Plymouth Schools Announce Make Up Days

 
 

Plymouth School Corporation officials have announced plans to make up five remaining days of school. Students in grades 9-12 will have a “virtual day” on Saturday, April 12. Students in all grades at Plymouth will attend classes on Good Friday, April 18. Kindergarten through 8th grade students will be in class on Tuesday, June 3. Students in all grades will attend school on Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5. The remaining instructional day will be made up by adding half an hour to the instructional day for the remaining 12 Fridays of the school year starting today.

The last day for all students in the Plymouth School Corporation is Thursday, June 5. Teachers in grades K-8 will use Friday, June 6 as a teacher work day. It will be a half work day for teachers in grades 9-12.

Starke County Jail Employee Arrested Following Investigation

  
 

An employee of the Starke County Jail is on the other side of the law. Donald Milbourn, 44, of North Judson, was arrested Monday by officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department on charges of theft, fraud and trafficking with an inmate. Milborn has posted a $1,000 bond in Starke Circuit Court. A news release from the sheriff’s office indicates the investigation is still ongoing, and no additional information is being released at this time.

Speed, Slick Roads Contributing Factors in Crash

Crash photoA Fulton woman refused treatment at the scene of a Wednesday crash on State Road 331 south of Illion Street where her pickup truck slid into an oncoming train car. Tracia Blackman, 42, was northbound on 331, saw that the crossing arms were down indicating a train was approaching and tried to stop. Her 1998 Ford F-150 slid on the snow-covered roadway, according to the crash report from the Marshall County Police. Blackman’s truck hit the down railroad crossing arm and struck the first engine of the train on the right side. The truck then went into a clockwise spin and came to rest on the south side of the railroad tracks facing northeast. The crash report indicates speed and slick roads were both contributing factors. The train engineer told the investigating officer he saw the truck go through the stop arm and hit the engine. That’s when he applied the emergency braking system and stopped the train.

 

Marshall County Commissioners Approve Circuit Court Remodel

  
 
Marshall County Circuit Court Judge Curtis Palmer presented information to the commissioners Monday morning concerning a remodeling project in the circuit courtroom.

Palmer said the courtroom is located on the third floor in the historic Marshall County Courthouse and it needs to be updated to be ADA compliant. This construction project would help satisfy those requirements.

Continue reading

Fulton County Man Uninjured After River Rescue

DNR law enforcementA Rochester man whose car plunged into the icy Tippecanoe River late Wednesday afternoon in Fulton County was pulled safely from the water. DNR officials responded to the Menominee Public Access Site and found Joshua Sexton on top of his car. Officers from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the cause of the crash and believe alcohol may have been a factor. The Rochester Fire Department and Indiana State Police also assisted with the rescue.

Plymouth Man Sentenced to Six Years in DOC

 
 
A six-year sentence was given to a defendant who could not discontinue purchasing a key ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine despite being incarcerated for methamphetmine-related crimes in the past.

Chad Isom, 36 of Plymouth, had previously been incarcerated for Dealing in Methamphetamine and had prior drug convictions for ten misdemeanors and two felonies. When he was released from prison after serving a sentence on the dealing charge, he returned to purchasing pseudoephedrine-based products – the essential ingredient in the manufacture of the drug.

Continue reading

Starke County Saturday Voting Hours May Increase to Seven Hours

 
 
Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski this week spoke with the county commissioners regarding election hours, stating that they may have to increase the number of hours on Saturdays due to the population of the county. She said the county recently reduced the voting hours on Saturdays to four hours, and they may have to increase that to seven because the county population exceeds 20,000.

Continue reading

Kyle Sullivan Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse
A man is not allowed to visit the Hamlet Apartments as part of his plea agreement that was accepted during a hearing in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday morning.

Kyle Sullivan pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to charges of Residential Entry as a Class D felony and misdemeanor charges of Criminal Mischief (two counts) and Trespass.

Sullivan was sentenced to serve 13 months in the Department of Corrections and one year in the Starke County Jail on each of the misdemeanor charges. The sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time. Sullivan was permitted to serve his sentence on electronic monitoring home detention through Knights Community Corrections. He was also ordered to pay $274.40 in restitution and not to be on the property of the Hamlet apartments.

