The public testing of voting machines will take place on Monday, April 7 at 10 a.m. CT on the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse.
Starke County Election Board officials encourage you to get acquainted with the electronic Microvote machines before you cast your important ballot in the May 6 Primary Election.
The North Judson Town Board will hold a special public meeting on Wednesday, April 2 at 8:30 a.m. CT at the building that currently houses the First Farmers Bank and Trust building at 310 Lane St.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry told WKVI that the bank is vacating the building to move to a different location in town. First Farmers Bank and Trust recently bought Bank of Indiana and will be moving to that location.
Winamac-based BraunAbility will be able to offer mobility solutions to the nation’s veterans through a new partnership.
The company recently entered into an agreement with the Adaptive Driving Alliance (ADA) to offer mobility equipment through their existing Federal Supply Schedule with the Veteran’s Administration. This will allow BraunAbility to leverage the success of the existing relationship while providing more choice and better mobility solutions for the nation’s veterans. Thanks to the partnership with BraunAbility, the ADA’s product offerings will now include lowered-floor accessible vehicles, expanding options and choice for veterans. BraunAbility’s full range of accessible vehicles will provide non-service connected veterans with a much wider array of new and pre-owned mobility options.
The Plymouth High School Music Department has been chosen as one of 96 schools in the country to receive the “Support Music Merit Award”.
The NAMM Foundation awards school music education programs with the “Best Communities for Music Education” (BCME) and individual schools the “Support Music Merit Award”. The BCME program recognizes the efforts of teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders working to assure that music education is part of the core curriculum. Overall, 376 districts were designated as “Best Communities for Music Education” and 96 individual schools were “Support Music Merit Award” winners.
Some taxpayers in our area may be in for a surprise when they file their Indiana returns.
H&R Block Senior Tax Advisor Michelle Bachtel says that could be the case if you moved mid-year, as the state calculates county taxes based on where you live on Jan. 1. For instance, someone who moved from Pulaski to Starke County and changed their withholding may end up owing state taxes.
Justin Reynolds from Knox High School was recognized at the 2014 Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Career Development Conference.
According to a published report on www.LaPorteCountyLife.com, the final state competition on March 14 found Reynolds in first place in the category of Financial Literacy.
The City of Knox is picking up leaves through Friday if you took advantage of the mild weather and did yard work. A second spring leaf pick up is scheduled May 5-9. Leaves should be placed at the front curb.
If you have brush that needs to be picked up, the street department will do that on Thursdays, weather permitting. Please separate your brush and your leaves.
A North Judson man and a Winamac man face illegal possession of a controlled substance charges in Pulaski County following their arrest Sunday in Pulaski County. DNR Law Enforcement Officers reportedly found them near the Tippecanoe River by the Winamac South Ramp crushing and snorting hydrocodone and acetaminophen pills for which they did not have prescriptions. Anthony Prato, 22, of North Judson and Zebadiah Breyfogle, 18, of Winamac were both taken to the Pulaski County Jail.
Bond has been set at $2 million for the owner of a Knox business destroyed by fire on Thursday, March 20. Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall found probable cause to charge James Campbell, 46, with arson, which is a Class A felony, during a Sunday afternoon hearing in his courtroom. He also ordered Campbell to surrender his passport. Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and State Fire Marshal’s Office arrested Campbell late Friday. He owns Starke County Recycling, also known as C&C Salvage. The business, located on U.S. 35 just south of Toto Road, caught fire on Thursday, March 20. Starke County dispatchers were notified at 5:17 p.m. The Bass Lake, Knox-Center Township, Hamlet, Washington Township, Koontz Lake, North Judson-Wayne Township, San Pierre and Monterey Fire Departments all responded to the blaze and spent several hours getting it under control. One firefighter was injured. Black smoke was visible for miles, and a brigade of tanker trucks hauled water to the scene. Continue reading
The Knox Board of Public Works members agreed to table discussion on the property located at 409 and 411 Lewis Drive until another time.
The members want to demolish the duplex that is located on those properties. The situation is rather interesting in that the duplex is situated on two different lots and were sold separately in a tax sale. The owner purchased one lot in a previous tax sale and the other half in a more recent tax sale.
The Starke County Emergency Services Board recently received $11,262 to help low-income households.
Half of those funds were allocated to Community Services of Starke County for households in emergency situations that need help with utilities. You may apply for assistance now at Community Services of Starke County from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.
