Pulaski County Jail Benefiting From DOC Housing

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Sheriff's Department

The ability to house Department of Correction inmates at the Pulaski County Jail has proven to be a cost effective move since the practice began a few years ago.

The jail was built to house 127 inmates and when Sheriff Gayer first took office in January 2007, he was thinking of ways to bring in money to the county and thought that housing DOC inmates would bring in money to the county’s General Fund. The administration contacted the DOC about the possibility and Gayer said they started filling up the facility with DOC inmates.

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Pulaski County Man Beaten, Robbed in His Home

Posted on Author WKVI

A Pulaski County man was allegedly beaten and choked during a home invasion incident Monday night. Deputies were dispatched to 305 E. County Road 100 S. in response to a report of a possible theft and battery, and arrived to find a bloodied and bruised Paul E. Minix, who told them that he had been assaulted by two suspects.

Minix said he had let the pair stay the night on Sunday, but when the next day came and Minix asked them to leave so he could take his medication and go to sleep, they departed but soon returned and allegedly choked and battered him. He sustained injuries to his face, neck, shoulder, elbow, and knee, and said they had stolen two cell phones from his residence after assaulting him. Minix said he had recently purchased one of the cell phones from the two suspects for $50.

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SCILL Center Wrangles 500 Pounds For Food Pantry

Posted on Author WKVI
SCILL Center

The SCILL Center made quite an impact on the shelves of the Starke County Food Pantry during their food drive held last month. Director Jerry Gurrado said they raised a total of 500 pounds for the pantry through their Car Care Clinic and through the assistance of students and staff, as well as several local businesses who decided to join in on the effort.

Gurrado explained that they received a financial contribution from First Farmers Bank in Knox, and Save A Lot donated a massive amount of canned goods as well. Gurrado said it was a very touching moment when they delivered the quarter-ton of goods to the pantry.

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Knox City Council Discusses Deteriorating Wastewater Wall

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

The Knox City Council this week discussed a steel wall near the wastewater plant that has been suffering from corrosion. Mayor Rick Chambers explained that a steel building near the area where sewage is brought in has been affected by wastewater splashing on it, causing the wall to rust.

He said that, as a result, the wall is now deteriorating and letting weather get into the area. Fortunately, this wall is not structural, but is only used to keep weather out from the sewage area.

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Oregon-Davis Schools Enter Fleet Agreement With Wiers

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney

The Oregon-Davis School Board entered into a fleet management agreement with Wiers International in Plymouth. Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney said he believes that the corporation will be able to reduce cost on the mechanical work on the school buses with this partnership.

“Wiers currently has a facility down in Lafayette and manages the entire fleet for the Lafayette School Corporation which is probably over one-hundred school buses,” said Dr. Disney. “This year, up in Plymouth, they are managing the Plymouth fleet and they are also looking at an expansion toward Indianapolis. We felt it was a great opportunity, a good partnership and a cost savings measure for us.”

The agreement was approved during this month’s school board meeting.

Starke County Historical Society Christmas Open House This Weekend

Posted on Author WKVI
Kaylee Krom brought in 65 of her collection of 200 "Beanie Babies" for the display.

The Annual Starke County Historical Society Christmas Open House is scheduled for this Sunday, Dec. 2 from 1–3 p.m. CT at the Starke County Historical Society Museum, located 401 S. Main St. in Knox.

A new exhibit is on display just in time for this year’s Open House. Kaylee Krom brought in 65 Beanie Babies from her collection, including three of her favorites.

The Knox Community High School Showstoppers will performing Christmas favorites from 2–3 p.m. to help us get into the mood for the season.

You are invited to tour the museum, listen to great music and enjoy cookies and hot cider.

Final Site Decision For New Starke County Jail Expected This Morning

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners

A final decision as to the location of the new Starke County jail facility is expected today, as the Starke County Commissioners have planned a special session to discuss that topic and several others.

An overwhelming number of Starke County residents turned out for last week’s public hearing to voice their concern and opposition to the proposed location. While it was said that no matter where the jail is located somebody is going to be upset about it, several attendees had specific concerns including property values near the jail, traffic issues due to the proximity of Sabre Manufacturing, and public safety for residents who live near the proposed location.

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Monticello Man Arrested For Domestic Battery At Gas Station

Posted on Author WKVI
Matthew Robbins

A Monticello man was arrested Sunday after an alleged battery incident took place at a gas station in Medaryville.

A caller told Pulaski County police that a man and woman were fighting and he reportedly broke out the window in her car. When police arrived on scene, the man, later identified as Matthew Robbins, approached the driver’s side of the squad car in an aggressive manner. He was told to stop twice and he stopped and allegedly told the officer to take him to jail.

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SCILL Center Coat Drive Needs Used Coats, Winter Wear

Posted on Author WKVI
SCILL Center

It may be warmer than usual for November, but that doesn’t mean bitter winter weather is far. In light of that, the SCILL Center is extending their coat drive through the second week of December to allow more coats to be donated for those in need throughout the area.

SCILL Center Director Jerry Gurrado said that they set a record last year with 751 coats collected, despite the fact that it was a mild winter. Because a number of coats had been left over, the SCILL Center gave the extra coats to local churches for distribution. Gurrado said it would be fantastic to have that overwhelming support again this year, but he’s got his concerns.

