Indiana State Police Partners With DEA in Fifth Drug Take Back Day

Posted on Author WKVI

The Drug Enforcement Administration is sponsoring the fifth nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back initiative in an effort to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft. On Saturday, Sept. 29, collection sites will be set up nationwide for expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs to be properly disposed of and destroyed. This will be a free and anonymous service with no questions asked and just one restriction: the sites will not accept new or used needles. The program is intended for liquid and pill medications.

Captain David Bursten, commander of the state police public information section, strongly encourages anyone with unwanted prescription medication to participate in the program.

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Wythogan Park Cleanup Nearing Completion; Mayor Hopes For Weekend Opening

Posted on Author WKVI

“It’s starting to look like a park again.”

Knox Park Superintendent George Byer says the cleanup at Wythogan Park is nearing completion, and the park is almost clear enough to allow visitors once again. With brush pickup said to be roughly two-thirds complete, and the cleanup of trees and hanging branches almost halfway complete, Byer says the park doesn’t look so much like a disaster area anymore.

“The park is looking great compared to what it was here a month ago,” Byer said. “It takes time to clean up a disaster like we’ve got. I think we’re moving along very well with it.”

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Two Accidents Reported In Starke County Monday

Posted on Author WKVI

Two accidents were reported in Starke County within 45 minutes of each other on Monday, requiring two people to be airlifted to medical facilities for treatment. At 4:30 p.m., the Starke County Sheriff’s Department responded to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of State Road 10 and Range Road involving two vehicles. The driver was flown to Memorial Hospital in South Bend to be treated.

Approximately 45 minutes later, a second motor vehicle accident was reported involving three vehicles on State Road 10 near 300 East. A juvenile passenger was airlifted to Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis due to injuries. The identities of those involved have not yet been released, pending the release of the official accident report.

North Judson Town Board Holds Public Budget Hearing

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson Town Board

The North Judson Town Board last week held their first and second readings of an amendment to the 2012 salary ordinance. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the amendment allows for the addition of a part-time clerical position in both the clerk-treasurer’s office and the billing office.

Henry explained that the part-time employee would split his or her time between the two offices, but will spend the majority of his or her time in the clerk-treasurer’s office. The employee will be trained in both departments, and will be cross-trained on the billing side to allow the employee to substitute for the billing clerk during vacations. Henry says this employee will be similar to a floating employee between the two departments, but will concentrate on the clerk-treasurer’s side.

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David Hyatt Named IU Health Starke Hospital President

Posted on Author WKVI
David Hyatt

David Hyatt has been formally named the President of IU Health Starke Hospital. The IU Health Starke Hospital Community Board made the move official during the board’s regular meeting Monday night. He had been serving in the capacity of Interim President since June of this year.

Hyatt transferred to IU Health Starke Hospital in September 2009 as Vice President of Operations after serving as a Business Development Associate at IU Health LaPorte Hospital. In 2010, he was named Vice President of Strategy and Ambulatory Services for the LaPorte hospital.

Board President Ben Bennett stated that the board was very impressed with Hyatt’s enthusiasm, and he feels that Hyatt is ready to move the hospital forward.

Bond Reduced For Pulaski County Felon

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Courthouse

Bond was reduced for Joshua Thomas Wolfe in Pulaski Circuit Court during a hearing Monday afternoon. His bond was reduced from $50,000 cash to just $12,500 cash. He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony.

The court imposed the conditions of bond that Wolfe report weekly to the Pulaski County Probation Department, cooperate with random urine screens as directed by a probation officer and obey a no contact order with a victim in a separate case. Another pretrial conference hearing was scheduled for Oct. 11 at 10:30 a.m. ET in Pulaski Circuit Court.

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Eastern Pulaski School Board Approves Policy Changes For Evaluations

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board approved some changes to its school board policy manual which Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says are the direct result of state statutes.

“It was put into a statute that superintendents must be evaluated every year which was a shock to me because at Eastern Pulaski, for the last 25+ years I’ve been here, there’s been an evaluation every year, but evidently some places choose not to. We modified our school board policy to make sure we were in compliance with Indiana statutes,” commented Klitzman.

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West Central, Eastern Pulaski Schools Discuss Enrollment

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

Although the Average Daily Membership, or ADM count, isn’t officially taken until Friday, West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon discussed the preliminary enrollment for this year with the board last week.

“We like to keep track of that because the number of students equals the amount of money we receive from the state,” said Mellon. “As far as the number of students we have currently, it’s identical to last year. Some of these people are migrant students that will not be with us all year and they may not be with us on Sept. 14, but they are in the count at the current time.”

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Gas Prices Rising Across State, Experts Hopeful For Drop Toward Holidays

Posted on Author WKVI

Gas prices are once again on the rise across Indiana, and GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan says it’s nothing unexpected. Since midnight yesterday across the state, prices have risen at least $0.02 per gallon as some stations report prices of $3.99 and up. The average price of gas in the Knox area is $3.99 while the average price in La Porte is $4.19 per gallon.

DeHaan explained that gas prices in smaller areas such as Knox, Winamac, Culver, and La Porte are hard to predict, but larger metro areas such as Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Indianapolis are enduring gasoline spikes of several cents per gallon. Fortunately, DeHaan says this is only temporary; as the holidays approach, gas prices tend to decrease.

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IU Health La Porte Hospital Receives Excellence Award

Posted on Author WKVI

IU Health La Porte Hospital has proudly announced that they have received an Excellence in Patient Care award from outcomes firm Studer Group. The hospital received their award for their exceptional “doctor communication” ratings on the HCAHPS patient survey, and they will be presented with their award at the 10th annual What’s Right in Health Care conference.

