Smoke-Free Law Information Session To Be Held Today

Posted on Author WKVI

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the new statewide smoking ban will be presented in an informational session today from 2 – 3 p.m. ET at the Winamac VFW, and a town hall meeting will take place at the Bass Lake Community Center at 6 p.m.

Attendees will be educated about the new law, how it affects all businesses in Starke and Pulaski Counties and any questions will be answered. On July 1, most Indiana businesses will be required to be smoke-free and to post signs indicating that it is a smoke-free facility. Smoking will not be allowed in places of employment, public places, state-owned vehicles and school buses.

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WKVI Broadcasts Live From Zip-Thru Mart’s One Year Anniversary

Posted on Author WKVI
Front row: Lenny Dessauer and Tom Berg; Back row: Pat Dunn, Janice Estok, and Chuck Estok.

Cars packed the parking lot of the Zip-Thru Mart to enjoy some free snow cones and cotton candy in celebration of the business’s one-year anniversary.

WKVI was present and broadcasting live from the business, and while lines formed to enjoy the free refreshments, Tom Berg and Lenny Dessauer presented random customers with free lottery scratch-off tickets. While no big wins were reported from the scratch-offs, one lucky customer did receive four free tickets to Indiana Beach, courtesy of WKVI.

Fallen Oak Tree Causes Fire, Car Accident

Posted on Author WKVI

The Washington Township Fire Department was called to a fire on 1025 East Monday night.

Assistant Fire Chief Dave Pearman said a big oak tree fell on some electrical lines in that area which caused two transformers to explode. The tree then fell into the road, and a driver soon struck the tree. The fire was extinguished by the fire department and the driver received minor injuries and refused treatment at the scene.

REMC was called to the scene to deactivate the electrical lines so cleanup could begin.

Water Department Fees May Soon Increase, Says Knox City Council

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox City Council

In an attempt to make the Knox Water Department more self-sufficient, the Knox City Council is considering a rate increase of $6.70 a month. The increase would be spread out over two years, and, if approved, could mean a monthly increase of $3.75 per month as early as August.

Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained the hike, which was recommended by Umbaugh and Associates, would ensure the water department could continue regular operations.

“The reason I wanted this rate study done was to make sure we had enough money to pay for our bonds, and other financial obligations. Basically, I wanted to make sure the water department was on sound financial footing,” said Houston.

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Dry Conditions Urge Caution, Says Knox-Center Township Fire Chief

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox-Center Township Fire Chief Ken Pfost

Although it’s been dry in the Knox area, Knox-Center Township Fire Chief Kenny Pfost says his department hasn’t been called out to too many brush fires.

“We’ve been fortunate,” commented Pfost. “We’ve only had a couple of brush fires, but there have been several more throughout the county. It hasn’t been too much of a problem yet and hopefully the residents of Starke County can help keep it under control.”

Pfost urges you to not burn anything during this drought, but if you have to, he offers these suggestions.

“The biggest thing is to use common sense,” said Pfost. “I prefer that you don’t burn at all. If it is necessary, keep it attended. If you can, have water present, like a garden hose. If nothing else, keep the grass wet around the fire. It seems like a lot of people wait until the windiest day of the year to burn. Burn on a calm day if you have to burn. Try to do it during the daylight hours and don’t burn anything you can’t manage.”

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Vehicle Fires Deemed Arson By State Fire Marshall

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox City Police Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to a vehicle fire at Carl Manns’ residence at 503 S. Heaton Street late Tuesday night.

When officials arrived on scene, they found two vehicles on fire. After the fires were extinguished, the State Fire Marshal’s Office was notified and an investigator helped process the evidence. The evidence led the investigator and Knox police officers to the conclusion that the fires were acts of arson.

Last week, Knox City Police officers and members of the fire department were called to a suspicious fire outside of a vacant home next to the residence of Carl Manns. A small amount of siding and a shutter were damaged in that incident, but luckily, the neighbors who called in the incident had the fire out before officials arrived on scene.

Detectives are asking that if you have any information about either incident, call the Knox City Police Department at 772-4122.

Knox City Council Discusses Requests For Free Exercise At Community Center

Posted on Author WKVI
Knox Community Center

The Knox City Council faced a roomful of concerned women this week at its regular meeting. The women were part of an exercise group that had used the Knox Community Center since 1998 twice a week at no charge, but recently, they were asked to move to the Girl Scout Cabin in order to keep their “no charge” status.

The sessions were conducted by Virginia Wireman-Duncan who read a prepared statement.

“We would like to know who decided to evict us from the community center and why. The exercise
class has met at the community center since Sept. 30, 1998. There has never been a charge for those
attending the classes,” said Wireman-Duncan. “During the 14 years we met we were not charged because we were recognized as a community service for the city of Knox. There are now 55 members; thirty or more attend each class. So they wanted to know, first of all, why we were evicted from it, and second who initiated that we be removed from the community center.”

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A Nearly-Flagless Flag Day For One Bass Lake Resident

Posted on Author WKVI

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day.

Unfortunately for one Bass Lake resident, Flag Day is going to be a bit dismal this year. Since Memorial Day, Ken Myers’ flag pole at Bass Lake has been bare – that was the day someone stole not only his American flag on a 30-foot pole, but his Vietnam POW flag and his Marine flag.

“On Memorial Day, I was flying my American flag at half-staff. My wife was out watering her flowers and some people stopped by and asked why we weren’t flying my flag – it’s like a monument out here – and she looked up and all three flags were gone,” Myers said.

