The Food Finders Mobile Food Pantry returns to Pulaski County later this week. The truck will be at the Monterey United Methodist Church on Main Street Friday, May 2 at 11 a.m. EDT. Items are distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis to individuals who meet income guidelines and may include frozen meat, baked goods, vegetables, beverages, snacks and cereal. Participants are asked to bring a laundry basket or box to carry the food home. Continue reading
Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County leaders are sounding the alarm about another health risk factor tied to smoking. Coordinator Linda Molenda cites a Surgeon General’s report that smokers are 30 to 40 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. They are also more prone to having trouble with insulin dosing and controlling their disease. Smokers with diabetes are also at a higher risk of developing more serious complications like heart and kidney disease; poor blood flow in the legs and feet than can lead to infections, ulcers and possibly amputation; retinopathy, which is an eye disease that can cause blindness; and peripheral neuropathy, which is damage to the nerves in the arms and legs that causes numbness, pain, weakness and poor coordination. Molenda says smokers with diabetes have better control of their blood sugar levels when they quit. Free help for smokers who want to quit is available by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting www.CDC.gov/tips.
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The second annual code violation sweep will be done by the City of LaPorte this week.
Operation Clean-Sweep is a collaborative effort with the city police, code compliance and engineering departments. Those officials will travel through the city and tag as many junk vehicles and rubbish as possible. Inspectors will be specifically looking for junk vehicles, vehicles parked on the grass, brush piles, graffiti, missing house numbers, trash can violations and excessive trash in yards.
The President of the Indiana Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association is taking the time to walk along Lincoln Highway to raise money and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association and the Lincoln Highway Association.
Jeff Blair, a Goshen, Indiana native, will be walking through Hamlet, Plymouth and Etna Green this week. On Tuesday, April 29, Blair will enter Hamlet on his walk along the Lincoln Highway and he will stop by the Marshall County Museum on Tuesday afternoon at approximately 3 p.m. ET. Then on Wednesday, he will continue on his route from Plymouth to Etna Green.
Firefighters from four local departments responded to a house fire on 175 North just east of U.S. 35 Sunday afternoon. Dispatchers were notified of the fire at 2:15 p.m. The Knox, Hamlet, Koontz Lake and Washington Township departments spent three hours getting the blaze under control. No injuries were reported. As soon as we have more information, we’ll update the story on the air and on WKVI.com.
The Knox City Council approved a contract with INDOT to conduct street sweeping on U.S. 35. This is an annual contract where INDOT sweeps the highway twice a year at a cost of $1,444 per year for four years for a total of $5,766.
The council also approved a contract extension with Waste Management to continue garbage collection in the city for the next two years. The contract, which would begin Aug. 1, would be at a decreased rate of $13 per household and when the contract begins Aug. 1, 2015 the cost would increase to $13.36 per household. All other aspects of the previous contract would stay the same.
Friday, May 2 is Starke County Youth Club Day, by proclamation of the county commissioners. That’s also the day of the club’s 7th Annual RadioThon on WKVI from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The club offers after-school programs at Knox, North Judson-San Pierre and Oregon-Davis Elementary Schools and Oregon-Davis Junior-Senior High School each weekday as well as summer programs for local youngsters. Staff and volunteers provide homework help, enrichment activities, recreational centers and community engagement through service projects. The proclamation notes the staff and volunteers at the Starke County Youth Club are committed to assisting children in acquiring the skills they need to learn and lead. They will be taking over our airwaves on Friday to share success stories and talk about the services they provide. The nonprofit organization has set a goal of raising $40,000 during that event. Find more information at www.thescyc.org.
Knox Wastewater Superintendent Kelly Clemons continues to research quotes for a generator for the lift station on Pacific Avenue.
She told the Knox Board of Public Works members that on March 12 a city-wide power outage caused a backup of services at the industrial park. At the time, the lift station there was out of order for 12 hours and while the industry work was able to continue, there was no way to process waste.
The Marshall County Commissioners approved a request from Museum Director Linda Rippy.
Rippy asked the commissioners for permission to advertise for a new employee to replace Judy McCollough who will be retiring on June 6.
McCollough has worked at the museum for 19 years and held the most recent position of Historical Archive Manager. Her replacement would be a full time hire.
A program to inform all military veterans in Pulaski County about programs and services available to them will be held Friday, May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET at the VFW Post #1728-1066 on U.S. 35 south in Winamac.
