It’s been a busy off season for teams and owners as sponsorships get into line for the upcoming season.
It was announced Tuesday that Love’s Travel Stops will expand its partnership with Front Row Motorsports. The primary sponsorship is slated for 14 races in the 2014 season, which is a significant increase. from last season. The sponsor will be on David Gilliand’s No 38 at the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and for 13 other races in the season.
Knox police officers have arrested a woman suspected of child abuse.
A complaint was made to the department on Wednesday, Jan. 15 allegeding child abuse involving a juvenile. A search warrant was executed at 404 Fear Court and police found that the suspect, 24-year-old Mary Young, was reportedly locking her child in a bedroom in addition to battering the child.
Officers took Young into custody in the evening hours of Monday, Jan. 20 and she has been booked into the Starke County Jail on preliminary Class D felony charges of Criminal Confinement, Battery and Neglect of a Dependent.
The case remains under investigation.
Several hearings were held before the honorable Judge Kim Hall in Starke Circuit Court on Tuesday.
It was decided that Gregory Schweisthal will go before a jury of his peers in a trial scheduled to begin today (Wednesday). Three days have been set aside to hear testimony and evidence on the five charges filed against Schweisthal. Those charges include Rape as a Class B felony, two counts of Invasion of Privacy as Class D felonies, Strangulation as a Class D felony, and Domestic Battery as a Class A misdemeanor. Timothy Lemon is Schweisthal’s defense attorney. Continue reading
The Starke County Commissioners are looking into the possibility of saving some money on non-election years through the Microvote company. The county currently pays Microvote $9500 per year for their election equipment and services, even on years when the equipment is not used. Commissioner Kent Danford asked IT Director Joe Short to look into whether or not they can pay for that service only on election years to help save a bit of coin. Continue reading
The Marshall County Highway Department has used quite a bit of salt in helping clear snow and ice covered roads this winter.
In his department report Tuesday morning, Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck told the commissioners that last year he ordered 1,000 tons of salt and didn’t use a lot of the supply. He ordered another 950 tons of salt in a later order and the department has gone through its supply. Continue reading
The Office of the Surgeon General recently released a report that reviewed the health consequences of smoking, entitled “The Health Consequences of Smoking: 50 Years of Progress.” The report indicates 151,000 Indiana youth will become smokers and die prematurely, killing 9.5 percent of those age 17 and younger – nearly one out of every 10 Hoosier kids.
The report calls on Americans to make the next generation tobacco free, and Linda Molenda, coordinator for Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County, said the organization will continue to work to support policies that aim to protect community members from the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke. Continue reading
Firefighters with the Medaryville Fire Department responded to a house fire Monday night.
Chief Shaun Hauptli told WKVI that neighbors called 911 when they noticed smoke coming from the home owned by Stacy and Amanda White at 12070 W. 100 N. Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke but no visible fire coming from the southeast part of the single-story home.
Firefighters were able to quickly ventilate the roof and extinguish the fire. The fire was contained to a bedroom. Hauptli said all members of the department who responded acted quickly to try and save the residence. Continue reading
An Akron man faces multiple charges following a head-on collision with a Marshall County snow plow truck Saturday night. It happened just after 10 p.m. on Michigan Road just north of 18C Road, according to the crash report provided by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office. A 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer driven by Juan L. Ruiz, 22, was reportedly southbound on Michigan Road, crossed the center line and struck the plow truck driven by Jon A. Bates, 51, of Bourbon. The impact of the crash caused the TrailBlazer to spin counterclockwise before coming to rest facing east in the southbound lane. Ruiz and his front seat passenger were trapped in the SUV and had to be cut from the wreckage by members of the Argos Fire Department. Both were treated at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth. Police say alcohol was a factor in the crash. Ruiz faces charges of operating while intoxicated, public intoxication and operation of a motor vehicle having never obtained a license.
A LaPorte woman who recently purchased a new computer was the victim of a scam Saturday night, according to LaPorte Police. She told the officer she got a call on her cell phone Saturday night from a man with a foreign accent who identified himself as “Mark Williams” from Dell. The caller told her that her new computer had been hacked and said he was going to help her fix it. He reportedly told her to go to SHOWMYPC.com, which she did. The suspect confirmed the victim’s name and email address, which he already knew. Once he did this, he then had remote access over her computer and she was not longer controlling it.
The suspect brought up an 8-digit number which he had the victim read back. He advised her that 80 percent of her computer had been hacked, but he was able to fix it for the next 15 years. He then told her she now had to pay him $99 for the service. The victim became suspicious and told him she was not paying him any money at this time and would call him back. The suspect was reportedly insistent that the victim pay him immediately. His name, ID number and telephone number were listed in a message box on the computer screen. The victim confirmed this information with him before she hung up, but when she called the number back she reached a sex hotline. Continue reading
The Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominates for the H.J. Halleck Community Service Award. According to their press release, “Every town, every city is blessed with a handful of individuals who selflessly donate their time, energy and hard work to make their community a better place for everyone to live.”
These people often give their time and energy for years without recognition or gratitude, and so to rectify that, the Chamber of Commerce will recognize such outstanding individuals by awarding the H.J. Halleck Community Service Award to one deserving individual each year. Continue reading
One person was taken into custody this afternoon after a shooting in the Electrical Engineering building on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette.
Police responded to the campus shortly after noon Eastern Time after a gunman shot and killed a person he was reportedly targeting. The identity of the shooter or the victim has not been released. There is no further threat on the campus.
The Lake Effect Snow Watch for Starke County has been canceled, but bursts of heavy snow are still possible this morning. That snowfall combined with gusty northeast winds at 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts of up to 30 will lead to areas of blowing and drifting snow. Visibilities may be reduced to less than half a mile at times, according to the National Weather Service. Snowfall amounts of between 2 and 4 inches with as much as 5 inches in a few areas is possible before the snow diminishes. Travel may become difficult in spots, especially along west-east untreated roads. Motorists are urged to use caution this morning.
An excavating crew in Porter County makes a grisly discovery. Contractors for the Precision Pipeline Company found a human skull late Monday morning and notified the Porter County Sheriff’s Department. Detectives searched the area but did not uncover any additional human remains. A forensic anthropologist from the University of Indianapolis reviewed digital photos of the skull and said he believed it to be of pre-1940s origin. Conservation officers took possession of the remains and instructed the Precision Pipeline Company to cease digging in the area where the skull was found. The DNR Historical Preservation and Archeology Division will analyze the remains to determine the skull’s age and origin.
The National Weather Service has issued a lake effect snow watch this morning through this afternoon with total accumulations of three to six inches in the Starke County area. Continue reading
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said Mark Griffin, 51, whose last known address was 7934 Lake Street in Monterey, was convicted in Florida of child molestation and lewd acts with a child under the age of 16.
According to Hamlet Fire Chief Bob Goetz, the late-night fire was contained to the bedroom of the home on Davis Street. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and the state fire marshal will be on the scene later today.
The Hamlet Fire Department was assisted by the Knox-Center Township Fire Department and the Koontz Lake Fire Department.
A new study from the CDC claims too many Hoosiers are drinking heavily and not being honest about it, with at least 38 million Americans consuming too much alcohol and only one in six ever discussing the behavior with a doctor. Experts say alcohol screening and brief counseling can reduce drinking on an occasion by 25 percent in people who drink too much, but according to Dr. Louis Profeta, an emergency physician with St. Vincent’s Hospital, it’s hard to screen patients because they often aren’t truthful about their alcohol intake.
