Wings of Freedom Tour Comes to Valparaiso

  
 
Three of America’s most famous WWII aircraft will be in Porter County next week and three regional veterans will be flying on one of them. The Collings Foundation based in Stow, Mass. will be hosting the Wings of Freedom Tour, featuring the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the North American P-51 Mustang at the Porter County Regional Airport from July 29 to July 31.

The tour runs from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on July 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 30, and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on July 31.

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Accident on State Road 39 Stops Traffic

 
 
An accident on State Road 39 at the intersection with Toto Road in North Judson brought traffic to a standstill Thursday as emergency responders rushed to the scene. Fortunately, the accident did not result in any substantial injuries, though one driver was taken to the hospital via ambulance for a small cut to the top of his head.

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Jail Project Manager Expects Bids To Be Competitive

This building will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
This building will soon house the new Starke County Jail.
Groundbreaking for the new Starke County Jail is still on track for November, and construction is expected to take 16 months. Project manager Scott Cherry with Merrillville-based Skillman says construction costs are around $10 million and expects the bids for the project to be extremely competitive.

“A project like this that is a nice project, it’s a large project where companies can come in and bid it and work for quite a long time, that’s always attractive. The bidding itself, the way we set it up, is going to bring in that competition inherently,” said Cherry.

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Knox Board of Works Approves Storm Water Proposal for New Jail

Knox Board of Public Works
Knox Board of Public Works

The Knox Board of Public Works this week approved a request by the DLZ Corporation regarding storm water drainage at the new Starke County Jail site. DLZ representatives and a representative for the Starke County Commissioners made a proposal to expand the existing retention basin and add another basin behind the building. The storm water would not run into the city storm water system, but would make use of the basins and disperse naturally.

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Fundraiser Scheduled to Save the Vurpillat in Winamac

  
 
A fundraiser is scheduled for this weekend to help save the historic Vurpillat Opera House in downtown Winamac. Artist Local 3033 is hosting an art show Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. ET followed by a concert from 6 to 11 p.m. with a $2 admission. All proceeds go toward the opera house restoration.

Bob B. Welder, the man heading up the fundraiser, said he has no idea what to expect when it comes to the art show. There is no charge for artists to show case their items, but he said they would like to see at least a one percent donation from any sales. There is no limit to how big the pieces can be, and Welder said there’s absolutely no telling what kind of art these artists will showcase.

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INDOT to Close State Road 110 Today, Monday

 
 
The closure of State Road 110 has been delayed a bit, but INDOT has announced that the road will be closed today and Monday between state roads 17 and 117 as crews perform a chip seal and fog seal operation to preserve the road surface. SR 110 along this stretch will be closed Friday for the chip seal, the roadway will be swept that late afternoon/evening, and reopened for the weekend. On Monday crews will close the road again to complete the fog seal. This project is dependent on dry weather and may be delayed if conditions aren’t ideal.

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West Nile Virus Hits Indiana; Repellent Encouraged

 
 
It has finally come to Indiana; the first person in the state has been diagnosed with West Nile Virus. While it isn’t quite time to panic, we should still do what we can to avoid mosquitoes. Sherry Fagner, environmental health specialist at the Pulaski County Health Department, told WKVI that there are numerous ways to avoid the annoying pests and cut down on the risk of West Nile at the same time.

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SCCF Service Committee Allocates Funds to Preschool Scholarship Program

 
 
The Starke County Preschool Scholarship Program has gotten some monetary support from the Starke County Community Foundation after the SCCF Service Committee voted recently to allocate $10,000 of the foundation’s unrestricted grant dollars to the scholarship program. The program was established with the goal of making one year of preschool education affordable to every child in Starke County.

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Registration Dates, Times Set for Oregon-Davis

Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School
Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School
Registration dates and times have been announced for the Oregon-Davis School Corporation. According to Julie McLiver, administrative assistant at the corporation, registration will take place on July 31 from noon to 6 p.m., Aug. 1 from 8 a.m. to noon, and Aug. 2 from 8 a.m. to noon.

McLiver said parents will need to bring their child’s birth certificate, immunization record, and if they’re coming from outside the district, a transcript would be helpful.

