Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers arrested four on methamphetamine charges at a Knox residence Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading
Four Arrested in Knox on Methamphetamine Charges
Starke County Commissioners, Council to Hold Meeting to Discuss Future of IU Health Starke Hospital
Representatives of Indiana University Health Starke Hospital will meet next week with members of the Starke County Board of Commissioners and the County Council to discuss the future and continued use of the facilities leased from the County. The current lease expires in 2016.
“We are committed to be here, we want to stay here, but we also know that improvements are going to have to be made along the way, particularly in relationship to the building” stated hospital CEO Linda Satkoski. Continue reading
Initial Hearings Held for Holloway Six
The six individuals arrested at the Holloway Motel on various methamphetamine charges were given their initial hearings this afternoon. Matthew Schoff, Timothy Clark, Cheryl Paschen, and Kimberly Hurley were charged with Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony, along with other charges. The others, Tracey Gaideski and the Holloway Motel manager Freeman Spelts, were charged with Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Controlled Substance, as well as other charges. Gaideski was also charged with one count of Taking a Minor to a Nuisance after her 8-year-old child was taken into protective custody following the arrests. Schoff, Paschen, and Hurley were additionally charged with Possession of a Syringe.
Judge Rejects Plea Agreement for Kevin Eggert
A plea and sentencing hearing for Kevin Eggert was held Wednesday morning. Eggert is accused of threatening to kill Misty Ross while pointing a 12-gauge shotgun at her, and faces one count of Intimidation, a Class C Felony, and one count of Pointing a Firearm, a Class D Felony.
Starke County Council Approves Bridge Inspection Expenses
At the request of the highway department, the Starke County Council approved the spending of $135,000 for bridge inspections throughout the county. In total, 67 bridges are to be inspected, with the expense coming out of the county’s cumulative bridge fund, which can only be spent on bridges.
The bridge inspections are a necessary expense, especially when given the current state of the bridges in Starke County. Three bridges were recently closed, and three others are in danger of being reduced to one-lane to allow for repairs.
Two Starke County Residents Arrested after Traffic Stop
Two Starke County residents were arrested today on felony charges after a traffic stop by Starke County police.
Officers recognized Heather Manns, 33, of North Judson traveling as a passenger in a vehicle and police stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Culver Road and US 35 in Knox. Officers took her into custody on a Failure to Appear warrant through Starke County and she was also wanted out of Pulaski County.
Starke County Commissioners Withdraw Support for Full-Time Deputy Treasurer
It seems the Treasurer’s office will not be getting the full-time help they’ve been requesting, after all. At the Starke County Council Meeting on April 18, the council noted that after looking at newest budget figures, they noticed that they would be short of the amount needed to transfer in order to support another full-time employee in the Treasurer’s office because some of those funds do not exist in the Treasurer’s budget.
The Commissioners agreed with the council, withdrawing their support as well because of budgetary concerns. They did not anticipate the coming year, and the Commissioners do not believe they will have the $5600 necessary to contribute that they previously believed they had. Treasurer Linda Belork was not present and could not help the Council and the Commissioners determine if the funds were available in the budget or not.
Extensive Cleanup to be Done at Holloway Motel before it can Open
It will be a long time before the Holloway Motel is back in business. The motel was condemned after three methamphetamine labs were removed from the premises on Friday, April 15th. Extensive cleaning needs to be done and approved by IDEM and the Health Department before it can be reopened.
Nagai Offers Alternative for Robbins Ditch Bridge Repair
Bridge #156, the bridge over the Robbins Ditch on Range Rd. between 400 N and 500 N, may not be out of commission for as long as expected. Lee Nagai explained an alternative method of repairing the bridge, suggesting a deck maintenance project as opposed to the state’s recommended plan of total reconstruction.
Initial Hearings Set for Those Arrested in Holloway Motel Meth Lab Bust
The six individuals arrested Friday night on various methamphetamine charges will appear before Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. for their initial hearings.
Mathew Schoff, Cheryl Paschen, Kimberly Hurley, Tracey Gaideski, Timothy Clark, and Holloway Motel manager, Freeman Spelts, were arrested Friday after police found three active methamphetamine labs at the Holloway Motel on U.S. 30 in Starke County. They have charges ranging from Possession of Paraphernalia to Manufacturing Methamphetamine and Neglect of a Dependent. An 8-year-old child was taken into protective custody after the incident.
Bond has been set at $50,000 each.
Purple Toilet Placed in Yard at WKVI for Relay for Life Promotion
If in the course of your travels you drive by WKVI, you will see a beautiful purple toilet sitting in our front yard. Now you might wonder what that toilet is doing here and especially sitting in our yard.
We were selected to be a part of Starke County Relay for Life’s Toilet Parade.
