Czarnecki Found Guilty of Charges Including Battery In Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Jennifer Czarnecki

Three guilty verdicts came back in the trial of Jennifer Czarnecki in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday.

Her charges stemmed from in an incident in January where she had come home intoxicated and allegedly “threw” a child at her boyfriend while at her mother’s residence in North Judson. When police arrived at the scene and conducted an investigation, officers attempted to place her into custody and Czarnecki was throwing her arms at an officer and she kicked him in the chest. She also reportedly got out of the back seat of the squad car three times. She was transported to IU Health Starke Hospital for evaluation due to her state of intoxication, and while there, she caused more problems by reportedly yelling and kicking at the hospital staff and spiting at the nurses and the officers.

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Employers Must Take Different Approach To Healthcare

Posted on Author WKVI

Mark Savage, director of occupational services for IU Health, spoke to the Starke County Chamber of Commerce members Wednesday night about the rising cost of health care for the employees of the business.

Savage contended that employee healthcare costs are going to increase for employers if their workforce does not become healthier, and he said employers can anticipate a total healthcare cost increase of 6.2 percent this year over 2011.

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Bass Lake Summer Splash Kicks Off Today

Posted on Author WKVI

The 40th Annual Bass Lake Summer Splash begins today!

The carnival begins at 6:00 p.m. across from Fingerhut Bakery and early registration for the 5K run and walk starts at 6:00 p.m.

Some of the highlights for this year’s Summer Splash include the many arts and craft booths, the Business Expo, the Build-a-Boat contest, Historic Tram Tours, and the fireworks show Saturday at dusk. The parade is Sunday at Noon.

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Starke County Airport Devastated By Storms

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Airport is still reeling from the damage wrought by Tuesday morning’s storms. Airport Manager Pam Beharry says a number of hangars were damaged and some even destroyed, and five planes were totaled while others were untouched by the 70 mph winds that tore through the area.

Fortunately, Beharry says no one was injured and the planes that did suffer damage carried their own insurance. She says a number of insurance adjustors have already visited the airport, not only to assess the damage on the planes, but also to assess the damage at the airport itself.

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Crane To Be Employed For Repairs At Starke County Courthouse

Posted on Author WKVI
The courthouse tower was damaged by Tuesday morning’s storms.

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.

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Starke County Cleanup Efforts Continue In Wake Of Storm

Posted on Author WKVI
Crews work on the tower at the Starke County Sheriff's Department

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower suffered quite a bit of damage from this week’s storm. Sheriff Oscar Cowen says a maintenance crew has come in and removed the portion of the tower that was damaged, and the department has had to re-adapt the antenna to allow them to stay in operation until they can have the tower replaced.

Currently, Cowen says they are waiting for the insurance company to come out and look at the damage to determine what they will replace it with, or what kind of antenna they will be putting up in its place. Cowen says they are not sure how long it will take before the damage is repaired, but he has heard the tower itself could cost anywhere from $35,000 and up – but they won’t have a certain figure until the insurance adjustor gives them the OK to have a company repair the damage.

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North Judson Man Arrested On Charges Including Strangulation

Posted on Author WKVI

A North Judson man was arrested Tuesday on an arrest warrant after he reportedly failed to appear in Starke Circuit Court for a court date.

Bradley White’s charges stem from a battery incident involving his live-in girlfriend and a person who had visited his home on February 27.

During the course of the investigation, police learned that he might be harboring stolen property. A search warrant was obtained by North Judson police and White’s Franklin Street apartment was searched and stolen property was reportedly recovered.

White faces charges of Strangulation, Theft, Possession of Stolen Property, and two counts of Battery.

Starke County Jail Committee Public Meeting Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Jail

The first of three public meetings to address the findings of the DLZ Corporation and Umbaugh and Associates concerning the Starke County Jail project will be held tonight at 6 p.m. in the Knox Middle School Cafeteria.

Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem says different options for a jail will be discussed by the DLZ Corporation.

