Pulaski County Commissioners Accept Bids for Highway Department Equipment

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Highway Department will soon have some new equipment. The county commissioners Monday approved the purchase of a ditch bank rotary mower from Bane-Welker Equipment for $8,950. Theirs was the only bid, and it met all of the specifications. Likewise, Braun Chevrolet in Winamac submitted the only bid for the three-quarter ton pickup truck the highway department was looking to buy. The commissioners approved the purchase of a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD for $30,950 from the local dealership. Highway Superintendent Mark Fox says the county got 17 dump truck bids. The commissioners accepted his recommendation to buy a Mack truck with a Jones body from Pozzo Truck Center and let Terry Truck Equipment in Winamac fit the chassis with the necessary uplift. Fox says that’s the most cost-effective way to go, for a total of $151,642. The truck still needs to have a power passenger window so the driver can see while plowing snow and a chip box hitch installed. Fox says the two additions should not cost more than $1,500. That vehicle will have a 15 to 20 year lifespan.

The commissioners rejected the lone bid they received for a diesel tractor. Bane-Welker’s bid exceeded the specifications, as it was for a four-wheel-drive tractor. Fox says the extra drive train will cost the county considerably more to maintain. The county will solicit new tractor bids later this year.

North Judson Police Investigating Speed Bump Theft

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

A portable speed bump used by the Town of North Judson to slow traffic near the little league field on Weninger Street was stolen sometime over the weekend. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the town marshal’s office is investigating the theft. Each spring town officials place one near the park and another one on Ufkes Drive near the soccer field. Even though they are portable, they still have to be anchored into the pavement. Henry says the town got a quote of $675 to replace the speed bump. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call 574-772-5914.

Knox Dumpster Days Start Tomorrow

Posted on Author WKVI

Knox-City-HallKnox residents who have items to dispose of that are too big for normal trash pickup days can take advantage of the city’s dumpster days. From tomorrow until Sunday, two large dumpsters will be placed behind city hall. One of the containers will be for metals only, and the other will be for household items. Paints, tires and hazardous waste items are not to be placed in the dumpsters. They can be disposed of during Starke County’s Environmental Days on June 13 and 14. The city will also offer a paper shredding event Saturday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the city parking lot. Paper waste will be shredded on high-volume equipment.

 

Starke County Voters Choose Dulin and Bope

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Voters in Starke County have selected the Democratic and Republican Party nominees for sheriff. Bill Dulin got the most votes of any candidate on the ballot, beating fellow Democrat Harold Smith by nearly 1,000 votes, according to unofficial totals.

“We’ve got a lot of momentum going in. We’re going to take a couple months off and regather our thoughts and hit it again come November,” Dulin said.

Smith got 850 votes to Dulin’s 1,840 and admits he’s disappointed. “We tried. Like I said, the final results came in, and it is what it is,” he told WKVI news.

On the Republican side, Bill Bope beat Greg Wireman by a margin of 646 to 381 and said he’s excited about the Nov. 4 General Election. Continue reading →

Binkley Beats Dembowski in Commissioners Primary

Posted on Author WKVI

Former Knox Mayor and state representative Nancy Dembowski will not be making a political comeback as a member of the Starke County Board of Commissioners. She lost to fellow Democrat Donald Binkley by 126 votes in the primary.

“It’s just important, I think, for everyone to work together on the county level to make certain we have one goal in mind, and that’s the benefit of the people who live in Starke County,” Dembowski said.

So far Binkley is unopposed in the November 4th General Election. Continue reading →

Gray Beats Hoffer in Starke County Coroner’s Primary

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

A Starke County Sheriff’s Deputy won the Democratic Party Primary for coroner. Adam Gray got 60 percent of the votes to Dannie Hoffer Junior’s 40 percent. “I believe in dignity and respect for the deceased and compassion for the families,” Gray told WKVI news.  “I’ve got the support of the present coroner and the past coroners, and I want to carry on the legend of Kris Rannells and the wonderful job he’s done for the past eight years. I want everyone in Starke County to know I’m going to carry that tradition on.” Gray does not have an opponent in the November election.

 

Federal Filing Deadline Approaching for Exempt Organizations

Posted on Author WKVI

IRS logoMay 15 is the federal filing deadline for many tax-exempt organizations.

Internal Revenue Service officials say groups who are required to file Form 990 and fail to do so are at risk of losing their tax exemption. Do not include Social Security numbers or other personally identifiable information on the form, as it can lead to identity theft. The IRS and most organizations are required by law to make most parts of their completed forms available to the public, including schedules and attachments.

Continue reading →

Pulaski County Commissioners Approve Zoning Change

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Commissioners Monday unanimously approved a zoning change to turn recreational and residential land back into farmland.

The advisory plan commission recently approved the request to rezone the former driving range at Moss Creek Golf Course from RR-1 to A-1, which means it can be tilled under and planted. The commissioners also approved the rezoning of six nearby lots in the Moss Creek Acres Subdivision from residential to agricultural use.

Continue reading →

Click it or Ticket Campaign to Begin May 9

Posted on Author WKVI

The Indiana State Police will be out in full force beginning Friday, May 9 for the Click it or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign. The enforcement will continue until June 1.

More than 250 law enforcement agencies in Indiana will conduct special controls to identify and ticket unrestrained drivers and passengers. The focus will be on the Memorial Day weekend.

