Go back in time at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson this weekend and experience the huge impact railroading had on the Civil War.
On Saturday, Aug. 18, residents are encouraged to wander through the Civil War encampment and experience the life of early soldiers. Among the reenactors will be the Indiana 20th Volunteers Division, including their leader, Col. John Wheeler – a soldier from Crown Point who was killed near Devil’s Den during the Battle of Gettysburg.
People’s University in Marshall County has announced their fall semester will begin Sept. 10 and run through Oct. 31. The university is a cooperative of education designed to offer Marshall County residents an opportunity to engage in lifelong learning, and the university offers all kinds of subjects from science and technology to the arts, history, health, and fitness.
Classes are open to anyone interested with only nominal fees – if any. Last year, 145 classes were offered by People’s University, and approximately 500 students took advantage of their unique learning opportunity.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute announced Wednesday that it will be partnering with Attorney General Greg Zoeller and AT&T in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving. The Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1129 in 2011, making illegal the practice of texting while driving.
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Traffic Safety Division Director Ryan Klitzsch says this important piece of legislation has already saved lives and is an important step in efforts to ensure the safety of all Hoosier motorists.
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.
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.
In celebration of the return of the Winamac Kiwanis Club’s Farmers’ Market Festival, the club is inviting every member of the community to downtown Winamac on Saturday, Sept. 8. Jon Frain of the Kiwanis Club says this year’s festival will be packed with live entertainment, food vendors, craft booths, a 5k run, a three-on-three basketball tournament, and the popular pancake breakfast.
The Kiwanis Club encourages families to visit downtown Winamac for a family-friendly day of food, fun, and good shopping. This year’s festival will kick off with the annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at 7 a.m. in the Goble-Heal parking lot.
The club is also seeking vendors and local groups to participate in making this year a success. To fill out a vendor registration form, visit www.winamackiwanis.com.
More information will be announced on the event as it approaches.
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. Three bottle labs were also found, one of which was active, and the Indiana State Police Crime Lab team was called to dismantle the labs.
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.
IU Health Starke Hospital personnel attended a Strategic Planning Retreat this week. Presenting pertinent information were Doug Leonard, the president of the Indiana Hospital Association; Tory Castor, vice president of Government Affairs at IU Health Indianapolis; and Dr. Curt Bechler, managing partner of Venture International, LLC.
Included was a review of surveys taken by community members and an examination of national trends. Most of the respondents expressed confidence in the medical staff, and praised the decision to affiliate with IU Health. One weakness, however, was the perception that the antiquated Starke Hospital building denoted inferior services – but Hospital Interim CEO David Hyatt noted that the services rendered at Starke have never been better.
For those who enjoy the fresh taste of locally-grown, vine-ripened tomatoes or like to savor the balanced complexity of a glass of Indiana wine, then Lt. Governor Becky Skillman encourages you to join Hoosiers in celebrating Going Local Week 2012 from Sept. 2–8. This is a time to indulge in Indiana-grown foods across the state, and encourage Hoosier families and communities to include at least one Indiana-grown or produced food product at each meal.
Skillman says consumers want to buy locally, which is why she created the Indiana Grown program, through which she says Hoosiers are connected directly to products produced by Indiana farmers, which benefits not only the producer but the rural county as well.
The WKVI studios had two special guests this week in preparation for the upcoming circus event in Knox. Two circus clowns, Carlee and Charley, visited Tom Berg in the studio to give a sneak peek of the upcoming event.
Carlee explained that the Kelly Miller Circus will be coming to town on Aug. 29, and she says it’s going to be quite the show.
“We like to let people know that when the circus comes to town, we don’t fool around,” Carlee said. “We don’t just bring one, don’t just bring two, we bring three of them. Three elephants come with the Kelly Miller Circus! But those aren’t the only animals we have, no. It’s three elephants, four camels, five tigers, six ponies, seven performing puppy dogs, and a zebra!”
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall heard a motion to set aside an order of injunction filed against C&C Salvage of Knox.
An injunction order was filed against C&C Salvage after the Planning Commission says they learned C&C Salvage did not have the proper permits from the commission to expand its operations, but James Campbell, the owner of C&C Salvage, had expanded the salvage and junk yard to the south, nearly doubling its size. Further, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted an inspection in May and found several violations of both state and federal laws.
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.
