All posts by Jacque Ryan

Amended Salary Ordinance Fails to Pass on First Reading at NJ Town Council Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

An ordinance amending the approved 2018 salary ordinance was considered on first reading during Monday night’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

When the town council members passed the salary ordinance back in January, it included a 3 percent raise across the board, except for Town Marshal Kelly Fisher who forfeited her raise to supplement the raises of her officers.

In the initial ordinance, town council members were included in the individuals who would receive the raise. However, Town Attorney Justin Schramm said that due to when the ordinance was passed, that raise could potentially be seen as questionable by state officials. Continue reading →

Volunteers Needed for Knox Event Planning Committee

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Knox Mayor Dennis Estok is searching for community members who want to help out with this year’s special city events.

The first 2018 meeting of the Knox Event Planning Committee will be held tonight at 6 p.m. in the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center. Mayor Estok said the meeting is open to the public and anyone looking to get more involved in the community is asked to come. Continue reading →

Status Hearing Held for Alleged Murder Suspect Edward Blackburn

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Edward Blackburn

A status hearing for Edward Blackburn was held in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon.

As previously reported, Edward Blackburn, of Arkansas, formerly of Texas, is being charged with the murder of Cord Colgrove, of Knox. Court documents indicate that in March of 2017, Blackburn allegedly shot Colgrove in the head in front of three witnesses in rural North Judson. Continue reading →

Wednesday Travel Alerts and Road Closures in Pulaski and Starke Counties

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Though the rain has stopped for now, there are still several roads in Starke and Pulaski Counties that are closed due to flooding and high water.

Starke County High Way Superintendent Rik Ritzler warns drivers that it is imperative to refrain from driving down the flooded area of a roadway. He said those roads are closed for a reason, and if you get stuck your rescue could divert resources that may be needed elsewhere.

He added that Starke County is on an orange “Watch” level travel alert due to flooding. He explained that a “Watch” means that conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. Continue reading →

Winamac Town Council Selects The Next Town Marshal

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The Winamac Town Council members met for an executive session and a special meeting on Monday in order to consider and vote on a few different matters related to the Winamac Police Department.

At the last Winamac Town Council meeting, Town Marshal Mike Buchanan officially announced his retirement, which will take effect on July 1st. As a result of his announcement, council members met to consider who will serve as his replacement.

There were two current Winamac police officers who were interested in the position; First Sergeant Mark Hoffman and Deputy Marshal Brian Gaillard. Continue reading →

Culver Community Schools to Implement E-Learning Days in 2018-2019 School Year

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Culver Community School students will be participating in e-Learning in next school year.

Superintendent Karen Shuman said that when school board members met on Monday, they approved the calendar for the 2018-2019 school year.

Shuman explained that the calendar has three E-Learning days built in, to allow students and teachers to get familiarized with the system. Continue reading →

North Judson-San Pierre School Board Approves Purchase for Three Buses

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson-San Pierre will be adding a few new buses to their fleet, following a decision made by school board members last night.

Treasurer Guy Richie explained that the school utilized the Central Indiana Education Service Center to conduct an online bidding process. In their bid, Kerlin Bus Sales included that NJSP would be able to trade-in three buses for a trade-in allowance totaling $16,500. Richie said after factoring in the trades, the lowest bid came in at $232,169 from Kerlin. Continue reading →

North Judson Police Department Welcomes K9 Jimy to the Force

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
NJPD K9 Jimy

The highly anticipated addition to the North Judson Police Department is finally here.

Yesterday, Officer Rico Simpson picked his K9 partner out of more than 300 dogs at Vohne Liche Kennels. The dual-purpose K9 that he chose is named Jimy.

As a dual-purpose dog, Jimy will be able to assist with patrol work such as narcotics detection and apprehension, as well as tracking. Town Marshall Kelly Fisher previously reported that the tracking capabilities could not only help with finding criminals, but they could also come in handy for missing persons cases. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Discuss Advertisement for Cemetery Mowing and Additional Duties

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Pioneer Cemetery  in North Judson. Photo courtesy of findagrave.com.

North Judson Town Council members considered the advertisement for cemetery mowing when they met Monday night.

Individuals applying for this job would be bidding on lawn care, leaf clean up and debris removal for both Highland and Pioneer Cemeteries. They would be expected to provide all labor, equipment and fuel.

Members noted that the proposed advertisement was the same as last year’s. However, since they experienced some problems with last year’s service, they wanted to avoid any potential confusion by clearly stating what is expected of the bidder. Continue reading →

Winamac Clerk-Treasurer’s Report Includes Budget Update and Request Pertaining to Un-Cashed Checks

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Winamac Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger informed town council members last week that the Department of Local Government Finance approved the budget submitted for 2018.

Berger stated that aside from the budget being approved, she also learned that the maximum tax levy was received. She added that Eric Walsh from Umbaugh and Associates collected some information from her and said they will be meeting with Pulaski County officials to discuss the LIT levy freeze issue.

Additionally, Berger asked members for permission to enter all checks that are unaccounted for back into the system. Continue reading →

Knox Event Planning Committee to Meet this Week, Calling all Volunteers!

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The first Knox Event Planning Committee meeting of the year will be held this week.

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Dennis Estok announced that the committee will meet to discuss some of the different events scheduled for later this year including movies in the park, community concerts and the fireworks show.

The Mayor encouraged all past volunteers to attend, as well as any other residents interested in providing a helping hand. Continue reading →

Winamac Town Council Seeking Member for Planning Commission

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Winamac Town Council members voted unanimously to appoint JoLynn Johnston to the open Winamac Economic Development Committee seat when they met Monday night.

Additionally, members discussed the open democratic seat that’s still available on the Winamac Planning Commission.

Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger mentioned that the position is not limited to those who live within the town limits, all Pulaski County residents are eligible to apply. Continue reading →

Financial Update Provided During Knox City Council Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The Knox City Council received a financial update from Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston this week.

On Tuesday night, Houston informed the council that the City of Knox is in pretty good financial shape since they had more money at the end of 2017 than they started with at the beginning of the year.

Later, Houston explained that at the start of 2017, the city had around $3,994,645 and it ended the year with $4,146,321. That’s a net gain of $151,676 or a 3.8 percent increase. Continue reading →

Winamac Clerk-Treasurer Inquires about Updating Code of Ordinances Book

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Winamac Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger proposed updating the town’s ordinance book during the town council meeting Monday night.

Berger explained that American Legal Publishing is the company that takes care of updating their code of ordinances book. She informed the council members that the last update cost around $3,000 and took place back in July of 2016.

Since about 18 months has passed, she asked council members if they’d like to update the book again. Continue reading →