The Starke County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an incident involving alleged neglected dogs.
According to officials at the Sheriff’s Department, a resident called police on Friday to report that her neighbor is neglecting her dogs. There were dogs inside the residence and no one had been around for days. A couple of days later, police received a call from a resident stating that her dog had been stolen and she believed her neighbor took the dog and sold it in Chicago. On Sunday, police went to the residence at 2230 East and 150 South in Knox, owned by Joanne Coronado. Officers obtained a search warrant and found 12 dogs inside the residence. They were removed from the premises and were released to the custody of the Starke County Humane Society. The health department was also called to the scene and after an investigation, condemned the residence.
We received word that former WKVI morning on-air personality, Tom Belcher, passed away early Tuesday morning. His health had been failing in recent months and was just transferred to Golden Living Center in Knox this week and he passed away at IU Health Starke Hospital.
Tom graduated from Knox High School in 1987 and began as the morning DJ at WKVI in the mid-1990s. He had a great talent for music, singing, dancing and entertaining the residents in the Kankakee Valley. He was 42 years old.
Funeral services are pending with the Braman and Son Memorial Chapel in Knox.
Eight days after Andy Howes was laid to rest with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetary another hero went to her final resting place in Knox. Mira, a retired bomb sniffing dog was laid to rest at the Knox VFW Post with full military honors Saturday. Mira had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan for 8 years. She served her country with great honor before being returned home in 2009.
She was adopted by Don Thomas and retired to his farm near Grovertown. There she lived in peace and tranquility until her passing on June 30 at the age of 12.
Before her death, she was inducted as a full member of the Knox VFW Post #728 and the Hamlet American Legion. Thomas reported that he was told that Mira was shot twice and wounded once in a bomb blast.
We at WKVI salute Mira, and are proud to have her final resting place here in Starke County.
More than 10 years ago, Cheryl Runkle lost her class ring. Thanks to a Facebook Group called “If you grew up in Knox, IN, you remember when,” the ring has been returned, after traveling all the way from Indiana to Florida and back again.
An employee of a gas station in Hamlet found a ring during one of the festival weekends, and turned the ring in to Maxine Rowe, who was the manager of the gas station at the time. The ring was kept in a drawer until its rightful owner could be found, but several months later, all hope was lost. Rowe took the ring home and has been trying to find its true owner ever since.
“Every time I’d look at it, it was like, ‘Man I really need to find out who owns this ring, but how am I gonna do this?’ Then I saw those people on there and I thought somebody has to know somebody that lost a ring that graduated in that year. She just happened to be on there,” said Rowe.
Rowe had posted a comment on the Facebook group, asking if anyone from the Knox High School graduating class of 1985 had lost a class ring. Coincidentally enough, Runkle was the first person to reply to the post, less than ten minutes later. After describing the ring to Rowe, Runkle’s hopes were confirmed after she received a picture of the ring online.
“It was like winning something, you know. It was just like, what? Is it mine? Is it me? That’s the way I felt, is it me? I can’t really describe how it felt. It was great. Then there was the whole suspense, because she didn’t comment right away, and then she said she believed it could be. I think the most exciting thing was that everybody else was so excited too,” said Runkle.
The entire conversation between Rowe and Runkle concerning the ring caught the attention of many members of the group. Several people also replied to the post, saying they were engrossed in the unfolding of the event, sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to learn if the ring had finally come home.
“It was meant to go home, and I put a little note in there: ‘I’m finally home,’ with the ring. I put on a little stickie note and put it on there,” said Rowe.
Runkle has received the ring and confirms it is hers. After more than 10 years on the lam, the ring has returned halfway across the country to its proper owner.
The Pulaski County Commissioners discussed agricultural irrigation during their recent meeting.
