A Starke County prisoner is back in the Starke County Jail after escaping from Community Corrections home monitoring. Darwin Barnett was being tethered by an ankle bracelet which he removed August 19th.
After a 24 hour AWOL period, Community Corrections filed an escape notice with the Prosecutor and law enforcement. He was captured by North Judson Police and returned to jail on Wednesday, August 24th.
Former North Judson resident and current Lowell High School Principal, Adrian Richie, will return to work after Labor Day on a part-time basis. Richie has been battling the effects of burns on 35 percent of his body after an accident that occurred at his home on July 6th.
Richie was trying to burn a pile of debris when he poured gasoline on a portion of cardboard when it ignited burning his arms and legs.
Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department apprehended a North Judson man after he was allegedly involved in a bar fight and ended up destroying a motel room Wednesday night in North Judson.
Police were called to the Route 10 Bar and Grill after an alleged fight had occurred between two individuals. The suspect, Danny Manns, left the premises. Police later found the suspect vehicle in the park and it was unoccupied. Police learned that the vehicle Manns was driving belonged to Joe Brown of Knox who said Manns should not have been in possession of the vehicle. Police searched the area and was unable to find Manns.
Advances in signage technology have made it easier for advertisers to communicate with fans at sporting events. Faced with rising athletic costs, high schools are now getting into the advertising business.
Recently, Superintendent Lynn Johnson at the North Judson-San Pierre School district talked about signage with Athletic Director Rob Vessely.
The storm water project is beginning in North Judson today. The area of construction will be the north side of North Judson from Main Street and Keller Avenue south to Lesley Street on State Road 39. The project is expected to take approximately three weeks to complete.
The project is expected to get underway at 7:30 a.m.
The town board of North Judson would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to its residents.
Two individuals were apprehended in North Judson after police received a complaint regarding people manufacturing methamphetamine and in possession of firearms at 1860 W Dawn Drive. After a brief investigation, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department discovered the suspects have been convicted serious violent felonies in Indiana and Michigan. Officers from the Starke and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Departments, a Knox K-9 officer, and North Judson Police went to serve an arrest warrant at that address for Illegal Purchase of Ephedrine.
A man from North Judson has died after an accident Friday morning that took place in LaPorte County. At around 9 a.m., Thomas Schwab, 46, was hit by a semi truck as he was crossing U.S. 30 on Ind. 39 near Hannah.
The damage to Schwab’s vehicle trapped him and he had to be removed by authorities. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The county coroner said alcohol was not involved, and an investigation is underway to determine which vehicle had the right-of-way.
Funeral arrangements are pending at O’Donnell Funeral Home in North Judson.
In the Democrat Caucus held at North Judson last night, Dan Anderson defeated Guy Gardin 49-33 and Jane Ellen Felchuk defeated Mandy Brewer 43-39.
At the recent meeting of the North Judson Town Board, Fire Chief Joe Leszek told the council that the several members of the department are currently working on becoming certified 1st Responders. Leszek said that when they do become certified, they will need to get a new firetruck because the current truck only seats three people.
Leszek told the council that he estimates a used truck would cost about $50,000, but said he will check with the township to see if they can possibly contribute any funds to its purchase. A decision will be made on the matter in the future.
A Rensselaer man was arrested Saturday after he was seen stealing a chainsaw from a garage in the North Judson area.
The suspect, who was later identified as Jason Richie, reportedly walked in a garage owned by Richard Anderson and walked out with a chainsaw, according to the Starke County Sheriff’s Department report. Anderson’s son-in-law, Samuel Denno, reportedly ran outside with a gun to stop Richie. Denno told police that the man allegedly threw the chainsaw in some weeds when he saw that Denno followed him into a wooded area. Denno later told police that he didn’t know the man but could identify the man if police apprehended him.
The North Judson Town Board members approved a price quote of $62,795 for a new dump truck for the Utility Department. The older model will be traded in for the 2011 model from Northern Equipment in Plymouth. The payments of approximately $23,000 will be spread over three years. The Board has been planning for this purchase for the past four years.
The North Judson Town Board discussed modifying the commercial building permit fees at their meeting last week.
