Starke County Officials Finalize Truck Routes

Knox Truck OrdinanceTrucks heading to and from the Knox Industrial Park will have to use State Road 8 for access from all directions. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver met recently with Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler to discuss truck routes. Ritzler says neither County Road 300 East south of Culver Road nor County Road 200 South, which connects to U.S. 35 near Kem-Co, are rated for excessive truck traffic. Continue reading

N.J.-S.P. School Board Approves Driver’s Education Offering

BluejayNorth Judson-San Pierre High School will offer driver’s education classes this summer on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $330 per student, with a $100 deposit payable to the school to reserve a spot. The class can accommodate up to 30 students. Principal Dr. Annette Zupin says enrollment is open to students from other area high schools as well as North Judson-San Pierre. Continue reading

N.J.-S.P. Releases Reduction in Force List

North Judson-San Pierre Admin buildingNorth Judson-San Pierre Interim Superintendent Dr. Robert Boyd has provided WKVI News the list of employees affected by reduction in force action approved at the Tuesday, March 15 school board meeting. He did advise there have been some changes to the list, but did not elaborate. As soon as we receive those changes we will update our information. Continue reading

Commissioners Promise Meeting Before Hospital Deal is Finalized

 
 

Negotiations between Starke County government officials and the owners of Starke Hospital regarding a new lease on the existing facility are continuing, according to information shared during Monday’s county commissioners meeting. Starke Hospital officials are hoping to build a new hospital on the current site at the intersection of U.S. 35 and State Road 8 in Knox. The county owns the building and land on which it sits, and the hospital’s lease on the site is almost up. Both sides agreed last month to a 90 day extension of the notice period should the hospital decide not to renew. That pushes their deadline to reach a new deal out to the end of June. Continue reading

N.J.-S.P. School Board Approves Bond Issue

NJ-SP School Board 2015-2016The North Judson-San Pierre School Board last night took action to pay off existing debt and rebuild their rainy day fund in the midst of declining revenue from the state. They’re taking advantage of an available $1.43 million bond capacity to issue general obligation bonds without an increase to their annual debt service payment. Continue reading

County Proceeding With Courthouse, Old Jail Renovations

starke-county-courthouseRenovations to the Starke County Courthouse and former jail in downtown Knox are on track to start in July and conclude by the end of the year. The county commissioners last night approved design and development documents for the project. Plans call for the old jail to be renovated into office space for Starke County Community Corrections, the probation department and Purdue Extension.

The courthouse will be reconfigured to accommodate the prosecutor’s office on the first floor and give the clerk’s office additional space on the second level. Public access to the building would be restricted to one door, and metal detectors would be installed. Continue reading

Questions Raised About Missing Knox PTO Money

Knox-School-Board-2014Funds, raised for the purchase of elementary school playground equipment, estimated to be as much as $22,000, are alleged to be unaccounted for, according to Charlene Libbey and Shelly Kemble, representatives of the Lil’ Redskins Booster Club.

Speaking at the Knox School Board meeting last night, the representatives of the currently school-authorized booster club continued their efforts to recover funds from the officers of the former KCES parent-teacher organization. Continue reading