St. John, Indiana Whats News

01/18/2025

PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEE GETS DUI WHILE ON PROBATION FOR POSSESSION OF CO***NE

St. John’s Public Works employee was pulled over in Crown Point Indiana in the early hours of the morning following the Town’s Official Christmas Party. As we reported, the Town Council spent over $10,000 serving up employees and guests alcohol paid for by taxpayer dollars at White Hawk Country Club in Crown Point. Timothy Copenhaver, age 37 has a long tenure with the Town’s Public Works Department according to to public records. Copenhaver was charged by the Lake County Prosecutor with driving under the influence and Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person.

Copenhaver apparently pled guilty and entered into a plea agreement in March of 2024 in White County for posession of co***ne for an incident which occured in 2023 according to Indiana’s MyCase. The Town has not put out any statement regarding the incident which appears to have take place after their Christmas Party or if any actions have been taken. Copenhaver was seen at work as recent as last week in a Town vehicle.

It is unclear if Copenhaver’s probation will be revoked and the criminal felony charges reinstated in White County.

The Times of Northwest Indiana
Post-Tribune

01/17/2025

St. John Police shoot and kill man Involved in alleged domestic. Death was declared a homicide by Lake County Coroner

A 40-year-old man was killed in a police-involved shooting Wednesday morning in Northwest Indiana, the Lake County sheriff and coroner's office said.

12/29/2024

Rest in Peace Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and a former peanut farmer whose vision of a "competent and compassionate" government propelled him into the White House, died on Sunday, the Carter Center confirmed. He was 100.

12/28/2024

SOLD OUT - Why would the most "desired" town in Northern Indiana need to offer any housing developers any incentives? "There are certain housing developments that we need. There's a call for it, and we're answering that call." Town Manager Billy Manosloppiness said. “Certain housing” row housing or cheaply built houses? That is the certain type he is talking about. Welcome to the transient Illinois border town the new Calumet City. This failure of a Town Manager and political hack is a joke and so is this Town Council who have sold out our community to cheap housing developers! Exactly what they all said they were not going to do.

They already did away with the Road Impact Fee which housing developers paid and not the residents which will now force the burden for road development onto the residents of St. John. Now they will force a wheel tax onto the residents to pay for this nonsense just like city stickers in Illinois. They Play YOU Pay!

12/24/2024

Merry Christmas St. John

12/23/2024

Town Officials blow over $10,000 for a Christmas Party serving alcohol out of town in Crown Point at White Hawk Country Club. Town officials appear to have used Cable Television Fund which is dedicate for “town promotions” to fund their exclusive taxpayer funded party. This failed Town Manager was passing out trays of alcohol during the event, way to keep it classy St. John! We are unsure how this promotes anything for the town. Historically the town has hosted a Christmas luncheon for staff, that is until this Town Council appears to want a loyal patronage army.

While many struggle with inflation, and Town Officials already gave out nice pay increases, this Town Council finds another way to blunder. Way to buy loyalty and use tax dollars to do it, now that is a good use of taxpayer’s money. Very wrong!

12/20/2024

POLITICS PURE AND SIMPLE: GILLETTE REMOVED AS DEPUTY CHIEF

Mike Gillette who has served as Deputy Fire Chief since August, 2021 found out last week that he was being busted down to Batallion Chief. Gillette, appointed as Deputy Chief by former Chief Kevin LaDuke has 26 years of service on the St. John Fire Department and is the only full-time member who lives in Town.

Following the January political takeover of Town Hall by the new and clumsy Town Council Mike Bouvat, Christian Jorgensen, Ann Oster and Wayne Pondinas headed by Clerk-Treasurer Beth Hernandez, LaDuke was busted down similarly to Gillette to Batallion Chief. The Town Council appointed Shane Adams, who has retained his full-time police position earning him $110,436.87 plus his part-time Fire Chief position earning him an additional $30,000 per year.

Apparently messing with people’s livelihood and career is fair game in St. John’s political cesspool under the current leadership of the Town.

Sources: openpayroll.com and 2024 Salary Ordinance

12/18/2024

UPDATE: Big self-aggrandizing political stunt by Town Council and of course the puppet master, Beth Hernandez! Funny how we had to beat up on them to finally make them come clean with what has been going on for the last year. The lies and false narratives and this is still not a done deal yet folks.

The pressure has been on this failed group. Now when will they reveal their invisible plan they said they had?

Liars always lying! The devil is in the details will you ever see them?

UPDATE: Photos are not this developer’s rendition, rather the work of another developer who built a brand new store in Illinois. Town used these photos and did not disclose this fact or if they had legal permission.

12/17/2024

R-Bar a welcome addition to abandoned Michels. Hope there is alot of demolition and updating for their second location.

