Plymouth Airport Receives $2.2 Million FAA Grant

Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter (seated, right) speaks to those assembled about the airport improvements and the FAA grant
Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter (seated, right) speaks to those assembled about the airport improvements and the FAA grant

The Plymouth Airport will get a wider runway and more improvements thanks to an FAA grant worth $2.2 million. Matching funds from the city and state of $126,805 each brings the total to a little over $2.5 million.

Mayor Mark Senter said the project has been in the works for many years but the current infrastructure needed to be upgraded before the runway could be restructured.

“We had buildings here in awful shape,” explained Mayor Senter. There were garage doors that would barely open, roofs that leaked, dimly lit hangers with airplanes that shivered in the cold winter, cracked sidewalks, an office area styled for the 1970s, and a pilot’s lounge that was indescribable. Let’s fix what we have first, then we can start talking about a mile-long runway.”

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Marshall County Community Foundation Distributes $66,210 in Grant Funds

Marshall County Community Foundation officials and grant recipients
Marshall County Community Foundation officials and grant recipients

Over $66,200 in grant funds were awarded to 10 organizations in Marshall County Thursday afternoon.

The Marshall County Community Foundation held its second round of 2014 Community Fund grants where non-profit organizations submitted proposals for specific projects. Linda Yoder, Executive Director of the Marshall County Community Foundation explained that the Community Fund is one of the most flexible and responsive of the Foundation’s 318 funds.

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Voter Registration Ends Monday

  
 

The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 4 and in order to cast your important vote you need to be properly registered.

Voter registration is open this week at all county clerk’s offices. The last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 6. You must be registered by the end of the business day on Oct. 6 in order to vote in the November election.

If you need to register to vote or have questions about your current registration, call the Starke County clerk’s office at (574) 772-9160, the Pulaski County clerk’s office at (574) 946-3313 or the Marshall County Clerk’s office at (574) 936-8922. Election and registration information can also be found on the state’s website.

Absentee voting in all three counties begins Tuesday, Oct. 7.

United Way of Marshall County Blitz Week

  
 

The United Way of Marshall County has a busy week planned. Volunteers will be visiting businesses in the community to distribute information about United Way. They will be in Bremen on Wednesday and in Plymouth on Friday.

The volunteers will be accepting contributions from businesses to go towards the community. United Way of Marshall County Executive Director Linda Yoder says these visits show businesses how United Way can help.

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Lighthouse Autism Center Still Considering Marshall County Expansion

Lighthouse Autism CenterOfficials with a Mishawaka-based Autism treatment center say there is definitely a need for a facility like theirs in Marshall County. Lighthouse Autism Center co-founder and Controller Sandy Maggioli says their open house last week drew a lot of people who are passionate about the issue.

A physician who sees children with autism, community leaders, parents and grandparents were among the 50 or so people in attendance. Maggioli says she wants to hear from families in Marshall and surrounding counties whose youngsters could benefit from the intensive, one-on-one Applied Behavior Analysis treatment Lighthouse Autism Center offers. Continue reading

Local County Entities Receive Local Government Cooperation Award

Representatives of Marshall County and St. Joseph County accept Local Government Cooperation Award
Representatives of Marshall County and St. Joseph County accept Local Government Cooperation Award

The decision to being dark fiber optic infrastructure into the counties of St. Joesph and Marshall plus the City of Plymouth has prompted the Association of Indiana Counties to award county officials for that effort.

The entities were the recipient of the 2014 Local Government Cooperation Award for the Metronet project.

The Metronet project that extends dark fiber from St. Joseph to Marshall County will assist businesses in obtaining the highest speed of internet available to streamline operations and to create economic development. The project was funded by Marshall County government, St. Joseph County government and local businesses.

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Marshall County EMA Director Encourages Safety this Winter Season

 
 

It may be a little early to think about snow and ice, but county officials are already making plans for when system and lake effect snow could impact travel in the area.

Marshall County Emergency Management Agency Director Clyde Avery informed the Marshall County Safety Committee last week of the different levels of advisories that could be issued during severe weather this winter.

