Marshall County is accepting nominations for an honor that comes around once every 200 years.
A committee has been formed to help organize events surrounding the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay. The event won’t take place until 2016, but volunteers must be found to carry the torch through all 92 counties.
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Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin is still collecting donations to add a second drug and search dog to the force. The dog and training for its handler will cost about $16,000. Dulin says the sheriff’s office is about $3,000 short of that goal. Fundraisers will be scheduled later this summer. Meanwhile, cash donations or money orders made out to “Starke County K9 Fund” can be dropped off at the jail. Personal checks will not be accepted. All contributions are tax deductible. Continue reading
Rather than a senior prank, the Knox High School 2015 graduating class opted for a senior project instead. The deliberation over what to do began back in October as senior project coordinator John Poindexter inquired about what the students would like to do.
Poindexter said, “The students decided to go for the beautification of that lot down there at Main and Lake street. Normally we just do the paper work stuff and figure out that in class but they wanted to do it hands on. So we went through all the permissions of the school board and city council. Then we started fund-raising.”
They received enough donations to purchase seven park benches and two picnic tables. The class succeeded in selling more than 200 personally engraved bricks for $30 each. Flowers and plants were donated by local businesses and various members of the community. The economic development committee paid for a brick gazebo to be installed.
Since construction is still ongoing, some graduating students have volunteered to continue working on the project into June. Poindexter urges other seniors to assist in finishing up. Future senior classes may take on responsibility for replanting flowers and foliage and potential new additions. Currently the city of Knox is responsible for the upkeep of the area which is located behind the Nancy J. Dembowski community center.
Culver is preparing for an annual festival that brings food and music to the downtown.
Organizers of “Taste of Culver” – sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in Culver – requested approval of several items by the Town Council on Tuesday night. The event closes Jefferson Street one day each June to allow vendors to set-up tents.
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Starke County Recycling owner James Campbell will soon be in the market for new attorneys, as the two who represented him in his recent arson trial plan to withdraw their representation due to a lack of payment. Continue reading
A North Judson man who admitted to driving drunk and critically injuring four people when he hit their vehicle was sentenced to five years in prison. Dennis Lee Bair Sr., 64, pleaded guilty to a merged count of operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury. The charge stems from a Sept. 20, 2014 wreck on State Road 10. Continue reading
The Starke County Council last night approved two amendments to the salary ordinance to reflect changing job duties. The county highway bookkeeper/clerk will work eight hours per day instead of seven. Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler says the first and last hours of the work day are the busiest, and this will ensure efficient work flow. He adds the department administrator has taken on more responsibilities due to internal restructuring and needs the additional hour to get everything done. Continue reading
The hearing to re-establish the Town of Hamlet’s Cumulative Capital Development Fund, originally scheduled for last night’s regular Board meeting, was postponed to a special meeting Monday, June 15th. The postponement was necessary due to an error in the published notice of the hearing.
The fund has been an ongoing levy, but needs to be re-established every three years by the Town Board. Continue reading
Documents dating back as far as 1880 are being dug up and thoroughly searched as officials attempt to find required information for a potential grant. The Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) offers a water grant that the city of Knox wants to receive. The deadline to apply for the grant is Friday, May 29.
Officials are having issues identifying the right of way on the Mound and Water street areas. If they do not have a legal description of the right of way, they can not proceed with the grant.
Water Department Superintendent Todd Gardner claims documents from the late 1800s, through the 1900s into the twenty-first century have been searched, but to no avail.
The investigation continues but if the necessary information is not obtained prior to Friday, the city officials will have no choice but to wait another 6 months for the grant to be offered again. Although they would prefer to receive the grant as soon as possible, it is not incredibly pertinent that it is obtained at this time and no problems will arise if the grant is not received now.
Bids have been awarded, but now the Town of Culver is focusing on just how to fund upgrades to their water treatment facility.
The Culver Town Council has set a special meeting for June 2nd to adopt an ordinance allowing bonds to be issued to fund the $1.7-million. A separate ordinance specifying new rates for water consumption will also be introduced at the June 2nd meeting. The water rate ordinance will likely be adopted in mid-June.
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A Walkerton man who admitted strangling his ex-girlfriend during a feud over a security department and a Knox man who admitted driving in spite of a lifetime license suspension were both sentenced yesterday in Starke Circuit Court. Continue reading
The Starke County Prosecutor’s Office is still investigating a case involving several animals. The incident occurred earlier this month in the area of 200 South and 550 North in Starke County. According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Department, officers were called to investigate a report that horses had escaped from their enclosure. Continue reading
The Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay is scheduled to pass through Starke County on October 7, 2016. Citizens may nominate local persons to carry the torch up to 1/4-mile through the county. Starke County may have 20 or more torchbearers. Continue reading
The Starke County Initiative for Lifelong Learning is hosting an award ceremony to recognize the accomplishments of their 2015 class. The program takes place tonight at 1300 Kloeckner Drive in the Knox Industrial Park and will commence at 6 pm (CST) .
The American Red Cross office in Plymouth is slated to close on June 30. Northern Indiana Regional Executive Director Sue Gulley says services and programs will still be offered. She adds shutting the office down will allow the nonprofit organization to combine valuable resources while still providing programs like CPR training, disaster response and blood drives. Marshall County Red Cross volunteer Carol Arnett works closely with emergency management and other local officials when disasters like gas leaks, fires and floods occur. She says local volunteers can respond within minutes versus the hours it takes for South Bend to mobilize.
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The Hamlet Town Board is expected to consider the re-establishment of a Cumulative Capital Development Fund when it meets tonight. The tax will be levied on all taxable real and personal property in the taxing district and will not exceed $0.05 per $100 of assessed valuation payable in 2016 through 2018. Continue reading
Knox officials have not decided yet whether to schedule a second city-wide yard sale during the upcoming Harvest Festival in September. They are considering having a sale Sept. 17-21. During last night’s meeting, city council members said they need more time to research the availability of clothing recycling centers and dumpster rentals before making a decision.
Following May’s Primary Municipal Election, the Starke County Republicans now have a few decisions to make.
The contested races during May’s primary in Knox were limited to Democrats seeking seats on the City Council. Members of the Starke County Republicans, however, still have several weeks to find nominees.
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The Starke County Council will take up the agenda from their rescheduled May 18 meeting during a special-called 5:30 p.m. session tonight. It includes a request to create a new position and proposed amendments to the county’s salary ordinance. Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler is also on the agenda to request a transfer and an amendment to the salary ordinance to create an administrative assistant position. The meeting will take place in the first floor meeting room at the county annex building.
The Culver Town Council is working its way through new guidelines for the annexation of property.
Culver is currently considering annexing land to its Northwest to increase the Town’s assessed valuation and potentially offer the land up for development. Surveys have been sent to the landowners affected by any future decisions. 22 have been returned.
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