LaPorte City Police issued 115 tickets and made six arrests during a traffic enforcement blitz this month. They joined about 230 other law enforcement agencies in Indiana in the 24-day enforcement effort aimed at aggressive and impaired driving. The overtime patrols were funded by grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
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Hamlet’s comprehensive planning process cleared another procedural hurdle Wednesday. The town council approved a $40,000 contract with HWC Engineering and a $4,400 contract with the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission.
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A new Starke County treasurer will be selected during a Democratic Party caucus tonight. Kay Chaffins, Debbie Keiper and Tammie Taulbee are vying to fill the seat, according to the Starke County Clerk’s Office. The winner will replace Kasey Clark. She stepped down to take over as treasurer for the Knox Community School Corporation.
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The Pulaski County Commissioners have agreed to get a second opinion on insurance coverage, but some officials were concerned that could create extra work for department heads. Representatives from ONI Risk Partners met with the commissioners last week, offering to analyze the county’s insurance needs, look for potential areas for improvement, and present some options.
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Pulaski County and Hamlet are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for road improvements. The Indiana Department of Transportation has announced the recipients of the winter round of Community Crossings matching grants.
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A longtime farmer is being honored for his service to the Pulaski County community. Howard Conner of Winamac is the recipient of this year’s H.J. Halleck Community Service Award. It’s given annually by the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce.
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As the Pulaski County building inspector continues asking for a full-time deputy, some county council members are wondering if there are ways the building department could streamline its operations. The topic came up when Building Inspector Doug Hoover asked to have part-time assistant Karla Kreamer moved to full-time status earlier this month. “If you look at it, man, we have increased a lot, and we’re really working hard,” Hoover said. “And we could do a lot more. I don’t know what to tell you guys.”
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The Pulaski County Highway Department will have to wait a bit longer to switch to its summer schedule. Each spring, the department typically goes to a work week of four ten-hour days.
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A Lake County Sheriff’s Police deputy has been arrested, amid allegations that he accepted money to fill out salvage vehicle inspection forms for a Knox business. Louis Vasquez is accused of accepting cash for completing at least 42 of the documents for Fast Import Cars, LLC between September 2017 and November 2018, according to Indiana State Police. Officers say that’s against Lake County Police Department policy and Indiana Code.
Continue readingRising oil prices and the switch to summer blend gasoline continue to push prices up at the pump. That’s according to the weekly update released by GasBuddy Monday. Indiana’s average gas price was $2.58 a gallon, five cents higher than the week before and 19 cents higher than a month ago. But some gas stations were charging significantly more than that.
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The Pulaski County Commissioners have issued some direction on the purchase of fuel. They voted last week to have the departments that use county fuel get competitive bids from local distributors on a load-by-load basis.
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Three local companies were recognized for more than 50 years in business by Governor Eric Holcomb last week. The Governor’s Century and Half Century Business Awards were presented during a ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse Thursday, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
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Unemployment rates are up in Starke and Pulaski counties, but so is the actual number of people working. Starke County’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in February, according to the latest report from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
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The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department may soon start charging for the release of body camera footage. Sheriff Jeff Richwine brought the idea to the county council earlier this month. “You know, we’ve got the new body cameras going and now, we’ve got our first requests for video, and I think we’re allowed, by law, to charge a fee for those videos,” Richwine said. “And I didn’t know if that was set or if the council sets that fee. I’m sure I just can’t say, as the sheriff, I want to charge $100.”
Continue readingPulaski County employees will be getting a new email system. Last week, the county commissioners approved a contract with Golden Tech, to switch the county over to the Office 365 email system.
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Supporting rural entrepreneurship will be the focus of next month’s Pulaski County Economic Development Summit. This year’s event, which will be held on April 9 will feature a “Powering Rural” panel discussion.
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Pulaski County is sticking with First National Bank of Monterey for its cash management. The county’s board of finance officially approved the bank’s bid Monday, at the recommendation of Treasurer Teresa Bryant. “As usual with First National, they never charge us any fees for anything and give us the best interest rate,” she explained. “1st Source really stepped up their game, as far as offering more services as far as security, but unfortunately, they’d still charge us fees.”
Continue readingEfforts to make sure students are getting the proper nutrition were highlighted during Monday’s Oregon-Davis School Board meeting. Board members got an update from Food Service Director Jeff Messer, according to Superintendent Dr. Don Harman.
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Winamac High School band and choir students will once again have the chance to visit New York City next year, but the proposal drew some concerns during last week’s Eastern Pulaski School Board meeting. The trips are typically offered once every four years, with the next one scheduled for June of 2020.
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