Indiana House Speaker, Brian Bosma, said Thursday that he would not call Republicans back until Monday after the Democrats make clear they will not return from an Illinois hotel before then.
17th District State Representative, Nancy Dembowski (D-Knox) talked with WKVI news about the party members walk-out that has caused many in the district to question the maneuver.
“It’s not easy,” said Dembowski. “We’re all sick about it too and it’s pretty stressful, let me tell you. I guess maybe it’s because I’m getting to be a certain age, but if I don’t stand up for what I believe, I can’t live with myself. At some point in time, you have to stand up for what’s right and I think we’re standing up for the people and to be a voice is what’s right.”
Everyone is talking about gasoline prices. We’re seeing oil prices rise and we’re hearing about $150.00 for a barrel of oil when we don’t really see signs of a robust recovery. Is there a reason behind these increases?
Don Good of the Good Oil Company in Winamac explains the prices at the pump.
In a few short weeks, the Turkey Trax event will be held in Starke County. This will be the third annual event that began when Eric Corey, who is confined to a wheelchair, asked his parents to organize a wild turkey hunt for other young people with similar disabilities.
Since that first hunt, the Turkey Trax weekend has grown into a huge event and this year, 25 young people will go out with local guides hoping to bag a turkey. The event will be held April 29th through May 1st.
Back in 1976, residents in Knox got to see their first New Orleans style funeral procession. The Jerry Fuller Jazz Band provided music as they carried Glen Kay’s casket from the funeral coach to the burial site at Crown Hill Cemetery. They played a dirge going up the hill, but coming down, they broke into the old New Orleans song, “Eight Men Going To This Funeral, But Only Seven Of Us Coming Back.” The mourners then
reassembled at Glen Kay Clothing and Shoes for a rousing Dixieland concert and refreshments.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver, came before the County Council this week. He asked the members to appropriate the money received from the County economic income tax collections and use the funds appropriately.
Over $1.2 million dollars is appropriated for County bridges. Weaver explained why the bridge funds come from economic income taxes.
“One-half of the economic development income tax monies collected goes into bridges,” explained Weaver. This is an agreement that was reached some number of years ago when it was realized that the cumulative rate, which the County had always adopted to maintain bridges, was insufficient to maintain the bridges.”
The amount of collections received for the County’s use in 2011 is $200,000 less than what was received in 2010. Those County Commissioner’s economic funds can be used in conjunction with the Economic Development Foundation. Weaver was asked how the $200,000 revenue reduction would impact things he has on the drawing board.
“The amount that goes to the Economic Development Foundation would be less than what it was last year. We’re stretching it. We’ve got some projects in mind that we need to do and we’re trying to prioritize those as the most fruit comes to bear. When we have a project that is going to create jobs, we’re going to put the money there.”
The County Economic Income Tax is divided one-half for bridges, three-eighths for Starke County Economic Foundation work, and one-eighth for Starke County government.
In the wake of year-end reports that law enforcement seized nearly 1,400 meth labs in 2010, Senate legislators vote 46-3 Tuesday in support of a bill co-authored by Senator Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) providing a new weapon in the fight against the narcotic.
Senate Bill 503 works to curb the manufacturing of methamphetamines by tracking the statewide sales of cold and allergy medications containing precursors to the illegal drug and preventing purchases exceeding certain limits.
Officials at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced that the Knox and Winamac license branches will have new hours of operation beginning Monday, February 28th.
The Knox License Branch will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. The Winamac License Branch will be open on Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.
Financing for video and audio communication between the Starke County Jail and County and City courts was approved this week by the Starke County Council.
The County’s share of the $6,000 cost is one-third. The other two-thirds will come out of the Knox City Court, and the Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Diversion fund.
Starke County I.T. Director, Bob Smith, came before the Council members to explain the set up of the equipment that will be provided by Vermillion Systems of Walkerton.
Hoosiers who enjoy hand-to-hand combat from their legislators certainly have viewed the recent battles in the Indiana House of Representatives with joy.
State Senator Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) was asked if such animosity could break out in that chamber. Charbonneau said he didn’t think so and thought that was good. He said attacking each other day after day wasn’t good.
Trying to be proactive in anticipation of the elimination of township government, the Knox City Council invited John Julien, of Umbaugh and Associates, to explain the formation of a Fire Territory.
As explained by Julien, contiguous areas or townships could form a Fire Territory. The Knox Volunteer Fire Department has an agreement with Center Township and a contractual arrangement with part of Jackson Township to provide fire service. Under a Fire Territory, all property owners in the created district would pay the same tax rate for fire protection. They would also receive a uniform level of service.
