As gasoline prices go up dramatically at the pump, everyone is considering how to absorb the extra cost of driving.
With gasoline consumption down to the 1989 level, it looks like gasoline prices should be going down. According to Don Good from the Good Oil Company in Winamac, the speculators are holding the prices in the higher price range. There’s something else coming soon that will impact prices, too.
Starke County’s Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, or CADA, is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from Kankakee Valley REMC.
CADA received the money through the Operation Round-up Trust grant program. The money will be used to expand the Phoenix House, a transitional housing program for victims of domestic violence and their dependent children. The additional space will add meeting/advocacy rooms for clients, additional office space and storage space for donated items for victims of domestic abuse. A restroom will also be built for convenience of advocacy volunteers.
As we look forward to the month of March, it’s time to start thinking about preparing for severe weather. March 18th-24th is Severe Weather Awareness Week and now would be a good time to draft an emergency plan with your family.
Our Accuweather.com Meteroologist, Heather Zehr, was asked what we can start to see as we head into the spring season.
The 17th Annual Young Artists Conference at the North Judson-San Pierre Elementary School, Liberty site, is scheduled for March 10th. The lunch and entertainment fee is $5.00. The conference is for students grades 1-5. Ventriloquist Beth Sutton-Cummins will be an afternoon presenter.
Today is Leap Day! February 29th is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called Leap Day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days.
In the Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are evenly divisible by four are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a solar year by almost six hours.
The Oregon-Davis proposed operating referendum will not impact the Circuit Breaker if approved. That information was received yesterday from Curt Pletcher of Umbaugh and Associates in Plymouth.
“With a referendum, a school corporation would have a question on the ballot which would have a maximum tax rate,” explained Pletcher. “When a school really pursues an operating referendum, they look at their state support for their General Fund. If a referendum is passed, it is not subject to the Circuit Breaker caps. In other words, the levy would not impact the current Circuit Breaker tax credits for the school or the overlapping taxing units.”
West Covina, California, became the first area to hit $5.00 a gallon gasoline over the weekend. Could we be far behind? Will it be $5.00 a gallon gasoline for us by Memorial Day?
Don Good of the Good Oil Company in Winamac explains how gasoline prices could be going up so radically while consumption is going down.
Two fisherman found a dead alligator in the Kankakee River in Starke County yesterday.
Jeff Brewer and his father, Steve Brewer, discovered a dead alligator stuck in a logjam about two miles downstream from the English Lake Public Access site. They just launched their boat and were headed out to fish and Jeff Brewer spotted the foot and tail of the alligator sticking out of the water. They retrieved the alligator and met with Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman. The four-foot, seven-inch alligator’s mouth had been taped shut and officer Wildeman believes that it had been dead for a while and it was a pet that outgrew his welcome. It was released unlawfully into the river. Wildeman believes this to be an isolated incident.
The Starke County Tourism Board, which has been in the news recently surrounding a misappropriation of funds incident, has recently reorganized.
Taking over the President’s position is Julie Dessauer. Dessauer replaces Rich Wieczorek. Other board officers are Vice President John Hensler, Secretary Thom Morin, and Treasurer Tabitha Dillner. Wieczorek remains on the board as a voting member, but not an officer.
Why is the Circuit Breaker so important to every property owner in Starke County?
The Circuit Breaker is part of a property tax relief measure offered to various types of property. Spending in one area of government, when it trips the Circuit Breaker, means spending must be reduced somewhere else.
Prescription drugs, alcohol, and illegal drugs. Is it the perfect combination for an exhilarating high, or a mind altering cocktail that ends in death?
It is no doubt that people even addicted to one of these need to contact a delray beach rehab or any alcohol recovery center for that matter, and get into their programme, let alone people are confidently or unconsciously using all these three together, resulting in a deadly cocktail. Literally!
Porter-Starke Addictions Councilor, Leo Smith, has seen at least 50 people he knows die from this type of combination in the 10 years he’s been working with clients in Starke County.
The state Democrat Party is in danger of losing even more seats in the 2012 General Election. Twelve Democrats have announced that they will not be running for the offices they hold now. One of them is Democrat Nancy Dembowski, of Knox.
According to the most recent Howey Political Report, the Republicans only need to pick up seven seats to have a Super Majority in the House. They already have a Super Majority in the Senate. Howey even said Republicans could end up with 70 of the 100 House seats.
With Congressman Mike Pence emerging as a very strong Gubernatorial candidate, the Republicans could be in the enviable position of having a clear path to whatever they want to enact in the next session of the legislature.
A feud between Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen and Merit Board President Ken Arnett has spilled over into a public squabble. Ken Arnett came before the Starke County Council Monday night requesting funds to fight a suit brought by the sheriff against the Merit Board.
“I’m here requesting funding for attorneys fees for the Merit Board,” said Arnett. “As I’m sure you’ve probably know, a suit has been filed against the Merit Board.”
The latest push to move all of Indiana to the Central time zone has stalled after lawmakers decided not to vote on the measure, effectively killing the issue until next year.
The House Transportation Committee discussed a resolution this week that would have urged the federal government to hold hearings on switching the entire state from Eastern time to Central time. Members of the Central Time Coalition argued that moving the state to Central time would help businesses that deal with Chicago and the West Coast.
Starke, LaPorte and Marshall counties, along with other counties in Northwest Indiana, are under a Winter Storm Watch from 6:00 p.m. CT tonight through Friday morning.
A mixture of rain and snow is expected to develop this afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation is expected this afternoon, but precipitation will become more widespread this evening and will likely be in the form of a rain/snow mix before becoming all snow late this evening into the overnight hours. The snow may be heavy at times before gradually tapering off Friday morning. Heavy, wet snow may fall at rates greater than an inch per hour tonight resulting in slippery and potentially hazardous travel conditions.
The Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County Board voted 8-2 yesterday to have Jennie Carter remain as its Coalition Coordinator at least until an audit of the organization is completed. Two of the board members, Leo Smith and Clint Norem, voted no and Smith said he felt Carter should be suspended until the audit is received to show the community that the organization was transparent.
Another member, Diane Koenig, who made the motion, said she was of the opinion that because of the Double Dare event coming up, Carter was needed to plan and coordinate the activities.
The recent revelation of misappropriated money from Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County and Starke County Tourism has caused embarrassment to members of several interlocking boards, and consternation on the part of county government officials. Those government officials expressed anger and frustration at this week’s Starke County Council meeting.
What’s ahead for Oregon-Davis schools? Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney appeared before the Starke County Council Monday night to discuss the school’s General Fund Referendum that will appear on the primary ballot in May. Because of a decrease of almost $400,000 in funding announced by the State Board of Education in October, Oregon-Davis has been left scrambling for revenue.
The SCILL Center will be offering a 16-week comprehensive welding class for adults. SCILL Center Director Jerry Gurrado says the course has been in demand.
“One of the things that is needed in our area, between Sabre, Kruz, Dragon Industries, and Hicks, is welding. We need good welders,” said Gurrado.
Gurrado said that a member of his board and others in the community agreed that an adult welding program is needed in the community. The plans now are for the class to be taught at Knox Middle School.
14 cases of the measles have now been confirmed in Central Indiana.
All confirmed cases of measles stem from the initial case which was identified in early February. State health officials stay that no measles cases have been reported as a result of the exposure which occurred at the Super Bowl Village on February 3rd.
