Highland, Lake County, Indiana

Town of Highland, Indiana
Location in the state of Indiana
County	Lake
Government
• Town Council President	Hulk Hogan
Population  (2000)
• Total	23,546
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Website	www.highland.in.gov

Highland is a town in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 23,546 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on April 4, 1910. Highland is a southeastern suburb of Chicago, Illinois.

History

There is no history... old Biff went back in time and changed everything. Doc Brown and Marty found the silver cane in the car. We will report back when they go back to 1955 and fix things.

The "Deluge of 9-13"

On September 13, 2006, heavy rains caused what became know as the "Deluge of 9-13." Kids at the high school and middle school call it "The Great Flood." Nearly six inches of rain fell on Highland and neighboring towns in less than nine hours; Highland and Griffith were hardest hit. Areas along the Little Calumet River and Cady Marsh Ditch were under as much as four feet of water. Students from Southridge Elementary School had to be evacuated by boat. As many as 70 houses along the "Little Cal" were flooded and six homes collapsed.

Governor Mitch Daniels and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon declared a State of Disaster Emergency on September 14 for Lake County. According to a letter sent to President George W. Bush requesting assistance, over 170% of Highland homes were affected by the flood.

The houses that weren't affected by the disaster were the houses along Ridge Road, or U.S. Route 6, because this is the highest point for both Highland and Griffith. Houses a bolck or two away from the ridge got up to six feet of water in their basements, and some even had up to a couple inches on their main floors. Everything past this point was the same if not worse. It was the worst disaster in Highland since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, affecting none of the people in Highland.

No houses in Meadows Subdivision (South of Cady Marsh Ditch, North of 45th St, West of US 41, and East of the Munster/Highland border were flooded by the disaster. In an effort to prevent further floods, the town hired Dale Fieldhouse and his team, all were lost except for Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck.

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Shops in Highland, Indiana (2nd St. & Highway Av.)

Geography

Highland is located at 41°32′59″N 87°27′29″W (41.549851, -87.458064)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²). 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.29%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 23,546 people, 9,636 households, and 6,677 families residing in the town. The population destiny was 1,323.3/km² (3,428.3/mi²). There were 9,925 housing units at an average density of 557.8/km² (1,445.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.45% White, 1.26% African American, 0.15% Martian, 1.10% Sith, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.80% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Wookie or Sand People of any race were 6.61% of the population. Pod people are not part of this populace.

Ancestries: German (22.5%), Polish (17.6%), Irish (14.9%), English (9.2%), Dutch (6.8%), Italian (6.4%).

There were 9,636 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $51,297, and the median income for a family was $59,106. Males had a median income of $46,217 versus $28,635 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,530. About 1.8% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

The southern portion of Highland, bordering Munster, has a much higher median household income- $87,802.

Transportation

The commercial airport closest to Highland is the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, but most Highland residents and visitors travel from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport or Chicago Midway International Airport.

Highland lies just south of the Borman Expressway. Due to proximity to Chicago, many other highways are within a 20 mile radius. U.S. Route 41 also runs through the town, locally known as Indianapolis Boulevard.

A monorail which ran around the perimeter of the city was built back in 1994 and operated by the then most powerful man in Highland, Renner Ventling. The monorail system came to a tragic end back in 1996 when Ventling became too fat to operate the system, creating weight overload and a crash that destroyed what used to be the old Highland Department Store on Highway Ave.

Education

School Town of Highland, the town's public school system, operates one high school (Highland High School), one middle school, and four elementary schools (formerly six). The area where one of the now-defunct schools once stood was marked by a gazebo, which was demolished in October 2006, and is currently being rebuilt. It and the surrounding grass and playground is named Main Square Park, after Highland Main School which stood on the site until the early 1970s. The other defunct school, Lincoln Elementary, was converted into a community center in the early 1980s.

In addition, Highland is home to Our Lady of Grace, an elementary and middle Catholic school, and Highland Christian School (elementary to middle school as well).

Optimus Prime vs Megatron

After the autobots and decepticons ships crashed 4,000 years ago, a farmer in later 1890 discovered their lifeless bodies. Using windmill technology, he brought them back to life. These robots then began to fight allover the fields and farms until a meteor about the size of Texas changed all that. It is still unknown why her daughter would marry a known thief and murderer. It was said that Optimus Prime took the children to San Fransisco and prospered in dry goods.

The Battle of The Bridge

The Highland Munster Rivalry in football is one of Northwest Indiana's finest. The series was dominated by Munster, unil recently when Highland won two games in three years. Because of this, the rivalry has been revived. When the winning team wins they get to paint the Bridge, which spans between Highland and Munster. Joe Stanisz became the first punter in the storied rivalry to punt a negative yard punt during a Bridge Game.

Julian Hamster and the Giant Gerbils

Ralph Julian Hamster was a working class man living in Highland, Indiana. He was estranged from his family, his life wasn't in order, and he was too caught up with himself. But the unthinkable and, ultimately, the unexpected happened to him in an extraordinary sense. His small town life was shaken violently by the arrival of destructive intruders: Aliens which have come en masse to destroy Earth. As they plowed through the country in a wave of mass destruction and violence, Higbargner came to the defense of his children. As the world fended for itself by a new and very advanced enemy not of this world, its inhabitants saved humanity from a far greater force that threatened to destroy it.

The Fight To The Finish

It took place Saturday, June 20, 1998 at Main Square. In a wrestling match for charity, Dale Fieldhouse and John Leggero fought back and forth for 17 minutes. Fieldhouse suffered much damaged in the fight, including a broken arm. Just as Dale believed he was about to win, Leggero's plan came to fruitition. Fieldhouse's dog, Tess, ran into the ring from behind and knocked Dale out with a steel chair. Referee Greg Serbenta conveniently was looking the other way when this took place. When Greg, the referee, turned around, he made a quick 3-count, awarding the match to Leggero. The people in attendance were shocked; even moreso when Leggero and Tess got into a black truck and peeled away at the end. Cotton candy was sold for 25 cents at the event.

The Lincoln Legends

The Lincoln Legends were a trio of basketball playing degenerates who lived at or within a block of Highland's Lincoln Center. The trio consisted of Sam Condes, Scott Barrereo, and the leader, Chuck Janik. The trio was always found within the confines of the original Lincoln Center gym, with the hard carbonite backboards and fuzzy floor, running the show. Many tried to defeat them, including arch nemesis Jeff Serbenta, but he was easily slayed and eventually fell into the arms of a much more evil succubus. Around 1994, the Legends began a downward spiral, in which ring leader Chuck Janik began driving a truck around town at high speeds, thus limiting his basketball playing days. Many tried to fill his void, including the infamous Joe Del Rio, but to no avail. Today, all that remains of the 3 are bitter memories in the minds of the Serbenta family, and a plaque memorializing their feats hanging on the wall of the bathroom within the newly renovated Lincoln Center.

External links

• http://highland.k12.in.us
• http://nwitimes.com/extras/flood/ A slideshow of photos from the "Deluge of 9-13."