The Operation Pull Over safe driving campaign will be in effect this weekend for the State and local law enforcement agencies.
Additional patrols on the road in high traffic areas as well as sobriety checkpoints will be arranged. Troopers will be looking for aggressive drivers that are speeding, following too close, making unsafe lane changes and not wearing seatbelts.
If you have business with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, you need to take care of it today or wait until Tuesday. BMV branches across the state are closing tomorrow and Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday. More information about BMV branches and services offered is available online at www.MyBMV.com.
The Knox City Police Department is working with Hamlet Police Chief Frank Lonigro in introducing a new app to school corporations for emergency purposes.
Chief Clint Norem told the Knox Board of Public Works members Wednesday morning that Chief Lonigro learned about this app in training and both of them are finding out more information on how to provide the app to the schools that will allow teachers to hit a panic button on their smart phone if there happens to be an emergency.
The Monterey Days Festival gets under way tonight at 6 p.m. EDT with the Mister and Miss Monterey Days Pageant. Music will be provided by DJ Ruff Kutt Entertainment at 8 p.m. This marks the 17th year for the festival with “Bridge to the Future” being the theme. The festival continues on through Monday. Visit the Monterey Days Facebook page for a complete schedule.
If you’re looking for something to do this Labor Day Weekend there will be plenty going on at the 48th annual Marshall County Blueberry Festival.
The fun gets under way this evening. The Little Miss and Mister Blueberry Contest will start at 5:30 p.m. EDT and will be followed up by Daphne’s Dolls. Country music duo Montgomery Gentry with Frankie Ballard will cap off the first night’s festivities with an 8 p.m. show. Blueberry Festival activities continue through Monday.
Click here for a complete schedule of events.
The Friendship Quilters group will hold a quilt show beginning Saturday, Aug. 30 through Thursday, Sept. 18 at the Heartland Artists Gallery.
The club members will display their traditional and modern quilts plus fabric art during their sixth quilt show.
Besides getting together on the second Monday of every month to discuss quilting, to schedule workshops and to offer demonstrations, the Friendship Quilters support community organizations and donate quilts to the Linus Project, a blanket program for children; Memorial Hospital Children’s Ward; Quilts for Kids; and Quilts of Comfort and Quilts of Valor for injured military personnel.
Three long-time employees at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department will be honored today in recognition of their retirement.
Detective David Walters and dispatchers Susie Hemphill and Connie Haschel are retiring after serving the Pulaski County community for many years.
The staff will be holding an appreciation gathering today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET at the sheriff’s department in the training room. A baked potato bar will be featured and cake will be served.
Officials from Stewart-Haas Racing announced Thursday afternoon that Tony Stewart will be back in the seat of the No. 14 Chevrolet this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Stewart has not raced in a NASCAR race since being involved in a winged sprint car accident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York where Kevin Ward, Jr. lost his life on Aug. 9. The last race he competed in on the NASCAR level was at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 3.
NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said officials have been in constant contact with Stewart’s team and they will stay close to the situation as Stewart returns to the track. O’Donnell added that Stewart has “received all necessary clearances required to return to all racing activities”.
A two-week long Indiana State Police investigation into drug activity in Fulton County ended with six arrests last night after officers served search warrants at three Rochester homes. A state police news release indicates the officers found methamphetamine, a meth lab, drug precursors and paraphernalia. They searched homes at 1124 Bancroft Street, 317 West 11th Street and 4729 Camp Shahola Drive in Rochester. Continue reading
Girls Golf
John Glenn-182 Mishawaka-218 (Glenn Medalist: Anna Schmeltz-42)
Pioneer-224 Knox-266 (Knox Medalist: Kourtney Wagner-55)
Boys Tennis
John Glenn-4 Tippecanoe Valley-1 (Glenn Winners: #1 Singles-Hunter Jaworski; #2 Singles-Calvin Kretchmer; #1 DBLs-Drew McDonald and Evan Rhodes; #2 DBLs-Kevin Auman and Drew Sheffer)
Knox-3 Triton-2 (Knox Winners: #1 Singles-Jordan Anderson; #3 Singles-Daulton Materna; #2 DBLs-Tyler Wallingford and Kooper Broeker)
Volleyball
John Glenn-3 S.B. Clay-0
Morgan Twp.-3 Oregon-Davis-0
The grand opening of the new U.S. 31 highway between Plymouth and South Bend was held Wednesday afternoon with Governor Mike Pence and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski in attendance plus the engineers behind the project and the crews that worked on the highway.
