Nathan VanDerAa’s plea agreement deadline date, as well as his trial date, have been postponed in U.S. District Court. No dates have been released from the U.S. Attorney’s Office but it is believed that his trial date has been moved to November.
VanDerAa has plead not guilty in federal court to two counts of Unlawful User of Controlled Substances in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition and one count of Manufacture of a Controlled Substance.
Kersting’s Cycle Center presented it’s 9th annual charity event Saturday. Jason Kersting said the Motorcycle, Music and Memories event was a success.
“It’s a big festival that we put on here at the shop and it’s only for one day,” said Kersting. “We have the food vendors come in, we had four live bands and the actual motorcycle ride took off at 1:00 p.m. ET and that ride collects donations to the MDA and it’s in memory of Nella Kersting. That raised $1,090 just from a few guys getting together to go for a ride. I know that my mother would be really honored to know that event is taking place in her name.”
Life Line Screening, the nation’s leading provider of community-based preventative health screenings, will be at the Knox Community Center on Thursday, September 15th beginning at 9:00 a.m. The event is sponsored by Pulaski Memorial Hospital.
The Knox Community School Board members honored the recent retirees at their meeting Wednesday night.
“Any year in which we have school personnel retire, we try to honor them for their years of service to the Knox Community School Corporation,” said Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “At the conclusion of the 2010-2011 school year, we had five retirees. They included Shilla Cornelius, Elementary Treasurer; Nadean Emigh, Paraprofessional at the Elementary School; Jerry Slauter, Industrial Tech teacher at the Middle School; Marilyn Wagner, a 5th grade teacher at the Knox Elementary School; and Steve Cronk, Middle School Principal.”
Since his first contest in 2010, Eric Keen, of Plymouth, has been collecting titles, trophies, and awards from his successes in the sport of bodybuilding. Currently named Mr. Wisconsin and previously Mr. Indiana and Mr. Florida for bodybuilding, Keen has been dedicated to his passion for bodybuilding for over six years. Capable of benching 300 lbs and currently fifth in the country for his class, Keen has done all this without the use of his legs.
A Starke County juvenile has been waived to adult court to face six charges against him.
On August 19th, it is alleged that Tyler Rudd, 16, of North Judson, attempted to escape from an officer at the Muncie Reception and Detention Center after the officer had un-cuffed Rudd so he could use the bathroom. Rudd also reportedly used his thumb to poke the officer’s eye and he also hit him in the face causing a facial and eye injury. In this case, he has been charged with Battery as a Class C Felony and Battery as a Class D Felony and an additional charge of Attempted Escape, a Class C Felony.
Officers from the Hamlet Police Department are investigating a theft from the Hamlet Golf Course.
A golf cart was stolen from the premises during the evening hours on Sunday, September 11th. The cart was driven off the course onto Indiana Avenue where the suspect(s) loaded the golf cart onto a trailer and fled the scene. The suspect vehicle has been described as a newer style black Dodge Ram with large polished wheels pulling a utility trailer with metal grate style bottom and ramp. Officials at the Hamlet Golf Course are offering a reward for the return of the golf cart.
The Bass Lake Conservancy District Board has announced its intent to file liens against property owners who owe more than $150 to the district as of September 7th. These liens will not be filed until Executive Director Patti Bush obtains all the necessary legal descriptions of the properties she plans to file for liens against.
Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department officers arrested two brothers after an incident Monday.
Police learned of the whereabouts of Brandon Gamblin, of Winamac, and attempted to locate him as he had a warrant out for his arrest. Police arrived at the residence on U.S. 35 but he was not there. Later, officers observed a vehicle approaching the residence that matched the description of the vehicle that Gamblin’s brother, Nathan, drives. Police asked Nathan Gamblin where his brother was and he stated that he didn’t know. He was later found inside the residence and taken into custody.
Knox High School Principal, Dr. Elizabeth Ratliff; Middle School Principal, Dave Miller; and Technology Coach, Chris Ross, appeared before the School Board last week to present them with projects the students have been doing on their new computers, thanks to the One-to-One Computer Initiative.
“From the High School, they had a student demonstrate how to solve an Algebra problem, running it through an iMovie plan, said Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “We had an English teacher show who they prepared for the reading of a story by doing research on the author, the story and different topics from the story that they were going to read. Mrs. Berkshire was here to show some of the projects that those students had done.”
The first annual S.T.E.P.S For Life Walk will be held this Saturday at Wythogan Park in Knox to draw attention to and raise money for the Bella Vita Pregnancy Resource Center. Knox Mayor Rick Chambers will be the Grand Marshal of the walk.
The staff at Bella Vita is attempting to raise funds to keep the Resource Center open more hours per week. Right now they have funding for 18 hours per week until the end of the year. Because of the increased use of the Center, the organizers feel it should be open 40 hours.
A Winamac man has been named to a national agriculture committee. Scott Fritz was named by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee. Fritz’s committee is charged with working on trade in grains, feed, oilseeds and planting seeds.
The lives of three 19-year-old boys were tragically lost in an auto accident this weekend in Royal Center. Erron Stoddard of Winamac, Brandon Lee Miller of Winamac, and Bruce Leearmel Wireman of Culver were killed when their SUV crashed into the rear of a parked semitrailer. They suffered blunt force trauma with massive internal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Starke County citizens turned out to remember and reflect during September 11th ceremonies in North Judson and Knox. At Knox, WKVI sponsored a service at the Knox High School Football Field.
The day was arranged by Gene Blastic, and featured talks by Ted Hayes, Tom Berg and Paul Mathewson. Mae Crider provided three patriotic songs, and Pastors Ed Hasnerl, Paul Begley, Jim Pradtke, and James Adcock added spiritual messages. Continue reading
A meeting to explain the findings of the 2010 State Audit of the Starke County Treasurer’s records suddenly turned confrontational Friday afternoon. The report only listed almost $22,000 that the Auditors could not find for certification.
County Council President, Mark Smith, said there is still over a half million discrepancy for 2009.
The West Central School Board members held a wind turbine construction meeting recently. Plans are to mobilize some equipment on the grounds on September 15th and evacuation work will begin on September 16th. A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for September 30th at 9:30 a.m. ET in the football stadium. The community is invited.
North Judson-San Pierre Middle School is holding their 6th annual Walk for Wellness on September 23rd.
The walk and other activities are on Friday, September 23rd and all students will participate in the educational part of the day. Raising $10 allows the student to participate in the walk-a-thon on our track. $15 allows the student to take part in other fun activities provided by each grade level team. Past activities have included swimming, minute to win it, and an obstacle course.
The 2011 Quit Now Indiana Contest is underway. This statewide contest is designed to encourage you who use tobacco products to make an attempt to quit now by offering you a chance to win cash prizes up to $2,500 for remaining tobacco-free for 31 days.
To be eligible to win, you must be 18 years of age or older, a legal resident of Indiana, and a current tobacco user. You must stay tobacco free from October 1st through October 31st in order to win the grand prize. You may register at Community Services of Starke County on Culver Road in Knox, the Henry F. Schricker Public Library in Knox, or Porter-Starke Services on Edgewood Drive in Knox.
