Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:
Andy Howes’ remains returned to Knox on Monday and he was escorted to Knox from the Indianapolis airport by the Indiana State Police, Knox City Police Department, Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Patriot Guard. A memorial service was held Tuesday night at the Knox Community Center and he was laid to rest Friday in Arlington National Cemetery.
A Starke County woman was taken into custody Friday and charged with causing the death of 3-year-old Ethan Brown on June 18. Stacie Brown, 34, is being held under a $250,000 bond in the Starke County Jail for two Class A felonies: Count one, Battery Resulting in Death; and count two, Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death. She is the step-mother of Ethan. Continue reading
After being honored by his hometown Monday and Tuesday, Chief Warrant officer Andy Howes will be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery.
Services will be held at Memorial Chapel on the Ft. Myers property at 11:00 a.m. ET. Following the services, the procession will go to Arlington with the casket riding on a horse drawn caisson. Also participating in the services will be an Army band and a firing squad will fire the 21 gun salute.
Edwin Buswell, Executive Director of the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission, approached the Starke County Commissioners and informed them of a grant they are seeking from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to fund debris removal from the Yellow River, from the Knox area to the Marshall County line.
“Back in 2008, the state got funds from the disaster recovery program to take care of debris that is clogging rivers and causing erosion on the ditch banks,” said Buswell.
In 1911, the Knox Fire Department came into existence. The first Fire Chief went on to become the Governor of Indiana. Knox’s first Fire Chief was none other than Henry F. Schricker.
To celebrate the 100 year Anniversary of the Fire Department, the current volunteer firemen are planning a huge celebration.
It all begins Saturday morning with an 11:00 a.m. corn and sausage roast dinner at the Southside Firehouse. Inside you’ll find various memorabilia and photos to view.
Nathan VanDerAa, of Star City, was in U.S. District Court in South Bend on Monday where he plead not guilty to two counts of Unlawful User of Controlled Substances in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition and one count of Manufacture of a Controlled Substance. A plea deadline date has been set for September 13th, 2011 and if a plea is not reached by that date, he will go on trial on September 20th. He is out of jail as he was released on an unsecured bond of $10,000 on July 6th.
The Knox Community School Board approved administrator contract rollovers and a one percent pay increase for all classified and administrative staff for 2011. The pay increase is the same the teachers received for 2011.
The Board also approved the advertisement of the budget for 2012. The budget will be printed for all funds including the General Fund, Debt Service Fund, Retirement/Severance Bond Debt Service, Capital Projects Fund, School Transportation and the Bus Replacement Fund. Total of all funds to be advertised equals $24,197,043.
The North Judson Town Board discussed urban chicken farms within town limits at their last meeting in July. The police department received complaints about the farms and the Board was going to look into the ordinances to see about prohibiting those types of activities in town.
On Monday, North Judson resident, Sarah Ransom, presented the Board with information concerning urban chicken farms. Ransom’s neighbors were also present at the meeting and they said that Ransom’s farm poses no problems with them. The Board agreed to review the information, but did not make any decision concerning the allowance of the farms within town limits.
Monterey Town Board President Jim Fleury told WKVI News yesterday that petitions to deannex from the Culver Community School Corporation are almost finalized and should be ready to be distributed. A committee wanting to deannex and go with the Eastern Pulaski School District will be seeking the signatures of registered voters and taxpayers in Tippecanoe Township. The petitions should be showing up in businesses as early as Friday of this week.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall and Ken Minett from Butler, Fairman, and Seufert met with the Starke County Commissioners regarding the hire of a project inspector to oversee the repairs on Bridge 156. The County has had an inspector for all bridge projects in the past, and the previous Superintendent was qualified to inspect and oversee these projects as well.
Minett told the Commissioners that hiring an inspector is paramount to the safety of the bridge, because it’s possible for contractors to leave out vital rebar, use incorrect steel, or make a small mistake that could sacrifice the integrity of the structure. Without an inspector, said Minett, the consequences are unknown and could be staggering.
Town Conventions will be held in Winamac, Francesville and Medaryville.
A Town Convention will be held in Winamac on Thursday, August 18th at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Winamac High School Auditorium. A vote there will determine a single Republican candidate for the position of Town Clerk-Treasurer. Republicans Christina L. (Shorter) Hoffa and Melanie A. (Parish) Berger have filed and one them will go onto the General Election to face Democrat David Weber.
The Knox Community School Board dissected the Corporation’s ISTEP results at their meeting Monday night.
Students in the Elementary School showed gains in the 3rd grade Math and English/Language Arts while the 4th graders were down a little in English/Language Arts and unchanged in Math. The 5th grade students had a five point gain in Math.
Lt. Governor Becky Skillman and Indiana Agriculture Director, Joe Kelsay, will present 72 families with the Hoosier Homestead Award on Wednesday, August 10th at 10:30 a.m. ET. The ceremony will take place in the Indiana Farm Bureau Building Auditorium at the Indiana State Fair.
SCILL Center Director Jerry Gurrado announced this week that there are still a few slots left for Junior or Senior area High School students or home schoolers who would be interested in taking the auto mechanics course. You will receive full accreditation in the highly competitive field of automobile mechanics while attending high school and receiving college credits.
Many people call it the greatest outdoor game that can be played by two people or two teams of two people. It’s horseshoe pitching and there is a new horseshoe pit at Sandy Acres Park.
George Byer and Clarence Marshall were completing the placement of the stakes for yet another addition at the Park on the south edge of Knox.
The Knox City Police Department had 483 calls in the month of July, responded to six accidents and officers completed 31 incident reports.
There were 4 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated arrests, 3 Public Intoxication arrests, 3 Battery arrests, 2 warrant arrests, 16 people arrested on 18 traffic charges, 25 people arrested on 36 criminal charges and 2 juveniles arrested on 2 charges. Continue reading
The remains of Chief Warrant officer, Andy Howes, now move on to a final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery after Memorial Services were held in Knox yesterday. Those services will be Friday, August 5th.
The family had brought him back to Knox hoping the ceremonies would bring closure to the community that nurtured him in his formative years.
Town Conventions will be held in Hamlet and North Judson as several contested races have surfaced for town offices.
In Hamlet, Republicans Debra Goble and Jill Hovarter have filed for the Clerk-Treasurer’s office. A Town Convention will be held to determine the lone Republican candidate who will face Democrat candidate is Kristina Pitts on the November ballot. Brian Jeffrey Earnest, a Democrat, is the only candidate who filed for the Ward 1 seat on the Hamlet Town Council. Democrats Kerry Stone and Dean Hoy Goble have filed for the Ward 2 seat along with Republicans Dave Kesvormas, Sr. and Todd Leinbach. Democrats Frank Lonigro, Jr. and Leo Robert “Bob” Yung are on the Ward 3 seat.
The Starke County Commissioners toured the LaGrange County Jail last week. Commissioner Kathy Norem, who is the contact official for the jail, said the LaGrange facility was older than the other three they have visited. Earlier they went to the Marshall, Jasper, and Fulton County jails.
One of the advances the LaGrange County Jail did not have was video conferencing.
The Oregon-Davis School Board had a special celebration this week to honor just retired school Treasurer, Susan Rowles.
“We had a reception prior to our meeting where many former School Board members and Superintendents come back as well as Susan’s family and staff,” said Superintendent, Dr. Steve Disney. “It was a terrific tribute to Mrs. Rowles. Following the reception, we had a special board meeting in which we publicly and officially honored her years of service by dedicating and naming our Board room and Administration room the Mrs. Susan G. Rowles Board Meeting Room.”
