Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede
Efforts to restore bridges in Pulaski County continue as the commissioners this week discussed the possibility of yet another bridge to work on. Jeff Larrison of United Consulting told the commissioners that he had put together an engineer’s report for Bridge 268, which is in dire need of a new deck. This project, he says, will be a lot cheaper and a bit easier than the complete replacement of Bridge 291 in Monterey.
Larrison says the bridge would be restored rather than completely replaced, and no land acquisition is necessary.
Two Winamac residents were arrested after resisting law enforcement and threatening the police on Sunday.
Pulaski County police received a noise complaint at 310 North and 300 West and, when they arrived at the location, several people fled the area. One officer was approached by a man later identified as Mitchel Shidler and began talking to him about what was going on at that location. As the conversation went on, the officer noted in his report that Shidler became a little more agitated. It got to the point where he was reportedly combative and was tased by the officer to get him to comply to the command of putting his hands behind his back. He was taken into custody.
Hamlet Town Marshal Frank Lonigro III says an officer who shot and killed an attacking dog was justified in his actions. On Sept. 15, an officer with the Hamlet Police Department approached a residence at 218 Railroad St. in search of a wanted subject. When the officer asked the woman who answered the door if the wanted female was home, she said she was not.
The officer then asked to speak with Kenneth Schoff, who was also reported to live at the residence. When Schoff opened the door to come outside, a pit bull ran from the house barking and growling, and lunged at the police officer. The officer tried pushing the dog away, but the pit bull continued trying to bite him, forcing the officer to draw his weapon and fire three shots in an attempt to stop the attacking dog. The dog was struck by the shots, and fell onto the ground before quickly jumping up and attacking the officer once again.
A Plymouth man was arrested Friday after pushing his landlord and burning paper on the property.
Plymouth police officers were called to 215 1/2 W. Adams St. after Jeff Birchmeier called police about an incident with tenant Robert Warner. Birchmeier had gone to the residence to confront Warner about burning paper near the residence and, during the argument, Warner pushed him.
The officer took information for the battery report before leaving the scene. Police were called back to the residence after another fire was reported.
Warner was arrested on preliminary charges of Battery and Criminal Recklessness.
The case against former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork is shambling along in Jasper Circuit Court. The Indiana Supreme Court extended Judge John Potter’s decision deadline to Oct. 22, allowing him 13 more days to decide on the case.
Judge Potter has yet to make his decision regarding the case between Belork and the Starke County Commissioners, who claim Belork misappropriated $900,000 during her time as treasurer. The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners and the attorney for Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty appeared before the judge on June 6 and presented evidence supporting their cases.
A North Judson woman was arrested Friday after allegedly stealing items from a Plymouth business.
Plymouth police were called to Lowe’s after employees reportedly saw the woman take items from the store. After an investigation, 31-year-old Janel Minix was arrested on a preliminary charge of Theft. She was transported to the Marshall County Jail and was issued a notice to appear for an initial hearing in Marshall County Superior Court 1 on October 9.
The Lapaz-North Township Fire Department has purchased an $8,000 thermal imaging camera thanks to fundraising efforts and a grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation. The camera will assist firefighters in seeing through smoke and darkness to quickly locate someone trapped in a building in the case of a fire.
This camera can also play a major role in reducing property damage. Firefighters can often locate hot spots inside walls and extinguish them before they spread.
The West Nile virus has been detected in Pulaski County.
Four out of ten mosquito pools located near the Winamac Waste Water Treatment Plant have tested positive for the virus.
Pulaski County Health Department Health Nurse Andrea Keller urges residents to prevent mosquito problems around their home or neighborhood by disposing of any water-filled containers around the property and removing leaves and debris from gutters. Plastic wading pools and wheel barrows should be turned over when not in use. Don’t allow water to become stagnant in birdbaths and stock ornamental ponds with fish.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers has announced that Wythogan Park will open today.
The walking trail will be open to the public but visitors are asked to maneuver around the park with caution. Some areas will still be closed due to debris.
Contractors will continue working in the park until all of the debris is cleared out, but the majority of the larger logs and branches have been cleared from the park.
The park was closed after a July 24 storm reeled through the Knox area, causing thousands of dollars in damage within Wythogan Park. The storm also caused millions of dollars in damage to the Starke County Airport. The Starke County Courthouse suffered damage as well as the radio tower at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. All entities are still attempting to pick up the pieces after the storm nearly two months later.
The wife of a former LaPorte County sheriff may be required to pay the county more than $34,000 for a falsely-claimed pension. The Sheriff’s Merit Board has filed suit, claiming Lauren Arnold was not a law enforcement officer and therefore ineligible to collect a pension. Arnold was the matron for the LaPorte County Jail from 1999 to 2006 while her husband, Jim, was sheriff.
