State Road 8 between U.S. 421 and S.R. 39 in LaPorte County will be closed starting tomorrow. Continue reading
INDOT Closing Portion of State Road 8 This Week
Jefferson Street Bridge Rehabilitation Continues
The repairs to the Jefferson Street Bridge in Plymouth are on schedule.
Supervisor of County Highways Jason Peters told the Marshall County Commissioners on Monday morning that work is nearly done on the west side of the bridge.
“They’re actually hoping to have that end of the bridge done by Friday. Of course it will be closed for probably a week before that end will all be said and done. Then, they’ll start on the east end. On the east end, they do have the sidewalk off. I think, in previous years, they must have actually cut a hole in the cement and filled it with cement and it actually ran down on the gas line,” Peters said.
Davis Township Officials Open Fire Station Bids
Bids submitted Monday for the construction of a new Hamlet-Davis Township fire department building were described by the Pyramid Architecture/Engineering and Construction representative as
“a lot better” than the previously submitted bids.
Knox Redskin Brigade Advances to Semi-State Competition
Members of the Knox Redskin Brigade have marched their way into the next round leading to the state competition.
The band participated in the Indiana State School Music Association Regional marching competition at Lafayette Jefferson High School on Saturday and received a gold rating. With that, they were selected as one of the top 10 bands to continue to the Semi-State level on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Decatur Central High School.
The band will perform at 4:20 p.m. CT that day for a chance to compete at the state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Skronski Honored With Henry F. Schricker Award
A longtime Knox High School teacher and farmer is the 2014 Starke County Chamber of Commerce Henry F. Schricker Award winner. The honor is given annually to a resident who embodies the former governor’s credo of “service before self.” Frank Skronski moved to North Judson from Chicago with his family as a young man. He joined the Navy, which is where he met his wife of 51 years, Evelyn Leppelt. After leaving the service he attended Elmhurst College and earned a degree from Northern Illinois University. Continue reading
IU Health Starke Hospital Named Chamber Business of the Year
IU Health Starke Hospital’s commitment to the community has earned them the honor of being named 2015 Business of the Year by the Starke County Chamber of Commerce. The formal award will be presented on Thursday, Nov. 6 at the chamber’s annual dinner. Continue reading
Area Hospitals Prepared for Ebola Virus
Hospital officials are taking steps to ensure they can fight the Ebola virus if it enters the area.
The Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, with hospitals in Mishawaka and Plymouth, released a statement where they assured the residents that they are prepared to respond to the Ebola virus with care.
According to a statement on their website, SJRMC officials they say that clinicians are well trained to identify, to care for and to monitor potentially high-risk patients and provide treatment in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s infectious disease procedures.
North Judson-San Pierre Agenda Includes Balanced Calendar Discussion
Marsha Reimbold and Patricia Goin
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board will consider adoption of a balanced calendar for the 2015-2016 school year when they meet this evening. They are one of several area corporations considering the approach. School would start earlier in August and get out the first of June. Continue reading
Two People Injured in Monday Afternoon Accident
Two people were injured in an accident in North Judson on Monday afternoon.
Starke County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the intersection of County Road 625 South and County Road 300 West where they found that a vehicle had failed to yield to the right of way. The other vehicle was struck as it was traveling north through the intersection.
Pursuit Ends With Crash, Arrest
A habitual traffic violator who is accused of fleeing from police Friday night in Marshall County faces numerous charges. A Marshall County Police patrolman tried to stop a pickup truck on Queen Road north of State Road 110 just before 10 p.m., according to a news release. The truck driver, later identified as Wayne Nichols, led the officer on a short pursuit. Continue reading
Traffic Stop Ends With Warrant Arrest
A Friday night traffic stop in Marshall County for an equipment violation ended with a trip to jail after officers learned the driver was wanted in another county. A Marshall County Police Patrolman pulled a vehicle driven by Preston Smith over on Lincoln Highway near Tulip Road at 7:19 p.m. Smith was driving without having received a license, according to a police department news release. He was also wanted on a St. Joseph County warrant for sexual misconduct.