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems is a national standardized survey tool used to measure the quality of care received by adult inpatients at a given acute care hospital. The results of the 27-question survey are public posted four times a year at hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

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America Remembers September 11, 2001

Posted on Author WKVI
A color guard unit stands at attention in the Indianapolis airport

On this Patriot Day, ceremonies are scheduled around the United States to remember the lives lost in a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.  No local ceremonies are planned, but this color guard was present at the Indianapolis airport this morning to show that we will never forget what happened on that day in history.

Identity of Deceased Bass Lake Man Released; Cause of Death Not Yet Announced

Posted on Author WKVI

The identity of the deceased man discovered in a Bass Lake home has been released. Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells says 52-year-old David Griffin was found dead inside his residence by his brother, who had gone to check on him because nobody had heard from Griffin in some time.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Starke County Coroner, Indiana State Police, and LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department all responded to the scene to conduct investigations. A forensic autopsy was performed yesterday at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center in Fort Wayne, although no cause or manner of death has been announced.

Rannells says the cause of death will be released when the autopsy report is finalized, but he noted that there does not appear to be any signs of foul play regarding Griffin’s death. The man was found dead in a Bass Lake home Saturday morning, and the body was said to be badly decomposed.

Delaware Fugitive Found in Marshall County

Posted on Author WKVI

A wanted fugitive out of the state of Delaware was found in Marshall County.

On Saturday, authorities from Sussex County in Delaware notified the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department that one of their inmates had escaped work release and was possibly headed to an address in Marshall County.

After an investigation, Marshall County detectives, deputies and dispatchers were able to locate Michael Derogitas in the 11000 block of Muckshaw Road and took him into custody. He is being held in the Marshall County Jail awaiting extradition back to Delaware.

Bowen Center Patient Arrested For Battery

Posted on Author WKVI

A Bowen Center patient was arrested Saturday after allegedly battering two staff members.

Leta McNeal reportedly hit and kicked staff members while staying at the Bowen Center in Plymouth. Officials called the Plymouth Police Department to report the incident and McNeal was arrested on a preliminary charge of Battery and taken to the Marshall County Jail. The staff members involved sustained only minor injuries.

McNeal will appear for an initial hearing in Marshall County Superior Court II on Sept. 18 and was given a $750 cash bond.

Kindle Sparks Fight, Star City Woman Arrested

Posted on Author WKVI

An 18-year-old Rochester woman was arrested at a residence in Star City on Sunday after an alleged battery incident.

Brandi Underwood told police that the alleged victim came to her residence to discuss a missing Amazon Kindle. The victim reportedly started yelling and cursing at Underwood while poking her in the chest. Underwood then allegedly admitted that she struck the victim twice in the face with a closed fist.

Underwood was then arrested and taken to the Pulaski County Jail on a preliminary charge of Battery with Bodily Injury. The case has been forwarded to the Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office for further review.

Two Arrested For Credit Card Theft, Fraud in Lapaz

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Lapaz residents were recently arrested on fraud charges after using a credit card that belonged to another Lapaz resident.

The victim told police that some unknown people entered her vehicle and stole her purse. The suspects had used the credit cards in the wallet to make purchases at several local establishments. Surveillance footage was obtained by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and Nicole Martin and Justin Haining were identified as using the stolen credit cards.

They were located and arrested on preliminary charges of Theft, Fraud and Forgery.

Rollover Accident In Pulaski County Injures Two

Posted on Author WKVI

Two people were injured in a rollover accident in Pulaski County Sunday afternoon.

Orville Shelton of Burnham, Ill. told Pulaski County police that he was driving north on U.S. Highway 421 near the intersection at County Road 1500 West when he lost control of his vehicle on the curve. The vehicle left the roadway and went into a ditch, rolling an unknown number of times before coming to rest.

Shelton and a passenger, Shirley Shelton, were injured but the injuries were non-life threatening. They were transported to Jasper Memorial Hospital for medical treatment.

Cemetery Policies May Change in North Judson

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson Town Board

Rules and regulations may soon be changed at cemeteries in North Judson, as the town council is reviewing a proposed ordinance from the Cemetery Regulations Committee.

Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the committee was appointed a few months ago and charged with the task of reviewing the current cemetery ordinance and its rules and regulations to determine if any changes are needed to the policies. The committee looked at the current ordinance and compared it to templates of cemetery rules and regulations, and have made a number of changes that they feel would best suit the cemetery and the town.

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West Central School Improvement Plans Approved

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

Principal Don Street presented the West Central School Board with the middle and high schools’ School Improvement Plan which was approved. Superintendent Charles Mellon said Elementary Principal Dan Zylstra also presented the elementary school’s School Improvement Plan which outlined interventions and curriculum alignment.

“Those plans outline improvements because our performance on the ISTEP is not where we want it, so we’re taking different steps there as required by the state,” said Mellon.

Those plans are for the current school year.

South Central High School To Receive $25K Grant For Greenhouse

Posted on Author WKVI

The Agricultural Collaboration Education program at the South Central Junior-Senior High School will receive a $25,000 grant through America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the school decided to lean to greenhouses and was able to get the support. The grant will be used to build and maintain a greenhouse at the school.

Students will apply math and science concepts to practical, everyday agricultural activities while studying elements at the greenhouse. The greenhouse will also be used by FFA members during their supervised agricultural experiences during which students will be given responsibility of short-term entrepreneurial ventures and will develop a plan, grow plants, and sell them for profit.

The greenhouse will serve as an integral part to South Central’s Farm to Table Program as fruits and vegetables from the greenhouse will be served in the school cafeteria’s fruit and vegetable bar.