No athlete from a Latin American country has ever managed to win an Olympic medal in winter, but plenty of hopefuls are undeterred, with some training in the United States as they look to qualify for the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. Costa Rica has been absent from the Winter Olympics for over a decade and its only hope for breaking that streak at the upcoming Olympics is Andre Hamm, a 22-year-old slopestyle skier who is the only athlete the Costa Rican Olympic Committee has backed in qualifications, which will finish this January. Hamm was an 11-year old when Costa Rica last sent a “tico,” as the country’s residents are affectionately known, to the Winter Olympics.
A major water main break left a northwest Indiana town mostly without water Monday and all schools closed.
East Chicago officials call the rupture, discovered early Sunday, a state of emergency. They urge residents not to use unnecessary amounts of water and to boil any water still being routed into their homes.
Crews worked through the night and into Monday to pump out thousands of gallons of water and make repairs. There's no word on what caused the break, but those close to the repair job say it could have been the result of aging infrastructure.
"We've got a pretty old system here in East Chicago," said city president Adrian Santos. "This is one of the main arteries and it's gotta be close to 80 years old."
One neighbor spotted about three inches of water flooded Alder Street. "This is major!" said Santos. "Please check on your elderly neighbors, make sure they are safe, and please be patient," he said.
The East Chicago Police Department is distributing water on a first-come, first-served basis, and the health department is assisting the elderly.
Santos expects some running water to return by 10 a.m. but warns residents to let the pressure build up and run the water so sediment filters out. In the meantime, running water is available at St. Catherine Hospital.
