Farmers will be out in the fields soon for the corn and soybean harvest and they’re looking for good news in the fields this summer.
The drought conditions have taken a toll on crops this year. Gene Matzat from the LaPorte County Extension Office said he’s hasn’t heard of any farmers losing their entire crop in the Northern Indiana area.
Things are starting to get back to normal after last week’s issue with BP. Don Good from the Good Oil Company said BP officials are still trying to pinpoint the initial cause.
“They’re suspecting that it was a polymer that got out of balance on the blending of it,” said Good. “It only affected the areas that sell reformulated gasoline, which in Indiana there’s only two counties that sell it and those are Lake and Porter. Clean air-type gasoline is only sold in those two counties in Indiana and then the Chicagoland area was also affected.”
In an effort to cut down on the prevalence of the viruses, IU Health La Porte VNA Services is offering discounted flu vaccinations to protect against seasonal flu and pneumonia in La Porte and Starke counties.
The vaccinations are available to anyone interested over the age of 9, with no appointment necessary. The vaccines are available at two walk-in clinics: 901 S. Woodland Ave. in Michigan City, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT, and at 6955 E. 600 N. in Hamlet, Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT.
NIPSCO is warning customers of a number of scams in the area that involve NIPSCO impersonators.
Nick Meyer, director of external communications at NIPSCO, says some impersonators will come to your door and ask to come inside because they need to check on gas lines or other service lines. Utility workers don’t normally ask to come into your home. If you encounter this type of situation, Meyer offers this advice.
State Representative Tom Dermody of LaPorte has announced he will be hosting a Town Hall-style meeting emphasizing the important of the taxpayer protection plan he has laid in place through the passage of Senate Engrossed Act 19. The Town Hall will be held at 4:30 p.m. today at the LaPorte Civic Auditorium.
Dermody says he will be discussing his amendment to SEA 19 that helps solve the property tax issues in LaPorte County, which he says is a positive solution to the city’s vital problem. Dermody will be joined by a representative of the Department of Local Government and Finance, as well as Senator Jim Arnold of La Porte.
Dermody represents parts of Porter, Starke, Jasper and LaPorte counties.
For more information, contact Dermody at h20@in.gov.
A former Knox High School basketball coach was arrested yesterday morning amidst allegations of sexual misconduct with a student that occurred as early as 2007.
Thirty-nine-year-old Todd Boldry of Knox was arrested on charges of Child Seduction and Official Misconduct, both of which are Class D felonies. Starke County Prosecutor Nick Bourff says each of those counts carry a sentence between six months and three years and up to a $10,000 fine. Bourff says Boldry was arrested on school grounds Friday morning.
The Knox Harvest Festival continues today.
There will be many exciting events happening this Saturday at the Knox Harvest Festival. IU Health Starke Hospital, who is the major sponsor of this year’s festival, will host a 5K run with registration at 6:45 a.m. and the race at 8 a.m. Court house tours begin at 9 a.m. today, the Red Cross Blood Drive is at 10 a.m., the Potawatami Zoo Exhibit is at Noon and the annual Harvest Festival Parade will begin at 2 p.m. featuring Grand Marshal Tom Berg. The day’s final major events include a pie eating contest by the main stage, the burnout contest at industrial park, and the pedal tractor pull beginning at four.
Tomorrow, the motorcycle show by O’s Tap and Knox-Center Township Fire Department Car Show registration begin at 9 a.m., courthouse tours resume at 10 a.m., and the festival’s last major events will start at 1 p.m. including revolution wrestling, duck races, and a pet parade.
The Knox Community School Board members spotlighted the high school’s Porter-Starke Counseling Program at their meeting this week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said High School Assistant Principal Michael Bendicsen is on the Porter-Starke Board and he helped initiate this program for students in need.
“Mr. Bendicsen did report that he knew of at least ten students that had taken advantage of and had been helped by this program. A number of other students might have been helped but they can go other directions besides Porter-Starke as he reported. He wanted to also point out that the services are available not just the high school but in the other buildings. So far, the high school is the only one that has been able to take advantage of the services that are being offered,” said Gappa.
Gas prices spiked in the area yesterday and Don Good from the Good Oil Company says the incident with BP this week could be part of the cause.
“Every little thing that’s an emotion causes this stuff to spike in the Midwest because we’re kind of vulnerable right now and just the way the supply lays out so I’m sure that had something to do with it.” (don good 08-25 #1)
That wasn’t the only cause of the price hike.
With the Harvest Days Festival underway, courthouse tours are set to begin today, offering a unique look at the 115-year-old Starke County Courthouse.
