The Times from Munster, Indiana • 17

The Tries EAST TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 1997 R3- VapomandiupfpmewSifegends Back in about 1970, Mickey Koehler got cut from the freshman basketball squad at Portage High School, ending his roundball career. HE REGION Ford Taurus stolen in repair scam A 35-year-old resident reported his 1988 Ford Taurus stolen Saturday after he gave it to two men for repairs, police said. The resident met two men he didn't know in the 100 block of 157th Street at about 10 p.m. Friday because he wanted them to repair his car's exhaust system. The men told the resident that they would have to drive the car first before they could repair it, police said.

The vehicle owner then gave the men his keys so they could go for a drive. At 4:12 a.m. Saturday, when the men had not returned with the car, the owner called police to report his vehicle stolen, police said. A compilation of state and regional stories from limes staff and wire reports So won't his old coach be surprised to find out Koehler is spending Saturday playing a little pickup game with Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Jamaal "Keith" Wilkes some of the biggest talent ever to run the court? One lucky phone call got the Valparaiso resident into the game when he entered the GTE Police investigating 2 bank robberies Mickey Koehler Heading to the Final Four in Indy Police officers in Porter County have gone an entire year without having to investigate a bank robbery. But local police along with FBI agents began investigating two bank robberies that occurred Monday, one at NBD Bank on U.S.

20 in Portage and the other at the Centier Bank on Plaza Drive in Chesterton. The first robbery occurred at Ultimate Pickup Game contest centered around the NCAA Final Four men's college basketball games coming up this weekend in Indianapolis. To Koehlers amazement, he won the grand prize: Not just two tickets to the Final Four games, not just five nights in a hotel downtown Indianapolis, not just $500 in spending money -but the chance of a lifetime to play hoops with some of the game's legendary players. 1 If n-i iu a.m. Monday at NBD Bank, 6443 U.S.

20 in Portage. A red-haired man with a short red beard walked inside the bank WKSg broad daylight Portage Police Capt. Roger Peele said the note, which was inside a checkbook cover, stated that the man had a gun and also -contained the words, "Give me your money." The robber never displayed the gun, but he verbally reminded Composite sketch of NBD Bank robber i i 1 6y Geoffrey Black Tjre Times Portage police, FBf agents and NBD Bank officials talk in the lobby of the Portage branch of NBD Bank on U.S. 20 after a robbery Monday morning. Chesterton Police Chief George Nelson said preliminary information indicated that a weapon was also not displayed in the Chesterton robbery.

Nelson said the Centier robber was described as 5-foot-8, of stocky build and balding. Nelson hadn't heard a hair color. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken. ii Michael Zajakowski The Times Honesty makes student $100 richer David Ristevski, a fifth-grader at Protsman Elementary School, found this $100 bill and turned it in to the school office. Because no one claimed the money, school officials turned it over to him.

He will keep half and donate the other $50 to Saints Peter and Paul Macedonian Orthodox Church in Crown Point, where he serves as an altar boy. the teller that he wasn't joking, and that he was armed and wanted the money. He is described as a white male with red hair, 5-f oot-8 and of stocky build. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket, a blue baseball hat and wraparound sunglasses. About five hours later, at 3:15 p.m., the Centier Bank branch on Plaza Drive in Chesterton was robbed.

1 -f- Gary Democrats choose is-?" Grease fire extinguished at steel plant at U.S. Steel Group's Gary Works plant put out a grease fire late Monday afternoon. The fire at the No. 6 blast furnace started about 4:55 p.m. but did not disrupt the furnace operations or injure anybody, USX Corp.

spokesman Tom Ferrall said from his of fice in Pittsburgh. Clay for four more years fights and let precinct-level who replaced Richard Comer as Hammond Tracy Albano The Times Stanislaw Dynia, right, and Robert Winiarski of Natural Stone Inc. of Lake Bluff, install the marble on the new baptismal being constructed at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. 31 years later, St John the Baptist replaces Hemporary' attar The spiraling steeple pf St.

