The Town of Winamac is getting some help with its ash tree removal efforts. Town Manager Brad Zellers told the town council Monday that INDOT has agreed to cooperate with the town on the removal of 11 trees along the highways that pass through town. Continue reading
The Starke County Park Board is moving ahead with efforts to complete a five-year plan for the county’s park facilities. Before the county is able to get most types of grant funding for park projects, it’s required to have a comprehensive plan in place. Continue reading
Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating the drowning of a Gary man in a LaPorte lake yesterday. Emergency responders were called to Pine Lake at 6:42 p.m. Continue reading
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is hosting a hunter education class in Starke County. It’s scheduled Saturday, April 16th and Sunday, April 17th at the Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area Headquarters in North Judson from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. CDT. Continue reading
The Culver Community Schools Corporation may be looking at adding an archery program for its students. School Board members heard a presentation Monday about the National Archery in the Schools Program. If it piqued a student’s interest, he/she can gear up with items like an arrow holder. Continue reading
Starting this fall, Indiana will have a limited river otter trapping season after action this week by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. In the early 20th century river otters were near extension in Indiana due to a loss of habitat and unregulated trapping. In 1921 the state Department of Conservation banned their taking. They were believed gone from the state by the 1940s.
The DNR began reintroducing otters to state waterways in 1995. Over a five-year period, 303 river otters were captured in Louisiana and released in northern and southern Indiana. Their populations increased enough through natural reproduction that river otters were removed from the state endangered species list in 2005. Presently, river otters have expanded their range to include over 80 percent of Indiana’s counties and their numbers continue to increase. Continue reading
It’s the opening of the firearms season in the state.
Officials at the Department of Conservation ask that hunters be aware of firearms safety. Always positively identify your target. Don’t shoot at color, shape, sound and movement.
Treat every firearms as if it was loaded and point firearms in a safe direction. Avoid alcohol or drugs when handling firearms. When hunting with a companion, if visual contact with that person is lost do not resume hunting until visual contact has been made and confirmed. Wearing hunter orange is the law.
Written comments are still being accepted by the Division of State Historic Preservation and Archaeology for consideration to classify the county home in Pulaski County as a historical structure.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources notified county officials last week that the Pleasant View Rest Home has been proposed for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Indiana Division of Historic Preservation will consider the nomination during their meeting on Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m. ET at the Indiana Government Conference Center in Indianapolis in conference rooms one and two. Pulaski County residents are welcome to attend this meeting.
Deer hunters in Indiana will soon be offering a helping hand in putting food on the tables of Hoosiers in need through the DNR Division of Law Enforcement’s Sportsman’s Benevolence Fund. The fund makes it possible for hunters to donate venison through a participating butcher by paying the processing fee, and Conservation Officer Lt. Colonel Steve Hunter said the program provides an opportunity for hunters to demonstrate concern for their fellow man.
Chad Stewart, deer research biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, explained that the deer breeding season is approaching which increases migration.
It’s the time of the year when people love to get in the water, visiting local pools, lakes and reservoirs for recreational water activities. The Indiana Department of Child Services and the Department of Natural Resources are reminding parents and guardians to ensure they keep an eye on children playing in or near bodies of water.
In 2011, 11 Hoosier children drowned, and Mary Beth Bonaventura, director of the IDCS, said lack of supervision is mostly to blame. Children, she said, don’t usually have an awareness of the risks around water, and it’s up to adults to supervise them and ensure their safety.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources reminds you to stay safe and in compliance this boating season.
All motorboat operators must have a valid driver’s license to operate on all Indiana public waters. Any person who is at least 15 years old may operate a motorboat if a boater education course is successfully completed and approved by the DNR.
This week is National Safe Boating Week, and throughout the boating season, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the National Safe Boating Council remind boaters to strap on those life jackets and be alert and ware while out on the water. Approximately 700 people drown in the United States each year from recreational boating accidents, the vast majority of which could have been spared their fate by simply wearing a life jacket.
Several new changes have been put forward this year regarding hunting regulations. Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman says a new law has been enacted concerning hunting out of ground blinds.
“If you’re in a ground blind when hunter orange is required, you need to have a minimum of 144 square inches visible from all sides on a ground blind. That’s just one square foot visible from all sides and this is mainly during the firearms muzzleloader season when you’re required to wear hunter orange,” stated Wildeman.
If you are hunting out of an elevated blind, hunter orange is not required on your blind, but you must still wear hunter orange.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is offering a Hunter Education Class to assist participants in receiving their Indiana Hunter Education Certification.
Indiana Conservation Officers will be holding the class on Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT at Kankakee FWA Headquarters, located at 4320 W. Toto Rd, North Judson. There is no fee for this course.
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive their certification, which is required for any hunters born after Dec. 31, 1986.
Students are asked to preregister for the course by calling District 10 Law Enforcement Headquarters at (219) 879-5710. Attendance both days is mandatory for the certification, and children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch.
Starke County will be getting a new conservation officer.
The Indiana DNR Division of Law Enforcement held graduation ceremonies Friday in which Zachary Howerton of Marengo was assigned to the Starke County area. Nine other officers were also assigned to several conservation officer positions throughout the state.
Howerton underwent five weeks of initial training followed by 12 weeks of on-the-job training in the field with a veteran conservation officer. Training continues with a 15-week course at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy after which Howerton will report to his assignment to complete a one-year probationary period.
This summer’s chronic hot and dry weather has not only resulted in drought conditions throughout most of Indiana, it has also prompted a call for high-capacity water facilities in 32 counties to implement voluntary water conservation measures.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security have announced plans to send notification letters to owners and operators of facilities in several counties with the capacity to withdraw 100,000 gallons or more per day.
The eradication of Eurasian watermilfoil and curlyleaf pondweed in the Koontz Lake will begin on Tuesday, April 17th.
The Koontz Lake Association and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources River Enhancement Program will be conducting a whole lake treatment for control with EPA approved Sonar Herbicide. Other treatments will be completed within 90-120 days following tomorrow’s treatment.
A Plymouth man is dead after a police pursuit in Marshall County.
Last night around 8:30 p.m. ET, an officer with the Argos Police Department attempted a traffic stop in the area of Michigan Road, north of Argos, and the driver did not stop. The officer was attempting to pull over the truck after the driver committed a traffic infraction. The officer pursued the truck, driven by Mark Albright, 62, of Plymouth.
