West Central High School was recently recognized for the success of its dual credit courses. It was one of 130 schools honored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jennifer McCormick last Monday, during a Dual Credit Ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse.
The Healthy Mobile Market will be making a stop in North Judson tomorrow to assist local families in need of food assistance. From 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Food Bank of Northern Indiana will have their mobile unit stationed in the North Judson-San Pierre Elementary School parking lot.
The service is provided free of charge for families in need but it is first come, first served based on available product while supplies last. Bring along bags or boxes to transport items home. Items that will be offered include frozen and canned meats including ham, whole chicken, hamburger as well as canned fruits, flour, fresh cheese and more.
The Food Bank provides SNAP Outreach at all healthy mobile markets. If weather conditions are inclement or product is unavailable, there is a possibility of cancellation. Location is also subject to change.
Three intersections have been studied for potential upgrades in Starke County, but the highway superintendent wants a second opinion.
Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the county commissioners this week that he is enlisting the help of officials from Purdue University’s Local Technical Assistance Program to decide how to go about improving these intersections. Continue reading
Plans for a new elevator at the Pulaski County Courthouse were presented to the county commissioners this week. Cameron Chambers with Keystone Architecture explained that it will be in the same general location as the current one, but it will be a little bigger.”On the first floor, you’ll enter it coming in off that main hallway, with one door, and when you go upstairs, you’ll have the same door right above it,” he explained. “We’ll actually end up creating a storage closet there, so when you come up the stairs from the ground to the main floor, you’ll now be forced to go left because right will be enclosed by this elevator.”
Similarly, the new elevator will block the hallway on the top floor of the courthouse. To provide access to rooms on either side, the elevator will have two doors on that level. Continue reading
A rough railroad crossing in Hamlet continues to draw the attention of economic development officials. The town council has been complaining about the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern’s Starke Street crossing for years. Last month, Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver offered to speak to railroad officials, but the town didn’t get an immediate response.
This week, Weaver told council members that he’s still working with the railroad’s parent company, but he needs to get all the details straight. “I’m in communication with the Genesee & Wyoming railroad. They like to know exactly who you had conversation with, so we can pin it down, and I need to verify the absolute nature of the complaint. It’s a rough crossing right?” Continue reading
Knox Water Department Superintendent Todd Gardner has a few helpful tips for citizens as temperatures start to drop below freezing.
Gardner advises individuals to disconnect hoses from faucets so they can drain. He said a “frost free faucet” will freeze up and can break at temperatures just below freezing if a hose is left attached to it.
He also explained that homes with crawl spaces need to have those closed up as securely as possible. If crawlspace vents have louvers, or slats, they need to be closed up for the winter season. Continue reading
Starke County Highway Department crews are continuing efforts to make county roadways safer for drivers.
Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler said the installation of reflective post enhancers is ongoing.
“We’ve put the reflectors on the stop signs and they’ve worked very well,” said Ritzler. “We’re doing that throughout the county and we’re about a fifth of the way done. There is still a lot to go with that.” Continue reading
The Oregon-Davis School Board is holding a special work session on Monday to deliberate and receive public input about fiscal strategic planning for future operations. Specifically, the meeting will pertain to the general and referendum funds of the Oregon-Davis School Corporation.
Any visitor has the opportunity to speak but they must inform the school board president in advance by registering before the meeting begins. A registration sheet will be available at least thirty minute prior to the meeting. Continue reading
For the first time in awhile, the law-enforcement agencies of Starke County are joining the state-wide Operation Pull Over campaign. The initiative started on Friday and will run through December 3rd. During this time, there will be increased patrols where officers will be on the look out for motorists violating the seat belt and impaired driving laws.
North Judson Town Marshall Kelly Fisher said her officers will be joining members of the Hamlet and Knox Police Departments as well as the Starke County Sheriff’s Office with the operation. She said it’s important to have this blitz at this time of the year since more people are out on the road visiting friends and family for the holidays.
