Voters Head to the Polls Today to Vote on Palmer Wing Project

 
 

Vote yes or vote no? The Knox Elementary School Palmer Wing project is now in the hands of the voters as taxpayers in the Knox school district head to the polls today. Voters will decide whether or not to finance through property taxes the construction of a new wing and the demolition of the old Palmer Wing, which Superintendent A.J. Gappa said is antiquated, dilapidated, and overall unfit for education.

Gappa said the wing was originally built nearly 60 years ago – a different time, he said, when electricity wasn’t as advanced, heating and cooling was much less effective, and fewer kids ate in the cafeteria. He said 20 years ago when the west wing of the school was added, California and Washington township schools were closed, bringing more students to the Knox school and putting more strain on the old cafeteria.

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Marshall County Commissioners Act on WECS Ordinance Amendments

This sign was displayed during the Marshall County Commissioners meeting.
This sign was displayed during the Marshall County Commissioners meeting.

The Marshall County Commissioners acted on the Marshall County Plan Commission’s recommended amendments to an ordinance regulating Wind Energy Conversion Systems.

County Attorney Jim Clevenger reminded the board members that the amendments were presented to them on Monday, March 18 where the commissioners tabled a decision in order to dissect the many pages of recommendations. In a separate meeting, the commissioners asked for a resolution to ban wind farms altogether, but the plan commission later found that to be an unfavorable recommendation.

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Pulaski County Commissioners Vote to Support Policy Change for Deputies

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Council and Commissioners will consider a controversial policy change during a joint meeting next week. Deputies with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office contend they lost vacation and personal time when the county switched to calculating them by hours instead of days. That’s because they work 12-hour shifts, while most other county employees work seven hours per day. Continue reading

Absentee Voting Comes to a Close; Polls Open Today for Special Election

  
 

Absentee voting wrapped up yesterday in Starke County, but the totals aren’t all in yet. Clerk Evelyn Skronski told WKVI that 283 in-office ballots have been cast and 15 travel board votes have been collected. However, she said they do not yet have the total on mail-in ballots because they sent out 44 ballots and not all of them have been returned yet.

Voters in California, Center and Washington townships are eligible to vote in this special election, voicing their opinions on a public questions offered by the Knox Community School Board concerning a construction and remodeling project in the Palmer Wing at the elementary school.

The polls open today, giving the rest of the voters in the qualifying townships the opportunity to have their say in the matter. The polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m., and Skronski said they’ll have the final results around 7 p.m.

Shooting Victim Faces Criminal Charges in Fulton County

ShootingAuthorities in Fulton County say the armed man shot by a Kewanna homeowner when he broke into a Toner Street residence early Monday will face criminal charges when he’s released from the hospital. Michael Righter, 41, was reportedly there to shoot his soon-to-be ex-wife, Rebecca. Instead, her boyfriend, Camron Vawter, shot Righter before he could get to the bedroom where she was sleeping. Righter remains in critical condition at South Bend Memorial Hospital. Authorities say this is the latest in a series of incidents involving Righter and his soon-to-be-ex-wife.

 

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Reduce the Impact of Property Tax Increases Through Exemptions

 
 

Whether you support the Knox Elementary School Palmer Wing project or not, no one enjoys paying higher taxes. One way to reduce the impact of the possible increase in the property tax rate for those in the Knox school district is to take advantage of all the property tax deductions for which you are eligible, effectively lowering your assessed property value and reducing the amount of taxes you’re responsible for paying.

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West Central School Board Discusses Affordable Care Act

West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

The West Central School Board members discussed several topics at their meeting last week. Superintendent Charles Mellon said they are still trying to gather more information on the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re still looking at a little more direction from the IRS and the federal government,” stated Mellon. “I know some of the legislators at the federal level are saying this is a train wreck waiting to happen – that’s in the news more and more and schools are making some quick changes so that we’re in compliance.”

The board had to make some urgent changes when the plan was approved in January.

Mellon and the school board hope to have most of the changes ironed out quickly after those mandates come from the federal government.

Bella Vita Pregnancy Resource Center to Hold Third Annual Reception

Bella Vita
Bella Vita
The Bella Vita Pregnancy Resource Center will soon be holding their third annual reception and fundraiser, and this time, Director Suzanne Lange said the event will include a full buffet rather than the chocolate fondue foundation it had in previous years. Lange said the event, which will take place on May 9, will feature an MC from Shine.FM to lighten the atmosphere, and Lange will make a presentation on what the center has been up to in the last year with client statistics and other information.

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Budget Cuts Rattle Medical Research; Patients Ultimately Affected

 
 
As part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, Congress passed the sequester cuts, imposing across-the-board reductions on several agencies. The National Institutes of Health lost five percent of their budget, cutting $1.6 billion in funding. Pam Miller of the American Heart Association said those cuts are going to have some negative effects on research and other functions.

“That’s just devastating in terms of funding for research grants and just everything that goes into things related to research,” she said. “It’s the second-lowest funding since 2000.”

