Flu Claims 70th Victim This Season

Posted on Author WKVI

The flu continues to wreak havoc in the state. Two flu-related deaths have been reported this week by the Indiana State Department of Health, bringing the total number of deaths and illnesses caused by the flu to 70.

The majority of those deaths have occurred in individuals with underlying medical conditions such as cancer, COPD, diabetes, and cardiac and renal diseases.

Health officials encourage you to wash your hands frequently, cover your cough and sneeze with your arm or disposable tissue and stay home from work or school when you are sick to keep your germs from spreading.

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Marshall County Commissioners Approve Payment Requests

Posted on Author WKVI

The Marshall County Commissioners approved many monetary requests during their meeting this week.

Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck presented the commissioners with three bids he obtained to outfit the truck chassis that were recently purchased. The bids contained specifications for plows, truck beds and hydraulics to be assembled on the chassis. The commissioners approved the low bid submitted by Hoosier Equipment at a cost of $49,969 per truck which comes to a total of $99,938.

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Winamac Honored as Tree City USA

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac Town Hall
Winamac Town Hall

The Town of Winamac has once again been honored as a Tree City USA by the Department of Natural Resources.

It’s one of 65 Indiana communities honored this year for environmental stewardship. Winamac has made the list each year since 1999. In order to achieve Tree City USA honors, a community must have a tree committee, a tree ordinance, a community forestry program and an Arbor Day recognition.

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Indiana Congresswoman to Visit Pulaski County

Posted on Author WKVI
Jackie Walorski
Jackie Walorski

Congresswoman Jackie Walorski will be visiting Pulaski County this month.

The Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Indiana 2nd District Representative’s visit at the Fox’s Den in Winamac on Monday, April 29 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET.

Congresswoman Walorski will be discussing needs in Pulaski County and is seeking your input on issues to take back to Washington, D.C.

Rain Delays Start to Racing Season at Plymouth Speedway

Posted on Author WKVI

plymouth_sign_01Rain has hindered the start of the dirt track season at Plymouth Speedway.

Rain canceled the Cabin Fever event and now it’s caused the cancellation of the first race of the season. The start of the season has been pushed back to Saturday, April 27.

The track is simply too wet and will not provide an ideal racing surface for the drivers. Track owner, Ed Kennedy, also kept the fans in the forefront of this decision as he wants to ensure the fans a good opening night.

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Redbud Trail Rendezvous Scheduled Next Weekend

Posted on Author WKVI

Redbud Festival

The annual Redbud Trail Rendezvous in Rochester is always a sure sign that spring has sprung.

This year’s festival is scheduled April 27-29, rain or shine, at the Fulton County Historical Society Living History Village in Rochester. More than 100 historical reenactors set up camps and live outdoors during the three-day event, demonstrating traditional crafts, frontier life ways and pioneer skills like cooking over wood fires, muzzle loading shooting and tomahawk showing. Musical performances will be showcased throughout the weekend, and meals prepared over wood fires Will be served. Several of the craft demonstrators will also be selling their wares, ranging from homespun, woven items to handcrafted grapevine wreaths and baskets.

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Auditions Set for Saturday for Maxinkuckee Players Summer Production

Posted on Author WKVI

joseph and the technicolor dreamcoatDo you think you have what it takes to wear a coat of many colors?

Auditions for the Maxinkuckee Players Production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat are tomorrow (Saturday) at the Culver High School Auditorium from 8:00-11:00 a.m., 12:00-3:00 p.m. and 4:00-7:00 p.m. CT.

When you audition, you will be asked to sing a song of your choice and you will read from the script.

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Fishing Season Gearing up in the Kankakee Valley

Posted on Author WKVI

The spring season has arrived, or so we think, and fisherman have taken to the open waters in the Kankakee Valley area. Indiana Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman encourages you to pay close attention to water levels when you’re out fishing.

“We’ve had a lot of rain here in the last week or so and we’re expecting some more so water levels are definitely going to be up,” said Wildeman. “If you’re out on the water, make sure you’re not out on unsafe levels especially on local rivers and streams. Water can be moving a lot faster and you can get yourself into trouble if you’re not careful. The water is still very cold.”

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DeMotte State Bank Relay for Life Pageant Draws 33 Contestants

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Sunday’s inaugural Relay for Life Pageant, sponsored by DeMotte State Bank, drew an astounding 33 contestants, ranging in age from 1 to 18.

Coordinator Candice Miller hopes to raise $1,500 for cancer research through a combination of entry fees, ticket and concession sales and other donations. Miller says many of the contestants are taking part because proceeds benefit cancer research. That’s also why the DeMotte State Bank is fielding a team. Miller is a cancer survivor, and says many members of the bank’s close-knit staff have been touched by the disease.