Police received the call at 11:26 a.m. on Saturday and were told to check on a male subject on the tracks wearing headphones, but when they arrived, the found the train had stopped and the conductor was standing outside.
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 soon 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, where his condition is not yet known.
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.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers would like to remind all residents that Wythogan Park is still closed while cleanup crews continue efforts to remove branches, limbs, debris, and other items strewn about and destroyed from the July storms.
Chambers says the park is closed until further notice, but he’s hopeful that it will open toward the end of September. He says the council is hoping to let a contract this week for the cleanup work, but the contractors have indicated that it would take roughly four to six weeks after the bid is awarded before the cleanup can be completed.
The Norfolk & Southern Railroad has announced plans to close the railroad crossing on State Road 8, approximately 1.7 miles east of Knox from 8 a.m. on Aug. 27 through Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
A detour has been proposed from U.S. 35 to U.S. 30, then to State Road 23.
INDOT Railroad and Utilities Engineer Mike Essling told WKVI that while this length of time for a railroad to be closed is slightly longer than the norm, the railroad company will coordinate efforts on restoring access to the tracks as quickly as possible.
This kind of maintenance is routine, and all emergency services, school corporations, and other affected parties will be notified of the track’s closure. Until the crossing is re-opened, drivers are encouraged to take the detour and plan accordingly.
Approximately 200 eighth, ninth, and tenth grade band students participated in the INPact Indiana’s Future All-Star Band for the Drum Corps International championships this weekend.
The event, which took place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Aug. 10 and 11, featured musicians from the West Point Academy, speakers by the Blue Man Group, and entertainment from Sean Cannon from American Idol Season 7 – and when they weren’t being entertained, the students spent their time rehearsing.
On Aug. 11, the INPact Band performed to begin the DCI Parade near the war memorial, and then finished out the evening with a performance with Sean Cannon in front of 10,000 fans in Lucas Oil Stadium to begin the evening’s DCI Championships. North Judson-San Pierre Band Director Matthew Hibbets was one of the instructors while percussionist Robert Miller and Caitlyn Barnes on clarinet participated.
Two minors were arrested at McDonald’s in Plymouth after they were found to have illegally consumed alcohol.
Plymouth police say that at 2:21 a.m. on Sunday, 20-year-old Leandra M. Munoz of Plymouth and Alexandrea M. Decker, 19, of Plymouth were arrested after police learned they were not only under the influence of alcohol, but underage.
The pair was arrested and booked into the Marshall County Jail on charges of Minor Consumption.
Plymouth police also arrested 21-year-old Troy Siple of Bremen. Police say he was arrested at the probation department around 10 a.m. when police learned there was a warrant out for his arrest. He has been booked into the Marshall County Jail.
School starts this week for our students!
Several back-to-school events are happening tonight. Back to School Night for all Knox Community Schools will be tonight from 4–6 p.m. The Elementary School has a different schedule for all grades. Parents can refer to the school registration page for Knox schools on our website at wkvi.com for specific details. The first day of school is tomorrow!
Efforts to clean up the logjams and other debris from the Yellow River will soon be underway. Starke County Surveyor Dennis Estok says the county commissioners this week signed the contract with the company that will handle the cleanup, Thomas Excavating and Welding, and the work can proceed as soon as the contractor is ready.
Estok says the project will be paid for by a grant through the Disaster Recovery Act that the county had applied for previously through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, which provided the county with $190,000 to be used to remove the fallen trees and debris from the river. However, Estok noted that after engineering fees and other expenses, they’re left with only $160,000 – but he says that’s more than enough to pay the company, which presented a bid of only $118,000 for the cleanup.
The town of North Judson is considering the idea of joining several counties, cities, and towns throughout Indiana that have adopted ordinances regulating where golf carts can and cannot be driven. According to Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry, the town board is reviewing a sample ordinance governing golf carts to determine whether or not they want to draft an ordinance based around those recommendations.
Henry says the council is unsure as to whether or not an ordinance is currently in effect regulating golf carts, but she says it’s more likely that the board has mentioned something in the meeting minutes prohibiting golf carts from operating on town roads. However, if that is the case, the board would like to have something more concrete on record specifying requirements for golf cart operation – such as an operator’s license, insurance on the vehicle, registration, or other necessities.
The board also discussed their no-tobacco ordinance, and have sent it to be publicized. Henry says once it has been advertised in the paper, the board can move forward with the first reading of the ordinance and proceed with its enactment.
