One Dead, Three in Custody Following Police Pursuit on U.S. 30 in Hobart

Posted on Author WKVI
Multiple police agencies responded to the call near U.S. 30 and Colorado Street. (Photo provided by Gloria Ballard)

A home invasion in Porter County Wednesday led police on a car and foot chase through several jurisdictions before ultimately ending in one suspect’s death and the capture of three others. According to Porter County police, the incident started when three men in a silver car robbed the home of a 52-year-old woman, battering her and stealing cash and guns. She was treated at a nearby hospital, but her neighbor pursued the suspects and kept police informed as to their location as they traveled through Hobart.

Police say the four men left the home in a silver car, heading west on U.S. 30, when they took a sharp right turn onto Colorado Street going too fast and crashed into three vehicles – one of which was an SUV driven by an FBI agent. Three of the men bailed out of the car, fleeing on foot, while the one suspect who remained in the vehicle was taken into custody.

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Three Arrested For Theft At Plymouth Walmart

Posted on Author WKVI

Three individuals were arrested Wednesday after allegedly stealing items from Walmart in Plymouth. According to Plymouth police, Walmart employees informed police that three suspects from South Bend were reportedly stealing items from the store at roughly 10 p.m.

When police arrived, they learned that Cesar C. Cruz was also in possession of a fraudulent identification card not issued by the government. Cruz, along with Heather M. Cruz and Saralee H. Tillinghast, were arrested on charges of Theft.

Tillinghast was also found to have an active arrest warrant through Elkhart County. The trio was booked into the Marshall County Jail with an initial court date of Sept. 4.

Pulaski County Assessor’s Office “Cramped,” May Soon Relocate

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

A change of venue may soon be in the works for the Pulaski County Assessor’s office. Assessor Holly VanDerAa approached the county commissioners this week with a request to move her office into the same building as the county building inspector, because she says there is an open room in the building.

VanDerAa told the commissioners that she wants to move her office because the office conditions are extremely tight and they are extremely cramped, and Commissioner Mike Tiede agreed. He said it would be a great idea to have her closer to the building inspector, and Commissioner Ken Boswell said there is merit to looking into the move.

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Yellowstone Trail Fest Quickly Approaching

Posted on Author WKVI

In celebration of 100 years of a great road that ran from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound, the Yellowstone Trail Fest is on its way to Starke County.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Aug. 17–19, the fest will take place at the Starke County Fairgrounds in Hamlet, featuring a classic car cruise-in, a fun cruise down the Yellowstone Trail, a parade, flea market, and other events.

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School Year Approaching – Drive Safe!

Posted on Author WKVI

The school year begins for most students in our area on Tuesday, so be aware that student traffic will be picking up as they begin walking or biking to school.

The afternoon hours are particularly dangerous for children who walk from school. Drivers are asked to slow down around schools and watch carefully for kids who may emerge suddenly from between two parked cars. Children riding bicycles are often inexperienced, unsteady, and unpredictable, so be sure to slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle.

If your child drives to school, remind them of these safety tips as they navigate to school. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S. and more than one in four fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur during the after school hours of 3–7 p.m.

Plymouth’s Uceny To Run For The Gold Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Morgan Uceny, center, is poised to make U.S. history as the first woman to win the Gold in the 1500 meter run.

Plymouth local Morgan Uceny will be making her grab for the Gold at the London Olympics today, having earned her way to the 1500-meter finals by finishing third in her heat Wednesday afternoon. She finished her race in just over four minutes, clocking in at 4:05.34 – more than a second faster than her first round qualifying time of 4:06.87.

In the preliminaries, Uceny had finished second in her heat and ninth overall, advancing to the semi-finals where she ended third in her heat and 13th overall. Uceny just missed first place in the semi-finals by a few hundredths of a second.

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Three People Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse

Several people received their sentences in the Starke Circuit Court this week.

Rose Martin pleaded guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine as a Class D felony, as well as a D felony charge of Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors with Intent to Manufacture. The remaining counts against her were dismissed, and she will serve 18 months for the charge of Possession of Methamphetamine, and 12 months for the charge of Possession of Precursors. The sentences will be served consecutively, and none was suspended; however, she can serve her executed sentence on home detention through Community Corrections. Martin must also pay a drug interdiction fee of $250, submit to an evaluation at Porter-Starke Services, and complete any recommended treatment. She was credited with 12 days served.

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Global Bioscience Company to Move to North Judson

Posted on Author WKVI

The town of North Judson will be home to another new business.

Kemin, a global bioscience company, will process a variety of spearmint with both flavoring and preservation properties for use in the health, food, companion animal and personal care industries.

Robert Stomp, Kemin’s Director of Operations, said they chose to house this facility in North Judson as farmers in the area have the most knowledge of mint farming. Kemin will be working with the Lambert family to grow and harvest Kemin spearmint on the Lambert family farm.

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Pulaski County Instrumental In Keeping Starke County Jail Population Down

Posted on Author WKVI
David Pearman

With the Starke County Jail construction project pending, Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen and the county officials are still dealing with overcrowding issues in the jail. Some inmates are being housed in the Pulaski County Jail, per an agreement, to help in the overcrowding situation.

Starke County Council President David Pearman said that he hopes that agreement will continue until the new jail is built.

“The state has certified our jail for 62 beds and as we approach that number, we will continue to house inmates outside our jail in another facility. Hopefully, Pulaski County will want to continue working with us.”

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Three Theft Arrests Reported In Plymouth

Posted on Author WKVI

Plymouth police officers arrested three people for theft on Tuesday in three different incidents.