One bit of advice she had for motorists was to have a designated driver if they plan to be attending a party where they’ll be drinking. She explained the procedure of what happens when an officer has probable cause to pull a vehicle over for driving under the influence. Continue reading
On Friday, Senator Joe Donnelly visited the Ancilla College campus to hold a listening session over the farm bill that is currently being written. Before Donnelly talked with group gathered in Cana Hall about business, he got comfortable by removing his tie and greeting individuals in the crowd.
Ancilla President Kenneth Zirkle began the event by briefly discussing the agriculture program at the college, stating that when they started two and half years ago they only had three individuals involved, now that number is up to nearly 50 agriculture students.
Agriculture director Tim McLochlin introduced the senator, but first he acknowledged all the community members who help make Ancilla’s agriculture program so immersive and impactful.
During the session, various individuals voiced their concerns about the needs of the agriculture community. One individual spoke about how the current farm bill does little to help the dairy industry and suggested that more needs to be done with supply and control management. Many people spoke about the importance of family-run farms and asked Senator Donnelly to build the bill with generational farms in mind. Continue reading
Can you knit or crochet? Your skills are needed to help the American Heart Association with their Little Hats, Big Hearts program.
Now through December 31st the AHA is collecting knitted or crocheted red baby hats to distribute in Indiana hospitals in the month of February, American Heart Month. The program is meant to raise awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of Americans and congenital heart defects, the most common birth defect in the country.
They are seeking hats for newborns and preemies made of red yarn that is either cotton or acrylic, medium to heavy weight that can be machine washed and dried. Don’t worry if you’re not the knitting or crocheting type, yarn can also be donated to the cause. Continue reading
As usual, North Judson Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann addressed the town council members when they held their first November meeting Monday night.
In his report, he proposed that the last date for leaf and brush pick-up be November 30th. However, Council member John Rowe mentioned that could pose a problem, seeing as many trees haven’t dropped all their leaves quite yet. Continue reading
The Starke County Highway Department is continuing an effort to conduct traffic studies in order to collect data for a proposed U.S. 30 freeway that will travel through northern Starke County.
A coalition is putting together suggestions to present to INDOT that would include benefits to Starke County in a U.S. 30 freeway proposal between Valparaiso and Fort Wayne. In that stretch, the only way to get across U.S. 30 would be with an overpass, and the only way to get on will be at an interchange. Continue reading
Winamac’s pool rebuilding effort is not over yet. That’s what Judy Heater and members of the Winamac Pool Committee told local residents during an informational meeting Thursday. Continue reading
When it came time to approve purchase orders at the North Judson Town Council meeting on Monday, members chose to refrain from paying the second installment charge for consulting services from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation until more details can be gathered.
Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe alerted the council that bill was for $8,273.60. Before the purchase orders could be approved, Council Member Josh Brown asked what the SCEDF is doing specifically to warrant a total of $16,000 owed with the two installments.
Council Member Jane Ellen Felchuck explained that Executive Director Charlie Weaver does send reports and John Rowe said that representatives have attended recent meetings in order present new information. Council President Wendy Hoppe also mentioned that they brought in OTES and that they’re hopefully working to bring in more industry. Continue reading
When the Winamac Park Board met in a special session yesterday evening, they went over some preliminary plans regarding the proposed restroom project in the town park.
Park Board President Courtney Poor explained that they cannot get a quote from their architect Mark Maddox until he knows what he’s drawing. The purpose of last night’s meeting was to get a basic idea about what the park board members and Park Manager Dave DeLorenzo are considering for the design of the project. Continue reading
The Knox Community School Corporation may soon be looking into some facility upgrades.
Knox High School students have been rehearsing for about six weeks and this weekend they will premiere their play Icebergs in the KHSAuditorium.
Director Terill Hahn described Icebergs as a drama and mentioned that some of the content may not be appeal to a younger audience.
She explained, “It has a few mature themes, it’s about a group of high school students who are stuck together for awhile and they share the problems in their lives.” Continue reading
