Pulaski Commissioners Amend Appointments to BZA

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Pulaski County Building Inspector David Dare approached the county commissioners this week with a request to make a number of amendments to prior meeting minutes.

According to Dare, there were a number of issues in appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Advisory Commission. Dare noted that Jim Keiper was appointed to the BZA along with Bud Krohn and Cassie Thompson, and although the recording of the meeting reflected that, the written minutes did not. A motion was made and approved to amend the minutes to properly reflect the appointments.

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Plymouth Man Arrested For Meth Possession, Battery

Posted on Author WKVI

A Plymouth man was arrested on methamphetamine and domestic battery charges after an incident Wednesday night.

Plymouth police were called to 903 W. Jackson Street where a domestic battery incident took place. An investigation revealed that Jason Kratzchmar reportedly battered his wife. He was taken into custody at that time on preliminary charges of Domestic Battery and Interfering with Reporting a Crime.

He was charged with an additional count of Manufacturing Methamphetamine after evidence of methamphetamine was found in Kratzchmar’s vehicle. His wife called police to report she found methamphetamine-related items in his truck. He was incarcerated in the Marshall County Jail.

Plymouth Man Arrested For Credit Card Fraud

Posted on Author WKVI

A Plymouth man was arrested on credit card fraud this week after an investigation by the Plymouth Police Department.

An employee at the Kroger store in Plymouth notified police on Monday that her credit card was stolen and that the suspect made unauthorized charges on the card. An investigation found that Robert Wagers, 41, of Plymouth had taken the card and unlawfully charged items on the card.

Wagers was arrested the next day on preliminary charges of Theft and Credit Card Fraud. He was taken into custody at the Kroger store and transported to the Marshall County Jail.

Woman Sentenced to 18 Months on Possession Charges

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Courthouse

Tammy Su Grigsby was sentenced in Pulaski Circuit Court Wednesday.

Grigsby pleaded guilty to a charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class D Felony, in a plea agreement with the state. Charges of Dealing in a Schedule IV Controlled Substance as a Class C Felony and Possession of Marijuana as a Class A Misdemeanor were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

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LaPorte PD Arrested 9, Cited 25 During Nationwide Enforcement Campaign

Posted on Author WKVI
LaPorte County Sheriff's Department
La Porte County Sheriff's Office

The LaPorte City Police Department recently participated in the nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.

Nine impaired-driving arrests were made during the enforcement period, 25 citations were issued and 83 warnings were given. The campaign was in force from Aug. 17 through Sept. 3.

The LaPorte City Police Department joined forces with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and nearly 10,000 law enforcement agencies across the country in the campaign.

SCYC Competing For National Grants

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Youth Club is competing with charities nationwide for grants ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 from the Chase Community Giving Program. You can help ensure the Youth Club’s success by simply voting for the organization through the Chase Community Giving Program on Facebook.

The Youth Club gives students academic and social enrichment after school to enhance skills.

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Pulaski Historical Society Plans Halloween Event

Posted on Author WKVI

A special Halloween event is being planned by the Pulaski County Historical Society.

A “Phantom of the Vurpillat” will be held at the Vurpillat Opera House in downtown Winamac on Saturday, Oct. 27. Autumn and Halloween games will be played and kids will be able to make crafts, eat snacks and participate in other entertainment. Activities for adults include wine tasting and a band later in the evening.

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Starke County Commissioners Sign Contracts For Jail Project

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners ( L to R ) Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Jennifer Davis

The Starke County Commissioners this week approved two contracts regarding the proposed construction of a new Starke County jail facility.

One contract was signed with Skillman Corporation, who will be handling the construction of the facility. The local on-site construction manager will be Bob Chorba, a Starke County resident. Chorba currently works with Skillman, and has been the project manager for several projects handled by Skillman. A contract was also signed with DLZ, the architectural firm that will be handling the design aspects of the facility.

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North Judson Town Council Reviews Proposed Golf Cart Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI

The North Judson Town Council continued their discussion this week regarding the proposed golf cart ordinance. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that this seems to be a rather hot topic between communities, as Marshall County and several other communities have recently passed golf cart ordinances restricting their use.

However, Henry says that the ordinance they have in mind defers to the state law on most points, but does allow golf carts to be operated on municipal streets. Henry says the operators of the golf carts must be licensed and have insurance coverage on the vehicle, and it will also need to be registered with the clerk-treasurer’s office.

Councilman Tim Cummins presented a draft copy of the proposed ordinance to the council this week, and provided copies for audience members interested in reading it. The council will review the draft and note any necessary revisions, and Henry says it’s likely they will have their first and second readings of the ordinance at their next meeting on Sept. 17. However, if there are several revisions necessary, the readings may be postponed until the following meeting.

Knox Man Arrested After Attacking Car With Ax

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested after a short foot pursuit Friday evening.

Loretta Wheeler called the Starke County Sheriff’s Department to report that her son, Jonnie Wheeler, was out of control. He had just taken his medication and asked to use her car and she told him no. He then threatened to hit her vehicle with an ax. He struck the car twice with the ax before it was taken away from him.

When police arrived at the scene, Wheeler ran out of the house. Officers pursued him through the woods by Shaw’s Fertilizer and it wasn’t long until he was taken into custody.

