The Indiana Department of Homeland Security will be taking part in an earthquake drill tomorrow. The drill will be conducted throughout the United States.
You can register online at this website and you will receive information on how to plan a drill and how to tell others about earthquake preparedness.
Although January has only just come and gone, Indiana has already felt the impact of severe weather in 2012. Three tornadoes recently struck in southern Indiana, causing over $1 million in damages. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
With severe weather already occurring this year, the National Weather Service in cooperation with the Marshall County EMA and the SKYWARN group will be hosting the annual Weather Outreach Program. Previously coined “Storm Spotter Training,” this program will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in room 203 of the Marshall County Building at 112 W. Jefferson St. in Plymouth.
Lawmakers are looking to end the manufacturing, distributing and use of synthetic drugs.
State Senator Jim Merritt has authored a proposal that would add more than 60 chemical compounds found in synthetic drugs like Spice and bath salts to the state’s list of illegal substances. He says his bill would also ban molecules similar in structure to those illegal compounds to prevent drug manfacturers from slightly changing ingredients and skirting laws in the future.
Two lives were lost in separate vehicular accidents on the Indiana Toll Road Saturday between midnight and 5 a.m.
According to Indiana State Police, the first accident occurred at 12:23 a.m., when an empty horse trailer broke loose from a Chevrolet Suburban heading west and left the roadway, crossing the median and into oncoming traffic. 50-year old Julio Zatina of Bridgeview, Ill., was driving a double-trailer semi in the eastbound lane when the trailer crossed the roadway. Zatina was not able to avoid the trailer and hit it, breaking a piece of the trailer off that flew through the semi’s windshield and struck him. He immediately lost control of the semi, which traveled across the median into the oncoming lane and through to the ditch on the other side.
Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week.
Governor Daniels signed the right to work bill into law Wednesday afternoon. Indiana is now the 23rd right to work state.
Tom Collins, a former Winamac resident and player for the Negro Baseball League team, Memphis Red Sox, died last week at the age of 100.
The Knox City Council discussed ideas surrounding the Knox downtown revitalization project. Continue reading
Three people were taken to IU Health Starke Hospital after a two car accident on U.S. 35 in front of the pawn shop in Knox.
Knox City Police Chief, Clint Norem, said that no visible serious injuries were observed. One car overturned as a result of the accident. Traffic is being detoured around the scene on U.S. 35.
Shelby Thomas pleaded guilty to two counts of Intimidation as Class C felonies in the Starke Circuit Court Thursday. Thomas, 57, admitted to threatening to kill Officers James Upsall and Dave Combs while armed with a 10-inch knife.
The possible penalties for these charges are two to eight years in the Department of Corrections on each count, and Prosecutor Nick Bourff is hoping for a 16-year sentence for Thomas. No plea agreement has been filed, but Bourff has indicated he will dismiss the remaining charges against Thomas, including four counts of Attempted Murder, if victims in the case feel 16 years is a sufficient penalty.
27-year-old Duane Longacre appeared in a St. Joseph County Courtroom yesterday and according to the information given in court, the incident for which he was arrested on Tuesday was the end of a week-long crime spree.
Alex Bradley was found guilty in a jury trial on a charge of Receiving Stolen Property in Starke Circuit Court this week.
He was found guilty of being in possession of a stolen golf cart. Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall revoked his bond and he was taken back to the Starke County Jail. He will stay in the jail until his sentencing hearing on February 29th at 11:00 a.m.
The land acquisition process has been completed for the Monterey Bridge project, and hopes are high for bids on the project to be let in spring. The project involves the construction of a new bridge to route traffic away from the Monterey Bridge, which is too small and unsafe for regular traffic but cannot be removed because of its historical nature.
This winter has been a mild one and even though there hasn’t been much snow on the ground, Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall says he and the employees are keeping busy
“We’ve still got plenty of work to do out here,” said Siddall. “We’re cutting brush and patching potholes. With no snow, the holes are forming with the raining and the warming and thawing. We also have gravel roads that are taking a beating because of so much rain and moisture in the ground. It’s tearing them up and we’re having to fix them. I really wish we had the snow instead of this because it makes mud and causes more trouble for a lot of things.”
Forty-four-year-old Todd Fischer of Medaryville was arrested on Saturday, Jan. 28 on preliminary charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated when police found him passed out in the driver’s seat of a still-running vehicle.
Police received a call concerning a possible drunk driver on County Road 700 South, and when police went to check it out, they were unable to locate the suspect vehicle—that is, until they received more information and soon found the vehicle traveling on State Road 39. The vehicle pulled into a driveway in the 2700 block of South State Road 39, and the police were able to identify the vehicle as the silver Ford Taurus they had been looking for.
Three North Judson residents were arrested on Wednesday, January 28th after an alleged Burglary incident.
Starke County police received a phone call about a truck parked at a house on 300 East that wasn’t supposed to be there. Police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Stephen Wood. Wood and his passenger, David Miller, told police that they were on their way to Miller’s house and the police let them go. The officer visited the witness who said that while the officer was conducting the traffic stop, a man, later identified as James Keller, was running southbound on 300 East. The officer got back into his car and found the suspect in the woods by using his thermal imager. A K9 unit was used to find him in the woods and he was taken into custody without further incident. Evidence at the scene suggested that he had stolen some items from a residence nearby.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping lead the way with a commitment to ushering in the new era for American energy– an economy fueled by locally-grown and alternative energy sources designed and produced by American workers. In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, he laid out a blueprint for such an economy, which requires the safe and responsible production of our oil and natural gas resources.
A new Veterans Therapeutic Center will be opening in Plymouth this summer.
The center will be housed in a 10,000 square foot facility at 2112 Jim Neu Drive and it will be available as a therapeutic outlet for area veterans. Active military guard and reserve members and their immediate families in Starke, Marshall and surrounding areas will be able to utilize the services.
A Plymouth man who lead police on a pursuit in Mishawaka and South Bend Tuesday will be in court today to face several charges.
Duane Longacre, 27, has been charged with two counts of Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting Law Enforcement, Possession of Precursors, Possession of Two or More Precursors, Motor Vehicle Theft and Carrying a Handgun without a Permit. He has two $5,000 bonds and he is in the St. Joseph County Jail.
He will appear in court this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. ET in South Bend to enter a plea on those charges.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed the right to work bill into law yesterday afternoon at 1:45 p.m. ET.
The bill was passed after 40 hours of testimony, debate and discussion over House Bill 1001. The law prohibits a business and a union from agreeing to charge fees to nonunion employees for union-provided representation and grievance services. Governor Daniels said the bill will bring jobs and opportunity for the young citizens of the state and for all of those looking for a better life.
A tax levy referendum will appear on the May Primary ballot for voters in the Oregon and Davis Townships in Starke County.
The referendum is asking voters to approve a property tax rate increase to help create more funds to keep the school corporation operating the way it is now. The increase will not exceed $.19 on each $100 of assessed valuation and it will be in addition to all other property tax levies imposed by the School Corporation.
Changes in state funded vaccines has changed operations at the Starke County Health Department.
Health Nurse Frank Lynch says that as of February 1st, the Health Department will no longer be able to provide vaccinations for those who have private insurance that covers vaccines.
Golf Carts Midwest, formerly Windy City Golf Carts, is moving out of Knox after being a viable business for over 30 years. Owner, Ed Arnold, talks about the departure of the business.