Pulaski County Commissioners Could Hear Plea for County Home Tonight
Members of the Pleasant View Rest Home Board of Directors are expected to appear at the Pulaski County Commissioners meeting tonight to discuss the recent action by the county council members to eliminate the county home’s funding from the 2015 budget.
Board President Bob White told WKVI News last week that board members may appear and discuss the issue. He said that they are against the decision and didn’t know that the topic would be up for a vote before the officials last Monday night. He hopes to convince county officials to keep the county home operational and to continue to offer care to the nine residents there.
Starke County Council Sets Budget Adoptions
The Starke County Council will adopt budgets for several taxing units when they meet this evening. Their advance meeting agenda includes adoption of the county budget for the upcoming year as well as those for the Starke County Airport, Starke County Solid Waste and North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation. Continue reading
Absentee Voting Picking up for General Election
Absentee voting is still available to those who will not be available to go to the polls on Election Day.
Marshall County has recorded a total of 353 of absentee votes so far while Pulaski County has had 147 absentee voters. The Starke County Clerk’s office reported 272 walk-in voters and 60 mail-in votes.
In Starke County, in-office absentee voting will be Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT in the second floor meeting room in the courthouse from now until Oct. 31. The same hours will apply for Saturday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 1. Evening voting hours are available on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and Tuesday, Oct. 28 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. CT and Thursday, Oct. 23 and Thursday, Oct. 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. CT.
Oregon-Davis School Board to Consider Balanced Calendar
The Oregon-Davis School Board will be considering a balanced calendar during their meeting tonight.
During their last meeting, Superintendent Greg Briles gave the board a couple of different calendars to study. Briles stated that the calenders are very similar in that they have 180 days of student instruction and 184 says for staff which is outlined in their contract. The calendars would include a break in the fall and an intersession to be coordinated with the Starke County Youth Club for remediation purposes. The first day of school would be Aug. 1 and last day would be June 1.
Knox Comprehensive Plan Sessions Set for Wednesday
Two focus group sessions are planned this week to gather information from residents, merchants, community leaders and others to be part of the city of Knox’s comprehensive plan.
Input from these sessions will help the city determine what types of improvements need to be made and strategies to make those improvements that have been deemed a priority.
Starke County Health Department Schedules Flu Shot Clinic
The Starke County Health Department will conduct a flu shot clinic on Wednesday afternoon in their office on the first floor of the courthouse. Vaccines will be available free of charge for children with Medicaid, no insurance or insurance that doesn’t cover shots. Adult flu shots cost $20. Call the health department at 574-772-9137 for more information.
Pulaski County Council Tables Recorder’s Part-Time Hire Request
Pulaski County Recorder Christi Hoffa presented a request for a part time person in her office to help scan documents to include in the Doxpop system for title searches.
Hoffa said that extra help could speed up the process that is currently being done in the office.
“While we have a good amount of information available online, not all of our information is available for a title searcher to be able to do a 50 year search,” explained Hoffa. “What I would like to see is to be able to hire a part time person for the office strictly to work on this project and to speed it up – to get more information online, scanned and available to these people to purchase and to be able to do their title searches and their their full 50 year searches.”
LaPorte Police Participating Special Enforcement This Week
LaPorte County police will be stepping up patrols this week for a traffic safety project called “Operation Stop Arm”.
Sheriff’s deputies have partnered with Michigan City officers and Indiana State Police Troopers to make drivers more aware of school bus loading and unloading during this National School Bus Safety Week.
Driver who disregard stopped buses with stop arms extended and flashing lights can be cited on a Class A infraction of arm signal device: duty to obey. That carries a fine of up to $10,000. A driver can be arrested for a Class B misdemeanor offense of reckless driving if the driver recklessly passes a school bus while loading or unloading students. That offense carries up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Pacific Avenue Intersection to be Closed Today
Crews working on the 300 East project in the Knox Industrial Park are moving onto another phase of the project.
According to the project manager, the west side of County Road 300 East is complete and now workers will begin construction on the east side of the road. They will be working at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and County Road 300 East today. That intersection will be closed today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT to ensure maximum work with a minimum closure time. Emergency vehicles will be allowed access.
