Traffic to the Oregon-Davis Schools will be re-routed today due to a CF&E train that is stuck on the tracks. County Road 750 East just south of U.S. 30 will be closed most of the day, according to dispatchers with the sheriff’s office. They advise the train broke in half, forcing the temporary road closure.
A Winamac man was arrested Sunday after Pulaski County deputies reportedly found a marijuana growing operation on his property.
A deputy was checking the area of 625 North and 800 West as he received an anonymous call of suspicious activity in the area. The officer got out of his car at a location where he saw a home ruined by a fire and two outbuildings. He approached a shed and was greeted by a man later identified as Rodger Birnbaum, 57, of Winamac. He had been carrying an electric screw driver and set it down to talk to the officer. The officer reportedly smelled a strong marijuana smell and asked to search the shed. Birnbaum asked the officer why he would do that and the officer explained that he could smell marijuana coming from the shed and he observed Birnbaum acting suspiciously.
Marshall County detectives are asking for your help in gathering information to identify a possible suspect in a criminal mischief incident.
Detectives learned on Friday that some unknown person(s) used spray paint and caused damage to buildings and property in the Beech Road area, near Bremen. The Borkholder Amish School was spray-painted along with the New Burlington Amish School. A homeowner’s fence was also spray-painted, as well as part of a roadway, traffic signs, and a sign for the Ren-Town Country Store on 3rd Road.
The Indiana State Police is partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in a drug take back event.
You are encouraged to take your unwanted, expired and unused prescription medication to any Indiana State Police Post (except for the Toll Road Post in Bristol, IN) for proper disposal. There will be a designated receptacle for you to drop off your medication and no questions will be asked.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board will have prices for two new, 72-passenger school buses when they meet next month. Corporation business manager Guy Richie is using the state’s new online purchasing system to obtain that information.
“The bids have already been done and submitted to the state,” Richie told the board. “You simply put in the type of bus you want, your specs, your additional equipment and such.” The website then calculates the price of the bus, subtracts the school corporation’s trade-in value and returns a price within 30 minutes or so.
The school board will still need to approve the purchases. This is the first year N.J.-S.P. is using this system to purchase buses. In the past the corporation had to publish legal notices with detailed information about the kind of buses they wanted to buy and make a purchasing decision after bids were received.
The Marshall County Commissioners held three public hearings Monday morning.
Christopher Martin was before the commissioners with Planning Director Ralph Booker to request that his parcel of land located in the Deer Trace Subdivision in West Township on Eastwood Drive in Plymouth be rezoned. He requested it be changed from Lake Residential (L-1) to Agricultural (A-1). He explained that he would like to have small livestock on his property near the lake for his children who participate in 4-H.
A documentary film with roots in Starke County will be screened this weekend on the Oprah Winfrey Network. “Bridegroom” debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and has received critical acclaim. The film tells the story of Shane Bitney Crone, whose partner, Knox native and Culver Military Academy graduate Thomas Bridegroom, fell to his death during a photo shoot in 2011. Crone says Bridegroom’s family left him out of the decision making process and made it clear he was not welcome at the service. The film examines the struggles couples without the legal protections of marriage face and aims to raise awareness of the issue. Continue reading
You knew it was coming. It’s a dreadful action but it needs to be done. It’s time to turn the thermostat from air conditioning to heat.
The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET today. Lows will be between 29-32 degrees and will stay that cool until later this morning. Highs should be in the upper 40s today.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and federal and state officials want to make sure you don’t become a victim of online crime.
Online criminal activity in 2012 resulted in losses of more than $525 million, according to FEMA. The agency urges everyone to guard against fraud while surfing the Internet. For starters, you should set strong passwords, change them regularly and don’t share them with anyone. Install the latest updates to your computer’s operating system, browser and other critical software. Use privacy settings on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in order to control who sees your profiles and photos, and limit the amount of personal information you post online.
VPN or virtual private network is one of the best ways to secure your internet connection and keep your data private. However, all of that protection amounts to nothing if a VPN can be easily hacked. To get protected you should download the best free vpn in India. With online banking, you’re using personal information, bank account numbers, secure passwords, and in some cases, social security information
You may wake up to frost on the pumpkin tomorrow morning, so plan accordingly if you have outdoor plants. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for the entire WKVI listening area through early tomorrow morning. Overnight temperatures in the 29 to 32-degree range are predicted. This could kill vegetation.
The Starke County Commissioners are set to award bids for construction of the new jail east of Knox on State Road 8 when they meet this evening. The commissioners opened the bids on Oct. 10 and took them under advisement so they could be sure they met the specifications outlined in the pre-bid documents. The bids were submitted in 10 different categories: general trades and sitework, masonry, drywall and acoustical, flooring, painting, kitchen equipment, detention equipment and security electronics, fire suppression, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical. A large number of contractors submitted bids for the work, including some who submitted combined bids; that is, a combination of categories, such as masonry, flooring and painting, at a discount.
