Work Session To Be Held Regarding Knox Elementary Palmer Wing

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox Community School Board will hold a work session on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. to discuss the possible elementary facility project.

Residents are encouraged to attend this event and give their opinion on what the board should do with the Palmer Wing of the elementary school. The board has been getting updates from the Elementary Facility Study Committee; Architects Barton, Coe, Villema and financial representatives Umbaugh and Associates, and the groups have been discussing all options available.

The Palmer Wing is deteriorating and can no longer house all of the technology and necessary needs in that section of the elementary school. The board has the options of doing nothing, tearing down the Palmer Wing and building a new structure in its place, or rehabilitating the current structure.

The board will meet in the Knox Community Elementary School All-Purpose Room and will take comments from the public. No action will be taken at this meeting.

Clean-Up Continues In Wythogan Park

Posted on Author WKVI
This is just an example of the devastation at Wythogan Park.

Knox Park Board President Kurt Snearly says Wythogan Park is still closed to the general public, but loggers and tree service professionals will soon be hired to help clean up the hundreds of trees, branches and limbs that littered the park after a huge storm rolled through Knox on July 24.

Snearly says the park employees are doing their best to clean up as much as possible and progress has been made. Loose branches are still hanging from atop many mangled trees and until those are taken care of, the park will remain closed.

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers is working on getting quotes for clean-up and removal of debris.

Marsh Manor Purchased In Tax Sale – Buyer Unhappy

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

Knox City Attorney David Matsey told the city council this week that Marsh Manor, located at 304 S. Main St., was recently sold in the county’s online tax sale.

Matsey says the woman who purchased the property was unaware that the building had previously caught fire, and he says she paid about $15,000 in a bidding war on the property. The back-taxes on the property are currently around $18,000.

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Knox Man Arrested For Theft of Lawn Tractor

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested after he allegedly broke into a home in Knox on Saturday.

A resident living in the 1800 block of County Road 300 East in Knox called the Starke County Sheriff’s Department to report that an unknown person broke into her home and stole several items. The shed on the property had also been broken into and a lawn tractor was stolen. The lawn tractor was later found in a shed at a residence near the crime scene.

Officers obtained a search warrant for that residence and on Monday, the items that were reported stolen were recovered. Patrick Sullivan, 36, was at the home at the time the search warrant was conducted and was taken into custody. Sullivan has preliminary charges of Theft and Receiving Stolen Property.

Storm Cleanup Still Underway In Knox

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers

The City of Knox continues to clean up from the ferocious storm on July 24.

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers says the city is trying to keep up with brush pick-up, but with the street department’s regular duties and the brush overload, an outside contractor has been hired to aid the street department in brush pick-up.

Brush in the alleys will be picked up last as the street department sifts through the debris. Mayor Chambers says the brush in the alleys may be left until next month. He asks that residents be patient while clean-up continues in the city.

Knox Business Looking to Mount Antenna On Water Tower

Posted on Author WKVI
NITLine's tower was bent nearly to the ground from the force of the storm.

A Knox business has hit a bit of a setback in the wake of the July 24 storms. NITLine CEO Jerry Shepherd approached the city council this week seeking “immediate approval” to establish a wireless internet tower on the city’s water tower. He said this is an emergency case because his tower near the NITLine building on Main Street had been critically damaged in the storms, and he needs to get his internet service up and running as soon as possible for his customers.

Shepherd requested approval to mount an antenna on the East Street water tower because of its central location. Several antennas have already been mounted on the water tower, including the Knox Community Schools communication equipment and a number of antennas for DC Technologies. Shepherd said his antenna would have no conflicts with the current equipment, and he says the liability would be covered.

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Two Arrested After Police Receive Accidental Text of a Drug Sale

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Knox residents were arrested Tuesday on drug charges.

A deputy from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department reportedly received a text message from an unknown person asking about a drug transaction. The text reportedly talked about selling methamphetamine, and police say the message requested to meet the subject at the Knox Post Office. Officers from the Knox City Police Department arrived on scene and waited for the transaction to take place. When it was complete, officers moved in and arrested 53-year-old Tony Clemons and 44-year-old Deborah Clemons of Knox on a preliminary charge of Dealing Methamphetamine.

