Drivers traveling on State Road 8 near Knox may want to plan a different route, as Norfolk Southern Railroad has temporarily closed the railroad crossing on the highway approximately 1.7 miles east of Knox. The crossing was closed early Monday morning, and officials say it will remain closed until Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
A detour is in place directing drivers from U.S. 35 to U.S. 30, then to State Road 23.
Ten counts have been filed in the Starke Circuit Court against former North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Connie Miller. The charges, which were filed Aug. 22, allege that Miller took unauthorized control over cemetery lot sales, utility receipts, and other deposits and payments from the town during her time as clerk-treasurer.
The charges stem from a special report for the Town of North Judson filed by the State Board of Accounts earlier this year citing alleged financial discrepancies totaling $74,408.67 during the period of time between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2011. Miller was asked to reimburse the town for the alleged discrepancies.
Special Deputy Prosecutor Michael P. Krebes filed the charges against Miller, which consist of nine counts of Theft and one count of Official Misconduct as Class D felonies. The counts of Theft allege Miller kept money from equipment purchases, employee reimbursements, police department receipts, ordinance violation payments, utility customer deposits, and a number of other receipts from the town of North Judson.
Miller’s initial hearing is set for Aug. 31 at 9 a.m. in the Starke Circuit Court.
The Starke County Council last week passed a motion to approve a proposed ordinance to allow American Oak to develop property in the North Judson Industrial Park.
Council President David Pearman says this is a great opportunity to expand the development in the industrial park. He says next to the American Oak property is some land with a lot of scrub trees, and American Oak is interested in putting some money into that property.
A former Knox High School basketball coach was arrested yesterday morning amidst allegations of sexual misconduct with a student that occurred as early as 2007.
Thirty-nine-year-old Todd Boldry of Knox was arrested on charges of Child Seduction and Official Misconduct, both of which are Class D felonies. Starke County Prosecutor Nick Bourff says each of those counts carry a sentence between six months and three years and up to a $10,000 fine. Bourff says Boldry was arrested on school grounds Friday morning.
The Knox Harvest Festival continues today.
There will be many exciting events happening this Saturday at the Knox Harvest Festival. IU Health Starke Hospital, who is the major sponsor of this year’s festival, will host a 5K run with registration at 6:45 a.m. and the race at 8 a.m. Court house tours begin at 9 a.m. today, the Red Cross Blood Drive is at 10 a.m., the Potawatami Zoo Exhibit is at Noon and the annual Harvest Festival Parade will begin at 2 p.m. featuring Grand Marshal Tom Berg. The day’s final major events include a pie eating contest by the main stage, the burnout contest at industrial park, and the pedal tractor pull beginning at four.
Tomorrow, the motorcycle show by O’s Tap and Knox-Center Township Fire Department Car Show registration begin at 9 a.m., courthouse tours resume at 10 a.m., and the festival’s last major events will start at 1 p.m. including revolution wrestling, duck races, and a pet parade.
The Knox Community School Board members spotlighted the high school’s Porter-Starke Counseling Program at their meeting this week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said High School Assistant Principal Michael Bendicsen is on the Porter-Starke Board and he helped initiate this program for students in need.
“Mr. Bendicsen did report that he knew of at least ten students that had taken advantage of and had been helped by this program. A number of other students might have been helped but they can go other directions besides Porter-Starke as he reported. He wanted to also point out that the services are available not just the high school but in the other buildings. So far, the high school is the only one that has been able to take advantage of the services that are being offered,” said Gappa.
With the Harvest Days Festival underway, courthouse tours are set to begin today, offering a unique look at the 115-year-old Starke County Courthouse.
The tours are scheduled today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 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.
The Starke County Commissioners this week approved a motion authorizing Auditor Kay Chaffins to create a separate fund for funds that will be received from the county’s insurance company. The county will receive $75,000 to get started on repairs and pay vendor claims stemming from the June and July storms.
Unfortunately, County IT Director Joe Short says that chunk of change is hardly enough to cover the cost of repairs from the storm – and they haven’t even accounted for all of the items that need repaired or replaced.
The Knox Harvest Festival begins today!
Opening ceremonies are at 3:30 p.m. in the downtown area and the food and craft vendors open at 4 p.m. Enjoy music from Nightshift at 4 p.m. and 30 South at 7 p.m.
Other highlights for this year’s festival include the Courthouse Tours beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the Potowatami Zoo exhibit, and the parade Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., featuring Tom Berg as the Grand Marshal.
