Rehearsals will start soon for the Maxinkuckee Players Production of Bye Bye Birdie.
The musical is set in 1958 where an Elvis-type rock star, Conrad Birdie, is being drafted. His agent cooks up a promotional campaign that has Conrad visiting Sweet Apple, Ohio to give a farewell kiss to the president of his local fan club.
The first of two new overlooks at Tippecanoe River State Park will be formally dedicated during a brief ceremony this morning. William and Sandra Goble of Winamac donated $4,500 for construction of the overlook in memory of their son, Greg. He worked the park and spent much of his life enjoying the river. Last year volunteers tore out the old overlook to build the new structure, and several local companies donated materials and labor. The Goble family will join Tippecanoe River State Park employees and Friends of Tippecanoe River State Park members at 11 a.m. EDT to dedicate the structure. It’s located behind the park’s nature center. The ceremony will be followed by a brief, catered meal.
If you’ve been looking for a creative outlet for your child who loves to build, look no further. The Henry F. Shricker Public Library in Knox offers a club the final Tuesday of every month that fits that description. It gives students the chance to show off their amateur architecture skills with Legos. Kids have the opportunity to build and name their own creation. This organization gives local children a chance to work with their hands and develop original work that will be featured in the library throughout the month. The next meeting will take place Tuesday, May 27 from 5:30 until 6:30 p.m.
The Town of North Judson now has a social networking policy on the books for its employees. It applies to all full and part-time workers, elected officials and any other person or persons or department in close association with the town. Board members adopted the policy when they met Monday night. It recognizes that people may use platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites and reminds them that their postings may have an adverse effect on the town or themselves. Employees are urged to monitor content in which they are tagged and only post work-related information with permission. The policy does allow the clerk-treasurer to post information about upcoming town events or needs on social media sites with approval from the council. To read the policy, click here SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICY-05-19-2014. Continue reading
The Culver Community School Board appears poised to hire a combination assistant principal and athletic director for the middle and high schools. They’re meeting Tuesday, May 27 at 7:15 p.m. EDT at the administration office for that purpose. Culver Superintendent Dr. Vicki McGuire stresses the schools will remain separate. She says the corporation is just combining the administrative roles in order to save money. The meeting is open to the public. It will follow an executive session, presumably for the purpose of reaching a final decision. Final action on all personnel decisions must take place during a public meeting.
The North Judson- San Pierre School Board approved a contract to add wireless Internet to the schools. They received two bids for the project. IT Solutions offered a lower price, but it did not include installation or tech support. Cubit Technology’s price includes both. Director of Media Services Sheila Akers is confident in their ability to successfully do their job. The school board voted unanimously to go with Cubit. The project will be paid for with a common school loan. Even though the board isn’t sure how much money they will get, they had to act quickly. Installation needs to begin by July 7 in order to be finished when school starts.
A higher volume of traffic will be hitting the roads this Memorial Day holiday. Be aware that the police will be patrolling the highways for drivers who may be impaired, following too closely or may be unrestrained.
Indiana State Police officers and 249 other law enforcement agencies in the state are in the midst of the Click it or Ticket campaign. This enforcement focuses on seat belt usage and will be in full effect this weekend. It continues until June 1.
DNR officials remind boat owners and passengers to stay safe on the water this summer. Lt. Kenton Turner is Indiana’s boating law administrator. He says everybody on board should wear a life jacket. Often accidents can happen too fast to get to a jacket that is stowed away. Also, Turner says passengers should never sit on the sides of a motorboat while it is in motion. If you’re planning to tow a skier or tuber, make sure you have an observer. Always pay attention to marker buoys and idle zone restriction areas. Navigational lights and anchor lights should be used between sunset and sunrise. All inland lakes in Indiana have a nighttime speed limit of 10 miles-per-hour. Alcoholic beverages should be consumed in moderation. Turner says .08 is Indiana’s legal limit.
The Handbook of Indiana Boating Laws and Responsibilities is available online at http://www.boat-ed.com/indiana/handbook/. It can also be downloaded to an eReader.
Starke County Council members voted unanimously to reestablish two funds that were somehow discontinued by the state. Monday’s action on the cumulative capital development and cumulative bridge funds will allow the county to keep more of the property tax money it collects and spend money that is currently set aside. Council President Dave Pearman hopes this will soften the blow for the county when budget time rolls around.
The North Judson – San Pierre school board has postponed definite decisions about how to slash $1.2 million from the corporation’s budget.
They’re awaiting more information about retirements and transfers. Monday evening the board members did approve a budget calender. Treasurer Guy Richie will present information to the school board and superintendent on July 15.
The Starke County Commissioners want a better cost-benefit analysis before they agree to expand the advanced life support service offered by EMS.
