Marshall County Council to Meet Tonight

  
 

The Marshall County Council will meet tonight where several additional appropriation requests are on the table for approval.

A representative from the Argos Community School Corporation will request money from the rainy day fund for stipends, health insurance and utilities totaling $140,000. A request will also be made for a reduction in General Fund appropriation for health insurance and utilities in the amount of $120,360.

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Lilly Endowment Offers Starke County Community Foundation Matching Opportunity

The Starke County Youth Club is one of several organizations funded by the Starke County Community Foundation.
The Starke County Youth Club is one of several organizations funded by the Starke County Community Foundation.

Donors to the Starke County Community Foundation can double their support to the community funds. Lilly Endowment, Inc. has agreed to match donations dollar-for-dollar up to $250,000 for the next 18 months. Starke County Community Foundation Development Director Sarah Origer said no gift is too small.

“Our community funds are the funds that allow us to make our community grants every fall. These are the grants that go to support organizations like the Starke County Youth club and our library systems and the SCILL Center.” Continue reading

Police Warn of Phone Scam

  
 

Several complaints of a phone scam have been received by the Knox City Police Department.

According to police, residents are getting phone calls by people claiming to be from NIPSCO and demanding payment on their bill. The caller threatens the resident that a utility worker will arrive at their residence to shut off power in an hour if the payment is not made during the phone call.

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Building Corporation, Commissioners Discuss Courthouse Renovations

starke-county-courthouseMoney to renovate the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse could come from the county economic development income tax funds used to pay for the new jail. At that time the existing jail across from the courthouse will be renovated to accommodate Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Plans call for the prosecutor’s office to move from the basement of the current jail into the courthouse and the current clerk’s office to be renovated. Continue reading

LaPorte City Police Department Reports OPO Results

 
 

The LaPorte Police Department conducted 40 hours of patrols during last week’s Operation Pull Over event. Officers wrote 52 citations and 64 warnings which included 39 citations for seat belt violations and one citation for a child restraint violation.

Operation Pull Over is a federally funded traffic safety program administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

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INDOT Worker Assaulted

 
 

A man assaulted an INDOT worker after being confronted about driving around a barricade on Friday morning.

The INDOT worker was sitting in his truck on a lunch break when he saw a man in a maroon pickup drive around barricades that were blocking the road in the southbound lane of State Road 331 just south of Bourbon in a construction zone.

According to a report from the Indiana State Police, the worker got out of his vehicle and attempted to stop the driver. The worker told police that the driver struck him with the driver’s side mirror and then exited the truck and yelled profanities at him. The driver then proceeded to punch him several times in the face, according to police.

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Bass Lake Fire Deemed Accidental

 
 

A fire that started in a garage at Bass Lake that spread to a home Wednesday night was deemed accidental.

Bass Lake firefighters, with the assistance of the Washington Township Fire Department, put out the blaze at the scene on the south side of Bass Lake. Bass Lake Fire Chief Les Jensen told WKVI News that they were on the scene for about four hours. The Indiana State Fire Marshal was at the scene Friday to assess the damage and cause of the fire.

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DNR Official Corrects Statements About Camping at Bass Lake

Bass Lake CampgroundA telephone call from WKVI News to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources has brought more clarity to the question of whether seasonal campsite leases are allowed at Bass Lake Beach and Campground. Bob Bronson is the section chief for the DNR Division of Outdoor Recreation. He originally told us camping is limited to two weeks at a time at properties like Bass Lake, which get funds from the federal Land and Water Conservation Act. Bronson has since spoken to officials with the National Park Service and learned otherwise.

“There is no policy on the length of how long you can camp. The state has policies and recommendations, but the funding source and Land and Water Conservation Act does not direct how long somebody can stay at a campground,” Bronson told WKVI News late Thursday. Continue reading

Questions Answered about County Home’s Historical Register Nomination

Pleasant View Rest Home
Pleasant View Rest Home

The Pulaski County Commissioners and the Pulaski County Council met in joint session last night that included a presentation by members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Historical Preservation and Archaeology. Paul Diebold, who is a member of the committee, answered many questions concerning the historic eligibility of the Pleasant View Rest Home.

Janet Onken from the Pulaski County Historical Society submitted a 31-page application to the DNR Historical Preservation and Archaeology in order to nominate the county home as a historic structure.

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Klockner Drive Project Nears Completion Milestone

 
 

Work on Klockner Drive/County Road 300 East to improve access to the Starke County Industrial Park is on track to wrap up before Thanksgiving. Crews will be paving the east side of Klockner from south of Pacific Avenue north to the railroad spur today. Klockner Drive is set to reopen in both directions from Pacific Avenue north to State Road 8 on Monday, Nov. 10. Local traffic will also be able to access Klockner from Pacific Avenue south to just north of Culver Road.

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Fire Destroys Garage, Damages Home at Bass Lake

 
 

Members of the Bass Lake Fire Department battled a garage fire and a house fire Wednesday night.

Bass Lake Fire Chief Les Jensen said they were called to the scene on the southside of the lake at 10:30 p.m. CT and the fire had spread to a neighboring home. Jensen said the garage was a total loss and the house suffered some damage.

The Indiana State Fire Marshal will visit the scene today (Friday) help investigate the cause of the fire.

No injuries were reported. Crews from the Washington Township Fire Department assisted.

Starke County Commissioners Approve Landfill Probe Addition

  
 

The Starke County Commissioners hope the addition of a new well at the site of the former county landfill will adequately address problems with gas levels. They call it a “first line of defense” to remedy the issue and keep costs down. The additional probe will cost the county between $2,000 and $4,000. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is still monitoring gas levels at the site. Recently methane levels tested higher than normal. The probe will help determine how far the gas is from the site.

Woman Sentenced for Her Part in Battery Incident

  A woman accused of assisting a suspect in a battery incident at Wythogan Park in Knox in July was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Thursday.

Samantha Smith, 19, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of assisting a criminal as a Level 6 felony. She drove a car with the battery suspect as a passenger from the scene of the crime. That suspect had struck another teenager in the head. The force of the impact caused the teenager to fall to the ground where his head hit a cement walkway and caused serious injury.

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Marshall County Judge Sentences Man to 20 Years on Burglary Charge

Jeffrey Lusch
Jeffrey Lusch

A Fort Wayne area man was sentenced to 20 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to a charge of burglary.

Jeffrey Lusch, 58, admitted to Marshall County Superior Court No. 1 Judge Robert O. Bowen that broke into and entered a home on Baker Street in Plymouth on June 28, 2013 and was discovered by the homeowner. Lusch had entered the home through a window and the homeowner was in the basement at the time. The homeowner emerged from the basement and found Lusch inside the home. He then fled from the residence with the homeowner in pursuit and on the phone to police. Plymouth police officers were able to respond quickly and apprehended Lusch.

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