The public meeting held last week at the Hamlet Town Hall regarding the local Post Office’s hours of operation brought out a decent turnout. The meeting was held to gather public input regarding the United States Postal Service’s POST plan, which is a review process of certain Post Offices including the Hamlet branch.
A Marshall County man was arrested after police found a meth lab in his car.
Marshall County police received a call that a man was asleep in his car in the parking lot at Lincoln Highway and Queen Road. Officers made contact with the driver, Mark Selner. Police reportedly searched Selner and found that he was in possession of a controlled substance. Upon further investigation, Selner also had an illegal drug lab in the car along with several stolen items.
Marshall County police took Selner into custody and he was booked into the Marshall County Jail on several drug related charges and he is facing Theft charges for the stolen property.
North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely is staying on top of efforts to bring the town up to ADA-compliance codes, and he said he just has a few intersections to look at as far as handicapped accessibility, but besides that, Vessely said everything else is just about up to snuff.
He said he has plans to install a few more handicapped ramps at a number of intersections, as well as permanent handicapped parking spaces at the civic center and community building. On top of that, he said there are plans to improve handicapped access to the parks for those in wheelchairs. Vessely said he has also already added some braille signage to restrooms in the community building.
Starke County officers arrested two people after finding two cars parked on 1100 East near the Yellow River.
When officers were reportedly given consent to search the vehicles, they found a syringe inside an open Pepsi can in one vehicle and two other syringes were found lying near the other vehicle.
Several West Central students will be getting an up close and personal look at the inner workings of the Pulaski County EMS as they start job shadowing EMTs beginning next semester. At least ten students from the West Central Health Occupations class will begin shadowing at the EMS Department in January.
EMS Director Nikki Lowry explained that this is the second time since she became director in June 2011 that the Health Occupations class has shadowed EMTs, for a good reason: she said it exposes them to the reality of what EMTs do on a daily basis.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced William Baugh, 21 of Knox, last week after he pleaded guilty to a charge of Receiving Stolen Property in a plea agreement with the state.
Baugh testified that his ex-girlfriend gave him some zippo lighters to pawn at the pawn shop in Knox. Baugh also said that his ex-girlfriend had gotten them from her grandmother and it was okay for him to pawn them. According to more testimony, it was learned that the lighters were not the woman’s grandmother’s but her stepfather’s. The victim made a statement in court that the items were taken without his consent and was extremely upset that the items were stolen and pawned. He asked the pawn shop to hold those items because they were stolen and he called the police to make a report. The victim told Judge Hall that the items were sold anyway. He indicated that the lighters were a collection of his mother’s and there were over 200 of them in the collection worth $1,500. There were also some Star Wars memorabilia items that were pawned.
The Knox Community School Board members formally adopted a superintendent evaluation process at their recent meeting. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said that the adoption needed to be done per state law.
“I attended a meeting last summer with three of our board members to talk about the Indiana Superintendent Evaluation Process,” said Gappa. “The Indiana School Boards Association (ISBA), in conjunction with the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS), put together a process that’s very similar to the new RISE evaluation process that is used for teachers and principals in the schools. Our board, following that presentation, adopted the Indiana Superintendents evaluation process that was put together by the ISBA and the IAPSS.”
A Medaryville man was questioned by Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday after an alleged battery incident.
The suspect, Arnold Neely, 49, told police that he and the victim had been at the American Legion in Medaryville. When they returned home, the pair started arguing and Neely allegedly pushed the victim. The victim fell on the ground beside the wood stove and broke beer bottles and the glass table near the scene.
A Plymouth man was arrested Saturday after a shoplifting incident.
Plymouth police officers were called to Martin’s Supermarket in reference to a theft incident. Officers arrived on scene and the suspect, 24-year-old Garrett Gilpin, fled from them in a vehicle. He was apprehended a short time later in the vicinity of Suter Road in Plymouth.
Gilpin was arrested on preliminary charges of Theft, Resisting Law Enforcement, and Driving While Suspended with a Prior Conviction.
