The three-day Turkey Tracks event was held this past weekend. As of Noon yesterday, the disabled hunters and guides had taken in 20 wild turkeys. The event was sponsored by the Eric Corey Foundation, and the 31 hunters enjoyed a weekend in the woods.
Activities occurred during the evening and in fundraising efforts, two specially-crafted Eric Corey plaques were auctioned for $4,600.00. A third plaque was presented to Carol and Doug Corey to be hung in Eric’s trophy room.
Starke County’s unemployment rate dropped .5% from February to March, but the county is still tied with Lawrence county as the fifth highest in the state.
Starke County’s rate went from 11.3% to 10.8%. Other counties in the top 5 are Vermillion at 12.1%, which is highest in the state, Fayette, Tipton, and Newton.
Gateway and the Starke County Historical Society are in discussions with the City of Knox to deed the Gateway property to the city. When Gateway was conceived, it did not include the Depot and all of the other historic items such as the watchman’s tower, Nickel Plate signal tower or the caboose and tracks.
The area had been an ice and coal yard for years on the west side of U.S. 35 and a fuel distribution center on the east side. To the north was the Golding property that was at one time a 1920 gas station. Jim Shilling convinced the owners of the property to sell it to a private organization called Gateway.
The 4-County Drainage Board has omitted the 2012 general drain maintenance assessment for landowners within the Robbins Watershed.
This will affect landowners in Center, Davis, Oregon and Washington Townships. The change will be reflected on the 2012 tax statement. The Drainage Board will continue to address maintenance on the drain during this year and the Board will review and evaluate the maintenance assessment for 2013.
The vote totals are in! Two residents from the Corey Drive area of Knox presented petitions to the Knox City Council last week that indicated most residents of the subdivision do not want street lights. Virginia Thomas presented the results.
“Three want street lights, and 14 don’t,” Thomas reported. “We went down the whole street. You know what they want more than street lights? They want “speed bumps,” but I said we’re only surveying for or against street lights.”
Knox City Board of Works members heard this week that the storm water drain project is officially completed. The $837,095 project provided several drains in flood prone areas of the city, mostly around Portland, Washington, and John Streets.
$25,000 was left over after the project was completed and now the city is now researching if the funds can be used for other projects.
The Oregon-Davis students will host a Mini-Relay to raise money in the fight against cancer.
Students will be collecting money from now until the day of the event, May 18th. The students will walk on the school grounds in the abbreviated version of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The Mini-Relay will be an all-day event complete with music, games, class banners, and luminaria bags decorated by the students in memory or in honor of a family member or friend with cancer.
Thirty years ago today in 1982, Farm Bureau was issuing its annual school population report.
Here were the figures for some area schools: Knox 2144, North Judson-San Pierre 1592, Eastern Pulaski 1383, Culver 1250, West Central 1064, and Oregon-Davis 813.
Here are some events you might want to consider this weekend:
Don’t forget the pancakes and sausage/biscuits and gravy breakfast this morning at the Maxinkuckee Odd Fellows Lodge #373 until noon ET. It’s all you can eat, and adult tickets are $6 and children $4.
A Free Dance Workshop is going on today at North Judson at Backstage Studio of Dance from 10:00-11:55 Central Time. Then, at noon, those taking part in the workshop will participate in a “Flash Mob” in front of the studio. This is being done as a fundraiser for the Starke County Humane Society. You are encouraged to make a donation of cash or items.
Those are just a few of the activities happening today around the Kankakee Valley.
The Pulaski County Extension Chords will present their “Life is a Highway” concert tonight at 7 p.m. ET in the Winamac High School Socialtorium. Director Jodie Schlatter described what the concert-goers will enjoy.
“It’s just like the chorus is going on this bus trip to go to a choral festival and we’re just singing about our trip on the bus– what we see out the window, what we’re feeling, and just tying in all these cool songs from many decades,” said Schlatter. “We’ve got 60’s songs, Beatles, w’re singing part of Rascal Flatts’ song that they made famous with the Cars, good ol’ standards like ‘Blue Moon,’ some country, some pop, Taylor Swift, and we’re doing our own version of Ike and Tina Turner’s ‘Proud Mary.'”
She explained that the organization is actually part of a larger club.
“We are part of the Extension Club through Purdue University. We’re a special interest club and we go to Purdue each year at Festival Day during their Extension Service Homemakers’ Club event and our club travels around the country,” said Schlatter.
