Teachers at the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation received a nice surprise recently, as the school board this week approved a stipend payment thanks to an unexpected increase in student enrollment. Superintendent Dan Foster said the influx was a nice surprise, especially since the corporation has seen very few raises over the last few years.
Foster said this increase in students brought with it an increase in funds, and they decided to give it back to the teachers.
The Knox City Council last night continued discussion regarding options to increase revenue for the park department. Ray Stephenson with the park board told the council that they are considering charging a fee for children to use the fields for practices or games, and said a $5 charge per child would go a long way in funding some of the park’s maintenance.
A Plymouth woman was arrested Tuesday shortly before 11 a.m. ET after police found something other than sugar and cream in her coffee.
An Indiana State Police Trooper pulled over a vehicle on U.S. 30 near Tulip Road in Marshall County for an infraction. The officer reportedly recognized the driver, 51-year-old Teresa Tapia, from past drug related incidents.
Auditor Penny Lukenbill explained that the Koontz Lake Sewer District board members were attempting to find a Marshall County representative but potential candidates couldn’t regularly attend meetings and the other people the members talked to weren’t interested in serving on the board.
A candidate was found, but he does not reside in the Marshall County area. According to law, the appointee does not necessarily have to be a Marshall County resident, but must live within the Koontz Lake district.
With that, the council approved the appointment of Ronald Armstead to the Koontz Lake Regional District Board.
Superintendent Charles Mellon said the policy controls the nutrition value of the food and beverages that are sold to students at school.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said he’s served many years on the board but has never served as the head of the board.
“The president will be Mr. Kirk Bennett,” announced Gappa. “The new vice president is Gary Dulin and the new secretary will be Mary Lynn Ritchie. This will be Kirk’s first go-around as president. It’s going to be a challenging year and he wanted to challenge everybody to live up to it and accept the challenge. As we move forward, we’ll try and do whatever is best for the school corporation.”
Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth and Mishawaka are among those hospitals implementing restrictions, prohibiting any visitors under the age of 18 and allowing only healthy adults to visit. In addition, only two visitors per patient are allowed at a time.
Pulaski County deputes went to 504 N. U.S. Highway 421 in Medaryville and the renter, Carl Larkin, allowed two deputies inside the residence. In plain view, officers reportedly identified marijuana, drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine, syringes, and precursors.
Clevenger stated that rights of way need to be acquired for the project and much of that needs to be taken care of in South Bend.
The Knox City Council will meet for their regularly scheduled meeting this evening at the Knox City Hall to discuss a number of agenda items, including further discussion of the insurance compensation for an injured volunteer fireman.
The fireman, Wayne Noah, was injured while investigating a fire when a change in pressure forced him off of the house floor and onto the ground, twisting an ankle and preventing him from working his full-time job. The fireman is employed at a factory and has since been unable to work due to his injury. The problem is, the city’s insurance will only pay $300 a week to reimburse him for employment benefits, but Chambers said the employee makes significantly more than that at his full-time job, where he has been unable to work for several weeks.
The council will also elect their president for 2014 and appoint department heads, as well as discuss a fire contract for Center and Jackson townships.
The pantry will open at Pulaski County Human Services, located at 115 W. Pearl St., on Friday, Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. Food is distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and is available to those who meet 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
Superintendent Charles Mellon stated that those would be available sometime in February and stressed that they would be supplied and available for an emergency situation only.
“The law permits parents to waive their right so the schools are busy now sending out the information letters as this new policy takes effect in February,” said Mellon. “We hope we never have to use this device but we do have policy now that says we do have it available. We would save a life if we ever got into that situation. Once again, I want to stress that parents do have a waiver with that.”
Gardner believes that the 30% increase could be a combination of many small leaks that may have occurred in the extreme cold temperatures last week.
Gardner is asking residents to check in basements and crawl spaces to locate leaks. He notes that a leak that is the size of pencil lead can add up to over 500 gallons a day and will not affect the pressure of a faucet.
For more information, call the Knox Water Department at 772-4461.
INDOT said in a press release, “When the Indiana Department of Transportation is not clearing snow, ice or storm debris, crews are focused on maintaining and preserving the state’s roads and bridges, which mainly consists of pothole patching in the winter months.”