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Woman Arrested On DUI Charges On Thanksgiving

Posted on Author WKVI

Officers from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department arrested a woman on Thanksgiving Day after she allegedly operated a vehicle while intoxicated.

A deputy from the Sheriff’s Department performed a traffic stop on Desireia Liggins’ vehicle on U.S. 31 south of 16th Road on Thursday because she had expired plates on the vehicle. The deputy also found that Liggins had a suspended driver’s license and had no insurance on the vehicle.

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Northern Indiana Community Foundation Director Resigns After 10 Years

Posted on Author WKVI
Terri Johnson

The director of the Northern Indiana Community Foundation has resigned after serving 10 years in the position.

Terri Johnson began as director in September 2002. She won’t be moving too far from work with the NICF. She will be working with the Indiana Grantmakers’ Alliance as the associate director of the GIFT Technical Assistance Program. She will be designing and implementing development programs for over 90 Indiana Community Foundations. Her last day will be Dec. 31.

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Winamac High School Drama Dept. To Present Uh Oh! Here Comes Christmas

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac Community High School

The Winamac Community High School Drama Department will present the musical Uh Oh! Here Comes Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m. ET in the Socialtorium.

Director Patrick Shuttrow says the production has a balance of humor and poignancy with a combination of songs and short stories just in time for the holiday season. Shuttrow added that the production presented some unique challenges and the students were challenged in representing emotions and humor within the piece. They did a great job working through those challenges and will present a good show this weekend.

Admission at the door is $7 and the doors will open 45 minutes prior to each performance.

Powerball Jackpot at $425 Million – Good Luck!

Posted on Author WKVI

Wednesday’s estimated Powerball jackpot is $425 million – the largest jackpot ever in the game.

Only one other time in lottery history has the jackpot crossed over the $400 million mark and that happened with the Mega Millions jackpot went all the way to $656 million.

In Indiana, 56,513 Powerball tickets for Saturday night’s drawing were prize winners. You have until 9:58 p.m. ET to buy your chance at a shot at the jackpot!

Starke County Commissioners To Meet Tomorrow For Final Jail Site Decision

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners

The Starke County Commissioners will meet tomorrow at 9 a.m. for a special session to discuss the location of the new county jail facility and other topics.

A public meeting held last week revealed a number of community concerns regarding the proposed location of the jail facility on Highway 8 near the intersection of 550 East. The opposition centered around three main concerns, including public safety, property values, and traffic on Highway 8 and 550 East.

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Starke County Commissioners Approve Transfer For Highway Dept.

Posted on Author WKVI
Steve Siddall

Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall approached the commissioners at their meeting last week to request a transfer into their truck repair fund to cover some repairs on equipment. The commissioners approved his request unanimously.

“We’re just doing general maintenance on the trucks and trying to update them and some of the trucks are getting some pretty heavy rust damage inside and out and the mechanics brought it to my attention, and I brought it to the council tonight to get a little more transferred money into truck repair to fix the damage in the cabs, on the beds, fenders, stuff like that,” said Siddall.

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Fire Chief Joe Leszek Retains Position Another Year

Posted on Author WKVI

For the third year in a row, Joe Leszek will be filling the shoes of North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Chief, having been nominated by the 25-member department. Mike Scutchfield remains as the assistant fire chief despite being nominated by Leszek for the chief position, as Scutchfield’s work schedule did not allow enough time for him to handle the additional responsibilities. Fortunately, Leszek said the teamwork between the pair is phenomenal.

“It’s great. Mike Scutchfield is a great assistant chief; I nominated him for chief this year, and with his work schedule, he’s just unable to fulfill some of the responsibilities that the town board has. Hopefully in the near future he’ll be taking over for me!” Leszek said.

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Winamac Town Board To Hold Public Meeting Regarding ADA

Posted on Author WKVI

The Winamac Town Board will hold a public meeting tonight at 7 p.m. ET to address the ADA compliance needs at several facilities in the town of Winamac.

Town Manager Jim Conner recently submitted a list of places to the Town Board that need to be ADA compliant. All of the areas listed need to be ADA compliant by June 2013.

One board member had asked about the Y being compliant and ADA needs at Arens Field; Conner is expected to have an update on that during tonight’s meeting. You may also express concerns during tonight’s meeting.

NJSP Schools Seeking K-12 AdvancED Accreditation

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson-San Pierre Superintendent Lynn Johnson

The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is currently undergoing the process of K-12 accreditation through AdvancED, which Superintendent Lynn Johnson said is a very lengthy ordeal. She explained that prior to this, each school was individually accredited; however, because the corporation contains three schools, the corporation decided to go with K-12 accreditation.

“We decided to go through K-12 accreditation, so it really helps align the whole process as far as our curriculum instruction. So we went through the process of making sure that the conditions were ready that we could meet the criteria through AdvancED and become a candidate for accreditation,” said Johnson. “It’s a good process; it’s a huge learning process.”

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Oregon-Davis School Holding Food and Coat Drive

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School

A food drive and a coat drive is underway at the Oregon-Davis School Corporation.

O-D schools, along with the student council, will be collecting non-perishable food items and toiletries for families in need. You may drop off your donation of canned items, toothpaste, laundry detergent, shampoo and a host of other items in the schools during the school day or when you attend an evening school event.

Gently used or new coats will also be collected during this effort.

Collections will continue until Dec. 14. Boxes will be distributed before Christmas break.