Indiana
Lake County, Indiana couple battles State Farm for months over roof repairs for hail damage
ST. JOHN, Ind. (WLS) — A couple in Lake County, Indiana, was locked in a months-long battle with State Farm insurance over roof damage. They said the damage came from a hail storm in the spring, but the couple said the insurance company insisted the storm never happened.
Irma and Alan Johnsen said the ordeal started on March 26, when much of the Chicago area, including Northwest Indiana, saw hail. They said their roof was damaged in the storm, but State Farm told them there was no hail that day and they would not be covering their roof repairs.
“There was hail, and it was one inch sized hail,” Alan Johnsen said. “It looked like it had been a half inch to an inch snow storm.”
The hail was even tracked on our air by ABC7 meteorologist Greg Dutra.
“A lot of hail. Pea sized to dime size. But there were some pennies and quarters reported,” he said.
As the hail came down, the Johnsens said all they could think about was their roof.
“I thought that we should get it checked and make sure it’s not problems or anything,” Alan said.
But there were problems. So, the couple said, a contractor came out and identified hail strikes; shingles that were lifting and cracking. They were advised to get the roof replaced to avoid leaks, at a cost of more than $19,000.
The couple said they contacted their insurance company, State Farm.
“When the adjuster was here, after doing the inspection he said there was damage and they would have to get an estimate together. And that adjuster disappeared,” Alan said.
The couple said State Farm sent out another adjuster, who had a much different take on their roof.
“He said basically you have wear and tear,” Alan recalled. “The damage was about $500 and your deductible is more than that so we’re not going to give you anything. He said, there hasn’t been hail in St. John since 2022.”
According to the National Weather Service, there were several reports of hail in Northwest Indiana on March 26, including 1 inch size hail in St. John.
“Who are we dealing with? This is a company we expect to be reputable, responsible,” said Irma Johnsen. “They have worn us out.”
The Johnsens said despite the hail reports, they were still denied by state farm.
The I-Team reached out to the insurance company and a spokesperson responded in part, “With any claim, State Farm seeks to provide our customer all benefits to which they are entitled within the terms of the insurance policy. We continue to actively work with our customer on their claim to understand the facts of the loss, identify the damages and applicable coverage, and ultimately resolve their claim.”
Alan Johnsen said within a couple days of the I-Team reaching out to State Farm, they were told a new adjuster was going to come out. They said he examined the roof and agreed to cover the cost. They said he wrote them a check on the spot for $17,908.67.
State Farm said they take pride in their customer service and are committed to paying what they owe promptly, courteously and efficiently.
If you find yourself in the Johnsens’ situation you should take as many picture and video documentation as you can once the storm has passed through and get an estimate of the damage from a trusted contractor.
If you feel your insurance company is lowballing you, you can report it to your state’s Department of Insurance.
Indiana
Remains found in area where Southern Indiana woman went missing in September
Jamey Noel case: Judge sentences former sheriff, condemns him
Judge Larry Medlock admonished Jamey Noel for his actions before accepting a plea agreement. Noel will serve 12 years in prison and three years probation.
Officials are awaiting forensic results after remains were located in the area where a Southern Indiana woman went missing in September.
A Facebook post from Scott County Sheriff Jerry Goodin stated deputies and Indiana State Police detectives discovered human remains Tuesday on a wooded property in the area where 40-year-old Amanda Martin was last seen. A forensic examination has been scheduled with results expected in six to eight weeks.
“We are saddened by the discovery of the remains discovered yesterday, but we also realize a family can now possibly begin to heal,” Goodin said. “This is an active investigation, and I personally appreciate the help from our law enforcement partners. Together, we continue to seek a factual conclusion about what happened here.”
Previous Facebook posts from the sheriff said Martin was last seen on Sept. 13 and reported missing to local officials on Sept. 24, believed to have gone missing in the area of Frog Pond Road in eastern Scott County. Deputies say numerous attempts to locate her had “not been successful” and they felt she was “in extreme danger due to a medical or mental illness.”
Martin’s family was offering a reward of $1,500 to find her, Goodin said, mentioning assistance from Indiana State Police and other local law enforcement agencies in the search.
“We’re not going to stop looking until we locate Amanda,” Goodin previously said, also mentioning they’d searched the Blocher area of Scott County where she had gone missing with dogs, drones, and on foot.
The investigation remains ongoing, and officials encourage anyone with information to call 812-752-5550.
Indiana
What Teri Moren, Sydney Parrish Said After Indiana’s 56-46 Loss at Butler
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana fell to 1-2 on the season after a 56-46 loss to Butler Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Hoosiers shot 34% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times, leading to their second straight loss.
Here’s what coach Teri Moren and senior guard Sydney Parrish said after the loss.
