As we look forward to the month of March, it’s time to start thinking about preparing for severe weather. March 18th-24th is Severe Weather Awareness Week and now would be a good time to draft an emergency plan with your family.
Our Accuweather.com Meteroologist, Heather Zehr, was asked what we can start to see as we head into the spring season.
The 17th Annual Young Artists Conference at the North Judson-San Pierre Elementary School, Liberty site, is scheduled for March 10th. The lunch and entertainment fee is $5.00. The conference is for students grades 1-5. Ventriloquist Beth Sutton-Cummins will be an afternoon presenter.
Today is Leap Day! February 29th is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called Leap Day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days.
In the Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are evenly divisible by four are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a solar year by almost six hours.
Taylor Davis, Charge Nurse at Golden Living Center – Knox, has been selected as Employee of the Year.
Taylor Davis has been part of the Golden Living Center team since September 2009, and is responsible for supervising resident’s nursing care. Davis was selected as Employee of the Year based on her contribution to providing excellent care in a compassionate and comfortable environment. Additionally, she was one of the team members who helped the facility achieve a deficiency-free survey in 2011.
Members of the North Judson-San Pierre Woodwind Ensemble performed the “Reformation Symphony – Symphony #5” by Felix Mendelssohn this morning live in the WKVI studios. The group, lead by Director Matthew Hibbets, played for about 10 minutes and thoroughly entertained the staff at the radio station and the listeners. Any other ensemble wishing to perform live at the WKVI Studio is welcome to contact Tom Berg at (574) 772-7600 or email Tom at tom@wkvi.com. (Anita Goodan plays the alto saxophone and would love to play along if you would be willing to share the music. Her sight-readings skills are pretty good, but she would appreciate a chance to practice before performance time.) Continue reading
The Oregon-Davis proposed operating referendum will not impact the Circuit Breaker if approved. That information was received yesterday from Curt Pletcher of Umbaugh and Associates in Plymouth.
“With a referendum, a school corporation would have a question on the ballot which would have a maximum tax rate,” explained Pletcher. “When a school really pursues an operating referendum, they look at their state support for their General Fund. If a referendum is passed, it is not subject to the Circuit Breaker caps. In other words, the levy would not impact the current Circuit Breaker tax credits for the school or the overlapping taxing units.”
West Covina, California, became the first area to hit $5.00 a gallon gasoline over the weekend. Could we be far behind? Will it be $5.00 a gallon gasoline for us by Memorial Day?
Don Good of the Good Oil Company in Winamac explains how gasoline prices could be going up so radically while consumption is going down.
Detectives with the Indiana State Police continue to investigate the police involved shooting that occurred in Marshall County last Thursday night which claimed the life of Mark Albright, 62, of Plymouth. The investigation is expected to be completed and forwarded to the Marshall County Prosecutor’s office in the next two weeks.
A Plymouth woman was arrested Saturday after leaving the scene of an accident.
Officers from the Plymouth Police Department were called to the Plymouth Fire Station in reference to an accident. According to police, a red Jeep had struck the Plymouth Fire Station and two people fled the scene on foot at about 2:35 a.m. ET. Police learned that one possible suspect lived in the Plymouth area.
Knox City police arrested two men after an alleged battery incident.
Police were called to 266 W. Locust Drive in Knox in reference to a battery. The victim told police that he and Brandon Davidson have some history and don’t get along. He said that Davidson had been driving by his house and calling him names and intimidating him.
A Francesville man was captured after police found him hiding underneath his house.
On Tuesday, February 21st, Pulaski County officers were notified of the whereabouts of Randall Grigsby who was known to have a warrant out for his arrest. The anonymous caller reportedly said he was out of control and that he was on something.
Officers went to Grisby’s house and one resident said she thought Grigsby had left the residence just moments ago. Officers searched the residence and didn’t find him. Officers searched a vehicle on the premises and found drug paraphernalia between the driver’s door and the seat. The item was seized and put into evidence. However, Grigsby was not hiding in the vehicle.
