The Monterey Days Festival gets under way tonight at 6 p.m. EDT with the Mister and Miss Monterey Days Pageant. Music will be provided by DJ Ruff Kutt Entertainment at 8 p.m. This marks the 17th year for the festival with “Bridge to the Future” being the theme. The festival continues on through Monday. Visit the Monterey Days Facebook page for a complete schedule.
Three long-time employees at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department will be honored today in recognition of their retirement.
Detective David Walters and dispatchers Susie Hemphill and Connie Haschel are retiring after serving the Pulaski County community for many years.
The staff will be holding an appreciation gathering today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET at the sheriff’s department in the training room. A baked potato bar will be featured and cake will be served.
Marshall County police are investigating a recent report of a police impersonator in the area.
The victim told police that he was pulled over for erratic driving after he swerved to miss a dog in the roadway. The vehicle the impersonator was driving was a tan Ford Taurus with an older style full light bar on top which displayed flashing red and blue lights. There were no grill lights, spotlights or decals on the vehicle.
The impersonator was described as a Caucasian male, 5’11”-6’ in height, muscular build with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a uniform with brown pants with a dark stripe down the side, but there were no patches, badges or other law enforcement identification on the uniform.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski will visit Pulaski, Starke, Marshall, St. Joseph and LaPorte Counties next week as part of a district-wide education tour. She wants to hear from education officials, community leaders and students about ways to improve opportunities and prepare students for a globally competitive workforce. Continue reading
The 17th annual Monterey Days Festival is back this weekend.
Festivities get under way Friday with the Mister and Miss Monterey Days Pageant.
Saturday’s events include the Knights of Columbus pancake and sausage breakfast at 8 a.m. EDT and free carnival rides at 10 a.m. while the tractor pull will start up an hour later at 11. Later on Saturday The Monterey Days Parade will begin around 5 p.m. and will be followed by kiss the pig contest.
The lights are back on for NIPSCO and Kankakee Valley REMC customers after a strong thunderstorm rolled through the area yesterday afternoon. Neither utility is reporting outages at this time. Yesterday more than 1,000 NIPSCO and 230 Kankakee Valley REMC customers were without power. Continue reading
Summer is finally here. The hot days ahead remind us of some safety tips and guidelines to help you stay safe from the heat. Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch says hydrating is a key element to staying cool.
“People need to stay hydrated, try and stay in the shade, try and stay in cool area,” said Lynch.
With this week’s heat getting up to the level it will, Lynch says anyone can be susceptible to the heat.
“Any type of diabetes, heart conditions, respiratory problems. When the heat index starts getting up to where they are supposed to be this week, anybody’s susceptible.”
We’re in for another hot, humid day across the Kankakee Valley. Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 80s to around 90 today. It will feel much warmer due to increasing humidity. By this afternoon the heat index is expected to be in the 95 to 100 degree range. Outdoor workers are urged to take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. If you have outdoor pets, make sure they have ample water and plenty of shade as well.
The town of Medaryville is the recipient of a $450,000 grant from the state Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) for a wastewater system improvement project. The money will be used to build a biodome structure into their current lagoons to meet Indiana Department of Environmental Management standards. Continue reading
The Winamac Town Council is still weighing its options with regard to the community swimming pool at the Pulaski County Family YMCA. Continue reading
Community members are invited to learn more about Starke County’s newest school during a spotlight breakfast. It’s scheduled at The Crossing campus on U.S. 35 next to Save A Lot on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 a.m. The faith-based alternative school opened recently and provides a combination of classroom and vocational training for students who have dropped out, been expelled or otherwise fallen through the cracks in the public school system. Continue reading
A demolition order has been moving forward on a property next to the old hotel in Medaryville and Brian Capouch told the Pulaski County Commissioners this week that they found some historic items in the old floors in the building.
“Underneath the floors, which they had put in in 1910, we found big, thick stacks of newspapers,” told Capuch. “I have a story here, from a Chicago paper, is the notice that Mr. Comiskey is about to build a new ballpark for the Sox. This, for me, was way more valuable, it’s a letter. The old man who had the hotel was ill and this was a letter that he got from a drugist from Royal Center – which was spelled C-e-n-t-r-e at the time, as a receipt for 50 bushels of corn he bought for 46 cents a bushel.
Winamac teenager Clark Gudas’ dream of building a stake park as an Eagle Scout project has come true. The community is invited to celebrate that accomplishment today at the grand opening of the Winamac Skatepark. It’s located in Rinehart Park next to the Pulaski County Family YMCA. Gudas oversaw all aspects of design, fundraising and construction.
“After years and years of work and not being sure if this was actually going to come together, being able to actually see the concrete being poured and see the final product – It’s just amazing to see that I did this,” Gudas said. He’s completed the necessary paperwork for his Eagle Scout project and is waiting for his board of review.
Flash flood warnings are in effect this morning for parts of the WKVI listening area. The National Weather Service has issued warnings for Starke, Pulaski, Fulton and LaPorte Counties. Additional rain is expected until about 8 a.m. Central and could cause problems in low-lying areas. Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall may also lead to flooding of small creeks, streams, highways and overpasses. Should water start to rise, move to higher ground immediately.
The unemployment numbers for Starke County continue to decrease.
Ron Gifford from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation said the numbers have been quite encouraging.
“Since January of this year, we’ve seen our labor force grow by almost three hundred more people out there actively seeking a position,” said Gifford. “There’s almost five hundred more people employed than there were in January and the ranks of our unemployed have depleted down by about 180. They’re actually finding jobs and the people that had been out of the job market for some period of time apparently are coming back to it.”
The second of two new overlooks at Tippecanoe River State Park will be formally dedicated during a brief ceremony tomorrow. Jenise Barnhouse donated money to the project in memory of her father, Floyd.
Several businesses contributed too, including DeSabatine Brothers Excavating, Good Oil Company, Galfab Inc., Two Guys Mechanical, Plymouth Tube, Gabe Wheeler and Wheeler Construction and Jason Keller and Keller Construction. State park employees and friends of Tippecanoe River State Park volunteers also assisted. Last year volunteers tore out the old overlooks to build the new structures. The first overlook was dedicated earlier this year. Through the generosity of many groups of individuals the overhaul of two river overlooks is complete and ready for visitors to enjoy nature at the park. Tomorrow’s dedication begins at 11 a.m. EDT behind the park’s nature center.
A representative from U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski’s office will be in Starke, Pulaski and Marshall Counties next week to help local constituents who need to access federal government services. Continue reading
High school football season starts tonight. Rivalries are renewed and a clean slate means anyone can make the impossible happen. WKVI and sportstothemax.net will be broadcasting a combined 20 regular season football games. Entering his 50th sports broadcasting season, Harold Welter will be ready to go tonight along with sports director Nathan Welter. They will have the call from Winamac, where the Warriors are taking on the Knox Redskins. Their broadcast starts at 6 p.m. CDT on WKVI FM. Continue reading
The executive director of the Pulaski County Community Development Commission updated the county commissioners this week on plans to revamp the zoning ordinances.
Nathan Origer explained that the county council approved the transfer of funds from the CDC land acquisition account for the project and plans are progressing.
“Once I have the CDC’s formal approval and the plan commission’s formal recommendation to the commissioners, I will bring it to you. I will get a copy to you in advance as soon as we tweak any details. I sent a list of minor concerns to the company that has submitted the proposal. They don’t anticipate starting the project until mid-November and finishing in early spring. We are still negotiating with Francesville and Winamac to see if either of them want to adopt that same ordinance so that even though they’ll retain their same jurisdictions the rules will be the same across the county,” said Origer.
