Eastern Pulaski and Culver Community Schools reported a drop in enrollment after this year’s Average Daily Membership, or ADM, count.
North Judson-San Pierre School Superintendent Lynn Johnson reported an increase in enrollment. The preliminary ADM report indicates that the school corporation increased by 25 students. This is a $125,000 fund increase for the school.
Johnson said this is great positive move for the school as it has had problems with funding losses for the past few years.
A new position has opened up for the town of North Judson. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that they held the third reading of an amendment to the town’s salary ordinance, authorizing the addition of a part-time clerical employee for the clerk’s and billing offices. The board adopted the amendment, and Henry said they will soon be taking applications.
Henry explained that the part-time employee would split his or her time between the two offices, but will spend the majority of his or her time in the clerk-treasurer’s office. The employee will be trained in both departments, and will be cross-trained on the billing side to allow the employee to substitute for the billing clerk during vacations. Henry says this employee will be similar to a floating employee between the two departments, but will concentrate on the clerk-treasurer’s side.
Two people were arrested following a traffic stop in North Judson Monday night.
Officers observed a car near Schricker and Talmer Street that was known to be driven by Randall Stone who has a suspended driver’s license. Police conducted a traffic stop and confirmed that Stone was driving the vehicle with a suspended license. During the traffic stop, a search of the vehicle was conducted and drugs were allegedly found inside the vehicle.
Randall Stone, 43, of Wheatfield, was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine Within 1,000 feet of a Public Park and Driving While Suspended With a Prior Conviction. His passenger, Patricia Ann Vega, 48, of North Judson, was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Controlled Substance within 1,000 feet of a Public Park. Stone’s vehicle was impounded for having false and fictitious plates.
The proposed golf cart ordinance for the town of North Judson is slowly gaining substance, as councilman Tim Cummins presented the ordinance to the town board this week. The board reviewed the ordinance and made a few grammatical revisions, and Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says they plan to have it advertised next week and have it presented for first and second readings at their second meeting in October.
The town of North Judson will have fall brush pickup beginning Oct. 1. If you have brush you want picked up, you must have it placed on the side of the alley or street before Monday morning.
The Street Department will be making a one-time only sweep down the streets and alleys of North Judson. This will be the last scheduled brush pick-up for this year. If you happen to miss the deadline, you are encouraged to take brush, grass or leaves to the town dump for disposal. Sign for the key at the Water Works office.
Fall leaf pickup for the city of Knox will begin on Oct. 9. Place all leaves in front of your residence next to the curb on the street in a long row, not in the alley. The garbage contractors will not pick up bagged leaves. Keep all trash out of leaf piles so the vacuum can pick up the leaves. Place any branches and limbs separate from the leaf pile. You may also drop off leaves, grass, garden material, or brush at the city compost pile behind City Hall.
The town of North Judson has once again earned a safety award from the Indiana Public Employers’ Plan. The award is achieved by having less than a 50 percent loss ratio plus an acceptable claim incident rate as compared to municipalities statewide. The town earned the award for its excellent worker safety recorded in the 2011 calendar year.
The award not only rewards the prevention of accidents among employees, but also emphasizes the cost savings to governmental agencies by keeping workers safe and on the job.
The North Judson-Wayne Township Firefighters battled a house fire Friday night on 250 West.
Fire Chief Joe Leszek said flames were showing from the front of the home when they arrived on scene. They entered the home and extinguished the fire. No one was home at the time of the fire and Leszek says the fire appeared to have been started by an electrical issue.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for this morning for Chester Agricultural Systems in North Judson. This division of Chester, Inc. announced plans in July to locate to the North Judson area.
The town will be home to an additional structure for the Agricultural Systems Division of Chester, Inc., which will house a growing inventory of necessary parts for servicing irrigation systems. The division was established in 1970 when Chester, Inc. first added center-pivot irrigation systems to their line of products and services; they now service over 1500 irrigation systems, as well as grain dryers and drying bins.
North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely was recently appointed as the town’s coordinator for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that the town must now review their municipal buildings and sidewalks to ensure they are ADA-compliant, because if they aren’t, the town will be unable to receive federal grants.
Henry explained that the town will be required to draft a plan to become compliant with ADA requirements, and then they will have to implement that plan as soon as possible. The deadline for a plan to be developed and submitted is Dec. 31, and any municipality that does not have their ADA plan implemented soon thereafter will be disqualified from receiving federal funds. As ADA coordinator, Vessely will work closely with Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann to ensure they meet the requirements.
Horstmann is also staying busy, having scheduled a water tower inspection for both towers this month. Both the tower on the west side of North Judson and the tower downtown will be inspected Sept. 19.
IU Health LaPorte Hospital and IU Health Starke Hospital will be offering free prostate cancer screenings on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 8–11 a.m. CT.
The screenings will be offered at two locations: one in LaPorte and the other in North Judson. You must preregister in order to receive the free screenings. To schedule an appointment in LaPorte, call (219) 326-2073 and in North Judson call (574) 896-5533.
