Troopers from the Indiana State Police, Lowell District will be participating in a drunk driving blitz beginning tomorrow.
Through Sunday, March 18th, officers will work overtime to conduct high-visibility enforcement activities designed specifically to identify impaired drivers. You will see an increased number of officers patrolling for aggressive drivers and unrestrained motorists during the 17-day mobilization.
As gasoline prices go up dramatically at the pump, everyone is considering how to absorb the extra cost of driving.
With gasoline consumption down to the 1989 level, it looks like gasoline prices should be going down. According to Don Good from the Good Oil Company in Winamac, the speculators are holding the prices in the higher price range. There’s something else coming soon that will impact prices, too.
As we look forward to the month of March, it’s time to start thinking about preparing for severe weather. March 18th-24th is Severe Weather Awareness Week and now would be a good time to draft an emergency plan with your family.
Our Accuweather.com Meteroologist, Heather Zehr, was asked what we can start to see as we head into the spring season.
Today is Leap Day! February 29th is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called Leap Day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days.
In the Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are evenly divisible by four are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a solar year by almost six hours.
West Covina, California, became the first area to hit $5.00 a gallon gasoline over the weekend. Could we be far behind? Will it be $5.00 a gallon gasoline for us by Memorial Day?
Don Good of the Good Oil Company in Winamac explains how gasoline prices could be going up so radically while consumption is going down.
A Francesville man was captured after police found him hiding underneath his house.
On Tuesday, February 21st, Pulaski County officers were notified of the whereabouts of Randall Grigsby who was known to have a warrant out for his arrest. The anonymous caller reportedly said he was out of control and that he was on something.
Officers went to Grisby’s house and one resident said she thought Grigsby had left the residence just moments ago. Officers searched the residence and didn’t find him. Officers searched a vehicle on the premises and found drug paraphernalia between the driver’s door and the seat. The item was seized and put into evidence. However, Grigsby was not hiding in the vehicle.
The state Democrat Party is in danger of losing even more seats in the 2012 General Election. Twelve Democrats have announced that they will not be running for the offices they hold now. One of them is Democrat Nancy Dembowski, of Knox.
According to the most recent Howey Political Report, the Republicans only need to pick up seven seats to have a Super Majority in the House. They already have a Super Majority in the Senate. Howey even said Republicans could end up with 70 of the 100 House seats.
With Congressman Mike Pence emerging as a very strong Gubernatorial candidate, the Republicans could be in the enviable position of having a clear path to whatever they want to enact in the next session of the legislature.
More trouble has found its way to the Pulaski County Recycling Transfer Station. Recycling Center Director Ed Clark told the Pulaski County Commissioners that the transfer station’s blade has rusted out with an estimated replacement cost of $4,000. At the same time, cylinders from their equipment have begun leaking oil, and Clark says that these cylinders need repaired immediately. A company has been hired to fix the equipment, but they have received no estimate on the repair.
The latest push to move all of Indiana to the Central time zone has stalled after lawmakers decided not to vote on the measure, effectively killing the issue until next year.
The House Transportation Committee discussed a resolution this week that would have urged the federal government to hold hearings on switching the entire state from Eastern time to Central time. Members of the Central Time Coalition argued that moving the state to Central time would help businesses that deal with Chicago and the West Coast.
After a month of investigating into the scrap metal theft mystery in Pulaski, White, and Jasper counties, felony charges have been filed against six different people.
The thieves have allegedly stolen farm and semi tractors, farm implements, irrigation pump parts, and many other items – all adding up to tens of thousands of dollars being stolen. Pulaski County Detectives Dave Walters and Scott Taylor figured out that the stolen items had ended up in scrap yards. Since scrap yards are required to keep records of where and who their metals come from, they were able to easily find out who the perpetrators were.
