Four Arrested In Knox On Possession Charges

Posted on Author WKVI

Four people were arrested in Knox on Monday after police reportedly found drugs in a vehicle.

Knox City Police officers and officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Community Corrections were near the Super Value Inn when they saw a suspicious vehicle pull into the hotel parking lot. A woman got out of the car and, once she saw police, quickly got back in. Police stopped the vehicle and talked to the occupants.

One officer reported smelling burnt marijuana in the car and asked everyone to exit the vehicle. After the driver granted police permission to search the vehicle, police reportedly found methamphetamine and marijuana in the car, which were field tested with a positive result on both tests.

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Two Arrested In La Porte For Dealing Controlled Substances

Posted on Author WKVI
Steven McClelland
Allisha Mendoa

Two La Porte residents were arrested on Friday after an arrest warrant was executed by the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Division and La Porte Metro Operations Unit.

Allisha Mendoa, 31, was arrested on charges of Dealing a Schedule II Controlled Substance, a Class B Felony; two counts of Dealing a Schedule IV Controlled Substance, a Class C Felony; and misdemeanor charges of Aiding, Inducing, or Causing an Offense and Visiting a Common Nuisance.

Steven McClelland was arrested on charges of Dealing a Schedule II Controlled Substance, a Class B Felony; Dealing a Scheduled IV Controlled Substance, a Class C Felony; and a misdemeanor charge of Visiting a Common Nuisance.

These arrests are the results of investigations conducted by the La Porte Metro Operations Unit in response to community concerns about illicit activity in the area.

Knox Earns Recognition As Riley School, Corporation

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

Effort at all three Knox Community School buildings was highlighted during Monday night’s Knox Community School Board meeting. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said that because of the effort, the corporation is now known as a Riley Corporation.

“We highlighted all three buildings, the elementary school, middle school and the high school, for contributions made to the Riley’s Children Hospital in Indianapolis,” said Gappa. “This is a great benefit to kids throughout the State of Indiana. I know many Knox kids in the past have used the facilities at Riley and many Starke County kids also,” said Gappa.

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Sentencings Handed Down in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI

Vernon Chessor appeared for his sentencing hearing in the Starke Circuit Court on Friday, where he faced charges of Possession of Methamphetamine as Class D felonies as well as a probation violation charge in a separate case. A charge of Possession of a Syringe was dismissed.

Judge Kim Hall sentenced Chessor to 18 months in the Department of Corrections with no time suspended for the charge of Possession of Methamphetamine, and two years in the Department of Corrections with none suspended for the probation violation. The sentences will run consecutively for a total of two and a half years in the DOC. The court also recommended that he be placed into the CLIFF program.

Austin Bailey was also sentenced Friday to three years and nine months in the Department of Corrections. He will serve three years for a Class D felony charge of Theft, and nine months for violating his probation. He will also serve six months in the Starke County Jail.

INDOT Mowing Operations Set To Begin Across Northwest Indiana

Posted on Author WKVI

Mowing operations are set to begin soon along state rights-of-way in the La Porte District, says INDOT. While many drivers may be surprised to see grass along the right-of-way growing longer than the typical lawn, INDOT wants to remind drivers that with thousands of acres to maintain, keeping the vegetation as short as the regular lawn is not possible.

INDOT says they predominantly use a three-cycle process to mow state roadways, which includes all interstates, state roads and U.S. routes. That means each right-of-way will be mowed three times a year. The Borman Expressway (I-80/94) and State Road 912 are on a five-cycle process.

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Expanded Programs Help NIPSCO Customers Save More Money and Energy

Posted on Author WKVI

NIPSCO recently announced expanded programs for homes and businesses that invest in energy-efficient equipment by adding new money and energy-saving product rebates.

“With the addition of new types of rebates, we hope to encourage more people to choose high efficiency equipment for their custom homes and businesses,” said Kevin Kirkham, director of energy efficiency programs. “Since our rebate program began in 2008, more than $8 million in rebates have been given to customers.”

