North Judson-San Pierre Senior Named National Merit Scholar

Posted on Author WKVI
John Eckert

North Judson-San Pierre High School Senior, John Eckert, has been named a 2012 National Merit Finalist. He talks about the program and how one is chosen as a National Merit Finalist.

“It’s a nationally sponsored program that gives scholarship money and recognition to top students around the country,” explained Eckert. “To become a semi-finalist, they look at your PSAT and SAT scores and if you do well there and you’re named a semi-finalist then you’re required to submit an application and an essay, basically like a college application. Then they take a look at all of the semi-finalists and they choose four or five thousand from around the country and they’re recognized as some of the top students in America in their graduating class.”

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From the WKVI Archives

Posted on Author WKVI
Glen Kay and Mike Gurrado

Knox’s first Mayor was Republican Glen Kay in 1955. Coming to Knox from Elgin, Ill., Kay worked first at the Ben Franklin store, eventually opening a Studebaker Dealership and then a clothing and shoe store named Glen Kay Clothing and Shoes. The store was in the building that now houses Fingerhut Bakery.

On this date 36 years ago, Glen Kay passed away of a heart attack. He was 62 years old.

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North Judson-San Pierre Academic Decathlon Team Finishes Sixth at State

Posted on Author WKVI
Academic Decathlon Medalists: Jacob Kieszkowski, Allyssa Thompson and Jonathon Hileman

The North Judson-San Pierre Academic Decathlon team earned seven medals and finished in 6th place at the State Academic Decathlon held on Friday and Saturday, February 10 and 11 at Purdue University in West Lafayette.

On Friday evening, competitors wrote essays, underwent interviews, and presented prepared and impromptu speeches. Allyssa Thompson earned a gold medal in Essay and she and Jacob Kieszkowski earned bronze medals in Interview.

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Winter Storm Watch in Effect for Listening Area

Posted on Author WKVI

Starke, LaPorte and Marshall counties, along with other counties in Northwest Indiana, are under a Winter Storm Watch from 6:00 p.m. CT tonight through Friday morning.

A mixture of rain and snow is expected to develop this afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation is expected this afternoon, but precipitation will become more widespread this evening and will likely be in the form of a rain/snow mix before becoming all snow late this evening into the overnight hours. The snow may be heavy at times before gradually tapering off Friday morning. Heavy, wet snow may fall at rates greater than an inch per hour tonight resulting in slippery and potentially hazardous travel conditions.

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Boys Career Scoring Leaders (Current Players)

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Boys Career Scoring Leaders: (Minimum 300 points)

  1. John Eckert-Sr. (NJ): 1,445
  2. Kendall Hochstedler-Sr. (NJ): 917
  3. Winston Yergler-Sr. (NJ): 773
  4. Josh Anderson-Sr. (JG): 745
  5. Elliott Coad-Sr. (K): 668
  6. Bryan McKinney-Sr. (W): 605
  7. Zach Shidler-Jr. (W): 502
  8. Riley Charlesworth-Jr. (L): 443
  9. Trent Elliott-So. (C): 419
  10. Craig McIntosh-Sr. (OD): 419
  11. Spencer Dobson-Sr. (WC): 416
  12. Marcus Kammrath-Sr. (SC): 416
  13. Collin Stevens-Jr. (C): 372
  14. Micah Budzinski-Jr. (C): 349
  15. Mitch Fingerhut-Sr. (NJ): 333
  16. Kyle Krohn-Sr. (W): 314
  17. Jordan Morning-Sr. (W): 309

Boys Basketball Leaders

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Boys Scoring Leaders: (Through 2-21-12)

(Stats as reported to www.etpearl.com)

  1. John Eckert (NJ): 19.6ppg-374 points (19 games)
  2. Riley Charlesworth (L): 17.8ppg-304 points (17 games)
  3. Winston Yergler (NJ): 17.8ppg-339 points (19 games)
  4. Elliott Coad (K): 16.8ppg-320 points (19 games)
  5. Josh Anderson (JG): 16.7ppg-318 points (19 games)
  6. Marcus Kammrath (SC): 15.6ppg-281 points (18 games)
  7. Trent Elliott (C): 15.3ppg-291 points (19 games)
  8. Kendall Hochstedler (NJ): 14.8ppg-282 points (19 games)
  9. Bryan McKinney (W): 12.7ppg-229 points (18 games)
  10. Jimmy Rippe (L): 10.2ppg-174 points (17 games)
  11. Adam Clindaniel (SC): 10.1ppg-163 points (16 games)
  12. Jake Jones (OD): 10.8ppg-206 points (19 games)
  13. Sam Culver (L): 10.1ppg-173 points (17 games)
  14. Zach Shidler (W): 10.7ppg-193 points (18 games)
  15. Jacoda Anderson (C): 10.0ppg-191 points (19 games)

