10292011 - News Article - State auditors concerned about Lake Station finances

State auditors concerned about Lake Station finances

Times, The (Munster, IN) 

October 29, 2011 

INDIANAPOLIS -- State auditors reported Friday they have "substantial doubt" about Lake Station's "ability to continue as a going concern" due to the city's $1.8 million general fund deficit and the effect of property tax caps limiting future revenue. 

A State Board of Accounts audit said Lake Station must reduce spending to pay off its outstanding debt, which is projected to reach $2.4 million by the end of this year. 

This is the second consecutive year the state's auditing agency has questioned the city's ability to stay afloat. 

Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist said he inherited a $1.5 million deficit when he took office in 2008. 

It grew larger due to Clerk-Treasurer Brenda Samuels omitting part of the tax levy on a required state budgeting form, and because of city spending on the 2008 floods that was not reimbursed by the federal government, Soderquist said. 

"I didn't get us in this situation; I think people should know that, but I will get us out of it," Soderquist said. 

City spending for 2011 is projected to come in below city revenues and the mayor has proposed a similarly lean budget for 2012. But Soderquist said the city's finances can't be fixed in a year. 

"I'm not going to cut police, fire, ambulance; I'm just not going to cut safety services," Soderquist said. "It's going to be a multiyear repair and until we are completely repaired, we will continue to get these audits that question what's going on financially." 

The mayor said Lake Station might be able to get most of the money needed to resolve its budget deficit by selling the Ind. 51 site of its former city hall for commercial development. 

Soderquist said that while he'd prefer to spend any money from that sale on other city projects, it's just as important to use it to get the city's finances in shape. 

10242011 - News Article - Delay granted in next week's murder trial of Cashner

Delay granted in next week's murder trial of Cashner
NWI Times
October 24, 2011 - 11:45 am 
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/portage/delay-granted-in-next-week-s-murder-trial-of-cashner/article_4c3baf7a-94c1-58b5-b136-c9174788ce52.html

Fredrick Cashner. Photo provided by the Porter County sheriff's department.

VALPARAISO - A delay has been granted in next week's trial of Fredrick Cashner Jr., who is accused of killing his estranged wife April 24 by firing at least eight bullets into her body with a high-powered semiautomatic rifle.

The continuance was requested by defense attorney Paul Stracci, who said he will not be available next week.

Stracci also said more time is needed because the defense still is collecting evidence from prosecutors.

Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford set a status hearing for 9 a.m. Nov. 21 and said sharing of evidence should be completed by that date.
A new trial date will be set at that time.

Cashner, of 371 E. Tratebas Road in Jackson Township, has pleaded not guilty to the single charge of murder, which carries a potential sentence of 45 to 65 years in prison.

Cynthia Cashner, 50, was found dead on an air mattress after police received a 911 call about 10:25 p.m. from the Mystic Moon Herbal Shoppe, 5830 U.S. 6, Portage, which she owned.

Dispatchers reportedly heard faint breathing on the line and nothing else, though on second review, detectives later heard a male voice in the background say, "It's too late," followed by three or four gunshots, police said.

10232011 - News Article - Portage mayoral candidates weigh in on public safety

Portage mayoral candidates weigh in on public safety

NWI Times

Oct 23, 2011 

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/portage-mayoral-candidates-weigh-in-on-public-safety/article_a82c1d43-83ca-5138-bbc9-2d6c4f68a1bd.html

PORTAGE | One thing the two candidates for mayor can agree on is that public safety is a top issue in this year's campaign.

Democratic incumbent Mayor Olga Velazquez said she's made great strides in protecting Portage residents. It started, she said, with the hiring of former FBI agent Mark Becker as the city's police chief nearly four years ago.

"The things Chief Becker has implemented are working. Crime is down in Portage. It was one of the best decisions I made to bring this professional to our community," Velazquez said.

Velazquez said Becker has stepped up traffic stops as a crime prevention method, improved communication through his chief's email, increased continuing education for officers and teamed with various drug- and gang-prevention agencies.

Republican mayoral challenger James Snyder disputes the crime statistics.

"The mayor talks about crime decreasing during that time, but it is the way crime was logged that has changed. Ask any police officer in the city and none believe crime is down. At the same time, I believe our police officers are doing a great job and I don't believe crime is rampant," Snyder said.

Velazquez said the crime statistics Snyder is doubting are those reported to the FBI each year. Those statistics indicate the city's crime rate has decreased 22 percent since 2008.

