An off-road vehicle crash that killed three young people in Clay County is a reminder that ATV safety remains a concern.
A 22-year-old and two children under the age of two were killed when the vehicle struck a concrete culvert wall adjacent to a roadway. A post-crash fire consumed the vehicle. The two children were instantly killed by the cause of blunt force trauma while the operator was airlifted to a hospital and later died. One other passenger remains in the hospital in serious condition.
The Starke County Highway Department has been staying busy, as the department recently finished their third cycle of mowing and are well into the fourth, according to Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler. Ritzler told the commissioners that they’ve also finished their chip seal operations, which ended on July 25, thanks in a large part to one highway department employee who stepped up to the plate in a big way, helping to chip seal 30 miles in less than two weeks.
Haeck also noted that he’s gotten several complaints that intersections with tall corn have been dangerous for travelers. He said that they have cut some stalks of corn back to aid in the safety of sight for drivers, but his workers haven’t had to do much of that. Haeck added that he’s not attempting to hurt any agriculture business in the county, he just wants drivers in Marshall County to have safer intersections.
“We wanted to focus on some school safety training before the school year started,” commented Bendicsen. “The Indiana State Police sponsored the training and they also collaborated with local law enforcement. We had about five counties represented, numerous schools and first responders.”
Food Service Directors from the area schools are sending in their school lunch menus for the upcoming school year already and those are available here.
You’ll notice there are more fruits and vegetables on the menu this year. The menus are designed to encourage students to make healthier choices.
It’s time once again to rally together in support of Community Services of Starke County, helping them in their endeavor as they serve more than one-fifth of the county’s populations with their various services. Nearly 1000 families per month visit the food pantry, while 823 people utilize transportation regularly each month. More than 700 families sign up for energy assistance and many more make use of other services offered by the organization.
FOP President Chris Kisela said the members were able to assist 61 Starke County children purchase new school clothes and school supplies. The event was held at Kohl’s in Valparaiso.
Each child got to spend $100 to $125 on new items for school.
A lapped car had spun and stopped and Stewart had nowhere to go. His car hit the lapped car which flipped Stewart’s sprint car. He was assisted from his car by emergency officials, transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery to repair a broken leg. Reports indicate that he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the crash.
A Hamlet man faces a felony drunk driving charge after an early morning traffic stop in LaPorte Saturday morning. Police there pulled a Ford Ranger driven by William Conner, 39, at the corner of Jackson and State Streets over at 2:36 a.m. because a headlight wasn’t working and the registration belonged to another vehicle. He was arrested on felony and misdemeanor drunk driving charges as well as driving while suspended and having a false or fictitious registration.
A preliminary crash incident report from a fatal plane crash at the Starke County Airport in Knox on July 29 has been released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
A plane flown by James A. W. Evans III of Stafford, Va. was the fourth in a series of five planes that were flying from Fredericksburg, Va. to the Experimental Aircraft Association Airventure fly-in in Wisconsin. A stop at the Starke County Airport was planned for refuel, but was not part of an official flight plan or log. The pilots were going to stay the night near Knox and continue their journey the following day.
The Lowell Post troopers with the Indiana State Police held an active shooter training at Knox Middle School on Monday.
The Safe Schools/Active Shooter Training session was attended by 40 school administrators and troopers instructed school personnel on proper tactics for survival during an active shooter event. The purpose of the Safe Schools/Active Shooter session is to educate school administrators on how to properly respond to an active shooter situation and how law enforcement responds to an active shooter situation. The school staff was directed on what action to take to tend to injured students and to prevent the loss of life.
Troopers also conducted an active shooter scenario at the Knox Middle School using blank ammunition.
The Indiana State Police has been tasked to coordinate active shooter training with local school corporations throughout the state.
She told the commissioners that all veteran services officers must be accredited in the state to continue to offer services to veterans. The officers will go through in-depth training to obtain the accreditation from the American Legion or other government entity. Schweizer-Betz said it’s a good idea – only she hasn’t received a packet on the training or when it’s supposed to occur so she can go through the proper steps to be accredited.
“We had a good response. Our bus wasn’t big enough; we got a bigger bus, so now we have a few more seats. We could probably take as many as seven more, but here’s the thing: if somebody’s interested, they really should call right away and let us know that they are interested and then we can save a spot with them, because I have to clear it with the hotel – there’s plenty of room on the bus, but we’ve used up all our rooms at the hotel,” said Hasnerl.
Vessely said two forms are required by IHSAA, including a physical form and a signed concussion waiver. The physical form indicates that the student has passed a physical exam and is capable of playing sports, while the second form focuses more on a potential injury.
“We start on Aug. 8 with our first-year teachers and going over the policy manuals at each building,” Mellon explained. “On Aug. 9, we begin the school year with a half-day of in-service with the staff. The following Monday and Tuesday we continue that in-service. Our students arrive on Aug. 14 to begin the school year.”
