Community Can Help Reduce Child Abuse

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The month of April is an opportunity for the community to come together and help children who have been victims of abuse.

There are 49 children in Starke County that are being served by the Department of Child Services who have been in abusive or unhealthy situations.

Child Abuse Awareness Month is a time when all individuals and organizations can play a role in making the community a better place for children and families. By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, it can promote children’s social and emotional well-being and prevent child maltreatment within families and communities.

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INDOT’s Trash Bash Underway

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
 
 

With the spring season finally upon us, cleaning of our highways and byways will be getting underway.

INDOT’s annual Trash Bash will be running throughout this month and coincides with National Earth Day to aid in raising awareness of litter. Over 20,000 bags of trash were collected by INDOT maintenance crews, Indiana Department of Correction offender crews, and Adopt-A-Highway volunteers last year.

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Jeanene Calabrese Recognized in Top Percentile in IRONMAN 70.3

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
 
 

Jeanene Calabrese of Winamac was recently honored for being positioned in the top 10% in the IRONMAN 70.3 which also gives her Bronze All-World Athlete status.

The IRONMAN 70.3 competition consists of swimming 1.2 miles, followed by 56 miles of biking, and concludes with a 13.1 mile run. Calabrese was able to finish the competition in June of 2013 in a time of 6 hours 20 minutes and 37 seconds. Then in July of 2013 she finished in an impressive 6 hours 14 minutes and 45 seconds.

Don’t Give Pets as Easter Gifts

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
 
 

It is not recommended to give live animals as gifts, according to Suzanne Crider from the Starke County Humane Society.

The Easter holiday is this weekend and some people may think that giving a live chick or bunny as a gift for Easter is a great idea, but Crider has another suggestion.

“We run into this at Christmas time,” noted Crider. “People want to give a Christmas gift so they’re going to get Dad a puppy. What we suggest is if that’s truly what Dad wants, start buying him the supplies. Contact your shelter and see if they give gift certificates. If you know somebody that already has animals, give a gift certificate from their vet or pay something on the vet bill to help with the cost of that. There’s a lot of things that you can do beforehand to help get a person ready to have a new pet in the family. By all means, let them be the one that picks out their companion for the coming years.”

If you’d like to see what animals are available for adoption at the Starke County Humane Society, click here.

 

Pulaski County Commissioners to Discuss IT Contract in Emergency Session

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Commissioners will meet in emergency session today at 3:20 p.m. ET to consider an IT contract to prevent disruption of the 911 system at the Pulaski County Justice Center.

The IT contract was discussed at the Pulaski County Council meeting on Monday night and the members discussed getting some sort of agreement with the current contractor to continue. The council wants to move forward as quickly as possible so coverage doesn’t lapse.

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Indiana School Superintendent Names Indiana Four Star Schools

Posted on Author WKVI

Indiana’s Four Star schools for the 2012-2013 school year were announced Tuesday.

Among the 331 schools named, four local schools achieved the status. Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz announced that John Glenn High School, Kingsbury Elementary School in LaPorte, Webster Elementary School in Plymouth and Tri-Township Consolidated School Corporation in LaCrosse reached Four Star School status.

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Marshall County Clerk to Fill Two Positions

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Marshall County Council approved a request from Clerk Julie Fox to hire two new employees in her office.

Fox explained that two of her deputies will be retiring, mostly due to the changes in retirement benefits.

Carolyn “Avon” Hansen has worked for 20 years with Marshall County. Fox said Hansen began in the clerk’s office and then moved to the child support division. She eventually came back to the clerk’s office and that’s where she will finish her career. Her last day will be May 30.

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Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon Strikes Tonight

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

It’s an activity your family, friends or co-workers can enjoy and you’ll be helping a youth organization at the same time. It’s the annual Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon.

The Bowl-a-Thon is tonight at 6 p.m. CT at Bowlaway Lanes in Knox and teams are needed to help gather funds for Junior Achievement. Bridget Markin, a Junior Achievement representative, says this fundraiser is a worthwhile program for Starke County students.

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IU Health Executive Outlines Physician Recruitment Plan

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

IU Health is aggressively recruiting primary care physicians in order to keep up with demand in Starke County. Vice President for Strategy Brian Donnelly says there are nine currently practicing here.

“By 2017, four of those nine physicians will have reached age 72. I personally am not aware of any retirements pending. I don’t know that we’ve gotten a firm date from any of these folks. That’s not up to me to decide how long doctors practice, but at least in terms of looking at reality four of the nine physicians will be late in their careers when we get to 2017. This to us looks like a shortage,” Donnelly told the Starke County Commissioners.