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Boater Stumbles Upon Old Bass Lake Diving Board

Posted on Author WKVI

Do you ever remember diving off the diving board at Bass Lake? What year was it? Well, you might never dive off of it again, but because of the low water at Bass Lake the old diving board and platform have been discovered. A boat struck the items in about four feet of water, and although at first no one knew what it was, it was soon discovered that the platform had four polls on each corner and a rug on top of the deck.

On another note, Starke County’s most famous bridge – the one that went over Eagle Creek – has been removed. The wooden bridge was the site of a near-tragic event that occurred in April 1996 when a runaway school bus went over the bridge before a student, John Waldron, stopped it in a field.

The bridge has recently been taken out and a culvert installed. Highway workers brought the old wooden bridge to the highway garage property. It’s not known if it will be sold, scrapped, or used for parts.

Center Township Alumni Gather To Reminisce About Center School

Posted on Author WKVI

Before they were “Redskins,” they were “Blue Streaks.” That was the what the Center Township sports teams were called before the school burned to the ground in 1942. After the fire, the students from Center Township came into Knox.

Legend has it that the blue in the uniforms of Knox sports teams is in honor of the Center Township School – after all, one of the most famous of all Knox High School graduates, Harold Weinberg, attended the school until it burned.

On Sunday, several of the students who attended the school gathered at the Community Services building to enjoy a meal, look at pictures, and reminisce about their school days at Center.

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Four Arrested In Knox On Possession Charges

Posted on Author WKVI

Four people were arrested in Knox on Monday after police reportedly found drugs in a vehicle.

Knox City Police officers and officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Community Corrections were near the Super Value Inn when they saw a suspicious vehicle pull into the hotel parking lot. A woman got out of the car and, once she saw police, quickly got back in. Police stopped the vehicle and talked to the occupants.

One officer reported smelling burnt marijuana in the car and asked everyone to exit the vehicle. After the driver granted police permission to search the vehicle, police reportedly found methamphetamine and marijuana in the car, which were field tested with a positive result on both tests.

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Knox Earns Recognition As Riley School, Corporation

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

Effort at all three Knox Community School buildings was highlighted during Monday night’s Knox Community School Board meeting. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said that because of the effort, the corporation is now known as a Riley Corporation.

“We highlighted all three buildings, the elementary school, middle school and the high school, for contributions made to the Riley’s Children Hospital in Indianapolis,” said Gappa. “This is a great benefit to kids throughout the State of Indiana. I know many Knox kids in the past have used the facilities at Riley and many Starke County kids also,” said Gappa.

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Knox Police and Fire Departments Called to Small House Fire

Posted on Author WKVI

The Knox City Police Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to a fire at 11:00 p.m. last night at a home across from Advanced Auto Parts on U.S. 35.

The neighbors saw the fire on the side of the vacant home and called the Sheriff’s Department. They reportedly had the fire out by the time officials arrived on scene. The fire caused a minimal amount of damage.

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Cafeteria Prices To Increase At Knox Schools

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

The Knox Community School Board members discussed cafeteria prices this week, and Superintendent A.J. Gappa said a proposal was made to increase prices for the next school year.

“We are proposing a nickel increase in lunches which will keep us in the lowest price range for lunch service in the county and lower than most of the schools around,” said Gappa.

He says the increase in price is mostly caused by regulation changes at the federal level.

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Sandra Lee Studio Of Dance Presents Music Is The Movement

Posted on Author WKVI

The Sandra Lee Studio of Dance is excited to present their 34th annual dance production, and Sandy Martinkus of the studio says they’ve got quite the show planned.

“We have a really exciting program. It’s about how music affects our physical movements and emotions and takes us back to special times in our life and different generations. We’ve got an exciting big band number, a humorous musical theater production loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, we’ve got tiny tots that are into country-western dancing and nursery rhyme blues, and petite ballerinas, and beautiful lyrical dancers, enthusiastic dancers of today, and an all-boys dance group on the Beach Boys’ 409 Impala,” said Martinkus.

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Staff Sergeant Jerry Nenycz of Plymouth Named Harvest Days Grand Marshall

Posted on Author WKVI
Jerry Nenycz

Staff Sergeant Jerry Nenycz of Plymouth, who earlier this year was named the Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year in Indiana, will be the Grand Marshall of the 2012 Knox Harvest Days Festival Parade. Nenycz is a 1999 graduate of Knox High School.

The Knox Harvest Days Festival is scheduled for August 24 – 26.

Festival Chairperson Michelle Bachtel told WKVI this week that more corporate sponsors are needed to help finance the three-day event.

Everyone is invited to go to the festival website at www.knoxharvestfestival.org for a registration form.

Finally, a Miss, Little Miss, and Tiny Miss Pageant is being planned with more information to follow on how contestants can register.

Knox Barber Approaches Fifty Years Of Cutting Hair

Posted on Author WKVI
Myron Brown

With Knox Barber Myron Brown approaching 50 years of cutting hair in the Kankakee Valley, he looked back on his time here and recalled his decision to come to Knox.

“Years back we had a barber union, and when I checked with them they told me about a shop in Knox. I came here, and stayed for all of these years. I’ve actually been in four different locations in the town,” Brown remembered.

Myron said he originally wanted to be a veterinarian, but money was tight, so he decided to become a barber in order to save up money for school.

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Knox School Board Discusses Elementary Palmer Wing Project

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

The Knox Community School Board got an update on the progress of the Facility Study Committee on Monday night. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the committee is gathering figures for the possible project on the Palmer Wing of the elementary school.

“Architect Dana Wanamaker had sent some figures over to the school and to representatives from Umbaugh finance, and we still haven’t talked to the representative from Umbaugh so we are still in that planning stage of how to move forward,” said Gappa. “We will be meeting with our board committee in the near future and getting information back out to the public.”

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