Four people were arrested Tuesday afternoon following a search warrant at a residence in Medaryville.
According to Medaryville Town Marshal Dave Combs, Medaryville police received a complaint about suspicious activity at a home in the 100 E. block of Main Street. The homeowner reportedly told police that no one was to be at the home.
An area high school basketball coach was arrested on misdemeanor charges Tuesday night.
According to the incident report filed by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, police stopped a car driven by a juvenile near the intersection of Monticello Street and Adams Street in Winamac around 9:41 p.m. ET. Police reportedly determined that the vehicle’s registration was expired. Officers called the towing company to tow the car from the scene.
During the North Judson Town Council meeting Monday evening, members confirmed that rather than adding an urban chicken ordinance, they will instead be amending the current animal ordinance to address the concerns brought before the council the last several meetings.
Prior to the meeting, council members received a working document from Town Attorney Justin Schramm. In the working document he provided place-holder numbers and language based off similar ordinances from other towns and cities in the surrounding area. He encouraged the council to let him know where they’d like to see changes or what else they’d like to cover in the ordinance. Continue reading
North Judson-San Pierre School board held a public hearing for a proposed lease agreement as well the 2018 school budget prior to their regularly scheduled meeting last night. They were specifically addressing the Capital Projects Fund and the Bus replacement fund during the hearing.
Treasurer Guy Richie explained that approximately 40 percent of the capital project funds go toward technology with the remaining funds being disbursed among things such as insurance, utilities and repairs. He also mentioned that the bus replacement fund is set up to allow the corporation to purchase three new buses in 2018. Continue reading
The state recently awarded Starke County a grant to update railroad crossings and signs.
Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler told the Starke County Commissioners Monday that there are no matching funds for this grant.
“The good news is $36,000 is 100 percent paid for. We don’t have to pay anything. We do have to keep the records. Even better news is that TCS (Traffic Control Specialists) can do it cheaper than we can. They have a painting machine and it keeps the money in Starke County. It keeps the tax money in the county and all of their workers live in Starke County. It’s a good thing,” said Ritzler.
The Oregon-Davis School Corporation is reporting a preliminary fall enrollment of 553 students, following Friday’s official count.
The Knox Community School Corporation is reporting good results from its recent eLearning practice. The system is designed to let students work on assignments from home, when school is closed due to weather. Knox schools tested it earlier this month, and then followed up by sending a survey to parents, teachers, and students.
This year the Starke County Community Foundation eliminated deadlines for their grant applications which allows them to accept applications and award grants all throughout the year. Nearly $23,000 of community grant money remains available to Starke County non-profits who submit grant applications to the SCCF.
So far this year, the SCCF has awarded more than $284,000, with around $12,000 going toward community grants. The foundation is looking to award the remaining $22,900 by the end of 2017. Continue reading
During the North Judson Town Council meeting last night, board members approved an ordinance establishing a cumulative railroad revenue fund for future payments from the railroad company and to transfer the money from the existing railroad capital improvement fund.
In the settlement agreement between the Town of North Judson and Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad Company (CKIN), it was arranged that the town will receive quarterly payments from the railway operator based on and coinciding with railroad traffic. A fund needed to be established in order to put those payments somewhere under the new agreement. Continue reading
The Starke County Council Monday night approved a three percent increase for county employees. The council members discussed what sort of impact that will have on the budget and found it would be about a $78,000 increase. They felt that was feasible, but they hope that the state won’t cut too much out of the budget.
The public hearing for the 2018 budget for Starke County will be held on Oct. 2. The budget adoption is scheduled for Oct. 18. Budgets must be approved by Nov. 1.
A Winamac restaurant is eyeing a larger space, and it’s asking Pulaski County to help finance the move. Tippy’s is planning to move about a block west to 123 North Market Street. The business plans to buy the space that formerly housed a dime store and more recently H & R Block.
Local unemployment rates are up from the previous month, but still better than the same period a year ago. Starke County’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in August from 4.1 percent in July, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. The change was similar in Pulaski County, where the August rate was four percent, compared to 3.4 percent the previous month.
The Knox High School Band will soon have a new truck to pull its equipment trailer. On Monday, the school board approved the purchase of a new 2017 Chevrolet Silverado from Cambe Chevrolet of Knox.
When the North Judson-San Pierre School Board members meet tonight they will hold a public hearing for their 2018 school budget, the capital projects fund and the bus replacement fund. The will also hold a hearing about a proposed lease agreement.
Once the hearings have been adjourned, council members will move on to budget adoption. They will also be acting on the capital projects plan, the bus replacement plan and a tax neutrality resolution. Board members are scheduled to adopt the advertised budget reduction resolution. Continue reading
Though there are still a few other holidays coming up before Christmastime is officially here, practices for a December performance will start soon. Choir call-outs for this year’s Community Christmas Cantata will be Thursday at 6 p.m. CT in the Knox United Methodist Church. Brian Liechty and Nan Folkers are working together as directors for this year’s production and will hold choir practices at the church every Thursday at 6 p.m. following the initial call-out meeting. Continue reading
INDOT recently began some rail road crossing repairs that will cause a closure impacting commuters and residents of Starke County.
Norfolk Southern Railroad Company is renewing and repairing a railroad crossing near Knox, causing the closure of State Road 8 between County Road N. 100 E. and County Road N. 200 E.
This closure will last from Monday, September 18th until Friday, September 29th. Norfolk will only be closing this section of State road 8 for railroad crossing rehabilitation. Continue reading
A Carmel man was arrested Thursday, after he allegedly led police on a chase through three counties on U.S. 30. Police say it began around 1:45 p.m. in Marshall County, when a patrolman tried to pull over a car near Tulip Road.
Hamlet officials want some more information before agreeing to let the Starke County Sheriff’s Department use the indoor firing range at the town’s sewer plant. In a letter to town officials, Sheriff Bill Dulin offered to have his firearms instructors qualify the town’s police officers free of charge, in exchange for letting them use the range to qualify officers from other departments.
Indiana Department of Transportation officials will be announcing the Community Crossings grant awards in the next few weeks.
Local government entities have been waiting patiently for the notice as officials would like to send next year’s projects out for bid that will utilize these funds.
