A Winamac man was sentenced in Pulaski Circuit Court on two amended charges of Trafficking with an Inmate, a Class A Misdemeanor.
Charles A. Weaver of Winamac was arrested in February 2011 on a Class C Felony charge of Trafficking with an Inmate, but it was later amended to two misdemeanor counts. Weaver pleaded guilty to those charges in a plea agreement and Judge Michael Shurn sentenced him to one year incarceration on each count to be served consecutively.
The toxicology results are still out for the late 19-year-old Devin M. Holbrook, but Pulaski County Coroner Steve VanDerAa has confirmed the cause of death: drug overdose.
Holbrook was found unresponsive and not breathing on Saturday, Sept. 29 after he had taken a break from landscaping at a residence in Francesville with 32-year-old Anthony Gentry. Gentry told officials that the pair had gone inside to watch television and Holbrook had fallen asleep, but when Gentry went to wake him up, he found him unresponsive. Gentry performed CPR until emergency crews arrived at the scene. EMS found that Holbrook couldn’t be revived and the coroner was called to the scene. Police did reportedly find drugs in the area where Holbrook was found and they field-tested positive for methamphetamine and heroin.
While the toxicology results are pending, the coroner has confirmed that Holbrook died from a drug overdose, but the exact levels of the drugs in his system have not yet been finalized.
A Winamac man has pleaded guilty to federal charges in U.S District Court.
Forty-nine-year-old Paul Minix was arrested on July 25 and taken to the Pulaski County Jail on an active ATF warrant. As a result of an investigation by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Division, a grand jury indicted Minix on two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He allegedly committed the offense on Feb. 21.
Last week, Minix pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to the felony offense of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Sentencing has been set for Jan. 10, 2013 in U.S. District Court in South Bend.
Monday was an emotional day at Winamac High School as the entire student body saw the impact their support had on those they sought to help. Karen Butler, the student council advisor, sophomore sponsor, and sophomore English teacher at the high school, organized a penny war fundraiser between the high school classes with the help of the 36-member student council. The goal of the fundraiser was to raise as much money as possible toward the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent in honor of second-grader Aiden Spoor, the grandson of a teacher at Winamac High School.
Aiden was diagnosed last year with leukemia, and shortly thereafter, he began seeking treatment through the hospital. Earlier this year, Aiden’s grandmother Mary Plummer – a teacher at the high school – asked Butler if she would be interested in holding a fundraiser to raise some money toward the programs helping Aiden, and Butler agreed. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 5, five-gallon water jugs were put in each grade sponsor’s room, and students competed to raise the most money in pennies to score points, or the students could go on the offensive and drop silver change in their opponent’s jugs to reduce their points.
Within five days, the combined student body raised $2439.08 in change – a shocking amount, Butler said.
With the number of programs offered at the Eastern Pulaski Schools Corporation, the schools like to keep track on where their students end up after high school. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said high school counselor Kate Dailey presented the school board with the roundup of the 2012 graduating class, with a follow-up on where they are now.
Klitzman said more than 90 percent of the class of 2012 have either entered the workforce or sought further education, either through trade schools, college, or other training.
A Valparaiso man died after performing stunts at the FMX Paradise Motocross Park in Medaryville Sunday afternoon.
According to witnesses, James L. Miller II, 28, of Valparaiso made a jump on the dirt track and landed on the front wheel of his dirt bike. The dirt bike overturned and Miller reportedly landed on his head, causing his death.
A South Bend man was arrested in Pulaski County early Sunday after police found him to be driving under the influence.
Pulaski County police got a call of someone spotlighting in the area of County Roads 800 South and 600 West. A reserve deputy pursued the vehicle and when the vehicle stopped at a residence, several occupants fled on foot into a wooded area.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department now has the jail list available online.
Sheriff Michael Gayer says visitors can obtain the list by going online to www.pulaskisheriff.net where the link for the list can be found on the lower right-hand side of the home page.
Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski and Pulaski County Clerk Tasha Foerg urge Hoosiers to register to vote in the Nov. 6 General Election. The last day to register is tomorrow!
You can register by going online to www.IndianaVoters.com or by visiting your county clerk’s office. If you do not register to vote, you cannot cast a ballot in this important presidential election. You have until 4 p.m. tomorrow to register, and many government offices may be closed due to the Columbus Day holiday today.
With summer closed and fall just beginning, kids are back in school throughout Indiana, but they’re not alone in their return as businessmen and women are volunteering their time to present Junior Achievement of Pulaski County programs to local students. JA volunteers are instrumental in bringing Junior Achievement to life through sharing their personal and professional experiences with students. Combined with Junior Achievement’s age-appropriate curricula, students are able to connect what they learn in school with what they will need to succeed in both work and life.