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Initial Hearing Set for Former Highway Superintendent

 Former Marshall County Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck will appear for his initial hearing in Marshall County Superior Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21. at 8:30 a.m. ET.

An indictment against Haeck was recently returned by a grand jury in Marshall County and he was summoned to appear in court on a charge of theft. It is alleged that Haeck stole $12,351.41 from the county in 2012 and 2013. The money reportedly came from the sale of scrap metal.

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Police Offer Advice to Marshall County Safety Committee

 
 

Police officers spoke to those assembled in a Marshall County Safety Committee meeting this week where they gave school, highway and emergency management officials some things to remember in case of an emergency.

Indiana State Police Troopers want to work with local law enforcement agencies and the school corporations during certain critical situations. One officer indicated that social media can hamper efforts of the police when investigating potential hazardous situations that involve student safety. Police agencies have protocols in place to deal with bomb threats and active shooter reports, as do school corporation. It was recommended that law enforcement and administrators need to come together to solidify a plan. A recent situation was cited where a bomb threat was reported at a school corporation in the region and students were texting parents to pick them up from school when police needed to keep those students together for safety reasons, student count and witness accounts.

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School Representative Share Ideas in Marshall County Safety Meeting

  
 

The Marshall County Safety Committee met this week to go over protocols to make sure all are on the same page when dealing with severe weather, school incidents and roads.

School representatives from Plymouth, Argos, Bremen, Culver, Triton, John Glenn and Culver Military Academy all spoke, commenting on current procedures and things they’d like to focus on in a possible work session.

Plymouth School Superintendent Dan Tyree explained that he will bring a proposal to the school board in October to add a three hour delay to the start of school as an option during severe weather in the winter months.

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Lighthouse Autism Center Schedules Plymouth Community Interest Meeting

Lighthouse Autism CenterParents of youngsters with autism are encouraged to attend a community meeting this evening in Plymouth to gauge interest in the establishment of an Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy center in Marshall County. Lighthouse Autism Center currently has facilities in Warsaw and Mishawaka. Co-founder and Controller Sandy Maggioli says they offer intensive, one-on-one therapy for children with autism.

“Typically a child will receive between 20 and 40 hours of therapy per week. There is no age requirement, but typically we try to get to children who are in the preschool age of three to four years old to prepare them for school, but we also see clients that are in school as well,” Maggioli said. “We may pull them out of school for a period of time to get intensive therapy and then transition them back into the school environment.”

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Plymouth School Corporation Invests in Safety

plymouth schools logoThe Plymouth Community School Board members may have spent a good chunk of change for security upgrades at all of the school buildings, but according to the Director of Safety and Security, it was money well spent.

“I think we took a layered approach,” stated Phillips. “We’ve looked at identifying who is coming into our buildings and for what purpose. The camera systems have been widely talked about and they have given us a new opportunity not only to make sure that our grounds are safe but we’ve also been able to assist law enforcement in a few cases that they’ve called us about.”

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Marshall County Safety Commission Meeting Tuesday

 

  
 

Marshall County Safety Commission members are expected to meet tomorrow to discuss safety plans for the upcoming winter season and more. EMA Director Clyde Avery explained that his portion of the meeting will address the plan in place when significant winter weather is forecast. Avery will make sure that the school emergency plans are up to date with current contact information plus critical components such as communications, command and management, emergency notification, public information, and other needs. Continue reading

Two Arrested after Traffic Stop

 
 

Two people were arrested after a traffic stop in Marshall County on Wednesday.

A Marshall County patrolman stopped a vehicle in a business parking lot on Kingston Road. The officer found that Jason Joseph had an active felony warrant and was in possession of methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine and a schedule II controlled substance, according to a news release.

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Grand Jury Indicts Former County Highway Superintendent

 
 

A former county highway superintendent faces a felony theft charge.

A grand jury in Marshall County returned a single-count indictment this week against Neal R. Haeck. He’s alleged to have stolen $12,351.41 from the county in 2012 and 2013. During that time Haeck was the Marshall County Highway Superintendent. The allegations surround the sale of scrap metal, according to a news release from the prosecutor’s office. Haeck is being summoned into court. However, his initial hearing date has not been set. Haeck retired from the county highway department on May 2nd.