Four Plymouth residents were arrested after police learned of a possible methamphetamine lab operation at 400 W. Washington St. in Plymouth. Police say that three officers approached the home at 11 a.m. on Monday and, upon arrival, detained four individuals. They obtained permission to search the apartment, and soon found several items associated with manufacturing, dealing, and using methamphetamine. Jason Joseph, 27; Justin Keller, 28; Sara Johnson, 22; and Robin Chese-Barnett, 26 were arrested and face charges of Manufacturing Methamphetamine and Possession of Methamphetamine, Precursors, and Paraphernalia.
A Bass Lake man was killed in a motorcycle accident late yesterday afternoon. William (Bill) Wagner, 55, was reportedly traveling on State Road 10 just west of the Bass Lake Beach when the motorcycle went left of center just prior to the start of a curve. The motorcycle then went into a ditch, struck a raised driveway causing it to go airborne. It landed on its front wheel and with the back of the motorcycle still up in the air, the driver and motorcycle hit a tree. Wagner was transported to IU Health Starke Hospital where he later died of his injuries. There were no witnesses to the accident and the reason why the motorcycle left the roadway has not bee determined. Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department investigated the accident.
A revised injunction against C&C Salvage has been filed in Starke Circuit Court. The Starke County Planning Commission had filed the injunction after it was found that the owner, James Campbell, did not have the proper permits to expand the business. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management also conducted an inspection of the business and found that C&C Salvage violated several state and federal laws. Campbell is required to obtain the necessary permits for the business and correct all violations before operations can resume. Campbell is also ordered to pay $300 a day for every day he is in violation of county, state and federal laws since July 30.
The attorney for the new owner of Marsh Manor, at 304 S. Main St. in Knox, appeared before the Knox City Council this week to determine what needs to be done in order for her client to bring up that property to livable standards. The owner had purchased the property on the county’s online tax sale and didn’t know that the inside of the building had been gutted from a fire and was condemned due to that fire. The owner attempted to get her money back, but all property tax sales are final. The owner will have to appear before the Board of Public Works to get the information needed in order to bring the property up to code.
Indiana State Police officers responded to a two vehicle accident early Wednesday morning on I-94 just three miles east of the Michigan City exit in LaPorte County. LaPorte County Coroner, John Sullivan, told WKVI that one victim in the accident, 38-year-old Michael Van Der Linden of Belleville, Michigan was driving the wrong way on I-94 and hit a vehicle head-on driven by 45-year-old Juan Nelson of Portage. The impact caused a fire that consumed both vehicles and left the bodies burned beyond recognition. Sullivan said the cause of death for both victims was blunt force trauma and thermal burns. As Michigan police arrived at Van Der Linden’s home to attempt to notify the family of the fatal accident, they observed the door to the home open. When police entered the residence, they found that every member of Michael Van Der Linden’s family was murdered. His wife and children were found stabbed. Investigators now are trying to piece together why Van Der Linden was in LaPorte County and if he is the suspect in the murder.
Bobby Jewel was arrested Tuesday after a pursuit incident with Starke County police. Police received a call that Jewel was driving a stolen pick-up and manufacturing methamphetamine in the Monterey area and when police found the vehicle on Lincoln Street, he fled. Police attempted a traffic stop, but he did not stop. The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed through a shed and chain link fence on Adams Street in Monterey. Jewel then ran from the vehicle, but was taken into custody. Police reportedly found a controlled substance and a syringe in his possession. Jewel was transported to IU Health Starke Hospital for injuries sustained in the accident. He has preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Syringe.
An accident in Washington Township sent one person to the hospital. Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers found that a woman was driving at a high rate of speed on 700 E. just north of 25 N. in Starke County and left the roadway. Her vehicle hit the fence at the Eagle Creek Cemetery and then a tree. Her car came to rest on another part of the fence. She was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital due to her injuries and was later transported to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. The accident remains under investigation and alcohol could be a factor.
Marshall County has been added to the list of counties where cases of variant influenza A have been confirmed. To avoid the flu or other infections, wash your hands frequently; never eat, drink or put anything in your mouth when visiting areas with animals; cough or sneeze into your sleeve or elbow; and avoid those who are ill.
A $132,000 loan has been approved by the Pulaski County Commissioners to L&C Recycling, LLC, to allow Tom Bonnell to move his business from its current location on State Road 119 south of Winamac to a facility on County Road 200 South near 500 West. The loan was approved pending his request to rezone the new location to industrial to accommodate his business. He was recently granted a favorable recommendation by a revolving loan committee, and now with the commissioners’ approval, the matter falls to the shoulders of the Pulaski County Planning Commission. A hearing will be conducted on Aug. 27 to decide whether or not to proceed with Bonnell’s request.
The work session held by the Knox Community School Board last week shed some light on the feelings of the community concerning the Palmer Wing project at the elementary school. Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that of the three options available – do nothing, renovate the existing wing, or build a new one – the consensus seemed to favor constructing a new wing. With just over a dozen patrons in attendance alongside staff members at the meeting, Gappa says the majority seemed to favor the idea of building a new wing and carrying on with classes as normal until the wing has been completed. Then, classes would be added to the new wing, and the 60-year-old Palmer Wing would be torn down. Gappa explained the new wing would likely be at the west end of the newer structure of the elementary school.
In light of this year’s worsening drought, the town of Culver is looking into the possibility of drilling an extra well for the town’s water supply. According to Town Manager David Schoeff, the town board had discussed the idea a while ago and had a study done regarding the project, but nothing had come of it. Since then, some comments had been made at the last board meeting that some residents thought the board should look into the idea once again because of the dry weather. Schoeff says the dry weather isn’t causing concern for the water supply, but they’re instead looking into the possibility to ensure that as the town grows, the water supply can accommodate the expansion.
Police say an 18-year-old Valparaiso man was struck by a train on Saturday morning on the Canadian National Railroad tracks near Yellowstone Road. Nicholas Domer was reportedly walking on the railroad tracks while wearing headphones, and the train conductor told police that he saw the man walking westbound on the tracks, headed in the same direction as the train. He said he sounded the train’s horn several times in an attempt to warn the man of the quickly approaching train, but it quickly became apparent that the man was not going to get off the tracks. The train conductor initiated an emergency stop, but was unable to bring the train to a stop before it struck Domer. Domer was taken to Porter Valparaiso Hospital before being airlifted to a Chicago hospital.
