Pulaski County Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston is working with EMA Director Larry Hoover to ensure all of the county buildings have adequate generators to meet their needs.
He told the commissioners the county has five military surplus, trailer-mounted generators that can be placed at the annex building, county home or elsewhere should the power go out.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is seeking applicants for its Americans with Disabilities Act Community Advisory Working Group.
Inaugural members whose two-year terms expire at the end of June are encouraged to reapply. Potential new members also have a chance to apply. Membership is open to any individual, as INDOT wants representatives from a broad cross-section of the state. Individuals with disabilities, disability advocates or individuals who provide services to persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
If you’ve ever wanted to give orders to a cop, you’ll have a chance Monday night.
Several members of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 128 will be waiting tables at the Knox Pizza Hut from 4 until 8 p.m.
Be sure to tip generously, though. Proceeds from the Tip A Cop Fundraiser will be used to help local youngsters in need buy school supplies as part of the Shop With a Cop program before school starts in August.
The Department of Natural Resources has disbursed grants totaling nearly $520,000 to fight invasive aquatic vegetation in Indiana’s lakes.
Lake users will benefit from efforts to control or manage aggressive non-native species, including Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, and starry stonewart that can take over and clog lakes.
Members of a local rock band will be living the dream for the
next two weeks. North Judson-based Seldom Told formed in 2006 and has developed a solid regional fan base. That support earned them a slot on tour as an opening act for Saving Abel. That band’s first single “Addicted” reached number one on several charts, and their debut album sold more than 750,000 copies. Saving Abel toured with rock bands Buckcherry, Avenged Sevenfold and Nickelback.
IU Health LaPorte Physicians recently added two new nurse practitioners.
Maureen Panares and Alissa Whittaker are seeing patients in several northern Indiana communities. Nurse practitioners have extensive training and work under the direction of a physician. Maureen Panares, DNP, is an Advanced Practice Nurse with a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Family and Community Health from Rush University. She sees patients at the Sagamore location in LaPorte.
Whittaker recently received a Master of Science in nursing from Indiana University South Bend. She sees patients in Plymouth at Lifeplex and in Walkerton.
A Plymouth woman was sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections after pleading guilty in a plea agreement with the State to charge of Manufacturing Methamphetamine.
Crystal Bloomfield, 38, admitted in Marshall County Superior Court 1 that she assisted Travis Howell in the manufacturing methamphetamine at his residence on Kenilworth Road near Argos.
Four years of Bloomfield’s sentence was suspended. Bloomfield will be able to participate in intensive drug rehabilitation through the purposeful incarceration program.
Two defendants were sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Thursday.
Nathan Vermilyer pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the State to a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class B felony. Judge Kim Hall accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Vermilyer to the terms of that agreement to six years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with three years suspended to be served on home detention through the Starke County Community Corrections program. The other three years will be served on probation.
The Knox Board of Public Works opened bids Thursday for the 50/50 sidewalk program.
There was no quorum, but the bids will be taken under advisement and awarded at a special meeting on May 15.
Two bids were submitted by Pete Kuchel Concrete and Covenant Concrete. The residences that were submitted for bid include 104 S. Pearl St., 703 S. Pearl St., 307 S. Main St., 604 S. Main Street, 703 Delamatyr, 705 E. Washington St., 707 S. Shield St., 102 Water Street, 402 S. Pearl St., 356 E. Mound, 55 Lake Street and 53 E. Water Street.
Give Mom, or any special woman in your life the gift of peace of mind this Mother’s Day. Encourage them to take advantage of the discounted mammograms IU Health Starke Hospital is offering this month. Josephine Klicek is the director of diagnostic imaging. She says women can get their mammogram and reading for $95, and mo doctor’s order is needed if it’s just a screening test.
Women should get their first mammogram when they turn 40, unless they develop problems like a lump, redness or inflammation sooner. Also, if there is a family history of breast cancer, women are urged to get a mammogram 10 years before that woman was diagnosed. For instance, if the diagnosis was made at age 44, get a mammogram when you are 34. Continue reading
Some local fire departments are the recipients of grant money thanks to the Indiana Homeland Security Foundation.
Over $400,000 in grants were awarded to public safety agencies statewide for critical needs such as personal protective equipment, radios and technology equipment or training. Continue reading
The parent company of First Farmers Bank & Trust has announced plans to expand.
First Farmers Financial Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire deposit relationships of nine central Indiana BMO Harris Bank branches. The purchase includes locations in Marion, Logansport, Terre Haute, Farmersburg, Sullivan, Clay City, Brazil, Carlisle and Shelburn. First Farmers Bank and Trust will acquire seven of the nine branches and retain employees from all nine locations.
Celebrate Mom with a visit to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum.
The North Judson attraction is offering a 50-percent discount on all train rides for adult women tomorrow. They will each receive a carnation as well.
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.
Ryan J. Reyes, 19, of Grovertown was arrested Wednesday after an investigation into a sexual assault incident in Wythogan Park on May 4.
A report was made to Knox police that a minor was reportedly sexually assaulted in the park by Reyes. Knox City Police Department detectives and the Indiana Department of Child Services interviewed witnesses and all parties involved and arrested Reyes on preliminary charges of Rape and Child Molesting, both Class B felonies.
He is being held in the Starke County Jail. The case remains under investigation.
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.
