This is Friday, and at 12:20 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. CT, Ted Hayes will travel down memory lane to a time when Sears of Knox was located downtown. Bud Straight was the Manager and Dick Pettinato the Assistant Manager. It was a time when Sears had a huge staff of almost 40 people and sold everything imaginable.
Dick Pettinato will help Ted remember those days. There were so many people at the store that the customers confused the brand names for employees.
Starke County Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall accepted a plea agreement Wednesday for Dwayne Clemons. Clemons plead guilty to two felony charges for an incident that occurred June 27th, 2009. Two other charges were dismissed.
In that incident, Clemons was charged with firing shots into a van carrying Jessie Sparks and a 9 year old girl. The shooting occurred after a physical altercation between Clemons and Sparks.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board did not make a decision concerning the future of the marching band program at its meeting this week.
Superintendent Lynn Johnson told WKVI that she gathered information on cost and number of students in other marching bands and presented that information to the Board. Several community members, parents and students attended the meeting and voiced their opinions and concerns about the marching band. The Board hopes to work with the students and the band department to keep the program alive in the future. Future meetings will entail planning and restructuring the marching band program to make it a sustainable program.
Knox City Police arrested Dawn Mann, of Knox, on preliminary charges of False Informing and Possession of Methamphetamine after a Monday traffic stop.
Knox police officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Jason Johnson of Knox. Police found that Jason had a warrant and arrested him. Since the passenger was drinking, she was allowed to contact someone to drive her home. The officer released the woman who said her name was Dawn Johnson. It was later discovered Dawn Johnson was actually Dawn Mann and she had several warrants through Starke and Marshall Counties.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has announced that 10 commanders are now in place to continue development of the regional emergency response task forces evolving into a statewide network of emergency support.
Ron Patrick, Chief Deputy of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, has been named as the Task Force Commander for District 2. The commanders are responsible for overseeing daily administrative operations, and recruiting resources to establish and expand the capabilities of the task force they oversee.
The North Judson Town Board is considering a parking ordinance in case of a snow emergency. The recent snow event proved problematic for the Street Department to push snow off the town streets around parked cars. The Board commended the Street Department on their efforts and thanked Doug O’Donnell and Jim Menis for offering their personal vehicles to assist in snow removal for the town.
On Tuesday, the Hamlet Town Board members signed a contract with H & G Underground Utility for the storm water improvement project during their recent meeting. The Board members also signed a notice to proceed with the project so work could begin at any time.
Friday is the final day to file for candidacy in the City of Knox spring Primary Election. Candidates seeking office in North Judson and Hamlet have until August 1st to file. In Starke County, the most recent filing occurred Tuesday when Brian Earnest, a Democrat, filed for the Hamlet #1 Town Council seat .
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver, testified last week on a legislative bill that would lessen the requirement for mint farmers of having to acquire burdensome permits and regulations that could force them to not continue in that farming field. According to Weaver’s testimony, none of the mint farmers in Starke County know if they will be able to extract the oil from the crop because of the permit issue.
The North Judson Town Board approved a request by the Railroad Committee to increase the Town’s match for grants for railroad improvements. The extra money will come out of the railroad fund. The IRSF grant match was previously approved for $48,175 and the Railroad Committee needed an additional $13,423. The request was approved for a total grant match of $61,598. With the Town’s grant match, the total IRSF grant will be approximately $233,000. The Railroad Committee is also applying for a T-Grant and the town’s match will be $20,540 which will also come out of the railroad fund.
The grant money will be used to rebuild railroad crossings, install drainage pipes, railroad ties, switches, and many other improvements.
The Culver Community School Corporation is mourning the death of high school business teacher, Michael Schwartz. He passed away at the age of 57, Saturday, at his residence in Plymouth.
According to Principal Albert Hanselman, Schwartz was a avid sports fan who had attempted to visit every big league baseball park in his lifetime. He was a Dodgers fan, although he said the Cubs were his second favorite.
The Indiana State Police-Lowell and Bremen Districts released methamphetamine lab statistics from the counties they serve. 6 meth labs have been seized by the Department in LaPorte County and in Pulaski County, 6 in Jasper County, 7 in White County, 16 in Fulton County, 15 in Cass County, and 53 in Marshall County.
30 meth labs were seized by Indiana State Police in Starke County.
If you remember when downtown Knox was a vibrant shopping area, you probably remember the huge Sears Store that employed several dozen employees.
Dick Pettinato was one of those employees, and this week Mr. Pettinato will be Ted Hayes’ guest on “Ted Hayes Remembers”. The program can be heard at 12:20 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. CT each Friday on WKVI-FM.
Does anyone in our listening audience know what a Johnny Popper is?
Johnny Poppers are all John Deere tractors from the Model D in 1924 to the last series in 1958-1960. And they were called Johnny Poppers because of their distinctive exhaust sounds.
A race has developed in Hamlet. Frank Lonigro, Jr. filed for candidacy this week in the Starke County Clerk’s office for the Hamlet Town Board #3 seat. Bob Yung had filed earlier for the same seat. Both candidates will compete in the Democrat caucus.
A discussion of the marching band program is on the agenda for tonight’s North Judson-San Pierre School board meeting. The numbers have dropped to 14 which is not comparable to other schools the size of North Judson-San Pierre.
Superintendent Lynn Johnson told WKVI News yesterday that no decision has been made as to what to do with the program. She and the School Board looks forward to any positive input parents and the community have on this issue.
The Love In The Name of Christ Annual Banquet will be held this Saturday night.
“This is our sixth annual banquet,” said Director Debbie Wappel. “It will be held at the beautiful facility at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox.”
Valentine’s Day has been a special day for 95 years for a prominent Starke County resident. Joe Smrt turned 95 yesterday, and his fellow VFW members surprised him with a party at the post.
“What better comradeship could you ask for than something like this? It was a complete surprise when Ben told me they were planning something for me ” said Smrt.
Indiana University Health-Starke Hospital announces the employment of Craig Felty as the Director of the Emergency Department and House Supervisor.
Felty has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and is pursuing a Masters Degree.
He is married to his wife, Tricia, and is the father of five children. The family resides in Hebron.
Knox Middle School students and staff raised $602 for the American Heart Association and as a reward for their efforts, on Monday, February 14th, select students threw pies in the the faces of willing teachers and administrators.
Enjoy these pictures from the fun-filled afternoon at the Middle School! Continue reading
