Starke County Relay for Life Pageant Entry Deadline Approaching

Posted on Author WKVI

The deadline to register for the First Starke County Relay for Life Pageant is quickly approaching, as Candice Miller from DeMotte State Bank said the deadline of March 29 gives interested individuals just over a week to register.

The pageant will be held on April 21 at 2 p.m. in the family life center at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox, where a winner will be crowned in each of four age groups to represent their title and participate at the Starke County Relay for Life Event at the Hamlet fairgrounds in June. All Starke County residents ages 1-18 can participate in the event, with age groups ranging from Teeny Tiny Miss, ages one to three; Tiny Miss, ages four to seven; Little Miss, ages eight to 12; and Miss, ages 13 to 18.

Entry fees are $30 per contestant, and the team is still seeking sponsorships and donations to cover expenses. Applications can be picked up at DeMotte State Bank, or anyone interested can call Pamela McDonald at (574) 806-1143 or Candice Miller at (574) 806-2901.

This is the first Relay for Life pageant of its kind, and Miller said her team is hoping for a successful event. Miller indicated that if the event goes well, DeMotte State Bank would love to make it an annual part of Relay.

SCEDF Says No Eminent Domain Necessary for 300 East Project

Posted on Author WKVI

The executive director of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation gave the county commissioners an update on the County Road 300 East project this week, and informed them that eminent domain action will no longer be necessary to complete the project. Charles Weaver recommended that the commissioners agree to an administrative settlement for a parcel of land owned by a woman that is necessary to be purchased in order to allow the project to continue.

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IU Health Starke Hospital Names Interim President

Posted on Author WKVI

 

IU Health Starke Hospital Interim President Jared Beasley
IU Health Starke Hospital Interim President Jared Beasley

IU Health Starke Hospital has named a new interim president. Jared Beasley will take over next month for standing President David Hyatt, who is transferring to a new position at Jay County Hospital in Portland, Ind. Beasley has served as vice president of clinical and diagnostic services at IU Health LaPorte Hospital since last June. He previously worked as the emergency department director at partner IU Health Goshen Hospital for six years. Beasley earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Goshen College, a bachelor of science in economics and business administration from Manchester College and a master in business administration from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Continue reading →

Pulaski County Lincoln Day Dinner Held Wednesday Night

Posted on Author WKVI
Sue-Ellsperman-at-Lincoln-Day
Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann

The Pulaski County Republican Lincoln Day dinner was held last night.

More than 50 attended the event and heard presentations from Indiana State GOP Political Director Trent Hagerty and Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson. The keynote speaker for the evening was Indiana Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann. She spoke of the many goals of the administration including cutting taxes for Hoosiers, creating the highest job rate in Indiana history, expanding current Indiana technology into new and different uses, and making Indiana an even more attractive place for businesses to locate and operate.

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Plymouth High School Student Admits to Writing Bomb Threat

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

A Plymouth High School student has reportedly admitted to writing a bomb threat that shut down the school for a few hours on January 24.

A 15-year-old male student came forward Monday and admitted to Plymouth police that he wrote the bomb threat on the boys restroom wall. The student allegedly expressed to police that he had no intentions of harming other students or faculty.

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Starke County Commissioners Deny Holiday Pay for Lawson

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
Former Starke County Sheriff’s Department employee Ron Lawson is surely disappointed with the commissioners’ decision this week to not award him the holiday pay he claims he is entitled to. Lawson previously indicated that Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen is under the impression that Lawson had already received his holiday pay for the days in question, but Lawson said he has not been paid and he’s been seeking this reimbursement for two years.

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Hacienda Restaurant Soon to Open in Plymouth

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
Plymouth residents will soon have a new place to enjoy some nice food and tasty drink, as Hacienda Mexican Restaurants have announced they will be opening a new restaurant in Plymouth in a little over two months.

The restaurant, Hacienda’s 13th in Indiana, will be located off of U.S. 30 in the building that used to house Beef O’ Brady’s. Hacienda’s vice president of sales and marketing, Jeff Leslie, said the building will be entirely redecorated to match Hacienda’s ambiance and will seat 135 people with the addition of an outdoor margarita garden. Leslie also noted that they expected to hire around 100 employees, and they are currently accepting applications online at www.haciendafiesta.com with interviews to begin on April 8.

