Oregon-Davis School Board to Discuss Vocational Programs

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai

The Oregon-Davis School Board will consider vocational programs when they meet tonight.

The approval of programs is contingent on the number of students enrolled in the classes for the next school year. Those classes include Auto Tech 2, Cosmetology II, Criminal Justice 4, Early Childhood Ed 1, Graphic Imaging 3, Health Science I, Precision Machining 2, and Welding I and II.

The board will also consider awarding scholarships and Academic Honors Diplomas and the use of TMS-Engineering through Five-Star Technology Solutions. Changes in the handbook will also be reviewed.

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O-D Stages Mock Crash, Teachers Talk Candidly About Drunk Driving

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis teacher and coach Wes Radke was the first to arrive at the site of the mock crash staged in the high school parking lot.
Oregon-Davis teacher and coach Wes Radke was the first to arrive at the site of the mock crash staged in the high school parking lot.

You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of those choices. That’s the message Oregon-Davis Middle School language arts teacher Angie Radke shared with high school students there after a mock drunk driving crash in the school parking lot. Radke’s best friend, Brooklyn Boo, was killed by a drunk driver in 1998, a week after their junior prom at North Judson-San Pierre High School. Continue reading →

Koontz Lake Man Arrested on Warrant, Drug Charges

Posted on Author WKVI
Dorsie (DJ) Cooper
Dorsie (DJ) Cooper

A 20-year-old man was arrested Friday morning after police allegedly found him in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and K9 Terror went to a home in the 8000 N. Block of Tecumseh Road in Koontz Lake to serve an active arrest warrant. Police arrived and found the wanted individual, Dorsie (DJ) Cooper, at the residence.

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Smoke Detectors Available from Community Services of Starke County

Posted on Author WKVI

Smoke DetectorA local nonprofit agency has smoke detectors available for families in need of the potentially life-saving devices. Community Services of Starke County Executive Director Joan Haugh says a couple of recent fire fatalities got her to thinking.

“I just felt we could save a life or two if we made sure every home had a smoke alarm – a working smoke alarm or sometimes two. So we applied to State Farm because they had a safety grant, and they awarded me some funds to purchase smoke detectors,” Haugh said. Continue reading →

Starke County K9 Performs Routine Sweep at Local School

Posted on Author WKVI
K9 handler Rob Olejniczak and Terror perform a search
K9 handler Rob Olejniczak and Terror perform a search

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department K9 did a routine sweep at the Oregon-Davis School Corporation on Thursday morning.

Handler Rob Olejniczak took K9 Terror around the corporation to search for possible drugs in lockers and the parking lot. No evidence of any illegal drugs was found.

Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin and the officers are appreciative of the school’s effort to keep Starke County a safe environment. Principal Tim Pletcher and School Resource Officer Frank Lonigro were also recognized for their efforts.

Photo provided.

Oregon-Davis School Board to Consider Calendar for Next School Year

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai

The Oregon-Davis School Board members will take action on several agenda items when they meet tonight.

The Board will consider the adoption of a calendar for the 2015-2016 school year. The board held previous discussion on a balanced calendar to be in line with other area schools considering the move from a traditional school calendar. The board will also decide make-up days for students for school missed due to snow. Feb. 13, April 3, May 1 and May 29 will be considered as make-up days.

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Oregon-Davis School Board Establishes Strategic Planning Committee

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai

The Oregon-Davis School Board established a strategic planning committee this week.

Superintendent Greg Briles gave testing statistics to the board members and all of the initiatives made to improve education at the corporation. He suggested putting together a committee to establish priorities, a vision, a mission, and goals for what they want the students to be able to do when they walk out of the doors. He stressed that the Oregon-Davis School Corporation is a community school.

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Oregon-Davis School Board Receives Update on The Crossing Students

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County's Crossing campus is located next to Save a Lot on U.S. 35 south of Knox.
Starke County’s Crossing campus is located next to Save a Lot on U.S. 35 south of Knox.

Oregon-Davis Superintendent Greg Briles gave the school board an update on the students attending in The Crossing alternative school in Starke County.

