Here is the Capital Assets Study as presented to the Commissioners and Council by RQAW Consulting Engineers and Architects of Indianapolis:
The jail is in need of immediate renovation to upgrade and update systems. Currently the roof requires replacement and there are problems with one of the roof top air handling units. The lighting has been upgraded since our inspections took place.
The jail is overcrowded and in need of expanded capacity.
This is Autism Awareness Month and Linda Trent of Toto has been guiding us through the world of autism. She is the grandmother of two autistic grandchildren.
Linda says the thing that parents and autistic children mostly need is help and support.
“If you do know somebody that has autistic children, offer to help because it’s difficult,” explained Trent. “In the case of my daughter, she has a sister and me and that’s about all the help she has. Now that I have my oldest grandson going into high school, I’ve had the sad fact of seeing people drop them as friends because they can’t take a child that’s making a lot of noise or they won’t overlook a quirk or something. We all have quirks and it’s not something the child can help. It’s sad, but sometimes they do recognize that they’re different.”
On “Ted Hayes Remembers” this week, Ted will be talking with Louise and the late Alt Williams about Bass Lake.
As a girl, Louise Rubbi’s family was at the lake because her mom and dad ran a summer resort called Forget Me Not.
The vacationers would flock to the lake for the week, the month, or all summer long. Nick Rubbi instructed them to go to the LaSalle Station and take the train to Starke County.
Alt Williams’ family was from Kentucky, but it didn’t take long for young Alton to take to the water at Bass Lake.
Twenty years ago, Mark Chizum, of Argos, “hit it big.”
On this date in 1991, Mark was one of two winners of a $10 million dollar lotto drawing. He was a $5.00 to $10.00 player every week and at the time, he was a laid-off truck driver who had been on unemployment since November of 1990.
The day of the pay-off just happened to be Mark’s birthday.
His advice at the time for other players, “Keep trying. It’s there to win.”
Master golfer, Freddie Bauer, of Monterey, is back from Florida, but not before registering his 10th hole-in-one before leaving. He hit his 10th at a course in Sebring. It was a 155 yard, par three hole, and he used a six iron.
He got his first one on Labor Day in 1969 at the Plymouth Country Club and has that first ball. Freddie reports that he has not kept any of the following nine balls. Since 2009, he has recorded four hole-in-ones.
The trial of John Brooke continued this morning in Starke Circuit Court. The first witness called to the stand was 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 testified that he had interviewed John Brooke on three separate interviews to correct or understand discrepancies given by Brooke.
Lawson testified that Brooke was given a waiver of rights form which was signed and Brooke’s attorney was contacted and Lawson was given permission to interview John Brooke. Lawson testified he had also contacted the ATF, FBI and Homeland Security due to the nature of the weaponry and explosives found at the scene and the possible existence of a local militia being involved.
The Detective testified that he had searched a vehicle Brooke was driving and a 308 sniper-type rifle was recovered with a scope.
The trial continues today and is expected to go to the jury by Thursday.
The trial of John Brooke continued into its second day, and, at the request of the Prosecution, the jury heard statements from James Reed. Reed is one of the men involved in the Bass Lake shootout and who was sentenced to ten years in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery. Special Agent Katherine Newby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms also testified.
“Starke County has to have a road map, we can’t pay everything out of the Cummulative Cap fund,” said Starke County Commission President Dan Bridegroom to open this week’s Capital Asset Management work session.
He and Council President, Mark Smith, assembled members of both bodies to consider the preliminary report from the consulting firm hired to identify Starke County’s short and long term needs.
This week we are recognizing emergency services dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
WKVI’s Anita Goodan stopped at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and had the chance to speak to dispatcher, Jana Manning who has been at the Sheriff’s Department for 23 years.
Starke County has a new Sanitarian working out of the Health Department. Chris Dalton of rural Knox was selected from 20 applicants to fill the position of David Singleton who recently retired.
According to Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Alexander, Dalton has installed septic systems, and is familiar with reading codes. He is already on the job having spent the first couple of days with the Building Inspector. Today, he will be going over procedures with the Indiana Department of Health Regional Resource officer.
Alexander said she was “pleased” that the office has been able to hire such a qualified and personable applicant.
The staff at the Starke County Environmental Management Office will be sending out annual assessment bills today. A coupon for the environmental collection event April 27th-30th will be included with the notice.
