Offenders serving time at the Westville Correctional Facility have been in Starke County since April 4th collecting garbage. The six man crew is taking part in the statewide Trash Bash. As of Friday, the offenders had picked up 113 bags of garbage on 19 miles of roadway. The offenders are all minimum security individuals.
This is Autism Awareness Month. Linda Trent of Toto has two grandchildren who are autistic, and she is helping us understand the needs of autistic children, their parents and grandparents.
One controversy that has raged for the past few years is that vaccinations cause autism. Even though much research has been done on the correlation between the vaccinations and the disease, most medical experts dispel it as untrue.
“Most people I talk to that have had autistic children, they are not opposed to vaccinations,” said Trent. “What they’re opposed to is giving a child eight or ten in a row. When you think about it, when we were younger we had a few and some we didn’t get. We didn’t get the massive amounts and we didn’t them as infants and small children. Now, if you don’t have a certain quota of vaccinations by the time the child is in Kindergarten, they’ll throw your child out of school. We’re not saying don’t. We’re saying maybe the vaccinations could be done differently.”
April is Child Abuse Prevention month.
In Indiana alone, 25,000 substantiated cases of child neglect and abuse were investigated in 2008. During National Child Abuse Prevention month, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana and Prevent Child Abuse Starke County are raising the awareness of this issue, while providing educational opportunities to help change the way we value and support the well-being of our children and families.
The North Judson-San Pierre High School Band participated in the ISSMA High School Organizational Contest this past Friday night at Lowell High School. They earned a Gold Performance Rating. With this Gold rating, they also earned the ISSMA All-Music Award for Band. In order to win this award, a band has to win Gold ratings at the ISSMA Marching Band Contest, qualify a minimum of one soloist and one ensemble to the State Solo and Ensemble contest, and receive a Gold at the ISSMA Jazz Festival and Concert Festival.
Savanna – Now what is that? You have heard of savannas in Africa, but here in Indiana? Yes, right here in Starke County. In fact, there are several in Northern Indiana. For the most part, savannas occurred in Indiana’s main prairie region in the northwestern part of the state. The plant geography of Indiana is a transition between the wide open prairies of Iowa and Illinois and the deciduous forests of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Early Indiana had prairies (almost 15 percent of the state) and forests. Savannas were interspersed between and shared some characteristics of both prairies and forests. Savannas have trees like a forest and many of the same grasses and wildflowers as a prairie. Typical trees are black and white oaks with scattered wild black cherry and sassafras. Typical shrubs are winged sumac, blueberries, and huckleberries. Wildflowers in the savannas are very different from the typical forest ones. They are more of the prairie type flowers. Lupines, puccoons and bird’s-foot violets welcome the spring, while coreopsis, sunflowers, blazing star and butterfly weed accent the summer. Fall is heralded by asters and goldenrods. Prairie grasses are also highlighted in the landscape. We probably have several small savannas in Starke County, isolated on some of the sand ridges, but one that gets all of the attention is the Ober Savanna.
Ober Savanna – Located just west of Ober, Indiana, this 59-acre parcel is owned by The Nature Conservancy and contains a high-quality remnant of a black oak savanna. Clusters of large black oaks grow among prairie grasses and wildflowers, such as little and big bluestem, Indian grass, porcupine grass, June grass, and puccoons. The rare prickly pear, yellow wild indigo, globally endangered fame flower, and wild indigo are found here, as are some rare, prairie-specific butterflies.
To find the Ober Savanna, drive west of Ober on 200 S., cross the RR tracks, and within a few hundred feet there is a small parking area on the north side of the road with the Ober Savanna sign. Follow the instructions on the sign. See attachment.
Jim Shilling
Starke County Historical Society
http://www.starkehistory.com
http://www.scpl.lib.in.us/historical/
Two Starke County residents were arrested this morning after a routine traffic stop.
A Knox City Police officer pulled over a vehicle on 300 E. and 250 N. in Knox. During the course of the traffic stop, a K9 was deployed to search for drugs. The K9 indicated that drugs were the vehicle and methamphetamine was seized. After an investigation, the officer found a handgun in the vehicle. Traci Jacobs and Paul Higdon were then arrested on preliminary charges of Serious Violent Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of Methamphetamine. They are currently being held in the Starke County Jail.
Knox residents were without power this morning after a storm blew through the area overnight. At one time, 795 residents were without power in Knox. According to NIPSCO.com, all power has been restored. Power outages were also reported in Pulaski County and in Culver this morning.
The trial of John Brooke, who was reportedly involved in an incident at Bass Lake in February of 2010, begins today in Starke Circuit Court. Brooke is facing seven charges against him. The trial begins at 9:00 a.m. in Judge Kim Hall’s courtroom. A jury of eight men and four women was seated on Friday.
Brooke was supposed to be on trial with Kimberly Hitchens but in a surprise development, Hitchens had charges of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device dismissed by the State of Indiana. She plead guilty to one charge of Aiding and Assisting a Criminal, a Class D felony. A sentencing hearing has not been set at this time.
The Indiana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol conducted a search and rescue exercise this past weekend at the Starke County Airport. Ted Hayes visited the site, and talks with Col. Mark Reeves who was directing the cadets through their exercise.