The deadline to file federal income taxes is almost here. H&R Block Senior Tax Advisor Michelle Bachtel says many low and middle-income families benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit. “Basically depending on the number of children you have, the credit can range anywhere from $2 to $6,044. The Earned Income Tax Credit is also available for people who don’t have children. They do need to be considered low income according to the IRS, but there is also a credit available for them.” The amount of the Earned Income Tax Credit varies depending on the size of the household. For an individual who does not have any children, they can make up to $14,340, or if they are married they can make up to $19,680. For people that do have children, they can make up to $37,870 or $43,210 if they just have the one child. From there the amounts increase, but the maximum amount for three children they can make up to $51,567. The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the most lucrative. Unfortunately, Bachtel says it’s also one of the most widely abused. Continue reading
Next week is Money Smart Week and the staff at the Pulaski County Public Library in Winamac is hosting a program to help you get a hold of your finances.
Lisa Thompson from Fort Wayne will be presenting a program entitled “How to Save Money and Pay off Debt” on Thursday, April 10 at 5 p.m. ET at the library. She and her husband went through David Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Membership kit and found their $80,000 debt disappear.
This program will help veterans dealing with debt, failed businesses, or individuals who have been dealing with money problems. It not only discusses how to get out of debt but also touches topics on money saving and control.
Area high school students can get a jump on their higher education at Ancilla College as early as this summer. The school is following the national trend of offering Early Bird Courses. Local high school students who will be juniors or seniors this fall can take college courses during the summer. Executive Director of Admissions Eric Wignall says students get a huge tuition discount and can take fully transferable introductory college courses. “If you’re going off to IU or you’re going off to Harvard, it doesn’t matter. The English writing and literature and the micro-and macro- economics courses are going to transfer,” Wignall says. He notes one Plymouth High School student started taking classes during her junior year of high school, continued taking one or two credits per semester at $125 per credit hour, took a full load of courses during the summer sessions and graduated from Ancilla with an associate’s degree at the end of the summer after her high school graduation. As a result, she was able to start college at IU that fall as a junior. Continue reading
The Starke County Community Foundation is offering a new award for organizations called the “Sustainability Award”.
Executive Director Sarah Origer says any organization can apply for this $5,000 endowment grant.
“It’s a simple, two-page application,” said Origer. “We just want to know about your organization, about your priorities, about your long-term goals, and long-term planning. The top candidates will be invited to come in for an in-person interview.”
A meeting to gather interest in a dog recreation park in Knox will be held April 19 at 6 p.m. at the Henry F. Schricker Public Library in Knox.
Chuck Richardson told WKVI that he presented a list of names on a petition to start a dog park at the Knox Park Board meeting last week, but the board members reportedly told him that they would like to see people at their next meeting in favor of the incident.
Richardson proposed that the fenced-in dog park be located in Wythogan Park in Knox. If that location isn’t feasible, then another location could be sought.
The deadline to file federal and state income taxes for 2013 is quickly approaching. H&R Block Senior Tax Advisor Michelle Bachtel says anyone who has federal income tax withheld from their income should file regardless of the requirement to file. She says by doing so they can either receive a refund or properly credit any tax obligation they owe. This includes many teenagers who work part-time after school or during the summer.
A sure sign of spring in the Kankakee Valley is the opening of the Melody Drive In Theater at Bass Lake for the season. Fred Heise says they’re all set to open Friday, April 4 with a blockbuster and have several other popular flicks scheduled throughout the spring and summer. For Friday, Screen 1 will feature Captain America 2 and Need for Speed. Mr. Peabody and Sherman and Non-Stop will be showing on Screen 2. Other movies lined up for the summer include Rio 2, which is scheduled the week of April 11. Fred Heise is excited about the lineup for later in the season.
Knox Wastewater Superintendent Kelly Clemons told the Knox Board of Public Works this week that some snow melt and rain water got into manholes around the city and that issue will need to be addressed in the future. Some violations were also noted at the plant which are being remedied. Clemons said they could be fined for the violations, but she hasn’t received any penalties yet.
Students looking to get a jump on their college careers or maybe take a course during a less-stressful time of the year may want to see what Ancilla College has to offer. For starters, they offer a hefty discount on per-credit-hour tuition during the summer. Executive Director of Admissions Eric Wignall says a lot of students who struggled with a course during the regular school year use summer school as a do-over.
