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Tuesday, June 3, 2014
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The La Porte County
La Porte’s pothole saga continues By MATT FRITZ
Staff writer 1-219-326-3887 mfritz@heraldargus.com
Photo by Matt Fritz
Attorney Shaw Friedman addresses the media during a press conference regarding a class action lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Child Services.
LP woman’s suit seeks adoption subsidies By MATT FRITZ
Staff writer 1-219-326-3887 mfritz@heraldargus.com
La PORTE — When La Porte resident Debra Moss got a hold of her first two foster children in 2009, one of them had already suffered emotional and verbal abuse from his father, and the other one came to her with fractured ribs and a broken femur at only eight weeks of age. So when Moss got her third foster child (actually her grandchild, they are all her biological grandchildren), he came to her immediately from the hospital at only three weeks old. Since then she has had to deal with their attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, their asthma, the emotional impact from their history of abuse, and the financial strain of having to raise the three of them on her social security check. And since she adopted them in May
of 2012, she’s had to do it all without any state assistance – the state ended her foster subsidy payments and then denied her the special needs adoption subsidy. “We are living on my social security right now,” she said. “I put the children on there as my dependents. The only income we have coming in is that.” So in response, she brought a class action lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Child Services and its director, Mary Beth Bonaventura, on Monday in La Porte County Superior Court 2, making a complaint on behalf of some 1,400 Indiana families who’ve adopted special needs children and have not received the subsidy, which amounts to roughly $18 per day per child. The motion was filed on her behalf by attorney Shaw Friedman and cocounsel Richard Shevits of Cohen & Photo by Matt Fritz Malad of Indianapolis. La Porte resident Debra Moss addresses the media during a press conference See ADOPTION, Page A3 about her class action lawsuit.
SOUNDS FROM THE FABULOUS ’50s
Photo by Matt Fritz
Bruce Johnson performs for audiences during the Fabulous ‘50s variety show at the La Porte County Historical Society Museum on Saturday.
La PORTE — Concerns regarding the city of La Porte’s efforts to address its ongoing pothole issue was a point of contention during the city council’s Monday night meeting. There, Scott Street resident James Young asked council members why the holes on his street, which he described as a major thoroughfare of the city, have yet to be addressed. He said the street is regularly utilized by police cars, fire trucks and ambulances, and places those expensive vehicles at risk because its deep holes cause damage whenever
the vehicles slam into them on their way to emergencies. He said he has been unable to get a hold of his councilman because the number listed on the website is wrong, and he’s left messages at the mayor’s office and has never gotten a response back. La Porte Mayor Blair Milo said she was sorry she never got his message, but noted that the city has been having issues with its phone system of late. She said this was the worst winter La Porte has experienced in years and city workers were still trying to gather the resources to deal with the aftermath. She said workers See POTHOLE, Page A3
Search for missing man suspended By ADAM PARKHOUSE Staff writer
MICHIGAN CITY — The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for Ron Wood Jr. on Monday, citing rough conditions on Lake Michigan. Monday, several of the 10 people on the boat spoke about the circumstances surrounding Wood’s disappearance. Kelsie Lemons and Erynn Mahlka, both of La Porte, say they were playfully pushed into the water off the 33-foot SeaRay owned by Todd Deutscher, Michigan City. The girls quickly realized the water was too rough to be in and rescue efforts began. Deutscher and his pregnant fiancée, Courtney Dawson, said they didn’t see Lemons and Mahlka get pushed in, rather they thought they had jumped in for a swim. Regardless, once in the water, efforts began to get the girls back into the boat. Lemons was brought back to the boat, she said, but Mahlka was drifting farther and farther away when Wood and others from the boat went after her. Eventually, a good samaritan boat which was nearby pulled two of the seven people out of the water and the Coast Guard rescued four of the other five. Wood, who would have turned 30 on Sunday, was set to have a birthday celebration with Lemons, his girlfriend. Lemons and Mahlka both said the days since the incident have been “awful.” “It’s like we can’t function, we can’t sleep. All we can think of is (Wood) being out there in the cold water,” Mahlka said. “It’s like numbness. Without the body, it’s hard to say or feel that he’s really gone.”
Deutscher, at one point, was with Wood in the water, several hundred feet away from the boat. Eventually, another member of the party threw a life jacket at Deutscher and said to go back to the boat. Deutscher was the only person who knew how to properly operate the boat, and they had a hard time getting it restarted. Deutscher said he thinks the battery was dead from listening to the radio. With the life jacket, Deutscher was able to make some progress in returning to the boat, but he never made it and was pulled out of the water by the Coast Guard. Deutscher said he tried to get Wood to relax and showed him how to float, which he was doing when Deutscher left to go back to the boat. Deutscher added he has a strong sense of personal responsibility for what happened to Wood. “(The last few days) have been difficult because I let someone die on my time,” Deutscher said. “I feel responsible for that because the guy trusted me with his life and I failed him.” Deutscher said the boat was maybe 1,000 meters from shore near Mount Baldy, or in about 50 feet of water. From the time the 911 call was made by Dawson until the time the Coast Guard arrived, 37 minutes had elapsed.
