Michael Milo disputed his 19 year sewer bill to the members of the Knox Board of Public Works Wednesday morning.
Milo claimed that when he purchased his home at 1306 Pine Street in 1995 he did not know that sewer lines were not hooked up to the city system. He recently learned that a septic system was on his property and he had been billed a sewer bill since he purchased the home even though the lines were not hooked up to the system.
The Knox City Council members discussed the 2015 budget during their meeting Tuesday night.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained that the budget reflects a 2.44 percent increase in appropriations. He said he hopes that it comes within the maximum levy which is the maximum amount that can be raised through property taxes.
Houston said the council members will need to make cuts to the budget in 2015.
The Starke County Election Board will meet today to address some issues before Election Day.
The board members plan to discuss political sign disclaimers. That meeting is set for noon today. Continue reading
The North Judson Town Council is holding a special meeting tomorrow morning to decide on a group insurance plan. Continue reading
Christmas stocking care packages will be sent to military members serving overseas this year thanks to Operation Quiet Comfort of Marshall County. You can assist in the effort by making a donation to help fill a stocking. Continue reading
With Halloween trick-or-treating tomorrow evening, parents are urged to consider safety tips before children leave the house.
Keep costumes short to prevent children from tripping and falling. Add reflective tape to dark costumes to keep children visible at night. Children are encouraged to wear make-up instead of wearing a mask for better safety. Continue reading
The sixth annual Trick-or-Treat and Halloween Safety event is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31, hosted by LaPorte County Sheriff Michael Mollenhauer.
The event promotes safety for children while trick-or-treating in the community. Children attending the event will receive a reflective trick-or-treat bag with an activity book and crayons. A reflector badge will also be supplied. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
A Plymouth School Bus driver faces charges in connection with a hit-and-run accident. It happened on Friday, Oct. 17 in the 16000 block of Cook Lake Trail and was reported to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department at 7:41 a.m. A resident told a Marshall County Sheriff’s Deputy her vehicle was parked in her driveway at the time.
The Gary man police there say confessed to killing seven women, including a Knox native, is due in court today to face charges in two of those deaths. Darren Vann, 43, led police to the bodies of six of those women on Sunday, Oct. 19th after his arrest the previous day in connection with the strangulation death of a woman at a Hammond motel. All six were found in abandoned buildings in Gary. Continue reading
A Plymouth man is accused of child molesting after a report was made about an incident involving a teenager.
On Sunday, Oct. 26, Plymouth City Police Department officers received a complaint of sexual activity between a 20-year-old man and a 13-year-old female, according to a news release. Police say during the course of the investigation, information revealed that two sexual encounters took place at a location in Plymouth on Monday, Oct. 6 and on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Devante Halcomb, 20, was interrogated by police on Monday, Oct. 27 and was subsequently arrested and booked into the Marshall County Jail on a preliminary charge of child molesting as a Level 3 felony. Bond has been set at $50,000 cash.
The Sunday morning fire at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch in LaPorte was ruled undetermined.
LaPorte Fire Chief Andy Snyder told WKVI News that there were a couple of sources where the fire started that could point to an electrical issue. The fire caused extensive damage to two rooms in the BMV office.
The BMV office shares building space with a video store and a restaurant. The fire was contained to the BMV.
The City of Knox is the recipient of a grant from the Indiana’s Hardest Hit Fund Blight Elimination Program. Eleven applicants in Division Six were awarded grants totaling $3.7 million.
The City of Knox will receive $187,000.
The Blight Elimination Program provides an opportunity for local units of government to compete for money available to prevent avoidable foreclosures through the removal of blighted, vacant and abandoned homes. In February of this year, the U.S. Department of Treasury approved the use of $75 million of Indiana’s Hardest Hit Funds by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority for successful Blight Elimination Program applicants.
In less than a week voters will go to the polls for the general election. WKVI will provide live anchored coverage of election returns on Tuesday, Nov. 4th. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. local time. Results and complete coverage will begin after the news at 5 p.m. CT. Continue reading
Knox City Attorney David Matsey is working on a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and Deb McIntire and between the city and the area churches that will be a part of serving free meals out of the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in Knox once a week beginning next year.
There will no rental fee associated with this endeavor.
The Culver Fire Department will be getting a new squad truck to start off the new year. Every five years the fire department sells the oldest vehicle in their fleet and purchases a new one. The new truck is expected to be just over $300,000. Continue reading
This weekend is the official end of Daylight Saving Time. You will need to set your clock back one hour before you go to bed Saturday or at 2 a.m. Sunday local time when the official fall back begins. Continue reading
A memorial service is planned Saturday morning in Starke County for the Knox woman believed to be a victim of a serial killer apprehended last weekend in Gary. Police there found the body of Kristine Williams, 36, in an abandoned house on Sunday, Oct. 19. Accused murderer Darren Vann led them to the bodies of six women police say he’s confessed to killing after he was arrested in connection with the strangulation death of a woman at a Hammond motel. Vann has been formally charged in connection with two of the seven deaths. The other investigations, including the one into Williams’ death, are ongoing. Continue reading
The intersection of State Road 8 and Starke County Road 300 East now has turn lanes, guardrails, acceleration and deceleration lanes. Members of the Starke County Council, County Commissioners and Starke County Economic Development Foundation Board of Directors celebrated the completion of the project with a ceremonial ribbon cutting Monday morning.
“This was extremely dangerous before for trucks and motor vehicles to come to pass. They couldn’t make the turns. If a truck wanted to go toward 35 from 300, they crossed both travel lanes into the berm,” Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver said. Continue reading
Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston told the commissioners last week that the opened sealed bids for the HVAC systems for the justice center were investigated to determine the reason for a large gap in pricing. Benchmark in Kokomo and McGrath Refrigeration in Knox both submitted sealed bids.
“I looked at this pretty in-depth and I can’t find a reason for it,” said Johnston. “It seems to me that McGrath’s is the way to go. Their units are comparable. It’s also practically half the cost. It would be my recommendation to go with $74,467 for the HVAC units as opposed to $135,000.”
The effort teachers at North Judson-San Pierre schools have put into preparing students to take ISTEP tests is paying off. Superintendent Lynn Johnson says test scores from 2009 to 2014 reflect steady gains. Math scores have gone from 62-percent proficiency in 2009 to 81 percent in 2014 for grades 3 through 8. During that same time period English/Language Arts scores have improved from 66 to 77 percent. Continue reading
