The Knox City Plan Commission members last night looked at the city council’s proposed ordinance pertaining to the placement of dumpsters and had several concerns.
Steve Dodge made a comment that the definition of dumpster is too broad as it would pertain to all dumpsters in the city and not a specific type of receptacle. In his opinion, recycling containers, trash containers, trash bins, and dumpsters would all qualify as a dumpster per the definition outlined in the document.
The Pulaski County Commissioners reorganized to start 2015 where Larry Brady was retained as commission president while Terry Young was appointed as vice president. Bud Krohn, Jr. attended his first meeting as a commissioner Monday night.
The commissioners made several appointments to boards. Mark Fox was retained as supervisor of county highways, Dave Dare was retained as building inspector, Ed Fleury was retained as veteran service officer, Jeff Johnston as maintenance director and Sarah Kasten was retained as animal control officer.
Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin has installed new department heads since he assumed office at the beginning of the year.
Dulin named Kenny Pfost as chief deputy sheriff, Christina Suprenant as matron, Randy Brown as jail commander, Dawn Bau as chief dispatcher and Rob Olejniczak as a detective.
Olejniczak recently graduated as a K9 handler from the Von Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana. Olejniczak and K9 Terror are currently working with the county in that capacity.
The Marshall County Commissioners discussed a contract with the Great Lakes Lab through the prosecutor’s office.
The Great Lakes Lab provides forensic services for Marshall County. All of the law enforcement agencies in the county may send drug samples or alcohol tests for analysis with this lab company. The number of tests that have been requested through the lab by Marshall County officers has dropped since 2013. As a result, the contract price has decreased.
Legislators are now in Indianapolis for the long-session of the General Assembly.
5th District State Senator Ed Charbonneau offered comment on the issue of reversion reform which could result from projected revenue increases over the next two years. Reversions allow the Governor to withhold spending in the instance of an economic downturn or other revenue shortfall.
Continue reading
The Knox Center Township Fire Department is reminding residents to follow a few key rules when operating a space heater this winter.
The devices use electricity to help warm various spaces in homes, typically during colder months. Keeping the device too close to flammable household items can result in structure fires or other damage.
Continue reading
The Town of North Judson will be able to leverage grant money for sidewalk and ramp replacement as part of their ADA improvement plan. Town board members approved a contract with consulting firm Fleis and Vandenbrink to assist with that project. The town’s plan calls for sidewalks to be replaced in 2015 and 2016 as funds allow. However, the 80-20 matching grant will allow the town to stretch its resources. The process is in the very early planning stages, and there’s no timeline yet for when work will be done. Continue reading
The City of Knox will be picking up live Christmas trees on their regular Thursday brush pick-up day, starting tomorrow. Be sure to remove ornaments, lights and tinsel from the tree before placing it at the curb where brush would normally be placed in the summer months. Trees can also be taken to the compost pile located behind city hall. Trash contractors will not pick up natural Christmas trees.
Bundle up before you head out, as a wind chill warning is in effect for northern Indiana through Thursday. A combination of very cold air and strong winds will make temperatures feel like they are in the 15 to 30-below-zero range. Frostbite, hypothermia and death are possible if precautions are not taken. Continue reading
Starke County officials are keeping a close eye on the weather and may issue travel restrictions if necessary. Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti says the county commissioners have the final say and consider several factors, including the safety of snow plow drivers, first responders and the public in general.
He adds the county highway and EMA have been rehearsing their response to a winter weather emergency since late summer.
“We’re kind of like the fashion stores where in the winter time they’ve got the swimsuits out. We’re always preparing a season ahead. The drivers have been out practicing their areas.” Continue reading
Temperatures dropped overnight in Pulaski County and brought several inches of snowfall with it.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department got a bit of a preview for potentially hazardous conditions during this weekend’s accumulation. Pulaski County Sheriff Jeff Richwine says if conditions get bad, they will pair emergency responders with Highway Department vehicles.
Continue reading
The Marshall County Emergency Management Agency, sheriff’s department and highway department are prepared for any type of weather situation, including snow.
Director Clyde Avery said he and the Marshall County Commissioners will be following the state criteria when coming to decisions about travel restrictions. There are three categories for those restrictions. The lowest level is advisory.
Single digit temperatures pose a threat to health and safety. IU Health Starke Hospital is open as a warming shelter. Anyone needing that service can check in at the registration desk. Food may be purchased in the cafeteria, and patients who take medications will need to bring their own. Continue reading
Winter weather can pose a danger to your four-legged friends.
The Starke County Humane Society says that exposure to the elements should be limited and house pets should be brought indoors when possible.
Continue reading
The Winamac Town Board has reinstated several department heads within their government, but has seen a change in one of the board positions.
During their meeting Monday night, the Winamac Town Board elected Kenneth McFarland to serve as its next President. The term will be carried out over the next four years.
Continue reading
A state law aimed at curbing conflicts of interest by prohibiting volunteer firefighters from holding certain elected offices does not apply to Starke County Council members. President Dave Pearman is also an 18 year veteran of the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department. He sought clarification about the policy when he ran for reelection. Continue reading
Construction of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center remains on schedule and under budget. Contractors are presently working on the plumbing, electrical and mechanical connections at the site east of Knox on State Road 8. Continue reading
Pulaski County Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston gave the commissioners an update on the equipment installation at the justice center. He said the water heater will be started up today and will run for the rest of the week before the old water heater is taken offline to be sure that everything works properly. The HVAC equipment is being ordered as well as the water softeners.
Johnston said the generator for the health department has been installed but there is a small problem that he is investigating.
The Marshall County Commissioners have approved a measure to help the City of Plymouth move forward with the Greenway Trail.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi told the commissioners last week that the city is attempting to complete phase two of the grant-funded project. Officials with SEH Engineering need GIS data in order to continue with the design work.
“In order for them to prepare the plans, they would like to have some GIS data for that area,” explained Surrisi. “We’ve made a similar request before and we were able to put together a contract where we signed off and said we were guaranteeing that the contractors were just going to use the information for this project and not for any other commercial purposes.”
Before the Knox Community School Board met for its first meeting of the new year, Monday, Knox City Court Judge Charels F. Hasnerl administered oaths of office to members selected in the November 2014 election. Taking oaths of office were Mary Lynn Ritchie, Gary Dulin and Mike Yankauskas.
