Starke County Safety Partnership OPO Nets 18 Arrests

 
 
Officers from the Starke County Traffic Safety Partnership participated in an Operation Pullover effort between March 8 and March 24.

Law enforcement from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and North Judson, Hamlet and Knox City Police Departments stopped a total of 221 vehicles and issued a total of 74 citations related to aggressive driving. A total of 12 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated arrests were made and six others were arrested on non-alcohol related charges.

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Knox Community School Board Approves Purchase of Mini-Bus

Superintendent A.J. Gappa
Superintendent A.J. Gappa
The Knox Community School Board approved the purchase of a mini-bus that came from the recommendation of the transportation director.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa said a 14-passenger mini-bus will be purchased.

“This bus will be wheelchair-equipped,” explained Gappa. “The reason we wanted to move now was because the price of mini-buses will increase next month so we did beat the price increase. The recommendation was for a Collins mini-bus.”

The bus will be delivered this summer.

LaPorte City OPO Results in 13 Arrests

 
 
The LaPorte City Police Department completed its two-week Operation Pullover Blitz #74 Sunday.

The target was aggressive and impaired drivers. Officers worked 70.5 hours of impaired driving patrols and 85 hours of aggressive driving patrols. Six misdemeanor arrests and one felony arrest for Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated were made. Six criminal arrests were made including Possession of Marijuana and Possession of a Legend Drug. Police made 234 citations and gave 186 warnings during the blitz.

Operation Pullover is a federally funded enforcement initiative administered by the Traffic Safety Division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Rural Health Bill Could Help Local Hospitals

 
 
The Rural Health Bill recently passed the House which aims at improving healthcare access and requires the Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning to reimburse healthcare providers for telehealth and telemedicine services offered to Medicaid recipients.

Telehealth and telemedicine services use telecommunications and information technology to provide remote access to health assessment, diagnosis, intervention, consultation, supervision and information. Using this technology reduces re-admissions to hospitals and saves lives as well as health care costs.

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Nominations Open for Governor’s Service Awards

Indiana Governor Mike Pence
Indiana Governor Mike Pence

Nominations are currently being accepted for the Governor’s Service Awards – Indiana’s most prestigious awards that seek to celebrate the accomplishments of servant leaders and dedicated volunteers across the Hoosier state. Nominations for individuals who display exemplary service through volunteering in the categories of corporate service, youth service, national service, service-learning, faith-based service, volunteerism, lifetime achievement, and communities of service are currently being accepted, and the awards are presented each year as part of the Governor’s Conference on Service and Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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DNR Announces Becoming an Outdoors Woman Workshop

 
 

Hoosier women ranging in age from 18 to 80 are invited to take a walk on the wild side the first weekend in May. Registration is now open for the annual Indiana’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop. It gives women a chance to learn outdoor skills in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. Participants can design their own weekend experience based on their interests. Activities include learning to shoot clay targets, canoeing, fishing for trophy bass, campfire gourmet cooking, turkey calling and more. This year’s workshop takes place May 3-5 at Ross Camp in West Lafayette. Find more information and an online registration form at http://www.indianabow.com/.

Moms-To-Be Would Be Best Buckled Up, Says Study

 
 
With the ever-prevalent worry of expectant mothers that being buckled up in their car could potentially cause damage to their unborn child in the event of a car accident, a new study has found that not wearing a seat belt actually serves to increase the chances of losing the pregnancy more than if the mother is properly restrained.

Brandy Thompson with the group “Safe Kids USA” says buckling up is the best way to protect both the unborn child and the mother, but she emphasized that there is a right way and a wrong way to put on a seat belt when pregnant.

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Police Arrest Two After Drugs Found in Home

 
 
A search warrant conducted by Marshall County police resulted in the discovery of drugs.

On Friday, two Marshall County deputies arrived at a home on Walnut Street in Lapaz to serve an arrest warrant to Bradley Vest on a charge of Battery. Vest was at the home along with two others in the home. During a search of the home, police reportedly found methamphetamine and various forms of paraphernalia.

