Beginning today, the intersection of state roads 39 and 14 in Pulaski County will be a four-way stop.
Previously, east and westbound traffic on State Road 14 had the right-of-way while north and southbound traffic on State Road 39 was required to stop at stop signs.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall approached the commissioners at their meeting last week to request a transfer into their truck repair fund to cover some repairs on equipment. The commissioners approved his request unanimously.
“We’re just doing general maintenance on the trucks and trying to update them and some of the trucks are getting some pretty heavy rust damage inside and out and the mechanics brought it to my attention, and I brought it to the council tonight to get a little more transferred money into truck repair to fix the damage in the cabs, on the beds, fenders, stuff like that,” said Siddall.
For the third year in a row, Joe Leszek will be filling the shoes of North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Chief, having been nominated by the 25-member department. Mike Scutchfield remains as the assistant fire chief despite being nominated by Leszek for the chief position, as Scutchfield’s work schedule did not allow enough time for him to handle the additional responsibilities. Fortunately, Leszek said the teamwork between the pair is phenomenal.
“It’s great. Mike Scutchfield is a great assistant chief; I nominated him for chief this year, and with his work schedule, he’s just unable to fulfill some of the responsibilities that the town board has. Hopefully in the near future he’ll be taking over for me!” Leszek said.
The Winamac Town Board will hold a public meeting tonight at 7 p.m. ET to address the ADA compliance needs at several facilities in the town of Winamac.
Town Manager Jim Conner recently submitted a list of places to the Town Board that need to be ADA compliant. All of the areas listed need to be ADA compliant by June 2013.
One board member had asked about the Y being compliant and ADA needs at Arens Field; Conner is expected to have an update on that during tonight’s meeting. You may also express concerns during tonight’s meeting.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation is currently undergoing the process of K-12 accreditation through AdvancED, which Superintendent Lynn Johnson said is a very lengthy ordeal. She explained that prior to this, each school was individually accredited; however, because the corporation contains three schools, the corporation decided to go with K-12 accreditation.
“We decided to go through K-12 accreditation, so it really helps align the whole process as far as our curriculum instruction. So we went through the process of making sure that the conditions were ready that we could meet the criteria through AdvancED and become a candidate for accreditation,” said Johnson. “It’s a good process; it’s a huge learning process.”
A food drive and a coat drive is underway at the Oregon-Davis School Corporation.
O-D schools, along with the student council, will be collecting non-perishable food items and toiletries for families in need. You may drop off your donation of canned items, toothpaste, laundry detergent, shampoo and a host of other items in the schools during the school day or when you attend an evening school event.
Gently used or new coats will also be collected during this effort.
Collections will continue until Dec. 14. Boxes will be distributed before Christmas break.
The Knox Community School Board graciously accepted a donation of memorabilia from the family of a Knox High School student who was killed in action in the Vietnam War. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the presentation was done during the Spotlight on Success portion of the meeting last week.
“Mr. Bendicsen, the Assistant Principal at the high school, brought in some recent donations from Anne Howes, the sister-in-law of Andy Howes. Andy Howes was a 1968 graduate of Knox High School and he was missing in action in Vietnam. It was recently determined that Howes died in Vietnam. His remains were brought to the states just last year. They found a picture of Andy in uniform and had it framed. Also, a pencil sketching of his name on the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington, D.C. and proclamations from the City of Knox and the U.S. Congress were given to the school.”
The items will be put on display.
Visitors were invited to shop the Christmas Barn and check out the wreath crib and greenhouse, and snacks and drinks were provided at the event as well. As an additional treat, the Knox High School Jazz Band performed for the festival as well.
Kids queued up to have their picture taken with Santa and families from all around picked out trees for the ever-nearing Christmas holiday. A slideshow with highlights from the event is below!
Starke County Prosecutor Nick Bourff approached the Starke County Commissioners at their meeting this week to request reimbursement for his deputy who has been undertaking an extra workload.