Someone in Starke County donated the toilet in our honor and we get to proudly display it in our yard.
Holloway Motel Condemned after Meth Lab Bust
The Holloway Motel complex was the site of a huge drug bust in Starke County on Friday with some of the building used for clandestine methamphetamine production. Because of the fact that dangerous particles remain in the air, Starke County Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Alexander, evacuated the facility and condemned it after the arrests were made.
SCILL Center Instructors Offer Tips for National Car Care Month
April is National Car Care month. Rod Dawson, Instructor at the SCILL Center in Knox, is in this week to offer gas mileage saving car care tips with us.
“Three out of ten vehicles have either missing or failed gas caps and nearly 150 million gallons of gas vaporizes because of it,” said Dawson. “A $5.00-$10.00 gas cap is an easy fix for that.”
Mr. Dawson will have more tips for us throughout the week on how we can keep our cars running efficiently and how we can save money at the pump.
Turkey Tracks Event is Scheduled for April 29th-May 1st, 2011
At the young age of 16, Eric Corey was diagnosed with ALS. An avid hunter his entire life, the Starke County resident has made it his mission to make sure other young adults with mobility challenges like him can experience the joy of hunting. That’s why he and his family have organized Turkey Tracks. The event allows hunters with physical challenges to use adaptive equipment and the help of a guide to experience a turkey hunt in Northern Indiana.
This is the third year for Turkey Tracks.
Manager of Holloway Motel US30 & Five Others Arrested In Meth Drug Bust
The Holloway Motel has been evacuated and condemned after a huge drug bust Friday. In the course of serving a warrant on a person at the motel, Starke County Police detected an odor commonly related to the manufacturing of methamphetamine.
Brooke Found Guilty on 6 of 7 Counts, Including Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery
The courtroom was full of family and friends of John Brooke as the jury returned to the courtroom with their verdict. The judge read their decision, his face calm, revealing nothing. As he began reading the verdict aloud, family members burst into tears while Brooke remained calm and collected, even in the face of the seriousness of the charges.
The jury found Brooke guilty of six of the seven counts against him: Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful Use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal. The jury found him not guilty of the count of Possession of a Destructive Device.
Capital Assets Study on the Starke County Courthouse
This week we are presenting parts of a report given to Starke County officials assessing County buildings. The report was prepared by RQAW an Indianapolis Consulting and Architecture Firm. Today’s report covers the Starke County Courthouse.
The Courthouse has an issue of limits on space available for some of the offices, particularly the Probation Department, the Clerk and the Magistrate. These functions are located on the second and third floors of the Courthouse.
Some space limitations can be alleviated by more efficient layouts, more efficient record storage and furniture and/or computerization of records and off-site storage. The County has adequate space for off-site record storage at the Glove Factory.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week Focuses on the Efforts of Dispatchers
We have been recognizing emergency dispatchers this week for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Melissa Osburn, who has been at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department for two years, says they take a variety of emergency calls.
“It can be anything from a medical emergency, structure fire, grass fires, civil matters – it’s anything that anyone would have a problem with,” said Osburn.
Louise Williams and the Late Alt Williams Discuss Bass Lake on Today’s ‘Ted Hayes Remembers’ Program
Today on “Ted Hayes Remembers” Louise and the late Alt Williams will talk about those carefree days at Bass Lake.
Louise Williams was a Chicago girl, but dad wanted his kids out of the city in the summer. So he bought a place at Bass Lake and his wife and children ran the restaurant and resort during the week, and he came out on the weekend. Louise Williams tells us what it was like.
“It was a super place to be,” she said. “It was quiet. The only noise you would hear was the oars in the water from rowing boats, maybe sails in the wind. There were a lot of barrel rafts that we enjoyed just laying and lulling on and diving off of. It was the days of outside johns and kerosene cook stoves. I recall walking to Ruth Fishburn’s store to get kerosene for my mother in two gallon jugs and the trip back was always longer than the trip going there. There was always the joy when someone you knew would stop and offer a ride. The walk was enjoyable because you knew all the people within that mile and you stop and gab. I’d even goof off and play with a girlfriend for a while. It seems to me that those days were much slower and summers were longer.”
Brooke’s Trial Continues, Defense Calls Character Witnesses
The trial of John Brooke continued Wednesday morning in Starke Circuit Court. The Prosecution called its first witness of the day to the stand: Starke County Detective Ron Lawson. Lawson testified that he had been called to a shooting incident on Summerholme Drive at Bass Lake and received a briefing from officers on the scene. He also said that he had interviewed John Brooke on three separate interviews to correct or understand discrepancies between interviews with Brooke, Michael Drogosz, and Kimberly Hitchens, who were also involved in the incident.
