Knox Park Superintendent George Byer commended Derek Johnson with Johnson’s Johns Septic Service at Monday night’s park board meeting.
Johnson was personally thanked for his assistance during this weekend’s emergency situation. Superintendent Byer explained that the floods resulted in some residents having no access to working bathrooms. Continue reading
After spending many days closed due to flooding, Wythogan Park in Knox has reopened.
According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, the park is now open to the public but visitors are still urged to be cautious. Stay away from the river bank and any other areas where there is standing water. Continue reading
Several roads around Starke County have spent many days underwater due to the recent floods. This extended exposure to saturation will most likely result in many sections of roadway needing previously unplanned repairs.
On Sunday, Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler took county and state officials on a tour of the area to highlight some of the spots that were hit the hardest by flood waters.
He explained that once the waters recede enough, crews will be conducting thorough assessments around the county to see where work will need to be done. Continue reading
Over the weekend, there were many Knox residents who pitched in to help keep flood waters at bay and Mayor Dennis Estok extended his gratitude to those dedicated individuals during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
The mayor said, “That just goes to show us that we might be a small community, but we’re a strong community when people need help and that was very evident Saturday night, if you would have seen the operation it was something to see, so I want to thank everybody for helping us out.” Continue reading
The replacement of the Bass Lake Beach gate house may require some more negotiation. The structure was seriously damaged when a pickup truck reportedly crashed into it back in November.
Pulaski County EMS continues to deny ambulance transfer requests, due to a shortage of paramedics. EMS Director Bryan Corn reviewed his department’s January statistics with the county commissioners last week. “Essentially, for the month of January, we took nine transfers, but we also denied 10,” he said. Continue reading
The Town of Medaryville may soon be changing its election cycle. Clerk-Treasurer Judy Harwood says the town council is considering a pair of ordinances that would move the town’s elections to presidential election years. “So then, there’ll be a one-year term for the first election, which will fall in our general election time, and then after that one-year term, then we’ll fall in with the presidential term,” she explains.
The Culver Town Council members approved the lowest bid received for the proposed Damore Amphitheater project in the Culver Town Park.
The lowest bid was from Easterday Construction in the amount of $131,450. Town Attorney Jim Clevenger will review the construction contract before Council President Ginny Bess Munroe signs the document.
The Knox Community School Corporation stands to make at least $265,000 by selling unneeded student laptops. With the school corporation getting new Chrome Books over the summer, the school board decided last week to sell 1,000 MacBook Air devices.
Plans are coming together for May’s primary election. The Starke County Election Board is scheduled to set up the ballots during this morning’s meeting. Hours for early voting at the Starke County Courthouse will also be considered.
The Knox Board of Public Works will meet today where they will receive updates on renovation efforts at 6 N. Pearl Street and 1 and 3 N. Main Street. The owners of the properties have certain timelines to meet so fines aren’t imposed. The structures have been deemed unsafe and need rehabilitation.
Knox Park Board members considered setting the dates for the Movies in the Park events that they’re planning to bring back this summer.
Park Board President Autumn Ferch explained that in order to start coordinating with the movie provider about what films would be available, she needed to have a set schedule of dates. Continue reading
As the flood waters start receding, emergency management officials are beginning to plan out ways to assist those most severely impacted by the recent floods.
The Salvation Army recently delivered a few clean-up kits to emergency management officials in both Starke and Pulaski County. Starke County EMA Director J. Nier and Pulaski County EMA Director Sheri Gaillard said they will be handing those out to the citizens who need them in the near future.
They also said they’ll be conducting more thorough damage assessments once the water recedes more. However, residents are still reminded to fill out damage assessment reports through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to assist with relief efforts. Only uninsured property damage should be reported. Continue reading
Starke County Surveyor Bill Crase is warning residents to be aware of potential scammers looking to take advantage of people during flood recovery.
Last Friday, the surveyor’s office received a call from an individual reporting that two men in a U-Haul truck drove up to his residence and told him they were from the county surveyor’s office.
They reportedly said they were replacing a culvert nearby and told the resident he needed to write them a check since it was on his property. Continue reading
The Eastern Pulaski Schools campus will get major paving and sidewalk upgrades in the coming months. The school board awarded a $2.4-million construction bid to Rieth-Riley Construction Company Monday.
The Knox Community School Corporation is donating several pieces of unused woodworking tools to Oregon-Davis.
Pulaski County officials continue to consider whether to hire an outside company to mow the lawn and remove snow at various county properties. The idea was raised several months ago, as a cheaper alternative to upgrading the county’s equipment. Last week, the county commissioners opened bids from six companies interested in the lawn care work, but few of them submitted a price for snow removal.
The Town of Medaryville is getting ready for its summer street paving project. Last week, the town council approved a contract with McMahon Associates for engineering work, according to Clerk-Treasurer Judy Harwood. She says the project will include the reconstruction of Main Street and a couple other roads in town.
During Monday night’s Knox Park Board meeting, it was announced that Mayor Dennis Estok has appointed Glenn Barnes to fill Dave Comb’s seat.
Barnes is the Principal of Knox Elementary School. His perspective as someone who has hands-on, daily experience with the youth of our community will be a helpful addition to the board. Continue reading
