The screenings will be conducted on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registration is required and some conditions apply. The tests will take approximately 15 minutes.
Starke County Community Foundation Accepting Scholarship Applications
The Starke County Community Foundation is offering more than 25 scholarship funds to local Starke County students, having awarded more than $27,000 to local scholars last year. The Community Foundation’s scholarship applications will be accepted online exclusively at nicf.org, allowing students to complete and submit applications electronically, upload attachments, and track the status of their submissions to the Community Foundation.
Peak of Flu Season Approaching; Get Vaccinated Now
February, the peak of flu season, is just a couple weeks away, but Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch said it’s still not too late to get your flu shot. With the H1N1 virus now widespread across 35 states, including Indiana, it is becoming increasingly important to get those vaccinations.
Lynch said it takes about two weeks to build an immunity after getting vaccinated.
2013 WKVI All-Area Football Team Announced
OFFENSE
OL: Dalton Button (Winamac)
OL: Laz Conley (West Central)
OL: Quest Fritz (Winamac)
OL: Caleb Robbins (NJSP)
OL: Hunter Schuman (John Glenn)
RB: Tyler Katschke (Winamac)
RB: Michael Schmeltz (John Glenn)
WR: Trent Elliott (Culver)
WR: Robert Miller (South Central)
QB: Parker Fox (Winamac)
DEFENSE
DL: Bayland Brown (NJSP)
DL: Sean Lynch (Winamac)
DL: Alex Morrow (South Central)
DL: Rodney Oliver (West Central)
LB: Parker Fritz (West Central)
LB: Keegan Kasten (Winamac)
LB: Keaton Leszek (NJSP)
LB: Mitch Reed (Winamac)
DB: Eric Dan (Knox)
DB: Preston Hansel (Culver)
DB: Levi Schultz (Winamac)
Preseason Thunder Spurs Anticipation for 2014 NASCAR Season
Is it time for the 2014 NASCAR season to start yet? A lot of fans get antsy for the new racing season when the calendar page turns over for another year and the Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway did nothing but whet the appetite of the fans.
Knox Man Arrested on Meth Charges
An arrest warrant was served at a home in the 1500 S. block of 300 E. in Knox where police reportedly found an active meth lab.
Starke County deputies arrived at the residence and found Kane Wilson, 29, of Knox at the home along with an alleged one pot methamphetamine lab and precursors to manufacture the drug. Deputies also reportedly found meth and drug paraphernalia at the home.
Starke County Jury Returns Guilty Verdict on Drug Offenses
A Starke County jury returned guilty verdicts on two of the three drug charges against a Knox woman late Wednesday. They found Shari Melton guilty of possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana, according to Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff. Melton was found not guilty of possession of precursors or chemical reagents. Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall will sentence her at a later date.
Flu Prompts IU Health to Limit Visitors
IU Health is implementing “precautionary measures of visitor restrictions” until further notice to protect patients, families and hospital staff from potential exposure to the flu virus. That means only healthy adults ages 18 and older may visit patients. This includes parents, spouses, significant others and spiritual counselors, but exceptions can be made in special circumstances. A “healthy” adult is one who is not experiencing any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, tiredness, body aches, diarrhea or vomiting; and someone who has not been exposed to the flu virus in the past week. Visitors are also reminded to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer often. Continue reading
Plymouth Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Charge, Sentenced to Ten Years
Nathaniel White, 26, admitted in open court to dealing in methamphetamine on several occasions out of a residence on West Washington Street in Plymouth.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits Raised, But That Doesn’t Help Knox Fireman
A volunteer fireman for the city of Knox who was injured on the job is still out of luck regarding his workers’ compensation. Wayne Noah was injured while investigating a fire when a change in pressure forced him off of the house floor and onto the ground, twisting an ankle and preventing him from working his full-time job. The fireman is employed at a factory and was unable to work due to his injury.
Marshall County Commissioners Approve Pay Raise for County Attorney
Commission President Kevin Overmyer brought up the recommendation at the conclusion of the commissioner’s meeting last week and stated Jim Clevenger has undertaken quite a few assignments by the commissioners and has done a good job in working for the county. As an example, Clevenger is working on a minimum of 12 intergovernmental agreements for the county for the upcoming Metronet agreement and more may be required. Overmyer said Clevenger has gone above and beyond to help the county in necessary legal matters.
Overmyer suggested raising Clevenger’s pay to $140 per hour, which is a $10 per hour increase. The suggestion was made into a motion and unanimously approved by all three commissioners: Kevin Overmyer, Jack Roose and Deb Griewank.
Winamac Considering Tax Abatement for New Business
Conner also said a local boy scout is working on designs for a possible skate park in the town. He said the youth gave the council an update on the project, and with $27,000 raised toward the project, he hopes to have construction done by July. However, he is still looking into a few more possible grants.
Pulaski Commissioners Address Auction Advertisement Issues
Pulaski Council Approves Encumbrance For Highway Department
LaPorte County DUI Task Force Complete Impaired Driving Patrols
Knox School Board Approves Secured School Safety Grant Matching Funds
The matching grant was presented by Governor Pence in November and Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the school board is trying to be frugal in making a decision on how to spend that money since half of the money must come from the corporation.
“We’re using our grant money for entryway security and upgrades in video surveillance systems throughout the corporation for those that need it,” explained Gappa. “We’re actually going to spend about $55,000. Our half comes to about $27,500. The board approved taking the necessary money from the Rainy Day fund. When the grant money comes in. we’ll just replace it in that fund.”
Eastern Pulaski Schools Won’t Receive Capital Projects Levy
The Eastern Pulaski School Corporation will not be receiving a levy for their capital projects plan this year, according to Superintendent Dan Foster. He told WKVI that the Department of Local Government Finance has informed them that they need to decrease their capital projects funding, dropping their levy for that fund.
West Central School Board Receives Positive Update on Wind Turbine Use
“It produced enough in the month of December that once again we just had our $20 service fee to NIPSCO. That’s all we had to pay for our electricity. That is a good thing through the winter months. We normally accumulate credits that we can use through the summer when the air conditioners are running and we’re using more electricity. It was good to be able to present that information to the board,” stated Mellon.
Schools Waitng for Waiver Approval to Enact Make up Days
The state offered an opportunity for schools to submit a waiver to excuse two days of instruction due to the severe weather last week. Schools were forced to close as a state emergency declaration was enacted preventing travel on roadways on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 6 and Jan. 7.
Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department Had Productive Year in 2013
Sheriff Michael Gayer revealed that deputies responded to 361 total crashes; 45 of which were personal injury accidents, 204 involved deer and three accidents resulted in a fatality.
There were 5,348 calls for service which breaks down to a call every 1.6 hours of the day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 37 battery cases were investigated, 33 burglary incidents were investigated, 114 thefts occurred and 70 drug investigations were conducted.
