The SCILL Center students are set to rake leaves for residents who are elderly or physically handicapped. This community project will be on Saturday, November 3.
If you would like to be on the list, call Knox Mayor Rick Chambers at 772-4553 to submit your name. The students will rake up to 15 yards. Your residence will be taken care of on a first come, first served basis that day.
After a lengthy jury selection process, the trial for a Winamac man accused of raping his ex-wife began in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Christopher Stonebraker faces charges of Rape as a Class B felony and Domestic Battery as a Class D felony following his arrest in November.
The jury selection process ran from 9 a.m. to around 3 p.m., when the jury was finally seated. The assembled jury then heard their instructions for the case and opening statements were heard from both the defense and the state before the day came to a close.
The fifth floor of the LaPorte County Jail remains closed as the LaPorte County Council has not approved enough money to fund the jail overtime budget.
The council discussed the situation Monday night and Sheriff Michael Mollenhauer said the council did approve the transfer of $30,000 from the sheriff’s DOC misdemeanor fund to help fund a portion of the cost for the rest of the year. An appropriation of at least $70,000 was requested to adequately fund that budget for the rest of the year. That money will be used to properly staff jailers and a nurse.
A dangerous intersection in Knox received some attention by the city council this week as City Police Chief Clint Norem explained the intersection issue to the council.
Mayor Rick Chambers passed out a statement from the Knox Police Department that indicated the intersection at Portland and Lafayette streets is not as safe as it should be. Norem said drivers on Lafayette Street heading west that come to the intersection with Portland Street are forced to pull almost all the way into the intersection to see any southbound traffic. He explained that this is due in part to the design of the road and how it’s laid out, and residents at the corner have a fence and bushes that partially block the view as well.
Officers from the Plymouth Police Department arrested three people Tuesday in two different incidents.
Police were called to investigate a hit and run accident at Work One in Plymouth around 11 a.m. ET. A surveillance video showed that Constance Bradley, 24 of Plymouth, backed into a parked car that caused extensive damage. She then left the area. Officers later located her and arrested her on a preliminary charge of Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident.
The Knox City Police Department has responded to several thefts this week.
Residents have complained to police that items have turned up missing from their vehicles. The reports indicate that unknown subject(s) got into the cars, rifled through everything inside and stole change or any money left in the car. In some instances, firearms were stolen.
The Knox Community School Board was given information about a recent outing by the advanced science classes to the Tippecanoe River State Park. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said science teachers Laurie Simmons and Marge Wood take the students on this rafting trip every year.
“It’s kind of a fun trip but it’s also educational,” explained Gappa. “They studied the environment, the ecology of the river and they did testing of water samples as they moved down the river to different stations. Different rangers were there to give demonstrations and lectures on different parts of the river.”
Three students gave a presentation to the board and gave praise to the teachers and for the opportunity to participate in this trip.
With the Starke County Relay for Life January kickoff quickly approaching, teams are prepping fundraisers to raise community awareness and money for the American Cancer Society. This year’s Relay theme is “Colors of Cancer,” and Demotte State Bank has chosen the color yellow to represent Sarcoma, and their first fundraiser, according to Team Captain Candice Miller, is sure to be frightfully fun: the team is sponsoring two days of the three-day Haunted Cornmaze attraction in Knox with the help of Sonya and Melvin Fisher.
Fans of the Nicklodeon show iCarly will get a treat this Saturday when a local resident appears as a guest.
Christine Barger, a 1998 graduate of North Judson-San Pierre High School, will guest star as a bully on the show that will air on Nickelodeon Saturday night at 8 p.m.
I received the following note from Marty Lucas the other day about a composer of music with connections to Starke County. He said, “Just learned a tidbit of Starke Co. history I’d never heard before. And it’s pretty cool, in my opinion…it requires some explanation, so bear with me..”.
You’re no doubt familiar with the American Songbook classic “Georgia On My Mind”. Everybody knows Ray Charles’ 1960 rendition, and probably lots of people assume he wrote the song. But no, the music was composed by Hoagy Carmichael (who also wrote Stardust, Buttermilk Sky, Heart and Soul, the list goes on), well suffice it to say he was one of America’s greatest songwriters of the first half of the 20th century.
Carmichael was a native of Bloomington, received his undergraduate degree from IU in 1925 and his law degree there too, in 1926. At a party in Bloomington in 1930, Carmichael came up with a melody, and then stayed up all night with his friend Stuart Gorrell, working on it.
Stuart ended up writing the lyrics for the song, which became ‘Georgia on My Mind’. Here’s the local connection. According to Wikipedia, Stuart Gorrell was born in Knox, Indiana, in 1901. [Ed Hasnerl says that Stuart’s father, Samuel M. Gorrell was the publisher of North Judson and Knox newspapers. The Knox paper was later sold to Henry F. Schricker.] He (Stuart Gorrell) went on to become a banker and never wrote another song lyric.
Stuart said the lyric was about Hoagy’s sister, Georgia Carmichael. Nevertheless, it’s the Georgia state song.
Actually, the song was a mostly forgotten oldie when Ray Charles recorded it. I’ve heard his producer didn’t want to do some tired old song from 30 years earlier, but Ray Charles generally did what he wanted to do. And he did it well.”
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Some of you may not have heard of the song writer, Leo Friedman. He was born in Elgin, Illinois in 1869 and died in Chicago in 1927. I would say that his and your age difference would be a reason for not knowing him. However, you might have heard of some of his songs. He is best remembered for composing and publishing the sentimental waltz, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, with lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson in 1910. Another one of his popular compositions was “Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland.”
