Wanted Starke County Man in Custody

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
James Watts

A Starke County man was taken into custody Saturday after Knox City Police officers received a tip on his location.

According to Knox City Police Chief Harold Smith, officers went to a home in the 400 block of W. Lewis Drive in Knox after confirming that James Watts had several outstanding warrants in Starke County and Marshall County.

Police say Watts fled to the back of the home when officers initially made contact with him. Starke County Sheriff’s K9 Zardoz was deployed into the residence. In a search of the home, K9 Zardoz located Watts who was reportedly hiding in a crawl space. According to police, Watts initially attempted to fight with the K9 and was bitten. Watts was then placed into custody.

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Starke County Sheriff’s Office Receives Award from Porter-Starke Services

Posted on Author Jacque Ryan

Porter-Starke Services, the local not-for-profit community mental health center, has a mission to enhance the quality of life in our community through prevention, treatment, education and research. The organization presents the Service to Community Mental Health Award to individuals in the area who are contributing to that mission.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Office recently won the award for their work with inmates. Sheriff Bill Dulin described receiving the recognition as a huge testament to the hard work the jail and Starke County Staff does on a daily basis that sometimes goes unnoticed. Continue reading →

Overdose Cases Cause Shortage of Narcan

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Starke County first responders had an emergency of their own after running out of Narcan to assist in five apparent heroin overdose cases in a six-hour span on Saturday.

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According to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, a heroin overdose was called into the dispatch center on Saturday at 9:20 a.m. Two men were found after responders had to breach a door in order to get inside to tend to them. One was found unconscious on the floor and another on a bed inside the home in the 400 E. block of 200 S. Starke County medics were able to revive the man on the floor using heroin antidote, Narcan.

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Starke County Sheriff’s Department Asks to Use Hamlet Gun Range for Firearms Training

Posted on Author Michael Gallenberger

Hamlet officials want some more information before agreeing to let the Starke County Sheriff’s Department use the indoor firing range at the town’s sewer plant. In a letter to town officials, Sheriff Bill Dulin offered to have his firearms instructors qualify the town’s police officers free of charge, in exchange for letting them use the range to qualify officers from other departments.

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Starke County Sheriff Looking for Pay Increases in Next Year’s Budget

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin commented to the Starke County Council in mid-July that he would like to see a pay increase for the staff at the Starke County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Dulin said that his department is the lowest paid in the county. His staff has a lower wage than those working for the Starke County EMS, Starke County Highway Department and even the town and city police departments within the county. Officers are leaving the department to seek the same employment in other jurisdictions because of pay.

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Starke County Council to Review Officer Pay

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin asked the county council members to review the pay scale for the sheriff’s department.

Sheriff Dulin said he’s losing officers to other departments and the salary offered is not competitive with other departments. In fact, he told the council that he’s lost four officers. He said it’s hard to attract applicants with what he’s able to offer. Dulin mentioned that his department is the lowest paid department in the county and the eighth lowest in terms of competitive salaries in the state.

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One Arrested after Standoff in Starke County

Posted on Author Anita Goodan

One man is in custody after a standoff in Starke County.

Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin said police responded to a residence around 5:30 p.m. CT at 700 E. and 400 N. in Grovertown where a subject had barricaded himself inside the house.

Police reportedly could not get him to exit the house and the Indiana State Police Swat Team was called to the scene. After a few hours, Sheriff Dulin said the subject was taken into custody without incident.

WKVI News will release more information about this incident when it becomes available.

Two People Found Dead in Monterey

Posted on Author Anita Goodan
 

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Starke County Coroner’s Office are investigating the death of two people in Monterey.

According to Sheriff Bill Dulin, police were conducting a welfare check Friday night at a home in the 800 block of Elm Street when the pair were found. Autopsies are scheduled for Monday.

The incident remains under investigation and more information is expected to be released on Sunday.

First Starke County Jail Drug Treatment Program Participants Graduate

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Therapeutic Community Program Coordinator Leo Smith and Sheriff Bill Dulin pose with the program's first graduates
Starke County Therapeutic Community Program Coordinator Leo Smith and Sheriff Bill Dulin pose with the program’s first graduates

The first graduates of the Starke County Jail’s substance abuse treatment program for inmates awaiting sentencing were recognized during a ceremony yesterday at the facility. The voluntary, grant funded program launched in September as a partnership with Porter/Starke Services. Continue reading →

Starke County F.A.R.M. Nominated for Award

Posted on Author WKVI
An inmate works in the garden at the Starke County F.A.R.M.
An inmate works in the garden at the Starke County F.A.R.M.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Office is in the running for an award from the Indiana Department of Correction for an innovative new program. The inaugural jail garden, known as the Starke County F.A.R.M. is nominated for a People’s Choice Award from the Cultivating Community Gardens with the I.D.O.C. program. Continue reading →