Starke County Commissioners Fail to Approve Dog Kennel Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners ( L to R ) Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Jennifer Davis

Starke County Commission President, Dan Bridegroom, said that the County might be back to square one this week after a dog kennel ordinance failed to gain approval for the third time.

Over 60 dog owners crowded into the County Annex building Monday night to disagree with many aspects of the proposed ordinance that was being presented by Administrator/Building Inspector, Bruce Williams.

After an hour of discussion and comments from the audience, the Commissioners, on a motion by Kathy Norem and seconded by Jennifer Davis, voted to deny the ordinance as presented, and sent it back to the Plan Commission.

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Lawsuit Sparks Talk of New Starke County Jail

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Jail

Talk of a new Starke County Jail has surfaced again. The three Starke County Commissioners talked about visiting other county jails in Marshall, Fulton and Brown Counties to look at the configuration of the buildings.

The announcement of the fact that they would be touring these buildings was made during the June 16th meeting to discuss the Class Action Law Suit brought against the County by Jack Haut, a Starke County Inmate.

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Starke County Commissioners Discuss Class Action Lawsuit

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners ( L to R ) Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Jennifer Davis

The Starke County Commissioners met yesterday to discuss the Class Action Suit brought against the County by inmate Jack Haut. Because the suit is not covered by insurance, the County must come up with the money for legal expenses. County Attorney, Marty Lucas, advised the Commissioners that it will cost a minimum of $100,000 in attorney fees. And he said don’t expect a quick resolution.

Haut, in his suit, is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief because of the conditions at the Starke County Jail. One part of the suit is the claim that the jail is consistently overcrowded.

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Starke County IT Director Submits Resignation

Posted on Author WKVI
I.T. Director Bob Smith

Since December 2007, IT Director Bob Smith has been overseeing all computer-related projects, repairs, installations, and countless other activities in Starke County, and with about 120 county PCs to maintain, he has certainly had his hands full. And so, when Smith announced his resignation to the county commissioners, they were compelled to accept his resignation with a heavy heart. Smith’s last day as IT Director of Starke County will be July 29. Because of the vast number of responsibilities that comes with being a one-man department, Smith announced his resignation over a month in advance to not only finish out some of the current projects, but also to give the county time to find a replacement.

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Starke County Commissioners to Discuss Funding for Class Action Lawsuit

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners ( L to R ) Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Jennifer Davis

The Starke County Board of Commissioners will be meeting Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. to discuss funding for the class action lawsuit being brought against the County by Jack Haut, a prisoner in the Starke County Jail.

Haut has brought suit against the county alleging unconstitutional and unlawful conditions of confinement at the Starke County Jail. In his suit, Haut alleges that the conditions at the jail are consistently and dangerously overcrowded. Continue reading →

Starke County Commissioners Question Claims

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Commissioners discussed a claim submitted by Treasurer Linda Belork for stamps that she says are required to send out delinquent bill notices. The claim, which was for $6,000, was denied because the Commissioners felt they were unable to justify spending such a large amount of money on stamps with the necessary data to back up the claim. Belork was informed that she will need to pull her records and find a more specific number of stamps required for mailing.

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Starke County Commissioners Discuss Dog Kennel Ordinance

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Commissioners ( L to R ) Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom, Jennifer Davis

An ordinance regulating dog kennels was discussed at Monday’s Starke County Commissioners meeting. The Planning Commission has been working on this ordinance for several years, and it has been sent back to the Planning Commission with several comments from the commissioners to consider for correction. The maximum number of dogs that would be allowed outside at any time is six, but the Commissioners had a concern with that and requested it to be changed.

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Starke County Sheriff Requests Increase in Fees for Services

Posted on Author WKVI
Sheriff Oscar Cowen
Sheriff Oscar Cowen

Sheriff Oscar Cowen approached the Starke County Commissioners on Monday to look into the possibility of increasing fees for some of the services they provide. Currently, Starke County charges significantly less for services compared to other counties in the area, and Cowen feels that implementing new fees and raising current prices could help with budget problems they’ve been experiencing.

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Bridge 156 Project Still Hopeful to be Complete by Fall Harvest

Posted on Author WKVI
County bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch

The Starke County Commissioners received a promising update regarding Bridge 156 over the Robbins Ditch on Range Road on Monday. Surveys are expected to be done soon, Debco has provided the loads on the trusses, and everything is expected to be back in operating order in time for our local farmers to use the road during their busy harvest season.

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Starke County Sheriff’s Department Receives Transfer for Pension Fund

Posted on Author WKVI
Sheriff Oscar Cowen
Sheriff Oscar Cowen

The pension fund for the Starke County Sheriff’s Department has received its necessary fund transfer, thanks to Sheriff Oscar Cowen and the County Council. At their joint meeting with the Commissioners, Cowen asked for $108,514.32 to be transferred to the Sheriff’s Pension Fund. This transfer has been requested annually for several years.

