A bill to restructure the Kankakee River Basin Commission is advancing in the Indiana General Assembly. House Bill 1270 authored by State Representative Doug Gutwein of Francesville would cut the number of members from 24 down to nine.
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Last February’s flooding has led to a FEMA reimbursement for the Pulaski County Highway Department.
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Drivers can expect a portion of State Road 8 to remain closed at least through the summer. The Indiana Department of Transportation says significant repairs are needed to the stretch of State Road 8 between U.S. 421 and State Road 39, following damage from February’s floods.
Work is expected to start soon on a new road and parking lot at the Starke County Forest. County Attorney Marty Lucas says an update on the project was given to the Starke County Park Board this week. “The project was delayed a little bit due to the flooding has kept Highway Superintendent [Rik] Ritzler very busy,” Lucas says, “and we hope to get that moving in the next few days.”
The Pulaski County Public Library in Winamac will soon be getting some upgrades. Executive Director MacKenzie Ledley told the county council Monday that a new elevator will be installed, among other improvements. Continue reading
Cold and wet weather so far this year may delay spring planting a little, according to Purdue Extension Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator Phil Woolery. “It’s certainly slowing things down,” he says. Continue reading
When Kankakee River Basin Commission members met Thursday morning, they permitted a total of $254,000 to be paid to three counties in order to assist with immediate repair needs resulting from the recent flooding.
Initially, members considered having all funding requests submitted at a meeting that would be held within the next 30 days but a few members said there were some issues with that idea. Continue reading
The Pulaski County Emergency Management Agency is assessing damage and helping residents clean up from recent flooding. EMA Director Sheri Gaillard gave an update to the county commissioners Monday. “I gave out 3,250 sandbags to the Pulaski County citizens,” she said. “Both the gauges are finally down into minor flooding stage, but damage assessment is still ongoing because there were a lot of places that we couldn’t get to still, at least 10 that I can think of off the top of my head.”
Though much of the high water we were seeing last week has receded, you may have noticed that there are still several fields that are looking more like lakes recently.
Depending on when these flood waters clear up completely, Hoosier farmers may run into some issues this farm season.
Purdue Extension Agriculture Educator Phil Woolery mentioned that the severity of impact will depend on how long a farmers’ field stays underwater. He said fields that dried up rather quickly probably won’t have any issues, while those that are having trouble draining may run into some problems down the line. Continue reading
The possibility of scammers targeting flood victims has led to warnings from local law enforcement. Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel says unfortunately, disaster areas tend to attract scammers looking to take advantage of victims.
Knox Park Superintendent George Byer commended Derek Johnson with Johnson’s Johns Septic Service at Monday night’s park board meeting.
Johnson was personally thanked for his assistance during this weekend’s emergency situation. Superintendent Byer explained that the floods resulted in some residents having no access to working bathrooms. Continue reading
Over the weekend, there were many Knox residents who pitched in to help keep flood waters at bay and Mayor Dennis Estok extended his gratitude to those dedicated individuals during Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
The mayor said, “That just goes to show us that we might be a small community, but we’re a strong community when people need help and that was very evident Saturday night, if you would have seen the operation it was something to see, so I want to thank everybody for helping us out.” Continue reading
Starke County Surveyor Bill Crase is warning residents to be aware of potential scammers looking to take advantage of people during flood recovery.
Last Friday, the surveyor’s office received a call from an individual reporting that two men in a U-Haul truck drove up to his residence and told him they were from the county surveyor’s office.
They reportedly said they were replacing a culvert nearby and told the resident he needed to write them a check since it was on his property. Continue reading
On Sunday afternoon, Starke County officials met with State Representative Jim Pressel (District 20) and State Senator Mike Bohacek (District 8) to discuss the recent devastation caused by flooding and what steps to take next.
Local officials who were present included Starke County EMA Director J. Nier, Surveyor Bill Crase and Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler as well as Engineer Lee Nagai and County Commissioners Kathy Norem, Donnie Binkley and Charles Chesak. Continue reading
