Two representatives of the Fitness Forum in Plymouth approached the Starke County Commissioners about instituting a fitness-wellness program for the County’s 125 employees. Corporate Representative, Patty Choquette, and Mary Labuzienski, Clinical Program Director, pointed out that employees who work-out make better employees in the long run. They also described the weight reduction, smoking cessation and healthy living classes the employees could take advantage of.
North Judson Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, reports that in the month of December 2010, there were 134 police calls, 25 traffic stops, 3 thefts-conversion, 5 accidents, and 4 family disturbance calls. 2 Battery reports, 2 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated reports, 2 thefts-conversion reports and 2 alcohol-drug reports were filed. 14 traffic/ordinance tickets were written, 11 traffic warnings were given, and 6 adults arrests were made.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers would like to remind residents that it’s time to renew or purchase dog tags for the year. There is an ordinance in effect that requires all dogs within the City of Knox to have a dog tag. This ordinance will be enforced regularly as the new year progresses.
Knox City Police Chief, Clint Norem, has released the Department’s December statistics. The Department had 370 calls, 11 accident reports and 18 incident reports. There were 7 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated reports and 1 Public Intoxication report. 12 people were arrested on 15 traffic charges, 29 people were arrested on 55 criminal charges, 5 juveniles were arrested on 6 charges, and 3 people were cited for ordinance violations.
North Judson Clerk-Treasurer, Connie Miller, informed WKVI that a water leak has been detected off Sheridan Street between Laurel and Cherry Streets. The Street Department is currently working on correcting the issue. If any residents experience discolored water, let the water run for a little while until it clears up.
We are learning more details about a story WKVI broke on Saturday. Several bones that were returned to the Army in 1988 have been positively identified as belonging to Andy Howes, the young soldier from Knox who was MIA for over four decades after the helicopter he was in went down in Vietnam.
We now know there were six bones recovered (a right upper arm, a left lower arm, a right upper leg, one rib, and two other bones). All of the bones are partial and degraded, but positively match the DNA profile provided by Rob (Andy’s brother) and his late sister, Valarie.
Nicholas Bourff is the new Starke County Prosecutor, taking over from Julianne Havens. Ted Hayes sat down with Bourff last week and talked to him about a number of topics. In the interview, Bourff announced his staff including his First Deputy, Todd Wallsmith.
One of the questions Ted asked Bourff was what he will do with cases that are active, been filed by the former prosecutor, but have not been adjudicated.
The new year brings new appointments to government Boards. Today, the Starke County Commissioners will appoint officers to the Starke Regular Drainage Board, Planning Commission, Kankakee Iroquois Regional Plan Commission, Health Board, Hospital Community Board, Alcoholic Beverage Board, City Plan Commission, Regional Workforce Board, Wage Commission, P.T.A.B.O.A. Board, Innkeepers Tax/Visitors Association Board, and Community Corrections Board. The Commissioners are likely to reorganize as well.
Surrounding hospitals are anxiously awaiting the birth of the first baby of 2011. Starke Memorial Hospital has not had an OB department at the hospital since 2008 so the notification of a new baby born will come from hospitals in surrounding communities.
Have you made your New Year’s resolution? If you continue to struggle with the answer to that question, consider these: spending time with family and friends, exercise more regularly, quit smoking, quit drinking, enjoy life more, get out of debt, learn something new, help others, or get organized. Those are the top nine resolutions made every year.
State and local health officials have news for parents this cold and flu season. Antibiotics don’t work for a cold or the flu.
According to public opinion research, there is a perception that “antibiotics cure everything”. Unfortunately, taking antibiotics when they are not needed can do more harm than good. Widespread inappropriate use of antibiotics fuel an increase in drug-resistant bacteria. As a result medical research facilities use research peptides in order to develop stronger antibiotics working in conjunction with drug process development services, attempting to thwart this completely avoidable issue. As you can imagine, this research and development time could be far better implemented if this wasn’t the case.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic resistance is the world’s most pressing public health problem. Americans of all ages could lower this risk by talking to their doctors and using antibiotics appropriately during this cold and flu season.
