West Central students have missed six days of school due to bad traveling conditions this winter. The school board has approved three of those days to be made up with e-learning days.
Superintendent Don Street said they’re getting ready for the first e-learning day on Saturday, March 14.
“Our staff has been busy preparing and getting ready for some of the items that are necessary in helping our students be successful with e-learning days,” said Street.
Engraved name bricks are still for sale to be placed in the Serenity Garden in downtown Knox.
Serenity Garden is a project Knox High School students are eager to start once the weather is nice. The idea behind the project is to beautify an area where an older building was demolished some years ago. A gazebo is planned for construction and benches will be set up in the garden as well.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board will be looking to clarify some language for both students and board members.
During tonight’s regularly scheduled meeting, the board will be considering adjustments to language with the use of iPads. According to Eastern Pulaski Superintendent Dan Foster, the Board of Education never approved a formal agreement for students when using the digital technology.
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The Town of Winamac will largely be reviewing items from their previous meeting.
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The Marshall County Council members will be discussing an additional appropriation for the highway department for equipment.
Jerry Ambrose and Highway Superintendent Jason Peters explained to the Marshall County Commissioners last week that they would like to purchase a more expensive loader that will guarantee better service and reliability. The loader is a Caterpillar brand and is higher than two other bids sent in for consideration.
The commissioners approved the purchase, and the additional appropriation will be requested in today’s county council meeting. The highway department will be asking for $310,000 for equipment and $150,000 for the 7th Road project.
An e-poll book presentation will be made by Mike Miller along with Clerk Deb Vandemark, Sheriff Tom Chamberlin will be before the council for a resolution for sheriff commissary fund expenditures, and Commissioner Kevin Overmyer will discuss Marshall County Economic Development.
The meeting is today at 9 a.m. ET in the second-floor meeting room in the Marshall County Building in Plymouth.
The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to an area just south of LaPorte city limits to a single vehicle crash.
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Daylight savings time will begin Sunday, and area emergency management agencies are asking residents to make changes to more than just their household clocks.
The time change officially occurs at 2:00 a.m. when clocks will move ahead by one hour. Emergency Managers from Indiana’s various counties are also advising that residents use the occasion to replace the batteries in their smoke detectors.
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Starke County IT Director Joe Short can replace a network server and several computers that pose security threats to the network. The county commissioners Monday authorized him to spend $24,000 from the cumulative capital fund on the technology upgrades. Continue reading
The county-owned Dodge Charger used by Starke County EMS Director Keith Emigh will soon be repainted. The former sheriff’s department patrol vehicle is currently a two-tone tan with a light bar on the top. Commissioner Don Binkley has asked repeatedly if it can be returned to a solid color so it is not as easily mistaken for a law enforcement car. Continue reading
The Marshall County Highway Department is getting closer to purchasing a new loader.
Jerry Ambrose and Highway Superintendent Jason Peters reviewed several bids and told the commissioners this week that a more expensive brand may be the best route to go. They are looking at a Caterpillar loader that is a more reliable machine, according to Ambrose. Ambrose said the two lower bids were for Hyundai brands, but those machines don’t last long as parts wear out faster.
Improvements will be done to the North Bend Township polling location thanks to a Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant.
According to Starke County Clerk Vicki Cooley, the county was awarded the grant worth $24,459.35. The money will be used to upgrade the handicapped accessibility at that site. The improvements will be done this spring. Proposals for the work will be taken soon.
The West Central School Board heard a report from Principal Patrick Culp and others who recently went to Indianapolis to accept a $82,355 Region 1 Works Council for a Career and Technical Education innovative-curriculum grant.
The grant will fund a Pulaski County Repair and Maintenance Technology program at West Central High School. Superintendent Don Street says a program for machine maintenance will assist students in giving them the skills they need to be productive in local industry.
A new experience for 8th grade Language Arts students was reported on the Spotlight on Success agenda item at the recent Knox School Board meeting.
Mrs. Cotto arranged for her students to speak by live video with a survivor of the Nazi holocaust. The elderly survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp told of hiding in the countryside with other teenagers only to be arrested and confined. He told them he knew Ann Frank, whose similar WWII experiences have been documented in a book, on stage and in a movie.
The Town of Winamac recently launched its new website, and they hope it will eventually provide better services for residents.
The Winamac Town Council was updated on the website’s progress at their February meeting. Now that the website has been launched, officials with the Town say there are a few glitches needing to be worked out.
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Third-grade students across Indiana are encouraged to interview county government officials as part of an essay contest. April is National County Government Month. The Association of Indiana Counties is sponsoring the “Counties Moving Indiana Forward: The Keys are Transportation and Infrastructure.” Continue reading
Several Knox Community High School students were honored recently by their SCILL Center welding program instructors. They pick students of the month based on test scores, class participation, attitude, attendance and initiative in the shop. Recent honorees include Brock Majchrzak in January; Jonathan Rowe and Logan Schwenk in February; and Aidan Hollingshead and Nick Runkle in March. Continue reading
Indiana saw an uptick in the number of fish being stocked in water systems last year.
A report from the Department of Natural Resources says their department and organizations with proper permits stock nearly 32-million fish in 2014. The DNR says that typically, between 22-million and 24-million fish are stocked each year.
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Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler has the blessing of the county commissioners to seek funds for a third mechanic. Right now the two mechanics maintain 106 county-owned vehicles and pieces of equipment, with top priority given to those used by EMS and the sheriff’s department. Highway vehicles are third on the list, and those used by other departments are fourth. All of the money for repairs comes from the highway department’s budget. The mechanics are also responsible for completing all of the necessary paperwork. Continue reading
The 7th Road construction project has been on hold all winter, but once the weather breaks workers will be busy to finish the project. It was anticipated to be complete last year.
Bart Trester from USI Consultants told the Marshall County Commissioners that several issues delayed the project including unsuitable soils and piling issue for the bridge. He presented a change order for the project once things get moving again.
