Hillary Clinton Coming to Lafayette

Hillary Clinton will be making a campaign stop in Lafayette Wednesday. Police say she will arrive at the Purdue airport around 5pm, then head to Riehle Plaza. More than two dozen extra police officers will be on hand to provide security. City street and parks department employees are sprucing up the area, as the event could capture the national spotlight. Mayor Tony Roswarski is excited, and I think a little nervous about the Clinton visit.
Police will be fencing off an area around the Depot. No tickets are required for the event, but space may be limited. The mayor wasn't sure how many people from the public will show up. Roswarski said, "it could be 500, it could be 2,000!" The gates open at 3:30p.m., the speech will start at 5:30p.m.
Jeff Smith will provide live reports from Riehle Plaza. Clinton's speech will be streamed live on our website. In addition, Jeff is getting a one-on-one interview with Clinton after her speech. That will be included in our bonus video.
Stay tuned. Do you think Barack Obama will come back to the Lafayette area before the May 6th primary??

Mushrooms

The hunt is on! Mushrooms are popping up in woods in the area. These delectables were found in some woods in Fountain county last weekend (exactly where--sorry. sworn to secrecy). My son enjoyed finding them. But he was so excited he trampled a few hiding under the leaves. I have many fond memories of traipsing through the woods with my dad in search of morels. My mom always cooked them in eggs and crushed saltine crackers. They are also good sauteed on a steak!

March Photos

It was chilly, but that didn't stop more than 1,300 people from taking part in the March for Babies, Saturday, at the Tippecanoe County fairgrounds. Above is a picture with some of our WLFI team (from right to left) Julie Krizen, me and Mike Prangley. Thanks to everyone who donated, helped at the check points, and walked. The event raised $187,000 for the March of Dimes.

March for Babies

This Saturday is the March for Babies. Registration starts at 8:00a.m. and the walk begins at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds in Lafayette. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
Casey and Bill Schomer and their children are our Ambassador family for the March of Dimes.

The West Lafayette couple had twins, born 12 weeks early. Christine was only 2 pounds, one ounce. Her twin brother Richard was only one pound, ten ounces. Richard died about 8 weeks later. Christine went home about a week later. She is now 3 years old. Christine is a healthy, lively little girl.

The Schomers say everyone should support the walk because March of Dimes touches all lives.

New K9

This is the Lafayette Police Department's new K9. His name is Tommy. His is a young Belgian Malinois from the Netherlands. Officer Ron Dombkowski is his handler. Tommy replaces Kwando who died in February from health problems. I got to meet Tommy the day Dombkowski brought him home from the kennel. But they won't be home long. Both are headed to specialized training for the next five weeks. Tommy was very friendly and eager to meet everyone who walked by city hall. However, Dombkowski says Tommy's demeanor changes when he knows he is working. Ron said he chose Tommy because of his temperament and tracking abilities. The Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office paid for the dog and training (about $11,000) The money came from forfeitures from drug cases. LPD is still taking donations for a new police dog. Deputy Chief Dave Payne says a couple organizations are trying to raise money for the K9. If you'd like to help, just call the department at 807-1200.

Higher Gas Prices

Gas prices have hit a new record high. Talk about pain at the pump! I tried to fill my gas tank before the higher prices hit and it stopped at $75. And that was when prices were around $3.39. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded one year ago was $2.85. Around the Lafayette area they are $3.62. Some drivers we talked to say the increase in prices will keep them from taking a summer vacation and starting cutting back on entertainment. A Purdue expert told us gas is expected to reach $4.00 a gallon this summer. I think a lot of us will be staying closer to home.
Higher fuel prices are also affecting the bottom line of businesses and farmers. Roger Verhey farms about 2,100 acres near Lafayette. Verhey says increase in fuel prices are costing him thousands of dollars.

Silver Stars

Do you know a veteran who was wounded or suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome?
Contact Tippecanoe County Veterans Service Officer Randy Fairchild. (765) 742-1796. He is trying to get a special award to them. They will receive the Silver Star award. Silver Star Families of America is giving US service members and veterans a certificate and a special banner. Fairchild said men and women will be recognized at the Memorial Day ceremonies at Memorial Island after the city's annual Memorial Day parade (starts at noon, May26th) . For more information on this, contact Randy, or go to the organization's website. http://www.silverfamilies.org/.
Randy needs names by May 1st, so he can make sure has all the banners and certificates by Memorial Day.

Earthquake!

Did you feel it? An earthquake rattled Lafayette. The USGS says it was the strongest earthquake to hit the Midwest since 1968. Friday's quake registered 5.2 on the Richter scale. It was centered near West Salem, Illinois.
The earthquake hit at 5:27a.m. Many people I talked to said it woke them up. They heard things rattling, their dogs barked, and the bed shook. I, however, don't remember hearing a thing! I slept through it. We had some aftershocks. I missed those too! I have felt an earthquake before. I think it was in 1987. I was living in Peoria at the time. I felt the ground shake. It is certainly an unnerving experience! I guess this is a reminder that earthquakes can happen here.

