After approximately one-half hour, a Starke County jury came back with a not guilty verdict on a count of Theft and a lesser count of Conversion in the case of Chad Scarborough.
Scarborough was arrested on Feb. 21 on a charge of Theft as a Class D felony after he was accused of shoplifting from Smith Farm Store in Knox.
The storms that rolled through the Pulaski County area last week did affect the Monterey Bridge project.
Bret Smiley, construction manager with United Consulting, said that work has halted on the project for this week as flooding was an issue. A contractor will be on-site to clear water from the area today or tomorrow to prepare for more concrete work on Monday.
The Pulaski County assessor’s office isn’t going anywhere any time soon, as the commissioners this week once again tabled the matter and encouraged Assessor Holly VanDerAa to return at their second meeting in July for an update on the situation. Commissioner Tracey Shorter said she feels like the commissioners have a plan in place for the office move, but she needs to get other county officials on board with the plan before it can proceed. To that end, she said, she will need to touch base with everyone involved and will update VanDerAa in July.
The Starke County commissioners this week discussed the county policy regarding employee fringe benefits, specifically the necessary qualifications to utilize a county-owned vehicle in traveling to and from work and home without paying the fringe benefit tax. The commissioners questioned who qualifies for a vehicle according to state law, and county attorney Marty Lucas explained that the vehicle must be a clearly-marked public safety officer vehicle and can only be provided to an individual serving a public agency in an official capacity related to safety.
A North Judson man has the blessing of the town’s board of zoning appeals to rebuild a Weninger Street home, but he still needs to obtain a building permit. Town council members discussed the recent action to grant a variance to Jason Kersting during their Monday meeting, but town attorney Rachel Arndt advised their approval of the BZA’s action is not required. A 600 square-foot rental home owned by Kersting was destroyed by a February fire. North Judson’s current zoning ordinance requires a variance in order to construct a house that small.
The Melody Drive-In will reopen this weekend, according to Fred Heise, who explained that the drive-in will be operating “one-legged” for a period of time while they work on replacing the screen that was damaged from strong winds that toppled the screen and caused extensive damage to the ticket booth. Fortunately, Heise said the replacement should be completed before the Fourth of July – but until then, he said they’ll still be showing movies.
“It will just be the second screen,” Heise explained. “The first one is a total disaster, so we’re working on the cleanup on that as we speak and we’ll, hopefully, have another one up by the Fourth of July if everything goes as planned.”
Dave Lattimer from the Plymouth Aviation Commission and the Plymouth Airport presented the Marshall County Commissioners with the airports five-year plan Monday morning.
The weather station has been an ongoing issue. The board members would like to set up a weather station so weather conditions can be obtained that pertain specifically to the Plymouth area. Current conditions are reported from the South Bend area, Goshen, Rochester and Starke County but Lattimer suggested that one should be located in Plymouth.
The Hamlet Town Board is still attempting to gather together a small livestock ordinance.
Hamlet Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts said there are several residents that oppose the measure and they want to draft an ordinance that would settle the issue. Two public hearings have been held concerning the issue.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board is moving ahead with their search for a new superintendent.
Current Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman announced his retirement in March and will leave the corporation after his contract expires June 30. He has been at the helm for the past 26 years.
The Knox Community School Board approved several business items for the next school year.
Superintendent A.J Gappa announced that the breakfast and lunch prices will not change for the next school year. The breakfast price will stay at $1.15. The lunch price at the elementary school will remain at $1.75 and the lunch price at the middle and high schools will remain at $2. The board approved the prices.
The North Judson Mint Festival pageant is just one day away and Festival Committee Member Teresa Trout said the pageant will feature at least 20 contestants, possibly more. She said the committee is still waiting to receive applications and fundraiser money from six girls, despite the fact that these items were due May 31.