WEDNESDAY WEATHER HIGH LOW 73 55 T-STORMS LIKELY
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Local | State
TERRA VERDE GARDEN CLUB PLANT SALE
Hit-skip crash near music park kills man FRUITDALE (AP) — Investigators are asking the public for information in connection with a hit-andrun collision that killed a Kentucky man believed to be walking from a central Indiana music festival. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office says 36-year-old Chad Demuth died early
Submitted photo
Terra Verde Garden Club members, from left, Sue Cummings, Dianne Burgis, Dee Nusbaum and Joan Stone examine some plants for their semi-annual sale. The Terra Verde Garden Club semi-annual plant sale will be held Saturday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in La Porte, at Indiana Avenue and Harrison Street. A variety of perennials will be available. All plants are grown and potted by the club’s members. The sale starts at 8 a.m. Club members will be available to answer your gardening questions. For more information, contact Fran Raderstorf at 362-2297 or Sue Cummings at 324-5610.
AREA BRIEFS Woman arrested on drug charges La PORTE — The La Porte County Metro Operations Unit has announced the recent arrest of a rural La Porte female for dealing heroin. On May 30, investigators from the La Porte County Metro Operations Unit arrested 22-yearold Jillian TOWNSEL A. Townsel, while she was being held in the La Porte County Jail. She resides in the 5600 west block of Johnson Road in rural La Porte. Townsel was charged with one count of Dealing a Schedule I Controlled Substance (heroin), a class “B� felony. She was being held in the jail since May 16 for Revocation of Suspended Sentence for Theft. She is currently being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in La
ADOPTION From Page A1
During a press conference in the offices of Friedman & Associates on Monday, Shevits said the Department of Child Services has returned more than $238 million to the state’s excess funds since 2009, instead of using it to pay these families. “This is something that obviously has real consequences to real people,� he said. “Families simply aren’t able to provide for the children they’ve adopted out of the foster care system if they don’t have the per diem available to them.� According to the subsidy agreement Moss signed, her children are eligible for the subsidy, and she is due the money if the funds become available. “Clearly it is our contention money was available,� Friedman added. “For the state to have reverted nearly a quarter billion dollars in those five years is unacceptable.� And these subsidy denials have resulted in other problems across the state. Shevits pointed out that adoptions have decreased some 35 percent since the subsidy was cut off. “We’ve heard anecdotal examples from (people) who’ve said they can’t afford to adopt special needs children out of the foster care system without this kind of money, because it’s essential money to pay for food and clothing,� he said. Shevits said it costs the state $25 per child per day in foster care, while this subsidy program would have only cost the state about $18.88 per child per day. “But the irony of this is, it costs the state of Indiana more money to leave the children in the foster care system rather than for them to be adopted into a stable, loving
Porte County Circuit Court. This recent arrest is the result of on-going investigations involving the distribution of narcotics and illegal drugs in and around the La Porte area. Additional arrests are anticipated. The public is encouraged to report potential drug activity to the La Porte County Metro Operations Unit by calling 325-9022. The Metro Operations Unit is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force comprised of investigators from the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office and La Porte Police Department.
Co-op will hold Board Work Session La PORTE — Notice of South La Porte County Special Education Cooperative will hold a Board Work Session on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Educational Services Center, 1921 “A� St., La Porte. This is a work session for board members. There will be no opportunity for public comment. Discussed will be potenenvironment on a permanent basis,� he said. The class action suit claims a breach of contract and seeks the millions of dollars allegedly owed to the affected families. It is estimated that Moss is owed some $40,000. The payments are allegedly required under the State Adoption Subsidy Agreement. Shevits said the state has defended its practice by reportedly saying the people should “adopt for love, not for money.� Moss said she gets the children’s medications covered under Medicaid, and has been able to survive through the generosity of churches, food banks and the school where her children are sent. The 57-year-old grandmother and cancer survivor also sews, which allows her to save money by altering her grandchildren’s clothing. “It would be nice to be able to buy some clothes other than at the thrift store,� she said. “The St. John thrift store has been very generous.� But paying the bills is a struggle. “I’d like to have one of them explain to me how you can go to your bill collectors like NIPSCO, or the phone company and your mortgage company,� she said, “and say ‘I’m here today to pay this bill with love.’� She said she uses public school vouchers to send her children to Door Prairie Ad-
tial Special Education Relocation.
