With the Primary Election only seven weeks away, the Starke County Farm Bureau is sponsoring a Meet the Candidates night tonight at the Knox High School Cafeteria. The event begins at 6:00 p.m. CT and you are invited to bring a list of questions for the candidates.
The Indiana State Police is making it easier for retailers to dispose of synthetic drugs.
Retailers and private citizens can dispose of K2, Spice or bath salts at any Indiana State Police post. Any quantity can be disposed until Sunday, March 25th. You will not be arrested if you take the illegal substance in your possession to your nearest police post for proper disposal. The closest headquarters in our listening area are Bremen, Lowell and Lafayette.
Police troopers around the state conducted saturation patrols in conjunction with Operation Pull Over Blitz #70 and the St. Patrick’s Day Holiday. The patrols concentrated on taking impaired and dangerous drivers off the roadways.
It was on this date in 1979 that the Starke County Council gave approval to the County Commissioners to pursue the matter of constructing a County Highway Garage. The approval followed a presentation by Commissioner Robert Ferch in which preliminary plans were outlined. Earlier in the day, the commissioners approved the purchase of 10 acres of land for the new garage. A purchase agreement has been drawn up for the land, which is located on County Road 250 North and 375 East off of U.S. 35. The land is near the Arrowhead property which was under consideration as a site for a time last year.
You couldn’t get by people “wearin’ the green” on Saturday– and what better place to wear the green than at the Irish Pub in North Judson?
Here’s a picture of Paula McMahon, snapped by our own Teddy O’Hayes. Paula and her friends were enjoying corn beef and cabbage and a green beverage.
Also reported to have been there celebrating was our own Lenny Desauer, plus his wife Julie, and several members of the family.
Members of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security District 2 All Hazards Incident Management Team have returned from an eight-day deployment to Clark County to aid in tornado disaster relief. The team, comprised of 15 area volunteers representing seven counties, provided incident command for recovery efforts.
The EF4 tornado that ripped through the area destroyed 500 structures and 13 people died. The District 2 team assumed command of the incident and worked closely with volunteers from across the region to restore the affected communities.
George Wedow, 32, of Michigan City, Indiana, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in South Bend to felony charges of selling, delivering, possessing, training, receiving and transporting animals for the purpose of having the animals participate in an animal fighting venture. Sentencing has been set for June 14th, 2012. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Wedow was arrested January 13th at his residence at 5589 N. 600 W. in LaPorte County where a large dogfighting operation was found that involved 12 dogs and dogfighting equipment. Police also reportedly found 70 pounds of processed marijuana at the residence. Police also searched a Grovertown residence and found 19 more dogs.
This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week.
We’ve had a lot of severe weather already in this early spring season and our Accuweather.com Meteorologist Heather Zehr offers this advice.
“The big thing to remember is that it happens every year, we just have to go through and make our general precautions and make sure that we stay alert,” urges Heather. “We need to pay attention when those watches, and especially those warnings are coming out in any given storm situation.”
Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill last week that revises the provisions governing the use of golf carts on certain highways.
If you use golf carts in any county, you must have a valid driver’s license. The bill suggests that a fine be assessed for a violation of the ordinance to be deposited in the general fund of the county. It also allows an operator of a golf cart to cross a highway in the state highway system, at right angles, in order to travel from one highway to another highway under the jurisdiction of the county when the operation can be done safely. A violation of an ordinance governing the use of a golf cart on a state highway in a county is considered an ordinance violation.
Family and friends took time out of a Sunday afternoon to attend a retirement ceremony for Edith Gurrado and Meda Howard. The pair are retiring after 103 years of service to first Starke Memorial Hospital and more recently IU Health Starke Hospital.
Meda Howard was asked about her 43 years with the hospital.
Two Knox residents were arrested after police found an active methamphetamine lab at their residence.
On Thursday, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Indiana State Police conducted a search warrant at 4335 E. 200 S. in Knox and arrested Mary Fort on two valid Starke Circuit Court warrant for revocation of probation.
Indiana State Police officers received consent to search the property by all parties involved and they found an active one pot method methamphetamine lab, precursors, methamphetamine, and paraphernalia.
Randall Appleton was arrested after the search. Appleton and Mary Fort both face Manufacturing Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Maintaining a Common Nuisance.
The Starke County Election Board met this week. Clerk Evelyn Skronski, a board member, talked about the agenda items discussed.
