John Glenn Spell Bowl Team Heads to State

What would you do if you were a school Superintendent and there was a high school coach who qualified for the state tournament 25 out of 25 years?

You’d probably recommend him or her for a raise. Well John Glenn’s High School Spell Bowl Team has qualified each year that Paul Hernandez has been coaching them. Of those years, they have been state champs in their class 15 times.

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Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday, November 6th

Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 6th at 2:00 a.m. This Saturday night, or Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. prevailing time, you will need to set your clock back one hour.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 marks the change in the observance of Daylight Saving Time. It officially begins on the second Sunday of March and end on the first Sunday in November.

Sandhill Cranes Return to Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area

Sandhill Crane

The Sandhill Cranes are back at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area. Jim Bergens, the Property Manager, was asked how many of the big birds have migrated to the property so far this season.

“We count on Tuesdays and the last two counts have been in the six to eight thousand range,” said Jim Bergens. “The average peak is 16-20,000 and it occurs in late November, early December.”

Bergens  talked about the cranes’ migratory pattern.

“The birds are coming from Wisconsin and going to Central Florida and Jasper-Pulaski is right underneath that route. We just have the right kind of habitat that they like and often times, some of the cranes may spend several weeks here which is why we build up such large numbers. Then they push on south and they winter from Kentucky and Tennessee all the way to Florida.”

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Halloween Costumes Judged after a Busy Night of Trick-or-Treating

The Judges: Miss Kankakee Valley Outstanding Teen Katlynn Surfus, WKVI's Tom Berg and Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem

Costumes were judged last night after a rigorous hour-and-a-half of trick-or-treating in Knox. The event was sponsored by the Knox Friends of the Park organization and it was held at the Knox Community Center.   The judges had their hands full with three categories to judge in age groups 0-5, 1st through 5th graders and 6th through 8th graders.  There were definitely some unique costumes!

Here are the winners: Continue reading

Starke County Emergency Personnel Responds to Three Vehicle Accident

Starke County emergency personnel were called to a three vehicle accident at the intersection of State Road 8 and U.S. 35 Saturday.

Marilyn Stellingwerf, 83, of Demotte, was at the intersection when she pulled onto U.S. 35 and into the path of a vehicle driven by Vaid Robinson, 74, of Hamlet. Robinson hit the passenger side of Stellingwerf’s vehicle, causing it to spin into the southbound lane of U.S. 35. Robinson’s vehicle was struck by a southbound vehicle driven by Brandon Brammer, 27, of Knox.

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Starke County Jail Commitee Meets

Starke County Jail

The Starke County Jail Committee met Friday afternoon at the Starke County Courthouse. The committee has been assembled to look at options for building a new, or renovate, the troubled Starke County Jail.

The committee concentrated on the Needs Assessment Study on Friday and were left with assignments to complete before the next meeting on November 14th.

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Meet the Candidates for North Judson Town Board in Ward 3

North Judson Town Board President Dan Anderson, a Democrat, is running against Republican Tim Cummins for a seat on the Board in the November 8th election.

Anderson lives in North Judson, where he is also the Town Superintendent. He has been involved with waste water utilities for 23 years and law enforcement for 10 years. He is a father of four, and grandfather of three.

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Parents Vote to Continue with Music Programs at West Central

The results of the West Central Elementary School parent surveys regarding music programs are in.

Elementary School Principal, Tony Brose, told the School Board that the surveys show that the parents are in favor keeping the music programs. A Kindergarten through fifth grade Christmas program will be held on December 20th, the third grade students will hold a March concert with recorders and the second graders will do a vocal concert in March. The fourth and fifth grade students will perform a recorder program in the spring.

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Starke County Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner Held Saturday

Starke County Democrats gathered at the Knox Community Center Saturday night for the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner.

Those present heard from Congressman Joe Donnelly, Senator Jim Arnold and State Representative Nancy Dembowski. They also heard from Brendon Mullen for the first time who is the party’s 2nd District Congressional candidate scheduled to take on Republican Jackie Walorski in the 2012 election.

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Giant Pumpkin Drop at Hensler’s!

These are two of the pumpkins that will be featured during today's pumpkin drop!

The WKVI Giant Pumpkin Drop is today from Noon-2:00 p.m. CT at Hensler Nursery in Hamlet.

Two giant pumpkins will be dropped from a crane. One pumpkin weighs 700 pounds and a 1,100 pound pumpkin will be dropped onto a panel van! Smaller pumpkins will be launched out of a cannon by the Fahrfunflinger group out of Illinois. There could be a 1,200 pound watermelon dropped as well.

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Week in Review for October 24th-28th, 2011

Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:

Shelby Thomas

Shelby Thomas plead not guilty in Starke Circuit court on Friday to three counts of Attempted Murder, four counts of Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon and three counts of Resisting Law Enforcement with a Deadly Weapon. He was arrested October 16th after an incident in Knox where he allegedly threatened a Knox man and three police officers.

IU Health Starke Hospital CEO Linda Satkoski said that the $2 million that will be used in a capital spending request approved by the Starke County Council will consist of making immediate needs of the hospital. Those needs include improving the overall look of the facility. Continue reading

Donald Humphrey Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Donald Humphrey

Donald Humphrey was sentenced Wednesday in the Starke Circuit Court for Harassment as a Class D misdemeanor, Intimidation as a Class D felony, and two charges of Intimidation as a Class C felony.

During the sentencing hearing, the victim, David Palm, gave a brief statement to the court requesting the maximum sentence for Humphrey, saying he’ll “never change.” He also requested three days of pay that he had lost to come to court, for a total of $250.

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Meet the Candidates for Knox City Council District 1

Knox City Council President Ed Blue will be stepping down from his council seat at the end of the year. Republican Thom Morin and Democrat Donald Kring are vying for the District 1 seat in the November 8th election.

Republican Morin was asked why he decided to run for the position.

“When you love a city and you see the things that you don’t feel are right, you want to do something,” said Morin. “We have a growing drug problem in the City of Knox and there are so many other areas of the city that need to be fixed and need attention. We have a growing senior citizen population in this city so we need to be able to address those issues. That’s why I’m running for City Council because I feel that’s where I can help and be a value to my community.”

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