Starke County Officials Celebrate Justice Center Completion

Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall and Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin prepare to cut the ribbon to officially open the Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center
Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall and Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin prepare to cut the ribbon to officially open the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center

Starke County’s new jail is ready for occupancy. Officials celebrated the completion of the 144 bed, state-of-the-art facility yesterday with a public dedication and ribbon cutting, attended by more than 300 people. The $15.4 million project came in on time and under budget and gives Starke County the distinction of going from the oldest jail in the state to the newest. The old facility across from the courthouse opened in 1977. It will be renovated into office space for Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Continue reading

Starke County Offices Closed for Jail Grand Opening

starke-county-courthouseStarke County government offices will be closed for awhile today so employees can attend the grand opening ceremony for the new jail. The program gets under way at noon at the site east of Knox on State Road 8 and 550 East. The Starke County Courthouse, annex and highway garage will be closed from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The public is invited to the building dedication gala and memorial garden ceremony. Tours will be offered until at least 6 p.m. after the formal program concludes, and Sheriff Bill Dulin and his command staff will be on hand to answer questions. Food will also be served. Continue reading

County Officials Extend Hours for Jail Tours

Starke County Sheriff's Department BadgeTours of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center will be offered until at least 6 tomorrow evening. The public is invited to the grand opening and building dedication of the state-of-the-art facility on State Road 8 at 550 East. Tours will be offered after the noon formal program and memorial garden ceremony. They were originally scheduled until 4 p.m., but the county commissioners and Sheriff Bill Dulin have agreed to extend them so people can stop by after work. Tours will be offered as long as people are in line waiting to see the inside of the building. Dulin and his command staff will also be on hand to answer questions. Food will also be served. Continue reading

Grand Opening Celebration Planned for New Starke County Jail

Starke County Sheriff's Department BadgeMembers of the public are invited to the grand opening and building dedication of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center on State Road 8 at 550 East, east of Knox. Festivities will take place Friday, May 22. After the formal program and memorial garden ceremony at noon, tours of the state-of-the-art facility will be offered. Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin and his command staff will be on hand to answer questions, and food will be served until 4 p.m. Continue reading

New Jail Nearly Finished

Starke County Sheriff's Department BadgeThe new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center will be finished in time for the May 22nd public dedication ceremony. Contractors are working through punch lists now for the new building east of Knox on State Road 8 and should have the final repairs done by the end of next week. Any lingering issues should be addressed before inmates move in on June 1st. Continue reading

Starke County Commissioners Approve CenturyLink Agreement for New Jail

starke-county-courthouseThe CenturyLink equipment used by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office will be upgraded when they move into the new jail east of town. The county commissioners Monday approved an agreement for $1,431 for one-time upgrades and a monthly fee of $5.75 for the next three years. IT Director Joe Short advised the communications company is recommending new equipment at the new facility. Continue reading

Starke County Officials Planning Jail Grand Opening

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

Starke County officials are making plans for a May 22nd open house to celebrate the completion of the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center. Contractors are putting final touches on the new facility east of Knox on State Road 8 and will have the building ready to turn over to the county by May 1st. Continue reading

Grand Opening Set for New Starke County Jail

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center is still on schedule to open this spring. A public open house is tentatively planned for Friday, May 22, and inmates will be transferred to the facility on June 1. The building is located east of Knox on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East. Continue reading

Starke County Commissioners Open Courtroom Bids

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

Bids for the courtroom build-out at the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center are under advisement. The county commissioners opened eight bids for general trades and four each for mechanical and electrical work. The project design engineer is reviewing all to make sure they meet specifications prior to a special-called Starke County Building Corporation meeting on Monday, Jan. 19. The building corporation will make formal recommendations to the Starke County Commissioners, who are also scheduled to meet that evening. Continue reading

Starke County Jail Construction Still on Schedule

Paving work is set to start soon at the site of the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
Paving work is set to start soon at the site of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The site of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Detention Center east of Knox is looking less like a job site and more like a finished building. Crews have started grading around the building on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East and are getting ready to pave the parking areas. That work will be done before Thanksgiving, according to a schedule presented last week to the Starke County Building Corporation. Continue reading

New Starke County Jail Still On Schedule and On Budget

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E is part of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

Construction of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center is still on schedule to wrap up next spring. Information shared with the Starke County Building Corporation indicates the metal addition to the rear of the existing building on State Road 8 east of Knox is 80-percent finished. Continue reading

Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center Takes Shape

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center east of Knox on State Road 8 is still on schedule for a spring 2015 completion. The project is also on budget and features a number of state-of-the-art amenities like video visitation. Commissioner and Starke County Building Corporation President Kathy Norem says it will be much safer and will cut down on the import of contraband into the jail. Continue reading

New Water Line Benefits Both Starke County and City of Knox

 
 

The new water line installed for the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center not only helped that county project, but it has helped the city in its firefighting capabilities.

According to Knox Water Superintendent Todd Gardner, 28 existing fire hydrants on East Culver Road were barely able to meet the minimum requirement of 500 gallons per minute for firefighting capabilities. With this project, water flows at a capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute while maintaining a good pressure on the water main.

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Fire Pump Necessary for New Jail Facility

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The $29,000 to add a fire pump to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center was money well spent by the Starke County Building Corporation. The project to extend city water lines to the site east of Knox is finished, but the water pressure is still short of what is needed to suppress a fire at the facility. Building corporation members approved that expenditure last month in order to keep the project on track with the additional wiring that would be necessary for the installation. Completion of the new building is still scheduled next spring.

Meanwhile, the committee appointed last month to discuss future uses for the current jail facility is in the very early stages of exploring options. The building will have to be used for something within the scope of corrections since it was used as collateral for the bond to build the new structure. Continue reading

Jail Water Line Delay Potentially Costs County $29,000

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The Starke County Building Corporation may have been able to save $29,000 had the water line extension from Henry Drive east to the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center been finished by its April 1 deadline.

The existing water lines to the building on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East are not wide enough to provide enough pressure should the building catch on fire. The county and city opted last fall to run new lines to the facility and contract the work out. The Knox City Council accepted a bid from Mark Milo Enterprises to do the work.

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Starke County Officials Discuss Coroner Space

Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem
Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem
Starke County officials are going to have to find morgue space within the next year. A committee comprised of council president Dave Pearman, auditor Kay Chaffins and president of the commissioners Kathy Norem met recently with coroner Kris Rannells and former coroners directors Doug O’Donnell and Mark Smith to discuss the needs of the office. President of the Commissioners Kathy Norem says that was one of the big issues they raised.

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New Courtroom May Be Added to Jail Project

This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
Plans for the new Starke County Jail call for the eventual addition of a courtroom at the facility east of Knox on State Road 8, but the county may opt to include that project in the initial construction. President of the Commissioners Kathy Norem says the favorable financing terms the county received for the project combined with the sentencing reform that’s set to take effect make the new courtroom a higher priority. In order to accommodate this addition to the initial project, change orders will need to be turned in. Norem told the commissioners that the changes will result in some extra design costs. For instance, the video arraignment room in the current plans will be turned into a jury room, and an additional exterior door to accommodate a juror smoking area will be added. The office space for the detectives with the sheriff’s office would be moved upstairs in order to accommodate the circuit court clerks on the building’s first floor. The commissioners discussed the matter and voted to authorize DLZ to make the necessary changes to the plans in order to revisit the proposal with a better idea of the cost involved.