April is National Car Care month. Rod Dawson, Instructor at the SCILL Center in Knox, is in this week to offer gas mileage saving car care tips with us.
“Three out of ten vehicles have either missing or failed gas caps and nearly 150 million gallons of gas vaporizes because of it,” said Dawson. “A $5.00-$10.00 gas cap is an easy fix for that.”
Mr. Dawson will have more tips for us throughout the week on how we can keep our cars running efficiently and how we can save money at the pump.
At their last meeting, the Eastern Pulaski School Board members discussed eliminating Driver’s Education from the curriculum. During last week’s meeting, Superintendent, Dr. Robert Klitzman, shared the results of a Driver’s Education survey he conducted with 26 participating schools.
“13 of the 26 offered it only in the summer and it is strictly a fee assessed to the students that take it. No Corporation money is involved at all,” Dr. Klitzman explained. “12 other schools don’t offer it at all. There’s a private contractor involved. There is only one lone school that offers it during the school year for absolutely no cost to the student and that happens to be Eastern Pulaski Schools. I’m not going to recommend we do anything for this coming school year, but for the following school year, I just don’t see how we can offer Driver’s Training during the year any longer. The way finances are and the trend, it’s just not a practical matter.”
The West Central School Board approved the Reduction in Force procedures that the Corporation will continue to use this year.
“Often these past few years, we’ve had to go through this process and much of the time we’re hiring much of the same people back that we are putting on the reduction in force list,” said Superintendent Charles Mellon. “In case we don’t get the funding we anticipate, and even more so this year if we get the funding that we are anticipating, which is less, it’s even more critical that we notify our teachers by May 1st that this is a possibility. Because of resignations of a few people and retirements of others, we may be able to eliminate some positions, but not necessarily eliminate teachers.”
At the young age of 16, Eric Corey was diagnosed with ALS. An avid hunter his entire life, the Starke County resident has made it his mission to make sure other young adults with mobility challenges like him can experience the joy of hunting. That’s why he and his family have organized Turkey Tracks. The event allows hunters with physical challenges to use adaptive equipment and the help of a guide to experience a turkey hunt in Northern Indiana.
This is the third year for Turkey Tracks.
The Holloway Motel has been evacuated and condemned after a huge drug bust Friday. In the course of serving a warrant on a person at the motel, Starke County Police detected an odor commonly related to the manufacturing of methamphetamine.
Here is just some of the news that made the news in the Kankakee Valley this week:
A Starke County jury found John Brooke guilty of six of the seven counts against him: Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful Use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal. The jury found him not guilty of the count of Possession of a Destructive Device. Sentencing is scheduled for May 12th at 10:00 a.m. in Starke Circuit Court.
Tuesday Night Men’s League 04/12/11
Team Standings:
1. Quarter’s 152.0-51.0
2. Konrad Cabinets 129.0-74.0
3. Hensleys 120.0-83.0
4. 1st Choice Pawn 111.0-92.0
5. Bowlaway Lanes 105.0-98.0
6. WKVI 96.0-107.0
7. Mark’s Body Shop 95.0-108.0
8. Time Out 95.0-108.0
9. Sandbar 89.0-114.0
10. Half Track 80.0-123.0
11. Simonis 77.0-126.0
12. Fishers 69.0-134.0
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Friday Night Mixed League 04/08/11
Team Standings:
1. Alley Aces 83.5-44.5
2. 4-Alarm Fire 80.0-48.0
3. Good Friends 72.0-56.0
4. Rollin’ Thunder 71.0-57.0
5. Mariah’s Hill 68.5-59.5
6. Undecided 63.5-64.5
7. Raiders 61.0-67.0
8. Hard Times 61.0-67.0
9. Dolezal Family 59.5-68.5
10. Baugh Construction 56.5-71.5
11. Feel the Power 53.5-74.5
12. O’s Tap 37.0-91.0
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Thursday Night Sandburr Ladies League 04/07/11 FINAL STANDINGS
Team Standings:
1. Sew What Embroidery 70.0-42.0
2. WKVI Radio 66.0-46.0
3. Area Services 64.0-48.0
4. Mirror Images 62.0-50.0
5. Mark’s Body Shop 60.0-52.0
6. Norton’s Packaging 59.0-53.0
7. Smith’s 56.0-56.0
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Tuesday Night Men’s League 04/05/11
Team Standings:
1. Quarter’s 147.0-49.0
2. Konrad Cabinets 122.0-74.0
3. Hensleys 116.0-80.0
4. 1st Choice Pawn 108.0-88.0
5. Bowlaway Lanes 100.0-96.0
6. WKVI 96.0-100.0
7. Mark’s Body Shop 93.0-103.0
8. Time Out 93.0-103.0
9. Sandbar 86.0-110.0
10. Half Track 75.0-121.0