He was first Mayor of Knox in the 1950s. He was a Studebaker Dealer when the South Bend manufactured car was “cool,” and he was a clothing store owner in the building that now houses Fingerhut Bakery. I’m talking about the late Glen Kay who passed away on this date exactly 35 years ago today.
WKVI Men's Team: Lenny Dessauer, Kim Hall, Pat Dunn, Tom Berg and Jerry Foust
The Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon at Bowlaway Lanes in Knox brought in approximately $4,500 Wednesday for the organization, thanks to pledges gathered by the five-member teams bowling from Starke and Pulaski Counties.
WKVI Women's Team: Valda Wielgos, Glenna Hahn, Bobbie Hoover, Norma Heise and Anita Goodan
All bowlers had a great time with some winning door prizes and other chances to win prizes during Wednesday’s fundraiser. Niki Clemons, Bridget Markin, and all involved with Junior Achievement did a great job planning the event. The WKVI Men’s and Women’s teams participated in the two game event with each team winning a game.
The S.C.P. property sold Tuesday in the tax sale conducted at the Starke County Annex. S.C.P., doing business as the Federal Group on Culver Road in Knox, had been placed on the sale for back taxes of $93,000. The company’s four parcels of land and buildings were put on the auction, with opening bids of $300.00.
Purchasing all four of the parcels was the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, with with Ben Osinski of the Foundation’s Board placing the bids. The 40 acre parcel of land went for $500 and the other three parcels went for $300 a piece.
The Starke County BZA Board will continue on with business until a someone steps up to fill a vacancy on the Board.
Roger Chaffins had to relinquish his seat on that Board when he was elected as a Township Trustee. At this week’s Starke County Council meeting, it was announced that no one had emerged to put in his or her name for a seat on the Board. The replacement must be a Democrat.
Don White, Bob Troike, Sherri Bartoli, and Denise Marks are the current members of the Board.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board approved the purchase of laptop computers from the Gifted and Talented fund for AP English students.
“The AP students have a very rigorous curriculum,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman. “It is the equivalent of the college level English class so we are going to provide them with laptops where they can do their research, do their word processing and check the internet. The computers are not their computers. We will have a little agreement that they’re going to use it properly and take care of it. At the end of the year, we’ll collect those and hopefully will be able to assign them to a new group of students for next year.”
Starke County residents, Phil and Megan Hamand, are in the process of adopting a child from the Ukraine.
“We actually put our application in to adopt in July of 2010 so things are going pretty quickly,” said Megan. “We just found out last week that we should be traveling to the Ukraine to meet our child at the end of August, maybe beginning of September of this year. That’s a pretty quick adoption turnaround. Ukraine as approved our home study, which is a big step, and right now we’re just getting all of our international paperwork put together so we can legally adopt the child from Ukraine and the United States.”
In anticipation of Indiana’s March 10th FAFSA deadline, Ancilla College will offer a series of free one-on-one workshops for people looking to file their 2011-2012 FAFSA applications.
Filling out the FAFSA is a vital step for college students to complete in order to be considered for financial aid. The FAFSA not only enables students to be considered for federal, state, and institutional grants, but is also necessary for those looking to take out a Stafford or Parent Plus Loan for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Nominations are being accepted for Starke County’s Senior Volunteer of the Year and Older Hoosier of the Year.
Community Services of Starke County is accepting nominations for these two honorary awards. The Board will decide the winners for each category. The honorees will be entered into the Area 1 competition. Entry forms are available at the Community Services of Starke County on Culver Road in Knox. Forms must be received by March 15th.
The Indiana State Police, in cooperation with multi-agencies were able to identify, locate and apprehend the suspect in the shooting that occurred on the evening of February 17, 2011 on I-80 westbound at the Lake Station exit.
The Dodge Charger that was suspected to be involved in the shooting was located on I-74 in Montgomery County. A Fountain County Sheriff’s Deputy and Crawfordsville Police Officer were able to get behind the vehicle where a pursuit began. At one point during the pursuit, a 2008 Freightliner semi-box trailer was shot at and hit twice by the suspect in the Charger. The driver of the semi was not injured. Stop sticks were deployed and the suspect’s front tire blew; the vehicle lost control and went off the road into a tree line. The driver then fled on foot into the wooded area. Trooper Jon Eads and his K-9 Nico were able to locate and apprehend the suspect who was hiding in water. A weapon was also located and recovered.