Woman crashes into parked car La PORTE — At about 2:38 a.m. May 31, La Porte Police responded to a motor vehicle crash in the 100 block of Kingsbury Avenue. The driver of a silver Nissan, Jennifer A. Johnston, 33, of La Porte, told police she was texting while driving when she struck a parked vehicle. After further investigation, Johnston was taken into custody and charged with two counts of operating while intoxicated, class A and C misdemeanors. She was also cited for texting while driving. A witness told police that he heard a loud noise just outside his residence. Upon going out to investigate, he saw that the suspect’s car had struck his parked vehicle. He stated she attempted to leave in another vehicle that pulled up, but that police arrived right after that and she exited the vehicle. ventist School so they can receive the extra attention they need because of their condition. Her children are ages 4, 5 and 7. Moss said she adopted her children, who are actually her biological grandchildren, in an effort to keep them together and avoid having them split apart in the foster care system. She said she signed a contract for the subsidy during the adoption process, and was put on a waiting list. She said she has no clue how long the list is and how the different families are chosen to receive the subsidy. “The subsidy should have kicked in, effective with the adoption,� Friedman added, “and that hasn’t occurred.� When the Indiana Department of Child Services was contacted in regards to the class action suit, a representative sent the following email: “The Indiana Department of Child Services has not received notification of a class action lawsuit regarding the State Adoption Subsidy, thus we cannot comment at this time.� Shevits said the next step with the suit is to ask the court to certify the case as a class action suit on behalf of the 1,400 families, and then to obtain the money these families are allegedly entitled to receive through the contracts they signed with the state. Follow Matt Fritz on Twitter @matt_fritzHA.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s program to direct more state contracts to military veteran-owned businesses has had a slow start during its first year. State figures show that about 1 percent of those contracts have gone to Veterans Business Enterprises, while Gov. Mike Pence set a 3 percent goal when the program started last July, The Journal Gazette reported. Eight veteran-owned businesses have received contracts totaling $811,000, according to the Indiana Department of Administration. To reach the 3 percent goal, the veteran contracts would have to reach about $2.2 million. Agency spokeswoman Connie Smith said it can take six months or longer for new contracts to be awarded. “So it will be some time before contracts to veteranowned businesses reach 3 percent,� she said. The state relies largely on
a federal program for certification of veteran-owned businesses. There are 158 such businesses in Indiana with federal verification, and 83 Indiana veterans businesses registered with the state. Many veteran-owned businesses are construction firms and the state veteran’s business enterprises program is a goods and services program created under a separate procurement law, Smith said. Public works projects – buildings and roads, for example – don’t have a veteran-owned business program. Some veteran business owners said the state needed to do more spread the word about the program, which gives those businesses extra points to a bid score the state agency considers when awarding contracts. Army veteran Garry Schaaf, 63, said he was looking into the state program for his Fort Wayne business Ross Develop-
ment. “It’s a great program. The intent is good,� he said. “I think they need a significant education campaign.� Mike Sutton, an Air Force veteran who owns Parametric Machining in Huntertown, is federally certified but hasn’t registered for the state program and isn’t sure there are any state machining contracts that he could bid on. “I have heard a little about it but how it works is a bit sketchy,� Sutton said. So far, the state contracts given to veteran-owned businesses have covered engineering services, landscaping, filters, promotional products and consulting. Greg Medcalf said his company, Tiger Solutions International LLC in Avon, has received contracts for inspecting Medicaid facilities and for delivering and warehousing police radios. “The projects are really helping,� he said. “I really like that they made a program to help veterans.�
POTHOLE
only take about an hour. He said there were some 20 holes there. Explaining that she tried her hand at patching this year, Milo said it took longer than Young thought. She also noted that the hot patch utilized for filing these holes has only been recently available. The street department had been forced to use cold patch during the colder months. This patch was inferior and lasted a significantly shorter time than the hot patch. After the meeting, Young said he already filled a couple of holes himself with concrete, so he knows patching
the rest would only take an hour. He said he would be back at a later meeting to update the city on its efforts to improve the roadway. In unrelated matters, the city council gave a first reading of an ordinance that would allow the police department to combine its records clerk and communications controller positions to free up another officer for the roads. There would only be a cost increase of $800 a year. The issue will come up for vote at a later meeting.
From Page A1 accumulated as many overtime hours at the end of February as they did through the entire year of 2013, so this has been particularly costly for La Porte. She also said councilmen were still gathering a list of the most important roads to address for the city’s summer paving projects. But Young said he wasn’t looking for any repaving, he just wanted the road patched so trucks wouldn’t get damaged. And he said it would
Follow Matt Fritz on Twitter @matt_fritzHA.
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disclosed. The (Bloomington) Herald-Times reports deputies are looking for the driver, the vehicle involved and witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call the Brown County Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office at 812-988-6655 or its tip line at 812-988-6620.
Slow start for Indiana vet-owned business program
Christos Coin & Jewelry
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Sunday along Indiana 135 near the Bill Monroe Music Park in northern Brown County. It says he was struck and killed by a vehicle sometime between 12:20 and 2:20 a.m. Sunday following the John Hartford Memorial Festival at the park about 30 miles south of Indianapolis. Demuthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hometown wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t
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