John the Baptist Catholic Church is a fixture that has pierced the sometimes sooty city skies for generations. Little has changed since the church opened its doors to worshipers in 1897, said the Rev. John Kalicky, the parish pastor. Kalicky said changes have always come slowly for the parish it was two years after the Vatican TJ decree that changed the way priests said Mass before the church got a new altar that allowed priests to face the congregation during Mass. That altar was hand-crafted in 1966 by Kalicky's father.

It was supposed to be temporary fixture, used only until the parish could afford a more permanent one. That altar, was replaced Monday 31 years later with a new marble altar consecrated by Gary Bishop. Dale Melczek at a morning Mass. r- Stiglich takes 'hands-ofF approach to city leadership bouts. BY JOE CARROLL Times Staff Writer GARY There was no purge Monday of the Gary Democratic organization, despite the recent ouster of former Lake County Democratic boss Robert Pastrick.

Some Gary Democrats dissatisfied with City Chairman Rudolph Clay's leadership hoped Stephen Stiglich's elevation to county chairman earlier this month would open the door for new leadership in the Gary organization. But as part of his bid to sew, up old wounds that have plagued the party for years, Stiglich agreed several weeks ago to stay out of the city and town leadership officials choose their own bosses. The deadline for becoming a candidate for city chairman or one of three other city officers was noon Friday. Clay was unopposed, as were the three others running for lesser posts. Stiglich's hands-off approach is a marked change from four years ago, when Pastrick used the power of the chairmanship to enforce his political will and eliminate adversaries from top party posts.

After fighting off a stiff leadership challenge from Stiglich in 1993, Pastrick punished disloyal party members by stripping them of their posts and installing new leaders who could be counted on to toe the Pastrick line. One of those who rose to the top as a result of Pastrick's wholesale demotions was Clay, Gary Democratic chairman. As a county commissioner, Clay has followed Democratic tradition and taken direction from Pastrick on issues of importance to the county chairman. Clay secured a promise that Stiglich wouldn't get involved in the Gary organization shortly, before the March 1 Democratic Party convention. Since then, he has been confident of an easy transition to another term as city chairman.

"Everything looks real good," Clay said before the vote. Leadership elections in Hammond, East Chicago, Highland, Munster, Griffith and other cities and towns are expected to be held some time next month, Stiglich said Friday. No dates have been set yet for those party meetings. Family sues over county jail death Chronic heart problems flared up repeatedly during the month Herman Delgado was stuck in the Lake County Jail, but officials there failed to provide medical treatment when he suffered a fatal seizure, his family charges in a $5 million federal lawsuit. 'Delgado's condition was so severe that a pacemaker had -been implanted shortly before his arrest on gun charges on March 9, 1995.

However, no doctor was called nor was Delgado rushed to a hospital when he fell seriously ill on April 10, 1995, the suit alleges. Instead, the 41-year-old East Chicago man remained in the jail for four hours before he died, his family contends. The failure of jail personnel to take appropriate actions was caused, in part, because Delgado was Hispanic, they allege. LaPorte General Assembly INDIANA I 4 RCIOUP House begins considering charter schools bill LaPorte man headed to Miami needed cash, so he robbed 3 stores, police say An. unemployed Indiana man headed to Miami needed some money, so he robbed three convenience stores along the way, police say.

He won't make it to the beach. Detectives arrested Ronald Douglas Rowsey 20, of Laporte, after a clerk at a Murfreesboro, Amoco store gave police information about the man who had robbed her at 2 a.m. Monday. The clerk, Lana Thomas, described the suspect's brown car and an Indiana license plate number to police. Manchester police arrested Rowsey later in the morning on Interstate 24 near the McMinnville exit.

Rowsey admitted robbing the Amoco, as well as stores in White House, and Franklin, Ky. Detective Kerry Thorpe said Rowsey realized he needed more money to get to Miami. panel finds a compromise, it must be approved by each chamber before going to the governor. Charter schools, which have been approved in 25 states, are public schools operated by private groups independent of the state or local school boards. They are designed to allow educators to improve education by trying different teaching methods without governmental intrusion.