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Hamlet Police Bust Meth Lab, Arrest Resident

Meth BustA Hamlet man was arrested without incident at his Pearl Street home Sunday night after police there executed a search warrant and found a meth lab. The Hamlet Police Department obtained a warrant for Corbyn Gayheart’s home after an eight-month-long investigation. He’s facing charges of over-purchase of pseudoephedrine, manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine, possession of meth within 1,000 feet of a park and maintaining a common nuisance. The Indiana State Police Meth Lab Team was called in to assist with the cleanup.

 

Kewanna Homeowner Shoots Armed Intruder

police investigation 2A man police say was armed when he broke into a Kewanna home early this morning is in critical condition at Memorial Hospital in South Bend after being shot by the homeowner. The victim is identified as 41-year-old Michael Righter of Kewanna. Occupants of the home in the 300 block of Toner Street reportedly heard glass breaking just after midnight. The male homeowner got his gun, went to investigate, shot and disarmed the man and called the police, according to authorities. A woman inside the house told the police she and Righter are going through a divorce. The incident remains under investigation.

 

Former Indiana Governor Dies

Gov. Otis R. Bowen
Gov. Otis R. Bowen

The man credited with overhauling Indiana’s tax system before serving as a member of President Reagan’s cabinet died Saturday in Donaldson. Former Gov. Otis Bowen was 95. The physician from Bremen was elected Marshall County Coroner in 1952 and later served in the General Assembly before being elected governor by a landslide in 1972. Continue reading

Crew Completes Panhandle Pathway Paving

The Panhandle Pathway now ends in a spur at the intersection of Burson and Superior Streets.
The Panhandle Pathway now ends in a spur at the intersection of Burson and Superior Streets.

Outdoor enthusiasts now have 22 miles of paved trail to enjoy between Winamac and Kenneth. Crews completed the paving of the Panhandle Pathway on Friday. The newly paved portion ends in a spur onto Superior Street on the south end of downtown Winamac which was previously surfaced with crushed limestone. The Panhandle Pathway lies in the former railroad bed that runs parallel to U.S. 35 through Pulaski and Cass Counties. The town of Winamac received a Safe Routes to School Grant to pave the trail to the depot at the corner of Main and Logan Streets. Environmental impact studies are under way for that project, which will be done next year. From there, plans call for a northward extension to Tippecanoe River State Park. Rails-to-trails advocates eventually want to connect the Panhandle and the Erie-Monon Trail, which runs southeast out of North Judson to U.S. 35. A small portion of that trail is paved in downtown Monterey. The challenge will be crossing the double-span railroad trestle across the Tippecanoe River between Monterey and U.S. 35.

School Referendum Supporters and Foes Make Final Push

 
 

Voters who reside in the Knox Community School Corporation have until noon to cast absentee ballots at the courthouse in advance of tomorrow’s referendum. The outcome will determine whether a new wing will be added to the elementary school to replace the 50-year-old Palmer wing. Whatever It Takes Committee Chairman David Bullock says the school isn’t asking for very much money.

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Wind Turbine Issue Blows Back to Marshall County Commissioners

 
 

The Marshall County Commissioners will be discussing the original Wind Energy Conversion System ordinance amendments during their regular board meeting this morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The amendment asks for the placement of a wind turbine conversion system, or wind farm, 2,640 feet from any parcels zoned L-1 and T-1, which are lakes and town residential areas, and 2,640 feet from a house of a non-participating landowner, park, bank of a river, church, building, school wetlands or airstrips. Essentially, the amendment does not allow a wind energy conversion system farm anywhere in the Marshall County area.

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Starke County Council, Commissioners to Meet This Morning

  
 

The Starke County Council and the county commissioners will meet this morning at 9 a.m. to discuss a variety of items, including a schematic design approval for authority to begin design development for the county jail project. The council will hear from a representative of the Skillman Corporation and DLZ, the architectural firm that is handling the design aspects of the facility.

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ISTEP Testing Issues Could Cause More Problems

 
 
Online ISTEP testing caused several problems for schools around the state last week. The state has a four-year $90 million contract with T-C-B-McGraw-Hill to provide the capabilities to allow ISTEP testing to take place online. This is the second year in a row that students have been interrupted taking the state mandated test which has brought up questions about the validity of the testing this year. Students who were “kicked off” while testing came back the next day and had to start the test over. That’s a lot of mental pressure on the students.

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West Central School Board Discusses Funding

West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon
The West Central School Board members spent some time discussing items that came out of this year’s legislature. One topic of discussion was funding.

Superintendent Charles Mellon noted that the way the increase of public school funding has been relayed to the public is quite deceiving. The two percent increase in the funding formula is correct, but he says there is a misconception that every school corporation in the state is getting a two percent increase.

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Eastern Pulaski School Board to Hold Work Session

Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman
The Eastern Pulaski School Board will be meeting in another work session tonight to further discuss criteria to be used in the Superintendent selection process.

The board had met April 23 to put some initial thoughts on paper and Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman will present those ideas again tonight to refresh discussion and initialize more input from the board on what they expect of his successor.

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