There are six Oregon-Davis students that currently attend classes at The Crossing, and five more will be enrolling in two weeks. Briles stressed that when the next student count day happens in February, those students will be included toward the corporation’s Average Daily Membership, or ADM, count. The money the corporation receives for those students goes toward their enrollment at The Crossing. No additional money is spent.

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Oregon-Davis School Board Votes Against School Lunch Increase

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai

The Oregon-Davis School Board members discussed lunch prices, but Superintendent Greg Briles explained the item to increase prices didn’t need to be on the evening’s agenda.

Briles said he was initially looking at funds in the food service department, and he thought that the board may need to raise the price by five cents and maybe even ten cents. If the board were to consider a five cent increase, it would amount to an additional $876 per year at the elementary level.

Briles said he would be looking deeper internally with commodities and into the corporation’s work with the Northern Indiana Educational Services Center (NIESC) before increasing prices. He noted that there could be more funds to take care of what is needed in the school’s budget.

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Oregon-Davis School Board Reorganizes, Discusses Board Compensation

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai
Oregon-Davis School Board members (seated) Andrea McIntosh, Shirley Budka. (standing) Christopher Lawrence, Kurt Hayes, Lee Nagai

The Oregon-Davis School Board member Christopher Lawrence took the oath of office at the beginning of last night’s school board meeting as he was elected for another term to the board in the November election. After that was complete, the board reorganized. Lawrence respectfully stated that he thought it was time for someone else to lead the board and took his name out of consideration for board president. Kurt Hayes was elected president of the board with a unanimous vote. Andrea McIntosh was elected vice president while Shirley Budka will serve as board secretary. Those board positions were also approved by a unanimous vote.

The school board voted to retain their regular meeting schedule on the third Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. CT. They may call special meetings or work sessions as necessary. The measure passed by majority vote of 4 to 1. Lee Nagai abstained from the vote.

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One-Time Energy Assistance Available to Struggling Citizens

Posted on Author WKVI

$Applications for the Energy Assistance Program can still be submitted for a one-time benefit on electric and heating bills. North Central Community Action Agencies, Pulaski County Human Services, and Community Services of Starke County began taking applications for LaPorte, Pulaski and Starke residents in November. Applications will continue to be accepted until all funds are obligated.

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O-D FFA Teams Perform Well in State Competition

Posted on Author WKVI
Front (L-R): Shyanne Saylor, Becky Pucel Back: (L-R): Emily Niles, Amanda Niles, Delaney Shively, Mr. Carlin, Bobby Pucel, and Audrey Crawford Dalton Good not present
Front (L-R): Shyanne Saylor, Becky Pucel
Back: (L-R): Emily Niles, Amanda Niles, Delaney Shively, Mr. Carlin, Bobby Pucel, and Audrey Crawford
Dalton Good not present

The Oregon-Davis FFA Crops and Forestry teams competed Saturday in state competition at Purdue University. The Junior High and Senior Crops Teams went through various studies of crops, weed plants, seeds and grain grading for an overall score. Continue reading →

Pay it Forward on Giving Tuesday

Posted on Author WKVI
 
 

Get into the spirit of the holiday season tomorrow with Giving Tuesday. Starke County Youth Club Executive Director Irene Szakonyi says the local nonprofit has joined the movement.

“It really does inspire people to take action for their local community to give, whether it’s giving a gift of money, of time, of making a donation of another sort,”Szarconyi  said. “We really want to encourage and join what is now actually a global movement to give on Giving Tuesday, which is Dec. 2nd.” Continue reading →

Oregon-Davis School Board to Consider Balanced Calendar

Posted on Author WKVI

Oregon-Davis-Jr_Sr-BuildingThe Oregon-Davis School Board will be considering a balanced calendar during their meeting tonight.

During their last meeting, Superintendent Greg Briles gave the board a couple of different calendars to study. Briles stated that the calenders are very similar in that they have 180 days of student instruction and 184 says for staff which is outlined in their contract. The calendars would include a break in the fall and an intersession to be coordinated with the Starke County Youth Club for remediation purposes. The first day of school would be Aug. 1 and last day would be June 1.

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