revetments

NEW HOSPITAL IN LAPORTE UNDERGOES NAME CHANGE

LaPorte Hospital is receiving a new name when the new hospital in the city opens later this month.

Northwest Health – LaPorte is what it’s going to be called.

Starke Hospital in Knox will change to Northwest Health – Starke and Porter Regional Hospital near Chesterton will be called Northwest Health - Porter.

All of them are owned by Community Health Systems, which acquired the hospitals in LaPorte and Starke counties in 2016.

Ashley Dickinson, CEO of LaPorte and Starke hospitals, said the over 40 medical care facilities owned by CHS in the region will be under the new Northwest Health umbrella.

LaPorte Physician Network and Porter Physician Group are now Northwest Medical Group under the restructuring.

She said all CHS owned facilities being in one system will expand and provide quicker access to services.

“We share a passion for offering patients the best possible experience when and where they need it,” Dickinson said.

The new $125 million hospital in LaPorte is scheduled to open Oct. 24 at State and Tyler streets just several hundred feet away from the existing hospital, which is targeted for demolition.

The Northwest Health system is comprised of more than 3,000 employees and 700 physicians throughout northwest Indiana, officials said. — STAN MADDUX

Chikaming Township Board of Trustees objects to applications for proposed revetments

BY FRANCESCA SAGALA

Members of the Chikaming Township Board mainly due to the Cherry Beach Project. of Trustees objected to applications for “We spent two years trying to acquire this property, we have permits for proposed revetments in favor of the $1.6 million that has been raised by almost 1,000 residents conducting more research on them at a special and visitors from all over the country…We have a commitment meeting Tuesday, Sept. 29. to this project and we want to do everything in our power to

Board members discussed one application from the preserve this property for generations to come,” he said. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Board members approved drafting a letter to EGLE stating Energy (EGLE) for a proposed revetment at Pier Street and that the township rejects the present applications for permits four applications for revetments at Suns End. until given the opportunity to review them with an engineering

Several residents (including the applicants) were on the firm and then get a report back to address it. Zoom meeting voicing their concerns before the discussion. Bunte said he’s ‘tweaked” a copy of a resolution and policy with

Chikaming Township Supervisor David Bunte said that the township Attorney Charles Hilmer that the city manager from board wasn’t required to respond to the application for 9239 Bridgman gave him with regards to the township board handling Pier Street in Lakeside; however, the property in question future EGLE requests. The policy will give a step by step process is directly adjacent to the Pier Street public beach access, of on when an application comes in, such as giving it to a building which members of the Park Board are stewards. official and then maybe the Planning Commission to review.

Trustee Rich Sullivan said that he was in favor of having Bunte said he’d like the resolution and policy to be on the someone who’s not invested in the project review the project. township’s Oct. 8 meeting agenda.

“Many of the people tonight are talking about experts but Resident Douglas Greeff said the “weight of proposed we know experts can, like statistics, say whatever we want imported rocks to be placed on our beaches is approximately them to say if they already have a goal… It’s wise for us to have 7 and a half million pounds, which requires approximately someone who has outside interests looking at the project and 206 truckloads of rocks coming down Cherry Beach road and give us advice on yes, this might have an impact,” he said. transported down the critical dune directly abutting Cherry

Board members approved drafting a letter to EGLE with Beach, which is mind numbing when barges could’ve been their objection to the permit, pending an engineering analysis proposed.” of the application. Board members were required to respond to the applications for the proposed revetments for the parcels on Suns End due to the proposed projects being located on a critical dune. Board members were required to either object or waive their interests in the applications. Resident Ian Ram, a homeowner on Suns End, who was opposed to the proposed revetments between Cherry and Harbert beaches, said that plans call for over 200 truckloads carrying over 7 million pounds of rock to be taken directly over “the same

Bunte said one of the parcels specifically was adjacent to sand dune shared by Cherry Beach and rolled down the dune Cherry Beach. to the water.”

Greg Weykamp from Edgewater Resources, which provides Ram said that he’s confirmed with a contractor that solutions for coastal and waterfront projects, said that there applicants can bring in materials with a barge instead but it are impacts associated with “anything” that’s done on the would just be more expensive. shoreline and an engineering team will “try to mitigate those Rich Ham, one of the applicants whose primary residence impacts as much as possible.” is in southern Indiana, said that since he and his wife bought

Weykamp said that the condition of adjacent properties may a property adjacent to Cherry Beach, he’s been “beyond affect any impacts. If an adjacent parcel already has armour, distressed” at the “massive loss of bluff.” He was told by there shouldn’t be a major impact because it’s a similar use. experts that he hired that they’d be taking a “significant risk

“If you have just a stretch of sandy beach and one person heading into winter without armouring.” puts in armouring, that does tend to have the impact that the Contractors and environmental firms have also advised folks downstream, typically to the south, are going to either see barging not being a “viable” solution to the problem, he added. increased erosion or need to do aromouring themselves - that Ham added he and the other neighboring applicants on Suns sets forward this chain of events,” he said. End have met to discuss the best solution for the problem.

Weykamp said that EGLE will consider anything that the We’ve gone to great lengths together to identify and develop board gives to them as public comment, particularly that the optimal plans for protecting our homes while preventing township is trying to purchase property adjacent to Cherry adverse impact on beach and neighboring properties and Beach to expand it. we believe the plans we have submitted are reflective of this

Bunte said that the parcels on Sun’s End are the most critical process,” he said.