Meet Culver’s New Park Superintendent Tomorrow on Opening Day for the Beach

Amber Cowell and some Culver kiddos showing off their crafts. Photo Source: Town Manager Jonathan Leist

Culver’s new Park Superintendent has been busy preparing the park and beach for the summer season.

Park Superintendent Amber Cowell attended her first town council meeting Tuesday night. In her report, she announced that the beach will be opening this Saturday. In conjunction with opening day of the beach, an open house to welcome Amber to her new position is being held at Culver Beach Lodge. Continue reading

North Judson Town Council Holds Second Reading Over Ordinance to Vacate 16-Foot Alley

Back in April, North Judson Town Council members started taking steps to address an unresolved request to vacate an alley that was initially submitted in the 1980s.

When members met Monday night, they conducted the second reading of the ordinance that would relinquish the town’s ownership of a 16-foot alley between Dahlke and Lyle Streets. Once the alley is vacated, it will be evenly divided up amongst neighboring property owners. Continue reading

Public Hearing Held Tuesday Over $600,000 OCRA Grant, Knox City Council Meets Tonight

The City of Knox plans to tackle a major project at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and officials are looking to receive some financial assistance through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

As a part of the process to apply for a $600,000 OCRA grant, a public hearing was held in City Hall on Tuesday night. Community Development Planner Emily Albaugh spoke on behalf of the Kankakee Iroquois Regional Planning Commission (KIRPC) to provide some details about the grant and the application process. Continue reading

Culver Town Council Holds Second Reading Over PUD Rezoning Ordinance, Additions to Developer’s Agreement Discussed

The property for a potential Planned Unit Development in Culver is one step closer to being rezoned, after Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting.

Council members held the second reading over the ordinance that would rezone the parcels located on State Road 17 and State Road 10, where developer Thomas Beste has proposed the construction the Culver Meadows housing development as well as gas station.

Town Council President Ginny Bess Munroe said that she spoke with Beste about adding a few things in the developer’s agreement to make sure a few of plans that have been discussed will be spelled out in the document. Continue reading

North Judson Town Council Secures Administration Services for $550,000 Community Block Development Grant

The North Judson Town Council members secured administrative assistance related to their $550,000 OCRA grant at their Monday night meeting. KIRPC Representative Shawn Cain presented a proposal for administrative services for the Community Development Block Grant funds that will be used for the town’s Drinking Water Project.

In previous meetings, Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann has shared that the Drinking Water Project includes adding a backup generator for the water system to address an Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) requirement, rehabilitating some of the town’s wells and conducting external and internal upgrades to both water towers to bring them up to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Continue reading

Ordinance to Regulate Public Nuisances on Private Property Addressed at Winamac Town Council Meeting

The ordinance book for the Town of Winamac has been updated and council members considered a quote for the upgrades submitted by the company American Legal Publishing during their meeting on Monday.

Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger said the company updated the book to include ordinances spanning from July 16th, 2016 through December 31st, 2017. The quote provided by American Legal was for $1,985. Members voted unanimously to approve the quote.

Additionally, Winamac’s Town Council members are anticipated to consider an ordinance pertaining to public nuisances on private property in the near future. Continue reading

NJ Town Council Approves Amended Owner-Engineer Agreement for Drinking Water and Wastewater Projects

North Judson Town Council members approved an amended version of the owner-engineer agreement with CommonWealth Engineers when they met Monday night.

Project Engineer Rob Bellucci spoke on behalf of the firm. He alerted members that since the base agreement only covered the services provided for the environmental report, an amendment had to be made in order for the agreement to encompass other aspects of the projects. Continue reading

Winamac Town Council Considers Adding More Reserve Officers to Police Force

First Sergeant Mark Hoffman with the Winamac Police Department submitted a request to add more officers to the Reserve Program during last Monday’s town council meeting.

Sergeant Hoffman explained that a few people who work for the Police Department are looking to switch positions.

“We recently had three jailers express interest in being reserves.” Hoffman went on, “I would like the board’s permission to move forward with them. It will cost the town $100 per person for insurance and probably another $100 [each] to get them outfitted.” Continue reading

Employee and Student Handbooks Approved by NJSP School Board

The North Judson-San Pierre School Board members approved the certified and non certified employee handbooks Tuesday night.

In the certified employee handbook, some information was included about the teacher evaluation process and the section on child abuse reporting was amended to match the new state law. The non-certified handbook also addressed the new policy on child abuse reporting and provided some clarification about holidays and unpaid days. With both handbooks, some changes were made to assist with organization and clarity. Continue reading

Winamac Departments Commended for Addressing Citizen Concerns

Some of the efforts that various Winamac departments have put forth recently to address certain citizen concerns were acknowledged during Monday night’s Town Council meeting.

Earlier this month, Park Board President Courtney Poor called attention to the fact that the parking lot at the Winamac Wellness Center was in need of repairs. He came before the town council this week to express his gratitude for how quickly the matter was addressed. Continue reading

Starke County EMA and EMS Directors Attend Briefing over FEMA Public Assistance

Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director J. Nier and EMS Director Travis Clary attended a briefing with FEMA representatives on Thursday in order to learn more about the public financial assistance that is available to the county to help with flood relief.

EMA Director Nier explained that in order to be eligible for public assistance, the county had to reach about $85,000 spent dealing with flood recovery. Nier said that number was not only reached, but it was surpassed, with close to $2 million spent during the immediate response. Continue reading

Knox Dumpster Days to Be Held at Wastewater Treatment Plant this Saturday and Sunday

The Knox Mayor’s Office issued a reminder that “ Spring Clean-Up Dumpster Days” will be held this weekend.

Residents can drop items off from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 19th and Sunday May 20th. The dumpsters will be located in Wythogan Park, at the Wastewater Treatment Plant in the rear of the park.

This event is restricted to residents who live within the city limits only. Continue reading