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PEO Chapter Reorganizes, Funds Available for Assistance

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The local Starke County chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, or PEO, has reorganized and Vice President Erin Bourff says the organization has plenty of leaders to help area women seek educational opportunities.

“Many of the women who are involved in the community and many of the PEO chapters are in the educational field themselves and want to promote this outside of their jobs and help women who are in need of assistance,” said Bourff.

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Lt. Gov. Speaks at Marshall County Farm Bureau Luncheon

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Representatives at Farm Bureau
Starke County Representatives at Farm Bureau

Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann was the guest speaker at the Marshall County Farm Bureau Luncheon Wednesday afternoon.

She spoke of “The Future of Rural Indiana” and how the state is working to provide a better rural Indiana to help agriculture, entrepreneurship, economic development, visioning, community development, rural workforce development and infrastructure.

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“Celebrating the Arts” Event Planned For April 6 in Winamac

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Winamac’s chapter of Psi Iota Xi Sorority, Iota Xi, will once again be “Celebrating the Arts” in the Winamac community on April 6. The event, which will be held at the Church of the Heartland at 890 E. Highway 14, will take place 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET with free admission, but the sorority is welcoming a suggesting $1 donation, the proceeds of which will support the event.

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SCPL Announces Amateur Youth Photo Contest Winners

Posted on Author WKVI

Henry F. Schricker Library
Henry F. Schricker Library
The Starke County Public Library announced the winners of their second Annual Amateur Youth Photo Contest during the month of March. Diantha Upham, program coordinator at the library, said the library would like to extend their heartfelt congratulations to each winner of the contest.

The contest offered three different categories of landscape, object, and people, and four grade groups ranging from K-12.

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Starke County Ranks Among 10 Unhealthiest Counties in State

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The fourth annual County Health Rankings report was released yesterday, ranking the overall health for all 92 counties in Indiana and the rest of the country by using a standard formula measuring how healthy people are and how long they tend to live. Starke County fell under the 10 counties with the lowest health outcomes, while Hendricks County, alongside Hamilton and Boone counties, ranked the highest in health outcomes, according to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s annual report.

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Medaryville man arrested on drug charges

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

A Medaryville man who reportedly left the scene of a property damage accident faces drug charges after authorities caught up with him at a gas station there. The crash occurred on U.S. 421 at County Road 200 North in Pulaski County Monday night. Officers from the Medaryville Police Department and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office found 32-year-old Russell Kevin Risner a short time later at the Family Express Station. His speech was slurred, his balance was poor and he failed several field sobriety tests, according the arrest report. He consented to a portable breath test and a blood draw and was taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital. While there, a sheriff’s deputy reportedly found a yellow pill in Risner’s inside coat pocket. Hospital staff advise he tested positive for the presence of an anti-anxiety medication and marijuana. Formal charges are pending.

Starke Council Approves Payment of Negotiated Attorney Fees for Dotlich Case

Posted on Author WKVI

 
 
The legal case between George and Betty Dotlich and the Board of Zoning Appeals is still causing commotion, as the Starke County Council this week approved a motion to pay a to-be-negotiated amount in attorney fees as ordered by Special Judge Patrick Blankenship. The pair had valiantly fought tooth-and-nail over a commercial structure that had been permitted as a single-family residence, ultimately winning the appeal in the Starke Circuit Court, where it was ruled that the BZA failed to follow proper procedure and made a permitting decision unsupported by substantial evidence.

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Deadline Approaching to Register to Vote in May Special Election

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

This year may be an off-year for elections, but there will be a special election in Starke County this May.

The Knox Community School Board is offering a public question on the May ballot that concerns a construction and rehabilitation project at the Palmer Wing section of the Knox Elementary School. The school board has conducted studies and received public input about the need to reconstruct a portion of the building and remodel another section in order to move forward with education needs at the facility.

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Pulaski County Braces for Health Insurance Premium Hit

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
Insurance claims are running high right now for the Cigna health insurance plan offered to Pulaski County employees. Gibson Insurance benefit consultant Bob Zavacky told the commissioners Monday that claims are running at about 180-percent utilization at the halfway point of the year and show no signs of letting up. He says three sizable claims in particular are driving the county’s costs up.

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