A crowd packed into the Bass Lake Property Owner’s Association building, filling up the seats and taking up every space available in the parking lot to attend the Starke County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner. With a number of prominent community members in attendance, including government representatives at the county, state, and federal levels, including Congresswoman Jackie Walorski, those in attendance got a solid idea of what is happening legislatively.
State Budget Boosts Local Highway Funds
State lawmakers backed off their push to tie county road money to the implementation of a wheel tax. The budget passed Friday by state lawmakers commits one percent of annual sales tax collections to the Motor Highway Vehicle Fund, for an additional $215 million annually to INDOT, counties, cities and towns. Starke County is on track to get more than $500,000 in extra road funds from the state over the next two years. The county does not collect a an excise tax on vehicle registration, also known as a wheel tax. State lawmakers briefly considered requiring counties to implement such a tax in order to draw down their share of road funds. St. Joseph is the only neighboring county that collects such a tax.
Pulaski County will get an additional $582,393 from the state over the next two years. Marshall County’s share is $1.1 million, LaPorte County will get an increase of slightly over $1 million, and Jasper County will draw down an extra $718,122 per year.
The Association of Indiana Counties applauds the move as a great step forward in improving our state and local road networks.
Knox Community School Board Dissects IREAD Results
The Knox Community School Board received a positive IREAD testing report.
The IREAD test is a state test given to all third grade students to measure their reading abilities and comprehension. If the student does not pass the test, he or she will be able to go through remediation and take the test again in the summer.
SCILL Center Graduation Program Set for May 16
A graduation celebration is set for Thursday, May 16 for the 2013 graduates of the SCILL Center auto tech and welding programs.
Dr. Ron May, President of Ancilla College, will be the featured speaker during the event scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT. Scholarships will be awarded to the students as well as special awards for attendance, performance skills and highest test score average.
Knox Board of Public Works Discusses Drug Testing
The Knox Board of Public Works is attempting to reduce the number of required drug tests that need to be conducted on city employees.
Mayor Rick Chambers asked the department heads to provide job descriptions for their employees to determine those who are required to be drug tested. The only employees that need to be tested are CDL license holders and there are only handful that work for the city.
Prescription Medication Drop Box Available at Knox City PD
Knox City Police Chief Clint Norem encourages you to utilize the police department’s prescription medication drop box to get rid of your unwanted or unused prescription medication.
Norem gave an update on the utilization of the drop box to the Knox Board of Public Works last week. Norem explained that residents have left a few deposits in the newly installed drop box. He hopes that more people become aware of the drop box and help rid the area of potential prescription medication thefts.
Deadline Approaching to Apply for Low-Interest SBA Disaster Loans
The Small Business Administration is reminding all small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of all sizes that the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans is May 6. These loans are being offered in all Hoosier counties as a result of the excessive heat, frost, freeze and drought that began on Feb. 1, 2012.
John R. Romenzak
Funeral services for John R. Romenzak, 48, of Knox, are Saturday, May 4 at noon CDT at the Goodway Baptist Church in Medaryville, with visitation two hours prior to the service. M.C. Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Absentee Voting Available Today at Starke County Courthouse
Absentee voting is available in the Starke County Courthouse today from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.
Voters in the Knox Community School District are examining a referendum question on the ballot that asks permission to move forward with a construction project at the Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School.
Knox Board of Public Works Discusses Resident’s Water Bill
The Knox Board of Public Works held discussion with a resident concerning her water and sewer bill.
Janet Black explained to the board members that there was a water leak detected underneath her house and she didn’t know about it. Her son had fixed the leak but she was shocked when she got her water bill and it was $410.47 – a far cry from her regular bill of $61.00.
Knox Community School Board Spotlights Music Program
The music program was spotlighted during the Knox Community School Board’s recent meeting.
Band Director Craige Phipps talked to the board about the successful season of the winter drumline, the winter guard and the groups who participated in state competitions this year.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that the band got to go down to Disney World during spring break to play some music.
“After working with a professional musician for just about 45 minutes and doing some sight-reading, they played the music to the Disney cartoon Tarzan. They played the actual soundtrack. The board enjoyed watching that cartoon. It was kind of neat!” Gappa exclaimed.
Fire Hydrant Flushing Scheduled in North Judson and Knox
Fire hydrant flushing is a sure sign of spring. The town of North Judson will be clearing hydrants Sunday and Monday night, starting around 8 p.m. The city of Knox will start the process Monday and continue through Friday. If you experience cloudy, rusty or colored water during that time, run the faucet until it clears up.
Candidates May Now Apply for Miss Pulaski County Pageant
The time has come to sign up for the Miss Pulaski County pageant.
Applications are available at the Eastern Pulaski and West Central School Corporations. Interested candidates must be at least 18 years of age as of June 1 and under the age of 21 by Aug. 16. Candidates should be involved in an organization such as 4-H, Girl Scouts or school clubs and the majority of the activities should take place in Pulaski County.
Applicants should not be married have no children.
If you need more information, call (574) 595-0875 or (574) 242-0844. Applications are due by May 10.
Pulaski County Public Library to Participate in Choose Privacy Week
The staff at the Pulaski County Public Library will be participating in the fourth annual celebration of Choose Privacy Week May 1–7.
Someone is always tracking you. Whether it’s on social media, phone calls or the websites you visit, your daily activities are monitored, recorded, collected and stored. Who is collecting this information?
Indiana Police K9 Practical Set for Saturday
Indiana K9 officers and their K9 partners will be participating in a training session today at 11 a.m. ET at the North Liberty Elementary School.
All K9 officers and K9 partners from surrounding agencies will complete training in several different scenarios which include tracking, searches and drug recognition. This is for police officers only and not open to the public.
Training should take a majority of the day. This training helps keep tactics fresh for both the officer and the K9 in case an issue may arise in the area.
ISDA Encouraging Agribusinesses to Seek Federal Grants
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture is making it an effort to encourage specialty crop-related agricultural businesses throughout the state to take advantage of funding opportunities, as a number of federal grants are available under the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Virgil Noble Acquitted of All Charges Following Jury Verdict
The jury reached a verdict in the trial against Virgil Noble, who has been found not guilty of Rape and Sexual Battery as Class B felonies following a three-day trial in the Starke Circuit Court. Noble was arrested on Dec. 28, 2010 following accusations of inappropriate sexual contact with a Hamlet woman.
NJ-SP Superintendent Responds to Bomb Threat
Police and school officials are following up leads as to who left a written bomb threat at North Judson-San Pierre High School last night. Superintendent Lynn Johnson says the perpetrator will be dealt with swiftly and severely both by the school and the authorities. The school handbook outlines punishment up to expulsion. If the person who left the note is over 18, he or she could be prosecuted as an adult. Continue reading
Plymouth Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charge
A Plymouth man with a lengthy criminal history has pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge. Dale Hite, 27, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. His sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, July 25 in U.S. District Court in South Bend. Continue reading
Knox Residents Jailed on Meth Charges
A month-long investigation by the Knox Police Department culminated in the arrest of two residents on meth charges last night. Alfred Higdon, 40, and Shari Melton, 39, were arrested at a home in the 300 block of Delaware Street. Officers reportedly found chemicals used in the manufacture of meth as well as methamphetamine and marijuana at the residence. Higdon and Melton both face charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of precursors and possession of marijuana. Formal charges are pending.