FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – It’s been a year for investigations at NewsChannel 15. Many have provoked change in the community and continue to develop. 15 Finds Out has been tracking the changes in four exclusive investigative series. Here’s an update on where each currently stands:
Patriots Or Panhandlers? (Series began February 3)
Recap: City leaders called their tactics illegal. Drivers called them aggressive. While they collected your money publicly, the Sandbox Veterans were far less willing to outline exactly where your donations went.
The so-called charity formerly collected donations from drivers claiming they went to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with PTSD. But after 15 Finds Out’s investigation in February, and viewers’ response, the group dissolved and the Indiana Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against its members in September.
In the lawsuit, state leaders officially said the group took the community’s money and told givers it went to veterans, when in reality it didn’t.
UPDATE: Since filing the lawsuit, the AG’s office tells 15 Finds Out the group has been tough to reach. Officials have had trouble locating member Adam Silvani. They plan to soon serve him a notice of the lawsuit through a local news outlet. The office has not made contact with the group’s leader, Roger Locke either.
If members of the group don’t answer to the lawsuit notices, the AG’s office plans to file a motion for default judgment. That means a judge would automatically award the state how much he or she thinks consumers are owed.
The AG’s office said, at times, it can be tough to retrieve such a settlement, especially if they can’t find members of the Sandbox Veterans.
Too Old To Patrol? (Series began April 29)
Recap: Fort Wayne city code says officers must retire by age 60. But 15 Finds Out discovered at least eight FWPD officers over the mandatory retirement age, in direct violation. One of those officers was in his 70’s. Another was in his 80’s.
At the time, the violations raised concerns for both police unions in the city.
“If we keep a heavy cap of folks who are over the age then it restricts us from being able to hire more folks,” said Sgt. Mitch McKinney, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, in April. “We have many people that can retire at any given time, so we’re not back-filling for the people who can go any day.”
Former president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Sofia Rosales-Scatena, added, “Follow the law as it’s written. I think as a police department it becomes a little hypocritical that we enforce some laws and not others.”
When 15 Finds Out first aired its investigation, everyone we spoke with, including a couple city councilmen and Public Safety Director Rusty York, said the law needs updated.
“Should we reconcile the city ordinance? Probably we should. And we’re looking into that,” York said back in April.
“This idea of a 60-year-old mandatory retirement age is quite frankly foolish and I’ll probably talk to Marty Bender and we’ll get it repealed,” said Tom Smith, Fort Wayne city councilman.
UPDATE: So far, nothing has changed when it comes to Fort Wayne’s mandatory retirement law and violations. York tells 15 Finds Out leaders will probably be visiting the issue later in 2015.
In August, Sgt. Bill Walsh, in his 80’s, retired as the longest-serving officer in city history. No other officer over 60 has since retired.
FWPD added 15 new officers in 2014 and 26 more are scheduled to be accepted into the 2015 academy.
Down And Out In Downtown (Series began August 25)
Recap: Beginning in August, 15 Finds Out turned its attention to the future of the homeless living in a revitalizing downtown Fort Wayne. At the time, Donovan Coley, Rescue Mission CEO, broke the news on the organization’s plans to expand outreach, team up with social services, and build a new day center downtown.
“Not only should we invest in bricks and mortar, but we should also invest in human development,” Coley said this past summer.
Not everyone was a fan of the idea. Bill Brown with the Downtown Improvement District said everyone is welcome downtown. But at the time, he didn’t think a high density of
homeless would be beneficial in prime development areas.
“We want people of all different diversities, all different lifestyles, all different stages of life, whether they’re poor or wealthy,” Brown explained this past summer. “This is a mix, this is a microcosm, in downtown Fort Wayne. But we don’t want people that are going to soil and spoil the environment for others.”
In November and December, the city handed out eviction notices to several homeless people staying downtown, citing city ordinance violations.
After homeless advocates expressed concerns, city leaders changed tactics. They gave the homeless more time to move and alerted them through advocates during a December eviction.
In a homeless awareness meeting York said there should be a liaison between the city and homeless to alleviate future issues.
UPDATE: Since 15 Finds Out’s extensive coverage, Coley said the mission continues to expand services to hundreds of homeless people. And now, he thinks agencies are beginning to come together in greater ways, working on real solutions.
“We have seen some things moving in the right direction since WANE-TV did that expose on down and out in downtown,” Coley recently said. “We’ve seen greater cooperation between the police department, the city of Fort Wayne, and the Rescue Mission. So we have just gotten to that place to where we’re talking about the issues and we also are trying to come up with better strategies to address the issue.”
Through Your Backyard (Series began October 30)
Recap: 15 Finds Out uncovered a growing threat traveling “Through Your Backyard” starting at the end of October.
More crude oil being produced in North Dakota is being shipped through northeast Indiana, and across the U.S. and Canada via the most economical option: rail. The past couple years, oil trains have caused major derailments, spills, and one incident in Quebec killed 47 people.
In response, federal officials ordered railroads to tell each state where large oil trains are traveling and how often.
After 15 Finds Out and our sister station WISH-TV in Indianapolis started asking questions, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security admitted it delayed giving those stats to local first responders. Since then, more first responders received statistics federal regulators consider essential to public safety.
According to railroad statistics, 33 to 59 trains carrying a million gallons or more of crude oil travel through Noble and DeKalb Counties every week, on two separate lines. Between 0 and 4 oil trains travel directly through downtown Fort Wayne every week.
UPDATE: First responders continue to increase training for potential oil train derailments in northeast Indiana. But not much has changed since our most recent series of special reports.
Federal safety regulators have proposed enhanced braking, beefed up standards for puncture-resistant tank cars, and lower speed limits. CSX leaders initially told 15 Finds Out they expect officials to make a final ruling on the controversial regulations by the end of 2014. So far, they have yet to make any final decision.
What would you like 15 Finds Out to investigate or expose in 2015? Submit your idea on the right-hand side of your screen.