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Week in Review for June 4th-8th, 2012

Posted on Author WKVI

Here is a look at some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:

Gavin Wireman

A 27-year-old Medaryville man was arrested Saturday after allegedly robbing the Lake City Bank in Medaryville at gunpoint. A teller called the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department around 9:30 a.m. ET after the man robbed the bank. Officers gathered information in the incident and after an hour, they arrested Gavin Keith Wireman on a preliminary charge of Robbery. Police recovered the stolen money plus the alleged weapon used in the incident. Continue reading →

Knox Police and Fire Departments Called to Small House Fire

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox City Police Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to a fire at 11:00 p.m. last night at a home across from Advanced Auto Parts on U.S. 35.

The neighbors saw the fire on the side of the vacant home and called the Sheriff’s Department. They reportedly had the fire out by the time officials arrived on scene. The fire caused a minimal amount of damage.

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Sheriff’s Department Handbook To Be Discussed By Starke Commissioners, Sheriff

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen

The Starke County Commissioners have scheduled a work session Monday afternoon to revise the Sheriff’s Department Handbook and to review the recommendations proposed to codify the county’s ordinances.

The Sheriff’s Department Handbook was discussed at this week’s commissioners meeting when Sheriff Oscar Cowen asked for directions on employee vacation time. Because of different shift requirements – some officers working eight hours and others on duty for 12 – vacation time is difficult to compute.

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North Judson Police In Need Of Two Part-Time Officers

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson Town Board

The North Judson Town Board this week heard a report from Town Marshall Doug Vessely, who informed them that he will need to replace one part-time officer. He says the officer is retiring from the force, and he will need to hire at least one part-time employee – though he would like to hire two. Vessely says another employee has requested some time off, and he will need to hire an additional officer to take their place.

Vessely also provided the board with a map depicting barricade locations for the Mint Fest.

Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the town has received the spring distribution of property taxes from the Starke County auditor in the amount of $268,406. She says these funds will be distributed to individual departments that are budgeted to receive funds from property taxes.

IU Health Starke Hospital To Conduct Health Survey

Posted on Author WKVI
IU Health Starke Hospital

IU Health Starke Hospital is gathering information from community leaders, public health professionals, and community members regarding the health needs of the communities the hospital serves. All nonprofit hospitals are being asked to collect this information under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

According to IU Health Starke Hospital Interim President David Hyatt, this gives the hospital an opportunity to improve the health of its patients.

Those selected for the survey are being asked to fill out an online survey and participate in a one-on-one interview.

Cafeteria Prices To Increase At Knox Schools

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

The Knox Community School Board members discussed cafeteria prices this week, and Superintendent A.J. Gappa said a proposal was made to increase prices for the next school year.

“We are proposing a nickel increase in lunches which will keep us in the lowest price range for lunch service in the county and lower than most of the schools around,” said Gappa.

He says the increase in price is mostly caused by regulation changes at the federal level.

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Starke County Relay For Life Kicks Off Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Megan Hamand

The annual Starke County Relay for Life event begins today with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. at the Starke County Fairgrounds in Hamlet. Event Chairperson Megan Hamand says there are a number of activities planned for the event.

“We’ve got games for kids, food, a car show, bands will be performing, including Narrow Gate and Konundrum, an American Red Cross blood drive, a food drive for Community Services of Starke County, and then we’ve got our regular relay events that you’ve learned to expect from us every year,” said Hamand.

Hamand says that two activities in particular are popular at the event.

“The Survivor Lap where we really honor and celebrate our survivors, and our solemn Luminaria ceremony which takes time to remember and honor those who that have fought cancer and those who have unfortunately lost their lives to it,” said Hamand.

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Smoke Free Law Discussion To Be Held June 21

Posted on Author WKVI

Information concerning Indiana’s Smoke Free Law will be provided next Thursday, June 21 at the Bass Lake Community Center. The meeting begins at 6 p.m., and information will be available on what the law covers, who enforces the law, who to contact with complaints, and who to contact with questions.

One question that is anticipated is whether or not bars and taverns can allow smoking. According to the new law that will begin July 1, bars and taverns may allow smoking provided they meet certain requirements.

Other portions of the law that may be discussed include how far from a public place people can smoke, and according to the law, smokers must be at least eight feet from the entrance. Whether or not smoking is permitted in private vehicles is also a popular topic, and the law states smoking is permitted in private vehicles that are not owned by government.

The information session next Thursday is sponsored by the Tobacco Free Coalition.

