Starke County Sheriff Jack Rosa recently announced that deputies and jail officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, and representatives from Starke County Community Corrections trained for the first time conducting real world scenarios on the ViTra Simulator at the MAAC Center located in Valparaiso March 8 and March 15.
Continue readingThe first day of candidate filing ended with a few contested races in Starke County. District 2 County Commissioner Don Binkley has filed to run for reelection. He faces opposition from county council member Bryan Cavender. Meanwhile, Dale Conley and Howard A. Bailey Jr. have both filed for the County Council District 2 seat.
Salary increases for the Starke County Coroner’s Office were again discussed during Monday’s county commissioners meeting. Coroner Dannie Hoffer has been looking for a raise for himself and possibly his deputies in next year’s budget. While the final decision would be up to the county council, council members weren’t ready to approve the raise until Hoffer worked out a few concerns with the commissioners.
Problems persist with Starke County’s emergency radio system. Several months ago, the Koontz Lake Volunteer Fire Department was having trouble communicating with dispatchers. On Monday, it was the Knox Volunteer Fire Department that was having problems, according to County Commissioner Donnie Binkley. Continue reading
You can now make a donation to the Starke County Park Board. While the park board oversees a few different facilities, including the Bass Lake Beach and Campground and the Starke County Forest, it does not have a dedicated funding source from the county government. However, the county council last week created a “special non-reverting park and recreation fund,” designed to let the park board accept “gifts, donations, and subsidies.”
Starke County will soon be looking for a new department head as a result of the state-mandated nepotism policy. It prohibits spouses from working in a supervisory role over one another. Continue reading
Starke County’s new flag will be raised for the first time today. It was unveiled during Friday evening’s bicentennial torch relay celebration. Melba Shilling and her late husband, Jim, were inspired by a visit a few years ago to Starke County’s “sister courthouse” in Ottawa County, Ohio. Shilling says the county had its own flag flying. Continue reading
The Starke County Council this week tabled a request from Sheriff Bill Dulin to move money around within his budget. They opted instead to revisit the transfer between the sheriff’s budget and the jail budget in the fall just in case an expense pops up between now and then. The jail budget is running in the red due to the expense of operating a larger facility. Continue reading
The county-owned Dodge Charger used by Starke County EMS Director Keith Emigh will soon be repainted. The former sheriff’s department patrol vehicle is currently a two-tone tan with a light bar on the top. Commissioner Don Binkley has asked repeatedly if it can be returned to a solid color so it is not as easily mistaken for a law enforcement car. Continue reading
