News – Page 1212 – WKVI Information Center

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 →

Pulaski County Highway Department Working on Several Projects

The Pulaski County Highway Department crew has been busy working on spring projects. Highway Superintendent Mark Fox said a lot of grading and culvert work has been done.

Commission President Larry Brady asked about the miles of roads that will be paved this summer and Fox said the winter really took a toll on roads this year.

Starke County Unemployment Rate Explained

The unemployment rate for the state and for individual counties was released this week.

The rate in Starke County dropped a point, according to the April statistics. The rate is 6.9 percent which is a 1.3 percent decrease. Starke County still ranks in the top ten in unemployment. All 92 counties reported a decrease in the unemployment rate.

Culver School Board Calls Meeting to Hire New Administrator

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.

N.J.-S.P. School Board Approves Wi-Fi Vendor

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.

Officers Continue with Click it or Ticket Campaign

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: Stay Safe on the Water This Summer

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 Re-Establishes Capital Development and Bridge Funds

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.

North Judson-San Pierre School Board Waits on Spending Cuts

Michael Shireman, Jim Menis, Larry Lambert Marsha Reimbold and Patricia Goin — Michael Shireman, Jim Menis, Larry Lambert
Marsha Reimbold and Patricia Goin

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.

Generator Issue for Two Pulaski County Entities Still under Discussion

May 22, 2014May 30, 2022WKVI

Officials in Pulaski County are still looking into getting more details in outfitting the county home and the Pulaski County Health Department with generators.

In previous settings, county home and health department workers have asked the commissioners for hard-wired generators that will be activated if the power would happen to go out. Currently, there isn’t a generator on hand to keep the power going in an instance of a storm or other event where the electricity could be out for some time.

Culver TIF District Additions Get OK from Plan Commission

The members of the Culver Redevelopment Commission went before the Culver Plan Commission Tuesday night to present the approved addition of three parcels to the TIF District.

Redevelopment Commission President Kathy Clark said the plan commission members found that the proposal meets the specifications of the town’s comprehensive plan and now it will go before the Culver Town Council for approval.

Starke County Commissioners Table Ambulance Service Expansion

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.

Culver Community School Corporation Hires High School Principal

Culver Community High School will consider moving to a "balanced schedule". — Culver Community High School will consider moving to a “balanced schedule”.

The Culver Community School Board has hired a new high school principal. Brett Berndt will take over that job July 1^st. 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.

Drug Sweep Conducted on the North Judson-San Pierre Campus

May 22, 2014May 22, 2014WKVI

Officers from the North Judson Police Department, with the assistance of the Hobart K9 officers, conducted a drug sweep at the North Judson-San Pierre high school and at the middle school on Wednesday morning.

North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely told WKVI that there was nothing found during the sweep. The four K9 handlers and dogs checked lockers and vehicles and officers did not find any illegal substances. The K9s did indicate on a couple of items, but Vessely believes it was a passive result as no evidence was found.

Knox Man Arrested in an Alleged Sexual Assault

May 21, 2014WKVI

A Knox man was arrested on a warrant Wednesday, May 21 after an investigation into an alleged sexual assault incident.

On April 24, officers from the Knox City Police Department were notified of the alleged incident by officials with the Indiana Department of Child Services. It was alleged that the incident involved a female juvenile and an adult family member.

Officers located and arrested 85-year-old Donald L. Bottorff Wednesday morning. He was booked into the Starke County Jail on preliminary charges of Child Molesting and Vicarious Sexual Gratification, both Class C Felonies.

Motorcycle Passenger in Critical Condition After Crash

May 21, 2014WKVI

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.

Starke County Council Anticipates Flat Budgets

May 21, 2014May 20, 2014WKVI

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.

Pulaski County Commissioners Discuss Emergency Meetings, Spending Limit for Maintenance Director

May 21, 2014May 20, 2014WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Commissioners took action to raise the amount of money allotted for the maintenance department in the case of an emergency situation.

Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston brought up the issue of emergency calls and the attempts to get a hold of commission members to approve a decision on how to move forward with the emergent issue at hand. The commissioners reiterated that Johnston has the authority to make the best, quickest and most cost-effective measures to take care of what needs to be done, but County Attorney Kevin Tankersley noted that some of the processes that have been done to seek commissioners’ approval of the emergent issue and money needed are not being handled in the best practice. He explained that any decision that requires immediate attention by the commissioners containing purchases over the minimum purchase requirement needs to be done in an a public emergency meeting.