Vest was arrested on the valid warrant and Deanne Sheppard was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia.

They are being held in the Marshall County Jail.

Firearm Permitting Process Not Sitting Well with Indiana Sheriff’s Association

Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer
The way the permitting process is done for firearm permits is changing and Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer says it will inconvenience the residents.

In an effort to go paperless, beginning in May the Indiana State Police is requiring fingerprinting to be done at a specific location that has a live scan machine to electronically scan fingerprints. These locations are set up throughout the state where a sheriff’s department is not involved in that part of the process. When complete, the fingerprints will electronically be sent to the state via the internet.

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Marshall County Building to Undergo Improvements

  
 
With more than 32 years gone by since its construction, County Maintenance Supervisor Doug Masterson said the Marshall County Building is in need of some renovations. Fortunately, he said that some improvements to the building have been budgeted for this year, and with many offices retaining the original carpet and wallpaper since the building’s construction in 1981, several Marshall County Building employees are looking forward to the improvements.

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House Passes Bill to Limit Pseudoephedrine Sales

pseudoephedrineHoosier allergy sufferers could soon face tougher limits on how much over-the-counter cold medication they can purchase. A bill to set an annual cap on pseudoephedrine purchases passed the House by a vote of 91-1. The goal of the legislation is to curb the manufacture of methamphetamine by crimping the supply of one of the drug’s main ingredients. Plymouth Mayor and former Indiana State Police Trooper Mark Senter testified in support of the limits during a House hearing on the bill. Cold medications containing pseudoephedrine are already sold behind the counter in pharmacies in limited quantities, and purchasers must show a photo identification to buy them. The 61 gram per person limit is about an eight-month supply of the current law’s monthly limit. The bill now goes back to the Senate for consideration of a few minor changes before it can be sent to Governor Mike Pence for consideration.

 

Starke County’s Issues to be Borne Away on a Cross Carried by Volunteers This Weekend

  
 
With a variety of problems plaguing the Starke County community, one group of individuals is making an effort to show the community that they care. The event, which has been dubbed “Take Up Our Community’s Cross,” was coordinated by Jerry Bacon, who will be helping to carry a large cross inscribed with different problems plaguing the community from Knox to North Judson.

“We just want to bring awareness to our community, things going on in our community. I’m calling this ‘Take Up Our Community’s Cross.’ Different things we hear about; meth, we hear about different problems going on – unemployment, depression – just all kinds of things, and this is just an act of love to show people that we care,” Bacon explained.

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More than $18 Million Recovered in Uncollected Hoosier Insurance Benefits

 More than $18 million have been recovered in unclaimed property through agreements with some of the nation’s largest life insurance providers, giving beneficiaries of insurance policies that have long since been forgotten the chance to recover those proceeds. According to Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, the money is the result of unclaimed insurance proceeds that were previously held by American International Group, John Hancock (Manulife), MetLife, and Prudential Financial.

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Mayors Against Illegal Guns Have Two Events in Indiana

  
 
Mayors Against Illegal Guns will gather at more than 100 event across the nation on Thursday, March 28 as part of the National Day to Demand Action to end gun violence.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns and other local groups are organizing events and petition drives concerning the action. The members will also make calls into Indiana Senate district offices to call for their representatives to support commonsense gun laws like comprehensive and enforceable background checks.

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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

  
 
With nearly 25,000 substantiated cases of child neglect and abuse reported confirmed in Indiana in 2009 with 38 child fatalities – 79 percent of which were under the age of three – Prevent Child Abuse Indiana and Prevent Child Abuse Starke County are working together to raise awareness of the life-threatening issue. Child abuse is preventable, which makes these statistics not only alarming, but disturbing.

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Jennie Carter Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

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Jennie is escorted to the Starke County Jail by Jailer Randy Brown

Theft from a local entity will not be tolerated as proven by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall after he sentenced Jennie Carter on that charge in court Monday morning.

Carter was the defendant in a bench trial in February where, based on evidence and testimony, Judge Hall found her guilty of stealing $7,748.40 from the Starke County Tourism Commission.

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