The North Judson Town Board will accept trash bids for town refuse pick-up until March 5th at Noon. The bids will be opened that evening during the Board’s regular meeting and taken under advisement. If all of the paperwork is in order, the Board will award the trash bid during their regular meeting on March 19th.
The Knox High School Instrumental Music Department had three soloists perform at the ISSMA State Solo & Ensemble Contest on Saturday, February 25 at North Central High School. Brenden Owens earned a Gold rating on an alto sax solo, Hannah Janson earned a Gold rating on a horn solo and Matt Miller earned a Silver rating on a trumpet solo. All three students were accompanied by Mrs. Char Geisler on piano. Congratulations to these students on their fine performances!
Two fisherman found a dead alligator in the Kankakee River in Starke County yesterday.
Jeff Brewer and his father, Steve Brewer, discovered a dead alligator stuck in a logjam about two miles downstream from the English Lake Public Access site. They just launched their boat and were headed out to fish and Jeff Brewer spotted the foot and tail of the alligator sticking out of the water. They retrieved the alligator and met with Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman. The four-foot, seven-inch alligator’s mouth had been taped shut and officer Wildeman believes that it had been dead for a while and it was a pet that outgrew his welcome. It was released unlawfully into the river. Wildeman believes this to be an isolated incident.
The Starke County Tourism Board, which has been in the news recently surrounding a misappropriation of funds incident, has recently reorganized.
Taking over the President’s position is Julie Dessauer. Dessauer replaces Rich Wieczorek. Other board officers are Vice President John Hensler, Secretary Thom Morin, and Treasurer Tabitha Dillner. Wieczorek remains on the board as a voting member, but not an officer.
Four new policies were approved by the North Judson Town Board at their recent meeting. The Board approved a key control policy, a tobacco policy, safety policy and vehicle use policy. They will be dissected by the Department Heads and communicated with all employees. The policies will be filed with the Employee Handbook.
Elaine Beatty, an Employee Benefits Consultant, and Sheriff Oscar Cowen appeared before the Starke County Commissioners during the Commissioners’ recent meeting to discuss the Police Pension Fund.
Beatty administers the Police Pension Fund in Starke County and she discussed a new plan for the officers.
“The Indiana Sheriff’s Association really took hold of it and it is available to all the county sheriff’s departments in the State of Indiana,” she told the Commissioners. “Right now, about 60 of them have this program available to their employees. It’s purely voluntary and there’s no cost to the county to add this program. The expenses come out of the investments which are mutual funds that require that expenses come out of them. Those are the fees that are paying organizations like Morgan Stanley for the program so there’s no fees to the membership.”
Why is the Circuit Breaker so important to every property owner in Starke County?
The Circuit Breaker is part of a property tax relief measure offered to various types of property. Spending in one area of government, when it trips the Circuit Breaker, means spending must be reduced somewhere else.
Prescription drugs, alcohol, and illegal drugs. Is it the perfect combination for an exhilarating high, or a mind altering cocktail that ends in death?
It is no doubt that people even addicted to one of these need to contact a delray beach rehab or any alcohol recovery center for that matter, and get into their programme, let alone people are confidently or unconsciously using all these three together, resulting in a deadly cocktail. Literally!
Porter-Starke Addictions Councilor, Leo Smith, has seen at least 50 people he knows die from this type of combination in the 10 years he’s been working with clients in Starke County.
Knox Band Director, Craige Phipps, requested permission from the School Board for a band trip in 2013. Superintendent A.J. Gappa talks about the proposed trip.
“The band would like to take a trip to Orlando, Florida, to visit all of the Disney World theme parks,” said Gappa. “They will do performances at different times, both marching and on-stage performances. It looks like an educational and fun trip combined. The Board did give permission for the music department to take that trip so they can start making arrangements and start saving up their money.”
