In a few short weeks, the Turkey Trax event will be held in Starke County. This will be the third annual event that began when Eric Corey, who is confined to a wheelchair, asked his parents to organize a wild turkey hunt for other young people with similar disabilities.
Since that first hunt, the Turkey Trax weekend has grown into a huge event and this year, 25 young people will go out with local guides hoping to bag a turkey. The event will be held April 29th through May 1st.
In the wake of year-end reports that law enforcement seized nearly 1,400 meth labs in 2010, Senate legislators vote 46-3 Tuesday in support of a bill co-authored by Senator Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) providing a new weapon in the fight against the narcotic.
Senate Bill 503 works to curb the manufacturing of methamphetamines by tracking the statewide sales of cold and allergy medications containing precursors to the illegal drug and preventing purchases exceeding certain limits.
Officials at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles announced that the Knox and Winamac license branches will have new hours of operation beginning Monday, February 28th.
The Knox License Branch will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. The Winamac License Branch will be open on Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.
Financing for video and audio communication between the Starke County Jail and County and City courts was approved this week by the Starke County Council.
The County’s share of the $6,000 cost is one-third. The other two-thirds will come out of the Knox City Court, and the Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Diversion fund.
Starke County I.T. Director, Bob Smith, came before the Council members to explain the set up of the equipment that will be provided by Vermillion Systems of Walkerton.
The Junior Achievement Bowl-a-Thon at Bowlaway Lanes in Knox brought in approximately $4,500 Wednesday for the organization, thanks to pledges gathered by the five-member teams bowling from Starke and Pulaski Counties.
All bowlers had a great time with some winning door prizes and other chances to win prizes during Wednesday’s fundraiser. Niki Clemons, Bridget Markin, and all involved with Junior Achievement did a great job planning the event. The WKVI Men’s and Women’s teams participated in the two game event with each team winning a game.
The S.C.P. property sold Tuesday in the tax sale conducted at the Starke County Annex. S.C.P., doing business as the Federal Group on Culver Road in Knox, had been placed on the sale for back taxes of $93,000. The company’s four parcels of land and buildings were put on the auction, with opening bids of $300.00.
Purchasing all four of the parcels was the Starke County Economic Development Foundation, with with Ben Osinski of the Foundation’s Board placing the bids. The 40 acre parcel of land went for $500 and the other three parcels went for $300 a piece.
Starke County residents, Phil and Megan Hamand, are in the process of adopting a child from the Ukraine.
“We actually put our application in to adopt in July of 2010 so things are going pretty quickly,” said Megan. “We just found out last week that we should be traveling to the Ukraine to meet our child at the end of August, maybe beginning of September of this year. That’s a pretty quick adoption turnaround. Ukraine as approved our home study, which is a big step, and right now we’re just getting all of our international paperwork put together so we can legally adopt the child from Ukraine and the United States.”
Nominations are being accepted for Starke County’s Senior Volunteer of the Year and Older Hoosier of the Year.
Community Services of Starke County is accepting nominations for these two honorary awards. The Board will decide the winners for each category. The honorees will be entered into the Area 1 competition. Entry forms are available at the Community Services of Starke County on Culver Road in Knox. Forms must be received by March 15th.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced two men to the Indiana Department of Corrections late last week. Both were sentenced for Dealing in Methamphetamine convictions. David Gingerich was sentenced to 8 years with 2 suspended, and Nathaniel Furlong was sentenced to 12 years with 4 suspended.
The sentences were handed down Thursday, February 17th.
One-third of the food handling businesses in Starke County are operating on expired permits. That fact was presented to the Starke County Health Board Monday night by Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Alexander.
That fact was discovered when going over the list of businesses to be inspected by new contract Inspector, David Kesvormas. Kesvormas told the Board that when he inspects a business that is operating on expired permits, he is notifying them and urging them to purchase the proper permit without a fine.
The deadline for candidates to file in the City of Knox 2011 Starke County Municipal Primary Election was at Noon on Friday, February 18th. Here are the candidates for the spring primary:
Knox City Court Judge:
(R) Charles Hasnerl
Knox Mayor:
(D) Rick Chambers
(D) Mark C. Smith
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced two in court Friday morning.
Judge Hall accepted a plea agreement submitted for Amber Bottorff where she plead guilty to a charge of Maintaining a Common Nuisance, a Class D Felony. As part of the agreement, a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony was dropped. As part of her sentence, she will serve 18 months on home detention.
On December 31st, 2010, North Judson Police were requested to assist the Starke County Community Corrections team while they were conducting a home inspection. After checking on a detainee in the 5900 block of U-road, officers made a discovery of an active Methamphetamine Lab. North Judson Officer, Mat Anderson, arrested Amber Rae Bottorff, 21, of North Judson for Manufacturing of Methamphetamine and Maintaining a Common Nuisance.
The filing deadline for candidates seeking office in the 2011 Municipal Primary Election for the City of Knox is at Noon today. Candidates seeking office in Hamlet and North Judson have until August 1st to file.
Two people filed in the Starke County Clerk’s Office yesterday. Jane Ellen Felchuck, a Democrat, filed for the North Judson Town Board District 1 seat, a position she now holds on the Board. Kristina Pitts filed on the Democrat ticket for Hamlet Town Clerk-Treasurer.
Starke County Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall accepted a plea agreement Wednesday for Dwayne Clemons. Clemons plead guilty to two felony charges for an incident that occurred June 27th, 2009. Two other charges were dismissed.
In that incident, Clemons was charged with firing shots into a van carrying Jessie Sparks and a 9 year old girl. The shooting occurred after a physical altercation between Clemons and Sparks.
Friday is the final day to file for candidacy in the City of Knox spring Primary Election. Candidates seeking office in North Judson and Hamlet have until August 1st to file. In Starke County, the most recent filing occurred Tuesday when Brian Earnest, a Democrat, filed for the Hamlet #1 Town Council seat .
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director, Charles Weaver, testified last week on a legislative bill that would lessen the requirement for mint farmers of having to acquire burdensome permits and regulations that could force them to not continue in that farming field. According to Weaver’s testimony, none of the mint farmers in Starke County know if they will be able to extract the oil from the crop because of the permit issue.
The Indiana State Police-Lowell and Bremen Districts released methamphetamine lab statistics from the counties they serve. 6 meth labs have been seized by the Department in LaPorte County and in Pulaski County, 6 in Jasper County, 7 in White County, 16 in Fulton County, 15 in Cass County, and 53 in Marshall County.
30 meth labs were seized by Indiana State Police in Starke County.
The Love In The Name of Christ Annual Banquet will be held this Saturday night.
“This is our sixth annual banquet,” said Director Debbie Wappel. “It will be held at the beautiful facility at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Knox.”
Valentine’s Day has been a special day for 95 years for a prominent Starke County resident. Joe Smrt turned 95 yesterday, and his fellow VFW members surprised him with a party at the post.
“What better comradeship could you ask for than something like this? It was a complete surprise when Ben told me they were planning something for me ” said Smrt.
Indiana University Health-Starke Hospital announces the employment of Craig Felty as the Director of the Emergency Department and House Supervisor.
Felty has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and is pursuing a Masters Degree.
He is married to his wife, Tricia, and is the father of five children. The family resides in Hebron.
