In his report to the school board last week, West Central School Superintendent Don Street said the Indiana Department of Education notified school districts that tuition support monthly payments will be less.
“The Indiana State Budget for education is less than the total tuition support payments for the schools that have reported,” said Street. “So, we’ll see how that continues with our state legislature.”
Eastern Pulaski School Board members approved the 2018-2019 school calendar when they met Monday night.
Superintendent Dan Foster said it is fairly similar to this year’s calendar with the one big difference being the length of fall break. Foster explained that in the past, for fall break in the month of October they only allowed for Monday and Friday off. Adjustments were made to the 18-19 calendar and now there is a week-long break in October. Continue reading
Mayor Dennis Estok updated Knox City Council members about the agreement between the Starke County Humane Society and the city when they met Tuesday night.
He said the agreement still has some minor changes that need to be made before it will become before the council for approval. He added that the Humane Society Board is currently looking over the document as well.
Mayor Estok said the agreement states that the city will be charged $15 per cat and $20 for every dog that is brought into the shelter by city officials. He added that if Humane Society staff needs to do a pick-up on dangerous animals it will be the regular fee plus an additional $75 charge. Continue reading
Holding a valid journeyman card will result in a higher starting pay for employees hired onto the Winamac Electric Department, following a decision made by the town council members Monday night.
Council members voted unanimously to pass an amended salary ordinance which specifies that an electric department employee who is a licensed journeyman can be hired at an hourly rate of $23.55. Continue reading
This year’s Starke County Community Foundation 2018 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar is Knox High School senior Elizabeth McEntee.
McEntee is a varsity softball player and she is also a member of the speech team where she was a state qualifier in discussion. She was a freshman mentor and participates in National Honor Society and Science Club and tutors elementary school students.
The Starke County Community Foundation Scholarship Committee selected Elizabeth, the daughter of Alan and Connie McEntee, for this prestigious distinction from a field of twenty-nine applicants.
During the application process the identities of the applicants are removed. The Scholarship Committee scores applicants on academic performance, volunteer and paid work, school activities and honors as well as essays. Continue reading
Two Winamac Park Board members are up for reappointment. The terms of Chris Schramm and Pat Bawcum both expire around January, according to Park Board Secretary Kim Burke.
The Purdue Extension Community Development Program is hosting a local government finance workshop for economic development professionals, community leaders and local elected and appointed officials.
The workshop will be held at the Plymouth Public Library from 1p.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Friday, December 15th. It is geared toward community members from a number of counties including Marshall, Pulaski and Starke.
The program will dig deeper into data from our counties and the region in general. Presenters will also highlight how Indiana’s property tax system functions and provide information about how tax caps work. Continue reading
The Starke County Park Board may be looking at replacing one of the structures at the Bass Lake Beach, after it was seriously damaged in an accident last month. Park board member Roger Chaffins explains that a pickup truck apparently backed itself into the gatehouse, “The guy was deer hunting over there, had a new vehicle, didn’t realize that he didn’t have it fully in park, and the vehicle ran over him and then ran into the building.”
The Starke County Election Board is cracking down on candidates who don’t turn in their financial statements on time. “They have to close out their candidacy by preparing the forms according to the deadlines,” Election Board President Peg Brettin explained during last week’s meeting. “If they don’t, the way the law is set up, the county election boards throughout the State of Indiana can have a hearing for them, can bring them before the board, can assess them.”
At the Eastern Pulaski School Board meeting Monday evening, board members discussed and considered information pertaining to proposed paving and concrete projects.
Superintendent Dan Foster explained that there are some safety concerns with the current drop-off locations at the schools. Foster said, “The afternoon pick-up procedures aren’t too bad but the morning drop-off procedures, we’ve really struggled with coming up with a good way to do that with the layout of our campus. So we’ve had a committee working this fall.” Continue reading
Knox City Council members reviewed changes to the city’s sidewalk obstruction ordinance when they met Tuesday night.
Mayor Dennis Estok stated that no official action would be taken on the ordinance last night, but he wanted to submit it to council members prior to first reading incase they had any suggestions.
Issues with vehicles parking on sidewalks and large vehicles blocking the roadways have been brought up as council items during various meetings over the past few months. Councilman Jeff Berg recently showed fellow members that a sidewalk obstruction ordinance is on the books for the City of Knox.
However, the ordinance only covered structures and didn’t directly address vehicles. Council members agreed to amend the existing ordinance to cover the topics that have been discussed. Continue reading
The Culver Town Council members discussed a proposed traffic ordinance during their meeting Tuesday night.
The ordinance designates a congested motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian area on Lakeshore Drive and signage will be placed between 508 Lakeshore east to 824 Lakeshore Drive. The ordinance also creates a no parking zone for 50 feet from the intersection on both sides of the street on Batabano and South Plymouth Street.
The West Central School Board members held the first reading of policy manual revisions during their recent meeting.
Superintendent Don Street said the board members considered four changes.
Winamac Town Council members approved the purchase of a Digger Derrick Truck for the Electric Department when they met Monday night. Town Manager Brad Zellers explained that Digger Derrick Trucks are utilized by electric departments to dig holes for light posts.
Zeller explained that initially, they wanted to go with the least expensive truck bid which was submitted by the company Altec. However, he said they had issues getting anybody from that company to come out to go over the details of the sale. Continue reading
Pickleball has the potential to be a major tourist draw for the Town of Winamac. That’s according to park board member and pickleball enthusiast Jon Chapman.
Winamac Community High School Senior Peyton Newman has been named the Community Foundation of Pulaski County 2018 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar.
Peyton is the daughter of Arthur and Melissa Newman. She has been involved in a plethora of school activities including student council, FFA, Sunshine Society, SADD, Key Club and drama. She is also active in golf and cheerleading.
Outside of school, Peyton has been a member of 4-H for 9 years. She is also a 5-year Junior Leader member and has volunteered as a camp counselor, a fair board representative and council representative. Continue reading
Shortly after 11:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday, deputies from the La Porte County Sheriff’s office were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash that occurred on US Highway 20 at the intersection of Range Road in rural Kankakee Township.
A media advisory explained that Kankakee Township Firemen were the first to arrive on the scene and they determined that the driver of a Honda passenger car involved in the accident was unresponsive. Continue reading
Residents of Oregon and Davis townships will soon be asked to consider a tax increase to fund school operations. The Oregon-Davis School Board decided Monday to place a property tax referendum on the May 8 ballot.
A public hearing was held over water rate adjustments prior to last night’s Winamac Town Council meeting.
The adjustments to the water raters are being proposed as a way to cover the town’s water project. Eric Walsh from Umbaugh and Associates was present and provided some details about the $1.6 million water project.
He explained that the town has been planning for this project for many years, which assisted them in receiving a grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs in the amount of $550,000. He added that the remainder of the project will be covered by borrowing from the electric utility at 1% interest rate. He said this will cause water rates to rise slightly.
Walsh said, “It is resulting in about a 9 percent, little less than 9 percent increase on your water bills. So to an average residential customer [using] about 5,000 gallons a month, that’s a $3 a month of an increase.”
Walsh said if the town hadn’t pre-planned or received the OCRA grant, rates could have increased by about 20 percent, costing the average customer to pay $6 to $7 more. He said no one likes to increase rates, but he commended the council members for the proactive steps they took to keep the increases from being doubled. Continue reading
The Starke County Election Board is taking steps to keep voters’ ballots secure. New regulations now require that voting machines be locked up when they aren’t in use, to prevent tampering.
