Memorial Day Services in the Kankakee Valley began Sunday at the Knox VFW Post 748. The posting of the guard ceremonies began at 12:00 noon. Speakers included Tim Shepherd of the VFW, Dewayne Arndt, representing Congressman Joe Donnelly, State Representative Nancy Dembowski, and Knox Mayor Rick Chambers.
J.W. Hicks, Inc., with locations in both Knox and Merrillville, has announced plans to proceed with two expansions in Knox while continuing the operation in Merrillville. The company has been in Knox since 1998 and these expansions will mark the third and fourth such expansions since the plant has been in Knox.
The Knox City Police Department is investigating a burglary at the ALCO store in the Knox Mall.
According to police, on Tuesday, May 24th, officers were called to ALCO in reference to a burglary. Officers arrived on scene and found the glass in the south entry door broken out. The K9 unit was sent inside but no suspects were found in the store. Police found that a glass case containing video game systems was broken and game systems were stolen. When police reviewed the security tape, officers saw the suspect was wearing a ski mask, gloves and a hooded sweatshirt at the time of the incident and could not identify him. If you know anything about this incident, you may call in an anonymous tip to the Knox City Police Department at (574) 772-4122.
James Childress III, of Rolling Prairie, was arrested by Knox City Police Wednesday after an accident and a brief foot pursuit from police.
According to the police report, Childress was reportedly driving his vehicle in the Giles Court area and went off the road a hit a tree. Childress fled on foot. The vehicle caught fire in the engine area after the incident and the fire was extinguished by the Knox-Center Township Fire Department. The vehicle displayed false and fictitious plates.
The Knox VFW Post #748 will be hosting Memorial Day services beginning this Sunday, May 29th. Opening ceremonies begin at Noon on Sunday with the posting of the guard for a 24-hour vigil. Congressman Joe Donnelly will be speaking, along with State Representative Nancy Dembowski and Knox Mayor Rick Chambers. The Candlelight ceremony will be Sunday at 8:30 p.m. and all of the POW MIA soldiers’ names from the Iraq and Afghanistan War will be read. At Noon on Monday, May 30th, the closing ceremonies and the retiring of the guard will be held at the Post Home. Several veterans, firefighters, police officers, and National Guard members will be standing vigil at the Post and a Civil War camp will be set up in the back of the facility.
The Knox City Council heard a report from Mayor Rick Chambers this week on a proposal to refinance the Knox Community Center bonds.
“John Julien from Umbaugh and Associates called the other day and he had mentioned this to Jeff (Houston) and I about a year ago,” explained Mayor Chambers. “The interest rates are down. The interest rates on our current loan is 5.5% and he thinks interest rates for 2.9% could be had if we put this out for bid. This loan will be paid off in 2019. Over the length of that loan, if we can bond for 2.9%, we would save $55,000. That’s a little misleading because we have $32,000 currently in an escrow account with First Monterey Bank. So, with the expense of redoing that bond and being able to use that $32,000 now, subtract the $32,000 from the $55,000 – over the course of this loan we’d be saving $22,000.”
This week on “Ted Hayes Remembers”, Ted will talk with Jim Shilling.
Jim and Melba Shilling have been in the forefront of collecting and maintaining a history of Starke County for decades. Jim has shown the Starke County Courthouse to hundreds of people, and taken hundreds more on tours of the Starke County Museum.
Ted asked Jim to talk about historical events over the past 50 or so years that have impressed him.
Services will be held in Starke County in August for Chief Warrant Officer, Andy Howes. Although complete details are not available at this time, it is known that services will be August 2nd and that his remains will be taken on to his final resting place, Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Those services will be held August 5th. Howes’ partial remains have been in U.S. possession since 1988. They were identified through DNA samples.
Originally, plans were set for 2012 but were moved up to August of this year.
Howes was on a mission in November of 1970 when his helicopter failed to return to base. He was a Knox High School graduate.
The Five Star store in the Knox Mall is going to house 40 to 50 four by six foot pictures depicting Starke County’s history. The first picture went up yesterday and Jim Shilling was there to describe the scene.
“We’re putting up the first picture above some of the produce on the northeast corner of the store,” said Shilling. “It’s a picture of the Charles Windisch store that was in Starke County about 100 years ago. If you look closely to the left, that’s Charles Windisch and if you look in the back, you’ll see the cooler. That’s not a cooler like you think of now. That storage above it is filled with two or three hundred pounds of ice and that’s the cooler. He butchered his own meat, it was always fresh and it was quite a grocery store. On the bottom right, you can almost pick out a Red Delicious apple.”
