On Wednesday, May 7, your Chamber is excited to have State Senator Jim Arnold as our guest speaker at our breakfast! IU Health Starke Hospital is sponsoring the Quarterly Breakfast at the Downtown Depot, 18 S Main St. (Entrance is in the back of the building), Knox. This breakfast will NOT have the 60 second format as usual. Instead, Senator Arnold will present the results of this past session in Indianapolis. This is your chance to meet with Senator Arnold and ask questions!
Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Investigating Multiple Thefts
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department is investigating two thefts reported Tuesday evening by residents in the 16,000 block of 12th road. Dan Miller told deputies two bicycles were taken from his home. Joseph McKee said items were taken from his unlocked vehicle.
A Culver man got an unpleasant surprise Wednesday night when he returned to his home after being away for the winter. He told deputies from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department that someone broke into his pole barn in the 16,000 block of 20th Road and stole several tools and other items. He’s not sure when the crime occurred.
Plymouth Man Arrested on Drug Charges Following Traffic Stop
A Plymouth man faces felony drug charges following a traffic stop early Saturday morning. An officer from the Marshall County Police Department stopped a car driven by David Rhoades, 25, at the on Oakhill near the intersection of Nutmeg Road around 2 a.m. County Police K9 Arras indicated the presence of drugs in the vehicle, according to a news release from the sheriff’s department. Officers searched the vehicle and reportedly found a substance believed to be heroin, needles and other paraphernalia. Rhoades refused a certified drug test and was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a syringe, operating a vehicle while intoxicated controlled substance and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person.
Schricker Award Winner to Speak at Ancilla Commencement
Starke County’s most recent Henry F. Schricker Award winner will be the commencement speaker at Ancilla College on Saturday. Community Services of Starke County Executive Director Joan Haugh was honored earlier this year for her embodiment of the two-term governor’s philosophy of service before self. Ancilla College President Dr. Ron May attended the Schricker Awards dinner and knew when he heard Haugh speak that he had found this year’s commencement speaker. He adds commencement is a special time for faculty, staff and especially students. “You celebrate the achievements of the students who have completed their degree programs and are ready to move on to what’s next in life,” May says. Saturday’s ceremony marks Ancilla’s 47th graduating class.
Starke County Celebrates National Day of Prayer
One Voice United in Prayer is the theme of Starke County’s National Day of Prayer observation. It will take place this morning at 7 a.m. at the community center in downtown Knox. The program will feature a concert of prayer under the direction of Rich Wallen. Eagle Creek Community Church Pastor Ed Hasnerl will serve as the Master of Ceremonies. Congress passed a joint resolution in 1952 establishing the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. President Harry S. Truman signed it into law.
Culver Schools to Participate in Summer Food Service Program
The Culver Community School Corporation will take part in the Summer Food Service Program. It’s funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and offers free meals to all children 18 and younger. The program was created to ensure children have access to nutritious meals when the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs are not available. Meals are also served to persons over the age of 18 who are enrolled in a state-approved educational program for the mentally or physically disabled.Free meals will be served beginning Tuesday, June 3 and continuing through the summer. All meals must be eaten on site. All nutrition sites are closed on Friday, July 4. Click here to view locations, dates and times Culver Nutrition Sites.
West Central School Board Plans for Next Year
West Central School Board members are getting ready for the next school year. Items on the agenda for their board meeting tonight include setting school breakfast and lunch prices, considering changes to the student handbook and discussion and possible adoption of a student accident insurance plan for 2014-2015. Board meeting and pay dates for the upcoming year will also be set, as will a budget calendar. Discussion and possible approval of classified staff contracts is also listed on the agenda. The board will also continue the discussion of insurance for the school corporation’s wind turbine when they meet this evening at 7:30 p.m. EDT in the board room at the school corporation office in downtown Francesville.
Starke County Youth Club Cooking Class Serves Life Skills
The Starke County Youth Club teaches life skills to the 600 youngsters enrolled in their after-school programs. Executive Director Irene Szakonyi says the cooking class is one of the most popular enrichment activities they offer. She says it teaches nutrition, kitchen safety and self-reliance. Even the youngest participants can learn basic terminology like what it means to dice or core. Szakonyi says youngsters learn how to prepare food and also how to make healthy food choices. She says youngsters learn that filling their bodies with sugar and other harmful things will compromise their ability to learn well and will make them feel sick.
