The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department and LaPorte County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team (FACT) have announced the arrest of a LaPorte County man for his involvement in a crash early Thursday morning that left one person dead.
LaPorte Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos found probable cause to charge 29-year-old Thomas Drnek II with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated as a Class A misdemeanor, and Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death, a Class B felony.
A Francesville man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possession of child pornography.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department conducted an investigation and confiscated computers belonging to 32-year-old Christopher Adam Wilhite. An initial forensic examination of those computers showed incriminating evidence of child pornography. This violates the terms of his probation as a convicted sex offender.
Wilhite was placed on the Sex Offender Registry on Nov. 7, 2011 and that probation runs until November 2021.
Wilhite was arrested on a preliminary charge of Possession of Child Pornography. This case has been forwarded to the Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office for further review.
Members of the Incident Management Team from the Indiana District 2 Task Force, which includes volunteers from Starke and Pulaski Counties, were redeployed to the Long Island, New York area this week to assist in recovery efforts. Public Information Officer, Al Kirsits, said they will start work this morning and will join forces with Indiana District 7 Task Force in recovery efforts. They will remain there for at least a week.
The Pulaski County Economic Development Board earlier this month discussed upcoming events and priorities for economic expansion in Pulaski County. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer explained to the board that he will be joining his counterparts from Newton and Starke Counties to meet with representatives from the Northwest Indiana Forum and Ivy Tech Northwest to discuss the relationship between Ivy Tech Northwest and four rural counties in the region.
With the Starke County Treasurer’s Office once again open and ready to receive payments, Treasurer Linda Belork wants to remind Starke County residents that tax payments are due in just over a week.
Though there was some confusion in the treasurer’s office in October when the Starke County Commissioners closed the office after Belork was reinstated to her position, Belork explained that tax payments have been coming in at a steady pace. She said a lot of people have been calling the office to ensure they are, in fact, open, and others have resorted to using the outside night drop as well, allowing taxpayers to make payments on the weekend and after hours.
Long-time physician Dr. Walter Fritz is now seeing patients at the Knox-Winamac Community Center on Edgewood Drive in Knox.
According to interim CEO Kyle Small, the office is a Federally Qualified Health Care (FQHC) center that provides a high quality of care to under-insured and underprivileged patients, and the addition of Dr. Fritz to the staff will help in the goal in providing that care.
The Department of Education released every school corporation’s report card this week for the 2011-2012 school year and at the Knox Community School Corporation, the Knox Community High School received an A, the middle school got an F, and the elementary school received a C.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa explains how each school got their grade.
Over a dozen state parks in Indiana will be temporarily closing their gates to visitors in November to allow hunters to take out deer threatening native plant life. Every year, state wildlife biologists evaluate state parks and determine which of them are in need of a deer population reduction, based on previous deer-killing rates and each park’s habitat.
It’s November, and that means winter is right around the corner along with all that cold weather and high heating costs. However, Indiana’s Attorney General wants to remind Hoosiers that there is help available to pay some of the cost of heating Hoosier homes.
LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with the LaPorte County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team, are investigating a fatal accident that occurred early this (Thursday) morning.
Shortly after 2:30 a.m., officers arrived at the scene in the 3000 block of U.S. Highway 35 north of LaPorte and found a vehicle in a wooded area, approximately 50 feet off the roadway. One occupant, 29-year-old Thomas Drnek II was found nearby with a head injury and another occupant, 26-year-old Jacob Anderson of LaPorte, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
A Medaryville man died in a single vehicle accident Wednesday afternoon in Pulaski County.
Emergency responders responded to call that a vehicle was found in a farm field northeast of Medaryville and the lone person in the vehicle appeared to be dead. Continue reading
The grades are in and looking good for the majority of Hoosier schools. According to the Department of Education, more than 61 percent of schools in Indiana received A or B letter grades for the 2011-2012 school year.
Department of Education Superintendent Tony Bennett announced that 40.9 percent of schools earned A’s, 20.1 percent of schools earned B’s, and 20.3 percent of schools earned C’s. He said only 18.6 percent of schools earned a D or lower, similar to last year’s percentage. Fortunately, this is lower than in the 2009–2010 school year, and 207 schools received A’s for the first time this year.
A Knox man was arrested Tuesday after an alleged battery incident.
The victim told police that she and her boyfriend, Chaney Campos, reportedly had a verbal argument a few days prior to this incident and he allegedly caused injury to her arm after he squeezed it. The next day, they were arguing and he reportedly pushed her off the bed, injuring her. On Tuesday, she and Campos got into an argument once again and she walked away from him. He then allegedly pushed her up against a wall in the kitchen and grabbed her throat, restricting her breathing. They continued to argue and he then kicked her out of the apartment they shared.
The town of Culver is continuing with its two big projects, and Town Manager David Schoeff explained those projects are keeping them busy.
Schoeff said the town is still working on the downtown project, and he’s hoping to get the concrete work wrapped up within the next few weeks before buttoning up until next spring. Alongside that, he said the town board is waiting to receive some proposals for the comprehensive plan, but until those are received, they’re on hold.
A Medaryville man was sentenced on an amended charge of Stalking as a Class D Felony in Pulaski Circuit Court on Monday.
Matthew Sizemore pleaded guilty to the charge and Judge Michael Shurn sentenced Sizemore to 18 months in the Pulaski County Jail. Six months of the sentence shall be executed on home detention through the Cass/Pulaski Community Corrections Program as long as Sizemore is eligible for the program. Twelve months of the sentence will then be suspended. He was given credit for 103 days served. He was initially arrested on this charge in July.
As part of his sentence, Sizemore will need to complete an inpatient or outpatient evaluation and was recommended to seek treatment at the Duluth Model Domestic Violence Treatment as directed by probation. A no-contact order remains with the victim in this case. Another count of stalking was dismissed as part of the plea agreement with the state.
A Pulaski County man was arrested Tuesday after he reportedly broke into a home in North Judson.
A North Judson police officer followed a suspicious vehicle and it stopped at a trailer on Airstream Drive in North Judson. Police asked the suspect, Daniel Allen, why he was at the trailer and he said he had just gotten done fishing and he was going to his brother’s home that was next door. Allen was asked if he had permission to be in the home. Allen told police that the home is owned by the family and he was in there because it was windy and waiting for a ride. The officer was aware that the home belonged to a person incarcerated in the Starke County Jail. Police called the jail and asked the homeowner if Allen was allowed in the home and the inmate said no.
Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer told the Economic Development Board this month that he had met with teachers at both high schools in the county regarding a business plan competition for students. He also said he appeared in classes at both schools as part of Junior Achievement.
The Starke County Relay for Life fundraiser held at the Haunted Cornmaze in Knox this weekend was quite the success, according to Demotte State Bank Team Leader Candice Miller. She explained that the team raised $285 for Relay, including one $50 donation from a Walkerton resident.
The Department of Natural Resources has introduced a new online tool called Check IN Game program. Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman says hunters can now check in harvested deer and turkeys online.
“They’ll be given a unique number as their tag number. This will alleviate the need to try to find a check station that’s open and the need to drive to another county to find one that’s open to record the metal tag. Those check stations are still currently up and running and the same regulations apply. You need to check a harvested deer within 48 hours and provide the correct information,” said Wildeman.
With the General Election just five days away, a number of county races will be decided by the voters on Nov. 6.
Two candidates are vying for Starke County Commissioner District 3: Republican Kent Danford and Democrat Daniel Bridegroom.