Jonnie Wheeler has preliminary charges of Criminal Mischief and Resisting Law Enforcement by Fleeing.

Knox McDonald’s Gets A Thorough Facelift

Posted on Author WKVI
Contractors have their work cut out for them as they renovate the Knox McDonald's.

The Knox McDonald’s restaurant is going through an extensive renovation.

Store Owner Bill Boldt said the entire store is going to look different when the major renovations are done.

“It’s going to be a new, modern design,” said Boldt. “It’s going to be what McDonald’s calls an ‘archaic building’ – it’s kind of like a square building. We’re going to have outside seating, the lobby is going to be all new, we’ll have bigger bathrooms, a double drive-thru, and counter service will be a little different. It’s going to be totally redone.”

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Four Injured In Three-Car Accident In Marshall County

Posted on Author WKVI

Four people were injured in a three-vehicle crash on Michigan Road in Marshall County on Sunday.

Angela Harding of Plymouth was driving north on Michigan Road near 4th Road and struck the rear of a vehicle driven by Ryan Swihart, also of Plymouth. That caused Swihart’s vehicle to travel into the path of Jeorge Humphrey of Hamlet. Humphrey hit the passenger side of Swihart’s car. Swihart had to extricated from the vehicle.

Four people were transported to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and one was treated at the scene.

Officers from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene along with Lapaz EMS, the Lapaz Fire Department and Plymouth EMS.

For more news on car accidents, click to read more.

Rochester Man Arrested On Methamphetamine Charges

Posted on Author WKVI

A Rochester man was arrested on methamphetamine-related charges after being stopped going the wrong way on a one-way street in Knox.

Aaron Egger told a Knox City police officer that he was on his way to pick up someone and tried to go down the street but it was blocked so he went the wrong way down the one-way street. The police officer said he just came from there and it was not blocked. The officer asked to search the car but Egger declined saying it wasn’t his vehicle. The owner then arrived on scene and gave permission to search the car.

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Representative Dembowski Attends Democratic National Convention

Posted on Author WKVI
State Representative Nancy Dembowski

Democrat State Representative Nancy Dembowski, of Knox, is one of six-thousand delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

She said First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech Tuesday night was emotional.

“It was just an incredible speech by the First Lady,” commented Dembowski. “It was just so sincere and so emotional I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. We saw some other just incredibly good speeches. The whole convention seems to be, or least much of Tuesday night, was about inclusion and how the party stands for everyone.”

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Knox Mayor Reminds Residents of No-Burn Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers encourages residents to follow the city’s no-burn ordinance this fall.

Some leaves are falling and, while it’s tempting to burn leaves, there is an ordinance within city limits that prohibits that activity. Residents can discard any unwanted brush in the compost pile behind Knox City Hall.

Employees with the Knox Street Department will be picking up leaves beginning Tuesday, Oct. 9. Place leaves along the side of the street for pickup and do not bag them, as the garbage contractors will not pick up bagged leaves.

Kersting’s Cycle Center Annual Charity Event This Weekend

Posted on Author WKVI

Kersting’s Cycle Center will be hosting their 10th annual charity event this weekend. The Motorcycle, Music and Memories event is a large celebration put on at the center for only one day, featuring live bands, food vendors, and a motorcycle ride in the afternoon. The event raises money for a number of charities, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Nella Kersting Memorial Scholarship.

Jim and Nella Kersting developed their love of motorcycles into a growing, successful family business over the span of 40 years. Nella tragically passed away in 2003 as the result of a two-vehicle crash in Pulaski County which also left Jim critically injured.

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Starke Co. Sheriff’s Dept. Radio Tower Repair Project Hits a Snag

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

It’s been a couple months since a number of vicious storms tore through the area, causing massive amounts of damage and toppling several tall towers.

According to Starke County IT Director Joe Short, repairing the damage that was done to the Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower is currently one of their top priorities, but they’re running into some complications. Short explained that the city of Knox has a restriction on the maximum height of a tower in a residential area, limiting the tower to a height of 100 feet.

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Harold Welter Withdraws Knox School Board Candidacy

Posted on Author WKVI
Harold Welter

The longest-serving member of the Knox Community School Board has withdrawn his candidacy for re-election.

Harold Welter, who is the President of the School Board, explained his decision to withdraw.

“The reason is that Federal Communications Commission guidelines would require that WKVI Radio give equal air time to the other seven candidates from Center Township to match the time I am on the air broadcasting sports,” Welter explained. “In past elections, other candidates have been willing to waive their equal-time rights so that I could continue to broadcast ball games. In this election, however, some candidates don’t feel comfortable with allowing that to happen, and therefore have declined to give WKVI a waiver.”

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Pulaski Commissioners Approve Property Rezone Request

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The Pulaski County Commissioners last night passed a motion approving a request to rezone the property located at 4877 W. 200 S. in Winamac. According to County Building Inspector Dave Dare, no public comment was heard opposing the rezoning at the public hearing held on Aug. 27. He says the 11.5-acre property has housed the Anvil & Saw business for the last 27 years.

The request is to rezone the property from an A-1 agricultural zone to an L-1 light industrial zone to allow Tom Bonnell to move his business from its current location on State Road 119 to the facility on that property. A $132,000 loan was previously approved by the commissioners on the condition that the rezoning take place.

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