Washington Township Elementary School to Be Demolished

Posted on Author WKVI

The Washington Township Board has decided to demolish the old elementary school building at the corner of Division Road and State Road 23. The board noted that the building poses a safety hazard and needs to be demolished.

Washington Township Trustee Shelly Kemble said the board is taking bids for the demolition.

“The Washington Township Board will be accepting sealed bids for the demolition and removal of the Washington Township Elementary School and pumphouse during the board meeting on July 24,” stated Kemble. “The contractor must have liability insurance and the sealed bid must be brought to the July 24 meeting.”

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Smoking To Be Prohibited On Starke County Government Campuses

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom and Jennifer Davis

The Starke County Commissioners at their recent meeting approved a motion prohibiting smoking on all Starke County government building campuses – this but one day after the state’s new smoke-free air law took effect, prohibiting smoking in most businesses throughout Indiana. Smoking will not be allowed on the properties of the annex building, courthouse, jail, county highway garage, ambulance garages, and other county-owned buildings.

The minimum state provisions for the new smoke-free air law require all non-exempt buildings to post signs prohibiting smoking within eight feet of any entrance, but the commissioners’ motion prohibits smoking on the property as a whole and requires smokers to travel as far as the sidewalk to light up.

Arens Field Airport In Need Of Runway Maintenance

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Jim McDaniels of the Arens Field Airport told the commissioners this week that the runway is in need of maintenance. He says that Broken Arrow usually performs the work but when McDaniels asked for an estimate, he says the cost was extremely high. He approached the commissioners in search of a solution.

One recommendation was to have the county highway department rent a piece of equipment called an asphalt tar kettle, which is used to resurface roads and runways. Unfortunately, the question remains: who’s going to pay for it?

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North Judson Residents Receive Sprinkling Water Discount

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson Town Board

In an effort to reduce the cost of watering lawns with sprinklers, the Town of North Judson has applied nearly $6000 in sprinkling rate credits. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says this last billing gave $5991.28 in credits to their water customers who have been using sprinklers to keep their lawns watered.

Henry explained that because the water that is used to sprinkle lawns doesn’t go through the sewer system, the sewage charges are reduced. She says the discounted sprinkling rate is applied to customers that have used more than their average amount of water, and the credit is applied automatically.

With this hot, dry summer, it’s the perfect incentive for residents to sprinkle their lawns and bring some green back to their grass. Henry says this reduced rate is a big service to the community because it encourages them to water their yards and keep grass and plants from becoming too dry from the arid heat.

Public Invited To Tour Knox Elementary School Palmer Wing

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox Facility Study Committee met with Curt Pletcher from Umbaugh and Associates on June 26 to go over the financial feasibility of renovating or constructing a new Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said they are trying to figure out how either project would impact the tax rate of the school district.

“The board wanted to have an idea of what direction to go,” said Gappa. “We will meet again with an architect within the next two weeks with our committee and at that point we will invite people in who came a year ago to start making more firm plans.”

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Yellow River Project To Kick Off Soon

Posted on Author WKVI
Yellow River

Work on the Yellow River project could begin soon, according to Starke County Surveyor Dennis Estok, who says the project will address two problems.

“We’ll be pulling out a lot of the fallen trees in the river,” explained Estok. “They do a lot of damage and they’ve ruined a lot of banks. A lot of landowners have lost a lot of ground because of this. It’s not only that, it’s the recreation aspect. I know a lot of people who canoe and they do not hardly travel that route because of the many fallen trees.”

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Culver Man Arrested For Being Under the Influence of Drugs

Posted on Author WKVI

Officers from the Plymouth Police Department arrested a Culver man after he was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

On Monday, a resident called to report that a suspicious man was staggering in the parking lot at 881 Broadway Street. When officers arrived, they found Dominic Sheets and he was incoherent. He was taken to the Plymouth Police Department to get out of the heat and his condition worsened. EMS was called to the scene and Sheets was transported to the hospital. A drug screening was conducted and it was found that he had several different drugs in his system.

He was arrested on preliminary charges of Public Intoxication with a Controlled Substance in the Body.

Fireworks Tonight At the Starke County Airport

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Fireworks celebration is tonight at the Starke County Airport! The gates open at 6 p.m. and there is a five dollar charge per carload. The Starke County Fireworks Committee encourages you to get all of your family members and friends together to attend the fireworks celebration.

There will be several vendors on hand to sell food and other goods, the Starke County Amateur Radio Club will have information available on their organization while members provide demonstrations and a remote controlled plane club will be flying model airplanes. Enthusiasts of both organizations will be available to answer any questions.

The fireworks show will begin at dusk.

Pulaski County 4-H Fair Resumes Today

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County 4-H Fair continues today!

Don’t miss the Pedal Tractor Pull at 1 p.m. ET, the 4-H Olympics at 2 p.m., the talent show at 5 p.m., and the fireworks show at dusk.

The 4-H Fair continues through Friday, July 6 and it is located in the Winamac Town Park.

Indiana State Police to Step up Efforts This Holiday

Posted on Author WKVI

The Indiana State Police will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) from now until July 8. Statistics show that so far this year, 36 more people have lost their lives in accidents than this same time last year.

Operation C.A.R.E. is a federally funded program and will allow approximately 150 additional troopers to patrol area roadways during the Fourth of July holiday. Troopers will be targeting impaired drivers and motorists who speed, follow too closely, make unsafe lane changes, drive aggressively or fail to use their seat belt.