Representatives from the Northwest Indiana Community Action, North Central Action and Pulaski County Human Services, Inc. will inform veterans about assistance programs, older Americans services, transportation, veterans services, employment services, and nutrition services.
The Oregon-Davis School Board approved the corporation’s participation in several vocational programs for the next school year.
Superintendent Greg Briles said students can gain knowledge in several hands-on programs outside of the Oregon-Davis campus.
Knox High School will have open swim hours and a student will have a project on display at a local fast food restaurant.
The Knox Graphics department has designed a Redskin Nation sign for the Knox Burger King. Nathan Lynch’s “Play like a Champion/Eat like a King – Redskin Nation” sign will be displayed in the store.
The little league diamond at the North Judson Town Park is shining brightly, thanks to a recent assist from Kankakee Valley REMC. A crew from the utility company set the three new light poles the town purchased for the park. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the town board sent them a thank you letter.
Marshall County officials have ruled out foul play in the death of an elderly Culver man found Wednesday night in his rat-infested home on Redwood Road. A neighbor called the police to check on 71-year-old Harvey Moore, according to our reporting partners at WNDU-TV. He had no family, according to his neighbors. They say he had been feeding the rats for some time. Various health issues may have been a factor in his death. The Marshall County Health Department was notified of the home’s condition.
A local soldier was killed early Wednesday morning in a single-car accident near his military base in Germany. Spc. Ryan P. Grandstaff, 24, of Winamac, was en route from Katterbach Army Airfield in Ansbach, Germany to an appointment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center when his vehicle left the road and hit a tree, according to a spokesman for the Army’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade. German emergency medical responders pronounced Grandstaff dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. Continue reading
The former superintendent of Pleasant View Rest Home in Pulaski County is suing the commissioners, auditor and county attorney for defamation, slander, libel and invasion of privacy. Sandra Hurd’s lawsuit stems from the circumstances that led to her suspension with pay and subsequent termination last August. Her lawsuit claims she found a possible clerical error in reports filed with a state agency last July, notified them and asked how to fix it. Hurd contends the commissioners convened an executive session July 29th and accused her of committing Medicaid fraud. She filed the necessary paperwork the following day to correct the error, according to the suit, and the county was notified in writing on Aug. 22 that no fraud was committed. The commissioners fired Hurd during an emergency public meeting on Aug. 27th.
“She can be fired for screwing up these reports, which she admits she did, and she resulted in the county paying a fine,” county attorney Kevin Tankersley tells WKVI news. “These are all hard facts that nobody can dispute. The wrongful discharge has got no chance of winning, no chance. The defamation is equally bad, because it doesn’t say anything we said.” Continue reading
The Knox City Council received an update on the 300 East construction project in the Industrial Park.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director Charlie Weaver said that bids were opened in March for the reconstruction of the intersection of State Road 8 and County Road 300 East. The southern part of the intersection will be reconstructed.
The Knox Park Board supports the notion of establishing an off-the-leash dog park in the city but lacks the funds to make it a reality any time soon. Chuck Richardson spoke at length to the board last night about his desire to give canines and their humans a place to exercise and socialize at Wythogen Park. President Ray Stevenson says it’s in the five-year plan for park improvements the board adopted a few years ago. He says a 150 foot by 300 foot area with a six-foot high fence and carries an estimated cost of more than $11,000. Stevenson stresses the park board is interested in establishing such a park when funds are available. He says the area south of the basketball court just off the walking trail where 150 trees were blown down during a summer storm a few years ago would be an ideal spot. It has ample space, shade and is also accessible by road. Board members suggested Richardson form a committee to raise money for the park and possibly get a school or scout group or other civic organization involved in the process.
The Knox Board of Public Works received an update on how things are moving along in the street department.
Street Superintendent Jeff Borg said the traffic light seized again at the intersection of Culver Road and Main Street by the Knox Middle School. The light is obsolete and Borg said it’s getting harder and harder to find parts to repair it. At one time, they got all of the parts they could from the South Bend department as they were going to throw them away. Most of their lights are upgraded.
The Oregon-Davis School Board discussed English textbook recommendations this week.
Superintendent Greg Briles said the teachers and students have reviewed the proposed textbooks and now members of the public are welcome to come in and review them as well.
“They’re going to set some dates for individuals in the community to come in, look at the textbooks that they’re planning on adopting,” said Briles. “If community members are unable to come in, they can email Mr. Pletcher, the high school principal, any concerns or comments or things they would like to see in those textbooks moving forward. He would be more than happy to include those in the conversations as they bring in a recommendation to the school board at our May board meeting.”
