U.S. 35 Bridge Project To Finish Up Soon

Posted on Author WKVI

Construction crews are wrapping up the U.S. 35 bridge project in Knox.

Indiana Department of Transportation Spokesman Matt Deitchley said that they are working on some paving and guardrails and some work will be completed after the bridge opens to both lanes of traffic this week. The original deadline for the project was November, but swift progress was made during the good weather days we had throughout the summer.

The entire bridge deck was replaced as the old surface was deteriorating quickly.

Knox City Council Approves Stormwater Rate Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

The Knox City Council at their recent meeting approved an ordinance on its third and final reading amending the city’s sewer and stormwater rates.

Since the city has constructed a sewage system to collect sewage and waste, and convey it to a treatment plant for treatment and disposal, the city council approved the ordinance to establish a department to address the city’s stormwater needs. The ordinance also created a stormwater fund and established stormwater rates.

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IDEM Grants City of Knox Permission To Burn Storm Brush

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has granted permission to the city of Knox to burn the brush that has accumulated from the storms that ravaged the city on July 24.

The Knox City Street Department has already prepared an area for a burn and will notify the fire department when that activity will proceed. This is not for individual residents to burn, but the city of Knox as a government entity.

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Harvest Day Race Announced For Aug. 25

Posted on Author WKVI

IU Health Starke Hospital, a major sponsor of the Harvest Festival, has announced they will be conducting a festival 5K Run and 3K walk on Saturday, Aug. 25.

The race will begin and end at the EMS parking lot near the hospital.

Participants in the run or walk are instructed to gather at the starting point before the 8 a.m. event, and registration begins at 6:45 a.m.

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Revised Order Against C&C Salvage Filed In Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse

The revised injunction against C&C Salvage in Knox has been filed in the Starke Circuit Court.

The order was filed against C&C Salvage after the Planning Commission says they learned C&C Salvage did not have the proper permits from the commission to expand its operations, but James Campbell, the owner of C&C Salvage, had expanded the salvage and junk yard to the south, nearly doubling its size. Further, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted an inspection in May and found several violations of both state and federal laws.

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Marsh Manor Buyer Interested In Getting Building Up To Code

Posted on Author WKVI
Marsh Manor

The Knox City Council met this week and heard from Viola Woods, the attorney for the new owner of 304 S. Main St. in Knox, more commonly known as Marsh Manor.

Woods had asked the council what needs to be done in order for her client to improve the property enough to bring it back up to liveable standards, as it had previously been condemned following a fire that destroyed a portion of the house.

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Work Session Shows Community Support For New Knox Wing Construction

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The work session held by the Knox Community School Board last week shed some light on the feelings of the community concerning the Palmer Wing project at the elementary school. Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that of the three options available – do nothing, renovate the existing wing, or build a new one – the consensus seemed to favor constructing a new wing.

With just over a dozen patrons in attendance alongside staff members at the meeting, Gappa says the majority seemed to favor the idea of building a new wing and carrying on with classes as normal until the wing has been completed. Then, classes would be added to the new wing, and the 60-year-old Palmer Wing would be torn down. Gappa explained the new wing would likely be at the west end of the newer structure of the elementary school.

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Kelly Miller Circus Coming to Knox

Posted on Author WKVI
WKVI's Tom Berg clowns around with Carlee and Charley from the Kelly Miller Circus.

The WKVI studios had two special guests this week in preparation for the upcoming circus event in Knox. Two circus clowns, Carlee and Charley, visited Tom Berg in the studio to give a sneak peek of the upcoming event.

Carlee explained that the Kelly Miller Circus will be coming to town on Aug. 29, and she says it’s going to be quite the show.

“We like to let people know that when the circus comes to town, we don’t fool around,” Carlee said. “We don’t just bring one, don’t just bring two, we bring three of them. Three elephants come with the Kelly Miller Circus! But those aren’t the only animals we have, no. It’s three elephants, four camels, five tigers, six ponies, seven performing puppy dogs, and a zebra!”

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Injunction Order Against C&C Salvage To Be Revised

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall heard a motion to set aside an order of injunction filed against C&C Salvage of Knox.

An injunction order was filed against C&C Salvage after the Planning Commission says they learned C&C Salvage did not have the proper permits from the commission to expand its operations, but James Campbell, the owner of C&C Salvage, had expanded the salvage and junk yard to the south, nearly doubling its size. Further, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted an inspection in May and found several violations of both state and federal laws.

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Wythogan Park Still Closed – Mayor Urges Residents To Stay Away

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers would like to remind all residents that Wythogan Park is still closed while cleanup crews continue efforts to remove branches, limbs, debris, and other items strewn about and destroyed from the July storms.

Chambers says the park is closed until further notice, but he’s hopeful that it will open toward the end of September. He says the council is hoping to let a contract this week for the cleanup work, but the contractors have indicated that it would take roughly four to six weeks after the bid is awarded before the cleanup can be completed.

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Knox Schools Budget Cut, Says Gappa

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board approved the advertisement of the 2013 budget. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the budget has decreased.

