The Knox Mayor’s Office just issued a release alerting residents that Norfolk Southern will soon be closing the US Highway 35 crossing in Knox for repairs and maintenance.
This closure will be in effect beginning on Monday, April 23rd at 8 a.m. and the crossing is anticipated to re-open, weather permitting, on Thursday, May 3rd at 5 p.m. Continue reading
In order to help control the cat population in the city, Neuter Scooter, a mobile clinic for spaying and neutering cats, will be in Knox beginning on Sunday, April 15th.
At Tuesday night’s Knox City Council meeting, Mayor Dennis Estok informed members that the exact location of the mobile clinic is not revealed until online registration is completed. Continue reading
The City of Knox will be working with residents and business owners to replace damaged sidewalks.
The Mayor’s Office recently issued a press release that states they will receive requests for residential and business sidewalk replacements until all available funds are used, on a first come, first served basis until the money to support the program runs out.
According to the release, the street superintendent will measure and inspect the requested area and approve or disapprove of the work order. If it is approved, the next step is to bid the project out to contractors. Continue reading
Starke County Community Services recently received a plethora of food donations thanks to the “Bluegrass Jam” event hosted by the City of Knox on March 25th.
At Tuesday night’s Knox City Council meeting Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston mentioned that the entry fee for the event was a food donation. Although he didn’t have an exact number for how much food was collected, he said the event was very well attended. He added that many people also provided compliments about the upgrades to the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center.
During his report, Houston also filled members in on the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Community Retreat that he attended with Mayor Dennis Estok and Councilman Jeff Berg. Continue reading
Spring leaf pick-up will be starting soon in the City of Knox.
The Mayor’s Office recently sent out a notice, announcing that the leaf pick-up will begin on April 2nd and run until April 6th. Pick-ups will take place again from April 30th through May 4th.
Branches and limbs will be picked up the Knox Street Department each Thursday.
Residents should place all leaves in front of their residence in a long row next to the curb on the street, not by the alley. Also be sure to clear any trash out of your piles so the vacuum will be able to pick up the leaves. Continue reading
The National Day of Prayer breakfast in Knox is on Thursday, May 3.
This year’s theme is unity as the country comes together to pray for each other. The event is sponsored by the office of Mayor Dennis Estok and the City of Knox. The breakfast will be held at 7 a.m CT at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center at 55 E. Lake Street in Knox.
Mayor Dennis Estok shared some information with Knox City Council members about a mural that will be put up on the wall behind Serenity Gardens located at the corner of Main and Lake Streets in downtown Knox.
At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Mayor Estok said that he met with some local talent recently and brainstormed some ideas about how to tackle the project.
“We do have three local artists, Joe Eskridge, Zac Hunter and Ryan Ehresman, they’re all three working together,” Estok explained, “What they’re going to do is basically, they’re going do three different themes and what I want them to do is bring the themes in and invite the public to view them and everything.” Continue reading
There are a plethora of events planned in Knox for 2018 and the city is scheduled to kick off their string of celebrations with a charitable music show later this month.
On Friday, March 23rd, local music lovers are invited to attend the Bluegrass Jam at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The admission for the show will be non-perishable food donations for the Starke County Food Pantry. The event description says that all musicians are welcome but country music, gospel and bluegrass will be featured. Continue reading
Several community members, as well as a few city officials, sat in during Monday night’s public hearing for the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan.
Architect Mike Reese with the Troyer Group explained that a draft master plan was written up with suggestions from the initial public hearing, the stakeholder meetings, the community survey and recommendations from the DNR. Continue reading
All of the roads closed due to flooding in the City of Knox are now open. Knox Street Superintendent Jeff Borg told the Board of Works members Wednesday morning that rerouting the truck traffic helped keep trucks out of danger and be on more solid roads.
The city had 60 tons of sand available for sand bags and the county brought in another 50 tons of sand to fill sand bags. Borg said about 10 tons of sand remain for city use. Any sand bags that are no longer needed may soon be collected and the sand re-deposited at the city street department.
After spending many days closed due to flooding, Wythogan Park in Knox has reopened.
According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, the park is now open to the public but visitors are still urged to be cautious. Stay away from the river bank and any other areas where there is standing water. Continue reading
A public hearing over the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan will be held tonight at 6 p.m. in City Hall.
The draft plan had to be submitted to the DNR by January 15th in order for the city to be eligible for potential funding for proposed park plans. Mayor Dennis Estok reported that it was turned in on time and it will be discussed during the hearing tonight.
Additionally, Troyer Group representative will discuss the results from the online survey that was conducted. Mayor Estok mentioned that more than 250 surveys were received. Continue reading
Due to the flooding and road closures in and around the City of Knox, a revised truck route has been designated for trucks entering and leaving the industrial park.
Until further notice, truck drivers are advised to take 200 South to 300 East. Businesses should immediately notify their drives of this alternate route. Drivers should refrain from traveling down any other roads that are typically restricted to trucks. Continue reading
The Knox City Council received a financial update from Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston this week.
On Tuesday night, Houston informed the council that the City of Knox is in pretty good financial shape since they had more money at the end of 2017 than they started with at the beginning of the year.
Later, Houston explained that at the start of 2017, the city had around $3,994,645 and it ended the year with $4,146,321. That’s a net gain of $151,676 or a 3.8 percent increase. Continue reading
Knox Board of Public Works members will be opening bids during a special meeting today at 9 a.m.
The bids are for demolition work on the blighted structure at 202 N Pearl Street. At the last city council meeting, Mayor Dennis Estok mentioned that the house on Pearl Street will be the 13th disheveled structure taken care of through Bligh Elimination Program. Continue reading
Last week, Mayor Dennis Estok established a date and time to hold the next public hearing over the Knox Parks 5-year Master Plan.
Estok explained that this second hearing will be held in order to go over the draft master plan that was submitted to the DNR earlier this month. The results of the online survey, which garnered more than 250 responses, will also be covered. Continue reading
Today marks the final day that the draft of the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan can be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources in order for the City of Knox to be eligible for funding assistance for the proposed park projects.
Knox Mayor Dennis Estok reports the draft plan is complete and will be submitted on time. He also mentioned that he’s been corresponding with Architect Mike Reese from the Troyer Group about the date for the next public hearing over the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan. Continue reading
Knox City Council members re-organized and addressed appointments when they met for the first time this year.
On Tuesday night, Councilwoman Bertha Blue nominated Ron Parker for the position of President Pro Temp and former council president. Parker’s nomination was unanimously approved. A “president pro tempore” serves as the representative for the council members and they would run the meeting if the mayor is ever absent. Continue reading
The Knox City Council will meet tonight where the election of the 2018 Council President Pro Temp will be addressed.
Council members will consider appointments for the BZA, the Starke County Solid Waste Board, the Starke County Economic Development Foundation as well as the Plan Commission and Redevelopment Commission. Mayor Dennis Estok will also present his mayoral appointments.
An amendment to the Salary Ordinance will be considered on first reading and the second reading over the Ordinance to Eliminate Obstructions will be held. Continue reading
Recycling pick-up for the City of Knox will commence next week on Wednesday, January 10th. It will be carried out on Wednesdays every other week for the remainder of the year. During weeks where there is a holiday, the pick-up will be postponed one day.
People should place the recycling receptacle on the curb no later than 6 a.m. with the handle facing away from the road. Also be sure to have the bin more than 3 feet away from your mailbox, vehicles or other items. Once the collection has been completed, remove your bin by the end of the day. Continue reading
