Firefighters from four local departments responded to a house fire on 175 North just east of U.S. 35 Sunday afternoon. Dispatchers were notified of the fire at 2:15 p.m. The Knox, Hamlet, Koontz Lake and Washington Township departments spent three hours getting the blaze under control. No injuries were reported. As soon as we have more information, we’ll update the story on the air and on WKVI.com.
Friday, May 2 is Starke County Youth Club Day, by proclamation of the county commissioners. That’s also the day of the club’s 7th Annual RadioThon on WKVI from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The club offers after-school programs at Knox, North Judson-San Pierre and Oregon-Davis Elementary Schools and Oregon-Davis Junior-Senior High School each weekday as well as summer programs for local youngsters. Staff and volunteers provide homework help, enrichment activities, recreational centers and community engagement through service projects. The proclamation notes the staff and volunteers at the Starke County Youth Club are committed to assisting children in acquiring the skills they need to learn and lead. They will be taking over our airwaves on Friday to share success stories and talk about the services they provide. The nonprofit organization has set a goal of raising $40,000 during that event. Find more information at www.thescyc.org.
The Oregon-Davis School Board approved the corporation’s participation in several vocational programs for the next school year.
Superintendent Greg Briles said students can gain knowledge in several hands-on programs outside of the Oregon-Davis campus.
The Oregon-Davis School Board discussed English textbook recommendations this week.
Superintendent Greg Briles said the teachers and students have reviewed the proposed textbooks and now members of the public are welcome to come in and review them as well.
“They’re going to set some dates for individuals in the community to come in, look at the textbooks that they’re planning on adopting,” said Briles. “If community members are unable to come in, they can email Mr. Pletcher, the high school principal, any concerns or comments or things they would like to see in those textbooks moving forward. He would be more than happy to include those in the conversations as they bring in a recommendation to the school board at our May board meeting.”
A Starke County jury has found Donald Frazier guilty on two counts in a one-day trial.
The six-member jury took less than 15 minutes Wednesday to find Frazier guilty on charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated and Possession of Paraphernalia. He pleaded guilty to a charge of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated with a Prior Conviction and that merged with the other OVWI charge which made it a Class D felony.
The Oregon-Davis School Board members approved a three-year technology plan during their regular meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Greg Briles said a computer will be in the hands of every student.
“We’re looking at putting iPad Minis in our Kindergarten through second grade students’ hands, full-sized iPads for three through eight and laptops for nine through twelve students. In doing so, we will also have portable labs with the full-size computer laptops for the students to utilize if they need to for testing and other activities throughout the school year,” explained Briles.
The Oregon-Davis organization, Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD, are raising awareness about the dangers are texting and driving this week.
The school resource officers are helping the students in learning the dangers of texting and driving. The officers have a course for the kids to drive to show what impairment is caused when a person texts and drives at the same time. Students will have to maneuver a golf cart through cones while texting to complete the course.
Houston-based SYSCO Corporation still plans to build a regional hub in Hamlet, according to Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver. He told the county council he talks to SYSCO officials every two months.
“They say this is still part of their plan, as is the facility in Texas, but the people I talk to don’t have any idea when.”
A Hamlet man faces multiple drug charges in LaPorte after his arrest following a Monday morning traffic stop.
Officers from the LaPorte Police Department got a tip that a man in a white car in the 400 block of G Street was possibly using drugs. They responded at 8:41 a.m. and saw a white Pontiac Grand Am leaving the area. The car pulled across 4th Street in front of a vehicle that was northbound on I Street and nearly caused an accident, according to the police report.
The Oregon-Davis School Board approved the purchase of buses through the Central Indiana Service Center during their meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Greg Briles said the board approved the purchase of two buses.
“We will be purchasing a new bus and then we are also going to be looking at the possibility of purchasing a one year off-lease bus in order to stay within our funding formula that the state has given us for bus replacement,” said Briles.
A jury trial is set for today in Starke Circuit Court.
