Secretary of State Connie Lawson will be the featured speaker at the upcoming Starke County Lincoln Day Dinner. It’s scheduled Saturday, April 26 at the Bass Lake Community Center.
Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed Lawson to that post on March 16, 2012. He called her the obvious choice because of the local and state elections experience she brings to the office. Lawson served in the Indiana Senate for 16 years prior to her appointment. Before that she was clerk of the Hendricks County Circuit Court for eight years.
Two road construction projects in the Kankakee Valley will hamper travel for a few days.
According to INDOT Northwest Media Relations Coordinator Matt Deitchley, U.S. 35 between Knox and Winamac will be closed for 10 to 20 days for a pipe replacement. Deitchley said the closure should begin at State Road 10 and go south. The project is expected to begin on Monday, April 14.
The exterior of the new North Judson maintenance building should be finished by the end of the month. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says town employees will complete the interior work. The new structure replaces the dilapidated building on George Street near the town park.
Speaking of the park, Henry says the town is looking for a seasonal caretaker to work through September taking care of mowing and maintenance issues there. Applicants can submit resumes to the town office through Friday, April 18. Continue reading →
Sgt. Nick Laffoon, Sheriff Tom Chamberlin and Sgt. Phil Beam
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department has two new patrol sergeants. Patrolmen Phil Beam and Nick Laffoon were selected through a numerical scoring system by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department Merit Board. Beam is a 27-year veteran of the department and lives in the Argos area. Laffoon lives near Plymouth and has been with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department for nine years.
An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office has been called in to determine the origin and cause of a Tuesday morning fire in the Hamlet trailer court. The Hamlet Fire Department was dispatched to 504 North Starke Street, Lot 10, at 12:34 a.m. Fire Chief Bob Goetz tells WKVI news no injuries were reported. The Koontz Lake Fire Department assisted. Dispatchers advise the fire department left at 2:18 a.m. and turned the scene over to the Hamlet Police Department until the fire marshal arrived.
The Starke County Plan Commission is cracking down on enforcement of unsafe and blighted buildings. President Dennis Estok told the county commissioners they’ve restructured their enforcement letters and means of taking owners to court but still have a backlog of structures that need to be torn down.
“You’ve got to have some seed money, because if they don’t do it you can go in there and take care of these unsafe structures,” Estok said. “Then basically what you do is you fine them, and you bill them. If they don’t pay the bill, then you put a special assessment on their taxes. You wind up getting the property, and then you re-sell the property to try to recoup some of your cost.” Continue reading →
An ordinance amendment will be going back to the drawing board as the Knox City Council members failed to pass it on final action.
Discussion concerning an amendment to ordinance #1142 regarding outdoor storage and the setback distance for displays was the issue that hung up the approval of the ordinance.
The Oregon-Davis School Board recently hosted a community meeting to inform parents, students and community members about the technology plan, what’s happening in the future in the junior/senior high school and about the balanced calendar.
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Commissioners awarded the contract for concrete work at the county recycling center to the low bidder when they met Monday evening. Winamac-based TM Construction bid $10,450 to pour a 34-by-96-foot, 4 inch concrete pad. Art Mau submitted a bid of $12,096, and Form It Corp’s price for the work was $13,056. The county has run afoul of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in the past because recyclable materials were sitting directly on the ground.
Maintenance supervisor Jeff Johnston says drainage continues to be an issue at the recycling center. Every time it rains, at least six inches of water stands there, and this winter the ground was an ice rink. The concrete pad will have a basin in the center for drainage, but that won’t solve the problem. Continue reading →
Marshall County remains under a travel advisory as water has ponded in roadways.
Emergency Management Agency Director Clyde Avery told WKVI that water is standing on Olive Road between 4th and 4B Road and the advisory will remain until that area and other clear up.
The Marshall County Commissioners approved Avery’s grant request Monday morning.