The work on the project is due to begin next month and wrap up in the spring of 2015. Construction can continue through the winter months since an existing building is being modified.
A Starke County Sheriff’s Candidate is among 25 statewide applicants selected to the Indiana Leadership Forum this year. Greg Wireman is the first Republican from Starke County named to the forum since it began in 1993. It’s a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to preparing Indiana’s most talented community leaders for various political leadership and public service roles throughout the state. Applicants must have a track record of leadership skills, self-motivation, professional achievement and exemplary character and demonstrate a strong potential for future success along with a willingness to be more actively engaged in the community. A six-member selection committee evaluated all applicants based on these criteria, and the finalists underwent oral interviews.
A final cost estimate for the St. Joe Valley Metronet’s expansion into Marshall County and the city of Plymouth is expected soon, as one of the organizers of the project has reported that the proposed route has been decided upon and they will soon have an estimated cost.
The path takes consideration of the location of existing utilities and avoids them wherever possible, and also takes into account the subscribers who have already put money into the project to ensure the Metronet expands into the area. Businesses like Hoosier Racing Tire and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center put sums of money up front to make the project happen. Continue reading
The town of Winamac recently reviewed a quote regarding a new factory that’s looking to expand in Winamac and is in need of electric service. Town Manager Jim Conner explained the work should take place within the next few weeks – an “exciting” prospect, he said.
Winamac Coil Spring company is seeking electric service to expand in Winamac, and Conner said the quote came in around $74,815. Some of that, he said, will be the town’s expense, and the remaining portion will be covered by the company itself.
Conner said the cost is for a new transformer, as the current one isn’t large enough to serve the company’s estimated load. As a result, a new primary feed will also need to be installed, and a fee will be charged to connect existing service to the new transfer. Conner said the work itself should take roughly a week.
The Marshall County Commissioners have a loaded agenda for their bi-monthly meeting this morning.
Deputy Auditor Brenda Harper will talk about United Way, Marshall County Economic Development Commission Director Jay Bahr will give an update, and three public hearings are scheduled concerning ordinances. Joel Markland will appear before the commissioners to discuss a Brownfield grant, Linda Rippy is scheduled to give an quarterly update on happenings at the museum and Jean Klindinst has time to talk about a Kreighbaum Lake parcel.
Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck will have an update along with County Attorney Neal Haeck and Auditor Penny Lukenbill.
The meeting begins this morning at 9:30 a.m. ET in the commissioners meeting room on the second floor of the Marshall County building.
The Knox Community School Board will meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the administrative office in the Knox Elementary School. The board will receive an update on the Standard for Success and approve the NEOLA Policies and Guidelines that were provided for the board member’s review at the Oct. 7 meeting.
The Oregon-Davis School Board will also meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School Room 202. The board members will consider a change in the Facility Rental Agreement, approve a resolution regarding frequency of bank deposits and approve a recommendation to switch insurance companies. A discussion is planned for the 100+ Club and for the school discipline policies.
Both meetings are open to the public.
This is Red Ribbon Week and the Knox Middle School students will be busy with activities to show that they are drug free.
Today, students will be signing a banner and pledging to be drug and tobacco free. Students and staff will receive a red ribbon to wear and show support of a drug and tobacco free lifestyle.
On Tuesday, students will plant red tulips at the middle school for National Plant the Promise Week. When the tulips bloom in the spring, it will serve as a reminder to stay drug free.
Motivational speaker, David Parnell, will speak to the students and staff Wednesday afternoon to about his struggle with drug abuse and his attempt at suicide in which he shot himself in the face. It has required 30 surgeries to repair the damage, but he remains drug free and travels the country to tell everyone of his past troubles to encourage the public to stay drug free.
The residents in the town of Hamlet are celebrating the town’s 150th anniversary this Thursday, Oct. 24.
Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts tells WKVI that a time capsule buried at the town hall decades ago will be opened. Another time capsule will be filled and buried to be opened at another milestone celebration.
The celebration begins at 5 p.m. CT at the town hall. Hamlet residents will enjoy cake and ice cream along with the reveal of what is in the time capsule. A lot has changed in the area of Hamlet over the past few decades so it should be interesting what was included in the time capsule.
A three-car accident injured two on U.S. Highway 421, north of County Road 2300 South near LaCrosse Friday afternoon.
LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called to the scene shortly before 2 p.m. CT and found that a vehicle traveling south on U.S. 421 crossed the center line of the roadway for unknown reasons and hit the axles of a trailer being pulled by a northbound semi. After the vehicle struck the axles, the vehicle hit another car that was traveling north on U.S. 421.
Law enforcement officers searched the high school and no device or other threat was found. All precautions were put into place to ensure student safety during school Friday.
Superintendent Lynn Johnson stated that there were no issues and attendance was down for the day on Friday.
All backpacks and bags were checked before school started Friday and officials are taking this situation very seriously. If an investigation produces a suspect, that person or persons could be charged with a felony charge of Intimidation.
