Permit Question Brought Before the North Judson Town Council

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

Updates at Norwayne Field Discussed During North Judson Town Council Meeting

Big changes are happening at Norwayne Field in North Judson.

At last night’s town council meeting Park Board representative Nick Radke informed members that the band shell has been fully assembled. He added that additional lighting and stonework is pending. He also thanked Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann and members of the utility department for all their assistance with the assembly.

Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe stated that once the remainder of the work is finished, an event will be held with community members and local officials to commemorate its completion.

In other news, Schambers Masonry completed the repair work that needed to be done to the brick wall that runs along highway 10. Continue reading

NJ Town Superintendent Discusses Funding for Paving and Sidewalk Upgrades

North Judson Town Superintendent Marshall Horstmann told council members that the town was recently awarded $158,160 in Federal Highway Administration funds for phase three of their ADA compliance project.

At their meeting last Monday, he mentioned since planning and engineering costs haven’t been factored in yet, that won’t even be the complete amount awarded. He also told members that with all three phases of the ADA compliance projects, the town has been awarded a total of $406,360 so far. Continue reading

Highland Cemetery Concern Brought Before North Judson Town Council

Some concerns about the Highland Cemetery were brought to the attention of the North Judson Town Council Members when they met Monday night.

Resident Vicki Richey informed members that she was speaking on behalf of everyone who has a loved one buried in the cemetery.

She stated that she used to own a tree-service company and recently looked over the land at Highland and found about 45 tree stumps. She added that there is also split tree that should be taken care of because if it falls it runs the risk of damaging some headstones. Continue reading

North Judson Police Officer Rico Simpson and His K9 Partner Complete Week 2 of Training

Photo Courtesy of NJPD Facebook Page

North Judson Police Officer Rico Simpson is at the tail end of week two of K9 training at Vohne-Liche Kennels and according to Town Marshal Kelly Fisher, things are going really well.

At Monday’s North Judson Town Council meeting, Marshal Fisher told members that Officer Simpson and his K9 Partner Jimy already have a phenomenal bond. Continue reading

Starke County Economic Development Foundation to Hold Community Retreat

The Starke County Economic Development Foundation will be holding a community retreat at their office in Knox on Tuesday, March 20th from 7:30 a.m. until noon CT.

Interim Executive Director Larry Wickert spoke to the North Judson Town Council members about the session during their meeting Monday night. He cleared up some confusion about the focus, stating that the event will be open to all municipalities in the area and will not solely be about development in North Judson. Continue reading

North Judson Town Council Approves Amended Salary Ordinance

An amended salary ordinance passed on second reading and was adopted during Monday night’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

At the last meeting, Town Attorney Justin Schramm explained that the initial salary ordinance, which included a 3 percent raise for various department heads and the town council members, was adopted on January 2nd of 2018.

He said the State Board of Accounts could potentially have a problem with council members receiving raises in the same year they’re approved, so to be on the safe side, the salary ordinance was rewritten to remove the council members from the list of individuals who received a 3 percent raise in 2018. Continue reading

NJ Town Council Members to Discuss Cemetery Mowing Ad and Amended Salary Ordinance Tonight

North Judson Town Council members will discuss the cemetery mowing advertisement when they meeting tonight.

Members will also hold the second reading over an amended salary ordinance. At the final meeting in February, members held the first reading over a salary ordinance that would not include a 3 percent raise for the town council members.

At the beginning of the year, members signed off on a salary ordinance that essentially gave a 3 percent raise across the board. However, Town Attorney Justin Schramm explained that since the salary ordinance was approved in January of 2018, the members couldn’t approve a raise for themselves since it wouldn’t look good to the State Board of Accounts to approve a raise in the same year it is given. Continue reading

North Judson Town Council Decides on Potential Dates for SCEDF Workday

North Judson Town Council members decided on a few potential dates to recommend for a SCEDF workday when they met Monday night.

Starke County Economic Development Foundation liaison James Young reminded council members that Executive Director Larry Wickert is attempting to set up a session of some kind so members can brainstorm some ideas for potential development. Continue reading

Amended Salary Ordinance Fails to Pass on First Reading at NJ Town Council Meeting

An ordinance amending the approved 2018 salary ordinance was considered on first reading during Monday night’s North Judson Town Council meeting.

When the town council members passed the salary ordinance back in January, it included a 3 percent raise across the board, except for Town Marshal Kelly Fisher who forfeited her raise to supplement the raises of her officers.

In the initial ordinance, town council members were included in the individuals who would receive the raise. However, Town Attorney Justin Schramm said that due to when the ordinance was passed, that raise could potentially be seen as questionable by state officials. Continue reading

North Judson Police Department Welcomes K9 Jimy to the Force

NJPD K9 Jimy

The highly anticipated addition to the North Judson Police Department is finally here.

Yesterday, Officer Rico Simpson picked his K9 partner out of more than 300 dogs at Vohne Liche Kennels. The dual-purpose K9 that he chose is named Jimy.

As a dual-purpose dog, Jimy will be able to assist with patrol work such as narcotics detection and apprehension, as well as tracking. Town Marshall Kelly Fisher previously reported that the tracking capabilities could not only help with finding criminals, but they could also come in handy for missing persons cases. Continue reading

North Judson Town Council Members Discuss Advertisement for Cemetery Mowing and Additional Duties

Pioneer Cemetery  in North Judson. Photo courtesy of findagrave.com.

North Judson Town Council members considered the advertisement for cemetery mowing when they met Monday night.

Individuals applying for this job would be bidding on lawn care, leaf clean up and debris removal for both Highland and Pioneer Cemeteries. They would be expected to provide all labor, equipment and fuel.

Members noted that the proposed advertisement was the same as last year’s. However, since they experienced some problems with last year’s service, they wanted to avoid any potential confusion by clearly stating what is expected of the bidder. Continue reading

North Judson Police Department Plans Future Events

The North Judson Town Council members heard some future event suggestions from Town Marshal Kelly Fisher during their meeting last week.

Fisher said they’re considering a “Canine Mud Run” as a potential summertime fundraiser. She said it would be like any other mud run but they would invite individuals to bring their dogs along.

She said the police department plans to team up with the park board to have community-centered events every month. Continue reading

NJ Town Marshal Updates Town Council on Department Renovations

Renovations to the North Judson Police Department are underway. The town council members recently approved Town Marshall Kelly Fisher’s request to convert the conference room into a training area.

At Monday night’s town council meeting, Marshal Fisher informed members that two old radiators were recently removed with the help of the utility department.  Continue reading

Benefit Breakfast for North Judson Fire Chaplain Scheduled for Tomorrow

The North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department is holding a benefit breakfast for Chaplain Paul Newcomer at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

At Monday night’s town council meeting Fire Chief Joe Leszek explained that Newcomer was diagnosed with prostate cancer and recently underwent a successful surgery. They are holding this at-will donation benefit as a way to raise funds to help cover his medical expenses. Continue reading