We’ve enjoyed a few snow free days in this new year, but don’t get too excited. As we all know, Indiana weather can change quickly from one day to the next which means we could see another big snow event at any time.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is ready for the next event as their top priority is snow and ice removal. INDOT uses all available resources to keep roads open, maximize the mobility of the traveling public and help minimize accidents due to winter traveling conditions.
Here’s a great story to begin the new year. The family of Andy Howes has acknowledged that remains held by the Army are his. The remains were in one of 23 boxes given to the United States by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1988.
There is no evidence where they came from.
At the time the remains were turned over to the government, there was no way of determining who they belonged to. DNA sequencing was not perfected until 2007 and 2008.
It was recently determined that DNA supplied by Andy’s brother, Rob, positively proved to be a match. To date, there are no burial plans or when the family will receive the remains.
Tony Kerby lost his life in the Yellow River attempting to save his younger brother’s life. The good looking boy went in the treacherous waters to save his 8-year-old brother Dominick when the youngster slipped off a rock. Dominick was saved when a person in the park pulled him to safety, but Tony could not swim to the banks.
Community members were so saddened by the death that a cross was put at the site to honor his efforts and his life. The memorial was created by Shelby Clemons of North Judson, his wife, Danielle, and Misty Baldridge of Knox.
Here are a few of the stories that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:
Megan Smithson, 19, of Illinois, died in an auto accident Sunday afternoon at the intersection of State Road 10 and State Road 35 in Starke County. Police say she pulled out onto US 35 and into the path of a vehicle driven by Tony Wagner of Winamac.
We heard from three of the four Starke County Councilmen who attended their last meeting December 20th. Chuck Estok, Bill Dulin, and Bruce Fingerhut (pictured right) said that they enjoyed working with the people of Starke County.
Gerald L. Broude, Jr. was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court, Tuesday. Judge Kim Hall sentenced him to 50 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. A jury had found him Guilty on four counts of Child Molestation on December 1st.
The Starke County Democrat swearing in ceremony was held Thursday night at the Knox Community Center. Former Starke County Circuit Court Judge Marvin McLaughlin swore in the various county and township elected officials. Following the event, friends and family of the candidates enjoyed refreshments.
New Year’s Eve is a dangerous time for many people, especially those who decide to party, drink a little too much, and attempt to drive home.
Another group that enters the danger zone are those individuals who are on home detention. Many of this group has had trouble with drugs and alcohol in the past, and holiday times can be tempting to violate the home monitoring rule that calls for no drinking.
Shawn Mattraw is the Case Manager/Senior Field Officer for the Starke County Community Corrections organization, and he says this is a difficult time for some of the participants.
The City of Knox was recently awarded a $837,095 grant for a storm drainage project. The project will include new storm drainage on Portland Street, John Street, Prettyman Street, East Street, and New York Street. With the City’s match of $166,000, the entire project will cost approximately $1,003,100.
Stephanie McGovern, 16, of Winamac, who was involved in a car accident in Cass County on Monday, December 27th, had a successful jaw surgery and is out of ICU at a Fort Wayne hospital. Doctors have tended to broken ribs, a punctured lung and a punctured kidney that she suffered in the accident. She will soon continue her recovery at home. Stephanie’s parents are Mike and Cheryl McGovern.
It’s said that 80% of Americans believe in miracles. Do you? The Jay and Katie Amidei family, on Anns Ct. in Knox, believe in miracles. Here’s why:
Their son, Colton, was diagnosed with a rare disease after doctors found a large mass behind his eye. The disease, which is difficult to pronounce, was so rare that very few Americans had ever been diagnosed with it.
At this time last year, little Colton had gone through two surgeries to remove the tumor, the first surgery taking 12 1/2 hours. The second was performed after opening his head to remove the mass that had been missed the first “go round.”