"She's correct on her numbers, but it is a fudge job," said Snyder, contending that during her administration, the department has changed systems on the way crime is logged and that has affected the numbers.

The two also disagree on 911 dispatching.

During her term, the city's dispatch center was consolidated with that of Porter County. The effort, Velazquez said, was mandated by the state and has saved the city money.

State law requires each county to consolidate to no more than two dispatch centers by 2014.

"We were very conscientious in taking our time in making the decision. We did not take it lightly. We did our due diligence in looking at all the aspects and considered the 2014 state mandate for consolidation," said Velazquez, adding the city also worked to make sure the city dispatch employees were hired by the county.

"State law said they would have paid for a study. She didn't ask for a study," said Snyder, adding that he would work to see dispatchers return to the city and, if that were not possible, would work with the county to make sure Portage dispatchers man the Portage consoles at the county center.

Snyder said the closing of the dispatch center also has left the police station closed to the public at night and on weekends. He said he would work to reverse that.

Velazquez disputes Snyder's accusation.

"The police station is not closed. It is a 24/7 operation," she said, adding that a telephone system is available to residents who may come to the police station when clerical staff is not available. "If the dispatch center were still there, they would still have to call 911."

Another issue is police efforts within private residential developments.

The city has signed agreements with two private developments to allow police to patrol on private streets, a crime prevention effort, Velazquez said.

Snyder said he believes that is the wrong approach. If elected, he said, he would like to see the private developments -- apartment complexes and mobile home parks -- charged a special assessment for public safety protection or, at least, have them hire their own security to patrol the streets within the developments.

10182011 - News Article - More cellphone search warrants in Bach case

More cellphone search warrants in Bach case 
NWI Times
October 18, 2011 - 7:00 pm
nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/wheeler/more-cellphone-search-warrants-in-bach-case/article_081ea9c0-9589-5e22-a8bb-1e38026be0cd.html

VALPARAISO - Another wave of cellphone record search warrants has been issued in the Amanda Bach murder case.

According to documents filed in Porter Superior Court on Oct. 12, a judge signed off on six search warrants for friends and family members of both Bach, 19, and 18-year-old Dustin McCowan.

Bach was found shot to death in Union Township on Sept. 17, a day after her car was found abandoned in Wheeler. McCowan, a former boyfriend, was arrested and charged with her murder.

Warrants were issued for records of an acquaintance of McCowan and one of his relatives, both of whom said they were texting him in the hours before Bach's disappearance. Authorities also sought records from a cousin of Bach who had been texting her just before her disappearance, documents say.

Additional warrants were issued for cellphone records belonging to a woman, who said she received a voicemail message from McCowan asking if she was with Bach about an hour after the Portage woman's car was found, and a former boyfriend of Bach, who told detectives McCowan tried calling and texting him about the same time. Another warrant targets records from a mutual friend who told police she, too, received a phone call from McCowan in the hours after Bach's disappearance, documents say.

10132011 - VIDEO - Amanda Bach Cell Phone Records Subpoenaed

[IN] Amanda Bach Cell Phone Records Subpoenaed

Oct 13, 2011

http://youtu.be/6UIiqHiM9K4

10132011 - News Article - Amanda Bach Cell Phone Records Subpoenaed - Dustin McCowan's father's phone also is under investigation

Amanda Bach Cell Phone Records Subpoenaed
Dustin McCowan's father's phone also is under investigation 
NBC News - Chicago, IL
Thursday, Oct 13, 2011
nbcchicago.com/news/local/Amanda-Bach-Cell-Phone-Records-Subpoenaed-131790108

[IN] Amanda Bach Cell Phone Records Subpoenaed- Oct 13, 2011

Valparaiso police want to search the cell phone records of homicide victim Amanda Bach, 19, and her accused murderer's father, Joseph Elliot McCowan. 

McCowan's son, Dustin McCowan, was charged with Bach's murder last month after The young Portage woman went missing and was later found dead along some railroad tracks. 

The Porter County Sheriff's Department made it clear, though, the elder McCowan, a Crown Point police officer, is not a person of interest at this time. The cell phone warrants are part of the investigation, said Cpl Larry LaFlower in a statement to the Sun-Times.

Police want to check which cell tower Bach's phone connected to before her body was found. Police will check call records, voicemail, text and data from Aug. 15 through Sept. 20.

Joseph McCowan's phone will be checked for calls, text and data from Sept. 2 to Sept. 20. 

