Governor Mitch Daniels says he is receiving more calls urging him to get into the race for President but he will not change his mind.
Daniels announced last May that he would not seek the Republican nomination for President, disappointing many Indiana supporters. But the calls and letters asking him to change his mind have continued and have even picked up in the past few weeks.
Speaking to reporters yesterday morning, Daniels said, “I never wanted to run, and never planned to run.”
While serving three arrest warrants on Robert Singleton and Matthew Baker, officers found the suspects Friday at 415 N. State Road 23 in Knox—along with an active methamphetamine lab and a slew of drugs in the presence of two young children.
When they arrived at the residence, officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Knox Police Department found Baker entering a vehicle and moved to detain him before finding an active one-pot methamphetamine lab in his hand. A brief altercation ended with a handcuffed Baker in the back of a squad car.
Starke County Highway Superintendent, Steve Siddall, recently distributed a priority schedule for bridges in the county to county officials. 19 bridges are on the schedule and Siddall explained what the schedule means.
“It gives us an overall look at what bridges need immediate work and what the time frame is for the type of work or the year – if it needs to be replaced or rehabbed. It depends on what the bridge companies think that we’re going to have. The life span of the bridge is also taken into consideration,” stated Siddall.
Due to bank and federal government observance of Presidents’ Day, unemployment insurance benefits will not be posted on debit cards today. However, Indiana Department of Workforce Development offices and WorkOne Centers will be open.
Payments for eligible vouchers filed on Sunday, February 19th, and Monday, February 20th will be posted to individual debit cards by 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 21st.
Congressman Joe Donnelly took a few minutes to talk on the House floor about Robert Tauteris, Jr., of Hamlet, who died while serving his country in Afghanistan.
Robert’s two sons, Robert J. Tauteris III and Mathew, plus his daughter-in-law, Kayla, watched his speech from the gallery in the House chamber.
The Board of Directors of Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County met in Executive Session this week. According to Board President Judy Jelinek, the board will be meeting in an open session Wednesday, February 22nd, and will discuss the appointment of a financial committee and a personnel matter.
The appointment of a financial committee will be new for the organization as financial matters were handled by the state in the past. Quarterly reports were sent to the state by the local organization.
There is still no final decision in the matter regarding the building permit issued to Julia Ford for a structure at 6690 East 250 North in Grovertown following the recent meeting of the Starke County Board of Zoning Appeals.
Neighbor Betty Dotlich objects to the permit, citing the structure as commercial and not residential and, therefore, the structure should not be allowed to remain on the property. Dotlich presented the board with a thick packet of documentation regarding the situation, and a motion was made by the board to table the matter for a month’s time in order to digest the information presented.
A Grovertown man and his passenger were arrested Thursday morning after the Starke County Sheriff’s Department attempted to serve an arrest warrant at his home. Continue reading
Dylan Woolley was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday morning.
He had pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to charges of Burglary as a Class C Felony and Theft as a Class D Felony. He was arrested in August of last year after he told police that he broke into a garage. He told police that he didn’t find anything in the garage that he wanted so he went to another location and took two tents and a cordless drill from a shed. The items were returned to the owner.
Woolley was sentenced to three years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on the burglary charge and 18 months on the theft charge. The sentences were suspended and he will serve three years on probation.
There are a few vacancies on the WKVI tour bus that will head to Washington, D.C. in June.
“It’s the 14th-18th of June and you know we’ve got six seats available,” said Ed Hasnerl who will be leading the group on the trip. “We’ve had some folks who had to change their plans and they’ve canceled. Six seats have opened up. If you would like to go, let’s get those requests in.”
The Fourth of July is a little less than five months away and the Starke County Fireworks Committee is gearing up for the 2012 celebration at the airport.
According to Linda Berndt, Knox City Councilwoman, a meeting was held last week to solicit ideas for raising funds. A fish fry is already set up for April 20th at the Knox Moose Lodge and a Nelson’s Port-a-Pit Chicken sale is tentatively scheduled for June.
If you would like to help with the fireworks, you are invited to contact Linda Berndt at 772-2300.
Love was in the air Tuesday in the Starke County Clerk’s office. Clerk Evelyn Skronski performed three wedding ceremonies in the conference room, and has two more weddings coming up Friday thanks to expert service of companies like the event and wedding planner DC. Attended and photos captured by Catherine J. Gross Photography – Maine engagement photographer.
