Starke County Receives First Insurance Payment For Storm Damages

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

The Starke County Commissioners this week approved a motion authorizing Auditor Kay Chaffins to create a separate fund for funds that will be received from the county’s insurance company. The county will receive $75,000 to get started on repairs and pay vendor claims stemming from the June and July storms.

Unfortunately, County IT Director Joe Short says that chunk of change is hardly enough to cover the cost of repairs from the storm – and they haven’t even accounted for all of the items that need repaired or replaced.

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Knox Harvest Festival Kicks Off Today

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox Harvest Festival begins today!

Opening ceremonies are at 3:30 p.m. in the downtown area and the food and craft vendors open at 4 p.m. Enjoy music from Nightshift at 4 p.m. and 30 South at 7 p.m.

Other highlights for this year’s festival include the Courthouse Tours beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the Potowatami Zoo exhibit, and the parade Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., featuring Tom Berg as the Grand Marshal.

Music is scheduled throughout the weekend along with several contests. The BMX competition is set for Saturday and Sunday and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department burnout contest is Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Industrial Park. The fire department will also hold a car show on Sunday at noon at the corner of Lake and Pearl Streets.

Two Guilty Pleas Entered In Starke Circuit Court Tuesday

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse

Two people pleaded guilty to charges filed against them in the Starke Circuit Court on Tuesday.

William Baugh of Knox pleaded guilty to a charge of Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony. Baugh is accused of pawning several dozen collectible Zippo lighters that had been stolen from a woman in Knox for $300 in February. He also admitted to a probation violation.

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North Judson Continues Golf Cart Ordinance Discussion

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson Town Board

The North Judson Town Council this week continued discussion regarding the proposed golf cart ordinance. According to Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry, the town board is still researching a sample ordinance from the state governing golf carts, and she says the council will likely have an ordinance drafted by the next meeting for review.

The town is currently considering the idea of joining several counties, cities, and towns throughout the state that have adopted ordinances regulating where golf carts can and cannot be driven. Henry says that as of right now, the council is unsure as to whether or not golf carts are regulated in North Judson, but this ordinance would rectify that and define clear requirements for their use.

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Eastern Pulaski Schools To Adopt RISE Evaluations

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman spent some time discussing the new teacher evaluation model with the school board this week.

“Education in Indiana has changed somewhat in that there is a prescribed procedure, methodology, timing and organization in how teachers are going to be evaluated,” said Klitzman. “At Eastern Pulaski, as many schools in the area and statewide, we’re going to start using the DOE prescribed evaluation instrument called RISE.”

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Knox Schools Up Three Students From Last Year

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board heard about the successful start to the new school year at their meeting Monday night and Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave a report on enrollment figures.

“It appears we’re up about three students total from last year’s ADM count. Last year at this time, we had approximately 1,998 kids and this year we’re about 2,001,” stated Gappa.

The official ADM, or Average Daily Membership, will be taken on Sept. 14.

BBB Warns Against Latest Scam In The Area

Posted on Author WKVI

The Better Business Bureau has received several complaints about scams during this election season.

Scammers are reportedly calling residents in Indiana and asking potential victims to take a public opinion poll and, for your participation, your name will be entered into a drawing for a free cruise. After you take the survey, the caller will then ask for a debit or credit card number to cover “port fees” and taxes. This is a scam. Hang up on these callers and never give out your credit card information unless you know who you are giving it to.

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Football Predictions Week 2

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Harold’s Picks: 1-3

Jimtown-40  John Glenn-7

NJSP-38  Knox-12

Culver-21  South Central-7

West Central-28  Caston-6

Pioneer-21  Winamac-7

Nathan’s Picks: 2-2

Jimtown-35  John Glenn-14

NJSP-28  Knox-10

Culver-21  South Central-20

West Central-22  Caston-21

Winamac-28  Pioneer-21

Tom’s Blind Picks:

John Glenn over Jimtown

NJSP over Knox

Culver over South Central

West Central over Caston

Winamac over Pioneer

Proposed Jail Could House New Starke County Sheriff’s Dept. Antenna

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

Repairs are still underway in Starke County in the wake of this year’s storms in June and July. County IT Director Joe Short says one of the most important items they are working on repairing at the moment is the sheriff’s department’s radio tower, which was severely damaged during the storm.

Unfortunately, the tower is unable to be repaired because of the way it is built. Short says the county will need to purchase a new tower, as no tower companies are willing to make repairs to the structure.

