Storm Yesterday Causes Few Injuries, No Estimate On Power Restoration

Posted on Author WKVI
Scenes like this one in North Judson were all too common in the wake of yesterday’s storm.

Kankakee Valley REMC has reported over 7000 people without power in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke, and Pulaski counties after the afternoon storm that tore through the area on Friday. KVREMC dispatched crews yesterday to affected areas to begin restoring power. Causing the outages are five substations that have been reported down due to transmission feeds from NIPSCO being out as well as broken poles and downed wires.

Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem says the hardest hit area seems to be around Bass Lake, where boats were reportedly flipped over in the water and even tossed up on land. Several trees were felled and Norem says cleanup crews have their work cut out for them.

“The hardest hit areas seem to be in California Township around Bass Lake and North Bend Township, also around Bass Lake. The crews have been out, the highway department is out, the Sheriff’s Department has been out, but there is a lot of damage in that particular area and it’s going to be a long cleanup,” Norem said.

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Authorities Release Driver’s Identity In Monday’s Fatal Knox Crash

Posted on Author WKVI

Authorities today released the name of the driver of a vehicle who died in a Monday morning accident on U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox. Robert E. Freye. 67, of Hamlet, died when his vehicle struck a minivan.

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Alan Griggs performed an autopsy Tuesday in Lafayette and confirmed that Freye had suffered a heart attack prior to the accident and died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The cause of death was determined to be a torn aorta.

The woman who was a passenger in the vehicle has been identified as Mary Hightower, 63, of Hamlet. She was badly injured in the accident and remains hospitalized. The driver of the minivan involved in the accident was Patrick McCarty, 39, of Knox who received minor injuries in the accident.

Hamlet Man Killed in Monday Accident in Knox

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Police and first responders tend to an accident at U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells has released the name of the man killed in a two vehicle accident in Knox Monday afternoon.

67-year-old Robert Freye, of Hamlet, was traveling north on U.S. 35 in Knox when he suffered a heart attack, causing him to cross over into the southbound lane by John Street and hit a minivan driven by Patrick McCarty, 39, of Knox. Freye died instantly of a torn aorta as a result of the accident. The passenger in his vehicle, Mary Hightower, 63, of Hamlet was injured in the accident and was flown to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. McCarty received minor injuries in the accident.

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Knox Woman Arrested For Stealing From Parked Cars

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox woman was arrested Wednesday on a charge of theft after an investigation by the Plymouth Police Department.

On Tuesday, June 26, an employee from AutoPark called the Plymouth Police Department to report a customer going through employee cars in the parking lot. Police were told that a video was taken of the suspect entering one car and placing something in her pocket.

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Knox City Council Approves Using Riverboat Funds To Build Handicap Ramp at Courthouse

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

The Knox City Council this week approved a motion to use $4000 from Riverboat revenue to put in a handicap ramp on the west side of the courthouse. The committee planned to use funds out of the 50/50 sidewalkfund, but work that had been done in front of city hall and expenses as part of the city’s leaf pick-up had drained the sidewalk repair fund.

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Tax Abatement Approved For Hoosier Custom Plastics

Posted on Author WKVI

After tabling the matter twice, the Knox City Council this week finally signed documents stating that Hoosier Custom Plastics is in substantial compliance to the terms of their tax abatement.

Council Attorney David Matsey said they were hesitant to sign the forms because documents that were necessary to ensure they were in compliance had been sent to the wrong department – some documents went to the clerk-treasurer’s office that should have gone to the auditor’s department, and vice versa. However, the council ultimately agreed that the company is in compliance, and approved the forms.

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No Rest In Sight For The Knox Redskin Brigade

Posted on Author WKVI

The summer months usually mean a summer vacation for students, but not for the members of the Knox Redskin Brigade. Director Craige Phipps says the marching season and the regular band season is right around the corner.

“We start full-bore at the end of July and run through the end of May,” said Phipps. “We really do try and give them as much time as we can, but even with that, there’s things that need to be done through the summer.”

Phipps said the staff talked about what type of show to do this year and the music from “Cirque du Soleil”came up in conversation. He explains the show’s concept from there.

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Authorities Not Ready to Release Identity of Driver in Fatal Accident

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Police and first responders tend to an accident at U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox

Authorities are not yet ready to release the name of the driver of a vehicle who died in a Monday morning accident on U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox. Notification of the next of kin has to be made before that information can be released.

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Alan Griggs performed an autopsy Tuesday on the victim in Lafayette and confirmed that the driver of the passenger vehicle had a heart attack prior to the accident and died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. The driver suffered a torn aorta.

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Exercise Group To Resume Normal Operations At Knox Community Center

Posted on Author WKVI
The exercise group attended the meeting en masse to be heard regarding the council's decision.

Applause filled the room at this week’s meeting of the Knox City Council, as they approved a motion to allow an exercise group to resume use of the community center at no charge.

The group had been using the Knox Community Center free of charge since 1998, but were recently asked to move operations to the Girl Scout Cabin in order to avoid paying a fee to use the center. Virginia Wireman-Duncan, the leader of the exercise group, said they felt they should be able to use the center free of charge because they did not charge any of their members any kind of fee in order to exercise with the group.

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Knox 21st Century Scholars Site To Close June 30

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox support site of the 21st Century Scholars is closing its doors effective June 30. The Knox site supports students in Starke, Pulaski, Jasper and Fulton counties.

