Starke County Auditor Michaelene Houston Leaves Auditor’s Office after 22 Years

Posted on Author WKVI
Michaelene Houston

It is the end of an era in the Starke County Auditor’s office. Michaelene Houston spent 22 years either as a Deputy Auditor, or Auditor herself. She served as Deputy Auditor under Pam Fletcher and Mike Haugh.

“November 30th, 1984, I started as Deputy Auditor for Pam Fletcher and I worked for her for two years and one month and then Mike Haugh became Auditor and I worked for him for four years,” explained Michaelene Houston. “I then ran for the office and I was Auditor for two terms. I couldn’t run for a third consecutive term so I ran for Commissioner and I was Commissioner for four years. Then I ran for Auditor again and now I’m on my second and final term as Auditor.”

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Top 10 Stories of 2010; Story #8

Posted on Author WKVI

Story number 8 is fresh on our minds. It’s the early blizzard of 2010, and it occurred just a few days ago. With mind boggling snowfall amounts in the Kankakee Valley, all governmental offices, some businesses, and all schools took the day off last Monday, December 13th.

Wanatah had 33 inches of the white stuff to top the charts, although some Starke County locations recorded near 20. Our own Tom Berg and Lenny Dessauer took turns staying overnight at the station to keep everyone informed of the storm’s fury.

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John Brooke Fails to Attain Plea Agreement; Trial Set for February

Posted on Author WKVI
John Brooke

John Brooke, a suspect in events surrounding a shootout at Bass Lake in February, and his attorney, Dale Allen, told Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall Monday afternoon that they have failed to come to a satisfactory plea agreement with the court so they will move forward to trial.

The trial will begin on Monday, February 21st, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. CT and will last the week. Allen said there could be up to 50 witnesses called to take the stand. A final status hearing will be held on January 26th to ensure all paperwork is prepared for trial.

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Knox City Council Approves Knox Industrial Park Name Change

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council #2
Back Row: Mayor Rick Chambers, Ed Blue, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Greg Matt and Attorney David Matsey. Front Row: Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg and Ron Parker

At the recent meeting of the Knox City Council, Starke County Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver, requested that the Council change the name of the Knox Industrial Park to the Starke County Rail Park. The Council unanimously approved the name change and the proposal will be taken to the Starke County Commissioners for approval. The name was changed to give it a county feel rather than a city feel.

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Hoosiers Can Resume Collecting Unemployment Benefits

Posted on Author WKVI

Hoosiers are now eligible to resume collecting the federally funded unemployment extensions. Approximately 90,000 Hoosiers who exhausted or were at risk of losing benefits have become eligible again.

In order to qualify for these retroactive benefits, Hoosiers will need to complete their weekly vouchers through Uplink, Indiana’s online filing system. Hoosiers will need to complete a voucher for each week of benefits they want to collect.

About 30,000 Hoosiers saw an interruption in their benefits due to Congressional delay.

There is no increase in the number of potential weeks of benefits. Ninety-nine weeks remains the maximum length of time someone can collect.

Weather Statement

Posted on Author Lenny Dessauer

Statement as of 5:19 PM CST on December 20, 2010

Special Weather Statement
… Snow moving into the area…

Snow will spread into Northwest Indiana this evening. The leading
edge of the snow extended from around Rensselaer to Delphi at 615
PM EST… and should move northeast to a Wanatah to Peru line by
815 PM EST. The snow will lower visibilities to around 1 mile and
accumulate about a half inch per hour. The significant
accumulating snow is expected to last about 5 hours before
tapering off to lighter snow late tonight. Roads in the area will
become snow covered and slick overnight… so motorists should use
caution and allow extra time to reach their destinations.

Sunday Morning Mixed League 12/12/10

Posted on Author WKVI

Sunday Morning Mixed League 12/12/10
Team Standings:
1. The Unknown 71.0-27.0
2. The Smelly Cats 61.0-44.0
3. The Quest 59.0-46.0
4. Split Heads 58.0-47.0
5. WRJN 56.0-49.0
6. S*** Happens 46.0-59.0
7. Lucky #7 45.0-60.0
8. Odd Balls 45.0-60.0
9. Snowdon’s Lawncare 42.0-63.0
10. Strange Brew 42.0-63.0

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Starke United Radio Auction Nets $7,669

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke United

Here’s good news from Edie Hall, Executive Director of Starke United. This year’s WKVI-Starke United Radio Auction netted $7,669.00. Immediately following the auction, which was held on December 3rd, the final amount was thought to be in the $6,000 range. Hall said other fund raisers are being planned to help attain the $75,000 campaign goal.

Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department Investigates Theft from Monterey Elementary School

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a theft from the Monterey Elementary School. The incident occurred Thanksgiving weekend, November 28th or 29th.

According to Detective Scott Taylor, some unknown person(s) broke into the Monterey Elementary School and stole 11 iPod touch devices and 2 laptop computers. The items were property of the Monterey Elementary School. The thieves did minimal damage when they broke into the building but took over $5,000 in electronics from the school.

If anyone knows anything about this case, you can provide an anonymous tip to Detective Scott Taylor of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department by calling (574) 946-6655 ext 239.

Starke County Commissioners, Council To Discuss Prosecutor’s Claims

Posted on Author WKVI
Julianne Havens

When the Starke County Commissioners and Council get together tonight, they will be questioning Prosecutor Julianne Havens about claims submitted for the purchase of law enforcement equipment. Havens, who will be leaving the office at the end of the month, told the Commissioners in a special meeting December 10th, that she had to “speed up” her commitment to various law enforcement agencies because her timeline had shortened after her defeat in November.

Some of the equipment reportedly has already been purchased without the claims being approved.

City of Knox and Town of Hamlet Outdoor Christmas Decoration Contests Tonight

Posted on Author WKVI

Knox Mayor, Rick Chambers, invites the Knox community to participate in an outdoor Christmas decoration contest.

Judging will be on Monday, December 20th, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. CT. Anyone wishing to take part in the contest are asked to make sure outdoor decorations are on during the judging hours. First place will receive $100, second place will get $50 and third place, $25. Winners will be notified and announced on WKVI on Wednesday, December 22nd.

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Knox City Council Tables Final Reading the Ordinance Banning Sale of Synthetic Marijuana

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council #2
Back Row: Mayor Rick Chambers, Ed Blue, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Greg Matt and Attorney David Matsey. Front Row: Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg and Ron Parker

At their recent meeting, the Knox City Council members tabled the third and final reading of a synthetic marijuana ordinance. The Mayor suggested the delay because the Federal government is getting involved and the state legislature will be looking at a possible law in the next session. Synthetic marijuana is normally smoked by users and has, in some cases, proven fatal.

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Eastern Pulaski School School Board Learns AYP and PL 221 Results

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board recently discussed the AYP and Public Law 221 results in a public meeting.

“In terms of AYP, our Elementary School and Middle School made the AYP cutoff score, but our High School did not make it as they missed two categories by roughly one-tenth of a point,” explained Superintendent, Dr. Robert Klitzman. “In terms of Public Law 221, once again our Elementary and Middle School scored Exemplary, which is the highest rating you can get, and our High School is on probationary status because they did not make AYP.”