The Oregon-Davis School Board recently named a new high school principal to take the place of Greg Briles.
Tim Pletcher has been in education for the past 19 years and has spent his entire career at South Bend schools – mainly at Washington High School. He completed his undergraduate work at IUSB and he got his Master’s Degree from the University of Illinois. He also completed a doctorate at the University of Illinois and licensing at Indiana Wesleyan.
Oregon-Davis students will be collecting money for the American Cancer Society and walking in a mini-relay event at the school.
The mini-relay will be on Friday, May 10 beginning at 7:20 a.m. CT and the students will be walking during school for one class period to help raise money in the fight against cancer and learn about ways to stay healthy.
Sunday’s inaugural Relay for Life Pageant, sponsored by DeMotte State Bank, drew an astounding 33 contestants, ranging in age from 1 to 18.
Coordinator Candice Miller hopes to raise $1,500 for cancer research through a combination of entry fees, ticket and concession sales and other donations. Miller says many of the contestants are taking part because proceeds benefit cancer research. That’s also why the DeMotte State Bank is fielding a team. Miller is a cancer survivor, and says many members of the bank’s close-knit staff have been touched by the disease.
Organizers for the Yellowstone Trail Festival in Hamlet in August are getting things ready for the big event.
Bands have been contacted for entertainment and new events will be held including a corn hole tournament, Red Cross Citizens CPR and the appearance of the Emergency Response Vehicle and the blood mobile. More contests that will be featured include tug-of-war, pie eating, arm wrestling and more. The car show will be returning as well as the town-wide yard sales. A fashion show and pageant, a mounted gunrunners demo, a trail ride, karaoke contest and more are also planned.
Parents of incoming kindergarten students may register their child for kindergarten on Tuesday, April 16 from 8 to 11 a.m., and from noon to 1 p.m., as well as Wednesday, April 17 from 1 to 6 p.m. CT.
To be eligible for enrollment, the child must be five on or before Aug. 1, 2013. You are urged to make an appointment for your child’s screening. Screening will take 15 minutes per child.
Officers were conducting a drug activity call at a Hamlet residence and asked questions about a vehicle parked in the driveway. Nobody in the residence claimed ownership to the vehicle. Upon further investigation, the license plate numbers were ran and the plate did not match the vehicle. The VIN number was also covered up and wires were hanging from the broken steering column.
The first session will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT and the second session will be from 6:45-7:30 p.m. CT.
Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney noted that the current system is 11 years old and with the growing age of technology and the need to provide the best security available for the staff and students, the board will be upgrading its system. Quotes will be received and the system will be installed once a bid is accepted.
The Hamlet Town Board this week received a report from Town Marshal Frank Lonigro III, who informed the board that his department in March made 51 traffic stops, responded to 50 calls, and made six arrests. He said the department is also working on getting a car repaired because the car battery regularly goes dead, and he said they suspect the accessory cables were to blame. The department will return the car to the business where the lights were installed and have them rectify the problem, and Lonigro said they will also fix the siren box.
Following the trend of cities and towns that have passed similar ordinances, the Hamlet Town Board this week held a public hearing to gain input on the proposed idea of an ordinance regulating urban chickens – that is, chickens within town limits. Board President Dave Kesvormas printed a copy of the small livestock ordinance currently in place for South Bend which regulates how many chickens are allowed at a residence and the requirements that must be met to house any livestock.
Each of the teachers have more than 30 years of experience and have spent most, if not all in some cases, of their teaching career at the Oregon-Davis School Corporation.
Hamlet Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts had earlier reported that the proposed ordinance would allow residents in the town limits to house chickens on their property. She stated that several people have been in favor of the ordinance.
It’s a whole different kind of March Madness across the Kankakee Valley this morning. Roads are slick and snow-covered after a late season overnight snowstorm. This is making for hazardous travel. If you do have to be out, allow yourself plenty of time to reach your destination, and remember, ice and snow, take it slow. Maintain a safe distance from other vehicles, brake early and accelerate slowly. If you see a snow plow, stay back and give it plenty of room to operate. Don’t tailgate or try to pass a plow truck, as the roadway will be clearer behind the plow than in front of it.
You can check road conditions anywhere in the state by visiting www.trafficwise.in.gov or by dialing toll-free 1-800-261-ROAD (7623) for updated Indiana travel information, including road conditions, road closures, construction information and other traffic alerts.
Snow should taper off into flurries by midday, but additional snowfall is expected tonight and into tomorrow before temperatures warm up into the 40s by the middle of the week. Fortunately the snow will not be a factor for schools today, as most school systems within the WKVI listening area are on spring break this week. However, if we receive word of any other weather-related closings or delays we will pass it along on the closings and delays page at www.wkvi.com as well as on the air and on our Facebook page.
Hamlet Police are searching for three teenage boys they say jumped a 12-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle in the 500 Block of Pearl Street around 7 p.m. last night. The youngster was not seriously injured, according to chief deputy Kyle Hinds with the Hamlet Police Department. His attackers were boys between the ages of 15 and 18, two white and one Hispanic with long, black hair. They were driving an older model black Ford Mustang with a 4th grade Oregon-Davis baseball sticker in the back window. The vehicle fled the scene before police officers arrived. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the Hamlet Police Department at 574-867-2623. If anyone sees the black Mustang they are asked to call 911.
Kindergarten screening for Oregon-Davis students entering the corporation in the 2013-2014 school year will be held Tuesday, April 16 from 8 to 11 a.m., and from noon to 1 p.m. as well as on Wednesday, April 17 from 1 to 6 p.m. CT.
To be eligible for enrollment, the child must be five on or before Aug. 1, 2013. You are urged to make an appointment for your child’s screening. Screening will take 15 minutes per child.
A local school is on lockdown today after officials discovered some disturbing graffiti in a boys restroom over the weekend after a basketball game. Oregon-Davis Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney says school officials met yesterday with officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and are taking the incident very seriously. He says officers from the sheriff’s department are at the school and all students are remaining inside the building.
Disney says the campus will remain on lockdown throughout the day. He stresses that school officials cannot take any threats lightly in this day and age. Disney adds that he wants parents to be aware of what’s going on and says he understands if they want to keep their children home today. The graffiti incident remains under investigation by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. Stay tuned to WKVI throughout the day for more on this developing story.
A local high school will soon be looking for a new agriculture teacher and FFA coordinator. Jacob Riley is leaving Oregon-Davis at the end of the school year to take a job with Plymouth Schools. Riley has taught a number of agriculture classes at O-D for the past nine years including courses in the school’s new tech model for the past two years. He holds three degrees from Purdue University. Riley will begin his teaching duties at Plymouth in June with summer agricultural experience classes.
A suspected gas leak has been reported at the Country Acre Mobile Home Park in Hamlet.
NIPSCO and the Hamlet Police Department arrived at the scene and after a preliminary investigation, it was found that some unknown person went into a mobile home and turned on the gas. It filled the home and the area was evacuated for the resident’s safety.
Roads were glazed over with a thin sheet of ice this morning, which made for slick and in places treacherous travel.
A school bus from the Knox Community School Corporation was involved in a minor crash this morning. Bus #16 was on U.S. 35 on the way to pick up students when a vehicle traveling westbound on 200 North slid through the intersection and barely clipped the school bus. The bus did not have students on it at the time. A rear tire was flattened and a scratch was made during the collision. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the bus was then taken back to the bus garage and another bus was dispatched to take it’s place so repairs could be made. The driver was not injured. Continue reading
