Habitual Traffic Violator Arrested For DUI In Plymouth

Two people were arrested recently by the Plymouth Police Department.

Officers conducted a traffic stop at Garro Street and Fifth Street in Plymouth on Tuesday evening. Police say Elias Luva Cantero, 35, of Plymouth was stopped at 9:42 p.m. on a routine traffic stop, but police soon learned that Cantero is an habitual traffic violator, and on top of that, he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Continue reading

Winamac Community Parkway Project Moving Along

Winamac 3rd grade students on a visit to the Panhandle Pathway. Photo by Tom Anspach

The Winamac Community Parkway Project is underway, and Dave Bennett is hopeful they’ll have the way paved to the depot by summer.

In an effort to build on the success of the Panhandle Pathway and provide access to the trail system for residents of Winamac, the Winamac Community Parkway Project consists of the development of a 1.05-mile stone trail, 12 feet wide within town limits, and a 1.6-mile, 10-foot wide stone trail outside of town limits.

Continue reading

Civil War Reenactment To Take Place Near Hoosier Valley RR Museum

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.

Continue reading

People’s University Fall Semester Begins Sept. 10, Schedule Released

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.

Continue reading

Ind. Criminal Justice Institute To Raise Awareness of Texting and Driving

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.

Continue reading

Work Session Shows Community Support For New Knox Wing Construction

Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

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.

Continue reading

Conditional Revolving Loan Approved By Pulaski County Commissioners

Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

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.

Continue reading

Winamac Kiwanis Club Farmers Market Festival Announced

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.

Plymouth Police Bust Meth Lab, Four Arrested

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 Staff Attends Strategic Planning Retreat

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.

Continue reading

Skillman Encourages Hoosiers To Buy Locally

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.

Continue reading

Kelly Miller Circus Coming to Knox

WKVI's Tom Berg clowns around with Carlee and Charley from the Kelly Miller Circus.

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!”

Continue reading

Injunction Order Against C&C Salvage To Be Revised

Starke County Courthouse

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.

Continue reading

18-Year-Old Struck By Train in Valparaiso

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.

Town of Culver Discusses Drilling of New Well

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.

Continue reading

Wythogan Park Still Closed – Mayor Urges Residents To Stay Away

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers

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.

Continue reading

RR Crossing On SR 8 Near Knox To Be Closed Temporarily

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.

NJSP Students Participate in INPact Indiana

Band Director Matthew Hibbets was one of the instructors while Robert Miller, percussion and Caitlyn Barnes, clarinet participated.

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.

Three Arrests Made By Plymouth Police

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 Tomorrow For Many Schools, Back to School Night Tonight

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!

Continue reading