Yellow River Pilot Project Reviewed at KRBC Meeting, Followed by Site Visit

An overview of the Yellow River Pilot Project was presented when the Kankakee River Basin Commission met at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center Thursday morning.

Siavash Beik from Christopher B. Burke Engineering presented a summary of the project. The meeting was followed up by a site visit where Beik and his colleague Bob Barr pointed out some of the items that were highlighted during the presentation. Continue reading

Kankakee River Basin Commission Discusses Pros and Cons of Yellow River Pilot Project

A bank stabilization pilot project that was recently conducted on the Yellow River was discussed during last Thursday’s Kankakee River Basin Commission meeting.

Starke County Surveyor Bill Crase said that about 2200 feet of work was completed along both sides of the river. He told commission members that he was very impressed with the results, especially with the way the banks were able to withstand recent flooding.

He said only about 300 feet of damage was incurred and suspected that was likely from floating debris striking the spot rather than structural inefficiencies. However, there were certain issues with the way that the project that kept Crase from considering it a complete success. Continue reading

Kankakee River Basin Commission Votes to Fund Preliminary Repair Costs

When Kankakee River Basin Commission members met Thursday morning, they permitted a total of $254,000 to be paid to three counties in order to assist with immediate repair needs resulting from the recent flooding.

Initially, members considered having all funding requests submitted at a meeting that would be held within the next 30 days but a few members said there were some issues with that idea. Continue reading

State Senator and Representative Meet with County Officials About Flooding

On Sunday afternoon, Starke County officials met with State Representative Jim Pressel (District 20) and State Senator Mike Bohacek (District 8) to discuss the recent devastation caused by flooding and what steps to take next.

Local officials who were present included Starke County EMA Director J. Nier, Surveyor Bill Crase and Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler as well as Engineer Lee Nagai and County Commissioners Kathy Norem, Donnie Binkley and Charles Chesak. Continue reading