“The cooking class is a lot of fun because kids get to eat, but they also get a lot of information that is important for their lives, Szakonyi says. Learn about the cooking class and more during tomorrow’s 7th Annual Starke County Youth Club WKVI Radiothon. It starts tomorrow at10 a.m. CDT right here on WKVI. They hope to raise $40,000. Find more information about the club on their website, http://www.thescyc.org/index.html.
LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office Investigating Child Neglect
The LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office may file child neglect charges against three adults after a 12-month old was reportedly seen wandering outside the Country Acres Apartments Tuesday wearing only a diaper. When officers from the LaPorte Police Department arrived, they found the child’s father holding the boy. The man told the officers he came to the apartment the night before to visit a female friend. A second woman was also there, according to a news release from the LaPorte Police Department. The adults drank together, and all three grownups and their four respective children spent the night. Continue reading
Child Says Suspicious Men Tried to Lure Her Into Pickup Truck
Police in LaPorte are on the lookout for an older red truck with a black bed cap after a passenger in a vehicle matching that description reportedly tried to lure a 12-year-old girl into the vehicle. The child told police she was walking her dog around 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon on Bosserman Street near Oberreich Street when the truck pulled up. She said the passenger claimed he knew her mother and encouraged her to get into the vehicle. The girl told the man she did not know him, according to the police report, but he continued to urge her to come with him. She refused, walked back to her grandmother’s nearby house and told officers she saw the truck leave the area. The suspect is described as an older white man with gray and brown curly hair and a beard. Anyone with information about the vehicle or suspect is asked to call the LaPorte Police Department at 219-362-9446 visit their website at www.lpcitypd.com to submit a crime tip.
Ivy Tech Corporate College Honors Area Company
An area company is set to receive one of Ivy Tech Corporate College’s 2013 Partner Awards. Ivy Tecn Community College President Thomas Snyder will present the award to officials at Polygon Company in Walkerton on Friday, May 9th at noon. Recipients are chosen based on their level of commitment to workforce training and development programs. Ivy Tech also looks at their adoption of standardized and portable workforce credentials and the use of assessments in the hiring of new workers and determining skills gaps. Other factors include their commitment to financially supporting worker training and ongoing partnership with Ivy Tech Corporate College for continuous improvement and development of programs and services. Continue reading
Knox High School Stages Guys and Dolls
Students at Knox High School are staging a popular musical this weekend. Catch “Guys and Dolls” on Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5 in the high school auditorium. Saturday’s show starts at 7 p.m., and Sunday’s performance begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7. The play made its Broadway debut in 1950 and won a Tony award for Best Musical. It’s an adaptation of several Damon Runyon short stories written in the 1920s and 30s about gamblers, gangsters and others in the New York underworld.
Community Invited to N.J.-S.P. Grand March
North Judson-San Pierre High School students and their dates are putting the “prom” in promenade on Saturday. For the first time, the school is hosting a grand march in the high school gym from 6 until 7 p.m. The community is invited to come see the prom goers in their formal finery before they head off to the main event at Chesapeake Run Golf Course east of town.
Traffic Stop Ends With Drug Bust
A Logansport woman faces numerous drug charges in Starke County following a traffic stop late last week by a LaPorte County Deputy and Indiana State Trooper on U.S. 35 near Hamlet. The deputy pulled Kelly A. Koranda, 36, of Logansport, over just south of Starke County Road 500 North on Thursday, April 24 for an unspecified traffic infraction. According to a news release sent this afternoon by the Indiana State Police, Koranda appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for blood and urine tests.A nurse there reportedly found several packets of heroin in Koranda’s underwear. Officers say she admitted eating 10 packets of the drug before being pulled over and hiding more in her underwear. They recovered 172 baggies of heroin weighing about 36 grams from Koranda. She was admitted to the hospital for observation. Officers arrested her there Sunday when she was released. She’s charged with felony dealing a narcotic drug, felony possession of a narcotic drug over 3 grams, felony maintaining a common nuisance and misdemeanor operating while intoxicated on a controlled substance. Koranda was taken to the Starke County Jail.
DNR Arrests Knox Woman on Drug Trafficking Charge at State Park
A Knox woman is jailed in Porter County after reportedly trying to slip drugs to a work release inmate at Indiana Dunes State Park. Indiana Department of Corrections Police noticed a suspicious vehicle yesterday near where their crew from the Westville Correctional Facility was working. They detained Christy Chavez, 38, of Knox, who was arrested by Indiana Conservation Officers. She was booked into the Porter County Jail on charges of trafficking a controlled substance to a prisoner. Chavez was trying to drop off synthetic marijuana and cigarettes, according to a news release from the DNR Division of Law Enforcement.
