The Starke County Park Board has gotten $5,000 toward a planned Yellow River access point, but where exactly it will be built remains to be determined. Starke County Community Foundation Director of Development Jessica Martinovic presented the park board with a check during Tuesday’s meeting.
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The Starke County EMS Department has secured some additional grant funds. Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary updated the Starke County Commissioners about the funds received last week.
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Starke County officials hope that recent upgrades to the County Forest will help attract new visitors. County Park Board members and Community Foundation representatives joined Forester Bruce Wakeland, Commissioner Kathy Norem, and several others Wednesday afternoon, to cut the ribbon on the forest’s upgraded access road.
Starke County officials will soon have a chance to show off the recent improvements to the County Forest. The County Highway Department recently upgraded the old access trail into a gravel road with a 10-to-12-car parking lot.
The conditions of the Bass Lake Beach and Campground will continue to be discussed during tonight’s Starke County Park Board meeting. Concerns that the facility’s operator, Callahan Development, LLC, reportedly hasn’t addressed safety issues at the facility have led county officials to look at the possibility of making the repairs themselves. Specifically, the beach house patio was the topic of a heated discussion during last month’s meeting.
The Starke County Commissioners passed along their support of having a celebration event for the newly finished upgrades at the Starke County Forest.
The Starke County Forest’s new access road is now complete. The County Highway Department recently upgraded the old access trail into a gravel road with a 10-to-12-car parking lot. The work was funded by a $15,000 grant from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund.
The Bass Lake Beach and Campground and the Starke County Forest will be discussed during tonight’s Starke County Park Board meeting. The county has been working to install glacial stone around the Bass Lake Beach, to protect it from incoming waves. But concerns were raised last month that the facility’s operator, Callahan Development, LLC, still hasn’t repaired the beach house patio.
Plans for the Starke County Forest’s new access road still have another hurdle to clear before construction may begin. The Starke County Park Board recently got $15,000 from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund to turn the forest’s existing access trail into a gravel road and add a parking lot.
The Food Bank of Northern Indiana is bringing its mobile food pantry to Hamlet this month. A “healthy mobile market” will be held Friday, June 15 from 10:00 a.m. to noon CDT at the James R. Hardesty Hamlet-Davis Township Fire Station.
The Starke County Forest’s access trail will soon be upgraded to a gravel road, but what it should be called is up for debate. Continue reading
Knox Elementary School will once again be able to offer two Kindergarten Countdown camps, thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund. That will allow the program to serve 40 incoming kindergartners, according to Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker.
The Knox School Board is expected to consider the relocation of fifth grade classes tonight. Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart brought the idea to the school board last month, after a recent facilities study found some extra space at Knox Middle School.
Board members will also decide whether to approve the hiring of a new corporation treasurer and business manager. According to the advance meeting agenda, Dawn Bailey has been recommended to replace Sherry Fort, who’s retiring at the end of next week.
In other business, the Knox School Board is scheduled to hear a park board presentation and get information about the Starke County Community Foundation’s Hardesty Memorial Endowment. Tonight’s Knox School Board meeting starts at 6:30 at the Knox Schools Administrative Office.
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.”
With the acquisition of thousands of dollars worth of grants for projects at the Starke County Forest and the Bass Lake Beach, Starke County Auditor Kay Chaffins suggested the creation of two line items within the budget for those funds.
The park board was recently awarded $15,000 from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund and $5,000 in a Community Support Grant.
A longtime supporter of Ancilla College will continue to offer posthumous support to the two-year private school. Starke County Philanthropist Jim Hardesty was an Ancilla College trustee and also founded the Starke County Community Foundation. Continue reading