Coaching Leaders: (Through 2-21-12)

  1. Dan Warkentien (SC): 259-108 .706 (16 years)
  2. Todd Boldry (K): 194-117 .624 (14 years)
  3. Travis Hannah (JG): 145-142 .504 (13 years)
  4. Bryan Heimlich (WC): 109-88 .553 (9 years)
  5. Kyle Elliott (C): 39-45 .464 (4 years)
  6. Kyle Johnson (W): 24-17 .585 (2 years)
  7. Phil Shabi (NJ): 16-3 .842 (1 year)
  8. Matt Crawford (OD): 4-16 .200 (1 year)
  9. Scot Spoljaric (L): 2-15 .117 (1 year)

Team Records: (Through 2-21-12)

  1. NJSP: 16-3
  2. Winamac: 12-6
  3. Culver: 10-9
  4. South Central: 9-9
  5. John Glenn: 9-10
  6. West Central: 6-13
  7. Knox: 4-15
  8. Oregon-Davis: 4-16
  9. LaCrosse: 2-15

Girls Career Scoring Leaders (Current Players)

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Girls Career Scoring Leaders: (Minimum 300 points)

  1. Sarah Redweik-Sr. (W): 855
  2. Ashley Campbell-So. (OD): 832
  3. Jordann Frasure-Jr. (NJ): 680
  4. Marissa Hamilton-Sr. (WC): 655
  5. Justine Kruger-Sr. (WC): 646
  6. Jesse Averone-So. (OD): 635
  7. Elisabeth White-Sr. (NJ): 635
  8. Hope Wagner-Sr. (K): 562
  9. Jill Rosenbaum-So. (SC): 503
  10. Alisha McIntosh-So. (OD): 487
  11. Stephanie Shorter-So. (W): 463
  12. Shelby Gilbert-Sr. (K): 456
  13. Kenley Sanchez-Sr. (NJ): 412
  14. Danna Timm-Sr. (NJ): 402
  15. Kayla Shaffer-So. (C): 401
  16. Katie Schwenk-Sr. (OD): 390
  17. Jessica Schramm-Jr. (W): 366
  18. Haley Frasure-Jr. (NJ): 318
  19. Kaitlin Zachary-Jr. (K): 310

Girls Basketball Leaders (Final Stats)

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Girls Scoring Leaders (Final)

(Stats as reported to www.etpearl.com)

  1. Ashley Campbell (OD): 18.8ppg-491 points (26 games)
  2. Jill Rosenbaum (SC): 15.7ppg-331 points (21 games)
  3. Sarah Redweik (W): 14.5ppg-349 points (24 games)
  4. Marissa Hamilton (WC): 14.2ppg-342 points (24 games)
  5. Kayla Shaffer (C): 13.3ppg-294 points (22 games)
  6. Hope Wagner (K): 13.0ppg-327 points (25 games)
  7. Jesse Averone (OD): 12.3ppg-283 points (23 games)
  8. Jordann Frasure (NJ):  11.8ppg-249 points (21 games)
  9. Alisha McIntosh (OD): 11.1ppg-291 points (26 games)
  10. Elisabeth White (NJ): 11.1ppg-233 points (21 games)
  11. Justine Kruger (WC): 11.0ppg-266 points (24 games)
  12. Kyler Columbia (JG): 10.8ppg-227 points (21 games)
  13. Stephanie Shorter (W): 10.3ppg-249 points (24 games)
  14. Jessica Schramm (W): 10.2ppg-247 points (24 games)

Career Coaching Records: (Final)

  1. Terry Minix (OD): 268-140 .657 (19 years)
  2. Dan Huizenga (K): 121-105 .535 (10 years)
  3. John Hampton (NJ): 118-79 .599 (9 years)
  4. Gina Hierlmeier (WC): 94-43 .686 (6 years)
  5. Tony Scheub (C): 34-15 .693 (2 years)
  6. Rick Budka (SC): 33-50 .397 (4 years)
  7. Jeff Wagner (W): 31-16 .659 (2 years)
  8. Brian McMahan (L): 6-34 .150 (3 years)
  9. Kyle Amor (JG): 4-17 .190 (1 year)

Team Records: (Final)

  1. Oregon-Davis: 21-5
  2. West Central: 18-6
  3. Winamac: 18-6
  4. NJSP: 13-8
  5. Knox: 13-12
  6. Culver: 9-13
  7. South Central: 8-13
  8. LaCrosse: 4-16
  9. John Glenn: 4-17

Jennie Carter Remains as Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County Coalition Coordinator

Posted on Author WKVI
Jennie Carter

The Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County Board voted 8-2 yesterday to have Jennie Carter remain as its Coalition Coordinator at least until an audit of the organization is completed. Two of the board members, Leo Smith and Clint Norem, voted no and Smith said he felt Carter should be suspended until the audit is received to show the community that the organization was transparent.

