Starke County Council President Dave Pearman encourages the public to attend the public hearing of the County Council and Commissioners on Monday, May 14, at the Starke County Annex Building.
The county officials will discuss the possible amendment of the county ordinance restricting the use of the proceeds from the lease of Starke Memorial Hospital dated October 1st, 1996. The amendment would authorize the use of up to $50,000 in Save the Hospital Funds to be used to hire a consultant to evaluate the hospital’s real and personal property. Starke County Council President, Dave Pearman, said you are encouraged to attend this public hearing to ask questions and voice concerns.
Knox Mayor Rick Chambers says his efforts to get American flags flying along U.S. 35 are going well, but he’s not sure if he’ll be able to get them up by Memorial Day.
Chambers says the American Legion donated a $400 check on Friday to get the project started, and he has already contacted the local VFW, who has informed him they are willing to help and are looking into what they can do to assist the cause. The Tri-Kappa organization has also said they would like to help the effort.
North Judson Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry wants to remind citizens of North Judson that the town will be flushing hydrants on the nights of May 13 and 14, so residents should keep in mind to run their water to ensure there is no rust in the line. Henry says if you’re doing a load of laundry, run an empty cycle first to avoid any rust in the wash.
It will be a busy week in the City of Knox this week. It’s Spring Clean-up week! Knox Mayor Rick Chambers suggests utilizing two big dumpsters to throw out large, bulky items. The dumpsters will be located behind City Hall.
An additional salary ordinance for the town of North Judson is in the works. The ordinance would qualify town employees that earn a pesticide applicator license for an additional $.50 raise per hour.
That license was previously not included in the set of three licenses that would qualify an employee for a raise, but a number of workers took the class and qualified for the test. One hourly-paid employee took the class, passed the test, and will soon receive his license– but if the town council wanted to consider increasing his hourly rate by $.50, they would need to pass this ordinance.
The first and second readings of the ordinance were passed on Monday night, and a notice will be sent out to local papers publishing the ordinance. A third reading is expected to take place at the first meeting of the council in June.
The Starke County Tourism Board met this week and the members discussed putting together the county’s Traveler Magazine.
President Julie Dessauer said the 32-page manual will be distributed to all of the truck stops in the state of Indiana and will feature all the attractions Starke County has to offer. Now that all of the organization’s finances have been restored, advertising for the magazine can be secured and printed.
The board is also making plans for the Yellow River Fest in Hamlet to take place in August. A unique triathlon is scheduled and more details on that portion of the Yellow River Fest will be released once plans are finalized.
The Spotlight on Success portion of the Knox Community School Board meeting featured fifth grade teacher Corey Bucher, who talked about a recent “Natural Disasters in Science” field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Superintendent A.J. Gappa summed up the presentation.
“Mr. Bucher also had two students, Kaitlyn Lindberg and Kevin Lovins, to show the reports that they had done and they reported to the board,” said Mr. Gappa. “They talked about their trip and Mr. Bucher was extremely happy that they were allowed to go and talk about all of the positive things that came out of the trip that the fifth grade took to Chicago.”
Things may soon be looking a bit purple in Knox, thanks to the Paint the Town Purple effort for Relay for Life.
Megan Hamand of Key Bank says that supporters will be hanging posters, putting up yard signs, tying purple ribbons around various items in the city, and they will encourage local businesses to show their support for Relay with a window decorating contest. Hamand says she will begin passing out flyers to storefront businesses next week informing them of a competition.
The goal of the competition is for local businesses to decorate their storefronts in purple and encourage visitors to donate money for Relay. Community members can “vote” for the best-decorated business by making a donation to Relay For Life in the business’s donation canister, and whichever business raises the most funds will receive six months of free advertising through Main Street Computers in Knox.
Hamand says she feels local businesses will participate in the event because the community has always shown such a high level of support for the Relay For Life organization.
“I just think that Relay for Life is such a community-wide event. I think everybody really embraces it, so it’s kind of fun to drive through the week before Relay and see the entire town purple and just get a feel. Especially if you’re battling cancer, or if you’re a cancer survivor, just to see that the whole community is behind you, that’s kind of a cool thing,” said Hamand.
The event will take place from May 28 to June 1, with the Relay to take place on June 8.
The North Judson Town Board’s plan to increase the size of the board from three members to five will be presented to the public for their approval in November on the general ballot. According to Clerk-Treasurer Donna Henry, voters will be asked if they support the referendum to increase the board’s size after the Starke County Election Board ensures it gets on the ballot.