12/17/2024

Town finally posted agenda for their clandestine meeting tomorrow to allow for an electronic billboard on US 41 deals cut -deals made! Also they plan to do away with the Road Impact Fee. Hold onto your wallets St. John this Town Council is about to play Illinois “village sticker” tax and implement a wheel tax on all of your vehicles.

Currently developers pay road impact fees which goes toward new road improvements. This has no impact on what you pay. Road Impact fees were implemented in lieu of a tire tax so as to NOT tax residents, rather have the devopers pay for new road improvements needed for the future.

This Town Council and their leadership have failed the residents and have only done the bidding for certain developers! Did a certain developer pay his impact fees for his “downtown” deal that this Town Council approved in 90 days? Deals made deals kept but you pay for it now residents!

12/17/2024

Town Council cancels study session meeting and schedules a special meeting to take action! No agenda has been posted. Way to keep things transparent. This Council and their leadership behind the scenes has been a joke. Worst ever!

12/17/2024

KMART is finally on someone’s radar, definitely not the Town Council’s as they have yet to unveil their invisible economic development plan since the primary in May, 2023! Del Demao who is doing business as NWI Dev I LLC is proposing a frontage access road thrpugh Chase Bank to the South. The town council has done nothing to promote economic development and this had literally dropped in the town’s lap. On the agenda for the Plan Commission for Wednesday is site plan for an access road for this property. This would allow a potential tenant access to US 41 using the traffic signal. Engineering and INDOT may find that this is just too close in proximity to the turn lane according to typical standards.

It is uncertain if it would be Demao’s intention to demolish the old, dilapidated and possibly hazardous building and build new or spend millions to restore it. KMart was never a supermarket and rumors abound that Jewel may be a potential tenant. Demao represents many clients including Jewel.

12/07/2024

Never Forgotten! Pearl Harbor Day, is observed annually in the United States on December 7, to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States declaring war on Japan the next day and thus entering World War II.

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving St. John

11/18/2024

Old dilapidated, abandoned, run down KMart building still vacant after 322 Days of inaction. This inept Town Council and incompetent Town Manager still have not revealed their secret invisible plan! Mike Bouvat, Wayne Pondinas, Ann Oster and Christen Jorgensen campaigned last year and begged for your vote claiming:

“Proactive Plan for ALL aspects of future development” and “Make redevelopment a priority” however they have revealed nothing of their invisible plan after 322 days. And their so-called Town Manager Billy Manosloppiness has been an absolute failure and joke.

90 days to approve a Planned Unit Development for a campaign contributor but nothing for residents. How many lies make a liar? The Hernandez “Political Machine” destroying St. John while Cedar Lake, Crown Point and Schererville grab real commercial development. The residents get more sub-par housing, failed, inadequate and broken infrastructure or more secret deals for certain politically connected developers

11/11/2024

Thank You!

11/10/2024

Trump and Rokita win 1st Congressional District, Niemeyer under performs loses to Mrvan.

It's too early to start writing the political obituary of Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer but it should give the Republican establishment in Lake County some pause. Niemeyer is the Lake County Republican chairman and should be focusing on making headway to unwind the Democrat juggernaut stranglehold it has had for generations. Instead, Niemeyer's focus has been on his own Congressional race since taking office as Lake County Councilman and County Republican Chairman. Jennifer-Ruth Green he is not. As expected, Niemeyer did win some 60% of voters in Hanover Township and St. John Township both staunch Republican strongholds, but he made no such gains in North Lake County where he lost decisively.

Instead of building the war chest for the Lake County Republican organization, Niemeyer was raising funds for his own failed campaign for Congress. Now perhaps Niemeyer can get down to expanding Republican gains made in 2023 in local races in Northwest Indiana. But we think Niemeyer may be facing some challenges to his leadership, or the lack thereof. He has upset many staunch Republicans in Lake County trying to appease those Republicans in Name Only (RINOs).

Yes, Indiana's 1st Congressional seat is winnable for Republicans Rokita and Trump have shown and proven that. Sadly, Niemeyer did not.

11/04/2024

Franciscan Health broke ground this morning for a new medical office building in St. John with planning begun in 2023. The Most Rev. Robert McClory, bishop of the Diocese of Gary gave a blessing. The two-story, 82,881-square-foot building is being built by Tonn and Blank Construction at 10323 Wicker Ave. It will house an ExpressCare, primary care and specialty physician offices, diagnostic imaging, CT, MRI, ultrasound and laboratory services.

"We seek God's blessing upon those present and upon this land that we will turn over and dedicate to God's good work through the Franciscan Alliance," said Bishop McClory. "We are just delighted to see this continue to grow in this town of St. John."

A Franciscan Health medical office building with the same footprint and services broke ground last week in Valparaiso. Both of the new medical office buildings’ construction projects are scheduled to be complete by the end of 2026.