Continue reading →

Starke County Highway Department Announces Mowing, Paving Plans

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Starke County Highway Department employees plan to mow county rights-of-way for the first time tomorrow, weather permitting. This will be the first of at least six planned mo

wing cycles this summer. Crews will mow five feet off the edge of the pavement at each road and 20 feet back at intersections in order to clear the necessary sight distance for drivers. The Starke and Marshall County Highway Departments are also coordinating their paving schedules in order to share resources. Starke County will make Marshall County’s pug asphalt, and Marshall will loan Starke County their distributor trucks and two-lane chipper box. The pug will be made in late May for paving in July.

Continue reading →

Wreck Sends Driver to IU Health Starke Hospital

Posted on Author WKVI

A two-vehicle wreck just before 11 a.m. on U.S. 35 just south of U.S. 30 sent the driver of one of the cars to the hospital. According to witnesses, the driver of the green Pontiac Sunfire did not stop when she came off the ramp from U.S. 30 onto U.S. 35. Her car hit the left side of a Chrysler Town and Country minivan owned by Braman and Son Memorial Chapel. It was northbound on 35 when the crash occurred. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Hamlet Police Department and Indiana State Police all responded. The driver of the Pontiac was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital by ambulance. There’s no word yet on the extent of her injuries or her name.

The Pontiac struck the left side of the minivan, which was northbound on U.S. 35.
The Pontiac struck the left side of the minivan, which was northbound on U.S. 35.
Witnesses say the driver of the Pontiac made no attempt to stop when she came off the eastbound exit ramp from U.S. 30 onto U.S. 35.
Witnesses say the driver of the Pontiac did not stop or yield.

 

Fire Pump Necessary for New Jail Facility

Posted on Author WKVI
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The $29,000 to add a fire pump to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center was money well spent by the Starke County Building Corporation. The project to extend city water lines to the site east of Knox is finished, but the water pressure is still short of what is needed to suppress a fire at the facility. Building corporation members approved that expenditure last month in order to keep the project on track with the additional wiring that would be necessary for the installation. Completion of the new building is still scheduled next spring.

Meanwhile, the committee appointed last month to discuss future uses for the current jail facility is in the very early stages of exploring options. The building will have to be used for something within the scope of corrections since it was used as collateral for the bond to build the new structure. Continue reading →

Every Vote Counts, Especially in Local Elections

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Tomorrow is Election Day. Polls are open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. local time in each of Indiana’s 92 counties. In-person absentee voting wraps up today at noon at the courthouse. If you wait until tomorrow to vote, you will need to do so at your local precinct. County historian Ed Hasnerl says every vote counts, especially in local races.

“There have been many elections decided by one or two votes. We had a mayoral primary here where the winning person was elected by one vote.” Continue reading →

Knox Elementary Hosting Kindergarten Countdown

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Knox Elementary School is once again offering a three-week Kindergarten Countdown to help students who have little or no preschool experience get ready to start school in the fall. Curriculum director Peggy Shidaker says it gives youngsters an idea of what to expect.
“They experience the type of class atmosphere and learning that actually happens or will happen when they enter kindergarten. They have an opportunity to ride a school bus, which the kids absolutely love. They’ll eat breakfast with their peers, and they’ll eat lunch with them as well. Since it is actually kindergarten readiness, the students will be immersed in those literacy and math skills to help those students enter kindergarten at the same academic levels as their peers, or at least close to the same academic levels as their peers who have had some preschool.” Continue reading →

Building Corporation to get Reports on Old, New Jails

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Sheriff's Department
A committee is looking into possible uses for the current Starke County Jail when a new facility east of Knox is completed.

The Starke County Building Corporation is expected to get an update from the committee tasked with looking into future uses of the former jail when they meet this morning. Representatives from Skillman Corporation will also discuss the scope of the old jail renovation as well as share information about how construction of the new facility is going. The building east of Knox on State Road 8 is due to open next spring. The Starke County Building Corporation meeting will take place at 8:30 a.m. at the county annex building prior to the commissioners meeting at 9.

 

INDOT to Close Part of State Road 23 Through Mid-June

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Motorists who travel through Walkerton on State Road 23 will need to find a new route for the next several weeks. Starting tomorrow, INDOT is closing 23 between Union Road and County Road 900 North, just south of Walkerton so crews can replace a small structure in the roadway. Southbound SR 23 drivers will be detoured west on U.S. 6, south on U.S. 35 and east on U.S. 30 to get back to 23. Northbound traffic will go west on 30, north on 35, east on 6 and back to 23 to bypass the construction. INDOT can only use state roads for detours. The project should be finished in mid-June, according to INDOT officials.

Knox Street Sweeping Resumes Early Tomorrow Morning

Posted on Author WKVI

City of Knox logoStreet sweeping in the city of Knox will take place for the first time this year early tomorrow morning and continue each Tuesday through September. Stopping, standing and parking are restricted on several city streets between the hours of 4 and 8 a.m. Those routes include Shield Street from Washington Street to Culver Road; Main Street from Washington Street to Culver Road; Pearl Street from Washington Street to Culver Road; Washington Street from Heaton to Shield Street; and Lake Street from Heaton to Shield Street. Vehicles in violation may be impounded, and owners may be subject to fines in accordance with Knox City Ordinance 914 Set. 9-444-9446, which can be read by clicking https://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=14045.