Bourff explained that his office has had since 2009 a part-time deputy, funded by grant money, to handle domestic abuse work. Unfortunately, that part-time deputy has since decided to leave the department, and though Bourff has been advertising the position, he needs someone to handle the work in the meantime.
Upgrades are in the works for the Marshall County Highway Department, as the county commissioners approved a request to spend money from the Highway Department budget on a new radio communications system.
Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck explained that they previously had several old radios that were nearly useless. Roughly two-thirds of the radios were obsolete several years ago, and the problem has only worsened since then.
The cost for a new system consisting of 35 radios, tower equipment, and a service contract came out to slightly more than $68,000, and the agreement features a GPS tracking system for department vehicles. Haeck said he has been looking forward to this upgrade for several years.
The commissioners approved his request and he expects the equipment to arrive soon.
The North Judson Town Board this week discussed a number of ordinances, including the cemetery rules and regulations ordinance that had previously been reviewed by Town Attorney Cassandra Hein.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that the board had approved a number of small changes to the ordinance as per Hein’s recommendations, and added a section to the ordinance as well. The first and second readings will be held at their next meeting on Dec. 3.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week discussed the letter grades they received from the state, and Superintendent Lynn Johnson said they are pleased with the grades but she has her concerns about the validity of the evaluation model.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa reported that the school board approved the request to hold the Scholastic Book Fair at the elementary school.
“The Scholastic Book Fair will run Dec. 5–13 during the school day also during the evenings during the elementary Christmas programs,” said Gappa. “Proceeds from the book fair will be used for the student activity fund.”
David Hollinger of Walkerton died Thursday, November 15 after his car was struck by a train in the Walkerton area. A police investigation found that Hollinger had went around the “road closed” barricades on the tracks that are under construction. He attempted to pass, but got stuck between the rails and was struck by an oncoming train. He was killed upon impact but no other injuries were reported at the scene. Continue reading
The annual tree lighting celebration in the City of Knox is set for tomorrow night from 5–7 p.m. at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center.
You are asked to gather at the Community Center tree first before meeting with Santa and partaking in refreshments. Your child may have his/her picture taken with Santa Claus during this celebration.
Formal charges are pending against a North Judson man who allegedly was involved in a domestic battery issue Sunday.
North Judson police responded to a call of a domestic dispute in the 300 block of Franklin Avenue. A woman called police to say she was battered by her husband, Jeffrey Jacobs, in front of a child. She called 911 to report the incident but he took the phone from her and hid.
After an initial investigation by North Judson Police and with the assistance from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Knox City Police Department, Jacobs was located and taken into custody. He was arrested on preliminary charges of Domestic Battery, Resisting Law Enforcement and Interfering with the Reporting of a Crime. He was booked in the Starke County Jail.
Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen gets to go car shopping, as the county council this week approved his request to purchase a second new squad car.
The council had previously heard a request from Cowen for three new squad cars before the end of the year, but the council decided to approve the first vehicle and see where they’d be budget-wise toward the end of the year. Since then, Cowen said he has received the first car, but now he’s back to see about getting the second.
Two area residents were sentenced in U.S. District Court this week.
Jason Buzzard, 34 of Plymouth, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Manufacture Methamphetamine. This case was the result of an investigation of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Indiana State Police, the Plymouth Police Department and the MSOS.
Oscar Ruelas-Sandoval, 26 of LaPorte, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to charges of Distribution of Cocaine, Distribution of Marijuana and Possession of a Firearm in the Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Two bids for Pulaski County repair work were taken under advisement by the county commissioners this week in light of complications that had developed after awarding a contract for masonry work for the courthouse bell tower.
The commissioners had requested bids for concrete work to be performed at the county annex building as well as an upgrade to the air conditioning unit in the circuit court. Two sealed bids were presented by Maintenance Director Morry DeMarco for each project, including bids by Mau & Son for $4475 and DK & Sons for $18,469.25 for the concrete work at the annex building.
The North Judson Town Board is continuing their efforts to enact a number of ordinances relating to the town. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that they read the first and second readings of several ordinances, and they are planning to hold the first and second readings of another ordinance at their next meeting.
