Indiana Court of Appeals Upholds Starke Circuit Court Sentence

 The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a sentence imposed against Dennis Wireman in Starke Circuit Court.

Wireman was convicted in 2013 on three counts of illegal possession of a controlled substance as a Class D felony in two separate cases, plus a Class D felony charges of illegal possession of a syringe and operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction.

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IU Health Starke Hospital Seeks Community Health Needs Input

IU HealthOfficials at IU Health Starke Hospital want input from members of the community as to the health needs that need to be met. Members of the public are invited to complete a brief online survey, which can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/inhealthneedssurvey. This is a first step to developing new programming. Additional information will be gathered through targeted focus groups later this year. Examples of successful programs developed as a result of these sorts of initiatives are the regional Women’s Fair and numerous other free screenings and other events held throughout the year. A link to the survey is also posted on the hospital’s home page at iuhealth.org/starke.

Starke County Ranks First In State for Meth Seizures

 
 

A new report says that while seizures of meth labs are up in Indiana, the number of labs is also up in the state.

The publication from Purdue Extension says Indiana saw nearly 1,800 meth lab seizures in 2013, the highest of any state in the country. Data supplied in the report describes the trends in illegal drug use in rural areas and proposes a few solutions to the problem.
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Indiana Failing To Make The Grade On Tobacco Control

  
 

The American Lung Association says the state of Indiana needs to do more to enact tobacco control policies.

The “State of Tobacco Control 2015” report evaluates tobacco control policies at the state and federal level. It says Indiana failed to enact any policies that the American Lung Association believes will save lives. That led the state to receive a failing grade in tobacco prevention, taxes, and access to tobacco cessation services.
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Oregon-Davis School Board Establishes Strategic Planning Committee

Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka.  (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai

The Oregon-Davis School Board established a strategic planning committee this week.

Superintendent Greg Briles gave testing statistics to the board members and all of the initiatives made to improve education at the corporation. He suggested putting together a committee to establish priorities, a vision, a mission, and goals for what they want the students to be able to do when they walk out of the doors. He stressed that the Oregon-Davis School Corporation is a community school.

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Marshall County Highway Supervisor Getting Quotes for Pug Mill

  
 

The Marshall County Highway Department will be working toward getting a pug mill to save money on paving costs.

Supervisor of County Highways Jason Peters told the commissioners this week that they have been using Starke County’s pug mill and have patched roads with the stone, oil and sand mixture. Compared to a hot asphalt mix, having a pug mill will save the county thousands and thousands of dollars. He said the materials for other paving options are getting more expensive.

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Highway Superintendent to Get Direction from Commissioners about Changes

  
 

Changes to be made at the Pulaski County Highway Garage will be handed down by the commissioners, according to Superintendent Mark Fox.

Fox told WKVI News that some changes were made from suggestions made by Commissioner Bud Krohn, Jr. during Tuesday night’s commissioners meeting. One of those changes included putting a pad lock on a fence to the department’s outdoor equipment and covering up animal carcasses at the site.

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Accidents Attributed to Two Separate Deaths in LaPorte County

 
 

The LaPorte County Coroner determined that two people died this week in separate incidents due to accidental causes.

A Michigan City man found dead in his Woodling Crossing apartment on Monday night died of cardiac arrhythmia that was caused by blood loss following a fall, according to a news release. Investigators believe that 57-year-old Russell Pratt may have fallen and suffered a laceration that caused the blood loss. Neighbors initially called the LaPorte County Dispatch Center to request a welfare check on Pratt as they hadn’t seen any activity from Pratt for several days.

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Mary Young Sentenced to Probation

 Probation was given to a 25-year-old woman who pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state in Starke Circuit Court to a charge of neglect of a dependent, a Class D felony .

Mary Young of Auburn, Indiana told Starke County Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese that she did in fact lock her son in his bedroom and would not let him out of the room throughout the night. Her 10-year-old son, who has a form of autism called Asberger’s Syndrome, could not even leave the room to use the bathroom which caused further problems.

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Oregon-Davis School Board Receives Update on The Crossing Students

Starke County's Crossing campus is located next to Save a Lot on U.S. 35 south of Knox.
Starke County’s Crossing campus is located next to Save a Lot on U.S. 35 south of Knox.

Oregon-Davis Superintendent Greg Briles gave the school board an update on the students attending in The Crossing alternative school in Starke County.

There are six Oregon-Davis students that currently attend classes at The Crossing, and five more will be enrolling in two weeks. Briles stressed that when the next student count day happens in February, those students will be included toward the corporation’s Average Daily Membership, or ADM, count. The money the corporation receives for those students goes toward their enrollment at The Crossing. No additional money is spent.

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Metronet Project Done, 7th Road Project Awaiting Completion

Marshall County Commissioners (L to R) Deb Griewank, Kevin Overmyer and Kurt Garner
Marshall County Commissioners (L to R) Deb Griewank, Kevin Overmyer and Kurt Garner

This week, the Marshall County Commissioners approved and signed paperwork to complete the acceptance of the Metronet project along Glen Overmyer Drive. The work ended on Nov. 12 with all punch list items checked off the list. The installation of conduit for the three phases of the Metronet project is now complete.

The conduit will house dark fiber capable of distributing high-speed internet to business and industry in Plymouth. The conduit was installed in the city limits and along old U.S. 31 through LaPaz, LaVille, Lakeville and into South Bend. LaVille School Corporation and Hoosier Racing Tire have already lit dark fiber to begin using the product.

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Senator Participates in Talks To Combat Middle East Threats

Joe Donnelly
Senator Joe Donnelly

Indiana U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly says he wants to make sure all of the country’s foreign partners are standing together.

Senator Donnelly sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee that was part of a bi-partisan Senate delegation to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel. The trip was described as important due to ongoing instability in the Middle East.
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