“We call it the riverboat money. It comes in, it goes into an account. The only way it can come out of that account is the sheriff has to ask for it. And if the sheriff doesn’t ask for it, it can’t be taken out,” said Commissioner Dan Bridegroom.

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Starke County Health Board Introduces New Fee Schedule

Posted on Author WKVI
Frank Lynch

Starke County Health Nurse, Frank Lynch, presented a new fee schedule for the Commissioners’ final approval.

The fees to obtain copies of birth and death records have been slightly increased to a flat-fee of $10 each. Previously, the fee to obtain birth certificates was $8 for the first copy and $7 for each additional copy, while the fee for death records was $10 for the first and $9 for any additional copy.

A fine of $250 for food establishments operating without a permit has also been approved. This is a very important step in cracking down on food-related infractions, as David Kesvormas, the Starke County Contract Food Inspector, is conducting inspections and will now be able to issue these fines.

On the other end of the spectrum, fees for septic permits have been decreased significantly from $200 for a new install and $40 for repair to a flat rate of $60. This change is due to the retirement of the previous Environmentalist, David Singleton, who was certified and able to perform borings and soil samplings. Because he will no longer be doing so, contractors and home owners will need to hire a soil scientist to perform these procedures, which can get pricey.

Starke County Bridge Project Moving Along

Posted on Author WKVI
County bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch

Starke County Highway Superintendent, Steve Siddall, approached the Starke County Commissioners last night with some good news: The DNR has given them a bit of leeway in the bridge repair situation. IDEM and CORE permitting will not be involved as long as construction stays above the water line, and only the DNR permit will be needed.

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Starke County Commissioners Move Ahead with Bridge Repairs

Posted on Author WKVI
County bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch

The Starke County Commissioners made a decision to move forward with repairs to Bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch at 400 North and Range Road. The heavily traveled bridge was recently closed by an emergency order.

The State had approved a plan to rebuild the bridge but that would have meant two years of the structure being down.

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Starke County Commissioners Discuss Fuel Prices with the Highway Superintendent

Posted on Author WKVI
Steve Siddall

At the most recent Starke County Commissioner’s meeting, Highway Superintendent, Steve Siddall, was quizzed on the situation with rising fuel prices. Commission President, Dan Bridegroom, made the observation that some counties were cutting back on their mowing of county roadways to conserve fuel. He said that he understood that at least two counties were going to only be mowing the intersections.

Siddall talked with Ted Hayes after the meeting about the plans here.

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Starke County Community Corrections Receives State Grant

Posted on Author WKVI
Bob Hinojosa

Starke County Community Corrections Director, Bob Hinojosa, has announced that he has been notified that the Starke County office has been awarded a state Community Corrections grant for $183,718. The funds will be used to staff and maintain the office from August 1st, 2011 until July 31st, 2012.

This is the fourth year the Starke County Community Corrections has received the grant.

This is Correctional Employees Week and Hinojosa wanted to bring it to the attention of the Starke County Commissioners at their recent meeting. Hinojosa pointed out that the offender population has become more aggressive in the past decade and he thinks all law enforcement personnel deserve recognition during this special week. The Commissioners agreed and complimented Hinojosa of the exemplary work done by Starke County Community Corrections.

Jack Haut Files Suit Against Starke County Sheriff, Commissioners

Posted on Author WKVI
Jack Haut

A litany of complaints have been filed by an attorney for Starke County Jail prisoner, Jack Haut. The Class Action allegations were made on behalf of Haut and those similarly situated pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Most of the complaints have to do with alleged overcrowding. Specifically, the Haut suit claims that because of overcrowding prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor in dayrooms for months at a time.

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$10,000 in Damage to Roads Affected by Robbins Ditch Levee Break

Posted on Author WKVI
Looking north on Range Road at the Robbins Ditch

Starke County Highway Superintendent, Steve Siddall, briefed the Commissioners and public Monday as to the damage done due to the levee break last week on the Robbins ditch.

“It broke out Thursday morning sometime and we were notified,” said Siddall. “The water had come across 400 North and then to the south of that on Range Road. Both roads took a pretty good beating. We’re looking at a lot of damage. $10,000 in damage is a rough estimate. I haven’t been up there because we’re trying to let things dry up. We weren’t able to open up Range Road up to 400 North on Friday by putting stone down as the road was impassable. We just barely made it across Friday to put stone down.”

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Starke County Commissioners Discuss Bridge Repair

Posted on Author WKVI
County bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch

The Starke County Commissioners held a lengthy discussion with all involved in the bridge #156 reconstruction or rehabilitation. The bridge, located at 400 North and Range Road, has been closed for approximately a month.

“It is an inconvenience with Range Road being closed, not only just for the farmers but for businesses as well as the Highway Department, schools, EMS, mail carriers, and any other emergency vehicle, ” said Starke County Highway Superintendent, Steve Siddall. “We really want to try and open that back up as soon as possible. The biggest thing is the permits from the DNR. The permits could hold us up for at least six months and hopefully the DNR wouldn’t do that, but you never know.”

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