Local emergency services organizations will be conducting a training exercise on December 10th. The exercise will take place at the Knox High School between the hours of 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.
The training will consist of various departments including the Knox Police Department, Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Hamlet Police Department, and the Knox Fire Department. Also participating in the training will be Starke County EMS, Starke County Emergency Management and IU Health Starke Hospital.
Again, when you see all of the emergency personnel at the high school Saturday, this is only a training session.
A Knox woman was arrested on an active Starke Circuit Court warrant after a dog attack in October.
Candice Simmons was picked up on the warrant after a traffic stop in Cass County on Wednesday, November 30th, and faces two counts of Criminal Recklessness as a D Felony and as a Class B Misdemeanor and two counts of Harboring a Non-immunized Dog as a Class B Misdemeanor.
The charges stem from a incident on Oct. 6, when Marshall Garlach was attacked by Simmons’ dogs on her property. Garlach was reportedly walking Simmons’ child to her home after Garlach saw him in his front yard. He reportedly told police that when he got inside the gate to the property and walked the boy up to the door Simmons’ dog started attacking him. He said the male dog knocked him to the ground and then the female dog started to attack him too. Garlach told police that he was able to get away from the dogs and call 9-1-1.
Garlach’s left ear was bitten off in the attack and the bites on his arms went to the bone. While police were talking to the dog’s owner, Candace Simmons, the male dog charged at police and was halted by verbal commands. The final time the dog charged at police, it didn’t stop, even with commands, and the officer had to shoot the dog to stop his aggressive charge. The owner admitted to police that the dog had attempted to attack her at times also.
She was being held in the Starke County Jail on $500 cash bond and she is not to have contact with Garlach.
Henry F. Schricker LibraryThe bond sale has been completed for the $1,785,000 addition/remodeling program at the Henry F. Schricker Library.
Conducted by Ice Miller and Umbaugh and Associates, the bond sale attracted 5 bidders. Librarian Sheila Urwiler explained that the bond sale is only one of the first steps among many.
“The bond sales were complete on Nov. 8, and we’ve got our bond money now, we’re ready to start the next phase which is getting our cost estimates approved by our board and having the construction documents drawn up so we can start the bidding process in probably late January or sometime in February,” said Urwiler.
The bonds were sold to the De Motte State Bank for 3.65% interest. The issue is for 20 years, meaning the payoff will be in 2031, and the money will be put to good use in remodeling the library, Urwiler explained.
“You’ll see a new children’s area that is at what is now the back of the building, closest to the elementary school. The children and the Y/A area will be separate, there will be a little walkway under what is currently the mezzanine, and then those areas will have a little bit of separation which should help with some of the noise from the programs and just from kids running around and they just have a hard time being quiet,” Urwiler said.
Leedy Architectural of Elkhart who did the original work on the library will be the architecture firm doing design work for the project.
According to Urwiler, the groundbreaking ceremony is expected to take place in late March or early April.
The Knox Center Township Fire Department held its Firemen’s Ball Saturday night.
Held at the Knox Community Center, the affair celebrated the first 100 years for the fire department that dates back to the time of Henry Schricker. Continue reading →
M.J. Zembala and Dorothy Osinski hurriedly handled auction bids.Starke United raised several thousand dollars at it’s annual radio auction Friday afternoon. Broadcast over WKVI Radio and aired online, the event auctioned hundreds of items to support its annual fundraising campaign.
Executive Director Julie Dessauer reminds those who bid that you may pay and pick up your items at the Starke United office at 52 West Lake Street after 10:00 a.m. today. Dessauer will release the final results of the auction later this week.
Knox-Center Township Fire Department firefighters were called to a garage fire at 0020 N. 500 E. in Knox on Thursday, November 22nd. Firefighters discovered a fire along the back wall of the garage and it was quickly extinguished. The fire was ruled electrical/accidental. Firefighters were called to the same residence the next day and extinguished another fire that was located on the back wall of the garage near the location of the previous fire.
A Knox man was arrested Saturday, November 26th, after he allegedly broke into a home and stole a TV.
Knox City Police officers spoke to the victim who said that Erik Draper reportedly entered her home through an open kitchen window. Draper woke her when she heard noises coming from the living room area. She told police that she got up and saw that her front door was open. She then said she saw Draper running toward his house carrying her flat screen TV. She yelled at Draper to bring back the TV and he allegedly threw the TV over a fence and jumped the fence and took off running.
36 years ago today, the Knox Mall officially opened. Ribordy Drugs entered the new building first. Five Star, which was located across the street where Smith Farm Store is now, moved in a couple of days later.
Officers from the Knox City Police Department executed a search warrant at 605 South Portland Street. Police learned of possible drug activity at the residence and executed a search warrant on Wednesday, November 23rd. Officers reportedly found methamphetamine, marijuana, controlled substances and paraphernalia at the residence. Five people were arrested as a result of the search warrant. Continue reading →
Knox City Council (L to R) Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg, Ron Parker, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Mayor Rick Chambers, Attorney David Matsey, Ed Blue and Greg Matt
It appears that the Knox City Council members will be getting a two percent salary increase after all.
