According to the nomination letter written to Chambers by Lawson, Lewandowski is not only the director of Kid’s Closet Ministry, an organization run out of the north Judson Methodist Church to give needy families gently used clothing, but she also organized an event to give backpacks for the start of school to families. The event gave more than 100 backpacks to families in need.
The Knox City Council approved the third and final reading of an ordinance that creates a fund for fees collected for rental property registrations and inspections.
Mayor Rick Chambers clarified that there are no new fees with this ordinance, and said the city was just required by the state to create a separate fund in the budget for the fees. The fees are currently $25 for both rental property registrations and inspections. The city building administrator and the council may look at adjusting that fee at a later time.
The fees have to placed in a certain account per Indiana code. The motion was made by Greg Matt, seconded by Jeff Berg, and passed unanimously.
The band placed first in marching and second overall in the Class C competition.
This year’s Brigade features 82 members – 50 of which play woodwind instruments and 15 students in the percussion section. The 2013 show features various Hitchcock themes including “Psycho,” “The Birds,” “North by Northwest,” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
Crews are set to demolish the old Knox theater and the structure that formerly housed the Starke County Economic Development Foundation’s office.
The demolition will begin at 6:30 a.m. today at 2 and 4 N. Main Street in Knox. Knox Mayor Rick Chambers told WKVI that crews will take one day to completely knock down the building and they will take three days to remove the rubble.
Bids are due this week for the Starke County Jail water project.
The Knox Board of Public Works members will open bids Wednesday morning during their regular meeting that is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Knox City Hall.
This project will improve water capacity for the building that will be the site of the Starke County Jail on State Road 8 east of Knox. Larger water lines are needed to increase the width of the pipes from six inches to eight inches. The project is expected to be extended along Henry Drive in Knox. The project should be completed no later than April 1, 2014.
The Knox City Council members will be honoring the Unsung Hero prior to the start of their regular meeting tonight in Knox City Hall.
The name of the recipient hasn’t been released so the winner will be a surprise to those attending the meeting tonight at 7 p.m. CT. Knox Mayor Rick Chambers will be presenting the award to the person whom a committee has chosen as the county’s unsung hero for performing random acts of kindness.
Knox High School will hold homecoming activities throughout the week next week to lead up to Friday’s football game.
It all starts Monday, Sept. 30 where students are encouraged to show their school spirit by wearing different styles of clothing to school. Monday is Costume Day, Tuesday is Twin Day, Wednesday is Western Day, Thursday is Class Color Day and Friday is Red and White Day.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said there wasn’t any public comment on the budget.
“Nobody was here to speak up so we will advertise the budget and then have a meeting on Oct. 7 to adopt it,” explained Gappa. “From that point on, it will be sent down to the DLGF in Indianapolis and they will do their magic on the budget. They will then send us a 1782 notice later on to show what it really looks like.”
He said residents have been taking unwanted, expired and unused prescription medications to the lobby of the police department and depositing them into the drop box for collection. Chief Norem explained that those medications are logged and then stored until DEA officials can collect those medications for incineration.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said 70 people were involved in the effort.
The Bower Street railroad crossing remains under construction.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers told the city council last week that that railroad crossing has been closed for a month. The rail has been fixed but now the crew is having trouble with the foundation. The crew will be digging up ballasts and stone to repair the area. Ties are already set to be installed at the crossing.
It’s anticipated that the crossing will open in the next couple of weeks.
Roy Bell, the man convicted of murdering former Knox resident, Wilma Upsall, was sentenced in Fulton County Superior Court to Life in Prison without the Possibility of Parole on a charge of Murder.
Bell was additionally sentenced to 10 years with the enhancement of 10 years on a charge of Burglary and four years with the enhancement of four years on a charge of Robbery. Those sentences will run consecutively for a total sentence of Life in Prison without the Possibility of Parole plus 28 years.
A caller claiming to be from Texas recently called a Knox resident to say that his granddaughter was arrested in Texas and she needs bail money to get out of jail. A woman was then put on the phone to talk to the grandparent and pleaded for bail money. Upon further investigation, there was no arrest and the victim was out a lot of cash.
He stated that the last time he was in the community center, he smelled gas and the culprit was the stove. The doors leading in and out of the kitchen cause the pilot light to go out and this instance wasn’t the first time it had happened. He commented that the stove really didn’t work that well in the first place.
Chambers noted that the stove is commercial-grade and a similar stove will be installed.
In more maintenance issues at the community center, the hot water tank leaked and damaged some electronics on the floor in the building. That issue has been addressed and remedied.
The Knox Community School Board will meet in regular session tonight.
The board members will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2014 all-funds budget. They will also consider extracurricular resignations, extra curricular appointments, new hires, and transfers.
The board will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the school board meeting room in the administrative office inside the Knox Elementary School Palmer Wing.
The Knox City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance that creates a fund for fees collected for rental property registrations and inspections.
Mayor Rick Chambers clarified that there are no new fees with this ordinance. The city just had to create a separate fund in the budget for the fees. The fees are currently $25 for both rental property registrations and inspections. The city building administrator and the council may look at adjusting that fee at a later time.
While the winner has been chosen for this year’s Unsung Hero/Random Act of Kindness Award, Knox Mayor Rick Chambers said he will not be announcing the winner until he or she has been recognized during the city council’s next meeting on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. Chambers said the regular meeting will start at 7:15 p.m. to allow a short recognition ceremony prior to the meeting, to thank the award recipient.
The committee believes that the candidate is very deserving of the award, especially with what the award winner has done for the community.
The big celebration that was planned at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center has been canceled for Sept. 15 and Chambers said the only recognition ceremony will take place at the meeting of the Knox City Council.
Two Knox residents were arrested Wednesday after a month-long investigation into the sale of illegal narcotics.
Officers from the Knox City Police Department arrived at 1004 Virginia Lane Apartment 22 in the Golden Acres Apartment Complex to serve a search warrant as it was believed that one of the tenants was selling drugs.