250 interested people turned out for the Bella Vita Pregnancy Resource Center’s fundraising reception last night at the Knox Community Center. Pledge Chairman, Dr. Thomas Browne, urged all in attendance to provide the funding to help sustain this worthwhile and needed service. Following the evening, Executive Director, Susanne Lange, told WKVI’s Ted Hayes about the first two months of operation and how many are using the services.
“We’ve seen over twenty clients and have enrolled many, many girls, ages 14-34, in our Earn While You Learn program who are actually showing up consistently.”
Ted Hayes Remember 5-20-11 (download or listen here)
Today at 12:20 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. CT, Ted Hayes will feature former WKVI morning man, John Whitenack on the “Ted Hayes Remembers” program. Mr. Whitenack occupied the “air chair” for 16 years. He especially liked to play the radio games, such as “Hi-Low”.
The Knox City Council members are currently in the process of gathering information on a Pawn Shop Ordinance and at their last meeting, they reviewed an ordinance prepared by City Attorney David Matsey. Because it was just an information item, there was not a vote to move it to first reading. Mr. Matsey said his ordinance was modeled after similar ordinances in Bloomington and Indianapolis.
The Bella Vita Pregnancy Resource Center’s First Annual Fundraising reception will be held tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Knox Community Center. A ribbon cutting for the center was held last week, and Executive Director Suzanne Lange said tonight’s affair will be to raise funding for the operating expenses.
The 10th annual SCILL Center Auto Show is this Saturday, May 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT at the facility in the Knox Industrial Park. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and everyone is invited to participate. Bring in that classic or modern car and show it proudly during this event. There is a $15.00 registration fee and that includes a dash plaque.
A lot of times secretaries and government office workers wish they could get away from phone calls so they can get some work done. The phone calls have quieted down at Knox City Hall under an unusual circumstance.
“Our phone numbers were left out of the new phone book,” Mayor Rick Chambers told the Knox City Council. “That was because of the switch over to the computer system. I’ve gotten with the newspaper this week and they’re going to put an article in the paper listing all of the phone numbers. I’m going to have cards printed up with phone numbers and we will leave those at the Clerk’s office. We’ll pass them out to anybody who needs them.”
Students of Miss Sandie’s Dance Studio will present the 33rd recital this weekend at the Knox High School Auditorium. The performances will be Saturday, May 21st at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 22nd at 2:00 p.m. CT. There are 125 students in the recital and the theme this year is “Dancing Through Life”.
“It’s about life’s experiences from childhood to adulthood, the happy times and the sad times and the good and the bad times,” explained Miss Sandie. “You’ll be seeing creative musical theater numbers, dynamic jazz, really cute tiny tots, beautiful lyric and ballet, humorous novelty numbers, some tap, and ethnic dance. There will be serious moments and deep spiritual expressions.”
At least ten of the people arrested in the cock fighting raid that occurred in Starke County in late February still have not had their day in Knox City Court. Those cases where the defendants announced in court that they were securing attorneys have yet to be settled. According to court documents, those defendants are trying to work out settlements through their attorneys with the prosecutor’s office. If that is not worked out, trial dates will be set and those could occur in July.
A discussion of a Pawn Shop Ordinance that would license and regulate pawnbrokers within the corporate limits of Knox met with objections from the owners of First Choice Pawn and Loan of Knox.
Hank Minix and Chris Firebaugh objected to a part of the proposed ordinance that would demand that pawn shops get social security numbers, serial numbers and hold purchased items during a 10 day waiting period.
Forty members of Tri Kappa gathered at the Knox Community Center on May 14th to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Zeta Eta Chapter in Knox. One of the thirteen charter members, Judith Brooke, attended as a special guest.
Sandy Hansen, past Chapter President, presided at the celebration. She introduced other guests: Sue Crisman, past Council President, who came from Crown Point; Jenny McBride, Province XII Officer, a member of the Westville Chapter, and Lori Jacob, a past Province XII Officer from Walkerton. Other guests, former members of the local chapter, came from Kentucky and Michigan, as well as Selma, Plymouth, LaPorte, Culver, Walkerton, and Monticello in Indiana. Many friendships were renewed.
The Knox-Center Township Fire Department was called to a fire at Sibo’s Grill, north of Knox on U.S. 35 shortly after 2:00 a.m. this morning.
According to Fire Chief, Kenny Pfost, an electrical issue started the fire in the facility. The building was not a total loss, but it did suffer extensive heat and smoke damage. Thousands of dollars in damage was done to the facility.
