An organization dedicated to youth has raised thousands of dollars to support their efforts.
The Starke County Youth Club hosted its 8th annual radio-thon. The event was held on the airwaves of WKVI. A goal of $50-thousand was set to support after school activities in Starke County.
Continue reading
The spring season has started, and so has baseball season, but how about rail season?
The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum will have its season kick-off on Saturday. The museum is considered a tourism draw for thousands who have an appreciation of railroads post-World War II.
Continue reading
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources may be providing easier access to information.
A mobile “app” that the DNR oversees for mobile devices has been redesigned for both Apple and Android operating systems. The remake comes after the previous “app” was launched in 2011. According to the DNR, the previous application was downloaded almost 33-thousand times.
The Crossing has only been operating for about one year, but according to their students, there have been some major accomplishments.
A spring celebration was held in Knox at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center on Thursday night. The gathering allows the alternative education school to showcase what students have been working to accomplish in their academic and personal lives.
Continue reading
Local officials will soon receive training in case of a train accident.
Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti is gathering information to present to firefighters, police officers, and department heads. The material presented will help those officials identify what is in the cars and how to react.
Mayor Rick Chambers told the Knox City Council this week that he and Bombagetti were discussing the issue as a train rolled through the city. Many trains make their way through Knox on a daily basis, and it’s not always known what materials are contained in tankers.
A session will be scheduled soon to help prepare officials in the instance of an accident.
Inspections have been conducted on the Knox homes included in the grant from the Indiana’s Hardest Hit Fund Blight Elimination Program.
Mayor Rick Chambers said that the inspectors from the state checked for oil containers, paint, round fluorescent bulbs, and newer thermostats. Those items need to be removed from the homes before they are demolished.
The Knox City Council was faced with a tough decision last night to approve budget reductions made by departments due to the circuit breaker law.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained the reductions made to the budget to the council members.
“The circuit breaker credits equal $261,249.27,” said Houston. “That is 16.39 percent of the certified levy. The certified levy is the maximum amount of money that you can collect from property taxes. You’ll see the General Fund was cut 18.36 percent, and each one of them was cut about 18.36 percent other than our two debt funds, and they were cut .06 percent.”
Circuit breaker credits amount to less money coming into the city’s budget from the tax distribution. More money is required to be cut this year than last year.
Houston said that he went to each department head to ask them to reduce their budget by a certain percentage.
Now that the process is complete, a resolution to transfer funds was drafted. Houston said he checked with the Department of Local Government Finance, and the process he’s recommending includes putting money into a circuit breaker line item within a department’s budget.
“We still want to be able to get our maximum levy. We don’t want to do a budget reduction. We just want to move these appropriations down into an unappropriated area or circuit breaker area so that we don’t spend more money than we have coming in.”
Houston said about $261,000 is the circuit breaker, and that means the city council will need to watch all spending.
“It’s cutting it right to the bone. There’s no doubt about it. We’ll have to be very frugal. We have to do what we have to do.”
In addition to tax caps, the reduction of the assessed valuation of property can be attributed to some of the loss of tax money coming into the city.
The council members agreed that they have no other choice but to approve the resolution presented to them by Houston. The council approved the resolution for the transfer of funds with a unanimous vote.
Many residents will be shopping at their neighbor’s homes for deals when the yard sale season gets underway this summer.
The City of Knox requires residents to apply for a permit before hosting a sale. According to the ordinance, which can be found on the city’s website, a fee of $5 will be assessed for a one or two-day permit and $10 for a three or four-day permit. Four city-issued signs will be given with the permit. Any items not sold in the sale will need to be removed from the property. The only time the permit requirement and fee are waived is in the case of the city-wide yard sale. It is scheduled for the third weekend in May.
The Knox City Council members are expected to act on a recommendation by the clerk-treasurer on cuts that are to be considered due to the circuit breaker law.
Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston explained that caps have been placed on the amount of property taxes residents are required to pay which means less money into the city’s budget. Houston said $261,000 needs to be cut, and every department has made those cuts. Those cuts will be presented in a resolution tonight for the council’s approval.
A pre-Kindergarten fair being held Tuesday in Knox may have some long-term health benefits.
The second annual event allows children and their parents to explore the various pre-school options available in Starke County. Booths will be available to distribute information to parents. Among those participating is IU Health Starke Hospital.
Continue reading
An alternative school with a location in Starke County is hoping to showcase what they’ve accomplished this year.
The Crossing Educational Center will be hosting their spring celebration on Thursday. Students will have the opportunity during the event to talk about what they’ve learned with parents, board members, and community members in attendance.
Continue reading
The Knox Board of Public Works again reviewed the towing agreement when they recently met. The members approved the agreement in March and the city council gave Mayor Rick Chambers permission to sign the document with participating towing companies.
Three companies have now signed the agreement. The companies are not in city limits, but representatives can arrive at the scene of an accident within 20 minutes. As part of the agreement, the companies will be used on rotational basis when called upon by the Knox City Police Department. One company would not supply certain documentation as required and won’t be on the list.
Seven applications for the 50/50 sidewalk replacement program have been reviewed by Knox Street Superintendent Jeff Borg.
Borg told the Knox Board of Public Works last week that he has invited contractors to bid on the projects. He has taken one contractor around to all of the proposed sites. The bids will be awarded in a special meeting on Friday, May 8.
In just a few short months, America will be celebrating another birthday. The City of Knox is hoping to offset costs of a local celebration with several fundraisers.
A port-a-pit chicken sale is set during the city-wide yard sale in May. This fundraiser will be May 16 at the Knox South Side Fire Station. Volunteers will sell half chicken orders for $7.00 plus pit-tatoes for $3.00 from 10 a.m. until sold out. All proceeds will benefit the county-wide fireworks celebration on Friday, July 3.
Tickets for this event can be purchased at Knox City Hall.
Only a few opportunities remain to vote absentee in the City of Knox Primary Municipal Election.
Voters can cast an absentee ballot today from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT in the Starke County Clerk’s Office in the courthouse. In-office absentee voting is also available Monday through Friday next week from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The courthouse will be open Thursday, April 30 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT in addition to regular voting hours in the day. The last two opportunities to vote absentee in-office are Saturday, May 2 from 8 a.m to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday, May 4 from 8 a.m. to noon. The Primary Municipal Election is Tuesday, May 5.
A local organization is looking to provide women in the community with a bit of inspiration.
This Saturday at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center, a women’s fair called “Makeover Your Life” is being presented by the group Women Anchored in Hope. The fair is designed to help women build self esteem, with an emphasis on addiction recovery.
Continue reading
A dog bite may have been the difference between life and death for a Bass Lake man. Fire Chief Les Jensen says his department was called to a house fire in Boa Shores around 3:30 Saturday morning. The homeowner was asleep when the fire started. Continue reading
Starke County K9 Terror with handler Rob Olejniczak, along with other K9 officers from Pulaski County, Marshall County and Plymouth, conducted a drug sweep of the Knox Middle School this week. Additional officers were asked to join the Starke County K9 unit due to the size of the middle school.
According to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, the K9s swept lockers in addition to vehicles in the parking lots. No illegal substances were found on school grounds.