“We’re running an Air Force training mission,” said Col. Reeves. “The Air Force has authorized us to practice our skills in search and rescue. The cadets are from the age of 12 to 21. They can qualify in all sorts of things. Most of the time they are ground team members. They qualify by doing ground team type stuff, first aid, search and rescue, and line searches.”
They are the first person you talk to in an emergency. They are the calming voice in the time of extreme situations. They are emergency services dispatchers at your local law enforcement agency.
This is the week to thank those who have dispatched police, fire, or EMS as a result of your emergency call. This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
The Second District Republican Congressional Committee recently held a caucus to select a new Chairman. The caucus was held in the Fulton County Republican Headquarters in Rochester. Samuel J. Frain, of Winamac, was selected to fill the vacancy created following the death of longtime Chairwoman Joyce Smith in March. Frain had been serving as the District Vice Chairman and was a former District Treasurer. Frain was the unanimous choice of those participating in the caucus.
April is Autism Awareness Month and Linda Trent, who lives near Toto, is the grandmother of two grandsons who have been diagnosed with autism.
Although little is known about the care of autism, it is known that it affects information that is processed in the brain. Signs of the disease usually show up in a child between the ages of two and three, although some children regress into the disease as they get a little older.
Trent says that people have a hard time being around an autistic child.
“A lot of times when people see a child acting up they think, ‘Somebody should do something about that brat’, said Trent. “That brat isn’t a brat. That child can not help the activities they’re doing. Whether it’s clapping their hands or tapping on things, or making odd noises, they cannot help it. They need a lot of help in school. Many of them have a para-pro to assist them through the school system. It’s difficult for them because many of them don’t like to feel certain fabrics or certain sounds, or even smells. They might act up when things bother them. They might not hug you if you have that hair spray or cologne on. It might upset them.”
It’s not known if the disease is diagnosed more readily than in past eras, or if more children are born with a propensity for developing into an autistic child.
“We have one in every 110 children who are diagnosed as autistic,” said Trent. “It’s four times more common in boys. If you have an autistic sibling, you’re four times more likely to be autistic. It’s just growing in numbers. Cases of autism surpasses children that have AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined.”
Tomorrow we’ll explore whether vaccinations have anything to do with autism.
Prescription drugs have now passed street drugs as the method of choice for most drug abusers in the United States. There are more deaths caused by prescription drugs than cocaine and heroin each year. 20% of teens say they have taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription. Those facts don’t surprise Porter-Starke Addictions Counselor, Leo Smith.
“It’s one of the problems that people don’t see or that they don’t want to see,” said Smith. “When you get a drug from a doctor and it’s prescribed it’s like, ‘I got it from a doctor and everything’s good’ – until it starts to turn on you. This is a huge problem in Starke County. This is a huge problem everywhere. I don’t care if it’s Starke County, LaPorte County, or Porter County. It’s everywhere.”
Over 20 people died of overdoses last year in Starke County.
“That’s my understanding and in the last year, that’s 20 that they could verify,” continued Smith. “If you’re not on the front line, it does knock your socks off, but I’ve got to be honest with you, it doesn’t surprise me. I hear it first hand. I have the longest grapevine in the whole world as far as what’s going on with the prescription drug use and I hear about it all the time.”
“I got back from vacation after two weeks and the first client I saw said, ‘Did you hear about so-and-so?’ They had overdosed the Friday before I came back.”
“I haven’t fixed you after eight weeks of treatment. After eight weeks of treatment, hopefully you’ll walk out of there with some really good tools. I was laughing with some clients they other day and I said, ‘You know, I’m going to give you some Craftsmans and some Snap-ons, some Milwaukee and DeWalts, but you have to apply them and you have to use them.’ When you walk out of here, you’ll know what you are and what you need to do. Recovery is progressive. It’s a day at a time and it’s a life long process.”
Leo Smith will be talking more about drug abuse next week on WKVI. Leo Smith will be presenting a Lunch and Learn discussion on Tuesday, April 19th at the Knox Community Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. He will discuss relapse for persons recovering from substance abuse. Call 772-4040 for more information or to reserve a seat.
Two-time cancer survivor Paqui Kelly, the wife of Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly, will share her story and personal experience with students of Culver Academies at an all-school assembly at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13th, at Eppley Auditorium.
Kelly’s appearance will serve as a prelude to the Academies’ fourth annual Relay For Life at 7 p.m. ET, Friday , April 15th, at Oliver Field, located at the corner of Indiana 10 and 117. The Academies’ Relay was the first in Indiana to be student-organized and has raised more than $350,000. This year’s goal, which will be donated to cancer research, is $130,000.
Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:
The Starke County Commissioners met with HJ Umbaugh and Associates and RQAW last week to go over a few capital projects at the county facilities including the jail roof and the Courthouse elevator. A slight tax increase is being discussed to repay any money that may be borrowed for the projects.
Students from the three Starke County schools were able to see Shakespeare’s Macbeth Tuesday at the North-San Pierre High School Auditorium. The play was performed by professional actors from the Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago’s Navy Pier. Continue reading
