The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #129 recently held an event to assist children in the Starke County area.
FOP President Chris Kisela said that the members of the organization took 60 children shopping at Kohl’s in Valparaiso for back-to-school clothing on Sunday, Aug. 6.
Fundraising efforts helped in this endeavor to help children get something new for the new school year. Fundraisers to help more children next year will be coming soon.
Photo provided
The Starke County Movies in the Park series is coming to the Hamlet Town Park next month, and organizers are asking for some local businesses to help sponsor the event. Town officials first approved the idea this spring, but plans didn’t come together until Wednesday’s town council meeting.
A LaPorte County man was trapped under an SUV for roughly 45 minutes Thursday afternoon, after it reportedly rolled away from the motor home it was attached to. The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office says it happened just before 12:30 p.m. in the 4800 block of North 600 West, near Michigan City.
The Pulaski County Justice Center is now housing federal inmates. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county commissioners Monday that the first 10 arrived last week. Continue reading
A La Porte County inmate died of an accidental overdose of the narcotic fentanyl. That’s according to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office whose investigators say the drug was smuggled into the jail and Andrea Roberts, 35, ingested a lethal amount of the drug.
The jail supervisor found Roberts unresponsive in her cell on Saturday, July 15 and attempted to resuscitate her. She was later pronounced dead at the La Porte Hospital.
The La Porte County Coroner’s Office conducted a full forensic autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler updated the county commissioners this week on work done on deficient bridges in the county.
Only four deficient bridges remain. He said plans are complete for bridge #58 on County Road 800 South over Bogus Run, bridge #36 on County Road 25 North over Eagle Creek and bridge #154 on County Road 100 East over the Robbins Ditch. Those projects will be bid in September and finished next year.
Funding is in place for the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center renovation project.
The Town of North Judson is seeing results with its new compliance officer. So far, Joe Leszek has written about 16 warnings, leading to 12 responses, according to Clerk-Treasurer Alicia Collins. She says the new part-time position has improved communication, when it comes to getting people to cut their grass or move their vehicles, after they’ve been neglected for a length of time.
The Hamlet Police Department is looking for more reserve officers. The town council Wednesday authorized Town Marshal Clint Norem to advertise for additional reserves.
Culver Town Council President Ginny Bess Munroe announced Tuesday night that the town is the recipient of $270,000 in Regional Cities grant funds.
The council plans to use that grant money toward solving a lack of housing for potential residents of Culver. The plan is to build the Sandhill Farms workforce development housing facility on Jefferson Street. The building would include 24 apartments with one, two or three bedroom units. The town match toward the project will fund infrastructure to the proposed housing development which includes water and sewer lines and sidewalks.
Winamac is once again attracting tourists looking to spend a few hours on the Tippecanoe River. Park Manager Dave DeLorenzo told the town’s park board last week that Cannonball Productions’ first visit of the year went well.
The demolition of 205 and 207 Lane Street in Downtown North Judson is complete. Crews began tearing down the partially-collapsed structure last Monday, and they were done by the end of the week, according to Clerk-Treasurer Alicia Collins.
The Winamac Parkway is a step closer to getting a landscaping upgrade. Last week, ProscapeS Unlimited presented a preliminary landscaping plan to the Winamac Park Board.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler reported to the Starke County Commissioners Monday night that the county buildings fared pretty well during a recent ADA audit.
Ritzler said only minor issues were found.
“I did an initial ADA audit of the courthouse, annex building, annex 2 with Jim Coad, I did the highway garage myself, and did the justice center with Tony Mildice,” explained Ritzler. “There were no deficiencies found at the justice center. Three were found in the new annex building, four in the courthouse, three in the annex and two at the garage. Most of those were just minor things like signage and counter height. The only major one that we had there was no curb cut at the new annex building in the front.”
Demolition will soon begin on a dilapidated Medaryville home. On Monday, the Pulaski County Commissioners approved an $11,800 bid from Freedom First Excavating and Demolition of Kokomo. That was the only bid the county received for the work.
Knox employees may be getting a three-percent pay raise in 2018. During the city council’s budget work session Tuesday, Mayor Dennis Estok said the city has saved money by switching health insurance providers, but that’s led to higher out-of-pocket costs for employees. Continue reading
The Culver Town Council decided Tuesday night to hold off on moving forward with any plans for the Culver movie theater.
Town Manager Jonathan Leist recommended waiting to see what the budget outlook will be in 2018 and pick up the conversation then. The property is for sale and it could sell by the time the council feels comfortable in revisiting a proposal to study facility and rehabilitation needs for the building.
