After having a long, successful law practice in Starke County, LeRoy Gudeman has decided to retire.
Gudeman worked by himself out of the same building across the street from the Starke County Courthouse in downtown Knox since moving to the area in 1957. He has been a part of the community in many activities and has been on the Kankakee Valley Broadcasting board of directors that oversees operations at WKVI for many years.
Women and men from all across our nation have been putting their lives on the line to defend the United States of America for centuries. The city of Knox is teaming up with the St. Joe Valley Blue Star Mothers of Indiana #6 to honor those heroes with a welcome home parade. It will take place on Sept. 13th. Continue reading
Early voting for the May Primary Election continues. The last day to vote absentee is Monday, May 5.
Early voting in Pulaski County is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. and from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET until May 2. You may vote in the Pulaski County Courthouse each day with the exception of this Friday. This Friday is Good Friday and the courthouse will be closed.
The public testing of voting machines will take place on Monday, April 7 at 10 a.m. CT on the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse.
Starke County Election Board officials encourage you to get acquainted with the electronic Microvote machines before you cast your important ballot in the May 6 Primary Election.
Voters in the Knox Community School District are examining a referendum question on the ballot that asks permission to move forward with a construction project at the Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School.
Hasnerl said the presentation will be held on April 18 as part of National Library Week April 14–20 at the library, where a video will be shown with loads of information and history. Hasnerl said that even those who visit the courthouse on a regular basis are surprised by some of the things they’ve learned from the video.
With the Harvest Days Festival just a week away, courthouse tours are set to begin this weekend, offering a unique look at the 115-year-old Starke County Courthouse.
The tours are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These tours have been conducted since 1994, and during that time, more than 5000 people have visited the courthouse’s eight floors and watched as the clock and bell ring out, tolling the time to the residents of Knox.
Trees blew down around the Starke County Courthouse Tuesday morning and according to Maintenance Director Carl Goodrich, there was damage to the courthouse tower.
“This outfit from Wabash, Atlas Engineering, they came and checked out the structural parts of the tower and that seemed to be okay,” explained Goodrich. “The only thing that really sustained damage was the tile and the capping up there [on the tower]. They’re going to give me an estimate, by Monday hopefully, and see what the repairs are going to cost.”
The repairs need to be done at the very top of the courthouse, which stands over 150 feet tall. That work will be done by crane and a reliable crane operator.
Wreaths were laid at the Starke County Courthouse military memorial yesterday as part of the Wreaths Around America program. Wreaths, which were donated by Hensler’s Nursery, were laid in the ceremony yesterday that involved both American Legion and VFW members.
Honored were our nation’s war heroes both past and present.
Santa Claus arrived right on time yesterday afternoon for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Starke County Courthouse. Accompanied by several beautiful young ladies from the recent Miss South Bend/Kankakee Valley pageant, Santa came in on a Knox-Center Township Fire Department fire truck.
On the count of three, Mayor Rick Chambers flipped the switch on the Christmas tree and proclaimed the Christmas season’s beginning.
The Knox Christmas tree lighting ceremony is Sunday, November 27th.
Prior to the tree lighting, the firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Fire Department will parade its fleet of trucks on Main Street at approximately 4:30 p.m. The parade will end at the Starke County Courthouse in the downtown area. The firemen will be delivering Santa Claus to the tree lighting ceremony that will begin at 5:00 p.m. on the Courthouse Square.
The Starke County Choralaires will be singing Christmas carols during the event. Immediately following the tree lighting ceremony, Santa will make his way to the Knox Community Center where he will hear what children want for Christmas. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
The Knox Christmas tree lighting ceremony is on Sunday, November 27th.
Prior to the tree lighting, the Knox-Center Township Fire Department will be sponsoring a Christmas Parade. The fire trucks will leave the South Side Fire Station at approximately 4:30 p.m. and travel north on Main Street to the Starke County Courthouse in the downtown area. The firemen will be delivering Santa Claus to the tree lighting ceremony on the Courthouse Square at 5:00 p.m.
Only five contested races on the ballots could mean a low turnout in next Tuesday’s municipal elections in Starke County.
Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski was asked how the absentee balloting was going.
“We’ve had three full days and 21 hours and we’ve had 25 voters so it’s slow,” she said.
The Starke County Jail Committee met Friday afternoon at the Starke County Courthouse. The committee has been assembled to look at options for building a new, or renovate, the troubled Starke County Jail.
The committee concentrated on the Needs Assessment Study on Friday and were left with assignments to complete before the next meeting on November 14th.
Absentee voting begins this Saturday, October 29th in Starke County. Voting will be conducted on the voting machines for the races in the City of Knox and the towns of North Judson and Hamlet in the Starke County Courthouse.
Voting will be from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, and Monday through Saturday next week. Absentee voting will also be available from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Monday, November 7th and Thursday, November 3rd from 1:00-4:00 p.m. and from 5:00-9:00 p.m.
The Knox City Council, on a unanimous vote Tuesday night, gave Mayor Rick Chambers the go-ahead to do the sidewalk work on the Courthouse square to make it ADA accessible.
“We’ve discussed doing something with that sidewalk to make it handicapped accessible on the west side of the Courthouse and I’ve talked with several contractors,” said Mayor Chambers. “We’ve went over ADA regulations and I’ve talked with the Commissioners and I don’t feel comfortable just diving into that project without having it engineered.”
The Starke County Election Board set absentee voting times for the November Municipal General Election yesterday. Absentee voting will be available Saturday, October 29th and Monday, October 31st through Saturday, November 5th from 8:00 a.m. to Noon and from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the Starke County Courthouse. On Thursday, November 3rd, the hours will be from 1:00-4:00 and from 5:00-9:00 p.m.
The Travel Board will start collecting votes beginning October 20th.
The Starke County Courthouse elevator is scheduled to be up and running by October 1st.
That was especially good news to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall who has been moving his docket to accommodate people who could not get to the third floor for legal matters, because they were unable to climb the steps due to disabilities.
The County Commissioners discussed cleaning the murals on the walls and ceilings at the Courthouse. A figure of $100,000 was initially used to do the work, but after a check with Jim Shilling, it was decided that it might be as low as $13,000. The Commissioners also discussed seeing if the Division of Historic Preservation might be able to release some grant money to help finance the project.