The tours are scheduled today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These tours have been conducted since 1994, and during that time, more than 5000 people have visited the courthouse’s eight floors and watched as the clock and bell ring out, tolling the time to the residents of Knox.
The annual Tour de La Porte bike, run, and walk event is planned for today and tomorrow at Soldiers Memorial Park in La Porte. This event is designed to raise money for local cancer patients.
There are millions of families around the world that have their own stories of how cancer has affected them, whether it be personally or by a loved one having the dreaded disease. One story in particular is that of the Sobecki family. Linda Sobecki found out that she had lung cancer three years ago. She worked at Blue Chip Casino Hotel & Spa for a significant amount of time, until she no longer could due to the worsening condition of her disease. Her husband Jeff was able to use the family’s health insurance to pay for the majority of the bills, but not long after Sobecki stopped working, Jeff lost his job at the regional steel mill as well.
The Pulaski County Jr. Historical Society Civil War Club made a trip to Springfield, Ill, on Aug. 4 to learn more about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
The group of 16 youth and adults toured the Abraham Lincoln Museum, located next to the Lincoln Presidential Library in downtown Springfield, and viewed the life-sized replicas of the log cabin that Lincoln grew up in as a young boy.
Here is a look at some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week.
Joshua C. Sommers of Plymouth was arrested Saturday after he allegedly battered a woman in a home. He left before officers arrived on scene where they found an injured woman in the home. Officers were then notified that the vehicle Sommers was driving was involved in an accident on Ferndale Avenue and left the scene. Sommers was later found and arrested on preliminary charges of Domestic Battery, Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident, Operator Never Licensed and Strangulation. He is in the Marshall County Jail.
The Knox City Council approved an ordinance that amends the city’s sewer and stormwater rates. A system to collect sewage and waste and direct it to the Wastewater Treatment Facility was constructed and this ordinance allows for a department to be established to address stormwater needs and a stormwater fund for the collection of fees. If your property is connected to the city’s sanitary sewer system, you will be required to pay $1 per month to connect to the sewer system. In 2013, that fee will raise to $2. Revenue generated from the collection fees will be used for maintenance of the stormwater system.
The City of Knox has been given permission by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to burn the brush that has accumulated from the July 24 storms. The Knox City Street Department has prepared an area for the controlled burn and the fire department will be notified before the activity takes place. The City has 30 days to complete the task. If you have any questions or concerns, call the Mayor’s Office at (574) 772-4553.
A .65 percent tax rate that would help fund the construction of a new jail facility in Starke County was approved by the County Council and County Commissioners last night. They will now start looking at a site for the jail and the Skillman Corporation will proceed with design schematics for the proposed jail. The Council and Commissioners are hopeful to begin construction in April.
Gregory Moore was arrested late Friday night after he allegedly caused a two vehicle accident due to his high level of intoxication. Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and emergency personnel were called to the scene at 450 South and County Road 210 near Bass Lake and had to extricate Moore from his vehicle. Moore was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital due to his injuries along with two people in the other vehicle involved in the accident. Once Moore was released from the hospital, he was taken to the Starke County Jail on two preliminary felony charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Serious Bodily Injury and a misdemeanor charge of Reckless Driving.
Steven O’Bryant of Knox pleaded not guilty to four counts of child molestation in Starke Circuit Court yesterday. The Knox City Police Department investigated a claim that O’Bryant molested a juvenile while staying at the juvenile’s home for two months. O’Bryant was arrested Monday on a warrant for these charges in Fort Wayne. This is not his first crime in Knox. He was convicted of murdering a Knox woman in 1987 and had served time in prison for the crime. He was released from the Department of Corrections on parole on June 27, 2011 and he was released from parole on January 9. Judge Hall was the county prosecutor in O’Bryant’s murder case and recused himself from O’Bryant’s current case. A St. Joseph County Judge will now conduct all of O’Bryant’s future court hearings.
William Blankenship III of Knox pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to charges of Escape as a Class C Felony and Auto Theft as a Class D Felony. He will be sentenced in Porter County Superior Court 1 on October 1. These charges stem from an incident on January 10 when Blankenship drove a police car away after he was detained during a traffic stop in Kouts. Blankenship drove the car into a ditch in LaPorte County. He turned himself into authorities two days later at a home in Knox. He is currently incarcerated in the Porter County Jail.
No problems have been cited in Starke, Pulaski or Marshall Counties after BP officials recalled millions of gallons of contaminated fuel this week. The contaminated fuel came from a Whiting refinery fuel storage terminal where diesel fuel or fuel oil somehow got mixed in with regular unleaded gasoline. If you fueled your car in Northwestern Indiana, where over 5,000 vehicle-related have been reported, call the BP customer relations hotline at (800) 333-3991.
