Bridge Construction Projects Continue

Posted on Author WKVI

Construction work continues on two bridges on U.S. 35 in Pulaski and LaPorte Counties.

An INDOT spokesman told WKVI News that work is just about complete on Phase 1 of the Quigley Ditch Bridge replacement project in Winamac. Crews will be paving the rehabilitated section of bridge in the next few days and traffic is expected to switch onto the new pavement by this Friday, September 9th. The other side of the bridge will then be rehabbed. Traffic restrictions should be gone by the end of October or early November unless inclement weather delays construction.

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Mitch Feikes Announces Candidacy

Posted on Author WKVI
Mitch Feikes

LaPorte resident, Mitch Feikes, recently announced his candidacy in the race for Indiana’s Second Congressional seat on the Republican ticket. He will face Republican Jackie Walorski in the Primary Election.

Sam Frain, Second District Republican Chairman, said the Republican party is a little concerned about his candidacy as a Republican.

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Knox Elementary School PTO Collection Box Tops

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox Elementary School PTO is collecting box tops for a fundraising event again this year. PTO President, Shelly Kemble, hopes to collect enough box tops to meet their goal.

“We are hoping for approximately $6,000 in Box Tops this year and that will put us over last year’s goal and prior years to that,” said Kemble. “Box Tops are easy to find. You can also go onto this website and register for daily contests. Send the Box Tops in with the students or drop them off in the Main Office.”

Nunsense A-Men! to be Presented this Weekend in Winamac

Posted on Author WKVI

The comedy musical Nunsense A-Men! will be performed Saturday and Sunday, September 10th and 11th, by students from the Winamac Community High School Drama Department.

The event will be a dinner theater both evenings. A chicken dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m., in the school cafeteria, followed by dessert at 6:30 p.m., in the Socialtorium. The show will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Wednesday, September 7th, is the final day to purchase dinner/show tickets which are $10.00. The show only tickets are $6.00 may be purchased up to showtime at the door. All current Winamac students will receive a $1.00 discount on their tickets. To purchase your dinner/show tickets, call the Winamac Community High School office at (574) 946-6151.

Nunsense A-Men! is written by Dan Goggin and is presented through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

The production stars students Tyler Abbott, Jordan Morning, Ridge Parks, Caleb Schmicker and J.T. Garnett. It will be directed by Patrick Schuttrow.

Happy Labor Day!

Posted on Author WKVI

It’s Labor Day, a national holiday observed since 1882, as a celebration of Labor.

It also is traditionally observed as the symbolic end of summer.

In the past, it was considered the last day of the season that women could wear white, and in later times, the last time men could wear white shoes.

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Expansion of Knox Industries Promising News for Starke County

Posted on Author WKVI
Crews continue to construct the new J.W. Hicks addition in the Knox Industrial Park

Labor Day is coming this year on the heels of some promising news from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Office. Executive Director Charles Weaver has had exciting announcements about Sabre and J.W. Hicks, Inc. in the past few weeks. Both announcements included promises of more jobs down the road.

Of course, the community is most anxious to hear about the Sysco project. That project has been hold for several years due to the economy. This summer has brought much speculation that something might be coming to the site near Hamlet.

Weaver, though, has not issued any information on the project except to say that he’s still very hopeful that it will become a reality. If the Sysco Distribution Plant would end up being built here in the not to distant future, it would be a real shot in the arm to a county that has been hovering around 10% unemployment for many months.

Starke County Officials Continue to Study Jail Needs

Posted on Author WKVI

Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem recently led a group of county officials to a National Institute of Corrections Conference in Denver, Colorado where they studied the procedure for identifying jail needs and how a project moves along after a decision is made.

Norem also led officials on tours of other jails. One thing we have not heard is what the price range might be of a new jail. She talked about how she viewed the make-up and price of the Miami County Jail.

“Miami County was probably more suitable for something that we would want to see locally and that was around $12 million or $14 million.”

One thing the group heard in Colorado is that there is a danger with a jail in the condition of the Starke County Jail because of the possibility of lawsuits. The Jack Haut Class Action lawsuit is still moving through the legal system. Even though Kathy Norem has never expressed guilt in the suit, she has mentioned that there might be others that are brought with merit.

“Basically, that lawsuit is alleging his constitutional rights are being violated and we deny that. That is not true. We do not believe that to be true and we intend to vigorously defend that. However, that doesn’t alleviate us from addressing ongoing issues within that jail. One thing that we need to do is take a look at how other people are doing their facilities and what some of their policies and practices are and try to adopt some of the best ones here.”

Chief Deputy Bill Dulin of the Starke County Sheriff’s Department will be in to discuss jail issues with us tomorrow.

Gas Prices to Set Records this Labor Day

Posted on Author WKVI

If you’re traveling this Labor Day Weekend, you know that gasoline prices are set to break the record for this time of the year. The average price of gasoline is already 60 cents higher than it was at this time a year ago.

The highest gasoline prices on Labor Day are in Connecticut, which has an average price of $3.97 a gallon, while Alabama is the lowest at $3.48.

Week in Review for August 29th-September 2nd, 2011

Posted on Author WKVI

Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department investigated an accident involving a pickup truck and a moped at the intersection of 600 East and 700 North last week. The driver of the moped, Divvad Niebuurt, of Grovertown, was airlifted from the scene. Niebuurt was hit by a pickup truck driven by Brandon Ferch. Niebuurt apparently failed to stop at the intersection, pulling into the path of Ferch. Ferch was not injured in the accident. Continue reading →

Knox vs. Winamac

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
Knox running backs run through drills before game 1.
Winamac warms up before the start of the game.
Knox QB Nevin Miller gets in some throws during pre-game.
Brennon Morning (#62) goes through tackling drills.

The Knox Redskins played host to the Winamac Warriors in the first game of this season. The Redskins came out on top 41-0, and had over 400 yards of total offense.

Sabre Manufacturing to Expand

Posted on Author WKVI

Sabre Manufacturing LLC, the Starke County Economic Development Foundation and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation announced plans for the expansion of operations at Sabre in Knox. Development Foundation Director, Charlie Weaver, says that Sabre manufactures temporary environmental equipment known as FRAC and WEIR tanks.

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