Medaryville Biodome Project Clears Procedural Hoops
The Town of Medaryville is a few steps closer to applying for a grant to offset the cost of a major project. They are looking to build a biodome structure into their current lagoons to meet Indiana Department of Environmental Management standards. Town Council President Derrick Stalbaum tells WKVI news the project will cost around $800,000. The town is applying for a $450,000 grant and hopes to fund the remaining $400,000 by selling bonds. As part of the grant process, an outside agency is completing an income survey of Medaryville residents. Stalbaum says they have already been contacting residents and asking the following questions:
- How many members are in your household?
- Do you have a total income of $38,000 or less?
Stalbaum stresses this information is necessary, as the town is applying for a need-based grant and needs to prove it qualifies. He encourages all Medaryville residents to cooperate and answer the questions honestly. Stalbaum adds door-to-door surveys will be conducted in a few weeks. Continue reading
Be Prepared for Possible Severe Weather
The tornadoes that have ravaged the the plains and southeastern states this week serve as a grim reminder of Mother Nature’s wrath. Marshall County Emergency Management Agency Director Clyde Avery reminds families to develop an emergency plan. He says it should include contact numbers for work, school and a relative outside the area for everyone to check in. Also establish a designated meeting location. Avery says you should also review and practice your plan to make sure everyone knows what to do in case of an emergency.
He also recommends putting together an emergency preparedness kit. It should include flashlights, batteries, water, a first-aid kit, canned or dried food, prescription and over-the-counter medications, personal hygiene items, an extra pair of glasses, clothes and any items you may need for your pets. Homeowners may also take this chance to prepare their homes by hiring roofing contractors to inspect and reinforce their roofs. Local roofers can also help if you need to completely replace your roof. In addition, conducting a through gutter cleaning is also recommended to protect your gutters from accumulating debris.
Monitor the forecast, and be prepared to take shelter in a basement or interior room if a tornado watch is issued. Avery suggests residents of mobile or modular homes find a more sturdy structure. A watch means conditions are favorable for a tornado. A warning means one has been sited, and you should take shelter immediately. Take a portable radio along so you can monitor conditions. Continue reading
Share the Road With Farm Machinery
Planting season means it’s time for motorists and farm machinery to share the road. Motorists are reminded to be alert for slow moving farm implements that can turn unexpectedly from a field or driveway onto a public road. Tractors and other farm machinery travels slower than other traffic, often at speeds of 25 miles-per-hour or less. These vehicles are required to display a slow-moving vehicle emblem on the back and make sure all lights are in working order. Whenever possible, slow moving vehicles are required to pull off to the right when three or more vehicles are blocked and can’t pass on the left. Some farm machinery may take up more than half of the road in order to avoid road signs and other obstacles. Continue reading
Starke County Youth Club Stresses Health and Wellness
The Starke County Youth Club provides more than homework help for the 600 students it serves at four after-school sites. Executive Director Irene Szakonyi says health and wellness is a critical component of the Starke County Youth Club’s mission.
“When we survey our kids about how much time they would be watching television or how much time they’d be playing on their game systems or video gaming, we know that’s significant, and it’s way more time than is healthy for them,” Szakonyi says.
She adds the Starke County Youth Club is constantly looking for ways to help the students they serve be more active. Instructors try to balance technology-based learning with physical activity, nutrition classes and life skills that help them to be healthier in all aspects. Continue reading
LaPorte County Officials Report Successful Pill Take Back Day
Nearly 29 pounds of unused and unwanted medications were collected in LaPorte County on Saturday as part of National Pill Take Back Day. Medications were received personally by officials from the sheriff’s office and placed in the pill drop box in the lobby. This includes 7.2 pounds of liquid medicine and 21.6 pounds of pills. The liquids will be disposed of in cat litter and taken by a licensed waste hauler. The pills will be incinerated at a licensed facility. Department officials are pleased with the results of Saturday’s effort and the public’s willingness to safely dispose of unwanted and expired medications. This keeps them from falling into the hands of children or others who may wish to abuse them. The pill drop program also prevents medications from contaminating groundwater and is an environmentally safe and responsible way to get rid of them.