11. Simonis 75.0-121.0
12. Fishers 65.0-131.0
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Friday Night Mixed League 04/01/11
Team Standings:
1. Alley Aces 79.5-44.5
2. 4-Alarm Fire 78.0-46.0
3. Good Friends 69.0-55.0
4. Rollin’ Thunder 69.0-55.0
5. Mariah’s Hill 67.5-56.5
6. Raiders 61.0-63.0
7. Undecided 60.5-63.5
8. Dolezal Family 59.5-64.5
9. Hard Times 57.0-67.0
10. Baugh Construction 54.5-69.5
11. Feel the Power 51.5-72.5
12. O’s Tap 36.0-88.0
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Thursday Night Ladies Sandburr League 03/31/11
Team Standings:
1. Sew What Embroidery 69.0-39.0
2. WKVI Radio 63.0-45.0
3. Area Services 60.0-48.0
4. Mirror Images 59.0-49.0
5. Mark’s Body Shop 59.0-49.0
6. Smith’s 56.0-52.0
7. Norton’s Packaging
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The courtroom was full of family and friends of John Brooke as the jury returned to the courtroom with their verdict. The judge read their decision, his face calm, revealing nothing. As he began reading the verdict aloud, family members burst into tears while Brooke remained calm and collected, even in the face of the seriousness of the charges.
The jury found Brooke guilty of six of the seven counts against him: Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful Use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal. The jury found him not guilty of the count of Possession of a Destructive Device.
This week we are presenting parts of a report given to Starke County officials assessing County buildings. The report was prepared by RQAW an Indianapolis Consulting and Architecture Firm. Today’s report covers the Starke County Courthouse.
The Courthouse has an issue of limits on space available for some of the offices, particularly the Probation Department, the Clerk and the Magistrate. These functions are located on the second and third floors of the Courthouse.
Some space limitations can be alleviated by more efficient layouts, more efficient record storage and furniture and/or computerization of records and off-site storage. The County has adequate space for off-site record storage at the Glove Factory.
We have been recognizing emergency dispatchers this week for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Melissa Osburn, who has been at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department for two years, says they take a variety of emergency calls.
“It can be anything from a medical emergency, structure fire, grass fires, civil matters – it’s anything that anyone would have a problem with,” said Osburn.
One of the items the General Assembly is tackling in this session is the funding formula for schools. With the preliminary school funding formula out, schools are figuring that they are going to take quite a hit when it comes to next year’s budget and Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent, Dr. Robert Klitzman, says that it will affect them as well.
“With the uncertainty and not knowing how it’s going to shake out, I did talk with our Teacher’s Association President, Kyle Johnson, and asked him if we could do a memorandum of understanding whereby I don’t have to follow the strict guidelines in the contract in letting teachers know that they’re going to be without a job due to budgetary constraints,” said Dr. Robert Klitzman. “He did agree. With that, we moved back the date that I would have to inform teachers from April to June. Certainly all the business would be done in Indianapolis by then. I hope that people would take the time to email, call, or write our Representatives and tell them to really think about public schools and not keep dividing the money that is available, which is not enough to begin with, and to let public money flow with public schools.”
The Knox City Council got good news this week from Clerk-Treasurer, Jeff Houston. The Worker’s Comp Insurance has dropped $6,000. Houston said the carrier explained the reduction was because the loss rate has dropped. Knox has been attempting to get out of the high risk pool, and as Houston said, “It looks like we’re becoming successful.”
In other news:
It appears that Knox City records are taking up a lot of space at City Hall.
Walkers for the fourth annual Relay For Life of Culver will take their first steps toward a $130,000 goal at 7 p.m. Friday, April 15, at Culver Academies Oliver Field, located on at the intersection of Indiana 10 and 117.
The all-night event will feature Indianapolis Colts placekicker Adam Vinatieri for the second consecutive year. Vinatieri will speak at the survivor dinner preceding the Relay, attend the opening ceremony, and walk the first lap. New this year will be a fireworks show after dusk provided by Mad Bomber Fireworks Productions, according to Co-chairman Kyle Blankenship, a Crown Point, Ind., senior.
