A Knox man’s scheduled trial for today has been canceled in a surprise move by the defendant, Jose Santiago, Jr.
Santiago yesterday in Starke Circuit Court plead guilty without any plea agreement to charges relating to an indoor marijuana growing operation in February of this year.
Police Officers from Knox, Starke County and the Indiana State Police conducted a raid on the illegal operation at 207 Roosevelt Road in Knox and seized 78 marijuana plants in the raid.
Starke County Highway Superintendent, Steve Siddall, briefed the Commissioners and public Monday as to the damage done due to the levee break last week on the Robbins ditch.
“It broke out Thursday morning sometime and we were notified,” said Siddall. “The water had come across 400 North and then to the south of that on Range Road. Both roads took a pretty good beating. We’re looking at a lot of damage. $10,000 in damage is a rough estimate. I haven’t been up there because we’re trying to let things dry up. We weren’t able to open up Range Road up to 400 North on Friday by putting stone down as the road was impassable. We just barely made it across Friday to put stone down.”
The 2011 Environmental event at the Starke County Highway Garage was a big success. A record number of vehicles passed through during the four day event that occurred Wednesday, April 27th through Saturday, April 30th.
750 vehicles came through where residents were able to dispose of their materials. 450 of those vehicles came through on Saturday. 1,500 gallons of oil was disposed of, 6 semi trailers of tires were hauled away, and several semi loads of appliances and computers were taken from the Highway Garage. Two semi loads of hazardous waste was collected.
Starke United recently awarded several agencies with money from donations. The Coalition Against Domestic Abuse, Community Services of Starke County, Drug and Tobacco Free of Starke County, Junior Achievement, Love INC, Starke County WIC, Starke County ABATE, Starke County CASA, The Caring Place, The Salvation Army Starke County Unit, and the Starke County Youth Club all received grant money of $3,500 or less.
The Third Annual Turkey Tracks event was held over the weekend in Starke County. Opening night was Friday, and the hunters, guides, and well wishers gathered at the Knox VFW for a dinner, fellowship and entertainment provided by country singer, Billy Wayne.
During the ceremony that followed the dinner, Bass Pro Shops in Portage and Clarksville gave special monetary and tracker gifts to the participants. The Clarksville representative gave each of the hunters their own monogrammed turkey callers, and Eric Corey was presented with a one-of-a-kind caller in engraved box. The Turkey Tracks organization also received a $1,000 check for the program.
The annual Lincoln Day Dinner was held Saturday night at the Bass Lake Community Center. With party leaders, state, national, and local candidates in attendance, the evening was proclaimed a success for the Grand Old Party (GOP).
Following the evening festivities, WKVI interviewed three Republicans of note, State Senator Ed Charbonneau, State Treasurer Richard Murdock, and candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Jackie Walorski.
Free diabetes screenings will be held at IU Health Starke Hospital Tuesday from 7:00-11:00 a.m. CT.
“I, and a nurse from LaPorte Hospital, who is certified Diabetes educator, will be set up in the hospital lobby for free screenings for anybody who would like to come in and get their blood sugar tested and screened for diabetes,” said Dietitian, Deb Meznarick. “Following that, on May 10th, we’re going to start diabetic classes. Dr. Holm, who is from Holm Clinic in Plymouth, will be assisting and teaching the classes. It will be a four week series on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:00 p.m.”
To set up a time for your screening, please call IU Health Starke Hospital and speak to Deb Meznarick.
Several upgrades are in the works for the Starke County Jail. The Commissioners approved a bid this week for the tear off and installation of a new roof on the Jail and the Board members will also be reviewing bids to replace the HVAC system at the Jail during their meeting on Monday.
One recent upgrade has helped the operation of the jail and the courts. Here is Sheriff Oscar Cowen:
Voters in precincts 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Center Township have a chance to vote absentee today and tomorrow from 8:00 a.m. to Noon and from 1:00-4:00 p.m. CT in the Starke County Courthouse. The final time to vote absentee will be Monday, May 2nd, from 8:00 a.m. to Noon only. Election Day is Tuesday, May 3rd. The polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and voting will be conducted in the Knox Community Center.