Opening statement
Moren: “Disappointed once again. “Some of our issues continue to be some of our issues. We’re not taking care of the ball. We’re not shooting the ball particularly well. I thought, defensively, there were moments that we were really good, but we couldn’t finish plays, gave up 11 offensive rebounds. I thought Butler, give them credit, they played with a greater sense of urgency, which we knew that they would. We’re not naive to think that teams like Butler, like Harvard aren’t gonna gives their very best. So give them credit. I thought they played well tonight. We did not. We still have a lot of things that we have to work on in order for us to continue to get better and want to do the things we want to do. Once again, disappointed, but I still love this group and I think that we have a ton of potential. We’re just having to work through some things right now, so we’re gonna continue to fight and get back to Bloomington and continue to do that work that’s required and know that we know that we need to play better than we have been playing and we will.”
On if the team’s lack of urgency is more concerning than its shooting woes…
Moren: “Well I mean, you have to play with a level of urgency and especially coming off the loss to Harvard. So it’s disappointing that that lacked tonight, because it’s always – I used the word perplexing last time, too. But I’d say we had a great shootaround this afternoon, kids were locked in, had tremendous energy. The six days off were good for us. We could go back and watch a lot of film, talk to them about how much better we needed to be. They were receptive to that, and it’s just disappointing that we came in here tonight and had moments where, you know, we had the lead, then let it go and then just down the stretch there couldn’t get the stops we needed and/or the scores.”
On why the team has had so many simple turnovers…
Moren: “It’s a good question. I want everybody to keep in mind we are short the two guards, with Lexi and Beau, so those guards – Shay and Chloe and Yarden – are playing a lot of minutes for us out on the perimeter and they do a lot of chasing around with teams like Butler that run a lot of actions. So whether you want to call it focus, lack of, or fatique creeps in, but we still I think are mature enough and old enough to know better and know how important taking care of the ball is.”
On how surprised they are at the last two games based on Indiana’s past success…
Moren: “Let’s don’t get ahead of ourselves. It’s only game three now.”
Parrish: “It’s game three. We’re fine. It’s game three. It sucks. It hurts. It hurt last game. We’re about to face a really good Stanford team, and we gotta be better.”
On Butler’s defensive pressure on the perimeter taking Indiana out of its offense…
Moren: “Absolutely, and I think Harvard did the same thing. We just talked to the kids about it, and that is so bothersome to our staff and I know our players. You could use the term soft. You could use it. That’s part of the game plan for Indiana, is to be super physical with our guards. They don’t like that. But we have to recognize that, and we gotta bow up and be better. We just gotta be tougher. We gotta be more physical, embrace it, and realize that’s what teams are doing to us. They really try to be physical, especially in the first couple minutes of the game, and it’s really stifling. They stifled us. So yeah, it’s a problem.”
On how Indiana will go about fixing offensive struggles…
Moren: “We gotta remain confident, right, that we still have an old team, and the things that we have in, we gotta, offensively, look a lot better. Again, it starts with taking care of the ball. It starts with embracing the physicality. But it starts with we gotta shoot the ball better. We had some great looks tonight that just didn’t go down. You know, when was the last time this group had six assists and shot 34%, 35 from the 3-point line. We have a – we’re not connecting right now on shots. It’s a hard game when you can’t score. It’s a hard game.”
On how much of an adjustment it’s been to play without Mackenzie Holmes…
Moren: “Well, certainly you miss Mackenzie, but I miss Sara Scalia too, right. Lilly has to be better. Striplin has to be better. There’s no other way to say it. Those two have to be better for us. We have to have great balance. We have to have an inside presence, and Lilly, this was not one of her best games and she knows that. But Strip has to give us something, too, when we go to our bench.
On how Indiana can stay positive after this loss…
Parrish: “We talk a lot in the locker room, so that’s good. Make sure we hold people accountable when it’s needed. At the end of the day, like coach said, we have to shoot better. We know that. We’re due. I’m due. Lilly knows she has to be better. Our guards know that we have to take care of the ball better. But we also have to get stops and offensive rebounds, and that’s just hustle and grit and playing tough, and we don’t want that to be our identity as a team. I think in the past, people have been scared to play us because of how gritty and tough we are and how we’ll knock people on their butts and blocked people out and push it. And I don’t think we saw that tonight. But it starts with Chloe and I being leaders of this team, shooting it much better, facilitating it much better, boxing out. I had a huge loss of a box out at the end of a free throw. It’s all of us. But we’re gonna stay together, we’re gonna be good, and we’re excited to show everyone that we can bounce back.”
On her approach to being a leader during the team’s slow start…
Parrish: “Yeah, I think there’s also so much we can say, but also Yarden, Karoline, Shay, they’ve played three-plus years of college basketball in the SEC, the Big Ten. We’re a veteran group and this should really make us mad, because we are so much better than that. So much better than that.”
Indiana
Police shoot and kill suspect who attacked officer in Gary, Indiana
CHICAGO (CBS) — Police in Gary, Indiana, shot and killed a suspect who allegedly attacked an officer on Wednesday.
Lake County Sheriff’s officials said Gary police officers were conducting an undercover investigation in the 3400 block of Maryland around noon, when a suspect attacked an officer.
Police shot the suspect, who was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Sheriff’s officials declined to provide any further information on the incident as they investigate the shooting.
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