The Indiana State Department of Health indicated that the number of deaths from the flu remains at 43.
The number has risen steadily for the last few weeks, but it has tapered off for now. Most deaths involve people over the age of 65 and health officials are asking those in that age group to seek medical attention immediately if flu symptoms are being experienced.
1st Source Bank has been ranked #25 in an annual review of the nation’s 100 largest publicly held financial institutions.
Forbes has officially recognized 1st Source Bank as one of America’s Best Banks. The bank ranked higher than any other bank based in Indiana.
Two Pulaski County officials have been suspended with pay, but neither the county commissioners nor their attorney have released any clue as to why. The county commissioners recently suspended Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker and secretary Lin Morrison with pay following an investigation, and have appointed Rex Cudworth as the interim superintendent.
The commissioners also ordered that the locks be changed at the county highway garage, but will not elaborate on what prompted the action. The investigation continues, however, as the pair is still suspended with pay. Personnel matters must be discussed in an executive session, but any vote to terminate an employee or suspend an employee without pay must be taken at a public meeting.
The fire at Dillman Tire and Auto in Winamac remains under investigation.
An investigator with the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office is expected to return to the fire scene today. Winamac Fire Chief Bill Weaver said the representative was unable to get to Winamac earlier this week to conduct the investigation.
The late night fire destroyed the business at the corner of Logan and Pearl streets. It started late Friday night and four fire departments struggled to contain the blaze. Firefighters were able to leave the scene six hours later. Weaver has not given a preliminary cause of the fire. He hopes answers as to the cause of the blaze will be found soon.
The Starke County Election Board is expected to meet at 10 a.m. this morning to discuss a number of topics, including the Knox Community School Corporation’s request to hold a special election on May 7 in order to present a public question to its voters.
“We cover 138 square miles and we have contact points in each of the four quadrants the school district covers. They report back to our director of transportation, who is Julie Soplanda. Julie calls me and then I make the decision on the delay,” said Superintendent Johnson.
Gas prices have spiked this week throughout Indiana, having gone from a state average of $3.34 on Jan. 27 to $3.56 on Wednesday. Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com told WKVI that the spike could be attributed to three major factors including refinery maintenance, rising crude oil prices, and the idea that the economy is improving.
DeHaan said that the cost of crude oil was around $85 in early December, but has since raised to $98 per barrel – a 14 percent jump, DeHaan said, and it’s defintely not helping. He said the rising cost of crude oil is due in part to a newly-opened pipeline that allows accumulated oil inventory to be sent out toward other parts of the country, raising the demand.
With all the freezing and thawing that’s been going on, the prominence of potholes throughout the area is on the rise. Knox Street Superintendent Jeff Borg told WKVI that the weather has been surprisingly gentle to the roads – that is, until these last few days. A few potholes have popped up in the area, and Borg said his crew is hoping to get those filled up soon.
The Marshall County Emergency Management Agency is teaming up with the Marshall County SKYWARN group and the National Weather Service to present the annual Weather Observer and Outreach Talk program.
This weather spotter course will be presented in a webinar setting and conference call.
Democrat State Senator Jim Arnold of LaPorte has introduced a number of bills this legislative session on a variety of issues, including price preferences for veteran businesses, better government transparency, and increased public safety.
Senate Bill 271 aims to create opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses to participate in providing purchases and services for state agencies. The bill would require state agencies to have a set goal of veteran-owned businesses contributing at least three percent of purchases for the total dollar amount consumed every fiscal year. The bill would require the Indiana Department of Administration to post on its website and present to the governor and the legislative council an annual report recognizes state agencies that did not meet past fiscal year goals, and would also include the reason for missing the goal and what is being done to correct it.
A week since the bomb threat was originally discovered, Plymouth Police Department officers have announced that they have “narrowed down” the suspect pool after reviewing surveillance footage near the boy’s restroom where a bomb threat was penciled on the wall at the Plymouth High School.
The threat claimed that a bomb would go off in the high school library on Jan. 24 at 12:30 p.m., prompting the school to undergo a two-hour delay that morning to allow more than a dozen state troopers, two bomb dogs, and local police to search the school for an explosive. Fortunately, the threat turned out to be a hoax; no bomb was found.
A Starke County man received his sentence in the Starke Circuit Court last week after he pleaded guilty to Burglary as a Class C felony. William Lamphier admitted to breaking into a barn at 8880 N. 1175 E. and taking items.
Lamphier was accused of stealing a weed eater, a power washer, a toolbox filled with tools, a gas can with gas, a blower, and a round black heater belonging to Larry Perry. Lamphier reportedly used a flat-head screwdriver or similar tool to pry open an entry door to gain access to the barn sometime after Sept. 2, 2012. The items were later located at a trailer in Plymouth on Sept. 28, leading police to arrest Lamphier for the crime.
A volunteer firefighter for 26 years, Phillip L. Banasiak passed away on Friday. Banasiak had been the fire chief for the Bass Lake Fire Department for eight years and dedicated his life to saving others. In 2011, however, Banasiak went through one of the hardest ordeals of his life after he was diagnosed with complications from prostate cancer.
Democrat Senator Jim Arnold of LaPorte and Republican Senator Ed Charbonneau of Valparaiso have co-authored a piece of legislation that would expand benefits for family members of state employees who pass away in the line of duty.
Senate Bill 324 would raise the benefit amounts from $50,000 to $100,000. Arnold explained that he realizes the conditions highway workers and others experience and this bill will make sure that if a worker loses his or her life on the job, his or her family will be adequately compensated.
Two people were present for their sentencing hearings last week in the Starke Circuit Court after they were arrested at the Super Value Inn by police who had been executing an arrest warrant and stumbled upon a hotel room housing a methamphetamine lab operation.
Republican Senator Ed Charbonneau of Valparaiso has introduced legislation that would increase the minimum penalty for parking in a handicapped parking space from $50 to $200.
The bill passed the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law committee on a vote of 5-4.
Charbonneau said tickets are usually written when citizens complain about a possible violation. He hopes that a steeper fine will keep motorists from taking parking spots specifically designated for disabled residents.
Local businesses should be on the lookout of a deceptive letter that may appear to come from the Business Services Division of the Secretary of State’s Office.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson stressed that the letter should be ignored as it is an attempt to defraud Indiana business owners.
NIPSCO will be upgrading the way it reads natural gas and electric meters.
The company is installing an Automated Meter Reading System which will allow employees to gather monthly readings through a receiver mounted in a NIPSCO vehicle. This eliminates the need for employees going door to door to read more than 900,000 meters a month. It also takes out obstacles the employees face that include inclement weather, dog bites and tripping hazards.
Three people were arrested after police reportedly found them in possession of drugs.
Knox City Police officers noticed a vehicle parked at the Next Door Food Store gas pumps in Knox for an extended amount of time during the overnight hours Friday. Police approached Shaun Fugate who was cleaning the windshield and asked for his identification and the vehicle’s registration. As officers were gathering all of that information, they allegedly smelled burnt marijuana on Fugate and inside the vehicle.
A police vehicle was damaged in an evening crash on Thursday.
Cindy Rhodes of Plymouth was traveling south on Michigan Road in Plymouth when she turned on her turn signal and turned into a parking space at 1st Source Bank.
Shanna L. Gilmer, an officer with the Plymouth Police Department, explained that she was turning onto Washington Street when Rhoads turned quickly into her driving lane. She was going to the right of Rhoads’ vehicle and Gilmer added that Rhodes did not have a turn signal on when the collision occurred.
