Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County Awards Grants

Posted on Author WKVI

Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County recently awarded $18,000 in grants from the Drug Free Starke County Fund. Grants were awarded in three categories: Prevention, Treatment and Justice.

The recipients include North Judson-San Pierre Middle School and High School, City of Knox for National Night Out, TAR WARS “Beware of Tobacco”, Knox Middle School for two programs, Porter-Starke Services for the Prime for Life Program, and Starke County Probation for the Substance Abuse Evaluation Supplementation program. The Knox City Police Department received a thermal imager and money for drug and evidence lockup.

Search Warrant Nets Four Arrests in Knox

Posted on Author WKVI
Ellis Clemons
Brandie Kotras
Tracie Young
Steve Wilson

Four Knox residents were arrested Friday morning after officers from the Knox City Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at 202 W. Locust Drive in Knox.

Officers had received complaints about methamphetamine being used in the residence around small children and after an investigation, a search warrant was issued. Arrested were Ellis Clemons, 44, and Brandie Kotras, 33, who have preliminary charges of Possession of a Legend Drug and Maintaining a Common Nuisance. 25-year-old Tracie Young has preliminary charges of Possession of Marijuana and Maintaining a Common Nuisance. Steve Wilson, 40, was also arrested and he has preliminary charges of Possession of Marijuana, Maintaining a Common Nuisance and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.

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Oregon-Davis Township Trustee Asks School Board for Land

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Superintendent, Dr. Steve Disney

The Oregon-Davis School Board heard a presentation of a request for the purchase of some school property at its most recent meeting.

“We heard a presentation by the Township Trustee with the investigation to build and go after property for a new fire station in Hamlet and they’re looking at the property where the old school used to sit,” said Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney.

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North Judson Town Board Approves Resolution for Fire Department Trade

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson Town Board: Dan Anderson, Wendy Hoppe, Jane Ellen Felchuk, Attorney Cassie Hine and Clerk-Treasurer Connie Miller

The North Judson Town Board approved a resolution to allow a trade of equipment between the North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department. The North Judson Department will get a 1980 Ford pumper truck with a 750 gallon tank and in exchange, Knox will receive an air bag system that is capable of lifting up vehicles to help in emergency situations. The Knox City Council members approved a similar resolution at their recent meeting.

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Miss Kankakee Valley and Miss South Bend Pageants Held Sunday

Posted on Author WKVI
Samantha Rife, Kethleen Raab, Katlynn Surfus, Tom Berg and Megan Smaltz

The 10th Annual Miss Kankakee Valley and Miss South Bend Scholarship Pageants were held in Knox Saturday afternoon.

The winners from the competition will now go on to the Miss Outstanding Teen and Miss Indiana Pageants in Zionsville next summer.

Announced as Miss Kankakee Valley this year was Samantha Rife, of Star City. Samantha attends Ball State University, where she is majoring in telecommunications and also is a member of the women’s track team. Samantha has also applied for another competition.

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Ancilla College Recognition Banquet Scheduled for October 6th

Posted on Author WKVI

The annual Ancilla College Recognition Banquet will be held Thursday, October 6th, on the campus.

During the evening, two important awards will be conferred on a pair of important people to the college. The first award is the Sister Mary D. award given to a person who has shown outstanding leadership in promoting Ancilla College. The recipient of the award is Betty Chesak, of North Judson, who has for many years worked tirelessly to raise money for scholarships through the Alumni Association.

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Bella Vita Pledge Walk Gathers $6,300

Posted on Author WKVI
Bella Vita

The recent Bella Vita pledge walk at Wythogan Park in Knox helped raise $6,385 for the new pregnancy resource center located on Heaton Street.

Rhonda Adcock, President of the organization talked to us about the day.

“We had a really good cross section of our community there,” said Adcock. “We were able to get 88 walkers and we had about 120 people in attendance with all of our helpers and our board members and everyone that was there. We had a great financial turnout and we were able to have the Mayor come and be our Marshall for the walk.”

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Economy Auto Holds Customer Appreciation Day

Posted on Author WKVI
George and Della Mammarella

The annual Economy Auto Sales Customer Appreciation Party was held at Wythogan Park yesterday. In one hour, over 400 hotdogs and 550 hamburgers were served.

There was fun for the kids and giveaways.

“The rain in the morning stopped long enough to have the picnic and it started sprinkling at the end,” said George Mammarella. “I don’t have a final count, but I think we had about 400 people.”

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Emergency Personnel to Participate in Training Sunday Morning

Posted on Author WKVI

Fire Department and ambulance personnel and police officers from many departments in Starke County will be participating in Emergency Vehicle Operator Course training Sunday morning (September 25th) at the Washington Township Fire Department.

