INDIANAPOLIS

Correction Department commissioner resigns

Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue has tendered his resignation and plans to return to his home state of Kentucky later this summer.

"Dave's decision to return to Kentucky is based on family considerations, and I accept and respect his choice," Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday morning in a statement. "But I do so reluctantly because I am convinced that Dave Donahue is the finest corrections commissioner in the country, and he'll be impossible to replace."

The Republican governor credited Donahue with transforming the agency in his more than three years on the job. Daniels said the outgoing prison chief pressed legislators for changes in state law that now require sex offenders to undergo treatment before they can take advantage of good-time credit sentence reductions.

Donahue also was at the helm for a failed experiment to bring out-of-state prisoners to a half-empty prison east of Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS

NWI lawmakers to join adult education panel

Outgoing state Rep. Greg Simms, D-Valparaiso, has been appointed to a legislative panel scheduled to study the adult education funding shortfall.

Simms, who was defeated by Portage Democrat Chuck Moseley in last month's primary election, sponsored legislation earlier this year to create the Interim Study Committee on Adult Education. The goal is to find a permanent funding fix for Portage Adult Education, which routinely runs an annual deficit of more than $100,000.

"Portage's adult education program consistently operates in the red because it generously accepts students from neighboring school districts," Simms said Tuesday in a statement. "While conducting research to determine a legislative solution to this problem, I found that many school districts across the state faced similar issues."

Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, appointed Simms to the panel. The summer study committee will forward recommendations for the full General Assembly to consider when it reconvenes in January.

Simms was selected last year to replace Portage Democrat Jack Clem, who died in office three months after being appointed to replace retiring Rep. Duane Cheney. Cheney, also a Portage Democrat, moved to southern Indiana.

INDIANAPOLIS

Injury lawsuit against Hammond tossed out

A woman who slipped on a pool ladder at the Hammond Fitness Center and injured her foot five years ago had no standing to sue the city, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The waiver Martha Plys signed before joining the city-owned workout center in January 2003 shielded the city and related agencies from all injury liability, the appeals court ruled.

The decision overturns a ruling by Lake County Superior Court Judge William Davis, who had decided against the city's motion to dismiss the case. The city appealed that ruling before the case could go to trial.

The appeals court on Tuesday returned the case to Davis with instructions to throw out the lawsuit.

The fitness center is in the Hammond Civic Center. The city, its parks board and the civic center were named as defendants in Plys' 2005 case. The appeals court did not discuss the nature of Plys' injury.

PLAINFIELD

Bike tour honors cops killed in bike accident

Indiana law enforcement officers have scheduled a bike ride Aug. 9 in memory of a state trooper and Lake County police chief who died two years ago in a downstate traffic accident.

Registration for Gary's Ride, a bike tour starting outside the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Ind., is set for 7 to 8:30 a.m. People of all ages and experience levels are welcome.

The event honors Indiana State Police Lt. Gary Dudley, who died Aug. 22, 2006, along with Lake County Police Chief Gary Martin.

The two were on a charity bike ride near Covington, Ind., to raise money for families of fallen police officers when a truck hit the cyclists' support truck, pushing it into the riders.

Proceeds are to benefit the Gary Dudley Memorial Foundation to establish college scholarships for children of police officers killed in the line of duty throughout Indiana.

Routes range from a short family ride up to a 100-mile ride. There also will be a large display of police, fire and Indiana Department of Natural Resource vehicles and equipment, organizers said.

Online registration is available at http://www.signmeup.com. For more information about this event, go to http://www.indianacops.org and click on Events to get to Gary's Ride. Please direct any questions to Carolyn Dudley at bikecentury@comcast.net.

INDIANAPOLIS

Costas elected to chair higher education panel

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education has elected Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas as its chairman for the 2008-09 academic year.

Costas, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for state attorney general earlier this month, previously served as vice chairman of the commission.

The commission chose the two-term mayor as its chairman at its June 13 meeting. Michael Smith, an insurance company executive from Indianapolis, replaces Costas as vice chairman.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed Costas to the commission in 2005.