“Our budget advertisement this year is a little bit less than less year; it’s about $500,000 less than we advertised last year in the general fund, and it’s a little over $900,000 less than we advertised last year for the total budget,” Gappa explained.

Gappa reports the total of the school’s proposed budget for 2013.

“All funds would be $23,254,000, and our general fund advertised budget for this year would be $14,966,000, which almost $500,000 last than we advertised last year,” said Gappa. “Once we have a public hearing on Aug. 20, the plan will be to adopt the budget at the Sept. 5 board meeting.”

Shidaker Spotlighted During Knox School Board Meeting

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation, Peggy Shidaker, was spotlighted during the school board’s recent meeting for taking part in HealthLinc’s Back to School Health and Wellness Fair. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said Miss Shidaker and a teacher represented the school in highest regards.

“Miss Shidaker attended the Health Fair along with third grade teacher, Shannon Pitts,” explained Gappa. “They represented the school and passed out information to families who were in attendance that would help them improve their wellness and health of not only their student, but their whole family.”

The pair handed out bus safety information, as well as information on peer pressure. Coloring books and activity books were distributed to the younger students. Approximately 80 students came through the school’s booth.

Knox Football Players Commended For Storm Clean-up Efforts

Posted on Author WKVI

Dave Bullock from the Knox Park Board appeared before the Knox Community School Board Monday night to thank high school football coach Chris McGowan and the entire football team for helping to pick up debris at Sandy Acres Park after the July 24 storm.

Bullock said 45 members of the team took their time out of practice to help the park members who were swamped with all the wreckage after the storm. The team spent several hours picking up branches and limbs and tiding up the park for regular patrons. He added that some of players remarked that it was some of the hardest work they’d done so far this season.

The board thanked Bullock for his comments and also commended the team for showing great community spirit in a time of need.

Knox School Officials Disappointed In ISTEP Scores

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The three principals and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation gave the school board members an overview of the corporation’s ISTEP scores.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa said all of the administrators and the board were disappointed in this year’s scores.

“They dropped in most categories at both the elementary school and a the middle school,” stated Gappa. “Everybody’s gathering together and making action plans on how their going to move forward and turn that around. We’re confident that the plans are going to be successful and do a reversal on the scores.”

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C&C Salvage Shut Down For Permitting, IDEM Violations

Posted on Author WKVI

An injunction order has been filed in the Starke Circuit Court against C&C Salvage and Auto Sales, Inc. in Knox prohibiting them from conducting business until they have applied for and received the proper permits.

According to the injunction, C&C Salvage did not have the proper permits from the Planning Commission to expand its operations, but James Campbell had expanded the salvage and junk yard to the south, nearly doubling its size. Further, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted an inspection in May and found several violations of both state and federal laws.

As a result, the injunction requires Campbell to cease all business operations until every violation of county, state, and federal law is corrected. A fine of $300 per day will be issued to Campbell for every day he is still in violation of the laws since July 30, and he is also required to pay the court costs for the matter as well.

Knox Kindergarten Teachers Meet With Incoming Kindergartners

Posted on Author WKVI

The kindergarten teachers from the Knox Community School Corporation and Peggy Shidaker, the director of curriculum and instruction, recently visited all of the incoming kindergarten students and their families to welcome them into the school corporation.

Shidaker discusses those visits.

“During those visits, we met the child, we met the parents, we also took materials and distributed some activity books, an activity calendar, a book and a t-shirt donated by IU Health Starke Hospital. All of our kindergarteners are going to show up on that first day of school with a brand-new t-shirt,” said Shidaker.

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Work Session Tonight Regarding Knox Elementary Palmer Wing

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board will hold a work session tonight to discuss the possible Palmer Wing Elementary School construction project.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa says tonight’s meeting is to gather more public opinion on the condition of the Palmer Wing.

“Part of the elementary school is coming up on 60 years old and there’s some work that needs to be done,” said Gappa. “The board feels that it’s time for them to make a decision. They want to go with one more public meeting to get input from the patrons of the community. So, the board has scheduled an open meeting workshop at 6 p.m. and that will be held in the Palmer Wing All-Purpose Room which is at the east end of the elementary school.”

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Knox Man Arrested For Residential Entry, Stalking

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Friday after allegedly entering a woman’s home in Pulaski County without permission.

The victim called police to say that David Mattes had come to her house without her permission and she wanted him off her property. When she called police, she was in her back yard with her dog and a wooden stick while he was inside her home. Police arrived on scene, found Mattes and ordered him to the ground. He was then taken into custody.

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Lightning Strikes Washington Twp. Home – Blasts Thermostat Across Room

Posted on Author WKVI
David Pearman

“It’s amazing what lightning can do when it really strikes a home.”

These are the words of Assistant Fire Chief Dave Pearman, who arrived at a home in Washington Township in response to a reported lightning strike to find that the house had suffered a direct lightning strike at roughly 8 p.m. on Saturday.

According to Pearman, the power of the lightning strike caused nearly every electrical device in the home to overload, shorting them out. He said it also blew apart the phone boxes, caused a fire to develop behind the electrical box, and blasted the thermostat off the wall, launching it nearly eight feet across the room.

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