Golden Teachers

WLFI and the Lafayette-West Lafayette Development Corporation will present the 2008 Golden Apple awards tonight. Five teachers in grades 6-12 will be recognized for their outstanding work. The winners are: Stephen Ohlhaut, a French Teacher at West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School, Denise Walker, a 7th grade teacher at Southwestern Middle School, Rebecca Creech, a Chemistry teacher at Harrison High School, Todd Golding, a World History and Russian Language teacher at Jefferson High School, and Aaron Smith, an English and Speech teacher at West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School.
What a great honor! More than 40 teachers were nominated. Only 5 were selected for the Golden Apple Award.
WLFI will air the awards ceremony at 7:00p.m., Tuesday, April 22nd. Be sure to watch there are some inspirational stories.

Springfest

This weekend Purdue held its annual Springfest. While it felt nothing like spring, hundreds of people came to the West Lafayette campus to participate in the event. My son and his friend Mitchell touched all sorts of bugs, fed an Alpaca, and watched the cockroach races. We even played some games. The boys were thrilled to win a goldfish, for the second year in a row.

Our WLFI family is growing. You may have seen Julie Krizen on the air last week. She is a new reporter, as well as our weekend producer. She moved here from Florida. I'm sure she is missing the Florida sunshine, so please make her feel welcomed. Laura Kirtley is our weekend anchor. You will hopefully see her on the set this weekend. She grew up in Montgomery County and most recently had been working for a congressman in Washington. We have hired a new main anchor for the evenings. Stay tuned for more information on her and when she will be starting.

March For Babies-Monticello

This is Courtney Brown. She is a healthy, 8 old girl. She and her mother Angel were guests on our noon show this week. They are promoting the March for Babies in Monticello on April 19th. The Lafayette walk, that also raises money for the March of Dimes, will be on April 26th.

Angel told me she wants to help babies. She has raised $900 so far for the event.

Courtney was born 3 months premature and weighed under 3 pounds. Angel told us, "Until this year, I did not know that the March of Dimes does so much more. their research helps all of us. Everyone that has conceived has benefited from the knowledge the organization."

Barack Obama in Lafayette

The tickets for Barack Obama's visit are all gone. The Democratic presidential candidate will be speaking at 6:00 p.m. tonight at Jefferson High School. 2500 tickets were available. They were grabbed up early yesterday at his local campaign office.

WLFI will have coverage of the event. We hope to stream it live on our website. However, there are strong wind gusts and thunderstorms in the forecast. If severe weather threatens, you will have to wait for highlights and reaction from his speech later tonight on the web and at 11pm on the news.

People around Lafayette area excited about Obama's visit. This is the first time in a long, long time that Indiana has had a say in the presidential primary. The nominations are often decided long before our May primary. Today we talk to people about the last democratic presidential candidate to visit our area--Robert Kennedy in 1968.

Bill and Chelsea Clinton have both been in the Lafayette area campaigning. I wonder when we'll see Hillary?? Stay tuned!

Murdock News

I enjoyed my visit to Murdock Elementary School on Tuesday. The students were learning about different careers. I told them about the different jobs in broadcasting. Some of them helped present a newscast full of fun news items. They included the Governor giving the school money for an indoor swimming pool and an upcoming concert with Hannah Montana. My favorite question from this group was "Are you married to the guy sitting next to you?" The answer is no. Jeff Smith is not my husband.

During a recent visit to Mintonye Elementary School a couple students recognized me as the 'news lady.' One boy asked, "Did you come here in a limo?" I laughed. They really got a giggle when I told them I came to school in a pick up truck!!

More Campaigning

Chelsea Clinton will be at Purdue today. The daughter of Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is on a campaign swing through Indiana. The Clinton campaign office said the atrium of the Mechanical Engineering Building will be cleared, before media and the public are allowed to enter. Purdue Police say only 400 people will be allowed in. Apparently any more people would be a violation of the fire code. We have a camera there and will bring you the story.

Former Indiana First Lady Judy O'Bannon and Clinton Campaign Senior Advisor Ann Lewis will be in Lafayette Tuesday. At 5:00p.m., they will be at Rosewalk Commons in Lafayette. They will be encouraging people to voter early and absentee voting.

There is a complete list of the early vote center sites on the Tippecanoe County website.
http://www.tippecanoe.in.gov/election_board/ In addition, the election office lists all the vote center locations for the May 3 primary.

Stay tuned. We expect Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama in Lafayette this week. His campaign will be announcing something very soon!