On the first reading of the ordinance giving an across-the-board increase for employees and city officials, the motion died with a 2-2-1 vote. Linda Berndt and Ron Parker favored eliminating council members from the raise. Continue reading →
Funeral services were held yesterday for Wilma Upsall at the Braman and Son Memorial Chapel in Knox.
Upsall was killed after three men entered the home she was living in with her daughter and son-in-law in Rochester. She died of a single gunshot wound.
The third suspect in the incident was arrested Friday afternoon. Roy Bell was reportedly arrested at a home outside of Monterey. He was arrested without incident. He is being held on charges of Murder, Burglary and Robbery. Two other suspects in the incident, William Scroggs and Jason Miller were arrested Wednesday after a pursuit incident with Marshall County police. They are charged with the same charges.
Fred Boggess II received his sentence in the Starke Circuit Court Wednesday after being found guilty by jury of Manufacturing Methamphetamine, Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors, Driving While Suspended, and False Informing. His sentencing took place in the Oregon-Davis High School.
During the sentencing, defense attorney Richard Ballard called Boggess’ mother, Dolores Boggess, to the stand. Dolores told the court that Boggess saved her life over the past year by taking care of her and doing odd jobs to help pay the bills. She said he did “everything he could” to help her.
A suit that took almost four years to wind its way through the court system was dismissed this week in Starke Circuit Court. Dennis Fornelli had brought suit against the City of Knox and the Knox City Police Department for wrongful discharge of duty from the police force in 2006.
The suit was dismissed on Monday, November 21st. It was originally filed on December 31st, of 2007.
Back Row: Mayor Rick Chambers, Ed Blue, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Greg Matt and Attorney David Matsey. Front Row: Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg and Ron Parker
Knox City Clerk-Treasurer, Jeff Houston, discussed the numbers from the Water Department with the City Council members at their recent meeting.
“This year we have a small loss of $54,000 in this utility,” said Houston. “It might come to a little bit less, but that’s what it’s projected to be, but that also includes $66,765 in depreciation.”
Houston said the projection is for the Water Department to lose less money next year.
The widow of Starke County’s longest-serving mailman passed away over the weekend.
Margie Green died Saturday at the age of 91. The Knox Post Office was named for her late husband, Grant Green, who served as a Knox mailman for 50 years prior to his retirement in 1970.
Margie had conducted a Kindergarten in her home before the public schools offered such a program, then started the Knox Kindergarten program under Superintendent Ralph Harbison.
After retiring from the Knox Schools, she started a new career at the age of 70 as the Starke County Voter Registration Officer for which she was named Indiana Voter Registration Official of the Year in 2005.
Santa Claus arrived in Knox for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony
Santa Claus arrived right on time yesterday afternoon for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Starke County Courthouse. Accompanied by several beautiful young ladies from the recent Miss South Bend/Kankakee Valley pageant, Santa came in on a Knox-Center Township Fire Department fire truck.
On the count of three, Mayor Rick Chambers flipped the switch on the Christmas tree and proclaimed the Christmas season’s beginning.
The Knox City Council has decided to refinance the remaining payments on the Knox Community Center. John Julien, from Umbaugh and Associates, appeared before the council to announce that re-bonding rates would go from 5.6% to 2.5%, and the city could realize savings from $14,000 to $25,000 over the course of the payments.
Knox’s big August festival might be in jeopardy following an announcement last night that the Friends of the Park Organization would be dropping its sponsorship of the Harvest Days Festival. The organization had been in charge of the three day event for the past six years. Friends of the Park President, Tony Radkiewicz, explained the organization’s decision.
Officers from the Knox City Police Department arrested a father and son on drug charges.
Officers were called to Advanced Auto Parts in reference to an intoxicated male. The caller reported that the suspect was trying to sell narcotics to the store employees and to the anonymous caller. Police arrived on scene and observed the suspect. He reportedly had come out of the store with a bag of items and put them in a car that was occupied by another passenger. Police questioned the suspect and reportedly found that Austin Bailey was intoxicated and that he had some items from the store in his pocket. More items from the store were located in the vehicle. Some of the items were paid for and others were reported stolen. The passenger in the car, Kenneth Bailey, Jr., was questioned and when officers patted him down for safety reasons, they found medication allegedly not prescribed to Bailey.
The Knox Christmas tree lighting ceremony is Sunday, November 27th.
Prior to the tree lighting, the firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Fire Department will parade its fleet of trucks on Main Street at approximately 4:30 p.m. The parade will end at the Starke County Courthouse in the downtown area. The firemen will be delivering Santa Claus to the tree lighting ceremony that will begin at 5:00 p.m. on the Courthouse Square.
The Starke County Choralaires will be singing Christmas carols during the event. Immediately following the tree lighting ceremony, Santa will make his way to the Knox Community Center where he will hear what children want for Christmas. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