“One is doing nothing – which of course really is not an option at all – or building an entirely new jail on a green site, retrofitting an existing building to meet the needs of a jail, or remodeling or expanding the current jail,” Norem explained. “They do have some dollars and cents figures attached to each of those options and those are the things that we will be sharing.”

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Be On The Lookout For Unregistered Contractors

Posted on Author WKVI

If you have damage at your residence from Tuesday morning’s storms, be careful who you hire to make repairs on your property.

Knox City Building Administrator Greg Matt asks you to exercise caution and make sure the contractor has registered with the City of Knox before you agree to any contract. Matt explains that when the registration is complete, the contractor will receive proof that he is registered with the city.

“They get a card to carry in their wallet that shows that they’re registered with the City of Knox,” said Matt. “Their vehicles also get hang-tags that have a registration number and says ‘City of Knox’. If someone comes to your door, you have every right to ask to see this identification.”

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Maxinkuckee Players Gearing Up For Opening Night

Posted on Author WKVI

The Maxinkuckee Players will be taking on one of their biggest challenges yet as they prepare for their opening night of Crazy For You at Culver High School. Three of the Players were in the WKVI studios yesterday to talk about the musical play, and Gregg Underwood – who will be playing Bobby Child and Bela Zangler in the play – says it’s a tough show, but they’re ready.

“This is probably one of the biggest challenges that the Players have taken on,” said Underwood. “Lot of choreography, lot of dancing, and we were able to recruit some really talented younger individuals this year that have just stepped up to the plate and are just knocking it out of the park.”

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Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke Counties in Need of High School Career Advisors

Posted on Author WKVI

The Center of Workforce Innovations is in search of qualified individuals willing to serve as advisors for the AmeriCorps Career Advisor initiative. This initiative, which covers seven counties and is going on its second year, will provide Northwest Indiana high school students with career information to assist them in their decision-making process and planning for their future after graduation. United Way of Porter County and AmeriCorps are partnering with the center for this initiative.

Career Advisors will work with teachers and counselors to prepare youth and their families for college, the idea of high wage and high demand careers, as well as lifelong learning. They will also mobilize businesses and community organizations to assist students through the school year and, hopefully, beyond.

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Crews Work on Tower at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department

Posted on Author WKVI
Crews work on the tower at the Starke County Sheriff's Department

The tower at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department sustained damage in yesterday’s storms and crews are on the scene repairing that damage.

“The wind took out the first 60 or 80 feet of the tower, it totally bent it over,” said Starke County Commissioner Dan Bridegroom. “What we’re going to do today (Wednesday) is try to remove the antennas that were on the tower and then take about a 60 foot section off the tower and see if we can replace the antennas to get the coverage throughout the county. This will be the remedy until we get a new tower.”

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Cleanup and Repair Still Underway In Wake Of Yesterday’s Storm

Posted on Author WKVI

Cleanup and repairs are still underway in Starke County following yesterday morning’s storms. More than 80,000 Hoosiers were without power for a period of time, and Kankakee Valley REMC reports that roughly 3000 people are still without power, while NIPSCO says they still have more than 12,000 people out of service.  412 Knox residents remain without power today.

NIPSCO is reportedly bringing in additional crews from Missouri, Wisconsin, and Ohio, and KVREMC says they are working day and night along with neighboring co-ops to get power restored as soon as possible. Lake and Porter counties were reportedly hit the hardest by the damaging winds and rain, which crossed northern Indiana early yesterday morning, leaving downed trees, snapped electric poles and wires in their wake.

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Chester, Inc. Agricultural Division To Relocate To North Judson

Posted on Author WKVI

The Agricultural Systems Division of Chester, Inc. will be locating to the North Judson area.

Chester has added an additional structure in North Judson which is housing a growing inventory of parts needed because of the large number of irrigation systems serviced by Chester.