On a side note, wedding photos are one of the few things in life that we should preserve, though almost half of marriages don’t succeed, the other half does and that calls for a celebration. Printing your photos in a PrintedMemories wedding photo book is a great idea to look back into the time with quality photos.
Without the requirement of blood certificates, the whole process can take no longer than a half an hour. Anyone 16 years of age and younger has to have permission of the court and parents, those who are 17 years old have to have parental approval, and anyone aged 18 to 21 has to have a birth certificate and identification. If you are over the age of 21, you to only have an I.D. Men that are about to be married might also want to visit a tungsten wedding rings outlet if they still have not chosen a wedding ring for their big day.
The Clerk said the charge is $2.00 for the paperwork and $18.00 for the ceremony and you can be married with or without witnesses.
One happy groom told Evelyn Tuesday, The $20.00 fee is a sure a lot cheaper than my divorce.”
February, specifically Valentine’s Day, June and December are the big wedding months for marriages in the Starke County Clerk’s Office. She said a lot of couples in December say they want to be eligible for the tax deduction. Designer Dream is a one-stop destination wedding planner Toronto for all your wedding needs. Whether you’re looking to have an exclusive beach ceremony abroad or just want some help with logistics, this company has it covered!
Stacie Brown, 35, of Knox, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for causing the death of her stepson, three-year-old Ethan Brown on June 9th, 2011.
Knox Police Department Detective David Combs was on the witness stand almost two hours describing the case in detail. Brown had been charged with one felony count of battery resulting in death. Another count of Neglect of a Dependent was dropped in a plea bargain arrangement.
13 cases of the measles have been reported in Indiana. The cases confirmed have been identified in Boone and Hamilton counties.
The Indiana State Department of Health continues to work with local health departments, health care providers and all organizations to identify additional cases of measles and to prevent further transmission of the disease.
Starke County EMA Director, Ted Bombagetti has made the county officials aware that all two-way radios will need to be re-banded. Bombagetti was asked what the deadline is for having them re-banded.
“2013 is our deadline,” replied Bombagetti. “What’s happening is that two-way radios have become so popular in use in industries other than emergency services that there’s not enough open frequencies for the FCC to sell out. What they’re doing is they’re moving the signals closer, or narrow-banding. They’re narrowing the banding so more licenses can become available.”
The Indiana State Police is urging you to ask for police identification if you are pulled over and approached by a person saying they are a police officer and they exit an unmarked police vehicle.
On Saturday, a female driver was followed by an unmarked black police-type vehicle and the driver used emergency lights to pull her over. The vehicle had red and blue lights mounted in the front window and the vehicle was occupied by two men. The driver said the pair flashed their so-called badges and said they were State Police. They said her vehicle came up suspicious and they wanted to search her vehicle. She exited her vehicle and the pair proceeded to steal money and other items from her. She attempted to call police and they took her cell phone from her.
Looking back in time, it was on this date in 1979 that Knox Fire Chief Pete Corey came before the Knox City Council to quote figures on a new $180,000 fire truck.
The 35 foot long, 10 foot high truck would be equipped with a telescopic unit, bucket and ladder. Corey said because of multiple story buildings being built locally the need for this type of fire protection is needed. City Attorney Henry Hart was asked to report back with a financing plan for such a truck.
A Knox City Police officer and a Knox fireman are being hailed as heroes after they freed occupants of a overturned car in a deep ditch filled with water.
On Saturday afternoon, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department received a call of a traffic accident on State Road 8 near 200 East. The caller stated he was following his wife, Tessa J. Haney, when her vehicle hit a patch of ice and she lost control of the vehicle. It landed on its top in a deep ditch on the south side of the roadway with water filling the car.
A sentencing hearing for Stacie Brown is scheduled in Starke Circuit Court tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
Stacie Brown pleaded guilty in a plea agreement in January to Battery Causing Death, a Class A Felony. Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall will hear testimony in the case and will determine whether he will accept or reject the plea agreement. If the agreement is accepted, she could be sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison.
A snow storm Friday night and early Saturday morning left varying inches of snow in Starke County. Anywhere from three to 11 inches fell depending on where you were in the county. Northeastern Starke County received the heaviest amount of snow, as a band stretched from lower Michigan into Indiana. The Starke County Commissioners issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory for the area and pulled the snow plows at 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon and they resumed duties at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning. The Commissioners have since lifted that Level 2 Travel Advisory.
