Starke County Highway Superintendent Asked for Scrap Metal Receipts

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

Starke County Auditor Kay Chaffins has asked Starke County Highway Department Superintendent Steve Siddall for an accounting of all scrap metal items sold at the garage. She said her records showed there hasn’t been an accounting of these sales since 2008.

She passed out a December article from New Albany, Indiana at this week’s Starke County Commissioners meeting that stated the State Board of Accounts had released its investigation into the Floyd County Highway Department which concluded that over $11,000 in receipts were not accounted for from 2006 until the end of 2011. The report also concluded that more than $5,000 was deposited into a private account by the department’s head.

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Starke County Treasurer Preparing to Send out Tax Bills

Posted on Author WKVI

Starke County Interim Treasurer, Kasey Clark, told Starke County officials this week that a number of banks have been contacted and lined up to take tax payments.

“We have seven locations including the Bank of Indiana in Hamlet, the Bank of Monterey in Monterey and the Bank of Monterey in North Judson, the Bank of Indiana in North Judson, 1st Source Bank in Knox, the First Farmers Bank of Knox, and the DeMotte State Bank. Everyone will be able to drop off their payments there and be sure to leave a self-addressed stamped envelope.  We will mail them a receipt. This will help process the payments quicker and won’t hold them up in the Treasurer’s office.” said Kasey.

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Pulaski County Drug Testing May be Handled Locally

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

Retired State Trooper Cathy Fritz approached the Pulaski County Commissioners this week with a proposal to handle the county’s drug testing.  Currently, the CDL-licensed drivers are required by the state of to be tested for drug use, and Fritz says she is willing to handle this testing at a lower cost than the county’s current provider, Indiana Testing.

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High Gas Prices May Lead to Siphoning, Drive-off Activities

Posted on Author WKVI

With the price of gas slowly increasing, there could be a chance that desperate people could be siphoning fuel out of your gas tank. Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said there have been isolated siphoning incidents in the area.

“I know, in particular, a mobile saw mill had several hundred gallons of diesel fuel stolen from their tank over a weekend and that was probably a direct consequence of the rising gas prices,” said Sheriff Gayer.

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Boom Truck Locked until Inspection

Posted on Author WKVI
Steve Siddall

Fearful it may not be safe to operate, Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall has locked the boom truck. The truck, a 1998 model, is due for inspection.

Siddall discussed the cost of inspection with the County Commissioners this week.

“Just to get the boom truck up and running will cost the county $13,542.38 for an inspection,” said Siddall.

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North Judson Town Board Discusses Trash Bids, Employment Applications

Posted on Author WKVI
Front Row: Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry, Board members Ralph T. Cummins, Wendy Hoppe, and Jane Ellen Felchuk, Attorney Cassandra Hine. Back Row: Town Marshal Doug Vessely, Fire Chief Joe Leszek and Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann. Photo by Town Photographer Peggy Bohac

North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry told WKVI that three sealed bids to handle the town’s trash service were opened at the recent town board meeting. Key Waste – Indiana Partnership, Veoloia, and Richard’s Disposal submitted bids, with Key Waste’s bid being the lowest at $77,310 for the year. Henry says the town attorney will review the bids, and upon her approval, the bid will be awarded at the next town meeting on March 19th.

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Pulaski County Joins Starke in Sharing GIS Information

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County is right on the heels of Starke County in approving an agreement with the state to share its GIS information in return for $2000 to fund the GIS agreement with WTH Technology. According to Starke County IT Director Joe Short, the GIS information to be shared with the state contains no personal information, only geographic data.

The cost of the GIS agreement is only $1500, leaving $500 left over to be spent on the GIS system however the counties see fit. Currently, 86 counties throughout Indiana participate in the program, and Starke and Pulaski Counties are now a part of the program.

West Central School Board Holds Discussion on Textbooks

Posted on Author WKVI

West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon told the Board that the State will no longer provide a list of textbooks for adoption for schools. He explains that decision.

“It just turned over to a local decision,” said Mr. Mellon. “They’re not going to be having teachers come together to evaluate books and what fits the core standards. You’re supposed to be doing that at the local level. It’s a transfer of responsibility and along with that, that takes away the waiver where if you wanted to use a book that wasn’t on the list, you always had to apply for a waiver and state the reasons why this was something that fit your curriculum. The only thing they left in there was the fees. You can still charge twenty-five percent of the cost of the book for each of the first six years and then it’s back to fifteen percent if you continue using that book.”

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Monon Residents Arrested after Traffic Stop

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Monon residents were arrested after a traffic stop on U.S. 421 and County Road 300 South.