The autopsy results on Devin M. Holbrook are not conclusive at this time. Pulaski County Coroner Steven VanDerAa told WKVI that Holbrook’s death is being ruled accidental at this time pending the results of a toxicology test.
Holbrook and Anthony Gentry were working outside a residence in Francesville on Saturday and Holbrook said he didn’t feel well. They went inside to watch television and Holbrook fell asleep. Gentry went to wake up Holbrook and he wasn’t breathing. Gentry performed CPR until emergency crews arrived at the scene. EMS found that Holbrook couldn’t be revived and the coroner was called to the scene. Police did reportedly find drugs in the area where Holbrook was found and they field-tested positive for methamphetamine and heroin.
Toxicology results may determine Holbrook’s cause of death.
A beautiful wealth of information is in jeopardy due to a lack of patrons. Pulaski County Library Director MacKenzie Ledley said the Medaryville branch is suffering from a lack of circulation, and she said they aren’t sure what’s causing it.
“Annual circulation at the Medaryville branch dropped from 25,780 in 2007 to a year-to-date of 11,651 – that’s through the end of August,” said Ledley. “We’re really not too sure what’s changed to decrease the circulation; it could be the availability of information online and that patrons are able to access it at home.”
A few changes have been made to the drug testing policy currently in place for Pulaski County employees. Cathy Fritz Consulting is the business authorized by the county to conduct drug testing for employees who operate county vehicles.
Cathy Fritz told the commissioners that she wanted to clear up a few things in an effort to make the drug testing process smoother, which she said includes designating county department heads as “designated employee representatives.” Fritz said these representatives are responsible for sending the employees that have been chosen at random to undergo a drug screen.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department has investigated several cases in recent weeks that involve a drug that hasn’t been known to be in the area for a while: heroin.
Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer says heroin is a pricey drug and is not as obtainable as some of the other drugs that deputies have been confiscating from criminals.
“We’re still dealing with the prescription pill epidemic, methamphetamine and marijuana, but now here within the last couple of weeks, my officers have dealt with a couple of scenarios in which heroin has surfaced,” explained Gayer.
A few technological upgrades may be in store for the Pulaski Circuit Court, as the county commissioners this week approved $1500 toward installing new phones in the courtroom, judge’s office, and his court administrator’s office.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Shurn told the commissioners that he has no working line in his office as a result of the switch to digital phones, and he has no way to tell his administrator to pick up the phone besides yelling down the hall. Shurn said this is not the ideal way for a phone system to operate, so he requested permission and funding to purchase two phones and a digital phone card to be installed.
The Pulaski County Assessor’s office may soon undergo some modifications as Assessor Holly VanDerAa told the commissioners this week that Maintenance Director Morry DeMarco has offered to make adjustments to the boiler room, enlarging it, to allow her office to expand into that room. DeMarco explained he would have to enlarge a doorway, removing a section of wall, but the commissioners were uncomfortable with allowing that to happen without first having an engineer check the integrity of the building.
DeMarco explained that this would be the most cost-effective plan because the assessor would not have to move her office, but would rather enlarge it. Fire safety exits and other safety requirements will be unaffected, and he estimated that the overall cost would be less than $1000.
Two tax sales are scheduled in the area this month.
SRI Incorporated will conduct the Pulaski County tax sale on Thursday, Oct. 11 and the Marshall County tax sale on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. ET.
A death investigation is being conducted by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department.
On Saturday evening, Pulaski County EMS and deputies were called to 518 W. Montgomery St. in Francesville for a man who was not breathing. Nineteen-year-old Devin Holbrook and 32-year-old Anthony Gentry were working on landscaping at the house and Holbrook reportedly made the comment that he wasn’t feeling well. The pair went into the house to watch television and Holbrook fell asleep in the chair. When Gentry went to wake up Holbrook, he found that Holbrook wasn’t breathing and his lips were blue. Gentry began CPR and told his mother to call 9-1-1.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a brutal battery incident that occurred Saturday night.
Officers and the Pulaski County EMS were called to a residence on State Road 14 in Winamac after a woman had called requesting medical attention. She said her ex-boyfriend, James Penicaro, held her against her will for two hours. When emergency personnel arrived on scene, they found the woman severely beaten with injuries to her face and head and other minor injuries to the rest of her body.
The Pulaski County Commissioners last night approved a bid to perform an electrical upgrade to the courthouse. According to Maintenance Director Morry DeMarco, one contractor backed out of the bidding process because the scope of work was too extensive for their company.
Complete Electric presented a bid of $74,910 for the upgrade, and Rogers Electric came in at $49,750. A third bidder, Kennedy Electric, quoted $18,870 for the work.
