The Winamac Town Board approved a salary ordinance for 2012.
Winamac Clerk-Treasurer Judy Heater told WKVI that the members decided that due to the rising cost of insurance, all employees would be paid the same salary as in 2011. Continue reading
Bridge #62 in Starke County has caved in. Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall talked about the situation with the Commissioners.
“Bridge #62 has fallen in. It’s not in the water. I was in Indianapolis last week and checked on permits and we have the permits to pull the bridge up. We’re getting around getting our cables because we haven’t done this six years. We are not removing the abutments. We are just removing the box beams. If I remove the abutments, that could cause erosion and that could cost us more money. It will save us money in the long run by us taking this out. It’s going to take a couple of weeks to get things around because I have to get cables. Our crane will not just pick it up. We’ll have to scoot it, drag it and slide it and then haul it to the shop,” said Siddall.
Today is the deadline to submit applications for the Indiana Department of Housing and Community Development Authority grant for an owner-occupied rehabilitation grant. The grant is open to Knox residents.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers said that he hopes to partner with the Housing and Community Development Authority to help six to ten low-income or elderly homeowners in this project with home repairs. These repairs may include energy efficiency, accessibility and safety. If you are interested and believe you may qualify, call the Mayor’s Office at 772-4553.
The day after Christmas usually finds many businesses flooded with customers with post-holiday gift returns.
The Better Business Bureau wants you to make sure that you understand return policies prior to making any last-minute purchases. When you shop for that special Christmas gift, request a gift receipt, understand the store’s return policy, return the merchandise unused, unworn or unwrapped from the original packaging, and understand online returns.
Another group has presented the Starke County Food Pantry with a generous donation.
The Bass Lake Lions Club is one of the many groups and individuals who have come forth to help the Community Services of Starke County’s food pantry. The Lions donated $500 plus canned food to the pantry on December 14th.
Photo provided.
Twenty-two-year-old Brett Kersey pleaded guilty in Starke Circuit Court on Tuesday to one count of Child Molestation as a Class A Felony. Kersey was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections with five years of that sentence suspended to be served on probation. In addition, he will be placed in the Sex Offender Maintenance and Monitoring program, complete a sex offender treatment program, possess no obscene material, consent to random computer searches, and a whole host of other rules and regulations as part of his probation.
A Starke County man was arrested on a warrant for child solicitation on Monday.
Stanford Baker allegedly pulled up to his young female neighbor while in his pickup truck and she on her bike in October in the Grovertown area. He reportedly handed her a letter that contained sexual content. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department was contacted and a report was given to the Starke County Prosecutor where a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Kenneth K. Wallace made an appearance in the Starke Circuit Court Tuesday morning. Wallace’s attorney told Judge Kim Hall that he was interested in obtaining field notes from officers on duty that had responded to the incident. In addition, he requested several other forms of information that he says he was not provided with as part of the discovery process.
The Winamac Town Board discussed the recent paving work done as part of the completion of the sewer separation project in the downtown area.
Wastewater Superintendent Brad Zellers told the Board that there are some spots where the paving was done too quickly and it didn’t settle right. There are several areas that will need to be redone in the spring. The Board can’t close out the project until all of the work is done to the Board’s approval.
Starke County Commission President Dan Bridegroom recently informed his fellow commissioners and the public that a new state law will allow county workers to do county work that was previously bid out.
The jobs done by the county workers cannot exceed $100,000 and the workers must demonstrate the skills and training to do the work.
Park caretaker Jim Harrison passed away recently, and the North Judson Town Board took a portion of their meeting to express condolences to his family. North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Connie Miller described Harrison as a very dedicated and dependable employee to the county who will be sorely missed.
Two people were arrested on Saturday on several counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance after pills were found in the vehicle without a prescription.
A Knox City Police officer noticed a van parked at Zingo Express and noticed two people sitting in the car. The officer went on about his patrolling duties and when he came back by the gas station, the driver had moved the vehicle to the front of the building. The officer looked at the cashier and she reportedly pointed at the vehicle. The officer got out and questioned the two about their business at the gas station. Vergie Smith, of Walton, told police that she had been chased to Knox by her husband. She stated that they were allegedly having problems and she and Jason Record were sitting at the gas station waiting to go back to Walton. Record said that he was with her to help her.
Deadlocked on their refusals to compromise on recommendations for cutting the government deficit, both Republican and Democrat members of the Super Committee have admitted defeat.
Second District Democrat Representative Joe Donnelly was asked about that failure.
“They were not able to get enough movement on the revenue side,” said Donnelly. “We had significant cuts and we had enough to actually get into the neighborhood of the $3 trillion deficit reduction, but we could not get our friends to agree to a package that figured out how to increase revenue.”
The back part of the Winamac Town Park has been closed.
Park Superintendent Don Thompson told the Winamac Town Board this week that there is flooding in the back part of the park so Thompson decided to close it. That part of the park will be closed until Spring.
He also informed the Board that the park is winterized for the season.
The jackpot in Hoosier Lotto has grown to $25 million for tonight.
The jackpot has been on the rise since Tom and Gail Fox of Indianapolis scored a jackpot hit of $24 million on June 22nd.
You have until 10:39 p.m. ET tonight to purchase your shot at the hometown multi-million dollar jackpot. Hoosier Lotto tickets cost just $1.00 per play. For another dollar, you can add Tag 6 to your Hoosier Lotto tickets for a chance to win additional prizes from $2.00 to $100,000.
A 39-year-old Winamac woman died as a result of injuries sustained in a single vehicle accident in Winamac early Friday morning.
A witness told police that she was inside her home at 478 N. 100 W. in Winamac when she heard the sound of a vehicle skidding on the roadway followed by a loud crash. The witness stated in the report that the driver was still inside the vehicle and she stayed with the vehicle until help arrived.
Two Pulaski County residents were arrested on drug charges after a traffic stop on Monday, December 5th.
Officers in Medaryville pulled over a vehicle driven by Francesville resident, Brent Hughes. The reporting officer stated in the report that when he approached the vehicle, the driver appeared to be shaking and was very nervous. The officer learned that Hughes had a suspended driver’s license. Hughes and his passenger, Dustin Hughes, of Medaryville, were asked to step out of the vehicle and were restrained in handcuffs by other officers who arrived on scene for backup. One of the deputies reportedly found controlled substances in the car as well as a bag with marijuana in it. They were taken to the Pulaski County Jail.
Along with debris clean up along the Yellow River in Knox up to the Marshall County line, Starke County Surveyor Dennis Estok said that more work is planned for the Yellow River.
The projects on the drawing board include sediment control along the Yellow River and work on the Yellow River at Wythogan Park. Last summer, a drowning occurred at the U.S. 35 bridge on the Yellow River, and Estok said that area is really dangerous.
The Qualified School Construction Bond project continues at Knox High School. Recently the water pipes were replaced and the pool was redone. At the time the bids were accepted on those projects, some alternative bids were put out too.
One of the bids was to replace student lockers and Superintendent A.J. Gappa talks about the second bid. Continue reading
Two drivers were injured in an accident that involved two semi trucks in Winamac on Wednesday.
Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department officers at the scene learned that Richard Vanes of Logansport was traveling in his semi on 550 South and came upon the intersection with 300 East in the Winamac area. Vanes said he was not sure if the semi that James Kline of Rochester was driving was going to stop at the intersection. Kline did not stop at the stop sign and traveled through the intersection. Vanes attempted to move to the other side of the roadway but was not able to avoid a collision. The trailer attached to Vanes’ semi slid off the roadway and struck a utility pole. The trailer then rolled over, spilling its contents into a field.