The Agricultural Systems Division of Chester was established in 1970 when Chester first added center-pivot irrigation systems to their line of products and services. This division now services over 1500 irrigation systems, mostly center-pivot systems, and they also service grain dryers and drying bins.

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Back to School Health and Wellness Fair Set For Aug. 1

Posted on Author WKVI

Healthlinc, Inc. will be hosting the third annual Back to School Health and Wellness Fair on Wednesday, August 1 from 3 to 6 p.m. CT at the Knox Healthlinc Clinic, located at 104 E. Culver Road.

During this event, donated backpacks and supplies will be given to school-aged children, immunizations will be provided, and sports physicals will be available for uninsured and under-insured children. Other information and entertainment will also be offered.

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Storms Rock Northern Indiana

Posted on Author WKVI
This image was taken on U.S. 35 north of Knox. Photo by Kim King, Editor of the LaPorte Herald Argus

A massive storm went through the Kankakee Valley this morning. Currently, over 64,338 NIPSCO customers and 14,800 Kankakee Valley REMC customers are without power.

The Starke County EMA Director Ted Bombagetti, Starke County Commission President Kathy Norem and Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall urges Knox residents to stay where you are for the time being as many roads in the county are impassable. The storm hit hardest in the Knox, Bass Lake and eastern Starke County areas.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department has communication issues, but the 911 system is working.  A dispatch tower was damaged in the storm.

The Starke County Airport sustained major damage.  Several hangars were destroyed and several planes were damaged.

Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer reports roads closed as trees and electric lines are down.

Listen to K99.3 for updates and check the closing and delays section on this website for closures. Continue reading →

Starke County Airport Looking Forward to Expansion

Posted on Author WKVI

There’s not a lot of activity now at the Starke County Airport but Airport Manager, Pam Beharry said a runway extension and the introduction of a different jet fuel will keep the area busy next year.

“We’ll be getting an extension to the 5,001 foot runway,” said Beharry. “We have introduced Jet A fuel for the oncoming turbine operations – turbine as in turbo-prop or jet aircraft. We’ve got a few coming in on a regular basis. We’re just looking forward to a lot of business and improvements coming in the future.”

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Statewide Water Shortage Could Force Bass Lake Pumps to Cease

Posted on Author WKVI

With a statewide water shortage warning in place, the Bass Lake Conservancy District warns that if the shortage hits the emergency level, the pumps which pour millions of gallons of water into Bass Lake will be shut off.

The DNR notified the Bass Lake Conservancy District of this situation last week. If the pumps are shut off, all boats in the lake will need to be taken ashore as soon as the emergency is declared or the boat may not be able to be transported out of the lake. The lake levels will deplete quickly.

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Public Information Meetings Scheduled For Starke County Jail Project

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Jail

The Starke County Jail Committee met recently and a consultant from the DLZ Corporation gave the committee options concerning the jail. Commissioner Kathy Norem said several public information meetings have been scheduled to inform county residents of those findings.

“The first will be Thursday, July 26 at the Knox Middle School Cafeteria at 6 p.m., or you can attend one of the other two meetings,” Norem explained. “One will be Tuesday, July 31 at the Oregon-Davis High School Cafeteria at 6 p.m. or Wednesday, August 1 at 6 p.m. at the North Judson-San Pierre High School Auditorium.”

Norem says a number of options were presented by DLZ, and each of them have their pros and cons.

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Whitt Sentenced To Ten Years For Dealing in Methamphetamine

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse

Cole Whitt, Jr., of Plymouth, was recently sentenced to prison following a hearing before Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall.

Whitt pleaded guilty to Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class B Felony in a plea agreement accepted by Judge Hall which dropped charges of Possession of Precursors, Methamphetamine and Marijuana. The judge took into consideration that Whitt had been to prison twice before he rendered his decision, sentencing Whitt to 10 years in the Department of Corrections with none of that sentence suspended. Upon completion of the CLIFF program and at least six years of his sentence, he can petition the court for a modification of his sentence.

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