Knox residents are reminded that a burning ordinance is in effect. It is unlawful to maintain any form of leaf burning or wood burning of any kind, on private or public property.
The Police Department will issue a warning notice to a first time violator, then a $50 citation will be issued. Each separate offense shall be considered a separate violation.
The absentee voting period in Pulaski County begins October 31st and runs through Friday, November 4th. You can vote on the voting machine on the first floor of the Courthouse from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. ET.
Absentee voting will also be available on November 5th from 8:00 a.m. to Noon and on Monday, November 7th from 8:00 a.m. to Noon ET. Continue reading
There will be a new fountain in the Winamac Town Park, through the generosity of the Leah Jane Newman family.
Mrs. Newman passed away recently and the family and friends wanted to do something in remembrance of her life. According to Town Clerk-Treasurer, Judy Heater, Mrs. Newman was a lovely lady and this will be a appropriate way to remember her.
A Knox High School student was killed in a single vehicle accident late Monday night.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department said that 17-year-old Andrew “Drew” Shearin was traveling eastbound on State Road 8 when for some unknown reason, his vehicle left the roadway and struck a NIPSCO utility pole. The accident occurred just east of the Yellow River Bridge. Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers and Washington Township Fire Department personnel found him trapped in the vehicle and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Starke County EMS and the Knox City Police Department assisted at the scene.
James “Jim” Carr, former Pulaski County Journal reporter, has been found guilty of Murder after a four day trial in Fulton Superior Court. A jury found him guilty in the death of Roy A. Shaffer in November 2006.
Shaffer was renting a home from Carr in Monterey when Carr shot Shaffer in the face with a shotgun. He then told a woman about the incident when she drove him home from a tavern.
Starke County officials are discussing selling IU Health Starke Hospital to IU Health LaPorte Hospital. A committee made up of county officials has been named and now members from the IU Health Starke Hospital Board have been named to be on the committee that will bring a sale recommendation to the county.
Contracts are once again ink on paper for the Culver Community Schools Corporation. After a team of administrators and the Culver Community Teacher’s Association went through a series of negotiations, a contract has finally been ratified by both the CCTA and the school board.
Superintendent Brad Schuldt praised the CCTA highly for their efforts in the negotiation, and their drive to help the corporation by making some concessions in producing this contract. The contract that was approved included no raises for the staff, including incremental raises which are given annually based on years of experience—a first since collective bargaining has been in effect. In addition, they agreed to contribute more of their own money to cover their insurance plans. Schuldt was impressed with the teachers’ willingness to cooperate in the contract negotiations.
As one of a handful of counties north of Indianapolis still without zoning regulation, Pulaski County is under some pressure to get their zoning under control. As a solution, the Planning Commission has put together a presentation of all the planning documents, including maps of Pulaski County that detail how the land is being used in terms of businesses, cemeteries, residential areas, and agricultural areas.
According to a specialist in renewable energies, Pulaski County is in a prime location to take advantage of corn-based renewable fuel. Chad Martin from Purdue Extension was present at the economic summit at the Francesville Fire Station on Sept. 22, and he told community leaders that corn stover, which is the pieces of corn plants that are left over from the harvest process such as stalks and cobs, can be converted to fuel instead of thrown away or left on the field.
Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer says that this could be a great opportunity for Pulaski County to shine, because its skill in agriculture paired with a focus on renewable energy could be extremely beneficial to farmers, as well as the county as a whole.
Today is the last day to register to vote in this year’s General Election. Visit this website to update your voter registration information or your may register by mail or in-person at a county voter registration office, the Indiana Election Division or a branch office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
National Fire Prevention Week is this week and Knox-Center Township Fire Chief, Kenny Pfost, has this fire prevention tip.
“Keep paper, dish towels and other combustibles away from the stove top,” he urged. “Some people have paper towel dispensers below the cabinets and it is recommended that a toaster is not placed underneath that dispenser.”
Pfost said it’s important to have house numbers visible so firefighters can find your home in case of a fire.