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department detained five juveniles after an investigation into damage to golf carts and the driving range at the Plymouth Rock Golf Course. The juveniles reportedly forced their way into a gated and locked pavilion and took several golf carts. They drove the carts around the driving range and drove over markers and caused other damage. The five are suspected of burglary, theft, criminal mischief and criminal trespass and the case has been forwarded to the Marshall County Probation Department.
Plymouth Police officers are attempting to identify suspects in a burglary at the Marathon Station on North Michigan Street. On Monday morning, the suspects smashed in the front door of the business and stole cigarettes. They left the premises in an unknown vehicle. If you know anything about this incident, call the Plymouth Police Department at 936-2126.
John R. Mikle of LaPorte was arrested on a warrant yesterday in South Bend on charges after a July 19 accident that killed 26-year-old Katherine Adkins and injured two children in her car. He faces felony charges of Reckless Homicide, Causing Death When Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, and two counts of Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated. He has also been charged with a misdemeanor count of Operating a Vehicle with a Schedule I or II Controlled Substance in the Body. His bond is set at $35,000 cash.
A motion was approved by the Starke County Commissioners this week to create a separate fund for money that will be received from the county’s insurance for repairs caused by the storms in June and July. The county will receive $75,000 which IT Director Joe Short says will hardly cover the items that need repaired or replaced. A preliminary damage estimate was figured at $48,944.85 which doesn’t include the Sheriff’s Department tower. That cost could exceed $30,000. Short said the county will like receive another payment to help with the cost of repairs.
The CEO of the Braun Corporation and Braunability in Winamac, Ralph Braun, will be featured in a CNN segment this weekend called “The Human Factor” hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Braun will talk about the invention of the motorized scooter invention and how he has strived to become mobile despite suffering from Muscular Dystrophy. He will talk about how he developed the world’s first accessible vehicle and how that idea was incorporated into the first accessible minivan. The show airs Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on CNN.
The Starke County Commissioners this week approved a motion authorizing Auditor Kay Chaffins to create a separate fund for funds that will be received from the county’s insurance company. The county will receive $75,000 to get started on repairs and pay vendor claims stemming from the June and July storms.
Unfortunately, County IT Director Joe Short says that chunk of change is hardly enough to cover the cost of repairs from the storm – and they haven’t even accounted for all of the items that need repaired or replaced.
The Knox Harvest Festival begins today!
Opening ceremonies are at 3:30 p.m. in the downtown area and the food and craft vendors open at 4 p.m. Enjoy music from Nightshift at 4 p.m. and 30 South at 7 p.m.
Other highlights for this year’s festival include the Courthouse Tours beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the Potowatami Zoo exhibit, and the parade Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., featuring Tom Berg as the Grand Marshal.
Music is scheduled throughout the weekend along with several contests. The BMX competition is set for Saturday and Sunday and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department burnout contest is Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Industrial Park. The fire department will also hold a car show on Sunday at noon at the corner of Lake and Pearl Streets.
Two people pleaded guilty to charges filed against them in the Starke Circuit Court on Tuesday.
William Baugh of Knox pleaded guilty to a charge of Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony. Baugh is accused of pawning several dozen collectible Zippo lighters that had been stolen from a woman in Knox for $300 in February. He also admitted to a probation violation.
The North Judson Town Council this week continued discussion regarding the proposed golf cart ordinance. According to Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry, the town board is still researching a sample ordinance from the state governing golf carts, and she says the council will likely have an ordinance drafted by the next meeting for review.
The town is currently considering the idea of joining several counties, cities, and towns throughout the state that have adopted ordinances regulating where golf carts can and cannot be driven. Henry says that as of right now, the council is unsure as to whether or not golf carts are regulated in North Judson, but this ordinance would rectify that and define clear requirements for their use.
Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman spent some time discussing the new teacher evaluation model with the school board this week.
“Education in Indiana has changed somewhat in that there is a prescribed procedure, methodology, timing and organization in how teachers are going to be evaluated,” said Klitzman. “At Eastern Pulaski, as many schools in the area and statewide, we’re going to start using the DOE prescribed evaluation instrument called RISE.”
The Knox Community School Board heard about the successful start to the new school year at their meeting Monday night and Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave a report on enrollment figures.
“It appears we’re up about three students total from last year’s ADM count. Last year at this time, we had approximately 1,998 kids and this year we’re about 2,001,” stated Gappa.
The official ADM, or Average Daily Membership, will be taken on Sept. 14.
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation and the SCILL Center have announced the start of a new welding program for high school students within the North Central Area Vocational Cooperative in Starke, Marshall, St. Joseph and Fulton Counties.
The program currently has a full class of 12 students and certified welder Andrew Odle is the instructor of the program.
