The North Judson Town Board members approved a price quote of $62,795 for a new dump truck for the Utility Department. The older model will be traded in for the 2011 model from Northern Equipment in Plymouth. The payments of approximately $23,000 will be spread over three years. The Board has been planning for this purchase for the past four years.
An Elkhart County man was killed in a mobile meth lab fire last week and that incident reminds us of the continuing problem of meth production for sale or personal use throughout Northern Indiana.
Porter-Starke Addictions Councilor, Leo Smith, says that this area has had meth issues for a long time and the process to produce meth has been refined so it’s a lot easier to make. Smith says that meth is one of the most highly addictive drugs that a person can abuse.
As children head to the yellow buses for the start of school next week, national bus safety experts are offering several tips for parents:
Have children put everything in backpacks or school bags so they won’t drop things.
Wear bright colors that are more easily seen, and travel in groups when possible.
Most importantly, never reach under the bus or walk behind the bus.
After months of avoiding the issue, the Starke County Commissioners have publicly acknowledged a new jail is needed to relieve ongoing overcrowded conditions. That may not surprise anyone who has followed the problems at the jail over the past couple of years.
That was the opening sentence to an article in The Leader exactly 10 years ago today. In that same article, the Commissioners were proposing a joint meeting with the Council to discuss building a criminal justice center.
Calling it nothing short of tragic, Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff announced the arrest of Stacie Brown on Friday who was charged in the death of her three-year-old stepson, Ethan Brown. Charges brought by the Prosecutor include Battery Resulting in Death and Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death. Both are Class A Felonies.
The North Judson Town Board discussed modifying the commercial building permit fees at their meeting last week.
The current fee schedule allows a commercial business to pay $.15 a square foot of new building construction. Instead, the Board plans to incorporate a flat fee per permit. If the new building or addition is 10,000 square feet or less, the permit will cost $250. If it is 10,001 or more, the permit will be $500.
The Knox-Center Township Volunteer Fire Department took possession of its new fire truck last week.
“It has more storage and we can carry more firemen,” said Fire Chief, Ken Pfost. “The other truck that this vehicle is replacing could only hold three guys in the cab, but not comfortably. This truck hauls six firefighters. They can get their air packs on on the way to a call and be ready the moment they get to the scene and step off the truck. It has a refrigerator in it for rehab so we can keep water in it. If the guys get overheated they can get something to drink. It holds 1,000 gallons of water which is 250 gallons more than our other truck. It has a lot more capability.”
Washington Township Trustee, Shelly Kemble, and Washington Township firefighters Joe Short and David Pearman made a presentation to the Knox Community School Board about building a training tower at the old Washington Township School. Superintendent, A.J. Gappa explains why they had to seek the permission of the Board to pursue this project:
“Because the land that the old Washington Township school sits on was at one time donated to the school and given back to the Township and because of the structure of the Indiana laws, before anybody can do anything with that property, they have to get School Board approval. It’s supposed to be in the form of Parks and Recreation.”
The City of Knox will observe the National Night Out event tonight.
“We’ll have a street dance for everyone of all ages,” said Knox Neighborhood Watch Committee Spokesman, Greg Matt, of the festivities. “The Boy Scouts will be downtown helping us out and there were will be police cars, the new Hummer and the fire trucks will be there. We’re going to have the flashlight parade starting dusk and this year we’re going to take the parade, lead by new Hummer, down Main Street.”
The Police Department will be doing fingerprinting for the kids and there will be informational items for you concerning Neighborhood Watch.
The purpose of the National Night Out event is for you to get out and meet officers on the police force, the emergency responders and others in your neighborhood.
Lauren Jernas, who was recently crowned Starke County 4-H royalty, will be competing in the Indiana State Fair Queen pageant August 19th-21st. Lauren will be competing with 88 other contestants from around the State for the honor of being the 2012 Queen.
Lauren was asked why she decided to be part of the pageant.
“I was chosen as one of the Starke County 4-H Royalty winners so I decided to go down to the State Fair to go to the pageant and have fun and meet a lot of different girls from around the state.”