Multiple bags of methamphetamine were found in their possession.

Two Arrested Following Residential Search In Knox

Posted on Author WKVI

A search warrant was executed that allowed officers from the Knox City Police Department to arrest two on drug charges.

Officers received information about narcotics being sold at a residence in Knox and, with that information, the officers applied for a search warrant. Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall signed the search warrant and it was executed Tuesday afternoon at 1560 S. 300 E. in Knox.

As a result of that search, police found an indoor marijuana growing operation and the suspects in the case were found to be in possession of marijuana.

Justin Back, 28, and Mitchell Thompson, 28, of Knox were arrested on preliminary charges of Dealing in Marijuana and Possession of Marijuana.

No Injuries in Wednesday Afternoon Accident

Posted on Author WKVI
This vehicle was damaged after a two car accident at the intersection of Main and Culver Road in Knox

A two vehicle accident occurred at the intersection of Culver Road and Main Street in Knox yesterday afternoon.  While no specific information has been given about the accident, it is known that one of the vehicles involved ran the stop light at the intersection.  No injuries were reported.  Continue reading →

Wythogan Park Still Too Dangerous For Visitors

Posted on Author WKVI
Many branches like this one are dangling dangerously above, presenting a serious hazard to visitors.

Uprooted trees, downed power lines, fences torn asunder – this is just some of the damage at Wythogan Park in the wake of the July 24 storms.

The park has been closed as a result of the devastation, and Park Superintendent George Byer urges residents to stay away. He says the risk of injury is too great to enter the park, because there are a lot of branches dangling by a thread that could fall at any moment.

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More Than $20,000 Approved For Knox Housing Improvement Project

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

The Knox City Council at their meeting this week approved the city’s match for the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission’s housing improvement project grant. The match for the grant is roughly 10 percent of the $200,000 total, coming out to $22,500 that the city must provide to improve housing for the 12 eligible households that have applied.

A motion was made and approved for their 10 percent share, and a motion was also made and approved to accept the 12 applicants into the housing improvement project.

The council also discussed their appointment to the Knox Planning Commission. This nine-member board consists of two appointments by the county commissioners, four citizens appointed by the mayor, and three appointments from the city council. The three appointments from the council need to be either city officials or employees, and Mayor Rick Chambers said he will go through their list of employees and see if anyone is interested in the position.

Local Scrap Yard Under Fire For Numerous Violations

Posted on Author WKVI

A local scrap yard is under fire for allegedly committing numerous Indiana Department of Environmental Management violations, and a hearing was held yesterday in the Starke Circuit Court regarding the allegations. Attorney Steve Dodge appeared in court with Starke County Zoning Administrator Bruce Williams, who presented evidence of numerous violations committed by C&C Salvage, located near the intersection of U.S. 35 and Toto Road.

According to a summary letter of an inspection conducted at the site by IDEM on May 21, there are locations where it is evident that fluids such as oil had been released onto the ground, and at least one location has several vehicle motors sitting on the ground with evidence of standing around them. Further, there are burned trees at the back of the property from a fire, and C&C Salvage Manager Jose Delgado reportedly said a pile of scrap had caught fire. There is also a small pond on the property that is full of debris including railroad ties, tires, trash, and scrap materials.

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Public Hearings Held By Knox City Council

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

Several public hearings were held during yesterday’s meeting of the Knox City Council for a number of proposed ordinances.

The first public hearing held was in regards to the reestablishment of the cumulative capital fund, something Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston says they tried several years ago but it was never passed. No public comment was heard, and a motion was made to approve the ordinance on the first reading. This motion was passed, and another motion was made and approved to suspend the rules. Finally, a motion was made to approve the ordinance on its second and third readings, which was passed.

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Last Day For Art Exhibit At Henry F. Schricker Public Library

Posted on Author WKVI
Dolinski and Mirza stand near what Dolinski described as one of his most important pieces.

Today is the last day to check out the art exhibit being held at the Henry F. Schricker Public Library in Knox. The exhibit has been on display since July 9, and was collected and put up by artists Wesley Dolinski and Darius Mirza.

