Thursday’s public information meeting regarding the progress of the Starke County Jail Committee answered a number of questions from the community.
One question asked was whether or not prisoners could be used to clean up roads and do other work for the county, and committee member Dave Pearman said that is one possibility that is being considered. However, Pearman pointed out that prisoners need to be supervised at all times, and they also have to factor in the cost of transportation and the chance of escape.
With the retirement of former Community Services of Starke County Program Coordinator Cecilia Torres-Bowman, the organization has been getting by but Executive Director Joan Haugh says it hasn’t been easy.
She says Torres-Bowman will not be replaced, and instead, her responsibilities have been divided up amongst other employees. Coordination of the resource manual, health equipment loan program, quality program, medicaid billing and prior authorization, and many duties of the food pantry have been pushed onto other employees. Haugh says they are fortunate to have an intern from Ivy Tech who has been putting forth a lot of effort with the organization.
The Washington Township Board members recently conducted a meeting to open bids for the demolition of the Washington Township Elementary School, but it was decided to hold off on accepting bids.
Washington Township Trustee Shelly Kemble said the board wants to make sure all of the paperwork is in compliance with the Department of Natural Resources requirements concerning debris removal. An attorney will be hired to make sure that paperwork is in place.
The board voted to demolish the old Washington Township Elementary School due to safety reasons. When the project is complete, there are plans to create a use for the space but no specific plans have been approved.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security District Two will be holding a two-day training exercise today and Tuesday at the Pulaski County Fairgrounds.
This will be a Service and Support Field Operations Exercise to better enhance the District Two Task Force.
Emergency responders will be setting up tents, generators and other equipment to get an idea of what everyone has or will need in case of a specific crisis. The task force is responsible for having food, shelter, and housing available to those who need it at a given response site. Electrical, safety, communications and security experts will come together to coordinate efforts.
District Two covers Elkhart, Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Pulaski, Starke and St. Joseph Counties.
The Bass Lake Summer Splash continues today with their 40th anniversary celebration, featuring a water volleyball tournament at 10 a.m. at The Shore Club. Six-person co-ed teams will compete in the tournament.
The 5K run and walk will take place at 7:30 a.m. after the 6:15 a.m. registration at the Lion’s Club Building on the east side of the lake, and arts and crafts will be available near the Bass Lake Marina at the south end of the lake from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Three Texas residents were arrested Wednesday after a routine traffic stop.
An officer with the Plymouth Police Department pulled over a vehicle owned by Abel Leal who was operating the vehicle without a license. He and a passenger, Daniel Izaquirre, 26, were arrested after the officer recognized them as being involved in a theft incident at Walmart on July 19.
An Indiana woman was sentenced to 66 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of Theft of Mail and Aggravated Identity Theft. The case was heard in U.S. District Court in Hammond.
Tracey Davis, 39, admitted in a plea agreement that she possessed over 400 pieces of mail addressed to over 100 individuals and businesses located in Porter, LaPorte, Elkhart, Marshall, and Kosciusko Counties. She admitted that she stole the mail from several mailboxes and that the mail she stole contained bank statements, credit card bills, utility bills, house deeds, and various other types of letters. She stole the identities of those residents to purchase merchandise without the knowledge, authority, or permission of the victims. This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service.
Jamie Deal, 33, of Westville, was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of Bank Robbery. Deal admitted that she stole money from DeMotte State Bank. Deal was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,014.
Patrick Bauer was voted out as the Indiana House Minority Leader in a caucus Thursday afternoon. State Representative Nancy Dembowski participated in the caucus and talked about the discussion.
“I was in attendance at the caucus and we met with the intent to discuss what type of leadership is needed to best serve our constituents, our districts and the State of Indiana in the future and as we move forward,” said Dembowski.
Linda Lawson was voted in as the Interim Leader by a majority vote. She will serve in the interim position until the General Election in November.
Culver Community School Superintendent, Brad Schuldt
Culver Schools Superintendent Brad Schuldt says their ISTEP results are in, bringing some good and bad news. He says the elementary school grades three through six had the largest gains in scores of any of the 13 middle and elementary schools in Marshall County, and more than 80 percent of the students passed.
Schuldt said that for four consecutive years, the elementary school has increased scores in every category, and a vast majority of students passed both math and language arts sections.
Here is a look at some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week.
No injuries were reported after the storms ripped through the area Tuesday which caused extensive damage at the Starke County Airport. Airport Manager Pam Beharry said five planes were totaled and hangars were damaged and some destroyed. Some airplanes in the hangars were even lifted from the ground up to ten feet in the air. One hangar lost a roof in the storm, but none of the planes in that hangar were damaged. Beharry said that the total amount of damage at the airport won’t be known for a while yet. Continue reading →
The 70 mph winds bent this tree in half and uprooted others.