Director Paul Matthewson wants to add a paramedic at the North Judson base. Doing so would allow the service to generate more money by transporting patients from IU Health Starke Hospital to other facilities. Right now the Knox EMS base is the only one with ALS coverage. Having a paramedic on duty at another base insures adequate county coverage if an ambulance is out of town.
The Culver Community School Board has hired a new high school principal. Brett Berndt will take over that job July 1st. He replaces Albert Hanselman, who recently took a job as the director of the North Central Vocational Educational Cooperative.
Berndt previously served as dean of students at Culver Community High School.
Superintendent Dr. Vicki McGuire says the corporation is now looking to fill the combined position of assistant principal and athletic director. Whomever they hire will serve in that capacity at the middle and high schools. McGuire stresses the schools will remain separate. She says the corporation is just combining the administrative roles in order to save money.
Applications are currently being accepted. McGuire says the school board hopes to approve a hire at their June 16 meeting.
A Walkerton woman is in critical condition following a motorcycle crash Tuesday night in Marshall County. It happened at 8:45 p.m. on 6th Road east of Olive Road, according to a news release from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office. Lukas J. Moren, 24, of Walkerton, was westbound on 6th Road approaching the turns east of Olive Road on a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja and lost control of the bike while trying to pass another motorist in a no-passing zone. He lost control of the bike and hit a wood fence. Lindsey R. Hall of Walkerton was on the back of the bike prior to the wreck. The news release does not specify whether they were wearing helmets.
The Starke County Council wants department heads to keep their budgets for the upcoming year in line with current spending levels. President Dave Pearman has told them to cut where they can.
“Definitely don’t bring us anything that’s an increase. It can’t be tolerated unless there’s a special circumstance. In that case we’ll meet with whomever wants to meet with us,” he says.
A park in Knox will be closed for the next several days for some infrastructure improvements. Parking lot paving at Sandy Acres Park on South Heaton Street is set to begin today. It will take about a week to complete. IU Health Starke Hospital employees have also scheduled a work day at Sandy Acres on Friday, May 30. They plan to install some new fitness equipment and do some painting. Knox Park Superintendent George Byer says Wythogen and Heritage Parks will still be open. Sandy Acres will reopen next week once the improvements are finished.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board will consider final recommendations to slash $1.2 million from the corporation’s budget when they meet this evening. Superintendent Lynn Johnson has repeatedly stressed the committee tasked with finding places to cut wants to eliminate positions and not jobs. She says several faculty members are retiring this year, and those positions likely will not be filled in order to bridge the gap.
The board may also move forward with the implementation of wireless Internet access this evening. The goal is to have that infrastructure in place when school starts in August. Other items on tonight’s agenda include approval of textbook fees and school meal prices for the upcoming year and discussion of the summer swim proposal at the high school pool. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the board room at the N.J.-S.P. central office.
Fins up, Parrotheads! Flock to the Melody Drive-In Theater at Bass Lake on Thursday, June 19 to enjoy a live Jimmy Buffett show via satellite on the big screen.
He’s performing at a drive-in in Fort Worth, Texas that night. The show is available via digital simulcast exclusively to drive-ins nationwide. Fans are encouraged to dress in grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts and other tropical costumes for the show.
Enjoy the sound of silence from telemarketing calls by adding your land-line, cell phone or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone number to Indiana’s Do Not Call registry. Today is the deadline to add numbers to the list for the next update, which will take place later this summer.
Adding your numbers to the list will help cut down on potentially fraudulent calls and text messages, according to information on the Indiana Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division website. Most telemarketers are forbidden from calling or texting telephone numbers on the Do Not Call list.
However, four types of callers are still allowed to contact you. They are charitable organizations whose calls are made by volunteers or employees, newspapers whose employees make their calls and licensed insurance and real estate agents. Companies with existing business relationships are not allowed to call unless you give them permission to do so.
Add your number to the list by calling 1-888-834-9969 or visiting http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/
The 40th observance of Emergency Medical Services Week is this week.
EMS week serves as a recognition to all the dedicated people within the profession and aims to increase awareness about what local EMS services have to offer. Officials aim to help promote the efforts of EMS services within the community, educate the public on safety and health-related topics and provide information on new EMS procedure and equipment.
At least two people were injured in a late morning crash on State Road 8 at U.S. 35. The driver of a red Chevrolet Cavailer was eastbound on 8 and ran the stop sign, according to witnesses and officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. A northbound Chrysler minivan was unable to avoid hitting the car, which came to rest on the northeast corner of the intersection. Firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Fire Department had to cut the female passenger from the wreckage. She complained of neck and back pain but was alert and conscious. She was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for treatment. Neither driver was injured, but two passengers in the van were hurt.
