Pulaski County residents have the chance to learn how they can help guide abused and neglected kids through the court system. Circuit Court Judge Michael Shurn told the county council and commissioners Monday that an open house is planned, to celebrate the county’s newly-independent Court Appointed Special Advocates program. Continue reading
Now that the Town of Winamac has pulled its financial support of the swimming pool rebuilding project, the town’s park board is thinking about other projects that could benefit from potential grant funding.
The Starke County Park Board is expected to continue discussing several ongoing issues when it meets tonight. One of those is the proposed county ownership of Koontz Lake Lions Club Memorial Park. Lions Club members say they plan to continue maintaining the park as long as they can, but transferring ownership to Starke County would save them the cost of insurance.
The Knox City Council members are anticipated to act on the agreement between the Starke County Humane Society and the City of Knox when they meet in City Hall at 7 p.m. tonight.
The agreement states that the Starke County Humane Society is the official housing center for the city’s stray animals. Mayor Dennis Estok explained that there has been a verbal understanding between the city and the Humane Society for quite some time, but this agreement puts all expectations and responsibilities into writing.
Council members will also discuss amendments to the city’s existing sidewalk obstruction ordinance. The ordinance will be amended to address vehicles more specifically. Continue reading
The Culver Town Council will discuss several ordinances when they meet tonight for their regular business meeting.
Two ordinances will be considered on second and third reading. One ordinance includes changes to the Code of Ordinances. The ordinance allows the current Code of Ordinances manual to be updated to current regulations. The second is a service weapon ordinance that allows a retiring police officer, who has served at last 20 years in law enforcement, the ability to retain his or her service weapon, badge and identification cards.
The Starke County Election Board has decided to proceed with upgrades to the county’s 46 voting machines. Steve Shamo with vendor MicroVote said the goal is to bring the machines up to the latest federal standards, in time for the 2020 presidential election. Continue reading
The West Central School Board members took action Thursday night to move forward with the secure entrance and utilization of space construction project.
Superintendent Don Street said the board held a public hearing on a proposed lease agreement. No public comment was given concerning the lease agreement and if it is fair and reasonable for construction or improvements. An additional appropriation for the bond was approved following a hearing.
Oregon Township officials have purchased a new truck for the Koontz Lake Fire Department.
Township Trustee Mark Allen said they will sign paperwork for the new 2018 Spartan pumper truck during their regular board meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Koontz Lake Fire Department on State Road 23.
The Starke County Commissioners discussed a proposal to relinquish County Road 450 West, north of Toto Road to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler said DNR representative Bryan Boggs made the request. Ritzler said the road is adjacent to the DNR property and believes the DNR could better maintain the road.
North Judson Code Enforcement Officer Joe Leszek provided an update about the code enforcement program that was implemented in mid-July.
Leszek said that they’ve seen good results and they continue to make improvements. He alerted council members that Town Marshal Kelly Fisher is currently working on a procedure to “put a little more teeth” into the abandoned vehicle policy.
He also mentioned that for the first few months, they were being more lenient by giving warnings and allowing people a few weeks to deal with citations. However, he said now that they’re more than six months into the code enforcement program, they’ll cut that down to 48 hour warnings and then ticketing if the issue is not handled.
North Judson’s town photographer Peggy Bohac presented a concern that she received from a fixed-income resident who was worried that stricter code enforcement could result in fines that would potentially be unmanageable.
Marshal Fisher responded, saying as long as citizens are making a noticeable effort to correct the violation, then they will not be continuously fined. Continue reading
The possibility of a tax abatement for Metal Fab Engineering will be considered by the Pulaski County Council tonight. Council members will decide whether to confirm the business’s designation as an economic recovery area. That would allow the company to request a tax abatement. Members of the public will have a chance to weigh in tonight, before a decision is made.
Updates to the Winamac Park Pavilion are now complete. Park Manager Dave DeLorenzo told the park board last week that he and staff from the town’s wastewater and electric departments have finished the new landscaping around the building. That involved removing the plants around the building and replacing them with landscaping stone.
A public hearing will be held over adjustments to water rates in Winamac prior to the regularly scheduled town council meeting tonight. The council’s regular session will commence immediately following the public hearing which is set for 6 p.m. ET.
During the clerk-treasurer’s report, the council will hold the second reading over the water rate ordinance. Adjustments to the water rates are being proposed in order to help cover costs for the town’s water project. Continue reading
Last week, while Culver Community Schools were conducting NWEA testing, they concurrently held career pathway presentations for some junior and senior high school students.
Superintendent Karen Shuman shared that one of the speakers was school board member Bill Sonnemaker. He came and spoke to students about working as an engineer for 40 years. He told them how he worked in the aero-space industry and provided some details about particular projects he tackled within that field.
This holiday season, Home Instead Senior Care is giving you the unique opportunity to be Santa to elderly individuals who may otherwise go without gifts.
The ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ initiative intends to bring holiday cheer into the lives of local senior citizens who may not have family around this time of the year. If you bring in a donation to the Plymouth or LaPorte locations today around 10 a.m. ET, you will have a chance to enjoy some soup and chili thanks to Home Instead Senior Care staff.
Some gift suggestions include hats, scarves and gloves as well as blankets, robes socks and slippers. Some other potential present ideas are stationery, pens, stamps, puzzles, word searches and playing cards. Monetary donations may also be made to help cover the cost of big ticket items.
The deadline for drop-offs has been extended; donations will now be accepted through December 18th. Continue reading
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a U.S. Marshal, be wary of their instructions. The Federal Trade Commission is warning people about a recent scam involving impostors threatening individuals with arrest in order to get money from them.
Consumer Education Specialist Bridget Small said that U.S. Marshals do a lot of things, they protect the federal courts, track down dangerous fugitives and transport thousands of prisoners. What they don’t do is make calls and threaten to arrest people or fine them for missing jury duty. Continue reading
A travel advisory remains in effect for Starke, Marshall, LaPorte, and St. Joseph Counties, as of Sunday afternoon. That means travel may be restricted, and drivers are asked to use caution.
Weather conditions Saturday reportedly led to several accidents throughout the area. Updated travel advisories can be found on the Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s website.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler informed the county commissioners this week that he received a notice to proceed with the installation of new railroad signs and markings to assist with safety measures.
“I will be meeting with TCS to do that as they were awarded that contract,” explained Ritzler. “They’ll be doing the markings and we’ll be doing the signs. All of the crossings in the county will be upgraded. INDOT is paying 100 percent of that. The county doesn’t have to pay anything.”
The search is on for a new Pulaski County Emergency Medical Services director. The county commissioners decided Monday to advertise the opening for two weeks in the Pulaski County Journal, Francesville Tribune, Pulaski Post, and Logansport Pharos-Tribune. They hope to hire someone in January.
