It’s the time of year when you start to think about springtime yard projects.
NIPSCO urges you to call 811 before you continue with an outdoor project that requires digging. Call that number two working days before the start of a project to make sure no gas lines are located underneath the area in which you plan on digging.
There’s a little good news in the wake of yesterday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon. Three Winamac men who ran yesterday’s race are safe after a pair of blasts rocked the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 145. Glenn Bailey and Mike Haschel had already finished the race. George Nietert, who teaches in Winamac, is also safe. If you have a loved one in the Boston area who is unaccounted for, you can call 617-635-4500 to check on them.
Hoosiers with family or friends in Boston can call a special telephone number to make sure they are safe following yesterday’s explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Emergency officials in Massachusetts stress people should only call 617-635-4500 if they have not heard from their loved ones. Officials confirm three deaths and at least 140 injuries. The bombing has been ruled an act of terrorism.
Two Rensselaer men have been arrested for stealing anhydrous ammonia at a property in Pulaski County.
The owner of a farming operation reportedly spotted 36-year-old Brandon Scott Hitt and 41-year-old Michael Kasnick, Jr. stealing anhydrous ammonia from a tank on the property. Two Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to the scene and were told that the suspect’s vehicle was traveling with its headlights off on a county road near the scene.
Checks will soon be in the mail for customers who purchased cars from a Marshall County dealership between Nov. 1, 2010 and Nov. 1, 2012. Auto Park of Plymouth has reached a settlement with the state over excessive paperwork charges during that two year period. State officials say the dealership was charging customers exorbitant documentation preparation fees. The settlement follows a joint investigation by the attorney general’s office and secretary of state’s office prompted by a customer questioning the charge, called a doc fee. Investigators looked into the costs and found them to be excessive on about 38,000 transactions. Indiana law requires doc fees to be disclosed, negotiated, reflective of actual expenses and noted on the purchase agreement. Customers who were charged a document preparation fee of $228 will each receive a refund of $34 from Auto Park. The dealership will send checks directly to eligible customers.
A Michigan City man was recently sentenced for his involvement in a fatality accident in LaPorte County on July 19, 2012.
On that day, Katherine Atkins was traveling on Joliet Road in LaPorte County and as she was negotiating a curve, her vehicle was struck by another driven by John Minkle. The impact killed Atkins and injured three children.
The LaPorte County FACT (Fatal Alcohol Crash Team) conducted an investigation and it was determined that Minkle had an extremely high level of PCP and marijuana in his body at the time of the crash. Minkle was arrested in South Bend on a warrant for charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death and Serious Bodily Injury.
Minkle later pleaded guilty to charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated as a Class B Felony and two counts of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated as a Class D Felony. He was sentenced by LaPorte County Judge Thomas Alevizos on Thursday, April 11 to a total of 16 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with four years suspended.
This was the most significant case investigated by the newly created LaPorte County FACT. The organization is funded by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and is overseen by the Governor’s Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving.
A steady flow of voters have already cast ballots in the upcoming May 7 special election.
Absentee voting started last week at the Starke County Courthouse for the May 7 question involving whether taxes should be raised in order to fund construction at Knox Elementary School. As of Monday morning, 66 people have voted in person, according to officials with the Starke County Clerk’s office. Many of those voters are older and don’t want to worry about getting out on Election Day, but you don’t need any special reason to cast an early ballot. Absentee voting continues each weekday at the courthouse through noon on Monday, May 6.
Marshall County Attorney Jim Clevenger told the commissioners Monday morning that they will need to address the Marshall County Plan Commission’s recommendations for amendments to the Wind Energy Conversion System ordinance.
During their last meeting, the commissioners unanimously agreed to draft a resolution to present to the plan commission that would prohibit the establishment of a commercial wind energy farm in Marshall County. Clevenger said the proposed amendments must be approved or rejected after a public hearing. The commissioners have a public hearing scheduled for May 6 at 9:00 a.m. in the commissioners room in the County Annex Building.
Senate Bill 152, co-sponsored by Republican State Representative Tom Dermody of LaPorte, will now go to the governor’s desk and await his signature to become law.
As part of this bill, if a homeowner feels their property assessment was calculated inaccurately, they have the ability to appeal their case to the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA). If the assessed value is increased by a certain amount, PTABOA is responsible for proving whether or not the assessment was done accurately. If a homeowner wins the appeal, a new and more accurate assessment is established and used for taxing purposes.