Trout said last year’s pageant queen has been working closely with the committee and held a class on May 18 at the library in North Judson, offering contestants the chance to learn what to expect at the pageant, how to put on their makeup, how to walk, what they should wear, and how they should talk to help them have a better overall pageant experience.
It’s mosquito season and that brings one fear to mind above all others when it comes to being bitten by the annoying bug: the West Nile virus. The virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, and while there is no treatment for the infection and no vaccine available, there are several ways to avoid the virus.
Most people who get infected with West Nile virus do not show any symptoms, though some people develop a mild illness called West Nile Fever. This mild illness gets better on its own; no treatment is necessary. However, a small number of people – that is, less than 1 in 100 – who get infected with West Nile virus develop severe symptoms such as headache, high fever, stiff neck, mental confusion, muscle weakness, tremors, convulsions, coma, and paralysis.
The Food Finders Mobile Pantry is heading to Medaryville on Friday, where those in need can pick up food from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Food Finders has asked that participants not come more than 15 minutes early for health and safety reasons. The pantry will distribute food at the Medaryville Town Park.
Possible items to be distributed include frozen meat, baked goods, beverages, vegetables, snacks, and cereal, and the organization is requesting that participants bring a laundry basket or box in which to carry the food home.
The state of Indiana will increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for the health care providers who were cut funds in 2010. The new rates will begin January 2014.
Governor Mike Pence stated that the reimbursement rates were increased due to the state’s fiscal condition. He encourages providers to make investments that will improve the quality of care for Medicaid recipients and all residents.
The LaPorte County Coroner’s Office and LaPorte Police Department are investigating the deaths of a 20-year-old man and 17-year-old girl at a home in the 500 Block of East Lincolnway. The man is identified as Ethan Day of LaPorte. The girl was from Dyer. Her name hasn’t been released since she was a minor at the time of her death. Day’s father found them at 6:41 p.m. Tuesday evening and called the police. No information has been released about the cause of death. According to a news release from the LaPorte Police Department, “There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe that there is any ongoing danger to the public as a whole.”
Starke County Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese will be presiding over a trial that begins in Starke Circuit Court today.
Three days have been set aside to hear evidence and testimony in the case of Chad Scarborough who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of Theft as a Class D Felony. Scarborough was arrested on Feb. 21 after he allegedly shoplifted an item from Smith Farm Store in Knox.
Starke County Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ryan will be representing the State in this case. The trial begins at 9 a.m. CT with jury selection.
Several other jury trials set for this week were rescheduled due to congestion in the court calendar.
The Tippecanoe River near Ora reached near-record flooding levels as it crested at 14.65 feet; had the level been just more than a foot higher, it could have broken the record set in 2009. Fortunately, the river crested and is beginning to recede, but EMA Director Larry Hoover said the rains forecast later this week might cause it to rise back up again, so stay cautious. As of 2 p.m. yesterday, the river had lowered to 14.2 feet.
Motorists are still gritting their teeth as they head to the pumps, dealing with a spike in gasoline prices that has brought the Indiana average up to $3.98 per gallon – 35 cents higher than the national average of $3.63. Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, said a refinery glitch that resulted in lower production is likely to blame.
DeHaan explained that the glitch caused the affected refinery in the Great Lakes region to slow its production and forced it to purchase gasoline on the market to cover its contractual obligations.
The county landfill is still exuding methane around the perimeter and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is not happy about it. To fix the situation, Mike Maxwell from Weaver Boos Consultants told the commissioners that their best bet financially is to install vertical borings – essentially chimneys – in the landfill to help the gas vent vertically, cutting down on the methane exhaust around the perimeter.
The Pulaski County highway superintendent is looking to have the handbook edited to allow for overtime when he calls highway department employees at home asking them to clear roads after a storm or other incident. Mark Fox told the commissioners that call-out pay is a necessity, stating that this week was a prime example; he called employees at 5:30 in the morning and sent them out, working outside their regular hours to clear roads and perform other maintenance to ensure the safety of residents.