A Knox High School graduate is the new Starke County Emergency Management Agency director. The county commissioners last night hired Jacob Lippner to fill the vacancy created by Ted Bombagetti’s recent resignation to take a state position. Lippner wants to raise the profile of the office and ensure good communication between local, state and federal agencies. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners to Consider Personnel Requests Tonight
Several items on the agenda for tonight’s Starke County Commissioners meeting pertain to plans for 2016. Tonight’s EMS report includes a request for a pay raise for the director next year. Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler will also ask the commissioners to create new employment positions in the 2016 budget. In other personnel matters, the commissioners will also make an employment offer to a candidate for the emergency management agency director position vacated recently by Ted Bombagetti. He resigned from the county to take a position with the state. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Settle Pending Litigation
The Starke County Commissioners decided to settle some pending litigation at a special meeting on Thursday night, however, the Reid Collins Tsai team will be present to make sure everything goes well.
Among the settlement agreements discussed was with former Veterans Service Officer Terry Turner. An age discrimination claim was filed with the state civil rights commission following his termination on June 15th.
Starke County Commissioners Adopt Confined Animal Feeding Ordinance
Starke County now has policies and procedures in place to regulate commercial hog farms and similar operations. The commissioners Monday adopted a confined animal feeding ordinance that is more strict that the standards the state already has in place. Continue reading
Council Approves Funds for Additional Jail Officers
Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin can hire two additional full-time jail officers after action Monday night by the Starke County Council.
Starke County Commissioners Defer Forest Discussion
Starke County Park Board members are encouraged to attend the next county drainage board meeting to discuss their concerns about the marsh in the Starke County Forest. Board member Debbie Mix told the commissioners park board members are looking at other sources of grant funds to cover the cost of constructing a bypass ditch along the south end of the property to alleviate drainage issues. Continue reading
County Commissioners May Hire IT Director Tonight
The Starke County Commissioners are poised to hire a new information technology director for the county when they meet tonight. They interviewed prospective candidates to replace longtime director Joe Short during an executive session meeting last week. Short is leaving the county to take a job in South Bend. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Award Bridge Bid
A LaPorte-based construction company will replace the bridge on 100 East wet of 500 South in Starke County. The commissioners unanimously accepted the low bid of $319,175 from LaPorte Construction. It’s $13,000 under the engineer’s estimate for the project. Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler notes they’ve done the last three bridge projects for the county and have done a good job. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Recommend Additional Jail Hires
Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin has the blessing of the Starke County Commissioners to hire two additional full-time jail officers. First the county council must appropriate the money to do so. Indications are it will come from the tax money collected to pay for the jail project. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Defer Drainage Decision
The Starke County Commissioners have agreed to wait until after next week’s park board meeting to make a decision about drainage issues in the Starke County Forest. Continued beaver dam activity along the Anderson Ditch is causing drainage problems for neighboring landowners. Several sent a petition to Starke County Surveyor Dennis Estok and to the DNR requesting a solution to the problem. Continue reading
Starke County Forest Dam Discussion Continues This Evening
The discussion of how to handle drainage issues caused by beavers in the Starke County Forest will continue during tonight’s county commissioners meeting. Surveyor Dennis Estok and representatives from Walkerton-based Territorial Engineering will present a proposal to the commissioners during their 6 p.m. session. The Drainage Board decided earlier this year to open a drainage point in the Starke County Forest. A beaver dam is causing neighboring land to flood. The Starke County Park Board, which oversees the forest, has since stepped in and asked that a long-term solution be found to the problem. Continue reading
Starke County Officials Name Redevelopment Commission
Starke County once again has a populated county redevelopment commission board. The volunteer body was established by the commissioners in 2006 and set up a tax increment financing, or TIF, district near the intersection of U.S. 30 and U.S. 35 in Hamlet. It allows property tax money generated in a specific area to be recaptured for infrastructure improvements in the area. By doing so, the land becomes more attractive to other potential business and industrial tenants. The five parcels of land in the Sysco TIF district have generated $15,427.71 for the county. That money is receipted by the auditor and parked in a special account. Continue reading
IU Health Starke Hospital President Updates Council, Commissioners
IU Health Starke Hospital intends to renew its lease with the county for the current facility. President Craig Felty told the council and commissioners Monday a formal notice will be forthcoming in 30 to 60 days. Right now due diligence is continuing in the proposed acquisition of IU Health Starke and LaPorte Hospitals by Community Health Systems. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Reaffirm Support for EMS Policies
Pre-hospital emergency care remains the first priority for Starke County EMS, but it is not their only charge. The Starke County Commissioners reaffirmed that mission statement during their meeting Monday night. A recent Facebook posting about a lack of available county ambulance service due to transfers between facilities prompted the discussion. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Accept Employee Resignations
The Starke County Commissioners last night accepted resignations from two longtime employees. Continue reading
Starke County Council to Consider Salary Ordinance Ranges
The Starke County Council will consider salary ordinance ranges for county employees when they meet this evening. Their agenda indicates proposed 1, 2 and 3 percent increases will be discussed, along with an adjustment to the state’s mileage rate. Continue reading
Former Veterans Service Officer Seeks Hearing, Reinstatement
Former Starke County Veterans Service Officer Terry Turner contends the county commissioners denied him his due process and violated his constitutional right to free speech by not allowing him to speak during a recent meeting. Turner was fired during the June 15th commissioners meeting. He filed a grievance against the commissioners for wrongful termination, claiming President Kent Danford never gave him any oral or written warning about any improper actions. Turner also asked for a list of veterans who have complained about his job performance. The commissioners conducted an executive session grievance hearing with Turner and upheld their action during their July 6th meeting, citing his status as an at-will employee. Continue reading
Commissioners Outline Timeline for Facility Renovations
Proposed renovations to the Starke County Courthouse and old jail building across the street will start next spring and wrap up by the end of 2016 under a timeline adopted last night by the county commissioners. Plans call for the former jail building to be turned into office space for Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Purdue Extension will move from the courthouse into the basement, and space will be incorporated for a county morgue facility. Continue reading
Starke County EMS Still Hiring EMTs and Paramedics
Starke County EMS is still looking for EMTs and paramedics. Director Keith Emigh told the county commissioners this week his goal is to have all three bases adequately staffed in order to offer county-wide Advance Life Support Service around the clock, seven days a week. Continue reading
Senator Decries Legislature’s “Education Session”
A local lawmaker says the recently completed session of the Indiana General Assembly was the most trying and most contentious of his nine-year legislative career. Gov. Mike Pence touted it as the education session. Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, agrees this year’s 2.2 percent increase in school funding and next year’s 2.5 percent hike are the largest increases in education funding in history.
“It sounds very good. The downside of that is that the vast majority of our increased money now is going to vouchers and going to charter schools, not going to public school systems,” Arnold recently told the Starke County Council and Commissioners. “The big winners of this are going to be the urban schools. The rural schools such as Knox are going to be the big losers.” Continue reading