Another member, Diane Koenig, who made the motion, said she was of the opinion that because of the Double Dare event coming up, Carter was needed to plan and coordinate the activities.

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Starke County Council Freezes Drug and Tobacco Free Funds, Innkeepers Tax

Posted on Author WKVI
The Starke County Council discusses the issue of misappropriated funds

The recent revelation of misappropriated money from Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County and Starke County Tourism has caused embarrassment to members of several interlocking boards, and consternation on the part of county government officials. Those government officials expressed anger and frustration at this week’s Starke County Council meeting.

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Charges Filed Against Six in Pulaski County for Theft

Posted on Author WKVI

After a month of investigating into the scrap metal theft mystery in Pulaski, White, and Jasper counties, felony charges have been filed against six different people.

The thieves have allegedly stolen farm and semi tractors, farm implements, irrigation pump parts, and many other items – all adding up to tens of thousands of dollars being stolen. Pulaski County Detectives Dave Walters and Scott Taylor figured out that the stolen items had ended up in scrap yards. Since scrap yards are required to keep records of where and who their metals come from, they were able to easily find out who the perpetrators were.

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North Judson Town Board Discusses Increasing Number of Board Members

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

The North Judson Town Board discussed increasing the number of members on the Board to five.

Town Board member, Tim Cummins, recently met with a representative from the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and he has agreed to meet with the Board to explore the option. A public meeting will be held to discuss the procedure which includes meeting with the Starke County Election Board to include a referendum in an election year to give the voters a chance to determine the future of the Board.

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Knox Community School Board Updated on Situation at Door #7

Posted on Author WKVI
Gary Dulin, Jerry Fletcher, Harold Welter, Mary Lynn Ritchie, Kirk Bennett, Nathan Marcum, Mike Yankauskas, Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board members received an update from the facility study committee at their meeting this week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said a report was given on the current situation at the Palmer Wing of the Elementary School.

“Most recently, we had a problem with the entrance with Door #7 so we had to reroute the walkers and the drop-off students both morning and afternoon. The problem was we had a cement slab that was in the doorway as you come through the foyer give way. That slab sits above a tunnel that was there for the purpose of carrying water pipes, heating ducts and other items like that throughout the building and to have access to those. We had a structural engineer look at the situation and give an update to the board and basically we’re going to have to have some people come in and fix that problem before it gets any worse,” said Gappa.

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Ancilla Board Votes to Freeze Tuition

Posted on Author WKVI

Many state colleges and universities have announced tuition increases for the next academic year, but Ancilla College will not be raising tuition rates. President Dr. Ron May talks about the Board’s decision to keep prices the same:

“Ancilla College approved freezing tuition for the 2012-2013 academic year,” stated Dr. May. “This tuition freeze was taken to make college affordable for all those who wanted to pursue a college degree or finish what they may have already started. Along with the tuition freeze, we offer a variety of grants and scholarships for all kinds of students.”

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The Future of Oregon-Davis Schools Uncertain

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School

What’s ahead for Oregon-Davis schools? Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney appeared before the Starke County Council Monday night to discuss the school’s General Fund Referendum that will appear on the primary ballot in May. Because of a decrease of almost $400,000 in funding announced by the State Board of Education in October, Oregon-Davis has been left scrambling for revenue.

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Two-Month Setback in Monterey Bridge Project

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

Jeff Larrison of United Consulting and Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker told the Pulaski County Commissioners this week that they expect a delay in the construction process of the Monterey Bridge Project because of a delay with the INDOT agreement. Larrison explained that INDOT has pushed bid letting for projects throughout the state back several months and as a result, the Monterey Bridge project is expected to be let for bid in September—a two-month setback from their planned letting in July.

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No Budget Cuts for the Town of North Judson

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

North Judson Town Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry said she received notification that the Town’s budget has been approved and no cuts were ordered.

The Town Board this week discussed the terms of members on the Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning Commission and the Unsafe Hearing Authority. The members discussed staggering the terms so members with knowledge can help new ones entering into a term. Currently, all terms are up at once and when new members are elected to a board, there is a learning curve and the Town Board feels that if the terms were staggered, some experienced members could help the inductees and have smoother transition.

No decisions were made during the meeting and the information was taken under advisement.

Pulaski County Lincoln Day Dinner Held Last Night in Star City

Posted on Author WKVI
Jackie Walorski, Mike Pence and Sam Frain

Pulaski County Republicans gathered for the Lincoln Day Dinner at the Star City Community Building last night and heard an address by Gubernatorial candidate, Congressman Mike Pence.

Pence offered a glowing picture for the Hoosier state when he said that he looked forward to “building on the progress Mitch Daniels has won for the people of Indiana.”

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