Governor Pence said the new U.S. 31 will be a great asset to the economy of not only Northern Indiana but the whole state.
“I think it’s really incalculable,” said Pence. “When I say that roads mean jobs, I mean that having the right infrastructure creates conditions that invite more investment that will put Hoosiers to work for generations to come. The vision for what used to be called the expressway that now is the Mangus Memorial Highway is a result of decades of effort here in Indiana. I believe that it’s going to put not only Northern Indiana, but all of Indiana in a position to attract more investment, create more jobs and opportunities in addition to creating a safe and more accessible thoroughfare.”
Marshall County police are investigating a recent report of a police impersonator in the area.
The victim told police that he was pulled over for erratic driving after he swerved to miss a dog in the roadway. The vehicle the impersonator was driving was a tan Ford Taurus with an older style full light bar on top which displayed flashing red and blue lights. There were no grill lights, spotlights or decals on the vehicle.
The impersonator was described as a Caucasian male, 5’11”-6’ in height, muscular build with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a uniform with brown pants with a dark stripe down the side, but there were no patches, badges or other law enforcement identification on the uniform.
The Knox City Council members held discussion on the use of the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center by area church groups.
The request was to use the facility free of charge once a week to provide enough space to serve meals to community members in need. The great room or executive room would be used along with the kitchen in order to prepare the meals for service. A different church group would use the facility once a week to host the meals and four hours would be set aside for preparation, service and clean-up.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski will visit Pulaski, Starke, Marshall, St. Joseph and LaPorte Counties next week as part of a district-wide education tour. She wants to hear from education officials, community leaders and students about ways to improve opportunities and prepare students for a globally competitive workforce. Continue reading
The Knox Board of Public Works approved a change in the drug testing policy for employees.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers explained that the policy is outdated. The current policy requires all employees to be drug tested when the state only requires employees with a CDL to be tested. The requirement for all employees to be tested takes time away from their daily duties and the mayor suggested that it’s “overkill”.
Mayor Chambers suggested to the board that an ordinance be drawn up by City Attorney David Matsey that requires prospective employees be drug tested and those with a CDL to be randomly drug tested throughout the year.
The Knox Park Board will consider suggestions offered recently to curb vandalism at Wythogan Park when they meet this evening. Mayor Rick Chambers recently hosted a community discussion to gather thoughts on the issue. Afterward he said several good suggestions were offered, including a stronger police presence and writing more curfew tickets to juveniles who are in the park after hours. Continue reading
An investigator from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office will be in Knox tomorrow to determine the cause of the fire at Standard Pallet on 300 East on Friday. Firefighters from four different fire departments were on the scene for nine hours to ensure that the fire was extinguished.
On Tuesday night, the Knox City Council members expressed their gratitude to the firefighters for their dedication to the safety of the citizens of Knox. It was noted that the firefighters are volunteers and it’s their life and time they put on the line to respond to a fire and to assist the needs of residents. Some firefighters made sure to notify employers of the situation last week and stayed on the scene to make sure that the area was secure before leaving.
Adults who want to learn to weld or enhance their skills can take advantage of opportunities offered through the Starke County Initiative for Lifelong Learning. Classes offered through the SCILL Center’s Adult Welding Technology program meet two evenings per week for four hours at a time for 12 weeks. Continue reading
The 17th annual Monterey Days Festival is back this weekend.
Festivities get under way Friday with the Mister and Miss Monterey Days Pageant.
Saturday’s events include the Knights of Columbus pancake and sausage breakfast at 8 a.m. EDT and free carnival rides at 10 a.m. while the tractor pull will start up an hour later at 11. Later on Saturday The Monterey Days Parade will begin around 5 p.m. and will be followed by kiss the pig contest.
Boys Cross Country
(Bi-County)
Winamac-16 Knox-56 West Central-63 NJSP-89 Oregon-Davis-No Score (Top Finishers: Winamac-Kyle Collins; Knox-Seth Hernandez; WC-Max Wuethrich; NJ-Nick Snyder; OD-Kevin Avery)
Girls Cross Country
(Bi-County)
Winamac-23 NJSP-40 Knox-64 West Central-No Score Oregon-Davis-No Score (Top Finishers: Winamac-Claire Collins; NJ-Casey Korniak; Knox-Sophie Flora; WC-Aerial Barlow)
Boys Tennis
Knox-4 Kankakee Valley-1
New Prairie-5 NJSP-0
Volleyball
John Glenn-3 Jimtown-1
S.B. St. Joe-3 Knox-0
Washington Twp-3 NJSP-1
