiana taxpayers, send a message to your senators, to the state of Indiana and to the governor that we want to be proactive in our children’s lives,” said Claudia Palmer, a 1995 graduate of the school who now works in Indianapolis.
State Health Commissioner Judy Monroe, an appointee of Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, has acknowledged the school has had many success stories. But she says enrollment has declined over the years and most of the students could be better served in homes or other community settings.
It’s unclear whether lawmakers will approve funding for the home as they try to reach a compromise on a new state budget.


Ind. woman turns in 18 $100 bills found on floor

LA PORTE, Ind. – A woman who found 18 $100 bills on the floor of a northern Indiana grocery store turned it in, and the cash was later returned to the man who lost it.
Margaret Brown was at the Save-A-Lot store in La Porte on Friday when she spotted the money. She handed it over to store manager Brandon Deletto, who then called police.
Alvie Ellenwine realized after running errands he had lost the money he received when he cashed a check earlier in the day. The 68-year-old man called the grocery store and learned the money had been turned over to police.
The La Porte Police Department plans to recognize Brown and Deletto for their good deeds.


Greeting card company cuts 50 jobs in S. Indiana

BLOOMINGTON – A greeting card company has laid off more than 50 employees as it ends its manufacturing operations in Bloomington.
Sunrise Greetings will continue to employ about 135 people in Bloomington, focusing on product development, sales and distribution.
The company has been a division of Kansas City, Mo.-based Hallmark Cards Inc. since 1998. Company vice president Amy Slaughter says Hallmark is consolidating its manufacturing process.
The layoffs were announced last June.
Sunrise Greetings was founded in Bloomington in 1974. At its peak in the late 1990s, it employed about 700 people.