Christopher Webb, 26, had previously pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state on a charge of Burglary as a Class C felony. He allegedly broke into a storage locker and stole a Honda motorcycle in September of last year. The incident also reportedly resulted in damage to the motorcycle.
The Moving Starke County Forward coalition wants to improve the health of local residents one step at a time. The coalition is sponsoring a “Moving Starke County Across America” walking challenge to collectively encourage residents to walk, bike or run 3,000 miles between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Participants will have a shot at prizes and raffle drawings after the challenge wraps up in September. It’s estimated that 35 percent of Starke County adults ages 20 and older do not participate in any kind of physical activity, which is nearly last among Indiana residents and leads to health problems like diabetes, cardiac disease and obesity.
The volunteers will be meeting in Wythogan Park at Pavilion #2 at noon on Friday to pick up brush and to paint railing in the park.
Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, the only Republican freshman, attended a bipartisan meeting with White House senior advisers to join in a discussion regarding legislation aiming to reduce sexual violence in the military, including the bill she sponsored on whistle-blower protections for sexual assault victims in the military.
“I dropped this bill last week with Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez because I believe that we have the finest military in the world, but the military is going to have to be accountable for what’s happening with this issue of sex abuse, and so our bill is a very commonsense bill and it’s one that has received a lot of bipartisan support. We have quite a few cosponsors on this bill already,” said Walorski.
This nationwide effort is supported by thousands of law enforcement agencies and traffic safety organizations across the country. More than 250 law enforcement agencies in Indiana alone will be conducting special patrols as they cite unrestrained motorists through June 2.
Marshall County’s new economic development director is cautiously optimistic a deal can be finalized to keep a local factory in business. Jay Bahr tells “The South Bend Tribune” the receiver in charge of Whitley Products is trying to find another buyer for the financially strapped business. A deal fell apart Friday because the two sides were too far apart on price, forcing the embattled Plymouth plant to close its doors. About 40 people are without jobs as a result. Whitley Products makes fabricated tubular products for agriculture and off-road heavy equipment. The company’s fate has been uncertain for the past several months. It first closed in January, citing financial problems, but reopened a week later. Whitley Products officials then sent a WARN notice to the state advising it “would likely permanently cease all its operations” in Warsaw and Plymouth and all employees would be terminated between April 22 and May 6.
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A Winamac police officer who allegedly admitted to taking money from an evidence storage locker at the Winamac Police Department will have an initial hearing in Pulaski Circuit Court Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET.
Daymond Hartley, a Winamac officer on the night shift, allegedly admitted to Winamac Police Chief Michael Buchanan that he took $6,352 from the storage locker while working a shift during the last week of March. The money had been collected as evidence regarding a fatal accident involving Jamie Sheets of Winamac.
The Knox City Council last night approved a motion to add up to $20,000 to the lift station project from the city’s Sewer Improvement Fund after Mayor Rick Chambers explained that the bids for the project came in just over the estimated cost. Territorial Engineering had estimated that the project would cost around $188,000, and the lowest bid came in at $170,405; unfortunately, with engineering and contingency costs, Chambers said the council would need to appropriate another $20,000 toward the project.
Auditor Shelia Garling said the funds are available in CEDIT, which currently has a balance of nearly $1.7 million, but she would have to make an additional appropriation.
President Obama signed a proclamation ordering flags nationwide to be flown at half-staff today. The flags should remain at half-staff until sunrise tomorrow.
Pence has also asked businesses and residents to lower their flags to half-staff, in addition to state facilities, to honor the brave men and women in law enforcement across the state and the United States.
To qualify, the students had to score in the upper percentile in the ISTEP+ exam. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman told the school board Monday night that this is the second year in a row that the school has earned this distinction.
“Being a 4-Star School is the highest distinction that the Department of Education bestows on a school,” explained Klitzman. “It’s an earned one based on our data performance. We’re very pleased. We feel excellent about our approach in our reading programs and how we emphasize Instruction Day and focus things. We’re very proud of our teachers every day.”
There is still time to get your sale location on a map that will be distributed at 7 a.m. Saturday morning at the Knox Moose Lodge. Call Danna at (574) 772-5712 to include your sale location on the map. If you live out of the city limits and would like to participate in the sale, you may call Danna and reserve a spot in the Knox Moose parking lot.
The Knox Moose Family Center is sponsoring the event and will be serving breakfast, lunch and drinks throughout the day.
Yard sale signs may be purchased at Knox City Hall for 50 cents.
The Marshall County Historical Society is taking a trip down memory lane as they revisit the era of the Miss Plymouth pageant, which ran from 1958 to 1987. The 42nd annual Marshall County Historical Society Dinner will feature several of the former Miss Plymouths who will make a personal appearance and reunite for the first time in years, including Tommye Lou (Glaze) Beavers, the 1958 and 1960 Miss Plymouth, Miss Indiana, and 4th runner-up in the Miss America Pageant.
Mindy Langdon, community relations representative for the Historical Society, said Glaze will make a presentation and reminisce about her experience as the first Miss Plymouth and her other accomplishments in pageants as well.
The SCILL Center’s 11th annual Car Show/Pit Stop competition is coming up this weekend. On May 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., several five-member teams will compete and race two runs using combined times to determine who won as they compete for two scholarships: first place will receive $250 scholarships and a trophy, while second place will receive $100 scholarships.
The competition comes at a cost of $15 for registration, which runs from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and includes a dash plaque. The event features music from the ’50s through the ’70s, food and soft drinks, door prizes, and a 50/50 drawing.
For more information, call Tabitha Dillner at the SCILL Center, (574) 772-8001.
DCS Chief of Staff John Ryan said in a press statement that the organization has increased their case management staff by hundreds over the past eight years, and now they need to add even more qualified professionals to their team. Though the organization currently employs roughly 1700 case management staff, they need to expand to deal with the ever-growing number of cases across the state.
This is a first for the two-year-old occupational skills training initiative. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development had to rely on federal discretionary funds to administer this program which began in 2011.
All Hoosier counties, save one, achieved on-time property tax billing this year.
The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance announced that this was the first time since 2001 that 91 counties have achieved on-time billing. On-time billing allows many of Indiana’s 2,500 local governments to no longer borrow money to keep operations afloat, waiting on unpredictable tax billing and collections.
Property tax bills were mailed April 15, 2013. Property tax statements were due to each county treasurer on May 10 to avoid late fees and penalties. Taxpayers in LaPorte County will receive their tax bills later.
A statewide general reassessment began July 1, 2010 for the 2012-pay-in-2013 property taxes which caused a delay in the distribution of property taxes since 2001.
A Funeral Mass for Maryal A. Carli, 71, of Knox, will be Friday, May 17 at 11 a.m. CDT at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.
Visitation will be Friday from 9 a.m. until leaving for church at M.C. Smith Funeral Home.