Back Row: Greg Matt, Mayor Rick Chambers, Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, Donald Kring, City Attorney David Matsey. Front Row: Linda Berndt, Jeff Berg and Ron Parker
The Knox City Council this week discussed the replacement of a lift station near Clabaugh Drive and U.S. 35. According to Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston, the council is looking into covering 50 percent of the cost using their TIF funds, with the other half to be taken from the Cumulative Sewer Treatment Fund. Houston says the expected cost of the project is $188,301.08.
A Valparaiso man was arrested May 7 after he reportedly broke into the M.C. Smith Funeral Home in Knox.
The owner of the funeral home, Mark Smith, told police that Sonny St. John’s mother had died and was at the facility, but St. John wanted to change funeral homes. St. John learned that his mother’s trust was paying for the funeral and he reportedly told Smith that he found another home that could do the funeral for cheaper. Smith said St. John could not have the money back from the arrangements already made because it was illegal. St. John allegedly became belligerent and began saying that he would burn down the funeral home if he didn’t get what he wanted. He also threatened to break into the business and take his mother out of the facility. Smith told police that the threats really didn’t mean much– until he saw St. John leaving the facility when he was not there and the doors were locked.
A man accused of breaking into a Knox residence on April 28, 2010 was found not guilty of two charges against him following his jury trial on Wednesday.
James Watts was accused of breaking into a home at 4168 South CR 210 in Knox and stealing multiple tools and gas. He was charged with Burglary as a Class C felony and Theft as a Class D felony after a cigarette found in the residence matched his DNA. The owner of the home, Orlean Janasz, told police that she didn’t know him and nor did her family.
Thursday was a busy day for the Starke Circuit Court, where several initial hearings were heard.
Daily James Potter received his initial hearing in the court and received a number of important dates, including his attorney status hearing on June 6 at 9 a.m. His first pre-trial conference will take place July 18 at 8 a.m., with his second pre-trial conference and plea agreement deadline on August 16 at 8 a.m. Potter is charged with Aggravated Battery as a Class B felony, Robbery as a Class B felony, and Battery as a Class C felony. His bond remains at $75,000, and he was ordered to have no contact with the victim in his case.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave a report to the school board about the recent bus inspection. He says the state police have changed the procedure in inspecting buses.
“In the past, they used to do in the summer and we had weeks to prepare our buses. Now, because the state has cut back on the number of troopers that do the inspections, they have to do them throughout the year,” said Gappa.
IU Health Starke Hospital and IU Health LaPorte Hospital employees will be building a led panel for 25 homes in celebration of Habitat for Humanity of Indianapolis’ 25th Anniversary.
The assembly begins Friday, May 18th and volunteers will be working in one-, two- or four-hour shifts building panels for the homes. You are welcome to help in the process. Volunteers will receive a Habitat for Humanity/IU Health t-shirt. Light refreshments and sunscreen will be provided.
Now that the Oregon-Davis property tax levy has passed, what’s next?
Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney said that he’s relieved that the levy passed and now he and the School Board are looking forward to enjoying the end of the school year on a positive note and planning for the 2012-2013 school year. State budget projections are a little vague at the moment, but Dr. Disney is confident that with the passage of the referendum the numbers will fit their needs in order to successfully manage the school. The corporation continues to operate off of its Rainy Day Fund to conduct everyday business.
The Starke County Commissioners heard more bridge news from Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall, who informed them that Bridge 34 will have to be removed from the county inventory and replaced with a culvert.
Siddall says that repairing the bridge, which he described as “shot,” would cost roughly $340,000– a hefty price tag for the county that is currently sinking available funds into more time-critical projects. He said the bridge could instead be removed and replaced with a culvert at an estimated cost of $20,000, saving the county over $300,000.
The members of the Starke County Jail Committee are planning jail tours for next week.
Starke County Commissioner Kathy Norem said that the members will be visiting the Porter County Jail and the Jasper County Jail to view the size of the facilities and to see if those jails would match the needs of a facility in Starke County.
Representatives from the Starke County Public Library approached the Knox Community School Board members Monday night to discuss their upcoming expansion project. Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that the library’s property is just north of the Knox Elementary School property and part of their project involves the school.
This week is National Hospital Week, and IU Health Starke Hospital Director of Finance Rosie Heise says the staff has been celebrating this week with different activities for the 180 employees at the facility.
“It’s to promote ‘Best People Making a Difference,’” said Heise. “It’s just to say thank you to all of our colleagues for the great job that they do. We are going to be celebrating Foundation Day to promote the Starke Health Fund and we’re also going to have a picnic lunch, free giveaways to our colleagues and just really celebrate everything they do.”
