Paqui Kelly to Help Kick off Culver Academies’ Relay for Life
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.
Week in Review for April 4th-8th, 2011
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
John Brooke Trial Set To Begin Monday, Hitchens Has Charges Dismissed Pleads Guilty To One Count
A jury has been seated in Starke Circuit Court this afternoon consisting of 8 men and 4 women. The trial of John Brooke who is facing seven charges against him include Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Possession of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal, all felony charges. The trial will commence at 9.00 am Monday morning.
In a surprise developement Kimberly Hitchens had charges of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device dismissed by the State of Indiana but 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.
North Judson Man Arrested on Battery Charges
Starke County and North Judson police officers arrested a North Judson man early this morning after he allegedly hit and threatened his girlfriend.
According to the police report, the victim called police to report that her boyfriend, Jesus Pedroza, Jr. had battered her and threatened to kill her with a gun. Officers responded to 2683 W. and 500 S. and asked to enter the residence to find the suspect. Police found Pedroza, Jr. running away from the residence. When officers announced the K9 would be released, Pedroza, Jr.surrendered himself to police.
The victim told police that Pedroza, Jr. had punched her when returning home in the car from “The Pub”. He allegedly slammed her head against the passenger side window. Pedroza, Jr. was arrested and taken to the Starke County Jail on preliminary charges of Strangulation, Domestic Battery, Intimidation, and Resisting Law Enforcement.
Starke County Ambulance Service Discussed by Commissioners, Council
Is Starke County going to get out of the ambulance business? That was one of the questions several County Councilmen and one Commissioner attempted to answer this week.
Getting out of the ambulance business was only one of the proposals made in a session on upgrading the county’s ambulance capabilities to Advance Life Service (ALS) status.
News from the North Judson Town Board
The North Judson Town Board heard a presentation from Clerk-Treasurer, Connie Miller, about a 50/50 sidewalk program. The Clerk presented ordinances and other papers to the Board members for their consideration. It is a new program for the town and it mirrors the program in Knox where the property owner submits their project to the Board, the Utility Superintendent inspects the site and determines whether or not the applicant’s project is acceptable. The homeowner would pay for half the project and the Town would pay for the other half. The discussion was tabled until the April 18th meeting so the Attorney and the Board members can decide how to move forward.
Annual Starke United Meeting Held Thursday Night
The annual Starke United meeting was held last night at the Community Services of Starke County Building in Knox. The emcee for the evening, Megan Hamand, introduced the speaker of the evening, Marvin McLaughlin, of North Judson, who blended humor with an appeal to support the organization. Mr. McLaughlin set the stage for the rest of the evening which included the announcement of the Volunteer of the Year, Marilyn Zabinski.
Knox Community School Board Spotlights Middle School Science Fair Winners
The Knox Community School Board spotlighted the winners of the Middle School Science Fair Monday night.
17 students participated in the March 15th event and the students could enter projects in an Experiment category, Research category or Demonstration category. The first, second and third place winners won money that was donated by the Middle School PTO.
The Starke and Pulaski Lilly Scholarship Winners to be Featured on ‘Ted Hayes Remembers’
Today on “Ted Hayes Remembers”, our host will be talking about the achievements of the Lilly Scholarship Program in our area, specifically the Starke County Lilly Scholarship effort.
Ted will have not only this year’s Starke County Lilly Scholar, Jessica Jachim, but the Pulaski County Lilly Scholar winner, too. He’s Andrew Frasure.
One question Ted asked was, “At what point did studying and getting good grades become a focus?” Here is Jessica’s response:
“In third grade, I began my interest in writing and I got my first journal and ever since then, I’ve loved to write,” said Jessica. “I have 52 journals now. I began writing short stories in fourth grade on my Grandmother’s computer everyday after school. Ever since then, I’ve just developed my passion for writing.”
Andrew had this response:
“Ever since I started school, my parents were a big influence on me,” said Andrew. “They taught me to work hard and to give everything my best effort. All my coaches that have coached me throughout my entire athletic career, they’ve taught me to work hard at everything I do. In going through Elementary School and Middle School, I realized I had a talent for math and science and in High School I really progressed on this talent and I feel that Chemistry is my best subject.”
Jessica and Andrew will be with Ted today on “Ted Hayes Remembers”. The program airs at 12:20 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Chicago Man Arrested in LaPorte County on Cocaine Charges
A Chicago man is in the LaPorte County Jail after police arrested him on cocaine charges.