10132011 - News Article - Subpoena issued for cellphone records in Bach case

Subpoena issued for cellphone records in Bach case 
NWI Times 
October 13, 2011 - 11:00 am
nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/wheeler/subpoena-issued-for-cellphone-records-in-bach-case/article_982c35cb-8050-50d5-a091-42dac2904c2b


VALPARAISO - A subpoena has been issued for records from cellphones belonging to 19-year-old Amanda Bach and the father of her accused killer, Dustin McCowan.

According to documents filed in Porter Superior Court, police and prosecutors are requesting records for a cellphone belonging to Joseph Elliott McCowan, Dustin McCowan's father. He is a Crown Point police officer.

The subpoena includes the locations of cellphone towers used to relay the device's signal and any call or text messaging records from Sept. 2 through Sept. 20.

Crown Point Police Chief Pete Land said the cellphone in question is not McCowan's department-issued phone and the officer has been off duty since his son's arrest, using personal time. 

Sgt. Larry LaFlower, Porter County Sheriff's Department public information officer, said Joseph Elliott McCowan is not considered a person of interest at this time in the investigation, but he was interviewed by detectives.

A judge issued the same cellphone records request for Bach's cellphone and a similar request earlier for Dustin McCowan's phone. In court documents, detectives and prosecutors state the location of Bach's cellphone still is unknown.

Bach, a 2011 Portage High School graduate, was found shot to death along the Canadian National railroad tracks in Union Township on Sept. 17, a day after her car was found abandoned in the parking lot of a Wheeler convenience store.

McCowan, 18, a former boyfriend, was arrested and charged with her murder. Through his attorney, McCowan has maintained his innocence. He remains at Porter County Jail awaiting trial.

10022011 - News Article - Porter County near record number of homicides in a year

Porter County near record number of homicides in a year
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 2, 2011
www.newsbank.com

Porter County may have tied its record for the most number of homicides in a year.

If the Wednesday death of Michael Pasternak Jr., shot while mowing a lawn in Hebron, ultimately is ruled a homicide, it will be the county’s sixth homicide of 2011. This would match the record set in 2001.

Two is the annual average over the past 15 years, according to the Porter County coroner’s office.

“That (Pasternak’s death) I assume, is going to be a homicide,” said Coroner Chuck Harris, even though the decision is up to the Marion County coroner since Pasternak died in an Indianapolis hospital. “If that was accidental, I would think that someone would have come forward.”

The shooting initially appeared to be an accident, since residents of the subdivision where he was working frequently hear hunters’ gunshots.

With the exception of the dragging death of Sheri Jania, the coroner’s number of homicides does not include reckless homicide, a charge that tends to be tied to impaired drinking rather than intent.

There does not seem to be a single tie running through the crimes that would explain the drastic increase, although three or four appear to have been domestic disputes.

“You could say the economy if you watch the national news,” said Sgt. Larry Laflower, spokesman for the Porter County Sheriff’s Department. However, not even he believes that as the sole explanation, since the poor economy and the stress it causes weren’t reflected by 2010’s numbers. There were no homicides in Porter County last year.
Memo: Fact Box: 2011 homicide victims

Cynthia Cashner, 50, of Portage. Shot multiple times on April 24 at her business, Mystic Moon Herbal Shoppe in Portage. Her estranged husband, Fredrick Cashner Jr., 54, of Jackson Township, will be tried for murder beginning Oct. 31.

Cheryl Miller, 52, of Pleasant Township. Killed May 31 at her home in a murder-suicide committed by estranged husband Frederick Miller, 59. Both died of gunshot wounds; the house was set on fire.

Sheri Jania, 45, of Portage. On Sept. 3, struck and dragged by a vehicle after a confrontation at the Shift Change Tap in Burns Harbor. James Lohman III, 49, of Portage, is charged with reckless homicide in addition to other charges.

Amanda Bach, 19, of Portage. Last seen Sept. 15, body found Sept. 17 in Union Township, died from a gunshot. Friend and ex-boyfriend Dustin McCowan, 18, of Union Township, is charged with murder.

Donald Crouse, 45, of Porter. Shot Sept. 14 during a domestic dispute at his ex-wife’s home; died Sept. 21 from his injuries. Ex-wife, Beverly Mitchell, 44, is in jail facing charges of aggravated battery, pointing a firearm and other charges; as of Friday, these had not been amended to reflect Crouse’s death.

(Pending determination) Michael Pasternak Jr., 24, of Gary. Shot while mowing a lawn in a Hebron subdivision. Died Sept. 25 at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. No suspects are in custody.