Many of the visitors to the Commissioners’ Meeting Room in the Starke County Annex have been pleasantly surprised to see the different configuration of the room and new furniture. EMS Director Ted Bombagetti discussed the way the new furniture for the room was secured.
“A year or so ago the commissioners allowed me to use this room as my Emergency Operations Center. Through District Two I was allowed to purchase furniture to support my center. Therefore this is some of the equipment you see in front of you today,” Bombagetti said.
Bombagetti said he would need to use the room as a command center in time of a county-wide emergency.
“I do have the authority to use the room as I see fit. I just have to have the room set up within two hours after I call for an opening. We set the room up just the same as if we had an active emergency,” Bombagetti said.
The commmissioners and council members thanked Bombagetti for the effort to get the new furniture.
The Maxinkuckee Players will hold auditions today for their summer production of “Crazy For You.” The audition times are from 9 a.m. to noon, 1 – 4 p.m., and 6 – 8 p.m. ET at the Culver High School Auditorium.
Gregg Underwood, a member of the Maxinkuckee Players, explained what the director will expect to hear from you when you audition.
“They can bring a song of their choice to sign with the piano or A Capella. Be prepared to read from a script given to you and perform a short dance combination,” Underwood said.
The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office and the La Porte County DUI Task Force has announced that it will increase enforcement and patrols around prom and post-prom sites this spring, with a goal of deterring alcohol use and eliminating alcohol-related crashes among high school prom attendees.
With proms starting Saturday, April 28, for Marquette, New Prairie, South Central, and Westville High Schools, and continuing through Saturday, June 2 when Michigan City High School will host their prom and post-prom. The DUI Taskforce will saturate the areas around each prom and post-prom site in an effort to deter potential alcohol and drug use, with zero-tolerance toward the consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages. Those who provide alcohol to minors will be targeted and jailed.
State Senator Jim Arnold visited the Knox City Council meeting Tuesday night.
The reason for the visit was to give the council members and mayor a review of the most recent session of the state legislature.
“We had a total of 815 bills this year that were proposed. Of these 415 bills were proposed in the Senate and 400 were proposed in the house. Out of the total of 815 bills, 175 were sent to Governor Daniels for his signature, and he signed every one of them,” Arnold said.
The Winamac Safe Routes to School Task Force recently announced that they have applied for a $250,000 Infrastructure Grant to fund the completion of the Panhandle Pathway through Winamac, as well as improvements along Riverside Drive and Superior Street. These improvements were deemed necessary by planning work that was done as a part of the Safe Routes to School Non-Infrastructure Grant that was awarded in 2010. This project will enable safer walking and cycling environments, including roads and sidewalk improvements, and the grants will cover planning, design, and engineering expenses, including consultant services.
Here is a look at some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week.
David Hyatt will become the President of IU Health Starke Hospital after the current President, Linda Satkoski, moves to the LaPorte health system to assume the role of Chief Operating Officer. Thor Thordarson said that the announcement of an Interim President at IU Health Starke Hospital will not affect the plans of the hospital to the IU Health LaPorte Hospital. Thordarson said that the commitment has stayed strong and there are a number of things that have been implemented at the Starke facility that have been implemented at the LaPorte facility. He says the faith is there and IU Health Starke Hospital is on good financial footing. Continue reading
Congressman Joe Donnelly has announced that the Board of Commissioners of Starke County received a $503,000 grant to improve access to the Knox Industrial Park, an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The grant will partially fund the State Road 8 and County Road 300 East intersection project.
A Starke County jury took just one hour to decide verdicts in the case of James Ritenour III.
The one-day trial occurred Wednesday in Starke Circuit Court and a 12 member jury found James Ritenour III not guilty on charges of Battery with a Deadly Weapon, a Class C Felony, and Criminal Recklessness, a Class D Felony. He was found guilty on two counts of Intimidation, as Class D Felonies, and one count of Interference with Reporting a Crime, a Class A Misdemeanor.
The U.S. 35 bridge over the Yellow River in Knox will undergo a re-decking construction project beginning Monday, April 30th.
During construction, travel will be restricted to one lane at a time. A traffic signal has been stationed on both sides of the bridge to control the flow of traffic. The traffic signal will be operational beginning today.
The West Central School Board members discussed the results of the IREAD test at their recent meeting. The IREAD test was administered to the third grade students and if the students did not pass the test then they would need to get additional instruction and retake the test in June. If the students are not successful in their second attempt, they will be required to retake third grade reading next year.