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WKVI Intern Wins Prestigious Indiana Broadcasters Association Scholarship

Posted on Author WKVI
Makayla Dillard
Makayla Dillard

Knox Community High School senior and WKVI programming intern Makayla Dillard is one of six Indiana Broadcasters Association Scholarship winners chosen from around the state from a field of 140 applicants. She plans to major in telecommunications at Ball State University.

“I want to be an on-air personality. My ultimate goal would be to be like Ellen DeGeneres and have a talk show, or maybe like Howard Stern, but not as vulgar,” she says.

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Several Weather Advisories in Effect for Kankakee Valley

Posted on Author WKVI

 

 
 

Batten down the hatches, the Kankakee Valley is in for a wild ride courtesy of Mother Nature. A wind advisory and a flood watch are both in effect for the entire WKVI listening area, and the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Kankakee River at Davis-Route 30, which will affect Starke, LaPorte and St. Joseph Counties. Flood stage for the river in that area was 9.4 feet and steady late last night. Flood stage is 10 feet. The river is expected to rise above flood stage this morning and crest near 12.7 feet early Saturday morning. That’s still considered moderate, as extensive agricultural flooding doesn’t officially occur until the river hits 13 feet in that area. Continue reading →

Supreme Court Disciplines Winamac Attorney

Posted on Author WKVI
Lisa Traylor-Wolff
Lisa Traylor-Wolff

A Winamac attorney who became romantically involved with a client while serving as his public defender has been disciplined by the Indiana Supreme Court. Lisa Traylor-Wolff has been permanently banned from judicial service, which means she will no longer be able to serve as a senior judge in Pulaski and Fulton Counties. Senior judges are attorneys who work part-time filling in for trial court judges and are also allowed to represent clients. Continue reading →

Starke County Council Ratifies Travel Policy

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse

Starke County employees who travel on county-related business are not allowed to accept dinner, drinks or any good or service of value from contractors or vendors.  That’s now the official policy of the county, as adopted Monday by the council.

Other revisions to the county’s travel policy include setting mileage reimbursement at the IRS standard mileage rate. Generally travel less than 50 miles from home is considered a day trip, but overnight travel can be authorized if a meeting starts early the next morning. This is done at the discretion of an employee’s supervisor but does require pre-approval. Also, when two or more employees are traveling the same general route for the same general purpose, one vehicle should be used if possible. Reimbursed mileage cannot exceed map mileage for a trip, and other expenses, such as parking and tolls, may be reimbursed if receipts are provided. The policy also sets limits on meal reimbursements, with a maximum of $6.50 for breakfast, $8.50 for lunch and $13 for dinner. Continue reading →

Coats Backs Alternative Gun Bill

Posted on Author WKVI
U.S. Sen. Dan Coats
U.S. Sen. Dan Coats

Indiana Senator Dan Coats says he supports an alternative to the gun legislation currently being debated in Washington. He says the compromise bill supports the Second Amendment while addressing a number of issues that have come to light since the Newtown, Conn. school shooting in December.
These include strengthening the efforts to improve a current check system that is incomplete under existing law and dealing with school safety and mental heath issues. Coats’ proposal fixes the National Instant Criminal Background Check system. It also provides resources to help address mental health and school safety, protects veterans from false health determinations and addresses gun trafficking and straw purchasing. Coats is one of several Republican co-sponsors of the amendment. Read the text of the measure here: Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act 041713

Starke County Sheriff’s Department Dispatchers Dedicated to the Public

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Sheriff's Department
Starke County Sheriff’s Department

We’ve passed the halfway mark in the observance of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. This is the time we celebrate the efforts of emergency dispatchers.

Dawn Bau, the Chief Dispatcher at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, says the county dispatchers communicate emergency information to four police departments, three ambulances, seven fire departments and assist with the Indiana State Police and the Department of Natural Resources when needed.

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Spring Turkey Hunting Season Opens April 24

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

The Turkey Tracks event begins next week, which Indiana Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman says is two days after the start of the spring turkey hunting season.

“The regular season will start Wednesday, April 24 and run two-and-a-half weeks to May 12,” said Wildeman. “The bag limit for the spring season is one bearded or male turkey. Hens can sometimes have beards too which makes them legal.”

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O-D’s Riley Ready to Revamp Plymouth Ag Offerings

Posted on Author WKVI

ffa_logoPlymouth High School’s recently hired agriculture instructor is working to develop combined science and agriculture classes for the School of Inquiry.

Jacob Riley plans to keep the traditional agriculture course offerings as well and says he hopes to expand the school’s existing program. He starts his new job with the Plymouth school system in July. He will also serve as the faculty adviser for the school’s Future Farmers of America program at Plymouth High School.

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One Dead, Two Injured in Marshall County Crash

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

A two-vehicle head-on collision last evening in Plymouth claimed the life of a LaPaz man. The wreck occurred around 5:30 on Michigan Road just north of Higbee Corner. Gary L. Richard, 54, of LaPaz was pronounced dead, and two other people were taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. Their names have not been released, and the crash remains under investigation.