SCILL Center Executive Director Jerry Gurrado addresses the graduates
With proud parents looking on, 16 Senior students of the SCILL Center Auto Tech class received their diplomas last night.
Filling in for the announced speaker, Dr. Dane Miller, Founder of Biomet in Warsaw, the Executive Director of the SCILL Center, Jerry Gurrado, urged the graduates to use the knowledge gained to do great things in the future.
Borrowing from some of the notable people that he has met in his career as a high school coach, including the illustrious Johnny Wooden, Gurrado exhorted the students to follow their dreams.
“Dreams can come true, and by realizing your dreams you can inspire those who follow you in this unique class to realize theirs too,” Gurrado said.
After previously being suspended with pay, Robert “Ryan” Corbin filed his resignation with the Knox School Board, who approved it at their recent meeting. Corbin, a Knox High School gym teacher and boys and girls varsity swim coach, was suspended after being accused of inappropriate behavior with a 16-year-old student.
Police had previously interviewed both the student and Corbin and they both allegedly admitted to having conversations with each other. Inappropriate Facebook messages were sent, and conversations were also held via telephone and texting.
A Knox man was arrested Friday after an alleged battery incident.
When police arrived on scene, a woman came running out of the house stating that Wesley Swindle had a gun and her child was inside the house. When additional officers arrived on scene, the woman went inside to get her son and police asked Swindle to come out of the residence. The boy came out of the residence and Swindle followed. He was taken into custody.
The Food Bank of Northern Indiana has released the Mobile Pantry on the road and one of its stops will be at the First Pentecostal Church of Knox.
Fresh perishable items and dry goods will be distributed for free on Thursday, May 24 from 10 a.m. to noon CT. You can get produce, grains, dairy and meat for free on a first-come, first-served basis. You will need to bring bags or boxes to carry items home.
If you hear gunfire near Wythogan Park in Knox on June 9 and 10, don’t be alarmed– it’s merely World War Two happening all over again.
A WWII reenactment is being hosted by the US 1st Infantry Division, known as the “Big Red One,” a part of the World War Two Historical Re-Enactment Society. The sounds of battle will be heard coming from Wythogan Park, where the re-enactors will try to offer visitors a feel of what this exciting period of history must have been like. The re-enactors are collectors and serious students of history, representing several different nationalities who will try to dress, equip, and conduct themselves in proper 1944 manner.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers says his efforts to get American flags flying along U.S. 35 are going well, but he’s not sure if he’ll be able to get them up by Memorial Day.
Chambers says the American Legion donated a $400 check on Friday to get the project started, and he has already contacted the local VFW, who has informed him they are willing to help and are looking into what they can do to assist the cause. The Tri-Kappa organization has also said they would like to help the effort.
It will be a busy week in the City of Knox this week. It’s Spring Clean-up week! Knox Mayor Rick Chambers suggests utilizing two big dumpsters to throw out large, bulky items. The dumpsters will be located behind City Hall.
The Spotlight on Success portion of the Knox Community School Board meeting featured fifth grade teacher Corey Bucher, who talked about a recent “Natural Disasters in Science” field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Superintendent A.J. Gappa summed up the presentation.
“Mr. Bucher also had two students, Kaitlyn Lindberg and Kevin Lovins, to show the reports that they had done and they reported to the board,” said Mr. Gappa. “They talked about their trip and Mr. Bucher was extremely happy that they were allowed to go and talk about all of the positive things that came out of the trip that the fifth grade took to Chicago.”
Things may soon be looking a bit purple in Knox, thanks to the Paint the Town Purple effort for Relay for Life.
Megan Hamand of Key Bank says that supporters will be hanging posters, putting up yard signs, tying purple ribbons around various items in the city, and they will encourage local businesses to show their support for Relay with a window decorating contest. Hamand says she will begin passing out flyers to storefront businesses next week informing them of a competition.
The goal of the competition is for local businesses to decorate their storefronts in purple and encourage visitors to donate money for Relay. Community members can “vote” for the best-decorated business by making a donation to Relay For Life in the business’s donation canister, and whichever business raises the most funds will receive six months of free advertising through Main Street Computers in Knox.
Hamand says she feels local businesses will participate in the event because the community has always shown such a high level of support for the Relay For Life organization.
“I just think that Relay for Life is such a community-wide event. I think everybody really embraces it, so it’s kind of fun to drive through the week before Relay and see the entire town purple and just get a feel. Especially if you’re battling cancer, or if you’re a cancer survivor, just to see that the whole community is behind you, that’s kind of a cool thing,” said Hamand.