House Democrats echoing teachers unions' complaints have concerns about three parts of the Senate bill: collective bargaining for teachers, how many schools will be allowed and who will be permitted to run them. Under the Senate-passed bill, any group could apply to set up a school. Local school boards would decide whether to grant a charter, no student or teacher in the district would be required to attend or teach at the school. The Senate bill would allow teachers INDIANAPOLIS A Republican-backed plan to allow highly deregulated public schools in Indiana finally passed the Senate last month after failing in two prior legislative sessions. The bill begins a voyage in unchartered waters Tuesday, when the House Education Committee will hold initial hearings on the proposal.

The panel's chairman said some form of the bill will pass and promised to give the bill a "thorough and fair hearing." But, he added, major changes are likely to be made. "Well take some time to put together amendments so it can pass the House," Rep. Paul Robertson, D-DePauw, said. "Its passing unamended is as likely as my (telephone) deregulation bill passing unamended." That is to say it's nearly impossible. If changes are made, the charter school proposal will go to a House-Senate conference committee.

If that State park fee hike advances; stalled INDIANAPOLIS The Senate Natural Resources Committee'-voted 7-0 Monday to recommend passage of legislation that would increase the cost of state park passes for out-of-state residents. House Bill 1433, sponsored by Sen. Sue Landske, R-Cedar Lake, and Rep. Ralph Ayres, Chesterton, is eligible for a in the Senate. The House it 96-3 on March 4.

It also would increase from 60 to 65 the age requirement for issuing a Golden Hoosier Passport, an annual state parks pass for senior citizens, and hike" its cost to $9. Those 60 and older-'' who already are eligible for the card could buy it for $5 for the" next five years. In other business, the committee delayed a vote on, legislation to restructure the Kankakee River Basin Commission. Chairman Greg Server, R-Evansville, cited concerns about a provision. -requiring conservation officers to hve in the counties they server or in neighboring counties-.

House Bill 1041, sponsored by Rep. Gary Cook, D-Plymouth, would make several changes in-the commission, including making it a locally appointed body and having bimonthly instead of quarterly meetings. The panel will vote on measure next week. The House? passed it 99-0 on Mar 4. Seven of eight states miss rulemaking deadline All eight Great Lakes states except Indiana missed a federal deadline for adopting rules limiting pollution the lakes, officials said Monday.

law requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to impose regulations in any state that failed to act by Sunday. Agency spokesmen said they would give states more time before taking that step, but an environmental group said it might sue to force a crackdown. The' rules are required under the Great Lakes Initiative, a 1990 law aimed at eliminating state-by-state disparities in water quality standards f6r the lakes. Follow-up legislation in 1995 gave states two years -until March 23, 1997 to write their own rules in keeping with federal guidelines.

"Those of us who revere the Great Lakes want to see the law obeyed," said Sen. Carl Levin, who sponsored the legislation. 'The National Wildlife Federation is considering a lawsuit to get EPA to enforce the law, said Tim Eder of the Great Lakes Natural Resource Center in Ann Arbor. ''We're very serious about the states meeting this deadline," Eder said. Epi Peirban still on hold in state Senate Hunters fear rules hae become lax Hunters bagged a record number of deer last year, prompting a hunting association leader to complain that regulations have become too lax.

"They're shooting fawns 6 months old. That makes me sick. That's not the population you want to take out," said Joe Bacon, president of the Indiana Deer Hunters Association. Bacon believes some areas of the state are now "shot out" and have few if any deer remaining. "I may be biased as a deer hunter, but I think we're on the road to tragedy," Bacon said.

State officials strongly disagree, saying they're pleased with how Indiana's deer herd is managed. Bacon will be one of the people objecting to the state's liberalized permit system during a series of hearings scheduled to start next month to assess the impact of the Department of INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana Senate won't vote until later in the week on an amendment that could prohibit the use of the Epi Pen by Portage Township Schools' bus drivers. Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, passed on an opportunity Monday to present, her amendment to House Bill 1661, which she is sponsoring with Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary.

She has said the amendment would prohibit school employees from administering medicaon without parents' or a doctor's consent. Miller has not finished drafting the amendment. Portage schools' Emergency Medical Treatment Committee is holding meetings on whether to include the Epi Pen in school bus emergency medical A recommendation to the school board is expected in April. Epi Pen contains a pre-measured dose of epinephrine, commonly known as adrenaline. It is used in case of a severe reaction a bee sting.

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