Pulaski Commissioners Give OK for Recycling Center Purchases

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Commissioners approved two purchases for the recycling center this week to help the department work more efficiently. Recycling Center Director Ed Clark requested that the commissioners allow him to purchase four two-by-nine-foot cement slabs for the center’s retaining wall, saying that it would save department employees from having to bend over as much.

Continue reading

McDonald’s Reports Counterfeit Money

 
 
LaPorte Police took a report from a representative at the McDonald’s on Boyd Boulevard Tuesday after officials there discovered they had gotten a fake $10 bill sometime during the day during a purchase transaction. Police confirmed the bill was counterfeit and seized it as evidence. Anyone with information about the bogus bill is asked to call the LaPorte Police Department at 219-326-9446. Tips can also be submitted via email to www.lpcitypd.com.

Ten Marshall County Students Represent Culver Academies at Band, Choir Festival

 
 
Two musicians from Culver Academies recently earned esteemed seats in the Concert Band that performed Feb. 23 at the Military School Band and Choir Festival in Virginia. According to a press release from the academies, Kathryn Burke earned the first chair flute and Sam Baldwin earned principal timpanist.

The annual festival took place at Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, Va., Feb. 20–23 and involved 17 military schools, including the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Virginia Military Institute, from 13 states. The final concert of combined musicians and choir members, however, was performed Sunday in Alexandria, Va., at the annual conference of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Continue reading

Accident Injures Star City Couple, Trooper

The vehicle driven by Rambo suffered damage as well; he was taken to a hospital in Hobart with non-life-threatening injuries.
The vehicle driven by Rambo suffered damage as well; he was taken to a hospital in Hobart with non-life-threatening injuries.
The trooper's car was damaged in the accident.
The trooper’s car was damaged in the accident.

A Star City man and his wife suffered non-life threatening injuries after being involved in an accident with a state police trooper’s vehicle on Wednesday morning.

Master Trooper Aaron Segrest was in his unmarked police vehicle with emergency lights on investigating a two vehicle crash on I-65 northbound south of the U.S. 30/Merrillville exit. He was parked on the outer shoulder of the road.

Continue reading

Community Send-Off to Support Lady Bobcats Tonight

Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School
Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School
The community is encouraged to help get the Oregon-Davis Lady Bobcats to the state basketball tournament with the biggest send-off the team has ever seen.

The team is expected to leave for Terre Haute today at 5:45 p.m. CT from the high school parking lot. Athletic Director Greg Estok encourages you to get there early to cheer on the team and to witness a balloon release. Supporters will gather in the parking lot.

Continue reading

TXT L8R Contest to Offer $5,000 in Scholarships

 
 
High school and college students are encouraged to take part in a social media contest sponsored by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, Indiana Department of Labor, Indiana Department of Transportation and the Indiana State Police.

The entities have partnered to award $5,000 in scholarships to students who compose the most creative, inspiring and viral posts on Twitter, Instagram or Vine using the slogan “Drive Now. TXT L8R.” The high school and college student whose post has the most tweets, retweets and favorites on Twitter will win. For Vine and Instagram entries, the most likes and the most creative will win.

Continue reading

LaPorte Hospital Foundation Launches Hospice Campaign

 
 
The annual philanthropic campaign to support quality hospice care throughout the region was recently launched by the LaPorte Hospital Foundation, encouraging those who haven’t already donated to consider giving to Indiana University Health La Porte VNA Services.

Since 1982, Hospice has provided compassionate care to individuals who are at the terminal stage of life by assisting with their physical, emotional and spiritual needs with an emphasis on pain management. Services are offered in La Porte, Porter, Starke and St. Joseph counties. Continue reading

Feds Investigating Walkerton Library

 
 

Federal authorities are now looking into bookkeeping irregularities at the Walkerton Library. Last summer former library director Scott Klingerman was ordered to replay some $96,000 after a state audit found numerous financial irregularities. Problems included $23,000 in undocumented ATM withdrawals from the library account and money spent on out-of-state meal, hotel and travel expenses. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office was originally investigating. According to our reporting partners at WNDU-TV, they’ve turned the matter over to the federal authorities.

Town of Monterey Looking to Build Wastewater Plant

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The town of Monterey is looking to undertake a massive project through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and they’ve asked Pulaski County to kick some funds their way to help in the endeavor. According to Nathan Origer, executive director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission, the town has announced plans to apply for a grant to allow them to construct a wastewater plant at a cost of roughly $200,000.

Continue reading