Commissioner Kenneth Boswell commented that he has gotten several complaints from drivers and motorcyclists about irrigation spraying ditch water into the roadway. They are complaining that it’s stagnant ditch water and that it’s being sprayed into their vehicles if the windows are down and the slick road conditions could cause an accident. Commission President Michael Tiede was asked to comment on the discussion after the meeting:
“I personally got calls about it from people riding motorcycles to new cars, you know, getting the stinky water on their cars or people having their T-tops open. Kevin Tankerslee, the county attorney, is thinking there might be a state law. He’s going to look into it and try to find out what can be done because this seems like a big concern,” said Tiede.
More than a year after the incident, Jack Haut is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow. On July 22, Haut was found guilty of Reckless Homicide, a Class C felony after his truck struck the motorcycle of Tom White on July 2, 2010, killing him in the crash. The crash occurred on U.S. 35.
In the state’s argument, Bourff said that Haut was driving recklessly, forcing drivers off the road, speeding, and driving in the opposite lane of traffic. After Haut passed two vehicles on U.S. 35, he pulled back into his normal lane of travel, but veered back to the opposite lane where he struck the motorcycle of Tom White. No brake lights were seen by witnesses, and there was no testimony that would indicate why Haut did not recall anything from the accident or afterward.
For the defense, they said that this was a tragic accident. Haut’s speed could not be determined by the state crash reconstructionist, and the coroner said that the injuries were consistent with highway speeds. They argued that the medication in Haut’s system, including Dilata, Oxycodone, and Xanax, were not abused, but were in fact within the therapeutic range prescribed by a physician. No alcohol was involved in the accident.
Haut will be sentenced tomorrow in the Starke Circuit Court at 11 a.m.
Culver Academies is teaming up with the Bike Barn in Culver to present another in the BB’s ongoing series of Culver history bike tours on Saturday, August 20th starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.
The tour will begin at the Bike Barn, 103 East Lake Shore Drive, and journey just down the street to the Culver Academies Museum and Gift Shop for an introductory tour of the museum and opening remarks by museum curator Jeff Kenney.
Following that will be an historic tour of Culver Academies, the hidden gem of architectural and aesthetic charm that it is.
The total distance of the tour will be five miles and is open to the public. Riders will need to bring their own bicycles, and use of helmets is strongly encouraged. All riders ride at their own risk.
Anyone who would like to gain a sense of what Culver is like, or what it was was like in the past is encouraged to attend. That’s 9:30 a.m. at the Bike Barn in Culver.
Help fill these shelves at the Starke County Food Pantry!
Knox City Clerk-Treasurer, Jeff Houston, and the staff at the Clerk’s Office is conducting a food drive for the Starke County Food Pantry:
“We just thought that this would be a good thing to do for the community and we hope that we get a lot of support from the community. People physically come into the city hall to pay their water bill and their sewer bill and they’ll see this and we hope that people will be generous,” said Houston.
Houston is looking for these items to be brought into the Clerk’s Office at City Hall:
“All kinds of canned vegetables, cereal, canned soup, pastas like macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles. The food pantry was asking for tuna, oatmeal, and those kind of things. So just about anything that’s edible,” said Houston.
Left to right: Starke County Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman, Jeremiah Patrick, Monica Collins, Harold Smith, James Upsall, Rob Olejniczack, Rich Gast, Caitlyn Hinshaw, Melissa Osburn, Sandy Binkley, Hugo Reese, Chris Kisela, and Bob Leffert.
Officers from the Kankakee Valley Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #129 participated in a Shop with a Cop event yesterday at ALCO in Knox. Chris Kisela, Knox City Police Officer and FOP President, talked about yesterday’s event:
“We’ve been doing fundraisers over the summer. We’ve raised over $2000 so far. We’ll take that $2000 and spend it on school clothes. The kids will have $100 each to buy school clothes for the upcoming school year,” said Kisela.
Today, the Pulaski County Health Department will be offering a walk-in clinic for school children who need their immunizations for school.
The walk-in clinic is open today from 3 – 7 p.m. ET at the Health Department for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade. The Health Department is charging $8.00 per shot. If you are on Medicaid, you will need your Medicaid card and the Health Department will bill Medicaid directly. Parents should also present immunization cards when at the clinic.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers announced that the Knox Board of Public Works approved the lowest conforming bid for the upcoming storm water project.