Sculptures, photographs, and paintings are on display at the library. Dolinski explained that most of the work was done by he and Mirza, but three or four pieces on display were purchased from art teachers of his past. More than 40 pieces are being displayed.

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Harvest Fest to Be Moved From Devastated Wythogan Park

Posted on Author WKVI
Wythogan Park suffered a lot of damage from the storms.

Park crews continue to clean up after last week’s storms that caused damage to Wythogan Park as well as the Starke County Airport, the Starke County Courthouse, and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department dispatch tower.

There is such destruction at the park that Knox Park Board President Kurt Snearly says the Harvest Fest will need to be moved elsewhere.

“We met with the Harvest Festival Committee Chairman, Michelle Bechtel, and she had as much concern about holding it in the park as we did,” explained Snearly. “Due to safety concerns, we’re just not so sure we can even have it at the park.”

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Knox City Council To Hold Two Public Hearings Tonight

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

The destructive storm on July 24 caused massive amounts of damage throughout Starke County, especially Knox. More than 80,000 people were without power at one time, including most of the city of Knox. As a result, a number of events were canceled and rescheduled, and the Knox City Council meeting was one such event.

As a result, the meeting has been rescheduled for tonight at 7 p.m., and two public hearings will be heard. One hearing is in regard to reestablishing the cumulative capital fund, and the other concerns changes to the city’s water and storm water rates. The council will also hold the second readings of the water rate ordinance and the sewer and storm water rate ordinance.

Discussion of three salary ordinances for appointed employees, the clerk-treasurer’s office, and elected officials is also on the agenda, and they will discuss their appointment to the planning commission.

Wythogan Park Suffers Extreme Damage From Storms

Posted on Author WKVI
The 70 mph winds bent this tree in half and uprooted others.

Wythogan Park sustained an extreme amount of damage during Tuesday morning’s storms. Park Board President Kurt Snearly talks about the destruction.

“We had six utility poles that had to be replaced and NIPSCO did a fantastic job,” explained Snearly. “They worked extremely hard for four straight days to get that cleaned up. There was fencing damage to the tennis court and our brand new $12,000 slide was damaged. The playground equipment like the spring toys, the curly slide, the climbing equipment and swings were all damaged. The shelters and fields did make it…somehow. The amount of trees that are down in the park right now is staggering.”

The three-man park crew have been cleaning up the smaller debris, but it’s going to take much more to clean-up the park.

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Back to School Health and Wellness Fair Set For Aug. 1

Posted on Author WKVI

Healthlinc, Inc. will be hosting the third annual Back to School Health and Wellness Fair on Wednesday, August 1 from 3 to 6 p.m. CT at the Knox Healthlinc Clinic, located at 104 E. Culver Road.

During this event, donated backpacks and supplies will be given to school-aged children, immunizations will be provided, and sports physicals will be available for uninsured and under-insured children. Other information and entertainment will also be offered.

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Storms Rock Northern Indiana

Posted on Author WKVI
This image was taken on U.S. 35 north of Knox. Photo by Kim King, Editor of the LaPorte Herald Argus

A massive storm went through the Kankakee Valley this morning. Currently, over 64,338 NIPSCO customers and 14,800 Kankakee Valley REMC customers are without power.

The Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, Starke County Commission President Kathy Norem and Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall urges Knox residents to stay where you are for the time being as many roads in the county are impassable. The storm hit hardest in the Knox, Bass Lake and eastern Starke County areas.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department has communication issues, but the 911 system is working.  A dispatch tower was damaged in the storm.

The Starke County Airport sustained major damage.  Several hangars were destroyed and several planes were damaged.

Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer reports roads closed as trees and electric lines are down.

Listen to K99.3 for updates and check the closing and delays section on this website for closures. Continue reading →

Statewide Water Shortage Could Force Bass Lake Pumps to Cease

Posted on Author WKVI

With a statewide water shortage warning in place, the Bass Lake Conservancy District warns that if the shortage hits the emergency level, the pumps which pour millions of gallons of water into Bass Lake will be shut off.

The DNR notified the Bass Lake Conservancy District of this situation last week. If the pumps are shut off, all boats in the lake will need to be taken ashore as soon as the emergency is declared or the boat may not be able to be transported out of the lake. The lake levels will deplete quickly.

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