A recovering heroin addict shared a sobering message with 16 Starke County Jail inmates who are part of the in-house drug treatment program. Herb Stepherson says he always felt like an alien in his own skin and started smoking cigarettes when he was 15 in order to fit in with his peers. It worked, and soon afterward Stepherson discovered alcohol as another means of escape. He went from binge drinking with high school friends on the weekends to skipping school and sneaking out of the house after his parents cracked down on him. Continue reading
The Starke County Commissioners have approved the purchase of a screen to keep commissary trash from the jail out of the city’s sewer system. 
The Starke County Commissioners will consider amendments to the confined animal feeding ordinance fee schedule when they meet this evening. The Starke County Plan Commission recently approved a flat $500 flat permit, along with a $75 filing fee to offset the cost of processing the application. They also doubled the re-inspection fee to $100 for all permits. It will be charged when the county is called out to conduct an inspection, but the work is deemed to be incomplete. 
The Starke County Commissioners will have a better idea of the scope of renovations to two county buildings after their meeting tonight. Representatives from architectural firm DLZ and contractor Skillman Corporation will share final design plans for the revamped courthouse and renovated former jail. They will also provide a breakdown of costs for the work. 
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. 
The inmate garden at the Starke County Jail is thriving. Zucchini should be ready to pick by the end of the week, and cabbage and potatoes are also coming along well, according to Jail Warden Phil Cherry. 
