Two Public Hearings To Be Held Next Week In Pulaski County

Posted on Author WKVI

Two public hearings are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 27 to address an application for rezoning and zone map change and for a variance in Pulaski County.

At 6 p.m. ET, the Pulaski County Advisory Plan Commission will hear a rezoning and zone map change for the property at 4877 W. 200 S. in Winamac.

At 7 p.m. ET. the Board of Zoning Appeals will hold its first public hearing since its creation. The hearing will cover a proposed variance for a 40’x60’ pole barn to be built at 7567 W. 950 S. in Winamac to house bag ingredients and cover more than ten percent of the parcel. The meetings will be held in the Commissioners’ Room in the Pulaski County Courthouse.

Both applications are available for review in the Building/Planning Department located in the government building on Riverside Drive in Winamac.

Pulaski Commissioners Discuss Use of Gov’t Surplus Equipment

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The Pulaski County Commissioners at their meeting this week discussed the use of military surplus equipment for the Recycling Center, Sheriff’s Department, and other departments as well.

According to county attorney Kevin Tankerslee, the equipment must be used by law enforcement agencies only for at least one year after it has been received from the Department of Defense. After that, however, the title is transferred to the Board of Commissioners, who can then allow other departments to make use of the equipment.

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Unemployment Rates Released – Indiana Continues To Exceed U.S. Average

Posted on Author WKVI

Indiana’s rate of job growth continues to exceed the U.S. average. More than 143,000 private sector jobs have been added since July 2009 and Indiana has significantly outpaced the national rate of growth during this period.

The unemployment rate for July was calculated at 8.2 percent which is a 0.2 percent increase from June.

Starke County ranks 12th in the state with an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent. LaPorte ranks 14th with an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, Marshall County is 44th with 8.4 percent, Porter County is 56th with 7.7 percent and Pulaski County is 83rd with 6.8 percent. Fayette County has an unemployment rate of 11.3 percent, giving them the highest rate in the state. DuBois County has only 5.4 percent.

Forty-two counties have reported an increase in unemployment and 30 counties reported a decrease.

Return To School Went Smoothly Throughout Kankakee Valley

Posted on Author WKVI

This was the first week of school for area students.

Superintendent A.J. Gappa talks about how the first week went for Knox Community School students.

“After talking to the principals at each building, I guess the one word we could use is smooth,” said Gappa. “There were no major glitches. Bus loading and unloading seemed to go well. I talked to the people at the transportation garage and all of the routes seemed to be in place and moving well. I don’t have any preliminary numbers, but hopefully our student population is at least as much as last year.”

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Two Arrested On Dealing In Methamphetamine Charges Near Medaryville

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Medaryville men were arrested Wednesday night after Pulaski County police responded to a report of shots fired on County Road 1400 West, a half-mile north of 300 North. The caller told police that a vehicle was on private property without permission, and he believes he heard gunshots fired.

When Medaryville Assistant Police Chief Sheri Gaillard arrived on scene at roughly 9:12 p.m., she says she found the vehicle in question and recognized the subjects inside as James F. Richie, 38 of Medaryville, and Roger L. Frinkel, 31 of Medaryville. An active arrest warrant was out for Richie, and he was consequently arrested.

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Winamac Community Parkway Project Moving Along

Posted on Author WKVI
Winamac 3rd grade students on a visit to the Panhandle Pathway. Photo by Tom Anspach

The Winamac Community Parkway Project is underway, and Dave Bennett is hopeful they’ll have the way paved to the depot by summer.

In an effort to build on the success of the Panhandle Pathway and provide access to the trail system for residents of Winamac, the Winamac Community Parkway Project consists of the development of a 1.05-mile stone trail, 12 feet wide within town limits, and a 1.6-mile, 10-foot wide stone trail outside of town limits.

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Conditional Revolving Loan Approved By Pulaski County Commissioners

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

A $132,000 loan has been approved by the Pulaski County Commissioners to L&C Recycling, LLC, to allow Tom Bonnell to move his business from its current location on State Road 119 south of Winamac to a facility on County Road 200 South near 500 West.

The loan was approved pending his request to rezone the new location to industrial to accommodate his business. He was recently granted a favorable recommendation by a revolving loan committee, and now with the commissioners’ approval, the matter falls to the shoulders of the Pulaski County Planning Commission. A hearing will be conducted on Aug. 27 to decide whether or not to proceed with Bonnell’s request.