Starke, Pulaski Counties Lift Burn Bans

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Commissioners approved a motion repealing the county-wide burn ban on Monday, putting an end to the ban that lasted three weeks, from June 18 to July 2. Storms that had tore through the area last weekend had brought moisture back to the parched summer weather, alleviating some concern of fires caused by the dry conditions.

North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Chief Joe Leszek discouraged the commissioners from lifting the ban so soon, but the commissioners were also pressured by others to lift the ban in light of the recent rains. A motion was approved to lift the ban with the possibility of reinstatement in the future, and Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem says they will carefully monitor the situation in case conditions worsen.

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Monterey Bridge Project Pushed To October

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The Pulaski County Commissioners received an update yesterday regarding the status of the Bridge 291 project. Jeff Larrison of United Consulting told the commissioners that the right-of-ways have been cleared through INDOT, and the necessary documents have been submitted, however, INDOT has pushed several projects back to October.

Larrison said that the county has met all the deadlines, but they have to play by INDOT’s rules – which means opening bids for construction of the new bridge will not take place until October, setting them back several months. Larrison explained that after the bid is let, there is a 30 – 45 day period to choose a winning bid, which means construction could be delayed to as late as November.

Because of this delay, Larrison says a minimal amount of construction will take place before winter, but the majority of the work will take place come spring.

Hearing Set For Monday In Case Against Connie Miller

Posted on Author WKVI

The Attorney General filed a civil lawsuit against former North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Connie Miller last week.

The lawsuit stems from a special report for the Town of North Judson filed by the State Board of Accounts earlier this year citing alleged financial discrepancies totaling $74,408.67 during the period of time between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2011. Miller was asked to reimburse the town for the alleged discrepancies.

Miller, in a letter to the state board of accounts, wrote that she “strenuously objected to any allegations or suggestions” that she had “done any wrong for personal gain.” She also wrote that she was confident that the discrepancies set out in the report can be rectified.

Two Arrested After Falling Asleep At Gas Pump

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County police were called to the Good Oil Company in Winamac on Tuesday, June 26 on a complaint of a possibly intoxicated driver. The vehicle had been parked at a gas pump for nearly an hour. An employee told police that the driver nearly fell asleep while talking to her at the register.

When police arrived on scene, officers found the driver, 21-year-old Caitlin Shidler of Winamac, and a passenger inside the vehicle with two small children in the back seat. The officers noted in the report that they appeared to be asleep. Police asked Shidler what she was doing and if she needed medical attention and she said no. She told police that she was getting gas. She was asked to exit the vehicle where she was given sobriety tests and reportedly failed all of the tests given to her. She allegedly admitted to shooting prescription medication as did her passenger, 25-year-old Steven Decker of Winamac. Police reportedly found controlled substances during a search of the vehicle.

The Department of Child Services was called to the scene to take custody of the two children. Caitlin J. Shidler and Steven Decker were arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Neglect of a Dependent, Possession of Paraphernalia and Public Intoxication.

Crews Still Working To Clean Up Storm Aftermath

Posted on Author WKVI
Scenes like this one in North Judson were all too common in the wake of weekend storms.

Crews are still working diligently to clean up the damage from last weekend’s series of storms, but Bass Lake Fire Chief Les Jensen says the clean up efforts are going very well. The Starke County Highway Department has been removing branches from roads and power lines, and Jensen says the roads around Bass Lake that were previously closed are now open. However, some branches are still close to the road because cleanup crews had focused on getting the roads cleared and open, but those branches will soon be removed.

The NIPSCO Outage Center reports that only one customer in the Knox area is still affected by outages, with a total of 97 NIPSCO customers affected in Northern Indiana. KVREMC crews are also making efforts to clear lines and undo damages caused by the storm.

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Matthew Baker Receives Sentence In Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse

Matthew Baker was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Thursday after pleading guilty to four counts against him.

The Knox man was sentenced to 10 years in the Department of Corrections with two years suspended, on a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony. On the Class D Felony charge of Attempted Battery, he was sentenced to 18 months in the DOC with none of that sentence suspended. He will spend one year in the Starke County Jail on each of the two misdemeanor counts of Taking a Child to a Nuisance. None of that sentence was suspended. The three lesser counts will be served concurrently, but the Dealing in Methamphetamine charge will be served consecutively to those charges.

He will also serve two years on probation. He will be applying to the home detention program when he is eligible to serve his sentence on probation, and if he successfully completes the CLIFF Program, he can petition the court to modify his sentence.

Report Storm Damages Online To Department of Homeland Security

Posted on Author WKVI

It wasn’t a tornado went through the area on Friday, but strong straight-line winds that caused power outages across the listening area and extensive damage to homes and boats at Bass Lake and several other locations.

If you sustained damage caused by severe weather Friday or Sunday, report it to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security by going online to www.myoracle.in.gov/hs/damage. If you don’t have internet access, contact a friend or neighbor for help, or go to the local library and someone can help you with you in this process.

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Two Arrested After Police Find Them Kayaking While Drunk

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Lake County residents were arrested by Pulaski County Sheriff’s deputies on Tuesday, June 26 after a call came in about a suspicious man in a kayak on the Tippecanoe River.

A man yelled at police for help, and he told them that he was kayaking with his girlfriend and she was ahead of him and disappeared around a bend in the river. When he came around the bend, he saw her kayak up against the river bank and she was nowhere to be found. Pulaski County EMS, Fire, Sheriff’s boats and Indiana Conservation Officers were called to the scene.

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