If in the course of your travels you drive by WKVI, you will see a beautiful purple toilet sitting in our front yard. Now you might wonder what that toilet is doing here and especially sitting in our yard.
We were selected to be a part of Starke County Relay for Life’s Toilet Parade.
Someone in Starke County donated the toilet in our honor and we get to proudly display it in our yard.
The courtroom was full of family and friends of John Brooke as the jury returned to the courtroom with their verdict. The judge read their decision, his face calm, revealing nothing. As he began reading the verdict aloud, family members burst into tears while Brooke remained calm and collected, even in the face of the seriousness of the charges.
The jury found Brooke guilty of six of the seven counts against him: Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful Use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal. The jury found him not guilty of the count of Possession of a Destructive Device.
The Knox City Council got good news this week from Clerk-Treasurer, Jeff Houston. The Worker’s Comp Insurance has dropped $6,000. Houston said the carrier explained the reduction was because the loss rate has dropped. Knox has been attempting to get out of the high risk pool, and as Houston said, “It looks like we’re becoming successful.”
In other news:
It appears that Knox City records are taking up a lot of space at City Hall.
The trial of John Brooke continued Wednesday morning in Starke Circuit Court. The Prosecution called its first witness of the day to the stand: Starke County Detective Ron Lawson. Lawson testified that he had been called to a shooting incident on Summerholme Drive at Bass Lake and received a briefing from officers on the scene. He also said that he had interviewed John Brooke on three separate interviews to correct or understand discrepancies between interviews with Brooke, Michael Drogosz, and Kimberly Hitchens, who were also involved in the incident.
According to Knox Mayor Rick Chambers the City has had to stop accepting waste water from MPI. The company and the City have run into problems that have not been solved yet. Kelly Clemons, the Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent talked about the problem.
“Basically, the problem is that the detergents that they’re giving us is just more than what our system can handle,” explained Clemons. “Our Treatment Plant is just too small to handle the amounts they have with the growth they’ve had over the years.”
An agreement between the City of Knox and Dean Wells has been reached on a building owned by Mr. Wells across from City Hall. Originally, Mr. Wells had offered the building and adjoining parking area to the City for $125,000. After securing two appraisals on the property, it was determined the City could offer no more than the average of the two which was $103,250. Mayor Rick Chambers announced that Mr. Wells would accept that price.
Knox City Police Chief, Clint Norem, warns us of a scam that is going around the City.
A caller claiming to be from Texas called a Knox resident to say that his granddaughter was arrested in Texas after she was involved in an accident and she needs bail money to get out of jail. A woman got on the phone and using the name of his grandchild, asked for a money order for bail money. The woman really wasn’t his grandchild. It was a scam.
Two Starke County residents were arrested this morning after a routine traffic stop.
A Knox City Police officer pulled over a vehicle on 300 E. and 250 N. in Knox. During the course of the traffic stop, a K9 was deployed to search for drugs. The K9 indicated that drugs were the vehicle and methamphetamine was seized. After an investigation, the officer found a handgun in the vehicle. Traci Jacobs and Paul Higdon were then arrested on preliminary charges of Serious Violent Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of Methamphetamine. They are currently being held in the Starke County Jail.
Knox residents were without power this morning after a storm blew through the area overnight. At one time, 795 residents were without power in Knox. According to NIPSCO.com, all power has been restored. Power outages were also reported in Pulaski County and in Culver this morning.
A Knox man was arrested Wednesday after police found he left his children unattended in a home.
According to the police report, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department received a call that a person in a red truck was doing donuts in the parking lot at the Oak Estates apartments. The Knox City Police Department officer called to the scene didn’t find anyone there at the time, but the officer did locate the suspect vehicle at 345 Ruthie Drive with one of the rear truck tires on fire. The reporting officer noted that there was a pile of melted rubber behind the tire and there was a large skid mark in the road. The officer approached the residence and found Curtis Bradley in the home and asked if the truck outside was his and Bradley confirmed it was his. The officer told him that the truck was on fire and they went outside to the truck. Bradley reportedly tried to touch the burning tire and the officer pulled him back so he wouldn’t injure himself. Bradley then started to swing his arms at the officer wanting to fight. The officer told him to put his hands behind his back and Bradley resisted. After some force, Bradley was taken into custody. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire.
