North Judson Mint Festival Featured in Webcast

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The upcoming North Judson Mint Festival is getting some exposure in cyberspace. Organizers of the Father’s Day weekend festival have taped a web segment for South Bend-based WNIT Public Television’s “Experience Michiana” program. This year marks the festival’s 36th anniversary. The theme is “Mint is Green in 2013.” Festivities begin Friday, June 14 with the carnival in the Catholic Church parking lot, music from Hoosier Highway at Norwayne Field starting at 5 p.m. prior to the father and grandfather of the year presentation. Afterward the Joe Feingold Project will take the stage at Norwayne Field.

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Marshall County Commissioners Approve In-Kind Contribution to CRC

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Marshall County Commissioners entertained a request by Brent Martin and Ron Liechty to provide paving for a new parking lot for the Community Resource Center on Plum Street in Plymouth.

CRC officials are planning an expansion project to include a parking lot north to Jefferson Street plus additional building plans. Liechty stated that the company is expecting to add more citizen services in the way of Saint Joesph Health Center in the building and expansion is necessary. Plans include the demolition of a building to accommodate a 44-space parking lot for the center. Business is expected to triple with this expansion and the addition of the parking lot is necessary.

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IDHS Encourages Reporting Damage Caused By Storms

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The severe weather and flooding in the northern Indiana area caused some significant damage in affected areas and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is encouraging Hoosiers who sustained damage since May 31 to report the damage online. The reports will help the department evaluate the situation and determine if federal assistance will be requested as a result of the weather.

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Marshall Co. Museum Brings New Perspective to Political Figures

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
A new traveling exhibit has made its way to the Marshall County Museum from the Indiana Historical Society and it brings a whole new side to the political candidates who have traveled through the Hoosier state. Mindy Langdon, community relations for the museum, said the exhibit features 18 three-foot-wide free-standing exhibits that will be on display at the museum until June 27.

Langdon said the museum is blessed to have such a unique collection of photographs.

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Another Telephone Scam Hits Northern Indiana

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
Another telephone scam is hitting the area.

The victim in LaPorte told police that he got a phone call at work from a man who identified himself as “Alex Rodgers of the Texas State’s Attorney’s Office.” “Rodgers” told the victim that he had an outstanding loan of $1,789 and that he was going to be arrested. He was instructed to obtain Green Dot cards from Walmart or Kmart and, once those cards were obtained, to call the number the suspect gave him. The victim was to provide the PIN numbers on the cards so they could be redeemed for the amount.

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Knox School Board Approves Handbook Changes

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Knox Community School Board took action to approve several handbook changes for the next school year.

Changes were made to the handbook regarding cell phone use. High School Assistant Principal Dr. Michael Bendicsen noted that the current handbook states that students are to turn off their cell phones and keep them in their locker throughout the school day.

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Local Pastor to Be Ordained As a Methodist Elder

Posted on Author WKVI

Rev. Matt Landry
Rev. Matt Landry
The pastor at the Winamac First United Methodist Church will be ordained this Saturday at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Rev. Matthew Landry has studied for eight years and has gone through the preparation process in order to get to this step. When he is ordained during the “Celebration of Ministry: Commissioning and Ordination” ceremony, he will be the youngest ordained elder in the Indiana Conference.

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LaPorte Man Arrested after Alleged Assault

Posted on Author WKVI
William McDaniel
William McDaniel

A LaPorte man was arrested Monday after he allegedly assaulted another person.

The victim told LaPorte police that he was driving on W. 10th St. when a vehicle passed him on the left and pulled in front of him. The victim stopped suddenly to avoid a rear-end collision. The victim recognized the suspect who ran back to the victim’s car after stopping. The suspect, identified as 26-year-old William McDaniel of LaPorte, allegedly opened the driver’s door and began to assault the victim. McDaniel was reportedly attempting to grab the keys from the ignition. The victim was able to fight off McDaniel but found his keys to be missing from the ignition.

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Starke County Police Recover Stolen Vehicle

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

One vehicle reported stolen last week in the Koontz Lake area has been recovered.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department responded to two vehicle theft complaints on May 24 in the Koontz Lake area and one vehicle was recovered on Union Road in Marshall County on May 29 while the other vehicle, a silver 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GT, has not been located.

