Inmates at the Starke County Jail have been spreading some holiday cheer by making Christmas wreaths. Jail Warden Phil Cherry says the project was inspired by the jail’s popular garden program. “It was just kind of a natural extension from what we did all summer, and the guys thought it would be something admirable to give back to the community,” he explains. “It was mostly focused on senior citizens and veterans.”
One perk to the sun setting sooner around this time of year is having more time to appreciate all the decorations and lights that people put up in their yards and on their houses. A few communities will be hosting decoration contests during the month of December to decipher whose homes best capture the holiday spirit.
In Starke County, the city of Knox is hosting a holiday decorating contest. The judging will take place on Wednesday, December 13th from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Participants should be sure to have their lights turned on during this time. Third prize will be $25, second prize is $50 and the first prize winner will receive $100. Continue reading
Gas prices have recently been dropping across Indiana, but don’t expect that trend to continue. GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan says many of the issues that led to a spike in gas prices in early November have since been resolved. “Due to the factors we had previously talked about, a pipeline leak that has been fixed, refinery maintenance season, which is now done, gas prices have been in free fall across much of Indiana for the last two weeks.”
The Starke County Commissioners will meet tonight where a public hearing is set for the UTV Ordinance. The county’s ordinance authorizes and regulates the use of Recreational Utility Task Vehicles (UTVs or side-by-sides) and Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) on certain county roads. A copy of the ordinance is available in the Starke County Auditor’s office in the Starke County Annex Building No. 1 on 53 E. Mound Street in Knox.
The Pulaski County Commissioners will open bids tonight for the construction of a new courthouse elevator. Plans call for the current elevator to be demolished and replaced with a larger one that can more easily fit people using wheelchairs.
At tonight’s North Judson Town Council meeting Nancy Capouch will provide a public presentation pertaining to a sewer/water issue on John Street. Members will also continue to deliberate about the most cost effective town employee health insurance option.
At the last meeting, the town’s insurance broker John Howard alerted members that their current plan with United Health Care would not allow for the addition of 1099 employees, such as the town attorney and the council members. He said there is a more lenient plan through National General that would accept 1099 employees, but he needed to obtain additional employee information before he could get quotes. Continue reading
The agreement between the Humane Society and the City of Knox is nearly complete, according to Mayor Dennis Estok.
In an October meeting, Mayor Estok informed members that steps were being taken to deal with the stray animal population within the city. This agreement designates the humane society as the place to house the those animals.
During last week’s Knox City Council meeting, Mayor Estok told members that a few additions need to be made to the contract before it is finalized. He added that he will bring the agreement before the council at their next meeting since there is currently no line item for this purpose. Continue reading
The Culver Town Council is looking for volunteers to serve on several boards and commissions that have seats available for service in 2018.
The Culver Redevelopment Commission has five seats on the board and those members are appointed annually. Three candidates are chosen by the town council and two by the town council president. The Culver Redevelopment Commission meets every third Monday of the month. The applicant must be a Culver resident. Continue reading
This Sunday, more than 40 singers from various churches around the community will perform at the Knox United Methodist Church as a part of the annual Community Christmas Cantata.
Members of the choir have been rehearsing nearly every Thursday since September. The singers will perform ‘And it Came to Pass, Emmanuel’ twice, with the first performance at 2 p.m. and another at 6 p.m. Continue reading
A group of Oregon-Davis students plans to turn 120 loaves of bread into a rather unusual art project. Continue reading
The Knox City Street Department is ready for winter. Street Superintendent Jeff Borg told the Knox Board of Public Works members last week that the city has plenty of salt to start of the winter season due to last year’s mild winter.
Residents of the Oregon-Davis school district are calling on school officials to explore ways to cut costs before asking voters for a property tax increase. Some of those in attendance asked if the corporation’s 555 students really justified two principals, as well as all of the corporation’s support staff.
Updates to Pulaski County’s comp time policy may have to wait until the county’s personnel committee has a chance to review it. The county commissioners have been considering increasing the amount of comp time that can be carried over from year to year from 20 to 40 hours. Part of the reason is to make it easier for employees to use it for needed medical procedures.
The annual Winamac Winter Wonderland event kicks-off today with Breakfast with Santa at the Pulaski County Elementary School. Various vendor booths will also be set up there from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. ET.
Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce representative Judy Heater explained that some of the vendors will have baked goods and additional types of food while others will feature different kinds of crafts. The Indiana Adoption Program will also have a booth set up where individuals can learn more about Hoosier kids in need of homes and the specifics of the adoption process.
Heater said that the ExPress Choir will sing at courthouse around 10 a.m. and then they’ll head over to the Pulaski County Public Library to join Judge Michael Shurn for cookies and cocoa. Judge Shurn will be at the library from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and the library will also have another visitor; Santa Claus will be there from noon until 2 p.m. Continue reading
At the Knox City Council meeting on Tuesday night, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston alerted members that upgrades to the HVAC system at the Community Center are complete.
Houston said, “They’re going to do a little bit of training with people in the city to make sure that we’re aware of how to control the heating and air condition but I’m pretty happy with the way it’s working over there now.”
Houston added that the final invoice for that project has been submitted. Back in July, the Knox Board of Public Works awarded the bid for the project to McGrath Refrigeration. In the past, Mayor Estok stated that this new system will be far more efficient than the old one. Continue reading
The Culver Town Council members took action this week to discuss several ordinances that were up for consideration.
An ordinance allowing additional appropriation requests to be carried out was adopted. It authorizes the expenditure of $17,500 toward the Stellar efforts. Clerk-Treasurer Karen Heim previously explained that they couldn’t foresee expenses related to the efforts because it was unknown if the town would achieve the designation. These additional funds that are available in the budget are needed to fulfill needs.
As you go about your Christmas shopping, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has a few tips to keep you safe from criminals.
The Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call about a structure fire in the 8,000 block of 50 South shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday.
Washington Township Fire Chief Dave Pearman reported that all seven of the county’s volunteer departments assisted with the incident. Knox-Center Township, Hamlet, Bass Lake and Koontz Lake departments helped on the scene while North Judson Wayne-Township and Rail-Road Township departments helped cover neighboring districts to ensure that no areas were without assistance.
Chief Pearman said that crews utilized positive pressure ventilation to blow smoke out of the house and reported it took approximately one hour to take control of the fire. Continue reading
As the Oregon-Davis School Board considers the school corporation’s financial future, one challenge school officials will have to address is declining enrollment. Since the 2008-2009 school year, enrollment has dropped from 713.5 students down to 555. Based on kindergarten enrollment trends, that number’s expected to drop down to 511 over the next five years.
The LaPorte County Jail’s investment in a body scanner is already starting to pay off. The $199,000 SecurPASS scanner was put into service on November 20, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Less than 48 hours later, the scanner reportedly revealed six Flexeril pills hidden in the brassiere of a female inmate being admitted to the jail.
