NJ Town Council Considers Request from Local Independent Filmmaker Seeking Facility for Indoor Scenes

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A local independent filmmaker came before the North Judson Town Council last Monday, seeking permission to utilize a building in town for an upcoming movie he plans to make. Jacob Dessauer told council members that he is seeking a facility to utilize where he can construct disposable sets for indoor scenes.

“I’m filming an independent movie around North Judson and my property out in English Lake.” He went on, “I was wondering if the Town owned or knew of any spaces roughly 18×12 foot with a 9-foot ceiling just as a minimum that they would be able to donate or loan for a certain period of time.” Continue reading →

Date and Fee Established for Annual Town Wide Garage Sale in North Judson

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Requests pertaining to the date and permit fee for the North Judson town-wide yard sale were brought before the town council during their meeting last Monday.

Billing Clerk Jennifer Vanek asked council members if the annual sale could be held on the first Saturday in August, which will be the 4th. She also requested that the yard sale permit fee, which typically costs $10, be reduced to $5 for the event. Continue reading →

Downtown Additions Discussed During North Judson Town Council Meeting

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Picture Source: Town of North Judson FB Page

North Judson Town Council members considered the purchase of 30 new banners from OTES Signs and Graphics when they met last Monday.

Councilman James Young explained that the town already has the mounting brackets and hardware needed to hang them, so they would just need to buy the banners themselves. He said the price for all 30 banners came to $960, which breaks down to $32 per banner.

He added that the look of the new banners would be consistent with existing signage, “With a design that would look similar to what we have coming into town, it just says ‘Welcome to North Judson’, something bright and colorful.” Continue reading →

North Judson Book of Codes and Ordinances to Undergo Reviews

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe and Code Enforcement Officer Joe Leszek plan to go over the town’s book of ordinances soon to check for any necessary revisions or amendments.

Clerk-Treasurer Rowe said that the last time ordinances were put together was in 2007, so the codes are overdue for some review. Aside from retracting any outdated or unneeded codes and updating existing ones, Leszek said there also needs to be something added that implements consequences for repeat offenders or people who fail to comply after a warning has been issued.

The Code Enforcement Officers explained, “We write somebody a ticket, that person doesn’t pay the ticket and they don’t take care of the violation or they do the pay the ticket but they still don’t take care of the violation, so where do we escalate from there? Is there a fee? First offense is $50 and the second offense goes up to whatever amount Marshal Fisher or the board finds appropriate.”

Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Considers Request From Building Inspector

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Building Inspector Jeff Abrams appeared before the town council requesting to establish a permit for gas line inspections when members met Monday.

“When there is a house vacated and the gas has been shut off, Nipsco wants an inspection done so I think that we should be able to charge for that because I have to go out and look at it.” He explained, “They have to do a pressure test it and it has to hold pressure for a day.” Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Informed About Unresolved Request from the 1980s

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A matter that has gone unresolved for more than 30 years was brought before the North Judson Town Council Monday night.

North Judson Resident and former town council member, Tim Cummins informed the council that even though the North Judson Plan Commission and Town Council took steps to vacate a 16-foot alley between Dahlke and Lyle Streets back in the 1980s, the final step of sending the documentation to the Starke County Recorder was not completed so the alley was never officially vacated. Continue reading →

First National Bank of Monterey Provides Presentation to North Judson Town Council Members

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The North Judson Town Council was informed that First National Bank of Monterey is willing to raise the town’s interest rate on their general fund when members met Monday night.

The Town currently has their general account at the First National Bank of Monterey and has recently been considering a switch over to First Farmers Bank and Trust. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher Reports Immediate Results from K9 Program

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Officer Rico Simpson, K9 Jimy & Town Marshal Kelly Fisher
Photo Source: NJ Town Photographer Peggy Bohac

North Judson K9 Officer Rico Simpson and his K9 Partner Jimy have been very busy now that they’re out of training and patrolling the town. Town Marshal Kelly Fisher provided a brief synopsis of some of the work that the two have accomplished in their first week of deployment during Monday night’s town council meeting.

