Members of the District 2 Task Force in Indiana have been called to duty to provide aide to those in New Jersey as Hurricane Sandy could wreak havoc on the East Coast.
Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, who is a member of the District 2 Task Force, said ambulance support deployed out of Indianapolis yesterday. A total of 50 ambulances are making their way to New Jersey and five of those ambulances are coming out of the District 2 Task Force which encompasses Starke, Pulaski, Fulton, Marshall, and St. Joseph Counties.
The trial for Christopher Stonebraker, a Winamac man accused of raping and battering his ex-wife, came to a close Friday in the Starke Circuit Court when the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on both counts. Deliberation lasted roughly three hours and the verdict was returned at 7 p.m. The defense started their case Friday and called two witnesses to the stand before final arguments were heard.
This year’s General Election has created an influx of absentee voters in both Starke County and Pulaski County.
670 walk-in absentee ballots and 268 mail-in absentee ballots have been recorded in the Starke County Clerk’s Office which is high at this time in the early voting process.
The SCILL Center is staying busy, and this week they’re kicking off their Commercial Driver’s License classes. SCILL Center Director Jerry Gurrado said the six-week program will assist those who are interested in earning their CDL, with two weeks of in-classroom learning followed by two weeks of truck operation. The final two weeks, Gurrado explained, would consist of learning on the road.
The Department of Natural Resources has changed some regulations in this year’s hunting season. Conservation Officer, Keith Wildeman, said this year will be the first year for a late firearms anterless deer season.
“There used to be a split between early archery and late archery,” said Wildeman. “Now, our archery season is continuous all the way through. It starts statewide Oct. 1 and runs to Jan. 6. There used to be a five-day split and now that’s continuous so archery hunters have that option.”
Attorney General Greg Zoeller is looking to have the license of a questionable Massachusetts pharmacy suspended. Zoeller said the pharmacy is linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak that has affected 43 Hoosiers and killed three, and he is urging the Indiana Pharmacy Board to suspend their license, effectively banning them from operating in Indiana for 90 days.
Since the smoking ban took effect July 1, Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch has received no complaints of any businesses not complying with the law.
Lynch suggested that the information received by all businesses before the law took effect and the public meetings held to inform the businesses and public about the impending law change helped everyone come together to work to be compliant with the law. He has given out packs to all businesses that contained signage and information regarding the change and all seems to be working so far.
Lynch said that if you need to complain about a business that is not complying with the no smoking law, call his office at 772-9137.
The Giant Pumpkin Drop was held Saturday at Hensler Nursery in Hamlet where over 2,000 pounds of pumpkin were obliterated when dropped on a junk car. WKVI was there broadcasting live and everyone who attended got a chance to see the carnage.
A great crowd was on hand for the event. Two giant pumpkins were dropped as well as several smaller pumpkins. The smaller pumpkins were dropped for a donation toward the American Cancer Society. Donations were also taken for the Starke County Food Pantry.
The trial for Christopher Stonebraker, a Winamac man accused of raping and battering his ex-wife, came to a close Friday in the Starke Circuit Court when the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on both counts. Deliberation lasted roughly three hours and the verdict was returned at 7 p.m. The defense started their case Friday and called two witnesses to the stand before final arguments were heard.
On Thursday, the state called nine witnesses to the stand, including two detectives, two forensic investigators from the Indiana State Police, the nurse who performed the rape exam on the victim, Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer, North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely, and Starke County dispatcher Dawn Bau, as well as the victim and a close friend.
The trial began on Wednesday in the Starke Circuit Court after a six-hour jury selection process. Stonebraker faces charges of Rape as a Class B felony and D-felony charges of Domestic Battery following his arrest in November, when police allege he raped his ex-wife and pushed her head into a wall, causing her tooth to chip. The probable cause affidavit stated that he also scratched her back in the presence of two children.
An Argos woman was critically injured after being involved in a motorcycle accident in Marshall County Friday morning.
A witness to the accident, Deborah Harley of Walkerton, told Marshall County Police officers that she was traveling north on U.S. 31 while behind Lynne E. Brown of Argos, who was driving a motorcycle in the passing lane approaching 14 C Road. Harley said she saw a deer running from the west and started slowing down to avoid the deer. According to Harley, Brown did not slow and ran into the deer as it was crossing the highway.
1st Source Bank officials hope the most recent scam that was reported over a two-day period is just an isolated incident.