The event will take place from May 28 to June 1, with the Relay to take place on June 8.
Back Row: Greg Matt, Mayor Rick Chambers, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Donald Kring, City Attorney David Matsey. Front Row: Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg and Ron Parker
The Knox City Council this week discussed the replacement of a lift station near Clabaugh Drive and U.S. 35. According to Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, the council is looking into covering 50 percent of the cost using their TIF funds, with the other half to be taken from the Cumulative Sewer Treatment Fund. Houston says the expected cost of the project is $188,301.08.
A Valparaiso man was arrested May 7 after he reportedly broke into the M.C. Smith Funeral Home in Knox.
The owner of the funeral home, Mark Smith, told police that Sonny St. John’s mother had died and was at the facility, but St. John wanted to change funeral homes. St. John learned that his mother’s trust was paying for the funeral and he reportedly told Smith that he found another home that could do the funeral for cheaper. Smith said St. John could not have the money back from the arrangements already made because it was illegal. St. John allegedly became belligerent and began saying that he would burn down the funeral home if he didn’t get what he wanted. He also threatened to break into the business and take his mother out of the facility. Smith told police that the threats really didn’t mean much– until he saw St. John leaving the facility when he was not there and the doors were locked.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave a report to the school board about the recent bus inspection. He says the state police have changed the procedure in inspecting buses.
“In the past, they used to do in the summer and we had weeks to prepare our buses. Now, because the state has cut back on the number of troopers that do the inspections, they have to do them throughout the year,” said Gappa.
IU Health Starke Hospital and IU Health LaPorte Hospital employees will be building a led panel for 25 homes in celebration of Habitat for Humanity of Indianapolis’ 25th Anniversary.
The assembly begins Friday, May 18th and volunteers will be working in one-, two- or four-hour shifts building panels for the homes. You are welcome to help in the process. Volunteers will receive a Habitat for Humanity/IU Health t-shirt. Light refreshments and sunscreen will be provided.
Representatives from the Starke County Public Library approached the Knox Community School Board members Monday night to discuss their upcoming expansion project. Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that the library’s property is just north of the Knox Elementary School property and part of their project involves the school.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave the School Board a report on the facility study committee Monday night. The committee met with representatives from ICE Miller, Barton, Coe, Vilamaa Architects, and Umbaugh and Associates in order to discuss possible renovations and other work that needs to be done at the elementary school.
“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!” That advice will come in handy at the Inaugural Starke County Dodgeball Tournament, hosted by the Knox High School football team. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Relay for Life Foundation.
Brady Jones of the high school organized the event, and he told WKVI that he chose to benefit the Relay for Life Foundation to give back to the community with the help of the Knox football team.
A Knox woman was arrested by Plymouth Police officers after a theft incident on Friday.
Plymouth police responded to a theft complaint from Walmart. When police took her into custody, she was allegedly in possession of three precursors used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. She was also reportedly intoxicated.
Angela R. May, 42, was arrested and taken to the Marshall County Jail on preliminary charges of Theft, Public Intoxication and Possession of an Illegal Drug Lab.
She’s always loved jewelry, just like Bijouteriehidous.com, but it wasn’t until recently that Stacey Horan of Knox began to dabble in its creation. Horan says jewelry-making was something she essentially stumbled into after attending I.U. Bloomington for four years, earning herself a degree in Apparel Merchandising and Business. Following college, Horan applied to several corporate apparel chains– but didn’t have much luck.
“In apparel merchandising, you basically learn how to merchandise anything retail; the apparel part was just a focus. So, I had to take a textiles class, a manufacturing and quality class, but essentially it was business: how to sell, retail, how to develop a brand image, and all that good stuff. And so I learned all that, applied to all those places that turned me down, so jewelry was kind of like a last option,” she said.
Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Knox and North Judson Police Departments will be participating in the “Click it or Ticket” campaign beginning May 18th through June 3rd.
This blitz, coordinated by the Indiana Governor’s Council on Impaired or Dangerous Driving, allows officers to patrol during this seat belt enforcement period. All drivers and passengers are encouraged to wear their seat belts at all times in a motor vehicle. If you don’t wear your seat belt, you will receive a traffic citation. No warnings will be given.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers reminded the city council members that the lift station at Clabaugh Drive and U.S. 35 is going to have to be replaced in the near future. That information came out of a report by Wastewater Superintendent Kelly Clemons.
“I had her get some figures. We need to know how much growth is expected south of that point. A new lift station would cost $188,000,” Chambers said.