Tom Champion, from Terre Haute, is the state instructor for the class which takes firefighters, EMS personnel and police officers through a driving training course. This will give all emergency personnel certification for the rest of the year. The training will not cost the county any money; it is supplied by an insurance company.

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Knox Man Arrested after Pursuit Incident

Posted on Author WKVI
Danny Traylor

A Knox man was arrested Thursday after an employee at Burger King observed him to be intoxicated in the Drive-thru.

According to the police report, the Knox City Police officer observed the suspect vehicle going eastbound on State Road 8. The officer stated that he saw the driver go left of center three times and initiated a traffic stop. The driver failed to stop; in fact, he sped up. The chase went north on State Road 23 where the officer clocked speeds up to 95 miles per hour. The pursuit ended at 9840 E. 50 S. at the suspect’s home. The officer got out of his vehicle and ordered Danny Traylor out of the vehicle. He told officers that he had to hurry home and get food to his wife. The officer observed Traylor to be intoxicated and asked to perform sobriety tests which he refused. He was eventually taken into custody and taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for a blood draw.

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Week in Review for September 19th-23rd, 2011

Posted on Author WKVI

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

Knox City Council final #3

The Knox City Council is looking at city ordinances and zoning ordinances to make sure that all property is accounted for so the city can control building and other issues in the two mile jurisdiction.

The only department that got an increase in the 2012 Starke County budget was EMS. The County Council expects that when the EMS is upgraded to Advanced Life Service, the EMS can charge more for ambulance services. Continue reading →

Week 6 Predictions

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Harold’s Picks: (21-8)

John Glenn-42  CMA-14

Knox-14  Culver-12

NJSP-38  Kankakee Valley-7

South Central-41  Lake Station-12

West Central-21  Winamac-14

Nathan’s Picks: (19-10)

Culver-28  Knox-21

John Glenn-35  CMA-14

NJSP-40  Kakakee Valley-20

South Central-35  Lake Station-0

Winamac-21  West Central-7

Starke County Commissioners Receive 47TR Report from Treasurer’s Office

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Commissioners received the “47TR” figures from one of the interim employees in the Treasurer’s office this week. That report is sent to the state each month showing that the figures balance with the bank receipts.

In an answer to a question from Commission President Dan Bridegroom, Casey Clark stated they still are not balancing, but “they are working on it.” By working with the Auditor’s office, the monthly figures are now balancing, but they are still off $46,000, according to Clark. That figure is a combination of money that is unaccounted for in 2010, and what she has found back to May of 2011

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Knox-Center Township Fire Department Battles House Fire

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox-Center Township Fire Department fought a fire at Judy Sinn’s residence at 5655 E. 250 N. in Knox yesterday morning.

Fire Chief Ken Pfost told WKVI that a representative from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office determined it was accidental. The fire started in a recessed light fixture in the kitchen. Over $75,000 in damage was done and no injuries were reported at the scene.

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Two North Judson Teens Arrested on Burglary, Theft Charges

Posted on Author WKVI
Nicholas Rudd
Joshua Muzik

Two people have been arrested in connection with burglaries at two downtown businesses in North Judson.

North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely said that 16 cases of beer and several bottles of liquor were taken from Grand Central Station and a set of Wilson golf clubs and a bag were taken from Rosa’s Resale Shop. After an investigation, officers recovered the stolen property from a residence in the 300 block of Main Street.

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Senator Arnold Visits Starke County Commissioners and Council

Posted on Author WKVI
Senator Jim Arnold

Sixth District State Senator, Jim Arnold, paid a visit to the Starke County Council and Commissioners this week. Arnold, who was assigned parts of Starke County in a new district, paid a courtesy call on both governing bodies, saying that the members can call him if they need help in any way. If elected in the 2012 election, Arnold’s new district will take in Davis, Oregon, Washington, Center, and Jackson Townships. Senator Ed Charbonneau will be left with only Railroad, Wayne, California, and North Bend townships.

Members of the council mentioned two topics they will be interested in during the 2012 legislative session. Those topics are the 9-1-1 and Police Pension Fund financing.

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North Judson-San Pierre School Board Submits Bus Purchase Order

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson-San Pierre Superintendent Lynn Johnson

Lynn Johnson, the Superintendent of the North Judson-San Pierre School system, talked with WKVI News this week about the highlights of the most recent School Board meeting.

“We did put in a bus purchase notice,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We’re looking at the possibility of purchasing one 72 passenger bus, one special needs bus with a lift, and one multi-purpose bus. Depending on funding, we may purchase two out of the three. We just don’t know yet.”

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