Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County urges expectant mothers who smoke to quit on Mother’s Day.
Coordinator Linda Molenda says 17 percent of pregnant women in Indiana smoke. That’s nearly double the national average. Experts say quitting smoking can reduce the risks of respiratory illness, miscarriages, stillbirths and infant deaths. Additionally children from families who smoke are twice as likely to pick up the habit.
LaPorte Police cited a woman for an open burning ordinance violation Wednesday night after she reportedly torched clothes belonging to her boyfriend on the front lawn of a Division Street home. Officers were called to 905 ½ Division Street around 10:30 p.m. and found the boyfriend sitting on the porch. He told the officers his girlfriend got mad, threw his clothes out and set them on fire. The officers let him gather his things and leave. The police report indicates the woman appeared intoxicated, started yelling about her boyfriend and told them she burned his clothes. In addition to the citation, officers ordered her to put the fire out.
A state senator who represents parts of the Kankakee Valley is discouraged by Tuesday’s anemic voter turnout. Democrat Jim Arnold’s district includes parts of LaPorte, Starke and St. Joseph Counties. Starke County saw 22-percent of registered voters cast ballots. Even in the General Election, 30 to 35 percent is considered a good turnout. Arnold says that means 60 to 65 percent of residents will be governed by their decisions. He also finds the most vocal critics of state government are the ones who don’t bother to vote. Arnold spoke yesterday to the Starke County Chamber of Commerce. He encourages local party and business leaders to recruit qualified, professional individuals who understand the office they are running for and not just the position in government.
IU Health Starke Hospital and Community Services of Starke County are teaming up once again to host an annual health fair. This year’s event will take place Tuesday, May 13 from 2 until 7 p.m. Central at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in downtown Knox. Community Services of Starke County Executive Director Joan Haugh says it grew out of the Governor’s Council on Aging in Indianapolis and the thought that they could share the same type of educational information with more people by teaming up with the hospital and offering a local event. This is the 13th year of the partnership.
Haugh says May is an ideal time for the health fair, as it is Older Americans Month. She adds it’s open to all ages, including children. This year a free children’s coloring area will be set up to keep youngsters occupied while their parents or other caregivers browse the booths and take part in the various screenings. Continue reading
The North Judson Town Council is expected to vote on a social media policy for employees when they meet on Monday, May 19. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry tells WKVI News it’s a new addition to the employee handbook. Councilman Tim Cummins has been working to revise and update it. The changes are mostly clarifications of things like how vacation time is earned. Once the policy is adopted, the handbook will be reprinted and given to town employees.
The council is also revising the contractors permit ordinance, with a first reading set for their mid-month meeting. They also acknowledged the park board’s recent hiring of Bill Hemphill as the seasonal caretaker for the town park. Town council members also set Aug. 9 as the date for this year’s town-wide yard sale. Henry says more information about permits and other requirements will be provided closer to that date. The exterior of the new maintenance building is finished, and the interior should be complete by the end of the month.
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.
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 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.
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
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
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.
May 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 $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
Visitors to Tippecanoe River State Park can sit in the sun, enjoy the tranquility of the river, flora and fauna behind the Nature Center on a new scenic overlook.
Park staff, volunteers and members of the Friends of Tippecanoe River State Park completed the project Saturday as part of the third annual volunteer day and welcome back weekend.
The annual National Bike to School Day is Wednesday, May 7.
Biking to school promotes a healthy habit and helps improve neighborhood connections in the community.
This event is an offshoot of the Walk to School Day which is celebrated across the United States in October.