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Bass Lake Festival Begins Today

  
 

“Livin’ The Good Life” is the theme of this year’s Bass Lake Festival, and there will be plenty of opportunities to do just that at the lake throughout the weekend. Festivities kick off at 8 this morning with the fishing derby, which continues through 6 tomorrow evening. Stop by the Bass Lake Property Owners Association Building from 7 until 9 this evening for amateur open mic night. The Carlos Ramos Band will also provide live music starting at 8 p.m. across from Fingerhut Bakery. Click HERE for a complete schedule of Bass Lake Festival activities.

Red Cross Still in Urgent Need of Blood

 
 

Though the recent emergency call for blood and platelet donations from the American Red Cross has drawn thousands of people to respond to the growing need for blood, an urgent need yet remains for platelet donors, as well as donors with types O negative, B negative and A negative blood. Blood produts are being distributed to area hospitals almost as quickly as donations are coming in.

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Starke County Fair Chamber Wheel Exceeds Fundraising Goal

 
 
The chamber prize wheels at the Starke County 4-H Fair proved once again to be popular attractions, raising a combined total of $724 to support the promotion of local businesses. Contestants paid either 50 cents or $1 per spin, with prizes ranging from ink pens, toys and candy to Indiana Beach tickets and refurbished computers. Every spin produced a winner, based on the slot on which the wheel landed. A total of 48 Starke County Chamber of Commerce member businesses donated items for the giveaways. Chamber director Debbie Mix says the fundraiser far exceeded its original goal of $550, thanks to the efforts of nine chamber board members and representatives from six additional chamber members to staff the booth each night of the fair.

Three Injured in Early Morning Culver Crash

 
 

One person was airlifted from the scene of a single-vehicle wreck early this morning near Lake Maxinkuckee. It happened in the 2800 Block of East Shore Drive, according to our reporting partners at WNDU-TV. A vehicle struck a cement wall or embankment, and the occupants had to be cut from it. Two other people were taken to an area hospital for treatment. All three were male, but we don’t have their names or ages yet or any information about the extent of their injuries or where they were taken for treatment.

Starke County Chip Seal Work Complete; 46 Miles Treated

Starke County Highway Superintendent Stephen "Rik" Ritzler
Starke County Highway Superintendent Stephen “Rik” Ritzler

With INDOT spuriously rushing to get state highways repaired throughout the state as they seemingly announce road closures on a daily basis, many area residents are left wondering when county roads will get some attention. For Starke County, roughly 45 miles of road have already been chip sealed and the process finished today, according to Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler, while Pulaski County is just getting started on their chip sealing process.

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Bid Accepted for Demolition of 2 & 4 N. Main St. in Knox

Knox Board of Public Works
Knox Board of Public Works

After the bid approval process was put on hold on June 26, the Knox Board of Public Works was able to approve the bid for the demolition of the old Knox theater and the former office of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation in the downtown area at their meeting yesterday morning. The process was postponed due to the discovery of asbestos in the two buildings, as the board learned that the federal wage would have to be used by bidders.

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Shawn Brown Sentenced to 10 Years in DOC

Shawn Brown
Shawn Brown

A Bremen man was sentenced in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to 10 years imprisonment for Manufacturing Methamphetamine and an additional year for Resisting Law Enforcement. Shawn E. Brown, 27, will serve those sentences concurrently.

Brown admitted that on Feb. 15, he and several other people were manufacturing methamphetamine at the Country Place Apartments on West Madison Street in Plymouth. The property is not only a family housing complex but is immediately adjacent to a public park, both factors of which enhance the seriousness of the offense to a Class A felony. Brown, through a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to a Class B felony and to the offense of Resisting Law Enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor

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City of Knox Makes More Than $3000 Selling Old Equipment

Knox City Council
Knox City Council

The city of Knox turned some unused equipment into cash after selling the equipment on eBay, a method that Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston described as a good method of liquidating out-of-use items. Houston said the city sold a GMC van for $1183, which will go into the General Fund, as well as a snow plow blade for $185.66 toward the Motor Vehicle Highway Fund. A mosquito fogger was also sold for $1785.60.

In all, the city made $3154.26, after calculating eBay fees, and Mayor Rick Chambers agreed that it is an easy, inexpensive way of selling spare or old equipment.

Vehicles Prohibited From Stopping on Streets Undergoing Street Sweeping in Knox

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers

It’s street sweeping time again for the city of Knox, and Mayor Rick Chambers wants to remind city residents of the sweeping routes and their hours and regulations. It is unlawful for the owner, driver or operator of any vehicle to park or stop a vehicle during the street sweeping hours and there are penalties in place for any violating this ordinance.

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