Wythogan Park sustained an extreme amount of damage during Tuesday morning’s storms. Park Board President Kurt Snearly talks about the destruction.
“We had six utility poles that had to be replaced and NIPSCO did a fantastic job,” explained Snearly. “They worked extremely hard for four straight days to get that cleaned up. There was fencing damage to the tennis court and our brand new $12,000 slide was damaged. The playground equipment like the spring toys, the curly slide, the climbing equipment and swings were all damaged. The shelters and fields did make it…somehow. The amount of trees that are down in the park right now is staggering.”
The three-man park crew have been cleaning up the smaller debris, but it’s going to take much more to clean-up the park.
The first of three public information meetings regarding the construction of a new Starke County jail facility was held yesterday at the Knox Middle School, presenting those present with an idea of the progress of the committee and the findings of the DLZ Corporation and Umbaugh and Associates.
According to the information presented, the previously-mentioned option of doing nothing and maintaining the current facility as-is was found to be insufficient, as the current facility cannot maintain its current population and, with an increasing population trend, the overcrowding situation would only get worse. Additionally, remodeling an existing building to suit the needs of a modern jail is also not cost-sufficient, and would prove financially difficult for the county. Further, state statute prohibits the county from leasing a facility from a private organization, so that option is out as well.
The San Pierre Fire Department responded to a house fire Tuesday morning, just two hours after the storms rolled through the area. The home was on State Road 10 west of the town of San Pierre.
San Pierre Fire Department Investigator Andy Tilleraas said that a large tree fell on electric wires by the residence and pulled the wires from the meter box, causing the fire. When firefighters arrived on scene, the house was fully engulfed and it was a total loss.
The Starke County Public Library expansion project is at a bit of a standstill, but Library Director Sheila Urwiler says they should be requesting bids come September. She says there was a bit of a mix-up last spring when they requested bids which put a bit of a delay on their plans, but she’s confident they’ll soon be back on track.
Urwiler says the library has been keeping busy, particularly with the Summer Reading Program which will come to a close on Saturday. She says they’re still looking for people to participate in the literacy program that they’ve been running, and she encourages anyone interested in participating in the program to call (574) 772-7323 or stop by any Starke County Library branch.
Three guilty verdicts came back in the trial of Jennifer Czarnecki in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Her charges stemmed from in an incident in January where she had come home intoxicated and allegedly “threw” a child at her boyfriend while at her mother’s residence in North Judson. When police arrived at the scene and conducted an investigation, officers attempted to place her into custody and Czarnecki was throwing her arms at an officer and she kicked him in the chest. She also reportedly got out of the back seat of the squad car three times. She was transported to IU Health Starke Hospital for evaluation due to her state of intoxication, and while there, she caused more problems by reportedly yelling and kicking at the hospital staff and spiting at the nurses and the officers.
The U.S. Postal Service says their new plan to avoid closing rural offices and instead reduce operating hours will soon be taken to the public in a series of community meetings. Postal Service Spokesperson Mary Dando says the dates for these community meetings will be announced after Labor Day, and Postal Service officials will conduct the meetings in all affected communities.
She says that no action has been taken regarding the soon-to-be shortened office hours, and assures communities that the plan will not be completed for another two years. The new strategy will be implemented over two years and should be completed by September 2014.
Mark Savage, director of occupational services for IU Health, spoke to the Starke County Chamber of Commerce members Wednesday night about the rising cost of health care for the employees of the business.
Savage contended that employee healthcare costs are going to increase for employers if their workforce does not become healthier, and he said employers can anticipate a total healthcare cost increase of 6.2 percent this year over 2011.
The 40th Annual Bass Lake Summer Splash begins today!
The carnival begins at 6:00 p.m. across from Fingerhut Bakery and early registration for the 5K run and walk starts at 6:00 p.m.
Some of the highlights for this year’s Summer Splash include the many arts and craft booths, the Business Expo, the Build-a-Boat contest, Historic Tram Tours, and the fireworks show Saturday at dusk. The parade is Sunday at Noon.
Gas prices spiked a bit this week as crude oil prices hit $93 a barrel. Oil prices have surged 17 percent since bottoming out at their recent low of $78.20 on June 21.
The rise in oil prices can be blamed on increasing tensions in Iran. Prices around the area average about $3.55 a gallon. Oil prices have also increased by an easing of the debt crisis in Europe.
The Starke County Airport is still reeling from the damage wrought by Tuesday morning’s storms. Airport Manager Pam Beharry says a number of hangars were damaged and some even destroyed, and five planes were totaled while others were untouched by the 70 mph winds that tore through the area.
Fortunately, Beharry says no one was injured and the planes that did suffer damage carried their own insurance. She says a number of insurance adjustors have already visited the airport, not only to assess the damage on the planes, but also to assess the damage at the airport itself.