The Knox City Council will discuss a number of important topics at their meeting tonight, including a tax abatement request by Reagent Chemical and Research, LLC.
Mayor Rick Chambers explained that because he did not receive the paperwork for Reagent’s tax abatement until yesterday morning, it is unlikely that they will be able to approve the abatement at their meeting tonight. Chambers said that the city attorney, David Matsey, needs more time to go over the paperwork and ensure its accuracy.
Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter on Thursday ordered that Linda Belork be reinstated immediately to her position as Starke County Treasurer. According to the order, Belork was wrongfully removed from office after alleged discrepancies were found in the treasurer’s accounts. The judge found that it was an accounting error of the auditor.
A former Indiana elementary school principal was recently arrested on charges relating to an alleged online sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl while employed as a high school teacher. According to LaPorte County police, 40-year-old Brian Strauss of Michigan City faces felony charges of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor, Child Solicitation, and Vicarious Sexual Gratification.
Investigators said Strauss had begun the online relationship in 2008, chatting with the girl while employed as a teacher at South Central High School in Union Mills. Police say he later viewed the girl performing sex acts via webcam, and the girl reportedly told police that she had several sexual encounters with Strauss at school.
Strauss was employed as principal at South Adams Elementary School in Berne until his resignation on Oct. 3.
Absentee voting numbers are up in both Starke and Pulaski Counties.
Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski reports almost 800 absentee ballots have been cast so far with walk-in voters and mail-in ballots. She indicated that this is a significant amount of ballots cast so far, especially with three weeks to go until the General Election on Nov. 6.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department will soon be streamlining operations when issuing traffic tickets or warnings.
A Sheriff’s Department representative and IT Director Joe Short attended a training session last week in electronic ticketing. With this system, when an officer pulls over a suspected traffic violator, the officer will be able to scan a Driver’s License and vehicle registration into a mobile computer, plus fill out the necessary violation information, edit any information – like an address – and print out the ticket at the time of the traffic stop. This puts the information of the traffic stop into the state computer system and lessens the paperwork and time of the traffic stop.
The Starke County Library’s Literacy Program has been up and running for several months now, but Director Sheila Urwiler said they are in need of math tutors to assist adult students in need of help with algebra, geometry, and other math subjects.
Urwiler explained that while the library currently has four tutors, most of them don’t feel comfortable helping with math. She said another tutor training session will take place on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 10 a.m., and anyone interested in becoming a tutor is encouraged to sign up.
Discounted flu shots are available through Indiana University Health LaPorte VNA Services to help protect against seasonal flu and pneumonia.
Vaccinations are available to those aged nine and older with no appointment needed at the office at 5955 E. 600 N. in Hamlet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this weekend that the number of fungal meningitis cases has risen to 38 in Indiana after a steroid shot became tainted with a fungus. More than 200 people across the country have become ill from the outbreak. Two Indiana patients have died, and lawsuits are being filed against companies that may be tied to the infections, including the New England Compounding Center.
A decision has finally been reached in the case against Linda Belork, former Starke County treasurer. The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners, Martin Lucas, told Jasper Circuit Court Judge John Potter that the commissioners were faced with a serious problem when the funds were reportedly misappropriated in the treasurer’s office according to the State Board of Accounts. He said the commissioners acted according to statute in removing her from office and filing suit against her bond.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall presided over several plea and sentencing hearings Thursday afternoon.
James Toney appeared for his hearing. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance as a Class D Felony and had been incarcerated in the Starke County Jail since his arrest six months ago. He was charged after police found him in possession of one Vicadin pill in his pocket.
Longtime Culver educator, 77-year-old William F. “Bill” Mills II, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 16.
From 1971 to 1995, Mills served in the capacity of the elementary principal, junior high principal, and superintendent of the Culver Community School Corporation. Mills’ family said that he loved the school, students and staff. He was always visible to the people in the community.