Detectives continue to gather evidence to locate a possible suspect in this case.

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Knox Community School Board Questions Bill for Special Election

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Knox Community School Board members last night discussed the cost of the special election held May 7.

“We just gave some information that the original bill from the clerk’s office was $21,721.60, but then it was discovered that there were some mistakes made in that bill,” explained Superintendent A.J. Gappa when discussing the board’s concerns. “Some people turned in vouchers to work on absentee balloting were being paid double for what they were supposed to get. So, the bill was reduced down to $17,732.28.”

Gappa added that there are some questions the board has concerning the estimate given to them before the election. The board was quoted $10,750 before the election and paid a $17,732 claim.

“The big difference of over $7,000 was the main question that the school board had.”

The board hopes to meet with Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski and the election board to have some of their concerns addressed.

Arson Suspected in Winamac House Fire

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The Winamac Fire Department and the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office are investigating an arson case at a home at 1172 W. 350 S. in the Winamac area.

Fire Chief Bill Weaver stated that the firefighters have been called to that abandoned residence four times. The Indiana State Fire Marshal was called to the scene after the fire started the second time and all accidental causes have been ruled out.

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Starke Commissioners Reduce Part-Time Employees to 130 Hours Monthly

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
Rather than be forced to provide employees working an average of more than 30 hours per week with insurance benefits, the Starke County Commissioners this week passed a motion preventing part-time employees from working more than 130 hours per month beginning July 1.

The Affordable Care Act will require businesses with at least 50 employees to offer health insurance to employees working at least 30 hours per week. Those that don’t provide the required coverage will be forced to pay a $2000 penalty per worker, excluding the first 30 employees. The act doesn’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2014, but in order to determine which employees average enough hours to qualify for the benefits, employers will have to go back three to 12 months from Jan. 1, 2014. To counteract that, many employers, including counties, are modifying their salary ordinances early.

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Marshall County Commissioners Address Meth House Clean up Procedures

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Marshall County Commissioners discussed an inquiry by County Attorney Jim Clevenger Monday morning about the growing number of “meth homes” and the issues with cleanup.

Clevenger said he has been in contact with Wesley Burden from the Marshall County Health Department about the nature in which a home is taken care of after police have found an active meth lab on the premises. Burden explained that the state police clandestine lab team goes to the home and removes the harmful chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Those officers then notify the health department and the homeowner is required to have Indiana Department of Environmental Management contractors come in and decontaminate the structure. That home is uninhabitable until it has been thoroughly cleaned by IDEM contractors.

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Missing Johnson County Man Found Safe in Plymouth

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
A person reported missing from Johnson County was found in Marshall County late Sunday night.

A Plymouth Police Department officer was called out to the area of North Michigan Street on a report that a man was in the road hitchhiking. When the officer arrived at the scene, he found a man wearing a camouflage coat and blue jeans in the middle of the road attempting to hitch a ride. An ID card revealed him as 58-year-old Lloyd Smith.

The officer ran Smith’s information in the database and found that he was reported missing from Johnson County. He spoke to Smith’s family and they were relieved to learn that Smith was okay. Smith’s brother and niece immediately made their way to the Plymouth Police Department to pick up Smith and take him back home.

Pulaski Commissioners Approve Server Replacement

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Vice President Terry Young, and President Tracey Shorter
The Pulaski County Commissioners this week accepted a change order from CenturyLink that increased the 911 system project cost by nearly $22,000. RB Walters of DeGroot Technology told the commissioners last month that these change notices required their approval and the commissioners approved them pending council approval. Since then, the council gave their blessing, and the commissioners this week proceeded with accepting the change orders.

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Knox Mayor Rick Chambers Signs Relay for Life Proclamation

Posted on Author WKVI
Mayor Rick Chambers and Relay for Life Event Coordinator Samantha Sims
Mayor Rick Chambers and Relay for Life Event Coordinator Samantha Sims

The Starke County Relay for Life is this Friday and Saturday at the Starke County Fairgrounds in Hamlet. Opening ceremonies are at 6 p.m., the luminaria ceremony is around 9:30 p.m. Friday night and several fundraisers are planned throughout the event. Several teams have signed up to help in the fight against cancer.

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