The West Central School Board members took some time to review the county tax draws from Pulaski County and Jasper County and Superintendent Charles Mellon commented that there was some excess levy.
“I think that’s mainly due to late payment of taxes from the prior years and then and I think the counties many times underestimate for their own protection. They’re making sure that they have enough money to give out when it is due,” stated Mellon.
The members of the Kankakee Valley Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #129 handed out two awards last week – the first two of its kind in the lodge’s history.
The members named Knox City Police Officer Chad Dulin as Officer of the Year. He was given this distinction for his heroic act after a scary accident on Feb. 11, 2012.
Pulaski Memorial Hospital has announced the first New Year’s baby at the facility.
Skarlet Madison Ehlers of Star City was born Monday morning at 7:12 a.m. ET. Her parents are Kelsie Gainer and Shawn Ehlers of Star City. Scarlet weighed in at seven pounds, eight ounces and is 21.5 inches long.
Governor-elect Mike Pence gave his Inaugural Address today, thanking everyone who contributed to his success in the election including God and his family, supporters, and predecessors.
Pence said he is humbled by the trust placed in him by Hoosiers and accepted the responsibilities with gratitude and boundless confidence that Indiana is “poised for greatness.” He said that the leadership over the past eight years, and the service of thousands of dedicated public service, has led Indiana to emerge as “a torch of fiscal responsibility, innovation and reform.”
Republican State Sen. Randy Head of Logansport authored legislation that would improve tests for intoxication in the event of a drunk driving accident.
Senate Bill 168 amends the policy on blood-alcohol content tests to allow any qualified, properly-trained individual to take a bodily substance sample and have it used in court. Currently, the law only lets licensed physicians, nurses or advanced emergency medical technicians obtain samples that can be used as evidence.
The bill also specifies that a court is not prohibited from issuing a search warrant to attain a bodily substance sample from an individual suspected of driving while intoxicated.
SB 168 will be heard today by the Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law.
An official for the city of LaPorte received three traffic tickets early Thursday morning but denies allegations that he tried to flee from police.
Tim Stabosz, a 44-year-old former LaPorte City Council member and current secretary of the LaPorte Historic Preservation Commission, has been asked to resign from his position by Mayor Blair Milo, but said he has no plans to do so and is looking to rally support for what he calls a story that has gotten out of hand.
The Pulaski County Commissioners last week tabled a discussion regarding the possible hiring of two notaries, after Surveyor Jenny Keller pointed out that she was the only notary in the courthouse, and is now unable to perform those duties because of her new responsibilities as an officer holder.
Keller noted that another courthouse employee has been registered as a notary in another county, but notaries are statewide, so Keller feels she should be able to perform those duties in Pulaski County. However, even if that is not the case, the registration process for becoming a notary only involves a $60 fee and is done electronically.
A Knox man was sentenced in Pulaski Circuit Court recently after pleading guilty to amended charges in a plea agreement with the State.
David Mattes, Sr. was charged with Stalking, a Class C Felony and Residential Entry, a Class D Felony after an August incident in which he allegedly entered a woman’s home in Pulaski County without permission.
In a hearing last week, Pulaski County Prosecutor Stacey Mrak moved to amend the second count, Residential Entry, to a charge of Trespass as a Class A Misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to that charge. Circuit Court Judge Michael Shurn sentenced Mattes to 12 months in the Pulaski County Jail with 11 months suspended and to be served on probation. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim in this case.
The Starke County Commissioners last week tabled a discussion regarding a contract that has regularly been increasing in cost to determine whether or not the contract could be nullified. Maintenance Director Carl Goodrich said at the last meeting that the main issue is whether or not the county could get out of the contract with the current company, because they recently raised their contract cost up five percent – not the first time the company done this, Goodrich said.
The West Central School Board reorganized for the year during their recent meeting.
Jeff Tanner was elected president, Dennis Gutwein was elected vice president and Kerry Miller was elected secretary.
After 28 years, the CEO of Pulaski Memorial Hospital has retired. Richard H. Mynark retired Friday.
Mynark was instrumental in planning, developing and implementing the hospital’s critically needed facility renovation and modernization project in February 1985. The new front addition was finally complete in 2003.
Free Cervical Cancer and Breast Cancer screenings are scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday in Knox. The first screening will be at Dr. Browne’s office from 1-5 p.m. CT and will be conducted by Nurse Practitioners Jennifer Frasure and Erin Duff. The second screening will be held in the office of Indiana University Health physician Dr. Lyjia Strachan, OB/GYN on Wednesday from 1-4 p.m. CT.
Dr. John Taylor, another IU Health Starke Hospital OB/GYN, said pap tests and screenings for cervical cancer are important.
The Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts held their annual Conservation Awards Banquet on Jan. 8 as part of their 70th Annual Conference of Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and presented a number of awards to Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The theme for the conference was, “The Power of Conservation: Today’s Actions, Tomorrow’s Rewards.”
Two LaPorte men were arrested Wednesday after a traffic stop.
Investigators from the LaPorte County Metro Operations Unit and deputies from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department conducted the traffic stop and found Bruce Wakeman and Robert Ratz inside the vehicle.
In Pulaski County, the discussion continued regarding moving the assessor’s office, currently located in the courthouse, to a building across the street. Assessor Holly VanDerAa approached the commissioners again this week for an update, having sent each commissioner a letter proposing that the building, owned by Geneva McKinley, be used as the new assessor’s office.
A special meeting for the Knox Planning Commission has been scheduled for Jan. 14, and Board President Jeff V. Berg told WKVI that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the appointment of a planning commissioner.
A dispute is currently ongoing between Mayor Rick Chambers and the Planning Commission as to who gets to appoint the planning commissioner. Chambers said he believes it’s his appointment, while Berg feels the appointment is theirs to decide. Unfortunately, Chambers said it’s a confusing matter because it has been done both ways in the past.
The Starke County Commissioners last week accepted a bid for a company to perform the property assessments for the county. Assessor Rhonda Milner approached the commissioners with two four bids for the work and her recommendation, but she said two of the bids needed thrown out because they did not follow the requirements and specs of the bid. Also, one company is under litigation for unsatisfactory work.
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Starke County kicked off their event on Thursday as volunteers and participants gathered at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox to launch their fundraising efforts for the year.
Although there’s more than six months left to go before the Relay event, it’s still the perfect time to get involved, and more than 80 people did as the event boasted a terrific turnout. Attendees received information about the different ways to get involved in Relay and witnessed a moving Luminaria Ceremony honoring cancer survivors and remember those lost to the disease.
The Culver School Board this week approved their expenditure goals percentages for 2013. The board approved 55 percent toward academic achievement expenditures, 20 percent toward instructional support expenditures, 20 percent toward overhead and operational expenditures, and the remaining 5 percent to go toward non-operating expenditures.
