IU Health Starke Hospital Names New Interim Director

Craig Felty
Craig Felty
IU Health Starke Hospital has a new interim administrator. Craig Felty will take over for fellow executive Linda Satoski, who is retiring. He’s served as the executive director of patient care services at the Knox facility since January of 2011. IU Health executives said in a statement that the search for a permanent president of IU Health Starke Hospital is ongoing and should be finished this spring. Felty brings more than 25 years of patient care and healthcare management experience to the position. He has worked as Patient Care Manager of the Mitchell Emergency Department at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Critical Care Transport Nurse for an ambulance service in Illinois and Director of Emergency Services for Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, Ill.

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Marshall County Commissioners Approve Paperwork in Property Tax Issue

  
 
The Marshall County Commissioners received an update this week on an issue concerning a property tax complaint.

Jean Klinedinst appeared before the Marshall County Commissioners in October where she presented an issue with her taxes on her property at Kreighbaum Lake. She stated that she and her husband were paying taxes on part of a parcel of land that is in the lake. Klinedinst said a survey was completed and found that 18 acres of the 41 acres of property on which she owns is in the lake. She has been paying taxes on water and that’s not normally how the system works.

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USDA Grant Will Help Local Schools Offer Local Foods

 
 
The Indiana State Department of Health is a recipient of the USDA’s Farm to School Program grant to assist officials in connecting schools with local food producers.

This $100,000 grant will help the ISDH to conduct strategic planning to expand and better support the Indiana Farm to School Network efforts and assess school food service infrastructure and readiness to incorporate local products into school meal programs. Scholarships will also be made available for small farmers and school food service staff members to attend trainings that provide skills and information that support farm to school.

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West Central School Board Approves Bus Bids

West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon
The West Central School Board approved a bid from Kerlin Bus Sales for two buses.

Superintendent Charles Mellon stated that the school traded in two buses for $14,500 to get two buses for the model year 2014.

“We purchased two 72-passenger Thomas buses for delivery in the spring,” stated Mellon. That was about $151,000 for the two buses.”

The board approved the purchase with a unanimous vote.

Reality Store Spotlighted at Knox School Board Meeting

Superintendent A.J. Gappa
Superintendent A.J. Gappa
The Knox Community School Board members recognized those involved in the Reality Store held recently at the Knox Middle School.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that all eighth grade students from Knox, North Judson-San Pierre, Oregon-Davis, and Culver Community students participated in this event. Business leaders and volunteers from organizations from around the area helped the students get a dose of what it is to survive out in the real world.

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Local Auctioneer Inducted into Indiana Auctioneer Association Hall of Fame

  
 
A North Judson businessman is the latest inductee into the Indiana Auctioneer Association Hall of Fame. Ben Osinski has owned and operated Osinski Auction Service since 1983. He conducts more than 50 real estate and personal property auctions each year. Osknski has served seven years as a state director for the Indiana Auctioneer Association. He’s also a member of the National Auctioneers Association and National Association of Realtors. Osinski also serves on the Starke County Economic Development Foundation board.

Plymouth Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison

Andrew White
Andrew White

A ten-year prison sentence was handed down to a Plymouth man Thursday afternoon in Marshall County Superior Court 1.

Judge Robert O. Bowen accepted a sentencing agreement between Andrew White’s defense attorney and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Nelson Chipman where White pleaded guilty to charges of Manufacturing Methamphetamine and Possession of Stolen Property. White was sentenced to 10 years on the Manufacturing Methamphetamine charge and 18 months for the Possession of Stolen Property charge. Four years of the sentence was suspended.

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Starke Commissioners Continue Work on Utility Vehicle Ordinance

  
 
The Starke County Commissioners have still not made an official decision regarding the drafting of an ordinance to allow utility vehicles on county roads. The commissioners recently passed a policy allowing battery operated golf carts to be driven on county roads, but chose to separate gasoline powered vehicles like John Deere Gators and Kawasaki Mules from the policy.

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Probation Violations Send Plymouth Man to Prison

Gregory Mullins
Gregory Mullins

A Plymouth man will be going to prison after violating the terms of his probation.

Gregory Mullins, 35, was sentenced on Jan. 10, 2010 to ten years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with four years of that sentence suspended. After his release from prison on Feb. 7, 2012, he was placed on two years of reporting probation. In August of 2012, Assistant Chief Probation Officer Abby Caswell found that Mullins violated probation. Urinalysis examinations returned in September of 2012 that detected the presence of amphetamine and methamphetamine. This led to the filing of the revocation of probation.

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Grand Opening of New SCPL Wing Tomorrow

Sheila Urwiler
Sheila Urwiler
The grand opening of the new wing at the Starke County Public Library is scheduled for tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean all the heavy lifting is out of the way. Library Director Sheila Urwiler said there is still a lot of remodeling left to do before their grand opening ceremony, which will include a ribbon cutting at noon and activities for kids, as well as entertainment by the Knox Jazz Band and the Showstoppers.

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LaPorte Police Issue Hundreds of Citations During Operation Pull Over Event

 
 

The Safe Family Travel Operation Pull Over Blitz 77 was a success in LaPorte as officers issued 227 citations to vehicle operators in the three-week enforcement.

The LaPorte City Police officers joined more than 250 law enforcement agencies across the state to conduct impaired driving and seat belt patrols. This was to rid roadways of drunk drivers and unrestrained motorists during the Thanksgiving holiday season.

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Pulaski Commissioners Delay Insurance Bid Opening

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 this week passed a motion to postpone the opening of liability insurance bids after Barb Whitaker with Novotny Insurance approached the commissioners and stated that she was unaware they were accepting bids. She requested they postpone the bid opening to allow her to put together two bid proposals, and said there was some confusion because the county did not submit bid specs to be used in the bidding process.

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