The Knox-Center Township Fire Department held its 100th Anniversary celebration over the weekend and the festivities included an equipment and apparatus parade Sunday afternoon. Several fire departments from the area participated in the parade.
Enjoy these pictures from the parade! Continue reading
A Starke County woman was taken into custody Friday and charged with causing the death of 3-year-old Ethan Brown on June 18. Stacie Brown, 34, is being held under a $250,000 bond in the Starke County Jail for two Class A felonies: Count one, Battery Resulting in Death; and count two, Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death. She is the step-mother of Ethan. Continue reading
After being honored by his hometown Monday and Tuesday, Chief Warrant officer Andy Howes will be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery.
Services will be held at Memorial Chapel on the Ft. Myers property at 11:00 a.m. ET. Following the services, the procession will go to Arlington with the casket riding on a horse drawn caisson. Also participating in the services will be an Army band and a firing squad will fire the 21 gun salute.
Edwin Buswell, Executive Director of the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission, approached the Starke County Commissioners and informed them of a grant they are seeking from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to fund debris removal from the Yellow River, from the Knox area to the Marshall County line.
“Back in 2008, the state got funds from the disaster recovery program to take care of debris that is clogging rivers and causing erosion on the ditch banks,” said Buswell.
In 1911, the Knox Fire Department came into existence. The first Fire Chief went on to become the Governor of Indiana. Knox’s first Fire Chief was none other than Henry F. Schricker.
To celebrate the 100 year Anniversary of the Fire Department, the current volunteer firemen are planning a huge celebration.
It all begins Saturday morning with an 11:00 a.m. corn and sausage roast dinner at the Southside Firehouse. Inside you’ll find various memorabilia and photos to view.
Nathan VanDerAa, of Star City, was in U.S. District Court in South Bend on Monday where he plead not guilty to two counts of Unlawful User of Controlled Substances in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition and one count of Manufacture of a Controlled Substance. A plea deadline date has been set for September 13th, 2011 and if a plea is not reached by that date, he will go on trial on September 20th. He is out of jail as he was released on an unsecured bond of $10,000 on July 6th.
The Knox Community School Board approved administrator contract rollovers and a one percent pay increase for all classified and administrative staff for 2011. The pay increase is the same the teachers received for 2011.
The Board also approved the advertisement of the budget for 2012. The budget will be printed for all funds including the General Fund, Debt Service Fund, Retirement/Severance Bond Debt Service, Capital Projects Fund, School Transportation and the Bus Replacement Fund. Total of all funds to be advertised equals $24,197,043.
The North Judson Town Board discussed urban chicken farms within town limits at their last meeting in July. The police department received complaints about the farms and the Board was going to look into the ordinances to see about prohibiting those types of activities in town.
On Monday, North Judson resident, Sarah Ransom, presented the Board with information concerning urban chicken farms. Ransom’s neighbors were also present at the meeting and they said that Ransom’s farm poses no problems with them. The Board agreed to review the information, but did not make any decision concerning the allowance of the farms within town limits.
Monterey Town Board President Jim Fleury told WKVI News yesterday that petitions to deannex from the Culver Community School Corporation are almost finalized and should be ready to be distributed. A committee wanting to deannex and go with the Eastern Pulaski School District will be seeking the signatures of registered voters and taxpayers in Tippecanoe Township. The petitions should be showing up in businesses as early as Friday of this week.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall and Ken Minett from Butler, Fairman, and Seufert met with the Starke County Commissioners regarding the hire of a project inspector to oversee the repairs on Bridge 156. The County has had an inspector for all bridge projects in the past, and the previous Superintendent was qualified to inspect and oversee these projects as well.
Minett told the Commissioners that hiring an inspector is paramount to the safety of the bridge, because it’s possible for contractors to leave out vital rebar, use incorrect steel, or make a small mistake that could sacrifice the integrity of the structure. Without an inspector, said Minett, the consequences are unknown and could be staggering.
