A new popup store, the acquisition of the Sabre property, and a Frisbee golf course are among the topics that will be discussed by the Knox Redevelopment Commission this afternoon. The city is looking to set up its second popup store downtown, after the Rabbit Coffee Company successfully took up permanent residence in the city’s first one.
Continue readingA property donation could mean a popup space for a new industry and extra storage for the City of Knox. During a special meeting Tuesday, the city council voted to accept the gift of the Sabre property on State Road 8, at the recommendation of Mayor Dennis Estok.
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A Valparaiso man was arrested after a theft incident at Sabre Manufacturing in Knox on April 9th.
Knox City Police responded to Sabre Manufacturing after a call came in about a suspicious vehicle. When police arrived on scene, two forklifts were parked next to the vehicle. According to police, the vehicle’s back glass window was open and wire was hanging out of the back. The employees said they blocked the vehicle in so it couldn’t leave. The employees reportedly told police that they saw a man, later identified as Michael Bundy, Jr., and Bundy reportedly said to the employees that he was intoxicated and he did something bad. He then left he area on State Road 8. After an investigation, it was learned that the wire in the vehicle was stolen from the factory. The vehicle that had the wire in it returned to a relative of Bundy Jr.’s. The employees said that Casan Bogan, Bundy, Jr.’s cousin and a janitor at Sabre, was also seen in the area where the wire was taken. Both had reportedly been drinking earlier in the evening.
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation will play host to its “Prospectus and Achievements Night” on Thursday, November 10th at 5:30 p.m. CT at the Knox Community Center.
Several awards will be given that night, and over the next few days, Charles Weaver, the Executive Director of the Development Foundation, will announce the recipients.
Four industries will be getting expansion awards.
The General Manager of Sabre Manufacturing was at the most recent meeting of the Knox City Council to discuss upcoming plans for the company. Jason Riese told the Council that with the acquisition of property east of the plant, they can expand the facility and add a new product line.
Labor Day is coming this year on the heels of some promising news from the Starke County Economic Development Foundation Office. Executive Director Charles Weaver has had exciting announcements about Sabre and J.W. Hicks, Inc. in the past few weeks. Both announcements included promises of more jobs down the road.
Of course, the community is most anxious to hear about the Sysco project. That project has been hold for several years due to the economy. This summer has brought much speculation that something might be coming to the site near Hamlet.
Weaver, though, has not issued any information on the project except to say that he’s still very hopeful that it will become a reality. If the Sysco Distribution Plant would end up being built here in the not to distant future, it would be a real shot in the arm to a county that has been hovering around 10% unemployment for many months.
There is more good news on the economic front today. We recently reported on the proposed $1 million dollar expansion at Reagent Chemical and Research Inc. and now, Sabre Manufacturing is planning an expansion.
The Knox City Police Department recently acquired a 1985 Hummer from the Federal Surplus Property Acquisition Program that Police Chief Clint Norem said they received at no cost to the Department.
“Any property that the Federal Government has or has purchased and no longer needs is made available to law enforcement agencies throughout the United States,” explained Norem. “In order to acquisition this property, we submit an application to them and once approved, we’re assigned an ID and we can go to a website and review this property. Anything that can be used by our department, we submit the request. Once they review it and we can provide a reason of how we can use it and they agree with that, then they will allow us to pick up the property.” Continue reading