Sandra Lee Studio Of Dance Presents Music Is The Movement

Posted on Author WKVI

The Sandra Lee Studio of Dance is excited to present their 34th annual dance production, and Sandy Martinkus of the studio says they’ve got quite the show planned.

“We have a really exciting program. It’s about how music affects our physical movements and emotions and takes us back to special times in our life and different generations. We’ve got an exciting big band number, a humorous musical theater production loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, we’ve got tiny tots that are into country-western dancing and nursery rhyme blues, and petite ballerinas, and beautiful lyrical dancers, enthusiastic dancers of today, and an all-boys dance group on the Beach Boys’ 409 Impala,” said Martinkus.

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Guess The Original Contest Held At Starke County Library

Posted on Author WKVI
Kathy Newell and WKVI's Ted Hayes

Kathy Newell is a regular at the Henry F. Schricker Library in Knox, and has created numerous programs for the library system. The best part about Newell’s volunteer work at the library is that she has a variety of educational skills and experiences to draw from, including excellent cooking abilities, and amazing drawing talent. She was also a registered nurse for 30 years and specializes in geriatrics.

Recently she took pictures of 30 men in our community, made a pencil drawing of them, and now created a Guess the Original Boyz from the Hood Picture Contest.

Three prizes will be given for the people who can guess the most subjects. Newell says she picked everyday people as the subjects for the contest.

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Staff Sergeant Jerry Nenycz of Plymouth Named Harvest Days Grand Marshall

Posted on Author WKVI
Jerry Nenycz

Staff Sergeant Jerry Nenycz of Plymouth, who earlier this year was named the Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year in Indiana, will be the Grand Marshall of the 2012 Knox Harvest Days Festival Parade. Nenycz is a 1999 graduate of Knox High School.

The Knox Harvest Days Festival is scheduled for August 24 – 26.

Festival Chairperson Michelle Bachtel told WKVI this week that more corporate sponsors are needed to help finance the three-day event.

Everyone is invited to go to the festival website at www.knoxharvestfestival.org for a registration form.

Finally, a Miss, Little Miss, and Tiny Miss Pageant is being planned with more information to follow on how contestants can register.

Knox Barber Approaches Fifty Years Of Cutting Hair

Posted on Author WKVI
Myron Brown

With Knox Barber Myron Brown approaching 50 years of cutting hair in the Kankakee Valley, he looked back on his time here and recalled his decision to come to Knox.

“Years back we had a barber union, and when I checked with them they told me about a shop in Knox. I came here, and stayed for all of these years. I’ve actually been in four different locations in the town,” Brown remembered.

Myron said he originally wanted to be a veterinarian, but money was tight, so he decided to become a barber in order to save up money for school.

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Cole Porter To Be Celebrated This Weekend

Posted on Author WKVI

On June 9, 1891, one of America’s most well-known songwriters was born. The man who wrote “I’ve Got you Under My Skin,” “Night and Day,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You,” was born in Peru, Indiana. That songwriter is Cole Porter.

Many stories have been written about the man who composed 300 songs, but little is known of those summer days he spent in Culver in a cottage rented by his family.

This weekend, the life and music of Cole Porter will come to life at Culver Academies Legion Memorial Building on June 9 at 7:30 p.m. The sold-out concert and dramatic rendering of Porter’s life will be followed by a wine and cheese reception.

Jasper Circuit Court Judge Hears Misappropriation Case; No Decision Yet

Posted on Author WKVI
Linda Belork

The attorney for the Starke County Commissioners, as well as the attorney for Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty, appeared before Judge John Potter in Jasper Circuit Court yesterday. Attorney Martin Lucas, representing the commissioners, and Ethan Lowe, representing Linda Belork and Ohio Casualty, presented evidence supporting their case to the Judge. Both attorneys were given 30 minutes and were occasionally interrupted by the judge with questions.

Lucas painted the picture of a board of commissioners faced with a report from the State Board of Accounts stating that $900,000 was misappropriated in the treasurer’s office, and the commissioners acted according to statute by removing her from office and filing suit against her bond. He also stated that Belork was consistently late with her monthly 47-TR forms.

“When she finally delivered them to the commissioners, they were not useful because the numbers didn’t add up,” Lucas said.

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