The North Judson Town Board honored a longtime board of zoning appeals member who is stepping aside after 15 years of service.
Jim Kersting will continue to serve as a senior consultant. Jerry Jernas is replacing Kersting on the North Judson BZA. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry swore him in Monday night along with Teena Hittle and John Silhavy, who have each agreed to serve another two-year term. Marv Peters and Chris Konefsky are in the second year of their two-year terms of service.
The annual IU Health and Community Services of Starke County Health Fair will take place Tuesday, May 13 from 2 until 7 p.m. at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in downtown Knox. IU Health Starke Hospital President Craig Felty says both organizations are dedicated to improving the health of local residents. He says the health fair will feature a number of educational exhibits and several types of screenings. Blood pressure and blood sugar checks, breast exams, oral cancer screenings and osteoporosis checks will all be offered. Also take-home colorectal cancer screening kits will be available. Felty says checking for these types of conditions is critical in order to catch and treat problems before they become significant. IU Health Starke Hospital is also licensed to inspect child safety seats. Technicians will be available at the health fair to make sure car seats are properly installed and sized for the child. This year’s health fair will also feature a coloring area for youngsters so parents and other adults can more easily browse the exhibits and take part in the screenings.
As the weather warms up, many people are getting into the spring cleaning mode. Officials at the Stake County Environmental Management Office remind you that the recycling bins located in the county are not for everyday trash, household chemicals or construction materials.
When garbage is dumped into and around the bins it contaminates the recyclable items. If the sites continue to be used as a “landfill”, they will be removed. They are to be considered to be placed for your convenience and are a privilege.
An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office is headed to Toto this morning to determine the origin of last night’s house fire. North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Chief Joe Leszak tells WKVI news flames were coming from the living room and an upstairs bedroom of the home at 0470 West Toto Road . Nobody was home at the time, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters were called out at 7:50 last night and left shortly after 10 p.m.
The North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department responded to a house fire near Toto last night and spent more than two hours getting the blaze under control. The house is located west of Toto between 100 West and Range Road, according to dispatchers with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. No injuries were reported. Firefighters were called out at 7:45 last night and left shortly after 10 p.m. There’s no word yet on the extent of the damages. We’ll update our story as soon as we talk to the fire chief.
The 7th annual Starke County Youth Club Radiothon will take place right here at WKVI on Friday, May 2.
Executive Director Irene Szakonyi says the club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of local children.
“We provide everything from academic support, helping kids with their homework or providing individual tutoring, to giving kids enrichment experiences like culture, drama and music. Also connecting kids with their families and the larger community through guest speakers service projects and community service endeavors,” Szakonyi says.
Prospective kindergarten students and their parents are invited to check out what North Judson-San Pierre Elementary has to offer.
The school’s kindergarten registration will take place Tuesday, April 8 from 5 until 7 p.m. Youngsters will get to visit the kindergarten classrooms and meet the four kindergarten teachers. Principal Mike McBride and staff will also be there to answer questions and help parents with the registration process.
The North Judson Town Board will hold a special public meeting on Wednesday, April 2 at 8:30 a.m. CT at the building that currently houses the First Farmers Bank and Trust building at 310 Lane St.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry told WKVI that the bank is vacating the building to move to a different location in town. First Farmers Bank and Trust recently bought Bank of Indiana and will be moving to that location.
A North Judson man and a Winamac man face illegal possession of a controlled substance charges in Pulaski County following their arrest Sunday in Pulaski County. DNR Law Enforcement Officers reportedly found them near the Tippecanoe River by the Winamac South Ramp crushing and snorting hydrocodone and acetaminophen pills for which they did not have prescriptions. Anthony Prato, 22, of North Judson and Zebadiah Breyfogle, 18, of Winamac were both taken to the Pulaski County Jail.
The owner of a Knox business that was destroyed by fire last week is jailed without bond, charged with arson and insurance fraud. James L. Campbell, 46, of Knox, was arrested this afternoon by officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana Department of Homeland Security’s Fire Investigation Division. Campbell owns Starke County Recycling, also known as C&C Salvage. The business, located on U.S. 35 just south of Toto Road, caught fire on Thursday, March 20. Starke County dispatchers were notified at 5:17 p.m. The Bass Lake, Knox-Center Township, Hamlet, Washington Township, Koontz Lake, North Judson-Wayne Township, San Pierre and Monterey Fire Departments all responded to the blaze and spent several hours getting it under control. One firefighter was injured. Black smoke was visible for miles, and a brigade of tanker trucks hauled water to the scene. Continue reading
A longtime North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation employee is retiring from the corporation in a couple of days. Pam Croll is the assistant principal at the elementary school. Superintendent Lynn Johnson says she’s served in a number of positions during her 18 years with the corporation.
“She’s certainly made a difference. Classroom teacher, Response to Intervention, RTI coordinator, Title 1 and now assistant principal at the elementary school….Pam is leaving us at the end of next week. They want her to start April 1st, and we’re happy to accommodate that so she can begin her new position at Kankakee Valley,” said Superintendent Johnson.
“It’s really to focus on kids who have dropped out of school. The cost is really their enrollment, their ADM, Annual Daily Membership, we get for them re-enrolling at our school. They would be our students on paper, but they would go to The Crossing,” said Johnson.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board could vote next month on proposed cuts to the budget necessary to slash more than $1 million from the general fund. Corporation business manager and treasurer Guy Richie says they’re trying to eliminate positions instead of jobs. “If somebody retires, we are eliminating the position if at all possible,” Richie told the school board. “That way no one has lost an income. They retired and we didn’t bring anybody back in. That was our first concern that we did not go into our employees pockets out of this. I think we’ve done a good job when you look that we’re going to cut a million dollars next year and have not yet told a single employee they do not have a job here.” Continue reading
According to a report taken by an officer with the North Judson Police Department, a resident claimed she was contacted through Facebook of a person claiming to be in the military stationed in Afghanistan. The person asked for her bank account information so he could mail some money back home. Luckily, the transaction was voided before money could be taken from the bank account.
Board members will also discuss The Crossing, which is the proposed Starke County Alternative School. Other agenda items include approval of the 2014-2015 school calendar, the superintendent’s contract and facility fees for the upcoming school year. The N.J.-S.P. School Board meeting starts at 7 p.m. CDT in the central office meeting room.
Author Bill Jamerson has produced a dozen documentaries for Michigan Public Television, written stories and recorded many songs on historical subjects. During Thursday’s presentation, he will shares stories he has picked up first hand from former Civilian Conservation Corps boys he has met over the years.
Indiana conservation officers will teach the free course which is open to all. Students are required to preregister online at www.indianahuntereducation.com.
