Today we pause to honor the sacrifices of the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed services. Veterans Day is celebrated each Nov. 11th. That’s the date in 1918 on which fighting between the Allied Nations and Germany stopped, marking the unofficial end of World War I. The following year President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11th Armistice Day. That celebration evolved into Veterans Day after World War II. Continue reading
Klockner Drive/Starke County Road 300 East will soon be open to traffic in both directions between Culver Road and State Road 8. Work on the road to improve access to the Starke County Industrial Park is continuing. Starting today the intersection of Klockner Drive and Culver Road will be closed in all directions. It’s slated to reopen Wednesday, Nov. 26. Continue reading
The site of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Detention Center east of Knox is looking less like a job site and more like a finished building. Crews have started grading around the building on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East and are getting ready to pave the parking areas. That work will be done before Thanksgiving, according to a schedule presented last week to the Starke County Building Corporation. Continue reading
The Knox City Council may finalize an agreement withe area churches for use of the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center when they meet tonight. The churches have asked to use the facility for free once a week to serve free meals to area residents. Tonight’s agenda includes the signing of a memorandum of understanding as to the details of that arrangement. Continue reading
Several complaints of a phone scam have been received by the Knox City Police Department.
According to police, residents are getting phone calls by people claiming to be from NIPSCO and demanding payment on their bill. The caller threatens the resident that a utility worker will arrive at their residence to shut off power in an hour if the payment is not made during the phone call.
Work on Klockner Drive/County Road 300 East to improve access to the Starke County Industrial Park is on track to wrap up before Thanksgiving. Crews will be paving the east side of Klockner from south of Pacific Avenue north to the railroad spur today. Klockner Drive is set to reopen in both directions from Pacific Avenue north to State Road 8 on Monday, Nov. 10. Local traffic will also be able to access Klockner from Pacific Avenue south to just north of Culver Road.
A woman accused of assisting a suspect in a battery incident at Wythogan Park in Knox in July was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Thursday.
Samantha Smith, 19, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of assisting a criminal as a Level 6 felony. She drove a car with the battery suspect as a passenger from the scene of the crime. That suspect had struck another teenager in the head. The force of the impact caused the teenager to fall to the ground where his head hit a cement walkway and caused serious injury.
The Knox School Board expects to implement the balanced calendar schedule in the 2015-2016 school year.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa says additional coordination with other schools, especially in areas of welding and building trades classes, will be necessary, but worth the effort.
“Well, we think there’s value in the balanced calendar because the shorter times you have between school sessions you have less loss of learning and that’s the benefit for kids,” said Gappa.
Two members of the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Board of Directors were named finalists for the 2014 Influential Women of Northwest Indiana recognition award. Carla Musial and Kathy Norem both were nominated by the Foundation for their work in Starke County. Musial was one of five finalists for Influential Woman in the Finance category, while Norem was one of three finalists for Up and Coming Woman in Government.
Every year the Knox Community School Corporation helps families and students in need over the holidays. Area clubs, agencies and civic organizations all work with Knox Community Schools to provide food baskets to families that appreciate the extra help over Christmas break. Continue reading
Knox City Police officers are investigating a burglary at the First Christian Church.
According to police, unknown subject(s) entered the church at 301 S. Pearl Street in the late hours Saturday night or in the early hours on Sunday. Officers found that the subject(s) forced entry into the building and proceeded to cause damage throughout the church.
Police believe that someone may have seen the burglary in progress. If you have any information about this incident to assist in the investigation, call the Knox City Police Department at (574) 772-4122.
At least one of the popular trade programs offered through the North Central Vocational Educational Cooperative could be in jeopardy as participating corporations weigh the pros and cons of a balanced school calendar. Kyle Elliott is instructor for the building trades program based at Culver Community High School. He says students from Knox and North Judson-San Pierre are also enrolled in the program. If the three schools are on different schedules, Elliott says it will put kids and parents in a really tough situation. Continue reading
The Knox Redskin Brigade performed in the semi-state round at Decatur Central High School this past weekend. Twenty schools competed for the top ten spots to advance to state on Nov. 8th at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Their gold rating received at the Indiana State School Music Association regional competition earned the band a slot to compete at the semi-state round. Continue reading
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers told the Knox City Council members last week about some concerns he has with a proposed SWAT mutual aid agreement between Knox City Police Department officer Chad Dulin and Pulaski County.
Chambers noted that SWAT is a worthwhile program and would be great training for the rest of the city officers. It would also benefit to the community when there is a need. However, Mayor Chambers does have concerns with personnel availability and shift coverage if Dulin is called to active assignment. He’s working on those issues before an agreement is brought before the council for final approval.
A murder victim will be remembered today in her home town. Kristine Williams, 36, was found in an abandoned house in Gary on Sunday, Oct. 19. Police there say accused serial killer Darren Vann, 43, has confessed to killing her and six other women. Williams grew up in Knox and would have graduated from Knox High School in 1997. A service will take place this morning 11 a.m. at M.C. Smith Funeral Home in Knox. Continue reading
The Knox Redskin Brigade will compete this afternoon for a shot at a state championship. Their gold rating last Saturday at the Indiana State School Music Association regional competition earned the band a slot in today’s competition at Decatur Central High School. They must place in the top 10 among the 20 schools performing in order to advance. “It’s a pretty tall order for any band, really,” band director Craige Phipps said. “These guys have done an amazing job over the last two weeks. I’m pretty confident they can do it. They’ve just got to have ‘that show’ – that one show.”
Phipps added the Redskin Brigade is more than capable of advancing to state.
“They’ve had some amazing performances this year, and the best thing about this group is everyone keeps considering them an underdog. We don’t consider ourselves an underdog. We keep rising to the challenge every week. I tell these guys when they come off the field after a performances, ‘you guys just had a great performance, but it’s not good enough any more. Now we need to take that next step.’ They’ve really risen to that challenge all season long,” he said.
The Redskin Brigade will take the field at 4:20 p.m. CDT today at Decatur Central High School. The state finals will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The annual Victory Christian Church harvest party was extra special this year as members of the congregation burned their mortgage. The fellowship was founded in 1993 by Jim and Brenda Pradke and went from meeting in their living room to the old California Township school building. In 1996 the congregation bought a vacant church building on the north edge of Toto in 1996. Within a few months attendance increased by one-third. Continue reading
A Knox man was killed Tuesday evening in a head-on collision in on the Jasper-Porter County line. Timothy A. Jacobs, 52, was pronounced dead upon arrival at Porter Regional Hospital, according to a report in the “Northwest Indiana Times.” Continue reading
The Knox City Council members will soon be putting together a dumpster ordinance.
Several complaints have been received concerning the placement and longevity of dumpsters at a locations throughout the city. The council members will fashion an ordinance that is suited to the needs of the city to regulate the use of the containers.
City Attorney David Matsey gave the council members a comprehensive draft of an ordinance that he put together using information from several different ordinances from different municipalities. He urged all of the members to look through the document and select items that may be relevant to the city. They will look at paring down the language at the council’s next meeting on Monday, Nov. 10.
Knox Street Superintendent Jeff Borg told the Board of Public Works this week that the leaf pick-up program is keeping the employees busy. He added that the department is gearing up for the winter season. The first order of road salt should be placed at the first of December but the supply the city has now is healthy. He said prices jumped 50 percent per ton of road salt over last year’s price. Borg stated that the city should be in good shape and hopes that the weather isn’t as bad as last year.