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Winamac Kiwanis Club Farmers Market Festival Announced

Posted on Author WKVI

In celebration of the return of the Winamac Kiwanis Club’s Farmers’ Market Festival, the club is inviting every member of the community to downtown Winamac on Saturday, Sept. 8. Jon Frain of the Kiwanis Club says this year’s festival will be packed with live entertainment, food vendors, craft booths, a 5k run, a three-on-three basketball tournament, and the popular pancake breakfast.

The Kiwanis Club encourages families to visit downtown Winamac for a family-friendly day of food, fun, and good shopping. This year’s festival will kick off with the annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at 7 a.m. in the Goble-Heal parking lot.

The club is also seeking vendors and local groups to participate in making this year a success. To fill out a vendor registration form, visit http://www.winamackiwanis.com.

More information will be announced on the event as it approaches.

Pulaski County Assessor’s Office “Cramped,” May Soon Relocate

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

A change of venue may soon be in the works for the Pulaski County Assessor’s office. Assessor Holly VanDerAa approached the county commissioners this week with a request to move her office into the same building as the county building inspector, because she says there is an open room in the building.

VanDerAa told the commissioners that she wants to move her office because the office conditions are extremely tight and they are extremely cramped, and Commissioner Mike Tiede agreed. He said it would be a great idea to have her closer to the building inspector, and Commissioner Ken Boswell said there is merit to looking into the move.

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School Year Approaching – Drive Safe!

Posted on Author WKVI

The school year begins for most students in our area on Tuesday, so be aware that student traffic will be picking up as they begin walking or biking to school.

The afternoon hours are particularly dangerous for children who walk from school. Drivers are asked to slow down around schools and watch carefully for kids who may emerge suddenly from between two parked cars. Children riding bicycles are often inexperienced, unsteady, and unpredictable, so be sure to slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle.

If your child drives to school, remind them of these safety tips as they navigate to school. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S. and more than one in four fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur during the after school hours of 3–7 p.m.

Pulaski County Instrumental In Keeping Starke County Jail Population Down

Posted on Author WKVI
David Pearman

With the Starke County Jail construction project pending, Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen and the county officials are still dealing with overcrowding issues in the jail. Some inmates are being housed in the Pulaski County Jail, per an agreement, to help in the overcrowding situation.

Starke County Council President David Pearman said that he hopes that agreement will continue until the new jail is built.

“The state has certified our jail for 62 beds and as we approach that number, we will continue to house inmates outside our jail in another facility. Hopefully, Pulaski County will want to continue working with us.”

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Bridge 291 Project in Pulaski County Out For Bids in October

Posted on Author WKVI
Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Jeff Larrison of United Consulting presented the Pulaski County Commissioners with an update on the Bridge 291 project this week.

The last two expenses for the Combs property, which was acquired as part of the construction project, were presented to the commissioners. The Combs property was acquired and their moving expenses were paid in accordance with INDOT guidelines, which allow up to $25,000 to be paid to the owners of a property that are required to relocate.

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One Badly Injured in Semi Vs. SUV Accident in Pulaski County

Posted on Author WKVI

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department investigated a two vehicle accident at Highway 421 and State Road 14 shortly before Noon yesterday.

A semi driven by John Kamien of Kansas was traveling south on Highway 421 and came upon a car turning left on State Road 14. The semi truck driver went around the vehicle and ran into a car driven by Wendy Wempler who turned into the path of the semi off of State Road 14. Wempler was severely injured at the scene and was airlifted from the scene to a nearby hospital. The responding officer wasn’t able to get any details from Wempler’s perspective of the accident due to her injuries.

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Fire Destroys Busch Farm Service Building In Pulaski County

Posted on Author WKVI

A fire razed the Busch Farm Service building on County Road 550 South in Pulaski County early Friday morning. According to Francesville Fire Chief Tim Wuethrich, the fire occurred shortly after 9 a.m. and was caused by an electrical issue.

The building was a total loss. Both the office and shop were completely destroyed by the inferno, but Wuethrich says they were able to save the office computer and other records before the fire could reach them.