“We’ve got our absentee hours set, and we’ve got all of our full training hours set, and the county chairs are working on getting their poll workers,” said Skronski.
Some polling places needed upgrades in handicapped parking and accessibility.
“We talked about what we need to get done for handicap-accessible precincts, so we’re going to do that,” said Skronski.
To help upgrade handicapped accessibility Mrs. Skronski said they received a grant.
“I recieved a $10,000 grant from the Help America Vote Act, to be used for making sure the polling places are all handicap-accessible– signage, painting of parking places, repairing or repaving some of the parking lots,” Skronski said.
Absentee voting begins Monday April 9th. And the travel board will go out April 28 through May 7th. The May 7th. board will only go out until noon.
Even though the Starke County Fireworks display is three and a half months away, Councilwoman Linda Berndt brought her fellow councilmen up to date on the planning.
“I’ve got a couple more ideas, but I want to present them at the fireworks meeting, which we need to make a decision when to have it. June 23, the Nelson’s Port-a-Pit is booked for the fire station on the south end,” said Berndt.
The Porta-pit chicken sale will be in June, but before that is a fish fry at the Knox Moose Lodge on April 20th. Mayor Rick Chambers is also working on the event.
Everyone is encouraged to attend any fundraisers to help defer the cost of fireworks to the county.
Don’t forget the Abate Fund Raiser tonight at the Bass Lake Golf Course. It all gets started at 6 p.m. and you’ll be helping the community efforts of a great group. The cost is only $10.00 for food and dancing.
The band Half Track will be performing and Ted Hayes talked yesterday to bass guitarist Terry Young of the band. Terry is also a member of Abate, and talks about what the money from the event will be used for.
“This is a fundraiser for Abate in general, they use this money for their motorcycle education-type things and stuff down state,” said Young.
Ted took the opportunity to ask Terry about the band.
“The band has been doing well, we’re working on getting a new CD out. Hopefully we’ll have it completed by the end of June and looking forward to it, really,” said Young.
This is one of the hardest working bands around. Terry tells how many weekends the band is out.
“We do about 32-35 weekends a year, we kind of cut it back because years in the prior we were doing over 40, so it’s kind of nice,” said Young.
The event is called Fistful of Dollars, and it’s being held tonight at the Bass Lake Golf Course.
The Court of Appeals has rejected Ernest Wireman’s cumulative error claim following a nine-day trial in June of 2010 in Starke Circuit Court. Wireman was accused of brutally murdering his wife, Mary, before burning down the trailer with her inside and shooting her son, Jeremy, who survived the attack. Wireman pleaded insanity to the charges against him, but was found guilty but mentally ill of Murder, Attempted Murder as a Class A felony, and Arson as a Class B felony and ordered to serve 110 years in the Department of Corrections.
The Starke County Jail Committee, that has been selected to address the problems at the aging Starke County Jail, received notice that House Bill 1213 passed on the last day of the session. The approval allows the Starke County Council to increase the County Economic Development Income Tax to finance, construct and equip a jail facility. The County Council is only permitted to raise enough funds to cover the costs of the jail and the additional tax rate cannot increase more than .65%.
A mediation session conducted by former Starke County Judge Marvin McLaughlin will be this morning at 9:00 a.m. McLaughlin, a current Starke County Councilman, volunteered to mediate a disagreement between Merit Board President Ken Arnett, and Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen.
The pair appeared before the County Council in mid-February. Arnett requested funds to fight a suit brought against him and the merit board members by the Sheriff.
Starke County experienced a significant jump in unemployment in January, according to the most recent figures. Starke County’s percentage jumped from 10.5% in December to 11.7% in January. That placed the county in a tie for fifth place with Blackford County on the highest unemployment rates in the state.
Vermillion County had the highest rate at 12.3%.
Two Knox residents were arrested on drug charges on Wednesday.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department received information regarding a possible methamphetamine operation at 2135 S. Rhea Street in Knox. After an investigation, detectives applied for a search warrant for the residence, which was granted. Starke County and Knox City police officers executed the search warrant and reportedly found an active one-pot method methamphetamine lab, precursors used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, the finished product, and drug paraphernalia.
The Northwest Indiana Community Action Corporation, on behalf of the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, will be taking names of Starke and Pulaski County residents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program beginning March 30th.
The housing choice voucher program is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments.