The investigation into the burglary at Five Star continues and is being handled by the Knox City Police Department where they will be reviewing security cameras that caught three suspects in the store. The burglary occurred shortly after 1:00 a.m. Monday morning.
Police told WKVI that the suspects broke into the store by prying open the back door. The suspects did minimal damage in the store and they attempted to get money from an ATM, but no money was stolen. A complete inventory has not been done to see if anything was taken. Police are are looking for the vehicle used in the incident, a late 1990s model Chevy Malibu.
Several residents of Tippecanoe Township, outraged at the closure of Monterey Elementary, have started a petition for de-annexation from the Culver Community School Corporation to the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation. This petition, which has now collected over 600 signatures, will soon be presented to the Culver School Board in the hopes that they will agree to the request.
The November General Election is now less than one month away. Voters will be selecting a Clerk-Treasurer, Town Council members and Mayors, in some cases in this Municipal Election.
For the City of Knox, only one race is contested and that is the City Council District One race with candidates Don Kring, a Democrat and Republican Thom Morin. That will be the only race that will appear on the ballot. This year’s legislature approved the printing of only contested races on this year’s ballot. Starke County Clerk, Evelyn Skronski, said that may cause some confusion for voters.
The North Judson Town Board discussed the State Road 39 project and its progress last week.
The project is going smoothly and paving on State Road 39 should begin this week. Another half block has been added to this project as leftover funds allowed for the completion of additional work. This will take care of the sewer separation issue on that part of town. Only a small section of town needs to be done before all of the storm water and sewer drains are separated throughout the town.
Starke County Health Nurse, Frank Lynch, has released information about upcoming flu shot clinics.
Adult flu shots will be given on Thursday, October 13th from 4:30-7:00 p.m. CT at the Health Department in the Starke County Courthouse. A children’s flu shot clinic will be held on Thursday, October 20th from 4:30-7:00 p.m. CT. Some nasal mists will be available for children.
This week is National Fire Prevention week.
“Fire Prevention Week lasts all week through the 15th,” said Knox-Center Township Fire Chief, Kenny Pfost. “We try to educate not only children, but adults as well on fire prevention tips and techniques and how to be safer.”
“October is always a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Make sure that you have at least two exit plans. If you live in a two story house, you need to have some sort of escape devise if you should have a fire so you can escape the second floor. You should have something like a collapseable ladder. You need to have a meeting place outside to where everyone can meet up when they’re outside of the house.”
North Judson Police Chief, Doug Vessely, announced the hire of a new officer at the recent Town Board meeting where he was introduced to the Board members.
Officer Frank Thomas attended the 193rd class at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield and graduated on Friday, September 30th. The course is 600 hours and includes academics, emergency vehicle operations, physical tactics, vehicle S.T.O.P.S. crash investigation, criminal investigations, patrol techniques, report writing, and standardized field sobriety training. Vessely stated that Officer Thomas passed every aspect of the training including firearms training where he qualified as an “expert”. He finished training with a 93.3 academic average.
Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:
Starke County officials heard a proposal from IU Health Starke Hospital regarding the purchase of the hospital facility, land and equipment from the County. No decision was made. IU Health Starke Hospital is asking the county to approve another $2 million in upgrades before the sale to IU Health LaPorte Hospital. Starke County is already committed to $7.4 million that the LaPorte facility inherited with the signing of the lease in 2006. If the hospital is sold, that money will be waived.
WKVI morning man, Tom Berg, plus Anita Goodan, Nathan Welter and Ed Hasnerl greeted people driving by the radio station this morning as the morning show went outside for the day. The staff enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and continue to enjoy the traffic driving by the station. Stop by and enjoy donuts from Fingerhut Bakery (Anita is in a sharing mood today) and look at an electric car from the Cambe dealership in Knox. Thank you to Five Star and Schwan’s for food today! A bouncy house is set up so you can take advantage of some stress release, thanks to Jumps “R” Us. Thanks to Lenny Dessauer for helping to set up everything today! Continue reading