“H & G Underground Services from Laporte, Indiana, their bid for $688,977 was the lowest bid and that was taken under advisement until that could be checked by Territorial Engineering and the City of Knox attorney,” said Chambers.
The Pulaski County Jail underwent an inspection last week by an inspector from the Indiana Department of Corrections.
In his report, Lee Hoard said that Sheriff Michael Gayer, Commander Phillip Cherry and the staff are to be commended on the maintenance of the jail. The jail is clean and the staff are professional and receptive to suggestions and recommendations. The offenders were interviewed and stated that the felt safe in the facility, the food was good and the staff treated them well. The only recommendation made was to provide two dates on leftover food: date in and date out.
Have you ever wondered why gas prices go up at the pump when consumption is down, or why pricing varies so much from station to station or even town to town? What about why, when oil prices drop considerably, prices at the pump only drop a few pennies?
Well, WKVI Radio has arranged for those questions and more to be answered by an “insider.” Scott Imus, Executive Director of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, will be in Knox August 25th at the Knox Community Center for a presentation and will be available to answer your questions. All governmental officials and individuals alike are invited to attend. Imus will begin his presentation at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The session is co-sponsored by Senator Ed Charbonneau, Representative Nancy Dembowski, and Knox Mayor Rick Chambers.
Cecilia Torres, Services Coordinator at the Starke County Food Pantry is seeing some donations coming into the facility which helps the 220 families the pantry serves each month.
“We’ve had a lot of organizations, a lot of people making donations, especially of the fresh vegetables. We’re really appreciative of that,” said Torres.
The Starke County Commissioners Thursday removed county treasurer Linda Belork from office. The action was taken after the commissioners received a state audit of the office in which there were a considerable number of irregularities found. The commissioners have filed a complaint for default on the surety bond and damages. The surety bond company, Ohio Casualty Insurance, and Treasurer Linda Belork are named as defendants in the suit. Commissioner Kathy Norem asked for the removal, seconded by Jennifer Davis.
An accident claimed the life of Joann Rannels of Koontz Lake yesterday morning. The accident happened at 1100 East on U.S. 30 at 11:00 a.m. Officers on the scene reported that Rannels proceeded through an intersection and was struck by an eastbound pickup truck driven by Lukas Holcomb of Indianapolis.
As reported yesterday, Leonard Rudd, 85, passed away at his home Wednesday evening. For the better part of his life, he was involved in the automotive business, owning and operating his Chevrolet-Buick store in Knox from 1961 to 1989.
He was also an auctioneer, and for many years sang with the original Rudd Family Singers.
Leonard Rudd, age 85 passed away on Wednesday, August 10 at his home in Knox. He was born to Rev. Orban and Anna (Mullins) Rudd on June 13, 1926 in McGoffin County Kentucky. In 1939 the Rudd Family relocated from the mountains of southeastern Kentucky to the flatlands of northwest Indiana, making a home here in Starke County. Continue reading →
Andrew W. Sturgeon, 25, of Winamac was arrested Tuesday by Pulaski County Police on a warrant. The warrant included charges of Fraud on a Financial Institution, a Class C Felony; and Theft, a Class D Felony. Sturgeon allegedly stole $947.77 through false deposits and withdrawals.
According to the police report, officers were dispatched to First Federal Savings Bank in Winamac. When the officer arrived and spoke with Assistant Branch Manager Rhonda Lower, he was told that a customer, Sturgeon, had been making deposits at ATMs that were not correct. On June 24th, Sturgeon reportedly made a deposit of $300 at an ATM near the bank. When checked, there was only $30 in the envelope. After making the deposit, Sturgeon withdrew $260 from the account, which actually had a balance of only $30.92.
Party conventions for both the Democratic and the Republican parties have been scheduled in Hamlet. The purpose of this convention is to select the nominees for all town offices for which more than one candidate has filed.