The event will be held at the Starke County Highway Garage on U.S. 35, north of Knox. Appliances, computers, computers, televisions, hazardous waste, medications, fluorescent lamps and PCB ballasts and tires will be accepted at this event. Visit the ad on this website for specific times and product limits. The event is for Starke County residents only.
If you have not received your bill by Tuesday, April 19th, call the Starke County Environmental Management Office at (574) 772-7865.
April is Autism Awareness Month and we have been discussing the disease this week with Linda Trent of Toto who is the grandmother of two autistic grandchildren.
We asked Linda Trent if autistic children can usually develop enough living skills to live on their own, or work as adults.
Although we have not received particulars yet, there’s information that the famous Shore Club at Bass Lake will be re-opening. Everyone has memories of The Shore Club – the parties, the events, political speeches, and delicious food.
This week on “Ted Hayes Remembers”, Ted will take us back in time with a most famous Bass Lake couple, Louise and the late Alt Williams. Be listening for that program this Friday, April 15th, at 12:20 and 5:30 p.m. CT.
Yesterday, Representative Eric Koch (R-Bedford) and Representative Kathy Richardson (R-Noblesville) presented the boundaries of State House and Legislative and Congressional Districts for the next 10 years.
Locally, Representative Nancy Dembowski (D-Knox) is being knocked out of District 17 to be placed into the 20th District. That move would pair her with Republican Tom Demody. In the new 20th District, parts of Starke County will be split, with Center, Davis, Jackson, Oregon, Railroad and Washington One going into the new 20th District.
California, North Bend, Wayne, and Washington Two would be going into a new 16th District. That new district takes in those Starke precincts, all of Pulaski County, a small part of Fulton County, parts of Jasper County and parts of Newton.
Property tax statements in Starke County will be sent by mail this week from the Treasurer’s office. Treasurer Linda Belork said that the deadline dates will be May 10th for the spring installment and November 10th for the fall installment.
Pulaski County Treasurer, Cheryl DeGroot, told WKVI that the property tax statements there will be sent out this week or next week. She said the deadline dates will be May 10th and November 10th as well. Some property owners will see a big increase in taxes and others will see a decrease.
This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Emergency services dispatchers are the first to hear of your emergency and they are responsible for getting police, fire, and EMS out to help you in your time of need.
Robin Banks has been a dispatcher at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department for 19 years. She says it’s important to be sure to answer all questions so they can give emergency personnel the information they need.
Offenders serving time at the Westville Correctional Facility have been in Starke County since April 4th collecting garbage. The six man crew is taking part in the statewide Trash Bash. As of Friday, the offenders had picked up 113 bags of garbage on 19 miles of roadway. The offenders are all minimum security individuals.
This is Autism Awareness Month. Linda Trent of Toto has two grandchildren who are autistic, and she is helping us understand the needs of autistic children, their parents and grandparents.
One controversy that has raged for the past few years is that vaccinations cause autism. Even though much research has been done on the correlation between the vaccinations and the disease, most medical experts dispel it as untrue.
“Most people I talk to that have had autistic children, they are not opposed to vaccinations,” said Trent. “What they’re opposed to is giving a child eight or ten in a row. When you think about it, when we were younger we had a few and some we didn’t get. We didn’t get the massive amounts and we didn’t them as infants and small children. Now, if you don’t have a certain quota of vaccinations by the time the child is in Kindergarten, they’ll throw your child out of school. We’re not saying don’t. We’re saying maybe the vaccinations could be done differently.”
April is Child Abuse Prevention month.
In Indiana alone, 25,000 substantiated cases of child neglect and abuse were investigated in 2008. During National Child Abuse Prevention month, Prevent Child Abuse Indiana and Prevent Child Abuse Starke County are raising the awareness of this issue, while providing educational opportunities to help change the way we value and support the well-being of our children and families.
Two Starke County residents were arrested this morning after a routine traffic stop.
A Knox City Police officer pulled over a vehicle on 300 E. and 250 N. in Knox. During the course of the traffic stop, a K9 was deployed to search for drugs. The K9 indicated that drugs were the vehicle and methamphetamine was seized. After an investigation, the officer found a handgun in the vehicle. Traci Jacobs and Paul Higdon were then arrested on preliminary charges of Serious Violent Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Possession of Methamphetamine. They are currently being held in the Starke County Jail.