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Three Killed in Jasper County Crash

Posted on Author WKVI
Photo courtesy of the Indiana State Police
Photo courtesy of the Indiana State Police

Three Rensselaer residents were killed in a semi vs. car accident Monday night on I-65 south near the 227 mile marker.

A semi driver hauling 28,000 pounds of apples from Washington was slowed in the right lane to avoid backed up traffic for a previous crash. An SUV driven by Dr. Mallik Chaganti of Rennselaer failed to slow for traffic and rear ended the semi trailer.

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Relay for Life Pageant Winners Crowned

Posted on Author WKVI
Caloe Perretti, Zoe Seese, Autumn Redlark, and Olivia Timm. Not pictured: Christine Fransen
Caloe Perretti, Zoe Seese, Autumn Redlark, and Olivia Timm. Not pictured: Christine Fransen

The Starke County Relay for Life pageant was held Sunday afternoon and over 200 in attendance. All funds raised during the event will go toward the fight against cancer.

The winners include:
Teeny Tiny Relay – Christine Fransen
Tiny Relay – Caloe Perretti
Tiny Relay Runner-up – Olivia Timm
Little Miss Relay – Autumn Redlark
Miss Relay – Zoe Seese
Charity Queen: Kendra Whitt
People’s Choice Queen: Caloe Perretti

Taxes are Due Today, Don’t Miss the Deadline

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Today is the deadline to either file your federal and state income taxes or electronically file an extension request in order to avoid hefty penalties and interest from the IRS and Indiana Department of Revenue. If you’ve waited until the last minute and won’t be able to get your return done, H&R Block senior tax advisor Michelle Bachtel says you have an option if you act quickly. “File the extension, because the extension alone is going to save you money. Even if you can’t afford to give them a penny, just file the extension,” Bachtel says. That extension will need to be filed electronically. It will give you six months to complete your return without late filing penalties, but Bachtel says any taxes you may owe still need to be paid today if possible in order to avoid failure to pay penalties and interest. Continue reading →

Jail Water Line Delay Potentially Costs County $29,000

Posted on Author WKVI
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
This building on SR 8 at CR 550 E will soon house the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center.

The Starke County Building Corporation may have been able to save $29,000 had the water line extension from Henry Drive east to the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center been finished by its April 1 deadline.

The existing water lines to the building on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East are not wide enough to provide enough pressure should the building catch on fire. The county and city opted last fall to run new lines to the facility and contract the work out. The Knox City Council accepted a bid from Mark Milo Enterprises to do the work.

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Plymouth Airport Board Moving Forward to Obtain Weather Station

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Plymouth Aviation Board will be moving forward in obtaining a weather station.

Dave Lattimer told the Marshall County Council on Monday morning that it’s highly probable that the green light will be given for a weather station after several other improvements are made.

Lattimer explained that the runways need to be extended and widened and two taxiways from the ramp to the runways need to intersect at a “T” instead of at a 45 degree angle. The staff will also need to extend the taxiways. Insurance will also need to be adjusted. All of those improvements need to be done before the FAA will approve the Plymouth Airport for a weather station.

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Early Voting for the May Primary Election is Still Available

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Early voting for the May Primary Election continues. The last day to vote absentee is Monday, May 5.

Early voting in Pulaski County is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. and from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET until May 2. You may vote in the Pulaski County Courthouse each day with the exception of this Friday. This Friday is Good Friday and the courthouse will be closed.

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April 13-19 is National Telecommunicators Week

Posted on Author WKVI

This week is National Telecommunicators Week.

When you call 911, the dispatcher is the first person you speak to in an emergency. The dispatcher helps communicate emergency services to police officers, ambulance services and fire departments.

In one second, a dispatcher may be relaying license and registration information to an officer and the next second that dispatcher may be signaling fire, EMS and police to the scene of an accident or coordinating communication for a high speed pursuit.

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North Judson-San Pierre School Board Members to Tackle Topics in Regular Meeting

Posted on Author WKVI
Michael Shireman, Jim Menis, Larry Lambert Marsha Reimbold and Patricia Goin
Michael Shireman, Jim Menis, Larry Lambert
Marsha Reimbold and Patricia Goin

The North Judson-San Pierre School Board will meet tonight in regular session.

The board members are expected to discuss budget reduction recommendations. More than $1 million needs to be cut from the budget and it is the goal of the board to eliminate positions instead of jobs.

During the board’s last meeting in March, Superintendent Lynn Johnson said it may take some creative scheduling in order to accomplish that goal. The corporation has until May 1 to issue reduction in force notices to affected teachers if the process goes in that direction.

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