No Changes Expected for Hamlet Residents, Following Sale of Garbage, Recycling Contractor

No major changes are expected in Hamlet’s trash and recycling pickup, following the sale of Local Affordable Disposal. Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts recently told the town council that the company has been acquired by Michiana. She said garbage will continue to be collected each Tuesday, and recycling will be picked up every other Wednesday.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Conditionally Support Panhandle Pathway Extension Efforts

Efforts to extend the Panhandle Pathway have finally gotten the support of the Pulaski County Commissioners. A motion to that effect was approved during last week’s meeting, on the condition that the plans meet the approval of local landowners. The first phase would extend the Panhandle Pathway north to the Tippecanoe River State Park. It would run alongside U.S. 35 for much of that length.

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Starke County Clerk Shares Concerns with Election Board

Starke County Clerk Bernadette Welter-Manuel is trying to establish some ground rules with the rest of the county election board. During a contentious meeting last week, Welter-Manuel read from a prepared statement outlining a list of concerns. “One, I will only be attending properly posted public election board meetings going forward,” she said. “With this being said, I won’t take any action on anything that comes out of any other said meetings. I will not be answering anymore to where my clerks are at any meetings or events. They are my employees, my sole decision to have them or not. The budget that I give to run my office does not need approval or a vote from this board.”

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Culver School Board Approves Summer School Classes, Recognizes Retiring Math Teacher

The Culver Community Schools Corporation is putting plans together for summer school. A list of courses and teachers was approved by the school board last week, according to Superintendent Karen Shuman. “We’ll be offering a recovery program at the high school level, along with band and agricultural classes at the high school level, and then doing an IREAD program at the elementary,” she explains.

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Pulaski County Council Rejects Change in Victim’s Assistance Coordinator Salary

Pulaski County Council: back row: Mike Tiede, Kathi Thompson, Brian Young; front row: Scott Hinkle, Rudy DeSabatine, Jay Sullivan (not pictured: Ken Boswell)

The Pulaski County Council has reversed course on a salary change for a staff member in the Prosecutor’s Office. Last month, the council voted to tie the victim’s assistance coordinator’s pay rate to the level specified by the grant that funds the position, with Ken Boswell and Scott Hinkle opposing. But when it came time to update the salary matrix to reflect the change last week, council members Rudy DeSabatine and Jay Sullivan joined Boswell and Hinkle in opposition, denying the measure by a vote of four-to-three.

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Knox School Board Receives Grants from Starke County Community Foundation

Starke County Community Foundation Director of Development Jessica Martinović presents checks to School Board President Kirk Bennett

More than $18,000 in grant funding was presented to the Knox School Board Monday. The school corporation is once again getting $15,000 for Kindergarten Countdown from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker told board members that the Countdown camp is designed for any incoming kindergarten student who hasn’t attended preschool.

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Pulaski County Sheriff Hopes USDA Grant Could Bring Body Scanner to County Jail

A potentially life-saving piece of equipment may soon be within reach for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county commissioners Monday that he recently learned about grant opportunities from the USDA for equipment purchases. He hopes to possibly use some of that funding to get a body scanner for the jail.

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