With Memorial Day a little more than three weeks away, Mayor Rick Chambers is trying to get flags up on U.S. 35 to show the city’s patriotism. Chambers says a large number of items are required to mount the flags.
“We need brackets, poles, flags, stainless steel bands– everything to get flags up on 35. There are 35 light poles on the highway with lights on them in the city limits,” said Chambers.
A Prayer Breakfast was held yesterday morning at the Knox Community Center in observation of the National Day of Prayer.
The Master of Ceremonies was Pastor Ed Hasnerl of the Eagle Creek Church and the guest speaker was Dr. Ron May, President of Ancilla College. May summed up the message he gave to the crowd.
The Legacy of Women will hold their spring event Sunday, May 6 at the Knox Middle School. Sherri Bartolli explained that the event will include a number of programs and speakers, as well as prizes and food.
“We have entitled the program ‘Extreme Coupon, More Bang for Your Buck.’ We do have three speakers who are going to be our entertainment this year, plus we will have silent auction baskets, vendors, food and some door prizes,” Bartoli said.
A Knox man was arrested on Friday following a pursuit incident in Starke County.
When a police officer observed a motorcycle traveling south on 1025 East from 300 North, an attempt was made to initiate a traffic stop but the driver did not halt to police. Police say that the driver, Raymond Higdon, looked over his shoulder, saw the officer, and immediately took off.
The Knox City Police Department has moved to its new office in a building purchased from Dean Wells last year, located across from City Hall.
The move was made last week, and gives the police department much more room,
as each officer now has a desk and work area plus garage space for the police cars and more space for evidence and records. Continue reading
The City of Knox has voted money for a bank account for Harvest Days expenditures. The city council voted to approve $500 at the request of Michelle Bechtel, as Mayor Rick Chambers explained.
“Michelle Bechtel has taken over the chairmanship of the Harvest Fest. She has filed a Certificate of Incorporation and obtained an Employee Identification number from the I.R.S. She has also set up a bank account, and needs funds for postage, and miscellaneous bills she has right off the bat. I’ve explained to her at the end of the year a complete financial report of all expenditures and receipts is expected,” Chambers said.
The Drew Shearin Scholarship Fund is receiving some support from local student Taylor Kemble, who has organized a rummage sale to take place Friday, May 4 at the Knox United Methodist Church. Kemble says that because this will likely be her last rummage sale, she felt she needed to benefit someone who had a huge impact on her life– the late Drew Shearin.
“Well, I’ve been doing this for, I believe, the past four years now, and I just decided that since this was probably going to be my last rummage sale, I wanted to do something for Drew because he was a huge part of my life, and he inspired me to do many things and I just decided that this was going to be dedicated to him,” said Kemble. (05-01-12 Kemble – Drew)
The Knox Community School Corporation will be participating in the USDA Summer Food Program again this year.
Free meals will be made available to children 18 years of age and under beginning in June. Any child is welcome to eat for free at the Knox High School from June 4 to July 26, and at the Knox Elementary School from June 4 to June 28.
No child will be discriminated against and every child from all over the area is welcome to participate. Both breakfast and lunch will be served.
Selected Furniture LLC will be relocating from China to Knox, Indiana. Selected Furniture produces commercial seating and this season, are bringing you the best set of chairs for the winter.
Charles Weaver, Executive Director of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, talks more about the new business that will be housed in the old Rockwell Building on Culver Road.
Gateway and the Starke County Historical Society are in discussions with the City of Knox to deed the Gateway property to the city. When Gateway was conceived, it did not include the Depot and all of the other historic items such as the watchman’s tower, Nickel Plate signal tower or the caboose and tracks.
The area had been an ice and coal yard for years on the west side of U.S. 35 and a fuel distribution center on the east side. To the north was the Golding property that was at one time a 1920 gas station. Jim Shilling convinced the owners of the property to sell it to a private organization called Gateway.
The vote totals are in! Two residents from the Corey Drive area of Knox presented petitions to the Knox City Council last week that indicated most residents of the subdivision do not want street lights. Virginia Thomas presented the results.
“Three want street lights, and 14 don’t,” Thomas reported. “We went down the whole street. You know what they want more than street lights? They want “speed bumps,” but I said we’re only surveying for or against street lights.”
Knox City Board of Works members heard this week that the storm water drain project is officially completed. The $837,095 project provided several drains in flood prone areas of the city, mostly around Portland, Washington, and John Streets.
$25,000 was left over after the project was completed and now the city is now researching if the funds can be used for other projects.
Congressman Joe Donnelly has announced that the Board of Commissioners of Starke County received a $503,000 grant to improve access to the Knox Industrial Park, an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The grant will partially fund the State Road 8 and County Road 300 East intersection project.
The U.S. 35 bridge over the Yellow River in Knox will undergo a re-decking construction project beginning Monday, April 30th.
During construction, travel will be restricted to one lane at a time. A traffic signal has been stationed on both sides of the bridge to control the flow of traffic. The traffic signal will be operational beginning today.
Over 200 people attended the Victorian High Tea yesterday at the Knox Community Center. The event was held to raise money for the Starke County Food Pantry housed at Community Services of Starke County. Lois Bock and Debbie Popagain helped develop the activities.
Joan Haugh, the Director of Community Services of Starke County, commented on the turnout.
“I’m so impressed with the 35 ladies who put this together,” said Haugh. “The decorations are just fabulous. And as I’ve always said, if you’re going to have a fundraiser make it fun.”
We asked about the food pantry.
It’s billed as “an affair to remember” and it will be held today at the Knox Community Center. The event is a “Victorian High Tea” and it’s being held as a fundraiser for the local food pantry. Those who attend are invited to join in the Victorian fun by wearing gloves, a fancy hat, a bowler, a top hat, or any other apparel you think might fit in with the tea.
The event is presented by local resident volunteers, and is sponsored by Christos Family Dining of Knox. The admission is $10.00 and no tickets are being sold at the door. If you hurry you might get a ticket at the Christos restaurant on Heaton Street in Knox.
Bella Vita Pregnancy Resource Center Executive Director, Susanne Lange, recently announced the organization’s upcoming fundraiser to be held May 17th at the Knox Community Center. This is the second annual event for the organization that was formed to give women valuable information about pregnancy issues. Susanne mentioned in that six young ladies had decided to carry their babies to term in the past year. But, she said, that isn’t the only reason for the center’s existence.
“We really exist to inform men and women of their options,” said Lange. “Of course, it’s your choice to make informed decisions. We are there as a resource to them. Also we have a baby bucks program. If a client enrolls in our program, she and her boyfriend or husband can go through these classes and earn baby bucks. With these baby bucks, they can purchase various supporting items such as baby clothes, cribs, car seats…things like that.”
The 61st National Day of Prayer is May 3rd.
Locally, a Prayer Breakfast will be held May 3rd at 7:00 a.m. CT at the Knox Community Center. Dr. Ron May, President of Ancilla College, will be the guest speaker. Pastors from area churches will also make presentations during the breakfast.
Over the past several weeks, rumors have floated around Knox that a furniture manufacturing plant will be locating here. Those rumors have been confirmed. Selected Furniture will be moving to Knox from China. The deal was closed last night when the Knox City Council passed two resolutions: one for economic revitalization and the other on benefits for tax abatement.
The Harlem Wizards came to Knox last night appearing in a fundraiser for the Knox High School Band. Money raised was to be used for a band trip to Florida.
While the Wizards play almost every night, some of the “ringers” rounded up by Coach Craige Phipps left a little to be desired. Tom Berg tried to keep up with the Wizards star guard who was simply known as “The Roadrunner.”
