HAMMOND â On Friday morning, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. sat down in his office to receive his first haircut in months.Â
The longtime mayor chatted with others in the room, while 11-year-old Ariyana Alaimo, of Hammond, took a pair of trimmers to his once-full head of hair.Â
Ariyana, a fifth-grader at Harding Elementary School in Hammond, was diagnosed with leukemia more than a year ago, and McDermott chose to raise funds for Ariyana and her family this year, instead of shaving his head for St. Baldrick s Foundation.Â
On Monday, McDermott created a GoFundMe for the family, with an original goal of raising $10,000. As of Friday afternoon, the crowdfunding site had raised $18,459, in addition to $3,000 McDermott gave the family in person.Â
CROWN POINT â Within two months, residents will be able to visit a new-and-improved clerk-treasurer s office and building department.Â
In November, Crown Point Mayor David Uran announced work would begin soon on three city-owned buildings, including Crown Point City Hall, the old Civic Center and Crown Point Fire & Rescue.Â
Renovations at City Hall and the old Crown Point Civic Center began before the start of the new year, prompting the clerk s office and building department to temporarily relocate while work is underway. Work at the fire department has yet to begin because the city is waiting on materials, Uran said.Â
Once work is complete, Crown Point residents can expect an expanded clerk s office, which will take up the footprint of City Hall s first floor, Uran told The Times during a recent building tour.Â
HAMMOND â It started with a headache.Â
For most of her life, Ariyana Alaimo hadn t complained about ailments and didn t often fall ill.Â
So when the then-9-year-old complained of a headache during a family vacation in Florida in 2019, her mom, Anna Alaimo was concerned.
At the end of September, Ariyana began to complain of left leg and left arm weakness, and the pain worsened, preventing Ariyana from walking up stairs to her bedroom and bringing her to tears.Â
Days later, the fourth grader was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia â four days before her 10th birthday.Â
Now, the Northwest Indiana community has rallied around Ariyana, who is now 11, by donating to a GoFundMe created by Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. to benefit Ariyana and her family.Â
COVID-19 vaccine administered at AHEPA apartments
Nick Gianikos, a housing board member at the AHEPA apartments in Merrillville, receives his Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Walgreens pharmacist Mindy Keeton on Monday. Kale Wilk, The Times
COVID-19 vaccine administered at AHEPA apartments
Peter Murdakes, left, a housing board member at the AHEPA apartments in Merrillville, has his temperature taken by Walgreens manager Michelle Munoz on Monday. Kale Wilk, The Times
COVID-19 vaccine administered at AHEPA apartments
Walgreens pharmacist Mindy Keeton, left, pokes the arm of Martha Metts to give the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 11 at the AHEPA apartments in Merrillville. Kale Wilk, The Times