No contraband was found in the personal belongings of the 62 Starke County Jail inmates, according to Sheriff Bill Dulin. Continue reading
Starke County Officials Celebrate Justice Center Completion
Starke County’s new jail is ready for occupancy. Officials celebrated the completion of the 144 bed, state-of-the-art facility yesterday with a public dedication and ribbon cutting, attended by more than 300 people. The $15.4 million project came in on time and under budget and gives Starke County the distinction of going from the oldest jail in the state to the newest. The old facility across from the courthouse opened in 1977. It will be renovated into office space for Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Continue reading
Starke County Offices Closed for Jail Grand Opening
Starke County government offices will be closed for awhile today so employees can attend the grand opening ceremony for the new jail. The program gets under way at noon at the site east of Knox on State Road 8 and 550 East. The Starke County Courthouse, annex and highway garage will be closed from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The public is invited to the building dedication gala and memorial garden ceremony. Tours will be offered until at least 6 p.m. after the formal program concludes, and Sheriff Bill Dulin and his command staff will be on hand to answer questions. Food will also be served. Continue reading
County Officials Extend Hours for Jail Tours
Tours of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center will be offered until at least 6 tomorrow evening. The public is invited to the grand opening and building dedication of the state-of-the-art facility on State Road 8 at 550 East. Tours will be offered after the noon formal program and memorial garden ceremony. They were originally scheduled until 4 p.m., but the county commissioners and Sheriff Bill Dulin have agreed to extend them so people can stop by after work. Tours will be offered as long as people are in line waiting to see the inside of the building. Dulin and his command staff will also be on hand to answer questions. Food will also be served. Continue reading
Grand Opening Celebration Planned for New Starke County Jail
Members of the public are invited to the grand opening and building dedication of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center on State Road 8 at 550 East, east of Knox. Festivities will take place Friday, May 22. After the formal program and memorial garden ceremony at noon, tours of the state-of-the-art facility will be offered. Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin and his command staff will be on hand to answer questions, and food will be served until 4 p.m. Continue reading
New Jail Nearly Finished
The new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center will be finished in time for the May 22nd public dedication ceremony. Contractors are working through punch lists now for the new building east of Knox on State Road 8 and should have the final repairs done by the end of next week. Any lingering issues should be addressed before inmates move in on June 1st. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Approve CenturyLink Agreement for New Jail
The CenturyLink equipment used by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office will be upgraded when they move into the new jail east of town. The county commissioners Monday approved an agreement for $1,431 for one-time upgrades and a monthly fee of $5.75 for the next three years. IT Director Joe Short advised the communications company is recommending new equipment at the new facility. Continue reading
Starke County Government Offices to Close for Jail Dedication
Starke County government offices will close so employees can attend the dedication ceremony for the new jail. It’s scheduled Friday, May 22. Last week the county commissioners agreed to close the courthouse, annex and other county offices from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Continue reading
Starke County Officials Planning Jail Grand Opening
Starke County officials are making plans for a May 22nd open house to celebrate the completion of the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center. Contractors are putting final touches on the new facility east of Knox on State Road 8 and will have the building ready to turn over to the county by May 1st. Continue reading
Grand Opening Set for New Starke County Jail
The new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center is still on schedule to open this spring. A public open house is tentatively planned for Friday, May 22, and inmates will be transferred to the facility on June 1. The building is located east of Knox on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Open Courtroom Bids
Bids for the courtroom build-out at the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center are under advisement. The county commissioners opened eight bids for general trades and four each for mechanical and electrical work. The project design engineer is reviewing all to make sure they meet specifications prior to a special-called Starke County Building Corporation meeting on Monday, Jan. 19. The building corporation will make formal recommendations to the Starke County Commissioners, who are also scheduled to meet that evening. Continue reading
Starke County Jail Remains On Schedule, Under Budget
Construction of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center remains on schedule and under budget. Contractors are presently working on the plumbing, electrical and mechanical connections at the site east of Knox on State Road 8. Continue reading
Starke County Jail Construction Still on Schedule
The site of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Detention Center east of Knox is looking less like a job site and more like a finished building. Crews have started grading around the building on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East and are getting ready to pave the parking areas. That work will be done before Thanksgiving, according to a schedule presented last week to the Starke County Building Corporation. Continue reading
New Starke County Jail Still On Schedule and On Budget
Construction of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center is still on schedule to wrap up next spring. Information shared with the Starke County Building Corporation indicates the metal addition to the rear of the existing building on State Road 8 east of Knox is 80-percent finished. Continue reading
Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center Takes Shape
The new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center east of Knox on State Road 8 is still on schedule for a spring 2015 completion. The project is also on budget and features a number of state-of-the-art amenities like video visitation. Commissioner and Starke County Building Corporation President Kathy Norem says it will be much safer and will cut down on the import of contraband into the jail. Continue reading
New Water Line Benefits Both Starke County and City of Knox
The new water line installed for the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center not only helped that county project, but it has helped the city in its firefighting capabilities.
According to Knox Water Superintendent Todd Gardner, 28 existing fire hydrants on East Culver Road were barely able to meet the minimum requirement of 500 gallons per minute for firefighting capabilities. With this project, water flows at a capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute while maintaining a good pressure on the water main.
Fire Pump Necessary for New Jail Facility
The $29,000 to add a fire pump to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center was money well spent by the Starke County Building Corporation. The project to extend city water lines to the site east of Knox is finished, but the water pressure is still short of what is needed to suppress a fire at the facility. Building corporation members approved that expenditure last month in order to keep the project on track with the additional wiring that would be necessary for the installation. Completion of the new building is still scheduled next spring.
Meanwhile, the committee appointed last month to discuss future uses for the current jail facility is in the very early stages of exploring options. The building will have to be used for something within the scope of corrections since it was used as collateral for the bond to build the new structure. Continue reading
Jail Water Line Delay Potentially Costs County $29,000
The Starke County Building Corporation may have been able to save $29,000 had the water line extension from Henry Drive east to the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center been finished by its April 1 deadline.
The existing water lines to the building on State Road 8 at County Road 550 East are not wide enough to provide enough pressure should the building catch on fire. The county and city opted last fall to run new lines to the facility and contract the work out. The Knox City Council accepted a bid from Mark Milo Enterprises to do the work.
Starke County Officials Discuss Coroner Space
New Courtroom May Be Added to Jail Project