The merit board says Arnold did not graduate from the Indiana Law Enforcement academy and chose not to participate in the pension program in 1999. However, they say in 2004 she sought the pension that she claimed had been owed to her for the previous five years, and in 2006 she was awarded $20,950 in retroactive payments.
The merit board wrote Arnold in July asking her to reimburse the monies, but her attorney refused and claims the benefits were properly paid. Jim Arnold indicated he and his wife will defend themselves against the legal action.
The Knox Community School Board and the Facility Study Committee will be meeting with Dr. Mike Trego this evening to discuss the referendum process.
Dr. Trego, a professor at Indiana State University and an expert on how to successfully get a referendum to pass, will meet with the Board in a special work session tonight in place of their regular board meeting.
A Medaryville man was arrested Tuesday after police found him to be in possession of drugs.
Two Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies learned through anonymous tips that David and Brenda Conley were reportedly manufacturing methamphetamine at their Medaryville residence.
The Marshall County Commissioners may receive a draft amendment to a speed limit ordinance today that would lower the posted speed limit on 12th Road and Peach Road.
A traffic study was conducted by Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck in which counters were placed on 12th Road, a half-mile west of Olive Road and on Peach Road between the lakes to Menominee Drive. The results showed an average speed of 37 mph which is less than the posted speed limit of 40 mph.
The Knox City Council last week discussed the old laundromat building at 64 E. Lake St., which will soon be demolished. Mayor Rick Chambers says he has already gotten a few quotes on its demolition, but they are still waiting on the necessary paperwork to be completed before any quote can be accepted.
Chambers told the council that if the paperwork is completed in time, the Board of Works will likely discuss and possibly choose the winning bid at their next meeting.
A number of people in the city of Knox have called the city to report suspected fraudulent calls from companies selling insurance on water lines, but Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston says the offer might not be a scam.
According to Houston, the city is responsible for the main water line, but the lines running to the home and inside is the homeowner’s responsibility. As a result, it is possible to legitimately insure those lines, but he discourages the idea. He says there have only been a few times when that line has actually broken, and he feels it probably wouldn’t be worth insuring.
These insurance companies are typically not affiliated with utility providers, and Houston encourages all residents who are approached with such an offer to do some investigating before making their decision. The city of Knox does not endorse any water line insurance provider.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board accepted four donations to the corporation that were made by the community. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the program that received monetary donations was that of Helping Hands.
“It’s designed to help students who have a need in the area of textbook rental and also for their lunch program and breakfast program,” explained Dr. Klitzman. “Our community donates money anonymously and as students have this need, we go ahead and provide the funding for that and let the parents know that this was provided by our Helping Hands Program.”
More than $500 was donated toward that fund to help students with their needs at school.
The jury trial for a man accused of pushing a woman out of a moving vehicle has been scheduled for Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. in the Starke Circuit Court. Jason Cooke of Plymouth was arrested Sept. 3 on charges of Residential Entry and Trespass, and was arrested again the very next day on charges of Aggravated Battery.
Police say Cooke entered the home of Linda Draper and refused to leave despite her repeated orders to get off her property. When police were called, Cooke left the property but was soon taken into custody and arrested on preliminary charges of Residential Entry as a Class D felony and Criminal Trespass as as Class A misdemeanor.
Valparaiso University students were shocked to learn yesterday morning that an unspecified threat had been made to the school. School administrators sent students an email urging them to be alert and report any suspicious activity in light of the threat.
The university told students that the threat was made through graffiti and suggested that dangerous criminal activity would take place at the school during chapel break on Friday, but made no indication of the location or nature of that activity.
The Knox City Council this week discussed the results of their controlled burn to dispose of tree waste from the June and July storms. Mayor Rick Chambers explained to the council that he had received several complaints concerning ash and soot from the fire, and one resident had filed a police report regarding damage to his vehicle from burning ash that had fallen on the car.
Chambers told the council that he sent the incident report of the damage to the city’s insurance company. The man is claiming $492 in damage, stating that the car requires a “wash and buff job,” and while Chambers feels that’s a little expensive for such a job, he has forwarded the information to the city’s insurance company to allow them to deal with sorting it out.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management granted the city’s burn permit on Aug. 9, allowing the city 30 days to conduct the burn. According to the permit, the city was allowed to conduct the controlled burn at the Starke County Highway Garage, Knox City Dump, or Wythogan Park, and the council decided that the dump was the safest place for the burn.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board approved the textbook adoption committee for two elementary subjects. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said a group of educators and parents will choose the material.
“The curricular area that we’ll study leading to adoption is in the area of reading and handwriting,” commented Klitzman. “For those who have followed our data, we have had exceptionally good data in the area of reading so we’re going to be hard-pressed to come up with new materials that will help us do a better job.”