Since April 9th, K9 Jimy has already assisted with several traffic stops and indicated the presence of suspected narcotics, marijuana, heroin and drug paraphernalia. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Meets Tonight

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

The cemetery mowing service contract will be revisited during tonight’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

Town Marshal Kelly Fisher, Fire Chief and Code Compliance Officer Joe Leszek, Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann and any other department heads in attendance will deliver reports to the council. Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe will provide a report with relevant business regarding the town’s operations and Attorney Justin Schramm will be present to alert the council of any new legal updates. Continue reading →

Mint Festival Update Provided to North Judson Town Council

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

When North Judson Town Council members met this week, they received a brief update about the Mint Festival from event organizer Donna Henry.

According to Henry, everything is on schedule. She told members that they received a grant for the pedal tractor pull. She also mentioned that organizers are waiting to hear back from Knox Community School Officials about using the middle school for the Mint Festival Pageant since NJSP will be unavailable due renovation projects planned this summer.

At a previous meeting, Henry shared that the theme this year is ‘Mint to be Friends’ which was inspired by some new friends the Mint Festival representatives made recently. Continue reading →

North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Inquires About Town’s Policy on Buying Back Graves

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

A question about the town of North Judson’s policy on buying back grave plots was raised during this week’s town council meeting.

Tuesday night, Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe alerted members that an individual recently came into the Clerk’s Office and inquired about selling back two graves that he purchased for $350 each since his plans have changed and he no longer intends to be buried in town. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Marshal Completes Chief School, K9 Officer Nears End of Training

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan
Officer Rico Simpson, K9 Jimy & Town Marshal Kelly Fisher
Photo Source: NJ Town Photographer Peggy Bohac

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher alerted town council members that she recently completed chief school through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

During her report Monday night, she told council members that she completed the schooling last week and was able to get some valuable information that will be beneficial to the department and town.

On a related note, she also mentioned that Officer Rico Simpson and his K9 Partner Jimy are in their final week of training at Vohne Liche Kennels. Simpson came in during Fisher’s report and provided a few details about his new K9 partner. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Receives Updates from CommonWealth Engineers, Considers Amended Agreement

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

An amended Owner-Engineer Agreement was presented at Monday night’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

CommonWealth Engineers Vice President of Business Development Vince Sommers gave members a few updates over the town’s Water Treatment Plant and Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) Improvement projects. He also submitted an amended owner-engineer agreement for their consideration. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Awards Bid for Cemetery Mowing Contract

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

T&J Lawn Care,  out of Walkerton, will be handling the mowing services for Pioneer and Highland Cemeteries following a decision made by North Judson Town Council members Monday night.

The cemetery mowing contract was initially advertised back in March and individuals had a month to submit bids. The Town Council received and opened two bids last night.

The bid submitted by Tim Rhodes, the owner of T&J Lawn Care Services, was for a total of $12,000. The second bid, submitted by Mike Fanelli came in at $20,995. Continue reading →

North Judson Town Council Members Choose to Consolidate Railroad Insurance Payments

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

North Judson Town Council members will save some money on their railroad insurance payments after approving a recommendation made by Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe at their meeting last week.

Rowe first brought this idea up when the payments began but he did some additional research on the payment methods and coordinated with President Wendy Hoppe about the matter prior to bringing the suggestion before the council. Continue reading →

Permit Question Brought Before the North Judson Town Council

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

With this weekend’s pleasant weather, you may have noticed ice cream trucks making their first rounds of the season. A citizen of North Judson submitted a question to town council members Monday night, about a truck he saw driving around town over the weekend.

He asked what kind of permit is required for those drivers to sell their wares. Town Council President Wendy Hoppe responded that they need a peddler’s permit to legally sell the treats within the town limits. Continue reading →