Fortunately, no one was inside the building when the fire started and no injuries have been reported. Mutual aid was requested from Buffalo, Monon, and Medaryville fire departments, but even with the extra assistance, Wuethrich says the fire continued until they were finally able to control it shortly after 12 p.m.

Medaryville Man Arrested For Leaving Scene of Accident

Posted on Author WKVI

A Medaryville man was arrested on Sunday after reportedly attempting to leave the scene of an accident.

Chester Elder told Pulaski County police that he was traveling on Maple Street in Medaryville and was stopped in the roadway to turn into a driveway when Darwin Wayberg struck the rear driver’s side of his vehicle. Wayberg then kept driving and Elder followed him. Wayberg pulled into the Family Express station and Elder pulled up behind him and blocked him in his parking spot so he would have to wait for the police department to arrive on scene.

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Winamac Clerk-Treasurer’s Office Playing Billing Catch-Up

Posted on Author WKVI

The Winamac Clerk-Treasurer’s Office, at the recommendation of the State Board of Accounts, is attempting to catch up with billing for water and sewer services.

The town had been billing two months behind and found that the method is not cost-effective. If a resident moved out of town or shut off services, the billing cycle would not allow the proper revenue coming into the department in order to distribute deposits.

Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Parish-Berger said that there will be two bills this month. The first bill was due Aug. 5 and the next bill will be due Aug. 30. After that, bills will be due Sept. 25, Oct. 21, and by the time the bill goes out in November, it should be on the right billing cycle. The November bill should reflect October usage.

District 2 Task Force Gets Some Exercise In Winamac

Posted on Author WKVI
A District 2 Task Force exercise was held in the Winamac Town Park.

The District 2 Task Force wrapped up operations yesterday in the Winamac Town Park. Sherry Fagner, District 2 Service and Support Element Leader, explains what the exercise entailed.

“What we’ve done the last two days is set up our equipment, our base camp, and completed a field operation exercise,” said Fagner. “We’ve had a lot of people in from the state and the other task forces to check out what we have. A lot of the other task forces are in the learning stage of forming their service and support groups so they came in to see what we have. We’re doing some best practices from their groups as well as with ours.”

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Pulaski County Designated Drought Disaster Area

Posted on Author WKVI

Pulaski County has been designated as a primary disaster area by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, joining 13 other counties alongside the existing list of 50 counties considered primary natural disaster areas. The USDA on Wednesday also designated 16 contiguous counties as eligible for assistance, bringing the grand total to 80 Indiana counties that now qualify for assistance from the Farm Service Agency.

Representative Tom Dermody of LaPorte says he’s pleased that the USDA expanded their assistance to more counties, because he feels it will be critical to helping Hoosier farmers make it through next year. He says he will continue to advocate on behalf of LaPorte County to make it eligible as well for federal assistance due to the drought conditions.

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Department of Homeland Security Two-Day Training Exercise Today

Posted on Author WKVI

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security District Two will be holding a two-day training exercise today and Tuesday at the Pulaski County Fairgrounds.

This will be a Service and Support Field Operations Exercise to better enhance the District Two Task Force.

Emergency responders will be setting up tents, generators and other equipment to get an idea of what everyone has or will need in case of a specific crisis. The task force is responsible for having food, shelter, and housing available to those who need it at a given response site. Electrical, safety, communications and security experts will come together to coordinate efforts.

District Two covers Elkhart, Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Pulaski, Starke and St. Joseph Counties.

Storms Rock Northern Indiana

Posted on Author WKVI
This image was taken on U.S. 35 north of Knox. Photo by Kim King, Editor of the LaPorte Herald Argus

A massive storm went through the Kankakee Valley this morning. Currently, over 64,338 NIPSCO customers and 14,800 Kankakee Valley REMC customers are without power.

The Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, Starke County Commission President Kathy Norem and Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall urges Knox residents to stay where you are for the time being as many roads in the county are impassable. The storm hit hardest in the Knox, Bass Lake and eastern Starke County areas.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department has communication issues, but the 911 system is working.  A dispatch tower was damaged in the storm.

The Starke County Airport sustained major damage.  Several hangars were destroyed and several planes were damaged.

Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer reports roads closed as trees and electric lines are down.

Listen to K99.3 for updates and check the closing and delays section on this website for closures. Continue reading →