Park caretaker Jim Harrison passed away recently, and the North Judson Town Board took a portion of their meeting to express condolences to his family. North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Connie Miller described Harrison as a very dedicated and dependable employee to the county who will be sorely missed.
Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and emergency personnel were called to a personal injury accident on Saturday afternoon.
The accident occurred on Highway 421 south of San Pierre by the south junction of State Road 10. Carey Foley, 56, of Demotte, was traveling in that area when for some unknown reason, he passed out, left the roadway, hit a tree, hit a utility pole and then hit another tree and came to rest. Foley was pinned in the vehicle and the San Pierre and North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Departments were called to the scene to assist with extrication. Foley was airlifted from the scene to Memorial Hospital in South Bend and his condition is unknown at this time.
A fire consumed the home of Elizabeth Sallee at 1520 E. 100 S. in Knox last night.
When firefighters arrived at the home shortly before 10:00 p.m. last night, the fire was fully engulfed at the east end of the home. High winds caused the fire to spread quickly throughout the structure and soon it was fully engulfed. Elizabeth Sallee was not home at the time of the fire, but her daughter and two-year-old son escaped the home without injury.
North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department Fire Chief, Joe Leszek, reports that the department only had five total fire runs last month. 3 were for medical assistance and 2 were for vehicle accidents. One of those calls came from the town of North Judson, three came from Wayne Township and one came from Rich Grove Township. There were a total of 12,000 gallons of water used in September.
The North Judson Town Board approved a resolution to allow a trade of equipment between the North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department. The North Judson Department will get a 1980 Ford pumper truck with a 750 gallon tank and in exchange, Knox will receive an air bag system that is capable of lifting up vehicles to help in emergency situations. The Knox City Council members approved a similar resolution at their recent meeting.
Fire Department and ambulance personnel and police officers from many departments in Starke County will be participating in Emergency Vehicle Operator Course training Sunday morning (September 25th) at the Washington Township Fire Department.
Tom Champion, from Terre Haute, is the state instructor for the class which takes firefighters, EMS personnel and police officers through a driving training course. This will give all emergency personnel certification for the rest of the year. The training will not cost the county any money; it is supplied by an insurance company.
The Knox-Center Township and North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Departments have agreed to a swap of equipment. In the swap, North Judson would receive a 1980 Ford Pumper truck with a 750 gallon tank and Knox would receive an air bag system that is approximately six to seven years old.
Knox-Center Township Volunteer Fire Chief, Ken Pfost, explained to the City Council members that the air bag system new would cost approximately $10,000.
The North Judson Town Board took a good look at what the paving schedule would be in the near future and the members decided that chip and seal work may work more in their favor than the cost of paving.
In other news:
Officers from the North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department are looking at quotes for a new rescue truck and Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, told the Board that he is gathering quotes for five new police vests.
The North Judson Town Board members approved the first and second readings of a pool fill ordinance at their recent meeting. The North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department had been conducting pool fills for residents for free, but now the Board has incorporated fees to help reduce costs.
North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely reports that the North Judson Police Department received 361 incident calls in the month of June. There were 44 citizen assist calls, 71 traffic stops, 9 animal control calls, 20 theft-conversion calls, 21 juvenile-family disturbance calls, 12 mischief-vandalism calls, and 8 assaults, battery and/or fighting calls.
The North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department will be burning down the old Blue Bird Inn in North Judson in a training exercise on June 26th.
The North Judson Town Board has been after the owner to clean up the property at 523 Lane Street, which he has not done, and recently, the owner was late in paying $1,343.30 in inspection fees to the town. The bank, who now owns the property, gave permission to the fire department to burn down the property in a training exercise.
The North Judson Fire Department was called to a house fire at 5315 W. 500 N. in northern Pulaski County.
Residents were in the home when the storms went through Wednesday morning and it was around 9:00 a.m. when they heard a loud crack. Minutes later, the smoke alarms went off and as the residents were exiting the house, flames were already showing from the ceiling. All occupants made it out safely. When the fire department arrived, Fire Chief Joe Leszek said the home was completely engulfed and the house was a total loss. An investigator from State Fire Marshall’s office will be at the scene today to determine the cause of the fire.
The North Judson Town Board heard from concerned citizens about the gas prices in North Judson. It was reported to WKVI that the gas prices in North Judson are generally $.10 higher than the surrounding communities.
The Board was expected to write a letter to the gas stations and ask why this is occurring and how it can be fixed. The residents are especially concerned about prices in this economy.
Knox City Police Chief, Clint Norem, reports that in the month of March, the Police Department had 419 calls, handled 9 accidents and had 45 incident reports.
North Judson Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, reports that in the month of February, the Department received 234 calls. The Department responded to 12 lockout calls, 6 animal control calls, 16 thefts-conversion calls, 3 accidents, 13 juvenile-family disturbance calls, and 2 assault, battery or fighting calls, and conducted 48 traffic stops.
Officers completed 1 battery report, 2 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated reports, 2 Burglary-Robbery reports, 3 theft-conversion reports, 4 traffic reports, 2 alcohol-drug reports, and 1 death investigation. 15 ordinance tickets were written, 29 traffic warnings given and North Judson officers made 14 adult arrests.
North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Chief, Joe Leszek, reports that his department had 2 structure fires, 2 medical assist calls, 1 vehicle accident call, 2 carbon monoxide investigations. 3 calls were in North Judson town limits, and 4 were in Wayne Township.
North Judson Fire Chief, Joe Leszek submitted the Fire Department’s statistics for January to the North Judson Town Board during the Board’s recent meeting.
The Department had two smoke investigations, one search and rescue call, two medical assist calls, and one burn complaint. Four of the calls were in North Judson, one call was in Wayne Township and two calls were in Jackson Township.
North Judson Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, reported to the North Judson Town Board that the Police Department is short one full-time police officer. The position will need to be filled soon, however the Department is not taking applications at this time.
Vessely reported that the new 2011 Crown Victoria car has been delivered to the Department. The light package and other equipment has not yet been installed in the car so it won’t be in service until next week.
The body of an 82-year-old North Judson man was found Wednesday morning after a Silver Alert was issued by the North Judson Police Department. Robert L. Lemke was found after he was reported missing when a family member went to check on him on Tuesday evening. Lemke was believed to have left home on foot sometime between the evening hours Sunday, January 2nd and Tuesday evening.
At its Monday meeting, the North Judson Town Board approved the CKIN railroad’s request to purchase new railroad ties at a cost of $7,000. The volunteers plan to replace several ties in need of repair.
North Judson Utility Superintendent, Dan Anderson, reported to the North Judson Clerk’s Office that street crews have plowed 28 inches of snow. Citizens are asked to remove snow from around fire hydrants in case of an emergency. If the North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Department was called to a fire and the fire hydrant was covered with snow and not visible, firefighters would be delayed in putting out a fire.