The 21st Century Scholars Program was initiated to ensure that every student who wanted to go to college could afford to do so. Income-eligible seventh and eighth grade students who enrolled in the program and fulfilled a pledge of good citizenship could receive tuition up to four years at any participating public college or university in the state.

The Regional Coordinator at the Knox site, Kelly Manning, said that even though the support site is closing, the scholarship will still be available.

“The promise of the scholarship is still there for the students, just not the support from the support sites,” said Manning.

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Knox School Officials Learn About New Superintendent Evaluation Model

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

Superintendent A.J. Gappa and three members of the Knox Community School Board recently attended a training session in Gary concerning the new superintendent evaluation model.

“According to the new law, it has to be implemented during the 2012 to 2013 school year,” said Gappa. “By the middle of September, we have to have an evaluation tool submitted to the State. We thought it was a valuable information session. It was information that we will need to proceed in that area.”

The session was facilitated by members of the Indiana School Boards Association.

The administration evaluation is a lot like the new RISE teacher evaluation which looks at a teacher’s professional practice and measures student learning.

One Fatality Reported In Yesterday’s Crash

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Police and first responders tend to an accident at U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox

Knox City Police responded to a two-vehicle accident on U.S. 35 and John Street Monday morning. An investigation revealed that a northbound Ford passenger car had crossed the center line, striking a southbound minivan.

Police say the passenger car was occupied by a male and female, and one male was traveling in the minivan. The driver of the passenger car was pronounced dead at the scene and the passenger was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in South Bend in serious condition.

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Knox School Lunch Prices To Increase Slightly

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

The Knox Community School Board approved an increase in breakfast and lunch prices for the 2012-2013 school year. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says a nickel increase will be incurred across the board.

“Breakfast at all schools will be $1.15 this coming school year,” explained Gappa. “Elementary lunch will be $1.75 and the middle and high school lunches will be $2. Those have all increased a nickel from last year.”

Injuries Reported in Two Vehicle Accident in Knox

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Police and first responders tend to an accident at U.S. 35 and John Street in Knox

Knox City Police officers and emergency responders were called to a two vehicle accident on U.S. 35 and John Street this morning that resulted in a fatality.

A preliminary investigation shows the driver of a passenger vehicle was traveling northbound on U.S. 35 and crossed the center line, striking a southbound mini-van. Critical injuries were sustained by the occupants in both vehicles, but the driver of the passenger vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. An Indiana State Police reconstructionist has been called to the scene to help in the investigation.

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Fireworks Ordinance Prevents Fireworks Til Friday

Posted on Author WKVI

A fireworks ordinance prohibits residents from discharging any type of device until this Friday, June 29 in the Town of North Judson and the City of Knox. This includes all consumer fireworks with the exception of sparklers, cone fountains, ground spinners, snakes or glow worms, and smoke devices. Anyone in violation of the ordinance shall be subject to a $100 fine for the first offense, $250 for the second offense, and $500 for a third offense and every subsequent offense.

According to the ordinance, fireworks may only be discharged between 5 p.m. and two hours after sunset from June 29 to July 3, and July 5 through July 9. On the Fourth of July, fireworks may be ignited between the hours of 10 a.m. and midnight.

For more information, the ordinance is available in Knox City Hall and the North Judson Clerk’s office.

North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely reminds residents that you must be 18 or older to legally use fireworks.

City of Knox To Sell Old Stop, Yield Signs

Posted on Author WKVI

For those that wish to have a traffic sign as a decorative piece but don’t want to risk getting arrested for stealing one from the side of the road, good news – there’s an easier way.

Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston says the city is currently selling stop and yields for $10 a piece. The signs are left over from the city’s recent upgrade of their traffic signs to newer, more reflective signs, and rather than let the older signs gather dust, the city has decided to sell them.

The signs can be requested at city hall.

Roughly 250 stop signs were replaced in the city to meet new regulations from the federal government which required all signs to be replaced with the new signs by 2018. Houston says they still have a number of stop and yield signs for sale.

Knox School Board Receives Update Regarding Possible Palmer Wing Project

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

Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave an update on the Facility Study Committee during the school board’s recent meeting. The committee will be looking at financing options and which direction to go with a possible project at the Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School.

“We’re going to try and meet with Curt Pletcher from Umbaugh and Associates in the next week with our committee of three of our board members to discuss how to proceed further with a possible elementary project,” said Gappa. “We’ve been giving reports on a meeting-by-meeting basis just to keep the public and the board informed. This is our next step.”

Smoke-Free Information Session Clears The Air

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch, Pulaski County Environmental Health Specialist Sherry Fagner, Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission Regional Director Rachelle Back, and Officer Patrick.

An information session regarding the new statewide smoking ban was held last night at the Bass Lake Community Center, and the more than fifty people that attended learned not just what the law covers, but what procedures need to be followed in order for businesses that qualify for an exemption to receive one.

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Knox Man Arrested On Intimidation Charges

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Monday on an active arrest warrant for Intimidation.

On June 1st, it is alleged that 32-year-old Jason Danekas was attempting to move out of his brother’s home when an argument escalated. Danekas reportedly picked up a large knife and threatened the life of his brother. Their mother stepped in and tried to stop Danekas from doing harm and he allegedly threatened her as well. He then threatened to take his own life.

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