North Judson Town Marshal Proposes Changing Unused Board Room into Training Site

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
(photo provided by Peggy Bohac)
North Judson Police Department Full-Time Force

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher came before town council members on Tuesday, seeking permission to turn the police station’s board room into a training site.

Marshal Fisher explained that she hasn’t seen the room utilized for meetings in quite some time. She mentioned that many officers have various instructor qualifications so that unused space is holding some untapped potential.

Fisher said, “We could open it up to host classes and bring some money in for the police department, kind of broaden our training.” Continue reading →

Knox City Council Members Agree to Light Up Lake Street with New LED Bulbs

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

After realizing the advantages of having more illumination on Main Street in downtown Knox, city officials have decided to purchase more LED lights for other spots around town.

When city council members met last week, Mayor Dennis Estok said an additional six lights will be purchased for Lake Street and suggested purchasing three lights for the community center parking lot. The mayor mentioned that each light and globe costs approximately $250, meaning that nine more bulbs and globes would be around $2,250.

Council members came to the conclusion that lighting in the parking lot is not really a priority right now, so they opted out of getting an extra three bulbs for that area. Continue reading →

Culver-Union Township Fire Chief Receives Firefighter Applications

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Culver-Union Township Fire Chief Terry Wakefield told the town council members last week that he’s received three applications for firefighters.

The fire department has suffered from a dwindling roster of firefighters and Wakefield has been soliciting for applications from Culver or Union Township residents for the past year hoping to gather interest in training to be a firefighter.

Continue reading →

Individuals Urged to Join the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

January is recognized as National Human Trafficking Prevention month and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security established “The Blue Campaign” back in 2010 to bring visibility to the prevalent, but often under reported and over looked, global issue.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, annually, millions of women, men and children are trafficked in countries around the world, including the United States. It is estimated that it’s a $32 billion per year industry that includes domestic servitude, sexual trafficking and forced labor. Continue reading →

Five Arrested on Drug-Related Charges, after Police Reportedly Find Meth in North Judson Home

Posted on Author Michael Gallenberger
 

Five people were arrested on drug-related charges Tuesday afternoon, after police say they found methamphetamine while serving a warrant in North Judson. Shortly after 3:00, officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and North Judson Police Department went to a home in the 300 block of High Street to serve a warrant for failure to appear, according to Sheriff Bill Dulin.

Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Make Additional Appointments and Agree to Advertise for Open Positions

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members voted unanimously to retain Wendy Hoppe as the town council president when they met Tuesday night.

As a part of their new bylaws, members also needed to establish a vice president. Councilman John Rowe was nominated and council members collectively agreed to appoint him to the position. Members also voted to retain Justin Schramm as their town attorney.

Additionally, members discussed remaining appointments. Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe will serve as the town representative for Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission and Wendy Hoppe volunteered to serve on the Rail Road Committee. Continue reading →

Culver Stellar Projects to Expand

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Some projects within the Town of Culver’s Stellar Communities Designation program will expand thanks to additional Community Development Block Grant funding.

Culver Town Council President Ginny Bess Munroe read a report into the record from Town Manager Jonathan Leist during last week’s meeting. Leist indicated that the Stellar Committee agreed to expand the Cavalier Sports Park project along with the Culver Beach Lodge renovation efforts and Lake Max programming and accessibility. It was the decision of the committee on Dec. 19 to expand on the current projects rather than begin planning for an entirely new venture.

Continue reading →

Knox City Council Members Approve Proposal for IT Infrastructure Enhancements, Estimated to Cost More Than $17,000 in First Year

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The Knox City Council members amended their meeting agenda to include a proposal for enhancements to IT infrastructure, when they met last Wednesday.

Mayor Dennis Estok informed council members that the City of Knox is not currently equipped with any “off-site backup”, which is a state-mandated requirement. He said that means that all city documentation, emails and additional information would be unsaved if their main system was to experience any major problems. Continue reading →

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Offers Tips on How to Avoid Grant Scams

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is warning citizens to be aware of scammers who see the New Year as the perfect opportunity to prey on unsuspecting individuals looking to replenish funds after the holidays. Fraudulent grant offers are particularly pervasive,so HHS representatives have a few tips to keep in mind in order to protect yourself from tricksters.

First of all, no legitimate federal government employee would ever call to say you qualify or you’ve been approved for a grant you never applied for. Representatives say to look out for people who target individuals since all government grants involve an application process to carry out projects with a public purpose and are not intended for personal use. Continue reading →

Knox Residents Urged to Prevent Freezing Water Pipes

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
 

Knox Mayor Dennis Estok is urging residents to take precautions to prevent freezing water pipes.

He told WKVI News that there are a few homes that experience issues every year and the below-freezing temperatures are causing more residents with frozen water pipes. He asks that those who have annual water line freezing problems to let the water run the width of a pencil or a drip. Call the clerk-treasurer’s office at 772-3032 and it will be noted to adjust bills to accommodate preventative measures.

Any questions can be directed to the mayor’s office at 772-4553.

Public Input Sought on Proposed Dollar General Store Project in Knox

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Update: Tonight’s Starke County Commissioners meeting has been rescheduled due to cold weather. Auditor Kay Chaffins says it will now be held Monday, January 8 at 6:00 p.m.

 

The Starke County Commissioners will hold public discussion on the proposed move of the Dollar General Store to the eastern corner of 200 South and U.S. 35 just south of Knox.

During their December 18th meeting, the commissioners discussed the amended plans for the driveway into the store off of 200 South which presents potential safety concerns, according to Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler. He told the board that it’s a heavily traveled area and he’d like to see a stop light or some safety enhancement at that intersection. The commissioners agreed to gather public comment on the matter during tonight’s regular session meeting.

Continue reading →

Knox Board of Works Members Consider New Vehicle Purchase

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

The Knox Board of Works members considered requests for new vehicles during their meeting on Wednesday.

Water Superintendent Todd Gardner explained that he is looking to purchase a new service truck. He said he is about 10 years behind in getting a new truck as funds weren’t available. He wants to replace a 1989 truck that no longer runs efficiently. He obtained three quotes for a service truck with a service truck from Schepel in Merrillville, Bill Estes in Indianapolis and Gates in South Bend. Schepel gave him the lowest quote at $40,640 for a ¾-ton GMC truck with a service body. Tool boxes may be added that could cost approximately $1,000 extra.

Continue reading →

Pulaski County Commissioners to Open Bids for Paving, Lawn Care, Snow Removal, Dump Truck

Posted on Author Michael Gallenberger
Pulaski County Commissioners: Mike McClure, Jerry Locke, Kenny Becker

The Pulaski County Commissioners will open bids for various projects this evening. One of those involves several miles of paving work on County Roads 200 South and 400 East. The commissioners had approved a contract with Central Paving of Logansport for nearly $1.2 million, but they later repealed that decision to allow the project to be bid out formally. Continue reading →