The current fee schedule allows a commercial business to pay $.15 a square foot of new building construction. Instead, the Board plans to incorporate a flat fee per permit. If the new building or addition is 10,000 square feet or less, the permit will cost $250. If it is 10,001 or more, the permit will be $500.
The North Judson Town Board discussed urban chicken farms within town limits at their last meeting in July. The police department received complaints about the farms and the Board was going to look into the ordinances to see about prohibiting those types of activities in town.
On Monday, North Judson resident, Sarah Ransom, presented the Board with information concerning urban chicken farms. Ransom’s neighbors were also present at the meeting and they said that Ransom’s farm poses no problems with them. The Board agreed to review the information, but did not make any decision concerning the allowance of the farms within town limits.
The Knox City Police Department had 483 calls in the month of July, responded to six accidents and officers completed 31 incident reports.
There were 4 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated arrests, 3 Public Intoxication arrests, 3 Battery arrests, 2 warrant arrests, 16 people arrested on 18 traffic charges, 25 people arrested on 36 criminal charges and 2 juveniles arrested on 2 charges. Continue reading
Town Conventions will be held in Hamlet and North Judson as several contested races have surfaced for town offices.
In Hamlet, Republicans Debra Goble and Jill Hovarter have filed for the Clerk-Treasurer’s office. A Town Convention will be held to determine the lone Republican candidate who will face Democrat candidate is Kristina Pitts on the November ballot. Brian Jeffrey Earnest, a Democrat, is the only candidate who filed for the Ward 1 seat on the Hamlet Town Council. Democrats Kerry Stone and Dean Hoy Goble have filed for the Ward 2 seat along with Republicans Dave Kesvormas, Sr. and Todd Leinbach. Democrats Frank Lonigro, Jr. and Leo Robert “Bob” Yung are on the Ward 3 seat.
Potential candidates wanting to file for a Clerk-Treasurer or Town Board position in the towns of North Judson, Hamlet, Winamac, Monterey, Francesville or Medaryville have until Monday, August 1st at Noon to file.
So far, the towns of Hamlet, Winamac, Francesville and Medaryville will be conducting Town Conventions. A Town Convention is held when there is competition between candidates in the same political party for any town office. In the Town of Hamlet, there is a race on the Republican ticket for Clerk-Treasurer and two Town Council seats are contested on the Democrat ticket. In Winamac, there is a race for Clerk-Treasurer on the Republican ticket. In Francesville, there are four people seeking a seat on the Town Council and only three seats are available so one candidate will be eliminated in that Town Convention. In Medaryville, four Democrats filed for a seat on the Town Council and a Town Convention will determine the candidate for that party for the General Election.
North Judson Clerk-Treasurer, Connie Miller, reported yesterday that the State Road 39 sewer separation project will begin today. Miller said she has been informed that the road through the construction area will remain open, but motorists can expect slight delays. If you have breathing problems, you may want to close your vehicle’s windows while traveling through the construction site.
North Judson and Hamlet residents wishing to file for candidacy for the position of Town Clerk-Treasurer or Town Board have until Monday, August 1st at Noon to file in the Starke County Clerk’s Office. Clerk Evelyn Skronski talks about the current filings.
“North Judson has a Clerk-Treasurer race going for the General Election right now and they also have their three Council seats. The incumbents are all signed up for that and there’s nobody running against them. Hamlet has got some races coming up for a caucus in August. The Clerk-Treasurer and the Council seats all have opposition so they’ll have to eliminate a candidate in that particular party so that they can have a ballot for the November General Election,” said Skronski.
The North Judson Police Department has been receiving complaints of residents driving golf carts in town and not abiding by the traffic laws. Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, wants to remind you that the operation of golf carts within town limits is against the law. Anyone who is found driving a golf cart will be given an ordinance ticket. Officers will uphold state law that prohibits golf carts.
The North Judson Town Board approved a request to send the 2012 budget out for advertising. The State allowed the Board to increase the General Fund by 2.9% and that is what the Board will be advertising for this year’s budget. The Board is seeking $618,610 for the General Fund.
After the budget is advertised, the budget will be sent to the Auditor’s office and the County Council will review and approve or reject the budget in October. If all is approved, the Board will adopt the budget in October.
