Starke County Youth Soccer Sign-ups begin this Week

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Youth Soccer League committee is already thinking forward to the 2012 season. Sign up begins Saturday, January 7th at the Henry F. Schricker Public Library in Knox from time is 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The youth sign up fee is $35.00 for grades preschool thru 8th grade and $90.00 for a family of three. After three children, the cost is $20 per child. You can also sign up on the web at this website.

Also we would like to remind you that the Qatar World Cup is next year, so if you are planning to go over there, this is the perfect time to look for the dates and times of the matches so you can create your itinerary accordingly.
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Accident West of Plymouth Claims Life of Starke County Man

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was killed in a single vehicle car accident last night.

Marshall County Coroner Bill Cleavenger said that 28-year-old Richard Lee Dennis was traveling westbound on 9th Road, just east of Quince Road when he encountered a set of railroad tracks. Cleavenger said it appeared that he didn’t slow or stop at the railroad tracks and went over the incline and over the tracks at a high rate of speed. The road conditions were slick at time and Dennis reportedly lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree. He was killed upon impact. Emergency personnel extricated his body from the vehicle and cleared the scene. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and Plymouth Police Department were assisted by the Indiana State Police Reconstruction Team.

Toxicology results are pending.

Judge Rules in Linda Belork Case

Posted on Author WKVI
Linda Belork

Jasper County Circuit Court Judge John Potter ruled yesterday in favor of the Starke County Commissioners in a suit involving former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork.

The case involved Belork’s removal from office on August 13th after a state audit turned up financial discrepancies. Belork’s attorney, Ethan Lowe, had argued that the Commissioners did not have the right to remove Belork from office. He argued that only the state’s Attorney General had the right to do so.

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Starke County Sheriff Seeks Approval for Supplemental Pension Fund

Posted on Author WKVI
Sheriff Oscar Cowen
Sheriff Oscar Cowen

Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen came before the board of commissioners yesterday to ask approval for implementing a supplemental plan to the Police Pension Fund program.

“Morgan Stanley is offering a supplement to our retirement and they have to have approval through the Commissioners so the Auditor’s Office can deduct from the percentage of pay that the employees want to put into a supplement retirement,” Cowen told the Commissioners. “They are willing to come up and present a program, but they said they just need the approval of the Commissioners to have the supplement so the Auditor can deduct it from their pay.”

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Two Arrested after Confronted with Intimidation Incident

Posted on Author WKVI
Donald Benton, Jr.
Donald Benton, Sr.

A father and son were arrested Saturday night after the son was confronted about an intimidation incident.

Starke County police were called after Donald Benton, Jr. allegedly threaten to kill a North Judson man. Benton, Jr. went to a North Judson residence and asked the victim to call another individual to meet Benton, Jr. somewhere so he could kill him, according to the police report. The victim said he wasn’t going to do that and Benton, Jr. became upset and started screaming at him. Benton, Jr. allegedly held the gun up to his face and threatened him to not tell anyone about what just happened. The victim then told his mother who then called police.

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Starke County Commissioners Reorganize

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners: Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom and Jennifer Davis

In the first meeting of the new year, the Starke County Commissioners reorganized and made appointments to several boards. Kathy Norem was elected as the President of the Board of Commissioners with Dan Bridegroom as Vice President and Jennifer Davis as Secretary. The vote for commissioner Norem was unanimous, and she thanked her predecessor, Dan Bridegroom, for his three years of service as Board President. Martin Lucas was retained as the county attorney.

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Starke County Council Reorganizes, Makes Appointments

Posted on Author WKVI
David Pearman

After serving five years as the Starke County Council President, Mark Smith announced before yesterday’s reorganization meeting that he would not stand for reelection. David Pearman was elected the President and Mitch Semans the Vice President. Attorney Martin Lucas was retained as the council attorney.

In appointments:
Mitch Semans accepted both the Starke County Economic Development position and the Council’s seat on the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission.
Tony Radkiewicz was named to the Solid Waste Board.
Judy Benninghoff remained on the Planning Commission.
Ken Wallace was reappointed to the Alcohol Beverage Commission Board.

Knox Man Arrested after Police Receive Calls about Man Carrying Gun

Posted on Author WKVI
Robert Wisilinski

A Knox man was arrested Friday after police received calls about a man carrying a gun.

A witness told police that he was letting his truck warm up when Robert Wisilinski approached his property on Pearl Street, stopped and stared at him. The witness said he saw a hand gun in his hand and then Wisilinski walked away. He reportedly saw Wisilinski tuck the gun in his pants behind his back. Police caught up to Wisilinski who reportedly said it was only a BB gun. He was taken to jail.

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Knox Man Arrested after Argument and Damaging Rental Home

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Friday after he reportedly caused damage to a rental home.

Police were called to 405 E. Danker Street where Jessica Skorup stated that she had an argument with David Howard and wanted him to leave the residence. She entered the home she was going to rent with Howard and allegedly found him making holes in the closet walls with a pole. Howard was told to leave and he continued the destruction.