A representative from the marketing department of 1st Source Bank told WKVI that the calls received by some customers that their debit card showed unusual activity were just incidents that stemmed from the major scam that was reported earlier this summer.
Several changes have been made in this year’s deer hunting season. Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman said one of the changes is a bundling licensing package to give hunters more options.
“This deer license bundle allows a hunter to take one antlered deer and two antlerless, or does, at a discounted price in this one license. This is available to residents for $65 and non-residents for $295,” explained Wildeman.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers explained a number of points to the city council this week, including an update from Park Superintendent George Byer on the status of winterization and fence repairs in Wythogan Park.
Byer explained that the winterization process will soon begin for the park, in which the park equipment will be prepared for the upcoming winter season to prevent any damage caused by the weather. Byer said they’ll also begin working on the repairs for the fence this weekend if weather permits, but if not, the repairs will have to wait until Monday morning. Byer said both fences will soon be repaired.
With the average price of gas in Indiana down 20 cents over the last week, GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan said this is due to a number of factors, including the switch to winter blend gasoline.
“A lot of it has to do with seasonal factors as well, drops in demand that allow the supply to build. That’s really the gist of it, you have falling demand, rising supply, and the switchover to cheaper winter gasoline. That’s essentially it in a nutshell,” said DeHaan.
Here is a look at some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week.
Linda Belork (L), Commissioner Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Kasey Clark, and Auditor Kay Chaffins reconcile the cash balances
After an emergency meeting Monday, the Starke County Commissioners closed the Starke County Treasurer’s Office as it was found that newly reinstated Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork does not hold bond for that office. The Commissioners halted all transactions through that office until further notice. As a result, the Starke County Commissioners and County Attorney Marty Lucas will come before Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter on Monday, October 29 at 3:00 p.m. to explain why they should not be held in indirect contempt of court after they approved a motion to close the Treasurer’s Office. Judge Potter had issued an order that Belork return to office immediately and in his order this week, he found that the Commissioners circumvented the order to restore Belork to her office. Meanwhile, Commission Vice-President Dan Bridegroom declared that the Treasurer’s Office is now open and tax payments can now be accepted in the office. Continue reading →
The WKVI staff has been on location this week broadcasting from great businesses here in the Kankakee Valley. Today, Jerry Curtis, Lenny Dessauer, Kay Gudeman, Tom Berg and Pat Dunn were at Good to Go in North Judson to help celebrate their grand re-opening after a remodel project. Free hot dogs and hamburgers were served along with a discount in gasoline!
Live from Christos!
Thursday, the staff was at Christos Family Restaurant in Knox and helped give away several gift certificates and the Twist and Smiles Balloon Lady made all sorts of balloon creations for those who attended.
Saturday, we’re on the road again! This time, we’ll be at Hensler Nursery for the Third Annual Giant Pumpkin Drop. Two pumpkins that weigh over 1,000 will be dropped on a vehicle and several other “normal” sized pumpkins will be shot out of a canon thanks to the Fahrfunflinger organization. We will broadcast live from Hensler Nursery from Noon to 2:00 p.m. We hope to see you there!
Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork assists a customer over the phone
The Starke County Commissioners are in a bit of hot water following their order to close the treasurer’s office in light of Judge John Potter’s order to reinstate Linda Belork as the county treasurer. The commissioners voted to close the office because Belork did not have a surety bond in place as required by state law, but a telephonic case management conference held earlier this week at the order of Judge Potter found that the commissioners had disobeyed his order.
The Indiana Supreme Court this week denied a petition to transfer jurisdiction in the case of Ernest Wireman, a man found guilty in March of murdering his wife and attempting to kill his stepson.
Wireman was found guilty but mentally ill after the June 2009 murder, but he had filed an appeal claiming that the state’s psychiatrist, Dr. Gregory Hale, should not have been allowed to render his opinion of Wireman’s mental state, alleging Hale lacked knowledge of Indiana’s standard for determining sanity. Further, he claimed the jury’s verdict of guilty but mentally ill was not supported by sufficient evidence.
Despite that, the Appeals Court ruled that Wireman’s mental illness did play a part in his decision to murder his wife and stepson, but the evidence substantiated that Wireman knew fully well that what he was doing was legally wrong. Consequently, the court upheld his 110-year sentence. He was convicted of Murder, Attempted Murder, and Arson.