The LaPorte County Metro Operations Unit learned that a large shipment of cocaine was destined for LaPorte County. Investigators rapidly gathered information and learned that the shipment was to be delivered to a retail parking lot in Michigan City via automobile. Investigators from the Michigan City Street Crimes Unit, the DEA and Metro operations detectives began surveillance and the targeted suspect vehicle was located and stopped in a parking lot. Police came upon the vehicle and a Michigan City K9 alerted to drugs in a compartment in the vehicle. Investigators conducted a search and found one kilogram of cocaine inside the compartment. Officers also seized more than $30,000 in United States currency.
Knox Man Arrested after Leaving Children Alone in a Home
A Knox man was arrested Wednesday after police found he left his children unattended in a home.
According to the police report, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department received a call that a person in a red truck was doing donuts in the parking lot at the Oak Estates apartments. The Knox City Police Department officer called to the scene didn’t find anyone there at the time, but the officer did locate the suspect vehicle at 345 Ruthie Drive with one of the rear truck tires on fire. The reporting officer noted that there was a pile of melted rubber behind the tire and there was a large skid mark in the road. The officer approached the residence and found Curtis Bradley in the home and asked if the truck outside was his and Bradley confirmed it was his. The officer told him that the truck was on fire and they went outside to the truck. Bradley reportedly tried to touch the burning tire and the officer pulled him back so he wouldn’t injure himself. Bradley then started to swing his arms at the officer wanting to fight. The officer told him to put his hands behind his back and Bradley resisted. After some force, Bradley was taken into custody. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire.
Hamlet, Knox Fire Crews Respond to Call Outside of Hamlet
Residents were tearing down a house at 2323 E. 480 N. outside of Hamlet Wednesday afternoon when a fire started and got out of control.
According to Hamlet Fire Chief, Bob Goetz, scrap from the destruction of an abandoned house on the property started on fire. The fire got out of control and spread to a garage. The Hamlet Fire Department responded to the scene as well as the Knox-Center Township Fire Department and the fire was extinguished. Minimal damage was reported to the garage. There were no injuries reported.
FCC Mandates New Radio Band Frequencies; Starke County to Change to Narrow Banding
Firefighters and others using radio communication equipment attended a meeting Monday night called by Starke County EMA Director, Ted Bombagetti, to explain the future mandate to change radio bands. Because of space demands, the FCC is compressing the bands down to what is called “narrow-banding.”
“There’s too many people that want to get radios and there’s not enough frequencies open,” explained Bombagetti. “So the FCC has decided that they’re going to cut the space in half between each frequency. Right now, we’re operating in a space of 25 mhz and they’re going to cut it to 12 1/2. This allows more licenses to become available to the public.”
John Brooke and Kimberly Hitchens Combined Trial Begins Friday in Starke Circuit Court
The combined trial of Kimberly Hitchens and John Brooke is expected to begin with jury selection on Friday, April 8th at 9:00 a.m. in Starke Circuit Court.
According to court documents, on February 15th, 2010, Starke County officers went to a home at Bass Lake to serve an arrest warrant to Michael Drogosz, who allegedly planned an ambush on police when they served him the warrant. Kimberly Hitchens told police that Drogosz was not at the residence when they appeared. Drogosz was at the residence and in possession of assault rifles and incendiary devices and he did open fire on police with an assault weapon. An accomplice, James Reed, reportedly called John Brooke to come to the residence. He appeared carrying an assault rifle and wearing body armor.
North Judson-San Pierre School Board Approves Retirements
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board met in special session Tuesday night to discuss retirements.
Superintendent Lynn Johnson said nine retirements were approved and eight of those were due to Reductions in Force. Incentives were given to teachers to retire as part of a Reduction in Force initiative. The Board will post a couple of those positions and hope to fill those internally but applications will be accepted. Two positions will be Elementary positions and two will be secondary English positions in the Middle and High Schools.
Indiana Civil Air Patrol to Conduct Training at Starke County Airport
The Indiana Wing of the Indiana Civil Air Patrol will be conducting a weekend search and rescue exercise at the Starke County Airport. Approximately 130 Senior, Junior and Auxiliary cadets will bivouac from Friday night until Sunday.
Eight Civil Air Patrol aircraft will be used in the exercise, which will be a staged plane crash. Col. Mark Reeves will be in charge of the training session.