A John Glenn High School senior will receive a full tuition scholarship to the University of Notre Dame and an additional $900 annual stipend to help with books and other school equipment. Cole Jacobson of Plymouth is the Marshall County Community Foundation’s 2014 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Jacobson has received numerous state and national academic awards and has demonstrated leadership through his involvement with National Honor Society and student council. He also attended Hoosier Boys State, the Hugh O’Brien Leadership Seminar and Purdue Entrepreneur Academy. Jacobson also volunteers with several local non profit organizations, teaches and mentors local youth and visits with senior citizens at a local nursing home. Continue reading →
The North Judson Town Board honored a longtime board of zoning appeals member who is stepping aside after 15 years of service.
Jim Kersting will continue to serve as a senior consultant. Jerry Jernas is replacing Kersting on the North Judson BZA. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry swore him in Monday night along with Teena Hittle and John Silhavy, who have each agreed to serve another two-year term. Marv Peters and Chris Konefsky are in the second year of their two-year terms of service.
The Starke County Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. CT at Bowlaway Lanes in Knox.
This is an annual fundraiser where members of the community and business leaders come together for a night of fun while raising money for a worthwhile youth organization.
Kindergarten roundup for prospective Oregon-Davis students for the 2014-2015 school year is Wednesday, April 16.
Children must be the age of five on or before Aug. 1 in order to be eligible for kindergarten. Parents and children must attend registration as basic skills assessments will be conducted and forms will need to be completed.
A NOAA Weather Radio Programming Day is being offered today from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET at the Walgreen’s store at 2014 N. Michigan Street in Plymouth.
NOAA Weather/All Hazards Alert Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana. In addition to local radio weather coverage, these radios alert you to severe and potentially deadly weather situations giving you time to take emergency action.
A Saturday poverty simulation event in Pulaski County has been canceled. It was to take place from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. EDT at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Winamac. Purdue Extension was hosting the event to help people understand the complexities and frustrations of living in poverty day to day. It will be rescheduled sometime this fall.
An Argos man says chuck holes on Oak Road south of 6A road are to blame for the single vehicle Monday afternoon accident that sent him to the hospital. Robert Dille, 53, was southbound on Oak Road south of 6A road and lost control of his 1988 Ford Ranger, according to information from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office. Dille’s truck veered off the east side of the road, hit a tree and spun around 180 degrees before coming to rest. He was treated and released from the Plymouth hospital.
The harshest winter in nearly four decades is putting a squeeze on the Starke County Highway Department’s road repair budget. Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the county commissioners his drivers spent 94 days plowing more than 150,000 miles. They also logged 35,000 more miles in support roles. “We used over 44,500 gallons of diesel and a lot of gasoline,” Ritzler said. “We did not run out of salt or sand, as many local agencies did. As a result, we did not have to pay the premium prices for added material. Our salt cost was $48 per ton throughout the winter. The counties that had to get extra had to get it for over $200 a ton, so we were lucky there.”
Ritzler says the Starke County Highway Department will be able to absorb the overtime and fuel costs in the existing budget. “We did have a cushion built in. Unfortunately the pillow is now gone. We have no extra money. We were hoping to use that extra money to add to the road improvement program and to make that where we could improve the roads. We’re not going to be able to do that now without added funds. That’s the greatest effect. It’s going to affect our road program a little bit. We’ll still be able to stay at a maintaining level that we did last year, but we won’t be able to get to an improvement level,” Ritzler said.
The initial 2014 road improvement recommendation list contained 191 miles of improvements at a cost of nearly $1.4 million. A combination of state-mandated budget cuts and winter snow removal costs slashed that to 138 miles of improvements at a cost of $750,000. Ritzler says some of the major improvements were also downgraded due to a lack of money.
The Marshall County Commissioners approved a retirement request during their meeting Monday morning.
Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck wasn’t present during the meeting Monday, but Commission President Kevin Overmyer read aloud Haeck’s request by letter for retirement which would become effective May 2.