Music is scheduled throughout the weekend along with several contests. The BMX competition is set for Saturday and Sunday and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department burnout contest is Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Industrial Park. The fire department will also hold a car show on Sunday at noon at the corner of Lake and Pearl Streets.
Two people pleaded guilty to charges filed against them in the Starke Circuit Court on Tuesday.
William Baugh of Knox pleaded guilty to a charge of Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony. Baugh is accused of pawning several dozen collectible Zippo lighters that had been stolen from a woman in Knox for $300 in February. He also admitted to a probation violation.
The North Judson Town Council this week continued discussion regarding the proposed golf cart ordinance. According to Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry, the town board is still researching a sample ordinance from the state governing golf carts, and she says the council will likely have an ordinance drafted by the next meeting for review.
The town is currently considering the idea of joining several counties, cities, and towns throughout the state that have adopted ordinances regulating where golf carts can and cannot be driven. Henry says that as of right now, the council is unsure as to whether or not golf carts are regulated in North Judson, but this ordinance would rectify that and define clear requirements for their use.
The Knox Community School Board heard about the successful start to the new school year at their meeting Monday night and Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave a report on enrollment figures.
“It appears we’re up about three students total from last year’s ADM count. Last year at this time, we had approximately 1,998 kids and this year we’re about 2,001,” stated Gappa.
The official ADM, or Average Daily Membership, will be taken on Sept. 14.
The Starke County Economic Development Foundation and the SCILL Center have announced the start of a new welding program for high school students within the North Central Area Vocational Cooperative in Starke, Marshall, St. Joseph and Fulton Counties.
The program currently has a full class of 12 students and certified welder Andrew Odle is the instructor of the program.
Repairs are still underway in Starke County in the wake of this year’s storms in June and July. County IT Director Joe Short says one of the most important items they are working on repairing at the moment is the sheriff’s department’s radio tower, which was severely damaged during the storm.
Unfortunately, the tower is unable to be repaired because of the way it is built. Short says the county will need to purchase a new tower, as no tower companies are willing to make repairs to the structure.
The Indiana Division of Nature Preserves is asking you to help protect a state endangered aquatic plant at Bass Lake.
Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman said the plants have been exposed in areas where the water level has dropped and DNR officials have identified off-road and motor vehicle tracks over these plants.
A manufacturer in the Knox industrial park is looking to install fiber-optic cable beneath some streets in Knox to connect their two officers as if they were under one roof.
Jim Hicks of J.W. Hicks approached the Starke County Commissioners this week with a request to allow them to connect their facility at 20 S. Klockner Dr. in Knox with their new facility near the intersection of Klockner Drive and Pacific Avenue.
The Knox Community School Board held a public hearing on the budget Monday night. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said there were no comments on the budget and the board will now move to the next step.
“The board voted to have an adoption meeting at the next board meeting which will be Sept. 5,” said Gappa.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the budget is about $500,000 less than the board advertised last year in the general fund, and it’s a little over $900,000 less for the total budget.
All funds total $23,254,000.
The Oregon-Davis School Board got an update on technology improvements during their meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney said Kevin Kajer and his staff have been working with the school’s website to make it easier for students, staff and parents to navigate.
“We’re going through a platform that makes it easier to get updated information and a goal that would produce individual teacher webpages as part of each building’s webpage design,” said Disney.
Disney hopes all of that can be completed by the end of the school year, if not sooner.
Leadership Starke County is gearing up for its first community leadership training class, and a few openings are still available.
The nine-month training program provides 15–20 local citizens with local knowledge of the Starke County area, skills, network, and confidence to become a leader in the community. Each of the nine sessions in the program focuses on topics related to the county, and allows participants to learn what “out of the box” thinking has done for Starke County and what they can do to improve it.
A man with a violent history and four heinous charges of Child Molestation made his initial appearance in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Forty-three-year-old Steven L. O’Bryant pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him and vehemently denied the allegations, insisting on a lie detector test to prove his innocence.
“These charges are sick and disgusting,” O’Bryant said, insisting that while a lot of defendants claim they are innocent, he is truly so. He insisted that the state subject him to a lie detector test.
O’Bryant requested a court-appointed attorney represent him, as he is financially unable to provide his own attorney. He says since his release from the Department of Corrections on June 6, 2011, he has been unable to find a job because of the tattoos on his face. As a result, Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall appointed Timothy Lemon to his case.