Congratulations to Mark Anderson, of Knox, who is the winner of the Aarons/WKVI NCAA bracket challenge! Mark won a 42” Plasma TV from Aarons in LaPorte by picking the right teams in the NCAA men’s bracket and getting the most points to win the contest. Mark was asked his strategy for the contest:
“I’ve got to admit, it was just mostly luck,” he replied. “I have been a March madness fan for years and years and I fill out a bracket with my students every single year. I watch nearly every single game and so I’m pretty hooked on it. I’ve got to tell you that this was all luck.”
Knox City Police Chief, Clint Norem, reports that in the month of March, the Police Department had 419 calls, handled 9 accidents and had 45 incident reports.
A special meeting was called by the Starke County Commissioners to discuss possible solutions to problems with some of the county buildings, as well as various options for funding some of their recent projects. Several issues were mentioned in particular, such as the jail being short on space under a leaky roof, the courthouse elevator in need of repair with cramped offices on the second floor, and the prosecutor’s office in need of handicap access to name a few. Because of the expense of these projects, the commissioners met with representatives from H.J. Umbaugh & Associates and RQAW to discuss possible problem solutions and financial strategies.
During Doctor’s Appreciation Week last week, we learned that there is a Pediatric Office open in Knox. The Nurse Practitioner in the office is Jody Rodgers, who works in collaboration with a physician to provide health care to the community. The office is located in the Mint Leaf Plaza, south of Knox.
“It’s going to be a great resource because we’ve got handfuls of Family Practitioners in the county but we don’t have a Pediatrician’s office,” said Jody Rodgers. “Now with the IU Health Pediatric clinic opening up here in Knox, parents and families will have an alternative and additional access to health care locally.”
It might be a few months off but Tony Radkiewicz, Sr. and the Harvest Days Committee are gearing up for another “bang up” weekend.
Bands this year will include: The Rolling Jones, Marbin Blues, PS 150, Night Shift, and Groupies Wanted.
Radkiewicz also announces that a Harvest Festival Talent Show is being planned for the Sunday of the Festival. They are looking for any reasonable type of talent from singers, magicians, dog acts, or comedy acts. The sky’s the limit. Jim Garner can be contacted at (574) 930-6364 for information on the talent contest.
A Knox man was arrested this week after police found him driving a stolen vehicle.
According to the police report, on March 24th, Rolland McVey, of Knox, reported his truck stolen. He was sitting at his kitchen table when two male subjects came walking into his kitchen from his back room. He asked them how they got in and they said their daughter had been bitten by a dog. McVey said he doesn’t own a dog and he got up from the table and started walking toward them. They turned around and took off running out the back door. He later he looked out and saw his truck missing. His keys were missing from the key hook that hangs next to the back door. The vehicle is a 1997 teal-colored Ford pick-up truck.
Thirty-three cock fight enthusiasts were sentenced in Knox City Court Thursday. The men were charged with a misdemeanor count of Attending an Animal Fighting Contest. They attended a cock fight in Starke County in February.
Judge Charles Hasnerl fined the men $200 apiece, plus $180 in restitution to the Starke County Humane Society for putting the roosters down, and $164 in court costs. Each individual was also given a 12 month suspended sentence.
Knox City Court will be a busy place today. Beginning at 10:00 a.m. this morning dozens of men charged with Attending an Animal Fighting Contest will be in Judge Charles Hasnerl’s court to be sentenced. The men have been charged with the misdemeanor offense for attending a cock fight contest on February 26th northeast of North Judson.
The Knox-Center Township Fire Department responded to a call at the St. Thomas Acquinas School Tuesday morning.
“One the ballasts in the fluorescent lights went bad in one of the classrooms,” explained Fire Chief, Kenny Pfost.
The school houses the Head Start program and the students were removed.
America got it’s first extensive look at Lisa Owens last night on the OWN Network show, “Breaking Down the Bars.” Owens, who is serving a Voluntary Manslaughter sentence at the Rockville Correctional Facility, is due to be released in May under a sentence modification.
Owens was convicted of killing her husband Jeff in their Knox home in 2001. She was sentenced to 40 years.