The milder weather has a lot of people outdoors getting exercise by walking, jogging or riding bicycles. The Indiana State Police warn that its possible people will come across toxic trash left behind by people who manufacture methamphetamine.
Items like empty plastic bottles, discarded gas cans and other containers may be toxic, flammable, corrosive and acidic and could cause an explosion, fire or burns if they come into direct contact with the skin. Troopers from the ISP Meth Suppression Section say one-and-a-half-gallon gasoline cans are popular containers for meth cooks. Other items to be aware of include battery casings, zipper-top plastic bags, empty pill blister packs and any types of cylinders found in odd places like ditches, fields or wooded areas. Cylinders are used to store or transport anhydrous ammonia, which is an extremely dangerous gas when direct contact or inhalation occurs.
If you find any items you think might be meth trash, call your local law enforcement agency or the ISP Meth Suppression Section at 877-855-METH. More information can be found online at www.meth.in.gov.
Prom season is gearing up so the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department and the LaPorte County DUI Task Force will increase enforcement and patrols around prom and post-prom sites this spring.
Proms for Marquette, New Prairie, South Central and Westville schools in LaPorte County begin the weekend of April 27 and continue through May 18 and it’s the goal of law enforcement to deter alcohol use and eliminate alcohol related crashes among prom attendees.
An American Red Cross Lifeguarding Certification course will be taught at Knox High School this summer.
Amy Nimetz will be offering two sessions: June 3-7 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and June 10-14 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those sessions will be conducted at the Knox High School pool.
Enjoy 50 years of trick hoops and alley oops when the legendary Harlem Wizards return to Harold Weinberg Gymnasium to take on The Tribe on Friday, April 26.
The recommendation would sentence Miller to three years on each count to be served concurrently, and each of those sentences would be suspended to be served on probation. In addition, Miller would be required to pay court costs, probation fees, and serve one year on home detention through Starke County Community Corrections. She would also be required to pay $52,044 in restitution per a negotiated settlement with the Indiana Attorney General’s office.
A North Judson-San Pierre graduate will be accompanying the remains of a Korean War soldier to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Army Lt. Col. Timothy W. Miller will be guarding the casket of Lt. Col. Don Faith Jr., of Washington, Indiana, to Faith’s final resting place in the most prestigious cemetery in the world. This is a huge honor that has been bestowed on the former Starke County resident.
The former co-owner of a private medical transportation service for the elderly has pleaded guilty in federal court to Medicaid fraud. Kori Ann Donovan, 41, admitted Friday in U.S. District Court to defrauding Medicaid from 2008 to 2012 while running Advanced Care Transport. She admitted billing the government health care program for some rides that never took place and inflating the mileage on others in order to increase reimbursement. Her actions cost the government between $2.5 and $7 million, according to court documents. Donovan will be sentenced in July to one count each of health care billing fraud and aggravated identity theft. A.C.T. shut its doors last September, but the corporation has been named a co-defendant in the case.
Inmates from the state prison in Westville have proven to be an invaluable asset to the management at Tippecanoe River State Park north of Winamac. Property manager Vernon Gillum says the work crew comes out a few days a week and assists with big jobs like cutting trees down and hauling them off so they can be split for firewood and raking acres of leaves at the family campground.
The deadline is tomorrow for applications for the owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program in the city of Knox.
Applications are available in the Knox city clerk-treasurer’s office. Six to 10 homeowners will be assisted in this program with funding from the Indiana Department of Housing and Community Development. A public hearing on the matter is set for Monday, April 22 at 2 p.m. CT at Knox City Hall.
The program is designed to help elderly, disabled, low-income and single parents with children in the home receive funding to help improve safety conditions at their place of residence. These improvements may include a new furnace, roofing, plumbing, electrical, windows, and other qualified accessibility and safety issues. The home must be structurally sound. Those who apply for this program must meet certain criteria.
The deadline has arrived to reserve your spot for Ed Hasnerl’s upcoming Mississippi Riverboat Adventure, so if you’re interested in joining Hasnerl for a trip to LaClaire, Iowa; Dubuque; and Galena, Ill., today’s your last chance to sign up.