Pulaski County police say they asked Tammy Mason to exit her vehicle and she was unsteady on her feet. She had to brace herself on the vehicle to walk and talk to police. She agreed to participate in several sobriety tests which she reportedly failed. She also reportedly submitted to a Portable Breath Test which registered .194 BAC. She was arrested on preliminary charges of Operating While Intoxicated with a BAC of .15% or greater, and Operating While Intoxicated-Endangering, both misdemeanor charges.

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Francesville Man Arrested after Crashing into House

Posted on Author WKVI

A Francesville man was arrested on Saturday, March 3rd, after he drove a car into a house

Police were called to the accident site and the caller said the driver was trying to walk away from the vehicle. Police found the vehicle to have heavy front-end damage and rear damage. The windshield had a spider web crack which indicated the driver was not restrained and hit the windshield. The house also sustained damage.

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Resolution Proposed to Fly POW/MIA Flag in House and Senate Chambers

Posted on Author WKVI
State Representative Douglas Gutwein

State Representative Douglas Gutwein (R-Francesville) has co-authored a resolution that urges the Indiana General Assembly to fly the POW/MIA flag in both the House and Senate chambers. The resolution passed unanimously in the House and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The black and white POW/MIA flag is a symbol of efforts to fully resolve the fates of Americans held prisoner or missing in action. The design features a silhouette of a soldier before an implied prison camp and the words “you are not forgotten” underneath.

In his presentation, Gutwein recalled the story of Chief Warrant Officer George Andrew (Andy) Howes, a helicopter pilot from Starke County stationed in South Vietnam in 1970. After a mission over mountainous terrain and dense jungles, Howes and the other personnel on board did not return. With the advancements of technology, Howes’ partial remains were identified by DNA samples taken from his siblings.

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WKVI Receives Freedom of the Road Award

Posted on Author WKVI
Ted Hayes accepts the Freedom of the Road Award from Ernie Brewer

WKVI Radio was recently presented the prestigious “Freedom of the Road” award by ABATE of Indiana. The presentation was made at the WKVI studio with local ABATE officer, Ernie Brewer, presenting the plaque to Ted Hayes.

In accepting the award, Ted commented on how proud he was that the station was involved with such a worthwhile group, and pledged to help promote the club’s activities in the future.

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Two New Paramedics Further Improve ALS Services

Posted on Author WKVI
Tiffany Townsend, EMS Director Paul Mathewson and Jennifer Kelly

EMS Director Paul Mathewson introduced two new paramedics to the county commissioners this week: Jennifer Kelly, a paramedic from Laporte County, and Tiffany Townsend, an ALS-certified paramedic whose skills will come in heavy use with the new certification.

Mathewson told the commissioners that the necessity of ALS is not determined until the paramedics arrive on the scene of a call and, based on symptoms and other indicators, pronounce the subject to have a need of Advanced Life Support. Mathewson said that these indicators can range from skin color to profuse sweating.

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Monterey Bridge Project Update

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

Another slight hiccup in the Monterey Bridge project was brought before the Pulaski County Commissioners yesterday, as Jeff Larrison from United Consulting announced a small slip of land would cost the county $329 more than previously expected.

The commissioners previously agreed to offer the landowners $900 for a small, previously overlooked sliver of land near the riverbank, but the landowners have countered with a request for $1229. Larrison explained that the increased cost comes from the landowners’ desire to sell the entire parcel of land, rather than a significant chunk.

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Starke County Commissioners Discuss Time Cards

Posted on Author WKVI
Ruth Jensen

Starke County employees may be going to a time card system in the near future.

Starke County Deputy Auditor, Ruth Jensen, has been researching current systems to see which to take before the Starke County Commissioners for their approval. Jensen said this week at the commissioner’s meeting that the old time clock method has been upgraded for the 21st century to assure that employees are on the job when “clocked in.”

The commissioners asked Jensen to schedule demonstrations from companies that she has investigated.

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Third Grade Students to Take IREAD Test this Month

Posted on Author WKVI

he Department of Education has developed a new test for third grade students called IREAD. Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Knox Community School Corporation, Peggy Shidaker, talks about the IREAD test.

“It’s a little bit different from ISTEP in that IREAD measures only foundational reading skills that students should have acquired from Kindergarten through grade three.”

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State to Fund GIS Agreement Renewal

Posted on Author WKVI
Joe Short

County IT Director Joe Short approached the commissioners this week with an update regarding their Geographic Information System agreement with WTH Technology. According to Short, the agreement has expired and needs renewed, but he says the state has offered to cover the cost of renewing the agreement in exchange for sharing their GIS information.

Short says the state will fund $2000 toward the agreement for the next two years, while the GIS cost is only $1500. The extra $500, Short says, can be spent on related expenses to the GIS system.

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