Donald Frazier will be on trial on charges of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated (OVWI) and Possession of Paraphernalia. The OVWI charge is broken up as two counts: OVWI and OVWI with a prior conviction in the past five years to elevate it to a Class D felony.
An area high school will soon be looking for a new principal.
“The Culver Citizen” reports Culver Community High School Principal Albert Hanselman is leaving at the end of the school year. He’s not going far, though. Hanselman will take over as director of the North Central Area Vocational Cooperative on July 1st. Jerry Hollenbaugh is retiring from that position.
Starke County Council members want more information about proposed wheel tax rates, types of vehicles that would be taxed and how any funds generated would be used for road improvements before making any decision about implementing such a tax. County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler will chair a committee comprised of council members Marvin McLaughlin, Freddie Baker and Bob Sims and Commissioner Kathy Norem. After they discuss the details, a public input meeting will be scheduled to further explain the process. Ritzler has streamlined the highway department’s operations since taking over but says efficiency can only go so far. “Our limiting factor is the oil and stone that we use to improve roads. We have a certain amount of funding sources, we used them all. The only way of increasing is a user tax that is available to us, a user fee. 47 of the 92 counties in Indiana have it. Of the counties that don’t have it, many have an additional source of funding that’s not available to us, and that’s riverboat gambling money. We are in the bottom fifth of road conditions in the state,” Ritzler told the council. Continue reading
The Oregon-Davis School Corporation will participate in the Summer Food Service Program again this year.
Free meals will be available to all children 18 years of age and under and to anyone over the age of 18 who is enrolled in a state-approved educational program for the mentally or physically disabled. There will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.
The Starke County Youth Club Radiothon is set for Friday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT on K99.3 WKVI.
Testimonials, special guests and challenges will be featured on the air as volunteers answer the phone to take your pledges toward this worthwhile youth organization.
The SCYC provides high quality homework assistance, engaging enrichment activities, and recreational centers with adults who care. SCYC provides innovative services to children and families every day at four sites across the county during the school year and the summer.
Another arrest has been made in a trailer fire investigation in Hamlet.
North Judson officers brought in Heather Mann on Monday, April 14 to question her about the Tuesday, April 8 trailer fire at 504 North Starke Street, lot 10 in Hamlet. Firefighters reportedly found a meth lab in the smoldering debris.
After the interview conducted by Hamlet police officers she was placed into custody and booked into the Starke County Jail. She was arrested on preliminary charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of two or more precursors with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, and visiting a common nuisance.
It’s an activity your family, friends or co-workers can enjoy and you’ll be helping a youth organization at the same time. It’s the annual Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon.
The Bowl-a-Thon is tonight at 6 p.m. CT at Bowlaway Lanes in Knox and teams are needed to help gather funds for Junior Achievement. Bridget Markin, a Junior Achievement representative, says this fundraiser is a worthwhile program for Starke County students.
The Hamlet man whose trailer was destroyed by an early morning fire Tuesday is jailed on numerous drug charges after local police officers reportedly found a meth lab in the rubble. Hamlet Police arrested David Salyer, 45, at 2:10 Tuesday morning on preliminary charges of manufacture and possession of methamphetamine, possession of two or more precursors with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, false informing and maintaining a common nuisance. The Hamlet Volunteer Fire Department responded at 12:34 a.m. to 504 North Starke Street, lot 10 and left at 2:18 a.m., according to dispatch records. The Koontz Lake Volunteer Fire Department was called in to assist. Continue reading
An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office has been called in to determine the origin and cause of a Tuesday morning fire in the Hamlet trailer court. The Hamlet Fire Department was dispatched to 504 North Starke Street, Lot 10, at 12:34 a.m. Fire Chief Bob Goetz tells WKVI news no injuries were reported. The Koontz Lake Fire Department assisted. Dispatchers advise the fire department left at 2:18 a.m. and turned the scene over to the Hamlet Police Department until the fire marshal arrived.