Jeff Larrison of United Consulting and Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker told the Pulaski County Commissioners this week that they expect a delay in the construction process of the Monterey Bridge Project because of a delay with the INDOT agreement. Larrison explained that INDOT has pushed bid letting for projects throughout the state back several months and as a result, the Monterey Bridge project is expected to be let for bid in September—a two-month setback from their planned letting in July.
Pulaski County Republicans gathered for the Lincoln Day Dinner at the Star City Community Building last night and heard an address by Gubernatorial candidate, Congressman Mike Pence.
Pence offered a glowing picture for the Hoosier state when he said that he looked forward to “building on the progress Mitch Daniels has won for the people of Indiana.”
An officer from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was called to the Medaryville Town Hall on Friday in reference to a battery.
Phillip Brunton, of Demotte, who works for Allied Waste Systems, was picking up refuse in the area of 203 E. Ridge Street when he was struck in the right side of the neck by an unknown object.
A Medaryville man was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of domestic battery.
The victim told police that she and her husband, Michael Niehaus, had been drinking and had an argument at the bar. They left the establishment and were sitting in their vehicle when he began poking her in the head with his finger. She told police that the action was causing her head to bounce off the passenger side window of the vehicle. They reportedly continued fighting and he allegedly hit her in the face. She exited the vehicle and began to walk away. Niehaus reportedly coerced her back into the truck and they went home.
A Kewanna man was arrested Sunday after police found he was driving his vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
A Pulaski County police officer observed a car coming from The Eagles Lodge in Winamac, traveling at a high rate of speed. The vehicle continued north on U.S. 35 and the officer reportedly saw the vehicle’s speed fluctuate and it crossed the center line and fog line. A traffic stop was conducted at the intersection of U.S. 35 and 700 North. The officer asked the driver, Seth Kasten, to exit the vehicle and participate in several sobriety tests. Kasten reportedly failed all of the tests and a Portable Breathalizer Test showed that his blood alcohol content was .121, which is over the legal limit.
The Pulaski County Health Department will be doing insurance eligibility checks prior to vaccinations beginning next week.
When you go to the Pulaski County Health Department, officials will be asking for the name of your insurance company and Health Plan ID number when appointments are made. An insurance card and Social Security Number will be required at appointment time.
For those who are eligible, the Health Department will continue to bill Medicaid. The following insurance plans are currently eligible: Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Dunn and Associates, Humana, Medicare B, Medicare Railroad, Patoka Valley Health Care Co-op, Southeastern Indiana Health Organization, United Healthcare, and UMWA.
14 cases of the measles have now been confirmed in Central Indiana.
All confirmed cases of measles stem from the initial case which was identified in early February. State health officials stay that no measles cases have been reported as a result of the exposure which occurred at the Super Bowl Village on February 3rd.
GOP Gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence, a U.S. Representative, will be the Pulaski County Lincoln Day Speaker tonight in Star City. The event will be held at the Community Center in Star City. Opposing Pence in the spring primary is Fishers businessman, Jim Wallace.
Pence grew up in Columbus, Indiana and graduated from high school there. He also graduated from Hanover College, and the I.U. McKinney School of Law.
He grew up as a Catholic, who said he had a real spiritual awakening in college. Pence said he is a Christian, Conservative, and Republican in that order. He was mentioned in both 2007 and 2011 as a possible Presidential candidate.
Governor Mitch Daniels says he is receiving more calls urging him to get into the race for President but he will not change his mind.
Daniels announced last May that he would not seek the Republican nomination for President, disappointing many Indiana supporters. But the calls and letters asking him to change his mind have continued and have even picked up in the past few weeks.
Speaking to reporters yesterday morning, Daniels said, “I never wanted to run, and never planned to run.”
Due to bank and federal government observance of Presidents’ Day, unemployment insurance benefits will not be posted on debit cards today. However, Indiana Department of Workforce Development offices and WorkOne Centers will be open.
Payments for eligible vouchers filed on Sunday, February 19th, and Monday, February 20th will be posted to individual debit cards by 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 21st.