The local connection of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, is where is was composed. It was composed on the east side of Bass Lake at the Center View Hotel, (see the attachment) which is now the home of Bill and Nancy Sonnemaker, and they are proud to tell the story about Leo Friedman.
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Another song writer that I am sure you haven’t heard about is Alice Prettyman Shilling. Prettyman Street in Knox is named after her father. She wrote the words to “Yellow River” with music by Leo Friedman. Yes, it is our Yellow River in Starke County. And yes, it is the same Leo Friedman. And yes, she was my great aunt. You can access this song by clicking on our website — http://www.scpl.lib.in.us/historical/yellow_river/yellow_river.pdf
If you know of other Starke County composers, let me know.
Jim Shilling
Starke County Historical Society
Since being continued in late July, the jury trial in the case of Christopher Stonebraker has been set for this morning at 9 a.m. Stonebraker is charged with Rape as a Class B felony and Domestic Battery as a Class D felony following his arrest late last year.
Stonebraker was arrested on Nov. 28, 2011, and it is alleged that he raped his ex-wife and pushed her head into a wall, causing her tooth to chip. The probable cause affidavit stated that he also scratched her back in the presence of two children. Stonebraker was arrested by an officer from the Indiana State Police and taken to the Starke County Jail.
Two Knox residents were injured in a two vehicle accident in Knox Monday afternoon.
Clinton Collins, 19, of Grovertown, told Knox City Police officers that he was on U.S. 35 approaching McDonald’s when he saw another vehicle in front of him. He attempted to use his mirrors to execute a lane change and by the time his eyes returned to the front of the vehicle, the vehicle had stopped at the entrance to Five Star and Collins was unable to avoid a collision.
A Medaryville man has been arrested for his part in a series of alleged burglary incidents in Pulaski County.
James Lindahl, 20, was arrested on two counts of Burglary, four counts of Theft, and one count of Criminal Mischief and Conversion. According to a police investigation, Lindahl reportedly stole tools, jewelry, electronics, and household items from several different residences in June.
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department investigated a motorcycle accident at Peach Road and 19th Road on Sunday.
The driver of the motorcycle, 44-year-old Terrance A. Robins of Plymouth, was traveling on Peach Road when a deer entered his path and he was unable to avoid the collision. During the course of the investigation, police learned Robbins did not have insurance on the motorcycle or a motorcycle endorsement.
The Knox City Council last night tabled a motion to allow a ten-year tax phase-in for Reagent Chemical and Research.
Plant Manager Tim Gunter asked the council to approve the phase-in to allow him to expand the business to the tune of approximately $2.5 million in manufacturing equipment, building expansion, and new construction. In addition, Gunter said Reagent would be adding at least 11 jobs with nearly $300,000 in new wages.
The Knox Community School Board approved a request made by Washington Township Trustee Shelly Kemble. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the request was to make some changes on the property where the old school is located.
“At a previous meeting, the trustee from Washington Township was in to ask the board’s permission and approval to do some logging out at the woods at the east end of the property and to use some of that money to help pay for the demolition of the old school in Washington Township. At this last meeting, the board did approve that request of the Washington Township trustee,” Gappa explained.
The season of giving is on its way and the Starke County Food Pantry is once again receiving a decent amount of donations, but Community Services of Starke County Director Joan Haugh emphasized that their other programs are in need of help as well.
“People are so generous. They give to our food pantry, but they kinda forget we have these other needs too. In order for us to continue, we have to raise those dollars. I don’t know what we’d do without the generosity of individuals and agencies and businesses, and I can say the township trustees too; city of Knox, the county commissioners, they give us funds too which helps support our programs,” said Haugh.
The Starke County Youth Club is in need of volunteers, and Executive Director Irene Szakonyi said it’s easy to make a different in the life of a young adult. Volunteer mentors – or coaches – play a vital role in reaching out to young adults, and the strong connection that forms helps to make a difference in their life.
Szakonyi explained that coaches can make a healthy connection by listening to their buddy’s concerns, doing activities that their buddy likes to do, and forming a relationship that is often more effective than interacting with teachers, parents, or other adults. The main goal is about starting a friendship and providing a level of guidance to allow each buddy to reach their full potential.
First-time college students now have the opportunity to sample a taste of higher education, as Ancilla College is now offering a free college course as part of the “We Believe in You” program. The program, designed for adult learners ages 21 and up, allows a student to take a class with up to three credit hours at no cost whatsoever.
All students enrolled in the program will meet with an academic advisor who will assist them every step of the way in attending college for their first time, including assistance with the registration process, help with filing a financial aid application, choosing the right educational opportunities and much more.
The past two weeks have been full of activities for Knox High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions Program Director Carrie Stone. Last week was dedicated to the nationwide “Rock the Belt” campaign for raising seat belt awareness, and this week is the annual “Red Ribbon Week” to raise awareness on drug and alcohol abuse in high schools.
The main point that Stone brought forth about Red Ribbon Week was that teenagers are really ignorant to the fact that their brain is not yet fully developed. Therefore, they aren’t necessarily aware that they do not have the brain capacity to handle alcohol consumption. Red Ribbon Week is designed to bring that point to the attention of high school students. There will be a rock concert on Wednesday at the middle school for the students there and high school SADD members.