Prostate screenings are recommended annually for men age 40 and older.
The screening is made possible through funding provided by the LaPorte Hospital Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IU Health LaPorte Hospital and fiscal manager of the Starke Health Fund.
The North Judson Town Board last week held their first and second readings of an amendment to the 2012 salary ordinance. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the amendment allows for the addition of a part-time clerical position in both the clerk-treasurer’s office and the billing office.
Henry explained that the part-time employee would split his or her time between the two offices, but will spend the majority of his or her time in the clerk-treasurer’s office. The employee will be trained in both departments, and will be cross-trained on the billing side to allow the employee to substitute for the billing clerk during vacations. Henry says this employee will be similar to a floating employee between the two departments, but will concentrate on the clerk-treasurer’s side.
Rules and regulations may soon be changed at cemeteries in North Judson, as the town council is reviewing a proposed ordinance from the Cemetery Regulations Committee.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the committee was appointed a few months ago and charged with the task of reviewing the current cemetery ordinance and its rules and regulations to determine if any changes are needed to the policies. The committee looked at the current ordinance and compared it to templates of cemetery rules and regulations, and have made a number of changes that they feel would best suit the cemetery and the town.
The Starke County Commissioners this week corrected a mix-up from years past, as North Judson Town Board President Wendy Hoppe requested their assistance in transferring two parcels of land back to the town.
Hoppe explained that several years ago a building on Lane Street had been demolished, and the county assisted the town in clearing the debris; however, the property which had been split into two parcels was supposed to be deeded to the town, but instead, was deeded to the county. She says that issue was supposed to be straightened out long ago, but it was never corrected.
North Judson will soon be the host of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns quarterly roundtable.
Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says she and town board president Wendy Hoppe had attended the previous roundtable in Demotte in August, and she says each roundtable has a different topic. The August roundtable was focused on budgets, and Henry says she asked the organization if the North Judson Town Board could hold one of the upcoming roundtables in North Judson.
Kersting’s Cycle Center hosted its 10th annual charity event September 8. The Motorcycle, Music and Memories event helped raise money for a number of charities, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Nella Kersting Memorial Scholarship.
Enjoy these pictures from the event! Continue reading
North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry said that an elderly citizen had contacted the North Judson Town Hall and stated that she had been contacted numerous times by someone claiming to represent the U.S. Census Bureau and requested information for the American Community Survey. The woman said she was concerned that it was a fraudulent phone call.
Fortunately, Henry contacted the U.S. Census Bureau and discovered that the organization was, indeed, performing the survey. However, no news outlets were notified of the survey, causing those who were contacted to be slightly suspicious.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is offering a Hunter Education Class to assist participants in receiving their Indiana Hunter Education Certification.
Indiana Conservation Officers will be holding the class on Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT at Kankakee FWA Headquarters, located at 4320 W. Toto Rd, North Judson. There is no fee for this course.
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive their certification, which is required for any hunters born after Dec. 31, 1986.
Students are asked to preregister for the course by calling District 10 Law Enforcement Headquarters at (219) 879-5710. Attendance both days is mandatory for the certification, and children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch.
The town of North Judson’s no-tobacco ordinance is now in effect, prohibiting smoking or any other form of tobacco use in municipal buildings or properties, including parks. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the ordinance prohibits smoking and tobacco use on the premises of municipal properties or within eight feet of their entrances.
The ordinance also prohibits smoking in town parks and their park shelters or within 15 feet of the shelters.
The North Judson Town Council held the first and second readings of the no-tobacco ordinance at their meeting on Aug. 20, and Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry says the council held the final reading on the ordinance at their meeting on Sept. 4.
The ordinance is more restrictive than the state’s Smoke Free Air Law, but only applies to municipal properties.
The North Judson Town Council continued their discussion this week regarding the proposed golf cart ordinance. Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry explained that this seems to be a rather hot topic between communities, as Marshall County and several other communities have recently passed golf cart ordinances restricting their use.
However, Henry says that the ordinance they have in mind defers to the state law on most points, but does allow golf carts to be operated on municipal streets. Henry says the operators of the golf carts must be licensed and have insurance coverage on the vehicle, and it will also need to be registered with the clerk-treasurer’s office.
Councilman Tim Cummins presented a draft copy of the proposed ordinance to the council this week, and provided copies for audience members interested in reading it. The council will review the draft and note any necessary revisions, and Henry says it’s likely they will have their first and second readings of the ordinance at their next meeting on Sept. 17. However, if there are several revisions necessary, the readings may be postponed until the following meeting.
Kersting’s Cycle Center will be hosting their 10th annual charity event this weekend. The Motorcycle, Music and Memories event is a large celebration put on at the center for only one day, featuring live bands, food vendors, and a motorcycle ride in the afternoon. The event raises money for a number of charities, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Nella Kersting Memorial Scholarship.
Jim and Nella Kersting developed their love of motorcycles into a growing, successful family business over the span of 40 years. Nella tragically passed away in 2003 as the result of a two-vehicle crash in Pulaski County which also left Jim critically injured.