Matthew S. Bradley of Knox was arrested after Dollar General employees reported a theft at the store. The employees gave police a description of his vehicle and the vehicle was found in the Walgreens parking lot. The officer reportedly found a knife and packaging next to him in the vehicle. Bradley was arrested on a preliminary charge of Theft.

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North Judson Town Council Discusses “Urban Chicken” Issue

Posted on Author WKVI

The North Judson Town Council this week discussed what some council members are referring to as the “urban chicken” issue. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that because the town does not have an ordinance regulating farm animals within town limits, the council will be reviewing information concerning domestic and farm animals in the town. The town currently has an ordinance for domestic animals, and Henry said they may revise the ordinance to regulate urban farm animals as well.

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Knox Football Players Commended For Storm Clean-up Efforts

Posted on Author WKVI

Dave Bullock from the Knox Park Board appeared before the Knox Community School Board Monday night to thank high school football coach Chris McGowan and the entire football team for helping to pick up debris at Sandy Acres Park after the July 24 storm.

Bullock said 45 members of the team took their time out of practice to help the park members who were swamped with all the wreckage after the storm. The team spent several hours picking up branches and limbs and tiding up the park for regular patrons. He added that some of players remarked that it was some of the hardest work they’d done so far this season.

The board thanked Bullock for his comments and also commended the team for showing great community spirit in a time of need.

Plymouth Man Escapes Serious Injury In Marshall County

Posted on Author WKVI

A Plymouth man escaped serious injury after crashing into a utility pole late Sunday night.

An officer with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department responded to a single vehicle crash on Upas Road in the s-curve, north of 11A Road. The driver, Randy G. Green, 56 of Plymouth, reportedly diverted his attention from the roadway and ran off the road in the west curve. The vehicle struck a fence and a guide wire for an electric pole. The electric pole then fell on top of Green’s vehicle.

A crew from Kankakee Valley REMC was called to the scene to help get the pole off the vehicle and to repair the lines. Green didn’t sustain any serious injury and the scene was cleared by police.

Knox School Officials Disappointed In ISTEP Scores

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The three principals and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation gave the school board members an overview of the corporation’s ISTEP scores.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa said all of the administrators and the board were disappointed in this year’s scores.

“They dropped in most categories at both the elementary school and a the middle school,” stated Gappa. “Everybody’s gathering together and making action plans on how their going to move forward and turn that around. We’re confident that the plans are going to be successful and do a reversal on the scores.”

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C&C Salvage Shut Down For Permitting, IDEM Violations

Posted on Author WKVI

An injunction order has been filed in the Starke Circuit Court against C&C Salvage and Auto Sales, Inc. in Knox prohibiting them from conducting business until they have applied for and received the proper permits.

According to the injunction, C&C Salvage did not have the proper permits from the Planning Commission to expand its operations, but James Campbell had expanded the salvage and junk yard to the south, nearly doubling its size. Further, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted an inspection in May and found several violations of both state and federal laws.

As a result, the injunction requires Campbell to cease all business operations until every violation of county, state, and federal law is corrected. A fine of $300 per day will be issued to Campbell for every day he is still in violation of the laws since July 30, and he is also required to pay the court costs for the matter as well.

Marshall County Commissioners Reach Decision On Golf Cart Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI

The Marshall County Commissioners have come to a decision on the fate of golf cart operators in the county. The commissioners discussed the ordinance, which was passed in early June, at the end of the meeting on Monday morning to determine whether or not a revised ordinance could get a vote.

Commissioner Greg Compton expressed that he feels golf carts should only be allowed on roads where the speed limit is below 35 mph, but president Kevin Overmyer said he liked the original ordinance, and commissioner Jack Roose asked about raising the speed limit to 45 mph on the golf carts.

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Starke County Commissioners, Council Discuss Jail Project

Posted on Author WKVI
David Pearman

The Starke County Commissioners and the Starke County Council met in a joint session Monday night to discuss the proposed jail project.

Council President David Pearman talked about the overall objective of the meeting.

“The overall goal of the meeting was to finally end up with getting the first look at the proposed ordinance that would enable us to utilize the 0.65 percent tax rate,” said Pearman. “However, what we did for the benefit of the rest of council, was basically go through the jail presentation but also, during each slide, kind of give a feel and some flavor of what the public had during our presentations.”

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Starke Co. Sheriff’s Department’s Tower Irreparable – Must Be Replaced

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

The Starke County Commissioners this week heard from IT Director Joe Short, who gave them a bit of bad news. The Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower was damaged by last month’s storms, and Short told the commissioners that no tower companies will make repairs to the tower. Once it’s damaged, Short says, the entire tower must be replaced.

This is a huge undertaking, as the tower would have to not only be completely rebuilt, but it would also have to be expanded. When the tower was originally built, regulations weren’t quite so strict, but now regulations require heavier-duty towers. The base would have to be expanded from its previous five-foot base to a 16-foot base. Short says they’ve received a few proposals and they’re still waiting to learn how much of the expense will be covered by insurance.

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Bridge 291 Project in Pulaski County Out For Bids in October

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Jeff Larrison of United Consulting presented the Pulaski County Commissioners with an update on the Bridge 291 project this week.

The last two expenses for the Combs property, which was acquired as part of the construction project, were presented to the commissioners. The Combs property was acquired and their moving expenses were paid in accordance with INDOT guidelines, which allow up to $25,000 to be paid to the owners of a property that are required to relocate.

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