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Kristen Miller Wins K99.3 Football Pick’em Contest!

Posted on Author WKVI
Ted Hayes, Kristen Miller, Tom Berg and Lenny Dessauer celebrate Miller's win in the contest!

Congratulations to Kristen Miller who won the K99.3 Football Pick’em contest! Every contestant who entered had to choose who would win all of the games that week and Miller had the most correct picks. For her efforts, she won a 43” Plasma TV from Sears in Knox! She also got a beautiful trophy from Sports Unlimited.

She said she got some help from her brother, but she did most of the work.

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Starke County Jail Committee to Meet Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Jail

The Starke County Community Jail Committee will meet this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in the County Annex building.

One agenda item is the scheduling of public meetings to inform the public of the options to solve the jail problems. Commissioner Kathy Norem, who is chairing the committee, conceded that specific plans have not been formulated, but the public will be brought up to date on where the committee is at this point in time.

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Robert Reed Initial Hearing Held in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Robert Reed

Robert Reed, of LaPorte, was in Starke Circuit Court last week where he pleaded not guilty to charges of Robbery, Receiving Stolen Property, and Resisting Law Enforcement as a Class D Felony and a Class A Misdemeanor charge.

The charges stem from an incident on May 22nd, 2011, when Robert Reed and Murriah Dailey allegedly stole items from Marvin Miller’s home. Police were alerted to the incident and they were found riding a motorcycle on State Road 10. An officer from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department attempted a traffic stop on County Road 750 West, they stopped and then took off and a pursuit began. The pursuit ended just past County Road 400 South. The motorcycle ran into soft dirt in a corn field and the pair fled from the motorcycle. A K9 unit was deployed and stopped Murriah Dailey, and Reed was detained by the K9 but later fled on foot. Dailey was in custody in the back of a North Judson Police car and she attempted to drive away in the car. The car was shot at and disabled and she was tased to gain compliance. She was taken to the Starke County Jail after she was medically cleared from IU Health Starke Hospital.

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Initial Hearing Held in Starke Circuit Court for Timothy Howard, Jr.

Posted on Author WKVI
Tim Howard, Jr.

After he was arrested when police found him breaking into a home, Timothy Howard made his initial appearance in the Starke Circuit Court last week. Facing charges of Possession of a Legend Drug as a Class D felony, Attempted Residential entry as a Class D felony, Possession of a Controlled Substance as a class D felony, two counts of Resisting Law Enforcement as a Class A misdemeanor, Public Intoxication as a Class B misdemeanor, and Criminal Mischief as a Class B misdemeanor.

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WKVI’s Ed Hasnerl Announces Next Trip

Posted on Author WKVI
Lincoln Memorial

WKVI’s Ed Hasnerl has announced the 2012 tour of Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg Battlefield, scheduled for June 14th through the 18th.

Stops on the five day motor coach tour, in addition to Gettysburg, include the U.S. Capitol, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Plantation home, and the George Washington Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia for a special musical program.

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Updated License Plate Available this Year

Posted on Author WKVI

An updated design of Indiana’s popular “In God We Trust” license plate will be available for new or renewed vehicle registrations in 2012.

The redesign accommodates a new licensing plate numbering system. All standard and specialty plates have been or will be redesigned by the end of 2013 to remove the small stacked letters and allow up to six larger letters and numbers.

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From the WKVI Archives

Posted on Author WKVI

It was on this date in 1999 we were digging out from the snow. Starke County received 18 ½ inches of snow on January 2nd and 3rd.

On this date in 1973, Superintendent Kermit Weddell was reporting that after a lengthy delay, construction on the new $5 million dollar North Judson-San Pierre High School was underway. It would be built to house up to 800 students in grades 9 through 12. Official ground breaking was set for February that year.

Accident Claims the Life of North Judson Resident’s Son

Posted on Author WKVI

A North Judson mother is mourning the death of her son, whose life was taken Friday in a traffic accident in Indiana. Etha Kallin lost her son in the I-465 crash.

Paul Kallin was pronounced dead at the scene by a representative of the Marion County Coroner’s office from injuries sustained in the crash, which occurred shortly before 1:00 p.m. in Indianapolis, on city’s east side. Kallin was driving his vehicle in the far right lane, when it abruptly turned left across I-465 and was struck on the driver’s side door by another vehicle driven by Clifford Perkins, 34, of Gary. Perkins and a front seat passenger in his pickup were taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

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Public Hearing on Proposed Klockner Drive Project This Week

Posted on Author WKVI

Citizens of Knox and landowners affected by the Klockner Road Project in the Industrial Park will be brought up to date on the proposed work at a meeting Wednesday night to be held at the Henry F. Schricker Library in Knox.

According to Starke County Development Director Charles Weaver, the road was designed as a rural thoroughfare and was never meant to carry the truck traffic now using it.

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