Taylor Smith, of Monterey, has made it through the first round of auditions for the new Simon Cowell program, “X Factor”. The auditions were held in Chicago. The next round of auditions were held Thursday morning. The results of that round are being kept secret until “X Factor” airs.
“X Factor” will air on Fox 28 and the premiere of the program will be in September.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall reports that the Robbins Ditch at 400 North and Range Road in Starke County has overflowed its banks and has flooded the road and surrounding fields. The road is closed until further notice.
Photos provided by Becky Pulver of Brems. Continue reading
The Starke County Commissioners opened roof repair bids Wednesday for the Starke County Jail. Three bids were received and Commissioners Kathy Norem and Dan Bridegroom awarded the bid to Northern Indiana Roofing and Sheet Metal Corporation out of South Bend. Commissioner Jennifer Davis was absent from the meeting.
Members of the Starke County Board Commissioners and County Council met Tuesday evening in a special session with representatives of IU Health Starke Hospital to discuss options available for operation of the healthcare facility. The County leases the aging building at the corner of U.S. 35 and Culver Road to IU Health, which operates the hospital.
A city ordinance regarding pawn shops in Knox purchasing stolen merchandise was brought before the council this week. The ordinance, which would primarily affect First Choice Pawn, was tabled for further consideration after a discussion between the Council and the operators of First Choice Pawn, Hank Minix and Chris Firebaugh.
City Attorney Dave Matsey modeled the ordinance after Indianapolis and Bloomington, who currently have an ordinance regarding licensing for pawn shops. The ordinance would require pawn shops to hold an item for ten days before selling it to give law enforcement time to receive theft reports and intercept stolen merchandise before the pawn shop is able to sell it. The ordinance also prohibits pawn shops from selling merchandise to intoxicated persons and establishes a fee of $25 for pawn shops to operate with a license, and establishes a procedure to follow in the event of stolen property being purchased by the pawn shop.
The national average of a gallon of regular gasoline is over the $4.00 mark and that hurts the pocketbook of all consumers in the United States. It also affects the fuel line item in County, City and Town budgets.
Starke County Sheriff, Oscar Cowen, told WKVI that the Sheriff’s Department staff is keeping an eye on the prices, but services to the citizens will not diminish because gas prices are high. He said that when we saw a spike in prices in 2008, the Sheriff’s Department made it through and hopes to come within the fuel budget this time around.
When we recently talked with Starke County Clerk, Evelyn Skronski, about the Primary Election campaign signs placed outside the Knox city limits, where the only Primary Election in Starke County will be held next Tuesday, she shared her insight as to the candidate’s reasoning.
The 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly, as required by law, will end tomorrow night by midnight or before. Senator Ed Charbonneau says after considerable study legislation of interest to area mint farmers was passed by the Assembly and signed by Governor Daniels April 20th.
The third annual Turkey Tracks hunting event gets underway in Starke County this weekend. The hunt allows physically handicapped youngsters to experience a turkey hunting experience with assistance from local Adopt-a-Hunter volunteers. Carol Corey outlines some of the events planned for the young hunters.
“They come to the Knox VFW Saturday morning before daylight to go out and find the turkeys coming off the roost and then in the evening, we invite all of our Adopt-a-Hunter volunteers and landowners there for a dinner. If you are an Adopt-a-Hunter or landowner, we would appreciate it if you would come and join us and meet our hunters.”
Kimberly Hitchens received her sentence Tuesday morning in the Starke Circuit Court. Hitchens plead guilty to one count of Assisting a Criminal, a Class D Felony, which carries a sentence between 6 months to 3 years in the Department of Corrections.
Judge Kim Hall noted a few aggravating factors, as well as mitigating factors, in the case. Judge Hall stated that while Hitchens was called as a witness, she lied under oath, thereby committing perjury in the courtroom. He also noted that since Hitchens admitted there was a conspiracy, and that three others had been convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery from the same incident, Hitchens’ criminal activity far exceeded the crime for which she has been convicted. Judge Hall also mentioned two mitigating factors: she had previously lived free of crime for a reasonable amount of time, and she did admit to the conspiracy.
Archaeologists from IFPW at Fort Wayne are currently working at the site of the replacement dam at Koontz Lake where State Road 23 passes over it. The State Highway Department is building a new road, where the curve will be corrected, and the Department of Natural resources is rebuilding the dam.