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J.W. Hicks to Install Fiber-Optic Cable Connecting Facilities

Posted on Author WKVI

A manufacturer in the Knox industrial park is looking to install fiber-optic cable beneath some streets in Knox to connect their two officers as if they were under one roof.

Jim Hicks of J.W. Hicks approached the Starke County Commissioners this week with a request to allow them to connect their facility at 20 S. Klockner Dr. in Knox with their new facility near the intersection of Klockner Drive and Pacific Avenue.

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Knox School Board Discusses Budget Cuts

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board held a public hearing on the budget Monday night. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said there were no comments on the budget and the board will now move to the next step.

“The board voted to have an adoption meeting at the next board meeting which will be Sept. 5,” said Gappa.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the budget is about $500,000 less than the board advertised last year in the general fund, and it’s a little over $900,000 less for the total budget.

All funds total $23,254,000.

Eastern Pulaski Schools Receive Donations For Supplies, Upgrade

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Corporation recently received two donations. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said the North-Central Co-op donated $840 to the elementary school, specifically for classroom supplies for the teachers.

“They just decided it was a project they wanted to do,” explained Klitzman. “Mrs. Collins [Principal of the Elementary School] did go down to their facility to accept the donation and asked them if they had children in our school corporation and no one did. They just wanted to do it to help us.”

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Oregon-Davis Schools Discuss Technology Improvements

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney

The Oregon-Davis School Board got an update on technology improvements during their meeting Monday night.

Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney said Kevin Kajer and his staff have been working with the school’s website to make it easier for students, staff and parents to navigate.

“We’re going through a platform that makes it easier to get updated information and a goal that would produce individual teacher webpages as part of each building’s webpage design,” said Disney.

Disney hopes all of that can be completed by the end of the school year, if not sooner.

Kiwanis Club’s Farmers’ Market Returns to Winamac

Posted on Author WKVI

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. Glenn Wilson of the Kiwanis Club says this year’s festival will be packed with live entertainment, food vendors, craft booths, and of course, the popular pancake breakfast – on top of a couple new features.

“We’re adding a couple extra features to the festival this year that we’ve never had in the past. We’re going to have live entertainment as well as a 5K run, which we’re calling the Harvest Hustle, and a three-on-three tournament for middle school-age students – that’s sixth through eighth grade. Students from all area schools are welcome,” Wilson said.

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Braun Corporation CEO to be Featured on CNN

Posted on Author WKVI
Ralph Braun

Ralph Braun, CEO of the Braun Corporation and Braunability in Winamac, will appear on CNN this weekend in a piece called “The Human Factor” hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Braun will discuss how he designed a four-wheeled and three-wheeled electric scooter to help in his mobility needs. He was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy when he was six and has been using a motorized scooter as a way to be mobile.

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Civil War Club to Host Historical Cemetery Tour

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Jr. Historical Society Civil War Club has announced they will be hosting an Historical Cemetery walking tour of the Winamac Cemetery on Sept. 8 during the farmer’s market. Featuring local veterans from the War of 1812, a local resident who served in the Revolutionary War, and many others who participated in historical battles, the tour will begin at 1 p.m. at the Winamac Cemetery west of town.

Parking is available in the northern section of the cemetery near the Memorial Gardens, and Linda Irving will lead the tour. Roughly 12 headstones will be featured on the tour and each will be viewed with a description of the person, their family history, and their historical significance to the county. A self-guided walking tour booklet along with a map of the cemetery will be presented with biographical information of each person and stone visited.

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Leadership Starke County Kicks Off First Class Sept. 7

Posted on Author WKVI

Leadership Starke County is gearing up for its first community leadership training class, and a few openings are still available.

The nine-month training program provides 15–20 local citizens with local knowledge of the Starke County area, skills, network, and confidence to become a leader in the community. Each of the nine sessions in the program focuses on topics related to the county, and allows participants to learn what “out of the box” thinking has done for Starke County and what they can do to improve it.

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O’Bryant Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Child Molestation

Posted on Author WKVI
Steven L. O'Bryant

A man with a violent history and four heinous charges of Child Molestation made his initial appearance in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Forty-three-year-old Steven L. O’Bryant pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him and vehemently denied the allegations, insisting on a lie detector test to prove his innocence.

“These charges are sick and disgusting,” O’Bryant said, insisting that while a lot of defendants claim they are innocent, he is truly so. He insisted that the state subject him to a lie detector test.

O’Bryant requested a court-appointed attorney represent him, as he is financially unable to provide his own attorney. He says since his release from the Department of Corrections on June 6, 2011, he has been unable to find a job because of the tattoos on his face. As a result, Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall appointed Timothy Lemon to his case.

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