WANATAH

Railroad worker struck by train while in pickup

An employee with Norfolk Southern railroad was injured when the company truck he was driving was hit by a freight train near Wanatah.

Arnold Smith, 52, of Muncie, told LaPorte County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Crail that he was driving toward a railroad work crew about 8 a.m. Wednesday and didn't see the train as he ventured onto the crossing on County Road 1450 South.

The train struck the pickup and pushed it down the tracks, coming to a stop almost 1,300 feet from the point of impact, police said.

"The next thing he remembers is waking up and being pushed down the tracks," police said.

Smith stated his view as he looked both ways before crossing was obstructed by a storage container and electrical box, police said.

He was taken to Porter Valparaiso Hospital Campus with scrapes to his head and pain in his left shoulder.

LaPORTE

City awards contract to replace City Hall roof

The original roof on LaPorte City Hall built nearly a century ago will finally be replaced.

A $112,000 contract has been awarded to Slatile Masonry Restoration to replace the leaky clay tile roof.

City Director of Engineering Dale Clingerman said he hopes to know Monday when the job will start but the goal is to finish the work this fall.

The same kind of clay tiles will be placed on the roof since the 1912 building is on the national historic registry, he said.

As part of the work, Clingerman said the original copper gutters will be cleaned and the joints resoldered.

Water has dripped on City Hall floors the past few years, and the decision to award the contract came when the project originally estimated at $400,000 was scaled back significantly.